Dr. Bates, the Hardys’ family physician, was waiting for them at Bayport Memorial, and was shocked when he saw the shaking bundle in his father’s arms.  Overcoming it quickly, he ushered Fenton and Frank into a small examination room and had Fenton put his son on the stretcher.

“Are you okay?”  Dr. Bates asked Frank as he carefully unwrapped Joe from the blanket.  The older child was watching through red-rimmed, swollen eyes, and he winked at him, “Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of your brother.”

“I’m fine,” Frank admitted as he watched the doctor carefully removing Joe’s pajama top.

“Hey,” he said and both adults looked at him, “that’s not Joey’s clothes!  He wasn’t wearing PJ’s!!”

Fenton looked down and noticed that Frank was right, but then Dr. Bates smiled and said to Fenton, “I think it might be better if you and Frank waited in the waiting room.” He glanced down at the blackened bruises on the little boy’s chest.  “I’m going to be taking him down to x-ray in a few minutes anyway.”

Joe looked at his brother fearfully. He did not want Frank or his father going anywhere!  He started to shake his head, “No…please…don’t make them go!”

Looking down into the terrified little face, Dr. Bates felt horrible for suggesting it.  And he recanted, “Okay, they can stay but if they get in the way, they’re going to have to go, is that a deal?”  Both Frank and Fenton agreed.

It was very obvious to the doctor that his young patient had been severely traumatized, and the last thing he wanted to do right now was make him more upset by removing his safety net from him.

Frank was just relived it was Dr. Bates who was looking after his brother, because he was sure that if it was anyone else, he would have never been allowed to stay. Hospitals had strict visitation rules.

* * *

Laura Hardy and Gertrude waited anxiously at home for word on the boys.  Fenton had called them on his way to the hospital to tell his very relieved wife and sister that not only did he have Frank back, but they had found Joe too.

At first the women had wanted to come to the hospital, but Fenton had asked them to wait at home, as he was pretty certain Joe would be coming home within a few hours. Although the little boy was badly beaten, he was conscious, lucid and had let Dr. Bates know in no uncertain terms that he wanted to go home…NOW.

So they waited for Fenton’s call, which came about three hours later.

“How is he?”  Laura demanded as soon as she heard her husband’s voice.  It was the wee hours of the morning, but she didn’t care if she ever slept again until she heard about Joe.

[He’s going to be fine.]

“Fenton,” Laura warned; although she was relieved, she wanted the details.  “Spill it now.”

[Laura, the people who took him were exceedingly cruel,] He paused as he heard his wife gasp. He really did not want to tell her, but she needed to be prepared for when she saw him [They beat him with their fists, and with a bamboo switch, so he’s heavily bruised and has a number of lacerations all over his body.  He’s got two black eyes and his right one is swollen shut.]

Another gasp as Laura smothered a cry.  Oh, her poor baby…

[He’s just up from x-ray and while, thank God, none of his ribs are broken, four are cracked, and Dr. Bates is wrapping them right now.  He’s mildly dehydrated and hungry, so they have him on an IV of fluids and antibiotics as a precaution. But once the IV is done, and he wakes up, they’re going to give him something light to eat and then we should be able to bring him home.]

“He’s sleeping then?”  Laura asked, after Fenton stopped talking.

[Yeah, and Frankie is with him.  In the bed actually. It was the only way Joey could sleep, and neither I nor Dr. Bates had the heart to separate them. Those boys are really something, Laura] he admitted, rubbing his tired eyes.

On the other end, his wife was smiling as she cried tears of relief.  Although badly hurting, her baby was coming home in a couple of hours. “Yeah they are, Fenton…they really are!”

Hanging up, she told Gertrude the good news and then went to lie down.  She was going to need all her strength to help her little boy when he got home.  Fenton had only told her about the physical hurts…she could only begin to imagine what the psychological ones were going to be like.

I hope you rot in hell, the normally mild-mannered mother said as she snuggled down in her bed and thought about the people who had done this to her son, prison is too good for the likes of you.

* * *

It was ten o’clock the next morning before Fenton was finally able to bring the boys home.  Joe was still pretty wiped from his ordeal, so his very much relieved, and livid mother - when she got a good look and realized that no matter what she had thought, it had in no way prepared her for her colorful child - insisted that they go upstairs and get some rest.

Noting his hesitancy to be by himself, and reluctant to let go of him again too soon, Laura went upstairs with Joe and held him in her lap until he fell asleep.

Frank went into his own room to catch up on sleep while his Dad squirreled himself away in his office to make some phone calls, and his Aunt did some laundry.  The dark haired boy sighed; except for his and Joe’s ‘nap,’ things seemed to be settling down nicely already.

Closing his eyes, Frank said a quick thank you to the powers that be for letting Joe be okay, and then he drifted off to dreams of being Superman with x-ray vision.

* * *

Gertrude was on her way upstairs with the laundry when she peeked into Joe’s room and saw Laura still lying on the bed with her sleeping son.

“Laura,” she whispered so she wouldn’t wake Joe up, “Laura!”

