A/N- Well there is only one chapter left after this one. I'm glad everyone is enjoying the story so far. Thanks again for everyone's wonderful reviews. I really appreciate all of you. :)
Dan Sanders pulled his car up in front of Greg's apartment building. "So, if you give me your account information I can have the money transferred over. Unless you want to put it into a savings account, that's up to you," his father said to him out of the blue.
Greg looked startled. "Oh. Yeah, um, I do have a savings account that I've almost bled dry. Probably best to put it in there for now. It will help a lot right now."
"Well, that is what I was thinking even though I really had no right to keep it from you in the first place," he said apologetically again.
"What's done is done, Dad. You're trying now and I guess I do appreciate it."
"Thanks. Well you're here now. Go get some rest," his father said.
"Why don't you come in for a few minutes? I'd like to formally introduce you to Nick, if you do not mind?" Greg decided to see if he would go for it or if it was too soon for that step yet.
His father was surprised by his request. "You're sure he won't try to cause me any harm. He seemed damned pissed yesterday."
Greg laughed. "I'll go in first and explain you come in peace." He smirked as he got out of the car. He was amazed at how nice it felt to have a decent conversation with his father again. He missed their friendship. He just hoped his dad would not suddenly change his mind and go back to his old beliefs.
He walked inside his door and saw Nick on the couch with his mom playing video games that alone amused him.
"Hey! You're back. How did it go?" Nick asked as he got up to give Greg a hug. It was then he noticed Mr. Sanders behind him a couple feet. Nick took a step back and then gazed at Greg and whispered. "What's he doing here?"
Greg swallowed hard. "I wanted to formally introduce you to Daniel Sanders, my father."
His father stepped further into the room and held out his hand to Nick. "Nice to meet you."
Nick looked to Greg quickly to check if he was for real. He gave him a half smile and nodded.
Nick shook his hand tentatively. "Mr. Sanders," was all he said. He still showed his disapproval of how he treated Greg in his hard eyes.
Greg went over to the kitchen to take the pills he had skipped the last few days. His mother looked at him with questioning in her eyes.
"I have not taken my Kytril* in the last two days. I got sick at the restaurant," he told her.
"Greg, did you not listen to your doctor yesterday?" She scolded him.
He sighed and took the pills down with some juice. "I know. I was preoccupied. I'm taking them now, okay?" He said grumpily and went to sit down on the recliner.
Still frowning she stood up and walked over to her ex-husband. "So I gather you made good on trying to make things right with your son?" She asked in an accusing tone.
He looked over her shoulder at Greg, who shrugged his shoulders. Greg was not going to let him get off that easily.
"Yes, we have discussed things and come to an understanding of each other. I told him I've missed my family and I mean it."
Nick went over to Greg and made a point of kissing him in front of his father. "You're bad, you know that," the younger man mumbled into his mouth. Nick pulled back and grinned. They both looked at Greg's dad who seemed a bit amused.
Greg playfully pushed Nick away. "Leave me alone. I'm not feeling too good. He drove me home. We'll have to get my car later on."
Nick went into concerned boyfriend mode. "Are you better now? Do you need to lie down?"
Greg shook his head. "I'm just tired. I can chill out here on the recliner for now as long as you gamers keep down the noise," he smirked at Nick, knowing he liked playing his mom because she let him win.
"Okay, but let me know if you need anything. Don't need you passing out again," he said with worry.
"Fine."
"Boys, I'm going outside for a few minutes to talk to Dan here," Monica told them.
Once they were outside, Nick leaned forward in his seat to talk to Greg. "So how did things go really? You're okay with him now?"
"Let's say we've reached an understanding. But he genuinely cares about what happens to me. He was pretty worried when I took off running to the bathroom to puke. He had apologized over and over again to me. I let him know how hurt I was but he is trying and I have to give him that. I did say I would not make it too easy for him. That little kiss was smooth on your behalf. He did not seem too bothered by it.
"He asked about you. We talked about work and he showed me a new building being built right here in Vegas by S&S Industries, that's his one company," he told him.
"What about the money?" Nick asked.
"You and the money…. are you sure you just aren't after me for my money?" Greg mocked him.
Nick threw a pillow at him. "No, but you have to admit it would be shocking if you just suddenly heard I was a millionaire."
"I guess but being from Texas and all the oil down there I would not be too surprised. Anyway, I have to give him my account info before he leaves…for my savings account," Greg remembered.
"Wow, Greg Sanders will have more money to buy some new ugly shirts," his boyfriend smirked.
"Hey now! I think my taste in shirts has improved immensely over the years," he said defensively.
"Okay, so seriously what are your plans now?"
"My plans are to wait and see what the cancer does to me," he said seriously.
Nick frowned. "You're going to be fine, so stop thinking you won't be." He watched Greg sulk. He leaned forward and grabbed his arms and pulled him over to the couch.
