Instinctively, Frank knelt down and protectively shielded Joe away from Gavin. Joe caressed his right jaw and shook his head before he winced again, silently indicating to Frank that he was all right. Ignoring Gavin's unexplained anger which burned down his back, Frank helped his brother up. Joe struggled for a moment against the uncooperative sand but Frank steadied him and then, assured that Joe was fine, turned and faced Gavin squarely.

"We can all be civil here." He coldly glared at Gavin who pointed at Joe threateningly.

"You stay away from Celeste! Got that, dumb blond?!" Glowering at Joe still, his features twisted up into a grotesque mess, Gavin suddenly reached down and scooped up some sand but before he could flung it at Joe, Frank grabbed his scrawny wrist and forced him to halt his attack.

"Let go!"

"I will if you apologize." Frank calmly replied. With a violent shake, Gavin managed to pull his wrist away partly owing to Frank's relenting grip as well. He rubbed the affected region and spat onto the floor.

"Damn you two!"

Frank, already tired of Gavin's tirade which Joe was too tired to react to, draped an arm across his teetering brother's shoulders and guided him away from the madman. Let Gavin rant and storm- Frank was not going to honor Gavin's rage any further. "C'mon, let's go."

"I WON'T BE IGNORED, HARDYS! TOUCH CEL AGAIN AND YOU'LL SEE HOW ANGRY I CAN BE!" Gavin yelled after them, his voice growing softer as Frank and Joe walked further away from his rage. Joe cringed in annoyance.

"Do his tirades ever stop? My butt and jaw now hurts as much as this stupid headache pounding away which he's making worse."

"What did you do this time?" Frank asked, concerned. Something must have transpired but from the way Joe lazily smiled to brush it off, Frank knew Joe was clamming his mouth shut on the subject.

"Nothing. And must it be what I did? I didn't do anything."

"Then why would Gavin be so mad at you? Granted he's a little caustic but I don't think he would just rage on someone for no particular reason." Frank tried to press Joe for the answer but Joe simply grinned mysteriously and Frank sighed, knowing Joe had his reasons for not speaking. "Stay away from him and all these troubles, all right kiddo? People with anger problems can get very violent if they are trifled to the point of no control."

"Yah, I know…" Joe drawled. "All I can tell you is that Celeste and Gavin used to be a couple and they quarreled last night. I happened to be there and I kinda extricated her out of the mess. I'm always getting myself entangled in affairs of the heart even when it's not my own." Joe threw his hands lethargically into the air. "Why must I be so good-looking with such strong, broad shoulders such that damsels cannot resist crying on? Tell me why? I need you more than ever now, my good brother, to fend off the hungry arms of waiting ladies."

Frank chuckled lowly, bemused that Joe could still make light of a most undeserving punch. It was redundant to ask Joe about the troubles he got himself, sometimes unwittingly, knotted in. For Joe, it was always about women. Nothing would ever change, not in thirty or three hundred years.

Joe would be Joe. Always.

***

"See! Jet-skiing is so much more fun!" Holly squealed into Frank's ears as he cranked up the already high speed of the power jet-ski even more. They sped across the choppy waves. The Jet Ski flew up and crashed down onto the waters again repeatedly, rendering the both of them soaking wet with the essence of magnificent Mother Nature.

Holly wrapped her arms tighter around his waist and laughed heartily after the last wave which Frank swore bounced them up at least a storey high. "This is much better than trekking through the forest, sweating ickily!"

"Look! Frank! I have never seen this specie of butterfly before…what do you think it is?"

"Hmm… looks like a Harvester…belongs to the Lycaenidae family."

"How nice to have a boyfriend who's a walking encyclopedia!"

"I try my best to please you, lady."

Memories seeped into the cracks of the present and he willed them away- it was not fair to Holly to think of a date he had with Callie, trekking through the rainforest with sweat plastering their hair to their forehead. However, Holly's mention of trekking through the forest which was something he would really like to do brought back the ghosts of the past. Callie shared his passion for hiking and rainforest exploration and he won't deny that he wished Holly did so as well. Yet, he knew that Holly was not Callie- if he wanted to like Holly for who she was, he had better no compare to Callie anymore.

"Trekking can be fun too!" Frank hollered back, forcing his voice to carry through above the noise of the whirling Jet Ski and crashing waves. "Life's about experiences!"

"This is an experience too! Look out! BIG WAVE!" Holly shrilled and Frank thought he was about to turn deaf. The wave flung the Jet Ski up in the air and a sense of exhilaration rushed through Frank before the Jet Ski fell back into the embrace of the ocean. He smiled and sped up even more and Holly, in her exuberance, squealed with delight. Holly's excitement was catching and Frank was encouraged to live a little more dangerously.

