Chapter Twenty - Compulsive Liar

"He's thirty years old and he's never had a serious relationship. You don't think that's of any concern to us? I don't think I treated him any differently to you lot, so it doesn't make any sense." Jillian Stokes set out the cutlery for their traditional family thanksgiving dinner, noticing the time on her watch. She heard a car pulling into the driveway, smiling to herself as her youngest had finally arrived. "I'm just saying, after a certain point the clock starts ticking. If he doesn't find himself a nice girl soon, he may never find one."

"Please Mama, men don't have clocks." Her daughter, Gwen couldn't help but laugh, following her mother to the door. "Men can still date in their sixties and seventies these days; no one cares how old men get. It's just us women who dry up and become un-dateable after a certain age. Men have it easy."

"I just don't understand why he hasn't found anyone yet." She ignored her daughter's complaints. "He's a sweet, loving man. He's always wanted children of his own. What's he waitin' for?" Jillian pulled the front door open, waving to her son as he pulled the rental car to a stop. She paused as she noticed a young man sat in the passenger seat beside him, feeling her heart pounding in her chest. "Who the hell is that?"

"Mama." Gwen hissed at the woman, waving to her younger brother. "Probably just a friend... c'mon," She dragged her mother out of the door by her arm. "Hey, Nicky. You look so tanned." She grinned widely, putting her arms around her brother's shoulders for a quick hug. "Who's this?"

"Eh... this is... is..."

"Greg." The younger man introduced himself, wondering if Nick was really ready for this. He didn't mean to pressure him into doing something like this so soon into their relationship; he just wanted some acknowledgement that they were in a relationship and not just friends.

"Hi, Greg." Gwen shook the polite young man's hand, wondering exactly how old he was. Early twenties she'd wager, wondering if her brother got himself a beautiful young man to keep his youth. "I'm Gwen, Nicky's big sister. Not the oldest mind you. It's nice to finally meet you. Nick is always talking about everyone he works with, but we've never met any of you... before now at least."

"This is Greg's first time in Texas." Nick gained the confidence to speak, fishing their bags out from the back of his car. "His folks were goin' away this year's thanksgivin', so I invited him to spend it with us, so he wouldn't have to spend it alone."

"First time, aye?" Gwen smiled at the young man. "Perhaps Nicky can show you around later. It's a shame it's not quite cold enough for snow at the moment. Everything looks beautiful in the snow and it always makes it feel cosier, especially around the holidays. Where are you from?"

"California, originally." Greg took his bag off Nick's hands, feeling a spark of electricity as their fingers touched. He gave the man a smile to reassure him that everything was going to be okay, trying to remember the last time he had been this quiet. "My Mom's family are Norwegian and my Dad's parents moved to California from Oklahoma after they got married."

"Oklahoma, really?" Gwen didn't see that in his features. "You must take after your mother. Have you ever been to Oklahoma?"

"No never, my grandparents live in Florida now, so we've never had a reason to go back there."

"Oh, so this must be a big change of scenery for you. Mama, this is Nicky's colleague, Greg. From the lab." Gwen called her mother over to them, wondering why she hadn't come over already. "I bet you've never had a big Texan thanksgiving before. All the family is coming in too, so I hope you're not afraid of a lot of people." She gave him a big Texan grin, tapping her little brother on the shoulder. "I've gotta go check on the kids. We'll catch up later, okay?"

"Okay." Nick nodded to his sister, gulping softly as he made his way over to his mother. "Hey, Mama." He gave her a gentle hug. "This is Greg Sanders, from the lab. I hope its okay that I brought him..."

"Oh... sure... the more the merrier." Jillian plastered her best grin across her lips, extending her hand towards the much younger man, wondering if he had even graduated from High school yet. "It's lovely to finally meet you. I feel like I know y'all already, Nick talks about you lot from the lab so much."

"Nick's told me a lot about you too, especially your home cooking."

