Jackson is my original character, but I don't own CSI.
Some spoilers for 13x21, "Ghosts Of The Past."
I love how Greg reconnected with his psychic past in "Ghosts Of The Past." So naturally, I thought it would be cool to see how he would share the experience with his son. This, like my story, "Glad You're Here," essentially wrote itself - when you see the episode, you'll understand. Anyway, hope you all enjoy...and pretty pretty please review!
Greg Sanders hadn't pulled out his old photo albums in a long time, but after speaking with Carrie, the ghost hunter on the case, and speaking to Morgan about his Nana Olaf, he thought it would be fitting to go through the photographs. He had just pulled the biggest photo album onto the couch when his son Jackson toddled into the living room. The little boy smiled when he saw his father.
"Whatcha doin', daddy?" Jackson asked.
Greg smiled at his son. "I'm glad you're here, Jacks. Come here." He pulled his smiling son onto his lap. "Look at this."
Jackson smiled when he saw the first photo in the album. "Dat me!"
Greg had to laugh softly when he looked at the photo. "No, silly. That is me."
"Oh!" Jackson smiled. "You look like me!"
"Yeah, I sure do, huh?" Jackson giggled. "This was me when I was about your age." Greg had to marvel at his smile and eyes being exactly like his son's.
"Yeah!" Jackson smiled as he looked at the photograph. "You look jus' like me, daddy!"
Greg smiled and turned the page, and he saw a picture of him with his mom and dad.
"Daddy, dat's Nana an' Papa!" Jackson said happily.
"Yeah, that was us when I was a little bit bigger than you are now. We were at a family reunion..." Greg pointed to a photograph on the next page of an elderly man smiling widely. "...and that is your Papa Olaf."
"Oh!" Jackson gazed in wonder at the photo of his great-grandfather. "He looks nice, daddy."
Greg had to smile at his innocent son. "Yeah, he was very nice. When I'd sleep over at his house, he'd always have cookies and hot chocolate."
"Wif marshmallows?" Jackson asked.
"Oh, of course!"
Greg smiled when he turned the page and saw a picture of his Nana Olaf. She looked just how Greg always remembered her - curly hair adorning her porcelain face and a sweet smile.
Jackson looked at the picture of the woman Greg was staring at. "Who dis, daddy?"
"That is your great-grandmother, your Nana Olaf."
"Nana Olaf?" Jackson asked with a soft laugh.
"Yeah. She was really cool. She always had a big smile...just like that...for everyone she loved."
Jackson stared and smiled at the photo of his great-grandmother. "She looks very nice, daddy. I like her."
Greg smiled softly and thought about the case he and the team had just worked. He thought about how his Nana Olaf was psychic - and how she thought Greg had inherited it. With a deep sigh, Greg said, "I think she likes you, too."
Jackson looked up at Greg, confused. "Where is she, daddy?"
Putting an arm around his son, Greg said, "She and your Papa Olaf died a while back...but you know how your Uncle Nick and Aunt Sara and I keep your Uncle Warrick in our hearts?" Jackson nodded. "Well, I think she's watching over us...and I think she knows she has the most wonderful great-grandson in the whole world."
Jackson thought for a moment. "Are dey in the sky? Dat's where Eli's mommy say his daddy is."
"I guess you can say that." Thinking about how Carrie had told him that he should accept his "psychic gift," Greg looked at his beautiful son. "You know, sometimes when I think about your Nana and Papa, I think about what they might say if they got to meet you."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. And you know what?" Jackson shook his head, and Greg smiled at his son. "I think they'd absolutely love you."
"Yeah?" Jackson asked excitedly.
"Yeah! They probably think it's wonderful that you look so much like me, and they think it's cool that you love to draw and love science...and that you love all your friends and family."
Jackson smiled at his father. "Daddy, I sorry dey not here. I think I love dem, too."
"You do?" Greg asked with a warm smile.
Jackson nodded. "Yeah. Dey look like dey very nice. An' dey probably give big hugs like you."
"Like this?" Greg asked as he wrapped his arms around Jackson.
"Yeah!" Jackson giggled and wrapped his arms around Greg's neck. When they pulled away, Jackson smiled at Greg. "Daddy, did dey teach you how to be a scientist?"
"They sure did. Your Papa Olaf gave me my first chemistry set. Your Nana wasn't too thrilled when I made the water in the toilet bubble up one day."
Jackson laughed. "Will you teach me to do dat?"
Greg smiled and tousled his son's red hair. "Maybe someday."
"Did your Papa an' Nana eber look for bugs wif you?"
"Nope, that's something you and I do that's just for us."
Jackson nodded, a smile slowly crossing his face. "Dat's just for us? Cool!"
"Yeah, it's cool," Greg said. He and Jackson continued looking through all the photos. Greg loved seeing them again and thinking about family that he loved, and Jackson loved seeing the photos of people he'd only heard about and learning more about them.
"Daddy, we got a cool family," Jackson said as he looked at a photo of Greg with his parents and grandparents.
"Yeah." Greg smiled at his beautiful, happy son. He wished his Nana and Papa Olaf could have lived to meet Jackson - and couldn't help but wonder if they were really watching him grow up.
The End.