"Would either of you be able to give me any more details on what exactly happened to Joe when he was a child? These papers give a brief description but in order to help him, I’ll need as much information as possible." He glanced at the bed, where Joe was curled up facing the opposite wall. "Unfortunately, I can’t ask Joe himself."

Fenton took a deep breath before replying. "I can give you all the information you need, doctor." He watched as Vanessa walked to the opposite side of the bed and kneeled on the floor, looking Joe in the eyes. "But could we do it somewhere else. Your office, perhaps?"

"Certainly. Right this way." Dr. Fitzwater said.

Fenton hugged his wife tightly and kissed her on the cheek before following the doctor out of the room.

"Morning, Baby." Vanessa whispered, kissing Joe on the cheek. His face held no expression at all. His eyes were wide open but they were staring vacantly out into space, dull and lifeless. She wanted to turn and run back to their apartment, where she could tell herself Joe was simply out of town on a case and would be home very soon. She didn't want to acknowledge and accept this is what their lives had become. She suddenly became terrified as the worst case scenarios swirled around in her head. She felt the panic surge, the flashbacks trying to push their way to the surface. She almost lost control before she realized if she fell apart now, when Joe needed her most, Chris Taylor would win. Joshua Tilghman would win. She vowed never to let that happen.

Vanessa pulled up a chair and sat next to the bed holding Joe’s hand tightly. She had hoped that by the time she arrived, Joe would have been more aware of his surroundings. Secretly, Vanessa had hoped that when she walked through the door of his room, he would look up at her, smile and greet her with "Hey, Baby!" even though she knew she was hoping in vain. When she saw Joe's face, she understood there would be no quick recovery. Bringing Joe's hand to her lips, she kissed it softly.

Hoping that some part of the Joe she knew and loved was still there, buried under all the torment, Vanessa began talking to Joe. She told him how much she loved him, how she would always be there for him, help him get through this if he would just come back. She drifted into talking about anything and everything from the weather to sports to their wedding, hoping Joe would recognize her voice and find comfort in knowing she was there. She was not going to sit back and quietly watch him slip away. Joe had been there for her at the lowest point in her life and she was determined to do the same for him. She would not give up on him. Ever.

Laura sat back and watched, both thankful for Vanessa and amazed by her. Thankful that Vanessa had found her way into Joe's life and helped him return to the happy, fun-loving person he had been before Iola Morton was killed. She prayed Vanessa could work that magic one more time. Laura found she was also amazed by the inner strength Vanessa had shown ever since the trial started. She had been so strong and supportive of Joe, it was easy to forget she was still dealing with her own painful recovery.

A while later Fenton returned to the room, looking drawn and pale. Laura knew reliving this horror was almost as hard on him as it was on Joe. She recalled the many nights, after Joe had been found, that Fenton sat in his office and cried - for his son and for all the children who had endured even worse fates than Joe had. As Fenton pulled up a chair next to his wife and took her hand in his, Laura wondered if Fenton would find himself back in therapy, once again before this nightmare was finally over.

This day seemed to be the longest Fenton could ever recall. He and Laura had sat and watched in awe as Vanessa kept up a continuous, one-way conversation with Joe, stopping only when the doctors or nurses would come in to check on him. At lunchtime, Biff and Phil had stopped by to see Joe, hoping he had improved. Seeing the devastated looks on their faces broke Laura's heart. It continued like that throughout the day and into the early evening with Joe's friends either calling or stopping by to see how he was doing. Callie arrived as soon as she finished work for the day, sitting next to Vanessa offering her friend comfort and strength. Right before visiting hours ended Ezra Collig and Con Riley appeared in Joe's room, both shocked at what had happened.

"I'm so sorry." Chief Collig said sadly. "If only we had caught Taylor sooner, none of this would have happened."

"Ezra, you did the best you could. Everyone did. And Joe would have remembered eventually." Fenton told him. Looking closely at his old friend, Fenton thought he saw tears in Ezra Collig's eyes. Putting an arm on his shoulder, Fenton led him out into the hall, where Ezra quickly wiped away a few tears.

"I'm sorry." Ezra said again, glancing at the door. "You know over the years Joe has kept me on my toes. His unorthodox methods of investigating, the way he stretches the truth just a bit, rushes in without thinking about the consequences have annoyed me no end, but…" he stopped for a moment, drawing in a deep shaky breath. "I really miss him."

