Joe walked into the hospital lobby, trying to avoid the swarms of media and the police that were milling about. He was trying to look for Callie, who had called Vanessa only a half -hour earlier to say that she was on her way. He was also trying to find Nancy, Ned, his dad, or, above all, Frank. There was so much confusion that he was aware that they all needed to get together and work through what they knew. At this point, the only certainty was that Callie and Vanessa would have police protection around them at all times. At least it was a good start.

“Earth to Joe,” he heard a voice call out to him, and he smiled immediately as he looked at his pretty, tall, ash blonde girlfriend. At once, he tightened his arm around her waist and hugged her close.

“Sorry,” he replied, kissing the top of her head. “I was just trying to figure out where everyone was and where to go from here.”

“Well, whatever you decide, I’m just glad that you’re here with me—now,” she said shakily.

“Always,” he replied softly, and dropped his arm from around her to reach for her hand, which he quickly squeezed tightly. “Nothing is going to happen, hon. I’m not going to leave.”

Grateful, Vanessa squeezed his hand back.

Joe laced his fingers through hers as he took a look around. When he had finally contacted Vanessa, she had been an emotional mess, understandably. The fact that she was speaking with Charlotte right before the kidnapping and attack, the fact that she, herself, was horribly frightened of what that meant for her and Callie, was taking its toll. Her eyes were red-rimmed from crying, and circles were just beginning to appear under her eyes from lack of sleep. Although she was always beautiful to him, he hated to see her under such stress.

Joe let out a small sigh as he continued to search the room for someone whom he knew. Still, his thoughts kept coming back to Vanessa, to this whole horrible and unimaginable scenario. This should be a joyous time in all of their lives. Joe had had a ball taking Frank and every one of their friends out to “PG 13” bachelor parties that were clean but fun. Well, mostly clean—but always fun. His brother had been a sport about everything, and Callie had been cool with it, too. Secretly, she had confided in him that she thought it was pretty funny to put Frank in these mortifying predicaments and to imagine the look on his face. Since she trusted Frank so completely, she’d basically given Joe carte blanche to do what he wanted with and to Frank within, as she often said, “all laws of decency and sanity.”

And they HAD had fun. It had been nice to spend so much time with his brother and their friends. From sporting events to nightclubs, from silly games to more risqué activities, he’d been totally surprised and pleased how much fun they’d all had. Besides, Frank would always smile and go along with things even in the most ridiculous situations, but he’d always call Callie at least once or twice to check in, on his own accord, and Callie had always laughed and told him to “have fun.”

He hadn’t felt too bad, either, because despite the good –natured ribbing he had given his brother, he, himself, often snuck away to call Vanessa. Truly, no one compared to her. Quite frankly, he was more than suspicious of Vanessa, who was the maid of honor and Callie’s best friend, and her ideas for what she’d persuaded Callie to do. Vanessa was one of the few people whom he’d ever known who could be crazier than he was, and it was a fun, exciting ride—and one that he knew he was so fortunate to have found.

But now, so much had changed. Here it was, once again around the anniversary of Iola’s death, and all of these terrible things had happened. Joe had never given much credence to superstition, but it was odd how things always seemed to be…off… around this time every year. All of their friends had silently acknowledged it as fact. Unlike so many of them, though, who believed to a certain extent that Iola was unhappy and not at peace, he really believed that Iola was his guardian angel, and that she protected him somehow from above. It had taken him a long time to accept the fact that she would have forgiven him and, though he couldn’t really ever forgive himself totally for what had happened, he was now able to live with it. He believed that he honored Iola’s life by acknowledging it every year and by living as she would have wanted him to—being himself.

Vanessa was his angel on earth, a blessing sent to him to keep him happy. Actually, to keep him alive, he often thought. To see her in any pain was unbearable, and he knew he would do anything to protect her. It was such a shame, though, that this wonderful time was so blighted. Every silver lining has its cloud, he thought, silently.

