A/N: I want to give one last shout-out to everyone who has reviewed: Kirsty, Caranath, max2013, bhar, barb, GJFH, The Vulture, j, Guest, guest, Nancy Austin, julia, Arabellan Lynx Malfoy, Platero, beachgirlsrule, Guest, Guest, myscout14, Abigail Wilson, hollyboo2001, awesomesauce, Guest, Guest, centaurdy jackson007, Guest, ILoveMom, fan4, amizoicite2003, Eruanne Aredhel, geekpradd, C.A.P CAmn, Torchwood Cardiff, Alli Dee, TheSecretWhisperer, Snowgirl01, Guest, Lexi, Guest, Painlover792, Guest, authorwannbe101, Guest, Guest, mas1581, Guest, Guest, and SparklingSoul.

Disclaimer: Even now, I still don't own Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys.

Guys. This is it. After two-and-a-half(ish) years, this is it. We've arrived at the epilogue. Thank you for two-and-a-half years of incredible support. Part of me is ready to type out "The End' and move onto other projects, and I do believe that this story has come to an end, but tonight I'm realizing that there are people out there who actually wanted to read some fanfic that I wrote sitting in my bedroom way too late at night. You guys are just incredible. And I know my author's note is gonna be way too long, but I just really feel like y'all should know that your support has been amazing and I don't know that I would have kept at this without you.

So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you.

All my love and God Bless,

Baltimore Raven

"Stakeouts are still boring," Nancy muttered under her breath.

"No kidding," Frank agreed, "Especially when you're going after the same guy twice in a row."

The couple was once again occupying the front seats of Frank's car, which stood in the same parking space it had the night Frank and Nancy had found out that Joe was alive. The mind-numbing boredom was starting to take its toll on both detectives. Trains of thought were veering off-course and circling right back to the present moment.

Feeling a headache coming on, Nancy gently massaged her forehead. "Ugh," she moaned.

"Agreed," Frank replied in a flat tone. The two glanced at each-other before breaking into small chuckles that were soon cut off by a buzzing from the dark-haired man's phone. He snatched it out of the cup holder and the screen's light paled his face. "It's Becky," he murmured while answering the call.

"Becky?!" Joe's voice suddenly cried from the car's back seat. A blond head appeared between the two front seats.

Nancy nearly jumped out of her skin at his sudden yell. Joe and Bess had both come along, but they'd been so quiet for the past half-hour. Actually, now that she thought about it, they'd been a little too quiet.

"Put her on speaker!" the younger brother insisted.

"Okay, okay, give me a second!" Frank turned the call onto speaker mode and held the phone so that everyone could speak clearly into the device. "Becky?"

"Frank! How's everything going over there?"

He shrugged. "Fine, just on a stakeout."

"Ouch. Still the very definition of boredom, huh?"

"Don't remind me," he rolled his eyes before going on. "Oh, fair warning, Nancy, Joe, and Bess are here, too."

"Hi!" Joe chimed as he moved in and stopped a few inches from the phone. That didn't last long, though, as Frank used his free hand to push his face back in a rough, brotherly-love kind of way.

"Anyways," the elder of the brothers continued, "What's going on over there?"

"Well, Brooke's arm will be in that cast for another month or so. But she's been too busy putting the virus in an underground vault sealed with seventeen layers of duct tape to care."

"That's a triple-encrypted electronic deadbolt, thank you very much," Brooke's voice drifted over the line.

Joe just shook his head. "You lost me."

"Joe, we never found you," Frank told his little brother, which led him to dodging a brotherly punch.

Bess shifted to cross her left leg over her right as she rolled her eyes. "Sibling love."

"Nancy, be glad you're an only child." Frank muttered while evading a second punch from Joe.

"Is the whole affectionate beating thing something that all brothers do?" the redhead raised an eyebrow as her gaze switched between Frank and Joe.

"Affectionate?" Frank echoed unsurely.

"Beating?!" Joe cried indignantly. "I'll have you know, I do not beat my brother. I'm just helping toughen him up – ow!" A fist suddenly rammed into his upper arm. He looked to his side and noted the smirk on Bess' face.

She looked at him pointedly. "Toughen him up, huh?"

"Traitor."

"Guys, I'm still here!" Rebecca called through the phone.

"Right, right," Frank refocused, "Anything else going on?"

"Yeah, actually. The Network is moving into a whole new headquarters in Atlanta. It comes with all-new security, a state-of-the-art laboratory, and an on-base squad of aircraft."