Fenton was momentarily shocked. He knew Ezra was fond of his sons but had no idea how much he really cared about them.

"I know, Ezra. We all do." Fenton said quietly. "Thanks for stopping by. I know in my heart Joe will get better. I refuse to believe otherwise. And when he does, I'll tell him you were here."

Ezra nodded, wiping his eyes. "Thank you. But, uh, you can leave out the part about how much I miss him." He smiled.

"I will." Fenton said laughing. He had forgotten how good it felt to laugh.

Shortly after Con and Ezra left, visiting hours concluded and Fenton, Laura and Vanessa returned to the Hardy home. Vanessa picked at the dinner Laura prepared, but after a few moments excused herself and retreated up the stairs to Joe's old bedroom. Laura and Fenton finished their dinner in silence, each lost in their own thoughts about what the future held for their youngest son. After helping Laura with the dinner dishes, Fenton retreated to his office and waited. He knew Frank would be calling as soon as he returned to the hotel. He hoped Frank would have better news for him than he had for Frank. Shortly after ten, the phone rang.

"Hello."

"Dad, how's Joe? Any change?" Frank asked the second his father had answered.

"I'm afraid not. He's still the same." He replied.

Frank sat on the bed, biting his lip, trying to keep the tears from coming. He desperately wanted to hear something - anything - to indicate Joe was improving at least a little bit.

"I know it's not what you wanted to hear, Frank. We were all hoping he'd recognize something or someone but…" His voice trailed off. "Hopefully, things will be better tomorrow. Joe will get better. I know he will." Fenton said, trying to convince himself as much as Frank. "Now tell me what happened with Angela Taylor." He changed the subject, hoping to distract Frank from worrying about his brother, even if it were only for a few minutes. "I'm hoping your news is better than mine."

"Not much. Angela Taylor was very willing to talk to me about her son and even a little bit about Tilghman. She's really been through the wringer. She confirmed that her son hated Joe to the point of obsession and blamed Joe completely for Tilghman going to prison. Apparently Taylor was very close to his father before he was arrested."

"Was she able to give you anything at all? Any information we can use?" Fenton asked, feeling desperation start to creep up on him.

"She did say Taylor had some kind of journal that he wrote in daily. He wrote letters to his father in it describing how much he hated Joe and detailing his plans for revenge. One day her second husband found it and that's how they found out about his obsession with Joe. Unfortunately, Taylor removed that journal, and any other personal things that were important to him from the house. Then a week before his 18^th birthday, he left home and she never heard from him again."

"That poor woman." Fenton said sadly. He couldn't even imagine losing one of his sons like that. "But this proves you were right, Frank. Taylor did keep a written record of everything he did and still planned to do. If you can find it, the jury will have no choice but to vote not guilty."

Realizing there was nothing more to discuss, Frank ended the conversation. "I'll call you tomorrow."

"Ok. Talk to you then." Fenton replied tiredly.

"Dad?"

"Yes."

"When you see Joe tomorrow tell him…tell him I miss him and I'll be home soon." Frank said, his voice thick with emotion.

"I will, son. Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Frank said, hanging up the phone.

Alone in his hotel room, Frank lay down on the bed and cried.

Turning off the lights, Fenton slowly climbed the stairs hoping sleep would provide a much needed respite from this nightmare. Climbing into bed next to his wife, he prayed the morning would bring some small bit of good news. He did not want to admit it to himself much less anybody else, but he was starting to lose hope of a happy ending for Joe and Vanessa. He desperately wanted to believe Joe would recover, the outcome of the trial would be in his favor and by this time next year, Joe and Vanessa would be newlyweds.

'Please, God.' He prayed. 'Give me something - anything - to hold on to.' As he closed his eyes all he could see was Joe curled up in the hospital bed, lost to the world. He couldn't stop the tears that led him into a fitful sleep.

Fenton Hardy found that sleep did not come easily these days and awoke several hours later. In those early morning hours, unable to sleep, he retreated to his office as he had done so often lately, hoping the problems of others would distract him from his own. However, as he sat at his desk staring at the long list of messages he had retrieved from his office voice mail, he found the distraction was not going to work this time. For the first time in his life, he did not care about all these people who needed him to solve a crime, oversee their security or find a lost loved one. He had his own lost loved one and he was starting to fear he would never get his son back.

