"You look like crap." Joe greeted Frank warmly when Frank stepped into private ward with Callie, who was still employing a walking stick to help her walk without straining her left leg too much. "And you, Callie… are an angel. I can't begin to thank you…"

"Anytime, Joe. I believe a treat is in order." Callie sat down on the empty chair previously occupied by Vanessa. Frank looked around, a little surprised.

"Where's mom and dad? And Hallie?"

"She got bored… of her daddy and so her adoring grandparents plus worshipping mom brought her down for ice-cream. Actually, it's because I was a little …tired."

"It's eleven in the morning and you're tired." Frank's eyes hooded over with immeasurable concern. Joe was touched when he remembered Laura telling him how Frank had devotedly kept vigil by his side for the past week and almost fainted from exhaustion. He felt like he was the luckiest kid brother alive to have an elder brother like Frank by his side, scaring Death away with his determination. If anyone wanted to know how dying felt like, Joe could tell them. Slowly, as he regained reasonable consciousness, he recalled the feeling of light-headedness and anguish as he fell from his injuries in that attic. He also remembered Frank racing him down the hallways of some hospital, screaming for a doctor. Then he vaguely recalled hearing Frank lectured him about fighting and he would have joked that he went into those cardiac arrests because he couldn't take Frank's nagging anymore but stopped himself- not only was it not true and ill-humored, Frank's steadfast faith in him was something he could never trivialize.

When he lost faith in himself, it helped to have someone who still unyieldingly believed in him. Joe had no doubt that he was still alive now, rather groggy and in terrible pain but nevertheless, alive, because his brother had rolled up his sleeves and wrested him from Death's strangulating grip. For that, he could never repay Frank.

And he knew Frank would never expect him to. It was all about the giving of one self- not about owing debts.

"Well… at least I know I am tired and need to sleep, unlike somebody. I can't even begin to make up where your dark circles end and your eyes start."

"Tell it to him, Joe!" Callie found support in his words and gave her fiancé, who had pulled a chair next to the bed, a reproachful stare. "Why don't you go back to your apartment later and sleep?"

"Maybe… how are you feeling, beside tired? Does it still hurt?" Frank placed a warm hand over his chilly one and looked at him with those searching eyes that forbid him to lie.

"It does. But I'm gritting my teeth. I hate painkillers."

"When your last dose wears off, you'll be singing a different tune." Frank rubbed the back of his hand absentmindedly with his thumb, frowning a little, as if he had something to say, but stopped himself. He withdrew his hand and leaned back, rubbing his eyes.

"Callie… I need to speak to Joe alone…" Frank took his fiancée's hand and squeezed it gently. Joe could see Callie's eyes drooping with some disappointment but she nodded, standing up reluctantly.

"Take care of yourself, hero." She bent over and kissed Joe lightly on his cheek. Before she left, Frank stood up and gave her a brief hug.

"I'm sorry… I'll be out soon…"

"I understand. I'll wait outside with Tony, Chet and Elle. Bye, Joe." Callie pulled out of Frank's embrace and left the room. Joe shivered from the coldness she left behind.

"You shouldn't have done that."

"She understands…"

"So what is it that you want to tell you in private that she can't hear?" Joe asked Frank as his brother leaned against the door, his eyes darting everywhere but Joe's direction.

"I'll keep it short, bro. Please don't scare me again. I don't think I can take it. It's very nerve-wrecking and for a moment, I thought I was going mad with exploding anxiety."

"I know. Thanks, bro, for fighting my battles with me." Joe looked at his brother's weary frame and his gut twisted even more. He breathed in shortly and sharply and Frank rushed over to his side again.

"You want some more painkillers?"

"The panacea for all ills…" Joe spoke sardonically, "I don't want to be dependent on it… you know…"

"I do. But if you need it, don't act too strong. Pain can actually hinder you from recovering too and I know you're sensible enough to not get yourself hooked. This PCA thing is actually quite safe. See, it actually limits you from overdosing because you're only allowed a certain amount of painkiller in you and when you used it up, it won't pump out anymore for you, no matter how hard you press the button…"

"When I need an encyclopedia, I'll call you." Joe threw his brother a deadpanned look but grimaced again when his stomach literally felt like a sledgehammer had whacked the wind out of it. Frank shook his head and pressed the button for Joe, allowing a shot of analgesia to be administered into his body.

"Now, you rest well. I want my old partner back." Frank helped Joe slip under his covers, fluffing his pillow to make him more comfortable. Joe's eyelids grew heavier and he knew his friends were coming in next but he couldn't really keep himself awake anymore.

But there was always one more second for self-commendation.

"Thanks… don't let Elle hear that… she'll skin you. I'm hot property…"

Frank laughed softly, patting his head gently. Before he left, Frank turned around and even in his sleepy haze; Joe could still make up the gleam of unshed tears in those dark eyes.

"Thanks brat, for being alive."

"Anytime, bro. Anytime."

***

Frank left the room and saw Callie chatting away with Chet and Tony. They were smiling but solemn. Elle rose up from her seat, setting aside the magazine she was browsing through the moment she saw Frank.

