A/n: I have a confession to make. I ordinarily try to have the following chapter done or mostly done before posting the current one. but for some reason I just haven't been up to writing all week. But at the same time I don't want to make everyone suffer, so you are getting this one now. However I make no promises that the next one will be up in any reasonable time frame. Apparently my husband has evil nefarious plans for Monday. he owes me, he missed two or is it three? birthdays in a row...
Chapter Five
Frank was so startled by the sudden noise that he fell off the couch into an undignified heap on the floor. His legs got so tangled up in the blanket that the pounding got ever louder, accompanied by a snarling voice demanding that they open up right the f-ck now. By the time he had managed to get upright, Joe was at the doorway, looking for all the world like he really did not want to open the door. "Maybe if we keep quiet she'll go away!" he whispered fearfully.
Frank snorted. "More like she'll kick the door down. Go start the coffee, I'll get it." Squaring his shoulders in both resignation and resolution, he stalked over to the door and yanked it open, causing Melody Harper to lose her balance and fall against his chest. She immediately straightened back up with a growl and a glare.
"Who the hell do you think you are?!" she spat, stalking past the tall brunette with a shove and forcing her way onward toward the kitchen. She stopped short, however, when she saw Joe standing there shirtless but wrapped up in gauze from his waist to his pectorals. "What the hell happened to you?!" she ground out but a trifle less vehemently than a second ago.
"The same guys who took a pot shot at Becky and the others took one at me. Only they didn't miss. Luckily, thanks to a little foresight on my part, all I have to show for it is a bruise and a mild concussion." before she could draw breath to respond, Joe put up a hand. "Yes, Melody, we were going to report it. I even plan on asking Bruce to have a look see to make sure nothing's broken." he turned back to the stove and set the stove top coffee maker on to boil.
Frank slid past the tall blond who was standing there in confusion. "Might I humbly suggest you get all the civilians out of the Park until we can resolve this thing? The next hiker could end up dead." he continued on over to the stove and stood next to Joe, forcing his brother to face him as he peered intently into his eyes. "How's the head?"
"Down to a dull ache. Just don't ask me about my ribs." with a grim smile, Joe deftly evaded Frank's attempt to grab him by the shoulders and started pulling coffee mugs out of the cupboard. By then the coffee was done percolating so he deftly poured three mugs and shoved one in Melody's hands. "Don't you start, either!" he growled at her. "Bruce had a feeling you'd overreact, so he came to us himself rather than suggest it to you. And looks like he was right. Face it, Mel, this is over your head. You need our help if you want to prevent anyone else from getting hurt. Or worse." Joe stood there, daring her to challenge what he had just said.
Melody stood there, a thunderous look in her eyes. "Doesn't change the fact you went behind my back."
"Technically," Frank interjected. "We did no such thing. Bruce was the one that hired us. As the client, we have to respect his wishes." Frank returned the glare steadily, not backing down an inch. "I suppose Becky spilled the beans?"
"She at least has a sense of propriety!" Melody's voice was venomous.
Joe slapped his hand on the table forcefully, causing the others to jump. "That is enough!" he seethed. I don't give a damn about propriety or your hurt feelings! Those sons of bitches would have killed me if I hadn't been wearing a vest. It's a damn miracle Becky or the other girls weren't hurt. So what, does somebody have to die before you swallow your freaking pride and accept our help?" Joe stood up straight, all six feet and 165 pounds of him looming larger than life as he advanced on Melody. She scrambled back, crashing into Frank's slightly taller and lighter frame. The effect was somewhat diminished by the fact the blood suddenly drained out of Joe's flushed face and he began gasping in short, shallow breaths. Frank immediately and unceremoniously grabbed Mel by the upper arms and shoved her to the side as he raced to his brother's side and helped him sit down before he fell down.
Joe shoved away his brother's hand. "I'm fine. Just give me a sec, " he wheezed, still glaring at the Park Ranger.
"No, you are not fine, and as she has demonstrated time and time again, Melody has no use for either of us. We are wasting our time here and I am not going to sit here and be abused by someone who clearly does not want our help. I am taking you home, where I intend to drag your ass to the hospital for x-rays. And then I am going to turn you over to your fianceé so she can ream you out." Frank declared in a no nonsense tone. He pointedly ignored Melody and helped Joe stand up. As soon as Joe was able to stand without any assistance, he stalked out of the room and began the task of packing up their stuff.
Joe had decided it wasn't worth arguing the point with Frank, as the headache had come back with a vengeance and he was feeling nauseated again. Coupled with the fact that every breath was agony, and his utter lack of desire to butt heads with his fianceé's best friend (again), he accepted Frank's declaration with none of his usual protestations or arguments. "Melody, I am sure you can see yourself out." he said eventually, with no acrimony but with a tinge of finality that brooked no argument. He barely looked at her as he slowly made his way around the counter and began transferring a few perishables back into the coolers.
