Jackson and Greta are my original characters, but I don't own CSI or Star Wars.
I wanted to write a story with Jackson and his Uncle Nicky in time for the first season finale of MacGyver. And I thought it would be great to include Greta. This is inspired by two previous stories of mine, Date Night and Lunch With Friends. Hope you enjoy...and please review!
You'd think on a Friday night, home would be the last place you'd find Nick Stokes. But that's exactly where he was on this particular Friday night, because he had a couple of special guests. Jackson and Greta Sanders were at his house since Greg and Morgan were on a case and Judy's sister was in town. Nick adored Jackson and Greta, so he didn't mind babysitting on his night off.
"Greta, you're gonna love sleeping over here," Jackson happily told his sister as he and Nick pet Sam. "He knows all kinds of cool stories and all about football, and he makes a good cheese pizza!"
"Icky baba?" Greta asked. Nick smiled and lifted the baby girl from her spot on the couch. "You like pizza, Greta?"
Jackson giggled. "Uncle Nicky, she can only eat a little bit. Mama packed her some food." Jackson got some baby food from Greta's diaper bag. He showed it to Nick. "She likes this one best."
Nick took the jar of baby food. "Oh, you like bananas, huh?" He asked the baby girl in his arms. Greta smiled and reached for the jar.
"Greta," Jackson said with a giggle. "Uncle Nicky has to give it to you. I'll help!"
"Thank you, big guy." Nick set Greta on her blanket on the floor so he and Jackson could fix their dinner. Jackson loved fixing pizza, so he happily helped Nick fix dinner.
"Uncle Nicky, don't forget...we need extra cheese!" Jackson told his favorite uncle.
Greta played with her toys and she and Sam watched the two pals prepare dinner. Jackson saw Greta reach for Sam. "Uh-oh!" he said as he gently grabbed his sister's hand. "Greta, you gotta be careful. Here." Jackson took his sister's hand and helped her gently pet the dog's fur. Sam patiently let his small friends pet him.
Nick smiled. "You're a good brother, Jackson."
Jackson smiled at his sister as she gently patted the dog. "Yeah, you've gotta be really gentle," he told his sister. "Cause sometimes, when you try to pet a doggie, he won't be friendly like Sam and Scruffy."
Nick smiled as Jackson gently helped Greta to her feet. "You wanna help make dinner?" Nick asked the baby girl.
"Ma bababa?" Greta said.
"Yeah," Jackson said. "You can help make pizza. But you gotta let Uncle Nicky use the sharp stuff."
Nick spooned some sauce onto the pizza crust as Jackson told his sister about the first time he met Sam. "Greta, we had pizza that day too!" Jackson said. "He likes pizza!"
"Almost as much as you did," Nick said, smiling at the memory of Jackson and Greg coming over to meet Sam when Nick first adopted the dog and Sam licking pizza sauce off a giggling Jackson's face and hands.
Nick gave some cheese and pepperoni to Jackson. "All right, how much do you want, big guy?"
"Hmm..." Jackson said as he piled on cheese and a few pieces of pepperoni. Nick chopped up a bell pepper and smiled as Jackson doctored his pizza. He smiled as Jackson used almost the entire package of cheese for his pizza.
Jackson gave a small handful of cheese to his sister. "Greta, do you want to put some on the pizza?" Greta looked at the cheese in her hand and wondered what she was supposed to do with it. Nick smiled as Jackson gently guided Greta's hand to the pizza. "Here ya go," Jackson said as he helped her plop the cheese on the pizza.
"All right," Nick said as the pizzas were ready to go in the oven. "You ready?"
"Yeah!" Jackson smiled at his sister. "Greta, you're gonna love pizza! But you gotta let Uncle Nicky put them in the oven, cause it's hot."
"Da baba?" Greta said as Nick put the pizzas in the oven. Nick set the timer and told Jackson they'd be ready soon.
"Hey, Jackson? I think Sam's earned a few bites of pepperoni for being so nice to Greta," Nick told him.
