29A/N: Namastay everybody! I hope you all are doing good!
I am back with the fourth chapter. We'll be learning (finally!) about Nancy's condition. I hope I didn't keep y'all waiting too much. (Well, I certainly did)
A huge, HUGE shoutout to my awesome reviewers: MargaretA66, Drumboy100, Prithika, angelicalkiss
DISCLAIMER: Everything you recognize is not mine. Do I pray to god to bless me with these characters? Hell yeah.
THE NEXT DAY
October 2021,
Saturday
State Hospital, Wilder
If the plane ride would have been any longer, Frank would have burst from anxiety and fear. After his nightmare on the flight, he was left with nothing but a very heavy heart and feelings of worry and longing. A part of his brain kept rehearsing what he would tell Nancy when he reached there. The other part constantly tortured him with the thought that he might be late, and any moment would be Nancy's last.
It was nearly eight in the morning when Frank and Joe finally reached the State Hospital. His thumping heart echoed in Frank's ears loudly along with the echo of their footsteps in the silent hall of the hospital. He looked around for someone to ask about Nancy when Joe sprinted forward towards the Nurses' station.
"What the-" Frank began, walking behind Joe.
Joe flashed his trademark Hardy grin at the brunette, brown-eyed nurse and peered at her batch. "Excuse me, Tiffany, I am looking for a patient named Nancy Drew."
Frank gripped the edge of the counter with his hands to steady himself as he waited for information.
The girl smiled at Joe, equally brightly. "Of course." She entered something into her computer and paused for the results.
"Ms. Drew's condition is stable, but Doctor Benefield is waiting for her to regain her consciousness yet. Her body may be fighting off consciousness to heal itself from all the injuries she's sustained."
"All the injuries?" Joe asked. Frank looked at his brother, gratitude shining in his eyes. He knew it very well that his throat didn't have it in it to be able to ask that very question.
"She sustained two bullet wounds in her right arm. She lost a lot of blood, gentlemen. And she had a broken rib which we are guessing was due to a tackle to the ground," Tiffany, the nurse informed them gently.
"Frank and Joe!"
The brothers turned at the sound of their name being called. Bess and George were standing there, looking anxious and concerned yet happy and relieved to see them both there. Bess all but collapsed in Joe's arms while Frank and George hugged tightly too.
"Thank you for coming here," Bess whispered into Joe's chest.
Joe chuckled a bit and released Bess. "Of course, we came. Besides where would I find a better opportunity to set these two up?" he mock murmured to the blonde girl, attempting to lighten the tension a bit.
Bess quirked a smile and hugged Frank while George embraced Joe. They both led the brothers to a waiting room where a girl with sandy blonde hair was already sitting there. She stood as she saw them enter.
"Jessica Davis, meet Frank and Joe Hardy, the famous brother-detective duo who have occasionally helped Nancy to save the whole world," Bess made the introductions.
"Nice to meet you, Jessica," Frank shook her hand politely. Joe followed his brother.
"I want to say that Nancy told me much about you both but in actuality, it was Bess and George who've told me so much about you," Jessica said. "In fact, Nancy never talked about her detective work."
All of them settled into the plastic chairs of the sterile room waiting for some news on Nancy.
"Jessica," Frank turned towards her, suddenly after some time. "Would you mind telling me what happened last night? From the beginning."
"Umm…okay."
"I had gone to a dancing club along with my friends and I had left my phone in the car. When I had opened my car door, someone grabbed me from behind and put a hand on my mouth so I couldn't shout for help from somebody. He dragged me towards the secluded area of the university and began taking something out of his pocket when I bit his hand and screamed for help, hoping someone would hear me."
She paused for a breath and continued. "Naturally, he was furious that I was trying to get away and he began to draw something from his pocket. It wasn't until it was pointed at my head, I realized it was a gun. And unexpectedly, I heard Nancy's voice. She told him to leave me."
"The man laughed so cruelly, and I chanced a look at Nancy's face and surprisingly she had a look like she knew who that bastard was, but she couldn't place it. Apparently, he also noticed it and said something to her about Gold Star Cab Company."
