Nancy's eyes blinked open. She was relieved to see the gentle rays of early morning sunlight to replace the harsh blinding white that had been chasing her dreams. She frowned. The sunlight was familiar even the side the light was coming from. But the room was strange. The curtains were white not yellow. Nancy tried to sit up and was surprised to find an IV in the crook of her elbow and oxygen flowing into her nose. She looked to her right to see Sonny asleep in a chair. His glasses were slightly askew as he leaned the side of his face against the wall. His lips were parted as slow deep breaths caused his chest to rise and fall.

Nancy struggled to remember what had happened. Only a moment after this thought did the vision of flashing headlights and the sound of crunching metal flood her mind. Her head throbbed and she became aware of a tightness across her forehead. She reached up with her free arm and her fingertips met a peculiar sensation of prickly plastic. Stitches ran from the center of her forehead to her temple following her hairline. She winced and assumed she must look pretty bruised. She turned again to Sonny. He appeared unhurt and she was relieved. She sighed softly. That small noise was all it took. Sonny jerked slightly, his hands immediately reaching to straighten his glasses. His eyes settled on her and he lunged forward quickly snatching up her hand in both of his.

    "Nancy, I'm so sorry. Oh God. I'm so sorry."

Nancy only smiled. She found words had left her. But she squeezed his hand weakly. She watched tears well in his brown eyes. He released her hand and cupped her face gently. She watched his eyes roam over the wound on her head. And words found her.

    "It's okay," she whispered.

    "No!" She jumped at the vehemence in his voice. "It was my fault! I wasn't looking at the road. I was distracted. It should be me in that bed."

Nancy reached out to him.

    "Don't blame yourself. They ran a red."

Sonny stared at her sadly.

    "You always assume the best," he said, his voice was so soft.  "Nanc, I ran the red."

She frowned.

    "No, it was green. I'm sure of it."

Sonny shook his head.

    "No. It wasn't."

They stared at each other and Sonny slowly withdrew and stood.

    "I'm leaving, Nanc."

Nancy never imagined words could hurt worse then being in a car accident. She stared up at the young man. His shoulders were hunched. He looked so torn. So guilty.

    "Sonny, it's okay....Please don't go."

    "It will never be okay now."

Suddenly the door to the room banged open. Carson Drew stood in the doorway more imposing and angry looking then Nancy had ever seen her father before.    

    "Get out!" he bellowed at the young man.

    "Dad don't."

But Sonny held up his hands.

    "I'm leaving, Mr. Drew."

    "Damn right you are."

    "Dad!"

    "Not another word, Nancy."

But Nancy couldn't say any other words. Her vision was tunneling. Her hand fluttered reaching for Sonny. Machines beeped shrilly and a nurse came running in. Then the world went black.

*****

Artificial light met her eyes again. Sterile and white. Faceless doctors in surgical masks loomed above her, brows furrowed in concern. Darkness returned.

*****

When Nancy opened her eyes again and looked to the chair they landed on two men this time. One was her father. He was leaning forward head cradled in his hands. The other was Ned. He stood as the window fists clenched and set on the sill. Sonny was no where to be seen.

Nancy wanted to close her eyes and retreat back into the painless sleep of oblivion. But Ned looked up and he sighed in relief.

    "Nancy, thank God."

She managed a wane smile.

    "How long have I been out," she asked as she tried to push up, but quickly gasped as pain traveled like fire down her side.

    "Don't strain yourself," said her father as he reached out to gently press he back. "You've been out of surgery for a few days. You had a collapsed lung. But you're going to be fine."

The logistics of her condition hardly mattered to Nancy.

    "Where is Sonny?" She tried not to feel guilty at Ned's expression. Her father looked thunderous though she could see he was trying to quell his anger.

    "I ordered him away."

Nancy swallowed.

    "Has he tried to see me?"

Her father was quiet so long she thought perhaps he would not answer.

    "No."

Nancy closed her eyes and fought the tears.

    "Are you lying to me?"

    "I would not lie and cause you so much pain. He left the day you passed out and has not been back."

She looked to Ned and his face told her that her father spoke the truth.

    "What did you say to him?"

    "You know he was going to leave before I even came in. I've sent every person and agency at my disposal to find him and nobody can. He's vanished, Nancy. He nearly got you killed and now he's abandoned you."

Nancy turned her face away from her father and away from Ned.

    "I think I need some time alone," she whispered. She was grateful they obeyed her wishes. She didn't want them to see her cry. She didn't want them to see how heartbroken she felt.

*****

It took the titan haired sleuth several weeks to recover from her injuries. But those did not touch the state of her heart. Her father refused case after case. Ned missed classes. Bess and George sat in her room whispering with each other like Nancy couldn't hear. The day she came home Hannah cooked her favorite meal. The Hardy boys flew in from Hong Kong. Nancy smiled and made small talk pretending everything was fine. No one was fooled. With so many people around there was always someone to notice how quickly her feigned smile would fade after a joke or that it didn't quite reach her eyes.

But soon her friends had to return to there lives and even Ned's visits slowly lessened but Nancy remained despondent. The stitches on her forehead had been removed almost a month ago. but the scar would take years upon years to fade. She avoided the mirror now and yet her eyes always unwillingly seemed to find one. Her gaze always settled on the blemish. Would she ever truly recover? Could one truly come back from such a blow? Nancy could hardly remember who she had been before the accident. And what was worse she didn't even know who she was now.