"OW!!" they both yelled. Frank answered the phone, still rubbing his sore head.

"Hello?" Frank asked.

"Frank?" Fenton Hardy’s voice came through the telephone.

"Oh…Hi Dad." Frank said, alerting Joe to who it is.

"Hi yourself," Fenton replied. "Is everything okay?" he asked. Joe, who had been listening in on the conversation, looked at his brother, wondering how Frank was going to manage to answer this one. Frank sighed and decided to just tell his father exactly what was happening.

"No, Dad, everything is not okay. Jason has been kidnapped again. And, the girls are in the hospital because of it," Frank heard his father gasp, and then he said in a tight voice.

"We’re coming home." That was all Fenton said before hanging up the phone, leaving Frank and Joe to stare at each other. Finally, Frank groaned, rubbing his head fretfully.

"Dad’ll be here soon…and then what? We’ve got ‘til 9:00 tomorrow…what do you expect to do ‘til then?" he asked his younger brother.

"I don’t know Frank…" Joe muttered. "Something’ll come up…it always does." Frank had to smile at that, and then said,

"You’re right Bro…"

"Aren’t I always?" Joe said, a smile on his face. Frank had to laugh, and then both headed upstairs. They were worried out of their minds, and they both knew they weren’t going to get too much sleep, but they had to try…didn’t they? They both crawled into their own beds, but none of them could sleep. After tossing and turning all night, the two tired, sleep, and upset young men welcomed the sun, and both were up at dawn. Both stumbled downstairs, where Frank, being the big brother, forced Joe to eat some toast. But, Frank himself could barely choke down two bites. Frank and Joe cleaned up the breakfast table, and as soon as they were done, they heard the front door open. They went into the front hall, and saw Fenton and Laura Hardy standing there.

"Hey Dad," Frank said, managing a wan smile. Fenton took in his sons’ tired faces, red eyes, and upset looks, and realized that they were still children at times…and they still needed their daddy. He went and hugged both of them tightly, and was not surprised when both of them clung to him for support.

"Shh, boys…it’s okay. It’ll be okay…" he murmured, while rubbing their backs. Laura, who was standing in the back, came forward, and also hugged her boys.

"I’m sorry, kids…I got so caught up in the twins, and Jason, that I forgot that I had you two too…forgive me?" she asked, leaning back from the embrace, and smiling at her sons. Frank and Joe smiled back, and then just hugged their mother back in response. Then, Laura leaned back and sighed, turning back to her husband. "And, I think there’s another apology in store here. Fenton, I’m so sorry, Honey…I made you choose between your sister and me…and that was terrible of me. Please forgive me, Sweetie…please." Her last words came out as a whisper, and she started crying. Within seconds, Fenton had her in his embrace, and he hugged her tightly, whispering into her hair,

"Laura, it’s okay…I love you so much. Everything’s going to work out…I promise." He hugged her even more tightly, and then released her. Laura smiled at him through her tears, and then said,

"And, now, time for the last apology." Fenton and the boys looked confused for a moment, looking at Laura, wondering whom she was talking about. Laura said nothing, but went to the phone. Frank, Fenton, and Joe followed her.

"Hello, Gertrude?" she said when the phone was answered on the other end. All three Hardy men’s eyebrows rose, wondering what was going on.

"Gert, this is Laura," Laura said into the phone. "I was wondering if you and Matt would come over…and we could talk." Laura didn’t hear anything on the other end, and then Gertrude said icily,

"I don’t think we have anything to talk about. Goodbye."

"Gert, wait!" Laura cried out. "Please, Gertrude…I’m sorry for everything I did…I was just-please, come over!" she begged, her voice breaking. Finally, Gertrude sighed.

"Fine. We’re coming." That was all she said, before she hung up. Laura put down the phone, and looked at her sons and husband. Not saying a word, she smiled at them. Then, she slowly turned around and went up the stairs. Fenton followed her, mumbling something about taking a shower. Frank and Joe were left alone in the living room.

"Well…" Joe remarked after a moment. "This’ll get a little bit…interesting, don’t you think?" he grinned at his big brother.

"Oh yeah…" Frank mumbled. "That’s for sure…" He smiled back.

"So…" Joe said. "What do we do now?" he asked. Frank shrugged.

"You can do what you want to do. But I call shower first!" he said, and then ran upstairs.

"Hey!" Joe bolted after his brother, and then stopped. "I wasn’t even planning on taking a shower right now…" he mumbled to himself.

********************

After they boys had showered and dressed they came back downstairs. Fenton and Laura were waiting in the living room. Fenton demanded to know what had happened. Frank sighed and told them everything that had happened since they had left.

