Well, since I'm stuck inside because of this fun little virus, I'd thought I'd take an adventure on paper, rather than outside. I hope you enjoy!
Driving down a familiar street, twenty-six-year-old Frank Hardy lightly tapped his steering wheel to the beat of the music softly playing in his car. Pulling into the driveway of his house, he cut the ignition and sighed, laying his head on the wheel for a moment. My job is going to kill me. Frank shook his head. Or I'm going to end up killing someone.
Hearing laughter from inside his house, he immediately broke into a smile, mentally putting away his baggage from work. The importance of his job paled in comparison to that of his family. Stepping out from his car, he made his way to the front door of the house, giving a knock. The sudden and excited scrambling he heard made him smile even wider, and he laughed as the door flung open.
"Dad!"
"Daddy!"
Came a chorus of excited voices and with it, the barreling of two brunette children, burying themselves into their father's arms.
"Dad, today Oliver and I found a cat in the backyard!"
"No way!" Frank responded, matching the excitement of his seven-year-old son, "What did you guys do with it?"
At his question the elder stuck his bottom lip out in a pout, turning to look at his brother.
"Oli scared it away and mom said we couldn't follow it."
"Maxwell, I did not," Oliver argued, giving his brother a shove.
As quick as the boys had come they were gone, Maxwell now chasing his brother down the hallway, both of them giggling. From his kneeling position, Frank felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking up, he met the beautiful brown eyes of his wife, and he stood, giving her a long kiss.
Breaking away at the sound of wrestling coming from another room, Frank smiled.
"Callie, how in the world did we get so lucky?"
Grinning at the question, Callie shrugged and shook her head.
"A question for another time. What I do know, however, is that it's time for," she raised her voice slightly, "dinner." Excited squeals came from the boys' bedroom, and the two of them thundered into the kitchen a moment later.
"Go wash your hands," Callie told them, watching them leave. Beginning to set the table, Callie looked to Frank. "How was work?"
The smile slipping from his face, Frank sighed, running a hand through his dark hair. "It's like Declan doesn't want me to succeed. He keeps giving me these cases that are bound to be a loss on my end and blames me when I inevitably lose. Somehow, chasing criminals was easier than trying to convict them of crimes."
"I'm sorry, Sweetie. Could you ask Declan for a more cut and dry case?"
"And then admit defeat? No, I couldn't do that. I'll just wait it out." Giving his wife a kiss on the cheek, he sat himself down at the head of the table. "I've finally figured out why everyone hates lawyers."
Chuckling, Callie set the food on the table, the boys running in a moment later and taking their seats.
Maxwell spoke as he shoveled food onto his plate, bouncing up and down in his seat. "Dad, will you tell us a story? Please?"
Chewing thoughtfully, Frank playfully rubbed his chin, not meeting the pleading eyes of his sons.
"Well, I don't know, what kind of story do you two want?"
There was a moment of silence between the two boys before they both spoke at once.
"An adventure story!"
"A story about solving a crime!"
Nodding slowly, a smile crept onto Frank's face, and he began his tale.
"My brother and I, your Uncle Joe, were in high school. Cars had started to go missing…"
Animatedly telling his story, all thoughts of food were forgotten as the boys stared at their father in awe, eyes widening at the retelling of a near-death experience. As it ended, both boys grinned, satisfied, and began to eat their food.
Comfortable silence spread over the table before Oliver spoke, his voice quiet and questioning.
"Dad, will we ever get to meet Uncle Joe?"
Both Callie and Frank froze for a moment, meeting each other's eyes. Frank smiled sadly.
"I don't know, bud. I haven't seen him since the end of my senior year of high school, and his letters stopped coming a couple of years ago."
"Do you know where he went?"
"I...I'm not sure, Oli. He's fighting crime, I know that. There's no way Joe could give that up. Where, however, I have no idea."
Seemingly satisfied at the answer, Oliver resumed his dinner, Callie and Frank lapsing into uneasy thought. The last time Frank had seen Joe had been eight years ago.
xXx
Frank awoke, his eyes adjusting to the inky blackness around him. The familiar ceiling of his bedroom stared back at him, and he rolled over to look at his clock. 2 am.
His brow furrowing, Frank pulled the covers up over his chest, listening to the house around him. Something had woken him, and he wasn't sure what. After a minute of nothing, Frank closed his eyes, trying to fall back asleep.
A thunk sounded from the room next to him. Joe's room.