"Hey!" He whined as Nick wrapped his arms around him. But then he ended up snuggling against Nick's chest and feeling his love. "Do you think this has brought us closer together than we ever were before?" he asked as he looked up at his Texan.
Nick smiled down at him. "Definitely."
Greg shifted on the couch so he was stretched across it, with his head in Nick's lap. "So maybe a couple good things came out of me getting it."
"What's the other thing?" Nick asked him.
The big brown eyes gazed up at him. "Getting my dad back."
"Ahh, yes. Of course." He looked down fondly at him as he yawned. "Why don't you get some sleep?"
"Okay," he said as he closed his eyes.
Nick laughed. "Not on me, though. Why not in the bedroom, like normal people."
Greg pouted a little but got up and stalked off to his room. "Give my dad my account number for me."
"I'll do that and be in later on," he yelled after him. He wanted a chance to speak with Greg's father alone anyway.
A few minutes later the two elder Sanders walked in again. "Where's Greg?" His mother asked Nick.
"He went to take a nap. I was hoping I could talk to you alone, Mr. Sanders," Nick said to him.
His ex-wife just read him the riot act on vowing not to hurt his son again. He had a feeling Nick was going to do the same.
"Sure, outside again then?" he asked.
"Fine with me," Nick responded and followed the older looking version of Greg out the door.
"So I suppose you want to warn me not to ever hurt Greg again or I will have you after my head," Daniel Sanders said with the oddly familiar smirk.
A smirk formed on Nick's face. "Well, I see where Greg gets his smarts from. Yes, which was pretty much what I was going to tell you. I've seen first hand, now what you did to him or said to him really hurt him. Anytime I asked about his father he would turn pale and just say he had no father at first. Eventually he told me everything and cried about it. I'd never really seen him get emotional like that before. The only other times since then I've seen him that upset is when he accidentally killed that kid and now with the cancer. He seemed to believe you have turned over a new leaf. I really hope you do not break his heart again."
"I admire how you are standing up for him. I'm glad he has someone who cares so much. I can assure you I have no intention of hurting my son again. I'm learning to accept who he chooses to be with in life, meaning a man. And now being able to get to know you and see clearly that you care about him."
"I love him," Nick clarified.
Daniel Sanders made a small smile. "I can see that and I also could see that he loves you. I just want to try to make up for lost time before it is too late."
"Okay. I understand. Now he told me to give you his account number. Let me go get it and write it down for you." They went back inside where Nick wrote the information down for him.
"Can I see if he is still awake?" He asked them.
"Sure," his mother said and pointed towards his door.
He walked over and opened the door quietly. He saw his son curled up in bed. The hat was gone, revealing the closely shaved head to hide the hair loss. Despite that and the slightly gaunt face, he looked so much like the boy he use to walk in on years before and watch sleep.
He decided not to wake him and backed out. Nick looked at him when he came back out. "He was asleep. I did not want to wake him. Tell him I'll be in touch." He said goodbye to Nick and then his ex-wife walked with him out the door.
Nick was glad Greg had his father back in his life now. One complication was over but the worst one still loomed overhead.
* * *
He sat nervously in his doctor's office. Nick got called into work to pull a double. His mother waited out in the main room. Dr. Rob was looking over his latest test results.
Over a week had gone by since he made up with his father. His doctor called him in for his latest results on the cancer cells in his body.
"So, is it good or bad?" He asked impatiently. Dr. Rob smiled at him. "I think next month when we run these tests again, you will be cancer free."
Greg's eyes opened wide in excitement. "Really?"
His doctor nodded. "Yes. The count is very low compared to the last time so you are almost in complete remission."
Greg let out a happy sigh. "Wow! I can't believe it."
"Well just make sure you keep up with taking your chemo injections until I tell you otherwise. Now, I think if you feel up to it, you can go back to work, probably light duty though. I don't want you wearing yourself down too much but your blood cell count is a lot better this week from last week's. So I guess you've been eating more of what I told you."
"Yes, I have. I guess I was just so worried for so long that I would not get rid of it," he told him.
"Well there was no reason to think it would not work. You had a 60% chance of working through this."
"I guess recently I've just had a string of things going wrong and I thought this would go that way too."
"It has not. So why don't you go tell your mom because I am sure she is eager to know. I'll see you in a couple of weeks unless you need me for something."
Greg walked out of the office after saying goodbye to the doctor. He smiled at his mom. "I'm doing better. He thinks by next month I will be in remission."
"Oh sweetie, that is wonderful!" She gave him a big hug.
"I know. I'm so happy. Plus he said if I want to go back to work, I probably can but just light duty."
"I'm sure Nick will be thrilled to have you back at work with him. Will you finally tell your co-workers the truth now?"
"Yes, I will. I mean they would be able to tell by looking at me that I have been sick," he admitted.
"They'll be happy to see you back I'm sure. Let's go home now and celebrate," she said to him.
