Author's Note: This story rounds out the arc I have created and is the culminating story in the series that includes the following: "First Encounters", "Alternate Plans", "The Secret Spaces", "The Stages of Conviction," "Civil Skirmishes," and "Stay by my Side." To that end, this story will see the return of many of the characters, both canon and original (as well as at least one big surprise) and tie up any loose end that I think I may have left in any of the stories. You could read it without having read the others, but this story is really for those who have been so kind and supportive and who wanted to see what became of everyone. It picks up approximately two months after "Stay by my Side" leaves off.

It was also a huge undertaking (37 chapters) and involves four mysteries which are united under the one theme to which the title applies: that, no matter what difficulties/ tragedies/ triumphs life presents, family and friends are the true fortune in life and carry us through. Many chapters are Frank- centric; many are Joe- centric; some involve their families and friends; some involve the brothers together. I tried to interweave all of the chapters so that each character can have his or her moment of resolution. Since this is, most likely, the last expansive, full-length story I shall probably write, I tried to take the time to develop each situation carefully and I thought about what I wanted to see resolved and what wonderful reviewers asked me to consider resolving. The story is complete and I shall post two chapters a week.

Finally, a brief note to thank in advance everyone who will read, favorite, and especially comment on the chapters. I am so appreciative of your time and support. Many people have commented on my former stories in the time it has taken me to write this one, so thank you to each and every one of you who has done so.

With no further delay, I present "Relative Fortune." I hope you enjoy it!

Relative Fortune

Chapter 1

"How ya feeling?" 28 year old Frank Hardy asked his year younger brother as he wiped the sweat from his forehead, upping the speed on the treadmill once again and trying not to smile.

Joe raised a brow when he saw how fast his brother was going and cursed silently under his breath. "Fine," he huffed as he increased the level of his own machine. He would not let Frank win; lunch was on the line.

Frank gave him a thumbs up and continued running and, to Joe's utter disappointment, he didn't look half-winded.

Joe sighed inwardly and wondered how long he could hold out. It was a Saturday morning and working out was the absolute last thing he wanted to do. He would much prefer to be sleeping, eating, and hanging out with his wife Vanessa and their eight month old son, Evan, but it wasn't happening. Instead, here he was, following through on his New Year's resolution to start working out again at least four days a week, and one of those times was the mandatory Saturday morning session with his brother. The problem was- Frank had never stopped working out, so he had an unfair advantage!

"Five more minutes!" Frank called happily and Joe rolled his eyes as he tried to breathe. It wasn't that he was in bad shape; quite the opposite, in fact. It was just that he enjoyed working out only when he was in the mood and he much preferred a no- schedule routine or playing ball with his friends to this systematic regime that his brother had perfected for years. Frank had always run or worked out every day at practically the break of dawn, so, even though it was only 11:00 in the morning, it was actually late for him, though they were finishing a two- hour session.

"Done!" Frank exclaimed as the treadmill automatically went into "cool down" mode, and Joe just nodded, not trusting himself to talk for the next few minutes. He had kept up with his brother the last few weeks, and certainly could outdo him when it came to the weight machines; he was even naturally quicker than Frank. But Frank had patience and endurance and could just keep going. Joe would much rather get in a quick workout and be done with it.

Twenty minutes later, showered and dressed in regular clothes, he did manage to glare at his brother. "I don't get how you like this crap," he told him as he threw his workout clothes in his bag, but Frank just laughed.

"Seriously!" Joe went on. "I mean, you genuinely LIKE it. I do it because I told you I would, but, it it were up to me, the weekly football games would enough. I'm tired and hungry," he grumbled.

Frank pat him on the back, a twinkle in his deep brown eyes. "I know, little brother. I'm proud of you. What do you say I treat you to an early lunch, just me and you, to make up for it? We'll call today a tie."

"Really?" Joe asked, suddenly in a considerably better mood.

"Absolutely," Frank agreed. "I told Callie I'd be home around 1:30, so we're fine. Call Vanessa."

Joe smiled. "Sounds great," he agreed, and took out his phone to text his wife. Despite his grumbling, he loved hanging out with his brother. Though they worked together with their father as private investigators and saw each other all the time, they also made time for each other on the weekends. Both couples, in fact, were extraordinarily close, and their children would grow up together, which made him incredibly happy.

On the way out of the gym, he stopped at the front desk, where his best friend, Biff Hooper, was standing and eating a Snickers bar. Biff looked up when he saw them.

"Working hard, I see," Frank said dryly to Biff, though his tone was teasing.

"Listen, Frankie boy," Biff replied, purposefully taking another big bite and chewing like a cow obnoxiously as Joe tried not to laugh. "Chocolate is made of milk. Milk has protein. This one has nuts- also protein. Basically, it's a health food." He smiled.

