SECOND CHANCES - RECOVERY 
 
Author: Jacqui
 
Email: ollyjac@optusnet.com.au
 
Rating: R

Disclaimers: The usual...Main characters belong to the TV show
etc..etc..Sam & Joe and anyone else not in the TV show are mine...poetic
licence taken with anything legal or medical as I am neither a lawyer
nor a doctor and this is just a story..

Rating: I'm thinking M15- some reference to violence.

Once again thanks to Kate for beta reading for me.


**********"I know what he said..but believe me he'll never know it's
there... It's a body heat sensor in the handle. He can practically tear
the case apart and he won't find anything.. thing is, it's experimental
but considering the terms it is still better than nothing and you will
still have a tail..me"


Nick pulled into the car park of a deserted warehouse complex. It was
a moonless night, pitch dark with only the odd sliver of light from an
outdated lamp. He couldn't help being grateful for Matt crouched down
in the back seat of his car and even more grateful that Joe and his
officers were not too far away. He hated how dark it was, not being
able to see much in front of him. He sat in the car with only the
parking lights on as instructed.

"Can you see anything?"

"No..Matt stay down will you. I don't want to take any chances he can
see us and don't expect me to answer you. For all I know he's watching
right now." Nick had leaned forward so he couldn't be seen speaking
from outside the vehicle. He knew she was here somewhere but once he
handed over the money, how in the hell were they going to find her.
The place was full of empty warehouses. His eyes searched up and down
the rows of buildings, wondering where on earth to begin.

He leaned back against the headrest of his seat and closed his eyes.
"Please let her be here..God please let her be ok"
*******

Darger approached Nick's home. He had no chance of getting a warrant
issued based solely on the email he'd received so he decided to act on
his own. Knowing there was no-one home he went around to the rear of
the house, picked the lock, hopeful that with everything going on,
Nick wouldn't have remembered the alarm. He was right. He shone his
flashlight around the kitchen, making his way across the dining room
and into the hallway. He didn't really know where to start but as he
was certain he had a few hours to look so he headed upstairs. The
bedroom was as good a place as anywhere to start.
*******

"Matt stay down, someone's coming"

Nick could barely make out the person approaching the parked vehicle.
He stopped short of stepping into the light and motioned for Nick to
get out of the car and go to him. Nick picked up the briefcase and
opened the car door.

"Nick be careful" Matt whispered not moving from his hiding place
until Nick got out of the car. He stayed down behind the front seats
edging in between them, lifting his head enough to keep an eye on his
friend as he made his way towards the figure in the darkness.

"Don't come any closer"

"Where is she?"

"Oh she's around..somewhere"

"If you think I'm just going to take you word for it and hand this
over to you you're...."

"Mr Fallin, the clock is ticking"

"What?"

"I have the instructions of how to find her..but there is a time
limit..If you take too long, there just might be a little accident."

"You son of a bitch, you won't get away with this"

"Oh I think I will. Now the case..Open it. Just want to make sure you
haven't packed it with newspaper"

Nick opened the case and showed Sam the contents. "Good, now hand it over"

"Not so fast. Where's. My. Wife?"

Sam handed Nick a piece of paper. "What the hell is this?"

"Instructions" Sam grabbed the bag from Nick and held up what seemed
to be some kind of remote control with a timer. He stared straight at
him as him pressed the button. "I'll give you a hint, somewhere in
these four buildings but the clock is ticking Mr Fallin" He hissed as
threw the control to Nick and stepped back into the darkness.

The second Sam stepped back into the darkness, Nick raced back to his
car. He and Matt huddled over the instructions. Within minutes police
cars and paramedics joined them. Nick handed Joe the paper. "He' s
not too bright is he?"

"He doesn't have to be. Here's a timer..we have an hour. ..I can't see
how to turn this off..'

"You can't"

"He said these four buildings, but how do we know....and then... I don't
know what..he..he didn't say..It could be a bomb it could be anything"

"Or it could be nothing more than a diversion"

"Well I'm not prepared to take a chance on that. I'm not standing
around any more I want to find my wife and we haven't got much time."

