The Adventures of Nancy Drew (In Chronological Order) Season 1

Episode 3-The Girl with the Long Scar

"Go, go, go! We have to get her to the ER now!" a doctor barked at his coworkers. 

Together, they ran a gurney down the hallway. In it lay a little girl, her chest rising rapidly. Nurses flanked her on both sides, assuring her she would be alright. The doctor kept pace as they turned left, right, then sprinted for the double doors at the end of the hall. A bright ER sign blinked down at the little girl, but to her it was only a red blur.

The nurses jostled into the room. The head doctor lifted the girl from the gurney as gently as he could and set her down on one of the beds. He slid a needle into her arm. A lot of damage had been done to her body. If he couldn't save her, the least he could do was make sure she didn't suffer.

The little girl's limbs went numb and her eyes began to close. She tried to fight it but it was no use. Whatever the doctor had given her was too strong.

Her mind slipped into unconsciousness.

The following takes place between 5:00 P.M. and 6:00 P.M.

Jack's leg bounced anxiously in the waiting room. He was the one who found the little girl in the ruined warehouse. He had held her in his arms until the ambulance arrived. Any other agent would have considered the matter out of their hands after that, but not Jack. When he saw that little girl lying among splintered wood and ashes, he instantly felt a connection with her. He had accompanied her in the ambulance and refused to go back to CTU until he knew she was okay.

Nine hours had passed since the bomb went off. He hadn't heard anything. 

"Jack Bauer?" 

Jack lifted his head. The man before him was the doctor who had operated on the little girl. He wore a grim expression.

"Yes?" Jack said hopefully, jumping to his feet. "How is she? Is she okay?"

The doctor sighed, worn and weary. 

"I'm afraid not. The explosion had a detrimental impact on her body. Her organs are struggling to function and the levels of radiation in her bloodstream are alarmingly high. I don't even know how she managed to make it this far." 

Fear seized Jack's heart. So young. So small. She was just a child...

"Is there nothing you can do?" Jack asked. 

"We can keep her comfortable," the doctor said earnestly. "Locate her family and tell them she's here. Hope that when she goes, she goes quick. Other than that, there isn't really anything we can do. I'm sorry."

A heavy silence fell between them. The doctor was about to leave when Jack put a hand on his shoulder.

"Can I see her?"

The doctor hesitated. "Are you family?"

"No," Jack said.

"Well, then I think you know the answer, Mr. Bauer." 

The doctor let out a small gasp as Jack yanked him forward, gripping his shirt in two tight fists.

"Doctor, I need to see her," Jack muttered. "I dragged her out of that warehouse. I wiped away her tears while she begged me to help her. If she's going to die, I want the last face she sees to be mine. Please."

The doctor gave Jack a long, hard look. Reluctantly, he caved.

"Fine. You can see her, but just for a minute. She probably doesn't have long."

"Thank you," Jack said, releasing the doctor.

The doctor flattened out the wrinkles Jack had made in his shirt, then jerked his head down the hallway. 

"This way."

When the little girl had gotten out of the ER, she was transferred to a private room. It only took a few minutes to get there and when they did, Jack realized just how bad the girl's situation really was. She was hooked up to two different machines, one keeping track of her radiation levels, the other supplying her oxygen. Her skin was a sickly green. She was covered in bandages. Her eyes stared blankly at the wall, and for a moment Jack worried she had already died. But then she blinked and he started to breathe again.

"Hey." Jack approached the girl's bed, his voice soft and soothing. "I don't know if you remember me or not, but I'm the one who pulled you out of the warehouse. I called for the ambulance that brought you here. I've been waiting for hours to see if you were okay."

He paused. Should he tell her the truth or lie out of pity?

"You're going to be fine. And I'll stay with you until you're ready to go home."

Lie. Definitely lie. It may have been wrong, but Jack wouldn't have been able to tell a little girl that she was dying. Lying was the merciful thing to do under these circumstances.

The girl looked at him with glassy brown eyes. It seemed she was going to cry. 

"I'm Jack, by the way. Jack Bauer. You probably can't talk, but if there's any chance you could, all I'd ask is your name--"

The girl sat up like a snapped rubber band. The heart monitor spiked up and down erratically. Loud beeping signaled something was wrong. 

"What's happening?" Jack flipped around to face the doctor. "Doctor, help her!"

The doctor rushed over to the girl, sticking a third needle into her arm. She thrashed against him, trying to form words, but all that came out was garbled noises. Something Jack said had triggered her.

"Shh, honey, it's alright," the doctor murmured. "Everything's alright, just go back to sleep."

But the girl wouldn't go that easily. She writhed in her bed, desperate to stay awake long enough to tell Jack what he needed to know. He didn't understand. She had to make him understand.

"There we go." The doctor lay the girl's head back against her pillow. "Her heart rate's going back down. She'll be unconscious in a minute or two."

The girl tried to fight the drugs, but again, it was too much. She barely managed to whisper something into the doctor's ear before she was pulled under. 

The doctor turned to Jack.

"What is it?" Jack asked.

"She told me her name," the doctor said, slightly confused.

Jack's pulse quickened. "And?"

The doctor looked from Jack to the girl and then back.

"Nancy... Her name is Nancy Drew."