Attempting to move again only increased the pain. Just when Joe was sure the panic would take complete control of him, he heard a familiar voice.

"Easy, little brother. Don’t try to move; lie still. You’re safe now. Everything’s going to be ok. I promise."

Relaxing slightly at the comforting sound of Frank’s voice, Joe tried to speak his brother’s name and winced in pain.

Opening his eyes a crack, the light assaulted his already pounding head and he thought better of it.

"Wa…" Joe attempted to speak, trying to ask for water.

"What happened?" Frank said, trying to guess what Joe was attempting to say.

Joe shook his head, frustrated, regretting it when a wave of nausea threatened him. Waiting for it to pass, he tried to speak again.

"Wa…ter."

A moment later, he felt a straw near his lips.

"Just a little sip." Frank advised. "Make sure you can keep it down."

Joe took in a small amount of water and swallowed gingerly. Although it hurt, the cool water also felt good against his sore throat. Quickly, he took in several more mouthfuls before Frank pulled it away.

"Hey! Easy, Joe! Trust me, you are in no condition to throw up if this water doesn’t agree with you."

Lying still for a moment, Joe found, if he was careful and moved slowly, he could move his left arm with a minimal amount of pain.

"Hot." He mumbled, pushing at the covers with his left hand. "Too…hot."

"Let me do it. Don’t move around too much, ok?"

Joe felt the covers being turned down a little, allowing the air to cool him off somewhat.

"Hot. Why?" Joe asked, still not having opened his eyes.

‘One obstacle at a time.’ He thought, still having no idea where he was or why he was in so much pain and virtually unable to move. Frank’s presence and the fact that Frank seemed to be fine and not panicked, allowed Joe to keep some semblance of sanity.

"Fever." Frank replied, simply. "But it’s gradually going down so you won’t be so hot in a day or so."

‘Fever? Why would I have a fever?’ Joe decided to try to open his eyes once more, wanting to know where he was. He assumed he had picked up the flu or some other bug and was at home in his own bed with Frank hovering anxiously like he always did when Joe was sick or hurt.

Slowly opening one eye a crack, the bright light streaming in through the window increased the pain in his head tenfold and he quickly squeezed his eyes shut.

"Light…hurts."

"Hold on." Frank replied. Joe could hear him moving around the room. "Ok, is that better?"

Cautiously, slowly, Joe opened his eyes and wondered where in the world he was. It looked like a hospital room but he couldn’t recall having done anything that would have landed him in the hospital in such excruciating pain. Frank had closed the blinds on the window and turned off most of the lights. The low light in the room still caused Joe’s head to pound but at least now it was bearable.

"Better." Joe whispered. "Van?" He asked, suddenly becoming quite agitated. If he was hurt and in a hospital had Vanessa been with him when whatever it was had happened?

"Take it easy, Joe." He felt Frank’s hand on his left shoulder, gently holding him down. "Vanessa is fine. She and Callie went to get something to eat. You’re the only one who got hurt." Frank stopped a moment as if he were trying to control his emotions.

"She'll be very happy to know you finally woke up. She’s been worried sick about you." Frank told his brother, watching him closely. "We all have." He added softly.

"Where?" Joe managed one word, thankful he and Frank were so close they didn't need to speak complete sentences to communicate.

"You're in the hospital, Joe. You got hurt pretty bad this time."

Joe could hear the worry and concern in Frank's voice. "Mom? Dad?" Joe questioned, noting the absence of his parents. He wasn't sure but he thought he saw a flash of fear in his brother's eyes.

'No! Mom and Dad got hurt too?!' Joe thought completely misunderstanding Frank's apprehension.

"They're…hurt?" Joe said, struggling to sit up, immediately crying out at the amount of pain it caused.

"Joe, please, stop moving around!" Frank said, alarmed, once again placing a hand on Joe's shoulder. "Mom and Dad are fine. They're in Hawaii on vacation." Frank's worry increased dramatically when it dawned on him that Joe had no recollection of where they were or what had happened to him. "We're on vacation, Joe."

