Disclaimer: Don't own. Don't sue.
A/N: Ack!! It seems like forever since I've updated! I'm so sorry! I'll find a way to make it up to you!
I've been as busy as a person could possibly be this week.
I'm lucky I found time to write this!! But it was very limited time, so if it sucks, I apologize.
"Iola?" Joe stuttered. He couldn't believe his eyes.
"Hi, Joe," Iola said softly, stepping through the door way.
Yes, it was definatly her. He hair was longer, and curling softly, she was taller and thinner, but it was definatly her. Joe looked into her eyes, and the apology that was there.
Joe wanted to break eye contact, he wanted to look away but he found he couldn't. The familiar eyes had him hypnotized.
Joe couldn't answer. 'It's not her. It's not her…' he tried to tell himself, but then Iola smiled at him, and hesitantly reached up and wrapped her arms around Joe's neck.
Joe automatically raised his arms. He unconsciously buried his head in her hair and inhaled deeply. She smelled the same.
When he realized what he was doing, he backed away immediately.
"Are you really…is that really you?" Joe stuttered, peering closely at the girl.
Iola nodded.
"How?" Joe asked, feeling a little sick.
Just then Fenton came into the room.
"Come into the living room," Fenton said, feeling Joe lean on him slightly.
Joe nodded, feeling weak. He sat back in his chair, dazed.
"Oh, my God!" Frank exclaimed, jumping out of his chair, knocking Nancy over in the process. "Iola?"
"Hey, Frank," Iola said softly, reaching up for a hug.
Frank hugged her back, giving Fenton a suspicious look over her shoulder.
They pulled away, and Fenton stepped back to offer Iola his chair.
Iola sat down nervously, crossing her legs.
Nancy broke the silence.
"I'm Nancy," she said, offering Iola a warm smile.
"I'm Iola," Iola replied, replying with a smile of her own.
"As in Joe's girlfriend? I thought you were dead!" Nancy exclaimed, and then turned to look at Frank. "You said she was dead!"
"I thought she was!" Frank said, giving Nancy an innocent look.
"I did too," Joe said, sitting up. "And why did I think that, Dad?"
Fenton shifted.
"Remember those secrets I was talking about?" Everyone nodded. "Well, I guess you could say Iola is one of them. But I think she should explain," Fenton said, giving Iola an encouraging look.
Everyone looked at Iola, who shifted under their gazes.
"Before I start, I just want to say sorry to Joe. I'm sorry I left, and you have no idea how much I missed you," Iola said, looking directly at Joe.
"I missed you too, Iola. But I have to know, why did you leave?" Joe asked, the hurt clear in his eyes.
Iola sighed and looked down at her lap.
"Well, you see, my dad owed a lot of money to a lot of bad people. I'm not going to get into detail about that. But the Assassin's struck a deal with him. They'd pay off all the money he owed, to everyone he owed, just as long as he joined them. We all agreed that he should go. But that was the winter my dad broke his hip shoveling, remember? Well, anyway. It was clear that he wouldn't be able to join, so I volunteered. I was really the only option. My mom couldn't do it; she had to take care of my dad. And Chet couldn't…because he's Chet. I didn't want to go, and they didn't want to let me. But I knew I had to, for everyone's safety. For my family's and my friend's. The Assassins helped stage my death, and they got me a new identity. I've been living in New York City by myself ever since," Iola said, finally looking up.
Everyone was silent.
"So…so, you're an Assassin?" Joe asked, clenching his fists slightly.
"Not anymore," Iola shook her head. "We kind of…disbanded after Al Roussasa died last year."
"Last year? I thought he died during the case!" Nancy exclaimed, looking at Frank. "You said he died during the case!"
"That's what I thought!" Frank exclaimed. "But we saw him fall!"
"That was staged, too," Iola said.
Joe finally decided to speak up.
"So what's your name now?" he asked quietly.
"Well, after I stopped going to the meetings and stuff, I officially changed it back to Iola Morton. But for a couple years, my name was Mallory Carmichael," Iola said.
There was a moment of silence.
"Dad?" Joe said suddenly. "Can I speak to Iola alone for minute?"