“Hey!” Vanessa interjected, interrupting his thoughts again. “I think that’s Callie!” She pointed in the direction of several chairs at the far end of the lobby.

Looking closely, Joe saw that she was right. They made their way as quickly as possible over to the corner.

As soon as they reached Callie, Joe noticed immediately that something was wrong. So did Vanessa. Before Joe had a chance to think about it, though, he noted that Ned was sitting next to Callie on a nearby couch, and he was at least relieved that someone was watching her. So much for constant police protection, he noted, wryly.

Before either Joe or Vanessa could say or do anything, Ned stood up. He looked visibly upset, but the quickness with which he seemed to want to leave indicated that he wasn’t ready to mention whatever was on his mind.

“As long as you’re here,” Ned started, speaking to Joe, “Do you mind if I leave for a few minutes? I need to get some air.”

Noting his expression, Joe responded automatically, “No—not at all. Thanks for staying with Callie.”

With a slight nod and a forced smile, he headed out the door.

“What was THAT all about?” Vanessa asked, sitting down next to Callie. Then, seeing how upset her friend looked, she reached over to Callie and gave her a hug. Assuming that Callie was as upset as she was over all of the attacks, and Charlotte’s condition, Vanessa stayed by Callie’s side. She was surprised, when Callie looked up, at the numb expression in her eyes.

“Cal? What’s wrong?” she asked, before Joe could get a word in.

Callie took in a shaky breath. She felt totally drained. Under any other circumstance, the one place she would look for comfort would be in Frank’s arms, but that, at the moment, was out of the question. Callie noticed right away how Joe and Vanessa were waiting for her to say something. But what could she say? She felt icicles in her stomach every time she tried to move. Normally, she would have time to sit and plan her words. Like Frank, and decidedly unlike Joe or Vanessa, she was very protective of her feelings, and tried very hard not to reveal too much. Right now, though, the last thing she had was time, and she simply didn’t have the energy or the inclination to watch her phrasing.

She said the truth.

Rubbing Vanessa’s arm in thanks, she looked at Joe. “I have to ask you something,” she said, point blank.

“Uh, okay… go ahead,” Joe responded. Something in Callie’s directness and candor which lacked her almost perfect ability to ‘ease her way’ into a conversation, made him uneasy.

“Shall I go?” Vanessa asked, concerned.

“No,” Callie replied. “I have nothing to hide from you.”

Struck into silence by this new side of her best friend, Vanessa, like Joe, waited, afraid to push her. She looked so… lost.

“What do you know about Frank and Nancy?”

Taken aback, Joe hesitated. “Um… what do you mean?” In his gut, Joe got a sinking feeling. He knew that he was not going to like where this was going, and he didn’t even need to ask why. Clearly, Callie already knew the answer she was expecting before he said anything. Deciding to watch his answers very carefully, he tried to ignore little voices in his head that were screaming out, “What’s going on? What did Frank do? Where IS Frank? I can’t believe he’s with Nancy at a time like this!”

Callie didn’t ease up. “Ned said that you know something. So tell me. What do you know?”

I’m gonna kill my brother! He thought, silently.

“Cal,” Joe said directly, “What are you asking me, exactly?”

Callie swallowed hard. “I… I want to know if Frank and Nancy have… a history.” The words were painful to her own ears.

Joe winced. Callie obviously knew something, but he didn’t know what, or why it was coming up now. He looked at Vanessa’s shocked expression, and Callie’s devastated one, and felt trapped. Still, he was walking a fine line, and he intended not to fall.

“Why do you ask?” he inquired.

“Joe, just answer the question. Please,” Callie begged, and Joe saw she was trying not to cry. “As my friend, just... please.”

“Cal, I… I mean… I don’t know how to answer that.” Well, that was an honest start.

“Try,” Vanessa interjected, angrily.

Oh, boy. He really was going to kill his brother.

