Chapter 24

Sam shot a worried look at his passenger; still not sure about skipping the hospital. "Maybe we should just have Dr. Bates meet us."

"No," Joe croaked. "No hospital."

"Damn stubborn Hardys," Sam quietly complained. "Don't know why I'm surprised, your dad is the same."

Joe huffed a laugh, followed quickly by a small moan. "Then I come by it naturally, don't I?"

Sam could only shake his head in fond exasperation. "Speaking of your dad, what do you plan to tell your folks?"

"Who says I'm going to tell them?"

Sam couldn't help the small laugh, "Seriously? Unless you plan to leave town for the next few weeks I don't see how you intend to avoid it."

Joe sighed heavily; he really didn't want to have this conversation.

"And don't even think about lying to them," Sam warned. "You won't fool them and they won't appreciate it."

"I have worked undercover you know."

"What's that got to do with anything?"

Joe shrugged, "Just that I can be a pretty convincing actor when I have to. Mom never knew, when we were younger, just how dangerous some of our cases could be."

"Joe the only one you fooled was yourself," Sam said. "I can't tell you the number of times your mom spoke to your dad about keeping you and Frank away from detective work. She might not have known all of the details but she knew when a case had been worse than you and your brother let on."

"Then why didn't she make us stop?"

"Because she knew she couldn't and they were both afraid that if they forbid it you boys would still involve yourselves in detective work, but you wouldn't have any real back-up in that case. At least with their approval you would ask for help from your father and/or the police when you needed to."

"We asked the guys for help more often than not," Joe pointed out.

"True," Sam nodded. "And if you or Frank were in a tight spot that was beyond them they would get help. If they had thought it would get you into trouble they would have hesitated and that might have proven fatal. So your mom and dad let you have your investigations but don't fool yourself into thinking they were either one ignorant of the seriousness of those cases."

"So no lying to Mom and Dad?"

"Sorry champ but I don't see that working."

Joe sighed, great; he really didn't want them to know. "Maybe I will leave town."

Sam just shook his head. He knew Joe wasn't going to leave town, neither of Fenton's sons were inclined towards hiding out. Of course, he glanced at the blond, with Joe's injuries he might yet end up in the hospital. "Sit tight and let me help you out," Sam said as he wheeled the car into the parking lot.

"Yes mother."

Sam didn't bother with a response. Quickly parking the car as near the entrance as he could the older detective climbed from the car and made his way to the passenger side. Taking his time he helped the younger man from the vehicle and into the doctor's office and a waiting chair. "I'll go get you signed in."

Joe nodded, "Thanks Sam." He shifted in his seat, trying and failing to find a comfortable position while he waited. He knew Frank could throw a punch but it had been years since he'd been on the receiving end and he'd forgotten just how much power big brother could put in a punch.

Sam slid into the seat next to Joe, patting him gently on the knee. "How you holding up?"

Joe only shrugged. What could he say? He was in pain, anybody could see that. He was worried about his brother, but Sam already knew that as well. He wondered if he should ask Sam to call the office, find out how Frank was doing? But a call would pull Ethel away from Frank and if he knew his older brother, and he did, the brunette was currently beating himself up for what he'd done. Joe wished he could tell Frank that he shouldn't be sorry, a beating was the least of what Joe deserved and if it helped his brother he would gladly take a dozen beatings. He only hoped that Frank would see, after today, that he needed help to deal with what had been done to him.

"So what exactly brought this on?" Sam quietly asked. He shook his head when Joe only shot him an incredulous look. "Obviously it's related to the kidnapping but what set him off, do you know?"

Joe nodded.

Raising an eyebrow, Sam waited...and waited..."And, would you like to share with the class?"

Joe focused on the carpet, it was badly faded, Doc would probably be replacing it soon.

"Joe?"

"He finally realised the truth."

"The truth? He remembered?"

"That too."

"I don't understand Joe, if you don't mean his memories returned what truth do you mean?"

"Doesn't matter."

God save him from stubborn Hardy men. "If it caused Frank to attack you then, yes Joe, it does matter." Years of practice allowed Sam the patience to wait for the answer, though even his patience had its limits.

Joe squirmed uncomfortably; he really didn't want to have this discussion. He glanced hopefully towards the door, willing the nurse to call his name, but no such luck. He sighed heavily, resigned to his fate. "He realized that it's my fault he was...hurt."

