Frank stared, open mouthed and speechless, as his brother turned and left the waiting area. He started to follow, but a hand on his arm stopped him. Turning around, he faced his father.

"Let him go, Frank." He said softly.

"I can’t! I have to make him understand!" Frank pulled his arm free.

"He won’t hear you. It’ll just escalate and he’ll become even angrier with you." Fenton sat down again with Laura sitting next to him. "With all the flashbacks he’s starting to have, I’m afraid everything is going to come flooding back. He’ll never be able to handle it in his current state of mind."

"I thought he only had two flashbacks." Frank’s eyes narrowed. "What aren’t you telling me now?" he snapped.

Callie stared at her husband. She had never heard him talk to his father like that.

"Frank!" his mother reprimanded him, angrily. "For your information, it happened before you got to the emergency room last night. Right after you got there, Dr. Jackson came out to talk to Joe. Right after that, you and Callie left. You just got here a few minutes ago. When exactly were we supposed to tell you?"

Sitting down, Frank leaned forward and put his head in his hands. He’d been at the hospital less than thirty minutes and already he’d managed to alienate Joe and take out his frustration on his father.

"I’m sorry Dad. That was a cheap shot. You didn’t deserve it."

He felt a hand on his back. "That’s all right, son. Sometimes that’s what fathers are for."

Frank looked up into his fathers tired, but understanding, brown eyes. ‘Will I ever be as good a father as he is?’ he thought.

"No, it’s not all right, Dad, but thanks for saying it is." He smiled gratefully, then became serious. "What happened last night? Did Joe remember something?"

Fenton hesitated, glancing quickly at Callie and then back at Frank.

Frank looked at Callie, squeezing her hand, and then back at his father. "I told her. I know you want as few people as possible to know but…I really needed someone to talk to."

"Don’t worry. Frank explained everything to me." Callie reassured her father-in-law. "I won’t say a word."

Nodding, Fenton told them about the young father who had come rushing into the emergency room with his son. He explained how the nurse took the crying boy from this father and how everyone could hear the little boy screaming for his Daddy from the exam room.

"That’s almost exactly what happened when I took Joe to the emergency room." He quickly wiped at his eyes. With a little smile he said, "Of course, Joe fought a whole lot harder before the doctor managed to pull him away from me."

"So when Joe saw the little boy last night, he remembered what happened that day?" Callie asked, concerned.

"No, he didn’t exactly remember," Laura replied. "It was a flashback - just like the others. For a few seconds he was just terrified. And he asked for his Daddy." She finished looking at her husband.

Looking at his father, Frank realized remembering those three days was just as hard on him as it was going to be on Joe, maybe even harder. He couldn’t recall ever seeing his father as disturbed as he was whenever he talked about that weekend. ‘If I can’t be there for Joe, maybe I can be there for Dad.’

"I’m sure Joe isn’t going to want to see me today and I know he won’t let me anywhere near Vanessa. Why don’t I go back to the office and see if I can make any progress. Joe is going to be obsessed with catching this guy." Frank said, with a meaningful look at his father. He knew they were both thinking of Joe’s violent, uncontrolled rage the night before.

"I think that’s a good idea." Fenton replied. "Call me if you find anything."

They all stood up and walked out of the waiting area.

"I’m going to stay a little longer. I’d like to see Vanessa." Callie said giving Frank a hug and a kiss.

"We’ll give you a ride home when you’re ready to go." Laura told.

"Thanks, Mom." Frank kissed his mother and hugged his father then turned and headed for the elevator.

Returning to the office, Frank pulled the plastic bag containing the torn card Joe had found at the train station from his desk. The card had been nagging at him since the day they found it. He and Joe had spent a day and a half trying to find out exactly what the card was for and had come up empty. He didn’t know why but he had a gut feeling it was the key to their investigation. He stared at the card for a few minutes, then picked up the phone, punched in a number and waited for an answer.

"Hello?"

"Phil? It’s Frank."

"Frank, hi. Biff called me last night and told me what happened. Man, that is just horrible! How’s Vanessa doing? And Joe? He must be going crazy!"

