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Author: jevees
 
Email: jesica.espasandin@navigo.com.ar
 
Rating: G
 
Summary: Nick and Burton get closer in this story...Hope you like it!
 
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Last few weeks had been like hell for attorney Nick Fallin. He had been 
preparing some important cases while his father made a trip to New York. His dad 
wanted to open a subsidiary there and wanted to see some offices which had been 
offered to him.

Nick arrived at his office. He was so tired and wasn't feeling well. Lately, he 
had lost his appetite, had headaches and he just couldn't concentrate. He was 
thankful that his father would be there as usual.

He went into his office, got out some papers from his briefcase and began to 
work. There was a knock at the door and his father came in, very enthusiastic.

"Hi son" he said smiling.

Nick could see his father was in a very good mood; however, he was feeling more 
tired than usual and had a terrible headache.

"Dad," he answered, not taking his eyes of the papers. He really wanted to 
finish the contracts, "so how was the trip?" he asked, not very interested.

"Very good, son. I want to show you some things and the place I got for our 
offices. You have worked in New York and I really want your opinion," he said 
proudly. Burton looked at his son very closely. He noticed he didn't look like 
very good. His face was pale and tense. He felt bad [about leaving - instead of 
- for letting] Nick with all the work while he was having a good time in New 
York but he knew that Nick couldn't leave the city without the permission of his 
probation officer and Nick didn't like to ask him anything. "Why don't you come 
into my office and we check it? Come on, Nicholas. You'll love it, I'm sure"

Nick looked at his father for the first time. He was not happy at all. He had a 
lot of work and the only thing that his father wanted to do was talk about some 
stupid office in New York he thought.

"Dad, I'm working.. really. I have to finish this."he said complaining ".and."

"Son, let's see this. I'll help you with that later. We'll finish it on time," 
Burton said, cutting his excuses off.

Nick hadn't seen his father so excited in years, so he decided to do what he 
wanted. "OK" he said. He rose from his chair and approached his father.

Burton was shocked. Nick had lost so much weight in only two weeks. He was 
beginning to worry about his son's health. Nick wasn't the sickly kid type. He 
hadn't been ill in years, or at least if he had Burton didn't know it. He felt 
some pain for the little things he knew about his son but he put those feelings 
aside.

"My God, son. You've lost a lot of weight. What have you been doing?" he asked. 
"What happened? Have you been eating?" he asked, concerned.

The last thing Nick needed was Burton to start bothering him. His headache was 
increasing and he really wasn't feeling at his best, but he decided to be a good 
kid and answered him politely. His mother always told him to be patient with his 
dad and to be respectful.

"Yes, Dad, I've been eating but I had a lot of work here and at LSP. Alvin 
killed me last week so I guess I`m just .you know, exhausted," he answered in a 
very low voice, while he steered his father to his office. He really wanted to 
finish his work but first he had to show some interest in his father's ideas and 
he would be realized; 'Mom,' he thought, " it hasn't been easy to take care of 
Dad and be a good son. Sometimes he just wanted to send him to hell or quit his 
job and begin all over again, but he couldn't. He had to do what his mother 
asked him to before she died.

Burton and Nick went to the managing partner's office. Nick was feeling worst at 
that moment. His head was exploding and his eyes were hurting. Maybe he should 
get some rest as soon as he finished, he thought, while he massaged his head.

Burton noticed his son's distraction. He was worried but he didn't want to be a 
pain in the ass to Nick. "Son," he said, as they entered the office, "are you 
OK? Have a headache??"

"Yes, dad, it's just that.. a headache," Nick replied very rudely. "Can we 
please see that and get back to work?" he asked. He knew his father was just 
worried but he was feeling too bad to analyze all the things he was saying.

"Ok, Nicholas. I'm just...never mind" he said angrily, but he decided to go on. 
"I`m just worried about you. Why can't we have a decent conversation? For 
goodness sake, son," he added and sat down in his chair, hoping he wouldn't have 
to start a fight with Nick at that moment.

"Look, Dad. I'm. just.."Nick couldn't finish his sentence. He felt dizzy and his 
knees failed him. After that everything went black. A second later he was in the 
floor unconscious.

