Thanks to Alisa for beta-ing!
Chapter Eleven: I Won't Let Go
After finally closing his case from hell, Nick decided to stop by the hospital to check on his live victims, before he headed home. It was very rare to actually be able to close a case involving three live victims, so he had to check on the Thomas family before he left. Miss Elena Thomas and her two children were attacked by the new man in Elena's life. She left her children alone with a man she had just met then returned from work to find him in the bedroom with her twin seven year old girls.
"Mr Stokes, what am I supposed to tell my babies?" The woman sobbed, lightly dabbing her bruised cheeks with the Kleenex tissue he had given her to wipe away her tears. "What am I supposed to tell them . . . when they ask me . . . why this ha-happened to them?" Her voice flooded with more emotion, making a single tear roll down Nick's cheek. "It's my fault, isn't it? I let him in."
"No." Nick wiped the tear from his cheek with his palm, shaking his head at her. "It's not your fault, Elena. You didn't do anythin'... wrong." Gulping hard, Nick attempted to swallow his own emotions to stop them from exploding to the surface before he whispered, "It's not your fault."
Catherine gently tapped Nick on the shoulder, giving him a soft smile as he turned to look at her. "Miss Thomas, your children are going away with child services..."
"You can't take them from me." Elena Thomas interrupted her. "I didn't do anything. You see all this," She indicated towards the stitches and bruises on her face. "He beat me to a bloody pulp for defending my kids. I'm not letting you take them from me too."
"Miss Thomas, it's just until..."
"No!" She refused, cutting Catherine off again as she swept back the covers from her legs so she could climb out of the bed.
"Elena, it's just for a little while." Nick tried to stop her, but she pulled the IV from her arm as she struggled out of her bed then attempted to make her way off down the hall to see her children.
"Doctor!" Catherine called down the hall as the woman stumbled to her knees from her injuries. "Miss Thomas, you'll be able to see your kids soon enough. It's just until you get better." Catherine tried to reason with her, as she fought against the doctors and nurses, restraining her, struggling to get her back into bed.
Nick stood back at the door, watching the mother in distress being held down in her bed while one of the nurses administered something to calm her down. He watched Catherine talking to one of the doctors then whirled around, giving up on the whole situation altogether.
He just wanted to go home.
Nick collapsed straight onto the bed into Greg's arms, resting his head on the younger man's chest. "You're home late." Greg whispered, gently brushing his fingers through his partner's hair. "Everything okay?" He asked softly. Without lifting his head to look into his fiancés or saying a word to him, Nick shook his head slightly, moving the rest of his body closer so Greg could wrap his arms tightly around him. "You wonna talk about it, baby?"
Shaking his head again, Nick softly answered, "No."
Greg touched his lips to the Texan's soft head of hair then clutched him tightly in his embrace, listening to his soft breathing, rather than asking him lots of questions about it as he sensed he really didn't want to talk right now. Usually Nick managed to close his emotions from cases off to everyone, including Greg. But since they lost the baby, Nick had found it harder to hide his emotions from Greg. He was actually starting to enjoy the comfort that the younger man gave him, rather than the loneliness of dealing with it himself like he was used to.
"You're wearin' my t-shirt, Greg." Nick suddenly noticed.
"I like it. It smells of you." Greg smiled down at the older man as he looked up at him. "I miss you being here at nights, Nicky. This way I'm surrounded by something that smells like you. Just like how we used to leave a t-shirt that smelt of you in Danielle's crib, so she'd sleep in her own bed when you weren't here."
Nick smiled back at him then crawled across his chest, joining their lips together for a passionate kiss. "I miss you too." He whispered back to him. "What are you doin' today?"
"Um... what day is it today?"
"Wednesday." Nick chuckled softly.
"Oh, well in that case... Danielle's got a doctor's appointment at ten. Oh, Anne and I are taking Freddie and Danielle to this arts and crafts thingy after that, then we were gonna take them to have a picnic in the park for lunch..."
"Jeez, can you squeeze me in anywhere in your busy schedule?" He chuckled, brushing his fingertips across Greg's cheek.
"I'm sorry. You're usually sleeping half the day. You can come with me if you want." He suggested, gently rubbing his palm across his lover's lower back. "I didn't think a kiddie picnic was really your sort of thing though. And you hate going to the doctors with me."
"No, I don't. I just hate watchin' them jabbin' needles into my daughter." He pointed out to him. "I know she has to have them, but they jab em in her so quick, and it hurts her. I hate standin' by and watchin' em doin' that."
