CHAPTER 15

Hutch slowly walked down a garbage-strewn alley. It was dark, and the fog was so heavy he could barely see more than a few feet in front of him. He was looking for Starsky, but he couldn't find him. Still, somehow, Hutch knew that Starsky was out here somewhere.

"Starsky!" he yelled frantically, "Where are you?"

"I'm here…." Starsky's voice suddenly said somewhere in the fog, but it sounded like he was a long distance away. Hutch could barely hear his voice.

"WHERE?" Hutch yelled frantically "I CAN'T FIND YOU!"

"I don't know where I am," Starsky said, his voice fading even more.

"YOU SOUND SO FAR AWAY!"

"You don't have to yell….I can hear you." Hutch could hear the smile in his best friend's voice.

"I can hardly hear you, though…." Hutch said lowering his voice to a normal tone. He sighed in frustration. "Keep talking so I can find you…."

"I can't…..they're calling me….they want me to go with them…."

"Who does?"

"Pop…Terri…"

"NO! You have to stay here. If you leave…then I'll come after you..."

"You can't do that, Blondie."

"Yes, I can….you won't be here to stop me."

"No…I won't…." Starsky said, his voice fading away

"STARSKY!" Hutch screamed "YOU COME BACK HERE! YOU'RE NOT LEAVING UNTILWE SETTLE THIS!" But only silence answered him. Starsky was gone, and Hutch didn't know where.

Hutch was awakened by the sound of his own screams. It took a minute for the loud droning sound of the heart monitor to cut through his grogginess and catch his attention. His eyes anxiously darted to the monitor screen, his heart jumping into his throat when he saw the flat line.

Suddenly, the room started filling up with nurses and other medical personnel. One of the nurses gently but firmly ushered Hutch out of the room, shutting the door behind him. Hutch stared through the observation window into Starsky's room. He watched fearfully as one of the nurses pulled the sheet down to just below Starsky's waist, while one of the doctors in the room turned on the heart defibrillator and pressed the paddles against Starsky's chest, one on his left side over his ribs and the other one just over his right nipple. Hutch flinched. He could feel the force of the electrical current surging through his own body as he watched Starsky's body arch up off the bed. The doctor paused and glanced at the screen, but the monitor remained in a flat line. So he shocked Starsky again. Still no response.

When he tried for a third time without any response, the doctor reached over and turned up the dials, increasing the strength of the electrical current. Two more times he tried to revive Starsky without success. He was ready to give up when he decided to try it one more time. As he applied the paddles for the sixth time, the line on the monitor suddenly jumped and then went back into a jagged line as Starsky's heart started beating again.

Hutch sagged in relief, leaning heavily against the wall for support. Finally, one of the nurses saw Hutch standing outside the window and hurried over to close the blinds. A moment later, the door opened and the nurse stepped into the hall. "Please, go back to the lounge. The doctor will be out to talk to you as soon as he can."

Hutch shook his head. "I'll wait right here," he told her firmly.

The determined look on his face and the tight set of his jaw warned her that there was no changing his mind. She simply turned and disappeared back into Starsky's room.

It wasn't long before the same nurse stepped back into the hallway. Addressing Hutch, she said, "Your friend suffered a dramatic drop in blood pressure. The doctor believes he's bleeding internally, so he's being prepped for surgery. It could be several hours before the doctor has any news for you. You should go home and get some rest."

Hutch shook his head. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Somehow that doesn't surprise me," the nurse said with a thin smile. "You should at least go down to the cafeteria and get something to eat. Then wait in the lounge where you'll be more comfortable." She put a stern expression on her face. "That's an order, officer."

"It's Detective," Hutch corrected her automatically. "Detective Hutchinson."

"Well, Detective Hutchinson, you need to do what I said. I'll come and find you myself when there's any news on your friend."

"Thank you," Hutch told her as he turned and began to walk slowly down the hall,

The young nurse felt a twinge of pity for the man as she noted his slumped shoulders and dejected step. She had seen too much suffering and death in her short time as a nurse. Maybe this wasn't the right career for her after all.

