Chapter 26

Elle looked in through the window of the laboratory. It had been almost 24 hours since Hutch, Karen and the two senior Hutchinsons had come back to Memorial hospital and the doctor had been taken away to the laboratory to start his work. All the men in the lab had been impressed and a little scared by the ferocity and attention to his work that Dr Hutchinson had. He focused solely on the work in hand, snapping commands over his shoulders, stopping occasionally to pinch the bridge of his nose and massage the tight muscles at the back of his neck and cursing at a sudden noise or burst of conversation in the room.

Elle gave the remaining members of the Hutchinson family regular updates on the progress – or lack of it – and each time, Hutch would get up, pace the room and look ever more weary. Finally his patience snapped and he turned angrily.

'He aint tryin' I know him. He's gonna look like he's workin' his socks off, but he's gonna be wasting time.'

'Ken! How can you say that? he hasn't taken a break in 18 hours' his sister reprimanded.

'Oh c'mon Karen. We all know he hated Starsky from the minute he first saw him. what motive has he got for finding a way to reverse his wonder drug huh?'

'He has you' the younger Hutchinson said quietly. Hutch snickered.

'Me? What the hell do I have to do with it? He wouldn't even talk to be yesterday, let alone consider helping.'

'He wants to make you proud. He's been telling you that all along' Karen insisted. 'He needs your approval just as much as you need his.'

The cop's eyebrows rose. 'Approval huh? When did I…'he got no further as Karen smiled at him knowingly.

'You've always wanted his approval Ken. Always. The two of you are more alike than you care to let on. You both want to be the best you possibly can be and believe it or not, you both want to help people.'

'Although I generally don't go round druggin' strangers and paralysing 'em' Hutch snorted. 'Fine, so he wants to make me proud. It still don't think he's working to find a cure. I bet he's just….'

Hutch was cut off by the door opening and Elle coming into the room. She had a smile on her face although there were black rings under her eyes and she sat down on the arm of one of the chairs. The three others looked expectantly.

'We've had a breakthrough. We aren't home and dry yet, but its time to start waking Dave from his coma so that by the time he's back with us we can try out the antidote on him.'

Hutch lifted his hand. 'Hold on a minute Doc. Don't you you need to um……I dunno, don't you need to test it first? I mean what if it makes things worse? What if it doesn't work properly?'

Elle turned her gaze on the blond. 'Who would we test it on Hutch? Do you have someone else who's been given the Imobilaton?'

'No, but surely…..'

'We have no way to know until we give it to Dave. But I have every reason to think it will work to reverse the effects.'

Hutch took Elle by the arm and led her outside the room, closing the door behind him. 'I don't think you understand Doc. The man who's just given you this magic bullet is the same man who just happened to take my partner in the first place and fee ditto him. There's not a whole lot of love lost between my Dad and Starsky.

Elle nodded. 'I understand your concerns, but we've looked at the drug that Dr Hutchinson has come up with and believe me, if I didn't think it had a fighting chance of success, I wouldn't allow them to use it on a patient of mine. Dave's a fighter and the drug should begin to work. What more can I say?'

The cop shrugged his shoulders. 'He's the best friend I ever had. We watch each others backs. Always have done and always will do and right now I'm watching his back the only way I know how. Just make him better huh?'

Elle reached up and softly caressed Hutch's face, her fingers trailing a line of fire down his cheek. She stood up on tip toe and gently kissed him. 'I've given the go ahead and they've already started to wake him. it'll take a few hours, maybe even a day, but by the, we should be ready. Are you? Do you trust me?'

'Yeah, I trust you, I'm just not sure if I trust Dad' Hutch said heavily. 'I need to go and be with him.'

'You need more rest. He won't wake up for at least another eight hours. I need you to go home and be back bright and early tomorrow huh? That's when he's going to need your friendship and strength. Now go.'

Meekly Hutch grinned. 'God you're wonderful when you're masterful' he breathed and returned the kiss Elle had given him. 'Remember, if anything happens…..'

