Comments about this story can be sent to: Huskyandstarch@aol.com This story takes place shortly after the 'Sweet Revenge' timeline.

BLIND FURY

by

Linda C.

    "What the hell!"

    As I walked into my partner's hospital room the scene that was playing out in front of me made my blood boil. A man, maybe an orderly or a patient, I couldn't tell--leaning over my partner's bed--touching Starsky below his waist.

    I could see the white bandages on Starsky's abdomen, his pajama bottoms were unsnapped and the sheet and blanket that should have been covering him pushed down around his ankles.

    I thought my head would explode.

    "What are you DOING?"

    The strange man's hands were barely being held back by my partner's weak and trembling ones. Starsky was trying desperately to push the man back and away from him with what little strength his desperation gave him. There was confusion, fear and horror in my friend's face.

    "Get your hands off of him!" I yelled at the man. "Get away from him!"

    I tore into Starsky's room, grabbed the man by the back of his hair and threw him as hard as I could into the opposite wall.

    "I'm gonna KILL you, you bastard!" I shouted at him.

    The man hit the wall, slid down it but recovered just as quickly and ran from the room.

    I started to go after him but was stopped in my tracks by a cry of pain and a choking cough coming from the bed. Starsky was calling out my name. I turned back to the bed.

    "Oh, God, Starsk, what did he do to you? Are you okay?"

    The IV's taped to the back of Starsky's hands were twisted around and there was fresh blood around the puncture sites from where the needles had been constantly put in and taken out. His hands were bruised black and blue. Dear Lord, how long had he been fighting to keep this bastard away from him?

    "Take it easy, buddy. Take it easy."

    I ran my hand through his hair and then with both hands lightly touched his body, checking for any sign of new injuries. His bandages seemed to be intact. His pajama bottoms were unsnapped, exposing his stomach and lower body.

    I checked him out as best I could, then snapped up his pajamas bottoms and pulled the sheet and blanket that was around his ankles back up over him.

    Starsky's whole body was shaking. His face was flushed.

    "Starsk, it's okay, I'm here now. Hutch is here. Take it easy, babe, he's gone...not gonna mess with you again. I promise you. Buddy, I'm here now."

    "Hu...utch?" His voice, barely above a whisper, was slurred as he called out my name again. He was somewhere between a morphine-induced sleep and a waking up state. Confusion was written all over his face. I wasn't sure just what he felt, what he knew...did he realize fully what had just happened?

    I took his shaking hands in my hands. I could feel his fingers trembling in mine as I wrapped my fingers around his. I held unto him until he was able to focus on my voice and gradually on my face. Awareness was swiftly and cruelly coming back to him.

    "Oh, God Hutch, I couldn't stop him... I tried, I really did try. I thought he was gonna...ooh...hurts, it hurts."

    Pain was beginning to take over his body, the physical pain was coming back along with the agonizing reality of what had just occurred. I began talking to him quietly, never relinquishing my hold on his hands. The monitors above his bed were going crazy, beeping rapidly in time with his much too fast pulse. The lines on the monitor were jagged and radical.

    "Starsk", I said, "please take it easy, it's gonna be okay. You've got to try and relax. I'm right here, right here."

    "Hutch, why did he do that to me? Why? What was he going to do? I tried to push him away but I couldn't, he was...he was...touching me. Oh God, I think he was gonna try to... Oh, Hutch."

    His eyes squeezed shut as if he was trying to block out the memory.

    The blind fury in me was so close to the surface that I was almost afraid to touch Starsky for fear some of that fury would transmit to my partner's bullet-torn body. I closed my eyes and made myself calm down...at least outwardly. When I found that bastard I was going to kill him. No one was going to get away with what that monster had done or had tried to do to my partner.

    Starsky's nurse came rushing into the room.

    When she saw me she said, "I noticed the monitors. What's wrong, David? Where is the pain, can you tell me? Do you need another shot? What has gotten you so upset?"

    Starsky's panic-filled eyes darted from the nurse and then back to me. My partner looked at me, his eyes silently pleading with me not to tell the nurse what had just happened. Looking over at Starsky's nurse I made my decision.

    Starsky's nurse was about to question my partner again about what was upsetting him so much.

    "Miss?" I made an attempt to distract her.

    She turned away from Starsky and gave me a questioning look. "Yes?"

    Her nametag read "Allison."

    "Allison, may I call you Allison?"

    But she was all business, still very much concerned with how upset her patient was.

    "He just finished telling me he had this terrible nightmare," I told her. "He was just waking up from it when I came in."

    We were both looking down at Starsky who by now had closed his eyes. I think the nurse thought he was in pain but that was only the half of it; he was hoping she would go away and stop asking him anymore questions. I knew Starsky just wanted her to leave him alone.

    "I'm okay...don't need no shot...I'll be okay."

    "I'll stay here with him, Miss. He seems to be fully awake now, anyway."

    She looked at me. I don't know if she believed either myself or Starsky, but the one thing I did know for certain, Starsky couldn't handle talking about what had just happened, especially to some stranger, at least not now. What mattered to me right now was my partner, no one else.

    I'd take care of this on my own. I would not have Starsky subjected to any kind of questioning.

