A/N: Pardon for the long wait. I've had issues uploading documents onto the site. Happy holidays to all and enjoy the chapter.

Chapter Eleven

While Dan has dinner at the Darnell's
Somewhere in Sleepyside

The throbbing pain in his head was the first thing he noticed. It took him a few moments to realize he was lying on the dusty wooden floor of an unknown room. Then he remembered where he was.

"Are you okay?" he heard someone ask behind him.

Bobby tried to get up, but he saw everything twirling around him and had to steady himself by leaning against the wall. He lifted his hand and touched his skull. It felt moist, and he wondered if he had lost a lot of blood. Slowly, he lifted his head and tried to figure out who this person was, and why he had ended up with a crack in his skull.

"I could be better…" he mumbled, as his eyes adjusted to the dim light that still came through the dirty window. The sun hadn't set completely yet, so he hadn't been unconscious for long. As the figure in front of him became clearer, Bobby realized it was that of a girl. Well, whoever she was, she was still holding the stick with which she had probably hit him, so he better be careful.

"I'm sorry, but I thought you were someone else," the dark haired girl said as she got closer to him, her hands tightly clutching the stick.

"So, do you always crack stranger's heads or was it just me you didn't like?"

She never answered him and then said: "But what are you doing here anyway? Are you into it too?"

"Into what? And I could ask you just about the same thing!"

"Hey, kid!" The girl's voice sounded angry this time. "There's no time to play games! If you don't know what goes on here, just get the hell out! You'll be in trouble if you stay!"

"I'm in enough trouble as it is!" Bobby sighed. "Listen, my name is Bobby Belden. Who are you and why did you crack my skull with that… stick?"

"Never mind that now!" There was urgency in her voice, as she glanced through the window. "He's coming! Hide, quickly!" Saying that, the girl pushed him into the closet and closed the door behind him.

9 PM
Hudson River Rehabilitation Centre

As he parked the jeep in front of the centre, just behind Joeanne's pick up, Dan knew he had to find a way to let her know the truth before someone else mentioned it to her. He got out of the car and he walked towards her decidedly. Grabbing her by the arm, he stopped her as she rushed to the centre's front door, following her father.

"Joeanne," he said, almost out of breath. "There's something you must know."

The tone of his voice scared her and despite her fear and anxiety, she knew she had to listen to him. And deep in her heart she knew she wasn't going to like this.

"What is it?" She asked, impatiently.

He swallowed hard and said: "I came to see Sally on Tuesday. I tried to call you but you were in a meeting…"

Joeanne raised an eyebrow and her eyes grew colder. "You came… here? Why?" Her voice was calm and gathered, but Dan could sense the anger starting to rise.

"I tried to call you, but I couldn't reach you, and it couldn't wait. Trixie met a guy in town, someone she had helped put in jail many years ago. A guy whose name is Dick. She later saw him on the school premises… And I remembered Sally had mentioned someone with the same name."

"So?" Joeanne's voice was so cold; Dan felt a shiver down his spine.

"I brought a picture of him, to see if this was the same guy. She recognized him." He ran his fingers through his hair and decided it was best to let her know everything.

"And I also wanted to know if she would testify against him in court." At that moment, he knew that no matter how much time went by, he would never, ever forget the look in her eyes. There was anger, pain, anguish and, worst of all, disappointment. And that he couldn't stand. "Jo, please, forgive me. I…"

She interrupted in an ice-cold voice. "You are going to get in that car and drive away from me, my sister and my whole family. I never, ever want to see you again!"

"No! I'm not going anywhere!" Dan exclaimed. "I'm not letting you use this as an excuse to send me packing! I made a mistake, but you know what? That's what people do! I know you're mad, but I didn't mean to do any harm!"

"But you did! You came here behind my back, taking advantage of the fact that I had just started to trust you. And you lured me into bringing you here so you could get close to Sally, because of the case! I should have known that was all you wanted!" Joeanne was practically yelling, her usual self control falling completely to pieces.

Dan suddenly lost his temper too, and he grabbed her by the arms, forcing her to look at him. "All I wanted to get close to was YOU! How was I supposed to know Sally knew about this guy? I didn't even know he was involved in this then!"

"All that matters to me is that you've betrayed me, and you've ruined the little trust I've managed to build. Sally will never trust me again, because she's probably thinking I was hiding all this from her! She will always hate me now!"

"You're wrong." Dan's voice softened. "Sally asked me to tell you none of this was your fault. I thought she was referring to the past, but perhaps she was already planning to run away."

Tears started to fall down the dark haired girl's face. "She didn't run away. She went to look for him! It's going to start all over again!"

