"Don’t do it, Joe." He could hear Vanessa’s voice echoing in his head, clear as day.

"I’m sorry, Van." He whispered. "I have to."

"No, you don’t." Joe heard her voice again, scared at how real, how alive she sounded, almost as if she were right next to him.

"Yes, I do." He said, squeezing his eyes shut, unable to comprehend how he was going to survive without the love of his life. ‘If only I had insisted she stay home…’

Suddenly Joe felt soft, gentle hands covering his and Vanessa’s voice whispering softly in his ear. "Give me the gun, Joe. You don’t need it."

His eyes flew open and Joe turned towards the sound of her voice. Dropping the gun, Joe quickly took a few steps back.

Joe stared at what he knew had to be an apparition – his mind playing tricks on him. Beautiful gray eyes stared back at him, filled with concern. Unable to take his eyes off Vanessa’s image, he took in her torn shirt and mussed hair with a few stray leaves clinging to the ash-blonde strands, the beginnings of a small purple bruise making itself known on her cheek.

"I heard you." Vanessa smiled at him, taking a few steps forward. "I heard you yell to get out of the car."

Joe’s knees buckled and he sank to the ground as the reality hit him…Vanessa was alive! As she knelt beside him, Joe reached out a shaking hand and touched her cheek, half expecting to feel nothing but thin air. Vanessa smiled and turned her head slightly, leaning into his caress.

"You…you’re…you’re alive!" Joe choked out. Grabbing her with both arms, Joe pulled Vanessa into him, holding her so tightly she almost winced. A conflicting tidal wave of emotions suddenly engulfed Joe, his feelings swiftly changing from shock to disbelief to relief and he found himself unable to stop the tears that came out of nowhere.

Wrapping her arms around him, Vanessa could feel Joe shaking badly. Glancing at Nash, lying unconscious on the ground, she felt a hatred so intense it scared her. She couldn’t even imagine the terror Joe must have felt, watching his car explode in a ball of flames, thinking she was trapped inside, reliving the worst nightmare of his life. For one brief second, she wished she hadn’t stopped Joe from killing Nash, as the depths of his cruelty became chillingly clear. All the torment he had already inflicted on Joe and his family wasn’t enough.

Even after Joe thought she had disappeared in a ball of flames, just as Iola had, Nash wasn’t satisfied. Vanessa had heard the mocking, derisive taunts Nash had happily used to persecute Joe even further, knowing the mental torture would be far worse than any kind of physical pain he could inflict. Praying there was a special place in hell reserved for Nash, Vanessa returned her attention to Joe.

"It’s okay, Baby." She said softly, stroking his hair. "I’m fine – thanks to you." Vanessa continued her soft murmurs of comfort, until Joe’s silent tears and trembling slowed and then finally ceased.

Very slowly, Joe sat back and stared at Vanessa, still refusing to release her completely.

"How?" He asked hoarsely.

"I heard you yelling. I couldn’t make out exactly what you were saying but I knew you wanted me to get out of the car." She smiled at him. "I wasn’t sure what was going on, so I opened the door and ran for the woods. When the car exploded, it threw me a little ways. Knocked the breath out of me for a minute."

Reaching out, Joe gently brushed the bruise on her cheek, worry creasing his brow. "Are you hurt?"

"No. Just a bruise or two." Vanessa assured him, before peering at him a little more closely. "What about you? Are you all right?"

Joe took a deep breath and allowed himself a shaky smile. "I am now." He replied, pulling Vanessa closer and kissing her deeply.

As they separated a moment later, the crackling of the fire and smell of smoke brought back the reality of the situation. Looking from the burning wreck of his car, to Nash still lying unconscious on the ground, Joe realized they were stranded and needed help.

"Any chance you salvaged one of our cell phones?" Joe asked Vanessa hopefully.

"I grabbed my purse when I jumped out, but I lost it when the car exploded." Vanessa replied, pushing herself to a standing position. Looking around, she tried to get her bearings. "It should be over there somewhere." She pointed towards the trees on the other side of the flaming wreckage.

Joe stood up and took her hand, clutching it tightly. He started off in the direction Vanessa indicated, when she pulled him back.

"Do you think we should leave him here unguarded, even for a second?" She asked, pointing at Nash. Despite the fact that Nash looked as if he had gone several rounds with Mike Tyson and wouldn’t be coming to for a very long time, she didn’t trust him.

"Probably not." Joe agreed. He reached down and picked up the gun from where Vanessa had discarded it on the ground. "Go see if you can find your purse. I’ll stay with him."

Vanessa looked at the gun in Joe’s hand dubiously. "Uh, you’re not going to…"

"No." Joe shook his head and gave her a little smile. "That would be too good for him. I want him to go to prison and suffer."

"Okay." Vanessa nodded and headed off towards the trees. She returned several moments later, triumphantly holding her purse aloft. Rummaging through it, she pulled out her cell phone and handed it to Joe.

"I saw some rope on the porch." Joe jerked his head towards the cabin as he dialed 911. "Can you run up there and get it so we can tie him up?"

Vanessa quickly ran to the porch and retrieved the rope, returning to hear Joe reporting the fire and requesting police and an ambulance. Finishing the call, he took the rope and bound Nash’s hands and feet, taking a little pleasure in tying the ropes much tighter than he knew they needed to be. Returning to Vanessa’s side, he took the cell phone once again, but hesitated before dialing.

Looking at the flames still shooting from what was left of his car, Joe sighed. "Dad isn’t gonna be happy about this."

"On the contrary." Vanessa said, wrapping an arm around his waist. "I think he’ll be thrilled. Your car may be totaled but you’re fine. And you caught Nash. Maybe now we’ll finally be able to put this nightmare behind us."

Laying her head on Joe’s shoulder, she listened as Joe called his father and began to explain what had happened. She winced, hearing Fenton’s initial displeasure with Joe for taking off on his own coming through loud and clear. But just as she predicted, by the time Joe had finished giving his father all the details, Fenton was grateful that Joe and Vanessa hadn’t been hurt and Nash had finally been captured and would be made to pay for the hell he had put their family through. After being assured by Fenton that he would meet them at the hospital, Joe hung up, as the sounds of sirens announced the arrival of the fire department.

After quickly explaining to the fire chief what had happened, Joe and Vanessa moved out of the way. As they watched and waited, Joe glanced at Vanessa huddled in his arms. He shivered inside as it hit him how close he had come to losing her forever. The revelation he’d had as he was walking to the car earlier cemented itself in his heart, and he vowed as soon as this case was wrapped up, he was going to act on that revelation.