"The district attorney called."

"Oh?" Nancy unlocked her office. "Did she say why?"

"She just wanted you to call her back as soon as you could."

An hour later Nancy closed the door behind her. "Miss Cabot?"

District Attorney Cabot looked up from behind her desk. "Miss Drew. Please sit down."

Nancy sat down and crossed her legs, pulled her skirt down past her knee. "How's the case going?"

Alex took off her glasses. "I wanted to go over a few points in your testimony, a few things the defense attorney might ask you about."

"Can I ask you a question first? Have you tracked down any other girls?"

Alex looked down. "The investigation is still ongoing, Nancy. I appreciate your agreement with me, that you won't look into this. The defense attorney would kill us both over that. But I will tell you that we have some promising leads."

Nancy nodded. "All right. What did you need to ask me about?"

"Nancy, did you ever have consensual sex with Jean?"

She shook her head. "Definitely not."

"But you went back to the island. They'll put people on the stand who will testify that there was no one there with you holding a gun to your head."

"I was under hypnosis."

Alex rubbed her forehead. "Yeah..."

"I know hypnotic testimony is unreliable. But I'm not testifying to those things. I'm testifying to what happened when he came into my apartment. Ned is the one who can testify to the way he found me."

"Ned had a grudge against Jean."

"Ned didn't..." Nancy sighed.

"Can you clearly remember what happened? Do you remember what he did to you?"

Nancy shook her head. "Vaguely. I remember being drugged..."

"Were your memories recovered by hypnosis?"

Alex saw something spark in Nancy's eyes. "No. They weren't. But they're not even enough to... I tried to forget. Things are hard enough without remembering what happened."

Alex smiled. "I'll call if I have anything else," she said, reached across the desk to shake Nancy's hand.

"She's living with you."

"Yeah, she is." Ned shuffled a few papers on his desk, then shifted the receiver to his other shoulder. "You knew that."

"She wants to do something. And I need your help."

"Doctor Strathman?"

"The past two sessions she's asked me to regress her."

"To what?" Ned stood stock still.

"She's trying to recover memories of the rape. But she can't do it by herself. She doesn't feel safe enough."

"She didn't tell me." Ned sank into his desk chair.

"It's because of your previous response. The last time she drew your attention to it, you physically dominated her to bring her back—"

"I'm not like that anymore."

"You were sexually active with her again recently. This is all subconscious, Ned. She doesn't mean to be feeling this way, and on a conscious level she isn't. But whenever you and Jean are together in her head, she gets hurt. The trial is soon. You'll be seeing him again soon."

"Is she... going to be like this forever?"

"Not if we can finish this. But I'll warn you of the same side effects I warned her about. Difficulty sleeping, nightmares, anxiety. This might get worse before it gets better."

"You're safe, Nancy. You're safe."

Ned maintained steady pressure on Nancy's fingers as he watched her face. She opened her mouth. "I'm safe," she whispered.

"Do you remember going to the island, Nancy?"

She nodded.

"You were with Ned. You met Jean there. Jean talked to you. And we've talked about this before."

She nodded. "Yes."

"You went back a year later. Because he asked you to."

Her fingers tightened in Ned's. "Yes."

"Did you check into the hotel, Nancy?"

She nodded. "The first night I did. Then I checked out."

"Where did you stay the next night?"

"With Jean."

"Did you stay with him the rest of your trip?"

"Yes."

"What did he do?"

She bit her lip. "I don't remember."

"Did he give you candy?"

A tear slipped out from under her eyelid. "Yes," she mumbled.

Ned raised his eyebrow and the doctor nodded. "It's okay," Ned whispered. "Nan, it's all right."

"He touched me," she whispered. "Ned don't hurt me."

"I won't hurt you," he whispered, stroking her cheek. "I won't hurt you. I won't. I love you."

"I couldn't move," she whispered. "I couldn't talk. I was crying but he didn't care."

"It's all right," the doctor said.

"Ned, you didn't hurt me like he did," she whispered. "You didn't. You didn't know. He knew."

"Shhh." Ned took her in his arms and she buried her face against his chest.

"Nancy, you're safe," the doctor said.

"Don't let him touch me again," she whispered, and Ned's heart broke.

"Jean told you things, didn't he?"

She nodded. "He said he'd give me a star."

"Did he tell you anything else?"

She was rocking slightly in his arms. "He told me that the next time he saw me he'd take me to the island. Not the same one. He has another one. That's where the other girls go. The girls he can't let go. He was going to take Jamie there and then he found me. He traded her for me."

"Where is the other island?"

She shook her head. "I don't know. He said that there he would let me be free because there was no way to leave."

