"Fine." Joe responded, subdued. Sitting in a chair, he made no effort to engage his brother in conversation, simply staring off into space.

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

"Fine." Joe repeated in the same low voice.

"Okay." Frank tried a different tack. "Is there anything you want to talk about? Anything you need to talk about?" He asked quietly.

Joe stared ahead a moment longer, before turning sad and scared blue eyes on his brother. "Vanessa’s doctor called yesterday. She has to go for her next blood test this month." He replied shifting his gaze back out into space

Folding the paper and placing it on the table in front of the couch, Frank scooted down a little on the couch, shifting closer to the chair Joe was sitting in.

"It’s been six months, right?" Frank asked gently.

Joe simply nodded in response.

"She already tested negative the first time, when they did the initial test. And again three months ago." Frank reminded him.

Joe nodded again, still remaining unnaturally silent.

"Aren’t the chances of her testing positive now – at six months – pretty slim?"

"Yeah." Joe finally spoke, albeit very softly. "Fifty percent of the people infected with HIV test positive within three weeks of the time they were exposed. Almost everyone who was infected will test positive by three months after they were exposed. But a small number of people take six months before they test positive." He turned and looked at Frank once again, desperate for some kind of reassurance that Vanessa would not be in that small number.

Frank found himself speechless for a moment, stunned that Joe could rattle off those statistics off the top of his head. He quickly composed himself, seeing Joe was in obvious need of support.

"And the chances of Vanessa being in that small number are pretty small themselves." Frank reminded him. "Besides, you two are about due for some good luck, don’t you think?"

Joe continued staring at his older brother for a moment longer, before the corners of his mouth turned up ever so slightly. "Yeah, we are."

"How’s Vanessa doing?" Frank asked. If Joe were taking it this badly, wouldn’t she be even worse?

"Better than me, I think." Joe laughed dryly. "Man, I wish I was half as strong as she is." He continued softly. "She said pretty much the same thing you did. Can you believe it? She was trying to cheer me up. She’s pretty amazing, huh?’ Joe smiled once again.

"Yes, she is." Frank agreed, relieved to see Joe relax a little bit.

Standing in the doorway, Fenton had heard the entire exchange between his sons. While he couldn’t see Joe’s face, he knew the anguish that would be clearly visible in his eyes if he could. The rage he felt at Joshusa Tilghman and Chris Taylor came bubbling up to the surface. Sadly, he knew that no matter how successful therapy was, no matter how much progress they made, Joe and Vanessa would never be the same again – they’re lives had been changed forever. Burying that hatred deep inside, where it had to stay, Fenton plastered a smile on his face and walked into office.

"Morning, Joe." He said stopping next to his son. "From your mother." Fenton smiled, handing Joe a bag.

"Hi, Dad." Joe returned the smile, his mood having improved slightly after talking with his older brother. He took the bag and looked inside. Sighing he pulled out a large bottle of vitamins. "Between her and Vanessa there’s no way I could forget to take them even if I wanted to." Joe complained good-naturedly, as his father chuckled.

Frank stared at the bottle in his brother’s hand, startled, and hoped it didn’t register on his face. ‘Mom and Dad both knew? Vanessa knew…why did he keep it from me?’

Frank looked at his brother who was sharing some inside joke about Laura’s "gift" with Fenton, when it hit him. If Joe wasn’t willing to share something as mundane as this, Frank wasn’t even close to winning back his brother’s trust.

"What are they for?" Frank asked innocently, gesturing towards the bottle, trying to keep his voice neutral.

Joe slouched back in the chair, and sighed as he put the vitamins back in the bag. "The burns. Dr. Gregory said I have to eat a healthy, well-balanced, nutritious diet." Joe replied, mimicking his doctor. "It’s supposed to help with the scarring." His blue eyes momentarily clouded over, before he looked back at his brother with a grin. "Unfortunately, Dr. Gregory doesn’t seem to think Big Macs and Whoppers are healthy, well-balanced or nutritious. So we compromised. Now I’m popping vitamins like crazy."

"I see." Frank said noncommittally. "When did he tell you this?"

"Couple of weeks ago?" Joe shrugged. "I’m not sure exactly. Why?"

"No reason." Frank replied. "You just never mentioned it before."

"I didn’t?" Joe asked surprised. "I’m sorry. I thought I told you." Joe replied easily. "I meant to."

"You did?" Frank blurted out before he realized what he was saying.

"Sure. Why wouldn’t I?" Joe responded looking at his brother strangely.

"No reason I can think of." Frank replied smiling, never so glad to be wrong about anything in his life.

‘I need to stop being so paranoid!’ Frank chided himself. ‘He is starting to trust me again.’ Frank thought relieved, now more grateful than ever that he hadn’t shared his suspicions about Joe with anyone other than Vanessa.

The morning was spent going over the plans for the stake out at the Winters mansion that night. When Fenton was satisfied that it would go off without a hitch, he suggested Frank and Joe take the afternoon off and rest up, as they weren’t sure exactly when their night would end.

As Frank turned to leave, Joe tapped him on the shoulder. "Frank?"

"Yeah?"

"Um…I just wanted to say, thanks…for earlier." Joe said quietly.

"Earlier?" Frank repeated, puzzled.

"You’re really good at that big brother thing, ya know?" Joe chuckled. "You don’t even know when you’re doing it."

Frank quickly replayed the morning in his head. "Vanessa." He said simply.

"Mm-hmm. And you were right. The positive thinking and all that." Joe said gratefully. "So thanks."

