Duet, Pt. 11<bR><bR>

*Nick's house*<bR><bR>

Brian leaned on the doorbell, "Come on Nicky, answer the door!" he said out loud.  He could see that all of Nick's cars were where they should be so he decided to head down to the beach and see if Nick was there.  It didn't take long for him to spot Nick sitting on the sand, staring out to sea. "Nick?" he said, softly, not wanting to startle his friend.  Nick turned around, "Why are you here Brian?"  Brian's jaw dropped, "I came to see how you are Nick...please don't shut me out.  I don't think you should be alone today."  Nick sighed, "I'm not alone Bri...she's here with me...like she always is...this was her favorite time of day ya know...early morning, while it was still quiet."  Brian looked at his friend, "Nick...what about Ellie...I talked to her a little while ago and she told me what happened...what are your plans?"  Nick jumped up and walked over to him, "I don't know Brian...and I don't want to talk to you about Ellie!"  Nick started to walk away and Brian reached out and grabbed his arm, "Don't do this Nick!" he pleaded, "Talk to me...I'm still your best friend...I want to help you though this..."  Nick shook Brian's hand off, "I can't Bri...I can't talk to you about this...I can't trust you anymore...don't you know that?  I told you I'm not angry anymore...and I was telling the truth...but when I needed you the most you weren't there to support me...you told me I was making a mistake.  How do I ever get past that?"<bR><bR>  

Brian dropped his hand and stared at Nick, "Shit...Nicky...I was SCARED. You're my little brother...you'd just gotten better and then you went after Laura and found her and brought her back.  All I could think about was how scared I was when you told us you were sick.  I was so afraid that the strain of taking care of Laur would make you sick again and I didn't want to lose you.  Can't you understand that?"  Nick looked away and Brian could tell he was crying, "Bri, do you have any idea how hard it was to go through that without you by my side?  You've been my brother since I was 12 years old...hell, outside of my parents you've had the greatest influence on my life...how do you think it felt to know that you didn't approve of what I was doing?"  Nick's shoulders shook with the force of his emotions and Brian sank down onto the sand, tears now falling from his own eyes. Brian looked up at his friend, "Nick...tell me what to do...what to say. Tell me how to make things right between us.  You're my best friend, I need you in my life...and not the way you have been this past year, but like it used to be--you and me, Frick and Frack."  Nick shook his head, "I don't know what to tell you...I just need more time..." he whispered. "I'm sorry Bri..."  Brian watched, tears blurring his vision, as Nick walked away.  He rested his head in his hands, "I'm sorry too Nicky..."<bR><bR>

*Kevin and Rachel's house*<bR><bR>

Rae hung up the phone again, "Still no answer...I hope he's okay...I don't like this.  He never called us back last night and we haven't heard from him yet today...maybe we should go over there..."  Kevin walked over and wrapped his arms around Rachel, "You are a good big sister to Nick, you know that?"  Rae smiled, "He just seems like he needs someone to take care of him...like he's a lost little boy...I have to remind myself sometimes that he's a grown man...a widower no less."  Kevin sighed, "Yeah...20 years old and a widower...it's not right."<bR><bR>

*Ellie's hotel room*<bR><bR>

"Who is it?" Ellie called as she emerged from her bedroom in response to the knock on the door of her suite.  "It's Nick..." she heard the voice respond from the other side of the door and she ran over to open it.  "I wasn't expecting to see..." her voice trailed off as she caught sight of his face, "Nick, what happened?"  Nick sighed and tried to speak, his voice shaky, "I don't want to talk about it...I just...I just need to be with you...please?"  Ellie felt the tears spring to her eyes, "Come here..." she whispered, pulling him over to the couch and sitting down so that Nick could lay with his head in her lap.  She stroked his hair until he finally fell asleep, fresh tears still drying on his cheeks.  "I love you Nick..." she whispered, bending to kiss his forehead as he sank deeper into unconsciousness.<bR><bR>

