Good evening dear readers! (Or morning, or afternoon, I suppose..) Okay, I know I set it up for the town meeting to happen next, but this was one of those times when the chapter mostly wrote itself without my permission. I was planning a very short scene before moving on to the meeting, and then this happened. Sheesh... stories have minds of their own sometimes... But I hope that this doesn't disappoint, and the next chapter WILL have the meeting in it!

A baker's dozen of Einstein Bros Bagels to the reviewers of chapter 2: Nancy Hardy, Aphrodite2, AZWriter, Julie, Colie88, KennaC, MCR-1993, Smithy, Gotta Dance 88 - Much love to you all :)

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize. I do own a suitcase for travel to Vegas and LA this week!

The Cracked Badge

Chapter 3

"Well, I think I should be getting home. Do you want to take your car since it's here, Frank?" Joe asked as they began clearing away the dinner dishes.

"No way is my injured son living by himself. You will stay right here," Laura interjected, her voice firm.

Frank responded to this dryly, "Mom, Joe and I live in the same complex. It's not like I'm ever really alone."

"Hey, it's not my fault you gave me a spare key," Joe said as he finished rinsing his plate.

"So do you want your brother taking care of you instead, Frank?" Laura asked, and Frank didn't even hear a hint of jealously. She genuinely seemed to just want her son to be okay, and she didn't care who did it.

"Not happening," Joe responded before Frank had a chance to. "I have my own things to worry about. Besides, Nancy can do that."

Frank shot daggers at Joe's back with his eyes, willing him to not say anything more about the two of them.

Fortunately for him, Laura didn't quite pick up on what Joe meant. "How can she take care of Frank when she's staying here?"

Joe grinned inwardly. It was just too easy. "No kidding. I guess Nancy would be staying here, leaving no one to take care of Frank."

"I don't require a babysitter!" Frank tried to insist, but no one seemed to care what he thought.

"Nonsense, dear," Laura said as she bustled around the kitchen. "You need rest and someone to take care of you. After getting shot, it's the least you could do for me. I hate the thought of you trying to do everything on your own and in pain."

"It's fine, Frank," Nancy said, trying to smooth things over. "Your mother needs you here. I'll stay in Joe's old room while you stay in yours. Once you're feeling better we can work something else out."

Frank understood her hidden message. Once things died down a little they could figure out a way to explain to his parents that they were not only in a relationship, but already in such a relationship to practically live together.

Nancy retrieved her luggage from the car and went upstairs to deposit the bags in Joe's old room, humming quietly to herself. She didn't notice that Frank had followed her up, hoping for some private time to talk, until he laid a hand on her shoulder.

She jumped and spun around. "Frank! I didn't hear you."

"Your hearing isn't what it used to be," he spoke, smiling at her blush.

"Well, it's your old house. You know how to avoid all the squeaky spots," she responded with mild irritation. She didn't like being snuck up on.

He smiled deeper at her annoyance. "I'm sorry, I won't do it again."

There was an awkward pause between the two of them. Neither was quite sure what to say next. Even though they were adults, being back in that house with the Hardys just downstairs made them both feel like they were teenagers all over again.

"So, Joe's old room, huh? It's a little weird to stay here, honestly. I mean, anytime I visited I would stay in yours and you bunked with Joe." Nancy sat on the bed as she spoke, taking in the room around her with its blue walls and pictures of girls.

Frank sat next to her, enjoying the memories of them as teenagers that wafted over him. "We can trade if it means that much to you."

She rested her hand on his firm leg. "No, it's fine. Just remembering."

Another silence fell upon them, but this time it was comfortable. The three detectives had a lot of history together, and they let themselves be nostalgic for just a few moments.

"Apparently your parents have no idea what's really going on between us," Nancy said finally.

Frank sighed and ran his right hand through his hair. Nancy recalled how Fenton had done the same thing earlier and grinned.

"What?" Frank asked, noticing her look.

"Nothing. You're just a lot like your dad, that's all."

"If you say so. I guess he wasn't around long enough tonight to really pick up on something between us. Mom's obliviousness kind of surprised me, though."

"I know what you mean. I'd have thought that if anyone would notice it would be your parents. But I was thinking about it, and why would they have any reason to suspect? We were together a lot as teenagers, and there was always a spark as much as we tried to deny it. They never said anything then, so why should they now? It seems like they're just going along as if things are the same as always."

