ᴀ sᴜᴍᴍᴇʀ's ᴅᴀʏ - Nick Miller

ᴛʜᴇ ᴛʀɪᴘ ᴛᴏ ᴄʜɪᴄᴀɢᴏ

Cassy looked down from the dead body on her table as her phone rang, smiling to see Nick's name pop up. She took off her gloves, throwing them away as she picked up.

"Hey, baby." She greeted, smiling.

"Hey, Cassy. Uh, listen, when you get home, can we talk?" Nick asked, his voice low and somber. Cassy frowned.

"Yeah, sure. Is everything okay?" She asked. Nick cleared his throat.

"Uh, sorta-- no. I'll talk to you later, okay?" He said before hanging up. Cassy's frown deepened, and she stared down at her phone. That was weird. Really weird.

-

"Nick? Are you here?" Cassy asked, walking into the loft. She still had her scrubs on, her hair tied back from work, and Jess, Winston and Schmidt were sitting on the couch giggling. Cassy raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, Cassy." Winston greeted, his voice unusually high-pitched. Her eyebrow raised further, and they burst out giggling again, holding up balloons. 

"Ah, ok." Cassy replied, shaking her head with a small smile. "Is Nick here?"

"He's in his room." Jess replied, pointing. Cassy walked over, knocking on his door.

"Babe? You okay?" She asked. Nick opened the door, stepping out.

"Hey." He said quietly, wrapping his arms around her. Cassy frowned, hugging him back. He pulled away, walking over to the living room. "Uh, I guess I should tell you guys... uh, my dad died. I guess he had a heart attack. I gotta go back to Chicago and uh... go to the funeral and everything." He explained. Cassy's face fell and she wrapped her arms around him.

"I'm so sorry." She whispered. He blinked, burying his face into her shoulder.

-

Nick got out of the car, opening the trunk and beginning to unload their luggage. Cassy, Jess, Winston and Schmidt climbed out, stepping onto the snowy street.

"So this is where you grew up, hey?" Cassy asked, smiling softly. Nick nodded as he closed the trunk, looking up at it.

"Yeah. Except for the fall of '88 to the spring of '89. That was our van year." He replied quietly. "I gotta be honest, this is not how I wanted you to meet my parents." He joked humourlessly.

"I'm right here, okay?" Cassy replied, taking his hand in hers. Nick smiled softly.

"We're all here for you, Nick." Jess added.

"I'm gonna be strong for you, man." Winston offered. "You know, I really did love Walt."

"He was my dad, Winston."

"Yeah, but, I mean, he loved me more than he loved you. He told me that." Winston replied.

"He told me that too, actually." Nick agreed. Schmidt sighed aggressively. "You okay, Schmidt?"

"I didn't want to make this about me, but... the airline lost my bag." Schmidt muttered. "I wanted to look fantastic for your father's funeral. I have nothing but the schmatta on my back."

"Alright." Nick said, turning to the house. He slapped himself in the face a few times. "Let's do this."

"Uh, Cassy. We should warn you. Nick's family is a little crazy." Winston whispered as Nick walked up to the door. She raised an eyebrow, saying nothing as they followed after him.