18 months later

He stared at himself in the mirror, tugging nervously at his bowtie. Smoothing his hair with his hand, he gave himself one last, critical glance. Looking down, he brushed away a piece of lint from his tuxedo. He’d never felt comfortable in these things, regardless of how good he looked in them. Exhaling nervously, he took a deep breath, and exhaled again. Once upon a time he’d secretly dreamed of this day, then watched as he let it slip slowly out of his fingers. As the chance for this union reared it’s head again, he had felt like holding his breath; just waiting for fate to step in and prevent it once more.

"Hey," he heard his brother call. "Are you ready? They’re waiting for us so they can start. You know how she doesn’t like for you to keep her waiting." He turned to his brother, holding out his arms.

"Well, what do you think?"

"I’d say you look like an idiot in that suit, but you’re nervous enough the way it is. You look great. Really great!"

"Thanks," He stopped, took another deep breath, and suddenly put his arms around his brother. "I love you, you know that right?"

"Yeah," he said. "I know. I love you too. And I’m very proud of you. And not just because you snagged such a great bride. But because of who you are - the best brother a guy could have."

"Thanks," he stepped back. "Okay, enough mushiness. Let’s get this show on the road."

Laurie stepped proudly onto the carpet that led down the aisle toward where her daddy and Uncle Joe were standing. Glancing back, she saw her mother, Vanessa, and their friend, Callie smiling back at her. Holding her head up higher, she pulled a handful of rose petals from the small white basket that she held. She was the star right now. Her daddy had told her so. She led the way. As the music started, she waited for Aunt Bess to motion her forward. First one foot, then the other. As she reached the end of the aisle, Uncle Joe winked at her. Grinning, she took her place.

The rest of the wedding party followed behind Laurie. As the bride finally reached her destination, she turned and quietly faced her groom, nervousness etched on her face. The groom smiled and took her hand. The pastor began the ceremony.

Cameras flashed and friends and family sat in quiet; awaiting the union that they’d hoped for so long would eventually occur. Laurie watched carefully, awaiting the big moment. Her mother had explained what would happen to her very carefully. First there would be music, then speaking, then more music, then more speaking, and then....he’d kiss her. And she wasn’t supposed to giggle. Not at all. No giggling. Even if they did look funny when they kissed. And then..

The words had been spoken. She’d said "I do," and he’d repeated the same when it was his turn. As the pastor said "You may kiss the bride," he had turned, taken her in his arms, and done just that. Laurie couldn’t help herself - she just to had to let out one small giggle. She caught her grandmother’s eye in the front pew of the church and was relieved to find her smiling at her. So it didn’t matter if her mother wasn’t going to be happy with her about giggling. Grandma would smooth it over.

The pastor turned to the crowd that had gathered, smiling. "I would like to now present to you Mr. and Mrs. Joseph and Vanessa Hardy."

The reception was now in full swing. Joe was having the time of his life, mingling with his friends and family, dancing with his new bride, taking every opportunity to slip off somewhere to steal a kiss from her in private. The ceremony had went off without a hitch, dinner had been great, and now it was time to party. From what he could see, his guests were having a great time. He gazed out over the familiar faces of his friends, both old and new, and truly felt blessed.

Bess had flown in from Los Angeles and had spent much of the evening dividing her time between Tony and Chet, much to the dismay of Tony’s girlfriend. Biff had taken Vanessa onto the dance floor for a spin. Mr. Drew was also dancing, with his new wife. The couple had flown in for a few days to visit with Nancy and Laurie while attending the wedding. They had even brought Hannah Gruen with them, the closest person Nancy had ever had for a mother. She was currently helping Aunt Gertrude set out slices of cake. Turning, he spotted Ned Nickerson leaning over to whisper something in his wife's ear He and his wife Rachel had flown in for the wedding, but they'd left their twins at home with Ned's parents. Across from Ned, Callie and Phil were listening to a story that George Fayne was sharing.

His dad, who had been keeping several of his friends and acquaintances occupied, was now on the dance floor, spinning Laurie slowly around the room. He had taken the news that he was a grandfather well, and was enjoying the role nearly as much as Laura Hardy was enjoying being a grandmother. They’d accepted Nancy back with only slight reservations, and those had evaporated with ease, due mainly to Laurie’s natural charms.

Kevin was even here. Kevin, who decided he missed Nancy and Laurie way too much and made the sudden move from Los Angeles to New York City about 10 months ago. He was still modeling, and now taking classes at NYU. It seemed Kevin had decided he wanted to learn how to be a writer. ‘Well,’ Joe thought, ‘he certainly has enough interesting experiences to begin a story or two with.’

That left only two people unaccounted for. Joe finally spotted them, sitting by themselves at a table near the back of the room. Grinning, Joe made his way over to them. "Having fun kids?" he asked.

Nancy smiled, smoothing the skirt of her bridesmaid’s dress. "It’s been a fantastic wedding, Joe. Vanessa has done a beautiful job."

"Well," he said. "She had some pretty terrific helpers. She couldn’t have done this without you or Callie."

"Don’t forget your mother. And her mom. They did quite a bit more than I did."

"Oh, no," he said. "I would never slight either one of them. They’d smack me if I did." He grinned again, reminding Frank of the Cheshire cat in Alice in Wonderland.

"What?" Frank asked.