The other officers gathered around. "Ok these four buildings and she
could be in any of them..or not" Joe looked directly at Nick admitting
the possibility he was right and Sam was giving them a bum steer. "The
clues are not much to go on. I don't think they are anything more than
part of a diversion so..keep them in mind but we just have to search,
thoroughly. Let's split up..Nick, Matt , Al, come with me..Phil take
these three guys, start on the first building. Carl, Tim Jock and you,
sorry don't know your name, building two...you guys the third building
and we'll take the last." Joe instructed the paramedics to stand by
and be ready for anything.

"What about the bastard?" Matt managed as they ran to the last building.

"We're getting a good signal from the transmitter and I have men on it
already. We'll deal with him later. Let's split up, Matt start at the
top, Nick take the middle two floors and I'll start in the basement"

"Oh god there's too much, we'll never..."

"Yes we will now go..."

Nick kept an eye on the timer as he searched calling out Claire's
name. It could be pointless calling out to her. As much as he hated to
admit it, she probably wouldn't be able to answer.

They searched frantically for half an hour. Joe checked in with the
other officers but there was still no sign of her. Nick was beginning
to lose control when there was a sudden crackling in the walkie talkie.

"We...have..building...C....Ba...ment.....need......Par....dcs..=
.."


Within minutes of the call all personnel converged on the third
building and headed down to the basement.

"Where is she, where's my wife?"

"Mr Fallin, over here"

"Jeff any sign of any incendiary devices..anything that might be
controlled remotely?"

"Only this one, and it's a dud..I don't think this was anything more
than a delaying tactic"

Nick pushed his way past the police and the paramedics. Claire was
lying curled up on one side. "Oh God!" He fell to his knees beside her
as two paramedics tried to help her turn over.

"Don't please..it hurts..everything hurts" she could barely get the
words out.

"I know honey, but these guys are gonna help you. We have to get you
to a hospital" Nick looked to the paramedics for support.

"She won't let us touch her. She needs pain relief so we can move her
but....."

"Claire, they just wanna give you something for the pain...please"

She tried to respond but was unable. It was Nick's decision "Do what
you have to help her"

As one of the medics attempted to administer a painkiller injection,
Claire managed to grab hold of Nick's hand. "No drugs...please...Nick
..don't"

"Claire..."

"I'm pregnant.."She whispered "Don't hurt our baby, please don't...please=
..."

Nick was stunned, this he hadn't expected. He didn't know what he
should do giving the medic a pleading look.

"Hold her still tell her it's ok..this will not harm the baby, but we
have to move her and get to a hospital now.."he lowered his voice.
"While there still is a baby" the paramedic gave Nick a look he was
glad Claire hadn't seen. Nick nodded in agreement, leaned down and
whispered something only his wife could hear.

As Claire was finally being lifted into the ambulance, Nick turned to
Matt handing him his keys and cell phone.

"I'm going in the ambulance, call my father, please and Ellie..I...meet
me there..ok?"

"Wild horses and all that..I'll be right behind you..now go"

Nick climbed in the back of the ambulance, sitting near Claire's head
so he could lean down and talk to her. He knew she wouldn't be able to
answer him having been given painkillers and a sedative, but there was
a part of him that just wanted to reassure her he was still there. He
took her hand in his, bending down he rested her hand against his
cheek. At least she looked somewhat comfortable, and he was grateful,
that for a short while she wouldn't worry about the baby, only now it
was one more thing for him to worry about. `A baby..wow' he thought to
himself. This was not something he had given much thought to, yet now
that he did think about it, they hadn't really taken any precautions
to ensure it didn't happen so he shouldn't really be surprised.

................"I'll do better than that, I'll meet you for lunch. I
might even have a surprise for you, seeing as you were * soooo good *
last night"

"Seriously, will you behave? How am I supposed to go to work when you
look at me like that?"

"Guess it'll give you something to look forward to later"

"Well on that note, I `d better be going. Be. Careful" he slipped his
arms around her waist and kissed her. "I do love you, you know"

"I know. I love you too. I'll see you later. Now go to work"..........

