A/N: Thank you for reading! Keep in mind, Nancy doesn't know about the house and Frank doesn't know that his offer was accepted. (Remember, Joe answered the phone when the realtor called and with everything going on it completely slipped his mind!) :) Thank you so much to whitetigers, bhar, ukfan101, RedHardy (your threats to cut off all my hair make me laugh and yet at the same time make me kind of nervous. :) lol), Cheryl, MissMe113 and Diamond and Stars for the reviews! They make me smile. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter!

The Three Minute Deal

Chapter 25

"Are you ready?" Vanessa asked Joe when she came out of the bathroom, "I think I've got everything all set up in there."

"Yeah," Joe replied and groaned a little as he pushed himself up into a sitting position on the side of the bed. Vanessa rushed over and helped him to his feet, wrapping her arm securely around his waist and bringing his arm around her to rest on her shoulders.

"Easy does it," Vanessa murmured and they began to walk across the room together, Joe feeling slightly ashamed at how slow he had to move. An involuntary spasm wracked his body and he felt Vanessa stiffen beside him.

"Sorry," he mumbled, knowing how much the trembles he couldn't control upset Vanessa.

"Don't you apologize," she hissed angrily, "you didn't ask that horrible, rat-faced Greg Atkinson to torture you."

Joe stopped and smiled at Vanessa, kissing her cheek, "I love you. I'm a lucky guy."

"Of course you are," Vanessa said, still grumpy despite how mushy she felt at his gesture. They made it the rest of the way to the bathroom and Vanessa helped Joe into the chair she had set in the middle of the floor, "are you okay?"

Joe nodded but didn't say anything, he was out of breath. He watched as Vanessa carefully wrapped a towel around his shoulders and then stepped over to her makeup bag that was resting on the sink. "Be careful with me, I'm fragile," Joe teased, trying to bring a smile to Vanessa's sad face.

"I know," she murmured and gently grabbed Joe's head in her hands and kissed the top of his hair. She took a deep breath and pulled his electric razor out of her bag. She flipped it on and immediately Joe was transported back to the dark warehouse, the pain and images in his mind beginning to overwhelm him.

Joe was afraid he was going to start panicking any moment now but didn't know how to tell Vanessa to turn the razor off without scaring her. He opened his mouth to speak when her gentle hand cupped his cheek and her other hand very slowly ran the razor through his hair.

All of the panic he had begun to feel slowly started to leave him as he concentrated on Vanessa's gentle and loving touch. He closed his eyes and forced his mind to focus on her cool hand on his cheek and not the feeling of the razor dragging slowly through his hair.

Vanessa bit her lip as she carefully maneuvered the razor, not wanting to bump the bandages on Joe's head or cause him anymore pain. It was hard to watch his beautiful blonde hair falling to the bathroom floor but she knew that it would eventually grow back. Before she knew it, she was done. She turned the razor off and set it on the bathroom sink.

"There," she whispered and laid a kiss on his now closely cropped hair, "all done."

"How do I look?" Joe asked and raised an eyebrow.

"Hardcore," Vanessa said with a smile, "I think we need to get you a Harley and a leather vest."

Joe laughed, "Sounds good to me, I've always wanted a Harley." He pulled Vanessa close and still sitting wrapped his arms around her. He laid his head on her stomach and sighed in contentment.

Frank smiled over at Nancy as he drove toward the hospital to visit Joe. They had spent a lazy morning lounging around the house in their pajamas and watching old re-runs of Law and Order before finally getting changed to go to the hospital.

Both were dressed very relaxed in jeans and sweaters, taking the whole idea of a lazy Sunday very seriously. If Joe had known, he would have made a joke about how only Frank and Nancy could take relaxing so seriously. They walked into the hospital hand in hand and went up to the third floor to find Joe's room.

