One


The darkness felt like a heavy weight on her shoulders, encroaching upon her from all directions. She wasn't even sure if any amount of light would be able to slice through the thickness, it was so heavy and suffocating. Any same person would have just given up at the hopelessness of the situation.

Any for one terrifying moment, Nancy Drew was tempted to do just that.

Taking a deep breath, she tried to steady her frazzled nerves, but it did very little to alleviate her fear. She'd never felt fear this potent and mind-numbing, wrapping around her body like a boa constrictor, slowly squeezing the life out of her.

"Frank," she whispered. "I have to find Frank…"

Taking a cautious step forward, she reached out blindly, desperate to find something solid to grip onto. Her footsteps echoed all around her as she slowly made her way towards what she figured was the way out.

"Come to me, Nancy," a male voice beckoned softly.

Nancy stopped in her tracks, struggling to figure out where—and who—the voice was coming from.

"You're almost there, Nancy."

Nancy's heart skipped a beat as she recognized Frank's voice. It had an instant calming effect on her and she found her feet moving on its own volition. She still wasn't sure where she was headed, but it had to be the right direction if Frank was calling for her.

"Come to me."

"I'm coming!" Nancy called. "Where are you, Frank?"

"Just a little bit further, Nan."

Her feet began moving a little faster until she was jogging. She still couldn't see a thing, but that didn't seem to matter. She was almost to Frank—she could feel it.

Suddenly, a pair of strong hands gripped her shoulders, stopping her progress. Nancy nearly collapsed in relief, falling into the arms as they wrapped around her slender body. She was home in these arms. She was safe.

"Frank…"

"Sorry to disappoint, Nancy, but Frank isn't available at the moment," Wesley's chilling voice whispered into her ear.

A scream lodged in Nancy's throat as she jerked away from the killer, pushing away and running as the sound of his laughter echoed around the cavernous room. Silent tears streaked down her cheeks as a sliver of light caught her attention, indicating a door not twenty feet away.

She crashed into it without hesitation, twisting the knob and throwing it open.

Nancy was finally able to free the scream from her throat as hundreds of spiders poured out of the room, covering her body.

Nancy awoke with a start, gasping for air as she sat up in bed. Her body was drenched in a cold sweat, her pajamas sticking to her. Shivers wracked her body and no matter how much she tried to rub her arms to gain some warmth, it didn't work. Glancing beside her, she saw that Frank was still sleeping soundly.

Pushing the comforter aside, she stepped out of bed and walked to the bathroom. She waited until she closed the door before she turned the light on, not wanting to wake Frank. As much as she was having a hard time sleeping since her ordeal with Wesley three months ago, she knew Frank was suffering just as much, considering he had maintained a steady vigil over her, waiting for the chance to comfort her when the next nightmare came.

Bracing herself against the sink, Nancy peered at her reflection, hating the woman she was seeing staring back at her. Dark circles had taken up a permanent residence under her eyes. She'd lost weight, her appetite not being anywhere near what it used to be. She'd pretty much become a hermit, refusing to leave the apartment unless Frank or Joe forced her to. She hadn't even taken on any new cases, even the simplest of them—it was the longest she had ever gone without a mystery to solve.

And it wasn't as if she didn't want to work and go on with her life. She wanted that more than anything because she knew that everyone was worried about her. Hell, she was worried about herself. She'd never shied away from anything in her life, but now, even her own shadow scared the crap out of her.

And it was all because of Wesley Levine.

Even after three months, he was still terrorizing her every moment.

When Frank and Joe had rescued her from his basement, Nancy had been on the brink of death from all of the spider venom running through her system. As soon as they'd loaded her up into the ambulance, she had fallen into a coma, only to wake up five days later in the ICU. Those five days turned out to be the most sleep she would get in the coming months.

