Thanks so much to Alisa for beta-ing this for me :D Enjoy!
Chapter Twenty: An Attentive Listener
After a long few hours of sleep, Nick finally awoke, finding himself alone in bed. Yesterday's events suddenly flashed through his mind, reminding him that he had missed Libby's first night in their house. He scrambled out of bed as he realised it was nine o' clock, finding Greg and Danielle in the kitchen, but no Libby.
"Hey, you want coffee? There's bacon, eggs, toast and pancakes too." Greg offered.
"Where's Libby?" The sleepy man queried, rubbing his eyes open, as the morning sunshine was brightly filtering through the windows into the kitchen.
"School. She walked." Greg pointed out the time. "She should be the by now, since it starts at nine and all." Handing his fiancé a steaming hot cup of coffee, Greg gave him a sweet smile then pressed his lips to his fiancé's. "Are you okay?"
"MmHmm." Nick nodded, licking his lips.
"How's your back?"
"Better." Nick straightened up, realising the pain in his back had almost gone.
"So, um... what are you doing today?"
"Um... nothin'." Nick shrugged. "Why?"
"You wonna hang out with Danielle? I've got some things to do that I can't exactly bring her along to. If you're not up for it, I can check with Anne or my Mom..."
"I can look after her." Nick assured him, taking his first sip of the coffee in his hands. "What sorta things have you got to do?"
"Therapy... and a few other things. I'm meeting Sara for lunch." Turning back to the oven, Greg removed the frying pan from the top, as the eggs started to sizzle, turning off the heat, before he dished some out onto two separate plates. "Oh and we're all outta cereals and stuff. Libby told me she likes Cap'n Crunch, but she's not really that fussy. She had some of Danielle's Cheerio's this morning. But if you don't wonna do it, I can grab some stuff on my way home."
"I can shop, Greg. Did you make a..." Before Nick finished asking, Greg handed over the shopping list he had made. "What's all the sandwich stuff for? We never eat sandwiches." He noticed.
"Libby's lunch." Greg smirked. "I gave her some money to buy some today, but she said she usually takes sandwiches, as the cafeteria food sucks at her school. And make sure you get the boneless chicken." He pointed out the chicken on the list. "We're having that tonight, and it'll be easier without the bones."
"Okay." Nick nodded to him, surprised at how organised Greg was this morning. "Did she like her room?"
"She loved it." Greg winked, pressing a kiss to Nick's forehead, as he set his breakfast down in front of him. "Just like I told she would. Oh and don't forget Danielle's, Cheerio's. She's out. I don't think I added it to the list." He suddenly remembered, seeing the empty box sat beside the bin.
"Okay." Looking towards Danielle in her high chair, Nick smiled as she was holding her spoon in one hand, using her fingers from her other hand to feed herself the Cheerio's in the bowl in front of her. "So, you're goin' back to therapy? It wasn't 'cause of what I said, was it?"
"Nope."
"Then why are you goin'?"
"Because I want to." Greg smiled. "You're gonna tell me off for wanting to go now? I've got some time to get my head sorted before these babies come, and I've gotta keep taking care of you and Danielle too. I think it'll just be easier if I have a level head."
"Don't forget about Libby." He reminded him, as he still hadn't gotten used to adding her to the family roster.
"How could I?" Greg assured him with a smile. "See, yet another reason to have a level head."
"You never did tell me how it went with Valerie."
"Fine." Greg shrugged, protecting him from the truth, as he really didn't want Nick to start freaking out again over things he had no control over. "Let's just say that we won't be inviting her round for brunch anytime soon. But it went fine, nothing to worry your pretty little head over."
"Okay. Do you need me to do any laundry today?"
"Yeah, you could do. Make sure you turn my t-shirts inside out, so they don't fade." He quickly warned him, finishing off his own breakfast, so he could rush to the bedroom and get dressed. Greg returned from the bedroom dressed and ready, stealing a warm kiss and a hug from his fiancé. "Bye, I love you."
"I love you too." Nick watched as Greg kissed their daughter goodbye then waved him off as he made his way over to the door, actually feeling excited to be spending the whole day with Danielle.
"Take a seat, Miss Larson." The woman directed her to the chair in front of her desk. Valerie adjusted the jacket she was wearing to cover more of her bust to make her look more respectable, then sat patiently, waiting to hear what the woman had to offer her. "Well, you did really well on your typing test, Miss Larson. You got a ninety one, don't worry, no one's ever gotten one hundred." She smiled at her then turned her attention towards her computer beside her. "Okay, Miss Larson... we have one downtown... you understand that these jobs are just temporary, don't you, Miss Larson?"
Valerie nodded her head, gulping back that large lump in her throat, as she used to get so much more money just for standing on a stage and removing her clothes, now she was forced into labour like the rest of the human race, working minimum wage for a job she couldn't stand, in order to keep her children.
"This one is for a receptionist position, involving... typing, photocopying, answering phones... think you can do that one?" Valerie gave the woman another nod, watching as she reached for her phone. "Let me call over there and see if they've found anyone yet. You do have business attire, don't you?" She glanced at Valerie's clothes, thinking she looked like an off duty stripper.