"Sharp turning!" Frank warned, slowing down abruptly to navigate around the island so they could reach their destination- the elusive beach on the other side of the island. However, he was still too fast and the Jet Ski skidded across the waters before it overturned, flinging him and Holly into the sea. A blessing it was that they both wore their life jackets and, after the impact caused Frank to sink a little into the ocean before he was buoyed up, he was bobbing up and down beside Holly who was scowling. "Now what do we do?"

Frank treaded the waters and spotted the Jet Ski a short distance away. "We swim to it. C'mon."

Holly growled unhappily and Frank chuckled, pecking her on her cheek, pleasantly surprising her. "This will be your most memorable first date with me. Jet Ski overturning. Not many girls will get to share this experience with me. You're the only one so far."

A smile crept up her lovely rosebud lips and she kissed him back quickly. Together, before the waves could wash away the Jet Ski which Frank had no means of repaying back the resort should it happened, they swam vigorously against the currents. With Holly's help, Frank pushed the Jet Ski into an upright position. He hoisted her up on it before climbing up himself.

"Now, Frank Hardy, we go slow. We're reaching anyway." Holly whispered in his ear before resting her chin on his shoulder. Frank could feel the full length of her upper body pressing against his back and the physical intimacy that emphasized the spiritual imminence they were moving towards, made him all aglow with a sense of peaceful happiness.

With the early afternoon sun beating down on them and the salty sea breeze blowing their hair carelessly, he steered the Jet Ski placidly until they hit shores of the magical beach. In the shallow waters, they jumped down and Frank guided the Jet Ski to the beach. A wooden pole jutted out from the sand and he secured the Jet Ski to it with the rope which was already tied around the pole. Giving the small but pristinely clean beach a quick glance over, he saw two more similar poles some distance away.

"Most people navigate through the waters here? Why doesn't anyone trek nowadays?"

"Because this is a beach! You should get wet at a beach, not sweaty. Anyone, those who bother to come here do trek. At least, Gavin and the twins do."

"Gavin and the twins?" Frank asked, a little incredulous.

"They get along fine when Gavin's not PMSing." Holly slipped her right arm through his left. Frank indicated for her to pass him her life jacket which she had taken off. Clad in a modest sports tankini which showed off her slim, nubile body, she was indeed a sight to behold. Physically, he was more than attracted to her but he knew that he was slowly but surely falling in love with her mind and heart which was so much more important than anything else.

"Penny for your thoughts. Frank? Quit staring at my you-know-what." Holly punched his left forearm playfully, teasing him. Frank averted his eyes and met hers. No, she was wrong, he was not looking at her you-know-what. He was distracted by his own thoughts and did not know his eyes had strayed. Blushing furiously, he turned his eyes away from her bemused emerald ones.

"I ah… I wasn't… really. I wasn't looking…"

"Aw… I was only teasing you! I know you, Frank Hardy." Holly Strand leaned her head against his shoulder and in a comfortable silence, they made their way to a scenic part of the beach where palm trees lined up haphazardly, providing much beauty but little shade.

It was as Holly promised. The beach was almost virgin and gloriously soothing with waves lapping the white sands in a gentle rhythm. The water was so clear that Frank could see little fishes swimming inside with bare-naked eyes. Were all beaches in Thailand like these? Sifting the soft sands, he uncovered some dead corals in unique patterns but left them alone. They belonged to the sea, dead or alive. It was their home.

"Gorgeous, huh? Simplicity at its very best." Holly gushed breathily. Frank nodded, unable to find words to describe a beauty best experienced.

"You two left us pretty soon yesterday. Brother bonding or something else?" Holly asked, looking up at him. He stretched his arms and conveniently draped his left arm over her shoulders after.

"Oh… a bit of both. Joe and I… well, our trip to this beach is a little strange… as you know, we were separated at the airport before reuniting here. Seems like we are called here by Queen McHeart to solve a case of a series of petty thefts."

"I always thought you were tight-lipped about your cases…" Holly thumbed his chin and smiled. "Why are you so open with me now? Where's Frank Hardy's guardedness?"

Frank grinned at her, knowing exactly why he could totally trust her, like how he trusted Callie. "I feel like… maybe I have nothing to hide from you."

"Hmm… that's a good start. Are we dating now, Frank?" Holly asked, her green eyes seriously imploring as her sultry voice dropped a few notches. "Will you ever break my heart?"

