"I said I was sorry," the doctor continued. "There’s no logical explanation for what’s happening to Callie. She’s really in a very precarious situation right now. No matter what we try to do, we can’t seem to stop the bleeding. We’ve given her medication that has stopped the rapid blood loss, temporarily, but we have to watch her very closely. She’s still running a high fever, and she’s slipping in and out of a coma. Honestly, we’re baffled. A miscarriage shouldn’t in any way cause such a severe reaction."

Joe wasn’t sure he heard correctly. He listened to the doctor’s words, and then took another moment to actually process them. When he did, all he could say was, "Thank God," before shaking his head.

"Excuse me?" the doctor went on, perplexed.

"I thought Callie had …died!" Joe choked out the last word. "You aren’t supposed to come out here and tell the family and friends of a patient that you’re sorry!" he fumed. "You scared the life out of us!"

"Oh," the doctor replied, blushing, as the Hardys and Vanessa began to breathe again. "My deepest apologies. However," he went on, "Callie is in serious danger. Do you know if she’s taken any medication lately? Does she have a history of illness in her family? Has she experienced any pain lately or seemed out of the norm? Please…we need to help her."

Before Joe could speak, he heard his brother’s voice. "No. She’s been okay. She’s not on any medication that I know of. Up until …I mean now…. she’s been perfectly healthy." Joe was amazed as he looked at Frank, who was standing, perfectly composed and even –mannered. There was no way any one would be able to tell that he had just inadvertently been led to believe that his fiancée had died.

"Well," the doctor replied, "All I can ask is that you recheck her home just in case this is a reaction to medication, or a severe allergic reaction to something. It’s very important. In a case like this, time is of the essence." He looked straight at Frank, and the subtext to his words was frighteningly clear. "Have me paged if you discover anything. Ms. Shaw will be closely watched; she has to be."

"I understand," Frank replied, wishing they had been able to contact Callie’s parents. The Shaws had decided to extend their vacation, but Callie hadn’t had a chance to tell Frank where they’d moved on to before their big fight. "And I will."

With a nod, the doctor headed back in the direction from which he’d come. As soon as he left, Joe vaguely saw his parent’s head over to Frank’s direction, and felt Vanessa clutching his hand. "Oh. Joe," she whispered, "I almost had a heart attack! What do you think is wrong with Callie?!" It took Joe a few minutes to answer her, since he was focused on Frank. Although Frank was assuring his parents that he was fine, Joe saw right away that something was wrong, and he knew he needed to speak with his brother.

Finally, he turned to Vanessa. "Van," he began, "I need you to do me a favor. Go home with my parents. Leave me the keys to the car. I need to be with Frank."

"Why?" Vanessa questioned.

"Because," he answered, simply, "he needs me."

"What about Callie?! Aren’t you two going to wait here and make sure she’s okay?"

Something licked in the back of Joe’s mind, and he was frustrated that he couldn’t see what it was. Something in the doctor’s words and Vanessa’s tone had touched a flash of recognition in him, and he needed some time to figure it out. Leaning over, he gave Vanessa a kiss on the cheek. "I need some time with my brother, Hon, "’ he stated. "I just… I mean, we need to check out Frank and Callie’s place. Maybe there was something Callie took." As he said it, he realized what he didn’t want to be thinking. Vanessa saw it too, and he eyes widened in horror.

"Oh, Joe," she gasped. "No! Callie would NEVER think of doing something like that!" She looked at him in horror.

Joe bit his lip. It was the last thing in the world he should have been thinking. After all, how well did he know Callie? She was smart, independent, and funny. She had always been very self-sufficient. But doesn’t everyone have a breaking point?! After all, she thought no one was there for her. She was pregnant. Frank had treated her terribly. She had seen Joe tortured, and been both mentally and physically hurt herself. Jenkins had attacked her, and Nash was still at large, leaving her imagination, he assumed, to run wild.

Still looking at Vanessa, he let her words sink in as she repeated herself, more quietly than before. "No, Joe. Callie would not do it. You know as well as I do that she wouldn’t. Why? Because she’s CALLIE. What else should I say?"

Suicide. Surely, there would have been a better way to try it, though- right? Then he realized that maybe he SHOULD listen to Vanessa. Even if she did want to take her own life, Callie would never have killed her child. Then, with a bit of a relieved sigh, Joe tossed that idea aside, too. "You’re right," he said at last. "She’s CALLIE. And the Callie Shaw I know is stronger than that."

Vanessa smiled at last, the exhaustion of the day’s events finally showing on her face. "I’ll listen to you, Joe. Be there for Frank. Look out for Callie. And, please, baby- take care of yourself. You’re hardly in shape for all of …this." She gesticulated with her hand in the air. "You can’t help anyone if you’re sick, okay?" Her eyes reflected her concern.

