J.M.J.

Author's note: Once again, thank you for reading and for reviewing! This is the final chapter. God bless!

October 17 – Tuesday

It was just a little too cold to be sitting outside, even with the fire pit lighted, but no one made any move to get up or go inside. It was peaceful and quiet out here, with the Shaws' privacy fence ensuring that no one was spying on them. Callie had wrapped herself up in a blanket and was sitting next to Frank, listening to him talk. With Joe, Iola, and Chet also there, he was only talking about a few last details of the case which Iola and Chet had been asking about, but it was so good to hear his voice, no matter what he was saying.

"Morales had one foot in the door with both the cartel and Reynolds' gang," Frank was explaining. "Once he heard about us supposedly being killed, he thought that that would probably be the beginning of the end of Reynolds, so he was trying to distance himself, while still keeping an eye on Reynolds. That's how his people also found out that we were alive and where we were."

"You see, Reynolds' people sometimes used the island as a stopping-off point when they had to cross the Pacific," Joe spoke up. "That's how they discovered us there. They decided to let us be for the moment, just in case they needed us later for leverage against Dad. You see, Reynolds had never wanted us killed in the first place. That was all Brock's doing, and once Reynolds found out what was going on, he took a more reasonable approach."

"Which is part of what got him killed," Frank added. "He had never really wanted Brock to know anything about the gang, because he realized how unstable Brock is. So when Brock realized that Reynolds was really just using him, he started plotting his revenge."

"What was Brock really trying to get out of it, anyway?" Iola asked. "Power?"

"I don't think so," Frank said. "He didn't have a happy home growing up. His mother ignored him, his father thought he was worthless, and he didn't have any friends. He never seemed to be able to do anything well, even acting in the community theater, which was the only thing he really cared about. Reynolds was scouting the area to use in his operations and happened to meet Brock. He recognized right away how desperate he was and he saw how he could manipulate him because of that, especially since he really did have enough money to get him into Hollywood. Brock really thought he'd found his place and someone who cared about him, so when he realized he was only being used, he lost it. He was convinced that everyone was just looking out for their own interests and he wanted to harm as many people as he could to get back at the world for treating him so poorly."

"He certainly accomplished that," Callie said.

"I guess he survived, then?" Chet asked.

Joe glanced at Frank and then answered for him. "Yeah, he'll be okay. Well, physically, anyway. Mentally, he's going to need a lot of help."

"If it's not too late," Chet commented. He shuddered. "I'm glad he won't be able to do any more harm, at any rate."

"I'm just glad I didn't have to kill him," Frank said softly. "It's bad enough to have to shoot someone, but to actually kill them, even under the circumstances…"

Callie rubbed his arm. "I'm glad you didn't have to, either."

The teenagers were silent for a little while. Iola began to be uncomfortable with it. Even though it had been over two weeks since the boys had returned, there was still so much to talk over and to process and somehow she felt as if the others—even Callie—had all grown up and moved past her, as if they were sharing something in their silence that she couldn't be a part of. She felt desperately that she ought to say something, but she couldn't think of anything other than to make a poor attempt at a joke.

"It's a good thing for Casey's sake that Frank feels that way."

Callie's cheeks reddened, and the three boys looked at Iola in confusion. Immediately, Iola regretted saying anything.

"Who's Casey?" Joe asked.

"Nobody," Iola replied, looking at the ground. "It just…It was a stupid thing to say." Abruptly, she stood up. "Maybe it's time we'd better go home, Chet."

"You don't have to leave, Iola," Callie told her. "It's fine. The whole Casey situation is under control." She looked up at Frank. "He's a guy in one of my classes who apparently had a little bit of a crush on me and wasn't too keen on taking 'no' for an answer. I haven't heard a word from him since the news broke that you guys had been rescued. I'm sure he'll leave me alone now. I have to say that it's been nice not having to see him the last few weeks, though." After hearing what had happened, her professors were working with her so that she could finish her classes, even though she couldn't attend while she was still recovering. Even Dr. Weirmarten had offered to record the classes she missed, let her send homework in, and have extra time to complete her exams. How wrong Callie's first impressions had been that first day of class.