“Okay,” Joe responded evenly after a few moments. He would tell the truth…as far as possible. Looking at Callie was difficult. He cared for her very much, and to hurt her was the last thing he’d want. “They’ve been friends for a long time,” he stated.

“Joe!” Vanessa sighed in exasperation. “That’s not what she means and you know it!”

“Van,” he said, “I don’t think that you should…”

“I should WHAT?!” she asked incredulously.

Sensing that the only way to survive this dual attack was to answer the questions quickly and directly, Joe gave in.

“Callie,” he started. He placed his hand on hers, but she recoiled. Joe knew immediately that this was serious. “I’ll tell you the truth. I don’t know what you saw or think you saw, or heard or think you heard, but, yes... I do believe that Frank and Nancy have a sort of—affection—for each other.”

“Define that,” Callie replied, tersely. Her heart was beating wildly. “And why didn’t you tell me?!”

At that moment, sensing her pain, Joe began to think of ways in which to get revenge upon his brother for putting him in this spot.

“Because,” he answered, “I don’t know how to define it. There’s nothing he’s ever admitted to. Certainly nothing has gone on in the last several years. I don’t know HOW to define it. And why would I tell you and start unnecessary trouble? Frank loves YOU. You know that.”

Callie shook her head and wiped her eyes. Joe felt horrible.

“Does he?” she whispered.

Suddenly, Joe felt extremely uncomfortable. He made it a point to never get in the middle of Frank’s love life. Honestly, he’d never had to. His brother, and Callie, for that matter, were intensely private people. He felt like he was watching a scene that he didn’t need to be a part of. And yet, despite it all... the fact that Frank had probably just done something stupid… the fact that he wanted to kill him… the fact that Frank had just made him hurt both his own girlfriend and Callie… he still felt some weird desire to defend him.

“Do you need me to tell you that, Cal?” he responded, meeting her eyes. “Because then there’s a problem. You’re going to marry my brother in four months, and if you need me to tell you how he feels, then maybe something’s wrong.”

Callie looked at him intensely. He had gotten her attention.

“Callie,” he went on, more gently, “If you are going to marry my brother, and for well over a year this has been in the works, then you have to know that marriage is about more than love. It’s about trust and loyalty... and hanging in there … even when you THINK there’s a reason to bail. So what difference does a few months make? Are you ready to make that commitment today?”

She continued to take in his words.

“Look,” he finished. “My big brother isn’t perfect. I mean, he’s pretty close to it—not that I would admit to saying that—but he’s a good guy. Still, we all make mistakes. I don’t feel comfortable telling you what to do, but I CAN tell you that, based on all the years that you’ve been together, it is my honest opinion—my instinct—that he truly, deeply loves you. Give him a chance, okay?”

Callie waited a few minutes.

Joe added, “And I do NOT need you or Vanessa over here worrying about anything other than staying safe. So please—PLEASE—let Frank and I protect you, okay? Iron out the other details later. You know,” he added, with a forced grin, “Get the “for worse” stuff over with now. Think how happy your marriage will be.”

Hesitating, Callie hugged Vanessa and then leaned over to kiss Joe on the cheek.

“I’m still upset,” she began, “But I’ll listen.”

Relieved, Joe smiled.

“But BOY,” she added, “Is he going to owe you big time for this!”

You’re not kidding, Joe agreed silently.

They stood up to search for Frank and Nancy. Joe slipped his arms around both of their shoulders.

He’d avoided the lightning, but he knew that the storm was still to come.

Praying that, for once, his instinct would fail him, he hugged them both. “Let’s go,” he said.

Unbeknownst to them, icy blue eyes watched their every move.

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The Hardy Boys belong to Simon and Schuster and the Stratemeyer Foundation. The Hardy Boys Fan Fiction authors of the Hardy Detective Agency have just borrowed them for an adventure or two. The authors promise to put the boys back when they are done with them. The authors do claim copyright to the original characters in this story. Please do not borrow original characters without express permission of the authors.