"That's bull Joe and deep down you know it," Sam snapped.

"Is it? I was the one who talked Frank into that interview, the same interview that caught Cassandra's attention. If it weren't for that article chances are she never would have become obsessed with him."

"You don't know that, she could have just as easily seen him on the street and become obsessed. You're a detective Joe; you know stalkers can be set off by anything or nothing at all. "

"Joe Hardy," the nurse called, interrupting their conversation.

With help from Sam, the blond got to his feet and headed towards the examination rooms. After a few minutes spent with the nurse obtaining his vitals Joe was left alone in the exam room to wait, with only his thoughts for company. Fortunately the wait was exceptionally short giving him little time to wallow in his guilt and worry. Intellectually Joe knew he wasn't to blame for the attack on Frank, it was his heart and conscience that he was having trouble convincing.

"I see Lisa wasn't exaggerating," Dr. Bates commented as he stepped into the room. "She said you look like you went a couple of rounds with a boxer."

Joe huffed a short laugh, whimpering a bit as his ribs protested the action. "It looks worse than it is but Sam's as bad as my family about being checked out by a doctor."

Dr. Bates levelled a disapproving look at the younger man. "I thought we had an agreement Joe; you don't attempt to practice medicine and I won't try to solve crimes."

"Oh," Joe moaned lightly, "don't make me laugh Doc."

"Ribs?" Receiving a nod the doctor proceeded with his examination, followed by several x-rays. The examination was thorough; it had to be with this patient as he had a habit of hiding injuries. Finally, satisfied he had covered all of the bases Bates sent Joe off to x-ray.

During the exam he couldn't help but notice the lack of defensive wounds which combined with the presence of Sam Radley gave him a good idea as to the identity of Joe's assailant. He sincerely hoped Frank would seek the help he clearly needed. Forcing him into therapy would only make progress more difficult but if the elder Hardy brother was becoming a danger to others he would have no choice, a report to the proper authorities would have to be made. He could avoid it this time by virtue of it being the first incident but if Joe or another member of the Hardy family suffered another attack he would be out of options, legally and ethically.

After updating his notes in Joe's file, Dr. Bates made his way to x-ray to look at the images. Returning to the exam room he found his patient waiting impatiently, silently he chuckled at the unintended pun. "Well the good news is you somehow managed to avoid a concussion or any other serious injuries."

"But...?"

"But you do have a couple of cracked ribs; I'll write you a prescription for the pain. You need to rest..."

"My ribs and apply ice periodically, yeah I know the routine."

"I also want you to call me if you begin to have any abdominal pain, beyond what you're currently experiencing. If you notice distension in the abdomen don't bother to call me just head straight for the hospital."

"Why would I have distension, it's just a couple of cracked ribs and a bunch of bruises?"

"Exactly, a bunch of bruises. Frank gave you a hell of a beating Joe which means there is a chance of damage to internal organs, such as the spleen. I don't necessarily expect anything to manifest but you do need to be aware of the possibility."

Joe nodded and then he realized what exactly the doctor had said. "Who told you that Frank beat me up?"

"You did," the doctor replied, lifting one of Joe's hands so the younger man could see his knuckles, "no defensive wounds. That tells me you knew the person who attacked you and Frank is the most likely candidate, given what he's gone through recently."

Joe grew pale; he knew that doctors were required to report domestic abuse even if the victim was an adult. But this wasn't domestic abuse, it was a onetime thing, he only hoped he could convince the doctor. "You know this isn't like Frank, he was beating himself up when I left the office. Hell the guilt was rolling off him almost like it was a physical thing."

"Calm down Joe, I'm not going to report the incident. But if it happens again I won't have a choice. I wouldn't be doing either of you boys a favor to ignore another incident, you can see that can't you?"

"It's not going to happen again, I can promise you that."

"No Joe you can't, but if Frank gets the help he needs I think we can safely assume it won't."

Frank wasn't sure how long he had cried, but now that the tears were spent he knew what he had to do. Removing himself from Ethel's side he walked to his desk, searching through the drawers for the card he knew he had kept, though at the time he'd told himself it was only to humor his family he was glad now that he hadn't thrown it away. Finding the card, he laid it on the desk and with shaking hands dialled the number.

"Dr. Garza's office, how can I help you?" a pleasant voice came through the phone.

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