Closure

 

Author: Rebecca

 

Email: oonagh1969@yahoo.com

 

Rating: PG

 

Author’s Note: Because I'm getting a new computer at work, I began
deleting some of personal files so the IT department doesn't find out
that I use my computer for personal use.  One of the files I came across
is my TG fan fiction file.  Most of the stories I had written were
complete sappy crap so I deleted those.  This story isn't much better,
it's very weakly written but I'm posting it anyway since there hasn't
been many stories posted here lately.  This story was written in
response to the "Closure" challenge posted last August.  This is the one
scene I wanted to see on TG.  I wish Burton had seen Nick work at LSP.  

 

~*~

Early October, 2004

 

Noise and chaos stung Burton Fallin’s good senses and immediately put
him at unease as he walked off the elevator and into the offices of
Legal Services of Pittsburgh. He preferred the quiet buzzing of his law
firm’s office which always seemed to have some order and purpose. 
Burton saw Barbara Ludzinsky and made a beeline toward her.

 

“Burton.  This is a surprise. What can I do for you today,” greeted Barbara.

 

“Hi, Barbara.  Is my son here?” replied Burton.  His son, Nick Fallin,
was the director of LSP. 

 

“He’s here.  Um, I believe he’s in a meeting right now.  It should be
finishing up shortly.  Perhaps another ten minutes or so.  Would you
like to wait for him in his office?” asked Barbara.

 

“That would be fine.  Thank you.  How are you, anyway?  Are you still
living in Dormont?” asked Burton.

 

“Things are great.  Evan is well.  He’s still working as a paramedic but
is now thinking about running for the town council.  He wants to try to
revitalize Dormont. But now that Clayton Steel has been sold, I just
don’t know what’s going to happen,” Barbara said forlornly. 

 

“I understand,”   said Burton.  He never knew what to say about
Dormont.  He grew up in Dormont but believed the town died along time
ago and never understood why anyone would still want to live there.  It
was just an old steel mill town, which no longer had a mill. 

 

“I think I’ll wait in Nicholas’s office.”

 

“Would you like some coffee while you’re waiting?” Barbara asked.

 

“No, thank you.  I’m fine,” said Burton as he walked into his son’s
office. 

 

Burton glanced around the office.  It was a quiet and orderly oasis
amidst the chaos in the bullpen of the LSP office.  He noticed a picture
of his six-month old granddaughter, Anne, sitting on Nick’s desk.  He
walked over and looked at it.  It was new picture, one that Burton’s
never seen anyway.  Anne definitely favored Nick.  She had the look of a
Down syndrome child but inherited her father’s blonde hair and
green-blue eyes.  Burton never expected to fall for Anne as much as he
had. Even at six-months, Anne already seemed to know what to get from
Burton, putting her one step of her father.

 

Pittsburgh was enduring its annual Indian Summer and the windows were
open in his son’s office.  Burton heard Nick’s voice wafting through the
windows, drawing Burton to the window.  From his vantage point, Burton
was able to look into the conference room and observed his son.  Nick
was sitting at the head of the table so his back was facing Burton.  Two
young children, Kate Shaw, who was an attorney, and another woman Burton
presumed to be a social worker were sitting in the conference room with
Nick.  The younger of the two children cried quietly.  The red-headed
eldest child had a head full of curls which reminded Burton of Nick at
that age.

 

Burton noticed Nick looked different.  It was his demeanor Burton
decided but he couldn’t place exactly what it was in his demeanor that
appeared different.  He watched his son a few more minutes before he
decided what it was: Nick seemed relaxed. When Nick worked at Burton’s
firm, his body was a spring about to be sprung; it had so much tension
in it.   His movements were graceful, fluid and no longer jerky.  He
seemed at ease.

