Disclaimer: I do not own the Hardy Boys or any of the books. OCs are mine.
Thanks to my Editor: Wendylouwho10 who read over the story for me and made content suggestions, helped with the flow, and provided some spelling/grammar corrections. The corrections were a bonus and not required when I asked for her assistance, so I take full blame for any typos. Thanks Wendylouwho10 for making my story better!
Rating/Setting: Rating is T. Setting is AU. It is part of my story arc that begins with Frank and Joe in elementary school and progresses to this point where the boys are 18 and 16 with Joe turning 17 during this story. To understand this story, you need to read "Taken" definitely and "Recovery" would be highly recommended.
Author's Notes: People were wondering if Joe remembering is good or bad. Nothing good or bad will come directly from him remembering. I just couldn't leave Joe hanging out there with only Camille's word for what happened. I thought it was time to give him some closure with that. ;-) Now your reward for two short chapters: a nice long one!
Chapter Three
A couple of weeks later, Frank and Joe went out with Chet, Iola, Callie, and Madison Grayson. Chet had just started going out with Madison after Christmas and she was new to the group but was familiar enough with the events that Joe had been through to not say anything out of turn. While Joe and Iola weren't officially together again, they still did things with the group which ended up pairing them together. When Frank had 'innocently' suggested that they all go ice skating after their pizza, Joe had shot him a very pointed look that was ignored by his brother. When everyone but Iola had responded with what a great idea it was, Joe knew it was a set-up. He was supposed to be responsible and that meant he wouldn't skate because of his broken arm and recent injuries. He knew his mother would kill him if he broke something else before he was healed. If he sat out, Iola would too to keep him company. It was the kind of person she was.
"Well, I don't think that's such a hot idea," Joe said. "You know mom would kill me if I went skating." Joe narrowed his eyes at his brother and added, "In fact, I think she might just kill you for suggesting it."
Frank looked at his brother with such a fake innocent act that Joe almost laughed as Frank said, "It was actually mom that suggested we go skating."
Joe stared at his brother for a moment and then realized that his mom probably had agreed knowing that he and Iola would sit it out. After grabbing his jacket from the back of the chair, Joe walked briskly out of the restaurant without looking at his brother again.
Chet and Madison were already at the door when Joe walked past them and out the door. Chet looked back to Frank, Callie, and Iola and asked, "What's up with him?"
"He probably doesn't like to be manipulated into something he doesn't want to do," Iola said with a frown. "How could you, Frank?" Grabbing her own jacket, Iola headed out passed her stunned brother and his date.
"Well, that was awkward," Madison said as she looked at the three remaining speechless friends.
Frank looked at Callie and said, "I thought you told her what we were doing."
"Seriously, Frank?" Callie's voice was filled with exasperation. "Do you think she would have agreed to it?" Callie sat back down and waved to the waitress.
"What are you doing?" Frank asked Callie as Chet and Madison came back over to the table.
"I'm ordering a chocolate milkshake." Callie gave her order to the waitress and patted the seat of the chair next to her. "Come on and have a seat. I think it might be while."
Chet looked from Callie to Frank to the door that Joe and Iola had gone out. When he looked back to Callie, he said, "I don't understand. I thought we were going skating."
"We might, but first we've got to give them some time."
Frank looked at his girlfriend with eyes wide with surprise. "You knew this was going to happen."
Crossing her arms on the table, Callie leaned forward. "I'm not one to manipulate, but we all agreed that this whole 'giving each other space' thing was ridiculous when it's obvious that they want to be together again." The waitress brought her milkshake and she took a long sip as the others placed orders of their own. When the waitress left, Callie looked at Frank. "We talked about how Joe wasn't going to like this but that he'd go along with it if he felt there wasn't a way out."
"Soooooo," Chet said looking at Callie in confusion.
Callie smiled as she played with her straw. "Joe goes out to the van angry at us for manipulating the situation. Iola follows him to let him know she didn't have anything to do with it."
"And that's supposed to help in… what way?" Chet asked.
Madison laughed as she patted his arm. "They're out there commiserating together at how Frank and Callie were trying to force them into talking."
Chet looked in confusion from Madison to Frank and Callie.
Frank took pity on his friend and said, "Instead of forcing them together at the skating rink where there'd be noise and other people around, they're out there in the van together. It's perfect, Callie." He stopped talking as the waitress put his shake in front of him and then looked back at her with a smile. "You ready to have both Joe and Iola irritated at us for awhile?"
