A/N: I'm not sure if climbing to the top of the Statue of Liberty is still allowed. If not, let's pretend it is. ;-)
Thank you to everyone who has read the first chapter and thanks to Cheryl, TraSan, josie, Helen, Alicia, MissMe113, Miss Fenway and dazzling vampire for the reviews. I didn't consciously try to make this a 'Frank' story but yeah, I guess I gave him a harder time in this one than any of my others that have been posted so far. ;-) Hope you continue to enjoy it, regardless. Again thanks for ALL the great comments! :-)
Trust
Chapter 2
"It's three-hundred-five-feet-one-inch from the ground to the tip of the torch," Joe read from the brochure, excitement gleaming in his blue eyes. "Twenty-two stories. Three-hundred-fifty-four steps." He stopped reading and looked up at Frank. "Race you to the top," Joe challenged with an impish grin.
"Not on your life," Frank replied shaking his head, thrilled to see the brother he had so desperately missed the last few months finally starting to re-emerge. "I'll forfeit."
"Aw, come on. I'll even give you a head start. You can take the elevator to the top of the pedestal. I'll take the steps." Joe referred to the brochure once again. "All 192 of them!"
Frank, Callie, Joe and Vanessa were just finishing breakfast in the hotel's restaurant before checking out and getting started on their final day of fun in the city. Given Joe's love of history, Callie had gathered some brochures on the various historic landmarks she thought he might be interested in. Perusing the brochures with Vanessa looking over his shoulder, Joe had settled on the Ellis Island Immigration Museum and the Statue of Liberty.
"Come on, Frank. Don't deprive him of the chance to make a fool of himself," Vanessa teased. "Or you," she added as an after thought, not quite sure who would emerge victorious in a race to the top of the Statue of Liberty even if Frank did have a head start by taking the elevator.
"Oh, go on Frank. Race him to the top," Callie encouraged.
"Thanks a lot!" Frank said to her. "You're my wife. You're supposed to be on my side."
"Please," Joe begged. "You said today was my day. I could do anything I wanted."
"Yeah, anything you wanted. Not anything you wanted me to do!"
"But I want to race you to the top of the Statue of Liberty!" Joe pleaded.
"You better say yes, Frank, before he brings out the puppy dog eyes," Vanessa advised, with a laugh.
"Fine," Frank said with mock exasperation. "I'll race you to the top. But I'm taking you up on the head start."
"No problem," Joe replied with a mischievous grin. "You're an old married man now. Slows you down. I'll still beat you."
"You really need to learn to be more confident, hon." Vanessa laughed, then leaned in kissing Joe on the cheek.
As Joe and Vanessa engaged in a whispered conversation, Frank turned to Callie and winked, squeezing her hand. He wanted her to know, once again, how grateful he was to her for arranging this weekend for Joe and Vanessa. Seeing the waiter approach Frank signaled for the check and then reached into his pocket for his keys.
"Joe, you want to go get the car and bring it around front?" he asked, tossing the keys at his brother.
"Why, so you can pay the bill…again?" Joe replied, frustrated.
"Yeah, something like that. And don't even bother to argue, the answer is no."
"So you've been telling me all weekend." Joe got up and pulled Vanessa up beside him. "We'll meet you out front."
"Okay," Frank replied as he and Callie watched the younger couple exit the restaurant, still talking animatedly about the brochures clutched in their hands.
oooOOOooo
The four young people stood in awe, heads tilted back as far as possible, staring up at the impressive sight before them.
"I'm glad it's such a nice day," Callie remarked as a light breeze ruffled her hair. "Can you imagine being up there when it's really windy out?"
"I imagine a strong wind would cause the whole structure to move at least a little bit," Frank commented.
"A fifty-mile-per-hour wind will cause the statue to sway three inches and the torch to sway five inches," Joe said absentmindedly, still gazing upward.
Frank turned to look at his brother, both amused and impressed. "That was in the brochure?"
"Nope. Mrs. Grayson's ninth grade history class."
"Really?" Frank said, amazed that Joe had remembered anything from ninth grade. "What else did you learn about the Statue of Liberty in her class?"
"There are twenty five windows in the crown. They symbolize the gemstones found on the earth and heaven's rays shining over the world. The seven rays in the statue's crown represent the seven seas and the continents of the world. The statue was given to the United States as a gift from France in 1886. But the torch isn't original. It's been completely rebuilt. The original one is in the Torch Exhibit and the original flame is in the lobby." Completing his little speech, Joe finally looked at the others.
"What?" he asked, seeing both Frank and Callie looking back at him with shocked expressions on their faces and Vanessa smiling at him, beaming with pride.
"And all this time I thought the only thing you remembered from high school was football, parties and girls."
"Those were my majors," Joe winked at his brother. "But there were a few other things I found interesting enough to remember."
