Chapter Text
The last thing Nancy could remember was Odette lunging for her.
And standing in the middle of the restaurant, among shattered glass and broken tables, she actually believed that it was the end. There was only one other time she had been convinced that her time was up, and that was on the cement floor in the basement of the old high school.
You don’t consider the idea of death when you’re in the spirit world. The Whisper Box had been something else entirely, but Nancy was aware that she could have died there, too. It appeared that she was meant to die here with too many regrets on her tongue.
In a split second, she looked over her shoulder, at everyone else. It was so quick, she barely registered the looks of horror on her friends’ faces. And in the back of her subconscious, she whispered, I’m sorry.
And as Odette flew towards her, she frantically threw her arms up in a last-minute attempt to defend herself, and braced for the impact. But the only thing that hit her then was a burst of sea water, and the force from the sudden burst of wind sent her stumbling.
Nancy steadied herself after a few steps, and looked around again. It was quiet now, with the quiet murmurs of her friends behind her. Shattered glass laid at her feet, and she could see that some of the shards had left cuts on her hands. It stung under her eye, and as she reached up and touched her cheekbone, her fingertips came away stained red.
It seemed to be a small price to pay for defeating the Aglaeca, but there had been too much blood spilled for that damned sea spirit. Owen. AJ Crane. Even Odette herself.
At least she and her friends were alive. They’d made it out.
Shuddering, Nancy wiped her now-wet hands on her pants. It wasn’t much use-she was soaked anyways. But as she looked down at herself, a gasp rose in her throat, and she started trembling even harder. From the shock or adrenaline, she couldn’t tell.
She barely had a chance to tell her friends about the decorative harpoon impaling her when there was a wailing noise outside. Everyone’s head snapped towards the door, the hairs on the back of their necks standing.
Nick reached over the counter to grab a knife from the rack. “I’ll check it out,” he muttered, eyes narrowed.
“I’ll come,” George volunteered, and with a last glance at everyone else, followed him out of the restaurant.
Bess took that chance to throw herself at Ace, arms wrapping around his neck. Ace returned the embrace, a small smile curving his lips. “Thank goodness that’s over,” she sighed, her shoulder sinking with relief.
Then they noticed that Nancy wasn’t moving. “Nancy?” Bess asked, breaking away from Ace. “Are you alright?”
Nancy slowly turned around, still staring down at the harpoon. She heard them gasp, and it was at that, she looked up. She made eye contact with Ace, who took a step towards her.
“I-'' she tried to get out, but every breath pulled at the wound. The pain finally broke through the shock, and she groaned. “I need help.”
And then she collapsed, knees buckling under her.
“Nancy!” Bess shrieked, lunging forward. Ace was the one to reach her first, having already started running towards her when she’d turned around. “Oh, dear God-”
Nancy reached for Ace as she fell, a hand outstretched and a cry on her lips. Strong arms caught her before she hit the floor, and she let out a gasp when the contact pulled at the harpoon again. Ace slowly slid to the floor with Nancy in his arms, her hands clutching his forearm tightly.
Then Bess was there, helping Nancy lie on the floor. Her hand hovered over the sharp object embedded in her stomach, and she whimpered. “What happened?”
Nancy just groaned, leaning her head back into Ace’s chest, who had pulled her into his lap. “Odette,” she tried to say, but Ace put a hand on her shoulder.
“Don’t talk,” he told her, his voice tight. “You’ll tire yourself out.”
Nancy had no idea if that was true, but she clenched her jaw. Mainly to avoid crying out from the pain.
“Don’t freak out,” Ace ordered Bess, but it seemed like that was what he was telling himself. “And whatever you do, don’t pull the harpoon out. You hear me, Nancy? That goes for you, too.”
Nancy just groaned again, and arched her back, trying to push Bess away from inspecting the wound. “Don’t touch,” she whimpered. “It hurts too much.”
“Nancy, we have to-”
Then the door burst open. “What happened?” George called, and footsteps ran over. “We heard Bess scream-” She skidded to a halt when she saw Nancy on the floor, and her face went white.
