Here we are - the final chapter!

Reviewers!: AlienAllie, Guest, Misbehaving deer, Guest, max2013, Guest, Caranath, PrincessSkywalkerOrgana, bhar, Piperpanther, Kittycat, JackieJacks

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize. I do own a twenty-year-old car that I am working to cover in bumper stickers. (One of my favorites says "Reading is Sexy" :) )

The next day, Frank and Nancy brought the recording to Mr. Phillip himself, along with Carson. Ned was also there, though they didn't say much to him. Mr. Phillip was, surprisingly, quite apologetic about the entire thing, offering to up Ned's salary and pay for a week of vacation days. He declined the days off, saying that he'd been away from work for long enough.

The police came shortly thereafter at the request of Mr. Phillip. With such an important business man pressing them to action, they didn't hesitate to hear them out and connect what had happened the night before.

As Nancy and Frank were on their way out from Mr. Phillip's office, he stopped them with a hand.

"You know," he said. "You two look incredibly familiar. Are you sure we haven't met?"

Nancy had to resist the urge to hide her smile behind her hand. "No, I don't think so. Just one of those faces, I guess."

He nodded, though he didn't look entirely convinced. "I suppose so. Well, in any event, thank you for bringing the truth to light. I really wasn't thrilled about letting Mr. Nickerson go, so now we all win."

"Sure thing," Frank said. He shook his hand before ushering Nancy out the door.

By the time they were alone in the elevator they were ready to collapse into laughter. It was one part the hilarity of the situation, one part exhaustion, and one part relief over finally wrapping the whole thing up.

Carson had pulled up his car and was waiting for them by the time the stepped outside.

"Well, Nancy," he said once they had climbed inside, "I may not always approve of your methods, but I can't deny that you got to the truth."

"Dad, I really am sorry. I never meant to put you in that position," she said, turning in the front seat to face her father.

He waved his hand. "It's done, and it all worked out. Just be more careful next time."

They couldn't help it - Nancy and Frank burst out laughing again.

"Okay, okay. Maybe that's too much to ask," Carson said with a sigh before joining in. "Ready to start your vacation for real?"

Nancy turned around to look at Frank in the backseat. "More than ever."

His answering smile was all she needed to get her blood moving.

"Are you sure you don't mind?" Vanessa asked, unfolding a blanket and laying it on the couch.

Joe stood up from where he had been digging in his bag and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in close. "Not even a little bit."

Vanessa sighed and leaned into him, resting her cheek against his strong shoulder. "To be honest, I'm a little surprised that you haven't petitioned to spend the night with me," she said, teasing.

"With your scary aunt one wall away?" Joe shuddered. "No, thank you."

He smiled when he felt her laugh against him, gratified that he'd brought a smile to her beautiful face. She hadn't smiled enough that day through the hours of police questioning.

"But seriously," he continued. "I'm taking my cue from you on that front, got it?"

"Sounds good," she said, snuggling in closer.

"And while we're on the subject, would you like to go to dinner with me tomorrow? On a date, I mean."

She pulled back just enough to look up at him. "Will you show up this time?"

Joe groaned and ducked his forehead until it was resting on her shoulder. "Am I ever going to live that down?"

"Probably not," she said with a shrug. "But you're more than welcome to try."

He looked up, straight into her eyes. "I'm going to hold you to that. And I will show up. In fact, I'll even pick you up."

"One more chance," she said sternly, before dissolving into a smile.

"Good," he said, more relieved than he'd care to admit. Sliding his hands up, he cupped her face and lowered his lips. Pressing gently, he savored the feel of her warm mouth opening to him. Taking advantage he slowly slid his tongue against hers. She sighed, urging him on, quickening his motions just a bit. Her hands slipped around him until they pressed against the bare skin of his back under his shirt, igniting fire in their wake.

Allowing himself just a few more seconds total bliss, he finally tore his mouth from hers. His heart pounded against his chest, his breathing heavy. She didn't look to be faring much better.

"You better head inside your room," he said, voice rough.

"Are you rejecting me?" she asked with a smile, though he couldn't help but pick up on the slight confusion in her voice.

"No," he said, taking her hand. "Never. And I know what I said just a minute ago, but to be honest, I don't think I'm ready yet."

"What?" Now her confusion was front and center.

Joe sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Sex for me has always just been about fun. You know, no strings attached and all that. I can't even remember the last time it had any sense of meaning behind it. Before I let myself go there with you I want to make sure that I'm ready for it to be what we both want."