"They do it quick so it hurts less." Greg smiled softly to him. "And she's not going for shots this time anyway. She's had all her shots this year. She's supposed to be the baby about them, not you." He giggled, gently tickling his sides. "I can come home after the doctor's appointment, if you still wonna come to the arts and crafts thingy or the picnic. I just thought that you'd be too tired."
"I've got tomorrow off. I don't have to go in until Friday mornin'. I'm coverin' for day shift."
"Okay, that's cool." Greg grinned, smoothing his hands around his partner's warm body. "So we can have a whole day together tomorrow."
"Besides the pickin' Libby up from school part," Nick reminded him. "I'm pickin' her up every day this week, remember."
"I remember, and I would have loved to have had my Dad pick me up from school every once in a while." Leaning up on his elbows, Greg smiled as he touched a kiss to his partner's lips. "You're a great father, Nicky." Nick gave him a slight smile then rolled over onto the bed beside him, giving out a soft sigh. "Can you tell me about the case now?"
"No. I don't wonna think about it." The older man shook his head. "And you really don't wonna know, baby."
"Okay." Greg touched a kiss to his forehead then scrambled across the bed, heading for the bathroom to freshen up.
"Hey, I'll go to the picnic thingy, if you want me too." Nick called after him. "It's not gonna be Jason and Anne is it?"
Greg shook his head as he appeared in the doorway with his toothbrush in his mouth. "Nope, just Anne, Freddie and Joey. The other kids are in school and Jason's still away on business. Why?"
"Because they never stop arguin' when it's the two of them together." Nick pointed out to him, rolling on the bed to a comfier position. "I don't see why people like that ever get married. They don't belong together and they're just makin' each other's lives a misery by stayin' together. That last dinner thing they planned was awkward as hell."
"True." Greg nodded then made his way back to the sink to rinse his mouth out. He dumped his toothbrush in the cup beside Nick's then returned to the bedroom to get changed. "But they do have six boys. It must be kinda stressful."
"My parents had seven kids and they were never like that."
"Yeah, and look at them now." Greg spoke softly as he tugged a clean t-shirt down over his head, looking across the room at Nick. "So you don't wonna come down to the arts and craft thingy?" Nick responded with a shrug, not really wanting to finger paint with a bunch of two year olds and his nice clean shirt. "Fine suit yourself, but paint always comes out eventually Nicky." Greg grinned at him as he fastened his jeans around his hips.
"You know me too well."
"Because I love you." Greg giggled as he leant across the bed to press a kiss to his lips. "I'll see you later."
"Bye." Nick smiled at him then nestled back against the pillow beneath him. "I love you, Greg." He called after him as he left the room to go and get Danielle dressed and ready for breakfast before he took her off to the doctor.
While Greg was going about his chores for the day, Nick stayed in bed to catch up on his sleep, remaining there until noon when Greg returned to wake him up from his slumber, ready for their picnic. "Hey." Greg whispered as Nick's eyes slowly began to flutter open. "Did you still wonna come with us?"
"Yeah." Nick rubbed his eyes open then pushed himself up to a sitting position, lifting Danielle free from his lover's arms. He pressed a kiss to her forehead then hugged her tightly against his chest. "How was the arts and craft thingy?" He queried.
"Cool, they made play dough pottery, finger painting and paper folding. We're gonna go back next week, aren't we?" He smiled at his daughter, watching her nodding her head slightly before she reclined back into her father's warm embrace. "So you wonna get up and shower, Nicky? Anne's gonna bring the picnic over here when she's got the boys ready then we'll go down to the park."
"Okay. I'll grab a quick shower." Nick gave him a smile then leant towards him to press a kiss to his lips. "Are you okay? You look a little pale."
"Yeah, I'm fine." Greg assured him then lifted Danielle free from his arms. "I have to go change her though." He smiled as he climbed to his feet. "You'd be so proud of her. She went potty twice today, didn't you?"
"Yeah." Danielle smiled at him.
Nick smiled widely then climbed to his feet to press a kiss to her forehead. "You're Daddy's little super star, huh?" Nick pecked a kiss to Greg's cheek then made his way off towards the shower to clean himself up, before Anne arrived with the picnic basket and her two boys Freddie and Joey.
As soon as Nick was ready, they all set off towards the nearest park for their picnic, playing on the swings, slide and merry-go-round, before Nick started up a mini game of football with the children, teaming up with Anne and Danielle while Greg, Joey and Freddie tried to score points against them on the other team.
Nick left early to pick up his daughter, Libby from school as promised, leaving Greg to take Anne and her boys back home before her older children returned home from school themselves.
"Hey Greg!" Nick called through the house as he returned home a few hours later. He made his way through to the bedroom, smiling as he saw Greg curled up on the bed with Danielle sleeping at his side. Nick removed everything but his boxers and a t-shirt, gently easing himself onto the bed beside them. "Hey baby, you're tired again?" Nick asked him as the younger man fluttered his eyes open. "You've been really tired for the past few weeks, baby."