"Um... like what?" Valerie inquired.
"Like a nice blouse, pantyhose, business skirt... smart sort of cooperate clothing. None of these... see through tops, that I can see your lingerie through." She suggested, watching Valerie inwardly rolling her eyes at the thought of having to change her entire wardrobe.
The woman phoned through to the office, giving them the details of the new temp she had lined up for them. After Valerie had a more respectable job lined up for herself, she stopped by Wal-mart, planning on doing some actual shopping for a change, as her usual shopper was currently absent.
"Hey... Nick." Valerie caught up to Nick in Wal-mart. "Hi, I'm not stalkin' you or anythin', don't worry." She smiled, as he looked round at her surprised.
"Hi." Nick casually greeted her, dropping some cereal boxes into his cart, behind Danielle sat in the trolley seat.
"So, um... how's Libby doin'?" She queried, watching Nick looking at her outfit surprised. "Oh, I was just at a job interview. I'm gonna be a temp, some law firm or somethin' needs a receptionist for the next six weeks or so, while their receptionist is on leave for her baby. My baby isn't due until July, so I have some time. But I can't get anyone to take me seriously with these things." She indicated towards her breasts. "Cost more to take the damn things out then it did to put them in."
Yet another reason why I'm not payin' you child support. Nick thought to himself. "So... you've, you're gettin' a new job?" He asked, trying not to sound so surprised.
"Yeah, have to... I'm nearly thirty three. I'm past my stripper prime. It was supposed to be a temporary job to support myself and my baby girl, but then I got more into the lifestyle and it kinda stuck." She sighed softly, holding the basket in her hands against her hip. "That wasn't an excuse by the way. I'm tryin' to get my life together... and I know what you're gonna say, too little too late, but I've still got my boys to think about. Oh and this baby." She remembered, pointing to her stomach. "You know, I'm in AA for my drinkin' and sex addicts anonymous, drug rehab, the walk in and out kind... obviously." She nervously started to ramble, as he was just staring at her.
"Uh... good for you." He finally answered, adjusting the little baseball cap on Danielle's head, as it looked as though it was going to slip off. "So, um... why...?"
"Why now?" She finished his sentence, adjusting her shoulder strapped purse, before she answered, "I really screwed up my chance with Libby, but I still have three boys to think about. Garrett, Emmett and Cameron are still young, I still have a chance to put things right... hopefully before I lose them completely too."
"Valerie, you didn't lose Libby." Nick tried to assure her, not knowing why he was even attempting to comfort her, when he still hated her. But it was like an uncontrollable virus, he just had to do it in order to make himself feel a little less guilty, even though he knew that taking Libby away from her was the right thing to do. "I think that maybe the two of you just need some space, before you try to mend your relationship with her. Its best to just leave her alone for a while, wait till she's settled. You can still call her. I'm not gonna stop her from wantin' to talk to you, but I think it's best to just let her adjust to livin' with me for a while."
"Yeah, I know that." Valerie snidely remarked at him, taking her first proper look of Danielle in the trolley, but Nick stepped in front of her, as if he didn't want the stripper's eyes to contaminate his daughter. "Well, I'll see yah, Nick." She abruptly announced, turning to walk away.
Nick felt as though he should say something to her, but he really couldn't think of anything, so he let her just walk away. Turning back towards his daughter, Nick watched her playing with stuffed cat in her hands, making soft garble sounds as she did. He smiled at her then continued on with his shopping, before he had to be at the school to pick Libby up.
Just as he was leaving the store, Nick received a call from Warrick, asking if he wanted to meet him for lunch. Nick gladly accepted the opportunity to catch up, wanting to talk to anyone that wasn't a raging with hormones teenage girl, a hyper three year old or a very hormonal pregnant man.
"Greg, it's good to see you again." The young woman climbed to her feet, greeting him with a handshake, before she directed him towards the sofa. "So, why haven't you been to see me lately? How are things at home?"
"Nick thinks I'm depressed." He blurted, wanting to get this session over as quick as possible. "I'm pregnant again, with twins, and every little thing I do seems to make him think that I'm depressed. But I know I'm not depressed. We're both dealing with a lot of stress right now, with the new babies being twins, Christmas, Danielle, Libby, all this business with my parents. Work and stuff. But he thinks that I'm depressed, so I did some reading and apparently if I am depressed, it could be early post partum depression or something. All because we lost that baby, he suddenly thinks that I'm suddenly going crazy on him. He takes note of every little thing I do, and he's just started reading all these stupid baby books that handle second pregnancies after a loss. He's taking everything I do as a symptom of pregnancy depression. And he keeps checking in on me as though I'm gonna do something..."
"Whoa, whoa..." She interrupted him. "I've told you before Greg, you can't talk that fast. So, start from the beginning... you're pregnant with twins. How far along are you?"
"Tomorrow, I'll be exactly fifteen weeks." He remembered, reminding himself of the doctor's appointment he had tomorrow. "But I'm really not depressed. I may be a little worried about these babies, but that doesn't make me depressed. I bumped into my ex just before Christmas, the one who punched me in the stomach, making me lose my first baby, and that made me a little depressed... well actually, I kinda had a panic attack."