"She said she'd pass it on." Nancy blew the water off her lips.

He stood in front of her, not touching her. She was staring somewhere in the vicinity of his neck, hair streaming under the curtain of water.

"Did she ask you why you'd suddenly thought of it?"

She nodded and smiled wryly. "I told her that if it could help put that bastard away for the rest of his life, I'd go back and remember what happened one last time."

"Are you afraid of me, Nancy?"

She met his eyes. "No."

"Because I swear that I'll understand..."

She shook her head and stepped forward, slid her arms up around his neck. "No you won't," she replied softly. "You're not the same person you were then. And I'm not who I was then either."

He wrapped his arms around her waist and stood there quietly.

"I love you. I'll never forgive him for what he did, but I forgive you. You didn't mean to hurt me that night."

He shook his head. "I just didn't want his voice in your head anymore."

"It's not." She kissed the side of his neck. "What happened was a misunderstanding. It's over." She smiled. "And if I hadn't just sworn to keep my hands off you until we get married again, I'd show you just how much I trust you."

He traced a hand over her cheek. "Don't tempt me," he whispered roughly.

"Cross-examine, counselor."

Nancy rubbed the worry stone Ned had pressed into her hand just before she'd been called and met the defense attorney's gaze.

"Miss Drew, how did you first meet my client?"

"When I was on a case at the island."

"Were you licensed at that time?"

She shook her head. "No, I wasn't. I was an amateur."

"So you were acting as a private citizen in that case."

She pursed her lips. "Yes."

"Under what circumstances did you meet Mr. Varez?"

"I was first introduced to him when I went to his house to ask him about a missing persons case I was investigating."

"Were any charges ever filed against him in regards to that case?"

"No. I uncovered no solid evidence to connect him to Jamie's disappearance. I witnessed them together, but she later denied ever meeting Mr. Varez."

The attorney stood and walked around the table. "Why would Jamie deny meeting Mr. Varez?"

Miss Cabot stood. "Objection."

"Sustained."

"So how would you characterize your relationship with my client?"

"I was investigating him. Professional."

"Did you spend a significant period of time alone with him?"

"When asking him questions."

"Did you flirt with him?"

"I may have. I was trying to get him to open up to me."

"Open up to you how? Maybe in bed?"

"Objection."

The defense attorney turned to the judge. "Miss Drew is claiming that she was raped by my client on five separate occasions. I am trying to prove that she wasn't, and if she has any past sexual history with Mr. Varez, that is admissible and goes to show the circumstances."

The judge turned to Nancy. "Did you and the defendant ever have that sort of relationship?"

Nancy shook her head. "Definitely not."

"At this point the court orders a recess."

Nancy grabbed Ned's hand as soon as she could. "He was staring at me. Did you see it?"

Ned darted a glance over his shoulder. "Should I tell someone?"

She shook her head. "It won't do any good."

"Why didn't you go to the police immediately? Four years ago?"

"Because I didn't know what had happened."

"You were seen at the airport by the previous witness. You were alone, under no duress. If as you say his treatment of you was so terrible, why did you go back? No one was holding a gun to your head."

"Because he'd planted a suggestion."

"You expect this court to believe that Mr. Varez hypnotized you?"

"I know how it sounds, but he did."

"Let's go back, Miss Drew. You said you didn't remember what had happened. For four years, you didn't remember what had happened to you?"

She nodded. "That's right."

"And that's why you didn't go to the police."

"Objection, question already asked and answered."

"Sustained."

"If you don't remember what happened, how do you know he raped you those four times?"

"Because I spent those weeks there. I never consensually had sex with Jean."

"But you don't remember him raping you, either. You don't even remember being there those four times."

"Consciously, no."

"You wouldn't have been aware of the last time, you're trying to make us believe, if your fiancé, your boyfriend at the time, hadn't come there."

"That's right."

"If he was your boyfriend why didn't he accompany you from the beginning of the trip?"

She looked down at her hands. "We were having a disagreement."

"So you didn't go there to make him jealous?"

She shook her head. "No. I had no conscious recollection of making the trip at all."

"During that time didn't he verbally threaten Mr. Varez?"

"Objection, not best evidence."

"Oh, I plan on putting Mr. Nickerson on the stand as well," the defense attorney said. "But my client is being held responsible for things the witness can't even testify to having happened. It's my belief that she and Mr. Nickerson planned this entire hoax. I'll withdraw that and ask this: When you left Mr. Varez's company, where did you stay?"

"In a hotel room."

"Did you stay alone in that hotel room?"

She shook her head. "Mr. Nickerson stayed with me."

The defense attorney looked down at the stack of papers, picked up one. "According to this, he registered you as husband and wife. Under false names."

