So yeah... I figured that since I actually went and saw Push the other night, and since it's pretty much my new favorite movie EVER... I'd try my hand at writing a fanfiction for it.

Read it, review it, but most importantly... enjoy it.

"You're limping."

Those two words snapped Nick out of this reverie. He looked over at Cassie, who was still walking beside him, arm around his waist, and smiled.

"I know," he said, "but cut me a little slack, eh? It was hard work, stopping Division from killing Kira. Not to mention that fight..." He shook his head rapidly, trying to clear a bit of the fog from his mind. "I had to push myself in ways I never even thought possible..."

"You can't technically do that, you know..."

A blank look grew over Nick's face, betraying the confusion he was feeling. "Erm... what?" he asked. "I can't do what...?"

"Push yourself," replied Cassie. "You can't Push yourself, just others. Besides, you're a Mover, not a Pusher."

Even with the "explanation," it took Nick a minute or two to figure to figure out what on earth Cassie was referring to. His brain was barely able to command his legs to move, and right then his mind just wasn't up to doing two things at once.

Finally, though, after about five minutes of half-assed contemplation, a light came on his mind, and he groaned.

A look of concern flitted through Cassie's eyes. "What's wrong?" she asked.

Nick shook his head again, a wry grin coming over his face. "I just now got your joke."

Cassie's look went from fearful to nonplussed. "What are you talking about?"

"The whole Pushers/Movers thing..." Nick mumbled.

Cassie rolled her eyes in mock annoyance. "It took you that long just to get my joke?"

"Hey, babe," Nick shot back, a bit testily, "it's a minor miracle that I'm even able to move my legs right now-"

At that point, a sharp, intense pain shot up Nick's right leg, and he swore aloud, turning his head so that Cassie couldn't see the pain etched in every line of his face.

She could still tell, though. And as much as she wanted to say something, no words came to her lips. So she settled for just tightening her grip on him, so he wouldn't fall over completely.

The pain took a minute to subside, but once it had, Nick found it infinitely easier to breathe. Soon after, his breathing had slowed from erratically fast to relatively normal.

"Better?" Cassie asked after a moment.

Nick half-grimaced, half-smiled in response. "Yeah, for now, but... Cassie?" When she had looked at him, he said softly, "Please don't let go of me. You know, so I don't almost fall over again...?"

Cassie shot him a "yeah sure, I believe your story... not" look out of the corner of her eye, but nevertheless she was touched that he was actually relying at least partially on her, instead of trying to be completely independent of anyone and everyone, like he usually did.

But more than that- and if Cassie was truly honest with herself (which she normally was), she would actually admit this- there was a bigger reason for her not letting go of him, than just his safety.

Simply put... she didn't want to.

So she smiled up at him, involuntarily tightening her grip on him as he returned the favor.

After a moment, she found her words again: "I wouldn't even think about it..."

---

It seemed like an eternity before they made it back to the main road.

"You making it okay?" Cassie asked. True to her word, she hadn't let go of him once during their entire trek.

And he hadn't fallen over once, either.

Nick smiled at her. "I'll make it. What about you?"

Cassie chuckled softly. "Physically, I'll be fine. Mentally, though... Well, I think Donkey said it best: 'I'm going to need some serious therapy when this is all over with...'"

Nate couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, love, you and me both."

When Cassie heard that Nick had called her "love," her face flooded pink enough to match the highlights in her hair. She turned her head to try to stop Nick from seeing her blush, and tried to cover it up by coughing.

"You okay?" Nick asked, sounding more than a bit concerned.

"Yeah," replied Cassie, literally waving it off. "Must've inhaled a bunch of dust or something..."

"Okay..." said Nick, though his tone made it quite clear that he didn't believe her story, either. "So.. how exactly are we going to get back to the city?"

Cassie broke into a radiant smile. "Let me handle that." As she pulled out her cell phone, a very clear thought ran through Nick's mind: She really is beautiful when she smiles like that... Well, she's beautiful all the time, but... especially now...

Nick snapped back into reality, just in time for Cassie to flip her phone shut and put it back into her handbag.

"Who'd you just call?" Nick asked, his curiosity piqued.

"Shadow."

A confused look crossed Nick's face. "Who, now?"

Cassie flippantly tossed a lock of hair from her eyes. "That dude who Shadowed Kira while Division was still hunting her. I can never remember his name, so I always just call him Shadow. He doesn't seem to mind..." She shrugged. "Anyways, he said he'd be here in about five minutes to pick us up."

Is she talking about Pinky...? Nick thought. In a moment, though, he shook his head, more in amazement than anything else. "You, Cassie... are a life-saver."

Cassie laughed. "Naw, I'm not..."

"No, really, you are," Nick insisted. "In fact, I want to do something nice for you. Anything you want, it's yours- if I can squeeze it into my budget, that is." He smiled lovingly at her. "So... what do you say?"

Before Cassie had a chance to stop herself, the words slipped out: "I want to go on a date with you."

As soon as she said that, she immediately regretted even saying it. He could never love me, she thought. Besides, he's so much older than I am-

"Okay."

Cassie looked up at him in sharp surprise. "Say what?"

"I said okay," Nick responded. "I think it would be fun. Besides, being with you, I might just forget about Kira, eh?"

Cassie was about to object when they heard a blaring horn in the distance. They looked up, just in time to see a lone car pull up in front of them.

"Going my way?"

Nick smiled. "Gladly." He and Cassie got into the backseat and buckled up.

"Everything alright?" Pinky asked.

"Great, thanks. And thanks for the lift."

Pinky smiled. "Anything for a friend." He put the car into fourth gear and sped away into the night.

The car was silent for a minute or two, then Cassie reached into her bag and pulled out a small length of rope that had a few knots woven into it. Deftly, she unraveled the longer end and began to work on another knot.

"What's that?" Nick asked.

Cassie grinned. "Do you really want to know?"

Nick grinned back. "Playing hard to get?"

She laughed. "Hardly. I just don't want to tell you until our date tomorrow night. Besides, I'm not finished with it yet." She then realized what she'd just said, and backtracked: "That is, if you want to have our date tomorrow night."

Nick smiled. "That sounds great. That way, we can all go to my place and rest for the night, then be all ready for tomorrow."

"Even me?" Pinky asked.

Nick laughed. "Yeah, sure, we'll make it a sleep-over."

As Cassie continued working on her knot, she moved over in her seat and snuggled up next to Nick; she laid her head on his shoulder, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

After awhile, a soft rain began to fall, and not too long after, Cassie drifted off to sleep. Nick smiled, then leaned down and kissed her, on the lips. "Good night," he whispered. "And... I love you."

No, the story's not over. Their date is going to be in the second chapter. Until then... Don't Push yourself too hard.

*awaits the thrown tomatoes*