A/N: Thanks everyone for reading and reviewing! I say it all the time, to the point where I'm sure I'm annoying…but man, I love to hear your thoughts! So, thank you! Thanks also to everyone who continues to read! Enjoy!
angry penguin: Lol, I wish Joe had thought to call Bess or George…that's a very good idea. :) Thank you so much for the review!
RedHardy: Three things: I'm glad you like the Joe/Vanessa stuff :) You're the expert! Second, I knew that you were going to be irritated with Nancy…I just knew it! lol. And third, I'm sorry…I really hope you don't mind but I kind of leeched off the concept of Frank in the shower…I just couldn't help myself! That scene in your story has totally stuck with me… :) Please, don't hurt me!
Cheryl: No need to apologize! I hope things start to get better soon! I love writing Nancy as a "normal" girl…well, as normal as the most popular girl detective in the world can get. :) Thank you so much for taking the time to review, I really appreciate it.
Ukfan101: thank you for the review! Yeah, I got the idea for the "renumerate" thing from my little brother. He's always confusing words. :) It's pretty adorable.
Bhar: I love Nancy, but I happen to like Callie too and I never like it when she's made out to be the bad guy. I'm glad you agree with me!
Whitetigers: glad you enjoyed the ending, ...smirks…I did too! lol. I hate talking on the phone too, I was a receptionist for awhile and that cured me from phone conversations for the rest of my life. I wish I could throw my cell phone in a lake somewhere. :)
MissMe113: thank you for the review! I've been craving the zoo lately, too. :) How fun would it be to go to the zoo with the Hardy brothers?
The Three Minute Deal
Chapter 29
"Just think," Nancy said the next morning, "we get to do this every day, from now on." She smiled happily in the mirror at Frank who was busy running a towel over his wet hair.
"It's great, isn't it?" Frank replied and returned the smile. Still smiling Nancy brought her toothbrush up to her mouth and began brushing her teeth trying to look seductive. Frank laughed, "That's very attractive."
Nancy laughed and ducked her head down to spit in the sink, "we're so insatiable."
"Tell me about it," Frank laughed and left the bathroom to get changed. Nancy liked the fact that they were able to get ready for the day together comfortably. Frank had hopped in the shower and Nancy had come in to brush her teeth, no worries.
That didn't mean that it hadn't taken Herculean strength of will not to jump Frank's bones as soon as she pictured him in the shower. That she hadn't gritted her teeth in disappointment when Frank had come out of the shower already wearing a towel around his hips. Yet, at the same time she had been extremely grateful, because Frank looked really good rocking a towel.
No, they were comfortable with one another but she knew she'd never get that comfortable. The idea brought a smile to her lips as she rinsed out her mouth and left the bathroom quickly. Frank's back was to her as he faced his closet to pull out his clothes for the day. Nancy grinned wickedly and ran across the room.
She launched herself onto his back and began nibbling at his ear playfully, "Hey Frank, guess what I want to do," she said her voice light.
"What's that?" Frank laughed and turned his head into her kiss.
"Guess," Nancy said again and bit lightly on Frank's bottom lip.
"You're feeling playful," Frank observed but his eyes had gone dark with longing.
"Uh huh," Nancy said and pulled Frank to the bed.
Soon he was kissing her again and he pulled away slightly to murmur against her lips, "you taste like mint."
"Oh the aphrodisiac toothpaste," Nancy said knowledgeably, "it is very powerful, it's full of strengths and mysterious powers that have never been uncovered." Frank laughed and then he was kissing her again.
"Let's uncover them then," he suggested and Nancy was too far gone to form an articulate response.
... ... ... ... ... ...
Nancy sighed lazily. Who knew that it only took a certain…activity to make her and Frank feel very, very lazy. If only they had known on Sunday. Nancy was feeling so relaxed that she didn't even care that Frank was laying on one of her arms and one of her legs was twisted awkwardly around his middle.
Frank began to move and Nancy groaned in protest, "I'm crushing your arm," Frank explained and she pulled her arm out from under him when he sat up a little bit. He pulled her into his arms and they both settled back into bed a bit more comfortably. "That's better," Frank sighed.
"For who?" Nancy grumbled. She had actually quite liked the feeling of his weight on her, the feeling that they were so…lost that they didn't care how twisted up they were.
"For me," Frank replied, "I can't relax thinking that you might be uncomfortable."
Nancy smiled up at him, "you're the greatest," she said sincerely.
"Ditto," Frank responded.
Nancy looked around the apartment, "this place is already starting to feel like home." She felt Frank stiffen slightly under her and she looked back at him, "what is it?"