"Vacation?" Joe repeated, his eyes going wide. 'Vacation?! We're on vacation? How did I end up in the hospital on vacation?!'

"It's ok, Joe." Frank said soothingly, trying to keep Joe from having a full-blown panic attack. "You have a pretty bad concussion. It's normal that you'll have trouble remembering things for a while."

The fear and apprehension in Joe's eyes tugged at Frank's heart. 'He's scared to death.' Frank thought, although he didn't blame Joe one bit. He wondered how he'd react if he woke up to find himself in the hospital, practically immobile, in constant pain with no knowledge of how he'd gotten there.

"Why don't you tell me the last thing you remember and I'll fill in the blanks for you, alright?" Frank said comfortingly, resting a hand on Joe's leg.

Nodding slightly, Joe glanced down at Frank's hand. Realizing he couldn't feel Frank's hand on his leg, Joe was completely swallowed up by a terror he had never felt before.

"Frank!" he choked out, desperately trying to sit up, struggling against his brother who was easily holding him down. "Frank!" Joe repeated with tears in his eyes. "Can't feel…your hand!"

"It's temporary, Joe! Just temporary!" Frank said, trying to calm his brother. 'Unless you keep fighting me and do some permanent damage!'

Joe had stopped listening though, and was making feeble attempts to push Frank away.

"Listen to me!" Frank finally yelled, forcibly holding Joe down. After a few more frustrating swipes at Frank, Joe lay still, obviously distraught but now exhausted. Holding Joe's left hand gently, Frank began to explain the extent of Joe's injuries to him. As he spoke, Joe stared at him in horror, unable to believe he had come so close to dying.

"How?" Joe asked, when Frank was done.

"Why don't we save that story for later, huh?" Frank suggested. "You need to rest. Get some sleep, little brother. I'll be right here when you wake up."

Although Joe was shaking his head slightly in defiance, Frank could see that Joe could barely keep his eyes open.

"I promise, I'll tell you everything later. Right now, I want you to sleep." Frank said softly. As Joe drifted off to sleep, Frank collapsed into the chair next to the bed, emotionally exhausted. How would he ever be able to tell Joe what he'd had to endure at the hands of Nash and Jenkins?

Vanessa pushed open the door to Joe's hospital room and walked in, followed closely by Callie. Seeing Frank sitting in the chair, leaning forward with his head resting in his hands, she knew immediately something had happened.

"Frank?" she said.

Lifting his head, Frank looked at her, despair evident in his deep brown eyes "He doesn't remember a thing." Frank's voice was barely above a whisper.

"He woke up?" Vanessa asked excitedly, moving to stand next to the bed.

Frank nodded in reply.

Callie quickly walked to Frank, kneeling on the floor in front of him. Taking his hands in hers, she tried to reassure him.

"Dr. Simonds said memory loss was normal; to be expected. Give him a little time. I'm sure he'll remember everything." Callie reached up and gently touched his cheek.

Looking into her eyes, Frank was so thankful she was there. She had every reason to hate him given the choice he had made, yet she stuck by him, refusing to blame him, refusing to leave his side.

"Was he in any pain?" Vanessa asked, dreading the answer. She held Joe's left hand gingerly, wishing she had been there when he awoke.

"Yeah." Frank replied in the same whispered tone. "A lot." His voice finally broke as he dissolved into tears in Callie's arms. Several moments later, he looked up, seeing the concern on Callie's face.

"Thank you. I'm fine now. Really." Frank told her, both of them sincerely doubting it.

Getting up, he stood next to Vanessa and looked down at his brother. Not taking her eyes off Joe, Vanessa wrapped an arm around Frank's waist resting her head on his shoulder. They stood together, each taking comfort in the other.

"He asked for you, first thing." Frank told her, smiling. "He didn't remember what happened. He was afraid you were hurt too."

Vanessa hugged Frank a little tighter, wiping a tear from her eye. She turned to look at him, concerned.