Nick closed his eyes as he recalled their last conversation, gently
squeezing her hand and just for a moment he thought he felt her
squeeze back.
******

Darger spent some time going carefully through Nick's things making
sure he left things exactly as they were. No one could know he had
been in the house. He had been waiting for the delivery of a mail box
key and the address so he could collect the purported information
about Fallin's involvement, but he was an impatient man and decided to
take the opportunity to search the house while Nick was otherwise
occupied. So far he'd found nothing. There was nothing he could do but
head back to his office and wait for the key.

*******

The ambulance finally pulled in to the emergency bay at Allegheny
General Hospital, medical staff already waiting for them. Claire was
rushed into emergency, Nick following closely behind but was stopped
from going into the treatment area.

He tried several time to get in the room and was thwarted every time.
He paced the hallway outside getting more and more agitated the longer
it took for anyone to come out and speak to him. Except no-one came
out to talk to him...Suddenly the elevator doors opened and three
people came rushing towards him. "Nicholas..son are you ok?..Nicholas?"

"Dad..yeah...I"

"Claire?"

"She's not in too good shape but I don't know anything. No one will
talk to me..Dad I don't know anything"

"Nick let them do their jobs ok..give them some time"

Ellie and Matt sat huddled together not wanting to intrude between
father and son. Nick looked around anxiously trying to get the
attention of a nurse or one of the doctors, but everyone was occupied.
Burton took him by the arm and led him away from the trauma room and
made him sit. Ellie, organised coffees for all of them and then there
was nothing left to do but wait.
 
 
 
SECOND CHANCES-RECOVERY PART TWO


............"She's not in too good shape but I don't know anything. N=
o one
will talk to me..Dad I don't know anything"

"Nick let them do their jobs ok..give them some time".........



Nick paced the waiting room, his distress increasingly evident at not
knowing what was happening with his wife and unborn child. If there
was ever a time he really could have done with a hit, it was now, but
as soon as the thought occurred to him, he hated himself. This was no
solution to the way he was feeling and as badly as he felt over what
was had happened, it was Claire who was suffering the most. He just
wanted to see her, needed to see her and if someone didn't tell him
what the hell was going on soon, he would not be responsible for his
actions.

Burton watched his son as he paced. There was nothing he could do to
help him, nothing any of them could do but wait. It had been more than
an hour and no-one had bothered to come and tell them a damn thing.
Surely there was one person who could have updated them. Nick was
slowly losing it, how much more he would be able to take Burton didn't
know; regardless he would stay right there with him. He prayed Claire
would survive this, because if she didn't ..God he really needed a
cigarette.

Matt & Ellie had stayed, not willing to leave until they knew how
Claire was doing. It had been a really, long night and now in the
early hours of the morning as Ellie dozed against his shoulder, Matt
was truly grateful that she was here safe with him. He watched the
anguish in his friend's face and remembered how in their college years
he would have liked to have traded places with him on more than one
occasion, this was not one of those times. He kissed his sleeping wife
and held her closer to him.

Burton watched as his son approached the nurse's station again, only
to be told, again, that a doctor would be out to see him soon. Burton
had to wonder if the woman even knew what the word soon actually
meant. He watched Nick's expression, as he argued with the nurse; it
became suddenly obvious that there was something Nick hadn't told him.
Ordinarily this would not have come as any great surprise, but Burton
worried that whatever Nick was keeping from him would only make
matters even worse than they already were.

"Nicholas?"

"They still won't tell me anything dad" Nick kept to himself the one
bit of information he'd been able to get out of the `desk Gestapo' At
least now he knew that there was an obstetrician in with her now, but
that was all he knew.
********

Darger leaned back in his chair and stared at the envelope that had
been left on his desk. The anonymously delivered envelope contained
the key he had been waiting for and the address of the security box
supposed to contain the information he was hoping would bring Fallin
down. It would be a long night; not being able to get access to box
before 10am tomorrow was going to drive him insane.

