Chapter Fourteen - Full on Assault

"I thought you made up your mind already?"

"Well if I had, I wouldn't be going through this right now, would I?" Grace continued the never ending argument with her mother, while she packed away her clothes into the suitcase on her bed spread. She had changed her mind several times already, but she was sure about her decision this time. It was time to head back to the city that she used to call home and be reunited with the baby she left in the hospital. "I'm not going to do anything rash, I just want to see her. It's my right as her mother."

"You gave up that right when you left her there." The woman argued, folding her arms across her chest, giving her daughter the familiar look of disapproval. "You really think the birth father is just going to let you see her after what you did?"

"He'll have to." She opened her dresser against the wall, pushing aside her tops to retrieve the twenty week scan image she had kept from her first ultrasound. "I'm her mother. I let him keep her for this long. He doesn't have the right to keep her from me. He never bothered to take it all the way to court, so he must have known that I would be back for her."

"You don't even know her name."

"Only because you've blocked every call we've ever received from him." She turned it around on her mother, adding the ultrasound picture to her suitcase. "I'll talk to him when I get there. He never could resist me before."

The woman rolled her eyes at her naive daughter, giving up on the lost cause. She never listened to anything she said anyway, so it was pointless trying to argue with her over something that she had her mind set on. She knew she'd give it up or change her mind after a week or so on her own, she just hoped that no one got hurt in the process of Grace's quest to find out what it was like to actually be a mother to someone.

She feared for her granddaughter the most.

"Wait, wait..." Greg stopped the coroner from the rolling the body over, quickly pulling his tweezers out of his vest pocket. He grabbed for the tiny piece of paper he spotted on the floor, bringing it to eye level. "Looks like a corner of photo or something. It's been burned."

"Who burns a photo?" David let him get out of the way, before he rolled the body over. "As for the cause of death... can't say for sure, but looks like blunt force trauma to the head. There's something in the wound too."

"Looks like glass." Greg bagged the piece of paper, glancing up as Warrick came walking back into the front room of their victim's house. "Did you find anything upstairs?"

"There's a kids room." Warrick still couldn't look him in the eyes. "I checked with Brass, he shares custody of his nine year old daughter with his ex wife. He has her on weekends, so I doubt she was here. He's gonna try and get hold of her to check. She might even be our suspect."

Greg figured at least he was talking to him now. Looking at him might take a little longer after what he had found out, but until then they could still work a case together. He still hadn't told Nick that his best friend knew about them. He considered Nick's mind still too fragile to deal with someone from work knowing that they were together intimately.

"There's more glass over here." Clicking on the light of his flashlight, Greg examined the little bits of coloured glass on the floor, noticing some water on the floor. He followed the trail towards the decaying flowers, guessing their victim had been hit over the head with a vase of some kind. "There's a card." He picked it up off the floor. "Good luck with the new job." He turned it around to show Warrick that it had been signed with a kiss.

"Brass said he's a car salesman." Warrick examined the other side of the room, trying to look for any sign of a break in, but other than the dead body in the front room, the place was completely spotless.

"Maybe somebody didn't like his big promotion."

"There's a business card in his pocket." David pulled it out, handing it over to Greg. "And it looks as though he's been redressed. He's missed two buttons." He pointed them out, leaning back as Warrick snapped a picture with his camera.

Greg scanned the photos decorating the mantle, lifting out an empty frame from the back. He bagged it up to check for prints later, noticing a very intimate photo between their victim and an older man. He had a lot of theories when they first walked in, but now he was starting to suspect some kind of lover's tiff, especially with the burnt up photo in the mix. He didn't feel safe enough to share his theories with Warrick at the moment. He tended to avoid all things male, dating and relationships around him at the moment.

They spent another hour or so collecting evidence at the house, before they made their way back to the lab in separate cars. Warrick attended the autopsy alone, leaving Greg to dust the empty photo frame for prints. He managed to pull off a few partials off the edges, finding a full print on the inside, hoping it belonged to the killer.

