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

Sheriff Colt Tanner radioed the ranger station in Torrey for a helicopter. He didn’t feel it would be wise to ride Fenton or Joe down the mountain on quads with their injuries. They both claimed that no one was at the cabin when they arrived, but Tanner didn’t believe them. He would have to question them privately once they were settled in the hospital.

The chopper arrived within the hour. Both the injured survivors were helped outside and Fenton was strapped to a gurney and hoisted up first. Joe didn’t want to go in the helicopter and he certainly didn’t want to ride that gurney up. Tanner watched as Frank reassured Joe, trying to calm him, but it wasn’t happening.

"Len, the kid’s scared to death," Tanner radioed the paramedic in the helicopter, "Can’t blame him after the crash he went through already. You got anything we can give him to calm him down?"

"I’ll send a sedative down. Can you administer it, Tanner?" replied the paramedic.

"Yes sir," the sheriff confirmed, watching a small bundle descending from the aircraft. He grabbed the bag and filled the syringe with the clear liquid. Tanner walked to where Frank was sitting and still trying to calm Joe’s adamant protests about flying.

"Son, you gotta go in the copter," Tanner stated to the boy, looking into his deep blue eyes, "I know you don’t want to, but it’s the best way for us to get you off this mountain. Frank, hold your brother still a minute." Frank held Joe as Tanner placed the syringe into Joe’s arm.

The boy looked up at Tanner as a barely audible whimper escaped his lips, but Joe couldn’t stay focused and drifted off to sleep quickly. Joe was strapped into the gurney and hoisted into the waiting helicopter.

Sheriff Tanner noticed tears on Frank Hardy’s cheeks. He put an arm around the boy. Frank looked into the sheriff’s eyes.

"He was really afraid," Frank said, feeling like he had betrayed his brother. Jack Wayne joined the sheriff in comforting Frank.

"You did the right thing, Buckaroo," Jack said with a smile, "Joe will get medical attention sooner this way."

"Come on, kid," the sheriff said, "It will be much faster going down the mountain." The four men mounted their quads and followed the trail back to Torrey, where the other rangers had already carried the body of Chuck Fisher.

* * *

The injured Hardys arrived in Torrey, but were taken by another helicopter to Green River, a bigger city with a hospital. As soon as the rescue team made it down the mountain, arrangements had already been made to fly Sheriff Tanner, Frank Hardy and Jack Wayne to Green River Hospital by helicopter.

By the time they arrived, Fenton and Joe were both with their doctors. The all-to-familiar vigil of waiting in the emergency room weighed heavy on Frank Hardy. ‘They’ll be fine. They both looked okay, despite their injuries. Everything will be alright.’ the boy reassured himself. He felt Jack Wayne sit down beside him.

"Told you your dad and Joe were too tough to let a plane crash keep them down!" Jack said, with a cheesy grin. Frank couldn’t help but smile, too.

"Is anyone here for Joseph Hardy or Fenton Hardy?" asked a doctor with wire frame glasses and light brown hair peeking out around the edges of his pale green surgical cap.

"Yes," said Frank and Jack in unison, both rising to their feet. The doctor smiled at the two young men and motioned for them to sit down.

"I’m Dr. Ivan Bradley. Joseph has a broken collarbone. It has already begun to mend and should be fine in 4 to 6 weeks. His forearm is broken in three places. Two breaks were hairline fractures, but the third was a compound fracture. We had to set it with a steel pin. It will take about 8 weeks to heal. He required a few stitches in his right leg from a puncture wound and a laceration near his hairline. We also gave him 3 units of blood to cover the blood loss from his wounds. He will be in room 304 in about half an hour." the doctor recited, "He has bruising around his ribs and quite a nasty bruise on his left hip. I expect he’ll be feeling much better in just a few weeks."

"What about my dad?" asked Frank, already relieved that Joe was going to be fine.

"Your father has a skull fracture. Fortunately, the swelling abased on it’s own. Skull fractures can be fatal. We will run some tests to make sure there is no permanent damage, but as of right now, he’s coherent, speaking clearly and isn’t suffering from nausea or dizziness; all good signs." Doctor Bradley continued, "His left femur was broken in two places, but because of the splint that was applied right away, we didn’t need to use pins to set the bone. He’ll be in a regular cast for about 6 weeks. As with Joseph, there is some bruising, but nothing serious. He was given a single unit of blood, also. He’ll be moved to room 310 shortly. I’ll notify the nurse as to when they are settled in their rooms so that you can go and see them both."

"Thank you," Frank said, addressing the doctor as he walked away. Frank then turned to Jack and Sheriff Tanner, who was standing nearby, "I wonder why they didn’t put Dad and Joe into the same room."

"Because I requested them to be kept separate," the sheriff stated. "I want to hear their stories without each other around."

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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.