TITLE: How do you forget someone?
AUTHOR: Sanzo/Martha
FANDOM: CSI Vegas
BETA: Greg Sanders/Sam
PAIRING: None
WARNINGS: Spoilers for Season 8 Finale
RATING: FRT
DISCLAIMER: I don't own the characters or the song...I just play with them as I wish
A/N: Song is Leave out all the rest by Linken Park ~ song lyrics are in italics
How do you forget someone?
Nick sat at the table in the break room, all alone since returning to work. He was having a hard time getting over the loss of his friend; everything around him seemed to be a bad dream. The Texan half expected to wake up at any moment. Tuning out the regular noise of the lab, he focused his attention on the song that came on the radio.
I dreamed I was missing
You were so scared
But no one would listen
Cause no one else cared
Conrad Ecklie was taking on his cell phone, not noticing the man sitting at the table, as he grabbed a cup of coffee. He continued on as though nothing was wrong and that the lab hadn't just lost one of its own. Nick couldn't understand how people could move on so quickly, make it seem as though the death was just an everyday occurrence.
After my dreaming
I woke with this fear
What am I leaving when I'm done here?
The brown haired man flashed through all the times that the two of them had been there for each other. Nick didn't realize how much they had come to depend on each other, always expecting to have each other's back.
So if you're asking me
I want you to know
~Flashback~
Nick lay in the clear plexi-glass box, staring up into his best friend's brown eyes. Knowing that if he moved even an inch it would blow and both would be gone. But at the same time, he knew that his friend would save him from his ant-infested death trap. Watching as he stepped away, holding him to his promise not to leave him, Nick watched as his friend grabbed the rope that was secured to his belt, his life line.
~End Flashback~
When my time comes
Forget the wrong that I have done
Help me leave behind some
Reasons to be missed
And don't resent me
And when you're done feeling empty
Keep me in your memory
Leave out all the rest
Leave out all the rest
Nick wiped at his eyes, before taking a drink of his now cold coffee. They had been through a lot of rough times, but Nick had known that his friend had gotten over some major hurdles in his life. That the Vegas native hadn't always come up smelling of roses, but he had come up none the less. Sure, Nick knew that he had his share of demons and difficult times too, but they had always been there for each other; to lend a shoulder to cry on, an ear to listen or a beer to drown in.
Don't be afraid
I've taken my beating
I've shared what I made
I'm strong on the surface
Not all the way through
I've never been perfect
But neither have you
So if you're asking me
I want you to know
~Flashback~
The black CSI looked longingly at the casino floor, trying to repress the urge to play just one hand, place one bet. He almost made it to the door before giving in and turning around. Taking a seat at the nearest blackjack table, he had just been dealt a hand before a familiar figure took up the e seat beside him.
"Mind if I join you?" came the now familiar Texan drawl.
~End Flashback~
When my time comes
Forget the wrong I have done
Help me leave behind some
Reasons to be missed
Don't resent me
And when you're feeling empty
Keep me in your memory
Leave out all the rest
Leave out all the rest
Forgetting all the hurt inside
You're learned to hide so well
Nick let's his head drop into his hands as he hides his tears. They both had made mistakes in their jobs, but the constant resurrecting feature had been that they where together. Warrick had been there when Kristy was killed, and Nick had been there when he almost gambled his career away. As the words of the song continued, nick came to realize that they represented what Warrick had always told him.
"No one will remember the good Nicky, only the times that where bad."
I'm sitting on the surface
Not all the way through
I've never been perfect
But neither are you.
Watching the world pass him by, Nick made his friend one last promise as he walked back into his life. He would remember the good times and make sure they forgot the bad; because you just can't leave out all the rest, when there are two sides to every life.