"Were on earth have you been?" Greg's voice sounded behind her.

Nancy jumped. Turning around, she found Greg standing behind her, hands on his hips. "Greg!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around him. "You're back early!"

"Yeah," he replied. Slipping out of her hug, he stepped back to meet her eyes. "You didn’t answer my question. Where have you been? I came home late last night and found the house deserted. No one was home. Then this morning, there’s still no one at home. No Rebecca, no Laurie, and no Kevin! I’ve been worried sick!"

"Oh, Greg," she said. "I’m so sorry! We were over at Joe’s apartment last night. You’ll never believed what’s happened the last few days."

Greg frowned. "Joe? As in the Joe Hardy from the restaraunt?"

Nancy nodded. "Uh huh."

"Why were you all three over there?"

Nancy motioned for Greg to sit down. "This is a long story," she said. "Get comfortable."

Joe couldn’t believe his luck. After making arrangements for Laurie, he dialed information for Clarissa Carter’s home phone. While she didn’t sound thrilled to talk to him, she did agree to meet him halfway between Salinas and Los Angeles. She couldn’t arrive there until after 10 this morning, and since it was only 8:30 now, this gave him just enough time to get there. He’d tried calling Nancy at work once, but the receptionist told him that she hadn’t arrived yet. Joe debated about swinging by there before leaving town to check on her, then decided against it. He had no reason to be worried about her. There were numerous reasons she might be late to work. "This awful traffic, for one," he murmerd aloud. He’d try again about 10 a.m., the time he’d originally told her he’d call. Unless of course, she called him first.

"So, you think someone here was responsible for this girl’s death?" Greg asked.

"Yes. Darla was positive that Jennifer had met with someone here. Her spirits were high after the meeting. She’d been assured she would get her little girl back. Then suddenly she’s dead. I know I didn’t know this girl, but from what I’ve found out about her, the thought of her committing suicide just doesn’t make sense."

Greg scratched his head for a moment, then smoothed his hand over his short red hair. "If that’s true, maybe you need to stay out of it. Tell the police what you know, and then let them take care of it. My God, you’re getting threats, for pete’s sake! I don’t want anything happening to you or Laurie."

Nancy started to respond, but Leslie interrupted them. "Hey, Rebecca! You’re here! How’d you slip in past me?"

Nancy glanced up at the receptionist. "I came in the back door," she said. "Didn’t want to draw attention to the fact that I was late."

Leslie nodded. "Well, I wish I’d known. That guy called for you again."

"Guy?" Greg asked.

"Yeah, Joe Hardy." Leslie raised her eyebrows. "That’s two calls in the last couple of days. I still think you’re holding out on me!" She winked.

"I guess I should call him back," she replied, trying to mask the sudden pounding of her heart. Fear for Laurie flooded through her.

"He said he’s on the road and if you call, call his cell." Leslie waited for a moment, observed the flustered look on Nancy’s face as she searched her purse for her address book, then clucked her tongue at Nancy.

"Here," she said. "I got his cell phone number for you. Really, girl. The phone number is the first thing you should get from a cute guy when you meet him."

Greg frowned, his displeasure obvious as Nancy excused herself to call Joe back. When she returned, she was visibly relieved. "He’s fine. He found somewhere safe for Laurie to stay and he’s on his way to Paso Robles."

"What’s in Paso Robles?" he asked.

"Nothing," she returned. "We located one of the girls who "lost" their baby living in Salinas, Calfornia. Since that’s such a long drive, Joe managed to get her to agree to meet him halfway. Paso Robles fit the bill. He said it’s right where Highway 101 meets Highway 46. He can get there in about 2 hours."

"What’s he hope to get from her?" Greg inquired.

"A description of the guy buying up these babies. Maybe even a name or phone number. Whatever she might be willing to tell him."

Greg frowned again. "I don’t like the fact that you’re spending so much time around this guy. He’s going to get you hurt. And he’s going to end up breaking our family apart."

Nancy sighed. "Greg, you knew that one day this could happen. One day I might get up the nerve to go back to my family. To let Laurie know where she comes from. It’s not like I ever intended for any of this to happen."

