Author's Note: So a few notes about this chapter and story in general. This is the last chapter. I never planned on this being a long story, but rather a snapshot of one potentially life changing evening in the lives of our favorite characters.

There's some interesting dynamics in Frank and Nancy's relationship and I've tried to capture the pure, raw emotions that they have been battling during their trip to Egypt, and the entire time they've known each other. They're confused, those two. And they're tired… tired of pretending and tired of fighting against the pull of the current that draws them together.

They have to make some difficult choices. They can't stay in the little fantasy world they've created. Maybe one day I will follow up with the aftermath of their decisions, but for right now, the story ends here.

Enjoy…

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The shrill ringing of the telephone startled me awake. Why do people have to keep waking me up? I thought as I rolled over and noticed that Frank hadn't even stirred at the offending noise. Groaning, I reached over him and grabbed the phone. "Hello?" I answered sleepily.

"May I speak to Frank, please?" a chirpy female voice came from the other end.

"Just a second," I responded, still in my half asleep haze. I laid the phone down on its side on the nightstand, and shook Frank's shoulder "Frank." No answer. "Frank," I tried once more. "Frank Hardy, wake up," I insisted.

His eyelids fluttered open and he looked at me with sleep filled eyes. "What is it, Nan?"

"The phone," I replied, placing my head on his chest. "It's for you," I mumbled.

"Who is it?" he asked, rubbing my shoulder, as I tried to fall back asleep.

"I don't know, and I don't care. I just want to go back to sleep," I replied, irritated.

Frank chuckled softly in the darkness. He dropped a quick kiss on my forehead. "Go back to sleep, cranky."

I felt him reach over and pick up the phone. "Hello?" he answered. "What?" I heard him say. "Callie, it's…" at the mention of her name, my eyes flew open immediately. "Yeah, we need to talk. But not right now, it's 4 in the morning over here."

I slowly moved away from Frank and stood up. I grabbed my robe off the floor and hastily put it on. I felt Frank reach for my hand, and I shook my head. "Talk to her," I whispered, feeling my heart break.

Frank pleaded with me to stay with his eyes, but I shook my head and escaped into the adjoining bathroom.

I braced myself against the bathroom counter as I caught snippets of the conversation in the other room.

"Callie," he said, firmer this time. "Listen to me…… No……. Callie, quit…… Can I please say something?"

I swallowed nervously as I listened to his end of the conversation. I could only imagine the earful he was getting on the other end. My heart pounded erratically as I wondered what she was saying.

His tone softened dramatically and I had to strain to hear what he was saying. "Look, Cal. I… I'm sorry, but there's no easy way to say this. And I wish that this wasn't happening this way, but ……... Yeah," he sighed. "I am……Callie don't, please…… Yeah, I think I do…… I'm sorry, the last thing I wanted to do was hurt you……I know…… Okay. I'll do that…… Are you going to be okay?... I'm sorry, I truly am….. Okay….. Bye."

Tears filled my eyes as I heard the phone click. 'He did it, he really did it,' I thought. Suddenly, the situation became so much more real. There was another girl halfway across the world crying her eyes out at that very same moment, over the man in the other room.

A soft tapping on the bathroom door interrupted my thoughts. The door creaked open and Frank poked his head inside. "Hey," he whispered, regarding me carefully.

"Hi," I responded softly.

Stepping into the bathroom fully he stood in front of me and brushed a tear off of my cheek. "Making one woman cry tonight is bad enough, don't you start, too," Frank joked lightly, attempting to relieve the tension in the room.

I managed a smile. "Sorry," I apologized. "It's all just kind of hitting me, you know?"

Frank raised his eyebrows at my statement, but didn't say anything.

"This is real. You and me," I pointed to him and then back to myself.

"I hope so," he smiled gently. "Otherwise this is one dream I don't want to ever wake up from."

I threw my arms around his neck and inhaled his scent. "I'm sorry she had to find out this way," I murmured into his chest.

"Me, too," he sighed with regret evident in his voice. He lifted my chin with his finger, and looked me square in the eyes. "But don't think for one minute that I regret what happened tonight."

"Never even crossed my mind," I assured him. Now that Frank had ended things with Callie, I knew what I had to do. "It's what – 10 pm in the States right now?"

