Note:I had almost forgotten about this story that I wrote for a contest on the HDA way back in 2002! I believe the criteria simply stated that it had to be 1-10 chapters and it had to involve a bell in some way. It was fun to come across it in my files, and it is completely independent of any other story or series I have written. While it is by no means my greatest work, as I hope I have come a long way as a writer since then, I decided to publish it here while I am waiting for muses to speak to me to inspire another Hardy story. And since it happens to be a Christmas story (9 chapters long), I'll be posting every 2-3 days or so. Thanks so much in advance for reading, favoriting, and/or commenting. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Fly Away

Chapter 1

December 20

"Come on, Callie—cheer up." Eighteen-year-old Joe Hardy flashed his blue eyes at his brother's girlfriend, Callie Shaw. Not having anywhere else to go, Joe had decided to see if he could track down his brother's whereabouts. He had already checked at the mall, the pizza place, and the local computer shop, where his older brother, Frank, could almost certainly be found. Not having yet located him, Joe had decided to stop at Callie's house, the only other location where he thought Frank would probably be. Since both Frank and Callie were home from college on break, they were almost always together. Now, however, it didn't seem to be the case.

What he found when he arrived at Callie's house was Callie, sitting in her living room alone. A frown covered her pretty face, and she seemed seriously concerned about something. Deciding to kill some time, and worried about her state of mind, Joe tried to see if he could help her out. After all, Callie and Frank had been together so long that she was practically like a sister to him.

Deciding to speak up, he asked, "You okay? You seem a little off."

With a sigh, Callie managed a small smile and pushed her golden-blonde hair behind her ears. Looking up at Joe, she said, "I'm fine, Joe. Really. Thanks for your concern, though. It's nice to know I'm loved."

With a wink, Joe laughed. "Well, let's not get carried away there," he added with a laugh.

When Callie didn't return the smile, Joe turned serious as well. "Come on, Callie. I was just teasing. What's the matter? You seem kind of sad, and I want to see if I can help you."

"Don't you have to go and buy Vanessa a Christmas gift or something?" Callie asked, referring to Joe's girlfriend of about a year. "We both know you're not one to do anything in advance, and if you don't want her to kill you—I'd get on it—like, now."

"Why are you trying to change the subject?" Joe asked. "Besides, it's not like you bought Frank anything yet."

That comment finally got a smile from Callie. "Now, how do you know that?" she asked.

"You HAVE?!" he asked. He couldn't believe it. Callie was right. He hadn't even gone shopping for Vanessa, let alone his parents, Frank, or any of his friends. Leave it to Callie to be prepared. He had just been teasing her. She was so ultra-prepared for everything that she had probably finished her shopping a month ago.

Realizing that Joe wasn't going to leave her alone, Callie finally gave in. "Do you want some coffee, Joe? Hot chocolate? Frank's not here, obviously, and I don't know where he is. So, you're either going to sit here and stare at me for the next few hours, or I'll get fed up with you and kick you out. In any case, since I'm not yet annoyed by you, I'll try to be a good hostess." Softly, she smiled at him. For many years, she and Joe had teased each other and gotten on each other's nerves. Over the past year, however, they'd become much closer, and she realized that he was not only a good person, but also a good friend as well. Still, she didn't mind chiding him every once and again.

"I'll take the hot chocolate," he replied, ignoring her. "And where is Frank, anyway? Why don't you know?" He followed her into the kitchen.

As Callie started to boil the water, she turned to him with a wry smile. "Gee, Joe—I don't know. He must have forgotten to check in with me every fifteen minutes. I'm his parole officer- you know that."

"Funny, Shaw," Joe replied. Still, he was bothered by Callie's demeanor. She looked tired and a little downtrodden, and he hoped that her health was okay. She had been hurt in one of their last cases several months ago, and he was still feeling a bit guilty about that. Deciding to follow through, he asked her directly as he watched her prepare his drink. "Cal? Are you okay? I mean…how are you feeling? You look stressed."

Handing Joe his drink, she let out a small laugh. "Thanks."

"I'm serious."

"So am I," she responded. "Thanks for caring, and yes, I'm okay. College is rough, but my health is pretty good."

They stood for a few minutes in silence before Callie indicated that Joe should follow her back into the living room. Silently, and without thinking, she handed him some chocolate chip cookies, which she knew were his favorite. Satisfied that he was content by the smile on his face, Callie sat down on the adjoining couch and stared off into space.

