The Strength To Love

By: Stephanie Woodworth

© 1999 Chaotic Bliss Fan Fiction

Packing the remaining items on her bed, Isabella wondered if she was doing the right thing. She hadn't seen him in over eleven years. Would he even remember who she was? Would he be surprised to see her? Would she even be able to find him? She walked over to her dresser and picked up the piece of paper lying there. She read the address to herself again and placed the paper in her wallet. I hope this works she thought to herself. She grabbed her suitcase and went downstairs.

"Francesca Rose, if you aren't down here in two minutes I'm leaving without you." Isabella yelled while she checked the house one last time.

"I'm coming!" Frankie yelled back.

"Hurry it up or we are going to miss our plane." Isabella yelled while standing at the base of the stairs. Her ten-year-old daughter appeared at the top of the stairs and bounded down them.

"Mom, don't worry, we won't miss the plane." She said with a big silly grin on her face. She was the perfect combination of her father and mother. She had his piercing blue eyes and wavy hair, but her coal black hair was defiantly from her mother. Looking at her was a constant reminder of her one night with her famous teen heartthrob.

"You know it's not every day when you get to meet your father, young lady." Isabella scolded. "Let's get a move on." They laughed on their way out to the awaiting taxi. Laughter was the only way Isabella knew how to cope with her life the last year.

On arrival at the airport, Isabella paid the driver, gathered her suitcase and purse, and walked into the airport. The flight was leaving on schedule and should land in Boston around noon. After she and Frankie boarded the plane and it took off, she remembered what meeting Frankie's father was like.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Shannon, you'll never guess who is going to be in concert at Deer Creek this summer." A very excited seventeen-year-old Isabella screamed into the telephone to her best friend.

"Who?" Shannon asked her friend.

"NKOTB!" Isabella screamed. "We have to get tickets. We just have to."

"OK Belle." Shannon said. She was two years older than Belle and a sophomore in college. She wasn't that thrilled with popular music, but listened mostly to the oldies. "When do the tickets go on sale?" She asked her frenzied friend.

"Tomorrow morning. We have to get tickets. We just have to." Belle said again.

"We will don't worry." Shannon assured her.

Sure enough, the next morning the two girls set out for the local ticket place and bought two tickets. The rest of the summer that was all that Isabella could talk about. July finally arrived and the girls set off for the concert of Belle's dreams. The concert was everything she imagined and more. They had seats down near the stage and got to see the band up close. On their way out of the concert, they heard two fans talking about the hotel the band was staying.

"Shan, did you hear that?" Belle asked.

"Yeah, so?" Shannon replied less enthusiastic than her friend.

"We have to go and see if we can meet them."

"I don't think that is a good idea. We should be getting home before your parents begin to worry."

"They know we'll be home late. They won't care." Belle pleaded with Shannon. "We have to at least try. Please."

"Ok. Let's go and try." They left for the hotel and once there realized that they weren't alone. There was a large crowd of girls already at the entrance.

"We can try to rent a room for the night." Belle suggested.

"Fine." Shannon said and followed Belle through the crowd into the hotel lobby.

"We'd like to rent a room for the night." Belle said to the hotel clerk.

"I'm sorry ladies, but we are full." The clerk explained to them.

"It was a nice try." Shannon said while trying to pull her friend back towards the door.

"NO, wait! There's Joe!" Belle yelled and took off towards the man of her dreams. For a teenager, Joe was tall, handsome and had a beautifully proportioned body. As Belle went running toward Joe she remembered an interview in which he mentioned how he disliked fans screaming and running at him. She remembered that he said that it scared him. She stopped, regained her composure, straightened her outfit, and casually continued over to the elevators where he stood. "Uh.... Hello." Belle stuttered.

Joe motioned for his bodyguard to back off. "Hi ladies. How are you this evening?" Joe starred into the first young ladies eyes. They were a gorgeous gray-blue. She was the most beautiful female that he’d ever seen. She had olive skin, straight black hair, and the perfect body. He was unable to keep his eyes off of her. She was quite a bit smaller than he, and he seemed to tower over her.

"Much better now." Belle said beaming from ear to ear.

Joe about melted when she smiled. Her face was marvelous, her facial bones were delicate and her mouth full. He wanted so much to kiss her, yet he didn’t even know her. "Did you see the concert tonight?" Joe asked trying to find out if they were fans.

"Yes, you were wonderful." Belle gushed. She couldn’t believe she was actually talking to her favorite teen heartthrob. She knew everything about him, but didn’t want to let him know just how much. She didn’t want him to think that she was a freak.

"Thanks. So are you from around here?"

"Yeah, we live in a nearby suburb."

"Would you like to come upstairs to a small party we are having?" He asked. He didn’t want to ever let her go. "By the way, what are your names?"

"Mine's Isabella, but everyone calls me Belle. And this is my friend Shannon." Belle explained. "We'd love to go to a party with you." Belle noticed the face that Shannon made. She obviously didn’t want to go to the party. Belle ignored her and took a hold of the hand that Joe offered her.

Their hands melted together. Her long delicate fingers intertwined with his strong masculine ones. "Just follow me then." The two girls did as they were told. They entered the suite where the party was in full swing. There were people everywhere. Joe introduced the girls around, and then asked Isabella. "Would you like to dance?"

"Sure."

Joe lead Belle to the make shift dance floor and wrapped his arms around her. They started swaying to the music and forgot the rest of the world.

About an hour later Shannon came up and tapped Belle on the shoulder. "Belle, it's time to go." She wasn’t having a good time and it was time for them to leave.

Belle reluctantly pulled herself away from Joe. She gave her friend a look to inform her of her disapproval of the interruption. "Shan, I don't want to leave yet."

"I'm leaving with or without you." Shannon informed her.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure you get home." Joe interrupted Belle.

"OK." Belle said than turned to her friend. "You can leave I guess I have a ride home."

"Goodnight Belle. It was nice to meet you Joe." Shannon turned and against her better judgement left her friend.

Joe took Belle's hand in his and suggested. "Why don't we go back to my room, it's quieter there." Belle nodded and followed Joe back to his room. She was extremely nervous. She had never done anything like this before. She also felt guilty because she had a very understanding boyfriend who agreed to wait for her. He had wanted to take their relationship to the next level, but Belle always said no, telling him she wanted to wait until she was married.

Something about tonight and Joe changed her mind. Once in the privacy of his room, he put light music on the radio, dimmed the lights and wrapped Belle once again in his muscular arms. They molded together, crushing her to him; he pressed his mouth to hers. Their kiss deepened while he forced her lips open with his thrusting tongue. The kiss continued to deepen while they knelt down on the floor. Joe carefully laid Isabella down. With just the touch of her face, he sent shivers through her. Joe ran his hand down her face and neck to the first button on her blouse. He paused momentarily to look at Belle for an unspoken approval. Her eyes glistened with want. He continued his way down her body, unbuttoning her blouse as he went. He left her skin burning from his kisses. The feelings that she was having were like no other she’d ever felt. Joe worked his way back up to her torso kissing and he went. He captured her mouth and assaulted her senses with his powerful kiss. He pushed her blouse off of her shoulders. Belle grabbed a hold of the bottom of Joe's shirt, lifting it over his head revealing his smooth tanned chest. She ran her hand down his chest and stopped at the top of his jeans, then ran her hand over the growing excitement waiting to be released. She pushed him on his back. She kissed her way down his chest and abdomen to the top of his jeans. She stopped and smiled up at him before undoing his jeans and pulling them off. She was slightly shocked when she realized that Joe wasn’t wearing anything else. She ran her hand over his throbbing manhood. She took him in her mouth and began to wreak havoc on his senses. Joe arched his back, making Belle take more of himself in her mouth. She continued her assault on his body until Joe couldn’t take it any longer.

He pushed her back; it was his turn to pleasure her. He undid her bra allowing her perfect breasts their freedom. He took first one, than the other in his mouth sucking slightly on her perfect pink nipples. Isabella moaned. He left her breasts, trailing kisses down her gorgeous body. He’d never wanted a woman so much in his life. He worked his way to her core. He placed kisses down her inner thigh, and then moved to her most pleasurable area. He sucked and kissed, tasting her for the first time. Isabella writhed in delight. Joe knew exactly where to touch her for the most pleasure. He recaptured her mouth and lowered himself into her at the same time. He felt Isabella’s gasp on his lips. “Are you all right?” He asked.

All Isabella could was nod. She was all right. Their bodies quickly adjusted to each other and soon they found a perfect pace. They rocked back and forth in unison. Isabella arched her back allowing Joe more access to her.

“You’re beautiful.” Joe told her, and then kissed her. “Can you stay?” He asked while kissing her neck. Isabella nodded again. She was still lost in ecstasy and unable to find her voice.

Joe stood, grabbed his clothes and headed for the bedroom. He returned in just a pair of boxers and carrying a shirt for Belle. “You can borrow this.” Joe said and handed Isabella the shirt.

Isabella quickly took the shirt and put it on. “Do you have anything to drink?” She asked.

“Sure, what would you like?” Joe walked to the kitchen area and opened the refrigerator.

“Water would be great.” Isabella said while following Joe. He handed her a glass of water, then wrapped his arms around her. She finished her water. “What do you want to do now?” Isabella innocently asked, then giggled when Joe got a devilish grin on his face. He lead her to the bedroom and Belle once again allowed Joe to make love to her and when they were done she fell asleep in his arms. She awoke two hours later and decided she'd better get home before her parents woke up. She dressed and called for a taxi. She leaned over Joe and kissed him lightly on his forehead. She grabbed the shirt that Joe had given her, left the room, took the elevator to the lobby, got in her taxi and rode home with tears streaming down her face.

The next morning Shannon called to see if she'd made it home all right. "Belle, I'm glad you made it home. I was worried after I left you there."

"I'm fine." Belle lied. "Joe and I danced awhile longer, then I took a taxi home." She had to lie to her friend; Shannon just wouldn't understand what she'd done. They talked a bit longer, and then belle got another telephone call. "Hey Shan, I've got another call. Can I call you back later?"

"Sure, talk to you then."

Belle clicked over to the other line. "Hello?"

"Hey Belle! How was the concert?" It was her boyfriend, Paul.

"It was great Paul." Belle gushed and told him all about the concert and meeting Joe well almost everything. They talked for over an hour, by the end of the telephone conversation they'd made plans to go out later that night. After that night, Belle's life went back to normal.

She spent all her free time with Shannon and Paul. Paul was going away to college in about two weeks, so Belle was planning a going away party for him. It was planned for the Friday before he was leaving. All of their friends were invited and a great time was had by all. After the last guest left Paul and Belle sat down on the couch to survey the mess. "Don't worry Paul, I'll clean the mess up tomorrow." Belle told him.

"Belle, you know I love you." Paul began. "I'll always love you."

"I love you too." Belle told him and gave him a light peck on the cheek.

"Belle, I want to ask you something very important." Paul turned and took both of her hands in his. "Belle, I'm leaving tomorrow and won't be back for awhile." He paused shortly to gather his thoughts. "I want to make love to you, but I know your feelings on that. That's why I think it would be best if we saw other people while I'm away at school." Belle's face froze. She didn't understand why he was doing this to her. He just told her he loved her. She was just about to tell him that she had another surprise for him, but as she opened her mouth, he placed a finger over her mouth to silence her. He said to her. "Don't speak. I want to remember all the good times. I don't want to fight with you." Paul leaned over, gave her a light kiss on her lips, turned and quickly walked out of the house.

As he was leaving Belle stood and tried to stop him. All she got out was, "but . . " Paul was gone and she didn't even get to tell him that she wanted to sleep with him. She felt the tears burn her eyes as she walked to her bedroom. She opened the door and looked at all her hard work. The rose petals on the bed, the dozens of candles waiting to be light, the new outfit she'd bought to wear all of these things made her cry even harder. Paul was gone and Belle felt like her life was over.

Weeks went by and it was time for Belle to go back to school. It was her senior year and rumored to be the best time of her life. The first week she'd noticed a lot of people whispering behind her back, or people who'd stop talking when she walked into a room. She had a feeling that the whole school knew something the she didn't.

That night she went over to Shannon's after school. She broke down and cried again. She still hadn't come to terms with Paul leaving her and now the whispers at school made everything worse. She just couldn't control her emotions.

"Belle, you have to get over this. It's not good for you to keep crying like this." Shannon told her.

"I know Shan, but it's not only Paul, something else is going on at school that I don't know about."

Shannon looked at her friend. She heard a rumor, but didn't want to tell Belle for fear that it would upset her even more. "Belle, I want to tell you something, but you have to understand I only overheard this from someone at work. I don't know if it's true."

"What did you hear?"

"You have to promise to just hear me out."

"I promise." Belle said a bit worried.

"OK, the other day two girls came into the gas station and were talking about Paul. I guess he's dating Buffy Jones." She paused and saw the hurt in her friend's face. "I guess they started dating shortly after they got to college, nobody knows if they were dating before he left." Shannon stopped again.

"Is that all?" Belle asked.

"No, there's more. He's telling everyone that he broke up with you because you had gained so much weight recently." Shannon stared again at her friend. She had noticed it too, but she would never say anything to her.

"So I've gained some weight, I can't believe he'd be that petty." Belle stood up and left for home.

Belle continued with school and two weeks later she got the flu, or so she thought. With all of the stress in her life, she hadn't really noticed that she was two months late with her period. I wasn't until her doctor ordered lab work and suggested a pregnancy test that it hit her. Weight gain, upset stomach, abdominal pain, these were all signs she should have noticed. She was pregnant.

Isabella's parents hit the roof when they learned of her predicament. They automatically assumed that Paul was the father of the baby. They yelled and screamed at her for hours before they agreed to help her anyway they could. They assured her that she would graduate and go to college as planned. The only difference would be that she would have to be a mother also.

They wanted to call Paul's parents, but Belle stopped them. "Don't do that." Belle pleaded with them. "I'll call Paul at school and tell him what's going on." Belle lied. She went to her room to make the call and picked up her NKOTB CD. She starred at the photo of the almost complete stranger whose child she was carrying. She cried for her lost childhood, for the stranger she loved, and for the child she was carrying that would never know it's father.

She emerged from her room about an hour later and sat down across from her mother. "Paul wants nothing to do with me. He told me not to bother him again."

"Do you want me to call his parents?" Her mother asked her.

"NO!" Belle panicked. "Don't do that. If he doesn't want to be this babies father, then I'm through with him." She told her parents while she unconsciously rubbed her stomach. "I'll give this baby enough love, that it won't need him in its life."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Isabella was brought back to the present when Frankie tapped her on the arm. She jumped slightly, and then remembered where she was. "What is it?" She asked her daughter.

"We're there." Frankie said as she pointed out the window.

"I guess we are." She looked over at her and squeezed her hand.

"Don't worry Mom, everything will work out." Frankie squeezed her mom's hand back and gave her a great big smile.

The plane landed then taxied to the terminal. They disembarked and headed for the car rental place. After getting a car, Isabella asked for directions to the address on the piece of paper she removed from her wallet. The attendant gave her directions. Then they left on their way.