"He was trying to protect me."

"Did the two of you have sex?"

She met his eyes. "No."

"Because, Miss Drew, even though the hospital did find evidence of recent sexual activity, they found no sign that force had been used. Or any DNA implicating my client."

"He was smart enough to use a condom," she shot back.

"But do you remember that?"

She shook her head and a tear slipped down her cheek. "No."

"You've maintained residence with Mr. Nickerson practically since you returned from that trip, haven't you."

"Yes."

"He was very angry at Mr. Varez, wasn't he?"

"Because Mr. Varez raped me."

"You played on his anger, didn't you. And you wanted to see Mr. Varez suffer."

"I wanted him to pay for what he'd done to me."

Ned gave the shaker one last twist, then drained the contents into a martini glass. "Drink it slowly," he advised.

She took a sip. "Thanks."

He bowed slightly. "Well, I am the mastermind behind this plot."

She smiled weakly. "Yeah. I made all this up. Because I wanted to be put on the stand and asked about my entire sexual history."

"I bet they're going to start in on me tomorrow."

"I'll give you the worry stone," she reassured him.

"I'll probably need it."

"Where were you the day before my client was arrested?"

"I was in Paris," Ned replied

Just then the doors in the rear of the courtroom opened. Nancy turned around to watch, then stood as a dark-haired girl wearing a sequined dress walked in. "You," she breathed.

Three more girls followed her. Their eyes were dull, but every one of them turned to look in Jean's direction as they took seats behind the district attorney's table.

DA Cabot stood. "Your Honor, sidebar?"

"How long were you there?"

Marie, the dark-haired girl, shrugged. "I think it had been about three years. It could have been more. Time goes very slowly there."

"And Mr. Varez was keeping you captive?"

She nodded. "He told us there was no way to leave, and we believed him. Not that we didn't try."

"Did he rape you?"

She drew a hand over her face. "He raped all of us. He would give us candy and then it was like it didn't matter anymore. I felt like I wasn't even in my body. I couldn't say anything. If we didn't take the candy it was just that much worse."

"Was Miss Drew ever there?"

"No. But he told us that there would be another one soon. He never mentioned names. We stopped having names for him while we were there."

"How many girls did you see there? Was it just the four of you?"

She shook her head. "We had a lot of girls come through. Some for only a little while. One girl had been there longer than any of the rest of us, but she drowned herself."

Bess made a banner for the party they held after the verdict was read. "Twenty-five to life."

"He won't be eligible for parole?" Carson Drew asked Alex Cabot, as he made himself a plate with chips and dip.

"Nope. And if he becomes eligible, I will testify at every hearing about what he did." She shook her head. "He was gloating until the second Marie walked into the courtroom."

"You invited everyone, didn't you," Bess called to Nancy as she passed the table. "I think Frank Hardy just walked in."

"He and Joe were passing through, and they don't turn down parties," Nancy laughed.

Ned was behind the bar, ready with the cocktail shaker. Joe came up to him. "Hey man," he said, shaking his hand. "Heard you and Nancy are going to get hitched soon."

"Next month. If you'd like to come."

"Frank and I wouldn't miss it for the world." Joe grinned. "Unless we get called away to Russia, but I doubt that will happen. Let me take over for you, man."

Ned surrendered the shaker. "I wouldn't think you'd want to be standing back here."

"You kidding? This is a great way to pick up chicks," Joe said, winking. Just then a girl in a red dress sauntered up and Joe directed his thousand-watt grin at her.

Ned headed over to the kitchen table, which had been cleared for another poker game. Nancy was biting her lip in concentration. He glanced over her cards.

"How are things going?"

She showed him her pile of chips. "I'm wiping the floor with Paul but Howie's having a lucky streak I just can't seem to break."

"Any way I can get in on this action?" he winked.

"You can take over my hand. I've been dying to get to the bathroom."

She passed the fish tank just as Hannah removed another container of dip from Ned's fridge and unwrapped it. "Need to restock?"

Hannah smiled. "Bess is almost on top of things, she sent me back here to grab it."

"You'd better mingle, Hannah. Don't want you stuck back here with Joe Hardy. Who knows what would happen." She laughed as Joe shot a mock dirty look in her direction.

Half an hour later Ned pulled back the sliding door to his balcony and stepped out. Nancy was staring out at the landscape. "Hi," she said.

"Just wanted to check and make sure you were okay."

"Well, I had to wait like twenty minutes in line for the bathroom. If that's what you mean."

"And I just asked some girl I've never even met to please get off the couch and put the lampshade back on the lamp." He sighed and wrapped his arms around Nancy.

"I'm surprised they let you leave the table."