Finally, Joe couldn't take it anymore. Taking the remote control in his hand, he switched off the television, knowing that would get Callie's attention. It did. She turned to him inquisitively.

"Come on, Callie. Tell me what's wrong. You're acting really weird lately. Not that you're not normally not out of your mind," he added, to ease the tension.

"It's nothing, Joe," she answered softly. "Don't worry about it."

"Too late," he replied, worried. "You might as well tell me."

Callie stared at Joe for a moment, and when she finally spoke, Joe could swear that he heard a slight tremor in her voice. "I just… well, you're going to think it's stupid." She blushed.

"Come on, Callie. No, I won't," he answered. He immediately decided that now was not a good time to tease her.

"Promise you won't tell Frank." She looked at him, imploring him to promise.

Joe sighed, heavily, before answering her. After a moment, he replied, "Callie, I…I can't do that. Frank's my brother, and he should know if something's the matter, right? Look," he added, seeing how distraught Callie was becoming, "If I can help you without telling Frank, I will. I just can't promise, okay?"

Finally, Callie nodded. Yes, she understood. Frank and Joe were extremely close. She would tell Frank herself but she didn't want to complain. It was just that right now, with her parents away for the holidays on an unexpected business trip, and most of her friends celebrating at home, she didn't have too many people to talk to. Finally, she met Joe's eyes. "Okay," she said, slowly.

"Go ahead," Joe answered, giving her his undivided attention. In his detective exploits with his brother, he had learned how to listen closely and how to pay attention to detail. It was funny how many people thought he never listened, given his carefree attitude and ability to not take life seriously. However, Vanessa, Frank, his family, and even Callie knew that there were deeper sides to him-he just chose not to demonstrate them too often.

Callie bit her lip, and then began. "I don't know, Joe. I guess it's just been a pretty upsetting holiday season for me, that's all. I… well, I mean my parents are gone. I've been pretty stressed out at school. All I've wanted to do was to just relax, you know? But I can't. I didn't tell Frank this, but my scholarship money fell through and they're reviewing my file. There's a chance it may be reinstated, which is fine, but for right now I've just been working so many hours I can barely stand it. All I wanted was to have a nice Christmas, to be able to get my friends- and Frank, especially- nice gifts. Frank and I were saving to go away next spring break, and now I can't do it." Callie blinked back tears and tried to smile, although her attempt was in vain. "So now I don't know what to do. I can't afford much of anything, and that trip next spring…that was all I was looking forward to, and now it can't happen. I...I had to sell my ticket so I at least had some money to by people gifts."

Joe looked at Callie, surprised. To most people, the Shaws looked well off; they lived in a nice house, Callie always dressed impeccably, and she had always been generous to a fault. He couldn't understand it. "Hmmm…" was all he could muster, feeling like an idiot.

Hearing Joe's murmur, Callie let a sad smile come to her face. "We're not poor, Joe. My family is doing just fine. But I insisted that I would pay for college myself—Frank knows that. He's the only one. I was relying on those grants and scholarships, and if I have to keep working like this I don't know what I'm going to do. I'll feel like a failure. Plus, my parents are middle class, like yours- we're not rich. But, I'm in that tax bracket where I'm not eligible for too many loans. I don't know. I'm just sad, I guess. That trip meant so much to your brother and me—we always promised that if we were together in college, we'd start off that new phase of our lives in a special way. Oh, well." She looked down.

Reaching for her, Joe took Callie's hand. "It's okay," he said to her, wanting to offer some comfort. "Come on—you know Christmas isn't about presents. Frank won't care." He squeezed her hand. "And he'll understand about the trip. You have to know that. It's okay to ask for help, you know. I'm sure your parents would try for you."

"I'm sure they would, too," she responded. "But I can't ask them, Joe. And as for Frank…" Her voice trailed off. "Great girlfriend I'm turning out to be, huh?! No gifts, AND no time to spend with him because I'm working so much. PLUS, the little money I have has to be spread around to everyone. I can't even go out on New Years." Seeing the look on Joe's face, Callie tried to change her tone. "Oh, well. Sorry- I don't mean to be the grim reaper. Bah humbug to me!"

"Cal, it's okay," Joe answered. "Really—it'll work out." Trying to cheer her up, he added, "You can get me the Rolls Royce next year."

Despite herself, Callie laughed.

"Well, on a different subject…. I got a really strange card in the mail the other day. It's a bit of a mystery. Wanna help me to solve it, detective boy?" She winked at him.

