Title: Please Don't Take You Out Of Us
By: Jaxson K.
Pairing: past Nick / Gil
Rating: PG
Summary: Gil makes an attempt to get Nick to come home.
A/N: This is the sequel to "I Wonder What He'll Think About Me Leaving"

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Gil knew something was wrong as soon as he walked in the front door. It was entire too quiet, and Nick wasn't around. That didn't really surprise to Gil because it wasn't unusual for Nick to be called in early. Gil thought about calling him to let him know he was home, but decided to let it be a surprise. Little did Gil know that the surprise was on him!

The next morning, Gil got a good look at the apartment. What he saw appalled him. Nick wasn't pulling a double at all. Nick was gone, and taken his things with him. Gil knew that things hadn't been too good between the two of them lately, but it never dawned on Gil that Nick would want to leave.

The fact was that Nick had tried to talk to him about how things were going, but Gil had mostly ignored most of it. He just hoped that it would go away. It wasn't always that way. In the beginning, Gil and Nick talked about everything. Gil knew now why things were good back then. As time went on, though, Gil just didn't care anymore and it took its' toll on what he and Nick had.

Gil honestly didn't think Nick would actually go. He thought Nick would just put up with everything like he normally did. Looked like this time Gil was wrong. Gil knew he had to talk to Nick and to try and get him to come home. He even decided that he would try to address some of the problems they had been having.

Gil dialed to familiar number and held his breath as it rang.........

"Stokes....."

"Nick?"

"Gil, is that you?"

"Yes, Nick, it's me. What the hell is going on?"

"It's really self-explanatory, Gil..."

"Well, I sure as hell wish you'd explain it to me.....Are you busy at the moment? I could come by and we could talk about this....."

"No! I'll come to you. I can meet you at the house in 20 minutes...."

"Okay, I'll see you then....."

The two men disconnected, and Gil nervously waited to Nick to show up. Twenty minutes later, Gil heard Nick's truck pull into the driveway, and Gil's nervousness returned with a vengeance. Nick knocked on the door, and Gil let him in. The two men eyed each other warily, and Gil reached out to hug Nick. Nick side-stepped the hug and went to the sofa and sat down.

Gil sat down in his recliner and began to speak to Nick.....

"Nick, what exactly is going on? Is this some sort of stunt to get me to pay attention?"

"No, Gil, this isn't some stunt. This is real. My leaving has been coming for a long time. The way things were at the end was enough to make up my mind for me. You know how bad things were, so tell me you would want to stay in a situation that kept you down all the time?"

"I don't suppose I would, Nick. I know things were bad at the end, but it was my fault. I just gave up trying, and to be honest, I didn't want to try anymore. I just thought you would just handle it like you handled everything else........"

"Fooled you this time, didn't I? I decided to get out of a no-win situation for good....."

"Nick, there's something I need to ask you, and I really don't expect much, but here goes....Nick, please don't take you out of us. I promise to try and do better....."

"Gil, it's too late to ask me that. I took me out of us when I left. Besides, I think too much of me to ever take the chance on going through this crap or loving you again. Now, if there's nothing else, I've got to go....."

Gil knew he was done for, and didn't stand a chance with Nick anymore. He got up and saw Nick to the door. He stood at the door watching Nick walk out of his life for the last time. When Nick left, Gil sat on the sofa thinking about his talk with Nick. He realized that Nick had done the right no matter how much it had hurt Gil. He hoped that Nick would be happy.....

END

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