 

The fact that Nick worked here had caused a good deal tension between
father and son.  After Nick’s discharge from Fallin & Fallin, Nick
quickly took a position at McNeil’s firm.  Knowing his son had ethical
issues with some the corporate work Fallin& Fallin did, Burton knew
McNeil was not a good match for Nick.  He wondered how long Nick would
stay.  Within the week, Nick had left the firm.  He just never expected
Nick to take the position of Director of LSP.  Once again, Burton
believed Nick impulsively made another wrong decision.  Burton pointed
out that Nick had no experience of running a not-for-profit
organization.  While Nick had the potential of being a brilliant
attorney, he didn’t have the patience for those who were slower and less
knowledgeable than him.  Burton told Nick that he imagined that the
clientele at LSP would have even less understanding of the law than F&F
clients. 

 

This resulted in another fight. When Burton asked Nick what the appeal
of working at LSP was for him, Nick couldn’t articulate an answer and
stormed out of Burton’s house.  Things have been icy between them ever
since.  Burton wished he could talk to Nick about Nick’s career.  He did
want to know what at LSP appealed to Nick.  Burton couldn’t figure it
out for himself.  Nothing here had any appeal for Burton.  After Nick’s
firing, Burton began to realize that maybe Nick does not belong in a
firm like Fallin & Fallin but Burton thought Nick would do really well
on his own.  He even hinted to Nick that he would be willing to help his
with this.  Nick, in his true independent fashion, declined.  Burton
sighed, he wished he knew what his son’s ambitions were.

 

“Well, that a huge sigh.  What could a man who’s now of-counsel be
worried about?”

 

Burton turned around and saw Laurie Solt, a social worker and
acquaintance, entering Nick’s office. 

 

“Oh, nothing,” chuckled Burton.  He smiled and quickly moved away from
the window, embarrassed to be found spying on his son.  He noted the
meeting seemed to be breaking up.

 

“I’m just waiting for Nick.  He’s in a meeting, which should be ending
anytime now.”

 

“Are you here to discuss the fellowship Nick wants to set-up in Alvin’s
memory?” Laurie sat down in the remaining guest chair near Nick’s desk.

 

“The what?” asked Burton.

 

“It’s something that Nick decided to do.  He wants to create a
fellowship and award it to an attorney who wants to become a child
advocate.  It’s a good idea. The recipient will work at LSP full-time
but his or her salary will come from the fellowship and not from LSP,
who needs a full-time attorney but can’t afford one.  It’s a way to
continue Alvin’s work.  He said he was going to speak to you about your
law firm partially underwriting it,” said Laurie.

 

“He hasn’t yet,” said Burton.  He wondered when Nick planned to approach
him about this.

 

“You know, Burton, we are so happy to have Nick here, especially now
that the LSP board has decided to hire him as the director,” said Laurie.

 

“A board decision?” Burton asked.  This was news to him.  Nick made it
seem that his position was a done deal.  He seemed to find out more
about his son from other people than from Nicholas himself.

 

“The board was worried about the fact he just came off of probation
status.  There’s a moral turpitude clause in the director’s contract. 
However, several people testified on his behalf, including me and Kate
Shaw.  We needed someone like him.  He’s an excellent attorney, has a
good business head, and is well-liked by the clients, especially the
children.  I think he’s just the person who can get LSP on its feet,”
said Laurie.  She wasn’t surprised that Burton seemed unaware of the
board meeting.

 

“Nicholas?” said Burton.  He wasn’t used to people having confidence in
Nick. 

 

“Yes....him.  Don’t get me wrong, he can still be a royal arrogant pain
and he will do anything to win, no matter the cost. Sometimes, though,
it’s good to have someone like him on your side,” replied Laurie.

 

“Yes, well, I suppose,” chuckled Burton.  He didn’t know how to reply to
Laurie. 

 

“Anyway, I just stopped in to give Nick this article he requested.  My
friend wrote it. She teaches Speech Pathology at Pitt.  It’s about her
research on introducing Total Communication to Down syndrome children,”
said Laurie.  She placed the article on top of Nick’s desk.

