I'd like to thank Cherylann Rivers, KDesai, rebeccareneesharplake and anyone else for reading and following my story. Here's my new chapter hope you like it.

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Pressure chapter 21

An hour later the brothers were up, dressed and finally out of their hospital room on their way to see Henry. Dr. Bryce had told them that Henry was in a private room on the top floor of the hospital. The room provided Henry with tranquility and comfort in hopes to speed up his healing process; it also gave his therapist, Dr. Reese some time alone to work with her patient.

Frank could see that the hospital was exceptionally busy today with added staff to help assist with all the patients. Frank knew that the extra security his father had hired on behalf of the hospital were all on the look out for Mrs. Hayden and Nurse Matthews. The brothers were disappointed that the two women hadn't been found yet but they held onto hope that they'd be found soon.

Laura Hardy had gone to do some volunteer work while her boys visited their friend. She had left only after Frank had given her his word that he wouldn't leave the other two boys alone together.

"Man, what I wouldn't give for a cheeseburger right now." Joe pouted while patting his stomach. "I am starving."

"A week, Dr. Bryce said you'll have to wait a week at least." Frank reminded him. "Your stitches should be gone by then."

In spite of all his complaining, Joe had made everyone happy by eating his dinner and rinsing his mouth out afterwards. But really, everyone knew that had it not been for Frank and the nurse teaming up in their encouragement as well as a little bribery from their mother promising to make his favorite meal for supper once his stitches were out, Joe would've put up a much bigger fight.

"I can't live on all this 'soft food' crap. You know it takes a lot to keep me going. I need meat, like actual food to fuel up for football. Coach Adams won't be happy to see his star quarterback is skin and bones when we get back to school."

"Little brother, I really don't think you're going to waste away in a week. And, I'm sure coach will understand."

Joe frowned, "Yeah…but…"

"You'll survive." Frank said sympathetically, patting his brother's shoulder as they stepped into the elevator.

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As soon as the elevator reached the right floor the boys got out and made their way up to the nurses' station. A young slender nurse looked up from her computer screen and greeted them.

"Can I help you?"

"Hi, we're here to see Henry Jacobs." Frank informed the nurse. "Dr. Reese is expecting us."

"Could I have your names please?"

"Frank and Joe Hardy, Dr. Bryce put us on the visitors' list." Joe put in anxiously.

"Are you okay?" She suddenly asked him.

Alarmed by that question Frank turned to Joe who was shifting nervously from one leg to the other.

"Joe, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong." Joe shook his head and stood still. "I'm just anxious to see Henry."

"Joe?" Frank just threw Joe a questioning look.

"I'm fine." Joe assured him. "Really, Frank, stop worrying". Frank knew he was lying, but said nothing for now.

"Can we see Henry please?" Joe asked the nurse, aiming to be convincing as he smiled at her.

The nurse looked at the blonde boy cautiously before picking up a clipboard. Her eyes quickly skimmed the paper before finding their names. "Ah, yes. Frank and Joe Hardy".

"I'll let Dr. Reese know you're here." The nurse said picking up the phone. "She'll be with you momentarily. Just go down the hallway until you get to the end". She said after hanging up.

"Thank you." Frank said politely.

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As soon as the boys made their way down the hallway, "I hope Henry…" Suddenly, Joe grabbed at his chest and began gasping for breath. What the heck? He quickly sat down in a nearby chair in order to pull himself together.

"'Oh great the bats are back," he clutched at his stomach as his left leg began to bounce nervously up and down. Looking down at his arms he wished his mother had thought to bring him a long sleeved shirt in order to hide the bandages on his arms. She'd told him though that a short sleeved top would be easier to put on, taking his stitches into consideration. They were still a bit tender.

The images of being locked into his jail cell, being trapped in the dark, rat infested closet all swirled around in his head. His breathing grew heavier as he thought of all the tiny feet crawling over him...their teeth, sharp teeth nipping at his flesh...the taste of the metal knife. Joe placed a trembling hand on his bandaged lip.

