‘A Moment of Distraction’ – by Stephanie White
“Ya know, Hutch,” said Detective David Starsky as he headed the Torino back to Metro to take care of some incident reports. “I think Smokey’s been really good for you. I ain’t seen you this happy in months.”
Detective Ken Hutchinson
grinned at his partner. “I know! She’s really great! I mean she’s gorgeous and strong and she’s
got a great personality and…I think I love her!”
“That’s really great,
Hutch! Have you told her yet?”
“I’ve been waiting for just
the right time. I’m thinking maybe
tonight. I’m taking her out for a nice
romantic dinner and then maybe some dancing and then…who knows?”
“Good luck – not that you’ll
need it. Anyone can tell she’s crazy
about you.” Starsky got a mischievous
twinkle in his eye. “Can’t imagine what
she sees in you…”
“Funny, Starsk. Real funny.”
Starsky just grinned at his
partner.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
When Starsky and Hutch got
back to Metro, Hutch found a message to call Smokey. He picked up the phone and dialed the zoo.
“Hey Gorgeous. I hear you called. What’s up?” Hutch smiled
into the phone. “Uh-huh…uh-huh. You’re what? Do you need me to let you go?
What do you mean that’s not what you meant? Oh…does that mean you’re…?
Oh, you don’t know yet. When
will you…you can’t get in until next week?
Okay. Yeah. No, I’m okay. You just sort of floored me for a sec. Yeah, we do need to talk about it. We still on for dinner tonight?
Oh, late meetings, I see. How
‘bout tomorrow night, then? Okay. I’ll pick you up at the zoo about six? Great, see you then…I love you. Bye.”
Starsky was looking at his
partner with curious violet-blue eyes.
“Somethin’ wrong, Partner?”
“Why do you say that?”
“Well for one thing, that
didn’t sound like a particularly happy call.
Another thing, you told her you loved her. Not that that’s so bad, but you said you were waiting for the
right moment. Sittin’ at your desk in
Metro ain’t exactly the best place…” Starsky stepped around and sat himself on
his partner’s desk. “So, give. What’s wrong?”
Hutch sighed and looked
around. “Not here. Let’s hit the streets again, and I’ll tell
you in the car.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Once they were in the Torino
and out of earshot of the station, Starsky turned to his partner. “Okay, what’s eatin’ ya?”
“Oh, Smokey just called to
tell me she’s late.”
“Late for what?”
Hutch gave Starsky a ‘you’re
kidding, right?’ look. Suddenly, realization
dawned on Starsky.
“You mean she’s pregnant?”
“She’s not sure. She can’t get in to see her doctor until
late next week.”
Starsky pulled the Torino
over so that he could give his full attention to the worried blond man sitting
next to him.
“What are you gonna do?”
“I don’t know, Starsk. I mean I do love her, but I don’t know that
either of us is ready to get married. I
don’t want to marry her just because of a kid, that’s not fair to her or
a baby…or me.”
“I know, Babe. She’s smart, she’ll understand that
too. I don’t think she’s the type to
use a kid to blackmail you into something you’re not ready for. She’ll be fine as long as she knows you’re
there for them.”
“And I will be. There’s no question there. I just…I mean a father! Me! I’m
just having a little trouble getting my mind around it.”
“You’ll be great,
Blintz! I can’t imagine a better dad
for a kid to have.” Starsky reached out
a hand and put it on Hutch’s shoulder. “Besides,
she’s not sure yet - you said yourself.
You may have nothing to worry about.
What you should worry about is that kitten of hers. How are tigers with kids anyway?”
“I don’t think Pippa would
take too well to a baby. I remember
reading somewhere that some big cat or other…I don’t remember if it was a
tiger…really hates kids. Well, except
as an entrée.”
“Would she have to get rid of
her?”
“Probably. Although, I don’t know who would take
her. If Smokey can’t find a home for
Pippa, she’ll have to put her down.”
“You mean kill her?”
Hutch nodded. “Without teeth and claws, Pippa can’t go
back to the wild or a zoo. It would
have to be the baby OR the tiger. I
honestly don’t think it would be safe to keep both.”