"Bess took over my hand. She asked if red or black was better. I think the boys are in good hands."

Nancy laughed. "She'll have our chips doubled by the time we get back to her."

"Next time we do this, we should rent a hotel room. For the party," he amended.

"I hope we'll never have to do this again. I hope he dies in prison in a knife fight."

"Me too," he whispered into her hair.

She turned in his arms and pressed her face into his shoulder. "All those girls. Alex was telling me that most of them were presumed dead. He didn't take me and Jamie, because he found out we were from the same place. It would have been too much of a coincidence for us both to disappear."

He took her face in his hands and wiped away the tear trickling down her face with his thumb, then kissed her. "Hey," he whispered.

They heard a muffled gasp behind them and turned around. Frank Hardy waved shyly. "Sorry," he said. "I just needed to get some air. Someone broke out some cigars, I think."

Ned muttered something ugly under his breath. "Thanks." He gave Nancy a final squeeze and headed back inside to take care of the offenders.

"Been a while, hasn't it," Frank said, stepping up to the railing.

She nodded. "Since that case in Switzerland. Thanks again."

Frank chuckled. "Just don't tell Joe I put on that maid's uniform and we're even."

She laughed, then wiped her face with the side of a hand. "That was great. I wish I'd had some film in my tiny camera."

"I'd have had to hurt you." The breeze ruffled his brown hair. "So you and Ned are back together."

She nodded. "Yeah. For good this time."

"We all thought it was for good before." He turned around and leaned back on his elbows, gazing at her. "I kind of regret it."

"Regret what?"

"I think if you and I had spent a little more time together..."

She shook her head, blushing. "No."

He shrugged. "Hey, it's in the past now." He winked at her. "We could have had a great fling."

"We could have," she agreed, jokingly. "You, in that curly blonde wig. I didn't want to tell you how much it turned me on."

"Maybe I should tell Ned about that, help a brother out." He reached over and hugged her with one arm. "Congratulations," he said softly.

"Thanks," she replied. "So are you and Callie...?"

"Maybe once the Network gives me a more predictable job. Until then..." he shrugged. "Heard you were settling down with the Bureau, too."

She nodded. "Probably no more running into you on random assignments through the Continent," she told him. "Nice cushy desk job."

"Oh, I think you'll find a way to get out every now and then," he said, eyes twinkling. "You can take Nancy Drew out of the mystery, but you can't take the mystery out of Nancy Drew."

"Amen to that," Ned said from behind them as he stepped back out onto the balcony. "How are things, Frank?"

Frank shook Ned's hand and shrugged. "Can't complain."

"Joe's already promised you'll try to make it to the wedding," Ned told him, lacing his fingers through Nancy's. "Just to let you know."

"I'm sure we will." He smiled. "In the meantime, I'd better see if he's left the bar unoccupied..."

"Did you and he...?" Ned asked once Frank had gone back inside.

Nancy shook her head. "We ran into each other a few times, on cases. Nothing happened."

"Good to know," Ned said, hugging her again. "Because I remember a long time ago that you two seemed to..."

"We did," she admitted, brushing her hair out of her eyes, her body swaying with his to the music pounding loudly enough to be heard through the door. "A long time ago. There was a spark."

"Was?"

She nodded. "Not anymore. You fill up my senses," she sang at him, grinning.

He released her and clapped his hands over his ears in mock pain. "I better pour another drink in you before it's too late," he said. He picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder, and she laughed as he carried her back inside.

"I'm sorry," Bess said. "Maybe you should contact the government and have this declared a federal disaster area."

"It's all right, Bess," Nancy said, lifting a hand from her lap and letting it fall beside her on the couch. "Go home. I'll have the maid take care of it." She laughed.

Bess looked questioningly at Ned, who gestured at the door. "You have to be tired," he said. "We'll take care of this. Thanks."

"All right," she said. "Thanks again. It was a great party."

As soon as Bess had closed the door behind her, Nancy took her shirt off. Ned was standing at the sink, surveying the plates heaped up on the counter. "Ned," she called.

He turned around. "Are you hot?" he asked her.

She shook her head and let her shirt fall on the floor. "Come to bed."

He looked around them. "This place looks terrible."

"And it will all be there in the morning when we wake up," she said.

She pulled back the curtains in the morning. "Damn."

He walked up behind her and kissed her shoulder. "I have an idea."

A while later she moved the coffee table out of the way, then spread the blanket in front of the TV. She sat down with her back supported by the couch, in one of his t-shirts, the bear he'd given her in her arms. She could still hear the wind beating the rain against the windows. "You about done in there?" she called.

"It takes a while to do a French lunch," he called back. "Give me five more minutes."