    His fingers tightened their grip on my hands and the only world that existed for me was our 'Me and Thee' world. Everything and anyone else had dissolved into the background. I didn't care if the nurse was watching us; my partner needed me to stay close to him.

    "Starsk, it's okay, buddy, it's all over, please try to relax."

    "Hutch, please don't leave me alone. He might come back and I wouldn't be able to stop him."

    I quickly glanced up to see if the nurse had heard what Starsky had just said but she was already on her way out of the room, apparently satisfied that her patient indeed had only had a nightmare and was okay now. I turned my attention back to Starsky.

    "Shhh... Don't you worry, Starsk, I will not leave you alone, I promise you that."

    I laid my hand gently on his chest and I felt his heart still beating wildly. I lowered the safety rail on my side of his bed so that I could lie down next to him. His body was trembling against mine. He rested his head on my shoulder. I had a very frightened, confused, and sick Starsky on my hands.

    He looked over at me. "Hutch, please stay here with me, please?"

    I got as close to him as I dared, being ultra careful not to cause him any additional pain. "Close your eyes, Babe," I told him. "Hutch is here and I am not going to let anything happen to you."

    I ran my hand through his sleep-rumpled curls, down his cheeks, and over his eyes...back and forth...until his trembling body quieted down and his eyes closed. He fell into an exhausted sleep. We would have to talk about what had happened as soon as possible, but not until he had gotten some much-needed rest first. I would have to wait until he was clear headed enough to deal with this. I felt sick inside. Didn't he already have more than enough to deal with...now this needless ugliness? I was barely able to contain the fury building up inside of me. What if...? What if I hadn't walked into my partner's room when I did? What would that bastard have done to him? It sickened me to think about what could have happened.

    Laying here quietly beside Starsky I knew that as a cop I was breaking all the rules, going against everything that I was taught. I should report this incident now and not wait until morning. But at this moment my one and only concern was for my best friend. I had no room for the rest of the world. I would call Captain Dobey first thing in the morning and then only after I had a chance to talk with Starsky.

    I unbuttoned my jacket so that I could get to my magnum at a moment's notice, at the same time praying that I wouldn't need to. This was going to be a long, long night.

    I settled in next to Starsky staying as close to the edge of his bed that I possibly could without falling out of it; wanting him to be as comfortable as was possible. His head was still resting heavily on my shoulder. His breathing had settled down into the quiet rhythm of sleep. Starsky's right hand was still enfolded in mine...even in sleep he needed that contact with me.

    It made my heart feel good knowing that my friend could so openly and without any reservation put his total trust in me to look out for him. I rubbed my thumb in gentle little circles over his hand...Starsky felt warm and alive...Starsky was alive...and we were together.

    There would be no way that I would be able to get comfortable in this small bed, at least not without moving Starsky over some. I didn't want to do that. So I was stuck where I was and that was probably for the best. This way I wouldn't be falling asleep. But with the adrenaline rush subsiding, and my body just plain tired from the tensions of the day, I did doze off for a few minutes at a time.

    The night shift nurse walked into the room to check on her patient and to turn down the lights for the night. Her face registered obvious displeasure at seeing me in the bed alongside Starsky. She walked over to my side of the bed and said, "Your friend is asleep and visiting hours ended some time ago. You really should leave now."

    I took a deep breath before answering her. "Lady," I hissed back at her, loud enough for her to hear me but not loud enough to wake Starsky. I nodded in his direction; "He doesn't want me to go. He wants me to stay, so I'm staying. You have a problem with that, you go take it up with his doctor, Doctor Kellerman. I have no intentions of leaving this room tonight."

    "Fine."

    That was all she said as she left the room without another word, turning down the lights on her way out. Starsky slept throughout the night never changing positions, his head remained on my now completely numb shoulder.

* * * * *

    The sounds out in the corridor of the hospital were picking up. I glanced out the window to see the sun coming up. It was almost morning. If Starsky didn't wake up soon, I was going to have to get up anyway, nature was calling. There had been many nights similar to this one when I had spent the night staying with Starsky in this narrow bed, chasing away the demons and sharing his pain.

    We would talk about whatever came to our minds, didn't have to make any sense even to us, but it did help Starsky relax and take his mind off of the intense pain he had to endure while his body was healing. He'd finally fall asleep and get a respite from the agony.

    I managed to get my arm out from under his head, which had been resting on my shoulder, and move his head unto his pillow. He made a few sleepy sounds but remained asleep. Even in his sleep he would call out my name to make sure I was still here. Stroking back through his hair a few times was usually all it took to assure him of my presence.

    Sometimes it scared me...the total trust that my partner had in me...literally placing his life in my hands. This was a trust that I would keep, or die trying.

    After answering nature's call and splashing some water on my face,the nagging thought that had been tugging at my subconscious mind on and off during the night surfaced in the harsh light of day. The hairs on the back of my neck were standing on end. The man that had been in Starsky's room last night, had he committed a random act...or, God forbid, could it somehow be connected to James Gunther?

    But James Gunther was in jail; even his fancy lawyers couldn't keep him out. There was just too much hard evidence against him in this case. Starsky was 'living proof,' thank God, of what Gunther had attempted to do. That old bastard would have to wait in jail until his trial came up. But there was no denying the fact that anyone of the many tentacles of the powerful Gunther Empire could still strike out at us with only a nod from the old man.