Frank, Nancy and Fenton looked at each other in silent agreement, got up and left the room.
Nancy hung behind for a second, looking Joe right in the eyes before leaning over to whisper in his ear.
"It'll be OK, Joe. We're all here for you," she said, smiling at him.
Joe smiled back weakly and nodded.
Nancy looked at Iola for a second before following Frank and Fenton.
Iola looked at Joe.
Joe looked at Iola.
Silence roared in their ears.
"Was that your girlfriend?" Iola asked, shifting in place.
"Nancy? God, no! She's Frank's girlfriend!" Joe blurted.
"What about Callie?" Iola asked.
"She and Frank broke up a couple of years ago. She moved out to Connecticut when Frank and Nancy moved in together," Joe explained.
"Really?" Iola asked. Joe nodded. "Wow, Connecticut…"
"So…how have you been?" Joe asked.
"I've been OK," Iola said nodding. "And you?"
"I've been missing you," Joe answered truthfully.
"I missed you too, Joe. You have no idea how many times I've picked up the phone to call you, tell you I loved you, that I was OK," Iola said. "Ironically, knowing you thought I was dead killed me."
"Then why didn't you call? And how did my dad find you?" Joe asked.
"I couldn't call, Joe. They made me promise to only have contact with my family. That's it," Iola said.
"That doesn't answer how my dad found you," Joe said.
"Well, last year at Christmas, he was in New York on business. He saw me in the streets one day. I saw him too and tried to run. But I guess that got him curious because the next thing I knew, he was on my doorstep holding a whole bunch of files. I finally admitted who I really was, and we had a big talk about everything that had happened. Please don't be mad at him, Joe. He wanted to tell you so bad, but the Assassin's had me under a contract, so he couldn't," Iola said, getting up and sitting in the chair that Nancy and Frank had been in.
Iola brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes and Joe was hit by the thought of just how pretty she was.
Joe bowed his head at the thought.
"Hey," Iola said, putting her hand on Joe's knee. "You forgive me, right?"
Joe looked up and nodded.
"I forgive you."
And before they knew what was happening, their lips met in a kiss.
--
Frank, Nancy and Fenton were sitting around the kitchen table, drinking water.
"Wow," Frank said. "I understand why you couldn't tell us."
"Totally," Nancy agreed. "I actually admire you for respecting Iola's wishes!"
Frank nodded.
There was a moment of silence.
"Should we go check on them?" Fenton asked.
"No, let them be. It's not like they're making out or anything," Frank said. "They have a lot to talk about. I'm sure Iola has a lot to tell Joe. And I bet Joe has something to say too."
"It must be so hard for Joe," Nancy said. "I mean, this is the girl he used to be in love with! Now he's married, and has a baby. How's he supposed to tell her that, especially after she's been gone for so long?"
Everyone took a moment to ponder this.
"I wouldn't want to be Joe right now," Frank said.
--
Just as they were both relaxing into the familiar kiss, a picture of Vanessa holding Alexis popped into Joe's mind.
At the exact same second, both Joe and Iola pulled away from the kiss.
Iola clapped a hand over her mouth, and Joe felt guilty beyond belief.
"I'm so sorry!" Iola exclaimed.
"Well, don't be sorry. I think it was both of us," Joe admitted.
There was an awkward silence.
"Iola, I hate to tell you this, but I'm married. I have a wife named Vanessa and a daughter," Joe admitted, looking away.
When he looked up, to his horror, Iola's eyes had filled up with tears. He felt his heart break for the woman he once loved.
"Oh, crap! Don't cry! Please, please don't cry!" Joe exclaimed, waving his arms at Iola.
"Oh…my…God!" Iola exclaimed, throwing her arms around Joe. "I'm so happy for you! You know, I would ask why I didn't get an invitation to the wedding, but I already know the answer.
Joe, shocked, put his arms around Iola.
"Thanks," he said, dazed. "I know it was horrible, but I thought you'd be more upset…"
"Why would I be upset?" Iola asked, pulling away and looking genuinely confused. "It's not like I expected you to pine for a 'dead' girl for the rest of you life. And while part of me will always love you, I'm also happy for you. And, just so you know, I didn't except you to get down on one knee the second you saw me. Truth is, I have a boyfriend."