"I guess that makes sense. I know we should tell them. I mean, it's stupid not to, right?" Frank sounded unsure as he spoke, and Nancy took notice.

"What are you worried about?"

"I don't know. It's just so new between us. We've barely even had a chance to be together, and we've never been on a date. Really, it's only been a few days. Face it – we did everything backwards."

Nancy laughed. "That's definitely true. So, what, are you saying you want to keep it just between us for a while?"

"I just don't want it to be a big deal, you know?"

"Frank Hardy, should I be worried about this?" Nancy asked, feigning concern.

Frank clasped her hand reassuringly. "No, of course not. I'm sure about this, us. But I kind of want to keep it that way – just us – for a while."

Nancy smiled at him and squeezed his hand back. "I was just kidding. I'm not really worried about us. I haven't been since we talked at the airport."

Frank felt the relief wash over him. "Good. Like I said, we've done things backwards. We're going to have to figure things out as we go along."

"Right. Agreed." Nancy sat up straighter, feeling businesslike. "So, when do you want to tell your parents? I don't want to pretend that things haven't changed."

"I know. I'm not asking you to lie. Just give me some time to figure how to tell my parents that we're in a relationship. Once I move back to my apartment I want you to come with me, and it's going to be difficult to explain that to them without basically saying that we've slept together. Forgive me for feeling awkward about that."

"Please. Your parents aren't exactly old fashioned on the subject. It's not like they ever gave you a purity ring or anything."

"Isn't that just for girls?"

"Frank."

"Yeah, I know," Frank conceded. "But still. Is that a conversation you'd look forward to having with your dad?"

"Okay, point taken. But we're going to tell them soon, right?"

"Right. Just as soon as things settle down around here. They seem stressed about everything going on with the chief as it is."

Nancy knew Frank well enough to understand that it wasn't just his parents that were stressed about the situation. "We'll figure it out, whatever it is."

He smiled softly down at her. "You've always been there when I needed you."

She looked up into his dark eyes in response. "And that will never change."

Frank leaned down to kiss her, unable to keep himself from tasting her soft mouth any longer. Being across from her at dinner and not allowed to touch her had felt like torture. He heard her sigh upon the first touch of lips and felt her body relax into his side. His hand trailed up her arm to her cheek, cupping it gently and caressing the soft skin he found there. He pressed his lips harder, opened wider, feeling more urgency. Who knew when they would get another chance?

Nancy pressed herself against Frank, wanting to be feeling so much more of him. Her heart fluttered at the sensation of firm lips moving against her own. His hand moved to her back and she began to feel herself shifting, his body pressing her downwards…

"Frank, no. Stop," she said as she broke the kiss, breathing deeply between each word.

"What?" He asked, kissing her again.

Nancy pulled farther away. "This is your parents' house. This is Joe's room."

"I'm glad someone finally remembered that little fact." Both Nancy and Frank whipped their heads around to find the source of the new voice.

"Joe, what are you doing here?" Frank asked with more than a little annoyance.

"It's my room, just like she said," he said as he rolled his eyes. "But seriously, Mom sent me up with your things, Frank. You should be more careful what you do in front of open doors. You're lucky she asked me instead of doing it herself."

Frank sighed and pulled all the way away from Nancy, dropping his hand. "Yeah, you're right. Sorry."

"I'll just go put these in your room." Joe turned to go, then paused and faced them again. "Just so I know, are you guys telling Mom and Dad about this anytime soon?"

The couple exchanged looks. "We're just not sure we're ready to deal with everyone knowing and treating us differently. We haven't even figured things out for ourselves yet." Frank finally answered.

"I get it – no big deal. I can keep my mouth shut," Joe's mouth quirked at this, "right Nancy?"

She visibly reddened at his smirk. "Sure, Joe, if you say so." Frank looked at her quizzically and she just shook her head in response.

Instead of going on to Frank's room with the bags he held, Joe paused in the doorway again. "Anything else?" Frank asked as he stood up to leave.

"It's just that, well, you know if I thought you wanted me to, I would have taken care of you at the apartments, right?" Joe had felt a little guilty about opposing so forcefully earlier. At the time he just hadn't wanted to get stuck between him and Nancy, but he wasn't sure that Frank understood.

Frank cuffed his brother's shoulder with his right fist. "I know that. Who took care of me when we were still in Europe?"

Joe rolled his eyes again, but couldn't hold back his grin. "Don't remind me."

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