"Well, I hope my food lives up to my reputation. Please, c'mon inside." Jillian led the way, wondering where she was supposed to put the young man for the night. All the rooms were double booked with relatives as it was. The only one available was Nick's childhood room, but she didn't want to stick them in the same room together and tempt fate. "This is the front room and dining area. We usually seat all the kids in the front room. We're in the process of moving the other table through to fit everyone around the table. The kitchen is a little messy at the moment. The family room is through there. Nick's father's office is just off the stairs, but no one is allowed in there but the Judge."

"Hey, little brother." An older man clapped Nick over the shoulder, bringing him in for a hug. "I was wonderin' when you were goin' to show up. Hey, I've got somebody I want you to meet." He dragged him away before he could protest, introducing him to yet another woman that he had no interest in.

"Oh, I know," Jillian had a sudden idea, leading Greg into the family room. "This sofa doubles as a pull out. I'll tell the children to keep out of here, so you can have your own space. There's a bathroom just across the hall. It only has a tub though, so if you would like a shower, you'll have to go upstairs. The boys bathroom has the best water pressure. It's the one to the left of the stairs. The girl's bathroom is the other end of the hall. We had to install two sinks and a large mirror to stop them from squabbling. It's not much, but it should be comfortable enough."

"Thank you, Mrs Stokes." Greg gave her a smile, sensing she was nervous from the way she was talking. "You have a beautiful home. Are these all of your kids?" He motioned towards the wall completely covered from floor to ceiling with photos. Unlike the ones at his house, they were all of different children, rather than just him.

"Yes." Jillian stepped up to the wall. "There's three generations on this wall. This ranch used to belong to my husband's Great Grandparents. That's his father there." She pointed to a black and white photograph of a man that almost had the same bone structure as Nick. "There's Bill and I on our wedding day." She paused a moment, reliving the old memory. "There's our first child, Lillian. This photo here was taken right after she started walking for the first time. She tried crawling for one day, but she decided that walking was more fun. Nick was just the same. He mastered crawling then got up and started walking. He was always in such a rush to grow up and explore the world."

Greg smiled slightly, looking at the picture of the chubby looking toddler.

"When Lillian was two, we had our first boy. He was the biggest baby. After Billy we had the twins, Veronica and Victoria. My husband's idea to name them that. I wanted something more exotic like Dominique and Antoinette since they were conceived during our family trip to Paris, but he won the vote. Ronnie was a monstrous little baby. She started climbing out of her crib at ten months and Vicki; she was always coming down with this, that and the other. She liked to keep us on our toes."

Jillian smiled, checking to make sure that he was still listening, before she moved onto another section of the wall.

"Then we had Gwendolyn, who you just met outside. She was born a little premature... my fault. The doctors said to rest, but I couldn't just sit around and do nothing. I had four small children and a ranch to take care of. She was in hospital for the longest three months of our lives. She never made a peep those first three months in the hospital. She couldn't with all the tubes they put down her throat, but when we finally got to bring her home, she sure made up for that. She's still the noisiest of all my children."

The woman brushed her finger across the photo, wishing all her children could be that small again. She gave Greg a smile, moving onto the last two.

"When Gwen turned three, we got pregnant with twins again. We were hoping for two boys, but we got two girls." She dusted the old photo, lingering over it a lot longer than she did the others. "Monica and Mackayla. They were born two minutes apart by c-section. They were so different from the moment they were born. Mackayla squealed and squirmed when anyone picked her up, but Monica loved the attention. She was only with us for two days, but she showed us so much of her personality."

"I'm sorry, Mrs Stokes. I didn't know." He gritted his teeth together, wondering why Nick had never mentioned the fact that he had a sister who died.

"No, no, it's alright." Jillian gently tapped his hand, giving the nice young man a smile. "You weren't to know. We never talked about her much with the children, so it's not surprising that you didn't know. We didn't want the children to grow up mourning the loss of a sister they never knew. It didn't seem fair on them. She's not forgotten though."

