NEAR DEATHS DOOR

BY P&C PRODUCTIONS

CHAPTER 8

Doctor Sonja Van Schalm entered the waiting room to find both Starsky and Hutch half- asleep in the hard plastic chairs near the Nurses Station.

She reached her hand towards Starsky’s shoulder to wake him. As she touched him his eyes popped open and he squinted as they adjusted to the bright light of the room.

"She’s out of surgery." The Doctor told him. "But she isn’t awake…She has slipped into a coma because her system was so weak. Between the stress of surgery and the high fever which we are still trying to keep under control…

I’m afraid her body has shut down…except for her instinctive responses. She is breathing on her own…but… the longer she stays in the coma the more chance that she may never come out of it."

Hutch had been awakened by the Doctors voice and was now leaning forward in his chair…listening to her words.

"What about her appendix…was it ruptured like you suspected?" Hutch asked her.

"Yes…the poison that spread through her system is the reason for her high temperature right now…we have placed a drain in to drain of the fluid but she has Peritonitis… which is an infection in the Peritoneal cavity." Doctor Van Schalm went on.

"We are flushing out the cavity with a 4.25 ratio Dialysis fluid…but the infection is like a gangrene…very dangerous."

"Can I see her?" Starsky asked.

"Yes…for a while and then I have someone for you to talk to…an expert in comatose patients…She’ll answer all your questions." She told them.

Starsky and Hutch followed the Doctor to the elevator and up to the third floor…Oh God…Starsky was thinking…the same floor as her father…then as they got off the elevator and made their way down the hallway.

As the doctor stopped in front of the door to her room…Starsky and Hutch both noticed at the same time…NO…Not the same room…the same room that Jim died in…315.

"Starsky had a thing about numbers and wasn’t gonna stand for this…

"You have to move her out of this damn room." He said as he grabbed the Doctor by the arm. "For Gods sake…Her father died in this room just a few months ago."

"We can’t move her Detective…this is the only room available on this floor and she needs to stay in this area of the hospital where she will get the most attention." The Doctor explained. "This is the floor for critical patients…the Nurses on staff are the best we have." Then she turned and went inside.

"It’s just a room Starsk…I know it seems spooky but …it’s just a room." Hutch was trying to calm him. "Maybe it makes sense for her to be here."

"How’s that…you wanna run that one by me?" Starsky asked him.

"Maybe …I don’t know somehow…she needed to be here…ya know."

"I don’t like it…but I guess we don’t have too much of a choice." He said as he opened the door to follow the Doctor inside.

Cassie was lying motionless with a few machines around her…a tube in her nose…a tube running off the side of her bed…obviously the drain tube the Doctor had spoke of. Lumps under the covers around her.

"What are those large lumps under the blanket?" Starsky spoke up.

"We have ice packs under her arms…under her legs and a small one around her neck…to keep her fever down for now. The machine above her head holds the fluid that is being pumped into her cavity and the bag on the floor is for her drainage." She explained to them. "We have antibiotic IV’s running into both her arms…supplemented with nutrients to keep her strength up."

"But she’s in a coma…that means you don’t know when she’ll wake up?" Hutch asked her.

"Doctor Young will be able to answer that question for you…I can tell you this much…Cassie is gonna need your help to wake up…I doubt she’ll be able to do it on her own." Doctor Van Schalm told them.

"When can we see Doctor Young?" Starsky asked.

"I’ll send her in around 8:00 to talk with you" She said.

"I’ll stay with her…" Starsky added.

"I have to go now…I was hoping at least one of you could stay…there should be someone in the room with her at all times." She told them as she left.

Hutch watched Starsky as he moved closer to her bed. Her face was pale and her breathing was slow and deep. Starsky picked up her hand and held it…then he took his finger and gently pulled her hair away from her face. Hutch could tell that she was somewhere else…not aware at all of their presence.

She usually looked like an angel as she slept…now she looked so different.

Starsky stared at her face for a long time…as if he were trying to memorize it. Then he reached for a chair in the room and pulled it closer to her bed.

"I’ll stay too if you want …Dobey said I don’t have to be in today." Hutch offered.

"It’s alright if you want to leave Hutch…I’m not going anywhere." He told him.

"I’m worried about her too partner…we’re in this together." He said as he pulled up another chair and sat down beside him…and put his hand on top of his shoulder. "Me and Thee remember."