Disclaimer: I don't own Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, or the characters associated with them.

Author's Notes: Thank you reviewers. I'm so sorry about the delay. I had writer's block, and then I had to go to a competition with my chorus and the fallback of missing school put off everything else. I'm very sorry, but I hope these updates will make up for it.

Being Under Pressure Isn't as Fun as the Song Made it Sound

Bess walked into the hotel elevator as if she owned it. Frank had been right. Escaping from the room the kidnapper's had placed her in had been easy. There was a window, left unlocked, next to a tree. All it had taken was a lady-like shimmy down the tree trunk, and a short jog through the neighbor's yard, and she had been free. Afterwards a quick phone call from a payphone had led her to Joe and Nancy's location, bringing her to where she was now, exiting the elevator and walking down the hall, straight to the room number that Joe had given to her. Raising her fist she rapped her knuckles against the door.

After a moment the door opened and Joe appeared, pulling her into a quick hug before stepping back. "You all right?" This was his only greeting. Her safety was more important than a courteous greeting.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Bess nodded. "This was probably the easiest kidnapping I've had in a while."

Joe smiled a little more at her ease. "So Frank's all right?" Then came his concern for his brother; that was what played second fiddle in his mind.

"The last time I saw him." She confirmed, trying to peek her head into the room. "Where's Nancy?"

"She's um…" Joe ushered Bess out of the room, stepping out with her and leaving the door open a slight crack. "She's resting."

"Oh."

Joe slipped into detective mode. Now he needed to learn everything he could about the situation. "So what happened?"

"We got in at the airport, three guys flashed their guns, and told us it was in our best interest to go with them, so we did."

"And then what happened? Did they talk to you at all or…"

"One of them." Bess started to play with her, pulling it away from her face. "He was really friendly. He kept trying to get us to talk. He also made it pretty clear from the beginning that getting us was all a way to get Nancy."

Joe thought for a moment. He had pretty much already gotten that the kidnapping had been to get to Nancy. It had been pretty obvious when the ransom note had arrived. But why the kidnapper had been friendly was a mystery to him. It was always his experience that kidnapper's hated it when their captives spoke, so why they were trying to get them to talk confused him. Everything else about the case made sense. "What else? Everything's important at this point."

Nancy slowly opened her eyes to find herself on the bed, alone, with a bit of a throbbing headache. After a brief moment, she remembered the fight with Joe, and then flying back into the wall. It was with a bit of realization that she came to the conclusion that Joe had moved her. Recalling the argument made her think a bit, causing her to wonder where Joe was if he was so concerned about her leaving. And then she heard the voices.

"There really isn't much else. Frank said they'd move him once they realized I was gone."

It was Bess. Nancy sat bolt upright, putting a hand to her head briefly at the slight dizziness that the abrupt movement had caused.

"Yeah by now they've probably brought him to the Aquatic Complex. That's where they want to meet Nancy."

That was Joe talking. Nancy quickly put things together as she stood. Bess was in the hall, talking to Joe. This meant that Bess had escaped the kidnappers. Frank was still being held by them, and that was a problem, but she had an idea. As Bess started to talk again, she stood.

"Frank said we had to be sure she doesn't do that."

"I know. She's really stubborn though. I'm gonna need your help when she wakes up."

Nancy crept quietly across the room, towards the back of the room where there was a door to the balcony. "Too late." She whispered a little regretfully. It wasn't that she wanted to leave and freak Joe out even more, but she couldn't just sit back and let Frank remain with the kidnappers. She made a decision as she looked down the building. It was a really easy climb. She could make it in a matter of moments…they were only on the third floor. With a quick sigh, she shut the balcony door loudly and started to hoist herself over the balcony.

Joe's head turned away from Bess when he heard the door slam from within the hotel room. "Wait here." He gave only a quick utterance of warning to Bess as he shoved the door open and dashed inside the room. The first thing he noticed was that Nancy was no longer in the bed where he had placed her. Instead of taking the time to think over this, he moved to the door of the balcony that he had heard close, tearing it open and stepping outside. Glancing down he saw a red-headed figure step away from the building, turn and begin to run. He didn't have to look twice to know who it was. "Nancy!" He shouted after her in a slightly angry tone. "Nancy!" He put his hands down on the railing with a sigh. He wasn't mad at her; he would have easily snuck out to go after Frank if she had been trying to keep him there. He was furious with himself.

"Joe, what's going on?" Bess questioned quietly from behind him. "Where's Nancy?"

Bess' statement was just another tiny blow to Joe's ego. Even she hadn't listened to him. Not that he had expected her to, but saying things like that was habit. "She just climbed down the building." He informed turning around to face his blond friend. "I think she's on her way to the Aquatic Complex." There was a silence as he stepped into the room. It allowed him to think more about everything. And the more he thought the angrier he got with everything. "Damn it!" He turned again, slapping his hand against the wall, leaving it there as he leaned his forehead against it.

"Joe, it's not your fault." Bess informed, gently putting a hand on his shoulder. It was easy to read what was bothering him. For her anyways. She prided herself on being able to read the emotions of men.

"I know." He turned, running a hand through his hair. "I know that no matter what she would have found a way to get there."

"Then what's wrong? We go down to the Aquatic Complex and get her and your brother."

"It was my job to make sure she didn't get down there." Joe grabbed his jacket off the back of a chair. "They weren't going to hurt Frank as long as they didn't have her. And now that she's going down there the likelihood of them both getting caught and killed has…exponentially increased."

"And how often have they been in this situation?" Bess challenged.

"A ton. But never when the fallout of whatever happens was gonna fall on my shoulders." Joe slipped into his coat, his eyes settling on Bess. "Somehow I ended up as the adult in this situation Bess. My brother, and one of my best friends are in a bad situation and now I have to get them out of it. That's a lot of pressure."

"You've always been able to handle pressure, Joe. It's the key point of being a Hardy. You're great at it." Bess encouraged putting hands on his shoulders. "This is what you signed on for."

Joe glared a little. "You know I hate that you're right."

"Well I have to be." Bess smiled at his frustration. "This vacation is not over and this vacation was for Nancy's meltdown. Not yours. Now let's go and get her, and your brother, and then we can hook them up."

Joe laughed feeling less stress after the joke. "It's always gonna be about that with you isn't?"

"Well somebody has to keep their mind on what's important."

The cab that had brought Nancy to the Aquatic Center had barely left her standing in the parking lot when she saw a man, holding onto another man's arm, and standing at the foot of one dock. "Ms. Drew, if you would be so kind as to come over here." The man doing the holding shouted. It was then that she knew the other man was Frank, and that she would have to go over there.