Bess hurried to keep up with Joe and George, both moving along the path a bit more swiftly than Bess could manage, at least comfortably, in her current outfit. Drat my luck, she sighed. A real ball, great food, perfect dress... and we're out on the hunt for someone. Well, I can't say this is unprecedented at least.

No matter where they went, trouble always seemed to follow Nancy Drew. At least this time they had the help of the Hardy boys on their side... Which, speaking of, was another one of the most lamentable things about the interrupted quality of the night.

Bess had definitely seen something going on between Frank and Nancy. This would not only make it impossible to get the details after a good interrogation of Nancy, it would also interrupt whatever free time the sleuths would have had together.

Bess couldn't help the smile that broke across her face. They were impossibly cute, the two of them, and she was ecstatic that they might have finally realized what everyone else could see from Day 1. And, although matchmaking was possibly one of her greatest hobbies, Bess had enjoyed how little help Nancy and Frank had needed from her and Joe: it only reinforced just how perfect they were for each other.

Noticing that the other two were getting ahead, Bess tried to pick up the pace a little bit. The last thing she planned on doing was getting lost alone in the forest in the middle of the night. She opened her mouth to call out to them, but before she could say anything she felt a stabbing pain in her toe. She yelped as her foot caught one of the numerous roots that grew scattered around the forest path and she flew forward, landing hard on the frozen ground.

"Owww..." she groaned. "That was not fun." The other two had heard the commotion and hurried back promptly, realizing immediately what had happened. George bit her lip, trying - and failing - to hide her smile.

"You okay, Bess?"

The blonde chose to ignore these words and instead opted for shooting a glare at her cousin, who was obviously more amused than anything else judging by the laughter she was trying to repress. Bess pushed herself to a sitting position, her ankle throbbing in pain, and allowed Joe to grasp her hand and pull her to a standing position.

Before she could take more than a step, however, Bess crumpled to the ground for the second time in two minutes. She hissed in pain, a piercing fire shooting up her leg. George grew serious. "Bess, your ankle-"

"No, I... I think I'm fine," she said, her voice slurring slightly on the words. Bess shook her head to clear it. Obviously that fall had knocked her head out of whack a bit. She tested her weight on her foot, trying to be gentle with it, but the pain shot through her again. Bess slumped back against Joe for support. "Okay, not fine. I think... I'm gonna need some help from you guys."

Joe frowned. He couldn't deny the pain of twisting an ankle, but he had a gut feeling something was wrong... something much worse. Before she could protest, Joe scooped Bess up into his arms with the intention of carrying her back the rest of the way. He set off again at a slower pace, not wanting to jostle Bess too much as they made their way back to the hotel.

"I can walk!" Bess protested feebly, to a snort from both George and Joe.

"You're hurt, Bess," George said. "Don't even try to deny it. We'll get you to a doctor faster this way."

Before Bess could explain the many reasons that she was a)perfectly fine, and b)would not need a doctor of all things to sort out her ankle, she found her breathing was becoming strained. The pain in her ankle really was killing her... Barely a second after this thought had crossed her mind, Bess' world faded to black.

"George!" Joe exclaimed in alarm. "Something's wrong with Bess!"

AaA

Nancy closed her eyes and counted slowly to three, Frank's hand still held firmly in her own. When she opened her eyes, the bomb was still there, but she had regained enough presence of mind to start taking stock of the situation. This wasn't the first bomb Nancy had faced, and she sure as hell wouldn't let it be the last.

It was ugly, the bomb - black, heavy, and solid, but obviously put together by an amateur. That could help in defusing it, but it also meant the results would likely be messy if it did end up exploding. For something that could cause so much damage, it was surprisingly small - with a chill, Nancy realized this must have been what she had watched him carry in. If only she had managed to stop him before!

Unlike in the movies, there was no green timer flashing out the countdown, no bundle of wires sprouting from its side, no flashing red light... But its purpose was obvious and Nancy worried that unless she and Frank figured out a plan - and fast - a lot of people would get hurt, or worse.

"Nance? You still with me?"

Frank's voice was gentle, but concerned, and Nancy paused to give him a strained smile before responding. "I'm fine. I think the big question is what to do next."

"It all depends on the type of bomb we're facing... if it's set to blast remotely, we need to evacuate the area as quickly and as subtly as possible. No hordes of people running out the door screaming, or the they'd probably just blow the bomb up anyway."