“Uh…Hutch? I hate to ask this, but Smokey would chose
the baby over the tiger, wouldn’t she?”
Hutch turned wide eyes on his partner. “Of course she would! I mean, she IS pro-choice, but I don’t think she’d…oh God, I hope not.”
“Hey Babe, I didn’t mean to
scare you any worse than you already are.
Come on, our shift is just about over.
Let’s head over to the Pits and I’ll buy you a beer.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
As they walked towards the
entrance of the Pits, Hutch said, “Don’t mention this to Huggy yet. I think we should be sure before we tell
anyone else.”
“Whatever you say…Dad.” Starsky ignored the glare in his partner’s
ice-blue eyes as he opened the door and ushered the taller man inside.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The next day, Starsky and
Hutch were riding around their district.
It was a hot, humid, overcast day.
The very air was oppressive.
Starsky was driving again (the LTD didn’t have a working air conditioner
– a necessity on a day like this).
Hutch had been extremely quiet all morning.
“Hutch? You okay, Partner?”
Hutch remained in orbit –
completely oblivious to his surroundings.
Starsky turned a worried glance on him.
After Hutch didn’t answer him a second and third time, Starsky pulled
over and put the car in park. Hutch
responded to the sudden lack of movement.
He looked around as if trying to figure out why they had stopped.
“Starsk?”
“You wanna tell me what’s
wrong, Babe? You were just a million
miles away.”
“I talked to Smokey last
night. We got into a fight. You were right about the tiger. She doesn’t want to give her up.”
“Does that mean that she’s
actually considering…?”
“I don’t think so…I don’t
know!” Hutch snapped. “I told her she was jumping the gun. I mean we aren’t even sure there IS a baby
to be dealt with. Anyway, wrong thing
to say. She seems fairly certain that
she’s pregnant and what is she going to do and I guess I wasn’t very
helpful. She’s scared and I’m scared
and I don’t think either of us were in the right frame of mind to be discussing
something like that over the phone.”
“It’s understandable,” Starsky
put his hand on Hutch’s shoulder and gave it an encouraging squeeze. “Look, there’s a florist on the next
block. We’ll stop there and you’ll send
her some roses or something and when you take her to dinner tonight, you’ll
apologize and talk everything out.
Okay?”
Hutch brought his hand up and
covered Starsky’s. “Thanks. I will.”
He smiled gently at the curly-haired man sitting beside him. Starsky gave him a lopsided grin and drove
the car to the florist’s shop.
Hutch arranged to have a
dozen roses to be sent to Smokey at the zoo before he picked her up that
night. Then he and his partner headed
back out to the car – just in time to hear the call from dispatch.
“Zebra-3, come in Zebra-3.”
Starsky jumped into the
driver’s side and picked up the handset as Hutch made his way out into the
street towards the passenger door.
Unfortunately, he was still distracted by his fight with Smokey and
thoughts of possible fatherhood to really be paying attention to where he was
going.
Starsky looked up when he
heard the tires screeching. He saw a
red sports car coming around the corner way too fast.
‘Damn!’ he thought to himself. ‘That guy’s gonna kill someone driving like that.’
That’s when he realized that the someone ‘that guy’ was going to kill was Hutch!
“HUUUUUUUUUTTTTTTTCCCCCCCCHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Starsky screamed, scrabbling desperately
over the car seat to try to get to his partner before the sports car did. There was no way.
Hutch looked at his partner
curiously, but he didn’t move. That’s
when he realized there was a car bearing down on him. He tried to move out of the way, but by that time it was just too
late.
The car hit Hutch with a
sickening thud. His body rolled up and
over the hood, cracking the windshield before being thrown off again. The force of the impact sent his body
tumbling over the pavement and halfway across the street, where a station wagon
narrowly missed running over the now inert form.
The sports car stopped for a
brief instant – as though the driver suddenly realized what he had just
done. Then he put the car in gear and
squealed off.
Starsky was halfway out of
the car when he remembered to call for help.
Once he got off the radio with dispatch, he ran over to his partner’s still
form.