"Mr Sanders," Judy from reception poked her head into the lab, giving him a smile as he glanced round at her. "There's a man looking for you at the front desk and Grissom wants to see you in his office as soon as you get a moment."

"Thank you." He nodded in her direction, taking the prints over to the scanner. He was hoping that they were in the system already, giving him some time to see who was at the front desk. He snapped off the latex gloves from his hands, removing his lab coat, before he made his way towards the front desk. He knew Grissom would be pissed about being second on his list, but he was worried that it could have been Nick, especially after his doctor's appointment this morning.

"Greg." The man jumped up from one of the seats, grabbing the younger man's wrist before he could say anything. He pulled him aside from the main traffic of the various lab technicians, giving him a smile as he looked into his eyes. "I've missed you. I just got back from a conference in New York. I heard about your Papa Olaf."

"How?" Greg pulled his arm away from Stuart, thinking this was all he needed to deal with today.

"Your Mom. I called her to see where you were, since you've been ducking my calls. We got talking and she told me about the funeral. Are you okay?"

"I've been ducking your calls because I told you to stop calling me." He pointed out to him. "We're not together anymore, Stuart, which means you can't just show up like this anymore."

"I thought you just needed some time to get over that, before we could get back together again." Stuart watched one of the lab technician's walking by them, before he grabbed for the younger man's arms. He was so much stronger than him, so he managed to pull him back towards the elevator, closing the doors before he could get away. "Greg, this isn't still about that stupid thing with that guy is it?"

"What guy?" He had never told him about Nick out of fear of what he would do, so he had no idea what he was talking about.

"The guy that you found with me. I told you it didn't mean anything and I meant it. It was just a dumb fluke. You shouldn't let it ruin what we have."

"Had. Past tense." Greg pointed out to him, going for the control panel before the elevator took them too far away from the lab. "And you cheated on me, it wasn't just a dumb fluke. You hurt me in a way I can never forgive. I only called you because I needed to talk to someone. The one thing you were ever good at while we were dating was listening and now you can't even do that right because you think I want a relationship with you after everything you put me through before."

"But I miss you." Stuart hit the button to keep the doors closed, blocking the younger man's escape. "I can make it up to you, I swear."

"I don't want you to make it up to me. I don't want anything to do with you anymore." He tried to push past him, but he was still much stronger than him.

"Just give me a chance."

"No." Greg shook his head. "Now let me go. Unless you want me to call security."

Stuart raised his hands, taking a step away from him. "I know you still care about me. You wouldn't have called me if you didn't. You have tons of people to talk to in your life. You picked me because you still care about me and you know I still care about you."

"You don't and I don't either." Greg slipped out of the doors the second they opened, turning back to look at Stuart. "It was a mistake calling you, I know that now. Just do me a favour and leave me alone, okay? I'm with someone now who actually cares about me. I don't need you back in my life right now... so leave me alone."

"This guy." Stuart wasn't giving up without a fight, practically chasing him down towards the labs. "The one that you're with, he'll never care about you like I do."

"You're right." Greg took a step back towards his supervisor's office. "He cares about me a whole lot more then you ever did." He turned on his heels, giving the door a light knock, before he stepped inside. "Hey, boss. You wanted to see me."

"Yes, sit down." Grissom motioned towards one of the chairs, while he finished up the report he had in front of him. He closed it up after a moment, glancing up at Greg over the rim of his glasses. "It's come to my attention that you and another CSI have become... romantically involved." He removed the specs from his nose, placing them on the desk in front of him. "Lab policy clearly states no dating. If this gets back to Ecklie or the lab director..."

"Technically, we haven't broken any rules though." Greg saw no point in denying it, sensing that Warrick was the culprit of this rumour. "We haven't been working together since we started dating. Not once, so none of our cases have been compromised by our relationship. Which is why we didn't feel the need to tell anyone."

