Chapter 20

Fenton and Frank arrived at the hospital with Sam and Con minutes after the ambulance. There was no sign yet of Laura Hardy. Fenton had called her from the car to let her know they had found Joe and he was on his way to the hospital.

"Excuse me, where is Joe Hardy?" Fenton enquired frantically as he rushed to the front desk. "I'm Fenton Hardy, his father."

The nurse at the desk scanned her files and nodded. "The doctor is with him now, but if you take a seat he'll be out to speak with you shortly."

"But why can't we see him now?" Fenton objected, anxious to be with his son.

The nurse peered at him severely over wire-rimmed glasses. "Mr. Hardy, your son needs treatment not visitors," she scolded. "Kindly take a seat and the doctor will be out to see you soon." He knew there was no point arguing. Silently the small group took a seat.

Fenton's mind was whirling. As long as he lived, he knew he would never forget the scene in the woods that had greeted him when they had followed the scream from the cabin. One son bleeding in the arms of a lunatic with a gun to his head, the other frozen in helpless fear in front of them.

Fenton clenched his fists. When he had shot Denton, it wasn't his hand he was aiming for. He didn't knew whether it was fate or his shaking hands that had caused him to miss, but if he got the chance again, Fenton wouldn't miss.

Then again, he reflected wearily, for Joe's sake it was probably best I did miss.

Sighing, the detective rubbed his temples. He had seen how traumatised Joe was, and had deliberately refrained from any outward show of violence in front of him, especially when Miles' had leered at him. But inside he was throttling Miles with his bare hands.

Animal! thought Fenton savagely. Any sympathy he had felt towards Miles' condition had disappeared the instant he had seen his battered child.

Quietly he glanced at Frank. The teenager was pale and scared looking, and appeared much younger than his thirteen years. Without saying a word, Fenton put his arm around him. He could tell Frank was rattled by Joe's reaction to him in the woods and frowned, troubled. The physical scars would heal, but Fenton didn't know what Denton had done to cause Joe to behave like that towards the brother he idolised. He just hoped it was something they could fix.

"Fenton Hardy?" a stern-faced doctor called.

Fenton jumped to his feet. "How's Joe?" he demanded.

The doctor didn't answer. "Mr. Hardy, can you come with me, please?" he asked, his face grave.

Fenton felt his heart plummet as the doctor turned and left the waiting room. With a terrified glance at Sam and Con, he followed the doctor.

"How's Joe?" he croaked, as he fell into step beside the serious-faced doctor.

"He's refusing to let us treat him," the doctor answered. "He's pulled out the IV and he's yelling at our staff. In fact, he's downright hysterical." As they neared the end of the hall, Fenton could hear shouting and realised with a heavy heart that it was Joe.

"Mr. Hardy, your son has a very high fever, so I'm guessing this isn't usual behaviour," the doctor continued. "But this hysteria is extremely dangerous in his current condition. I'd like you to try and calm him down; it would be better if we didn't have to sedate him."

They entered the exam room and Fenton was shocked at what he saw. Joe was kneeling upright on the hospital bed, clutching a pillow in his right hand and swinging it at any nurse or doctor who tried to get near him. The strapping on his injured shoulder had come off, but the boy seemed oblivious to that fact as he yelled at the hospital staff.

"GO AWAY! LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"Joe!" Fenton cried, hurrying towards his son. "What's wrong?"

The frightened boy caught sight of his father and scrambled off the bed. He ran straight into Fenton's arms.

"Dad! I want to go home! Please can I go home?"

"You can go home as soon as the doctors have taken a look at you," said Fenton soothingly, hugging the child as gently as he could so as not to aggravate his shoulder.

"No!" Joe cried. "I want to go home now! Why can't I go home now?"

"Because you're not well enough to go home," Fenton explained. "The doctors have to fix your shoulder."

"But they're hurting me!" Joe sobbed.

They're only trying to help you…"

"They're NOT!" Joe yelled pulling away from his father. "They're hurting me! Dad, please, make them stop."

Joe gazed up beseechingly at his father, and Fenton couldn't help but notice how vividly his blue eyes stood out in stark contrast to the pallor of his face. He swallowed guiltily. "Joe, I'm sorry but I can't. You need treatment."

