Chapter 4

Hutch gently ran his fingers through Starsky's thick dark curls, smiling faintly when he saw the eyelids flutter slightly. "Come on, babe" he whispered encouragingly "Open those eyes for me…let me see those baby blues." Starsky made a muffled sound somewhere between a snort and a sniffle. Slowly, his eyes opened just enough for Hutch to see a hint of blue. A huge grin tugged at the big blond's lips and he said, "Hey, buddy…come on…open 'em the rest of the way for me."

Slowly, those eyes did as Hutch had asked. Starsky's pupils were dilated from the medication, the black almost hiding the brilliant sapphire blue. There was a dazed, confused look in the gaze that swept anxiously over Hutch's familiar face. Starsky's right hand fluttered in the air, searching for the comfort of Hutch's touch. Hutch grabbed the searching hand and held on tightly, concerned at the coolness of Starsky's skin.

"Hey, babe." Hutch said fondly to attract Starsky's wandering attention.

"Hu'sh…" Starsky said, slurring Hutch's name the way he always did when he was stoned on pain meds. It always amused Hutch to hear Starsky sound like he was telling him to be quiet. Alert enough to know that Hutch was there and that he was safe, Starsky cradled the side of his face against Hutch's hand like a cat looking for a rub. Hutch chuckled softly and scratched his fingers against the brunet's temple affectionately.

"Hey…how you feeling?"

"Lousy…" Starsky said, the effort of talking rapidly depleting his energy. He struggled to draw a deep breath into his congested lungs. The wheezing sound of his labored breathing filled the air. Long dark lashes brushed against his cheeks for a moment before those glazed eyes flickered open again, locking on Hutch's face as if it were his salvation. "Hospital…" he mumbled.

Hutch knew it was not a question. He nodded slightly and tightened his fingers around Starsky's hand. "I had to do it, buddy. You were too dehydrated and your fever wasn't coming down. You gave me a pretty bad scare there for a minute."

Starsky nodded and his eyes closed again. This time they stayed closed and his breathing eased and deepened as he fell into a deep, healing slumber. Hutch kept hold of his hand, unconcerned about the conclusions the nurses might jump too when they came in to check on Starsky. He had become immune to the second glances and snide remarks when it came to the depth of his relationship with Starsky. He no longer questioned the need that the brunet fulfilled in his life. Starsky was as much a part of Hutch as Hutch was of Starsky. Two halves of the same whole, truly complete only when they were together.

He glanced up as the door opened and Doctor Franklin stepped into the room. Without a word, he quickly checked Starsky's vital signs and assessed his condition. When he had finished, he nodded his head towards the door, gesturing for Hutch to join him in the hallway. Hutch nodded and gently laid Starsky's hand down on the bed before rising to his feet and following the doctor out of the room.

"Let's step into the doctor's lounge for a moment." The doctor said, leading the way down the hall to a room on the left. As they stepped inside, Doctor Franklin flipped the sign on the outside of the door so that it read "Do Not Disturb". He shut the door securely and then looked at the big blond with a guarded look in his eyes.

"What's up?" Hutch asked in a tightly controlled voice. He felt a fist of steel clamping down around his heart at the expression on the older man's face and somehow he knew that the news he was about to give him was not going to be pleasant.

"I just reviewed the results of the preliminary tests that we ran on David." The doctor intoned solemnly "The tests have turned up an unidentified virus in his system that appears to be related to his current symptoms."

"Are you saying that he doesn't have the flu that's been going around?"

"Yes. Although the symptoms are similar to the recent strain of flu that's infecting people in the city, the virus in David's system is something completely different. I've never seen anything like it before."

"You mean you don't know what this virus is or how he got it?" Hutch demanded in a stunned voice.

"I'm afraid not."

"But you can still treat it, right?"

"We can treat the symptoms and hopefully keep David as comfortable as possible but we can't effectively treat the virus without knowing more about it."

"So find out more about it!" Hutch snapped in an irritated voice, his nerves and patience stretched to the limit. His main concern, his only concern, was for Starsky and his well being. The news about Starsky's present condition brought back unpleasant memories of Hutch's own bout with a mysterious plague a few months ago that had almost killed him and half the city. He would have died if Starsky hadn't made a deal with the international hit man that was the carrier, convincing him to come in so the doctors could use his blood to make an antidote that saved hundreds of people.

"It's not that simple. Viruses often evolve over time and become resistant to standard medical procedures. That makes it difficult to determine a course of treatment. We're trying to isolate the properties of this particular virus but that's going to take some time."

"How much time?"

"Days, maybe even longer. We do know that this particular virus is not responding favorably to our typical treatment methods."

"You mean Starsky is going to get worse? Is this virus contagious?"

"Yes, I'm afraid that David's condition may continue to deteriorate unless we can find some answers soon. And no, as far as we can determine, the virus doesn't seem to be spread through direct contact so we shouldn't have to worry about other cases developing. I have put in a call to the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta to see if they have ever encountered this particular virus before. If they have, that will at least give us some direction in David's case."

"Could he…" Hutch said, stopping momentarily as his mouth refused to voice the thoughts that screamed through his mind. He took a deep shuddering breath and voiced his greatest fear. "Could Starsky die from this if you can't find a cure in time?"

"That's a possibility that we can't rule out at this point. This particular virus appears to systematically attack all the major systems in the patient's body causing a variety of problems…a high fever, dehydration, vomiting, nausea, muscle spasms, fluid building up in his lungs. All we can do is treat each symptom individually as it occurs while we continue to try and isolate the source of the virus." His eyes softened and he reached out to lay a comforting hand on Hutch's shoulder. "Rest assured that we are doing everything humanly possible to help David."

Hutch nodded and gently pulled away from the doctor's touch. It wasn't his touch that Hutch needed the most right now. "I have to get back to Starsky." He said grimly, turning on his heel and leaving the room. He hurried back to Starsky's room and resumed his vigil at his ailing partner's side. His mind was reeling with this new information. Why did things like this always seem to happen to Starsky? Was this it? Was this the end? Was he going to lose his partner this time?

A sob caught in Hutch's throat. He couldn't imagine his life without Starsky in it. Without Starsky at his side, Hutch knew that he would have no life. At least not one worth living. And this time, there was no bad guy to go after to vent his revenge on. No one to bring to justice. All he could do was to wait and pray that the doctors would find some answers in time to save his best friend's life. Regardless, Hutch knew that his place was here at his partner's side for the duration.

He made a mental note to call Captain Dobey with this latest development. He also needed to call Gretchen. He had promised to let her know if Starsky's condition worsened. She had stopped by the hospital to visit the brunet while he was still unconscious, visibly upset and worried about him.

Hutch decided to wait before making the one call that he didn't want to have to make and that was the one to Starsky's mother back in New York. Rachel Starsky had suffered a mild stroke recently and any bad news about her eldest son could be detrimental to her own health. Whenever Starsky was hospitalized, he always insisted that his mother not be called unless there was no choice so he wouldn't worry her unnecessarily. Hutch bowed his head and offered a silent prayer to a God he was no longer sure he believed in to watch over Starsky.