"I better go and check on her," Callie said to Frank "You go and attend to your brother. I don’t think it went very well between those two."

Frank agreed and said goodbye to the boys. They made plans to meet later that same night for a dinner at Mr. Pizza.

Frank walked into the house and found Joe still standing where Vanessa had left him.

"Joe, are you alright?" Frank asked, putting his arm on Joe’s shoulder.

"Can we go home now?" Joe responded, finally moving from his spot.

"Sure."

Frank wanted to know how things had turned out with Vanessa, but he could sense that Joe didn’t want to talk.

"I’m right here if you want to talk," Frank said, looking at Joe in the passenger seat.

"I fear it’s over."

"What?! You and Vanessa? No. Just give her some time. She’s crazy about you."

"She crazy at me."

"She has every right to be angry," Frank said.

"I know that," Joe said, frustrated.

"You should have seen how scared she was when you were gone. Vanessa and I looked all over the place for you. She really cares, Joe." Frank was trying to make Joe feel better and, in a way, it was working.

"I hurt her a lot," Joe said.

They didn’t speak any more on the way home.

Once home, Frank and Joe walked to Joe’s room where Joe threw himself on his bed. He was exhausted and he hurt a lot. Frank walked to the bathroom and poured Joe a glass of water. Then, he got his pills out and handed them to him.

"Take these; you’ll feel better."

"Thank you," Joe said. "How come you’re so nice to me?"

"What do you mean? You’re my brother," Frank said, surprised.

"I still hurt you, didn’t I?"

"Yes, you hurt me. And I have every intention of letting you pay for that. But--- later. First, you need to heal and get your strength back."

"Thanks, I can’t wait," Joe said, and gave a little smile.

Frank smiled back and left the room, closing the door. Joe fell asleep right away.

***

Frank decided to go alone to meet his friends at the pizza house that night. Joe was still asleep when he left, and he didn’t know if he could take another encounter right away, especially if Vanessa would be there.

To Frank’s surprise, Vanessa was at Mr. Pizza. She was sitting next to Callie and gave him a little smile when he walked in.

Tony, Biff and Chet were also there.

"Hi Frank," Callie said, standing up to give Frank a big hug and a kiss. She had been really understanding since Joe got back home, and Frank was thankful for that. He knew that she was a little upset because of all the time he and Joe spent together. Hopefully, they would get a chance to speak later.

"Hi there, sweetie. How are you?" Frank asked Callie.

"I’m fine," Callie replied. "Have a seat Frank. We were just about to order."

"Where’s your brother?" Chet asked. "Was he to afraid to come with you?"

"No, he was sleeping, and I didn’t want to wake him. He’s been through a lot lately and needs his rest."

"Do you know what happened? Have you talked to him?" Tony asked, leaning towards Frank.

"I haven’t talked to him yet. I plan to. He’s just too weak right now. He was stabbed a couple of days ago, and things went from bad to worse from there."

"Stabbed!" Vanessa jumped up. "He didn’t tell me that."

"I’m sure he didn’t want to worry you. He’ll be alright- it was just a flesh wound, but he didn’t get a medical attention until 3 days later."

"Tell us what happened to him, Frank," Callie asked.

Frank told them everything he knew, from the robbery to the arrest. He also told them about the way the cops had treated Joe. The boys interrupted a few times to ask something, but Vanessa was sitting there really quiet. Although this didn’t change what Joe did, she still wanted to see him.

For the rest of the dinner they discussed school starting again and their plans for the winter. September would be starting soon, which meant snow, and hopefully skiing. The night went on and soon the waitress came to kick them out since they were closing.

"Can I give you a lift home?" Frank asked Vanessa and Callie.

"I have my car," Vanessa replied, "but would you mind giving Callie a ride home? I have a person I need to go and see."

"Of course I don’t mind giving Callie a lift,." Frank said, laughing as he pulled Callie close and gave her a big kiss. "Tell the person you are going to see that I will be home a little later."

