6 months later:

“Now Joey…” Fenton Hardy said as he knelt down in front of the small boy and made sure he had his strict attention.  Joey was so excited he squirmed to try and see around his father.  This was going to be the first time he was being left to play at the farm.  Sure, he had been there a number of times before, to pick up or drop Frankie off when he went to play with his friend, Chet Morton, but this was the first time that Joey was going to be staying to play with them…all by himself…without his Dad or Mom around. 

And Joey was so excited – the farm seemed to be screaming at him to be explored!

“Joseph?”  The full use of his first name made the child focus on his father’s serious face.  Satisfied that he had his youngest son’s attention, the detective continued, “You will be on your best behavior and mind Mr. and Mrs. Morton.”

“Okay Daddy,” Joey said, expecting his father to let him go now, but Fenton continued, “And listen to your brother…”

“Okay Daddy,” Joey repeated, but still his father continued, “And stay out of trouble…”

“Okay…” Joey stopped as his father continued, “And stay away from the water!”  Fenton was referring to the small creek that ran through the Mortons’ farm.  It was mostly shallow but there were a few deeper areas, and while Joey could swim, he was not a strong swimmer – unlike Frank who was like a fish in the water.

This time the little boy didn’t say anything, but listened as his father listed off a few more precautions and then finally something in the child’s face made the man stop.  Sighing at his overreaction, he stood and messed up the child’s hair. “Now go and have fun.” 

Watching the boy run off to catch up with his brother, Fenton reassured himself that everything would be all right.  He had already reminded Frankie repeatedly to keep an eye on his younger sibling…although that was really unneeded, as his older son did that anyway. 

But Fenton was still a bit worried.  They had all become very overprotective of Joey since they got him back from the Nightingales.  His physical scars had healed, and he had shown incredible emotional resiliency, with the only obvious effects his fear of strangers, his fear of the dark and his fear of being alone.  But all in all, he was mostly the same precocious child that they had taken to the Carnival that fateful long weekend Sunday…and both Fenton and Laura counted themselves lucky.

“He’ll be just fine,” Mrs. Morton smiled as she recognized the anxiousness on the detective’s face.

Mr. Morton grinned as he came out of the barn in time to hear his wife’s reassurance. “We haven’t lost a young’un yet.”

Fenton smiled back at his own insecurity, and then wishing them a goodbye, he climbed back into his own car and headed down the driveway towards the hospital.  They had dropped Laura at the hospital for day surgery before going to the farm, and Fenton was anxious to get back and see how she was doing.  It was a simple procedure, but he always felt so helpless whenever someone he loved was in the hospital…even if it was only for a couple of hours.

* * *

As Joe caught up with Frankie and Chet he wished his parents wouldn’t be so…so funny about him.  He hated being fussed over, and he chafed under their over-protectiveness.  Yes…he still had the odd nightmare about his abduction, but he was a big boy now and he could take care of himself!

“Come on Joey,” Frankie yelled, as he and Chet were halfway down the back pasture, “We got a secret clubhouse.”

Joey was so excited – this was going to be the best day of his life!

Two hours later, the little boy was bored.  His brother and Chet had spent the last hour poring over their comic books, and while Joey did love looking at Spiderman as much as any boy, he was itching to get out and do more exploring. 

“Frankie…can we go and see the cows or something?”  he asked as he stood up and stretched. “I’m bored!” 

His older brother looked up from the comic he was reading and felt torn.  His father had asked him to keep an eye on his brother and he knew that it was Joey’s first real trip to the farm…but Chet had just gotten three new Spiderman’s that he was dying to read…sometimes it was hard being the older brother!

Sighing resignedly, he rolled his eyes and started to close the book when he heard a young girl’s voice.  It was Iola, Chet’s younger sister, “CHET!  CHET!”

“What do you want?” Chet asked as he stood up and blocked the entrance to their clubhouse – after all, NO GIRLS ALLOWED.

“Mom said you gotta let me play with you!” the five-year-old pouted.  She had spent the past two hours tormenting her mother in the house before Mrs. Morton couldn’t take it anymore and let her go and find the boys.  She had done what she could to give them some time to themselves…now they had to let Iola play as well.

Chet groaned – little sisters were a pain.  But then Frankie had an inspiration!

Jumping up from the ground, he pulled Chet aside and whispered to him.  The other boy caught on immediately and nodded fervently.  It would be perfect!  They could continue doing what they wanted and not get into trouble for ignoring their respective siblings!

“Hey Iola,” Chet started, “Why don’t you take Joey over to the barn and show him Darling?”

Iola’s eyes brightened – she had been smitten with the blond haired boy from the moment she met him a few months earlier, although he seemed very shy and hardly said anything to her. 

