Hardy Detective Agency featuring Hardy Boys Fan Fiction

Frank rubbed his grainy eyes tiredly, and tried unsuccessfully to suppress another yawn. He had not slept well last night. He had not slept well the night before that either, come to think of it. He had thought that with Joe safely under the care of doctors in the hospital, the fears and stress would relinquish their hold on his exhausted body and allow him some much needed rest. It had not been so.

His restless sleep had been plagued with a marathon of nightmares and heart-pounding images, each one more horrific than the last. Several times he had been awakened in the night with a silent scream caught in his fear-constricted throat, as he frantically tried to distinguish what was nightmare and what was reality.

Frank shuddered at the memory of those nightmarish images and instinctively reached out to grasp Joe's hand, the hand that was free from the IV needle and tubes.

"Hey, do you know how many times you died last night, kiddo?" Frank whispered to the sleeping figure. "It's a good thing that my dreams, or nightmares in this case, have never proven to be a premonition of real life itself. But just to reassure your big brother here, I really wish you would open those eyes of yours and let me know that you are there. You don't even have to say anything, you know."

Frank stared intently at his brother's sleeping face, searching for any telltale sign of Joe's awakening. Seeing none, he continued, "I've been sitting here all morning trying to fight off sleep. I really don't want to risk missing you coming awake, but I don't know how much longer I can keep my own eyes open. Didn't sleep too well last night, you know and I'm putting that to your account, little brother."

Frank rubbed his thumb gently over the skin of that unresponsive hand. "Come on, Sleeping Beauty, it's time to wake up. Or are you holding out for a kiss?"

"Not from you." The voice was raspy and cracked with disuse, and barely audible in its weakness, but Frank heard it nevertheless.

"Joe!"

The heavy eyes cracked open and two narrow slits of blue peered up at Frank. The colourless lips twisted slightly in what could only be an attempt at a smile.

"Joe, you're awake!" Frank cried. "It's about time! How do you feel? Do you need anything? Are you hurting? Should I get the doctor?"

Joe closed his eyes at the onslaught of questions. "Too much."

Frank laughed. "Sorry, kiddo. Let's do that again. How do you feel?"

"Like I've died," Joe admitted, before adding, "Thirsty."

Frank quickly filled a glass from the nearby pitcher and elevated the bed carefully. Placing the straw between his brother's lips, he cautioned, "Just a small sip. Doctor's orders. Don't want you to upchuck all over yourself."

Even the small effort of sipping water was exhausting and Joe lay back with closed eyes. "Hospital?"

Frank frowned, trying to discern his brother's real question from the single word. "If you are asking whether you are in the hospital, then yes, you are. You were brought in here yesterday afternoon."

"How?" Joe peered tiredly at his brother.

"Jason turned himself in and told us where we might find you, and we did," Frank replied.

"Jason? He okay?"

Frank frowned. "I guess he is, but I haven't seen him. He's in police custody so I assume he's okay. We've been all pretty worried about you. Didn't have time to be concerned about anybody else."

Joe shifted slightly and winced at the pain brought on by the minute movement.

"Keep still," Frank admonished quickly. "Your body is one big mess."

"Feels like it," Joe muttered. "Mom and Dad?"

"I banished them to the cafeteria for a coffee as they were struggling to stay awake. Made them promise to bring one back to me too. They should be back soon. They've been worried to death about you. We all have," Frank said quietly.

"Sorry," Joe said.

Frank stared down at him. "So you should be. You've got a lot to account for, little brother."

Joe closed his eyes wearily. "Yeah, I know."

Feeling slightly remorseful at his earlier tone, Frank softened his voice considerably when he spoke again. "But the most important thing for you to do now is to get better. Everything else can wait."

There was a long moment of silence and Frank almost thought that his brother had fallen asleep again, so he was startled when he heard Joe's voice again.

"Thought I'd never see you again," Joe whispered. "Or Mom and Dad."

"Hey, kiddo, it's all right. You're safe now," Frank said gently as he took hold of Joe's unencumbered hand again. "The bad guys are dead, you know."

Joe's eyes flipped open. "Dead? How?"

Frank shrugged. "We really don't know much of the details right now, but their bodies were found the same night that you went missing. Dad thinks it's their own people who had them killed. They probably got what they deserved, but hey, let's not waste time on them right now."

"Dead," Joe murmured. "Doesn't seem real."

"What's real is that you are back with us, safe," Frank said gently.

"Yeah," the younger Hardy let out a long, shaky breath.

At that moment, the door opened and Fenton and Laura Hardy stepped in. Making their way quietly to the bedside, Laura whispered, "Is he awake?"

"Hi Mom, Dad," Joe answered himself.

"Oh honey, you're awake!" Laura exclaimed. "Oh, thank God! Thank God!"

"Good to see you awake, son," Fenton smiled down at his younger son. "You had us quite worried for a while there."

Laura cupped her son's face gently. "How do you feel, baby?"

Joe smiled wanly as he relished in his mother's attention. "Feels good to be alive."

