A few weeks later at another counseling session and after a pretty terrifying hypnosis.

"Whoa," Nancy says through her tears. "How could I have forgotten something like that."

"Sometimes when things are increasingly terrifying our brains protect us. Apparently your mind block has been gradually wearing off."

"Yeah but torture, what kind of sick guy does something like that to another human being."

"You say that like it happened to someone else. Nancy it happened to you."

"Do you expect me to tell you how this makes me feel? Well I don't have the answer to that yet ok."

"Ok, but I don't want you driving home alone do you want me to call someone for you?"

"Yes, Noah."

"Ok," she does this and he comes to get her. Later at the penthouse she tells him what happened.

"I'm going to kill him." Noah rages.

"Noah."

"No one does that to you!! No one!!"

"Look he's in jail all right, it's over."

"For you it's just beginning." He says as he holds her.

She starts crying.

"Are you going to tell them?"

"I'll go over there tomorrow and talk to Dad and Abby alone, but I still don't see what good it'll do for them to know also."

"I don't see what good it will do to keep it from them." He counters.

Little do they know that Rick has escaped from prison and only has one thing on his mind. Finishing what he started almost a year ago. He does a little checking and finds out where Nancy is and breaks in while she and Noah are sleeping. She and Noah are awakened by the noises.

"Stay here and call the police and don't come out for anything, and do not unlock the door. When it's safe either I'll come tell you or the police can break in if they need too." Noah says.

"Stay here with me." She counters while she dials 911.

"It'll be all right." He grabs something to use as a weapon and leaves the room but not before locking the door behind him. Rick and him struggle, but the cops don't get there soon enough to save Noah's life. Rick is also killed trying to escape capture.

The police get to Nancy.

"Officer Bernstein where's Noah?" She asks. "And who broke in?"

He gives her the name of the intruder. "He was killed trying to escape capture, it looks like there was a struggle of some sort between him and Noah."

"So where's Noah?!"

"Nancy."

She throws on some clothes and runs out of the room in time to see them put a sheet over Noah's face. She tries to go to him but a police officer stops her and Noah is taken out of there. She breaks free from them, grabs her car keys and flees. She keeps driving until she's at the ocean and once there she breaks down and cries until all her tears are gone.

They had called her counselor and Nancy's parents before she fled not expecting her to bolt like she did. The counselor is the first one there.

"Do you have any idea where she went?"

"I'm sorry ma'am we don't." One of the officers says. "But she'll come back when she's calmed down."

The counselor looks at him strangely. "If you believe that then why was I called here?"

"I called you." Bernstein says. "I saw your number on the note board. If it was there I'd figure Nancy would need you here tonight."

"More than you know." She says. "Did you call her parents?"

"Yes they should be here any minute. They don't know yet that she's run off."

"And what about the boys parents?"

"We've dispatched two police officers there to tell them."

"I'd like a state search started." The counselor insists. "She might not be in the right state of mind to return on her own or in the state of mind to survive losing her boyfriend."

"Are you saying she might be a danger to herself?"

"I'm saying it's a strong possibility although I hope I'm wrong."

At that point Tom and Abby arrive.

"What happened here?" Abby asks.

"There was a break in." Bernstein gently tells them the rest of what he knows.

"Noah's dead?" Abby repeats, shaken.

He nods solemnly.

"Tom, we have to find Nancy."

"There's something you both should know." The counselor begins.

"Not now." Bernstein tries to quiet her.

"What?" Abby asks.

"Can we have some privacy?" She asks the police officers. They give them their privacy and tell them not to touch anything. The counselor takes a deep breath, lets it out, and as gently as she can tells them what Rick had done to Nancy.

"I don't believe this," Abby says. "You knew about this and you didn't warn us?" She turns to Tom. "Max must have known, too. I'll bet that's where those scars are from."

"I didn't say anything because Nancy was going to tell you tomorrow." She says and waits for Tom's reaction.

"This is an outrage, we should have been told." Tom states.

"But we weren't, and now we have more important things to do than this," Abby says.

"You're right." Tom says.

"And Nancy planned to tell you," the therapist tells him.

"When we find Nancy, though," Abby tells the therapist, "We need to have a long talk. And," she tells Tom, "one with Max."

