Jackson is my original character, but I don't own CSI.
I got to thinking about how, in my story, "Becoming A Family," Greg asked Nick to be Jackson's godfather. And I wondered about how he and Nick might tell Jackson about that, and what Jackson would say. I also thought it would be fitting to make Sara Jackson's godmother, since he and Greg are practically siblings. Anyway, enough rambling! Here's the story I came up with!
Please enjoy and review!
Jackson Sanders happily played with his toy cars and sang a little song to himself. "Uncle Nicky an' Aunt Sara are coming!"
Greg smiled as his son played and sang. Since Jackson had come into his life, the little boy had become Greg and Morgan's whole world, and everyone in the lab loved him as well. But Jackson was especially good friends with Nick and Sara. Nick had been the very first person to meet Jackson when he first came to live with Greg, and Jackson had loved Sara since he first met her. So one day, when Greg and Morgan told Jackson that his Aunt Sara and Uncle Nick were coming over for lunch, Jackson was so happy he couldn't stop smiling and singing.
Morgan had fixed some spaghetti and bread for everyone, and Jackson watched as she and Greg set the table.
"Daddy, can Uncle Nick an' Aunt Sara come for lunch ebry day?" Jackson asked as Greg brought in some fresh bread.
"Not every day," Greg said. "We've gotta work sometimes."
Morgan called Jackson into the dining room. "Look at this," she said as she showed him a homemade chocolate cake she'd made.
"Mmm!" Jackson said as he looked at the cake. He was just about to try to swipe some of the icing when there was a knock at the door. Greg walked to the door, but Jackson jumped out of Morgan's arms and ran ahead of him. "I get it, daddy!"
Greg laughed softly. "Ask who it is first, Jacks."
"Who is it?" Jackson asked as he opened the door. Nick and Sara smiled and greeted the happy child.
Sara scooped Jackson into her arms. "Hello, sweetie! How are you?"
"Good! We gunna have cake!"
"We are?" Nick asked. "Hey, big guy."
"Uncle Nicky!" Jackson said as he held his arms open for a hug. Nick hugged the little boy. "Just remember to ask who it is and let the person answer before you open the door, okay?"
"Okay," Jackson said. "But I knew it was you!"
"Your uncle's right," Greg said as he hugged Sara. "Come on in, guys."
The five of them enjoyed lunch in the living room and Jackson chatted about everything from his toy cars to getting his middle name.
"Aunt Sara, did you know my middle name is Hojem?" Jackson asked.
"I heard about that," Sara said with a smile. "Your daddy told me that he was going to give you a middle name."
"Yeah, it his middle name!" Jackson said proudly. "I Jackson Hojem!"
"Yes, you are," Greg said with a smile.
"Jackson Hojem Sanders," Nick said. "That sounds really good."
"Yeah!" Jackson said. "It my name!"
Greg laughed softly. "Yeah, it is." He and Morgan smiled widely when they looked at the little boy who completed their family.
"You know what else you have, honey?" Morgan asked. Jackson shook his head. "You've got a family."
"Yeah!" Jackson said.
Greg cleared his throat softly. "And...you're Uncle Nick and Aunt Sara are a big part of that."
"Aw, thank you," Sara said as she and Nick smiled at Jackson.
"And," Greg continued. "We want you both to be a big part of it."
Sara and Nick raised their eyebrows, wondering what Greg was talking about.
"O...kay," Sara said. "You know you can count on me for anything you need..."
"No, no, we know that," Morgan said. "But...well, Nick knows a little more about this."
Sara and everyone looked at Nick. "Don't look at me," he said. "I'm wondering what their talking about."
"Nick, come on," Greg said. "The other day, when you asked about what you all had walked in on, when Morgan and I were hugging in the lab..."
Nick smiled, realizing what Greg was talking about. "Oh, you mean when you swung those two around?"
"Yeah," Greg said as he nodded. "Nick as you know," Greg took Morgan's hand. "As you know, after we get married, Morgan is adopting Jackson."
"Yeah!" Jackson said. "She 'dopting me!"
Sara's jaw dropped. "She is?! Well, that's wonderful!"
"Yeah, she's my mama!" Jackson said with a big smile.
"That's wonderful," Nick agreed, smiling at the little boy. "Really, that's great!"
"Yeah," Sara agreed.
"Thank you," Morgan said. "But what Greg is trying to say...is that we want you both to do something very important."
"Well, anything," Sara said.
"As you may know," Morgan said, "Greg's mother asked that Jackson be baptized, and we wanted to do that after the wedding. And we want you both to..."
"What Morgan is trying to say," Greg continued, "Is we want you to be Jackson's godparents."
Nick and Sara both smiled. "You know I will," Sara said.
"Me too," Nick said.
Jackson looked up at his father. "What's dat mean, dey gunna be my godparents?"
Greg smiled at his son. "Well, it means that if something were to happen to me or your mama, and for some reason we couldn't take care of you, Nick and Sara would take care of you and be there for you."
Jackson's eyes widened. "Nufin's gunna happen to you, daddy, right?"
"Oh, no," Greg said as he pulled Jackson onto his lap. "I plan on being with you for a very, very long time. But I trust your Uncle Nick and your Aunt Sara with my life, and with the best, most important thing I have in the whole wide world...you."
Jackson smiled. "I love Uncle Nicky an' Aunt Sara."
"Hey, Jackson?" Nick asked. "If I'm your godfather, that means I get to play baseball with you, and talk about bugs and hang out together."
"Yeah?" Jackson said, his lips curving into a smile.
"And I could teach you about animals," Sara said. "And we could talk about science and exploring and just do all kinds of stuff."
Jackson smiled. "That would be cool!"
"So you'll do it?" Greg asked with a grin.
"Pweese?" Jackson asked them both.
Nick and Sara both had huge smiles on their faces.
"How could I refuse an offer like that?" Sara asked, smiling at Jackson.
"Of course, I will," Nick said.
"Yay!" Jackson, Greg and Morgan said in unison. Jackson clambered off Greg's lap, walked over to Nick and Sara on the couch and the three embraced in a group hug.
Greg smiled as he watched his son with his best friends. He had no idea he could ever love anyone as much as Jackson, or feel as happy as he felt with his son and family.
Morgan smiled at Greg as he watched Jackson with Nick and Sara. "You know," she said to Greg, "He's really lucky to have them…and you."
Greg couldn't stop smiling. "I'm the lucky one. I love him so much, and with our family…" He sighed happily.
Jackson laughed and smiled with four of his favorite people. Smiling at his father, Jackson said, "Daddy, we got a good family!"
Greg couldn't help but laugh softly at his beautiful son that he loved with all his heart. "Yeah, we're family, Jacks," he said, feeling more blessed than ever before. "We're family."
The End.
