Yet Frank's chilling phone call just a short while ago left Vanessa terrified, fearing for Joe's safety rather than her own. Nash had escaped capture. Would he be looking for an opportunity to kill Joe once and for all? Pulling up a chair, Vanessa sat down next to the bed and gently took Joe's hand in hers vowing not to leave him alone for a second. He shifted slightly at her touch but did not wake up.

"Morning." Vanessa whispered, leaning over to gently kiss his cheek. "I love you, Joe. Don't ever forget that. Don't ever forget how much I love you."

Two nights earlier, as she sat, alone and scared in the hotel room, not knowing whether Joe would live or die and realized she couldn't recall the last time she had told him she loved him, she had been devastated. She had feared he might die before she ever got the chance to tell him. It was also on that night, during the frantic car ride to the hospital as she held Joe closely not knowing if he was dying in her arms, that she realized just how much she loved him. That night Vanessa made a promise to herself - a promise to make sure Joe would never, ever have to question her love.

She sat back, giving thanks one more time that Joe had survived. Dr. Simonds said Joe still had a very long way to go, but with time he would heal completely. Vanessa felt herself start to tremble, as it hit her once again how close she had come to losing him. Try as she might, she couldn't hold back the tears and began to cry.

*****

"No." Joe mumbled, becoming agitated. Vanessa looked up from the magazine she was reading, then stood and gently squeezed Joe's hand.

"Joe? Wake up, honey." She said softly, concerned, as Joe seemed to be distressed. "Come on, Baby, wake up."

Suddenly Joe's eyes flew open and he found himself staring into Vanessa's worried grey eyes.

"Van…" He managed before gasping in pain.

"Shhh. Don't try to move. It's ok." Vanessa said soothingly, recalling how disoriented Joe had been when he had awakened the previous day. "I think you had some kind of nightmare." She continued, wrongly assuming he had been dreaming of the abuse he had endured at the hands of Nash. "But you're safe now. Everything's going to be ok."

'What was that? A dream? Can't remember… Must be the painkillers. Too bad they only work when I'm sleeping.' Joe thought, tense, unable to find one spot on his body that wasn't screaming in agony. Despite the pain that refused to let go, Joe felt himself start to relax just a little at the sound of Vanessa's voice. Clutching her hand tightly, he managed a weak smile.

"Love you." He whispered, wincing. "Hurts." Joe wanted to reach up and rub his sore throat, but with Vanessa holding his left hand and his right arm immobilized due to the dislocated shoulder, he couldn't move. And he hated that feeling. The feeling of being restrained…held against his will.

Joe shivered suddenly as he remembered…nothing. Whatever it was bypassed his conscious memory completely, yet still left him feeling anxious and alarmed.

'Why can't I remember anything?' Joe thought, distressed. He'd been knocked out before; he'd had concussions before. The few times they were particularly severe, the memories had been hazy, at least initially, and a little slow to return, but they always did. And he had always remembered something, unlike now when everything was gone. Fighting to stop the panic that was beginning to grow - the panic that returned every time he awoke and realized he had completely "lost" over three days - he heard Vanessa speaking again and latched on to the sound of her voice.

"Your throat hurts. I know, Baby. It's from the respirator. Try not to talk too much, ok?" Vanessa smiled at him. "How about if I talk to you?"

Joe nodded, smiling again, grateful for the distraction from the pain and the panic. Vanessa released his hand and reached down for something near her feet. As she straightened up, Joe saw it was a newspaper. Settling herself back in the chair, Vanessa flipped to the sports section then looked at Joe.

"Thought you might want to get caught up on your favorite teams." She smiled again.

'Thank you.' Joe mouthed and attempted to blow her a kiss. Focusing on the melodic sound of Vanessa's voice as she read the entire sports section, first page to last, Joe thought the relentless pain he'd been suffering through every time he woke up, seemed to lessen just a bit. He'd been listening for quite a while when he felt his eyelids start to grow heavy. He wondered if the hospital staff could record Vanessa's voice and play it for him instead of pumping him full of painkillers that never seemed to work as well as he needed them to. Even though the only time Joe could truly escape the constant pain was when he slept, he struggled to keep his eyes open, not wanting to waste a second of time sleeping when Vanessa was with him. He quickly realized he was fighting a losing battle.

"That's it. Just go back to sleep. You need to rest." Vanessa's voice was soft and soothing, encouraging him to give in to the demands of his body.

'Don't want to sleep. No more dreams.' Joe thought, restlessly, but felt himself drifting off again almost immediately.

Watching as Joe fell asleep, Vanessa smiled a little sadly, as she watched the pain he had been trying so hard to hide from her, disappear from his face. She hated seeing Joe in pain, but had come to terms with the fact that she would have to get used to it for the foreseeable future. Settling back in the chair, Vanessa picked up the magazine she had discarded earlier and resumed her reading.

