The "Hardy Boys" characters are the property of Simon & Schuster. This is a sequel to "Hidden Demons". You may want to read that first.

Waving at the car pulling from the driveway, Frank slipped an arm around Callie's waist. "I think the party went pretty well, don't you?"

"Under the circumstances, yes it did. I know you wanted to put it off a week or so." Callie looked up at the stars for a moment, wondering if it wouldn't have been better to have the party another weekend.

Sighing, Frank also stared up at the bright stars. "Yeah, but Joe insisted that I have it tonight. He still felt bad about everything, even though nothing was his fault. I've tried to keep telling him that."

Looking up at Frank's worried face, Callie leaned against him and smiled softly. "That may be what you just have to keep doing, Frank. Tell your brother over and over again that nothing was his fault. Sooner or later, he'll finally hear you and believe you."

"I hope so." Looking behind him, Frank shut the door then led Callie over to the sidewalk in front of the house and sat down. When she sat beside him on the curb, Frank took her hand and gave it a small squeeze. "Our family is falling apart, Callie. I don't know what to do."

"What do you mean?" Although not as bright and cheerful as normal, Frank's parents had seemed happy enough. Joe had been rather subdued, but that had been expected.

"Every time I see Dad, he has this...look on his face. I can't tell what he's thinking, but I think he feels guilty about what happened. I keep hearing Mom cry in their room. Every time she so much as looks at Joe, she almost starts to cry." Frank looked down at shoes, wishing once again that it was all a bad dream. "Joe hears Mom crying and he gets this faraway look in his eyes and locks himself in his room. I know he blames himself for how upset she is and the more depressed he gets, the more upset she gets and the whole thing starts over again."

Shaking his head, Frank looked back up into the heavens seeking an answer he knew he wouldn't find. "I know Joe's only been home a couple of days and I shouldn't expect everything to suddenly be like it was before...before Uncle Frank came to stay, but I feel so out of control. I can't do anything to help Dad, Mom or Joe. To top it all off, I feel guilty for it being Joe and not me."

"Frank, there was nothing you could do. You didn't know what was going on any more than your parents. Who knows why your uncle decided to make Joe the target for all his anger? Maybe it was because Joe was younger, or smaller, or simply because you were named after him. Only he knows." Squeezing Frank's hand a little tighter, Callie smiled encouragingly. "You're all just going to need a little time. Your mother and Joe, most of all."

"I hope you're right, Callie. School starts Monday and I'm not sure Joe's ready for it. Mom wants Joe to stay home for about a week, but Dad doesn't want him to start off the year having to catch up." Frank knew that no matter what, he'd be keeping a close eye on his younger brother while at school.

"Have you heard anything about your Uncle?" Callie knew it was a sensitive subject, but wanted to know so she could offer Frank her support.

Sighing, Frank shrugged his shoulders. "A lawyer is coming over tomorrow afternoon to talk to us and Joe. Dr. Bates is coming, too."

Callie wrinkled her brow in confusion. "Why Dr. Bates?"

"Apparently, after finding out what Uncle Frank did to Joe, he looked through Joe's medical records. He thinks there are some accidents that maybe weren't accidents. If Joe confirms it, then those are more injuries that can be used against Uncle Frank."

It hadn't really sunk in that Joe had been abused off and on for, perhaps, years. Callie suddenly realized the scope of what the Hardy family was dealing with. "You mean there may have been other times that your uncle hurt Joe badly enough to have to go to the doctor?"

"I guess so. Callie, I can't believe that everything could change so drastically in so short a time. A few days ago, I was having the time of my life spending time with an uncle I loved very much. Now...I can't trust myself to be alone with him because of what he did to my brother."

Dropping an arm across her shoulders, Frank pulled Callie closer and they sat on the curb in silence, lost in their own thoughts. Things had changed and the future was uncertain. Frank peered up at the stars and held onto the one stable factor in his world that had suddenly been turned upside down.

Watching the couple from the window, Joe looked on with eyes filled with sadness. He didn't know how to make everything okay again for his family, and he honestly didn't have the energy even if he did know. He, too, had seen the look of guilt and sorrow on his father's face. His mother couldn't seem to stop crying and he knew it was mostly because it was her brother who had caused their world to come crashing down. Joe wished he'd never said anything...just toughed it out until his uncle left. Maybe then his family wouldn't be coming apart at the seams.

