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Trust

Chapter 3

Joe sat in the waiting room, mindlessly flipping through a magazine. Frustrated, he threw it down on the table and checked his watch again. He noted, with disgust, that it was exactly one and a half minutes later than the last time he had looked. Sighing, he got up and walked to the window. Gazing out into the overcast morning sky, his mind started to wander, aimless thoughts of the past few months flitting in and out of conscious thought.

'No!' Joe thought, forcibly refocusing on the present.

Joe had learned the hard way if he didn't control those aimless, wandering thoughts they could send him spiraling right back into a depression so deep, escape seemed impossible. He hadn't seen the connection right away; in fact, he hadn't seen the connection at all - Vanessa had. Right after Joe had started daily therapy sessions, Vanessa noticed that whenever he let his mind wander and seemed "lost in thought", he would be quickly ensconced in a deep depression that could sometimes last for days.

Although Joe still didn't know what might trigger those thoughts, he did know if he didn't stop them before they had a chance to take control of him, he would be swallowed up in their darkness. He couldn't afford that today, not when Vanessa needed him to be strong. She had put on a brave front that morning, but Joe knew she was terrified. The worst possible outcome of this appointment had shown itself to both of them during the night in their dreams. Joe shivered as he recalled the worst of the dreams that had invaded his sleep.

"I'm sorry. It's positive. You have HIV," the doctor told Vanessa, sympathetically, then turned to Joe. "It would be a good idea for you to be tested right away. I'll go make the arrangements."

Joe had awakened shaking, in a cold sweat. It had taken him almost a full minute to convince himself that it had just been a dream - a very realistic dream - but a dream none-the-less. After that one he didn't bother going back to sleep.

Shaking his head, he turned away from the window and was relieved to finally see Vanessa walking towards him. Joe smiled at her but stayed where he was, hands in his pockets. He vividly recalled how he tried to hold and comfort her when she awoke screaming during the night only to have her pull away in fear, then apologize profusely fearing she had hurt his feelings. He waited for Vanessa to make the first move, if indeed there would even be one. As Vanessa put her arms around his neck, Joe breathed a sigh of relief and slipped his arms about her, holding her close.

"Everything okay?" he asked.

"Mm-hmm," came the muffled reply.

A moment later, Vanessa lifted her head and looked at him. "The results will be back sometime next week."

Her eyes were red but she was smiling that smile, the one that said no matter how bad things got, she wasn't going to let this control her - she was going to control it. Taking Joe's hand, she led him out the door. Looking up, Joe noted that the clouds had vanished as if by magic and the only thing that remained was the sun shining down out of a brilliant blue sky.

'Maybe it's an omen,' he thought hopefully, squeezing Vanessa's hand. 'That everything will turn out all right.'

oooOOOooo

Fenton Hardy looked up from the file he was studying as Joe entered his office.

"Hello," Fenton greeted his son with a warm smile.

"Hi, Dad," Joe replied, forcing a little smile for his father's benefit. "Fed Ex guy was at the door when I got here." Joe tossed an envelope onto his father's desk.

Fenton glanced at the envelope then pushed it aside, more concerned with his youngest son. He had gotten used to seeing Joe return from his morning therapy sessions rather subdued, but today he seemed even more distant and preoccupied than usual. Fenton nodded at an empty chair, indicating Joe should have a seat.

"Tough one today?" he asked gently. He knew Joe had accompanied Vanessa to the doctor prior to his going to therapy that morning and wasn't sure which one was responsible for his current mood.

"No worse than usual," Joe replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. "But thanks for asking. Vanessa had an appointment with Dr. Jackson this morning. I went with her."

"Frank told me. Everything's okay?"

"So far. But the results of the blood test won't be back for at least a week." Joe met his father's steady gaze, voicing his biggest fear. "I'm scared to death it'll be positive."

Fenton stood up and walked around the desk, pulling up a chair next to Joe. Watching as Joe stared down at his own hands clasped in his lap, Fenton realized he had no idea how to comfort his son. He had always thought that by the time Frank and Joe had reached their twenties, the dispensing of deep fatherly advice would be minimal at best. The events of the past few months had quickly taught him otherwise.

Silently, Fenton reached up and rubbed Joe's back reassuringly. 'He's only twenty-three. He should be thinking about his wedding, where to go on his honeymoon, planning a life – a future - with Vanessa. He shouldn't have to worry about whether or not they'll even have a future!" Fenton thought bitterly.

Truth was, Fenton knew exactly how Joe felt. He had lost count of the nights he had been rudely awakened by his own personal version of this nightmare. The nightmare that never changed. The nightmare in which Joe tearfully told his parents he was HIV positive, having contracted it from Vanessa. Shaking his head forcefully, as if that would rid him of the awful image, Fenton pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind and focused on his son.

"I understand how scared you are, Joe," Fenton said gently. "But right now, today, as far as you know, Vanessa is healthy."

