‘Concrete Blocks and Cars Don’t Mix’ - by Stephanie White

“Starsky, Hutchinson, my office. Now!” Captain Harold Dobey snapped at his two detectives.

The two partners looked at each other and shrugged as they headed into their Captain’s office. Hutch watched his partner carefully. It had only been a week since Starsky was taken off of desk duty and put back on active duty after being shot by Gunther. Starsky stood up stiffly and stretched his muscles gently before heading into Dobey’s office.

“You doin’ okay, Starsk?” The blond detective had been in ‘mother hen’ mode ever since Starsky got out of the hospital. Now that his partner was back on duty, Hutch was having trouble letting go of his inner Jewish mother.

Starsky nodded his curly head. “For the twentieth time today Hutch; I’m fine.”

“You sure? You look a little stiff there.”

“Better lookin’ a little stiff than bein’ a stiff.” Starsky said with a grin. Then, when he noticed Hutch’s expression, “Hey, I was just jokin’, Blintz! I gotta joke or I’ll go nuts. If I can joke about it, it ain’t quite as hard facin’ the streets again.”

“It wasn’t very funny to me, Starsk. I guess I’m still having a little trouble joking over it.”

“You either gotta laugh or cry. Laughing feels better.” Starsky said as they started walking again into their Captain’s office.

“You wanted to see us Cap’n?” asked Hutch as he watched Starsky ease himself into a chair before sitting down himself.

Dobey nodded. “You boys won’t believe this, but I need one of you to pick up a couple of guys from the airport.”

Starsky and Hutch looked at each other, then back at their Captain.

“Cap’n, you gotta be kidding!” said an incredulous Starsky.

Dobey shook his head. “Nope. A couple of DEA agents are coming in from Washington D.C. for a seminar on cracking down on drug dealers in this city.”

“I heard about that seminar,” said Hutch. “They’re going to talk about Colombia and connections and all that, right?”

Dobey nodded. “That’s right, I’ll be attending it myself. There is one catch to this assignment, though.”

Starsky rolled his violet-blue eyes. “Okay, I’ll bite. What’s the catch?”

“Due to a mix-up with their travel agency, they’re coming into San Francisco airport in about 5 hours.”

“Typical government screw-ups!”

“Watch it Starsky.” Dobey warned.

“Cap’n, it’s nearly 400 miles one way to San Francisco. That’s a helluva drive to do in a day. And why do we get the honor of picking them up? Can’t they rent a car?”

“It’s not in their budget.” Said Dobey sarcastically. “Besides, we’re the ones hosting this seminar. We’ve got to play the gracious hosts.”

“Gracious hosts my…”

“Starsky!”

“…my goodness, of course it’s only natural that we should travel 800 miles in a day for our friends, the Feds!”

Starsky looked over and winked at Hutch who was desperately trying to keep a straight face in the presence of his commanding officer and failing miserably.

“I know, Hutch. It is stupid. Because of one stupid bureaucratic screw-up, I lose a couple of detectives on the streets for a day.”

Starsky and Hutch looked at each other. Hutch was the first one to speak.

“Um…Cap’n? It’s nearly one o’clock in the afternoon. They’ll be in about six, right? There’s no way I can make it to San Francisco in time to meet their plane!”

Dobey nodded. “I was actually going to send Starsky.”

“Cap’n Dobey, Starsky can’t make a drive like that yet!” said ‘Mama’ Hutch. “Why send only him? Why not both of us?”

“I can speak for myself, Hutch.” Starsky said as he nudged his partner. “Why send only me? Why not both of us?”

“I’m sending you Starsky because since you’ve been on desk duty and light duty, you’ve been driving me crazy! There’s plenty of paperwork to keep Hutch busy. This is a simple assignment and it’ll get you the hell out of here!”

Hutch looked at his partner. “He’s got a point, Starsk. You have been going a little stir-crazy lately.” He then looked at Dobey. “But still, he can’t make a drive that long on his own!”

Starsky opened his mouth to protest, but then changed his mind. Instead, he said, “Much as I hate to admit it, he’s right. ‘Sides, the Torino needs a new alternator. I ain’t takin’ her that far until I get one.”

