So, we have reached the end. Thank you to everyone who followed, favorited and read this story. Very special thanks to everyone who reviewed – That Girl Six (I see you've started a new story! YIPPEE! I'll read and review very soon!), book girl fan, Paulina Ann, Anne Trent, , J, IluvJoe, Karen, Viola, Srk, vini, dragonmart, tinks, miley, pooja, meryl, Joe's fan, mini, mani, butterbeer, Sam, AV, VVK, Rainbow forest, JoeNeal, nicoleylewis, max 2013, ErinJordan, Walter, LazyPanther, MegaSpark8, Torchwood Cardiff, Bethisafan77, JamesSmith, pen4lew, Wendylouwho10, rhinosgirl, SunshineInTheGraySky, Jilsen, wittyflower45, Cherylann Rivers (hey, where's my annual Christmas card with your beautiful kids?), Story time6, Harsha, Princess of Diamonds, all the Guest reviewers, and everyone who took the time to provide suggestions and constructive criticism. It's always appreciated! You guys make every day special but I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Season's Greetings, Happy Holidays – whatever you celebrate, I hope it's happy, healthy and blessed with family and friends. Thank you for all your kindness – you rock!
Chapter 16
Frank stood in the bedroom, taking a glance around to make sure he hadn't missed anything. It had been three days since he and Joe had returned Ford and Jamie Bingham to their relieved and very grateful parents. While Forrest Bingham had spent the days testifying against the men who had ordered his sons' kidnapping, Frank and Joe had stayed at the safe house watching over the boys and Bingham's wife. And Frank couldn't remember a job that had been as peaceful or fulfilling.
Frank felt a sense of sadness wash over him and sighed. He had spent the majority of his time with Ford and become quite fond of the boy. They had spent hours practicing martial arts together and Frank had been impressed with the young boy's devotion to the ancient art. Frank had also helped Ford with his studies, finding he was fascinated with the same subjects Frank had been at that age. They had spent just as many hours playing computer games and perusing the Internet together, but the thing Frank had enjoyed the most was the time they had spent just talking. He remembered Ford's comment about wishing he had an older brother and freely lavished attention on him; attention the ten-year-old seemed to crave. Frank recalled how quiet and subdued Ford had been at breakfast that morning and wondered if he was dreading the imminent goodbye as much as Frank was.
"Excuse me, Frank?"
Frank spun around, saw Grace Bingham standing uncertainly in the doorway and smiled. "Yes?"
"May I talk to you for a moment?"
At Frank's nod, she stepped into the room and closed the door. "I just wanted to thank you again. For bringing my boys home and also for…" She faltered and Frank thought he saw tears in her eyes but then she smiled. "I don't know what you did, but Ford has just blossomed these last few days." She took a few steps and sat down on the edge of the bed. Staring at the carpet, she sighed heavily. "Ford is very bright for his age."
"Yes, I noticed that," Frank said.
"He's had a hard time of it. When we realized he was gifted, we had him tested. He's several years ahead of most of his peers intellectually, and unfortunately there really weren't any programs in place at his school to nurture that. It was a small town, they didn't have the budget; they really catered to the average and slower children.
"He wants so much to fit in but because he's so much smarter than the other kids his age, even kids several years older than he is, he still stands out enough that he feels like an outcast." She looked up at Frank with a sad smile. "The last year has been extremely difficult for him. But I've seen such a change in him in the last few days. He's happier, more outgoing, more self confident and I know it's all due to you, Frank. Your patience with him, your genuine interest in him, your encouragement…"
Frank listened and realized he knew how Ford felt. While Frank had also been a 'gifted' student, there had been excellent programs in place in the Bayport school system to challenge him. Having other students on an intellectual par with him had allowed him the best of both worlds; and knowing there were a few other students even more gifted than he was, gave him a comfortable buffer. Now, knowing Ford had none of those advantages made his heart ache for the boy.
"I guess that's one good thing about being relocated. The town we're going to has excellent programs in place for kids like him. There are special classes for exceptionally gifted students, which means he won't feel so different anymore. At least while he's in those classes, he'll be just another student. And it's part of the main school so he'll still be able to go to school with Jamie but be challenged on a level that will keep him on his toes. And I know he'll be more confident going in because of you." She smiled again, this time a genuine smile.
