I have always wondered what Nancy is like in-between cases, at home, so I wrote this little fan fic about her returning home after Trail of the Twister.
Nine Days Before Nancy's Trip to Japan
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Nancy Drew was glad to be home in River Heights after nearly a week of storm-chasing in Oklahoma. She had slept through 75% of the flight home, and had spent the other 25% awake, watching a suspicious man in the seat in front of her. After all, she had been sleuthing for eighty years now and she knew the signs when something unusual was going on.
Now Nancy rose from her seat in the airplane and stretched. She grabbed her carry-on from the overhead compartment, a small tote bag she carried to all of her cases that contained a few changes of clothes and important things like her task list and a photograph of Bess and George that she took everywhere with her.
"Home sweet home!" Nancy cried happily after stepping out of her plane and into the River Heights Airport. She spotted her father, Carson Drew, and waved. Carson waved back and leaped from the chair he had been sitting in, reading. He crossed the airport in a few quick steps and wrapped his only daughter in a tight embrace.
Carson shook his head. "I thought I'd lose you to those twisters out in Oklahoma."
"Oh, Dad!" Nancy smiled. "Do I ever come to any harm when I'm solving a case?"
"Actually, yes," he replied sternly. "You've been knocked out way too many times, and you've nearly suffocated before."
Nancy waved this away. "But I'm fine, Dad! I don't think a case will kill me, after this long."
On the ride home to the Drew's, Nancy told her father every detail of her recent case, from the annoying chores she had to complete from the final chase of the culprit.
"Sounds like ... fun," Carson said slowly from behind the wheel of his car. "And ... dangerous."
"It was fun!" Nancy exclaimed. "And, well, dangerous too. Tornadoes are cool and all, but you know, I think I've seen enough of them for now."
"Good."
They arrived at the Drew household in a few minutes, a modest three-story house painted a dull shade of pink. The second Carson had pulled the car up the driveway, Nancy unbuckled her seat belt, grabbed her tote bag, and opened her door.
"Bye, Dad!" she called. "See you inside!"
Carson chuckled and watched his teenage daughter race up to the front door of their house. She was so much like her mother ...
"Hannah, I'm home!" Nancy shouted after opening the front door.
"Nancy?" the Drew's housekeeper cried. "Nancy? Is it really you?"
Hannah Gruen emerged from the kitchen. The older woman pulled Nancy into a hug.
"I'm so glad you're back!" she said. "I was beginning to wonder, I was worrying, that a tornado would suck you right up--"
"I'm okay!" Nancy laughed. Why does everyone think that a tornado would finish me off?
"You never really know," Hannah went on, "with the nasty storms they have in Oklahoma."
"But I'm here now, safe and sound!" the teen detective declared.
"And thank goodness for that." The housekeeper breathed a sigh of relief. "I made a welcome-back cake today, just for you."
"Oh, Hannah, you shouldn't have!"
Ned Nickerson was in the Drew's sitting room, listening to the conversations of Nancy and Hannah. When he heard that Nancy had settled down at the kitchen table, he strolled out of the sitting room and right into the kitchen.
"Ned!" Nancy squealed. Her brown eyes lit up in that certain way he loved...
"Glad you're back, Nance." Ned stepped forward and hugged his girlfriend. As always, he grinned and said, "I hope none of the guys in Oklahoma caught your eye?"
"Of course not!" Nancy assured him.
While Nancy was telling Hannah and Ned all about her case, Carson wandered into the kitchen and took a seat at the table. While Nancy talked, Hannah started distributing generously-sized pieces of cake. Carson took a bite of his piece of cake and said, when Nancy had paused to take a drink of water, "Excellent cake, Hannah, as always."
Hannah beamed and took the empty water glass from Nancy. "Go on, dear. After you overheard Scott talking to Brooke...?"