They were already at home when Nick called Greg. He had told Greg he would call him once he was freed up.
"So what's the news? Tell me!" Nick asked eagerly.
"Dr. Rob thinks by next month I'll be cancer free."
"That's fabulous, Greg. Can I tell Catherine the news?"
"Sure. As a matter of fact he thinks I can go back to work if I want to, just light duty though. So ask her if that is okay and she can call me," he told him.
"Yeah, sure. That's great. Everyone was starting to think you were not coming back," Nick said.
"Well I am. When do you get to come home? Mom wants to take us out to eat and celebrate."
Nick informed him he would be home soon and he could not wait to celebrate the good news. He could tell by the excitement in his boyfriend's voice that he was feeling better already.
*****
Three days later Greg was riding in with Nick to the Crime Lab. He was going to make his first official reappearance in almost 3 months. He felt nervous for some reason. He knew Catherine had told the others he was coming back but she had not told them the truth. She was leaving that up to Greg.
As they pulled into the parking garage, he said to Nick, "It feels like I have not been here in years."
"Well you've been away for longer than ever before so that is probably why. So are you ready to head in?" He asked him.
Greg subconsciously adjusted the CSI cap he wore on his head to hide his head. "Yeah, let's go."
Nick walked in ahead of him, partially shielding him from any possible curious eyes. He knew he still looked thinner than normal but his overall appearance had greatly improved since he first saw him with the cancer.
They headed to Catherine's office first. "Greg!" she exclaimed when she saw him and gave him a hug. "So good to see you here. You look better."
He blushed slightly. "Thanks, I feel better."
"So how do you want to do this, one by one or I can call everyone into the break room and you can tell them all in one shot," she offered.
He thought about it a moment. "How about all at once. Then I can get it over with and be put to work because setting at home for all this time, you can only do so much playing games, watching TV and reading," he grinned.
"I bet. Nick said you kick his ass at all the video games now," she smirked at him.
"Ha, so you admit it to her but not to me. You're so gonna get it," he teased Nick.
Catherine laughed. "I'll get everyone together in the break room. I'll give you a call when we are ready."
"You feeling okay?" Nick asked him as he noticed he seemed jittery waiting on the call from Catherine.
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. I'm just nervous about how everyone will react," he told him.
"You have no reason to worry. Everyone here cares about you so they will be happy to see you are beating it," Nick told him. His phone rang and he picked it up.
"Okay, we'll be there in a moment." Nick closed his phone. "Let's go," he said to Greg.
Everyone was gathered in the break room thinking they were there for a meeting of some sort. Wendy saw Nick approaching and then saw Greg behind him. "Greg, you're back," she exclaimed. She walked up to him and gave him a hug. The other's gathered around.
Wendy noticed he was thinner looking then before he left. "How is your mom doing? You look a little unwell yourself. Is everything okay?"
He looked at her and then at all the others who were welcoming him back.
"Yeah Greg, you don't look so good," Riley said to him.
"Yeah about that. I have not been out the last few months because of my Mom's health. On the contrary, it's been my health and my mom and Nick have been taking care of me. I have cancer." He watched, as everyone looked shocked.
"Oh you poor thing!" Mandy exclaimed.
"Well, I'm here now to say that I am going to be okay. So I'm going to be able to return to work starting tonight actually, light duty though as I am still going through chemo and get fatigued easily." He heard Hodges snort a moment and he saw several other pairs of eyes suddenly glare at the Trace Lab tech. He looked away suddenly and rubbed his nose. Greg smirked.
Everyone else started bombarding him with a bunch of questions about his cancer to his treatment, to how he was currently feeling. After about fifteen minutes everyone had their curiosity answered and went back to work. Nick stayed with him as they went to the locker room.
"So you're going to be okay, right?"
"Yes, and if not I'll lie down in the break room. All I'm doing is menial lab work or paperwork anyway. You try not to get shot or kidnapped, okay? Because I still need you around," he said, partially serious.
Nick waved his hand at him with a smile. "Of course you do! I'll see you later on then. Take care." He gave him a quick kiss before he left him behind in the lab.
Hours later Nick found him yawning, sitting on a bench in the locker room. Greg looked up and sighed. "I'm driving myself tomorrow. I don't want to wait around for you. I'm tired."
"Gee, no, 'hey was your shift? How are you feeling?'" Nick pouted playfully.
"We can talk about that in the car. Let's just go now." Nick rolled his eyes at him.
"I gather your first day was a bit long," Nick said to him as they settled in his truck.
"Yeah. I'm not use to being up all night again. I told Catherine I might need another few days to readjust my body clock," Greg told him and then yawned again.
"So I guess it was uneventful overall then," Nick guessed.
"Yep, pretty much. What about you?" Nick ended up telling him about the hit and run case he had that had kept him busy all night. Things were starting to feel back to normal again.
*Kytril is a real drug used for anti-nausea in patients undergoing chemotherapy.