She quickly moved onto the next photo, before her tears started to flow.

"When our Kayla turned one, we found out that we were pregnant with Nicky. He was our little miracle baby. He was so much like Lillian, our first. He rarely ever cried. He didn't really talk until he was almost three. His sisters would always speak for him. They'd say Mama, Nicky wants more juice. Mama, Nicky doesn't like that shirt... I guess being the youngest; he never got a word in with this lot around." She smiled at the memory. "He's always been such a sweet, loving boy."

Greg nodded in agreement. "He always has a lot of empathy for the people we deal with on cases. He's always there for everyone on the team too. I don't know how he always manages to stay so strong for everyone."

"Sounds like my Nicky." She gave the younger man a smile, starting to like him already. "Truth be told, I've been a little worried about him these past few years. He's never liked being on his own, so it surprised us when he moved all the way over to Las Vegas where he didn't know anyone. I'm glad he has friends like you in his life though. He needs caring people around him. There were a few during Highschool who took advantage of his kindness."

"What exactly is wrong with her?" They overheard Billy yelling out in the hall. "If you keep bein' so picky, you're goin' to end up all alone, Nicky. Robyn's a knock out, man. If I wasn't married already, I'd go for her myself."

"Did it ever occur to you that I might actually be in a relationship already?" Nick asked his brother, eager to return to Greg. "Hey Mama, can I show Greg around now? How long have we got until dinner?"

"Um... about half an hour." Jillian checked the time on her watch. "Are you?" She asked, putting him on the spot. "Are you seeing someone? Why didn't you bring her with you?"

Nick glanced at the younger man stood beside her, wishing he could just tell her. "It doesn't matter if I am or not. Why does everyone assume that I'm not and try to set me up with random strangers? I am capable of datin' on my own, you know."

"You never bring anyone home with you. You never mention anyone that you're dating. What are we supposed to think?" His mother asked him, just as her husband poked his head into the room. "Bill, Nick brought one of his work colleagues home with him. This is Greg... sorry; I didn't get your last name."

"Sanders." Greg stepped forwards to shake the man's hand, wondering how naive these people were.

"Oh right, the DNA technician." The Judge recalled where he had heard the name before. "I have to admit, you're a lot younger than I was expectin'. The way Nicky talks about you, I pictured a much older man, like that supervisor of yours. Your parents must be proud of you, one step away from runnin' the place with your brains."

Greg smiled at the man, watching Nick blushing out the corner of his eyes. He thought they seemed pretty nice, not quite the monsters he had been picturing after Nick's explanation of them, but he had only known them for five minutes.

He followed Nick out to the ranch after meeting the rest of the family, sensing how uncomfortable he was already.

"They don't seem that bad." He spoke softly. "When are you going to tell them?"

"You want me to blurt it out right there and then that I'm gay and my co-worker is actually my boyfriend?" Nick walked on ahead of him for a bit, stopping against the fence. "It's easy for you. You tell your folks I'm your boyfriend and they don't think anythin' of it. They congratulate you for it. I tell my folks, they'll have me locked up in a mental institute or somethin'." He dropped his head into his hands, running his fingers back through his hair. "I know, I have to tell them. If I ever want to marry you one day, I have to tell them."

"You want to marry me?" Greg put his back to the fence, giving him a surprised look.

Nick returned his question with a smile, realising he had said that out loud. "Does it really sound that horrible, G? We've been datin' what... two, three years now. That's the longest relationship I've ever been in my entire life and my father always used to tell me that when you find the one, you go the extra mile for them. I brought you home to see my folks."

"Without actually telling them that I was coming or who I really am to you. As far as they know, I'm just your colleague from the lab." Greg pointed out to him, giving him a slight smile. "I just... I didn't know you were that serious about me."

"One four three forever, G." Nick glanced around to make sure no one was looking, before he reached out for the younger man's hand for a moment. "I mean it."