The therapist nods.

"Let's go find her." Tom says.

"Shouldn't we tell the kids first and have them help us?"

"Right." Tom says upset about what happened.

Abby takes his arm and leads him out of the penthouse. "She'll be OK. She's upset, she ran off, but Bradford kids always come home, right?"

"What if it's the one time she doesn't?"

"It won't be. We'll find her. Want me to drive? You look much too shaken to be behind the wheel."

Tom doesn't argue and hands her the keys.

Abby gives his arm a squeeze and then gets behind the wheel.

They go back to the house.

The next day in David's apartment.

He and Mary stop by there to get a couple of things before starting the search. Now that they're alone she chooses that moment to confront him.

"Tell me David what's your definition of a crisis, how far do you let things develop before you take some kind of action?"

"Mary not now all right, I have enough on my mind." He says.

"You kept saying she was fine when the whole time she wasn't and any time I would bring up my suspicions you would quash them."

"Hey she's the one that kept insisting that everything was ok what was I supposed to do?"

"Dig deeper into the situation which I would have done but my mistake was listening to you."

"She's the one that's run off causing another all points bulletin in this family not me so get off my back."

"If you only heard how you sound right now. Life isn't one neat package people don't always do the right thing or what's expected of them."

"Especially Nancy."

"David, Rick tortured her and he killed Noah excuse her for not reacting in the way that you think is appropriate. I only hope that she hasn't done anything rash and that Dad and Abby aren't completely mad at me for not voicing my suspicions sooner." She says planning on coming clean the next time she sees them.

"Mary now isn't the time to tell them. They have enough on their minds. Now let's get going."

"Why don't you go by yourself. I think I'll find Joannie and search with her."

She leaves and finds Joannie. He leaves and runs into Jason and searches with him.

"How's Cassie?" David asks.

"Worried and angry that we won't let her search too, but she's manning the phones." Jason says.
"How are you?"

"When I find that sister of mine I don't if I'm going to yell at her or hug her." He replies.

"You've never suffered trauma before have you?"

"What are you talking about I've lost people."

"Violently?"

"Well no."

"Any crimes committed against you."

"No, but what does that have to do with anything?"

"Plenty," Jason says trying to help David understand why his sister ran off.

Meanwhile Mary and Joannie cover all of Nancy's hiding places that they know about and come up empty. Later during a lunch break.

"How can someone just vanish without a trace like that." Mary says.

"Nancy? When it comes to her, all bets are off."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know. Just with the way she's been acting lately..."

"Well maybe now that everything is out in the open we can get her back on track that is after we find her. ~If we find her.~

"If we find her. Mary, you don't think..."

"No of course not, I know it's a lot on her right now, but she hasn't done that." ~At least I hope not.~

"It's one way to disappear. And she has thought about it before."

"That doesn't mean that she's thinking about it this time."

"Still, has anyone checked the county morgue?"

Mary nods but doesn't say anything further.

"And the river?"

"Joannie stop it she's not in there."

"Maybe she's there, but OK? Whenever Mom and Dad used to fight, Mom would go sit by the river, remember?"

"Yeah I remember let's go check it out."

They head over to the river.

Where there are no signs of their sister.

Joannie throws some pebbles into the river. "Where could she have gone?"

"Hey why don't we go back home and take a break. Maybe Cassie has heard something by now."

"OK. Hey, you don't think she might have gone to Grandma and Grandpa Wells, do you?"

"I don't know about that." Mary says not knowing that Joannie had gone there months ago. She knew that their Grandma wasn't angry but she didn't know that their Grandpa was starting to soften.

"It's worth calling them. They're not the monsters we've made them out to be, you know."

Mary sighs. "Ok," they go to a payphone so they don't tie up the lines at home and Mary calls them collect and waits for one of her Grandparents to accept the call.

Gertie accepts the charges.

"Hi Grandma it's me Mary."

"Mary! It's good to hear from you."

"It's good to hear your voice." Mary says. "Hey is Nancy there by any chance?"

"Nancy? No, dear, she isn't. Why?"

Mary wonders if she should tell her it would just upset her but then comes to the conclusion that her Grandma would want to know. "Because we can't find her." She gently fills her in on what's been going on.

"Oh, my. Is there anything we can do?"

