Joe stood alone in the kitchen, staring at the front page of the newspaper.  After arriving home, Frank had pulled him aside while Vanessa was talking to her mother and Laura, and repeated what Liz had told him.  Joe had no idea how he had managed to keep his temper under control and fight off the overwhelming urge to hit something or someone.  He realized, with disgust, that he was getting very good at hiding his true feelings from Vanessa.

Shaking his head, he carefully ripped the front page off the newspaper.  Tearing it into small pieces, he put them in a plastic bag and shoved it to the bottom of the trash can.  The remainder of the paper was buried halfway down in the recycle bin.  He had no delusions that Vanessa wasn't going to find out about the article eventually, but if he had his way, it would not be today. 

Sitting through the bail hearing really had been too much for her.  She had isolated herself at home, because she was now afraid to be around anyone she did not know well.  Sitting in the packed courtroom all morning, surrounded by strangers had been absolutely terrifying for her. When Joe had finally arrived in the courtroom he had found Vanessa in the crowd right away, but she hadn't seen him, as she was trying to fight off yet another flashback.  Joe watched her helplessly and wondered how many she already suffered through before he got there.  It made him realize, once again, just how much she loved him and the lengths she would go to for him.  There was no need for her to attend the bail hearing.  She could have easily waited at home with her mother until Joe was released and returned to their apartment.  Putting herself in a situation where she was being crowded by strangers was too big a step for her to take at this early stage in her recovery.  It could easily wipe out all the progress she had made in the past few days.  But she had insisted on going to the hearing.  She wanted to be there for Joe and no one was going to stop her.

Sitting down at the kitchen table, Joe leaned forward resting his head on his arms, eyes closed.  The newspaper article kept flashing before him.  He had read it so many times he practically had it committed to memory.

'Jennifer Gregg.' He recalled the name on the byline. 'We've never met, Ms. Gregg, and you better hope we never do.'

He could deal with all the innuendo and half-truths she had written about him.  The gist of the article was that upon finding the man who had raped his fiancé, Joe had killed him in an act of revenge.  She had smugly followed that with the self-righteous comment that in order to protect the privacy of the rape victim, his fiancé’s name would not be printed.  He knew it was standard policy for The Bayport Times and had always respected Mr. Webling for that.  But in this case, it was a sick joke.  Just about everyone in Bayport knew the name of the woman Joe Hardy intended to marry.

One of the biggest reasons Vanessa had sequestered herself in their apartment, other than fear, was that she thought somehow, just by looking at her, everyone would know she had been raped.  It had been fairly easy for Joe to try to reassure her that couldn't happen.  Now, however, with the article appearing in today’s paper, she would be absolutely right.  Joe didn't care what Jennifer Gregg had to say about him, but she had hurt Vanessa in the process and that crossed the line.  He didn't know how, where, or when, but Joe vowed Jennifer Gregg would pay for that.

Unfortunately, the article was also forcing Joe to face some chilling realities.  Although it was deliberately inflammatory and by all rights should be relegated to the supermarket checkout line, it had contained some elements of truth that, up until now, Joe had just not acknowledged.  For one, the circumstantial evidence against him, and there was plenty of it, made it seem he had indeed killed Chris Taylor after Taylor had surrendered.  Alone in the jail cell, he'd had time to replay the whole, ugly night in his mind over and over again.

When the back up Evan had urgently requested began to arrive, Joe and Taylor were already fighting for control of his gun.  Everyone else involved, including his brother and father, were quite a ways back from where Joe and Taylor had ended up.  Since he was bigger than Taylor, Joe realized he had to be obstructing their view of what was happening.  They were also far enough away that those anxiously watching and waiting - and listening - would hear only what Taylor wanted them to hear.  With a sinking heart, Joe finally admitted to himself that no one else other than him had heard Taylor say he was going to die that night and Joe would have to pay for it.

That reminded Joe he had a whole list of questions that he wanted answers to. While he knew Frank could probably tell him much of what he needed to know, his father was the one person that he was certain had all the answers.  Recalling the very strange exchange between his father and Taylor, he began to understand there was a lot more going on here than he had been told.  He knew it had to be connected, somehow, to all the lies Frank and his father had told him.  Taylor had said if Joe had just done what he was told, if his father had not been a hero, none of this would have happened.

'If I'd only done what I was told?  When?  I never even met Taylor before last night!'

He sat upright, recalling the words Taylor had whispered just for him.  'It may have taken seventeen years, but you'll finally get what my father had intended for you all along.'

Whatever Taylor was referring to would have occurred when Joe was only six years old.  He tried to think back that far but most of those memories were pretty fuzzy.  And if something bad had happened when he was a child, he was sure he'd remember it.  Other than the terrifying summer Frank had been diagnosed with leukemia, the two of them had what Joe would consider a perfect childhood.

'Besides, I've never even met Taylor's father.' 

That triggered the memory of Taylor's last words.  'You can thank your Daddy for all this.'  There was no doubt in Joe's mind, his father held the key to everything. 