At that very moment, Callie and Joe jumped when they heard a knock on her door. Shrugging, Callie got up and answered it, smiling when she saw Frank. Joe watched from a distance as his dark –haired brother stepped into Callie's house and presented her with roses before enveloping her in a tight embrace. Kissing her on the cheek, he heard Frank say, "Happy holidays, baby!"

Catching sight of Joe in the distance with a silly smirk on his face, Frank blushed slightly.

"They're beautiful!" Callie said, her face lighting up. "Thank you!" She turned to put them into water when Frank whispered to her, out of Joe's earshot, "You're beautiful, and you're welcome." He smiled when he saw a smile cross her face.

While Callie was in the kitchen, Frank joined his brother in the living room. "Hey, lover boy," Joe teased, happy to see his brother. "Where were you off to today?"

Taking off his coat, Frank shook his head. "Let's see. Oh, that's right—getting my girlfriend flowers. That might be a helpful hint for you if you want to stay on Vanessa's good side this year. Man! This might be the year she tosses you to the curb and comes to her senses!"

Rolling his eyes, Joe smiled. "Vanessa loves me without gifts."

"Hmmm… we'll see how long that keeps up."

Thinking back to his conversation with Callie, Joe replied seriously, "It isn't all about material things you know," he answered, more harshly than he intended to.

Frank gave him a puzzled look. "Yeah, I know that. I was kidding. A joke- you remember what those are, right?! In any case, what are you doing here?"

"Looking for you."

"Well, you found me- surprise!" Frank laughed, in a good mood as usual.

"What's so funny?" Callie asked, staring at the two brothers as she entered the living room. She sat next to Frank, who put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her next to him in a playful hug before he answered her.

"Nothing. Joe was just trying to explain to me why he was visiting you."

"Callie was about to tell me a mystery she's been having. It appears as though she might have a secret admirer!"

Callie shot Joe a glance that told him he might have gone too far. Frank raised his eyebrows. "Oh, yeah? What's this about?"

Callie shook her head at Joe, who gave her a wink. "Well, Frank…I do have a bit of a mystery here. It has nothing to do with a secret admirer—your brother just made that up. Still…." She paused, and then smiled when she met Frank's eyes. "There IS a weird mystery here."

"Well?!" Frank and Joe said at once, and Callie laughed at their seriousness. When it came to detective work, Frank and Joe didn't play around.

"Okay- hang on," she said, and went into the dining room. A few minutes later, she returned with two plain white envelopes.

Before Joe could snatch them from her hands, she pulled them away.

"Okay—here's the story. Yesterday, when I came home, this envelope was at my door. There was no marking on it. But look at what the piece of paper inside says." She pulled it out, and both Frank and Joe looked at it closely. Callie continued speaking. "There's a bell on the paper, and it says "ring" over it. Look-it's in the right hand corner. Then, in the left corner, there's a bird. Finally, right in the middle, there's a picture of hands clasping, and it says, "Two hands." Isn't that bizarre?!"

"That's weird," Joe said, and looked at the paper closely. "And you have no idea where it came from?"

"None." Callie shrugged. "Any idea what it means?"

"No," Frank said, slowly. "But it's strange, that's for sure."

"What's in the other envelope?" Joe asked.

Callie wrinkled her nose. "Basically, the same thing. This was in my mailbox today. Again, it was unmarked. This is just a little different."

She handed the paper to Frank, but it was Joe who read it out loud and commented. "Callie- you attract some strange people!"

"Look who's talking!" she countered.

"Enough!" Frank said. "We should see if this makes any sense."

"Well," Joe began, "It's the same thing. You have the bell with the word "ring" over it, along with a bird on the other side. This time, in the middle, there's a helicopter or something. It says, "Over Air." Huh? Callie- what does this mean?!"

Callie shrugged again. "I have no idea. It seems fairly innocuous, but it IS puzzling. I was hoping you could help Batman over here, Boy Wonder, and solve the puzzle."

"Don't worry, Cal," Frank said reassuringly. "We'll get to the bottom of it."

"Yeah!" Joe said enthusiastically. "It's our Christmas Mystery!" Determined to help Callie out, Joe changed the subject quickly. Maybe focusing on the case would cheer Callie up and get her mind focused on things she could control.

Smiling at his brother who also loved a good mystery, Joe laughed out loud and said, "it looks like the Holidays, Hardy style, have begun!"