Hutch prodded dispiritedly at the grey meat, presumably turkey, on his plate. He knew he had to eat - he was constantly being either cajoled or scolded by the nurses about it, but he had no appetite, and the food was so unappealing that he just stared at it, thinking longingly of the fresh oranges and green beans growing in his beloved greenhouse. Determinedly, he forked up some unidentified khaki vegetables, studiously ignoring the festive touch of luminously red cranberry jelly that had never seen a cranberry in its life, and was just about to put it in his mouth, when he heard rapid footsteps in the hall. He paused, fork poised, as a denim clad bundle of energy bounced into the room, carrying a basket.

"Jesus, buddy, don't eat that! Who knows what it'll do to your system!"

Hutch watched in amazement as Starsky whisked the plate away, pulled a white napkin out of his pocket and spread it onto the bed table with a flourish.

"What are YOU doing here?"

"Can't a guy visit his buddy in hospital on Christmas Day"?

"Well, not when we agreed he was going to have a day off from visiting and spend the day with his mom and his aunt and uncle and his cousins..."

Starsky grinned, opened his basket with tha airof a conjurer, and pulled out silverware, a flask, a glass and a savory smelling covered plate.

"That was before I made the mistake of telling my mom you were here on your own"

He uncovered the plate to reveal a carefully arranged but very small Christmas dinner, and looked at it dubiously.

"Here. It's still hot- but it looks tiny"

"Oh Starsk, no, it's perfect. And it smells so good It's actually making me want to eat"

Starsky smiled in relief.

"That's what mom said you'd say. Dig in then. There's freshly squeezed juice here, but you're not to have any of that until you've eaten or it'll spoil your appetite. And there's a fruit salad for later"

Starsky watched Hutch eat with huge satisfaction, absentmindedly drinking his friend's juice, then put the empty plate away.

"That was so good. The first food I've enjoyed for three weeks. Can you thank your mom for me? Oh, wait, I'll write her a..."

"You can thank her yourself - she's coming in tonight to discuss what you might like to eat tomorrow"

"What?!"

"I'm afraid you're now an official Rachel Starsky project. Hutch, I'M in big trouble because I didn't tell her your mom wasn't here and she just assumed she was, but... Well, remind me how far away Deluth is?"

"About 1500 miles"

"Hmm- that might be far enough, but you might want to suggest to your mom that she wears a flak jacket for a while just in case..."