HDA - Living in Darkness Trilogy - Pt 2 - The Search

"Mrs. Hardy," the doctor met Laura outside of Joe's room, stopping her as she was about to open the door to go in and see him. Laura yawned from the long day she'd had; trying to get a house set up in Bayport so she'd have a place to bring all of the children when they were out of the hospital, and from driving most of the afternoon and evening to get to Cambridge to visit her family.

Laura turned to stare at the doctor, one hand still on the door into Joe's room.

"Hello, Doctor," Laura said softly. "Yes, I am Mrs. Hardy."

"Right," the doctor said. "Your husband told me to expect you. Joe's about to nod off for the night; I wanted to ask you to please keep your visit with him short. He's had a hectic day and I know you want him well-rested before his release tomorrow."

The doctor didn't go into the tests Joe had taken that day, but Laura knew all too well what her son had been through since coming to the hospital.

"I was planning to stay the night with him," Laura said as she indicated the small bag she carried. "He shouldn't be alone right now…"

"Actually," the doctor shook his head. "I think it would better if you didn't. He's indicated he needs some time to himself – your daughter and your husband have both spent a lot of time here with him, and I think it's starting to get to him. Our staff psychiatrist indicated that Joe really needs some time on his own to…process….That he's going be able to avoid that if he is constantly buffeted on all sides by visitors and well-meaning family members. Mrs. Hardy, your son needs to feel like he has control over something in his life; that his family and friends are going to respect his needs and help him only when he asks for it."

Laura opened her mouth to say something – but had nothing she could say to counter the doctor's words. She wanted to hear something else, though, to hear that Joe's family could stay by him all the time, but she didn't…she couldn't….

Not really.

"Can I have a few minutes with him then?" Laura asked. "I haven't seen him since they found him."

"Of course," the doctor smiled. "Go on in, he may still be awake. Please don't wake him if he isn't, though."

Laura nodded and pushed the door open. She went into the room and stopped, watching as Joe opened his eyes and looked at her for a moment.

"Mom…" Joe whispered.

"Hello, baby," Laura said to him in a soft voice as she crossed to his bedside. Joe opened his arms and Laura sat on the bed, drawing him close and hugging him tightly. Joe said nothing at all, and Laura contented herself with giving him what he was able to ask for at the moment and not…presuming…

"Mom…" Joe whispered it again, a supplication. "I missed you so much."

Laura felt tears on her cheek where Joe nuzzled hers and she wasn't sure if they were from Joe, or from herself. Joe held on tightly as they both rocked and took comfort from each other as needed.

"Baby, I'm so sorry," Laura said softly when she finally sat up and wiped her – and Joe's – face. "I…should have seen it. I should have done more to help Andrew when he was growing up, after Derak went to jail. I just—"

"Mom, no!" Joe protested. "No, don't do that. It's not your fault. It's not! God, Mom, are you supposed to be psychic? None of us ever expected that Aunt Cathy was turning Andrew into a crazy loon. Nobody would have thought that of her. It's not your fault, so don't blame yourself, please?"

Laura felt guilty – guilty that Joe was having to comfort her and not the other way around. She set her shoulders and smiled, brushing more tears off of Joe's face.

"Are they treating you well here?" she asked as she settled into the bedside chair.

"Sure," Joe shrugged. "I can't wait to get out of here, though. I hate hospitals. I just want to go home."

"Tomorrow we can do that," Laura smiled. "I was working on that all day yesterday and today. Or…you can go back to your dorm if you want. It's your choice."

"Yeah," Joe shrugged again and Laura wondered what he was thinking. He said nothing, however, and she sighed softly.

"Do you want me to bring you anything tomorrow?" Laura asked. "Food? Clothes?"

"A chocolate milkshake?" Joe asked hopefully. "I've been dreaming of chocolate milkshakes. Mandy and Connor brought me a cheeseburger yesterday and no milkshake. I'm going through deprivation, Mom."

Laura laughed. "I'll see what I can do, my son. I'd better go before your doctor runs me out. Unless you'd like me to stay?"

Joe shook his head almost instantly. "No, you go on. I'll probably just sleep anyway. I need you to bring me real clothes and a chocolate shake tomorrow. Can't do that if you stay here."