 

“Total Communication?  What’s that?”  asked Burton.    

 

“It’s a process of integrating sign language and oral language to DS
children.  Because their muscles are much weaker, DS children are late
to develop their speech.” Her hand touched her jaw and throat to
demonstrate the area of low muscle tone. “However, they still need to
communicate and become frustrated with their inability to do so.  From
what I understand, there’s been a lot success with Total Communication,”
explained Laurie. 

 

“Does that mean that Anne would use sign language to communicate?” asked
Burton.

 

“Yes, at first.  Now, this isn’t my area of expertise, Burton, but it’s
a blended process.  The child is introduced to a word by using sign and
speech.  The child learns the sound of the word but uses the sign to
communicate until her muscle tone develops enough so she can use
speech,” said Laurie.

 

“It’s amazing the research and help there is for parents of Down
syndrome kids nowadays.” said Burton.  “When I was young, someone with
Anne’s condition was sent away and never spoken about again.”

 

“Send who away?” Nick walked into his office. 

 

“Oh, nobody, Nick.  Burton and I were just discussing the rights of
special needs children and how far progress has been made,” said
Laurie.  Nick shot a look at his father and Burton nodded.

 

Admittedly, Laurie was curious about Burton and Nick’s relationship. 
Nick never said anything to her but she gathered that Burton was an
absent father when Nick was young. She did know that Nick went to
boarding school after his mother died.  Perhaps, that’s why the tension
is suddenly palpable in here, thought Laurie.  Nick thinks that Burton
wants to send Anne away.

 

“Well, I must go.  I just stopped by, Nick, to give you this article on
TC.” Laurie pointed to the article on Nick’s desk.  She turned to Burton
and said: “It was nice to see you again.”

 

With that, Laurie left the room.

 

“Laurie was just telling me about this Total Communication.  Do you
think it works?” asked Burton.

 

“I don’t know.  Lulu and I are just looking into our options right now,”
said Nick.  He quickly filed the article in his briefcase.  “What can I
do for you, Dad?”

 

“I came to see if you want any of my clients.  I’m finally transitioning
the last of my clients to the other partners, with the exception of a
few.  I’m still holding on to them.  Are you sure you don’t want to
start your own firm?  Get out of this rat-trap of an office?”  Burton
pointed his head toward the bullpen. 

 

“No.” sighed Nick resolutely. “I have a job.  Besides, I tried to start
my own firm once before, remember?”  He rubbed his hand over the base of
head.   Nick wished his father would learn to let this go.  In this
regard, Nick thought his father was similar to a bulldog – he just keeps
attacking. He wasn’t in the mood to deal with Burton today. 

 

“You’re too good of a lawyer, Nicholas, to hide out here,” said Burton.

 

“My clients need a good lawyer, too.” Nick volleyed back.

 

Burton got up from Nick’s desk and went to the window to look out.  He
noticed another meeting beginning.  This time the kid was a teenager
sporting light blue North Carolina jacket and a red do-rag over his
head.  “That’s not what I mean, son.  But, you have a family now.  You
have a daughter who has special needs. I don’t think this job can
support her needs.  It’s just not about you any more.  You need to think
about her future, too.”

 

“I know that, Dad.  You don’t think I understand that? ” Nick could hear
his voice rising.  Fearing that this may turn into another fight, he got
up to close the door.   “Anne’s part of the reason I’m working here.  If
I had stayed in corporate law…”

 

“If you had stayed in corporate law, you could afford a nanny to help
you out.  You could get someone to help you with Anne’s development.” 
Burton knew that Lulu wanted to hire a nanny but Nick obstinately
refused to hire someone.  Burton surmised Nick’s refusal was due to
financial reasons.

