NEAR DEATHS DOOR

BY P&C PRODUCTIONS

CHAPTER 12

Cassie had been in out of her semi-conscious state all day…each time feeling his fingers against her hand and concentrating on moving her own. It was so difficult and she grew more tired with each new attempt. She was aware of his presence and the fact that he was reading to her. She also knew that her finger had moved slightly…she had heard him tell her. It seemed that the times when she was aware were growing fewer and farther between…and her strength was diminishing with each new attempt.

Nurse Judith Hoffman entered the room for the fifth or sixth time that day…she had lost count. Captain Dobey was still reading to Cassie and she had to ask him to leave for a few minutes so she could take her readings and change her bags one more time before the end of her shift. Dobey walked out and down to the waiting area…where he bumped into Starsky and Hutch.

Hutch had just arrived and had seen his partner in the waiting room as he was getting off the elevator. They were sitting close together drinking coffee and talking quietly to each other…but when they saw Dobey enter the room they rose to their feet. It was almost 5:00PM

"We were just about to head back to the room." Starsky said to him. "I just got back from the cafeteria…thanks for the break Cap’n"

Dobey found a chair and all three sat back down. "You can’t go in right now…the Nurse is with her."

"They said the Doctor would be up to talk to me soon…I guess to give me an update on her condition." Starsky told them. "Maybe she’ll have good news."

"Glad to see you’re optimistic for a change partner." Hutch kidded him. "I’m usually the one who has to try to get you to look on the bright side of things."

"She’s getting better…I know it." Starsky was trying to put on a little show…he had felt her finger move only once and it had given him a little ray of hope. But inside he was still scared to death.

Doctor Sonja Van Schalm walked quietly up to the entrance of the waiting area…Hutch was the first to see her figure in the doorway and gave his partner a quick glance and a sideways nod of his head…to let him know to look to his left. Starsky and Dobey stood up a second after Hutch and Dobey was the first to extend his hand.

"Hello I’m Doctor Sonja Van Schalm and you are…" She spoke as she saw Harold Dobey walking towards her…his hand extended.

"Harold Dobey…I’m their Superior officer and a friend of Cassie." He said to her. "It’s a pleasure to meet you…though I wish it were under better circumstances."

"Yes I agree." She said and then turned her attention back to Starsky. "David I’m going to be honest with you…Cassie’s vitals seem to be deteriorating." She walked closer towards him as she spoke. "I’m afraid if things keep going the way they are…we may have to put her on the respirator soon."

"That can’t be true." He told her…not wanting to believe her words. "She moved her finger earlier…not much, but she did move it…that means she should be getting better not worse."

"It was probably a muscle spasm…I know you want to believe it was more but I can tell you from experience and from her recent test results that it wasn’t voluntary…I’m sorry." She said softly to him. "I wish I had better news…she still has a chance…if the antibiotics kick in enough to make things turn around…her temperature is stabilized and we’ve removed the ice packs. That at least is a good sign…the poison is still in her system and her body has to fight it off…but we still have a little to hope for."

"Thank you … for being honest with me." He said softly as he turned away from her to face the wall. "Should we just keep on doing what we’ve been doing…is there anything else we can try?" He asked as he squeezed the bridge of his nose with two fingers… to ease the pain of eye strain that he’d been experiencing all day…and rested the other hand against the wall

"There’s nothing else we can do but wait and watch her…for sign of respiratory problems…or signs that the antibiotics are taking a positive effect…right now gentlemen it could go either way." Doctor Van Schalm told them. "Don’t give up hope…just watch her carefully for any changes…I’ll keep an eye on her test results and check in with you tomorrow." She said as she walked slowly out the door. "Take care."

"Thank you Doctor." Dobey called to her as she left the room…Hutch was already standing beside his partner…his hand on his back…waiting for him to turn around.

"I’ll be here…as much as I can." Hutch told him.

"You’ll be here as long as you’re needed…I’m giving you a leave of absence until she’s better." Dobey told Hutch. "Your place is here for the next few days…and don’t argue about it." He kidded …he knew he wouldn’t hear any…and he knew that Hutch would be of no use to him while his thoughts where here with Starsky.

Dobey said his good byes leaving the two detectives alone in the waiting room. After a couple of minutes they made their way back to Cassie’s room.

Starsky walked with his hands in his back pockets and Hutch with his in the pockets of his jacket. The Nurses looked up at them as they walked by and then went back to what they were doing…they had seen Cassie’s test results and were growing accustomed to the sad faces on the two young detectives…who were fast becoming the talk of the Hospital.

They sat with Cassie for another few hours and Hutch told Starsky to go on home…It was his turn to stay with her and his partner needed to get a good nights sleep. Starsky protested but finally gave in and as he made his way down stairs in the elevator and then across the parking lot to his car…he kept feeling the urge to turn around. But he knew that Hutch would only insist that he leave…for his own good.

As he turned the key in the lock of his apartment…he realized that he didn’t even remember driving home…as if he had done it purely by instinct. He walked inside slowly and removed his jacket. As he reached to hang it up he noticed his gun and holster hanging in the same place he had left it two nights ago. His thoughts drifted back to that night…reliving it all again. Then he shook himself back to reality. It wouldn’t do anyone any good to wonder about the what- ifs…what if things where different…and he would have taken her to the Hospital sooner. He turned and began to make his way slowly towards his bedroom…he was so tired…a nice hot shower and a night in his own bed would do him good. If he could bring himself to close his eyes…and get it off of his mind for awhile.

