“JOE!” Frank screamed as he lunged towards the ghost he saw standing in front of him. But he was too late – his brother was gone… and only the sound of Joe’s whispered words resonated around him…  

I love you big brother… I love you big brother…  

Haunted, he turned towards the man, “Please help me find him!”  

The man was impressed. The dying kid had more fire in him then the old man had given him credit for – he had managed to make the connection… his brother saw him. And he believed.  

The man smiled and nodded, although he was not sure they still had time.

* * *

A fat white snow flake fell.

* * *

Frank knew exactly where his brother was as soon as the man told him about the van and the pond. And he pushed his mother’s car as fast as he dared – he knew the ice was not strong enough yet to support the weight of the van, for very long.  

Oh god, the boy thought, hang on Joe… I’m coming!  

The man heard his thoughts and a bittersweet smile flickered across his face. Would he gain one voice… only to lose another?  

He hoped not but he could see just how dim Joe’s life light was…  

“Hurry Frank” he said softly, “he doesn’t have much time left…”

* * *

The ice started to slowly open up beneath the van with a sickening cracking sound, as it did.  The van started to slide forward into the frigid black water…  

The boy in the van never noticed a thing.

* * *

“NOOOO!”   

Frank jumped as he heard the man scream and then he was gone.  

The teen clenched his jaw willing the car to go faster – he knew without being told, the man’s outcry and sudden disappearance had to do with Joe.  His brother was out of time.

* * *

Slamming on his brakes, the car came skidding to a stop next to the broken guardrail and Frank grabbed the blanket from the backseat and then hurried down over the embankment.  

His heart just about stopped when he saw how badly smashed up the van was… and then as he heard a loud snap, he saw the front end of the van starting to slide into the pond.  

“NOOO!” he screamed as he began running towards it as fast as he could.  

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of red and knew the man was doing something on the ice but right now he had only one concern: getting his brother out of the van before it went all the way through the ice.  

“JOE!” he shouted as he tried to open the rear door but it was squished shut, “Damnit!”  he yelled as he felt the van settle a bit lower into the pond.  He had no choice, he’d have to try and get his brother out from his own side!  

“Hurry Frank”, he heard the man’s voice and it sounded strained, “The driver side… get him out the driver side.”  

Frank knew he was right and coming around to Joe’s door, he saw the man was on his hands and knees on the ice. He blinked for a second and then shook his head; he didn’t have time for logic – if his eyes saw the man seeming to just freeze the water with his touch, then so be it… right now he had to get his brother out.  

And then he saw Joe and his heart stopped.  

“Oh no, baby brother”, he whispered as he saw the pale form, slumped over the steering wheel with blood trickling down the side of his mouth – just like the vision.  

For one second Frank thought he was too late but then pain filled blue eyes opened and Frank felt his heart leap into his throat – Joe was alive!  

The younger boy saw him and tried to speak but Frank stopped him, “Sssh baby… don’t say anything. Save your strength… I need to get you out of here!”   

“Frank – hurry up!” the man’s voice was definitely strained.  

Frantically Frank tried to think of the best way to do this. His brother obviously had internal injuries and really shouldn’t be moved… but he had no choice.  

And then the ice made the decision for him.  

With another loud crack, Frank knew he had no time.   

Pulling on the door handle, he was relieved when it did actually open.  Quickly, he unbuckled his brother’s seat belt, hastily wrapped the blanket around his frozen body and, as gently and as non-jarringly as possible, lifted Joe into his arms and out of the van.  

Stepping back quickly onto the ground, Frank heard a huge pop and the whole front end of the van went into the pond.  

They had barely made it!  

The younger boy groaned and hissed in pain and Frank held him as tight as he dared, “I’m sorry little brother. Hold on, I’m going to get you help right now.”  

Carefully, the older boy picked his way back up to the car; Joe needed to get to the hospital immediately.  

Shifting his brother slightly, Frank managed to get the door open and then gently placed Joe in the passenger seat, thankful that his mother’s older style car had a three person front seat so he could prop Joe up right beside him.  