"I'm fine." Greg assured him. "You're starting to fuss over me as much as my mother, Nicky."
"Sorry." Nick pressed a kiss to his sleepy temple, then snuggled against the pillow beside him with Danielle between them.
"How was your dinner with Libby?" The younger man queried.
"Okay." Nick shrugged. "We had burgers and ice cream. Not together though." He chuckled, catching Greg's reaction. "You know she talks a lot, but not about the right sorta stuff."
"What should she be talking about?"
"I expected her to hate me." Nick leant up on his elbow, gently tucking the quilt blanket around his sleeping child beside him, before he continued, "She seems really cool about it though. She talks to me about her brothers, about school and her friends. She hates talkin' about her mother though. Do you think she blames her for what I did?"
"I don't know, Nicky." Greg shrugged, entwining his fingers with Nick's across the bed. "She's a fifteen year old girl with a mother as a pole dancer though, so I think there's probably many more reasons why she doesn't get along with her mother." Greg assured him then watched as Nick brushed his thumb across the ring on his finger. "You didn't change your mind about marrying me did you?"
Nick looked up at him confused, "No, why?"
"Well, after what you said about Anne and Jason... I thought, that maybe you've gone off the whole idea of getting married."
"I want to marry you, and we love each other."
"I'm sure they loved each other at one point in their lives." Greg pointed out to him. "Would you stay with me if we made each other miserable?"
"We'd never make each other miserable." Nick assured him, giving the younger man a smile as he looked into his eyes. "And they don't even wonna work on it. If we ever got to that stage, and that's a big 'if'. I'd want to work on our relationship, not let it spiral out of control to the point of shoutin' at one another in front of their kids."
"Me too." Greg agreed. "You know this April is our three year anniversary from your proposal to me."
"Yeah? Why don't we get married in April then?" Nick suggested, watching a slight smile spreading across the younger man's lips. "We'll have to run it by your mother, but we can have just a simple service or somethin' to make it official. It'll be really special that way."
"Okay, but you'll have to fight for the date with my mother. You know she said she needs at least six or seven months to plan our wedding."
"I bet I can do it two weeks. All we need is a smart suit each, rings and a minister. What's so hard about that?" Nick chuckled softly. "And you'll have to do the fightin' G, she's your mother."
"Okay." Greg leant forwards to capture his partner's lips, feeling a twinge of excitement shivering down his spine. "But you have to be there to back me up, she loves you. You gave her a grandchild." He indicated towards the sleeping toddler between them. "So, whaddya wonna do tomorrow?"
"I'm thinkin' a long lazy day in bed." Nick grinned at him, leaving Greg to do just that the next morning while he prepared breakfast for the three of them. They spent the whole day together at home, playing with Danielle and making slight preparations for their wedding day as Jean would most likely insist on doing the rest.
Climbing out from under Nick's arm draped across his stomach the next morning, Greg eased himself off the bed, adjusting his shorts as he headed straight across the hall towards Danielle's room to check on her. Approaching the crib, Greg smiled down at his snoozing little angel, gently brushing his fingers through her short strands of hair. He then reached for the monitor on the cabinet beside her bed, quietly clicking it on. Slowly tiptoeing out of the room, Greg made his way into the kitchen, stumbling over the toys that littered the hall on the way.
"Ouch." He winced, limping off towards the kitchen counter.
Greg let out a yawn of exhaustion as he filled the coffee machines pot with water, noticing it must have rained late last night because there were puddles slowly drying up on the patio. Turning on the baby monitor on top of the fridge, Greg noticed the bright yellow posit note stuck to the fridge door reminding him to pay the mortgage, followed by another just beneath it reminding him to pick up Nick's dry cleaning before he had to head into court the next day.
Greg collected up the waxy crayons scattered across the counter, clearing them away into their box before he gave the counter a wipe down, noticing some crayon lines etched into the counter that weren't coming off with a regular scrub.
"Opps." Greg knew Nick would be mad about that, but he decided to worry about it later since it was Nick's first day back at work today and he had offered to go in early as day shift were down two CSI's due to a stomach flu floating around.
As soon as his coffee was done, Greg took a few sips then started to rush around, picking up toys and dropping them into the basket in the front room, before he started with the clothes, dumping them all in the washing hamper, making a mental note to put a load on today or they wouldn't have any clothes to wear for tomorrow.
Brushing a hand through his pillow creased hair, Greg checked on the baby video monitor on the fridge, smiling as his little sleeping beauty snoozed on then he started to prepare breakfast for the three of them.