"I know," he said. He stared past the doorway for a minute. "I need to take care of something. I’ll be back in a few minutes." Without another word, he got up and strode out of the office.

Nancy followed him to the door. It was her turn to frown as she watched a familiar young man get up and meet Greg. The two were in intense conversation for a moment, and Greg looked up to find her watching. Taking the young man’s arm, he led him into a nearby office and closed the door. Something about his actions didn’t set right with Nancy. Expecially since she thought she’d just seen that man yesterday. At the cemetary.

Frank was beyond worried at this point. He was close to reaching frightened - frightened that something had happened to Joe. In the past 10 hours he'd left at least a half dozen messages on Joe's machine, and two more at the modeling agency. He’d even tried Joe’s cell phone a couple of times during the past two hours. What worried him most was that the secretary at the agency said that not only had Joe not checked in recently, but that he'd missed a session that morning.

Frank rolled a pencil across his desk, debating on whether or not he should call someone else. The problem was, Frank wasn’t sure who to call. He glanced at the clock. 5:04 p.m. He’d have to leave in a few minutes if he planned to make his flight. Frank gave the pencil a final, angry, flick with his finger and it rolled off the desktop, landing by the wall.

Frank picked up the phone to make one last call to Joe's apartment - on the outside chance Joe might answer. When the machine picked up, Frank sighed. No such luck.

"Hey, Joe! I'm on my way to LA on the first flight I can catch. You're freaking me out by not returning my calls. I'm beginning to think something's happened to you. If you're still in one piece when I get there and I find you've just been out partying, I may break you in two myself." Frank waited a second, hoping Joe would pick up the phone, and felt both relief and surprise wash through his body when he heard the sound of the receiver being lifted.

"There has to be an address book here somewhere!" Nancy exclaimed. She shifted the disorganized pile of papers, bills, and unopened junk mail on Joe's desk. Keeping things in order was obviously not his thing.

Kevin merely shook his head. "I'm not finding anything." He slammed the bottom desk drawer shut.

Nancy closed her eyes to think. 'This couldn't be happening!’ she thought to herself. Tears sprang to her eyes - tears for Laurie, tears for Joe, and tears for herself.

"What about calling his parents?" Kevin asked.

"Already tried that. They seem to be out of town." she sighed, running her hand across her dust smudged face.

"We’re sure he’s in the hospital right? This wasn’t some kind of prank, like that phone call last night."

Nancy shook her head. "No, this was for real. All the doctor would tell me was that Joe had been in an automobile accident; he’s currently unconcious, and that he’s at Mercy General in King City. They have him in the emergency room now. The guy wouldn’t tell me anything more because I’m not family." She slammed the desk’s top drawer shut so hard that Kevin felt the desk shudder. "So I can be told he’s hurt, but I can’t be told just how bad!"

"Why call you in the first place then?" he asked.

"Because they found my name and number in Joe’s wallet. They only called me to see if I had his family’s phone number."

Kevin placed a placating hand on her shoulder. She’d been upset when she called him an hour ago, and she didn’t seem to be calming down at all. "Let me drop by the agency. I’ll bet Joe had his brother’s phone number on file there. I can even call him for you, tell him Joe’s been hurt and he needs to get out here as soon as possible."

Nancy shook her head. "No, I have to do this. This is my job. You can get the number though, and I'll call. I can't believe Frank has an unlisted phone!" she exclaimed.

"I don't understand why you have to make the call. Why can't I?" Kevin said. "I want to help."

"Remember what I told you about Laurie's dad - you know when you guys first took me in?"

"Yeah," Kevin said slowly. His eyes widened. "Oh, he’s THAT Frank!"

"Yes. He is," she sighed. She lowered herself into the chair by the desk and held her head in her hands.

"Wow," Kevin gave a low whistle. "No wonder Joe's been hanging around you so much this last week. And here I thought he was falling for you. Girl, you sure do know how to hold out on a guy."

"I know. I seem to be the queen of holding out. Now if I could ..." she was interrupted by the ringing of Joe's phone.

Nancy and Kevin listened for a moment in silence as Frank Hardy's voice came over the machine. "Hey Joe! I'm on my way to LA on the first flight I can catch..."

