Disclaimer: I own nothing but this strange, lonely feeling.

Disclaimer for the summary: I'll admit I didn't make it up myself. So duh, I don't own it either.

A/N: Um, OK, it's a little hard to type when you heartbroken. I really don't want this to end!!

BAAA!!! I'm going to miss you all SOOOOOOOOO MUCH!!

I'm not even lying!

Sniff.

OK, before I start, I kinda want to let you know that parts of this is kind of a joke between me, and my friend Val. You should still be able to follow along, though.

And yes, I know I promised no more than a week, because I had a huge chunk of the epilogue done, but…writer's block for the rest. All these things that needed wrapping up came to mind, and I spent AGES trying to figure it out. Sorry sorry!

(BTW, I recommend Beavertails to EVERYONE is the world!)

Enjoy:

"I'm so excited," Joe whispered to Nancy, rubbing his hands together.

"Joe," Nancy laughed. "It's basically fried dough with sugar on it."

"Best of both worlds," Joe shrugged as they finally made it to the front of the line.

"Hi," a cheerful-looking girl with wild, curly brown hair smiled up at them. "May I take your order and not your comments about my hair?"

"Huh?" Joe said, confused. The girl sighed.

"The last five people in line have 'complimented' my hair," the girl sighed. Nancy suddenly nudged Frank.

"Look at her name tag," Nancy whispered. Frank glanced down. Under the word 'Beavertails' was the name 'Val'.

Frank grinned at Nancy.

"Seriously, may I take your order?" Val said, looking impatient. "My shift was supposed to end ten minutes ago."

Frank opened his mouth, but was cut off as someone pushed out in front of him.

Joe glared at the person, a tall girl about the age of sixteen.

"Val," the girl sighed. "We--we as in me and Johnny, your best friend and boyfriend-- have been waiting for you in the mall for the past twenty minutes. Yes, twenty minutes of Johnny repeating 'Where's Val? I want to see Val!'Now, if you don't get there soon, I will have to kick his whiny, mope-y ass, and I can bet that will not be good for our friendship."

The girl tugged on her light brown hair in frustration, and Val slapped her hand away.

"You're going to pull your hair right off your head, Becca," Val warned. "And I would be there, but some people will not place an order."

"Hey--," Joe started, but stopped when he saw Nancy and Frank's awed, mushy looks.

"Your name is Becca?" Nancy asked. "As in, short for Rebecca?"

Becca blinked her big, brown eyes.

"Short for Rebecca Eileen," Becca grimaced. "But I really prefer Becca. Hey…aren't you…"

"And did you say your boyfriend's name is Johnny?" Frank laughed.

"Are you…" Becca tried again.

"Yes," Val said, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. "Why?"

"HEY!" Becca cried, causing everyone to look at her in surprise, except for Val. "Are you Nancy Drew? And Frank and Joe Hardy?"

"Um, yeah," Joe answered for them.

"OmiGod!" Becca shrieked, grinning at Val.

"OmiGod!" Val repeated in the same decibel of voice as Becca.

"You…you are like our idols," Val cried. "We have followed every case you have solved!"

"Is it true you just solved one here?!" Becca demanded.

The girls continued to fire off questions at break-neck speed, chatting and arguing to each other in between so quickly that Frank, Nancy and Joe just stared in confusion.

Nancy's face broke out in a smile suddenly as the two girls suddenly stopped, glancing at Frank, quickly at Joe, and then back at Frank.

"OK…just give us whatever," Frank finally said, and Val hurried away to fix the order.

Joe looked confused. Nancy almost laughed at his expression.

"So…" Becca spoke up, playing with the hem of her dark blue long-sleeved shirt. "Is it true you guys are engaged?"

Nancy bit her lip, trying to hold in laughter as Frank nodded his head. Becca bit her lip, fighting back a disappointed look.

"Congrats," she finally said, smiling tightly. Joe became increasingly confused.

"Aren't you cold?" Joe blurted out, looking at the young girl, who wasn't wearing a jacket. "It's freezing out."

Becca looked shocked.

"Oh, no," she said. "I'm not cold, I'm Canadian. It's actually quite mild today."

Frank and Nancy laughed and Joe looked at the girl with shock.

"Hey, Val," Becca drawled out, leaning over the counter. "I forgot my jacket…hurry up."

"You just said you weren't cold," Joe exclaimed.

"I'm not," Becca said, rolling her eyes. "I just want Val to hurry up."