"So it is true then?" Grissom leant forwards on his seat, searching for the truth in the younger man's expression. "You and Nick Stokes have become romantically involved?"

"We prefer to call it dating, but... yeah." Greg shrugged his shoulders together. "We didn't plan it. And nothing has ever happened at the lab." He flat out lied, remembering their first kiss in the locker room. "It started when he was about to leave for Texas, so we haven't been working at the lab together since. The thing is, we really don't want this getting out. Half the guys we work with have already expressed their opinions about gay guys. If they knew..."

"Your secret is safe with me." Grissom assured him, leaning back against his chair. "Thank you, Greg. I won't take this any further, but if and when Nick decides to come back to work. You won't be allowed to work the same shift. We'll have to switch one of you over to another shift to keep things legit."

"I'm sure he'll be fine with that once the time comes. It'll give him more time with Sadie too." Greg climbed to his feet, giving his supervisor a curious look. "Out of curiosity, how did you even find out about us? He hasn't been back to the lab since, so how did you know?"

"I can't reveal my source to you, Greg." He simply smiled back at him. "Although, I really can't picture it myself. Nick and you." He tried to picture it a moment, but they were so different it was hard to even imagine it. "I didn't even know Nick was gay. And I wouldn't picture you as his type. No offence."

Greg folded his arms across his chest, giving the man a slight smile. "None taken. So you're not going to tell anyone?"

"No policies were broken if it was on your own time and you weren't working together when it started, so there's nothing to report on. Unless it affects your work here at the lab, it's none of my business. Which is how I would like it to remain." He gave him a quick warning, not wanting their relationship to affect anyone else on the team. "I trust you to keep this discreet as you can."

"Don't worry about it. That's exactly the way we wanted to keep it." He turned on his heels, going for the door. He was relieved that Stuart wasn't waiting outside for him, but then he spotted Warrick making his way through the hallway. He couldn't just let him get away with almost destroying their careers. "I need to talk to you." He stopped in front of him, motioning towards the empty lab beside them. "Now." He blocked his exit again.

Warrick gave out a hefty sigh, reluctantly stepping into the lab. "Make it quick. I'm busy."

"I know you don't like me, but I wouldn't think that you would jeopardise your best friend's career over something like this."

"What?" Warrick perched himself on the table, giving him a confused look. "What exactly are you accusing me of, Sanders?"

"You ratted us out to Grissom." He accused him. "We both could have lost our careers. You know the lab policy on dating."

"I didn't say anything to anyone."

"You're the only one who knows and would do something like that."

"If that's what you think then why would I wait nearly six weeks, before I ratted you out? If you really think that I would do something like that to 'you' or Nick, then you really don't know me at all. That man has had my back more times than I can count. I would 'never' jeopardise his career over something so stupid. I didn't tell anyone." He assured him, pushing himself up from the table. "Are we done? Some of us have work to do."

"Yeah." Greg stuffed his hands into his pockets, feeling a little guilty. "What did you get from autopsy?" He caught him before he stormed away.

"Doc Robbins is pretty backed up, but he did say that the most likely cause of death was the trauma to the head. Did you get some prints of the vase pieces?"

"Mandy has the vase. I took the photo frame. I gave the burnt up photo to Hodges." Greg ushered the man towards Mandy's lab, giving her a smile as she started dusting another piece of the vase. He stepped up to the computer to see if he had any matches to the prints yet, but it was still running them. "No matches yet, are you having better luck?"

"I've got too many partials to make a full print at the moment." Mandy pulled off another print, holding it up to eye level. "This might go quicker if you could print the people he was close to."

"Brass is bringing in the ex wife and the daughter." Warrick stepped around the counter where Mandy was working, taking a look at all the partials she had taken off the vase. "Hey Greg, make yourself useful and print the wife and kid. Any luck finding out who sent those flowers?"