Fenton tried to guide Joe back onto the bed but the boy pushed him away. "No! Leave me alone! I want to go home!"

"Joe, please calm down," Fenton begged, reaching for his son. But Joe smacked his hand away.

"You're trying to hurt me too!" he raved, and Fenton realised he was delirious.

"Joe, please," he tried again as the doctor appeared at his side.

"Mr. Hardy, I'm sorry but this isn't working," he told Fenton. "We're going to have to sedate him. If he keeps jerking around like this he'll do irreparable damage to that shoulder. Can you help us get him on the bed?"

Fenton nodded and approached Joe who backed away warily. "Joe, you have to get up on the bed or the doctors will force you to do it," Fenton tried one last time.

"I won't!" Joe shook his head. As Fenton and the doctor drew near him, Joe tried to dash around them but they caught him and together they lifted him onto the bed.

Joe bucked frantically. "LET ME UP!" he screamed at them.

"Nurse, hold his legs!" the doctor barked at the nurse nearest to him. "Mr. Hardy, keep him lying down."

As the doctor prepared the syringe, Joe continued to struggle with his father and another doctor had to assist Fenton in holding him down in order to prevent further injury to his shoulder.

"I want to go home!" Joe begged. "Please, Dad, I'll be good! Let me up!"

"Shhhhhh," said Fenton, a lump in his throat. "It'll be alright, just relax, Joe."

"Why are you doing this?" Joe cried at his father. "Why are you hurting me?"

Joe continued to rave as the sedative kicked in. When he was finally resting, the Doctor sent Fenton back to the waiting room where he promptly sat down in a chair, his hands over his face.

"Don't talk to me," he said hoarsely to the others. "Just let me be."

Fenton had never felt worse in his life; the betrayal on Joe's face when he had been forced to hold him down was more than he could bear. He was still sitting like that minutes later when Laura and Gertrude rushed in.

"Where's Joe? Is he alright?" Laura demanded at once.

"He's with the doctors now, but they haven't come out to see us yet," Sam answered her when it became obvious that Fenton wasn't going to.

"Why not?" Laura looked upset.

Sam chanced a glance at Fenton who was still sitting with his hands over his face. "I don't know," he admitted.

It was then Laura realised that something was wrong. "Fenton?" she said, kneeling down before her husband. "What's wrong?"

Fenton lifted his head and smiled wearily at her. "Nothing, I'm just tired," he lied, deciding it was best that Laura and Frank didn't know about what happened in the exam room. It would only upset them further.

Laura eyed her husband suspiciously before turning to look at Frank who was sitting beside his father. "Frank, honey, are you okay?" she asked softly.

Frank shook his head and Laura realised that he looked near tears. Silently she sat up beside him and put her arms around him.

The group remained waiting silently for nearly two hours, only speaking to one another to check the time. Sam and Con disappeared off to the hospital canteen and returned with sandwiches and coffee, but none of the Hardys felt much like eating.

Finally, the stern-faced doctor who had spoken to Fenton earlier returned. Fenton and Laura were on their feet and hurrying towards him before he'd even called out their names.

"How's Joe?" asked Laura.

"I'm afraid he's very ill," answered the doctor grimly. "His shoulder should heal alright with time, provided he rests and doesn't move it. However, there was a wound to his right arm that wasn't treated properly and an infection set in. Unfortunately, Joe is very weak; he's suffering from dehydration and exposure, and his body was unable to fight the infection. He's developed septicaemia."

Laura gave a sharp intake of breath and clutched her husband's arm tightly.

"What does that mean?" asked Fenton quietly.

"It means the next twenty-four hours will be critical for Joe. We've given him a strong broad-spectrum antibiotic to help fight the septicaemia, but it's going to be a difficult night. The boy is exhausted and needs natural rest to allow his body to heal, but as long as we have to keep sedating him he won't get that. I must impress on you, Mr. and Mrs. Hardy, how vitally important it is that Joe remains calm when he comes around from the sedative. And that is the only reason I am allowing you in to see him tonight."

"What about me?" whispered Frank from behind his parents. "Can I see him?"

The doctor looked at him. "And you are?"

"I'm his brother, Frank."

The doctor shook his head pityingly. "I'm sorry, Frank, but your brother is very sick and he's in the ICU. I can't let you see him until we've stabilised him."