Nick's alarm started to sound a few minutes later, waking him up from his deep slumber. He instantly reached out for Greg's side of the bed, but there was no sign of him anywhere. He gave out a sleepy yawn then stumbled out of the bed towards the bathroom as nature immediately called.
Once he was done in the bathroom, Nick pulled on one of his warm sweatshirts then made his way into Danielle's room, lifting the sleepy little girl from her crib. "Mornin' sleepy head." He whispered to her, carrying her off into the kitchen where Greg was flipping pancakes in a frying pan with a phone pressed to his ear.
"No Mom, I can't come over today. I've got too much to do." Greg spoke into his cell phone, flipping the pancakes onto a plate for Nick then poured him out a coffee. He set it down on the breakfast counter for him, then returned to what he was doing. "Okay . . . yeah, yeah . . . I promise I'll tell you all about it later . . . I know I didn't tell you yesterday, I was kinda busy." He defended himself. "No I was not sleeping with Nicky all day, I was just too busy to call . . . yes I was . . . like stuff . . . like house work stuff, Mom." He complained to her, rolling his eyes at her through his phone. "I'm not being snippy." Greg laughed softly, leaning against the counter beside him. "I'm sorry . . . No, I wasn't lying in a ditch somewhere, Mom. I was busy with laundry and things. Okay then... okay, Mom. I promise to call you tomorrow, don't worry . . . yeah, I know . . . I wouldn't miss it for the world . . . yeah, I'm sure Nick's looking forward to it too . . . love you . . . yeah . . . bye... bye... buh bye, Mom." Greg snapped his phone shut, sighing heavily as he dropped it to the counter. "Morning." Greg smiled towards his family.
"Mornin' baby." Nick pressed his lips to Greg's, holding Danielle against his side. "You okay?" He queried, placing his hand on his forehead. "You look even paler and sleepy."
"I'm fine." Greg assured him. "Your breakfasts ready." He indicated towards it, taking their baby girl off his hands so he could sit down.
"Thank you." Nick pressed a kiss to his partner's cheek then took a seat at the counter. "Did your Mom wonna know all about Libby or somethin'?"
"Yes, why do you think she called so early? She never calls before seven am, she knows the rules. She said she was so nervous about it the other night that she hardly slept, then when I didn't call her yesterday she started worrying even more."
"So what am I lookin' forward to?" He inquired, having heard Greg's half of the phone conversation.
"Thanksgiving dinner with the Sanders family." Greg announced like a commentator. "She keeps reminding me so we're not late again, like last year."
"That wasn't my fault. My car was out of wiper fluid." Nick defended himself with a chuckle.
"Since it wasn't that big of an emergency though, my mother is going to hold it against you for the next... five years I think." Greg calculated off the top of his head. "She just has no idea how much you love your car." He grinned across the counter at him.
"That's right. But you do, and when'd you get so domestic, G?" He queried as he took a sip of his hot coffee.
"What do you mean?" Greg asked as he lifted Danielle down into her highchair, giving the oatmeal one last stir before he set it down in front of her.
"You're never up before me, and there's never breakfast or coffee in the mornin's."
"You wouldn't know because you're always sleeping." Greg smirked at him as he handed Danielle her special little princess spoon. Danielle curled her little fingers around the end, taking her first spoonful into her mouth while Greg was watching. He gave her a wide smile as she successfully got it into her mouth without dropping it everywhere. "Since you've been working nights, I wake up a lot earlier than you, and this is my usual morning routine. Only this time I have to make you breakfast too because you have to go into work early."
"So I domesticated you?" Nick chuckled softly, leaning across the counter to press a kiss to his fiancés lips. "Thank you, honey. You really do know how to look after your man, doncha?"
"Yep, so eatcha breakfast, Tex. And you, use the spoon." Greg laughed as Danielle used her free hand to dip into the oatmeal, licking it straight from her fingertips as the spoon wasn't cooperating the way she wanted it to. "Oh and Nicky, I left my car at my parents, so I can't pick up your suit from the dry cleaners."
"It's still there?" He asked surprised.
"Yeah, apparently baby vomit takes a while to get out." Greg innocently smiled at him. "If it's that important to you, you can always get it yourself on your way home from work. Just don't forget it because you're due in court tomorrow." He reminded him.
"Okay." Nick smiled at him then hopped one seat over to stop Danielle from dropping the whole bowl of oatmeal down herself. He wiped her sticky hands with a cloth, re-teaching her how to use her spoon as she was starting to get the hang of it the other week.
