A/N: Thank you for the reviews, Leya, Jackie and Virtute! You all have been amazing with the feedback! I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. I'm happy the real culprit was a bit of a surprise. I had fun with that. As for the next story, it's completely written, but I'm doing a bit of editing, so I hope to have it posted by the end of the month. Thanks again to everyone who is reading! And now...the last chapter.

Chapter 40

Emily moved slowly and deliberately as she got out of the shower in the Hardys' guest bathroom, two nights after her attack. Every part of her body hurt. She wiped the condensation off the mirror with her towel and stared at her face. Her throat was bruised and purple, the area around her eyes was swollen, and her lips were still a bit puffy and painful from being exposed to the elements on the shoal for so long.

She sighed as she finished drying off. She pulled off the towel that she'd wrapped around her hair and winced. Her hands were cut up and doing anything with them took forever. I guess I could ask Joe to help me dress. She smiled. The look on his face would be worth it. She tried to finger comb her hair. Although when he sees how I look right now, he'll probably run the other way. 'Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the biggest fright of all?'

Emily sighed as she slipped on her undergarments. She followed them with a pair of soft sweat pants and one of Joe's old "Bayport High" t-shirts. Well, I've got the frumpy look down, that's for sure. She rummaged through her make-up bag and reached for the concealer. As she dabbed it on the bruises on her face, she sighed. There isn't enough of this in the world to make me look better. I wonder if they sell it by the vat? She stepped away from the mirror and sighed again. I guess it's now or never. Might as well head downstairs.

Emily walked slowly down the upstairs hallway. Even wearing thick socks, the pain in her feet caused her to stop every few seconds so it could subside a bit. When she reached the stairs, she decided to forego all her pride and sat, easing herself down on her bottom. Joe walked into the living room when she was halfway there.

He hurried over to her, the look on his face one of alarm. "Why didn't you call me?"

Emily's face grew red with embarrassment. "Um, my I slept longer than I thought I would and besides, I didn't want to bother you while you were eating dinner."

"Bother me? Are you kidding?" Joe climbed the stairs and scooped her up in his arms, carrying her into the living room. "You are never bothering me, understand? I want to help you. I'm here to take care of you."

He sat down on the couch, keeping her in his lap. Emily leaned her head on his shoulder and sighed. "This feels so nice."

Joe held her tightly as he reached up and turned off the light on the end table. "Yes, it does. How about if we stay like this for a week?"

She giggled. "That sounds so good to me right now. If I don't move, maybe everything will stop hurting for a little bit."

Joe leaned back and surveyed her bruises and cuts. His eyes dropped to the purple marks on her neck, the shape of Mitch's fingers clearly visible against her pale skin and his eyes grew dark.

Emily's eyes filled with tears and she quickly wiped them away. "Darn it, why do I always cry in front of you?"

Joe seemed baffled. "What?"

"Cry. I'm always crying in front of you. Since the day we met." She sniffled. "Now I'm going to look even worse than I already do. I'm not a pretty crier."

Joe leaned his head back and laughed at the expression on her face. "Oh, baby, you have got to be kidding. You are so incredibly beautiful I have to pinch myself whenever I look at you because I can't believe you're mine." He kissed her softly. "You're beautiful."

She felt her eyes filling up again and she smiled through her tears. "See what I mean?"

He gently brushed them off her cheeks with his thumb. "Beautiful."

"Joe..."

"So incredibly beautiful," he murmured against her ear. Emily shivered. He covered her lips with his own and kissed her tenderly, taking care not to use too much pressure against her still sore mouth. Joe felt her go boneless against him as he pulled her into his chest more fully and deepened the kiss.

He heard someone clearing their throat in the distance, but ignored it as Emily's arms went around his neck and she intensified the kiss even more.

"Um, sorry to interrupt, but we thought you might like to hear the latest on the case."

Fenton's voice penetrated through Joe's hazy brain. He felt Emily abruptly pull away from him and he leaned his head back against the sofa and sighed. "You guys suck, you know that?"