"The door is closed," Frank observed, "I wonder why." He knocked softly and when he didn't get a response slowly pushed the door open. Nancy followed slowly behind him and they both looked around the empty room in confusion. "Where…" Frank began but his voice trailed off when he heard a sound coming from the bathroom.

He led the way across the room and froze; Nancy came up next to him and carefully linked her hand with his. Joe sat in the bathroom, his hair all one even length now, his arms wrapped around Vanessa who was standing in front of him, his head resting on her stomach. Both of their eyes were closed as they embraced each other.

Joe opened his eyes and smiled at his brother, "morning," he said.

"Morning," Frank said, his voice thick with emotion. "You look different, better," he joked.

Joe laughed, "Come over here and rub your hand over it," Joe suggested and ran his own hand over it. "It feels cool."

Frank laughed, "I'll pass."

"Nancy? Feel this," Joe motioned for Nancy to come forward and rub her hand over the short hairs, "cool, huh?"

"Very," she agreed.

"Pretty soon you're going to be begging Frank to shave his head," Joe said and smiled.

"Undoubtedly," Nancy agreed with a smile as Frank spluttered and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "fat chance."

"Here, let's get you back to bed," Vanessa said and hooked a hand under Joe's arm to help him stand.

"Don't worry about it, I've got it," Joe mumbled, acutely embarrassed that now both Nancy and Frank were here to witness his handicap. Vanessa immediately understood but kept a firm grip on his arm. Joe wobbled out of the bathroom and to his bed and was pleased to find that once he got there his breath wasn't as labored as it had been.

He sat on the edge of the bed and motioned for Vanessa to join him. Nancy and Frank both took seats in the two chairs in the room, "how are you feeling today little brother?" Frank finally asked.

"Little?" Joe said, "We've been having this argument for years. You're only an inch taller than me."

"Still, an inch is an inch," Frank said simply. The group passed an enjoyable hour visiting, everyone knew that everyone else was working to keep the subject far away from what had happened over the last few days.

The topic turned to Vanessa and Joe's wedding, which reminded Vanessa of something, "oh! I almost forgot…I rescheduled the dress fitting for you and Callie from tomorrow until Thursday. I figured we could all use some…time," she said to Nancy.

"You did?" Joe asked in confusion, "you didn't have to."

"No, I wanted to. I want to be here for you." Vanessa said with a smile. "Besides, it's only a four day difference, eventually the dresses will be fitted one way or the other."

"I'd like it if you would go," Joe responded quietly.

"But I'd like to be here with you," Vanessa replied stubbornly. Nancy shot a quick smile in Frank's direction and he grabbed her hand.

They both settled into their chairs to watch the show, "I'm betting on Vanessa," Frank said out of the corner of his mouth.

"I don't know," Nancy murmured back, "Joe's pretty wily."

They both looked on as Vanessa and Joe continued their little argument, "Vanessa, you've been looking forward to seeing Callie and going to this appointment for a long time. I want you to go."

"But you're in the hospital and I want to be here with you," Vanessa said stubbornly.

"If I have my way, I won't be in here much longer," Joe declared.

Instantly Vanessa's spine stiffened, "Joe Hardy, you will stay in this hospital as long as the doctor's say you should!"

"Sure," Joe muttered under his breath, completely unconvincing.

Vanessa glared at him for a moment before continuing, "Besides, I didn't just reschedule the appointment for your benefit, I rescheduled for Nancy's too. She's been through a lot the last few days."

Simultaneously the couple rounded on Nancy and Joe spoke first, "are you feeling so overly fragile that you can't go to a dress fitting appointment tomorrow and spend the day being girly?" he demanded.

Nancy glanced from Joe's face over to Vanessa's pleading one and then looked at Frank who was smiling slyly at her, "Um…" her voice trailed off, "I guess…not?" she finally answered.

Joe turned to face Vanessa triumphantly, "ha! I win. You're going to the dress fitting tomorrow."

"Fine," Vanessa crossed her arms, "you're staying in the hospital."

