" I'm here!" Frank Hardy shouted as he came through the door of his childhood home. "Sorry I'm late, has Joe eaten all the food yet?" Frank walked into the kitchen and saw his mom, Joe, and the back of a tall, slender, girl with strawberry blonde hair. "Nancy!" Frank shouted surprised.

"Frank," Nancy said trying to stay calm and not to seem too excited, "it's so great to see you!" Nancy got up to give her long time friend a long hug. " How are you?"

"How am I? How are you? Wow I haven't seen you in 4 years, is everything okay? Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you're here and all, it's just that you're not a spur of the moment kind of gal."

Nancy's smile faltered at his questions, but she put on another bright smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. " I'll answer all your questions after dinner but right now I'm starving, so let's eat!" Frank looked into her eyes and read the desperation in them. He understood that she wanted to talk to him when they were alone, so her dropped it for the time being.

flashback

Nancy and her bridesmaids were preparing for the wedding in the back of the church. Nancy had so many butterflies in her stomach that she was praying she wouldn't puke. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and smiled. She had to admit she looked beautiful. Her long hair was swept into a fancy updo, and ringlets of curls surrounded her face. She was wearing a beautiful ivory dress that accentuated her perfect figure. She was wearing a pearl necklace that her father had given her that belonged to her mother. Her mother had worn it on their wedding day and he gave it to Nancy so she would have a part of her mother with her. To an outsider, everything was perfect, but Nancy was still fighting wars with herself. She had seen Frank and Joe come into the church, but ran away before they could see her. Frank brought too many feelings, too many doubts. She was going to get through this, she would be happily married and be Nancy . . .Nickerson- hmm maybe she wouldn't change her last name. Bess came in to tell her it was almost time to start. The best friends looked at each other and smiled, Bess was Nancy's maid of honor. Bess had been there with her and by her forever, and she suspected Nancy's nervousness.

" Just remember what you always tell me Nancy, if something doesn't feel right, that's because it probably isn't." Bess squeezed Nancy's hand and left the room. Nancy looked at herself in the mirror one last time before she left the room. She was still trying to convince herself it was cold feet. She figured she'd be fine after the wedding. Nancy took a deep breath, and left to join her father.

end of flashback

"That was an excellent dinner Mrs. Hardy," Nancy said as she pushed her plate away, " thank you so much."

The conversation had been kept light at the table. Nancy had asked Frank and Joe about their private investigating firm they had opened together, and she had asked Joe about his latest girlfriend. She was trying to keep all topics away from herself, and she was pretty successful.

" Oh, no problem sweetie," Laura replied with a kind smile, " I'm just glad you came to visit us."

"You still haven't told us why you came to see us Nancy, " Joe said as Frank gave him a mean glare.

" Can't a girl see two of her best friends because she misses them?" Nancy said with a nervous laugh.

Joe decided to drop it because of the way Frank was looking at him. They got up and cleared the table and helped Laura with the dishes.

" Well I should really be going," Nancy began " it's getting late and I need to check into a hotel."

"Don't be silly Nancy, you can stay with me," Frank answered with a smile, " I have a big spacious apartment all to myself and I wouldn't mind sharing it with my favorite woman detective."

Nancy smiled and accepted his offer. They said good night to Mrs. Hardy and left the house.

The car ride to Frank's apartment was filled with polite chatter. Nancy still trying to avoid her secrets, even though she knew she wouldn't be able to for long. Frank could read her like a book, and he soon would get everything out of her.

Ten minutes later Nancy and Frank stepped into the apartment. Nancy knew it wouldn't be long until Frank demanded she tell him everything, so she asked him where the bathroom was. She needed to collect her thoughts. He pointed her to the bathroom and she went in and stared at herself in the mirror. " What do I tell him? Do I tell him everything?" Nancy asked herself all these questions. She had a lot of secrets, but there was a big one she hadn't told anyone yet, and she was hoping he wouldn't be able to suspect anything. Nancy turned the faucet on, then off, then walked out the bathroom. Frank was waiting on the sofa with two sodas in his hand. She walked over to him, sat down, and gratefully accepted the soda.

" So Nancy what's up? You look really tired, different than usual. I know you; you wouldn't just take off of work to visit friends. If you did you would call first and probably bring luggage." Frank looked at her worriedly, waiting for her to talk.

" Uhhm, I would have brought luggage but I was in a hurry to get away, I felt like I needed to get out of Chicago, far away. I'm sorry I didn't give you any notice."

"Do you really think I care that I didn't give you any notice? It's great to see you. It's just that I'm worried, so stop stalling."

Nancy smiled at how well he knew her. She started to tell him about her troubles at home. She told him about how she and Ned fought nearly everyday about stupid little things. She told him how Ned always seemed to find something wrong with her; she wasn't home enough, she didn't give him enough attention, etc. She told him how Ned treated her when he wasn't in front of people. He was rough, and angry most of the time. He had begun to drink a lot, and came home drunk frequently. He demanded things from her that she didn't want to give him, and although he had never hit her, she was scared that he might one day if he was drunk enough. Nancy began to cry as she told Frank all of this. She was emotionally drained to her breaking point.

" Well today I came home to find him and a co-worker in our bed," Nancy said as she choked back a sob. I don't get it, wasn't I good enough for him?"

Frank was so angry, he felt that if he didn't calm down he would fly to Chicago and kill Ned Nickerson; He had never liked the guy. He was way too over-protective, and followed Nancy around like a puppy dog. Plus it didn't hurt that he had liked the girl he was in love with.

" Nancy, any guy would be crazy to not think you were enough for them. You're beautiful, talented, successful . . . you have everything. Ned is a jerk, I can't believe he's been treating you this way. It's all I can do to restrain myself from killing him."

Nancy smiled at Frank's last remark and looked him straight in the eye. She wondered on whether or not she should tell him the last thing. Could she handle it, could he handle it? She decided to wait until later, she had told him enough for now.

"Please don't tell everyone else yet, I'm not ready."

Frank looked at her and promised, and then he realized she needed to get some sleep. He led her to spare room and lent her pajamas to sleep in. She smiled gratefully and went into the bathroom to change, when she came back Frank laughed at how big his pj's were on her. She laughed with him, then gave him a kiss on the cheek and went to bed.

Frank watched her go with a sad look on his face. He knew she was keeping something from him, but what was it? She had gone through so much, and he seriously wanted to kill Ned. That wouldn't really help anything though, so he decided to go to bed instead, he would try to get more out of her in the morning.