A/N: I don't own Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys, Callie or Ned or any others…This is my first fanfic, so please review. The second chapter is up. Please let me know how you think about it.
"Stop pacing up and down, Frank. They'll here soon" said Callie, Frank's girlfriend.
"I know Callie. It's just the case. I can't stop thinking what to do. I'm at a total dead end. I don't think that inviting Nancy was a great idea you know. Maybe I put her in a grave danger by asking her to come here."
"Don't worry Frank. I'm sure that she'd want to know if her life is in danger. Wouldn't you want to know if your life was in danger? At least she can stay alert now." said Callie.
Frank stopped pacing and turned towards Callie. "Did I ever tell you that your ability of never finding any faults in me is simply wonderful?" asked Frank. Callie just smiled.
Nancy and her friends arrived at Bayport Airport after two hours.
"Nancy, where's Frank?" asked Bess.
Nancy scanned the airport when she found a tall handsome guy with brown hair walking towards them. She smiled at him which faltered a little on seeing a girl with him.
"Nancy! Well am I glad to see you" cried Frank pulling Nancy into a big hug which normally lasted a second longer than necessary. "Glad to see you too, Frank" said Nancy melting into his hug but pulled apart.
There was an awkward pause and then Nancy began to introduce them all. "Frank, I'd like you to meet Bess, her cousin George and my boyfriend N…Ned" said Nancy. She felt like kicking herself on stammering while introducing Ned as he stole a glance at her.
"Nice to meet you all" said Frank "And I'd like you to meet my girlfriend Callie."
"Nice to meet you" they all said after shaking hands.
"So where are you all staying, by the way?" asked Frank.
"We are gonna stay at Hotel Sunshine. Then after explaining the case on which you are working on, you're going to show Bess, George and Ned around Bayport and I'll be sitting in the room trying to find leads in the case. Does that sound OK to you all?" asked Nancy.
Noticing that all of them were staring at her she added "What? I had figured what to do in the plane."
"The same old Nancy I used to know…Always figure everything beforehand. You haven't changed at all, have you?" asked Frank.
Nancy blushed "No. And I'm sure you haven't too, right?"
"Yup, I'm the same old man who never changes, just as Joe says" said Frank.
"OH MY GOD! I almost forgot about Joe. How is he?" asked Nancy.
"Don't worry. He's fine. He's in the hospital. You want to see him?" asked Frank.
"Yeah. I'm sure we all would like to see him after we have dumped our bags at the hotel" said Bess. "So Frank… is he still the same old Joe? It's been a while sine I last saw you guys at River Heights. Does he have a girlfriend yet?"
"Um…no…I don't think Joe has found a girlfriend yet. Why are you asking?" asked Frank.
This time Bess blushed. "Oh…um…just asking. You know how similar our hobbies are"
"Yeah what a terrific hobby: flirting with every guy/girl (in case of Joe) you meet" added George.
"Everyone has their own personalities. My personality is unique…"
"Unique?? In what way may I ask?"
"No…"
"Stop bickering you guys…We are here to have fun remember?" said Nancy.
"Actually and technically, we'rehere to have fun while you're here to solve a case, right?" said Bess.
"Um…yeah…you could say that" said Nancy stealing a glance at Ned who had remained silent most of the time. His face was unreadable. Nancy sighed. Maybe bringing Ned wasn't such a good idea. Well I'll have to stop overreacting at anything Frank says, thought Nancy.
They took a cab to Hotel Sunshine after Frank and Callie had left. They had promised to meet them at the hospital after half an hour. They had two rooms, a single bedded and a triple bedded. After dumping their bags in their rooms, Bess and George had gone off for some refreshments. Nancy was alone in her room when there was a knock at her door. "Come in!" said Nancy. The door opened and there was Ned standing at the door.
"Ned, come in and sit down" said Nancy as she started making room for him to sit.
"Thanks Nan." His voice did not sound right to her. "What's up Ned? You have been exceptionally quiet after meeting Frank. Is everything all right?" asked Nancy concerned.
He hesitated before answering her. "Yes Nan. It's just…seeing you with Frank is making me kinda…um…what do they say…um…a bit jealous. You seem so happy with him."
