From far away a voice that was familiar called to him. Joe no longer felt heat radiating from his  stomach. The pain was gone.

He opened his eyes and recognized his brother and father bending over him. With a sudden flood of memory, Joe sat up and the room spun out of control as he leaned against his fathers outstretched arm. He thought how strange it was for him to be lying on the kitchen table with his feet dangling over the sides!

"I’m the right size again! What happened to the ring and the box? What’s wrong, Frank? You look as if you’ve seen a ghost!" said Joe in a rush as Mr. Hardy hauled him to his feet.

Frank stared hard at Joe.

"You didn’t know who I was! I scared you!" stammered Frank feeling embarrassed.

"I didn’t know who I was either so don’t feel bad! It was nothing personal! I knew you were important and that I had to change the course of the future." Joe steadied himself and hugged his brother clumsily. Fenton Hardy looked hard at his boys. It felt as if a fog had been draped over his eyes and he just couldn’t seem to remember something that had just happened that was really important. Mr. Hardy shook his head to clear it and found his sons watching him curiously.

"I’ve had a difficult day at work. You’re Mom will be home for dinner soon. I need to lie down. Excuse me, boys." said Fenton Hardy as he made his way to the couch.

Joe followed and stopped beside his father on the couch.

"Dad, tell us again what Granddad looted from a French cottage during the war?" said Joe curiously.

"You remember the story. Your Granddad got so tired of sleeping outside on the hard ground, day in and day out that he stole a soft feather mattress. Your poor Grandmother had to burn that mattress years later because it was so filthy. Your Granddad was a funny guy with lots of interesting stories to tell. Pity you boys were so small when he died. Look leave me be! I need a nap!" mumbled Fenton looking sleepy.

"Memory lapse, maybe?!" sighed Frank as he steered Joe out of the living room and up to their room to play.      

The End.

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.