A/N- Well, I can't complain about not getting reviews here! Looks like the majority wants to read about Nancy and Frank. Who can blame them? They are the perfect couple. Some people want me to mix some Callie/ Ned in there. Maybe I will. And, in response to Sarah Skywalker's review, there is no way it will go any farther than kissing. Anyway, please read and review. Thanks!
Disclaimer: Nobody in this story whom you recognize is mine. The plot is mine, though, unless a dead person communicated it to me in a dream. But I don't think that happened. The place is mine too. I made it up. (Not South Carolina, that's real, just the town of La Muerta)
That night, George and Vanessa sat on George's bed watching a tennis match on television. Bess lay back on her bed, thinking. Only hours ago she and Vanessa had walked in to Callie's room to find her locked in Ned's embrace. They had greeted him, pretending they hadn't seen anything. Surely it was nothing, Callie and Ned were friends, and it was just a hug. There was nothing wrong with that.
Maybe it was Bess's romantic nature, but she couldn't just let that be that. What if there was something going on between Ned and Callie? What would Frank and Nancy think? Bess's thoughts shifted to them. She had accidentally witnessed them kissing at the end of a case they had solved in Egypt. She had pretended it hadn't happened. Neither she nor Nancy had ever talked about it, but now the thought was fresh in her mind.
Nancy and Frank? It was plausible, probable even. The wheels in Bess's head turned faster now. What if she stepped in to play matchmaker? No serious manipulation or anything, she figured, all they needed was a little push in the right direction...
Bess sat up abruptly, causing the other girls to look at her. Should she share her plan with them? Of course, she decided. She would need all the help she could get.
"Guys," Bess ventured. "I just had a brilliant idea." She stopped there, waiting for the sarcastic response she expected from George.
"Oh boy," said George, right on schedule. "Here we go."
Bess shook her head. "I think we should set up Frank and Nancy." The words came out faster than she wanted them to, and she realized that the others might not think it was smart to meddle in their friends' love lives.
Vanessa gave her a look that said, 'Why would we want to do that?' Bess expected that; Vanessa hadn't ever seen the Nancy/ Frank chemistry in action.
George, on the other hand, said sarcastically, "Oh, great idea, Bess. I suppose Ned and Callie already gave their blessings?"
Bess rolled her eyes. "Don't be stupid, we'll set Ned up with Callie!" Her voice was exasperated, as if she couldn't see why her simple plan was so hard to understand.
By this time, Vanessa was really confused. Frank and Nancy? Ned and Callie? "Um, Bess? Why?" Her question came out forcefully.
Bess explained earnestly. "Because Frank and Nancy are perfect for each other." she said simply. George didn't contradict her this time.
But Vanessa had more questions. "What if they don't want to be set up?"
Bess smiled, "The point is, they don't know we're playing matchmaker until after they realize that they're in love!"
"But what about Callie? She's my best friend!" Vanessa countered. "I can see her taking offence to having her boyfriend fall in love with Nancy!"
George jumped in. "Really, Callie and Ned are in the same position as Nan and Frank..." she said slowly, as if she were starting to grasp the concept.
Bess beamed at her cousin. "Exactly! Who's to say that Callie and Ned aren't soul mates too?"
Vanessa smiled then too. This was starting to sound like fun! But she had one last question. The big one. "What if they don't fall in love?"
Bess considered this for a moment. "They will." she said confidently. "They've been in love since the beginning, but they're too stubborn to accept it. Now's the perfect time to get them to see that." She looked around. "Well?"
George nodded. "I'm in!"
The cousins watched Vanessa as she considered the options. A smile spread over her face as she said, "Let's do it!"
"Let's do what?" Joe Hardy poked his head through the door, then entered and sat next to Vanessa on the bed. "Who's winning?" he asked.
The girls all stared at him, confused. "The match?" Joe said, gesturing towards the TV.
"Oh!" George said. "Um, I don't know. We weren't really paying attention."
"It doesn't matter." Joe said. "Now, let's do what?" he asked, not giving up.
Vanessa gave Bess and George a look that said, 'Can we tell him?'
Simultaneously, George nodded 'yes' and Bess shook her head 'no.'
Now Joe was really curious. "What? What is it?" he asked.
Bess sighed. She was really worried that Joe wouldn't like the idea of setting up his own brother, but she reluctantly nodded 'yes.'
Vanessa started to explain. "We decided to set up Frank and Nancy-" but Joe cut her off.
"That's it?" he snorted. "The big secret? You think I've never thought of that?"
This certainly wasn't the reaction Bess had been expecting, but she was relieved that he wasn't angry. "Well, if you're so clever, why haven't you done anything about it?"
Joe slid his arm around Vanessa's waist. "One, it isn't really my business; two, Callie and Ned; and three, if Frank found out, he'd kill me!" he paused for a moment and then mused, "'Course, then he would have to investigate the crime..."
Bess grinned. "Funny, funny, funny, Joe. Well, would it clear your conscience a little if we set up Ned and Callie as well?"
"Callie and Ned?" Joe looked surprised, then impressed. "Sure, why not?"
George spoke quietly. "Okay, now we know what we are going to do, but how are we actually going to do it?"
A/N- Suggestions anyone? I kinda feel like I'm backing myself into a corner. It took a whole chapter just to decide to play matchmaker, now they actually have to set them up! But I kept this chapter because I like it, in spite of all the dialogue. If anyone has some ideas on how to set them up, please let me know! (Otherwise I may catch a bad case of writer's block!) Also, I thank Avelyn Lauren for the idea of having their friends set them up.
To all the non-romance people: There is a mystery, it just hasn't occurred yet. Hold your horses.
PLEASE REVIEW!