********
Sam kept driving away from Pittsburgh and with every mile he was
convinced he was home free. He hadn't been able to get on a plane as
he had hoped. Fallin really had some pull, the airport, bus terminals
already had patrols looking for him, there had been no point in trying
the bus stations; just as well he had a map of the back roads. As he
drove further away, the temptation to keep the money grew stronger.
`What if he just headed to the Caribbean and disappeared, he could
live forever on the money he had with him and no-one would ever find
him, not even the bastards he owed the money to. He could always have
a little surgery done, change his appearance and Fallin would be left
to deal with the fall out.' Yes, the idea grew more appealing by the
minute.

He did not notice the headlights in his rear view mirror. The car that
followed periodically lowering it's lights in an attempt not to
attract undue attention. He did not know about the heat-activated
sensor in the handle of his brief case, and that once activated it
just kept right on sending the signal and he had no idea of the people
waiting for him at the end of his journey.
*********

Joe had alerted the state police to Sam's whereabouts, providing, a
couple of his best men to assist, but he did not want them to act too
soon. As much as he wanted the bastard, he also wanted the guys he
owed the money to. Acting on some of the information Nick had been
able to provide, he'd discovered what appeared to be network of
fraudulent activity within a certain record label and who knows how
far outside the label it might extend. Joe was determined to find out.
For tonight, someone else could take care of it,now he was heading to
the hospital to check on things there.
*******

Finally, after what had seemed like an eternity, the doors to the
trauma room opened. Nick jumped to his feet as Claire was wheeled out
and down the hallway.

"Hey, hey wait a minute. Where are you taking her?"

"Mr Fallin? Dr Jonas Bartholemew, please come take a seat "

"Take a seat! I have been waiting for what has seemed like hours for
someone to tell me what the hell was happening. I want to see my wife.
NOW" Nick was in no mood to be polite. "Well?" Nick shook off the
doctor's hand.

"Mr Fallin, please take a seat. You can see your wife shortly. She *
is * going to be all right but we need to talk, please" the doctor
patiently directed Nick back to a seat in the waiting room.

As they sat down, the doctor glanced to the other occupants in the
room. "It's ok, they can stay" Nick mumbled tiredly running his hands
over his eyes. "You were saying?"

"You're wife will recover from her injuries for the most part they
actually look worse than they really are. She has several cuts on her
face that needed stitches and they may scar..we could consider cosmetic..=
..."

Nick waved him off. "And?"


"And, she has a broken arm which will take some time to heal properly
which you already know..and some severe bruising which is a cause of
concern"

"In what way?"

"Ideally I would like to do some Xrays...I am concerned that there may
be some bleeding but under the circumstances...Mr Fallin, it is nothing
short of a miracle, that the pregnancy is still viable.."

"Excuse me? What did you say? ..Viable pregnancy? You are talking about
my child, our child.."

Burton, put his hand on his son's shoulder to keep him from doing
anything stupid. So that's what he had been keeping to himself.

"I apologise, you're right, of course."

"I just want to know if they are alright, is our baby alright?"

"Your wife has been through quite an ordeal. I want to keep her here
indefinitely. We need to monitor her closely and the baby. So far
everything appears to be ok but she needs rest and a great deal of
care. As I said I am concerned about some of those bruises"

"When can I see her?"

"Soon.."

"Again with the soon..."

"They are setting her arm and we are getting a private room ready for
her. It really shouldn't be much longer"

"Good..I.."

Joe stepped out of the elevator and into the waiting area looking for
Nick. He wanted to check on Claire and to let him know what was
happening about Sam. He acknowledged the others in the room but stood
back waiting for him to finish with the doctor before trying to
attract his attention.

As he watched Nick finish speaking with the doctor, he couldn't
understand how anyone could possibly think he could have had anything
to do with this. Darger had cornered him when he arrived back to the
station. He couldn't help himself, gloating, that by mid morning the
next day he would have some information that was going to put Nick
Fallin where he belonged. Joe needed to talk to Nick and find out if
he had any idea what Darger was talking about.