"If you guys are going to race to the top you better get started before it gets too crowded," Vanessa advised.
"Did you have to remind him, Van." Frank rolled his eyes. "I was kinda hoping he'd forgotten about it."
"Not a chance, older brother," Joe laughed, emphasizing the 'old'. "Let's go."
"Fine, let's get this over with. But I'm taking the elevator," Frank reminded his brother.
"No problem, old man. See you at the top." Giving Vanessa a quick peck on the cheek, Joe was off.
Shaking his head, Frank smiled and followed his brother to the entrance.
"This means we can go at a much more leisurely pace." Callie joked, linking her arm through Vanessa's and steering them in the direction Frank and Joe had just taken.
…
A while later Vanessa and Callie emerged at the top, and after a few moments of searching they found Frank and Joe gazing out at New York City through one of the windows.
"So who won?" Callie asked coming up behind the brothers.
Turning, Frank opened his mouth to reply, but Joe cut him off. "It was a tie," he said, smiling mysteriously.
"It was?" Frank looked at him astonished.
Joe slung an arm over his brother's shoulder and winked at him. "Yeah…it was."
After looking through each of the windows, ooh-ing and aah-ing at the impressive vista below, the two couples made their way back down the stairs. They spent the next few hours looking at the various exhibits and displays and chatting with the guides before taking a break for lunch.
"Ok, little brother, impress us with your knowledge of Ellis Island," Frank said between bites of his sandwich.
"Well…" Joe began his eyes gleaming. "There's a mystery surrounding Ellis Island."
"Uh-oh," Callie said looking at Vanessa. "The real reason he wanted to come here finally comes out."
"Seriously?" Frank asked, intrigued.
"Mm-hmm." Joe nodded vigorously. "A man named Samuel Ellis bought the island in the 1770's. He was the last private owner. During the war, the government bought it from him and used it as a fort and ammunition and ordnance depot. They named it Fort Gibson. In 1892 it was turned into an immigration station."
"So where does the mystery come in?" Frank prodded.
"On July 14, 1897 the original structure burned to the ground," Joe continued excitedly. "No one was killed but all the records dating back to 1855 were destroyed. And they never found out what caused the fire. It's a mystery to this day," he concluded ominously.
Callie watched as the brothers looked at each other, identical expressions on their faces. "Please don't tell me you are going to try and find out what caused the fire," she said only half-jokingly.
"I don't know, Joe. A mysterious fire. No known cause. It would still be an open case, don't you think?" Frank addressed his brother.
"I'd think so," Joe replied seriously. "Guess we should look into it, huh?"
"Well, we have solved every case we ever accepted," Frank said, modestly. "I'm sure the government would be happy to have us check it out. What do you say?"
"N-no." Callie stared wide-eyed at her husband. "Investigating an unsolved fire from 1897? You cannot be serious!"
"But it's the patriotic thing to do," Frank said innocently. "Ellis Island is a national treasure!"
Vanessa remained silent, but peered closely at Joe, a determined expression on her face. Falling victim to her unrelenting gaze, Joe tried to fight back a smile but seconds later broke out into contagious laughter.
"I didn't think they were serious," Vanessa said to Callie, as she lightly smacked Joe on the arm. "But you never know with these two."
Finishing up their lunch, they headed to the Ellis Island Immigration Museum. Watching Joe and Vanessa as the afternoon wore on, Frank thought he detected a slight change in them. Happy and boisterous when the day began, he noticed they seemed to become more subdued as the day progressed, occasionally exchanging a troubled glance or whispered conversation.
As their short vacation from reality drew to a close, the little group returned to Frank's car to begin the drive home. Frank looked on with concern as Joe held the car door open for Vanessa then shut it gently behind her. As he watched Joe start to walk around to the other side of the car, he swore he could almost see Joe's mood changing before his eyes. Apparently, he hadn't been imagining the worried looks that had been passing between Joe and Vanessa as the day wore on.
"Hey, is anything wrong?" Frank asked softly, stopping his brother behind the car.
"Nah," Joe said, his voice tinged with sadness.
"Liar," Frank replied affectionately. "Come on, give. What's bothering you?"
Joe studied the emblem on the back of Frank's car for a moment before looking at his brother, the sadness in his voice now reflected in his blue eyes.
"I'm just not really looking forward to going back to the real world. Real memories and real problems," he finally replied.
Frank took a deep breath, trying to choose his words very carefully. He wanted to reach out and help his brother without upsetting Joe any more than he already was, which seemed to be a difficult task recently.
"Is there something specific you're worried about?"
Joe looked through the rear window into the backseat, where Vanessa was sitting, anxiety and concern clouding his face.
"Is something wrong with Vanessa?" Frank asked in alarm.