She'd just been mildly distracted by a cartoon when he brought the plates in. "Hope you're hungry," he said.

Her eyes sparkled. "I can't wait to see this."

He served her chicken cordon bleu, caesar salad, and crepes with wine. They clinked glasses and he patted the bear. "So you like the bear."

She nodded. "I'm impressed, Nickerson."

"With what?"

"All of it. The bear, the lunch... excellent wine choice."

He smiled. "At your service."

"Want me to pick you up?" she asked Bess the next day.

"Why are you willing to come this far out of your way? We are going shopping in town, aren't we?"

Nancy giggled. "Ned let me borrow the Jaguar."

Bess laughed. "By all means, Nancy. I'll expect to see you here in under ten minutes."

The two of them had gone for a coffee, then browsed through a few boutiques before Nancy found one she was willing to try dresses on inside. Bess tilted her head and gazed at the dress silently for a minute, then selected a veil and pinned it to Nancy's hair.

"So you just didn't want to wear the other one?"

Nancy shrugged, gazing at her reflection. "I don't know, I guess I could wear it. As a fallback. I haven't even tried it on," she admitted.

"And it's probably gotten stiff after five years sitting in a cardboard box."

"There you are," they heard Ned's voice. He was walking toward them, but he stopped dead in his tracks when Nancy turned.

"You... you're gorgeous," he breathed.

She half-smiled. "Bring back some memories?"

He didn't respond at first. "I have no idea why I'm here," he finally managed. "I came here to ask you something. Isn't it... is this the dress you're going to wear? I'm not supposed to see it, right?"

Nancy shrugged her bare shoulders. "I don't think this is the one. It's nice enough..." she trailed off.

"I need the car keys," he finally remembered. "I left something in the trunk."

She leaned over and rifled through her purse, then tossed him the keys. "Grabbing your overnight bag for some nefarious purpose?" she joked.

"Surely not," he said. "I'll bring them right back, I promise."

Nancy was in Paris the next week, taking a walk outside her hotel before she turned in for the night. For her own peace of mind she had tracked down an old associate and found a man suspected of embezzling funds from his company five years before.

She walked into a store specializing in bridal lingerie, but wandered too far and ended up in the actual wedding dress section. The saleslady approached her.

"Non, je passe en revue simplement," she replied upon the questions. "Merci."

She wanted to leave as quickly as she could, but then she caught sight of the strapless floor-length sheath.

"Est-ce que je peux essayer cette robe?"

"I found it," she told him on the phone when she arrived back at the hotel. "It's gorgeous. I love it."

"I'm glad," he said. "And I bet you're beautiful in it."

She laughed. "Did you say you have bad news?"

"Yeah..." he sighed. "About a week before the wedding, my landlady's going to start remodeling my apartment."

Nancy thought for a second. "Can't she possibly reschedule?"

"No, she asked me about it a year ago, she's been planning this for a while. I didn't remember until she reminded me today."

"How serious will it be?"

"Tearing up linoleum and everything. I'm sorry."

"So are they going to boot us out?"

"Yeah. I went ahead and called Bess, she said it'd be cool for you to stay there. If you don't mind."

"Where are you going to stay?"

She could hear him shrug, across the ocean between them. "Maybe with Paul. I'm not sure but I'm not too worried."

After Nancy had brushed her teeth she stretched out next to Ned and sighed contentedly. "Don't forget we have to go see the pastor tomorrow," she murmured through a yawn as he slid his arms around her.

He laughed. "Good thing there was no mood to kill or that would have done it."

"About seeing the pastor?" she asked sleepily.

"He's already not entirely pleased that we're in the same house."

"That was only before, he didn't understand we'd been married," she reminded him.

"But we've also been apart so long..." He leaned over and slid a fingertip down her cheek.

Her hand closed over his. "Never again," she said.

He pressed his lips against her forehead. "Think about nice things," he ordered her.

Nancy smiled but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "I don't want to have a nightmare tonight. I don't want him to spoil our last night together before we're married."

He stroked her hair a few times. "I don't either. Because if this keeps happening then we'll just have to split Bess's couch for the next week."

"I wouldn't mind that, you know."

"I know." He watched her eyes flutter closed and pulled the covers up over her shoulder. "You'll be fine," he whispered.

Nancy woke up the last night she was spending at Bess's and rolled over before she remembered she was on the couch's pull-out bed. She glanced over into the kitchen, where her dress was, pressed and ready for the morning.

Bess walked into the kitchen fifteen minutes later to find Nancy sitting at the table, sipping at a glass of water. "Hey," she said, drawing one for herself.

"Hey," Nancy said, rubbing her forehead.