"You did? What was that like?" She continued with the questions.
"Scary." Greg shrugged. "I felt like I couldn't breathe, but Nick thinks I'm like depressed all the time." He got back on point. "It's really annoying, because the more he says it, the more depressed I feel, when I wasn't in the first place."
"Why do you think he thinks that you're depressed?"
Greg gave her a shrug, hating it when she only ever gave him more questions, rather than answers. "I've been really hormonal during this pregnancy. Maybe he's just realising that I'm a lot to deal with."
"Do you think you're a lot to deal with?"
Greg frowned at her, wishing she would give him a straight answer. "Well, I sorta am... at the moment anyway. When I was still having the constant morning sickness, he kept shouting at me because I was getting so emotional all the time. He gets grossed out by vomit too."
"He does? Being a CSI, I wouldn't think..."
"You have not seen somebody grossed out by vomit until you've seen Nick practically dressing in a hazmat suit to clean up the bathroom after I'm done." Greg giggled at the memory. "He used to get pretty grossed out when Danielle was blowing chunks too."
His shrink smiled then moved onto her next question, "So, how have you been feeling lately, emotionally and physically, besides the panic attack?"
"Physically, the morning sickness was taking its toll at first, making me really tired. I could never eat and I just felt so drained all the time, especially while I was taking care of Danielle, while she was teething. Emotionally, I'm a little worried about the twins . . . one of them has a slower heart than the other, but I'm not depressed about it. I haven't been able to sleep a lot during the night and I'm still never hungry. I try to force myself to eat though, for these babies. I guess I feel kinda lonely spending all day, every day at home with Danielle. I haven't exactly quit my job; I just sorta took a leave of absence that's seemed to have just extended even more."
"Would you like to go back to work?"
"I guess. I do kinda miss the people. I miss working the cases too, I guess. I definitely miss my friends. I can't see them during the day because they're sleeping then at night I'm sleeping and they're working, so that sucks. I'm meeting up with Sara for lunch though, so maybe that'll make me feel better. I used to work with her at the lab, and I miss her. I don't think Nick wants me to go back to work though. He's agreeing with my mother, saying that I should be on permanent bed rest until the end of this pregnancy. He won't even let me carry groceries at the moment. He sometimes hates it when I leave the house alone. He's worse than my mother with the protectiveness at the moment, but I know he's only doing it because he loves me. I don't know, maybe he is worried about the babies, but he sure doesn't show it with the never turning up at the appointments I have to constantly go to."
Greg looked towards his shrink for answers, but didn't like what she said, "It sounds to me like you're putting a lot off on Nick."
"I'm... not. Am I?" Greg gave himself a shrug as he pondered the question. "I don't think I am. He kinda betrayed me when he went to find his daughter without telling me though. He said he did it because he didn't want me to worry, but I felt betrayed. I'm not still mad with him though."
His shrink blinked her eyes a few times, wondering about this other daughter that Greg had yet to tell her about, but knowing him, he would get there eventually.
"He had a panic attack yesterday, more of a severe stress induced anxiety attack." Greg noted. The woman nodded, writing that down in her notes. "We're both so screwed up, I don't know why. Of course it would help if he talked to me more. You think maybe I'm not depressed at all, it's just him? He is dealing with a lot lately. He's got his new daughter Libby to think about and the whole custody case with Valerie, kinda got under his skin. Not to mention that Christmas isn't exactly his favourite time of year. It always reminds him of the family support he doesn't have that I do."
"Nick has a new daughter?" She queried, even more confused after hearing about a custody case.
"Oh, yeah... not exactly new. Her names Elizabeth aka Liberty Larson. Libby for short. She's fifteen... no wait, sixteen. She just had her birthday. We went to the movies then we went out ice skating, where he called me out on the depression thing again, all because I was thinking about Catherine's ex-husband. I told you all about that didn't I?" He paused to watch her nodding. "Well I was thinking about that, and Nick thought I was depressed again, but I was just thinking about Lindsey, and how she didn't have a father to take her ice skating and all that anymore."
"Lindsey is...?"
"Catherine's daughter." Greg giggled, as he managed to lose her again. "But I'm not so worried about that anymore. I was just thinking about it because Nick was spending time with his daughter and it made me think of Lindsey not being able to spend any time with hers."
"Okay, so... back to this new daughter of Nick's..."
"Right, Nick slept with this Valerie girl when he was seventeen, and they got pregnant. Nick didn't want the baby, as I understand it, Valerie's family kicked her out and now she's this like total... prostitute, stripper woman with more kids then she can count up to, due to all the drugs rotting her brain, and Libby's her daughter. Oh and this Valerie woman is pregnant again, while being investigated by social services for her poor parenting." He explained, finally pausing for breath. "At first, Valerie refused Nick any custody once he found out that Libby was alive, because he didn't know if she kept the baby or not. They got their lawyers together and everything for the custody hearing or whatever, and Libby made up her own little arrangement of spending most of time with Nick and only one weekend a month around her mother's to spend some time with her younger brothers. Sorry, was I talking too fast?"
Greg's therapist blinked at him a few times then looked at the doodled mess of her notes in front of her, giving her patient a smile. "No, just... a little slower, Greg. So, this Libby is living with you guys now, and Nick's stressed out about it?"
