It Goes On

Author's Note: So, I'm trying to get back in the mood to write and I realize that my desk calendar is set on the wrong day. I've been saving quotes from the thing since January, because I thought they would make good story prompts, and I'm finally going to sit down and use the thing.

Disclaimer: The author of this story does not own the characters. She intends no copyright infringement.

-Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys-

"In three words I can sum up everything I have learned about life. It goes on."
-Robert Frost

29 June 2009
Chicago, Illinois

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Groaning, Bess Marvin reaches a hand out and blindly swats at the alarm clock. Her hand connects with a few other things on her nightstand; Bess sighs as she hears her cell phone slide off and hit the floor with a thunk.

She finally opens her eyes and swings her legs over the side of the bed. She scoops her phone off the floor, carefully placing it back on the nightstand. "I really need to go to bed earlier," she mutters as she heads to the bathroom to get ready for the day.

Last night, a Sunday, was the weekly get-together for Bess and her two best friends. Since they graduated college two years ago, the three women have made it a point to meet up for a girls' night once a week. They usually plan a potluck dinner at one of their apartments, but they went out last night to celebrate George's new job.

Bess's cousin – and one of her best friends – George Fayne is nothing like Bess. Tall and slim George likes to be active. She started college thinking she wanted to go into sports medicine, but changed her major to teaching in her sophomore year. Most recently, she was offered a new job at a private girls' school teaching health class and coaching soccer. She, of course, jumped at the chance for a better job.

Both Bess and Nancy Drew, another of Bess's friends, agree that the new opportunity is a good change. An amateur detective for years, strawberry-blond Nancy Drew wanted to become an investigative journalist. She decided, however, that she had more fun solving mysteries than writing about them; in her junior year, Nancy changed her major to criminal justice with a minor in biology. After college, she was approached by the FBI, the CIA, and a top-secret government agency known as the Network.

Working as she does for the Network, Nancy misses many of their weekly sessions.

Blond and curvy Bess hates when Nancy's work takes her away for long periods of time. Bess, as a therapist, knows how hard on the mind it is to work at a job that constantly puts you in danger and does not allow you to talk about it.

Marvin lets out a groan as she realizes that she is running late. She loves her job with Dr. Madison's practice; she especially likes being able to help people with similar problems to hers. Bess believes that because she suffers with bulimia, she can better relate to the patients and help them more.

Bess hurries to catch her bus.

She badges in behind the check-in desk before greeting the nurses. "Hey, guys! What's up for today?"

The women nod hello. Sheryl picks up a print-out and passes it along to Bess. Marvin nods her thanks as she wanders back to her office to begin the day. First up: group therapy.

She takes a break between patients at ten. The first thing she does is check her phone for messages. She's surprised to see that she has twelve missed calls and three messages. Frowning, Bess selects to call voicemail.

"Bess? It's Frank Hardy," comes the message. "I got a call about ten minutes ago from a contact at the Network. Nancy is missing in action. When you get this, call me back."

"End of first message," the recording picks up, "to erase this message press seven." Bess slams her phone shut. The other missed calls she sees as she clears the screen are from Joe Hardy, Frank's younger brother, and George.

Bess quickly calls Frank back.

The Hardy brothers and Nancy have known each other since they were babies. The Drew and Hardy families were always close, so Bess and George met both boys when they first became friends with Nancy in kindergarten.

Frank is the older brother. He takes after his father, tall and dark-haired; he is also the more serious of the two brothers. Joe has his mother's blond hair and blue eyes, but he likes to joke around.

"Hardy," Frank answers curtly.

"It's Bess. What's going on?"

Frank sighs, "We aren't sure. These idiots have no idea what's going on."

Bess groans. This must be hard on Frank. He and Nancy have always had a special spark, but neither has acted on it. For years, Nancy was with Ned and Frank was with Callie.

When Nancy and Ned broke up Nancy's freshman year of college, Frank was still dating Callie. Through college they never really saw each other when they weren't dating someone else; after college, when they were both single they were too busy building their careers.

On top of the crazy, messed-up relationship they have, Frank is a control freak.

"Don't you and Joe have a guy at the Network who used to give you cases?" questions Bess.

"Yeah," replies Frank, "He retired a few years ago. I'll call you when we know something."

