A/N: Konnichiwa! I am back with Chapter 3. We are literally halfway through the story and I couldn't be more grateful and thankful for all of your support.
My lovely reviewers: Drumboy100, Guest (thank you Sam!), angelicalkiss (for both reviews!), sm2003495, Prithika;
BTY's amazing followers: Prithika, mxmommy, novembershowers, MargaretA66. Thank you, thank you so MUCH!
All of you guys rock!
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Nancy, Frank and everything you recognise. I am just borrowing them and fully intend to ask Santa to gift them to me for Christmas.
PRESENT DAY
October 2021,
Friday
Wilder University
"The deal is, Joe, that we have not talked to or seen Nan ever since Ned broke up with her. Not even once. No calls, no hangouts excluding that one time when we ran into her in the library where she was looking so shocked that she literally ran off," Bess said quietly.
This time the brothers cried out, "WHAT!"
The cousins looked at each other and spoke a word of affirmation, "Yes."
"Are you freakin' kidding me? One year?" Joe said.
"Are you serio-" Before Frank could complete his statement, someone's phone rang out shrilly in the Friday air.
"I'm sorry. It's mine," George said, taking her phone out of her pants back pocket.
"Who is it, George?" Bess asked.
"Oh my, it's Jess, Nancy's roommate," George replied. "Excuse me. I'll talk to her."
"Hello, Jess? Yeah?" she listened carefully to what Nancy's roommate was saying. She was certain all the blood drain from her face and one look at Bess's concerned face confirmed it.
"Oh my god, Jess…We are coming right now. Where are you? Okay. Stay with her, Jess, and call the paramedics." George's voice wobbled with fear and the Hardys too heard it over the phone.
"What happened George? Is Nancy alright? Tell me!" Bess demanded her cousin, Hardys on the phone, long forgotten.
"Bess, someone had grabbed Jessica tonight and…and, when Nancy tried to save her, he shot..." George's steady voice broke.
"George!" Bess cried out, her hands trembling with fear.
"When Nancy tried to save her, he shot her. We've got to go there, Bess. I told Jessica to stay with her and call the paramedics. We've gotta reach her before... something worse happens…," she finished, audibly trying to keep her voice straight.
Both the cousins jumped when a strangled sound came from Bess's phone. Her hand flew to her mouth and her wide eyes met George's. They had completely forgotten about the Hardys. And worse, they had heard everything.
"Frank and Joe…" Bess started.
"I am coming there on the next flight to Wilder," Frank spoke, full of conviction, interrupting Bess.
"Frank-" George began but Joe cut her off.
"Don't even ask us not to come, George. Just put yourself in our shoes and let us be there. For ours, Nancy's, and for both of your sakes too," Joe said.
The cousins hesitantly agreed with them. "Thank you, Joe. We'll keep sending you updates."
"We'd better hurry now, Bess."
"Alright, boys, thank you. Bye."
"Bye, Bess and George," Joe replied before hanging up.
Bess gripped the dashboard of George's car as her cousin accelerated the car, mere seconds after the light turned green. Her body felt like a tightly bound coil, muscles rigid with tension. Somewhere towards her right, out of the window, she barely registered the passing scenery of Wilder that she would have definitely appreciated, had they been in a better circumstance.
Right now, next to her was George who drove as if their life depended on it. Not theirs but Nancy's surely did.
She considered telling George to slow down a bit but ruled the thought in her brain itself. Her cautionary advice would be more out of a habit and less for the fear of their lives. The despairing need to reach Nancy had surpassed any kind of consideration towards traffic rules and dangers.
Somewhere it registered her brain that George's phone that was resting on the dashboard was ringing. Jessica.
"Bess? Pick that up and put it on speaker," George said tightly, her hands gripping the steering wheel.
Bess picked the phone up and did as she was told. "Jessica? We're on our way…"
"Bess, I called the paramedics, they are taking her to the State hospital. Oh but, Bess, she looks so pale." Bess's spirits sunk lower while Jessica turned a little hysterical. "All of it is my fault, my fault, I'm so sorry Bess. I'm so sorry," she sobbed.