He and Callie walked to his van and left Vanessa alone at the parking place. She slowly got into her car and drove to the Hardy residence.

Joe woke up with the doorbell ringing. He got up from his bed and walked into the hallway. He didn’t hear a sound in the house and remembered his parents said they were going to a fundraising dinner. He walked down the stairs and opened the door.

"Did I wake you?" Vanessa asked, taking a step back.

Relieved to see her, Joe hurried to assure her that she didn’t disturb him, and he let her inside. They went to the kitchen and Joe started making coffee.

Vanessa sat down at the table and Joe handed her a cup of coffee before sitting down. She was so beautiful, Joe noticed, and his guilt was torturing him. He wanted nothing more than for her to forgive him, and he wished he had never run away.

"I’m so glad you came," he said, taking her hand. He was so scared that she might pull it back, but she didn’t. Instead, she put her other hand on top of his.

"Frank told me about what you went through in New York. Are you alright?"

Joe was relived to see that she still cared about him. At least that meant that there was a hope, no matter how little it was, that she could forgive him.

"I’m fine, Van," Joe said.

"That’s good. I’m glad you are home. I really missed you."

"I missed you, too," Joe replied, giving Vanessa a smile.

"There is something I need to tell you, Joe. I don’t want you to hear it from someone else." Vanessa’s eyes were focused on the table so she didn’t see the smile leave Joe’s face. "When you were gone I went on a date. Nothing happened, I swear. I just wanted to tell you."

A long silence came over the room as Joe stood up from the chair and walked to the kitchen sink. He turned his face from Vanessa so she couldn’t see how hard he was trying to keep the tears away.

"With who?" Joe finally asked.

"His name is Simon. He is in Frank’s class."

"SIMON! That guy is a jerk!" Joe yelled, his face turning red.

"Yeah, I kind of noticed that."

"Did he try anything?" Joe was terrified that Simon might have kissed her. He was the only one allowed to touch her lips.

"He just grabbed me. Please, don’t get worked up because of it," Vanessa pleaded.

Joe tried the best he could to stay calm, but he could feel his blood burning in his veins. He wanted nothing more then to scream at Vanessa that she’d been unfaithful to him and then go out and kill Simon but, knowing what he, himself, did, he really couldn’t afford to feel that way.

"Why?" Joe asked, his voice clearly indicating how hurt he was.

"I wanted to hurt you. I was so mad at you for leaving like that. I was lonely." Vanessa stood up from the table and walked towards him. "I really don’t know why I went out with him. I didn’t even like him."

"It’s all my fault, Vanessa. I should have called you. I should have let you know I was coming back. What I put you through!" Joe said, and Vanessa grabbed him and pulled him into her arms. "I am so sorry, Vanessa. Please forgive me. Don’t leave me-- I can’t live without you. I won’t live without you." Joe wept on her shoulder.

"I am not going to leave you, Joe," Vanessa said. "Not in a million years."

"So I’m forgiven?" Joe asked, wiping his face with his sleeve.

"Yes, you are forgiven. Am I forgiven, too?" Vanessa asked, and Joe nodded his head smiling. "But if you ever pull a stunt like that again I am going to hunt you down…"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Joe said, silencing her up with a kiss. Grabbing a hold on Vanessa’s hand, he led her out of the kitchen and up the stairs taking her to his room…

Back at Callie’s house, she and Frank were sitting on the porch. Frank had made them a cop of hot chocolate and they were sitting there, looking at the stars.

"So, aren’t you glad that Joe is back home?" Callie asked, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Yes. I just hope things will go back to normal soon and Joe and I can go and solve crimes."

"I love the way you look at life, Frank," Callie said, whimsically.

"What do you mean?" Frank found that comment strange.

"You want things to stay the way they’ve always been."

"What’s wrong with that?" Frank was feeling little angry.

"Nothing. It’s just not possible. Things change, Frank."

"I know that, Callie," Frank said, getting in defence mode.