"No, did I say that? He's not stressed out; I meant that he's kinda got a lot to deal with at the moment, the addition of his teen daughter being one of them."
"You said he had a stress induced anxiety panic attack." She reminded him.
"He did, but that's... well, Nick kinda found something out, I probably shouldn't tell you all the details."
"I thought we agreed on no secrets, Greg? The little doctor – patient agreement." She reminded him about it, in case he had forgotten.
"We did. But this Nick's thing, I can't go around telling everyone. Even if you are sworn to secrecy." He smiled apologetically at her. "Anyway, he's not always stressed out. See he bottles everything up, but sometimes he can't quite keep the lid on it all, and it all just comes spilling out. But he's not always stressed out."
"So, he bottles his stress and releases it all in a panic attack?" She tried to understand.
"No, this was the first panic attack... and there was another reason behind it, you see. But that's the thing I can't tell you." He pointed out to her. "He was supposed to pick up Libby yesterday, but he was rearranging the bedroom with his bad back, and then he received some news that kinda made him freak out. But he's fine now."
"Hmm." She responded, jotting down some more notes.
"But that's not making me... you know, depressed. Libby and I get along great. We're into the same music and movies, stuff like that. She doesn't seem too bothered that I'm dating her father..."
"So, she doesn't mind. But do you?" She queried, watching his expression changing to a look of confusion. "With another woman's child in the house, Greg. You're always going to have a constant reminder of Nick's past relationships with this other woman's daughter in your house."
"No... not really." He shook his head. "Considering that Nick was only seventeen when they conceived Libby, I can't exactly blame him or her for it. I don't feel any feelings of hostility towards her. She's Nick's daughter, just like Danielle is; only Libby doesn't share DNA with me. But if my parents have taught me anything, and they really have... it's that DNA doesn't make you a family."
"I would love to meet this mother of yours someday, Greg." She chuckled, writing down yet another one of Mrs Sanders' sayings, reciting it like she all the others. "So, Libby is perfectly okay with the fact that you're dating her father. Is she showing any resentment towards the other child in her father's life?"
"You mean Danielle? No." He shook his head. "She told me she's always wanted a little sister. They haven't spent that much time together yet, but when we all went bowling, Libby loved playing with her new little sister, and she's really excited about the upcoming babies and the wedding."
"Wedding?" She looked over her notes, not recalling anything about a wedding. "Who's getting married?"
"Me and Nick, we're getting married... for real this time. In April. I don't think we've picked a date yet, because we haven't picked a venue and all that. I would invite you, but you always refuse to go to lunch with me." His therapist nodded, giving him a smile, as he hadn't asked her again since she rejected him. "And I know we're running out of time with it being February and all. Oh and get this, my mother's pregnant. She's... twenty two weeks at the moment... that's like... five months, nearly. Her baby is gonna be born before these twins, so I'm gonna get a little brother or sister."
Greg watched as his therapist's pen moved a mile a minute across the page, probably writing down everything he just said. He waited in silence for a few minutes then watched her biting her fingernails, before she decided to finally give him some help, or so he hoped. "Okay, well Greg... is there anything else I should know about?"
"Um... do you wonna see a picture of the twins?" He suggested, searching for one of the pictures he carried around with him from his pocket. "That was taken at... ten weeks. My mother came with me, because Nick was busy with his court thing. He said he can make it to the appointment tomorrow though. I'm not sure though, he never really gives me a clear answer. Maybe he just doesn't want to see them on the monitor. He saw the last one on the monitor and he got quite attached to it . . . then to lose it like that... I guess it's pretty tough on him." Greg anxiously bit his lower lip, suddenly realising that he had been putting a lot of his own baggage on Nick like his therapist said, probably making him worse.
"Wow, they're amazing, Greg." She smiled at him, handing the picture back over to him. "So, is Nick coming with you to your next appointment? You were a little unclear."
"Which...?" He asked, thinking Nick would never step foot in her office. He was afraid of shrinks.
"Your doctor's appointment tomorrow."
"Oh... should be." He shrugged. "Who knows? He might suddenly have something to do."
"Are you two still spending time with one another, with all this emotional stress put on your relationship from the new twins, this new daughter, Libby of his and everything... it's important for you to keep your relationship together, so you can support one another through this difficult time."
"We are." Greg nodded. "He was just in court for the last appointment, so he couldn't come. Believe me; he really does kick himself for missing the appointments. But I always tell him how it goes and how the babies are doing. Baby B's heart beat has been a little slower then Baby A's, the doctors not worried about it, but if you look at them carefully, you can see how much bigger this one is compared to this one." He pointed out to her.
"MmHmm." She nodded, adding that to the list. "Well, I really wish you had come to see me sooner Greg, there's a lot of issues here. And I'm only one person."
"Told yah." Greg smirked, leaning back in his seat. "C'mon Julie, just give it to me straight. I'm severely screwed up and I need electro shock therapy or something, right?"