    When Dobey came to the hospital this morning I would talk to him about a 24-hour guard for Starsky. I was not going to take any chances when Starsky's life was at stake.

    I took a breath. Okay, so first things first. It was time Starsky and I had that talk. I walked out of the bathroom. The day shift nurse was gently but firmly talking to Starsky, getting him to wake up. I was glad to see Maryanne on duty today, she had gotten to know both Starsky and me...she had been on duty the day that Starsky had been brought into the Trauma Center. She had seen the mass destruction the bullets had done to his body first-hand, had even helped the doctors cut off his bloody jacket and shirt. She had assisted Doctor Kellerman in his frantic efforts to stabilize Starsky for the emergency surgeries he needed to save his life.

    I knew that she had a soft spot in her heart for my partner and usually she had a calming effect on him; he felt more comfortable with her than any of the other nurses. I was always glad to see her for that reason. But the sounds I heard coming from the bed nearly broke my heart.

    "Nooo, no! Don't, please, no, don't."

    Starsky was almost pleading with Maryanne to stay away from him. She looked up at me, questioning me with her eyes. Starsky was not completely awake yet and hadn't recognized Maryanne.

    "Hutch? Where's Hutch?"

    I quickly placed myself between the nurse and my partner. "Right here, partner, right here. Wake up babe, it's only Maryanne."

    Seeing me was all he needed. He relaxed back unto the pillows and breathed a sigh of relief.

    "Hey, buddy, Maryanne just wants to help you get ready for breakfast...you know the routine...wash your face...wash your hands, help you sit up some and fix the pillows up...that's all."

    "Ken", Maryanne said to me. "Why don't you go down to the cafeteria and get yourself something to eat, too; better yet bring it back up here and you and David can eat together. At least that way I'll know that he'll eat."

    She gave my partner a knowing look. She had spent a lot of time coaxing him into eating his meals. She knew that with me there I would see to it that he did eat.

    "That's a good idea," I told her. "How's that sound, Starsk?"

    "I guess..." That was all Starsky would say.

    Turning to Maryanne I said, "Yeah, I'll do that, but will you do me a favor?"

    "Sure, if I can, Ken, what is it?"

    "Just stay with him until I get back up here."

    Starsky had turned his head away from us; I know he hated feeling so vulnerable. These days his life was dictated by his doctor and the hospital staff. And right now I knew he didn't want to be alone.

    "Sure, I can do that, Ken. David and I can find something to talk about while you're gone. No problem at all, take your time." She gave me another questioning look. She knew something was up, but she didn't ask any questions.

    "Hey, buddy, anything you want me to bring you from the cafeteria?"

    "No, not unless you can talk the doctors and nurses around here into letting me have a taco or some pizza."

    I smiled at him, patted his shoulder. "Sorry, partner, you've got a ways to go before tacos and pizza are on the menu. But, I'll tell you what, Starsk. You eat all of your breakfast, and that doesn't mean 'rearranging' it on the tray, and this afternoon I'll go get you a strawberry shake from the Creamery. How's that sound?"

    I was rewarded with a smile from Starsky. "Sounds good to me."

    By the time I had gone down to the cafeteria and brought back a Danish and coffee for myself, Starsky's breakfast tray had been delivered. We ate in companionable silence, each of us enjoying just being together. I waited until Starsky was finished with his food, then placed the almost empty tray on the bedside table.

    I sat down on the side of his bed. "Starsk, I know you don't want to talk about this, but Dobey will be here in another hour and he's gonna want some answers." I covered his hand with mine. "Talk to me partner..."

    Starsky looked me straight in the eyes. "You're afraid this has something to do with Gunther, don't you?"

    God, he could read me so well. I shook my head. "I don't really know, Starsk, maybe it is just a coincidence...maybe I'm still spooked from the shooting; but I'm not willing to take any chances with your life." There, it was out in the open. As much as I would have liked to have shielded Starsky from this possibility, I couldn't have kept this from him.

    "That's what I was afraid you were going to say, partner. Not like I can do much about it, laid up here like this in this bed." He let out a shudder. "I hate being like this, can't even defend myself."

    "I know, Starsk, I know. But I certainly can do something about it, partner. Until we get to the bottom of this; if I can't be right here with you in this room, there will be armed guards outside of this room and someone we both know and trust will be in here with you."

    I hated to ask the next question, but knew I had to. "Starsk, are you okay with what happened last night? Think you can talk to me about it now, tell me what happened?"

    Starsky bit down on his lower lip. "No, I'm really not 'okay' with it, but I know I have to face it. But I can't talk about it to anyone but you. Please, Hutch...only you, I can't talk about this to anyone else, even Dobey."

    "You don't have to, Starsk, I promise you, just...you and me. You talk to me and I'll tell Dobey, and that's as far as it will go. Think you can handle that?" I asked Starsky.

    "Hutch, I don't want you getting into trouble over this, hell, you're probably already in trouble, soon as Dobey finds out what you did not report. We both know it should have been reported as soon as it happened. Dobey is gonna have your hide over this."

    That's my partner, always putting my welfare first, even when he is going through a living hell. "Don't worry about me, partner, you were in no condition to talk about this last night. So what if Dobey gets mad, won't be the first time and it won't be the last time."