With a sigh of regret, Joe dropped the curtain back in place and started to clean up the living room. Gathering paper plates and cups, he headed to the kitchen to get a garbage bag. As he reached the closed swinging door, the soft sounds of crying could be heard coming from inside the room. Joe stood there a moment, at a loss as to what to do. He knew if he went inside, his mother would just become more upset.

Setting the stack of paper plates and cups on the small table by the door, Joe hovered in indecision. His father had driven several of their friends home who hadn't had rides, and hadn't returned yet. Looking toward the front door, he made up his mind and headed outside to get his brother.

"Frank?"

Looking up at the quiet voice, Frank was surprised to see Joe standing there. Taking in his brother's hunched shoulders and sad expression, he knew something was amiss. "Joe, what's wrong?"

Staring at his feet, Joe fiddled with the cast on his left arm and shrugged helplessly. "Mom's crying again. She's in the kitchen. I was going to clean up the mess, but...I don't want to upset her and Dad's not here."

Frank stood and pulled Callie to her feet. "I'll go talk to her, Joe, don't worry about it. Callie, will you do me a favor and give Joe a hand? There's a box of garbage bags on the shelf in the garage."

Nodding, Callie gave Frank's hand an encouraging squeeze then walked with Joe to the garage. As they walked in silence, she started to reach out to Joe then changed her mind at the last moment. Joe was still a little jumpy and she didn't want to startle him. Instead, she just smiled warmly at him and tried to get his mind off his mother. "I think the party was a lot of fun, don't you?"

Startled out of his thoughts, Joe tried a half-hearted smile. "Yeah, it was great. I'm glad everybody could make it since we had to change the date. Frank sure hit the jackpot with the gifts, didn't he?"

Surprised by Joe's attempt at humor, Callie had to smile. For a moment there, he sounded like his old self. "Yes he did. He'll have a lot of fun with the software you bought him."

"Yeah, he said he was going to have the pictures he took tonight put on CD so he could mess around with them. Who knows what he'll have us looking like."

Joe's quiet laugh was music to Callie's ears. She only wished Frank was there to hear it. They found the box of bags and went back to the living room to start cleaning up the mess. Callie was disheartened to see Joe slip back into his quiet, withdrawn mood. Well, it had been a small step and she was certain the scars would heal, given time.

They'd just cleaned up the last of the plates when Frank and Laura emerged from the kitchen. Mrs. Hardy's eyes were red and puffy from crying, but she was calmer now. Frank shot Callie a grateful look for her help and smiled. The smile slipped from his face when he noticed that Joe was looking anywhere but at their mother, afraid to start her crying again. That was going to have to stop. It was adding stress to his brother, and Joe had been through enough.

After taking Callie back to her house, Frank returned home and went looking for his father. Knocking softly on the study door, he poked his head inside. "Dad, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Come on in, Frank. I was just going through some files." Fenton could tell by the look on Frank's face that this was serious. "What's the matter, son? Is Joe okay?"

"He's asleep; I just checked on him." Dropping into the leather chair facing his father's desk, Frank rubbed his eyes. He didn't really know where to start.

"It's obvious you have something on your mind, Frank. Just start at the beginning and the rest will sort itself out."

With a sigh, Frank leaned forward. "Dad, I know this has hit Mom really hard. I mean, I can't even imagine how I'd feel if I just found out Joe had been hurting one of my kids, you know?"

"But?" Fenton was curious to see where this was leading.

"But...Mom's crying all the time is upsetting Joe. He feels guiltier and guiltier every time he hears her. If you could just talk to her...or talk to Joe and tell him it's not his fault."

Fenton rubbed a hand through his hair and frowned thoughtfully. "Frank, we need to have patience. I know what you're saying, though, and I'll talk to Laura. This has been hard for all of us, and for different reasons." Glancing at the clock on his desk, he closed the file he'd been going over. "It's late. Let's get some sleep; we've got an unpleasant meeting tomorrow and need all the rest we can get."

As the time for the meeting crept closer, Joe got more and more agitated. By the time Dr. Bates arrived, he was pacing his room with nervousness. He had heard the doctor arrive, but wanted to put off the inevitable for as long as he could. The lawyers would get there any minute, as well. Joe stopped his pacing when his brother knocked on the door and poked his head into the room.

"Joe, Dr. B's here. Mom and Dad need you downstairs."