 

“Just like you did?  Maybe I don’t want to leave the important decisions
involving my kid up to the baby-sitters, schools or, even …even Lulu.” 
Nick stood at his desk.  He dropped his head, sighed and rubbed the palm
of his hand over the nape of his neck. “Look, I didn’t mean to say
that.  I’ve had a hectic day.  The infection in Anne’s ear flared up
again last night.  We spent half the night in the ER and I’m exhausted
today.  Can we please table this discussion to another day and not at my
place of employment?” asked Nick.

 

Before Burton replied, a crashing sound came from the bullpen.

 

“Excuse me,” said Nick as he bolted out of his office to investigate the
cause of the crash.

 

Burton followed Nick but stopped at the door because Nick had the
situation under control.

 

The little red curly-haired boy had taken a soft styrofoam bat and
started hitting all the toys in the play area.  He toppled over the toy
chest in the process, causing the loud crash.

The boy appeared extremely upset and agitated.  Several of the social
workers tried to calm the boy but nothing seemed to work.  

 

Nick approached the little boy and knelt down to make eye contact at the
boy’s level.  He grabbed a hold of the bat and spoke to the boy in a
calm but stern voice.

 

“Stop!  Owen!  Stop.  We don’t do this here.  Give me the bat,” said
Nick.  He wrestled the bat out of the boy’s grip.  “Now, do you want to
tell me why you did this?”

 

“I was mad,” said Owen.

 

“I understand you’re upset but that does not excuse you from hitting the
toys.  What made you mad?” asked Nick.  His voice losing its sternness
as the boy began to calm down.

 

“I don’t want to go back to that place.  I don’t like it there.  I want
to go home with my mommy,”

 

“I know you want to go home but your mommy died in bad car accident.  Do
you understand what that means?” Nick soothingly told the little boy
while looking directly in his eyes.

 

“She’s not coming home?” asked Owen.

 

“That’s right,” replied Nick. He didn’t say anything more to let the boy
think about this.

 

“Who’s going to read to me at bedtime?” asked Owen after a few seconds

 

“Did you like your mom reading to you?” asked Nick.

 

Owen nodded. 

 

“Maybe when we go your house to pick up your clothes, you can tell me
what books your mom used to read to you.  You can bring them with you to
your new foster mom’s house.  In the meantime, you need to help clean up
this mess you made.  If there’s time, maybe someone can read you a book
while you wait for me and Miss Shaw. Would you like that?” asked Nick.

 

Owen once again nodded and began to help several of the social workers
pick up the scattered toys.  Nick put the toy chest upright and walked
back to his office.  He wished his father hadn’t seen that outburst by
his client. 

 

“Do you know what you need, Dad? You need a hobby.  I think you have too
much time on your hands now,” Nick said as he entered his office,
picking up the conversation where they left off.  He inwardly smiled at
the irony of the situation.  There was a time when he wished his father
would take an active interest in his life but now he wanted Burton to
back off.

 

“A what?  A hobby?”

 

“Yeah, you know, woodworking, gardening…something like that,” said Nick.

 

Burton seemed too distracted to take insult at that. He had never seen
Nick connect with anyone that way.  His grown, 34-year-old son still
amazed Burton.   In so many ways, Nick was a carbon copy of his mother,
Anne.  This was another one.  Burton doubted Nick was even aware of
this.  He wondered, not for the first time, what type of person Nick
would have been if Anne were still alive.  Burton was sure that Anne was
the better parent.  Burton thought he failed Nick as a parent on so many
levels.  Would she have been able to prevent Nick from his involvement
in drugs when Burton had failed?  Anne struggled with her own addiction,
though.  Burton was unsure that even she had been able to stop Nick. 
Not one for introspection, Burton never came to a conclusion about
this.     Maybe Laurie was only partially right, Nick was needed at LSP
but maybe Nick needed LSP just as much.  Still, Nick never gave
indication he wanted this.  Burton just hoped that Nick wasn’t
settling.  “You know, son, you handled that situation with the kid
really well.”

 

“What? I didn’t do anything,” said Nick.  “He’s just a little kid who’s
upset because his mother died in a car accident.  We’re trying to locate
his father.”