Fenton chuckled as he turned on the table lamp and he and Frank sat down in a chair opposite the couch. "We just thought you might like to know. Mitch hasn't been saying much. He really isn't able to talk yet." He shot a glance in Joe's direction. "They had to wire his jaw shut."

"However, Mitch's mother has been another story. She told the police everything they wanted to know and then some," Frank added. "And it corroborates Perriton's story. Mitch was purely in it for blackmail. And, revenge." He looked pointedly at Emily. "He felt you messed everything up by getting away from him in your apartment and surviving the car wreck."

Emily shivered and Joe held her closer.

"What about the charmstones? Did you learn anything about those?" Joe asked.

Frank nodded. "Professor Ayres had them sent here to be in the exhibit. After Mitch murdered him, he used them to capitalize on Duncan's fears. He'd seen how superstitious Duncan was and he thought that would be a good way to mess with him and make him think that everything happening was part of some ancient curse."

Emily smiled wryly. "Which he did. Only he blamed me for it."

"Yeah," Frank said. "As for Duncan, he's just plain crazy. No other explanation. He'll be getting the help he needs at a psychiatric hospital in Scotland."

"Mitch didn't attack him in the hospital like he did me?"

Fenton shook his head. "No, the alcohol poisoning made Duncan too ill. They moved him to ICU, so Mitch couldn't get near him."

Emily sighed. "So, I guess that wraps up the case of the Bayport Museum, huh?"

"I guess so." Joe gave her a gentle hug. "And it was by far one of the most complicated ones we've seen lately."

"See? And when you met me, you thought art was boring," Emily teased.

"My mistake. I find it completely fascinating now," Joe said as he leaned in for a kiss.

"And that's our cue to get out of here," Fenton said as he stood. He looked towards Frank. "Want to watch some football with me in the den?"

"Definitely," Frank replied with a grin. "Good night, you two."

Fenton clicked off the light as he left the room. "And be good."

Joe gave him a huge grin. "Oh, don't worry, Dad. I'm very good."

Fenton rolled his eyes and stepped into the hall as the front door began to open. He started to laugh when he saw his sister Gertrude enter.

"Well, isn't this a fine how do you do?" she huffed. "Didn't anybody remember I was coming home today? I had to get my own ride from the airport. The cab driver is waiting outside, Fenton. Go pay him." She looked at Frank. "And you go get my luggage. And bring your brother with you. There's lots to carry. Where is he?"

Frank stifled a grin. "Um, I think he's in the living room, Aunt Gertrude. Why don't you go in and surprise him? I'm sure he'll love it. He's really missed you."

"Well, isn't that nice to hear? Obviously, he didn't miss me enough to remember to pick me up." She pushed her way down the hall and into the living room, turning on the lights. "Joseph!"

Frank laughed out loud as he heard his aunt's startled gasp and hurried outside to meet his father on the curb.

"You're going to pay for that, you know," Fenton said with a chuckle.

"It'll be worth it. Besides, it's payback for a little something he did to me on that case in LA a couple of months ago," Frank said, as he bent down for a suitcase.

"Frank!" Joe yelled from the front door.

Frank dropped the suitcase. "Um, Dad? I think I'm going to go hang out with Callie tonight."

"Here, take my car," Fenton said, pulling his keys from his pocket as Joe started down the walk toward his brother. "It's closer."

He laughed as Frank jumped behind the wheel and pulled away just as Joe smacked the trunk hard with both hands.

"Fenton, what on earth is going on around here?" Gertrude called from the front door. "And who is that strange girl in our living room in her pajamas?"

"Hang on Gert, I'll explain it all to you in a minute," Fenton called back. "Keep your shorts on," he added, under his breath.

Joe, overhearing Fenton's last remark, turned to his dad and laughed out loud.

Fenton put his arm around his youngest son. "Shall we go introduce your aunt to Emily?"

Joe chuckled as they headed up the path to the front door. "They've already met. And I'm not sure either one of them will get over it anytime soon."

"Just another typical evening in the Hardy home," Fenton said and smiled.

THE END