Note: I want to thank everyone in advance for reading and following this story, and especially for those of you who always take the time to leave reviews, which are so very much appreciated. I would like to thank max2013, EvergreenDreamweaver, Hero 76, Guest, Paulina Ann, Laurie Q, and TinDog for your comments on "Altered Plans," which meant so much. I hope everyone will enjoy this story and drop a note! Feedback really does make a difference.

The completed story is 32 chapters long, and chapters will be posted every 4 days. The chapters are lengthy. This story is the most mature of my stories, as it deals with some big issues. There are some scenes and language that are mature in content (nothing is graphic, though) and I WILL give warnings on those chapters.

A sincere thank you to TinDog (an exemplary writer- check out her work!) for your support and encouragement to follow my own convictions with this story, even when I was a little hesitant to "go there." I'm glad did-it made the story; pulled it all together. To that end, I'd like to dedicate this story to TinDog, for inspiring me with her own amazing writing and challenging me to up my game, and to my fictional character Johnny, who made this whole story possible. :)

As this story continues and probably completes the series of "First Encounters", "Alternate Plans", and "The Secret Spaces", there are several goals I hope to achieve. To that end, this story asks and answers the following questions: What happens when Frank and Joe are on opposite sides of a case, and each one is right in his own way? Can Joe always rely on instinct, and can Frank always rely on logic? Just how did Callie and Johnny become such close friends, and why was Frank always okay with it? What secrets unite and what secrets divide people? How would Frank and Joe's language, mannerisms, and behavior change around each other, their family, and their friends? What is the role of the media when truth is so easily distorted? I wanted to show how the Hardys grow up in as realistic a fashion as I could. Throw in two separate cases and the return of Alan Cotnig, and I present to you "The Stages of Conviction." Enjoy...

The Stages of Conviction

Chapter 1

"Tell all the truth but tell it slant —
Success in Circuit lies
Too bright for our infirm Delight
The Truth's superb surprise
As Lightning to the Children eased
With explanation kind
The Truth must dazzle gradually
Or every man be blind —"

-Emily Dickinson

"Perfect day!" twenty -five year old blond, blue -eyed Joe Hardy said out loud to himself as he opened up the window to let in the November air, unseasonably warm for this time of year. He was so excited about the day ahead. Any minute, his brother, Frank, sister- in-law Callie, and their son, JJ, would be coming over before splitting up again for a bit. Then, they'd all reconvene at his house for dinner, at which time several friends would be joining them for dessert and Game Night. He couldn't think of a better way to spend a Saturday.

Before he could give it more thought, his wife, Vanessa, who was four months pregnant, came bounding down the stairs, threw her arms around his neck, and kissed him. "Morning, honey. Are they here yet?" She looked over his shoulder out the front window.

"Not yet, babe," he answered returning the kiss and pulling her close. "But we can occupy the next several minutes just fine without them, methinks." He wiggled his brows at her playfully.

Vanessa laughed. "We don't have that much time," she responded, giving him a final hug before sitting down on the loveseat.

Joe smiled, sat down next to her, and wrapped an arm around her, perfectly content as he felt her relax and lean her head against his shoulder.

"How are you feeling, babe?" he asked, kissing her cheek. Vanessa smiled as she looked up at him.

"Today's a good day. I swear, anything after the first trimester is heaven."

"Good," he answered, hugging her closer. Before he could go on, she sat up suddenly, and turned to him, her cheeks flushed with excitement. She started talking in her usual animated fashion, and he was struck again at how much he loved her; how beautiful she was. Whenever he thought of how close he had come to losing her on their last case, when she had been kidnapped along with Callie and their close friend, Johnny, who had been killed, he shuddered. It had been the worst time of his life.

"Can you believe how different my pregnancy has been from Callie's?" she asked him, eyes wide with wonder. "It's like we're from two different planets."

