Hutch sat at his desk and eyed the overwhelming stack of manila folders. He sighed and reluctantly took the top folder from the stack and opened it up to read it once more. He was sick of writing reports and wished he could just trash them all. Here it was, Easter Sunday and he and his partner was called in to work. His mind absently drifted, wondering where his partner could be. Starsky had told him that he would meet him at the station because he had some errands he had to take care of, but as of yet, the brunet still hadn't shown.

The blond looked up as the squad room doors burst open. Starsky bounced into the room holding a straw basket full of candy and colorful plastic eggs. The blond did a double take as his pale blue eyes locked onto the smaller man's hair. Dark riotous curls went every which way, sticking up in all directions. By the look of Starsky's comical curls, it looked like there could have been a hurricane blowing outside. Hutch chuckled at the sight of his friend and was rewarded with a joyful lopsided grin that spread across his partner's face. All he needs is long ears and whiskers the blond thought fondly, And he could probably be mistaken for some maniacal Easter Bunny!

"Hey buddy," Hutch said grinning, "Is that the errand you had to take care of?" The blond eyed the basket and the colorful array of plastic Easter eggs embedded in the green plastic Easter grass.

"Yup!" the brunet said cheerfully, dark blue eyes twinkling with excitement as he pointed to the basket, "Had to pick this up at the post office. Ma mailed me this to me. You know Hutch, in this here basket lies everything you need to know!"

"What's that?" Hutch frowned, "What are you talking about?"

"These eggs Hutch..." Starsky said, putting the basket gently down on his desk, "Are wisdom eggs." The brunet looked to the blond and nodded sagely, then in a serious, quiet whisper he continued, "Did you know Blondie, that everything we need to know... we can learn from the Easter Bunny?" Hutch laughed out loud, then sputtered to a stop when he noticed the brunet's solemn expression.

At the blonde's silent skepticism, the brunet enthusiastically continued, "It's like those Chinese fortune cookies Hutch, you know, with the little paper inside 'em that give you words of wisdom? Well, these eggs do the same thing, but they only work on Easter day... here, why don' ya pick one!" Starsky carefully lifted the basket and leaned over his desk to allow Hutch to view the eggs.

Hutch snorted loudly, and then shook his head; turning his gaze back to the folder he still held in his hands, "Thanks buddy, but I'm going crazy here with all of these reports to do." The tall blond sighed.

"Aw, c'mon Hutch," the brunet entreated, "Pick one and then you can have an Easter candy... please, please, please huh?"

The blond looked up at pleading, hopeful blue eyes; and he smiled fondly at his partner's little boy appearance. Starsky can be such a kid sometimes especially during any holiday, Hutch thought affectionately, as his dark haired partner leaned even closer, gently rattling the basket to entice the blond to pick an egg. Hutch chuckled softly, catching the brunet's enthusiasm. He shook his head slowly, silently chiding himself for playing along with his partner's asinine antics. As the blond reached over, he couldn't stop himself from ruffling Starsky's dark, unruly, tangle of curly confusion, "What's with the hair today huh?" the blond laughed, taking a blue egg from the basket.

Starsky could barely contain himself from bouncing, "Hey, it was windy outside... 'kay open it!" he said excitedly, "Open it up, Blintz!"

Hutch grinned, feeling foolish, shaking his head again as he started to pull the plastic egg apart. He silently wondered why he always went along with his partner's ridiculous escapades and he glanced up at the brunet who had his sparkling blue eyes locked onto the plastic egg he held in his large hands. The egg opened and a small piece of paper floated to the floor.

"What does it say huh... huh... what does it say Hutch?" Starsky asked impatiently, his voice rose almost an octave higher in his excitement to know the wisdom of Hutch's egg.

Hutch calmly leaned over to pick up the paper from the floor, silently reading the neatly typed words. Sky blue eyes locked onto cobalt blue.

"Well?" Starsky said, almost hopping in his exuberance to know, "Tell me Hutch... read what it says..." The brunet impatiently snatched the little piece of paper from the blonde's hand. "It says... All work and no play can make you a 'basket' case!" The brunet raised dark blue eyes, round with wonder, to his blond counterpart. "See Blondie... what'd I tell ya hmmm?" The brunet crumpled the paper and laughed out loud.