‘Oh please, oh
please! Don’t let him be dead! God please don’t let him be dead! Take me instead! Please! I need him so
bad! Don’t take him from me! I’ll do anything!’ Starsky’s
mind was spinning. Terror ran through
his veins. He slid to a stop, landing
on his knees next to his partner. He
reached a shaking hand out to feel for a pulse. Starsky almost couldn’t touch him…he was lying so still…what if
there was no pulse? He took a deep
breath and touched his partner’s neck.
He was rewarded by a faint, thready pulse. He almost fainted from the relief of it. Suddenly, he was aware of someone standing
next to him. He looked up to see a
young woman standing over him.
“Excuse me? I’m a nurse. Is there something I can do?
I saw what happened. Have you
called for an ambulance yet?”
Starsky could only nod – the
lump in his throat prevented his voice from escaping. The woman ran back to her car and grabbed a black bag from the
back seat. Then she came running over
and began a cursory examination of the blond man lying in front of her.
Starsky did his best to stay
out of her way. He sat by Hutch’s head,
gently stroking the soft blond hair, whispering encouragement to his partner,
silently praying and generally just trying not to lose his mind.
Finally the ambulance
came. The nurse identified herself to
the paramedics and offered to ride in the ambulance to help if needed – an
offer that was readily accepted. Starsky
asked to go as well and was told to follow in his car. Reluctantly, he agreed. He realized a nurse in the ambulance would
be of more use than he would in keeping Hutch alive.
Lights flashing and siren
blaring, Starsky followed the ambulance to the hospital.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
“Hey Smokey! Someone sent you flowers!” said Meredith,
Smokey Bear’s secretary as she walked in with the long, white box. “I bet it was that gorgeous blond of yours!”
Smokey looked up from her
desk and smiled. She reached out and
took the flowers from her secretary.
“Could you find something to
put these in? I think there’s a vase of
some kind in the break room under the sink.”
Meredith winked at her and
headed out on her vase-hunt.
Smokey undid the ribbon and opened the box to find a dozen of the most gorgeous
red roses and a card with the word ‘Beautiful’ written on the envelope. She pulled the little envelope out of the
box and withdrew the card.
‘I’m sorry for last
night. Please forgive me? I love you.
See you tonight at six. Love
Hutch.’
Smokey grinned and leaned in
to smell the fragrant flowers. She
looked up just in time to see Meredith coming back with…a Tupperware pitcher?
“That’s a vase?” Smokey asked
dryly. Meredith just shrugged
sheepishly.
“All I could find. Those are gorgeous! We’ll put them in the pitcher and then you
can bring a vase from home tomorrow, okay?”
“Okay. What time is it anyway? I forgot my watch this morning.”
Meredith glanced at her
watch. “About 4:30. Have you ever considered getting a clock for
your office? It seems you forget your
watch about every other day.”
“I do not!” Smokey
snapped. Then, “every third day,
maybe.”
The two women looked at each
other and started laughing. Meredith
headed back to her desk as Smokey started arranging the roses in the pitcher.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Starsky was pacing a hole in
the waiting room floor. Occasionally,
he would stop and scrub at his eyes with his hands…as though trying to erase
the image of his partner somersaulting over the hood of the car.
The door to the waiting room
opened and Captain Harold Dobey stormed into the room. Starsky jumped when he heard someone walk
in. He turned anxious eyes towards the
door. He tried his best to hide the
disappointment at Dobey not being one of Hutch’s doctors.
“Starsky? How’s he doing? Have you heard anything yet?”
Starsky shook his head. “They’re still working on him. There was a nurse there. She nearly ran over him after he stopped
moving. She got the license number of
the car that hit him. They’re letting
her in the room with him even though she don’t work at this hospital. She promised to come tell me something
soon.”
“What happened? Didn’t he see the car coming?”
“The car was coming way too
fast. ‘Sides, he was preoccupied at the
time. He had a fight with his
girlfriend last night.” He
started. “Oh God! Smokey!
No one’s called her yet! What
time is it, Cap’n?”
Dobey looked at his watch,
“It’s nearly seven, why?”
“He was supposed to pick her
up at six!” Starsky started looking
frantically through his pockets for change for the payphone. He looked at his Captain. “You got a dime?”