Nick nearly slammed into her from behind, and as he took in the scene before him, the knife he was holding clattered to the floor. “What...what-”
“Odette-” Nancy wheezed, “-the harpoon-”
“Don’t talk,” Ace told her again, gripping her shoulder again. He looked up. “When Odette exploded, she shattered everything. The harpoon must have flown off the wall, and it hit Nancy.”
“We need to call 9-1-1!” Bess whimpered.
“And say what? ‘Hey, our friend just got stabbed with a wall decoration when a sea spirit exploded?’” Nick burst out.
“Well, if you omit the sea spirit part, it doesn’t seem that insane!” she snapped back.
“Can you all just shut up?” Ace growled. The pair fell silent, looking over at him. “Nancy needs our help, and arguing isn’t going to do anything. Bess, go get some towels.”
Relieved to have something useful to do, Bess scurried away into the kitchen. Ace turned to George and Nick. “We can’t pull the harpoon out. She’ll bleed out and die.”
“Real subtle, Ace,” George breathed, falling to her knees next to him and Nancy.
“I’m serious,” Ace pressed. “We can’t touch it. All we can do is try and stop the bleeding.” He looked at Nick. “Go call 9-1-1.”
At that, Nancy fell out of Ace’s lap trying to sit up. “No!” she protested, trying to move away from them, as if it would change their minds.
“Nancy!” Ace yelped, reaching to grab her, but she had moved just out of reach.
“No...no hospital.” She let out a cry at how intense the pain was, doubled now that she had moved so fast. Nick and George tried to catch her, but Ace was quicker. He lunged for her just as she fell onto her side in a ball.
“Don’t move!” he snapped, eyes wide. With gentle hands, he carefully rolled Nancy back onto her back. “What were you thinking?”
Nancy grabbed his hand, looking at him with teary eyes. “No hospital,” she whispered, her breathing hitching. “Please.”
Pain flashed across Ace’s eyes, but Nancy had no time to notice it. Wheezing, her head lolled back, hand flying to her stomach. “Shit!” she heard Ace cry. “She just made it worse!”
Thick, hot blood spilled over Nancy’s fingers as the bleeding worsened, and George was the one to cover her hands with her own. As she pressed down, she yelled out, “Bess, where the hell are you?”
The only response was a large basket filled with cloth napkins being slammed down next to them. “I got them all,” Bess said, out of breath. Wordlessly, George grabbed a handful of the napkins, and shoved Nancy’s hands aside.
“This is going to hurt,” she warned, and before Nancy could react, she’d pressed down hard on the wound. The scream that escaped between Nancy’s teeth was unlike any sound she’d heard, and she felt someone pin her legs down. Someone else yelled out something about distracting her.
Then Ace was there, a knee gently pressing against her side to keep her still. One arm was over her body with his hand planted firmly on the ground next to her. Before he could pin her down with the other, Nancy grabbed onto it again.
“Make them stop,” she begged, and Ace swallowed hard.
“They have to, Nancy,” he said. “I’m not-” He caught himself. “We’re not gonna let you bleed out and die here. We can’t.”
“Please!” she whimpered, clutching Ace’s hand tighter. “It hurts so much.” Her breathing hitched. “Just...make them stop.” The last few words trailed off into a sob, and hot tears streamed down her face.
“I can’t let them,” Ace finally choked out, his emotions getting the best of him. “I’m not gonna let them risk your life just because you want them to.”
“It hurts,” Nancy repeated, lips parting into another cry. She took in a huge breath, one that shook her chest and pulled at her wound again. The chain of her necklace slipped across her collarbone, tangling with her hair.
“I know,” Ace whispered. He reached up with his other hand and rested his palm on her cheek. “I know it does. But you’re strong. You can do this.”
“I don’t think I can,” she groaned, a hand of her own going up to cover his. “This is worse than...than...the Whisper Box.”
“But you got out of there. Even when we thought you wouldn’t. Nancy, you’ve been through hell and back, and you’re still here. Just push through this. I-” He swallowed hard. “I know it’s hard. But I know you. You can do this.”