Dobey opened a desk drawer and handed him an airline ticket. “One way to San Francisco. You’ll rent a car to drive back and then the agents will have a car to drive while they’re here.”

“You mean I gotta rent them a car?”

“I’m afraid so.” Said Dobey with a rueful smile. “They don’t have it in their budget to rent a car, but the Chief says we have it in ours. We need one of our men to sign the car out to the department account.”

Starsky took the airline ticket and looked at it as though it was a dead weasel on a stick and he had just been told it was a Popsicle.

“You’re flight leaves in an hour. If you don’t hit any traffic tie-ups on the way back, you should be able to drop them off at their hotel by midnight tonight.”

Starsky sighed. “Whaddaya say, Blondie?”

Hutch shrugged. “Seems simple enough. You gonna be okay for a six hour drive?”

Starsky nodded. “Yeah. I’ll live.”

“Okay. I guess I shouldn’t worry. You couldn’t get into too much trouble picking someone up at the airport.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The two agents arrived on time and Starsky had only had to wait a couple of hours for them. Once they arrived, they went to rent the car. After everyone planning to drive the car had shown their driver’s licenses and Starsky bought the extra insurance offered (hey, if the department’s paying, after all…), they were on their way.

Starsky grinned as he got into the driver’s seat of the late model LTD.

‘This is what Hutch’s car is supposed to be like!’ he thought to himself. ‘It’s even a better color. I’ve always liked navy blue on these cars.’

Starsky looked at the two agents in the car with them. Marie Howard and Tony Martin were your typical federal agents. Starsky looked at them in their suits and patent leather shoes and then at himself in tattered jeans and Adidas sneakers. He couldn’t help smiling at the difference as he maneuvered out of the airport and onto the freeway.

“So, this your first time in California?” he asked Marie who was sitting in the passenger seat.

“I’ve been here before, but I don’t think Tony has. Have you?” She turned to ask the dark haired man sitting in the back seat.

“Nope, this is my first time. I hope we get a little time to sightsee while we’re here. I promised my kids I’d bring them souvenirs.”

“The conference doesn’t start until Saturday. We’ve got all day tomorrow. Detective Starsky? Would you be able to tell me some good places to take him?”

Starsky gave her one of his famous lopsided grins (patent pending). “Tell you what, I got the day off. You guys seem a lot more normal than I was expectin’ a couple of feds to be. I’ll take you around myself.”

Marie arched one eyebrow, “Exactly how abnormal were you expecting us to be?”

“You know the stereotype. Stiff, never smiling, always in a suit and sunglasses. By the way, you can call me Dave.”

“Well Dave,” she said. “You’ve just described the Secret Service to a tee. We’re the DEA. We’ve got all the undercover stuff. We have to look and act normal – it’s in the job description.”

Starsky laughed and started to say something else when all hell broke loose.

As they were driving, a large piece of concrete was hurled from an overpass into the windshield of the LTD. The glass shattered and Starsky lost control of the car for a brief second. That was all it took.

The car rolled up an embankment at 65 miles an hour and flipped several times on its way back down to the highway where a semi that was unable to stop hit the back of the car and sent it spinning into the ditch in the center of the divided highway.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Hutch was sitting at his desk working on his reports when he suddenly felt dizzy. He grabbed the desk to keep himself from falling off the chair. He looked at the clock. It was 6:45. He realized that he had skipped lunch that day.

He smiled to himself as he realized he was just hungry. He got up and headed for the cafeteria.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“Okay, what have we got?” asked Doctor Ted Whitley, head trauma surgeon at San Francisco General Hospital.

“MVA – car vs. concrete block thrown from an overpass and 18-wheeler. Two fatalities and one seriously injured. They’re bringing him in via Life Flight. ETA is 2 minutes. The semi driver is coming in via ambulance. ETA for him is 10 minutes.”

Whitley whistled softly. “Okay, lets head up to the roof to meet the ‘copter. Page Dr. Thompson for the semi driver.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

It was nearly 9:30 by the time Hutch finished his paperwork. He put the cover back on the typewriter and stood up to put his jacket on. As he was halfway to the door, the telephone rang. He took two more steps toward the door, when a little voice in his head told him that he needed to answer it.

“Detective Hutchinson.” He said impatiently.

