A/n: Happy eat too much candy 'til you puke day. so this is the last chapter. sort of.
Chapter Four
The office was guarded by their secretary Martha, a grandmotherly type who had not been ready to put her feet up after forced retirement as a long time member of the Bayport police department's administrative offices. As the brothers entered she already was on her feet with a pile of mail in each hand, which was summarily shoved into each man's own arms. "The urgent ones are on top, Boys." she smiled affably before asking if either of them wanted coffee. After a pair of 'Yes, Please' es she said she'd be right in with cups and they should just get started on their work. "Joanna has already been by this morning. She's spending the afternoon tracking down those witnesses for the Waverly Case."
It had been established years ago, when the boys were still in middle school, that they each needed privacy to do any real work. It was one of the reasons they had their own bedrooms growing up. Joe tended to get distracted easily and functioned better with background noise, usually his favorite music. Frank needed silence and no hyperactive little brothers to disturb his concentration. Therefore, separate offices were the order of the day. Joanna maintained a desk in Joe's office but rarely used it at all and Sam was only used sporadically these days so didn't even have one.
At 4, Frank popped his head in to Joe's domain and said he was taking off for the evening. "What?! Leaving before dark?! Who are you and what have you done with my brother?!" came the amused reply.
"One of Gloria's kids has a wake tonight. Told her I'd go along for support."
"Ahh. Might I suggest it would be in poor taste to pop the question tonight then." Joe's smile had faded a little at the news but he still remained, as always, a bit irreverent.
"Some of us do have tact, Little Brother." Frank shook his head as he left.
Joe chuckled as the door closed behind his brother but was soon engrossed in trying to spot any sign that one Janice Collins was perhaps exaggerating the extent of her injuries sustained in a car accident by carefully going over photographs and the occasional security camera tape provided by a few department stores and the Bayport Sports complex where her daughter often played soccer.
Martha left at 5, but not before checking with Joe to make sure he didn't need anything else. "Nahh. I'll order in and do some catching up on stuff. Have a good night." His wife was in Baltimore on yet another business trip with Phil Cohen trying to convince the NSA to buy their services. Therefore he felt exactly zero guilt staying late and using the time to crawl out from under the pile his brother was constantly harping about.
Even so, it was well before 7 when he called it a day and locked up. As he was walking outside, his phone rang and he spent a few minutes happily catching up with Halloran. As a result, he totally failed to notice the figure seated in the beat up station wagon in the parking spot closest to the door.
Meanwhile, Frank and Gloria, having paid their respects to the bereaved parents, headed out to a late dinner at Prito's. Despite the ring burning a hole in his jacket pocket, Frank was in no rush. Disregarding a few not so subtle hints from his parents, friends and brother, he knew that when the time was right, he'd ask Gloria for her hand. Until then, he was prepared to wait. Unlike his blond sibling, Frank was patient.
They were just finishing up dessert; a limonchello cake that was the restaurant's signature item. Gloria, who was facing the door, looked over her coffee cup and paused, frowning. "What's up?" Frank asked.
"Nothing. It's just..." Gloria trailed off as the person she had seen enter looked around and then made a beeline for their table.
"I need to talk to you." Callie Shaw demanded to Frank as she placed a hand on his arm and tugged, completely ignoring Gloria's now outraged countenance. Frank tugged his arm out of Callie's grip and didn't move so much as an inch out of the booth.
"Gloria and I are finishing up a lovely dinner and I have nothing more to say to you than was already said at the reunion. Good bye, Callie." and with that he turned slightly in his seat and ignored the interruption. Callie tried once more to get him to speak to her but the waiter noticed the disturbance and adroitly slipped over to present the check. Frank pulled a few bills out of his wallet, slipped them into the fake leather folder and slid out of the booth, causing Callie to stumble back a little. He extended his hand to his date, helped her up and walked away without another word.
The next morning, Joe arrived at the Agency and was immediately informed that someone had been waiting outside the door when Martha had arrived that morning at 730 to begin her work day. "She is very adamant that she speak to Mr Frank and as soon as she found out which office was his she headed straight for it and will not leave!" Martha was in a tizzy. "I am about to call the police and have her forcibly removed!"
"Isn't he here?" Joe asked, looking at his watch. Frank beat him by a good hour most days.
"No. He called and said he'd be in after a meeting at the Precinct." Joe had forgotten that Chief Riley had asked for their help on a puzzling string of arson fires in abandoned properties all over town.
"Right. Never mind, Aunty M. I'll take care of our visitor." With a peck on the older woman's cheek he headed to the back office. "I'm sorry, Miss, but Frank is unavailable today but perhaps I can he..." Joe stopped mid sentence. "Callie." he stopped just inside the door and folded his arms.
Callie had whirled around at the sound of his voice but slumped in defeat as she realized it wasn't Frank who was standing there glaring at her. "Frank doesn't conduct personal business in the office under any circumstances. And I am not about to give you their address." he emphasized the word 'their' very subtly.
"This isn't personal business." She bit off the words reluctantly.
"That I doubt very highly. Besides we are actually swamped with more cases that we can reasonably handle and would be unable to take on any new ones at this time. I'm sorry but he really will not be in the office any time soon today so you are going to have to leave." Joe was polite but firm. He stepped aside and swung his arm in an 'after you' gesture.
Seeing that is was futile to resist or protest, Callie sighed and grabbed the drab coat she had tossed over a chair back and slipped it over her shoulders. She allowed Joe to escort her into the front reception area and to open the outer door for her. "Goodbye, Callie. Don't make this any worse for yourself. Just go back to wherever you came from and live your life." Joe held out a hand, which she accepted with a limp grasp.
"Just tell him I was here and that I need to talk to him. I'll be at my parents' house for a few more days. Please, Joe." the pleading was almost pathetic.
"Honestly Cal, I think you are wasting your time but I will pass along the information." Joe held the door open and waited until she was down the stairs before stepping back into the office. As soon as he was back in his own office he texted Frank and dutifully passed along the request. A few minutes later he got a reply. It was as he expected and subsequently put Callie Shaw out of his mind for good.
Or so he thought.
A/n: Queen of the cliffhanger. that's me. I have discovered that no matter how much I try I just can't give Frank justice as a main protagonist. he's a great sidekick and foil but I just don't 'feel' him like I do Joe and as a result I often feel he's a flat caricature. But I did decide to expand on my initial half baked plan. the next story will have more Callie and then delve into the real reason she is so desperate to see Frank.
