"Frank?" He heard his brother’s strained voice and started to breathe again.

Slowly inching forward, Frank peered down into the gaping hole and gasped. Joe was hanging from the end of a piece of wood, swinging precariously as the wood creaked and groaned under his weight.

"Joe! Are you alright?" Frank asked, concerned.

Joe managed to throw his brother a dirty look. "Oh yeah, Frank, I’m fine! Just hanging around, ya know?!"

"Sorry." Frank mumbled, looking around for anything to help him get Joe back on solid ground.

"Um, Frank, if you’re not too busy, do you think maybe you could GET ME OUT OF HERE!!!!" Joe yelled.

"I need to get help, Joe." Frank replied as he realized there was nothing of use in the empty attic. "Can you hold on a little longer?"

"Don’t have much choice, now do I?" Joe replied through gritted teeth, although his arms were quickly starting to protest.

"Ok, I’ll be right back." Frank called over his shoulder as he ran from the room.

"I’ll wait here." Joe grumbled sarcastically.

Attempting to get a more solid hold on the slim piece of wood, Joe readjusted his grip and yelped in pain when a nail pierced his hand.

*****

Rushing down the stairs, Frank came skidding to a stop in the large ballroom as a crowd quickly gathered around him.

"Joe fell through the floor in the attic!" He said breathlessly.

"What?!" Vanessa cried out, immediately heading for the stairs. Frank grabbed her arm pulling her to a stop.

"No, Van, you can’t go up there."

"The hell I can’t!" She exclaimed trying to yank her arm free.

"I don’t know how stable that floor is! If everyone goes running up there, the whole thing could collapse!"

"But…"

"No buts, Vanessa! Joe is barely hanging on to the end of a two by four! I can’t waste time arguing with you about this!" Frank snapped. Seeing the concern for Joe reflected in her eyes, Frank immediately regretted his uncharacteristic outburst of anger.

"I’m sorry, Van." He apologized fishing his car keys out of his pocket. "If you really want to help Joe, go get the rope out of the trunk of my car." Frank said, offering her the keys.

Wordlessly, Vanessa grabbed the keys and ran from the house.

"Biff, Chet. I need your help pulling him out. Go up and talk to him. Try and keep him calm, but don’t get too close to the edge."

"Right." Chet nodded and took off after Biff who was already halfway up the stairs.

Seconds later Vanessa returned, handing Frank the rope and keys. As Frank took them from her, he noticed her hands were shaking.

"He’ll be fine, Van." Frank squeezed her shoulder reassuringly then turned and disappeared up the stairs.

*****

Joe felt the blood start to trickle down his hand making his tenuous grip even more unstable. He closed his eyes and concentrated on nothing but holding on to the small piece of wood.

"Joe?" he heard Biff’s voice call out.

"Down here." Joe replied, his voice tinged with sarcasm. Glancing up he saw Biff looking down at him. Seconds later Chet appeared beside him.

"What, the party wasn’t exciting enough for you?" Chet teased.

"Everybody’s a comedian." Joe mumbled, his patience wearing thin. "Where the hell is Frank?!"

"Right here, little brother." Frank reappeared, a coil of rope now hanging from his shoulder. "One more minute and we’ll have you out."

"Take your time." Joe glared at him, the muscles in his arms and back now screaming to be relieved of their burden.

Motioning Biff and Chet away from the hole, Frank explained his plan.

"Biff, I need you to anchor the rope."

"No problem." Biff nodded.

"Whatever you do, don’t let go." Frank warned. "Joe can be a pain in the butt sometimes, but I’m kind of used to having him around."

"I heard that!" Joe’s voice echoed out of the hole.

Frank continued with his instructions, ignoring Joe’s comment. "Chet, I was just going to throw him the rope and have you and I pull him up to the edge so he could climb out."

"Ok." Chet replied in agreement.

"It won’t work now." Frank shook his head. He had noticed the blood on the wood and Joe’s hands when he had returned. "Joe’s hands are bloody. He’ll never be able to get a good grip." Frank said glancing at the slick, hardwood floor. "If he tried to climb out himself, he’d fall right back over the edge."

"So you want me to pull him out." Chet guessed.

"Yes. He can grab on to the rope and we’ll get him close to the edge, but he’ll need your help to climb all the way out."

"Let’s do it then."

While Frank and Chet had been talking, Biff had tied a loop on one end of the rope and anchored the other end around his waist.

"Ready." He said, handing the rope to Frank.

Walking as close to the edge as he dared, Frank gazed down at his younger brother and winced. Joe’s hands were now quite bloody, his face was glistening with sweat and his blonde hair was stuck to his forehead.

"Ready, Joe?" he asked.

"Gee, no, Frank. I kinda like it here. Thought I’d hang around a little longer." Joe’s reply was sarcastic, but Frank could still hear the tension in his voice.

"When Chet throws the rope down, grab it and put your hands through the loop so you won’t lose your grip." Frank instructed. "Biff and I will get you close to the edge and Chet will pull you out. You don’t have to do anything but hang on, ok?"

Joe simply grunted a reply, his strength almost gone.

"Here it comes." Frank warned, handing the rope to Chet, then walking back a few steps and positioning himself in front of Biff. "Ok, Chet, go ahead."

Carefully, Chet threw the rope towards Joe, hoping he could catch it on the first try.

Watching intently, Joe never took his eyes off the rope. As it came towards him, his left hand flashed out catching it. He let out a muffled cry of pain as the nail in the wood dug deeper into his right hand.

"He got it!" Chet cried out for Frank and Biff’s benefit as they couldn’t see what was happening. "Hang on, he’s about to let go of the wood."

Biff and Frank braced themselves and a few seconds later were dragged forward several inches as Joe’s full body weight pulled on the rope.