Bess gasped at Jessica's narration and all heads turned towards her. George was the first one to ask her, "Bess, do you know something about this…" George fumbled for the name.
"…Gold Star Cab Company," Joe helpfully supplied. George nodded at him and urged Bess to say something.
"I remember that case very vividly, George. Someone had framed Mr. Drew for bribing and Nancy was hell-bent on proving him innocent. You were gone for Marian's wedding, George. Anyways, while we were investigating, we had uncovered an insurance scandal. And it was associated with this Gold Star Cab Company and its owner, Philip Reston," Bess told them.
"That's what Nancy called him. Reston," Jessica said to them as she recalled. She began from where she had left. "He said he wanted revenge and then said he'd torture Nancy by coming after Bess, George, Ned, her father, housekeeper, and you two. Then Reston turned towards me and told me that if I left, he'd kill Nancy. Despite my misgivings about the idea, Nancy got me to leave." Tears sprang to her eyes as she recollected the events of the previous day. She stood up and started pacing across the room, finding outlet in the motion.
"Jess, we've told you already. It was not your fault," George consoled. "If you wouldn't have left then, he'd have killed you both."
"But still-" Jessica commenced but, Joe interrupted her.
"What happened next, Jessica?" he asked.
Jess wiped her eyes with her hand and said, "I ran out of there, looking at Nancy. I thought I'd go get help but then I heard someone falling to the ground and, I hid behind the bushes and peered. Nancy had lunged on him as soon as I left, and they both were locked in a scuffle. Next, I knew, Reston had rolled them over and he began pressing her throat. I could do nothing but stand there, helpless. But something changed his mind and, both of them lunged for his gun. He pushed Nancy to get the gun and got her to stand at gunpoint. I accidently made some noise, and he cocked his head towards me. For a second, I thought we were a goner, but Nancy tackled him again but, he …pulled the trigger, not once but...twice," she finished, shakily. For a while, no one said anything. Jessica stopped pacing and stood facing the wall.
"I saw her stand and try to fight him once again with her hand over her arm, but her body gave out and she fell, losing consciousness. That psycho laughed and I waited desperately for him to go so I could help Nancy in any way. But he stood there as if he enjoyed seeing the…sight before him. As soon as he went away, I came out and tried to stop the blood flow. And called Bess and George. The rest you all know," Jess completed, quietly. Tears flowed from her eyes. She fumbled around her purse for something before taking a small object out and handing it to Frank.
The ring from Egypt.
Frank looked up at her, his throat constricted unable to say anything.
"I found it on the ground where Nancy was…,"Jessica explained to him. "I gave it to Bess, but she told me to give it to you."
Frank felt a vast amount of different emotions running through him. Worry, regret, fear, sadness, and then anger. It coursed through Frank and blinded him for a second. He wanted to kill that bastard Reston if he could right now. He wanted to strangle him with his bare hands for what he did to Nancy and for attempting to take his Nancy away from him. Joe sensed his anger and put his hand on his brother's arm. He was saved from saying anything as the doctor came out, thankfully giving him a reprieve.
Everyone stood up and surrounded the Doctor. "Nancy has awakened-"
Joe gave a whoop of pure joy and Bess embraced her cousin. Dr. Benefield continued, raising her voice to be heard, "I have evaluated her condition. Her condition is stabilized, and she doesn't have a concussion. That was the first thing she told me, and her vitals are also strong."
"However," she said, her voice dipping in caution. "I want you all to keep in mind that she has sustained two bullet wounds, life-threatening blood loss, and a broken rib. And now with that, she's ready for visitors, one at a time for 10 minutes. I don't want anyone to overwhelm her."
Bess and George looked at each other and nodded, like they were sharing a secret.
"Frank, you go first," Bess urged him.
"But-"
"Frank. Go." Bess told him firmly in a voice that told him that she wouldn't budge. And George nodded in agreement.
"Take your 10 minutes, Frank. We'll all see her after you," Joe chimed in.
His fingers curled; the ring safe in his hand. Frank nodded and turned to follow the direction doctor had given him.
Beep- beep.
Images swam before Nancy.
Her roommate Jessica.