Isabella had no problems with the directions and drove right to the house, but kept driving. She still wasn't sure she wanted to tell Joe about his daughter. "Frankie what do you say we go and get something to eat and find our hotel. We'll go see Joe in the morning." Isabella looked at her daughter and saw her nod. She drove to the hotel and unloaded their stuff. Once in the room they ordered dinner and settled in.

After dinner Frankie asked. "Do you think I can go swimming?"

"Sure sweetie, go get dressed and I'll go sit by the pool with you." Once there, Isabella sat down with a book, but the past kept haunting her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Isabella spent most of her senior year pregnant. She didn't get to participate in any of her normal extracurricular activities. She felt isolated from the rest of the world. She was due the last week in April, so she didn't even get to go to her senior prom, not that anyone would have asked her to go. She was coming home from school the Friday before prom when her water broke and she went into labor. Four hours later Francesca Rose made her appearance in the world weighing in at eight pounds four ounces. She had her father's piercing blue eyes and her mother's black hair. There was no doubt in Isabella's mind that Joe was her father.

Isabella graduated from high school and started college the following fall to pursue her pre-med. degree. She miraculously finished school in four years and accepted to Stanford University for medical school. The night before she left for California she sat down with her mother for a talk. "Mom, do you realize that I would have never made it this far without all of your love and support." Isabella began to cry. "I love you, Mom."

"Oh honey, I love you too. You have made me very proud to be your mother." She reached over and gave Isabella a hug. "You're going to do just fine. Frankie and you are going to be just fine."

The next morning Isabella put Frankie in the car loaded with all of their stuff and took off for California. She finished her medical schooling and returned to her hometown for her residency. She was in her last year of residency when she began getting severe headaches. She thought that maybe all the stress was causing them. She finally made an appointment with her family doctor to see what was wrong. Her doctor performed all of the normal neurological exams, and then afterwards he ordered a CT scan of her head. Isabella went to have the test performed and was in talking to the radiologist afterward when he was looking over her results. She could tell what was wrong, but really didn't want to dace the truth yet.

Isabella remembered what it was like to get the phone call from her doctor telling her that the results were in and she needed to come back into the office tomorrow for a follow-up visit. When she arrived, she could tell from the look on her doctor's face that she had indeed read the test correctly.

"Isabella, please have a seat." Her doctor began. "We think we have found the cause of your headaches. We would like you to have a MRI to confirm our find."

Isabella knew what he was referring to and just wanted to get it out into the air. "I have a tumor don't I?" She asked.

"We're not sure, that's why we want to get the other test."

"What do we do then?" Isabella asked.

"I'll refer you to a specialist and they will take over from there. Do you have any other questions for me?"

Isabella sat there for a minute letting everything sink in. This isn't the way this was supposed to work. She was almost done with her residency and she was going to be a doctor soon. Her daughter was only eight years old, how was she going to take this news? She had been through so much in her short eight years of life. Isabella agreed to have the MRI done as soon as they could schedule her.

She had it done later that night and the next morning she found herself sitting across from her doctor again. This time the news wasn't much better.

"Isabella, the MRI confirmed the results." Her doctor waited to see if she would respond in some way so that he knew that she heard him. "Do you understand what this means? Do you need me to talk to your parents?"

"Dr. Barone, did you forget that I'm not a child anymore?" Isabella joked. "I'm almost a doctor myself. I can tell them myself. What do you recommend now?"

"I'll refer you to an oncologist and they'll probably want to get a biopsy to see if it is benign or malignant. After that it's up to them how they treat you."

Isabella stood up to leave. "Thank you for everything." She turned and left his office; by the time she got to her car the tears were openly flowing.

Compared to this, telling her parents she was pregnant was a breeze. Her mother didn't take the news very well and broke down while Isabella explained it to them. Her father stood strong for his wife. It was only later that night when he was alone that Isabella heard her father sobbing in his study. She wanted to interrupt, but didn't have the heart to let him know she heard him.

She had her appointment with the oncologist later that week. He recommended the biopsy like Dr. Barone had said. They scheduled it for the next day and the results came back that the tumor in Isabella's brain was benign. Isabella felt quite a relief when she learned this information. The oncologist informed her that benign brain tumors could be as fatal as malignant ones. He also told her that radiation would most likely get rid of the tumor, but unlike benign tumors found elsewhere in the body those in the brain can reappear and be quite deadly. Isabella hoped for the best and started her radiation therapy. Just as her doctor said, the tumor disappeared and her outcome looked promising.

Isabella finished her residency, passed her boards and went to work in the emergency room at the local hospital. A year went by and Isabella's health took a turn for the worse. She had to repeat the therapy, and once again, the doctors seemed optimistic that the tumor had been removed. Isabella became sick again a couple of months after her last bout, this time the therapy didn't get rid of all of the cancer.

Her parents sat down with Isabella one night to discuss her options. "Belle, what does the doctor recommend?" Her mother asked her.

"Dr. Schultz said that I need to have surgery this time. I don't know if I want to go through with it yet though." Isabella informed her parents.

They were a bit shocked that their only daughter wanted to give up. "We didn't raise you to be a quitter!" He father yelled at her. "You need to keep fighting this, if not for you do it for Frankie."

"Dad, I'm not giving up just yet. I'm not having the surgery yet because I need to do something for Frankie. I need to find her father." Isabella waited to see if the comment sunk in.

Her father looked at her then said; "Paul works across town. What do you mean you have to find her father?"

"If I don't make it through this surgery." Isabella paused when she saw her mother's face wince. "I want to know that Frankie is going to be taken care of."

"Of course she will, your mother and I will take care of Frankie, but that isn't going to be necessary because you are going to pull through this just fine."

"Dad, listen to me will you. Paul is not Frankie's father." Isabella could see the shock in her mother's eyes. She continued to tell the tale from the night of Frankie's conception. When she was done, she added. "I've taken a leave of absence from the hospital." She paused slightly when she felt the first tear run down her cheek. "I've got to find her father and introduce them. I've got to give that one small thing to her in case I die."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Isabella came back to the present. She couldn't believe she was actually in Boston trying to find Joe. Frankie took the news quite well. She was actually excited to learn that Paul wasn't her father.

"Frankie, you've been in the pool long enough. Tomorrow is going to be a long day and you need to get some sleep."

Frankie got out of the pool and dried off. They returned to their room and got ready for bed.

The next day Isabella got Frankie ready and they headed to Joe's house. Isabella pulled into the driveway and went to the front door alone. She rang the doorbell. When the door opened a woman stood there before her.

"Is Joe here?" Isabella asked.

"No, he doesn't live here anymore." Isabella's heart sank. She never anticipated this. The woman continued. "He lives nearby, is he expecting you?" The woman asked.

"Not really. Can you give me his address or phone number?" Isabella asked.

"I usually don't give that information out. How do you know Joseph?"

"We met about eleven years ago when he was touring. I really need to talk to him." Isabella pleaded. She turned and looked at her daughter sitting in the car.

"Let me try to call him and see if he is at home." She told Isabella. She was just about to turn and make the telephone call when Joe's vehicle pulled into the driveway. "I guess I won't need to make that phone call after all."

Isabella just stood staring at the now very grown-up Joe getting out of his vehicle. He walked up the driveway pausing briefly to wave at Frankie. Isabella watched as he did a double take and looked into the car again at the young girl.

Isabella turned and walked toward Joe. She wondered if he would remember her. Joe turned his attention to the woman walking toward him. She looked awfully familiar. Did he know her from somewhere? Joe searched his memory as he continued to walk toward her.

"Hello Joe." Isabella said.

Joe's facial expression changed as he remembered the beautiful woman standing before him. "Belle?" He asked almost unsure of his memory.

"Wow! No one has called me that in years." She paused momentarily remembering the day her parents told her that Belle was not a suitable name for someone who was going to be a doctor, from that day on no one was allowed to call her Belle. "I wasn't sure you'd remember me."

"I couldn't forget you. I searched for days trying to find you. All I knew was your name was Belle." Joe paused again and glanced at the car behind him. He looked at the girl in the passenger seat, then back at Isabella. "Is she . . ."

Before he could finish his question, Isabella said. "She's my daughter." She motioned Frankie to get out of the car. Frankie came sprinting up to her mother. Isabella stood behind her and placed her hands on Frankie's shoulders. "Joe, this is Francesca. Francesca, this is Joe McIntyre."

"Well hello Francesca, it's nice to meet you." Joe shook the hand Frankie gave him.

"It's nice to meet you too, but please call me Frankie."

"OK Frankie." Joe looked at the child before him and saw the similarities between him and her. It was like looking at a female version of himself as a child. Isabella could tell that Joe was questioning something.

"Do you think we could go somewhere and talk?" Isabella asked.

"Why don't we go inside? We can talk there." Joe stepped aside and let them go into the house. Joe's mother greeted him at the door.

"Hello Joseph, I was just about to call you."

Joe reached out and hugged his mother. "Hi Mom." He turned to Isabella and Frankie. "Mom this is Belle and her daughter Frankie."

"I've met Belle." She said then turned to Frankie. "It's nice to meet you Frankie."

"Nice to meet you Mrs. McIntyre." Frankie said.

"Mom, do you think you could take Frankie into the kitchen and find some of your world famous cookies?" Joe asked his mother.

"Frankie do you like cookies?" His mom asked.

"I sure do!" The excited child said. "Mom, can I have a cookie?"

"That's fine sweetie. I'm going to stay here and talk to Joe for a minute or two, go ahead with Mrs. McIntyre." Isabella watched as her daughter chattered away with Mrs. McIntyre as they walked towards the kitchen.

Joe gestured toward a doorway and Isabella walked into the room. It appeared to be a den or office. She turned back toward Joe. "I'm sorry I left you all those years ago." She thought that was the best place to begin.

"Let's not dwell on the past." Joe told her. He pointed to a couch and they both took a seat.

"That's kind of difficult. I've been spending a great deal of time in the past lately." Isabella could see Joe's forehead crinkle while he was putting all of the pieces together.

"How old is your daughter?"

Isabella paused thinking of a way to word her thoughts. "Our daughter in ten." She watched as her words sunk in.

Joe grabbed Isabella's hands. "She's mine?" He questioned.

"Yes Joe, Frankie was conceived the one night we spent together."

"Belle, why did you wait so long to tell me?" Joe questioned. He had a very hurt look in his eyes.

"You were my first and only lover. After I found out I was pregnant everyone assumed that my ex-boyfriend, Paul, was the father. At first I wanted to tell them the truth, but the lie was easier to tell."

"I just don't understand. You've kept it a secret for so many years. Why are you telling me now?" Isabella was about to answer him when he added. "Do you want something from me? Do you want money? Why is she doing this now? Is it because I'm becoming famous again? Do you want publicity?" Joe was getting more and more upset. "Just what do you want from me?" Joe finally yelled.

Isabella felt shocked at first, but soon realized why he was so upset. She kept him from his daughter for one-tenth of her life. She decided honesty was defiantly the best policy in this case. She looked at him, then spat out; "I'm dying!"

Joe's face dropped and he just starred at her. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm positive. I have a brain tumor. I've had numerous radiation therapy sessions, and after each, one my doctors seemed optimistic that the cancer had gone away, only to have it return. My next option is surgery. It's been over a year since I've known about the cancer. Lately I've been feeling all right, but I'm scared that it is just a matter of time now."

Joe grabbed her and hugged her tight. "I don't know what to say."

"That seems to be a common response."

"What do you want from me?" He asked, still confused. She could have taken her secret with her to her grave. Why did she want to tell everyone now?

"Joe, the reason I'm telling you is because of Frankie. Without her mother, she's going to need her father."

Joe was still confused. He had a bunch of questions. "What happened to Paul? What about your parents, won't they take care of her? Does Frankie know I'm her father?"

"Paul never wanted anything to do with me after that summer. My parents have been great my whole life. They helped take care of Frankie while I was finishing high school. They helped me when I went to college. I just don't want to burden them anymore than I already have." Isabella stood up and began pacing as she finished her story. "Of course they don't think Frankie is a burden. They are even a bit upset that I wanted to find you. They don't want to lose Frankie." She stopped pacing and sat back down. "I did tell Frankie about you. She took the news quite well. She'd only heard bad things about Paul, so the prospect of another person being her father excited her. She was really cute at first. She wanted to know all about you. She took out all my old cassettes of your group and listened to them. She wanted to go out and tell all of her friends. I think that was the hardest part. I made her keep it a secret from everyone."

Joe just sat there starring at her. Isabella felt a need to fill the silence. She stood up again and paced around the room. "I've really had a great life. I always knew that both of my parents loved me, even when I became pregnant at seventeen. I was able to finish high school, graduate from college with honors, and attend medical school. Did I mention that I'm a doctor? Dr. Isabella Rotondi M.D." She laughed at her comment, and then stopped long enough to regain her thoughts. "You asked about money."

Joe began to shake his head. He didn't want her to continue. He'd heard enough.

"Please let me continue, I have to. Joe, I didn't come here to get money from you. I got a full ride to college free, and then my parents helped with medical school. Ever since I've known that I was sick, I've saved for Frankie's future. I've already paid for my funeral arrangements. Thanks to my parents, I have two life insurance policies. They should be able to put Frankie through college. I bought a cute little house and it's already paid for. Frankie will never want for money. What she will need is her father." Tears welled in Isabella's eyes. This was worse than she thought it would be. She needed to tell him how important it was to her that Frankie have her fathers love. "I need you to promise me that you'll get to know your daughter and try to form a relationship with her." Isabella was sobbing openly now.

Joe stood up and walked to where she was standing starring out the window. He wrapped his arms around her and let her cry on his shoulder. He wondered if he had enough courage to handle this. He didn't know what to say to calm her down. "Belle." Joe didn't know what to tell her. He didn't have a chance to say anything else because the door to the study opened and his mother walked in carrying a tray with cookies and tea on it.

Isabella turned away from Joe and dried the tears from her eyes. When she turned back around Mrs. McIntyre was leaving the study. "Thank you." Isabella said.

Mrs. McIntyre turned back toward Isabella and said. "You're welcome dear. Are you alright?"

"We're fine mom." Joe said, and then quickly asked. "Where's Frankie?"

"She's in the kitchen. She's fine. You have a wonderful daughter." She looked back at Isabella, then to her son. "Take your time, we'll be in the kitchen when you are done." She turned and exited the study shutting the door behind her.

"Your mother is really great."

"Yes, she's always been like that." Joe pointed to the tray. "Do you want a cup of tea?"

"No thank you." She thought for a minute then asked. "Joe, how do you feel about what I've told you?"

Joe was silent for quite some time. He was trying to gather his thoughts and feelings for everything that she had told him. Isabella took his silence as a bad thing and decided she'd better get Frankie and return home. "Joe, I'm sorry for bothering you with this. I'll go get Frankie and leave you alone." Isabella headed for the door. Joe grabbed her arm to prevent her from exiting the room.

"No, don't leave. I'm just trying to comprehend everything you've told me." Joe sat back down. Isabella stopped and turned back towards Joe.

