A/N: For those of you who asked for a reunion between Joe and George when they were older – here it is! I hope you like it.

Thanks to my wonderful beta reader ariandula for helping to edit this. I claim responsibility for any mistakes you may find in my revisions.

And thank you to the reviewers – Me, franknjoe, missy, KennaC, Silver Ash, Agent Striker, funfanfic and Aphrodite2. This chapter is dedicated to you!

Ten years later...

"Don't you dare deny it, Bess Marvin! Nancy already spilled the beans. I can't believe you set me up on a blind date!" George Fayne grumbled. Her curvy cousin had the grace to look sheepish.

"But you haven't been on a date since you broke up with Ryan and that was almost four months ago," she protested. "Besides, this is our senior prom. You need a date for this. I think it's written in fine print on the prom tickets."

"What happens if I show up without a date? Will Miss Prom-Queen-Wannabe Suzanne Hampton have a heart attack?" George retorted cheekily. She grinned. "That's all the more reason to show up solo."

"Oh, come on! It's only for one night and if you don't like the guy, you'll never have to see him again," Bess pleaded. "I hear he's really cute."

"How could you possibly know that? Did the guy himself say he was cute? Because that would be a major turn-off for me."

"No, but my friend Callie from Bayport says that he is and she's dating his brother, so she should know," Bess said airily.

"How do you even know Callie, anyway?" George asked suspiciously. "How do you know she's not setting me up with a psycho killer?"

Bess laughed. "Remember the summer I decided that I really wanted to become an actress? I think we were ten at the time."

"After three weeks of incessant whining, Aunt Anna finally agreed to send you to those drama workshops. Of course I remember."

"Well, I met Callie there and we hit it off. We actually exchanged addresses and became pen pals. Since then, we've graduated to phone calls, emails and Facebook. Did I mention that her boyfriend's hot? So she's obviously got good taste."

"Bess, after all the cases we've been on with Nancy, you should have learned that hot guys can be crazy murderers."

Bess ignored George's sarcastic comment. "She's the one who mentioned Joe was coming to River Heights for the weekend. He and his brother are detectives and he's just tying up the loose ends of a finished case. But he has a couple of days to kill and he needs someone to show him a good time."

"I don't think going to River Heights High School's senior prom was exactly what he had in mind," groaned George. "And going to the prom with a blind date from Bayport who's younger than me wasn't on my mind, either. If he's a detective, maybe you should've fixed him up with Nancy."

"I think Ned would have a problem with that. Besides he's only one year younger than you. That's nothing," Bess said confidently. "Look at Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore – now, that is an age gap I would be worried about."

Realising that she wasn't going to win this battle, George sighed and tuned her cousin out, as she began talking about dresses, hairstyles and shoes. She was not looking forward to prom night.

**

"Callie, are you sure this is the right thing to do?" Frank Hardy asked hesitantly. "I know it's been a while since Iola died, but I don't know if Joe's ready to start dating again."

"This isn't dating. It's just one blind date with a girl he never needs to see again after prom night," Callie said calmly. "You can't get more low-pressure than that."

She observed the concerned look in her boyfriend's dark brown eyes and knew that he needed more reassurance. She reached out and tenderly took his hand in hers.

"No matter how much Joe and I might fight sometimes, I love him as though he was my own brother," she said gently. "I promise you, if I thought this would be harmful for him, I'd be the first one to try and stop it. But I think it'll actually be something positive for him. If his blind date turns out to be a disaster, at least he'll have something to laugh at and tell us about, when he comes home."

Frank visibly relaxed, his hunched shoulders lowering slightly. "You're right," he agreed. "Maybe a blind date in River Heights is just what Joe needs."

**

"I am not wearing pink," George said firmly. She ignored her cousin's puppy-dog eyes and hung the pink satin gown back in Bess's wardrobe.

Bess sighed heavily. "Why do brunettes never appreciate the value of pink?" she moaned. "I love it, but it's so hard for a blonde to wear pink without looking too..." She hesitated. "Too Elle Woods."

"I'm with George – I don't want to wear pink, either," Nancy piped up, her eyes twinkling. "But luckily for me, you've already decided that pink clashes with my hair color."

The three girls had decided to forego buying brand-new outfits for the prom, as Bess's closet offered far more variety than the formal wear shop at the River Heights Mall.

"Now, this would look good on you, Nan," Bess murmured, holding up a strapless turquoise dress. Nancy obediently took it and put it on. It was definitely the perfect dress for her. The turquoise shade made her eyes appear an even deeper blue and looked great against her reddish-blond hair.

"After trying on seven different dresses, I think this is finally the right one," she remarked, doing a little twirl and admiring her reflection.

