Hi All,

Thank you Readers and Reviews. Sorry for the long time in posting… I will try to have the next chapter out sooner. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

As always, thanks to the Usual Suspects (hugs!)

Chapter 6

"What have I done?" Berry Brockman looked down at the still form on the landing below him. "That was just brilliant. How the hell am I supposed to get a story out of him now?" He shook his head as he stared at the still form below him, pondering what he was going to do now. 'Great, now I'll probably have to go to Brazil to find a job as a reporter… crap, crap, crap! How the hell am I going to get out of this one? The cop didn't go for the blackmail; I could be arrested for assault on an officer… Unless no one saw me…'

Berry glanced down the stairwell and then up the stairwell. He listened carefully to see if he could hear anyone walking on the steps. "Whew, lucky break for me" He turned and was about to pull open the door and make good his escape when he spotted a nurse walking towards the door, her head was down, looking at the chart she was carrying.

'Shit!' He now had only one option, he trotted down the steps to the blond cop's side and knelt down and put one hand on the man's shoulder then waited until he heard the stairwell door start to swing open "Hey! Are you okay?" he called as he gently shook the cop.

"What's going on here?" The worried voice of the female nurse carried down the steps.

Berry plastered a concerned look on his face before lifting his head at the sound of the nurse's voice "I don't know. I think he needs a doctor," he did not elaborate. The less he said about what happened, the less he would have to remember later. A good liar had to have a very good memory for details or better yet, not give any details at all, if possible.

"Hey! You're Berry Brockman!" the nurse gasped as she recognized him.

Berry maintained his concerned expression "Yeah, umm, I think this man needs some help." he patted the blond's arm and bent closer to peer into the cop's face 'Good, he's out cold! You just might be able to pull this off, Berry old man…You could come out of this looking like a hero, especially if the cop dies!'

He listened to the nurse's shoes tic-tac down the steps and once she got to the landing, he glanced up at her "Do you want me to go get some help?"

The nurse, Sally, according to her nametag, knelt next to him and reached out to touch the cop's neck "Oh dear, yes! Go to the nurses' station up one level and tell them I need help, stat!"

Berry popped to his feet and ran up the steps and through the door. He got to the nurses' station and put in the request for help. Then he headed back to the stairwell to play up his part to the hilt. 'I will have to have an Oscar worthy performance to get out of this one' he thought to himself as he made his way to the top of the steps. Then a few of the nurses from the station trotted past him and to the scene of the cop's fall.

Now if the cop would do him a favor and not remember what had happened… he might just be able to turn the blond cop's 'accident' into an opportunity. Berry was well aware that someone with a true head injury often did not remember the events just preceding the accident.

He had interviewed, or tried to interview more then one person after an accident only to have them look at him and say, "What happened?" Just what did they think he was doing, as he stood there with a microphone in his hand and shoving it in their bewildered face? Berry shook his head, stupid people. Anyway, he wouldn't think about how much the cop might remember just now, he had a roll to play.

He watched the nurses give the cop a once over and one of them scuttled off to get a couple of orderlies and a gurney to get the man off the landing. "How is he?" He asked in a concerned voice as he slipped into his 'helpful citizen' mode as he descended a few of the steps to get closer so he could clearly hear anything they said.

He barely managed to keep the smile off his face as he listened to Sally whisper to the other nurses "That's Berry Brockman!" The nurses then shot curious and eager looks up the steps at him. Two of the women actually blushed.

"Is he going to be okay?" he pointed at the fallen man, maintaining his 'concerned citizen' façade.

"We hope so… hard to tell, looks like he hit these steps pretty hard. It helps that you found him though. We'll have to tell him that you helped him" Nurse Sally smiled up at him.

"No!" Berry cleared his throat "I mean, no… please don't" He waved his hands at them in a warding fashion. "It was nothing," he shrugged "really." And walked back up the steps towards the door.

"Oh, wow, modest and cute." He heard one of the nurse's comment quietly to the others.

Murmured agreements followed him out the door. This might be a good time to slip into Starsky's room and maybe ask some more questions, if the man had regained consciousness. While he didn't want a repeat of the earlier performance; he was eager for more details. He would be more cautious this time and try not to cause the man to have another attack.

