CHAPTER 10

Hutch slipped into Rachel Starsky's room and walked over to the still figure lying on the bed. Rachel looked pale and fragile, a white bandage covering her left temple. There was a pinched look around her eyes that Hutch knew meant she was in some pain. The doctor had informed the family that Rachel should recover but he was unable to predict how soon she would awaken.

"Hey…" Hutch whispered, running his fingers through her dark hair that curled around his finger like her son's sometimes did. The image made Hutch smile. Starsky might resemble his father more than he did his mother but he had inherited his independent nature and his zest for life from her. "I'm gonna find out who did this to you…and I'm gonna make sure they pay for it."

With that solemn promise, Hutch left the room and went up one floor to the ICU to sit with his injured partner. The doctor had not been as optimistic about Starsky's injuries. They were concerned about the possibility of his brain swelling due to a hairline skull fracture. He also had some broken ribs and his left lung had been compromised again. This would definitely set back his recovery from the gunshot wounds. They had put him back on a respirator which Hutch knew from experience that Starsky hated. They also had him in a drug induced coma to give his body time to start healing from his new injuries.

Hutch felt the tears burning his eyes as he stepped up to the side of the bed and reached out to brush the back of Starsky's hand with his knuckles. The beloved face was battered and bruised with both eyes swollen shut. His bottom lip was puffy and split in the center.

"God, babe…" Hutch said in a choked voice as he closed his fingers around Starsky's hand, squeezing reassuringly. "Who did this to you?" He tried to smile "You gotta quit doing to me, buddy…I'm losing my hair fast enough as it is." He hooked a nearby chair with his foot and pulled it closer, sitting down without letting go of Starsky's hand. Leaning closer, he whispered into a curl covered ear, "You're gonna be okay, Starsk…I'm gonna make sure of that. I'm not leaving until you're back on your feet." He was powerless to stop the words that spilled from his mouth. "God, I've missed you…" Hutch choked back the tears that threatened to overwhelm him. "I need you, buddy…I've always needed you. I can't make it without you…" He bowed his head and closed his eyes to hold back the tears that threatened to overwhelm him as he settled back into the chair. He intended to stay right where he was until Starsky opened his eyes and he dared anyone to try and make him leave.

As he sat there, Hutch let his thoughts drift back over the past few weeks. His duty demanded that he stay in Bay City to work on the case against James Gunther for hiring the men who had tried to kill Starsky, but he had felt as if part of him was missing without Starsky by his side. He refused to work with another partner and his co-workers had started giving him a wide berth to avoid setting off his temper. He'd spent his off hours alone, often drinking late into the night just so he could sleep without dreaming. He would never tell Starsky but he had even paid Merle to fix the Torino, restoring it to its formal glory, and he had been driving it on a regular basis. In some small way, it helped him feel like he was still connected to Starsky on some level. Now, for the first time in weeks, he finally felt at peace.

He must have dozed off because he was startled awake by someone shaking his shoulder. He opened his eyes, his hand automatically reaching underneath his jacket for his weapon, stopping only when he recognized Jacob Starsky standing beside him. In a loud whisper, Jacob said,

"Rachel is awake and she wants to talk to you."

Hutch nodded and shoved himself to his feet. With a final glance at his partner's battered face, he followed Jacob out of the room and down the hall to the elevator. He quietly walked into Rachel's room, not wanting to disturb her if she was resting. As if sensing his presence, Rachel opened her eyes and smiled a trembling smile, reaching out for him with her hand. Hutch hurried to her side and took her hand, squeezing it gently.

"How are you feeling?" he asked her in a concerned voice.

"I'll live." Rachel said in a weak voice. Her dark eyes took on a determined expression that Hutch had seen many times over the years in her eldest son's eyes. Looking at him gravely, she said, "It was Nicholas. Nicholas did this…he had a gun. I tried to stop him from hurting David but I couldn't…"

"It's all right," Hutch soothed her gently trying to hold his anger in check. "He's going to be okay…you'll see."

"You've seen him?"

"Yes. I was with him when Jacob came to tell me you wanted to talk to me."

"Stay with him. Don't let Nicky hurt him again."

"Don't worry. Nicky won't get near him again. You can count on that."

"He needs you…I know that now." Rachel said a single tear running down her cheek. "I should never have brought him back here."

"You didn't do anything wrong." Hutch told her "You were doing what any mother would have done if her son was hurt as badly as Starsky was. You love him."

"So do you…and he loves you. I see that now…maybe now that you're here, he'll get better and then he can go home with you…where he belongs." She smiled sadly "This has not been his home for a very very long time…I should have realized that." She shifted position on the bed, wincing slightly. "What about Nicky? What's going to happen to him?"

"That will be up to the police." Hutch told her. "Technically, he's guilty of assaulting a police officer and attacking you."

"That wasn't his fault. I slipped on the kitchen floor and hit my head on the table when I fell."

"Nicky is still responsible. You wouldn't have been hurt if you hadn't been trying to stop him from hurting his brother." Jacob said somberly. "It's time that Nicky took responsibility for his actions…even if that means going to jail."

"I know, I know." Rachel said "And I agree…but it's partly my fault too. I should have known that he wouldn't react well to my bringing David back with me."

"You couldn't have known that Nicky was going to lose it like that." Hutch reminded her.

"I should have known. I'm still his mother." She sighed softly. "I'm afraid that I've overlooked too many things where Nicholas is concerned for too long." Her eyes filled with sadness. "But, he was all I had left…David was so far away…I couldn't bear to lose Nicky too."

Hutch patted her hand gently "Maybe, it's time for Nicky to grow up and be a man. He's dug himself a hole this time that he won't be able to climb out of. Hopefully, this will teach him a lesson that he's been needing to learn for a long time."

"Promise me that you won't hurt him." Rachel said softly, pleading with her eyes for Hutch to understand. It was the same look that Starsky used when he wanted Hutch to do something and he couldn't resist it now.

"I promise. I won't hurt him." Hutch said. Privately, Hutch thought to himself…much. He forced back the urge to beat Nicholas Starsky senseless the same way he had beaten his brother. He forcibly reminded himself that Nicky was still Starsky's brother and Rachel's son. That alone demanded some restraint on his part. He just hoped that it was a promise he would be able to keep.