"Not quite." Julie chuckled, shaking her head at him. "Greg, just from talking to you for a few minutes... I can tell that you're probably not depressed, but you may be... a little overwhelmed?" She suggested, watching for his reaction, before she continued, "Pregnancy is a very stressful time, especially if the pregnancy is increased with two babies. I think you're putting too much pressure on yourself and on Nick. What with the wedding coming up, which are also very stressful, and Nick's new daughter in the house... I think you two are really pushed to your limits."
"You do?" It was his turn to ask the questions.
"Yes. The added pressure could be making you feel overwhelmed, but I wouldn't necessarily say that you're depressed. I think you're putting a lot down on Nick, when it sounds like he's got a lot going on himself. Tell me; are you still intimate with Nick?"
"I guess." He shrugged, still feeling uncomfortable talking about his relationship with her. "I mean... it's been a while since we've, you know... had sex or anything, but we're still intimate."
"Are you going to come and see me regularly again, Greg?" She queried, figuring she would need a few more sessions to help him out before the babies came.
"I guess." He repeated.
"Okay, first of all... let's talk more about, Nick. Pregnancy can be very stressful for both parties in the relationship, so I'd like to hear how he's dealing with the notion of becoming a father to two more babies."
"Well, he seems pretty excited, especially to buy all the twin stuff. Like the cute little matching outfits and things. I think he's hoping for a boy with this one, but I wanted to keep it a surprise again. He's actually got Danielle for the whole day today; he's never spent a whole day alone with her before, since she became a toddler anyway. She's getting a little more hyperactive and talkative now, which I think is great, but he has a harder time keeping up with her."
"Oh, I wonder how he's doing."
After cutting up the vegetables and chicken pieces into smaller, bite sized pieces. Nick pushed the plate back towards his toddler, pulling her chair in a little closer, so she could reach the plate. Danielle shook her head in protest, stubbornly pushing the plate away from her. "Just eat a few more of the vegetables." Nick tried to reason with her.
"No." Danielle protested, pushing the plate away again. Quick as a flash, she suddenly slipped off her chair, crawling beneath the table on her hands and knees.
Warrick couldn't help but laugh, as Nick instantly pushed out his chair, reaching for the squirming tot's arms and legs beneath the table, to drag her back towards him, before she got away. He lifted her into his lap; retaking his seat opposite Warrick, with her sat on his lap. She furiously giggled and squirmed in his embrace, struggling to get down, but Nick held her tightly in his arms, keeping her restrained to his lap.
"I see a lot of Greg in her." Warrick chuckled, taking a sip from the glass of water in front of him. "Of course she looks just like you, but she's a lot more like, Greg. And you used to laugh at those poor parents with their embarrassing kids." He smirked, seeing a few people pointing towards the screaming toddler in Nick's arms, as she wanted to get down and play.
"This is nothing. When she was a baby, I had to change her diaper in the back of my truck, before I took her into Wal-mart with me, everyone who walked by was watching me as if I was doing some sort of surgery on her. Then I realised I had forgotten to bring the stupid diaper bag with me, so I stuck a plastic bag around her legs and carried her into the store to buy diapers and things. Greg still laughs about that today."
Warrick burst out laughing, shaking his head at him as he tried to imagine it. "I bet you've never forgotten that thing again, huh?"
"Oh I have. Once at the park, but one of the Mommies there were kind enough to give me a diaper and a few wipes. Then once at home, we were completely out of diapers when she needed changin', so I wrapped a hand towel around her, pinnin' it in place with safety pins, until Greg finally came back with some diapers." He chuckled at the memory. "When they say kids don't come with a manual, it really is true. So this is really nothin'. I think she's startin' her terrible twos at age three." He smirked, stopping Danielle from kicking her legs near the table. "We didn't have that much trouble with her durin' her twos, but now she's startin'... well, to get like this. A hyperactive little monster." He teased the child, tickling her as she wouldn't stop fussing.
"Don't admit that you're not loving it." Warrick set his empty glass down on the table then called the waiter over for a top up.
"It's... challengin'." Nick admitted, looking down at the innocent little pigtailed girl, reclining back in his embrace. "But I wouldn't change her for the world."
"Aww," Warrick cooed, laughing as Nick looked up at him. "Whoever thought that you'd become... like the perfect, Daddy."
"There's no such thing as a perfect, Daddy." Nick pointed out to him, fishing out his share of the bill onto the table. "We've got some time to kill at the park, before we go and pick up your big sister." He spoke to his daughter, collecting up her bag and toys off the table, once she had finally settled down in his arms. "Does Uncle Warrick wonna come along?"
"Oh, I'd love to, but I can't. I've gotta get some sleep before my shift tonight." He indicated towards the time, pulling his wallet from his back pocket, dropping his own share of the bill. "I'll have to hang out with you guys another time. Bye, bro. Bye, Danielle." Smiling at his best friend's daughter, Warrick climbed to his feet then grabbed his jacket off the back of his chair, waving the two of them off as he made his way towards the exit.
"C'mon then, you wonna go to the park?"
"Yeah!" Danielle excitedly answered.
Nick smiled at her then struggled to lift everything into his arms, carefully stepping around all the occupied tables of judgemental people, towards the exit. Nick just about managed to load everything into the back of his truck, except Danielle, remembering she had to go in her seat, and not with the luggage. He set her down in her own seat in the back, driving off to the nearest park within walking distance of Libby's school.
