Hi, guys

I hope you all had a Happy Christmas and got everything you wanted. Thought I'd issue a warning for this chapter before I uploaded. It might be very upsetting to a few people, so you might want to hold off reading it until the holidays are over.

Just warning you.

~ Holly x

Chapter Ten:

Fluttering his eyes open after his long nap, Colt looked around the room he was in, recognising it as his Aunt Catherine's front room. He wasn't quite sure how he got here, but he could hear his father's voice in the distance, reassuring him that he was safe. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes, pushing himself to a sitting position on the sofa where he had been sleeping. As he sat up, he knocked Pancho off the sofa, sending him rolling under his Aunt Catherine's coffee table.

Colt slid himself off the sofa after his teddy bear, before he hurried through to the kitchen. "Papa." He tugged at the man's leg, drawing his attention away from the strange smelling soup that the two of them were leant over.

"Hey, sleepy head." His father slid his hands beneath the boy's arms, lifting him onto his hip.

"Is Daddy go back?"

"Good Morning, Sunshine." His Aunt Catherine playfully ruffled her hand through his hair. "Did you sleep well? Your father's been telling me that you've just been to the zoo. Did you see all the animals?"

Colt nodded his little head, resting comfortably against his father's side. "Where Daddy?" He asked him again.

"Are you hungry?" Greg changed the subject this time, gently brushing his thumb beneath his child's eye. "You've still got one of your sandwiches left over from lunch."

"You can try some of this soup." Catherine suggested, letting him sniff it.

"You're not feeding that to my child." Greg teased her with a giggle, protectively holding his child against his chest. "We better get going anyway. Got some more packing to do, before I feed and bath this little one. We're heading to California tomorrow." He adjusted his son against his side, so he lift the diaper bag he had brought with him into his arms.

"Are you going to give Nick another chance?" Catherine queried, leading him towards the front door. "Greg, you've never had a brother or a sister." She argued, seeing the look on his face. "You don't know what it's like to lose somebody that close to you. Maybe he really was trying to feel closer to Warrick, by doing what he had always wanted."

Greg shook his head. "I saw it in his eyes. He's lying to me. There's something he's still not telling me, and I can't trust him until he does." He lifted his son higher in his arms, pressing a kiss to his little head. "You gonna say goodbye to your, Aunt Catherine?"

"Buh, bye." Colt gave her a wave.

"Bye bye, sweetheart." Catherine sighed, realising she was fighting a losing battle. She gently brushed her fingers through the toddler's hair, wishing the two of them would put the past behind them so they could concentrate on their family. "Take good care of your father for me. Have a good weekend in California with your Nana too." She pecked a kiss to the younger man's cheek, opening her front door for them. "I know he hurt you, Greg, but there's so much at stake here."

"I don't need to hear this." Greg stopped her there. "He left us, why should I have to be the one to make all the sacrifices for him? All I asked is for him to tell me the truth. He can't even do that."

"You have a son now, Greg. Do you want to end up like me?"

"Your husband didn't leave you, he died." The younger man reminded her, pulling open the door in front of him. "I know he hasn't been back that long, but he's not the same man that I knew. He's distant with me. He's lying to me constantly. I can't even tell when he is telling me the truth anymore. It's like he's changed completely."

"Greg..."

"On top of all of that, he's barely eaten anything." He continued, stopping her from trying to defend him. "He's thin, pale and he doesn't look like himself. I know there's something he's not telling me, but I can't put my finger on what. I wish things weren't so complicated. I just want him back without all the... crap." He mouthed the last word, adjusting the toddler against his side. "Why isn't anything ever simple?"

"That's life." Catherine shrugged, wishing she could make things better for him. "Nick's worth the chance, Greg, and you know it. You still love him. That's why you can't shut him out completely."

"I wish I could, maybe then it'd be easier."

"Daddy." Colt suddenly motioned out the door, pointing to the man in question stood waiting for them outside.

His father immediately turned his attention in the same direction, seeing Nick stood outside by his car. He had left him over an hour ago at the zoo, practically abandoning him without a car in the middle of nowhere. He didn't know how Nick managed to find him here, but he had to admit that he was glad to see him again.

"Papa, down." Colt demanded, fidgeting in his father's arms.

"Okay." Greg let his squirmy toddler down, realising he really couldn't shut him out now, as the two of them had already bonded.

"Daddy."

Hurrying down Catherine's driveway on his little legs, Colt ran straight into the open arms of his father, giggling softly as the man lifted him into his embrace. His father immediately hugged him tightly against his chest, looking as though he was seeing his child for the first time again.

Greg was surprised over how quickly they had bonded, but he was relieved too. He didn't want them to have an awkward father, son relationship. He wanted them to be as close as he had been with his son over the past three years.

"Maybe if we didn't make things so complicated for ourselves. Bye." He waved to Catherine, following in his son's excited little footsteps towards, Nick. He stuffed his hands in his pockets, looking at the Texan in front of him. "Hi."