"I'm not sure what's happened between the two of you these past few days but Ford has really come out of his shell. He's showing signs of being so much more confident in himself, more at ease with who he is and I know it's all due to you. He's really bonded with you." She stood up and reached for Frank's hand, squeezing it tightly. "Thank you." She turned and walked to the door, her hand on the knob. "I just wish there was some way he could stay in contact with you but I know that's impossible." Turning the knob, she pulled the door open and without another word, walked down the hall.
Staring at the open doorway a thought planted itself in the back of Frank's mind Was it really impossible? He pulled out his cell phone and began to dial.
Joe sat on the steps of the back deck, reclining on his elbows. Seated next to him, Jamie was chattering away a mile a minute, relating everything his parents had told him about the impending move to a new town. As he listened to Jamie describe the big house they'd be living in, complete with built-in pool, he watched Bingo chase birds, butterflies and his own shadow around the back yard.
"Dad said we're all gonna get new names!" Jamie said excitedly.
"Yup, you are," Joe agreed. He glanced at his watch and realized the family would be leaving shortly. The past few days he and Jamie had spent almost every waking moment together. At the time Joe felt as if he was just doing his job, keeping the boy safe and protected until Forrest Bingham had concluded his testimony. Yet he now realized the hours they'd spent tossing around a football or baseball, playing video games, chasing fireflies after dark, had gotten under his skin; he was suddenly struck by how much he was going to miss the happy, energetic little boy.
"Some guy already picked out our last name but Dad said we could pick our own first names." Jamie stopped and looked at Joe, practically bursting at the seams. "You wanna know what name I picked?"
Joe smiled. "You bet."
"My new name is gonna be Joe!" Jamie announced, beaming proudly.
Joe just stared, feeling speechless for the first time in his life.
"That's okay, isn't it?" Jamie asked. His blue eyes were narrowed in worry.
Joe swallowed hard, reached out and tousled the boy's golden hair. "Yeah, it's very okay."
Jamie's smile grew even wider and he reached for a plastic bag he'd brought outside with him. "Here," he thrust it at Joe. "This is for you."
Joe sat up. "For me? What is it?"
"It's a present!" Jamie rose up on his knees excitedly. "I wrapped it myself!"
Joe reached inside and pulled out a small package wrapped in the comics page of the newspaper. He smiled, thinking about how each morning he would read the comics to Jamie over breakfast and the two of them would laugh out loud. Drooping string, tied limply around the paper, served as ribbon and the loosely tied knot looked like the most beautiful bow Joe had ever seen. "Jamie, you didn't have to get me anything."
"I know, but I like you! A lot!" Jamie said unabashedly. "Hurry up!" He tugged on Joe's sleeve. "Open it!"
"Okay, here we go." Joe smiled and carefully pulled off the string paper. His eyes grew wide as he stared at Jamie's cherished hand-held Gundam Wing* game, the very game they had been playing together for the last five days.
"There's a card, too!" Jamie rooted through the bag and came up with a small index card that he thrust at Joe. "I wrote it myself. Well, Ford sorta helped me with some of the words."
Joe took the card and gazed at the wobbly lettering, the words searing themselves onto his heart.
To my friend Joe,
Please don't forget me!
Love, your friend Jamie
Joe stared at the card, his throat growing tight. The letters blurred together as his eyes grew misty.
"What's the matter?" Jamie asked, concerned. "Don'tcha like it?"
"I love it." Joe reached out, pulled Jamie in and hugged him, then kissed the top of his head. "In fact, I think it's the best present I've ever gotten."
Hearing the back door open, Joe quickly swiped at his eyes and turned around to see Ford and Frank walking towards them.
"Did you tell him, Ford?" Jamie demanded of his brother, not moving from Joe's side. "Did you tell him everything?" He looked warily at Frank.
"Tell him what?" Joe asked.
Frank grinned at his brother. "Jamie seems to think my big brother skills are a little lacking." He recalled the previous evening when Jamie had dragged Ford to his room and informed Frank that Ford was going to tell him everything he needed to know so Joe might someday have a big brother as good as Ford. "So he had Ford give me a few pointers."
Joe's eyebrows shot up leaving him with a look of disbelief.
"It's okay, Joe," Jamie said patting the younger Hardy on the back comfortingly. "Ford helped him a lot. He's gonna be a great big brother now! You'll see." Jamie looked at him sympathetically, pity in his eyes and his voice full of concern. "Frank tries real hard," he continued looking at the elder Hardy sadly. "But he just wasn't too good at it.
