(I don't own the The Hardy Boys)

The Hardy Boys

(Heartless)

Sequel: A Friend in Need

Chapter 23

"You believe me, don't you? You believe that Frank is alive?"

Joe's blue eyes stared almost pleadingly at Fenton.

Fenton walked over to his son and touched his cheek. Joe's blue eyes lit up when he heard his father say, "Yes Joe. I believe you. You believe Frank is alive. So do I. That is all the proof I need."

Joe smiled up at him, and relief flooded through his chest.

"In fact, I'm heading out there now," Fenton continued, reassuring his son. "I won't stop until Frank is found."

"Wait! Dad, please let me go with you." Joe winced, ignoring the pain in his arm as he started to get up out of bed. "I need to find my brother!"

"Joe, lay back down!" Fenton ordered. Putting his hands on Joe's shoulders, he tried to get him to lay down. "You're in no shape to do much of anything. You need to stay here and rest."

"You're gonna rip out those stitches," Dr. Bryce added, looking at the white bandage on Joe's arm.

"No! Let me go!" Joe cried, jerking his arm away from Dr. Bryce when he tried to grab it. "I don't care! Frank needs me!"

It took the strength of Fenton, Dr. Stevens, and Dr. Bryce to get Joe to lay down again. But, the more they held Joe down, the more agitated he got.

"Frank!" Joe screamed, refusing to lay down. No one was going to keep him from his big brother.

"Fenton, just go!" Laura said, placing a hand on Fenton's shoulder. "You and Sam go find Frank! Then Joe will settle down."

Fenton knew Laura was right. He gave Laura a quick hug, assuring her that Frank was alright. He headed out the door as he heard Joe's repeated screams of, "Frank! Frank!"

"It's okay, Baby," Laura said in soothing voice, doing her best to stay in control. She touched Joe's hand. "Your father and Sam will find Frank. They will bring him home to us."

Joe began puffing up his chest. His breathing got heavy. Laura really got scared when she saw the wild look in her son's blue eyes. This wasn't her Joe.

Her Joe, who just a few days ago was cracking jokes with his brother and friend at the safe house, was missing. This Joe Hardy was becoming a stranger; his expression was cold and hard. Deep down, Laura knew her Joe was locked away inside somewhere, feeling lost and scared. It was killing her... seeing her baby boy like this, and at the same time worrying about her oldest son.

"Frank is alright. He has to be," she kept reminding herself. "Frank is only person who can bring my Joe back"

"Let me go. I need to find my brother!" Joe continued screaming.

"Joe, look at me," Dr. Stevens said in a commanding voice.

Joe looked at Dr. Stevens with anger in his eyes. "Do you want Frank to see you like this? What would he tell you?"

"I don't know." Joe shook his head, struggling to break free.

"Yes you do," Dr. Stevens argued back. "What would Frank tell you?'

There was silence. Finally, Joe spoke.

"He would tell me to quit acting stupid and calm down," Joe said, starting to choke up on his words. He stopped struggling to break free, instead allowing a wave of emotions to hit him. "But I can't go through this again. I already lost Iola."

Everyone looked down at him sadly.

"I can't lose Frank," he whispered, tears running down his face. "I can't live without my big brother."

"Oh Joe," Laura said. At a lost for words, she just wrapped her arms around her baby, pulling him into a warm, motherly hug. The two just held each other, crying.

Dr. Stevens and Dr. Bryce both stepped back, giving the mother and son some time together.

"Hey baby, you know what? Your friends have been anxiously waiting to see you," Laura said, quickly changing the subject. She released her son, wiping away the tears from his face. "They need to see that you're okay."

Very slowly, Joe nodded.

"I promise you, Joe, It's going to be alright." Laura then gave Joe a hug before heading for the door. "I'll go get them."

Phil, Biff, and Chet, along with Callie and Vanessa, followed Laura to Joe's room. Tony walked slowly behind them. His hands were sweaty and his stomach was in knots. "I can do this," he kept telling himself.

Laura had told them about Joe's erratic behavior over Frank. They were the perfect distraction for him. Joe needed to be surrounded by the support of his friends.

Tony took a deep breath. He kept repeating to himself, "I can do this. Joe and... Frank need me."

Tony looked up to see Dr. Stevens standing outside of Joe's room. They all exchanged looks with each other, not sure what was going on.

"Dr. Stevens, what's wrong?, " Laura asked anxiously upon seeing the serious look on the doctor's face. "Is Joe alright?

