From the passenger seat, Vanessa watched her boyfriend and couldn’t help but worry. She was thrilled to see Joe smiling and happy again and knew it was because of the way Frank had treated him tonight – the way he used to, before Cape May. She also had a very strong feeling that Frank’s change in attitude wasn’t going to last long. He had never discussed what it was that caused him to start treating Joe and Callie so badly and neither Joe nor Callie had any clue, other than it had something to do with their vacation in Cape May. Vanessa had a feeling Joe was heading for a big fall, thinking everything was now fine with Frank and started to prepare herself to pick up the pieces for him when the inevitable happened.

Feeling Vanessa’s eyes on him, Joe glanced at her, still smiling. "Any particular reason you’re staring at me? Other than my stunning good looks, of course." He joked.

"That and your modesty." Vanessa replied, rolling her eyes. "Actually, I was just enjoying seeing you so happy." She said, not wanting to ruin his good mood with the truth. And she was glad to see him happy, especially given the feeling she had that it probably wouldn’t last long.

"Did you see him tonight, Van?" Joe said excitedly. "He’s back to his old self. Whatever was bothering him is in the past now. I’ve got my big brother back."

"Yes, I saw it." Vanessa said, turning to look back out the window.

"I really surprised him this time. He thought all he was getting was the socks." Joe’s smile grew even bigger as he recalled the look on his brother’s face when he found his real birthday present inside one of the socks. "I can’t wait for Winter Break now!" He exclaimed, glancing at his girlfriend. "The four of us will have a blast together! A big improvement over the vacation from hell." He joked, rolling his eyes. "Are you excited about it?"

"I’m excited to go anywhere with you." Vanessa told him. After almost losing him last summer, Vanessa would have been thrilled to watch paint dry as long as she could do it with Joe by her side.

"Me too." Joe replied, knowing how lucky he was that Vanessa took his rather unorthodox lifestyle in stride. She could have any guy she wanted, someone she didn’t have to worry about day and night, wondering whether or not he’d come back alive whenever he left the house, yet she still wanted him. "The Magic Kingdom. MGM Studios. Animal Kingdom. Epcot. Hey, they have the Richard Petty Experience there now!! Man, I can’t wait to try that!!"

"Is that the one where you can drive a real race car around the track?" She asked, trying to remember what Joe had told her about it.

"Yeah, that’s the one! I can drive as fast as I want and not have to worry about getting a ticket!" He laughed. "And we have to go to Islands of Adventure, too! They have the best roller coasters! And of course we have to go to Pleasure Island – every night!"

"Every night?!" Vanessa laughed at his enthusiasm. "I doubt Frank and Callie will be up for that."

"I was thinking more along the lines of just the two of us…" Joe remarked. Taking her hand in his, he brought it up to his lips and kissed it lightly. "I want to spend some time alone with you. Just us."

"That sounds wonderful." Vanessa blushed, leaning over and kissing Joe on the cheek.

"Are you sure you’re looking forward to this trip, Babe? You don’t seem too excited about it." Joe asked, finally acknowledging her unnaturally reserved nature.

Vanessa sighed before answering. She didn’t want to tell him she thought this trip would never even get off the ground, that Frank’s change of heart was only temporary. Joe was so happy, for the first time since Cape May and she didn’t want to ruin it.

Joe sighed heavily. "What?"

"Nothing." Vanessa replied, her voice tight.

"Come on, Van. What’s bothering you?" Joe pressed.

Vanessa turned towards him and smiled. "Nothing that can’t wait for another day. Tonight I just want you to be happy." She leaned over and kissed him once more.

"And I am." Joe quickly reverted back to his good mood. "No more cold shoulder. No more ignored phone calls. From now on, it’ll be just like it used to be. Doesn’t even matter that I can’t remember what caused it all."

"What?!" Vanessa asked, snapping her head towards Joe.

"What do you mean ‘What’?" Joe replied, startled by her reaction.

"You said you couldn’t remember what caused it all." Vanessa repeated Joe’s words, eyeing him closely.

"Did I?" Joe said nervously. "I meant even if I don’t know what caused it."

"But that’s not what you said." Vanessa told him, worry evident in her voice.

"That’s what I meant." Joe told her, obviously getting agitated. "Same difference."

"Joe…"

"Drop it, Van, okay? I’m fine." Joe lied, pulling into the parking lot of his dorm. Easing the car into a space in front of the building, he cut the engine and turned to his girlfriend.

"Uh, didn’t you forget something?" Vanessa asked as Joe leaned in for a kiss, silencing her.

Pulling away a few moments later, he smiled at her devilishly. "What’d I forget?" He asked, running his fingers through her long hair.

"You forgot to take me home." She replied.

"Did I?" He asked, with a mischievous grin. "Then why don’t you stay here tonight…" He pulled her close and kissed her again, happy that things were finally looking up.