"Joe, I know that this is a lot to take, here I am, a girl that you spent all of eight hours with eleven years ago telling you that you are a father of a ten year old girl. I'm not sure I'd know what to do if the roles were reversed. Why don't I take Frankie back to the hotel and give you time to let everything sink in."

"You are not leaving Boston are you?"

"Oh no, we aren't leaving just yet. I want to still give you the chance to get to know your daughter." Isabella took a piece of paper off the desk, wrote down her hotel room number, and handed it to Joe. She grabbed her purse and took out a photo album. "Joe, here is a photo album with pictures of Frankie. I thought you'd like to see what her life was like." Isabella handed Joe the book and headed toward the door. She went to the kitchen thanked Mrs. McIntyre and left with Frankie.

After they left, Joe went to find his mother. He found her sitting in the kitchen with milk and cookies waiting for him. "Joseph, she looks just like you did at her age."

Joe sat down across from his mother. He wondered how she knew. "Mom did Frankie tell you?" Joe didn't understand how she could figure it out.

"No, Frankie didn't have to tell me, the child looks just like you. I could see your mannerisms in her. She has your blue eyes." His mother paused and took a sip of her coffee. "What does Isabella want from you?" This wasn't the first time that a girl had showed up on her front step claiming that Joseph had fathered their child.

"She wants me to get to know my daughter." Joe stopped, still trying to let the news sink in.

"Why did she wait until now to tell you?"

"She's dying, she's dying." Joe sat there clutching the photo album Isabella had given him. He still couldn't grasp all that he had learned today.

"Is she sure?" His mother asked and placed a caring hand on his arm.

"I guess she's sure. She told me that she's been to a couple of different doctors. She is actually a doctor herself. I asked if she wanted me to find another doctor for her, but she gave me the impression that this is final." Joe placed the album on the table and opened it to the first page. There was a picture of him from the night that he met Isabella. There was also a picture of Isabella and him dancing that night. Joe looked over at his mother. She had tears streaming from her eyes. "Mom, I don't know what to do. What would you do in my place?"

"Joseph, that's something I can't do. You'll have to decide for yourself." She stood up to leave, then added. "Frankie is a great child." She turned and left the kitchen.

Joe flipped through the rest of the album. He looked at the photos of Frankie as she grew. He wondered how her life would be different if he would have been present in it from birth. Joe continued through the album. When he was done, he grabbed the telephone to call Isabella.

Isabella and Frankie had returned to the hotel. They had ordered room service and Frankie went swimming for a while. Isabella had just laid down for a nap when the telephone rang.

Frankie answered it on the first ring. "Hello?"

Joe was shocked to hear Frankie's voice. He had yet to talk to her. "Hello. Is Belle there?" Joe asked.

"She's sleeping right now. May I ask who's calling?"

"This is . . . . " Joe paused. He wanted to say 'your father', but wasn't sure how she'd react, so he said. "Joe."

"Oh um, do you want me to wake her up?" Frankie asked.

"No, don't bother her. I really called to talk to you." He wondered what he was doing. "Frankie, do you think you'd like to go to dinner with me tonight?" Joe asked.

"I'd have to ask my mom." Frankie explained. "Is she invited too?" She asked.

"I guess she can come along. Frankie, do you mind if I ask you a question about your mother?" Joe cautiously asked.

"What do you want to know?"

"How has she been feeling lately? Has she been really sick, or has she been feeling fine?" He asked trying to find out if Isabella was all right or not.

"She puts on a good front. I think she thinks that I don't know how sick she really is. Sometimes late at night I hear her crying. She doesn't want to leave me." Frankie sniffled, trying to hold back the tears that were stinging her eyes.

"You seem to be a very brave girl. I guess you get that from your mother."

"I guess I do. She really loves me, that's why we are here. She wants me to have someone to take her place some day." Frankie sniffled again. Joe really didn't want her to be upset, but before he could stop her, she continued. "I don't think that anyone can take her place. She's not only my mom, she's my best friend."

"I bet she is. Why don't you have your mother call me back and we'll make plans for tonight. Goodbye Frankie."

"Goodbye." Frankie hung up the telephone, and then walked back into the bedroom. Her mom was still sleeping. Frankie walked over to the bedside and covered her mom back up. She made sure she was all right, and then went back to watching television.

About an hour later Isabella awoke and wandered out into the other room. She sat down on the couch next to her daughter and wrapped her arms around her. "I'm sorry that I slept for so long, I didn't mean too."

"That's OK. I just watched some television." Frankie told her mom. "Oh, by the way, Joe called. He wants to have dinner with me."

"Do you want to go?" Her mother asked.

"Yeah. I told him I'd go, but that I had to ask you first."

"That's fine with me, honey. Did he tell you when he was coming, or where he was taking you?" Isabella wondered if he asked her to go too, but didn't want to interfere with her daughter's time with her father.

"He told me to have you call him to finalize the plans. The phone number is over by the phone."

Isabella picked up the paper by the telephone and dialed the number written on it. The telephone rang about three times and with each ring, Isabella's stomach fell. She couldn't believe the affect this man still had on her. After eleven years, she still felt a slight crush on him. On the fifth ring, Joe answered the telephone.

"Hello."

"Joe?"

"Who is this?" Joe asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry, this is Isabella."

"Hi, I guess I should have recognized your accent." Joe told her.

"I don't have an accent." Isabella said confused.

"Yes you do. All the people from the Midwest have a different accent."

"No we don't." Isabella insisted.

Joe laughed at her stubbornness. "Did Frankie tell you that I wanted to take the both of you to dinner tonight?"

"Both of us?" Isabella questioned.

"Yes, both of you, didn't she tell you?"

She gave her sneaky daughter a look that told her she wasn't pleased with the game she was playing. "We'd be delighted to have dinner with you. Where should we meet you?"

"I thought I'd cook for you."

Isabella let out a slight giggle, and then said. "You can cook."

"I'm a great cook."

"Than that sounds fine with me. Where do you live?"

Joe gave Isabella his address and directions to his house. "I'll see you around seven."

"Seven it is." Isabella confirmed.

"Bye."

"Goodbye." Isabella said and hung up the telephone. She felt like a giddy teenager again. She wondered if Joe was still living with the actress that she'd read about. He never mentioned it to her; then again, the subject never came up. She hoped in her heart of hearts that he wasn't dating anyone.

As seven o'clock approached, Isabella and Frankie headed for Joe's house. She had tried on every outfit she had brought with her. She didn't plan to have dinner at Joe's house. She'd packed an outfit for going out, plenty of casual clothed for sight seeing with Frankie, but nothing to wear tonight. She glanced down again at the khaki pants and blouse she was wearing, not what she'd call this years fashions, for that matter, it wasn't even part of last years fashion. As if reading her mother's mind, Frankie said. "Mom, you look great. You don't need to impress anyone."

"You really think that I look all right?"

"Yes, now stop worrying."

Isabella pulled into Joe's driveway and pressed the voice box by the gate. His voice came over the intercom and he buzzed them in. Isabella had seen pictures of Joe's house, but in person, it was much bigger and more gorgeous. They got out of the car, headed for the door, before they could reach the door it opened, and Joe was standing there. Isabella was speechless. Joe was absolutely stunning. He was standing there wearing a dark gray sweater, blue jeans and was bare foot. He was grinning from ear to ear. This is the way I want to remember him, Isabella thought to herself.

“Hello.” Frankie said breaking the silence.

“Hello Frankie. Did you have any problems finding the house?” Joe asked Isabella.

“I had no problems. Your directions were perfect. Not to mention I probably could have seen this house from my hotel.” Isabella teased. “Really though, this house is very beautiful.”

“Thanks.” Joe moved to the side and invited them in. “Why don’t I give you a quick tour before dinner.”

Isabella followed Joe around while he showed them the house. “Wow, it is even more spectacular inside than it is outside.” Isabella said when they were though with the tour and back in the foyer.

“I’m going to go and check on dinner, why don’t you go into the living room and make yourselves at home.” Joe disappeared into the kitchen while Isabella and Frankie headed into the living room. Joe joined them a couple of minutes later.

“Everything is about done.”

“It smells wonderful.” Isabella told him.

“Would you like a drink before dinner?” Joe asked while he poured himself one.

“I’ll just have water.”

Joe grabbed a bottle of water from the nearby refrigerator and poured a glass, and then he turned to Frankie. “What would you like?”

“I’ll have a soda, please.”

The three of them sat down. The tension in the room was high. Everyone sat there in silence sipping his or her drinks. Isabella finally broke the silence. “Do you live here alone?” She couldn’t believe that she had asked him that. It was none of her business.

“Yes, but lately I’ve been out doing a promotional tour, so I haven’t been home much. I really miss home when I’m on the road.”

“I’d miss this house to if I had to leave.” Frankie said. “This place is cool.”

“Thank you.” Joe looked at his watch. “Dinner should be done, why don’t we move into the dinning room?”

Everyone got up and moved into the dinning room. Dinner went well, but the silence continued. It was very obvious that everyone felt uncomfortable with each other. After dinner, Isabella said she would help Joe clear the dishes.

“We can just leave them till later.” Joe told her.

“No, don’t do that. I will help and we can get it done in no time.” Isabella insisted. “Frankie, why don’t you go into the other room while Joe and I clean up.”

“I’ll show you how to use the television.” Joe took Frankie into the family room and turned the television on for her. “I have some movies, do you want to watch one?”

“What kind of movies do you have?”

Joe opened a cabinet to reveal his movies. “I have a bunch to choose from.”

Frankie pointed to one of the videos released by his music group. “Can I watch this one?”

“You want to watch that? All right.” Joe grabbed the tape and put it in the VCR. Frankie curled up on the couch and watched the video. Joe returned to the kitchen. He opened the door and found Isabella standing in front of the sink doing the dishes. “You didn’t have to wash the dishes. I have a dish washer.”

“That’s fine, but I could wash them just as quickly.” Isabella continued washing the dishes. “How is Frankie?”

“She’s fine. She is actually watching one of the videos of the band. I can believe she wanted to watch it.” Joe watched in amazement as Isabella finished the dishes. She was gorgeous. He was still staring at her when she reached for a towel to dry the dishes.

“What?” Isabella questioned his stare.

“Huh? What did you say?” Joe asked when brought out of his trance.

“Why were you starring at me?”

“I was just watching.”

Isabella tossed the towel at him. “Why don’t you help me dry then?” Isabella reached for the dishes and began to dry them.

“Do you have to get back to the hotel soon?” Joe finally asked breaking the silence.

“I suppose we could stay. We really don’t have any definite plans.”

“When do you have to return home?” Joe asked, hoping that they could stay for a while.

“We’re not on a time table, but I don’t think we could afford to stay for much more than a week or two.”

“If the hotel is too expensive, you are more than welcome to stay here.”

“That’s to generous of you.”

“I insist. This huge house is too empty with just me living here.”

“Joe, we really don’t want to impose.”

“It’s not an imposition. You can use the guestrooms. I’ll arrange for your stuff to be sent over tomorrow.”

“Fine, but we will help out and I insist on at least cooking.”

Joe got a hurt feeling on his face. “You didn’t like my cooking?”

“No, I didn’t mean it like that. I just thought I should pull my weight.”

“There’s no need, I have a housekeeper. She’ll be shocked that the dishes were done. She will probably expect me to clean up more often now.” Joe teased. Isabella took her towel and flung it at him. Joe caught the end of the towel and pulled her to him. Isabella didn’t expect this and she lost her balance falling into Joe. He caught her. She looked up at him. She wanted to kiss him. She’d never felt this way about another man. Before she could pull away, Joe leaned down and kissed her. The kiss was light and sweet at first, and then their combined hunger for each other turned the kiss into a more passionate one.

Isabella didn’t know what to do. She was completely lost in the kiss. When they finally stepped away from each other, she felt a strange sensation. Was it guilt? Was it love? She’d never felt this way before. Suddenly she remembered where she was and who this gorgeous man was.

“Belle, are you all right?” Joe looked at her with a look of concern on his face.

Isabella regained her composure and said. “Yeah, I’m fine.” She remembered about why she was here and how this trip wasn’t for her to find her lost love, but for Frankie to find her father. “I wonder how Frankie is doing.” She needed to change the subject back to her.

“Let’s go check. We can leave this for the housekeeper.” Joe tried to grab Isabella’s hand to lead her into the other room, but she pulled it away and headed to the family room.

When she entered the room she was swept back in time, the video on the big screen television showed a younger Joe performing. It was from about the same summer that she saw him in concert. Tears welled in her eyes as she stood there watching the video. She finally came back to the present and noticed that Frankie was sound asleep on the couch. Joe came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. She placed her head on his chest and let her tears fall.

When she was done crying she looked over at her daughter sleeping. “I guess I should get going back to the hotel tonight and put her to bed.”

“I thought you said that you were going to move into my guest room.” Joe paused and walked over to the VCR to stop the tape. “I’ll take Frankie upstairs and put her to bed.”

“Fine, I’ll help you.” Isabella and Joe took Frankie upstairs and got her ready for bed. Joe gave her one of his t-shirts to wear. The whole time they got her ready Joe wondered what it would have been like to have been present in her life when she was a baby.

After returning to the family room, Joe and Isabella settled in on the couch to watch television. They ended up sitting there in silence for some time before Joe finally turned to Isabella and asked. “What was her first word?”

“What?” Isabella asked not quite sure that she had heard him correctly.

“Frankie’s first word, what was it?” Joe asked again.

“Oh, um, I think it was ‘papa’, that is what she calls my dad.” Isabella sat there unsure if she wanted to have this conversation. Her emotions were high tonight and a conversation like this would definitely produce more tears. She decided to go on because he deserved to know everything. “She has him wrapped around her little finger. She has the ability to do that. I always wondered if she got that from you, because I knew it wasn’t from me.”

“That must be a trait all her own, because I can’t do that either.”

“I don’t know about that, the night we met I would have done anything you asked.”

“Then why did you leave me in the middle of the night?” Joe asked the question he most wondered about for the last day, not to mention all those years ago. “I couldn’t believe you left me. I thought we had something special.”

“I thought I was just one of many.” Isabella retorted. Isabella saw the instant hurt in his eyes. “I didn’t mean it like that. What I meant was. . “ Isabella stopped.

“I understand.”

“No, I didn’t feel that way that night, but after awhile I started to feel that way to cover my real feelings for you.” Isabella heard the words escape her lips, then wanted to take them back, but it was too late, they were out there and there was no taking them back.

“What feelings?” Joe asked.

Isabella wasn’t sure she wanted to reveal her feelings, so she tried to distract him. “Do you believe in love at first sight?”

“I guess I do.” Joe said, and then added. “You didn’t tell me how you were feeling.”

“I will, just be patient.” Isabella moved down on the couch and sat right next to Joe. She placed a hand on his arm and stared into his deep blue eyes. “I don’t think that I believed in love at first sight until that night. I probably had the normal crush on you that most of your fans had. It wasn’t until I actually saw you across the lobby that night that I knew that we were meant to be. The more time we spent together that night, the more I fell for you, you the person, not you the music star.” Isabella looked at Joe again and saw the same look from all those years ago. The love and passion that was there made he nervous. She stood up and walked across the room to the window. She stared absently into the darkness. After a few minutes, she continued with her explanation. “I had never been with anyone before that night.” Isabella was a little shocked that she was telling him all of this, but if she was going to tell him, she might as well tell him everything. “And I haven’t since that night. Everyone that asked me out has been compared to you, and no one has been able to meet my need to recreate that feeling.”

