Chapter Twenty-Five

Frank could hear them in the hallway yelling. He recognized the doctor's voice, who Frank now remembered to be Dr. Cosgrove, not Dr. Cox as he said he was. Then James' voice came in and Frank's anger rose. He was starting to remember the things he had forgotten before getting hit on the head and one thing that made Frank more mad than anything at the moment was James. What he didn't know was that Nancy would be with them when they walked through the door five minutes later.

His anger dissipated the moment he set eyes on her. She was stunning in the dress she wore but Frank's anger rose again when he saw her face up close. Nancy looked tired and as if she hadn't eaten in days but her eyes were what angered him the most. The blue sparkle that usually was there was now dull and grey. That was until she looked at him and suddenly became aware of her surroundings.

"Frank?" she said softly. Nancy rushed forward to get to him only to be stopped by James. Frank noticed that James whispered something into her ear while the other two in the room didn't notice. He struggled at hit bonds as she backed up away from James.

"Oh, this just got interesting," replied Dr. Cox. He was watching Nancy as if waiting for her to react and stood thinking for a moment as James pulled her away. Without any of the men really seeing until it was too late, Nancy grabbed a hold of an IV pole nearby and swung it around to stop all of them from getting near her.

"Get out of here, Nancy!" urged Frank, shifting his eyes to the door. "Go!"

"No! Not without you!" she cried.

"Now, Nancy," Dr. Cox said calmly, inching his way toward her. "You're going to make this a lot harder than it has to be. Put down the pole."

"No! You have to be stopped!" she screamed, waving it at the doctor making him jump back. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Maddox try to cut her off so she took a swing at him, hitting the man square in the jaw. As Maddox went down, Nancy took one more look at Frank who begged her to go with a nod, and ran from the room. A clatter was heard from the hall as she dropped the pole near the door.

"Go after her!" cried Dr. Cox to James and Maddox, who was slowly getting up from the floor.

"I'm going to kill that bitch!" yelled Maddox staggering to the door. James seemed to bump into him, knocking the man over again and apologizing before running out the door after Nancy. Maddox growled loudly, storming out the door leaving Dr. Cox and Frank alone.

"You know she won't get very far," the doctor replied noticing the smile on Frank's face. "And I feel if Maddox gets a hold of her before James does, I don't think anyone would be able to stop him from fulfilling his promise."

"That's assuming she'll be caught," Frank retorted, never wavering his smile. "I know Nancy better than you and she's not the type to go down without a fight. I saw what she did to some of the men you hired and they're really no match for her."

"Be that as it may, Mr. Hardy," Dr. Cox smiled. "I don't think she's going to get very far without you. See, that's something I know about her that you don't. She cares very deeply for you and I hardly believe she'll leave you behind. In fact, I'm counting on it."

The two men stared at each other for quite some time. Frank felt in some way that the doctor was right about Nancy but he didn't think she cared that much for him. They hadn't spoken in a long time and the last time they saw each other, they argued over a case. Yes, he cared for her but was it more than he thinks it is?

"There it is," Dr. Cox said. Frank's smile was now gone as something came into his head he never thought of. "A sudden realization. I see it in your eyes and they betray your heart. You two are going to make a phenomenal team. Completely unstoppable."

Dr. Cox grabbed a hold of Frank's neck and pushed his head to the back of the chair. He looked into Frank's eyes and grinned.

"Now sit back and enjoy the ride, Mr. Hardy."

Hannah knocked quietly on Chief McGinnis' door and opened it slightly when he made a gruff reply of "What?" His facial expression lightened when he saw her and rose from his chair, apologizing.

"Nothing to be sorry for, Chief," Hannah replied, closing the door. "I understand you're under a lot of stress. Besides you wouldn't have known it was me anyway without being psychic."

"Heh. Now there's a power I wouldn't mind having," McGinnis said with a smile. "Maybe then this whole mess could have been averted. How's Carson doing?"

"He's better considering," Hannah frowned. She took one of the chairs across from the chief and folded her hands in her lap. "He's anxious to get Nancy back. If I hadn't made him lie down on the couch, he would be the one bugging you, not me."

"You are not bothering me, Hannah," McGinnis said. "Neither would Carson. Nancy on the other hand, half of my grey hairs are from her and her teenage exploits she called 'mysteries.'"

"Yeah," Hannah laughed. "The same could be said for Carson too. I think he got a few more in the past week alone."

An uncomfortable silence arose between the two. Neither one of them could bring themselves to talk anymore about Nancy. She was a staple in the town along with her father even though the citizens of River Heights currently felt betrayed by the latter of the two. Even at Ned's funeral the day before, people were afraid to speak of her, trying to find good stories to tell about Ned. Hannah was able to attend but it broke her heart knowing Nancy missed it. Even Ned's mother, who told Carson earlier not to come, asked how he was doing, the iciness she felt towards him diminished. Chief McGinnis cleared his throat after a time, breaking the silence.

"So, what brings you to my office, Hannah?"

"I just wanted to see how you were doing, Chief," Hannah said politely. "Detective Norris told us you were here after what happened with Amelia. How are you holding up?"

"I'm better but pissed," he answered truthfully. "I want this over with. First Nancy, then Amelia and Frank, I don't know what else can happen. I just have a bad feeling that if we don't find them soon, we may be too late. I offered my services to Max but he turned me down since they were still afraid I could endanger everyone even more."