Once he was done with his own breakfast, Nick headed off to have a shower, shave, brush his teeth and finish getting ready for work while Greg cleaned up the mess in the kitchen then rushed Danielle off to her bedroom, changing her diaper and getting her dressed. He gently brushed her hair into pigtails, pinning back the loose short strands with some little butterfly clips.
"So, what are you gonna do all day without me?" Nick queried from the door, buttoning up his shirt across his chest.
"Well I don't know, Nick. Since I seem to have taken on the wifely duties of the house, I thought I'd wash all of your clothes. Do some ironing. The house is in a mess, and then there's the bills and things to be paid off."
"I was only askin'." Nick smiled at his snippy lover. "Don't overdo it baby, your back still isn't fully healed." He warned him. "I can do some when I get back from work. I don't want you hurtin' yourself."
"It was nearly a year ago." Greg frowned at him. "Would everyone please stop, thinking I'm some delicate little thing that can't do anything?"
"I'm sorry, I worry about you baby. Maybe we should book another appointment to see the doctor." He suggested.
"Why?"
"Because you've been gettin' weaker and paler for the past few weeks," Nick pointed out to him, looking his younger lover in the eyes. "You barely had any energy the other day with the football, and your Dad had to drive you home from their house because you were so sleepy."
"I'm fine."
"Why didn't you eat any breakfast? Did you finish your dinner the other night?"
"Yes I finished my dinner, but no I didn't have any breakfast." Greg filled him in. "I'm not going anorexic on you, Nicky. I just don't feel hungry. But really, I'm fine." Greg assured him the ushered him away, as he lifted Danielle into his arms. "Now go or you're gonna be late. Ecklie's your boss today and he doesn't exactly like you." He reminded him.
"Okay, but promise me if it gets any worse you'll go to the doctors." Greg looked up into his eyes, giving the man a reluctant nod. "Thank you, you know I love you."
"Yeah but you're a pain in the arse, Stokes. There's nothing wrong with me. You try looking after a teething two year old, by yourself for twenty four – seven."
"Well then, take her over your mother's so you can get some sleep."
"Okay." Greg nodded to him then pointed towards the door. "Go now, you're gonna be late."
"Okay, bye baby. I love you two." He snatched a kiss from his partner's lips, then pressed a kiss to Danielle's forehead, before he hurried off to the front door to grab his wallet, keys and kit from by the door. "Bye!"
"Bye!" Greg waved after him then set Danielle down in her play pen in the front room while he got on with some of the housework, loading some of the laundry into the washing machine. He double checked all the pockets of their clothes, finding loose change, pens and shopping lists in half of Nick's jeans, along with a box of match sticks with a phone number written on the tab and the name Valerie.
Greg sighed in relief as he read the name, glad Nick had already told him about her or it would have freaked him out. "I'm coming baby!" He called out to Danielle as he heard her calling out to him. He set the matches down on the counter then rushed off into the front room, finding Danielle leant against the gate with tears in her eyes as she hated to be left alone. Greg swept her up into his arms, holding her tightly against his chest as he brushed away her tears with his thumb. "I'm sorry, baby. I was just in the next room."
As soon as she was in her father's arms, her tears automatically stopped.
Greg smiled at her then set her down beside the laundry hamper while he finished checking the rest of the pockets of Nick's clothes so he could finally load the washing machine. When he was single, Greg hated doing the laundry, but now that he had a family to look after he really didn't mind it. He preferred his domestic life to the single bachelor one, any day.
Waking up to the sound of her buzzing alarm, Libby gave out a groan of annoyance as she slammed her hand down on top of it. Scrambling out of bed, Libby pulled her hair back into a pony tail, tying it off with a band off her desk before she made her way across the hall to the bathroom to get ready for school.
Once she was dressed and ready, Libby woke her three little brothers up, along with Ruby's son to get them ready for school then made her way off down the stairs to grab them all some breakfast while the adults of the household snoozed the morning away in their bed upstairs.
Libby set the four of them down at the table to eat their breakfast while she started to make their lunches, keeping an eye on the time as she had to get her brother Garrett on the bus before she rushed off to catch her own. "Emmett, don't throw food at Philip." She scolded her little brother for throwing food at Ruby's son. Five year old Emmett stuck his tongue out at his big sister then continued with what he was doing, even though Philip was three years older than him. "Emmett, stop it!" She hissed.
"Make me." He childishly replied, throwing food at her.
"Libby!" Her mother scolded her as she came into the room, finding Libby hitting her brother over the head. "Don't do that. He's just a baby compared to you."
"You've got that right." Libby muttered then made her way off towards the door to grab her bag.
"Libby... Lib's, wait." Valerie hurried after her, hoping to catch her before she escaped out of the front door. "I'm sorry about what I said last night, sweetheart. You know I want you to have a relationship with you father, not just for the money..."