"I know," he agreed. "I guess it is kind of funny how different two women can be when they're both pregnant at the same time." He had to smile at the thought, thrilled that Callie and Vanessa were due within two weeks of each other at the end of April/ start of May. Vanessa stood 5'11' and was barely showing; Callie, who was a petite 5'3"-almost- was showing right away and looked much further along than she was. From the front, she looked tiny, but, when she turned to the side, her baby bump was definitely noticeable. Vanessa had experienced an awful first trimester with vomiting, morning sickness, nausea, and exhaustion. Callie had sailed through the first three months, but she had a long, rough road ahead if she repeated the pattern of her first pregnancy, when she had been diagnosed with anemia and Placenta Previa and, because of that and being given medicine that could have killed her, she had delivered JJ almost 8 weeks early.

"Yes! And I can't believe that, either," Vanessa went on. "She's my best friend and after everything that she went through with JJ, I can't even imagine wanting to get pregnant so quickly. I'm excited that we're doing it together this time, though."

"I think it was kind of an 'oops' if you want to know the truth," Joe responded with a laugh, "even though they're both thrilled."

"Oh, it was a definite 'oops' according to Callie," Vanessa agreed. She sat up at looked at her husband. "But I'm worried about her."

"Why?" Joe asked, concerned. "Did she say something to you?"

Vanessa shook her head. "No. But you know how dangerous this is for her. I think she's having some pain with this pregnancy even though she doesn't talk about it a lot. Plus, she's super busy with JJ and with Johnny's foundation and… I don't know…" she hesitated. "You know how we practically talk about everything? We still do, but she never says anything about that time… and…"

"That's not a bad thing, Van," he reminded her. "I hate to think about what happened, too."

"Me, too," she replied, sadly. "But I want to talk about it sometimes, you know?"

"I am ALWAYS here for you, baby. And whenever you need to talk, I need to listen. You know that I will. As far as Callie goes, I'll talk to her, Van. I promise," Joe replied, and squeezed her shoulders. Callie seemed to be doing great, but he knew she was dealing with a lot. Plus, Frank had called him yesterday and told him that Callie had been shaken up by something, but she had brushed it off when he had tried to talk to her. Knowing how close that he was to Callie, Frank had asked him to try to talk to her, and today was the perfect opportunity to do so.

"Thanks, Joe," she said with a smile. "I'm excited about today, but you don't think it'll be weird, do you?" She looked at him with her blue-grey eyes that always melted his heart.

"Well, Frank is pretty weird, so you never know," he teased. "But you'll have the baby to distract you."

Vanessa rolled her eyes at Joe. "I'm serious!" she emphasized.

"Van, relax. This is FRANK. It's great that you're hanging out. I think it's awesome, to be honest. You'll both see that you're more than computer nerds," he replied.

Vanessa and Frank had always been friendly and enjoyed each other's company, but they weren't nearly as close as he was to Callie, though that relationship had taken years and years to cultivate. Deep down, he'd always wished that Vanessa could see how much fun his brother could actually be, despite his reserved demeanor; that she'd be privy to his dry sense of humor, his ability to be both super intellectual and completely one of the guys- he had so many dimensions. He'd also wished that Frank could see that Vanessa was actually more of a practical minded and thoughtful person than met the eye; that she was as smart as she was silly, and that she was as brave and tough as she was girly and ebullient. After Frank had rescued Vanessa in their last case, she had a newfound desire to know him further, especially since he was so close to both Joe and Callie. And today, they had decided to go baby furniture shopping and to have lunch together, taking JJ with them. Joe was thrilled.

"I guess you're right. I'm happy!" she replied and reached over to hug him again.

Not a moment later, the doorbell rang. Joe and Vanessa walked together and opened it, immediately ushering Frank and Callie in, whilst exchanging quick hugs and greetings.

Before Callie could even say hello, Joe had stolen JJ from her arms. "Hey buddy!" he said, kissing him on the cheek. JJ, so used to his uncle's presence, slipped easily into his arms and started smiling.

"Oh, boy," Frank said with a laugh. "He's not going to want to leave you now."

"Of course not," Joe said, answering Frank, but looking at his nephew. "Cause Uncle Joe is sooooo much cooler than daddy." He threw the baby in the air and caught him, causing JJ to laugh uncontrollably and Callie to almost have a heart attack.