Joey looked skeptical – he didn’t know Iola very well, and girls were…well, yucky.  But Frankie piped up, seconding Chet, “That would be a great idea.  Come on Joey, it would be fun.  And then afterwards you guys could come back here and we could play something.”  Deep down he was figuring that once Joey and Iola got to the barn they would find something to do by themselves, and it would be a long time before they came back seeking them out.

Joey still looked unconvinced, but before he could protest, Iola grabbed his arm and was dragging him away from the clubhouse. “Come on Joey – I’ll show you my horse.  Her name is Darling and she’s just a baby, but when she gets all grown up, then I can ride her all by myself!” 

Frankie grinned at the distressed look on his younger brother’s face as Iola’s voice continued in a nonstop banter even after the two kids were out of eyesight.  Now they could get back to reading their comics!

* * *

It was almost lunchtime before Joey and Iola left the barn.  He had been introduced to all the animals and thought that Iola was lucky to have her own horse…even if it was just a baby yet.  And he had to admit that hanging out with Iola was kind of fun.

They were kindred spirits and became at ease with each other promptly.  So after a quick peanut butter and jam sandwich, the two younger kids headed away from the house. 

“Tell your brothers to come in for lunch!”  Mrs. Morton called after them as Mr. Morton smiled behind his coffee mug. “And what are you smiling about?”  she finished as she caught the grin.

“Nothing,” he lied and then continued as she gave him ‘the look’, “It’s just that I think our little girl is smitten with one blond haired young boy.”

“What are you talking about?”  Catherine demanded as she immediately leaned forward to catch one last sight of the youngsters as they started to run past the barn.

“Oh come on Cathy,” he continued, grinning as he used his pet name for her, ”don’t tell me you missed the looks she kept giving the boy.  It’s the same look you give me…well when you’re not giving me the look you’re giving me now.”

Catherine Morton didn’t know whether to throw something at her husband or not, but as she thought back to how attentive Iola was to their young guest, her eyes widened in disbelief.  John was right – Iola was smitten with Joey!

“Oh dear,” she said whimsically as the trace of a smile graced her pretty features, “this is going to be a long summer.”

* * *

“Come on,” Iola beckoned as she took the lead past the barn, “let’s go down to the creek.  We can play shipwrecked on a dessert island like Gilligan’s Island!”

“Don’t you mean ‘deserted island?”  Joey corrected as the two raced across the field and towards the water.

“That’s what I said!”  Iola called back, still in the lead, but Joey quickly overtook her and got to the creek first.  As he leaned against a tree and waited for her to catch up, he called out, “What’s Gilligan’s Island?”

Iola rolled her eyes in disbelief as she came to stop in front of him. “It’s an old show that my Mom and Dad watched when they were younger.  Mom has some tapes and she likes to watch them and sometimes she lets me and Chet watch them with her…”  And then she went into a elaborate retelling of the series premise starting with the theme song, “Sit right back and I’ll tell a tale…”

Fascinated, Joey begged her to teach him the song and they spent the next little while as Maryanne and Gilligan.

* * *

“I’m hungry,” Chet said, getting up and stretching.  “It must be lunchtime.”

Frankie grinned and couldn’t help saying, “If you’re going by your stomach, then it must always be lunchtime.”  That earned him a friendly swipe from Chet and the chase ensued back to the house.

“MOM!”  Chet called out as he tore into the kitchen a step ahead of Frankie, “I’m hungry!”

Mrs. Morton came in from the pantry and shook her head as she pointed at the time.  “No wonder.  I was just getting ready to send your father after you.  Why didn’t you come home when Iola and Joey told you it was lunchtime?  They left almost an hour and a half ago!”

Frankie and Chet shared a look before Chet said, “They never told us anything.  We haven’t seen them since this morning.”

Mrs. Morton frowned slightly before sighing – kids.  And then she quickly made them some sandwiches and milk before going out to the barn.

“That’s it,” Chet hissed to Frankie, “Iola’s toast.  She could have come and told us it was lunchtime!”

Frankie didn’t say anything as he quietly ate his sandwich.  He felt a bit guilty as he thought about his promise to his father to keep an eye on Joey.  He hadn’t seen his brother in a couple of hours….

“Maybe we should check on them and see what they’re doing,” Frankie suggested as he started to feel a little knot of worry in his stomach.  He tried to brush it away but instead it seemed to intensify until his sandwich sat like a heavy lump in his stomach.  It reminded him of how he felt when Joey was missing a couple of months earlier…. “we need to make sure they’re all right.”

Chet looked at his friend strangely before shrugging and taking a large swig of his milk. “Sure – if it’ll make you feel better.  They’re probably out in the barn or something.”