"Save it, Mom. You make more sense when you're drunk." Libby snapped at her then pulled her bag on over her shoulder. "Nick's not exactly rich like Garrett and Emmett's father anyway, so he couldn't afford to keep you and your expensive tastes anyway." The angry teenager spat at her. "I have to go to school. Your children are dressed and ready."
Valerie sighed heavily, watching her daughter storming away down the path before she disappeared down the street to go and catch her bus.
After finishing off his shift at the lab, Nick made his way off towards the locker room, spotting Valerie stood at the front desk, arguing with Judy about getting hold of him. "Hey, hey." He stopped her from throwing something at Judy. "What the hell are you doin' here, Valerie?"
Valerie sighed in relief as she saw the face of the man grabbing her wrist. "Finally, I've been waitin' here for freakin' hours to talk to you, Nick."
"Why?" Nick looked at her confused as he ushered her away from the front desk to talk to her.
"Because Libby didn't show up at school today!" She shouted at him. "They've been callin' me all day to try and find out where she is. She can't get any more absent days, she's had too many already this year. They're already investigatin' me for Garrett's broken arm a few weeks ago. It wasn't me, he was rough housin' with Philip down the stairs..."
"Okay, so why are you talkin' to me?" He interrupted her.
"Because I thought she'd come find you. Whenever Garrett runs away he runs straight to his father. Libby's never had anyone to run away to before."
"Well she's not here." Nick pointed out to her. "She doesn't even know where I work."
"Fine, big help you are." She snipped, storming off towards the elevator.
"Stokes, this is no place for girlfriends." Having heard the commotion from his office, Ecklie decided to see what was going on his lab, finding Nick arguing with a woman. "I will not let you turn my lab..."
"Relax, she's leavin'." Nick cut him off then made his way back down the hall towards the locker room to get ready to leave himself. As Nick climbed into his truck, he called Libby's cell phone number to find out where she was, but there was no answer and he didn't even know where to start looking.
"Hey baby." Nick called through the house as he unlocked the front door. Dropping his keys and things on the side, Nick turned to lock the front door then opened his arms to hug the excitable puppy that rushed to the door to greet him. "Wow, the place looks great, Greg." He noticed the house was actually sparkling as he held his lover tightly in his embrace.
"You really like it?" Greg pressed a kiss to his partner's chin then gently tugged him towards the front room. "There's my secret weapon."
"Hello Nicky!" Jean excitedly greeted him then jumped to her feet to properly greet him with a hug. "I hope you don't mind. I brought Greg's car back and came to help out with Danielle. Daniel is coming to pick me up after he finishes work, so I won't be here much longer."
"No, I don't mind." Nick shook his head, tightening his arm around his lover's waist. "I could give you a lift if you want? Save your husband the trouble of drivin' out of his way to get here."
"Aww, you're so sweet at trying to get rid of me." She giggled softly, patting him on the shoulder. Tapping her watch as she looked at the time, Jean winked at the two of them, smirking, "Don't worry; he's on his way here. I'll be out of your way before you know it, so you can get on with..."
"Mother." Greg cut her off, glaring at her a moment before he turned towards Nick beside him. "Valerie called a few minutes ago. She said she found Libby, so you don't have to worry. She just decided to cut school today."
"You talked to her?" Nick looked at him surprised.
"Yeah, and I see what you mean. She never shuts up." Greg smirked. "She said she's sorry if she caused you any problems with your boss at work. Oh and she wants to congratulate you for removing the Stokes stick up your arse and sleeping with me."
"Oh." Nick blushed as he looked towards the wide smile on Greg's mother's face.
"Oh, don't mind me. I'll go and grab you a plate of dinner, Nicky." Jean smiled then skipped off towards the kitchen, humming softly to herself as she fixed him a plate of the meal she had just cooked for her son and granddaughter.
"Where's Danielle?" Nick queried.
"In here." Greg led him over towards the sofa by his hand, showing him Danielle fast asleep on the sofa with a blanket wrapped around her. "Sorry, she wanted to wait for you, but she couldn't keep her eyes open any longer."
"That's okay." Nick took a seat beside her, gently lifting her hand from her chest to hold in his own while she slept. "Did yah have fun without me, G?"
"Maybe a little." Greg eased himself onto the sofa beside Nick, relaxing back in his embrace. "You're cold, what have you been doing all day?"
"Processin' a DB in a freezer." Nick smirked, then smiled up at Jean as she handed him a plate. "Thank you, Jean." Greg's mother just smiled in return, then made her way back to the kitchen to finish cleaning up before her husband arrived to pick her up and take her home, and they didn't see her again until thanksgiving night, the very next week.