"Don't you think you should tell them the truth about me, before you go making big future plans like that? They might be a little surprised to show up on your wedding day and find me waiting for you on the aisle, rather than Robyn. Does your brother always try to set you up like that?"

"They all do." Nick clung to the fence in front of them. "I'm sick of it. I'm sick of always bein' asked who I'm datin' and never bein' able to answer with Greg. How can they not know? I already told them once before. They must really think that the camp thing worked."

"Nick," Greg gently placed his hand on the older man's shoulder. "I know I've said this to you before and I'm probably starting to sound like a broken record, but how can you expect your parents to be okay with this, if you're not even okay with it? I admit, you've come a long way since we first started dating. But you still can't tell anyone about us. You still can't hold my hand in public or kiss me when other people are around. Do you have any idea how I feel knowing that the word boyfriend makes you cringe? Or how I feel when you won't stay with me for the night because my neighbours might talk. If you're ashamed of who you are..."

"I'm not... ashamed." Nick shook his head, turning to face the house behind them. "I'm not. I want to do those things with you. I'm proud to call you my boyfriend, Greg. The rest of the world doesn't accept people like me. They'd rather see me dead. My folks aren't like yours. They love you no matter what. Mine... you say gay to them, they immediately think of Satan. They'll see me as the enemy or somethin'. I want to tell them. I've just never found the right time or moment to... drop the bomb on them."

"You've been lying to them for years; it's bound to be difficult for them to accept at first. You just have to give them a chance, Nicky. When you tell them, just be prepared for them to see you... differently. My parents already kinda figured it out on their own. Nana Olaf knew too. I had to tell Papa Olaf myself. He sat there for the longest time staring at me, then he said 'this doesn't get you off the hook for great grandchildren.' My Grandma and Granddad were the hard ones. They wouldn't come round, talk to me or look at me for the longest time after I told them. I'm their only grandchild and they were ready to disown me right there and then because of one minor thing about me."

"What changed?" Nick gave him a curious look.

"My Dad decided to educate them. It was my Mom's idea, but Dad was the one to talk to them. They're not exactly religious like your parents, they're just old fashioned. Grangela came round first. She even tried to set me up with cute guys she saw on her shopping trips. It hurt when my Granddad couldn't look at me. He always loved me no matter what, but he couldn't even look at me after I told him." Greg confessed, clasping his hands together in front of him. "He finally started speaking to me again when I moved out here. I think Nana Olaf may have said something to him to change his mind, but my relationship with him will never be the same as it was. You have to prepare yourself for that before you tell them."

"I'm glad you're here, G." Nick playfully put his arm around his shoulders, pulling back a moment later in case anyone saw them. "I wish I could change stuff in my head, so I didn't feel so... afraid all the time. Scared of what people will do if they find out about me, about us. I still feel like I'm wrong for wantin' somethin' that makes me happy."

"You're not. The sooner you realise that, the easier it'll be for other people to accept." Greg cautiously placed his hand over Nick's, looking into the man's eyes. "You can't expect the rest of the world to accept you as you are, if you can't even accept yourself. Being gay is such a small part of you; it shouldn't even matter to the people who really care about you."

"I know you're right." He spoke softly, breathing in a few deep breaths. "But I feel like I'm gonna have a heart attack or somethin' every time I try to tell them. Then I end up talkin' myself out of it, just to avoid feelin' like that."

"A panic attack, maybe?" Greg suggested, gently squeezing his hand in his own. "It'll pass and you'll see that it wasn't such a big deal after all. What's the worst they can do?"

"You don't know my parents."

"They're your parents. If they love you as much as I do, this won't change how they feel about you."

Lifting his gaze to look at his childhood home, Nick knew the younger man was right, but he still didn't feel as though he was ready. He pushed himself off the fence, breathing in a deep breath as he attempted to take his first step forwards. "C'mon then, we might as well get this dinner over with." He led the way, not so much dreading the meal, but the questions that they would all ask during it.

