Author's note:

This is a story of my own, written as a sequel to "Return of Mod Squad" reunion movie first shown in 1979. It takes place approximately a year later with the characters living their lives out of the police force. I wrote this to further explore the characters' lives, relationships, temperaments, and personalities, as I perceived them when they left the force. Due to my magnificent obsession with what I consider a unique classic in the crime drama genre and my penchant for continuity, there are references throughout the plot to several episodes from the 124-episode five-year run of the series. The main characters, their family members, offspring, and spouses are not my creation and I am not, under any circumstances using them as an infringement of any copyrights. This is merely the work of a life long fan with no intention toward profit. The main characters are the creation of Buddy Ruskin and the property of Spelling Entertainment Inc. For those reading this who are not familiar with Mod Squad, at the end of the story, there is a footnote index with a listing of all the episodes referred to within the plot of the story.

TOGETHER AGAIN

PROLOGUE

The Bennett Horse Ranch was a sprawling forty acre property that had within it a mountain range and a rapid stream which had its source in the same mountain range. The property was located about twenty miles to the southeast of Salinas and was actually considered among the city limits. The property was owned and run by the Bennett family and had been owned by them since the Depression. It was purchased by Steve and Lois Bennett, who bred and raised some of the finest horses in the state for thirty years. Since both had passed away the ranch was now headed by their son, Dan Bennett, a jovial, handsome, strapping man with chestnut brown curling hair and bright blue eyes who was honest, hard working, and well known throughout Salinas and the surrounding areas. Dan was also an intensely dedicated family man who doted on his wife and young daughter.

Dan's wife, the former Julie Barnes, was an attractive slender ash blonde who had a delicate beauty, soft sable brown eyes, a slim but athletic build, an exceptional figure, and a quick intelligence that assisted in her husband's business' success. She was a charming and soft-spoken lady who delighted in her role as wife and mother; a role that was a complete turnaround from her previous occupation, an undercover police officer with the LAPD. NJulie had worked there for five years, as part of a groundbreaking squad made up of young people who because of the way they looked and acted did not resemble the average officer. She worked with two others, a black youth from the Watts ghetto who was involved in a fire bombing named Linc Hayes and a white youth, Pete Cochrane, who because of his stealing a car, was thrown out of his parents' lush Beverly Hills mansion. She was a runaway from San Francisco herself who got in trouble with the law, as they all did. The trio had done much in the assistance of the force in helping with the huge problem with the youth of the late sixties, but after five years they had decided that they wanted to go in different directions so they quit and went their separate ways. They kept in touch sporadically but hadn't seen each other until last year when their former boss called them to assist with the capture of a criminal threatening his life. Julie had met and married Dan not long after she left the force and their daughter, Melissa was born soon after that.

Dan ran the ranch with the assistance of his best friend David Slade, who had lived at the ranch since he was thirteen when his father died by a self inflicted gunshot wound. David was about Dan's height and body weight with raven black hair and silver gray eyes with a strikingly attractive countenance that was extremely appealing to the opposite sex but he was at the age of thirty-five, still single. David's mother had abandoned him when he was nine. David and Dan were as close as brothers, and since Dan's return from the Vietnam War and David's graduation from Berkeley with a bachelor's degree in business administration, both had a partnership in the running of the business of breeding horses. The ranch also employed a family of four by the name of Travis. Hank Travis and his wife Hannah along with their two sons, Josh and Jim worked had worked on the ranch for over twenty years and were considered family in their own right. Three other men, Charlie Duryea, John Baxter, and Willis Forman also lived and worked on the ranch, assisting with exercising the horses and other general chores. The ranch was self-supporting for most of the year with income from colts born in the spring and competitions for jumping and vaulting, but the winter months were times of austerity when funds earned during the rest of the year sustained the ranch until foaling in the spring. Although Dan found the necessity of handling business not to his liking, he did, however take an active part in the care and maintenance of the ranch as a whole, performing repairs himself when he had to. And this day, October 10th was no different.