"Alright." Bess hangs up her phone. For a few seconds, she stares at the picture of the group on vacation in Florida on their last Spring Break.

She jumps when Sheryl knocks on the door. "Jesus, girl. Are you okay?" demands the nurse.

"My friend is missing."

Sheryl nods her head. "Why don't you head over to her parents? I'm sure they want to there with them now. I'll tell Doc Madison what's up."

Bess mutely nods her head. She gathers her things with Sheryl's help and goes back to her apartment to get a bag together.

George is waiting in her living room when she arrives. The cousins fall into each other as they let the worry for their friend overwhelm them for a few minutes. Eventually, George pulls away, "You should get some stuff together. I called Carson and told him we were on our way. He and Hannah are at home. Vanessa, Joe's girlfriend Vanessa, her mom is there as well. She apparently had a meeting in River Heights. Van called her mom when she found out what was going on so that Carson wouldn't be alone."

Bess explains what she knows, "Frank and Joe are in DC at Network headquarters. They're trying to find out what's going on."

"Fenton and Laura are on their way," George adds.

Early Morning, 30 June 2009
River Heights, Illinois

"Here you go," offers Andrea Benson. "I made a fresh pot. …You know, actual sleep would be better for you."

Carson shakes his head. "If it were Vanessa missing," he asks, "would you be sleeping?"

"No."

Andrea makes her way out of Carson's office to the family room where the other friends and family are camped out for the night. Frank and Joe are still in Washington, but their parents arrived in the early afternoon. Bess and George showed up around one o'clock followed quickly by Chet Morton who was assisting the FBI with something. Officially, he is a Navy SEAL, but according to Frank and Joe, the FBI and SEALs work together quite a bit.

Andrea's daughter Vanessa arrived just after dinner. The mother surveys the room around her. George is stretched out across the couch. Van has curled herself up in the oversized chair. Bess sits, propped against the sofa, with her head lolling onto Chet. The Hardy's are in the guest room.

Vanessa, Chet, and Andrea have never even met Carson Drew. They're here only because they can each understand the situation. With Vanessa working at Hardy and Sons Detective Agency (officially as the office manager, but really the business part of the business) Andrea has had her own worries for the past year.

Chet is a Navy SEAL, so he's usually on the other side of this waiting period. But he's here just the same. They're friends, though they have never met, because their family members are friends of Nancy's.

With nothing better to do, Andrea heads into the kitchen to help Hannah make breakfast.

Date: Uncertain
Location: Undetermined

Groaning, Nancy Drew sits up. All of her muscles are stiff from fighting off her attackers. She attempts to stretch out in the small space, with little success.

She knew this day would come.

As a Network agent, she is prepared to handle the torture; she has been in similar situations before. She doubts though, that she's going to get out of this situation as easily as she escaped from the others.

If she gets out.

Stop thinking like that, Drew. It won't help, she tells herself. Happy thoughts.

She smiles as she thinks of the last time she saw her two best friends. They had dinner and talked about George's new job. Determined to get back to that, Nancy starts to feel her way around the cell.

It's small. She can't even lie down against any of the walls.

Maybe it's four-and-a-half feet by four-and-a-half feet, she decides. She props herself against the wall facing the door. There are no windows and no lights. The only other thing in the room is a bucket in the corner for her to use as a toilet. Which is actually a good thing. She could be forced to go on the floor.

She listens, but can hear nothing. The stone walls must be thick. They feel like cinder block; but for it to be this silent, they have to be reinforced. She's not digging her way out of this as the floor is concrete.

Sighing, she tries to put together what little she knows.

Mike, her Network contact, called late Sunday night after she got back from dinner with Bess and George. That was June 28th. She arrived in Turkey on the 29th late and had her meeting with the suspect about a deal she was supposed to be making for nuclear waste. They attacked her as she was leaving the meet, before she could contact Mike.

So, at the earliest, the Network would start worrying on the 30th. Which could be today, or could have been weeks ago. Nancy has no way of knowing how long she's been out because of the drugs.

How did they know?

She thought her cover was good. American ex-pat, pissed at the government and out for revenge. It was the same cover she'd used for similar cases, all that were still ongoing; so, she has successful jobs (from the Turk terrorist perspective) on her résumé.

How did they know?

How am I getting out of this?

Early Afternoon, 1 July 2009
River Heights, Illinois

"So, that's all they can tell us," finishes Frank. He and Joe had arrived on a noon flight from Washington DC with little news.