“Dave, just use the courtesy
phone over there.” Dobey pointed to a
place just behind Starsky. He spun
around and saw a phone sitting on a small table next to a comfortable-looking
chair.
Starsky ran over and picked
up the phone. He stopped when he
realized he didn’t know the number to the zoo.
He dialed information and had them connect the call.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Smokey was sitting at her
desk fuming. The last time she checked
the clock on Meredith’s desk, it was 6:45.
Not even a phone call! Where the
hell was he?
Just then, the phone
rang.
‘It’s about time!’ she thought.
She snatched the receiver off
the cradle. “It’s about time you
called! You were supposed to be here
nearly an hour ago! Where the hell are
you?”
“Smokey?” Starsky’s shaky voice brought her to
attention.
“Starsky? Is that you? What’s wrong? Where’s
Hutch?” Smokey was getting a very bad
feeling in her gut (and it sure as hell wasn’t morning sickness).
“There’s been an
accident. We’re at Memorial
Hospital. Can you get over here?”
“Yeah, I can be there in
twenty minutes. Starsky, what
happened? Is he okay? Please tell me!”
“He…he…he was hit by a
car. I don’t know yet if he’s gonna be
all right. Look, there’s someone
waitin’ to use the phone here. Just get
down here, okay?”
She took a deep breath and
tried to calm her racing heart. “Okay
Starsky. I’ll be there in about twenty
minutes. Hang in there, okay? See you when I get there.”
She hung up the phone and
dashed for her car. Only to remember
that since Hutch was supposed to be picking her up at work, she had a co-worker
pick her up that morning. She swore
loudly and then dashed back to her office to call a cab.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Starsky was still pacing the
waiting room when Smokey came running in.
He looked up at the movement at the door. When he saw who it was, he walked over to her and enfolded her in
a comforting bear hug. She returned the
embrace and buried her face in his chest.
“Oh God, what happened?” she
whispered into his shirt.
Starsky guided her over to a
chair and sat her down. “The car came
outta nowhere. It was movin’ way too
fast for him to get out of the way.”
“What was he doing in the
street in the first place?”
“He was movin’ ‘round to the
passenger side of the Torino. His
timing was just lousy, that’s all.”
She leaned into Starsky. “We had a fight last night. He probably told you. I haven’t gotten a chance to say I’m sorry
yet.”
“He knows.” Starsky said gently. “He doesn’t blame you at all.”
“I know, but I blame me. I just need to talk to him. I need to know he can hear me.”
“Hey, come on.” Starsky said
gently as he pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and offered it to
Smokey. She took it gratefully and
started wiping her face. “He’s gonna be
all right. We gotta believe that! He’s never given up on me when I been hurt
and I ain’t give up on him now. Tell me
you won’t either.”
“I can’t,” she
whispered. “Not like this.”
“Atta girl.” Starsky said
gently. “You okay?”
She took a deep breath and
sat up. “I’ll live.”
“Good,” Starsky said as he
hugged her again - grateful to have something to distract him during this
interminable wait.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
“Detective Starsky?” a woman’s
voice came from the door. Starsky
looked up to see the young nurse who had been on the scene with him standing at
the door. Starsky gently nudged Smokey,
who had fallen asleep leaning on his shoulder.
She started and sat up, looking around as if suddenly remembering where
she was and why she was there.
Starsky stood up and went
over to the woman. She held out her
hand. “I’m Tammy Owens. I didn’t get a chance to properly introduce
myself earlier.”
“How’s my partner?” Starsky
asked as he shook her hand.
Tammy sighed, “I wish I could
give you better news. He cracked three
ribs – one of them severely enough to collapse a lung. His left leg is broken in three places. Fortunately, they were fairly clean breaks,
so they shouldn’t give him too much trouble.
There also appeared to be no spinal damage – he got really lucky
there. He’s got a severe concussion and
there was a considerable amount of internal bleeding. They’ve just taken him up to surgery to try to determine where
the blood is coming from and if they can stop it. They told me to tell you that the surgical waiting room is on the
fourth floor and that’s where you should go to wait for him to get out.”
“What are his chances?”