"You don't want to have rings under your eyes in the morning," Bess said mildly. "Though I know some wonderful ways to hide them if you can't sleep. Need a pill?"

"No, I'll be fine," Nancy said tiredly.

"Surely you don't have cold feet," Bess smiled, then took a sip of water.

"I'm just... I want so badly for everything to be great tomorrow. I want to not be doing this for the wrong reasons."

"You're fine, Nan," Bess said. "If I had any doubts about this I'd tell you. And I don't."

Nancy half-smiled. "You've been cheering for us from the beginning."

"Yeah," she admitted. "For good reason. You two... I don't know, you were just meant to be. How's your hip?"

Nancy glanced down. "I don't feel it anymore. It just feels a little dry," she said. "But it's a relief to have something other than those blasted flowers I don't even remember being there on my hip."

"Did it hurt?"

Nancy nodded slowly. "Oh yeah. Which is odd, considering I must have had it done five times before, but I can't remember it. While she was doing it, it felt like a hundred bees were stinging me. But Ned held my hand and he was great."

"But he's seen it, right?"

Nancy shook her head. "I told him it was a surprise. Unless he looked without my knowing."

"He wouldn't have done that."

Nancy smiled. "Go back to sleep," she told Bess.

"Only if you promise to."

Because their first ceremony was not officially recognized, other than between them, Carson escorted Nancy down the aisle. They had applied for and received their license, which waited for their signatures to be affirmed. She wore the new dress from France, but the veil over her chignon did not fall over her face; everyone in the church knew about Nancy's ordeal with Jean, if not about Nancy and Ned's already consummated relationship. Bess, George, Jan O'Shea, and one of Ned's cousins stood in metallic grey bridesmaid dresses at the altar; Mike, two of Ned's frat buddies, and one of his other cousins stood as ushers. Nancy had appointed George her maid and Bess her matron, and Ned had asked Mike to be his best man.

Nancy carried a bouquet of white roses, lilies, and three red sweetheart roses, tied with a silver ribbon. George and Mike each held the rings Nancy and Ned had exchanged on the beach more than five years before. She still wore the diamond from the first engagement ring, just in the new setting.

Their guest list had been selective, and their vows were accordingly rather intimate. He promised to support her and keep her safe from demons real and imagined, and she promised to love him and stay with him until the day she died. The ceremony itself was brief, and then the wedding party joined half the town at the reception.

Their cake was white with red and silver sugar roses and leaves, and once they cut a piece they exchanged it without smashing it into each other's faces. Hannah was beaming over the dishes she had prepared, which everyone complimented, and once Nancy saw all the presents arranged on the banquet table tears came to her eyes. Everyone was there. Tracy and her secretary and many of the other operatives at her work, Agent Roberts, Chief McGinnis, the guys Ned invited over for poker and guys from his work she'd never even seen before. Helen Corning and her husband were there, and Ned's relatives seemed to make up a quarter of the people she saw around them. Her own family seemed rather smaller, with Iris and Iris's son, and Nancy's aunt Eloise with her husband Seth.

Nancy and Ned danced on the parquet floor and sipped from champagne flutes, and Nancy felt like she was dreaming. She had dreamt about this day for a while, a long time, but every now and then her dread and fear was concentrated and embodied in one uninvited guest. Ned saw Nancy searching the floor after greeting Alex Cabot, and he put his hands on her bare shoulders. Her eyes, slightly wider than normal, met his.

"He's not here," Ned whispered. "He won't be here. There are police guards right outside and we all know what he looks like."

Nancy buried her face against his shoulder with a gasp, and he reached up to slide his fingers over her hair.

The sun set outside and Nancy raised her eyebrow at him. She tossed the bouquet but they had agreed beforehand that she wouldn't wear a garter for him to toss. He had also threatened anyone that touching his Jaguar would result in immediate and severe consequences, so of course when they left the church in a shower of flower petals, his car was covered with shaving cream. He wiped off the windshield and they took off, Nancy's veil flowing behind her as she waved to the crowd.

"Roll your window up," he told her, as he pulled into a gas station. She grinned at him as he drove into the automatic car wash.

"I love these things," she admitted to him. "I love watching the water."

He reached over and they kissed lightly, still tasting of wedding cake.

"So where are we going?" she asked, her eyes still closed.

"Mike left something at his house that we need first."

"You never really told me how to pack," she accused him mildly. "And I didn't know I wouldn't be able to go back to your place before we left."

"We can swing by there," he said.

"When does our flight leave?"

"We'll have plenty of time."

Nancy shot a look at him and opened her mouth again, but he placed a finger over her lips. "Shh."

Ned directed his car into a neighborhood Nancy recognized. "Mike lives out here? You didn't tell me that."