Nodding his head, not trusting his voice, Joe followed Frank down the stairs. He felt like he was headed for a firing squad. At least his mother wasn't crying. He knew that would probably change in a short while. He could read the sorrow and caring in Dr. Bates' face and knew that his doctor had found the truth.

Gesturing at the furniture, Fenton tried to smile to lighten the mood. "Well, the others are running late this morning, so we'll let John get started."

Sitting in a chair near the fireplace, Dr. Bates laid his briefcase on the coffee table and clicked it open. Removing a file from it, he opened it and started with the first highlighted date. Glancing at the others, he took a deep breath and began. "Okay, Joe, I have some injuries here that I wanted to ask you about. Okay?"

Knowing it was a rhetorical question, Joe simply shrugged and nodded his understanding.

"Okay, here I have a severe sprain of the left wrist at age seven. The notation reads that you fell off the front steps. True?"

Looking to Frank for support, Joe took a deep breath and shook his head. "No. Uncle Frank got mad when I dropped a glass and jerked me by the hand. I guess he twisted it the wrong way or something."

Nodding and making a new notation on the file, John Bates moved on to the next highlight. "Alright. Age nine...laceration to the head, requiring stitches, after a fall from your skateboard. True?"

"No. He hit me, I fell and hit my head on the corner of the coffee table."

Wincing, Fenton remembered that they'd grounded Joe for riding his skateboard without a helmet. He wondered how many other times his son had been punished for something he hadn't done.

"Okay. Also age nine, hit in the face with the swinging door and had to have a bloody nose cauterized. True?"

Joe gave a short laugh and traded smiles with Frank. "Yeah, that one's true. Frank was coming out of the kitchen as I was about to go in, and he caught me right in the face with the door."

"Yeah, and I felt really bad about it. Of course, Joe milked that for everything he could." Frank laughed, remembering how many mornings after that that he'd made his brother's bed and cleaned his room.

Smiling, John noted that on the file and glanced down at the next one. "Good. Okay, age ten. Another sprained wrist, this one supposedly due to a fall off the front steps."

"That one's true, too. The step was icy and I was running." That one had been his own fault. Their Dad had been away on a case, and it had been Joe's chore to salt the front steps and walk. He had become distracted with cartoons and hadn't done it.

Nodding in satisfaction, Dr. Bates wrote that down and moved on to the next one. "Age fourteen. Broken right arm and a scalp laceration due to a fall from a tree."

"Uncle Frank."

Dr. Bates and his family waited a minute for Joe to elaborate, but he didn't say another word. The silence stretched uncomfortably until Fenton cleared his throat. "Joe, can you tell us what really happened?"

Bouncing his right leg up and down in agitation, Joe looked at the floor. "No, not really."

Seeing the young man's discomfort, John closed the file and slipped it back in his briefcase. "Thank you, Joseph. I know that wasn't easy, but we needed to know what really happened."

Still staring at the floor, Joe nodded silently. The somber mood was broken by the ringing of the doorbell and, happy for a reason to leave the room, Joe got up to see who it was. Sighing at the sight of the lawyers, he waved them inside. Leading them to the others, Joe dropped back down in his seat.

Fenton stood and shook their hands, then made the introductions. Phillip Casey needed no introduction, since he was the family attorney, but not everyone had met Richard Marshall. "Everyone, Mr. Marshall is the attorney for the prosecution. Sit down gentleman. What was the news that you insisted on telling us in person?"

Glancing at the blond-headed young man sitting so quietly on the sofa, Richard felt a pang of regret at the news he brought. He couldn't fathom what this family was going through. "Okay, here's what's happening. The defense has offered a deal. The defendant will plead guilty to child endangerment in exchange for probation, classes in anger management and mandatory visits with a court appointed psychiatrist. The prosecution would like to take the deal, but I wanted to run it by all of you first."

Mr. Marshall saw anger in the faces of Fenton and Frank, relief in the case of Laura...and a totally blank look on Joe's face. "Let me tell you why we want to take the deal, then you can discuss it and let me know what you think, okay? First of all, Frank obviously has a lot of problems and none of them will be solved in prison. He will get the counseling he needs from the psychiatrist and will learn to deal with his anger in the classes. Also, there are no witnesses to the abuse. You've got the medical records, but it will be Joe's word against Frank's. The trial will be very brutal, and this deal will save Joe from the ordeal of testifying and cross-examination."