“Is this Ken Hutchinson?” said a female voice on the other end of the line.

“Yes it is. Can I help you?”

“Detective Hutchinson, I’m afraid I have some bad news. My name is Cathy Ryan. I’m a nurse at San Francisco General Hospital. You were listed as next of kin for David Starsky. Do you know him?”

Next of kin? Hutch paled and his knees refused to hold him up any longer. He fell into his chair, eyes wide with fear.”

Dobey chose that moment to leave the office as well. As he came out of the office he saw Hutch fall into the chair. He looked at his detective quizzically.

“Yes, I know him.” Hutch answered.

“I’m afraid Mr. Starsky has been in an accident.”

“What happened? How is he? Is he alive? Tell me!”

“Apparently someone threw a concrete block off an overpass. It shattered his windshield and sent the car out of control. It rolled a couple of times before the semi hit it.”

“Semi?” Hutch whispered. Dobey had come over and sat down in Starsky’s chair. He looked at the terror in the blue eyes of his detective and got a very bad feeling in his gut.

“Yes. The other two people in the car were killed. Mr. Starsky is still alive. He’s just been taken up to surgery. The ER doctors finally got him stabilized enough to take him up a few minutes ago.”

“When did this happen?”

“About quarter to six.”

Hutch remembered his dizzy spell. “And I thought I was just hungry.” He muttered to himself.

“I beg your pardon?”

“Nothing. This happened over four hours ago and you’re just calling me now?”

“We’re really short handed tonight. This was the first chance we’ve had to really look at his I.D.”

Hutch sighed impatiently. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

Hutch hung up the phone and looked at Dobey. “I have to get to San Francisco tonight.”

Dobey said one word. “Starsky?”

“Car accident. He’s in surgery now.”

“I’ll drive you to the airport. Let’s go.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“What do you mean you can’t rent me a car without a reservation? I didn’t have time to make a reservation. That’s what I meant when I said this was an emergency. Emergencies don’t give you time for reservations!” Hutch was at his wits end. It had taken two hours to find a flight to San Francisco, an hour to fly and so far over half an hour to not find a rental car.

“I’m sorry sir. There are several large conventions going on in town this weekend. All of our cars in stock are spoken for. You might try another rental company.”

Hutch swallowed the invective he was going to hurl at this unfortunate woman. It wasn’t her fault she couldn’t rent him a car. It wasn’t her fault that she told him what every other rental place had already told him. He turned and stalked off to find a cab.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The emergency room had calmed down considerably by the time Hutch arrived. He ran over to the registration desk and knocked on the top surface to get some attention. A nurse turned around and scowled at him. It had been a long night and her shift was almost over. This blond man had a look in his eyes that told her that he wasn’t going to be easy to deal with.

“Yes?”

“I’m looking for David Starsky. He was brought here after a car accident. I’m Ken Hutchinson. You called me.”

The nurse sighed and started looking through her records. Finally, she pulled one up. “Ah yes, Starsky. Are you family?”

“Yes.” Came the answer without hesitation.

“Mr. Starsky was taken up to surgery several hours ago. I don’t know if he’s out yet or not.”

“Could you find out?”

She was about to tell him to go up to the surgery waiting room and deal with it until she saw the fear and desperation in his ice-blue eyes. She sighed and picked up the phone.

“Yeah, Tracy? It’s Eileen. You guys got a guy up there a few hours ago, David Starsky. He still there or you find a room for him? Yeah, I’ll hold.”

She looked at Hutch, put her mouth over the receiver and said, “She’s checking.”

Hutch nervously drummed his fingers on the desk until he noticed the nurse looking crossly at him. He stopped and started running his fingers through his hair.

“Yeah Tracy. What’s that? Okay. His family is here. I’ll send him up to you. He’s tall, blond with blue eyes. You won’t be able to miss him. Yeah. Thanks Tracy. I’ll talk to you later.”

“He’s still in surgery. Go down that hallway, through the lobby. Take the first right past the cafeteria and that’ll take you to the correct elevators. He’s on the fifth floor. A nurse named Tracy will meet you up there.”

She barely caught his ‘thank you’ as he took off running for the elevator.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Tracy Davis was nearly run over by the frightened detective as he bolted out of the elevator. He stopped just short of standing on her feet.