 

“No, you’re wrong.  Not everyone could have handled that situation.  I
certainly wouldn’t have done it that well.  That kid responded to you. 
Laurie told me that the kids liked you,” Burton said.  “Your mother was
like that…God, was she good with kids.  No matter where we went, if
there were kids around, they would gravitate towards her.  It seems that
you’ve inherited her talent, son.”

 

“Dad, do we have to talk about this here? I need to bring Owen to a
shelter hearing in a half hour” said Nick.

 

“No, I do want to talk about it.  I’m worried about you, Nick.  I’m
worried about your career.  I’ve known for a long time –but may not have
wanted to admit it to myself – that you weren’t happy at Fallin &
Fallin.  I don’t understand why you would choose this place over Fallin
& Fallin?,” said Burton.

 

“I was fired from there.” Nick replied.  He was getting agitated. 

 

Burton wondered how far he should push but decided to plow through this
issue today.  “I know that but you always told me you wanted to be the
managing partner at my firm, our firm.  In the past year, you’ve done
nothing but get in the way of that goal.  Why?  What changed?  What is
the hold this place has over you?”

 

Nick didn’t answer.  Burton noticed that familiar clenching of Nick’s
jaw and the downcast of his son’s eyes, avoiding him.  He knew that if
he pushed more, he risked an outburst from his son. 

 

 “They need me here, Dad,” Nick whispered after a few seconds of quiet. 
He stared at his hands. He knew his father well enough to know that
Burton wouldn’t drop this subject.  Even if Nick didn’t answer his
father today, Nick knew that Burton would harp on it some more.  Between
the pounding of Burton’s verbal assault and the pounding from Nick’s
headache, Nick was tired.  He was tired of his father thinking Nick
failed in his career.  He was tired of fighting constantly with him.

 

“Fallin & Fallin doesn’t.  There were several guys ready to take my
place and waiting for me to topple.  No one liked me – not even Jake,
apparently,” Nick chuffed.  “Not that I care about that but it’s
different here.  I’m no longer the screw-up son who doesn’t deserve what
he was given.  I can help these people.  I’m not a crusader, like Alvin
was, but I can make a difference.” Nick looked at his father to gauge
Burton’s response.  Burton sat in the chair opposite of Nick with his
hands in his lap.  He appeared to be listening to Nick.  Nick continued
talking.

 

“Your friend, Judge Stanton, told me once that he’s been all over the
law.  The time he spent in family law was probably the best part of his
career. I don’t know if I will be the director here for the rest of my
career but this is where I’m needed now.   I love the law, Dad, and I
want to learn and practice all aspects of it -- not just corporate
law.”  Nick dropped his head and scrunched his shoulders, bracing for
his father’s lecture on responsibility to begin.

 

“Fair enough,” said Burton.  “I’m not trying to get in your way,
Nicholas.  I just want to know that you’re happy and didn’t settle on
the first option that came along.  It seems you really want to do this.
I still have my concerns about your financial welfare and your ability
to support your family on this income but you’re a helluva an attorney,
Nick.  You’ll find a way to make this work.”  Burton watched a barely
perceptible blush spread across his son’s face.

 

“Thank you, Dad.”  Nick whispered. 

 

Burton cleared his throat and continued, “Anyway, I hope to see you and
Anne this Sunday for dinner.  We can watch the Steelers game on TV. 
There’s hope they may make it to the Superbowl this season.”

 

“Sounds fun.  We’ll be there,” replied Nick. 

 

Owen’s social worker knocked at the door and peeked in. “I’m sorry to
interrupt but we must leave now to go to the shelter hearing.”

“Dad, I need to go.”  He reached out his hand to shake his father’s
hand.  “I’ll see you on Sunday,” said Nick.

 

Burton watched Nick leave the office.  He realized that he wasn’t going
to lose Nick after all.                 

 

THE END