Disclaimer: I do not own the Hardy Boys or any of the book characters.

Thank you! To Wendylouwho10 as usual for reading for flow and content. Typos are mine and I find them all the time!

Rating/Setting: Rating is T. Started as kinda blue spine with a touch of Casefiles but is now completely AU. Frank is 20 and Joe is 19.

Author's Notes: I have to check I don't think I replied yet to the last reviews, so I'm going to check on that after I post this. A reviewer asked about Joe's malnutrition and dehydration treatment. I don't do a lot of detail in the health side of things because I don't know but know so much. ;-) But the last chapter took place 24 hours after Joe was rescued. I didn't write about his treatment once he arrived at the center. I'm sure he had a number of IVs to work on the fluid as well supplements to replace nutrients that he missed due to not eating as he should. I'm thinking that his diet as well as food and liquid intake are being monitored closely. :)

And Cherylann... I know you're going to love this chapter! It's one of my favorites in the story! :) Only 4 chapters left after this!

Chapter Twenty-Two

Joe stood at the window in his room. It was set up as a standard hospital room but it also had a sitting area that wasn't standard in a hospital. There was a flat screen tv mounted to the wall but he had it turned off. He wasn't allowed to have a tablet yet- something about not wanting to overload him with information. They obviously were concerned he'd be searching for information related to his abduction and they didn't want him finding out things too quickly. He understood that.

He felt much differently than he had just days ago. His paranoia and anxiety had greatly decreased but… he still had the mental images and voices in his head that the Assassins had shown him. He had already met with Dr. Childers once. The doctor had provided him with the details of Frank and Vanessa's mission the previous summer and then Childers had brought up all the feelings and security that Joe had in regards to his brother before the Assassins had taken him. In addition, Childers had shared the story of Jacob Yates. That had been hard. It seemed obvious that the Assassins had most likely turned VanStall and Yates against their loved ones and in those instances it had worked. Joe closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against the cool glass. His love for his brother and Vanessa had kept him from following that internal voice that said they both deserved to die for their betrayal.

"They didn't betray me," he whispered to himself. "They didn't. They wouldn't." The click of the door closing startled him and he spun quickly to face the door, unsettled that someone had caught him unaware. But he swiftly transitioned from a fighting stance to a more relaxed one as he saw Callie standing just inside the door. He allowed himself a small smile and said, "Thanks for coming. I… I need your help."

.**********.

Callie knocked softly on the door to Joe's room. She was a little disturbed that Joe was behind a locked door and even though she could just open it and go in, she wanted to give him this touch of normalcy. She knew that the locking mechanism was only until the drugs were out of his system and they were sure he wasn't a danger to himself or others.

She could see him with his head against the window so she knocked again, hoping he'd hear. When he didn't respond, she quietly opened the door and stepped inside. Shock registered in her brain. Frank had told her that Joe had lost weight and that his hair had been cut. As she looked at his profile, she could see that his clothes were hanging on him. His cheekbones stood out and the dark shadows under his eyes made him look gaunt. When the door clicked shut behind her, she jumped as Joe spun quickly ready to take on an attacker. Her heart was racing as he relaxed and then he smiled.

"Thanks for coming. I… I need your help."

Her heart was breaking as she looked him in the face for the first time in almost two months. She couldn't help the tears that sprang to her eyes as she rushed forward to envelope him in an embrace. "Oh, Joe. We were so worried." The words didn't begin to convey the truth depth of their concern but then there weren't many words that could. When his arms finally moved to embrace her she let out a breath of relief.

"Yeah, I was a little worried myself," he said casually and she laughed at his response.

The old Joe was in there still and she had hope. Slowly she released her hold and stepped back and decided to follow his lead of light banter. "Frank said you had a beard so I'm sorry I missed it. I told him I couldn't picture it." She saw his smile falter at the mention of Frank's name.

Joe turned away toward the window and said, "Well, not everyone can rock the beard and five o'clock shadow like GQ Sexy can." Bitterness replaced the light tone of earlier.

Callie stepped forward and placed a hand on his arm. "What is it, Joe?"

Joe gestured toward the chairs and they both seated themselves. She noticed he wouldn't meet her eyes but looked at a spot on the floor. "The Assassins showed me pictures of Frank and Vanessa together. They had recorded conversations." He paused and took a steadying breath and then turned haunted eyes upon her as he whispered, "They showed me videos, Callie. Videos of Frank and Vanessa having sex." He closed his eyes and let out a sob. He brushed at his eyes and blamed it on the drugs he had been given.

"Joe," she said softly. "Joe, look at me." When he raised bloodshot tear-filled eyes to her she began to speak. "Do you remember my reaction when I saw the picture of Frank and Vanessa from their mission together?" Joe nodded and turned away. "No, Joe. Look at me." When his gaze was back on her she said, "I flipped out and I wasn't even on drugs or being held captive. But do you know why I ended up believing that Frank and Vanessa were innocent?"

"Because I convinced you they were," he said slowly.

