A/N: Thanks as always for any and all reviews :)

The five took a collective gasp upon entering the ball room. It was like stepping into a fairytale, Nancy thought as Frank helped her shrug off her winter coat. They all took a moment to remove their winter clothing, which unfortunately for Nancy meant putting her heels back on.

"I told you this was worth going to," Bess said with a smug smile. "Look at this place!"

Nancy didn't need the command, though - she was drinking up all of it, finding new things with each glance around the ball room. Couples were already swaying in the center, on a gleaming silver floor. Numerous tables, some still empty, lined the edges of the room.

Whoever had planned the ball had spared no expense in decorating it. The ceiling, though ridiculously high, was covered in garlands and holly, and Nancy could already see a few couples locked together under the mistletoe that hung around the room. Small lights twinkled around the room; Christmas lights had been strung up everywhere.

There was even a buffet table at the back, piled with various platters and jugs. The room, though huge, was fairly crowded, the women in a ball gown of their own that ranged from the simplicity of George's evening gown to the splendor of one woman's hoop skirt, and the men wore various styles of suits.

And at the center of the dance floor, a huge pine tree, probably taken from somewhere on the resort itself, stood proudly, decorated like something from a magazine. Wow, Nancy thought, better words escaping her temporarily.

It was truly a winter wonderland.

Frank and Joe returned promptly, and with them, an unknown person, probably around their age. Nancy didn't recognize him, but Bess obviously did and she immediately nudged George forward to greet him.

"Adam, George. George, Adam," Bess said as means of introduction. Adam smiled sheepishly, extending a hand to George and asking her to dance. George let herself be led off, immediately immersed in a conversation with him about the skiing and snowboarding on the resort.

Frank smiled at Nancy. "May I have this dance?" he asked her with a small bow.

Nancy curtsied briefly, still clumsy on her heels, and happily accepted.

She followed him past the other dancers, her hand held firmly in his and her heart thumping madly. Who knew Frank Hardy would look this good in a suit and tie? she pondered briefly.

He leaned closer to her, and she wondered momentarily if he was about to kiss her again when he turned to stage-whisper in her ear.

"I have to admit... I don't actually know how to dance." He grinned at her mischievously and she couldn't help laughing.

"Frank Hardy, did you drag me out here just to get away from your brother?" she teased.

"Well, your company is an added bonus," he joked.

Nancy gave a dramatic sigh. "It's just lucky for you that, quite fortunately, I don't actually know how to dance either."

"Remind me again, what are the two of us doing at a ball?" Frank chuckled.

"Hey guys!" Joe shouted happily, twirling around them with Bess in his arms. "Why are you standing around on the dance floor?"

"And that would be the reason," Nancy said.

"Well, we might as well give it a try," Frank reasoned.

"I'm game if you are."

Nancy placed her arms around his neck, enjoying not thinking about the case for a while and appreciating just being with him here.

"So-" they both started. Frank chuckled.

"Ladies first," he gestured with a smile.

"I was just wondering if a certain brother of yours has pulled you aside for a chat lately," Nancy asked hesitantly.

Frank was surprised, though maybe he should have been expecting it, that they were, as usual, on the same train of thought. "Funnily enough, I was just about to ask you the same thing about a different, though equally excitable, blonde friend of yours."

Nancy groaned in embarrassment. "I had a feeling it was a joint effort of theirs. You don't mind their scheming, do you?"

"Nancy, I've lived with my brother for years now. Trust me, the scheming thing is so normal for him I'm not even surprised."

"I wonder if we misread the situation on the ski lift, then... I know we both assumed they were dating, but maybe that was just them trying to get us..." Nancy trailed off, blushing.

"So Bess was pushing you to do the same thing, then?" Frank asked.

"Well, what was Joe pushing you to do?" Nancy replied, a smile in her voice. Neither one was moving anymore, but staring at each other carefully, not wanting to misread the situation. Their arms were still around the other, and Frank ever so slightly bent forward.

"Something along the lines of this..." he said, moving close enough to count her eyelashes.

AaA

George watched from one of the tables as her two best friends 'danced' with their respective dates: in Nancy's case, she was really just swaying around on the spot, laughing delightedly at something Frank was saying; in Bess' case, Joe was doing this bizarre form of what might have been an attempt at a fox-trot around the room, dragging a giggling Bess with him.

Something was different between Frank and Nancy, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Something was just... different... about their atmosphere with each other. Weird.

Pushing thoughts of her friends aside, George turned to focus on her date for the evening.

Adam was nice, and funny, and from what she'd heard of their conversations so far, smart. Thankfully, like her, he wasn't keen on dancing too much so they both decided to stick around on the sidelines and get to know each other better.

