Hardy Detective Agency featuring Hardy Boys Fan Fiction

Joe let his gaze sweep the room, finally landing once again on the large clock on the wall. Less than a minute had passed since the last time he’d looked at it. While he’d been standing silently next to Frank since they were escorted into the small room, his heart was hammering in his chest and he was suddenly terrified at the thought of coming face to face with Luke. While Seth had aimlessly wandered around the brightly lit playroom fingering the toys and children’s books with a fond smile, Frank had stayed close to Joe, as if sensing his brother’s rapidly growing apprehension and anxiety.

Waiting for Luke to arrive, Joe glanced at his older brother, reminded of all the times Frank had been described as the ‘spitting image’ of their father. Swallowing hard, Joe looked at the closed door and wondered… Despite knowing it would be impossible to be certain of his parentage simply by looking at the boy, Joe was still hopeful – and nervous – about seeing Luke. Would the child have Joe’s wavy blonde hair, Jodi’s dark brown tresses or Todd’s sandy-color hair? Would he have vibrant blue eyes that defied description or would they be a translucent, almost clear blue color? Would he be the spitting image of his father, his mother…or neither?

The door suddenly swung open causing Joe to visibly flinch and his breath caught in his throat. As he slowly turned towards the sound he felt Frank’s hand on his shoulder, squeezing gently. The social worker Seth had spoken to moments earlier walked through the door and Joe swore his heart stopped as she gestured for someone to follow. He lowered his gaze to the small boy who tentatively stepped into the room and stood uncertainly, his long-lashed eyes flicking between Joe, Frank and Seth. Luke had longish light brown hair with a fringe of bangs brushing his eyes.

“Hi,” he said, smiling at all of them politely. Despite his young age, he’d obviously learned that anyone was a potential parent and first impressions were the most important. Not knowing whom, if any of these men, was a potential adoptive father, Luke graced each of them with the same hopeful gaze.

As Joe stared at the boy’s eyes, he wasn’t sure if he was relieved or disappointed. They were not the same intensely piercing blue as his own; they weren’t even the same color as Jodi’s eyes. At first Joe thought they appeared to be more of a hazel-gray or greenish-gray until Luke stepped forward directly into a shaft of sunlight streaming in through the window. It was then that he was struck by how cruelly funny fate could be sometimes. Joe could now clearly see that Luke’s eyes were actually bluish-gray…almost the exact same shade as Vanessa’s!

“Wow,” he heard Frank’s soft exclamation and knew his brother had come to the same realization.

Joe sighed inwardly, knowing if anyone saw Luke and Vanessa together, they’d take one look at the matching eye color and automatically assume they were mother and son. ‘Can this get any more complicated?’ Joe wondered wearily.

Watching Luke closely, he saw none of himself or Todd in the child, although it was very easy for him to see this was Jodi Renault’s son. While a lighter shade of brown than Jodi’s, he had her thick, wavy hair and that beguiling smile. The smile that so many years ago had been Joe’s sanctuary, his escape, his life saver…suddenly that same smile on this innocent little boy brought back memories that left him with a coldness in the pit of his stomach, pushing up and layering itself over his heart. He shivered, unwillingly remembering that horribly, horribly dark night when he’d thought that having no life at all was better than the one that he had.* A cold chill swept through him at how easily this naïve and blameless child was able to evoke such intensely unsettling feelings in him.

Muted voices seemed to swirl around him and as they became clearer, Joe realized that Frank and Seth were speaking to Luke, trying to explain the reason for their visit. Joe felt someone nudge him and blinking rapidly, he focused on Luke, who was looking up at him eagerly. Unable to really see himself reflected in the little boy, Joe tried to relax as the child stared at him.

“My mom wants me?” Luke asked eagerly. “My real mom?”

“Yes,” Joe responded. “She wants you very much.”

“My daddy too?” Luke asked excitedly.

Caught off guard by the simple question, Joe’s tenuous appearance of normalcy disappeared completely. He gasped audibly and stumbled back a step as if he’d been hit. Thankfully the small boy didn’t notice; just as thankfully, Frank did, saving Joe the toll of answering.