    I watched as my partner's expression changed from concern for me to naked anguish over what had happened to him. He bowed his head and closed his eyes. His hands were nervously making little folds out of the blanket on his bed and when he spoke it was in a very shaky voice. I moved over to sit closer to him. I took the hands that were making the little folds out of the blanket in both of mine.

    "I was almost asleep...and...then somebody was here in my room...somehow, I can't tell you why but it didn't seem right to me. Then all of a sudden I felt cold. I was thinking...where is my blanket? The nurses always make sure that I'm covered up and warm enough, cause it hurts me to be cold...make my stitches ache. And sleepy, I was really tired and sleepy. Then I felt it."

    Starsky's fingers curled around my hands some more. I gently rubbed my fingers across his. "He had his hand under the waistband of my pajamas and he was pulling on the snaps. I remember hearing the snaps pop open. I still remember the sound. Cold, his hands were so cold against my skin. It made me shiver when he touched me. His hands were all the way inside of my pajamas now. God, I didn't want him to touch me like that...Hutch I was so afraid of what he was going to do to me. I tried to push him away but he was strong, he kept pushing my hands back."

    By now Starsky was shaking uncontrollably.

    "Hey, hey, buddy, take it easy, you're doing just fine, take your time." With one hand still holding onto his two, I slipped my other arm around his shaking shoulders. "I'm so sorry, babe, so damn sorry. If I'd have been here sooner you wouldn't have had to go through this."

    Starsky was resting his head on my shoulder.

    "Aww, don't do that to yourself, Hutch. You're here most of the time; I doubt you sleep at all except for the catnaps you get in that chair over there. Even you can't be here twenty four-seven. Anyway, the next thing that I remember is hearing your voice. You were yelling at someone. Then those cold hands were gone. The cold was gone. You were standing over me, talking to me softly; you were telling me to take it easy. And I knew that I was gonna be okay. You were here and would take care of everything."

    Aww Starsk, do you know just how much I want to get my hands on that bastard...I was going to save The State of California the time and money of a trial. Dead men don't go to trial.

    "Come on Starsk, let's get you settled back down in this bed."

    "Why?" he said to me, looking up at me. "I kinda like it here...you make a pretty nice pillow, blondie."

    "Oh, I do, do I? You really should lay back down and rest."

    "I guess you're right. These days it seems I can't stay awake for more than an hour at a time."

    I helped Starsky into the most comfortable position we could find and settled down in the chair next to his bed to wait for Dobey.

    "Thanks Hutch, thanks for loving me so much and caring about me the way you do."

    "You're welcome, partner, anytime."

    I thought Starsky was already asleep.

    "Hey, Hutch?"

    "Yeah, partner, right here, anything you need me to get for you?"

    "Nope, just for you to be here."

    "Starsk, I'm gonna be right here, and if you wake up and I'm not here, I will be right outside of the room. Now you go to sleep for a while."

    Starsky was fading fast. "'kay, and Hutch?"

    "Starsk...go...to...sleep..."

    "Don't forget my strawberry shake."

    I wouldn't forget the shake. Since Starsky had been shot, I had mentally made a list of the little things like the promise of the strawberry shake. Singularly, these things didn't seem like much, but they made his day a little brighter, and maybe, just maybe, made him feel a little better about being in the hospital.

    Looking over at my partner and best friend, I could see the steady rise and fall of his chest as he slept. Even in sleep he would not relinquish my hand, nor did I want him to.

    Starsky's regular nurse, Maryanne, had become used to finding me in her patient's room; she had even gotten into the habit of bringing me a newspaper to read. She mouthed the words, "Hi, Ken."

    The morning paper was tossed in my lap. She didn't want to wake Starsky. She checked on Starsky, and, as always, checked the tape on the IV's to see that they weren't pulling on his skin too much. She smoothed down the tape and frowned at the bruises that stood out where the IV's had been inserted. She cared about my partner.

    Pulling up his blanket a little further around his shoulders, she looked down at her sleeping patient; she gently pushed a few stray curls back off of his forehead and smiled as a delinquent curl wound around her fingers.

    She looked over at me. "Ken, you are both really so lucky. But you know that, don't you? Even with all that David is going through everyday, he never misses a day when he asks me to look after you while you are at the hospital. He's worried you don't get enough sleep or eat right. With all the drugs he is on, it is a wonder he can even think straight much less be so concerned about your welfare. He tells me, 'Maryanne, you watch after my partner for me. I ain't much good to him right now, all shot up like this.'"

    Maryanne collected herself. "I usually make it a point not to get emotionally involved with my patients, but David is different. He's special. And no matter how bad he feels or how much pain he is in, he always smiles when I come in the room. He thanks me for even the little things that I do for him."

    I put the newspaper aside. I looked at Maryanne. "You're not only beautiful, you're smart, too. Wanta marry me?"

    She laughed at me. "Sorry, David already asked me."

    "I'm glad you're his nurse most of the time. Makes it a little easier for me to leave him when I have to. Starsk has always put my well being first; God knows he still is, even now. And he is special, special to me. I couldn't ask for a better friend. He's my heart."

    "He knows, Ken, he knows."