"Yes, as of right now he is," Dr. Stevens replied. "Dr. Bryce is in there with him."

"Is it okay for us to see Joe?" Chet asked.

"Yes. However, before you do," the doctor added, "I need to talk to you about Joe."

They all looked at him expectantly.

"As of right now, Joe is a suicide watch."

"What?!"

"I do hope Frank is alive," Dr. Stevens said sympathetically. He looked at Laura. "But we need to be prepared if, in fact, Frank is dead."

Vanessa and Callie held onto Laura to support her.

"Joe cannot be left alone. Not for a second."

Dr. Stevens looked from Laura to Phil, Biff, Chet, Callie, and Vanessa, until his eyes landed on Tony.

Tony just looked the other way. Dr. Stevens could see the mix of emotions on his face about to explode.

"Tony?"

"I'm fine," Tony grumbled, folding his arms over his chest.

"Tony, look at me."

Tony looked at Dr. Stevens. "I know this is hitting close to home for you."

"I can do this," Tony said as he swallowed a lump in his throat. "I know what Joe is going through. I tried to kill myself... when I thought I lost my son."

Everyone looked at him in understanding.

"Frank was... I mean, is... Joe's world," He continued, his eyes starting to mist. "Joe, and Frank as well, never gave up on me. I want to be here for them. I can handle this."

"Okay, Tony." Dr. Stevens nodded. "If this gets too hard for you to deal with, no one will blame you for backing away."

"I can handle this."

There was a smothering silence that filled the atmosphere when Dr. Stevens opened the door to Joe's room.

Everyone let out a gasp of shock upon seeing Joe laying in fetal position, his blue eyes staring off into space. They could see a white bandage around his arm. Joe's skin was so pale, it was as if life itself was draining out of him. He looked so sick... almost as if he was dying. This was what did Heartless did to him?

Dr. Bryce stepped aside so Laura could sit by her son's bedside, looking grim.

"Joe, your friends are here," Laura said, calming down her voice and trying to hold back the tears swelling from her eyes.

"I don't want to see them."

"Joe..." Laura started to say.

"Go away, just leave me alone!" Joe shouted, closing his eyes to shut everyone out. He couldn't take the hurt looks on their faces. "Please just go."

"Joe, I know you don't mean that." Vanessa said, immediately walking over to Joe's side. "Please let us help you."

"Joe, we're all here for you," Phil spoke up, trying to hold back tears. "If you'll let us."

"Joe, please let us help you," Biff added. It was hard to see his friend like this.

"I know what you're going through..." Chet replied, thinking of his sister and trying to hold back tears. "You can't give up. Frank wouldn't want you to."

"Joe, please." Callie pleaded, tears rolling down. "You have to fight. If not for us, do it for Frank."

"Go away! Just leave me alone!" Joe fired back. "You all think he's dead!"'

Joe closed his eyes again to shut everyone out.

For the next few minutes, everyone tried every possible way to get Joe to snap out of it. They were running out of words to say.

"Please God," Laura silently prayed, "Let Fenton find Frank in time. I can't lose both of my babies."

She turned to Dr. Stevens, pleading in quivering voice. "What are we going to do?"

"Let me try," Tony spoke up, who was watching quietly from the sidelines.

Everyone stepped aside so Tony could sit next to Joe.

Tony took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves. He said the first thing on his mind. "Hey Joe. How are you?"

There was no response.

"Guess that's a stupid question.

Still nothing.

"You should see Antonio, he's really crawling now. It won't be long before he starts walking," Tony went on, praying for some kind of response from Joe, "He misses his favorite Hardy boy."

Complete silence.

Tony shot Dr. Stevens a look, pleading for him to do something.

"Keep talking to him, Tony," Dr. Stevens said, encouraging him to continue.

"Hey Joe, I almost forgot." Tony turned back to Joe. "I have something for you."

Joe opened his eyes, just realizing that Tony was in the room. "Tony, what are you doing here?"

"I told you, I brought you something." Tony replied. He pulled a small chain necklace with a silver cross out of his shirt pocket.

Joe's eyes widened when he realized it was the necklace Iola had given to him for his seventeenth birthday, a few months before she died. It had the words Have Faith engraved on it. It was her favorite saying: have faith. He'd never taken the necklace off ever since then.