Listening to his family arguing about the deal, Joe stared at his shoes. He didn't want to testify. He didn't want to go to court, sit in that chair and send his mother's brother to prison...for his mother's sake. He didn't care what happened to his uncle, but he did care about his mother.

"Take the deal."

Although the three words had been barely spoken above a whisper, all conversation ceased. Frank stared at his younger brother in shock. "What did you say?"

Still staring at his shoes, Joe repeated what he'd said. "Take the deal."

"Joe, I can't believe you. Don't you want him to pay for what he did?" Frank was angry, unable to believe that their uncle was going to get away with what he'd done. At least that's how it seemed to him.

"If he takes the deal, he'll get the help he needs. Mom won't have to visit her brother in prison. He won't be able to hurt me anymore. That's all that matters. I'm going to bed." Discussion closed as far as he was concerned, Joe stood and headed upstairs to his room.

When Frank jumped up to follow his brother, Fenton reached out and snagged his sleeve. "Let your brother have a some time to himself, Frank. I think we need to abide by Joe's decision, and I think it's the right choice to make. This is the best solution for everyone, especially your brother, whether you want to believe that or not."

A dozen different emotions seem to swirl around inside his head as Frank clenched his hands, torn between obeying his father and confronting his brother. He was angry with his uncle for what he'd done, angry with Joe for not telling and angry with his parents for not knowing. He felt guilty that it was Joe and not himself that was the chosen target for his uncle's anger. He'd been betrayed by a man he'd looked up to and loved. He felt overwhelming sadness for his mother and Joe.

Every muscle in his body tense with emotion, Frank sat back down and stared out the window. He could hear his mother's small sniffles as she tried to keep from crying. Probably due, in part, to her relief that there wouldn't be a trial.

Phillip looked at his partner and cleared his throat as he stood to leave. "Okay, we'll tell the defense that we've agreed to the deal. I uh, I hope everything turns out okay for your family. Unfortunately, I've seen too much of this kind of thing. I'll never understand how a person could hit a kid."

None of the others in the room could either.

"So how's Joe doing?" Frank looked up to see his friend Phil leaning against a locker. Pulling his Economics book from his own locker, Frank shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't seen him since we got here this morning. I'm hoping we have the same lunch period this year. He and Chet are in the same Biology class. I'll check with him in Economics and see what he says."

Smiling encouragingly, Phil pushed away from the locker as Frank slammed his door shut and twirled the lock. The two slipped into the stream of kids heading for class. "I'm sure he's fine, Frank. Joe always seems to bounce back from everything. He can have a temper, but he's a pretty happy kind of kid."

The two friends parted ways near the stairs as Phil headed up to his English class. Turning down the hall, Frank quickened his step when he saw Chet entering their classroom. "Chet!"

"Hey, Frank. What's up?" Chet found an empty desk on the far side of the class, near a window, and dropped his books. At least the window would give him something to look at when the class got boring. Which Chet was sure it would.

"Nothing much. My locker combination this year is too much like the one I had last year. No doubt I'll spend the whole year getting them mixed up." Frank settled into the seat next to Chet and slipped his books in the rack under the seat. "Hey, how was Joe when you saw him in Biology?"

"He seemed fine to me. Not overly thrilled to be in school, but who is?" Chet slid down in his seat, propping his feet on the rack under the seat in front of him. "I think he's gonna be okay Frank, really. You need to get the kid a backpack, though. He's having trouble carrying all those books with his wrist in a cast."

Giving himself a slap on the forehead for not thinking about it, Frank groaned in disgust. "Man, I totally forgot his old one tore up. Thanks, Chet. I'll drive him over to the mall after school."

"No sweat. What are friends for?"

He'd have to wait for the answer to that question. The bell rang, their teacher entered the classroom and their first day of economics began. Chet looked out the window as the teacher droned on. Yep, this is going to be one boring class.

Watching as Joe juggled his lunch tray, Chet shot Frank a smile. He wondered how long Frank would wait before jumping up to help. Suddenly, Chet started choking on his tea when he tried to laugh.

Giving his friend a few slaps on the back, Frank laughed. "You gonna live, Chet?"

"Look."

Following the direction of Chet's finger, Frank saw Iola offering to help with Joe's tray. His brother was smiling, but firmly shaking his head. "What's so funny, Chet."

Clearing his throat, Chet could hardly contain his laughter. "Man, check it out. My sister has the hots for your brother."