"Archie is on it. The card had the florists companies logo on it, so he's trying to track down the date and who ordered them." Greg turned on his heels, giving out a sigh as he made his way towards the supply cupboard. He grabbed himself a print kit, before he made his way down to the station. "Hey, Metcalfe." He stepped up to the front desk. "Is Brass back yet?"

"Yeah... interview room one. Hey, I'm sorry about your Papa Olaf, Greg. Sara told me that's why you were out the last couple of weeks."

"Thanks." Greg gave him a half smile, turning for the interrogation rooms. He gave the first door a light knock, before he made his way inside.

"Sanders, here for prints?" Brass ushered him over to the table. "Ms Walker, would you mind us taking yours and your daughter's fingerprints? Just to rule them out around your ex's house."

"I..." The woman looked at the kit in Greg's hands nervously. "I'd rather wait for my lawyer to get here."

Brass glanced round at the young CSI beside him, sensing they had both come to the same conclusion. He left her to wait for her lawyer, while he gave Judge Callen a call to see if they could get a court order to print the family. Greg waited in the hall for what felt like hours, before he noticed the man from the photos. He watched him walk up to the front desk, asking Deputy Metcalfe a question. The deputy immediately got on the phone, leaving the man to wait. His eyes looked slightly glazed, making him look a little lost. Greg immediately crossed him off his suspect list from just that look, deciding to push himself to his feet to talk to him.

"Hi, I'm CSI Greg Sanders." He introduced himself.

"Craig." The man turned around to look at him. "I'm... Luke Walker's partner. Someone called me at work and told me... do you know what happened to him yet?"

Greg knew he wasn't allowed to tell him without Doc Robbins full autopsy, but the lost boy look in his eyes reminded him of Nick. He had to tell him something. He took him through to Brass's empty office, explaining what looked like the cause of death, before he started asking about Luke's life. "Did you know if he had any enemies... rivals or anything? Maybe at work. He just got a promotion, right?"

Craig nodded, clasping his hands together in his lap. "Everyone that worked with him loved him. He was easy to get along with. Big hearted. He's been gunning after this promotion for a long time. It couldn't have been anyone there." He sniffled back his tears, perking up as he heard a memorable voice. He glanced around at the familiar woman in the hallway, shouting her mouth off at a little man in a suit. "What's she doing here?" He turned to look at Greg.

"We immediately call all the close family in a case like this. His ex wife and child were first on the list."

"She hated him." Craig pushed himself to his feet, suddenly becoming very vocal, "She did everything she could to make his life a living hell. She's tried to stop him from seeing his daughter dozens of times. The court ordered that they aren't to see each other anymore. Hayley's grandmother picks her up and takes her between the two of them now because she has made everything so difficult."

"Craig." He tried to stop him as he went for the door.

"I can't let her get away with this." He shoved Greg aside as the woman continued to shout her mouth off, barrelling down the hallway towards her. "You've got some nerve being here."

"Me? Unlike you, I was actually married to the man. Something you will never be able to do."

Craig suddenly lunged at her, shoving her up against the wall. The little lawyer tried to help out his client, but he was knocked away in an instant. "You did this, didn't you? Didn't you? You couldn't stand the fact that he was gay and he loved me. So you killed him! You took him away from me." The man shouted, trying to throttle the life out of her. He figured he had nothing to lose with the love of his life gone.

Greg scrambled to his feet off Brass's floor, hurrying down the hallway to help. The angry man easily shoved away the various deputies who tried to pull him away, only letting go of her the moment he saw Hayley's little face staring up at him. Her lower lip was trembling as she watched the man she thought of as her father trying to choke the life out of her mother.

"Cuff him." Brass ordered, putting his hand up to stop Greg from getting any closer.

"She killed your father, Hayley. She's a murderer." Craig shouted, blaming himself for not taking Luke up on his offer to skip town a few months back. He wanted him to get that big promotion he had been working so hard for. He thought they would eventually get past the influence of his ex wife, but now he would know. She had taken away the one thing he loved more than anything in the world.

