Hi All,

Thanks so much for the reviews and encouragement to continue with this story! They are caffeine to me. This chapter is a little heavy on medical stuff.

Special Thanks (as always) to the usual suspects: Kreek, Eli, Kelli and wuemsel.

Chapter 4

In the white space, Starsky wandered. He thought he could detect his guide trying to call him, but was a little hesitant to listen just yet. There had been pain and bad memories there. Things he didn't want to deal with just yet. The Visitor had been right. There was a lot of pain there. Wherever 'there' was, it was all kinda fuzzy right now.

So, why go back there?

Starsky startled the sound of The Visitor's voice.

I didn't mean to scare you

You didn't scare me, I was just thinking… wait a second here… how did you know what I was thinking just now? The dark haired man stopped and looked at the Visitor.

The Visitor shrugged How could I not know? Thoughts and words are the same here.

Oh I'd better watch what I think than.

Why?

Why what? Starsky was a little confused by The Visitor. He really didn't want any company right now. He didn't really want anything now, though a nap might be nice.

Why think? If you don't think, then you don't have to worry about watching what you think.

Okay, that is the most confusing thing that anyone has ever said to me. Starsky shook his head and continued to move away. Could you please leave me alone for a little while? I'm a little tired right now, okay?

Certainly The Visitor smiled to himself and headed away from the man to meet with The Other.

(I see what you are doing now)

The Visitor's smile broadened.

(Maybe what you are doing will work after all) Came The Other's grudging reply.

The Visitor smiled even wider and watched as The Other move away. There was still so much to do.

XXXX

Hutch watched his friend sleep. At least he hoped it was sleep. Doctor Montgomery had informed him that while Starsky was warming up as he should, the respiratory arrest was not a good sign. Blood had been taken to try to discern where he was chemically; they had to determine if the toxins were being flushed from his system, as they should be.

Hutch would be helping the nurses to turn Starsky every two hours to help prevent pressure sores from developing. In his near coma state, he was unlikely move enough to prevent them. But at least he was able to maintain his own airway. So far.

Whatever had caused the setback had to be avoided again in the near future. Starsky was still prone to cardiac arrhythmias among other things. Hutch rubbed his eyes. It was all so much information; still so many things could go wrong. And something already had. What had caused his friend to suddenly stop breathing? What could he do to keep it from happening again?

Hutch reached out a hand and slowly rubbed the exposed upper arm. "Don't scare me like that again, buddy… my heart couldn't take the strain. I'll be right here when you decide to wake up, okay?" He rubbed the arm again "okay" he leaned back in his comfortable chair to wait.

XXXX

"You're sure these results are correct? You're positive… okay, just checking" Doctor Montgomery put the phone receiver back on its cradle. He gathered his notes and went over them one more time. The blond detective was not going to like what he soon would be hearing.

XXXX

Rob dropped his overnight case on his bed and looked over at the reporter "How can you sleep at night?"

"Easy, I just get into bed; close my eyes and ta-da! I sleep… provided of course that you shut the hell up" Berry gave him a pointed look and then rolled over in the bed, presenting the cameraman with his blanket-covered back. If he could just get a little sleep, he might just come up with a plan to get his story.

He might have to change the angle a bit… maybe go for the blond's part in the story. That could work… so, even if his 'partner' didn't recover, it wouldn't really matter… That's it! He smiled to himself and rolled from his back to his side and drifted off to sleep.

Rob sat on his bed and shook his head in disgust as he listened to Berry start to snore. He knew he wouldn't be getting much, if any sleep tonight. And it had very little to do with Berry's obnoxiously loud snoring.

XXXX

Starsky sat on the ground in the white space. Just what was he doing here anyway? It was rather hard to think about what had happened earlier. Was it all a dream? Was any of this real? He wished he knew the answers. Perhaps his guide could tell him. He got back to his feet. How could he contact his guide?

Hello? Are you there? He waited and listened. He felt something. A touch. A voice. Not the voice that led him to pain earlier… at least he didn't think it was. He stepped back, suddenly uncertain of what he should do.

"I'm here, buddy, right here"

Again he felt a touch, only this time, it hurt, not quite like before, but it still hurt. He pulled back some more.

"Hey, where're you going? Try not to move… okay?"

His guide spoke softly, but still Starsky pulled back more. Something was wrong. He hurt. His body hurt, his limbs hurt. Pain surrounded him. He backed away from it.

