Chapter 14

A weak but bright sun streamed through the window glinting off the fresh fall of snow that had landed overnight. A small fire burned bright in the hearth in the small room and the welcome warmth made the surroundings inviting and comfortable.

Hutch's eyes opened slowly and for the briefest moment, he braced himself for more pain and abuse from the men who'd kept him prisoner. Instead of cold and grey walls, however, his eyes settled on gentle floral wallpaper, an old and comfortable looking armchair and an old black and white picture of a young couple holding hands at the seaside. For a few moments Hutch was at a loss as to where he was. The room was warm and cosy and the bed he was in was soft and hugged him like a lover. Although his shoulder still hurt, Hutch could feel that it had been cleaned and bandaged. His memory kicked in and the blond cop remembered the door to his cell bursting open and his partner coming through, shotgun at the ready. After that, things took a turn for the fuzzy. Snippets of memory came back to him - riding in a small car... two girls... pain as Starsky helped him into a house... and then nothing.

A movement from the far side of the room caught his attention.

'Well good morning sleepy head.' The woman's voice was unfamiliar and Hutch flinched. Was this all some elaborate trick by Matwick? Was it all going to start over again? Sweat started to prickle across his forehead and he tensed.

'Where am I?' he asked, his voice raw and weak.

The woman came closer and he seemed to recall her from his car journey. The feelings of fear melted away and he marvelled at her glossy long hair and her emerald eyes. He relaxed back against the soft mattress, his eyes following her as she came to the side of the bed. This was not one of Matwick's goons. This was a vision of loveliness, and kindness, and...

'You're safe. I'm glad to see you awake. We were beginning to get worried.'

'We?'

The woman smiled and something low down in Hutch's belly flipped. 'I'm Marie. Your friend Dave and my friend Jess are downstairs. You've been out cold for almost 2 days. I'll go and tell him you're awake.'

Hutch couldn't take his eyes off her. She was everything he'd dreamed of and although the sane part of his mind told the blond that this was just relief at being safe and well, the unconscious part of Hutch reacted to his "angel" in a very predictable way. Hutch shuffled up a little in the bed, grimacing at the residual pain in his shoulder. He sighed and smiled at the girl. 'You um... could tell him in an hour...'

Marie giggled and bent over to the bed, her fingers resting briefly on Hutch's brow. 'My word, you must be feeling better! You've been unconscious for 2 days. Do you really think you'd have the... Forget that. Dave said to tell him when you woke up.'

'Is he ok? Starsky?'

Marie paused by the door. 'He's fine. He's been out of his head with worry over you. I'll go get him.'

Hutch was left alone in the small bedroom. He lay with his eyes closed revelling in the comfort of the bed and the safety he felt after the weeks of sickness and ill treatment. Gently he explored his shoulder with the fingers of his right hand. The wound had been heavily bandaged and although there was some heat around the site of the bullet wound, he could tell that the infection was subsiding. His hand dropped to his chest and Hutch was shocked that he could feel his ribs clearly through his skin. Idly he ran his hand over the bones and the hollow where the flat plain of his belly used to be. After Starsky had been shot in the police garage, the blond had let himself go, sick with worry for his partner. It had taken months of serious exercise to shift the excess pounds and restore muscle and he'd been proud of the results. Now he was going to have to work on his body from a different angle, building himself back up to full fitness.

Hutch's musings were brought to an end as the latch on the door rattled and Starsky's dark curly head poked around the edge of the door.

'You finally decided to wake up huh? Some of us have been left doin' the work ya know.' Starsky's soft voice belied the anxiety he'd experienced over the past couple of days whilst Hutch's body had fought the infection. He walked over to the bed, pulled up the comfortable chair and sat down, appraising Hutch critically. 'How're ya feelin?'

'Like roadkill, but glad to be out of there' Hutch rasped. 'Where are we? And who's the girl?'

'Girls. There's two of 'em. Jess and Marie. Jess was supposed to be my nurse when Matwick had me at the hospital.' Starsky saw the narrowing in Hutch's eyes as he mentioned the doctors name, but carried on anyhow. 'I must have blown her over with my animal magnetism cos she helped me escape. She also tracked down just exactly where they were holdin' you. Her friend, Marie is a nurse too. She put your shoulder back together.'

Hutch winced as he moved the offending shoulder and wriggled himself more upright in the bed. 'She did a good job.'

'Uh huh. Her an' Daisy did ya proud.'

'There's a third?'

Starsky's mouth twisted into a grin. 'Daisy? Yeah, kinda. She's the one who gave ya the meds to kill the infection. I'll introduce ya one day.'

