Never Gonna Leave You
Summary: He's the last to go in. HodgesNick.
A.N.: Grrr...I hate MS Word; keeps closing down my document just before I save it, so I lose it all! Will be two short chapters.
The Last To Go In
You're one of the last people to see Nick in the hospital, although you were one of the first to arrive after the ambulance. You just can't seem to step through his door. People ask you every time they go up before you if you want to go in, and you reply "nah, there's time."
You don't know why it's so hard to see him. It could be any number of reasons. It could be because if you see him, it's real. The last twelve hours actually happened and you feel the tears welling up so you excuse yourself, quickly finding refuge in the toilets.
Crouched in the back of a cubicle is where Greg finds you sometime later, with tear-streaked cheeks and curled up fists. He doesn't say anything, just comes over to you, shuts the door and puts his arms around you. You lean into the comfort, crying harder than ever before. It shows how much Nick means to you because you hardly ever cry. Everyone thinks you're the tough one, a sarcastic son-of-a-bitch who can't love anything.
But that's not true, because the man you love with buried alive, with a gun for company.
The notion that you almost lost Nick makes you cry even harder. Greg tightens his arms around you, pressing a feather-light kiss to the top of your head, rocks you to and fro, whispering comforting things. "Nick's still alive" and "He'll never leave you" fall from his mouth.
When you stop, when you feel as though your throat's been shredded and your eyes are too sore from crying, you stop. Greg pulls away, takes your face in both hands and presses a kiss to your forehead. You manage a weak smile.
"Thanks," you whisper.
Greg stands up and holds out his hand to help you up. "Come on," he says, putting his arm around your waist to support your unsteady legs, "Let's go see Nick."
END CHAPTER