A/N: Hello all, yes, I'm still alive. Sorry about the utter lack of updates on WAV, but my muse has been moving me in different directions lately... welcome to this really bizarre little random tag/missing scene I wrote for Secrets of the Nile. Hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I don't own Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys, and I am not making any profit from this story. Some of the dialog is taken from the NDHB Supermystery Secrets of the Nile.

Joe Hardy was sweating. Really sweating. Sure, he had been in tense situations before, but there was nothing quite like sitting in front of a ticking bomb to stop your heart with fear. Beads of perspiration collected at his temples and rolled slowly, miserably down his neck to dampen the collar of his shirt. He shouldn't be doing this, he couldn't do this- Frank was the bomb guy. He tried not to waste precious time wishing he could be as calm and collected as Frank always was, even when facing imminent destruction, but it was too hot in the room, too hard to breathe. Keep it together, Hardy, or you're about to literally go to pieces. His left hand released the wire he was holding to fumble with his bow tie, which was seemed to be getting tighter and tighter, strangling him like a thin black boa constrictor and making spots float in front of his eyes.

"I got it." There was a whisper to his left and skilled fingers reached in to free him from the bow-tie-constrictor, which soon draped harmlessly around his collar.

Joe didn't think he had ever been so glad to see Nancy Drew as when her hands had crept into his line of vision, but his relief when she used her sleeve to wipe the sweat from his brow almost had him reconsidering. He let out a shaky breath as he found the wire he had been working on. His hands were steady once more as he scraped determinedly at the final wire with the tiny scissors. Less than a minute now, but at least he could see again. "Thanks."

"You're doing great, Joe. Last one." Nancy murmured almost inaudibly, resting a supportive hand on one shoulder.

Somewhere in the back of his head Joe knew he was still in the giant banquet hall, yet the world had somehow shrunk until it was only him, Nancy, and the bomb, trapped in a bubble of fear and tension and silence broken only by their own pounding hearts and the quietly deafening ticking of their own personal doomsday clock. The thought that he should really tell her to run, that there was no reason for both of them to be vaporized, briefly crossed his mind. She wouldn't go though, he knew she wouldn't, and it was too late to fight about it now. Thirty-eight seconds. Thirty-seven. "Okay." he muttered, finally having freed the last wire from its plastic casing. It was time to make the most important decision of his life. Which wire to cut? "Okay." The fear that he would choose wrong and condemn to death not only himself and Nancy, but possibly also an entire hotel full of people, was paralyzing. Half a minute left to live and all he could seem to think about was how he never gave Frank enough credit for this bomb-diffusing thing.

"Look at the black and red wires- they're made of copper." Nancy pointed out finally. Her voice was deceptively steady but unnaturally loud. "But the green one seems to be made of something else, some grayish alloy."

"You're right." Joe sat back on his heels and nodded. "I guess we'd better go for that one, then."

Nancy's hand tightened on his shoulder in a half-reassuring, half-panicked squeeze. "Good idea... You'd better do it fast, though. We've only got eight-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Joe cut her off before he could lose his nerve completely. I can see the clock, Nan. "Okay, here goes." He positioned the green wire between the scissors' blades and shut his eyes tightly. He felt Nancy wrap her other hand around his bicep and wasn't sure if she was bracing him or herself. With a tiny motion that took all the willpower he possessed, Joe snipped the wire. The metallic scrape of the scissors severing that thin strip of gray alloy seemed to echo in his brain as he waited for the roar that would signal his death, or perhaps just the deadly force of a wall of fire and shrapnel... his heart leapt into his throat as he heard a final click- and then, nothing.

He opened one eye. The LED screen that had counted down the seconds to detonation had gone dark. The ticking had ceased. The timer had stopped. He simply stared at it in disbelief.

Nancy's eyes were still closed, her brow furrowed, lips pressed together in a tight line. After a long moment of stunned silence, her eyes fluttered open, taking in the scene before her. She found her voice first. "Yes!" she cried. "You did it!"

Hearing Nancy say it made it real. Joe tore his eyes from the bomb, finally believing that the danger was actually over. Relief flooded through his veins, and he was shaking with the rush of adrenaline, breathing heavily, grinning crazily. It's over! I did it! We did it! He got to his feet, his knees popping in protest, and then helped Nancy up, yanking her into his arms for a bone-crushing hug. She was shaking too."We did it, Nancy! We killed the bomb!" Triumphantly, he lifted her off her feet, swinging her in circles in pure elation until they were both laughing in hysterical relief. He had never been so happy- until that mad, nonsensical moment when his lips were suddenly pressed to hers.

Joe had no idea whether it was he or Nancy who initiated the kiss, much less if either of them planned or even wanted it, or whether their mutual excitement had simply found an unexpected outlet, but it was difficult to think of anything while her arms were looped tightly around his neck, pulling him close, and he was kissing her with wild abandon, and however insane and unlikely and flat-out wrong it was, she was responding in like. He had never, ever pictured himself in this scenario with Nancy, the girl he had known since he was ten, who was practically a sister to him, but this unbelievable, unrealistic moment continued to happen despite him and he found himself with a hand buried in her reddish locks of its own accord, pinning her head as their frenetic lip-lock became enthusiastically forceful.

