Chapter 8

Frank and Laura waited anxiously in the waiting room of Bayport General for news on Fenton.

After he had collapsed, Laura had used Fenton's cell phone to call the paramedics, then followed the ambulance in the car. Neither Laura or Frank had spoken during the mad dash to the hospital.

The waiting was starting to unnerve Frank. "I'm going to get a soda," he said, standing abruptly and startling his mother. "Do you want anything?"

Laura shook her head. "Frank, are you alright, honey?"

"Fine," he mumbled as he walked away.

Frank headed to the hospital canteen, oblivious to the people around him. It was a path he knew very well; the Hardys had spent a lot of time there during the weeks Fenton had been hospitalised.

As he took a soda from the fridge, he decided to get his mother a coffee as well. He had been rather short with her in the waiting room. Frank paid hurriedly for his purchases then turned to go. However, he spun so quickly that he collided with the person behind him, spilling the coffee in his hands and knocking the tray out of the other person's hands.

"I'm sorry," he apologised immediately, bending down to begin clearing away the mess.

"Don't worry about it," said a soft voice and Frank glanced up at the person he had bumped in to. It was a teenage girl, several years older than him. She was very pretty with long blonde hair and startling green eyes.

Frank blushed and quickly lowered his head as he finished clearing up the mess. When he was finished, Frank stood up. "I'm sorry," he said again. "Can I at least replace that?"

"I hadn't paid for it yet," the girl smiled charmingly. "Besides, I'm not really that hungry. I was only getting it for the sake of something to do. Break the monotony, you know?"

Frank nodded. He knew only too well.

"You can make it up to me by keeping me company while I have some coffee though," the girl said. "I could use the company."

"Okay," Frank agreed. It would give him something to do too. "Why don't you take a seat and I'll get the coffee."

"Okay, thank you," the girl smiled prettily and made her way to the nearest table. Quickly, Frank paid for two coffees and followed after her.

"My name is Annie Holloway, by the way," said the girl as Frank sat down.

"I'm Frank Hardy."

"Hardy?" Annie wrinkled her forehead. "Your name is awfully familiar."

Frank sighed. "My dad is Fenton Hardy."

"Who?" The girl looked confused.

Frank was surprised. "He's a detective and he's pretty well known. I thought that might be why my name was familiar."

"I've never heard of him," Annie admitted. "That's not why…wait! Hardy? That's the name of that kid who went missing yesterday afternoon!"

Frank felt his stomach lurch. "That's my brother," he told her, staring at the table.

"I'm sorry," she said sympathetically.

"It's not your fault," Frank replied.

"Is that why you're here?" she asked. "Have they found your brother?"

Frank shook his head. "No. My dad's collapsed."

"I'm sorry," Annie repeated. "I didn't mean to pry."

Frank shrugged. "You weren't to know."

"Want to talk about it?"

Frank glanced at the girl's kind face. There was no morbid curiosity there, merely gentle concern. Suddenly, Frank found himself telling her everything about his grandfather and his father's shooting and the anger that led up to his argument with Joe.

Annie didn't speak until Frank was finished. "Sounds to me like you've had a rough time of it." Frank nodded. "But that's no excuse to take it out on the people who care about you."

Frank was shocked. It was the last response he had expected.

Annie shook her head at his reaction. "Frank, just because life hands you a few bad turns is no reason to shut it out. We all get knocked down sometimes, but what matters is that we get back up."

"There's only so many times a person can get back up, Annie," said Frank.

"That's self-pitying rubbish," said Annie firmly.

Frank felt himself getting angry. "Yeah? Well let's see you staying so positive when you've been through what I've been through!"

Annie ignored Frank's rudeness. "I don't know if it's occurred to you, Frank, but there's a reason I'm in the hospital as well. Someone important to me is sick too."

Frank closed his mouth, ashamed. "Who?"

"My Gran. The doctors don't think she'll make it," said Annie softly.

"She could still pull through," Frank pointed out, trying to make the girl feel better.

Annie smiled sadly. "I know, but I'll still have to say good bye to her at some point. You see, Frank, I'm dying. I have cancer. "

Frank was shocked. "I'm sorry," he said quietly.

Annie shrugged. "Don't be. I've fitted more into life in the last few months than I have over the last seventeen years. I know better than anyone how short life is, but I've used that knowledge to really live while I have the chance."

Annie's reasoning slowly trickled into Frank's brain. He realised he had been pushing away the people he cared about because he was afraid of being hurt, afraid of losing them. After his grandfather had died, Frank had discovered just how painful that loss could be.

Annie saw the understanding cross Frank's face and smiled. "Frank, everyone dies at some point, but it doesn't mean life stops."

Frank stared her. "How'd you get to be so smart?"

Annie grinned mischievously. "I read a lot of fortune cookies," she told him and Frank couldn't help but laugh.

"I'd better be getting back, Frank," said Annie. "My parents will be wondering where I am."

Frank stood up. "Can I walk you back?"

Annie smiled. "Of course."

The two teenagers walked quietly down the hospital corridor. It wasn't long before Annie said, "this is my gran's room."

Frank stopped up. "Annie, thank you."

"Don't mention it," she smiled. "You take care, Frank, and remember what I said."

"I will," he promised.

As Annie pushed open the door and entered the room, Frank stared after her. The brave teenager had given him a lot to think about. He was still staring as the door swung closed, and caught a glimpse of an old lady lying in a bed.

Frank felt a sudden shock of recognition.

The old woman was Mrs. Deagan!

XXX

"Mrs. Hardy?" the voice broke into Laura's troubled thoughts and she looked up.

"Doctor Kennedy!" she exclaimed, recognising the doctor who had treated Fenton after he had been shot. "How are you?"