“You must be here for Mr. Starsky. I’m Tracy Davis. Let’s go into the family waiting room and I can fill you in.”

Hutch followed the pretty young nurse. As they sat down in the waiting room, he remembered that he hadn’t told her his name yet.

“I’m Ken Hutchinson. How is he doing?”

She smiled gently at him. “He’s still in surgery. I’m not sure how he’s doing so far. I only know how he was when he came up and that was not good.”

“When they called me, he was just going into surgery. It’s been nearly six hours! How long is it supposed to take?”

She shrugged. “As long as it takes. He was in pretty bad shape when he came up here. He had several broken ribs and both lungs collapsed. He’s broken both of his legs and his right arm. There was internal bleeding and the doctor wasn’t sure if it was from his liver or spleen. He’s got a severe concussion and they might have to insert a shunt to relieve pressure on the brain. There were also glass fragments in his eyes from the shattered windshield as well as multiple lacerations and abrasions.”

Hutch listened to this impressive list of injuries with a heavy heart. How could Starsky’s body stand so much trauma after all it has been through recently? He was suddenly aware that the nurse seemed to be expecting an answer of some kind.

“I beg your pardon?”

“I was asking if you knew his medical history. We noticed considerable scarring on his chest and back. It seemed to be a recent thing. Do you know what happened?”

Hutch shuddered at being forced to relive that fateful day in the garage. “We’re police officers. Someone took out a hit on us. He was shot in the chest. He’s only just been cleared for active duty! This was supposed to be an easy assignment! Pick them up at the airport! That’s all! How could this happen?”

Tracy was looking at him sympathetically. She could see that he really cared for his partner and that this was extremely hard on him. As she was about to speak, another family entered the waiting room. She looked at him. He looked ready to self-destruct. She could tell that he needed a little more privacy than the family waiting room could provide. She got an idea.

“Mr. Hutchinson, come with me.” She stood up and motioned for him to follow her. He followed like a puppy on a leash.

She took him upstairs to the ICU wing. She checked the records for a moment and then led him into an empty room.

“This will be Mr. Starsky’s room when he comes out of recovery. Why don’t you wait here? When they bring him up, I’ll come back to get you out of here while they get him settled and then you’ll be able to see him.”

Hutch looked around the small room. It was a private room, he noted with approval. He shuddered at all the monitors and equipment in the room. He knew that in a very short time, his partner would be hooked up to most of this stuff, fighting for his life - a fight that his doctors didn’t think he’d be able to fight again. He sat down in one of the chairs in the room and put his feet up on another. Finally, as he stopped moving and his mind caught up with him, he sat in the chair and sobbed.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“Mr. Hutchinson? Mr. Hutchinson? Can you wake up for me?”

Hutch opened his eyes to find Tracy standing over him. She gave him a smile.

“He made it through surgery. They’ll be bringing him up in about five minutes. You need to be out of here while they get him settled and hooked up.”

“He’s alive?” Hutch scarcely dared to believe his ears.

“It was touch and go for a while. I understand they nearly lost him a couple of times on the table, but he’s a fighter. Come on, you must be hungry. My shift is about over, why don’t you let me buy you breakfast? The cafeteria here does a mean dry cereal with milk!” she smiled at him.

Hutch allowed himself to smile a bit at her little joke. “What time is it?”

“It’s nearly eight.”

“He’s been in surgery that long?”

“No, he’s been in recovery for a few hours too.”

“Oh.”

“Look, you’ve got a couple of hours at least until you’ll be able to see him. They’ve got to get him into bed and all the proper equipment hooked up and see that he’s stable. Why don’t you go home and have a shower, maybe a shave. Get a bit of rest.”

“I can’t go home. Home is in LA. I don’t even have a hotel room yet. Although, there’s almost no point. Once he’s settled, I’m not leaving him.”

She smiled. “I’ve got an idea. There’s a Hospice house next door to the hospital. It’s for families of people who are in the hospital.”

“Hospice is for terminally ill people. He’s not terminal!” Hutch snapped.