'Dad…' 

Joe swallowed hard, a lump forming in his throat.  He knew it should be impossible to get your hands on half a million dollars in cash in just a few hours.  But somehow, his father had managed to move heaven and earth and do just that to make sure he did not have to spend one more night in jail.  He also knew Frank had played a part in getting the bail money, too.  No matter what had happened last night, no matter how many angry words had been said, there was no doubt in his mind that his family loved him and would do absolutely anything to protect him.

Getting up from the table, he walked into the living room and lay down on the couch.  He had tried to sleep right after everyone had left but the little boy he had dreamt about in jail had returned.  Joe shivered, thinking about the scared little boy whose parents were dead and the terror the little boy had felt.  He was thankful it was just a dream; no child should have to feel such fear.

Still unable to sleep, Joe began to worry about the upcoming trial.  He had finally admitted to himself that the circumstances surrounding the shooting were such that there was a good chance he could be convicted.  Every single one of the witnesses was involved in law enforcement in one capacity or another.  Their "eye witness" testimony would be given great weight.  And there was no doubt in his mind that Dennis Seevers would call Frank and his father as his star witnesses, hostile or not.  There was just no way around the fact that their testimony would be the most damaging of all and could go a long way towards getting him sent to prison.

Reflecting on how things must have looked from where they stood, he could almost understand, at least initially, how they might think he had pulled the trigger. He still didn't understand why they didn't believe him when he told them what had really taken place, but he no longer doubted their love for him.

Joe felt a cold fear starting to grow in his heart.  He knew what would happen to him in prison should the unthinkable occur and he was actually found guilty.  Trying to halt the growing fear, he thought of Vanessa.  Fortunately, she had been able to fall asleep and apparently was doing so peacefully.  He had felt so lucky that she had found her way into his life.  Without her, he never would have been able to fully get past Iola's death.  What would happen to Vanessa if he ended up in prison?  Another worry to add to the mountain of worries that seemed to be burying him.

He finally started to drift off to sleep and hoped the scared little boy would leave him alone long enough to get some much needed rest.

 

Frank sat on a leather couch in the spacious, elegantly decorated reception area of Andrew Worth’s law firm.  He was waiting while Andrew interviewed his father about the shooting, after which he would meet with Andrew and go through the same process.  Leaning back into the big, comfortable cushions, he took advantage of the first opportunity he’d had to really think about what had happened and exactly what he saw.

Frank and his father had been at the police station until well after midnight and from there had begun tracking down Dennis Seevers.  The District Attorney, who was an old friend of Fenton’s, was away on vacation.  They needed to get in touch with him and hopefully convince him to return to Bayport right away and take over Joe’s case.  If Edward Bennett were left in charge of it, Joe could end up in prison facing the death penalty.

Luckily, Dennis willingly agreed to return home and take over prosecuting Joe’s case, something Edward Bennett was not at all happy about.  From there Frank had been able to catch a few hours of restless sleep before he and his father were in meetings with Dennis and Andrew, working out the details of Joe’s bail.  Dennis had felt terrible setting the bail so high, and in cash, but given the charges he did not want it to appear he was giving Joe preferential treatment. 

Frank was sure they would never be able to come up with that much cash so quickly.  The forms he and his father had to complete at the bank seemed to be endless and he knew it usually took at least a day or two for final approval to be given.  He watched in awe as his father made a few well-placed phone calls and called in some favors to get their paperwork approved immediately.  After a final stop so Fenton could cash in some stocks to get the remainder of the money, they rushed to the courthouse and arrived just as Joe’s bail hearing began.

The rest of the morning was an emotional roller coaster for everyone.  Frank was sure the fact that the initial charge of first-degree murder had not been reduced, as Dennis Seevers had requested, was not a “miscommunication” at all.  He was sure it was a final dig at his brother by Edward Bennett. Throughout the hearing, Frank had tried to keep an eye on Vanessa.  A few times, he thought she was going to lose it and break down right there in the courtroom.  She probably shouldn’t have been there, but her fierce devotion to Joe would not let her do anything else.  Frank admired the courage it took for her to endure the whole thing; he knew how scared she was just being there but to those who didn’t know her, it never showed.

The article on the front page of The Bayport Times had just about been the last straw.  It was sensational and inflammatory and, while there were no outright lies printed, it also bared little resemblance to the truth.  Frank knew the public would just eat it up.  He took a little consolation in the fact that if his father had anything to say about it, Jennifer Gregg was probably packing up her desk right about now. 

One of the hardest things Frank had to do was tell Joe about the article, but he didn’t want Joe to hear about it from anyone else.  Expecting a repeat performance of Joe’s destructive rage the night Vanessa had been raped, he had been somewhat surprised at his brother’s reaction.  He knew Joe was boiling mad but he kept it well hidden, for Vanessa’s sake.  Joe knew she would find out about the article eventually, but he did not want it to be today; the bail hearing alone was more than enough for her to deal with in one day.

Frank felt himself growing angry thinking of all the trouble that article would cause.  What had happened to Vanessa was horrible and to have it splashed across the front page of the paper was appalling.  Jennifer Gregg had made a point of saying the victims name would not be published as if that made any difference.  It was common knowledge in Bayport that Joe and Vanessa were engaged. 