Luckily they managed to keep the topic of conversation to their careers and Greg's parents, leaving out all the sticky details of relationships.

When the meal was over, Nick offered to wash up with his mother, while Gwen and Billy helped Greg to setup the pull out in the family room. He knew they were probably going to interrogate him some more, but he really needed to speak to his mother first.

"Greg seems very nice." Jillian started the conversation, handing her son a washed plate. "He seems a bit too young to work in a lab. How old is he exactly?"

"Twenty five, he's very capable though." Nick assured her.

"Is there something on your mind, sweetheart? You seem quiet, more quiet than usual. You barely said two words at dinner and I don't think I've seen you smile all evening. Is there something wrong? Are you sick or something?"

"No, I'm not sick." He shook his head, setting the clean plate down.

"Well... how are things at work?"

"Fine."

"Are you seeing anyone?" She pried further.

Nick nodded his head slightly, lifting his gaze to meet hers. "It's... a little complicated though."

"Complicated? How is it complicated?" Jillian handed her son another plate, sucking in a sharp breath suddenly. "You're not dating a married woman or something, are you? I didn't raise you to be some kind of a home wrecker."

"No... It's just complicated," He breathed in a deep breath, overhearing Gwen and Greg laughing from the other room. "This isn't gonna be easy for you... it's not exactly easy for me... but you have to understand that I'm not doin' this to hurt anyone. I've tried to be different. I've tried so hard, but it doesn't work for me."

"What are you talking about, sweetheart?"

"Mama... I'm gay." He blurted it right out, but her features didn't seem to register any emotion. She turned to grab a new plate, seeming as though she was avoiding him, until she handed the scrubbed plate over to him. She didn't give him a chance to grip it though, sending the plate clattering to the ground beneath them.

"Don't touch the broken pieces, you'll cut yourself." She fetched the broom from the closet, handing it over to him to sweep up. She helped him pick up every last piece of the broken plate, taking it over to the bin with him, where she decided to hug him.

"Mama, I'm sorry." He spoke softly.

"Oh don't be," Jillian sniffled into her son's chest. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. It's not like it's the first time I've heard it. It's just a shock to hear it again, now that you're old enough to know your own mind. I guess I've always known. I just... didn't want to believe it." She pulled back to look into his eyes. "I wasn't born yesterday, Nicholas. You kids always think you can hide stuff from me, but you're all still my flesh and blood. You only have to look at you and your brother to see how different you are. I never said anything, because I didn't want you to be. I'm sorry that I haven't stood up for you more in front of your father. I just thought... he could change you, so you wouldn't have to live like this. This is no way of life, you have to know that. You're not wrong, homosexuality is. You have to fight it. You can't give in. Maybe you just haven't met the right girl yet."

For a moment there, Nick thought that she was going to accept him, but she suddenly made him feel worse. "Mama, I'm not into women." He wished for once she would just listen to him. "I never have been."

"But you always told us about your girlfriends."

"I made them up." Nick admitted to his lie. "I couldn't tell you the truth, so when you kept askin'... I didn't have anythin' to tell you, so I made them up."

"You made them up?" She placed one hand over her chest, horrified by the fact he had lied to her. "All of them? The Christian girl that you met at that conference?"

"Yeah." Nick nodded his head.

"The brunette councillor that you had dinner with the night of our anniversary."

"I was with Greg's folks." Nick anxiously scratched his head, watching his mother trying to process the information. "You knew I was gay, I told you from the start. You didn't want to know what I was doin', so I didn't tell you. Didn't you ever wonder why you never met any of these women that I told you about?"

"You broke up with them before we could." Jillian realised that was a lie too. "They never even existed, did they?" She rolled her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose. "How could I be so gullible? How could I have missed something like this?"