~Yeah tell me everything's going to be all right so I can convince Joannie.~ "If you see her or hear from her can you call us?"

"I'll do better than that. I'll bring her home. Just to make sure she doesn't leave again."

Mary smiles. "Thank you, I love you."

"I love you, too, honey. Nancy'll be all right. She's just doing what your mother used to do whenever she was upset."

"Mom used to run off?"

"All the time. Even after she got married. I think she spent more time by the river than in the house."

"Thank you for telling me that it does help. I have to go now, tell Grandpa I love him too, wait hold on a minute." She covers the mouthpiece. "Did you want to talk to her?" She whispers to Joannie.

"After we find Nancy. Just send her my love."

Mary nods, does this and soon hangs up with their Grandmother. "We'll continue looking after we get some food in you."

"We can grab a pizza on the road."

"Ok." They go for pizza before continuing their search.

"Hey Nicholas let's play checkers." Cassie says trying to keep him busy and his mind off of his sister.

"No, I don't feel like it."

"What do you want to do?"

Nicholas shrugs.

A little while later, Cassie's staring at the phone trying to will it to ring when Abby walks in.

"Any luck?" Cassie asks.

Abby shakes her head. "There has to be somewhere we haven't looked."

"Maybe she went out of town?" Cassie guesses.

"Any specific out-of-town town you can think of?"

Cassie ponders this. "Berkeley, maybe Frisco."

Abby turns to Tom. "Should we try one of those?"

Tom sighs. "Lets go."

"Berkeley or San Francisco?"

"Both." he says. "We aren't going to come back until we find her."

"OK," Abby agrees. "I'll go pack us a bag."

"I'll go call Elliott."

"Do you still have any of the flyers you printed up when Rick had Nancy?"

"Yeah, in my bottom bureau."

"Good. We can pass them around the hotels and boarding houses." Abby goes upstairs to pack.

Tom calls Elliott and leaves a message.

Five minutes later Abby comes downstairs with a suitcase. "You get through to Elliot?"

"No, I left a message." Tom says. "Are you ready?"

"Who'd you leave in charge of the house and of Nicholas?"

"David." he says. "Can you call him, while I go get those flyers?"

"Sure," Abby says, heading to the phone and dialing David's apartment.

David soon answers the phone.

"David, could you some to the house and keep an eye on things? Your father and I are going to look for Nancy out of town."

"Sure I'll be right there did you get a lead?"

"More like ran out of leads in Sacramento. Cassie says she might have left town, and it's worth a shot."

"I'll be right there." He hangs up and is soon at the house.

"Thanks for keeping an eye on things," Abby tells David. "Nicholas could sure use some brotherly attention. I don't think he quite gets what's going on, but he's shook up."

"Where is he?"

"In his playhouse last I saw."

"You'll call when you find her?" He asks before headed to the playhouse.

"Of course."

He goes to the playhouse and knocks on the door.

"Who is it."

"It's me Champ."

"David?" Nicholas says and opens the door.

He comes in. "Hey what are you up to?"

Nicholas shrugs. "Nothing."

"Want to talk about it?"

"Nancy's gone."

"I know," he sits down beside him. "But she's going to come back."

"Really?"

He nods. "She's just going through a very rough time right now."

A little while Later. Ellen pulls into Noah's family's driveway and just sits in the car wondering how she'll offer her condolences without breaking down herself. ~Why did he take him on and try to be some kind of hero? He should have stayed with her locked in the bedroom till the
police got there.~ She shakes her head and her tears start falling.

When she finally composes herself she goes and rings the doorbell. Noah's Dad answers. She hugs him and he lets her in.

Holly runs out from watching cartoons thinking her brother has come home. She didn't grasp the concept that he was never coming home again. They try to explain it to her the best way then can while upstairs Noah's mom is in a daze refusing to even think about what has happened, refusing to think about anything.

Two days later, while the search for her is going on Nancy is wandering around San Francisco in a daze not aware of her surroundings or even caring. After a day of walking around she returns to a hotel room she vaguely remembers checking into. She goes through the motions of
showering and eating whatever she can manage to eat and lies in bed and just thinks about Noah and what Rick had done to her nearly a year ago. ~You have to pull yourself together and snap out of this one.~ She tries to tell herself but she can't she just winds up crying again.