"Elle… he's sleeping…" Frank tried to stop her from disturbing Joe's rest but Elle merely brushed him aside.

"It's ok. I'm very quiet and don't like to talk."

Chet and Tony raised their hands up to greet him, their eyes shining with concern as well. When Joe was in the ICU, his friends hardly had the chance to visit him since the family members were reluctant to leave his side. Once, they bent the rules themselves and four people gathered inside the ward. For that, Frank was given a stern warning by the draconian head nurse.

"Hey… buddy." Chet gave him a half-hug and Tony clapped his shoulder hard.

"We'll just come back when he wakes."

Frank shrugged with a slight smile. Callie cocked her head towards the exit. "Ready to go? Or are you going to stay here longer?"

"Oh… I'm ready to go now. Bye." He bade his friends farewell as Callie gave each of the boys a brief hug. As he walked Callie down the hallway, he felt like she had blasted a frosted glass between the both of them. However, he couldn't bring himself to say anything to her even though his mind was racing. He remembered how he felt when he first saw her back in Bayport in the hospital, anxiously looking for him, refusing to have her wound checked until she was sure he was all right. He really wanted to tell that she was the only woman that he ever wanted and that she completed him- that she gave him the courage and strength when he thought he didn't have anymore left inside.

But he didn't. His worries for Joe, who was on the brink of death several times, caused him to neglect Callie. And he was still feeling very guilty about leaving Callie behind in the attic. She never mentioned it but it didn't mean they were both not bothered by it- maybe it was only him for he knew she had such a huge heart. Whatever it was, he was afraid to bring up the topic.

When they reached his car, she tilted her head to one side, loitering outside the passenger side. "Where are you going?"

"I'm thinking of spending some quiet time with you."

"I thinking of spending some quiet time with myself."

"Cal…" Frank slammed the car door shut and went over to her side, gripping her hand before she could slip inside the car. She stood still, angrily pouting.

"I… I know I haven't been there for…"

"It's not that. If you're not here for your brother, I would have dragged you here. It's just… I can't help but think you took me for granted sometimes." She twisted her lips this way and that, staring at the ground with a frown.

"I know how much you sacrifice for me… and… I know how my profession puts you in danger too. Believe me, Callie…" He took her other hand and she gazed up at him, her lips pursed and her eyes flashing, challenging him to say the right words.

"I'm sorry for leaving you behind. I had no choice…Joe was bleeding to death and I couldn't… well… I…"

"Was that the thing that was bothering you so much such that you can't even talk to me for the past few days?" Callie stared at him incredulously.

Frank scratched the back of his head and suddenly realized how silly he was. "Well… yah…"

"You insulted me. I'm angry now!" She placed a hand on her hip as she brandished her walking stick in the air with the other, "For totally different reasons!"

"Callie…" Frank glanced around uncomfortably, a little embarrassed even though no one was in sight. Callie stamped her stick down on the ground, missing Frank's foot by a few inches.

"Now I know you think I'm some insensitive, pig-headed girl who couldn't understand the plight you were in. If, Frank Hardy, you have stayed behind to be with me and Joe didn't receive the help he needed and died, I couldn't take the guilt. And if you haven't realized how stupid you are to be bothered by something like that, I'm telling you now that you are! I think they must have switched your IQ scores with someone else. I actually thought I was going to marry a genius!"

"Well…" Frank half-shrugged, curling his lips inwards apologetically, "Forgive me?"

"When you first saw me in the hospital, you hugged me like you really wanted me, needed me. Like you can't be separated from me, not even for a second. And that was the last time you hugged me like that. If you weren't here in the hospital, you were spending so much time with that Agent Simon guy such that I thought you were engaged to him, not me! And if you haven't caught my hint; I'm going to hit you on the head with my stick until some intelligence come tumbling out!"

Frank grinned light-heartedly, now that the load on his chest had vanished. He drew her close to him and kissed her fiercely. She dropped her deadly walking stick, embracing him back tightly like she never wanted to let go.

"I love you, genius girl…"

"Finally, you got the words almost right." She swiped his nose playfully and laid her head on his chest, sighing with exaggerated resignation.

"Why almost? What did I say wrong? I got all the keywords…"

"It's not 'genius girl'… it's 'genius girl who's drop dead gorgeous at the same time with a figure to boot.'" Callie grinned cheekily and he arched a brow, trying hard not to laugh.

"Wow… that's a mouthful. Somebody's soooo modest…"

"Yup. Humble is my middle name. Now…" She pulled away and clutched the lapel of his shirt. "Where do we go for some quiet time?"

"I don't know… but… how will you feel, getting married earlier than we planned?" Frank watched the color of her eyes deepened from hazel to some sort of baffled brown. Then it shone with liquid happiness as she tilted her chin up, closing her eyes as a trickle of tear streamed down her lovely cheek.

He caught the hint; no way was he going to risk the wrath of her walking stick as he valued his brain cells very much. With natural tenderness, he kissed her lips innocently before she drew his head closer and consumed his very being.

In a very good way.