Thanks to Wendylouwho10! As always for checking my story for flow and content! Typos and grammar errors are mine as usual. ;-)

Disclaimer: I do not own the Hardy Boys or any of the book characters.

Rating/Setting: Rating is T. This a stand alone and one of my favorites that I have written. You could view it as Casefiles but you'll see it diverges quickly.

Author's Notes: Hope you've enjoyed the story!

Chapter Three

Christmas Eve ten years earlier… Frank, Vanessa… and Joe…

Joe Hardy laid a smacking wet kiss on his Aunt Gertrude's face. "Thanks for fixing the chicken and pastry, Aunt Gert!"

She laughed as she wiped at the moisture left on her cheek. "You're the only one I know who wants chicken on Christmas!" She looked over to Frank. "Now you brother is much more appreciative of the holiday and the Hardy tradition of ham and turkey."

"That's right, Auntie. I know that it's much more proper to ask for candied yams to go with that ham and turkey," Frank said with a smile and a wink at his aunt.

"It's just because the two of you lack imagination. Christmas is about being thankful and I like being thankful for Aunt's famous chicken and pastry," Joe said as he returned the wink to his aunt.

"Thanksgiving is for being thankful. Christmas is about family. And for the record she's more famous for her candied yams," Frank tossed back at his brother.

"Pastry."

"Yams."

"Pastry."

"Boys!" Gertrude's voice cut through the playful banter between the brothers. "I promise to make both pastry and yams every Christmas as long you both come to the meal."

"Deal!" both boys chorused.

Joe stood from the couch and pulled the van keys from his pocket. "I'm going to go get Vanessa now." He glanced at his watch. "Should be right on time."

"I'll ride with you," Frank said as he rose from the nearby chair.

Laura Hardy popped her head out of the kitchen and said, "Just be careful. We won't start without you."

"Who could start without the life of the party?" Joe called out as he exited the front door.

"Ego of the party is more like it," Frank teased and rolled his eyes as he followed behind his brother.

Once inside the van, Joe said, "Bummer that mom's car is waiting on parts and dad has to have his available for that new case if he's called."

"It's okay," Frank replied as he buckled in. "As long as I get to Callie's by nine I should get to meet her aunt and uncle. She says that their flight was delayed and that they're probably just getting in now."

"Shouldn't be a problem getting you there on time. Vanessa will want to get back to her mom anyway. Even though she's at the end of that flu bug, she'll still want to be back to take care of her." Joe paused and then queried with a mischievous smirk, "And why was it that you couldn't just meet them tomorrow?"

Frank sighed and then slowly said, "She wants me to talk to them without the crowd of relatives that will be here tomorrow and they're driving to visit other relatives tomorrow night before flying out in a couple of days."

Joe laughed, "Meeting more of the relatives. Sounds serious, Frank."

"And what if it is?"

"Then I'd say it's about time." Joe glanced at his brother and smiled.

"Thanks, I guess," Frank responded as they turned to discussion to the upcoming college semester.

8:00 p.m. Christmas Eve…

Frank glanced anxiously at his watch as his family and Vanessa started in on another Christmas carol. While he enjoyed the singing and Vanessa's playing, he knew that they'd be pushing it to get Vanessa to her house and Joe home so that he could get to Callie's house by nine. The seconds ticked by and 'Silent Night' was coming to an end. "Finally," Frank whispered to himself as he moved to get his coat. His movements were stopped by his brother's words.

"And what would an evening of music and song be without our duet?" Joe said with laugh as he crowded Vanessa on the piano stool.

"Joe, 'Heart and Soul' is not a Christmas song!" Vanessa laughed even as she turned back toward the keyboard.

"But how often do we sit and play it?" he asked and then motioned to his family. "And with an audience no less. You can't say no."

"Go ahead, Vanessa, you know he's right," Fenton said as he moved to a nearby chair.

Frank crossed his arms watching the scene. Obviously he'd be getting little help from his father about hurrying Joe up.

Vanessa began playing the lower half of the duet while Joe played the upper portion that was one-handed.

Frank had to admit that they did play the song very well and it was the only one his brother could play. He had learned it as an excuse to sit extremely close to the pretty blonde as she taught him the notes. And then Joe surprised his brother as he started singing.

"Heart and soul, I fell in love with you…" The song continued on.

And Frank's frustration grew. When the pair started to repeat the composition, he couldn't take it. "Guys, as lovely as that is, can we head out?"

Joe glanced at the clock and quickly stood. "Sorry, Frank. Time just got away from me." Pulling Vanessa to him, he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek as Frank pulled on his jacket. Moments later, the trio was headed out to the van. "I'll drive," Joe said as he opened the passenger door for Vanessa. As Joe got in the driver's side moments later, he looked at the windshield as he started the van. "Going to have to run the van a few minutes to get the ice off. Looks like that quick shower we had earlier has iced things up a bit."

Vanessa turned to the back of the van as she heard Frank groan. "Sorry, Frank. I should have been paying closer attention to the time. Don't blame it all on Joe."

After letting out a deep breath, Frank said, "I'm not." However, he knew that his tone didn't sound all that convincing. But he was frustrated at his brother and he just fumed a little as they sat in an uncomfortable silence as the van heated up.

Unable to take it any longer, Joe turned to his brother. "Once we drop off Vanessa, I'll call Callie and take the blame."

"Don't worry about it," Frank said as the van finally was ready to go and Joe was backing up.

Vanessa and Joe then did their best to cheer Frank up as they rode along. They were just five minutes from Vanessa's house when disaster struck.

