In the beginning of "Meat Jekyll", Nick overhears Vartann and Catherine talking about how they had spent the night together. Nick asks Catherine why he's always the last to know about his friends' relationships, and she doesn't answer him. This is an idea I came up with as to how Nick is going to react to that relationship and why. Does he now act the way he does towards Vartann because he's upset he wasn't told straight up, or is there another reason?
I don't own anyone or CSI.
Warning: Spoilers for "Meat Jekyll"
Nick was a couple minutes late to his crime scene, but despite that fact he was in no rush to trade his air conditioned car for the sweltering heat of the Las Vegas summer day beyond the glass. He glanced at the display panel on his dash board to learn that it was 93 degrees out already, and it was only seven in the morning. So Nick opted to sit in cold SUV for just a little bit longer before he surrendered himself to the heat outside, where he would have to work a crime scene for the next several hours.
Just as he was about to turn the car off completely and exit the vehicle, Nick's phone began buzzing against his leg. He pulled the phone out of his jeans pocket and looked at the caller ID, expecting it to be Brass demanding to know where he was and why he was late. He was instead very surprised to see who was actually calling him.
"Hello?" he answered, expecting someone else to be on the other line rather than the name that had been on the display.
"Nicky my boy," Grissom's voice came from the other end.
"Hey Griss," Nick said cheerfully. "How's Paris?"
"I heard what happened with the Jekyll case," the former graveyard supervisor said, completely ignoring the CSI's question. The familiar behavior of his old boss made Nick smile. "I spoke with Sara and Catherine. And Brass. And Ray too. Are you okay?"
Nick laughed slightly. "Yeah, I'm fine."
"You can't be fine, you were shot," Grissom replied. "What the hell's the matter with you? You're not Superman for Christ's sake. When's the last time you went to the doctor's?"
"Today," Nick answered. "I just got the stitches out a few hours ago."
"You went to the doctor's that early in the morning?" Grissom asked. Before Nick could explain, he exclaimed, "You're not at a scene right now, are you?"
Nick laughed again. "Yeah, I am. But seriously man I'm fine, it was a week ago. There wasn't even that much damage, I'm just a little sore is all."
Grissom sighed heavily. "I wouldn't be able to convince you not to work even if I were there."
"Absolutely correct," Nick replied.
"Well, just take care of yourself, alright? I'm serious Nicky. I damn near had a heart attack when I heard about what happened to you. Catherine can't keep her eye on you 24/7, no matter how hard she tries. Just take it easy and don't get shot again, or anything close to getting shot."
Nick smiled to himself. "I'll be fine, I promise. We've got everything under control out here."
"The hell you do," Grissom said jokingly. "Alright then, I'll let you get to work. Let me know what Ecklie says when he sees the bill from this call. Video tape it for me if you can, that will make a great birthday present."
"Will do boss," Nick said with another laugh before hanging up.
He put his cell phone back in his pocket and grabbed his kit before killing the engine to the car and opening the door. The heat hit him before he had even put his foot on the ground, and he instantly considered telling Brass he wasn't up for this yet and just going back home and falling back in bed. The heat made him more aware of how weak he still felt, and he didn't like that. But Nick refused to give in that easily, so he soldiered on past all the cop cars and neighbors outside to witness what was going on. He made his way under the crime scene tape and up the front lawn of the large home to where Brass and Detective Vartann were standing. Nick was determined to prove to himself and everyone else that he was fine and could get right back to work, but seeing Vartann made him feel like changing his mind and admitting defeat just this once.
"Shouldn't you be in a sling?" Brass asked before the CSI had even come to a stop in front of him.
Nick squinted at the captain even though he had his Ray-Ban sunglasses on. The sun was brutal despite it only being early morning. "It's in the truck," Nick replied with a small smile.
"You shouldn't be working," Brass said simply. "You were shot with a friggen shotgun. The minor wounds on your neck haven't even healed yet," he said, reaching out to poke the left side of the younger man's neck. The wounds on Nick's neck were now being protected and held closed by butterfly sutures, while his shoulder was still bandaged in gauze hidden by his navy blue t-shirt.
Nick scoffed and pushed Brass' hand away. "Relax, I'm fine. If it were up to you, Cath and Grissom I'd be put in a bubble."
"You should be. What are you trying to prove?" Brass went on, continuing to tease Nick in an attempt to make light of a situation that had scared him half to death.