Joe rose and walked to where Isabella stood. He wrapped his arms around her waist and placed his chin on her shoulder, but before he could tell her how he felt she added. “Joe, I fell in love with you that night, and my only conciliation for not having you was that I had a part of you. Frankie was a constant reminder of my love for you.” Isabella began to sob lightly. Joe turned her around to face him. He wiped away her tears, then placed a finger under her chin and tilted her face up to his. He ran his hand down her cheeks and then brought his lips down to hers. The kiss was light and sent shock waves through her body. She hadn’t felt like this in a very long time. It felt too good. Isabella remembered where she was and why she was there. She placed her hand on Joe’s chest and pushed him away.

“We can’t do this.” Isabella said.

“Why not? We are both adults.” Joe tried to kiss her again, but she kept her hand on his chest and pushed him away again.

“Joe, we just can’t.” Isabella walked away from him. “I think I’d better get some sleep. Do you have a shirt that I could borrow to sleep in?”

Joe was upset that Isabella pushed him away. “Yeah, sure you can have a shirt to wear.” Isabella could tell that he wasn’t happy with her. Joe turned back toward Isabella and said. “I won’t hurt you.” He turned and walked upstairs. Isabella stayed in the family room for a while longer and looked at all the pictures he had displayed. Why couldn’t she allow herself to be loved by this caring man? She really didn’t need to answer herself, because she knew the answer. She’d already written her death certificate and couldn’t allow Joe to fall in love with someone who was just waiting to die.

Isabella entered the room Joe had shown her and shut the door behind her. She noticed the shirt on the bed and picked it up. She inhaled the scent of the shirt and realized that she could detect the scent of Joe’s cologne on it. She changed into the shirt and climbed into the bed. She tossed and turned for two hours before she decided that she wasn’t going to be able to sleep. She got out of the bed and went to the window seat on the far side of the room. The view from the window was of the back yard. She curled up in the window seat and sat there starring off into the darkness. She didn’t get much sleep that night. She finally must have fallen asleep because the next thing she knew, it was daylight. She was dressed and headed down to Frankie’s room. Frankie wasn’t there. Isabella headed for the family room, but soon heard Frankie chattering in the kitchen; Isabella entered the kitchen to find Joe and Frankie eating breakfast.

“Good morning.” Isabella sat down in the chair next to Frankie.

“Good morning Belle, how did you sleep?” Joe asked, knowing perfectly well that she was up half of the night. He had heard her walking around early this morning.

“Fine, and yourself?”

“Just great. Would you like something for breakfast?”

“I’ll take some toast and coffee, please.”

Joe got up and made Isabella’s breakfast. “I’ve already arranged for your things to be sent over.”

“Thanks.”

“Mom, guess what!” Before her mother had a chance to answer, Frankie continued. “Joe said we could go sight seeing today!” Frankie said almost jumping up and down while she said it.

“He did, did he?” Isabella said and gave Joe a questioning look.

“I hope you don’t mind.” Joe smiled. He loved the fact that she was a bit upset.

“No problem, what did you have planned?”

Joe explained all that he wanted to show them, and then he added. “By the way, my parents have invited us over for dinner tonight.”

Isabella’s face dropped. She didn’t want to face his parents yet. “Why don’t you and Frankie go sight seeing alone today and I’ll stay here?”

“Mom, I wanted you to go along too.” Frankie whined.

“Frankie, I’m really tired today, anyway this will give you and Joe more time to get to know each other.”

“Oh all right.” Frankie finished her last bite of breakfast. “Can I go watch television?”

“Sure.” Isabella said. She finished her coffee and poured herself another cup. Joe returned to the table and sat down in the seat that Frankie had just vacated.

“Are you all right?” Joe questioned with a concerned look on his face.

“I’m just tired.” Isabella said.

“You aren’t sick are you?” Joe really sounded worried.

Isabella picked up her dishes and placed them by the sink. Joe turned and watched her. “What?” Isabella questioned. “I’m fine. I’m not sick. I’m just tired. Will you please just leave me alone!” Isabella left the kitchen and went to see what Frankie was doing. Frankie was watching cartoons on television, so Isabella didn’t bother her. She headed for the seclusion of her room. As she ascended the stairs Joe came out of the kitchen. He followed her up the stairs and into her room.

“Get out!” Isabella yelled.

Joe shook his headed and walked right up to her and grabbed a hold of her arms. “What’s wrong with you this morning?”

“Nothing Joe, everything is working out perfectly. You are getting to know Frankie. She’s getting to know you. I’m just tired and want to take a nice long bath and a nap.” Isabella snapped in response.

While Joe and Isabella were arguing in her room, Frankie stood outside the door listening. She had never heard her mother so upset before today. Frankie continued to listen to her parent’s playful argument.

“Fine, stay here, take your bath, take your nap, and I’ll pick you up to go to dinner at my parent’s house.”

“Do I have to go? They want to get to know Frankie, not me.” Isabella whined.

“They want to meet you also, so you are going. We will be here to pick you up at four o’clock. Dress casual.” Joe left the room and slammed the door behind him.

Frankie hid in the hallway and watched as he left the room and entered his own. She heard him say to himself. ‘I just don’t understand women.’ Frankie giggled then entered her mother’s room.

Before she could say anything Isabella yelled. “I thought I told you to get out!”

“Mom?” Frankie questioned.

“Oh, it’s you.”

“What’s wrong?”

Isabella crossed the room and sat down on the bed next to her daughter. She wrapped her arms around the young girl. “Nothing sweetie, I just didn’t get much sleep last night.”

“Are you mad at me?”

“No, I could never be mad at you.” She placed a kiss on her daughter’s forehead.

“Then are you mad at Joe?”

“I’m not mad at him either, I just don’t understand him.”

Frankie giggled again remembering what she had heard Joe say earlier. She understood what was going on. She’d had the same kind of fights with Tommy Hums last year. She liked him, but they always fought with each other. “Mom, I think Joe likes you.”

“Why do you say that?” Isabella asked.

“I overheard you arguing a little bit ago. Remember what you told me about Tommy last year? You said we fought with each other because we liked each other. That’s why you and Joe are fighting. You like him, don’t you?” Frankie grinned when she saw her mother’s silly smile.

“You think you are very smart don’t you?” Isabella grabbed her daughter and started tickling her.

Frankie started wiggling under the tickles. She started giggling. “Mom . . . . Mom . . . . . Mom . . . . Stop Mom.”

Isabella continued to tickle Frankie. When she stopped the two laughed together. “You really are very perceptive.”

“He likes you too.” Frankie said, then jumped off the bed and ran back down stairs.

Isabella knew that her daughter was correct in her presumption. She wished she could allow herself to love Joe and him to love her. She heard Joe and Frankie leave and decided to take a bath. She ran the water and lowered herself in. She soaked for an hour or more before getting out. She decided to lie down and take a nap. She no more than laid down than she was sound asleep.

Frankie and Joe spent the day roaming around the city. She was having a great time. On the way back to the house, she thought she would ask him how he felt about her mother. “Joe, do you like my mom?”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you ‘like’ her?” Frankie asked again and giggled.

“I think she’s nice.” Joe said trying to get off the subject.

Frankie noticed how comfortable he was and decided she had better drop the subject. “How far are we from you house?”

“Not much farther now.” Joe wondered where Frankie’s question came from. “Frankie did your mother tell you something about me?”

“No, she’s stubborn. She’ll never come out and tell me or you for that matter, how she feels.” That’s all Frankie would say. She rode the rest of the way home in silence.

When they pulled into the driveway, Frankie said. “I’m going to change my clothes before we leave.” When the car stopped she jumped out and headed for the house. She yelled to Joe over her shoulder. “Why don’t you make sure that Mom is ready to go?” Frankie disappeared into the house.

Joe got out of the car and thought to himself. That child is very sneaky. I wonder what she is up to. Joe headed into the house and first went into the family room to find Isabella. She wasn’t there. He also looked in the kitchen, but once again, no Isabella. Joe climbed the stairs and knocked lightly on her door. When she didn’t answer, he tried the doorknob. The door opened and he saw her sleeping. He walked over to the bed and sat down next to her. He lightly tapped her trying to wake her, but was unable. He ran a hand down her face and watched her try to swat at whatever was touching her. Joe grinned at the annoyed look on her face. He leaned down, placed a kiss on her forehead, and lightly whispered. “I’m falling in love with you.” Again, he tried to wake her by lightly tapping her arm. Isabella stirred slightly. She opened her eyes and smiled up at Joe. She’d heard what he had whispered, but wasn’t about to let him know.

“What time is it?” Isabella asked.

“It’s after four.”

“Oh no, I’ve slept all day and I’m not ready to go yet.” Isabella threw back the covers and jumped out of bed. She forgot that all she was wearing was Joe’s shirt. She grabbed her clothes and headed for the bathroom.

Joe about fell off the bed at the sight of Isabella’s beautiful body in his shirt. “Take your time, my parents won’t mind if we are late.”

Isabella yelled back to him through the closed bathroom door. “I don’t want to make a bad impression.”

“Don’t worry, I’m always showing up late. They are used to it.” Joe walked around Isabella’s room and looked at her things. He picked up her perfume bottle and inhaled the scent.

Isabella opened the door and stopped in the doorway. She was stunning. She’d changed into a pink floral cotton dress and had pulled her dark hair up into a French braid. When Joe saw her he froze, he’d never seen such a beautiful vision. Her dark olive skin contrasted with the pastel dress and as she moved from the doorway, Joe noticed that the dress was back less. Isabella noticed his stare, and rather than draw attention to it decided to enjoy the feeling.

“Where’s Frankie?” Isabella finally asked breaking the silence.

Joe shook his head. “I’m not sure where she disappeared to.”

Isabella walked out into the hall and yelled for Frankie. She appeared in the doorway of her room.

“What?” Frankie asked.

“Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah. Where’s Joe?” Frankie asked then smiled when Joe walked out of her mother’s room. She hoped in her heart of hearts that her plan for them would work out. She knew her parents belonged together and had just spent the last fifteen minutes convincing Joe’s parents to allow her to spend the night there tomorrow night. She also arranged for a special evening for her parents. She may have only been ten, but with the help of Joe’s parents and his housekeeper, she’d planned a romantic evening for two the next evening.

The three of them left for dinner. The night seemed to go quite well and as they were getting ready to return home Joe’s mother asked. “Do you think Frankie could spend the evening with us tomorrow? We would love to get to know her better.”

Frankie grinned at how easy her plan was working. “Can I, Mom?”

“That’s fine.” Isabella said. “Thank you again for the lovely evening.”

“You’re welcome dear.” Mrs. McIntyre said then gave Frankie a wink. “I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon.”

“Good night Joseph.” She leaned over and hugged her son.

The three of them rode home in complete silence. Frankie occasionally would say something about her day or things she still wanted to do and see while in Boston. When they arrived home, she once again ran for the house.

“Is she always so energetic?” Joe asked.

“Yeah, doesn’t it make you sick? I wish I had half that energy.”

“I know.” Joe held the door open as Isabella preceded him into the house.

“I’m going to go and change out of this dress. I’ll be back down in a moment.” Isabella went upstairs and went to Frankie’s room. Her daughter was getting ready for bed. “What are you doing?”

Frankie turned around and looked at her mother. “I’m getting ready for bed.”

“I can see that. Why? You are on summer break. You can stay up as late as you want.”

“I know, but I’m tired now.” Frankie continued to get into her pajamas, and then climbed into her bed.

Isabella pulled the covers up around her daughter and tucked her in. She kissed her forehead and said. “Good night sweetie.”

“Goodnight Mom.” Isabella stood to leave and Frankie added. “Mom, you look very pretty tonight.”

“Thank you.” Isabella kissed her daughter again then walked out of her room shutting the door behind her.

Isabella went to her own room and changed into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. She went down stairs and found Joe sitting watching television. She sat down on the opposite end of the couch and curled her legs up under her. They sat in silence watching the program on the television. When it ended Joe flipped channels to a movie that was almost over. It was one of the most recently released horror flicks. Isabella sat watching the movie and was scared out of her mind. The music was escalating which normally meant something was about to happen. She anticipated the scene, but before anything happened, Joe tossed a pillow at her. She screamed so loud that the whole neighborhood probably heard her.

When she regained most of her composure, she threw the pillow back at him. “You just about scared me to death.” Isabella’s heart was still beating out of control.”

Joe slid down on the couch toward her. He pretended to take her pulse. “You appear to be alive to me.” Joe teased. When he noticed that she was shaking he dropped her wrist and placed his hand on her leg. “Are you all right?”

“I will be.” Isabella wasn’t sure if her increased heartbeat was due to the scare or Joe’s hand on her leg. How could this man have such an effect on her?

“Belle, I want to talk about last night.” Joe said and turned her head towards his.

“There’s nothing to talk about.” Isabella said and sat up straight.

“I heard you up walking around. I know that you didn’t get much sleep last night.” Joe only knew this because he too hadn’t slept much.

“I couldn’t sleep.”

Joe slid even closer to her. “Why couldn’t you sleep?”

“I wasn’t tired.” Isabella tried to scoot away from him, but soon realized that she was at the end of the couch. Joe leaned in and placed his lips to hers. The feelings flowing through his body wanted him to sweep this beautiful woman up into his arms and carry her off to his room, but he knew that she wasn’t ready for that.

Isabella placed a hand on Joe’s chest to push him away. “No, Joe, please.” Joe, too overpowered by his feelings to stop, kept leaning into her and soon began nibbling on her ear. She pushed again on his chest. “Joe stop!”

“You want this as much as I do.” Joe told her.

“Aren’t you being a bit presumptuous?” Isabella wiggled out of Joe’s grasp and stood up. “I think I should go to bed.”

Joe got upset at Isabella’s actions. “That’s just great Belle, leave again.”

“Don’t make it seem like I’m the person in the wrong. I told you last night that this wouldn’t work.”

“Well tonight your body language told me differently.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize. I guess I’ll have to work on that.” Isabella turned and fled the room. She scampered up the stairs in a hurry for fear that he was going to follow her. She locked her bedroom door as a precaution for the both of them. She wasn’t sure she could say no to him one more time.

In the solitude of her room, Isabella sat in the window seat again contemplating her future. When she first planned this trip, she had only wanted to have Joe get to know his daughter. Her plan was to stay for a couple of days, then return home to have her surgery. She needed to keep to her plan. Frankie and Joe seemed to be getting along fine, now would be a good time to continue with her plan.

Isabella walked to the telephone on the table next to her bed. She dialed the number of the hospital. It rang and the automatic attendant picked up. She entered the three-digit extension and waited for someone to answer.

“Emergency Room.”

“Hello. This is Dr. Rotondi. Is Matt around?”

