LITTLE BOY LOST
by
Phoenix
Chapter 16
The Chapters
The little boy was confused and terrified. His heart pounded in his chest as the tall man with dark hair and familiar eyes left the room. He opened his mouth to call after him, to tell him to come back but then stopped and shivered down beneath the stale hospital sheets.
That man wasn’t real. He couldn’t be. He was a made-up man who showed up sometimes in the child’s dreams and always made everything better.
“You’re not real,” Jason whispered as he lay on his side and pulled his legs up towards his chest. “You’re just here ‘cause I’m scared.” He sniffed and scrubbed at his eyes.
“I’m sorry, sweetie,” the nurse’s voice startled the child; he’d forgotten she was here. “Did you say something?”
Jason shook his head miserably. She wouldn’t understand. Grown-ups never did.
“Can I get something for you?” The pretty-faced woman moved into his line of vision. Her eyes were blue, like his. “A glass of juice? Some crackers?”
“No, thank you,” he said softly, his stomach too upset to think about eating or drinking anything. He canted his head as he appraised her, a sudden thought conflicting his thinking. She had spoken with the dark-haired man… “Are you my fairy god-mother?”
The nurse laughed softly as she rearranged the blankets to cover him more warmly. “I’m afraid not, cutie-pie. I wish I was some days,” she paused and then added, her brow crinkled in curiosity, “Why do you ask?”
“I dunno,” Jason mumbled, suddenly feeling very foolish. Of course there were no such things as Fairy Godmothers, but it would have explained the dark-haired man being here. A granted wish was preferable to facing the truth that maybe the dark-haired man was real. ‘Cause if he was, than he could be killed. Just like Jason’s ‘father’ always promised –
So help me God, Jason, if this man or his family ever come anywhere near you, I will kill them. Do you hear me? I. Will. Kill. Them! And it will be your fault! YOURS! Do you know what they do to little boys in prison?
Jason shivered violently at the memory. He had seen the dark-haired man’s face on the front of a newspaper blowing outside and asked his ‘father’ about him. The man had been livid. He’d ripped the paper to shreds in front of Jason and threatened to burn all the boy’s books if he even so much as picked up another newspaper again…. But that same night, for the very first time, Jason had seen the dark-haired man in his dreams…. He secretly called him ‘Frank’.
‘I don’t want nobody to get killed’, the child’s eyes widened as he started to panic, ‘I don’t want to go to jail!’
“Hey, hey,” the nurse picked up on his increasing anxiety, “what’s wrong, sweetie?” She reached out to touch his wrist but the boy shrank back, scrambling to get the blankets off and get out of the bed. He had to get out of here.
Apparently though, this nurse was a blocker for the New York Jets; she countered his every move, easily keeping herself between the door and him. “Where are you going?”
“I gotta go,” Jason gasped. It was getting increasingly more difficult to breathe as it felt like someone had wrapped a steel band, viselike, around his chest. “Please!”
“Joey, calm down—”
The child sucked in a breath and screamed. “MY. NAME. IS. JASON!” Didn’t they understand? Didn’t they know? He HAD to be Jason –
In a desperate move, Jason grabbed the tray next to his bed and hurled it towards the nurse!
Instinctively the woman raised her hands to ward it off and the little boy bolted past her and out the door. He was free!
…
Laura Hardy held tight to her older son’s hand as they raced down the hallway towards her husband.
“Fenton!” she cried out, closely echoed by Frank’s, ‘Dad,’ surprised to see the man standing near the nurse’s station. He was supposed to stay with Joe. “Where’s Joey?” she demanded as she released Frank’s hand and grabbed her husband by his forearms, her grip tight and frantic. “Where’s my son?”
“Easy, Laura,” Fenton tried to soothe, his dark eyes beseeching her to calm down. “He’s okay. A nurse is with him.”
“Dad?” Frank inserted as he tugged at his father’s jacket in a rather youngish display that betrayed his own fear.