"Hey." The older man responded, gently patting his son's little back, before he handed him over to Greg. He made sure that he had a hold of him, before he tried to explain, "Listen Greg, I know I'm beginnin' to sound like a broken record at this point, but I'm really, really sorry. And I really need to talk to you. You never gave me a chance to properly explain. Can I come back with you?"

Greg gave him a nod, hoping it was going to be the truth this time. "Do you wonna drive?" He handed him the keys to his car.

"Yeah, sure. If you're sure." Nick caught the keys as Greg dropped them into his hand, taking that as a yes. He pulled open the back door of the car for him, taking the diaper bag off his hands, so the younger man had his hands free to strap their son into his chair. He helped Greg to his feet once he was done, feeling a spark of electricity running through his body as their hands touched.

"C'mon then, let's go." The younger man made his way round the car, feeling a little tired after their long day. He felt a little relieved that he didn't have to drive them back home after a long day, realising how much he had been missing out on the support of a partner while he was bringing up a child on his own.

He hadn't been able to really lean on anyone for help in a long time.

After a short drive back, Nick immediately found a parking spot in the basement of Greg's apartment. He opened the passenger side door for his partner, before he helped him with the stroller from the boot. Greg lifted his son from the car, making his way round the back, where Nick was still struggling to even open the stroller from its folded position.

"Put your foot on that bit there." Greg helped him out, struggling not laugh at him. "Push it down until it clicks."

Nick gently pushed it down with his foot, hearing the click of the stroller snapping into place. "Never done that before." He smiled at Greg, suddenly feeling proud of himself as he lifted his son from Greg's arms. He set his son down in the stroller seat, carefully buckling him in. As he climbed to his feet, the younger man immediately turned away from him, stopping himself from looking him directly in the eye. "Greg, can we... can we just try again? Even if there's no guarantee that it's goin' to work out or anythin', can we just try?"

"What do you mean if there's no guarantee it's going to work out?" He turned to look at Nick, giving him a curious look. "Do you think that it won't work out?"

"I want it to." Nick rested against the handles of the stroller, looking into his partner's eyes. "I want to be with my family. You and Colt, that's all that matters to me now." He looked down at his son, smiling as the little boy had titled his head back to look up at him. "I can be there for both of you now, Greg. If you'll let me. I know it won't be the fantasy that you've always imagined . . . but we can try."

Greg looked around at the other cars around them, wishing he knew what to say.

"Greg." Nick tried to get him to look at him again. "Look at me, G. What have you got to lose by lettin' me in? I'll tell you everythin' you wonna know, I swear. I know it's my fault that things are like this, but I wonna make it up to you. C'mon baby, I don't want to lose you." He gave him an offer he couldn't refuse.

"You can come up." Greg turned away from him, heading towards the elevator. "That's as far as it goes though."

The Texan gave him a smile, following in his footsteps with his son in the stroller. "I was thinkin', since I'm back now, maybe we could start lookin' for a better place." He suggested, sensing that the younger man wasn't too keen on the idea from the look on his face. "The apartment isn't exactly safe, Greg."

"Where is?" He stepped into the elevator, holding the doors open for Nick and the stroller. "The apartment suits us fine. Although it's small, it's practical and our home." He pointed out to him, pushing the button to his floor. He leant back against the wall as they started moving, keeping an eye on Nick as he focused his attention on the toddler in front of him. "Are you really sticking around this time?"

Nick glanced up at him, giving him a nod. "I am. I'm here to stay."

"You think that saying that is a comfort to me, but it's not." Greg informed him, adjusting himself against the wall behind him. "It just makes me more scared that you're setting me up to hurt me again."

"I'm not."

"I don't know that, Nick." He pushed himself to his feet as they reached their floor, helping Nick to get the stroller out of the elevator. "Whaddya fancy for dinner?" He turned his attention towards the alert little boy between them, grabbing the keys from Nick's hands so he could unlock the door to his apartment.

"Daddy go?" Colt tilted his head back against the stroller, looking up at Nick behind him.

"No, Daddy isn't going." Greg answered for him, ushering them inside once he got the door open. "Let's change that diaper of yours, Colt." He knelt down in front of the stroller to un-strap him, carrying the tot with him to the bathroom down the hall.

Nick managed to fold away the stroller on his own, taking a seat on the edge of the sofa for his partner to return. He wasn't sure how to tell him the complete truth without hurting; he just knew that he had to tell him before he lost him completely. He may have been a very forgiving person when they were dating three years ago, but a lot had changed since then.

"Go get some toys." Greg returned from the bathroom, setting his toddler in the hallway. He made his way to the kitchen to search the fridge for something to eat. "Nicky, you want anything?"

"No." Nick watched his son dragging a little cart full of toys into the front room. "I'm not hungry." He climbed over the toddler, making his way into the kitchen with Greg. "Hey, G. Can I talk to you now? I get that you're pissed at me, but you want this to work as much as I do, I can tell. So just hear me out, what have you got to lose?"

