Chapter Three: Mom to the Rescue

Forcefully opening the door to his office, Ecklie pointed to the empty chair for Greg to sit in then closed the door on the prying eyes of CSI's Nick Stokes, Sara Sidle and Greg's mother Jean Sanders so they had some privacy while he was disciplining him. Ecklie then marched around his desk and took a seat in his leather chair that Hodges had bought him as an ass kissing gift his previous birthday. "What the hell were you thinking, Sanders?" Ecklie immediately barked at him.

"About what?" Greg cocked an eyebrow up in confusion.

"The hospital with Mrs Bartlett, that's what." He snapped. "You are a law enforcement officer and a representative of this city, not to mention this lab. You can't just go around assaulting pregnant women..."

"Whoa, she smashed my camera." Greg objected. "All I did was take a photo of the blood on her sleeve and ask to see it as it might be case related."

"That's not what she told me." Ecklie glanced towards the door, scowling at the prying eyes stood at his office door. "She told me that you assaulted her."

"That's ridiculous." Greg frowned at him. "I didn't touch her. Ask Officer O'Bryan, he was there."

"What are you in the school yard now?"

"Look." Greg raised his hand to show him the fingernail scratch marks. "She scratched me when she snatched my camera and smashed it. I didn't touch her."

Ecklie looked up as his office door flew open and Greg's mother burst inside. "Who scratched you?" She demanded to know.

"Excuse me, who the hell are you and what are you doing barging into my office, and my lab as a matter of fact?" Ecklie demanded right back at her as he climbed to his feet.

"Don't you dare raise your voice to me! I'm his mother." Jean warned him, not noticing her son rolling his eyes and dropping his head into his hands. "You can't speak to my son like that. And don't you even dare think about rolling those eyes mister!"

"You brought your mother to the lab?" Ecklie scowled at the young CSI, struggling not to laugh as he felt like he was Principal and Greg was the naughty student. "You're a law enforcement officer and you still need your mother around to protect you?"

"Don't take the micky!" Jean hissed. "Maybe if your mother had done a better job at teaching you manners..."

"Mom!" Greg cut her off, giving out a heavy sigh of annoyance then turned his attention back towards Ecklie. "No I didn't bring her here; she's just... super protective." Climbing to his feet, Greg looked towards his mother with a look of frustration. "Remember that talk we had about not embarrassing me at work, well that conversation we had would apply to this situation right now."

"Why's he accusing you of assault if this woman scratched you and broke your camera then?" Folding her arms across her chest, Jean Sanders turned her angry frown towards Ecklie, waiting for him to speak.

"I am a supervisor of this lab, and I need to talk to my staff. In private." Ecklie directed the woman off towards the door. Jean looked towards her son then reluctantly made her way back towards the door, closing it behind her. "Sanders, I'll talk to Officer O'Bryan, but you're off the case!" He barked.

"That's totally unfair." He whined, freaking himself out as his children used that one on him all the time. "I didn't do anything wrong. She shoved me then broke my camera, and I get punished for it?" He asked, placing his hand on his chest.

"Yes, and you're also on suspended leave, without pay!" Walking back behind his desk, Ecklie dropped into his seat, directing a smug smile towards the younger man. "You wonna tell your mommy on me now, Sanders?"

Greg just directed an angry frown at him then turned towards the door to leave. As he reached out for the handle, Greg turned his head back towards Ecklie, giving him a curious look. "If the blood on Mrs Bartlett's sleeve turns out to be Loui Charlton's, do I get to come back to work with an apology?" He asked as he tilted his head to the side in Ecklie's direction.

"No." Weaving his hands together on the desk, Ecklie smiled in Greg's direction. "But that apology is a good idea. When you get back, you're apologising to Mrs Bartlett and her family for the pain you've caused them."

"No he's not." Grissom suddenly appeared in the door behind Greg, holding up a tape in his hands. "There's security cameras overlooking the nurses' station at the hospital. You can see for yourself the assault on CSI Greg Sanders and his camera." The supervisor smugly grinned towards Ecklie. "I believe Greg will be the one getting the apology, Conrad."

"He's still suspended." Ecklie climbed to his feet and grabbed the tape from Grissom's hands. "I'll review the tape myself before I take disciplinary action on you though Sanders."

Greg rolled his eyes then turned for the doorway, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jeans as he head off towards the locker room to grab his coat and go home to finally get some sleep. As Greg reached the locker room though, he saw Nick, Sara and his mother all stood inside, waiting for him to return.

"Hey, what happened?" Nick immediately asked, jumping up from his position on the bench.

"I'm suspended." Stepping up to his locker, Greg spun the locker combination into the lock then pulled it open, reaching inside for his jacket. "One week, without pay."

"But you didn't do anything." Jean complained. "What kinda hack job are they running here?"

"Mom, leave it alone." Greg rolled his eyes at her then pulled his jacket on. "I'm going home. Oh." He suddenly remembered as he reached into his jeans pocket for the memory card from his camera. "Mrs Bartlett had a blood smear on her sweatshirt sleeve. She also had a graze on her knuckle. I was gonna get a warrant for the sweatshirt, but she's probably destroyed it by now." He remarked as he handed the memory card over to Nick. "Oh, and Officer Bartlett's things are still in the back of my Denali too."

