Frank hurried out to the car, his friends close behind. Even Laura had decided to join the procession. Frank jumped into the rental he had been driving as Tony, Phil, and Biff joined him. Chet joined Laura, Vanessa and Callie in the other car. Frank stepped on the gas and took off. He took the roads at a fast clip, quickly losing sight of the other car in the rearview mirror. He was terrified they would be too late. He rounded the final curve that brought him to the Moody mansion and slammed on the brakes.
The car did a complete one-eighty before coming to a halt inches from a military jeep. Shocked, all the boys clambered out of the car. "My brother's in there," Frank told the first officer he saw.
The man nodded, and stepped aside. He had been told the boy might put in an appearance and should be allowed to enter. Frank took off at a run as his friends started to follow but were halted. They had not been issued clearance.
Frank ran up the steps and in through the front door. He saw Austin, Ami and Charles being searched as he rushed past them up the stairs to Joe's bedroom. He stopped in the doorway, his breathing irregular, and looked at his father tenderly holding Joe as he wept.
"Joe," Frank emitted the strangled cry as he neared the bed. Joe looked up, his eyes blood-shot in his tear-streaked face. But instead of seeing pain or anguish in that face, Frank saw relief and joy.
Afraid to touch him, Frank took his head and pulled it to him, kissing the top of it. He didn't know what to say. Joe, however, seemed to have no problem with words.
"I love you," Joe whispered, his head still buried in Frank's embrace.
"I love you too, Baby Brother," Frank rasped. He looked into his father's eyes. "Can we take him home now?" he demanded.
"No," Fenton declared but continued before Frank could tear into him. "An ambulance is on its way. I think Joe should go to the hospital and be treated. Then we will take him home where he belongs."
"What happened?" Frank asked. "How did you get here? How did you manage the army?"
"To begin with, the false information you fed Sturgiss was a big help. He leaned on the witness, on tape and film and in front of two unseen agents. When that didn't work, he sent someone to kill one of the fake relatives. The man confessed that he had been sent to murder him by Sturgiss. Sturgiss, in turn, when confronted with the evidence and testimony, decided to turn state's evidence against Moody and several of his other clients. There is enough information to lock up Moody up for eternity."
"But what about the army?" Frank asked.
"The poison Moody kept after selling it to the government made him guilty of treason. Getting the army to move in had nothing to do with me. My only problem was getting them to let me come with them."
The ambulance arrived and Joe was gently placed on the stretcher and carted downstairs. Charles looked over at Joe. "Help me," he told Joe. "Tell them I had nothing to do with the poison. You owe me!"
"He owes you alright!" Frank snarled. "And I'll be glad to pay you back!" he added threateningly, raising his fists and stepping forward.
"Easy, Son," Fenton said, latching onto his arm and bringing him to a stop. Joe needs you. "Killing him won't help Joe."
"You would kill for that worthless piece of scum?" Austin demanded in contempt, raising an eyebrow.
"If I'm the worthless scum, why are you the one wearing handcuffs?" Joe asked, smirking.
It was late the next afternoon and Fenton, Laura and Frank were sitting in the hospital room where Joe sat on the edge of his bed waiting for the nurse to arrive with his release papers. The doctor had suggested Joe stay the night at the hospital for observation and none of the Hardys were prepared to disagree with him, except Joe who wanted to go home, but he was quickly overruled.
Joe looked anxiously at the door when Roger Dunderson, the Hardy family lawyer, walked into the room. "What's wrong?" he asked, hoarsely. He couldn't bare it if he had to leave the Hardys again.
"Nothing's wrong," Dunderson quickly assured the distraught boy. "Matter of fact, I figured you wouldn't want to wait any longer than necessary for what I have in my briefcase and when I stopped at your house and found out from your neighbor that you were here, I came straight over."
He set his briefcase down on the movable tray by the bed and opened it up. He removed a pen from his pocket and held it out to Fenton. "A complete new adoption," he said. "No one will be able to protest this adoption. Once signed, Joe will be Joesph Paul Hardy for the rest of his life and there isn't anything anyone can do about it."
"Hallelujah!" Frank whooped loudly. Fenton took the pen, and beaming, signed his full name on the spaces Dunderson showed him then handed the pen to Laura who quickly did the same. She sat down on the bed beside Joe and gave him a hug.
