CHAPTER 11

Hutch stood up and stretched the kinks out of his muscles. He had been sitting by Starsky's bed for almost eight hours waiting for some sign that he was waking up. His mind kept flashing back to those first few days in the hospital after the shooting. Days where he had spent hours sitting by Starsky's side waiting to see if he was going to live or die. He sighed as he left the room to make a quick pit stop at the men's room on his way to the cafeteria to get something to eat.

There was a line of people waiting for service. Hutch turned towards the vending machine to see what they had to offer. Suddenly, he felt a chill run down his spine and his Starsky radar went into full alert. Forgetting his hunger, he ran back towards Starsky's room, his almost psychic bond with his partner warning him that Starsky was in danger and needed him.

He burst into Starsky's room, his mind registering the figure of a man that was leaning over the bed lowering a pillow over Starsky's face. With an outrage roar, Hutch charged across the room, tackling the other man and knocking him to the floor. Straddling the man's body, Hutch drew back his fist and slammed it into Nick Starsky's jaw with enough force to snap his head sharply to one side. Consumed by his own rage, Hutch continued to pound Nicky's face relentlessly.

Finally, he regained his senses enough to stop his merciless beating of the younger man. Nicky was curled up in a fetal position, whimpering and babbling incoherently. Hutch was vaguely aware of other people rushing into the room. Two security guards grabbed his arms and pulled Hutch off of Nicky. Hutch shook them loose and growled, "You need to arrest him!" he jerked his head at Nicky. "I caught him trying to smother my partner with a pillow."

"Partner?" one of the guards said with a sneer, narrowing his eyes as he glared at Hutch suspiciously.

"We're cops in Bay City, California. Detectives." Hutch explained. "My partner was almost killed in an assassination attempt four months ago. He's been here in New York with his mother recovering. Then he was attacked, along with his mother, and they both ended up in here. His mother identified his brother as their attacker." He jerked his thumb in Nicky's direction. "That's his brother, Nicholas Starsky."

A doctor and a nurse knelt beside Nicky and began examining him carefully. Nicky pushed them away as he struggled to sit up. Glaring at Hutch, he yelled "I want that bastard arrested! He attacked me for no reason!"

"You're lucky I didn't kill you, you little prick!" Hutch yelled back angrily. "Your mother told me that you're the one who beat up Starsky!"

"You're a fucking liar!" Nicky said as he struggled to his feet, swaying unsteadily. "Ma wouldn't tell you anything!"

"I think you'd both better come with us." One of the guards said "Until we can straighten this whole thing out."

"Fuck you!" Nicky said belligerently as he glared at Hutch sullenly. "I ain't going anywhere with him!"

The larger of the two guards stepped forward and grabbed Nick by the arm. In a commanding voice, he said, "You're coming with us, sir." He left Nicky no choice but to follow as he walked towards the door.

The other guard looked at Hutch, who merely nodded and fell into step beside him following him out of the room. The guards took Nicky and Hutch to separate rooms and began taking their statements while waiting for the police to arrive.

Hutch had to wait for almost two hours before a man wearing an NYPD uniform came into the room. He was an older man with steely blue eyes and thick dark hair. Holding out his hand, he said, "I'm Sergeant Owens, NYPD."

"Ken Hutchinson. Bay City PD."

"We've never met but I've heard plenty about you." The older man said with a warm smile. "Mike Starsky was my partner for almost twelve years. I stop by to see Rachel now and then and she's told me all about you and Davy out there in California." His tone turned serious as he looked at Hutch solemnly. "I talked to Rachel and she told me what happened at the house and I've read your statement. Nicky is being arrested for felony assault and attempted murder. We found a bag of cocaine in his pocket so he's also going to be charged with possession with the intent to distribute." He smiled thinly. "You worked him over pretty good…can't really say that I blame you. The little shit had it coming."

"I wanted to beat his face in for what he did to my partner." Hutch admitted with a heavy sigh.

"But, you didn't. That's all that matters."

"Am I free to go? I want to check on my partner."

"Go ahead. I know you're worried about Davy. He's been through a lot in the past few months but he's a tough son of a bitch just like his ole man. I know he's gonna be okay."

Hutch nodded and hurried out of the room. He went back to Starsky's room and slipped inside. The brunet was still lying in the same position he'd been in earlier and didn't appear to be affected by the more recent trauma. Hutch sank down in the chair beside him and reached out to take his hand, holding it tightly.

"God, babe…I need you to wake up. I'm getting too old for this shit. I've had enough of New York already…I'm ready to go home whenever you are."

He folded his arms on the mattress beside Starsky and laid down his head, closing his eyes wearily. He was almost asleep when he felt a gentle stroking motion against his hair. His eyes snapped open and he looked up at Starsky's face. His eyes were open just enough for Hutch to see a sliver of familiar sapphire blue.

"S..S..Starsk?" Hutch stammered. A huge smile tugged as his lips when Starsky closed his eyes and then opened them again acknowledging Hutch's voice. Hutch felt his eyes fill with relieved tears as he gently ran his fingers through Starsky's unruly curls. "Welcome back, buddy. You scared the hell out of me. You really have to stop doing that." A ghost of a smile tugged at Starsky's lips as he looked at Hutch intently. "You're gonna be okay. I promise." Hutch took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Nicky's in jail. They arrested him for assault and attempted murder. He also a bag of coke on him so he's being charged with that too."

"Ma?" Starsky said in a hoarse whisper.

"She's going to okay. She's got a hard head too. Must be where you got it from. She should get out of here in a couple of days."

Starsky nodded and closed his eyes, drifting back into a peaceful sleep with Hutch standing guard as usual.