Chapter Nine: Fight for Family
When Nick awoke in the safety of his partner's arms from another nightmare, he breathed a deep breath of relief, reclining his head back against the younger man's chest. Nuzzling closer to his partner, Nick suddenly became aware of the sunlight streaming in through his bedroom window and bolted to a sitting position to see the time, causing his bed mate to startle awake too.
"Nicky?" Greg sleepily rubbed his eyes open, watching his partner scrambling out of the bed to get dressed. "What's going on?"
"I forgot to set the alarm." Nick mumbled, tugging his sweatpants up. After the flight back from Texas last night, they had all been so tired, so they just went straight to bed. "I've got less than twenty minutes to get the kids up and off to school." Nick pointed out to the younger man, as he pulled a t-shirt down over his head, starting to panic even more as the time ticked away.
"Nicky, just relax." The sleepy man rubbed his eyes open, watching Nick running around the room. "The school knows about the death in the family. They don't have to go in right away. They can have a couple of days off."
"I have to get them to school, Greg." Nick hurried out the room, heading straight into the bedroom next door to go and wake up the children. As he reached the door, he paused a moment, realising that they were both spark out, exhausted from all the action that went on in Texas.
He knelt down beside his daughter's bed, gently touching his hand to her forehead. She still looked exhausted. He could see the lack of sleep around her eyes, instantly making him back off. He checked on his son across the room, carefully rolling him back to the middle of his bed, so he wouldn't fall out again.
Greg finally managed to pry himself from the bed, finding Nick knelt beside Cooper's bed. "Nicky, they don't have to go today. We only just got in a few hours ago." He spoke softly, gently pulling the frozen man to his feet. "C'mon, come back to bed, Nicky. You're still exhausted."
"I don't need to be babied, Greg." He pushed the younger man's hands away from him. "I'm fine. I just need some space."
"Fine, and I'll give it to you." Greg backed off, watching Nick making his way into the kitchen. He checked on the children for himself, before he returned to his own room, crashing back into the warm bed. He knew that Nick was going through a difficult time, but it still hurt whenever he rejected him, especially when he was only trying to help.
Searching through the almost empty cupboards, Wendy sighed softly, suddenly feeling very hungry. She had originally stopped by the break room with a craving for some coffee, but now she was craving a full meal, possibly a nice greasy fry up or a hot and spicy curry. She couldn't tell what she wanted; she just knew that she had to eat something, and soon.
"Greg!" She called out to him, spotting him walking through the halls. "Hey, I heard you went to Texas, something to do with a funeral."
"Yeah, Nicky's sister." He stopped walking, clutching his case file against his chest.
"You look exhausted, when'd you get in?" She asked, ushering him into the break room, so she could get him a coffee.
"Last night." He rubbed the sleep from his eyes, taking a seat at the table. "I can't stay at home right now though. Nick's driving me crazy. I know he's grieving and everything, but he's taking it out on me. He's impossible to talk to when he's like this, so I decided to come in a little earlier."
"Oh, well I hope he's okay." She took a seat opposite him. "I can't imagine losing my sister. We didn't like each other growing up, but we're really close now. And I know Nick's a family man, he must be going through hell."
"He's not the only one." He nodded, thinking of Mallory again. "So, what have I missed here?"
"Nothing really." She shook her head. "Hodges bought something for the baby, which I really wish he hadn't." She reached for the bag beside the table, unfolding the little baby grow that Hodges had bought for her. "It's not that I don't like it or anything, it's just... bad luck to buy things this soon."
"There's nothing bad about this." Greg assured her, trying to imagine a tiny little person in the adorable white baby grow. "It's hard to believe that we were all this size once. AJ and Cooper are much bigger than this, but I still consider them as my babies."
"That's because they are." She giggled softly, resting against her elbow on the table. "So, how are you doing, Greg?"
The younger man responded with a shrug. "One minute, he's opening up to me, the next; he's shutting me out, not wanting me near him. I think I almost preferred it when he bottled things up. At least then I understand him."
"Things will get better, you'll see." Wendy assured him, taking one of his hands into her own across the table. "I know they will, because you deserve something good to happen to you, Greg."
"Something already did." He smiled back at her. He was referring to Nick, but as Hodges stepped into the room, seeing the two of them looking into one another's eyes, while holding hands across the table, he took it the wrong way.