"C'mon, Chet. They're just friends. They've been friends since we were kids."

"Not anymore. Not if my sister has anything to say about it. I'm telling you, she's got that look." Iola was his sister and Chet knew what he was seeing.

Frank watched the two walk towards their table and realized Chet might just be on to something. Iola was talking as they walked, but kept touching Joe's arm, or brushing up against him. "Wow. I think you're right. Your sister and my brother. Who would have thought of it?"

"Apparently my sister did." The two broke into laughter, earning them puzzled looks from Joe and Iola as they joined them.

"What's so funny?" Joe slid a few inches to the right to leave a little space between himself and Iola. He wondered why she's sat so close. There was plenty of room.

That, of course, sent Chet and Frank into a new fit of laughter. Joe frowned and picked up his fork. "You guys are nuts."

Regaining his composure, Frank wiped his eyes. "Sorry, Joe. It's, uh, nothing important." That almost made Chet choke on his drink again.

"So, Joe, how are your classes so far?" Frank was curious to see how his brother was doing.

"Fine."

Okay, so it was going to be harder than he thought. "Just fine?"

Poking at his food, Joe fidgeted in his seat and sighed. "Yeah, just fine."

Not wanting to press it, Frank let it slide. He'd try again that afternoon. "Okay, glad to hear it. You didn't get old Mrs. Simmons for English, did you?"

Sighing in relief, Joe smiled. "No, thank goodness."

"I did." By the look on Iola's face, it was obvious she'd heard of the teacher's mean reputation.

"Man, that's tough, sis." Chet had had Mrs. Simmons the previous year and couldn't remember ever having so much homework from any other teacher as he did with her. "You'll be doing homework the rest of your life."

"Thanks a lot, Chet. I got Mr. Moon for Algebra, though, so that sort of makes up for it." Mr. Moon had a reputation of being not only a good math teacher, but entertaining as well, telling stories that captivated his class. He didn't tell just any stories, either, but spun the tales of Greek classics.

The four friends exchanged information about their various classes, then went their separate ways as the bell rang, signaling the end of the lunch period. Joe went back to his locker to get his books then headed down the hall for his next class. He was looking forward to this class, since History was his favorite. He loved studying the different civilizations. People were so interesting.

He was almost late to class since the room was on the far side of the building, about as far away from his locker as it could get. Fighting the crowded halls while trying to protect his arm wasn't easy. He'd dropped his books twice.

Sighing when he realized the only empty seat was in the front row, Joe shrugged and dropped into it. He could already feel the stares from the other kids in the class. Everyone seemed to know about what had happened, and Joe had been getting the looks all day. Curiosity, sympathy, scorn and pity were the various expressions on everyone's faces. It was the last one that he couldn't stand.

Ignoring the stares, Joe opened his notebook and wrote down the class and date then waited for the teacher to start her lecture. She, unlike the others, seemed to sense that he needed normalcy more than anything. Smiling briefly, she introduced herself to the class then began the day's lesson. Joe relaxed and began his notes. Only two more classes to go.

When the bell rang, ending the first day of school, Joe hurried to the locker room for football practice. Although he couldn't play until the cast came off, he could still do some of the drills. He was looking forward to it.

Propping his foot on the bench to tie his shoelaces, he smiled when his friend Jay flopped down next to his foot. "How was your first day, Jay?"

"Lousy. How else could the first day of school go?" Laughing, Jay shoved Joe's foot off the bench.

"Cut it out, Jay. You know how hard it is to tie your shoes with a cast?" Joe smiled and propped is foot back up. As soon as he finished tying his shoe, Jay reached over and pulled the end of the string, untying it.

"You're cruel, you know that?" Laughing, Joe started to tie it for the third time. Jay tried to push his foot again, but Joe was ready for him. He got the shoe tied and put his foot down before his friend could untie again. "Ha! Getting' slow in your old age."

"Hey, who's getting old?" Jay stood and made a playful swing at Joe. The next thing either boy knew, Jay was on the floor with Frank pinning his arm behind him.

"Let him up, Frank! Jeez, man, he was just playing around." Although he knew Frank was just trying to look out for him, Joe was angry. "Get off him!"

With a look of embarrassment, Frank stood and reached down to pull Jay to his feet. "Sorry, Jay. I thought you were going to hit him or something."

"He's my friend, Frank. Why would I hit him?" Rubbing a sore hip, Jay shook his head and headed outside, slapping Joe on the back on his way out.