"Here you go," Val came up, putting three wrapped up Beavertails on the counter.

Frank put the money on the counter, smiling at the girls.

Nancy held back even more laughter, finally bursting out laughing when they walked away.

"What's so funny?" Joe asked.

"They were checking Frank out," Nancy laughed. "When we turned to leave, I could hear the short one, Val, say 'Oh…my…God…when we rule the universe, he is our God!'"

Frank looked shocked. "Really?"

"Really?" Joe repeated. "They…uh, they weren't checking out me?"

Nancy shook her head apologetically.

"They saw your wedding ring," Nancy explained, laughing again.

"But they would have checked me out if I wasn't wearing it, right?" Joe asked. "Right?"

"I'm sure they would have," Frank assured his brother. "Although, they did check me out, and I'm engaged…"

"Crazy teenage girls," Joe muttered. "They don't even realize the hottest man alive was speaking to them?"

"I'm sorry Joe, but, that's Alexis in about sixteen years," Nancy giggled.

Frank laughed as Joe groaned.

"That is NOT cool," Joe sighed. "Do they all talk like that? That fast? And they ALL want to rule the universe?"

"I think that might just be a Becca and Val thing," Nancy explained.

They walked in silence, chewing on their Beavertails.

"Wait!" Frank suddenly cried out. "How on Earth did that girl know that we were engaged?"

"It was in the newspaper…" Nancy mused. "But only the local one in Bayport. It wouldn't be announced all the way up here."

"That…is a little weird," Frank said finally.

"Oh, hey," Joe spoke up. "What was up with those mushy looks you guys were giving each other back there?"

Frank and Nancy exchanged grins.

"You didn't get it?" Frank asked. "Rebecca…Val…Johnny?"

Joe shook his head and took a bite of his Beavertail.

"Rebecca was Nancy's name in Egypt, when we kissed," Frank explained. "And Val and Johnny were our cover names at the marriage counseling session. It's all too coincidental."

Joe nodded his head slowly.

"Oh…" he sighed. "I get it."

"You don't sound happy," Nancy said, furrowing her brow.

"I miss Vanessa!" Joe whined, stomping his foot. "How much longer do we have to stay here?"

"We'll probably be home soon," Frank said.

"WHEN is SOON?" Joe asked. "I miss my wife! And my baby…"

"Within the next two days," Frank promised, glancing around the street. A newspaper rolled through the market in the breeze, and without even seeing the headline, he knew what it was about.

The past five days, the headlines of the local paper had something to do with the explosion.

The articles mostly consisted of whatever had been released at that point. Mostly names and interviews, Willy's arrest, Hal's death. The third day was by far the most revealing. It concerned Nancy and the Hardy's, Fenton's concussion, and Tim. Including Tim's real name.

"Braxton Edgar Darius Herbert Elliot Alistair Danes," Joe read from the paper with astonishment. "That was his name?"

Fenton smiled, nodding his head. "The second."

"The SECOND?" Joe repeated. "The SECOND? How do you come up with a name like THAT?"

"Bed head," Frank murmured under his breath.

"Wha--?" Nancy stopped mid-word, laughing.

"Bed head?" Joe asked, shaking his head. "B.E.D.H.E.A.D. Why would they do that to him?"

"It was his grandfather's name," Fenton shrugged. "He was sick and tired of being called Bed-head by third grade, though, and he wouldn't let us call him Braxton because he said—and I quote—'It starts like bra'."

Nancy, Joe and Frank erupted into laughter.

"He was a third grader," Fenton chuckled. "He couldn't think of anything worse. So he gave himself the name of his imaginary friend, Tim."

Frank sighed. He didn't even want to think about how everyone back home was going to handle this.

But he knew they would, eventually, together.

--

Joe put his hand on the doorknob, excited to open it and finally get back to his life.

Before he could even turn the knob, the door flew open and something tall and blonde flew at him.

"Joe!" Vanessa squealed, wrapping her arms around her husband's neck. "I'm so glad you're alright!"

Joe dropped his luggage and put his arms around Vanessa's waist. He buried his head in her shoulder, inhaling her comforting scent.

When they pulled back, tears shone in Vanessa's eyes.

"I don't know what I would've done if you'd been in the building when it…it…" Vanessa trailed off. Joe nodded in understanding.

He bent down to kiss her, and she responded enthusiastically, but he could still feel tears running down her cheeks and onto his.