Joe smiled at her.
"You have no idea how big a relief that is," he said. Iola laughed.
"So, you have a daughter! What's her name?" Iola asked excitedly.
"Her name is Alexis Iola Hardy," Joe smiled.
"Shut. Up." Iola said. "Shut up! You named your daughter after me?"
"It was Vanessa's idea," Joe grinned. "She knows all about you, and what happened. You're one of her heroes. She always says she wishes she was as 'spunky' as you."
"Well, this Vanessa person sounds like someone I would want to meet!" Iola laughed.
"Hey, what about this boyfriend of yours?" Joe asked.
"His name is Will. He's our age. Blond hair, blue eyes, 6'1". He's a police officer," Iola said shyly.
"So, basically, he's me," Joe grinned.
"Nu-uh!" Iola said.
"Admit it, Iola! You still want me! Not that I blame you," Joe said 'modestly', striking a pose.
"You're right, Joe. I've been pining for you. Love me, please?" Iola asked sarcastically, crossing her arms.
"That's more like it," Joe said, grinning and leaning back.
"For your information, Will is nothing like you. He's calmer, funnier, taller, and…he's just very un-Joe!" Iola said stubbornly.
"Ouch, talk about a sucker-punch!" Joe said, feigning hurt. "Not only is he taller than me, but you have the nerve to say he's funnier?"
Iola laughed.
"Gee, sorry. Here, let me kiss it better," Iola said, making an over-exaggerated kissing face.
"Ew! Iola cooties!" Joe exclaimed, his voice mimicking a young child's.
Anyone how had seen them right now would have thought they were crazy. But to Iola and Joe, this was just normal, bonding time. Something to smooth over the hurt from the past years. It was they're way of forgiving and forgetting.
--
Vanessa carefully folded some clothes that the tall man said to put in a suitcase.
She packed a few outfits for Alexis, and then some diapers.
When the man had his back turned, she discreetly tucked her cell-phone into her pocket.
She put Alexis in her carrier, and was roughly shoved down the stairs and into the back of an awaiting truck.
Alexis began to cry from the impact of Vanessa dropping, and the man gave her one final look before slamming the door closed.
Vanessa soothed the baby back to sleep, and looked around.
There wasn't a lot of room, and it was dark, but there was no way for the drivers to see her.
Or so she thought.
She felt a tear slip down her cheek as she pulled out her cell-phone and dialed a familiar number.
--
A half an hour later, Fenton, Nancy and Frank walked back down the hall towards the office.
Iola's infectious giggle and Joe's uncontrollable laughter filled the hall.
Nancy raised an eyebrow at Frank.
Fenton opened the door to the study, where Joe and Iola were sitting side-by-side, clutching their sides.
The sight of them just made Joe and Iola laugh harder.
"What's going on?" Frank asked, sitting down, and motioning for Nancy to come sit with him.
"N-nothing," Iola said between giggles. "Just catching up."
"Enough. We have to get back on task. We need a way to catch Tim before he does something horrible!" Fenton exclaimed.
"Who is Tim?" Iola asked, her laughter subsiding.
"You didn't tell her?" Fenton exclaimed. "Not in all that time?"
"I thought you already had!" Joe said innocently, raising his hands.
"Would someone tell me who Tim is?" Iola asked.
Just then, Joe's cell-phone rang.
He pulled it out of his pocket, and flipped it open when he saw Vanessa's number across the screen.
"Hey, babe! Do I ever have a story to--," Joe started, but was stopped by the sound of sobs.
"Joe, someone broke into the house. We're in the back of a truck, I don't know where they're taking us," Vanessa cried quietly. "Please help."
Joe was about to answer when he heard the sound of a scream, and then the phone line was disconnected.
He tried dialing the number, but all he got was the line disconnected message.
"Dad?" Joe said, swallowing hard. "How long has it been since you got the message.
Fenton looked at his watch and paled.
"Four and a half hours."
A/N: Thoughts? I'm going out of town for three days, but I'll post when I get back.