"So what brings you and your friends here, anyway?" Adam asked keenly.

"Oh, not much..." George trailed off hesitantly. She doubted it would matter anyway, but she wasn't keen on letting more people know that Nancy was working on a mystery with the Hardy boys. "My cousin, Bess, won a trip here is all."

Thankfully, Adam was not one of the men that were obsessed with Bess and only went on dates she set up to try to get closer to her. Unfortunately, this had actually happened a few times and it was never a pleasant experience. Luckily, Adam was the opposite - he was friendly in speaking about Bess but he wanted to know more about George and what she liked. It was nice, George had to admit.

AaA

The night wore on quickly, and eventually the four on the dance floor decided to take a break. George and Adam, meanwhile, had actually entered the dance floor and to the others' surprise, they were actually good dancers. George had a natural balance and grace and Adam was a quick learner, and together they made an attractive couple on the dance floor.

Frank and Joe left Nancy and Bess at the table to pick up some refreshments for them, and Bess wasted no time in getting to the heart of the matter.

"So, how are things going?" she prodded, before becoming too impatient to wait. "Come on, tell me everything! What's happening between you guys? Also, did something happen when we were in the cabins? There was, like, this weird atmosphere around you too..."

Nancy blushed crimson, visible completely even in the dim lighting in that part of the room. Bess grinned like a cat that caught the canary. "I knew it!" she piped up triumphantly. "So come on, woman, details!"

Searching for a distraction for Bess, Nancy glanced wildly around the ball room. Suddenly, she completely forgot about Bess, Frank, and everything that had happened between them that night, and zoned in on one man that had entered the ball room. Her gut gave her a bad feeling about him, and she knew her gut was generally right. Something was strange about this man; he was not to be trusted. But why? What was it about him, what was it that he had done that had triggered the alarm in Nancy's brain?

She hushed Bess, ignoring her friend's protests, and then it hit her suddenly. There was a weird bulge in his jacket front, invisible until he had taken off his coat, which had been what had caught her attention. But that only decided her suspicions. As the man hurried past the girls through the dance floor Nancy caught a direct glimpse of his face.

Nancy tried to look nonchalant as she sat at the table, fiddling with the glass vase on the centrepiece. As he hurried past the table, heading straight for the dance floor, she caught his reflection perfectly in the glass. And he looked exactly like the man Joe had described. While his features were plain and unremarkable, nothing in themself that said with a certainty that he was the same man, he was acting decidedly nervous about something.

Her curiosity was inflamed.

Bess had realized something was wrong at this point, but before she could speak, Nancy turned back to her.

"I need you to stay here and tell Frank and Joe that I think I found the man Joe was chasing, and that I have this weird feeling that he might be up to something, and that I'm going to follow him," she said in a rush. She was already standing up and moving as she called back, "I won't be long, don't worry."

Bess groaned. How was she going to explain that she had just let Nancy run off after some random dude because she had a, quote unquote, weird feeling, about him?

AaA

Nancy cursed her foot wear again. Next time she was wearing sneakers, regardless of what Bess said. She stumbled a few times, but her determination not to lose him pushed her onward across the dance floor past swirling and swaying couples lost in the loud music.

"Hey!" "Watch it!" "Ouch!"

Nancy winced. Except for that last cry, which had been uttered by a disgruntled woman with a poor dance partner, Nancy was causing a small disturbance moving through the crowd. On the bright side, the man wasn't that much better than her - he left a trail of annoyed dancers that she could follow through the crowd so at least she knew where he was.

Nancy let out an audible breath of relief as she exited the main crowd of dancers, but a man from behind pushed her accidentally and she stumbled for a moment. Immediately she looked around and swore silently to herself. Where had he gone? In one second, he had disappeared from her line of view.

The music was beginning to give her a headache and she was still disoriented from the crowd. Her dress wasn't helping matters, and Nancy stumbled around frantically. She wouldn't, couldn't, lose their best lead on the case yet.

With a surge of triumph, Nancy caught sight of a brown-haired man in a gray jacket exiting the ballroom. This time, though, she gave herself two seconds to tear off her heels and just hoped no one stepped on her feet as she ran after him.

The door was still swinging closed as she yanked it open and dashed through. She was standing in a hallway of sorts, part of the hotel that guests didn't often go to.

With a thump, the door swung shut behind her, muffling the music and noises of the crowd.

Nancy stood, heart racing, hair disheveled, and bare foot on the carpeted hallway. Doors lined the hallway, doors that could lead to more hallways, rooms, or closets and she had no idea if he had stopped in one of them.

She tiptoed further down the hallway, the carpet and noise masking her movements. Peeking around the corner of the hall, she gave a gasp: he was there, kneeling over in a maintenance closet.