Melody stood there, still furious but when neither man made any move to engage her in any way, she finally snapped. "I never asked for any help and I sure as hell don't need it from a couple of jackasses." she whirled in place and stormed out of the cabin, slamming the door behind her. Frank came back into the kitchen and placed his hands on Joe's shoulders.
"You okay?" he asked softly.
Joe took a slow but deep breath and nodded, although his shoulders slumped. "I don't get it, Bro. I can get along with anybody. Why does she hate me so much?" he moaned. "I want us to at least be civil to one another, for Hall's sake."
"It's not your fault, Joe. It's hers. She just has a chip on her shoulder is all." Frank gently squeezed Joe's shoulders before letting go. "I am about done, just need to load everything on the cart and we can get outta here."
"But doesn't it bug you, that we didn't solve the mystery?" Joe cried, frustration evident. 'We never give up, Frank!"
"Not as much as it would bug me if you weren't standing here pissing and moaning." Frank replied. "I'd rather fail than lose you." He gave another comforting squeeze then set about loading the dolly. Soon, everything was ready to go and Joe locked the cabin door behind them as they took off. Frank would not let Joe do anything more strenuous than walk along behind to keep the pile balanced. Again, it was a much longer trek since Joe was not really up to walking very fast nor could he lessen Frank's burden by carrying some of the bags. By the time they got to the SUV, Frank was tired and Joe was white as a sheet. The entire time Frank was loading the back, Joe was apologizing profusely at not being up to helping. Frank eventually snapped at him to shut up already. "Now I know how you always felt when I spent all day begging your forgiveness. It's annoying. Why didn't you smack me upside the head sooner?" that at least got a smirk out of Joe, who slid into the passenger side and almost immediately fell asleep.
As soon as he got a cell signal, Frank called Halloran and asked her to meet them at Bayport General in a couple of hours. He quickly reassured her that Joe was probably only minimally damaged but he was just making sure with a couple of x-rays. He never mentioned Melody or her attitude. Then he called his parents. Fenton was out golfing with Con Riley but he emphasized to Laura that Joe really was fine and she didn't need to drop everything but he was just passing the information along. The entire time, Joe never moved, although he did snore a little.
Halloran met then at the entrance to the Emergency Department. The dirty look Joe gave his brother when he awoke and saw her spoke volumes. "You just had to do it, didn't you?!" he groused as he allowed the petite dark haired beauty to help him out of the SUV. "Babe, I am fine, really." he insisted even as he sat in the wheelchair she had shoved into the back of his knees. He continued the grumbling all the way inside, but was ignored by both of them.
It was a slow day, so Joe was whisked back into an exam room within 15 minutes. Frank spent the time explaining to Hall exactly why they had gone out to the cabin and what Melody had done when she found out. Although she was a little mad that Joe hadn't told her the entire truth about the reason for their trip, she was furious at Melody's response to both Joe's being hurt and her refusal to appreciate that they had been trying to help in the first place. She barely held her anger in check as she excused herself to step outside. As she was walking out, she was already dialing her cell. She was still outside when Joe returned.
Told you I was fine!" he huffed. "Nothing broken, just some seriously deep tissue bruising. Taped up nice and tight, just need to alternate between ice and heat. Oh, and I am supposed to be on bed rest for like a week. We both know that will never happen." Joe grinned as he finished signing out. "Where's my girl?" he asked, looking around.
"She went outside to make a phone call. My guess, she called Melody." Frank replied.
"Oh, man, what'd you go and tell her for?! She's gonna be pissed at me." Joe whined. "Now I'll haveta buy her wine, chocolate and flowers before she forgives me."
"Actually she was more mad at Melody than she was at you. You may be able to get away with two outta three." Frank suggested with a smirk. He easily sidestepped the weak punch Joe threw in his direction. As they walked outside, Halloran was just hanging up the phone. Her face was flushed and she looked like she could spit nails. However as soon as she saw Joe, her face smoothed out and her eyes softened. She reached out both hands and embraced him very gently.
"Are you okay?" she asked softly as she kissed him lightly on the lips. Joe returned the smootch with a little more force.
"Like I said, I'm fine. Just have to go easy a few days is all. You're not mad at me?" he asked anxiously.
She shook her head. "I was, but I am just so relieved you are okay. Besides I know why you did it and I know you had reason to think I'd tattle tell." She squeezed one more time before stepping back. "Honey, no matter what, I will always choose You. Don't ever think otherwise." a pool of tears filled her eyes. "I need a new Maid of Honor."