"I knew it!" He lunged towards Greg, going to thump him.
"David!" Wendy screeched, trying to stop his attack, but during the commotion, she got knocked to the ground, landing just a few feet from where Hodges had pinned Greg to the ground.
"Hey, hey... break it up!" Catherine clapped her hands together from the doorway, which seemed ineffective to the jealous man. Luckily, Ray just happened to be walking by, helping Greg to get Hodges off of him.
"Ouch. What are you crazy?" Greg snapped at him, struggling to his feet to inspect the carpet burns on his elbows from the struggle. He could feel his heart pounding inside of his chest, along with the adrenaline pumping through his body, ready to defend himself from another attacker.
"I saw you. You had your hands all over her!" Hodges shouted back at him, still being restrained by Ray.
"I wasn't doing anything!" The younger man protested, wiping the blood from his lip, from where Hodges had swung at him.
"Don't deny it. I saw you. I heard you!" His jealous rage showed another appearance, but Ray managed to hold him back, keeping him from harming Greg.
"Hodges, you gotta stop this. I'm with Nick."
"Yeah, but it doesn't keep you away from my lady does it?"
"Wendy." Catherine finally noticed that she was still on the floor, pushing past the raging with testosterone men to check on her. "Wendy, are you alright?" She looked at her concerned, as the woman had her hand on her stomach, giving out soft whimpers of pain. "C'mon, we should get you to a doctor."
"No, no doctor. I'm fine." Wendy shook her head.
"You have to get it checked out, Wendy. It's best to do it now." She tried to reason with her, making her think of her baby. "C'mon, I'll help you." Catherine helped her to her feet, escorting her towards her car, so she could take her to the hospital and get her checked out.
Hodges finally calmed down, starting to worry more about Wendy and the baby, then he was about Greg's constant flirting with his woman.
Greg left him to cool down for a while, deciding to check in with Catherine at the hospital an hour later, to see how things were going. "Yeah, they think she's okay." Catherine nodded into her phone. "There's no tearing or bleed, so they're thinking maybe she just has cramps or something. How's things over there?"
"My elbows sore." He rubbed it again. "I have a split lip, and my head is killing me . . . but on the work front, we're managing without you. I think I'll go explain things to Hodges, once he's heard the news about Wendy being okay."
"Just don't make things worse, Greggy." She warned him. "He wouldn't have gone into a jealous rage, if there wasn't a good reason to. He obviously feels threatened about the relationship between you and Wendy."
"We don't have a relationship, we're just friends. I love Nicky." He reminded her, wondering why no one at the lab would believe him when he said that.
He put the phone down once he said his goodbyes, receiving another text from Nick, about him being sorry for throwing his toys out of the pram this morning, asking, 'Still love me?'
Greg smiled at the message, quickly texting him back to assure him that he would never stop loving him.
"I hope I'm not disturbing anything." A voice came from the door, revealing one of the cuter deputies from Brass' crew.
"No, not really." Greg shook his head to the man, setting his phone aside. "Whatsup?"
"I got those old arrest files you wanted." He handed the files over to him, glancing at the empty desk across the room. "When's that partner of yours getting back?"
"No idea." He shrugged, not wanting to tell anyone that Nick was quitting just yet. "Thanks for these, it's Graham, right?"
"Yeah." He nodded, relieved that the younger man finally knew his name, after the seven months he had been working here. "And it was no problem, CSI Sanders. I rushed it because it was for you." He gave him a cheeky smile, before he turned for the door, making Greg smile in response.
Reaching for his phone as it started to ring, Greg smiled wider, seeing Nick's name flashing across the screen. "I was just thinking about you, gorgeous." He answered.
"Hopefully not naked on your desk, while you have your way with me again." The older man joked, relieved to hear the younger man's voice again. After he left for work a little earlier than usual without so much as a kiss goodbye, he thought that he would never speak to him again.
"No, there's not enough room in this office for me to have my way with you." Greg teased, flipping through the files Graham had brought up for him. "So, what are you doing, Tex?"
"I just put the kids to bed, and then I climbed into bed smellin' you, wishin' you were here with me." He spoke softly, trying to hide his vulnerability. "Anythin' excitin' goin' on at the lab?"