"Nothing," Frank said quickly and leaned down to distract her with a steamy kiss. Nancy had a split second to understand what he was trying to do before she couldn't think anymore.
"Chet!" Joe called from his perch on Frank's new back deck. He refused to sit in an actual chair, thinking that it made him look more like an invalid than he cared to. In truth, he was itching to get up to help and knew he would soon, but he and Vanessa had compromised on the seating arrangement and he'd humor her awhile longer. "Chet!" he repeated, "it's not an anaconda, stop trying to choke the life out of the Christmas lights!"
His assembled group of friends laughed and turned to look at Chet who indeed, looked to be trying to wrestle a huge pile of white Christmas lights, "it's not that simple! All of these lights Tony brought are knotted up!" Liz stood next to him holding whatever strands Chet had been able to untangle in her arms.
Tony shrugged, "we haven't used them in a few years. Mom decided one year she wanted every single Christmas light to be white and so we bought out the entire stock at the store. She was bored with it in a couple of days and we took them down, threw them in a box and…presto! Instant white Christmas light knot, the greatest the world has ever seen!"
The group laughed again and everyone went back to their activities. Joe picked up another white paper lunch sack and neatly cut it in two. He had no idea why he was doing this; he only knew that Vanessa had told him to cut the bags exactly in half. So he did.
He quickly finished the rest and saw that he had quite a large stack of cut in half white paper lunch sacks, "Vanessa!" he called, "what do I do with these?"
"Open them up!" she called back. She and Callie were busy string the Christmas lights Chet had been able to untie all around the back yard.
Joe had been surprised to see Callie drive up that morning; he hadn't thought that Vanessa would invite her to this. He was worried about how all of this would affect Callie but she seemed happy and content and genuinely wanted to help get the place ready for the surprise.
Callie and Vanessa had two of the large bushes that lined the back fence already completely covered. There seemed to be no end to the white lights and Joe was sure the place wasn't going to need any additional lighting at all when it turned dark and they turned the Christmas lights on.
"O-o-okay," he said drawing out the 'o'. He had no clue what he was doing but he pretended anyway. When he had a sea of opened lunch bags around him he looked up again, "what's next?"
Vanessa came over and pulled a large bag of tea lights out of one of her shopping bags, "put one of these in each bag," she instructed.
"Why?" Joe asked this didn't make any sense.
"Just do it," she instructed and reached into the shopping bag again, "and when you run out, use these." She handed him a second bag of tea lights.
"Sheesh," Joe muttered under his breath and opened the first bag, "you'd think they were getting married."
"Joe, this is their first house…together," she rolled her eyes as if everything was obvious. "We have to make this really special!"
"Okay, okay," Joe said throwing his hands up in defense. "I'll put the candles in the flammable paper bags. No problem."
Vanessa laughed, "They're called tea lights and trust me the bags won't catch fire."
Joe snorted, "Tea lights, she says," he mumbled. Vanessa laughed and reached down to give him a quick kiss before rushing back to Callie and a waiting strand of white lights. Soon Joe was finished with his task. He stood up, unable to sit any longer. He watched as Phil and Biff argued over how to raise the volleyball net in the far corner of the yard. It appeared that Phil was trying to come up with some sort of mathematical equation on how to raise it and Biff simply wanted to get started and figure it out as they went.
Joe shook his head, the Hardy's friends were very diverse, "Vanessa," he called, "where do you want these?" he swept his arm out to indicate the army of what he considered to be fire hazards waiting to happen.
"Um," Vanessa bit her lip and looked around at all of their friends, each busy with their own task, "well…" she didn't want Joe to move, even though he was already standing. She was hoping a nice sit down project would suddenly pop up but nothing came immediately to mind. "You can leave them there and we'll do them in a bit," she finally said.
"Har har," Joe replied and picked up a few of the bags, "I think I can handle carrying around a few paper bags. Where do you want them?" He completely missed Chet and Tony exchange a knowing smirk.
"Well," Vanessa seemed reluctant but seeing Joe's determined stance she gave in. After all, she would rather he did something that wasn't too strenuous. "Line them up around the deck, evenly spaced and place one on each of the tables, to start." She pointed at the circular tables the rental company had dropped off early that morning, each table was covered in a bright green table cloth. Joe's mouth had dropped open when the rental truck had pulled up that morning but he had found he couldn't protest the happiness he saw on Vanessa's face. He had just gritted his teeth and signed the invoice.
Joe began to carefully place the bags where Vanessa had instructed, hoping he was doing it right. They didn't look like much to him, but then, this party business wasn't really his thing. He could admit however, that the place was starting to look like it could hold a party.