Nancy took a deep breath and steeled her nerves. She wasn't going to lose her calm now, of all times. "But it might be set to a timer, one hidden from view. We need to find out." She crouched down as she spoke, eyeing the bomb with distaste. What kind of person could do something so hateful?

"Be careful, Nan... we don't know how stable this is," Frank said as he joined her on the ground. Together, they carefully removed the outer case and placed it to the side, revealing the inner workings of the bomb.

"It's an IED - an improvised explosive device," Frank observed. "Judging by its appearance, it's set to do a lot of damage. If it explodes, it would take out maybe half of the ballroom just from here in the closet. And..." he rotated the bomb, finding its back panel. "Yeah. It's on a timer."

Nancy's heart sank, finding it hard to believe the evidence though it was right in front of her.

"How much time?" she asked, dreading the answer.

"10 minutes, 26 seconds. And counting. We need to do something, fast."

"Evacuation?"

"Not enough time. People would panic and the rush would create more harm than good."

"What are our chances of figuring out how to defuse it?"

Frank shook his head. "I don't even want to try. By the looks of it, it's set to blow ahead of time if anyone tampers with it."

"There's only one thing we can do then."

Frank looked at her cautiously, seeing the determination blazing in her eyes. "What's your plan?"

"We need to get this away from the hotel. As far from people as we can."

"Nancy, I won't let you carry a ticking time bomb into the woods in the middle of the night, with a snow storm on the fore cast."

"You don't have a choice," Nancy retorted angrily. "We've barely got 10 minutes left right now! Besides, the sky looked completely clear when we came in."

The two paused for a moment to glare at each other, then looked away. The timer counted down their remaining seconds, practically mocking them.

"I could do it myself, and you would be safe," Frank muttered, not liking this plan but not really having any other options. He just needed more time.

"Frank, we're doing this together. No arguments. Let's go." Nancy didn't give him a chance to respond. Carefully, almost as if cradling a child, she scooped up the black box and stood up.

"Wait, Nancy... You can't just carry it out through the ball room. Here, I'll cover it." Frank shrugged off his jacket and took the bomb from Nancy, swaddling it in the black fabric. It looked suspicious, and he had no doubt that they would be drawing more than one funny look, but they were pressed for time and Frank had been stared at before. It would have to do.

They moved together, Nancy opening the door for him and ushering him through quickly and with a jolt they found themselves back in the ball room. There's so many people, Nancy thought frantically. So many that, if we don't get this away in time, could die. Each laughing face they passed was another jolt to her stomach, and the happy atmosphere almost suffocated her.

She pushed past people, ignoring their shouts and made a path for Frank who was trying to look as inconspicuous as possible with the bundled object tucked in his arms. Constantly aware of each second that passed, Nancy yanked off her shoes and shoved her feet into boots, Frank hurriedly doing the same beside her.

Bracing themselves for the cold winter air, they pushed out of their way out of the hotel doors and glanced at each other. Where could they go? What would cause the least harm to the resort and its patrons?

Nancy brought the map of the grounds to her mind and considered their possible options. They needed time to get it far away and then get out of the blast zone themselves, so it had to be somewhere close.

Nancy shot into motion. The Ptarmigan, a trail named after the birds seen frequently on it, was used only by bird watcher's and avid hikers. It would be empty, the winter snow and dark impeding any chance of spotting the white-tailed ptarmigan at the moment. Better yet, it was also only a short distance from where they were and if they could just make it far enough down the path in time...

"Come on, this way!" she started out to their left, following a path that would lead to what she remembered as being the correct trail into the forest. The wind was already picking up and the clear night sky had long disappeared. Snow was falling steadily around them, the cold almost unbearable dressed as they were.

Nancy moved swiftly, clearing the path a bit more for Frank as he followed behind as fast as he could, doing his best not to shake the bomb in any way. It was dark out, and the distant lights of the ski slopes and the lodge were their only guide to where they could move. She ran down the trail as best she could through the snow, turning left or right at random to take the route that seemed to lead them farther away from the slopes and the lodge.

She could barely see now, determination driving her farther down the path, but the dark of the forest enveloped her and the snow obscured her vision.

"Nancy!" Frank shouted in alarm. "Watch out!"