He pulled back softly, and ran his hands lightly through her hair.

"Where's Alexis?" he asked. Vanessa's eyes widened. She scurried back into the house and scooted down to where her daughter was lying on the floor, naked from the bottom down.

"I was changing her diaper," Vanessa said, putting a clean diaper on her daughter and then picking her up.

"You touched me with diaper hands?" Joe asked, mock-aghast. Vanessa grinned and sat down on the couch with Alexis on her lap. Joe closed the door behind him and sat down next to her.

Joe survived his daughter with a critical eye.

"She's bigger," Joe announced.

"I doubt she grew a noticeable amount in the time you were gone," Vanessa argued.

"She's huge!" Joe pronounced. "What have you been feeding her?"

"Breast-milk…?" Vanessa said, the statement sounding more like a question.

"Well there you go," Joe sighed, pulling Vanessa closer and she placed Alexis in his arms.

The baby smiled up at him, her blue eyes gleaming. Joe kissed her on top of the head, the warm, baby scent made his heart pang with happiness.

Here, with Vanessa and Alexis, Joe was truly, completely home.

--

Fenton sunk down in his office chair, putting the phone down. He rested his forehead in his hands and leaned forward over his desk.

The FBI refused to talk about anything on a non-secure phone line and insisted on flying to Bayport for an official Q&A.

His head ached…though his concussion was only mild but it still made concentrating a bitch.

The door to his office rattled open and Fenton felt his wife's arms slide around his neck.

"It'll be OK," Laura murmured, kissing his cheek. "At least you'll be at home."

Fenton leaned his head back so his head was right beside Laura's.

"I know," he said back. Because with Laura's help and love, he would always be home.

--

Nancy and Frank tumbled into their apartment. They kissed each other with gusto, falling backwards into the room, the door slamming shut behind them.

Their luggage was already in their room, except for a small carry-on bag that Nancy had thrown onto the floor.

"I…" Nancy couldn't even speak. On their way up from getting the carry-on bag, Nancy had finally asked Frank the question that had been bugging her since Canada.

"Why did you go talk to that little girl?" Nancy asked. Frank's face turned red and he gripped her hand.

"She looked so afraid," Frank said, looking away.

"But there must have been a hundred afraid people," Nancy pointed out. "What drew you to her? To Sally?"

Frank bit his lip, embarrassed.

"What is it?" Nancy prodded. "Frank…"

"She just…well," Frank sighed. "I thought…well, I thought she kind of looked like our daughter, if we ever have one. That's almost exactly how I pictured her."

Nancy stopped, looking at Frank.

"I know, it's weird," Frank mumbled, his face colouring.

"No, it's not," Nancy whispered. "Have…have you thought about that a lot?"

Frank nodded. "Kinda."

Frank stopped outside their door. Nancy was still standing at the end of the hall.

"Come on," Frank begged. "Just pretend I never said anything."

Nancy shook her head, rushing down the hall, pulling Frank down into a passionate kiss.

"That has got to be the sweetest thing I've ever heard," Nancy breathed, kissing Frank again

Frank pulled Nancy closer, grabbing her hands.

"I love you," he whispered, looking down at the ring on her left ring finger.

"I love you, too," Nancy replied, pulling his head back down to hers.

Frank returned the kiss.

Here, with Nancy, he was home.

A/N: I am CRYING my eyes out. It's fully hitting me now that it's OVER. DONE. FINISHED. COMPLETE.

BAAAA!!!!

I sound like some sort of wounded sheep!

I'm…I'm so unbelievably grateful to everyone who has EVER reviewed, and people who may or may not review in the future.

I LOVE YOU!!! Major hugs and kisses.

OK, a HUGE thank you to my friend Val, who also acted as spell-checker, nagger, 'Melissa, you need to EXPAND'-er, listener (I'm sure I've annoyed you into oblivion…I'll pay for the mental intuition), and co-Ruler of the Universe. The Wizard thanks you. No need to bow this time, cuz I couldn't have done THIS without you.

OK, thanks to everyone who has read this, or put it on their Story Alerts or Favorites.

Catch you on the flip side (I had to leave you with something dorky, otherwise it wouldn't be me),

~Melissa

P.S. REVIEW and I'll have even more people to love.

P.P.S. That's the last time I'm ever gonna get to do that!

P.P.P.S. If any of you want to know what happens with Iola just PM me.