Joe was stunned, and a little chagrined. "oh, Babe, I never meant to come between you two, you know that, right?!" even Frank chimed in with his own apologies, but Halloran shook her head.
"No, it's all good. She's done nothing but try and undermine you since you first met her. She keeps insisting you are a money grubbing slime who only wants my money. She refuses to listen to anything I say."
"Um, Babe? Why on earth does she think that?!" Joe was quite frankly incredulous at the revelation. He was even more confused when Frank started chuckling. "What's so funny?!" he challenged.
"Told ya." Frank smirked at Halloran. "He doesn't have a clue."
"Would someone kindly tell me what the hell it is I supposedly have no clue about?!" by now Joe was getting angry. Both his brother and his fianceé immediately sought to placate him.
"Little Brother when you walk down the aisle you will be marrying one of the richest people in the State, let alone Bayport." Frank's grin was very smug. "Hall's net worth, just from Infotech alone is upwards of several million."
"And that doesn't count the insurance from Gramps, Mark and what was left of my Dad's when Mom died." Halloran finished, with a hint of shyness.
Joe stood there, mouth open. "Just howinhell did you know this?!" he challenged his brother.
"Every time I think about placing an order from a company for the first time, I do research on their viability." Frank explained. "I knew what Infotech was worth before you two even met." Frank crossed his arms. "And since you never saw fit to tell me where your girlfriend worked, or rather, owned, how was I supposed to make the connection?!"
Joe finally threw up his hands in disgust. "I give up. I really do. Can we just go home, please?!" he begged. Halloran immediately agreed and thanked Frank for letting her know, but she was bringing Joe home now. Frank chuckled one last time and told Joe he could have 2 days off before having to show his face in the office. Joe was quite pleased at that despite Halloran's glare at both of them. They parted then, Halloran leading Joe to her car.
The drive back to the home they shared was quiet. Hall kept glancing over to Joe, who had once again leaned back and closed his eyes, although he snuck a hand over and lightly laid it on her leg. By the time they got there, he had fallen asleep. "Hey, Studmuffin." she said softly. We're here." Joe woke up immediately and managed to get himself inside under his own power although he went straight from car to couch. Halloran fussed over him a little, but only a little, knowing he never was very good at being coddled. The rest of the afternoon he was pensive and a little melancholy, being caught up with the revelation that had so shocked him in the hospital's parking lot. Eventually, Halloran called him on it.
She sat down on the chair across from the couch and said, "Joe. Look at me." he did so, reluctantly. "I have not, and have never, thought that you were after my money. That is solely Mel's delusion. Don't ask me why she has it in her head. I certainly never gave her any reason to think that." She sighed. "It's not like I flaunt it or anything, so unless you are your brother, there'd be no reason for you to go looking up my net worth anyway."
"Speaking of Frank, "Joe started. "He obviously knew."
"Yes. He came by one afternoon, looking for you, just before Christmas. He tried to act all nonchalant, but it was clear he was kind of embarrassed to even ask. He seemed to think it was extremely important that I knew that you weren't that kind of guy. He was pretty circumspect about it, but kept hinting that you weren't hurting for money either." Joe gave a short bark of bitter laughter at that.
"You could say that. Between all the reward money over the years, plus pretty much not spending a dime while in the Navy, and counting my half of Aunt Gertrude's inheritance, I really don't even need the salary I get from the Agency." Joe rolled his eyes.
"So maybe I am the one after your money..." she teased. Joe tossed a pillow at her at that comment but appeared to be mollified at her reassurances. She tried to distract him by showing him sample pictures from the Florist she had finally chosen. He made appropriately excited noises despite not knowing the difference between baby's breath and sweet alyssum and their uses as filler. Hall made a light dinner and made him go to bed early.
Joe spent the next two days on the couch under strict orders from both his future wife and his mother. Halloran put him to use addressing invitations and Fenton came by each day to keep him company. He was bored, but not mind numbingly so. But he was up with Halloran on day 3 at 6 am. He assured her he was feeling much better and showed her just how better he was feeling by 'helping' her take her morning shower after yoga.
When he strolled into the office a little after 9, Frank was immediately at his side, peering into sapphire blue eyes. "Dude. I'm fine. No headache in over 24 hours. My side only hurts when I laugh, so no cracking jokes. Yes I promise to take it easy. In fact I thought I'd spend the day making phone calls and doing a little research." Joe ticked off each statement with a finger, not letting Frank get a word in edgewise. He then proceeded to pour himself a cup of coffee and retired to his office where he promptly closed the door behind him.
A/n: So, anyone ready to string Melody up by the short hairs yet?!