Hardy Detective Agency featuring Hardy Boys Fan Fiction

The Hardy party changed planes in Los Angeles, after a flight of over seven hours. They were scheduled for a short layover at LAX; not enough time to leave the airport, but plenty of time to stretch, get something to eat, and briefly relax before boarding their jet for the next part of the journey.

It seemed very strange to the Bayporters to look out of the airport windows and see sunshine, palm trees, and abundant flowers, after leaving the frigid conditions on the east coast. Laura commented on this fact, adding, “I guess it’s a good introduction to Hawaii. It makes it less of a shock, with it being like this in California, too.”

Vanessa happily announced that she had slept more deeply on the plane than she had at home in a week, and she looked much more energized. She and Joe decided to spend some time exploring the various little stores in the airport. For once, no one – not even Joe – was very hungry; the meals and snacks in First Class had filled them up!

“Want to walk too, Baby?” Frank wrapped one of Megan’s red-gold curls about his forefinger and tugged lightly.

“No, not really,” she confessed. “I’ve got a magazine to read. But you go ahead; I know you want to stretch your legs. I’ll watch your carryon.”

“Frank, there’s a bookstore down this way.” Laura smiled invitingly at her elder son. “Want to go with me?”

“Sure, Mom....” But Frank hesitated, not wishing to leave Megan by herself. “Dad...?”

“Megan and I will keep an eye on the luggage,” Fenton replied, settling into a seat across from the little redhead. “Go on, enjoy yourselves. Be aware of the time, though; we’ve got about an hour before they should start boarding.”

Once Frank and Laura had departed, Megan glanced up from her magazine. She met Mr. Hardy’s gaze and smiled tentatively. She hadn’t spent much time in Frank’s father’s presence lately, not one-on-one...not since Frank had given her the ring; and she felt her old intimidating shyness surfacing again. “Umm, Mr. Hardy...have I mentioned yet how very much I appreciate you inviting me along? It was really kind of you.”

“We’re glad to have you along,” he said, setting aside the notebook he’d been leafing through. “After all, you’re practically one of the family now.”

She gulped. Fenton Hardy certainly had a way of cutting directly to the point. “I...is that...Mr. Hardy, you don’t...I mean...”

“Stop right there.” Fenton raised one finger peremptorily.

Megan halted mid-sentence, her azure eyes wide. What had she done wrong?

But Fenton was leaning forward, his dark eyes nearly as warm and affectionate as Frank’s. “You just made me remember something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about,” he said. “You’re calling me ‘Mr. Hardy’ again.”

“But – that’s who you are...” she faltered. What was she supposed to call him? When she and Frank spoke of their parents, it was always ‘your mom,’ or ‘your dad.’

“Megan, dear girl....” Mr. Hardy paused, and smiled reassuringly. “Don’t you think – in light of that ring you’re wearing now – that you might want to be a little less formal with me? You call Laura ‘Laura,’ after all.”

Blushes colored Megan’s face pink from hairline to coat collar. “I didn’t want to presume,” she whispered.

“You aren’t presuming,” the detective told her. “I don’t want to be ‘Mr. Hardy,’ to you. Look, I understand that calling me ‘Dad’ might be a little much,” he went on, “especially since you lost your father so recently. I wouldn’t expect you to. Although I wouldn’t mind if you did,” he hastened to add. “But do you suppose you might manage ‘Fenton?’ Or—” he chuckled, “something else? ‘Daddy,’ for instance? Or how about ‘Pops?’ ”

Megan laughed at the idiocy of calling Fenton Hardy ‘Pops,’ then blinked hard, fighting back a sudden rush of tears. Had Frank’s father really just asked her to call him by his first name, or a pet nickname? It seemed almost unbelievable! “I...could try...F-Fenton.”

“Attagirl.” He extended his arm and leaned across the space between them, inviting her into his embrace. “Welcome to the family, honey.”

*****

The flight over the Pacific Ocean was serene. Now dreamy island music was played over the sound system, and the food served for lunch featured “tropical” selections. They had been charmed to find that “real” dishes and silverware were used in their section, at breakfast, and lunch did not disappoint. Vanessa prudently swallowed another dose of cough syrup to insure that the second leg of their flight went as peacefully as the first.

“I’m beginning to agree with Joe,” Mrs. Hardy said to her husband as they ate. “I could get used to traveling this way!”

He grinned. “It is pretty nice, isn’t it?” He glanced across the aisle at the kids. “They’re just lapping all this up,” he chuckled. “I don’t know when I’ve seen them all look so – contented. Even Vanessa sounds healthier!”

Laura nodded. “I talked with Andrea before we left – she assured me that really, Vanessa is just fine; the only thing left of that cold is the cough. But Joe is treating her like easily-shattered crystal, and…” she laughed softly, “I think he should be encouraged. She could stand a little pampering.”

