Another Chance
 
Author:  Shirley
 
Email: sbell_1944@yahoo.com
 
Rating:  PG-13
 
Summary:  This story follows the events of “The Beginning” episode.  This 
fictional account stands alone and was written shortly after the season 1 finale 
episode aired.
 
Disclaimer:  Some of the characters portrayed herein are taken directly from 
“The Guardian” – CBS TV Series.  Others are strictly figments of my imagination. 
 The resemblance to any person(s) living or dead is purely coincidental.  This 
is a work of FICTION.
 
~*~*~*~
 
Nick went to the bathroom to splash cold water on his face.  This whole evening 
had been like a nightmare.  First the row with his father at the office and now 
Mandy was lying dead on his living room floor.  God, he didn’t want to think 
about that.  He could hear the wail of the sirens getting closer and closer.  He 
had to get himself together.  He stared at his image in the bathroom mirror.  He 
didn’t even recognize himself.  His eyes were red and his face swollen.  He 
started to tear-up again but squeezed his eyes shut to fight off the urge.  He 
splashed more water on his face and reached for a towel.  He rubbed his face 
hard with the towel and took several deep breaths.  Well, at least this time he 
wasn’t “high” so maybe he could think smart.  
 
He headed back downstairs, glancing at Mandy’s prone body.  He jumped, 
nervously, when he heard a knock at his front door.  He opened it to find the 
paramedics standing there.  
 
“Are you the one who called for an ambulance?” 
 
“Yeah.”  He stepped back from the door and pointed to Mandy.  Two medics rushed 
to her body and felt for a pulse. 
 
“She’s dead.”  They looked at Nick.  
 
“I was afraid she might be.  I felt for a pulse but didn’t find anything.”  Nick 
was surprised at his composure.  
 
“What happened?”  The medics were now standing and looking hard at him.  
 
Nick averted his eyes.   He finally said, “I don’t know.  I was just trying to 
calm her down and she fell.”  He glanced at the medics to see how they reacted 
to his answer.  It didn’t look like they bought it.  
 
“Well, you know since this doesn’t appear to be a death by natural causes we are 
going to have to call the police.”  One of the medics moved away and began to 
dial his phone.  Nick could hear him talking with his dispatch requesting a 
police cruiser.  
 
This really wasn’t a surprise to Nick but his eyes still betrayed his shock.  He 
was finally able to say in a whisper, “Sure, I understand.” He put his hands in 
his pockets and hunched his shoulders.  He would like to just disappear.  
 
It seemed like only a few minutes passed before he heard additional sirens.  
Well, he could kiss his career and his life, as he knew it, goodbye.  He 
couldn’t help but wonder how this would affect his father.  The bench 
appointment was confirmed but he hadn’t been sworn in yet.  Nick knew that once 
a Federal Judge was sworn in it took an Act of God to get them out.  He was 
brought back to the present by the sound of the doorbell.  One of the paramedics 
opened it.
 
Detective Daugher sidled into the foyer.  He glanced at Nick, standing with his 
arms crossed. He turned and walked towards the girl.  He was chewing on a 
toothpick as he walked slowly around Mandy’s body.  Nick noticed that he was 
also taking in the surroundings.  Daugher finally asked one of the medics, “Can 
you tell the cause of death?”    
 
“Not for sure.  She did hit her head on the floor but there’s not that much 
blood.  Her eyes were dilated, like she might have been on drugs.  We can’t rule 
out a drug overdose.”  
 
Detective Daugher returned to the foyer.  He picked up the phone off the floor 
and asked Nick if he could use it.  When Nick nodded, he dialed the station, 
giving instructions to send the Crime Scene Investigators.  He set the phone 
down on the stairs and turned towards the living room.  “Crime Scene is on the 
way to process the scene,” he said to the paramedics.  
 
He turned back to Nick, and asked, “Nick, can we talk?”  
 
Nick had been trying to imagine how his father was going to take all this.  He 
suddenly returned his attention to Daugher and the question.  “Sure.”  Nick 
waved to the office just off the foyer.  Detective Daugher found a seat and Nick 
shut the French doors separating the office from the foyer.  He walked over to 
the window and gazed out, waiting for the questions.
 