As soon as Nick set Danielle down in the sandbox at the park, she was running like the wind towards the climbing frame, pushing past kids double her size to reach the large bars of the ladder. He stood close by, watching her crawling through the various tunnels and things, before she reached the monkey bars. Nick expected her to stop, as she had never done them before, but instead, she decided to pull herself through the gap of the first set of bars, crawling across the top to reach the slide at the other end.
Nick could feel his heart hammering inside of his chest the whole time she was up there, as it was very high up, for her, but she didn't seem too bothered by the height of it. She giggled as she slid down the windy slide then gave out a shrieking giggle as Nick swept her into his arms at the bottom.
"You're gonna give your old man a heart attack if you do that again." He smirked, holding her tightly in his arms. Danielle responded with a cheeky giggle then pointed over to the swings in the distance, wanting to be pushed on them.
After the extended two hour long therapy session, Greg met with Sara for a quick lunch, catching up on everything that was going on at the lab, as Nick never got any of the gossip. Seeing Sara made Greg miss working at the lab even more. He wanted to go back to work, but his therapist, Julie had advised against it, as there was already too much stress in his life at the moment that could be adding more pressure to his mental state, causing health problems for both him and the babies.
To occupy their time during lunch, Sara had brought along a gender pregnancy quiz, that was supposed to help expecting mothers guess the gender of their unborn babies. Greg didn't believe answering a few simple questions could guess the gender of his babies, but he decided to go along with it anyway. "Question number four, are you carrying high or low?" Sara queried, watching Greg trying to guess through the baggy sweatshirt he was wearing.
"Low... I guess. I'm not that big at the moment, so I can't tell."
"Okay." Sara marked low on the quiz, reading off the next question, "Are you craving sweet or salty foods?"
"Right now... sweet." He licked his lips as he saw the waitress walking by with some delicious sugary doughnuts for the table opposite them.
"Does your pillow face north or south?" Sara asked the next question, furrowing her brows together, as the question seemed completely ridiculous.
"North."
After taking another bite of her salad, Sara read off the next question, "Was the month of your conception odd or even?"
"Um... I was six weeks at the end of December, so it must have been... November, maybe. Odd."
"Is your bump sticking out straight or spread wide from side to side?" She queried, noticing Greg was pulling at his sweatshirt to look. "Straight?" She queried, watching him giving her a nod. "I won't ask you the ovulating question. Um... do you recall the sexual position that resulted in conception?"
"I don't know." He giggled, feeling uncomfortable for talking about that with her. "Let me see, on odd months we usually prefer to lie down... although there was that..."
"Greg, please..." She pleaded him with her eyes. "I don't need to know that. Let's just say... lying down, okay?" Greg gave her a nod, grinning widely as she was blushing brighter than him. "Do you eat more potassium rich foods like bananas, fruit and meat of more magnesium rich foods like soy, nuts and leafy vegetables?" She queried then looked at his pork sandwich in front of him, guessing the answer for herself. "Okay, what about nausea? Have you been experiencing morning sickness, that goes away at the end of the day, sick all day or none?"
"I was being sick all day, but it's gone away now."
"I feel a little cruel asking you this next one," Sara took a swig of her water, before she asked him, "Would you say pregnancy has made you more or less attractive?"
"I'm fat and spotty, what would you say?" He smiled at her.
Sara circled one of the answers, before she moved onto the next question, giving it a frown, before she read it out to Greg, "I'm sorry for asking this, but does the father to be, wear tight fitting briefs or loose boxers? And you seriously don't have to tell me, because I really don't wonna know Nick's underwear preference." She warned him, showing her discomfort with the topic.
"Well, he kinda wears both. It depends what the rest of the outfit is. Those tight jeans don't look so tight with loose boxers." He cheekily pointed out to her.
"Ew, Greg. Enough." She cringed, frowning at him, as he threw his head back in laughter. "Are your feet... cold or warm?"
"Um... normal." He smirked. "How can that tell if there's a girl or boy in yah belly? Does the baby suddenly change gender if my feet get cold?" He giggled.
"I have no idea." Sara shrugged. "Especially considering you've got twins, maybe you have one of each and this quiz is completely useless for you. Okay, does the hair on your legs grow faster or the same?"
"The same as what?" He asked. "I don't shave my legs."
"Okay, we'll leave that one blank." She grinned at him, realising most of these questions applied to pregnant females, who did shave their legs among other feminine things. "Do you eat the heel of a loaf of bread?"
"What's that?"
"The end. Maybe we should skip the female ones and the food ones." Sara chuckled, figuring Greg still only ate fast food that came out of a microwave. "Okay, um... well, I'm not sure this one really applies to you either, but have your breasts grown in size at all?"
"No!" He hissed, covering his hands over his flat chest. "Do you think they have? Because they haven't."