Nick shrugged, and in doing so was able to hide the sharp sting in his shoulder that came from the motion. "That I'm tougher than you," he answered.
Brass smirked at the remark. "Well, we already knew that."
"Tell me something I don't know," Nick said, motioning with his head to the house. "What's going on here?"
"419, husband Daniel Simms found his wife Jess shot in the chest on the lawn out back. Says he was at work all night working on a big case and came home at six in the morning and found her," Vartann answered.
"Anyone confirm his alliby?" Nick asked Brass, barely acknowledging that Vartann had even spoken.
Brass nodded. "Partner at the law firm and two attorneys said he was in the office until just before six. Coroner placed time of death between four and five."
"Alright, let's get to work shall we?" Nick said.
"Greg's wrapping up a case in Henderson and then he's gonna be on his way over to lend you a hand. Until then, Vartann will help you out here while I go knock on some doors."
Before Nick could attempt to protest, Brass turned and headed towards the house across the street. Nick instead gritted his teeth and followed Vartann around to the back of the house, where they found the body of Jess Simms on the grass about ten feet from the pool. Nick walked up to the body and placed his kit on the ground before crouching down next to the body and grabbing his camera.
Vartann stood on the other side of the body across from Nick. He waited as the CSI took a few photos and then stood before saying, "I'm really glad you're okay Nick."
Nick merely nodded, not even making eye contact with the detective. Vartann was more than puzzled at the way Nick was acting around him. He was contemplating calling Nick out on it when Greg suddenly came bounding around the corner, kit in already gloved hands.
"Hey Nick," he greeted happily. "Glad to see you back out in the front lines."
Nick smiled. "Thanks Greggo. I took photos of the body already, why don't you process out here while I head inside?"
"Sounds good to me," Greg replied as he knelt down to open up his kit and set to work.
Nick went towards the house without another word. Vartann watched as he stopped to chat with Officer Mitchell momentarily before the pair disappeared into the kitchen at the back of the house. Varatann, still very confused, turned his attention towards Greg.
"Do you think Nick's been acting a little weird?" He asked.
Greg shrugged. "I didn't notice anything, he seems fine to me. But he did just get shot, so he's bound to be a little off for a bit I guess."
Before Vartann could go any further with the conversation, something caught Greg's eye over by the pool that caused him to stray away, leaving Vartann to stand there and wonder why he had such a weird feeling that he had personally done something wrong to make Nick act the way he was towards him. He felt like his stomach was in knots, and the uneasiness stayed with him the rest of the day until he finally parted ways with the CSIs and returned to the police station to get started on the pile of paperwork waiting for him on his desk.
Nick finished up at the scene a little bit before Greg did, so he checked in on the younger CSI before heading back to the lab. He got worn down a lot faster than he normally did, which only proved to him that he was not fully back to being his usual self. He knew that rushing it would only make matters worse, but he couldn't help it. He was sick of lying around his house watching movies he's seen a hundred times. He was sick of his parents and siblings calling every ten minutes to make sure he was still alive. But mostly, he was sick of being out of the loop at the lab where everyone else was on to the next case while he was stuck on the couch.
Greg wasn't far behind Nick leaving the crime scene, but when he returned to the lab, the Texan was nowhere to be found. Thinking nothing of it and assuming he was processing evidence somewhere or taking a break, Greg set to work logging and sorting his evidence. He was just about to behind processing when Catherine popped in with Sarah right behind her.
"You're with me, Sara's going to take over on the evidence for right now," Catherine said without so much as a hello.
Greg smiled at his supervisor. "And where are we going?"
"Autopsy," Catherine replied. "Doc Robbins' is waiting for us, he said he has a surprise waiting."
Greg nodded in approval. "Everyone loves surprises," he said happily as he traded places with Sarah and followed Catherine out of the lab.
The pair were soon clothed in lab coats and were rounding the corner to head down the hall to the morgue where Doc Robbins was waiting for them. Greg was briefing Catherine on what he had found on and around the body at the scene as she flipped through the file and looked over the photos he and Nick had taken.
"What's this black stuff on her wrists?" Catherine inquired, holding up the picture for Greg.
Greg shrugged. "I don't know, I collected a sample and sent it over to Hodges. It looked like tar or something of the sort."
Greg reached the door before Catherine, so he opened it and stepped inside to hold it open. Catherine was still looking over the file, but after she took a few steps inside she glanced up at the silver table displaying the body waiting for them. She stopped dead in her tracks and dropped everything that was in her hands onto the cold floor. Greg reacted to Catherine's sudden stop just in time to divert his own path to avoid crashing into her. He didn't follow her eyes to the table but instead looked down at the floor at the scattered papers and pictures.
