"What is it Joe?" Fenton asked, even as he asked the nagging that had been in him for sometime came to front again. He looked at his son and the thought hit him, "Joe, where's Frank?"

Joe couldn't answer him; he couldn't bring himself to voice the horrors of the night. He just looked at his father, his blue eyes wide and over flowing with grief. That did more to unnerve Fenton then any words he could have said. Fenton found himself franticly looking around the kitchen for his eldest son.

He found him. Lying on his side, hidden by the island from the door, was an unmoving Frank. If Fenton had thought Joe was battered and broken, it was nothing compared to Frank. Looking at his eldest, he doubted that he was even alive.

His eyes never leaving Frank, Fenton lowered Joe gently to the ground. As soon as Joe was safely on the floor, Fenton rushed over to Frank, his hart in his throat. For a second all he could do was look at Frank. He took in the battered and swollen face. His marred and bloodied torso, the broken bones, the burns on his hip and thigh, the millions of bit marks, the bruising around his throat, and worst of all the burns on his back. If it wasn't for the brown hair and finding Joe so close, Fenton would never have imagined this battered body in front of him was his son. It didn't even look real to him.

"Frank," Fenton said, barely a whisper. He reached a hand out hesitantly, afraid to touch him.

"They tortured him dad…" Joe whispered. "When I got home they had already started…I couldn't do anything…." Joe couldn't keep the sob out of his voice as he watched his father and brother.

Fenton looked up at Joe briefly, but his eyes were full of understanding and concern. Joe had witnessed what they'd done to Frank, and then had spent several hours just staring at Frank's broken form. That was a hell Fenton could scarcely rap his mind around.

"He strangled him dad…" Joe continued on. "He strangled Frank…."

Fenton now felt his hart rate in crease. Had he come home to find his son dead? As gently as he could he felt for Frank's pulse and there was nothing. But Fenton was never one to give up lightly. "Come on Frank, don't do this to your old man…" he breathed, finding a new place on Frank's neck to check again. He grimaced as his hand came in contact with something slimy and warm…warm! If Frank's blood was still warm…then Fenton felt it, weak but steady, Frank's pulse.

"He's alive," Fenton laughed, "He's alive…" Just as he had done with Joe, Fenton lifted Frank into his arms. He began to gently try and wake his son, praying that Frank wasn't to far gone to be reached. "Frank, wake up son, come on it's time to get up…."

He kept repeating the words softly, with out luck, he didn't even notice as his wife entered.

Laura had done as told; she'd called the police and had been told to expect them in ten minuets. Fenton had said that he was going to look in the kitchen, and so that was where she was going. She didn't want to be alone in the house like this. As soon as she reached the kitchen though, she didn't care about the house.

Her hart stopped when she saw what awaited her, and like Fenton, her mind refused to work properly. Her eyes fell on her youngest and that was the only thing she cared about.

"Joseph!" she called as she rushed over to him. She too took him in her arms and carefully ran a hand down his face, examining him with a mother's eyes. And her hart broke at what she saw. She looked up over to Fenton who was holding on to her eldest and a sob escaped her throat.

Fenton looked up at his wife, tears in his eyes. Frank was limp and lifeless in his arms, he had stopped breathing.

They barely heard the door open or the Police calling out to them. Joe had fallen unconscious in his mother's arms and Fenton was trying to get Frank to breath.

"In here," Laura cried when she finally heard the police calling. Her eyes were glued to her husband and son, "The kitchen hurry! He's not breathing!"

There was a rush of activity as the EMS came and took over. One went to Frank while the other looked over Joe. The two police officers took the Hardy's outside, 'so the EMS guys can work.'

They got Frank breathing and rushed him off, with Joe following. The Hardy's were driven over in a squad car and there was nothing for them to do but wait.

"Black coffee for the gent and Green tea for the lady," Con Riley said as he entered the small private waiting room.

Booth elder Hardys looked up, and Laura even managed a small smile as she took the tea he offered.

"Thank you," she said to the young officer and took a sip.

Fenton took his coffee and gave Con a nod.

Con took a seat across from both of them and leaned forward. He allowed them a moment or two, knowing that they knew full well why he was here and what he was going to say. He wanted them to be as calm as possible, hell he only heard about what happened and he wasn't sure if he was calm enough for this.

"The Chief will be here soon if you want to wait…" Con said softly.

"No, time is what counts now and why waste is? Go ahead," Fenton said, putting his arm around Laura's shoulders.

"Just tell me what happened. Where you were, who you were with, what time you got home."

"We went up to New York, to see some friends we hadn't seen in a while. Frank was in charge…" Laura started, "They called us every night, even last. Frank called around eight…he had a migraine and Callie had driven him home……"

"Callie Shaw, his girl friend. Frank said that Joe was still out but he'd have him call when he got in. When we didn't hear from Joe we figured that Frank had just forgot. That he just fell asleep and never heard Joe come home," Fenton continued.

"We got home about eight this morning, and when we went inside we found the house a mess. I went to call the police while Fen went searching for the boys…" Laura's voice trailed off and she looked off into the distance. Fenton gave her a small squeeze and picked up the story.

"I found them in the kitchen…I found Joe first. He was conscious…his hands were cuffed behind him. The only thing he told me was that when he had come home they were already there, that they had 'already started,' he told me that they tortured Frank…" Fenton's voice too dripped off and he looked down at the floor to get his emotions under control before continuing. "I found Frank…he was unconscious. I turned him over to find his pulse and he stopped breathing…That's when the police got there."

A silence filled the room as Con took down some notes. "They were out for most of the day?" he asked.

"The carnival, they took their girlfriends," Laura said.

"And Frank got sick so he had Callie Shaw, his girlfriend drive him home?" Con went on.

"Yes, that's what he said over the phone," Fenton confirmed.

"What time did you say that was?"

"About eight, maybe seven fifty," Laura said.

"Was Callie still there, did you hear her in the back ground?" Con asked.

Fenton looked over at Laura, "You were the one who talked to him."

Laura nodded and looked up trying to remember. "I think so…I'm not sure. But the kettle was on and I heard it go off and someone took it off. I know Frank was calling on the corded phone, the one in the hall because of the way it sounded. I could hear him clearly, the corded phone crackles."

Con nodded and wrote some more notes. "Any idea when Joe came home?"

"They were going to see the fire works," Fenton said. "That was the plan; he had to have come home after that. But I don't know when that would have been. He was with a girl named Vanessa Bender. I think they may have been with Chet Morton most of the day as well, maybe Biff Hooper, Phil Cohen, maybe they know."

Con was about to ask another question when a knock on the door interrupted.

"Mr. and Mrs. Hardy, I'm Dr. Casey……"