Frank laid a comforting hand on Joe’s shoulder. “We’re still looking for your daddy, Luke,” he replied. “But I bet he wants you just as much as your mommy does.”

Luke seemed pleased at the response even as he looked around the room expectantly, his gaze returning to Joe like magnet. “Is she here?”

“Uh…no, um…not – not yet,” he stuttered, unnerved at the way Luke seemed to be drawn to him, rather than Frank or Seth, as if the child sensed something.

“She’s on her way,” Seth supplied helpfully, throwing Joe a sympathetic look. “I talked to her a little while ago and she can’t wait to meet you.”

“Am I going home with her today?” Luke asked, seeming both excited and apprehensive at the prospect.

“Not tonight, but soon,” Seth assured him.

Luke nodded, apparently placated for the moment. An awkward silence ensued before he zeroed in on Joe again. “What’s my mommy like? Do you know her?”

Joe felt his eyes grow huge wondering for a moment if Luke could see straight into his soul. Why was he so adamantly addressing Joe as opposed to Seth or Frank? Aware of the tense silence Joe cleared his throat.

“She – she’s nice. Very nice,” he said lamely. “And she can’t wait to meet you. She loves you very much.”

Luke seemed to think about that for a minute and then frowned. “Then why’d she give me away?” he asked. There was no anger or resentment in his voice or eyes, just a child’s innocent confusion and blunt honesty.

“Well, she didn’t…uh…she didn’t give you away,” Joe began, a look of panic crossing his face.

Seeing Joe’s obvious distress, Seth crouched down in front of Luke and smiled at him. “You see Luke, when you were born your mommy was very, very sick. There was a mistake… you know what a mistake is, don’t you?”

Luke nodded, listening intently.

“Well, there was a mistake and someone told her you had died. She didn’t know about the mistake and she believed this person. She just found out a few days ago that you were really alive. And as soon as she did she asked Joe,” he stopped and tilted his head at the younger Hardy, “to find you. That’s how much she wanted you back.” Seth stopped and waited to see how Luke would respond. “Do you understand?”

“Uh-huh,” Luke assured him and turned to Joe with a smile. “Thanks for finding me!”

“You’re welcome,” Joe replied hoarsely.

Suddenly overwhelmed at the surreal situation he found himself in, Joe began to tremble. He had been anxiously anticipating this moment, this meeting with Luke, for three days but now that it had finally arrived he felt as if he were suffocating. Joe could feel his heart rate increase dramatically, his breath coming in short gasps.

Memories of the months immediately following Iola’s death began tumbling back to him and along with them, the depths of despair that had almost convinced him he didn’t deserve to be alive. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could pretend the little boy’s wide-eyed innocence wasn’t tearing him apart – or painfully reminding him of the darkest night of his life. Joe turned to his brother, his eyes screaming ‘Get me out of here!’

Needing no further explanation, Frank put a hand on Joe’s back and started guiding him towards the door as he addressed Seth. “We have a ton of paperwork to do so we’re going to take off. We’ll be at the motel if you need us for anything.” He stopped for a moment and looked directly at Luke. “It was very nice to meet you, Luke.”

“It was nice to meet you, too,” Luke smiled brightly, looking from Frank to Joe. “Bye!”

“Bye, Luke.” Joe heard the words and knew he’d spoken them even as he felt like he were a voyeur, watching the scene play out rather than participating in it.

A moment later as he stood next to the passenger door of his own car, Joe wondered if he were in shock, not remembering the short walk from the building.

“Give me the keys,” Frank said softly.

Joe looked up at him and, offering no resistance, silently turned over the keys to his car. Joe slid into the passenger seat and leaned his head back, momentarily puzzled at the surprised expression that had appeared on his brother’s face. ‘Oh yeah…nobody drives my car…’

A strangled noise escaped from his throat and Joe wasn’t sure if it was a laugh or a sob…

(*Paraphrased from the song How Do You Get That Lonely by Blaine Larson)

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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.