Thank you to everyone who has continued reading and reviewing this. I cannot tell you how much your comments mean to me. Posting this has worried me to pieces, especially since the first handful of chapters are so angsty/dramatic/dark. It gets better, promise. But now, you will have answers to questions.

I'm now jumping back in time, so be forewarned.

And of course, THANK YOU ROSWALYN! YOU'RE THE BEST :)

Avoidance by Death

by lightwarai

Chapter 3

January 27th

(three months before the accident)

"Are you kidding?" Nancy cried. "How can you just fake your own death? You can't escape reality that easily." She dropped into the loveseat in her small apartment living room and stared with wide eyes at the two young men who accompanied her that stormy evening.

Joe shook his head. "I didn't say it'd be easy. It'll be the hardest thing we've ever done. But, in the end…" he trailed off, evident sadness creeping into his voice. "In the end…" he glanced at his brother for help.

"In the end, it'd be better for everyone else. Just think, no more worrying, no more kidnappings, no more threats, no more fights, no more danger. Everyone can live their lives without the stress and problems we put them through. No one will ever get hurt again, because of us." Frank sighed, dropping his head into his hands. He crouched over in his chair, as if trying to shut out the response he expected from the redhead.

"I can't believe you of all people are even considering this! Do you have any idea what you are talking about? And since we won't really be dead… then what? It's not like can just go elsewhere and live out the rest of our lives!" she exclaimed. How could they even be thinking this? To just disappear into another society and become different people, she thought.

"C'mon, Nan. Give me some credit. We already have aliases at our disposal. They aren't totally legit, but they've worked perfectly before."

"Joe Hardy, you can't be serious. We can't use those aliases here. If word got back to Bayport or River Heights, Bess in particular, it'd be over. Besides. Cole and Cooper Addison already live in New York."

Joe shook his head. "No, not here. Elsewhere. Egypt. England. Australia. Greece. Japan. Hawaii. Anywhere we want. Besides, it doesn't have to be those aliases. We can make this work."

Nancy's shoulders slumped. "But these are our lives. I'm not ready to give it up. We'd be letting evil win. We'd be giving in to everything we've fought against."

"No." Frank rose from his chair, his dark eyes looking darker than normal. "We're not letting evil win. We're protecting our family and friends. How many times have Ned, Bess, George, Callie, Chet, and everyone been kidnapped or hurt? And what about-" he stopped short.

"Iola and Vanessa," Joe whispered quietly. "I've lost them both." He squared his shoulders, and his voice became steady and strong. "I'll be damned if I'm going to let that happen to anyone else. Nan, we're not making you do this. But we wanted you to have the same option. Frank and I have talked this out, and we're just tired. Tired of everything. We want to live normal lives again."

"Normal? This is what you are calling 'normal'? To live in a new place, with new names, new jobs, new everything? How can that be anything but 'normal'?" Nancy bit her lip. As crazy as it sounded, their reasons were somewhat rational. But there was no way she could go along with it. Right?

Frank laid a hand on Nancy's shoulder. "Tell me the last time you, Bess, and George had a normal vacation. Tell me the last time you and your father had one."

Joe shot a quick look at his brother, knowing where he was headed, and tried to catch his eye. But Frank was on a roll.

"What about Ned? Can you even tell me the last time you and Ned-"

"STOP!"

Frank's hand pulled back immediately, and Joe sucked in a breath. An outburst from Nancy Drew was rare, and when it did happen, neither wanted to see it again.

"Just, stop," she whispered, tears slipping down her face. She backed away from the brothers, reaching the front door of her apartment. Nancy wiped her eyes, but the tears continued to fall. As the brothers exchanged uncertain looks, she slipped out into the rainy evening.

"Should we go after her?" Joe asked, his voice betraying his doubt.

"I'm not sure."

"Should you go after her?" Joe asked again, thinking of the special bond between his brother and the girl he thought of as a sister.

Frank sighed. "I'm not sure."

NDHB NDHB NDHB NDHB

Nancy sobbed.

Slouched over the steering wheel of her parked car, still in the parking garage, she let her emotions take over. Pain and anxiety over the last few months. Grief from years ago. Fear of the future. It all overwhelmed her. She could feel her glass walls beginning to crack around her. The glass walls she had carefully built since Ned's injury.

"NED!" Nancy screamed over the horrible sound of raging fire. Every fiber in her body screamed his name as she rushed towards the burning remains of a car. Every hair on her body stood on edge, fearing the worst. Every second counted.

She paid no attention to the sirens in the distance, summoned by her phone call only moments before. Only moments before, she saw Ned held at gunpoint.

Bystanders poured out of the surrounding buildings, previously frightened at the gunshots, and now fearful of the outcome of the standoff that had just ended. The gunman rolled on the ground, flames encircling his body. One of the storeowners dashed over with a fire extinguisher in his hands.

But Nancy searched desperately for Ned. He hadn't been in the car, but he, along with the gunman, had been standing on the opposite side of the car from Nancy when the car exploded. The gunman had been thrown to one side, in front of the car. She had to find Ned.

"NED!" she hollered hoarsely as the smoke began seeping into her lungs. "NED!"

And then she saw him. He was sprawled on the ground face-down, with a twisted piece of car metal covering his back. She prayed to God, desperate for him to be alive.

As she reached him, she saw the metal wasn't just covering his back; a piece of it was embedded into his back, near the base of his spinal cord.