"All we know is that she was in Turkey, but she could now be anywhere!" exclaims Bess. "These idiots don't know anything!"

Carson sighs, "They said she's dead."

Frank sinks into a chair across the dining table from Carson. "Yes," he drops his head into his hands.

"How can they think that?" demands George. "Nancy's a fighter. She can't be dead."

Andrea squeezes Carson's shoulder. She can't imagine what he's feeling. "I'm sorry," she whispers. "What can I do?"

Carson looks around the room at his friends. They are all grieving. Some of them hardly knew Nancy, but they are still so sad. Andrea, who has been so strong through the waiting, has tears in her eyes. Laura Hardy is openly crying.

"I'd like to be alone," he mutters and slowly walks to his office.

"She can't be dead," sniffs Bess. She's trying and failing to hold back tears. Chet slips what he hopes is a comforting arm around her shoulders. George slips an arm around Bess's waist and hugs her cousin and friend.

Joe is embracing Vanessa. Andrea stands, supported by the chair Carson vacated, with her head bowed; tears silently fall from her eyes.

Frank walks to the porch. He doesn't want to believe that Nancy is dead. He always thought that when they settled into work, they would meet up again. They were all supposed to meet at Thanksgiving.

He thought he had time to tell her that he wants…wanted to date her. He drops into the swing and drops his head into his hands, wiping away tears.

He loves her. Loved her.

About an hour later, Joe steps onto the porch. "Are you okay?" he questions.

"No. Are any of us?"

Joe shakes his head. He joins his brother on the swing. "I can't believe that she's dead."

Frank nods his head. "I thought," he says after a few minutes of silence, "that she had someone she was working on these cases with. Mike? What happened to him? Why wasn't he with her?"

"We don't know that he wasn't," Joe reminds him. "Maybe he was with her. He could be missing or dead, Frank. They didn't tell us anything."

Frank looks up at Joe, "What if he wasn't. Can Vanessa hack into the Network's system?"

"I'm sure she could," admits Joe. "Frank…you're just puling at straws. Mike's probably missing too or dead. I'm sure there wasn't foul play. These things happen in our line of work, Frank." Both brothers remember Iola, who died too young. "Nancy's dead, Frank. You can't change that."

Frank meets Joe's eyes. Both brothers' eyes are rimmed with red; but Frank's are determined. "I don't think she's dead. George is right. Nancy's too strong to die like that."

Joe lets out an exasperated breath, "She's dead."

Bess is standing at the door; obviously, she has heard the entire exchange. She pats his shoulder sympathetically as he passes, "The first stage is denial. He'll be okay."

Date: Uncertain
Location: Undetermined

"If you tell me, I can make this stop, Nancy," Mustache Man says.

Nancy glares at him. She will not give these terrorists any information. Especially the access codes they want. With her codes, they would have information to every criminal in the United States and access to information on the President and every member of Congress. They would have security codes to Langley and the FBI database. She refuses to give that information away.

Mustache Man doesn't like it when she refuses to reply. He nods to his two cohorts who shove her head under the faucet again. She gags on the water. The two men yank her out from under the flow and deposit her on the hard floor.

Crazy Mustache Man is back in her face. "Think about what we want to know," he tells her. Then, as every other day, he grabs her hair. The two other crazies tie her up. He pulls her along by her hair.

He shoves her back in her cell.

It's the same thing every day. Always the same thing.

They come for her in the morning. Sometimes they force feed her, other times they don't give her food. Then, two accomplices – they change daily – bind her with rope. Crazy Mustache Man drags her by her hair to the torture chamber. They beat her and torture her for hours.

Eventually, they tie her back up and drag her back to this room.

It's always kept dark, so she has no sense of day and night and thus no sense of time. It worries her that she has no idea how long she's been here.

Recently, she noticed that the ceiling drips at certain parts of the day, but she doesn't know when. She thinks it may be at night.

She hates not knowing the time; but, she is glad that she still seems completely coherent. She isn't sick at least. With the constant wetness and cold, she expected to become very sick quickly. However, she is still mostly healthy. Just an annoying cough.

Sighing, she starts to play her favorite game to pass the time. What Are My Family and Friends Doing? is a very simple game. She picks one person and tries to figure out what they would be doing. It's better than obsessing about Mike the dirtbag who probably sold her out.