Joe crossed his arms too, "sure I am…for as long as I can stand it."

"No way, if I'm going to this dress fitting then you're going to stay in the hospital until the doctor gives his seal of approval." Vanessa narrowed her eyes, "if you don't agree, we don't have a deal."

"Fine," Joe finally said, "agreed." Vanessa smiled triumphantly and held out her hand to shake on it.

"Who won?" Frank wondered quietly to Nancy but not quietly enough as to escape Joe and Vanessa's notice. They both turned to stare at the couple in front of them.

"I'm not sure," Nancy said, "Joe got what he wanted but Vanessa is the one with the smile on her face. I think it's a draw."

Both Joe and Vanessa exchanged a look and then joined in with Frank and Nancy's laughter.

Soon Frank and Nancy stood up to say goodbye and with promises to come back to visit later that night, they left the room.

"You should go home too," Joe said to Vanessa as he leaned back against his pillows. The thought of her leaving him right now, alone with his thoughts scared him immensely. "It can't be very fun for you here."

"Don't be silly," Vanessa said and curled up next to Joe on the bed, careful not to jostle him in a way that would be painful. "I want to be where you are."

Joe sighed and kissed the top of Vanessa's head then stared up at the ceiling. Hospitals made him stir crazy, he was wondering how in the world he was going to keep his promise to Vanessa and stay here until the doctor's said he could go home. With his luck that wouldn't be for days.

He frowned slightly when he felt a nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach. Like he was forgetting something important about tomorrow, 'Monday, Monday…what is it about Monday?' he repeated over and over again in his head. 'Is there something I'm forgetting?'

An involuntary shudder moved through his body and he immediately tensed, trying to get it to stop. Vanessa looked up at him, concern in her eyes, "is it very painful when that happens?"

"Not really," Joe assured her, "I'm just sore now."

Vanessa nodded and laid her head back down, "I'm worried about tomorrow."

"What? Why?" Joe asked.

"I don't know how it's going to go with Callie, Frank's high school sweetheart and Nancy, Frank's current girlfriend in the same place. I hope it's not too awkward," Vanessa sighed, "My loyalty does and always will lie with Callie. She's my best friend…but, Nancy is becoming a good friend too. I don't know what I would do if I had to choose one over the other."

Joe thought for a moment before speaking, "I'm sure it will all work out. They're both grown women who care a lot about you; they wouldn't do anything to hurt you. Besides, Callie is very happily engaged, I'm sure there's no animosity there."

"I'm sure you're right, I'm just worried," Vanessa closed her eyes and soon both she and Joe were fast asleep.

True to their word, as soon as they got back to the apartment Frank and Nancy changed back into their sweats and resumed their places on the couch. They flipped through the channels and seeing that the Law and Order marathon was still on settled in to watch the next episode.

It took a total of 8 minutes for them to start getting completely bored out of their minds and only an additional 6 before they finally couldn't hold it in any longer and they both turned to the other quickly.

Nancy spoke first, "I'm bored."

"I know me too," Frank agreed and they both sighed in relief. "What should we do?"

"We said we were going to be lazy all day," Nancy shrugged, "what's lazy and active at the same time?"

Frank thought about it, "Would taking a walk be considered lazy, as long as we were really slow about it?"

Nancy nodded quickly, "I think so. As long as we don't break a sweat and we stop to admire the view every once and awhile, I think that could be considered very lazy."

"Great," Frank pushed up off the couch and held out a hand to help Nancy to her feet. He frowned, "would it be considered un-lazy if we were to change out of our pajama pants for this lazy walk?"

Nancy considered this for a moment and then shook her head, "no, I don't think so. I think it would be considered responsible and still lazy, as long as we didn't really want to change out of our pajama pants."

"Right," Frank nodded his head seriously, and adopted a fake irritated look, "ugh, the thought of changing makes me mad."