"If it gets them back together instead of this awkward stuff that's been going on, then yeah, I'm cool with that."
Chet laughed as he got it. "You two were made for each other."
Frank laughed and winked at Callie.
.**********.
Joe angrily pushed the unlock button on the key remote. He was even mumbling to himself as he climbed into the back of the van and shut the door. It was only a few moments later that the door opened and Iola got in and sat in the seat next to him. He turned to her not with irritation but with commiseration. "I'm sorry, Iola. I don't know what Frank was thinking."
Iola turned and glanced through the open van door and saw that no one had followed her. Reaching over, she pressed the button for the auto-shut. "Think you can turn on the van and get some heat going in here? I think they plan on leaving us out here for awhile."
Muttering under his breath, Joe moved between the two front seats to put his keys in the ignition and started the van. As he sat back down, he said, "Maybe if we go ahead and talk now, he'll give up on this ice skating idea." He looked at Iola critically as he crossed his arms over his chest. "I know you. You'd sit out the whole time with me so that I wouldn't have to sit by myself.
Coloring a light shade of pink, Iola responded, "Probably." She lifted her chin and said, "I don't think that Frank was alone in this. Callie probably knew in advance."
"Chet?"
"Probably not. He's always been awful at keeping things like that secret."
Joe could feel the heat finally starting to take the chill off the coldness in the van. Dropping his arms to his sides, he asked, "So, do you want to talk?"
"I think you already know what I'd say."
"You want to get back together."
"Yes." Iola paused a moment and continued. "I know you do too. You basically said it the night of Frank's birthday party."
Joe looked away from Iola. "What I want and what is a good idea aren't always the same thing."
"Are you saying that we're not a good thing? Because if you are, I don't believe you."
"That's not what I'm saying. I'm just saying that being my girlfriend hasn't been a good thing for you lately." Joe looked away. "The whole thing with the kidnapping. What you went through when you went back to school."
"That's all in the past, Joe-"
Joe's tone turned deadly serious as he looked back at Iola. "But what if it's not? Marilyn Laird is still out there. She's going to come for me. I don't want you to get hurt when she does."
"So are you going to move out of the house or what?" Iola said as she leaned back in the seat and crossed her arms.
"What?" Joe asked with a confused look. "Move out?"
"Yeah. To protect Frank and your parents because I'm sure that Marilyn wouldn't have any qualms about hurting them."
Joe gave her a look that showed he was irked. "They're my family. They know what's involved."
Iola leaned forward and would have poked him in the chest with her finger if he had been closer. "I KNOW what's involved, Joe Hardy. I was in that basement too, remember?"
His eyes took on a haunted look and suddenly they were both back in that basement. Joe's voice was soft as he looked her in the eye and said, "I remember it all too well, Iola. I remember praying that they didn't touch you. I prayed that they would keep me and let you go. I remember my relief that it wasn't you when they striped me and hosed me off so they could ship me to another state to be sold." He finally let his eyes fall to the floor where he looked at her feet. "So, yeah, I remember. And that's why I don't want you to be the victim of that again just because you're my girlfriend."
There was a quiet rustle and suddenly, she was in his field of vision as he looked at the floor. Now instead of seeing the gray floor carpet and mats, he saw Iola's pale face looking back up at him. Joe sat still as she reached up and gently ran her fingers along his jaw and spoke. "Don't you think that Marilyn already knows about me? Don't you think she knows how much we care about each other? Unless you cut Chet and me off completely, people will know. We can't help it, Joe. We show our emotions on our sleeves much of the time and anyone looking at me can see how I feel about you." He stared into the green depths of her eyes as she continued, "And when you look at me, I know you feel the same."
Drawn by an invisible magnet, Joe leaned down and gently brushed his lips against hers as his eyes closed and his fingers threaded through her hair. In a moment, he pulled back and stared at her again.
"No more keeping me at arm's length?" Iola asked him shyly.
"No," he whispered back as he leaned forward to kiss her again.
Both pulled back quickly as the side door opened and Chet's voice sounded across the parking lot. "Yeah, I think they've worked it out." Climbing into the van, Chet and Madison moved to the back while the front doors opened and Frank and Callie climbed in.
Frank turned off the engine for a moment as he exchanged his keys for Joe's. Tossing them to his brother in the seat behind him, he winked and said, "No need to thank me, little brother."