"And my dear cousin, I think this would look good on you," Bess said suddenly, producing a cream-colored silk sheath that had been hidden right at the back of her wardrobe.

George looked sceptical. "I'm not a bride or an elderly woman and I doubt anyone outside of those two categories actually wears cream."

Nancy studied her thoughtfully. "I don't know – I think it could work."

Realising that argument was futile, George sighed and allowed her two best friends to zip her into the dress.

To her surprise, it really did look good. The light shade of cream which blended in too much with Bess's blonde locks was actually the perfect contrast to George's dark curly hair and the color made her complexion glow.

"That's perfect," Bess said in satisfaction. "Now let's get started on your make-up."

**

What am I doing here? Joe Hardy wondered. He couldn't believe he was spending his weekend away from home playing escort to a complete stranger. When Callie had first brought up the idea, he had been horrified and hadn't been afraid to verbalise his feelings. Joe was no pushover. However, Frank was on Callie's side and had persuaded his younger brother that a blind date couldn't really do him any harm.

"Come on, Joe. You'll wrestle a gangster holding you at gunpoint, but you're too chicken to take an 18-year-old girl to her senior prom?" The word chicken had gotten to Joe, just like Frank knew it would.

"Who are you calling a chicken? Of course I can do this," Joe had spluttered hotly. Before he could take it back, Callie had called her friend in River Heights and told her that Joe was up for it. It was too bad that Frank had chosen to follow in their father's footsteps and be a detective. He would've made a damn good lawyer.

He scanned the hall for any sign of the girl he was supposed to escort. He had talked briefly to Callie's friend Bess and had been told she'd be wearing a cream dress. There were plenty of dresses in varying shades of pink and blue, a few which were black and even one that looked tie-dyed. But he didn't see a cream dress anywhere. At least he didn't think he did. He wasn't entirely sure what kind of color cream was. Was it anything like whipped cream?

The hall was decorated with silver streamers, large pink and red cardboard hearts, and pink balloons. When Joe had come in, he'd been told that the prom theme was "Sweethearts." Could this be any cheesier? Joe thought mockingly. This was the first prom he'd ever attended and he sincerely hoped Bayport High's prom wouldn't be anything like it. Then he sighed nostalgically, as he suddenly remembered a conversation that he and Iola had once had...

"Joseph Francis Hardy! I can't believe you're skipping out on our spring formal," Iola exclaimed, hands on her hips. "Are you sure you're not just trying to avoid wearing a tux?"

"Baby, it's a case in the sweltering hot Sahara Desert. Trust me, if I had a choice, I'd pick you and having to wear a tux to the formal any day," Joe reassured, planting a tender kiss on his girlfriend's forehead. He paused for a moment. "Well, maybe I'd just pick you."

Iola smiled, but he could tell that she was disappointed. "I know you don't have a choice," she said softly. "But I was kind of looking forward to the whole formal thing – the corsage, dressing up and spending the night dancing with you."

"Hey, there's always the prom," Joe said gently. "And I'm promising you right now; I'm going to be there for it. Cross my heart and hope to die." He crossed his fingers and held them up for Iola to see.

She smiled again- a real smile this time. "You won't skip out?" she said teasingly. "You promise you'll be there?"

'I promise," Joe said sincerely, as he wrapped his arms around Iola.

Joe cringed at the memory. He wished that he'd known that Iola would never make it to their prom. He hadn't skipped out, but she had – she had been killed in a car bomb intended for him. If only he had known that then. He would gladly have given up the Sahara Desert case and proudly taken his girlfriend to Bayport High's spring formal, no matter how cheesy it might have been.

"Want a drink?" a female voice murmured, and Joe snapped back to reality. A pretty brunette was smiling at him and holding out a cup of punch. "Uh, no, thanks. I'm waiting for my date," he said quickly.

"Well, if she stands you up, just let me know," the brunette said cheerfully and winked at him, before moving off.

Joe was grateful for the sudden interruption to his thoughts. Sure, Iola might never get to attend her prom and he couldn't do anything about that. But he could make sure it was a special night for his date.

He glanced around and scanned the hall once more. Just as he was thinking they should have agreed on a meeting spot, he felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around. There stood a tall, slender girl with long, dark curling hair, wearing a cream silk dress. She smiled tentatively at him. "Are you Joe?"

**

When the guy nodded, George was extremely relieved. She hadn't been told what her blind date looked like – well, except that he was really cute. But since Bess and she often differed on the definition of cute, she really hadn't been sure if this had been the right guy. She'd just noticed he was (a) a stranger and (b) standing on his own. Perhaps Nancy's detective skills were finally rubbing off on her. But now that she'd found him, what happened next? She frantically tried to remember what Bess had told her.

