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Chapter 8

Brian pushed Nicks slightly ajar door open enough so that he could look in at Nick. A small smile appeared on his face when he saw Nick sleeping, with Tyler right next to him. Tyler had rested his head on Nicks shoulder and Nick had his arm around him. It was obvious that Nick loved his son. Having Tyler around was a good thing for Nick, it was just what he needed. Brian sighed as he pulled the door shut and started to walk back down the hall.

"How's he doing?" Leighanne asked as she saw Brian walk away from Nicks room.

"He was asleep," Brian answered, "he has Tyler in there with him. He needs to sleep right now. Poor guy hasn't gotten much of that lately."

"I know. I just wish there was something else that we could do for him. I mean we can only stay here so long. He can't become dependant on having you here all the time," she explained to her husband.

"I know that," he answered her, "just another day or two. Just until he gets his feet on the ground. I just want to be sure."

"From what you told me the other day he sounds like he's on the ground," she pointed out.

"He had a flashback tonight."

"Oh my god. I didn't know. I must have sounded so heartless a minute ago," she said, slightly dissapointed about what she had said. She didn't mean to say anything harmful.

"Yeah, I was going to leave tonight. When I went to go tell Nick, he was near tears and he just looked so lost. I just wanted to make sure he was alright. Tyler's here now, he needs his father and I just wanted to make sure his father was able to be there," Brian explained.

"Yeah, yeah I understand that. He already lost his mother, I would hate to see him go without a father because Nick isn't well."

"Let's go into the living room and let them sleep," Brian commented as he walked towards the living room with Leighanne right behind him, "I think Nick would do anything at this point to make sure that he got to keep his son." Leighanne nodded and agreement and the both of them sat down on the couch.

"I can't believe he let Tyler go in the first place."

"Leigh you have to admit that he was in no condition to look after him. It was the best thing to do for Tyler at the time. Besides, it was only six months and Nick was able to get him back into his life and that's what matters right now."

"You think he'll ever get over her?"

"No, she was so important to him and she was taken so suddenly. He loved her. It's hard to let go of your first love."

"How would you handle this if that happened to me?" she asked.

"I don't even want to think about it," he answered, "it's just such a horrible thing. It hurts me just to watch Nick go through it."

"What do you think's gonna happen after we leave?"

"Nick's going to put his life back together. He's started that already. All he needed was a good push, I think he's going to be just fine," he replied, hoping his words held the truth. It pained him to see how his best friend had to suffer day in and day out.

"I still can't believe we lost her," she admitted, "it really does seem unreal. It was like one day she was with us, happy as can be, then the next she was gone."

"I know and poor Nick knows that all too well. He lost the most that night," Brian stated, "he still blames himself for what happened. He thinks that he could have done something differently that would have saved her life. It's hard to say that he was powerless, ya know. Just to see how much pain are in his eyes when you tell him that even though he was right there, nothing could have changed what happened."

"He did what he could," she replied.

"I know I he did. There was no way that he would have just sat back and let her die. Its just that something in his mind is telling him he didn't do enough. You can almost see all the guilt that he has in his eyes when he talks about that night."

"What can we do? I really wanna help," she asked him.

"I have no idea really. It's up to Nick I think to realize that he was in no way responsible for her death. Once he gets completely past that, I think he's going to do great. As far as we can do to help him, I guess just talk to him. Let him know that we're there for him."

"You think he'll talk to me?"

"Sure, why not?"

"I don't know. I just figured that since you guys were best friends he'd really only want to talk to you."

"Well you were really close to Erika. Maybe if you talk to him, let him know that she wouldn't want him to blame himself, he might believe you because you knew her so well."

"I don't know Brian. I'm not sure if I would know what to say to him if he just started crying. I don't know if I would be able to hold it in myself," she confessed.

"Maybe that would be a good thing. He might just need someone to cry with. To know that he isn't alone."

"He's not," she replied, "he has us."

"I know but he's just so up set right now that he can't really see things clearly. In the morning why don't you talk to him? I've done all that I can, maybe someone else should try and I think you might have the best chance Leigh."

"I can try but I can't promise anything," she answered.

"I know. No one can, it's really up to Nick," he replied, "but we can help him help himself and that's what's important."

"What about Tyler? How do we explain what happened to him? He's so young and just so innocent. He won't understand."

"That's really up to Nick. Tyler is his son and he has to decide whats best. I think that Nick should wait until he's a little older and can really grasp the concept of what happened. Right now it would just be too hard for both of them."

"It's hard for everyone. The wonds are still so fresh."

"That's why we have to make them better now instead of waiting until they get worse. We can't let Nick dig himself in a hole he can't get out of."

"What'll happen if we can't help him?"

"Don't worry about that. I think he's going to be just fine. He's already a lot better. We just need to help him the rest of the way."

"I hope so Brian. I really do hope so."