“Hey Doc, Matt is with a patient right now can I give him a message?”

“Can I hold? I really need to talk to him.”

“Sure. So how’s your vacation going?”

“Great. The weather is nice.” Isabella hadn’t told everyone why she was really there. Most of the staff thought she was just vacationing and would return to work. The director had even allowed her to leave her name on the schedule until she finalized her surgery. Matt was a friend of hers and knew the whole story. He was a great support, almost like a brother.

“I’m glad you are having a great time. You deserve it.”

“Thanks.” Isabella wished Matt would hurry. She didn’t want to talk to this nurse any longer than she had to.

“Oh here’s Matt now.”

“Hello?”

“Matty, how are you?” Isabella’s voice lightened.

“Izzie, what’s up? I didn’t think I’d hear from you this soon. Is something wrong?”

Isabella laughed at the sound of Matt’s nickname for her. No one ever called her that but him. “Everything is great. Frankie and Joe are getting along fine. I’ve done what I set out to do.” Isabella paused. She wanted to make sure she really was ready. “Matty, I need you to set up everything for me. It’s time.”

“Are you sure? Have you discussed this with your parents?” Matt asked.

“I’m going to tell them. I just want to have it planned before I tell them.”

“How about Frankie?”

“She doesn’t need to know yet. I’ll tell her afterward, if I make it.”

“You’ve got to remain positive. Your daughter is extremely smart. She’s going to pick up on this.”

“She’s too excited right now. She’s never going to know.”

“How about Joe? Are you still glad that you did this?” Matt wondered if something had happened between the two of them. She was hurrying into the surgery faster than originally planned.

“Joe and Frankie are getting to know each other. I’m very glad I finally did this. Matt, I have to get going. Please schedule the surgery as soon as possible and call me with the timetable.” Isabella looked at the telephone then read the number to Matt. “Be careful with that number, it’s Joe’s. Call me soon. Bye.”

“I’ll call you tomorrow. Goodnight Izzie.”

Isabella replaced the telephone and lay down to sleep. She awoke early the next morning and went to check on Frankie. She was asleep, so Isabella sat down in a chair across the room and watched her daughter sleep. As the sun rose, Isabella returned to her room to get ready for the day. She went to the kitchen and grabbed some breakfast before leaving the house.

When Joe awoke, he found Isabella’s room empty this woman was driving him crazy. He returned to his room, dressed, and then headed for the kitchen. He noticed the coffee and wondered where Isabella had gotten. He sat down and noticed the note with his name on it. He picked it up and read it.

Joe~

I’ve gone on a mini trip today. I thought you could

spend the morning with Frankie. I’ll be home later this

afternoon. Tell Frankie that I hope she has fun at your parents.

I.

Joe replaced the note on the table. This woman was definitely going to drive him crazy!

Isabella decided she would just get in the car and drive. She ended up at the ocean and ended up spending most of the day there. She contemplated her future and remembered the past. For a thirty-year-old woman, she had done quite a bit of risky things. Scheduling this surgery was going to be the riskiest yet. Isabella decided to go back to Joe’s house. She was ready to face him and whatever would happen tonight.

She walked into the house and heard the television on in the family room. She walked in and saw Joe sitting on the couch. He muted the television and looked at her. She could tell that he was upset. “Where’s Frankie?” Isabella asked trying to break the tension in the room.

“She’s at my parents.”

“Oh, I forgot about that. Did you have a nice day?”

“Yes, we did.” Joe was still upset. “By your jovial mood I can see that you have enjoyed yourself today. What did you end up doing?”

“I went to the ocean and just sat there thinking.”

“About what?” Joe asked.

“Life, nothing really important.”

“Do you know what your daughter had planned for us tonight?”

“What?” Isabella was worried. Frankie wanted this to be like a fairy tale, where the two fall in love and live happily ever after. Isabella could have killed her mother for selling Frankie on that idea. She used to tell her fairy tales as a child also, but somewhere along the way, Isabella realized that they weren’t real.

Joe stood up and grabbed her hand. “Come with me.” Joe led her into the dining room. The table was set for two and there were candles all over the room. She noticed the flowers and food. How could she have done this?

“Joe, why did she do this?”

“She wants us to fall in love.” Joe wanted this too, but after Isabella pulled away last night, he wasn’t sure it would ever happen.

“This is all my mother’s fault!” Isabella sat down in one of the chairs. “She read her fairy tales and convinced her that they really do come true.”

“Why don’t they come true?” Joe asked her. He sat down in the chair next to hers and light the candles. He took the lids off the platters and served the food.

“I’ve learned that they don’t come true. Look at my life, Joe, where’s the fairy tale? I’ve never had the fairy tale come true.” Isabella took a bite of the food.

“I could make your fairy tale come true. I could give you everything you need and more. I could give you all the love that you deserve.”

Isabella opened her mouth to protest, but Joe placed a finger over her mouth.

“Belle, don’t say no.” Joe leaned over and kissed her. Isabella tried to push away, but soon found herself allowing it to just happen. Joe pulled her out of her chair and picked her up. He carried her into the family room and placed her on the couch. He began to undo her blouse, kissing ever inch of skin that was revealed as the shirt fell away from her body. Their feverish passion over took them and they couldn’t get to each other fast enough. Isabella allowed Joe to make love to her and when it was all over, she began to feel guilty. They fell asleep on the couch tangled in each other’s arms.

In the wee hours of the morning the telephone rang, Joe reached out and grabbed the portable off the coffee table. “Hello?” Joe asked still half asleep.

“Is Isabella there?” A male voice asked.

That woke Joe up, who would be calling her at this hour. “Yes she is, may I ask who’s calling?”

“This is Matt.”

Joe woke Isabella and handed her the telephone. “Hello.” Isabella tried to stop Joe from getting up, but he grabbed his jeans, pulled them on and left the room.

“Did I interrupt something?” Matt teased, sensing the fact that Joe was next to Isabella.

“Yes. What’s going on Matty?”

“You’re all set for surgery. You have to be here in two days. Everything all right there, Izzie?”

“It was, but I may have just caused a problem.” Isabella thought about the fairy tale promise Joe had made and realized that she was right. Fairy tales don’t come true. She decided that her original plan was still the best one. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow. Bye.” Matt hung up the telephone before Isabella could say goodbye.

She stood up, picked up Joe’s t-shirt, put it on, and headed upstairs to Joe’s bedroom. She found him sitting on his bed in complete darkness. He didn’t even turn around before asking her. “Who was that?”

Isabella stood in the doorway. She contemplated what she was going to tell him. Joe turned and looked at her. “His name is Matt, and I work with him at the hospital. He is a friend. He was just calling to tell me that I’m needed back at work.” Isabella lied.

“When?” Joe asked.

“Tomorrow.” Isabella told him. “I don’t know how Frankie is going to take this.” She didn’t what her to loose out on time with Joe. “I need to call my parents and tell them that I’m coming home.” Isabella turned to leave.

Joe stood up and headed towards her. “Can’t it wait until morning?” Joe grabbed her hands and looked deep into her eyes. “I don’t want to have anymore interruptions.”

“I have to tell them sooner or later.”

“Why wake them up in the middle of the night?”

Isabella thought for a minute then decided that she had better tell them now, so they could come and pick her up at the airport. “I have to call now. I’ll be right back.” Joe dropped her hands and watched as she left his room. Isabella went into her room and picked up the telephone. She dialed her parent’s number and listened to the rings. She wondered how well they were going to take the news.

Her mother’s sleep voice finally came over the headset. “Hello?”

“Mom, it’s me, Isabella.”

Her mother could detect that something was wrong in her voice. ‘What’s wrong? Is it Frankie? Are you sick?” She was wide awake now and shaking her husband. She mouthed that Isabella was on the telephone and her husband quickly got out of bed and went out into the kitchen to use the other telephone.

Before Isabella could answer her mother’s frantic questions, her father was asking the same ones. “Where is Frankie? Is she all right? Are you feeling sick? Tell us what’s wrong.”

“Calm down. Everything is fine. Frankie is spending the night at Joe’s parents. I’m felling wonderful.” She thought about how it felt to be in Joe’s arm. She wanted to get this over with so she could spend every moment she had left with him. “I’m coming home tomorrow. That is why I’m calling.” She heard her parents breath a sigh of relief.

“Why?” Her mother asked.

Isabella’s answer was barely a whisper; she didn’t want Joe to hear. “I’m scheduled for surgery in two days.”

“Why?” It was her father’s turn to question her actions.

“Because I’ve done what I set out to do when I came here. Frankie and Joe are getting along fine and I want to get this over with.” Isabella began to feel the tears well in her eyes. She shook her head not allowing herself to cry. “I need you to pick me up at the airport. Will you be there?”

“Sure honey. What time?”

Isabella told her parents her flight information and said goodnight. She hung up the telephone and left the room. She walked back to Joe’s room. He wasn’t there. She was about to go looking for him when he appeared in the doorway. He was carrying all of their clothes.

“How did your phone call go?” Joe asked and threw their clothes on the floor.

“Fine. They will pick me up at the airport tomorrow.” Isabella watched as she saw Joe’s expression change with the recognition of her words.

“Why just you?” Joe wondered what was going on.

“I just decided that it’s not fair to you to bring Frankie here, let you get to know her for a couple of days, then tear her away from you right away.” Isabella sat down on Joe’s bed. “If she agrees, she can stay until school starts. I guess I should make sure it’s all right with you.”

Joe smiled big and realized that up until that moment he wasn’t sure whom he would have missed most. He knew he loved Isabella, but he thought it would have been hard to let Frankie leave so soon. He crossed the room and knelt down in front of Isabella. “Thank you.” Joe kissed Isabella and repeated his thanks.

Isabella slid up on the bed and Joe followed her. The passion from earlier resurfaced, but Isabella knew it would be wrong to allow Joe to make love to her. She stopped him and said. "Joe, we need to get up in a few hours so that I can go to the airport. Shouldn't we get some sleep?"

"Sleep is so overrated." Joe teased. He hesitated for a moment, and then rolled off the bed. He changed out of his jeans, and then crawled back into bed with Isabella. She was already covered up and had her eyes shut. He snuggled up next to her and wrapped his arms around her.

Isabella snuggled closer to Joe and thought how nice it was to fall asleep in his strong arms. The next morning when she awoke, she rolled over and looked at Joe, who was still sound asleep. She lay there watching him sleep and wishing every day could be like this. She leaned over and kissed Joe. When he opened his eyes, he thought he was dreaming. Isabella was leaning over him and was illuminated by the sun steaming through the window behind her. She looked like an angel. He reached up and ran a hand down her face.

"Good morning." Isabella said and leaned down to kiss him again.

"Morning. What time is it?"

"Almost noon. We should probably get out of bed before your mom brings Frankie home."

Joe pulled Isabella to him and held her tight. "Let's just stay here like this all day." Joe teased and began to nibble on her ear lobe.

"I wish we could, but I have got a plane to catch." Isabella reminded him.

"Do you want me to make breakfast?"

"How about I have you for breakfast?" Joe began a trail of kisses down her neck and tried to pull her shirt off.

"Joe!" Isabella giggled. "We can't. What if Frankie walks in on us, or worse your mother?" Isabella pushed him away yet again and got out of the bed. "We need to get up and get going. My plane leaves in a couple of hours." Isabella picked up her clothes and went to her room to pack.

Joe got out of bed and decided to take a shower. When he was done he went into Isabella's room to look for her, but the room was empty and the bed made like no one had even been there.

"I've made up some food." Isabella said as she finished setting the table. She walked over to the stove and stirred the soup cooking there.

Joe walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. He stood breathing in her scent, hoping it would remain in his memory forever. He wanted to tell her that he loved her and that he didn't want her to go, but was scared that would make her run away faster. Joe kissed her neck, and then went to pour himself a cup of coffee. They continued on in silence while Isabella finished making lunch. Joe opened the morning paper and began to read it.

Isabella stopped what she was doing and took in her surroundings. She wondered if this was what normal life felt like. A man and woman in love, spending quiet moments like this.

She sat the plates of food down on the table and sat down next to Joe. "I hope you like it. It's all I could find." She had made tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. She laughed at the simplicity of the lunch.

"I love your laugh." Joe smiled at Isabella.

"Thank you." Isabella began eating and reached for the front section of the paper. She tried to read the article, but couldn't when she noticed Joe starring at her. "What?"

"You're beautiful." Joe said in almost a whisper.

Isabella leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on his lips. "Boy, aren't you full of compliments today."

"I mean it. You are gorgeous." Joe gave Isabella a quick glance, and then grabbed a hold of her hand. His face got serious. "Are you sure you have to go back?"

"It's my job. They need me." Isabella lied.

Joe ran his free hand down Isabella's face. Just tell her you love her, he thought to himself. He pulled Isabella's face to his and kissed her. He knew that this kiss would have to last him for quite some time. When they broke away, Joe asked. "When are you coming back, or when can I come and see you?"

"I'm not sure." Isabella really wasn't. She didn't know how she was going to be after the surgery. "We can talk on the phone. You can come for a visit when you bring Frankie home." Isabella leaned over and kissed him again hoping that it would silence him so she wouldn't have to answer any more questions. Like an answered prayer, Frankie came running into the house at that time.

"I'm home. Where is everyone?" Frankie yelled out then noticed her mom's suitcase setting at the bottom of the stairs.

"We're in the kitchen." Isabella yelled back, then pushed her chair back away from Joe's. "Behave." She said and smiled at Joe.

Frankie walked into the kitchen and noticed instantly that there was something different about her mother and Joe. "What did you guys do last night?" Frankie asked and smiled at the comfortable lunch the two were having.

"Watched television." Joe quickly said.

"Read a book." Isabella said at the same time.

Frankie smiled and wondered who was lying. "Why is your suitcase by the stairs?" Frankie finally asked.

"I have to go back to work." Isabella told her daughter.

"No! I don't want to go yet." Frankie pouted.

"You're not going." Isabella said. "I thought you could stay here until school starts." Isabella watched as her daughter's facial expression changed. Frankie came running up to her mother and wrapped her arms around her mother's neck.

"I can really stay. Thank you."

"You might want to thank Joe too."

Frankie stopped hugging her mother and went to hug Joe. "Thank you Joe." She turned to her mother. "When do you leave?" Frankie asked her mother.

"We need to get going in about an half hour." Isabella glanced at her watch. "Did you eat lunch?" She asked Frankie.

"Yeah, Grandma made lunch for me before she brought me home." Frankie saw the shock in her parent's faces. "I hope you don't mind that I call her that." Frankie said looking back and forth between her parents.

"Is that all right with Mrs. McIntyre?" Isabella asked and noticed Joe's reaction to the whole conversation. She placed a hand on his knee and about jumped when Joe placed his on top of hers.

"She said I could call her anything I wanted to, so I decided to call her Grandma, but she still insists on calling me Francesca." Frankie made a face when she said her given name. Frankie was quite the tomboy and couldn't stand the extremely feminine name. That's why her grandpa had started calling her Frankie when she was a baby.

Joe laughed at Frankie's reaction to his mother's obsession with given names. "You'll get used to it." He laughed again. "How was last night? Did you have fun?"