"Watch out!" Vanessa cried as she reached a hand forward to brace against the dash. Joe saw the falling icy tree limb and sparking power line just as his girlfriend called out the warning. Joe purposefully turned the wheel and braked, stopping the van in a controlled slide that put them across their lane of traffic but out of the way of the fallen limb and power line.

"Great job, Joe-" Frank began and then Vanessa screamed. Frank had only a brief glimpse of the electrical truck as it struck the driver's side of the van.

Frank's ears were ringing and he hurt. He hurt all over. "Wha?"

"Just be still, Frank," a familiar voice said.

"He cracked open his eyes and could see that he was outside… on the ground… and it was cold. Once again he struggled to ask, "What?"

Con Riley's face came into focus. "There's been an accident, Frank."

Something was wrong. Very wrong. He could hear it in Con's voice. "Accident?"

"Do you remember what happened?" Con asked but then he was moved aside by a paramedic.

An unfamiliar face but a familiar uniform came into Frank's line of sight. "Hi, Frank. I'm Janice. I'm glad you're awake." She then went through a series of protocol questions about how he was. For the most part, he seemed to be fine.

Then Frank's memory began to return and he turned to look for the van and what he saw chilled him to his core. Frightened, worried eyes moved quickly between Janice and Riley. "Joe? Vanessa? Where are they?"

"Vanessa's right over there," Con said and Frank could see another paramedic attending to her.

Janice got his attention. "We're going to put you and Vanessa in the ambulance and take you both to the hospital to check you over."

"But Joe-"

Janice's voice was even, but Frank was watching Riley's face and saw him look away as she said, "He's already gone to the hospital in the other ambulance."

"But he's alright, right?" Frank's voice begged for reassurance.

"He has more injuries than you but we'll have to wait to get to the hospital to know what they are," Janice said as she and another EMT helped Frank onto the gurney that was brought.

As they began to roll the gurney toward the waiting ambulance, Frank reached out and grabbed Con's arm. "Tell me." His eyes locked with the police officer's.

"It doesn't look good, Frank. You saw the van. Joe took the brunt of the impact." Con's voice was sympathetic. "I'm going to go pick up your family. We'll meet you at the hospital."

Frank could only stare straight ahead as he tried to process what had happened.

12:11 a.m. Christmas morning…

Vanessa and Frank sat with his mother, father, aunt, and Callie who insisted on coming to the hospital. Both he and Vanessa had been released when it was determined they had no broken bones but some serious bruising from their seatbelts along with minor cuts and abrasions.

"Five minutes," Vanessa said tonelessly as she stared at the small cuts on her hands.

"What?" Frank asked her.

"Five minutes. If we had been five minutes earlier or five minutes later. We would have missed it," her voice was a whisper.

Frank didn't know what to say. She was probably right. Probably just two or three minutes would have been enough. His thoughts stilled. If I had let them play through that song one more time… it had to take at least three minutes to complete. What if I hadn't rushed them? Would Joe be all right?

A surgeon came from the ER entrance. "Family of Joe Hardy?"

"Here," Fenton said as he pulled Laura up with him.

"I'm sorry-"

Laura broke into instant soul wrenching sobs.

Vanessa continued to stare at her hands whispering, "Five minutes. Five minutes. We only needed five minutes."

Callie wrapped her arms tight around him and he could hear her crying. But he couldn't respond to any of them except the doctor. "You're wrong." Frank disengaged himself from Callie and moved quickly to the physician, his own aches and pains forgotten in the adrenalin rush that had taken him over.

"I'm afraid not," the doctor said quietly and with sincerity. "His internal injuries were too much for us to repair."

Frank could hardly think.

"I want to see him!" Laura said as she moved up beside Frank.

"I don't think that would be good," the doctor said carefully.

"I don't care WHAT you think is good. He's my… my son!" Laura said with a sob.

The doctor looked to Fenton and said, "In my professional opinion you should wait."

Fenton nodded and said, "I understand."

Frank stared at this father. "Understand what?"

Fenton glanced down at his sobbing wife and then back to Frank. "There are some things you shouldn't see because you can't unsee them."

And then Frank understood. Soon they would be saying good-bye to Joe and there would be no more chances to see him except for photos. His father didn't want how Joe looked now to be the lasting image that his mother had of him. It was real. It was all too real.

The Caretaker stopped the melody of time. Five minutes. About the length of a song. That was the moment. He moved the melody of time back to 8:00 p.m.

Once again, 8:00 p.m. Christmas Eve…

"And what would an evening of music and song be without our duet?" Joe said with laugh as he crowded Vanessa on the piano stool.

"Joe, 'Heart and Soul' is not a Christmas song!" Vanessa laughed even as she turned back toward the keyboard.

"But how often do we sit and play it?" he asked and then motioned to his family. "And with an audience no less. You can't say no."

"Go ahead, Vanessa, you know he's right," Fenton said as he moved to a nearby chair.

Frank crossed his arms watching the scene. Obviously he'd be getting little help from his father about hurrying Joe up.

Vanessa began playing the lower half of the duet while Joe played the upper portion that was one-handed.

"Heart and soul, I fell in love with you…" Joe sang and the song continued.

And Frank's frustration grew. When the pair started to repeat the composition, he couldn't take it. But then he stopped. He looked at the obvious love that was between the pair as Joe sang to his girlfriend. What's five minutes? he thought to himself. And for a moment he thought he heard a voice whisper… "Everything…"

8:30 p.m.

Joe carefully drove around the electrical truck that was working on a downed tree limb and line that was across the road. "Glad we missed that," Joe said thankfully.

Frank stared at the scene with almost a sense of déjà vu as the whisper came back to him, "Five minutes can be everything…."