The doctors couldn't believe that she had survived the spider venom, saying the amount in her body would have easily killed ten men. They truly believed she was a walking miracle, saying she definitely had someone upstairs looking out for her. Nancy wasn't sure if she believed them or not, especially with the way she was unable to function like her normal self. God, what she wouldn't give to be normal.

She had to sleep with a nightlight for crying out loud.

An actual nightlight like she was a sniveling scared little five year old, because after twenty-four years, Nancy was finally scared of the dark.

Letting out a weary sigh, Nancy turned the tap and splashed cold water on her face, knowing there was no way she was going back to sleep now. She would now fall into her familiar routine of waking up, making a pot of coffee, and cleaning the apartment, even though it wasn't dirty. In fact, Nancy was pretty sure surgery could be performed in the middle of the living room, it was that spotless.

Stepping out of the bathroom, Nancy padded towards the kitchen and turned the coffeepot on. Soon, the kitchen was enveloped in the aromatic brew as it slowly dripped down into the glass carafe. Opening up the cabinet, Nancy pulled out her favorite mug and poured herself a cup, adding milk and three sugars.

Taking her coffee, Nancy grabbed her jacket from the coat rack and walked out onto the balcony, closing the door behind her. Setting the mug on the small table they had out there, Nancy slipped her jacket on and took a seat.

Even though it was the middle of January, Nancy barely felt the cold as it seeped deep into her bones. She blamed that on the fact that she felt numb to everything. She couldn't even remember the last time she had truly smiled and meant it. A real, genuine smile, and not the fake ones she had been throwing out left and right.

She'd become an expert at the art of the fake smile.

Clasping her mug between her hands, Nancy took a slow sip as she sat in the silence of the morning, waiting for the city below her to wake from its slumber.


Frank Hardy knew the instant Nancy was woken up from the latest nightmare plaguing her sleep. It had been extremely hard for him to lay still and pretend that he was still asleep. But he knew Nancy would only blame herself for interfering with his sleep.

He'd told her countless times, ever since she had come home from the hospital that he didn't mind waking up in order to comfort her. That was what he wanted. He wanted to be able to take care of her, especially since she wasn't doing such a wonderful job of it herself. It was as if he was watching a shell walk around the apartment they shared, going through the motions of daily living.

But Nancy Drew was far from living.

She wasn't the vibrant girl anymore that he had met all those years ago. There were times when he swore there was no life left in her eyes, but then she would blink and it would be gone. The demons that she was battling were eating him up alive—he'd never seen her so…defeated.

What hurt Frank the most was that she refused to talk about anything that had happened to her. The only time she had said a word about Wesley Levine was when she was giving her statement to the police. Frank had tried to get her to open up, but she wouldn't do it, telling him that she wasn't ready. The last thing he wanted to do was push her, but he was so afraid of what keeping it inside her would do to her.

Hell, it was already doing a number on her. She'd been so withdrawn, even refusing to visit her father or friends. She refused to leave the apartment unless he and Joe dragged her out, and that was only to get something to eat. Nancy even refused to take on any cases—not even willing to be a sounding board for when he and Joe were stumped.

Frank just wanted Nancy—his Nancy—back.

He thought he'd had the solution to their problem when he told Nancy that Wesley had been apprehended and was currently awaiting a hearing in front of the judge. There was no way in hell he could tell her that he had escaped—he was terrified what it would do to her. Was lying to her the best thing to do?

No—it was the last thing Frank wanted to do.

But would he do it again in order to give Nancy even a sliver of hope of returning back to her normal self?

In a heartbeat.

That was what love did to a person. It made them do things that they normally wouldn't do, that went against their character. It was always an emotion that Frank never entirely understood until he found Nancy. Sure, he had loved Callie Shaw when he was a teenager, but that was nothing compared to what he felt for Nancy. There was nothing in this world that he wouldn't give her—even lie to her to give her peace of mind.

Of course, during this time, he and Joe had secretly been trying to track Wesley down. They had followed countless leads, pushing aside other cases to try to locate the killer. The best thing Frank knew he could do for Nancy was to make sure that Wesley was caught and would never be able to terrorize another human being.