Frank gave Callie a questioning glance, but he didn't think she looked like she wanted him to say anything right now, so he didn't. Iola reluctantly sat back down in her camp chair.

"I'm sorry," she said, her eyes still fixed on the ground.

"I said it's all right," Callie reassured her.

Iola sighed, feeling strongly that it wasn't. It wasn't all right. There had been so much wrong for so long that it couldn't all come right so quickly or easily.

"So there is one thing I'd like to know," Chet said, trying not to glance at Iola as he did. "Maybe you guys don't know the answer. But it just seems weird to me that your dad, of all people, would have believed that we were dead. Or did he, really?"

Joe shrugged. "Dad's been in law enforcement a long time. He was a police officer even before he and Mom got married, and our grandpa was a police officer, too. He knows the statistics against us surviving that. For that matter, he had two confession that we'd been killed, one of them a dying declaration. As far as anyone can tell, Coswell and Dain really did think that we wouldn't get to that island. We were so far away, we shouldn't have. I don't know why they didn't come back and make sure of it, and I guess we probably never will know. I doubt they told anyone. Anyway, he didn't have any reason to believe any different. I don't hold it against him or anyone else."

"Still, I wish we all would have been as hopeful as Iola," Callie commented.

Iola shook her head. "A lot of good it did me. All I managed to do was annoy everybody else. It's lucky for you guys that your dad didn't pay any attention to me." She shook her head. "Although, to be honest, I don't really know what I wanted him to do."

"We all understand, though, Iola," Frank said. "I mean, we spent most of our time on the island wishing somebody would do something and having no idea what. The problem was that there wasn't much anyone could do, here or there."

"But if we'd all held out hope, wouldn't that have made some difference?" Callie asked.

"I doubt it," Frank said. "Dad and Sam and Nancy were following the best leads they had. Finding and capturing the gang that had tried to kill us was the best way to get to the bottom of things, no matter what had happened."

Callie smiled wanly. "You're probably going to have to tell us all that about a thousand more times before we all stop feeling guilty."

Frank put an arm around her shoulders. "I know. It's going to take time for all of us." A concerned expression crossed his face. "Say, you feel pretty cold. You'd better go back inside."

"It is a little chilly out here," Callie admitted.

"Maybe it is time to go," Chet said. "I'll be right there."

He got up and went inside. Moving a little more slowly, Frank helped Callie up and they walked inside together, Callie saying good night to Joe and Iola as they went. Then Joe and Iola started walking around to the front, where Chet's car was parked. Iola noticed that Joe seemed a little downcast and that he didn't offer to hold her hand.

"Is something wrong?" Iola asked him.

"There is something you should know about that happened on the island," Joe replied.

"What?"

"I…punched Frank." Joe swallowed hard, tucking his hands in his pocket.

"Why did you do that?" Iola asked.

Joe shook his head. "I don't have any excuse. We were on edge and fighting practically the whole time, and then Frank said something that struck a chord with me, and I hit him."

"What did…" Iola started to ask before she stopped herself. "You don't have to tell me."

"No, you should know that part of it, too." Joe sighed. "Tony had gotten captured by those gangsters and I ran off and left him to save myself. To get help, is what I told myself, but I don't know…"

Iola caught her breath, but she couldn't restrain a small sniffle, after her emotions had already been getting the better of her.

"I know you must be disappointed in me," Joe said quickly. "It scares me that I would have done either of those things. Tony's one of my best friends, and I always thought Frank and I were as close as two brothers could be, and the fact that I could do that to either of them is…"

"Joe," Iola interrupted. "Do you know how Callie got shot?"

Joe shook his head in confusion at the abrupt change of topic. "No, not all the details."