"We'll find her!" Dan tried to embrace her, but she took a step back as if she couldn't stand his touch.

"No! I'll find her!" Joeanne held her head high, and clenched her teeth. "I told you I never want to see you again!"

"Joeanne," John Darnell called. Apparently he had been standing there for a little while and had heard part of their conversation. "Sally left you a letter."

Without a word, Joeanne took the envelope from her father's hand and opened it, with trembling hands.

"Mr. Darnell, I really don't know what to say… I didn't mean for any of this to happen." Dan sighed, despairing to find something else to say.

John Darnell put a comforting hand on the young man's shoulder. "No time for recriminations now, Dan. We have to concentrate on finding Sally. Just be patient with Joeanne."

Dan looked at her, and his heart almost broke at the sight of her tears. He wanted to pull her into his arms and tell her everything would be fine, but he knew she would just push him away once more.

Wrapping an arm around his oldest daughter's shoulders, John took the letter away from her and handed it to Dan. He took a deep breath and read.

Sis,

I never could really talk to you, so I decided to write it down. I guess now it's just as good a time as any to say everything I've been meaning to tell you. I'm not sure if I'll ever get another chance.

I'd like you to forgive me, 'cause I know I've been really bitchy to you, but I just thought it would be much easier for me if you hated me. But you kept coming back, even after I ruined both our lives.

There were times I actually hated you because you came back. Once more you were perfect. The perfect sister. The same way you always were the perfect daughter, the perfect student… It was always so hard to live up to the standards you'd set. I lived in fear I would disappoint you and Dad. And I ended up making a mess of everything and destroying our family. I'm glad Dad never came to see me, because I don't know if I could face him, now that I realize all I've done.

But now I know what to do. I'm going to do the right thing. Just tell Dan he has given me the chance to do so. I won't let anything happen to that little girl you told me about. Trust me.

I love you, Jo.

Sally

The last sentences chilled him to the bone. What was Sally thinking? Had she gone to seek revenge? As he lifted his head, his eyes met Joeanne's and he realized she had reached the same conclusion. But knowing Sally's true intentions didn't bring comfort to either of them.

"The police have already been sent for," John said, gravely. "There's nothing more we can do, but wait."

It was hard for Dan to deal with the fact, but the truth was John Darnell was right. How would they ever find Sally? They had no idea of where she was! Then something clicked inside his head.

"She mentioned Hawthorne Street the other day. She said that whenever Dick was in Sleepyside, that's where they could find him! Jo, do you know what she was talking about?"

Joeanne took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. And suddenly hope filled her eyes. "Yes… There was this place… I went to get her there a few times."
"Then that's where we're headed."

Joeanne looked at her father, surprised at the authoritarian tone of his voice. But now there was no time to wonder about it. They just had to find Sally. Fast!

Still dizzy and far from having all his senses functioning properly, Bobby decided the best he could do was to stay put and listen. He had been inside the closet for a minute or two, when he heard the sound of a lock opening and then footsteps. The boy held his breath, wondering how he had gotten himself in this scrape. If I get out of this alive, Annie, Trixie and the others will take turns in killing me! he thought.

Under the door, light suddenly appeared and was followed by an exclamation from a male voice. "You!"

"So, you remember me?" Bobby recognized the voice of his assailant.

The man chuckled. "Of course, sweetheart. How could I forget such a pretty face? So you're back, hum?"

"Yeah, I'm back," she said. "I heard you had returned."

"So, you missed me? I knew you would. But you see, that nosy sister of yours caused me a lot of trouble when you let her discover where we met. We had to lay low for a while, with the police asking questions around here."

"My sister won't bother you again. But I heard that now you were doing business in the school!"

Bobby heard him laughing again, and suddenly realized that somehow his voice sounded familiar.

"Yeah… But tell me, what can I do for you?" Then the man gasped. "Hey, put that away! What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm stopping you from destroying other kids' lives!"

In the closet, Bobby strained to figure out what was going on outside, as he heard the sound of a struggle. But as the girl screamed he couldn't just stand there doing nothing. From what he had heard it was easy enough to figure out who the good guy was in all this. So, slowly, he slid the door open and peeked out to see a man holding the girl from behind, with a knife pointed at her neck.

"So, you came for revenge, you little fool?" the man said. "You chose your own way, sweetie, you can't blame me! And now there's no nosy sister around to bail you out of your own messes!"

Carefully, Bobby got out of his hiding place and looked around for some kind of weapon. Close by, against the wall, was the piece of wood the girl had hit him with. In less that a second, Bobby had hit the man on the head with all of his strength. With a grunt, he fell down and lay on the floor, motionless.

