Hello, hope everyone has had a good Christmas. Thank you to everyone for reading and reviewing. Here is my new chapter, hope you like

Iola's Treasure 7

Joe welcomed his father's embrace and just cried.

Fenton kissed the top of Joe's blond head and whispered to him. "I'm here Joe. We're going to figure this out, Son. I don't know how, but I promise you. We're going to figure this out."

He gave Joe a few minutes to quiet down and to get all cried out. Before pulling him back a bit to get a good look at him. "Are you okay?"

Joe just stood in complete silence. Through his tear stained eyes Fenton could see bits of fear in them. He knew that Joe knew he had done something he'd disapprove of and was afraid of facing the repercussions of his actions.

Joe studied his father's face closely, trying to read his expression. "He's angry, isn't he?" He thought, "Or is he disappointed? Well… Of course he is, you idiot! You're standing in front of the man in handcuffs!"

"I'm sorry, Dad." Joe whispered his voice riddled with emotion, "I deserve to be in jail. I did something stupid that got me here. Frank would never disgrace the Hardy name. He's the good son." He ended sadly with, "I am such a disappointment to you."

"Joe, now stop that kind of talk." Fenton said, gently sweeping Joe's tears away with his thumbs." You are not a disgrace to the Hardy name..," He started to say before getting cut off.

"How can I not be? Look at me!" Joe shouted jiggling the handcuffs behind his back. "I'm standing in front of you in handcuffs!"

"Joseph!" Fenton thundered.

"See what I mean! I always say or do the wrong thing!" Joe fired back pulling away from his father. "You should hate me..." His voice cracked as he said this, "Because I do."

Taken back by Joe's words, Fenton took a calming breath and started counting to ten to cool his own temper. Frank took after him in so many ways... Looks, height, and about everything else appearance wise. Regrettably, it was Joe however, who inherited his temper. It was the reason why the two of them were often butting heads over things. Their personalities were so alike, it was downright scary. It took Fenton years to learn to control his temper, even though there were times when situations such as this that would come up to test his temper. Joe on the other hand still had a long way to go.

He knew his younger son had had a rough year dealing with the death of his girlfriend. It was a rough year for his whole family. He and Laura had made sure that both their sons had gone through counselling to help them deal with Iola's death. Frank had coped just fine, always being Joe's supportive older sibling.

Joe however wasn't coping well at all. After a year Fenton had begun to see signs of the "old- Joe" slowly reappearing, Joe had begun acting like his old self; having fun with his friends, telling jokes to make people laugh and just generally being the center of attention.

Then earlier tonight, everything he'd thought in regards to Joe had changed. After receiving his wife's message, he had immediately called her back. What she'd said was now ingrained into his memory. "Fenton you need to come home. We have a problem. It's Joe..." He could still hear the fear and worry that had been in her voice. She'd told him about some gift Joe had found from Iola. That it was a symbol of Barmet Island; their secret place from childhood. Laura had continued telling him about Joe's erratic behavior at Prito's. Joe had become increasingly upset after learning that a Mr. Albert Douglas had bought Barmet Island in order to build a resort. Laura had tried to get Joe to settle down with no success; Frank had also tried to get his brother to see reason to no avail.

That was a surprise to Fenton, because if Frank of all people couldn't get Joe settled down, that in itself was a red flag.

Fenton knew right then he needed to be home. Unfortunately, he was still in the middle of a case. But, his family came first, so he had no choice but to turn the case over to his good friend and colleague, Sam Radley. Thankfully, his client understood his leaving due to an urgent family matter that needed his attention. Fenton thanked his client leaving him with reassurance that he was leaving him in good hands with Sam. Now Fenton could focus all his attention on Joe. He hadn't been home for more than two minutes, just long enough to give his wife a hug and kiss when he received a phone call from Chief Collig.

"I'm sorry to have to call you like this, Fenton." Chief Collig's words echoed in his ear. "I had to arrest Joe for assault. He attacked Albert Douglas the owner of the Barmet Island Resort at a party."

Fenton spent maybe five to ten minutes convincing his visibly-upset wife that everything would be alright and that he'd handle the matter with Joe. Shortly after arriving at the police station he found Frank, who told him his side of the story including all he'd gone through dealing with Joe and the ordeal at the party with Albert Douglas. After Frank had finished, he just completely broke down in tears, feeling like a failure for not being able to help his brother.

He wrapped his arms around Frank pulling him into a deep hug. "You didn't fail, Joe. You did the best you could. He knows you love him. Don't give up on Joe just yet, because there is still hope. We won't stop until our Joe is back to one hundred percent. I promise you Frank, Everything is going to be okay." After making sure Frank was okay, Fenton went to see Joe.

It soon became reality to Fenton just how much trouble his youngest son was actually in. The moment he saw Joe standing in front of him in an orange jumpsuit and in handcuffs, Fenton felt as though his heart had shattered into a thousand pieces. This was an obvious sign… a cry for help. Joe needed help fast! If Fenton didn't get a handle on this situation, this would be Joe's future. "This has to stop, now."

He still needed to hear Joe's side of the story. By the way Joe was acting right now, there was simply no way that would happen. Their heated words would only lead up to them blowing up at each other. "This has to be dealt with calmly and rationally, or Joe will refuse to talk and shut down on me altogether" He knew exactly what needed to be done to help his son. Fenton silently prayed to God for the plan to work.

The enormous tension in the room was almost staggering as Joe watched his father go up and knock on the door.

Officer Riley opened the door and poked his head inside.

"Is... everything okay in here?" He asked.

"Yes, everything is fine." Fenton informed him. "Officer Riley, I need you to do me a favor."