Phil Cohen was an old friend of Frank and Joe’s. Although he was more studious than their other friends, he had never turned down a chance to help the brothers with their cases. He was a whiz on computers and had started his own company, specializing in computer technology, while still in college. It had become so successful he never had to search for a job upon graduation; he simply expanded his own business.

"Yeah, he’s not doing well at all. I’m not sure about Vanessa. I didn’t get a chance to see her this morning."

Briefly, Frank explained his quick visit to the hospital that morning including the misunderstanding with Joe.

"Wow, that’s tough. Don’t worry, though. Deep down Joe knows you’d never think something like that. Give him a few days to calm down. I’m sure once he gets Vanessa home from the hospital and has time to think about it, he’ll understand what you meant."

"I hope so."

"Is there anything I can do? I’d love to help you put this guy away. We all would." Phil said, referring to the brothers’ many friends who were always eager to help when called upon.

"As a matter of fact, that’s why I called. Are you busy right now?"

"Nope, I’m all yours."

"Great. Can I come over? I have something I want you to take a look at."

"Sure. I didn’t have anything planned for the day."

"Thanks, Phil. I’ll be there in ten minutes."

True to his word, ten minutes later Frank was about to knock on his friends door when it suddenly opened up.

"Been looking out the window, watching for you." Phil grinned. "Come on in."

Taking off his jacket Frank sat on the couch and extended the plastic bag to his friend.

"Joe found it at one of the crime scenes. We don’t really know that it means anything but I just have this gut feeling it’s the key to the whole case. We worked on it for a day and a half trying to find something - anything - and came up empty. I was hoping you could use those high tech computers of yours to track down the origin of it."

Phil took the bag and briefly examined the torn card. "Nope, I don’t think so."

Franks face fell. "Why not?"

"Don’t need to." Phil smiled. "This is a membership card to an organization called Mensa. It’s sort of a social club for people with genius level I.Q.’s. So they can mingle with other people who have the same level of intelligence. Kind of snobbish, if you ask me. Anyone who wants to join has to score in the top two percent of the population on a standardized intelligence test to qualify for membership."

"Mensa!" Franks eyes grew wide. "Can I use your phone?"

"Sure, go ahead."

Frank reached for the phone and quickly dialed his father. When his father answered, Frank didn’t even let him finish his greeting.

"Dad, listen! That card Joe found at the train station is a membership card for Mensa!"

"What!?" Frank heard the shock in his fathers voice.

"Dad, is Josh Tilghman still in prison?"

"Unless he’s escaped he is. He got so many consecutive prison terms he’d have to serve over one hundred years before he was even eligible for parole." Following Frank’s train of thought he continued. "Call Sam. Ask him to check and make sure Tilghman is still in prison. Let me know what he says."

"I will. Dad?"

"Yes?"

"Have you seen Vanessa this morning? How is she?" he asked with concern.

"Yes, we saw her. I’m afraid she’s not doing too well."

"Her injuries are worse than the doctor originally thought?"

"No, it’s not that." He heard his father sigh heavily before he continued. "She doesn’t want to see anyone other than Joe or Andrea. We only saw her for a few minutes. She wouldn’t even look us in the eye. And she was hanging on to Joe like it was a matter of life and death. As upset and confused as she is, I think she knows your mother and I want to be here for Joe so she didn’t ask us to leave. But she did tell Callie she’d rather not have any visitors and asked her to pass that on to all your friends."

"Oh, no." Frank whispered. "How’s Joe holding up?"

"I have to say, when he’s with Vanessa he is calm, cool and collected. Exactly what she needs. But the second he walks out of that room…Frank, we have to find this guy and soon. If Joe tracks him down before anyone else does - well, right now he wants revenge more than justice."

"I better get back to work then. I’ll let you know as soon as I find out anything. Bye."

"Goodbye, Frank."

Frank dialed Sam's number and was soon speaking with Fenton's assistant, explaining what he needed.

"So we need to find out where Josh Tilghman is."

"Like your Dad said, he should still be in prison. That guy was convicted on so many counts of child abuse, pornography and molestation he'll never even see parole. I'll check on it and get back to you as soon as I know anything."

"Thanks, Sam."