I told you that there would be pain

Yes… This time he was not startled by the voice of the Visitor. In fact, he almost expected it.

I told you that there would be a lot of pain

Starsky remembered Yes

Have I lied to you?

"Starsky? Can you hear me?" the voice of the Guide carried with it a note of worry.

Starsky listened to the voice of his guide but the pain was growing. He turned his gaze to the Visitor No; you haven't lied to me… yet. But… my guide has never said anything about pain. Starsky was leaning towards heading to the soft voice of his guide. It would be easier to do if there were no pain involved.

Perhaps it is an act of omission on his part. Perhaps he doesn't want you to know that part of it so you will go with him.

Starsky moved away from his guide's beckoning and moved away from the Visitor as well. This was beginning to take more out of him then he had expected. What had once seemed like an easy choice, was no longer so easy. I need some time to think about this.

Take all the time you need. The Visitor's were softly spoken as the shapeless form floated away.

"Starsk? Starsky?"

He heard as the guide called to him again, but this time, Starsky moved away from it. All thought of asking his questions was forgotten. He had some more thinking to do.

XXXX

Hutch was nearly asleep when he heard the sound.

"Hello? Are you there?" the dark head rolled from side to side on the bleached white pillowcase. Starsky's words were quiet, but audible.

Hutch stood up and leaned closer to the bed "I'm here buddy, right here" He reached out and rubbed the exposed arm with one hand and brushed back the curls with the other. But this time, Starsky flinched and pulled away.

"Hey, where're you going?" Starsky pulled away from his touch. The brunet moved his head and arms away from his touch and then the movements grew to until he was trashing about. "Try not to move… okay?" Hutch begged. The frenetic movements slowed and then stilled.

"Starsk? Starsky?" Hutch let out a relieved sigh and watched as his friend stilled and once more became quiet. He brushed his hand over the curls once more and then returned to the chair and sat down to wait once more.

He was just getting comfortable again when the doctor walked into the room. He did not like the expression on the doctor's face.

"May I speak to you outside for a moment, please?" Montgomery stood in the doorway, backlit from the hallway lights. His shoulders were slumped.

Hutch nodded, patted Starsky's arm once more and got to his feet and followed the doctor out the door. "I'll be right back buddy"

"What is it?" He whispered as he exited the room. He took in the doctor's posture and saw the stooped shoulders, circles under the eyes. He realized that he probably didn't look much better than that himself.

"It's not good. I just got the blood work back and the numbers aren't going it the right direction." Montgomery gave a tired sigh.

"What do you mean by that?" The detective moved into the doctor's space and lowering his head a little to make eye contact with the shorter man.

"He is not improving as quickly as he should. He does not seem to be metabolizing some of the drugs we put on board. I know that the hypothermia is slowing some of that process down…" The doctor shook his head and released a harsh breath from behind clenched teeth. He dug his hands into his pockets, searching them for his notes.

"Just what does that mean for Starsky?" Hutch stepped closer to the short man and grabbed his arm to regain his attention.

"It means he's getting worse. I think he might be going into rewarming shock, or perhaps afterdrop." Frustration clouded the doctor's face as he patted his pockets once more.

"Rewarming shock? Afterdrop?" Hutch didn't like the sound of those things and waited impatiently for an explanation.

"Afterdrop is when there is a drop in body's core temperature due to the cold blood from the victim's limbs goes returns to the core tissues. The research paper I was reading indicates that how it usually happens is that the victim walks, or moves too much and the colder blood from the limbs moves to the core of the body, thus affecting the heart and other organs. Rewarming shock is related to afterdrop in that the peripheral circulation reduces the body's blood volume, which further increases the workload on the heart. Vasoconstriction, brought on by the cold, is the cause of that" The doctor shook his head.

"What does this all mean? I know you said he is getting worse… but you said that the ACR would help him… so why is he getting worse now and not better?" Hutch began pacing, trying to assimilate all of the information.

"We learned some things about handling and treating the hypothermic in the Korean War and in WWII, but there is still so much we don't know yet. Some of techniques that I am trying are fairly new. The tube in his abdomen, the warm humidified air… Both are fairly new procedures in the care of the hypothermic. However, now his core temperature has dropped two degrees and I can't figure out why" The doctor ran a hand trough his thinning hair, brushing it back.

