Hey guys! WHOA! An on-time update! :O

All your reviews on the last chapter made me smile and laugh! Thanks for being so (mostly) forgiving! ;)

I do not own Nancy Drew or The Hardy Boys.

Frank sat on the couch by Joe's hospital window with George, drumming his fingers, clenching his teeth, clenching and unclenching his hands, folding and unfolding his hands, and pretty much anything else he could do instead of pacing. He'd started to pace but the nurse had caught him at it and said that if he didn't sit down he'd be returned to his bed.

Joe was looking tired, his eyes at half-mast, and Frank yawned in spite of himself. It'd been a long few days.

Bess sat in the armchair by Joe's bed, holding his hand in hers. Frank had noticed that she seemed less girly. Maybe the stress of the past few days, plus Nancy still being missing, had affected her in that way. Still naturally cheerful, but definitely more subdued. She wasn't as bubbly.

George had somehow managed to drag (intimidate) all the details out of the brothers, and Frank suspected that she'd told Bess about it later. He sighed. He was trying not to imagine all the things that could be happening to her – or that had already happened.

Suddenly Frank straightened. He knew what he could do.

Getting up, he made an excuse to the others and disappeared into the hallway. Carefully, he made his way downstairs and into the small store by the lobby.

Now that he was here, Frank felt rather lost. Glancing around, he met the amused eyes of a petite, young, dark-haired clerk. Her nametag read "Morgan".

"Can I help you find something, sir?" she asked, smiling.

"Uh, yes," Frank gave a half-smile back. "See, I want to buy something for this girl I know."

Rolling over, Nancy spat dirt from her mouth. Her skin was smeared with darkness from the blast, but she'd escaped being burned. Thank God, she thought.

Cautiously, she peered around. The other cowboys would be here soon, so she hopped up and ran into the trees opposite from the blackened, burning trench and wall of smoke she'd just created.

The familiar whirring noise came to her ears, and Nancy jerked her head up to see two helicopters full of emergency and police personnel – descending towards the ground on the other side of the trench!

"Hey! No! No!" Nancy shouted at the top of her lungs. "Over here!" Jumping up and down, she waved her arms frantically.

It was no use. She could barely see the helicopters through the thick, black smoke now. The wind blew the fire bigger, and it licked over the edges of the trench, heading slowly in her direction.

Shots rang out on the other side of the fire. The police had engaged the gang. How could she do this? There was no way out.

"Frank," Nancy whispered, staring up at the sky. " I promise I'll try. You too, Joe. You're my little brother." Smiling a little at the thought, she sent up a quick prayer for protection.

Crouching, she braced herself, legs bent, leaning forward. This was her last chance, as long as she didn't get hit by a stray bullet. Come on, Drew. You can do this.

Memories of herself with Frank, all the times he'd helped and supported her, flashed through her mind.

In a flashback to a previous case, she saw Frank's smiling face, calming her down as they had tried to disarm a bomb strapped to him. "You can do this, Nancy. I trust you."

Gritting her teeth, she bolted forwards. The heat intensified and she coughed as the smoke grew thicker.

Her lungs and eyes burned, and tears started to flow down her blackened cheeks from the merciless elements around her. Through the red and gold, flickering brightness, she could see the edge of the trench.

More heat than she thought she could bear met her and time seemed to slow down. One stride, two, her right foot hit the edge. Gathering her left leg into a crouch, she pushed off with both as hard as she could, leaping into the flames.

*Hums an innocent tune, big eyes* What? Made at ME you say? I wonder WHY!