Nancy leapt back as he began to exit the doorway he was hunched into.

She had to see what he was doing. She didn't like her chances on confronting him by herself.

I wish Frank was here, she thought to herself. Between the two of them, they always managed to overcome whatever danger posed a threat at the moment no matter how bad the situation seemed. Nancy could take care of herself against most people, but not when she was wearing a ball gown and not when she had no weapon to defend herself. With a deep breath, she continued on her way. It's up to you, Drew, she told herself.

Listening intently, she satisfied herself that he was gone: the hallway was completely silent once more, save for the faint music that played in the distance. Nancy turned around the corner and snuck down the hall, still clutching both her shoes by their straps with one hand.

The door was still ajar - perhaps he hadn't closed it properly in a hurry to leave. It would fit the character she had created for him based off his behaviour when she saw him enter the ball: nervous, wary, and cautious.

Nancy bit her lip. She didn't know what to expect; he could have done or placed any number of things ranging from harmless to fatal inside that closet. But steeling herself, she closed the last small gap between herself and the door and cautiously swung it open.

There were a number of things Nancy expected she might encounter. What she hadn't prepared for was the possibility that the man was still inside the closet.

Before more than a startled yelp could leave her throat, she watched as a metal can of something that she would soon discover was extremely heavy swung towards her. Nancy uttered only one word as she slid toward the ground, vision going black: "Frank..."

She slumped to the ground, unconscious.

AaA

Frank felt bad about leaving Nancy with Bess, who was sure to interrogate her for all she was worth, but he had a feeling Joe was heading towards the same thing himself and he would prefer to at least get it over with at the ball while Nancy herself was distracted. Knowing Joe, he would not hesitate in embarrassing both of them at whatever opportunity he could.

"Frank, you know I won't leave you alone til I've heard what happened," Joe stated casually as they both grabbed a few plates and made their way around the table.

"That's none of your business," Frank sighed, privately enjoying Joe's annoyance. He knew he would tell him eventually. Besides, neither he nor Nancy thought there was any point in hiding it from their friends.

But Frank still planned on enjoying this for as long as he could.

He thought back to what had happened...

Frank swallowed nervously. He closed the gap between them slowly, tilting his head to meet Nancy's. She smelled like strawberries and vanilla, and like the briskness of a cold winter wind. Their lips met then, finally, and it was so right, like they fit together perfectly. He closed his eyes, moving his lips against hers. She tasted sweet, and vaguely like mint, and although her lips were chapped from the cold, they were now soft and warm against his own. Without conscious thought, he moved his hands to her back and drew her closer, pressing her against him. They stayed together for a only few moments before breaking apart, aware of their public surroundings, but it felt like forever to Frank.

"Wow," Nancy managed.

"Wow," Frank agreed, a smile growing on his face.

"Remind me, why did we wait so long to do this again?"

The two stared into each other's eyes, and promptly dissolved into laughter.

"Hellloooo? Earth to Frank!" Joe waved a hand up and down in front of his brother's face. "Geeze, lost in happy memories or something?"

Frank tried, and failed, to prevent the blush that betrayed his thoughts.

"Oh gross, seriously?" Joe said, interested even more. "Since when has my big brother ever made a move on a girl?"

"Cut it out, Joe," Frank growled, batting away his hand. "If you must know, yes, I did... what I promised."

"And?"

Frank snorted. Joe was positively bouncing with excitement. "Yes, we are going out now," he answered with a sigh.

"YES!" Joe pumped his fist, before containing his excitement at the curious looks from the other patrons of the ball. "You know, I totally told you so. It was completely obvious since we first met Nancy that you guys would be perfect for each other..."

Frank let Joe continue on his monologue, having learned from past experiences that when he really got going, nothing would stop his little brother. They precariously made their way back to the table, trying not to bump into another guest.

They pushed their way past a rather large man and his partner, and finally found of Bess sitting at their table with George by her side. She looked anxious, and Frank's heart skipped a beat as he realized Nancy was nowhere in sight.

He abandoned the food on the table as Bess tried to explain what had happened, his worry growing all the while.

"Well," she started, wringing her hands nervously, "we were just talking after you two left when suddenly she saw someone enter, and so she told me that he looked suspicious and that she was planning on following him, and then she told me to wait here for you guys so I could explain where she went."

"And I was dancing with Adam when I thought I saw someone that looked like Nancy moving through the crowd, but I wasn't sure so I came to look for Bess," George added.

"When was this? Who was the guy?" Frank demanded. It would be just like Nancy to rush off without any concern for her safety.

"Maybe... 10 minutes ago-ish?" Bess guessed. "Like I said, I didn't really pay attention to him until after Nancy up and announced she was going after him, but he had this grey suit on and he was middle-aged. Brown hair, ordinary looking, no glasses or anything..."