"Sure, Fenton what is it?"

"I need you to take the handcuffs off of Joe."

"Okay." Officer Riley replied, coming into the room.

Joe raised an eyebrow, curious by this.

The officer said, coming around Joe to unlock the handcuffs from his wrists. "Joe, I trust that you won't try anything."

"Oh no, I won't." Joe replied with a grin. He was more than happy to get the stupid things off, but at the same time wondered what his father's reason for doing this was. "But… if I do Dad will clobber me."

Officer Riley quickly wiped the smile that slid across his face at the comment, off, as he did as Fenton had asked.

"Thank you, Officer Riley." Fenton stated. Again Officer Riley just nodded, leaving father and son alone.

Joe felt an awkward silence in the room. "Dad, why did you ask Con to take the handcuffs off?" He asked, rubbing his wrists.

Fenton sighed wearily. "I am under the impression that you are afraid of me." Joe looked down at his feet and started shifting nervously from one leg to the other.

"I'm sorry for making you feel that way, Son." Fenton apologized, "Please don't ever be afraid to talk to me." He paused to take a breath. "I need you to understand something Joe. There will be times that I will get angry and disagree with you on things." He walked up to Joe and once again gently lifted his chin with his hand to make sure he was listening, "There is nothing you could ever do or say that would make me love you any less."

"I love you Joe, more than anything in the world. Besides your mother, you and Frank are the most important people in my life. That's why I had the handcuffs taken off. I want to keep the lines of communication open between us. There is nothing to hold you back. So, talk to me Joe. I can't help you, if you won't let me." Fenton added, hoping his words would get through to Joe. "Trust me; I'm on your side."

"Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Joe began to tear up as he let Fenton's words sink into his head. He looked straight into his father's eyes and admitted, "Yes, Dad, I understand, I love you too." Joe suddenly felt as though a giant weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Now that his arms were free, he threw them around Fenton giving him a proper hug.

Fenton didn't waste a second to hug him back. He blinked as his eyes began to mist. "I love you, Son." He looked upwards thanking God that the plan worked. "Thank you God, it worked."

Father and son stood in each others arms for the longest time. Frank stood outside of the room watching the entire scene through a two way mirror window. He couldn't stop the flow of tears from running down his face. "Thank God, the plan worked."

Officer Riley came up beside Frank, putting a comforting arm around his shoulders. "See, I told you Frank. Everything is going to work out."

Frank couldn't speak; his throat was too tight, his chest full of emotion. After swallowing, hard, he found his voice, quivering out a pathetic, "I know..." Just like Joe, Frank suddenly felt as if a big weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. 'I'm... going to get... my brother back."

After a few minutes father and son had finally settled down. "Okay, Joe, Are you ready to talk?" Fenton asked, releasing Joe sweeping his tears away.

"Yeah, I'm ready to talk." Joe said, letting out a breath.

"Alright, then let's sit down and have ourselves a talk." Fenton said getting back to the subject. He sat down at the table in the room. "You talk and I will listen." Fenton folded his hands together, giving Joe his full attention. "I want to hear about this ordeal with Mr. Douglas."

"Okay." Joe let out another breath and looked across the table at his father. Before he said a word, he asked, "I thought you were on a case?"

"I was." Fenton answered.

"I'm sorry you had to leave your case on the account of me." Joe apologized. "Bet your client wasn't too happy."

"Actually, my client was very understanding." Fenton answered, "Don't worry about that because Sam is handling the case."

"Now let's get back to you." He said steering Joe back to the topic.

"Mom, called you, didn't she?"

"Yes, she did."

"Did she tell you...everything?" Joe asked slowly while fidgeting in his seat.

"Yes, she told me her part. Frank told me his part." Fenton sighed impatiently. "Now, I'm waiting to hear from you."

'Okay, sorry." Before Joe spoke again, he asked, "Have you heard anything about Mr. Douglas? I'm mean... How he's doing?"

"From what Chief Collig told me," Fenton said, clearing his throat, "Mr. Douglas is going to be just fine. However, they're keeping him in the hospital overnight for observation because of the bump on his head he sustained during your ordeal at the party."

"I didn't mean to take things that far." Joe ran a hand nervously through his blond hair. "I went to that party to talk to Mr. Douglas. I had to stop him from building his resort."

"Joe, I know about Barmet Island." Fenton spoke soothingly to him. "Your Mom and Frank told me about the gift from Iola. I understand Barmet Island is special to you." Tears began to run down Joe's cheek.

"I... can't explain it Dad, I feel like a part of Iola is still... somewhere on Barmet Island." Joe's voice trailed off, thinking of Iola. "But... it doesn't matter now... Mr. Douglas has already destroyed the island. I couldn't save it, just like I couldn't save her. She's gone... Iola is gone for good." He looked up at Fenton all teary-eyed.

Suddenly, he blanched, as if the realization just hit him, "Oh God...She's gone!" Joe rasped, falling to his knees on the floor beside his chair. "She's really d... ead ...Iola...is dead. She's never coming back!"

Fenton shot out of his seat and dropped to his knees, at Joe's side. He pulled Joe to him and held him tight to his chest without another word. He could feel Joe's whole body shaking uncontrollably.

Joe took in a sharp breath and sobbed once. That was all it took. Soon the tears began to pour down his face. "Oh God... She's gone!" He continued to scream as he clung to Fenton.

Fenton just sat there holding his baby boy. "Shh... It's okay," he whispered, feeling hot tears running down his face. "I've got you." He looked up as Frank came into the room, sobbing as well. Frank knelt beside them, as Fenton threw an arm around him, pulling him into the huddle and he says, "I've got you both."