Joe thought he had lost it last summer when Heartless kidnapped him and Tony. It was finally found by Chief Collig, who had to keep it as evidence. When Joe finally got it back, he had given it to Tony the day he had to leave Bayport to go to the safe house, soon after his mother Simone Prito's funeral.

"I think you need this back. I don't need it anymore." Tony shrugged his shoulders. "Well, the necklace, anyway."

That drew out a faint smile from Joe. He clutched the necklace tight in his hand, his voice quivering out a, "thanks, Tony."

Tony continued. "Joe, we could never take Frank's place. We just want you to know we are here for you."

Joe did not respond, so Tony continued.

"I believe Frank is alive," he said as he swallowed a lump in his throat. "I have faith that he will be back to you. I promise you, Joe. Frank won't leave his little brother."

That was when Joe was hit with a flashback of Frank kissing him on the forehead, hearing his brother's words of, "I'll be back, little brother. I promise you."

Joe got all quite for a moment. Everyone saw the wheels turning in his head.

All of the sudden, Joe's eyes lit up. "Frank I'm coming!"

He winced, ignoring the pain in his arm as he threw off the covers and started to get up out of bed.

"Joe, lay back down!" Dr. Bryce ordered, catching him. He put his hands on Joe's shoulders, trying to get him to lay down.

"No, please! Let me go!" Joe cried. "Frank needs me!"

It took the strength of Dr. Bryce, Dr. Stevens, and Laura to get Joe to lay down again. But, once again, the more they held Joe down, the more agitated he got.

"Frank!" Joe screamed, refusing to lay down. No one was going to keep from his big brother. "I have to get to my brother!"

Phil, Biff, Chet, Callie, and Vanessa, along with Tony, stood by in shock, watching their friend and not sure what to do. They'd never seen Joe act like this.

"Joe, stop! Please calm down!" Laura said, trying to hold her son.

"Joe!" Dr. Stevens said in a stern voice. "If you don't calm down, we'll have to sedate you."

Joe sat up, grabbing Laura's arm. "Mom, please... please listen to me!"

"Okay Sweetie, I'll listen," Laura replied. "But you have to calm down first."

"But Mom..."

"Okay, okay. Joe, just calm down," Laura said in a calming voice, brushing a strain of blond hair out of Joe's eyes.

Joe began to calm down. "Mom, he promised. Frank promised me that he would come back to me. So I have to be there when they find Frank. He will be waiting for me."

"Joe, I..." Laura started to say.

"Mom! Please, I have to be out there." Joe's blue eyes were almost pleading with Laura. "This is Frank we are talking about. He is always willing to help a someone in trouble. I know he is always bailing me out when I get into trouble, at least. He never complain, he just does it. Frank is the one person you can count on to have your back."

His mother nodded, understanding.

"Now that Frank is in trouble." Joe shook his head. "I can't just lie around and do nothing,"

Before Laura could say no, Joe decided to use one last approach: the mom card. He hated to do this, but he was desperate if he wanted to find Frank.

"Mom, Frank's your baby, too."

"Frank," Laura whispered softly. She bit her bottom lip and her heart ached, thinking of her oldest son and how much she wanted to wrap her arms around him. She looked up at Dr. Bryce and Dr. Stevens.

"Laura, I would advice against this," Dr. Bryce replied,

Then Dr. Stevens said, "However, you are his mother, so you have the final say."

Laura turned back to Joe, then she saw it: a spark in Joe's blue eyes.

"Oh my gosh, Joe is right." Her eyes started to mist. "Frank is alive."

Immediately, a smile touched Joe's face.

"Yes, Joe, I do believe you! I believe Frank is alive."

"So," Joe said slowly to his mother, "Does this mean I can go?"

Joe's blue eyes lit up when he heard Laura say, "Yes, Joe, you can go out there. Because I'm going out there, too."

Laura's voice choked up as she added, "I want to see my son."

Chet, Phil, Biff, Tony, Callie and Vanessa all spoke up. "Me too!"

"Yes!" An even bigger smile spread across Joe face. "Frank, I'm coming!"

He stood up, feeling more determined than ever.

"Hold on, big brother! I'm coming!

I want to thank everyone for your wonderful reviews! (Please keep them coming!) A special thanks to (JustAnotherGirlInTheWorld) who has helped me with my grammar and improve my story. You have been a great help! :)

To Obsessivebookdiva thank you.

Please keep the reviews coming! What do you think about Joe?

Any predictions?

I promise next chapter Frank is coming!