"Joe?" Frank turned to his brother. "You think that might be the guy?"

His brother nodded. "It sounds accurate enough. Besides, Nancy's usually spot on with her hunches."

Which, unfortunately, was exactly what Frank was worried of.

"George, where did you think she was heading to?"

The brunette frowned and closed her eyes. "Well, I was facing the entrance and I was standing in front of the tree, and she was moving past me to my right, so..." she opened her eyes, "probably the far right corner of the room."

"Okay. So there are a few ways to exit the ball room over there as far as I know, which means we can all split up and look for her," Frank decided.

The others agreed without hesitation, and they began to look for their missing friend.

AaA

Nancy wanted to scream. Unfortunately, the best she could do at the moment was groan loudly against the duct tape across her mouth. It was pitch black and it smelled vaguely of chemicals. There was a strange thumping sound that Nancy soon realized was music from the ball. She was still in the hotel. In fact, by the smell of it, she was inside the janitor closet that the man had been rustling through.

Or, at least, pretending to rustle through. He must have noticed her, and decided to lose her tail before moving on.

She squirmed around on the floor, hands and feet bound in duct tape as well. There had to be something to cut her free in the closet, she just needed to find it. With great effort and hopefully a lot of noise, she shoved herself upright so that she was sitting with her back against the wall.

Okay... first things first, take stock of the situation. What do I have at my disposal?

She listed what she knew, which sadly, wasn't much:

1. the same man that picked the lock to their cabin to let a wolverine in had just locked her in a closet,

2. to her knowledge, there was nothing in the closet and nothing that he took from it, meaning he had planned on tying her up,

3. she couldn't see or say anything, and her hands and feet were bound with duct tape, hands behind the back, and

4. Frank and the others would find her eventually but the man would get away first.

She felt rather stupid. Not only had she gotten caught, she would be wasting the others' time when they should be looking for the man instead. So basically, she had to get out herself and track him down before he could.

Wriggling around a bit more, she tried again to thump her back against the door. There was a small chance a worker would happen to pass by, if she was lucky. With a start, her feet struck against an object on the floor. Trying to feel around with her toes, she realized they were just her discarded shoes.

Which, now that she thought about it, had extraordinarily long heels. Well, it was better than just sitting around, anyway.

Nancy brought one of the pointy heels to her hands painstakingly. She had to drag them closer with her toes then turn her back around just to line the heel up with the tape on her wrists. Grimacing, she lifted her hands and pushed down against the heel with all her might, jamming the front of the shoe against the door to keep it still.

This would have been easier if he'd just tied my hands in front, she thought wryly. Of all the times when her captors had been amateurs at what they did, now there was one who actually knew it would be harder to escape with her hands behind her back. Again and again, she slammed her hands toward the heel, occasionally giving a muffled gasp of pain as she missed, but she could feel the resistance of the tape wearing thin and so she persevered.

Finally, with a mental sigh of relief, the tape broke and she brought her sore wrists around to massage the circulation back into them. Bracing herself, she ripped the duct tape off her ankles and mouth.

Ouch, ouch, ouch... she winced but fumbled blindly in the dark for a light switch. Finally, her hands found it and she flipped it on, shielding her eyes to avoid the pain of sudden light. Her head throbbed slightly where she had been struck, but there was nothing that indicated what he had hit her with. He must have taken it with him.

The door was, of course, locked, and there was no way to open it from where she was. Well, that left Plan B.

"Help!" she shouted, pounding on the doors. She called for her friends, and finally, to her relief, she heard pounding footsteps.

"Nancy?" she heard Frank ask from a distance.

"Frank! I'm in here!" she called out, thumping the door again for good measure. "That guy locked me in and tied me up."

"Don't worry, I'll get you out of there," Frank replied. "Damn. I could open this if I just had some kind of pin..."

"Lucky for us, I've got plenty," she said. She carefully eased her hair out of the bobby pins, wincing a bit as they caught on her hair, and slid them under the door crack.

"Thanks, Nance." It took him just under a minute, but he worked the door open and let her fall into his arms in relief. They stayed there, hugging, for a few moments and he pressed his lips down to her hair. "You had me worried, Drew," he admonished her.

She grinned. "Comes with the job, Hardy. Now come on, we need to find out where that guy went and why he did this."

Frank nodded in agreement. "And it was shaping up to be a perfect night, too..." he trailed off. "By the way, why aren't you wearing any shoes?"

Nancy smiled wryly and began to go over what had happened since she'd been knocked out. Holding each other's hands, they began their pursuit of the man with the brown hair in the hopes that, if they managed to solve this mystery quickly, they could spend the rest of the trip with each other.