Hutch spent the morning at the hospital. He had spoken to Dr. Madison, the operating surgeon, and there had been no change in Starsky's condition. He was still in a coma, but his heart was continuing to beat, and at the moment, that was all Hutch cared about. As long as there was still hope, he refused to look at the negativity of the situation.

The blond wasn't sure how long Starsky would remain unconscious. There were a lot of people depending on his partner, waiting for him to wake up. Despite the courage he had shown Melissa the night before, Hutch was scared half out of his mind. He wasn't ready to lose his best friend. Starsky had lost a substantial amount of blood, and it looked very grim. The doctors didn't think he would make it, but he'd already lasted longer than they expected. Starsky had made it through the emergency surgery he had undergone the night before, which was a miracle in and of itself. The bullet that had been shot into his stomach was lodged in such a way that surgery was supposed to have meant almost certain death, but Starsky had proved the doctors wrong.

Hutch was sure he would lose his mind if he didn't get out of that waiting room. He had called Captain Dobey earlier to let him know that he wouldn't be coming in to the office, so work was out of the question. He let his mind wander to Melissa. I hope she's holding up okay. Then his thoughts turned to Ashley. She was probably hysterical when Melissa gave her the news. I suppose I should check on them.

He felt a bit funny about calling Melissa at work. After all, she was dating his best friend. Besides, would he want Starsky to call his girlfriend? I would if it were me laying on that bed in there. He walked up to the desk and asked to use the phone. Dialing the number, he waited until he heard her voice. "Betty's Flower Shop, this is Melissa. How may I help you?"

"Melissa, it's Hutch. How are you doing this morning?"

"Hey, Hutch. I'm all right, but I'm tired. I stayed up the entire night, in case you called. How's Dave?"

"Still no change. I just wanted to check on you and Ashley. How'd she take it?"

Melissa hesitated. "I haven't told her yet. I didn't want to place a damper on her day at school, so I'm going to tell her this afternoon after she gets home."

"Do you want me to come over to help you break the news? What time does she get home?"

"Oh, Hutch, would you? I'd really appreciate it. She gets to the house about three-fifteen. That would be great. Are you sure you don't mind?"

"It's no problem. I'd actually like to get out of the hospital for a little while, and that would be the perfect opportunity. Listen, have you had lunch yet?"

"I was going to take my lunch break in a few minutes. Why?"

"How about meeting me at The Pits? I need to pass the news along to Huggy, and we could discuss how to tell your daughter about Starsky."

"Okay. I'll meet you there in about twenty minutes."

"All right, see you soon."

Hutch grabbed his jacket and headed out the door.

xxxxxxxx

Huggy saw Hutch walk into The Pits. "You ain't looking so good. What you been up to?"

Hutch sighed as he looked at his black friend. "I've been at the hospital. Starsky was shot last night."

"You kidding? What happened?"

The blond quickly recounted the story, and as he was wrapping it up, Melissa strolled up to him. "Hi, Hutch."

He returned the greeting, then asked, "Melissa, you've met Huggy, haven't you? He owns the place."

"Yeah, Dave's introduced us once or twice. It's nice to see you, Huggy."

Huggy accepted the extended hand and gently kissed it. "Starsky's love- beautiful, absolutely beautiful. Allow me to say that he has excellent taste."

Hutch cleared his throat as he raised an eyebrow at Huggy. "Uh, Hug, we're ready to order. Two specials, if you don't mind."

Huggy gave his friend a disgusted look as he left the table. While Hutch and Melissa waited for their lunch, they began to discuss what to tell Ashley.

"I just don't know how to break the news," Melissa confessed. "Ashley looks up to Dave, and she would be heartbroken if he didn't make it. What should I say?"

"Just tell her the truth. Say that he's been shot, and he's in the hospital, but he is still alive. Explain the situation in words she can understand."

"And if he doesn't wake up?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it-if we get to it. Until then, we need to focus on what's going on right now."

"You're right. I suppose that's all I can do."

The two friends made small talk during the remainder of lunch. Afterwards, Melissa suggested that Hutch go home and take a nap before coming over to the house. He agreed, and as they walked out together, Hutch said, "I guess I'll be at your place around three."

"Sounds good. I'll see you soon."