Sanity returned without warning, with a feeling like being doused with a bucket of cold water. The pair broke apart, gasping for breath, matching pairs of blue eyes wide with shock and horror.

"Hey, get your hands off my wife."

Startled by the sound of Frank's voice, Joe released Nancy abruptly and she stumbled back several steps, putting a few feet of distance between them. Flustered and blushing, she covered her swollen lips with one trembling hand. If Frank noticed anything strange about the way she was acting, he didn't say anything.

Then Joe saw the crowd that accompanied Frank- Bess and Susannah, several policemen, and their bad guys. "Hey, where'd you get those jokers?" Joe was glad that Krieger and Mahfouz had been caught, but somehow it was eclipsed by his relief that Frank had obviously not seen what had just transpired between him and Nancy. His brother had been joking about Nancy's being 'his wife,' but Joe knew that Frank had real feelings for her, even if he'd never admit it.

"Let's just say they ran into these nice officers and Bess and Susannah on their way of of the hotel, didn't you, guys?" Frank said with a grin.

Nancy had recovered her composure and spoke up now."Nice work, guys! But Frank, you should have seen it, your brother just disarmed a bomb."

"Yeah, just barely." Joe forced a laugh. It was weird to be acting so normal when something so confusing had just happened, but he could play along until he and Nancy got a chance to talk.

Frank smiled easily at the pair. "I knew you would."

"It's good to know we didn't just walk back into a building that's about to explode." Bess added, shooting a glare at Frank that implied she hadn't quite had his faith.

A couple of bomb squad guys approached the podium and crouched beside the bomb.

"Let's get out of here." Nancy said.

"I couldn't agree more." Joe answered. He attempted to give her a significant look but their eyes never made contact.

The next few hours were busy for the detectives- giving statements to the police, reuniting Susannah with her daughter, meeting the CIA agents assigned to the Krieger case. Joe couldn't help his lack of focus- wrap-ups were boring, and he had other things on his mind. He wasn't surprised when he heard a soft knock on his hotel room door and Nancy slipped in, closing the door behind her.

"Can I come in?" she asked softly.

"Of course." Joe mustered a smile. "Nancy, about... earlier... I just, I have no idea what happened." he admitted stiltedly. The more he thought about the kiss the worse he felt. How could he kiss the girl Frank was so obviously crazy about? Or worse, how could she- how dare she- kiss him?

"Me neither." Nancy replied. Her tortured expression seemed to indicate that she was having similar thoughts.

"...Okay then. Good... We done here?" Joe joked, just to break the awkward silence.

Nancy didn't crack a smile. She opened her mouth and a miserable plea poured out in a single long breath. "Joe, I'm so sorry. We were both just so excited, I don't know how we got so carried away- I love you as a friend, Joe, but I'm just, this can't happen again, I'm so sorry!"

Joe thought he saw tears glistening in her eyes and held up his hands. "Whoa, Nan, it's okay. Of course we're friends. And I'm sorry too- I'll take at least half the blame for our little screw-up this afternoon."

Nancy's face broke into a watery smile. "Oh, I'm so glad you thought it was a mistake too."

"God, yes." Joe let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "Don't get me wrong, I love you Nan, but... just, no."

"Good. Same here." Nancy closed her eyes and sighed as though Joe's words were music to her ears.

"Forget this ever happened?" Joe asked hopefully.

"You know it." Nancy agreed.

"It is never to be spoken of again." Joe declared grandly. Then he smirked, adding, "I'm feeling pretty relieved right now, so let's not hug on it."

Nancy rolled her eyes but stuck out her hand for Joe to shake. He pumped it enthusiastically, but kept his grip on her fingers when she moved to pull back. "And, Nancy?" His eyes were suddenly serious.

"Yes?"

"My brother is really crazy about you. Don't mess him around, okay?" Joe knew that Ned and Callie were still in the picture and that Nancy and Frank had no official romantic relationship, but he also knew that, however illogical it might be, Frank really cared about Nancy, and that meant she had the power to hurt him. Like he would be if he ever found out what had happened today, for instance.

The pleased warmth that appeared in her eyes at his words led Joe to believe that Frank might not be the only one harboring a secret attraction. "I won't hurt him, Joe. I'll do everything in my power, I promise."

Joe nodded, releasing her hand. He couldn't really ask for more than that. As she turned to go, he couldn't stop himself from adding, "It was the bomb, right? You just can't resist a guy who can diffuse a bo-" He was cut off abruptly when she swatted him, not lightly, in the stomach with the back of her hand. The dark look on her face made him backpedal. "Okay, okay, sorry, never happened, putting it in the vault, locking it up and throwing away the key, taking it to the grave-" he continued to babble as Nancy, looking exasperated, turned on her heel and left the room.

A minute later Bess poked her head through the door. "You want anything from room service, Joe?"

"Do I ever turn down food?" Joe countered, following her out into the living room. He got there just in time to see Frank lay a hand on Nancy's arm, tilt his head towards the balcony, and ask if she wanted to get some air. Nancy's eyes found Joe's, just for a moment, and he gave her a barely-perceptible nod.

Her fingers entwined with Frank's. "That would be great." she said.