I wrote this little ONE SHOT a while back and just haven't been satisfied enough with it to post it. I think I am now. And yes, this is another of my creative ways of having some Frank x Nancy happiness. I didn't even totally get rid of Callie, aren't you proud of me?

Callie Shaw knocked twice on the Hardy door before letting herself in, "Hello?" she called up the stairs, glancing around the quiet house. There were two cars in the driveway; someone should be home…

"Oh, hello sweetheart," Laura Hardy's slim frame appeared at the top of the stairs with a basket of dirty laundry balanced on one hip.

Callie laughed at the laundry, "I guess Frank and Joe are back." She frowned momentarily at the dark spots that looked like blood on one of the t-shirts and at a pair of jeans that definitely didn't belong to either of the brothers.

"They are," Laura sighed, "filthy, tired, and sore as usual."

Callie nodded but before she could say anything Frank and Joe appeared at the top of the stairs. She gasped, her slim hand flying to her mouth, "What happened to you two?!"

Both had wet hair from recent showers and fresh clothes, but they still looked a little worse for wear. Joe hosted a new cast that extended all the way to his elbow, scrapes on his arms and knees, a bruise forming on his left cheek and slight limp. Frank on the other hand had only a few visible bruises and bumps but moved stiffly down the stairs like someone three times his age. When Callie approached to give him a hug, he stepped back, holding up his hand, "I appreciate the thought, but I've got six cracked ribs."

Callie gasped again, her hand over her mouth again, "Oh my gosh, what happened?"

"I happened," a voice from the top of the stairs called.

All the heads in the room swiveled at the sound of the voice. Limping down the stairs slower than Frank had in a t-shirt that looked a lot like Frank's and sweatpants that looked like a pair of Joe's, was a girl. Callie was no detective, but she had a sinking suspicion that she knew her name.

Although her hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail at the base of her graceful neck, Callie could see it was the shade of copper like a brand new penny. She was beautiful too, even with all the bruises. It looked like she had broken her nose, it was sort of swollen and she would have two impressive black eyes in the morning. One arm had a long scrape that worked its way up her arm and out of sight, and as she go closer, Callie could see what looked like a couple new stiches on her scalp.

She swayed slightly at the bottom of the stairs but smiled at Callie, "I'm so sorry I got your boyfriend beat up. I just can't seem to keep myself out of trouble…I'm Nancy Drew by the way."

Callie smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. Her guess had been right, Nancy Drew: The Girl Detective. Nancy's own bright blue eyes were flitting around, not quite focusing.

"What happened, are you okay?" Callie asked in the most concerned voice she could muster.

Nancy vaguely nodded, "Mild concussion…I'm sorry, it just kind of looks like there are two of you. You're girlfriend isn't a twin, right Frank?"

Frank groaned amiably, "No way; I don't think that I could handle that. One Callie is plenty for me."

Nancy nodded, rubbing her head, "That's what I figured. Martinez has a really mean left-knee-upper-cut."

Callie glanced around at the others, hoping to be clued in as to who this 'Martinez' was, but nobody was paying attention to her.

"It wasn't his knee, it was his foot," Frank said. "I saw him kick you."

"No," Joe interjected, "his goon kicked me, and while I was down I heard him head-butt Nancy. Her whole head snapped back and I swear I heard her brain hit the back of her skull from across the room. He definitely gave her the old head-butt."

Nancy shrugged, "Knee, foot, head, what ever he did worked. One broken nose, one grade two concussion, and no memory of what appendage he hit me with," she paused for a second, then tapped her scalp. "Oh, but I know Looney Goon hit me shovel, I remember that."

Frank nodded his consent, "Then he tried to break my leg with it and Joe's arm…oh, wait he did break Joe's arm."

Joe rolls his eyes at Nancy and Frank who were now laughing at their lame joke, "Haha, I'm glad you two are still capable of making stupid jokes," he sniffed at the air like an oversized bloodhound. "But I smell food, and I don't know about you, but I am starved."

Nancy grimaced, "Thanks, but no thanks. I think I am going to go and lie down on that deliciously saggy sofa in your TV room."

"That eye-sore I've been trying to get rid of for years," Laura Hardy muttered good-naturedly. She turned to follow Joe who had headed towards the kitchen at a surprisingly fast pace for an injured person.