He would also have to take care that the blond cop didn't find out he was back in his friend's room. It could get ugly if he did. Since Berry didn't know what, if anything, the blond might remember from the events preceding his fall, it would be best to stay close so that he could give his side of the story, once he figured out how badly hurt, or not, the blond cop was.

He returned his thoughts to the survivor, if Starsky was conscious, he would interview him, but, if the man were still unconscious, Berry figured he would just hang out in the room to try to gather information from the nurses about the man's condition. If anyone asked what he was doing in the room, he would tell them about the accident that the poor blond cop had and say that he was worried about the survivor not having anyone there to sit with him.

This would accomplish a few things, one being getting more information for the story, two meant being kept in the loop on the blond's condition, and lastly he would just look like a saint to his fans. He was pretty sure his popularity rating would be going through the roof very shortly. He approached the brunet cop's door when someone whispered his name. He stopped and turned around; it was Nurse Sally "Yes?"

"Umm, hi… I was wondering if I could-" she blushed and stammered and worked hard to regain her composure.

Here it comes, Berry thought

"-get your autograph?" she pulled out a small spiral notebook and a pen, sheepishly holding them out to him.

And there it is "Why certainly" He forced a smile on to his face. "How is that man doing?"

"They are sending him to ER and then probably X-ray, he has a nasty cut on his head, there could be other injuries, though nothing that I could tell was obviously broken… he was still out cold. That's not a good sign. Good thing you found him so quickly" She smiled up at him.

"Oh, Sally, don't sell yourself short, you would have found him if I hadn't been there. Besides, you're a nurse, and that makes you my heroine" Berry put his hand over his heart. "Why, you are helping people everyday. With your training and expertise, I'm sure he will recover. No Sally, I couldn't have helped him like you did" He put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently. He leaned down and kissed her cheek "Thank you for that."

Sally blushed and giggled. "Oh, Berry, if I weren't already married…"

"I'd be knocking on your door" He winked at her. "I have a small favor to ask."

She batted her eyes at him "Anything,"

"Do you think it would be alright if I just went in here and kept the survivor company while his friend gets checked out?" He raised his eyebrows at her.

"Oh, I bet Detective Hutchinson would like that. The poor man, he has hardly left his friend's side at all, according to the other shift. You just wait until I tell him what you are doing for him" Sally patted the reporter's arm "You're such a good man."

He covered her hand with his and held gently it down on his arm for a moment "Oh no Sally, please don't tell him… This could be our little secret. A special gift of kindness from one human to another, no strings attached. Just a simple act of kindness. Wouldn't that be nice?" Berry sighed and smiled off into space as though he were absorbing the pure kindness of his own words; he lightly caressed her hand then released it.

"It's too bad I'm married" Sally sighed "I could really fall hard for a man like you. All right then, it'll be our little secret" She sighed again, wistfully this time and she headed back to the nurses' station.

"Yeah, our little secret" Berry rolled his eyes and opened the door to the survivor's door and looked in. Good, he was all alone. He smiled and entered the room, closing the door quietly behind him.

XXXX

What are you doing? The Visitor stared at The Other in disbelief.

(The same thing that you are doing)

We cannot have both of them here.

(Why not?)

The Guide is close to the answer. He may yet find the solution and pull his friend from our grasp.

(That is precisely the reason to bring him here. He will have no one to guide him. With no one to guild Starsky, he will easily fall to us. Then we can collect the guide. The one called Berry is easy to manipulate, his mind is filled with thoughts only of himself, he does not care how he achieves his goals, only that he does. I can get him to help you some more. )

How so?

(By having him pretend to be the guide. It almost worked before, with the guide here, there is no one to interrupt this time. It will work.)

You had better be right. There is much at stake here; I grow concerned that you are becoming greedy; do not forget what you are and your place here.

(I know what I am! Do not profess to know more than I know about myself!)

The Visitor watched as The Other drifted away into the white space. He had never known The Other to react in such a fashion and was uncertain how to respond to the change. He drifted off to check on the brunet. He had his own goals to attain.

XXXX

Hutch looked about. Just where in the hell was he? The entire area was white. Everything was white. It was like a fog bank had rolled in and covered everything.