"I told you, you're mine, forever," she told him in her fiercest voice as she held him.
Joe smiled, remembering waking up in the hospital the day after she had rescued him from his parent's house.
The blond headed woman who had shown him real compassion sat in the chair by the hospital bed. She gasped when she saw him looking at her and quickly leapt to her feet and took his hand gently in her own.
"Please don't let them take me back," Joe begged her, his voice a ragged whisper.
"You're never going back," she told him. "No matter what I have to do, you're mine now. Forever," she had vowed.
"I love you," Joe said now, kissing her cheek. "All of you," he added, looking first at Frank and then at his dad.
"You better," Fenton told him. "You're stuck with us," he added, grinning like a proud new papa.
Frank took a seat beside Joe as Laura rose and went with Fenton outside the room with the lawyer. "I'm so sorry you had to go through all of this," he told Joe.
"I should have told you," Joe said. "But....well, it was just too hard to talk about."
"I understand," Frank said, taking Joe's hand in his own and gently rubbing it. "And I am not going to force you to tell me. But if you ever want to talk, I'll be there."
"I know," Joe replied. "And, well, there are some things I think I need to talk about. Maybe if I talk about them, they won't hurt so much anymore. But..."
"But?" Frank inquired, his voice gentle.
"But I don't think I should talk to you about it," he added, his eyes apologetic.
"Why not?" Frank asked, confused. He wanted Joe to be able to tell him everything. "You know I love you and would never do anything to hurt you."
"That's why," Joe said. "If I told you, you would be hurt. You could not hear what I went through as a child and not be. You care too much about me."
"I can't stop caring about you," Frank said. "I won't. No matter what you tell me."
"It's not that I am afraid you will stop loving me," Joe tried to explain one more time. "It's that if I tell you, I will be hurting you because you do care. I need to talk with someone who is, well, impartial."
"I agree," Fenton said from the doorway. "You've had a traumatic childhood if the past few days is anything to judge by. And, sometimes talking to someone who is impartial is exactly what is needed to help one overcome their pain. I can set you up a session with a psychiatrist. After that, you can decide if you want to continue."
"And if you ever do feel comfortable talking about it with anyone else, then I'll be here," Frank put in. "But until then, I won't push. As long as you start to feel better, that is all that matters."
Frank put his arm around Joe and gave him a hug. Joe smiled, knowing that no matter what the future held or what demons his past turned up, he was going to be alright.
End
The car did a complete one-eighty before coming to a halt inches from a military jeep. Shocked, all the boys clambered out of the car. "My brother's in there," Frank told the first officer he saw.
The man nodded, and stepped aside. He had been told the boy might put in an appearance and should be allowed to enter. Frank took off at a run as his friends started to follow but were halted. They had not been issued clearance.
Frank ran up the steps and in through the front door. He saw Austin, Ami and Charles being searched as he rushed past them up the stairs to Joe's bedroom. He stopped in the doorway, his breathing irregular, and looked at his father tenderly holding Joe as he wept.
"Joe," Frank emitted the strangled cry as he neared the bed. Joe looked up, his eyes blood-shot in his tear-streaked face. But instead of seeing pain or anguish in that face, Frank saw relief and joy.
Afraid to touch him, Frank took his head and pulled it to him, kissing the top of it. He didn't know what to say. Joe, however, seemed to have no problem with words.
"I love you," Joe whispered, his head still buried in Frank's embrace.
"I love you too, Baby Brother," Frank rasped. He looked into his father's eyes. "Can we take him home now?" he demanded.
"No," Fenton declared but continued before Frank could tear into him. "An ambulance is on its way. I think Joe should go to the hospital and be treated. Then we will take him home where he belongs."
"What happened?" Frank asked. "How did you get here? How did you manage the army?"
"To begin with, the false information you fed Sturgiss was a big help. He leaned on the witness, on tape and film and in front of two unseen agents. When that didn't work, he sent someone to kill one of the fake relatives. The man confessed that he had been sent to murder him by Sturgiss. Sturgiss, in turn, when confronted with the evidence and testimony, decided to turn state's evidence against Moody and several of his other clients. There is enough information to lock up Moody up for eternity."
"But what about the army?" Frank asked.
"The poison Moody kept after selling it to the government made him guilty of treason. Getting the army to move in had nothing to do with me. My only problem was getting them to let me come with them."