Over the next few hours, a nurse would come in at regular intervals to check Joe's vital signs and ensure the various tubes, machines and IV's were all doing their jobs. It was close to lunchtime when the door opened once more and Dr. Simonds entered the room.

"Hello, Vanessa." He greeted her as he opened Joe's chart and studied the notations that had been made.

"Hi. How is he doing?" Vanessa asked anxiously.

Dr. Simonds finished reading the chart, flipping the pages, comparing today's information to that of the previous two days. "Stable." He replied, noncommittal. "But if you don't mind waiting outside, I'll be able to give you more details about his condition once I'm finished examining him." He smiled at her.

Vanessa hesitated, not wanting to leave Joe's side as Frank's warning echoed in her head. Concluding Joe would be safe with Dr. Simonds, she nodded silently and, with a last glance at Joe, reluctantly left the room. Settling herself in the hall just outside the door, Vanessa waited.

Leaning back against the wall, Vanessa closed her eyes. She was so thankful Joe had finally regained consciousness and even though it would take a while, it seemed he would make a full recovery. Although she tried to focus on this, she was still worried. Joe couldn’t remember anything that had happened while he and Callie had been held captive.

While Vanessa hoped there were certain things he would never remember, she was concerned that it seemed he wasn't able to recall anything about those three days. She had been holding Joe's hand the previous evening when Frank had asked him what he remembered about Nash and Jenkins. The look on Joe's face when he realized he couldn't remember anything at all had broken her heart. He had been scared - very scared.

When Frank realized what was happening he had quickly backed off, seeing how upset Joe had become. While Frank tried to comfort and reassure Joe that his memory would come back in time, Vanessa could see he was clearly worried about his younger brother. Frank had phoned Dr. Simonds as soon as they left the hospital and questioned him about Joe's memory loss. The doctor had said memory loss should be expected given the severity of the concussion Joe had sustained, but seemed confident it would be only temporary. Vanessa had noted that Frank did not seem to share that confidence.

Opening her eyes, Vanessa glanced down the hall and saw Callie walking towards her, smiling. As Callie stopped outside the door, Vanessa wordlessly enveloped her in a hug. Vanessa was sure if she'd had to endure what Callie did the past few days, she would have completely fallen apart.

"Are you ok, Cal?" Vanessa asked pulling back and looking at Callie with concern.

"I'm fine." Callie said with more confidence than she felt. "What are you doing out here in the hall?" She asked, curiously.

"Dr. Simonds is examining him." Vanessa threw a worried glance at the closed door.

"How was he this morning? Did he wake up?"

"Yeah, he woke up for a little bit. He was a little more coherent than yesterday but…" Vanessa looked at Callie with tears in her eyes. "…he's in so much pain. He can't say more than a few words at a time without having to stop. And the painkillers don't seem to be helping all that much. I hate seeing him like that. I wish there was something I could do for him."

Callie put an arm around her friend's shoulder and hugged her. "I know, Van. But you are doing something for him. Just your being here is helping Joe more than you know. I'm sure waking up and seeing you there next to him does more for Joe than any painkiller ever could."

"Thanks." Vanessa smiled.

Just then the door opened and Dr. Simonds came out. Vanessa looked at him, apprehensive.

"His fever is starting to come down and his blood pressure is improving." The doctor announced. "He's still got a long road ahead of him, a lot of healing to do, but he is slowly improving."

"Thank you." Vanessa said, relieved.

As Dr. Simonds strode down the hall, Callie turned to Vanessa. "Why don't you go get something to eat? I'll sit with Joe. I'll bet you were in such a hurry to get here and see Joe this morning, that you didn't have any breakfast, did you?" She said knowingly.

"How'd you know?" Vanessa asked sheepishly.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because I would have done the same thing in your shoes." Callie smiled. "Go ahead. Get some lunch. Don't worry, I won't leave his side until you get back."

"Thanks, Cal. I think I will." Vanessa gave her friend a quick hug. "I won't be long though."

"Take your time." Callie replied as Vanessa turned and headed for the elevators, knowing Vanessa would do no such thing.

Callie pushed open the door to Joe's room and stepped inside. Taking a seat in the vacant chair next to the bed, she stared at Joe. Although a touch of color had returned to his cheeks, he still looked extremely pale. He had been taken off the respirator but was still hooked up to too many machines for Callie's liking with tubes and IV's snaking out from under the covers.

'Thank you, Joe. Have I said that lately?' Callie thought with a sad smile, as she reached out and gently squeezed his hand.

