CHAPTER 8

BECOMING HUTCH

Captain Dobey parked the car and slowly, he walked toward the double doors of the hospital entrance. Half expecting the blond to be standing outside, Dobey grunted, the sound deep in his chest. He'd tried to warn the blond not to expect too much from his first visit. The captain was quite certain that somewhere along the path to David's room, he'd come upon a very disappointed Ken Hutchinson.

He then made his way past a new mother, a pink bundle in her arms. The captain thought back to when his now 14 year old daughter Rosie, was that size. He and Edith had been so happy the day they brought her home. Their older son Cal was 5 at the time and at home with both grandmothers. Harold laughed to himself as he recalled Cal's displeasure that all they'd brought home was a baby, a girl at that. But his disposition brightened considerably when he'd opened a present from his new sister. It turned out to be the fire truck he'd been hoping for. Harold stopped to remember that happy day as the mother and baby passed by him.

Shaking the cobwebs of memories out of his head, he moved on toward the snack shop. The cafeteria was always so noisy and during the first terrible days after the shooting, Captain Dobey would usually come here for a few minutes before going to ICU and later to David's present room. He sat on one of the counter stools and ordered a glass of milk and a piece of pie. He figured that by the time he was done, Ken would be getting off the elevator, ready to leave. Half an hour later, he made it all the way up to the 5th floor and still, no sign of Ken.

Captain Dobey reached the closed hospital room door. He stopped to talk to Bernie when an odd sound filtered out to the two men. They both stopped talking, listened and exchanged confused glances.

The captain pushed open the door but did not immediately go in. Laughing... He heard two men laughing. One of them was David Starsky. Dobey had not heard that sound in over 6 months. He moved quietly into the room but the two men gave no indication that they were aware of anything but each other. An exchange of such friendship and easy banter was an unusual but welcome occurrence to the police captain. He watched as the two men played cards. David's face was open and bright, easy laughter filling the room.

"Yeah, I know Huggy! Your friend will love working for him. If I ever get sprung from this place... hey do you play pool?.." Starsky glanced over Hutch's shoulder and smiled at his captain.

"Cap'n, Hutch was just tellin' me that his girlfriend got a job workin' for Huggy! I was tellin' him that Huggy's one of a kind!!"

"Well, you two seem to have hit it off nicely. I expected you to be sitting in the lobby sporting a black eye, Ken.. or should I call you Hutch?" The captain pulled up a wooden chair with upholstered arms and thick padded back and seat. It was a drab burnt sugar color but at least it was more comfortable than the standard plastic hospital chair.

The three men exchanged smiles and Starsky sat back against the pillows. He tried to hide the wince of pain that crossed his face but Hutch picked up immediately on it. He offered a glass of water which the dark haired man refused. He looked exhausted but satisfied.

Hutch remained standing by the bed. He gathered up the cards and placed them back into the pack.

"Sorry, I seem to have over stayed my welcome. You said you'd be going to therapy soon. Why don't I come back tonight, unless you think you'll be too worn out for more company?" He lowered the head of the bed and watched as Starsky's eyes began to close.

"No problem blondie. Just think I'll rest my eyes for a bit." Starsky's eyes closed but fluttered open a minute later. Then the feathery lashes slid back to rest on the black smudges of pain that spread out under the man's eyes. He was asleep in minutes.

Captain Dobey motioned for Hutch to follow him out of the room. Neither spoke again until they were at the end of the hall in the visitor's lounge.

"Ken, I am simply amazed at the reaction you got out of Dave. He hasn't been interested in conversation or playing games or even watching TV for months. Since he woke up from his coma and we had to tell him about his partner Jerry, he just hasn't been interested in anything."

Hutch made his way to the coffee pot, poured two cups and offered one to Captain Dobey.

He sat at the round table in the middle of the room. The daily paper was scattered across it and a few old magazines sat on end tables. No other visitors were present so the men made use of the quiet room to share their thoughts.

He had no wish to talk about what really went on before the captain had arrived, at least not yet. It was a difficult meeting but important. He didn't want to betray the trust that seemed to be forming between the two of them.

"I'm not sure I had anything to do with it. I think he's just ready to rejoin life again. Do you think you could arrange sort of a field trip for him? I'd really like to get him out of here for a day. I think that would do him a lot of good and we'd have more of a chance to get to know each other. I think he already trusts me." Hutch felt shy as he stated the request. He knew it would be awhile before Starsky would be well enough to be discharged. But an outing among friends certainly would restore his confidence and desire to improve physically.

He was also surprised at how easy it was to like the man. Both Dobey and Minnie had given Hutch the impression that Starsky was withdrawn and difficult to approach. Yes, the dark haired man was hurting physically and emotionally, but the two of them had connected in a way that was not easily understood. There was strength and passion in the harsh words and in the detective's eyes. He was finally ready to face his future. Besides, Hutch loved challenges.

Ken had accepted easily his new nickname,-- Hutch. It felt right, particularly when Starsky said it. David also seemed to like the nickname that fit him as well. Starsky was... well,... Starsky.

Harold Dobey shifted on the vinyl couch and stretched his arm across the back of it. He decided to divulge something else to the blond man. He felt it was important since Hutch seemed to truly care about the detective.

"I think there's some things you should know about David." The captain changed positions again and leaned forward toward the blond.

"His mother lives in New York, which is where David grew up. He came out here after being in VietNam. But he and his mother remained close. He calls her every Friday. Rachel came after he was shot and stayed until her son came out of the coma. At first, he was quiet and seemed to be glad for her help. But then one day, I came to pick her up to take her back to his apartment and she was crying. I thought there was a new problem but Rachel said he yelled at her and wanted her to go home. She stayed a week longer but he refused to see her again. However, he still calls her but won't let her come back." The Captain sat forward, playing with his now empty styrofoam cup, ripping chunks and letting them fall to the floor. He cleared his throat and continued.

"He has a brother but from what I understand, he's younger and in and out of trouble. Nick hasn't contacted David since the accident. I'm not sure when they last spoke. I've never met him and David hasn't wanted to try to contact him either. Just thought you should know."

He didn't want to give Ken the impression that David had no one in his life. The detective had already worked his way into the hearts of Dobey's two kids and his wife, Edith. He tried to keep a professional distance, but he sincerely cared about this young man in his police divison.

The Captain stood up and frowned at the white pieces at his feet.

Changing the tone of the conversation, the captain picked up on Ken's idea for a field trip.

"I think a day trip would be a great idea. I'll approach Dr. Stevens. He's Dave's primary physician. Perhaps it would even be considered part of his therapy. Starsky could give you a tour of Bay City." The captain seemed to test the nickname as it crossed his mind.

Hutch took a last sip of the bitter coffee before replying with enthusiasm,

"Great! I'd love to meet this Huggy guy. My friend just got a job there. Maybe Starsky could tell me where to find a new car. I don't think mine is gonna last much longer. I was lucky that I got to Bay City at all." The men continued to plan as they walked out of the room. Together they made their way to the elevator and to the parking garage.

"You know, I'm not sure David's the one to get car advice from. Wait till you see what he considers to be his pride and joy! It's... well, I'm sure that will be part of your tour!" The captain snickered and wiped his eyes as the laughter bubbled up from his belly and the tears of joy streaked his dark face. The captain didn't try to figure out if the tears were because the thought of David's car always made him cringe or if he was just relieved to have seen part of David that they'd all missed. He couldn't wait to share the news with his wife Edith.