"No. Well, not that we know of," Joe corrected himself. "Her first blood test is tomorrow," Joe continued quietly, not taking his eyes off her.
"Blood test?" Frank repeated, confused.
"It's been three months," Joe said finally looking at Frank again. "She has to get tested every three months for a year. If they all come back negative, we'll know for sure she wasn't infected with HIV."
Frank actually felt his jaw drop. He knew this; he remembered the doctor in the emergency room explaining all this the night Vanessa had been raped. Frank realized so much had happened since that horrible night that it was easy to forget Joe and Vanessa had to live with the repercussions of it every single day. It was especially easy to forget since they had both become so adept at hiding their feelings from everyone but each other.
"God, Joe…I'm sorry. I mean…sometimes I forget…" Frank stammered, wishing the ground would just open up and swallow him. 'Sometimes you forget?! Gee, that's supportive! Shut up already, before you stick both feet in your mouth!' Frank admonished himself, becoming shocked when Joe actually smiled at him.
"It's okay, Frank. Really." Joe tried to reassure his brother. "We're getting used to doing a lot of things differently now. Don't worry, we can handle it."
'You idiot!! YOU were supposed to be comforting HIM!' Frank felt his face growing red with embarrassment. A sudden thought struck him and made his blood run cold. 'I can't ask him that! But…I have to know…for my own peace of mind.' Frank opened his mouth to speak and immediately snapped it shut, realizing he had no idea of how to ask what he desperately needed to know.
"Whatever it is, just spit it out, Frank," Joe said, becoming somewhat amused with his brother's obvious unease.
"Uh…Okay…Um…you and Vanessa… have you…are you…" Frank stuttered and stammered tripping over every word.
"Practicing safe sex?" Joe said, unable to contain a small chuckle as Frank flushed a deep red.
'Leave it to my kid brother to be so blunt!' Frank thought, suddenly feeling much older than his brother. "Well yes, actually," he replied, getting slightly annoyed when Joe laughed out loud. "Well?! Are you?"
"Yes, we are," Joe reassured his brother, still smiling at Frank's chagrin. "Give me a little credit, huh? I did leave the Campbell Center with a few brain cells still in tact."
"How can you joke about something like this, Joe?" Frank asked.
"I have to." Joe suddenly turned serious. "Look Frank, Vanessa and I both know how serious all of this is, but honestly, we have to find some humor in it somewhere or we really would go crazy. I'm sorry I laughed at you. Really. Don't worry, we do take everything very seriously, even if it doesn't seem that way sometimes. We're just trying to find something that resembles normal again. Or as normal as it can be for us. Okay?"
Frank shook his head, wondering when his big brother skills had suddenly taken such a nosedive without him noticing it. "You know I started this conversation with the thought of trying to make you feel better. Guess I need to take some big brother refresher classes, huh?"
"On the contrary, Big Brother, I feel much better." Joe smiled gratefully at his brother. "Not many guys would let their little brother have a laugh at their expense and not get mad about it. I wouldn't trade you in for a 'new and improved' big brother, even if I could."
"Thanks…I think!" Frank said laughing along with Joe. "And Joe?"
"Yeah?"
"You don't have to, you know. Handle everything alone. If you ever need to talk, I'm here. You know that, right?"
"I know." Joe smiled. "I might just take you up on that one day."
"Anytime, little brother."
oooOOOooo
An hour later, Frank pulled up in front of Joe and Vanessa's apartment building. Getting out of the car, Callie stretched as she watched Frank and Joe began to unload suitcases from the trunk. Turning to Vanessa, Callie smiled.
"I hope you had a good time. I know Frank and I had a blast."
As Vanessa reached out to hug her friend, Callie could swear she saw tears in the younger girl's eyes.
"Thank you so much, Cal," Vanessa whispered. "We never would have made it through this weekend with our sanity in tact. Or what's left of it, anyway." She gave a small laugh as she pulled away. "I still can't believe you arranged a carriage ride in Central Park for us. You're the best, Callie. The best friend I have ever had," Vanessa concluded squeezing Callie's hand tightly.
Callie felt a lump in her throat as she realized just how difficult it would have been for Joe and Vanessa to remain in Bayport this weekend, and be confronted with all the horrible memories that were still so fresh.
"Believe me Van, I had a lot of fun making all the plans and arrangements. Just ask Frank. I drove him crazy!" Callie replied as Vanessa broke into laughter. "And it was all worth it to see you and Joe having such a good time. We have to do it again…soon!"
Frank and Joe emerged from behind the car with the luggage, stopping in front of the girls. Joe set down the suitcase he was carrying and pulled Callie into a hug.
