Lightning Ch5
After eating Huggy's hamburgers, Hutch spent the rest of the night behind some dumpsters. It was cold and uncomfortable. Before the first rays of dawn, he forced himself to get up and get moving. He was sore from all the running he had done the day before and the scrapes on his neck from the chain-link fence ached painfully. His collar seemed tighter today as well. His neck must have swollen some from the damage the chain-link fence had inflicted yesterday.
He decided that he should head over to Starsky's apartment to see if his friend was there. As he walked, he wondered how he had gotten into this dog body, and wondered even harder about how he would get out of it. And where was his human body? Did he even have a human body anymore? If he did, where was it? Those thoughts filled his head and forced his mind off of his aching body.
xxxx
Starsky awoke to the increasingly familiar sound of his friend growling. The brunet had fallen asleep in the other bed that was in the hospital room. "Hey Hutch" He stifled a yawn and rubbed at his eyes "Mornin' part-" He cut himself off as he noticed two doctors in the room with them.
"Well, what did I tell you? It's classic. We need to get a picture of this" Doctor Steven Goldberg wrote something down on the patient's chart.
"Indeed, you are correct. It is a classic example of feathering burns," Doctor Stephen Goldberg agreed.
"Hey, what's goin' on here?" Starsky rolled off the bed and to his feet, now completely awake.
"Open his gown a bit more so I can get the whole thing-"
"I asked you a question an' I want an answer" Starsky stepped between the camera lens and his growling friend.
"Could you step to one side? I really must get a shot of that" Doctor Stephen Goldberg made as if to step around the detective.
"Oh, pardon me, I didn't know that you were handicapped" Starsky said is a mused tone as he extended his arm to block the doctor.
"Handicapped? What do you mean by that?" Doctor Steven looked at the detective with a quizzical expression on his face.
"I didn't know that you two were deaf, sorry. You want me to use some sign language?" Starsky readied his middle finger for action.
The doctor duo exchanged a confused look and turned back at the curly haired detective "We're not deaf" they said in unison.
"Ya coulda fooled me" Starsky placed his hands on his hips and glared at the pair of annoying doctors. "Now, I asked a question and I want an answer to that question"
Again the doctors Goldberg looked at each other and shrugged "Sorry, what was the question again?"
Starsky rolled his eyes at them and then spoke very slowly and carefully "What is going on here?"
"Oh yes, we are taking photos of Mr. Hutchinson's chest" Doctor Stephen Goldberg replied.
"Why?"
"Because he has a very classic lightning burn that formed on his chest. It really is rather rare that one gets the opportunity to see, let alone, photograph such a pattern"
"Look you two, I told you I didn't want Hutch to be part of some study. You two have been nothing but rude to me and my partner and frankly, I'm sick of it. You use five dollar words and don't explain anything so's normal people can understand it" He crossed his arms over his chest, daring them to continue their rude ways.
The two doctors gave Starsky such a surprised look, that it indicated to him that no one had ever spoken to them in such a manner before. Too bad. They were just gonna have to get used to it. "So, tell me what this is about and I might think about allowing a few photos. Maybe. If I'm in a good mood" He narrowed his brows at the doctors.
They exchanged a conferring look, and then shrugged. It rather reminded Starsky of the way he and Hutch would silently communicate.
"Perhaps you are correct. We have been told that our bedside manner is occasionally lacking-"
"Just occasionally?" Starsky arched one dark eyebrow. He was enjoying watching the pair do some backpedaling.
"Err" One of the look-a-likes adjusted his necktie in a somewhat sheepish manner.
The other cleared his throat and proceeded to pick imaginary lint off of his pristine white lab coat.
Starsky snorted, "That's what I thought. Now, you care to explain to me, in layman's terms, these lightning burns you were talkin' about?"
"Certainly" the doctors said in tandem.
"I don't need it in stereo, one at a time please" Starsky decided that this is how Dobey must feel when he and Hutch did essentially the same thing on occasion, it gave him a new appreciation for Dobey and what he must go through. "You" Starsky pointed to Doctor Stephen Goldberg.
Stephen nodded and began "As I said before, initially the victim's skin may not show any sign of injury. It can take time for the burns, if there are any, to show. As I have mentioned, the burns are generally superficial, if they occur at all. Deep burns happen in less then five percent of all reported lightning injuries. If the burns do occur, there are four types. The first type being linear burns. These tend to happen in areas where sweat or water accumulates, example: the auxiliary, the thor-"
Starsky raised one eyebrow in warning.