Smokey asked. Starsky turned and saw
that the young blond woman had come up behind him and had been listening to
every word Tammy was saying.
“S’okay.” Starsky said as he
noticed Tammy looking curiously at the young woman standing behind him. “It’s his girlfriend.”
“Oh. Well, his chances are okay if they can stop
the bleeding. He doesn’t have a skull
fracture – that’s something to be thankful for. They’re thinking either his liver or his spleen is damaged. If it’s his spleen, they can simply remove
it. If it’s his liver, the best they
can do is try to repair it.”
“So he’ll be all right?”
Starsky asked, scarcely daring to believe what he was hearing.
“The concussion is the only
thing left to really worry about. They
have to monitor him very closely for a while – make sure the intra-cranial
pressure doesn’t get too bad.
Otherwise, it could cause him to have a stroke.”
At the word ‘stroke’,
Starsky’s knees weakened and threatened to drop him right then and there. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on
how you want to view it), Smokey’s knees had the same idea. Starsky, instead of falling with her, caught
her before she hit the floor.
Tammy looked curiously at
her. “Is she okay? Do you need some help?”
“I think she’ll be okay,”
Starsky said as he helped Smokey into a chair.
“Just kinda a shock, ya know?
Thanks a lot, huh?”
“You’re welcome. I hope everything turns out okay. I have to go now. My husband and kids are probably wondering if the earth has swallowed
me up.”
“Yeah, you go on. Thanks again.”
As Tammy left the room,
Starsky was sitting next to Smokey who was trying bravely not to cry. He put his arm around her shoulders and she
leaned into him. He felt his own tears
start, but didn’t want Smokey to see how worried he was. Smokey, however was remarkably intuitive.
“You’re allowed to cry, you
know. You don’t have to hide it on my
account. I know if I’m worried, you
must be terrified. You’re letting me
cry on your shoulder. I, meanwhile,
have two perfectly good shoulders…no waiting.”
Starsky half-laughed and
half-sobbed at this. He hugged her
again, stood up and helped her to her feet.
They woke Dobey, who had fallen asleep in a chair in the corner of the
waiting room and had been completely oblivious to the nurse’s entrance and
exit. Then the three of them headed up
to the fourth floor surgical waiting room.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
After another few hours,
Starsky sat up and looked at Smokey.
“Uh…I hate to bring this up,
but when’s the last time someone fed that overgrown housecat of yours?”
Smokey sat up suddenly,
“Pippa! Oh my God! I forgot!
I gotta get home before she goes completely berserk! I…Hell!
I don’t have my car here.”
Dobey stood up, “Do you need
a ride?”
Starsky stood up. “Much as I hate to leave, Cap’n. I’ll give her a ride. Pippa’s a handful when she’s well fed. She hasn’t eaten in about a day and a half
by now. She at least knows me. Okay, she don’t like me too well, but she
knows me. She don’t know you and when
she’s hungry probably ain’t the best time to be introduced.”
“Okay, you go on. If there’s any change, I’ll have dispatch
get you in the Torino, alright?”
Starsky nodded and walked
Smokey out of the room.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
As the Torino pulled up to
Smokey’s house, she turned to Starsky.
“You don’t have to stay, you know.
I’ve got my car here. I can
drive myself back to the hospital after I’m done with her.”
Starsky gave her a pale
imitation of his famous lopsided grin.
“In your current frame of mind?
Hutch’d never forgive me for leavin’ you alone. Let’s go take care of your kitty cat.”
“You sure?”
Starsky opened his mouth to
answer when Pippa decided to let them know that she knew they were there. Starsky froze at the roar. Smokey smiled gently at him.
“I’ll ask again, you sure?”
Starsky took a deep
breath. “Yeah, I’m sure. Hey, maybe she’ll like me better if I show
up with food. You think?”
“That’s how I got acquainted
with her. The one thing she hasn’t been
known to do is bite the hand that feeds her.”
“Okay. Hutch’ll be thrilled if that cat decides she
likes me after all. Last time I was
here, I think he was more afraid for me than himself. And he was the one cracking the whip in her face!”
“Okay, come on. There’s a refrigerator at the back of the
house that I keep her food in.”