"Thanks, Cal." He said simply, holding her tightly for a moment. Abruptly, he released her and, taking Vanessa's hand, disappeared into the building.
oooOOOooo
After unpacking the suitcases, Vanessa walked out to the living room. She hesitated then opened the door leading out to the balcony and stood on the threshold, undecided. She needed time - alone - to sort out the thoughts and fears that had begun to plague her early that afternoon. Yet she didn't want to break the magical spell Callie had been able to weave for them. Vanessa's thoughts suddenly turned to Callie and Frank and everything they had done for her and Joe the past few months.
'They're still newlyweds. They should be completely wrapped up in each other, not spending all their time worrying about us,' she thought with more than a little guilt.
"Van?" she heard Joe's soft voice behind her and smiled ironically. Without even turning around, she knew he would be standing behind her, not too close, yet not too far away either.
Within days of the rape, Joe had picked up on all her new fears, rational or not, and adjusted his behavior accordingly. Vanessa longed for the days when Joe would sneak up on her, grab her around the waist, playfully throw her on the couch, holding her down and smother her with kisses. She wondered if she'd ever get to a point where she could let him do that again or if it would now exist only in her memory.
Vanessa turned to look at Joe, but remained standing in the doorway.
"You okay?" he asked, concerned.
She wanted to lie to him. She wanted to say yes, she was fine, just reliving the magical weekend and trying to hold on to it a little while longer. But he would know. He always knew. And they vowed not to lie to each other. Not about their demons and fears.
"I just need to be alone for a few minutes." Vanessa reached out and touched his hand.
"Sure. No problem," Joe replied easily, backing off.
'He's getting too good at this.' Vanessa thought sadly, noting this time the hurt in his eyes lasted only a second or two. The first time she had told him she needed to be alone, he'd been devastated. 'I could have ripped his heart out with my bare hands and it wouldn't have hurt him as much.'
And so Vanessa stepped out on to the balcony and sat down – alone. And Joe retreated inside and sat on the couch – alone. He would give Vanessa the time and space she needed, but never would he take his eyes off her. Vanessa sat with her back to the door, knowing Joe would be just inside, sitting on the couch, watching her. She knew that would bother most people, enrage them even, but she found it comforting. One more adjustment he made to make her feel safe.
She hadn't realized, in the beginning, that he would sit and watch her when she asked to be left alone. Had she known, she probably would have been angry - incensed - especially in those early days when she couldn't seem to control her emotions at all. But one night, one particularly bad night, when she had asked Joe to give her some time alone, she hadn't been able to stay in control. Somehow, that night, her fears got away from her and the demons took over. She recalled knowing that she had lost control and felt herself slipping into her darkest nightmare. She could hear herself screaming - heart wrenching, blood curdling screams. She remembered thinking that was the night she was going to go over the edge and never be able to find her way back.
And out of nowhere it seemed, Joe was there, holding her, talking to her, pulling her back from the edge. He'd been watching her all along. Always watching, always protective, somehow knowing one night she would think too many dark thoughts and wouldn't be able to find her way back on her own. Ever since that night she had been so thankful that, despite her request to the contrary, Joe had never left her completely and totally alone.
So tonight Vanessa sat on the balcony, looking at the stars contemplating what tomorrow held in store for her.
'Am I making too big a deal out of this? It's just a simple blood test. I'm letting my imagination run wild. I'm thinking too much. Way too much.'
But it was no longer simple. Nothing was simple for either of them anymore. Ever since Frank had found Chris Taylor's storage unit and all the information he had collected on Joe over the years, a new fear had begun to gnaw away at Vanessa. She had heard whispers about what was written in that journal, the one Frank had found that ultimately cleared Joe of the murder charges. Her blood ran cold knowing how much Taylor hated Joe, how badly he wanted revenge. What if he planned the ultimate revenge? The revenge no one could prevent or stop. What if Chris Taylor was HIV positive? What if he raped Vanessa with the hope of infecting her too? Hoping she would pass it along to Joe. The ultimate revenge. The one fear she never, ever shared with anyone, not even Joe. Especially not Joe.
Tomorrow she would go to her doctor for a three-month check up, which would include a blood test. They wouldn't know the results for at least a week, he had warned her. She had already begun praying for a negative result even though she knew it was no guarantee. It would be a good sign, the doctor had told her, but the real test would come at six months. The majority of people who had been infected with HIV would test positive by six months. A negative result at the six month mark would allow her to breathe a little easier, but still no guarantees. Not for a year.
Vanessa smiled a bitter little smile for Chris Taylor. If that really were his plan, it wouldn't work. She and Joe had been religious about making all the changes in their lives that were absolutely necessary to protect Joe from contracting HIV if indeed she had been infected.
'Sorry, Taylor. You lose and we win…again.'
Vanessa stood and took one last look at the stars before turning and making her way inside, wanting to spend the rest of the evening curled up in Joe's arms. Maybe they could make the magic last until morning.
