Joshua stayed the night at his former home, uneasy about what his little brother's reaction would be to everything that had come out: Ken's anger at Carlton, and his concern for Mickey.

Starsky was unable to doze for more than a few minutes at a time. He was worried as well. He was dealing with a partner highly stressed from family situations and this was uncertain ground to him. He had gotten up around five and lay back dozing in the black recliner.

When the beautiful sunrise shown through the windows, Starsky's dream of Huggy's hamburgers along with a beautiful waitress shattered as an angry voice pierced his sleep.

"What is going on here?" Hutch's voice had the angry roar of a lion in it. He entered the living room and began throwing cushions and knocking over chairs.

"Easy, tiger," Starsky said sluggishly.

"Don't easy tiger me!" Hutch raged. "I'm sick and tired of being drugged! I'm not going to be kept out of the loop anymore!"

"Ken," Joshua began as he entered the living room.

Hutch whipped around at him, furious. "Don't soft pedal me, Joshua! You may be the doctor, but Starsky and I are detectives, and it's time to go to work and find out what is happening! Everybody and I mean everybody, had better stay out of my way!"

"Now that sounds more like the Hutch I know and love," Starsky smiled.

Hutch glared at him. "Then you had better start treating me as your partner and not as a baby!"

"Okay."

"Okay? No arguing? No tricks? No, it's for your own good? And both of you better not have any sedatives on you!"

"Have some coffee," Joshua urged. "Or milk or juice if you prefer."

"I will," Ken slammed two glasses and a coffee cup on the table.

Joshua poured the coffee while Starsky got the orange juice and milk.

"Oh, no. You two drink some first." Ken was insistent.

Starsky and Joshua looked at each other. "Babe, it was Mickey that gave you sedatives about three times."

Hutch interrupted, "And how about on the plane with the Valium, Starsky? And I know the coke had something as well, Joshua."

Joshua shrugged. "I'm sorry; I couldn't take a chance you will try to kill Carlton, as upset as you were. Mickey would have never forgiven me."

"You know me better than that."

"I thought I knew Mickey better than that," Joshua didn't back down. After a minute of a Hutchinson to Hutchinson stare down, Joshua took a large sip of coffee.

Starsky took a large sip of the orange juice. "That ain't goat's milk, right?" he asked pointing to the glass of milk.

Joshua gave him a odd look. "It's regular milk, but I can get you some goat's milk if you like."

"No, no!" Starsky said hastily. "Hutch is the one who likes goat's milk, protein powder, desecrated liver, etc."

Hutch didn't bother to correct Starsky. His eyebrows rose, looking at the glass of milk and Starsky. Starsky took a long drink from the milk. "Hey, it's good. Okay, buddy, you can drink it."

"I'll wait a few minutes," Hutch was uncompromising as he glared from one to another.

"Want some donuts?" Starsky asked, bringing a sack of them to the kitchen table. He pulled three out of the sack and onto his plate, smiling happily. "Ahh, chocolate, frosted with sparkles, and jelly donuts."

"Why don't you just inhale some lard, and be done with it?"

Starsky smiled, glad to hear a reappearance of normal Hutchinson sarcasm. He crammed the first of three in his mouth, munching happily. He saw Joshua watching with amusement as well. "Oh, sorry, Joshua, when you're on the job, you have to shove and run. I think I hold the record for the fastest time to eat a cheeseburger and fries."

"That is why you have constant indigestion," Hutch remarked.

Starsky raised his black eyebrows. "See what I have to put up with?" and crammed the jelly donut in his mouth.

"See what YOU have to put up with?" Hutch argued. "This is what I have to put up with, along with riding in a stupid striped tomato!"

"He means my beautiful candy apple red Gran Torino with a white stripe."

"If I paint it black and leave the stripe, it'll look like the skunk it really is."

"Now don't put my car down, oh you of battered, rusty bucket of bolts car that honks when you open the front door and looks like you got it from a junkyard."

Joshua couldn't help laughing at the banter.

"See what I have to put up with?" Captain Dobey remarked as he joined the three in the kitchen. "Are those donuts?" he asked, snatching Starsky's frosted sparkle one.

"Oh, help yourself, Captain," Starsky responded, nettled.

"And eat these as well," Hutch gave the sack to Dobey as well. "Starsky couldn't possibly eat any more of those lard and sugar filled heart attacks waiting to happen."

"Now that's cold," Starsky gave a dark look to his smiling partner.

The familiar banter had all four relaxed and smiling.

"Captain, I can see you have more on your hands that I do with all the medical crisis I deal with. I have always heard about the best detective team in California, and now I see the team in action."

"Yes, sometimes they are worth all the migraines they give me," Dobey responded, eating another donut.

"Cap, leave some for me!" Starsky protested, to Hutch's amusement.

Joshua got up. "I can make a mean omelet with anything in it you want. How about it, little brother? I know you having been eating much."

Ken gave Joshua a small smile. "Okay, I'll have a little. It would do Cap and Starsky good to have some healthy food."

"You have bacon and hash browns, too?" At Starsky's look, Dobey added, "I haven't eaten anything since last night."

"Sure. I'll add blueberry pancakes. No more donuts right now," Joshua snatched the bag to Dobey and Starsky's disappointment. "You three go in the living room and relax and I'll let you know when breakfast is ready. Ken, you want all the vegetables I can find in your omelet, along with cheese?"

"Yes, please."

Starsky added, "Ham and cheese in mine, no veggies. And no liver of any kind!"

"Captain Dobey?" Joshua waited.

"Oh, everything is fine. I'll eat practically anything."

"You've never had one of nature boy's disgusting shakes," Starsky muttered. He put an arm around Hutch's shoulders and steered him to the living room couch.

Joshua watched them. "They love each other, don't they?"

"As partners, as friends, as brothers, more than any other team I've ever seen. They can count on each other and will risk their own life in a second to save the other. That is why they are the best."

"I'm glad to see that. Ken is going to need that more than ever. Well, Captain, you can watch me cook or join your best team of detectives."

"I think I'll read the paper," Dobey replied. "Thank you, Joshua," he said as he got up.

"No, thank you, Captain," Joshua said sincerely. "For watching out for my little brother."

"One thing," Dobey hesitated as he had been curious. "Your limp?"

"Crashed in the training run at the Olympics. The limp is permanent. But it hasn't slowed me down as a doctor."

Dobey nodded and found a comfortable brown recliner and opened the newspaper he had found on the porch. In the living room, Starsky threatened to haul Hutch's car to a junkyard if Hutch followed through on his threat to paint the tomato black. The Hutchinson finger appeared at that point. Dobey relaxed at the familiar banter of his favorite team. He had a feeling it wouldn't last long, but was grateful for the break in tension.