BBBBBBBBAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMM!

A shot hit the ice ten feet from where he was standing. The ice became unsteady. Joe knew he could not go any farther on the ice, but he could not turn back. The man was getting ready to take aim at the ice on the other side when Frank leaped out of the woods and caught the man in a flying tackle. The older Hardy was able to deliver a punch that knocked the man out cold. Frank got up slowly and turned his attention to Joe.

"Just walk slowly back Joe. Take it nice and easy," Frank called out. Joe started to edge his way back towards the shoreline. "Nice and steady Joe. That is it. Take it easy." Frank’s words were soothing to Joe, who was fighting the fear that wanted to reach out and take over his body.

Joe was now halfway back to shore. He slowly concentrated on each step and only looked up occasionally.

"Keep coming Joe. You will be fine," Frank said with encouragement.

"That is what you think," a voice called out. The gruff man was now standing with the shotgun in his hand. Frank could not believe that he didn’t move the gun. He was so worried about Joe that he simply forgot to move the gun away from the area.

But Frank was not prepared for what happened next. Two things actually happened at once. A young woman charged out of the woods just as a huge cracking sound could be heard from the pond. It was then that Frank saw Joe and Bekka disappear into the pond within the same instant.

"NO!" Frank called out. He didn’t have time to worry about what was going on behind him. He had to get Joe and Bekka out of the pond and he had to do it fast. He went out on the ice, unbuckling his belt at the same time. He crept slowly onto the ice, but he could not safely reach Joe. Joe resurfaced where he went down. A thousand needles were dispersing all at once throughout his whole body. He was holding Bekka above his head in efforts to keep her out of the water as much as possible, but the cold water was robbing him of his energy. Joe knew that time was of the essence and it was important to keep his place in the break in the ice. If he would lose his place, both of them would possibly be stuck under the ice, unable to breathe. Frank knew Joe was trying to stay in place and keep Bekka above water. He also knew that Joe was running out of steam.

"REBEKKAH!" a voice yelled out behind him in a panic.

"Go and get some rope FAST!" Frank called out. The young woman disappeared into the woods again immediately.

"JOE! HOLD ON!" Frank called out. Joe was trying to get one hand out of the water, but the ice was slippery and breaking as he grabbed it. The younger Hardy was finally able to get a good hold on the snow-covered ice and he placed Bekka on top of the ice with a death grip on her arm. Joe held on to the ice, keeping his head above the water with his other hand.

"FRANK! I CAN"T MOVE!" Joe stammered. Bekka was still screaming, a good sign for now. But Frank knew that time was definitely crucial. Hypothermia was going to be the danger and time would make the difference between life and death. In the distance, Frank could hear sirens. The young lady must have called for help.

"HELP IS COMING JOE! HOLD ON!"

But Joe was weakening, even though he was fighting the urge to give up. Frank was about to venture onto the ice farther when a rope flew out in front of him. He turned around to see emergency medical people and the young lady.

"GRAB THE ROPE!" the one man called out that was going out onto the ice. The rope landed right beside Joe. Grabbing the rope and then tucking Bekka securely in his other arm, the rescuers were able to drag Joe and Bekka out of the ice and slowly towards shore. Frank scaled back to the shore and prepared to help the rescue workers. But they quickly pushed him and the young lady out of the way when Joe and Bekka reached the shore. Once on shore, one set of rescuers grabbed Bekka while the other set grabbed Joe. Both victims were quickly put on stretchers and hurried away from the scene. The police were already tending to the man.

"I will take your statements at the hospital," the one policeman called out. Frank nodded and followed the team that had Joe through the woods. Since there was not enough room in the squad for neither the young lady nor Frank, the two quickly changed the van’s tire in record speed. Not wanting to waste anymore time, the dark haired boy very quickly drove the van in the direction of the nearest hospital with the aid of his passenger’s directions.