Bobby and the girl stood there, staring at the unconscious figure sprawled on the floor, still digesting all that had happened.

"Is he…dead?" The girl asked.

Bobby kicked the knife the man had dropped away from him, just to be sure, and crouched beside him to check for a pulse. Relieved, the boy let out the breath he'd been holding. "He's alive. But I guess we should make sure he's tied up before he wakes up, or then we will really be in trouble."

"You're right. Dick's a dangerous man," the girl said.

Bobby's skin crawled. "Dick?" He whispered as he took a closer look at the man. It had been a long time, but he remembered him, all right. Trixie had been right when she'd said Dick the Dip and Janet Martin were somehow together in the drug dealing.

"You know him?" The girl frowned and took a few steps back. "But you said you didn't know what went on here…"

"Relax, I'm one of the good guys. This guy and I met a long time ago! But I guess we both have a lot of explaining to do."

"Wait a minute! Did you say you're name was Belden?" The girl ran her fingers through her hair and let out a short, relieved laugh. "Are you related to Trixie Belden?"

"She's my sister. Why? Do you know her?" Bobby crossed his arms across his chest, defiantly.

The girl sighed and held out her hand. "Yeah, I do. Pleased to meet you, Bobby. My name's Sally Darnell."

Turning off the engine and getting out of the car were almost simultaneous actions, such was Joeanne's hurry to find her sister. The aching in her stomach grew in intensity when she saw the police cars and heard the sirens of the ambulances. Oh, God, please, let her be all right, she prayed as she ran towards the old house in the midst of the commotion. She hardly noticed her father and Dan were close on her heels.

But when she got to the gate, she stopped abruptly as she saw the two youngsters sitting on the front steps, accompanied by Captain Molinson. Sally seemed to be fine, though pale and shaken up, but the boy had dried blood all over his blond curls. Joeanne felt dizzy at the strange turn of events. What on Earth was Bobby Belden doing with Sally?

"Bobby!" Dan exclaimed as he got to the site. "What are you doing here? You're hurt!"

The boy smiled and tried to get up, but had to steady himself by holding on to Molinson's shoulder.

"Easy, kid! That's quite a bump you have there!" The police officer made him sit down again and turned to Dan, Joeanne and John. "They are both fine. We got a call from Bobby a little while after Mr Darnell here called us about Sally. Those two made quite a mess but they managed to catch Dick the Dip…"

"Wait, Captain." Dan said, confused. "They caught him?"

"It's a long story, Dan. He better tell you himself after I take him to the hospital to take care of that head of his." Molinson sighed. "I really hate saying this, but I think this Belden here will be even more troublesome than his sister!"

As he got up to follow the police officer into the ambulance, Bobby turned to Dan and said: "Dan, please tell Trixie and the others I'm okay. I'll explain everything later."

"You bet you will, mister." Dan tried to sound angry but failed miserably. He was just relieved that he was fine, and that Sally had been found. Suddenly remembering the girl, he turned around and was amazed at the sight.

Sally was safe in her father's arms, and tears were falling freely from her eyes. Dan couldn't hear what they were saying, but it really was for their ears only. Joeanne was standing a few feet to the side, twisting her hands and trying hard not to cry too.

Knowing he probably wasn't welcome, but not really caring, Dan walked to her decisively. "Are you okay?" He asked, tenderly.

"I'm fine," she answered coldly. "You can leave now."

"I'm not leaving until you stop being so stubborn. Look, even your father and Sally have forgiven each other!" Dan was despairing. "I made a mistake! I've said I'm sorry! What else can I do?"

"You lied to me!" Joeanne braced herself and shivered. "If you had only told me about that guy, I would have remembered this place! Sally could have been dead by now!"

"I know that! But I was thinking about Annie! There was no time to lose!"

"Oh, it's nice to know about your priorities!" Joeanne knew how unfair she was being but she meant to hurt him. And she did.

Dan swallowed hard and stepped back from her. "If we're discussing priorities, perhaps you should be thinking about Annie too. And all the other kids! Sally's testimony is crucial to the police. She could testify Dick's been dealing drugs for years!"

"Heaven knows I did think of Annie!" Joeanne yelled. "But I didn't want Sally to remember! I was afraid of what might happen if she did…"

"What, are you afraid she'll go back to being an addict?" Dan was finding it hard not to get mad at her. "Listen, you're talking about trust here, but you're the one who's not trusting her! Give her some credit! Let her deal with this her way! She'll never forget it anyway. There's no use in pretending it never happened!"

