The Missing Scene from “Heart” 

Author: JanetD
 
 
Email: jdillon@mail.win.org

Rating: PG (language)

Summary: This is my take on the conversation that would have taken place between 
Nick and Burton when Nick told his father he was applying to be Lesley’s foster 
parent.


Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. The characters in this story are borrowed 
from the TV show "The Guardian". No money is being made from this story. Any 
resemblance of a character in this story to any real person living or dead is 
purely coincidental. 


Prologue: Sarah Smalley, Burton’s girlfriend, had just walked out of his office 
in a huff after Burton had forgotten about their lunch date with Nick. As she 
stormed down the hall, Burton came out of his office, and stood there calling 
after her. As Burton had come out of his office, Nick had emerged from the 
conference room across the hall. He heard his father saying urgently, but trying 
to keep his voice down, “Sarah, Sarah, Sarah!! Hey, wait a minute!” Nick asked, 
“That your girlfriend?” Before his father could reply, Nick’s cell phone rang. 
Burton replied “Was.” to Nick’s question, still looking down the hall after 
Sarah. Nick kept his eyes on his father, as he listened to the phone, then 
replied to the person on the other end, “Yeah. Yeah, I’ll be right there.” He 
was still watching his father, as Burton started to walk back into his office...




Nick came into the office on his father’s heels. Burton was still quite worked 
up over the confrontation with Sarah, and couldn’t seem to stand still. 


Nick asked, “What happened?” 


Burton exhaled a long breath, turned his attention to his son, and ran his left 
hand over the top of his head before answering. “Oh, I, uh...I forgot our lunch 
date,” he said self-deprecatingly. “She wanted to meet you, son. We’ve, uhm, 
been seeing each other for...well, a couple months now. I had promised her the 
three of us could go out to lunch. Then, damnit, it totally slipped my mind....” 




“Damnit!” he said again, and sighed. “She was pretty pissed.”


“Hmm,” Nick replied, noncommittally.


Burton spent another moment mentally reviewing the disaster that had just 
unfolded in his office before looking up at Nick, and asking, “Was there 
something else you wanted, Nick?”


Nick glanced down, briefly compressing his lips together, before looking back at 
his father. “Yeah,” he said hesitantly. “There’s something I need to tell you.”
 

Burton looked inquiringly at his son. When he didn’t continue, Burton asked, 
“What?”


Nick looked mildly uncomfortable, but began. “You know that girl Lesley Walker? 
The one I’ve been trying to find a foster home for?” Burton nodded. Nick glanced 
quickly away, and then back. “Well, I’ve, uh, I’ve applied to become her foster 
parent.”


Burton looked at his son, and broke into laughter. Nick looked immediately 
pained.


With a grin still on his face, Burton said, “This is a joke, right? You’re not 
serious.”


A chagrined look passed across Nick’s face, but he met his father’s eyes 
steadily as he said in a measured tone, “I’m very serious.”


“Nicholas.” Burton still spoke in half-disbelief, “that’s ridiculous.” 


“Why?” challenged Nick. 


“Because it just is,” Burton replied, exasperated. “Son, how can you possibly 
consider becoming a foster parent in your current situation? You’re single. 
You’re juggling two jobs. You work 80 hour weeks.” 


“I’ll manage,” Nick interjected.


Burton continued as if he hadn’t even heard his son. “Not to mention the fact 
that you’re on probation.... And, Nicholas,” he said, pausing to give his 
statement more weight, “you know absolutely nothing about being a parent. The 
whole idea is ludicrous.”


As the words “you know absolutely nothing about being a parent” passed his 
father’s lips, Nick’s eyes narrowed, and his lips twisted into a sarcastic, 
half-smile. Lowering his gaze, he gave a little sideways shake of his head in 
disbelief. Raising his head once more, and staring directly into his father’s 
eyes, he said with feeling, “Neither did you.”
 
Burton frowned, but otherwise let his son’s jibe pass.


“Son,” Burton said, as he exhaled a large breath, “Nicholas, think about what 
you’re saying here. A child is...a child is a huge responsibility. Let alone a 
girl like this, a girl, whose, whose heart is failing.”


“It’s just going to be temporary.”


“What do you mean it’s just going to be temporary?”


Nick said urgently, “She needs a foster parent so she can get a heart. Once 
she’s got one, I’ll get Social Services to find her a new home.” He glanced down 
briefly, and then continued in a more deliberate tone. “She’s in the hospital 
now. Her heart is so weak that she won’t be leaving there until, and unless, she 
gets a replacement.” 


“And what then? Say she gets a heart? Who’s going to take care of here when she 
comes home from the hospital? You?”


“I’ll, uh, I’ll hire a full-time nurse,” said Nick confidently. “Then when 
Lesley’s better she’ll, she’ll go to a new foster family.”


“Son, you--”


“I’ve thought this all through,” Nick said with determination. “I can do 
this.... Besides, there isn’t anyone else. I’m Lesley’s last chance.” His voice, 
almost, but didn’t quite break on the last sentence. Nick paused for a few 
seconds, and then gave his father a very direct look, as he said, “Anyhow, you 
said it to me yourself, ‘I’m a man now’.”


“Nicholas....” Burton exhaled another breath in frustration, as he ran a hand 
across the top of his head. “Son, I know you mean well, but I just don’t think 
you’re looking at the realities of the situation. What if Social Services 
doesn’t find a new home for this girl?”


“Lesley. Her name is Lesley”.


“Fine,” Burton continued. “What if Social Services doesn’t find a new home for 
Lesley? What then?” 


“I’ll, I’ll deal with that, if and when I have to. I don’t think it’s going to 
be a problem.... Leslie is a very likable kid. She’s bright. She’s funny. You’d 
see that if you met her.”


Burton gave his son a long look, “You’re sure you want to do this thing, son?” 
Nick nodded. “I can’t talk you out of it?” 


“No,” Nick said firmly.


Burton shook his head slowly at what he viewed as his son’s folly. “Okay. Well. 
You, uh, said you applied to be her foster parent. Have they accepted your 
application?”


Nick drew in a large breath, and let it out again. “No. And, that’s why I 
brought this up now. There’s a, a, custody hearing in 20 minutes to determine 
whether I’ll be assigned as Lesley’s foster parent. I’d like you to be there. In 
case, just in case, you know, I need you to testify on my behalf.” He looked at 
his father with some amount of trepidation.


Burton gazed at his son silently for a moment. Exhaled another long breath, and 
nodded his head, as he said, “Okay. Okay, let’s go.”


Nick nodded in evident relief. A small smile creased his lips, but he quickly 
ducked his head to keep his father from seeing it. Then father and son walked 
out the door together.
 


The End