"I should probably introduce myself. My name is Frank Hardy and my brother Joe is the one who is in the back of the ambulance. I take it your name is Amie Robinson," Frank asked, breaking the silence.

"Yes. And I know what you are thinking and I don’t blame you. But I had to do something. Robert threatened to kill Bekka if I brought her back home. I told him that I sold her to a family," Amie said tearfully. She was literally shaking in her seat.

Frank had to admit. At first, he was very critical of Amie. However, it seemed that there were other matters to take into consideration. Amie was scared and desperate.

"Who is Robert?" Frank asked.

"He is my father. My mother died some time ago. Ever since he has made me regret everyday. I have been tolerating him because he is an alcoholic and I wanted to help him. But then I got pregnant and my boyfriend ran off. He really got mad and tried to get me to give her up. But I couldn’t. Then he gave me ten days to sell her or he would kill her. I work at a daycare so I have been taking her with me and I have taken some college classes part-time. I finally decided that I couldn’t take care of him anymore. Bekka is my main responsibility now and I have to provide for both of us. I have money saved and the ladies of the church in town have a shelter set up for me. I just talked with them yesterday. I am going to start my life all over without my father," Amie said, looking out the window. Tears were streaming down her face.

"But then why did you leave Bekka in our van?" Frank asked.

"Good question. But that night Robert was out of control. I ran from the house with Bekka for her safety. I panicked because I was afraid to leave him for too long because he was threatening to go and shoot all of my ex-boyfriend’s relatives. But I had to get Bekka out of there and I didn’t know anyone. Then I saw your van and I took out the papers in your dash. When I saw it belonged to Mr. and Mrs. Hardy, I knew you would help. I just never thought about you guys ‘owning’ the van. I know it was stupid and I even drove in last night and looked through your windows just to get a peek of her," Amie commented. Frank handed her a napkin from the console.

"How do you know my parents? I have never heard of you?"

"My mom worked with your mother at the hospital. Your mom used to be so nice to us and would always bring me cookies and things. She even made me a rag doll once. Mom couldn’t work at the hospital when she got cancer and I haven’t seen your mother since then," Amie answered. "Then she died and my life has not been the same since. But I knew that it was the safe place to put her. I knew I could trust them. But how did you find me?"

"You made it quite easy. Your class ring information and a little research on the computer."

"I was going to come for her tomorrow. I was going to leave him tomorrow… for good. He is my only family, but he is out of control. You just don’t understand how he is. I thought I could really change him, but I can’t. Bekka deserves better and I am going to give her a better life. But I guess I was stupid. I should have just," Amie said, getting upset again.

"I can’t judge you for what you did because I have never been in your position. As far as I am concerned, it never happened," Frank said softly.

Amie looked over at him. Frank smiled and patted her on the leg. "Everything is going to be fine now."

"I hope," Amie said. "It scares me about the cold water. I hope Bekka is fine as well as your brother. I owe you both so much. I just hope that they are both fine. I could not live with myself if anything happened to either one of them."

"Joe is a fighter and so is Bekka," Frank replied. "And after today, I might not agree with how you did things, but I think you did it for the best. You are a good mother. You nearly single-handedly saved all of us."

"I knew he had really flipped this time," Amie said solemnly. "He would have killed us all."

"You won’t have to worry about that anymore," Frank replied.

"But we are going to have to tell the police everything and then they will take Bekka away from me," Amie started to cry again.

"Why? You left her with us to watch," Frank added. He could not help but to smile a sly grin.

Amie looked over at him and then grinned. "Thank you."

The rest of the ride was short. Frank and Amie spent one hour in the emergency room waiting room waiting for any word of Bekka or Joe’s condition. The police had followed them to the hospital and had already taken their statements. It seemed like time was dragging and Amie and Frank became more apprehensive with each minute that passed without any word. Frank was relieved when he finally saw a doctor appear through the double doors with a smile on his face.