Joe stirred and slowly opened his eyes.

"Van?" He asked hoarsely.

Seeing someone in the chair next to him, Joe blinked a few times, finally focusing on Callie.

"Hey, Cal." He said with more than a little effort. Joe found that although his throat wasn't quite as sore as it had been earlier, his voice was hoarse and raspy. "Where's Van?"

"She went to get something to eat." Callie replied. "Don't worry, she'll be right back. Frank should be here soon, too."

Joe nodded, slowly closing his eyes before forcing them open once again.

"I’m sorry. I didn't mean to wake you. You really need to rest." Callie apologized, feeling guilty.

'It's all your fault he's here to begin with!' She reprimanded herself. 'Can't you at least leave him alone and let him sleep?'

"Not…your fault." Joe replied, struggling to find a more comfortable position. "OW!" he gasped, finding a particularly painful one instead.

"Joe! Are you all right? Should I call the nurse?" Callie cried out, jumping up.

"No." Joe said, through gritted teeth, as he waited for the wave of pain to pass. When it did, he gingerly settled himself into the least painful position he could find, careful not to dislodge any of the tubes or IV's.

"Hate broken ribs." He complained softly. "They…cut me open, too." He finished with a painful grimace.

"It's a good thing they did or you would have died!" Callie said, a little more harshly than she intended. When Joe responded with only raised eyebrows, Callie inhaled sharply. Did Joe really understand how close he came to dying? Callie panicked, fearing she had just told Joe more than he was supposed to know.

"Don't worry." He said managing a little smile. "I know…I almost…bit the big one…this time." He watched, amused, as Callie exhaled loudly, and then closed his eyes again blocking out the light, which caused his head to pound incessantly. "Didn't know…you cared…so much."

Out of the blue that weird dream came back to him. Callie kissing him, pressing her body against his. Was it a dream? Or was it a memory? 'Damn concussion! I don't know what's real and what isn't anymore!'

"Not funny, Joe!" Callie reprimanded him, quickly wiping her eyes. "I thought you were going to die because of me." She said much more softly.

"Not your fault." Joe repeated. "If anyone…blames you…they have to answer...to me." Joe sank back, exhausted from the effort of simply speaking.

"Even Frank?" She asked with a shaky smile.

"Even Frank." He whispered.

"Thank you."

They sat in silence for several moments as Callie wondered if this was the right time to bring up the video. Before she could decide, Joe spoke again.

"Need to…ask you…something." Joe said, tentatively.

Suddenly this didn't seem like such a good idea to him. It must have been the pain medication. Or the concussion. Maybe both. Joe had been trying desperately to remember something - anything. He'd been having some very bizarre and frightening dreams, but he didn't know if they were actually memories trying to break free or just a product of his overactive imagination enhanced by prescription painkillers. That kiss, though - it couldn’t possibly be real…could it?

"Sure. Anything." Callie replied, actually glad to put off her confession for a few minutes.

"Did you ever…" The pain of trying to talk and breathe at the same time once again stopped Joe. Trying to think of exactly how to phrase it, Joe realized he could barely string two coherent sentences together and opted for the straightforward approach. "Did you….kiss me?"

Joe felt his face grow hot just saying the words. But the dream, the memory, whatever it was, had been so real. He could still feel her lips pressing against his, her body tightly pushing into him and shuddered.

'Nope. Can't be. She's marrying Frank, for God's sake! She'll laugh and tell me I'm even crazier than usual now.' Joe told himself, waiting for the tell tale laughter to start. But there was only silence. And then Callie's voice, filled with…pain? Betrayal?

"Oh God, Joe, don't you remember?" She asked, her voice shaking. Callie thought surely Joe would have started to remember something by now. She couldn't believe he had forgotten the disgusting things Nash had forced her to do.

Joe finally opened his eyes a crack, gasping a little at how much the light hurt his eyes. This in turn caused his broken ribs to start screaming again, the painful result clearly evident on his face. Callie jumped up, obviously worried about him.

"What's wrong, Joe?"

Joe shook his head slightly, waiting for the pain to subside again. 'How soon before they bring that pain medication again?' He thought. 'Then those weird dreams will come back.' He couldn't decide which was worse - the bizarre dreams involving he and Callie or the constant, intense pain.

"Joe?" Callie said quietly, seeing he had closed his eyes again. "You do remember…don't you?"

Joe answered without opening his eyes. "It was…real? You did…kiss me?"

"Oh, Joe…how could you forget it?" Callie said and Joe could hear the tears in her voice.

Explaining the video to Frank had been bad enough, but would she now have to try and explain to Joe the circumstances surrounding the kiss? She concluded that would be more humiliating than the kiss itself had been.