Nancy let out a whimper, biting her lip. The only response she could give was another cry, back arching as George and Bess pressed down especially hard. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Nick digging out more napkins for them. She turned her focus back to Ace.
“Ace, please,” she begged. “Don’t make Nick call 9-1-1. Don’t take me to a hospital. I don’t want-”
“Nancy, we have no choice,” Ace ground out, his voice straining. “If we don’t get you to a doctor, you will bleed out. Eagle Scouts and three other people can only do so much.” His gaze fell on their hands on top of each other for just a moment. His voice dropped to a whisper. “Why can’t you go to a hospital?”
“Because,” she groaned, “Carson. He’s my...my emergency contact.”
If Ace’s face wasn’t already drained of color by then, it certainly was now. “Oh.”
“See? And I can’t...I can’t let him see me...like this. He’ll ask too many questions, and then...everyone will find out.” Feeling weary, Nancy’s head fell back to the ground. Her eyes began to flutter, and Ace shook her.
“Nancy, stay awake!” he snapped. “Don’t you dare close your eyes!”
“But I’m tired,” she whispered. She blamed it on the gradual blood loss.
“That’s not good,” George said, abandoning her position to scoot further up to Nancy. “Drew, we have to get you to a hospital.”
Nancy shook her head, as one last attempt to convince them to change their minds. “No.”
“Well, too bad. We’re going.” She turned to Ace. “The bleeding slowed down, but it hasn’t stopped. We have to move fast if we don’t want her to lose too much blood.”
“Then she won’t make it in time for the paramedics to get to her. Someone’s driving.”
“I’ll drive,” Nick volunteered, jumping at the opportunity to do something helpful. He ran out of the door, fishing his keys out of his jacket pocket. Bess hurried out after him.
“Nancy, I'm going to carry you to the car,” Ace explained, and she moaned. It wasn’t like she had much of a choice, anyways. With George’s help, Ace managed to lift Nancy up bridal style. Her head lolled against his shoulder, and she let out a whimper at the sudden bursts of pain the movement caused. George cleared the way for Ace, knocking aside chairs and tables.
The warm, humid air outside was welcoming to Nancy, and she let out a sigh at the soft breeze. “That feels nice,” she whispered. She didn’t notice the worried glance Ace and George shot each other.
George reached out to Nancy to take her hand. “She’s so cold,” she breathed, eyes growing wide. When Nick pulled up to the steps, she waved her hand to get his attention. “Put the heater on blast! She needs to stay warm!”
Bess threw open the back door for Ace, and helped pull Nancy in. But Ace refused to let Nancy go, and the redhead was relieved. She didn’t want to leave his arms.
So as Nancy practically clung to Ace, Nick peeled out of the parking lot.
“So what’s the plan?” he asked, to no one. “The hospital is going to ask questions. Police are going to investigate, and no doubt Tamura’s gonna think something’s up. It’s not every day the local sleuth gets stabbed in the stomach with a harpoon.”
“You’re a real help, Nick,” George said dryly from the passenger seat.
“Hey, I’m the one driving us there, aren’t I?” he shot back. George just rolled her eyes and looked over her shoulder into the backseat.
“How's she doing, Ace?” she asked.
Ace just gritted his teeth and looked down at the woman in his arms. “She’s trying to stay awake, but I’m not sure how much longer she can keep going.”
Through half-closed eyes, streetlights were being mirrored in her blue irises. But as small drops of rain began to fall, and they began to create patterns on the windowpane, you couldn’t see any of them in Nancy’s eyes.
Her breathing was hitched, and Ace tried to ignore the occasional blood drop dotting the seats around him. Small whimpers would escape her when there was an especially rough patch of road.
“Go back to what Nick said,” Bess said pointedly, “we need to call ahead to the emergency center. We can’t just walk in with Nancy. They’ll be unprepared.”
“I’ll call. Then we’ll figure out a plan.” George fished out her phone. “In the meantime, keep Nancy awake.”