Nick watched the doctor for a few seconds as he walked away before he
noticed Joe waiting for him. "Have you caught him yet?

"No..."

"Why the hell not?"

"Nick, this whole thing..there's.."

"What?"

"We acted on some more of the information you gave us. This guy
ripping Claire off..it's only the start of it..We have information that
indicates there's a lot more fraudulent activity within the company
and we have to take it further. It isn't just about Claire anymore. We
have to try and get to the guys at the top."

"Oh...So it's not about my wife anymore....And what if he gets away."

"I promise he will not get away, he won't get a chance to spend a cent..."

"You think I give a damn about the money. I want him to pay for what
he did to her. I want.."

"Nick we have to talk, there's something else I .."

"Excuse me Mr Fallin? You can see your wife now"

"Joe I gotta.."

"Go, go on I'll talk to you soon"

Nick followed the nurse down the hall to Claire's room, his father,
Ellie and Matt watching him as he went and hoping they would also be
able to see her briefly. Everyone was exhausted and would have loved
nothing better than to be able to go home and get some sleep, but
no-one was leaving without seeing her at least for a minute. Joe took
Burton aside to speak to him privately. He knew that Nick wouldn't
leave Claire's side now so it was unlikely that that he would be able
to speak to him any time soon. At least he could bring Burton up to
speed and alert him to Darger's intentions.

Nick approached the bed silently and cautiously put a chair as close
to her as he could without disturbing her. She looked comfortable at
least. The nurse had told he him could only stay a few minutes, but
she was dreaming if she thought they would be able to make him leave.
There was no way he was going anywhere and they'd all better just get
used to the idea.

Burton tapped lightly on the door. "Dad, hey"

"Can we come in for a minute. Nurse `Hatchett' is not at her desk so
we thought we'd just see how Claire's doing and head home"

"Sure. She's pretty doped up. I guess she'll sleep for a long while yet"

"You gonna go home?..Right.. stupid question..but you have to get some
rest Nicholas or you wont be any good to her"

"I..I know..dad..I will..I promise..hey you guys had better be
quick..someone is heading this way"

Ellie, Matt and Burton were shocked at the bruises and cuts but
refrained from commenting out loud. "You'll tell her we were here ok?"

"Sure I will. Hey dad, can you give Matt my spare keys. You two have
to stay at my place.."

"Nick.."

"No..no hotels, you'll be more comfortable..I insist"

"Thanks, buddy"

"I should be thanking you. I'm glad you were here..Now, you guys better go=
"

Nurse `Hatchett' stood at the door tapping her feet and signaling for
them all to leave. Nick refusing, glared right back at her and daring
her to try and make him.

Turning back to watch his wife as she slept, he couldn't help run his
finger gently down the side of her face. He knew he wouldn't wake her,
but he just needed to touch her, the tears finally allowed to flow
freely in the privacy of the hospital room. Then holding her free hand
in his, he rested his other hand on her stomach as if trying to
establish some contact with his child. He wanted to make sure Claire
knew he was there, and although he knew it wasn't possible this early,
he wanted his child to know daddy was right there with them. `Daddy!'
God he was going to be a father and after all fear and sadness there
was finally just a hint of a smile.


 
SECOND CHANCES-RECOVERY PART 3

Nick dozed fitfully in the hospital issue armchair. He was extremely
uncomfortable and every time he moved, he woke completely. Claire was
still sleeping peacefully, thanks to the drugs but he knew when she
woke she would expect him to be there. Nick went over the events of
the last 36 hours, alternating between relief and extreme anger that
anyone would do this to her. The hospital staff had made repeated
attempts to get him to go home but Nick had point blank refused to
leave. He dozed again, and just as he began to sleep a little deeper
he was suddenly jolted awake by screaming. Claire was in the throes of
a nightmare and it took considerable coaxing to get her to settle
down. He sat next to her on the bed and wrapped his arms around her,
careful not to put any pressure on her broken arm. Kissing the top of
her head, he rocked her gently until she settled. The doctor had
spoken to him briefly again about some of the bruising, and he was
afraid he would be asked to make a decision, which could put his child
at risk. His wife or his child, this was not a decision any man should
have to make and he would wait as long as he could before making it.
Hopefully the bruising would start to go down on it's own and there
would be no need for Xrays which could cause serious health problems
for the child or surgery which could result in a miscarriage. His
indecision could put them both at risk. Nick gently pulled the pillow
behind his back and eased down a little to get comfortable. Claire
nestled into him and they both slept.