"Ah-hem, the armpit, the chest, groin and the like. The second type are punctate burns, these look like many small cigarette burns that often have a heavier central concentration that are in a rosette pattern. This type seldom requires grafting. The third type is what your friend has, which are feathering burns. These feathering 'burns' are not really burns at all." The doctor pointed to Hutch's chest.
Starsky found himself interested despite his dislike of the two doctors and he looked at Hutch's chest and saw the bright red pattern there "It looks more like a fern then a feather" he looked back at the doctor "so that's not a burn?"
"No, there is no actual damage to the skin itself, it will fade in time"
"Is it painful? And what causes it?"
"No, it's not painful, a least according to the information on record so far. The feathering burns seem to be a complex instigated by electron showers that are caused by the lightning, which in turn makes the fern-like pattern that you currently see on your friend's chest. Not much is really known about them, hence our interest in them"
That was a mouthful, but at least Hutch wasn't in pain from the strange patterns on his body. "What's the fourth kind?"
"The fourth kind is any combination of one or more of the other three. Mr. Hutchinson does not seem to have any thermal burns, those would have occurred if his clothing had ignited or had he been in contact with any metal that might have heated up during the flashover."
"So why is he acting this way?" Starsky glanced at his quietly growling friend "He'll get better, right?" His hand moved subconsciously towards the blond's bound wrist and when he had made contact, the blond jerked as far away as the leather cuff would allow and the blond snapped his jaws together hard enough that the clicking of his teeth could be heard. Starsky closed his eyes as he removed his hand, releasing a gusty sigh as he did so.
The doctors exchanged a look. "We had not heard of anything quite like this happening. That is why-"
"He's not gonna be part of any study. Not with out his consent. If I even think you are going to study him, we're outta here, got it?" He fixed the twins with a hard look.
"We understand and will respect your wishes. When he improves, we'll ask him, okay?"
Starsky grunted at what the doctor said and looked back at Hutch as he mulled over the information. The blond lifted his upper lip and bared his teeth at him. Starsky sighed heavily before turning back "Okay, here's the deal. Take your pictures and give me the roll of film. When Hutch is better, I will tell him about what you said and let him decide what he wants to do"
"That is fair enough" The three shook on it.
After handing him the film from the camera, the pair left. Starsky turned to his partner "That was too easy. I don't trust those guys, what do you think?"
Hutch growled at him.
"I second that" Starsky agreed as he stared thoughtfully at the now closed door.
xxxx
The sun was up by the time Hutch found his way to Starsky's apartment. He didn't see Starsky's car in its normal spot. Where could he be? Hutch went into some nearby bushes and sat down to wait. It wasn't long before he lie down and fell asleep.
A deep rumble woke him. Hutch opened his eyes and found himself looking a stray dog. Its pelt was matted and dirty. Hutch slowly got to his feet "Easy there dog, easy" It felt strange trying to talk to the dog. This wasn't like a Disney movie where he could understand what the dog was growling. The growl was just that, a growl. Hutch had realized by now that whatever he said, no human could understand. To humans, he sounded like, well… a dog.
He looked at the dog and noticed that there were others standing behind it. Not good. From what he could see, each dog had its hackles raised as they all stared at him. He was taller then the other dogs. But there were six of them and his whole body ached from yesterday. The lead dog took a stiff legged step in his direction and gave another low growl.
Hutch scanned the area, looking for a way out. The lead dog took another step and bared his teeth. The pack moved closer. Two dogs now flanked the lead dog and they started to close in.
"Oh crap" At his utterance, two of the dogs darted in, nipping at him and darted away. It was rather like a gang attack. They seemed to be testing him, looking for weaknesses before starting a full-bore attack.
Hutch knew he was still weak and sore from yesterday. He didn't stand a chance against all of these dogs. If he ran, they would chase him. If they caught him, they would most likely kill him or leave him wishing he were dead. He would rather stand and fight. Well, actually, he would rather just walk away and have nothing happen. But that was unlikely to work. With no other options, he lunged at the lead dog, snapping his teeth at it as he did so.
The leader jumped back a bit and the others closed in from the sides. SHIT! Hutch leapt forward again, going for the leader's throat. The lead dog lunged at his throat and bit the wide spiked collar and it let go just as quickly. The other dogs came at him from the sides and bit at his hind legs. They were trying to hamstring him. It they succeeded, he'd be crippled.
