Jackson is my original character, but I don't own CSI.
To all my readers in the US, happy Father's Day :)
I HAD to write a story about Jackson and Greg's first Father's Day together! Hope you all enjoy...and please review!
Greg Sanders was peacefully sleeping after a long week at work. He felt the warm sunshine peeking through from the blinds in his bedroom and groaned softly. He wanted to catch just a few more minutes of sleep when he felt someone next to him on the bed. He cracked an eye open and saw his three-year-old son Jackson, watching his father sleep and smiling.
"Goo' morning," the little boy said.
Greg grinned and closed his eyes, only to have Jackson climb up on his stomach.
"Happy Fathers Day!" Jackson shouted.
Even though he still felt tired, Greg couldn't help but smile at his little boy, ready to wish his daddy a happy Father's Day. Greg opened his eyes and smiled at the happy boy. "Thank you, Jacks."
Jackson giggled. "You welcome. Happy Father's Day, daddy!"
Greg looked at his son, so happy that the little boy was with him. He sat up slightly and hugged his son. "Thank you for making this a Father's Day."
Jackson pulled away and pouted slightly. "Huh?"
"Well, you're my little boy," Greg explained with a soft smile. "If it weren't for you, I'd have nothing to be happy about today...and you make me happy every day."
Jackson smiled. "Ebry day?"
"Every day!" Greg said with a smile. "I am so happy you're my little boy."
"I happy you my daddy," Jackson said with a big smile. "An' you make me happy ebry day, too."
"Yeah?" Greg asked as he tickled Jackson's ribs. Jackson and Greg laughed, both just so happy to be together.
When they stopped laughing, Greg asked, "So what do you want to do today?"
"I dunno," Jackson said with a shrug.
"I tell you what," Greg said. "How about you let me get a shower, and then we'll have breakfast and maybe go to the park...that sound good?"
"Okay!" Jackson happily agreed.
As Greg was lifting Jackson off his stomach, his phone rang. He smiled when he saw his father's name on the caller ID. "Happy Father's Day, dad!"
"Happy first Father's Day," Greg's father Daniel said with a laugh. "How's my grandson."
Greg shook his head with a smile. "He's great." He handed the phone to Jackson. "You want to talk to Papa?"
Jackson happily took the phone. "Papa!"
Daniel laughed. "Hey! There's my grandson!"
"Papa, did you know dat today is Father's Day?"
"It is?" Daniel said.
"Yes, Papa," Jackson said with a laugh. "It Father's Day!"
"Cool. You going to do something special with your daddy?"
"We gunna go to da park!" Jackson said with a big smile. He loved going to the park with his father. "An' maybe Morgan gunna come ober an' we hab dinner."
"You are?"
"Yeah! Morgan said she wanna hab dinner wif her daddy, an' den she come ober an' hab dinner wif daddy an' me!"
Daniel laughed softly. "That sounds like a good idea. And you know what?"
"What?"
"Your Nana and I are so happy you're with your daddy, and we're so happy you're a part of our family."
Jackson smiled. "I so happy you part of my family. An' you my daddy's daddy."
"That's right," Daniel said. "And I'm proud of both of you."
Greg emerged from the shower, wrapped his robe around him and came back into his bedroom. He smiled when he saw his son chatting away with his papa.
"Papa, what are you gunna do today?" Jackson asked.
"I'm going to have dinner with your Nana, and I'm just going to just lounge around," Daniel said.
Jackson smiled. "Dat sound good. Are you gunna give Nana a present?"
Daniel laughed softly. "No, but you know something? I think she might give me a present since it's Father's Day."
"Oh, dat's good," Jackson said.
"And I got the drawing you sent me," Daniel said.
Jackson's eyes widened and he smiled. "You got it?"
"I sure did," Daniel said. "You are a very talented artist."
Jackson giggled. "Thank you, Papa. You wanna talk to daddy?"
"Sure."