"You’re welcome." Frank smiled. ‘Maybe I haven’t been doing as bad a job at this ‘big brother thing’ as I thought.’

He watched as Joe picked up the bag Fenton had given him earlier. Catching Frank looking at him, Joe simply rolled his eyes causing Frank to laugh out loud.

"Why don’t I treat you to lunch, little brother." Frank said, throwing an arm around Joe’s shoulder. "If you promise not to order a cheeseburger and fries, maybe you can skip the vitamins this time."

"Free food?" Joe’s eyes lit up. "You’re on!"

*****

Frank sat perfectly still, gazing out into the darkened room from his position behind the armoire. The heavy, velvet floor length drapes were partially open and the almost full moon illuminated the shadows. Checking his watch, Frank saw close to two and a half hours had passed since their stake out had begun. Although he couldn’t see his brother, he glanced across the room to where Joe was hidden behind the drapes. Not knowing exactly when the thieves would strike, they couldn’t risk engaging in any type of conversation and Frank knew Joe must be out of his mind with boredom.

Outside the house, Fenton had found a spot among the bushes in the perfectly manicured garden that afforded him a view of both the front and back areas of the mansion. As soon as the thieves arrived and entered the house, he would call the Kirkland police and then provide his sons with back up.

Alone with his thoughts, Fenton sighed inwardly as he recalled how depressed Joe had initially been that morning at the thought of Vanessa’s upcoming blood test. He couldn’t help but wonder why life had taken such a drastic turn for the young couple. Once Joe had finally come to terms with Iola Morton’s death and gave himself permission to move on, Vanessa became the center of his world. Throughout high school and college, many girls had tried to lure him away from Vanessa, and while he would always be an incurable flirt, his commitment to Vanessa was without question.

Their perennially sunny dispositions, eternally positive outlook and carefree, fun-loving attitudes made it easy to believe life would hold only the best for them. Those thoughts were brutally shattered at the beginning of the year and their bad luck seemed to gain momentum with each passing day. The past six months seemed to have thrown more trials at them than anyone should have to endure in a lifetime and yet he found himself marveling at their inner strength and resiliency. Shifting into a more comfortable position, he remembered Frank’s comments to Joe about the odds of Vanessa’s blood test coming back positive and prayed his older son was right.

As Fenton methodically scanned the expanse of lush grass and the gardens in full bloom, he caught the slightest movement coming from the opposite side of the house. Instinctively crouching down a little lower, Fenton watched and soon two men, dressed in black from head to toe, emerged from a small stand of trees. Barely making a sound, they approached the front door. One of the men leaned over and made quick work of the lock. Quietly opening the door, the two men entered the house and Fenton could see one of them stop and punch in the code to deactivate the alarm system as the second one closed the door.

Waiting until he was sure they’d had enough time to make it up the stairs and down the hall to the master bedroom suite, Fenton emerged from his hiding place and immediately called his contact at the Kirkland Police Department. Returning the cell phone to his pocket, he quietly approached the house. Climbing the steps of the front porch, he saw the door had been left open a crack. Easing the door open just enough to get in, Fenton soundlessly made his way up the stairs.

*****

Joe leaned back against the wall wishing he could get up and stretch his cramped limbs. The waiting was starting to get to him and he found himself starting to squirm a little bit, trying not to move the drapes as he did so. Sighing inwardly Joe wished the thieves would hurry up and make their appearance so he could get home to Vanessa.

Somehow, he had lost track of time over the past month or so and was totally caught off guard when Vanessa’s doctor had called reminding her it was time for her next blood test. He hadn’t slept much the night before as his imagination had apparently been working overtime, presenting him with endless scenario’s of how the blood test could turn out, none of them good. The dreams had only served to remind Joe that although it was slim, there was still a chance that he and Vanessa wouldn’t be spending the rest of their lives together – that he could once again end up alone. And that thought terrified him. Even though they rarely spent their free time apart these days, Joe still felt as if their time together wasn’t enough, sometimes wishing he could spend every waking moment with Vanessa.

Iola Morton had been Joe’s first crush, his first love and her death had almost destroyed him. Vanessa, he had come to realize, was his soul mate and Joe knew if he lost her too, it would be unlikely he could ever recover from that. Burying the anger at the forces that had turned their lives upside down, Joe vowed to try and keep the same positive outlook Vanessa had displayed. This blood test would come back negative just as the others had. It had to…

The door to the dressing lounge opened with a barely audible squeak although to Joe it sounded like fingernails on a chalkboard and quickly brought him back to the present. He could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand up and every muscle in his body tensed. He had positioned himself in such a way that he had a clear view of the room, although he was completely hidden.

Joe watched as two men walked into the room, neither one making a sound. Even though he couldn’t see his brother, he knew Frank was also watching every move the two intruders made, ready to strike. Joe held his breath as the two men approached his hiding place near the safe and one of them knelt down on the floor in front of the metal fortress.

‘These guys are good.’ Joe thought as he watched the man methodically turn the dial, listening intently. They were so close Joe could hear the man breathing and instinctively held his own breath.

As the last tumbler clicked into place, the thief turned the handle on the door of the safe and easily pulled it open. Joe felt his heart start to race as he watched the man remove the jewelry from the safe and place it in the small black bag he had placed on the floor. Hoping Frank’s view wasn’t completely blocked by the two men huddled in front of the safe, Joe prepared to move. As agreed, he waited until the door to the safe was closed and locked once again, so the jewels were squarely in the men’s possession.