"I don't understand," said Fenton. "Joe was fine when I entered that exam room. He was talking and moving around. And he was strong," he added, remembering how hard it had been to subdue Joe. "Surely it would be okay if his brother sees him for a few minutes?"

"Mr. Hardy, have you listened to nothing I've told you?" asked the doctor in exasperation. "Your son is very sick. Another day or two and he would have been beyond our help. What you saw in the exam room was the result of fever and septicaemia. If it weren't for the fact that I need to keep Joe calm, you and your wife would not be seeing him tonight either!"

Fenton nodded meekly, feeling like a chastised schoolboy. "Sorry, Doctor," he mumbled. "I understand."

"Good. Now if you'd like to follow me, I'll take you to see Joe."

As the doctor left the waiting room, Laura and Fenton turned to Frank and hugged him tightly.

"Don't worry," his mother whispered to him. "We'll tell Joe you're out here waiting to see him as soon as the doctors let you."

Frank nodded and watched with a heavy heart as his parents left the waiting room.

XXX

It was the longest night Frank could ever remember. His aunt had tried to persuade him to go home but he had refused point blank. No way was he leaving this hospital without knowing how his brother was. Gertrude hadn't pushed too hard, she understood how Frank felt.

Con and Sam remained in the waiting room with them, offering comfort and company. It didn't make Gertrude or Frank feel any better, but they were grateful to them nonetheless.

Finally, Gertrude dozed off in a chair, her head lolling against Con's shoulder. Con remained still in an effort not to wake the woman. Sam sat beside Frank, giving the boy's shoulder a comforting squeeze every now and again.

But Frank, lost in his thoughts, was oblivious to all this. As he played with a strand of his sweater that had frayed in the woods, the teenager's mind travelled back there. He kept hearing that horrible voice roar, "JOEEEY" and shook his head in an effort to clear it.

Frank had known the instant he heard that voice that his brother was nearby, and so began a frantic search. He had been terrified that he wouldn't find Joe until it was too late. And for one heart-stopping minute, when he had seen Joe pinned to the tree by Miles, Frank had thought it was too late.

Frank gulped back the lump in his throat. What if they hadn't been on time? The thought was one that haunted him.

He glanced at his watch for the hundredth time that night. It was nearly six fifteen, and Frank hoped his parents would be back soon with news. After all, they had been upstairs nearly all night.

Wearily he closed his eyes and felt nothing until someone shook him hard. Opening his eyes, Frank found himself staring up into the tired face of Sam Radley.

"Sorry to wake you, Frank," he said gently, "but you have a few visitors."

Frank glanced behind Sam and was surprised to see Chet, Biff, Tony and Phil standing there. Mr. Morton stood behind them.

"What are you guys doing here so early?" he asked, then yawned and rubbed his eyes.

"It's not that early," Chet answered. "It's nearly nine thirty."

"It is?!" said Frank in astonishment, looking at his watch. He saw that Chet was right. "Guess I must have dropped off," he admitted.

"At least you weren't sleeping as heavily as Aunt Gertrude," Chet sniggered, with a glance at the woman.

Frank looked over at her and couldn't help but grin. The woman still had her head on Con's shoulder, and now she had her arm across his stomach as well. Con looked decidedly uncomfortable.

"I think I'd better wake her," said Frank and approached his aunt. "Aunt Gertrude," he called as he shook her. "Aunt Gertrude!"

The woman gave a small snort then opened her eyes sleepily. When she saw who her pillow was, she shot up in embarrassment. "Officer Riley! I'm so sorry! Why didn't you wake me?" Gertrude's face was crimson and Frank had to suppress a laugh. He had never seen his aunt blush before.

Behind him, the other boys had no such compunction to hide their laughter and openly sniggered at Gertrude's embarrassment. Even Sam was grinning.

"Quite alright, Miss. Hardy," said Con uncomfortably. "You were just tired."

"I know…but…oh dear!" Gertrude shook her head, flustered.

The boys laughed harder and Gertrude frowned at them. "Whatever are you boys laughing at?" she demanded. "And what are you doing here?"

Hastily they smothered their grins. "We came to see how Joe is," Biff answered.

Frank's smile faded. "We don't know," he mumbled, and wondered why his parents hadn't come back to the waiting room yet.