She shook her head no. "No, Joe. You didn't convince me of that. You did convince me to look at my relationship with Frank. You convinced me to look at your relationship with Vanessa. And perhaps just as important, you convinced me to look at your relationship with Frank. When I did those things, I convinced myself that it WAS just a mission. That Frank would NEVER do that to either of us and that Vanessa would not do that to you."

"But the video-"

"You were drugged."

"Frank's birthmark-"

Callie's voice remained calm. "They obviously would make it realistic. Did you really watch the video that closely?" Her stomach turned at the thought.

"No," he looked down. "I would glance at it but I couldn't watch. It hurt too much."

"They were counting on that and the drugs in your system, Joe." She felt she was getting through to him.

"But-"

"Joe. Stop. Look into your heart. What does it say?"

His eyes left the floor and met hers. "Frank and Vanessa would never do that to me."

"And Frank would never do that to me." Her voice was calm and confident. "Never. Don't let the Assassins make you think otherwise." Realizing Joe was still having problems accepting what he knew to be true, Callie realized that she some weapons to use herself. She took Joe's hand and squeezed it. "Wait here."

He smiled crookedly and said, "Not much choice on that one."

Callie cringed. Before she could offer an apology Joe was already speaking.

"Hey. Don't worry. I understand why."

Still feeling bad, she squeezed his hand again. "I'll be right back." She stood and moved to the door where she pressed a button and the door unlocked. She glanced over her should at Joe before the door closed. The sight of her exuberant friend sitting dejectedly on the couch tore at her heart.

With resolve in her step, she marched determinedly to waiting area. Everyone stood as she walked in. An air of expectancy filled the room. "I'll be going back, but I need something from Frank and Vanessa."

"What?" Vanessa asked eagerly.

"Your phones and passcodes."

Vanessa and Frank both pulled theirs out.

"Joe knows my code," Vanessa said with a smile as she put the phone in Callie's outstretched hand.

"Do you need ours?" Laura asked.

Callie shook her head no. "Joe's problems stem from things the Assassins told and showed him. I'm hoping the pictures and videos on our phones will help him focus on the truth."

"Thank you," Frank said as he handed her his phone. "You know the code," he added softly as his hand lingered on hers.

Callie blushed as she nodded. After a quick smile to everyone, she left for the nurse's station and Joe's room.

.**********.

Joe stood as Callie came back into his room. Her precious cargo of phones cradled in her arm. She could see his eyes were drawn to them and then they went back to her face.

"Phones?" he asked curiously.

She moved over to the couch and seated herself and he followed. She allowed the phones to slide into her lap and then picked them up one at a time as she said, "Mine. Frank's. Vanessa's." Vanessa's phone was still in her hand. "Vanessa said you knew the passcode."

Joe looked at the phone but made no attempt to take it. "Yeah, I do. It's her father's birthday."

"Oh," Callie said. She had hoped it was Joe's birthday, but Vanessa's father had died while she was young and obviously Vanessa still thought of him often. She placed the phone on the couch beside her and held up Frank's. "Do you know Frank's?"

Joe smiled as he said, "Yeah."

"You know the significance of the number?"

Joe's smile faltered slightly. "It's the day he asked you out."

Callie smiled broadly. "A day that I'll remember." She put Frank's phone on the couch and held up her own phone. "My phone and if you know the passcode, then Frank is sharing too much information," she said.

Joe laughed. "I don't know it. Let me guess. Frank's birthday?"

Callie blushed slightly. "Yes." She kept the phone in her hand.

"Why did you bring them?"

"Because they contain photos and videos of the four of us together as well as videos of us just as couples. And lots of pictures. The Assassins showed you terrible things that weren't real. I want to show you things that ARE real."

Joe gazed at the phones as if they might bite him.

Callie moved Frank and Vanessa's phone to her other side and then she scooted closer to Joe so that their legs touched. "Here, let me show you what I mean." Callie then started at the most recent picture which was of the bay when she had gone to the overlook with Frank. She told Joe about how worried Frank had been and how he went there because of wanting to connect with his brother. She scrolled back a few pictures to the ones at the seafood restaurant.

Joe laughed. "You got Frank to wear that headband? Seriously, how did you do it? He and Vanessa never want to put those on. Only you and I do that."

"The truth is, Frank thought that you might need a laugh after you were recovered and he thought this might do it." Callie watched Joe closely.

Joe stared at the picture and took the phone from her hand and scrolled through the ones taken at Sam's and then before.

After an hour of looking at pictures and videos on Callie's, Frank's and Vanessa's phones going back years Joe's eyes welled with tears and he dropped his face into his hands. "How can I face them? The things I've been thinking-"

Callie laughed and that brought his face up.

"They can hardly wait to see you, Joe. They don't blame your for ANYTHING." When his head dropped back down, she worried she hadn't convinced him. "They love you, Joe, and nothing will change that. Let them come in. Talk to them. Let them show you how much they have missed you."

Joe nodded and then looked up. "Can you send in Vanessa?"

Callie smiled broadly. "I'd love to." As she stood and moved to the door, she added, "I know that the lies will still haunt you. Anytime you have a doubt. Call me. I'll remind you to look in your heart. That's where your answers lie." At his nod, she left.