"I had a great time. We had a lot of fun. I got to see baby pictures of you and they answered any question I had about you." Frankie laughed.

"That's scary. I hope they didn't bore you to tears." Joe said.

"I enjoyed it." Frankie said.

"Why didn't she come in with you?"

"She had somewhere to go."

Isabella had gotten up and cleared the table. "I think we'd better leave for the airport in case we hit traffic." She left the kitchen and gathered her things together.

Joe walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Don't go. I'm begging you to stay."

Isabella turned in his arms. "What if Frankie walks in?" Isabella tried to pull out of his arms.

"She'd understand." Joe held her tight. "Don't go." Joe pleaded again.

Isabella kissed him. "I have to go. I'm needed at work." She broke away from him and finished gathering her things. Joe stood behind her watching and wishing he could convince her to stay, but he knew he'd never be able to do it. "I'll follow you to the airport so I can return my car." She picked up her suitcase and purse. "Frankie, we’re ready to leave." Isabella yelled.

"I'm coming." Frankie came running out of the family room.

"Do you want to ride to the airport with me?" Isabella asked.

"Sure, but what about Joe?"

"I'm going to follow him, so I can return my rental car." They all left for the airport. Traffic was a little heavy and by the time they finally made it to the gate at the airport, they were already calling her flight for boarding.

"That's my flight." Isabella stood looking at Frankie and Joe standing there, holding hands. "I'd better get going."

Once again Joe pleaded. "Please don't go. Stay."

Isabella walked up to him and ran a hand down his cheek. She leaned in and kissed him. Joe clung to her like a lifeline. "I have to go. Tears welled in Isabella's eyes. She let go of Joe and knelt down in front of Frankie. She hugged her and kissed her on the forehead. "Be very good for your father. I'll call you all the time." She hugged her daughter again and stood back up. Joe grabbed her hand, but said nothing. Isabella kissed him again, turned and walked towards the plane.

Joe was crying. He stood holding Frankie's hand. He yelled after Isabella. "Belle . . .. . . ." She never turned back around. Joe had a bad feeling that this would be the last time he saw her, but he knew he'd see her again when he dropped Frankie off. He still had a bad feeling about her leaving. He stood there and watched the plane taxi away from the airport.

Frankie and Joe returned home and spent the evening together learning more about each other. Frankie discussed her mother and her sickness. Joe was surprised at how much Frankie actually understood. She was definitely wise beyond her years.

"My mom is very stubborn. She's always had to do everything for herself. I'm not sure why she felt it was necessary to return to the hospital. She's a workaholic."

"Do you get to spend much time with her when she works?"

"Yeah, she only works a couple of days a week. I get to see her every night." The telephone interrupted their conversation. Frankie answered it. "Hello?'

Isabella picked up the telephone from the back of the seat in front of her. She dialed Joe's number and soon heard her daughter's voice.

"Hello sweetie. How are you?"

"Mom, what are you doing calling already?"

"I missed you." Isabella looked at the picture she was holding. She really missed Joe too.

"You've only been gone for an hour." Frankie laughed.

"I know, but we've never been apart before." Isabella felt the tears run down her cheek again. "Frankie, I love you."

"I love you too." Frankie had never heard her mother so emotional before. "Don't cry, I'll call you every day if you want me to."

"No, I don't think you want your mother checking p on you all the time. I'm sure Joe will take great care of you."

"He is. We are having pizza delivered and I get to have ice cream for dessert."

"Sounds yummy. Is Joe nearby?"

"He's right here. Do you want to talk to him?"

"Yes. Frankie, promise me that you'll be good and have fun. I love you. Now go ahead and put Joe on the phone."

" Promise. Goodbye." Frankie handed Joe the telephone and went back to watching the show on the television.

"Belle?" Joe asked. "I miss you so much." Joe walked out of the family room and sat down on a chair in the hallway.

"I miss you. Frankie sounds like she's already having a great time."

"We are. I'm just getting to know her better."

"I hear you're having pizza and ice cream for dinner. Don't forget that she's a growing child. She needs fruit, vegetables, you do know what the four major food groups are, don't you?"

"I'll make sure she eats right."

"I've got to get off the phone, we are getting ready to land. I'll call later in the week." Isabella was about to tell him about the photo that she took and that she loved him, but the telephone went dead. She hung it back up and looked at the photo again. Isabella sat in her plane seat clinging to a picture of Joe that she had taken from his house. She'd been crying since the plane took off. She loved him deeply and hoped that he would eventually understand why she had to do this alone. She'd promised herself that she would call them as soon as she was able to after surgery.

The plane landed and Isabella exited. Her parents greeted her at the gate. Isabella hugged her mother. "I missed you."

"I missed you too. How is Frankie taking this?" Natalie Rotondi asked her daughter.

"She's fine. She thinks it's great that she got to stay with Joe." Isabella explained.

"I meant about the surgery."

"I didn't tell her." Isabella saw the shock in her mother's eyes. "I didn't think that she needed to worry about it." She watched again as her mother registered her daughter's comments. "Mother, you have to promise me that you won't tell her until it's all done. You can't tell anyone. Promise me." Isabella waited for her mother to answer.

"Why don't we discuss this at home." Her mother tried to get her to leave the airport.

"Promise me!" Isabella's voice rose this time.

"All right, I won't tell anyone."

Isabella headed toward the baggage claim and her parents followed. Natalie looked at her husband and shook her head. Her daughter was definitely stubborn. The ride home was a silent one. Other than an occasional comment about the weather, or the trip, Isabella sat in the back seat not saying a word. She got out of the car at her home and said good night to her parents before heading inside.

She walked over to the telephone and thought about calling Joe, but soon decided it would be a bad idea. She took her suitcase into her bedroom and began to unpack it. She sat down at her desk and grabbed a piece of her personal stationary. She thought for a while, and then began writing the first of three letters. She finished the letters to Joe, Frankie, and her parents, sealed them and placed them on top of a copy of her will and insurance policies. She took one last look around the quaint little house and made sure everything was in its place. She climbed into her bed and remembered what it felt like the night before falling asleep in Joe’s arms. She wondered if he thought of her as he was falling asleep.

Across the country, Joe was thinking of Isabella. He had put Frankie to bed hours ago, worked on some projects he had going on, and then decided to try to get some sleep himself. He sat for hours looking through the photo album that Isabella had given him. He seemed to return to the first picture in the book, the one of a younger Isabella and him from the first night they met. He wanted to call her, but wasn’t sure if she’d want to hear from him. He turned the light out, tossed, and turned for hours before drifting off into a restless sleep.

The morning came quickly for Isabella. She had to be at the hospital at seven o’clock. She grabbed the bag the she’d packed and walked to her parent’s car when they pulled into the driveway.

“Good morning.” Isabella said while climbing into the back seat.

“Morning Isabella.” Her father greeted her. That was all that was said the whole way to the hospital. When they got there, Isabella went into the emergency room and looked around. She remembered what it was like to fight for someone’s life that hung in the balance. She sat down in the trauma room and remembered what being a doctor meant to her.

“Hey stranger.” A familiar voice echoed through the empty room.

“Hey Matty.” Isabella swiveled around in her chair. “I thought that you’d be home in bed by now.”

“I thought about it, but then chose I’d stay and see my favorite girl.” Matt walked over, placed his hands on Isabella’s shoulders and noticed how tense she was. “You know, you don’t have to go through with this.”

“I do if I want a chance at a normal life.” Tears welled in her eyes.

“Where is the squirt?” Matt always called Frankie that.

“She’s with her father. I decided that she didn’t need to be here worrying about me.” Isabella stood and walked around the room.

“Why isn’t Mr. Perfect here?” Matt teased Isabella about Frankie’s father.

“I didn’t tell him.” Isabella started crying. Matt came up to her and wrapped his arms around her. He allowed her to cry on his shoulders again. She’d cried many a night on his shoulder, when she found out about the tumor, when she contemplated telling everyone about Joe being Frankie’s father, and when she needed a friend after the last round of treatment failed. Matt was like the older brother Isabella always wanted.

Matt noticed the nurse standing in the door to the trauma room. “Isabella, it looks like it’s time to get the show on the road.” Isabella pulled away and wiped the tears off her cheek with the sleeve of her blouse.

“Let’s get going.” Isabella smiled and headed for the door. Matt grabbed her hand. “What are you doing?” Isabella asked.

“You didn’t think you were going through this completely alone did you?”

Isabella smiled again and walked to the admitting desk where her parents were waiting for her. The nurse grabbed her admission papers and pushed a wheelchair up to Isabella.

“Do I have to ride in that?” Isabella asked.

“I’m sorry Dr. Rotondi, but it’s hospital policy.” The nurse told her.

“Come on Izzie, it’s not everyday that the nurses get to push a doctor around.” Matt teased, trying to lighten the mood.

Isabella sat down in the wheelchair and allowed the nurse to take her to her room. When she was in her bed and all prepped for the surgery, Isabella called her parents back into the room.

Her mother noticed the worried look on her daughter’s face. “What’s wrong?”

“I need to tell you something that you may not want to hear.” Isabella sat up in her bed. “Could you please hand me the folder in my bag.” Isabella’s dad got into the bag and pulled out the folder. He also grabbed the two frames that were in the bag. He looked at the photos; one of Frankie and the other was the one that Isabella had taken from Joe’s house.

“Do you want these out?”

Isabella nodded her head and watched as her dad placed the frames on a table across the room. He handed her the folder and waited for whatever his daughter was going to tell him. She opened the folder and grabbed the papers that were in it. She started to cry. “I have to go through this stuff with you.” She first showed them her will. “I know that I don’t have much, and most everything I have goes to Frankie. There are a few special requests I have for friends. I’ll let my lawyer take care of that.” She stopped again and wiped the tears from her cheeks. She noticed that her mother was also crying. “Dad, here are all the important documents you might need.”

“Isabella, stop this! You don’t need to do this.” Her father couldn’t stand hearing this.

“Daddy, please let me finish.” The last three things that she was holding were the letters that she had written the night before. “These are from me to you, Frankie, and Joe. Please don’t open these until . .” She wiped the tears away again and finished her thought. “Please promise me that you won’t tell Frankie about this.” She looked back and forth at her parents, and then repeated. “Promise me.”

Crying openly now, her father said. “We promise. We promise.” He looked at his wife and she nodded in agreement. “You’re just being sill, Belle. You are going to be just fine and you’ll see Frankie grow up and get married.” He hadn’t called her Belle in quite a few years.

Isabella reached out and took a hold of her father’s trembling hand. “Thank you for promising me this. If . .” Isabella paused again. “If something should happen today, promise me that you won’t fight Joe for Frankie. This is my wish; I want Frankie and Joe to be together. They belong together.” Isabella glanced at the picture of Joe. “He loves her and she loves him. I know he won’t take her away from you.” Isabella stopped when her mother went running out of the room. Her father turned to follow his wife, but Isabella held tight to his hand. “Daddy, promise me.”

“Belle, I promise.” Her father let her hand fall back to her bed, and then he went to find his wife.

The door to Isabella’s room closed and she was alone. She starred across the room at the photos. She wiped away her tears and began to pray. She asked God to watch out for Frankie and her parents. She asked that one day they all understand why she was doing this. Finally, she asked Him to watch out for her and keep her safe.

The door opened and her nurse walked in. “It’s time to go.” The nurse smiled down at Isabella.

“Let’s get going.” Isabella moved from her bed to the cart waiting there for her. The nurse wheeled her out of the room and stopped outside where a group of people had gathered. Isabella looked at the familiar faces of fellow doctors and nurses that she worked with. Her parents and Matt were also there. She asked her nurse. “Can they go with me?”

“Sure.”

Her parents walked on one side of her cart while Matt helped the nurse push the cart towards the surgery department. Isabella grabbed Matt’s hand and placed a piece of paper in it. He looked down at the piece of paper and read what was written there. ‘Only use if absolutely necessary!’ He opened the folded paper and read Joe’s telephone number. “Promise me.” Isabella whispered and squeezed his hand. Matt nodded his head and put the folded paper in his pocket. They continued towards surgery. The nurse stopped the cart.

“It’s time for you to go to the waiting area.”

Isabella’s mother gave her daughter a hug. “I love you.” She kissed her daughter’s forehead.

“I love you, too.”

Isabella’s father just gave her a kiss on the cheek before moving away from the cart.

Matt walked up to Isabella and gave her a big smile. “Be good. I don’t want to hear any stories about you giving your doctor’s a hard time.”

Isabella smiled, and then the nurse pushed her into the surgery room.

Matt accompanied Isabella’s parents to the waiting area. The three of them sat in silence while they waited to hear about Isabella. An hour passed and Matt went to get coffee for everyone. When he returned he found her parents were not there. He walked over to the receptionist. “Where are Mr. and Mrs. Rotondi?”

The receptionist looked at her list, then pointed towards on of the consultation rooms on the far wall. Matt got a sinking feeling knowing that the surgery shouldn’t be over, so something had to have gone wrong. He sat the coffee down and went to the room. As he opened the door, the surgeon came out of the room. Matt walked in and found Isabella’s parents clinging to each other in tears. “What? What happened?” Matt asked.

Isabella’s father looked up at the young man standing there. He didn’t know what to say to him. “Isabella isn’t doing well. They can’t do the surgery. I really don’t understand what’s going on.”

Matt left the room and raced after Isabella’s surgeon. “Doctor . . . Doctor . . .” Matt yelled after him as he ran down the hall. The surgeon stopped. “What happened to Isabella?”

“Something happened even before we started surgery, her heart stopped. We aren’t sure if she had a heart attack or not, but we fought hard and got her back. She’s being moved to a room right now. We’ve got one of the best cardiologists coming to look after her.” The doctor turned and continued back to the surgery department.

Matt raced back to Isabella’s parents slightly out of breath. Matt relayed the news to them. “Do you understand what happened?” He asked them.

Her parents nodded in disbelief. They were still clinging to each other. “What should we do?”

“Be patient. I’m going to go and find out what ever new information I can.” Matt left and headed to the Intensive Care Unit. He asked a nurse about Isabella.

“She’s still critical. The doctor is in with her now.” She pointed to Isabella’s room and watched as Matt went in.

“How is she?” Matt questioned the doctor.

“Are you her husband?”

“No, I work here with her. She’s a doctor in the emergency room.” Matt wondered what he should do.

“She’s still critical. We’ll watch her for the next couple hours, then we’ll see.” The doctor was very vague. He checked the monitors, wrote something down in her chart and left the room.

Matt walked over to Isabella’s bed. She was hooked up to all the normal monitors. He watched the monitors and surveyed for himself her status. He watched the machines administering medicine to her and the ventilator that was keeping her alive. Why had this happened? Why now? Matt sat with her for a while. He tried talking to her, but she just laid there. He stood up and was about to leave. He put his hand in his pocket and found the piece of paper that Isabella had given him before her surgery. He knew what he had to do. He walked towards the door in a hurry, then turned back around and went to Isabella’s bed. He leaned over and whispered in her ear. “I’m sorry Izzie, but I think I’m doing what’s best.” He turned again and almost sprinted to the waiting area where Isabella’s parents were.

