A/N: Please keep sending me the reviews. I enjoy reading what people think about my writing. Please feel free to be brutally honest but please keep the reviews constructive.
Disclaimer: Alright I will admit it, I actually do own ALL of the characters in this fanfiction. Keene and Dixon actually stole them from me. HA! Kidding.
"A bride cries before a wedding. The groom cries after." (Polish Proverb)
Chapter 6-Nancy's Day (Friday)
Nancy awoke the next morning with an overwhelming sense of dread. She looked at her clock, 6:30am.
"Oh no," she muttered before burying herself underneath her covers.
"Nancy!" Kara called cheerfully, "Time for your appointment with that psychologist lady, it's Friday."
"I know!" Nancy yelled from underneath the covers.
Nancy could feel Kara sit on the edge of her bed. "Well you might want to go, what with the state of Illinois thinking you're suicidal and everything."
Nancy didn't want to have to argue with her hyperactive roommate so she simply got out of bed. She silently dragged herself to her closet to find some clean clothes to take with her to the bathroom.
"Oh and Nancy," she heard Kara say behind her, "Michael called he said he needed to talk to you about something important, something other than the case."
* * *
"Okay Nancy are you ready to get down and dirty with your thoughts?"
Nancy looked at her psychologist with a disbelieving look. Rita VanBuren was dressed in a chicken costume, eating biscuits. "What's with the get up?" she asked her psychologist.
"Oh, this," Ms. VanBuren motioned towards her costume, "is the inner me. What's the inner you Nancy?"
Thoroughly confused, Nancy just stared.
"You see, we all have animals that reflect the inner us. These animals represent the emotional truths behind our actions."
"So yours is the chicken? What, does that mean you act out fear?"
"No, no Ms. Drew. The chicken is one of Earth's most motherly creatures. It cares for its children, nurtures them, and keeps them in line. I do the same with not only my family, but my friends as well." Rita leaned forward in her chair, "Nancy we are going to figure out your inner animal."
"How?" Nancy asked flatly.
"First we will use these." As if out of nowhere, Rita whipped out six pages of paper covered in ink stains. "These ink blots should help me get through the first stage of your assessment."
Nancy rolled her eyes.
"Now Nancy," Rita said, "holding up the first inkblot, "What do you see? And it has to be the first thing that comes to mind."
"It looks like blotted ink."
"And this one?"
"A skull."
"Hmm," Rita looked at the blot, "I was thinking a rainbow. You know what? I think that is enough of the ink blots for one morning. Let's move on."
Nancy giggled, she couldn't help it, watching a woman in a chicken costume make suggestions was more than just a little humorous.
Rita looked at her patient, "That's the first time I've seen any expression on you other than hostility. Good. Now it's time for word associations!"
"Alright make it quick."
"Now I will say a word and you will say the first thing that comes to mind."
"I know how it works."
"Alright, good. Let's start....Cat."
"Black."
"China."
"Opium."
Rita began to shoot the words out faster, forcing Nancy to answer much quickly, "Yogurt."
"Yoplait."
"Crime."
"Case."
"School."
"Work."
"Friends."
"Protect."
"Father."
"Anger."
Rita stopped abruptly, "Ah we've done it."
"Done what?"
"Nancy it has become quite clear to me that you have more than one inner animal. But that is quite common in people like you."
"People like me?"
"Those who are confused about life, what they want to do in it, what they want from it" Rita shrugged, "Or simply those who don't appreciate it anymore."
"Wait," Nancy said, "I do know what I want to do, and what I want from it. I have my life all planned out."
"Really? Let's hear it then."
"I am going to be a journalist, crack every major case wide open, and bring people to justice. All I want from life is a fair chance, that's it. It's not complicated, or indecisive." Nancy stood up angrily and leaned over the desk, "And I sure as Hell do not take life for granted."
Rita sat back in her seat and grinned. "Bravo Nancy, you have let yourself express what you feel. I'm guessing you don't do that a lot. And as for your claim to knowing what you want from life, I doubt that. In the two sessions I have had with you, your body language along with your attitude towards my questions has suggested that you really do not know what you want."
Nancy sat down, "Really and why wouldn't I know what I want? And what do you mean I don't express myself?"
"Nancy this is usually the point in time that a conventional psychologist would tell you that you need to talk about it yourself, but I'm not a conventional psychologist. Don't deny the fact that you only majored in communications because you felt cornered. At first glance I couldn't understand why you feel cornered into one field of study. After all your high school transcripts say you graduated with an unweighted 3.6 GPA and an Honors diploma. You excelled in every subject. I just couldn't figure it out. Then I saw that on your transcript it also says that your father is a lawyer."
