Winston paused outside Joe’s door for a moment and said a silent prayer for the wisdom of words to help comfort this child.  Then he knocked on the door.

At first he didn’t hear anything, so he knocked louder. 

“Please go away, Frank.  I’m sleeping.”  Joe’s voice sounded so sad that it made Winston all the more determined to help him.

Clearing his throat, the man spoke loudly, “It’s Winston, Joe.” 

He heard Joe come across the room to open the door.  Seeing the tray in Winston’s hand, he motioned for him to come in and went back over to his bed and sat down.

“I’m not hungry, but thanks anyway,” Joe said, not even looking to see what was on the tray. 

Winston just nodded.

“Mrs. Corradi will be hurt.  She said that you loved her homemade double chocolate chunk cookies.”  He opened the door to the balcony to let in some fresh air as he spoke.

He suspected that mentioning the old woman might compel the boy to have one of the cookies.  Pharaoh had told him Joe could never refuse anything Mrs. Corradi had given him; he seemed to have a large soft spot for her – he even drank the tea she always poured him, although he hated tea.

Sighing, Joe moved over and picked up a cookie.  “Well, I guess I could try one,” he mumbled before taking a bite. 

It’s a start, thought Winston, knowing that Joe had not eaten much since he’d gotten out of the hospital.

Then sitting down in the big chair opposite the bed, he studied the kid for a few minutes. 

Joe looked at him questioningly, wondering why he was here.

“Joe, why are you up here and not downstairs with your family?”  Winston just asked out of the blue.  He was startled to see just how vibrant Joe’s eyes were in his pale face, and had to force himself not to look away from their intensity.

“I’m just tired.  I need to sleep…that’s all,” Joe mumbled, sitting back down on the bed and with some effort trying to put his bandaged arm back in the sling. 

He only used the sling on his left arm because when it dangled by his side it pulled painfully at the stitches.  Joe was just glad that his broken arm didn’t need a sling anymore, or else he would have been in a real pickle!

Winston moved to help him as he saw how clumsy it was with his other arm still in a cast.

“Thanks,” Joe said, although he hated needing to be helped.

Winston nodded to indicate he’d heard before he sat back down and pursed his lips.

“Pharaoh wouldn’t be too pleased with you right now,” he stated and watched to see what effect that had on Joe, but the boy just smiled and snorted softly.

“No, I don’t suppose he would be, but right now I’m not too pleased with him either!” 

Winston smiled, Pharaoh had been right; this kid had spunk!

“It’s not your fault, you know,” Winston told him.  He had a sneaking suspicion that Joe was blaming himself, and his suspicion was confirmed when he saw Joe look away from him.

But Joe didn’t say anything for a few minutes and then when he did, an angry tear tracked down his pale cheek.  “That’s where you’re wrong, Mr. Abernathy.  It was my fault.  If…if I never pretended to be Remus, then Pharaoh would still be alive and he’d have Romulus.  He’d be with his real brother,” Joe oversimplified.

“You didn’t pretend to be anyone – you were told you were Remus.  And as for everything else, you know that’s all garbage, Joe.  If it weren’t for you, Andreya would be still hurting people…Pharaoh and Romulus especially!  Now I know that you might not believe this, but everything happens for a reason…a purpose.  You needed to be Remus, don’t you see that??”

“No,” the teen whispered.

“Joe,” Winston fought to hold the anguished gaze, “Pharaoh had already lost everything.  His life was hell – he told me so.  Andreya was abusing him; he had no one he could turn to; the real Remus was dead, although he didn’t know it at the time; and he believed Romulus was also.  He had no one,” he paused, waiting for his words to sink in, “and then you saved him…. 

“And I know you might not believe this, either, but you also saved Romulus.”

“How?” came Joe’s small voice, “How did I save Romulus?”

“Andreya was a very sick person.  Whatever she did to everyone else could not have even compared to what she put that kid through.  You saw what a mess he is.  And now, he’s getting help.  He’s in a hospital and, who knows, maybe some day he’ll recover, or at least be able to get past all this.  You gave him his life back, or at least a chance for one now.

“Yes, Pharaoh died, but it would have killed him anyway when he found out that Romulus was still alive and…well…crazy.  And he would have eventually.  Who knows why that madwoman did what she did.  But she must have been planning something, lining up brother against brother, and it wasn’t going to be for anything good.”

Joe thought about that for a few long minutes.

What if it was him who was Pharaoh and Frank that was Romulus? 

Winston was right, he would die a thousand times if it would keep Frank from hurting someone, and to get his brother the help he needed.

“I just feel like I failed him,” Joe said tiredly, “I came here to help him but it was he that ended up helping me.”  Joe was reluctant to let go of the guilt that was consuming him - he really just wanted to go back to sleep.