Hutch was secretly flabbergasted. It had to be a coincidence. "Okay Gordo, you pick one." Hutch nodded towards the basket.

Starsky reached into the basket, and pulled out a green egg. "Green has always been my favorite color... next to red, of course..."

"Of course." The blond smiled, thinking of the striped tomato parked outside of the station. He watched as the brunet caught the piece of paper, dropping the green shells onto his desk.

The brunet made quite the show of reading his words of wisdom, stretching out his arms while he held the tiny slip of paper between his fingers, he paused and squinted, and then he dramatically cleared his throat, reading in a loud voice, "Everyone is entitled to a bad 'hare' day!"

The blond guffawed out loud, staring at his partner's frizzy, mangled curls. The brunet joined his partner as they shared a good laugh together. "See what I mean Hutch... the eggs never lie," the brunet chuckled, showing the slip of paper to his disbelieving friend.

"Oh c'mon Starsk," the blond snorted after reading the note, "You can't expect me to believe this insanity just because of two coincidences."

"I told'ya Blintz, these eggs are the true words from the Easter Bunny, who even now is listening to us as we speak!" At this, the brunet mysteriously looked around, as if hoping to catch the Easter Bunny hiding somewhere in the squad room. The tangled nest of curls and the anxious expression on the brunet's face as he looked for the invisible Easter Bunny, caused the tall blond to laugh out loud again.

"Laugh it up Blondie, but this here is authentic Easter Bunny fact... my ma told me and Nicky when we were little boys, that the Easter Bunny knows not only the tooth fairy, but Santa Claus himself!" Starsky nodded firmly with wide-eyed wonder. "My ma always said that the Easter Bunny knows everything and if we didn't listen to those words of wisdom, we could get in big trouble!"

Hutch snorted, "Okay, okay, pick another Starsk... if this one matches up with what we were just laughing about, then maybe I might not be so skeptical." The blond grinned knowing it was near impossible to get a three outta three.

The brunet looked into the basket and chose a sparkly red one. "This one," he said admiringly as he slowly twirled the egg in his hand, "This one looks like my baby outside," Starsky grinned, thinking about his shining red car.

Hutch watched as his partner opened up the egg and took out the slip of paper. "You read it," the brunet said, offering the paper to the blond, "Just so you know that this is coming from the Easter Bunny and not me."

Hutch snorted softly, but he took the slip of paper from the brunet. Starsky watched as his partner's features changed from a doubtful, to an incredulous expression. Pale blue eyes locked onto shining cobalt.

"Well... doubting Thomas," the brunet grinned, "What does it say huh?" Starsky waited impatiently for the blond to read the paper and was surprised when Hutch crunched up the slip and tossed it into the wastebasket.

"Hey... what'd you do that for huh?" Starsky protested. The brunet quickly got off his chair and went to the wastebasket to retrieve the tiny slip of paper. He stood by the wastebasket and read aloud, "An Easter bonnet can tame even the wildest 'hare'!" Starsky looked up from the paper and his mouth dropped open into a wide 'O' shape. "Oh my god Hutch," the brunet whispered, "The Easter Bunny is here! My ma was right!"

"Oh please Starsk," Hutch scoffed, "Do you think I'm a fool. Who in their right mind would believe this?" The blond quickly raised his index finger to stop flow of protests that was about to spew from his partner's mouth, "Your mom may have told you this when you were a kid so that she could have leverage over your behavior. All parents do this Starsk!" The blond watched as the brunet went back to his desk. Hutch could feel himself getting irritated and it annoyed him because he didn't know why this whole silly farce was disturbing him so.

The blond impulsively reached for an orange egg and cracked it open. He silently read the words on the slip of paper, "Learn to let go and 'crack' up!" The blond angrily threw the orange shells and the slip of paper into the wastebasket.

Starsky watched his agitated friend. "Hutch," Starsky said hesitantly, eyeing his irritated friend, "Did your ma do this too... with the eggs and the basket... to make you and your sister behave better?" The blond looked up at his partner who gazed at him with those wide blue eyes, his chin resting in the palm of his hand, his elbow propped on his desk.