She closes her eyes and pictures his gorgeous brown eyes. He's probably poring over a case file.

He gets up to get a cup of coffee and offers her one. Smiling, she accepts. "What do you think, Nan?" he asks.

"The butler did it, right?" she questions. "Isn't it always the butler?"

"I think the evidence points in another direction."

She shakes her head, "What? No? It's the butler!"

He grins and his face morphs into another face – a terrifying mustached face. He advances toward her. "It's never the butler, Nancy. Never. What are the codes, Nancy? If you don't give me the codes you know what's going to happen…"

"No…"

"Yes," he moves out of the way. Her dad is tied to a chair. "I'll start with your father then I'll move on to your friends…You'll watch them all die because of you, Nancy."

"No!"

Nancy gasps, sitting upright in the small cell.

The ceiling is still drip, drip, dripping.

Coughs rack her body.

And she's sobbing and coughing and then she's throwing up the little in her stomach.

Sunset, 7 August 2009
Bayport, New York

"Family and friends, it is my honor to introduce for the first time Mr. and Mrs. Joe and Vanessa Hardy."

Joe and Van turn to face their family and friends. Every person in the small chapel is clapping for the new couple. Neither can keep the smiles off of their faces. They link arms and process down the aisle to go to the reception being held at the marina.

Frank, the best-man, follows with Callie, who is Vanessa's maid-of-honor. The other bridesmaids, George and Bess, are escorted by Biff and Chet.

Joe and Vanessa start the party with the first dance. When friends and family are asked to join, Laura and Fenton come to the floor. Carson leads Andrea out. Chet forces Bess onto the floor.

Soon, the party is in full swing.

Much later that night, the guests find seats as the group gets ready for cake.

Frank stands, "Before the cake, I believe it is customary to give toasts to the bride and groom. I know you've been trying to get out of this Joe, but Van said I have to make you sit through this. Vanessa, you came to Bayport when we were still reeling from the death of a good friend. I can't thank you enough for helping Joe come back to us; I knew then that the two of you would be together for a long time. To the both of you."

Callie stands to give her toast; while Frank is smiling, he has tuned out his surroundings. He can't help wishing that Nancy was here. He misses her, and though he hasn't mentioned it to his brother, he has been looking into her disappearance. He knows that Mike is somehow responsible, but he doesn't know how or why and he has no evidence to suggest Mike's involvement.

Sighing, Frank forces himself to focus back on the goings on. Joe and Vanessa are cutting the cake. He can sneak out after this.

Joe smirks as Vanessa stuffs the cake in his face before he can get his slice into hers. He laughs as she helps him wipe it off. The servers come out to hand out the rest of the cake. Joe meets Van's eyes. She nods in agreement and gestures to the door.

Joe slips through the crowd, "Going somewhere?"

Frank spins around, "Hey, Joe. …I…I just can't be here."

"Go," Joe nods in understanding.

Vanessa joins him shortly after. "He's okay."

"Yeah," she agrees. "He loved her. He just needs real, concrete answers."

"Yeah."

She smiles and grabs his hand, "Let's dance."

Bess giggles at Chet's joke. Since Nancy's death, they have been spending a lot of time together. While he was in Chicago helping the FBI, he took her out to try to cheer her up. They both decided to continue dating long-distance when he returned to San Diego; but, that hasn't happened yet.

He takes her hand and leads her to the dance floor. "So," he starts, "I fly from here to San Diego the day after tomorrow."

"Yeah," Bess sighs. "I wish you didn't have to leave."

"Are we still staying in touch?"

She kisses him gently on the lips, "Of course."

He leans down to kiss her. They continue dancing until the song ends. "Do you want to head out?" he asks. "You look like you're about to fall asleep on your feet."

"Let's go."

The party begins to break up around one in the morning. Carson offers to walk Andrea to her car. "Sure," she agrees. "It was nice to see you again," she says when they stop at her car.

"It was."

"I'll be in Chicago next week for business…" she hedges, "would you want to have dinner?"

He blinks at her, "Like a date?"

"Well, yes," she admits.

"I would love to," he agrees. "I'll call you later."

"Okay. I'll talk to you later." She climbs into her car, "Goodnight, Carson."

"Goodnight, Andrea," he replies.