Nancy was exhausted by the time she finished her story. As she was taking another gulp of water, Hannah suggested, "Nancy, darling, why don't you go on upstairs, unpack, and take a little nap? I'll call Bess and George and invite them over for dinner." Hannah reached for the white corded phone sitting on the immaculate kitchen counter.
"Well, I am pretty tired," Nancy agreed with a yawn.
Nancy's bedroom was an attic room at the top of the house, just above the second floor. The walls were painted a soothing mint green, and almost everything was either white, silver, or both. Her white queen bed had a silver frame and sat at the far end of the room, far away from the white stairwell. Next to Nancy's bed was a bedside table, a handsome cherrywood bureau, and a silver lamp and a comfy white chair which Mr. Woogle Wogle, Nancy's teddy bear, occupied. Two low windows framed her bed.
Nancy also had a white desk and chair that faced the largest window in her room. Past memorabilia from other cases sat on the desk, along with a blue stained-glass lamp and her trusty How to Be a Detective book. White lacy curtains hung on the white-framed window.
A lawn mower was droning and birds were chirping through the open window in Nancy's bedroom. She set her tote bag down on her bed and dumped out all of her extra clothes. Impulsively, Nancy dropped everything on the spotless hardwood floors, then sank down onto her bed and closed her eyes.
"Nancy. Nancy Drew!"
Nancy was shaken awake by Hannah.
"It's a quarter after six," Hannah told her kindly. "Bess and George will be here soon, so how about you shower off before supper."
By the time Nancy had taken a quick ten-minute shower and changed into a pleated pink skirt and a white blouse, Bess and George had arrived.
"Nancy! We missed you!" George, the tomboyish one of the two, wrapped her arms around Nancy.
Her cousin, Bess, grinned and hugged Nancy, too. "Did you meet any cute guys in Oklahoma?"
Nancy laughed. "I was too busy for that!"
Ned, a little jealous, stepped in front of Nancy. "She wouldn't when she's got me!" he announced sharply.
"Of course, Ned," Nancy smiled.
Carson, Nancy, Ned, Bess, and George sat down in the Drew's dining room and were served potato-and-bacon soup by Hannah. "Enjoy!" she called. "I'll be back out with my chicken casserole in a few minutes."
Everyone voiced their thanks and began eating.
"Tell us about the mystery," Bess begged.
"Well," Nancy said, "it's a long story..."
By the time they were all eating dessert (Hannah's famous red velvet layer cake) Bess and George turned to each other and grinned.
"All right, you two, what's up?" Nancy asked.
"Oh, nothing, Nance," George said casually. "We'd just like you to join us on our trip to Kyoto, Japan."
"Japan?" Nancy cried. "Oh, I'd love to!"
"We thought you would," Bess said, "when there's so much fashion and exotic food!"
"Please." George rolled her eyes. "What Bess is really trying to say is that there's also nature and tradition."
"So when do we leave?" Nancy asked. I hope this relaxing vacation won't turn out to be just like the one in the Bahamas.
"Nine days," Bess chimed. "I can't wait!"
"Neither can I," Nancy agreed.
The next day, Nancy got a phone call from P.G. Krolmeister.
"Hello, Nancy," he said. "As a thank-you for all your hard work down in Oklahoma, I'll be reserving a room for you at one of the traditional inns, Ryokans, down in Japan."
"Perfect!" Nancy replied. "That's just where I'm going with my two friends."
"Yes, your father told me," P.G. Krolmeister added. "I hope you have an exciting, but relaxing trip."
"Mr. Krolmeister, I hope so, too," she grinned. "But ... you know me!"
"I should probably warn you," he went on, "that the Ryokan you will be staying in has had quite the reputation."
"I'll be fine, Mr. Krolmeister, but thanks for looking out for me!" Nancy cried.
When she had hung up, Nancy pondered what P.G. Krolmeister had meant by "quite the reputation."
"Oh well." She decided to brush it off. "I guess I'll find out when I get there!"