He crouched down to gather the discarded materials and upon standing addressed Catherine. "What's gotten into you?" he asked.
It was only then that he realized she was staring open mouthed at the autopsy table. Greg's heart sped up when saw how shocked she was and that tears were beginning to form in her green eyes. He turned quickly and followed her gaze, immediately understanding what had caused Catherine's distraction, but not grasping how it could even be possible.
Catherine and Greg found themselves staring at Nick's body laid out on the silver table. His shirt was missing, as were the bandages covering his wounds, revealing them to the two CSIs standing frozen to the spot. He was lying completely still with his hands at his sides and his legs completely straight. Catherine's hand covered her mouth as she took a few slow steps forward with Greg right at her side. They stopped a few feet from the table, their eyes glued to Nick's pale face, silently pleading with him to open his eyes and sit up.
Just as Catherine was about to reach out and touch him, Doc Robbins came hobbling from his office in the back with gauze and tape in his free hand. He smiled at Greg and Catherine without a word before leaning his crutch up against the side of the table Nick was on placing the materials he had brought with him on Nick's stomach. He snapped on a pair of gloves and was about to pick the gauze and tape up again when he noticed that Greg and Catherine were staring at him as if he were a ghost.
"What's with you two?" he asked.
Catherine was unable to speak, so Greg took the liberty of voicing what was on their mind. "What the hell?" he said.
Robbins frowned. "What the hell what?"
"What happened?" Greg exclaimed. "Why is Nick here? What happened? Why didn't anybody call anybody? What the fuck?"
Greg's barely understandable rambling startled both Doc Robbins and Nick. The presumed to be dead Texan inhaled deeply as he woke up and sat up slowly, wincing at the pain doing so caused to his shoulder. He frowned at the gauze and tape that rolled off his stomach before looking at the very confused people around him.
"What are you guys doing here?" he asked Catherine and Greg.
Greg shook his head rapidly. "No, what are you doing here? Why are you pretending to be dead? What the hell man?"
Nick was taken aback by that accusation. "I'm not pretending to be dead...what are you talking about?"
Catherine was still unable to put together a sentence, so the good doctor took this opportunity to fill in the other two newcomers in on what the seemed to be missing.
"Nick got his stitches out today and I wanted him to come down so I could take a look at the wounds. They needed to be redressed and I had to go in the back to get more gauze and tape. I don't have any out here because I don't need any for dead people," Robbins explained.
"So why were you lying there like a corpse Nicky?" Catherine finally chimed in.
A smile tugged at Nick's lips. "I'm exhausted so I laid down and fell asleep."
Without warning Catherine reached back quickly and then lunged forward and punched Nick in the arm. "It's not funny. I thought you were dead. I thought that what's Doc's surprise was. I'm pretty sure I just had a heart attack."
"I'm sorry guys, I didn't mean to scare you. I was just tired. Today took a lot out of me I guess," Nick apologized.
Catherine took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "You came back too soon," she said softly. "You should be at home, resting."
Nick shook his head. "I'm fine, I promise."
Before anyone could argue, Doc Robbins gently pushed Nick back down onto the table so he could dress his wounds. "I'll patch him up then send him home," he assured Catherine, then looked down at Nick. "He won't come back to work until tonight, after he's rested, and then all he'll do is process some evidence and annoy Hodges."
Nick smiled and nodded in agreement. "Will do Doc."
Catherine left the lab and headed home only after she had seen Nick get into his own vehicle and head in the direction of his house. He had promised to go home and get some rest before returning for his next shift, and Catherine was too drained to fight him anymore. If he came into work exhausted and worn out, she would yell at him then. Right now, she was focused on going home, taking a shower, and relaxing as much as she possibly could before she had to go back to work.
Just as Catherine was pulling out of the parking garage, her cell phone began to ring. She smiled when she saw Vartann's name on the display and answered it quickly.
"Hey Chris," she greeted. "I'm just leaving the lab now."
"Are you heading home?" he asked.
"I was planning to, unless you want some company."
"I'd love some, as always," Vartann replied with a laugh.
Catherine's smile grew. "Alright, I'll be there in about ten minutes."
"Okay, see you soon."