"Pull!" Frank grunted. It seemed to be an agonizingly slow process but little by little they pulled Joe ever closer to the edge until Chet could finally see Joe’s hands, tightly gripping the rope, pop into view.

"A little more!" Chet ordered, scrambling to the edge of the hole. As soon as the top of Joe’s head appeared, Chet reached down and grabbed him under the arms. Grimacing from the effort, Chet yanked and pulled, grunting and groaning, until both he and Joe flopped down on the floor at Frank’s feet, breathing heavily.

Quickly, Frank removed the rope from his brother’s wrists. While Joe rolled over onto his back, trying to catch his breath, Frank gently examined Joe’s hands and cringed.

"Want me to see if there’s a first aid kit here?" Biff asked, wincing as he looked over Frank’s shoulder.

"Yeah. If not, there’s one in my car." Frank replied absently offering his keys.

"Joe? You ok, little brother?" Frank asked concerned as Joe had yet to move or even open his eyes. He simply lay on the floor trying to catch his breath and slow his racing heart.

"Yeah, just gimme a minute, ok?" Joe replied quietly. The adrenaline rush was gone and now Joe lay on the floor, exhausted, his hands throbbing with pain as the reality of the situation suddenly washed over him.

"Sure. You just lay there and take it easy." Frank replied, patting his shoulder. "Biff will be right back with the first aid kit and we’ll get you fixed up."

Standing, Frank walked to the edge of the hole and squatted down examining it carefully. Standing up, he slowly walked around the perimeter of the hole staring intently at the edges of it. Twice he stopped and bent down, running his hands over the exposed wood.

"What?" Chet asked warily. He had sat up and was now watching Frank’s inspection, instantly recognizing the look on his friend’s face.

"Nothing." Frank mumbled vaguely, still concentrating on the perfect hole in the floor.

"Hmph." Chet grunted, knowing something had aroused Frank’s suspicions but he wouldn’t say anything about it until he was good and ready.

Hearing Frank and Chet’s very limited conversation, Joe’s curiosity got the better of him and he propped himself up on his elbows. Watching his older brother stare at the hole as if it contained the secrets of the universe, he repeated Chet’s simple query.

"What?" he asked.

Before Frank could answer, footsteps were heard running up the stairs announcing Biff’s return. To Frank’s surprise, Vanessa was right behind him. Frank opened his mouth to speak and immediately snapped it shut as Vanessa gave him a look that could easily put him six feet under. Rushing to Joe’s side, Vanessa knelt beside him.

"Joe, you’re hurt!" She cried out, seeing the blood on his hands.

"Just a flesh wound." Joe smiled at her.

"Don’t you worry." Vanessa said earnestly, pushing a sweaty lock of hair out of his eyes. "I’ll have you patched up in no time."

"Thanks, Babe." Joe replied as Vanessa leaned in to give him a reassuring kiss before she started to clean and bandage his hands.

Joe watched her, almost amused at the deep concentration on her face as she examined his wounds. While he never liked getting hurt and hated it when Vanessa worried about him, Joe still reveled in being the center of her attention as he was now.

"So what happened?" Biff asked no one in particular, now peering down into the black hole as he stood next to Frank.

"I fell through the floor." Joe replied stating the obvious. "It’s that stupid curse."

Frank turned and rolled his eyes at his brother. "Joe, there is no curse! How many times do I have to tell you that?"

"Then how do you explain – OUCH!!!" Joe cried out, yanking his hands away from Vanessa. "Hey, that hurts!"

"Come on, be a big boy there, stud."** Vanessa said patting his shoulder while trying to bite back a smile.

"I think you’re actually enjoying this." Joe growled. "Go easy on the antiseptic, huh, Babe?"

"You don’t want them to get infected, do you?" Vanessa asked, innocently.

"Can’t be any worse than that stuff you just poured on them." Joe said sourly.

"What’s the matter, little brother? Can’t take a little pain?" Frank teased, secretly relieved at Joe’s complaining, knowing that meant he couldn’t have been hurt too badly.

"I wouldn’t be in any pain if it weren’t for the-" Joe began.

"DON’T say it!" Frank said exasperated, once again walking slowly around the opening in the floor.

"What are you looking at, Frank?! You’re starting to make me dizzy!" Joe asked, frustrated.

"Come here and see for yourself."

"All done." Vanessa announced, giving her boyfriend a kiss. Closing the first aid kit she stood up, then leaned over, grasping Joe’s arm. "Let me give a hand." She said, helping Joe to his feet.

"Thanks again, Babe." Joe said, pulling her close to him awkwardly and planting a kiss on her lips.

"If you two are done with the lip locks you might want to take a look at this, Joe." Frank said, now annoyed.

"We’ll go downstairs and let everyone know Joe is ok." Biff said as he and Chet headed for the door.

Joe walked over and stood a few steps behind his older brother. "What am I looking at?" Joe asked.

"You need to get a little closer." Frank said, squatting down once again.

"I’ve already seen it up close and personal, thanks." Joe replied, shuddering just a little at his close call.

Frank looked back over his shoulder at Joe and Vanessa as he ran his hand along the edge of the hole. "It’s smooth. Too smooth to have been an accident. The floor was deliberately cut."

"You mean someone wanted Joe to fall through the floor?!" Vanessa asked, shocked. "Why?"

"Well, whoever did it wanted someone to fall through the floor." Frank said standing up. Looking at the rocker in the corner, perfectly positioned in front of the open window he continued. "The rocker moves when the wind hits it, the floor creaks, everyone thinks there’s someone up here. And who goes to investigate?" Frank asked, now looking at his brother.

"Who else – the Hardy’s, as usual." Joe replied, angrily. "We were set up."