A/N: I set this on the shores of Lake George, which is an actual place, though I've changed the details. The peninsula I describe is loosely based on the area of Tongue Mountain and Northwest Bay, but is entirely fictional. Though the area immediately surrounding the Lake does not necessarily have the exact topography I describe, it is present in other areas of the Adirondack State Park – a national treasure and well worth a visit if you ever get to New York State. I have attempted to make my story at least loosely accurate, but the places and people described are totally fictional for the most part.

I hope this story is worth the wait! Oh, and as usual, I forgot the disclaimer... I don't own Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys and make no money from this... yada yada yada... :)

I also forgot to thank my wonderful betas, SnowPrincess and JackieJacks - if not for them this story would likely have been riddled with errors. And trust me, all that remain are mine and mine alone - likely reintroduced during the tweekage phase :s

*This story is rated T: "Suitable for teens, 13 years and older, with some violence, minor coarse language, and minor suggestive adult themes." Please note that this is a HONEYMOON story. If you do not care to read about a loving, overtly affectionate relationship between two consenting adults that are newlyweds, then here's my warning - DON'T READ THIS STORY. And yes, I am mildly discouraged by the 'reviews.' I make every attempt to ensure that I rate appropriately. I have children of my own. I wouldn't post anything under a T rating that I wouldn't let my 13-year-old read. Perhaps I'm too liberal. Sorry. Hopefully it no longer offends the more conservative readers.*

Chapter 1 Awakenings & Awkwardness

The phone buzzed.

Frank Hardy turned his head and cracked one brown eye open to look at the clock sitting on the side table. Ten o'clock in the morning. He closed his eyes again. It felt good to sleep in.

The phone buzzed again.

He stretched out an arm for it, but couldn't reach. Nancy was curled into his side and he was reluctant to move. No, actually he refused to move away from the warmth of his wife.

The phone buzzed again.

"Are you going to get that, Mr. Hardy?"

His wife. Frank liked the sound of that. Looking back at her, he found beautiful blue eyes twinkling in amusement.

"It's probably Joe," he said with a lazy smile. "I was thinking seriously about ignoring it."

Nancy chuckled and tickled his side, making him squirm.

The phone buzzed again.

"I can understand ignoring Joe. But since Saturday he is attached to Vanessa. And I don't think you should ignore your sister-in-law."

Frank grumbled, but he did roll away from Nan and snatch up the receiver.

"What?"

"Oh, nice. That's real polite, bro."

Frank sighed at the petulant sound of his brother's voice. "Sorry. You got us up."

"You're going to sleep the first day of the honeymoon away," Joe said.

"Who said we were sleeping?"

"Yeah, I should have known better." Joe sounded amused and maybe a little disgusted. "Hey, Van and I thought we'd come by and have breakfast with you. What cabin are you in?"

"Um…" Frank turned and looked at Nan. "Do you remember what cabin number this is?"

"Five."

"Five," Frank supplied.

"Great! We'll be there in, like, fifteen minutes," Joe said.

"Joe, we aren't even dressed yet. Give us half an hour."

Feeling the bed shift, Frank turned to watch as his wife stood and padded toward the bathroom – completely naked.

"Um, make that an hour."

"An hour? If we wait an hour we might as well call it brunch," Joe huffed.

Frank sat up on the edge of the bed. He wasn't even vaguely interested in food at the moment.

"Then make it two hours and call it lunch. I gotta go."

Without giving his brother a chance to respond, Frank hung up. He heard the water running and stood to go join Nancy in the bathroom. Before he made it across the room she reappeared and walked over to the suitcase.

"So what are we doing?" she asked as she selected an outfit.

Wrapping his arms around her, he nuzzled her neck. Her strawberry blonde hair was now cut in a sassy short style that curled around her face but left her neck tantalizingly bare. He really liked it.

The phone buzzed again.

"Get lost," he muttered.