Morning, 11 November 2009
River Heights, Illinois

"I hope that today we can be comforted because while Hannah may have left us here, we will see her soon. She joins Nancy today and we can be comforted that they are together. Though her body remains on earth, her soul is free," the pastor tells the gathered crowd. "Please join me in saying the twenty-third Psalm as we let Hannah go."

The gathered group, including the Hardys, Bess, Chet, and George, recite, "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness foe His name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; Your rod and Your staff they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever. Amen."

The cemetery falls silent for a few moments.

Carson steps forward and places the first rose on Hannah's casket.

The others follow behind.

Once everyone has had a chance to place a rose on her casket, the pastor nods to the cemetery workers who begin to lower the casket into the ground. He begins to sing "Amazing Grace" and the others join in.

29 June 2010
River Heights, Illinois

Carson had locked himself in his study early in the morning. Andrea sighs as she continues her pacing outside the room. She came down from Bayport to be here for him today, but she doesn't know how to help him. She doesn't know what to do.

Last night, she broached the subject of her moving down here. He hasn't talked to her since.

She's trying not to believe that she made this situation worse, but she very well could have. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to tell him that the firm had just opened an office in River Heights. Maybe she should have waited.

What can I do?

Inside the study, Carson listens to Andrea pace. She really is a comfort to him. It is nice not to be alone today. Since Hannah's death, he has been alone. He's tired of it, but he's not sure how Nancy would have felt to have him propose to Andrea.

He unlocks the desk drawer and pulls the ring out.

He believes that Nancy would want him to move on. She's told him that, but he's never really thought of marrying another woman before. He knows that Nancy would not want him to be alone.

He slips the ring into his pocket before exiting the study.

"Carson!" she sounds surprised to see him. "Are you okay?"

"As well as could be expected, I suppose," he replies. No, Nancy would never want him to be alone. And he loves Andrea; he wants to send his life with her. "I've been thinking of Nancy; wondering how she would feel about us."

"Oh…and how do you think Nancy would feel?" she questions.

He smiles, a quick uplifting of his lips, "She wouldn't want me to be alone. She would want me to be happy."

"And I make you happy?"

"Yes."

Date: Uncertain
Location: Undetermined

"Cold?" Frank asks her, putting his arm around her.

"A little," Nancy admits. She nestles closer to Frank, enjoying his warmth. "You know, I'm really glad we caught Krieger and Mahfouz and found Darius and Leila, too. But I wish…" her voice drifts off.

"What?" Frank nudges her gently.

"I wish we didn't have to leave this place," Nancy admits. She doesn't tell him the reason why – that she isn't ready to say goodbye to him, to the special fantasy they'd shared of being husband and wife.

Frank doesn't say anything, but instead turns Nancy around so she is facing him. He puts his hands on her shoulders and gazes deep into her eyes. Nancy begins trembling all over, and not from the cold. Her thoughts are all in a torrent – all she can think about is how desperately she wants him to kiss her at that moment…

And then in a mad, heart-stopping moment, he draws her closer…

"Up!" Mustache Man barks. "No sleeping."

Nancy sighs and straightens on the wall. They've moved on from the beating stage to starvation stage and now they're working on the no sleeping stage.

Eventually, Nancy knows he'll kill her.

Mike betrayed her and she's going to die.

There's nothing she can give him. She's not sure how long she's been here, but by now all the codes will have been changed. She has no knowledge he could want. She's just here until she dies.

He'll just torture her until she dies.

She's lucky she's not dead already. The pneumonia from the water torture nearly killed her. She wishes it had on days like today.

She's just going to die.

…and their lips meet. The kiss seems to go on forever.

29 June 2010
Bayport, New York

"How are you, today, Frank?" Joe questions as he joins his brother at the office.

Frank shrugs. "I'm okay, I guess."

"Why are you here?" the younger brother asks. "The office is closed today."

Again, Frank shrugs. He's here because he was using the computer to look at Nancy's file. He won't tell Joe that. "I just needed something to do. I need to keep busy."

"I know that feeling," agrees Joe. "Today's gonna suck, Frank. No matter what you do. Wherever you turn you're going to be reminded of Nancy. Nothing's going to help. Do you remember how I was the first anniversary of Iola's death?"

Frank nods. The brother's fall silent, both lost in their own musings.