'You'll be the first to know' the woman agreed and watched as Hutch collected his Mom and sister from the small visitors room and set off home for the night.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

Something different was happening to David Starsky. For what seemed like a hundred years, his mind had been still, giving him time to truly rest for the first time in an age. The blackness and the silence had been like salve to his injured body and mind and had worked some of their magic on his consciousness but now he felt once again that he was awakening from a deep pit of sleep.

For a moment, Starsky thought he'd had one hell of a nightmare. He thought he'd dreamed that he'd been trapped by a mad, Dr Frankenstein figure who had tied him down and given him drugs to keep him quiet. He vividly remembered dreams taking him back to his younger years, the common thread through all of them being his constant companion Hutch.

Slowly, as the deep black dreamless sleep seeped away, Starsky' mind started to engage again and for a moment he wondered why it was dark. Hell, he must have slept in! Hutch would be so mad at him if he was late for work again and the brunet realised he should probably get out of bed and get a shower. He tried to fling the bedclothes back from his body and swing his legs over the side of the bed. He tried to sit up and reach for his watch. He tried to raise his head from the pillow and then the full horror struck again. This was no nightmare, this was reality in all its painful, repulsive reality.

As he processed the information and tried to take it in, Starsky began to wonder what was dream and what was reality? The reality, he knew was that he couldn't move and hadn't been able to for some time, but where was he? He thought he remembered Hutch rescuing him, but was that reality, or was that a dream? Was he in an unknown place or was he in the hospital? And if he was in the hospital, where was Hutch?

Without the power of speech, he couldn't call from his friend and then, horror of horrors, he felt hands on his body. They centred on the middle of his body, at the level of his abdomen and seemed to be travelling south. They left behind them a wet trail and Starsky's mind recoiled. What was happening now? What was going on with him? What new horrors were in store? The hands moved to his cock and moved it and the catheter to one side, the wetness returning to his groin and inside his head Starsky screamed his defiance and fear into the dark.

The only outward sign of the brunet's return to some sort of sensibility was in increase in the frequency of the blips on the screen of the heart monitor and Connie, the nurse looked up in alarm from her task of giving the handsome patient a bedbath. She put down the wash cloth, rang the nurse call bell by the side of Starsky's bed and leaned over the inert body.

'It's ok Dave, it's me, Connie, the nurse. You're safe in the hospital remember? You're fine….you're going to be fine.' Gently she put a hand on the naked warm shoulder and patted it reassuringly.

Inside his prison of flesh Starsky calmed himself, the hands on his body gentling his fears rather than hurting him.

Connie? Oh, yeah, Connie. Remember ya now honey. What happened huh? Where's Hutch?

Another person came into the room and there was a hushed conversation that Starsky could barely hear. Finally, the second person came close to him and there was a movement close to his face. The gauze pad covering his eyes was removed and gentle fingers raised his eyelid. The world blurred, irritated by the light after his world of darkness and then a pretty face came into focus and he fixed on the deep moss green eyes above him.

'Dave, hey! I'm the doctor – Elle. Do you remember? Everything is going to be ok and I need you to rest up some.'

As if I'm gonna jump up and play a game of basketball! Sure doc. Whatever you say.

'You've been in a coma for two days Dave. We needed you to rest while we tried to get an antidote together and we think we've come up with something, but you need to be fully free of the anaesthetic first. We'll give you the drug in the morning, but for now you need to rest.'

Elle let the intensely blue eye slide closed again and Starsky went back to his world of darkness. He longed to ask where Hutch was. He longed to ask a thousand questions. What was the drug? Would he be ok? Would it take long to work? Would he be fine?

Starsky had never been a man to rely on others to help him, just the reverse in fact and being here in the hospital while someone fed him, changed him, bathed him and even breathed for him was almost more than he could bear. He wished he could be out there on the streets with Hutch by his side. He longed to feel the heat of the summer sun, the hot leather of the Torino's steering wheel in his hands and the weight of his gun next to his ribs. There were so many things that Starsky missed, but the one at the top of his list was Hutch, the man who was the core of his life.