Nancy shuddered and wrapped her arms around herself, wanting nothing more than to block out the painful memories of that night.

Yes, Ned had survived, but at what cost? He'd been through multiple surgeries, and now, was confined to a wheelchair. Tall, handsome, athletic Ned Nickerson was unable to walk. It broke Nancy's heart to see him like that.

"Nancy, honey, this isn't your fault. This could have happened to anyone," Ned tried to reassure his girlfriend as she knelt in front of the wheelchair. He placed his hand on hers as it rested on his knee. Somewhere in the back of his mind, it registered that he couldn't feel her touch, but that didn't matter at the moment.

Face downcast, Nancy shook her head slightly. "I'm not anyone. I'm Nancy Drew, the 'girl detective' who places her family and friends in danger every day because she can't resist a mystery or a case. And because of me, this has happened." She swept her arm around her, her blurry vision taking in the medical equipment and the wheelchair.

When she saw Ned's eyes looking at her, filled with love and understanding and forgiveness and everything she didn't want to see, she had to shake herself mentally. She knew she couldn't take back what happened, and she vowed that she would never get him involved again. Now, it was time to focus on his recovery. She wiped her eyes and tried to give him her best smile, though she knew he'd see right through it.

But keeping his spirits up drained her with every visit. He was usually in a good mood, and whether he did that for her benefit or not, she never knew. But she made her best efforts to be supportive of him.

It was getting overwhelming, and she wasn't sure she could keep it up much longer. How did everything become so messed up, she asked herself. It just wasn't fair.

NDHB NDHB NDHB NDHB

Hours passed, and midnight found both brothers in the living room, having barely spoken since Nancy's abrupt departure. Frank sat in the loveseat and Joe on the couch, each staring blankly at the TV.

"Maybe this was a bad idea," Frank spoke softly.

"No, this wasn't a bad idea. Nancy deserves as much happiness as she can get. I know this isn't the future she's been counting on, but you know how much she's been hurting lately. She's just like us. She doesn't get much sleep, she's always worrying. When do we get the chance to enjoy life? Besides, if we went through with this plan without even offering it to Nancy, how fair would that be?"

Joe held up a hand before Frank could respond. "I know how sick that sounded, but you know what I mean. Besides, our paths would have crossed with Nancy eventually, and then the secret would be out. With our track record, she'd run into us even if we were on Mars."

Frank nodded. In some sick, twisted way, it did make sense. "But, is this even right? Who are we to decide that we shouldn't have to live these lives anymore? Since when were humans allowed the chance to start over completely?"

There was no response.

He and Joe had been talking about all the little what-ifs late one night after a case. But somehow, they had come to the conclusion that maybe it wasn't fair to put their family and friends through all the nightmares that seemed to plague them.

Sure, they loved what they did. Searching for clues, putting the pieces together, solving puzzles, bringing evil to justice, and protecting the innocent. But was it worth the sacrifices their loved ones were forced to make? Canceled dates and ruined vacations. Worry, fear, threats.

Frank knew his brother always thought about the loss of Iola and Vanessa. Though each had died in different ways, Joe blamed himself solely for their deaths. Frank had watched his brother live in grief over Iola and eventually come to terms with it, only to then lose Vanessa. He would have given anything to protect his brother from the pain and suffering. And now, here was his chance. The chance for them to get away from their danger-filled lives and to save their family and friends. For Frank, Joe mattered the most, and he knew his younger brother had earned the right to be happy.

That night, they had decided it wasn't fair. And now, they had more enemies than they could possibly count. Their family and friends seemed to be in constant danger.

Danger by association, Joe had called it.

Originally, the idea of escaping and saving everyone by faking their deaths had been a passing thought. But the more cases he became involved with, the better the idea seemed.

As a teenager, he rarely feared death. The irrational part of him, slight as it was, told him that he was invincible. But now, seeing the real evil, the murder, torture, rape, and innumerable atrocious crimes the human race was capable of, he knew it was only a matter of time before a cruel death found him.

"We're not invincible, Joe. We will die one day," he had stated to his brother, his voice unwavering. "Maybe it's time to hide from death's cruelest and most dangerous form."

It'd been hard talking about 'the plan' at first. No one wants to talk about their own death, especially Frank Hardy. But he continued to rationalize his thoughts. He knew that his sacrifice would be what protected his family. He was sure of it. But first and foremost, he wanted to protect his brother from getting hurt, not just physically, but emotionally. Losing two girlfriends, to murder and cancer, had certainly taken a toll on Joe. He would gladly give his life to protect his brother's.

The quiet creak of the front door opening made both brothers jump. Nancy stepped in lightly, her footfalls barely above a whisper. "Hey," she greeted them slowly.

Frank and Joe remained seated, both of their eyes following her as she moved through the apartment. She kicked off her shoes and sank onto the couch next to Joe. Frank wanted to go to her, and wrap his arms around her. He wanted to protect her as much as he wanted to protect Joe. But he couldn't move.

Joe reached over and draped an arm around her shoulders. "Hey, listen."

Nancy shook her head. "I don't want to talk about this right now. I need time." She leaned against Joe, but her eyes met Frank's.

The pain was clear in her blue eyes. Frank knew she was losing control of her grip on life. But he could tell she was taking their offer to heart. He nodded to her. He'd give her all the time in the world. He just hoped everything wouldn't fall apart before then.