Frank turns back to his computer, but he can't concentrate on the file. His mind flashes back to other cases with Nancy. Two always stick out in his mind. "It was always cold," he mummers.

"What?" Joe questions. "What was always cold?"

Frank debates whether or not to tell his brother; finally he decides it can do no harm, "It was always cold when Nancy and I kissed." He doesn't pause, so Joe can't ask questions, "The first time we were trapped in a cabin, freezing to death. We thought we were going to die, so we kissed. The second time was in Egypt…"

Joe nods; he remembers how close the two of them were on that case. They acted and looked like a real married couple. Joe can only guess they were caught up in the fantasy; he won't ask Frank and Frank doesn't seem like he wants to continue. Frank stares at his computer monitor again. "What are you looking at?"

"Cases we've worked with Nancy," Frank admits. "I just want to remember the good times."

"Understandable," concedes Joe. After a few hours of reminiscing, Joe stands and stretches, "I'm going to go home. Don't stay here all night."

"I won't."

29 June 2010
San Diego, California

Bess gives a small smile as Chet joins her on the sofa in his living room. "George just went to bed," she explains. "Thanks for letting us come out here. Neither of us wanted to be in River Heights tonight."

"I understand," Chet assures her.

Bess nods and lets her head fall on his shoulder. "I miss her," Bess admits. "Sunday nights we used to get together to talk, just talk; George and I don't do that anymore: we're drifting apart. I'll go on vacation and expect to have Nancy show up with some mystery she just has to solve. I can't believe she's been gone for a year."

"It's weird and hard not having your best friend around." Chet reminds her, "I know how you're feeling. We both lost sisters."

"Yes, we did." The pair sits in silence. Chet strokes Bess's hair soothingly. She fights sleep because there is something she wants to discuss with him tomorrow, and tomorrow will be here in just a few minutes. At 12:01 am, she broaches the subject, "I love you. I want to move here to be with you. I already have a job waiting for me, if you'll have me?"

Chet tilts Bess's head so she has to meet his eyes, "You really want to move here?"

"Yes."

"Okay."

4 July 2010
Cairo, Egypt

Chet really wishes that he could be at home with Bess right now instead of waiting outside of this warehouse for Tangos they aren't even sure are here. A glare from the Senior Chief has him trying to focus back on the job. He can't get himself killed tonight; he has to propose this weekend.

They have CIA reports that state a group of international terrorists have been using this storage facility as a base for their criminal activities. It's only a few isolated reports, but they need to be checked out. Chet spots movement on the compound. He attempts to get a better look at the men moving around.

"That's our guy," reports the new kid.

The officer in charge gives the go-ahead and the SEALs stealthily storm the fortress.

They easily take out the Tangos; but they still have to search the entire building. Chet and his partner open a door to the right: Cliff goes in first. Chet watches in amazement as he is punched in the nose by a skinny woman with matted strawberry-blond hair. "Jesus!" Cliff cries, "She broke my nose!"

The American accented English surprises the woman. She jerks and notices Chet with his weapon pointed directly at her. "Hands in the air," he orders.

The corpsman and a few other SEALs have wandered over to see what the commotion is. Ray bends over Cliff and checks out his nose, "Yep, she broke it."

Chet pats the woman down. He glances over at Ray, the hospital corpsman, who already seems to know the woman is severely underweight. "What's your name?" Ray asks.

"Nancy," she croaks. Chet finishes checking her for weapons. He tries to get a better look at her face, but it's swollen and bruised. Could she be Nancy Drew? The hair color is right.

"Nancy," Ray continues, "we're US Navy SEALs. Can I start an IV and give you some fluids?"

Nancy nods.

The new kid is on the radio; he's trying to figure out if the CIA knows that a Nancy was being held prisoner here. Chet decides to help the poor kid out and satisfy his own curiosity at the same time. "Nancy?"

"Yes." Ray has finished sticking her and is now hooking up an IV bag with some concoction of fluids in it. Nancy watches him intently; she has every right to be wary of them if she's been through anything like what he's imagining.

"What's your last name?"

"Drew. I'm Agent Nancy Drew with the Network," she replies. "I'm pretty sure everyone thinks I'm dead."

The guys on the team all glance at him. They know the story; Nancy's "death" is how he met Bess. And they all know that story, he's told it so many times. Nancy notices the looks, "What?"