"You had no idea, Chief," Hannah said softly. "How could anyone? I know it seems like nothing could go right but with Sage being caught, I think we may finally get something positive."

"You're right, Hannah," the chief replied, smiling. "I just find it interesting that she was left behind. It was almost as if her partner knew she would be caught in the end."

"I think she was a diversion, to be honest. She had no clue what was going on with Frank and what Maddox did. I don't think she even knew he was in the same hospital as Carson! She seemed kind of out of the loop."

"Huh. Right, but it still doesn't explain why. I guess we just have to wait and see if there was something more to Sage being caught. Anyway, how are Fenton and Joe holding up?"

"Last time I checked, Joe was still sleeping. He could be riding on a dump truck and still get a full night's rest." Hannah laughed. "As for Fenton, he got some sleep but now he's anxious. He said that Frank woke up yesterday but he had something called 'retrograde amnesia.' Something about not being able to remember certain recent events. He's concerned about his son which is understandable. Fenton did say that Laura was finally on her way here but he hasn't told her the latest development yet. Anyway, it scares me that they're out there and we have no idea where they may be."

"He woke up, huh? That's interesting and too coincidental," McGinnis replied. He sat thinking for a few moments. "Well, feeling the way you do, Hannah, shows how much you really care for the Drews. But you have to have faith that everything will turn out the way we want them to, good and bad. We just have to be patient."

"I know. Well, I'd better get back," Hannah said, getting up from her chair. "Carson will be wondering where I'm at and I'm sure Detective Norris will be getting us soon to witness Sage's interrogation."

"Take care, Hannah."

"You too." The pair smiled at each other briefly before Hannah started to leave.

"Hannah?" She turned back to the chief. "Don't worry about Nancy, Frank, and Amelia. They are all strong willed people and will be just fine. You'll see."

James ran down the hall after Nancy hoping she understood what he asked her to do. He checked the direction he came from for Maddox before opening the door to the cell. Reaching up to the camera mounted on the wall, James pulled the plug and turned on the light. He made sure the door was locked before walking over to Nancy who was huddled near Amelia. It seemed that the doctor was trying to calm her down a bit by talking softly to her and stroking Nancy's hair. James tried to reach for her but she cowered away from his touch.

"Don't touch me," Nancy whispered. She looked at him from over her knees that drawn were to her body.

"It's okay, Nancy," whispered Amelia soothingly. "I don't think he's going to harm you. Are you?"

"I would never," James said, reaching for Nancy again. He touched her head and this time, she allowed it. "I'm going to get you out of here. I promise. It may not be now but soon. You too, Dr. Foster. I'm sorry for all of this. So sorry. I didn't know he was going to do any of this."

"How would you have known, dear?" Amelia asked quietly. "My ex-husband is a monster, creating weapons out of people. This poor girl and the young man I saw earlier. I don't think either one of them realize how much damage has been done or will be done, for that matter."

"I…I don't know what to believe anymore," Nancy stammered, shaking. "My father…I can't face him again after what I've done to him. That's if he's even okay!"

"Knowing Carson," James replied taking her by the shoulders and looking into her eyes. "He's fine and he will forgive you. I am truly sorry for this but we have to get back to the doctor before he realizes anything is amiss. Both you and your friend need to remember who you really are. Don't let this beat you or you'll never come back from it. Do you understand?"

"Sound advice, Nancy," Amelia said. "I think you should believe him."

Nancy stared into his eyes and then looked to Amelia who nodded. She wiped her face with her hand and nodded. James gave her instructions and walked to the door leaving her behind. He peered out into the hallway to see if it was empty, turning off the light to the room. He reached up to the camera again, this time plugging it back in. He silently closed the door but immediately opened it back up again, turning on the light. James grabbed a hold of Nancy and ripped her out of the room as if he just found her.

"Ah, good, James!" cried Dr. Cox who just rounded the corner. "You found her! See, my dear, I knew you wouldn't get far. Nice job, my boy!"

James smiled at the doctor but kept Nancy close when he heard a noise behind him. He swirled around to see Maddox stopping a few feet away, his eyes narrowed. The larger man had a scowl on his face, looking from James to Nancy.

"I don't trust him, Dr. Cox," Maddox stated.

"I don't trust anyone, my dear Maddox," the doctor retorted back. "Not even you but I do trust that even James knows not to try to help her. He knows the consequences. Come! We have much to do and my dear, you are going back to your room for some more…training."

"What!" cried James, holding on to Nancy who shrank into his arms. "You said she was done! You said so this morning!"

"Yes, but new developments have occurred and she needs to be… oh, what's the word?" Dr. Cox tapped a finger on his chin, mock thinking then his eyes widened with an epiphany. "Tweaked! That's it! Oh, I love it! Ha!"

"Well, I don't!" James said. "The plan keeps changing every time! When will it stop?"

"When the test run begins," Dr. Cox stated with a smile. He stared at James, waiting. James soon sighed and handed over Nancy, who started struggling and screaming as Maddox grabbed her by the waist. She started kicking him as he lifted her off the ground to take her upstairs. "Good boy."

"When does this test run begin, anyway?" James asked, sadly watching Nancy being taken away.

"You'll see soon enough." Dr. Cox winked at James, following Maddox leaving James to listen as Nancy's screams grew fainter.