Disclaimer: I do not own the Hardy Boys or any of the canon book characters, and am making no monies from this story. Any Original Characters belong to the author(s).

This story was originally written for a Christmas story contest on the HDA site in 2007. It is set before the story series which begins with September Song, and contains only canon characters.

Thank you, Cherylann, Max2013, BMSH, ErinJordan, Wendylouwho10, and bgeesfan for your feedback on Chapter 1, Follows and Favorites!

An Angel at the Manger

By EvergreenDreamweaver

Chapter 2

All right, I know this is a dream...Hey, you, stop that!

Joe gripped the squirmy, odoriferous, baa-ing bundle he held in his arms a bit tighter to prevent it slithering down his body and escaping. He knew he was dreaming, but it felt incredibly real. Here he, Joe Hardy was, standing on a wind-swept hillside in the dark, with a warm, woolly lamb clasped against himself. More sheep were scattered along the slope, grazing and bleating. To his surprise he seemed to be dressed in some sort of tunic and leggings, with sandals on his feet, and what felt like a dishcloth on his head. Weird!

The lamb squirmed again and nearly got away. "Stop it, Stinkpot," Joe told it once more and took a firmer grip on the protesting creature. This might be a dream, but it was a very realistic one. The lamb smelled very...sheep-y.

"Benjamin! Are you coming or not?" An impatient voice broke into his one-sided conversation with the lamb. "We're leaving right now, to go into town and find the babe."

Joe tensed. That was a well-known impatient voice. Frank? He turned towards the figure approaching him and blinked. Frank's familiar features looked out at him from the shelter of a cloth headdress – it was called a keffiyeh, Joe recalled from some class or documentary or other, and he supposed that was what was on his own head as well – and Frank was dressed in a long robe and carried a staff with a curved end. "Uh...Fra— uh, D-Daniel?" he quavered.

"Are you coming?" Frank/Daniel demanded again. "Or are you staying with the flock?"

Joe blinked again and glanced around. He had a suspicion he'd just missed something pretty spectacular: a visitation by a choir of angels, maybe? Well, he wasn't going to miss anything else! Somewhere inside he was impressed with himself for coming up with this remarkably vivid dream, and was determined to enjoy it. "I'm coming," he replied and hefted the lamb to his shoulder with a practiced ease he should not have possessed. "I'm going to bring this little critter along."

'Daniel' shrugged dismissively and turned away. "Whatever pleases you. But if it slows you down we're not waiting for you."

###

Burdened by his lamb, Joe found himself falling behind the others. He wasn't afraid of getting lost, exactly – small Bethlehem town lay directly ahead, and he wasn't far enough behind to lose sight of the other shepherds. But it was slow going; evidently Lamb Chop, as Joe mentally dubbed his new friend, wasn't enthusiastic about being lugged along to visit a baby. It squirmed and wriggled and bleated plaintively and then made another desperate bid for escape. Joe found himself thrown off-balance and the next thing he knew the lamb had catapulted itself from his shoulder and was frisking away back towards the flock they'd left behind.

"Lamb Chop! Hey, come back here, you stupid sheep!" Joe gave one glance over his shoulder at the other shepherds, who were steadily getting farther and farther ahead, and then sighed and set out in pursuit of Lamb Chop. Concentrating on keeping the escaping animal in view, he neglected to watch his footing, and the next thing he knew he'd tripped over a stone and tumbled head-over-heels down a grassy slope.

When he reached the bottom he sat up, unhurt but slightly dizzy and realized that not only was he probably going to miss seeing the Baby Jesus, he'd lost Lamb Chop as well. Muttering under his breath he got to his feet, and deciding to go on to Bethlehem without the lamb, began to trudge up the hill again. He hoped Lamb Chop would return to the flock on his own. It'll be just my luck to meet Frank – Daniel, that is – and the others coming back because I'm running so late.

He reached the top of the incline and stared around, hoping to spot the elusive Lamb Chop, but there was no wayward lamb in sight, no matter which direction he looked. "Lamb Chop!" he yelled once more, and sighed disconsolately – and then jumped back, startled by a fluttering sound coming from above him. He dodged instinctively, fearful of an attack by a nighthawk, an owl, a vulture – although he knew perfectly well that they didn't fly at night – or some other airborne creature, and his jaw nearly hit the ground when he beheld a figure hovering in the air a few feet in front of him. He automatically took a few more steps back.

"Is this what you were looking for?" a dulcet voice inquired. A sweet, feminine voice that somehow sounded familiar.

"Wha—? Uh...um, yeah, I guess..." Joe gulped. The hovering personage was, to his utter amazement, holding Lamb Chop, who seemed quite content to be cuddled now. "Who...are you?" This is one of the weirdest dreams I've ever had!

He stared, bemused, at the amazing sight, wondering if the starlight-and moonlight-shot darkness was playing tricks on his eyes. Yes, there really was a lovely young woman there, clad in a flowing, floating, long-sleeved, ivory-colored gown, a golden band encircling her dark hair, and she was seemingly suspended in midair with no visible means of support to keep her aloft. And then he saw them: wings. Large plumy white wings, layers of downy feathers which wafted gently to and fro, keeping her airborne. "You – you're – are you an angel?!" he blurted.

"Yes," the apparition admitted. "But I haven't been one very long." A soft laugh chimed out. "I'm still learning." She fluttered her wings and then folded them slightly, allowing herself to drift down until her bare feet touched the stone-riddled earth. "I still get distracted from my tasks."

Joe stared harder, feeling a chill wash over him as he made out her features. He knew that chiming laugh. He knew those sparkling brown eyes, and the way the dark hair cascaded down over her shoulders. "Iola," he breathed. Wow, this is SOME dream! He'd dreamed of her before, but those dreams had usually been nightmares that relived the firebombed car. He liked this one much, much better. "You're Iola!" he whispered.

She didn't respond to the name, if indeed she heard him. "Don't you want your lamb?" she inquired, holding the little animal out to him. "I am supposed to join the others. I'm already late."

He took the lamb from her, half-expecting her to be ethereal to the touch; perhaps his hands would pass through hers, or something. But as they touched, she felt as warm and solid and real as anyone. As real as when she had been alive. "Late for what?" He didn't want her to go anywhere. He wanted her to stay here – with him.

The chiming laugh rang out again. "To watch over the Baby, of course! The one we told you about. It is a great honor for me to be assigned to this, newcomer that I am."

"Oh – right, right." He hitched the lamb up on his shoulders again. "I was going there too. But my friends...I mean, the other shepherds – are way ahead of me now. Could we go together?"

Her wings fluttered, and her feet left the earth. She rose into the air and hovered over him. "In a manner of speaking," she conceded, and flew ahead, her robe billowing gracefully around her. "Follow me!" she called back, and Joe followed eagerly, his eyes fastened on the amazing sight.