| Drain
by
elfin
|
|
In the ambulance Stephen wrapped one hand around the back of Cutter's
still-wet neck and hugged the dripping head into his shoulder, face
pressed into soaking hair, closing his eyes and not caring about the
odd smell of salt and damp socks.
It was testament to Nick's
state that he didn't resist, didn't pull away. They didn't do this in
public but right at that moment Stephen didn't care.
"I'm fine." He heard the words choked out of a burning throat in a rough voice.
"You
weren't breathing," he had to point it out, fighting to maintain what
little composure he had left. "You were dead. A few more minutes and I
would have lost you. Don't tell me she's worth that, please." He kept
his own voice low, made sure his words were for Nick only. But at the
same time he wanted - had - to be sure that Nick heard them. He felt
Nick's head start to lift and reluctantly let him come up, backing off,
keeping his hand where it was, rubbing chilled skin gently with his
thumb.
Blue eyes locked with his, exhausted and filled with a
multitude of emotions. "You know I'd never risk that if I didn't have
to."
"Then what was it?"
"A creature attacked me,
something very long and very large with very sharp teeth. It came right
for me and just in the nick of time something bigger snapped it up
right in front of me." His anger, born as it had been of fear,
dissipated and he deflated. "I've never been so scared, Stephen."
Bringing
up his other hand he stroked Nick's cheek, rubbed the shell of his ear,
covered his freezing hands and wrapped warm fingers around them.
"Sorry. You just scared the life out of me back there."
"I know." Trembling slightly, Nick's fingers threaded with his. "I'm sorry for that."
"It wasn't your fault."
"You have to believe me, Stephen."
"I do." Nodding, he tightened his grip on Nick's hands. "I do."
There
was commotion outside, and Nick pushed himself to his feet, shaky,
leaning on Stephen as he helped his friend down from the back of the
ambulance. The very thing he was dreading was happening right there,
right then outside the house. They were bringing Helen out, restrained
and surrounded by armed soldiers. Nick took an instinctive step forward
and immediately the nearest soldier to them put out an arm to stop him
and Stephen back-handed it away.
"He interferes and I'll shoot him," the man growled.
"Touch
him again and I'll break your arm," Stephen retorted. He glanced at
Nick who'd missed the short exchange, his entire focus on his wife as
she was bundled into the back of a black SUV. They knew exactly where
she was being taken, that wasn't the issue here.
When the convoy
of unmarked cars had left the scene, Nick seemed to sink in on himself.
He turned into Stephen, resting his head on Stephen's shoulder, letting
him put his arms around him, hold him tight. "It's okay, it's gonna be
okay." This was Nick at his most open, his most vulnerable, and Stephen
had never before seen it in public. "Let me take you home," he murmured
into Nick's hair, "you need a shower, need to warm up. Your body is
still in shock, you did drown after all."
No argument was
forthcoming, so Stephen got one arm around Nick's waist and led him
away from the scene, to their truck, got him in the passenger seat -
still in his wet suit - and climbed in to the driver's seat, started
the engine and drove off without a word of explanation to Claudia, Abby
or Connor. What would he have said to them anyway?
#
Stephen
sat on the edge of the bath watching the blurred sight of Nick in the
steam-filled shower. He hadn't said anything up until this moment but
he couldn't hold back any longer. "You know, if Helen being back
changes anything… that's okay. I mean, I understand."
The
sluicing of the water stopped in the shower stall and the doors slid
apart. Stephen handed Nick the large white towel he'd been holding,
then changed his mind and stood, wrapping it around him, helping him
dry off despite Nick's protests that he was perfectly capable of drying
himself.
"You think seeing her again changes how I feel about you?" Spoken neutrally, but Stephen knew what the correct answer was.
"We started this thinking she was dead. She's still your wife."
"I'm
well aware. But she chose to leave me. She could have come back earlier
but she didn't. She doesn't love me, Stephen, doesn't really care about
me. She just wants what she can get, what's going to benefit her.
You're the first person who's loved me for who I am, for what I am, who
hasn't asked for anything but its equal in return. You think I'm gonna
throw that away for a woman I barely know any more? And I am able to
dry myself." He said the last sentence with a smile and Stephen stepped
back, threw another, smaller towel at him for his hair.
"Feeling better?"
"As long as I don't see another large body of water in the next week or so, yeah, I'll be fine."
They
moved through into the bedroom where Stephen sat on the low, king-sized
bed and watched his lover pull on a blue woollen jumper and a pair of
blue denim jeans. "Nicky, you know I love you."
The rare use of
that particular derivative of his name brought Nick to sit on the bed
next to him, stopping for a second, and a second was all it took for
the last of his energy to drain from him until he dropped to his back
across the mattress and Stephen felt a pull on the back of his shirt.
Turning, he saw Nick's eyes slide closed, breathing already evening
out. Helen might be languishing in an interrogation room somewhere in
the Home Office's basement but apparently Nick wasn't overly concerned
about her well-being. He was certainly in no rush to reach her.
Moving
over the white cotton duvet cover, Nick's hand snagged Stephen's and
squeezed his fingers weakly. "You know I love you, don't you?" When he
was tired, on the edge of sleep, his accent thickened, words rolling
into one. It was something Stephen had always found undeniably
attractive.
Stephen dropped to his back and rolled onto his
side, propping his head up on his free hand, playing idly with Nick's
fingers in his other. "I know, but it's good to hear it sometimes.
Especially on days when I've brought you back to life after you've
drowned going through an anomaly to look for an overgrown alligator and
the ghost of your dead wife." Nick was fast asleep, snoring softly,
head turned to one side, mouth open. "And I love you too."