Joeanne had to fight with herself not to cry. Deep in her heart, she knew he was right and that made it hard to stay mad at him. But she was just too afraid to forgive him. After all, he had hurt her. Or was that the real reason? Suddenly, Joeanne felt very tired. "You better go, Dan," she said, before walking away. "Go tell Trixie that Bobby is okay."

Dan stood there for a few seconds watching her walk away, but then he decided it was best to go. He did have to tell Trixie and the others about Bobby. But John Darnell's voice stopped him as he started to walk towards his car.

"Dan, please," John's eyes were still moist, but he looked composed. "Thank you for accompanying us. I appreciate it."

The younger man shook his head. "No, Mr Darnell. You mustn't thank me. I'm to blame for this. Joeanne's right, Sally could have gotten hurt or worse even. I should never have gone to her before I talked to Joeanne."

John laid a hand on Dan's shoulder and smiled. "Like someone recently said to me, we all make mistakes. And apparently a lot of good came out of this." He looked towards the house and Dan followed his eyes. Joeanne and Sally were sitting side by side on the steps, not touching each other but at least talking quietly. "Dan," he said, "She's angry right now, hurt, but please don't give up on her. She needs you."

"I don't intend to give up, Mr. Darnell," Dan assured him.

"Good. Just give her time." Patting his shoulder again, John walked back to his daughters.

I hope time is enough, he thought, taking one last look at the group, before driving away.

Around midnight
Crabapple Farm

All of the Bob-Whites jumped from their seats around the kitchen table when the door to Crabapple Farm's kitchen opened to let Brian and Dan in, accompanied by a pale and guilty-looking Bobby. Trixie rushed to him, tears of relief flowing down her face.

"Oh, you idiot!" she exclaimed, as she hugged him tight. "You scared us half to death!"

"Easy, Trix," Brian said, with his usual calmness. "He's been through a lot."

"I'm glad Mum and Dad are away for the week. I'd hate to think they were worried about me. You didn't tell them, did you?" Bobby asked as he sat down.

"Oh, you were worried about them? What about us? We were ready to send for the FBI!" Mart was pale as paper, and Bobby thought he had never seen him looking so upset.

"That's not what I meant. And please keep your voices down, guys. My head's killing me!"

"I would like to kill you myself!" Mart mumbled, rubbing his temples. "What were you thinking, kid?"

Bobby sighed. "I know, I know. I was a jerk! But everything happened so fast!"

"And what exactly happened?" Jim sat by the boy's side. "All we know was that you and Sally Darnell somehow caught Dick the Dip."

Bobby took a deep breath and started his tale, from the way he had followed Darryl to calling the police. Then Dan took over.

"After I called you guys, I went to the police station. Molinson wants Bobby to go there tomorrow and make a statement. He's going to talk to Sally too. Meanwhile he agreed to keep an eye on Janet Martin and Darryl. They probably still know nothing about tonight's events and it's best to keep it that way."

"Dick has a big bump on his head, but I guess tomorrow morning he'll be okay to be interrogated by the police," Brian added. "And if I remember correctly, he usually sings like a bird when the police talk to him."

"Yeah, he hates going down alone!" Mart's sense of humour seemed to be back and he chuckled.

"He'd better, or Molinson won't have much on Janet." Dan sat down, sighing tiredly. "They searched the place and found enough drugs to throw Dick in jail for a long time. But there was nothing that pointed to her."

"What about Darryl?" Bobby didn't really like the kid, but he hated the thought of him being thrown into jail.

"I'm not sure, Bobby. I don't think Molinson found any evidences of him being involved in the dealing, but if he does he'll be going to reform school."

"Well, I guess he brought it upon himself, but I wish he had a second chance."

Brian squeezed his brother's shoulder. "I hope he does, Bobby. But now you should get to bed. You need to rest."

Suddenly, Bobby noticed Annie had disappeared. "Where's Annie?" He asked.

The others looked around, not having noticed until then the girl was missing.

"I saw her going into the living room, after you came in, Bobby. Maybe you should check on her," Honey said, smiling tenderly at the boy.

Bobby nodded and exited the kitchen. Trixie took the opportunity to ask Brian if Bobby's wound was serious. The dark haired young doctor shook his head and smiled. "I guess until today I didn't really knew how thick that skull really was."

The others laughed, relieved.

"Annie?" Bobby called out, softly. She was sitting in the darkened living room, her back turned to the door, but he could tell she was crying. "Annie, what's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" She turned to him, trying to dry her tears with the sleeve of her sweater, mad at herself for letting him see her crying again. "You disappear, then you come back with a broken head, and you ask me what's wrong? You promised me you'd be careful!"

