Frank sat in the silent room; the volume of the heart monitor had been turned to mute. He really despised hearing that sound. Frank stared at the still form of his younger brother. Due to the drugs Joe was given, he was strapped to the bed. The younger teen was suffering from hallucinations caused by the drugs.

Frank stood up, walking closer to the bed. He stroked Joe’s hair away from his face.

“Aww little brother – if I could trade places with you, you know I would,” he whispered softly.

Joe whimpered in sadness and fear – he didn’t want to hear the voices again.

When the doctor finally came into the waiting room, he had given them some good news. With the exception of the large bump on the back of his head, Joe was in good health. What concerned the doctor were the drugs that were given to Joe. They couldn’t give Joe anything to counteract the effects without first knowing what he was given. For now all they could do was let the drugs run their course through his body.

Frank sat back down in the chair again, and placed his hand lightly over Joe’s. He didn’t hear the door open, and wasn’t aware someone had come in until he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“You should go get something to eat,” Fenton said in a low voice.

“I’m not hungry.”

“Come on, Frank – humor me. Your mother and aunt are in the cafeteria waiting for us.” Fenton gently squeezed the back of Frank’s neck.

“Why Dad – why did they do this to Joe?! It was bad enough that they killed Iola – haven’t they tormented him enough?!” Frank covered his face as he tried to keep from crying.

Fenton held back a sob as he attempted to answer his son’s question. “All I can say is – there are some people who are just so evil that they don’t need a reason. The Assassins are just plain evil!”

Father and son stared at the youngest member of the family. With a heavy sigh, Frank stood up and quietly walked out of the room. Fenton leaned down and softly kissed Joe’s forehead.

“I love you, son,” he whispered softly in Joe’s ear. He straightened up and left the room.

As he passed the nurse’s station, Fenton didn’t pay attention to the doctor standing there, who was studying a patient’s chart. He met up with Frank who was holding the elevator.

Watching the two Hardy men leave, Arthur Gray quietly entered Joe’s room. Reaching into the side pocket of the lab coat he wore, he took out a syringe filled with a clear liquid. The Network had been aware that the Assassins had been experimenting with a new designer drug. The undercover operative had managed to steal a vial and send it to the Gray Man.

Finding a port in Joe’s IV, the Gray Man injected the serum. When he was done he put the empty syringe back into his pocket.

“There you go, Joe. You should be feeling better soon.”

Walking out of the room the Gray Man made his way to the fire exit. As he stepped into the stairwell he was startled to see someone waiting for him.

“I always knew all that talk about Joe Hardy being a thorn in your side was just that – nothing but rubbish!” Charlie leaned against the wall; her arms crossed, a smile on her face.

*****

Frank lay on top of his bed, scowling up at the ceiling. He had wanted to stay with Joe, but lost the argument with Laura to be allowed to remain in the room. Although he supposed his mother was right – he did need to rest.

There was a soft knock at his door.

“Come in, Dad.”

The door opened to reveal Aunt Gertrude carrying a tray with a glass of milk and a plate of sugar-cinnamon cookies.

“I thought you’d like a little snack.”

Frank sat up, smiling at his aunt. Milk and sugar-cinnamon cookies were his favorite. Whenever Joe felt upset Aunt Gertrude would bring him hot chocolate and chocolate-chip cookies.

“Thank you, Aunt Gertrude.” Frank took the tray from her and set it on his lap.

Expecting his aunt to leave, he was surprised when she pulled out his computer chair and sat down.

“You still mad at your parents for making you leave the hospital?”

Frank didn’t answer right away. He took a bite of a cookie and chewed slowly. For some odd reason his Aunt Gertrude always made him feel like he was six years old! Even now, when he was a few months shy of nineteen!

“A little, but I understand why they wanted me to come home.”

Aunt Gertrude smiled. “Good, I’m glad to hear that. Now finish your snack and go to bed. We’ll be leaving early in the morning to see Joe.”

Getting out of the chair, Aunt Gertrude awkwardly patted the top of Frank’s head before she left the room.

*****

Fenton, Frank and Aunt Gertrude arrived at the hospital at nine a.m. the next morning to find a very agitated Laura. She was waiting outside of Joe’s room.

“Laura, what’s wrong – did something happen to Joe?” Fenton asked in a worried voice.

“I – I don’t know! The lab tech came in at six this morning and took a blood sample. Doctor Wells arrived thirty minutes ago – he said there was something odd about the results!”

At that moment the door opened and a man came out of the room. With his wavy blond hair and green eyes, Dr. Wells appeared younger than his forty-five years.

“Mr. and Mrs. Hardy – I’m happy to say that the drugs in your son’s system have almost disappeared.”

Laura slumped against Fenton, tears of happiness streaming down her face. Gertrude placed her hand on Fenton’s back, giving him a little pat. She reached out and took Frank’s hand with a small smile.

“But how?” asked Fenton.

“I wish I could tell you. I knew eventually the drugs would be out of his system. It just happened a whole lot sooner than I expected!” Dr. Wells gave the family a smile. “He’s sleeping more peacefully at the moment. He should be waking up soon.”

The Hardy family breathed a sigh of relief as one by one they entered Joe’s room.

*****

Three days later Joe Hardy was sitting in his bedroom, itching to get out of bed. The doctor had wanted to keep Joe for a few more days to conduct more tests, but the younger Hardy made a big fuss about going home. Joe had been very happy when he was finally released, only to be dismayed when his mother insisted he go straight to bed!

Biff and Chet had come by to see him, bringing along the school work he had missed. Vanessa had also come by to visit – Joe was horrified to see the bruises around her neck. When he found out that he had been responsible for them, that knowledge had caused him immense guilt.

Vanessa recognized the guilty expression and immediately comforted him: “Joe you had been drugged and were hallucinating! You shouldn’t feel guilty – me, on the other hand…!”

“You – why would you feel guilty?” Joe took Vanessa’s hands in his.

“Because I was the one checking for any puncture marks and I missed seeing one! I’m the one who fed you the orange that had been contaminated with that drug!”

“I tell you what – if I promise not to feel guilty, will you promise not to feel that way too?” Joe smiled at Vanessa who smiled back.

“Deal!” she exclaimed with a mischievous glint in her eye. “Now – how do we seal this deal?”

“Hmm,” said Joe as he appeared to be deep in thought.

“Oh, just kiss the girl will ya?!”

Joe and Vanessa turned to see Charlie standing in the bathroom doorway that connected Joe and Frank’s room.

“Man, you have to tell me how you do that!” exclaimed Joe with admiration.

Charlie just smiled. “I came to see how you were doing but it looks like you’re doing just fine!”

“I am – I really don’t remember much—”

“That’s the drug – the one the Assassins gave you and the antidote you got from the Network. I’m glad to see you’re doing okay.”

“Thanks to you,” smiled Joe. “Frank told me how you helped him.”

“I better get going now,” Charlie turned to leave but paused in mid-turn. She looked over at Vanessa. “Give him a kiss from me!” She winked at the young girl before she left.

Joe threw back the covers and jumped out of bed. He ran into Frank’s room, but Charlie had already climbed out the window. He felt Vanessa come up behind him. She tugged on his arm.

“Come on, back to bed before your mom sees you standing here.”

Joe reluctantly let himself be led back to bed; Vanessa sat on the edge of the bed and lightly kissed his forehead.

“That was for Miss Manders,” she said, and then kissed him on the lips. “That was from me!”

As Vanessa kissed him again, Joe thought that he could get used to being comforted this way!

THE END

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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.