J.M.J.

Author's note: Thanks for reading and reviewing! The next chapter will be out October 15. God bless!

October 11 – Wednesday

"It wasn't quite the vacation we were planning," Nancy said apologetically to her friends. They were sitting out on one of the big lawns on campus, looking up at the stars. Already, the girls would be headed home the next day.

"Oh, I don't know," George said with a shrug. "All in all, it turned out a lot better than I expected. You helped rescue the Hardys and the others and you didn't get yourself killed, and we got two days to explore New Zealand."

"We even got to go to Hobbiton," Bess said. "And George had some random people ask to take a picture with her in her costume, so that was the whole goal, right?"

"It was definitely a high point of the trip, even if the Hardys turning up alive did overshadow it." George put her hands behind her head as she tried play her understatement coolly. Then she pointed toward the southern sky. "Hey! Look! It's the Southern Cross. You don't see that from River Heights."

Nancy moved slightly closer to Ned. "I wish we would have had a little more time," she said quietly, hoping the cousins couldn't hear as they continued talking about constellations.

Ned wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I thought it turned out pretty well. I wish it would have all been a little more under control and that I would have done better, but other than that…"

"What happened wasn't your fault," Nancy assured him.

"I still wish I could keep things like that from happening."

Nancy sighed. "I know. I put you through a lot, don't I?"

Ned squeezed her shoulders. "It's worth it."

Nancy leaned her head against his shoulder. "I don't know what I did to get so lucky."

"It must have been something pretty bad," Ned teased her.

"Don't be ridiculous," Nancy told him. "You're the best thing that ever happened to me."

HBNDHBNDHB

Fenton had been a little skeptical about having a big celebration so soon. It wasn't that he didn't feel like celebrating. On the contrary, in a lot of ways, a celebration seemed like the only reasonable response. However, he thought that the boys probably needed a little more time to readjust to being at home before being overwhelmed like this. Then, too, he was feeling rather selfishly protective of his sons and he didn't want to share them with a lot of other people. Gertrude had said something about how if it was up to her, she would never let the boys out of her sight again after this. Fenton would have never told Frank and Joe this, but there was a part of him that felt the same way. It would fade in time, he was sure, but not just yet.

Whatever Fenton's inclinations in the matter were, one way or another, more and more people were invited to the Hardy house that evening until there was a crowd of about fifty people in the backyard. The other four castaways were there, of course, along with their families. Fenton had to admit that after all these months, it was good to see them all happy again.

During one of the few intervals where no one was talking to him, Fenton noticed that Iola was also standing by herself. He made his way over until he was standing near her.

She smiled at him a little shyly. "Hi, Mr. Hardy."

"Hi, Iola. I'm glad you could make it."

"I wouldn't have missed it." Iola glanced at the ground. "I wish Callie could be here, but she'll be out of the hospital in a few days."

Fenton had already heard that, but all he said was, "That's good. It thought you'd like to know that they caught those men who kidnapped you. I think we'll also get Morales."

"That's good news," Iola said. "Then everything's pretty much wrapped up, isn't it?"

"The cartel is still in operation," Fenton replied, "but even they took a few hits. But even apart from that, there are a few loose ends left."

"Like what?"

"About that day that you were trying to get into my files," Fenton said. "I'm sorry I was so hard on you."

"Oh." Iola's cheeks reddened. "You weren't too harsh. I deserved it."

"You were doing what you thought you needed to, and you deserve credit for that. I can imagine how it must have seemed from your point of view sometimes."

"Well, you were doing what you judged that you needed to, and I never gave you any credit for that. I'm sorry."

"It's all right," Fenton assured her. "I should have had my office locked, anyway."

"I can guarantee I wouldn't have gotten in then." Iola smiled faintly. "Apparently, I have no idea how to pick a lock."

"Maybe it's about time that you learned."

"Are you sure about that?"

Fenton chuckled. "Just as long as you don't use it against me."

"Oh, I won't," Iola replied. "I'll just ask next time."

HBNDHBNDHB

The other castaways were the last ones to leave. With so many other people talking to them all evening, Jerry had hardly had a chance to talk about them and hear the story firsthand. It was dark and getting chilly, and the seven of them were still in the backyard, talking.

Chet pulled a blanket up to his chin. "I'd almost forgotten what it was like to be cold. It feels good, though."

"Yeah. The Pacific islands are nice to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there," Biff said, letting the darkness hide any grin that he was inclined to allow on his face.

"I don't know," Jerry replied. "It sounds kind of fun, actually."

There were several groans at this, along with several offers to drop Jerry off on the island and see how fun he thought it was.

"Okay, guys," Tony broke in. "Honestly, Jerry has a point. It was kind of fun, some of the time. I don't want to go back, but it wasn't all bad."

"Well, maybe not," Joe conceded, recalling the many good days there had been, despite all the arguing and the dangers. "If we would have known we were going to get home and if everyone here hadn't been worried about us, it could have been a lot of fun."

"And if we would have had a way to call for help during the couple of emergencies that we had," Frank added. "Hopefully next time we get stranded on an island, we'll all be able to keep our heads a little better."

"What do you mean, next time?" Chet asked.

Joe laughed. "It's funny. It already almost seems like it wasn't real."

"It doesn't to me." Phil grimaced. "I'm still half afraid I'll wake up and still be there."

"But you won't. It's all behind us now," Frank said. "I seriously doubt there will be a next time."

"The worst part is over, at least," Phil commented. He didn't have to say any more than that. They all knew that time would have to heal some wounds.

"But we didn't all wind up hating each other," Biff pointed out.

"Which is doing pretty good, considering how close it got sometimes." Chet chuckled.

"True," Phil conceded. "I guess if we could get through all that, we can get through whatever the next few months are like."

"And then we'll be ready for another adventure," Joe said.

They all laughed and shook their heads. Conversation waned after that, as the friends looked up toward the stars. Right now, they were content to just appreciate that they had gotten home and that all was well. That was enough for them for now; more than enough in fact. But Joe was probably right. Another adventure would come sooner or later, and they would be glad when it did. It was good both to be home and to have a future.