"I could do no strings," she said, though she seemed unsure about it.

"Maybe," he admitted, "but I don't think I could. Not anymore. I don't want that for us."

She looked relieved that that wasn't what he was asking for. "Okay. Then we'll wait."

"Not forever," Joe said with a smirk. "But let's be sure about this. About us."

"Sounds perfect." She reached up and held his rough cheeks in her hands and pressed her lips to his once more. "I'm heading to bed. See you in the morning?"

"I'll be here."

Frank leaned back against Nancy's headboard, reading a book. She'd taken a phone call into the sunroom, and even though he was trying ridiculously hard, he couldn't help but wonder what it was about. After he'd read the same page about thirty times, she finally came back in. It didn't escape him that she was avoiding looking him in the face, causing his heart to speed.

"Everything okay?" he asked carefully.

"Um hm," she said, rifling through the clothes on the floor for her pajamas.

Frank didn't push her, though he didn't stop watching her. She changed quickly and slid into bed next to him, turning on her own reading light. He went back to trying to read his own book and managed to get through two pages.

"Okay, what is it?" He set down the book, not even leaving a finger in it to keep his place.

"What do you mean?" She, he noticed, did keep her finger in hers.

"Something's up, I can tell. I understand if the conversation was private, but can you at least tell me why you're acting so different?"

Instead of answering, she reached up and pulled him to her, kissing him harder than he had expected. Instead of backing off, she wound her arms around his neck, pushing closer to him with an urgency that stole his breath. Frank knew there was something he was supposed to be asking her about, but he no longer cared. His girlfriend was smart, beautiful, sassy, and kissing him. All was right in his world. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her down on top of him, running his hands across the silky fabric she wore.

She moved her lips across his stubbled jaw, blazing a trail to his neck. Sensations were pinging through him from his head to his toes, before settling on a more central location.

Now that his mouth was free, he couldn't help but saw through short breaths, "Remind me to thank whoever just called you."

It was the wrong thing to say. Nancy froze before burying her face in his shoulder.

"Nancy?" He asked, suddenly worried. "Please tell me what's going on."

When she finally looked at him, there were tears in her eyes. "That was the agency."

"Oh." It had been so easy to forget that Nancy was a CIA operative. After what had happened in Bayport they'd extended her leave and as far as he knew, she hadn't heard from them since.

"They need me for a mission."

"When do you leave?" He asked, chest tight.

"Tomorrow."

"Oh," he said again. There wasn't much else to say. It was part of who she was, and there was no way he could ask her to quit. He didn't even want to.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you right when I came in," she said, clutching his hand. "I just thought that maybe we could have one more night without worrying about the future, but I guess I kind of ruined that."

"No, you didn't," he said, then amended, "well, you didn't do a great job of keeping it to yourself, but I'm glad that you didn't."

"I feel really torn, Frank. One part of me wants to die at the thought of leaving you, but the other part of me is jumping with excitement. And then a third part feels ashamed about the second part."

Frank laughed and brought her hand up to his lips. "You don't need to feel ashamed. Yes, I will miss you like crazy, but I get it. It's part of what makes you Nancy Drew, and part of why I love you."

Relaxing just a little, she laid her head on his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat. "I love you, too."

He smiled and tightened his arms around her. "I know."

An hour later she was asleep on the other side of the bed. Frank, for his part, was wide awake and staring at the ceiling, one arm tucked behind his head. Letting his frustration get to him, he finally slipped out of bed and grabbed his phone. There was only one person he wanted to talk to just then.

"You better not be calling me to tell me about your latest experience with Nancy," Joe warned upon answering.

"What? When have I ever done that? I think you're confusing us again," Frank said with a laugh.

"Oh. Right. So what's up?"

They took turns filling each other on the happenings of the last few days, reveling in each other's successes. Frank wished he could be sitting there across from his brother, but a phone call did the trick in a pinch.

Joe was particularly upset that he wasn't around when Frank laid into Ned. "I can't believe you didn't hit him," he groaned.

"I know," Frank agreed, though he felt his face redden at the thought of his loss of control. "But now that I've had some distance I can see what a mistake it would have been."

"I don't care. It still would have been amazing."

Frank grunted in response.

"You know, I still can't believe you were working a case for Ned of all people."

Joe was sitting on the couch in Vanessa's living room. The two women were in their rooms, hopefully already asleep. It was late, especially compared to where Frank was, but his brother had been the one to call him.

"To be honest, me neither," Frank said with a laugh. "But at least now it's over."