    She tugged on the same delinquent curl one more time and watched it spring back in place. "Got to get back to earning a living," she said. "I'll be on duty all the rest of the week, so I'll see you later on."

    Captain Dobey walked into the hospital, took the elevator to the fifth floor.

    Looking up from the newspaper that I was only half reading I saw the Captain standing in the doorway of Starsky's room. He was glaring at me. He motioned for me to come out into the hallway.

    As I got up from my chair by the bed, I glanced over and was pleased to see my partner now sleeping soundly. He was getting the much-needed rest after the trauma of last night.

    I walked out into the hallway just outside of Starsky's room. I braced myself for the tirade that was sure to come.

    "All right, Hutchinson, what the hell's going on here? When you called me this morning, I got the distinct impression you were not telling me everything. I'm here now and you better start talking, and I want it all. Not that edited version you gave me over the phone."

    Then he softened his tone. Now there was only genuine concern in my Captain's voice and in his eyes. "Hutch, Starsky isn't the only one that knows you, I can read between the lines. I know you and I know that your first instincts were to protect your partner. You better have one hell of a good excuse for not reporting what happened last night. You really stretched it waiting to call me this morning. You do realize that?"

    "Captain, I do, but I really don't care. I did what I felt I had to do to protect Starsky. I don't regret that decision. There was no way I was going to have cops crawling all over this place and asking him questions. I couldn't let that happen. I figured I would talk with him this morning before you got here, after he had rested some and could think clearly. Captain, sometimes I can't be a cop and his best friend at the same time...and this is one of those times."

    Captain Dobey let out a sigh and shook his head. "You think I don't know that, Hutch?" The reassuring smile he gave me and the gentle squeeze of his hand on my shoulder told me just how much he cared about the 'Me and Thee' team. Starsky's shooting had effected him deeply. "Okay, son, let's go sit down somewhere and try to sort this whole mess out. Start from the beginning, and don't leave anything out this time."

    "Captain, this has got to stay between you and me."

    The Captain and I sat in the lounge area directly across from Starsky's room. This way I could see anyone coming or going into Starsky's room.

    "Captain, Starsk was half asleep when it happened; medicated for the night...and the lights were already dimmed somewhat for the evening hours. He couldn't have seen much more than a shape or a shadow of the man in his room. Besides, he would have told me if he had seen his face. And I was taken off-guard when I walked in on what was happening. I grabbed the man by the back of his hair, pulled him away from Starsky, and slammed him against the wall. All I could think of was getting him away from Starsk. Then the bastard got up off the floor and ran out of the room. I never saw his face either, only the back of his head. Maybe I should have gone after him; but I was much too worried about what condition Starsky was in. I didn't know if he had hurt him, and that was more important to me at the time. A general description...over six feet tall, about my build, with longish brown hair tucked into his collar. That's about it, I'm afraid. Oh, yeah, he was wearing some light colored clothes, light green or something like that, similar to what the orderlies and hospital help wear. It all happened so fast. All I could think of was getting this piece of trash away from my partner. The bastard's hands were inside of Starsky's pajama bottoms. The pajama bottoms were unsnapped and his blanket and sheet pushed down around his ankles. Captain, it looked like he was going to try to rape Starsky. I wanted to kill him. It was like everything was in slow motion...Starsky trying to push those hands away from him. I just lost it. But I'll get him..."

    Dobey's voice. "Hutch, I've told you and your partner this before, and I'm gonna tell you again...ABSOLUTELY NO PRIVATE PARTIES! Listen to me, Hutch. Right now all I see is Starsky's Avenging Angel sitting next to me...not a cop. If you want to keep this under wraps you had better show me the cop. Because if Gunther is behind this we might not be able to keep this just between us."

    I knew Dobey was right. I had to start acting like a cop. What had the Captain called me one day not so long ago...a streak of 'blonde lightening.' I felt charged all right, like a bolt of lightening was pulsing through my veins, lightening and fury...a blind fury...and all of it aimed at one man. The man I was going to track down and chase into Hell if I had to.

    "Captain, you're right. Okay, first things first. Since we are treating this as a real threat against Starsky's life, and not as some random act of violence, I want a couple of uniforms outside of his room for as long as it takes to catch this person. I don't want him left unguarded even for a minute. We know too well what Gunther is capable of doing. But I have got to get out on the streets and see if I can turn something. I'm gonna look in on Starsky and then head on down to Huggy's, call in some favors if I have to, and maybe I can shake something loose."

    "Hutch, I'll stay with Starsky until I figure out who I can get to stay with him, or until you get back. Be careful how you go, Hutch, because if Gunther is behind this, it's not only your partner he's after, but you as well."

    I smiled at my captain. I knew he was worried about me as well as Starsky. "I'll be careful, but I can't just sit back and wait for something else to happen."

    I got up off the couch and started back to look in on Starsky before I hit the streets, pausing only long enough to thank Captain Dobey. "Captain, thanks, thanks for everything...from both Starsky and me."

    The Captain grunted his response. "Hutchinson, you keep in touch with me. And don't try using that 'my radio is acting up' crap on me."

    I smiled a less than innocent smile at him. "Yes, sir, I mean, no, sir."

    As I walked back out of my partner's room I heard Dobey on the phone making arrangements for the guards. I left Starsky a note on his bedside table where he could see it when he woke up.