Thinking back on his life, he wondered if maybe he had taken it for granted and never been quite thankful enough for all he had been blessed with, and now his family was paying for it. When Frank was born, he and Laura were thrilled beyond words. When Joe came along a year later, their family was complete. Their boys were happy and healthy and had a very special bond Fenton had never seen before in his life. They were as different as night and day and yet they were inseparable.

There was never a dull moment with Joe in their lives. Fenton smiled fondly at the memories of his youngest son who he had nicknamed Tornado Joe for his ability to enter a room, wreak utter havoc for thirty seconds, and then seemingly disappear. Lord knows Joe needed constant supervision, especially when he was young, and Frank had taken on the role proudly. Joe had come to depend on his older brother for friendship, companionship and protection. Even when Joe was being punished for breaking one rule or another, Frank would hover close by to make sure Fenton was not being too harsh with his little brother.

Fenton chuckled recalling the night in the hospital when Frank had solemnly presented his little brother with Bear. Joe was terrified of spending the night alone in the hospital and Frank had wanted to give his brother something to calm his fears. Fenton clearly remembered standing with Laura, watching Frank in one of his finer big brother moments.

"Oh, dear God!" Fenton drew in a sharp breath. In that instant, everything suddenly became crystal clear. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t seen it before!

‘He promised.’ Fenton heard Joe’s voice clearly. ‘He never came. He never came.’ He could see Joe sitting on the floor repeating those three words endlessly. He grabbed the phone, frantically punching in the number on the post it note.

One ring, two, three. "Answer the phone, damn it!"

"Hello?" the voice was half asleep, but it was Frank’s.

"Frank!" Fenton practically screamed into the phone. "You have to come home! NOW!"

"Is it Joe?" Frank was instantly awake despite the early hour in Los Angeles.

"Yes! He’s waiting for you, Frank! He was waiting for you then and he’s waiting for you now!" Fenton cried into the phone.

"Dad, calm down." Frank said in a soothing voice. His father was making no sense and Frank was starting to think he had finally snapped. "You aren’t making any sense. Calm down and explain it to me slowly."

Fenton took in a deep, ragged breath, realizing how ridiculous he must sound.

"Frank, do you remember when you gave Bear to Joe?" he asked only slightly more composed.

"Yes. Well, not in great detail, but yes, I remember."

"Well, I do recall it in great detail. Frank, he asked you what would happen if Bear wasn’t with him and you weren’t around. What would happen if the monsters came."

"Ok, I don’t remember that exactly but if you say so. What did I tell him?"

"You said that you would come back. You promised him. If he was in trouble, wherever you were, you would always come back for him." Fenton’s voice broke. "Don’t you see? He’s in trouble and he’s waiting for you to come back."

Frank immediately understood and his eyes filled with tears. "He was waiting for me to come rescue him from Tilghman."

"Yes! And he’s waiting for you now. I just can't believe I didn't see it sooner."

"But you said he doesn’t respond to anyone." Frank didn’t want to get his hopes up. What if his father was just grasping at straws?

"You’re not just anyone to him, Frank. I know in my heart he’s waiting for you to come. I know he’ll respond to you." He didn’t try to hide his grief from his oldest son. "I want my son back, and you’re the only one who can give him to me."

Frank had never heard his father sound so brokenhearted. All the comments Fenton had made over the last month about how much he missed hearing Joe’s laugh and seeing his infectious smile replayed themselves in Frank’s mind – and heart. He had always thought of his father as emotionally invincible. He was suddenly ashamed that he hadn’t even noticed how devastated his father was having watched Joe’s downward spiral first hand.

"I’m sorry, Frank. I know I practically ordered you to stay in Los Angeles, but you were right. I should have let you come home immediately."

Frank wasn’t positive, but he thought his father was crying. "It’s ok, Dad. Don’t worry about that now. Let me call the airlines and see how soon I can get a flight out of here. I’ll call you back in half an hour."

"Thank you." Fenton whispered.

Frank suddenly felt the need to take care of his father. "It’ll be all right, Dad. I’ll be home by tonight."