Chapter Two:

Nancy picked at her chicken, trying hard to strain her ears to pick up more from the mystery girl. She knew that she had heard that voice before but where?

"Nancy," a voice called out softly, causing Nancy to drop her chicken. It couldn't be, no anyone but him, "Is that you?"

There were footsteps behind her until they stopped next to their table. Well, Nancy now knew what Emily hadn't wanted to tell her.

"Hi Ned," she muttered, keeping her face down, great just great, she hadn't talked to him since he called her while she was in Salem, and that wasn't much of a phone call either, he had kind of started to chew her out for working too much, and she had started to ask him about how his vacation was going when… his phone had been stolen from him, by a girl. The same girl that she had heard earlier. Here today… at the same place as Ned, at the same time.

Emily had hesitated when she had said that no one from school was there. She had known that Ned was there with another girl!

"Uh, Nancy?" Ned called out again, bringing her back to the present, some detective she can still be, she had totally zoned out there for a moment. Then again, the pain meds the hospital had her on did that.

"Yeah?" Nancy said, not bothering to look up, "Sorry, got a lot on my mind."

"Pursuing another mystery?"

"No," Nancy said with a sigh, "Not this time."

"Oh, I understand completely," Ned insisted, "And maybe I can help, the Valentine's Dance is coming up and I was wondering…"

Nancy couldn't believe it, Ned was there on a date with another girl and was asking her out as if he wasn't cheating on her. Like he hadn't met someone new while in Southern California, "Why don't you ask your new girlfriend," she snapped.

"What are you talking about?"

"Just because I'm blind now doesn't make me stupid, I recognized her voice earlier, she's the girl that stole your phone from you when you called me in Salem!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Nancy, I don't under… that girl was my cousin Susan, she just moved up here for school, and I'm showing her around town. You would know this if you would answer your phone every once in a while."

Ned sounded upset, Nancy knew that, but come on, didn't he know. Surely the whole thing was on the news and stuff because Emily knew, and while she would consider her a friend she wasn't a close one. Not like Bess and George or Ned. So surely he had to have known.

"Sorry, my phone was destroyed during my last case," Nancy confessed, "Haven't had a chance to replace it yet."

"Well, that's understandable I guess," Ned said, shifting slightly, "So about that dance?"

"I really don't think I can make it," Nancy insisted.

"It won't be the first time that you stood me up because of a case."

"Look," Nancy grimaced at the term, she couldn't look anymore, "You're a great guy Ned, you deserve the best, I just, don't think that that is me, not anymore, I think it will be best for us to see," there that word was again, she hated it, because she couldn't see anything, "other people," this was the best thing she could do for him. Set him free. He shouldn't have to deal with a disabled girlfriend everywhere they go.

"What?" Ned asked, turning to Mr. Drew, hoping that he could give him some insight of what was going on.

Mr. Drew glanced up at Ned, before glancing at Nancy, "You know what, I think I left my wallet in the car, I'll be right back," he paused, "Are you going to be okay while I run out and get it, I'll be back in five minutes."

"Yeah, sure," Nancy muttered, shrugging her shoulder, "I'll just stay here, by myself."

"Great, thank you, I promise I'll be right back," her father insisted, standing up, and grabbing Ned, leading him outside.

"What is going on?" Ned demanded, "Did Nancy say 'Blind'?"

Carson nodded his head, "Three months ago, soon after her case in Salem, she was helping the police by taking what we thought was just teenager vandals case but was actually something much worse," he sighed, "She took a firecracker to the face. The doctors did the best they could, but they couldn't fix all the damage done to her eyes. She's not taking it very well," Carson sighed, "I'm sure once she adjusts, and things settle down for her, she might reconsider your relationship, but at the moment, I don't think that she can handle a relationship right now."

Ned nodded his head, "No, I understand, let her know that I'm willing to just be a friend, if she ever needs anything, just have her call."

…

Nancy dropped down on her bed pulling Mr. WoggleWoggles up against her chest. There was a soft whimper before there was a slight dip in the mattress as something furry brushed against her arm, whining slightly.

"Togo," she gasped, holding her hand out and feeling for the dog, who gently nudged her hand, guiding it towards the back of his head. Nancy chuckled, giving him a scratch, "You don't care that I'm blind, do you Togo, you just care about if I still scratch you behind the ear."