"That's him!" Kevin cried. As Frank finished his message, Nancy grabbed for the phone and stopped the answering machine.

"Frank?" she asked.

There was a moment of silence. She had startled them.

"Who is this?" Frank finally replied. "Is this Ashlee?"

Nancy closed her eyes. She couldn't believe this. After five years, she was going to hold a conversation with him. She was actually talking to Frank. "N-n-no." she stammered. "This is a friend."

"Where is Joe? Have you seen him? This is his brother, Frank? I'm worried sick."

'Please, God,' she thought. 'Let me hold it together long enough to do this.'

"He's been hurt, Frank, hurt really bad, I think. They have him at Mercy General Hospital in King City, in the emergency. They won't tell me anything other than that because I’m not family. I wish I could tell you more. I've spent the last half hour searching his apartment looking for something, anything, with your phone number on it. I need your help. You have to get out here to LA!"

"Ok, ok," he said soothingly, despite the fact that inside he felt like screaming at this woman. "Just calm down. I'm actually on my way. My flight leaves at 6 o’clock. I should be there by tonight at 11 p.m. That’s 11 o’clock on you’re time schedule. You're going to have to help me out here though. First, who is this? Do I know you?"

Nancy gave a short, bitter laugh. "Yeah, I'd say you do."

"Ok, let me try again," Frank said, feeling impatient. "Is this Rebecca? The Rebecca that Joe's been spending so much time with."

"Why not?" she said. "Sure, Frank, I'm Rebecca. I don't know who that is anymore but that'd be me." Kevin was watching her with concern as she spoke.

"Ok," he said. "Can I get you to meet me at the airport? I need someone who knows their way around that can get me to King City."

"I can do that." Her voice wavered. The tears began to spill out now.

"All right, here's what we're going to do. I want you to go somewhere safe until time to pick me up. Then meet me at LAX International around 11 p.m. Hopefully my flight will be on time. Then we’ll head out to King City together to check on Joe, and decide where to go from there."

Nancy didn't reply.

"Are you still with me?"

"What? Oh, yes. I heard you. I can't hide out somewhere, though. I’ll try to find out if Joe ever met that girl from over in Salinas. I‘ll still meet you at the airport tonight."

'Not if she doesn't calm down,' Frank thought. 'She'll end up wrapping herself around a tree or a telephone pole.'

"If that's what you want," he said. "But you're going to have to get a hold of yourself before then. I need you to be careful. You’re the only link I have to my brother right now."

"I understand that."

Frank hung up the phone. He hadn't felt this shaken up since...and that woman's voice...she wasn‘t trying to mask it this time...if he didn't know better, he would swear that he was talking to Nancy. That’s why she sounded familiar. She sounded like Nancy. But that wasn't possible. No, Nancy was dead. She was not falling apart 2,500 miles away in Joe's apartment over a missing child and his brother. She was dead.

Frank glanced over at the Padre Island photo. Joe is right, he thought. Time to move on - not only do I see her face in every strawberry blond I meet, now I'm hearing her voice. He picked up the frame and slid the photo toward the back of the bottom desk drawer. "Sorry, Nan," he whispered. "It really is time to let go." Frank then picked up his bag and headed out the door.

***

Nancy shifted in her chair as she waited for Frank to come through the doors after his flight landed. She was beyond nervous now. She had told him nothing other than that Joe was hurt. He had no idea that she was the woman meeting him. What his reaction would be was one she could only guess. She did not feel ready for this.

Her breath caught as Frank came through the door. He glanced warily around the room, trying to locate the person here that was picking him up. "Oh, God," she thought. "He still makes my heart spin. How am I supposed to do this? I don't even know where to begin."

Frank ran one hand through his dark brown hair. His eyes swept over the sea of waiting people, then stopped as he caught her gaze. His eyes took in the hair, now the same brown as his own, blue eyes, tentative smile.... He felt his heart freeze as recognition settled in. "This isn't possible!" he thought. "I'm seeing things." He watched the young woman rise and make her way through the crowd toward him. He took several steps in her direction, then stopped, allowing her to finish crossing the distance between them.