"Not really." He shook his head. "That cute officer cruised me again."
"That's because you flirt with him." Nick chuckled, adjusting the pillow beneath his head. "I don't feel threatened though. He couldn't handle you. He only likes you because you're gorgeous, he doesn't know what the rest of you is like."
"And he'll never know." Greg assured him, secretly grateful that Nick didn't get jealous like Hodges did, as a relationship like that would be a lot of work. "You only have to lie in bed for another hour or so alone though, Nicky. Catherine's put me on a half shift, since Ecklie keeps complaining about all the overtime, and I'm bound to desk duty for the day."
"Uh oh, someone's in the dog house with the boss. Maybe you should do some ass kissin' like Hodges, but not literally, I don't think I could ever kiss you again."
"That's gross." Greg cringed, feeling his stomach churning at the thought of it. "Don't even joke about stuff like that." He warned him, just as Ecklie walked into his office.
"I hope that's not a personal call, Sanders."
"Absolutely not." The younger man shook his head, keeping the phone pressed against his ear. "It's a... suspect."
"You're talking to a suspect on the phone?" Ecklie glared at the man, wondering if he even knew how to do things by the book. "Who is it? It better not be that mother of yours again. I'll have to ban your phone privileges if you take one more phone call from her."
"Then I won't be able to do my job." Greg pointed out to him, secretly wishing that he didn't have to take a call from his mother every day. "I'll pay for this call, and all the others, I swear." He promised him, resting the phone against his shoulder. "What's up?"
"I was looking for your supervisor, but neither of them seem to be in." Ecklie grabbed a stack of posit notes from the edge of Nick's desk, jotting down a few numbers, before he handed it over to Greg. "When Catherine gets in, tell her to call that number."
"What's it for?" Greg queried, sticking it to his blank computer screen, knowing that was the only place he wouldn't lose it.
"Don't worry yourself, Sanders." He shook his head, reaching for the phone from Greg's shoulder. "And save the phone sex to your boyfriend for after hours. Let's try and maintain some level of professionalism here at the lab."
"Of course." Greg nodded, taking back the phone, before Ecklie hung up on his boyfriend. He waited for the man to leave his office, before he put it to his ear again, checking Nick was still there. "I feel like a teenager getting busted for having phone sex."
Nick immediately chuckled; glad he called Greg in his moment of need. "You really are in the dog house with him, baby. And Greg, you couldn't afford all the personal calls that you make on that phone. You coulda said I was a source or CSI in the field, a suspect was a terrible idea."
"I'm sorry, I'm not like you. I'm not very good at thinking on the spot." He defended himself. "I should go. I've got loads of work to do. Catherine's got me working a load of cold cases from a few years back. Apparently, sexual assault has risen again, so the sheriff wants us to go back through all our records of any crime with sexual assault... I think he's holding a press conference or something. Anyway, most of these had no DNA on the scene or the victim was too traumatised to identify their attacker."
"It happens, G."
"If somebody raped me, I think I'd remember every detail of them though."
"It's a good thing no one ever will then." Nick assured him, inhaling the younger man's scent from his pillow. "Not while I'm around to protect you anyway."
Greg smiled through the phone at his boyfriend, before he whispered, "I love you, Nicky. I'll be home in a few hours to cuddle up to you."
Nick smiled into his own phone, rasping, "Can't wait," before he hung up.
"I've never had a phone conversation like that." A voice suddenly spoke up from the door.
"Sara!" Greg scrambled out from behind his desk, hurrying towards her. He smiled as she clutched him equally as tight, glad to see her pseudo baby brother again. "I thought Grissom took you all off to Colorado or something?" He pulled back from her, giving her a surprised look again.
"No... the boys didn't want to go. Gil went by himself, and I was getting a little lonely being with the boys all the time, so I wanted to come and see you guys at the lab. But so far," She looked around the empty lab, before she turned back to Greg. "I've only found you. Where is everyone?"
"Catherine's out in the field, so is Ray. And Nicky," Greg perched himself on the edge of his desk, looking down at his hands in front of him. "He's quitting. He hasn't told anyone yet, so you can't tell anyone." He quickly warned her.
"I won't." She promised, gently placing her hand on his shoulder. "Is everything... okay?"
