J.M.J.

A/N: Thank you so much for continuing to read this story! Thank you especially to Candylou, Cherylann Rivers, max2013, Highflyer, ErinJordan, Caranath, BMSH, and Ritu for your reviews on chapter 29 and to drogorath and BMSH for your reviews on previous chapters!

Chapter XXX

Beginnings

Seven months later

"I still can't believe it," Joe said.

Frank, who was standing next to him, glanced around the elegantly decorated church. "Neither can I. I've been waiting for this day so long, it seems unreal that it's actually here."

"Oh." There was a mischievous gleam in Joe's eyes. "I meant I couldn't believe Callie was actually marrying an old guy with dentures like you."

Frank rolled his eyes. "They're implants, Joe, not dentures."

"Still fake teeth," Joe insisted. "Pretty sure that's the definition of dentures."

Biting back a grin, Frank shook his head. "You'd better knock it off before you're the one who needs dentures."

Joe took a step backward and held up his hands as if defending himself. "Don't forget – I'm the best man. Callie will kill you if you mess up the wedding party pictures."

"I'll just grab Phil or Chet and have one of them stand in for you," Frank said.

"Speaking of ruining the wedding pictures," Joe went on, "you're going to feel pretty silly on your twenty-fifth anniversary when you look back and get reminded that you didn't even know how to tie a tie."

Frank glanced down at the sloppy knot in his tie and rapidly began loosening it. "Oh, man. How did that happen?"

"The way you're trying to fix it, it's no wonder it ended up like that." Joe laughed. "Here. Let me do that."

"Thanks," Frank said as his brother smoothly retied the tie. "I guess I'll keep you as best man."

"You'd better," Joe teased. "I can't think of anyone else who deserves the title."

Frank glanced at his watch. "It's almost time. I'd better be getting up to the front of the church. Uh, Joe, I know it's too late to do anything, but you're sure you don't mind?"

"Mind what?" Joe asked.

"You know. Iola," Frank clarified.

Joe shook his head. "I already told you something like a thousand times. Iola and I don't hate each other. We don't even dislike each other. In spite of everything, we get along just fine. And even if we didn't, we're both mature enough that we would have called a truce for today. I'm your only brother, and Iola is Callie's best friend. We wouldn't want you guys to pick anyone else as best man and maid of honor, and we'd do whatever we had to to not spoil your day. As it turns out, that's not very much, because we're still friends."

"I know a lot of people say things like that –" Frank began.

"We mean it," Joe assured him. "Iola's still the only girl I've ever felt that way about, and I know that she still cares about me. We just decided that it's best for us to not be a couple for the moment."

"Okay," Frank agreed, though he was still not convinced.

Joe waved it aside. "Come on. It's yours and Callie's day. You don't need to be worrying about me and Iola now. Just think about that beautiful bride of yours."

"You're right." Frank took a deep breath and made a move to head to the front of the church. Then, unexpectedly, he turned around and grabbed Joe in a hug.

Although he was taken off-guard by his brother's unusual show of affection, Joe returned the hug willingly. He was even more surprised when he stepped back and saw tears in Frank's eyes.

"You're not having second thought, are you?" Joe asked, a hint of seriousness underneath his teasing tone.

"No," Frank said. "No, of course not. I've never been more sure about anything. It's just – It's going to be different with you and me."

Joe felt a lump form in his throat. He had been thinking the same thing but hadn't said anything because he felt that Frank would think it was silly. "Yeah," he said, doing his best not to let his voice break. "It'll be good, though." He forced a laugh as he wiped the tears from his own eyes. "You'd better stop crying before somebody sees you."

Frank chuckled. "You'd better take your own advice. I don't want you all red-eyed in the pictures."

"I've got to find some way to tone down my good looks so people will actually pay attention to you," Joe teased him.

"Idiot." Frank lightly punched him on the shoulder. "Maybe some things will never change."

"You being late for your wedding would be a change." Joe held up his phone to show Frank the time. "We'd better both get moving."

They clasped hands, and then each of them went to take his respective place. Joe met the other members of the wedding party in the vestibule. Iola teasingly clapped as he appeared.

"You're not late after all," she said.

"You weren't worried about that, were you?" Joe bantered back.

"Well, when it's only four minutes before the ceremony starts, a girl starts to wonder," Iola returned.

Joe turned to Callie, who was nervously smoothing her white dress. "Wow, sis, you look gorgeous."

Callie blushed. "Thanks. Is Frank ready?"

"As he'll ever be," Joe replied.