"You can say that again."

"So how red in the face did Dad get when he showed up to see the police already talking to Sam and Vanessa's aunt?"

Joe's smile stretched his mouth, and he only wished his brother had been there with him to see it. "Oh, so red. The most beautiful shade..."

Frank chuckled. "You really shouldn't instigate him so much."

"Hey, it's not like I did it on purpose this time. This one pretty much fell into my lap. What kind of son would I be if I didn't milk it for what it was worth?"

Joe could almost hear his brother's eyes rolling, though Frank didn't bother contradicting him. "So you're at Vanessa's?"

"Yeah, just for the night, probably. They wanted to sleep well and feel safe."

"You're not... in her bed right now or anything, are you?" Frank sounded like he was afraid of the answer, and Joe had to laugh.

"No, Frank, I'm not."

"Well, that's a first."

Joe's voice quieted a little. "It's different with her. And I really, truly mean that."

"I know you do, little brother. You sound different."

"I mean, I really don't want to mess it up. I haven't cared about a girl, let myself care about a girl, since Iola."

Frank was momentarily taken aback by how easily the name came out of his brother's mouth. He hadn't spoken so openly of her in years. It struck him again that Vanessa was doing Joe more good than anyone could have hoped.

"Then just be honest with her. It's all you can do."

"I know," Joe said with a smile. "I was. I told her everything."

"What happened?"

"She... she hugged me. She understood." Joe's voice was still filled with disbelief. "I always figured that any girl I told would go running once faced with who I really am."

"You just have to find the right one."

"Frank," Joe said, full of apprehension. "I think I found her. I mean, I really think I found the girl for me."

One reason out of a thousand why Joe loved his brother is that Frank didn't tell him to slow down, or to think about it more, or that it was just infatuation. He trusted Joe to know what he was feeling.

"That's great, Joe. Believe me when I say I'm really happy for you."

"Thanks. So when are you coming back?"

Frank shrugged, though his brother couldn't see him. "Probably tomorrow."

"What? Why?"

"Nancy got a call from the agency. She's got an assignment that starts tomorrow."

"Already? I thought she was still on leave." Joe knew that his brother was putting up a brave front but that the news was crushing him. The late night phone call finally made sense.

Frank shrugged even though Joe couldn't see it. "She was, but apparently they really needed her for this one."

"Bummer, man."

"Yeah." Frank was silent for a moment and Joe could picture him picking at something. "It's part of who she is, though, you know? I can't be that guy. I can't be..."

"Ned," Joe finished for him.

"Exactly. And that's apparent now more than ever. I have to let her be who she is or I'll lose her."

"It's true," he agreed. "Don't worry; she'll come back to you."

"I really hope so," Frank said sadly.

"So when do you want to get picked up from the airport?"

"I'm going to check flights in the morning. Can I call you then?"

"I'd be offended if you didn't."

"Okay," Frank said, then yawned. Talking to his best friend had relaxed him enough to feel tired. "Thanks, Joe."

"Get some sleep, big brother. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

Frank made his way through the terminal, rolling his bag along behind him. He and Nancy had both left from the Chicago airport at the same time, though her flight had been bound for D.C. Their goodbye at her gate had been the most heart wrenching thing he'd ever experienced. The only thing keeping him together was knowing that she should be calling him soon.

Finally making his way to the passenger pick up, he saw his brother's unmistakable car idling by the curb. Joe got out and grabbed his bag, throwing it into the truck.

He took one look at Frank's sad face and threw his arms arms around him. They didn't even do any of the man-hug back patting. Frank clung to his brother, willing his emotions to go back into their cave.

Joe pulled away and held his brother by the shoulders. He thought of all the different things he could say - most of it a load of crap. Finally he settled on just the right thing.

"Dad's got a case for us."

Frank surreptitiously wiped at his eyes and laughed, a grin melting away his sad emotions.

"Well, what are we waiting for?"

Fin.

Well, it's been a wild ride! Thank you for sticking with it. You are all amazing, wonderful, awesome people for taking time to read. And if you've reviewed, multiply that by a million.

I'm doing another book giveaway! If you want a Supermystery, send me a private message with your info. Also tell me which ones you already own so you don't get a duplicate. Depending on how many people message me, I'll randomly select a few. The last day to message me will be July 17th, 2013. I'll be sure to let you know if you've been selected so that you know to look for something in the mail.

It's the best I can do to say thank you for your support of my writing.

And don't worry - I'll be back again!