Greg shook his head slightly. "Nick's sister just died. It feels like Warrick all over again. I think I'm gonna leave too."
"Why? You love your job."
"I do, but I love Nick more." He pointed out to her. "If we stay here, I think I'm gonna lose him. The man's hanging on by a thread, and this city is the worst place for him. He loves it in Texas, even if he doesn't admit it. I don't know why I've been so against moving away from here to a real house out in the country. I've always wanted to live in a real house."
"You're a city boy though." Sara smiled at him. "More of an Old Vegas city boy, but you're still a city boy. To tell you the truth, I'm scared to live out in the middle of nowhere too. But I'd rather be living in a house than hotel rooms right now. Once Gil gets back from this next trip, I'm gonna have a serious talk with him about this settling down thing again. I hate raising our boys in hotels and rented apartments. They need some stability."
"Where are the boys?" Greg queried, smirking, "You don't leave them in the car with the windows cracked, did you?"
"Very funny, Greg." She chuckled. "No, they're with their grandmother. Robbie is learning sign language. I thought he would hate it, because he's always really hyper, but he's loving it. He's been practicing with his father on the video conference too."
"That's cool. I know this one and that's it." He extended his thumb, index finger and little finger, with his middle finger and ring finger curled against his palm. "AJ taught me it. She learnt it from Grissom."
"Means I love you." Sara smiled at him, as that was the first sign Grissom taught her too. "When does your shift finish?"
"Eh..." Greg raised his wrist, checking the time. "About three hours, I'm stuck at my desk though, so Catherine might let me go a little earlier, why?"
"I was gonna take the team out for breakfast, or what's left of it." She smirked. "Once I find Catherine and Ray, I'll give you a call." She pecked a kiss to his forehead, giving him another quick hug. "Have you been fighting?" She finally noticed his split lip.
"No... it's... a long story." He smiled at her. "I'll tell you about it later."
"See you at breakfast." She gave him a wink, slowly turning for the door behind her.
After breakfast with what was left of the team, Greg returned home, carrying the escaping puppies back to their mother in the laundry room, before he checked on his sleeping children. He tucked the covers around them to keep them warm, pecking kisses to each of their little foreheads, wishing them sweet dreams.
Making his way into his own room, he smiled seeing Nick still awake, dressed in his pyjamas. "Hey, Gorgeous." The younger man greeted him with a kiss, dropping his jacket onto the end of the bed. "Miss me?" He kicked his sneakers off, loosening the clasp of his jeans. "What's the matter?"
Nick shook his head, pulling the younger man onto the bed on top of him. "Why do you have a split lip?" He immediately noticed it.
"Hodges. He wrestled me to the ground." Tossing his t-shirt over the side of the bed, Greg showed his boyfriend the carpet burns on his arms. "I was just talking to Wendy in the break room, and he suddenly lunged at me."
"My poor baby." Nick touched his lips to the younger man's bruised elbow, before he helped him to remove his jeans the rest of the way. "He obviously feels threatened, because you're so much cuter than him." Nick gently brushed his fingertips across Greg's grazes, before he gently kissed his split lip. "Are you okay?"
"This is nothing." The younger man assured him, snuggling up beside him under the covers. "So, what are you gonna tell, Catherine?"
"What do you mean?" Nick glanced up at him, wondering what he meant.
"When you tell her... you know... you are still gonna quit aren't you? You said you wanted to." Brushing his fingers through Nick's hair, Greg gave him a soft smile, as he looked down into his eyes. "You've been a little better since you opened up to me... and when you're not working, you've been calmer and more you. You could just take some time off, she won't mind."
"A little better?" Nick smirked. "Did you forget how I treated you this mornin'? If I quit, I'll be dependin' on you even more. I don't want everythin' to fall on your shoulders. I already depend on you too much, baby." He whispered, slowly turning his gaze to look up at him. "You're practically my life line these days, G."
"You're allowed to depend on me, Nicky." The younger man smiled wider, resting his head against Nick's. "That's what I'm here for. You can trust me, baby."
"I do trust you. I trust you with my life, my body and my soul. In fact," Nick moved his legs to straddle Greg's hips, then reached for the bedside draw for the supplies he needed. "You know, I never gave you your real birthday present. And you know that it's been a while."
