"Are you sure this is such a good idea?" Gertrude Hardy's voice broke into Laura's thoughts.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Laura replied.

"Yes, you do. Nancy hasn't even been in town twenty-four hours and we're throwing her a welcome back party. After everything she's put our family through..." Gertrude frowned. It wasn't that she didn't like Nancy Drew. She had cared about the girl. After Frank and Callie had went their separate ways, she'd been good for Frank. Until that night... Gertrude shook her head. "I just think we need to take this slowly. I don't want Frank getting hurt again."

Laura met her sister-in-law's eyes. "You think I do?"

"No," Gertrude said. "I just think we should try to keep some distance between the two of them until we see how serious this girl is about staying here."

"Which is precisely the reason we're doing this. I want the chance to have a heart to heart talk with her on a casual level before she's had the time to really get settled. Just because we're welcoming her back doesn't mean she's off the hook for running out the way she did." She smiled at Gertrude. "Besides, I can't wait to meet my granddaughter. Anymore than you can."

Gertrude attempted to hide a smile. "I hope you know what you're doing, Laura. This could end quite disastrously."

"Yes, but it could also end quite well." With the final word, Laura turned back to check on her husband. He'd offered to take care of barbequing the chicken and burgers for the evening. Fenton glanced up from the grill and smiled at his wife. He'd managed to finally get the charcoal lit, and was now waiting for the coals to get hot. Laura walked over to him.

Slipping an arm around her waist, he planted a kiss on her cheek. "Haven't seen the boys yet, have you?" he asked.

"No," she said. "But they should be here soon. Joe told me they were leaving at 5 to pick Vanessa up first; then they were going to swing by and pick up Nancy and Laurie. Last time I checked, it was nearly 5:30, so they should be on their way here now."

"Good," he said, lowering the lid on his grill and adjusting the air vents. "Because I'm going to be ready to put the chicken on pretty soon."

"So I see," Laura said smiling.

"Nervous?" Fenton asked.

Laura laughed. "A little," she admitted. "Normally, when you meet your grandchild for the first time, they're not old enough to voice their opinions of you. There is some solace though."

"And what would that be?" Fenton asked.

"I bet we're no where near as nervous as Nancy is right now."

Frank steered his car into the driveway of his childhood home. The ride from Nancy's house had been entirely too short, as far as he was concerned. He'd hoped to find time for a short talk with Nancy before they'd arrived, but he hadn't managed to do that. Joe and Laurie had kept up a steady stream of chatter on the way over, with some occasional bantering thrown in from Vanessa and Nancy. It had pretty well kept the conversation away from anything he'd wanted to discuss. Like warning Nancy that his mother intended to corner her for a "talk".

"Well, we're here," he announced, taking the keys out of the ignition.

"Yeah, Frank," Joe said. "We'd figured that one out." Nancy and Vanessa laughed. Joe and Vanessa exited the car, with Laurie following right behind them.

"It looks almost like I remembered it," Nancy murmured, not moving from her spot in the front passenger seat. "Except for those roses. They're new, aren't they?" She pointed out two climbing roses, tied to fan shaped trellises. Both rose bushes were in full bloom, one with large red roses and the other with multicolored blossoms. Nancy got out of the car and walked over to inspect the roses close-up. Touching one of the multicolored ones, she observed the pale yellow and pink blend; with streaks of orange and ivory tying the colors together.

Frank smiled. "They're kind of new, I guess. Joe and I gave them to Mom for Mother's Day about 4 years ago. The red one, called a Paul's Scarlet, was from me; and the funny looking one here was from Joe."

Nancy laughed. "I like this one," she said. "It's different."

Joe came up behind her, with one arm around Vanessa's waist. "It's called a Joseph's Coat," he said. "And I personally like that one too," he said.

"Can't imagine why?" Vanessa teased. "Could it be that it shares the same name with you?"

"No," Joe answered. "It's actually named for a Bible story. You know, the one about Joseph and his coat of many colors."

"I know that one!" Laurie cried. "It's my favorite. They get his coat all bloody and throw it down a well and tell everyone he's dead but he really isn't!" She grinned and waited for everyone's approval.

She didn't have to wait long. As everyone laughed, Frank said, "Will you listen to that? Knowledge girl!" He picked Laurie up. "How about we take this extremely smart young lady and introduce her to her grandparents?"

Nancy smiled. "Sounds good to me." Joe and Vanessa moved ahead of them and started around the side of the house. Joe's arm had moved from Vanessa's waist in order to hold her hand. Fingers interlocked with Vanessa's, Joe led the way to the backyard.

Fenton Hardy looked up as his sons came around the corner of the house, with Nancy and Vanessa trailing closely behind. The sight of the little dark haired girl in Frank's arms nearly threw him. Despite the fact that the boys had shared everything that had happened in Los Angeles earlier this year; brought back pictures of Laurie; and even had Nancy call to confirm their story; it had been a tall tale to accept. Yet here was living proof - his son proudly carrying his granddaughter across their backyard. And one look at the little girl's face left no doubt that she was a part of their family.

Frank reached the edge of the patio and set Laurie down on her feet. Holding one of her small hands, he smiled at his parents. "Mom, Dad," he began. "This is Laurie." He waved his hand behind him to motion Nancy forward, and, with a small nudge from Joe, she joined him. "This is our daughter."

