(AN: takes place after season 6; episode 5 "Gum Drops.")
Sara had been worried about Nick during the case. However, when he attacked the seventeen-year-old suspect is when Sara decided to call Emma Grace. Sara had filled Emma Grace in on the details of how Nick had been acting. Both women agreed that part of what was going on with him had to do with the traumatic experience he'd had six months ago when he was buried alive.
"Do you want me to go in with you?" Emma Grace was holding Nick's hand while her other hand drew random patterns on his back as a way to comfort him. They were standing outside the hospital room of ten-year-old Cassie McBride. Nick had tried to talk Emma Grace into letting him handle the aftermath of the case on his own because he could tell Emma Grace was exhausted. Needless to say, Emma wasn't about to leave Nick's side during this.
"She might feel comfortable if you're in there too. After all, it was males that did this to her." Nick wiped a stray tear off of Emma's cheek. Emma cleared her throat and nodded.
As they entered the room, Cassie was coloring. She went to talk but couldn't. So, Nick walked over to her bedside and whispered, "Hi." Then he took Emma Grace's hand and brought her closer to Cassie.
"This is my friend Emma Grace. Is it okay if she's in here with us?" At Cassie's small nod Nick and Emma Grace both smiled. Emma Grace had to fight back a wave of tears as she watched Cassie hand Nick the thank you card she had been coloring a few minutes ago.
Nick was fighting back his own tears as he smiled, placed a gentle hand on Cassie's head, and whispered, "You're welcome, Sweetie."
Emma Grace let tears fall when she noticed that Cassie's attention was solely on Nick, and she was demanding to know where her family was. Cassie was a tough little girl, that was for sure.
When Nick asked Cassie to tell him what happened to her family and Cassie agreed, Emma Grace pulled herself together the best she could and sat beside Nick. She gently took Cassie's hand in hers, and the little girl awarded her a tiny smile.
"We are listening, Sweetheart?" Emma Grace reassured Cassie. At Nick's encouraging nod, Cassie began to talk.
"They came to my- house. They had a fight. They couldn't find what they were looking for. I loved my family..."
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The ride home was quiet. Emma Grace and Nick didn't speak. Emma rested her head against the window and let her tears fall. Nick reached over and took Emma's hand. He didn't let go the whole ride home.
When the couple walked through Nick's door, they went to sit on the couch. Nick started to cry, and Emma Grace held him while she cried too. When the tears stopped the two of them sat and held each other. Emma Grace was the one who leaned over pressing her lips to Nick's in a passionate but gentle kiss. Nick responded to the kiss while brushing Emma Grace's hair back behind her ear.
As the kissing continued Emma Grace positioned herself so that she was straddling Nick's waist. Emma placed her hand under Nick's shirt and started drawing patterns on his stomach with feathery touches.
Nick gasped at Emma Grace's touch. While the couple rested their foreheads against each other Emma Grace ran her other hand down Nick's neck. "Nicky," was all that Emma Grace moaned against Nick's lips. Nick connected their lips in a hungry kiss as he picked Emma Grace up and made his way to the bedroom.
"Nick, we need to talk about the way you acted during this case." Emma Grace was wrapped in the bedsheets resting her head on Nick's chest and running her fingers from his chest to his stomach. She wasn't looking forward to this conversation, but she knew it had to happen.
"Emma, I was just trying to get answers." Nick tried not to sound frustrated as he combed his fingers through Emma Grace's hair. He didn't want to talk about this.
"No, you weren't Nick. You were reliving two traumatic experiences at the same time." Emma Grace rested her weight on her elbows so that she had eye contact with Nick while still laying down beside him.
"I'm not talking about this Emma!" Nick pushed the covers back, grabbed his boxers, and stood up. After putting his boxers on, he turned to face Emma Grace with his arms folded his over his chest.
"You told me back in June that you couldn't be husband and father material until you dealt with what happened to you. I told you I understood that, and I do. I also told you I'd wait for you while you worked through this. You talked to someone about five times. Then you said you could handle everything on your own. But, Nick, you've tried to work through this on your own for six months! You know you need help. The question now is, do you want to work through this, and come back to your family?" Emma Grace had gotten out of the bed while she was talking and had been getting dressed.
"Nick, what you went through was traumatic. I know you hate talking to strangers about what's going on in your life, but please, please consider seeing a therapist. Please, do this for yourself. Please do this for the girls. Please, do this for me. For us." Emma Grace pulled a card out of her back pants pocket. She walked over to Nick, kissed him on the cheek, and left the card with the therapist's number on it in Nick's hand as she walked out of the bedroom.
Nick heard the front door open and close. He knew that Emma Grace had left. After all, she had to get home to Kaitlin, Marie, and six-month-old Maggie, whom Ashley was babysitting, and she didn't want Nick to see her cry.
Nick's heart broke seeing Emma Grace so broken and helpless. He wanted to fix everything. Nick wanted to be able to enjoy spending time with Emma Grace and the girls without having to worry about something bringing back the memories of him being buried alive. He wanted to be able to do his job without having to worry something would set him off, and he wouldn't be able to help the victims. Nick couldn't fully recover on his own; he had already tried. Nick retrieved his cell phone and dialed the number Emma Grace had given him. It was time he learned tools to deal with his post-traumatic stress so that he could be someone Emma Grace and the girls deserved.
He just hoped Emma Grace and the girls would wait on him while he tried to emotionally recover.