Joe slipped an arm around her shoulders. "I love you," he said quietly, and gently kissed her. "I’ll be okay. Let me see Frank. We have to try and help Callie."

"I love you, too," Vanessa answered, and squeezed his hand. "Let me get your parents."

In less than fifteen minutes, Joe’s parents left with Vanessa, and Joe turned to Frank. His steady reaction at a time he should have been crushed was throwing Joe for a loop. Frank was running when he should be staying put, and calm when he should be crying. In all, he was acting totally out of character.

"Um…are you okay?" Joe asked.

"Yeah. Look, Joe," Frank added, "I need to see Callie, and then I have to head home. If there’s something that I can find to help Callie…I will."

"I know," Joe answered, resolutely.

Joe followed his brother to Callie’s room, curious and anxious to see her, himself. None of this made any sense. Medication? What type of medication could she have taken?

When Joe first looked at Callie, he swallowed, hard. Although she didn’t look ill, covered with bruises or broken bones, she looked…dead. The very thought make him shudder. Callie was so pale. She almost looked like she blended in to the sheets that now covered her. It took Joe another minute before he realized that a nurse was in the room. They must be worried, he thought, concerned. When the nurse saw Frank and Joe enter the room, she left, with a quick, "I’m right outside if you need me."

Joe thanked her, and then watched as Frank went into the room. "I’ll leave you alone for a minute," he said, but Frank didn’t seem to hear him. What Joe saw next amazed him. Frank didn’t break down in tears, or even start to talk to Callie. Instead, he simply took her hand, kissed it, and then reached into his own pocket and took out Callie’s ring. He slipped it onto her finger even though, Joe noticed, it was her right hand this time. "Don’t you leave me," Frank said, in a low voice. "This is my promise to you that I’ll fight for you, but you need to fight, too."

Then, he cupped her face with both of his hands, and whispered, "Heaven doesn’t need another angel."

It was a moment of such raw tenderness that Joe actually felt tears begin to form in his eyes. Although he’d seen Frank and Callie together most of his life, and witnessed their shared affection and happiness, Joe sensed in that moment just what pure love looked like. This was the one side to his brother that he’d never borne witness to, much like Frank would never know what it was like, really LIKE, with him and Vanessa. He felt like he had just invaded his brother’s privacy, seen in a minute what a lifetime of words couldn’t express. Silently, he vowed to do something to get Frank and Callie back together when…if…she got better.

Slipping out of the room, Joe noticed Frank follow just second after him. Realizing that Frank must have seen him there, he started to apologize. "Frank, I’m sorry if…"

"Let’s go," Frank said, gruffly. "I need to help her."

*****

The way back to Frank’s apartment was spent in silence. Frank drove because, although he was terribly worried about Callie, he saw that Joe was too weak, himself, to drive. Joe had smiled inwardly when Frank had requested the keys. He knew, then, that Frank wasn’t mad at him. Rather, he was slowly returning to the old Frank, the concerned older brother who thought of others before himself. That, Joe surmised, had to be a positive switch.

Once back at the apartment, Frank turned to his brother. "Joe, I want to thank you for helping me."

"What? You’ve got to be kidding," Joe answered. "Callie’s my future sister-in-law."

"Maybe," Frank replied, clearing his throat. Joe knew he was holding back tears.

"She IS," Joe said emphatically, patting his brother’s back. "And she’s going to be fine. We ALL are," he finished, as an afterthought.

Frank paused a moment. "In the hospital, when the doctor said he was sorry…that one moment…" Frank took a deep breath, holding out hope that his emotions wouldn’t overtake him. "That was the worst moment of my life." He didn’t know why he was confessing this to Joe. Part of him just wanted to keep moving, to do anything but stop and think about his life. Somehow, though, having Joe not only okay but accepting him back into his good graces made Frank realize how much he needed his little brother in his life.

"I know that," Joe said, and then smiled. "Now let’s go find out if we can solve the mystery of the perilous prescription plan, okay?"

Frank laughed, and he actually surprised himself that he was still able to smile with his life crumbling around him. Only Joe could make light of something this serious. "You got it, buddy," he replied, and they split up to search the apartment. In the next half an hour, Frank and Joe checked the pantry, medicine closets, refrigerator…any place from which Callie might have taken something or have had a reaction towards.

Finally, Frank sat down at the table, frustrated. "I don’t know," he said, getting angry. "I can’t find anything."

"Well, your apartment is pretty clean," Joe joked, hoping to lift the mood.

Frank sighed. "That’s not funny. Can you think of anything?"