Philip Reston.
Loud gunshots.
Trying to get up and follow him but falling back on the ground.
Then pain. It radiated across her arms, her head, through her whole body. She gripped the sheets until it receded enough for her to regain her sense of hearing again.
Beep- beep.
She tried opening her eyes, but everything was bright and out of focus, voices and faces coming in bursts of color and sound. She closed her eyes, wanting to sleep again.
Beep- beep.
"Oh good, sweetie you're awake. I'll call the doctor. You got your sisters and friends worried out there."
The Nurse.
Nancy opened her eyes once again, trying to make out her surroundings, to focus on the images in front of her. She could see a window on the side, but the image was too bright. Blurry. Distorted. Like an overexposed photograph.
"Nancy?" The doctor moved in her field of view and shone a bright light into her eyes, then asking Nancy to follow her finger.
"I do not have a concussion," she croaked, her voice dry as sandpaper. She attempted to sit up but her right arm stubbornly refused to move. She looked over and found that her right arm was heavily wrapped in bandages.
"I am going to have to tell you to stop, Nancy. A bullet in the arm, blood loss, and a broken rib along with all this fidgeting are going to harm you," the doctor told her kindly.
Well, this explains the pain in my chest, Nancy painfully thought.
The elderly nurse in her room, helped her sit, propped up with a pillow. She offered her a glass of water, which Nancy drank gratefully. Gradually, her senses regained, and she remembered what the older lady had told her. You got your sisters and friends worried out there.
"Are my friends really out there?" she asked the nurse who was busy taking her vitals and noting them down.
"Yes dear, your sisters, a sweet blonde and two guys, she told me," the nurse said. Two guys? "They were so anxious for you. Doctor Benefield will go out and inform them about your condition. Tell me, are you up for visitors?"
"Yes, thank you."
"Doctor?" Nancy then called out, hesitantly. "Can you put off my painkillers for now?"
"I wouldn't especially suggest it, Nancy, because your arm and the ribs are bound to pain severely because of the bullet but are you sure that's what you want?" Doctor Benefield asked.
"I'll be fine, doctor. I want to meet everybody consciously. Besides, it doesn't pain a lot."
Doctor Benefield chuckled. "That's what your blonde sister told me you'd say. Her exact words were 'You see doctor, she's got a stubborn ass and she'd tell you she isn't hurting laying there.' And her friends totally agreed with her."
The corner of Nancy's mouth turned up a bit. She would bet a million dollars that Bess must have said that. And there it was.
The pang in her chest was becoming all too familiar whenever she thought of her friends. She never realized how foolish it was of her to push them all away. She knew instead of making them less concerned, they both worried about her more than usual. If only she'd heard her heart, not her brain she wouldn't have made those mistakes. If she'd paid more attention to the beating organ in her chest then she'd have suffered less hurt in the past years and hurt them less as well.
Frank found Nancy sitting, propped up by the tilted angle of her hospital bed and pillows, facing the window of her room, a contemplating expression on her face. Her bandaged arms rested on pillows around her, and she held a glass of water in her left hand.
"What were you thinking Drew jumping in front of the gun?" he blurted, like he couldn't help himself.
Nancy startled visibly.
"Frank?" she asked tentatively, just like on the phone as if she couldn't believe he was standing there in front of her. "Are you-are you really here?"
"I'm here, Nan." He went and sat on the chair beside her bed. She hesitantly held her right arm up to touch his face, to confirm if he was really there and flinched in pain.
"Nan?" he asked her, concerned.
"I- I asked them to hold off my painkillers. I wanted to be alert when I saw everyone," she confessed painfully. "I'm fine, Frank. Much, much better, actually."
"Nancy…" Frank said. "You have to know, that I'll cross seven seas just to be with you. Because I want to tell you something I should have told you earlier. I was so afraid that I'd lose you before I told you that…I love you."
He waited for her to say something but when she didn't, he looked into her eyes and what he saw was something that he knew was reflected in his eyes too. Longing.
"Frank…" she whispered, gazing into his eyes, deep blue mixing with his brown. "I love you too since Egypt. I've been afraid but now, after all this, I am still there, my heart wanting you anyways."
