Chapter 28
River Heights Memorial Hospital waiting room …
A large clock on the wall told Nancy it was 10:55pm. Twenty minutes ago a nurse had taken Joe to see Frank.
Nancy waited, impatiently, and wondered how Frank was. She hadn't heard anything since they'd brought him in two and a half hours ago.
She paced the empty waiting room and thought back to finding Frank under the desk. He'd been pale and shaky. Had shivered uncontrollably. His pulse and breathing had been rapid and shallow. His eyes damp with tears and his shirt covered in blood. He'd tried to put on a brave face, but she knew he was hurting. Hurting badly.
The fear he would go into shock had prompted her into action. She'd ripped off her jacket and wrapped it around him. Joe had given her his jacket as well. She'd rolled it into a log, pushed it under Frank's legs, and elevated them. Then she'd kept him talking until the ambulance arrived.
Throughout the entire ordeal, Joe had been steady and composed. Methodical in some ways. He'd checked on Ray Gordon and then on Frank and then had calmly called for two ambulances. Frank and Ray would not be in the same ambulance. Joe had been adamant about that.
Once the ambulances were on their way to the hospital with Frank and Ray, then, and only then had Joe called Detective Rivera. Joe had reported the whole bloody episode. He'd told Rivera how they'd gone in unassisted. How they hadn't thought to call for backup. Yes, it was a foolish mistake and they had paid dearly for it.
Nancy couldn't thank Joe enough for what he did, for telling Rivera about their folly and taking the heat for it. And he had taken heat for it. She'd heard his clipped, but respectful answers, Yes, sir. I understand, sir. Yes sir. It was a mistake, sir.
Nancy checked the clock again. 11:05pm. Ray's face sprang into her mind. How she hated him. She had wanted to kill him. Had almost done it. She had aimed for his heart. It would have been so easy. But she wasn't a killer. Still, her aim had been true. She'd shot him in the left shoulder, two inches above his heart.
Detective Rivera had called an hour ago from St. Mary's Hospital and said Ray was going to be fine. He was expected to make a full recovery.
Nancy had curtly replied, "Thank you, sir." Inside she seethed. She hated hearing that Ray would be fine. He did not deserve to be fine. It was uncharitable of her to feel this way. To even think this way. But she couldn't help how she felt and deep down she didn't care. He had taken her mother from her. And now … Frank. What had he done to Frank?
She glanced at the clock again. 11:10pm.
What was keeping Joe? Good news or bad?
The glass doors leading to the patients' rooms opened and out came Joe.
Nancy practically pounced on him. "Joe, how is he?"
Joe ran a hand through his messy blond hair and ruffled it. Made it messy than before.
"The doctors say he's going to live in spite of being pig-headed and stupid." Joe smiled at his joke. The smile faded when he saw Nancy's expression. She was worried and scared and he was making jokes.
He motioned at the most comfortable chairs in the waiting and said, "Let's sit. I'm tired."
He lowered his exhausted frame into a chair. Nancy took a seat beside him. She sat alert and ready, waiting for news on Frank.
Joe leaned forward, put his forearms on his thighs, and shook his head. "I still can't believe he pulled a stunt like that. Going in without back-up."
"I can't believe it either," Nancy said. "It's so unlike him."
"Yeah. Well anyway, Frank has a couple of broken ribs. A compound fracture of the left arm. And a whole bunch of bruises on his face and chest."
Nancy sucked in a sharp breath. "Will his arm be okay? I mean, will he have full use of it when it heals?"
Joe shrugged. "Too soon to tell. Frank's young and healthy so the doctors are optimistic. They put three pins in to hold the bones together. The arm's too swollen to cast. The doctors say it'll probably be a week, maybe two, before he gets a real cast. He's going to be out of commission for quite a while."
"But he's going to be okay?"
"Yeah, he's going to be okay. In spite of being stupid which I already mentioned." Joe smiled at Nancy.
A glimmer of a smile showed in Nancy's eyes. She exhaled a profound sigh of relief. "I'd like to see him. Did you ask the nurses if I could see him?"
Only immediate family members were allowed to visit a patience. Nancy hoped Joe had found a way around that.
"Um, yeah. I, um, I told the nurses you're a … you're sorta part of the family."
Nancy frowned.
Joe ignored the frown and said, "I have to warn you. Frank's not looking so hot. Not that he ever was much to look at. But now. Well now, he's in bad shape. Really bad shape. I just want you to be prepared for that."
"I think I can handle it," Nancy said and wondered if she could. "What's his room number?"
