Joe awoke with a start, and it took him a moment to remember where he was. His heart was racing, and he took a couple of steadying breaths as he peered around the living room.  

The house was very quiet, with the only noise being the sound of the tape rewinding in the VCR, and he realized that must have been what woke him. Settling back against the couch again, he glanced down at the sleeping girl and smiled.  

Gently he kissed the top of her head, sucking in the smell of her shampoo. Oh God, how he loved her.  

Closing his eyes he was almost asleep again when he heard the sound of a car coming up the gravel driveway and towards the house. Looking down at his watch, he knew it was too early for it to be Frank.  

“Iola,” he whispered as he shook the sleeping girl gently, “Come on, wake up, someone’s here.”  

Immediately the blurry-eyed girl raised her head and smiled at Joe as she whispered, “Now here’s a sight I could wake up to every day.”  

Joe blushed slightly, as Iola pulled herself up and blinked in an effort to clear the last of the sleep from her eyes, before she stood up and headed out into the kitchen to greet whoever had just come home.  

It was Chet.  

“Hey, sis,” Chet said jovially, as he came into the house and saw Iola coming out of the living room, followed closely by Joe.  “Hey, Joe.”  

“Ch-Chet—”  Joe managed through a yawn, “Sorry.”  

The other boy grinned and teased his younger sister, “See, your company is as stimulating as ever!” And then he barely managed to duck in time as she tossed the uncooked package of popcorn at him.  

“Thanks, Chet,” Joe said sarcastically as he teased, “I was going to eat that!”  

Sticking his tongue out at the younger boy, Chet scooped up the popcorn pack and put it in the microwave before hitting the ‘popcorn’ button to cook it.  

“How was Liz?” Iola asked as she reached into the fridge to grab some colas.  

Chet got a dreamy look on his face as he thought about Liz Webling.  “Perfect…” and then suddenly he paled and exclaimed, “Oh crap!”  

“What?” Joe asked, sitting down at the table and popping open the can of pop Iola passed him.  

“Shoot, shoot, shoot,” Chet muttered, visibly frustrated with himself.  

“What’s wrong?” Joe repeated as he shared a curious look with Iola.  

“Man! Liz gave me a package to drop off at the bus station on my way home! And I completely forgot about it!” he admitted before moaning, “She’s going to kill me!”  

“Is that all?” Joe laughed, relieved. For a minute he was afraid it was something serious. “Give it to me. I’ll get Frank to swing by there on our way home, and I’ll drop it off for you.”  

“You don’t mind?” Chet said, his eyes shining with hopeful desperation.  

Joe had to laugh.  “I wouldn’t offer if it was going to be a problem.”  

“Oh thank you….You are a life-saver!” Chet gushed, very relieved.  “I’ll go and get the package!” And then he was gone, leaving his sister and her date grinning in his wake.  

“Hmmm, must let the coach know the secret to making Chet hustle,” Joe mused, and then both he and Iola chimed at the same time, “LIZ!”

* * *

Frank was in a terrific mood. He and Callie had had an awesome time at the movie, which ended up being shorter than he’d anticipated, so they had then gone for a drive and spent a little time together.  

And now as he got closer to the Mortons’ farm, he hoped Joe and Iola had an equally good time. It was nice to see the old Joe back – it had taken some time to find him….  

Shaking off those kinds of thoughts, Frank grinned as he saw Chet hustling up the front steps of the farmhouse – what was he carrying?  

Pulling up behind Chet’s old car, Frank got out and called, “Hey Morton – where’s the fire?”  

His oldest friend paused on the veranda and turned. Holding up a package, he called back, “Nowhere anymore!” And then waited for Frank before going back in the house.  

The smell of popcorn assaulted Frank as soon as the door was open, and he grinned as he saw Iola and Joe just preparing to dig in.  

“Hey kiddo,” Frank said as Joe waved at him, unable to talk through the mouthful of popcorn he had taken, “Ready to go?”  

“mnph” Joe managed as he stood up and then swallowed, “Sorry. Yeah, I’m ready.”  

“Don’t forget!” Chet said as he passed the parcel to Joe, who grinned and took it.  

“I said we’d drop it off and we will.” Joe turned to Frank.  “We need to make a detour on our way home.”  

“Okay,” Frank said, already halfway out the door, “Bye, Iola. Chet. Talk to you later.”  

Iola smiled at Frank as she wrapped her arms around Joe’s neck, stood up on her tiptoes and gave him a good-bye kiss that left him breathless and crimson-faced.  

Then with a wink, the little minx sauntered back into the living room, content in the knowledge she had left a lasting impression on the younger Hardy brother.  

“Come on, loverboy,” Frank grinned as he grabbed his swooning brother by the arm and led him out of the house, “the night is a-passing!”  

As he got into the car, Joe grinned at Frank.  “I think Starship Troopers is my new favorite movie…”  

Shaking his head, the older boy chuckled, “Sure Joe, whatever you say. Did you even watch it?”  

“Does it matter?” Joe said as he peered longingly back at the farmhouse, “Does it really matter?”

* * *

By the time the brothers got to the bus station it was almost midnight . Joe was amazed at the number of people coming and going, even at that late hour.  

Getting out of the car, he turned to his brother, “I’ll be just a moment.”  

“Okay,” Frank said and then he undid his seatbelt. “Actually, wait up – I think I’d better use the restroom here before we go. I don’t think that last coffee is going to wait for me to get home.”  

Joe grinned at his older brother, knowing he must be in dire straits, as Frank hated using public washrooms.  

“Meet me back at the van,” the older boy said as they entered the station, and then went their separate ways. Joe nodded and then headed towards the counter as Frank hurried towards the bathroom.

 * * *

A red-haired man wearing a long dark coat watched the two boys with increasing interest. He saw the dark-haired one head into the restroom.  

Moving quickly, he came up behind the blond-haired teen, pulled out a gun and placed it in the small of the boy’s back as he whispered, “Let’s not do anything stupid that might get someone shot, okay?”  

The kid nodded imperceptibly, and the man placed a large hand on his shoulder.  

“Now, nice and steady. We’re going to take a short little walk right out that main exit. If you so much as breathe funny—” the man’s voice trailed off menacingly, and once again the teen nodded slightly and then began moving towards the door.