NEAR DEATHS DOOR

BY P&C PRODUCTIONS

CHAPTER 4

Starsky waited for her to finish and carefully picked up her up in his arms to put her back in the tub.

"No…not the water again…" Cassie pleaded with him…"Please."

"Alright…lets take your temperature then." He said as he turned around and walked back to her bedroom and sat her down on her bed…then he plundered through her dresser drawers and came up with another nightgown and a pair of her panties…"Here…put these on and I’ll be right back."

"Cassie was shaking from the cold water bath he had just given her and in her weakened state she barley found the energy to get her wet clothes off and put on the ones he had laid on her bed. She did however notice a distinct drop in her temperature, or so it seemed.

After a few minutes, he knocked on her door…"You descent?" he called to her.

"Come in…" She answered him "I think it worked…I feel a little better."

He walked closer to her holding a tray with more soup and a glass of water and sat it down in front of her. "Eat some more soup…you have to try to keep your strength up." He told her…"But first…let me take your temperature again."

Cassie opened her mouth and he put the thermometer in and looked down at his watch…waited for three minutes and removed it. "Well…it’s at 101

Degrees…but a little more medicine will take care of that…if you can keep it down…here take these." He said as he handed her two more pills. "Then you can eat your soup."

She did as she was told and tried to force her self to eat as much as she could the pain in her belly had become more and more distinct and was causing her allot of discomfort. Starsky sat with her for most of the rest of the night, helping her to the bathroom to throw up the soup that refused to stay in her stomach and brush her teeth before heading her back to bed. Her fever seemed to be a bit better but still higher than he would like. He wiped her face neck and forehead with a cold washcloth for awhile until she finally was able to drift back to sleep.

He walked into the kitchen and made himself a sandwich, poured him self something to drink and reached for the phone to call Hutch. After three rings he came on the line.

"Yeah." Hutch’s soft voice answered.

"Hey …watch ya doing?" He asked.

"Well I was asleep…how’s Cas?" He said as he sat up in bed and reached for the small alarm clock beside his bed to check the time.

"I just got her to sleep…she’s still not any better…we’ve been fighting her fever for the past few hours…Hutch I don’t know what else to do…I had to put her in the tub just to get it down." Starsky didn’t have anyone else to turn to and he knew that Hutch had had some medical training before joining the force.

"She can’t keep the pills down huh…well if you got it to break then you did alright. Maybe you should take her to a doctor in the morning…they have prescriptions they can give her to take care of the nausea and once you can get her over that…she should be alright." He told him.

"Yeah…I’ll take her in the morning…hey tell Dobey for me will ya." He added. "I may not be in at all."

"Sure…kiss Cassie for me…call if you need me." Hutch offered. "Goodnight partner."

"Yeah thanks Hutch…goodnight."

Starsky finished his sandwich and cleaned up the kitchen a little before turning in…It was around 11:30 when he turned out the lights.

Tossing and turning he found it hard to rest…but finally sleep came and he let himself fall deeply into it

Another Dream, the same vision as the night before…she came to him…held him close and kissed him. He was so drawn to her…like nothing he had ever experienced before…but he still didn’t know who she was. Clouds of pale blue…the scent of her perfume…same as before.

POUND…..Pound….Pound…steady but getting weaker…the noise woke him and the fuzziness over came him as he opened his eyes and tried to focus in the dark.. Struggling to get to his feet and open the door as he had just come to realize that it could be Cassie on the other side.

"Cas…" He said as he opened the door and found her kneeling on the floor with tears rolling down her face. "Oh…God."

She was dellerious with pain and crying uncontrollably…"Dave…Uhhh."

She cried and tightened her grip around her belly. "It hurts."

He went to his knees and grabbed her in his arms…holding her tightly as she cried. She buried her face in his neck and he could feel the warmth of her breath and the wetness of the tears on her face…then she opened her mouth and began to kiss him on the neck. He took it as a sign that she was completely out of her head and so… he allowed it. She needed to be comforted and he wasn’t about to push her away…and…he really didn’t mind it…he knew he should, but he didn’t.

As she kissed him…crying and breathing irregularly she began to move up his neck to his face…to his check and then…to his lips. He was taken by the moment, it wasn’t passion, but desperation that led her to do this…and somehow …he understood it. He was at a complete loss…should he push her away…he couldn’t… it was what she needed right now and he loved her …but, how did he love her? Not like this…this was wrong.

It wasn’t by decision but by lack of it that he allowed her to continue.

Without realizing it was happening…he found himself moving his lips on hers…it was sweet …full of love and pain…he could taste the salt of her tears as they rolled down her face…the most emotional experience of his life.

She released her lips from his and held him tightly crying out in pain and moaning. He lifted her up in his arms and carried her to her bed…still reeling from the realization of what had just happened to him. His mind was cloudy and his thoughts were so jumbled that he couldn’t think at all. He just held her for a few moments longer. Then he reached for her bedside phone to call Hutch…he needed him…to help him with her…this was more than just the flu…that much he was sure of.

He dialed the number and let it ring…four times before he answered.

"This better be good…" Hutch’s voice came finally.

"Hey Hutch it’s Starsk…I need your help partner…Can you come over?" He asked him.

"It’s three in the morning…Alright…I’m on my way." He knew that Starsky wouldn’t ask unless it was serious.

Cassie was still clinging to him and crying out…"It hurts…Oh God it hurts…Dave…help me."

"I’m here…Cas…I won’t leave you …I promise." He told her as he rocked her back and forth and prayed for Hutch to hurry.