Captain Brass directed his men to take Craig into one of the empty interrogation rooms rather than a cell downstairs. He checked on his deputies and the lawyer that were shoved out of the way, before he made his way over to Greg. "Get that head seen to. What were you thinking letting him see her?"

Greg wiped away the blood from his forehead, shrugging his shoulders. "I didn't know he was going to do that. Did we get the go ahead to print them?"

"Don't you worry about that. Go." He ushered him away, seeming a lot angrier than usual as a child had witnessed the whole thing. "I'll call someone else down from the lab to get their prints."

"I can still do it." Greg argued.

"I don't want you anywhere near this case. Get out." Brass ordered, making his way back to his office.

"Here." Deputy Metcalfe handed the younger man a wad of tissues from his desk, once the Captain was out of the way. "I can drive you to the hospital."

"It's just a scrape." Greg touched his forehead again, feeling a bump where his head had collided with the edge of the cabinet in Brass's office.

"C'mon," The man grabbed his car keys, not taking no for an answer. "The hospital is on my way home anyway." He couldn't say no, so Greg reluctantly followed him to the car, letting him take him to the hospital. He didn't want to worry Nick with the slightest bump, so he let them treat him, before Metcalfe drove him back to his apartment.

As he suspected, Nick was still tucked up in bed with Sadie curled up beside him. He kicked off his shoes at the foot of the bed, perching himself on the end as he watched the two of them sleeping. He couldn't imagine losing everything in one night like Craig had. He got a call from Warrick while he was at the hospital, telling him that the ex wife had been arrested after she confessed to smashing Luke over the head with the flowers vase. The fingerprints all over it confirmed her story and Archie managed to match up the burnt picture to their old wedding photo that Luke had kept on his mantle after all these years.

In one instant she had taken everything away from Craig, making him fear that his own ex boyfriend, Stuart could do the same out of jealously or anger.

Greg pulled his t-shirt off, pushing himself off the bed. He loosened his jeans on the way into the bathroom, picking the toys out of the sink so he could wash his face. He glanced up with water running down his face, looking at their toothbrushes sat side by side. Sadie didn't have a mouthful of teeth to brush yet, but Nick had picked out a toothbrush for her to get her used to it. He turned his gaze towards the shower, looking at the bottle of baby shampoo right beside Nick's shower gel. The apartment had become pretty crowded with all of their things over the past few weeks, but he never thought about moving before. At least if they moved to a house of their own, Stuart wouldn't be able to hassle them or do harm to his family while they slept in their beds.

After quickly brushing his own teeth, Greg climbed across his partner to get into bed beside him, waking him up with the warmth of his body against him. "Hey..." The Texan gave out a deep breath, tilting his head to the side to rest against Greg's. "You're home early."

"How can you tell what time it is without even looking at a clock?" He rested his arm over the man's chest, feeling his heart pounding against him.

"Because you're never home before the sun's up." He smiled without opening his eyes. "Are you okay?"

"I am now." Greg swung his leg over Nick's hip, perching himself on top of his sleepy partner. He waited for him to pry his sleepy eyes open, before he greeted him with a sunny smile. "I love the way you look at me when you first wake up."

"What happened to your head?" He noticed the white bandage on his head right away.

"The edge of a cabinet and a big guy's fist. It's okay though, he was upset. It doesn't even hurt anymore." Greg leant down to his level, sealing their lips together. He slid his hand down his partner's bare side, smiling against his lips as he pulled back. "I had a thought today."

"Uh oh." The older man teased him, placing his hands on Greg's hips as the younger man ground his hips against him. "About what?"

"You, me and Sadie, getting a house. We've been together nearly two months now. Sadie's gonna start crawling soon and this place is getting pretty cramped."