Dan had just finished his coffee and omelet, wiping his mouth with a napkin. Julie was hurrying Melissa along, to take her out to get the school bus.

"Melissa, come on now, honey. You're going to be late," Julie admonished as Melissa finished her bowl of cereal. She got up from the kitchen table to get Melissa's lunch satchel.

"Hey baby sunshine, you gonna give Daddy a kiss?" Dan asked as he got to his feet. Melissa scampered over to him and he lifted her up to plant a kiss on his cheek. Dan chuckled as he put her down and Julie handed the lunch satchel to her.

"Let's go, baby. Daddy will see you when you get home. We don't want to miss the bus," Julie said as she took Melissa's hand. "I'll be right back," she called to Dan over her shoulder.

Okay, I'll be here, hon," he replied.

The door opened and David Slade entered. He greeted Dan and then helped himself to a mug of coffee as he sat down next to Dan. "Julie taking Melissa to the bus?"

Uh-huh. You gonna help me with the barn roof, Dave?" Dan asked.

"Yeah. I asked Hank to help too and he'll be there after he finishes feeding the horses. How many shingles do we have to replace?" David wanted to know.

"About two dozen. I want to get it done before the winter, I got five pregnant mares and I'm not going to lose any of those foals. They're already sold and we should get a good amount of money for 'em," Dan stated as Julie came in the kitchen.

"Morning Julie," David said smiling as she came over to Dan and he pulled her on his lap.

"Morning David," Julie replied. She turned to Dan, "I wish you'd reconsider repairing the barn roof by yourself, Dan and get a professional roofer. The roof is almost three stories and I'm worried about you being that high," she fretted.

Dan chuckled, "Don't you worry your pretty head about it, sunshine. I'm gonna be wearing a safety belt and I plan to be very careful." He playfully slapped her derrière as she got up with a slight pout. Dan rose and pulled Julie in his arms, "Relax, baby, I'll be fine," he reassured her as he kissed her.

David got to his feet, "I'll go and make sure everything's good to go." He finished his coffee and then exited through the back door. Dan went over to the door to follow him but with a restraining hand, Julie detained him.

"Dan, I want to talk to you a minute, okay?"

"Sure, baby. What's up?" Dan wanted to know.

Julie took a deep breath, "I went over the books for the winter and I saw that it's really going to be tight. Are you sure we'll have enough to get through to foaling time?" she asked worriedly.

Dan chuckled, "We'll be fine, honey. I went over the books too and it'll be tight but we can make it."

Julie looked dubious, "I hope so Dan. You know, Christmas is coming up." She moved to the door and looked out, "Maybe we should've taken Gino LaRocca up on his offer," she said thoughtfully.

Dan did a double take and raised his eyebrows in surprise, "Weren't you the one who informed me about LaRocca's former ties to organized crime? As an ex-cop, Julie I'm surprised at you."

Julie set her pretty chin stubbornly, "I was just making a suggestion. It would help us financially." She turned away from Dan abruptly. With a sigh, Dan went over to his wife who with her back toward him appeared to be exasperated. He gently turned her around to face him then took her chin in his hand and lifted her head so she could make eye contact with him.

"Look, sunshine, this ranch has belonged to my family since my daddy bought it way back in 1932. And even though we've hit kind of lean times lately, we will make it. Ol' Red is going to do well in the spring competitions and we've got five new foals on the way already sold. So don't fret about it, okay?" He planted a kiss on the tip of her nose.

Julie gave him a reluctant grin, "Okay." Satisfied, Dan turned and headed out the door.

While Dan was in discussion with Julie, David had headed into the main shed behind the bunkhouse. He made his way to the back of the shed where the heavy-duty ladder was stored. Kneeling, he carefully examined the rungs, paying special attention to the top rungs. With a slight smile and a satisfied nod, David hoisted the ladder on his shoulder and brought it out the shed.

Hank Travis, a middle aged but solidly built man with sandy hair and the head hand at the ranch met him at the door. He tossed his head at the ladder on David's shoulder.

