Author's Note: We will blame any warped humor on what might remain of my migraine. Yes. That's it.

Though I admit, I enjoyed the banter and cracked myself up with it, so maybe others will enjoy it as well.

And I think this just needs one more wrappy up type thing now.

Partial Resolution

"Nancy?"

She looked down at Frank, biting her lip. She wasn't sure he was aware she was there. Or maybe he just wasn't sure he could believe it. She didn't blame him. She almost couldn't believe it herself. She had run from John when she realized he wasn't the victim he'd pretended to be and rather a part of the scheme, but she had not thought that run would lead her right to the people she was seeking. When she'd seen the man threatening Frank and Joe, she'd done the only thing she could—she'd led John right into him, dodging out of the way at the last second.

That meant both of them were down. She did not know how long that would last, but she had to do something for the boys while she could. She ran her fingers through Frank's hair, trying to soothe him.

"I'm here, Frank," she told him. "How badly are you hurt? I'm not sure—I don't see anything that obvious, but I am not you, and I don't know."

Frank groaned, shifting as he tried to get a good look at his brother. "I'm... concussion. Bad one, but that could also be the chloroform."

She winced. That would explain the smell she could now pinpoint as coming from him. She'd thought maybe it was residual from his father, but it probably wasn't. Poor Frank. She wished she had more of a way to help him, since she knew he had to be hurting as well as perhaps humiliated.

"I'm sorry," she told him. He gave her a small smile and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. "Do you think you can stand? I don't think I can carry you, but we should get you and your brother to a hospital. I think your parents are still there. Your mother insisted on taking your father there."

"I'm glad," Frank whispered. "He seemed bad, but... he's so stubborn."

"I think all of you Hardys are," Nancy told him, smiling. "Though only in the best of ways. If you weren't so stubborn, you and Joe might have been... killed."

Frank tried to push himself so he was sitting up. He gagged, and she eased him back against her. "Not that bad. Joe... he got us out..."

"You look terrible right now, even if there aren't bleeding wounds and bad bruises all over you," she said. "I'm not sure you should get on your feet, but we have to wake Joe and find some way of securing these two—"

"Three," Frank interrupted. "There's another one inside. The golf pro. Masseuse... Who is the other guy?"

"Kerrie's boyfriend. I'm not sure where he works, but he must be employed here somewhere. She's the main source, I think, and she might be involved in some of the blackmail more directly... I'm not sure, but I could see it. She wasn't very happy, and I think I may be right about her working for her parents in all this—"

"That's it," Frank said, putting his hand to his head. "That was... the personnel files. I... think that's what I saw but didn't... She doesn't have the same last name—maybe it's her mother's maiden name? I don't know, but something there connected them. I just... I was so distracted by Dad and Joe..."

"Don't blame yourself. You knew something was wrong with Kerrie."

"Not enough."

"Ugh," Joe groaned. "Stop beating yourself up over there. Don't have time for a pity party."

"More like a concussion party," Nancy said, grimacing. "I think you both have one. As do these three you've got here. Like I said, we'd better do something about them and get you to the hospital. You need treatment, and you shouldn't delay it any longer."

"Well," Fenton said, giving Nancy a tired smile, "Looks like the boys were right to call you in. You weren't even here one day and you managed to round up most of the people involved, rescue the boys, and almost single-handedly solve the case."

Joe almost threw his pillow at his father. "Hey, she did not solve the case on her own. I was the one who found the golf pro and the masseuse, even if I didn't know that was who they were when I heard them talking. Well, actually, I think I heard the masseuse talking to someone higher up, but that's not the point. I had that piece. I even managed to fight off the golf pro and rescue Frank. I wasn't rescued. I did the rescuing."

Frank just shook his head. He seemed more subdued than the rest of them, but then he was the one whose concussion was declared the worst grade and they were concerned that he might be allergic to chloroform, which would be kind of rough considering the work they did.

Nancy was blushing red. "I didn't actually do that much. I think it just seems like more because everything came together so fast there at the end. They got spooked and made a few mistakes, plus me having outside eyes and knowing Kerrie was involved in Joe and Frank disappearing... Well, that made it easier."

Frank reached up to his cheek. "Still not sure why she bothered with the show. She didn't have to hit me."

"I think she may have been marking you for the guy who went to grab you."

Frank shook his head and looked like he regretted it. "No. I don't think that is it—Perry knew who I was. He didn't like me from the beginning, and I remember that, but I didn't think he was involved until after he attacked me. Man, my instincts were off the entire time. I feel so... useless. Not only did I miss Kerrie, but I missed the files and the golf pro."

