Nick wakes up, his sleep has been restless and has left him with a headache, a sharp pain piercing his skull. He opens his eyes and groans. Entering the bathroom he swallows some tablets and takes another shower to try to ease the pain. He dresses in black jeans and a grey jumper. Coming downstairs he hits the answering machine button and lets it play out as he goes in to the kitchen and makes himself a cup of coffee and a sandwich. When the messages finish he clears the machine and switches it off. He finishes eating, he remembers the files still in his briefcase and takes them out. Two hours later the files are all up to date. He has left notes in case some one else has to take them over. He puts them in to a pile on the table and stares at them. He can't come up with anything else to do. Memories of the recent events start to snake their way in to his mind. has it really been less than twenty four hours. He relives each nightmare encounter. He reaches for his phone and dials Lulu, it rings and rings, she doesn't pick up. He slams it down, grabs his keys and heads out the door. He drives with no purpose but finds himself one hour later in an area he hasn't visited for a very long time.

Burton hangs up the phone after talking with Nick's lawyer. A frustrating conversation as Belden wouldn't share anything with him. The doorbell rings, when he answers he finds Laurie Solt standing on the doorstep.

"Laurie when did you get back? Come in. Did you have a good time?"

"Just a couple of hours ago, yes it was good to see my Granddaughter and the new baby is gorgeous. I heard about Nick. He isn't answering his phone. How is he doing?"

"He says the drugs aren't his. He refuses to consider making a deal with the DA. Would you like a drink?"

"He says? You don't believe him?"

"I don't know what to believe. I have been down this road before, I don't want to be made a fool of."

"Has something happened that would make him turn to drugs?"

"Nothing he's told me about. Does something need to have happened?"

"Burton you've watched him since Anne was born. He's changed, he even calls himself happy. Even before then it was a crisis that sent him back to drugs, Lulu leaving, when he left your firm. He wouldn't just suddenly take up drugs for no reason, he loves his daughter."

Burton hands her a drink. He shrugs:

"You haven't been through this before, when he was using heavily I had no idea. The lies he told me. I felt like such a fool. He's not making a fool of me again!"

"You Fallin men and your pride."

"Nick needs you."

"And I'll be there for him every step of the way, but he doesn't want my help. I have strings I can pull, get him the best deal possible."

"I'm not talking about getting a deal, I'm talking about for support, standing by him, believing him. His life is being pulled out from under him."

"And what if he is using, those drugs are his. That he has been lying to everyone."

"Burton it's never wrong to support your child. What if it turns out that he isn't using, that the drugs aren't his. How are you going to feel then? What will your relationship be then? How will you be able to look him in the eye?"

Burton slumps down on to the couch and holds his head in his hands. Laurie moves to his side and rubs his back.

"Take one side and all you risk losing is a little pride, take the other and you risk losing a son."

A battle has been raging in Burton since Belden's phone call informing him of Nick's arrest and bail hearing. He sat at the back of the courtroom, his first sight of his soon told him of the long night that Nick had faced. Weariness came off him in waves. His instinct was to reach out to him but his instincts are pushed down by the weight of his anger. We were here again, a place that he thought was in the distant past. While he waited for Nick to finally make an appearance at his home he had paced and smoked. He lived through the first time, thinking of the signs he had missed as Nick indulged. How had he missed the signs again.? He had obviously learnt to hide it better. He thought back to the dinners with Nick and Anne. the snippets of revelations that had assured him that Nick's drug days were long gone. How could he have been so stupid. But he would do all he could to get Nick out of this mess. The thought of his son in prison filled him with horror. There must be a deal to make somewhere.

When Nick had walked through the door and denied the drugs were his, Burton had felt betrayal. Here he was lying to him again. When he looked at Nick he saw him worn down from the events of the day, his pain was evident as he told him about work and Lulu, he spoke his innocence with conviction. But Burton has been there before and he refuses to go there again. He offered help and Nick left.

Laurie's words cut through that battle. She is right, the choice is clear. He has to believe his son, he has to stand by whatever choices Nick makes. He has been such an idiot. He turns and looks at Laurie and simply says:

"Thank you"

He picks up the phone and dials Nick's number, there is no reply, he dials his cell phone - nothing. For half an hour he keeps trying but Nick doesn't pick up.

"Nick always answers his cell."

A memory of something Laurie said hits him and fills him with dread. He grabs his car keys.

"Let's get over there now."

Laurie saw the panic in Burton:

"What is it?"

"You said...you said he has only turned to drugs during a crisis what if I..."

"I'm sure he hasn't Burton"

Laurie hurries after him, they race over to Nick's house in silence. Burton is too tense to speak as he pleads that everything will be alright. He relaxing a little as he sees Nick's car parked in front of his house. He gets out, the walk to the car turns in to a run as he realises that there is a figure slumped over the steering wheel.