Disclaimer: Not mine.
Ned was having trouble sleeping. Shifting uncomfortably in his bed, he couldn't seem to get his mind to stop working. Worrying about Vanessa, thinking about Nancy…and Callie. Sighing, he rolled out of bed, slipped a t-shirt on over his boxers, and went outside, intending to go for a walk. Somehow, though, he ended up outside Callie's door. Impulsively, he knocked.
The door swung open, revealing Callie, wearing flannel pants and a tank top. She blushed when she saw Ned. "Couldn't sleep, huh?" she asked.
"Right." Ned said uneasily, rubbing his neck.
"Me neither." Callie said. "I was watching The Patriot. Come on in."
Ned went in and sat on the couch across from the TV, and Callie closed the door and sat next to him. Watching her, Ned could tell that she wasn't really watching the movie, so he reached over and turned it off. "Want to talk?" he pried gently.
Callie smiled. "You're right. I wasn't really concentrating. I just feel so… helpless waiting here for the guys to find Vanessa. And Nancy." she added quickly. "Vanessa's my friend, and I can't help worrying about her."
"And you can't help worrying about Frank." Ned said quietly. "Because he could be doing something dangerous."
Callie laughed. "It's weird, but I get angry at Frank because I have to worry about him so much. He's always doing something dangerous. For a good cause, of course, but I think he could stay out of trouble if he really wanted to." She glanced at Ned. "Is that ridiculous?"
Ned shook his head. "Not at all." he said emphatically. "That's exactly how I feel about Nancy. I just hate being the one who does the worrying while she takes all the risks. And how I'm second fiddle to-"
"To whatever case has to be solved now." Callie finished.
"Yes!" Ned said. Finally, somebody who understood! When Ned told anyone else how he felt about Nancy's work, he ended up feeling selfish because Nancy was helping people and he wanted her to stop. But Callie felt the same way.
She smiled. "It's hard to talk about that with anyone else. I guess we're more alike than we thought."
"I guess so." Ned said. Looking at Callie, thoughts of the kiss they'd shared earlier came rushing back. He didn't want to say anything about it, but he thought they should talk. "Callie," he began, "About what happened earlier-"
Callie stopped him. "Do you want to forget it?" she asked guardedly.
Ned stared at her long and hard. "No." he said finally.
"Me neither."
Ned raised his eyebrows. "You don't." He repeated. "What happens next? I'm not even sure I know what I want anymore." he admitted.
"I think-" Callie stopped. "No. I know what I want." she answered, staring pointedly at Ned. She leaned forward and wound her arms around his neck. Seeing the surprise on his face, she blushed and said, "Ned… I'm sick of waiting around for Frank, and I think you feel the same about Nancy. We have chemistry, Ned. Can't you feel it?"
Ned kissed her. He could feel it.
Nancy, Joe, and Frank awoke the next morning with red eyes, stiff limbs, and tense anxiety. All day, the three waited around, only leaving the small, depressing room for breakfast and lunch. Some more sleep would have been nice, but they were too nervous to sleep. They didn't talk much either; nobody could concentrate on having a full conversation.
Joe almost suggested they forget the museum robbery and just rescue Vanessa themselves, but every time he opened his mouth he remembered Fiona's tears and her crying that the Mirage would kill the hostages if anything went wrong. Even if nothing went wrong. Joe shivered.
Frank paced restlessly, which was uncharacteristic for him. He was supposed to be the calm, logical one with the plans. But right now, he had nothing. He felt panicked, racking his brain to find a solution to their problem, but all he got was a headache and the sickening feeling that they were running out of time. He cast a sympathetic glance at Nancy, who was sitting on the bed and staring into space. They all felt she had gotten the worst assignment, and Frank would have done anything to help her…but there was nothing to be done.
Since he had talked to Nancy last night, they had acted somewhat disconnected from each other. They were polite and friendly, but nothing more. He realized that starting something with Nancy might be starting something he could not finish, but it was times like this when he felt like starting something anyway…
Nancy spoke up. "We should call Casa Verde." she said woodenly. She picked up the phone and had a sudden thought. "Frank? Did you call Callie yesterday?"
Frank stopped pacing. "Sure. I called from a pay phone while Joe and I were waiting for the pizza, but she didn't pick up."
"Oh." Nancy said absently. "That's when I was talking to her."
"Yeah?" said Frank, without much interest. "What'd she say?"
Nancy recalled the argument about the sleeping arrangements and almost laughed; it suddenly seemed pretty trivial. "Nothing much." she answered.
"I'll call her again later." Frank said. He really did not feel like talking to Callie now.
"There might not be a later." Joe mumbled morosely.
No one moved for a moment, each caught up in their own thoughts. The moment passed. Frank resumed pacing. Nancy dialed Casa Verde.
Someone picked up the phone. "Hello?" It was George.
Nancy smiled weakly at the sound of her friend's voice. "Hey, George, it's Nancy." Suddenly she realized that she didn't want to talk about what was going on here. "What's going on over there?" she asked.
George laughed. "Nothing. What's really important is how it's going over there." An idea seemed to occur to her. "Did you want to talk to Ned?"
"No! No." Nancy said quickly. "I mean, that's alright."
George sounded skeptical. "Are you okay? How's the investigation coming? Is Joe holding up okay?"
Nancy glanced at him. "Not really, pretty badly, and as well as can be expected."
"So…"
All of the sudden Nancy realized that she didn't want to talk about it. Not that she could, seeing as how it was completely illegal…
Joe stood up. "That George? Can I talk to her?"
Nancy willingly handed over the phone, only to freeze in her tracks as she heard a knock on the door. She met Frank's gaze. "What if we just don't answer that?" she whispered.
"I heard that." Charity's sickly-sweet voice made Nancy want to throw up. "Open the door."
Frank crossed the room and opened the door. Charity stood there clad in black with a jean jacket draped over her shoulders. "Ready to go?" she asked Frank.
Frank eyed her eager grin. "You're enjoying this!" he accused sourly.
Charity shrugged. "It's my passion. Now come on."
"Yeah…" Frank said in defeat. He looked over at his brother, who was talking on the phone in a soft voice, but still watching Charity. "Joe…"
Joe lowered the phone. "We'll be careful if you do." he assured Frank.
Frank smiled weakly. "Good." he paused. "I'll…see you later." His eyes met Joe's, then Nancy's.
Charity rolled her eyes. "This is really cute, but we got work to do, you know?"
"Where…Where's Fiona?" Nancy spoke up.
Charity glanced around furtively, as if she was afraid of eavesdroppers. "She'll be here for you and Joe in about an hour, around eleven." She straightened up, squared her shoulders in a businesslike manner, and said. "Let's move."
Frank steeled himself and followed her out without a backward glance.
A/N: Sorry about the long update, I've just been super busy lately.And yes, I know some of you are going to be mad at me for the Ned/Callie thing, but I think I've made my fav pairings pretty clear, so suck it up. And, of course, don't forget to review, it really keeps my mind on getting these chapters up faster. Thanks!