Chapter 7 – Meet the Parents

Fenton came rushing in behind his wife only to stop short at the apparition standing before him. "Joseph?"

Joe's heart began to beat rapidly as he glanced quickly at his brother for support. Funny how those old patterns fell so quickly back into place. Frank nodded slightly, just enough to say to Joe 'its okay, Little Brother, you can do this."

Joe took a breath and tried unsuccessfully to remove the anxiety from his voice as he greeted them. "Hi Mom, Dad."

"Joseph!" His mother screamed again as she ran forward and threw her arms around him.

Fenton felt a lump in his throat as he too stepped forward to embrace his prodigal son. "Where have you been all these years, Son?" Fenton asked as he stepped back.

"Kayley and I moved to Virginia to raise our child."

Fenton already knew that information. Frank had tracked down Joe years ago. Searching out his younger brother consumed Frank for months. Fenton was glad that Frank had been able to locate him before his own children were born. Callie needed him home. Frank didn't understand his brother's need to "disappear". The whole thing hurt Frank terribly, but it put his mind at ease to at least know that Joe was safe. He figured Joe needed it to be this way and that he would make his way back to his family when he was ready. He never thought it would be thirteen years. He made Fenton make a pact with him, promising not to tell anyone about Joe's whereabouts. Frank was still loyal to his brother. If that is the way Joe felt he needed it to be, Frank didn't have to like it, but he trusted him. Fenton wasn't really looking for the WHERE Joe had been, more like the WHY? "How is the child?" he finally managed to utter.

"He's fine. My whole family is. I will tell you all about them and you can meet them, but I really need to get down to business first. I know you are all aware that time is critical here. Let's bring Sam home first and then we can have a real family reunion."

There was a chorus of 'yes's and sure's'.

"OK, Frank, I went over the files on my way over. I understand that as yet there are no solid clues. Do you have a description of him and what he was wearing? A recent picture would be helpful as well."

"Sure, blonde hair, brown eyes, muscular but lean, tanned, about 5'5". He was wearing a blue T-shirt with the slogan 'You laugh at me because I'm different, I pity you coz you're all the same'. He was also wearing black jeans and sneakers"

Joe stared at what he had written and shook his head before smiling ruefully "If you change the height to 5'4" and the eyes to blue, you could have described our Liam!"

"Liam?" Laura asked

"Liam Fenton Hardy," Joe replied, just a little embarrassed as he glanced at his father. "He's my eldest at thirteen. Then there's Katie Marie, who is eight, and James Franklin, who is two." Joe smiled at Frank as he said that. Frank smiled back and Joe could see Frank's eyes were moist again.

"Back to the case, myself and my partner, Carl, who is in Virginia, decided to do a reconstruction of the walk Sam made. We would like to stop and speak to the homeowners along the route. Is that OK with you guys?"

Frank nodded and responded "That sounds good, Joe. We actually already did that once, but I think doing it again with a fresh set of ears and eyes would be helpful." Frank appreciated Joe asking permission before going ahead. He liked the way EYN operated. He found himself smiling for the first time in three days.

"OK, it's a bit late to do that tonight, so go ahead and ask away - all the questions you want" Joe turned to his parents as he made this remark. He braced himself as he saw Laura open her mouth to ask the first question.

"Are you married?"

"Yes, Kayley and I will have been married 8 years on the 12th of November. We only had a small ceremony with Jack, Tim and their wives as witnesses. Liam was there, as was Katie, but she was only 3 months old at the time."

Callie smiled, it had been so long since she had seen her friend Kayley that when Joe mentioned her name. Her emotions jumped, but Sam was still on her mind. She sighed to herself, "it's too late for anyone to do anything tonight, he'll be OK."

"When are your kids' birthdays?" Callie asked as she looked at Joe.

"Liam's is the February 25, 1989, Katie's is August 15, 1994, and James is October 9, 2000. What about your kids?"

"Sam and Natalie's is February 25, 1989, Sophie's is June 8, 1996, and Jenni's is May 7, 1997" replied Callie.

Joe stared at them and he grinned, "You don't see it do you?" he asked.

"See what?" asked Frank.

"Liam, Sam and Natalie all share the same birthday, February 25, 1989!"

"You're right! How'd I miss that?" Frank gasped. Everyone started to laugh but then they all went quiet when Joe's cell phone rang out.