Chapter 7

After two hours with no noise from the bedroom, Hutch quietly opened the door to check on Starsky, expecting to find him asleep on the bed. He was stunned and frightened to find the room empty. The bedroom window was open with the screen leaning against the wall. It was obvious that Starsky had snuck out of the house and was somewhere in the neighborhood, roaming the streets by himself. In his present condition, he was an easy target for trouble.\

Rushing to the phone, Hutch quickly dialed Caption Dobey at home. When the burly, black man answered, the blond blurted out, "Starsky ran away! I need help finding him before he gets into trouble."

"Slow down," Dobey said calmly, "What do you mean he ran away?"

"He's been acting like a brat all day." Hutch explained. "I finally had to spank him. He went into the bedroom and crawled out the window. I don't know how long he's been out there alone!"

Dobey chuckled softly at the thought of the tender hearted blond spanking his best friend for throwing a temper tantrum. "He couldn't have gotten too far." Dobey said, remaining calm. Hutch was upset enough for both of them. "You start looking for him and I'll call the station and put out an alert. If anyone spots him, I'll tell them to contact you instead of approaching him directly."

"Thanks, Cap." Hutch said, hanging up the phone and digging his keys out of his pocket as he hurried out the door to search for his runaway friend.

For the next three hours, Hutch drove around the neighborhood and adjacent streets without spotting the brunet. He stopped a few times to ask neighbors out walking or doing work in their yards if they had seen Starsky but nobody had. Hutch knew the brunet couldn't have gone too far on foot and he didn't have any money on him for a cab

Still, Hutch was worried about Starsky being out there alone. The two men had made too many enemies over the years for Starsky to be wandering around the streets by himself. In his present condition, he wouldn't recognize a threat until it was too late. And there was the very real danger of a predator seeing Starsky and taking advantage of him once he realized the brunet's current mental status.

Starsky was huddled in his hiding spot, trying hard not to cry, when he heard a welcome, familiar voice calling his name. "Hutch?" He whispered almost breathlessly. He listened until he heard the sound of his name again, then he yelled "HUTCHHHH…"

Within seconds, the big blond was kneeling in front of him and pulling Starsky into the warmth of his comforting embrace. Safe now, Starsky let the tears fall as he threw his arms around Hutch's neck and buried his face against his shoulder. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry…" He whimpered, "I'll be good. I won't run away again."

"Shhh…" Hutch soothed him gently, his anger at Starsky's actions dissolving now that he had found the missing brunet safe and sound. "Come on, let's go home." He helped Starsky to his feet and slipped an arm around his waist as he led him out of the alley and back to his car. Starsky held on to the blond desperately, afraid to let go now that he had been rescued.

Settling him down in the front seat, Hutch crossed around to the other side and got into the car. Glancing at his still sniffling partner, he said, "You wanna stop at McDonalds on the way home?"

Starsky nodded shyly and said in a muffled voice, "Am I in trouble? Are you going to whip me again for being bad?"

"No, I think you've been punished enough. Don't you?" Hutch told him with a fond smile.

Starsky nodded solemnly and smiled through his tears. The look of absolute trust in those familiar, sapphire eyes swept over Hutch in a wave of emotion that threatened to overwhelm him. The love that he felt for the man sitting beside him was strong and true, a pure love unlike any he had ever known before in his life, at least until he met the feisty brunet who had broken through all of his barriers with one crooked smile.

After a quick stop at the popular fast food restaurant, Hutch drove back to Starsky's apartment and they went inside. While Starsky slouched on the sofa to enjoy his food, Hutch went into the bathroom to answer the call of nature. As the big blond turned to leave the bathroom, his feet got tangled in the rug in front of the tub and he pitched forward, hitting his head on the edge of the sink as he fell.

"Hutch?" Starsky called out when he heard the thud from the bathroom. When Hutch didn't answer, the brunet stood up and looked at the closed bathroom door apprehensively. Crossing the room, he timidly knocked on the door and said, "Hutch, are you okay?" When Hutch still didn't answer, Starsky started to open the door but something heavy seemed to be in the way, preventing it from opening all the way. Peering in through the crack in the door, Starsky saw Hutch lying on the bathroom floor, unconscious, a deep gash in his forehead bleeding profusely. "HUTCH!" He yelled, shoving desperately at the door which was partially blocked by Hutch's body.

Finally managing to get the door open, Starsky fell to his knees beside his friend and reached out to pat the pale face. The sight of the blood rapidly pooling beneath the blond head terrified him. There was so much of it and it kept coming. Starsky wanted to cry in frustration, not sure what to do, but knowing that he had to get help. Bouncing to his feet, he hurried back into the living room and grabbed the phone, dialing the phone number he knew by heart. Home.

His mother's calming voice answered on the first ring. "Ma," he cried out hysterically "Hutch fell and hurt himself and he's bleeding! What should I do?" Starsky blurted out.

Rachel Starsky replied calmly, giving her son the same instructions she would have given him if he really was six-years-old, "Davey, I want you to calm down and do exactly what I tell you to."

"Okay…"

"Hang up the phone and then get a towel and hold it against wherever Hutch hurt himself. Hold it tight, that will help stop the bleeding. As soon as you hang up, I'll call that nice Captain Dobey and have him send someone there to help you. Can you do that for me?"

"Yes…" Starsky said, a bit hesitantly, but trusting his mother's wisdom.

"Good boy. Now hang up the phone so I can call Captain Dobey for you."

Starsky did as he was told and ran back into the bathroom to help Hutch. He pulled down one of the thick white towels on the rack beside the sink and pressed it against Hutch's forehead, holding it tightly with both hands as his mother had instructed.

