A/N: Angsty return of Joe and one of the shorter chapters of the story.

Stumbling up the stairs, he struggled to keep his balance. He was almost there, almost to the door that would lead him to his beloved's arms. "Rissee!" he cried out as he fell forward, his head banging against the door.

Clarisse, passing through the main hall, jumped at the sound of his anguished cry. "Joseph!" she shouted when the banging of his head, against the door, produced a loud cracking sound in the room.

Rushing to the door and carefully opening it, Clarisse fell to her knees, lifted Joe's head into her lap and cried. He had come home to her, but so badly beaten, that she almost didn't recognize his handsome face. A face that wasn't so handsome anymore, but was bleeding, swollen and bruised.

"Oh my darling, what have they done to you?" she whispered as she carefully wiped the blood from his mouth.

"Rissee," he moaned as he opened his eyes as best he could. "I'm home."

"Yes, Love, you're home." She placed a soft kiss on his forehead. "Darling, I need to go and call for help."

"No," he choked out.

"But you're hurt," she argued.

"José!" A man's voice shouted in surprise.

Clarisse, startled by the presence of another person, looked up and breathed a sigh of gratitude. "Father. Please, you have to get help."

"I'll go get Doc as soon as I help you get Joe to a bed."

"Thank you." Clarisse whispered, her tears silently rolling down her cheeks.

Joe groaned as his body was carefully shifted into his friend's arms. "Hurts."

"I'm sorry, José." Father Juan whispered to his long time friend. "I thought the days I carried a battered and bruised Joe were over." He smiled down at his friend.

Joe groaned. "Shut…up…Juanito."

"Ah, Joe, don't call me that." Juan whined.

Clarisse shook her head at the exchange. It was a strange conversation for such a time as this, but she was grateful to Juan for trying to keep Joe's mind off of his pain. "In here, Father."

"Clarisse, call me Juan. I think the three of us have been through enough over the years to dispense with the formalities." He huffed as he laid Joseph down on the bed Clarisse had just turned down.

"Alright, Juan, thank you," she whispered as she carefully adjusted the pillow under Joe's head.

Juan nodded and squeezed her shoulder. "I'll be right back with Doc."

Clarisse watched him leave then turned her gaze back to Joe. "I've waited so long to see you." Her quivering voice was quiet in the dimly lit room.

Joe looked at his wife, just barely able to see her through his swollen eyes. "I'm here now."

"Yes, you are, and you've been beaten. Did they do this to you?" Her blue eyes had a steely glint to them. Her voice was tinged with a tone that had made leaders of several countries think twice before talking down to her or ignoring her, and yet the tears were still slowly slipping down her cheeks and she angrily wiped them away.

"I'll…explain…everything later…Rissee…I…promise." Joe breathed with difficulty as his eyes slid shut. "So tired."

"Rest. Just rest." Clarisse whispered as she carefully caressed a soft hand over his forehead and cheek. When she was sure that he was asleep, she left his side to get a bowl of warm water and a cloth so she could try and cleanse the wounds on his hands and face.

A tear rolled down her cheek at the thought of what he must have gone through. She still didn't understand why they hadn't released him the day she left. That had been the terms of their agreement. What was going on?

CnJ

"Your husband is a very lucky man, Mrs. Elizalde," the doctor quietly told Clarisse as he placed the final piece of tape over the last bandage on Joe's face. "As badly as he has been beaten, he only has a few broken ribs, none of which punctured a lung. I'm going to have Juan bring back a prescription for an antibiotic to prevent infection, and I'm also going to send along something for the pain Mr. Elizalde will be in when he wakes up."

"He can stay here?" Clarisse was shocked, but thankful.

The doctor nodded as he closed his bag. "Yes, Mr. Elizalde can stay here as long as there is someone with him to make sure that he gets his medication and to keep him from moving about too much. I want him to stay in bed and rest so that his ribs can heal." Patting Clarisse's hand, the old man smiled. "He'll be alright with you taking care of him. Being in his home, and having his wife take care of him, is more than a hospital can do."

"Thank you." Clarisse smiled at the man.

"I'll be back tomorrow. Call me if anything changes."

"I will."

Juan gave Clarisse a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'll be back as soon as I can. Do you want me to bring Maria?"

"No." Clarisse shook her head. "I don't want her upset. She doesn't need this on top of everything else."

"I understand." Juan nodded then turned and followed the doctor out of the room.

Clarisse sighed as she sat down in the chair she'd pulled close to Joe's bed. "What next?" she wondered aloud, praying silently that there was nothing next.