Nancy sighed deeply. "Ned, we've been through this argument before and I just want you to realize that I love you and only you. Not anyone else…Ok? Don't you love me?" asked Nancy.
Ned was caught offguard at Nancy's question. "Of course I love you Nancy. I can't imagine my life without you. It's just…whenever I'm around Frank, I remember our argument and it makes me sad. That's all"
"Let's just forget about it Ned. I love you and only you" said Nancy as both of them leaned forward and their lips met in a heartmelting kiss. It continued until there was a huge bang at the door opening and both of them pulled apart as they heard a totally bewildered Bess say "OPPS!! Um… forgive me for interrupting you guys. I'll be leaving."
"Huh" sighed Nancy. "I must say Bess does have a knack for interrupting us."
"Let's go the hospital to meet Joe now. Bess and George must have waiting" said Ned.
They all took a cab to the hospital to meet Joe where they found Frank waiting for them.
"In which ward is Joe, Frank?" asked Nancy. "He's in ward no. 403. He has grown tired waiting for you guys. He is really anxious to meet Bess" added Frank giving Bess a wink. "Ok…Ok guys. I admit that I've missed Joe but stop teasing me."
"You deserve it Bess…After what happed today" said Nancy. "What happened?" asked Frank. "Oh nothing" said Nancy as a faint blush appeared on her and Ned's cheeks. "Ok…." said Frank as a raging battle started in his mind. I guess Bess had again ran into them kissing or something…But why is bothering me? No way! I'm not bothered about Nancy with Ned. No sireee. I'm not at all bothered. Nope. I have Callie. She is my girlfriend. I AM NOT BOTHERED!!! I DON"T CARE IF NANCY KISSES NED. NO WAY!!!
He was so preoccupied in his thoughts that he didn't realize Nancy and the others had already gone inside Joe's ward. He kept up the battle inside in head. Why am I so nervous in front of Nancy? Why do her smile, her eyes and her voice fascinate me? Her thoughts are so similar to mine. She thinks on the same lines as I do. She has a great passion for mysteries. She is just like me. When she listens to me, it's because she finds an interest in what I have to say. Not like Callie who listens just because she has to listen. Callie doesn't have any interest in mysteries. She doesn't understand my passion for solving cases. Nancy is so not like her. She is much more reasonable…much more my type…YIKES! What am I doing? I am comparing Callie with NANCY!!? I have totally gone out of my mind. If Callie found out what I was thinking right now, she'd really kill me! No way. I have got to stop thinking about Nancy.
"Frank…? Frank??... FRANK!" shouted George.
"Ye...Yeah? George why in name of hell are you shouting at the top your voice? You almost made me deaf!" said Frank.
"Well…you seemed so preoccupied in your thoughts that I had to shout. What were you thinking about? You looked as if you were in some kind of trance or something. Are you alright? Joe was asking where you were" said George.
"Oh have you guys already met with Joe?"
"Yeah. The others are with him inside. Come on. Joe sent me to get you" said George.
"Man guys. What took you so long to come? I was really getting sick of listening to the doctor's jabbering" complained Joe as he say Nancy, Ned, Bess and George come in.
"Sorry Joe. And anyway the doctor said that you could be released today" said Nancy as she gave him a hug. "I was so worried Joe. And I'm sorry…"
"Why are you sorry?" asked Joe bewildered as he received hugs from George and Bess.
"It was my fault that you got hurt. That psycho was after me and you ended up in hospital because of me…I'm sorry"
Joe stared at her incredulously. "Nancy, have you gone crazy or something? I think maybe too much knowledge is making your brain work the wrong way. It's nobody's fault that I ended up in the hospital with this stupid concussion and these stupid broken ribs. I guess it is my fault for not paying attention but it is not your fault. You got that?"
"Yeah…but still…"started Nancy but Joe interrupted her "Hey, has anybody seen my weirdo brother? I thought he was with you guys."
"He was…a minute ago. Maybe he's waiting outside. I'll get him" said George as she exited.
