Feedback: That would be kind of you…

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to these boys, just to this story. It is for enjoyment purposes only.

Author's Notes: I have received a lot of comments about the last couple of chapters and it seems that people are actually quite content with the pace of this story. I will continue to write it as I had planned, I hope everyone stays tuned.

Another fabulous idea by the one and only Brook….

This takes place just prior to 'The Set-up', Joe Durniak is alive and well, and still with the mob. He's also still fond of the Starsky family…

Family Ties

Chapter Twenty-Five

Hutch threw his weary body down on the worn tan sofa, his hand digging into his jacket pocket and retrieving the photos from the alley. Thumbing through them he examined each one with greater scrutiny. He noticed something he hadn't seen before, Starsky's eyes, even from a distance, he saw the fear in them, the pure panic and terror the emanated from them…Starsky didn't kill Ryan, but he was there when it happened, at somebody else's hands.

He stared at the pictures, stressing at the image of his best friend, compromised in a way he never thought would be possible. Starsky's image had been masterfully tarnished by experts, appearing to be headed down the wrong path on his way to his own destruction. He felt a sense of urgency; urgency to find his partner, urgency to clear his name, urgency to make all right with the world once again.

The tall blond rose off the couch, arching his back and stretching out his tired muscles. He threw the pictures down on the coffee table as he pealed off his leather jacket, tossing it on the back of the couch. Heading to the refrigerator, he opened the door, reached in and pulled out a bottle of ice cold beer. Using the bottle opener on the counter beside the icebox, he popped off the top, allowing it clatter to the floor and roll under the stove. Shrugging his shoulders and taking a long swig of the cool fluid, he added the bottle top to a list of other items he would need to retrieve from the great abyss under his appliances.

Unhooking his holster, he squirmed out of it, leaving his Magnum secured in its holder and draping it over the paneled door. He set his beer on the bureau by the bathroom as he unsnapped his shirt, and removed it from his sweating skin, throwing it to the floor, grabbing a hold of his belt buckle he wasted no time in undoing his pants, letting them fall to the ground as he kicked out of them. He went into the bathroom and turned on the shower, allowing the water to heat up. He quickly retrieved his still cold beer and took a long drink, finishing over half of it in one motion.

He took his time in the shower allowing the hot water to pulsate against his back, loosening up all the tense muscles, finally allowing himself to briefly relax. After toweling off, he helped himself to one more beer, making quick work of that one too, before settling into his bed, falling asleep quicker than he thought would be possible.

XXXX

Joe struggled with Starsky, trying to pull him forward. One of his own personal guards, Carlos, was there to help him. Starsky's head lolled forward, his chin hitting his chest, he mumbled something unintelligible. Durniak allowed Starsky to lay back down as he assessed the situation.

"Come on Davy, just give me a little help would you?" Joe pled with the brunet. "What the hell did they give you, boy?"

"Nicky…" Starsky's voice was rough and unsteady.

"He's out of it Joe." Carlos stated the obvious as he moved in closer to the bed, examining his subject.

"…elp Nicky…" Starsky raised his hand and clumsily slapped Joe's chest. "Please…help Nicky…" He pled.

"Relax Davy, he's gone…musta took off…but don't you worry, we'll find him." Joe assured him as he moved aside to give his accomplice room to maneuver.

"What ab…out C…armen?" Starsky was out of it, but he still knew he had people to help.

Joe smiled at the man on the bed. "Just like you Davy, always thinkin' about other people." He shook his head, amused. "Keep it down would ya?"

Durniak moved to the door that separated the two bedrooms, looking in on Carmen sleeping peacefully. He slowly closed the door, trying to keep from waking her.

Starsky laid there on the bed, blinking hard, trying to clear the clouds from his brain. His thoughts were jumbled as he tried desperately to straighten them out before trying to speak them. "Where's Nicky?" He mumbled.

"I told you, he's gone." Joe reiterated.

"Nick…" Starsky repeated himself, his confusion taking control. He knew what he was thinking, however, what he was thinking wasn't what was coming out of his mouth. "…Hutch…" He whispered as his eyes rolled back and a wave of dizziness washed over him, causing him to reach out, grabbing Joe's guard to keep from falling off the bed.

"Easy there big boy!" Durniak's right hand man exclaimed as he looked over at his boss. "We need to get him outta here before someone catches us, or finds Frankie passed out."

"Get 'im up." Joe instructed the brut.

"Can't leave…" Starsky stammered as he tried his best to contest, but failing miserably. "I…promise…no…"

Carlos pulled the brunet detective up off the bed by one arm; his head again flopped forward looking more like an uncoordinated new born baby.

"…Stop…don't…can't…" He protested to the best of his ability. "…leave…"

"Damn it! Keep it down Davy, you're gonna get us all killed." Durniak begged with Starsky.

"Carmen…have…to help..." He said as Carlos could feel the brunet's body start to tense up as his voice got louder. "…let me go…" Starsky fell onto his side as Carlos let him go.

"Whatya want me to do Joe?" Carlos asked, feeling more frustrated moment by moment. As the time passed, so did their chances of getting out of the house without being noticed.

Joe looked at the young man lying on his side, and then tipped his head at his guard, Carlos knowing that that was his sign.

The large man drew back his right arm, balling up his fist, he grabbed Starsky by the shirt with his left hand as he pulled the brunet's torso closer to him. Letting his fist fly forward, he connected with the detective's jaw. Starsky's head snapped to the side as his eyes instantly rolled to the back of his head and his lids closed, his entire body immediately going limp in Carlos' hand.