"Three-fifteen. Seriously, Nan. I'm not sure he'll even know you're there. They've got him pumped so full of pain meds he doesn't know which way is up. And he's still groggy from the anesthesia. He was fading in and out of consciousness when I was there. He's more out than in."
Awake or not, she wanted to see him.
# # # #
Frank lay beneath the white sheets. A soft cast encased his left arm. An IV snaked into his right arm. Bandages circled his bare chest. He looked frail and vulnerable. An uncommon sight for Frank Hardy.
He's in bad shape. Really bad shape. I just want you to be prepared for that.
Nancy thought she was. But maybe not. She stood beside the hospital bed and watched the rhythmic rise and fall of his bandaged chest.
She slid a hand into his. His skin was warm. She lightly caressed the back of his hand with her thumb and studied his bruised and battered face.
"Oh, Frank."
She brought his hand to her lips and kissed his fingers.
A middle-aged nurse entered the room and smiled. "You must be Nancy."
"Yes." Nancy watched as the nurse checked Frank's IV and took his pulse.
"Your fiancé is going to be fine," the nurse said reassuringly.
Fiancé?
Nancy was momentarily stunned. Then she realized what had happened. Joe.
I told the nurses you're a … you're sorta part of the family.
"We're not actually engaged," Nancy mumbled then watched the nurse's gaze travel to Nancy's hand wrapped around Frank's.
The nurse tilted her head and cocked an eyebrow. "Boyfriend then?"
"Yeah, something like that." Nancy turned her head. Her cheeks burned and she was sure they were bright red.
This poor woman thinks I'm crazy. I'm sitting here, holding his hand like he's my boyfriend. Why wouldn't she think he's my fiancé or boyfriend? Especially after whatever Joe told her.
Joe!
She couldn't be mad at him. His ruse had gotten her in to see Frank. She hated lying to people. It wasn't in her nature. She preferred to be direct and honest.
The nurse scribbled something on Frank's chart and hung it back on the bed. "You have ten minutes," she said.
She dimmed the lights as she left the room. The door shut quietly behind her.
Nancy sat in the darkened room. Hospital smells surrounded her. Antiseptic and soap. The steady drip of the IV mesmerized her for a minute. Then she listened to the soft clicks of the machine monitoring Frank's pulse and heartrate.
She still held his hand. It fit perfectly into hers. His hand was warm and strong and comfortable. Their hands fit together like two halves of a whole. Those halves had been separated by time and distance. But now, they were reunited.
Nancy felt the connection, a glow in her heart. Was this love?
Frank was special. Her heart told her so.
She closed her eyes and shook her head. She was acting like a silly school girl.
But Frank was special. She knew that. She had always known that.
She looked down at him. He hadn't moved.
"Frank?" she whispered.
He didn't move. Not even the flutter of an eyelid.
She reached out and smoothed his disheveled hair. She ran the back of her hand along his cheek, the side that wasn't bruised and swollen.
She had things to say. Things he couldn't hear tonight. She decided to say them anyway.
"Frank, this isn't the way I wanted things to end tonight. I had hoped we would find some time to be alone."
She looked around. They were alone.
"Not like this of course. Not in a hospital room. I was thinking more like a walk around the neighborhood. Or a cup of coffee at a diner. You see, there was something I wanted to tell you."
She faltered. Unsure of what to say or how to say it.
"You see, I wanted to tell you …"
Her voice trailed off. She couldn't say the words after all.
How childish of her. The brave Nancy Drew couldn't say the words she wanted to.
She left the words unsaid and changed topics. "Frank, what were you going to say when Hannah interrupted us?"
He didn't move. The medicines were working. They were keeping him sedated so his body could heal.
She asked another question. He couldn't answer tonight and perhaps that was best.
"Frank, why did you rush in like that? Without backup? You're the one who always does everything by the book."
He lay motionless. His breathing shallow, the only indication he was alive.
She would have to wait until he was awoke and recovered before they could talk. And they needed to talk. She needed to know how he felt. How he felt about her.
The ten minutes were almost up. She ran a hand down his uninjured arm and felt the warmth radiating off of him.
"I care about you, Frank. I always have."
She bent and kissed him on the cheek. A light, delicate kiss.
"Get well, Frank."
The nurse returned. "Time to go, hon. Don't worry. We'll take good care of him."
"Thank you. I'll be back in the morning."
Her hand brushed his cheek one last time and then she left.
A/N: Wow! Thank you so much for the kind reviews. So glad you liked the last chapter. And I'm glad I put the note at the top of the chapter. I'd had a feeling people had missed chapter 26. So now we're into wrapping up the loose ends and seeing where N & F's relationship goes. There are still several chapters left. Cheers!