"So, you said that you and Nicky have some news to tell us?" Jean queried as she handed round the dish of sweet potatoes to her mother. "You're not gonna leave us in suspense for the whole meal are you? How'd your doctor's appointment go last Thursday?" She asked, desperately wanting to know what was going on.
"Well," Greg set his fork down on the plate, reaching for the bread rolls his father was handing to him before he reached for the butter. "He took a blood test and things in case I'm anaemic or something, but it's too soon to say anything for sure. But that wasn't the news we were gonna tell you."
"Oh." Jean looked almost disappointed as she continued to hand the food round the table. "What was the news that you were gonna tell us then? It better be exciting. I've been waiting days for you to tell me that you're pregnant."
"Sorry, but I'm not. It's not for lack of trying either." He pointed out to her. "Anyway, Nick and I have decided..." Greg smiled round at his partner before he continued, "We've decided to get married in April."
"April? That's... that's less than five months away." Jean shrieked. "However will we have time to prepare?"
"We want a simple service. Just you guys, some of our friends from work and a few of Nick's family, in a simple little service that just has us saying our own vows to one another before we exchange rings and get pronounced... you know, husband and husband." Greg explained to her, watching his family's eyes all turning towards Jean as she seemed to be the primary decision maker of the family.
"I don't know, sweetheart. It's kinda short notice. How will we ever have time to book everything and get clothes and things? Couldn't you wait another year so we have more time? My plates kinda full now that I've joined Paula in the P-FLAG meetings. We've got so much coming up in the next few months now that gay marriage is on the verge of being legalised everywhere else."
Greg pouted his lip out at her. "But Nick proposed to me in April two years ago. I don't wonna wait another year to marry him."
"Couldn't you have told me this earlier?" She complained, feeling bad for crushing her little boy's dreams.
"We only just decided this yesterday." Greg defended himself. "C'mon Mom, you can wrangle together a birthday party in less than two hours. I'm sure you can do this."
"When did you wrangle a birthday party together in less than two hours?" Daniel asked his wife, noticing the guilty expression on her face.
"I forgot your fortieth birthday. Luckily Greg was on his way home from college that week and reminded me, that's when I pulled off that big surprise party for you." She explained to him then scowled over at her son. "He was never supposed to know that I forgot his birthday, you little monster."
"I'm sorry; you won't let me have my wedding." Greg evilly grinned at her, wanting his wedding to Nick in April like he planned.
"No, you'll have to pick another date. It's too short notice. There is no way we can organise this thing in such a small space of time." She shook her head. "You're my only child, currently. You deserve an amazing wedding that you'll remember for the rest of your lives. I want your wedding day to be special, but that's just too short notice. Pick another event in your relationship and we'll marry you two on the anniversary of that day instead if you're so impatient that it has to be next year."
"Fine." Greg sighed heavily. "Let me see, Danielle was conceived in April, but that dates out. I first slept with Nick in October, 1999. But that month has already past, and I plan on being pregnant by next October. Danielle started crawling in July, but I'm gonna be pretty pregnant by then..."
"You said you're not pregnant." She interrupted him.
"I'm not... yet. But I will be by then. The best month is April." He concluded, erupting a wide smile from his Nana and Papa Olaf as he was just as stubborn as Jean. "Mom please, we don't want anything big, just a small simple service that we can afford that basically just declares us as life partners while we exchange rings. So please, please, please, please." He begged her.
"I want you to have a big, special wedding that you deserve."
"I don't want a big wedding; it'll be special whatever it is, just as long as Nick's with me."
"Why are you only asking your mother?" Daniel queried.
"Because Daddies don't know the first thing about weddings except the bachelor party." Greg grinned at him. "We'll pay for everything. Please Mommy." He pleaded in a sweet voice he knew she couldn't resist.
"Oh my god, he's manipulating me again." She sighed heavily, dropping her head into her hands. "Fine. Fine, I'll just give up the P-FLAG group that means so little to you, so I can plan your wedding." She gave in, watching a wide smile spreading across Greg's face. "One day you'll be wishing I did let you have the big wedding you deserve."
"The big wedding I'm not legally entitled to anyway." He pointed out to her. "I just want, Nick. That's all you want too, right?" He asked, turning to his partner beside him.
"Yes." Nick nodded to him.
"Well we just want to spoil our little boy with the wedding he deserves." Jean argued then turned to her husband. "Right Daniel?"
"Yes dear." Daniel agreed.
Nana Olaf laughed, shaking her head at each of them. "He'll never give into the big wedding you want him to have, just like you didn't when we offered to pay for yours and Daniel's." Her mother pointed out to her. "Daniel's just like Nick. Quiet and polite, agreeing to everything his partner says as he never wants to rock the boat. While Greg's just like you. He knows what he wants. He's stubborn and nothing will make him change his mind."