A moment later, Nancy was breaking away from him and going to answer the phone. He silently cursed his brother.

"Hello." Nancy listened for a moment, her smile widening. "Yeah, I know, Van. They're like a couple of kids."

"We are not," Frank protested, moving toward her. "Well, maybe Joe is. But I definitely am not."

Nancy smirked at him, one eyebrow raised.

"I'm not," he reiterated. She waved him to silence.

"How about if you and Joe stop by around noon and we'll head to the Boathouse for lunch," Nancy suggested. A moment later, she nodded. "Sounds great. We'll see you then."

Hanging up the phone, she turned to Frank.

"Van and Joe will meet us here at noon. She's going to make reservations for us at the Boathouse."

A glance at the clock made Frank smile. "That means we have close to two hours before they show up."

Nancy put her hands on her hips, her kissable lips turned up in amusement. "We need to shower and get dressed. But I have an inkling you have other plans."

"See what a good detective you are, Mrs. Hardy," Frank said as he wrapped her in his arms. "I do feel I should warn you that my plans do not involve getting dressed."

"Thank goodness."

HHHHHHHHHHH

Pulling the door to their suite shut, Joe Hardy grabbed his wife's hand and took off down the hallway at a brisk pace. He could practically smell the buffet downstairs already.

"C'mon, babe. I'm starving."

Vanessa giggled. "You're always starving. We're meeting Frank and Nancy in just a couple hours for lunch, so you better take it easy at the breakfast buffet."

"But breakfast is the most important meal of the day," Joe said with a grin. They turned into the elevator lobby and he jabbed the down button.

Moving close to his side, Vanessa slipped an arm around his waist. "Your eating habits are going to catch up to your metabolism at some point, hon."

"It takes loads of energy to fuel the love machine that is Joe Hardy," he said with a wide grin, tightening his arm around her.

The elevator doors opened and they stepped onto an empty car. As the door slid shut Joe wrapped both arms around Van's lithe body, pulling it against his. He captured her lips in a fervent kiss, quickly losing himself in his bride.

All too soon the elevator doors opened again and Vanessa was pulling away. Joe groaned, torn between the desire to take Van back up to their room and the need to satisfy the very real emptiness in his stomach.

She pulled him off the elevator. "Come on, Joe. Before you waste away to nothing."

They were staying at the main lodge of the Cedar Point Atrium Resort, which was located on the northern shore of Lake George in the Adirondack State Park. A favorite not only of honeymooners, but also families, in mid-August the resort was bustling with guests.

Joe and Vanessa passed several sets of parents leading children from toddler size up to teenagers as they made their way across the lobby. So it came as little surprise when a gangly pre-teen boy, probably about twelve years old at most, ran headlong into Joe. Van caught the kid as he stumbled backward and righted himself.

"Sorry 'bout that," he mumbled.

"No problem, bud," Joe said affably.

He steered Van into the main lodge restaurant, the Cedars. The line moved quickly and they filled plates before finding a seat out on the deck overlooking the lake.

Vanessa's giggling stopped Joe in the midst of delivering a forkful of maple-syrup-soaked pancake to his mouth. He looked at her, brow furrowed.

"What?"

"You're halfway through that mountain of food, and I've barely touched mine. What do you do? Inhale?"

"Come on, babe. We've been together long enough that this should not surprise you."

"It never ceases to absolutely amaze me, Joe."

He grinned at her. "Good. Means you won't get bored with me."

"No chance of that!" Vanessa said.

A few minutes later he was pushing his empty plate away and contemplating seconds. He looked out at Lake George, sparkling under a blue sky studded with cotton-ball-like clouds.

"It's gorgeous, isn't it?" Van breathed, her slate-gray eyes glittering like the sun on the water.

"You sure are, babe."

"We're married, Joe," Van said, turning a tolerant little smile on him. "You don't have to charm me anymore."