"Let's get the hell outta here." Joe growled as Carlos lifted Starsky up and over his shoulder, carrying him to the door that Durniak held open.

XXXX

Hutch heard the phone ringing in the distance; it came closer and closer as he was slowly reeled back into consciousness. He opened his eyes wearily as his vision cleared, and the world swam back into focus. He rubbed his eyes as he rolled over and grabbed the receiver of the phone on his nightstand.

"…ello?" Hutch's voice was rougher than he had expected it to be, giving way to his overly dry throat. He swallowed hard trying to rejuvenate the saliva flow.

"Mr. Hutchinson?" The rough voice on the other line spoke.

"Who wants to know?" Hutch raised himself up, propping his body up onto his elbows, clearing his throat. For a brief second his heart skipped a beat, thinking that this call could be bad news, about Cooper or Starsky.

"That dudn't matter! I got information about Davy!"

The voice on the other end reeked of years of smoking and drinking hard liquor. The stress put on the caller's vocal cords was very apparent. Hutch could almost picture the overweight man in his mind.

"Davy who?" Hutch asked, never really putting the name with his best friends face.

"Davy Starsky!" The frustration in the man's voice increasing. "How many Davy's you know?"

"Look here, I don't know who in the hell you are and frankly I could care less…" Hutch spat as he was instantaneously awake and alert, his instinct kicking in.

"Listen up…" Durniak cut Hutch short. "Your partner is here with me, an' I'm gonna tell you where you can find him."

After the incident with he and Cooper in the alley, Hutch's first thought was of another set-up.

"I'm listening." He really wanted to keep the caller talking.

"There's a hotel, on the corner of Georgina and Ocean Ave…room 121…the door will be unlocked."

Hutch heard someone in the background moan. "Who in the hell is this, and what the fuck do you want from me?" He felt his heart rate increase as he sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed, the deep crease in his brow deepening.

"All I want to do is help Davy…I found your number in his wallet, figured out who you were…" Joe sighed. "He's been asking for you…"

The tightening in Hutch's chest increased, the grip of the fist that had a hold of his heart was immeasurable, he found himself breathing rapidly, sweat beginning to form on his brow.

"Let me talk to him." Hutch demanded rather than requested from the anonymous caller.

"I'm afraid he's in no condition to talk on the phone…"

"Why not? What have you done to him?" Hutch's anger grew.

"Not me son, them."

"What?" The blond shouted into the hand piece, rising to his feet to appear more threatening, forgetting that this was a non visual confrontation. "What do you mean them? Who are they and what have they done?"

He heard the man moan again, this time a longer noise than the first, he thought the person was trying to speak.

"They've drugged him, and with what, I am not sure…" The caller seemed to be talking to someone in the room with him, Hutch was not completely convinced that this wasn't another elaborate set-up, excuse to get him out and alone, vulnerable. "Don't worry Dave, you're safe now, just ride it out…atta boy…come on breathe…"

Hutch heard the person in the background mumble…it sounded like '…utch, call 'utch…"

The blond detective had a mixture of emotion that flowed over him at that second. He knew in his heart that was his partner, he finally found him…or did he? Who was this caller and why was he giving him information on his friend. Did he just find him on the street, was he in on the kidnapping…was he trying to hurt either one of them…he was confused…his heart wanted to leave that second, rush to that address, find Starsky. The detective in him was screaming at him to be careful, heed caution. Don't believe anything he was being told or anything he was hearing.

"I wanna talk to him." Hutch's thoughts flashed back to a time when he was in the hotel room over Huggy's bar, shot up with one of the most evil of all drugs, fighting to get more. He needed to get to Starsky and help him, even fight him if necessary. Good thing was, he hadn't been missing too long, so hopefully, whatever they had injected him with would leave his system quietly.

"Mr. Hutchinson, I'm afraid that Davy is so out of it that even if I did let you talk to him, he wouldn't even know who you are…"

"Well my friend, I am afraid that's where you are wrong…" Hutch said adamantly, "He'd know exactly who I am!"

"If I were you, I would quit wasting valuable time and get your ass down here and get him to a doctor, along with the drugs, they roughed him up pretty good."

"He's hurt?" Hutch grabbed his pants, pulling them on as he tucked the phone between his chin and shoulder. "I swear to God, if you had anything to do with this, I will find you!"

"You really should be thanking me instead of threatening me." Joe finished the conversation and hung up the phone abruptly.

Hutch quickly raced around his apartment, clumsily pulling his clothes on, grabbing his holster and gun, his keys, and jacket. He stumbled and tripped his way out the front door and down the stairs to his car, starting it quickly and slamming it into gear. He left a long strip of rubber from his tires on the pavement as he sped off to find the one person that mattered most to him in his life, Starsky.

XXXX

Joe tucked Starsky into bed, pulling the covers up snuggly around his chin and roughly patting his cheek.

"You're gonna be okay Davy." He said as he stood up straight getting ready to leave.

Just as he started to walk away from the detective, Starsky reached out and firmly grabbed Durniak's hand, squeezing it tightly. Joe turned around and looked at the man in the bed, his eyes still closed. His mouth moved, and he could see the brunet swallow hard as his tongue traced his own lips, he tried hard to form the words…

"D…don't go…" Starsky rough voice was a mere whisper as he tried to communicate. "…don't w…want to be…'lone…"

Durniak turned back around and sat on the bed next to Starsky. He took the hand he held and firmly held it, "You're not alone Davy…you never will be…" He answered as he released Starsky's hand and laid it across the brunet's chest.

Standing up, he continued towards the door, pulling it open and then looking back one last time, "You never will be Davy." He said as he left, shutting the door tightly behind him.

To Be Continued…