Ten minutes later, tummies full, bladders empty, the two boys headed for the barn to see what their siblings were up to…and to give them a lecture for not telling them it was lunchtime.

* * *

“Hey, did you hear that?”  Joey whispered as he put his fingers on his lips and grabbed the girl’s arm to stop her making any more noise.

“Hear what?”  Iola whispered back, suddenly feeling a bit anxious.

Joey cocked his head to the side, listening, and was rewarded a few seconds later as he heard another branch cracking, “Someone’s coming,” he hissed, recognizing the sound of someone moving through the trees and towards them.

“It’s probably just Chet or Frankie,” Iola hissed back, “Come on, let’s hide and jump out at them – it will scare their pants off.”

Giggling, the two kids concealed themselves in some brush and waited.  A few seconds later they were rewarded when someone stepped into view a little ways from the creek…and it was not Chet or Frankie.  In fact it was someone neither child knew.

Joey fought the urge to scream and run.  He was terrified of strangers, and was rooted to the spot as for one second he was no longer hiding in the bushes with Iola Morton but he was back at the carnival…,

Iola started to stand up, but glancing over at her friend, she stopped.  Joey looked like he was about to pass out as his face had gone deathly white and he was trembling.  Concern for her new best friend stopped her, and instead of confronting the stranger and demanding to know what he was doing on their property, she reached out and grabbed Joey’s hand in her own.  She felt him immediately squeeze her hand tightly.

The children watched as the man quietly made his way to the creek, looking over his shoulder periodically as he did.  It was only when he knelt down by the water that they noticed for the first time that he was carrying something – a burlap sack.

And then to their growing horror, they saw the sack move and heard a plaintive whining.  Neither child knew what was about to happen but they did know one thing – there was a puppy in that sack!

The man said something they couldn’t make out as he opened the top of the sack and picking several larger stones, tossed them in.  And then retying the top, he swung the sack behind him and tossed it into the creek.

Two sets of eyes watched in horror – the man was drowning the puppy!

The sack landed in the deepest part of the stream and was quickly sucked underneath.  Satisfied that his task was done, the man turned away and quickly headed back to the road where he had left his car.

The children waited until he was out of sight, and then they both bolted to the creek.  Without a second thought, Joey jumped into the water and swam to where the sack had disappeared.

“NO!”  screamed Iola.  For a second she hesitated, not knowing whether to stay by the creek or go get help.  But as Joey came up for air and screamed at her, “I can’t find him!”  her mind was made up – they needed help.

Leaving her friend as he dived back into the water, she raced towards the house.  She just prayed she wouldn’t be too late.  It never occurred to her that the prayer would be for more than the puppy.

* * *

“Well they’re definitely not in the barn,” Chet said after they finished checking out every conceivable place for the kids to hide.  He had expected them to hide and try to scare them but after ten minutes of looking, no one jumped out and yelled ‘boo’ so he was ready to make his formal opinion known.

Frankie rolled his eyes – he could have told him that earlier.  While Iola might have tried to scare them, he knew that Joey would have come out of hiding right away.  The brothers played hide and seek a little differently now….

“So where do you think they’re gone?”  Frankie asked as they closed the door behind them and stood in the mid-afternoon air.  He was starting to really get worried now, because he already knew the answer even before Chet said it, “The creek.”

Suddenly the dark haired boy had a strong desire to find his brother, and without warning his friend, he started to run towards the creek.  Yes, while the creek ran through the whole property, he knew exactly where Joey and Iola would be – at the part where the creek was the deepest and most dangerous.

Joey never did things gradually…it was all or nothing with him.  So it would only be the dangerous spot…it had to be.

They hadn’t gone very far when they heard someone scream “NO!”

“Iola,” Chet said as he was chilled by the horror in his sister’s voice – something bad had happened. 

The two big brothers picked up the pace, and almost ran headfirst into Iola a few seconds later, as the girl came tearing out of the overgrowth.

“CHET…FRANKIE…” she gasped and doubled over to catch her breath, “Joey…puppy…the creek…”

She didn’t get a chance to say anything else as Frankie was already pounding through the brush in the direction from which she came.  Something had happened to his brother, that was all he knew.

* * *

Once again, Joey dived under, and this time he found the burlap sack.  He just prayed it wasn’t too late.  The child’s lungs were bursting but he refused to go to the surface without it.

But the sack, weighed down with stones, was heavy, and he couldn’t budge it.  Desperately he tugged at it and tried to lift it but it still wouldn’t move.  His lungs were now burning as he felt his strength diminishing and his head starting to swim.

The water was numbing but the boy refused to give up – he had to save the puppy.

