Out of Harm's Way

"I'm not apologizing, Warrick."

"Yeah, well you damn well should be."

He wasn't hiding the anger, though he couldn't quite say the same thing about his fear.

"I didn't go in there alone man, Vega was there- so were a bunch of uniforms. It's not like I was all alone in that place."

"You may as well have been. Ya had at least fifty guns pointed at you for God's sakes! You think they'd just miss you, huh?"

Nick shook his head before standing up and moving to close his locker. "He killed an innocent girl, Warrick. You would have done the same exact thing."

Warrick didn't answer. He didn't want to acknowledge that Nick was almost certainly right. He lacked that caution, and giving in to his friend by accepting that was something Warrick just wasn't willing to do. At the same time he knew it was useless trying to lie to Nick. The man could barely get away with it, and at the same time had an uncanny knack for recognizing when someone else wasn't being honest. Which meant that it was time to switch tactics. "That doesn't matter. It was dangerous, and I know you were just doing your job, but… well, it just isn't easy to accept how dangerous our jobs can be."

"That's the way life goes. Believe it or not, I don't actually go out looking for trouble."

"Maybe not, but that doesn't mean it doesn't find you often enough."

That got a small smile from Nick. "Alright, alright- we can sit here all day talking about this… or we could just play some ball."

"Yeah, and this time I won't let you win."

He had meant to say it in a far more serious tone, but by the look on Nick's face it hadn't worked as well as he'd hoped. The grin his friend was bearing was a sight that had the ability to instantly put him at ease, and he had no doubt that it could throw off anyone. Rumor in the lab had it that it could even work on Brass, and occasionally some of the more stubborn lab rats as well. Which is why he wished the guy didn't have to wear it while they played basketball.

It wasn't long before they were racing back and forth down the court. Neither one willing to give the game anything less than a hundred percent of their effort and concentration. Warrick let out a deep breath, that drew another smile from his friend as he moved to take another shot. When it went in he let out a small whoop in celebration.

And then they were moving again. He was trying to block Nick, and doing pretty well blocking the shorter man from shooting until he managed to slip right past him and make a quick shot.

He sighed, and shook his head. Warrick doubted that he'd win, but he felt good that he was at least putting up a good fight. And he relaxed with the knowledge that even if Nick won it'd be a close game.

Nick was dribbling again, smile still there as moved to get around him. With a quick jerk he had knocked the ball away from Nick and was well on his way down the court by the time he heard Nick's footsteps racing to catch up to him.

"Young man- I thought I told you to call me when your shift ended!"

The words caught Warrick by surprise, and he didn't have time to register that he had dropped the ball, giving Nick the chance to grab it and make another basket. He shook his head and let his gaze shift from Nick over to his Grandmother. That was definitely not something he had expected, although he was already kicking himself for forgetting to call her.

"I, uh… I forgot…" He answered somewhat sheepishly, and he glared at Nick when he saw the teasing smile take hold.

"Don't you think I'm gonna let you off the hook just cause you forgot. And if you think forgetting your own Grandmother is acceptable- boy you've got another thing comin' to ya."

"That one would actually be my fault, ma'am. I am the one who pretty much dragged him down here… although if I'd a known he had plans…" Nick trailed off, a smile threatening to overcome his face as he watched Warrick glare at him.

"That's quite alright dear, though I insist that you come too. I'll have breakfast enough for the both of you, although one of you has yet to earn it…"

"Ah, Grams, you can't just let him off the hook, he'll get even more smug than he already is."

"At least he has plenty of manners, and remembers them. But that's enough now, come on, we're going home to get some real food into those stomachs. I think a few stories from your childhood would be sufficient enough to get you to remember the next time you promised to call me."

"Oh, now this I can't miss." Nick answered, his smile taking over completely as he tossed the ball to Warrick and headed off after Warrick's grandmother.

"Man, this just isn't fair- You have ten times more family than I do, but do I get any embarrassing stories? No, just cause they all have to be living down there in Texas…"

"Whatever, man. You wouldn't get anything out of them anyways- we've got so much on each other that no one wants it to all come out just so we could get a few kicks…"

"That's just cruel, man."

"Hey, I just play hardball, five sisters will do that to a guy…" He answered, smile still firmly rooted on his face, and as he dutifully climbed into the passenger seat of his Grandmother's car he couldn't help but let his own smile out. Even though the playful look in his Gram's eyes made it falter he figured that she couldn't embarrass him all that badly.

To Be Continued…

Notes: I've got quite a few reasons behind the events of these past few chapters, and this one as well that are going to be coming into play soon enough. I've got a lot going on this week, and next week, but after all that I'll have a lot more time to work on this story as well as several others that are in the works right now. There'll be updates on all of them at my profile as I get farther along with each of them. Thanks for all the reviews.