"No," Joe answered, opening the refrigerator and looking for a snack. Then, he realized what had been bothering him earlier that he hadn’t been able to put his finger on. Getting up slowly, trying to ignore the pain in his side and his head, Joe walked over and took out the two cakes that were sitting on the top shelf.

"Hungry?" Frank asked, disheartened.

"No," Joe answered, suddenly feeling sick. "But I have a question for you."

"Mmm?" Frank murmured, looking up.

"Before…when we were here… you said that I had sent these cakes to Callie."

"Yeah?" Frank asked, still drawing a blank.

"I didn’t," Joe said, point blank, deciding not to mince words.

"What?"

"I didn’t, Frank. I never sent you OR Callie cakes. Where did these come from?!"

Suddenly, Frank stood up, beginning to realize what Joe was getting at. He actually felt the color drain from his face. "Look at the card. It’s right on top. I mean, it’s a plain white box that says CAKE—hardly suspicious. You MUST have sent it," he went on, feeling himself losing control.

"No, I didn’t," Joe answered again, and looked at the card. Nervously, he looked at his brother. "Frank?" he asked. "Since when do I call myself, ‘Joey’?"

"What?" Frank gasped, pulling the card from Joe’s hands. He felt the breath sucked away from him. "We need to look at these—maybe get it tested! But…where?" Frank knew he was grasping at straws, but something about the whole situation was very wrong.

"Let’s call Dad," Joe suggested. "Maybe a contact in the police labs could get on this-like, now."

*****

Close to six hours later, Frank, Joe, and Fenton were waiting at a nearby police station in Bayport. They used their old contact, Con Riley, to pull some strings, and were waiting for the results. He, along with Peter Davis, who was working with Fenton on the Cape May case, allowed the lab to be opened. Silently, they all awaited an answer they already knew. Each was trying to consider what to do in his own way.

A few minutes later, Con came out, a perplexed expression on his face.

"What is it, Con?" Fenton asked, immediately.

Con looked incredulously at the three men in front of him, who looked tired, worn, confused, and upset. "You’re not going to believe this," Con said, quietly, as he was used to speaking with families for so long. "But the cakes that you brought in…." His voice trailed off.

"What is it, Con?" Frank asked in a strained voice. He had been gripping the handle of the chair so hard his knuckles had turned white.

"The chocolate one… it’s fine."

"What?" Fenton asked, half-relieved that his theory was wrong and half-angry that he had to start again.

"But the carrot one…." Con went on, swallowing hard. "We found traces of rare herbs …large traces of them…all over the cake. The herbs are called pennyroil and blue cohash. They’re very toxic and they’re used…gosh, I’m sorry, Frank."

"They’re used for what?!" Joe asked, standing now. The whole scene seemed surreal.

Con coughed. He couldn’t believe he had to tell Frank Hardy this. He’d known Frank since he was a little boy; watched him grow up. He didn’t deserve what he was about to hear. He decided to just tell the truth. "In large doses, they cause massive hemorrhaging. They’re most often used to induce abortion."

Frank felt his world close in on him, and he knew he was going to be sick. Opening the door to the back office, with which he had become so familiar over the years, he ran through it to the bathroom, where he vomited. Somebody had tried to kill Callie. Somebody had killed his baby.

Fenton watched as Joe went to comfort his brother, realizing that the news had not completely sunken in yet with Joe. In shock, Fenton turned to Con. "You’re sure?" he asked.

"I am, Fenton. I’m sorry."

Taking a deep breath, Fenton tried to collect his thoughts. Okay. At least now, they knew how to help Callie. "We have to look at this cake, the box, the location of where these herbs could have come from, their availability…" As a father, his heart ached. As an investigator, he instinctively went into analytical mode.

"Well, the herbs are available, but they’re hard to get to. Most likely, someone in a drug cartel would have access to them. We also know they’re found in largely rural areas." Con answered, trying to help.

"Like the Pine Barrens!"

Fenton heard a voice behind him, and realized it was Joe’s. He was standing with his arm around his brother’s shoulders. Frank looked like he was about to collapse.

For the first time, Fenton HEARD what Joe was saying and gasped.

"My GOD! The Pine Barrens!" he shouted.

"Cape May," Joe answered.

"Nash," Frank managed through clenched teeth.

Con looked at the Hardys standing before him, and he realized the implications of what they were saying right away. Fenton, Pete Davis and others had been working this case nonstop. It was impossible, but it was true. Nash hadn’t finished trying to destroy their family.

"Oh!" he gasped out loud. "Nash- he tried to take Callie’s life. He…he took the baby’s!"

"And…" Frank said quietly, his voice deadly calm, "I’ll take his."