He woke to the gentle shaking from a nurse bringing him some
breakfast. Technically they shouldn't have brought him breakfast, but
the guy was gorgeous and it was obvious to all of them how much he
loved his wife. Besides, his father's firm represented the hospital so
they put in just a little extra effort. The girls on duty couldn't
help a tinge of jealousy and had decided that if a hot breakfast and
some coffee might elicit a smile out of him then it was worth it. He
graciously accepted the tray of food, not really hungry but as she had
gone to the trouble to bring him something to eat, he couldn't really
refuse it. Anyway he sure as hell needed the coffee. After freshening
up, Nick took his cup of coffee and stood staring out of the window at
the activity below. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply as he
rested his head against the cool glass.

"Nick?"

***

Closing his office door behind him and locking it, Darger took a deep
breath before he opened the security box. He didn't know exactly what
he expected to find but he sure as hell hoped it was worth it. The box
contained an audiocassette, a couple of photos and a floppy disc.
`What the hell?' The photos could have been anyone, but they were
dated and labeled `Fallin meeting' and it could have been him. He put
the tape into the cassette player and sat back to listen to it while
he booted up his computer. This was one time he didn't want any
interruptions. The voices on the cassette were hard to distinguish,
but the conversation was definitely about money and arranging a
meeting time. At this point, he didn't want to have to take it to the
crime lab; there were already enough people who thought he had a
vendetta of some kind against the guy. It should have been easier than
this.

As he rewound the tape, he diverted his attention to the floppy disc.
`Well, well, well!'…He may not need the tape after all. He couldn't
believe what he was reading. Copy after copy of emails, back and forth
between Fallin's email address and the kidnappers email address. The
guy was a lawyer. Could he really be so stupid and send and receive
emails from his business account? But it wasn't enough; anyone could
have used the computer. He foraged around in the bottom of the box, a
map, more scraps of paper and at the very bottom another envelope.
Inside, hard copies of letters, typed, but signed by Fallin. Now he
had something. Darger pulled out Nick's arrest file for the drug
offences and located his release forms. The signature sure looked like
his. He had enough to bring him in for questioning and once he got him
in to the station he was not going to let him leave easily. It was
time to call in a few favors. He was so going to enjoy this.

***

Claire slept on and off. She had a killer headache and despite Nick
and the doctor's reassurances that everything was all right with their
baby, she still couldn't settle. There was something they were not
telling her. Nick didn't leave her side, which was just as well as
she did not want to be left alone. Every time she closed her eyes, she
could see and hear *him*; and she didn't want to. Everything hurt and
the painkillers they were able to give her barely made a difference.
She didn't care about the pain, she would not consider taking anything
else even if it were offered.

Matt and Ellie visited briefly, bringing Nick a change of clothes and
Claire something of her own to change in to when she felt up to it.
They kept her company for a short time, while Nick showered and
changed. Burton called by, found Claire asleep; spoke to his son
briefly and left. Nick watched Claire as tossed and turned. No matter
how hard he tried to reassure her that the baby was fine, he knew, she
knew, there was something he wasn't telling her. Nick poked his head
into the hallway and attracted the attention of a passing nurse. He
wanted to see both her doctor and the obstetrician as soon as it could
be arranged.

****

Claire woke suddenly. She wasn't sure what had woken her but as she
glanced around the room looking for Nick, she couldn't help the rising
panic at his absence. This was the first time he hadn't been right
there with her when she woke. There was a light tap on the door as she
struggled to sit up a little so she could have a drink.

Burton poked his head around the partially open door.