"No," the blond said softly, "My parents took me to church on Easter Sunday. We sat quietly in the front pew and bowed our heads to worship. Then we went home and that was the extent of our Easter experience." The blond shrugged and snorted softly, opening a manila folder as he started to work once again.

For a while they sat in silence. Hutch leafed through some more folders while Starsky quietly pondered over the differences in their families. The brunet thought back to when he had first met his blond friend at the Academy. They were like night and day, coming from such diverse backgrounds.

At first, Starsky had envied the blond who came from a wealthy family, his dad was a well-known doctor, and Hutch was college graduate. Whenever he compared his own life to Hutch's, Starsky had always felt a little gypped. And yet, though they never talked about it much, Starsky had gleaned over the years how truly distant and cold the Hutchinson family was.

It pained the brunet to know that his sensitive friend had a sad and lonely childhood. Knowing this, the brunet had always tried to make the holidays special for his blond counterpart and that was no simple feat, for Hutch had lost his childhood enthusiasm for things like this, becoming more cynical and sullen as each year passed by.

Even though Starsky had suffered the loss of his father when he was younger, his mother had always tried to make the holidays special for Nicky and him. Now thinking back on how he used to envy his friend, Starsky could only shake his head sadly. It's funny how you always want what you can't have, the brunet thought sadly. Without thinking, Starsky absently reached for an egg and cracked it open. The words on the small slip of paper said, "The grass always looks greener in someone else's basket."

Starsky snorted and softly said, "No shit!" The brunet sighed and slouched down in his chair, grabbing a folder to start his work too.

"What's that?" the blond said, looking up from a report he held in his hand, his pale blue eyes perused his friend's dark and sullen features, "You okay Starsk?" Hutch asked, concern for his friend causing a deep crease to appear between his pale brows. Hutch could feel a twinge of guilt creep into his consciousness, knowing he was putting a damper on his partner's fun with his moodiness.

"Yeah," Starsky said, "Just t'rrific. I was agreeing with that egg over there," the brunet said, nodding to the empty shells on his desk.

"Oh?" the blond said, gazing at the egg and the crumpled piece of paper that littered the top of Starsky's desk, "What did it say?" The brunet's reaction had piqued the interest of the blond and he waited patiently for the brunet to share the wisdom from the egg.

Starsky shrugged and tossed the tiny paper ball to Hutch who unraveled the scrunched note and smoothed it out, "The grass always looks greener in someone else's basket," he read aloud. Hutch lifted perplexed eyes to his partner's, "I don't understand Starsk."

Starsky took a deep breath and exhaled heavily, "I was just thinking back on how I used to envy you Hutch... your background, your parents, your huge home in Minnesota. I used to wish my dad was still alive like yours, and the egg was just reminding me to be grateful for what I already have... and that's you buddy! I always count my blessings 'cause I got you in my life." Cobalt blue eyes locked onto pale blue ones, which immediately softened to the color of the sky.

Hutch snorted softly, reminded once again how lucky he was to have a partner and a friend like Starsky. The brunet always made the day brighter with his perpetual optimism, and his childish enthusiasm for life. Starsky had the ability to accept and welcome the shy blond from their first day together at the Academy, and the love he felt from the brunet had always been so unconditional.

Hutch smiled at his partner, who tossed him a candy from the basket. Although he might have missed out on happy childhood experiences, Hutch now had a friend who always managed to "sweeten" his life, who always listened and raised his spirits during the valleys in his life and who watched his back on the streets. Hutch grinned, realizing how truly blessed he was too. Starsky was the family he never had and that thought warmed the blonde's sensitive heart. Getting soapy here the blond chuckled softly to himself, knowing how much his partner detested mushy scenes like these.

Hutch good-naturedly reached over and grabbed a pink egg, knowing it would make his partner happy. The joyful expression and gleaming blue eyes made it worth the effort, and Hutch smiled widely as Starsky bounced to his feet again, "Open it up Hutch... quick... what does it say?"

Hutch cracked open the egg, feeling absurdly excited himself as he read the words aloud, "The best things in life are still sweet and gooey." The blond laughed to the puzzlement of the brunet.