"Joe!" she gasped, covering her heart, as he continued to laugh with the baby. Pretty soon, all four were laughing along as well, finding JJ's belly laugh and adorable little face irresistable.

"You know, he's crawling all over the place now… and he's even starting to stand up," Frank cautioned. "I hope you're saving up your energy to chase him all over the place tonight!"

"Cause he's so smart and so athletic like his uncle-right, buddy?" Joe asked JJ, kissing his cheek again.

"I cannot even imagine what you're going to be like as a dad if this is how you act as an uncle," Callie quipped dryly.

Joe winked at her. "I'm also gonna be the world's coolest dad, but don't worry. I'll give your dad lessons in how to be chill." He threw JJ up once more for effect as Callie looked the other way, horrified.

Frank sighed heavily and gently extricated his eight month old son from his brother's arms."Da da," JJ cooed and poked Frank in the nose before breaking into laughter again.

Frank smiled and gave JJ a kiss. "Let's go, Van. Ready? I'm not sure if it'll be a longer day with JJ when we're out or when we get back with him and he's with your husband over there."

"Ready!" Vanessa agreed. She turned to give Joe a quick hug. "See you in a bit!"

"Have fun!" Joe said as he opened the door, watching as Frank leaned down to give Callie a quick kiss.

"We will!" Vanessa said, and, moments later, they were gone.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

For a brief moment, Joe and Callie looked at each other before they both burst into laughter. She linked her arm through Joe's. "What's cookin', good lookin'?" she teased him as she led him into the kitchen and took a seat at the table.

"Your son is the happiest baby I've ever seen," Joe answered, sitting in the seat opposite her and offering her a cookie.

"No thanks," she said. "Watching my girlish physique. And yes- we're lucky. He's ALWAYS like that."

Joe smiled at her. "Me, too- I like to watch my girlish physique," he answered as he grabbed a cookie and munched on it. "So what do you wanna do? Just me and you, sis- and we have the whole afternoon! Football? As in, on TV- the Jets are playing on a Saturday, for once. I don't expect you to be up to tackle football yet," he joked.

Callie giggled, amused, as always, by Joe's antics. "Sure," she agreed amiably. "But then I might have to leave you at halftime to take a nap. Let me give you some parental advice, my friend. When God gives you a chance to nap, take it. There is no tired like new parent tired. Trust me."

"That's fine with me," he agreed. "We have a long day. You SHOULD rest. Come on." He grabbed some more cookies and motioned for Callie to follow him into the living room, where he promptly flipped on the tv, waiting for the game to start. Taking advantage of the moment, he turned down the volume for a bit.

"So- how ya feeling?" he asked her.

She shrugged. "Okay. Tired. Otherwise, can't complain. I'm so happy that Van is feeling better, finally. I've been lucky like that. I never really had morning sickness."

Joe smiled fondly at Callie. Only she would say that. "Lucky?" he asked. Then, he added, "Vanessa is so excited that you'll be due the same time. Crazy, huh?"

"Honestly, Joe, I don't want to break her heart. I just don't have it in me to tell her that there's no way I'll make it that far."

She said it so matter- of -factly that he was almost taken aback. Keeping his expression neutral, he asked, "Why not?"

Callie sighed. "I have a lot going against me here. I'm not complaining at all- it's just a fact." She rested her hand on her stomach. "Once you have my condition, you'll probably get it again. Plus, I didn't gain nearly enough weight the first time with JJ, and I didn't wait the 18 months to 2 years to get pregnant again. And..." Her voice cut out a bit before she continued, "sometimes I get a little worried. I get these cramps a lot. The doctors are a little concerned." She brushed it off, obviously not wanting to think about it. "There are other things, but those are the major ones. It's fine. I just need to get to 36 weeks- that's my goal. If I do, I'll be thrilled. Those were tough weeks after JJ was born."

"You'll get there," he assured her. "Just take good care of yourself and relax."

Callie smiled. "Joe, I have an 8 month old. There's no such thing as 'relax'."

"Isn't it weird that you're a mom?" he asked, impulsively. "I still think of you as my occasionally fun, pain- in -the -ass sister." He winked at her.