He held out his arm to Iola, who took it with the slightest bit of awkwardness. She, however, was just as determined as Joe not to put any damper on Frank and Callie's day, and so she was careful not to show it. She and Joe exchanged an understanding glance, and then readied themselves to walk down the aisle.

HBHBHBHBHB

The decorations for the reception hall were stunning, and the hall itself was full. Although Frank and Callie had wanted a small wedding, they had had a difficult time deciding where to draw the line on the guest list. In addition to relatives and close friends, most of the Bayport PD who were off-duty were in attendance, as were a number of people whom Frank and Callie had met in college or whom Frank had met in his detective work. The large number of guests kept the bride and groom busy throughout the reception, greeting them and accepting their congratulations.

"Nancy! Ned!" Frank greeted his good friends with a hug for each of them.

Callie did likewise. "We're so glad you could come. I know it's a long way from River Heights."

"Don't be silly," Nancy told her. "We wouldn't have missed your wedding for anything. Bess and Dave and George and Burt are here, too, somewhere. And, of course, my dad and Vanessa here. It was quite a trip over."

Vanessa stepped forward and gave Frank and Callie each a hug. "Congratulations, you guys. I was pretty flattered that you invited me."

"There was no way we were going to not invite you after everything you did," Callie assured her.

"How are you liking River Heights?" Frank asked. "Ned here must be a real pain to work for."

"Oh, yeah, the worst," Vanessa replied drily.

"Hey," Ned protested. "You know, you work for Nancy as much as you do for me."

"Nobody would complain about that, Ned," Frank teased him.

"Actually," Vanessa said, "they're both pretty great to work for."

Before they could talk any longer, other guests called Frank's and Callie's attention away.

Despite the large number of people, the dinner went smoothly, and there wasn't much grumbling about the line. Carson Drew found a spot to sit next to Sam and Ethel Radley and their children, who were for once sitting still. The oldest of the chidren, Martin, who had turned seven a few months earlier, had a pair of crutches leaning against the back of his chair.

"Carson, haven't seen you in some time," Sam greeted him as he sat down. "You remember Ethel, right? And the kids – Martin, Oliver, and Amelia.

"Of course," Carson replied. "How are you doing, Ethel?"

"Just fine," Ethel told him. "And you?"

"Very well indeed," Carson said, thinking of some news that Nancy had given him only a few days earlier. He sobered a bit as he glanced again at the crutches leaning against Martin's chair. "And how are the kids?"

"They're keeping us pretty busy," Ethel replied.

"If you think you're busy now, just wait till they're older," Carson commented.

"Considering what happened with Martin, we decided not to send him to the public school for first grade," Sam explained. "We've been homeschooling him instead. It's a lot of work, especially with the two other kids, but it has made things easier, getting Martin to his physical therapy and all."

"How is that coming?" Carson asked.

"It's looking good," Sam told him. "The paralysis, obviously, is gone, and the doctors are optimistic that he'll be able to get around on his own in time."

"That's great," Carson said sincerely.

The other River Heights guests found a table where they could all sit together, although Chet and Biff found excuses to sit one on either side of Vanessa. As soon as Joe finished eating, he came over and sat at their table as well, since this was the first chance he had had to talk to any of them.

After exchanging greetings, Bess Marvin Evans gave a long, drawn-out sigh. "You know, we're running out of people to get married. I'm starting to give up hope on George and Burt here." She gave a pointed look at her cousin, George Fayne, who was sitting next to her long-standing boyfriend, Burt Eddleton.

A few years ago, George probably would have given a sharp retort to the comment, but she'd gotten used to it by now. Instead, she said with better humor, "Burt and I aren't exactly over the hill yet."

"You will be if you wait too much longer," Bess insisted.

Joe chuckled. "Maybe George, Burt, and I should start a club for hopeless cases in the marriage department."

"We could get t-shirts that say, 'No, I'm not getting married yet' so people can stop asking," Burt added.

Bess shook her head. "You guys are terrible. Everyone you know is going to be married before any of you are. And then with Nancy and Ned being –" She stopped abruptly as she the couple in question shaking their heads a little too frantically.

"Being what?" Joe asked, a hint of suspicion in his voice.

Nancy glanced up at Ned and instinctively reached for his hand. They both smiled at each other excitedly. "Well, we hadn't planned to say anything until after the wedding – we didn't want to steal any attention away from Frank and Callie on their big day – but I guess you know something's up now." She paused. "Ned and I are expecting."

"What!" Joe jumped up and gave first Nancy and then Ned a hug. "Congratulations! Wow. I – You guys really told Bess before you told me?"

