Callie, Vanessa and Laura sat in the lounge area of the airport, waiting for George DiSantos.  As fate would have it, their flight had come in early and he wasn’t there yet.  Holding tightly to Vanessa’s hand, Callie stole frequent glances at the younger girl, concerned at the look on her face.  Hopelessness.  Despair.  Grief.  Almost as if she had already given up.  Leaning forward slightly, Callie briefly looked at Laura, sitting on the other side of Vanessa, also holding her hand.  She didn’t look much better.  Watching the two, she heard Frank’s voice in her head, replaying their phone conversation of just a few minutes earlier.

“Take care of Mom and Van.”

“I will.”

“Thanks, Babe.”  She had clearly heard the anguish in his voice.

“He’s a fighter, Frank.”  She had tried to reassure him.

“I don’t know how much fight he has left.”

Callie swallowed hard; she could tell Frank had been on the verge of tears and knew he was afraid Joe wouldn’t make it.  Recalling the information Fenton Hardy had relayed during his middle of the night phone call, she was scared Frank could be right.  As bad as the news of Joe’s injuries had been, Callie knew it wasn’t even close to the full truth. 

Over the years she had been with Frank, she had noticed how Fenton would try to protect his wife from “too much information” when one of their sons had been injured.  A sudden moment of clarity brought a chill and the knowledge that she, Laura and Vanessa would never know the full extent of what had happened to Joe in the past forty eight hours.  And that thought made her fear for his very survival.  Looking around, Callie noticed George walking towards them.

“Here he comes.” She said standing up, as Laura and Vanessa did the same.

Stopping in front of the three women, George gave Laura a warm hug.

“Thank you so much, George, for everything.”  She said.

“I wish I could have done more.” He replied, sounding disappointed.

“Hello.” He greeted Callie with a kiss on the cheek.

Turning his gaze on Vanessa, his heart broke.

“I’ve known Joe since he was a little boy, honey.  He never gives up.” George smiled at her reassuringly.

“Thank you.”  Vanessa replied, her voice barely a whisper, as she wiped away a tear.

As they made their way to baggage claim and retrieved their luggage George explained that Fenton had asked him to take them to the hotel first, help them get checked in and settled in their suite, and then bring them to the hospital.  Understandably, they were anxious to reach their final destination.  Throughout the short journey, Laura had attempted to pry some information out of George about Joe’s condition, to no avail.  He insisted he knew even less than they did.

Just over an hour later, the four of them made their way through the front doors of the hospital. Taking the elevator to the ICU floor, they hurried to the waiting area where they found Frank catnapping uncomfortably on a tiny sofa and Fenton standing in front of a window staring out, lost in thought. 

Hearing them enter, Fenton turned as his wife rushed into his arms.  Callie made her way to the small couch and crouched down next to it.  Reaching out, she gently brushed Frank’s hair back and kissed him on the cheek.  Opening his eyes, he stared at his wife, feeling an odd sense of relief. Wordlessly, Frank stood and pulled her into him tightly, burying his face in her hair. 

During his short nap he’d had bizarre dreams of Joe lying in a coffin, dead eyes staring at him, accusing, demanding to know why he hadn’t come sooner.  Holding her tightly, Frank was overwhelmed with the thought that they might be bringing Joe home in a casket.  As always, Callie seemed to know just what he was thinking.

“He’ll be alright.”  She whispered, returning the tight embrace.  “He’ll be fine, you’ll see.”

It suddenly dawned on Frank that whenever Joe was in trouble, whenever he was hurt or in a tight spot, Callie was his biggest champion, his biggest cheerleader.  While everyone else worried about Joe, Callie was convinced he would come out of the situation just fine.  He wondered if Joe knew that.  He wondered if Joe would live long enough to find out.

Frank pulled back very slowly, wanting to look into Callie’s eyes, wanting to see the conviction behind her words, yet afraid this time it wouldn’t be there.  However, she did not let him down, her deep brown eyes telling him everything would turn out fine, if only he believed.

Glancing up, Frank finally noticed Vanessa, standing alone, looking as if she had already lost her best friend.  Catching her eye, Frank kept one arm around Callie and beckoned for Vanessa to join them with the other.  She approached, slowly at first, but then rushed into Frank’s waiting embrace, burying her face in his chest.  She felt Callie put a comforting arm around her waist, and realized that rather than the fear that normally welled up inside her when she was touched by anyone other than Joe, she felt loved and protected.  Losing herself in the feeling, she allowed them to comfort her and didn’t move for several minutes.  Finally, reluctantly, she pulled away, but just enough to look Frank in the eyes.