"What do you mean, what?" Joe asked.

"I know that look. You’re up to something. What is it?"

"You’ll see." he sighed. "I’m going to go reclaim my bride now. Be back later." He got up and slipped across the dance floor.

Nancy laughed. "He can’t be trusted, can he?"

"Not at all," Frank said. "There’s no telling what he’s about to pull. Maybe we should sneak out now..."

He stopped speaking as he saw Joe and Vanessa take over for the DJ. Joe tapped the microphone and jumped as it screeched in complaint.

"Okay, then. We know it works," he said laughing. Taking Vanessa’s hand, he began to speak. "I just wanted to say thank you to some very special people that are here tonight. Frank, stand up."

Frank shot Joe a glare, then stood. Nancy grinned, knowing just how much Frank was hating to be singled out like this.

"First, here’s a toast to the first anniversary of the Hardy Detective Agency. It isn’t official until next month, of course, but I won’t have everyone gathered and at my mercy like this then. Second, Frank, I wanted to tell you, you’re the best brother a person could ever have. You have stood by me all my life, from the day I took my first steps, throughout school, through triumphs and tragedy, risking your life time after time to save mine. A while back I let you down. You lost someone you loved very much, and you needed me for support. I lost patience with you and gave up. And I left. For that I apologize. I would like to say I'm sorry that I did that, but I can't. Because happily, it provided me with the chance to help turn your loss around." He paused. "That loss part, you do know I’m talking about you, Nancy, right?" he said.

"I got that part," she called out to him. The other guests laughed.

"In doing so, something happened. It was called to my attention that in giving up on you, I had lost someone that I still loved too. And because I tried to reconnect you to your lost love, I inadvertently was given mine back. And here we are today, ready to embark on a life that I once thought I had put out of my reach. I wanted to thank you for that. You and Nancy." He stopped and Vanessa took the microphone.

"Nancy, I need you to stand now. No, Frank, get back up. No one told you to sit." The crowd laughed again. "Through her visits to Bayport to see Frank, Nancy had become a friend to me before we lost her; and now that we have her back as not just a visitor, but as a resident, she’s become an even better friend. She tipped me off to the fact that Joe still missed me, and helped him to find me again; just as he helped her to find Frank back. So now, we wish to show our appreciation. If the two of you would kindly take to the dance floor. The next dance is just for you."

She waited. Nancy and Frank stood for a moment, suddenly feeling awkward as every eye in the place turned to them.

"Uh, now guys. That was an order, not a request," Vanessa said, smiling, her green eyes twinkling with merriment.

Nancy shrugged, took Frank’s hand, and let him lead her to the dance floor. The soft strains of a slow ballad began to play as he took her in his arms and slowly began to move with her. The feeling of being watched began to fade as he focused on the woman in his arms. Light glinted off her reddish gold hair and Frank smiled. He loved that hair. It had been the first thing she’d done after moving to Bayport - change her hair back to it’s natural color. Frank had been pleased when she made the change. He’d hated seeing her with dark brown hair. He’d missed the way it glowed at times like this.

Nancy closed her eyes. ‘This must be what Heaven feels like,’ she thought. She tuned out to everyone around her except Frank. Resting her head against his chest, she listened to the song being played and gasped.

"Do you ..."

He nodded. "I recognize it," he said.

The song continued to play.

"It’s from our first dance after you’re ‘resurrection’," he murmured. "This had to be Joe’s idea."

"He’s full of surprises, isn’t he?" Nancy returned.

"That he is," Frank chuckled.

Nancy felt a tug on her skirt. Looking down, she saw Laurie holding a small box. "Uncle Joe said Daddy should give this to you now."

Nancy took the small box and looked at Frank curiously. Frank’s eyes widened as he recognized the box. "That little stinker!" he cried. Looking down, he realized Laurie was still there. "Not you honey," he said quickly. "Uncle Joe."

Nancy opened the box with one hand, the other still around Frank’s shoulder. She gasped. "Frank? What is this?"

He sighed. "It’s the wedding ring I bought for you right before the accident. Guess Joe got tired of waiting for me to give it to you."

Laurie tugged Nancy’s skirt again. Nancy looked down at her daughter.

"Uncle Joe and Aunt Vanessa said you have to say yes. Or you’ll ruin their wedding."

She looked at Frank. "Did you plan this?"

He shook his head. "No. I mean, not like this. I was considering it, yes, but not this way. I really don’t need my baby brother to propose for me. Honestly, Nan, I can do it myself." He shot a glance at Joe, who was grinning like an idiot. "I hope he has Vanessa listed as the beneficiary on his life insurance because I may kill him tonight."

Nancy looked at the ring. "What are we supposed to do? Do we let them get by with this?"

He smiled. "Well, I can’t not ask you now. He’s let the cat out of the bag for me. And you can’t very well say turn it down. It is their wedding, you know. Wouldn’t want to spoil it." He leaned in and whispered in her ear. "But we could stay here on the dance floor for awhile. Make them wonder what you said."

"Oooh, I like the way your mind works. You’re a positively evil big brother, Frank Hardy." She grinned.

"I am, aren’t I?" he said laughing. "But that’s what he gets for trying to propose for me. We‘ll keep him in the dark, let him wonder if you said yes." He paused. "You are saying yes, right?"

She smiled. "What do you think?"

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