Duet, Pt. 12<bR><bR>

Nick stirred and woke up to find himself looking straight into Ellie's eyes, "Hey..." he said softly, "How long have I been asleep?"  Ellie smiled at him, "A couple of hours..."  "Omigod, I'm sorry, why didn't you wake me?"  Ellie stroked the hair back from his forehead, "You looked like you needed the sleep...plus, I like looking at you..."  Nick grinned and maneuvered himself into a sitting position, wrapping his arms around Ellie and pulling her close, "I like that you like to look at me..."  They sat in a comfortable silence for a while and then Ellie looked up at him, "Did something happen?  You seemed so sad when you got here.  I know today's the one year anniversary but did something else happen?"  Nick glanced at her, a puzzled look on his face, "When did you get to know me so well?"  Ellie blushed, "I've been trying to get to know you for years...I just never thought I'd actually have the chance...but don't think you can change the subject on me Nickolas...I want to know what happened."  Nick frowned, "I had an argument with Brian...I'd rather not talk about it."  Ellie stroked his cheek, "You'll feel better if you tell me, you know that don't you?" Nick's chin trembled and she felt him shake against her, "I can't..." he whispered, closing his eyes in an attempt to hold back the tears.  Ellie sighed in frustration, "Ok Nick..."  They sat together in silence, Nick's tears continuing to roll silently down as he buried his face in her hair.<bR><bR>

*Brian's house*<bR><bR>

Brian's cell phone rang and tiredly he picked it up, "Yeah?"  "Hey Bri," he heard his cousin's deep tones mingled with Rachel's voice. "Hi guys..." he responded.  "What's wrong?" Rae asked, picking up on the sad note in Brian's voice.  Brian sighed, "Nothing I want to talk about..."  "Ok," Kevin replied, looking over at his girlfriend who was on the other phone, "Have you seen Nicky this morning?"  Brian laughed bitterly, "Oh yeah, I've seen him."  Rachel winced at the tone in his voice and she signalled Kevin to hang up so she could talk to Brian in private, "Ok, Kevin's gone.  Tell me what happened Bri."  Brian took a deep, shaky breath, trying hard not to cry, "I think I've really lost my best friend for good...I really screwed up when he married Laura.  I'm not sure we'll ever get past that."<bR><bR>  

Rachel remained silent, not really knowing what to say.  Kevin had told her how close Nick and Brian used to be but she found it hard to imagine because there were days when it seemed that the distance between them grew right before her eyes.  "Rae?  You still there?" Brian asked.  "What? Sorry Bri...I was just...well I don't know really know what to say.  By the time I met you and Nick you'd already grown apart.  It's hard for me to think of a time when you were as close as he and Kevin are now."  Brian laughed again, but there was no joy in his laughter, "Yeah...did Kev ever tell you that when Nicky first got sick Kevin acted like a total asshole? He wouldn't go see Nick at all.  Laura got through to Kev...that's how he, and the two of them, got so close.  She brought Nick and Kevin together and pulled me and Nick apart..."  Rae was shocked, both at what Brian had told her, and at how he sounded, "Brian, you sound like you're still angry with her...."  It was Brian's turn to be silent and then, finally, he spoke, "Do I?  I guess I still am..."<bR><bR>

*Ellie's hotel room*<bR><bR>

They sat, wrapped in each other's arms for a long while, before Nick spoke again, "You're my shelter...do you know that?  Somehow I feel safe with you...I don't wanna leave..."  Ellie looked down at the carpet, afraid to look at Nick, but he tilted her face up to his, "What's wrong...did I say something wrong?"  Ellie looked into his blue eyes, "I'm scared Nick..." Nick looked confused, "Of what?  Ellie what's going on?"  Ellie looked down again and then back up into his eyes, almost changing her mind, "When you're here with me I feel safe too...like nothing could ever hurt me again.  But then you leave and all my doubts come flooding back again. Last night I couldn't sleep for worrying that you'd change your mind...I know this is a horrible time for you and you're feeling so vulnerable and lost...and I know what you said to me yesterday...about not being able to promise me anything...but Nick, I'm not sure I can handle this...I'm not sure I can take things one step at a time, not knowing from one day to the next if you'll want to be with me...I'm scared that you don't need anything from me than someone to hold you when you're frightened and alone and when you're feeling less hurt and afraid you'll be gone."  She saw the look on Nick's face and she felt like someone had stabbed her through the heart, so cold was his expression, and she knew then that in letting her fear speak for her she had made a terrible mistake.  Nick removed his arms from around her and stood up, "I see...let's just make it easier on both of us then...let's just stop this now, before it goes any further."  He took a deep breath, "I can't believe you...I...god..." and he was gone, practically running out of her room, leaving Ellie staring after him, wondering what she could do to take back the words she'd spoken.<bR><bR>




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