The two of them made repeated
trips to and from the refrigerator for Pippa’s dinner. By the time the big cat was fed, she was
probably fonder of Starsky than she ever was of Hutch.
When Pippa finished eating,
she went over and rubbed herself along Starsky’s legs in an affectionate
gesture. It was unexpected and Starsky
nearly went toppling over backwards, catching himself at the last minute. He could tell that the big cat seemed to
like him, but wasn’t sure how she would react if he hit the floor. As soon as he regained his balance, he knelt
down (putting himself at her eye level) and began stroking her from the top of
her head to the base of her tail. A low
purr issued from her throat that nearly caused Starsky to stop petting her and
run for his life – until he figured out that it WAS, in fact, a purr.
Smokey was watching the two
of them interact with a smile on her face.
“Hey, we really should be
getting back, you know?”
Starsky looked up, confused
for an instant. Then memory came
crashing back…Hutch…the hospital…surgery…
He gently disengaged himself
from the friendly feline and moved toward Smokey.
“Look, I’ll take my own car
back.” She said. “I’m going to need to leave on a fairly
regular basis to feed her and I know you’re not going to want to leave Hutch
again. I’ll be fine to drive, okay?”
“Okay, but I’m not leaving
you until you’re ready to pull out, then I’ll follow you.”
She smiled. “Thanks.”
As they walked Pippa back to
her pen, Smokey turned to Starsky. “Did
Hutch tell you why we were fighting?”
Starsky stopped for a
moment. “Yeah, he did.”
“Do you think he’s right?”
“You mean ‘bout finding a new
home for her? I dunno. I mean, how much do you trust her? Would you leave a kid alone with her?”
Smokey sighed. “I don’t know. I mean, I trust her with a lot of things, but…I don’t know! I mean it’s not like I’m getting a dog or something! This is a baby. This is our baby! But
Pippa is my baby too! How can I give up
one baby for another?”
“That’s a tough
question. I don’t have an answer for
you. I’ve never been in a situation
like this and I can’t imagine what you’re going through. I also know you’re not sure about being
pregnant. Why don’t you see if you
actually have to cross that bridge before you try?”
“Look, I’ve never been late
in my life! Here it’s going on a week
late. If I’m not pregnant, then what am
I?”
Starsky opened his mouth and
then closed it again when he realized he didn’t have an answer for that
question either.
They finished getting Pippa
settled into her pen for the night and headed back to the hospital.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
It was a scene out of ‘All
in the Family’. There were three
people trying to fit through a doorway that normally only fit one – two at
most. Starsky and Smokey reached the
entrance to the surgical waiting room at exactly the same time as the
doctor. After a few seconds of
maneuvering, the three people entered the room with little or no damage to
themselves or the door.
The doctor looked around the
room and said “For Ken Hutchinson?”
Dobey stood up from his seat
and started moving forward as Starsky spun around and said, “That’s me,
Doc. I’m David Starsky. I’m his partner. How is he?”
“Well, he came through
surgery okay. We’ve repaired the
collapsed lung and removed his spleen.
The internal bleeding has stopped and we’ve set his leg. Initial tests don’t indicate any bleeding into
the cranial cavity, so we can probably rule out the chance for a stroke. Now all we have to do is wait and see if he
wakes up.”
Smokey, Starsky and Dobey
exchanged worried looks. Finally Dobey
spoke, “What do you mean ‘if’?”
“Well, because of the concussion,
he’s in a coma. There didn’t appear to
be any real damage to the brain when we did the CAT scan. With any luck, he should come out of it
within the next couple of days or so.”
“And if he doesn’t?” Starsky
asked quietly.
The doctor shrugged. “Well, the longer he stays under, the less
likely it will be that he wakes up. I
wish I could tell you something more definite, but comas are tricky things.”
“I see.”
“Look,” the doctor said
gently. “Talk to him. Let him know you’re there. I am a firm believer that a comatose patient
is well aware of everything that goes on around him. He’s in room 214.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
As they got to the room,
Smokey turned to Starsky and said, “You mind if I have a moment alone with
him? I know that as soon as you plant
yourself at his side, you aren’t gonna move again until they discharge him.”