"Because you didn't want to know, Mama, so I just let you hear what you needed to." He gritted his teeth together, feeling guilty as he saw the look in her eyes. "I never meant to lie. I just told you what you wanted to hear, so you would stop worryin' about me."

"What did we do wrong?" She searched his face for answers, but she barely recognised him anymore.

"You didn't do anythin' wrong. This is just... how I am. The real me."

"You've been lying to us for years. You've been hiding your life away as if we're not worthy enough to know what's going on with you. How can you not trust your own parents? Oh," She heard Gwen and Greg laughing from the other room. "That's why you brought him here, isn't it? He's the one that you're seeing?" Jillian returned to the sink, gripping the counter to stabilise herself. "You could have given us some warning. We could have stuck him in a hotel or something."

"I love him." Nick rejoined her at the counter. "He's here because I wanted you to know the man I love. I love him more than anythin' in the world. These past three years, I've finally felt normal... happy. I think he might be the one. I want to marry him, start a family with him. If you can't accept him or me..."

"I didn't say that." Jillian wiped away the tears from her eyes, looking at her son beside her.

"Why do I have to hide him away then? You wouldn't stick Gwen's boyfriend in a hotel somewhere. Every single one of Billy's girlfriends has been completely welcome to sit at the dinner table. Why does my boyfriend have to be shunned away?"

"I never said that." She spoke softly, feeling her heart racing in her chest. "You want to start a family? I always knew that you wanted children, but how can you expect to bring a child into a relationship like that? What are you going to tell your children, that Greg's their uncle who lives with you?"

"No, Greg will be their father too." He watched his mother cringing, wishing he had never started this conversation with her. "We'll be their parents, raisin' them together. See, this is why I've never told you. I fudge the truth to avoid that look." He pointed out her expression. "Last Christmas when I told you that I was swamped with work, I was with Greg and his parents in California. His mother is amazin'. She supports Greg with whatever he does. His parents have known about me since the beginnin' of our relationship. They don't shun us away or refuse to speak about our relationship, because they can see how much we love each other."

"You were with his parents?" Jillian folded her arms across her chest, a hurt look on her face. "I have the right to know what's going on in your life, Nicholas. You're still my child, no matter how old you get, you're still my son. How could you lie to me about something like this?"

"Because tellin' the truth means losin' your love." He blurted it right out.

His mother grabbed another dish, dunking it into her water. She gave it a quick scrub, handing it over to her son. "Do you know what my mother always used to say to me? Accept the things you can't change and change the things you can. You are my son, no matter what. I love you for all that you are. I always knew that there was something different about you. You've always been more sensitive and loving than your brother. You don't take after your father at all. You're like me and your sisters. You have some of your grandfather in you from my side, but you've always been more like me than anyone else. Now... I don't feel as though I know who you are."

"I'm still the same person, Mama."

The woman shook her head, wiping her eyes again. "I didn't raise a liar. You've been lying to us for years. Who knows what else you've been keeping from us."

"Not on purpose." He breathed in a deep breath, stopping himself from bursting into tears. "I was scared... of how you'd look at me, what Dad would do to me. When you sent me to that camp, you made me feel... like I was so wrong. You excluded me from the family for lovin' someone, for bein' different."

"That was never our intention. We just wanted you to be... more like your brother. Do you really think High school would have been easy for you if we ignored what you told us and pretended that everything was going to be alright?"

"You never thought about me in your decision to send me to that place. You've only ever thought about how it would affect you."

"That is not true." His mother spoke softly, but firmly. "Are you telling other people?"

"Kayla... knows already." Nick spoke softly, gulping as her eyes became a little wider. "I'm not sure if Gwen knows. I want to tell them though. I want them to know who Greg is to me."

"Oh sweetheart, I wish for your sake that the world could work like that. But it doesn't. I'm asking you for my sake." Jillian grabbed hold of his hand, looking into his eyes."Please don't tell anyone about this, not your father, not your sisters and not your brother. Just for a little while, until you're sure."