Later that afternoon, after three days of complete silence, she turns on the tv and just stares at it not really paying attention. Until the news report which has been occasionally running since she fled comes on about her disappearance, it also mentions Noah and Rick's deaths. She turns off the tv and moans.

"Oh no. I've been gone for three days." She says out loud having lost all notion of time. She picks up the phone and dials the Bradford house waiting for someone to answer not knowing that her parents are in San Francisco also looking for her in case she headed there.

After several rings she hangs up the phone. ~I guess I'll try again later.~ She gets tired of staring at four walls and ventures outside again.

Abby and Tom have been searching the town, handing out flyers, posting notices. "Tom, maybe I should take you back to the hotel," Abby says, looking at her husband. "You look like you're about to collapse."

"I think my eyes are playing tricks on me." Tom says to Abby.

Meanwhile Nancy doesn't know that her father can see her because she doesn't see him or Abby yet. She sits down on a bench.

"What?" Abby asks, too busy looking at Tom to see what he sees.

"I would swear that's Nancy." Tom points at the girl.

Abby looks at the girl on the bench. "It certainly looks like her. Do you think if we went up to her she'd run off?"

"Worth a try anyway." Tom says as he walks toward her.

Nancy finally looks up and sees them approaching. "I'm sorry." She says not realizing she was gone as long as she was.

"It is Nancy." Tom says and hugs her. "We have been so worried."

"I didn't know I was gone so long." She says and starts crying again.

"It's going to be all right."

"No it's not, Noah...."

Abby sits down next to Nancy and puts an arm around her shoulders, as much to keep her from running as anything else. "Are you OK?"

She shakes her head. "No."

"Why don't you come home and we'll do what we can to help?"

"Ok," she says to worn out physically and mentally to argue about her independence.

Tom sighs in relief.

"I'll go get our things," Abby says to Tom, "and you can go with Nancy to get hers."

Tom nods.

Moments later in the hotel room.

"I'm sorry Dad."

"Nancy, you have nothing to be sorry for."

"Really?"

"I am just happy you are safe." Tom says and hugs her.

She hugs him back. "I love you."

"I love you too." Tom says.

After they go and get their things they head home. Tom drives Nancy's car while Nancy rides with Abby.

"I have something to tell you but I'll wait till you and Dad are together?" Nancy says.

"If you want to wait. Otherwise you could tell me now and fill your Dad in later."

"I know where the scars came from." She tells her about what Rick had done.

"Oh, Nancy..." Abby pulls off to the side of the road. "I wish you'd come and told us this when you remembered. I hate that you've been going through this alone."

"I was going to but then..." Her tears start falling again.

Abby hugs her. "It's OK, Nancy. You're safe now."

She cries in Abby's arms, and after she's calmed down some. "I tried to get him to stay with me in the bedroom and wait for the police but he wouldn't."

"No, he wasn't the type to patiently wait. Remember when he lied to go see you in the hospital?"

"Yep, he wasn't a very good actor he always got caught."

Abby laughs. "One thing he never acted was how he felt for you."

She manages a smile. "He wanted to marry me."

"I know. It had your father very worried. I think he thought that if one of his kids was old enough to get married, it meant he was old, period."

"Poor Dad." She saddens again. "Abby what am I going to do without him?"

"Cry a lot," Abby says. "Grieve. But one day, you'll go on. You won't love him any less, but you'll find you have room to love someone else, too."

"But I'd rather have him here with me than just having the memories of him."

"I know, Nancy. I know."

"I know you do."

"Why don't you think about moving home for a while? Sometimes the worst thing is just the silence all the time."

"Good idea, I don't think I can go back to that penthouse."

"Your bed's still waiting for you."

She smiles through her tears.

Later they arrive at the house. Nancy and Abby pull up first and Tom pulls in behind them. Nancy's hesitant to get out of the car.

"Maybe we should have called first."

"Why? Everyone will be glad to see you're safe."

"Seeing me might stun them." She worries.

"I always said you're a stunning young lady," Abby says, trying to get Nancy to smile.

Nancy manages another smile. "Ok, let's go inside."

Abby and Nancy go into the house.