"Good you're awake. Hey, honey, how are you feeling?" he asked as he
slowly entered the room. He was unsure as to how Claire would react to
his visit, not having been too supportive of the couple, but things
were different now and Burton was exited at the thought of becoming a
grandfather. He and Nick had reconnected a little over the last few
days and when the doctor had finally told Nick the bruising was going
down, albeit slowly and he now didn't think there would be a need for
any surgery, they had both breathed a sigh of relief. He had been
wrong in reacting the way that he had and now, would have done
anything Nick had asked, to help them. Promising Nick he'd check in on
Claire, he still hadn't quite worked out what he would say when she
asked the inevitable.

"Tired, everything hurts…I have such a headache…Have you seen Nick?"

There it was… the inevitable….

"He..aahh…he had to see the police about…you know…what happened. He's
helping them to piece everything together…"

"Is he coming?"

"I well I don't know about tonight, it's getting late and…well… honey
he held off as much as he could but they have Sam in custody and now
he has to spend some time sorting this…taking care of business"

Claire closed her eyes as she lay back down. Burton turned to leave.

"Can you stay for awhile?" she whispered.

"As long as you want me to."

Burton held her hand gently as she dozed again. He couldn't fathom how
anyone could possibly think Nick had anything to do with this. If he
wasn't let go soon, he didn't know how he would break the news to Claire.

***

Darger prepared to confront Nick, going over the information one more
time. He'd wanted to get Nick in for questioning a couple of days
earlier but figured until his wife was out of danger it wouldn't
happen and he hadn't had enough to charge him with, still didn't
really. He couldn't believe his eyes when he saw him walk into to the
police station. Obviously Joe had asked him to drop by, how convenient
that he had been sent out on another case. He watched from the
observation room. This was one cool guy.

Nick sat in the interview room stunned by the events of the last
couple of hours. He had refused to say anything until Matt showed up
but no-one had been in a hurry to let him call make his call. When
they finally did, his first priority had been to make sure that
someone would look out for Claire. Matt had promised to call Burton
and let him know what had happened and have him call in on Claire and
make sure she was ok. Ellie hadn't wanted to go, as she knew she would
not be able to keep this latest development from her friend. He stared
at the wall in front of him, wondering where Joe had disappeared too.
Surely he didn't believe this crap. Why he hadn't just talked to him,
instead of luring him down to the station, Nick hadn't quite worked
out. The door opened and Nick turned not quite knowing who or what to
expect now.


"They * say * they have enough evidence to charge you"

"Charge me? What the hell with?"

"Conspiracy, kidnapping, false imprisonment….."

"Seriously?" Nick waved Matt off as he spoke. "I just don't get it
what the hell kind of motive am I supposed to have had?"

"Money…"

"Oh money…like I don't have any money. Then why the hell would I have
paid the ransom from my own pocket?"

"Cold feet….Darger is convinced you're behind this and his argument is
that you got cold feet and pooled your resources to pay the ransom as
a way to throw everyone off your trail"

"The guy's an idiot…Where's Joe?"

"That's another thing…Suddenly he's out of town on business"

"Oh great, the one guy who can pretty much vouch for me in all of this
and he is out of town…A little bit of a coincidence don't you think?
When do we get to know what this so-called evidence is?"

"Any minute now. Nick, I need time to go over everything. DO NOT say
anything to anyone without me in the room-not even Joe if he
shows…ok?…OK?"

"Fine…fine...Matt?"

"Yeah buddy"

"Get me out of here…I need to be with my wife…She doesn't know about
this does she?"

"No…not yet, but I don't know for how long…They are going to want to
talk her and soon and we won't be able to stop them....Don't
forget...you are a corporate lawyer not a criminal one...leave that to
me understand?"

"Yes..Matt...She's...she's not in any condition for any of this and I
won't allow her or my child's health to be compromised. Is *that* clear?"

"Yeah, I know Nick. I'm sure between your father and I, we can keep
the dogs at bay for a little while at least."

The door slammed, grabbing the attention of the occupants of the room.


TO BE CONTINUED IN SECOND CHANCES - FALLOUT