"Jessica, no. No Jess, it's not your fault. Nancy's like that. She likes to help others. It's her nature," Bess trembled out, thinking of how Nancy had shut them all off her life and not taken any cases since the past year, as per her knowledge.
"But still, it's my..."
"Jess, no. Now, you go to your dorm and rest. George and I will take care of Nancy," Bess said in a stern, no-nonsense voice that told Jessica that she won't take no for an answer.
"Okay," Jessica responded, her exhaustion and fear evident in her voice, and hung the phone. Bess was concerned about the dread-stricken girl's health too. She hoped that that bastard had not hurt her too.
"George, they've taken Nan to State Hospital," Bess told George.
"I heard that, Bess. Good thing that it's on our way," George said rigidly.
"Yeah." Bess paused for a moment before continuing. "George I can't stop thinking, that if we have been with her then maybe…" Bess wondered brokenly.
"We could have done something, Bess. Something. But we were not there. She pushed us away. I should have pushed her back. We should have pushed her back, hard. Should have not let her close off."
"Yeah," Bess replied sadly, in a quivering voice. "But this time come hell or high water, I'm not letting Nancy push us away. This time, you and I are going to be beside her, at every step," she decided.
One look at George told her that she wholeheartedly agreed with her. And after that, all they could do was hope for the best.
New York
Joe worriedly looked at his brother. He was looking very white as if he had seen a ghost. "Frank," he tried gently.
"I need to go, Joe," Frank mumbled, standing up from where he was sitting with his head in his hands. "I need to go to her, Joe," he spoke more convincingly, this time.
"Frank…" Joe tried once again to get to his brother, but it seemed like he was in a daze. Frank walked to his closet and pulled some clothes and stuffed them in a bag. Joe strolled towards him and put his hands on his brother's shoulders. He shook him, slightly. "Frank, I know you are worried for Nan. I am too. Just calm down a bit."
"How can I calm down?" Frank replied angrily to him. He seemed to realize what he was doing because he paused for a moment. "I'm sorry, Joe. I shouldn't have…she never told me about her breakup. But I-I love her, Joe."
"I know Frank, I know," Joe said. His brother's head snapped up and chocolate brown eyes met his periwinkle blue. Whatever Frank saw there must have persuaded him that Joe was not teasing because he resumed his packing.
"Frank, calm down and stop panicking," Joe said, his tone gentle but firm this time. "I'll book us a flight and you are not going anywhere alone. I am coming with you."
"Thank you, Joe."
"Stop it. Oh look, the tickets are here. I'll tell mom and call Vanessa and let her know about all of this on the way to the airport. Come on Frank, let's go," Joe responded.
"Let's go, Joe," Frank whispered. Both of them picked their bags and fled the room. The sound of Joe's car roaring to life echoed in the neighborhood.
Sitting in the flight right beside Frank who had grown silent, Joe had a lot of time to process everything that conspired in the past few hours at the airport. They had arrived at the airport right on time and fortunately, boarded the plane. Before he was worried about Frank but now that his brother was not panicking, at least not visibly, he wondered how such things could happen even though these things had happened to them in the past. They both had solved tons of cases, put tons of criminals behind the bars without Nancy and she had solved just as many without them. It was a coincidence that he was talking to Bess, otherwise…How would have they known that his best friend whom he loved like a sister was injured or worse until it was too late?
He turned his head and glanced worriedly at Frank. He still looked anxious, if not a bit pale. His jaw muscles were clenched, and his lips were set in a grim line.
He still knew nothing about Nancy's condition, but he was sure about one thing: if anything would happen to Nancy, Frank was going to lose everything.
He heard her mutter "Here goes nothing," to herself even from a distance, and smiled. That was the passionate and impatient Nancy he loved despite every qualm. He watched carefully as she jumped up and grabbed hold of the lower rope and worked her way across the ravine. From what Frank could tell, she had to be about fifty feet in the air.
She was reaching for another section of rope when a loud explosion filled the air. Everything turned blurry in front of Frank's eyes when he heard Nancy scream.
Frank's heart trip-hammered in his chest as a gunshot pierced the air, the very next second. He saw Nancy dangling wildly on the end of her rope, clutching it hard to prevent falling directly into the ravine.