“Yes, Hospice is for the terminally ill. I didn’t say he was terminal. It’s just a place for people to be near their loved ones in the hospital while still being able to get some rest and decent food. I could call and see if they have any room and then you could go have a shower and a proper meal. If I’m gonna buy you breakfast, you deserve better than the cafeteria.” She smiled at him.

“Thank you.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Hutch put his overnight bag on the chair in the small bedroom of the Hospice house. It still felt wrong to be in the direct presence of Hospice, but Tracy was right. Here he could keep himself from wasting away as he waited for Starsky to wake up. He made a mental note to make a donation to Hospice before he left.

After a shower, shave and breakfast, Hutch definitely felt better. He called Dobey and filled him in on everything he knew so far. He gave him the hospital phone number and the phone number for his room at the house. After he hung up the phone, he went back to the hospital.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Hutch entered the hospital room quietly. The figure in the bed barely resembled the full-of-life partner he knew and loved. This was almost a dead man. There were wires and tubes coming out of every conceivable place on his body. His eyes were bandaged and there was a place on his lower jaw that had a bandage on it. Both legs were in plaster and his right arm was in a cast up to his elbow.

‘At least he’s left handed.’ Thought Hutch ruefully.

The only sounds in the room were the rhythmic hissing of the respirator and the steady beep of the heart monitor. Hutch moved the chair around to the left side of Starsky’s bed. He gingerly picked up his partner’s hand – being careful not to dislodge the I.V. in his arm. With his other hand, he gently stroked the dark curls.

“Hey, Babe. You had to prove me wrong didn’t you? I said you couldn’t get into any trouble picking up people at the airport. I mean, if you had to get into trouble, couldn’t you just get stopped by security for carrying a piece in the airport like normal people?”

“Mr. Hutchinson?” A voice from the door surprised him. He turned around to find a tall, lanky man in a suit behind him. “I’m John Green, DEA. May I speak with you for a moment?”

Hutch gently put Starsky’s hand on the bed and stepped out into the hall with the agent.

“What can I do for you Mr. Green?”

“I’m investigating the deaths of our two agents. We’re not sure if it was just kids playing a dangerous prank or a direct hit on our people.”

Hutch ran his hands through his hair in thought. “If I had to guess, I’d say prank. If it was a hit, the method was unreliable at best. There are too many variables to consider when throwing a concrete block off of an overpass. Getting the right car. Making sure the victims in the car were truly dead. Actually hitting the car. There would’ve been plenty of other opportunities to hit them when they got into town. It was just too messy to be a hit.”

Green nodded. “That’s what I was thinking too. I’ve been told to cover every base, though.”

“Any witnesses?”

“The semi driver that hit them says he saw someone on the overpass just before he hit the car. He doesn’t know if it was the person who threw the block or not. We’re trying to get him to remember what the guy looked like. Under the circumstances, it’s going to be hard to get a good description from him - he was too busy trying to stop his truck at the time. We’re working with local police to find some more witnesses.”

Hutch nodded. “I’d offer to help, but I can’t leave my partner – not like this. Let me know when you find the bastard.”

Green looked at the anger in the detectives blue eyes. He nodded curtly and turned to leave. He turned back for a minute.

“I lost a partner once. I know how you feel. Help him fight – he’ll need it. I’ll keep you updated.”

Hutch nodded sympathetically and returned to his partner’s side.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Hutch was nodding off in the chair in Starsky’s room when he felt someone tap his shoulder. He opened his eyes to see a man in a white coat looking down at him.

“Mr. Hutchinson, I’m Ted Whitley. I was the attending physician when Mr. Starsky was brought in. I also operated on him. Could we go somewhere and talk for a few minutes?”

Hutch stiffly stood up and stretched. Then he turned to his partner. “Hey Starsk, I’m just gonna go have a word with your doctor for a minute. I’ll be right back.”

Hutch and Whitley went into a small conference room that was used for doctor/family conversations. Hutch sat down in a chair as Whitley shut the door. The doctor came over and sat down.

“Mr. Hutchinson, may I ask what your relationship with Mr. Starsky is?”

“He’s my partner, my best friend. We’re like brothers. We’re each other’s only family in California.”

“Does he have any other family?”

“He has a mother and brother in New York.” Hutch didn’t like where this conversation was heading.

