This was Starsky's first Dr's visit after being released from the hospital.

We had to wait quite a while for the Dr. and I could see just how miserably uncomfortable it was for Starsky to sit in that chair in the waiting room.

I had given him one of his pain pills just before we left the house because I was afraid that the trip to the Dr's would be rough on him.

At least the pain he still suffered from would be kept at bay for the time being.

But it was making him sleepy.

I looked over at him, I could see he could barely keep his eyes open. I sat down on the arm of his chair and pulled him as close to me as I could so he could lean on me........his head was now resting heavily on my shoulder.

God, he looked so miserable. I wanted to find a place for him to lie down and soon.

At about that time Dr. Kellerman's nurse, Maryanne who had been Starsky's nurse during his hospital stay came over to us.

She bent down in front of my partner. She could see he was almost asleep.

"Oh poor Baby", she said to him.

"I'm going to have to find you a place to lie down until Dr. Kellerman is ready for you.

She ran a hand through his curls which looked more like ringlets now.

He needed a haircut badly but he couldn't lean back in a barber's chair just yet.

(I made a mental note to talk to Samuel, Starsky's barber in the next few days and see if he'd come to the house and give my partner a haircut) Maryanne winked at me........she said, "Give me a few minutes Ken and I will make David more comfortable".

I thanked her and hugged Starsky close to me. His eyes were almost closed but he said, "Thank you, Pretty Lady". "That would be nice."

She kept her word and in a few minutes she had me take Starsk to a couch in the Dr's office.

We stayed there until the Dr. was ready for him. Starsky fell asleep almost instantly.

I just sat there and I watched my partner sleep.........and my thoughts drifted to James Gunther.  Even after all he'd done he was not suffering the way my partner was.

Oh, Yea, he was incarcerated allright, waiting for the trial.........there is no bail when the charge of "Conspiracy to Kill a Police Officer" was concerned.

But his jail cell was more like a "suite".

Some of Huggy's contacts had told him that the old bastard wasn' suffering much.

Sometimes money does talk.

One thing that I knew for sure, as God is my witness, I made a promise to myself and one to my partner that one way or the other James Gunther would pay.

I had to wake him up when the Dr. was ready for him..........

Poor, Starsk, his body got pushed, pulled poked and prodded and I knew the

Dr. was only doing what he absolutely needed to do, but still Starsky was turning paler by the minute. I knew that his sutures and wound sites were still very painful to the touch. His body was still a mass of bruises.

It nearly killed me to see my partner's face coated with a thin sheen of sweat and and he kept his eyes partially closed.

Starsky had needed me to help him off with his sweat shirt, he still couldn't raise his arms above his head to do it himself.

The sweat shirt and sweat pants had turned out to be the only clothes that were soft enough for him to wear.

He couldn't stand anything rubbing against his tender incisions and scars.

His jeans were out of the question.

Some of the incisions went clear down into his abdomen.

Dr. Kellerman was pleased with how Starsky was doing.

He told me, "Ken, he's really coming along fine but I can't give you a time table on his "healing", but I am confident now that he will get there".

That was something I really needed to here right about now.

I thanked the Dr.

We were ready to go home.

I helped Starsky get down off the examining table and helped him put his shirt back on.

He looked whipped.

All I wanted was to scoop my friend up in my arms and get him home.

But my partner is a very proud man and I knew he wanted to walk out of that office under his own power.

He leaned heavily against me and walked very carefully and slowly, but he was determined to make it out to the car on his own two feet.

We got in the car.

I wanted to tease him about his car.

I wanted so much to hear "My Dirtball" tell me the worse jokes imaginable........

God, I missed that.

I wanted the old Starsky back, but we had a ways to go.

But at the moment what he needed now from me more than anything else was gentle love and caring........These two things have always been a given and he'd have them always.

He reached out a shaky hand to me and I intertwined my fingers with his as we began to drive home.

He needed the contact with me. I was his support system.

I said, "Buddy, it's really going to be all right."

He looked over at me and in a voice that was barely above a whisper........

"I'm scared, Hutch, I'm so scared."

"Starsk, it's ok to be scared, you have every right to be, but I promise you partner we'll get through this and it'll be Like Always.........Me and Thee.

..............................................................................
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I stopped at "The Creamery" on the way home.

I ordered a vanilla health shake for myself and a rootbeer, strawberry,coconut, and peanut butter float for my partner.

(I had to repeat his order twice to the girl at the drive-thru, wonder why?)

Somethings just never change.

End of #1