"Nancy!" he shouted, his pace quickening to a mad dash. The fact that the killer could easily squeeze off a shot at him barely registered in his brain.
As he reached the mouth of the ravine, Frank shouted, "Throw your weight! Swing towards me!"
For a long moment, Nancy didn't seem to hear Frank. He worried that she might have gone into a shock. Then, gradually, she began to swing back and forth on the rope, trying to arc far enough to land beside him on the opposite side of the ravine.
"Hurry, Nancy," Frank said, glancing around for any sign of gunman or help. "You can do it!"
She swung father with each effort. Soon she was swinging nearly as high as Frank's head. "Okay, Nancy," Frank yelled excitedly. "When I say three, jump!"
"One! Two!" The rope swung toward Frank, then away again.
"Three!" Frank held out his arms to catch her. He watched Nancy's hands let go of the rope. She fell in a smooth arc—down, down, down—
"Watch out!" Frank shouted, running forward. He nearly fell into the ravine before he caught himself. Nancy was not so lucky. Her leap from the rope had fallen short, and Frank watched in horror as she landed against the side of the ravine.
"Nancy!" he yelled, sliding down the slope to her still form.
He looked with panic as Nancy lay crumpled on the edge of the ravine, blood trailing down from where she had hit her forehead on the rocks on the land. "Nancy!" he called, squatting beside her crumpled form. She was unconscious. Frank knew better to move her in case she had some injuries. He put his fingers on her neck to check her pulse and another wave of anxiety washed over him. The pulse was low. Very low. He was afraid that she'd stop breathing on him.
"JOE!" He shouted. Frank heard some rapid footsteps towards him and a yell, "Frank!"
"Down here, Joe!" A moment Joe's worried face peered at him and an unconscious Nancy.
"Is she okay?"
"I don't think so, Joe. You need to get help. She's not breathing steady, and I am afraid something will happen to her," Frank finished shakily.
"Help's here."
Paramedics revealed themselves and slowly put Nancy's seemingly lifeless form on a stretcher. Frank and Joe hovered near where they were unloading Nancy in the back of the van.
An elderly medic called out to them, "She needs CPR. Which one of you knows?"
"I know CPR." Frank stepped forward and touched his lips to Nancy's soft pink ones and breathed some air into her. He completed the CPR and anxiously waited for her body to respond.
The medic pushed him out of the way gently and took her pulse. And what he saw on his face scared him. Badly. The most frightening expression on his face-No it can't be!
"I'm afraid- Frank!"
Frank bolted upright, his chest heaving and cold sweat on his forehead as he tried to catch his breath. He saw Joe watching him tensely. Calm down, Frank. Nothing of this sort happened. When Nancy fell that time, she was alive and okay. You three caught Judy Noll and stopped the Watchdog Operation.
He looked around in his surroundings and-Oh, he was on his flight. To Wilder. Everything dawned on him again.
"Frank?"
"Yeah?" he asked his brother.
"Bad dream?"
"Yeah," he admitted.
"Are you fine? Wanna talk about it?" Joe questioned.
"I am not fine," he said in all honesty. Frank knew talking to Joe might help him a bit. "I-I dreamed of that time…When we were in Quantico, Nan had fallen off that rope when we all were laying a trap. I thought she was-" his throat caught. "Dead," he finished. "What if she doesn't make it this time? What if I lose her Joe?" he breathed.
"Frank, Nan's a fighter. And she's strong. She is going to pull through it, I'm telling you. And there's no one more stubborn than her. She'll fight through all of this. Everything's going to be alright, big brother," Joe told him.
Frank's panic settled a little, but he won't be able to relax until he saw Nancy up and about with his own eyes.
A/N: This chapter was angsty and emotional. And I think this is my second favourite of them all. My favourite one..well, I'll tell you that later *wink, wink*
I am not a medical expert, but I know that CPR is given when a person stops breathing and becomes unresponsive. I hope I haven't used it wrong.
Reston, our cruel villain is from an original Nancy Drew Casefile by Carolyn Keene. Ten bonus points to the one who correctly guess which file did Reston appear!
I love you guys and your thoughts cheer me up in the darkest times. I'll meet you back on Next Wednesday.
Till then,
Take care.
Nan girl