She yelped as he grabbed her arm and forcibly pulled her back towards him. Heart pounding, she spun around to see what was wrong.

He gestured silently to the path in front of her and, turning to look, Nancy found that the darkness in front of her wasn't just due to a lack of light, but the large valley they stood before. Her breath hitched in her throat - she would have run right off if Frank hadn't stopped her.

"This is far enough. We've got maybe 3 minutes left," Frank said, already unraveling his jacket from the bomb.

Nancy stood back from the edge of the cliff, clutching Frank's jacket, and realized that she had probably led them down one of the dead-end paths that the trail encompassed. She was just glad that Frank had such good reflexes, or she could have ended up breaking a leg while the bomb went off.

Frank reared back, muscles tensing visibly under his thin black shirt as he prepared to heave the bomb down the cliff. Giving himself a two-step start, he ran up to the edge of the cliff and hurled the bomb as far as he could, losing sight of it almost immediately in the dark.

"We don't have time to wait around," he said grimly. He took the jacket back from Nancy but proceeded to wrap it around her shoulders without hesitation. "We need to get back before we freeze to death or it won't matter if we're too close when it blows."

Nancy wanted nothing more than to just reach up and throw her arms around Frank Hardy, but logic told her it probably wouldn't be smart to stand there making out while a bomb went off. She settled for pulling him in for one quick kiss and then taking his hand and jogging beside him back down the path.

They had made it a short way down the trail, Frank guiding them through the turns they'd made coming in there, but before they even had the lodge in sight a blast behind them shook the very ground, almost throwing them off their feet. They paused to stare back through the forest, holding each other for balance, and were met with a chilling sight. A fire-ball burst out into the sky, the resounding blast from it still echoing around them. Nancy could barely believe they had just pulled that off, and could only stare in disbelief at the sight.

Frank laughed in relief, giving in to his need and drawing his arms around Nancy, just holding her against him. The swirling storm of snow was nothing compared to the heat they felt from each other at that moment, wrapped tightly in the other's arms, but Nancy was still wearing Frank's black jacket over a ball gown and Frank only had a thin shirt on himself. Although they were no longer rushed by the hurry to escape the bomb's blast zone, they now had to get themselves back to the warmth and relative safety of the hotel. Bess, George, and Joe would be wondering where they were too.

They burst into the hotel ball room together, covered in snow and shivering madly, but grinning happily at each other in jubilation at what they had just carried off. Frank knew he had to report in to Mr. White the senior about what had happened as soon as possible, but it would have to wait until tomorrow. The storm that the forecast had promised was here, and he was far more concerned in meeting up with his brother and the girls to fill them in on the night's events. Unfortunately, although they looked everywhere, they could find no sign of either Bess, Joe, or George.

For the first time since entering the ball room again, Nancy felt the seeds of worry begin to spread through her mind. She knew that with Joe, her friends would be perfectly safe even if they did run into their guy, but it had been a while since they were supposed to meet up and they probably wouldn't have just left the hotel without finding Frank and Nancy first.

"They're probably just looking for us," Frank explained, trying to keep his tone casual. "They might have gone back to our cabins when they couldn't find us."

"What if they found him, though, and something went wrong?" Nancy asked, worry seeping into her voice.

"With three-against-one? They'll be fine," he reassured her.

Inside, though, Frank couldn't help the niggling feeling that something had gone wrong. The storm outside had started out bad and gotten worse by the time they'd finally reached the hotel. It had taken a good five minutes just to rub the warmth back into each other's fingers, and it was a miracle neither of them had gotten frostbite. Nancy's face was still flushed red from the cold, though, and despite the winter wear the other three would be wearing right now, Frank didn't fancy their chances of wandering around in the forest in this weather.

"Maybe we should head back to the cabins, just in case that's where they went," Nancy said. "If we wait any longer, we may become trapped in here by the snow ourselves."

Frank agreed, not wanting to face the walk back to the cabins if the snow got any worse than it already was. A short while later, they were fighting their way past the snow and trying not to slip on ice going down the path to the cabins.

The fear that something had happened to the other three solidified when they reached the clearing the cabins were nestled in. The lights were all off, indicating no one was home, and the rapidly falling snow was unbroken by any footprints other than his and Nancy's.

"We probably just missed them while we were coming here!" Frank shouted into Nancy's ear. The wind howled around them, whipping Nancy's hair around her and making it difficult to hear each other even at close range.