‘I hope I get to meet you, Ms. Gregg, before you are run out of town so I can tell you exactly what I think of you.’

That had brought him to his present situation of waiting to be interviewed by Andrew.  From the moment Joe had been whisked away in handcuffs, something about the whole incident had been nagging at Frank, although he couldn’t put his finger on exactly what it was.  He thought again, slowly and methodically, about what he had seen and heard.  Joe had been under a huge emotional strain the past week and had probably been pushed to his limits last night; especially with the way Taylor was baiting him.  When he combined that with what he saw, he had to concede that Joe probably just snapped under the strain and did pull the trigger.  

Frank was so much like his father in the logical, methodical way he looked at a case.  He always based his judgments on tangible evidence and facts, rarely letting his emotions and feelings get in the way.  Joe was the one who always thought first with his heart and then with his head. 

As if the light bulb had suddenly been turned on, Frank realized that was what was bothering him.  He had been trying so hard not to let his emotions get in the way since his brother was the one being accused, he wasn’t paying attention to the most important detail of all.  No matter how neatly and logically the pieces fit together in his head, his heart told him there was no way Joe could kill anyone.  He had no tangible proof other than the fact that he knew his brother better than he knew anyone. He finally realized that was all the proof he really needed.  Joe did not kill Chris Taylor.

Frank felt as if the weight of the world had been lifted from his shoulders.  He only wished he’d had this revelation last night.  Joe was one of the most forgiving people he knew; Frank hoped Joe would somehow be able to forgive him for this.

 

Joe rolled over, still half-asleep trying to find a more comfortable position for his six-foot frame on the less than six-foot couch.  He heard a phone ring and thought he should get up to answer it, but he just didn’t feel like moving.  The ringing stopped and he heard the soft murmur of Vanessa speaking to whoever it was in a whisper.  A moment later, there was silence and the presence of someone standing next to the couch.

“Yeah, I’m awake.” Joe said, eyes still closed.

“You can read minds now, too?” he could tell Vanessa was smiling by the tone in her voice and that made him smile.

“Only yours, Babe.”  He rolled over onto his back and adjusted his legs so Vanessa could sit on the couch.

“That was Frank on the phone.  He just left Andrew’s office and wanted to stop by.”  She hesitated a moment.  “I told him that was fine.”

Joe finally opened his eyes and looked at her.

“Is it?” she asked a bit cautiously.

“Sure, that’s fine.” He replied and found that he really meant it.  Joe wanted his big brother back and that wasn’t going to happen until they had a heart to heart talk and cleared the air.  Then there was the matter of the half a million dollars Frank had helped raise to pay his bail.  ‘How can you ever thank someone for that?’

“So what are you hiding?”  Joe asked.

“What?” Vanessa responded with a deer-caught-in-the-headlights look.

“Behind your back.” He gestured with his chin.  “What are you hiding behind your back?”

With a sheepish look, she produced Bear.  That morning when she was packing up her things to leave the Hardy’s, she started to return Bear to the closet.  Instead, she impulsively threw him in her bag.  She wasn’t quite sure how Joe would react but seeing the look on his face now, she knew she had done the right thing.

Joe quickly pushed himself up to a sitting position.  With his mouth half open he stared at the old, worn out, stuffed bear with one eye.

“Bear.” He whispered, as if greeting an old friend he hadn’t seen in years.  Vanessa reached out and put the bear in his hands.  She watched as he continued to stare at the little stuffed bear and could almost see all the happy childhood memories flashing before his eyes.

“Frank gave me Bear when I was four.” He said in a hushed voice.  “I had to have my tonsils out and was terrified of staying in the hospital alone.  I begged Mom and Dad to let Frank stay with me.  They said he couldn’t stay so he bought Bear instead...”  Joe smiled at the memory. “…to protect me.”  He looked up for a moment and Vanessa saw that familiar twinkle in his blue eyes.  “Hey, what did I know?  I was only four!”

She giggled softly and he returned his gaze to the beat up, old stuffed toy.

“Frank broke open his piggy bank to buy this for me.  He spent every last cent he had.”

'Spent every last cent he had to protect me.  Just like this morning…' 

Now completely lost in his childhood, Joe didn’t hear the buzzing of the intercom or notice that Vanessa had gotten up to answer it.  He didn’t hear the door open or realize that Vanessa had left the room.

“Wow, I haven’t seen him in years.”

The familiar voice snapped Joe out of his trip down memory lane.  Standing up, Joe faced his older brother. Clutching Bear in one hand, he covered the distance to his brother in two, long strides.  Putting his arms around Frank, Joe hugged him as tightly as he could.

Taken off guard, but thrilled at Joe's change in attitude, Frank held onto his younger brother just as tightly.

“Don’t worry, baby brother. I’m back.”

Watching from the hall, Vanessa turned and retreated to the bedroom giving the brothers some privacy, confident she had done the right thing in bringing Bear home.

The Hardy Boys belong to Simon and Schuster and the Stratemeyer Foundation, The authors have just borrowed them for an adventure or two. The authors promise to put the boys back when they are done with them. The authors do claim copyright to the original characters in this story. Please do not borrow them without expressed permission of the authors.