Jackson bounced off the bed and handed Greg the phone. "Here you go, daddy!"
Greg had to laugh as his son happily bounced off the bed and headed for the living room. He put the phone to his ear and heard his dad laughing softly. "Happy Father's Day."
"Happy first Father's Day, Greg," Daniel said. "I am so proud of you."
Greg smiled. "Thank you. Did you get the gift card and Jackson's drawing?" Greg had sent his father a gift card for a favorite restaurant of his and his mother.
"Yeah, I was just telling Jackson that he's a really good artist. You know...he is so lucky to have you for a dad."
Greg sighed softly and smiled, thinking about how much he loved Jackson and how happy he was to have sole custody. "He is amazing. I-I don't remember what my life was like before him."
Daniel laughed softly. "You are a good dad, son. He's very lucky to be your son."
Greg smiled, happy his son was with him and his family loved him almost as much as he did. "I'm very lucky to be his daddy."
Jackson came into the room carrying a small bunch of bananas. "Here, daddy," he said, handing Greg the fruit. "You need to hab breakfast so we can go to da park."
Greg had to laugh when his son handed him his breakfast. "That is so sweet of you," he said as he knelt in front of Jackson.
"You welcome, daddy. Now let's go!" Jackson smiled at his father.
"Hey, dad," Greg said as he turned back to the phone. "I think Jacks wants to get going."
Daniel couldn't help but laugh at his son and grandson. "Well, I'd better let you go so you can enjoy your day. I'll talk to you later."
"Okay. Love you, dad."
"Love you, Papa!" Jackson shouted.
"Love you both," Daniel said with a chuckle. "Happy Father's Day.
Jackson and Greg ate breakfast in the living room, just enjoying spending the day together. Greg watched his son, red hair sticking up all over the place and munching on Cheerios. He smiled softly at the little boy he loved whole-heartedly. He may never understand why Riley kept them apart for the first two-and-a-half years of Jackson's life, but he was beyond thankful to have Jackson now and knew every day with him was a gift.
Jackson happily munched his cereal and looked up at his father. "Daddy, do you wanna go to da park?"
"Yeah, I think that's a good idea," Greg said, smiling as Jackson smiled at him. He and Jackson loved going to the park together. Greg ate his banana and smiled at his son. "You want to look for butterflies?"
Jackson's eyes shone with happiness. "Yeah!" He loved butterflies, especially when he saw them and other bugs exploring with his daddy.
Greg smiled at his happy son. "I tell you what - we'll go to the park, and then later, maybe have dinner with Morgan."
"Yeah!"
Greg took their dishes to the kitchen just as his phone rang. He smiled when he saw Morgan's name on the caller ID. "Hey, beautiful," Greg answered with a smile.
"Happy Father's Day," Morgan said. "I'm going to treat dad to lunch at Maestro's - glad I made my reservation early. And then, we can have dinner around...six?"
"Sounds good," Greg said. He smiled when he saw Jackson come in and put his bowl in the sink. "You want to say hi to Morgan?"
As soon as Greg said Morgan's name, Jackson eagerly took the phone. "Hi, Morgan!"
"Hello, sweetie! How about we have some dinner later?"
"Yeah! It Father's Day! Daddy an' me, we gunna go look for butterflies!"
"You are?"
"Yeah! An' maybe we swing on da swings!" Jackson looked up at his father. "Can we, daddy?"
"Sure," Greg said with a small laugh. He could imagine Morgan smiling happily listening to their conversation.
"That sounds like so much fun," Morgan said to the happy boy who completed their family.
"Yeah!" Jackson happily said. "We gunna go find da butterflies, an' swing, an' hab a good Father's Day!"
Greg smiled at his son, happily chatting about the day they were going to have together and thinking about all they were going to do.
"I'll be over later, and we can have dinner," Morgan said. "That sound good?"
"Yeah! I see you later!" Jackson handed the phone back to Greg and rushed to get dressed.