"We were both kidnapped," Iola said. "We almost escaped, but Callie got caught again and I…left her behind."

"Oh." Joe took in a long breath and then he reached out and took her hand. He didn't know what to say. There wasn't much to say. Noting that he knew how she felt was too obvious to be any use. He was relieved when Iola wrapped her arms around him and hugged him.

"I still trust you," she said.

"Thanks," Joe replied. "But, Iola, could you do one thing for me?"

"Of course."

"Could you let me prove you can first?"

Iola looked up at him in surprise and then nodded. "I need to prove it to myself that I won't do something like that again, either."

HBNDHBNDHB

Frank didn't want to take too much time saying good night to Callie. She was still recovering and she needed her rest. He was about to take his leave when he paused.

"Callie, about this Casey…" he started to say.

Callie shook her head. "Really, please, don't worry about him."

"I'm not. I'm not jealous, really," Frank replied. "But why did you tell him no? If you really thought I wasn't coming back, that is."

"What I told him was that it had only been less than three months," Callie said. "Maybe that wasn't quite true. The truth is it wouldn't have mattered how long it had been. I never could have loved anyone else besides you."

"I'm sorry."

"You're what?"

"On the island, I was worried that if we ever got back, you would have moved on by then," Frank admitted. "I obviously didn't know you as well as I should have."

Callie shook her head. "I didn't realize myself until I thought I'd lost you."

HBNDHBNDHB

Joe was waiting in the car when Frank came out. Chet and Iola had already left. Frank climbed into the driver's seat and sat there for a minute or two before he started the engine.

"Something bothering you, too?" Joe asked.

Frank looked over at him. "It shouldn't be. Everything's turned out just the way I'd hoped it would. I didn't do a thing to deserve it."

"Eh, you put up with me," Joe replied. "That's enough for anybody."

"No, I didn't."

"I thought we already settled all of that," Joe said. "Everything that happened on the island is best forgiven and forgotten."

"Forgiven, definitely, but maybe not forgotten," Frank replied. "I don't want to forget what I can do when I don't watch myself."

"I don't think either of us could if we wanted to," Joe said. "Any of us, actually. But then again, maybe I don't want to forget it all. After all, I don't really want to forget that after I acted like such an idiot the entire time, you still saved my life, despite how much it cost you."

"I didn't have much choice."

Joe only gave him a knowing smile.

Dear Readers,

Thank you so much for sticking around for this entire story! I would have liked to give you a completely happy ending, but I'm too much of a sucker for bittersweet endings. I think everyone will be all right in the end. It's just going to take some time.

I'd especially like to thank everyone who left reviews: Candylou, max2013, ErinJordan, Drumboy100, angelicalkiss, MamaStreet, tfswp, caseykam, Pen4lew, 88keys, Evil Executor, and Savvy. I hope I didn't miss anybody. From your reviews, I could tell that some of you were a little frustrated from time to time with me and my characters (don't worry—we've all had our frustration points, too!), so I really appreciate it that you stuck through this entire story and kept taking time to give me feedback. I also appreciate all the love this story has received. This is such a great fandom and I'm privileged to get to write for all of you!

In some ways, this has been one of the most fun stories I've ever written. In others, it's been one of the hardest. I definitely learned quite a bit, which I hope I'll be able to use in future stories. As for when or whether I will be posting more stories on here, I think I will, but I'm going to be taking a break from it for a little while. I'll still be hanging around this website, eagerly reading new stories and updates, so if any of you have any stories you want to write, please do! I'd love to read them. I'd also like to encourage all of you to read and review other authors' stories, both old and new. There are some really good ones on here, including some written by several of the reviewers I mentioned above.

So this isn't really good-bye. In fact, who knows? I might get the itch to post something sooner than I expect. If I do, know that it's because I really do appreciate having people read what I write. So once again, to all of you, whether you wrote reviews or not, thank you!

May God bless you all!

Elizebeth K. Joan