“You might want to call them out here.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean, Mr. Starsky is very critical at this moment. The night nurse noted the shooting in his chart. I’m thinking that’s why we’ve been having such trouble with him now. His body wasn’t completely over the trauma of that last attack. He’s having trouble gathering the strength needed to fight this thing.”

“Then I’ll give him the strength he needs!” Hutch said vehemently. “I’m not giving up on him and you’d damn well better not give up on him either! You’re talking like he’s already dead! I’m not letting him go that easily and as a doctor you shouldn’t either!”

“I’m not giving up on him. I’m just being realistic. His injuries were extremely severe. It was amazing that he even lasted through the trip to the hospital. At this point, I’d say he has less than a 40% chance of survival. I just think you should prepare his family and yourself just in case. Meantime, I’ll do my damnedest to raise those odds. Look, visiting hours are almost over. Why don’t you go get some rest and maybe something to eat? Either way, I think you have some phone calls to make.”

“I’m not leaving him! Look, please let me stay. He needs me! He’ll be okay as long as he knows I’m here for him.”

The doctor looked at Hutch and realized that his saying ‘please’ was just a formality. There would be no way he was going to leave his friend if it could be avoided. The look in Hutch’s eyes said the only way he would leave would be if Starsky recovered or died.

Whitley nodded. “Okay. I’ll tell the nurses you can stay. But you have to promise me one thing.”

Hutch looked at him expectantly.

“You have to go back to your place at least once a day for a meal, shower and nap. I’ll not have one patient turn into two because his friend didn’t take care of himself.”

Hutch didn’t want to make that promise. The doctor could tell that.

“If you don’t promise this, I’ll have hospital security force you into doing it.”

Hutch sighed. The staff at this hospital didn’t understand the Starsky/Hutch partnership. He had lost this round. He knew that. He nodded reluctantly. He headed back to Starsky’s room.

“I’ll start tomorrow.” The doctor heard Hutch mumble as he exited the conference room.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Hutch was sitting in the same position he had been all night. He stared at Starsky’s bandaged face. He held Starsky’s left hand in his right and his left hand remained tangled in the dark curls on his partner’s head. Every now and then, he would ask Starsky to wake up. Starsky remained stubbornly in his coma. He was startled out of his reverie when the door opened and a very familiar voice spoke his name.

“Hey Hutch. How’re you holding up?”

“Cap’n? When did you get here?”

“I got in a couple of hours ago. I came from the hotel. Have you been here all this time?”

Hutch shook his head. “One of the nurses got me into the place next door. I had to promise the doctor to go back there at least once a day to shower and eat something. It was the only way he would let me ignore visiting hours.”

“Next door? Isn’t that a…” Hutch cut him off with a look.

“Don’t say that word in his presence! I can’t even think about it. It’s just a place where I can go to keep from wasting away. I need to have enough strength for both of us.”

“Okay. I won’t say it. Why don’t you go back there and have something to eat and maybe a nap. I’ll stay with Starsky for a while. I won’t leave him alone.”

Hutch nodded. He leaned down. “Hey babe, I’m just gonna go get cleaned up. Dobey’s here. He’ll stay with you for a bit. I’ll be back soon, though.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

After a shower, shave and decent meal, Hutch felt a lot better. He had yet to lie down on the bed in his room, though. Any sleep he was getting, it was at Starsky’s bedside. Two hours later, he found himself back at his partner’s room. Dobey was sitting in the chair reading the sports section to Starsky. He looked up as Hutch entered the room.

“I knew he wanted to know how the Lakers game last night turned out.”

Hutch smiled. “Thanks, Cap’n. I’m sure he’s glad to know.”

Dobey stood up and let Hutch have his rightful place back. “I’m going to head back to my hotel. I’ve got some phone calls to make and I had to bring some reports to work on. I’ll be back a little later to give you another break.”

Hutch smiled gratefully at his Captain and turned his attention back to the man in the bed.

“Hey Pal, how’re you doing? Lakers do what you wanted them to? I haven’t read the paper yet.”

As expected, there was no answer from the still form in the bed.

“That’s okay, I’ll ask Dobey later. Still, you’ve got to wake up. If you don’t wake up soon, I’ll have to call your mother and you know what she’ll say. You don’t want to scare her like that do you?”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“Mr. Hutchinson?” John Green’s voice startled him out of his reverie. He looked up at the DEA agent.