Bess glanced over to Ace, who was murmuring quietly to Nancy. If you strained to listen, you’d hear a weak reply. “Ace?” she asked, scooting closer. He looked at her.
“How long until we get to the hospital?” he asked, his words coming out in one breath.
Nick heard him, and grimaced. “Fifteen minutes. Can she hold on that long?”
Ace shook his head. “She’s getting colder. And she won’t be able to stay awake for much longer.” The only response was the car speeding up. “George, what’s going on?”
George had just hung up. “They’ll be ready for her. But there’s a problem.”
There was a collective groan, one that made Nancy whimper again and shift uncomfortably in Ace’s lap. George waved her hand. “Just listen. Nancy has an emergency contact form filled out, and the nurse said they had no choice but to obviously contact him.”
“Well, who’s the contact?” Bess asked.
“Carson,” Ace said. Both George and Bess looked surprised that he knew. “Nancy told me,” he explained.
“So they’ve called him,” she continued. “But he’s all the way over on the other side of town. He won’t arrive at the hospital for another good hour.”
Nancy let out a groan. “No. I don’t want him...to see me like this.”
“I know you don’t,” Ace said. “But he has to come. We can’t make any decisions for you at the hospital.”
“I’d trust you,” Nancy muttered, and it was almost enough to bring the smallest of smiles to Ace’s face.
“Well, again, he’s your emergency contact,” George pointed out. “So he’s coming whether you like it or not.”
“Besides, you’ll be too drugged up to even realize he’s there,” Nick offered. It earned him a slap in the arm from George. “Ow!”
Nancy shifted again in Ace’s arms, trying to sit up again. But Ace pulled her back tighter against his chest. “What are you doing?” he said, aghast. “Don’t move.”
“Trying,” she wheezed, “to sit... Lying down is...just going to make me-” She didn’t get a chance to finish her sentence. Her head had fallen back again, eyes closed.
“Shit!” Ace cursed. “She just passed out!”
“We’re almost there!” Nick called. “Has the bleeding stopped?”
“No,” Bess whimpered. “But it’s no worse, either.”
George opened the glove compartment and threw a bundle of napkins at her. “Do what you can to stop some of the bleeding.”
There was an especially sharp turn, and everyone yelped as they were pulled to the side. “Nick!” Bess yelled.
“Look, we’re here! Happy?” Nick retorted, stopping just outside the double doors to the emergency room. Immediately, the doors opened, and a horde of nurses spilled out into the rain. Car doors opened, and Nick shut off the engine.
“Who called ahead? George Fan?” one of the nurses asked loudly. The woman in question hopped out of the car.
“She’s back here,” she said. Before she could open the door, Ace had pushed on it hard, sending it swinging wide open. And the nurses pounced on Nancy, immediately crawling into the car and around to prep her for transfer.
“She passed out about two minutes ago,” Ace explained as they worked, forcing himself to transfer Nancy to someone else’s arms. “And she’s still bleeding.”
“Let’s get her out of this rain! And I want her stats as soon as we get inside,” one of the nurses called, helping to lift Nancy out of the car. “And get the gauze! We need to get this bleeding stabilized before she goes to the OR.”
The moment Nancy was laid on the gurney and Ace’s hand left hers, she let out a murmur. Her legs moved slowly, and her eyes cracked open. “Ace?” she asked, her voice thick.
“Ms. Drew, can you hear me?” A nurse bent over her, brow furrowed in concern.
Nancy made another noise, more of like a grunt, and she strained to open her eyes further. From where they stood under the alcove of the building, her friends could see that her eyes were still dull. “She’s awake!” someone called.
Scissors cut Nancy’s clothes away from the harpoon, and the fabric came away sticky with fresh blood. Immediately, gauze was pressed around the wound, and Nancy cried out.
Another nurse came over to her friends, a bundle of stained gauze in her hand. “You’re Ms. Drew’s friends?”