“You’re downright sneaky,” Fenton said…and gave his wife a conspiratorial grin.

*****

They disembarked in Honolulu, intending to catch one of the island shuttle planes over to Hilo; although they had been traveling for over a dozen hours, it was only mid-afternoon when they landed at the lovely Honolulu airport. And since everyone had managed at least one nap during the journey, it was an energetic and smiling group from Bayport who walked through the open-air terminal to the Island Air departure gates.

“It’s so warm!” Megan exulted, tugging off her coat and draping it over her arm. “And it smells so good!” She inhaled the sweet fragrance of plumaria blossoms blissfully as they passed a flower-laden tree growing near the walkway.

“I wonder how long I could live here before I got tired of it?” Vanessa mused quietly. “Decades, at least!”

“Is anyone meeting us at Hilo?” Mrs. Hardy asked her husband, as they strolled along. “Or do we just contact them after we get to the hotel?”

“We’re supposed to be met at the Hilo airport,” Fenton assured her. “A greeting complete with leis and kisses,” he added, smiling.

The Hardys had been to Hawaii before, but neither of the girls had ever traveled to the Islands, and they were entranced with the things they saw, smelled and heard. They spent the hop over to the Big Island in the small jet with their faces nearly plastered to the windows, trying to see everything possible.

“Look at the windsurfers!” Megan marveled, watching the brightly-colored sails far below. “And – and some people on regular surfboards!”

“That’s what I want to do!” Joe declared. “Surf – parasail – scuba dive…” He stroked Vanessa’s hair gently. “What about you, Beautiful? What do you want to do?”

She was silent a moment, then smiled. “I want to visit the home of Pelè,” she whispered. “Kilauea.”

“The volcano?”

She nodded dreamily. “Yes!”

“Well, we’ll be on the right island for it,” Frank conceded. “Sounds like a good idea to me!”

“We ought to pick up a book on Pelè, don’t you think, before we visit Kilauea,” Megan suggested to Vanessa, who nodded agreement. She continued to look down through the scratched plastic of the airplane window, gazing in delight at the bright colors, the beautiful blues and greens of the vast Pacific Ocean below. She glanced up as Fenton spoke, calling to their attention the smoke rising in the distance.

“That’s from the volcano,” he said. “And I understand that the volcano’s the reason some of the beaches in the Islands are black sand.”

“What’s black sand like?” Megan inquired. “You’ve all been here before, after all,” she added, smiling at each of the Hardys.

“It’s grittier than regular sand,” Frank told her. “It’s coarser – almost like fine particles of rock, rather than what we think of as beach sand. Actually, a lot of the beaches in Hawaii are like that. Not black, but the sand is chunkier, and there are lots of broken shells and little pieces of coral mixed up in it. But I’ve swum at a black sand beach, and it’s not too bad. And the water’s warm. It seems odd at first, but you get used to it real fast,” he chuckled. He pulled Megan into the circle of his arm as best he could in the cramped airplane seats, and dropped a quick kiss on the tip of her nose. He picked up her hand and felt the new ring she wore. He fingered it, smiling quietly. She’s the right girl for me, all right. Beautiful. Feisty. Sweet. Sincere. And mine.

“What should we do first?” Vanessa asked from her seat across the narrow aisle. Leaning against the window as Megan had been, she peered downwards just as the other girl had done. “It’s so incredible,” she murmured admiringly, and fell silent again, mesmerized by the beauty of the blue and green waters, with the touches of whitecaps; the glint of sunlight on the waves – the views of the various islands in the distance or close up as they overflew them. The water’s so clear, you could almost imagine you could catch a glimpse of the sea life beneath, if you looked hard enough! She was slightly breathless – and not just from the cold she was recovering from; she felt a thousand percent better after her long naps. No, the breathlessness she was experiencing was from excitement!

“We’ll have to check into the hotel first,” Joe reminded her, “and get everything settled in our rooms. I bet we get to have the evening to hit the beach, though – right, Dad?”

His father laughed. “Yes, you can have the evening free to go to the beach,” he allowed. “I’ll pick up the symposium schedule when we get there, and go over what I’m going to need my ‘assistants’ to do for it. I’ve already got a fair idea of what I’ll be doing for each of my talks…and I used some of the time during our flight from L.A. to work on slides on my laptop. We’re in pretty good shape.”

“How much will you need us?” Frank inquired. Sure, they were going there to be assistants, but hopefully that wouldn’t take all day, every day!

