Though they had been seeing each other for a short time, she had only been to Nick's house a few times, but she felt at ease here. She loved her condo and her independence but sharing a space with him, even if they had to keep it secret, was knew for her. She had not experienced that since her marriage with Mike in Seattle. Nick had to guide her up the steps and into the foyer as she was still unsteady and weak from her ordeal. The house was quiet and cool, just the way she liked it, as she immediately went to the master bedroom to rest her aching body. Nick followed her, wanting to help but still hesitant at what she needed. This was the first traumatic thing they had both been through. His own bruises and cuts were sore from the fight, but she was worse off so he focused his attention on her asking "What do you need?" Whatever you want, I'll get it."
Julie looked around the warm inviting space of his room. She already had clothes stashed here as well as her travel bag with basic things like a toothbrush and shampoo. She wanted to shower to get rid of the dirt from the club as well as the blood on her clothes, but she was too exhausted to move. She forced herself to limp to the bathroom, snatching up two towels and her favorite Seattle T-shirt. She tossed aside her leather jacket which was stained with blood and probably ruined now. The rest of her clothes went into a pile away from any other laundry, so the blood wouldn't contaminate anything. Contaminated, that's how she felt as she showered, slowly and in a great deal of pain. The water hitting all her cuts and bruises made things worse. But it was a relief to step out and feel cleaner even if she still looked like a mess from the attack. Getting dressed was a chore, as she agonizingly slipped into sweat pants and the Seattle shirt. Just raising her arm to slide into the sleeve was painful. Each moment of pain got her closer to being done so she pushed through it, knowing Nick and a comfortable bed was waiting for her.
He hated letting her clean up by herself, but she liked her privacy, so he sat in the chair outside the bathroom, ready to jump if she called for him but she emerged from the bathroom smelling like her tropical shampoo which he loved. This time he didn't ask if she needed anything because they both needed the same thing, to be in bed. Simultaneously, they drew back the covers on the bed and crawled in, facing each other as they lay down. She reached out to trace over the bruised patterns on his face, sighing sadly at his run in with the officers.
"Did you mean it?" she asked quietly "are you really quitting?"
"No baby," he soothed her, reaching out to brush her hair back "I was an idiot for saying that, Sara and Greg, they knew I would come back around, and I already apologized to Russell."
"What about me?" she asked, her voice raspy from crying "would you still be with me even if you quit?"
"Absolutely," he assured her, continuing with the motion of sweeping her hair back. There he discovered more tiny cuts and a bruise he didn't see before.
"McKeen's going to isolation," she informed him now "Russell and Brass got him transferred to Indiana, he can't hurt anyone again."
"That's great," Nick said, and he meant it even if he almost had to lose her for that to happen.
"Kimball was awful," she continued "he wouldn't shut up about you and Warrick and how you messed up his and McKeen's plan, makes me sick, I wish I could have beat them up too."
"You and me both sweetheart," he said, agreeing with her level of rage towards the men who had hurt them.
As they lay quietly together, neither of them could believe how they ended up here. For Nick, this was not how he pictured bringing a girlfriend home and to bed. All his usual mindsets for dating had gone out the window when he started seeing her, she was different, kind but tough, she could easily best him when they played his vintage video games. At the same time, she was soft and sweet, showering him with kisses when she felt like being playful, surprising him after work with fun stuff for them to do, setting up cute little picnic lunches or dinners in the backyard.
For Julie, she was totally at ease around him. She could be herself and he didn't think she was "too much" too strong, too independent, too determined. He appreciated her enthusiasm and zest for life. Although right now they had both been stretched thin emotionally. She scooted closer to him, stretching her arms out to wrap around him gently and say, "I'm glad you're okay."
"I'm glad you're okay too," he replied the simple statement which summarized their horrible ordeals.
Instinctively, he let his hand rest on her side, forgetting about her injuries until she winced and grabbed his hand weakly.
"I'm sorry," he apologized quickly, hating himself for causing her extra unnecessary pain.
"It's not your fault," she reminded him, but he couldn't shake his feelings of guilt over being the reason she was taken, the reason she was hurting right now.
"I'm going to make this up to you, I promise," he said knowing there wasn't much he could do to change what they went through.
She started to speak, to tell him he didn't have to do anything, that it wasn't his fault, but she was distracted by him lifting the corner of her shirt and placing gentle kisses on her achy side. She held her breath, anticipating pain, but grinning happily when, for the first time in hours, it didn't hurt.
A/N- and that's the end. Hope it all made sense. It was fun to explore the episode as Finn and Nick centric instead while still incorporating the suspenseful elements from the main story. Thanks to all who read and review. It means the world to me.