"Does that make sense to you Blintz?" Starsky asked, dark brows rose over bewildered blue eyes.

"You bet buddy," Hutch chuckled softly, "It makes perfect sense!" The blond felt his heart grow joyful as he saw the lopsided grin on his partner's face again. Hutch felt almost elated knowing he was making his partner happy and he reached for another egg, much to the delight of the brunet.

"What does it say, Hutch... hmmm?" Starsky asked leaning over his desk once again to see the wisdom of the egg.

"It says," Hutch began reading the tiny note aloud, "Everyone needs a friend who is all 'ears'!" They both laughed at this and Hutch tossed the candy back to Starsky.

The brunet caught the chocolate bar and chuckled, then he took a yellow egg from the basket, "My turn," he said, eyes twinkling in excitement, glad that his blond friend had caught the spirit of the holiday. He cracked open the yellow shells and read the words aloud, "Good things come in small sugarcoated packages." Starsky grinned, as he held up the candy Hutch had just given him.

Hutch laughed, feeling lighthearted, maybe there was something to this holiday thing that he had always taken a rigid stance against. Maybe holidays were special, not because of the day itself, but because of the joy it brought to others. He chuckled as he saw his partner wagging his dark brows as he nodded to the basket, enticing the blond to pick another egg.

Hutch chuckled and reached over for another egg. He took a purple one from the basket and read the note, "To show your true colors, you have to come out of your shell." Hutch paused, a look of awe on his face. How true was that! He looked over at Starsky who smiled back at him, sharing a connection that so few understood.

"Alright what's all the laughing about?" Dobey said, sticking his head out of his office, "Why Starsky... is that an Easter basket you got there?"

"Yup, Cap... and it's full of candies too." The brunet smiled as the rotund man came out and walked over to his desk.

The large man eyed the brightly colored candies, "You got quite an assortment in there Starsky." Dobey smiled and he reached into the basket drawing out an egg, "Plastic eggs too?" He looked at the blue egg and shook it.

"Have a candy, Cap," Starsky offered, tilting the basket towards his Captain.

"I really shouldn't," Dobey replied, picking a candy from the basket with his other hand, "Edith says I need to stay away from these... need to watch the weight and all."

"Just ask the egg what it thinks." Hutch said smiling, nodding to the blue egg the Captain still held in his hand.

"What?" Dobey asked, turning his gaze to the blond, "This egg?" The large man looked at the egg, and then turned to look at the brunet, "What's he talking about?"

"My ma sent this basket full of words of wisdom... said it was from the Easter Bunny." Starsky chuckled, "Open that egg and see what the Bunny has to say."

Dobey opened the egg and read the words out loud, "Some body parts should be 'floppy'!" Upon hearing those words, Starsky snorted loudly, "Yeah Cap, the ladies always seem to go for my butt flopping around on the dance floor." The brunet grabbed an egg and opened it up just for the heck of it and read, "A cute little 'tail' attracts a lot of attention!"

All three men laughed at that, "Well," Dobey said, "In that case, I'll just help myself then." The Captain grabbed a handful of sweets, "Thanks Starsky, candies always have a way of making me feel happy!"

The large black man smiled widely and Hutch quickly grabbed an egg saying, "Let's see what the Easter Bunny has to say on that." He cracked the egg open and read, "Let happy thoughts multiply like rabbits!" The men chuckled again and the captain turned to go back into the office.

When he reached his office door, Dobey turned and cleared his throat, "Since it's Easter, why don't you guys take off... those reports will still be there tomorrow... just make sure you get them done tomorrow... oh, and... Happy Easter boys!" Dobey smiled and closed his door.

The detectives looked at each other, shocked by Dobey's generosity. "Let's not look a gift rabbit in the mouth," Hutch said, grabbing his jacket.

"Yeah," Starsky agreed as he quickly got off his chair and headed for the door of the squad room.

"Hey Starsk," Hutch called softly. The dark haired detective turned back to look at his partner, seeing the affection in the blonde's sky blue eyes, "Happy Easter Gordo," the blond said smiling, "And... thanks buddy!"

The brunet grinned lopsidedly, opening the door wide for his blond companion, "Any time Blondie... any time!"

... finis...