Confusion etched across Frank's face. "I think so. Why?"

I took a deep breath as I pulled back from his embrace. "I… I need to make a phone call."

Realizing what I meant, Frank nodded and moved his hands from my waist to my arms. He placed a quick kiss on top of my head, before stepping back. "Use the phone in the bedroom. Come out to the balcony when you're done."

I nodded silently and then turned and walked out into the darkened bedroom. I sat on the edge of the bed and picked up the phone's handset, which felt like it weighed a hundred pounds.

A sliver of light invaded the darkness when Frank opened the bedroom door. He turned back and gave me a comforting smile before shutting the door. When I heard the familiar click, I began to dial the all too familiar number.

On the fifth ring, just as I was beginning to lose my courage, Ned's voice echoed through the phone. "Hello?"

I struggled for a moment to find my voice. Finally, the words came. "Hi, Ned."

"Nancy! I'm so glad you called." He sounded so happy to hear from me, and it killed me to know that happy was the last thing he was going to be when our conversation was over.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and took a calming breath. This was going to be one of the hardest things I had ever done, but I didn't have a choice. My mind was made up. Ned was a great guy, but he just wasn't the one great guy for me. I couldn't fight the truth anymore.

"Nan? Are you there?"

"Yeah, I'm here," I replied softly. Steeling myself I began the hardest conversation of my life. "Ned, we… uh… we need to talk."

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With watery red eyes, and a matching ruddy nose, I opened the door of the bedroom. I made my way across the dark living room and to the balcony door. The cool night air made contact with my skin, and I welcomed the relief.

Frank sprang up from his seat when he heard the heard the door slide open. He regarded me carefully, making note of the red eyes and nose. "How did it go?" was all he said.

"Absolutely awful," I said in a broken voice. Before the tears could start, he stepped forward and enveloped me in his arms.

He silently stroked my hair. It had a reassuring effect on me, and after a few moments, I was calm once more.

"Thank you," I whispered.

Frank took my hand and led me across the balcony to the chair he had previously occupied. He took the seat, then gently pulled me into his lap. He wrapped his arms around me, and I rested my head on his shoulder.

"It was brutal," I said. "He…he didn't take it to well, to say the least."

"Neither did Callie." Frank sighed. "And just like us, you guys were together a long time," Frank reminded me.

"I know. It's not like I expected it to go well." I sighed deeply before continuing. "It was so hard, Frank. I hated hurting him like that."

Frank gave my leg a comforting squeeze. I closed my eyes and silently recalled the conversation.

"I'm sorry, Ned," I began softly. "I just can't do this anymore."

"What?" came Ned's shocked reply. "Nancy, what is going on?"

I sighed deeply before answering, "Ned, I just… I just can't."

The line was eerily silent, as I waited for Ned's response. "Ned?" I said hesitantly. I was unsure if he didn't know what to say, or if he had hung up on me.

When he finally spoke, his voice was like steel. "It's Frank, isn't it?" Ned asked coldly.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before whispering my answer. "Yes."

"Damnit, Nancy!" he swore. "You promised me that the two of you were just friends, and that I had nothing to worry about. Now you're breaking up with me to be with him? Just how long has this been going on?"

"Ned, Frank and I have been friends for years. Close friends, but just friends." Although I wanted to be completely honest with him, I couldn't tell him about the past. I couldn't twist the knife and hurt him anymore than I already was. "I don't know what happened… but something changed on this trip, and I can't lie to myself or you anymore." Or Frank, I added silently.

"Nan?"

"Sorry." I ran my hands wearily over my face to rid myself of the offending thoughts. When I opened my eyes again, I looked off into the distance and saw the faint traces of orange and pink on the horizon. A new day was dawning, and so was a new relationship. A small smile crossed my face as I turned to look at Frank. "We're really doing this, huh?"

"Having second thoughts, Drew?" Frank teased.

I shook my head emphatically no. "After what it took for us to get here?" I laughed lightly. "Nope. You're stuck with me, now, Hardy."

Frank reached up and stroked my face. Before claiming my lips with his own, he stated simply, "And there's no place else I'd rather be."