And that is what he did. So as he drove back towards the hospital, he kept one firm grip around his brother, talking to him and begging with him to just hang on.  

As he drove, he wondered what happened to the man… to Santa… but right now he didn’t have time to worry about that.

* * *

Fenton Hardy slowly limped out of the examining room with the aid of a pair of crutches.  He smiled sheepishly at his wife, “Mild sprain. I gotta keep my weight off it for the next couple of days.”  

“Thank goodness”, she smiled standing up, “it could have been a lot worse.”  

“That it could of,” the detective agreed, “Come on… let’s go home and see the boys.”  

They were almost out the door when they saw a familiar car pulling up outside… and then moments later Laura was running back into the hospital shouting for help as Fenton opened up the passenger side door and looked inside.  

“Dad? What are you doing here?” Frank said, shocked to see his father but Fenton didn’t answer him – his eyes were firmly fixed on the deathly pale face of his younger son as he whispered, “Joe?”  

And then he was being moved out of the way as two nurses, a doctor and a stretcher came for the youth.

* * *

Joe felt a warm hand on his forehead and smiled – Santa…  

Yes, he heard the voice but not through his ears and he struggled to open his eyes but couldn’t. And he heard the man’s voice again, you’re safe now.   

Thank you, Joe thought and he felt the warm hand caress his cheek, No thank you Joe Hardy for bringing one more voice back into my mind… Merry Christmas child and may you always keep the magic in your heart…  

And then he was gone and Joe fell back under the heavy sedation as the surgeon made the first incision.

 * * *

Once again the Hardy family was waiting in the ER for some news on Joe. So far, there had not been much except for a request for signed permission to do emergency surgery on him.  

That had been over 4 hours ago.  

Dr. Bates finally came out of the double doors and smiled at the familiar faces. He had been the one who treated Fenton for his ankle and was saddened about this latest turn of events.  

He had known this family since Joe was a baby and counted them among his friends, as well as his patients.  

Ushering the family back to their seats, Dr. Bates updated them on Joe, “Provided there are no complications or infection, Joe should be just fine.”  

He waited for them to finish expressing their relief before he continued, “He does have a serious concussion and normally we don’t like to operate like that, but he had several other life threatening injuries that required immediate attention… so there was no choice.”  

The doctor waited for them to absorb this before continuing, “Four of his ribs had broken with one puncturing his right lung while another punctured his spleen. There was heavy internal bleeding but we’ve managed to repair the damage and he is being moved to recovery as we speak.”  

“Anything else?” Fenton asked as his white-faced family looked on, and the doctor nodded, “Yes, he’s broken his collarbone, which we’ve had to reset, and he’ll need to keep his arm in a sling for about a month to give it time to heal. Other then that he’s got whiplash and severe bruising to his arms and chest. “  

The doctor stopped and Frank asked in a small voice, “Are you sure he’s going to be okay?”  

Dr. Bates gave him a sympathetic little smile, “Your brother is very lucky.  I have no idea how he avoided it, but he was only suffering from a minor case of hypothermia… a miracle really considering how cold it is out there… and how long he was probably in the van before Frank found him.  He will be fine, though; but he is going to be very sore and need a lot of rest as his body recovers from the trauma.”  

“Don’t worry, we’ll make sure Joe gets the rest he needs”, Laura said with a determined look set on her face. Like Frank and Fenton, she was trying to come to terms with how close they had come to losing Joe on Christmas Eve.  

“Good”, Dr. Bates said knowing the family well enough to know his patient would definitely be looked after, “Well provided there is nothing unexpected, he should be moved from recovery up to a regular room in about two to four hours. You can see him then.”

* * *

As Fenton thanked the doctor, Frank leaned back in the seat and closed his eyes – it terrified him at how close Joe had come to dying… if he’d been delayed, even by a few more minutes.  

Shuddering, he sat back up and then the smell of cinnamon made him look around.   

“I’ll be right back”, he told his parents as he caught a fleeting glimpse of a familiar face.  

Going outside, he heard the sound of the crisp snow crunching under his boots and was surprised to see a white sheet of snow falling around him.  