Joe's eyebrows rose and he blew out a whistle. "Is there anything you guys didn't get?"

Rebecca cleared her throat. "Well, I'll admit, I wouldn't mind having my top agents back."

Nancy's eyes shot up to meet Frank's. The brown orbs were full of conflict.

"And that means all four of you; Nancy and Bess included."

This caught all of them off-guard, but Frank and Nancy continued to stare at each-other. It was as though their gazes were desperately trying to ask, 'What do we do?'

That was when Joe spoke. "Thanks Becky, but I think I'll pass. I get the feeling that it would be best if I stayed close to home for a while."

He was right. Those fourteen months had been some of the hardest on the Hardy family, along with Nancy and Bess. Joe needed to spend some time at home. He needed to watch a movie with Laura, track down a local burglar with Frank, and consult on one of Fenton's puzzling cases. He needed to spend hours just talking to Bess and enjoying her presence. For now, this was where he needed to be.

"I don't blame you," Rebecca replied, her voice holding all the understanding of the years of tough operations she'd had to go home and recover from. The position of second-in-command of the Network practically required some successful but tough past cases. She passed that with flying colors. "Go home, eat some ice cream, drive your brother crazy, whatever."

"I resent that statement," Frank told her matter-of-factly.

"I love that statement," Joe countered.

"Hey!" Bess smacked his arm, "Be nice to your brother!"

"Be nice to your boyfriend," Joe muttered as he rubbed the sore spot Bess had created.

"Okay, okay, so I'm gonna assume that if Joe isn't coming, none of you are coming?" Rebecca clarified. It didn't take long for them to confirm her suspicions, to which she replied sincerely, "Okay. But just in case you do change your minds, you've got a place here."

"Thank you," Nancy smiled, "That means a lot."

"Joe, what do you think of that one?" Bess' quiet voice was aimed at Joe, though it drifted to the rest of the group as well. Nancy glanced over to see her holding her phone out to the younger Hardy.

He shrugged. "It's not bad. Maybe a little heavy on the lace, though."

"Yeah, but look at the beadwork."

Joe took the phone from her in order to get a closer look. "Oh, yeah, I see it now!"

"What are you two looking at?" the redhead asked.

"Wedding stuff," Bess replied without looking up.

Nancy's and Frank's shocked stares instantly met. "Wedding stuff?!" they cried in unison.

"…what?" Rebecca's confused voice crackled through the phone's speaker.

"Becky… I'll call you back," Frank hastily hung up before turning to the couple sitting in the backseat. "Wedding stuff?!"

Now it was Nancy's turn. "You just started dating two weeks ago! You live more than eight hundred miles apart and you're both only nineteen!"

Bess' hold on Nancy's gaze didn't even falter. "I didn't say it was for our wedding."

The mischievous grin on Joe's face communicated the rest of the information to Nancy and Frank, who immediately turned red and shifted uncomfortably. Neither detective would meet the other's eyes.

"Look, Frank and I…" Nancy tried to speak but soon felt as though her voice was so tense that she couldn't speak anymore.

The dark-haired man nervously rubbed the back of his neck, but somehow he managed to recover from the uncomfortable silence. "We're best friends!"

"Yes! We're best friends!" Nancy agreed wholeheartedly. She finally brought her blues eyes to lock with his brown ones.

"The best of friends," Frank grinned.

"You know," Bess raised an eyebrow as she leaned back in her seat, "Most people marry their best friend."

It was then that Nancy just wanted to smack her head into the headrest so hard she'd sustain a concussion and maybe pass out. Frank, though, was the one who spoke first. "Perhaps…but maybe-"

"Informant!" Nancy suddenly yelled. Frank whipped his gaze over to see her pointing wildly out the driver's side window. By the time Frank even saw the man silhouetted by a nearby street lamp, Nancy was halfway out of the car. She sent up a silent thanks for getting her out of the sea of awkwardness. Compared to relationships, solving even the most complicated of mysteries was easy.

Frank followed the redhead's lead and rushed out of the car. He caught up with Nancy and together they darted towards the mysterious figure. "Come on, you two!" he called over his shoulder.

"Coming!" Joe yelled, fumbling with the lock on the door handle. To Bess, he whispered, "Just when it was getting good!"

"Don't worry," she chuckled while stepping out onto the asphalt. "We can pick the flowers later!"

"Bess! Joe!" Nancy's voice urged them on.

The young couple shared a glance, then Bess grabbed Joe's hand in her own and sprinted towards the other two detectives. "Wait for us!"

THE END.