"That's right." Greg agreed, lacing his hand with Nick's under the table. "And it was Nick's idea to get married in April. He knew it would have to be me to fight for the month we wanted though, since you're so stubborn."
Jean looked towards Nick as he nervously gulped down the lump in his throat. "Is that true, Nicky?
"Yeah." Nick anxiously nodded to her. "I kinda wanted it to be special for both of us. Since it was the month Danielle was conceived and the month I proposed to Greg..."
"You know if you really wanted it in April, you could have just asked, sweetheart." She interrupted him, giving him a wide smile. "I'm sure we can organise something in time."
"What?" Greg looked at her surprised. "For him you'd agree to it, but I have to beg?"
Daniel gently elbowed his wife, sensing Greg was having an old child moment of freak out as the mother who always sided with him was siding with someone else. "No, I wasn't siding with him." Jean shook her head. "Just... since you both want it so much, you changed my mind." She smiled at him. "Now c'mon, this is supposed to be, Thanksgiving."
"Hey, you wanted to know what the big news was." Greg smiled at her then grabbed the sweet potatoes again to give Danielle some more as she seemed to like them so much. "So, what are you thankful for, mother?"
"My little snot of a son." She grinned back at him. "I'm also thankful for you, Nicky. And my beautiful granddaughter, Danielle. I'm very thankful for having all my family with me this year, especially considering we almost lost one of you this year." She looked in the direction of her son then raised her wine glass from the table, before she continued, "And, I'd like to propose a toast to Nicky and Greg to their upcoming marriage. Since I'm the mother of the bride and all." She cheekily teased her son. "When your children find true love, you know that you've at least done something right in raising them. It's hard to believe that you're so grown up already, Gregory. It seems like only yesterday you were around Danielle's age, asking me where the water went in the washing machine once it was done." She giggled. "Anyway, I've waited a long time for this day to come... so, to Nick and Greg." She finally toasted, raising her glass higher.
"To Nick and Greg." The rest of them toasted them, raising their glasses
Holding his baby girl tightly in his arms, Nick gently rocked her in his arms as she dozed off to sleep against him from the sound of the soft raspy voices of the Rascal Flatts CD echoing through the room. "You never dance with me." Greg whispered as he stepped up beside him.
"Really?" Nick looked at him surprised. "I thought we have? We must have... at least once?"
"Nope, I don't think so." Greg shook his head. "I think I'd remember something like that."
"I'm sorry." Nick adjusted Danielle against his chest then reached his free arm out for Greg to hold him against him. "I like the lyrics to this one. They have a lot of meanin'."
"You say that about all your hick stuff." Greg giggled.
"Well it's a lot more meaningful then slaves to non-existent gods, with fights and yeah's thrown in everywhere." Nick snickered.
"Marilyn Manson songs are very meaningful." Greg defended him. "You just have to listen to the lyrics. Marilyn Manson does it with more flare then a cowboy who done broke his tractor down." He mocked him, giggling softly as he looked into his cowboys eyes.
"I have not once played you a song about a broken down tractor." Nick chuckled. "Just listen to the lyrics of this one. It has a lot of meanin' to me." Nick turned the volume up a little more, adjusting the blanket around the sleeping two year old in his arms before he moved his other arm to wrap around his partner's waist.
I will stand by you
I will help you through
When you've done all you can do
If you can't cope
I will dry your eyes
I will fight your fight
I will hold you tight
And I won't let go
It hurts my heart
To see you cry
Greg looked up into his sentimental Texan's eyes, feeling the warmth of his big Texas heart warming his own as the song continued to play and the lyrics started to make even more sense to him now he knew what his fiancé was relating them to.
I know it's dark
This part of life
Oh it finds us all
And we're too small
To stop the rain
Oh but when it rains
I will stand by you
I will help you through
When you've done all you can do
If you can't cope
I will dry your eyes
I will fight your fight
I will hold you tight
And I won't let you fall
Don't be afraid to fall
I'm right here to catch you
I won't let you down
Wrapping his arms around Nick and their child in his arms, Greg whispered, "You haven't so far."
I sped things up a little in this chapter, I hope you don't mind, I just wanted to get things rolling again, so I don't drag out too much of the details. Hopefully you've been monitoring Greg's symptoms over the past few chapters, so you'll have some idea for what's ahead.
The song used in this chapter is called 'I won't let go' another one of Rascal Flatts songs, that I just wanted to use to finish it off.
I hope you enjoyed it!
Thanks so much for reading and your continued reviews! Please let me know what you think of this one too :D
~ Holly