Unfortunately, all of those leads had led to nothing.

But Frank was determined. He was going to find Wesley at all costs.

The smell of coffee percolating through the small apartment had Frank tossing the blanket aside and getting out of bed. Grabbing a tee shirt from his dresser, he slipped it on before finding his jacket and putting it on. He knew exactly where he would find Nancy. The same place he always found her.

Sliding the glass door open, he stepped out onto the balcony. Nancy didn't even look up as he took the seat across from her.

"Another nightmare?" Frank asked softly, already knowing the answer. But he always felt it was better that Nancy acknowledged the horrible dreams.

"Yeah," Nancy's voice was just as soft, barely audible over the wind that swept through the city. "I'm sorry if I woke you up."

Frank let out a weary sigh as he glanced at the sun slowly rising on the horizon, casting the buildings in it rich orange and yellow hues. "I told you not to apologize, Nan. I would rather you woke me up."

"You need your sleep."

"You need to sleep just as much as I do. Even more so."

Nancy shook her head. "I'm not the one who has to go to work. I'm fine, Frank."

You're not fine. Far from it, Frank thought, keeping it to himself. It was too early to get into another argument with Nancy. "What time is your appointment with Doctor Janus?"

"Ten."

After weeks of begging and prodding, Frank had finally convinced Nancy to sit down with a psychologist. He preferred that she speak with a psychiatrist, but Nancy had been adamant about using a psychologist, refusing to be put on any medication that a psychiatrist may prescribe. Frank didn't argue about it too hard, considering it was a step forward in the right direction.

At least, he truly hoped so.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Frank asked after a few moments of silence as Nancy sipped her coffee.

"You have to go to work."

"I can always skip a day, Nan. I'm sure Joe would understand." He flashed her a small smile. "Besides, what's the point of owning your own business if you can't skip a day every once and a while."

"I don't want you to go with me, Frank."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm not ready to let you in, Frank," Nancy said softly, her eyes finally meeting his steady gaze. "I'm not ready for you to get stuck in my nightmare. I love you too much to do that."

Frank leaned forward and grasped one of her hands in his. "Don't you understand, Nancy? I want to help you. It's killing me that I'm not able to help you."

"You are helping me, Frank." She gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "You're helping me by being here with me. If I didn't have you with me, I don't know what I would be doing. Probably staring blankly at a padded wall, dressed in a straightjacket."

"Don't say that."

"It's true."

Frank closed his eyes as he leaned his head against Nancy's hand. He didn't like to hear her speak that way, but at the same time, he knew it was a real possibility. Any other person who had survived what she did would be locked up in a mental hospital. It was only because of Nancy's experience with detective work that helped her cope a little better.

"I just want you to trust me, Nan."

"I do trust you, Frank. More than anyone else in this world." She put down her coffee and ran her other hand through his hair.

"Then why won't you let me in?" Frank didn't bother to mask the desperation in his tone. If only she knew I was lying to her about Wesley. She'll never trust me again…

Nancy let out an exasperated sigh as she pulled her hand away from Frank and stood up. Grabbing her coffee mug, she frowned at him. "You already know my reasons. I'm not having this argument with you again, Frank."

Frank said nothing as he watched her retreat back into the apartment, shutting the door behind her.

"Way to go, Hardy."


Since I am going out of town this weekend, I decided to post another chapter for you guys this week instead of making you wait until next week.

I am so overwhelmed with the response to the first chapter! I knew all of you secretly loved Wesley…

And with that, I would love the thank the following people for their amazing reviews: Michelle Gallichio, misslady92, SC15, Mrs. Frank Hardy, Valaina Wynn, Guest, max2013, Caranath, Xdaisy chainX, Cupcake, hlahabibty, Jabba1, and SarahE7191. You guys rock!

I would also love to thank everyone who has read and added me to their alerts!

I apologize for any mistakes and let me know what you think!