"Joe, I'm sorry. I honestly thought he was going to hurt you."

"You can't protect me from everything Frank. Deal with it." Still angry, Joe slammed his locker shut and followed Jay out onto the field.

After half an hour, Joe was tired of standing on the sidelines. "C'mon, coach. I can throw the ball around, or something."

"And have your doctor take off my head? I don't think so, Hardy." Coach Weathers was disappointed the young man would miss so much practice this year, not to mention several games. But, he wasn't about to risk the boy's arm by letting him do too much, either. "If you've got that much energy to burn, go run some foot drills. Until you put on a little more bulk, speed and quickness are your best friends. Now, get out of my hair."

With a sigh of defeat, Joe did what he was told. He had to admit later that he got a good workout. When the coach blew the whistle to end practice, the younger Hardy could feel the burn in his calf muscles. He followed the rest of the stampeding boys to the showers.

As he was standing by his locker, pulling on his shirt, he was bumped by someone standing next him. Joe looked over and smiled at the tall, blond young man.

"Sorry, Joe, I didn't mean to bump you. Are you okay?"

Considering there were a lot of high school kids crammed into a small locker room, bumping into someone wasn't an unusual occurrence. Joe was surprised by the profuse apology. "Biff, it was an accident. I'm not made of glass, you know."

Biff seemed at a loss and glanced at Frank for help. Joe caught the look and noticed Chet and Phil were also judging his reaction. It was like they were all walking on eggshells. Joe couldn't stand it anymore. "Look, I'm not going to break! Treat me like you always have. Just...act normal."

Chet was the first one to break the stunned silence. "Well, we would, but I don't think any of us were normal before."

"Well, you got me there, Chet." Joe gave a weak laugh, but he was completely serious. The only way his life would resemble normalcy, was for everyone around him to treat him as they always had. He didn't want or need anyone's pity. He knew he would have to talk to Frank.

The drive after football practice was a quiet one. Joe finally broke the silence when he realized they were headed in the wrong direction to be going home. "Frank, where are we going? Home is that way."

"Yeah, I know. I thought maybe we'd hang out at the mall for a little while. You could use a new backpack."

"It would sure help. I don't know how many times I dropped my books today." Joe chewed on his lower lip a few minutes, trying to figure out the best way to approach what had happened in the locker room. "Look, Frank, I know what you were trying to do today, and I appreciate it. But, you can't fight my battles for me. If Jay had been some guy trying to take a swing at me, I would've taken care of him myself."

Casting a glance at his brother, Joe could tell Frank was still unsure. "Look, what happened with Uncle Frank was...different. It was...I couldn't...it was just different."

He couldn't find a way to explain it. The rest of the trip to the mall was made in silence. When Frank parked the van, Joe opened his door and started to slide out. Frank reached out to snag his brother's arm. "Joe, I'm sorry about today. You're right. It's just...you're my brother."

No other explanation was needed, really.

The rest of the week got a little better. The kids at school found other things to think about, and Joe could breath a sigh of relief. No more funny looks. He just wished things at home would settle down, too.

Dinner was the worst, as far as Joe was concerned. It was a strained affair. Everyone afraid to discuss anything more complicated than the weather or how classes went. Needless to say, there wasn't a lot of conversation. That, naturally, just made things even more strained. It was a relief to escape to his homework.

"TGIF, huh?"

Startled out of his thoughts, Joe smiled at the girl sitting in the desk next to his. "Oh, hey Iola. Yeah, I'm glad it's Friday."

Actually, he wasn't glad at all. That meant two whole days of being at home. His parents still gave him looks of concern mixed with guilt. He knew they probably weren't even aware of it, but it bothered him nonetheless. He hoped he could find excuses to be out of the house as much as possible.

"What are you doing this weekend? Chet's planning a picnic at our place to celebrate our survival of the first week of school. Would you like to come?"

Perfect! "Hey, that'd be great. Sure, count me in. I'm sure Frank would like to come, too. Chet's probably already invited us."

"Probably. They have the same class first period. Everybody's supposed to be at our house at noon, but you should come early to help make sure Chet doesn't eat everything."

Sharing a laugh, Joe agreed to come early. Any discussion of the coming weekend ceased as the bell rang for class to begin. It had been a long week, but the picnic seemed like the perfect thing to distract him and allow everyone to have some fun. He felt better, already.