"He just moved out here a few weeks ago. Maybe that's why." He smiled at Nancy.

She gasped as he pulled into the driveway. "He moved into the house I..." She snapped her mouth shut. "And what, he has a Jaguar too?"

"Why don't you come in with me?" he offered, stepping out and closing the door behind him.

"I'm not sure I want to see how they decorated it," she said, but she stepped out anyway, shaking out her dress as she walked up the front stairs.

"It's just upstairs... I'll be right back," he called as he bounded up.

"Okay," she called back. She looked at the couch. Ned's couch.

Nancy's mouth dropped open, then her lips quirked. She walked around, touching things with the tips of her fingers. The spidery plant from Bess and George, the coffee table from her own apartment; he must have taken it out of storage. She heard the aerator of the fish tank and found it in the kitchen, just where she would have put it.

"Hey," he called to her. His jacket was off, his vest unbuttoned. His shoes off.

"This is our house, isn't it," she said, tears shining in her eyes.

He nodded. "That's your Jaguar in the driveway."

She went to the window and pulled back the drapes. "Oh wow." She turned back to him. He opened his arms and she threw herself into them. "Ned..."

"Did you bring an overnight bag?" he asked.

She nodded. "Yeah."

"I'm gonna go get it out of the car."

"We're staying here tonight?" she asked. A giggle escaped her.

He stopped in the doorway. "If you're okay with that."

She nodded, touching the lower lashes of her eyes gingerly. Her fingers came away wet. "Yeah."

"Just don't go upstairs." He shot her one last disarming grin and went back out to the car.

She walked into the kitchen and tore a paper towel off the roll, ran it gently under her eyes. She had poured out to him how she'd have everything, and it was nearly perfect, the position of every piece of furniture, the drapes on the windows. He'd been listening, even when she'd thought he hadn't. But she'd never expected to have the house. She'd thought he would move her back into his apartment, that they would take things slow, and maybe later, once they had settled into their new positions, then they'd think about it again, when they started thinking about a family.

She held the towel up to her eyes again as she looked down at her waist.

He walked back in, carrying her overnight bag.

"Your landlady never wanted to do renovations, did she," Nancy said, smiling slightly.

"Oh, she did," Ned said. "I'm sure she's doing them now."

"You did this in a week." She waved her arm around. "Lights, water..."

He nodded, blushing slightly. "Yeah. I told Bess to keep you busy."

She smiled at him, and he swept her up into his arms, along with the overnight bag. "Why don't I take you on the grand tour."

She kissed his cheek as he climbed the stairs. "Ned..."

He stopped in the alcove at the head of the stairs. "Hmm?"

"Thanks," she whispered. "Thank you so much."

"It is a pretty sweet house, isn't it," he said, smiling.

She tugged at him and he carried her into their bedroom. She gazed around, at the walls, the bed. The candles. Not as many as their first wedding night, but she knew that would have taken a lot longer. He released her and she slid down, her unshod feet on the floor.

"Thank you for everything," she whispered. "For not getting mad at me at the reception. And this house, dear God—"

"I knew you liked it," he said.

She shook her head. "I love it. But if you'd brought me to a motel and given me a little Matchbox car, Ned, I'd still..." The tears spilled over again.

He took her face in his hands and kissed her. "Stop it," he said, meeting her gaze. "Or you'll make me do it too."

Then he looked down. "What's that?" he asked, smiling.

Nancy followed his gaze to her bare hip. She smiled back at him and he ran his finger over the script, a line of kanji in neat brushscript on parchment paper a shade or two darker than her own skin. "Want to know what it says?"

"Of course," he murmured.

"'I belong to and love my husband,'" she said, her eyes glowing.

He traced his fingertip over the last character and she jumped slightly. Then he kissed the ink, still swelled slightly into her skin, and she gasped.

"I belong to you too," he whispered. "I love you."

She pressed a kiss against his cheek. "Do you realize this is the first time we've been alone?"

He arched an eyebrow at her. "We've been alone plenty of times."

"But he's always been there," she said. "Since the beginning he's been the third person in our marriage."

"And this is all new. This house, everything," he replied. "So you think maybe we've finally exorcised him? After five years and two weddings?"

She gave him a small smile. "I think so."

A week later, after their honeymoon, Nancy walked into their house and punched the alarm code into the box. "You sure we didn't need to pick up anything for dinner?" she called over her shoulder.

Ned tugged their suitcases through the door and pulled it shut behind him. "We shouldn't," he said. "I gave Bess a key, and she promised to stock things up for us."

Nancy walked into the kitchen and opened cabinets. "Yeah," she said. "I think she did a pretty good job. What are you in the mood for tonight? Macaroni and cheese?"

