"Where is everyone?" Joe asked.

"Frank went out for a walk and Vanessa is in your room," she replied with a smile, eyeing the case he set down on the coffee table.

"The woman who bumped into me yesterday has the exact same case as Frank. She just picked up the wrong one by mistake," Joe explained. "She was with the manager when I got there; they were just about to call over here. Make sure he gets it when he gets back," Joe said. He eyed the computer contemptuously before turning and walking into the bedroom.

Hearing the door open, Vanessa turned from where she stood, gazing out the glass doors to the balcony. Crossing the room, she put her arms around Joe’s neck and held him tightly. "Did you get it back?" she asked.

"Yeah. It was only a mix-up. This woman bumped into me yesterday…" Joe began as Vanessa pulled back to look at him.

"Yeah, Frank mentioned that," she grinned. "I’m gonna have to buy you a stick to beat them off with," she winked, letting him know she wasn’t the least bit upset about the incident.

Joe smiled and blushed a little, thinking how different Vanessa was from all the other girls he’d dated before they met. More often than not, they seemed to go off the deep end if another woman so much as looked at him, even when he’d done nothing to encourage the attention. ‘One more reason I know we were meant to be…’ Joe thought, kissing her impulsively.

"Anyway, she dropped her computer when she stumbled and she has the exact same case as Frank. She just picked up the wrong one, that’s all. It was a simple mistake." Joe’s voice dropped a little, hurt feelings evident in each word. "It’s not like I did it on purpose."

"Frank knows that, honey. He was just upset and reacted without thinking," Vanessa assured him. She lifted Joe’s chin a little so he was forced to look her in the eyes. "If I’m not mistaken, you have some experience with that phenomenon yourself," she said teasingly.

Joe flushed again at Vanessa’s assessment. "Now that I know how it feels, I guess I’ll have to work on correcting that little personality flaw," Joe sighed and moved to the balcony, looking out at the snow covered mountains. "Some vacation this is turning into…"

*****

Frank returned to the cabin, feeling a mixture of relief and nervousness at seeing his car parked out front. Joe was back. Steeling himself Frank opened the door, surprised to see only Callie and Vanessa seated on the couch, talking quietly.

"Hey," he said looking around. "Where’s Joe?"

"He’s in the bedroom," Vanessa replied. "He got your computer back," she said, pointing at the case sitting on the coffee table where Joe had left it.

"Really?" Frank was a little surprised Joe had been able to recover his computer so quickly.

"Yes. And it happened just like Joe thought. That girl who bumped into him simply picked up the wrong one when she left. You two happen to have the exact same carrying case. She was in the manager’s office trying to get it all straightened out when Joe got there."

Frank eyed the case. He wanted to hook it up and check it out, just to see for himself that it was none the worse for wear, but he had something much more important to do first. "I’ll be back in a few minutes," he said quietly and headed up the stairs.

Standing outside the closed bedroom door, Frank took a deep breath and knocked tentatively. He waited and upon getting no answer, knocked again. "Joe? You in there?" Still no answer.

Cautiously, Frank opened the door and stepped inside, closing it behind him. Moving past the sitting area, he came to a dead stop, his heart twisting with remorse. Joe was sitting out on the balcony, his shoulders hunched over, eyes cast downward.

"Guess I won’t be getting the Big Brother of the Year Award after all," he muttered to himself derisively.

Walking to the balcony, Frank opened the door and stepped outside. Sliding the door closed, he noted that Joe never even turned around to see who it was. "Mind if I join you?" Frank requested.

The shoulders stiffened momentarily and then shrugged in a wordless reply. Pulling a chair over, Frank sat down close to his younger brother.

"I owe you an apology, Joe. A big apology. I was angry at the whole situation and I took it out on you. I just reacted without thinking." Frank stopped, waiting to see if Joe would comment.

Although he was nervously bouncing his right leg up and down, Joe remained silent.

"Callie gave me that computer for Christmas. She spent months doing research, checking out all the different brands and models, all the programs… it just… it meant so much to me that she went to all that trouble to get exactly what I wanted," Frank paused a moment, hoping for some kind of response. "I was upset – and angry – that it seemed like all her efforts were wiped out in one afternoon. I took it out on you and you didn’t deserve it. I’m sorry, Joe…really sorry."

Joe was silent, squinting in the glare of the bright sunlight reflecting off the snow.

Reaching out, Frank laid a hand on Joe’s shoulder. "Joe…you know you’re more important to me than any computer – no matter who gave it to me," he said quietly.

During his walk, it occurred to Frank that Joe had simply lashed out at him, knowing the accusation that some inanimate object was more important to him than Joe was, would cut him deeply. And initially it had; until he realized Joe didn’t mean it. The words he had flung at Joe without thinking had obviously stung his brother more than Joe wanted to admit. Accusing Frank of not caring about him was simply Joe’s way of covering up the pain.

Finally Joe sighed, breaking his silence. "Yeah, I know. But everything you said really hurt. I just…I wanted to..." Joe shrugged, deciding not to voice his true feelings.

"You wanted to make me hurt too?" Frank guessed.

This time Joe shook his head. He turned to face Frank, eyes hidden behind his sunglasses. "Gee, when you put it that way it sounds pretty childish," Joe said wryly.

Frank laughed softly at Joe’s accurate assessment. "I think we were both pretty childish."

"But you started it," Joe couldn’t help but tease.

"That I did," Frank agreed, turning a bit more serious. "And I regret it. Being angry is one thing. Taking it out on you is something entirely different." Frank squeezed Joe’s shoulder. "By the way, thanks for getting my computer back so fast. You’re a pretty good detective, ya know?"

"Whaddya mean ‘pretty good’?" Joe’s lips twitched upward towards a smile as he pretended to sound offended.

Frank shook his head and chuckled. "Boy, if all those people who think we never fight could see us now..."

"At least it’s nice to know we’re normal," Joe shrugged.

Frank arched an eyebrow. "Normal?" He looked at his brother dubiously. "Let’s not get carried away there, bro."

As Joe’s contagious laugh rang out, Frank knew all was forgiven. "So what are you up for today?" Frank asked standing up. "Skiing or snowboarding?" He offered Joe a hand and pulled him to his feet.

"Boarding, of course," Joe smiled and Frank swore he could see those blue eyes twinkling behind the sunglasses.

"That’s because you know you’re better at it than I am," Frank admitted. "But just wait’ll we start skiing those black diamond runs. You’ll be eating my dust – or snow, as the case may be," he teased.

"Yeah, yeah, you’re all talk, old man," Joe retorted, knowing Frank was absolutely right. While Joe had it all over Frank when it came to snowboarding, Frank was a natural skier. At one time Joe had encouraged Frank to turn pro, or at least to try out for the Olympic team. Frank quickly vetoed both ideas, insisting he wasn’t nearly that good. Nor did he want to spoil the real reason he skied - for the sheer enjoyment of it; something he feared would disappear immediately should he try to make a living at it.