* * *

“Go get Dad!”  Chet yelled at Iola as he sprinted after Frankie.

Iola nodded and ran towards the house.  As she got close enough to yell she recognized the sedan that was pulling up in the driveway and within a few minutes she was racing back towards the creek with both her father…and Fenton Hardy right behind her.

* * *

“JOEY!”  Frankie screamed as he got to the creek.  The water was quiet and there was no sign of his brother but he knew that was deceptive – Joey must still be under the water.

A sudden up rush of bubbles from the deepest part of the creek confirmed his darkest fears – his brother was drowning.  Preparing himself for the cold water, he took a deep breath and dove into the creek.  He would find Joey no matter what the cost.

* * *

The water was colder than Frankie even imagined and it almost knocked the breath out of him.  His concern for his brother overcame his instinct for self-preservation as he desperately searched the murky depths for Joey.

Suddenly his hand brushed something soft and he immediately grabbed it tightly as he kicked towards the surface.  As he dragged his brother to the surface he was surprised by how heavy Joey felt until they broke the surface and he noticed that his brother was holding a burlap sack tightly in his fists, and Frankie suspected that was what was making it so difficult.

“Hang in there…little brother,” the boy gasped as he towed the limp body towards the rocky bank where Chet was pacing anxiously.  He had arrived in time to see his friend dive into the cold water, and prayed that his father would get here in time.

Reaching the bank, Chet helped him drag his brother out of the water and turn him on his back.  Fear consumed them as they saw how lifeless Joey was.

“No,” the dark haired boy whispered and then relief flooded him as Mr. Morton, Iola and then his own father burst into the clearing.

Fenton Hardy took in the scene immediately and pushed past the other two.  Frankie looked at his father with a tear-streaked face. “He’s dead.”

Without time to console his oldest son, Fenton immediately started CPR.  He refused to believe his youngest son had drowned.

As he worked, Mr. Morton managed to free the sack from the little boy’s tightly clenched fists, shocked that he had continued to hold on even in unconsciousness.  Starting to unwrap the sack, he wanted to see what was so precious for a child to risk his life. 

Behind him, Iola was in too much shock to say anything as Chet wrapped an arm awkwardly around her thin shoulders.  He didn’t know what else to do, but it felt right.

Just as John Morton opened the sack he heard a sputter and then a cough as Joey breathed in a deep breath.  Relieved, he looked down and his heart broke – in the sack was a tiny black puppy.

* * *

Fenton Hardy worked fervently – he had to save his son.  He blocked out everything around him as he concentrated on what he had to do.  An ex-NYPD officer, Fenton was well trained in first aid – CPR included – but had never had to use it before.  He had treated gunshot wounds, severed limbs and even heart attack, but this was the first time he had to actually perform artificial respiration on anyone…and it was his own youngest child.

…Breathe….breathe…breathe…his mind kept chanting as he continued the breaths, compressions and then checked for a pulse.  Just when he was starting to believe what Frankie had said, he felt a slight movement.  Immediately he turned the boy to his side and Joey coughed up a lungful of water.

‘Thank God,” he muttered, as dazed vibrant blue eyes opened wide and stared up at him.  The man immediately gathered his son into his arms, but Joey pushed away and looked at the sack that Mr. Morton was holding open.

Mr. Morton felt his eyes on him and turned to him sadly, shaking his head, “I’m sorry.”

“NO!”  Joey yelled making his father jump in surprise.  His son was weak but struggling to move towards the sack, “NO!  You have to save him!”

His eyes sought out his father’s. “You saved me.”  Fenton’s heart tore but before he could say anything Frankie had moved past him to Mr. Morton, and reaching into the burlap sack he carefully lifted out the still puppy.  His own dark eyes, a mirror of his father’s, told him the same thing…he had to try.

Fenton’s youngest son had almost died trying to save the puppy – he had to try.

Taking the small body in his big hands, the detective placed his mouth over the puppy’s and breathed a small gentle breath into his nose until he saw the little chest expand as it filled with air.  And then he gently pressed down on the tiny breastbone to expel it.  And then he breathed into it again.

It was hopeless, but the man had to do this for his son.  He saw the farmer shake his head.  Not that John felt CPR on an animal was a waste of time but because he felt the animal had been dead too long.  As a farmer, he had seen and heard tell of CPR working on animals but…

His thoughts were interrupted by a soft wheeze followed by a sneeze.  Fenton was so shocked he almost dropped the puppy – it had worked!

Immediately he placed the puppy into Joey hands, and taking off his jacket, he wrapped it around them both.  Then lifting his son up, he carried both the boy and the pup back to the farm…

* * *

And Joe called him Hero…