"You were understandably distracted," their mother told him with a small smile, reaching over to brush back Frank's hair before leaning down to give him a kiss.

"Yeah, by Nancy," Joe said, and Frank glared at him.

"You are such an idiot."

"Me? What did I do?"

"Boys—"

"Your mom is pregnant, Joe," Nancy said, and Joe turned to her, mouth falling open as he tried to comprehend that. She was joking, wasn't she? She had to be. His mom was too old for that. And it would just be weird. And maybe a little gross.

"You're kidding."

"No, but you're oblivious," Frank groused. "I've known almost as long as she has. You, on the other hand, still don't see it."

"And since he's known all this time, he's very worried about it, but I'm fine," Laura said, cupping Frank's cheek. Joe put a hand to his head, shaking it. He still found all of this very hard to believe, but that didn't make it wrong. It just made it... weird.

"Wow... So... I guess Nancy's judgment was the only one that was working, since Dad managed to get himself drugged in the golf club."

Fenton gave him a dark look, but Nancy grimaced. "Actually, no. I don't think I can say that. I was convinced for a while that John was not involved in what Kerrie was doing and that he was just a victim. Then he started to come onto me even though Kerrie had told him I was Frank's girlfriend, and it's so wrong for a guy to do that, but I should have seen past him sooner than that."

Joe nodded. "Yeah. So not cool to hit on another guy's girl. Not that I haven't done it a few times by accident, but never on purpose."

"Um..." Frank began, shifting uncomfortably, "can we... not talk about this now? I... My head is getting really bad again, and I'd like to sleep. At first it was nice they put us all together, but since everyone wants to talk and my head is aching... I wish I had my own room."

Laura frowned down at him. "I don't like the sound of that."

"I'm just tired. I promise," Frank told her, and she nodded.

"It is late, and you have all been through a lot. We can finish in the morning," Laura agreed, yawning herself. She went around to Frank and then to Joe, giving each of them a kiss on the forehead in turn.

"What, none for me?" Fenton asked.

"After what you did, you think you deserve one?" she teased, but Joe knew everyone was smiling when Laura stopped to give him a kiss. Things were as they should be.

Almost.

Joe still didn't know what he was going to do about his mother being pregnant.

He decided not to think about it. No way he'd get any sleep if he did. No, instead, he'd find some new way to tease Frank about Nancy. That sounded so much better than freaking out about his mom having another baby.

"Frank?"

"Go back to sleep, Joe. It is way too early for you to start in on whatever it is you're planning."

Joe sighed from across the room. "I can't sleep. Not with the whole 'Mom is pregnant' bombshell. I don't know how you can. It's... too weird."

"Well, I've had weeks to come to terms with it, and I'm not so sure it's weird as... We know it will change things. A lot. You'll no longer be the youngest. Mom will be starting over with raising kids, which will be a switch since we're basically grown now—well, I am, not so sure about you—and there will be another one of us. It's going to be different," Frank said. He would have shrugged if he thought it wouldn't hurt. "That's the thing, though. Things are always different. They change daily. So it's not like we can expect it to always be like it was."

"Maybe not, but you'll always be my partner and we'll always be brothers."

Frank almost laughed. "Joe, are you afraid that if this new baby gets born, you'll end up forced out from being my partner? Really? You do realize there's not much chance of our new sibling solving mysteries for at least a year. First Mom has to have the baby, and then it has to learn to walk and talk and think beyond instinct and in rational thought. You're safe, little brother. No one is going to come between us."

"Not even Nancy?"

Frank groaned. "Joe, I swear, if you start that up again, I will get out of this bed and finish you off myself. Nancy is—that topic is off-limits now and forever. Drop it. For good. And don't think I'm kidding. I only love you so much."

"You just said we'd be partners for life."

"Your life will be very short if you mention Nancy again, so... technically, I didn't lie," Frank said, and he was rewarded with blissful silence from the other side of the room. He turned over on the bed, not sure why Joe couldn't see it. He said himself that he wouldn't go after a girl who was already in a relationship—so why couldn't he leave Frank alone about Nancy, who had a boyfriend? She found that John guy a creep for coming onto her when he knew she had a boyfriend, so what would that make Frank if he at all mentioned that their... relationship confused him?

No. He just wasn't going to talk about it. The case was over. Nancy would go home, and that was the end of it.