"Make sure you compliment him," Bess had advised. "Tell him he has a nice suit or nice shoes or something."

George quickly looked at Joe, but somehow couldn't compliment him on his suit or shoes. It would feel a bit phony, considering that she didn't know anything about fashion. Then her eyes landed upon his wrist and she realised there was something she could compliment him on.

"Awesome watch!" she exclaimed enthusiastically. "It's a Ferraro Winton, right?"

Joe looked at her with interest. "Yeah, it is," he said, smiling. "I'm impressed. I didn't think girls knew anything about sports watches, especially since this design went out of style ages ago."

"Are you kidding? I love sports watches! I actually used to have one of those when I was younger, but I gave it away."

Joe laughed. "People must love giving these watches away. Mine was actually a present too."

"George! Hey, George! Oh, good, you finally found Joe," Bess exclaimed, as she headed towards them. "I just wanted to check everything was okay."

George cringed slightly, knowing that the real reason Bess had come over was to check out her prom date. From the grin on her face, George knew that her cousin approved.

"Joe, this is my cousin, Bess," she said apologetically.

"Hi," Bess said, flashing Joe one of her charming smiles. But Joe didn't seem affected by it. Instead, he was looking at George, with a puzzled expression in his blue eyes.

"George? I thought Callie said your name was Georgia," he said cautiously.

She flushed at the sound of her real name, which she hated with a passion. "It is," she muttered. "Long before naming kids after the cities they were conceived in became trendy, I was born in Georgia and my parents decided to name me after it."

"So why did your cousin call you George?" Joe asked. It was a perfectly innocent question – the kind of question she'd had to deal with all her life. But for some reason, she sensed more than idle curiosity in Joe's eyes. He genuinely seemed like he wanted to know.

"Well, I hate being called Georgia. I've had people call me George since I was young."

"Fair enough, but why would you want to be called George? Why not Gia or something more girly sounding? George makes you sound like a guy." Joe persisted.

George sighed, as she prepared to recite her standard answer. "Because my dad always said I was better than a boy any day. So, why..."

"..Can't you be a boy, if you want to?" Joe finished her sentence with her.

She gaped and stared at him. "How did you know what I was going to say?" she asked softly.

Joe smiled broadly. "You mentioned giving away a Ferraro Winton when you were younger. Well..." He held up his wrist.

"Oh, my gosh," George breathed, as the childhood memory suddenly resurfaced. She remembered making a bet with a little blond boy, playing football with him and finally giving him her watch. "That was you?"

"Yep, it was," he confirmed, his blue eyes twinkling.

George was momentarily speechless, but eventually managed to speak again. "Sorry about taking your football," she murmured. "I know how much it meant to you."

Joe laughed. "No need to apologise. You won it fair and square. Anyway, it was my birthday a few weeks later and my uncle gave me a new football. So I think I actually got the better part of the deal."

**

"I can't believe you met your prom date ten years ago!" Nancy exclaimed.

Prom night was over and the girls were sleeping over at George's house. Her parents were out of town that weekend, so the girls had the house to themselves.

"Was he already good-looking back then?" Bess asked dreamily.

George closed her eyes and pictured the little boy she had met in the park. Even as an eight-year-old who thought that boys were annoying, she'd already noticed his intensely blue eyes.

"Yes, he was," she admitted. "But don't start planning any weddings, Miss Marvin. He's a wonderful guy, but I don't think we have any chemistry. I have a feeling we'll be staying in touch as friends, though. He's asked me to visit him in Bayport next month. He said that I could bring you two along, as well."

"Awesome! I've never been to Bayport, but Aunt Eloise has mentioned it before. She says it's a nice town," Nancy commented.

"Sounds great," Bess agreed. She yawned. "Well, I hate to be a party pooper, but I think we need some sleep. Good night, girls."

"Good night."

"Good night. Sweet dreams."

When she was sure that Bess and Nancy had already fallen asleep, George snuck out of the living room where they were camped out in sleeping bags, and stealthily crept upstairs to her bedroom.

Once inside, she opened her bottom desk drawer and rummaged amidst a pile of junk before she found what she was looking for and picked it up. In her hand was a deflated football.

There hadn't been any romantic sparks between her and Joe, but she somehow knew with certainty that in him she had made a friend for life.

She couldn't believe that he was still wearing the watch she had given him ten years ago. In all honesty, she couldn't believe that it actually still worked. But even if it stopped working, she hoped he'd always keep the watch as a symbol of their friendship. She knew she'd always keep the football.

I really enjoyed writing this and I hope you liked reading it too! Let me know what you think of it. =)

Also – who should I write about in the next instalment of When They Were Young? It won't necessarily relate to this story. I'm thinking Bess and Chet, but I'm open to other suggestions. Review and cast your vote!