Mary hugs her as soon as she sees her. "It's really good to see you." Cassie and Jason hug her also.

As does Joannie.

Nancy hugs them also. "I'm sorry you guys, I just kept driving and time slipped away from me..." She tries to explain.

"It's OK. As long as you're back."

"Thanks Joannie."

Meanwhile at the Maxwell's. Greg is sitting alone at the kitchen table pondering things when Daisy comes in.

"I really made a bad call Daisy. I should've told them months ago."

"About?"

"About Nancy and the scars. I figured if she didn't remember that it was no sense in reminding her or telling her family it would just upset them. If I would've told them then maybe things wouldn't have turned out as bad as they did."

"Tom's going to be furious with you when he realizes you knew."

"I think he already does realize. It doesn't take much to put two and two together."

"So what are you going to do?"

"I don't know. I don't know if I should go to him or wait for him to come to me."

"If you wait for him, you might find him at the end of a clenched fist."

Greg sighs.

"You wouldn't do any less if it were one of our kids."

"I know, and as soon as Nancy's found I'll call Tom."

"Maybe we should help look for her."

"Good idea." He agrees.

"Are we going to do this on our own or are you going to call the Bradfords and coordinate?"

"I'll call them." He dials the number and waits for someone to answer.

"Hello." Liz says

"Hi honey is your Dad there?"

"Yeah." Liz says. "Dad, its Dr. Max."

"Tell him I don't want to talk to him right now."

"But Dad..."

"Just do it Elizabeth."

Liz sighs. "Dr. Max………"

"Yes."

"Uh, Dad can't talk to you right now."

"Oh, well do you need any help looking for Nancy?"

"No, she's back."

"She is?  That's wonderful, is she all right?"

"Well, she's here at least."

"Should I come over and examine her?"

"I don't know, let me ask." Elizabeth says and sees Abby in the hall and asks her.

"I don't think that's such a good idea right now."

"OK." Liz says. "Dr. Max, Abby says that's not a good idea right now."

"I understand, tell them to call me if they change their mind."

"Bye Dr. Max."

"Bye," He hangs up and tells Daisy. "They found her."

"Then why do you sound so upset?"

"Tom won't see me."

"Give him some time."

He nods and sighs.

"I still love you Dad." Brad says and gives him a hug.

Later at the Bradfords', Nancy retreats to her and Liz's bedroom. Feeling a little better than she did when she was alone but still unable to get her mind off of everything. She glances out the window and berates the Sun for even having the nerve to show itself at a time like this. Her glance then find's Noah's house and a fresh wave of grief and guilt hits her. ~What must they be thinking knowing it happened at my penthouse. What's little Holly going through.~ She ponders. ~I know I have to go over there but not now.~

Meanwhile in the kitchen.

"Did she ask about his family yet?" David asks Abby.

"No," Abby says. "I think she's still too much in shock."

"I think we all are about some things." David says very angry at Dr. Maxwell.

"I know. But we're going to have to put that aside and be there for Nancy. It's going to be very tough for her for a while."

"I know, has she eaten yet?"

"She said she wasn't hungry."

"But her weight is looking pretty awful." He makes her a sandwich intent on bringing it up to her.

"Good luck. But David, don't take it too hard if she doesn't want to eat or even talk."

He nods and goes upstairs and knocks on her door.

"Come in." Nancy says.

He walks in. "I thought maybe you could use this."

"I'm not hungry." She says.

He sets it down. "I'll just leave it here for later then."

She stares at it and then turns away.

"Do you want to talk?" She doesn't say anything. "Do you want to be alone?" She shakes her head so he stays with her.

A couple of hours later.

"Did they have the funeral already?" She finally says something.

"Yes, they had it yesterday. If you want to go say goodbye I'll drive you there."

"No!! I don't want to think about him in..." She starts crying.

He wraps his arms around her and just holds her letting her cry as much as she wants.

Abby paces the kitchen, wanting to go up to Nancy but afraid to.

Later that night wanting a change of scenery Nancy comes down to the kitchen and finds Abby there.

"Hi." She says.

"Hi. How are you doing?"

"Not too good, but it was worse when I was alone those three days."

"I know."

"And Abby, I forgot my medication when I fled that night. It's still at the penthouse."