Reaching across the table, Joe took her hand, twirling the wedding ring he had placed on her finger two short days ago. "I plan to charm the pants off you for the rest of your life, Mrs. Hardy."

Van's responding smile just about turned him inside out.

"I look forward to it, Mr. Hardy."

He was one lucky guy.

HHHHHHHHHHH

Van shook her head as Joe pushed another empty plate away. "Are you full yet?"

"That should hold me over until we eat lunch," Joe said, sitting back and patting his stomach.

Openly admiring, she stared at her husband. From sparkling periwinkle blue eyes shaded under wavy blond hair, to his broad muscular chest, to where he was patting his rock hard abs, Vanessa just couldn't help herself. Joe Hardy was a total hunk, and he was all hers. She let loose a girly sigh.

"So, babe, what do you want to do until time for lunch?" Joe leaned on the table, trailing his fingers lightly over her hand.

She turned her hand over and squeezed his. "Why don't we just take a walk and explore. We don't have that much time, anyway, and it'll give us a chance to see what all there is to do here."

"Sounds like a plan," Joe said, pushing his chair back. He picked up the check and reached into the left back pocket of his shorts. "What the…"

He shifted the check to his other hand and reached into his right back pocket, and then patted his front pockets. "I could have sworn I grabbed my wallet when I left the room…"

"You did," Van said certainly, remembering vividly admiring his butt as he tucked his wallet into his jean shorts.

Joe had a lot of upper body bulk which he maintained with regular weight training, but his waist was trim with a pert butt that Van just loved to pat and pinch. If she was honest, it was probably her favorite of all of his features. She often caught herself admiring it.

"Are you sure, babe?" Joe asked.

Van was shaken out of her daydream by her husband's question.

"I'm positive. You put it in your back pocket, like always."

Joe's expression turned grim. "I bet it was that kid…"

Van gasped as the import of what he was saying hit her. "You think that girl that ran into you picked your pocket?"

"Girl? I could have sworn it was a boy."

Thinking back, Van tried to figure out how she knew it was a girl.

"Well, she was wearing baggy jeans, an oversized yellow t-shirt and a baseball cap, but when she bounced off of you I caught her, and she was definitely wearing a bra. I'm sure it was a girl."

Joe leaned over the table and picked up the pen the waitress had left with their check.

"I'm just going to have them add this to the room bill, seeing as how I don't have any cash. I'll have to give Dad a call and have him cancel my credit card and I think we should stop by resort Security and tell them what happened."

Standing, Van moved to Joe's side. "Not exactly how I was hoping to spend the time until we met up with Frank and Nan."

With a sigh, Joe wrapped an arm around her even as he pulled out his cell phone to make the call.

"Me neither, babe. Hopefully it won't take long and we can get on with our honeymoon."

Van patted his stomach and smiled at him, hoping to lighten his mood. "You just better hope nobody cards you for the rest of our honeymoon."

It backfired and Joe grimaced.

"Damn, I didn't think of that."

They headed to the front desk and Vanessa explained what had happened to the day manager while Joe talked to his father. The manager, a very nice man named Jeffrey Steiger, then led them into the business offices of the main lodge, apologizing profusely. He stopped outside a small office and stuck his head in.

"Hey, Rich, I have another couple that has been struck by our pickpocket."

The sandy-haired man behind the desk stood up with a frustrated growl. Not only tall, but bulky, his boyish face was surprising, especially when a deep bass voice issued from his mouth.

"Not again. I was really hoping the thief had moved on when it was quiet for the last few days."

"I'm afraid not." Jeffrey motioned Joe and Vanessa through the door. "Rich, I'd like you to meet our guests from Bayport, Joe and Vanessa Hardy, who are here on their honeymoon." Jeffrey turned to the couple. "This is our head of Security, Rich Haschalk. He'll take a report. I'm going to run to my office real quick. And then I'll be back to make sure everything is taken care of. Thanks, Rich."

