MEET ME IN CHICAGO (Chapter 3)

By: desert_vixen

Author's Notes: I know it's getting to be a wait in between stories, but my muse was a little annoyed at being thrown in my duffle bag and taken to Iraq. She seems to be getting over it.

Chronological Note: This story takes place one week after the end of "Connections". The general time frame for the stories is three years after the SuperMysteries, making the characters of legal drinking age.

I forgot in the first chapter, but I'd like to thank my fabulous beta Amy for keeping me from making silly mistakes in the story.

Also, disclaimer: I don't own any of the established ND/HB characters. And I'm in the Army, so suing wouldn't really be worth the money anyway…

Thanks for the comments on the first chapter!

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It was a beautiful morning, and he had not been able to run the last two mornings. That wasn't the primary factor in his decision to go for the five miles in unfamiliar territory. He needed the physical activity to burn off extra energy, and he admitted, frustration. The run also gave him time to think, let his mind wander a little. Falling asleep had not been easy, with the knowledge that Nancy was only steps away.

He had told her the truth when he'd said he hadn't been planning on anything happening. Or, he thought with a somewhat wry smile, at least not very concrete planning. Part of him wanted to kick himself for not following the Boy Scout motto, but overall it was probably better in this case. If he had been able to overcome one of her objections, she might have decided to ignore the other. As much as he wouldn't mind talking Nancy out of her clothes, she had a good point. There was no point in risking what they had. At least, that was what his brain was telling him.

He was trying to ignore the other small voice that wasn't as concerned with the future.

If she wasn't ready to take that step, he wouldn't push. Despite the long relationship that they shared – as friends who cared deeply about each other, who could work together almost seamlessly – the rational part of his brain knew they were coming at this new relationship from slightly different places. The breakup with Callie had been more mutual, less wrenching than he suspected Nancy's breakup with Ned had been, and more time had passed.

Frank had told Nancy the truth, that none of the girls he'd taken on a date had been anything serious, but he'd neglected to mention that he had taken one of them up on her no-strings-attached offer. He didn't really regret it, but it had not been something he could imagine doing again, either. He wanted Nancy, and if that meant waiting, he would deal with it. They had waited this long, and more time wouldn't kill either of them.

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She had not heard him slip out this morning, but she had woken up to find the guestroom door open. He had mentioned wanting to go for a run when they were out yesterday, she recalled. Part of her was a little relieved, and glad that she would have time to get herself collected. If it had been hard to go to sleep the first night, last night was even worse. It had been very nice to wake up cuddled next to him, his arm curled around her. She had made the first move in the dark without really thinking about it, and then her brain had started working again, only after she realized that he seemed to think going further – a lot further – was just fine.

Nancy knew she had done the right thing – but it hadn't stopped her from tossing and turning, or dreaming that she hadn't put the brakes on. That hadn't been a bad dream at all. Of course, in the dream, her actions had no consequences, and no chance of either of them deciding it had been a horrible mistake. Dreams were convenient like that, she thought in annoyance. Part of her still couldn't believe they were actually together, after all the times they had come up to the line and then walked away. They had always been close, except for the period when she had deliberately made herself step away, trying to keep Ned happy. The period when she had failed not only herself, but him. She didn't know that she could put a name to what the two of them had now, she only knew that she couldn't risk screwing it up.

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The apartment was still quiet when he came back inside, and he glanced at the clock. It was already close to ten, and he was going to have to head back to Bayport later this afternoon. The short weekend had been all either of them could really manage, although he was hoping to talk her into coming up for a weekend in New York. He had pulled off his shoes and socks when he heard her voice.

"Have a nice run?" He turned to see her standing there, smiling at him. "Good morning."

"Good morning," he answered. "It was pretty good. I've been lazing around the last few days."

She said nothing, but he looked like he was in fine shape to her eyes. He hadn't shaved yet, she noticed. "I was thinking maybe we could go out for a late breakfast."

"I need to shower and change first," he said.

"Frank, about last night-" She broke off, suddenly nervous again, despite the fact that she'd been rehearsing the words for about the last twenty minutes, all through her shower.

He reached out, took one of her hands in his. "It's really not a problem. We're still getting used to this whole relationship deal, and you're probably right about waiting."

"I'm glad you understand."

"Some more waiting won't kill us," he said quietly, echoing his earlier thoughts. He could see her visibly relax, and wondered, not for the first time, what her break up with Ned had been like. He didn't buy that the break up had been as cool and collected as the version she had told him, and wondered if that was playing into her nervousness.

"Thank you," she said softly.

"You could give me a real thank you," he said with a grin.

"If you insist," she said after a moment, a smile of her own on her face as she pulled her hand away from him, sliding her arms around his neck as he kissed her.

Nancy was mildly amused to notice the glance he shot at the front door after he pulled away from her. "Shouldn't your roommate be showing up right about now?" he said teasingly.

"Very funny," she replied. "Go take your shower."

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Nancy watched Frank pull his bag out of the back seat of the Mustang. It seemed like the weekend had flown by, and she almost couldn't believe they were back at the airport already. They had lingered over a long breakfast, and just enjoyed each other's company. It had been lovely to just be with each other, but now she found herself wishing they had more time before he had to leave her. It was part of the reason she had decided to drive back to River Heights from the airport – she didn't want to walk into the apartment without him, and start feeling lonely before he even got back to Bayport. So instead, she had decided to go home, where she knew Hannah would be cooking dinner.

"Do you have everything?"

Frank nodded. "I need to buy something to read inside, but other than that I'm good. It might be my last chance to read something that isn't a casefile. I'm sure Dad has a ton of work piled on my desk waiting for me."

"At least I don't have my father directly overworking me," Nancy said with a smile. "He leaves the actual taskmaster duties to Eleanor."

"It's not so bad," he said cheerfully. "You should come to Bayport and see."

"Maybe," she replied, sliding her hand through his as they walked through the parking area to the airport. "Except for the whole part where there's a houseful of Hardys."

He sighed. "There is that."

"Maybe you could come back for the Fourth of July weekend?" Nancy proposed after a moment. "Or you could give me a tour of Cornell." She tried not to think about the fact that the holiday was another three weeks away. Three weeks was not that long, she told herself. She had known going in that they were going to be separated, but it was harder than she had anticipated. She already missed him, and she hadn't even left the airport.

"That's a possibility."

She stood back as he checked in, and waited for him to be done with the process. They started moving in the direction of the gates, neither of them moving very quickly.

"You'll call me when you get home?" Nancy asked as they stood out of the way from the people starting to get in line for security screening. It was as close to private as they were going to get, she realized.

"Of course. You'll be back in River Heights?"

She nodded. "I'm going to get on the road as soon as I leave."

"Drive safely," he said as he wrapped his arms around her. Nancy rested her head against his shoulder for a moment before he kissed her, long and deep. She kept her arms around his waist, not wanting to let go.

"I promise," she said softly. "You should be going."

"I know, but I really don't want to," he said, his dark eyes locked with hers.

"I don't want you to go either," Nancy said, reaching up to run her hand along the line of his jaw, just before she kissed him again.

After a long moment of holding each other, Nancy stepped back to let him go. He was almost to the head of the line when she called out to him.

"Hey, Hardy, take good care of my detective." She blew him a kiss, more to see him smile at her one more time than anything else. It worked, and she smiled back, knowing they must look a little silly to the people around them.

"I will. You take good care of mine," he called back, and then he was up to the TSA agent, who failed to look amused.

She watched until she couldn't see him anymore.

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