"Did somethin' happen today? Besides the bump to the head." Nick held onto him as he struggled to sit up, gently brushing his fingertips across his bruised forehead. "I think the last time I asked you about us gettin' a new house was two days ago and you still said no, so what changed?"

Greg looked into his eyes, before he leant forwards to wrap his arms tightly around him. He breathed in his familiar scent for a moment, before he told him all about the case he had been working today. He left out the part where Stuart came to visit him and Grissom found out about them, but he only really needed to know about Luke and Craig to know why he was so upset.

He kept his head on Nick's shoulder the whole time, keeping his arms tightly wrapped around him. He listened to his soft breaths after he finished explaining, feeling comforted by the pounding of his big Texas heart and the warmth of his strong arms around him.

"Nothin' is gonna happen to me." The Texan spoke softly, smoothing his hand to the centre of the younger man's spine. He pressed a kiss to his shoulder, sliding his hand down his spine as he pulled him closer. "You think I'd let anyone come between what we have now?" He pulled back from him slightly, sealing a kiss to his minty lips. He breathed out through his nose as he kissed him deeper, feeling the younger man surrendering to him completely.

He wished he was strong enough to act on that instinct, but he still didn't feel ready for the next step in their relationship. He pulled back from the kiss after a moment, resting their foreheads together.

"Are you serious about this house deal?"

"Yeah." Greg reached his hand up, brushing his thumb across the older man's chin. "I know I was never exactly for it before, but I couldn't bear the thought of losing you. I love you." He wiped his thumb across the man's lips, giving him a slight smile. "Besides, it might be kinda nice to get a bigger place together. We're practically on top of each other here. Not that I mind, but Sadie's gonna need her own space soon. There's not enough room here for her to crawl or play. And we'll need our own room. Your stuff can't stay in storage forever."

"So you're on board?"

"I'm in." He playfully nipped a kiss to his moist lips. "Just don't tell my Mom that we're house hunting, she'll want to join in and make us get a place with a guest bedroom for her visits."

"A guest bedroom wouldn't be so bad. You expect your Mom to crash on the couch when she visits?" Nick smiled against his lips, putting his arms around him once again. "What kind of house would you want to get?"

"Houses have kinds?" The younger man teased, sitting back on the man's thighs as he thought about it. "I don't know, I haven't really thought about it. I'm not too bothered about how big it is, just as long as it has the basics. You know, kitchen, front room, bathrooms, bedrooms... I guess a decent driveway would be nice. Maybe a garage and a small office where I can work at home. A garden might be nice, not that I'm really an outdoors person, but maybe for Sadie when she starts walking."

"Haven't thought about it much, huh?" Nick smiled back at him. "Do you wonna start lookin' with me? I've already started lookin' into realtors."

"You did?"

"Well I knew we'd need a place eventually. I just needed some time to bring you around to the idea. I want us to get a place where we both feel comfortable, so I haven't started lookin' at any houses yet." He gently brushed his fingertips across Greg's eyebrow, just beneath the bandage that was stuck to his head. "I don't want anythin' to happen to you either. But you can't worry about every little thing. You'd drive yourself crazy. I learnt that with Sadie."

Greg smiled back at him, turning his attention to look at the sleeping baby girl beside them. He rested his head against Nick's shoulder, nodding his head against him. "We can start looking for a house. We should probably do it before she starts crawling, then we won't have to worry about baby proofing this death trap." He lifted his head to look the man in the eyes, before he merged their lips together for a kiss. He felt the man's hands holding his hips, wondering if a change of scenery would make him feel comfortable enough to finally go all the way with him.

Groaning as he heard the door, Greg reluctantly pulled back from the man, crawling for the end of the bed. "You're not expecting anyone are you?"

"No one knows I even live here, besides you."

"True." Greg pulled his jeans back on, grabbing his boyfriend's sweatshirt off the pile of clean laundry. He quickly pulled it on over his chest, hurrying for the front door before whoever it was left. He contemplated why that was a bad thing as he opened the door, coming face to face with the nightmare ex. "You..." He pushed Stuart out into the hall, pulling the apartment door shut behind him. "What are you doing here?"