They hung up without any more conversation. Catherine was now dreading going back to work for the sole reason of wanting to spend more time with her new found lover. She had always had a crush on detective Chris Vartann, and now that something was coming of it she was very eager and excited to see where it went. She was pulling into his driveway before she knew it, and in no time she was walking through the front door and into the living room where Vartann was waiting for her on the couch.
"Hi," she said with a smile before kissing him and plopping down on the sofa next to him.
"Hello there," he replied with a wide smile. "How was work?"
"Fine," Catherine said with a nod, "except for the part where Greg and I went into the morgue to find Nick laying on an autopsy table." Vartann's eyes went wide with shock, so Catherine quickly explained. "Doc Robbins was redressing his wounds for him, and he fell asleep on the table while he was waiting. I almost killed him when I realized he wasn't really dead."
Vartann laughed slightly, and then fell silent. His smile faded as they fell into a still silence that confused Catherine. She knew there was something on his mind, but wasn't going to prod. She sat patiently and waited for him to come out with it.
"Did you and Nick ever have a thing?" he asked suddenly.
Catherine shook her head slowly. "Nick Stokes?" she asked, not totally understanding where this was coming from.
Vartann nodded. "Yeah, you and Nick. Did you guys ever date or just, you know..."
Catherine smiled slightly. "You mean did I ever sleep with him?" Vartann merely nodded again. "No, of course not. I mean, he's a good looking guy and he's an amazing person, but we don't think of each other that way. He's like my best friend, my brother even."
"It's okay if you did," Vartann assured her. "I won't care, I'm just wondering."
Catherine laughed. "I never slept with him or had a relationship with him. We flirt, but I have a tendency to flirt with everyone, and so does he." When Vartann looked at the floor and didn't say anything, Catherine couldn't hold back her own curiosity any longer. "What made you think I had a thing with him? Did Hodges say something stupid?"
Vartann shook his head. "No."
"Then what was it?" she asked.
"I don't know," he replied with a sigh. "He's just been acting different towards me. Today at the crime scene he basically ignored me altogether. I got such a weird feeling from him. We usually talk all the time at scenes, ya know? I thought it was because I didn't visit him in the hospital or at home but he wanted space and we're not like best friends. I don't know, I just felt uneasy around him and I didn't know why."
"So you thought it was because of me?"
"Yeah. He was there the other day when we were talking about staying in bed or something like that. I figured he overheard that and was jealous or something because you used to be with him, but you weren't so now I'm more confused. I hope I didn't do something to make him hate me."
Catherine scoffed. "He doesn't hate you. I don't know why he's acting like an idiot, but he doesn't hate you. You just don't come to hate someone in the span of a week when you haven't even seen them."
Vartann sighed again. "It's probably nothing."
Catherine shook her head. "I know Nick, and this isn't nothing. He has a reason for ignoring you, and now I wanna know what it is too." She leaned in slowly and kissed him gently. "But that can wait till later. Right now, all I care about is you."
Instead of going through the inevitable struggle of putting on a shirt, Nick opted to skip it altogether. Boxers and basketball shorts were enough clothing for such a hot day, even though his AC was on full blast, making his house extremely cold. He had turned the unit up to the coldest setting it had before he took a cold bath, which still wasn't easy to do with his injured shoulder. By the time he had washed up and gotten somewhat dressed, his house was freezing, which was just fine with him. Nick left his bedroom shirtless and entered the kitchen, where he grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge before heading into the living room and lying down on the couch. He flipped on the TV and decided to watch yet another episode of Mythbusters, during which he fell asleep before he had even opened the bottle of water.
He was awoken some odd hours later by a persistent banging on his front door. He opened his eyes after the fifth or sixth knock and was confused by the dimness of the room he was in. He didn't realize he had fallen asleep for so long until he saw the clock under the TV that it was already eight o'clock at night, which meant he had to be at work in a few hours. His thoughts were interrupted by the continuing of the knocking. Nick groaned as he forced himself off the couch and over to the door. He opened it quickly to make the noise stop and was honestly not the least bit surprised at who was on the other side.
Catherine wasn't on the other side for long. She brushed past Nick without a word and strode into his living room before turning around sharply and glaring at him. He shut the door and stood there, not quite sure what to do or what was going on. He didn't have to wait long for Catherine to fill him in.
"You have a problem with Vartann now?" she accused.
Nick felt his heart skip a beat, but refused to go down without a fight. "What are you talking about?" he asked, trying to play dumb.
