CHAPTER 7

She looked at him curiously as she read his last message.

“I don’t understand…” She said puzzled.

He wrote feverishly on the pad with the pencil as he tried to put his thoughts on paper. His mood was so intense now that he broke the lead tip off with his last word. He than tore it off and handed it to her quickly.

“My partner….Is that what you said?”

She read his note and smiled down at him as she touched him on the shoulder.

“Yes….your partner…he’s been waiting for you all night.” She told him. “Just relax now…you’ll see him soon.”

Hutch was frustrated by this point…with the lead broken from his pencil he threw it across the room and reached up to grab the pen from her front shirt pocket to try and continue with his line of questioning.

“Hey!” She cautioned him as his hand came close to her breast. She wasn’t expecting the sudden movement… but soon realized what he was after.

He scribbled out another message…this time in such a way that she could barely make out the words. He was in too much of a hurry to care about how legible his handwriting would be.

He tore off the page and presented it to her with an intense look on his face…

She took it from him and read the words slowly…having a little trouble…but managing to grasp the general meaning.

The expression on her face grew blank as she realized what it was that he was trying to tell her. She looked down at him with concern and took his hand in both of hers as she spoke softly to him.

“It’s alright….I understand.” She told him in a soft voice. “Rest now and I’ll be right back.”

He held onto her hand until she pulled it from him as she walked away.

(Why had she made such a strange remark?)

He was never one to just accept something that he didn’t understand and so the intensity of the moment would not allow him to relax.

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The nurse approached the desk and paged Doctor Sawyer to come to the ward immediately.

After a few minutes…the Doctor entered the room and walked up to him with a serious look on his face.

“How are you feeling?” He asked him. “Don’t speak…just nod you’re head.”

He moved his head up and down to indicate that for the moment…with the exception of his throat….he felt physically fine.

“You’re name is Ken….Does that sound familiar?”

He looked at the doctor with concern as he shook his head slowly from side to side.

“Ken Hutchinson….Officer Ken Hutchinson.” Dr. Sawyer prompted waiting for his response.

Again he shook his head in the same manner as before. Now forced to face the truth.

(He didn’t even know his own name.)

“You’re a police officer…You’re partner Officer David Starsky has been waiting for you here all night. Does his name sound familiar to you?” He asked with a worried look on his face.

Once again his head moved slowly from left to right.

It was a feeling of complete loss. How could anyone have no memory of life? He was a cop…a cop…the word was almost foreign to him. He knew what that meant but somehow he couldn’t picture himself in the role.
 
(Why couldn’t he remember?)

(What the hell had happened to him?)

A feeling of helplessness washed over him as he allowed it to sink into his mind. He tried as hard as he could to remember anything…anything at all…but there was nothing. No memories…none at all.

(How was that possible?)

“It’s alright Ken…” He said as he bent over him and placed his hands on either side of his head. “It’s just gonna take some time…you’ll get it back…maybe not all of it…but slowly…you should begin to remember bits and pieces.”

Hutch moved his head from side to side in disbelief as his tears began to fall down the sides of his face.

(He didn’t want to accept it.)

(He couldn’t accept it.)

He grabbed the Doctor by the arms and shoved him backwards. Then he lay back and pulled his arm up to rest in front of his eyes.

The Doctor just stood there beside his bed and watched as he wept.

“I wish there was more that I could do.”  He told him in a soothing voice. “We’ll be moving you to a room soon…and if you want to see him…I’ll send you ’re partner in. Maybe he can help you.

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Hutch didn’t respond to his intended question but continued in his own private little hell. After receiving no reply…the Doctor slowly made his way to the door. He closed it behind him and left him alone to pull himself together.
 

After a few minutes…Hutch finally realized that for now…he was stuck with it. The not knowing…the not remembering. But he knew he could get it back…if he tried. He had to try…there was nothing else he could do.

(But of all the things I could be….A cop?)

There was something intriguing about the idea.

(I wonder if I’m any good at it?)
 

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An hour later Hutch was taken out of post-op and placed in a private room. He didn’t attempt to communicate with anyone as he was transported. He was just glad to finally be moved to a place where he could feel a little less critical.

They removed his IV so he could move around with all the freedom he wished. But with the exception of the bathroom….where did they think he would go? He didn’t even know where he lived.

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Cassie and Starsky had spent most of the morning in the emergency room waiting area waiting for the opportunity to see him again…when a nurse finally approached them.

“You can see him now.” She said with a smile. “He has been moved to room 415.”

“Thank you…” Starsky told her eagerly as he rose to his feet and grabbed Cassie by the arm. “C’mon let’s go.”

Just at that moment…another nurse came running up to him with an urgent message.

“Are you Officer Starsky?”

“Yeah…” He answered her quickly.

“You’re Captain is on the phone…I told him you where here.”

“Oh Shit!” He exclaimed. “I forgot to call us in…”

“He sounds pretty upset.”

“I imagine he would be…” He told her as he followed her to the phone.

“You want me to wait for you?” Cassie called to him.

“No…go on upstairs and I’ll meet you there.” He said as he glanced back at her. “Tell Hutch I’m on my way.”
 

“Alright…” She told him as she headed for the elevator doors.

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Cassie stepped off the elevator on the Fourth floor and walked slowly down the hall…following the signs that lead her to his room number. She came upon room 415 and discovered that the door was slightly ajar. She knocked lightly and called out to him…

“It’s me…can I come in?” She asked in a friendly voice.

He glanced up at the sound of her voice and watched as she cautiously peered at him from behind the door. He had half expected his so-called partner to visit him. But they hadn’t mentioned anyone else.

She pushed the door open when she caught sight of him and approached him quickly. He looked much better now. She was so relieved to see him sitting up in bed that she threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly.

“Oh…I’m so happy to see you!” She cried as she held him. “I was so worried about you.”

(She’s so beautiful…but who is she?)

 He hadn’t a clue.

One thing was certain. She obviously knew him. So as not to cause her any alarm… he pulled his arms around her waist to return her embrace.

“I’m fine….” He said in a whisper that held barely an audible sound as she released him and looked into his pale blue eyes.

“Don’t you ever scare me like that again…promise me.” She said as she placed her hand on his cheek and smiled at him.

“I’m sorry….” He told her in the same soft voice as he smiled back at her.

She looked so young. She couldn’t be more than twenty or so…it was hard to tell.

(Could she be my girlfriend?)

 He wasn’t sure.

“Don’t try to talk…Just nod your head…You sure you’re ok?” She asked him as she noticed the look on his face. She could tell that his mind was wandering.

He gave her a nod and brought his hand up to rest on her face. She must be his girlfriend…why else would she be there?

She leaned towards him to give him a kiss on the cheek…but he turned his head suddenly…and planted his lips on hers.

Kissing her passionately.

Her eyes grew large as he continued to kiss her. He had never done it before. She didn’t know what to do.

(Should I push him away?)

 The unfamiliar gesture had caught her completely off guard.

As he broke his kiss …he looked into her eyes…to wait for her reaction. She just stared at him with her mouth still open and a stunned look on her face. Then after a brief moment she spoke to him softly….

“Hutch?”

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