The thought had no sooner entered his head when Fenton Hardy entered the room. Everyone clamoured around him at once demanding to know how Joe was.

"He had a bad night," Fenton answered, his face tired. "But he's sleeping comfortably now. We won't know much until later today."

Sam studied Fenton closely. He thought his friend looked like he had aged ten years overnight. "Maybe you should go home and get some rest," Sam suggested.

Fenton shook his head. "No. I'm staying here. Although I'd appreciate it if you could take Frank and Gertrude home, it's been a long night for them."

"I'm not going home!" said Frank at once. "I'm staying here!"

"Frank," said his father. "This isn't open to discussion. You're going home to eat something and get some rest. You can come back later."

Frank opened his mouth to argue but his father held his hand up. "Please don't fight with me about this, Frank," he said wearily. "I don't have the strength."

Frank closed his mouth. He didn't want to go home, but his father didn't look well and he thought that maybe it was better he obeyed. "Fine," he said quietly, nodding his head.

"Thank you, Frank," said his father. "Don't worry, we'll ring you if there's any change."

Frank and Gertrude said their goodbyes to Fenton, then followed Con out the door. The other boys and Mr. Morton left with them. Sam turned to Fenton and spoke quietly. "You okay?"

"Never been less so in my life," Fenton responded dejectedly.

"How is he really?" asked Sam.

"Not good," Fenton admitted. "His fever is still going up. I wanted Frank out of here in case there were any…emergencies." Fenton's voice wavered a little and Sam gave his arm a comforting squeeze.

"He'll be fine, Fenton, you'll see. Joe's a fighter, he is a Hardy after all." Fenton nodded. "I'll drop Frank and Gertrude back," Sam told him. "See you later, okay? And don't worry, Joe will be fine."

"I hope you're right, Sam," Fenton whispered as his friend disappeared out the door.

XXX

The first thing Frank did when he arrived home was take a shower. It was only in the car on the way home that he had noticed his sweater had blood on it. The teenager didn't know whether it belonged to Joe or Miles, and he didn't want to think about it either. It was too disturbing.

In the shower, Frank stood numbly beneath the water, allowing it to wash away the stench of the woods and the hospital. Afterwards, he threw the sweater in a bin and went downstairs.

His aunt had cooked a small lunch but neither of them ate very much. Frank helped his aunt clean up and was struck by how surreal all of this felt. Here they were going on with life while Joe was clinging on to his. It didn't feel right.

Miserable, Frank tried to watch some TV to keep his mind occupied while his aunt went upstairs to take a quick nap. It wasn't long before he dozed off. He only woke at the ringing of the telephone

It was Laura to say there was no change and that the doctors still wouldn't allow Frank or Gertrude in to see Joe. Frank hung up the phone in frustration at that piece of news.

He spent a sleepless night tossing and turning, before getting up early the next morning. He was ready to go to the hospital within twenty minutes. Regardless of what anyone else said, he was going to see his brother today.

His aunt sighed when she saw him. "Frank, where are you going?"

"To the hospital," he answered shortly.

His aunt sighed again. "Frank, they're not going to let you see Joe just because you're there. He's not well enough yet."

"I don't care, I want to be there!" Frank insisted stubbornly.

He hadn't told anyone, but Frank needed to be there. His brother's reaction to him in the woods had scared him. Frank had to be at the hospital to make things right as soon as Joe woke up.

His aunt must have seen a little of that urgency because she nodded her head and said, "okay, we'll both go. Give me ten minutes to get my coat and organise a cab."

"Thanks, Aunt Gertrude," said Frank, giving her a grateful hug.

Within half an hour, they were walking through the doors of Bayport General again. The first person they met was Fenton.

"Well, isn't this a nice surprise," he greeted them cheerfully. "I was just going to ring you. Joe's awake. The doctor said you can see him."

"We can?!" Frank exclaimed. "Where is he?"

"Still in the ICU," Fenton answered. "So you can't stay long. Come on, follow me."

Neither Gertrude or Frank needed to follow Fenton, they knew the way to the ICU only too well after Fenton's shooting, but they followed him nevertheless.

"Here we are," said Fenton, stopping outside a door near the nurses station in the ICU. Pushing the door open, Fenton stepped into the room, followed closely by Frank and Gertrude. "Joe, look who's here to see you," he said softly.

