"Room 408." She supplied the room number.

"It may take a minute or two for us to talk Andrea into leaving, so don’t rush it." Frank warned his brother. "I doubt she’ll be able to recognize you, but there’s no sense pushing our luck."

"Frank?" Joe asked, his voice tinged with anxiety as a disturbing thought occurred to him. "Does Andrea think I did it?"

"No!" Callie said quickly. "I stopped by to see Van this morning. Andrea doesn’t believe you could hurt Vanessa under any circumstances. In fact, she said to make sure I told you that. Sorry, it must have slipped my mind." She shrugged apologetically.

"That’s okay." Joe told her visibly relieved. "See you upstairs." He waved over his shoulder as he disappeared through the door.

*****

Frank and Callie stepped off the elevator on the fourth floor and headed towards room 408.

"There he is." Frank murmured, giving Callie’s hand a little squeeze.

Glancing down the hall, Callie saw a red haired young man in green hospital scrubs who appeared to be studying the large wipe off board on the wall next to the nurse’s station. Stopping outside Vanessa’s room, Frank surreptitiously watched his brother as he reviewed the plan with Callie one final time. She would talk Andrea into going down to the cafeteria for a cup of coffee, while Frank would offer to sit with Vanessa, promising to call Callie’s cell phone if Vanessa should wake up while they were gone.

"As soon as you’re ready to come back, send me a message on my cell so I can get Joe out of there." Frank said nervously.

"I will." Callie reassured him. "Try not to worry." She smiled. "I’m sure it’ll all work out fine."

"I hope so. If it doesn’t, Joe will end up in prison and I’ll end up dead." Frank replied morbidly.

"Excuse me?" Callie asked in surprise.

"If Dad finds out I helped Joe violate the restraining order, he’ll kill me for sure." Frank muttered, shaking his head. With a final glance down the hall, Frank saw Joe staring back at him impatiently. Sighing, Frank pushed the door open and got the shock of his life.

"Mom!" He exclaimed. "What…what are you doing here?!"

"Visiting." Laura said, her eyes narrowing in suspicion at Frank’s startled reaction to her presence. "I could ask you the same thing. Weren’t you supposed to take Joe to get some clothes and then bring him by our house?"

"Yes." Frank replied simply, his mind still reeling at this unexpected turn of events.

"So he’s there with your father now?" Laura asked with a piercing gaze. Her internal "mother radar" was throwing off the kinds of signals she hadn’t gotten since Frank and Joe were small and had just been caught doing something they had been expressly forbidden to do.

"He wanted to go by our house for a while first." Callie replied, having regained her composure much faster than Frank. "So we wanted to come see Vanessa while we had the chance." Callie explained, and then turned to Andrea. "I’m sure you haven’t left this room since last night, have you?" She asked, sympathetically.

Andrea Bender smiled sadly, her hazel eyes red rimmed and swollen from crying. Shaking her head, her dark blonde hair fell across one shoulder. "No." She said quietly, turning back to look at her daughter.

"That’s what I thought. Why don’t the three of us go down to the cafeteria and get a cup of coffee?" Callie suggested. "Frank can stay with Vanessa. He’ll call if she wakes up while we’re gone." She said, holding up her cell phone.

"No, I couldn’t." Andrea replied, instinctively moving the chair closer to the bed and her injured child.

"Actually, I think that’s a good idea, Andrea." Laura said gently, surprising both Callie and Frank.

"If it’s alright with you," Frank began looking at Andrea, "I’d like to spend a little time with Vanessa. I promise I’ll call immediately if there’s any change at all."

"Fifteen minutes, Andrea. That’s all." Laura prodded her. "Believe me, I’ve been in your position more times than I care to remember. The change really will do you good."

Andrea sat silently, considering Laura’s words for a moment. She then stood up and leaned down placing a feather light kiss on the top of Vanessa’s head. "I’ll be back in a few minutes, honey. But you won’t be alone. Frank will be right here with you, okay?" She gazed at her daughter a moment longer then turned and started for the door, coming to an abrupt stop in front of Callie.