    Starsk,

    I headed on over to the Pits to talk to Huggy.

    The radio in the car came to life. "Come in, Zebra Three."

    "Zebra Three here."

    "See the man called Huggy. And Hutch?"

    "Go ahead, Mildred."

    "Be advised the message reads 'urgent.'"

    "Thanks, Mildred, Zebra Three...out."

    I pushed my foot further down on the gas pedal, reached under the dash and slapped on the mars light on the roof of the car, flipping on the siren and light. For the second time in less than twenty-four hours I felt the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end.

    As I made my way to the back of the bar in the Pits, Huggy came around from behind the bar and nodded in the direction of a booth in the corner. We sat down opposite each other.

    "What's up, Hug? You got something for me?"

    He looked at me... "How did you get here so fast, I only called dispatch a few minutes ago. You starting to drive like Starsky now? Figured this time in the morning you'd be at the hospital with Starsk like you usually are."

    "I was there, Hug...something happened last night so I spent the night there. I was already on my way to see you when I got your call."

    "Hutch, Starsky's okay, isn't he?" Huggy was deadly serious now.

    "Yeah, he's all right but last night I caught someone in his room, but he got away. Hug, I really need your help....wait..." I guess I was getting a little flaky from lack of sleep. I shook my head to clear it. "Huggy you called me."

    Huggy let out a low whistle, slowly shaking his head back and forth. "Man. Now I'm really glad I called you."

    I didn't like the look on Huggy's face. "Talk to me, you know something? What is it? Starsky's life may depend on it."

    "Well, Skinny Bennie was in here real early this morning, made a point to walk into the place, knowing that I'd be here even if the place wasn't really open yet. He needed some money, said he had some righteous info to sell me, said, 'Hutchinson will pay good money for this.'"

    I was becoming increasingly uncomfortable with this conversation. "Huggy. What?! Come on, what did he say?"

    "That he heard that James Gunther's son was in town, says the kid spent most of the afternoon at a bar on Fairmont, drinking and bragging about how he was gonna finish off the job that his father had started...that cop in the hospital and his partner. He didn't call you by name but..."

    My blood ran cold.

    "Seems according to Bennie the kid's fortunes have changed considerably since daddy is cooling his heels in jail. Kid is in some sort of jam and daddy's not readily available to bail him out, and he blames that on you and Starsky. Bennie says the kid's a real sicko, into porno, drugs, money laundering, gambling, just like dear old dad. All sorts of kinky stuff, too. He's even gone so far as forcing himself on some of his customers. One rumor has it that he might have even raped a kid."

    Oh, God! Not the old man at all...Gunther's son.

    Matthew Ryland Gunther, twenty-seven-years old, in trouble with the law off and one for years, feeding off of daddy, using the Gunther money to stay out of jail.

    Now he's striking back the only way his sick and perverted mind knows how. He was going after Starsky first, because he was such an easy mark. He was going to have his way with Starsky and then finish him off. He probably hadn't even given any thought to how he was going to take me out yet.

    "Hutch, one more thing that I think you should know; Bennie said that when the kid was in the bar he was dressed in the same kind of clothes that doctors and hospital workers wear."

    I jumped up out of the booth. "I got to get back to the hospital. Thank you, Hug, thank you very much from Starsky and me."

    I ran out of the Pits and towards my car, for once wishing that I had driven the Torino. I wanted the speed that the Torino had. The chances were good that Matthew Gunther would try again and soon. If he was dressed as Bennie had described, he would blend right in with the rest of the hospital staff and workers.

    Oh, Starsky, my whole mind and body screamed Starsky.

    Grabbing the mike, I asked dispatch to patch me through to Captain Dobey at Memorial Hospital, room 519. I had to warn him about Matthew Gunther.

    The dispatcher's voice came back on the line. "Sergeant, there's no answer."

* * * * * *

    Matthew Gunther had made his way into the hospital the same way this time as he had the first time. Dressed in doctor's scrubs...and it wasn't hard at all getting a plastic nametag and a fake ID badge to go along with the clothes. He still had some good contacts that would help him even though most of them had deserted him since his father's incarceration.

    This very afternoon he was going to finish what he had started the other evening when the wounded cop's partner had walked in on him...he had barely gotten away. The fire that he had seen in the blonde cop's eyes had scared him; as much as it told of his fierce devotion to the wounded cop.

    As he rounded the corner of the hallway within view of room 519...that's when he saw the two uniformed policeman, one on each side of the room.

    Damn, what now?

    He had to be really clever to make this work. He wanted...no, he needed, to take his pleasure with the cop in room 519...only then would he kill him.

    One down and one to go.

    Captain Dobey had been reading a magazine while sitting in a chair beside the bed of Detective Starsky. He expected Sergeant Andy Jamison shortly. He had chosen Jamison to stay with Starsky until Hutchinson returned. Jamison had gone through the Police Academy at the same time that Starsky and Hutch, and he knew that Hutch would trust him to watch over his partner. He had made a good choice.

    The dark curly haired cop was still sleeping and Captain Dobey was grateful for that. He didn't know what he would say to his detective when he woke up, better he sleep, everything would be easier with Hutchinson here.