“You get him yet?”

Green nodded. “It was a gang initiation stunt. The DEA offered a reward for any information leading to the arrest of the person who did this. We had witnesses coming out of the woodwork. All of them pointed to the same guy. We’ve got him in custody. Judge has denied bail since the victims were two government agents and a cop.”

“What’s the charge?”

“Murder 2. Assault with a deadly weapon. Vandalism and criminal mischief. Apparently, the initiation was to actually hit a car, not just toss something off an overpass.”

Hutch nodded in satisfaction. “I hope he goes away for good.”

“On a murder 2 involving government agents? They’ll lock him up so tight, Alcatraz will seem easy to get out of. And he sure as hell isn’t getting out in this lifetime!”

“Thanks.”

“No problem. Take care of yourself and your partner.”

Hutch smiled as the DEA man walked out of the room. He turned back to Starsky.

“You hear that? They got the bastard that did this to you. He’s gonna be put away for good.”

If Starsky heard, he wasn’t impressed enough to comment.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Hutch was asleep beside Starsky’s bed. It had been over a week since the accident and Starsky showed no signs of coming out of his coma.

Suddenly, an alarm on the respirator woke Hutch from his fitful slumber. Starsky seemed to be fighting for air. A nurse ran into the room and looked at Starsky. She shut off the alarm and leaned down to examine him. Hutch was frozen in terror.

“Mr. Starsky? If you’re awake, you need to calm down. You’ve been in an accident. You’re on a respirator. You need to calm down and let it help you breathe. Your eyes are bandaged, that’s why you can’t see. Please calm down.”

“Starsky?” Hutch said quietly. “You awake, Babe? I’m right here. You need to calm down. I’m not leaving you. I’m right here. Calm down.” Hutch stepped forward and stroked Starsky’s hair. Starsky calmed down almost immediately. His breathing returned to the pattern the respirator was setting.

The nurse looked at the two men. She had never seen anything like it. The blond man’s presence was more effective than the dose of Valium that she was preparing would have been. “I’ll go get the doctor.”

She left the room. Hutch was holding Starsky’s hand and stroking his hair – all the while talking soothingly to him. Starsky wasn’t sure what had happened, but he knew if Hutch was there, everything was going to be okay.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

One week later –

Starsky had just gotten off the respirator and the only times Hutch would leave his side were for restroom breaks or if Dobey came to relieve him for an hour or two. However, with Starsky awake for longer and longer periods each day, it was harder and harder to get Hutch to leave his side.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Another week later –

The lights were dimmed and Hutch was standing by as the doctor slowly removed the bandages on Starsky’s eyes.

“Hutch?” Starsky called tentatively as the doctor took the last of the bandages off.

“I’m right here, Starsk.” Hutch stepped into Starsky’s line of sight. “Can you see me?”

“Are you a sight for sore eyes, Blintz!” Starsky said with a grin. “You look horrible! You been sleeping at all?”

Hutch couldn’t help it. He was so relieved. He actually laughed out loud.

The doctor left the room as the two men embraced. Hutch held Starsky as tightly as he dared and Starsky held Hutch as tightly as he could.

Dobey poked his head into the room. “The doctor told me the good news. He also says you’ll get to go home in another week or two. I’ve already made arrangements for you to get a wheelchair when you get back until your legs heal.”

“That’s great Cap’n, thanks.” Starsky looked down at his one good arm. “I guess I’ll have to get used to moving in circles until my other arm is out of plaster.”

“You’ll have a chauffeur for a while.” Hutch said with a smile. “Just don’t get used to it. That cast isn’t gonna stay on forever.”

“Hutch! I can’t let you take any more time off for me! You can’t afford an unpaid leave anymore. Neither of us can.”

Dobey smiled. “It’s a new calendar year. He’s got some of his leave time back. I’ll juggle things to keep any unpaid leave time to a minimum.”

Hutch smiled gratefully. “Thanks Cap’n.”

“Yeah, thanks.” Echoed Starsky. “Can I just ask one favor, though?”

“Name it.”

“Next time you want someone picked up at the airport – tell ‘em to get a cab!”

End.

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