A/N: Silly me for thinking that once I graduated I'd have more time to write. *sigh* I really do feel bad for not updating because I know how hard it is to be into a story and be at the mercy of the author. I really, really appreciate everyone who is sticking with the story and a big thank you to those who have left reviews. :) SO, on that note and without much further ado…

Quintessential Bliss

Chapter Seventeen

"Vanessa," Joe answered his phone as he climbed out of the car with Nancy. They had spent all day and most of the night searching the hills for Frank and the car that had taken him away. The trail they had found had gotten lost on a busier dirt road and there were so many offshoots of dirt roads they hadn't been sure which one to check. So, they had started to systematically cover every inch of the woods.

A few times they had come across cabins and abandoned cars only to find that they sat empty and had probably not been used in a long time. It had been a long, arduous and disheartening process.

"Joe," Vanessa replied and Joe dug in his pocket for the key to the hotel room he and Nancy had just gotten.

"Hey babe, it's good to hear you voice," Joe opened the door and Nancy quickly followed, heading toward the room adjoining Joe's.

"I'm just going to go to bed," Nancy interrupted quickly. "Let's start again early in the morning."

"Okay," Joe nodded and watched her close her bedroom door behind her. He knew that she was just as exhausted and worried about Frank as he was. He himself couldn't wait to get into bed and sleep for a few hours. Turning his attention back to Vanessa he said, "Sorry about that. How are you?"

"I'm alright," Vanessa replied and something in her voice caused Joe to pause. Looking at his watch he narrowed his eyes, "It's five thirty in the morning in New York. Why are you calling so late?"

"Well…." Vanessa's voice trailed off and Joe heard a chuckle in the background.

"Is that my dad?" Joe's voice rose an octave.

"Yes," Vanessa replied slowly.

"You and my father aren't shoe shopping at an early morning sale in New York City by any chance, are you?" Joe asked hopefully.

"Not exactly," Vanessa replied.

Joe groaned, "We're at the Best Western on Stewart and 5th."

"We'll be there in five minutes," Vanessa replied and quickly hung up.

Closing his phone Joe walked across the room and knocked lightly on Nancy's door. "Come in," she called and Joe opened the door.

Nancy was sitting on the edge of the bed, slowing removing her shoes. "Vanessa and my dad are here," Joe announced.

Nancy looked up, "Vanessa?"

"Yeah," Joe sighed and ran his hand through his hair. Nancy smiled because the move was so much like Frank. "I don't know what she thinks she's doing."

"She's worried about you," Nancy stood up.

"Well, I'm going to make her go to the safe house with Callie," Joe said with determination.

"Make her?" Nancy asked with a small smile.

"Well, nobody makes Vanessa do anything…but she'll go there and she'll think it was her idea," Joe smiled back. "You can go on to bed; I'll wait for Vanessa and my dad."

"Are you sure?" Nancy asked.

"Nan, you're beat. Go to bed," Joe smiled and backed out of the room.

Turning back to the bed Nancy pulled down the covers. Too tired to care, even if she had had pajamas with he, she pulled off her jeans and climbed into bed.

Thirty minutes later, her eyes still wide open, the only thing Nancy could do was worry about Frank.

"Dad," Joe opened his hotel room door and gave his dad a big hug, "I'm so happy to see you."

"You too son," Fenton stepped back.

"I bet you're not so happy to see me," Vanessa said sheepishly from behind Fenton.

"I may not be happy to see you per se, but that doesn't mean it isn't good to see you," Joe stepped forward and pulled Vanessa into a tight embrace.

"It's late," Fenton pulled a set of keys out of his pocket and shook them, "I've already gotten myself a hotel room. We can talk about things in the morning."

"Okay Dad, good night," Joe continued holding tight to Vanessa.

"Thank you Mr. Hardy," Vanessa smiled at him. Fenton smiled and nodded and then left the room.

Now that Mr. Hardy had left, the room grew quiet and Vanessa and Joe just stood staring at each other, Joe's eyes were narrowed. He stepped back and folded his arms across his chest, "Vanessa." His voice held the tone of an adult disapproving of a young child's actions.

"What?" she threw her hands up in the air and walked across the room.

"What are you doing here?" Joe asked.

"I wanted a vacation," Vanessa replied.

"Nice try," Joe replied still with his arms folded.

Vanessa laughed and walked back to stand in front of Joe. Resting her hands on his forearms she unfolded them gently, "I was worried about you. I was worried about Frank and I was worried about Nancy and Callie. I couldn't sit at home."

"I can't have you here," Joe replied feeling his resolve crumbling.

"Don't worry," Vanessa held up her hands, "I am fully prepared to take a backseat and hang back with Callie. I just need to be here."

Joe eyed her suspiciously, "Really? You're willing to just…sit back and not get involved?"

"Yes," Vanessa replied and nodded her head.

"You're willing to stay at a safe house, away from all the danger and intrigue?" Joe asked.

"Yes," Vanessa replied firmly.