Slowly Joe’s mother opened her eyes and raised her head enough to see Gertrude standing next to her.

“What is it, Gert?”  she asked quietly, as she gazed down contentedly at the little angel nestled against her.  She felt very privileged to have her son back.

Joe was in a good sleep, although it bothered her to see that he had his thumb in his mouth, something he had never done even as a baby.

“He’s sleeping now,” Gertrude said impatiently, “Come on, let’s go.”

“Go where?”  Laura asked, not sure she was following her sister-in-law’s logic.

“Out of the room of course,” Gertrude said matter-of-factly, “it’ll ruin him if he gets used to you sleeping with him. He’ll never be able to sleep in his bed alone.”

Laura felt her back stiffen. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me,” Gertrude said, “Come on. Joey’s sleeping, so come downstairs and help with this laundry.”

“My son just got home,” Laura said slowly, pulling herself into a sitting position. “I am staying with him so that when he wakes up, he isn’t afraid.”

“Why would he be afraid?”  Gert asked, as if it was the silliest thing she had ever heard. “He’s in his own room.  Safe.”

Beside Laura, Joe stirred and started as his aunt seemed to be looming right over him.  Laura put a reassuring hand on her son and felt him tremble. “Gertrude, please leave us alone.  Joey needs to get some rest.”

“And he will,” Gert reinforced a bit louder this time as she saw her nephew was awake, “but it’s best if you let him do so by himself. It’ll make it easier for him to adjust than if he gets used to you always being in here with him.”

“He just got home, for Pete’s sake!”  Laura said more sharply than she intended, but Fenton’s sister always knew how to get her goat. “And this is hardly me being in here with him all the time!”

* * *

Joe panicked.  His aunt and his mother were arguing and as the volume of their voices increased, so did his fear….

…Miles roared, “WRONG ANSWER!”  and Joe felt something strike his arm…

“NOOOO!” Joe screamed as he bolted from his bed and ran through the bathroom and into Frank’s room.

* * *

The older boy jerked up from his sleep in time to see his terrified brother come bursting into the room. Mindless of the pain it would cause, Joe launched himself into Frank’s bed, and Frank grabbed him and held his trembling brother, unsure of what had happened.

And then he heard the raised voices of his aunt and mother, and knew.

They were arguing and it had terrified his little brother.

Holding him tightly, Frank grabbed his comforter and wrapped it around them both, making a cocoon out of it.

“It’s okay, Joey…” he whispered, “Its okay.  I’ll take care of you.”

Frank heard rapid footsteps on the stairs and then the sound of his father’s voice.  Seconds later, the door to his own room opened, and he heard his father breathe a heavy sigh of relief when he saw Joe safe in his brother’s bed.

Slowly he approached the bed and sat down on the edge.  He reached out to touch Joe’s back but the little boy flinched, so he stopped and said gently, “It’s just Daddy, Joey.  Are you okay?”

Joe turned tear stained cheeks to him and shook his head. It was the best he could do and his father accepted it.

The shouting from Joe’s room had stopped, so Frank assumed that his father must have stopped it. And he was relieved; he hated to hear anyone fighting.

His mother opened the door and stepped into the room. Frank could tell she had been crying.

“I’m sorry, baby”, Laura said as she knelt down beside the sobbing caterpillar. 

Joe turned to look at his mother and when he spoke it was barely a whisper but it cut his parents to the quick, “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?”  Fenton said softly, afraid anything louder would spook his distraught child, “What do you have to be sorry for?”

“For…b-being t-trouble.” Joe stammered. “I d-don’t listen….I l-leave my room m-messy….”  He paused and squeezed his eye shut, “I’m n-not… as g-good as…F-Frankie.” 

Frank stared at his brother in horror, not as good as me?

But his mother was already talking, “Oh Joey…I know those mean people must have said that to you but baby, it’s not true!” 

She turned to her husband for help and Fenton knelt down beside her and picked up, “Joey, you are not trouble.  The people who took you… now they’re trouble.  In my life I have had many blessings but nothing comes close to your Mother…your brother…and you!”

Joe looked at his mother first, and then his father….He wanted so desperately to believe them. And then he looked up into the face of his older brother, who gave him a gentle squeeze and added, “Course you’re not as good as me Joey… you’re better!”

This made Joe laugh, but then it turned to a frown.  “So you d-didn’t give m-me to them?  When you l-left me in the F-fun H-house?”

Fenton’s face clouded over with anger at the cruel mind games Miles and Darla had obviously played on his son, and then asked slowly with a chilling comprehension, “Left you in the Fun House?  Joey did you see Daddy when he was looking for you?”

The hurting child wouldn’t look at him, Joe looked down at the comforter wrapped around him and nodded as he answered softly, “Y-yes…and then…and then you left!”  Joe’s anguished face looked up and Fenton sucked in a breath at the look he saw there.

And then he was gathering his baby in his arms and holding him gently as he rubbed the back of his head and rocked him. “Oh Joey.  I looked everywhere….I didn’t know you were still there. I couldn’t find you….I would have never left you there…never!”