Nancy laughed. "We only just started telling people last week, and even then, we've only told Dad and Ned's parents and Hannah and Bess and Dave and George and Burt –"

"In other words, basically everyone but me." Joe crossed his arm, pretending to be offended.

"Like Nancy said, we didn't want to take any of the spotlight away from Frank and Callie," Ned told him. "If it makes you feel any better, we were going to tell you before we went back home. Just not right this minute." He gave Bess a pointed look.

"Sorry," Bess said. "You can't blame me for being excited, though. She's going to be the most adorable baby ever, and I'll practically be her aunt."

"Unless 'she's' a boy," George pointed out.

"What will you know for sure?" Joe asked.

"I don't know," Nancy admitted. "It will be a few months, anyway, before we can find out. The baby's due in August."

With the excitement over the news, it was a long time before the conversation could focus on nothing else. Fortunately, Joe remembered that he had one more obligation before the evening was over before he was too late.

He practically raced out of the hall to his car and retrieved his guitar. Then he took his place next to the cleared dance floor and announced the first dance over the microphone. The crowd quieted down as Frank and Callie went hand-in-hand to the center of the floor.

"This feels awfully awkward, with everyone watching us," Callie whispered.

"Being the center of attention isn't exactly my cup of tea, either," Frank confided in a low tone. "So let's forget about them, shall we?"

Callie smiled at him. "I don't think that will be too hard."

As Joe played the first chords of the song they had picked out, Frank and Callie held one another and danced. Before long, they had nearly forgotten that they were being watched at all. They were only reminded as the song ended and they kissed, to which their guests responded with a burst of applause and cheering. Both of them blushing, they tried to melt into the crowd, but that was no easy thing at their own wedding reception.

Fortunately, most of the young people, at least, had their attention distracted as the dance floor was opened up to everyone. Vanessa, particularly, found herself at no shortage for partners, as either Biff or Chet asked her for every dance. She was just about worn out when someone she didn't expect caught her attention.

"Hi." Tony had to step closer to make himself heard over the music.

Vanessa smiled. "Hi. You certainly look like you're doing better."

"Yeah. You, too," Tony said. "Between Chet and Biff, I didn't think I'd ever get a chance to ask you, but – would you like to dance?"

Vanessa had made up her mind not to accept any more requests for dances, at least not until she had given her feet a little time to rest. Even so, she changed her mind when Tony asked. "Sure."

"I believe I owe you an apology," Tony said a few moments later.

"For what?" Vanessa asked.

"I wasn't terribly friendly to you when we met," Tony explained. "To tell the truth, I was more than a little suspicious of you. It wasn't fair of me, especially when you were trying to help. Do you think you can forgive me for it?"

"I think I can," Vanessa told him.

It was too hard to hear one another on the dance floor, so they didn't say much more during the rest of the song. When it was over, Vanessa saw Biff coming out of the corner of her eye.

"I think I'll sit the next dance or two out," Vanessa said loudly enough for him to hear.

Tony led her to one of the tables and helped her into a chair. "Would you mind if I stayed and talked for a few minutes?"

"Not at all," Vanessa invited him.

Taking the chair next to hers, Tony scrambled for a few moments to find something to say that sounded natural. "Um, so, I hear you're not going to go to graduate school after all."

"No, at least not yet," Vanessa said. "After Ned and Nancy offered me a job, I decided it was a perfect opportunity to see another part of the country and take a little time to think over what I really want to do."

"Do you like detective work?" Tony asked.

Vanessa chuckled. "It's more like doing tons of research all the time. Ned and Nancy do all the exciting stuff. But after that case this summer, I think I've had enough excitement for the time being."

"Yeah," Tony replied. "I told myself the same thing while I was in the hospital. But after years of association with the Hardys, a life without any excitement sounds kind of boring."

"So, what are you doing now?" Vanessa asked.

"Well, that case really bothered me," Tony explained. "The terrorists and all. Except it turned out to not be terrorists after all. But that doesn't mean that there aren't real terrorists out there, and plenty of them. I realized I couldn't just sit around at home, safe and comfortable, while people like that are on the loose. So, I decided to do what I could about it, and I put in an application to the FBI."

Vanessa's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Wow. That's really something. Have you heard anything about it yet?"

"I've been accepted," Tony told her. "I'm going to be starting my training in the city in a couple of weeks."

"That's awesome," Vanessa said. "Congratulations. You must be pretty excited."

"I am," Tony admitted. "Although those clowns I have for friends won't stop teasing me about it. I'm worried they might blow it for me yet. You see, for a job like this, they're listening in on my calls and keeping tabs on my Internet use. So, please, don't call me and say anything about bombs or hijackings or anything like that."