After an hour or so Joe was discharged from the hospital. They took Frank's car to their apartment where Joe greeted his worried parents. "Hey Mom, hey Dad…what's for dinner?" asked Joe as he gave his mother a hug. "Well honey, here's the proof that Joe is perfectly fine…the first thing he thinks about is food" smiled Fenton hardy as he gave his son a hug.
"Dad, I am a growing boy" said Joe as he went upstairs to his room.
"He will never change…Nancy! It is so nice to see you again…you have grown a bit, I see. And who are your friends?" said Laura Hardy as she greeted Nancy. "It's great to see you too, Mrs. Hardy…" began Nancy. "Uh…uh…it's Laura to you all" interrupted Laura.
"Ok" said Nancy smiling. "Laura, this is George, Bess and Ned. They are here to spend the vacation in Bayport, it's such a wonderful place." "But I don't think you're here for any vacation, right Nancy?" asked Fenton.
"Yes…um, actually Fenton, I'm here to look into the case Frank and Joe has been working on. They said they might need some help." "Alright dear, but don't get into anything too dangerous. You know how worried I get about you all. It makes me anxious…" said Laura.
"Don't worry Laura. Everything will be fine. Now I have to go and talk to Frank and Joe about the case and see if I can help them solve it" said Nancy as she and the others headed to Frank's room.
"Ok…so tell me about the case from the beginning" said Nancy as all of them settled down on the bed and the sofa.
"Ok…but it's a really long story. It all started when these strange murders started happening. The victims…who were all girls about the same age as we are i.e. 20-21 years were being murdered by some tall, dark haired guy who always wore a black mask. The real sick part was that he tortured these girls to death but didn't let them die quickly. He handed them each a note and left them to suffer the pain at the side of the roads. Their bodies were found by passers-by and were taken to the hospital but after giving the note and after describing the man, they died…" Frank stopped to look at Nancy before continuing.
Nancy's face was unreadable, but she smiled at him when she found him looking her and motioned for him to continue. "Then, we followed some clues which led us to an apartment where he was hiding…Joe was searching the rooms when I heard him scream. I was looking around the house and came inside quickly to find him lying on the floor, thankfully, with less blood loss. Then I quickly called 911 and the ambulances came quickly but we couldn't catch that crook. And I think Joe should describe his encounter with that crook now" finished Frank.
Joe looked at them all and continued. "Well, as Frank said. I was searching the rooms where I found a laptop on a table. I was just about to search its contents when I heard a noise from behind. I turned around when something, I think was a baseball bat hit me pretty hard on the back of my head. Fortunately I did not pass out. But I was having some problems on concentrating on his face, I was seeing stars actually. Well anyway, he tried to run for it but I caught up with him when he twirled me and threw me down the stairs…and believe me, falling down three flights of stairs is no laughing matter. I think that he escaped by the fire-exit. Darn it! We were so close on catching him but we don't have any clues yet to catch him. We don't even know who he is."
"I think that I should go check out that apartment. But I think you guys should show me the notes that our killer has been leaving behind and tell me why you think that this person after me" said Nancy.
"Alright Nancy but I think you all should rest for a while now. You look really tired up. We will show you those notes later" suggested Frank.
"Yeah Nan, he has a point. We're all tired and I think the mysteries can wait. Let's go back to the hotel. We're here only for a few weeks and we need all our energy to explore this place" said Ned.
"Alright, but you're going to give me all the notes and the clues that you guys followed tomorrow, ok? Let's go guys" said Nancy as she and the others went downstairs.
Laura Hardy saw them coming downstairs from the kitchen and went outside to see them. "Are you all finished? Wouldn't you stay for dinner?" asked Laura.
"No Laura but I'm going to come again tomorrow to see what Frank and Joe has been following. Then I'm going to hunt down that crook who has been killing of all those innocent victims… But you don't have to worry. I'm gonna be fine" she added hastily on seeing the expression on Laura's face.
"Be very careful dear" said Laura.
"Bye Nancy. When are you going to come tomorrow?" asked Frank.
"By 8. Be up and about by then, Joe" said Nancy.
"Don't worry about me, Nan. I'll be up and about by 7" said Joe smirking.
A/N: Please review…If anyone has any type of ideas, please don't hesitate…I welcome ideas.
No cliffhanger. The next chapter will take some time. I've got tuitions coming.