Sam's ears perked up and he seemed to smile. "Yeah!" Jackson happily said. Nick took Greta so Jackson could get the pepperoni.
"Here ya go, Sam!" Jackson said as he gave the happy dog some pepperoni. Greta laughed as Sam caught the pepperoni when Jackson tossed them.
Nick smiled at the kids with his dog. "Sam's funny, isn't he?" Nick asked Greta. The baby responded with a fit of giggles.
The group sat on the couch waiting for the pizzas to cook. Jackson took Greta's book and gave it to his sister. "Uncle Nicky, she likes to read!"
"She does?"
Jackson nodded as Greta opened the book and began "reading". "Ah baba dada da!" Greta said as she patted the pages and looked at the book. Nick smiled at the baby girl. "Is that right?" He asked Greta.
Jackson giggled as Greta chatted away with her uncle. "I think this is her favorite book, Uncle Nicky. She likes animals."
"Yeah," Nick said. "She loves to spend time with her brother, too."
"Yeah," Jackson said. He smiled at his baby sister.
Soon dinner was ready and Nick sat Greta next to Jackson on the couch so he could get the pizzas. Greta continued babbling away to her brother. Jackson smiled when Sam put his head in Jackson's lap and listened to Greta "read".
"Uncle Nicky, Sam likes to be read to," Jackson told his uncle.
Nick smiled at the sight of the kids and the dog. He remembered when Jackson "read" a book to Sam when he was younger. "Just like her brother, huh?"
"Yep!" Jackson said with a giggle.
Nick served up the pizza and Jackson happily ate his slice. "Uncle Nicky, I think Greta likes veggies."
"You do, huh?" Nick said as he fed Greta some baby food. He had to smile when Greta reached for their pizzas.
"No, sissy," Jackson said. "It's too hot. You gotta let it cool first."
Greta reached for her uncle's plate. Nick broke off a bit of cheese for the baby girl, smiling when she said, "mm!"
Nick's phone rang, and he carefully maneuvered to get it from his front pocket. Nick smiled when he saw Greg's name on the caller ID. "Stokes pizza palace," he answered with a grin to Jackson.
"I take it you and Jacks are eating pizza," Greg said sarcastically.
"Yeah," Nick said with a grin. "We're just eating dinner. Hold on." Nick handed the phone to Jackson.
"Hi, daddy!" Jackson answered.
"Hey, Jacks. Everything okay?"
"Daddy, Greta's been reading to Uncle Nicky!"
"Really?" Greg said with a smile. He could just see his good friend with his two kids.
"Yes! And we made pizza and Sam ate some pepperoni! Greta liked it when he caught it in the air. And she likes Sam!"
Greg smiled. "Sounds like you guys are having fun. You remember to bring your book you wanted to show Nicky?"
"Yes! He said we can read it later."
"Dada?" Greta asked when she heard Greg's voice over the phone.
Jackson smiled and held the phone to his sister. "Greta?" Greg said. The baby girl stared at Nick's cell phone as her father's voice carried into the room.
Greta burst into a fit of giggles. "Dada Dada da!" She said as she reached for the phone.
"Hey, sweet girl. You and your brother giving Uncle Nicky a hard time?"
Greta stared at the phone. "Daaaaa...ddy!"
Nick and Greg laughed softly. "You and your brother don't give your uncle too much trouble," Greg said. "Mama will try to call later, and we'll see you guys in the morning. Then maybe we can treat Uncle Nicky to breakfast."
"Yeah!" Jackson said. Greta giggled at her brother.
Greg thanked Nick and blew a kiss to his kids. Greta put her hand to her mouth and gave Greg a sloppy "maaa!"
"Oh, I've gotta rub those in," Greg said with a soft laugh. "Love you guys."
"Love you, daddy!" Jackson said. Nick smiled, knowing how much this family really loved each other.
After dinner, they watched a movie and Jackson wanted to read Nick his new book. Nick smiled at how Jackson read and knew so much about bugs.