Ned laughed. "I could go for that," he said.

She laughed as he carried their suitcases upstairs. "I still haven't had the grand tour," she reminded him.

"After dinner," he called back.

She opened the refrigerator door for the butter and milk, and found a pacifier on the top shelf. She stared at it for a minute, then shrugged, and laid it on the countertop for the next time Bess came over. Nancy noticed that Bess had restocked Ned's dwindling wine supply, unless he'd done that during all the chaos of the move. Their mingled furniture in the living room looked nice together, to her surprise. She couldn't see the desk, the one she had used in the front room of her own apartment with the Exacto knife in the drawer, and was taken aback when she found herself looking for it. As though it was a talisman that would protect her, should anything happen again.

She may not have had the grand tour, but she had been satisfied, if not impressed, by the security measures he had installed in their house. Metal solid-core front door, bulletproof windows and an awesome alarm system that she herself could not have disabled. As she waited for the water to boil she looked out over their back yard, empty and waiting, surrounded by a very tall fence that obscured all view. Maybe they could have a pool installed, or ask Hannah if she wanted to help them start a garden.

He smiled at the dinner she spread on the bar. "I'll do better this week, I promise," she said. "I'm just tired from the flight."

"I'd live on bread and water if you wanted," he said, leaning over to kiss her softly. He grabbed two rolls, a healthy serving of the macaroni, and a spoonful of lima beans for his plate.

"We should go back sometime," she told him. "Maybe get a bit more sightseeing in. I feel like we missed a lot."

"We did," he said. He was smiling. "Maybe if we limit ourselves we'd get more done."

After dinner he poured them each a glass of wine and they headed upstairs for bed. He caught her looking at the tub again, and raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Well, I can submerge my tattoo now," she admitted.

The water felt incredible on her skin, steaming as she sank into it. He lowered himself in behind her and settled their wineglasses within easy reach.

"This is the perfect end to the day," she told him, her eyes still closed. "Our honeymoon was great. Much better than the first one."

He smiled. "Change of locale can do wonders," he said, sliding a hand over her shoulder.

She opened her eyes. "I never complained."

"Well, let me just say I definitely think you won't now," he said, kissing her.

He caught her smiling. "I need to talk to you about something," he murmured.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I want..." he shook his head. "Why did you want to go off the pill?"

She shrugged. "I don't know."

"There had to have been some reason."

She half-smiled and looked away. "I think the reason was that I was over at Bess's house, watching her with her kids. She loves them so much. They're gorgeous. And she has a husband that loves her, a job that doesn't pay quite as well as mine, a station wagon... but she's happy. The way those little girls look at her..." Nancy shook her head. "I guess I just wanted that too."

"I want you to go off the pill."

She met his eyes, startled. "You made it sound like you didn't want me to do that. Besides, what happened to all that 'practice'?" she asked.

"We'll still have plenty of time for practice. And I've had some time to think about it. I just wasn't sure if you had, and this decision is really yours to make."

"You just bought a house and another car," she said. "Are you sure we shouldn't wait a while, maybe? At least until our finances are a bit more..." She trailed off when she caught him smiling. "What?"

"I've had a trust account for our children since I started working at my job."

She stared at him for a second. "Damn," she breathed.

He nodded. "I'm not saying we have to have kids. We could adopt, or never have kids at all. I don't even know if..." he gestured between the two of them.

"That's true." She still stared at him, wide-eyed, and he met her gaze.

After a moment he extended his hands to her. "Come with me," he said.

They slipped into bathrobes and he took her hand, led her down the hallway. Their study was spacious, and contained her desk along with his. The next room was a spare bedroom with twin beds already made and ready for guests.

He flipped on the light in the third room, and Nancy gasped. Pale lemon-yellow walls, picture windows, antique white furniture set with a crib, changing table, and rocking chair. Nancy walked over to the crib and ran her fingers over the rail, touched the rag doll Bess had placed inside.

"This is just here," he told her, resting his arm on the rail. "Besides, Bess would probably be happy if you said no. Then she can just have her kids in here when she comes to visit."

Nancy read the expression in his eyes, the false lightness. His eyes were low and met hers only briefly. She looked down at the doll, its face smooth under her fingers, and could feel him losing hope next to her.

"Okay," she whispered. "But I'm not making any promises. We'll see what happens."

"We'll see what happens," he agreed, nodding. Then he leaned over and kissed her, and she could still feel his smile.

"Like I could say no to this room," she said shyly. "To an excuse to buy Barbie dolls again."

"Or maybe Matchbox cars."

She put her hand back in his, and he closed the door behind them.