Chapter Sixteen

By the time Hutch returned to Memorial, it was well after ten. He found Starsky impatiently waiting for him.

"Where the hell have you been? I've been waitin' all morning!"

"Sorry, Dobey wanted me to come into the precinct first," Hutch explained.

He sat down and noticed the tired lines on his partner's face had returned and frowned his concern. "Did you get any sleep last night?"

Starsky shrugged. "Some."

By the look on his face, Hutch thought not much at all.

"Any more nightmares?" Hutch asked, worried their talk yesterday might have been too soon, too stressful.

Starsky shook his head. "No," he assured, easily reading his worry. "Just this damn headache. So what did Dobey want?"

"We picked up Wallace and his accomplice, the two men who attacked you."

Starsky frowned. "Wallace." He repeated the name but it still didn't sound familiar, but then again, he still had a few cheese holes in his memory. "Do I know him?"

"Actually…um…no."

His frown deepened. "Then what was it, a mugging?"

"Well, no not that either."

"Then what the hell was it?"

"More of a case of mistaken identity."

Starsky looked at Hutch perplexed and saw his partner staring back at him a little sheepishly. "Actually Wallace thought you were me."

"Huh?"

"Do you remember Kelly Clarksdale?"

"Kelly?"

"Yeah, I dated her a couple of times a month or so ago."

Starsky thought. "Yeah, vaguely. She was a secretary or something."

"Stenographer, actually."

"Whatever. So what has this Kelly got to do with what happened ta me?"

"Well apparently she had a jealous ex-boyfriend I didn't know about that thought you were me."

"What a minute! Are you trying to tell me I got a pipe cracked upside my head by a jealous ex-boyfriend of a girl I didn't even date?"

Hutch gave him a lopsided, apologetic little grin. "That's about the size of it."

"Terrific!"

"Sorry, buddy."

"How'd ya find out who he was in the first place?"

"Off the set of prints he left on the pipe he whacked you with. That and the fact Anita recognized him as one of the customers in the bar when we were there eating dinner and shooting pool."

"Mmmmm. Just my luck, and all bad!"

Starsky sank back against the pillows. Within minutes he grew really quiet, almost physically withdrawing into himself. Hutch noticed the expression on his face change and his radar went up.

"What is it Starsk?"

Starsky picked at the covers, his eyes suddenly hooded.

"I couldn't sleep last night not just because of the headaches," Starsky admitted.

"What then buddy?"

"I started remembering more." He glanced up and Hutch briefly saw the flash of emotion in his partner's eyes before they were once again concealed beneath the fan of dark lashes.

"M'sorry, Hutch."

"Sorry for what?"

"For what happened on the roof."

"Aw, buddy, there's nothing to be sorry for."

The curly head snapped up for a moment "NO! You're wrong. I…I could have killed ya." The last part of the sentence came out strangled.

Hutch got up from the visitor's chair and sat down on the bed. His partner's shoulders were slumped, his eyes downcast once again.

He reached over and covered the hand Starsky was using to pick imaginary lint off the blanket.

"Starsk. Starsky, look at me, please."

When Starsky raised his eyes, the deep indigo blue orbs were filled with guilt. Hutch brought his other hand up and gently, but firmly cupped the back of his partner's neck. "You listen to me, David Starsky. You have nothing! Absolutely nothing to be sorry for. You were hurt and confused."

"Doesn't matter. Should'a known it was you."

"Starsky, for God sakes, someone beamed you upside the skull with a metal pipe! It would have confused the hell of anyone, if not killed you outright."

The eyes flashed angrily, filled with self loathing. "I pulled a gun on you, Hutch! Don't you understand? I could have pulled the trigger, blown my best friend away!"

Hutch shook his head. "No you wouldn't have."

"You don't know that for sure," Starsky argued.

"Yes I do." The three words held solid conviction in them, but Starsky still shook his head, and Hutch could tell what had happened on the roof was still eating away at him.

"I saw the fear in ya, Hutch."

"Aw, Starsky. Of course I was afraid. I was flat out terrified. But not in the way you think."

Dark eyes met pale blue ones. "What do you mean?"

Hutch sighed. His hand dropped from Starsky's neck and joined his other still covering his partner's hand. He intertwined their fingers together.

