He glanced at the clock on the wall before exiting the hospital and heading for his SUV, finger on the re-dial button for the third time. It was four hours until the start of graveyard shift and Catherine wasn't answering. He decided to change strategy and go directly to the source. One eye on the road ahead and the other on his cell he searched for Archie's number, hoping to get to him before he got to work. Easing out of the parking spot he grumbled a low curse when nobody picked up at the first ring. Where the hell was everybody?
"Johnson."
"Archie!" He drove with
one hand on the wheel, nearly ramming a parked car at the sudden
answer. He was seeing double by now and really shouldn't be behind
the wheel. "Hey, it's Warrick, look when you get to work Cath's
gonna give you Nick's cell
and I need you to -?"
"Yeah, oh it's you. Well, Grissom's here and I can't get to your case before I've checked out this B and E."
"Oh, you at the lab already?" he had to stomp on the brake to keep from running a red light and cursed himself for his lack of concentration. "I'll come over and help –"
"No Catherine, no need. I'm on it. I just got here, Grissom called me in, he's here helping me with the B and E so I really don't need you, I'm handling it just fine."
"Oh, I see; that B and E is really Nick's case isn't it? And Griss has given you orders to keep me out of the lab?"
"Uh, something like that, yeah."
"And you can't talk right now."
"That's right."
"Ok, Archie, I get the message. Just phone me when you've processed it and have some answers for me, will ya?"
"I will, simmer down, you sound stressed out."
"Gee, thanks, I had no idea you could tell that from a brief conversation like this." Warrick smirked. "Cath's been yapping?"
"Yeah."
"Night." He closed the phone and took the next left to head home. Home? The thought hit him. He hadn't phoned Tina in days and he vaguely remembered promising to sort things out. Most of the time his cell phone had been off anyway – ICU regulations were explicit on that subject. Great, he was shutting out his wife and right now he had no energy to straighten anything out. What he really wanted was some shut eye, Nick back on his feet and in his bed.
"Shit," he gave the steering wheel a slap. However hard he tried he wasn't able to block Nick out of his mind. No wonder his wife was leaving him; even now in the midst of chaos all he could think about was getting his best friend into bed. He needed his head examined, that little embarrassing fact was practically written on the wall. "You do not miss five of your wife's calls," he chided himself out loud while turning into his driveway and noticing forlornly that the apartment was dark and seemingly empty.
He gathered himself and dialed Tina's number while still in the car and was promptly informed that 'this phone cannot currently be reached' .
Tina had turned her phone off.
Warrick leaned back and closed his eyes. Right now everything seemed to be tumbling down like his Gram's tuna soufflé on Christmas Eve. Happened every time and still Gram had never given up and it had become a yearly tradition; seeing it slowly sinking into a heap of sogginess in approximately 10 minutes after leaving the oven. It was a memory he held tight to his heart. Silly little things like that always stuck with him. Like what Gram had said about Nick the first time she'd met him so many years ago; "One hunk of a man with all the right toppings". He smiled to himself remembering, Gram had such a way with words. A very odd way at times but they succeeded in painting pictures he'd never forget. He missed her terribly.
With a sigh he exited the car and walked up to the apartment he shared with his wife. And his lousy conscience tagged right along behind him, a companion he had become very used to as of late.
A beeline to the fridge had him scarfing down the rest of a casserole before his jacket was off. He couldn't even remember when he had eaten last and hunger was making his insides rejoice at the sight of leftovers. What he needed was some food, a shower and a nap and he'd be fit to go again.
The
kitchen looked tidy, letting him know that Tina had been here to pick
up his slack and his conscience knocked on his shoulder once again.
He wasn't even surprised when he found the envelope on the kitchen
table, never batted an eyelash as he took in the header on the
official sounding papers therein. He had been served the papers for a
speedy divorce. After barely a year of marriage; Gram would be so
proud, he groaned. Tina wasn't asking for anything other than her
apartment back and
freedom. It would be over fast. If he didn't
make a fuss about it and why would he? He knew it was all his fault
and that his bond with Nick had somehow taken over even this
relationship. And yet, he'd been unable to get his head out of his
ass and do something about it. But it still left a bitter taste in
his mouth, he had failed at something he had hated his own parents
for failing at. He'd be willing to try again, he truly would. But
another characteristic Tina shared with Nick was stubbornness, an
un-yielding trait he himself had been accused of harboring at times.
They had tried, but they kept drifting apart and it was all his
fault, he wasn't the open-minded person he thought he was. When
he loved someone he wanted it all, mind, body and heart and it had
turned out to be Nick he wanted that way.
It was the yellow post-it attached to the envelope that threw him.
'I'll
be staying with a friend for a week.
Please evacuate by that
time.
Call if you need anything,
Tina.
Neat and concise.
'Evacuate'. What a word, he thought to himself as he walked into the bathroom, feeling oddly numb. Like he was some kind of foreign force occupying disputed terrain. Did she want him to beg? Crawl on his knees and ask for forgiveness? That just was not in him. And it wasn't in Tina either. She had made up her mind and was ready to deal with the consequences. A notion he was still battling with.
He looked in the mirror over the sink and barely recognized himself. The rings under his eyes truly would make Saturn glow green with envy.
Then he emptied the bathroom of all signs of him into a bag and finally took the shower he had been needing for what seemed like days. He'd pack a bag, find a place to stay and deal with the consequences. One at a time. But first, a night's sleep and then he'd be able to see things much clearer.
The cell phone shrilled and he wasn't even fully awake before he had it at his ear. "Brown."
"You better get here Warrick, now!" The frantic voice raised over loud, panicked voices and screeching sounds on the other end had his eyes open wide but taking in nothing but foggy surroundings. Trying desperately to shake the veils of sleep he shook his head and focused on the bright red spots to his right. When the spots finally materialized into digits he realized that the alarm showed 4:07 a.m.
"Sara?"
There was a cacophony of sounds and orders; Sara must have moved the cell just enough to let the pandemonium she apparently was surrendered by leak in. "Step away," she barked, "LVPD, this patient needs oxygen!"
Warrick was already running for the door while trying to get his clothes on.