"You gave Joe my message didn’t you?" She asked, concerned.

"Yes," Callie nodded. "I did."

"Good." Andrea replied absently, slowly making her way out the door. Callie and Laura followed with only Callie throwing a glance at the red headed orderly hovering just across the hall.

Alone in the room, Frank got his first good look at Vanessa and his heart filled with sadness. Sterile, white bandages were wound snugly around her head and he could tell where she had struck her head when she fell by the bruising creeping out from under the bandage and beginning to circle her right eye. A small plastic line just under her nose helped supply Vanessa with oxygen, and she had an IV in one hand, ensuring she got plenty of fluids.

"Who did this to you, Van?" Frank said aloud, wishing she were able to answer him.

A sharp gasp startled Frank and he turned to see Joe standing just inside the room, his face pale. Watching his brother carefully, Frank thought he saw a lone tear run down Joe’s cheek. Wordlessly, Frank walked to the door, patted Joe on the shoulder and left the room.

Staring at his girlfriend, looking fragile and helpless, Joe fought back the emotions that wanted to take control of him. He knew he only had a few minutes with Vanessa and didn’t want to waste them. Taking a seat in the chair Andrea had pulled up next to the bed, Joe reached through the rail and gently took Vanessa’s hand in his. A feeling of dread washed over him as he noted the broken fingernails and bruises on her hands and wondered if they matched up with the scratches and bruising on his face.

"Hey, Baby." Joe said, unable to control the tremor in his voice, desperately hoping he wasn’t the reason she was here. "Guess we had a pretty rough night last night, huh? I may not be able to come back and see you for a while. At least not until we find out exactly what happened...who did this to you." Joe’s voice cracked on the last few words, and the emotions started to break through the barrier he had erected. "I’m sorry, Van. I’m so sorry I couldn’t protect you. I promise, if you come back to me, I promise I’ll do better." Joe begged, dropping his head. "I need you…so much more than you need me."

Looking up again, Joe stared at Vanessa, holding her hand tightly. He didn’t want to break the physical connection, not knowing when – or if – he would ever get the chance to hold her again. Steadying his nerves, Joe continued talking to Vanessa hoping she might recognize his voice and know he was there, even if she couldn’t respond.

"Just because I can’t come see you, doesn’t mean I won’t be thinking of you, because I will. Every single minute. Every second." Joe stopped, hesitating. He wanted to tell her if she would just wake up and explain what had happened, the restraining order would be lifted and they could be together, but something stopped him. The ‘something’ that told him there was a chance that when Vanessa did awaken and identify her attacker, she could be pointing directly at him.

Checking his watch, Joe knew his time was almost up. Standing up, he hovered over the bed. With a shaking hand, Joe reached out, tenderly stroking Vanessa’s cheek. "Please come home, Baby." He whispered. Leaning down, he gently pressed his lips to hers.

*****

Just outside the room, Frank leaned against the wall, frequently glancing at the clock on the wall over the nurse’s station. As his cell phone vibrated in a silent signal, he began walking down the hall to Vanessa’s room knowing it would be Callie. Pulling the phone out of his pocket, he checked the short message on the display.

Arriving at room 408, Frank pushed the door open ready to hustle Joe out, when he was stopped dead in his tracks. Knowing he shouldn’t intrude on such a personal moment, Frank found he was unable to turn away, struck by the utter poignancy.

"Please come home, Baby." Frank heard Joe’s whispered plea, his eyes burning and his heart tightening as Joe leaned down softly brushing his lips against Vanessa’s.

In that moment, all the residual anger Frank had directed at his brother for taking such a risk completely vanished. He knew he had done the right thing in helping Joe to see Vanessa, regardless of what the law said. Hating himself for having to tear Joe away from her, he took a few steps into the room.

"Joe. They’re on their way back." He said quietly. "We need to go. Now."