"You don't have to worry about that from me." Vanessa grinned. "I don't even have your number."

"Would – would you like to have my number?" Tony asked.

"Yes, I would like that," Vanessa replied

On the other side of the dance floor, Iola was watching the couples dancing with a little bit of a wistful attitude. She was startled to feel someone standing next to her. She turned to see that it was Joe.

"Hey," he greeted her with a small smile. "I haven't had much of a chance to talk to you today. It's like we just walked into the church together and that was it."

"Well, there's been a lot going on," Iola replied.

"How are you doing?" Joe asked, and Iola knew what he meant.

She hesitated. "It is one of those days when I'm wondering a little bit whether we're doing the right thing," she admitted.

"Me, too," Joe confided.

"We are, though, for the moment," Iola said firmly. "I mean, for the moment, what else are we supposed to do, with me leaving for Japan in a few days?"

"There's nothing else we can do, in view of that," Joe agreed. "It certainly helps simplify things for you to study abroad for a semester. You'll probably meet some dashing Japanese man and he'll be swept off his feet by you."

Iola chuckled. "I doubt that. I want to still be free to talk this over again when I get back."

Joe sighed. "It's been seven months. I think we both know what the answer is going to be by now."

Reluctantly, Iola nodded. "It's just hard to think about right now, with the wedding and everything. I can't help wondering if maybe, if Emily hadn't come along –"

"No," Joe stopped her. "We can't pin this on Emily. If anything, maybe we should be thanking her. You and I pretty much have always been a mess, especially since that Moriare case. Emily didn't create that. She just used it, and in doing so, made it clear for both of us to see."

Iola nodded. "You're right, of course. Now we just have to find a way to live with it."

"How have you been doing – otherwise?" Joe asked, not wanting to mention the flashbacks directly.

"A lot better, actually," Iola replied. "And you?"

"Well, I was walking home the other day and I heard someone back into another car," Joe said. "They broke out their taillight and made this huge pop. Other than jumping in surprise, it didn't bother me, so I'd say that was an improvement over the last wedding you and I were at together, when I nearly freaked out because of a champagne bottle opening."

"Good." Iola nodded. "I think we'll both be okay."

"I know we'll both be okay," Joe replied.

"So, I take it your whole finding yourself endeavor is working out?" Iola asked.

"Yep, it is," Joe said. "I'm glad I took Tony's suggestion and started going to those classes."

"You're really getting serious about becoming Catholic then?" Iola shook her head. "I wouldn't have pictured it."

Joe shrugged. "Well, I've never been too religious before, but it's a good thing to think about when you're reevaluating your life."

"It doesn't mean you're going to get boring, does it?" Iola asked him teasingly.

"Not even a little bit," Joe assured her. "You should have met those guys at the mission. They weren't boring at all."

"Well, then, I'm glad for you," Iola said.

They both fell silent, watching the couples on the dance floor again.

"Would you like to dance?" Joe spoke up, taking Iola completely off-guard. At her astonished look, he quickly added, "Just a friendly dance."

"People are going to talk if we do," Iola said hesitantly.

"Let 'em talk," Joe replied. "If they've got nothing better to do than pry into our business, that's their problem."

"When you put it that way, all right," Iola agreed.

Ignoring the curious stares, Joe led Iola out onto the floor and they began to dance. Neither could be sure of what the future held, but of one thing, they were certain – whatever happened, it was going to be good.

A/N: Thank you so very, very much for reading this story through to its end! I enjoyed writing it, and I really enjoyed all the feedback I got on it. To that end, thank you to everyone who posted reviews on any or all chapters: Barb, BMSH, Candylou, Caranath, Cherylann Rivers, Crystal E. Fall, curlingduck, drogorath, Drumboy100, ErinJordan, EvergreenDreamweaver, Highflyer, max2013, Pri, Ritu, sm2003495, Sue, SunshineGirl99, and various Guests. If I missed anyone, I apologize. The sheer number of reviews I've received on this story has blown me away, and I want to give you all a huge thank you for all of the support and encouragement you have given me!

So, no, I did not answer absolutely, 100% positively what happens with Joe and Iola. I'm going to leave that door open in case I write future stories in this arc. Until then, if you just have to know what I'm thinking of the situation, in my own mind they don't get back together. Hopefully, that's not too big of a disappointment (or maybe you're happy about it). While we're on the topic of future stories, I don't have any in the works that take place after this, except an idea for a one-shot that would be about Ned and Nancy. Whatever I do, I won't be posting any stories for a few weeks/months. I don't intend to leave fanfiction entirely, though, so you haven't seen the last of me.

Thank you again for reading!

hbndgirl