He reached for a towel from the shelf and began to get undressed as he walked out of his room and…then he stopped…the door to her room was open and her light was still on. Stripped down to his waist he made his way inside…following the memories that flooded his mind. He sat down on her bed and stared at her surroundings…the posters…the stuffed animals…and the picture of her father that still sat on the little nightstand beside her bed.

He picked it up and looked at it for a moment…then he touched his face and spoke softly. "Sure wish you were here buddy." Then he placed it back down and stood up slowly…releasing a heavy sigh as he walked out and turned off the light.

News of Cassie’s illness spread through the school like wildfire…she was a popular girl and most of the kids either knew her or knew of her. Stacey had spent some of the day Thursday and most of Friday at school collecting cards and letters from all of Cassie’s friends. Mrs. Taylor promised to take her to the Hospital after school to see her.

Hutch kept an all night vigil…reading and talking to her…more to keep himself awake than anything so he could pay close attention to her breathing. He told her about some of the things he remembered from his childhood, about his failed marriage and how he and Starsky met. It gave him a chance to release some of his feelings…suspecting that she wouldn’t remember much of it anyway. He was able to speak freely and during the long discussion with himself…he found the words to describe how he felt about Starsky. It was a very private thing…Love more than a friend…more than a brother…Starsky was a part of him like no one he’d ever known before. "His pain is mine and mine is his…sometimes I think he can read my mind…and vise versa." Hutch was saying out loud as he stood by the window and gazed out at the morning sky. "I’d take a bullet for him without a second thought…and I know he’d do the same for me."

It was Friday morning and Starsky had finally found a few hours to sleep. Pacing the floor around 3:00AM…trying to make himself tired enough to sleep. But every attempt to lay down brought him back to his feet…he had gotten more rest in her room on that lumpy cot…at least there, he was close to her.

Hutch had Susan bring him a cup of her famous coffee when she and Judith came back on duty…she asked about his partner and was glad to hear that he had been sent home to get a good nights sleep. Although she noticed that Hutch could use a break himself.

Starsky arrived around 8:00AM and found Hutch reading from what looked to be the end of his book…holding her hand and dropping his head as if he would callapse from lack of sleep any second.

"Hey…you look beat…been up all night?" He asked as he walked closer, realizing that hutch hadn’t noticed him until he spoke.

"Yeah." He said as he looked up at him. "We have to watch her breathing…can’t do that asleep?"

"Thanks Hutch…I really appreciate it…Hey…why don’t ya go home yourself…I’ll take over now." He told him. "Your shift is over."

Hutch laughed a little at the remark…as if they were guarding a witness or on a stake out…taking turns in shifts. A sense of normality in an other wise unfamiliar situation.

Hutch said his good byes to Cassie and to his partner after a few minutes and as he walked down the corridor and into the elevator, he thought about all the talking he had done through the night…then he laughed a little at himself and he hoped she wouldn’t remember any of it.

Starsky spent the rest of the day keeping a close watch over her and reading. He paced the floor…spoke to her…rubbed her hands…and cried a little more. Trying everything he could think of to try…doing all that the doctor had told him to do and still…no response.

The Nurses drifted in and out of the room all day…happy to see him looking a little more rested. They went about their business quickly and left him alone with her…He really wasn’t sure what he was doing…and he wished to God that she would just wake up…by now it seemed impossible.

Around 4:00PM that afternoon…a light tapping on the door got Starsky’s attention. It couldn’t be Hutch…he wouldn’t knock like that.

He walked over to open the door wider and as he did a familiar face met his.

"Hello Mrs. Taylor." He said as he continued to pull on the door. "Stacey…good to see you." He welcomed the company.

Stacey was carrying a large box in her hands and Starsky could see that it was heavy for her…so he took it and placed it at the foot of Cassie’s bed.

"What is this?" He asked her.

"Cards and letters from the kids at school." She told him. "They really like her."

"How are you David?" Mrs. Taylor said as she shook his hand. It was the first time that she called him by his first name.

"Doin’ alright…glad to see you here." He told her.

Stacey walked closer to Cassie and looked at her for a few minutes…then she looked up at Starsky.

"When is she coming home?" Stacey asked him.

"I don’t know honey…soon I hope." He said as he touched her face…she looked so sweet…and he could tell she was concerned about her. He tried to hide the truth from her behind his smile.

"Have you eaten anything today?" Mrs. Taylor asked him.

"I’m fine."

"Stacey brought some tape to put up all the cards and letters…it may take awhile…why don’t you go get something down at the cafeteria…I’ll be here till you get back.." She told him.

Stacey had already begun the task and he could use the break.

"Alright…if you’re sure you don’t mind." He said. "Thank you Mrs…."

"It’s Kaylene."

"Kaylene…I’ll be back soon." He said and he winked at her before dissapearing behind the door.

He went down the elevator to the cafeteria and got himself a tray with a couple sandwiches and a soda…about all he’d been eating lately. At any rate he needed to get out of that room for a little while even if it was just to sit alone in the cafeteria. After a few minutes he threw away the empty containers and began to make his way back to the elevator….that’s when it happened. A call over the loud speaker that set his heart racing…Cassie’s room….He didn’t wait for the elevator but pushed open the door to the stairwell. Running up the stairs as fast as he could…only three floors but it seemed like a lot more. What the hell was going on?………..

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