"Mama, I've been with Greg for three years. I've never been surer of anythin' in my life."

"But if you tell them, nothing will ever be the same again. You don't live here with us anymore. Your life isn't here anymore. You get to leave it all behind, leaving the rest of us behind to pick up the pieces of your mess. I love you, Nicholas. Nothing in the world will ever change that, but if you tell them, particularly your father, you'll destroy everyone's lives. We're ordinary people. Your father's a Judge. We can't have..."

"You can't have a gay son." Nick sniffled back his tears, giving her a slight nod. "Havin' a gay son would be an embarrassment. I get it. I'm sorry I'm such a disappointment to you." He threw down the towel, escaping to the back garden, where he could breathe again.

"Anyway, this girl completely flipped out on me," Warrick continued his story, looking across the locker room at Nick staring off into space. He wasn't sure if he was even still listening to him, so he decided to cut his adventurous tale short. "Apparently I used to date the broad and she was pissed to see me out with another woman, wearing a pricy ring on her finger. Tina clocked her right there and then, leaving an imprint of the ring on her cheek. We hightailed it out of there without giving her a tip." He finished fastening his tie, tapping the younger man on the shoulder. "Hey, you still with me, man?"

Nick shrugged his shoulders together, glancing around the room he was in as though he had spaced out or something.

"So what's going on with you, man? We haven't caught up in a while" Warrick pushed the door to his locker shut, missing the banter with his friend now more than ever. He longed to have his old friend back, but he feared that he was lost forever after everything he had been through. "You seein' anyone?"

"I haven't been on a date in six years."

Warrick whistled, looking round at him to make sure he heard him right. "Six years? Wow. Isn't it about time you got back on the horse? What's that since Evan was born or something?"

"Yeah." The younger man spoke softly, feeling the lie burning in his throat. He had become a compulsive liar without even realising it and he didn't know how to get out of this mess he had put himself in. He pushed himself to his feet, nudging the door to his locker to make sure it was shut with a sigh. "I'll see you later."

"Hey Nicky, you don't have to be single forever. You are allowed to move on. I know I didn't know this girl that you had Evan with, but I'm sure she wouldn't want you spending the rest of yours days..."

"There was no girl." Nick stopped him there, putting his back to the locker room door. "There was never any girl. I made it up."

"Why?" Warrick gave him a confused look.

"Because... the truth was too hard to say out loud, so I told y'all a lie." The Texan finally confessed his biggest sin to the man, sick of hearing the stupid lie that he had been forced to tell for so long. He felt his hands starting to tremble at his sides, deciding to fight through it, rather than holding back any longer. "Evan... doesn't have a mother. He never did. I was the one who gave birth to him. Me."

"What?" The other man looked even more confused.

"Evan... I carried him. He grew inside me." Nick felt his tears streaming down his face, relieved that his secret was finally out. "Remember when I collapsed on the job, chasin' after that suspect with Sara? She rode with me to the hospital. I told... I told you guys that I had my appendix out."

"Yeah... yeah, I remember." Warrick nodded his head slightly. "You took a couple of weeks off after."

"I never had my appendix out." Nick shook his head, tugging his shirt out from his jeans, showing the man the scar across his abdomen. "I collapsed because I was bleedin'. I had a placental abruption. They had to perform an emergency c-section to save Evan's life. I took time off because I wasn't allowed to work or drive after the c-section that I had..."

"Stop talking… please." Warrick cut him off, holding his hand over his forehead. "Why would you lie about something like this? Why would you lie to me? I thought we were friends, brothers." He lifted his gaze to Nick's, looking at him the way his father last looked at him back in Texas.

"I... don't know." The Texan confessed, wiping away his tears with the backs of his hands. "It's the only thing I know how to do. I've ruined every relationship I've ever had. I don't know how to tell the truth. How to be me. Lyin' is the only thing I'm good at."