"I was afraid I was going to make you p-panic again. Don't you see?" Hutch told him. "I had backed you up in a corner on that roof before I figured out what was really going on with you. Then it all made sense when I realized you really thought you were Rudy Skyler," Hutch explained. "But by then you were already so close to the edge." The pale eyes re-lived that moment in front of his friend. "I was flat out terrified you were going to fall. Then when those other two officers arrived, startled you and you went over… I-I thought I lost you."

Hutch tightened his fingers around his partner's hand and took a breath, the image of seeing Starsky there one second and gone the next was still seared in his mind.

"W-when we realized you were still there, clinging to the side of the building, my only thought was to reach you. And once I had a hold of you, I wasn't going to let go, no matter what. Then when you started to struggle…." Hutch choked back the rest of what he wanted to say.

"I almost pulled you over with me," Starsky finished for him. "All because I was afraid of you! What kinda friend is that?"

"A very confused one, Starsky, that's all."

"But I shouldn't have been. I should have trusted ya."

"But you did Starsky."

He looked up confused.

"Buddy, when I had you by your hand, I could feel you slipping from me and I knew there was no way I was going to be able to hang onto you without your help. It was the most terrifying, heart stopping moment in my entire life. You were in a panic, terrified and the only thing I could do was to ask you to trust me. And it was there again, like it had always been, that complete trust, that complete faith you have always given me. It was Me and Thee time and just like that you let go and grabbed my arm with your other hand and helped me to pull you back up."

"I don't remember."

"I'm not surprised. By the time I got you back up over the edge, you were in so much pain from your injuries you passed out. I just held you Starsky. That's all I could do."

Hutch's hands trembled and then he felt his eyes well up. He reached up and brushed the wetness away with the back of his hand as his partner watched him. "You seriously scared the crap out of me buddy."

"M'sorry, Hutch," Starsky apologized, hating to see his friend so shaken.

"It's okay. You're safe now and that's all that matters."

"Guess you're still stuck with me then."

"Wouldn't have it any other way, partner." Hutch smiled through more watery eyes.

Starsky grinned back, accepting the friendship they had always shared. He then studied his partner's face and a frown appeared. He reached up and gently touched the bruise on Hutch's cheek.

"I remembered that too, last night. I hit ya, Hutch."

Hutch smiled gently. "You pack one hell of a punch, buddy."

"M'sorry."

"Don't worry about it. I'll survive. Besides, what are few bruised cheeks among best friends anyway?"

He was looking straight at Starsky but reflecting back to another time. Another time when Starsky had been on the receiving end of one of his own punches, when he'd lashed out in anger, consumed in overwhelming pain and grief the night he walked in and found Gillian dead, the night he'd learned the awful truth about her past from his best friend. He hadn't held back either and yet Starsky had never held the incident against him.

He could feel his partner's eyes searching his own unguarded expression, feel him reading him like no other ever could and knew the moment when his partner understood what Hutch was trying to say. It was already forgiven, water under the bridge, and had never really been an issue in the first place between them. In Hutch's eyes there was nothing but the bond he shared with his best friend and the corner of Starsky's mouth lifted slightly.

"You should learn to duck next time, Blintz," Starsky finally replied, accepting Hutch's words as truth.

Hutch grinned, gave a little laugh. "I'll remember that."

Starsky shifted his position in bed and by his next remark it became clear that he'd had enough "soapiness" for the moment.

"Well I hope you remembered to bring me some goddamn pants this time so I can get the hell out of here!"

Hutch chuckled then reached down to the small carrying bag he'd brought along and plopped it on the bed. "Crummiest pair of clean blue jeans I could find," he said smiling. "Along with your sneakers, socks and a shirt."

Hutch had swung by Starsky's apartment before coming to the hospital, knowing Starsky would ream him up one side and down the other if he didn't come with clothes to escape.

"Terrific!"

Starsky dug through the bag, then frowned. "Where's my watch?"

Hutch's eyes widened. "Uh…sorry, buddy. I forgot that."

"You forgot my watch?"

"It's in the Torino along with your wallet and your jacket. But I did remember your pants," he dutifully reminded his scowling partner with a raised finger. "And look. I've even got your badge." He produced it from his left shirt pocket like it was a gift and handed it to his friend, grinning.

That Hutch had kept it in the pocket next to his heart didn't go unnoticed by the curly haired man. Starsky's scowl lessened.

"How'd you get my jacket back?" Vaguely he recalled it being stripped from him.