"Well, you're going to be a dad, and that's ridiculous," she retorted. "Because you'll always be my pretty wild, dumbass brother."

Joe snorted, not expecting that answer. He laughed and sat up straighter. "Yeah, what's wrong with the world when we become parents?" he asked, wistfully. "I wonder if there's any saving grace."

Simultaneously, they both replied, "Frank," and then looked at each other, again surprised how in sync they had been in recent years.

"Do you think you'll find out this time if you're having another boy or a girl?" he asked her, enjoying her company.

"No way," she answered. "That moment when you give birth and find out is the most beautiful minute of your life," she added, wistfully. "It really is. What about you and Van?"

"December 15th," he answered. "Literally, a month from today. Van's got the appointment booked already."

Callie's face broke out into a huge smile that lit up her face. "I can't believe she didn't tell me! So cool!"

Joe couldn't help smiling, too. "She made the appointment yesterday," he answered. "I'm sure she'll tell you later, so act surprised, okay?"

"I've missed talking to you, Joe," Callie said, sincerely. "There's no time for anything anymore."

"Cal, can I ask you something?" he inquired, figuring he might as well get to the point and check on her.

"You just did," she teased him, but added, "Of course."

"Are you okay? Really? Frank's worried about you. He said you had a rough day yesterday," he told her, honestly.

She looked shocked. "Frank told you that?" she asked, incredulous.

"Yes, he did," Joe answered her calmly, meeting her dark eyes. "He's just worried- you know him. He keeps your confidences almost all the time, as he should, but he reached out to me yesterday and asked me to check on you. And don't even think of getting mad at him about it-we both know that no one loves you more than my brother."

Callie let out a small sigh and instinctively crossed her arms. Joe saw right away what Frank meant based on her body language. "Joseph, I'm fine. I told you. I'm just tired, but otherwise all is great."

"Frank says you've been really busy with the nonprofit you guys set up for Johnny," he went on, not relenting. "How's that going?" Callie had quit her full time job and took on a new one as head of the foundation, where she was able to put her literature, writing, and marketing degrees to use. Plus, it afforded her the opportunity to work from home when she needed to so she could stay with JJ.

He watched her face soften a bit. "It's good, you know? I feel like this is what I was meant to do. Frank and I have hired the staff and things are going great. It's so important to me that Johnny is remembered… that his name is always associated with goodness and generosity. I… I hope he'd be proud of that." Her voice broke a little and he saw it. THAT was what this was about, and he understood immediately what he knew Frank couldn't.

"He would have been so proud of you, Cal," Joe said softly, leaning towards her. "Have you talked to anyone about this? About what you went through? It helps sometimes."

He watched as Callie's posture changed; saw her stiffen. "I'm fine, Joe."

"You haven't answered my question."

"Stop playing detective with me," she answered defensively. "There's nothing to say. I've dealt with it."

"No, you haven't," he countered. He wasn't afraid to challenge her, because he knew it's what he had needed, so many years ago, and she had been one of the people to give him a dose of reality when he had needed it. He loved her enough to play hardball.

"Joe, knock it off, please," she said, and stood up.

"Don't you run!" he cautioned her, reaching for her arm.

"Stop! Just leave me alone about it!" she responded, raising her voice. But he saw the tears in her eyes.

"Callie," he said, "I won't stop. I GET it." He softened his voice, but didn't let go of her arm. He did, though, change his tactic. "Cal, I have a pretty great life, right?" he asked her. "I have a gorgeous wife who I love more than life, a great family, a solid job, pretty good health. I mean, things are good, right?"

He saw that he had caught her off guard. "Yes," she replied with hesitation.

"Well, guess what? Sometimes, despite all that, and even all these years later, I still get nightmares about what happened with Iola. I'll still see something that reminds me of her and I'll feel my stomach churn. Because no matter what people say, no matter what I logically know to be true, I still feel guilty. And I know you do, too."

Callie turned the other way, covering her mouth with her hand. He saw tears slide from her eyes. "I don't want to cry today," she managed.