Receiving a warm kiss from his boyfriend's lips, Greg gave out a soft giggle, before he rasped, "So far I like it." Resting his head back against the pillow beneath him, Greg arched his chest up towards Nick's warm body, so happy he was still in his life.
"Are you cryin'?" Nick asked, looking at the tears in his partner's eyes surprised. "Did I hurt you? You know you're supposed to tell me if it hurts."
"No, you didn't hurt me." Quickly wiping away the tear beneath his eye, Greg whispered, "I was just thinking..."
"Uh oh." Nick teased.
"Shut up, you bully." Greg scowled, playfully shoving him onto the bed beside him, before he turned more serious, "I almost lost you, Nick. I woulda been left alone with all of this. I can't raise two children on my own. I'm not even a very good father."
"Yes you are, they love you. You're a great father. You understand kids, you treat em right and they love you." Nick tried to assure his lover. "Honey, nothin' is gonna happen to me... nothin' else, anyway."
"I bet that's what Kayla said when she left that morning." Greg spoke softly, clutching Nick's hand tightly against his chest. "She was only two years older than you, and she had a much safer job than you."
"What does Kayla have to do with this?"
"Oh Nick... you're so clueless." Sighing softly, Greg held Nick's hand closer against his heart, as he began to explain what had been on his mind since they got back. "Kayla and Mallory... they were together."
Nick cocked one of his eyebrows, looking down at him confused, "Together?"
"Yeah, together – together... as in a couple, like us." Greg explained, feeling Nick's hand tensing against him. "You really didn't know? You couldn't even tell from the way Mallory was acting? Even AJ could tell, and she's only seven."
"Wa-wait..." Nick tugged his hand away from him, looking at him even more confused. "Kayla and Mallory weren't together like that, G. They were friends since college, but Kayla's not a lesbian. Or she wasn't I mean."
"She was. Mallory was her lover."
Sitting up on the bed beside Greg, Nick asked, "Who told you that?"
"Mallory." Greg watched the perplexed frown on Nick's face, only increasing as he continued to explain it to him. "She told me herself, while you guys were packing up the house. They've been on the down low from both of their families for years. Mallory's family knew she was gay and they kicked her out of her life. Kayla didn't want that to happen to her, so they kept their relationship a secret. Millie knew though."
"But... I knew Kayla, she was my favourite sister. She'd never keep somethin' like this from me." Nick refused to believe it. "Why would she keep this from me, even after she found out about me?" He asked him, trying to understand.
"I don't know." Greg shrugged, leaning up on his elbows. "She kept this secret for more than twenty years though. Maybe she just wasn't as brave as you." He suggested. "Mallory's all alone now... that coulda been me."
"Mallory and Kayla weren't together." The man continued to protest. "How do you know she wasn't just leadin' you on? Kayla may have been a little shy, but she wouldn't have kept this from me. You're too trustin' Greg, this Mallory woman must have just been tryin' to scam you."
"Crying over pictures of Kayla? Why would she do that?"
"I don't know." Nick climbed off the bed, running his fingers through his hair, as he tried to think. "Maybe she was just tryin' to get some sympathy or somethin'. I know my sister, Greg."
"I'm not saying you didn't." Greg moved to the edge of the bed, looking the man in the eyes. "I don't think she was lying, Nicky."
"If she was... then why isn't there more proof?"
Greg rolled his eyes at him. "Do you always have to be a CSI about everything? What's so wrong with having a sister who was living with another woman? In case you hadn't noticed, you're a guy living another guy." He reminded him.
"So! That's different." Nick sighed heavily, trying to get his head around it. "Kayla wasn't gay. There's nothin' wrong with it... I just know that she wasn't. How do you know for sure anyway?"
"I saw pictures and Mallory told me." Greg spoke slower, trying to get his point across. "She also told me not to tell anyone..."
"Well I shoulda warned her that you can't hold your tongue to anyone, especially me."
"Would you stop, don't joke right now." Scowling at his boyfriend, Greg sat himself against the headboard, pulling his knees close to his chest. "Are you still ashamed of us? Is that why you're acting like this?"
"I'm not actin' like anythin'. I know my sister."
"Clearly not enough." The younger man remarked. "It wasn't my place to say anything back there, that's why I didn't say anything back at the house. I was just trying to tell you the truth, and you're acting crazy, as if I'm making this all up. I told you because we have to do something to help her."