Laura Hardy was sitting by her son's bed holding his hand. Her face was pale and exhausted, but she was smiling happily. Frank didn't notice however, he only had eyes for Joe.

Joe still looked pale and ill, and there were dark shadows beneath his eyes giving him a haunted look. His right arm was wrapped in thick bandages and his left was strapped closely to his chest. There were several dark bruises around his neck and his face was scratched and bruised. Frank couldn't help but think how fragile his brother looked.

His aunt moved past him and bent down and kissed Joe. "It's so good to have you back safe, Joe," she whispered and ruffled his hair.

Joe smiled weakly at her . "It's good to see you too," he croaked.

Frank moved towards his brother. "Am I glad to see you…" he began but Joe gave him a strange look.

"Are you?" he asked quietly.

"What? Of course I am!" said Frank, his heart sinking. "Joe, I didn't mean what I said the last day. I'm sorry, I should never have said it."

Joe didn't answer but continued to watch Frank with a strange expression on his face. Silence filled the room and Fenton glanced uneasily at his wife who looked worriedly back. Frank didn't know how to respond and stared awkwardly at his brother.

"Joe," Fenton addressed him finally. "Frank is your brother, he cares about you very much."

Joe looked from his brother to his father and back again. He wanted so badly to believe his father, but he couldn't get the image of Frank just standing there while Miles strangled him out of his head. Then another image popped into his mind; his father and another man holding him down on a bed. Joe frowned, confused. But that couldn't be true, his father wouldn't hurt him, right?

Fenton caught the confused, slightly panicky look Joe was giving him and his heart plummeted as he realised that Joe had remembered the scene in the examination room.

"Joe," he said quietly. "You know I wouldn't hurt you, but you were hurting yourself. I had to do it."

He did do it! Joe realised, shocked. Then another voice entered his head, a voice that sounded oddly like Miles'…if he hurt you then he could be lying about Frank. After all, you saw it with your own two eyes, Frank let Miles hurt you! He just stood there! And he didn't try to stop the paramedics from hurting you either…

Joe swallowed painfully, unsure what to believe. His father never lied, he had to be telling the truth about Frank. But then again, Miles had told Joe that he had left a clue with Frank to find Joe and Frank had been in the woods, so he must have known where Joe was. Why had he left him with Miles for so long?

He didn't want you, the evil little voice prodded. He left you to Miles!

"Honey, what's wrong?" asked his mother anxiously. She hadn't missed the look of fear on Joe's face.

"Nothing," Joe mumbled, closing his eyes. "I'm just tired."

"There's nothing to be afraid of," his mother told him. "Miles is locked up. You're safe now." Joe didn't answer.

"Joey, honey?" said his mother softly.

Joeeey, the taunting voice echoed in his ears and Joe's eyes shot open.

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" he shouted, startling everyone in the room. "My name is Joe!"

"Joe, what…?" his father began but Joe cut him off.

"I'm tired. I want to go to sleep," he said, struggling not to cry.

Frank was watching his brother, and guessed that Miles had been filling his head with lies. "Joe," he said softly. "Whatever he said, it's not true. The man's a liar."

"He didn't lie about you!" Joe accused him bitterly. "He said you didn't want me and he was right!"

"No he wasn't!"

"Yes he was! You wished you didn't have a brother!"

"Joe, I didn't mean it."

"Oh, really? Then how come you went after those guys the last day even after what I said? You're were so worried about looking stupid that you didn't even care how I felt! And you let him hurt me!"

Frank froze at his brother's accusation and Joe started to cry openly. His heart monitor began to beep erratically.

"Joe, honey, calm down," said his mother, moving to placate him. But Joe continued to cry, his shoulders shaking convulsively.

"Frank, I think you'd better go," said Fenton sadly.

Frank was horrified. "What? But…"

"Frank, please," his father begged quietly. "Just for now. Let me talk to Joe. You can come back when he's calmed down."

Frank glanced at his brother and saw how agitated he was becoming. Finally he nodded miserably and allowed his aunt to lead him from the room.

A/N: Thanks again for all the wonderful reviews of the last chapter...I meant to put this one up last night but with work, I just didn't get a chance. Anyway, hope you like it...there's only one more chapter after this!