Chapter 5

Hutch dropped his crutches and pushed his way into the cubicle shouting Starsky's name, ignoring the shouts of the medical staff and hoping against hope that this wasn't who he thought it was. He took in the soft blue jeans, now caked in blood, the equally bloody blue tee shirt with the collar and white pattern round the neck and the handsome face, now covered in gore. Starsky was lying very still.

A doctor was pressing his hand firmly against the side of his partner's neck trying to stem the flow of blood gushing from his artery. What bit of Starsky's face Hutch could see was pale, his eyes closed.

'Who is this? Get this man out of here now' one of the doctors shouted as a security officer approached, taking hold of Hutch's arm. The blond fought against the man, wanting to be with his partner. Wanting to be there to comfort him and hold him, telling him everything would be OK, but he was forcibly ejected from the small cubicle as a nurse came running back with a tray containing medical equipment.

'Sir, you mustn't go in there. There's a very seriously injured man in there and he needs treatment now' the security guard said, still holding on to the blonde's arm 'Calm down and sit over there, or I'll be forced to eject you from the hospital'.

But Hutch was still struggling. 'You don't understand, he's my partner. We're police officers. I need to get to him, now. STARSKYYY' he shouted, trying to pull his arm away, beside himself with horror.

The security guard held on tighter as Dobey took Hutch's other arm. 'Come on son', the black man said softly. 'Sit over here an' we can find out what's happening'. He pulled the big blond over to a row of chairs and pushed him down onto one of them. Turning, he asked in an authoritative voice 'Who brought that man in?'

A paramedic standing just outside the cubicle put up his hand. 'Me and my partner brought him in. Are you a friend?'

'I'm his boss, an' this is his partner. What's gone on?'

The paramedic shrugged his shoulders. 'We got an emergency call to go to the address. When we got there, we found that guy with a stab wound to his neck, blood all over the place, and a woman – the one who'd called it in – sat on a chair in another room. He was still conscious when we got there and was holding onto his neck. She was rocking backwards and forwards, covered in blood and still had a knife in her hands. She didn't help him, she seemed not to know where she was. I called the police and they took her away. Don't think there'll be any problem with a prosecution – she kept muttering "I'm sorry" over and over again'.

Dobey thanked him and turned back to the blond. 'I'm gonna call the Metro and see what's happening. Are you going to behave whilst I'm gone? You're not gonna help Starsky by pushing your way in there. He needs the doctors to do their work without interruption, ya hear?'

Hutch sat with his elbows resting on his knees, head in his hands. The initial anger was gone, replaced now by worry for the brunette. He looked up at his Captain, blinking as if seeing the black man for the first time. 'I told you this would happen. I told Starsk it would'. His voice was thick with emotion. 'God, I should just have called it in this morning and had done with it. If I'd stayed with him, he'd be OK now'. His head went down again in defeat.

Dobey rested a hand on his shoulder, his heart going out to both his men. 'You couldn't have called it in, and you know that. Starsky would never have let you. And as for being there – you can't be there 24 hours a day and seven days a week. You're his partner, not his keeper. Just hang in there, and I'll be back in a minute'. He headed for the payphone.

Hutch sat on the chair feeling weak with emotion. So many thoughts going through his head. Why had he left Starsky this morning? Why hadn't he been able to persuade the brunette to pack Ross off there and then? Why did this have to happen to his partner? He felt physically sick as he watched the comings and goings from inside the cubicle, the picture of the smaller man sat up in the bed that morning playing over and over in his head.

He remembered his partner's voice . 'She loves me an' I love her. If you're gonna dis. her, then get out. I don't wanna hear it, OK? It played out like a cine film looping time after time, emphasising just how useless the blond felt. Why hadn't he just ignored the brunette and called in the offence? Why didn't he go after Ross there and then? But he knew that he couldn't do those things. Starsky had threatened the blond that interference would mean their friendship was over, and that was unthinkable.

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Inside the cubicle, the doctors were working fast. They didn't have sufficient time to stabilise the man to get him to the OR without him bleeding to death. Any treatment had to be immediate. As one set of medics were getting central lines in for fluid and blood, another team were assessing the rapidly bleeding wound as it sent out squirts of bright red blood in time with the beating of the strained heart. In an act of desperation, the Doctor in charge had asked for a Foley catheter. Usually used as a catheter into the bladder, the thin flexible tube had a port at one side, leading to a double walled area on the main tube. Once distilled water was injected into the port, the small balloon would fill, gripping the sides of the urethra and stopping the catheter from coming out. It was this balloon that the doctor was now using to plug up the hole in Starsky's neck caused by the blade being stabbed in there.

With great care, he inserted the ballooned area of the tube and, once placed to his satisfaction, the nurse filled it with the water. It held, and finally, after several pints of the brunette's blood had decorated the floor of the cubicle, the bleeding slowed to a slow ooze. Checking to see that it was holding, the doctor gave the command to move the brunette up to the OR for life saving surgery to close the wound.

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As the curtains swished back and the stretcher raced past him, Hutch was once again on his feet. He was about to follow when one of the doctors stopped him.

'Are you the man who barged in earlier?' he asked angrily. 'Do you realise you could have killed him with that one action?' He looked at the tall blond as if he was a leper.

Hutch's world fell away from him as if the words were physical entities that struck him down. He couldn't hold on to reality any more just at this moment. His friend and partner was close to death because he'd been too gutless to do anything about it earlier, and now this doctor was telling him he could have finished the job by trying to get to him in that cubicle. The emotions he had felt in the past half hour, coupled with the meeting with his partner that morning and his own injuries was more than he could physically bear and with a small sigh, he passed out, his limp body falling to the floor of the ER.

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Hutch awoke to hear Dobey's voice telling someone that he'd like a coffee, two sugars and black. He opened is eyes and raised his hand to his head, trying to get rid of the wooliness he felt. He took a moment to remember where he was.

Dobey saw the movement and stood up, to see the blond better. 'How ya doin' now?' he asked.

Hutch paused a moment. 'What happened?

'Doctor over there started balling you out, and you took a nosedive' his Captain explained. 'He didn't realise that you were Starsky's partner and that you'd been injured yourself. Anyhow, how d'you feel?'

'Been better' the blond replied, thickly. 'How's Starsk?'

'Still in theatre, but the Doc over there seems to think he'll be OK. He lost a lot of blood, but they're sewing him up now. Do you want to sit up?'

Hutch heaved himself up and waited for the room to stop spinning. 'What about Ross?' he asked, feeling the anger welling up inside him again.

Dobey pursed his lips. 'I spoke with Simmonds. He arrested her at Starsky's apartment and took her down town. He said she was in a bad way. Didn't realise she'd done such a job on Starsky. She's seen her lawyer and been charged, but she's in Cabrillo at the moment pending hearing. Simmonds seems to think they'll commit her there rather than her going to jail'.

'I knew it would happen, Cap. I knew it would, but I didn't do a damn thing about it. God, I hope he's OK. If I could get my hands on her now I'd………….'

'I know, you'd be up for murder one. But it aint gonna happen Hutch, and ya know why? Coz your partner needs you now and that's who ya have to concentrate on. I'm giving you a leave of absence till he's ready to return to work. Do whatever you have to, coz I have the feeling it's going to be a long road back'.

Hutch smiled at the black man, knowing that he had the backup if he needed it. 'Which room will he be going in, do you know. I want to be there when he comes round'.