Greg happily sighed. "I cannot wait to spend my first Father's Day with him."
"I know," Morgan said. "It's a big day. I'll let you two spend the day together and then we can have dinner."
"Okay. See you later. Love you!"
"I love you, too."
The day was perfect for just spending time outside together and exploring. Greg and Jackson watched bugs in the park, and Jackson chatted about the bugs he saw. Greg marveled at how smart his son was and how he was growing up.
Jackson and Greg played and explored all day, just enjoying being together. After a full day at the park, the two arrived home and found Morgan waiting for them. She smiled when they got out of the car, laughing and chatting about their trip to the park.
Jackson smiled widely when he saw Morgan at Greg's door. He rushed up to her and gave her a big hug.
"Hello, sweet pea," she said with a warm smile.
Greg smiled when he saw his girlfriend and son together. He walked up and gave Morgan a sweet kiss. "Hey."
"Happy Father's Day," Morgan said with a smile.
Greg smiled and opened his mouth to thank her, only to have Jackson say, "We saw butterflies, Morgan!"
Morgan laughed softly. "You did?"
"Yeah! It was on some flowers at da park, an' it was pretty!"
"That sounds so cool," Morgan said, smiling at the child she adored.
Greg smiled at his happy son. "He had a lot of fun."
"Yeah," Jackson said. "An' daddy pushed me on da swing, an' I swung really high!"
"Wow," Morgan said with a soft laugh.
"Yeah, an' I made daddy breakfast dis morning!"
"A banana," Greg whispered with a warm smile, remembering how Jackson gave him the fruit and was so excited to spend the day with him.
Morgan smiled at Greg and Jackson. "Well, it sounds like you two had a wonderful time."
Greg opened the door and ushered them inside. Jackson chatted happily about spending the day with his father.
"Morgan, did your daddy hab a good day?" Jackson asked.
"Yeah, I think so. We had lunch, and I gave him a gift card so he can buy something cool for himself."
Jackson clambered into a chair in the dining room and took a sheet of paper. Greg went to get drinks to go with the sandwiches Morgan brought for dinner.
After dinner, Jackson took the sheet of paper he was working with earlier and gave it to Greg. "Dis for you!"
Greg smiled as he looked at the stick figures and colors Jackson had drawn. "Jacks, this is beautiful."
Jackson smiled and pointed to the stick figures he'd drawn. "Dat me an' you. An' dis..." he pointed to a bit of oranged he'd colored. "Dis is a butterfly we saw."
"I see," Greg said with a smile. "This is wonderful."
"Dat's you an' me today, when we 'splored at da park. I had da bestest day eber wif you!"
Greg smiled at his happy, loving son and felt happy tears prickle his eyes. He never imagined he could love someone as much as he loved Jackson. "I had the best day with you, too. Thanks for making this the best Father's Day ever."
Jackson's eyes widened and he smiled. "Eber?"
"Ever," Greg said with certainty. Pulling Jackson up on his lap, Greg said, "I am so glad you are my little boy and I get to spend today and every day with you."
"I happy too," Jackson said. "An' I glad you my daddy. Eben if I could pick my daddy, I pick you."
Greg smiled warmly and hugged his son close. "I'm glad, Jacks. I love you so much."
"I love you so much too," Jackson said. "An' Morgan's nice, too."
Greg and Morgan had to laugh softly at the sweet little boy. "I think you're very nice, too," Morgan told him.
Jackson smiled at Morgan, then looked up at his father. Greg sighed deeply when he looked at his happy, loving son. "Thank you," Greg told Jackson. "Thank you for making me a daddy."
Jackson beamed at his father. "Thank you for bein' my daddy." As he wrapped his arms around Greg for a big hug, Jackson said, "You da bestest daddy eber, an' I glad you my daddy!"
Greg smiled at Morgan and hugged Jackson close, feeling more blessed than he ever imagined.
"I'm glad you're my son, Jacks."
The End.