"You ignored him all day, treated him like a leper. Are you really that pissed I didn't tell you I was seeing him?"
Nick shook his head. "I didn't ignore him. I told you, I was exhausted all day and the heat didn't help. I was just out of it, I didn't do it on purpose."
"So you did ignore him, which means you did do it on purpose."
Nick rolled his eyes as he walked over to stand closer to Catherine. "Why ask me all these questions if you're not going to believe me anyway?"
"So I can catch you in lies," she said simply. "I wanna know what your problem is. You're never had a problem with him before, why now?"
"I don't have a problem with him at all, I was just out of it today."
Catherine put her hands on her hips. "Bullshit."
Nick sighed heavily as he ran his hand through his hair. He was still very tired, and the pain in his shoulder was doing absolutely nothing to help matters. He didn't want to admit the truth to anyone, especially not Catherine, but he didn't think he had much of a choice at this point. He figured now was as good a time as any and he might as well get if off his chest.
"You're not supposed to be with him," Nick stated plainly.
Catherine raised her eyebrows. "Oh? And you're the one who gets to decide this all of a sudden?"
"No, I didn't decide anything. It was just how it was supposed to be."
"Nicky, what the hell are you talking about?"
Nick was annoyed that she pretending to not know what he was talking about. "He's not the person you're supposed to be with."
Catherine rolled her eyes at him dramatically. "Then who am I supposed to be with?"
"Warrick."
Catherine hadn't heard the name in what seemed like forever and the sudden sound of it made her heart fall to her stomach. She stared at Nick hard for a very long time, neither one of them saying anything. She felt tears stinging her eyes and couldn't be silent any longer.
"Who the hell do you think you are to say that to me?"
"You guys loved each other, everyone knew that. But neither one of you would make the first move. Your little dance went on for so long, right up until he died. He died and everyone was sad at his funeral and for like a day after that and then all of a sudden nobody remembered. Everyone moved on, nobody cared anymore."
Catherine instantly felt anger flood through her veins unlike anything she had ever felt before. Without so much as thought, she slapped Nick as hard as she could. When he turned his face back to look at her, she hit him again, but it only made her more upset. She couldn't believe what he had just said to her, and was even more astounded that she was so angry at someone she had always had such faith and trust in. When they made eye contact again, Catherine could see that he believed what he had said and yet was not at all surprised at her reaction.
"You think it was that easy? That I just moved on and stopped caring about him?" Catherine demanded, but Nick didn't offer any response. "I think about him every damn day. I cried myself to sleep every night since he died, until I spent the night with Chris. Just because I care about someone else doesn't mean I don't care about Warrick anymore. How dare you think that I don't care anymore."
The look on Catherine's face made Nick's heart sting more than his face was at the moment. He had wrongfully assumed that he was the only one who was still affected by the loss of Warrick, and now he could see just how wrong he had been.
"I'm so-" he started, but was abruptly cut off.
"I'm not the one you need to apologize to. Not now at least. I can't even look at you," she said softly with the disappointed look that made Nick's stomach twist.
Catherine moved past Nick silently and left the house the same way. He stood there for a very long time afterward before the time on the clock forced him to go into his bedroom and get ready for work. His hands shook as he dressed quickly, and this time he knew the feeling that was overtaking his body had nothing to do with the heat or his fatigue.
Instead of going to the lab for his shift, Nick went to the police station and wandered around aimlessly until he found Chris Vartann seated at the table in the break room, drinking a cup of coffee and reading the newspaper. Nick felt a pang of guilt upon seeing the other man and immediately realized how stupid he had been for thinking the way he had for even a second. Without another second's hesitation, Nick went into the break room, causing Vartann to look up at him from across the table.
"Hey Nick," he said cautiously.
"Hi," Nick said lamely. "Look, can I talk to you?"
Vartann nodded and motioned to the seat across from him. "Of course."
Nick sat and took a deep breath before he began. "Yesterday at the crime scene, I was a jackass to you. I wish I could say that the reason for doing so was a good one, but it wasn't. I'm sorry man, I just...finding out that you and Catherine are together hit me hard. Not because I have feelings for her, but because it just made it perfectly clear to me that she's not going to be with Warrick. She can't be with him because he's not here anymore. Not that you don't deserve her, it's just I always expected them to end up together, and when I see you it reminds me that you're with her and that reminds me that my best friend is dead."
Vartann had no idea how to reply to that, but he didn't need to because Nick continued. "None of this is in any way your fault. I just didn't know how to handle it, so I acted like you were the bad guy instead of me. I'm really sorry."
