Author's Note:

This chapter is all Nancy and Joe. As I was writing this one, it turned out to be longer than expected so I had to shorten it somewhat. Thanks to all who left reviews for the last chapter! Wendylouwho10 got the quote right! It was from "The Usual Suspects" which is another great movie to see! And yes, Smithy. A Joe and Nancy relationship just seems freaky. They seem to have more of a brother-sister bond than anything which is why I wrote them like that! Hope you all enjoy this chapter and don't forget to review!

Chapter Five

Five months earlier…

Nancy was packing her suitcase, her eyes continually googling at the diamond ring on her finger. Although they still had yet to tell anyone about their engagement, Nancy wore the ring around her apartment and while out with Ned. She smiled softly at the thought of finally being married to the love of her life. A knock came at the apartment door, interrupting her happy thoughts.

"Hey, beautiful," replied Ned when she opened the door. A bouquet of flowers was in his hand and a smile across his face.

"Ned!" She jumped into his arms and planted a kiss on his lips. He followed her inside, his smile turning to a look of confusion when he noticed she was still dressed in jeans and a shirt.

"Did you forget we were having dinner with my parents and your dad?" Ned said sadly. "We were going to tell them about our engagement at dinner, remember?"

"Oh, I didn't forget. Something's come up," she replied happily. "I think Dad forgot too. He said he was going out with Maria tonight."

"No, I think he was said he was bringing Maria with him," Ned corrected her. He got the same text message from Mr. Drew as Nancy did. "Oh, right." Nancy looked a little nervous and moved back into her bedroom where the suitcase was laid out. Ned followed her into the room and stopped when he saw the scene.

"Are you going somewhere?"

"Yeah, I, um, have a case. It's a paying gig." Nancy smiled hopefully but it was dashed when Ned's face went red. "I didn't get the chance to call you to let you know."

"You're bypassing one of the most important nights of our lives for a damn case?!" he roared. "I thought we were over this now that we're getting married. What am I supposed to tell my parents? What about your dad?"

"I'm sorry! It just came up within the last hour or so! I just sent Dad a message about not being able to make it." Nancy went over to her phone and noticed a message waiting for her.

"What did he say about it?"

"Dad's fine with it. He understands. He's happy to be alone with Maria anyway." Nancy looked at Ned and hung her head. She could tell he was upset over the sudden change. This was the first test of her loyalty to Ned and she failed it utterly. "We can do it again when I get back."

"And how long will that be, Nan? A couple of days? A week? Two?" Ned sighed and looked away, the flowers drooping with his mood. "It took weeks for us to plan this since we had to wait until your dad was done with the trial. And now we have to wait even longer to tell them?! When is this going to stop!?"

"When's what going to stop?"

"THIS!" Ned yelled. "Our lives being disrupted by your cases! These people can get help from somewhere else, Nancy! Not from you! Now that we're finally getting married, I thought that you understood that! We've discussed this last week, remember?"

"Discussed what? That I wasn't going to continue my cases anymore, after we got married?" Nancy's anger was rising just as quickly as Ned's. "I never agreed to it and said we would discuss it more at a later time. What you want me to do is not what I want to do! You know how much I love helping people!"

"Then be a volunteer somewhere! I make more than enough money that you don't have to work! What are you going to do when we have kids? Take them with you? That'll work out well when you have to catch a thief! I love you, Nancy. More than anything in this world but this childish nonsense of going out and solving crimes that the police can handle has got to stop!"

"'Childish nonsense?'" Nancy couldn't believe what she was hearing. She understood that Ned was upset about her leaving for a case when they were about to announce their engagement but the remark hurt her just as much. "Is that what you think I'm doing? I'm not doing this for nothing. I'm doing this because it's what I love to do! I thought you understood that and were supportive of me!"

"I am supportive but I worry about you all the time, Nancy! I thought that when I asked you to marry me, you'd stay home and take care of the house."

"And do what else?" Nancy put her hands on her hips. "Clean the house? Join a book club? Make sure dinner is set on the table for you when you get home from work? Is that it?"

"Yes! It's what I thought you wanted too! To be a housewife and settle down with a family! Is that too much to ask?"

