Chapter Nine – We Meet Again
There was a knock on the lab door giving Judith and John just enough time to look away from what they were studying and see two familiar detectives walk through it.
"David! Ken!" Doctor Kaufman exclaimed in delight as she headed away from the microscope to greet them. "My goodness, what's happened to you?" she added as she saw the gash next to Hutch's hairline and chose to greet Starsky first.
"Watch his arm," Starsky cautioned as she gently embraced him in a hug.
"You, David, they said you nearly got killed," Judith said softly with a slight worry in her voice.
Hutch snorted as he gently shook Doctor Meredith's hand. "That's an understatement, he did die but luckily he came back," the blonde detective filled in.
"Charming," Starsky drawled. "Everywhere I go…" he sighed as he gently shook the older doctor's hand. "Can we leave that topic – like forever?"
"Sorry, buddy. I'm just glad to have you back is all," Hutch said sheepishly as he moved to give the petite female doctor a hug and a peck on the cheek.
"As for Hutch here, he decided it would be a good idea to take on a guy twice his size in a dark parking lot in the middle of the night," Starsky filled in.
"We need to have a serious chat about the kind of neighborhood you live in," Hutch returned.
"Now, we're here to retake the case from 'Hopalong Cassidy', Dave explained.
Hutch rolled his eyes. "Detectives Long and Cassidy," he informed.
Judith and John looked at each other and chuckled.
"It's not that it isn't nice to see you again but since you're here it must be a pretty serious case?" Hutch asked.
"Actually we came here for a seminar earlier in the week," Doctor Meredith explained.
"I've tried to call you, both of you several times," Judith said.
Starsky made a face. "Yeah, we've been a bit busy," he explained apologetically.
"Then we were approached by Doctor Phillips who asked for our involvement in this particular case," Doctor Meredith finished explaining.
"What have you got?" Not another epidemic I hope?" Starsky asked carefully.
"No," John shook his head. "Thankfully it seems to be the Dengue fever," he explained.
"Thankfully?" Hutch echoed with dismay.
"At first we feared it might spread by contact between humans or that it would be airborne but that's not the case," Judith added.
"Dengue fever is caused by a mosquito, well not in our country, but where Mr. Gordon has been. His rather complicated case of TBI…" John continued.
"Whoa, English, doc," Starsky cautioned.
"Traumatic Brain Injury," Judith filled in. "Daniel Gordon was involved in a serious accident a couple of years ago. The damages he received were extensive and he lay in a coma for a long time. When he finally woke up parts of his brain didn't work as they'd done before."
Hutch shuddered. "So the injury of the brain further complicated things when trying to set a proper diagnose for the virus?" he asked.
Judith smiled. "You're correct," she replied. "Since Tracy also developed symptoms we first thought it was something contagious and placed them in quarantine. However, the two strains of viruses had nothing in common and she was diagnosed with the common flu."
"Well, that's not nice either," Starsky said unhappily.
Judith carefully studied the two detectives standing opposite her for a while. "Why don't you two sit down before you fall down, you look all in," she suggested.
"No offence, doc but you don't look like sunshine either," Hutch replied with a twinkle in his eyes.
"It's been a long day," Starsky offered cryptically. "How about a compromise? There's a cafeteria downstairs, I think we could all use a break."
OOOOOO
Captain Marks set a brisk pace as he walked down the holding cells. A uniformed guard nodded at him as he neared the prisoner he had made an errand to see.
Pepe looked at him, gloated at him as he approached. "Come to release me, have you Captain?" the man asked cockily.
Mark's pursed his lips into a thin line of displeasure as he looked at the Latino. "You're free to go," he said curtly, his words clipped, hiding his disgust at the man he was setting free.
"I can't say it's been a pleasure," Pepe replied with a sleazy smile as he strutted past the Captain, following the guard towards freedom.
"But I can say it'll be a pleasure," Mark's said in a whisper, his lips curling slightly upwards, as he watched the man walk away from him.
Dobey waited until Pepe was out of sight before walking up to his colleague. "I really hope you know what you're doing. I dread to tell the mayor we had the man in custody, released him and got nothing in return," he said.
OOOOOO
Tracy Coressy grimaced at the bright light that seemed intent on invading her sleep. The sun shone brightly through the hospital window, the blindfolds having been up rolled. She felt lethargic and worn, her skin was hot and clammy but the sight that greeted her elicited a tired smile on her face.
Daniel was sitting at her bedside, hunched over a little in a light sleep.
Tracy reached for his hand and gently squeezed it.
Soft brown eyes blinked open and for a moment he looked confused until his eyes landed on her and he broke into a cautious grin.
"Tracy," he said happily.
"Should you be up?" she asked in a hoarse voice, trying to sound stern.
"Don't worry, I'm much better now," he replied.
An alarm bell suddenly rang in her head. "Daniel, how long have I been here?" she asked.
"Forty-eight-hours give or take," he said with a casual shrug. "And before you ask. No, you don't have the Dengue Fever, only an evil version of the common flu."
