Lab Rat: Absolved

2.7: In Which It Hurts

           391 can't breathe.

          She's frozen in place, eyes stinging, heart breaking.

          And.

          She.

          Can't.

          Fucking.

          Breathe.

         Girlfriend...

         Mother of his son...

         Oh my god.

         I'm gonna be sick.

         I'm gonna-

          Stumbling, she lets go of his hand, feeling like she no longer had a claim to the man she was in love with, and excused herself. The bathroom was upstairs, all she had to do was make it upstairs.

          One step at a time...She manages, barely.

          "Oh no," Danny whispers. "I'll go after her," she says before doing just that.

          Nick blinks. Everything was suddenly moving so fast. Where'd his girl go? Why the fuck was this woman claiming to be his? And that little boy...who looked just like him...

          No, The Beast growls, Mate need us. Go to mate.

          It's a little more complicated than that, buddy, Nick thinks in a daze.

         "Who was she?" The lady asks, looking confused. "You were holding hands...are you together?" She doesn't hide how much that thought hurts her.

          Ah shit. Nick feels bad, he really does, because, potentially, one moment in time, he loved this woman. Loved her enough to have a child with her - holy fuck - but all he could think about was his girl and how much she was hurting.

           She's gonna be destroyed. His heart hurt.

          Where the fuck did they go from here? His head hurt, too.

           They already had issues to work out. God knows he hadn't got over the thought of her and 81 together, although he wouldn't talk to her about that, but he was trying to work it out in his own way. Which pretty much translated to fuck her and blow her mind until all traces of him are gone gone gone.

          And now this. He hadn't even considered he'd been with anyone before he was taken. Jesus Christ, were they ever gonna catch a break?

          He wanted to go after her. See if she was okay. See what she thought of it all. His girl was smart like that. She'd know what to do. But the small boy with dark hair and his eyes stopped him.

          Gah. The way he's looking at me...like he's expecting something.

         Of course he's expecting something. You're his dad you fucking spoon!

         "Uh. Hi," Nick says dumbly.

         "Hi," the boy, around three years old, responds quietly.

         Nick nods, and then nods some more. He didn't know what to do. Shit. Fuck. It was all so messed up.

         Go to mate, The Beast growls.

        "Okay," he says out-loud. His heart edges towards the steps but his feet take him towards the exit. "I need some air," he mutters and then he's gone.