"Frank," she said softly. She held out her hand to him. "Thank you for coming. I, uh, I don't know where to start. I need your help. I mean, we do, Joe and I. We need your help. I mean..."

"Nancy?" he asked. "Oh. My. God. Nancy, is that you?"

She closed her eyes and sighed heavily. "Yes, Frank, it is."

He reached out and touched her hair. "Your hair, it's different. You dyed it."

Nancy felt a nervous laugh bubble up inside her. After everything that had happened in the last five years - his first comment is on her hair.

Frank blinked. As if reading her thoughts, he continued. "What am I saying? I'm standing here in the middle of LAX talking to my DEAD girlfriend, discussing her hair color? How is this possible? Where have you been for the last FIVE years? What is going on?" He threw his hands up in the air. "How is Joe involved in this.? What..."

Nancy cut him off. "Look, I know this is a lot to take in, Frank. We really do need to talk. But right now we so don't have time. We need to get your bags and get to the hospital because they still won't tell me anything about Joe's condition. I sent our friend Kevin out there several hours ago and they won’t let him in to see Joe, either. Then I'll take you somewhere quiet so I can tell you exactly what has happened this last week. Joe‘s hurt and he‘s the only one that knows where Laurie is. Joe was the last person to see her and according to the head ER nurse, he isn’t going to be telling us much right now.

Frank stared at her for a moment. "You're right," he said. "Joe comes first. Then, I think I deserve some kind of explanation. I've spent five years grieving for you. And suddenly I find out your alive and well and in California. I certainly hope you've got a good reason for this - like you were kidnapped and Joe just freed you - or you've had amnesia - or...or..."his voice trailed off.

"And you'll get one, I promise," she said. "But now, bags first, then checking on Joe."

"I don't have any bags," he said as he steered her across the airport. "Just my carry-on. That was you that I spoke to, right?"

"That was me," Nancy replied.

"Why didn't you just say so, instead of letting me make a fool out of myself trying to figure out who you were?"

She turned to look at him. "Would you have believed me?"

He paused for a moment. "Good point." he admitted.

She stopped to orient herself as they entered the parking garage. She led Frank to her car. "After we visit the hospital, we'll go somewhere to discuss everything that's happened. There’s plenty of little diners open 24 hours around that area, and by the time we finish at the hopital, they’ll probably be serving breakfast. We can get something to eat there if you're hungry."

"That's fine with me," Frank said. "But I think you're buying."

Nancy looked up at him as she unlocked the door to her car. A ghost of a smile danced across her face. "That sounds fine to me," she said. "It can be the first of many apology payments for letting you think I was dead for so long."

Frank's eyes lingered on the coloring book and crayons scattered across the backseat, and the doll lying on the floor boards. "Your car?" he asked, trying to sound casual.

"Yeah," she said, noticing what he was looking at. "Mine."

"I see," he answered. He got into the front passenger seat and buckled in. His eyes searched her hands, looking for a wedding band. He felt relieved when he found none. "So, are you married now?" He was glancing at the back seat again.

"No," she said.

"Oh," he replied. He reached back and picked up the Barbie doll. "Yours?" he asked.

"Not exactly," she said. "My daughter's." Frank glanced away.

"Look, Frank," Nancy began. "I really will tell you everything - and that includes telling you about Laurie. But I need you to help me get to Joe - and I need your all of your focus on that. Okay?"

"Okay," he said. "Believe me, if Joe's in trouble, nothing's going to keep me from him. And I'll try to be patient. But, you have to admit, I have a right here to demand some answers from you."

"I know," she said.

Frank reached out to turn on the radio. "May I?" he asked.

"Sure," Nancy replied. Frank pressed the button and Laurie's Disney Princesses CD began to play. .

"Sorry," Nancy said, quickly ejecting the CD. A local rock station immediately replaced the popular children's tune. "That goes along with the car seat and the Barbie doll. It's something I'm going to have to remember to properly thank Joe for after he comes around."

"Okay," Frank said. They sat in silence, listening to current pop music as Nancy wove her way through traffic and finally turned off onto Highway 101.