As Jeffrey disappeared out the door, Rich shook their hands in turn and then motioned them to seats.

"Please, folks, have a seat. I'm really sorry about this." He sat down as Joe and Van did, pulled a form out of a drawer in his desk, and picked up a pen.

"Full names and home address, please."

"Vanessa and Joe Hardy, 210 Devonshire Boulevard, Bayport, NY," Joe supplied.

Rich looked up, eyes wide. "Wait a minute, you said Joe Hardy? Of Bayport? I've heard of you. You're one of the famous Hardy brothers, aren't you?"

Van smiled proudly. "He is. His brother, Frank, is here on his honeymoon, too."

Grinning, Rich nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! Frank, he's the one who's been in the news recently over that identity theft ring, and then the kidnapping, right? Wow. I've followed your guys' career. Amazing!"

Joe shifted and Van could tell he wasn't comfortable with the blatant admiration from the Security officer.

"Thanks, I really appreciate that. But if you don't mind, could we get this over with? We'd really like to get back to our honeymoon."

"Oh, sure, I'm sorry about that. Alright, I just need to fill out this form, and then we'll get you on your way…"

They answered all the routine questions, and then provided what information they could about the pick-pocket.

Rich sat back after finishing his notes. "That's the best description we've had of the possible pickpocket," he said. "Usually folks haven't got a clue where or when the thief struck. Of course, I shouldn't be surprised, since it's one of the famous Hardy brothers. You guys would probably be able to solve this case in a fraction of the time it's taking me."

Van tried to hide her smile when Joe's ears turned red. An attention hound when it came to personal interactions, he was really a lot like Frank when it came to praise about his work – surprisingly modest.

"I'm sure you're doing what you can," Joe said. "Pickpockets are notoriously difficult to catch. It sounds like this thief has been hanging out here for a while, huh?"

"We've had reports here at Cedar Point off and on for the last month. Unfortunately, we're just the most recent stomping grounds. Before that, the thief was harassing guests at Whispering Pines. We actually have a local security task force with Champion Ferry police department that tries to nip this kind of thing in the bud, but this particular thief has been very difficult to get a line on."

"Sounds like they must be pretty good," Joe said, standing. "Best of luck to you."

Rich stood too and reached across his desk to shake Joe's hand and then Vanessa's.

"I think I'm going to need it. It's a bit of a blow to the pride to learn that it's a kid. Maybe that's why she's gotten away with it for so long."

Joe chuckled. "Don't feel bad. I think those are always the hardest ones to solve – the ones where the perp is so unexpected."

"All done?"

Turning toward the door, they found Jeffrey standing there.

"Yes, thank you," Van said.

Jeffrey held something out toward Joe. "Meal vouchers. They're good for any of the resort restaurants. I also removed the charges for the breakfast buffet this morning from your hotel tab. We hope that you'll enjoy the remainder of your stay."

Taking the vouchers, Joe shook the manager's hand, his handsome face set in a grin.

"Thank you very much!" He turned to Rich. "If you learn anything, please let us know."

"It would be my pleasure," Rich said. "And listen, if you notice anything suspicious or think you see the kid again, please let me or one of my officers know. We appreciate any help we can get."

"Sure thing," Joe said.

He took Van's hand and led her out of the office.

"They were very nice," Van said as they stepped out the door of the main lodge and into the sunshine of another gorgeous day.

"Yeah, they were," Joe agreed. "It's a little embarrassing to be recognized like that, though."

Tucking her hands round one of Joe's muscular arms, she squeezed.

"It makes me proud. You and Frank are really good at what you do, and obviously your peers recognize that. I think it's kind of cool."

"I guess. I can guarantee it's going to make Frank less than happy, though."

Vanessa gave a little giggle as a thought occurred to her. "I think we should have some fun and tell Rich to ask Frank for an autograph. That would really push him over the edge."

"You have a wicked streak, Mrs. Hardy," Joe said with a grin. "And I like it!"