Fic: Second - Ch. 1
Title: Second - Ch. 1 - Flowers and small crashes
Author: Zombie_Matrix
Rating: PG-13
Ties in to: from 1x03 to post-series
Characters/Pairings: Nate, Beth, Ben, Eli, Frank
Genres: Drama
Summary: A story that was never really told on the show... the story of Nate and Beth. Covers almost all of the series, including the finale.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot stuff I came up with. I am making absolutely no money off of this and am only doing out of my love for this show.
Author's Note/Warnings: I was posting on Broedy's LiveJournal about episode 2x12 and how a Beth/Nate fix was pretty much not going to happen at all in the show with only one episode left, but also that I didn't really care too much because as much as I love Nate, well, Beth was never on the show very much. And that got me to thinking. There's a lot going on there that isn't dealt with, that isn't shown... so, here is my take on that. This starts from after 1x03 where Nate and Beth meet up until post-series. This is, more or less, from Nate's point of view.
---
It all started with my dopey brother. It usually does. This time, though, for once in my entire life, it was a good thing. At least at first.
---
Nate walked down the street to Beth's house, bouquet of slightly crushed flowers in hand. He'd gotten caught up at work, as usual, and was now over two hours late for their first date. Their first date. The one where he was supposed to be charming and make a great first, or technically second, impression on her. And he was two hours late. He was, or so he thought, only a few blocks away from her house. She'd given him pretty good directions, but he'd never spent much time in this part of town before, so he was almost completely lost. He let out a long groan. This was not how this was supposed to go.
Letting out another sigh, he thought back to the first time they'd met. It was a little awkward, to say the least, him knowing... well, he just didn't want to think about it. And then half way through their first dance he'd gone and stepped on her feet. Usually, he was a pretty good flirt, but something about her just set him off and spun him around until he didn't know which was was up, which way was down and which was left or right. And he couldn't get enough of it. Of her. Even if... no, he was definitely not going to think about that again. This was one thing that his younger brother would not ruin. He shuddered. This was weird. It was very weird.
Finally, he stopped in front of a house that matched the description she'd given him. He paused a second, trying to remember exactly how she'd described the house, trying to make sure that this was the right one. After a few seconds he decided that there was no way to check other than to go and knock on the door. He walked to the front door and was about to knock when the door opened from the inside. Slightly startled, he took a small step back.
"Nate?" Beth stood in the doorway, her hair and makeup done but wearing just jeans and a t-shirt. Clearly, she'd thought he'd stood her up. It was definitely a strike against him.
"Hey. Um.. sorry I'm so late..." He smiled and blushed a little, which in turn made her smile. He held up the flowers and blushed a little more. "Do these help make up for it?"
She paused a second, looking like she was giving the question real thought. "I suppose they'll do. Come on, you can bring them inside. The babysitter has got Ben in the living room in the back." She turned and walked inside the house, and looked back over her shoulder at him. "Well, aren't you coming?"
"Sure. And sorry about showing up late, I... there was an influx of patients..." He shrugged and walked inside. He noticed the pile of shoes by the door, but didn't take his off. He assumed they'd be going out again soon and that he wouldn't need to.
"I'll just get out a vase..." She headed into the kitchen, clearly on the hunt for something to store the flowers in. He stood out in the hall awkwardly still holding the flowers. A loud crash echoed from the kitchen a few seconds later and Beth yelped. Nate cocked his head to the side in curiosity and walked into the kitchen to find her sprawled out on the floor, pots, pans and various bakeware all over the floor around her. He put the flowers down on the table and helped her to her feet. She smiled. "Chivalrous. I like that."
"Yeah, what I lack in punctuality, I make up for in chivalry," he said. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I think so... I was just..." She looked over at the tall cupboards on the opposite wall. "I was trying to find a vase and I opened the cupboard and..." She pointed at the mess all over the floor. "That happened." She laughed. "You probably think I'm pretty klutzy, right?"
"Not at all." He said, shaking his head slightly. "Just... organizationally challenged."
"Well, that's one way of putting it." She paused. "I should probably put those away."
"You should probably re-organize your kitchen," he suggested, teasing her just a little.
She just rolled her eyes and got to her feet. As she stood, she banged her elbow on the table and let out a sharp yelp.
"You sure you're okay?"
"Yeah." She nodded. "Just a bruise."
This time, he was the one that rolled his eyes. "Sit down. I'll put the stuff away. I won't have you injuring yourself again in the next five minutes."
"Well," she shrugged, "if you're offering."
He just nodded and got to work on putting everything back into the high cupboard. It didn't take long.
"So," he said as he spun to face her, "where do you want to go?" He looked down at his watch and sighed. "It's kind of late, but there are a few places still open downtown. We could call a cab-"
"Actually, we don't have the time to go downtown. There's only about an hour before my babysitter leaves."
"Oh..." he said, his voice suddenly much softer, much quieter. "I could just... I could leave, then..."
"Or, we could go to this bar down the street. It's not the greatest, but it's better than sticking around here."
"Or there's always that option." He smiled.
---
It's almost funny, looking back on everything now. It all started so simply, only to get so incredibly messed up.