One dog bit him hard on the upper thigh and he let out a yelp. Another dog pounced at his shoulder and got a mouthful of hair as he twisted away. The neighborhood dogs, the ones that had homes, began to bark and howl as the pack continued their attack on Hutch.
Hutch knew he was loosing ground but kept fighting. He kept attacking the leader, hoping that if he could chase it away or injure it and if he could do that, he hoped that the remaining pack would leave him alone. He barely felt the bites and nips of the others as they darted in and defended their leader.
Hutch was rapidly tiring when he heard the sound of human's approaching. The strays kept up their attack, embolden by his slowing reactions. It was only a matter of seconds now before he would be brought down by the pack.
"Get outta here! Get!" Cold water was sprayed at the fighting dogs. The strays, fearful of humans broke and ran away.
Hutch sat down hard on his haunches, panting and tried to catch his breath.
"You too! Get! Go on! Get outta here ya mangy mutt!" The man turned his hose on the remaining massive dog that now sat on the sidewalk.
Ice cold water hit him; Hutch forced himself to move down the sidewalk, away from the man and his hose. With all the commotion, the police and animal control were sure to be notified. It wouldn't be safe to stay here and wait for Starsky anymore. Hutch realized he had only one option left, Captain Dobey. He forced himself to pick up his pace; he had to get away from here before the authorities arrived.
xxxx
Starsky left the room where Hutch was. He had to get away for a little while to stretch his legs and try to come to grips with what was wrong with his friend. Something more then a lightning strike had happened. It was so difficult to see Hutch acting in such a bizarre fashion. He had seen Hutch on heroin and had helped him kick it cold turkey. This was nothing like that, Hutch had been in an altered state then, but he had still been Hutch. But this time was different. Very different.
Starsky wandered down the hall to the nurses' station to ask where the vending machines were located. He could use a chocolate fix right now. As he approached the desk, he heard the nurses talking.
"Did you see the guy in 420?"
"The blond or the brunet?"
"The blond. Did you know that he bit Nancy yesterday? And he nearly took Carl's throat out, would have too, if Donny hadn't stopped him."
"No! Has he had his rabies shot?"
"Who? Carl or the blond" The nurses all chuckled "Carl can be quite the animal" There was more laughter.
"Maybe so, but at least he's not barking mad!" The nurses burst out laughing.
Starsky felt his anger rise and stomped up to the counter of the nurses' station "Who is the most senior nurse here?" he snapped.
A large nurse stepped foreword "That would be me"
"I don't appreciate you discussing my friend and partner like you have been. Is this how your treat all of your patients? I am a detective and I know a lot of people. I can easily spread the word about how you treat and discuss patients. I can guarantee that if I spread the word, you will have a lot fewer patients. Hmm, you know, I could call the media and inform them as well. How would you like to have them come down and do an expose on this place? I bet that would severely affect your revenue. Wouldn't it? Hmm?" He watched as the nurses all paled and then scurried out of the nurses' station, leaving the head nurse to take the brunt of Starsky's wrath.
The nurse looked at the floor, took a deep breath before raising her head again to make eye contact "You are correct. That was unprofessional of us. Please accept my apology and my assurance that it won't happen again"
"See that it doesn't" The thought of food forgotten, Starsky returned to Hutch's room.
xxxx
Hutch kept to the side streets and alleys as he headed for the suburbs to Dobey's home. He was limping now. He had sustained several bites during the fight this morning and coupled with the injuries from yesterday, he was now hurting nearly everywhere.
He had also figured, after a few more run-ins with other dogs, that they somehow knew he was not a "natural" dog. Every dog he came across either growled at him or ran away in near panic.
It was afternoon when he finally made it to the Dobey residence. He noticed that Dobey was having his driveway re-paved and he carefully slipped around the equipment and he went around the side of the house and opened the gate to the back yard, he nosed the gate shut and painfully made his way to Edith's rose bushes and crawled under them. Once there, he stretched out his front paws and rested his head on them and fell asleep.
xxxx
Starsky stared at his friend for a long time. What he had overheard at the nurses' station really bothered him. What if Hutch was stuck like this? What if he never got any better than he was right now? As combative has Hutch was; Starsky knew that he wouldn't be able to care for Hutch on his own. Starsky shook his head. It was far too soon to be having such thoughts. Hopefully in a few days his friend would be back to normal.
He moved over to the bedside table and poured some water into the plastic cup that was provided. He watched his partner lick his lips at the sound of water being poured into the cup. "Are ya thirsty Hutch?" This was the first that Hutch had shown any interest in anything, aside from the bird yesterday.