"And you won't give me any grief about being stuck in a safe house for who knows how long?" Joe wanted to make sure all of his bases were covered.

"No, I won't," Vanessa smiled and kissed Joe quickly. "I just didn't want to be stuck in New York."

"Alright," Joe sighed and pulled out his cell phone, "I'll call the Network and have them send someone to pick you up and take you to the safe house."

"Right now?" Vanessa asked incredulously.

"Yeah….?" Joe's voice trailed off and the word ended up sounding like a question, he had learned to be wary of that tone of voice.

"I just got here and you want to ship me off?" Vanessa asked.

"You just said…!" Joe's voice trailed off again.

"I thought I'd stay here tonight," Vanessa said coyly.

Joe groaned, "I knew there was a catch."

"I'll go first thing in the morning!" Vanessa cried.

"Van, it isn't safe!" Joe threw his hands up in complete exasperation.

"What could happen in just a couple of hours?" Vanessa asked with a seductive smile. She ran a finger lightly down Joe's chest. "Don't you think you'll be able to protect me?"

Joe groaned, "Vanessa…"

"I just want to sleep. Nothing else," Vanessa smiled. "I just want to cuddle up next to my big strong fiancé." She batted her eyes comically and Joe laughed.

"Fine," Joe tickled her sides. "You are such a menace you know that?"

Vanessa laughed, "I know." She turned back to her suitcase. "Besides, I brought you and Nancy some clothes. I figured that with your hasty exit from the Neighborhood from Hell you wouldn't have the essentials." She tossed him a pair of sweats.

"Well," Joe said and began to undress, "if you had led with that I would have been a lot easier to persuade."

Vanessa laughed and crawled into bed, "Let's go to sleep, dork."

"Dork?" Joe looked affronted. "Dork? What happened to big strong fiancé?"

"He gave in and now I have what I want," Vanessa laughed and Joe crawled into bed beside her.

A few minutes later Joe had his arms around Vanessa and he sighed deeply, "I've missed this."

"Me too," Vanessa murmured. They were quiet for a few minutes and Vanessa knew Joe was thinking about his brother.

"Frank will be okay Joe," Vanessa looked up at him and kissed his jaw. "You and your father and Nancy will find him."

"Yeah," Joe replied and thought of Nancy all alone next door with nothing to do but worry about Frank. Joe hugged Vanessa closer to him and hoped that Nancy had fallen asleep a long time ago.

Charlie watched Frank run his fingers over the slim cut on his wrist, "What do you think it's from?"

Frank looked up and shrugged, "I don't know." He brushed his fingers over it again, "It's raised a little and at first I just thought it was the incision…but now…" his voice trailed off.

"Now, what?" Charlie asked him.

Frank shrugged again, "Nothing."

They sat a little while longer in silence before Charlie stood up and walked to a cupboard in the corner of the room. "There isn't a lot to eat around here and with the two of us we should be careful how much we eat," He opened the cupboard and pulled out two cans and a roll of crackers. "No way to heat these up."

Frank looked at the can of green beans and the can of sweet corn, "Yum."

Charlie laughed, "There's water in that closet." He jerked his head at a slim door across the room and Frank got up off the bed to grab the water. "So they don't come by very often?"

"Nope," Charlie replied. "The only times I've seen them are when they brought me here, when I escaped and then when they brought you here."

"They're obviously keeping the place under surveillance," Frank said.

"Oh yeah, my gloriously unsuccessful bid for freedom can vouch for that," Charlie smiled and turned to face Frank, a can in each hand. "We can share for variety, but which one do you want to start with?"

Frank pointed at the can of green beans and Charlie handed it to him. After they were finished with their measly feast Frank looked at Charlie, "Just how much food do we have left?"

"About that," Charlie stood up and walked back over to the cupboard, "I thought that maybe I shouldn't show you this until you had…well, maybe not a full stomach." He pulled open the cupboard door and Frank let out a low whistle. "Joe would be having a panic attack right about now." Frank quickly counted three cans of green beans, two cans of corn and one package of crackers. "I guess that means we're going to have to make our escape soon."

With a fake look of regret Charlie sighed, "Aw man and I was just starting to like this place."

Frank looked around the room for probably the hundredth time. His earlier inspection had yielded a few possibilities for escape but now it was time to get down to business. Standing up he suddenly felt woozy and had to place a hand on the table to steady himself.

"Whoa, Frank!" Charlie rushed forward and helped Frank back into his chair. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine," he was suddenly feeling very cold. "A little cold."

Charlie felt his forehead, "But you're burning up."

"Am I?" Frank blinked to try and bring things back into focus. "I'm okay," he stood up again, "let's just try and get out of here."

"Alright," Charlie agreed but continued watching Frank closely. "Are you sure you're okay? You don't look so great."

"I'm fine," Frank smiled. "No worries, it's probably just that amazing dinner we ate."

"You're a crappy liar," Charlie said bluntly.

Frank grimaced and worked harder at controlling his features, "Come on, we'll try the bathroom window."