Fenton Hardy stared down solemnly at the small creature standing before him. Tiny blue eyes met his and held his gaze for a moment, before darting to glance first at Nancy, then Frank, and finally returning to hold Fenton's gaze. Deciding that everyone must be waiting for her to do something, Laurie pulled her hand loose from Frank's grasp and tugged on the edge of Fenton's polo shirt.

"Well, hello there," Fenton said, a smile spreading across his face as he looked down at his first grandchild. "Aren't you a pretty little girl?"

Laurie returned his smile. "Yes, I am," she said. "I look like my daddy." She cocked her head to one side. "Are you my grandpa too? Mommy said we were going to meet my grandpa and grandma. But I already met my grandpa and you're not him."

Fenton heard Joe's chuckle as he squatted down eye level with Laurie. "I'm definitely your grandpa. Your other grandpa. And this lovely lady," he continued, putting his hand on Laura's arm, who had come over and knelt beside him, "is your grandmother."

Nancy placed one hand softly on the top of Laurie's head. "Remember, hon? I told you that you had two sets of grandparents. One grandpa is my dad. And this grandpa and grandma is your dad's mom and dad."

Laura reached out and brushed the little girl's curls with her fingers. "I am so happy to get to finally meet you, sweetie," she said. "I would really love to give you a hug, if that's ok with you."

Laurie contemplated this for a moment, then nodded. "Ok," she said. "I like hugs." Laura smiled and pulled the little girl in her arms.

"Good," she said. "Because I like to give them." Giving Laurie one last squeeze, she stood up to greet her sons and their guests.

"Vanessa," she said first. "It's good to have you back in the fold. Maybe you can keep my son's feet on the ground and here in Bayport where he belongs," she continued, giving Vanessa a quick hug.

"Oh, I don't know. I'm going to try, but you know how Joe is. He certainly has a mind of his own."

"Hey," Joe cried with mock annoyance. "I'm standing right here, you two. Can we talk about me behind my back when I'm not actually here?" He grinned at his mother.

Laura smiled at her youngest son. "Of course dear. That's not a problem. Your father and I do that all the time." She turned to Frank and Nancy. Taking Nancy's hands in hers, she met the younger woman's gaze. "Nancy," she began.

"Hi," Nancy started. "Thank you for inviting us over. And for all the work you did on Laurie's room. I really appreciate it..."

"You're welcome," Laura replied. "I'm glad that you're back, too - safe and sound with us. What a beautiful little girl you have. I hope you plan on staying for a while, so that we can make up for lost time and get to know her better."

Nancy smiled. She could hear Frank's audible sigh of relief. Fenton clapped his eldest son on his back. "What did you expect, Frank? That we'd string Nancy up to be tortured for hours on end?" He grinned as Frank's face turned pink. Fenton turned to Nancy. "Forgive my son. He occasionally has these momentary lapses of judgment that incite worry and will one day cause him to become prematurely gray."

As the adults laughed at Fenton's comment, Laurie wandered over to the table, bored now that she was not currently the center of attention. Spying the food set out, just waiting for little fingers to dig in, she turned back to her new grandparents. Tugging on Fenton's shirt again, she quickly regained his attention.

"Yes, Laurie?" Fenton asked his granddaughter.

She pointed to the table. "Do we get to eat soon? I'm hungry. I wanted a Happy Meal but my daddy wouldn't go to McDonald's. That's where you buy Happy Meals."

"Of course, hon. We'll get you fixed up with something to eat. Something better than a Happy Meal."

"Why don't we all go sit down while Fenton finishes with the grill," Laura said. "Nancy, you and Laurie must be exhausted after your long trip this morning." Taking Nancy by the arm, she led her to the picnic table as Laurie followed Fenton to watch him at the grill. Frank wavered over who to follow - Laurie near the hot grill; or Nancy in his mother's clutches.

"Laurie," Frank offered as he started toward his daughter. "Honey, be careful. That grill is really hot."

Fenton shooed Frank away with a wave of his hand. "I've cooked out often enough with you and Joe underfoot to know how to keep a small child away from a hot grill. Go visit with your mother and let me entertain my granddaughter." Frank hesitated for a moment more, then as his dad laughed and motioned for him to go again, shrugged his shoulders and followed the others to the picnic table.

"Now, Laurie," Fenton said, helping the little girl up on the small wrought iron table he kept near the grill to hold supplies. "I'm going to show you how to make the best barbequed chicken in Bayport. And you can tell me all about your trip on the airplane this morning."

"Okay!" Laurie chirped brightly, watching intently as her grandfather lifted the lid and turned the meat with a long handled fork. "We got up really early and I took my Barbie coloring book on the airplane. I colored it all up though."

"Really?" Fenton said. "Then after dinner, I'll have your dad and your Uncle Joe take you out to get a new coloring book. How does that sound? They take you to the store, and your grandma and I can keep your mom company for awhile."

"Sounds like a plan!" Laurie said.

Fenton arched an eyebrow. "A plan, huh?" he asked, trying not to laugh.

"Yeah. That's what Uncle Kevin says when he wants to go somewhere. Sounds like a plan!"

Fenton laughed. "Well, then, my little coconspirator, a plan it is."