Immediately awake, Frank sat up in his bed, alert. The sound of a window opening spurred him to throw his covers aside and race to his brother's door, knocking.
The noises stopped suddenly for a moment, and Frank honestly wasn't sure if his brother was going to answer him.
The door opened. In front of him stood Joe, his shaggy blonde hair sticking up in odd directions, and a jacket over his shirt and jeans. Frank simply raised his eyebrows.
Biting his lip, Joe stepped back from his door, letting his brother inside, sitting himself down on his bed.
Shutting the door behind him, Frank leaned against the wall, a cool breeze coming to meet him from the open window.
"Going somewhere?" He asked cautiously, seeing the uneasy look on his brother's face.
Joe shook his head. "No. Maybe. I don't know, it's complicated. I just...I know a way I can do some real good in the world, but it would mean leaving my family for a while.
"A while?" Frank asked, cocking his head, "How long is a while?"
"A few months? I'm not sure."
"Joe, is this still about me getting a law degree?"
Joe gave him a rueful smile. "No. Well, sort of. But I'm not angry. I'll admit, I was angry when you told me at first, I was. I mean, I always envisioned us opening a detective firm together and fighting crime and feeling like kids forever. But I get it, bro, seriously. You have a fiance now and are going to have a family, and chasing criminals isn't good for job or family stability. But even though I've come to peace with your choice, I still know what I want, and what I've always wanted. Frank, I want to fight crime out in the field, make a difference in the ways I can. And I may have found a way to do that."
Frank took a deep breath. It was a lot to take in.
"You're seventeen, and you haven't even finished high school. How are you going to get a job?"
The question prompted a lopsided grin from Joe.
"Not all jobs require fancy degrees, Frank."
"It's not fancy. It's a high school diploma."
"Touche." He paused. "But for what I want to do right now, I don't need anything. Just myself and a passion for solving crime."
"Where?"
A look of confliction passed over Joe, and he rubbed the back of his neck.
"I...I can't tell you. But if I go, I promise I'll keep in contact. Sending letters or calling or whatever they let me do, okay?"
Pressing his lips together, Frank joined Joe on the edge of his bed.
"Don't do anything irrational, please."
There was an uneasy pause between the two brothers before Joe spoke again.
"This...this isn't. I promise. This is something I've been thinking about for months. It's not irrational."
"And you were trying to leave in the middle of the night without telling your family anything?"
"I left a note in the kitchen," Joe stood suddenly, looking out the window, "I didn't know how to say goodbye."
Frank sighed, looking at his younger brother. Even though he oftentimes acted like a child, his kid brother wasn't a kid anymore.
"Come here," Frank said, standing up from his seat on the bed and wrapping his brother in a hug the moment he reached him. "Be safe, okay? Write often and don't do anything I wouldn't."
"I already am, old man."
Let out a soft chuckle, Frank pulled back, looking his brother in the eyes. He was shocked to see tears rolling down his cheeks.
"I love you, little bro."
"Love you, old man."
He watched his brother quietly grab a backpack and begin to crawl out the window. Halting his progress halfways out, Joe turned and gave his brother one last smile.
Frank could barely smile back.
xXx
Nightime had become a routine in the Hardy household, getting the boys to shower and then convincing them to go to bed after a story or two. After they were successfully asleep, Frank and Callie collapsed on the living room couch and spent their blissful moments alone talking and cuddling.
His arm around Callie's shoulder as she rested her head on his shoulder, he softly kissed her forehead, leaning his head back on the couch.
"I love you, Callie," he told her, smiling.
"I love you, baby. And speaking of baby," Callie rubbed her slightly bloated stomach, "have you thought of any name ideas yet?"
"Margo?"
"No, she can't have an old woman name, I won't put her through that."
"Hey, I think it's classy."
"You're the smartest man I've met, Frank Hardy, but I can assure you you're wrong about this one."
"What about-"
The sound of footsteps outside caused Frank to pause, listening carefully. A knock sounded a moment later. Callie looked at Frank questioningly.
"It's ten o'clock at night, who could that be?" She asked, sitting up.
"I don't know. Stay here."
Rising from the couch, Frank made his way to the door. Opening the door, his jaw dropped, suddenly at a loss for words.
"Frank, who is it?" Callie called from the living room.
It took Frank a few more minutes to speak, still staring at the figure in front of him.
"Joe?"
He heard a gasp come from his wife.
The man in front of Frank grinned, raising an eyebrow.
"So, are you gonna let me in?"
Leave a review if you'd like!
-Cali