Joe just shook his head and turned to smile at Iola. He didn't care if they went ice skating now. He'd be happy to sit on a bench with Iola.
.**********.
Frank and Joe were laughing as they entered the house. They had dropped off everyone after going to the ice rink for about an hour. Laura looked up from her e-reader as the boys entered. It was wonderful to see the two of them laughing and joking again. The last couple of months had been incredibly trying for the family and had put a strain on her two sons and their relationship. As she put the reader on her lap, she innocently asked, "Everything go all right?"
"Seriously, mom?" Joe asked. "Frank ratted you out pretty early."
Laura raised her eyebrow as she turned toward Frank. "Oh, he did?"
Frank squirmed a little under his mom's level gaze and then shrugged as he answered, "I had to. He was using you as an out. If we wanted to get him and Iola to talk, then I had to pull out all the stops."
"So it worked?"
"Yeah, mom. It did," Joe said quietly. "Iola and I are good." Laura continued to look at him so he smiled and added, "Like boyfriend-girlfriend good."
A bright smile lit Laura's face as she responded with a simple, "Good." Her smile continued as the boys headed up the steps, their banter continuing as they went.
.**********.
Fenton came out of his office as the boys headed up the stairs to get showers. He cleared his throat and Laura looked up from her e-reader once again. His expression must have been serious as Laura put the device on the couch and turned her body more to face him.
"Is there something wrong?" her voice held a note of concern.
Fenton glanced to the stairs and then back to his wife. "I have something you should read." As she stood up, he turned back down the hall to his home office. When Laura entered the room, he spun the office chair around and indicated that she should sit. "I have an email you should read."
"Okay," Laura said slowly. Seating herself, she turned the chair toward Fenton's laptop on the desk.
Fenton watched her as she read the email; he couldn't tell what she was feeling from the back. However, when she turned around he knew without a doubt.
"You've got to be kidding me, Fenton. You're not considering this are you?" her voice was full of righteous indignation.
"It's not something that I want to do, but I don't think I should make a final decision without talking to Joe."
Laura closed her eyes and leaned back in the chair, making it creak. After a moment she opened her eyes and looked up at her husband. "Don't you think it's too soon to bring this up to Joe? I mean, he's just remembered what happened last month with Camille. I don't want to bring up other nightmares for him."
"I don't either, Laura, but I'm also working to build Joe's trust up again. If he ever learned about the email and I didn't tell him, it would be a setback." He let out a deep breath. "And there's the fact that it would just be wrong to keep it from him."
Laura stood and walked to the door and stopped within its frame. "I'll have the boys come down after their showers. We should go ahead and get it out in the open tonight."
Fenton nodded and Laura left. He walked back to the laptop and his eyes focused on the email on the screen. From: sandyr22, subject: Please don't delete, George's wife.
.**********.
An hour later, the boys were in Fenton's office. Joe was sitting at the computer desk and Frank was standing behind him.
Joe's eyes skimmed over the email and noted the sender: sandyr22 and the subject: Please don't delete, George's wife. There was only one George that it would be. George Rand. The man that had been his jailer at Dominic Laird's. The man serving a life sentence for what he did. The man who was the reason he lived in Michigan instead of dying on the shores of Lake Superior.
Dear Mr. Hardy,
I have no right to ask anything of you but I am. I don't have anywhere else to turn and I'm desperate. In September, some of Olivia's test results came back inconclusive. She had to have more tests run. Thankfully, she's all right. But the insurance we have now doesn't cover a lot of things related to Olivia's cancer. Things are difficult and we don't have a lot of money. But that's not why I'm writing you. It's our own fault that we're in this. Not yours and not your son's.
It's Rachel, my older daughter who's 15. She became despondent after Olivia's recent test results. She's also angry. She's furious at her father. She feels that he chose your son over his family. She's run away. The note she left said that Olivia and I would be better off without her around. She said that I'd have more money to spend on Olivia if she were gone.
She's been missing since December 1st. The police found video showing her getting onto a train heading north, but they haven't found any footage of her getting off. They haven't had any new information in over a month. I don't know where to turn. I can't afford to hire a private investigator. Help me. Please. Help Rachel.