"Uncle Nicky, did you know Uncle Gil has a butterfly garden?" Jackson asked as they looked at his butterfly book.
"He does?"
"Uh-huh. Me and Greta went over there for his birthday. He's got all kinds of plants to help the butterflies get food and nectar. And a butterfly landed on Greta's shoe!"
"It did? Did she like it?"
"Yeah," Jackson said with a soft giggle. "She almost grabbed it, but it flew away."
"Oh, that's cool."
Nick and Jackson played some music and danced with Greta when she got a little fussy. Nick smiled at how Jackson looked after his sister. "You're quite a little papa, big guy."
Jackson giggled. "I told her that if she needed anything, she can come to me."
Soon, Greta was almost asleep. Nick gingerly laid her on the bed, but she fussed before Nick could pull away. Jackson crawled onto the bed. "It's okay, sissy. You're okay." He kissed her forehead and the baby dozed off.
Nick smiled at the sight of Jackson with his baby sister. He'd always thought he'd have his own family someday, and had to admit, he'd love kids like Jackson and Greta.
Before Jackson fell asleep, he and Nick finished reading his book. "Uncle Nicky, do you think Greta likes Star Wars?"
"Maybe," Nick said with a soft smile. "Your dad says you like that."
"Yeah. We went to the movie to see it. Daddy said he wanted to go just with me, and we had fun. Then mama and Greta came with us, but Greta started crying in the middle of the movie."
Nick nodded. "Babies get fussy sometimes. But that was cool, that you and your dad had some time, just the two of you. You know, I went to see the original Star Wars when I was about your age."
"Did your daddy go with you?" Jackson asked with a yawn.
"Mm-hmm, and my mom and my sisters. Maybe we can go see one of the movies together with your mom and dad, how bout that?"
Jackson smiled. "Yeah!" He gave his favorite uncle a sleepy smile. "Uncle Nicky, you know what?"
Nick cocked an eyebrow. "What?"
"I love you and Greta and Daddy and Mama more than Star Wars."
Nick smiled at the sweet boy. "Wow, that's serious." Jackson giggled. "I love you, too, big guy," Nick said. He looked around the room. "Don't let this get around...but I love you and your sister more than the Cowboys."
"Wow!" Jackson said.
Nick chuckled softly. "Goodnight, Jackson."
"Night, Uncle Nicky," Jackson said. Nick had to smile at Sam keeping watch over his young friends.
The next morning, Greta woke up and smiled at her big brother. Nick made coffee, fed Sam and changed Greta's diaper before Greg and Morgan arrived. As promised, Greg brought Nick some breakfast from one of their favorite restaurants.
"Nick, thank you again for doing this," Morgan said as Nick handed her a cup of coffee. "Sorry it was such short notice."
"Oh, it's no problem," Nick said honestly. "They're great kids. And you..." Nick said as he looked at Jackson. "You are a great brother."
"You help Uncle Nicky?" Greg asked as he and Jackson pet Sam.
"Yes! I love coming over here!" Jackson said. "And so does Greta!"
"Baba!" Greta shouted.
Nick smiled. "Well, I love having you here."
Morgan and Greg smiled at their children with their great friend. Jackson smiled at his parents. "Daddy, can we take Uncle Nicky to see a movie?"
"He told me he likes Star Wars," Nick said to his friends.
"We'll have to do that sometime, Jacks," Greg said.
"Yeah," Jackson said. "Cause Uncle Nicky likes Star Wars, too!"
The grown-ups shared a smile and agreed to go to a movie with the kids sometime. Greg smiled at his good friend. "Nick, seriously...I'm sorry this was last minute, but..."
"Don't apologize, G. I had a great time," Nick said honestly. "And...who knows..."
Greg smiled watching his friend watch Jackson and Greta. "I really hope that happens for you someday."
Nick smiled when Jackson looked up and smiled at him and his father. "Maybe someday."
The End.