Guess that heavy snowfall they were predicting finally happened, Frank mused and then he heard a voice next to his shoulder, “Yes it did.”  

Smiling the teen turned around and said warmly, “Santa” and then embraced the man, ‘Thank you.”  

Santa smiled and winked, “No thank you Frank. Thank you for believing in me again.”  

The teen blushed and glanced away before he looked back at the man, “Joe’s going to be all right.”  

The man smiled, “Good. He’s a good kid.”  

“Yeah he is”, Frank said fondly and then he said, “How’d you do it?”  

“Do what?” the man asked as he breathed in the crystal air.  

“How’d you keep Joe from getting hypothermia… how’d you keep the ice from breaking… how’d – “  

The man cut him off, “Firstly I couldn’t keep Joe from getting hypothermia. Your doctor did say he had a mild case – “  

Frank cut him off, “You were listening?”  

The man shook his head, “No child, not in the way you’re thinking… but even someone who has seen as many winters as Dr. Bates, can still keep a little magic in his heart.”  

The younger boy was amazed but before he could ask anything else, Santa laughed, “Logic my child has nothing to do with the magic of Christmas!”  

And then as he turned to leave the man said, “Take care of your brother, Frank, and take care of yourself.”  

“I will Santa Claus… and you take care too, there are some pretty slippery roofs in Bayport”, the teen added.  And as he heard the musical laughter of the older man just before he disappeared, Frank remembered Callie’s comment and felt remorseful; I forgot to put out the cookies and milk for Santa…  

There is always next year, he heard the man’s melodious voice in his head, and I do prefer chocolate chip…. Take care Frank Hardy… and Merry Christmas!

* * *

“Frank”  

“Frank”  

Hearing someone call his name, Frank slowly opened his eyes and saw his mother’s concerned face, “Are you okay honey?”  

Straightening up, he saw that he was sitting in a hard plastic chair in the ER waiting room but he had no idea how he got back there.  

“Yeah”, he said blurrily and then remembering what happened he asked, “Any word on Joe?”  

His mother smiled, “That’s why I’m waking you – we can go see him now!”  

Anxious to see his brother, Frank quickly followed his mother to a small private room upstairs where his father was waiting for them. Fenton sat down in the chair next to Joe’s bed and propped his crutches up behind him.  

Frank quickly went over and his eyes watered as he saw how terrible his brother looked. He reached down and gently picked up his brother’s hand, relieved to feel how nice and warm it was.  

As if on cue, Joe’s eyes slowly opened and his gaze finally came to focus on his brother’s face. He smiled and said; his voice not much more then a hoarse whisper, “Hey.”  

“Hey kiddo”, Frank smiled back through is own blurring vision, “how you feeling?”  

“Horrible”, came the quiet reply.  

Joe managed a small smile when he saw his parents and Fenton quickly told him about his own mishap when he saw his son look at the crutches.  Joe nodded his head, grimacing as he did so – it still hurt.  

And then the boy sighed, “Sorry for ruining Christmas.”  

“Bah humbug”, Fenton said from his position in the chair, “Everyone that matters is right here in this room – and that is all that matters at Christmas. As long as you are surrounded by the people you love… that’s the important thing.”  

“Honey we’re just so glad that you’re going to be okay – that’s the best Christmas present that anyone could have ever given us.  And we have Frank to thank for that”, Laura smiled proudly at her older son and Frank blushed and corrected her, “Actually Mom… thank Santa….”  

Joe crinkled up his face, “Frank… funny you mention that… I had the strangest dream…”  

And as he went on to tell his family about it, his older brother wandered over to the window and peered out into the heavy falling snow and smiled contentedly, it didn’t matter to him whether he had dreamed of Santa or not… he knew in his heart Santa was real…  

Maybe not necessarily a breathing, concrete man… but definitely a magical man… full of Christmas magic and smelling like cinnamon…  

Turning back and gazing warmly at his brother, Frank knew no matter what, he would always believe… because in the end, it was his belief that saved the life of his parent’s greatest gift to him: his baby brother…  

Merry Christmas 2004!  

From Mellon_Nim  

And may we all have a little magic our hearts this holiday season…