“Not sure, son. But don’t worry; we’ll work out the schedules so that you’ll have free time together occasionally. I doubt that I’ll actually need you all around during the entire presentations, after all – but it might be nice to have at least one of you nearby when I’m giving a talk, to run errands that might come up. Still—” he smiled, “think of it as a vacation, for the most part. And of course, there will be all the time after the thing’s over!”

Reassured, Frank hugged Megan close again, thinking of the places he’d love to go with her. Walking along the beach…swimming in the ocean, or the pool…sitting in the hot tub, perhaps. He grinned at his thoughts. It’s gonna be great!

The small island shuttle plane finally landed on a runway at Hilo Airport on the Big Island of Hawaii, and taxied towards the terminal. After a few minutes’ wait, the Jetway was extended and connected to the plane, and the passengers were allowed to exit. Grabbing their carryon bags, the group from Bayport made their way into the terminal. They paused, looking around.

“There.” Joe pointed to two young Hawaiian women standing nearby, one of whom held a sign which read ‘HARDY.’

“Hello, I’m Fenton Hardy,” Fenton said as he approached them.

“Aloha.” One of the young women stepped forward, smiling. Several flower leis were hung on her arm. “And welcome to Hawai’i.” She gave the island name a slightly different pronunciation, they noticed – a little hitch in the last part which seemed to break it into two syllables. She detached one of the floral wreaths and placed it about Mr. Hardy’s neck, tiptoeing to kiss him on the cheek. “I am Kami; this is my sister, Mela. We have been asked to greet you and bring you to your hotel.”

Mela, also carrying leis, approached Frank and duplicated her sister’s actions, smilingly placing the flowers about his neck and kissing his cheek. “Aloha,” she said, and then moved to Megan. The little redhead’s face was glowing with delight as she received the traditional island welcome. Mela finished presenting Laura’s flowers, and then did Joe’s, while Kami, laughing, waited for Vanessa to bend her knees and duck her head.

“You’re very tall!” Kami giggled. Vanessa nodded in agreement.

“If you will come with us,” Mela said then, “we will get your bags and take you to the hotel.”

The Hardys followed the two native girls through the terminal. It was a beautiful building, obviously built to appeal to any visitors who came to the island. After recovering their suitcases, they walked outside and found a large white limousine waiting for them. Mela opened one of the doors and held it, waiting for the Hardy party to climb inside.

Megan’s eyes sparkled with delight. “A limo!” she whispered in Frank’s ear. He grinned down at her, and gave her a tiny wink.

“You have been put at the Hilo-Kilauea Island Resort Spa,” Kami explained, once they were under way. “It is the nicest hotel in Hilo, very large, with everything you could want, including a private beach right on the ocean. It affords a marvelous view of Kilauea as well – very beautiful.”

“And since that’s where the symposium is being held, it couldn’t be more convenient,” Fenton said, grinning.

“It sounds absolutely wonderful, and I can’t wait to see it!” Laura commented with a pleased smile.

After a fifteen-minute drive, Laura was granted her wish when the limo pulled up to the large resort hotel, parking in the open courtyard in the middle of the circular building. The check-in desk was outside as well, although well back underneath an overhang, in case of inclement weather.

While Fenton handled their paperwork – the way smoothed by Kami and Mela – the others looked about.

“It’s so lovely here!” Megan breathed in and out, catching the scents of flowers she’d never smelled before. Everything was lush and large, green and damp and full of blossoms. She and Vanessa wandered away from the boys to look at the masses of flowers, both planted along the sidewalk in front of the hotel, and in large planters lining the front of the building. There were palm trees everywhere too, more than one variety, standing tall overhead. Their large fronds rustling in the light wind blowing in from the nearby sea. Megan inhaled sharply, and caught the scent of the ocean. “I don’t ever want to leave!”

“Me either,” Vanessa agreed. She was feeling so much better – she could scarcely believe it was just a few hours ago that they had boarded the jet in icy, snowy Bayport! The warmth of the air seemed to dissipate the chill in her bones which she’d felt for the last two weeks, ever since she had gotten sick. Now she felt warm and relaxed and eagerly anticipated the ten days they would be spending here. “I can’t wait to go out to that beach! Look, Meg!” She pointed to the soft white sand at the end of the sidewalk, leading to the beach itself.

“Looks awfully inviting!” Frank came up behind them and tugged Megan into an encircling arm. “What do you think, baby? Want to take a walk on the beach? We might manage to have more fun this time than we did in Tahoe in August!” Their walks in Tahoe had been interrupted by a case, but he remembered fondly the few that they had managed to take together! Once again, Frank caressed the ring on Megan’s finger; he lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it, then smiled down at her. “Mine,” he whispered, very low.

“Rent a room already,” Joe jeered. “Come on, let’s get settled. Dad’s got our key cards. The sooner we change, the sooner we swim!”

They turned to go back into the hotel, well content.

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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.