'Is she as pretty as Marie?'

Starsky swallowed down a giggle thinking of the gentle beast in the field next to the cottage. 'Big brown eyes to die for. You'll love her.'

'Are you ok? What Matwick did to you. I saw... the bastard showed me videos.' Hutch's eyes swept over the cuts and bruises on his partner's face and noticed the slight hitch when Starsky breathed. After years of "reading" his partner's body, Hutch knew the brunet was hurt.

Starsky looked down at the floor. 'I'm fine. Hey, we lived through the sixties! What's a few more drugs in the system huh?'

Hutch could see the pain behind his friend's eyes. 'Seriously Starsk. Are you ok?'

The brunet sighed. 'I'm fine. Like you, I'm glad to be outa there but...'

Hutch cut him short. 'There's something I need to say. Something I need to tell you' he started, unsure how to go on.

'Uh huh?'

'Hell Starsk, we've both been in bad places before but this... I saw what they did to you and...'

'And what?' Starsky could see the pain in his partner's eyes and it wasn't just physical. Something was eating away at Hutch.

The blond man looked away and gnawed at his bottom lip. Never before had be felt so weak. Never before had he felt like a traitor. At that moment Hutch despised himself more than he ever thought possible. 'They forced me to watch over and over. I was feverish, the pain was... I told him Starsk. I told him where the formula was.' Hutch turned away and covered his eyes with his arm.

'And?'

Angrily the man in the bed turned back. 'And nothing. I told the fucker. It's over. Months of work, all the pain he put you through an' I told him.' Hutch's voice broke with emotion and he closed his eyes. Defeated.

For a moment Starsky was at a loss. Gently he put out a hand and rested it on Hutch's shoulder. 'You were dyin'. To hell with the formula. I got ya back, ya big lug. D'ya think it matters to me what Matwick does with his drug?'

'It should.'

'I couldn't give a shit. You are not weak. Hutch you're the strongest man I know but everyone has a breakin' point. You survived. That's what counts.'

'Yeah. I survived. Now I just need to live with my conscience huh?' Hutch said bitterly.

'Your conscience should be clear buddy. God knows what I would have told him in the same circumstances. So he has the formula back. He knows we know about it now. But...' Starsky shook his head.

'But what? Hutch pulled himself up a little more in the bed. 'Starsk, you're not thinking what I think you're thinkin' are you?'

'That that prick is still out there? That he's not gonna rest till he finds us? Hutch we've never been the kind of guys who've shied away from a job.'

'He had you as long as he had me Gordo. You don't exactly look in the peak of physical fitness yourself. You...' Hutch's voice trailed away. He was tired and although he fought it with all his strength, his body was telling him that enough was enough for the time being and he needed sleep.

Starsky saw the sweat start to bead on his friend's forehead and watched as Hutch's ice blue eyes clouded over again. 'You need your rest. Sleep now huh? We can talk again in a little while huh?'

Hutch raised heavy eyelids. 'You'll wait? Here?'

Starsky forced a grin onto his face. 'Where else would I go? There aint nothin' but sheep and grass out there. Go to sleep. Rest and get well buddy.'

The man in the bed closed his eyes as he felt a familiar pressure on his hand. Starsky rested his hand on Hutch's until the blond's breathing assumed the quiet regularity of sleep. Very quietly he stood and took a last look at his partner. Starsky's own body was healing well although he too could find no rest. Dreams of Matwick... nightmares of his time at the hospital... every time he closed his eyes to sleep his mind started to work overtime. Jess had said it was the results of coming off the powerful drugs so quickly but Starsky knew his own body and mind. Withdrawal was a bitch, but that wasn't the only thing stopping him from resting. Matwick was out there and wouldn't stop until Starsky and Hutch were dead. And now there were the two girls to consider.

Making his decision, Starsky quietly closed the bedroom door behind him and padded down the narrow stairs. Jess looked up as he came into the small living room. He paused, picked up a jacket Jess had borrowed from the same place she'd got jeans and tee shirts and slung it over his shoulders. He took up the shotgun and a handful of rounds from the cupboard by the door. Jess stopped him.

'Where the hell are you going?' she demanded.

Starsky looked at her, fighting the impulse to take her in his arms and make love to her right then and there. 'When he wakes up, tell him I went for a walk, huh?'

'Dave...' Jess grabbed his arm. 'You're going after him, aren't you? You can't. You aren't strong enough yet.'

'I can't rest till this thing is over. If I don't find Matwick, he'll find us. I like to be in control. Just...' He leaned down and kissed Jess hard on the lips. 'I'll be right back' he said and then was gone.