After the period ended, Joe headed down the hall to his next class. As he passed by the school offices, his feet slowed then stopped. He eyed the door for a moment, thoughtful. Maybe he'd find the answer to his problems inside that office. All he had to do was make the first step. Making up his mind, he knocked lightly on the door and, hearing a summons to enter, opened it. As the door shut behind him when he stepped inside, light reflected off the brass nameplate. Dr. Katherine Michaels, School Counselor.

"Have you noticed anything different about Joe?" Laura Hardy and Tina Morton both sat in the shade on the porch, watching the teenagers playing an impromptu game of touch football. Even the girls had gotten in on the game.

Mrs. Morton pushed with her foot, setting her rocking chair into motion. "Different from before, or different from recently?"

"Recently. Since...well, since Frank came to visit."

"He seems happy, if that's what you mean. I noticed it when you guys came over earlier to help out with the picnic. Why?"

"I don't know." Laura thought about it a moment and sighed. "He was different last night at dinner. He didn't say much, as usual, but it wasn't the same as the night before. He seemed...more at peace, I guess you could say."

"Maybe you should talk to him." Tina knew the Hardy family was long overdue for a family meeting. As far as she knew, none of them had been talking about what had happened. "I think all of you should sit down and talk about it. It would do you a world of good. Ignoring it won't make it go away."

"I know. I just feel so guilty about it. He's my son, Tina. I should've been able to protect him."

"From your own brother?" Mrs. Morton shook her head, frowning. "No, you couldn't have known your brother was capable of such a thing. What's done is done. It's in the past. What you have to face now, is the future."

But, Laura wasn't sure she wanted to confront the issue. Joe seemed to have found peace and she didn't want to disturb that. They would just have to watch and see how things went. She winced when Joe stumbled, trying to keep from plowing into Iola, tripped and fell. She gave a sigh of relief when he promptly picked himself up again, dusted his pants and got back into the game.

"Dr. Bates will have his hide if he damages that cast." Both women laughed and shook their heads. It never ceased to amaze either woman, the resilience of youth.

"Hey, Chet, I think your sister plays a better game of football than you do." Chet blushed, grateful it was dark enough outside that no one would notice embarrassment.

"Shut up, Prito. I saw Callie intercept that lousy pass you tossed, so I wouldn't say anything if I were you."

Laughing, Frank gave Tony a nudge with his elbow. "Chet's gotcha there."

The girls shared a triumphant smile, pleased to have been included in the day's fun. They had all had a great time, and were sad to see the day ending. Callie shot Frank a mischievous smile. "Hey, maybe we should go out for the team."

It was Tony's turn to nudge Frank. "Hey, why not? We are short a player."

Frank held his breath, wondering what Joe's response would be. His brother just laughed. "The only short player I see around here is you, Tony."

"I didn't say short player...I said short A player. Sheez."

"A short, 'A' player?" Joe kept a perfectly straight face as he teased his friend. "Tony, I have NO idea what you're talking about."

Giving a mock growl of frustration, Tony jumped up from his seat on a log and chased after Joe, who ran across the lawn toward the house. The adults were milling around the front steps. As Joe ran past, a hand grabbed him by the shirt, pulling him to an abrupt stop.

"Time to call it a day, Joe. Get your brother for me and meet us at the car." Fenton and Laura were saying their goodbyes to the Mortons.

"But, Dad, it's still early!"

"No 'but, Dad's. I believe you and Frank have a garage to clean out tomorrow and it'll take you most of the day. You've still got homework to do, too."

"Yes, sir." Joe shrugged at Tony and turned around to head back to the rest of the kids. The adults could hear him mumbling to himself. "Aw, man. Just when we're having fun."

On the drive back to the house, Joe was lost in thought. He remembered what Dr. Michaels had told him the day before. The only way things would get back to normal for him, was if things got back to normal for the rest of his family. And, that meant talking about it. Getting their feelings out in the open, where they could be seen and dealt with.

He felt good. Better than he had in a while. Frank and his parents seemed to be content as well. Now was the time. His stomach fluttered nervously, but he knew this was the best time. He just had to get his family back.

When they got home, Joe was the last one in the house. Laura headed for the kitchen, while his father and brother both went to watch the evening news. Joe waited for his mother to return to the living room with her glass of water, then cleared his throat nervously. "Mom, Dad, Frank...I think, uh, I think maybe we need to talk. It's time."

END