Hutch explained, trying to lightly skim over the part about practically assaulting Levi in front of Captain Eaton but his partner was too astute to miss it.

"You in much trouble with Eaton?"

Hutch shrugged. "A verbal warning. I think Dobey ironed things out."

Starsky nodded, relieved and Hutch's smile widened.

"Well just don't stand there then. Close the damn door, Blintz, and help me get dressed."

"Don't you have to wait for the doctor to come in to clear you first?"

Starsky struggled to shift his body out of the bed, his progress still slow from his injuries. "Franklin already did that this morning. I've just been waiting for your sorry butt to get here."

"Sorry. I suppose you've pestered the nurses all morning too?"

Starsky grabbed his jeans out of the bag.

"You're damn right! My temperature was fine all night. Told them it was nothing. Didn't even go over 99. I just wanna get out of here before they find somethin' else ta keep me here."

Starsky was like a bull in a china shop when it came to confinement and hospitals. He hated both and would as soon tear down the place in his effort to escape.

Hutch sighed, knowing it was useless to even try and restrain him. As Starsky awkwardly lifted one leg, then the next into the pants, groaning as his bruised ribs protested to bending over, Hutch placed a steady hand on his arm and said nothing, though he did find himself grinning a little a few seconds later as his partner struggled to snap the tight jeans in place.

"Guess I should have brought you a pair of sweats."

For this he got a heated glare.

"What about the headaches?" Hutch asked.

Starsky grabbed his red shirt and pulled it over his head, enjoying the warm softness of the fabric over the starchy stiffness of the hospital gown.

"Doc said I'll probably have them for a few weeks." He paused and retrieved a slip of paper off the bedside table and handed it to Hutch. "He wrote me a prescription for some pain pills and antibiotics and told me to get a lot of rest."

He grabbed his socks and shoes, and then realized getting them actually on was going to be difficult. Hutch watched him struggle for a moment, before helping him.

"He also said you're not to be by yourself for the next few days, Gordo," Hutch reminded him.

Starsky grabbed his badge and stuffed it into his back pocket.

"Yeah, well I figure you got that part covered, right?"

"When it comes to watching over my partner? You have to ask?"

Starsky's face softened. "No. I never do." He smiled then, a smile that went all the way up to his eyes. A smile that reminded Hutch of all the things he treasured most about his best friend. "Now go find me a wheelchair, Blondie, and let's bust out of here."

"And go to Bolivia?"

"You got it buddy!"

Hutch laughed, only happy to comply. He knew the next several days were going to be filled with a lot of whining and complaining and he'd be sleeping on a lumpy couch that would probably twist his back up even more, but somehow at the moment, none of that mattered.

The only thing that mattered was he'd gotten his best friend back and for Hutch that would always be enough.

The End….

Author's notes/reflections/thanks:

Thanks everyone for reading my story. Hope you enjoyed it and hope I didn't disappoint anyone. The story was never really meant to be about who attacked Starsky and why as much as it was more of an exploration into Starsky's character and the bond he and Hutch share. (Besides, we all know Starsky just has a propensity for getting/finding himself in trouble without really trying, lol)

The inspiration for this story came from one small scene in "Murder Ward," the scene where Starsky is strapped down in the straightjacket arguing with Hutch who wants to pull them off the case, sensing the danger to his partner becoming too great. In that scene Starsky showed such a controlled look of panic but with a fierce determination to continue on that I wondered what was going on inside his head. (Great job PMG on that scene!) It made me think of what drives Starsky sometimes to take risks clearly out of his comfort zone and how Hutch views that inner strength in his friendship with Starsky.

The two characters I find very interesting to study. What makes their friendship so unique, what makes each tick and draws the other to him? These are the stories I love to read, but are very hard to write, lol.

The biggest challenge I found in trying to write this was to try and keep the characters in canon with series without becoming overly sappy, but still express the beauty of their friendship and the trust each places in the other.

So…to wuemsel…who refused to write this story for me (damn it, 'cause I luv your style, man!), and challenged me to try and write it myself, here it is. I gave it my best shot. I still think you still could have done a much better job, but thanks for the push.

And thanks to everyone else for the WONDERFUL feedback and support for each chapter I posted through reviews and emails. It was an extremely hard and challenging story for me to write, lol, but I'm glad I did.

Bluespiritgal