Burton was horrified. He ran to his son and tried to wake him, but he didn't 
respond. He yelled for help as he held Nick's head and rested it carefully in 
his arms.

"Son?. Nicholas? Do you hear me, son? Nick? .Nick?" he asked desperately. 
Gretchen arrived in the office and saw Nick on the floor.

"What the hell are you doing?" asked Burton in a fury looking at Gretchen who 
was standing at the door. "Call 911, now," he yelled.

Nick opened his eyes 30 minutes later. He didn't know where he was. He looked 
around and realized he was in a hospital. He saw that they were giving him serum 
and he had some monitors connected to him. His head was confused; he didn't know 
how he got there. He couldn't clear his mind. At that moment Burton went in the 
room.

"Son," he said. "How are you feeling? You did scare me a lot, you know." Burton 
took a sit in a chair next to Nick's bed. His son was looking better, not as 
pale as that morning but he looked a little lost.

"Dad?" he asked, confused. "What am I doing here? What happened?"

"You fainted at the office. You don't remember?" he asked politely. Burton had 
been so frightened when his son didn't react at the office and in the ambulance. 
"I spoke with the doctor," he said, seriously. "He said you are anemic."

"Anemic?" he asked. His mind was starting to clear. He remembered when he was at 
his father's office and how he reacted to his father's concern. He was ashamed.

"Well, apparently you haven't been eating too well. The doctor said that this 
thing can be because of something else, but I think that probably you have been 
so busy that. you know. forgot to eat, didn't you?"

Burton was totally angry with his son. He had risked his health for work. He 
couldn't believe how his son didn't take care of himself a little bit more. He 
had really scared him at the office. Burton had thought that he was dead or 
something.

"Oh."answered Nick.. "I.I probably didn't eat too much. When I'm worried or busy 
I just don't feel very hungry", he said, ashamed. His father had a worried look 
on his face. Nick didn't mean to preoccupied him he thought.] "I'm sorry." he 
apologized, looking at the floor trying to avoid his father eyes.

Burton felt guilty about Nick's health problem. He knew that his son had been 
working really hard since he took Shannon as his foster daughter, and LSP was 
killing him since James had been recovering in the hospital after the incident.

"It`s OK, son., I should had helped you a bit more too" he said, trying to make 
him feel better. He caressed his son's hair as he did when he was a little 
child. "But even if you have a lot of work, you need, no, you must eat, OK?"

Nick felt his father's hand on his head. His dad hadn't done that since he was a 
little boy.

"Sure dad, it won't happen again, OK?" he said comforting his father with a 
smile.

"Well, now you have a lot of visitors. Apparently you are a very popular guy, at 
least that's what the doctor said before I came in" he said, with a big smile. 
"Alvin, Lulu and Laurie Solt are outside. Jake went back to the office because I 
told him to but he wanted to stay, and. you know, all the office was really 
worried about you. The nurse asked me to phone them cause they called like ten 
time since you arrived 30 minutes ago" he said very proud of his son.

Nick was surprised at all the people who were concerned about him. He never 
thought that people cared about him¸ except for his work.

Burton looked at his son. He saw his surprised face and put a hand on his 
shoulder. "Nick I told them to go, but they refused. Alvin said that you have 
been with him when he was drunk, Lulu said she wouldn't move and Laurie said 
that she wanted to see you and she would wait," he explained to Nick. "They 
really care about you" he said.

"Yes, apparently they do" he added to his father words. "I'm really sorry I 
worried you all. I didn't want to bother." he started. ".and now you all will 
have a lot of work. I'm just.sorry." he said sadly, not used to being the one 
ill. He felt useless but still with no energy.

"Son, son." Burton interrupted. "It's our time to take care of you now."

"But.."Nick replied.

"Nick, just let us do the job now and you rest. Let us handle it, at least for 
once," Burton finished. "Now rest, son.I'll handle everything, Daddy is here 
now," he said as Nick closed his eyes and relaxed.

He listened to his dad's words and smiled. For the first time in a long while he 
let someone else take control as he fell into a very deep sleep.