I've been watching a lot of reruns lately and.. I miss Warrick. Simple as that. And basically that inspired this, a Nick/Warrick friendship piece of sorts set after "Shock Waves."
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Hit The Ground Running
As the sunlight streamed down, engulfing him in a golden haze that warmed him to the core he couldn't help but cry, every tear a distant memory that seemed to fall to the ground without a second thought. The grass tickled his legs as he sat cross-legged, a chain held tight in his grasp, the cross hanging from it glinting in the light.
He hated this place, full of death and the reminder of everything he had lost. He stared blankly at the stone in front of him, letters etched in the smooth cool surface, spelling out a name that seemed to burn his throat as he struggled to form words. Nick wasn't sure why he was here, loneliness maybe. Or fear, anger, any of those options worked really.
His fingers brushed the stone, tracing every letter until a smile somehow managed to form on his dull name was a symbol to him, a symbol of everything great he had experienced in this city, in this portion if his life. He saw himself in the beginning, a kid from Texas with sparkling brown eyes and a burning desire to work in the big city, to make something great of himself.
That's where he met Warrick, someone who strived to be as great as he could, despite what he'd been through. Their bond was automatic, as if someone been watching them from above and had it all planned out from the beginning.
"Hey I'm Warrick Brown, you new here?" Nick reached out and took his warm, strong hand.
"Yeah, Nick Stokes."
Warrick had smiled at him and he had yet to realize how much that smile would mean. It was the start of the conversations about football teams, the bets they made on cases and the video games they played in the break room.
They had eachothers backs, no one could deny it. Warrick kept him from hitting the ground, always the parachute Nick needed to keep him up, even when he wanted so bad to be let down. But now he had to learn to fall, to hit the ground running because now there was no one there to catch him.
He was grateful for Warrick, even if it never seemed like it. All the yelling and the fights were just his way of letting him know he would always need him, just like he needed him now.
He could feel the nagging pain in his shoulder, reminding him what had him so shaken up. His trembling hands toyed with the chain, he cleared his throat and began speaking in a voice he had no clue he possessed. It was warm, but it had a vulnerability to it, like a scared child, because right now that's all he was.
"Hey man, been a while huh?" he offered a weak chuckle, "I miss you so much. I know it sounds dramatic but I don't think anything has been the same since you left. We're all so broken and we don't even feel it anymore." he wiped the tears that clung to his dark eyelashes. "It's like we run on autopilot so we don't have to feel or see the pain around us. Sometimes I feel like an empty shell of myself, like the real me is hiding from it all." he held the chain and cross in front of his face, the swinging motion seemed to offer a sense of comfort.
"I remember when you gave this to me, that day in the hospital after you guys found me. I've never let it out of my sight." he confessed weakly. He lowered his hands into his lap and sighed heavily, like the weight of the while world had come to rest specifically on his shoulders.
"I always thought I'd be the first to go, God knows I've had more than enough opportunities." the last words were said bitterly, his anger boiling up inside.
"But somehow it had to be you. I stopped asking God why a long time ago, because something inside of me seemed to click when I watched Grissom leave." he rested his chin in his hands, elbows propped on his knees. "I realized all good things have to go, because that's the only way we can move on to something else, something that could change our lives or the way we think and feel." Nick smiled through his tears, hot, salty and burning his skin.
"I know I'll never forget you, my first real friend in this place. But I know now that you're gone I can move on and I won't have to worry if you're happy of if you're alright. And I know it sounds selfish but it makes me so happy." his voice trailed off and Nicks body shook with a force, sobs tearing at his chest while his hands covered his tear stained face.
When he had no more tears he lifted the necklace and draped it gently in front of the headstone, smiling as the sun made the silver glow, beads of light reflecting on his skin. He rubbed his eyes and stood up, brushing the loose grass from his clothes.
For some reason he waved, as if Warrick could see, as if he would wave back and flash that smile with glowing green eyes. But he was met with nothing but the rustle of the trees, a stone etched with letters on the cool hard surface, offering him nothing but a distant memory.
The End