Joe released her hand and pulled her into a hug, gently rubbing her back. "I DO feel guilty," she murmured quietly into his shoulder.

"I know. And you shouldn't. Neither should I. But I DO understand," he comforted her. "What happened yesterday?" he asked.

Slowly, Callie pulled away from him and sat down on the sofa. Joe sat next to her and held her hand. "It's so stupid," she said at last, quietly, still wiping at her eyes. He handed her a tissue from the coffee table, which she gratefully accepted. "Thank you," she managed.

"Tell me anyway," he encouraged her.

She squeezed his hand and took a deep breath. "I was about to take JJ for a walk around the block in his carriage, but then I remembered- he's still out there," she said softly. Joe inhaled sharply. Neither Vanessa nor Callie mentioned Cotnig's name often, but it was true- he had not yet been apprehended, and he and Frank were acutely aware of the danger that posed to all of them. Joe knew would find him one day- and he prayed it was one day soon-and he would make him pay. "And I got scared," she went on.

"Of course, Cal. That makes sense."

"No, you don't understand," she said, meeting his eyes, still wiping at her own. "I… I feel so ashamed about how scared I was when- it- was happening," she added, voice shaking. "And then, just when I was feeling brave enough to go out with my baby, I heard a car backfire." She stopped, the tears falling again.

"Go on," Joe said gently, squeezing her hand. "It's okay, sis."

"Oh, Joe," she answered."God, it was like I was back there. I heard the car but I kept seeing the gun and hearing the shot. And I see Johnny jumping in front of me and I hear his scream. It was like..." Her breathing was uneven, and she started trembling as her voice cut out. "Is this my fault, Joe?" She looked up at him, her eyes begging him for absolution.

Joe released her hand and hugged her tightly, his own eyes burning with unshed tears. "No, Callie. It's not," he said in a low voice. "And you should feel no shame about being scared. You almost died, Cal. You almost lost JJ. You DID lose Johnny. You lived through hell, even worse than what Van went through, and that was a nightmare." She continued to cling to him, her face buried against his shoulder.

"Cal," he went on, gently. "Vanessa has nightmares, too. Did you know that?"

"No," she whispered.

"I have them, too, sometimes."

She nodded against him. Yes, she had nightmares. He really had no idea. She held tighter to him.

"And while I haven't slept with Frank in about 20 years, I bet he has them, too. You should have seen him when he thought he'd lost you." Gently, he pushed Callie back and cupped her face with his hands, making her meet his eyes. "Cal, let my brother help you. Talk to him. He understands more than you think he does. And he loves you- adores you- he always has. I needed him when I lost Iola. You need him now. Know that you have Vanessa and me to talk to - always- but you and Frank have been a team for a long, long time. He won't let you down. I promise you that."

She took a deep breath. "You're right," she finally acquiesced. And he was, more than he knew. Frank had always been her confidante; knew her better than anyone.

"And we all loved Johnny," Joe added. "You know that. He would be so upset to see you this way. That's the thought that gets me through when I feel like you do- that Iola would have hated that I feel this way. That's when I change my mindset. We will all work to protect Johnny's legacy, but remember the person, Cal. The guy was crazy about you. And you know he would have loved your kids. So you need to take care of JJ and that new little one. Deal?"

"Deal," she agreed and drew in a shaky breath before wiping away her last tears. She leaned forward and kissed Joe on the cheek. "Thank you, Joe. I love you."

"I love you," he answered and sat back. "You nasty witch."

Callie laughed. "You're such an idiot," she answered. "But thank you again". She stood up and then leaned down again for a final, quick hug. "You're the brother I never had."

"Or wanted," he added with a sparkle in his eyes.

She shook her head, a wry smile on her pretty face. "I'm going to rest now, okay? Watch your game. Sorry I made you miss some of it."

"Women," Joe replied gruffly.

She ruffled his hair. "Annoying little boys," she quipped as she ran to the stairs, and Joe threw a couch pillow after her as she disappeared.

"Sisters," he said quietly to himself, and he smiled softly.

He flipped on the game. Maybe, at last, things would finally get back to normal.