Starsky smiled gently and
nodded. Smokey smiled her thanks and
eased her way into the room.
It was really hard to see him
like this. He was lying very still
looking extremely pale and remarkably small in the hospital bed. The hiss of the respirator (needed because
of the collapsed lung) was the only sound in the quiet room. She walked over and pulled up a chair next
to the bed. She gingerly took one of his
hands in hers, being extremely careful not to dislodge the IV.
“Hey Love,” she said
quietly. “You know, if you really
didn’t want to take me out to dinner, you could have just called. I would have understood. You didn’t have to get run over.”
Hutch didn’t offer any
explanation. Undaunted, Smokey
continued.
“I never did get the chance
to say ‘I’m sorry’. And I am too. I am so sorry! We should have been able to discuss things rationally, and I
wasn’t allowing myself to think rationally.
“I guess I’m just
afraid. I mean, I always figured I’d
have kids some day and that I would have to face up to the fact that I probably
wouldn’t be able to keep Pippa too. I
just didn’t figure I’d have to face up to it this soon. I mean I’ve only had her about a year and a
half. I know you’re worried that I’d
sooner get rid of the baby than the tiger, but you’re wrong. I do love Pippa. But this child is the direct product of love – a love I’m not
ready to lose yet. Look, you’ve got to
wake up so we can talk about this, okay?”
Hutch calmly remained quiet
and still.
“Okay, I know; your partner
also brought up the fact that I’m not sure about being pregnant. Would you be mad at me if I said I’m not
sure I’d be happy if I was? I mean, I
do want kids of my own some day and the thought that they might be yours is
actually pretty appealing to me, but I’m not sure if either of us is ready for
this. I mean, we’d have about nine
months – give or take – to get ready, but you know what I mean.”
Hutch didn’t agree or disagree. In fact, he remained stubbornly on the
fence.
Smokey sighed and gently put
his hand down. “I’m going to go and let
your partner in now. I made him let me
come in first because I knew as soon as he came in; he wasn’t going to leave
you again. So I’ll see you later,
okay?”
She leaned forward and gently
kissed him on the forehead. Then she
straightened up and headed out of the room to find Starsky.
* * * * * * * * * * *
“Hey, Partner. You get anything worked out with
Smokey?” Starsky said as he came in and
sat down in the chair next to the bed.
He took one of Hutch’s hands in his and leaned forward with his elbows
on the bed. “Hope so. She’s really been beating herself up over
all this. See, you gotta wake up and
get this settled before she goes completely nuts.
“You’ll never believe this,
but I think that cat of hers actually likes me! Of course, I had food in my hands at the time. Nothin’ like a good bribe to get on a
tiger’s good side!
“How do we keep getting into
situations like this? Either I’m
waitin’ by your hospital bed or you’re waitin’ by mine. There’s gotta be a healthier way to spend
time together.”
Hutch couldn’t come up with a
thing.
Starsky sighed and listened
for a moment to the regular hissing of oxygen flowing through the
respirator. The sight of his partner
lying so pale and still was starting to get to him.
“C’mon Hutch! You gotta wake up! I need you buddy!”
Starsky felt his composure start to slip. He took a deep breath, collecting himself. “I mean, without you, Dobey’s gonna stick me
with desk duty. You can’t do that to
me!” His composure was just determined
to leave the room. “Please don’t leave
me!” he whispered.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Within a week of the
accident, the doctors removed the respirator and Hutch continued to breathe
well on his own. He still wasn’t awake,
though.
There was a steady stream of
people through Hutch’s room. Well, the same small group of people,
actually. Smokey was only able to take
a couple of days off work, so she usually showed up late afternoon/early
evening after she had been home to feed Pippa.
Dobey stopped by daily to check on his two best detectives. Huggy stopped by twice a day – partially to
check on Hutch and partially to feed Starsky.
Starsky meanwhile, hadn’t
left Hutch’s side except for the occasional bathroom break or when a doctor or
nurse kicked him out to give the comatose man a treatment of some kind. Occasionally, Dobey would force him to go
home and get a shower and change of clothes.
It was a given that any sleep he was getting was at his partner’s
bedside.