"How long are you going to take off of work?" Callie's voice carried across the yard to Joe's ears. He listened carefully; this was something he was curious about as well.
"Probably the rest of the week," Vanessa replied in a quiet voice, as if she knew Joe was trying to eavesdrop.
"Really? Weren't you just on vacation?" Callie asked. Joe made himself bend over to place another of the white bags; he didn't want it to look like he was listening in.
"Yeah, but its okay. My boss understands I think. Joe needs me right now…" her voice trailed off and she added in barely a whisper, "he didn't sleep well last night."
Callie paused, "what do you mean?"
'Good question,' Joe thought to himself. He didn't remember any specific nightmares, but he remembered that his sleep had been filled with dark spaces.
"He kept kind of…moaning and whimpering," Vanessa whispered and Joe strained his ears to hear, "and the spasms are worse when he sleeps."
Joe cringed, he had hurt Vanessa and he hadn't even known it. He didn't know how, but he was going to fix this. An involuntary shudder went through his body and he felt a small measure of satisfaction when he was able to keep the trembles from showing. He was getting better and better at hiding them, at least when he was awake.
His father walking around the side of the house brought Joe out of his reverie. "Hey Dad," he called and raised his hand in welcome.
"Hey Joe," Fenton smiled and then looked at the rest of the people in the yard, "hello everyone." Everyone repeated the greeting and Fenton looked back at his son, "I have the barbecue."
"Great," Joe stepped off the deck, "I'll help you with it."
"Joe, I don't think…" Fenton began but Joe cut him off.
"Dad, please let me help you with the barbecue," he grabbed his father's arm and quickly led him out of the backyard, "we've got to move quickly or she'll stop me."
Fenton chuckled, "as she should, son. You shouldn't be up and around like this."
"Trust me dad, I've been doing a lot of sitting and lying around," Joe groaned, "I don't know how much more I can take. Let me help you with the barbecue so I can feel manly again, she has me making decorations," he shuddered at the word.
Fenton smiled, "Joe, I value my life. I don't think I should let you do this."
Joe rolled his eyes, "Fenton Hardy is afraid of a thin blonde woman who doesn't even have long nails?"
"Yes," Fenton replied very seriously, "and to be completely honest with you I'm rather terrified of what your mother would do if I let you help me. Not to mention what Frank would do to me."
Joe sighed, "They don't have to know I helped you." They had reached the back of the SUV now and Fenton had lifted up the hatch while they had been arguing.
Before Joe could reach past his father and grab one end of the barbecue huge beefy arms pushed him out of the way and reached into the trunk. Chet, with seeming no effort at all, pulled the barbecue out of the back and smiled at Joe, "Vanessa sent me," he said.
"Of course," Joe groaned and reached into the back for the propane tank.
His father beat him to it, "I've got that," he said and pulled it out of the trunk, "Joe, why don't you grab that," he motioned with his chin and began following Chet to the back of the house.
Joe looked at what his father had indicated and groaned. It was a pile of his father's barbecue tools. "Pathetic," he muttered and grabbed the tools and shut the back of the SUV violently. He stomped after his father and Chet, ignoring his body's protest at the unnecessary exertion.
He was so ready for this whole, "Joe's an invalid keep him resting" thing to be over with.
Later that evening Joe and Vanessa stood on the back porch of Frank and Nancy's new house and surveyed their handiwork, all of their friends had left awhile ago. "Great job Van," Joe said and pulled her closer to her side and kissed her temple, "it looks fantastic."
"Thank you," Vanessa smiled and Joe saw the Christmas lights reflecting in her eyes, making them sparkle.
Vanessa and Callie and later Biff, Chet and Tony had wrapped all of the shrubs and bushes in the backyard with white lights and had strung them around the white gazebo they had set up to go over the food. The volleyball net had been set up and secured, in spite of the differences of opinion from Phil and Biff. The barbecue was set up and waiting, the food was in the fridge, the tables had their table cloths on them and their centerpieces which had expanded to include some sort of grouping of white flowers Vanessa had pulled out of her bag.
There were paper lanterns hanging from different places around the yard, Biff and Chet had suspended them using rope so that the lanterns floated above the tables. Everything looked absolutely perfect.
"One more thing," Vanessa murmured and reached into the last bag. She pulled out a basketball, "I figured I'd bring this just in case we forgot tomorrow." She tossed it toward the basketball court and it rolled to a stop next to the grass.
Joe was reminded of his conversation yesterday with his brother and he was absurdly touched that Vanessa would remember a basketball. She looked up at him, "Joe, are you alright?"