You're in UCLA. I'm in Harvard.

I and Callie drifted apart because of distance though the relationship was so strong to begin with. I'm barely starting a life with you, or rather, I'm barely about to decide to share my life with you.

"I don't know… I just know that right now, I really like you... a lot." Frank was as truthful as he could be. An awkward sigh left his throat after his confession which he wished could instead be something more assuring for her but she seemed to understand. She wrapped her arm around his waist, drawing herself nearer to him.

"Is it the distance?"

How much am I willing to risk?

He nodded silently.

Holly's kiss on his lips caught him by surprise. "You're always a thinker. This time, let me do the thinking. I waited too long for you, Frank Hardy, to not take this risk." Her emerald eyes that reflected the sea now shone with resolution. "I've waited for you since we were five, playing "husband and wife" with Joe masquerading as our pesky baby. I'm not about to give up because of mere distance. We can definitely work something out."

"She said that too, Holly." Frank replied her softly, unable to lie to her about the sentiments that came rushing back with the looming decision that had to be made. "She said that too."

"I'm not Callie, Frank. Every relationship will be different. If we don't try, how do we know? Life's a gamble sometimes, Frank." Holly chided him tenderly. "I'm not belittling Callie- I'm sure she's a wonderful person. But maybe… maybe it's time for you and me to walk the same path now, holding hands. Don't you want to at least try? What little we can we lose is so meager compared to what we can gain!" She took his right hand and squeezed it, searching his eyes for an answer.

Right. Nothing to lose. Nothing but a treasured friendship.

But what do we stand to gain? A soul mate for each other?

Yes. A soul mate. Surely that's worth fighting for.

A load was taken off his chest and he breathed easier. On impulse, he hugged her tightly and buried his face in her damp, mahogany hair. She smelled as sweet as the sea and he knew, without question, that love was the surest thing that could happen to them. Whenever he thought of the ocean, he would think of her.

And there was no doubt she would be feeling the same way too.

***

Frank reached his hut with a stupid grin plastered on his face that he could not quite keep down, not that he wanted to. There was a quiet euphoria within him and he wanted it to last forever and a day. He was a little sunburned on the shoulders but it did not matter. He had found paradise and it was the isolated beach.

However, the moment he stepped in, he saw White Rabbit (since Clown was now in a suit top with an ill matching pair of khakis and a pocket watch dangling out from his breast pocket) and Joe sitting up on Joe's bed with worry creasing the in-between of their brows. Joe looked up and motioned for him to join them quickly. The grin was wiped off with a hunch of dire happenings and he quickly chucked his life-jacket aside and took a sit opposite his brother and the White Rabbit on his own bed.

"What's up?"

"Seems like the thefts have taken a more sinister turn. Someone vandalized Queen's favorite spot- a small breakwater on her private beach. White Rabbit won't tell me more until you're here." Joe ran a hand through his askew hair which was mussed up by sleep. White Rabbit took nervous glances at Frank while he bit his nails anxiously.

"Oh yes. Running out of time. Maya's tending to Queen… poor Queen. My heart just breaks to see her so sad…"

"What did the culprit vandalized the spot with?" Frank asked the stressed-up man calmly in a gentle tone. White Rabbit shook his head and reached inside his khakis pocket. Moments later, he drew out two pieces of newspaper clippings.

"There are more still stuck there. Read it and you'll understand." White Rabbit passed one each to Joe and Frank. Frank read his and knew Joe's clipping should be reporting the same event.

Billionaire Died in Scuba-Diving Accident Leaving Behind Pregnant Wife.

"Pregnant?" Frank raised a questioning brow- he hadn't heard White Rabbit, his other personalities or Leaf Lady mentioned anything about Queen's child.

"Stillborn." White Rabbit shook his head regretfully. "Double blow."

"Oh…" Joe bit down his lips, a sure sign that he was at a loss for words.

"Someone sprayed the rock with words like, 'whore', 'slut', 'killer'. Strong, accusatory words that cut her old wounds once again. Queen's having a nervous breakdown now. Peter died of an accident! Why will anyone want to be so cruel as to dig into her still bleeding injuries?"

A wave of compassion flooded through Frank for Queen McHeart. She had appeared strong and enigmatic and now, he knew the tip of the mystery and it wasn't one that sounded good. He saw Joe's fists all clenched up- his brother was definitely feeling the injustice for his new idol.

"Who discovered the graffiti?" Frank asked, reaching for his notepad just right beside his bed on the night table.

"Little Kat. But she's harmless… they are all harmless… you know…" White Rabbit rubbed his left temple. "Harmless."