As You Were
AUTHOR: Lolly4Holly
RATED: M
Pairings: Nick and Greg slash
Summary: Nick returns to Las Vegas, only to discover that his past love is very involved with someone else. Will they be able to pick up where they left off, or is the hole that he left behind permanently filled?
DISCLAIMER: I do not own CSI or any of its characters.
WARNINGS: Adult content. M/M slash relationship. Don't like, don't read.
Chapter One:
It was quarter past eight when he woke up, suddenly making him worry, as he was usually woken up well before six. Scrambling out of bed, the young man scratched the itchy stubble on his jaw line, making his way through to the room opposite his own. "C'mon bud, it's time to wake up." He gave the door a knock, before he stepped inside. He widened his eyes at the sight of the unoccupied bed.
A thousand thoughts suddenly flashed through his mind, of all the possibilities that could have happened during the night. Burglars, kidnappers, human traffickers or even a zombie outbreak or something crazy like that.
Anxiously gripping handfuls of his hair, the man hurried through his apartment in search of the missing child. He felt his heart racing in his chest. He had lost a few things before; keys, the occasional sock and a couple of watches, but never anything this important.
He paused in the front room, hearing a click coming from behind him. The anxious father quickly spun around, finding himself looking down the barrel of a gun.
"Do yah feel lucky?" The voice behind the gun asked, cheekily grinning as his victim hastily raised his hands over his head, like a real suspect. "Well, do yah, punk? Bang!" He shouted, giggling as his father immediately grabbed his chest, feigning a gunshot wound.
"Ooh, you got me." He dropped to his knees, smiling at the little cowboy stood on the sofa in front of him. "How could you? Killed by my own son." He fell back onto the carpet behind him, closing his eyes. "Why? Whhyyy?" He groaned, making a few choking sounds, before he closed his eyes.
"Papa." Sliding off the sofa on his bottom, the little cowboy hurried round to his father's head, trying to pry his eyes open. "Papa, I only pretend." He tapped him on the head, shrieking as the man suddenly reached out for him, tickling him to the floor beside him. "Don't... no... Papa. I sur-end." He squirmed on the carpet beside him, giggling uncontrollably.
"Surrender." His father corrected him, playfully pecking a kiss to the little cowboy's cheek as he lifted him off the floor. "So this is where you got to?" He gave him another tickle. "You had me worried, Buckaroo."
"You sleeping. Papa, can been cowboy when I bigger."
"You sure can. You can be whatever you want to be... just not a serial killer, dentist or somebody that tortures animals." He quickly corrected himself, thinking there was more to add to that list, but his little boy was only three at the moment. He still had plenty of time to add to the list. "You've still got plenty of time to grow up and become a big strong cowboy like your Daddy, so how about some breakfast?"
"Uh huh," He nodded his little head, adjusting the sheriff's badge he had attached to the pocket of his pyjama top.
"Okay." He climbed to his feet with his child in his arm, tipping the cowboy hat forwards slightly, making him look like a little Clint Eastwood. "Waffle soldiers?" He suggested, getting a nod out of him, even though his focus was on the plastic revolver in his hands. "Do you remember what day it is this weekend?"
"Nana's birthday." The little boy announced, clinging to his father's side as the man bent down to grab the frozen waffles from the bottom of the freezer. "We go to Nana's 'gain?"
"Yep, we're going to Nana's again." He set him down on the counter, so he could watch him while he made his breakfast. "We're gonna give her lots and lots of presents. Visit the seaside. Go in the swimming pool again. Do you remember the swimming pool?" He thought it was a long shot, as the last time he went in the swimming pool, he wasn't even on solid food yet. He spent about two minutes in the water in his father's arms, before he burst into tears, desperately wanting to get out again.
His father hoped that the second time would be different.
"See Rainbow 'gain?"
"The rainbow?" He remembered the last time they went over to his mother's house, it rained for four days. When they could finally go out to the seaside, they saw a rainbow reflecting down over the ocean. "Only if it rains, which it probably won't. Nana won't want it to rain on her birthday, will she? And we won't be able to go to the seaside if it does." He took the little cowboy's hat off his head, playfully ruffling his fingers through his tousled hair. "Whaddya want with your waffle soldiers?"
"Drawberries."
"Strawberries, okay." After toasting the waffles, his father sliced them into long stripes, serving them with a syrup ocean, whipped cream clouds and sliced strawberries. "C'mon, Buckaroo." With the plate in one hand, he lifted his son with the other, carrying them over to the table. He set the plate on the tray table of the highchair, while he struggled to get the toddler's legs through the gaps. "You're getting too big for this. We're gonna have to get lots and lots of pillows so you can reach the table." He teased, making the child giggle.
"I like here." He patted the tray table of his highchair, not wanting to give it up. His Nana had already forced him to give up his baby bottles. His pacifiers were slowly disappearing, and now he was about to lose his chair. "I don't like be bigger." He handed his sheriff's badge over to his father.
"Okay, you can keep the chair." He grinned at him, stealing one of his waffle soldiers. "Eat up, bubba; I gotta getcha to day care, before I go to work."
"No, Papa," The little boy pouted at him. "I don't like day care. I stay you."
"You can't stay with me today. I've gotta work." He felt guilty again, seeing the familiar pout that always made him feel like a bad father. "I'm sorry; I can't take you with me to work. You know that Uncle Grissom gets grouchy when I bring you in with me. It's dangerous."
"Papa, I be good." He promised him.
"I know you will, but I can't take you with me. I'm sorry." He pressed a kiss to his forehead, handing the boy his fork to start eating his breakfast. "Eat up; I gotta go get ready for work." He turned for his bedroom down the hall, grabbing his cell off the bedside table as it started to ring. "Sanders." He professionally answered it. "Hi Grissom, yep... Tangiers? Okay, I'll be there in about..." He checked his watch from the opposite bedside table. "Fifteen minutes. I've still got, Colt. I've gotta get him off to day care before I can head in. Okay... see yah there."
Greg dropped his phone on the bed, realising he had less than fifteen minutes to get both himself and his son dressed. He should have asked his boss for more time. It wasn't possible to get a three year old washed, dressed and into the car in that short amount of time.
He knew, he had plenty of practice.
"Colt," He hopped out of his bedroom, pulling on his jeans and a clean t-shirt. "I'm gonna need you to eat your breakfast super fast, so I can get you dressed. Okay?"
"I don't want get tummy ache." The smart little boy pointed out to him.
"I don't want you to get a tummy ache either, but Uncle Grissom isn't gonna give me this weekend off if I'm late again." He reminded him of the last time, gently ruffling his hand through the child's hair. "Eat as fast as you can for me, but don't get a tummy ache."
Colt reached for one of his strawberry slices, holding it above his head, towards his father's mouth. He giggled as the man playfully bit his fingers, shrieking in excitement as he tried to pull his fingers back. "Papa."
"Sorry." Greg pecked a kiss to the side of the boy's head. "I love you, eat up." He handed him his fork again, trying to get him used to using cutlery instead of his fingers all the time. Leaving his toddler eating his breakfast, Greg hurried back to his bedroom, trying to get himself ready, before he worried about getting Colt ready.
Sometimes he thought that it might have been easier if he wasn't a single parent. He kept telling himself that if thousands of other people across the world could do it, he could do it too.
The truth was, he didn't want to do it alone.
He never did.
(END OF CHAPTER ONE)
Thanks for reading, let me know what you thought. I know it's short, but it's all I had time for in the weeks up to Christmas :D Should have another chapter over this weekend though. I've got a cold, so I'm bound to inside this weekend. Hope you are all doing well.
Take Care
~ Holly x