Togo didn't make any sound, simply plopping down and curling up next to her, resting his head on her leg.

She simply sat on her bed, petting Togo, when there was a knock on her door, "Hey, Nance, can I come in?" her father called out.

"I guess," Nancy said with a sigh, not even bothering to turn around to face him.

"I got you something."

"What?"

"I got you a new phone, I was even able to save all of your contact information."

"Great, how am I supposed to use it? I'm blind and they don't usually have buttons these days."

"It's voice-activated. Just speak into it and it will do the rest. It is supposed to be really simple and easy to use. Here, I'll show you how to make a call."

Nancy picked up the phone and felt it, it… felt like a normal phone, just like the one she had had before her accident.

"Okay," Carson said, "just hold it like this," he adjusted her hand a little bit, "And speak into it to make a call."

"Okay," Nancy said slowly, raising the phone up to her mouth, "Call Dad," she said.

There was a sound of the dialing before ringing came from the direction she knew her father was in, "Good," he said, "Just swipe down to hang up." Nancy did, only for her phone to vibrate and start to ring.

"Call from Frank Hardy," the phone announced in a robotic voice.

"Swipe up to answer," Carson offered.

Nancy pulled a face, before determinedly swiping down. The phone went silent.

"You just hung up on Frank," Carson pointed out, "I told you to swipe up."

"I know," Nancy said, dropping the phone next to her on the bed, "He'll get over it."

Carson frowned, even though he knew that his daughter couldn't see him, Frank was one of her best friends, and they had been through so much together. He was trying to think of something to say, anything that might cheer up his daughter, even a little bit.

He was thrown out of his thoughts when his phone started to ring. He glanced at the caller id and chuckled, "Frank must really want to get a hold of you," he announced.

"Just hang up Dad."

Carson ignored Nancy, hitting the answer button, "Hello, this is Carson Drew."

"Hi Mr. Drew, it's Frank Hardy."

Nancy groaned, feeling around for a blanket, which she promptly pulled over her head, not only had he answered the phone, but he had put it on speaker.

"Hello Frank, what can I do for you? Don't tell me that you and Joe need a lawyer?"

"No, actually we're trying to get a hold of Nancy, but it keeps going straight to voicemail. I was wondering if she's working on a case or something?"

"No, Frank, she isn't working on a case at the moment."

Nancy groaned under her blanket, pulling her pillow over her head as well.

"In fact," Carson paused for a moment, "She's right here, let me get her for you."

"That will be great, thank you."

"Just hang up Dad."

"Nancy?"

"Look Frank, I'm not really in the mood to talk right now, okay. I just want to be left alone."

"Uhoh, I recognized that tone of voice, I take it your last case was a wash. Did the Culprit get away or something?"

"Honestly, I don't know," Nancy confessed, "He got enough of a head start that I'm sure he got away."

"He was arrested over in San Francisco about a week ago," Carson informed the two young detectives, "He was about to board a plane to Mexico. Now he's facing avoiding arrest as well as his attempted Manslaughter and Arson charges."

"Wow, sounds like you had a rough case there, Nan," Frank said, "Which reminds me, Joe and I are working on a case, and we have a lead that we're hoping that you can check out for us. Save us having to go all the way to Chicago."

"I can't."

"You already have another Case?"

"No, I just… can't, I'm sorry Frank," Nancy's voice was barely above a whisper as she rolled over, done with the current conversation.

"Look Frank," Carson said, standing up as well, "Nancy's… she's going through a lot right now and… is taking a break from sleuthing. Maybe in a couple of weeks, Nancy will feel up to helping you with some stuff. I don't really know."

…

Carson sighed as he dropped down in his armchair, Nancy was finally home, now the real battle had begun. How was he supposed to help Nancy when she had effectively cut out two support systems to her life, Ned and the Hardy Boys. However, Nancy was an adult, and to be honest, the only reason she and Ned were still together was that they both were too stubborn to admit that they weren't going to work out. And he wasn't afraid to admit that it was a bit of Nancy's fault. Her and her casework. Her willingness to drop anything to go gallivanting across the globe at a second's notice had often led to her standing Ned up. Sure he was supportive and understanding, but… he was still human, and he knew for a fact that they had had major disagreements about it.

Part of him hoped that Ned moved on, while another hoped that he will wait for Nancy to heal and recover. Only time will tell.