“Have you seen him yet?”  She asked, almost fearfully.

“Not since we got him to the MedEvac chopper.  As far as I know he’s still in the recovery room.”  Frank replied praying she wouldn’t ask how Joe was when they had first found him.

Sensing it was something Frank didn’t want to discuss and something she knew instinctively she wouldn’t want to hear, Vanessa did not press the issue.  They all turned as Fenton and Laura approached.

“I asked them to page Dr. Greene.  She should be here shortly.”  Fenton said, then explained to his wife, Callie and Vanessa who she was.

The five of them took seats and waited for the resident to arrive, George having departed inconspicuously after making Fenton promise to call him with an update on Joe or if they should need anything at all.  A few moments later, Dr. Greene appeared, holding a folder in her hands.  Fenton introduce her to Laura, Callie and Vanessa as she seated herself opposite the concerned family.

“First, Joe was just moved into the ICU so you’ll be able to see him shortly.” She smiled, at the audible sighs of relief.  “I want to warn you though, he’s attached to quite a few machines and he’s heavily medicated.  Dr. Marston felt it was best to keep him almost in a drug-induced coma, in order to speed the initial healing.  His condition is still…precarious.  As long as he is unconscious, he won’t feel any pain so he won’t be trying to move around in an effort to relieve it.”

“How long do you intend to keep him like that?”  Laura asked, both worried and relieved.  Worried because she knew she wouldn’t even begin to rest easy until she could actually talk to Joe herself and hear him respond, yet relieved that her child wouldn’t be in any pain, at least for the immediate future.

“A few days at least. So don’t worry if he doesn’t respond to you.  But don’t let that stop you from talking to him.  It’s been proven that people who are comatose have heard conversations that have gone on around them.”  Dr. Greene paused and looked at the chart in her hand, before speaking again.  “Before we get started, I want to warn you that Joe’s injuries are extensive and severe.  Please stop me at any time if you have a question.”

Vanessa, seated between Frank and Callie held tightly to their hands, knowing how difficult it was going to be for her to hear what the doctor had to say.  She felt Frank give her hand a reassuring squeeze and turned slightly, giving him a tiny smile of gratitude.

Taking a deep breath, Dr. Greene began.

“I’m sure you all know Joe had numerous injuries, several of them quite severe.  Obviously Dr. Marston wanted to treat the life-threatening injuries first.”

‘Oh, God, he really could have died!’ Vanessa thought, terrified. ‘I almost lost him!’

“He had a punctured lung and the other had collapsed completely.  Both were successfully repaired.  He also had extensive internal bleeding.  Dr. Marston traced the cause back to a ruptured spleen which was removed.”  Sydney Greene stopped as she heard an audible gasp.  Looking up, she saw Laura Hardy pale and trembling.

“That’s actually quite a common procedure, Mrs. Hardy.”  She tried to reassure the distressed mother.  “Joe may have to take a few precautions, but most people can live a perfectly normal life without a spleen.”

“What kind of precautions?” Frank asked, worried.  Joe was never one to worry about his own health or safety, thinking he could easily bounce back from anything.

“Joe could be more susceptible to certain types of infections.  For example, yearly vaccinations against influenza – flu shots - are recommended. The spleen can be considered a part of the immune system.  Without it the immune system, and its ability to fight off bacteria, germs - that sort of thing - can be compromised.”  Hearing no other questions, Sydney checked the folder in her hand and continued.

“Joe has suffered second degree burns over sixty-five percent of his left arm, apparently from being exposed directly to an open flame.” She said trying not to be too vague but not wanting to reveal what she had seen in the awful pictures Fenton Hardy had provided.  Sydney had a feeling he did not want his wife to know the intimate details of how their son had come to suffer such horrible injuries and she was happy to keep the worst of the information to herself. 

“Unfortunately second-degree burns are the most painful. They often produce blisters that, when broken, expose the nerve endings to air. Joe does have some deeper second-degree burns involving the deeper layers of the skin. A few of the areas will probably result in some scarring.  With treatment, the deepest second-degree burns would usually heal in six weeks or less.  In Joe’s case these burns are over a somewhat larger area so it may take a little longer for them to heal completely.  If it turns out the scarring is extensive, skin grafts can be considered.”

Frank heard a small whimper from Vanessa and immediately dropped her hand, placing an arm around her shoulders and holding her tightly.  A quick glance told him Callie was now holding Vanessa’s other hand in both of hers.

“What kind of treatment is involved for those types of burns?”  Fenton asked hoarsely.

