Feet scrambled down the rickety steps, leading into a bleak, damp basement. Worried, bloodshot eyes danced around the room in search of familiar red hair.
"Nan?!" He cried out, his voice strained from his other desperate calls.
A loud metal knock as well as muffled calls for help alerted the man. He dashed over to a heavy metal door barricaded by a large freezer box as well as an assortment of crates. The metal door swung open, revealing a malnourished woman. Her red hair once vibrant, now dull. Her beautiful sapphire eyes once popping in color like Princess Diana's engagement ring, now glazed over and irritated(presumably from tears).
"Ned!" She yelled, falling into his arms.
Ned put a trembling hand in her unkempt hair, stroking it soothingly. He felt her frigid body shaking in his arms, either from the cold, uninsulated basement or her dehydration. Ned suspected a mixture of both.
"You're freezing, Nan! And dehydrated! Let's get you to the hospital." He requested, pulling her limp arm in the direction of the stairs. Nancy sighed(probably knowing how right he was) and glanced to the ground. Ned started to lead the way when Nancy's head shot up and she leapt away from her boyfriend.
"Where's Frank?!"
"What?!" Ned spun around at the name of his rival. Nancy's pupil's were as big the moon, she shifted her weight from one leg to another impatiently and wrung her hands worriedly.
"Errr… I mean… where's Bess, George.. the Hardy's?" She rephrased.
Ned sighed inwardly. He knew all she wanted to know where Frank was, but instead included all the rest of her friends just to save face. In all honesty, he was tired of competing with Frank for Nancy's attention. Nancy had sternly told him several times that he needn't worry about Frank at that all of her attention was dedicated to her and Ned's relationships. Yet, her actions and worries posed differently.
"They're fine, Nan, but you aren't! You need to go to the hospital." Ned again herded Nancy towards the stairs of the hideout where a smuggling ring had occurred. Nancy complied quietly.
Before long, Nancy was sitting upright in her cot, while a nurse inserted an IV.
"Your boyfriend is pretty concerned." The nurse told Nancy, making small talk as she taped the nozzle of the needle, so it wouldn't fall out.
Nancy giggled. "He's tends to get uptight about cases that go awry, but I love him anyway!" Nancy's conscience piped back: "Not as much as you love Frank!". Nancy would've pinched herself, but the IV had already did that for her.
"You know, my son collects newspaper articles of you and him. Especially when you two do cases together! It really is the cutest! You never see a crime-fighting couple, do you?" The nurse smiled.
Nancy hid her puzzlement well. Who could she possibly be talking about? Ned doesn't appear in any newspapers or cracks down on crime! The only person who does is… Frank. She had been talking about Frank. The nurse had thought her and Frank were dating. It was actually very common for them to be mistaken as boyfriend and girlfriend. They belonged together. They… just did.
"That's very sweet! I'm sure Frank would love to meet him. He was just the same way when he was little!" Nancy gushed, remembering when her and Frank were little, sitting on the porch, talking of Agatha Christie and Dick Tracy. 'Wait…' Nancy thought. 'Did I just let that slide? Should I correct her? Nancy thought for a moment more, 'No, that would only embarrass the poor woman…', but that wasn't the only reason.
"I'm sure he'd love that! I'll swing him by tomorrow, if that's okay?" The nurse asked. Nancy nodded with a warm smile.
The nurse left the room, promising she'd send in Frank. Once alone, Nancy replayed all of the memories of her and Frank. The time he'd saved her from drowning in an ice cold river and how she had thanked him with a (somewhat long) kiss on the lips. The time he had to hold onto her hand for dear life instead of falling off a slippery fifty-foot cliff, in which she received a big embrace. Nancy replayed all the smiles, all the hugs, the four kisses they had shared, the toughest moments, the best moments, the sad moments, and the happy moments, and of course, Egypt.
Nancy stared a hole in the bright white ceiling.
"Oh my god." She said quietly, her voice breaking.
"I'm in love with Frank."
AN: Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy Hannakuh, Happy New Years! This is my gift to you all since you've been so wonderful! This is a possible series (knowing me, probably will turn into one). So you may wonder, "Hey, what's up with The Start of Something New?" Well, I am editing it as well as writing the new chapter, which has been hard to do because life has become so hectic. Hope you enjoy this! See ya!