"I have something for you." Stuart reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out a small jewellery sized box. "I know I was never sure about it all before, but I'm ready now. I can be the man you need." He opened the box, revealing the man's sized silver band with a jewel crusted into the front.

Greg took one look at it, before he frowned at the man. "You are kidding."

"No, I'm serious. This is what you always wanted from me and now I'm ready to be that man for you. Greg, will you..."

"No." The younger man struggled not to laugh at what he was about to ask him. "What part of I will never forgive you don't you understand? Not only did you break my heart, but you completely destroyed any trust I had for you. There is no way in hell I would ever consider being with you again and I'd certainly never consider marrying you." He didn't mean to be harsh, but the man didn't seem to listen to anything else he had told him.

"Is that his?" Stuart lowered the ring, looking at the sports sweatshirt the younger man was wearing. He could immediately tell that it wasn't his from the size and he knew it wasn't his usual style either. "Is he here?" He pointed over his shoulder towards the apartment door. "This new guy you're seeing, he'll never love you like I do."

"You never loved me. You still don't now. If you did, you wouldn't do something like this. You're only here because I stupidly called you when I needed someone to talk to."

"Greg please, just give me a chance." He snatched the younger man's hand from his side, shoving him against the wall. He pinned him with his body, practically bending his finger back to try and place the ring.

Greg managed to clench his fist to keep the hideous ring off his finger, spotting Nick out of the corner of his eye. He had a clenched fist of his own, directed at the other man holding Greg captive against the wall. He heard the thud as his fist collided with his face, followed by the clatter of the ring against the floor.

"Are you okay?" His hero immediately checked on him first.

"Yeah." Greg rubbed his sore hand, starting to wish he had never got out of bed today. He could smell the stench of alcohol on Stuart after he was so close though, realising why he had resorted to such drastic measures. He placed his hand on Nick's bare chest to stop him from taking it further, feeling a little sorry for his ex as he scrambled across the hallway to pick up the tacky ring. "Look... Stuart, you and me... we're done. We're just not right for each other."

"And he is?" Stuart slotted the ring back into its box, looking at the man who had clocked him. He had pulled on a pair of sweatpants in his haste to see what the racket was, but he had forgotten his t-shirt, giving him a full view of what Greg saw in him.

"I think it's time for you to go." Nick motioned towards the elevator, following him all the way to the sliding doors. "Don't come around here anymore. And if you ever hurt Greg again, you'll be leavin' in a body bag." He pushed the button to take Stuart to the first floor, taking a step back with his arms folded across his chest, hoping he looked intimidating enough to steer him clear of Greg for good.

Nick returned to the apartment once the elevator reached its destination, grabbing a handful of ice from the freezer compartment. He dropped them into a towel, gently resting it on the back of Greg's hand. He made sure he could still bend his fingers, relieved that nothing bad had happened to him. "So, that's Stuart? You really dated that guy?"

"Yeah." Greg smiled back at him, putting his back to the counter. "You're not gonna get all jealous are you?"

"No." He shook his head, hearing his cell ringing from the bedroom. He handed the ice pack over to Greg, pressing a kiss to his forehead. "Because I know that you're mine." Nick took off for the bedroom before his phone woke the baby, not recognising the caller ID. "Stokes." He used his professional tone, starting to miss being at work even more.

Greg ditched the melting ice in the sink, leaning over the counter to watch Nick's expression. He couldn't tell who he was on the phone to, but he looked a little upset. He waited until he finished, before he made his way over to him, perching himself on the bed beside him. "Are you okay?"

Nick nodded slightly, giving out a sigh. "That was Grace. She's in town." He glanced at his sleeping baby girl on the bed beside them. "She wants to see the baby."

Thank you for reading. That's the last one for today, please review.

Have a great weekend!

~ Holly