"Since Egypt huh?" he said with a small smile. He produced the ring and held it in her hand. With a questioning stare, she took it from his hand and slipped it again on her right hand. He spoke, "Jessica gave it to me. She found it."
Unable to control himself anymore, Frank leaned forward, positioning himself carefully around her bed, resting his hands on each side of her face, and kissed her.
If the kiss in Egypt was passionate, this one was slow and gentle. They moved together against each other exploring themselves together, again.
"Sorry, I shouldn't be doing this here," Frank said as he tucked an errant curl behind her ear.
Both of them sat there looking at each other, his eyes never leaving hers. "I was so afraid I would lose you," Frank breathed, brokenly. "I don't know, what I would have done if something would have happened to you."
"Lose me?" she asked, mock incredulously, attempting to lighten his mood. "You can't lose me, Hardy. You're stuck with me, since Egypt."
Turning serious, she said, "I thought, I'd lose you and everyone, when Reston told me he'll come after all of you. I've never been so scared for someone, Frank," she admitted, a pair of tears rolling down her face.
He wiped her tears with his hand. "Jessica told us everything that happened, Nan. For a second, I was so angry Nan, so angry that I wanted to strangle that bastard with my bare hands. Because I almost lost you because of him." They sat in silence before Nancy broke it.
"You know, it's been a year since I did a case. Ned told me that one day, my detective work would hurt everyone. I pushed away Bess, George and tucked myself in the walls. I didn't hang out because I refused to let anyone get injured. I made sure there wouldn't be any reason because of which anyone would be hurt. Because of me." Nancy gave a small bitter laugh.
Frank felt a twist in his gut. He hated it when she got hurt, but at the same time, he couldn't go back and change the things; he vowed not to leave her and love her forever and try to never let anyone hurt her like she'd been hurt in the past.
"No one gets hurt because of you, Nancy. You don't go around killing people, planting bombs, etc., etc. Rather, you put those bad people away so that the world becomes a safer place for the people you love. You protect them by doing this, Nan and I wouldn't be able to imagine you without this. Anyone, anyone, who told you this is dead wrong. Once, I read this somewhere that loving someone means loving all parts of them, their pretty and ugly, both," Frank spoke.
Nancy's inside brightened as she realized that Frank believed in her.
"I wanted nothing more than taking that gun from him and somehow stop him so he couldn't come after all of you, after all the people I loved. I was not ready for Ned's words to come true."
Nancy's throat tightened. "I was so wrong in the past, Frank. I should have never pushed anyone away. It never came back to me until I heard Reston speak those things in front of me that how scared I was to lose all of you, and I had made it worse by distance," she said.
He leaned forward again and met her lips again. This time Nancy's free wrist went into his dark hair, pulling him even closer to her and neither of them heard the room's door open or people coming in. It wasn't until they heard Bess's 'I knew it' they both reluctantly parted and turned towards Joe, Bess, George, and Jessica who had entered.
Frank tried to pull away from Nancy, but she pulled at his hand and made him sat on her bed again. Joe, Bess, George, and Jessica looked like they couldn't help but let the broad smile on their faces, seeing the couple together.
Bess headed straight for Nancy's side and hugged her tightly. "Don't you ever scare me like that, Nance," she murmured in her hair.
"I won't Bess, I promise," Nancy reassured, tears pouring down from her eyes, not from pain, but from the overwhelming pleasure to see all of them once again. Bess released Nancy a bit and they both looked at George who sprinted forward and joined them in a group hug.
"I'm so sorry, girls. For pushing you away," Nancy said. "I thought I was cutting your losses and saving you from getting hurt, but-"
"Ned Nickerson really messed up with your head, Nan. And I'll kill him for it. But don't you dare waste this moment by saying sorry. Just promise us that you won't push away," George whispered.
"I promise."
A/N: And there it is. This was the last chapter of Back to You. An Epilogue more to go!
Thank you so much for reading. I appreciate your thoughts and compliments. I'd love to hear them for this chapter too.
'Moving On' is already out yesterday! You may want to check it out.
Take care,
Nan girl