"Graze on her knuckle?" Sara queried as she looked towards Nick. "Think she's our shooter?"

"Her husband did have a registered 22." Nick nodded then smiled towards Greg. "I think you just broke the case, G."

"They should be bloody promoting you, not putting you on suspended leave!" Jean shouted in anger from the doorway. Greg rolled his eyes at her again then handed his Denali keys over to Sara before he head off towards the door.

"Bye... Greg." Sara watched him go then turned towards Nick. "We should get a move on before she has time to destroy the evidence. We can get a warrant for her DNA. If it matches the blood you found between the bars of the cell..."

"Then we've got our murderer." Nick concluded then turned towards the door, looking at the expression on his mother in laws face. "What?" He asked as she continued to stare at him.

"Nothing, I've just never seen you at work." She grinned widely. "It really is just like that crime show Daniel's always watching on TV."

Sara struggled not to burst out laughing then turned towards Nick, "Yeah, I'll eh... I'll meet you down there Nick."

"Okay." Nick took a step back as Sara walked by him then smiled in his mother in laws direction. "Well, I have to get back to work now Jean."

"Of course." Taking a step back, Jean beamed a wide smile at her son in law as he stepped by her. "Good luck Sweetheart!" She shouted after him.

Nick smiled over his shoulder at her then gave out a soft sigh once he was far away enough from her, realising just how much of a handful Greg's mother really was.


Slowly creeping up the stairs of his parent's house, Greg quietly tip toed off down the hall towards the oldest twin's slightly ajar bedroom door. Peering in through the gap, Greg smiled to himself as both twins were fast asleep.

Caleb was lying on his stomach across the middle of his bed, snoozing softly. His dark brown hair was a dishevelled mess and his Spiderman pyjamas were all crumpled from his constant fidgeting. Jacob however was lying on his back in the middle of his bed. His hair was still as neat as when he brushed it in the morning and his Batman pyjamas still looked freshly ironed.

The five year old twins were completely identical, but they had completely different personalities, just like their fathers.

Greg quietly clicked the door shut behind him then head further down the hall towards the next bedroom where the younger set of twins were also still fast asleep. Three year old Ethan was curled up at one end of his bed, his head barely visible under the mountain of covers on top of him and his twin sister Aidan was laying on her side in her bed, clutching her favourite stuffed animal Moggy tightly in her little arms.

Greg crept into the room towards her bed, lifting the covers only covering her legs to cover the rest of her body. Greg affectionately brushed his fingers through her long brown hair then touched a kiss to his sleeping angel's forehead.

After tucking his children in, Greg quietly crept back out the room and head off towards his bedroom that Jean had specially set up for them whenever they stayed over. In the middle of the room was a large double bed, complete with bedside tables and a chest of draws each. At the far side of the room stood the baby's crib with the mobile of fish hanging above it.

Taking a step closer towards the crib, Greg smiled as he saw his littlest angel Avery was still wide awake. She beamed her wide chocolate brown eyes up at him as she gave out soft baby grunts of joy. She had kicked her blanket to the end of the cot, and she was kicking her arms and legs about every so often as she sucked on the dummy in her mouth.

"Hey baby girl." He whispered to her then carefully lifted her from the crib, holding her against his chest. "Did you miss me?" Touching his lips to her forehead, Greg gently brushed back her short strands of dark hair that were just covering her head, finding it hard to believe that it was only seven months ago that she was still growing inside of him.

Greg kicked his sneakers off then carefully climbed onto his bed and set the pillows up against the head board for him to lean against while he held baby Avery in his arms.


"Hey Sara. Hey." Nick greeted Warrick and Sara as he entered the break room. Sara just waved as she was eating her sandwich, making Nick smile at her as it was the first thing she had eaten all day.

"Hey." Warrick responded to him, grabbing an extra coffee mug for Nick as he was already pouring one for himself, Sara and Catherine. "Hey, what'd you get from the house?"

"The gun, which Bobby is test firin' now. Hopefully we can match the bullet found in Loui Charlton to her gun. Oh, and the sweatshirt, but it's been washed." The Texan reported. "Doubt we'll get anythin' from it, especially not the gunshot residue."

Warrick rolled his eyes. "I can't believe Ecklie really thought that Greg would assault someone."

"I can't believe his mother would talk to Ecklie like that." Sara snickered. "Talk about embarrassing."

"You really don't know Greg's mother then." The Texan smirked as he took a seat at the table with her. "The important thing is that Greg may have just broken the case. The DA's issuin' a warrant for Mrs Bartlett's DNA, and Brass is bringin' her into custody."

"The cops are gonna hate us even more now that we're suspecting a deceased officers wife of the crime." Sara pointed out to him as she reached for her second sandwich then licked her sticky fingertips before she spoke again. "I can't believe she would do that. She's a mother, a pregnant one too."