"Okay... don't get stressy with me." She giggled, calculating his score at the end of it, from the questions he could answer. "Well, according to the old wives tales, pregnancy quiz, you're pregnant with a girl. The carrying low, conceiving on an odd month of ovulation, eating a magnesium rich diet, having severe morning sickness and looking less beautiful, would indicate a girl, while carrying high and out front, conceiving at the time of ovulation . . . and in a position of deep penetration, eating a potassium rich diet, having mild morning sickness and looking more beautiful, would indicate a boy. According to this, boys give beauty during pregnancy, while girls take it away."
"You put me down as not beautiful?" He giggled, watching her immediately blushing.
"No, just you said about the acne and the weight... even if I change that one though, the results still come out a girl." She informed him then reached for her phone, as it started to beep. "Crap, I hate being on call. I gotta go." She groaned, searching for some money, before she grabbed her jacket off the back of the chair. "Sorry, Greg. Congratulations on the possibility of having a girl. We'll do this again later."
"Okay." Greg smiled as she gave him a quick hug then took a look at the pregnancy quiz for himself, reading through all the questions again, to check they were right. He noticed that Sara had missed the question about whether he was craving sex, probably because she was uncomfortable about Nick's underwear and the position of penetration that the baby was conceived in. Then he realised that he hadn't actually been craving sex at all, he hadn't even been thinking about it, but with Danielle, it was all he could think about.
Greg decided to head home early from his errands, relaxing in his bed with nothing but the bright afternoon sun shining through the window across the room from him to occupy his time. Sliding his hand across the slight pooch of his stomach, Greg smiled as he thought about the babies growing in there, trying to imagine what they'd be like once they were out.
Suddenly feeling the weight shift on the bed, Greg directed his attention towards Nick's once vacant side, smiling as his partner crawled towards him, pressing his lips to his forehead, for his usual greeting. "Just when I was starting to miss you, you appear." Greg giggled, opening his arms to him. "So, how was your day, Daddy-O?"
"Pretty amazin'." Resting his head against Greg's shoulder, Nick draped one arm around his lover's body, snuggling up against him. "Danielle's been kinda hyper all day though."
"Sorry." Greg apologised, lifting Nick's hand from his chest, to lace their fingers together. "She probably gets that from me."
"No, it was okay."
"You did remember to pick Libby up from school today, right?"
"Yes, I'm not that forgetful." He chuckled. "Danielle was mesmerised by the neighbour's cat in the garden, so Libby took her out there to take a look at it."
"She's obsessed with cats." Greg giggled, spotting Libby in the garden, but he couldn't see Danielle as she was much shorter. "I tried to explain to her about the baby brothers or sisters she'll be getting soon, and she asked if she could have a cat instead." He smirked then lifted his fiancé's head off his shoulder, to give him a proper kiss.
"What was that for?"
"I love you." Greg whispered, thinking over everything his shrink had told him, as he lost himself in Nick's eyes. "And I'm sorry, for how I've been. You don't have to come to the doctor's appointment tomorrow. You can... I dunno; hang out with Libby or something. I've been putting a lot of pressure on you lately, when you're already going through so much, and I'm sorry. My therapist doesn't think I'm depressed, but I am overwhelmed with everything that's going on. Maybe we should change our minds about that vacation idea after the wedding?"
"We can't afford it, not with these little ones on their way out." Nick reminded him. "And you haven't been puttin' pressure on me..."
"Yes I have, don't defend me. I'm a moany little bitch and you've been putting up with me for too long." He giggled at the sight of a smile on Nick's face. "We've put a lot of pressure on ourselves with the wedding, Libby moving in and the twins. That's why we're wound so tight and constantly yelling at each other. Julie said it's okay to have arguments now and then; it's when the communication stops between us that we should start to worry."
"Like the sex in our relationship?" He queried, resting on his elbow beside Greg's head. "Should we worry about that?"
"It's only been a couple of weeks."
"Two months, nearly three." Nick corrected him.
"You've been counting?" He asked surprised, realising he was a man, so that was exactly what he was doing. "So, we're still intimate." Greg brushed his thumb across Nick's lips, holding his body close against him. "We still hold hands and kiss in the shower. We snuggle on the sofa. Bath together, kiss whenever we can. And we still spoon in bed. Is that not enough for you?"
"I always want more of you." Nick smirked. "Are you scared to have sex with me while you're pregnant?"
"No. Although I should be. You know it can cause miscarriages, premature labour and all that. But I'm not scared to have sex with you... I just don't feel like it. But there are other things we can do that don't involve penetration." He pointed out to him, smoothing his hands beneath his partner's shirt to feel his muscled chest.
"Except the kids are right outside the window." Nick reminded him, constantly checking on them to make sure they were safe. "What if they see us?"
"We're parents now Nicky, we have to work our sex life around them. There's these things called door locks and curtains that we're gonna have to get used to." The younger man giggled, continuing to gently stroke the smooth muscles of his partner's back. "Can you believe it's only six weeks till our wedding?" He whispered against Nick's parted lips.
"I know. I can't believe it. It's all gone by so quick. But I'm glad, because I can't wait to marry you." Nick smiled, covering Greg's mouth with his own, but allowed Greg to dominate his tongue inside of his mouth, taming it to do exactly what he wanted. Nick couldn't remember the last time Greg had kissed him like this, making him desperately hungry for more.
