Okay, here's a little clarification: Frank is NOT married to Nancy. He treasures the wedding ring from Egypt since it reminds him of their time spent in Egypt, since ideally it would be what he'd want in his future.
I can understand if that was confusing for anyone who hasn't read Secrets of the Nile. If you haven't, it's AMAZING. It's basically cannon Frank/Nancy fanfiction.
Frank parked the prized blue roadster and approached the hospital doors. The waiting room was all too familiar for him. It smelt like sorrow and felt like the entire room was a melancholy world of its own. He stepped up to the front desk and gave as best of a smile as he could. "Hi, my name is Frank Hardy. I was called last night about Nancy Drew…? She might still be listed as Jane Doe."
"Say no more," the receptionist said. "She's in room 618. Dr. Nightguard is there waiting for you," she said. Frank nodded and headed off towards the elevators. He stepped in and pressed the sixth floor button. Just as the doors began to close, a man came dashing towards the elevator. Frank threw his arm out to hold the door.
"Thank you," he replied as he stepped in with a bouquet of flowers.
"What floor?"
"Five, thank you." Frank pressed the seventh floor button and the doors closed.
"The flowers are beautiful. May I ask who you're here to see?" Frank asked the man, trying to calm his own nerves.
"My wife. She's been so ill, and today the doctors are going to announce that she's overcome her disease finally and can come home. I thought flowers only to be fitting," the man said with a smile. Frank smiled in return.
"How wonderful. Congratulations."
"Thank you. Are you here to see your wife too?" the man asked and nodded to the wedding ring on Frank's finger.
"Oh…" he hesitated for a minute, "it's a little complicated. It's been a long time since I've seen her. She is suffering from amnesia. Today is day one," Frank sighed. The man set a hand on Frank's shoulder.
"I'm so sorry to hear that. I'm sure everything will be okay. Your love is more powerful than you know," the man reassured Frank.
"Thank you." The doors to floor five opened.
"Best of luck. Keep your chin up; she needs you," the man said before stepping out. Frank leaned back against the elevator wall and sighed. He looked down at the ring and back up to the doors now closing.
Yes, it would be wonderful to call Nancy his wife and bring her home as such, but he needed to focus- for Nancy. She needed levelheaded Frank, not lovesick Frank. He stepped out onto the sixth floor and followed the signs to room 618. There were two chairs and a table sitting across from the room. An older doctor with glasses and salt and pepper hair occupied one chair. "Dr. Nightguard?" The doctor looked up at Frank.
"Oh, please tell me your name is Frank Hardy?"
"It is," Frank said with a nod and a smile. He extended his right hand out to the doctor. Dr. Nightguard met him halfway and shook his hand. "It's a pleasure."
"No, the pleasure is all mine, son. What a relief that you've made it out here. Come, let's talk down the hall before you see her," Dr. Nightguard said as he lead Frank away from the door that had the number 618 and Nancy's name next to it. Frank looked back at it as Dr. Nightguard whisked him down the hall.
The doctor opened a door and gestured for Frank to enter the room. It was a small office, with a nice desk and some papers scattered about. Certificates and awards hung along the walls, as well as a few family portraits. Frank took a seat in the chair in front of the desk and Dr. Nightguard sat behind the desk after closing the door. "Now, what exactly is your relationship to Miss Drew?" Frank hesitated for a long while.
"I guess you could call us best friends. We've saved each other from near death experiences before, so we're really close. I've known Nancy for as long as I can remember."
"How wonderful. We're so pleased to have you out here. Now, I know that her father, best friend, and cousin have all visited before you arrived, but Nancy has had no memory of them. She seems to be down since she knows she is missing pieces of her memory. Now, your job here is to just be her guide through this process. Bring photos from home, cherished belongings, or anything else that means a lot to her.
"However, you have to remember: Nancy isn't going to just instantly remember everything. This is going to take a good while for her brain to readjust. Be slow with her, and take your time. I know that might be a challenge, since I know of Nancy's fiery passion and determination to get things done, but just remind her that her brain needs to take things slow. Hopefully she'll listen to you a little more than the rest of us.
"She's also often getting migraines or nausea from her trauma. At this time, we're unsure of what happened. The police already tried to get a lead out of her, but she can't remember anything about her current case. They found her in an alley, bloodied and beaten. She currently has a broken rib and a sprained ankle, so she's also dealing with the pain from those injuries. Try to avoid talking about that case until we know more about what Miss Drew was involved in."
"Of course. Whatever you need, Dr. Nightguard. Whatever Nancy needs." The doctor smiled. "Do you have any idea of when she might come home?"
"Well, we're not sure as of right now. Might be a couple days, might be a couple weeks. We'd like to see how she interacts with you first before we make that call.
"Oh, and one more thing. When she was brought in, she was badly hurt. We decided to take some samples for a rape kit, just in case anything came back positive. We don't think she was raped, but we want to be fully prepared for whatever is out there. We don't have the results yet, but if you could just keep this between us for now, that would be for the best."
"Of course." Frank felt a massive knot in his stomach. He had been so focused on Nancy this entire time, and Bess and Carson hadn't even mentioned how seriously she'd been beat. If she had been raped, whoever went after her would suffer Frank's wrath. "Whatever Nancy needs, I'm here for her."
"That's the spirit. I had a good feeling you'd be massively beneficial to Nancy. I've been reading up on you, you know. You and Nancy and your brother have solved dozens of cases together. You seem to be quite the team. You must care for her very much."
"I do," Frank answered honestly. "But one more question. Nancy hasn't mentioned anyone named Ned, has she?" Dr. Nightguard thought for a minute.
"No, I haven't heard her say anything about anyone named Ned. Is he a brother or a close friend?" Frank chuckled.
"No, he's her boyfriend. I was surprised to hear that he hasn't come to see Nancy yet."
"Nancy's friend Bess had no mention of Ned either. Maybe he's out of town or away on family business?" Dr. Nightguard questioned.
"No, he loves Nancy. He'd drop everything for her. Maybe no one has contacted him yet," Frank wondered. Dr. Nightguard stood.
"Well, be that as it may, Nancy needs you right now. She's lost in her own world. We need you to be the light to guide her back to who she is. Now, she's certainly eager to see you. Would you like to see her now?"
"Yes please," Frank nodded eagerly and stood. The sudden feeling of the ring on his finger made him feel weightless. "I'd love to see her."
The two walked down the hall again to room 618. "This is her room. Please, feel free to spend as much time with her as you'd like, provided she doesn't mind your company- I have a good feeling she won't. You're welcome to stop by any time between 9 am and 7 pm, as long as she's not in treatment or resting from her injuries. It was a pleasure meeting you, Frank, and I look forward to working with you in order to bring the Nancy you care about back to life." Frank reached out and shook Dr. Nightguard's hand.
"Likewise. Please let me know of anything extra I can do to help." The doctor nodded and turned to head back to his office. Frank turned and faced the door between him and Nancy. As he reached for the knob, his heart leapt into his throat.
With a deep breath, Frank pushed the door open.