Hardy Boys Fan Fiction at the Hardy Detective Agency Presents "Quality Time" by CQB

Fenton Hardy moaned as he was jostled around, but relaxed as he felt the softness of a bed beneath him. He wanted to wake up, but the warmth of the room and the softness of the bed caused him to drift deeper into the darkness of sleep.

Joe watched as the woman removed Mr. Hardy’s shoes and socks. She then checked the bindings on the splint that covered his leg. After tightening a few of the bindings, she removed the man’s jacket and shirt, and then covered him with a quilt.

"It’s going to be alright, Joe," the woman said, coming to kneel beside him again.

Joe wanted to trust her. No, he needed to trust her. ‘She’s taking care of Dad,’ Joe thought, ‘Maybe I can just sleep now.’ He closed his eyes, just wanting to drift off to sleep.

"Joe," the woman said, touching the boy’s good arm, "Your clothes are soaking wet. I need to get them off of you. It might hurt some, but I’ll be as careful as I can." Joe opened his fever-glazed eyes. A tear trickled down his cheek. He didn’t want some woman he didn’t know taking off his clothes, but he knew she was right. He swallowed and nodded his head. She smiled and brushed the tear from his cheek.

She removed his shoes, socks and jeans, being careful to ease the fabric around the boy’s leg wound. The dressing on the wound was bloody and covered with mud; it would need changed.

"My name is Maddie," said the woman as she worked. "I just returned from a trip into town. They were talking about a plane that went down near Torrey. I’m guessing that you were on that plane." Joe nodded in response. Maddie then signed to Carl to bring her some scissors. She gently lifted Joe’s injured arm and removed the wet, soiled sling. Joe closed his eyes and gritted his chattering teeth against the pain. She took the shears from Carl and cut away the boy’s wet jacket and shirt. Maddie signed to Carl again and Joe felt himself being lifted and carried to the sofa bed. Once in the bed, Maddie pulled a towel around Joe’s arm and shoulder, pinning the arm close to his body to keep it from moving. She changed the bandages on Joe’s leg. Finally, she drew the quilt up to Joe’s chin, then discreetly reached under the quilt and quickly pulled off his wet boxer shorts.

"Get some sleep," Maddie commanded Joe, brushing his damp hair off of his forehead. Joe Hardy closed his eyes, and with a soft sigh of relief, he allowed himself to embrace the darkness of sleep that had been threatening to swallow him for the past several hours.

Madeline Whitefeather put a fresh pot of coffee on the propane stove, anticipating a long night ahead of her. She picked up Joe’s wet clothes, discarding the ruined jacket and shirt. The pants were pretty torn up too, but before throwing them away, she checked the pockets.

She found a flashlight, pocketknife and the boy’s wallet. Maddie opened the wallet and looked at Joe’s smiling face on his driver’s license.

"Joseph Aaron Hardy," Maddie read out loud, "Hardy...I know that name!" Maddie raced into her bedroom where Carl was playing with his Lego blocks. She began digging through a stack of magazines in the corner. ‘Here it is,’ she thought as she pulled a news magazine from the pile. The cover story was about private detectives.

Maddie signed to Carl to go to sleep in her bed, since the Hardy’s were occupying Carl’s bed. Once he was tucked in bed, Maddie pulled a chair up near the sofa bed and opened the magazine. Part of the article mentioned Fenton Hardy, a private detective from the east coast. She studied the picture, then gazed at the man on the bed. It certainly looked like the same man. The article stated a particular case in which Mr. Hardy and his two teenage sons had stopped an attempted kidnapping of the daughter of the President of the United States.

"Oh Lord," Maddie said out loud, "My son is wanted for murder and I’ve got a private detective in my house!" Maddie also thought about the planes she heard earlier. ‘They were probably search planes. They’ll come around here eventually,’ she thought, ‘I’m surprised Sheriff Tanner hasn’t been here already. What am I going to do?’

Fenton Hardy was thirsty and it felt like there was a demolition crew wrecking havoc in his head. He forced his eyes open. ‘Where in the world am I?’ the man questioned himself. He tried to sit up, but quickly realized that it wouldn’t be wise. ‘Whoa, my head! Feels like I’ve been hit by a train!’ He turned his head and was shocked to see his youngest son tossing and turning next to him on the bed. A woman with long black hair was placing a cloth across Joe’s forehead, saying something softly to the boy, but Fenton couldn’t make out the words.

The woman looked up and met Fenton’s gaze. She smiled and moved around to his side of the bed. He slowly moved his head to follow her.

"Hello Mr. Hardy," she said, "I’m Maddie. Your son brought you here. Do you remember anything?"

"W-where are we?" he asked hoarsely. Maddie left quickly, but returned with a glass of water. She put an arm around the man’s neck and lifted enough for him to get a drink.

"You’re in Twelve Sleep County, Wyoming," the woman said, "I’m pretty sure you’re a survivor of a plane crash."

"The plane! Joe!" Fenton turned again to his son, "Is my son hurt badly?"

"Bad enough," Maddie replied, "His arm and shoulder are busted up badly, and he has some kind of deep puncture in his thigh. The thigh is infected; that’s what’s causing the fever. I mixed some natural medicine and put it on the wound. Seems to be drawing the infection out well enough."

"How did we get here?" Fenton asked, leaning over to touch Joe’s forehead.

"Joe pulled you here on an inflated, rubber raft of some kind," Maddie stated, removing the cloth from Joe’s forehead to dip it in cool water again. Fenton stared at his son. ‘How in the world did he manage that on his own?’

Let the authors know what you think of this story

Home Library Authors Rogue's Gallery Vehicles Chums Message Board Rap Sheet Links Contact

Disclaimer

The Hardy Boys belong to Simon and Schuster and the Stratemeyer Foundation. The authors 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.