“Never?”  Joe wanted so hard to believe, and Fenton realized that this child was going to have a hard road back to them.  So much damage had been done in so little time.

“Never,” he asserted, and then kissed the top of the child’s head. “and I would move heaven and earth to find you.  You’re my son. I’m proud of you…messy room and all.  And you know what else?’

“What?” came a sniffled reply.

“You and your brother are the two bravest people I know.” Fenton watched as the compliment flittered across the pain-filled face until he saw the desired result – just a little hint of the precocious child that had left with them on Sunday morning to go the Carnival. 

Next to him he could almost feel the pride radiating from his oldest son.

“Really?”

Fenton hugged him, “Really.”

* * *

Fenton had one more thing to do. And he waited until everything was settled down again.

Joe was sleeping in Frank’s room this time, as Frank played video games on the floor next to the bed.

Laura was soaking in a hot tub, working through another “Gertrude induced’ headache.

And Fenton needed to talk to his sister.  This had to stop.

His family had a hard enough time ahead of them trying to help Joe get past this.

The child would never forget but if they could get him to a place where he didn’t always remember, then they would have done their job as a family.

Their youngest member needed to be healed…and he needed his family at full strength to do that.

Knocking softly on the door of the downstairs guest room, he waited until he heard his sister answer before he said, “Gert, it’s Fenton. We need to talk.”

“About time,” Gertrude said, opening the door and inviting him in, “I wondered when you would come down to apologize to me.”

“This isn’t an apology,” Fenton said, and then continued before she could say anything, “Gert, I think until we can help Joey get past this, you need to go and stay with Mom and Dad.”

“What are you talking about?”  Gertrude scoffed. “Leaving? I can’t leave now!  Joey needs me here…you all do!”

Fenton sighed and ran a hand through his dark brown hair. “I don’t want to fight, Gertrude. Not right now, when we need everything we have to let that little boy upstairs know he's safe with us and nothing is going to hurt him again.… So I'm sorry, but right now you can't help us."

Gertrude stared at her younger brother for a long minute before she said, “Fenton do you have any idea what you are doing?  You and Laura aren’t playing house anymore.  If you screw up, those children are going to suffer."

"Frank and Joe are my sons, Gertrude.  Mine and Laura’s. And we are not going to do anything to jeopardize them in any way.  And that’s why I’m asking you to leave now, before something gets said that isn’t so easily fixed.”  Fenton sighed and stared at his sister, imploring her not to make this more difficult on them. “Unfortunately, you don’t seem to want to respect Laura’s place as the mother in this family…and when I have to run out of my office…to find you arguing with my wife…in my youngest son’s bedroom, while he has fled…traumatized…to his older brother’s room…. Well, I have to make a choice.  And this is it.”

Gertrude shook her head and started to say something, but Fenton cut her off. “Gertrude please,” and then he softened his tone, “go stay with Mom and Dad. Give us time to help Joey.  Don’t make this about you when it should be about him.”

“I want to help,” she persisted.

“Not this way,” he countered.

Finally Gertrude sighed and looked around the room. “Can you excuse me please, Fenton? It would appear that I have some packing to do.”

“I’ll drive you to the airport when you’re ready.  Jack Wayne can fly you,” Fenton offered but his sister cut him off with a glare.

“No you won’t, Fenton Hardy. I will get a taxi and my own domestic flight.  Make yourself feel better some other way.”

Stung, Fenton left the room, closed the door and then went to his office.  Sitting down heavily at his desk, he picked up the framed picture of his family that he kept there, and he looked into their smiling faces.

Dear God, he prayed, please give me the strength to bring those smiles back….

* * *

Frank was just getting ready to go to bed when he thought he heard sniffling coming from his brother’s room.  Quietly, he tiptoed through the bathroom that they shared, and stood in the doorway watching his younger brother.

Joe was sitting on the bed in his pajamas, obviously ready for bed…but he was crying.

Alarmed, Frank wondered where his parents were, but then he heard his mother’s voice on the phone and figured his father was still downstairs talking to Sam and Chief Collig, who had dropped by to talk to him just after supper.

It was turning out to be long talk.

Chewing his lip, the older boy considered his younger brother for a few moments, and then making his decision, he went over and grabbed his arm gently. “Come on.”

“Where we going?” Joe asked, wiping his sleeve across his runny nose as he followed his brother.

Frank led him into his room, pulled down the blankets and then patted the bed, “Here.”

“What?” Joe was still confused but he did as his brother told him.

Once Joe was settled in the bed, Frank went into Joe’s room, turned off the light, turned off the bathroom light, and then switched on a small desk lamp before turning off his own room light and climbing into the bed beside his brother.  “Go to sleep, Joey.  I’ll take care of you…. Those bad old monsters will never find you here.”

The smile on his younger brother’s face was all the reassurance he needed that he was making the right decision…and he made a silent vow to Joe right there and then that would stand fast even under the adversities that they would face in the coming years….

…I will always find you….I will come for you.…I will always comfort you.…You will never be alone….

And Frankie was right…..The monsters never did find Joey hiding in his room.…