Weaving his fingers through Nick's silky soft hair, Greg traced his lips with his tongue, before he pulled back to speak. "I love you, Nicky. From now on, you have to tell me when I'm being a bitch to you, because I don't realise that I'm doing it."
"You're not a bitch, Greg." He assured him. "I know you've got ragin' hormones because of this pregnancy..."
"Don't defend me again. I'm beginning to feel as though I'm emotionally abusing you and you're just living with it, because you're too blind to see any different. I want you to be happy, Nicky. Don't settle for the bitchy boyfriend."
"I love my bitchy boyfriend." Nick smiled at him, caressing Greg's stomach beneath his t-shirt. "He's really not that bad once you get used to him. I'd rather be with him then without him."
"Aww, you're so sweet when you're lying through yah teeth." Greg giggled, playfully tickling his fiancé, suddenly making his tummy rumble. "Are you gonna answer that?"
"Yes, I was gonna go get dinner started. I got the boneless chicken like you suggested for the curry thing..."
"Sure you know how to make it?"
"Yes. There's these things called recipe books, like cheat sheets for tests." Nick grinned at him. "You just stay here and relax baby. I can handle making a chicken curry."
"Wait, don't go yet." Greg reached over for the magazine on his bed side table, showing Nick the quiz he had taken with Sara. "We could be having a girl. Sara found it while she was bored; she decided to do the quiz on me."
Nick took a seat beside him again, reading through the questions and the circled answers. "You think you look less beautiful?" He immediately noticed the question. "You look really beautiful when you're pregnant, Greg."
"That's just your opinion." He giggled. "Apparently boys give beauty, while girls take it away. Does that mean after Danielle I was less beautiful, because she stole my looks?"
"No. You just get more and more beautiful every day. But I can't believe you talked about our sex life, my underwear and position of penetration when the baby was conceived with Sara."
Greg cheekily giggled, pulling Nick closer to kiss him. "She was very uncomfortable about that too, but I think she'd probably scrubbed it from her mind by now. Let's just say she'll never look at you in your tight jeans the same again."
Nick gave him a curious look, trying to understand what he meant, but as Greg pulled him closer to kiss him again, he no longer cared what he had told her. He closed his eyes as Greg's arm snaked around his neck, holding him close while their tongue merged together in his mouth.
Abruptly pulling back from Nick's mouth, Greg asked, "Do you think I have breasts?"
"What?" Nick almost choked at the question.
"Breasts Nicky," He giggled. "You know those things girls usually have on their chests."
"I know what breasts are." Nick scowled at him then gave him a curious look. "Why would I think you have breasts?"
"Because..." Greg pushed Nick back slightly, tugging his t-shirt up his chest to show him. "The doctor said I need to keep gaining weight, but I'm beginning to get man boobs, so I was asking you, if you thought I had them."
"They... look the same to me." Nick awkwardly smiled at him. "Maybe it's just the natural hormones in your body. The doc did say your estrogen levels are higher for this pregnancy. You do have XXY chromosomes, so it might be..."
"How is growing boobs natural?" Greg interrupted him.
"C'mon Greg, you're a scientist. Everyone knows that women's breasts get bigger durin' pregnancy, because of the milk glands... or somethin'. Maybe you..."
"Don't even say it." Greg cut him off with his finger to his lips.
"I'm just sayin' Greg; it might just be the pregnancy hormones. It'll go away after their born. And it's not even that noticeable." He assured him, as it really wasn't. "You know, after you told me you were a hermaphrodite, when you got pregnant with Danielle. I did some readin' on the subject and some pregnant males have even been able to breast feed their babies."
"Ew." Greg cringed, giggling softly as Nick playfully tickled him.
"It's a perfectly natural thing, Greg. It's more natural than a man gettin' pregnant. Hell, before I met you I never thought that men could even get pregnant, or that this... third gender, so to speak, even existed. Breast feedin' is completely natural though..."
"I'm not doing it; I'll just chalk up to all the fatty foods I've been eating." Greg dismissed him, tugging his t-shirt back in place. "Your man boobs are bigger than mine, you can do it."
"They're not man boobs." He chuckled, playfully poking Greg in the sides. "We'll just forget we ever had this conversation, okay? So we could be havin' another girl?" He changed the subject.
"Yeah, did you wonna another one?"
"Yeah, I can live with another girl. Who wouldn't wonna be surrounded by beautiful girls, from their beautiful Daddy?" He winked at his fiancé. "I'm gonna go make dinner. Do you want some this time?"
"Yes please."
"Okay. I love you, man boobs and all." After pecking a kiss to his partner's forehead, Nick scrambled off the bed, giving his fiancé a wide smile as he headed in the direction of the kitchen to get started on making dinner. While stood in the kitchen, Nick caught sight of his two daughters in the garden, watching them running about across the grass. As Libby finally caught up to Danielle, she gently tickled her, giving her new baby sister a wide smile, as the little girl giggled sweetly in her arms.
Nick had originally feared that Libby might resent Danielle for being able to have him as a father in her life from the moment she was born, while she didn't, but they seemed to be getting on fine, as if they had been sisters for years.
Thanks so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed that chapter, please review if you did :D
Have a GREAT weekend!
~ Holly