"I know I did." Bobby held her hand tightly. "I'm sorry, Annie. It was very foolish of me. But all I wanted was to find out who was trying to frame you, as fast as possible."

"I know, Bobby. And that's what's hurting me! You nearly got killed because of me!" Annie's tears started flowing again.

Bobby drew her into his arms. "Don't be silly! And everything's fine now. See, I'm still in one piece."

She touched the bandage around his head. "Does it hurt?"

He nodded. "Yeah, a bit. So you better not scold me anymore, or it will get worse!" He winked at her and she couldn't help a smile.

"Okay, then." Annie took a deep breath and motioned to leave the room, but then stopped, remembering something. "Bobby, we still don't know why they were trying to frame me. Or getting you into it, for that matter."

Bobby nodded. "I know. That's been bugging me too. I guess we'll have to wait to find out."

Half past midnight
Darnell Farm

Joeanne cuddled in the woollen blanket and pulled her feet up on the swing. The cat purred and found a new spot beside her. It was late and chilly but Joeanne felt the cool night air reviving. In her childhood, she used to love to sit on the swing on the farm's porch. Many times it had felt as if those moments were the only time she really had to herself.

But now the feeling was different. Things had changed irreversibly in a just a couple of hours. Sally and John had forgiven each other and the girl seemed to now be truly committed to her recovery. And in Joeanne's heart there was a true hope that she would be able to recover her sister's love as well.

"A penny for your thoughts," said her father's voice coming from behind her.

Startling a bit, Joeanne turned to see her father standing on the doorway, watching her.

"Hi, Dad. Are the boys asleep yet?" she asked as she moved on the swing to give John a seat.

He nodded and smiled. "Yes, finally. They were pretty excited about our adventurous night and the thought of having you sleeping over. They were really happy when I told them we were going to see Sally on Saturday. I had never noticed how much they missed her."

Joeanne moved closer to him, still wrapped in the blanket and squeezed his hand. "We all do, Dad. We all miss the girl she used to be."

"I'm afraid she will never be like that again, Joeanne." John stared into the night and sighed. "She has been through a lot. And I'll never forgive myself for not being there for her."

"I know she won't, Dad. But she can rediscover herself and build her life from there. And don't blame yourself. We are all a little guilty. There's no use in thinking about that anymore."

This time, John turned to his eldest daughter and stared her in the eyes. "I hope you'll be following your own advice, Joeanne."

She blushed. He had always managed to read into her heart.

John held Joeanne's hands in his own and said, "There's something else I blame myself for. I let so much land on your shoulders, honey, and I looked away. When your mother died, I thought I would never be able to cope with all of you on my own. But then you took over, just as strong as your mother. It felt good to share the responsibility with someone again, and I forgot you were just too young. But though I blamed myself, I was too weak to stop it. And that's what I can never forgive myself for."

"Dad, please, I…" Joeanne tried to stop him, but this time John had made up his mind.

"I tried not to see how lonely you were, how you had shut everything but this family and your work out of your life. But when I saw you and Dan Mangan together, I knew there was something I had to do. And that was to force you to have a life."

Joeanne looked away, tears stinging her eyes, but he went on.

"When you left this house I was relieved. Of course I knew I'd miss you, but I thought you were going to have more time for yourself, that you were going to take care of your own life. But then I realised the reason you'd left was because you wanted to take care of Sally without having to fight me. And even from afar you still held the reins of this house." He caressed her cheek and tilted her chin up, forcing her to look at him. "I love you, sweetheart, and I refuse to let you do this to yourself. You are so pretty, so smart… You deserve much better. Promise me you'll take care of your life now."

"I am taking care of my life, Dad. You, the boys and Sally are my life."

"But that's wrong. We'll always be your family, but we don't have to depend on you. You should have been the one to depend on me, while you were growing up, not the other way around. Give yourself a chance at happiness. Give Dan a chance."

Joeanne looked up, surprised. "Dan? What does he have to do with anything?"

"He has a lot to do with it, Joeanne. He was brave enough to say the things I'd needed to hear. And he did it out of love for you."

"Don't be silly, Dad. Love? He hardly knows me!"

"Well," John got up and ran his fingers through her hair. "I know you, and I'm sure you'll use this little mistake of his to shut him out. You may think you're doing it because you're mad at what he did or didn't do, but I say you're just afraid he'll get too close to you. Goodnight, baby. Don't stay out here too long," Saying this, John got back in the house, leaving a very troubled Joeanne sitting out on the moonlit porch.