Instead of going to the cafeteria, Hutch made a slight detour to the hospital chapel. Stepping inside the tiny, quiet room, he felt like an intruder in this sacred place. He had lost his faith years ago and hadn't been inside a church unless it was on police business since he was eighteen. But, now, he felt the overpowering urge to turn for help to a God he was no longer sure existed.

Walking to the front of the chapel, he knelt at the altar and bowed his head. After several minutes of uneasy silence, he finally began to speak the words that were in his heart.

"Dear God…I know we haven't talked in a long time. I know I lost my faith and questioned your existence. But, if you're there and you really are the loving God people believe you to be, please hear me now. Don't let Starsky die. He's not just my partner and my best friend, he's a part of me. Part of my very soul. We're connected in a way that I can't even begin to understand. But, it's there, and if he dies, I'll die. It's as simple as that." A single tear slid down his cheek. "He's a good man and a good cop. He doesn't deserve to die like this. You brought us together for a purpose. You made us partners, you made us best friends. It can't just end like this. I'm not ready to give him up…I'll never be ready for that. Help him now, oh Lord I pray. In your son's name…Amen"

Hutch rose to his feet and left the sanctuary. With heavy steps, he continued on his way to the cafeteria. He wasn't hungry but, he knew he needed to eat to keep up his strength up. Starsky needed him.

Two cups of coffee and a half-eaten sandwich later found Hutch back in the lounge down the hall from Starsky's room. Exhausted, both physically and mentally, Hutch could barely keep his eyes open but he refused to give in to the lure of sleep. It was almost four hours later before Starsky's primary doctor appeared in the doorway. His exhausted face and the weary slump of his shoulders bore mute evidence of the stress of the past few hours.

"How is he? Can I see him?" Hutch bombarded the man before he could say a word.

The doctor held up his hand to ward off the barrage of questions. In a quiet voice, he said, "He's still alive. He's one tough son of a bitch. Any other man would be dead by now. He's still not out of danger, but he's still alive. There was tear in the sack that surrounds the heart which filled with blood and caused his heart to stop beating. There was also a perforation or rip in the lower bowel which caused seepage into the abdomen which presents the danger of him developing peritonitis. Right now, I've had him put into a medically induced coma so his body will have a chance to rest and start to recover. I already cleared it with the nursing staff so that you will have unlimited access to his room."

With those words, the doctor turned and left the room. Hutch rushed out the door and hurried down the hallway to Starsky's room to return to his vigil at his side.

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Hutch jerked awake, groaning at the cramp in his neck and the stiffness in his back from sleeping in the chair at Starsky's side for the past two days. A quick glance at his partner reassured him that there had been no change in Starsky's condition while he slept. Hutch knew that Starsky still had a long, hard road ahead of him, filled with pain and therapy, until he recovered. But, Hutch would be there at his side every step of the way. That was the way they operated.

His full bladder demanded attention, reminding Hutch what had awakened him. He shoved himself to his feet and left the room to use the men's room at the end of the hall. He nodded at the police officer sitting guard at Starsky's door. A guard he had insisted on when he learned that Lonnie was still on the loose. He didn't recognize the young rookie on duty, but trusted that Captain Dobey had checked him out personally before giving him his current assignment.

Hutch knew that he should go home long enough to take a shower and change clothes but he was reluctant to leave Starsky's side. He used the facilities and washed his hands, then walked back to Starsky's room. As he approached the room, he was concerned to find the young rookie gone from his assigned spot at the doorway. With hurried steps, Hutch continued to his partner's room and shoved open the door.

He was shocked to find a man in white scrubs bending over the bed, preparing to inject something into one of Starsky's IV lines.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" Hutch demanded, startling the man at Starsky's side. He jerked his head in Hutch's direction with a snarl. It was Lonnie. Without hesitation, Hutch lunged at the other man and dragged him away from his defenseless partner's side. The two men grappled with each other, falling to the floor in a tangle of arms and legs,

The sound of heavy breathing and fists hitting flesh filled the air as they each wrestled for the upper hand. Suddenly, Hutch cried out as a sharp, burning pain penetrated his side. From previous experience, he knew immediately that he had been stabbed. His vision blurred, darkening around the edges as he felt Lonnie wiggled out of his grasp. A second agonizing pain tore through his side, taking his breath away. "Starsk..." He whispered in a gasp of air as unconsciousness claimed him.