Then suddenly Hayden's face flashed in his head. Joe jumped when a firm hand landed on his shoulder. "Joe!" Frank's voice brought him out of his panicked state.

"Joe, are you okay?"

"Huh? Yeah I'm...I'm fine." Joe replied breathlessly looking up at his brother.

"No, you're not. Look at you." Frank noted Joe's pale face as well as his heavy breathing. He saw his trembling hands. Something was wrong. "Dr. Bryce released us not more than an hour ago. It's too soon. Give yourself some time; you promised Dad you wouldn't overdo it. Maybe we should have the doctor check you out again".

Joe adamantly shook his head. "No, there's no need. I'm fine."

"Look, we don't have to see Henry right this minute." Frank knelt down resting his hands on his brother's knees, concern evident in his voice. "Let's just go home. You'll feel a lot better once you've rested in your own bed. Then we can come back and…"

"No! Frank I said I'm fine!" Joe shouted, quickly shoving Frank's hands off of him and jumping to his feet. "I know what you're doing. You're not talking me out of this. I'm going to see Henry whether you like it or not. If you don't want to be in the room with him then you can just stay out here."

"That's not going to happen. Dad said you're not to be left alone with Henry." Frank reminded him as he rose to his feet.

"I won't be alone." Joe retorted. "Dr. Reese will be in there with us."

"That may be so, however I'm not any chances." Frank said evenly. "I'll be keeping an eye on him".

He was having a hard time trusting Henry, because the only thing he could see was Hayden's face in his mind's eye, every time the kid was mentioned. He knew he had a lot of pent up anger in regards to the whole situation and that it was wrong of him to direct it all towards Henry. He knew it was wrong to compare Henry to Hayden.

But what if Henry was just like his father...It was that "what if" that was driving Frank mad! What if he turned on Joe, just like he'd done with their friends? It was like waiting for a ticking time bomb to go off. God help Henry if he hurt Joe.

"You better not say anything to upset him." Joe said heatedly.

"Joe as long as I am here, I'm going to look out for you." Frank knew the fact that he'd be leaving was part of the reason Joe was giving him this attitude. Frank was starting to have second thoughts about his decision; what if he was making the wrong choice in wanting to go to Princeton?

"Don't. I don't need you to. I can't rely on you to be my safety net." Joe snapped. "Frank, you said it yourself; I have to figure out things on my own. Well that's what I'm going to do. You have to let me."

"We need to get used to the idea of being apart; now is as good a time to start as any". He turned away from Frank; it was all he could do not to break down.

He took a deep breath before turning back to his brother. "If it's my blessing that you want, well now you have it". Joe swallowed the lump in his throat. "So you go to Princeton or whatever college you want and start living your life. I'm going to be okay."

That was harsh; Joe's words definitely stung a little. Frank masked his hurt before answering. "Joe I'm sorry. I should've told you about Princeton three months ago. Dealing with this on top of Hayden is too much for you".

"I'm sorry too. This is hard okay; I'm still adjusting to the idea of you leaving". Joe wiped an angry tear away. He felt terrible for hurting his brother's feelings. "As for Hayden, he can rot in hell for all I care."

"When were you planning on telling Mom and Dad about Princeton?" Joe asked, forcing Hayden's image out of his head.

"I'm going to tell them as soon as we get home." Frank answered, noting how quickly Joe had changed the subject.

"What about Callie?"

"I'm going to tell her soon." Frank answered as he ran a hand through his hair. "Hopefully she'll take the news better than you are".

"Are you afraid she's going to break up with you over this?"

Frank again ran his hand through his hair; Joe knew then that Frank was very upset; that was Frank's signature move. Frank nodded. "Callie and I had always talked about going to college together at Bayport University. That was where she wanted to go; we applied at the same time. I didn't tell her about applying to Princeton".

"I've been able to talk to both you and Dad about how I feel". Frank sighed as he thought about to his conversation with Joe about him learning to share his feelings. "With Callie though...it's different. Crying is something that just seems so personal. I don't know if I can do that with her." He shrugged before continuing. "I don't know if I could talk to her about last night."