"You're not up to going back there, are you?"

She shakes her head. "But I can give exact directions where the pills are."

"OK. I'll go get them for you."

"Thank you." She tells her where they are.

On her way out, Abby stops by Tom's study to see if he'd like to go with her to Nancy's old apartment.

"OK, then lets stop and see Dr. Maxwell."

"'Dr. Maxwell?' What ever happened to 'Greg" or 'Max'?"

"Abby, he should have told us."

"But he didn't. Is getting angry with your best friend going to help Nancy at all?"

"But not telling us made it worse."

"Tom, this is difficult enough as is. Don't make it worse."

"Me make it worse?"

"Yes, you. The last thing any of us need is you, grumping around because you're fighting with Max."

"I do not grump." he says. "Let's go."

"No, you never grump," Abby smiles at him as she follows him out to the car.

They drive over to the penthouse.

"You want to come upstairs with me or wait down here?"

"I don't think I can go up there."

~You think this is so easy for me?~ "OK. I'll be down in a few minutes."

"Thanks."

Abby goes upstairs, straight to where Nancy told her. She gets the medicine quickly but still comes downstairs pale and shaken.

Tom gets out of the car when he sees Abby's face. "Abby, you OK?"

"Sure I'm fine," Abby lies. "Let's get this back to Nancy."

"Abby, I am sorry I let you go there alone."

"No, it's all right. There wasn't anything there especially, It was just so...empty."

Tom opens the door for her. "I know."

"No," Abby says, "I don't think you do."

"Tell me," he asks as he gets in the car.

"Nancy's lucky she can move home. There's nothing worse than the silence. You come home from work and it's quiet. You go to bed and it's quiet. You wake up and it's quiet. That's one thing you never had to deal with, at least."

Tom sighs. "I hate the thought of that."

"That apartment--it's so quiet. It's not even waiting for anything."

"Yeah."

"Yeah," Abby echoes, lost in her own thoughts.

Tom doesn't say anything and drives home.

When they get home Abby takes the medicine to Nancy and then retreats to the sun porch.

Mary comes to check on her. "Penny for your thoughts." She asks Abby.

"Just thinking about poor Nancy."

"Yeah it's a lot to handle all at once, but is that all your thinking about?"

Abby takes a deep breath. "No. I was just thinking how not to trip Nancy up on my memories."

Mary sits down. "Of Frank."

Abby nods. "I was just about Nancy's age. And we may have been married, but we weren't married that long."

"What a thing to have in common." Mary says sadly.

"Yeah," Abby agrees. "Well, anyway, I just don't want to give her advice based on me and not her."

"That'll be tough to do, all you can do is your best."

"What if it's not good enough?"

"Don't even worry about that. Nancy loves you and she knows you love her. It'll be all right."

"And what about your father?"

"What do you mean?"

"This isn't easy for him, either, you know, and here I am thinking about Frank..."

"And you think you're not allowed to react this way?"

"Oh, I know you don't stop loving people just because they're gone, but right now this family needs me all here, not halfway in the past. Especially your father--Nancy has all of you to lean on, but he's going to play strong, tough man for everyone's benefit but his own."

"Maybe you two can lean on each other."

"I know. I just hate to burden your father with what I'm feeling. It's got nothing to do with him or this family."

"Abby he loves you and anything that affects you or him has to do with both of you."

"I know that. I do. It's just....complicated."

"Well you can lean on me."

"Thanks. Poor Nancy."

"Anytime." Mary gives her a hug. "Yeah I know." ~Rick sure is lucky he's dead, otherwise....~ "She barely touched the dinner I got her."

"She wasn't eating much before, and now--don't expect her to eat much for a while. Maybe we ought to stuff her full of milk shakes and ice cream, just to keep her from losing too much weight."

"That sounds like a plan to me."

"And be persistent. Gentle, but persistent. Anything any of us suggest she'll probably reject outright the first time around, just because. But if you keep offering it, eventually her stomach will make her say yes."

"Ok," Mary nods.

"Well," Abby says, standing, "I'd better get dinner started."

"Do you need any help with dinner?"

"If it's OK with you, I just need to be alone for a little and get my head on straight. Might as well do that while I cook."

"Ok," she gives Abby her privacy.

Part 2