"I guess!" Nancy replied, unable to hide her frown. What had happened to the others?

"Come on, there's no point in staying in separate cabins for the time being," Frank said as he rushed up to the door and stamped off his boots. Quickly producing the key, he unlocked the door and waved Nancy into his cabin. The warmth was amazing after the freezing cold temperature outside, but Frank hurried to light a fire in the living room and turn on the heaters around the small cabin.

Nancy shook off the light covering of snow she had picked up outside and decided that what she needed most right now was a hot shower. Before she could voice her thoughts to Frank, he had reappeared in the hallway with a neat pile of fluffy white towels that he'd taken from the linen closet.

"What we both need right now is a hot bath, but we'll have to settle for a shower. I don't mind waiting; you should go ahead first," Frank said.

He showed her to their bathroom, identical in appearance to the one in Nancy's cabin, and made his way downstairs again.

Nancy was standing in a familiar yet completely different bathroom. While Bess had immediately staked her claim on the bathroom in their cabin, filling the counter with jars of lotions and scents, Frank and Joe had kept their room fairly tidy and bare.

Nancy took off her silver locket first, handling it with care. It had been something of her mother's, passed along by her father, for her 19th birthday a few months ago and she valued it immensely. Nancy had apparently inherited her mother's taste for jewelry - though the locket was small and for the most part unremarkable, it was one of Nancy's most prized possessions.

She finished undressing, luxuriating in the freedom she regained taking off the gown, and left the locket with her clothes on the counter top. Quickly, she stepped into the shower and in no time at all she was under the spray of hot water, feeling her tense muscles relax after an exhausting day. Her mind was a jumble after the events of the night: the bomb, of course, pressed on her thoughts, but then there was everything that had changed with Frank, which really, wasn't actually that big of a change from how they were before... There had always been a spark of something between them, after all, now they just had a name to put to it.

Thankfully, the steady beat of the water against her shoulders helped her organize her thoughts and clear her head. The reality of the destruction they had escaped was finally setting in to her completely, and the thought of it made her feel rather queasy.

All of those people... she gave herself a mental shake. They had saved them, and that was what counted. There was no use dwelling on the what ifs, she would just have to work twice as hard to capture the man that was bomber, saboteur, and possible murderer, before he could strike again.

That man they had found, Jake Haines, was likely one of his victims. Which meant that it was entirely possible that Haines was one of the man's accomplices. Nancy thought it over. It didn't really make sense - if their 'perp', as the Chief McGinnis would say, was actually willing to set off a bomb next to a crowded room of people, why had he only knocked Nancy unconscious in the hall?

His only motive for killing Jake Haines would be if he had been caught in the act and wanted to remove the only witness, but it didn't feel right. The way he had died, for starters, wasn't something that indicated he had been killed on a moment's decision. No, his murder had taken at least some amount of planning before it had been pulled off, which ultimately just brought her back to the same point again: the bomber had known who Haines was.

Nancy turned the water off and stepped out of the shower, towelling off her hair in the steamy bathroom and fastening the locket over her flushed skin again. There was a clean white bathrobe, not unlike the ones you would find in a hotel, hanging up in the closet, and Nancy pulled it on over her towel for the extra warmth.

Drat. She would need fresh clothes. She had no idea how this fact had escaped her as she got into the shower, but there was little she could do about it now - there wasn't a chance of running over to her own cabin in this cold. Maybe she could borrow something of Frank's...

Deciding that she should ask him, she opened the door and made to step out. As it turned out, she needn't have bothered with her worry: upon opening the door, she almost stumbled over a pile of neatly folded clothes that she recognized as Frank's.

A hastily scribbled note lay on top, reading:

Nancy -
I realized you would need something to change into, and the snow still hasn't let up outside. I tried to choose something small, but they'll probably be a bit big regardless. I'll be downstairs if you need me.
- Frank

She could hear him moving around downstairs, probably somewhere in the kitchen, and with a smile she stepped back into the bathroom to get dressed.

A few minutes later Nancy emerged from the bathroom again, her hair pulled into a messy ponytail. Frank had been right, if not a bit optimistic: she was clad in a pair of Frank's black sweatpants on top of a clean pair of his boxers, finishing off the ensemble with one of his old Bayport High t-shirts.