"Tell me the truth." Greg leant back against the kitchen counter behind him to face the man in front of him. "Stop lying to me. All I want you to do is tell me the truth. Why can't you do that?"

Nick looked over his shoulder at their son, realising he was preoccupied with his soft toys he had just tipped out on the floor.

"Nick." Greg demanded an answer from him. "Just tell me the truth. Has it got something to do with the reason why you won't even let me near you?"

"Partly." He nodded slightly, stuffing his hands into his jeans pockets. "I had somethin' done."

"What, you got a full BSC wax or something?" The younger man voiced the first thing that came to his mind.

"No." Nick smiled, asking, "What does that even mean?"

"Balls, scrotum..."

"I got it." He stopped him there, wishing it were that simple. Running his fingers through his hair, Nick whispered, "I'm sick. I didn't want to tell you. I didn't want it to be the reason that you took me back. I didn't want it to be out of pity or duty. I wanted it to be on your own terms."

"Sick?" Greg repeated the one and only word he had heard during his whole confession.

Nick nodded softly, noticing that the younger man's eyes were starting to glaze over. "This is why I didn't want to tell you. You're just startin' to get your life together."

"How?" The younger man gave him a curious look. "How are you sick? Just tell me the truth." He demanded, sensing he was about to lie to him again.

"Cancer."

Greg suddenly felt as though his world was about to spin out of control. He leant back against the counter to stabilise himself, suddenly wishing that he had never asked. The last time he had that word, he lost his grandparents within a few weeks of each other. This couldn't happen to Nick, he had only just got him back.

"What um..." He anxiously adjusted himself against the counter, trying not to look Nick in the eye as he was about to burst into tears. "What kind?"

Nick leant against the opposite counter from him, deciding to explain the full story to him, "A couple of months after I left you, I started havin'... a few problems. I thought it was an STD at first, more hopin' it was, but they did all these tests to confirm it. First time, I had a borderline result, whatever that means. So I had to go back in another three months for another test. Second test confirmed that I had prostate cancer."

Greg slid down the counter behind him, sitting himself on the kitchen floor with tears in his eyes.

"Hey, I'm okay, Greg." He knelt down in front of the younger man, trying to assure him, "They had this scale thing of how advanced it was. Eight to ten bein' aggressive, seven moderately aggressive... but they said that my tumour was around about a six, termed non aggressive. Because of my young age for this type of cancer, they decided to do a prostatectomy to completely remove it, rather than just monitorin' it. I'm fine now."

His reassurance didn't work though. The tears in Greg's eyes continued to flow, turning him into a blubbering mess.

Nick slid himself forwards, wrapping his arms tightly around the younger man. "Hey, I'm not goin' anywhere. You know me better than anybody." He whispered against his ear, feeling his tears soaking into the shoulder of his t-shirt. "I thought you wanted me to tell you the truth."

Greg continued to cry silently, clutching Nick tighter in his arms. The only word he really heard was cancer, making him realise what he could have lost. And still could lose. He held him for at least thirty minutes, before he finally attempted to dry his eyes. He found himself completely embraced in Nick's arms, with the older man's chin resting against his head.

"I can't believe this is happening." He whispered, reclosing his eyes against the older man's chest. "Why would you want to go through that alone? Why didn't you come back? You should have been with me."

Nick brushed his thumb across his partner's cheek, looking into his puffy red eyes. "I didn't want to hurt you again. That's why I didn't tell you."

"Shut up, you idiot." Greg suddenly jabbed him in the ribs, still mad at him. "This is exactly something that you should tell me. Why did you stay away so long? Did you really want to go through that alone? You should have come back to me the second you found out."

"You had a baby then." Nick reminded him. "You didn't need me to deal with too."

"That can't be a reason, you didn't even know about him." Giving out a groan, Greg pushed Nick away from him, even more furious with him. "I'm so sick of you, Nick. You're the most annoying man I've ever met. You tell me what you think I want to hear. You leave me because you think it's what's best for me. Then you stay away and deal with cancer on your own, because you didn't think that I needed the hassle. Sometimes I seriously hate you." He scrambled to his feet, making his way through to the front room to check on his toddler.

The Texan remained against the counter on the floor, taking in everything the younger man said to him. He knew that it was his fault, but he didn't expect the man to take the news like that. He didn't regret telling him though; he just wished that he had the sense to tell Greg that he was still sick and was still going through treatment.

When he was diagnosed with cancer the second time around, he decided to return to the only man he ever loved, just in case he wasn't so lucky this time. He knew that these types of cancer ran in his family, but he never thought that lightning would strike twice for him in such a short space of time.

(END OF CHAPTER TEN)

I wanted to hold off uploading this one, especially around Christmas time. Hope you don't hate me for it :D

~ Holly