    He was pulled out of his reverie by a nurse who came to tell him that he had a phone call at the Nurses' Station. Glancing once more at the sleeping Starsky, he made his way out of the room to the Nurses' Station.

    The two guards outside of room 519 nodded at him as he left the room.

    Funny...there was no one on the other end of the phone when he picked it up. He'd call the station to see if there were any messages for him, and he'd dress down the idiot that didn't have the patience to wait for him to get to the phone. Damn, he didn't think he had been that slow.

* * * * * *

    Sergeant Hutchinson keyed the mike in his speeding car one more time in desperation. "Mildred, will you try Starsky's room again?" Sometimes patching through from the car to the dispatch to a telephone took a couple of tries. God, he hoped that was all it was. Panic was tightening up his chest like a steel band. He was tearing through traffic, driving like a maniac, he had to get to the hospital and to Starsky.

    "Zebra Three, Hutch...there's still no answer."

    He dropped the mike beside him on the car seat and concentrated on driving, he was maybe four or five minutes away from Memorial Hospital.

* * * * * *

    Matthew Gunther chuckled to himself...that had been too easy.

    He'd walked right into David Starsky's room, just like any real doctor would have. He had smiled at the two policeman and told them that he was going to check on his patient one more time before he went home. They had scrutinized his nametag and ID badge. He would have to thank the man that had made these for him, they were dead ringers for the real thing... He had gotten past the two police guards without any problems at all. Now to finish what he had started.

    The cop in the bed was sleeping.

    The man in the bed wouldn't be able to put up much of a fight anyway, he wasn't strong enough, although he had tried to fight back yesterday evening, and he would have had a good time if that blonde partner of his hadn't come in when he did.

    He looked at the two pillows on the other bed that was unoccupied, they would do just fine. He reached for the pillows and placed them one on top of the other at the bottom of the wounded man's bed. If the cop stayed asleep he could still have some fun with him and then he would do it...put him to sleep for good. He knew he had to be really quiet this time, making sure not to disturb the sleeping man in the bed in front of him.

    He carefully pulled down the blanket and sheet together that was covering the cop's body and once again let it pool at the bottom of the bed at the man's ankles. Reaching for the snaps on the pajama bottoms was next...he unsnapped them one by one.

    The sleeping man had not stirred.

    He needed to get closer to really enjoy this. He put down the safety rail on his side of the bed, leaning in closer to the wounded cop, with his other hand he pulled the pillows closer to him, with his other hand now free from putting the safety rail down he reached for the zipper on his jeans. He slid it down.

    But the man on the bed opened his eyes...blinked a couple of times...

    David Starsky was starring at the man hovering over him. "No!! Nooo, oh God, no, Hutch...help me...Hutch, please help me!!"

* * * * * *

    I stopped the car in front of the entrance to the hospital, slammed the car shift into park and ran for all that I was worth through the front doors of the hospital, mindless of the people that I was pushing out of my way. I ran for the stairs. I had to get to Starsky.

* * * * * *

    Matthew Gunther placed his hand over David Starsky's mouth, successfully muffling any sound that the wounded cop tried to make--that in addition to the fact that he had closed the door to room 519 behind him when he had entered, made the desperate pleas from the man in the bed go unheard outside of the room.

    David Starsky tried so hard to call out, to make his voice work...he tried so hard to yell, but his injured lung and chest wounds prevented him from doing so. There was a searing pain radiating out across his chest and moving down into his abdomen from the strain of trying to be heard. He was close to blacking out.

    Oh, God, where are you, Hutch? Not again, please, not again. Get him away from me please...Hutch, I hurt so bad right now...I need you, was all that David Starsky could think of.

    Please don't do this to me, please...nooo... Don't touch me, don't touch me...I can't...I can't...

    With all the strength that I had in me I pushed at the body and the hands that were beginning to play with me.

    The man bending over me chuckled. "Not this time cop. This time it's just you and me, our private party."

    Pillows appeared next to my head... Pillows, what for? Oh God, I think he's going to rape me...and the pillows... He's gonna kill me when he's done with me.

    There was no strength left in me to fight back from this waking nightmare, all that I could think of was Hutch.

    I'm so sorry Hutch, I tried to stop him... I wanted to think of Hutch, I wanted him to be my last waking thought...and I thought of what this would do to him.

    Suddenly the door to my room burst open. Then I saw my partner. Hutch crashed into the man bending over me. They both fell to the floor hard. Hutch looked as out-of-control as I have ever seen him, his eyes were wild looking...a blind fury emanating from his very essence.

    Hutch pulled the man that he had knocked to the floor to his feet, holding him by his neck with one hand, his other hand making a fist that I heard connect with the man's jaw. There was a sickening cracking sound as the bones in the man's jaw broke.

    Hutch held him up, repeatedly hitting him, back-handing him with such a tremendous force that the man's body came up off of the floor a few inches with each blow. He was going to kill my attacker if someone didn't stop him. Hutch was in a rage like I have never seen him before. He was totally out of control and showed no signs of stopping his assault on the attacker. If someone didn't stop him soon, he would beat the man to death.

    I tried to sit up some in bed to get my partner's attention but that little movement brought me to the brink of unconsciousness and I sunk back onto the bed. I tried again to move, tried to make my voice work, but I couldn't. I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked over to see Captain Dobey standing over me.