Isabella’s mother stood up when Matt entered the room. All color drained from her face. She anticipated the worst. “What happened?”

“Nothing new to report on her condition. I do have something that might help.” Matt took the paper he held in his hand and showed it to her parents. “Izzie gave this to me, but made me promise not to call him unless something awful happened. I think this qualifies.”

Isabella’s parents looked at the paper and shrugged their shoulders. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt.” Anton Rotondi said. He walked to the telephone and dialed the number. It rang twice before a male voice answered.

“Hello.”

“Is this Joe McIntyre?” Anton asked.

“Um . . yes this is. Can I ask who’s calling?” Joe was always cautious when taking telephone calls.

“This is Anton Rotondi, Isabella’s father.”

“Oh hello, did you want to talk to Frankie?”

“NO!” Anton panicked. He didn’t want to tell her yet. His voice was shaking and Joe began to detect that something was wrong.

“Is Belle all right?” Joe began to pace back and forth around the room. He looked out the window and saw that Frankie was still playing in the back yard.

Anton didn’t know how to break this new to Joe. He had never met the boy and wasn’t sure how he felt about his daughter. He thought he’d just flat out tell him. “Did Belle mention her surgery to you?”

“Yes.” Joe said confused.

“Then you know that she was supposed to have it done today?” Anton paused. “Well, something went wrong.” Anton heard Joe’s gasp on the other end of the telephone.

“What happened?” Panic spread through Joe. He couldn’t stand to lose her.

“Before the doctor could perform the surgery, Belle’s heart just stopped. They think she might have had a heart attack. The doctor’s revived her and put her on a ventilator. She’s in the Intensive Care Unit in critical condition.”

“Oh no.” Joe dropped to his knees. Why had this happened? “Is she going to die?”

“The doctors aren’t sure right now, things don’t look real good.”

“What do you want me to do?” Joe stood back up and checked of Frankie again. This time Frankie saw him and waved. Joe smiled and waved back to her. He hoped he wouldn’t have to break the news to her. “Do you want me to tell Frankie?”

“Not yet. We want you fly here as soon as possible.

“I’ll make arrangements right away.” Joe was already at his desk looking up the number for the airport. “I’ll take the first flight available.”

“We’ll see you when you get here.”

Joe hung up the phone, picked it back up and dialed his parent’s number. The phone rang and before his mother even had a chance to say ‘hello’, Joe blurted out. “Something terrible has happened.”

“What?” She’d never hear her son so panicked. “Is it Frankie?”

“No. Oh Mom.” Joe began to cry. He could barely control his emotions. “Belle.” He cried more. “She’s in the hospital.”

“What happened to her?” Joe was really upset and it worried his mother.

“She had a heart attack or something. I’m not sure of all the details, but she was supposed to have surgery and something happened.” Joe paced around again. He nervously walked to the window to check on Frankie. He didn’t know what to tell her. Then he decided that he wasn’t going to tell her, he wasn’t even going to take her with him. “Mom, I need you to do me a favor. Will you watch Frankie? I’m flying to be with Belle and I don’t think Frankie needs to be there.” Joe ran up the stairs and packed a bag.

“I’d be happy to. When are you leaving?”

“On the next available plane if I can get a ticket.”

“Ok. Drop her off whenever you need to. Joe please be careful.”

“I will. Thanks Mom.” Joe hung up the phone and ran back down the stairs. He went to the back yard and found Frankie playing under a tree. He placed a huge smile on his face, trying to hide his feelings. “Hey Frankie, I’ve been called out of town on business. It looks like you are going to be staying with my parents for a couple of days. Is that okay with you?’

Frankie jumped up and grabbed her things. “When do I get to go?” She loved spending time with his parents. She loved hearing about Joe’s life.

“Don’t seem so excited about getting rid of me.” Joe pretended to pout.

“I’m not, but I like spending time with Grandma and Grandpa.”

“Then why don’t you go and pack some clothes, while I make my flight arrangements.” Frankie ran to the house ahead of Joe and headed for straight for her room to pack. Joe called the airport and made reservations on the next plane to Indiana. He gathered his bag and Frankie’s stuff and placed them in his car. He drove to his parent’s and listened to Frankie go on and on about everything she wanted to do. All he could think about was Belle and the fact that he never told her that he loved her. He pulled into the driveway at his parents and walked to the door with Frankie. His mother greeted them even before he had the chance to open the door.

“Hey you two.” She reached out and gave Frankie a hug. “I hear that you’re going to be staying here for a few days.”

Frankie nodded and walked into the house.

“You’ll be staying in the room at the end of the hall if you want to put your stuff in there.” Frankie headed for the room. Joe’s mom hugged him. “Are you sure you are doing the right thing?”

"I hope so. I'm not real good at thus father thing. Please don't tell her. I'll call as soon as I know something." Joe hugged his mother again.

"I won't tell her. Joseph, please be careful."

Frankie came running back into the room. "I love that room. It's so pretty."

"Thank you."

"Well kiddo, I've got a plane to catch. Please be good." He gave her a big hug. "I love you." He wasn't sure where that had come from, but it felt right. He did love her.

"I love you too, Dad."

Tears came to Joe's eyes; she'd never called him that before. Joe looked at his mother. "I'll call when I get there." He turned and with a huge feeling of guilt left for the airport.

His plane left on time, but he felt like he was never going to get to Isabella. When the plane finally landed, Joe ran from it and hailed a taxi for the hospital. The cab driver kept trying to make small talk, but Joe just sat quietly in the back seat. He found himself praying that everything would be all right.

They finally arrived at the hospital; Joe paid the driver and ran inside. He ran up to the elevator and punched impatiently at the buttons. He pushed the floor for Intensive Care and waited. The doors opened and he walked over to the nurse's station. "Where is Isabella Rotondi's room?"

The nurse looked at him. "Are you a family member?"

"Yes, well sort of." Joe didn't want to explain everything to her. Just than a man came up and placed a hand on his shoulder. Joe turned and looked at the stranger.

"You must be Joe. I see where Frankie gets her curly hair." Anton tried to make the moment less stressful. "Thank you for coming so quickly. Where's Frankie?"

"I decided to leave her with my parents. I didn't think that she needed to be here."

Anton wanted to be upset that this man was making decisions like that about his granddaughter, but then remembered that she was his daughter. He realized that leaving her there was probably a good idea. "Is she all right?"

"She's fine. I'm sure she's being spoiled rotten by her grandparents." Joe looked around. "Where's Belle?"

"I'm sorry. She's in there." He pointed towards Isabella's room.

Joe walked over to the stark white cubical and pushed open the door. He gasped when he saw Isabella lying then attached to all the machines. Tears stung his eyes. He walked to her bedside and grabbed her hand. He leaned over and kissed her cheek. Joe hadn’t even noticed the woman setting in the chair in the corner of the small room. "Belle, please wake up. I never had the chance to tell you that I love you."

Natalie Rotondi sat there and watched this young man cry over her daughter. She started crying and when a small sob escaped her lips, Joe turned to see who was in the room with him. "I didn't mean to interrupt you." She wiped the tears from her eyes. "You must be Joe."

"Yeah and you must be Belle's mother." Joe still held Isabella's hand like a life lie to her. "I see where Belle gets her beauty." Joe smiled at the woman. Her eyes were red and puffy like she'd been crying for days. "Is there anything new with her condition?"

"Nothing." She stood and straightened the blankets on Isabella's bed. "Would you like me to leave you alone?"

"No, don't leave on my account."

"I think I'll take a walk. I'll be back in a bit." She leaned down, kissed Isabella's forehead, then walked out of the room.

Joe stood there holding Isabella's hand for what seemed like forever. He tried to ignore the beeping machines. He looked around the cold room and thought to himself. I'll have to see if she can have flowers. He did notice the pictures on the small table next to her bed. He wondered when she took the picture of him from his house. He picked up the one of Frankie and thought about his daughter. He'd promised he'd call his mother when he found something out. He didn't want to leave Isabella alone, so he decided to wait to call home. Joe decided to sit in the chair in the corner and watched Isabella Laying there.

A few hours later, Natalie returned to her daughter's room. She found Joe sitting next to Isabella's bed with her hand gripped in his. He'd laid his head down on the bed and obviously fallen asleep. Natalie didn't want to wake him, but she thought that he probably could use a break. She tapped him on the shoulder.

Joe woke with a start. He wasn't sure where he was at first. "Is something wrong?" Joe asked, still unsure.

"Everything is fine. I just thought that you would like to take a break. I'll stay here for a while.

Joe stood up and kissed Isabella. "I'll be right back." He told her as if she could understand everything he said. "I'm going to call my mother and check on Frankie. I'll be right back." Joe told Natalie before he left the room.

He walked to the waiting room and picked p the phone. He looked at his watch before dialing the number. It would be late there and hoped that he wouldn't wake anyone. The phone rang and his mother answered.

"Hello."

"It's me, Joe. I'm here." He wanted to keep it brief so Frankie wouldn't overhear him. "How's Frankie doing?"

"She's great. She’s taking a bath before bed." She listened to make sure that Frankie was still in the bathroom. "How is everything there?"

Joe started crying again. "Not good." He stopped and wondered what else to tell her. "I can't stand seeing her like this."

"You can handle this. You have too. I' keeping her in my prayers."

"Thanks Mom. Thanks for everything. I'll try to stay positive. Mom, I love her so much."

"I know. Do you want me to come there?" She didn't know what else to offer him. She could tell that he was hurting.

"You can't. You're helping most right there watching Frankie. I'd better get back to Belle. Give Frankie goodnight kiss for me."

"I will. Please keep me informed of any changes."

"I'll call you tomorrow." Joe hung up the phone, grabbed a cup of coffee and headed back to Isabella's room.

"Any changes?" Joe asked hopefully.

Natalie just shook her head. "How's everything at home?"

"Fine. My mom said that Frankie was taking a bath." Joe returned to his post at Isabella's bedside. "Belle, you have to come back to us, your daughter needs you. I need you." Joe took her delicate hand in his. He linked their fingers together, turned around and saw Natalie yawn. "How long have you been here?"

She glanced at her watch, and then told him. "About sixteen hours."

"Why don't you go home and get some sleep. I'll stay here and call if anything changes."

"I guess I could do that. I'll go find Anton." She stood up and left the cubical.

Joe starred at the monitors, and then let his gaze fall on the picture of Frankie and himself on the table next to the bed. He thought about the picture of himself and wondered when Isabella had taken it. He decided to get some rest. He sat down, covered up with his jacket, and kept watch over Isabella. Her status didn't really change. As the night went on, Joe drifted in and out of sleep. Nurses came and went from Isabella's room changing medicines and monitoring her status. It was early morning when Matt stopped by to check on Isabella. He stopped at the nurse’s station and read her chart. Everything looked fine, except that she was still unconscious. He went to her room and walked up to her bed. It had been a busy night in the emergency room. Matt sat on the edge of Isabella's bed and grabbed her hand. "Izzie, we miss you. Please wake up." Matt sat crying. He realized that through this whole ordeal he'd never cried. He was always the strong one. Matt didn't know that Joe was sitting in the corner of the room.

Joe awoke when he heard Matt enter the room. He thought that he was another of Isabella's nurses or doctors. It wasn't until he sat down and began to speak to her that he realized he was someone else. He could tell by the loving way he looked at her and his nickname for her that they were more than mere acquaintances. Joe eventually moved, making enough noise for Matt to acknowledge his presence.

"I'm sorry. I didn't see you there." Matt looked at the man sitting in the corner.

"I didn't mean to interrupt you." Joe lied. He wondered who this person was. It was obvious that he had some kind of relationship with Isabella. "Are you a doctor?" Joe asked.

"No, I work in the emergency room with Izzie."

Izzie, Joe cringed at the nickname. How could she allow him to call her that. "Oh, what do you do there?" Joe asked still sizing this guy up.

"I'm a paramedic." Matt wondered if Joe was ever going to get around to introducing himself. Matt knew who he was. "Who are you?" Matt coyly asked.

"I'm Joe."

"Oh yeah, Frankie's father. I talked to you on the phone the other night." Matt realized.

"That was you." Joe thought back to that night and holding Isabella while she slept.

"Sorry if I interrupted something, but Izzie wanted me to get back to her as soon as I could."

"Why was she in such a hurry to have this surgery done?" Joe asked.

"You'll have to ask her." Matt shrugged his shoulders. "How long have you been here?" Joe looked as though he'd been sleeping in his clothes for days now.

"About eighteen hours or so." Joe stood and stretched.

"Why don't you tae a break, I'll stay with Izzie until you get back."

Joe felt a slight tinge of jealousy. He didn’t want to leave Isabella there with Matt. "I'm fine." Joe walked to the opposite side of the bed that Matt was on. He stood starring at her.

"Well I guess I'll leave you alone. If you hear something new call me." Matt leaned down and gave Isabella a kiss on her cheek.

Joe continued his vigil over Isabella. He only left the room long enough to check on Frankie. Isabella's parents came and went during the next two days. On his third night at the hospital, Joe was suddenly awoken by an alarm going off on one r any good by getting in our way." The nurse snapped.

Joe looked at Isabella. "Please don't let her die." He left the room and began to cry. He couldn't loose her now. What would he tell Frankie? Joe sat in the Intensive Care waiting room and placed his head in his hands. He wondered if he should call Isabella's parents. He walked to the phone and dialed their number.

"Hello?" Natalie's sleepy voice rang over the phone.

"Mrs. Rotondi, this is Joe."

Before he could say anything else Natalie interrupted. "What's wrong? Did something happen to Isabella?"

"I'm not sure what's going on." Joe explained what happened.

"We'll be right there." Natalie hung up the phone and races to get dressed. Ten minutes later Natalie and Anton were standing next to Joe in the waiting room. The doctor approached them.

“Doctor what happened?” Natalie asked.

“Isabella has had a slight set back. She suffered another episode like the other day. Her health is getting worse.” He stood looking at the horror on the faces of these people. “Do you have any questions?”

Anton shook his head and the doctor left them standing there. “I think we need to tell Frankie.” Anton said.

Joe agreed. “I’ll call my parents right away.” Joe walked over to the pay phone and dialed their number.

“Hello.”

“Mom?” Joe wasn’t sure what to say.

“Joseph is everything all right?” She could hear something different in her son’s voice.

“Isabella took a turn for the worse. I need you to send Frankie here right away.”

“I’ll take care of it right now. Are you going to meet her at the airport?”

“Someone will be there waiting for her.” Joe really didn’t want to leave the hospital.

“Why don’t I come with her? That way she won’t be alone.”

“Mom that would be wonderful.” Joe hung up with his mother and returned to the chair in the corner of Isabella’s room. He stayed there, not leaving her side, until Frankie and his mother arrived. Joe was asleep when his mother tapped his arm.

“Joseph.”

Joe awoke with a start. He tried to remember where he was. “Mom?” He said, and then remembered where he was. “Where’s Frankie?”

“She’s out in the waiting area with her grandparents.”

“Does she know about Belle?”

“Her grandparents are telling her right now.”