Tracy blinked in order to keep her eyes open then let out a yawn. A lot of things had obviously happened in those forty-eight-hours. "Is Doctor Kaufman or…Doctor Meredith around?" she asked.
Daniel's eyes skittered away for a moment, looking nervous.
"Daniel?" Tracy said worriedly.
"I'll call for them but…there's something I would like to ask you first," he said carefully.
The bed ridden nurse nodded, a faint upward curl appearing on her lips at the boyish nervousness the man sitting next to her displayed.
"I've never met anyone quite like you," he began.
Tracy rolled her eyes. "Remember I've heard a lot about you," she cautioned although her strained voice carried a teasing undertone.
Daniel chuckled. "I…guess I had it coming," he returned. "I've manipulated people, been selfish, and I picked up girl just for my own amusement. I didn't really care for half of them – they were playthings. The point is that I'm not that proud of myself the way I was before the accident."
Tracy squeezed his hand, silently encouraging him to continue.
"Then some of the caretakers started using me, well for my money and other things. Jo-Anne used me too but I let her and I even developed feelings for her. I saw in her eyes at times that she pitied me that I was just a handicapped man that needed to be taken care of – the best thing with it was that she was getting paid to do it," he finished sadly.
"Daniel," Tracy began put he cut her off.
"I meant no disrespect for the dead and I still can't understand that she's not at my side anymore," he said sadly. "I was thinking about her funeral arrangements the other day."
"Why don't we go through all that together?" Tracy suggested softly.
"I've never met anyone like you," he said again. "Are you this wonderful to every crazy guy you meet or your patients for that matter or am I just an exception?" he asked.
"I can't put a finger on it but it feels like we've known each other for a lifetime," she finally returned.
"Well, perhaps this is a little bold of me but I was wondering if there was any chance that you might want to take on Jo-Anne's job?" he asked hopefully albeit sheepishly.
"No," Tracy said seriously as her eyes locked onto his.
His face fell, disappointment evident.
"I don't want you to call it a job. I want to try and be your partner and if that means taking care of you – then yes, I would like to, as you say, have her job," she finished with a smile.
OOOOOO
Dobey looked up as he saw the familiar faces of Starsky and Hutch. The brunette was strutting down the corridor toward the duty room with a smile while the blonde was rolling his eyes at something and then looked at his partner in annoyance. They hadn't seen him yet and for a moment he contemplated whether or not he should make a hasty retreat from where he was standing in front of the candy bar machine or not. However, before he'd decided a familiar voice shouted at him from down the corridor.
Deciding to take the easy way out the captain appeared annoyed at the machine as the two young detectives approached him.
"Fat Lenny down in the archive whines about its being broken, I'm sick of hearing him," he explained.
"Pull the other one captain," Starsky drawled with an upward curl to his lips, obviously enjoying the moment.
Dobey glared at him, turning fully to face the curly haired man. "Are you accusing a superior officer of lying?" he demanded.
"Maybe bending the truth a little," Starsky replied innocently.
"Starsk, don't tease the captain on your first day back," Hutch said, containing his own grin by biting his lip.
Dobey couldn't muster his stern façade any longer, out of character, at least while at work, he chuckled slightly and shook his head. "I've missed you Dave," he said. "It's good to have you back, son."
Starsky grinned and turned to Hutch while nodding at Dobey. "See, I told you he loved me," he quipped.
"No, don't get me wrong. That doesn't mean I've missed your poorly written reports or your witty remarks around the duty room, or the chaos on your desk," Dobey countered seriously.
Starsky made a face while Hutch slapped his partner's back while grinning like a fool.
Dobey nodded toward his office, indicating that he wanted a private word with them. Within two strides all of them went into the room.
"Now," the captain began, "As of today, you're fully reinstated Starsky. That means that the two of you will once again team up as partners. You respond to your designated code Zebra Three…"
"Nothing new there," Starsky cut in.
"Almost like deja vu," Hutch replied.
"Cut it out would you?" Dobey said in annoyance. "That means that DC Rawlins will officially be appointed another partner. The assignments you two had will be transferred to him and his new partner."
"Got something better for us?" Hutch asked curiously. "I would have liked to tie up some lose ends."
"You will. I'm putting you back on the Jo-Anne Field's case and I would like for you to deal with the hospital staff when it comes to Mr. Gordon," he explained.
"Captain, I've had enough of hospitals," Starsky complained.
"If you'd stay out of trouble you wouldn't end up there," Dobey argued. "That goes for both of you," he added and spared a glance at Hutch who still looked a bit paler than usual, butterfly strips next to his hairline.
"So you have us on babysitting duty?" the curly haired detective asked with a smirk.
"You are going to see to it that Mr. Irish is behind bars and that the remains of the Octopus Corporation is shattered," Dobey said seriously as he gently swiped away the perspiration from his forehead.
Starsky straightened in the chair opposite Dobey's desk that he was currently occupying while Hutch cast a worried glance in his direction.
"Captain," Hutch began.
"You'll debrief with Captain Marks, he specifically requested your presence. Just promise me one thing – stay the hell away from the bullets," he said.
OOOOOO
To be continued
/Thank you for the feedback on the chapters posted ;)
