Chapter 5

'Starsk?'

'Starsky?'

'Hey….Gordo'.

That got his attention and Starsky woke with a start, his neck cracking painfully as he brought his head up too quickly from his hands. His indigo eyes blinked owlishly in the early morning light and he rubbed at them with his knuckles until he felt awake enough to look around and slowly they focussed on the blond in the bed.

Hutch's eyes were open and clearer than Starsky had seen them in a while and now they held some insistence, the blond having woken earlier and spent some quiet time just collecting his thoughts and watching his partner sleep. It seemed such a long time since he had had time to just lie still, the past days having been a continuous round of chasing Calendar and later having doctors and nurses pulling, prodding and sticking needles and tubes into just about very orifice. And through it all had been that brunette constant providing comfort and a knowledge that the real world was still there outside and waiting for him. It was so wrong for him to be laid in bed. At 28 he should be out back on his beloved streets, gun in hand, catching the bad guys. How much longer was this nightmare going to go on? He needed to be well; he needed to be out of here!

The needles scared him, although he wouldn't readily admit it. Only his partner knew just how much he got freaked out when the staff came at him with the drugs.

It wasn't that the needles were painful, and in fact now he had the central inserted, they didn't even puncture his skin any more. But each time he saw the dull metal of the small needles coming at him he broke out into a cold sweat thinking about the horse. The small silver spoon; the tiny flame; the brown liquid pulled into the barrel of the tiny syringe. And the constant flicking against his arm as the goons looked for a vein that hadn't collapsed.

In those desperate days when he'd been held captive, he'd longed for the sweet rush the drug gave him. The lighter than air feeling he got at the beginning of the trip when the world seemed right; when he could have laid in his bed for ever, his mind happily closed down to the feelings within his own body, World war three could have erupted right inside that poky little room, and Hutch would have smiled benevolently at it. But the rush lasted for progressively shorter and shorter periods.

The blond hadn't even told his partner, in all the time since the episode that even now there were times when he thought about those sweet feelings and longed for just one more experience; just one more gallop on the brown horse back to oblivion.

But he realised bitterly that after that rush came the paranoia, the pain, the anguish and the cramps. He remembered vividly the sweat soaking his body and the distorted view of the world he had had from his red rimmed eyes when his body was yearning for his next dose. And it was the memory of the pain he experienced in Huggy's upstairs room that always made the longing for the next fix fade into the background.

Would it ever end? No. And it scared him.

He put the dark thoughts to the back of his mind now and looked at the dark curly haired man next to him, thankful all over again that he had a friend like Starsky.

'Starsk?' the voice was thin and raspy but the harsh panting of the past 36 hours had gone and Hutch's face held no trace of fever.

'Blondie, how are you doin'?'

'Thirsty'.

Starsky understood how the oxygen could make him feel dry as a bone. Gently he pulled the mask away from his partner's face. He reached for the glass of water and gently held the straw to the blonde's lips. Hutch sucked and swallowed feeling the cool fluid easing the fire in his throat. His head sagged back against the pillow and he gazed at the curly haired man at his bed side.

'You look like shit!'

Starsky snorted. 'Have ya seen a mirror lately? You're no oil painting yourself Blintz'.

Hutch felt cold, for the first time in a long time and raised the single sheet covering the bed and looked down at himself. 'Hmm. A naked oil paining' he mused. 'What happened to the fashion statement?'

'The dress? Nope. Naked is how all the good cops are going this season. And the yellow clashed with your eyes' Starsky smiled; glad to have a shadow of his partner back with him.

Hutch's eyes were beginning to droop and he wriggled in the bed. 'I wanna turn over' he grunted and then winced. He felt like he'd been on his side for an eternity. Although his body felt cold, his pillow felt hot and uncomfortable and he longed for the cool crisp pillow cases on his bed at home.

'Ya still got the hose pipe in your back babe. You'll have to stay stlll for a while yet. But I'll get the nurse huh? See if we can make you feel more comfortable?' he pushed the nurse call button and within minutes a pretty young nurse pushed her way into the room

'Well hello there. I was wondering when you'd wake up' she dimpled at the blond. She checked Hutch's pulse, temperature and respiration rate and noted her findings down on the chart at the bottom of his bed. She returned to the head of the bed.

'How are you feeling?' she asked as she gently lifted the drowsy man and turned the pillow over, plumping it up and making it feel soft and fresh. Hutch snuggled his face back into it with a sigh.

'Tired' Hutch replied tiredly.

'I'll go and let Doctor Kaufman know you're awake. Maybe we can take down some of these tubes soon. Then you'll start to feel better' she said and went in search of the Doctor. Starsky watched the nurse's butt wiggle as she went out of the room.

'I can tell you're not up to your usual standard just yet' he chuckled at the bedridden blond.

'Yeah?'

'Ya never gave her a second look! Cute little…..'

'Hey…..I'm the one that gets the bed bath, buddy' Hutch gave a ghost of a smile and then started to cough. The fit took him by surprise and he clutched weakly at his chest as the hacking left him sweating and pale.

As the fit receded, he lay back on the pillows panting. 'Guess ….not up to……nurses just yet'.

'That's ok. I'll have your share………shit!' Starsky said, standing a little too quickly. He made a grab for the bed as the room took a dip to one side and sat back down quickly. He closed his eyes and waited for the world to stop wobbling just as Judith came bustling into the room. She looked first at Hutch and then at Starsky, taking the brunette by the arm and leading him to the other bed in the small ward and pushing him down onto it.

'How are you feeling?' she asked, shining a light into his eyes and pulling up his eyelids.