They all nodded. “Well, your friend is going to be very lucky, granted we get into the OR on time. You did well to not pull the object out, and to try and stop the bleeding. Luckily, we’re able to get more of the bleeding stabilized, but she will need to undergo surgery. I assume that-”
“Y-you said if you get her into the OR on time,” Nick interrupted, stammering. “What does that mean? Can’t you take her back there now?”
The nurse grimaced. “She’s losing a lot of blood, and fast. But we have some of the finest hands working on her, and once we get her stable, we’ll wheel her down right away. We just need to pray that she hangs on long enough.”
Faces grew even paler at the nurse’s words, and even the woman looked like she regretted saying them. She cleared her throat. “We haven’t heard back from her emergency contact in a while. Are any of you able to contact him?”
Ace pulled out his phone almost immediately. “I can.”
The nurse nodded. “Alright. Tell him that we’re taking her down to the OR once she’s stable enough.” She glanced back over her shoulder at the gurney, where Nancy was still conscious, but her hand was hanging limply off the edge of the railing. With shaking fingers, Ace found Carson’s contact and clicked on it.
The man picked up on the first ring. “Ace?” he breathed. “I’m almost there, what’s going on? Is Nancy-”
“We’re outside the emergency center right now. Once Nancy’s stable, they’re going to take her down to the OR for surgery.”
“Let me know when she’s in surgery. I won’t be long.”
“Okay,” Ace breathed, and gestured to the nurse with a nod. The nurse hurried off, and Ace tried to listen to Carson through the receiver, but he had made eye contact with Nancy. She reached out her hand to him, her eyes shining now with desperation. And as if he was moving underwater, he walked over to her, taking her hand in his.
Carson was still talking, but Ace didn’t listen. He should have, but he was more focused on Nancy. “Look, Carson, I’ll call you back, okay?”
“What?” Carson shook himself after a moment. “Yes, fine. I’ll see you soon. Call me if anything changes, you hear me?”
“Yes, sir.” Ace hung up and stuffed the phone in his pocket. “Hey, how are you doing?”
Nancy just groaned. “It feels a little better. They gave me something, but I don’t know what.” Her voice was still weak, and her face almost snow-white. It was traced in what was either raindrops or tears. Ace squeezed her hand gently.
“Listen, once you’re stable, they’re going to take you back to surgery. Carson will be here soon.” He didn’t miss the grimace that sprung to her face, and it wasn’t from the pain. “I’ll see you when you come out, okay?”
“Can’t you walk with me there?” she asked quietly, her grip tightening on his hand. “Please. I don’t want to go in there alone.”
Ace looked up at the nurses, and after a quick exchange, they nodded. A different nurse called out, “She’s stable, let’s move her!” and Ace gave the group one last glance. The three of them just nodded and stood back to make room for them to wheel Nancy into the hospital.
“We’ll be in the waiting room,” one of them called after him. It might have been George.
Trotting after the gurney, Ace’s hand found Nancy’s, and with all the strength she had left, clung to it like a lifeline. “Hang on, alright?” Ace told her. “They’ll take care of you.”
Nancy just nodded, wincing when one nurse adjusted the gauze around her wound. Ace avoided the stares from the staff and other patients, keeping his gaze focused on her. And it wasn’t like they could stare for long; they had to move fast to get out of their way.
A nurse turned to him. “You can’t go past the double doors with us. I’ll escort you back, but this is where you have to leave her with us.”
Ace just nodded, his throat tightening. “Take care of her,” he whispered.
She gave him a small smile. “We will. Don’t worry. She’s in good hands.”
He nodded again, and squeezed back when Nancy’s grip on his hand tightened. Something cold was exchanged in between their hands, and Ace could feel the imprints of a chain in his palm. He looked at Nancy, who just looked at him and squeezed his hand again.
“Hold onto it for me,” she told him, her voice weak. Ace just nodded.
Then he had to stop and let her go. She craned her neck to look at him one last time, and it took all of his willpower to not break down right there in the hallway. So with a clenched jaw, Ace watched Nancy wheel away, and felt his fingernails digging into his palms. He’d see her come out of there when the surgery was over.
He had to.