"Where am I?" He spoke out loud, or thought he had. But the sound seemed to be… muted some how; it was if the 'fog' had absorbed it. He looked about for a light source; he looked for something, anything to give him direction.

The light appeared to come from everywhere and nowhere. This place made no sense at all. "How did I get here?" He began to walk. There had to be someone here that could help him.

XXXX

"He has pressure building in his cranium. The brain is beginning to swell" Doctor Montgomery scanned the silent form on the table. 'Damn!' It was a shame that Detective Hutchinson had been injured in a fluke accident, he had apparently fallen down the steps. The poor man just couldn't seem to get a break. If it weren't for bad luck, the detective would have no luck at all. Montgomery placed a hand on the unconscious man's arm and gave it a little squeeze.

"Are we going to need to call Doctor Hermonson?" the head nurse prompted.

"Yes, good thinking." Montgomery stifled a yawn. He had been at the hospital twenty hours today and it didn't look like he was going to leave anytime soon. Not that he wanted to. But he needed sleep. It was far too easy to make mistakes when one is tired.

"Yes, call him and tell him to get in here, he may have some surgery to do."

"Yes doctor" the head nurse, Julie, made her way to the door to make the call. Just outside the room she noticed two second shift nurses talking. "Ladies, are you pulling doubles tonight?"

"Yes ma'am" One of the nurses sighed.

"Is there a problem?"

"No… well, not yet"

"Meaning?"

"I just heard on the radio that there is a snowstorm on the way. The weatherman says we could get a foot or more of snow tonight. It'll make for a tough time driving home in the morning."

"Oh" Nurse Julie grunted in response and hustled down the hall to her office. She had to get Doctor Hermonson on his way soon or he might not be able to make it at all, he had a long drive to get here. She sat at her desk and thumbed through her Rolodex, looking for the doctor's number. When she found it, she dialed the number and as she waited for someone to pick up, she looked out her window and watched as the snow fell outside her window.

XXXX

Berry Brockman looked out the window. Snow was falling. Great… the leading story in the a.m. would be about the weather. He looked over his shoulder at the survivor. If that man didn't wake up soon, or just get it over with and die, he was in for a long, boring night. 'Why me?' he rolled his eyes.

Nurse Sally had come in a few minutes ago and told him that Hutchinstein was still unconscious and if things didn't improve, he would likely need surgery to relieve the swelling in his head. Berry snickered. He had already guessed that the cop had a swelled head. Now it was official. He had medical proof. He chuckled again at his own joke. 'God, I really should do stand-up! The stories I could tell…'

He checked the clock on the wall. 'Good God! Why can't that thing move faster? I am so bored!'

(You would not be so bored if you had someone to talk to)

Berry stood stock-still. Someone was in the room with him. "Hello?" He slowly turned around and peered into the darkened corners of the room. His heart beat faster "who is in here?"

(No one is here… you are just imagining it. It is because you are so bored. You just need someone to talk to)

"Great Berry, you are going off the deep end here… and here's your proof, you are talking to yourself" he clenched his teeth. He did not need anyone to hear him doing that. He could loose some viewers.

(Just tell them that you were talking to Starsky… Remember how he responded to you the last time? Would that not make for some interesting viewing? You know you want to do that again… You enjoyed it. Just talk to him like before… what could it hurt? Think of your public… a whole new angle for a story… it will be great…)

It must be his intuition speaking to him. It would be a great new angle and it had been fun. What more would the victim say? What he had heard so far did make him want to hear more…

(Just do it)

"I will" His mind made up, Berry made his way to the survivor's side and sat down. The worst that could happen was that the detective would say nothing. 'That breathing attack had just been a coincidence, right?'

(Yes…so what could it hurt to talk to him?)

"Nothing, nothing at all" His mind made up, Berry looked at the man's hand 'It's show time, Berry… just grit your teeth and do it' he sighed 'the things I do for my public' he then grabbed the still man's hand.

The Other smiled.

TBC

Author Notes:
The inability to recall the events leading up to an injury is called Retrograde Amnesia.
Oh, and if you're curious: The inability to recall the events after an injury is called Anterograde (posttraumatic) Amnesia.