'Just tired, I guess. I got a little dizzy there, but……Oh my god. You don't think I've got the…….Doc?'

She shook her head. 'We'll take another blood sample just to be sure, but I think you're just exhausted. When was the last time you ate?'

Starsky knitted his eyebrows in concentration. 'Dunno. When did I…..must be a couple of days I suppose'.

Judith shook her head. 'And the last time you slept?'

'I can't remember. I dozed for a while. Does that count?'

'Well my diagnosis as a doctor is that you're exhausted and if you're not careful you're going to be dehydrated as well. So you have two choices Dave. You can either lie there while I get the nurse to bring you a proper meal and a drink and then go to sleep. Or I can set up a drip and sedate you. What's it to be?'

Starsky grinned up at her. 'I love it when you're so masterful. I'm not too fond of needles, so I'm gonna go with the second option' He lay back against the pillow and closed his eyes as Judith headed back to her real patient.

'Don't let him…..fool ya. He played Camille' Hutch panted, still recovering from the coughing fit as she checked his chart and peeked at the drain bottle and catheter bag.

'I think we can take the drain out of your back now' she said. 'But I'm still worried that your output isn't what it should be. I'll take another set of bloods to see what the antibiotics are doing'.

'Sounds good' the blond mumbled. He felt light and spacey and still so damned tired despite all the sleep he'd had. Hutch wasn't used to being sick. That was his partner's job and it was his task to make sure he was there looking after the brunette and fussing over him. He felt stupid and useless now as he lay in the bed. It seemed such a long time since that moment in the lab when his life had turned upside down and the Doc had told him he could die. Hutch was so damned thankful that Starsky had found Calendar and that he'd gotten the serum in time. But he'd kind of hoped that it would be a case of one injection and then a miracle cure. He'd never expected to be in bed for so long and in fact he couldn't remember the last time he'd been so sick for so long. Even when his leg had been broken he was in pain, but not sick. This plague thing just sucked.

He could feel Judith doing things around his back and felt the draft as she lifted the sheet. He shivered involuntarily.

'C cold'.

A warm hand appeared on his back, rubbing smoothly and gently up to his shoulder blades and back down to his butt and she leaned over, whispering in his ear. 'is that warmer?'

Hutch looked over his shoulder at her, the shadow of a grin on his face. 'First you tell me I'm cute when there's a window between us an' I can't do anything about it. And now you wait till I'm one step away from dead to play the big come on. Jeez, Judith. Wait till I'm well again huh?'

She giggled. 'I have to take your mind off the drain somehow you know'.

'Yeah? Is that the only reason?'

She left him and set to gathering the equipment she needed, finally bending over the bed and taking off the dressing over the wound. She gently snipped the two stitches holding the tube in place, then rested one hand on her patient's shoulder.

'When I say ready, I want you to cough'.

Hutch snorted. 'Not a problem. Can't seem to stop coughing' he mumbled, taking hold of a handful of sheet and bracing himself. He felt the cold again at his back and heard her count to three. As she hit the magic number, he coughed hard, but still it couldn't disguise the feeling of his lungs being ripped out through his spine.

'OK Hutch. One more time. Cough now'. She pulled the offending tube clear.

'Ungh……ach……shit that feels so wrong' he grunted as he pulled the sheet up around his chin.

Judith bent over him and gave him a very un-doctor-like kiss. 'You were very brave' she said kissing the tip of his nose. 'Now, just let me put this new dressing over the wound and you can maybe lie on your back or sit up a little'.

He waited, the tip of his nose still tingling form the kiss. Even in his weary condition he could feel the beginnings of a stirring in his loins and he was glad he wasn't laid on his back at that particular moment. It wouldn't do for the good lady doctor to see that she'd given her patient a boner as well as a drain in the back. He curled his leg up to disguise the swelling in the centre of his body, made all the more uncomfortable by the dreaded catheter still in place. As the woman finished her ministrations she tapped him on the shoulder.

'Do you want to try rolling over onto your back now?'

Hutch winced at the small pain from the drain wound, but managed to roll over and as he settled onto his back he glanced over to the other bed in the room. Starsky was laid on his side, curled around like a little boy, short only of a thumb in his mouth. His dark, bristle shadowed face was relaxed in sleep and his eyelashes were dark smudges against his cheeks.

'Is he ok?' Hutch asked.

'What is it with you two? You only ever ask about each other. Yes, he's just tired out'.

Hutch chuckled. 'I guess it means a lot. We both watch each other's backs' he yawned and the deep breath made him cough again, sending the pains through his chest and back again.

'Shit, this sucks' he gasped when he could catch his breath again. 'I hate this……feel so useless'.

'Ssh. You're doing so well. I don't think you realise just how sick you've been' Judith said, stroking his forehead as Hutch closed his eyes. 'We seriously thought you might not make it' she said gently.

It brought the blond up short, literally taking his breath away.

'I know. I'm thankful, honest I am. Just so fucking tired……hurts'.

Hutch felt a movement at his chest and opened his eyes to see the doctor depressing the plunger of a syringe into the central line.

'What's that?'

'Antibiotic and something to make you sleep. You need your rest and so does Dave. And if you're asleep, he'll sleep too'.

The drug was beginning to take effect and Hutch fought to keep his eyes open. 'Don't want…..sleep too long…….not…….tir……' he never finished the word as his eyes closed and his face relaxed into a peaceful expression.

Slowly Judith got up and looked from one sleeping man to the next. Smiling, she went out of the room, closing the door quietly behind her.