> Nick paused and looked up thoughtfully before looking back at Derek and
then going back to the cast "This one should be done in ten minutes."
>
> Then he moved to the other one, waiting until then to speak again "You're
feeling better, aren't you?"
>
> He had never really talked to Derek about it but he had seen his reaction
when they had found Julia that night in Ireland, and he'd seen Derek during
that time of the year. Even with his usual private, almost stoic
expressions Nick could tell a difference.
>
> That difference was gone. If Nick would go a step further there was even
a lack of... tension about Derek's eyes or over all stature.
>
Derek:
At first Derek had no idea what the young man was talking about. He hadn't
been ill anytime recently. He gave Nick a curious look and then glanced
back up at the window. That's when it hit him and he frowned slightly. He
did feel better about things now that Julia was back and for other reasons,
but...how did Nick know there had been a problem in the first place? He'd
gone to great pains to see that no one knew. "Yes," he said finally rubbing
the back of his neck. "I'm fine. Are you?" He knew Nick had barely spoken
to Julia since she arrived and he could understand why, but he hoped the two
of them wouldn't spend the rest of their lives avoiding one another. That
was hard even a house the size of his own and it was hard on everyone living
there.
