Two young men sat staring at each other in the middle of the Drew's living room. Hannah sighed wearily when she spotted them as she emerged from the kitchen. The tension between Frank and Ned had only increased of late, rather than lessening. She honestly didn't know what Bess and George had been thinking when they'd sent Ned over to see how everyone was doing. Surely they would have known that Ned would stay longer than necessary, just for a chance to glare at Frank.
Then again, Hannah mused. Maybe they did know.
Shaking her head, she moved on to Carson Drew's study, where she found the man slumped in his desk chair, eyes closed in a restless sleep. Gently, she reached forward and tapped him on the arm.
"Carson….Carson, wake up."
He blinked at her. "Wha-? Oh, Hannah." Straightening in his chair, he rubbed his eyes slowly. "I fell asleep working again, huh?" At her nod, he groaned. "Well, I guess it's time for some coffee, then. I've got to get this finished by next week, or else-"
"You don't need to finish it for quite a while, Carson, and you know it!" Hannah scolded. "I distinctly remember hearing you call in to the law firm and give all your cases over to that assistant of yours, Hasl, for the month."
"Yes, but I forgot to turn this one over to Hasl, and-"
"And so you'll call him in the morning, and ask him to come over tomorrow evening to get it." Her voice softened. "Carson, I know you miss Nancy. I do too. You two're like family to me. But throwing yourself into your work to the point of exhaustion just isn't the way to handle it. Please," she implored. "Stop this. I don't want you in the hospital."
Carson started to answer her, but they were interrupted by shouting from the direction of the living room.
"Oh no," Hannah muttered, as she and Carson raced into the other room to see what was wrong.
Frank and Ned stood less than a foot apart from each other, glaring. If looks could kill, Hannah thought wryly, before wincing at her thought. Such was the animosity between the two. She had no doubt that a fight would start soon, and she almost wished for one. She briefly wondered if that was what Bess and George had had in mind, as well. Anything that got the two to come to their senses would be welcome.
As if knowing what Hannah expected to see, Ned shoved Frank backwards. "Bastard," he growled. "I'm sick of you moping around."
"And why the hell should I care what you think of my actions!" Frank snapped in return, standing firmly, though Hannah noticed his hands had become violently shaking fists. "Give me one good reason!"
Carson put a warning hand on Hannah's arm as she took a step forward. "Don't interrupt them," he murmured. "I have a feeling this may do more good than harm, and will actually be over with shortly."
"Nancy cared!" Ned cried out.
"In case you hadn't noticed, NANCY'S DEAD!" Frank roared back.
"AND WHOSE FAULT IS THAT? YOU DIDN'T PROTECT HER!" Ned gave Frank another shove.
"YOU THINK I DIDN'T TRY? IF I COULD'VE TAKEN THAT BULLET, I WOULD'VE! I DIDN'T KNOW HE HAD ANOTHER GUN! I DIDN'T KNOW!" Frank's face was turning purple by now, and there seemed to be tears at the corner of his eyes. "WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE DONE?" He glared at Ned. "Tell me," he repeated himself, more quietly. "What would you have done?"
"I…." the other man was at a loss for words.
"You what, Ned? You're so full of belief about what I should have done, c'mon. Answering this should be easy." Frank watched his opponent's face carefully. "Or, maybe it isn't…" he said, as several emotions flicked across Ned's face. The other man said nothing, but abruptly moved toward the door. "A word of advice, Ned," he commented just before Ned went out the door. "The next time you want to accuse someone of failure…..don't." The sound of the door slamming was his answer.
Frank sighed, and seemed to notice Hannah and Carson for the first time. A sorrowful look came into his eyes, and he collapsed into the nearest chair, tears beginning to leak from his eyes.
Carson and Hannah tiptoed back to the study and turned to face each other.
"Well," Carson said, sounding oddly relieved. "I think we won't have any more problems between those two for a while."
"Are you sure? It felt anticlimactic to me."
Carson nodded. "They both needed a chance to make it clear how they felt. They've done that, and fortunately without actually coming to blows. I have a feeling that was more for the sake of Nancy's memory than anything. Otherwise, Ned would've done more than shove, and Frank would've retaliated. And now Frank is beginning to accept that there was no way he or anyone could have saved Nancy, no matter how hard they tried. I personally think he may have feared, without even admitting it to himself, that Ned would've been able to keep her alive. But Ned had no answers, therefore…" His voice trailed off and he rubbed his forehead wearily. "Anyways, I expect things will start getting better between them, though I doubt they will ever really be friends again."
"I see." Hannah glanced at the clock. "Get some sleep Carson – and in your room, not down here. Tomorrow is going to be a long day."
"Alright, Hannah."
The two said their good-nights, and went to bed, each silently wondering what they would hear during the next day in court.