“Wanna tell me what happened?”  Daugher was chewing on his toothpick again.  
Nick turned to face the Detective.  He had decided earlier to be totally honest 
with the police.  There was nothing to be gained by lying and he wasn’t really 
sure what he could say that would keep him out of jail this time. 
 
Still facing the window, he said, “When I got home tonight Mandy met me at the 
door.  She said that the police had discovered she was staying at a local motel. 
 She was apparently out of money.”  He turned to face Daugher.  “I had canceled 
my credit card after you and I talked last.  She said she had decided earlier 
today to turn herself in.  I suggested we call right then but she said she was 
too ‘high’.”  Nick nervously rubbed the back of his head and shifted his weight 
from one foot to the other.  “She had snorted an 8-ball in anticipation of being 
locked up without anything.”  Nick paused in the story.  He looked at Detective 
Daugher to see how he was reacting.  His face didn’t give him a clue.  He was 
still chewing on that toothpick.  
 
He finally said, “How did she get into your house?”  
 
“She said she needed a shower and a cigarette, then she’d be ready.”  
 
“Ready for what?”  The Detective cast a lascivious look at Nick.  
 
Nick was a little angry at the implication.  “No,” Nick said in answer to the 
unasked question.  “I mean, we didn’t have that kind of relationship.  She said 
she’d be ready to turn herself in.  When I could hear the water running in the 
shower, I called you.  While I was on the phone with you she came up behind and 
hit me on the head.  She ran downstairs and was trying to get out the door when 
I grabbed her around the waist and tried to calm her down but she was struggling 
and fighting.  She finally got loose, and I guess she lost her balance and fell. 
 I was just trying to make sure she didn’t get away since you wanted to talk to 
her.”  Nick collapsed in a chair and put his head in his hands.  The Detective 
was watching Nick.  He seemed to be sincere.  Nick looked up.  The Detective was 
just watching him.  Was he trying to get him to break or something?  This whole 
thing was nerve-racking.  Nick finally broke the silence.  “What’s gonna happen 
now?”  He looked at the Detective who continued to chew on that damned 
toothpick.  
 
Finally Daugher spoke.  “I’d like you to come down to the station and give us a 
statement.”  Crime Scene had finally arrived.  The Detective rose and walked to 
the door.  He turned and said, “Nick, you might want to have the medics look at 
that cut on your head.”  Nick reached up to touch the right side of his head.  
He looked at the blood on his fingers.  He followed the Detective into the 
foyer.  While the Detective directed the Crime Scene Investigation team to the 
rooms in question, Nick was treated by one of the medics for a minor cut over 
his right ear.  The Coroner finally arrived and after examining the body and the 
immediate scene, prepared to transport the body to the morgue.  Nick watched as 
they rolled Mandy’s body past him and out the front door.  
 
“Nick, you ready?”  Nick was startled by Daugher’s sudden appearance next to 
him.   
 
“Do I go with you or take my own car?”  Nick asked.  
 
“Well, Crime Scene’ll be here probably another hour or two.  I can have you back 
before they finish up if you want to ride with me.”  
 
“Okay.”  Nick wanted to be very cooperative in hopes it would help him in the 
long run.  He followed Daugher to his car and got into the front passenger seat. 
 As they were pulling away he thought he saw a car resembling his dad’s pull up 
to the curb.
 
~*~
 
Burton had stopped for a drink after leaving Nick’s place.  Nick had been upset 
about something but Burton just wrote that off to his overall attitude about the 
Caldwell deal and the argument they’d had earlier.  Nothing had worked out the 
way that Burton had imagined it would.  When he made the deal with Caldwell he 
never expected to be nominated for a Federal judgeship.  He had expected to find 
a place for Caldwell and eventually steer all his clients to Nick which would 
give Nick the leverage he needed to manage the firm once Burton decided to 
retire.  Now the firm was gone.  Nick was unhappy and embarking on a venture, in 
starting his own firm, which he would soon find was no picnic.  
 
When Burton finally arrived home he had checked his messages and found the one 
from Nick.  It made his blood run cold.  He tried to call Nick but the line was 
busy. He immediately got into his car and drove like a crazy man.  Nick did seem 
agitated more than usual tonight.  He should have insisted that Nick let him in 
so they could talk.  
 
