Thanks to LexiJones & donotsrock for your encouragement! Here's my next offering. I'm missing something between this piece and the next, but it's been a while since the last bit, so I figured I go ahead and put this out there, then edit it when I add the next chapter. Hope you like, sorry it isn't longer. Once we're past the next part I have a larger chunk ready,I just need to figure out how to get there. BTW - I don't know Vegas, I have no idea if there is a street called Reston anyone would want to stop for breakfast on, and if there is a coffeeshop with a rooster sign on it, I would be frightened.
A little over a month later, Warrick was injured in a case. He was off for about a week, and when he finally came back to light duty, the team once again went out to breakfast. It went much the same, and Gil found that he liked the idea of having this connection with Nick. A couple of weeks more, and they were leaving at the same time. Nick stopped to ask if he wanted to grab breakfast.
"Yeah, you ask if I want to grab breakfast, but what you're really asking is if you can keep me up all morning." Nick looked startled, then saw the small smirk on Gil's face. He grinned.
"Nothing gets by you, huh?"
"Nope."
"I should know better then to try and pull a fast one on America's top investigator, shouldn't I?"
"Yep."
"So what do you say?"
"Sure. I'll meet you at the corner."
"Actually," Nick broke in, "there's this new coffee shop I've been wanting to try, over on Reston by the bookstore." Gil thought a moment.
"The one with the rooster on the sign?"
"That's the one. I'll see you there."
As he drove, Gil pondered this new . . . thing. He still wasn't sure what exactly was going on. Prior to that fateful breakfast, the only people he met with outside of work was Catherine or Jim, and he wasn't sure how throwing Nick into the mix would affect things. Or if it even would. Maybe the last couple of times were a fluke. They'd have an awkward cup of coffee and be glad to say goodbye. By the time he pulled into the parking lot, his stomach was in knots. Nick's smiling face helped ease it. Two hours later, he couldn't remember what he had been so nervous about.
"I still don't think I've ever seen anyone run that fast. When Dad and Sean went to get the snake, it was gone. Amy wouldn't go back into the shed for months!" Gil couldn't remember the last time he'd laughed so hard. He'd always thought he was missing out on some things by not having any siblings, and Nick's stories seemed to be confirming it.
"Sound like a crazy house. How did your parents keep up? They both worked full time, right?"
"Yeah, I have no idea man. I was the youngest, so by the time I was old enough to think about that kind of thing, it was mostly just me. I'm sure it was a totally different experience for my older brother."
"Well, as someone who makes a living keeping you in line, I'd probably sympathize more with him then you." Nick's laughter was immediate, and Gil felt a pull in his chest at the thought that they had the type of relationship that allowed that sort of banter.