"You're a virtual scientist," Joe added, and Biff laughed.

"You know it, bro," Biff replied. "You guys like the gym?" he asked.

Joe nodded. "It's fantastic, man. Congrats. I'm really happy for you."

"There's a lesson in this," Biff replied, finishing his candy bar.

When Joe raised his brow, Biff replied, "All you need are dashing good looks and a fantastic body to succeed in life. Brains are overrated, man."

Joe snorted. "What do you do when you have neither?" he asked, as Biff threw the wrapper at him.

Despite his joking, he was extraordinarily proud of Biff. Though he had never done well in school, it was only because he had never taken it seriously, preferring to spend his time on football and mischief, both of which Joe had joined him in. But Biff was a very hard worker, had built his construction company from the ground up with his cousin, Ronnie, and had constructed and invested in Core Fit, the hottest gym in the area. Biff was funny, loyal, and trustworthy, and he deserved all the success he was finding. Still, if he could annoy him…

"This place is doing great. Between this and the construction business, you might actually be able to pay for the wedding. What's the cost now?" Joe asked.

Biff groaned. "I don't know; nothing is planned yet. Karen handles all that. I figure if I don't know, I can pretend it's all free. I told her to hide any receipts until I have to acknowledge them. Speaking of which…" He turned to Frank. "You're doing my taxes this year, right?"

Frank's eyes grew wide. "Biff, really? I didn't mind when it was just you, but now you have the construction business and the gym. It gets pretty complicated. I'm not an accountant!" he griped.

"You're a freaking math genius- good enough!" Biff quipped.

Joe tried not to laugh. Poor Frank. Somehow, whenever anyone found out that he had a Masters degree from Princeton in Math, the #1 question was always, "Wanna do my taxes?" And, because Frank was a nice person and didn't like to let people down, he currently did his own taxes, his in-laws, his parents, The Gellers Foundation, Joe's, Hardy Investigations, Phil's, and now, apparently, Biff's.

"How do I get roped into these things?" he asked as he turned to Joe.

Joe smiled, looking wide-eyed and innocent like Biff. "What can I say? You ARE a freaking math genius."

"You get a free lifetime gym membership here," Biff reminded him. "And a steep discount on any building costs. Plus, the pleasure of my company."

"I should charge you for that alone," Frank replied, but sighed. "Fine. But I swear to you that if you don't get me the paperwork by the end of the month, don't expect it done."

Biff smiled widely. "That's my boy! Of course."

Joe knew well that there was no way that Biff would get the papers to Frank a minute earlier than the April 15th deadline, but he was staying out of it. Frank should know that too, after all! Plus, Frank would do it anyway, he knew, though he'd let Biff have it.

"Alright, hot stuff," Joe joked. "We're heading out now. Call you later. Come over tonight with Kar?"

"I mean, if I have nothing else planned," Biff replied, stretching.

"So, 7:00?" Joe asked.

"Of course," Biff answered, laughing. "See ya later, sweet cheeks!"

Shaking his head at Joe and Biff's antics, Frank rolled his eyes as they headed out the door.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Forty minutes later, Joe was sitting across from his brother, finishing their meal.

"Don't you think that the triple cheeseburger and fries kind of negates the whole workout routine of the morning?" Frank asked, shaking his head as he finished his own grilled chicken salad.

"No," Joe replied, blue eyes sparkling. "The milkshake I'm planning on ordering as soon as I'm done will do that. Until then, I'm practically a model for healthy living."

"Is that how it works?" Frank asked, amused. He turned to look at his iPhone, which had just vibrated. He smiled.

"Absolutely," Joe joked. "Who's that? Callie?"

"Yeah," Frank replied warmly, "and she says hi." Joe had to smile. After all of these years, Frank still was completely smitten with his wife; it was evident in the look on his face which automatically softened when he spoke her name.

Callie was like a sister to him, and, recently, she had confided a part of her past that had remained a secret for many years. He knew that she had told Frank that she had shared it with him, but they had never spoken of it. It would be unbearably difficult, admittedly, but just the knowledge that he knew had brought him and Frank even closer; it was as if they were united in an unbreakable trust. One day he would talk to Frank about it, if only to find out what had happened to the animal who had attacked Callie; where he was imprisoned. But he would never bring it up other than that unless Frank did, and he hadn't done so in ten years. Still, when he looked at his brother, he knew that Frank sensed his silent support, and he saw how much it meant to him.

"How's she doing?" Joe asked.

"Callie?" Frank asked. "Amazing. I don't know how she gets it all done. Somehow, she manages to take care of JJ and Laurie," he started, referring to his two children, who would be two and one year old next month, "and she's made incredible progress with Johnny's Foundation. She's actually been traveling a lot; I miss her." He blushed a little.