"I'm still trying to process that all myself." Frank instinctively touched the bandages on his left wrist that covered the lacerations left by the impressions of the rope; the rope that had bound him to a bed while Hayden had stood over him, ready to beat him with a belt. He thanked God that his father had gotten there in time to prevent it.

Frank quickly shook the thoughts out of his mind before continuing. "I'm not sure where Callie and I are in our relationship. How will this new chapter affect us? Will going to different colleges change us?"

"Isn't it better that you find that out now? At least you'll know where you stand with her." Joe added his two cents. "Big brother, you know Callie and I have always been at odds with each other".

"Don't get me wrong; I like Callie. I really do. She's intelligent, funny, independent and adventurous. However, she can be very headstrong and opinionated. And, if I may point it out, she also has a tendency to get all jealous whenever I want to spend time with you".

"That also sounds like someone else I know." Frank chimed in, crossing his arms over his chest. "Where are you going with this?"

"Do you love Callie?" Joe came right out and asked him directly. If Frank told him to shut up, he'd respect that and back off.

"What?" Frank just stood there blinking, the question having caught him completely off guard.

"Do you love Callie?" Joe repeated the question. "Does she make you happy? Because that's all I want, for you to be happy."

"Callie does make me happy. She's a beautiful, smart, funny great person." Frank smiled at the thought of his girlfriend, "Callie will tell me the things I need to hear; she's my voice of reason".

"I didn't tell you this the other day but when Henry was admitted to the hospital, Callie was very concerned about you both. She's been very supportive through this whole mess".

"Yes Joe, I love her. I want to spend the rest of my life with her…someday." Frank felt his heart flip at his words. "I love Callie."

"Good, I'm happy for you." Joe smiled. "Have you told her?"

"I plan to. I just hope she'll be okay with me leaving."

"Well just so you know, if she even TRIES to talk you out of going to Princeton, she'll have me to deal with". Joe stated. It hurt his heart that Frank was leaving. He was happy, or at least trying to be happy for his brother, he really was. "I'm not going to let you pass up this opportunity."

"Why don't we talk about Princeton later?" Frank said getting back to the subject of Henry. "We can't move on until we wrap up this case. Let's deal with this first."

"Would you give Henry the benefit of the doubt? Please? For me?" Joe asked sincerely. "Hayden's the cause of all this, although I will agree that Henry does need help. I can't just turn my back on him though; I need to see him, talk to him, make sure everything's okay. Then we can go home".

"Okay, for you I will try." Frank reluctantly replied. "Are you sure you're up to seeing him? It looked like you were on the verge of a panic attack a few minutes ago."

"Yes, I'm up to it." Joe let out a sigh to calm his nerves. "Let's go in and see Henry."

"Frank, Joe. How are you guys doing?"

Joe looked up to see Con coming towards them with a coffee cup in his hand. He was a little surprised to see him in a blue polo shirt, leather jacket and jeans. He quickly reminded himself that his friend was still on duty, keeping Henry safe.

The officer saw the bandages on Joe's mouth and arms. "Oh man, that Hayden really did a number on you. What I wouldn't give to have five minutes alone with that bastard," The officer said heatedly, raising his fist. "My fist and his face".

"It's not as bad as it looks." Joe told him. "And as for beating the crap out of him, you'll probably have to wait in line." Joe commented, touching the bandage on his lip.

"Or how about you hold him and let us have the first swing," Frank suggested. He'd love to get his hands on Hayden. On a serious note he added, "Con, I'm sorry we ran out on you at the station. I hope we didn't get you into any hot water with the Chief".

"Yeah, we really do feel bad about that." Joe said, feeling the guilt once more. He knew being a cop meant everything to Con. The man practically lived in his uniform as it was. "Especially, since I gave you my word about turning myself in. It's just I couldn't stay one more second in that cell. And then Henry…"

"Don't worry about that." Con took a sip of his coffee. "I understand why you did what you did. I was just looking out for you. I'd do it again. You're good kids...err...I mean young men. What Hayden did to you both was wrong".