“Treatment should cover three phases: resuscitation, operative and rehabilitation. During the first phase, the burns are debrided – or cleaned - and antimicrobial cream is applied to prevent infection.”  She stopped and looked at Fenton questioningly, wondering how much information he wanted his wife to hear.  He seemed to struggle with the decision but finally nodded almost imperceptibly.

 

“This first step was already done in the O.R.  We found traces of salt embedded into some of the burns and it’s imperative that we make sure all of it has been removed to avoid complications so we’ll be watching Joe closely in case it needs to be repeated.”

 

“Salt?!”  Laura repeated in a hoarse whisper, her eyes wide in disbelief.  Fenton pulled his wife close and gently kissed the top of her head.  He would have preferred she didn’t know about that horrible part of Joe’s ordeal, but he knew she would have questioned a second debriding, should it be necessary, until she got the truth.

Frank stole another glance at Vanessa and saw a few tears running down her cheeks.  He admired her restraint as he was finding it difficult to hold back his own tears and he already knew the extent of what Joe had suffered through.  He refocused on Sydney as she began to speak again.

“Fluid replacement is a very pressing need during this phase. Without adequate fluid intake, there is an increased risk of shock.  Joe has suffered a large amount of fluid loss through the burn itself and the fact that he is dehydrated, since he’s had nothing to drink for over twenty-four hours.  We’ll be giving Joe fluids in large quantities via IV’s for the next two days.”  Sydney stopped for a moment as she saw the devastated looks on the faces of Joe’s family.

 

“The next two phases of treatment won’t be happening for a while yet, so why don’t we save that discussion for a later time.” She said, once again looking to Fenton for approval, letting him decide just how much his family could take in one sitting.

 

Reluctantly, Fenton nodded for her to continue, knowing at least one of the sites where Joe had been stung would be clearly visible when they saw him.  Watching the exchange, Laura tried to prepare herself for whatever was coming, yet at the same time fearing it was impossible.

“We found two marks on Joe’s right arm.  They led us to believe he was bitten or stung by something which turned out to be scorpions.”

Laura closed her eyes and leaned heavily against her husband.  Surprisingly, Vanessa took the news a little better venturing forth with a question.

“Aren’t scorpions poisonous?” She asked, fear in her voice.

“Actually very few species of scorpions are poisonous.  It’s just incredibly painful when they sting.  Based on the information that has been uncovered, we believe the species that Joe was stung by were not deadly.  We are just going to keep a very close eye on him and monitor any changes that might be related to the venom.  Most people who are stung by scorpions recover with no lasting effects at all.”  Sydney reassured them, grateful to be able to give them one small piece of good news and glad she was nearing the end of Joe’s litany of injuries.

Referring to the chart once again, she read out loud

“Joe has several broken ribs, which have been taped.  Again, they are painful, but they should heal completely.  He also suffered a knife wound on the top of his right foot, which was cleaned and sutured.  He may be limping for a while but we also expect that to heal nicely.

“He’ll have some bruising on his throat and wrists from the restraints.” She said vaguely referring to the leather straps and, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Fenton smile gratefully at her tact.  “We did take an x-ray of his jaw as the bruising there indicated a possible fracture, but luckily that wasn’t the case.”  Closing the chart, she looked up.

“I realize that was quite a bit of information to take in all at once, so if you think of any questions, please have me paged.  I’ll take you to the ICU now so you can see Joe, but we do ask that only two of you be in the room with him at any given time.”  She said standing up. 

“And I just want to remind you, it’ll be a bit of a shock when you first see him.  He is on a heart monitor and a ventilator to help him breathe easier.  We’ll keep him on the ventilator until Dr. Marston starts to reduce the medication.  That’s just so he doesn’t have to work so hard to breathe on his own.  He is also on numerous IV’s and receiving blood to replace what was lost.  And his left arm is quite heavily bandaged from just below his shoulder to his wrist.”  She looked at the family, huddling together for support.  “Ready?”

“Dr. Greene, do you expect Joe to make a full recovery?”  Laura asked, secretly wondering how it was possible given everything she had just heard, and knowing her husband had kept the worst of it from her.

Sydney thought for a moment before answering.  “Joe’s condition is still very critical.  Once he gets past the next forty-eight hours we’ll be in a much better position to answer that question.” She replied, purposely avoiding the words ‘if he lives through the next forty-eight hours’.  Somehow, the devastated looks on the faces of Joe’s family told her they knew that was not a forgone conclusion without her having to say it out loud.

Slowly the little group made their way down the hall, each hoping they would have one more chance to tell Joe how much they loved him…and hear him respond in kind.

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 them without express permission of the authors.