'How could I forget it?!' Joe thought, stunned. This time he forced himself to open his eyes and look at her, regardless of how much it hurt. He couldn't believe the look on her face! Almost like he'd broken her heart.

'It was real?! Oh, my God! But did I kiss her back? NO! I would never do that to Frank! But neither would she. What I wouldn't give to be unconscious again…' Joe thought ironically.

"Cal." Joe said attempting to reach for her hand, feeling he should try and comfort her, but not sure why. "OW!" Joe pulled back, clutching at his ribs.

"Joe, please don't move." Callie said. Very gently taking his hand, she reached down and pushed his hair back. "We shouldn't be talking about this now. You need to rest. We can decide what to do later, ok?"

"Decide what to do?" Joe cried out, immediately regretting it. 'I need to know.' He thought through the haze of pain. 'Now!'

"Callie…what…did…we…do?" He said each word slowly and carefully, through gritted teeth.

"You don't remember any of it, do you? The kiss? Waking up in the basement? Our…clothes? The video?" Tears were now streaming down Callie's face. "Please, Joe, tell me you remember something…anything!" Callie begged.

Joe looked at her, shocked into silence. 'The kiss? Our clothes? A VIDEO? What the hell did we do?!'

*****

Frank approached the door to his brother's room and started to push it open, stopping when he heard Joe and Callie talking. He smiled, happy that they no longer argued like they used. In fact it seemed they both genuinely cared about each other. Even more so now, Frank realized. He was still deeply disturbed by how badly Joe had been hurt but if Joe hadn't been there to protect Callie and take the full wrath of Nash and his gang…Frank didn't even want to contemplate what might have happened to her. He'd never truly be able to thank his brother for what he had done. Frank stood and listened as he heard Joe's voice.

"Didn't know…you cared…so much." Frank winced. Even though he knew Joe was joking with Callie, the pain in Joe's voice was unmistakable.

'He's been through way too much.' Frank thought, his eyes starting to burn as the sight of Joe lying on the basement floor, so close to death, suddenly pushed it's way up from his memory. As Frank stood trying to compose himself before entering the room, a few more snippets of conversation floated out to him.

"Did you…kiss me?" He heard Joe ask.

'What?!' Frank laughed to himself. 'Those must be some pretty potent painkillers if he's dreaming about Callie kissing him!' The next words he heard chilled him to the bone.

"Oh God, Joe, don't you remember?" It was Callie's voice and she sounded so…distraught?

'She kissed him?! No, I must have misheard.' Frank reassured himself. But suddenly he no longer wanted to enter the room, knowing the conversation would come to an abrupt halt if he did - and he needed to hear more.

Frank heard a gasp of pain from Joe, then Callie's obviously concerned voice again.

"What's wrong, Joe?"

There was silence with no response from Joe. Concern for his brother was winning out over his curiosity, yet just as he was about to walk into the room Callie spoke again, much softer this time.

"Joe? You do remember…don't you?"

Frank gripped the door, listening for Joe's response.

"It was…real? You did…kiss me?"

"Oh, Joe…how could you forget it?" Callie sounded heartbroken; devastated that Joe had forgotten their kiss. Frank couldn't take anymore. Turning, he took several steps down the hall before he stopped.

'No. Callie loves me. She wants to marry me. She would never betray me. And Joe…absolutely not. Never. He would never do that to me. There has to be some reason. A perfectly logical explanation. Nash tried to make them believe they slept together. He probably had something to do with this…kiss… too.'

Frank retraced his steps back to the door, but once again hesitated before entering. Positioning himself so he could see into the room without being seen, Frank watched and listened, feeling ill at what he saw and heard.

Callie was holding Joe's hand, gently stroking his hair. "We shouldn't be talking about this now. You need to rest. We can decide what to do later, ok?"

Frank's head was pounding and his mind was racing, a million conflicting thoughts swirled through his brain. He didn't catch Joe's response, but clearly heard Callie's next words and could tell by the sound of her voice she was crying.

"You don't remember any of it, do you? The kiss? Waking up in the basement? Our…clothes? The video? Please Joe, tell me you remember something…anything!"

Frank stumbled backwards away from the door, his heart breaking, unable to believe his ears.

With tears streaming down his face, Frank ran. Secrets were being kept. Secrets between Callie and his brother. The video. Regardless of his promise, he would have to watch it now. Everything had suddenly changed and he had to know the truth.

Frank had gotten all the way to his car, his fingers resting on the door handle, before he stopped.

As Frank slowly made his way back to the hospital, he kept telling himself he was wrong. He must have misunderstood what Joe and Callie were saying. Yet as hard as he tried to convince himself of that, as much as he wanted to believe it, the little voice in his head told him otherwise.