"Both of them are going to be just fine. Bekka is in the pediatric unit where we will keep her overnight and Joe has been moved to fourth floor for overnight observation. We got to them in time before any permanent damage could occur," He said. Frank and Amie thanked him and went to check on their loved ones. Frank did have to call Fenton, who had arrived home after his trip to New York, to tell him the news. Fenton was going to rush up to the hospital in Rockbridge, but Frank assured him that Joe was fine and that they would be home in the morning. Fenton also agreed to discuss the matters with Amie and help her find a program that would help get her on her feet.

The next morning, Bekka and Joe were both released. Amie went back to the trailer to start to pack her things up while Frank and Joe returned to Bayport. Joe had developed a slight cold. The doctors thought about keeping him longer, fearing pneumonia, but Joe would not hear of it. He wanted to go home. Agreeing to take it easy and to go to the hospital in Bayport if he got any worse, the doctor released him to come home. As soon as the younger Hardy walked through the Hardy home, he went straight up to his bed and was out cold. The next few days, even through the party, Joe seemed to be in good spirits, but he was still weak from the ordeal. Amie had spoke to Mrs. Hardy on the phone and reassured the Hardys that Bekka was fine except for the sniffles. Fenton had set Amie up for a program ran by New Jersey State University. Amie would work part-time in the nursery operated by the college while attending college full-time to get her nursing degree. Bekka would stay in the nursery while Amie was in school. The Church of the Lady of our Lord had a convent within walking distance of the college. The sisters agreed to allow Amie to stay in the halfway house that the church maintained next to the convent. There, Amie would learn money management, parenting skills and daily living skills. Most of all, she would have a safe place to raise Bekka until she was on her feet and could live on her own. By Christmas Eve, Amie was ready to go to her new home.

This all made Joe happy, but a part of him missed Bekka dearly. Joe could not help but think of how they were doing. But it was Christmas Eve and everyone had made his or her visits and now the Hardy home was silent. Laura Hardy was finishing up the last bit of wrapping. Aunt Gertrude was getting things ready for the big Christmas dinner the next day. Fenton was asleep on the couch and Frank had just returned from taking Callie home. Joe felt stronger, but he was still feeling under the weather. Frank noticed how glum Joe seemed and flopped down on the other end of the couch.

"You miss her don’t you," Frank asked quietly.

"Yeah, but she is going to be fine," Joe said, shrugging it off. "They are both in the best of hands."

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

Frank got up to answer the door and was very surprised to see Amie, holding baby Bekka in her arms.

"Laura said I could stop by and thank you before I went back to the city," Joe heard Amie’s voice say. The younger Hardy immediately sat up in great expectations of seeing Bekka.

"Oh you made it!" Laura called out from the kitchen. She came into the room and grabbed Bekka up into her arms and gave her a big hug. "You are such a sweetie!" By now the whole Hardy clan was assembled in the living room passing little Bekka around, each person taking his/her turn.

Amie turned to face Joe. "Thank you for everything you did for Bekka. Frank told me how you took care of her. I am deeply grateful." Amie hugged Joe and gave him a small peck on the cheek. "I hope that you will allow me to keep in touch and give Bekka some uncles and aunts to look up to and connect with as she grows older."

Laura, Fenton and Gertrude smiled; assuring her that Bekka was welcome anytime.

Joe smiled and looked over at Bekka. His mother handed her over so he could hold her.

"Hum, Uncle Frank and Uncle Joe… you know that sounds great to me. What do you think there Bekka?" Joe asked the bright-eyed baby. "I promise, I will try not to let Uncle Frank bore you with his computer mumbo jumbo."

"AGHOOOOO!" She managed to exclaim. Then she started to giggle for the very first time. Her laugh was contagious since everyone was laughing along with her. While it might have been one of their easiest cases, it was definitely one of the most memorable ones.

Merry Christmas everyone! Please remember to keep your loved ones near and dear to you!