As Burton turned the corner onto Ellsworth he noticed the emergency and police 
vehicles in front of Nick’s house.  He was almost paralyzed with fear that 
something had gone horribly wrong.  He quickly found a parking space at the 
curb.  That was when he noticed they were loading a body, wrapped in a black 
body bag, into the coroner’s vehicle.  For a moment, Burton thought his heart 
had stopped beating.  He threw open the door and leaped out. 
 
He raced over and grabbed the arm of the nearest police officer to get his 
attention and as the officer spun around, Burton blurted out, “What’s going on 
here?”  The officer forcefully removed his hand and said, “Who wants to know?”   

 
“My son lives here.”  Burton’s voice was beginning to rise to a level of 
shrieking.  “Who is that?” he asked pointing to the coroner’s vehicle.  
 
“Some girl.”  The officer said, casually.  
 
Burton finally took a breath and relief flooded over him.  But then he wondered, 
what was a dead girl doing in Nick’s house.  “Can I see my son?”  
 
“They took him to the station house.”  Burton immediately jumped in his car and 
drove rapidly to the 8th Precinct.  At the desk he told them who he was and that 
he was there to see Nick Fallin, his son.
 
They sent him upstairs to see Detective Daugher who was in charge of the 
investigation.  He asked the first person he met upstairs where he could find 
Detective Daugher.  
 
Nick was sitting across the room at Daugher’s desk when he heard his father’s 
voice.  He looked over to see his dad frantically trying to communicate with 
another detective.  Nick got the attention of Detective Daugher and motioned 
towards the uproar.  “That’s my father.  Would it be okay for me to talk to 
him?”  
 
“I guess there’d be no harm in that.  Follow me.”  He got up and walked towards 
Burton.  About this time Burton looked up to see Nick and the detective coming 
his way.  He was so relieved to see that Nick wasn’t in a cell somewhere.  He 
reached out and hugged Nick, tightly, for what seemed like a long time.  Nick 
was a little taken aback by his father’s public display of affection but he 
hugged him back.  When they finally separated you could tell they were both 
trying to fight back their emotions.
 
“Come with me,” Detective Daugher said and started down the hall.  He steered 
them into a vacant interview room.  “I’ll be back in a little bit.”  The room 
was equipped with two-way glass and Detective Daugher took his place to observe 
this meeting between father and son.  
 
They reached across the table and held each others’ hands.  Finally Nick put his 
head in his hands and sobbed quietly.  “Dad, I’m such a screw up.  It seems like 
no matter how I try to do right, things always seem to go wrong.”  
 
“I haven’t been there for you like I should have, son.”  Burton could hardly 
bear the anguish his son was going through.  “And this whole business about the 
firm; it just didn’t turn out like I planned.”  
 
“Dad this has nothing to do with the firm.  Do you remember when I told you my 
Probation Officer was going to write me up on a few technical violations?”  
 
“Yeah, you said that wouldn’t be a problem, as I remember.”  
 
“That was because my P.O., Dale, told me if I helped him with a contract to 
purchase a strip club that he would give me a break on the violations at my next 
periodic hearing.  At first, I told him he needed to just tell Judge Handley and 
we’d hash it out in court.  But, then I was afraid it might affect your 
appointment if it didn’t turn out okay, so I agreed to do what he wanted.  As it 
turns out, this girl, Mandy, Dale’s girlfriend and partner in the deal, was in 
with the owner of the club.  They were both planning to rip Dale off.  When the 
financing fell through, Dale wanted me to help get his earnest money back.  He 
said he would give me a clean slate and never report another violation.”  Nick 
paused remembering the nightmare.  He finally said, “I agreed to go with him.  
Dale asked for his money back but Lenny, the owner of the club, told him to ask 
Mandy; that she’d put it up her nose.  Dale threatened to shut down the club and 
went over to the phone.  I couldn’t believe it.  Lenny picked up a fire 
extinguisher and hit him with it.”  Nick was talking breathlessly, clearly 
remembering the incident.  “I tried to stop it but I think Dale was already 
dead.  Lenny was about to hit me when Mandy fired the gun, killing Lenny.  I 
still don’t know why she didn’t kill me, too, but she didn’t. I pulled the fire 
alarm and left.”
 