"Why do we have to help her?"
"Because we're kinda in the same boat as her. We're gay and you're in the Stokes family, so you know how they react to this kinda stuff." Greg explained to him.
"We're not the same." Nick shook his head. "What if Mallory really is tryin' to run some sorta scam for money or somethin'? You're too trustin' Greg, she lied to you."
Greg rolled his eyes, giving out another heavy sigh of frustration. "Nick, how can you be like this? You're a gay man, why aren't you taking this seriously?"
"We don't have to help her Greg; it's not our problem..."
"Are you mad that she didn't tell you?"
Nick shrugged, dropping to the edge of the bed. "I dunno... I'm mad about a lot of things. My sister just died. My niece now has to live with the judge, who will completely destroy her spirit... and now you're tellin' me that my sister was a dyke. It's a lot to take in, so yeah... I'm mad." He shouted, almost burying his fist into the wall as he punched it. "Why do you always have to label everythin', Greg?" He fumed at him, starting to pace the room.
"This isn't my fault." Greg shouted back, scrambling off the bed. "I never realised how close minded you really are."
"I'm not close minded. There isn't any evidence that supports your theory."
"We're not in a fucking court room!" Greg snapped, tugging his jeans up his legs. "You're just as close minded as your... former father. You can't accept anything. What if Cooper or AJ turned out to be gay or something, how are you going to treat them?"
"I'd never hurt them."
"Maybe not physically, but if they heard you saying all of this, you could seriously damage them emotionally."
"Where are you goin'?" Nick stopped him from leaving the room, by blocking the door with his body.
"I dunno... just away. I can't be around you right now."
"There's no evidence that supports your theory, Greg. Now you're just gonna storm off in a strop, because you can't get your way? Why is it that when you see a woman in her forties livin' with another woman and her daughter, you automatically assume they're gay?"
"God you never listen to me! I just told you that Mallory told me. I didn't assume anything." The younger man explained, feeling his hands shaking at his sides, as he hadn't ever argued like this with Nick before.
"She's a money grabber, Greg. She doesn't have any family to go back to, and she knows Kayla's side of the family were loaded, so she came up with this stupid story that only a gullible idiot would believe." Nick blurted, without even thinking.
"Thanks a lot." Greg remarked, folding his arms across his chest as he scowled at him.
"I didn't mean you."
"I'm not a gullible idiot. The whole time I was talking to her, she was more worried about leaving the home she had raised their child in then money. She was missing Kayla and she was worried about her daughter living with her grandparents, who would never even acknowledge her existence, because she didn't have a father." Greg pointed out to him in an annoyed tone. "What if that happened to me? What if the children I raised and loved were taken away to live with those people? What if I was the one kicked out of the home we raised our family in? Not only would I never get to see you again, but I'd lose everything... just like Mallory has."
"That won't happen to you." Nick assured him.
"If we had never told anyone about us, would they just think I was running some sort of scam to try and get money out them too?"
Nick anxiously bit his lower lip, as he saw the tears in his lover's eyes, suddenly feeling bad for everything he had said. "I'm sorry, Greg. I never thought about it that way." Nick reached out for him to pull him into his arms, feeling a shiver running down his spine as the younger man recoiled back from him.
"Don't touch me, I'm mad at you." Greg pushed him away from him, then turned back for the bed, to crash on top of the crumpled covers. "You're not the only one who lost Kayla, Nick. Mallory and Millie lost someone they love too. I shoulda picked someone more open minded than you to defend them."
"You picked me to defend them?" Nick asked, sounding surprised.
"Mallory told me not to tell anyone, but I couldn't just let her live the rest of her life out alone, as if she never existed in either Kayla or Millie's life." He explained, rolling onto his side to face Nick. "I guess I was worried that it could happen to us, if I had lost you. You don't have to worry, because my family would never push you out of their lives, but I do."
"I'm sorry, baby. I didn't mean to make you cry. I didn't think." Taking a seat beside Greg on the bed, Nick shamefully looked down at his hands in his lap, as he began to speak. "If my sister was... gay, then why didn't she say anythin'? My family hate me. They think that I chose this lifestyle to be trendy or get back at them about somethin'. Maybe if Kayla had told them about her, I'd have gotten more support or somethin', instead of this."
