As soon as he walked into the locker room, he knew something was wrong. Pausing only momentarily, Warrick went over and sat down next to Nick silently and waited for the bad news.

Nick turned to face Warrick and smiled sadly at him. "Hey Warrick." He said quietly.

Warrick nodded slightly. "What did you need to talk to me about?"

Nick sighed heavily. "Okay...you're probably gonna kill me...but you need to understand it was comepletely my fault, okay?"

"Nick, I'm not gonna kill you man."

Nick laughed humorlessly. "Wanna bet?" Warrick didn't answer, so Nick took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "I slept with Catherine...again." When he didn't hear any kind of repsonse from Warrick, he slowly opened his eyes, only to be met with Warrick fist crashing into his cheekbone.

The blow sent Nick flying off the bench and onto the cold cement floor. Seconds later he was hauled to his feet and slammed against a hard metal locker. Warrick was holding him up against it by two fistfulls of his shirt and staring him straight in the eye.

"You had better have a very good explanation."

Nick shook his head slowly. "I don't...I was at a bar, and she was too...and she was really drunk so I took her home and...and I don't know why but I did it again."

Warrick punhced Nick again and pressed him against the lockers harder. "You took advantage of my wife...my very drunk wife? What the hell is the matter with you?"

Nick shook his head slowly. "A lot of things." He swalloed the lump in his throat and offered a quiet, "I'm sorry Warrick."

Warrick clenched his jaw. "Yeah, me too." He said before throwing Nick to the ground and repeatedly punching and kicking him until he stopped moving.

Nick was fairly sure he was dreaming, until he opened his eyes and still heard the banging on his door. He groaned and slowly slid out of bed and shuffled to the door. He opened it to reveal Warrick standing on his doorstep.

Nick rubbed the sleep from his eyes and smiled sleepily. "Hey man, everything okay?"

"Uh...Yeah..."

As tired as Nick had been, he was now wide awake at the tone of Warrick's voice. He could tell something was wrong. "What's the matter?" Nick asked.

"Nothing..." Warrick sighed. "Nevermind, it's stupid. Sorry I woke you up."

Nick sifled a yawn. "You know I'm not gonna let you go that easily." Nick stepped aside so Warrick could enter his old house. He closed the door and joined his best friend on the couch. "What's wrong Warrick?"

"I just...had a nightmare and wanted to..." Warrick paused for a second. "I just wanted to make sure...that you were still alive."

Nick tried very hard to think of how to respond to that. When he couldn't think of anything, he tried a quiet, "Oh."

"Yeah...I know it's stupid, sorry."

"No...it's not." They sat in an awkward silence for a few moments before Nick finally asked, "What did you have a nightmare about?"

Warrick sighed again. "It doesn't matter."

"Obviously it does if you won't tell me."

Warrick closed his eyes and rubbed his face as hard as he could. "You...slept with Catherine again because she was drunk or something and then I...killed you."

Nick was silent for a very long time before he finally said, "I'm sorry."

Warrick shook his head. "It's not your fault. It happened once, and I don't even care anymore. It was just a stupid dream."

Nick nodded slowly. "Then what's really bothering you?"

Warrick looked at his best friend for a second before saying, "Nothing."

"Liar."

Warrick laughed slightly. "You're impossible, you know that right?"

"Always have been, not my fault you're just catching on now."

Warrick smiled, but only for a minute. It faded as he got up the courage to tell Nick what was really bugging him. "I always have a different nightmare...when we were digging you up and you had the gun to your head...except in my dream, you always pull it."

Nick reached out and squeezed Warrick's shoulder reassuringly. "I didn't do it, I'm right here. You saved me."

"I know...I j-just keep seeing you like that and dying right in front of me...I can't get it out of my head." Warrick took a deep breath and couldn't stop himself from asking, "Were you really gonna do it?"

Nick closed his eyes. He didn't want to lie to his best friend, but didn't want to tell him the truth either. He finally stopped arguing with himself and quietly said, "Yeah...I was." Warrick didn't respond. The silence was starting to drive him crazy so he said the first thing that came to him. "I'm sorry Warrick."

This time, Warrick responded right away. "Don't be bro. I know it must have been hell for you down there. I just don't know what I would have done if you had..." Warrick trailed off and Nick felt his heart sink. "I just wish it had been me and not you."

Nick opened his eyes and shook his head. "Don't say that. It wasn't your fault and I would have gone insane if it had been you. I'm glad it was me. I never once wished that it was you and not me down there so don't even think it."

"I never would have lasted as long as you did. I would have given it 20 minutes tops then-"

"It doesn't matter what would have happened. All that matters is we're both here, we're both okay, and it's gonna stay that way for a while."

Warrick sighed. "I know, and I'm not trying to make this anymore difficult than it's been...but sometimes, it just feels weird."

"What do you mean?" Nick was now fully awake.

"I don't know. Sometimes it just feels like...you're really not there. I just get this weird feeling and I somehow trick myself into thinking you really aren't here. I know it sounds weird...but sometimes I think that I really couldn't save you."

"But you did."

"But what if I hadn't? You almost died Nick."

"But I didn't. I'm right here, I'm fine." Warrick took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Nick looked away from his best friend and down at the floor. "You wanted me to die, didn't you?" He said so quietly Warrick almost didn't hear him.

Warrick stared at Nick for a very long time as he considered how to answer that question. Finally he broke the building tension and said, "Why the hell would you ever say that to me?"

Nick continued his staring contest with the floor. "I don't know...because then you wouldn't feel so responsible for me anymore and wouldn't have to worry about me all the time. I've come so close to dying so many times it must be getting annoying. I wouldn't blame you for just wanting to get it over with and finally have me gone."

Warrick pushed Nick's shoulder back against the couch, forcing him to look him in the eye. "None of what has happened to you has been your fault. None of it. I honestly don't understand how you can think I want you gone. You're my brother Nick. I can't do this without you, and you know that. Losing you would probably kill me. So don't think for a second that I want you gone. That couldn't be farther from the truth."

"It's just hard, ya know?"

Warrick nodded slightly. "I know how hard everything's been on you. But you've come way too fae to throw it all away now. No one else would be able to pull this all off. So stick around for a little bit more."

Nick smiled. "Deal."

They pounded their fists together, like they did to seal the deal on everything, whether it be bets or agreements. They both knew that no matter what would be thrown at them next, they'd pull through it if they stuck together.

THE END

Well that's it. Thanks for reading it and for the reviews. Sorry it took so long to get it finished.