"Hi Dave. You bringing that to the barn?"

"Uh-huh. I'm going to set it up on the right side of the barn. Why don't you go get the shingles? They're in the shed." He continued to head toward the barn.

Hank went into the shed. . . .

Julie sat at the table with a sigh. She didn't know why but she had a vague uneasy feeling, like a premonition that made her on edge. She shook it off as she headed upstairs to help Hannah who had already begun stripping the beds. A half hour later, they were finished and about to take all the linen down to the laundry room when they heard Hank come running in.

"Miss Julie! Miss Julie! Come quick there's been an accident!"

Julie and Hannah dropped their armloads of sheets and hurried down the back staircase to the kitchen where Hank was on the phone, frantically calling for an ambulance. He hung up and Julie felt an icy chill in the pit of her stomach as she grabbed Hank's arm and asked sharply, "Hank, what are you talking about? Who had an accident?"

Hank looked at her. He was pale and frightened, "Mr. Dan did! He just fell off the top of the roof!" He ran out the door and sprinted to the side of the barn with Julie and Hannah close behind. Dan was on the pavement sprawled on his back, unconscious.

Julie blinked unbelievingly, "No, he couldn't have! He's all right, you're mistaken you'll see." She went over to him and knelt beside him, calling his name tentatively, waiting for his eyes, blue as a summer sky, to open. There was no answer and she was deeply afraid, feeling felt a sense of surrealism like this couldn't be happening, it must be a bad dream. But the wail of the ambulance arriving shook her into action. She began screaming and sobbing as the EMTs came forward to place him on a stretcher. Like a sleepwalker, she got up and followed, climbing into the back of the ambulance.

"Don't worry, Miss Julie, I'll get Melissa from the bus when she gets home and I'll stay with her till you come back," Hannah promised as the ambulance door closed. Julie nodded numbly as the ambulance lurched away, siren screaming.

The front door opened and Julie wearily walked into the foyer. She peeled off her sweater and tossed it carelessly on the chair by the window as she headed to the parlor. A single lamp was burning and Hannah was stretched out on the sofa sleeping. Julie crept over to the sofa and gently shook Hannah.

"Hannah? Hannah, I'm back," Julie said softly.

Hannah's eyes flew open, "Miss Julie! Is Mr. Dan?" she asked, eyes wide.

Julie lowered her head and stifled a sob, "He's gone, Hannah. They even flew us out to San Francisco General and they tried everything but…." She let it trail off as she gave into the anguish that was flowing. Hannah put her arms around Julie to comfort her. Suddenly they heard a faint rustling at the staircase. Julie jumped up and hurried to the stairs where she found a pale and frightened Melissa, sitting on the steps. Julie approached her slowly and sat beside her on the stairs.

"Mommy, where were you? Hannah said you had to go somewhere and she didn't know when you would be back. I was afraid you wouldn't ever come back," Melissa said, her eyes confused and fear filled.

Julie put her arm around her daughter comfortingly, "I'm here, baby. I'd never leave you."

Melissa gazed beseechingly into Julie's eyes, "Where's Daddy?"

Julie shuddered slightly as she braced herself to break the tragic news to her six-year-old. She took a deep breath and began slowly, painfully, "Melissa, darling, your Daddy isn't coming home. You see, Daddy had a bad fall so God sent an angel to take him to Heaven."

"Daddy's in Heaven now, Mommy?" Melissa asked gravely

Julie nodded miserably, "Yes, baby, he is."

Melissa lowered her head and said in a small voice, "Why Mommy? Doesn't God know that we need him?"

"I'm sure He does, honey, but Daddy was hurt so bad and God knew that the doctors and nurses couldn't help him so He brought him to Heaven," Julie explained gently.

Melissa's eyes, the same color as Dan's, filled with tears. She began sobbing and Julie enfolded her in her arms, crying herself for the loss of her husband and the pain of her child. Hannah stood at the parlor door and watched sorrowfully as the two forlorn figures wept freely and completely grief-stricken.

NEXT….LOSS AND LONLINESS