Joe smiled. "Yeah. I know. Van's been working from home a few days a week. Callie managed to come over once or twice and with the kids and filled her in. That's great!"

"It is," Frank admitted. "The charity has grown so much, and she's running it, so she's had to meet with people in the city and the whole tri-state area. It's making a huge difference for so many people, and because it's for Johnny, you know she's 100% invested. So she's doing great, but, between the two of us, the hours are crazy. Thank god mom and Callie's parents have been so helpful watching the kids. Hopefully, things will settle down a bit in the summer when more people are hired. I don't know if I told you, but Cal found a really nice office location for the center. It'll be busy, but- she's happy, you know? That's all I can ask."

"That's a lot," Joe acknowledged. "Do you two ever sleep?!"

Frank laughed. "Not really. Wait! You'll see. Evan's been a great little sleeper and he's such an easy baby. So's Laurie. But two kids are quadruple the work- I'm not kidding! Enjoy it now, Joe, because you have no idea what's coming."

Joe's eyes lit up. "I'm so excited, though!"

Frank nodded and spoke affectionately. "Of course you are. As you should be. I'm excited for you!" Frank admitted. "And Vanessa's still feeling well? The morning sickness is done?"

"Thank god," Joe groaned. "Second trimester Vanessa is much more agreeable than first trimester Vanessa. She's a trooper, though, and as gorgeous as ever."

"She is," Frank agreed. "We've been talking about…"

"Everything- I know!" Joe cut in, laughing. "You two have become pretty close. Fine with me-Cal and I have nothing to say about computers and programming!"

"No argument there," Frank replied lightly. "But are you getting ready? Seriously! Two little boys? It's going to be crazy! I mean, I've heard…"

"Frank and Joe, Part 2!" Joe added, smiling. "August can't come soon enough!"

"I'm telling you," Frank cautioned again. "You have no idea how much work two kids will be."

"We may stop at five," Joe joked. "Honestly, we have to talk about it. We'll see." He eased off, knowing that Frank and Callie could not have more children.

Frank sensed the switch in tone. "Joe, it's fine," he said at last. "Really. I have my two babies and I'm happy. We both are. We probably would have decided to stop anyway…" He paused, realizing he was treading very sensitive territory.

"They're great kids," Joe said softly. "Your family is perfect."

Frank smiled and looked down.

"Is Callie still talking about adoption?" he asked casually, and then stopped himself. "I'm sorry. It's none of my business."

Frank looked up and met his eyes. "It IS your business, since Callie told you," he said quietly. "It's okay, Joe. Yes, she is. Honestly, we have to discuss it. I think we decided to wait a few years before we make that decision; it's a long process anyway. I love being a dad. JJ keeps me on my toes and my daughter…" Joe watched, touched, as Frank choked up a bit, "is the love of my life." He continued after a moment. "But I want to give them the attention they need and deserve. And I want to be a good detective and continue in a career I'm passionate about. And I want time to spend with you and my friends and to have fun. Plus, there's Callie, and we need time for just us. I can't do all of those things and have ten kids!" He let out a soft laugh. "So right now and maybe forever, two is fine."

"Van and I have talked about stopping after this one," Joe admitted, surprising himself by sharing that detail with his brother. At Frank's incredulous look, Joe smiled. "I know, I know. I always joke about ten kids, and Evan is my life- I'm so excited for him to have a brother. But I feel EXACTLY the same way you do; so does Vanessa. MAYBE one more after this… in a few more years. I… thanks, Frank, for telling me. It means a lot."

Frank simply nodded.

"It's good that Cal might want to wait on adoption, too," Joe went on.

"Yeah," Frank agreed. "And speaking of whom," he looked down at his watch, "I haven't seen her in three days, and she's home now, so I have to start going. Besides, you have Hooper to prepare for, god help you."

"And I assume you'll be having Callie's parents watching JJ and Laurie for a few more hours, then," Joe replied with a straight face. He started laughing when Frank turned bright red.

Before he could continue to tease his brother, Joe's cell phone rang. It was his father. After several minutes of conversing, all humor had left him. When he hung up, he looked right at his brother. "We have to go- now. Two missing persons cases. One's a two year old girl; one's a young woman. Dad wants you to meet him at the office. I'm supposed to meet Collig at the precinct."

Frank stood immediately, reached into his wallet, and left money for the bill and tip. "Let's go," he agreed, knowing time was of the essence. Seeing his family would have to wait, as always.

Knowing Joe understood, he pat him quickly on the shoulder, having no idea what would be awaiting them.

He did know this: missing person cases were never good.

And he and Joe were about to tackle two of them.