Broken

Chapter 1

"Great work, Drew, Hardys." Detective Jones congratulated them, as he slammed the police car's door shut and hit the back twice. "You do know that they were numbers three and four on America's most wanted list."

Nancy blushed. "I couldn't have done it on my own."

"You're too modest, Nancy. Sooner or later you're going to have to take some credit." Jones smiled and stuck out his hand.

Nancy shook it. "Pleasure working with you."

"You, too."

"Cheers!" Bess Marvin said as they sat at one of the tables at the River Heights Ice Cream Parlor.

"Bess, What are we supposed to do? Clink our ice cream cones together?" George asked raising an eyebrow at her friend.

"well, it's the thought that counts." Nancy intervened, before the cousins could start bickering.

"Ok. So, in celebration of Nancy, Frank, and Joe's most amazing case yet, why don't we go check out that hot new dance club after this." George asked.

"I'm in." Frank agreed.

"Me too." Ned said, quickly after.

Nancy shot Ned an annoyed look as Bess and Joe agreed to come also. She was so tired of him being jealous of Frank, and being overprotective of her. He never let Nancy be alone if Frank was somewhere within a two mile radius.

'Gods, he's getting on my nerves!' Nancy thought angrily.

Lately, she had been thinking that about him a lot more.

Nancy danced in Ned's arms as a slow song played. Everything had been going fine, and she hoped it would stay that way.

She tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. Ned had stiffened at her action.

"What?" She asked, confused. She let left her hand fall from her ear, but he caught it and lifted it back up to look at it, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

"What's this?" he asked.

She looked at her hand. "Um . . . blue nail polish?"

He took her arm and pulled her off the dance floor. "No, I mean, why on earth are you wearing that damned ring?"

Her heart stopped. "Ned… it's just-."

"It's just the ring that you wore when you pretended to be Frank fricken Hardy's wife!" He shouted at her.

"Ned! What are you-?"

"No. That's it Nan. I've put up with this for years! Years! I've trusted you when you said that you didn't have any feelings for him."

"No." She whispered, knowing what was next.

"Nancy, I can't do this anymore. We've been together for years, and there's no way I want to end this," he said quietly. "But, I can't have my girlfriend in love with someone else, and then lying to me about it. Nancy. You have to make a choice. Frank, or me." He was shouting again.

"I'm not in love with Fr-"

"Yes, you are. Now choose, him or me" his tone very demanding.

"You want me to choose between one of my best friends and my boyfriend." She said, as her eyes narrowed. It was more a statement that a question.

"Yes."

"Well I don't know if I'm picking Frank or not, but no boyfriend of mine is going to talk to me that way!" She shouted. "So, even if I did pick you it would only last long enough for me to say that we are over!" She yelled, as she yanked the promise ring that he gave her during senior year off the silver chain around her neck, and threw it at him.

"Fine. But, you know what? It's safer for me if it ends this way. You are always dragging me into your little cases to put some bad guy in jail. I am always getting hurt. So are Bess and George! And it won't be long until you and your cases, gets one of us killed." He shouted.

And with that he stormed off into the star-filled night, and stormed out of her life.

Nancy walked back into the packed night club in tears to find Bess and George franticly looking for her.

"Oh, Nancy, there you are! we've been looking for you." George said as she spotted Nancy. "What's wrong?" She asked when she saw the tears in her eyes.

Just then, Frank and Joe came up to them.

"Nancy! I've - I mean – we've been so worried." he said as he hugged her close, like Ned used to after she had been in danger..

She tried to hold back the tears again, but she couldn't take it anymore. She started sobbing into his shirt.

"Nan? What's wrong? Where's-?" but he stopped as it donned him what had happened. "Oh. Nan, I'm so sorry." He said, as he hugged her even closer and let her cry.

Frank rang the Drew's doorbell as he held Nancy in his arms.

Carson Drew opened the door because, Frank realized, it was Hannah's day off.

"Frank! What brings you he-' he stopped as he saw his daughter being carried like a baby in the young man's arms. "Is she alright?" his voice had a worried tone to it as he opened the door wide enough for Frank to enter.

"Yes, she's fine." He answered as he entered the house that he was now familiar with. "she's just asleep. She fell asleep on the way home. And, with the way Joe drives, well that was a pretty amazing feet. With the day she had, the case and . . . uh . . . everything, we decided not to wake her up."

"We?" Carson asked him as he led them up the stairs and to Nancy's room.

"We. Bess, George, Joe, and I." Frank answered.

Mr. Drew opened the door to his daughter's bedroom for Frank.

Frank walked in and laid her down on her bed, only a little bit grateful to be relieved of his burden.

Frank bent over and gave Nancy a tender kiss on the cheek. "'Night, Nan."

Carson hid his grin as he saw Frank kiss his daughter. There had always been something he had liked better about Frank than Ned. He just still didn't know what it was yet.

As the two men walked back down the stairs, Carson said, "Thank you for doing this Frank."

Carson noticed the slight blush that crept up on Frank's cheeks. "You're welcome, sir." Frank answered.

"I'll probably stop by with Joe, Bess, and George tomorrow. Just to check on her. You know, see how she's holding up." Frank said as he stepped back onto the porch.

"Feel free to come over whenever." Mr. Drew said, and, as an afterthought, "Holding up?" He questioned.

Frank looked at Mr. Drew, and his voice took on a bitter tone. "Ned." Was all he said. It was amazing how one word could explain so much.

"Oh." Mr. Drew said. He looked into Frank's eyes. Young, un-admitted, love met the love of a father, and an understanding of exactly what had happened passed between the two.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow, Mr. Drew" Frank said.

"Good night Frank."

"Good night, sir." Frank said. He walked out of the porch light when he stepped onto the driveway, so Carson could only picture the look on the boy – no – man's face.

Frank opened the car door and got in. Bess, Joe, and George shouted their goodbyes to Mr. Drew, before pulling out of the driveway and driving off.