He drank from the cup and watched over the rim and saw Hutch once more lick his lips. "Do ya wanna drink?" Starsky refilled the cup and moved slowly to Hutch's side. He extended the cup towards his friend and watched as the blond sniffed at the water.
He slowly moved the cup towards his friend's lips as watch carefully as, for the first time since the strike, Hutch didn't growl at him. He brought the cup to Hutch's lips and the blond did something totally unexpected. He tried to lap up the water with his tongue.
"Hey… what is going on here?" He pulled the cup away from Hutch and the blond whined. "Just a second partner" Starsky looked around for a larger container and found a bowl poured some water in it.
"Here ya go Hutch. When you get better, I am going to tease you so much about this" He brought the bowl over and held it for his friend as Hutch lapped the water like a cat. He felt his throat tighten up. It really hurt to see his bright, intellectual best friend acting in such a manner.
Captain Dobey entered the room just then "Hi Starsky, Hutchinson" Dobey watched the curly-haired detective carefully. He hoped for improvement in Hutchinson's behavior, but could tell by the look on Starsky's face that there wasn't any.
"Hi Cap" Came the tired acknowledgement.
"Edith sent me to pick you up. You are going to have supper with us tonight"
"I can't leave him"
"Edith said I was to bring you home to supper, you can come right back here afterwards"
"But-"
"Edith said to bring you to supper. That's what you are going to do. What you do after that is your business, though I might suggest a shower and a change of clothes. It'll just be for a couple of hours, don't make me go home with out you, Edith'll have my head if I do that… or I could call her and you can tell her 'no' yourself" Dobey moved towards the phone.
Starsky gave his captain a weak smile "No, that won't be necessary. I'll come along peacefully" He looked back at Hutch "I'll be back in a few hours"
Hutch just growled.
Starsky dipped his head and shuffled out the door.
xxxx
"Hi Uncle Ken"
Hutch lifted his sleepy, aching head off of his forelegs and saw Rosie Dobey sitting next to him in the dirt under the rose bushes.
"Whatcha' doin' back here, huh?" The little girl reached out and stroked his head.
"Rosie?" Hutch looked about, he and Rosie were alone in the bushes.
"Whatcha' doin' in a doggy body? Are you under covers?" Rosie shifted closer and leaned against him. "Oh look, you got boo boos! Poor Uncle Ken" Rosie gently touched one of the blood-encrusted scabs.
"Yeah, I got some boo boos… wait, you just called me by my name, can you understand me?" Hutch held his breath. Please say yes, please, please say yes
"I gots banded-aids in the house, want me to put 'em on your owies?" Rosie gently patted him on the head. "Ooooh, you gots lotsa owies, bein' under covers hurts, huh?" she stroked his head.
"You can't understand me, can you?" He looked into Rosie's dark brown eyes.
"I'll go in and get the banded-aids, you stay here" She got to her feet and skipped off to the house.
Hutch put his aching head back down. His wounds throbbed in time with his heartbeat. He could tell that some of them were infected.
A few minutes later, Rosie came back with a bowl of soapy water and a wash cloth. She cleaned all his wounds and when she finished she kissed his head "There! All better! I couldn't reach the banded aids though; they were too high up" Rosie expression saddened "Sorry"
"That's okay. Thanks Rosie, you're a real angel of mercy" He tried to kiss her hand, but dog lips just don't work that way, he settled for a lick on the side of her face, which made her giggle.
"Stop it!" She giggled again gave him a quick hug. She then got a serious look on her face "I can't take ya into the house, mama's 'lergic to doggies, says she gets all puffy and can't breathe good"
Hutch nodded. He remembered Dobey saying something about that.
Rosie suddenly stood up "I hear daddy's car! Daddy's home!" Rosie dashed for the side gate, opened it and ran out.
Hutch stayed put. He had to think about how he was going to get Dobey's attention and get his help. As he started to mull it over, he remembered the paving equipment. That stuff was in the driveway, Dobey would have to park across the street… "ROSIE!"
Hutch lurched to his feet and ran out the open gate; his trained eyes took the scene in and processed it instantly. Dobey was getting out of his car and with his improved hearing; Hutch could hear a car coming down the street "ROSIE! STOP!"
Dobey heard his daughter calling him and then he heard a series of loud barks and noticed a huge dog running up behind his daughter. He fumbled for his gun, fear for his daughter made his efforts clumsy. "Run Rosie!"
"Daddy! Daddy!" Rosie ran faster, now concerned by the fear she heard in her father's voice.