"Oh no!" Laura gasped as she hugged Frank, "Is Staci OK. What about Vanessa? And Boomer?"

Joe picked up the story from there. "Well, Vanessa is fine. She’s at home now. We have heard from the Vet yet about Boomer’s condition."

"Mr. Rivera is taking care of Staci now, Chief Tellman let him have a couple of days off, so she’s fine," Frank replied.

"Well that’s good. And I’m grateful that you guys cleaned up the mess for me. I’m still in no condition to do much of anything," Laura sighed.

An hour later, the doorbell rang. It was Gertrude and Matt. Frank and Joe ran to answer the door at the same time, but then Joe stopped his brother.

"Frank, can I?" he asked his brother, a hidden meaning under his simple question. Frank understood, and with a smile and a wink at his brother, he left the front hall. Joe answered the door. Standing there was an angry looking Gertrude-and a tentatively smiling Matt.

"Hey Uncle Matt…Aunt Gertrude," He said, smiling at them.

"Hey Joe!" Matt said, holding out his hand for a high five. Joe slapped his hand, and then turned to his aunt. He desperately wanted things to be better with his aunt and uncle…well; things seemed to be better with his uncle. Suddenly, he started talking in a rush.

"Aunt Gertrude, Uncle Matt, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you guys, and I didn’t mean to get mad. I didn’t want both of you to be hurt either. I know you were only thinking for the best…I’m just so sorry. Please will you forg-" That was as far as he got before he was interrupted.

"Oh, Joseph!" It was Gertrude. "Sweetie, I forgive you! Now, will you let us in?" she smiled at her younger nephew. Joe laughed, and moved aside to let them in. As soon as they were in, he threw his arms around them. They hugged them back, and then Laura came down the stairs. She smiled at Matt and Gertrude, almost shyly. Both of them eyed each other warily. Behind Laura, Fenton stood. He and Matt looked at each other and grinned. Matt gave Fenton a quick wink, and Fenton winked back. Then, Laura spoke up.

"Hello Gertrude, Matt…come in, please," she said, ushering them into the living room. As Matt passed Fenton up, he leaned in and said,

"Hey Fent!" Then, nodding his head towards the two ladies, he whispered, "So, what do you think? Think there’ll be WWIII?" he asked, laughing softly.

"I hope not!" Fenton whispered back. "Or else we’ll have to wash the carpet…again!" Matt laughed again, but stopped abruptly when Laura and Gertrude turned to him. As soon as they turned away, he winked at Fenton again, and then all of them went and sat down. Frank and Joe walked in after them, Frank waving a quick hello to his Uncle and Aunt. Laura began speaking as soon as they were all seated.

"Gertrude, Matt, I just wanted to say sorry. The way I acted was terrible…just terrible. It almost cost me two family members…and I don’t want that. I was just upset, and hurt…mostly upset. I wanted to raise those two myself…but, now, I realize it would be better if you did. We won’t get those two…not after what just happened. It’s not going to work…and now I realize that it would be much better if they were raised by you, then by any unknown family. I know, Gert, that you’ll be a great mother. You showed me, after all the help you’ve given me with my boys. You’re not only my sister-in-law, but, in the process of being here for so many years, you become a close friend of mine. I don’t there’s anyone else I would rather have taking care of Jennifer or Jaclyn. And, you too, Matt. You saved Frank from dying…and there’s no way real way to express how I feel except-" She was cut of by Gertrude. They both had tears running down their faces.

"Laur, it’s okay. I forgive you…and I’m honored that you’ll let me raise those two darling children." She went forward, and hugged Laura tightly. Fenton and Matt turned to each other, and had huge smiles on their faces. Frank and Joe were happy as well. But, then Matt stopped and looked around. None of them noticed that Laura was actually very upset.

"Where’s Jason?" he asked. Everyone bit their lips, and then Fenton quietly told them everything that had happened, up till the phone call Frank and Joe had gotten. Matt and Gertrude were stunned, and could do nothing but try and offer support to them. But, Frank and Joe, no longer able to sit still, jumped up.

"We’re going to go visit the girls for a while," Frank mumbled. "We’ll go straight from there to the house at nine." He gave everyone a quick hug, as did Joe.

Fenton held on to both his sons for a minute extra, and said, "Be careful boys…and bring me back my baby…"

Then everything came to a halt in Laura’s mind. The grief raking her heart, the turmoil in her mind, the ache in her soul… everything came in one moment, and left.

"Mom, are you OK?" Joe asked, as he noticed how pale his mom had become.

When she didn’t answer, and kept looking to the floor, Fenton came over and put an arm around her shoulder, "Laura?"