Hutch stared at him for a heartbeat and than spoke with exasperation "Dropped? How? Why? He's in a warm room, covered with blankets, he is breathing warmed air and having warm fluids pumped trough him. Hell, he even feels warmer!" He stared the man in the eyes, desperate for the answers.

"Hypothermia is a puzzle. We don't have all the pieces just yet. We have some but…" Montgomery sighed heavily, once more running a hand through his disheveled, sparse locks.

"Please, just tell me about why he is not improving…" the worried blond grabbed the distracted doctor's arm to regain his attention.

"In afterdrop, as I have said, the cold blood in his extremities is returning to his body core. That is cooling him down some, complicate that with his leg injury and throw in the rewarming shock… he is cooling a little yet. His trend is leveling off; his rectal temperature is the same as it was an hour ago. But he should be further along then he is. The fact is that he is not metabolizing most of the drugs that he has on board already. Toxins are building up. I don't dare give him any more meds now; otherwise they could build up to a toxic level. I just wish I could figure out what else we could warm up"

Again the doctor patted his pockets, pulled out scraps of wrinkled paper and checked his scribbled notes.

Ideas flowed through the detective's mind. "What about putting hot water bottles on his body? Wouldn't that help?" Hutch grasped at straws.

"That sounds logical; however it would only contribute to his rewarming shock and complicate things. I'm missing something, I just don't know what though" Montgomery flipped through his notes "I guess I'll make some calls, I just can't think of anything else… I'll get back to you if I find out anything" The doctor turned on his heel and headed off to his office to make some calls.

Hutch watched him walk down the hall for a moment and returned to Starsky's side. That explained why Starsky seemed to be getting more confused and more combative. Combative. All that thrashing around that he had been doing earlier was not helping him recover. It was making him worse.

He walked over to his partner's side. He was in a warm room, getting warm air, getting warm fluids pumped through him. What more could they do? His eyes helplessly scanned his friend's now still form and lit upon the IV needle stuck in Starsky's arm. He followed the needle to the tube and then up to the bottle of fluid. He reached up and touched the bottle. It was cold. "Oh my God!"

Hutch dashed out of the room and down the hall "Doctor Montgomery! Doctor!"

The short doctor stopped just short of entering the elevator car. "Yes Detective? What is it?"

"What about the IV fluid? It's cold, do you think that maybe-" Hutch hardly dared to hope that such a small thing might be contributing to Starsky's worsening condition.

"Cold? That's it! Another piece of the puzzle now fits!" The doctor slapped the detective on the back. "Good thinking! Nurse!" He hailed a nurse as she walked past them. "Here's what I want you to do-"

Hutch didn't wait to hear more, he simply trotted back to his friend's room to tell him the good news.

He opened the door and walked to Starsky's side. For a long moment he simply stared at the figure on the bed. White pillowcase, white sheets, white blanket, his partner was once more surrounded by white; just like he had been when he had been buried in the avalanche. Only in this case, the white was warm and not cold. Helpful white and not harmful white.

He pulled in a breath and held it for a moment. Upon releasing it he spoke. "Starsk? Good news… now I know what some of your troubles are, you can recover from this. You are going to get better now. I know you are. You are stronger than this, you can beat this… you will beat this. Nothing so innocuous as a little cold is gonna take you away from me… do you hear me? Nothing"

Hutch blinked the gathering moisture away from his eyes and he paced away from the bed and then back to his friend's side. "If you don't have the strength, then I'll give you some of mine… all of it if necessary. Just, please… come back… please?"

XXXX

Somewhere in the white space, someone listened.

TBC

XXXX

Author Notes: 'Afterdrop' normally occurs within thirty minutes of rescue, and happens most frequently when a victim walks or is handled roughly during transport. This forces cold blood from the limbs to the body's core and heart. However, since this story takes place before 1982, when more was learned about the treatment of hypothermia from the Falkland Island Conflict, so it is feasible that errors would be made in Starsky's treatment, which could also account for the late occurrence.

Most 'modern' advances in the knowledge and treatment of hypothermia began in the early 80's (One source I found was a study conducted in 1982 in Washington D.C.) Before that, most apparently 'dead' hypothermic people presumed dead on discovery and left unattended. Only 10 percent of those DOD (Dead on Delivery) were taken to the hospital, where no treatment results are given. On 'lucky' person recovered in the morgue. –Shudder--