"They don't all hate you, Nicky."
"Ronnie won't talk to me directly. My own mother... my real mother doesn't even want to meet you. She's seen pictures of AJ and Cooper, because I sent them in the freakin' Christmas card, but she's never made any effort to meet them and she won't let us go over there to see her. She didn't even talk to me at the funeral, and the only reason that she wasn't at that house with us, is because I was goin' to be there." Nick clenched his teeth into his lower lip, trying to stop it from quivering. "It's hard for me to be around your family, Greg, because they all love you, no matter what you do. If Kayla really was like me... then why wouldn't she say anythin', at least to me, so I would know that I wasn't so alone?"
Struggling to a sitting position, Greg reached his arms out for his partner, clutching his warm body tightly against him. "I don't know, Nicky." Smoothing his hands up and down his boyfriend's back, Greg tried to softly sooth him a moment, before he whispered, "You always just know how to get me, doncha?" Greg presented him with a smile. "You just turn on the water works and I automatically forgive you for anything."
"I didn't do it on purpose." Closing his eyes against Greg's shoulder, Nick whispered, "Honey, I didn't mean anythin' I said. Especially not the gullible idiot part. It's just weird to find out that your sister a lesbian, less than a week after she died. But that's never gonna happen to you."
"You don't know that." Wrapping his arms around Nick's body, Greg buried his head into his partner's shoulder, savouring the warmth of his body against him. "Mallory and Millie lost everything when they lost Kayla, Nicky. Can't you do anything?"
Sealing up another box of her things, Mallory James sighed softly as she looked around at her things, that were now confined by cardboard boxes. Turning her head to the side, Mallory lifted a photo of the family she once had into her hands. She brushed her fingertips across the daughter and partner she once knew and loved, beginning to choke up with tears again, just as she heard a knock at her front door.
Wiping the tears from her eyes with a Kleenex tissue, Mallory climbed to her feet and made her way off down the stairs, towards her front door. She took a peek through the spy hole, then pulled the door open, looking at the man in her doorway surprised. "Nick... right?" She queried. "I thought you went back to Vegas?"
"Yeah... I'm sorry to just drop by like this, but I wanted to talk."
Mallory looked at him opened mouthed a moment, then opened the door a little more, taking a step back so he could come in. "Greg told you, I assume." Closing the door once he was in, Mallory folded her arms across her chest, as she looked at the little brother of the woman she was in love with. "He did warn me that he couldn't keep a secret from you before I told him, so I suppose it's my own fault."
Nick gave her a slight smile, then awkwardly stuffed his hands into his jeans pockets. "So... it's true then... you and my sister?"
"Yes." Mallory nodded slightly, casting her eyes down to the floor. "I'm sorry you found out this way, Nick. I know Kayla wouldn't have wanted it like this."
"Why didn't she tell me? Did she think I wouldn't understand?" He asked her, trying not to get mad, as he didn't want to cause her to cry too.
"Well, I eh... I... do you wonna sit down?" Mallory pointed towards the sofa behind him, figuring it would be easier to tell him, if he was already sitting down. Nick slowly moved back towards the plastic wrapped sofa, patiently waiting for her to join him, so she could explain. "Honey, you have to know that your sister Kayla loved you very much. She talked about you all the time, and after she found out that you were... well, she really did want to tell you, but she just wasn't brave enough. I tried to explain to her dozens of times that you were practically in the same boat as her, but she was just too stubborn to listen."
Nick gave her a half smile, as Greg had said the same thing to him. "So... you two were really together since college?"
"Romantically... no." Mallory shook her head. "We were friends throughout college. We took the same courses, got accepted to the same law firm... and that's when we decided to room together to save money. That's when we sorta started to realise that our friendship had something more to it. We not only enjoyed one another's company, but when we went out double datin' or clubbin'... we enjoyed one another's company more than our dates. It didn't click for a long time, but we've always been friends. I never fell for a woman before your sister."
"Sounds like me and Greg." Nick smiled up at her. "Um... so what are you gonna do now, Mallory?"