The unease Vartann had felt before was now replaced by sympathy for the other man. "It's okay. I was just worried that I did something to make you hate me."
Nick shook his head. "No, of course not. That's why I'm sorry. You did nothing wrong. I should be thanking you."
Vartann frowned as he returned to his previous state of confusion. "Why's that?" he inquired.
"You're a good guy, and Catherine deserves a good guy to take care of her. She's happy because you make her happy, which hasn't been an easy thing to do since Warrick died and Grissom left. I looked at this the wrong way, not that it's any of my business."
"It is your business," Vartann replied. "You guys are all very close and care about each other a lot. I respect and admire that. That's why I was so worried about you hating me. I know how close you and Catherine are, so what you think means a lot."
Nick smiled at that. "Well then, I think I'm an idiot and Catherine's very lucky to be with you, and vice versa."
"I'd have to agree with you there," Vartann said with a smile of his own.
Nick felt a lot better after having talked to Vartann, but the knot in his stomach was still there for the rest of his shift. He tried to distract himself with work, but his efforts proved to be futile and he knew the only thing that could lift the weight off his chest was to talk to Catherine and do whatever it took to show her how sorry he was. Nick began his search for Catherine in the break room, where he found only Greg sitting on the couch reading a magazine and eating an apple while he waited for Hodges to return his results. Nick next checked the locker room, Catherine's office, all the labs and rooms, and even sent Mandy in to the woman's room to see if she was there. When all these locations returned no result of Catherine, Nick figured she had ducked out early to avoid him. He sighed in defeat and headed to his office, the last place he'd think to look for Catherine.
So of course, there she was, sitting at his desk, looking at a picture with happy tears in her bright eyes. Nick stopped in the doorway when he realized she was there. He knew right away which picture she was looking at because he saw it was missing from it's usual location in the right hand corner of his desk and by the way Catherine was looking at it. It was a picture of himself, Warrick, Greg and Grissom at a bar for Warrick's birthday a few months before he died. They're all huddled around each other and laughing in the picture. It's one of both Nick and Catherine's favorites.
"My guys," Catherine said quietly as she looked fondly at the picture.
Nick smiled sadly as he entered his office and sat in the chair across from Catherine. He leaned forward slightly to garner Catherine's attention away from the picture, and when he finally did he held her gaze with his dark brown eyes.
"I talked to Vartann," he reported.
Catherine nodded. "I know. Thank you."
Nick shook his head. "No need to thank me. You did the right thing by slapping sense into me." Catherine laughed lightly. "I'm really sorry about what I said to you. I know this has been tough on you since Warrick died, I just felt like everyone else was able to move on except for me and I didn't know why. I didn't think it was fair to him, but it's what he would have wanted. He'd want you to be happy."
Catherine sniffed back her tears. "He'd want you to be happy too."
Nick nodded. "I am. I'm happy for you, believe me. Vartann's a good guy and I know he'll treat you right. It was just tough to grasp the fact that he's not Warrick. It reminded me that he was dead, and I felt like I'd be betraying him if I wasn't a jerk to Vartann. I know it sounds stupid, but I tend to not think clearly when it comes to this sort of thing."
Catherine smiled. "I understand how you felt, and so does Chris. I was most upset about the fact that you thought you were alone in the way you felt about losing Warrick. We all lost someone we cared about."
"I know," Nick said quietly. "That's what sucks."
Catherine stood and moved around the desk to stand behind Nick. She leaned forward and handed him the picture so she could wrap her arms around his neck, careful to mind his injured shoulder. She rested her chin on his right shoulder and looked at the picture with her head next to his.
"Nothing and no one can change the way I feel about Warrick," she said softly in Nick's ear. "Just like nothing will ever change how I feel about you. No matter how stupid you are, you'll always be my Nicky."
Nick smiled as he looked at the picture. "I guess I just like to test my limits with you," he teased. "I really miss him," he added in a somber tone.
She nodded. "I do too. I don't know what I would have done if I had lost you too."
Catherine kissed Nick lightly on his cheek before returning to her previous position of gazing at the picture with him. They sat there in silence for a long time, both lost in their thoughts and memories of their friend. The picture in Nick's hands was one of their favorite because it was a reminder that even if things at the moment aren't going well and it's tough to handle, the people around you are what will make you okay. As long as you have the people you care about, everything will turn out okay.