Safe House
Chapter 13
Huggy came charging into the room with Bernie at the back of him. They were followed by four patrolmen and two medics. Huggy was issuing orders to the patrolmen as if he was born to it, and truth to tell, he was completely caught up in the moment. And amazingly, the patrolmen were taking the orders and acting on them. They glanced around the room, taking in the sight of the big blond detective stooped over his partner. They winced at the sight of Starsky, still laid on his back, bloody and broken. They knew both detectives and were sad and angry that this had happened to them – it always seemed to be these two who got a rough deal, Then they roughly took hold of the still unconscious Barrera and dragged him from the room
Huggy Bear was still coming to terms with his new persona. He, Huggy Bear, who didn't even own a gun, had shot a know felon and was now telling policemen what to do! They'd found his friend, and, if not in one piece, he was at least alive. A day doesn't get much better than this, he thought!
Hutch moved to one side as the medics arrived to assess the situation. They were staggered at the sight of the blond holding the tube in his partner's neck, fresh blood still glistening on his hands. The blond moved his body a little so that the medics could see what was happening, whilst still holding the tube in place. Starsky remained unconscious thankfully as the blond told the medics the history as he knew it.
'This is Detective Sergeant David Michael Starsky, 34. He's been here for two days and has severe injuries to his left wrist – I'm presuming it's broken, but there's still a metal handcuff round it. He's been whipped and beaten on his back. There are blisters on his chest and legs where he's either been burned or scalded. He's got cigarette type burns over his chest and upper arms and he has a gunshot wound in his leg. I saw his assailant hit him across the throat and when I got to him, he couldn't breath, so I…………' his voice trailed off, suddenly overcome by the enormity of his friend's injuries, his voice breaking.
The room seemed to be swaying slightly, and one of the medics took a swift hold of the pen tube still in the brunette's neck as Hutch sat back heavily on the floor. Huggy was still issuing orders and making sure Barrera was put safely into the black and white before being taken away, but Bernie couldn't stand to see the big blond man looking so sad and lost. The tall man moved to sit next to Hutch and put an arm round his shoulders, patting Hutch's arm and stroking the golden hair. Hutch looked at the man gratefully and returned the hug.
The medics were trying to see Starsky's back, but the brunette was lying on it and they didn't want to disturb things too much, so they took the blond detective's word for the injuries.
'Easy Gordo, easy. They just gotta check you over. The real guys are here now an' you're gonna be Ok, ya hear me. Just let 'em do what they have to Starsk. Just relax'.
Starsky' body remained deathly still as the medics swabbed a small area on his unwashed arm and slid in a needle. Within minutes, the brunette relaxed completely for the first time in a long time, and the medics carried on their work.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
The drive down to Bay City in the ambulance was done slowly, the medics not wanting to cause any jarring to the already delicate man in their care. As one drove, the other sat in the back with his patient, checking readings, altering flow rates on the IV, raising the eyelid occasionally to look for pupil reactions. All the time, Hutch sat holding the brunette's hand, relishing the physical contact.
He had sent Huggy back to town in Starsky's big red Torino with admonishments to take it easy and get it back in one piece. Huggy relished driving the car and was not about to break Starsky's baby with careless driving, and so he nursed the powerful vehicle down the hill, easy as anything. He had taken Bernie with him. Partly because the tall man became almost hysterical at the prospect of leaving Starsky, and partly because with Dennis, Tyrone and Bobby now dead, there was nowhere else for him to go.
In the relative calm of the ambulance, Hutch thought back on how many other times he'd done a similar journey, never knowing how his partner's life would turn out. He smiled as he thought of the time in the Italian restaurant. Starsky had taken a bullet in the back, another one creasing his forehead. In true Starsky spirit, his last words to his partner before he passed out were 'I'm hungry'. Then the ambulance had arrived and carted them both off to Memorial, where once again the brunette had been patched up.
And then there was that time with the poison, wasn't there? I can't laugh at that one – it was too close Gordo. God, if I hadn't got that antidote in time! Because you shot the only goddamn witness who could have helped us, just to save my life. I should be grey, not blond with all you put me through.
But Hutch knew that he could never cruise the streets with anyone but the brunette at his side. Starsky might be irritating as hell with his obsessions, and burritos and watches, but in a crisis, Hutch would never trust his life to anyone else, but this strong, handsome, childlike, brave guy laid on the stretcher next to him.