The pants were at least 4 inches too long, and the t-shirt hung on her oddly. Nancy couldn't help smiling upon seeing herself in the mirror, but she had to admit, these clothes felt more comfortable than anything she'd worn in a while.

It was obvious that the clothes had been recently laundered, but the unmistakable scent of Frank Hardy lingered to them in a not unpleasant way.

Nancy hurried down the stairs and rushed through the kitchen doorway, almost running right into him.

"Oh!" she gasped, pulse elevating momentarily.

"Woah!" Frank stepped back and swung away smoothly, doing his best not to let the steaming cups of hot chocolate he held go to waste. He placed them carefully on the table before turning back to Nancy and giving her a smile. They shared a lingering kiss there, in the kitchen doorway, before breaking apart for air. "You look fantastic, as always," he said with a grin, eliciting a faint blush from the redhead.

They moved to the living room together, where the only light came from the flickering fire in the fireplace. The room was cast in dancing shadows, but it only added to the cozy atmosphere. "So, what's the status?" Nancy asked as they plopped onto the sofa, Nancy letting herself rest against Frank's chest. She cradled the mug of hot chocolate to her chest, relishing in its warmth as she sipped from it.

Frank let his chin rest lightly on her damp hair, absent mindedly rubbing light circles onto her arm as he held her close. "There's no sign of them. And the storm's only gotten worse. Phone lines are out to the lodge, so there's no way of contacting anyone either."

"Do you think they're okay?" Nancy asked, her voice a bit shaky. "What if they're stuck outside in... that?" she said with a gesture to the large window in the room. It was pitch black outside, and the glass pane was covered in snow and ice. It was a complete contrast to the warmth of the living room and the soft light from the fireplace.

"I'm guessing that they made it to the cabin, started searching, and ended up getting stuck inside. Do you remember if it was well-equipped for a storm when you were in there?" Frank said.

Nancy gave a small nod. "If they made it to the cabin, they'd be completely safe. I'm just worried they weren't able to get to it in time, like if they arrived then left early, or if they found the guy and something happened..."

Frank pressed his lips to the top of her head in comfort. "They'll be okay. Trust them - they're smart, and this isn't the first time they've been in danger."

Nancy sighed, but a smile began forming on her lips. "You know, you have this amazing ability to say exactly what I need to hear sometimes."

"Only sometimes, though, right? I need to apologize for what happened tonight," Frank said.

"If you're talking about in the hotel, don't worry about it. There was a bomb in front of us - it's not exactly surprising that we got a bit short-tempered. Just promise me you won't try to pull that again. You know I'd follow you anywhere, and though I've proven that in the past, I'll continue to prove it in the future, again and again. And the level of danger involved won't change my mind one bit. So you'll just have to resign yourself to the fact that I'm not going anywhere. Not now, and not ever."

Frank's eyes widened slightly in surprise at the short tirade. "Nancy..."

"It's the truth," she mumbled, voice trailing off as exhaustion finally overtook her. With a yawn, she let her eyes close as sleep overcame her, sitting there on the sofa with her head against Frank's, her empty mug dangling precariously from her hand.

He breathed out when he realized she had fallen asleep. Taking care not to jostle her, he reached back and grabbed a blanket to fold over her, placing both of their mugs on the table beside them. They had known each other for so long, but this new dynamic to their relationship felt so natural and easy. Honestly, he could hardly believe he had waited until tonight to show her how he felt. And the very fact that she returned those feelings made him happier than he could describe.

Frank gazed at Nancy's sleeping figure, cuddled up next to him on the small sofa. The words that had been on the tip of his tongue would have to wait... Soon, he would have to tell her that he loved her.

AaA

George was so close... She could make out the outline of the lodge in front of her... then the lights... then the door... She was so close! Just a few steps to close the gap and she would be there. Each step was a struggle through deep snow, the wind whistling fiercely in her ears and stinging her cheeks. But George had to focus on her goal and she wouldn't let a little Canadian storm throw her off from it.

With a burst of energy, George pushed herself across the last distance to the lodge and burst in to the lounge like a maniac, covered in snow and shivering like crazy. She marched up to the front desk and stared at the secretary, an exhausted, middle-aged woman, that sat behind it. George didn't really ask for help so much as demand it from her: "My friends are out there. I need to do something about that, now, and I need some help to do it."

George just hoped Bess could hold on until for the time being.