"I really hope it's not him, Frank. He vowed to get revenge on your father and especially Joe. How can anybody want revenge on a little boy?"

"I know, Sam, but Joe's not a little boy anymore. And if this guy decided to get revenge by going after Vanessa then he knew exactly what he was doing. Which means he knows Joe a whole lot better than any of us would like. He knows just what it would take to push Joe over the edge."

"How's Joe doing, by the way? I haven't spoken to your Dad at all this morning."

"Not too good." Frank replied.

"And how are you doing, Frank?" Sam asked, picking up on something in the tone of his voice.

"I've been better." He replied, suddenly feeling overwhelmed at all that had happened in the past twenty four hours.

Before he could stop himself, everything came pouring out. He told Sam how he had been so relieved it wasn't Callie that had been raped and the all consuming guilt that had followed; how upset and distraught Joe had been that morning and how Frank could barely stand to watch him; about the misunderstanding when Joe had overheard Frank's conversation with his father and finally how glad he was to leave the hospital and not have to watch his brother try and deal with his grief and pain. By the time he was done, Frank was no longer able to hold back the tears.

"Sam, I feel horrible. I would never, ever wish something like that on Vanessa. At the same time I am so glad for an excuse - any excuse - just so I don't have to stand by and watch Joe try and deal with everything, knowing there is nothing I can do to help him. I've always been able to make everything all right for him - always! I've never seen him like this before. It scares me, Sam."

Feeling a hand on his shoulder, Frank jumped. He had completely forgotten he was sitting in Phil's living room. He smiled sadly at the look of sympathy in his friends eyes and was grateful when Phil squeezed his shoulder in a gesture of support.

"No one can make this better, Frank." Sam replied. "Even after we catch this guy - and we will catch him - it's not going to change what he did to Vanessa. You're putting way too much pressure on yourself to be the perfect big brother. You're human, Frank. You're going to make mistakes and you are not always going to be able to fix everything for Joe. As far as your not wanting to see him so upset…I think that just means you're normal."

"Thanks, Sam." He sniffled, taking the tissue Phil pressed into his hand.

"The best thing we can do for Joe and Vanessa is to find this guy and put him away for a very long time. I have a few contacts at the prison so I should have an answer for you within the hour. Should I call you on your cell?"

"Please. And Sam?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks. For everything."

"Anytime, Frank." Sam smiled. He'd always had a special fondness for Frank. Right after Joe was born, Sam and his wife would often keep Frank overnight whenever Fenton was out of town so Laura wouldn't have to take care of both a toddler and a newborn. It had gotten to where Sam looked forward to those overnight visits and he and Frank had formed a special bond. He often felt as overprotective of Frank as Frank did of Joe.

After hanging up, Frank looked at Phil, slightly embarrassed.

"I guess that was a little more information than you needed, huh?" he said half-jokingly.

Phil looked at him seriously.

"Frank, you know how we all feel about you and Joe. You guys never hesitate to call us when you need help on a case. Let us help you now. If all this stuff with Joe is more than you can handle, we can pick up the slack for you. You concentrate on catching this guy; the rest of us will be there for Joe - and Vanessa."

"Thanks, Phil. I was about to say Joe would know something was wrong if I suddenly disappeared from his life, but I guess I took care of that this morning. By now he's probably gotten himself worked up to the point where he hates me."

"Joe could never hate you. He idolizes you. He wants to be just like you."

Frank looked at Phil as if he had suddenly grown a third eye in the middle of his forehead.

Laughing, Phil continued. "I guess Joe never told you the same things he told us."

For the next forty five minutes, Phil regaled Frank with stories of how, ever since they were all children, Joe would never hesitate to brag about his older brother; how completely devastated Joe had been when Frank was diagnosed with leukemia; how Joe had cried for hours when Frank was officially declared to be in remission; and how Joe used to tell anyone who would listen that, when he grew up, he wanted to be 'just like Frank'.

By the time his cell phone rang almost an hour later, Frank had cried a little more, laughed a whole lot more and was starting to feel a little better.

"Hello?"

"Frank," it was Sam's voice. "I don't know if this is good or bad. Josh Tilghman is dead."