"Right circumstances, I'd do the same." Warrick announced as he set the coffees down on the table. "If it was one of you guys that got killed, I'd probably do the same to the murderer, regardless of the consequences."

"I wouldn't." Sara shook her head. "Otherwise we'd be just as bad as everyone we've ever locked up. Killing someone won't make it better; it's just more bloodshed. We've proved that time and time again with every case we've ever worked."

Warrick gave her a half nod then reached into his brown paper bag for his sandwich his wife had prepared. "Oh man!" He immediately complained as he saw what was inside his sandwich. "She forgot the jelly again. What's the point in asking me what I want then she leaves out the jelly so it's just peanut butter?"

Nick laughed, shaking his head at him as the CSI dropped the sandwich back into the bag because it was missing one vital ingredient. "You're as bad as my kids. They won't eat peanut butter without the jelly. Greg got them hooked on peanut butter and jelly, but I still can't stand the stuff."

"How can you not like PB & J?" Sara gasped as she handed one of her tuna salad sandwiches over to Warrick so he wouldn't go hungry. "Everyone likes PB & J. It's a crime not to."

"I just don't like it." Nick smiled at her.

"And where's your lunch moustache boy?" Warrick queried after taking a bite of the tuna salad sandwich. "Greg still lacks the wife gene, huh?"

"Yeah, because he's not my wife." Nick laughed, shaking his head at him. "Besides, when would he have time to make me lunch when he works the same shift as me?"

"You're a family man; one of you should at least be assigned the duty of making lunch." Warrick snickered back at him. "When I've got the day off and it's Tina's day to work, I make her lunch."

"What if you're both working?" Sara asked, smiling at him over the top of her sandwich.

"She makes both. She even does my laundry." Warrick winked towards the feminist. "It's like having a personal slave, only she loves me and wants to do it for me." He laughed.

Sara rolled her eyes at him then turned to look at Nick. "And I suppose Greg's mother does your laundry?"

"Nope." He shook his head, setting down the coffee he had just taken a sip of. "Actually, Greg and I take turns with the laundry. We take turns to do the cleanin' and cookin', but Greg hates cleanin' the bathroom, oh and washin' the car. And he's not as organised as me, so I usually fold the laundry and put the DVD's and things away in alphabetical order."

"So you're Greg's wife then Nicky." Warrick smirked as he tapped his friend on the back. "And you thought marryin' a guy who could get pregnant would be a good thing."

"It is a good thing." Nick glared at him. "I get to spend the rest of my life with my best friend, and our kids have a little bit of each of us in them instead of only one of us like normal surrogates."

"You having any more?" Sara asked as she finished off her sandwich, wiping her mayonnaise covered fingers on the napkin in her hands.

Nick shook his head. "I don't think so. We've already got five under six year olds, and it's tough enough to find a babysitter that will take them all as is it. Just my luck that I get him pregnant with twins the first two times, and Greg's worried he'll get pregnant with twins again then we'll end up with seven."

"Big families aren't so bad," Sara commented as she took a bite out of her apple. "Or so I've heard anyway."

"I grew up with four brothers and two sisters, it's not so bad. Besides the hand me downs, bathroom time, and the age differences." Nick added as he thought back to his childhood. "Other than that its cool."

"Let me guess, you're the baby." Catherine smirked as she appeared in the doorway. "You guys finally stopping for lunch? What's it been, two days?"

"Almost three." Warrick smirked, handing her the coffee he had ready and waiting for her for when she finally stopped for lunch. "IA dropping their investigation yet?" He queried.

"More or less." She shrugged, dropping into the empty seat beside Sara. "It still looks bad when a police officer's wife managed to get past security with a gun though."

"Hey Nick." Wendy called from the doorway. "I managed to isolate the blood sample from that sweatshirt. Not the vic's, and it was female. The same sample you found off the cell door." She reported, handing over the report to him. "Sorry I couldn't help more than that."

"That's okay." Nick smiled at her then nodded to her as she left. "Thanks Wendy. Now we just need a sample of Mrs Bartlett's DNA. The blood could be transfer from her knuckles."

"It's in the right place." Sara agreed as she took a look at the picture. "Looks like we've pretty much got the case wrapped up."

"Hey Catherine, can you relate to Mrs Bartlett?" Warrick asked her. "She killed the murderer of her husband, not caring about the consequences or her children. Sara recons she wouldn't kill the murderer of her beloved. I could."

"I don't know." She shrugged. "Right circumstances, I probably would. What about you Nicky, you're the one with the family. What would you do if Greg was the one that was murdered?" Nick leant his elbow on the table then rested his chin in his palm as he thought about it. He loved Greg more than anything in the world, but he didn't know if he could really kill someone for him.


There's gonna be two more chapters to this story. They're short chapters, that's how I update so quick. My normal chapters are usually around 5,000 words, so these short ones are quicker to type up and beta :D I've got the basic layout on paper, just need to write it all out on the computer :D Thanks for your reviews on the last chapter. I'm glad you're enjoying this story. Hopefully more of your questions about the kids and how they got them was explained in this chapter.

Thanks for reading, don't forget to leave a review!

~ Holly