“Joe, you never failed him.  You were the best brother that he ever could have had – even if it was for a short time.  I must have heard that from Pharaoh at least ten times a day.  He cared about you so much that he would have done anything for you…and he did.  Joe, you have a brother, you know what that’s like.”

You were the best brother that he ever could have asked for….You have a brother, you know what that’s like….Each word hit Joe like a fist in his stomach – Frank! 

…I’m here Joe.  Please don’t forget that, little brother….I’m still here….

Yes, he did have a brother.

“Winston, thank you…for reminding me,” Joe said, and the man nodded.

“Anytime, Joe,” Winston said, standing up.  He had almost reached the door when Joe’s voice stopped him.

“Oh, one more thing, though.  Really…just because I’m curious.  Why’d you tell everyone that only you or Pharaoh was allowed to answer the phones?”

Winston hesitated only for a moment, because he had seen something change in Joe.  It was nothing he could put his finger on, but he just knew that everything would be okay.

He laughed at the boy’s question, and it was nice to think about something other than what they had all lost.  “Well, you see, we had a little problem with a particular, wonderful older lady, who would answer the phone and either forget to take a message…or not write it down.  So we thought it’d be better if we limited who answered the phone.  I thought it’d be a less delicate issue if we just said only one of us could answer the phone.  After all…we didn’t want our blessed cook feeling singled out!”

Joe laughed, as he thought of how indignant Mrs. Corradi had been when she’d told him that no one was allowed to answer the phone, except Winston and Pharaoh!

He could just imagine how upset she would’ve been if they’d said that it was only her that couldn’t answer the phone!

Still chuckling, Winston opened the door to leave, reminding Joe to call him if he needed anything.  And then as he was stepping out into the hall, Joe did ask him for something….

* * *

“Well, did he talk to you?”  Frank demanded as he jumped up from the table where the Hardys and their friends were still gathered, when he saw Winston come back in the room.

Winston stared thoughtfully at the family. 

They had no idea about what was to come, or how their lives would be tied irrevocably together with his.  They were going to be his new family; they just didn’t know it yet. 

Giving them a once-over, he knew that Pharaoh had made a good decision.

“Yes, we talked.  I can’t promise you leaps and bounds in his recovery, but Joe is definitely taking baby steps,” he paused before he added, “He will be okay.  It’s just going to take some time.”

And then he smiled at the old cook. “Mrs. Corradi, could you please pack the Hardys and their friends a nice picnic lunch?  Mr. Joe would like them to join him on the beach in an hour.  And don’t forget some more cookies,” he added, winking at her.

Mrs. Corradi blushed; she had only known Mr. Winston for a little while but was very fond of him already.  He really is a good man, she thought, even if he doesn’t want me answering the phone!

* * *

Joe waited for Frank on the beach.

As he sat in the warm sand, he watched the waves as they rolled in and out, and when he closed his eyes, he could almost smell Iola’s suntan lotion…. 

Swallowing the lump that had risen in the back of his throat, he heard Frank coming up behind him.

Joe, dressed in a bathing suit and long sleeved shirt that had one sleeve slit to accommodate his cast, had purposely chosen dark glasses to hide his red-rimmed swollen eyes, as he resisted the temptation to just run into the water and let the waves wash away his pain. 

He knew that it was going to hurt for a long time, but thinking back to the last night he had spent in his Bayport bedroom, he realized that this was who he was, and the pain was part of it.

He could never again just be Joe Hardy because he could never erase the time he had spent as Remus Plyth. 

Joe had lived life as both of them, and he was slowly fitting them together into his new self….

Pain was the common factor, and he already knew how to deal with that after losing both Iola and then Vanessa.  The harder part was learning how to deal with the loss of a brother.  It took Pharaoh’s death to remind him that he was also losing Frank. 

He knew that Frank felt left out, and most of it was due to Joe’s own guilt about those two lost months.  Feeling like he was a burden to his big brother, Joe had thought he could protect Frank by spreading himself between Frank and Pharaoh. 

But, as he thought of Pharaoh, Romulus and Remus, he realized how fragile brotherhood could be. 

He and Frank were nothing like the Plyth brothers, but Joe knew that once upon a long time ago, the Plyth brothers really did love each other and talk to each other.  But somewhere along the line - mostly due to interference - they had lost each other….

And as Frank dropped heavily down into the sand beside his younger brother, Joe was determined…. I will not lose Frank, again!

* * *

“Winston said you wanted to talk to me?”  Frank asked casually, trying to keep the excitement out of his voice.  It seemed like an eternity since Joe wanted to talk to him.

“Frank…there are some things I need to tell you,” Joe started as he stared straight out into the ocean.

He paused for a brief second, listening as he thought he heard the waves calling out in Pharaoh’s voice, tell him…tell him…and then Joe started to tell Frank about Vanessa….

Tell him…tell him…the seagulls screamed and as Joe continued to talk he realized he had forgotten just what a good listener his big brother was….

The End