Laura got to her feet and kissed his cheek. "I'm glad you're safe."

"Me too," Joe agreed. "Love you."

"Love you too," Laura smiled and left the room.

I hate this, Laura thought. I hated it the first time and I hate it now.

Laura was able to drop in on Frank for a few minutes as well and found that he was as alert and awake as Joe, despite painkillers and muscle relaxants. Frank lay on his bed, his good arm behind his head as he stared up at, well, at nothing at all. He did turn toward the door when it squeaked open slightly, but looked away again when nobody said anything.

"Frank?" Laura said softly as she came into the room. She closed the door behind her and went to sit on the vacant chair by Frank's bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Mom!" Frank exclaimed happily, his brown eyes filling with happiness. "I'm…okay, really. Strange kinda but I'm okay."

"Strange kinda?" Laura laughed, startled. "How come?"

"Well," Frank admitted. "I don't know. If I could explain it I would."

Laura smiled though he couldn't see it and squeezed his shoulder gently. "We've all been through a lot in the last couple of weeks and…well…it seems unreal."

Frank nodded. "That's for sure."

"So I was thinking about something." Laura looked at the door to Frank's room. She was going to get pushed out anytime now.

"What's that?" Frank asked curiously.

"What you said about the doctor in Connecticut ," Laura said. "The one who might be able to give you your sight back. I think you should go see him."

Frank looked surprised. "What? Why are you thinking about that now?"

Laura made a non-committal sound before speaking. "I want…we need everything back to normal. Part of that is not only your leg surgery but…but if it's possible, getting your eyesight back too. Frank, just think about it. I won't push you to do it, you know that. But if you want to…if it's a path you'd like to try, I think you should. Okay?"

Frank nodded in agreement and smiled. "Okay."

Laura got back to her feet and kissed his cheek. "Need anything tomorrow for your release?"

Frank shook his head. "Nope," he said. "Well, yeah. Something clean to wear would be nice. Other than that, no."

"Okay," Laura smiled. "Love you, son."

"Love you, Mom."

***** ***** *****

Time/Date Stamp: October 28, 2000 , 9:oo a.m.

At Laura's instance the whole family arrived at 9 a.m. the next day to pick up both boys. Fenton went out that morning and rented a large van from a local car rental place so they could transport both boys in relative luxury and have room for the rest of them to travel as well. The two back seats were made up into cocoon-soft beds for both boys, in case they wanted to try to get some sleep.

"I doubt Frank will stay awake for very long," Fenton commented. "Those pain-killers really knock him for a loop. Joe might stay awake though."

It all really depended on if Joe wanted to be awake or not, or if he even wanted to talk to the rest of them. The doctor told Fenton when he called that morning that Joe was being unresponsive – obviously the memories were starting to get to him again.

Fenton knew as well that the F.B.I. was questioning Andrew that morning and he had to keep himself busy so he didn't go charging down to the bureau offices to interrupt the interview and throttle the boy with his bare hands. Every time he thought too much about Andrew, Fenton felt the same urge: to do as much harm to the boy as he could, short of killing him.

It was better to keep busy, and getting his family out of Cambridge and back home to Bayport was a good way to do it.

Laura packed up a small bag for each boy and instructed Fenton to stop at a nearby fast food place to get Joe's chocolate milkshake on the way to the hospital. Connor was given the job of driving Laura's car back to Bayport, and Mandy was riding with him for the first leg of the trip, trading places with Samantha later on so she could ride with Joe.

Both boys were up and ready, short of changes of clothes, to go. Once they had their clothing, they were ready as fast as injuries allowed, and Joe insisted on having the dignity of walking out on his own two feet, hospital rules be damned.

"Give me that much, would ya?" he asked his doctor.

Fenton wanted to make Joe ride but figured he couldn't go back on the doctor's agreement to Joe's request. Instead, he pushed Frank's wheelchair down to the pick-up area in front of the hospital and helped him into the van and to the back seat, where Frank got as comfortable as his long legs and the short seat allowed. Joe slid into his seat and grinned back at his brother, who grumbled something that Fenton couldn't quite hear but sounded like 'rumble seat'.

The ride back to Bayport – unlike days before – was uneventful.

And they were home.

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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.