"So what? You assumed I chose this profession to please my father?"
"At first. Then I looked deeper, I found out that you were, or are, an amateur detective. Apparently you've been solving cases since junior high. At that point I figured out why you felt cornered, you've been in one field of work for so long that you feel obligated to stay with it. Nancy what you have to understand is that you are only 19 years old, you can't possibly choose your life's path right now. You need to give yourself time to think about what it is you really want to do.
"And Nancy you claim to want a fair chance from life. The same chance your mother got?" At Nancy's surprised look Rita went on, "I found out about your mother. How you were told to tell everyone that she died of cancer even though she died from..."
"Stop!" Nancy ordered, "My mom died of cancer. There's nothing else to tell." She looked down at her hands clasped on her lap.
"Nancy," Rita said gently, "you have to shake this other problem of yours; denial. You can't live the rest of your life in denial. You need to confront these issues you have with your father. Don't pretend you don't have these issues. I used the word Father in our word associations earlier and you responded with anger. What would make you angry at him? Is he angry at you?"
When Nancy looked back up at Rita, Rita saw that she had pushed a little too far, "Look Ms. VanBuren, my dad is all I have left, don't try and ruin our relationship just because you want another 'cured' patient on your resume."
"Nancy.."
"No, you will listen. I don't have problems, I am fine. I never felt suicidal, ever!"
"Nancy I don't believe that you were going to jump off of that roof Tuesday night, but I do think you have issues to deal with. If you would like I could number them for you."
"Oh please do," Nancy replied sarcastically.
"Fine. #1-You have issues with your father. #2-You have a deep rooted sense of denial. #3-You feel like the world is a chore. #4-You don't like the path that you've chosen in life. #5-Emotionally, you are scarred. That's why you refuse to express yourself in any normal human way, this includes the lack of ability to love and let love. My guess is that's where your hostility comes from. #6-I know we didn't talk about this but Nancy you are one of the most depressed people I have ever met. You don't realize it but you are."
Nancy stood up, "Ha! Depressed? Emotionally scarred. What you couldn't do better? For your information I happen to have a boyfriend, and I don't sit around crying all day so I couldn't possibly be depressed. You are so full of crap Rita VanBuren, I don't know why I'm wasting my time here!" Nancy stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her.
Rita VanBuren watched, feeling an overwhelming amount of sympathy for a girl who had spent her whole life confused and denying herself.
* * *
Nancy rushed over to Michael's apartment as quickly as possible. She had remembered Kara telling her that Michael needed to talk to her about something important, something other than the case.
I wonder what he could want to talk about.
Finally she made it to his door and knocked. Michael threw the door open and smiled as soon as he saw his girlfriend. Wordlessly he led her into the apartment. Nancy took a seat on the couch. Michael sat next to her.
"So what was important Michael?"
Michael looked deep into her eyes before he leaned in to kiss her. The kiss was long, passionate, amazing. After a while Nancy pulled away needing air.
"Well I'd say that is important," she said grinning.
Michael smiled back. "Unfortunately I didn't call you here for that."
"Really?" asked Nancy finding a comfortable position leaning against Michael.
Michael smiled at their complete ease with each other. He had never known a relationship to ever feel as natural, so smooth. That was why it was so hard for him to say his next words, "Nancy I need to know what you're hiding from me."
Instantaneously he felt every muscle in Nancy's body tense up. "What do you mean?"
"Nancy I know you are hiding something. Remember I'm a journalist too, I pick up on everything."
Nancy sighed before sitting up, "Michael I'm not going to deny that I am hiding something from you but it really isn't some big thing that you need to worry about."
"So why hide it from me?"
She was stumped.
"Because it's about your past." When Nancy didn't deny it he continued, "That's it isn't it? You have secrets about your past that you don't want to tell me about."
"Yes."
"Well? What did you do? What did someone else do to you?" He looked deep into her blue eyes, "You can tell me, I won't judge."
Nancy smiled, "I know Michael. I guess I should have told you at the beginning what you were getting into."
"So tell me know honey. I'm listening."
* * *
A few hours later Nancy was seated in her car, emotionally distraught. She had just explained everything to Michael. He already knew about her mother and her growing up with just her father and Hannah, but she had to explain everything about her father's profession, her own detective adventures, and even told him everything about Frank and Joe Hardy. Nancy even told him about her few encounters with the Network. Michael had taken it well, Nancy had expected him to be a little angry, after all she had hidden one of the largest parts of her life from him. No, he was understanding, loving.
Nancy took her cell phone out of her purse and dialed a number, "Hello Ms. VanBuren. You were right. Can I come over and talk to you?"