    "David, are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

    My voice still wouldn't work so I shook my head from side to side to let him know that I was all right.

    "You just take it easy, son. It's all over now," the Captain told me.

    Two more people appeared in the room, they had on Metro police uniforms, they must have been the guards outside of my room. Somewhere in my foggy mind I wondered how in hell my attacker had gotten past them...but I didn't have the capacity right now to try and figure that out...all I knew for certain was that Hutch was here and I would be all right.

    The Captain had turned his attention to my partner who showed no sign of letting up on the limp man that was still standing only because Hutch was holding him up so he could hit him some more. Captain Dobey shouted at Hutch to get his attention.

    "Hutchinson, stop it, you'll kill him. Stop it! Starsky is all right. Did you hear me, your partner is all right."

    The mention of my name brought Hutch back to reality and he dropped the limp man and let him fall to the floor. He looked over at me, but he still had that wild-eyed look on his face and his whole body was as charged as a lightening bolt. I made eye contact with him, letting him know that I really was all right.

    He moved over to my bedside and, with bruised and bloody knuckles, gently ran his hands down the side of my face and through my hair.

    I looked up at him and nodded.

    His eyes that had been like dark blue daggers were now welling up with tears that were threatening to spill out unto his lashes. Now he had both of his hands on my shoulders, leaving them there for a moment, proving to himself that I was still in one piece.

    "Captain, I'm okay, I'm okay now."

    The Captain and the two uniforms were both watching Hutch. They had seen one of their own come as close to killing a man as they would ever see. It was only by the grace of God that Hutch hadn't killed my attacker. Not even our Captain knew how to handle this Hutch.

    Hutch walked back over to the man on the floor. He reached for his handcuffs, cuffed the man laying on the floor of my hospital room, pulled the man up off of the floor and walked him out of my room.

    "Hutch?" I could hear the warning in Captain Dobey's voice. "Let the uniforms take him out of here."

    Hutch seemed to have regained most of his control. "I'll take him out of here." Then Hutch said in a steady monotone, "Not gonna kill the bastard, just gonna read him his rights."

    I didn't know if Dobey bought that or not, but he didn't make a move to stop him, and Hutch took the attacker out of my room.

    Captain Dobey turned his attention back to me. "David, son, are you sure you're okay? Do you think a doctor should look at you?"

    "No, Captain, he didn't get the chance to..." I couldn't finish the sentence. "Captain, go after Hutch. Make sure he doesn't do something that can't be undone, please?"

    I settled back down into the pillows on my bed, totally drained and exhausted from all that had just happened. I was very worried about Hutch. He might have fooled some people, but not me...he may have looked in control but I knew better. I wanted Dobey to make sure the prisoner went to the Metro lockup and not to a slab in the morgue. "Captain, please go find Hutch."

    "On my way Starsky, I'll be back as soon as I can."

* * * * *

    I had to half support my prisoner out of my partner's room and down the stairs to the squad car parked out front of the hospital. There it was, perfect. I saw what I was looking for...a room...something like a janitor's closet off to the side just before you enter the main lobby of the hospital. I walked my prisoner into the room and shut the door behind me. I waited until he focused on my face.

    "Don't hit me anymore, please, don't hurt me."

    Starsky's attacker was terrified of me just like I wanted him to be. I drew my Magnum out from under my jacket. I cocked the trigger of the gun and held it against the man's temple.

    "Don't you move," I ground out at him, My own voice didn't sound human to me right now. "I ought to blow your head off for what you have done to my partner. You piece of human vermin, the only reason you are still alive is because my partner is all right, or you'd be dead right now. I would love to kill you, you two-bit perverted punk."

    In my mind, the image of my best friend, still so pale, bullet wounds only now beginning to heal, eyes wide with fear, trying so desperately to push this man away from him. I lowered my gun so that it was between the legs of Matthew Gunther. I held it there.

    "You are going down hard for this. This will read simply, 'assault on a police officer with the intent to kill.' No more, no less...you understand me?"

    Matthew Gunther nodded, he knew if he wanted to stay alive to go to trial he had better never mention the sexual pleasures he had been trying to get from Starsky.

    "Because if you don't do it my way, I will make sure that everyone in the lockup knows that you did a kid. Even the scum in jail wouldn't like that...you do understand me, don't you?"

    He nodded his head. He looked terrified.

    Good, let him feel some of what Starsky felt.

    "You have the right to remain silent, you have the right to an attorney, and if you can't afford an attorney one will be appointed for you..."

* * * * *

    Later that evening in Starsky's hospital room...

    Hutch sat on the edge of my hospital bed, one arm around my shoulders, looking at me, having to see for himself that I was really all right. The nightmare was over. He assured me that my attacker was being charged with attempted murder only--there would be no mention of anything else that the man had attempted to do to me either time.

    Hutch had been alone with his prisoner, and I knew my partner...I would not have to worry about the attempted sexual assaults being part of the charges, he had seen to that.

    Captain Dobey had stayed with us, and the three of us had finally settled down for some lunch. We needed to get back to normal as soon as we could. And I was sorta hungry by now.

    "Aww, Hutch...you forgot my strawberry shake..."

The End