Nancy giggled, then wandered off in the wrong direction. Frank cleared his throat, "Umm, Nan? TV room is the other way."

Nancy turned back and cocked her head at him, smiling a smile that lit up her whole face, "You are correct Frank, I was testing you." She turned around and made an attempt at a comical exit, but missed the doorway almost completely.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Frank asked, gently taking her arm. He led her towards the TV room leaving his girlfriend alone in the foyer. Callie sighed softly and followed at a distance, listening as Nancy talked.

"My head just hurts, I'll be fine. Concussions tend to do that to a person."

"I was really worried about you, Drew. You should've called us earlier."

Nancy shrugged, "I thought I could handle it."

They had reached the TV room by now and Nancy pulled away from Frank and trotted over to the couch and plopped down on it, curling up with a content sigh. Frank dug through a basket at the end of the sofa for a blanket and pillow while he talked, "You were way out manned, Nan. You could have been killed."

"I could be killed every day. And it doesn't matter, does it? I'll live to see another day."

Frank rolled his eyes, laying the pillow down at one end of the couch, "Between you and Joe I'm going to be gray before I'm twenty."

Nancy smiled and pushed the pillow out of her way and stretched out across the couch, "Gray hair can be very attractive you know."

Callie winced at the sound of her boyfriend's laughter. He bent down with a slight wince and plopped the pillow back on the couch, "Head elevated, even when you're sleeping. Remember what the doctor said?"

Nancy grudgingly laid down with her head on the pillow, careful to avoid her stiches, "Vaguely."

Frank carefully covered her up with the green fleecy blanket, "Try to get some sleep."

She yawned and burrowed deeper under the blankets, already fast asleep. Callie turned away and hurried to the kitchen, trying to block out the tenderness she had just seen in her boyfriend's eyes for another girl.

About half an hour later Joe pushed back from the table and grinned at his mother, "That was amazing Mom, thanks."

Laura smiled at her younger son, "You're welcome."

"Yeah, thanks Mom," Frank said, standing and giving her a peck on the cheek. "I'm going to go see how Nancy is." He smiled sweetly at Callie and blew her a kiss. She managed to smile back. Joe disappeared after his brother, and Callie stood and carefully gathered the dishes, trying not to let Laura Hardy see her hands shaking.

Carrying them over to the sink, she began to mindlessly wash and dry. After a minute of silence, she glanced over her shoulder at Laura who was finishing up a cup of coffee, "How long have you known Nancy?" she asked innocently.

Laura sat her cup down and thought for a moment, "I think I met her for the first time when she was sixteen. Her and her father were working on a case that tied in with one of Fenton's. Why do you ask?"

Turning back to the dishes, Callie shrugged, glad Laura couldn't see her face, "No particular reason, just curious."

After finishing the dishes in silence, she left the kitchen and approached the TV room where the only sound that could be heard was light snoring. She walked in and stood in the doorway just watching as tears threatened to fall.

All three of the detectives were fast asleep. Joe was on the far end of the couch, leaning back with the footrest up, a blanket covering his long legs, and his cast pulled protectively to his chest. Frank sat on the end closer to her, also with a blanket, legs stretched out on the footrest, and one arm wrapped protectively around his sore ribs. It was the location of the other hand that made her want to cry, though. Nancy lay between the brothers, her feet on Joe's lap and her pillow rested up against Frank's leg where she slept peacefully with her hands around Frank's hand, nestled deep down in the covers.

Callie walked a little closer and bent to fix the blankets covering all three, feeling a sense of melancholy slip over her. She couldn't even hate Nancy, or Frank for that matter. She had finally figured it out.

Frank still thought that he was in love with her.

Maybe not today, or this week, or even this year, but one day Frank Hardy would look at her blonde hair and wish it was red. In that moment he would realize that he didn't love her anymore. Nancy Drew had stolen his heart, and yet neither of them had a single clue. Imagine that; ace detectives completely stumped by their own hearts.

She took a mental picture of how peaceful the trio looked, then turned around and headed for the front door without looking back. She was selfish, she knew that, but until the day that Frank realized he didn't love her any more, he was going to be hers.

So, what do you think? Drop me a review!

~S