How long had it been since he'd seen him? Elle said he'd been out of it for two days and yet it seemed like a lifetime. Just like it seemed like a lifetime since he'd met Hutch again at the police Academy seven years ago.

'Is my tie straight? I can't get it straight. Why d'we have to wear ties anyway? We won't when we're out there.' Hutch whined as he fiddled with the limp black piece of material draped around his neck.

Starsky tapped his friend's hands out of the way and grasped the tie, flinging one side over the other with practiced ease. 'Ya know that's what I can't understand' he muttered as he deftly straightened the knot and pulled it to the centre of Hutch's shirt.

'What? What don't you understand?'

'I don't understand how someone with the grace of a wet walrus and the eruditeness of a deaf mute can graduate the police academy top of his class' Starsky said standing back to admire the results of his efforts.

'Who's that?' the blond asked innocently, pulling his collar down and smoothing the black material. Suddenly the words sunk in and he landed a friendly punch on Starsky's shoulder.

'How could a "thick as two short planks" Jewish kid from the back of beyond graduate second in the same class?'

'It's a fluke. I copied your paper, and it aint the back of beyond, Brooklyn is the centre of the known universe. C'mon we're gonna be late for….' Starsky's words were cut short by a knock on the room door. Hutch grinned and shouted "come in".

The door to Hutch's bedroom opened and a tall, blond haired man stood in the doorway.

'Dad!' Hutch's voice sounded genuine surprise and as Dr Hutchinson walked into the room he was followed by a small, bird-like lady who peeped around her husband's body and smiled.

'We didn't want to miss your big day son' Mrs Hutchinson said and came forward to embrace the blond.

'Hmm, both of you?' Hutch asked, looking at his Father. Dr Hutchinson nodded.

'Good to meet you again Sir. And Mrs Hutchinson' Starsky said, holding out his hand to the tall man. Richard Hutchinson looked at it as though it was something that had just crawled out of the primordial ooze, ignored it completely and spoke to Hutch.

'A word Kenneth. Outside.'

Hutch followed his Dad outside the room while Starsky stood uncomfortably looking at Mrs Hutchinson and wishing he could be elsewhere. Outside the room Dr Hutchinson's voice could be heard quite clearly.

'I've spoke with the Chief of Police and he agreed that you shouldn't be placed in undue danger son. I mentioned that you had some medical knowledge and that maybe a place in forensics might be better suited to you.'

'You did what? Oh for pete's sake Dad.'

'Kenneth I will not have you mixing with criminals and not just criminals but….unsocial people.'

Hutch's voice got more angry. 'As in…..'

'As in that person you trained with.'

'Starsky. His name is David Starsky and he's one of the best people I've ever met.'

'He's not our sort of person Kenneth and you know it.'

'and what is our sort of person Dad? The sort that gives dinner parties and has more than a million in the bank?'

'The sort that has some education and isn't…..Jewish' the doctor's voice sounded loudly inside the room and Mrs Hutchinson looked at the ground uncomfortably. Starsky decided he didn't want to hear any more and walked from the room, passing the two warring Hutchinsons on the way. 'See ya on the parade ground buddy' he muttered as he passed.

'I'm coming Starsk.'

'Kenneth? Come back this instant, I haven't finished' Dr Hutchinson shouted at his son's retreating back.

'I have Dad, well and truly. I'm gonna go and say hi to Mrs Starsky. She appreciates me, even though I am from a different background. You know, you could learn a lot from her Dad. I'll say bye to Mom before you leave.'

The dream faded leaving Starsky feeling sad and angry. Whatever he'd done at Hutch's Dad had lasted such a long time and affected the blond as much as Starsky. Somehow, he knew he needed to make it right. Somehow he had to fight to get back to health.