"Well, I'm movin' into my brother's apartment for a little while. He's away in Europe for another couple of weeks; he wants me gone before he gets back though." Mallory straightened up the magazines in one of her packed boxes, wondering why Nick really came here. "Nick, I don't need a saviour. You don't have to worry about me."
"But... what about, Millie?" He asked her. "Are you just gonna leave her?"
"I don't really get a choice, Nick." She pointed out to him. "I can't get custody over her, even if I wanted. She's Kayla's daughter, so she belongs with her family. They can provide for her, better than I can."
"So you don't care?"
"What... no, I do care. There's just nothing I can do." She explained. "You know your family better than me, they'd never let me get custody of the child I raised with my partner in a million years."
"I got custody of my daughter."
"No offence Nick, but that's a little different. She's your real daughter. She shares DNA with you, and no court would ever break that bond between parent and child, regardless of their gender or sexual preferences. I'm nothin' to Millie, not even on paper or anything. That's the way Kayla wanted it, and that's the way it is."
"You sound like you don't even want her."
Mallory sighed softly, then looked up into his eyes, confessing, "I have cancer, Nick. What kind of life can I offer a child? I have an inoperable tumour, and I'm about to start chemotherapy. I don't want to put Millie through that. I have... five years, tops. That's how long my sister, my aunt... it's always the same in my family. Tell me Nick, would you want to drag a child who just lost her mother through that? I love Millie; I'm doing this for her. Believe me; I love her more than anything in the world." Quickly wiping away a tear from her cheek, Mallory climbed to her feet and ushered Nick off towards the front door. "Now if that's everythin', I have some packin' to do. Your sisters are kickin' me out at the end of the week."
Nick politely left her house, then pulled his cell phone from his pocket, as he climbed into the rental car. He hit the speed dial for his lover, knowing he'd probably still be asleep, but he needed to talk to him.
"Hello?" Greg's sleepy voice answered after a few rings.
"Hi honey, it's me. Are yah sleepin'?"
"No." Greg lied, pulling the warm covers away from his chest, as he stretched out on the bed. "You were supposed to call me the second you landed." He scolded the man, as he caught sight of the time.
"Sorry, I knew you'd just be gettin' back from your shift, so I wanted to let you sleep." He apologised, buckling his seatbelt. "How are you, how are the kids?"
"I dunno... last I checked they were still throwing pipe bombs at the abandoned puppy shelter. And I'm doing okay. This hot Italian masseur just finished giving me this full body massage..."
"Ha ha, very funny." Nick interrupted the comedian. "I miss you guys. I'll be home as soon as this is over."
"How'd it go with Mallory then?" His partner queried, clutching his pillow that still smelled like Nick against him.
"Total waste of freakin' time." Nick muttered into his cell phone. "And she has the nerve to call my sister stubborn."
"I take it that it didn't go so good."
"No, apparently Mallory has cancer, so she's not even goin' to bother to fight for custody of Millie, which means it's all up to me to get her away from the judge."
"You sound mad." Greg opened his eyes, moving the phone to his other ear. "Don't go over there while you're this mad, Nicky. You've already been shot this year baby, I can't handle it again."
"He's not gonna shoot me in front of my niece." Nick smirked, turning the keys in the ignition of the car. "After he finds out about Kayla, he's not gonna want her offspring livin' at the ranch with him."
"No, no Nicky. That wasn't part of the plan. You can't do that." Greg protested, sitting up straight in bed.
"Greg, I'm out here because you wanted me to do somethin', and I'm doin' it. Mallory isn't gonna do anythin', and I sure as hell don't want Millie growin' up with the judge. She barely even knows her grandparents, now she's bein' forced to live them, after she just lost her mother."
"Yeah but, you can't out Kayla to get what you want."
"Well give me a better plan then Greg. We only won the custody case over AJ, because we filed the assault charges on him. Sometimes you have to play dirty to get what you want." Nick looked up at his sister's house, then put the car into gear. "I'll talk to you later baby, I love you."
"No Nicky..."
Nick snapped his phone shut and dropped it onto the passenger seat as he turned out of Kayla's driveway, heading in the direction of the ranch that he hadn't been back to since his father punched him, when he came to tell his parents about his illegitimate daughter.
Sorry about the delay, I've been slacking on my writing, trying to do my Christmas shopping and things. Thanks for being so patient and for reading, please review!
~ Holly