"Don't worry, though," Jamie continued, mistaking Joe's disbelief for embarrassment. "He wanted to learn how to be better. He said so! And Ford taught him everything!" Jamie turned and beamed at his older brother. "He's the best big brother in the whole world!"
Frank nudged Joe and winked. "Nothing wrong with trying to improve my skills, ya know?"
Joe smiled and shook his head, locking eyes with Frank. A look passed between them that needed no words. Frank clearly saw the heartfelt emotions in his brother's expressive blue eyes.
'Right back at ya,' Frank thought. "Their ride will be here in about ten minutes," he said, a trace of regret in his voice.
"Guess we better make sure you didn't forget anything." Joe stood up and pulled the Jamie to his feet. He started to follow Jamie into the house, stopping when Frank didn't move.
"We'll be there in a minute," Frank said.
Joe nodded and he and Jamie disappeared into the house.
Frank sat down at the picnic table and motioned for Ford to join him. "You know, I've really enjoyed the time we've spent together the past few days."
"Me, too," Ford agreed quietly. "A lot."
"Technically, once you move to your new house, you're not supposed to have anything to do with your old life."
"I know." Ford looked away. "Dad told me after today, I'd never see you again."
"Well, I was thinking about that." Frank smiled when Ford looked back at him. "Do you remember me telling you about my friend Phil Cohen? The guy who owns his own computer technology business?"
"Uh-huh." Ford's eyes held a wary hopefulness.
"He's really a computer whiz. He's written a lot of cutting-edge computer programs. Some of them are used by the military, the government, major corporations. He's written a special encryption program for people who want to send emails but don't want anyone to know who they are, or have it traced back to them. It's virtually impossible to break his encryptions."
Ford sat up a little straighter, his eyes alight with excitement.
Frank pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and slid it across the table to Ford. "That's Phil's email address. When you get settled in your new house, send him an email with this message. He'll send you a file with the encryption program on it so you can download it onto your computer."
Ford gasped as he realized what Frank was implying. "You already have it on your computer?"
"Mm-hmm, I do."
"So, when I get it on mine we could email each other?" the boy asked excitedly. "And no one would know?"
Frank grinned. "That's right. But only if you want to, of course."
Ford's eyes grew huge behind his glasses and he threw himself forward and hugged Frank tightly, surprising the elder Hardy. "Thank you."
Frank wrapped an arm around the boy and held him close. "You're welcome."
Twenty minutes later, Frank and Joe stood on the lawn in front of the farm house, watching the black SUV until it disappeared, leaving only a small cloud of dust in its wake. They were silent for a few moments, each lost in their own thoughts of the two little boys who had made such an impact on them in a very short period of time.
"Frank?" Joe said, finally breaking the silence.
"Yeah?"
Joe chewed on his lower lip for a moment, staring at the spot where the Bingham boys had stood only minutes before. "Being a role model for some wide-eyed kid who thinks you're the best thing since sliced bread, it's not really as easy as you've made it seem all these years." He could feel Frank's eyes on him. "I just wanted you to know I realize that now. And I'm sorry if it ever seemed like I took it, or you, for granted. I'm sure I did. But now that Jamie's helped me see how lucky I am, I'll try not to do it anymore." Joe's voice softened as he turned and looked at Frank. "Thanks, bro."
Frank stared at him a moment longer and then smiled, nodding his head in understanding and thanks. "Man, that kid was a spitfire, huh? And opinionated, too!"
"Yeah, but he was definitely wrong about one thing."
"What, that I was gonna shoot you?" Frank cracked.
"Okay, two things," Joe amended with a grin. "Those skills he thought you were so lacking in?" He held Frank's gaze, letting his emotions speak through his eyes. "He was dead wrong, bro. You could write the book."
Frank flushed and shrugged as if to say it was no big deal.
"I'm really gonna miss that kid," Joe said wistfully. "I hope he does okay in his new school. It's tough enough picking up and moving in the middle of a school year, but to do it while starting a whole new life?"
"He'll be fine. After all," Frank said with a wink, "he's got the best big brother in the whole world." He chuckled and started back towards the house.
Joe stared after him suddenly awash in childhood memories, and smiled. "No he doesn't," he whispered to himself. "I do."
Quickly, he hurried to catch up…
The End