"He didn’t remember anything…at all?"

"No." Frank shook his head. "He didn't even remember we were on vacation. He asked me where Mom and Dad were."

"Don't worry." Vanessa said as much for her own benefit as Frank's. "Like Callie said, he'll remember. Just give him some time."

"Joe?" Vanessa leaned over the railing of the bed. "Baby, wake up!" Joe was obviously in distress, apparently having some kind of nightmare. "Frank!" Vanessa cried out in the direction of the small couch where Callie and Frank were napping.

Instantly, Frank was awake and by her side. Reaching out he shook Joe's left shoulder.

"Joe! Wake up! Come on, Joe. Open your eyes!"

Suddenly Joe's eyes flew open and he let out a strangled cry. Both Frank and Vanessa gasped at the absolute terror they saw reflected in his eyes and on his face.

"Easy, Joe, easy." Frank said soothingly. "You're safe. It's ok."

Looking around frantically, Joe finally locked onto Frank and Vanessa, his breathing ragged and obviously painful. Quickly composing herself, Vanessa reached down, stroking his hair gently.

"Sssh. We're right here, Baby. You're all right." She said in a comforting voice.

Although it was painful, Joe reached out and grabbed his brother's hand, gripping it as tightly as he was able to. Frank took Joe's hand in both of his, holding it firmly.

"I'm right here, little brother. I won't let them hurt you again."

Joe squeezed his eyes shut, nodding, a few tears rolling down his face.

"Did you remember something?" Frank asked gently, not letting go of Joe's hand.

"Yes…no…I…I don't know..." Joe choked out, obviously terrified.

Suddenly a nurse came rushing into the room, coming to a stop next to Frank. She looked down at Joe, and then turned to Frank and Vanessa.

"What happened?' she asked no one in particular "The heart monitor just went nuts."

"He had a nightmare." Frank answered.

"Just a nightmare?" She looked questioningly at Joe. "You're sure?"

"Yeah." He whispered in reply.

"Ok, if that's all it was. Do you need any pain medication? It's been over six hours since your last dose if you'd like some." She hesitated a moment. "But you'll probably be asleep again in minutes."

Joe shook his head no, eyes wide with fear once again. "No! No more…sleep…nightmares." Joe said, not making a lot of sense, but getting his message across just the same.

"Alright." The nurse patted his arm gently. "Just have someone buzz if you change your mind." She replied then left the room to check on other patients.

Frank watched her retreating back until he felt Joe squeezing his hand. Turning back, he gazed down at his younger brother feeling his anxiety.

"Tell...me." Joe said. "You…promised."

Frank took a deep breath suddenly realizing telling Joe what he had been through would not be such a good idea right now.

"What do you remember?" Frank asked him gently, hoping to hold off telling Joe all the horrible details of his ordeal "Anything at all?"

Joe closed his eyes, apparently deep in concentration. "You…came home…for the summer." Joe opened his eyes and smiled. "I was excited."

Frank smiled back in spite of himself as he realized Joe was referring to the fact that he had moved back home when his college classes had concluded for the spring semester. He had opted to spend the summer at home with Joe, rather than stay behind at school for summer session as he had done in years past. "Yeah, I missed you too, little brother. Do you remember anything after that?"

Glancing at Vanessa who was smiling at him, Joe returned the smile and replied, "Vacation. The beach…with big brother…girlfriend…and…" his eyes grew wide as they finally rested on Callie. "…future sister-in-law!"

Everyone laughed out loud at Joe's description of their vacation. Thinking hard, Joe continued to rattle off snippets of things he remembered from the past month, coming to an abrupt stop after relating his and Callie's drive to the woods the morning they had been grabbed by Nash and Jenkins. A heavy silence hung in the air, finally broken by Frank.

"And after you and Callie drove out to the woods…then what?" Frank pressed, hoping Joe would remember something more, yet praying he would have no recollection at all of the torture that had been inflicted upon him.

Joe looked directly at his brother, the anxiety and apprehension returning full force. "Nothing…"