Joe nodded silently.

"Then focus on that. Grab it and hold on to it. You can't change the outcome of the test by worrying about it."

Joe looked up at his father, his blue eyes clouded with doubt.

"If you can't do it for yourself, Joe, do it for Vanessa. I promise you, if you'll be there for Vanessa, I'll be here for you."

Joe stared intently at his father, absorbing every word he had said. At last he finally smiled, sincere and from the heart. "Thanks, Dad."

…

Standing in the doorway, Frank watched the last of the exchange between Joe and their father, relieved to see his brother smiling again.

"Hey, Joe, Mom saved you some lunch. I told her I'd be happy to eat it since you were late but she insisted it was yours." Frank said entering the office. He walked to the desk and placed a plate with two sandwiches and some chips in front of his brother along with a glass of iced tea.

"Thanks," Joe smiled. "I'm starved."

"No surprise there." Frank rolled his eyes, taking the seat his father had just vacated. "What's that, Dad?" Frank asked noticing his father examining the contents of the envelope Joe had dropped on his desk a few moments earlier.

Fenton smiled broadly and held up a letter and three tickets.

"What are they for?" Frank asked, squinting to make out the writing on the tickets.

"Next Thursday's Yankees game," Fenton replied, looking at Joe. "Right behind home plate."

Joe attempted to say something and immediately started coughing, hampered by the sandwich he was eating.

"Easy, bro," Frank laughed, slapping him on the back a few times. "Here take a drink." He offered his brother the glass of iced tea.

Joe took it gratefully, gulping down several mouthfuls. "Home plate?" he repeated, excitedly. "Who are they from?"

"Enrico Rinaldi," Fenton replied with the name of a client whose case had recently been wrapped up. He read from the letter that had accompanied the tickets. "I can't thank you enough for rooting out the employees who were embezzling from my company. Without you and your sons, I would be facing bankruptcy. Please accept these as a small token of my gratitude."

"All right! Boys night out!" Frank cheered, as Fenton laughed at his son's enthusiasm.

"They're for next Thursday?" Joe asked, his excitement starting to falter.

"Yes," Fenton nodded, rechecking the date. "Next Thursday. Why? Do you already have plans?"

"Well, no. Not exactly. It's just that…" Joe's voice trailed off. He saw how excited Frank and his father were about the three of them spending the evening out together and felt guilty that he would have to disappoint them.

"Just what?" Frank pressed. He knew how much fun Joe would have at the game and fun was something that had been sorely lacking in his brother's life recently. "Come on, Joe. You, me and Dad at a Yankees game! Just like when we were kids! What could be better than that?"

"Nothing that I can think of," Joe agreed, dejectedly.

"So what's the problem?"

Joe sighed heavily. "I can't leave Vanessa alone for the night just to go to a ball game. I'm sorry, but I can't. She puts up a good front. She wants everyone to think she's gotten over…it…what happened…" Joe stopped for a moment, realizing that three months later he still couldn't bring himself to say the word. "But she hasn't. And Vanessa comes first…always."

Frank and his father exchanged a worried glance. They both knew a night out would do Joe a world of good, but they also knew he would never leave Vanessa alone no matter how badly he wanted to spend time with his father and brother.

"Can't you ask Andrea to come over and stay with her for the evening?" Frank suggested, hopefully.

Joe shook his head no. "Andrea is leaving for Los Angeles on Friday. One of the networks wants her to do another cartoon series. She'll be there all next week. If I tell Vanessa about the game, she'll insist that I go; insist that she'll be fine alone. But she won't. And I couldn't enjoy myself knowing that," Joe concluded, sadly. "Maybe Mom or Callie would like to go."

"Maybe Vanessa could stay here while we're at the game," Frank offered up another option.

"I'm sure your mother would love to have her over," Fenton said, desperate to get Joe to agree to go with them. "She'll be perfectly safe here, Joe. You won't have to worry about a thing."

"Dad's right. I'll bet Callie would love to join them, too. They can discuss all those wedding plans you love hearing so much about," Frank teased his younger brother. "At least think about it, ok?"

"Okay, okay. I'll talk to Van tonight," Joe replied, thinking maybe he was overreacting just a little bit. After all, what could possibly happen to Vanessa at his parents' house?

oooOOOooo

The two men pored over the photographs laid out on the table in front of them, examining each one carefully.

"These six here," one man said, pointing to the photos he wanted. "Crop out as much as you can. Just focus on the two of them. Frank Hardy isn't stupid. If too much of the background is left in, he'll recognize where they were taken immediately. It'll blow the whole plan."

"I'll take care of it," the second man replied.

"Let me check them over when you're done. Then you can superimpose the image." He leaned back in the chair and clasped his hands behind his head. "If Hardy only knew how easy he made this for us. I couldn't have set him up better myself."