Burton was staring in disbelief.  All this had happened to Nick and he hadn’t 
heard a word about it.  Nick had quietly tried to handle it himself.  “Son, I 
wish you had said something.  This appointment isn’t important enough for you to 
risk your life.”  He waited for a minute to see if Nick was going to say more.  
Finally he said, “So the dead girl at your house?  That was Mandy?”  
 
“I know what you’re thinking.  You’re thinking I killed her.”  He looked hurt as 
he eyed Burton.  
 
“You’re wrong, son.  I wasn’t thinking that.  I was thinking if I had paid more 
attention to what’s going on in your life, maybe this would never have 
happened.”
 
“I went to the police and reported everything the day Dale was killed.  I hadn’t 
seen Mandy since that day until a couple of days ago.  She was wanting money.  
She has a bad drug habit and had apparently run through the $4,000 she got from 
the aborted deal.  I told her to go to the police but she ran away when I called 
Detective Daugher.  Then she appears at my door tonight.  Says she’s finally 
ready to turn herself in but because she’s just snorted an 8-ball she wants to 
get a shower, have a cigarette and then do it.  So, I let her in which I never 
should have done.”  
 
He got up and started to pace.  He rubbed the back of his head and put his hands 
on his hips.  Turning to his father, still seated at the table, he said, “I 
thought she was in the shower, but she heard me calling the detective and tried 
to run away again.  I grabbed her and we wrestled around.  I was trying to get 
her to calm down but she finally broke away, tripped and fell hitting her head 
on the living room floor.  I guess she died instantly, I don’t know.  I never 
felt a pulse but I called 9-1-1 anyway for an ambulance.”  He squeezed his eyes 
tight and took a deep breath.  The image of Mandy, lying dead on his living room 
floor, was going to stay with him for awhile.  
 
“Well, that sounds like an accident.  What do the police say?”  
 
“They want me to give a statement.  I really don’t know what they plan to do 
with me.  I guess my career’s just toast. But, it’s nobody’s fault but mine.  
And, Dad, you shouldn’t even be here.”
 
“Well, I’m here and I’ll be here as long as you need me.  Do you think you 
should call your lawyer?”  
 
“They haven’t officially arrested me.  In my statement I plan to tell the truth 
so I’m not sure how he could help.”  They looked towards the door as Detective 
Daugher entered.  
 
“Nick, we should go ahead and get that statement now.”  
 
As he led Nick away Burton said, “Nick, I’ll be waiting outside.  I need a 
smoke.”  
 
It was about thirty minutes later when Nick came through the door.  “Did they 
give you any idea what was going to happen?” Burton asked.  
 
“No, he just said they were going to check out my story and review the 
forensics.  The coroner’s report won’t be ready for a couple of days.  Then he 
said he’d get back with me.”  Nick seemed relieved that he was allowed to leave. 
 
 
“Come on, son.  I’ll give you a ride home so you can make sure your place is 
secure.  Then you’re coming home with me.”  
 
~*~
 
Nick was so exhausted from the events of the day by the time he got to his dad’s 
that he dozed off on the sofa while waiting for his dad to get them a cup of 
coffee.  
 
Burton set the coffee on the coffee table and nudged Nick.  “Nick, Nick.  Why 
don’t you go on up to bed.  We can talk in the morning, if you like.”  
 
Nick roused and rubbed his eyes.  “What?”  
 
“Go on up to bed.  You can use the guest room.  I always keep extra clothes in 
the dresser.  You should be able to find some pajamas and fresh underwear for in 
the morning.  Get some sleep.”  
 
Nick pried himself off the sofa and looked at his father.  “Dad, thanks for 
everything.  I’m just sorry you always have to get me out of scrapes.”
 
“You know Nick, when I got your message tonight, all I could think of was that I 
had lost you for good.  I thought the worst.  I’m just thankful you’re here.”  
Nick could see his Dad’s bottom lip tremble as he spoke.  He averted his gaze.
 
“I swear, Dad, if I survive this mess, I promise I will do better.”  Burton 
nodded.  
 
“Well, son, I’ll see ya in the mornin.’ ”  He put his hand on Nick’s shoulder 
and squeezed.   
 
For the first time, in a very long time, Nick felt safe.  
 
The End