"Nancy," Chet says, "My name is Chet Morton. I'm…"

"Iola's sister," she mummers. "You're friends with Frank and Joe Hardy."

"Yes. I am."

"God. Am I ever glad to see you," she hugs him.

Chet laughs, "You have no idea."

Ray checks the IV line. "We've got a MEDEVAC helo coming in. You ready to get out of here, Agent Drew?"

"Let's go."

A few hours later, Chet sits with Nancy in a hospital room. Other than bruises, severe exhaustion, and dehydration, Nancy is physically fine. Emotionally she needs therapy and support.

Chet explained to Nancy what's been going on since she "died" on the ride to the hospital; Nancy started asking questions as soon as they got her a room, "So when are you asking her?"

"I planned on asking her tonight, but I had to work," admits Chet.

"Ahh."

"As soon as I get home, I'll ask," says Chet.

"Good," sighs Nancy. "Hey, how am I telling everyone that I'm not really dead?"

He frowns in confusion, "I thought the Network had a guy that was going to do that."

"I told him to hold off," explains Nancy. "I want them to hear it from me."

They fall silent as they both try to come up with a way to let everyone know that not only is Nancy not dead, but she's no longer missing either. "I have an idea," and Chet proceeds to explain the plan to Nancy.

20 July 2010
River Heights, Illinois

"Why are you so jumpy?" Bess asks twisting the ring on her left hand.

"Yeah, Chet," adds Frank, "you do seem unusually interested in your phone."

Chet shrugs, "It's a surprise from Egypt."

Joe hears this as he and Vanessa wander in. He stops, glancing quickly at Frank, who is expressionless, "When were you in Egypt? What'd you bring?"

"Fourth of July," he answers, "and it's a surprise. You'll all love it; don't worry."

"I'm a little worried," Vanessa admits as Chet wanders toward the door. The others nod their agreement. It's not like Chet to bring surprises back from anywhere; especially from missions.

The adults join them. "What's going on?" questions Carson. "Do you know why Chet wanted this party?"

"Chet wanted the party?" demands Bess. Without waiting for the reply, she marches toward her fiancé. "Chester Morton, you had better…Holy shit!" she whispers as she spots the surprise. Then she rushes forward, screeching, "You're alive!"

At that strange statement, the others rush out to the front porch.

Carson rushes to his little girl; he hugs her tight to him. "You're alive," he whispers into her hair. He releases her, but the others just stand there staring at her.

She laughs, "Surprise! I'm alive!" At this they all rush forward to hug her, to touch her, to make sure she's real. They hurry her inside; everyone's talking at once about everything she's missed out on.

"Slow down," Nancy laughs. "I can't understand you all when you're talking at the same time."

Later, as the party winds down, she realizes that, since he first hugged her when she arrived, she hasn't seen Frank. She frowns. Why would he be avoiding her? She didn't do anything.

"Hey," she whispers finding him on the porch, "I wondered where you'd gone."

"Hi," he replies, "I just needed some fresh air. …So, you're alive."

"Yes, I am." She sits down beside him on the swing. "I'm really happy about still being alive, but…you don't seem to care."

"It was Mike."

It's not really a question. In fact, it's quite clearly a statement. He knows it was Mike's fault. She frowns at him, trying to read his thoughts. It used to be so easy to read him, but she can't seem to…Did he know she was alive?

"No," apparently he can still read her like a book. "I just wished you were."

She nods. They sit there together in silence. They never needed to talk to communicate; however, now Nancy feels like there is a lot she isn't being told, and Frank is keeping his expression guarded. "How'd you figure out it was Mike?" she finally asks.

"Hacked the Network's computer system," he replies.

"Why?" asks Nancy. She turns to face him on the swing. He's already facing her. She can read his facial expression now. He still feels the same way, she thinks watching as his eyes travel over her face and down her neck; they continue their journey all along her body. He loves me.

"Are you cold?" he asks.

She grins and shakes her head at his silliness.

They both lean at the same time to meet in a mind numbing kiss.

-Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys-

AN: I was looking for dates to have the story continue and I flip right to August 7th. "A woman is like a teabag – only in hot water do you realize how strong she is." –Nancy Reagan. Psalm 23 from the NIV translation of the Holy Bible. I also took a quote from Secrets of the Nile.