What Did You Do?

A/N This thing has ended up with a life of it's own and is heading in a direction not anticipated, but I'm willing to hang on for the ride if you are. Your reviews touch me. In good, warm-fuzzie ways, not bad Law and Order SVU ways. I know this is rated M, and it really hasn't been, but I promise to try for smut later on. Kids and smut in the same chapter doesn't work for me.

Chapter Eight

An exhausted Greg smiled to himself as he finished diapering a sleepy Trina. He re-snapped her onesie and lifted her into her crib. A light blanket and a bottle and she was ready for a nap. The boys were already out, each in their beds lining the other side of the small bedroom. Trina sleepily made a grasping motion at Greg and he cocked his head, wondering what she wanted. He leaned down into her crib. "Whatcha need, princess? She made a grab at his nose and then made her hand motion over Greg's shoulder. He turned and looked. "Kitty?" he asked. She nodded as Greg handed her the stuffed cat from the shelf above Michael's bed. She made the motion again and Greg leaned over her crib. This time she pulled her bottle from her mouth and blew him a sloppy kiss "maaa." She reinserted the bottle and rolled to her side, Kitty clutched to her side. Greg grinned. "Backatcha, urchin."

Greg pulled the door mostly closed as he walked out and headed for the living room. He chuckled softly at what he found. Nick Stokes was sprawled out on the sofa, ball cap pulled low over his eyes and a half empty bottle of beer on his thigh, grasped loosely in one hand. Greg tapped Nick's foot and he let one foot drop to the floor and bent the other at the knee, giving Greg room to slouch onto the sofa and prop his feet on the old trunk that served as a coffee table.

"I wasn't asleep, only resting my eyes. I cannot believe how much energy that kid has! My back was turned, what maybe 3 seconds? And he's out of the cart. How did he do that?" Nick asked, shaking his head slightly but not opening his eyes.

Greg held back a chuckle, "I appreciated you chasing him down."

"Well, I had to, didn't I? It's not like you could, you're hands were full with the other two. I swear man, I've chased full grown criminals that weren't as fast as that kid."

"Yeah, well the only good thing about their energy is it's short lived. They're like alligators…very fast for a very short period of time, wreaking havoc as they go, but then they get tired and need a nap."

"Alligators, G? You been watching Animal Planet?" Nick teased, yawning wildly. "You ever going to tell me about their mom?" He asked quietly.

"Yeah, but not now. Why don't you catch 40?"

"Naw, man I need to get home," he yawned widely again, "but at this moment I gotta say this old sofa is about the most comfortable thing I've ever been on." The beer balanced on his thigh tipped precariously. Greg gently removed the bottle and set it on the coffee table after draining the last of it. He tugged an old Mexican blanket off the armchair and tossed over the Texan's torso. Nick sighed and pulled the blanket up, ending with his arms crossed over his chest and his hands under his armpits. Greg stood and looked down at his friend for a moment or two before his train of thought was broken by Nick's incoherent mumbling about alligators, monkeys, wubbies and Spider Man. He smiled widely and realized he was in dangerous territory. What he was beginning to feel for this man went way beyond casual affection or (hopefully)mutual attraction.

Several hours later, Nick woke with a snort and a "Wha?" He looked around the room quickly to get his bearings and shook his head a bit to dislodge the cobwebs and the stuffed cat that was resting against his cheek. He pushed the blanket off of him and pulled himself to a sitting position stretching his arms over his head and rotating his neck. After a few seconds voices and an amazing smell led him into the kitchen.

"Hey, sleepy head," Greg teased. "You get enough sleep? I thought about having you move to Cassie's room, but you were out." He pored a cup of coffee-the good stuff-and passed it to the sleepy man after stirring two spoons of sugar in to it. Nick inhaled deeply and immediately perked up.

"G, you're turning me into a coffee snob. Yeah, I think I got enough sleep. You give me another cup and feed me, and I'll be ready for work. What's cooking? It smells fantastic." Nick lifted a lid off a pot simmering on the stove and sniffed appreciatively.

"Sit down and I'll dish it up. It's my mom's stoganoff recipe. The best part is, it's even better day two over buttered toast." Greg drained some wide noodles and portioned them to two big and three little plates. The little plates got butter and a liberal sprinkling of shredded cheese on the noodles, as well as some blanched baby carrots that Greg had allowed to cool and some apple sauce. The big plates each received generous portions from the aromatic pot on the stove. "It's a little bit of a sophisticated taste for them, but I don't get to cook it often. 'Sides, I thought you might like it." He handed Nick his plate and smiled shyly. He put the small plates on the table in front of Michael and Brandon and on Trina's highchair and took his own seat, handing out big and small forks to all but Trina, who still preferred to use fingers. Nick set his coffee mug down and lifted his plate close to his face so he could take a big whiff. "God, that smells good. This might just erase the smell of my last case from my nose." He picked up his fork and dove in.

By the time Nick had made his way through his second helping, both of the boys had finished their supper and were busy working with paper and crayons, Brandon perched in Greg's lap, while Trina worked on another bottle. As Nick sopped the last of the sauce up with a bit of bread, he looked at his plate and asked quietly about the kids' mom. Greg took a deep breath and rested his chin lightly on Brandon's head.

"I've known Cassie practically my whole life. She lived down the street from me. She's actually really brilliant," Greg smiled, but then his face clouded over. "She's brilliant, but manages to almost always make insanely bad choices. I've cleaned up a lot of her messes. Big messes." Greg fondly stroked Brandon's hair. "She moved here about six years ago. Her parents finally kicked her out after she flunked out of college. She was staying with me when my roommate from grad school ended up in Vegas for a conference. He wanted to hook up for a drink, and ended up hooking up with Cassie for the night. Nine months and a paternity test later, I had to help her sue my former friend for child support. Mike never forgave me for taking her side."

Nick pushed his plate away and rested his forearms on the table. "Michael's father?" Greg nodded, and let out a long sigh. "And Brandon's father was my former landlord's son. I never found out who Trina's dad was, but the child support from the other two pays for most of her rent here and daycare. She works as a black jack dealer at the Gold Nugget. I love her to pieces, but she's really good at f- " he glanced at the kids, " screwing with my life. I've kept her away from LVPD because she tends to ruin relationships."

"Greggo, you are a really good guy. So you two never had a thing?"

Greg spit out the coffee he was sipping, narrowly missing Brandon and his artwork. "Me and Cassie? No. Not even close. I love her like a sister, but I would kill her in a week."

The two CSI's laughed comfortably for a moment, before Nick rose and cleared dishes from the table. He checked his watch. "I'm gonna have to bust outa here, Hoss, but thanks for dinner." He walked over to Michael and ruffled his hair. "Bye, Bud." Michael eyed him critically for a moment before handing him the drawing he had been working on. "Why, Nick, Michael drew a picture of you!" Greg smirked. Nick surveyed the drawing. "Really? I thought it was an elephant." Michael cocked his head and rolled his eyes. "Silly." he lisped, "Ephalants aren't orange and purple."