“He’s okay,” the detective repeated and Laura let his reassurance abate her panic to a more tolerable level. Now she was merely very extremely anxious. “I promise you both,” his eyes moved back to hers and held them, imploringly. “Joey is fine.”
“Thank God,” Laura gushed. She could never hear him say that too many times. It didn’t put her completely at ease, though. “So, where is he?” She had to see her baby right now.
Fenton had just opened his mouth to say something when a little boy’s fear-filled voice, screamed through the halls:
MY. NAME. IS. JASON!
And Laura felt the air rush out of her lungs. Joe. She didn’t have to ask which room anymore as the door across from her crashed open and Joe raced out and into the hall. He slid to a rocking stop when he saw them standing there –
“Oh my baby,” Laura’s hand flew to her mouth and tears burned her eyes as she saw her little boy for the first time in two years. “My precious, precious baby…” Her words were whispered as the world around them shrank to just her and the distraught youngster now staring open-mouthed mere feet away. She wanted to open her arms and just have him rush in to her but she didn’t. She knew he wouldn’t. And as much as it broke her heart it also strengthened her resolve to get him back.
“Joey?” It was Frank’s tremulous voice from beside her that broke the impasse. “I got something for ya.” Laura didn’t dare turn her head, even when she heard her older son searching for something in his pockets. A moment later she caught the movement as he held out his hand towards his younger brother. “It’s Pal. I brought him.”
Joe’s eyes darted between the three of them, finally settling on the little black car in Frank’s hand. His eyes shone brightly as he shifted his gaze from the toy, to Frank, to Fenton and then, lastly, to her. Laura felt the weight of their scrutiny but refused to blink, even when the tears spilled down her cheeks. ‘C’mon, baby, you know it’s us…’
The nurse spilled into the doorway behind Joe and Fenton held up his hand to keep her from grabbing the child.
“Joey?” Laura soothed, “Are you okay, Baby?”
His breath hitched at her tone and the woman thought she saw a flicker of recognition, quickly smothered by fear, and her anger ignited. Who dared hurt her little boy?
Undeterred, Laura tried again. She glanced at Frank who was still holding out the toy car. “Frank took very good care of your car for you…” She paused when she saw Joe’s attention return to his brother. “He misses you.” Her breath caught in her throat. “We – we all do.”
With Joe’s gaze still on Frank, Laura watched as her older son slowly crouched down to his knees. Around them the corridor was hushed as everyone watched the little drama play out.
Frank placed the small Impala on the polished floor and then looked up at Joe. The blond boy made no move. “You said for me to take care of it until you got back…” he pulled the car back slightly on the floor, winding up the wheels, “Well, you’re back now. So here,” and then released the toy.
Fenton’s hand slipped into Laura’s. His was as cold as hers and she squeezed back. They watched as the car sped across the short distance between the boys and came to rest against Joe’s bare foot.
No one moved as Joe stared down at the dinky car and then he slowly stooped down and picked the toy up. He held it in his hand; his blue eyes flickered a gaze over it for a few moments and then he started to tremble. “No,” he whispered. “No.”
“Joey?” Laura released Fenton’s hand and moved towards her distraught child. She couldn’t stand to see one of her children so agitated. She knelt down in front of him, relieved when he didn’t move away. “Baby?”
Tears streaked the child’s face. Tentatively, with his free hand, he reached out to touch her face. Laura closed her eyes briefly at the contact, her chest so tight it hurt. “It’s okay, Joey,” she quietly promised, “Mommy’s here. Everything’s going to be okay.”
And then the little boy dived towards her, burrowing his wet face against the crook of her neck as he sobbed. “Mommy…Mommy…”
Laura held on tight, her own emotion shaking her just as intensely as his.
…
Behind them, Fenton wrapped his own arms around Frank and pulled him close.
“You did good, son,” he praised, “real good.”
Frank beamed and sighed against his father, his young chest bursting with pride and happiness. He had his little brother back and everyone was smiling. Now things could return to normal.
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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.