Joe nodded, not sure how to explain that a simple basketball had gotten him so emotional. It was embarrassing, "I'm fine Vanessa, really. I'm just so amazed how well you've pulled this off. You didn't forget anything and it looks great."
Vanessa smiled and kissed Joe's cheek, "we work well together."
"You're right," Joe agreed and opened his eyes wide as if something had just occurred to him, "hey, you wanna get married?"
"Sure!" Vanessa responded enthusiastically, "where's the rock, boy?"
"You're wearing it," he pointed at the ring on her finger and couldn't help but smile. No matter how long she had been wearing it, he still had the same reaction.
"This was given to me by my other boyfriend," Vanessa smirked, "I want a ring." She held her hand out expectantly, "come on!" she urged.
Joe did something she wasn't expecting then as he grabbed her outstretched hand in his and pressed his lips against her palm. The surprisingly romantic gesture had her teasing smile frozen on her face. Joe slowly flipped her hand over and repeated the move on the back of her hand before letting their joined hands drop and he stepped closer to her. He ran his fingers through her hair and laid his lips gently on hers, "I can't wait to make you Mrs. Joe Hardy," he breathed.
Vanessa melted, "let's do it now," she said breathlessly as her knees trembled, "forget the wedding. Let's elope."
Joe chuckled and pulled away slightly, "no way. Now that I've seen what you can do in an empty backyard, I can't wait to see what you've done with our wedding."
"Hey guys!" Frank's enthusiastic voice broke into the mood and shattered. Joe smiled and looked at his brother who was coming through the back gate. "I finally found a suitable excuse to get away from Nancy for awhile; she's got radar like you would not believe. Courtesy of the FBI I guess. Anyway…" his voice trailed off when he saw Joe and Vanessa. "Oops, am I interrupting something?" he didn't look the least bit embarrassed.
Joe and Vanessa answered at the same time, "No," she said.
"Yes," Joe replied.
Vanessa smiled, "we were just finishing up."
Frank looked around the backyard and smiled, "it looks incredible, great job Vanessa!"
"I helped too," Joe grumbled.
"Yeah right, this was clearly all Vanessa," Frank pointed at the lights and decorations, the hanging lanterns.
"He made those," Vanessa said pointing at the bags with the tea lights.
"You made decorations?" Frank's eyes gleamed mischievously, "in front of the guys?"
Joe decided to ignore Frank and asked a different question, "What have you been up to all day?"
"Nancy and I went to the office, tied up some loose ends, made sure other things were happening the way we wanted them to," Frank shrugged.
"You went to work?" Joe asked in amazement.
"Yeah," Frank looked uncomfortable, "I like work."
"I'll say," Joe rolled his eyes, "leave it to Frank."
"What are you doing here, Frank? Not that this isn't your house or anything," Vanessa asked with a smile.
"I've got some set up of my own to do," Frank replied mysteriously.
"What-?" Joe began to ask but Vanessa quickly grabbed her bag and tugged on Joe's arm.
"Let's get out of here, we'll leave Frank to his own devices," she suggested and pulled Joe off the back deck.
She stopped next to Frank and threw her arms around him, "thanks," Frank said, "thank you so much. This is great." It was more than great; it was above and beyond his wildest expectations. He had been right about this party; it was going to help heal the people he loved. He could already see it working in Joe and Vanessa's eyes.
Vanessa understood what Frank was trying to tell her and she smiled and nodded, "see you tomorrow."
"Yeah, see you," Frank said and smiled at his brother, "later."
Frank watched as Joe and Vanessa walked around the house and out of the backyard, their arms around the each other.
He picked up the two bags he had carried with him and headed into the house, stopping to turn off the Christmas lights on his way in. With a few more trips down to his car Frank had everything he needed and got to work.
His last stop was the front living room and he paused in front of the fireplace. He pulled the dark wood frame out of his bag and carefully set it on the mantel. The frame held two pictures. The first was from their early days as a couple, the night they had gone ice skating with Vanessa and Joe. The second was more recent, taken on their vacation before the misery of the last week had happened.
He could remember taking the picture vividly. He and Nancy had been walking along the beach, Nancy collecting small colorful stones as they went. Frank was taking pictures of the ocean, the beach and Nancy. She had teased him about not being in any of the pictures before she grabbed the camera from him and had taken a picture of the two of them. The ocean in the background, his arms wrapped firmly around her, their faces close.
Frank smiled as he looked at the pictures now. Two great memories in a slew of great memories and it had only been eight months. Frank looked forward to framing a lot more pictures.