"Oh, honey!" Laura cried as tears brimmed and spilled down her cheeks.

"Hey, Mom!" Joe said gently and tried to brush the tears from his mother's cheeks, but the effort proved to be too much. His arm plopped back onto the bed as he grunted with pain.

"Don't move!" Laura admonished.

"Sorry," her son said, grimacing. His eyes traveled over the strained faces of the three people hovering above his bedside and took in the shadows and lines of worry and sleeplessness. Guilt surged through him as he realized what he had put his family through. "I'm so sorry."

"What, honey?" Laura asked as she caressed her son's face. "Sorry for what?"

"For all this," Joe said. "For putting you all through hell."

"Yeah, that just about sums it all up," Frank agreed as his brother's words suddenly brought to life the anger that he had pushed into the back of his mind. "It was hell all right! If you weren't lying there half-dead already, I'd be tempted to throttle you myself."

"Frank!" his mother protested.

Taken back at his own outbreak of emotions, Frank gaped at the equally surprised face of his brother. Rubbing a hand over his tired eyes, he quickly apologized, "Sorry, Joe, don't know what came over me. That was uncalled for. You don't need this right now."

"No, I deserve it, and more," Joe said miserably. "You have every right to be pissed at me, all of you. I can't imagine what I put you through these couple of days."

"Oh, honey, you didn't exactly have a light time of it either," Laura said gently.

"Yeah, but I brought it all on myself, and made you guys suffer right along with me," Joe said.

Fenton cleared his throat. "Yes, well, I need to have a word with you about what happened, but that can wait until you are feeling a bit better. Right now, we are just all thankful that you are all right."

Joe closed his eyes wearily before forcing them opened again. "You know what was my biggest fear down in that basement?" Without waiting for an answer, he continued, "That I wouldn't get a chance to apologize to each one of you. To tell you how wrong I was in not listening to you, especially you, Frank." He smiled a little wryly. "Funny how the threat of death can clear your mind so quickly, something that years of lectures couldn't do."

"You always have to do things in the extreme, don't you, little brother?" Frank asked. "Next time, just accept the wisdom of your elders instead of testing it by nearly getting yourself killed. It will make all our lives a lot easier."

The younger Hardy smiled weakly. "I'll try to keep that in mind the next time I decide to jump off the cliff. I can't promise that I won't ever do anything stupid again, but I will try, believe me."

"Well, I guess that's better than nothing," Fenton said with a smile of his own. "I won't tell you how impulsive and reckless I was in my younger days, or it'll spoil the pristine imagine that you boys have of me. But I'll tell you this much, you learn to pull back a little with experience, especially so after you've crashed headlong into the brick wall one too many times. It's a matter of survival."

Frank looked at his father in wonderment. "You, dad, were impulsive and reckless? I can't imagine."

Fenton cocked an eyebrow. "Hey, perfection doesn’t come overnight. Took me years to build up this suave, invincible image of mine."

Laura grinned. "You boys wouldn't know any better, but both of your paternal grandparents were prematurely gray. When I first met your father and subsequently, his parents, I thought it was something that was genetic. Didn't take me long to find out the real truth."

Joe looked a little incredulous. "And you've managed to survive all these years without turning gray yourself?"

His mother smiled a little wickedly. "That's when the blond hair comes in handy. The gray doesn't show up as much."

Both of her sons stared intently at her hair, searching for the telltale signs of graying roots, but could find none.

Fenton wrapped his arm around his petite wife affectionately. "Don't bother looking, boys. Your mother is blessed with eternal youth."

"Hey, I take after Mom's looks," Joe said with a smile of slow realization.

Frank, on the other hand, looked rather stricken. "I take after Dad, and with you as my little brother, what chances do I have of not turning gray before my time?"

Joe gave him a wisp of a smile before closing his eyes. "You'll look suave, Frank, just like Dad."

Laura's maternal instincts came into action instantly. "Joe's tired. We should let him rest. Frank, you get yourself to the cafeteria and get some lunch. I'll stay here with Joe."

"I'm not hungry," Frank protested.

"Do as your mother says, Frank. You need a break. I'll have to drop by at the police station to tie up a few loose ends, but I'll be back later, okay, Joe?"

Joe gave a slight nod. "See you, Dad."

Laura adjusted his blankets critically. "Go to sleep, honey. You don't know how awful you look."

"Gee, thanks, Mom," Joe mumbled sleepily.

Laura smiled as she brushed her lips against his forehead. "Don't worry, you'll always be my beautiful baby."

Fenton smiled and draped an arm across his older son's shoulders. "Come along, Frank. I'll walk you to the cafeteria. Your mother and brother need some bonding time to themselves."

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Disclaimer

The Hardy Boys belong to Simon and Schuster and the Stratemeyer Foundation. The Hardy Boys Fan Fiction authors of the Hardy Detective Agency have just borrowed them for an adventure or two. The authors promise to put the boys back when they are done with them. The authors do claim copyright to the original characters in this story. Please do not borrow original characters without express permission of the authors.