The ambulance drew up outside the hospital and Hutch followed his partner's still sleeping body inside. Knowing the drill by now, he waited outside the ER, pacing the familiar tiles as he waited for news. He would never insist on going in and getting in the way unless his partner was awake and agitated. Starsky was like a child, a brother and a hero all rolled into one. He needed the comfort of knowing Hutch was there when he was hurting. Needed to know he could reach out and touch the blond when the pain got too intense, knowing he'd never give an outward sign of the pain to the nurses and doctors. That'd make him look weak in front of strangers, and that was something he'd never do. Displays of pain and weakness were reserved for Hutch alone. It was only with the big blond that Starsky could let down his guard and let his true feelings show. He knew that only Hutch would have any inkling of what he was truly going through, the blond having gone through it too.
Hutch remembered the times when he'd hung on to the muscular frame of his partner as waves of pain shook him. When he'd looked into Hutch's ice blue eyes and whispered 'It hurts, Hutch. Oh God it hurts. And Hutch had held him and rubbed his arms and his back gently and soothed him and told him to hang in there everything would be OK. He ached at the moment to be there with the brunette now, but knew he was being cared for and that anyway he was unconscious.
The door to the department pushed open and Dobey and Huggy walked in, Dobey taking the lead. He walked over to the blond detective and touched his arm carefully – the only show of emotion the Captain would ever permit himself to make.
'How bad is it?' he asked.
Hutch shook his head wearily. 'He's still in there. When I got to him he couldn't breathe and I had to, erm, ya know, erm, p put a tube in his n neck' he stuttered with emotion. 'He's been whipped an' beaten, he's been burned and shot. I don't think I've ever seen him as bad as this Cap. His wrist is so bruised and swollen it looks so bad'. He leaned back against the wall, closing his eyes and trying to blot out the picture of his friend's body, bruised and bleeding.
The three men sat down on one of the hard benches outside the ER and waited. Hutch suddenly remembered.
'Huggy, what have you done with Bernie?'
The barman smiled. 'I left him with his friends at the diner an' said I'd pick him up in a couple of hours. He can crash at my place tonight, then take it from there'.
The blond put a hand on his arm. 'You're a good man'.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
The hours rolled on and the coffee cups on the table multiplied as each man sat morosely waiting for news of the curly haired detective. Finally the door to the ER opened and an attractive woman appeared.
'Relatives of David Starsky?' she enquired.
Hutch stood up quickly, followed by Dobey and Huggy. 'I'm Ken Hutchinson, his partner. Work partner' he clarified as her eyebrows raised. 'I'm the nearest thing he has to family in this part of the country. How is he?'
'Are you the person who did the tracheotomy?' she asked.
'Yeah. Oh God, did I do it wrong. Please tell me I didn't make things worse' Hutch pleaded.
She smiled. 'No, Mr Hutchinson. You most definitely saved his life. Tell me, have you had any medical training?'
'Couple of years at Med School, but a real good professor whose voice just kept repeating in my head' he smiled.
The doctor became businesslike. 'We've removed the makeshift trachy tube and inserted the real McCoy. I think he'll probably only need it for a day or two, just till the swelling in his throat goes down. We've taken a lot of the fluid out of the scald blisters, just to relieve the pressure and make them a little more comfortable. As for Mr Starsky's back, I'm afraid that will take some time to heal, and there is little we can do to stop some quite extensive scarring. The plastic surgeon has seen him and has put in as many sutures as he feels necessary. I believe about two hundred.'
'It's the wrist we're most bothered about though. We've managed to get the metal cuff off, and hopefully it wasn't tight enough to cause Crush Syndrome. If that had been the case, I'm afraid your friend may have lost his hand. However, it's a complicated displaced Scaphoid fracture and we will have to reduce it by way of a compression screw, but we've immobilized it in a cast until he's strong enough for a general anesthetic. At the moment he's lost a lot of blood, and our main objective is to build up his strength'.
Hutch had listened carefully and patiently. 'Can I see him?' he asked.
The doctor smiled. 'Dr Franklin called in a while ago. He heard Mr Starsky was here again. He did mention that you wouldn't want to be parted for too long, and that you would be very persistent. So, sure, you can go in, but I have to warn you he's still asleep and he'll be going into a private room before long'.
She was talking to the blonde's back, as he made his way to his partner's side.