Starsky heard the commotion and lunged out the passenger door and grabbed for his gun as well. Time seemed to slow down to a crawl as he watched Rosie run towards them with a massive Doberman gaining on her. He ran around to the front of the car and watched in horror as Rosie ran into the road. A horn sounded, tires squealed. He snapped his head around; he hadn't even noticed the oncoming car. It was going to hit Rosie! Starsky's heart stopped.
The massive dog slammed into Rosie, shoving her out of the way of the car, there was a dull thud as the bumper hit the dog. It spun off to the side and landed near Starsky's feet.
"Daddy!" Rosie screamed and started crying.
Dobey knelt down and carefully felt his daughter's head, arms and legs, looking for breaks or any other damage. When he found none, he hugged Rosie tightly.
"She alright?" Starsky asked with a quiver in his voice.
"Yeah, yeah, she's fine" Dobey's voice was shaking as well as he continued to hug his little girl close.
Starsky looked down at the dog at his feet. It was the same dog from the alley. The same one that was responsible for his friend being in the hospital. He leveled his gun at the dog's head. It had chased Rosie into the road and nearly got her killed.
"NO! Uncle Dave NO!" Rosie broke free from her father's embrace and ran over and threw herself on top of the dog "Don't shoot him! It's Uncle Ken!"
"Rosie, no it's not, Uncle Ken is in the hospital, remember?"
"NO! He just saveded me" Rosie clung to the big dog's neck despite the spiked collar.
The dog slowly lifted his head and tried to lick the little girl's face.
"He's hurted, you gots to take him to the doctor" Rosie turned her tear-streaked face towards Starsky "Pwease? He just saved me, pwease?"
Starsky exchanged a look with Dobey.
"No, honey, that's a bad dog. He has to go to…uh, dog jail" Starsky put his gun away.
Rosie burst out into an even louder set of tears and wailing "No! It's Uncle Ken, he's under covers! Don't you even know your own fwriend?" she hic-coughed and cried into the dog's fur, digging her little fingers into the coat.
The dog did nothing. It just lay there and looked Starsky in the eye, until Starsky broke eye contact. That look had given him the willies.
He and Dobey exchanged another look over the top of Rosie's head. The dog had just saved her. Whether the dog had done that on purpose or not didn't matter right now. They could not shoot the animal with Rosie here.
"Alright Rosie, I'll take him to the vet, that's an animal doctor" It wasn't a lie. Starsky would take the dog to the vet and have it euthanized.
"Pwromise you'll get him all better, I wanna see him again 'kay?" Rosie looked at Starsky.
"Rosie, I can't-" Starsky started to get choked up. He just didn't want to break the little girl's heart.
"Pwromise! He saveded me, you haveta make him all better, he's your fwriend, your bestest fwriend" Big tears slid down the little girl's face as she stared into his eyes.
"Alright, you win. I'll take him to the vet. The vet will make him better. I promise"
"Cwross your heart?" she backhanded the tears from her eyes and looked hard into his eyes.
Starsky solemnly crossed his heart. He couldn't go back on his promise. Not with this little girl trusting him to do as she asked, he had just promised. 'Oh God, what did I just get myself into?'
The driver of the car had gotten out and was apologizing to both Dobey and to Edith, who had run outside the instant she had heard the car tires squealing. She picked her little girl up and hugged her fiercely "How many times have I told you to stay out of the road!"
Starsky turned from the scene and looked at the dog, which still lay on its side on the road, not moving. The dog kept looking at him. He had just promised Rosie that he would help the dog that had gotten his partner hurt. He knelt down and took his coat off and wrapped it around the dog. He then leaned down and whispered "If you make one wrong move, I will shoot you. Promise or no promise"
The dog moved its head, almost as if it understood him. It looked like the dog had just nodded at him. Starsky shook off the feeling and carefully picked the big dog up. "Cap'n, mind if I use your car?"
Dobey, still busy with the driver of the other car nodded.
Starsky laid the dog on the floor of the passenger side of the car. He thought about putting it on the back seat, but wanted to be able to see it, just in case. He went around to the driver's side and got in. Starsky looked at the dog once more. "Just one wrong move from you…" He let the threat trail off as the dog closed its eyes and looked away from him.
"It's alright Starsk, I understand" Despite his pain, Hutch felt better. He always felt better when Starsky was around. Now, all he had to do was convince Starsky of who he was and what he had become… it was going to be difficult, especially when he couldn't hardly believe it himself.
TBC