"Why are you taking it that way?! I know how much you need Joe. It’s like he’s your oxygen."

"That’s not true, and you are so wrong about me. I am all about change. I can’t wait to go to college next year-- how is that for a change?" Frank asked.

"You are going to the local college, Frank. You are still going to be living at home with your mommy and your daddy and your Joe. One day I might want to live with you," Callie added with a blush. "Are we going to live with Joe, too?"

"Please, Cal, I don’t want to fight with you."

"We aren’t fighting," Callie said, calmly. "I just need to know that now that Joe is back, you won’t neglect me. You know, talk to me only when you NEED me, and not when you WANT me."

"I’m sorry if you feel that I have neglected you in the past, Callie, but you have to realise that I would never do that on purpose." Frank turned around to face Callie. "I have an idea. What do you say that next weekend you and me go out of town together? Just the two of us."

"Are you serious?" Callie’s face lit up.

"Of course I’m serious. Would I ever lie to you?"

"No, I don’t think so." Callie smiled. "I’d love to go on a trip with you. Where are we going?"

"Any where you’d like. Maybe we could go down town tomorrow and check out some brochures at the travel agency."

Frank and Callie made plans to meet early next morning to start to plan their trip together. Callie was really excited because she and Frank had never gone anywhere alone before.

When Frank got back home two hours later he noticed Vanessa’s car still in the driveway. He parked his van next to hers and walked in the house. The first floor was empty and once he got upstairs, he noticed Joe’s door closed. Being as quiet as he could, he went to his bedroom and closed the door.

***

Fenton and Laura were sitting in the kitchen when Frank woke up the next morning. They stopped talking as soon as Frank arrived.

"Morning, son," Fenton said.

"Morning dad, mom. Don’t stop talking on my account."

"All right. Did you notice a strange car in the driveway last night and until early this morning?"

"So Vanessa is gone?" Frank asked, smiling a little bit.

"She left at seven." Laura said. "So, I guess she forgave him."

"I guess she did," Frank replied, grabbing the morning paper and heading to the living room.

"Your mom and I are heading out. Tell Joe we are going to treat you boys to dinner tonight. All right?" Fenton asked.

"Sounds good, dad. I’ll do that."

***

Frank just finished reading the newspaper when Joe came down the stairs.

"Morning there, Romeo," Frank said, looking at his little brother. He was smiling for the first time since he got home, and Frank could see the smile reaching his eyes. "I assume Vanessa forgave you."

"She’s at least agreed to try to. I don’t feel I can ask for much more than that."

Glad that his brother was doing better, Frank thought this might be a good time to point out to him his errors.

"Joe, why did you do this?" Frank asked, looking at Joe with his big brother look.

Joe had not been looking forward to having this conversation, but he owed it to Frank to do so. He sat down next to Frank.

"I had something to prove."

"What did you have to prove that you had to run away to do so?"

"I was just so angry at dad," Joe said. "I felt so helpless and alone. You were all ganging up on my because of my grades. I’m not as smart as you, Frank. I’ve always known that. But I have always tried my best at school. Sometimes I just feel so mad because it’s not fair."

"You don’t have any thing to prove, Joe. And you are smart- much smarter than me most of the time," Frank said.

"You are just saying that to make me feel better."

"No, I’m not. You follow your heart, Joe. I admire that. And most of the times that’s what breaks the case we are working on. Me, I’m all about facts. And when we don’t have any facts, I’m useless. That’s why we make such a great team. Without you Joe, I’m only half a person." Franks words touched a string in Joe and he felt compliments deeply.

"I’m not right all the time," Joe said.

"Neither am I."

The brothers decided to head out for some breakfast. Joe wanted to go to Mr. Pizza, but Frank wanted hamburgers. They argued about for a while until Frank settled on Pizza.

"As usual, you get your way, Joe," Frank said, as he got in the driver’s seat.

"And, as usual, you get to drive," Joe replied, giggling.

Both boys’ smiled as they relaxed. Things were back to normal.

THE END