"I want kids, believe me! But I'm not giving up what I love to do before we even get married. " Nancy cried. "I have told you before that being a housewife isn't for me!If that's what you want then maybe you should find someone who will!" Nancy got quiet and went about packing in silence as Ned looked on.

"You're not going," he ordered. Nancy shook her head defiantly. "I don't want you getting yourself into trouble that you can't get out of."

"Ned, I can take care of myself," Nancy replied. "I don't need you to dictate my life before or after we get married."

"You are not going!" Ned yelled, grabbing her by the wrist. "That's my final say, Nancy!"

"I suggest you take your hand off of me before you regret it," Nancy replied slowly through gritted teeth. Ned let go of her wrist and watched as she folded up the filled suitcase once she finished packing. "I have to get to the airport. We'll talk about this when I return."

"Fine," Ned snarled, walking out of her bedroom. Nancy jumped when she heard the door slam. Trembling slightly, she sat down on her bed and wept softly, the flowers lay crumpled on the floor beside her.

"I felt horrible but I didn't get to say anything more until after I returned from my trip," Nancy stated sadly. She still felt bad about the whole ordeal though other thoughts crept into her head. "Dad was okay with the last minute cancellation as were Ned's parents. Only Ned himself had an issue with it. I had never seen him so angry before and when I saw him again, he seemed distant but he didn't bring up the subject again. We never made the official announcement for our engagement either so I'm not even sure what is going on anymore."

"What made him act like that anyway?" Joe asked. Although he and Frank were always cordial to Ned, there was always an underlying current that felt weird between them. It was most especially between Ned and Frank and even more so when it came to Nancy. Joe remembered the phone call Frank received seven months before and the reaction his brother had with Ned telling them to stay away from her.

"I'm not sure but I feel it had something to do with a case I had that turned out badly. I was in the hospital for a week and he was by my side the whole time." Nancy coughed lightly, her throat parched from talking so much. "He also was having some issues at work that were becoming stressful for him and I guess he didn't want to have to worry about me on top of that."

"But that doesn't give him the right to tell you what to do or to treat you like crap," Joe said cautiously. He wasn't sure if Nancy was still going to marry Ned but Joe sure as wanted to kick the guy's butt for treating her so poorly.

"I know but I began thinking that I should just give up being a private investigator," Nancy replied sadly, looking down at her hands. "I loved Ned so much and I didn't want to lose him over it but now I'm not so sure anymore."

"Nancy Drew letting go of being a private detective?" Joe asked incredulously. "Like you said, you love helping people. It's what you're really good at. That's what everyone really loves about you, Nan and any detective agency would kill to have you with them. Even Dad has said he wanted to offer you a job but after the phone call we had from Ned a few months ago, it changed everything."

"What phone call?" Nancy asked, taken aback.

"Oh, crap."

"Joe."

He sighed and looked down, searching for the right words. He went on and told her about the phone conversation between Ned and Frank. As he continued, Joe realized that she never knew of Ned's meddling once again with her personal life.

"What he said to Frank, I figured it extended to me as well. Ned said he was tired of us putting you in danger and that you needed to put away 'childish' things."

"He wouldn't," Nancy whispered, though she felt it was true since it was the same thing Ned told her. "That would explain why I haven't heard from either of you for several months."

"Yup," Joe nodded his head. "Frank didn't want to interfere with your life anymore so we tried to sever ties as best we could. Then you called a few days ago and it completely took us by surprise. Frank dropped everything and we rushed out here. His attitude changed right after we arrived though."

"How so?"

"Well, he was already sulking about Callie and I have a feeling that he suspected Van and I got married," Joe replied. As he looked at Nancy, he could tell the wheels were turning in her mind but he wasn't sure as to what she was thinking about.

"Do you think he found out about my engagement somehow?"

"Maybe. I did fall asleep right after we got settled. When I woke up, he was brooding. You know how he is."

Nancy sat quietly, thinking of everything she just heard. She didn't want to tell Joe that she was in New York just three weeks before with the intention of going to see the brothers. But she something came up and she left for Arizona soon after. The room was quiet with not much noise other than their breathing. Then she heard it again. It was the sound of someone's voice. Nancy looked over at the area where it was coming from and soon noticed the dirt falling as if someone were digging.