Fenton cringed inwardly as he looked at Frank. His voice was a little hoarse, and his eyes and nose were red from crying. Fenton knew he couldn’t hide anything from Frank, he was far too observant. He decided he’s best tell Frank the truth. He sat down. "Joe’s in jail, Frank."

Frank’s mouth dropped open. "In jail? What’d he do?"

Fenton had to smile as the hilarity of the situation hit him. Only Joe could get into a mess like this. "He was out on the Shore Road with Chet. I’m not exactly sure what they were doing, but Joe managed to run your mother’s car into the rear of Chief Collig’s squad car. He booked both of them for drag-racing and Joe for reckless driving. Joe has an appointment in traffic court tomorrow for the reckless driving charge."

Frank smiled, then started laughing. The laughter did not last long however. A sharp pain went through his side that took his breath away. His homework slid onto the floor as he doubled over.

Fenton was instantly beside him. He pressed the call button and shortly a nurse appeared. By then the pain had subsided and Frank lay still with his eyes closed.

The nurse turned to Fenton. "He’ll be fine," she assured him. "It’s normal for this to happen. It means he’s fighting back."

Fenton nodded and the nurse left. A few minutes later Laura came back in. She checked on Frank, who was now sound asleep., then she picked his homework up off the floor. She then sat down next to Fenton and rested her head on his shoulder. "What was the problem with Joe?"

Fenton smiled. "Now’s not the time, babe. I’ll tell you when we get home."

"That bad, huh?"

"Yeah."

Laura just sighed. It was probably best that she didn’t know what Joe had done. With the way she felt, she would probably rip him to pieces. She could not believe that this was happening again. Frank had been in remission for seven years now! It wasn’t supposed to come back! She wiped a tear away and felt her husband squeeze her gently.

"We’ll get through this, Laura," he whispered. "Frank’s not going to let this beat him. Joe won’t let him."

"I know, Fenton." Still, Laura couldn’t help but worry.

The next morning, Fenton found himself in traffic court with Joe. "Does Mom know yet?" he asked.

"Not yet. Fenton speared his younger son’s blue eyes with his own. "You’re going to tell her this afternoon."

"Dad! I’m only seventeen! I don’t want to die yet!" Joe stared at his father.

"You should have thought about that before taking your mother’s car without permission." Fenton was about to say more when Joe’s name was called. Joe walked up to the front of the courtroom and stood before the judge, an old family friend.

Judge Hawthorne looked at the charges on the paper in front of him, then at Joe. "You are one person I had hoped I’d never see in here, Mr. Hardy." The judge shook his head slightly as he said it. "How do you plead to the charge of reckless driving?"

"Guilty, Your Honor." Joe answered.

"Well, under the circumstances I would normally impose a hefty fine and a license suspension. But, Mr. Hardy, I am sure your parents will be much harder on you than I could ever be. So, I am merely suspending your motor vehicle license and your motorcycle license for the next six weeks."

Joe’s eye widened. He’d been almost certain he’d still have his bike license. The next six weeks were sure to be interesting! Joe finally nodded and surrendered both of his licenses to the bailiff. The judge banged his gavel and Joe turned to leave.

"Joe."

He turned back to Judge Hawthorne.

"I don’t eve want to see you in here again. Understood?"

"Yes, Your Honor." Joe joined his father, and after filling out the necessary paperwork, the two left the building. Both Hardys were silent on the way to the car. Joe remained silent all the way to the hospital, staring out the window. Until he realized that they were at the hospital.

Joe looked at his father. "Why are we here?"

Fenton turned the ignition off and returned Joe’s stare. "Dr. Sanders wanted to run some more tests and he admitted Frank from his office yesterday."

"Oh." Joe got out of the car and followed his father inside to the elevators. When Fenton pressed the "6", Joe felt his stomach drop ten stories. If Frank was on the cancer floor, that could only mean one thing. God, please don’t let it be true! He prayed silently. Frank can’t be sick again. He followed his father down the hall and into Frank’s room.

Frank looked up as they walked in and smiled. "Hey. Baby brother!"

Joe tried to smile back, but failed miserably. He sat down on the edge of the bed. "Frank, tell me I’m dreaming. Tell me that everything’s going to be normal again." Joe blinked several times to hold his tears at bay.

"I can’t, Joe. You’re not dreaming and I don’t know if things will ever be normal again." Frank reached out and squeezed Joe’s hand. He could see that Joe was trying not to cry. "I need you right now, Joe. More than I ever have before."

Joe looked down at Frank’s hand. In his mind’s eye he could see the bruises that would soon cover it again. He could see that now steady hand shaking like a leaf in the wind. Joe looked back up at Frank’s warm brown eyes and saw fear in them.

Frank was never afraid. But he was now, and Joe knew he had to be there for Frank. Joe squeezed back. "I can’t promise that I won’t ever run, Frank. I know that’s the first thing I’ll do when we get home. But I’m going to do the best I can to be here when you need me." A single tear slid down Joe’s face.

Frank wiped the tear away. "That’s all I wanted to hear."

Fenton and Laura had watched the entire scene in silence. Both boys had obviously forgotten that they were there. Both of them knew that Joe would keep his promise. The brothers had survived assassins bullets, bombs, murder attempts, kidnappings and even plane crashes. And Joe was determined to help his brother beat leukemia again.