The ambulance arrived and Joe was gently placed on the stretcher and carted downstairs. Charles looked over at Joe. "Help me," he told Joe. "Tell them I had nothing to do with the poison. You owe me!"
"He owes you alright!" Frank snarled. "And I'll be glad to pay you back!" he added threateningly, raising his fists and stepping forward.
"Easy, Son," Fenton said, latching onto his arm and bringing him to a stop. Joe needs you. "Killing him won't help Joe."
"You would kill for that worthless piece of scum?" Austin demanded in contempt, raising an eyebrow.
"If I'm the worthless scum, why are you the one wearing handcuffs?" Joe asked, smirking.
It was late the next afternoon and Fenton, Laura and Frank were sitting in the hospital room where Joe sat on the edge of his bed waiting for the nurse to arrive with his release papers. The doctor had suggested Joe stay the night at the hospital for observation and none of the Hardys were prepared to disagree with him, except Joe who wanted to go home, but he was quickly overruled.
Joe looked anxiously at the door when Roger Dunderson, the Hardy family lawyer, walked into the room. "What's wrong?" he asked, hoarsely. He couldn't bare it if he had to leave the Hardys again.
"Nothing's wrong," Dunderson quickly assured the distraught boy. "Matter of fact, I figured you wouldn't want to wait any longer than necessary for what I have in my briefcase and when I stopped at your house and found out from your neighbor that you were here, I came straight over."
He set his briefcase down on the movable tray by the bed and opened it up. He removed a pen from his pocket and held it out to Fenton. "A complete new adoption," he said. "No one will be able to protest this adoption. Once signed, Joe will be Joesph Paul Hardy for the rest of his life and there isn't anything anyone can do about it."
"Hallelujah!" Frank whooped loudly. Fenton took the pen, and beaming, signed his full name on the spaces Dunderson showed him then handed the pen to Laura who quickly did the same. She sat down on the bed beside Joe and gave him a hug.
"I told you, you're mine, forever," she told him in her fiercest voice as she held him.
Joe smiled, remembering waking up in the hospital the day after she had rescued him from his parent's house.
The blond headed woman who had shown him real compassion sat in the chair by the hospital bed. She gasped when she saw him looking at her and quickly leapt to her feet and took his hand gently in her own.
"Please don't let them take me back," Joe begged her, his voice a ragged whisper.
"You're never going back," she told him. "No matter what I have to do, you're mine now. Forever," she had vowed.
"I love you," Joe said now, kissing her cheek. "All of you," he added, looking first at Frank and then at his dad.
"You better," Fenton told him. "You're stuck with us," he added, grinning like a proud new papa.
Frank took a seat beside Joe as Laura rose and went with Fenton outside the room with the lawyer. "I'm so sorry you had to go through all of this," he told Joe.
"I should have told you," Joe said. "But....well, it was just too hard to talk about."
"I understand," Frank said, taking Joe's hand in his own and gently rubbing it. "And I am not going to force you to tell me. But if you ever want to talk, I'll be there."
"I know," Joe replied. "And, well, there are some things I think I need to talk about. Maybe if I talk about them, they won't hurt so much anymore. But..."
"But?" Frank inquired, his voice gentle.
"But I don't think I should talk to you about it," he added, his eyes apologetic.
"Why not?" Frank asked, confused. He wanted Joe to be able to tell him everything. "You know I love you and would never do anything to hurt you."
"That's why," Joe said. "If I told you, you would be hurt. You could not hear what I went through as a child and not be. You care too much about me."
"I can't stop caring about you," Frank said. "I won't. No matter what you tell me."
"It's not that I am afraid you will stop loving me," Joe tried to explain one more time. "It's that if I tell you, I will be hurting you because you do care. I need to talk with someone who is, well, impartial."
"I agree," Fenton said from the doorway. "You've had a traumatic childhood if the past few days is anything to judge by. And, sometimes talking to someone who is impartial is exactly what is needed to help one overcome their pain. I can set you up a session with a psychiatrist. After that, you can decide if you want to continue."
"And if you ever do feel comfortable talking about it with anyone else, then I'll be here," Frank put in. "But until then, I won't push. As long as you start to feel better, that is all that matters."
Frank put his arm around Joe and gave him a hug. Joe smiled, knowing that no matter what the future held or what demons his past turned up, he was going to be alright.
End