HDA - December Magic by RM Chapter 1

When they finally arrived at the hospital, Fenton pulled up near the emergency room entrance. Joe got out and helped Frank inside as Fenton went to park the car. As the sliding door closed behind them, they heard Frank’s name get called out.

Frank and Joe looked up to see Caren and Laura hurrying toward them. Caren reached Frank and hugged him tight. Frank hugged her in return, happy to see her beautiful face.

As Caren released her hold on him, Frank saw a nurse coming toward him with a wheelchair. With Joe’s help, he sat down just as Fenton entered the emergency room.

“We’ll take him back so the doctor can take a look at his injuries,” the nurse said.

“All right,” Laura said.

Frank squeezed Caren’s hand and gave her a smile before being wheeled into one of the treatment rooms.

* * * * *

Two hours later, Frank was wheeled out to the waiting room. The doctor had wrapped his left ankle in an ace bandage after the x-rays had been viewed. The doctor agreed that it was a sprain and urged Frank top stay off of it as much as possible over the next several days.

Entering the waiting room. He saw his family sitting in chairs. They got to their feet as he was wheeled closer.

“I’m fine,” Frank said. “It’s only a sprain.”

“Thank goodness it’s not something serious,” Laura said.

“I can leave,” Frank said. “Everything has been taken care of.”

“Then let’s get out of here,” Fenton said.

As Frank was wheeled out of the hospital, he reached over and took Caren’s hand in his. He smiled up at her.

“I’ll ride home with Caren,” Frank said, when his wheelchair came to a halt.

“All right,” Fenton said.

“I’ll go get the car,” Caren said and hurried into the parking lot.

Within minutes, Frank was in the passenger seat of Caren’s car heading for the Hardy home. As she drove, Caren asked, “How did this happen?”

“We were checking out the building and I looked in this old bureau. I opened the door and from what my Dad and Joe said, a raccoon was in there. It got startled and charged at me. I fell back and broke through the floor.”

“You’re lucky you weren’t hurt more,” Caren said.

“I was lucky,” Frank said. “We should have checked the building for safety. At least we’ll be more careful in the future.”

“So, how long are you supposed to stay off your foot?”

“I’m supposed to stay off of it as much as possible, but I’ll be fine for the wedding. Don’t worry.”

“I’m just glad you’re all right,” Caren said. “I was so worried when I got the call.”

“Mom called you?”

Caren nodded her head. “She said she had just gotten off the phone with Joe and told me you had been hurt. She didn’t go into details, but suggested I come to the hospital, and I did.”

“I’m glad you were there,” Frank said. “Seeing you made me forget about the pain.”

Caren smiled at him in return. “I’m glad I was there too.”

When they arrived at the Hardy home, Caren parked on the street.

Frank opened the door and carefully got out as Caren rounded the car. She got on Frank’s left side and they made their way to the house.

As they reached the front door, Laura pulled into the driveway, followed a moment later by Fenton.

They made their way inside and Frank settled himself on the couch. He propped his ankle on the coffee table.

“Frank, do you need anything?” Laura asked.

“I’m fine,” Frank answered. “But thanks for asking.”

“All right,” Laura said and headed into the kitchen.

“We’ll go look over the information Mr. Fieldstone gave us,” Fenton said.

“I’ll come help,” Frank said, starting to get up.

“You can stay put,” Joe said. “We’ll bring you some papers to look over.”

“All right,” Frank said.

Fenton and Joe left the living room. Frank looked at Caren.

“If you are going to work, I should probably go,” Caren said.

“You don’t have to,” Frank said, reaching up and brushing the hair back from her face.

“But I’ll be a distraction and you won’t get anything done.”

“You would not be a distraction,” Frank said. He cupped her face in his hand and drew her close to him. Their lips met.

Neither of them were sure how much time had passed when a voice said, “I can see you really wanted to look these papers over.”

Frank lifted his head from Caren and glowered at his brother. He couldn’t believe Joe had interrupted them. He asked calmly, “Can I help you?”

Joe grinned in return. “I thought you wanted to help.”

Frank leaned back from Caren and knew the moment had been broken. “What have you got for me?”

“Dad thought you could check these over,” Joe said, coming into the living room and placing the papers in the table. “He thinks you might find something we missed.”

“All right.”

Joe turned and left the living room.

Frank focused on Caren. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s okay,” Caren said. “And I do think I should go.”

Frank knew there was no persuading Caren when she made up her mind. “Why don’t you and your folks join us for dinner tonight?”

“I’d like that.”

“Good. Then I’ll see you about six.”

“Six it is.” Caren gave Frank a kiss and then left the house.

Frank slowly got to his feet and made his way into the kitchen. He saw his mother was already working on the meals preparations.

“Mom?”

Laura turned around. “Frank, if you needed something, you could have just called out.”

“I don’t need to be waited on,” Frank said. “It’s just a sprain.”

“You’re right,” Laura said. “Now, did you need something?”

“Actually, I hope you don’t mind, but I invited Caren and her parents to dinner tonight.”

“That’s fine,” Laura said. “We were going to grill some chicken outside since the weather is still nice. We’ll just add a few more.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

“You’re welcome,” Laura said. “Now, go get off your feet. Your ankle will only heal if you stay off it.”

“All right.”

“And I will have your brother find the crutches we have. I think he was the last one to use them.”

“That was in the spring when he was chasing the thief and tripped over the dog chain.”

“I remember that,” Laura said. “He still thinks the thief left it there on purpose.”

“Joe will always think that,” Frank said and returned to the living room.

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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.