"Just fine, thank you," smiled the cheerful young doctor. "And so is Fenton."

"You've been examining him?" said Laura, on her feet at once.

"Of course," he grinned. "When I saw his name show up in the ER, I thought I'd better see what he'd been up to this time."

"Will he be alright?" asked Laura.

"He will so long as he rests," said the doctor seriously.

"What happened?"

"A small tear in the damaged tissue of his lung started to haemorrhage. We've stopped the bleeding and repaired the tear. Now, don't panic," he added, seeing Laura's panicked expression. "It's not as serious as it sounds, it just means Fenton over-exerted himself. And I've already had a talk with him about that. We're going to keep him in for a few days, just for observation, but you can go in and see him now if you want."

"Thank you, Doctor," said Laura gratefully, then looked around. "You haven't seen Frank, have you? He went to the canteen nearly an hour ago and I haven't seen him since."

"No, I haven't. Do you want me to page him?"

Laura shook her head. "No, that would only scare him, make him think something was really wrong. He'll wander back at some point."

Doctor Kennedy nodded. "So where's Joe? Is he at home?"

Laura swallowed painfully. "You haven't heard?"

"Heard what?"

"Joe's missing," she whispered. "He was kidnapped sometime yesterday afternoon."

The doctor was shocked. "God, I'm sorry. I had no idea! No wonder Fenton's been over-exerting himself."

Laura nodded heavily. "I think I'll go see Fenton now. If you see Frank, will you tell him where I've gone?"

"Of course," said the doctor gently. "Fenton's room is the fourth door down the corridor on the left."

"Thank you, Doctor" said Laura.

As she walked down the hall, Laura saw Frank coming towards her. His face was pale and grim, and Laura wondered what had happened.

"Frank?" she said as he drew level with her. "Are you okay?"

Frank shook his head. "Not really. How's Dad?"

"He's going to be fine," said Laura, and briefly filled Frank in on what the doctor had said. "I'm just going to see him now, are you coming?"

Frank nodded and followed his mother down the hall and into his father's room.

They entered the room to find Fenton Hardy sitting up in the bed looking pale-faced and sheepish.

"Fenton," said Laura, bending to kiss her husband. "How do you feel?"

"Sore," he admitted. "Sorry for scaring you both."

"It's my fault for not watching the car," said Laura regretfully. "Your pushing me out of the way probably caused the tear."

"Well, at least I know now why the Doctor warned me to rest," grinned Fenton. "Any news from home?" he added hopefully.

"Nothing," Laura whispered, her eyes brimming. "I rang Gertrude ten minutes ago. The police haven't turned up anything else."

Fenton's face fell and he sighed heavily. "So we have no choice but to wait."

Tears began to slip down Laura's face. "Surely there must be something we can do?"

Fenton shook his head wearily. "Every police officer in Bayport is looking for Joe. There's nothing we can do until the kidnapper calls."

Laura sat down heavily. "I hope he's alright," she said softly, voicing what they all thought.

The Hardys sat in silence for several minutes, each lost in their own painful thoughts. Finally, Fenton spoke. "You two had better go home," he said. "Frank, you haven't been to bed and you both need to eat."

"We can eat here," Laura protested.

"But Frank needs to rest," Fenton objected. "You should take him home."

Laura glanced at her eldest son who stared miserably back at her. Right in that moment, Frank and his mother understood each other better than they ever had in their lives. "I think," said Laura softly, "that it won't feel much like home until Joe is back safe."

"Someone needs to watch the phone," Fenton reminded her gently.

"Aunt Gertrude could," countered Frank.

Fenton looked at the tired, pale faces of his wife and eldest son. He hated to have to do this, but he needed to remind them of the one thing they seemed not to have thought of. "And what if the kidnapper puts Joe on?" he asked quietly. "Don't you think he'd want to speak to one of us?"

Frank and Laura looked at him, stricken. The thought hadn't even occurred to them.

"I'll take Frank home," Laura whispered. "We can both get some rest and something to eat, then one of us can come back later."

Laura stood up to leave.

"Wait," said Frank, and his voice wavered. Both his parents looked at him. "I need to talk to you both."

Fenton frowned at Frank. "Frank, we already know you skipped school yesterday. When we find…when things return to normal, we can talk about it and decide your punishment."

"This can't wait," said Frank softly, staring at his knotted hands. His talk with Annie, and the discovery that her grandmother was Mrs. Deagan, made him realise that he needed to tell his parents everything. He knew something this big couldn't remain hidden. Somebody might have seen something or Mrs. Deagan might wake up. Either way, Frank knew it was best that they found out sooner rather than later, and that they found out from him.

Frank took a deep breath. He wasn't worried about getting into trouble; he was tired of hiding and tired of being scared. What bothered Frank was that telling his parents meant disappointing and upsetting them when they were most vulnerable.

When Joe is missing.

Frank swallowed painfully. Both his parents were looking at him expectantly.

Lowering his eyes, Frank told them about skipping school with Paul and the others, about meeting Joe and the fight that followed. Finally he got to the part about Mrs. Deagan. Frank kept his eyes on the floor as he explained what had happened; he couldn't bear to see the expression on their faces.

When he finished his story, Frank remained staring at the floor while silence filled the room.

It was several minutes before anyone spoke. When someone finally did, it was his mother. "Frank," she whispered. "How could you?"

Frank winced at the pain in her voice. "I'm sorry, Mom," he said looking up. "But they didn't give me a choice."

Frank turned his face to his father. Instead of the disappointment he expected to see there, Frank saw something else in his father's eyes. But he couldn't determine what, his father's expression was inscrutable.

"What do we do now?" asked Laura, her voice heavy.

Fenton looked at Frank sadly. "I'm afraid we have no choice, we need to call Con Riley."