"Joe, the year is 2004, not 2003. You are 17 and already in 11th grade," Laura replied cautiously.
"I'm 17? And I don't remember?" His breathing was becoming more rapid and less controlled. He quickly started hyperventilating. Fenton shot up and cupped his hands over Joe's nose and mouth.
"Just breath, Joe. Slowly. Breath in and out. Again, in and out." After a minute of this, Joe's breathing returned to normal.
"Joe, you need to calm down and rest. Getting so upset is not going to help you remember anything and I would rather you are awake then sedated," Laura said.
Once Joe had calmed down somewhat and closed his eyes for awhile, Fenton said, "Your mom and I are going to go out for a little while. We'll be back. You two look out for each other okay?"
Frank replied, "We'll be fine Dad."
Once their parents had left, Joe opened his eyes and turned to Frank and said desperately, "Frank, you've got to help me! I've lost a whole year and I feel completely lost." His eyes were shining with unshed tears.
"Just calm down Joe, if you get really upset, I'm going to have to call the nurse and they'll likely sedate you. So just take a deep breath and we can talk," Frank said soothingly.
Just hearing Frank's voice always calmed him. Joe took a deep breath and said, "Tell me what I've missed."
Frank ran his fingers through his dark hair then absently rubbed his bruised shoulder. "Joe, your memories will come back to you. Just don't try to force them. Do you remember anything about the accident?"
"No, like I said, the first thing I remember is waking up in this room and not knowing how I got here," Joe said.
"We were working on a case before the accident. Well, actually, Dad had asked us to do a stake out that he felt should be a simple thing. We were at a restaurant, and you followed two men into the restroom and overheard something. When we left the restaurant, we were followed and then driven off the road," Frank explained.
"What did I overhear? Obviously, it is very important. Did you give Dad the information because I don't think we can get out today to get these guys," Joe said quickly.
"Take it easy, Joe. The problem is you never told me what you overheard. So until you remember it, we don't have anything to go on."
"Oh." Joe frowned. "This is horrible. I have no idea what it was. But they tried to kill us for it. I've put us in a really bad position."
"It's okay. You can't help that you can't remember. Dad is working on it, and I'm sure that he will come up with something soon. Why don't you get some sleep and give your body a chance to heal. I think sleep can only help at this point." Joe looked worried, so Frank added, "I'll be right here when you wake up."
"Alright, I am tired," Joe said while trying to smother a yawn. He got as comfortable as he could without moving his arm and shoulder much and closed his eyes. Within a few minutes, he was breathing evenly and slowly.