Sandy
Joe closed his eyes and shuddered as his breathing quickened. It was never going to end. There would always be something. He opened his eyes and saw the email once again. It was there. It was real and his family was standing behind him. Joe could practically feel them and the tension that he knew had to be there. They wouldn't want to put him through anything that would bring up memories of his captivity. But could he live with that? Rachel and Olivia were innocent and for all he knew, Sandy hadn't known anything. She had no charges against her and now she was left alone with a child fighting a chronic illness and another one who ran away. His decision made, he pushed back from the desk and stood. He didn't want to be sitting and looking up at the three of them.
"So what do you think?" Frank asked neutrally as Joe stood.
"I want to help her." Joe saw Frank's jaw muscle twitch again but he pressed on. "Sandy and the girls are innocent. They didn't have any part in what happened to me." His voice was quiet as spoke. His gaze level as he looked into his brother's eyes and then each of his parents. "I couldn't live with myself if we didn't try."
"You're sure, Joe?" Laura asked.
"Yes," was Joe's succinct response.
Frank groaned and looked back at the email on the screen. "You know how I feel about George Rand."
"Yeah, I know you all feel." Joe's voice was back to its normal tone. "I also know that none of you hold others accountable for things out of their control."
Frank looked back to the screen. "It's a lot easier to be philosophical when it doesn't involve your brother's life."
Fighting his natural urge to shift from foot to foot, Joe looked over to his father. If his dad thought for one moment that this was going to cause a setback in his therapy, there would be no help for Sandy and Rachel Rand.
"This could bring up unwelcome memories, Joe," Fenton said. "You've been through so much the last couple of months."
"I brought a lot of that on myself," Joe said ruefully. "I know that none of you cared or care for George." All of his family had been opposed to the letter that Joe had written in support of George at the time of his sentencing. He had not gone to any of the hearings to give his impact statement. Except for Laird, all had immediately accepted plea bargains. It had just been too soon after what Joe had been through for him to immediately go into a face to face with those that had put him in a hell of a situation. Impact statements had been provided when requested, but Joe had stayed away from direct contact. Now, his family was concerned about this contact with George's wife and what it would do to him. Battling physical injuries and depression had not made him out to be pillar of strength.
"It's not George we're worried about, Joe," Laura said as she rose from the chair. "Your father can try to help direct Sandy to some people that might help her pro bono as well as help find funding for Olivia's care. We don't need to be directly involved."
"I'm sure she's already looked for free help. It's not there or they feel that they don't have anything to go on," Joe said as he looked from his mother to his father. "Dad, you're the best. If you say there's nothing there after you look, I'll let it go."
Fenton stared into Joe's eyes. "If I say there's nothing to find, you'll let it go?"
Joe's gaze didn't falter. "I'll let it go. I won't go Lone Ranger on this."
"I'll handle all contact with Sandy. If she contacts you you'll let me know and it's the end of the case." Fenton was deadly serious as he looked from one son to the other. "I won't have her laying guilt on you for Olivia or Rachel. If you want me to work this case, this is the way it has to be."
Joe saw his mother nod and knew that there wasn't any other option for him. And to be honest, he could live with his dad's mandates. "Okay. That's the way it'll be. Just let me know how things are going?"
Fenton nodded and then looked to Frank and said, "No involvement on your part either."
Frank nodded his agreement.
Seeing the discussion was over, Joe turned and left the room with his brother following him
.**********.
After the boys left, Fenton felt Laura's hand on his arm. He sighed and turned to her, "What choice did I have?"
"There's always a choice, Fenton," she said. "And I think you made the right one."
Fenton turned to her in surprise. "I didn't think you'd agree with my decision, but when you didn't voice any opposition, I assumed that you were okay with it. But I didn't think you'd agree with it."
Laura's tone was serious as she responded. "I can't forgive George Rand for what he allowed Joe to go through but blaming his family would be like the way Morgan's mother blames Joe. There was nothing they could have done to help Joe. George Rand is the one to blame, not a mother and two young girls."
"There's one thing I'm worried about," Fenton said as Laura looked up at him. "Sandy says that Rachel blames Joe. The last thing Joe needs is another female with an agenda against him."
Fenton saw Laura's eyes cloud with concern as she put a hand on his chest. "You don't think she'd come here?"
"With Joe's luck, I'm not willing to rule out anything. It's another reason why I agreed to help. I need to know where Rachel Rand is." As his wife wrapped her arms around him he prayed that he would find Rachel easily and return her home. Pulling her close he laid his cheek against the top of her head and closed his eyes.