He was sitting in his usual
position (one of Hutch’s hands in his, his other hand on Hutch’s hair) when
Dobey walked in.
“Hey, Cap’n. How’s it goin’?”
“Okay, Starsky. How’s he doing?”
Starsky shrugged. “Same old, same old.”
“Thought you’d like to know,
they traced the car that hit him.”
“Yeah?”
“He tried to pretend that
he’d loaned the car to a friend and it came back damaged.” Dobey said bitterly. “He just couldn’t imagine how his
friend could’ve done that to his car!”
“Cap’n, you gotta be kidding
me!”
Dobey chuckled. “Nope.
But he didn’t count on that nurse on the scene being so observant. Not only did she get the license number, but
also when he stopped, she saw his face.
She placed him at the scene and we’ve got him in custody.”
Starsky turned to the inert
form on the bed. “You hear that,
Babe? They got that nut in the sports
car! Now all you gotta do is wake up
and we can call this a perfect day!”
Okay, so it wasn’t quite a
perfect day.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
A few more days later, Smokey
entered the room. Starsky looked up
when she entered.
“Hey Kiddo, how’re you
doin’?”
She smiled, “I’m all
right. You mind if I have a minute
alone with him?”
Starsky nodded and
relinquished his place at his partner’s side.
As the door shut behind him, Smokey walked over and sat down.
“Hey Handsome,” she said as
she took his hand. “I’ve got some
news. I finally got in to see my doctor
yesterday. We got a reprieve. No baby.
Just hormones playing tricks on me.
Hope you weren’t really hoping for a kid this time.”
“Not really,” came a weak
voice from the bed. “Don’t think I’m
ready for fatherhood just yet.”
Smokey, with tears in her
eyes, looked at the open blue eyes staring affectionately at her.
“Welcome back, Love.” Smokey
whispered as she leaned down to kiss him gently. “I’m gonna go get Starsky.” She said as she straightened up. She stopped when she felt him squeeze her
hand. She turned and looked at him.
“Are you okay?” He
asked. “You’re not too disappointed,
are you?”
She smiled, “No, I’m not too
disappointed. I don’t think I’m ready
to be a mother any more than you are a father.
I think that when we are ready though, we can try for real. But in the meantime, let’s just enjoy the
fact that it’s just you and me, okay?”
“I do love you, you know
that?” he said quietly.
She leaned down and kissed
him again. “I know; and I love
you.”
He smiled and she released
his hand. “Now, if I don’t let Starsky
back in here pretty soon, he’s probably gonna lose his mind.”
“Too late,” Hutch said
impishly.
She smacked him lightly on
the arm, “Behave, you! I’ll see you
later.”
She left the room and less
than ten seconds later, a jubilant Starsky came bounding into the room.
“Hey partner, welcome back!”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Three days later, Hutch was
being discharged from the hospital.
Starsky was there to take him home.
Smokey would be coming by after work.
“You’ve been awful quiet
today, Babe. You okay?” asked Starsky
as they drove to Venice Place.
“Just thinking,” Hutch
said. “I assume Smokey told you?”
“You mean no baby? Yeah, she told me. You okay?”
“Yeah. I mean I am relieved. But I also can’t help thinking what it might
have been like. It might have been nice
being a father, you know?”
“Hey, c’mon Hutch! You’re talking like you’ll never get the
chance again! The timing just wasn’t
right this time. You’ll get another
chance. Maybe next time, you’ll even be
ready for it!”
“You’re right, Starsk. There’s always a next time, I guess.”
“What do you mean you
guess? Of course there’ll be a next
time! You think I’m gonna let you cheat
me out of being an uncle? Think again
Pal!”
“Oh…you don’t want to be
cheated out of a niece or nephew that you can spoil rotten and then send home
to his parents, is that it?” Hutch
grinned.
“What’s the point of being a
favorite uncle if you can’t spoil the kid rotten?” Starsky asked, inwardly thrilled at seeing his partner
smile. “I mean, I can always send him
home when he starts driving me nuts.”
Hutch gave his partner an
evil look. “Just remember Starsk,
someday you’ll have kids too and paybacks are hell.”
End.