Virus
By: Sparkle731
Starsky is infected with a mysterious unidentified virus. Can the doctors find a way to save him or is it already too late? Major angst ahead. Chapter 22 posted. Story is complete.
Rated: Fiction T - English - Mystery/Angst - Chapters: 22 - Words: 32,394 - Reviews: 77 - Favs: 15 - Follows: 8 - Updated: Aug 17, 2008 - Published: Jun 25, 2008 - Status: Complete - id: 4349068
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CHAPTER 17
Shortly before ten am the next morning, Hutch pulled his battered vehicle into the large parking lot in front of the facility that Doctor Franklin had recommended. It was a long, one storey building with spacious, well cared for landscaping. Hutch helped Rachel from the car and they walked into the building side by side. The interior of the facility was painted in bright, cheerful colors and most of the staff appeared to be dressed in casual clothing instead of uniforms, identified only by the name tags pinned to their shirts. But in spite of the efforts to camouflage the purpose ofthe building, Hutch and Rachel could not forget what this place really was.
A pretty brunette in her late thirties with blue eyes and a warm smile saw them come in and went up to them immediately. "You must be the folks that Doctor Franklin called me about. He said to be expecting you. My name is Linda Manning and if you decide to send David here, I will be his case manager. Why don't we go back to my office so we can talk for a bit and then I'll give you a tour of the building?"
Hutch and Rachel followed her down a long hallway to a corner office. She ushered them inside and closed the door. The office was tastefully decorated with a couch and three comfortable chairs instead of a desk and the usual office furnishings. A computer sat on a stand in one corner of the room. It could have easily have been mistaken for someone's living room instead of someone's office. Rachel and Hutch sat on the sofa, while Linda sat on one of the chair across from them.
"First of all, I would like to point out that our facility is designed specifically for the care of patients in David's condition. Our goal is do whatever is necessary to help David come out of the coma and get back to his normal life as soon as possible."
"Then you do think he will wake up?" Rachel said hopefully
"I'm confident that he will…eventually. Unfortunately, there is no way to predict when that will happen. Most people are in a coma for a short period of time, a few days or a few weeks. However, some people seem to lose their way and can't find their way back to us. It's up to us to help them do that.
Our staff is trained to work one on one with each patient and each patient has their own individual physical and occupational therapist. They can provide more stimulation than they can at the hospital and as his family, we want you to be as involved in that process as much as possible." She paused to consult some notes and then continued, "For the time being David will remain on a catheter and willcontinue to be tube fed. His position will be changed every hour instead of every four hours to prevent bed sores and his muscles and limbs will be exercised to prevent the muscles from contracting. That's another example of the special care we can give him here that they can't provide in the hospital." She smiled encouragingly. "I know this is a lot to take in all at once but I can assure you that is where David needs to be right now in order to recover as quickly as possible. Our success rate in this type of case is the highest in the country." She rose gracefully to her feet, "Now, if you'll come with me, I'll give you a tour of the building."
Hutch and Rachel nodded and rose to their feet. They followed her out of the office and listened carefully as she described the facility as they went along. She showed them one of the typical patient rooms. There was a regular single bed instead of a traditional hospital bed with a second bed sitting against the opposite wall. There was also a love seat and a sofa arranged in one corner of the room with a TV sitting on a stand. As with the rest of the facility, special care had been taken to keep the room from looking like a typical hospital room. The patient sleeping quietly on the bed was dressed in a tee shirt and sweat pants instead of a hospital gown and soft music was playing in the background.
"We try to keep things resembling a home atmosphere as much as possible." Linda told them with a smile "And you are welcome to spend the night whenever you like…that's the purpose of the second bed in each patient's room."
"It's not like anything I imagined." Rachel admitted in a relieved voice. Hutch had to agree, the rooms were warm and welcoming putting the blond's worried mind at ease.
"That's the impression we hope to achieve." Linda told her "I think it's more comfortable this way for both the patient and the family. We also do not have any set visiting hours so you are welcome to stop by to see David anytime, day or night."
She continued the tour, showing them the therapy rooms, the fully equipped gym, the heated swimming pool and the recreation area for the ambulatory patients. By the end of their tour, both Rachel and Hutch were both impressed and reassured by the facility's appearance and the staff's obvious care and devotion to their patients. Hutch felt a renewed sense of hope that this place could really help Starsky get better. They thanked the woman for her time and told her that they would be in touch. As they left the building, Rachel turned to Hutch and said,
"It's a nice enough place and doesn't seem like any nursing home I've ever been in. I think I would feel comfortable sending David here."
"Does that mean you'll let him stay here in California instead of taking him back to New York?" Hutch asked hopefully.
"After seeing this place, yes." she said with a smile "Besides, I know that he has you to take care of him so he will be in good hands. I can go home with my mind at ease."
"Thank you." Hutch said gratefully
"You don't have to thank me. I know that you love him too." Rachel told him
Hutch gave a heavy sigh of relief, gratefulthat Rachel had approved of the facilityand was willing to allow Starsky to remain in Bay City. Hutch had been terrified that Rachel would decide that she wanted Starsky back in New York with her.
Hutch was pleased with the facility too. He believed that they would provide Starsky with the best of care and that they were the brunet's best hope for recovering from his ordeal and awakening from the coma that held him prisoner in his own mind.
He walked Rachel to his car and they drove back to the hospital where Rachel signed consent forms to have Starsky transferred to Willow Springs. He would be moved the following morning.
Hutch was grateful that Willow Springs was so receptive to allowing friends and family members to spend as much time as possible with their patients. In the past, Hutch had often had to fight hospital staff and policy to be allowed to stay with Starsky when he was hurt or ill. Although neither man could explain why it happened, they always recovered better when the other one was there to encourage them and give them the strength to go on. It was just another facet of the unique bond that held them together.
That bond had existed almost from the day they had met at the police academy and over the years it had grown stronger until, sometimes, Hutch didn't know where he began and Starsky ended. They were two halves of the same whole, neither one complete without the other one by his side. True soul mates in every sense of the word. Their lives had become so intertwined that their partnership was closer than most marriages, just without the physical relationship. Rumors had surfaced throughout the years that maybe they were too close, more than just friends. That couldn't have been farther from the truth and neither man let the rumors bother them.
Sometimes when Hutch took the time to analyze things, he knew that Starsky had become too big a part of his life to ignore. It was difficult for him to function independently when the brunet's life was at stake. The thought of his life without the whirlwind that was David Starsky in it was incomprehensible to the big blond. With the brunet by his side, Hutch felt empty and unbalanced. Above all, Hutch missed Starsky's laugh, his stupid jokes and the sound of his voice. He missed the way they communicated without speaking, their use of touch to keep each other grounded and secure. Starsky had to come out of the coma before Hutch lost it completely.
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