"And as for the Chief, things are good. Although I may be at his beck and call for the next month or so. That's why I didn't hesitate when he asked me to watch Henry."

Just then the elevator doors opened as a beautiful petite woman stepped out. The woman was in her late thirties with short brown hair styled into a bob. She wore a flower print blouse with black dress pants.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Liz Reese." She greeted them extending a hand to them both in turn as she made introductions. "You must be Frank and Joe Hardy."

"Yes, I'm Joe." Joe answered politely while shaking the doctor's hand. "This is Frank." He nodded in his brother's direction.

"It's nice to meet you". Dr. Reese said extending her hand.

"It's nice to meet you as well," Frank replied as he shook her hand.

A small grin slid across Joe's face as he glanced at Con staring at the beautiful doctor. "And I'm sure you've already met this big guy".

"Yes, we've met." Dr. Reese smiled and extended her hand to the police officer. "Thank you again, Officer Riley, for your help in protecting my patient."

Joe discreetly nudged the smitten officer when he didn't respond right away. Quickly shaking his head, Con stammered out, "Huh? Oh, hi, yes." He shook her hand. "Dr. Reese. You're welcome; I'm glad to be able to help but really, I'm just doing my job".

"Well, I better get back to my post." He said, tripping over his feet as he turned around almost spilling his coffee as he did so. He quickly composed himself before disappearing down the hallway.

"Smooth." Joe commented under his breath. "So Dr. Reese, is it okay if we go see Henry?" He asked anxiously, wanting to see his friend. He began shifting from one leg to the other, feeling his nerves starting to surface.

"I think he needs to wait." Frank pointed out. "It's too soon. We were only discharged an hour ago for Pete's sake."

Joe rolled his eyes. He was getting annoyed with his brother. "Frank, we're not going through this again, I'm fine."

"I don't think having a panic attack counts as being fine." Frank countered back.

"Panic attack?" Dr. Reese asked curiously. "How long have you been having these?"

"Dr. Reece, I am fine, really." Joe began to explain. "Frank's worrying himself over nothing. I'm fine; he just doesn't want me to be in the same room as Henry because he doesn't trust him and he's worried that Henry'll do something to hurt me".

"His abusive behavior towards our friends is a good reason, Joe."

"Frank, for the umpteenth time none of this is Henry's fault. He is not Hayden. Henry did not mean to hurt our friends. Henry will not hurt me".

Frank took a deep breath, keeping his voice calm and steady. "Dr. Reese, I'm sorry about this. It's just we can't seem to see eye to eye on this. What do you think?"

"Why don't we discuss this in my office?" Dr. Reese said, nodding to the room behind him.

Joe turned around and saw a plate reading Dr. Liz Reese, Psychiatrist on the door. "Why are we going into your office?" He repeated exchanging looks with Frank. "I thought we were here to see Henry."

"And, you will." Dr. Reese said, walking over to open the door, holding it to allow the boys to enter the room. "But, before we do, I'd like to go over some things with you. And answer any questions you might have."

The boys followed the doctor into a spaciously sized room with a sophisticated style decor. Walking around her desk, Dr. Reese sat down. "I understand that you two have had something horrific happen to you recently. I thought maybe you'd like to talk about it before going to see your friend".

"Wait, I think we've been setup." Then it dawned on Frank as to why they were here. "We're not just here to see Henry, are we? We're here to see you. You've been talking to our father Fenton Hardy, haven't you? "

"Yes, I spoke briefly to him. He's a very nice man and is very concerned for the welfare of his boys. Your father also told me you wouldn't come to talk to me willingly".

Yup, Joe thought to himself. This little setup definitely had Fenton Hardy written all over it. "So what you're saying is that in order for us to see Henry, we have to talk to you first."

"Yes. Come on in boys." She gestured with a hand at the two leather chairs in front of her desk. "Please have a seat."

Their Dad was good. Good and very sneaky. Joe took a seat, his stomach churning. Now if only the bats in his stomach would go away.