---
Author: Zombie_Matrix
Rating: PG-13
Ties in to: from 1x03 to post-series
Characters/Pairings: Nate, Beth, Ben, Eli, Frank
Genres: Drama
Summary: A story that was never really told on the show... the story of Nate and Beth. Covers almost all of the series, including the finale.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot stuff I came up with. I am making absolutely no money off of this and am only doing out of my love for this show.
Author's Note/Warnings: I was posting on Broedy's LiveJournal about episode 2x12 and how a Beth/Nate fix was pretty much not going to happen at all in the show with only one episode left, but also that I didn't really care too much because as much as I love Nate, well, Beth was never on the show very much. And that got me to thinking. There's a lot going on there that isn't dealt with, that isn't shown... so, here is my take on that. This starts from after 1x03 where Nate and Beth meet up until post-series. This is, more or less, from Nate's point of view.
---
It all started with my dopey brother. It usually does. This time, though, for once in my entire life, it was a good thing. At least at first.
---
Nate walked down the street to Beth's house, bouquet of slightly crushed flowers in hand. He'd gotten caught up at work, as usual, and was now over two hours late for their first date. Their first date. The one where he was supposed to be charming and make a great first, or technically second, impression on her. And he was two hours late. He was, or so he thought, only a few blocks away from her house. She'd given him pretty good directions, but he'd never spent much time in this part of town before, so he was almost completely lost. He let out a long groan. This was not how this was supposed to go.
Letting out another sigh, he thought back to the first time they'd met. It was a little awkward, to say the least, him knowing... well, he just didn't want to think about it. And then half way through their first dance he'd gone and stepped on her feet. Usually, he was a pretty good flirt, but something about her just set him off and spun him around until he didn't know which was was up, which way was down and which was left or right. And he couldn't get enough of it. Of her. Even if... no, he was definitely not going to think about that again. This was one thing that his younger brother would not ruin. He shuddered. This was weird. It was very weird.
Finally, he stopped in front of a house that matched the description she'd given him. He paused a second, trying to remember exactly how she'd described the house, trying to make sure that this was the right one. After a few seconds he decided that there was no way to check other than to go and knock on the door. He walked to the front door and was about to knock when the door opened from the inside. Slightly startled, he took a small step back.
"Nate?" Beth stood in the doorway, her hair and makeup done but wearing just jeans and a t-shirt. Clearly, she'd thought he'd stood her up. It was definitely a strike against him.
"Hey. Um.. sorry I'm so late..." He smiled and blushed a little, which in turn made her smile. He held up the flowers and blushed a little more. "Do these help make up for it?"
She paused a second, looking like she was giving the question real thought. "I suppose they'll do. Come on, you can bring them inside. The babysitter has got Ben in the living room in the back." She turned and walked inside the house, and looked back over her shoulder at him. "Well, aren't you coming?"
"Sure. And sorry about showing up late, I... there was an influx of patients..." He shrugged and walked inside. He noticed the pile of shoes by the door, but didn't take his off. He assumed they'd be going out again soon and that he wouldn't need to.
"I'll just get out a vase..." She headed into the kitchen, clearly on the hunt for something to store the flowers in. He stood out in the hall awkwardly still holding the flowers. A loud crash echoed from the kitchen a few seconds later and Beth yelped. Nate cocked his head to the side in curiosity and walked into the kitchen to find her sprawled out on the floor, pots, pans and various bakeware all over the floor around her. He put the flowers down on the table and helped her to her feet. She smiled. "Chivalrous. I like that."
"Yeah, what I lack in punctuality, I make up for in chivalry," he said. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I think so... I was just..." She looked over at the tall cupboards on the opposite wall. "I was trying to find a vase and I opened the cupboard and..." She pointed at the mess all over the floor. "That happened." She laughed. "You probably think I'm pretty klutzy, right?"
"Not at all." He said, shaking his head slightly. "Just... organizationally challenged."
"Well, that's one way of putting it." She paused. "I should probably put those away."
"You should probably re-organize your kitchen," he suggested, teasing her just a little.
She just rolled her eyes and got to her feet. As she stood, she banged her elbow on the table and let out a sharp yelp.
"You sure you're okay?"
"Yeah." She nodded. "Just a bruise."
This time, he was the one that rolled his eyes. "Sit down. I'll put the stuff away. I won't have you injuring yourself again in the next five minutes."
"Well," she shrugged, "if you're offering."
He just nodded and got to work on putting everything back into the high cupboard. It didn't take long.
"So," he said as he spun to face her, "where do you want to go?" He looked down at his watch and sighed. "It's kind of late, but there are a few places still open downtown. We could call a cab-"
"Actually, we don't have the time to go downtown. There's only about an hour before my babysitter leaves."
"Oh..." he said, his voice suddenly much softer, much quieter. "I could just... I could leave, then..."
"Or, we could go to this bar down the street. It's not the greatest, but it's better than sticking around here."
"Or there's always that option." He smiled.
---
It's almost funny, looking back on everything now. It all started so simply, only to get so incredibly messed up.
---