"Please be okay, Hutch. Don't die…" he whispered. Starsky swayed unsteadily, a blinding pain cutting through his head at the sight of the blood on the floor. He fought against the darkness that tried to pull him down into it's comforting embrace. He had to help Hutch until somebody else got there to take over.

Fifteen minutes later, Captain Dobey and two paramedics burst through the front door. The burly black man swallowed back the lump in his throat at the image of Starsky sitting on the bathroom floor with Hutch's head cradled in his lap, holding a blood soaked towel against the big blond's forehead. Starsky looked up beseechingly, his eyes wild and filled with fear. In a tiny voice, he begged, "Please…help him."

"Well, don't just stand there!" Dobey told the paramedics gruffly, "Take care of him now!"

The paramedics sprang into action. A quick examination revealed that while the gash on Hutch's forehead was deep and he had lost a lot of blood, it was not life threatening. He probably had a concussion and would have one hell of a headache when he woke up but he should be okay as soon as he got medical attention.

Captain Dobey helped a badly shaken and terrified Starsky to his feet, slipping a protective arm around his waist as they watched the paramedics tend to Hutch.

"Is he gonna die like my Pop did?" Starsky whimpered, seemingly unaware that he had spoken about his father in the past tense and acknowledged that he was dead.

"No, son. You did just what you should have done. You took care of him until help got here. Thanks to you, he's going to be okay." Dobey reassured him. "We'll follow the ambulance to the hospital and then you can see him after the doctors take care of him."

"Okay," Starsky said meekly. After the paramedics had loaded Hutch onto a portable stretcher, Dobey and Starsky followed them out of the apartment. Starsky climbed into the Captain's car and fastened his seat belt, his eyes still wide with fear, as the burly black man crawled into the front seat and turned on the ignition.

When they reached the hospital, they had to wait while the doctors examined Hutch and accessed his injury. Starsky sat quietly beside the Captain while the black man filled out the necessary paperwork for Hutch's treatment, a task that under normal circumstances would have fallen to Starsky.

"I was bad." Starsky said in a small voice after the Captain had completed the paperwork and turned it back in at the admitting desk. "He got hurt because I ran away."

"That's not true. It was an accident." Dobey told him, "You can't blame yourself for an accident."

"But, I was still a bad boy for running away."

"Yes, it was bad to run away and scare everybody like that. You could have gotten hurt out there by yourself." Dobey agreed.

"I just wanted to go home." Starsky said, tears welling up in his eyes. "I miss my Mom and Pop."

"I know you do." Dobey slipped his arms around the younger man's shoulders. Secretly, he considered both Starsky and Hutch to be his 'adopted' sons and he cared deeply for both of them. Not only were they his best team of detectives, they were also part of his family.

The doctor finally came out and told them that Hutch would be okay but he would have to stay in the hospital for a couple of days as a precaution. Although, he was heavily sedated, the doctor allowed the Captain and Starsky to see him for a few minutes. Starsky smiled broadly, obviously relieved, when he saw for himself that Hutch was okay. Even in his current condition, the bond between the two friends was as strong as ever.

"You can come home with me until Hutch gets out of the hospital." Dobey told Starsky.

"Why can't I stay here with Hutch?" Starsky demanded, turning trouble eyes to his commanding officer. "He might be scared if he wakes up and I'm not here. I don't want to scare him again."

Dobey hid a smile at the familiar words. The adult Starsky would never leave Hutch's side when he was hurt and that bond was still as strong as ever. Still, at the moment, Starsky needed someone to take care of him too.

"It's okay. I'll tell the nurses to let him know that you're with me." Dobey reassured him. "And we can call later to see how he's doing. If he's awake, you can talk to him. How's that?"

"Okay." Starsky said quietly, bowing his head. He still felt guilty about Hutch getting hurt even though he knew it was an accident. His childlike state was clearly emphasized by his agreeing to go with Dobey so easy, leaving the big blond behind.

Silently, he followed the Captain out of the hospital. In his heart, the brunet felt like he should be staying at Hutch's side no matter what anybody said but he wasn't quite sure exactly why he felt that way.

When they reached the Dobey home, little Rosie immediately threw her arms around Starsky and held on tight. She was delighted that one of her favorite 'uncles' was going to be staying overnight. Starsky didn't object when the precocious child took his hand and led him off to her room to play with her new toys.

Edith Dobey came out of the kitchen and looked at her weary husband. "At least Hutch found him and they're both going to be okay." She said "Why don't you come and help me finish supper? I'm making your favorite. Fried chicken."

"With mashed potatoes and gravy?" He asked hopefully, as he playfully swatted his wife on the backside.

"Of course." Edith said, laughing at her husband's good-natured teasing, "Would I forget something that important?" As they disappeared into the kitchen, she looked at her husband solemnly and said, "Is David really all right? That must have been pretty traumatic for him under the circumstances."

"He was pretty shook up but he came through it okay. I think he's starting to remember some things. He asked me if Hutch was going to die like his Pop did."

"That's terrible." Edith stated , "He's so confused right now…I'm glad you brought him home with you until Hutch gets out of the hospital."

"Well, I couldn't just leave him there. He still needs somebody to watch him until he's himself again."

"Well, I think Rosie has decided to take on that job." Edith said with a chuckle. "She was so excited when I told her that he was going to be staying with us for a couple of days."

"Did you tell her about Hutch?"

"Just that he hurt his head too and that he had to stay in the hospital for a while."

"Well, it looks like Rosie has a new playmate for the next couple of days." Dobey said, with a chuckle, as he began to set the table for supper.