"Me too," Nancy laughed and then shook her head, "We are the weirdest people ever."

"The weirdest laziest people ever," Frank corrected her.

"Yeah, fake lazy," Nancy laughed and headed back to change into her jeans.

It turned out that they did end up breaking a small sweat, but that was only because they had decided to walk to a nearby park. They figured the thirty minute walk it took to get there would still be considered lazy if they sat on a bench once they reached their destination.

They sat next to each other and looked out over the small lake that was located in the center of the park. "I know you wanted me to tell you what happened in the parking garage," Frank said all of a sudden.

"Yes," Nancy replied.

"I'm sorry but, I don't think I can," Frank turned to look at her, "you've already seen the pictures…of my brother," the words seemed to be painful for him to say, "and you've already heard everything that happened. There really isn't much else I can tell you."

"I understand," Nancy began slowly and lifted her face so that the sun could wash over it before turning to look at Frank straight in the eye, "but if you need to talk about it and you're not telling me just to protect me, then I'm going to do something very un-lazy, like kicking your butt."

Frank chuckled and wrapped his arm around her, "No," he said softly, "you know most of it, I don't want to talk about the details."

"That's fair," Nancy nodded her head slowly, "completely reasonable. I'm going to quit the FBI," she said simply.

"You're what?" Frank asked incredulously.

"I'm going to quit my job," Nancy replied.

"Okay," Frank said trying to get a handle on the situation, "when did you decide this?"

"This morning, after the first episode of Law and Order and before we went to visit Joe," Nancy stretched her arms above her head and then relaxed.

"Really?" Frank asked, "Well, should I be happy for you?"

"Yes," Nancy said with a smile, "I feel really good about this decision."

"I'm just curious, what are you going to do instead?" Frank asked carefully.

Nancy laughed, "I already told you. I'm going to try my hand at knitting. I've only ever been able to knit really, really long scarves. I'd like to graduate to hats and sweaters. Maybe we should get a dog so I can knit it a doggie sweater."

Frank knew that Nancy was only teasing him and he threw his head back and laughed, "Nancy Drew, if you're bored after sitting still for fifteen minutes there is no way you're going to have the patience to knit a doggie sweater."

"Hey, it could happen," Nancy said with a smile. "Actually, I think I'm going to apply at the Bayport PD."

"I think that's an excellent idea," Frank replied and returned her smile. Everything was falling into place perfectly, now all he needed to do was wait for a call back from the realtor about the house he had put an offer in on and everything would be great. With everything that had been happening the last few days he had almost forgotten about the house on Cherrywood Drive, almost. He resolved to call the realtor sometime tomorrow or Tuesday, just to show that he was really serious about getting that house.

A bird flew low across the water skimming its talons along the surface, creating ripples in the water behind it. "So," Frank said after awhile as he watched the bird take off and soar above the trees, "if we keep it just between us…"

"What are you thinking?" Nancy looked suspicious.

"I think that…maybe if we didn't talk about it…and we didn't tell anyone…if we had a race back to the apartment…" Frank's voice trailed off and his eyes shone mischievously.

"I don't think it would count against our lazy day, as long as we didn't mention it to anyone," Nancy said slowly.

"It's a race then," Frank declared and stood up quickly.

Before Frank could even blink Nancy was off like a shot. She called over her shoulder, "come on Frank, you know I'm faster than you!" she taunted and then resumed running.

Frank grinned and took off after her.

That evening the guilt over their afternoon run caused Frank and Nancy to wear their pajamas to the hospital to visit Joe. When Joe saw them he let out a quick laugh and was no good for conversation for a good ten minutes.

When he was finally able to talk he managed to come up with a decent quip as usual, "what? I'm not good enough to wear the pajama pants with the little duckies on them? I'm only worth a pair of plain old red flannel pj's?" he laughed and for the rest of the visit inserted as many sly comments about Nancy and Frank's attire as he could.