Joe stood and left Isabella’s side for the first time in hours. He walked to the waiting area. When he first saw Frankie she was sitting between her grandparents. She was sobbing. She stood up and ran to Joe. He grabbed the child in his arms and held her tight.

“Dad is she going to die?” Frankie looked at Joe with the saddest eyes he’d ever seen.

I don’t know.” Joe didn’t. He’d prayed non-stop for the last couple hours that Isabella would pull through this. He’d promised God that he’d do anything just to see Isabella’s beautiful smile again.

“Can I go see her?” Frankie asked.

Joe didn’t say anything; he just grabbed her little hand and led her into her mother’s room. Frankie walked up to the bed, crawled in with her mom, and curled up next to her.

“Mommy please wake up.” Frankie cried.

Joe stood back and watched his daughter. His heart broke into a million pieces. He would have given anything to trade places with Isabella. Frankie needed her mother. He sat down in the chair and cried.

Frankie noticed that Joe was crying. She got off the bed and walked to Joe. “Have you been here the whole time?”

Joe nodded his head then explained to Frankie what had happened. “Your mother really is stubborn.”

“I told you that. I can’t believe she planned the have the surgery with out telling me.” Frankie needed to tell Joe that her mother really loved him. She could tell that he obviously loved her. Instead she thought it would be best to wait for Joe to hear it from her mother.

The next two days continued on like the ones before. Frankie was staying with her grandparents and Joe’s mother had returned home. Joe stayed at Isabella’s bedside.

It was nearing dawn and Joe had just drifted back to sleep when Isabella’s eyes fluttered. She opened her eyes again and wondered where she was. She heard the familiar noises of the monitors she’d been taught to read. She realized that she was on a vent and started to panic. She reached out to feel for the button to call the nurse, but instead she grabbed a hold of a hand. She tried to see whose hand it was, but was unable to see anyone. She used what strength she had to squeeze the person’s hand. She noticed someone stir in the chair. She was shocked when she saw Joe’s bright blue eyes starring back at her.

Joe couldn’t believe that she was awake. He squeezed her hand in his. “Belle, are you really awake?” She nodded and pointed to the tube. “Do you want me to get a nurse?” Joe asked.

She once again nodded her head. Joe ran out of the room and yelled for a nurse. He returned to her side. He had tears in his eyes, but this time they were tears of joy. “You gave us all a terrible scare.” Joe grabbed her hand and held it to his lips. He kissed the palm of her hand.

The nurse and doctor came in the room and extubated Isabella. The doctor looked Isabella over and decided to move her out of the Intensive Care Unit. “Isabella, you appear to be a very lucky woman. There doesn’t appear to be any permanent damage to your heart and that’s a miracle. I’m going to have you moved to a regular room.”

“What about the surgery?” Isabella asked her doctor.

“I’d have to talk to your specialist, but I’m sure he’d agree with me. I don’t think it’s a good idea right now.”

“I was told the longer that I wait the worse off I’d be.” Isabella was getting upset. Joe tried to soothe her by rubbing a hand down her cheek, but she moved his hand away.

“Belle, you have to remain calm. The stress is probably what caused your attack.” The doctor looked at her blood pressure and noticed how high it was. “You have to calm down. As soon as you’re able to have the surgery I’m sure we can accommodate you.” He wrote some more orders in her chart. “I’ll let you get some rest.” He left the room leaving Joe and Isabella alone for the first time.

“What are you doing here?” Isabella asked.

“Keeping watch over you.” Joe sat on the edge of Isabella’s bed. “You really scared me.” He grabbed a hold of her hand and held it tight.

Isabella couldn’t believe that he was sitting there. She noticed that his clothes were wrinkled and that he hadn’t shaved in days. She ran a hand down his cheek. “Are you trying a new look?” She teased. “How long have you been here?”

“About a week.” Joe was still just sitting there grinning at her. He couldn’t believe she was awake and talking to him.

“You look awful.” Isabella told him.

“You look wonderful.” Joe continued to grin at her. He ran a hand down her cheek. He wanted to pull her into his arms and never let her go.

Isabella finally wondered where her daughter was. “Where’s Frankie?”

“She’s at your parents house.” Joe thought, and then added. “Oh no! I forgot to call them.” Joe stood, turned to leave, turned back to Isabella, kissed her on the lips, and then said. “Please don’t go anywhere. I’ll be right back.” He turned again and left the room.

He promptly returned to her side. “They are excited. They are on their way here.” Joe sat back down next to Isabella. He grabbed her hand again. “Belle, I really didn’t want to tell you this here, but I just can’t wait anymore.” Joe paused. “I love you.” He watched as tears formed in her eyes. “I love you so much that I thought my heart would break if I never saw your smile again. I love you. I’ve loved you from the first moment that I saw you talking to the clerk at the hotel eleven years ago. I wanted t meet you, then by some miracle you came running across the lobby at me. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. When you weren’t there the next morning I didn’t think that I’d survive. I tired to find you, but couldn’t. It was a miracle that you showed up at my parents the same day I did. I knew it was God’s way of correcting the mistake from all those years ago. I love you, Belle.” He couldn’t say it enough and after every time he said it, he kissed her. “When your dad called to tell me about you being in a coma I about died. I couldn’t bear to lose you again.” Joe stopped and starred at the gorgeous woman sitting before him crying. He wondered what she was thinking. “Please say something.”

Isabella grinned through the tears. She wiped them away. She looked into his deep blue eyes. “I love you too.” She giggled. She felt like schoolgirl. “I wish I could go back to the night we met, stay and wake up in your arms. I wish I had told you right away about Frankie. I could go on and on, but the most recent thing I would change would be not to leave you the other day. I should have told you about the surgery.” Isabella was crying again.

“It’s all right. I understand that you’re stubborn.” Joe laughed when she made a face at him.

“I’m not stubborn.”

Joe laughed again. “Yes, my love, you are.” Joe continued to laugh. Just then Frankie came running in.

“Mom, you’re awake!” Frankie jumped onto Isabella’s bed and into her awaiting arms. She hugged her mother tight.

“Frankie.” Isabella squeezed her daughter. She began to cry again. Joe wrapped his arms around the two women he loved.

“Joe’s been great. He never left your side. He loves you.” Frankie told her mother.

“He does?” Isabella played dumb, but continued to smile at Joe.

“Yes, he does, now stop being stubborn and tell him how you feel!” Frankie placed her hands on her hips.

“She already told me.” Joe smiled at Isabella. “Frankie, you are just in time to convince this stubborn woman to marry me.”

Isabella gasped at the question, or was it a comment. “I’m not stubborn!” Isabella said again.

“Yes you are.” Joe and Frankie said in unison.

Joe grabbed Isabella’s hand. “Belle, I don’t ever want to lose you again. Please make me the happiest person on the planet. Marry me.”

Isabella nodded her head. “Yes, yes, yes, I’ll marry you.” She leaned past Frankie and kissed her future husband.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

One Year Later

Isabella ran into the bathroom. “Frankie hurry up, we’re going to be late.” Isabella looked at her reflection in the mirror one last time before returning to her room.

“Mom, Zander needs his diaper changed.” Frankie informed her mother.

“Can you do it? I need to finish getting dressed.” Isabella continued gathering her clothes.

“Sure.” Frankie made a face behind her mother’s back. “Why can’t I still be an only child?” Frankie asked her baby brother.

“Because your father and I thought we’d torture you by giving you someone to care about, love, teach, and play with.” Isabella told her daughter. She was standing in the doorway to her son’s nursery. “Frankie, we didn’t do this to torture you. Just think you’re privileged, Joe and I never had siblings.”

Frankie continued to change her brother’s diaper and redressed him. “I’ve heard it all before. Since Joe and you were only children you never had the joy of having a sibling and I should count my blessings. I know.” Frankie picked Zander up and played with him. She loved her brother, but sometimes missed having her mother to herself.

“Aleczander will be your best friend someday.” Isabella took her three-month-old son and cuddled him close.

“Whatever.” Frankie left Zander’s room and returned to her own.

Isabella yelled after her daughter. “Frankie get your dress. We need to be at the church soon.” She remembered back to the day she found out she was pregnant.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Isabella was moved to a private room and her doctors ordered a bunch of tests to try to determine what had caused her coma. They had ordered the regular work-up and found no real reasoning for the coma, but one of the tests they ran before doing a CAT scan of her head, was a pregnancy test. Everyone was shocked when it came back positive. Isabella could only be a week pregnant at the most. She was unsure about the pregnancy, but when she told Joe he was ecstatic. He couldn’t contain his excitement. He told everyone he saw that he was going to be a father.

Isabella’s health was cleared and she finally got an answer for when she could have her surgery. She remembered how upset Joe got when she made the arrangements to have the surgery as she could.

“You just got out of a coma. Do you have any idea how scared I was that I’d lose you?” Joe paced around Isabella’s room. How could she be so stubborn? He thought. “You’re not just taking a chance with your life this time. What about our child?” Joe asked. He kept pacing around the room and running his hands through his hair.

Isabella loved the fact that he was so worried about her. She also knew that this surgery was needed and wouldn’t harm her or their unborn child. Isabella patted a spot on her bed wanting Joe to sit there. He obeyed and sat on the edge of the bed. She grabbed his hands. “Joe, I love you, but you have to understand that this isn’t a topic for discussion. I’m having the surgery tomorrow and I’m going to be here to marry you in a year.” She leaned forward and gently kissed him. She tried to sit back in her bed, but Joe held her tight. The kiss deepened and Belle found herself loosing herself in it. When Joe let her go she smiled. “Mr. McIntyre, we’re going to get caught.”

Joe had a look of lust in his eyes. He wanted to make love to Belle right there, right now. He smiled back at her. “Come on Belle, doesn’t your door lock?” Joe teased. He knew that she’d never go for it.

Isabella shrugged her shoulders. “I’ve never looked.” She grinned back at him.

Joe gave her a shocked look, and then went to check the door. He was surprised when he saw a lock on the door. He turned the knob and returned to Isabella’s bed. Without saying a word he gave her a look asking her if she was sure about this. She nodded her head and pulled him down on the small hospital bed next to her. “I don’t want to hurt you.” Joe said into her neck as he placed a trail of kisses down her neck. He pushed the thin hospital gown down off her shoulders.

“You won’t.” Isabella told him, completely loosing herself in him. She still couldn’t believe that they were doing this. Joe continued reeking havoc on her body.

He had worked his way down her body and removed her gown in the process. He was just about to remove his clothes when the door to Isabella’s room opened. Joe panicked and pulled Isabella’s gown back up. He rolled out of the bed and found her doctor standing there. He sat in the chair in the corner of the room. He was highly embarrassed.

Isabella greeted her doctor. “Hello Dr. Schultz, I’m sorry about that.” Isabella giggled and smiled and Joe. His face turned crimson.

“How are you feeling today?” He was flipping through her chart.

“Great.” Isabella continued to smile a Joe.

“Are you ready for tomorrow?” He asked.

“I can’t wait.” Isabella wondered if he knew what was going on.

“Everything appears fine. I’ll let you get back to whatever it was that you were doing.” He laughed and walked toward the door. “Next time try locking the door.” He teased.

“I did.” Joe said after the doctor left. Isabella giggled again. “I thought I did.” Joe said. “I’m so embarrassed.”

“I’m sure he’s seen this before.” Isabella laughed.

“Belle.”

“What?” Isabella calmed back down. “I’m sure he understood.”

Joe came back to Isabella’s side. “Belle, I’m scared.” He grabbed her hands.

“Nothing bad is going to happen.” Isabella told him. “I’ve got to do this. I have our children to think about.” She placed Joe’s hand on her stomach. He kissed her. “I think we’d better not get started again.”

The next morning all of Isabella’s family and friends gathered in her room before her surgery. This time everyone’s attitude was different than last time. Everyone was in a good mood, everyone except Joe that is. He was still scared about loosing Isabella and now his unborn child. Right before the surgery, Isabella and Joe spent a few moments together.

“Joe, I love you. You have to understand my need to do this. I’ll be out before you know it.”

“I love you too, that’s why I’m so worried. Please come back to me and please keep our baby safe.” He placed a hand on her stomach. He leaned down and kissed Isabella, then her stomach. The nurses were ready to wheel her into the surgery suite. “I love you Belle.”

The surgery went well and everything seemed to go back to normal. Isabella was released from the hospital and Joe swept her away on a vacation so she could recover. When they returned to Isabella’s house they began planning for their wedding and the arrival of their child.

Joe returned to his life, touring and doing promotions for his recently released album. Isabella stayed in her hometown and eventually returned to work in the Emergency Room. About eight months later, Aleczander Reece came screaming into the world. He looked exactly like his father. Joe stayed with Isabella and their children in her hometown finishing the plans for their wedding.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Mom! We’re going to be late!” Frankie yelled to her day dreaming mother.

“Oh my goodness, we’d better hurry.” She grabbed Zander, his stuff and her dress before heading out the door. The rented limousine was waiting for her. They all climbed in and were off for the church.

The church was packed with their family and friends. Isabella and Frankie raced to the Bride’s room to get ready for the ceremony. Isabella’s bridesmaids joined the two women. They all dressed for the wedding.

The music started and soon they heard their cue to begin their walk down the isle. The first of Isabella’s six bridesmaids walked down the isle followed by the next. Finally only Isabella, Frankie, and Anton were in the back of the church. Frankie was serving, as her mother’s maid-of-honor. She turned to her mother hugged her.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.” Isabella kissed her daughter’s forehead and watched as she took her first couple of steps down the isle. The doors closed and Isabella looked down at her dress one last time. It was gorgeous and she felt like a fairy princess. Joe had bought it for her. He hired one of the biggest designers in New York to design it for her. He hadn’t seen it yet and Isabella couldn’t wait to walk down the isle to show it to him. She thought, I really can’t wait to see it laying on the floor tomorrow morning either. Joe’s been gone for weeks promoting his album and she hadn’t seen him until two nights ago. They hadn’t had time alone yet. They were leaving for their honeymoon immediately following the reception.

“Are you ready?” Anton asked his daughter.

“I’ve never been more ready.” Isabella grabbed her father’s arm and smiled at him. “I love you, Dad.”

“I love you too, Belle.”

The music changed and the doors opened. Isabella took her first step forward and the congregation stood. She smiled at her father while the two of them headed towards the altar.

Joe stood grinning at the end of the isle like a child on Christmas morning. He thought to himself. I’m the luckiest man on the planet.

Anton stood with Isabella at the end of the isle waiting for his cue from the priest. The priest finally said. “Who gives this woman to be with this man?”

Anton beamed as he said. “Her mother and I do.” He lifted Isabella’s veil, kissed her, placed her arm in Joe’s arm and then joined his wife in the front pew.

The ceremony continued on and just before the priest finished and announced them husband and wife; Frankie grabbed Zander from her grandmother. The priest pronounced them, then said. “I now present you the Mr. and Mrs. Joseph McIntyre family.”

The music swelled as Joe grabbed his wife’s hand and said. “It’s a miracle that trough it all we found the strength to love.”

The End J

Tell Stephanie what you thought of this story!