Chapter Twenty One:
After setting the last box in the entrance hall, Nick made his way back outside, finally closing up the back of the truck now that it was empty. He felt a sense of relief now that it was finally over, even though he knew that he still had unpack everything and assemble a lot of furniture, before the place really felt like home. He wiped his hands down himself, finally pushing the front door closed behind him. Now that the light wasn't shining through the door, he could see boot prints all over the entrance of their house, making him suddenly want to clean it.
He had put a sheet down to soak up some of the rain from outside, but it didn't quite do its job.
Realising he didn't have time to start cleaning up, Nick made his way through to the kitchen, tapping his watch as he stepped up beside his partner. "We better get goin' for your appointment."
"Have you seen, Colt?" Greg handed him the car keys, while he pulled on his sweatshirt.
"He was with your Mom, wasn't he?" Stepping up to the window, Nick realised that Jean was out in their courtyard garden, alone, tending to the flowers. "Where's Tyler?" He stepped out of the kitchen to search for the kids, trying to think where he last saw them. He found Daniel and Callum in the front room, figuring out where all the wires went for the television and things in there. "You seen, Tyler?"
"She was in the playroom with Colt last." Callum pointed him across the hall.
Nick made his way to the playroom, but that was empty too. He was starting to panic now, wondering where they could have got to. He couldn't believe they had lost two kids in their new house already.
They hadn't even been here a whole day yet.
The anxious father hurried straight for the stairs, relieved to see his toddler halfway up the stairs. He was crawling on his hands and knees, excited to do it himself for the first time. They had lots of stairs back at their apartment building, but he had always been carried up and down them. He had never been allowed to climb them himself before, so he was enjoying his first freedom to be able to do so on his own.
"Where you goin', bud?" Nick walked behind him, helping his son to his feet on the last step. "We're gonna have to put that safety gate up later. We don't want you to hurt yourself on the stairs." Sweeping him into his arms, he pressed a kiss to his toddler's little cheek, getting a smile out of him.
"I climb dem." Colt pointed to the stairs.
"You did, well done." He carried him through to his bedroom, finding Tyler sat beside the play table, while she coloured in her picture she had been drawing. "Tyler, you wonna bring that downstairs to the playroom, so your Dad knows where you are?"
Tyler gave him a nod, while she collected up the crayons she had been using. She hurried down the stairs ahead of Nick, making her way into the playroom as instructed.
"He was climbin' the stairs." Nick handed his partner their baby. "Diaper's wet." He pointed out to him, searching for where he put the diaper bag that he had earlier.
"You were climbing the stairs were you?" Greg gave his son a playful tickle, getting a giggle out of the little boy. "I told you not to go near them. Daddy's gonna put a gate on them soon, so you won't be able to climb up them anymore, yah little monkey."
"I careful." The child insisted, looking round at the door as his Nana came back in.
"You've got some nice flowers out there." She wiped her feet on the mat, giving her grandson a wide smile as he looked her way. "I'm surprised the last owners managed to keep most of them alive in this heat. There's no sprinklers or tap out there to water them. And I doubt you'll remember to water them." She teased her son. "What are you gonna do with them?"
Greg gave her a shrug, "Nick's domain. I'm not really an outdoor person."
"Maybe you can make a small play area out there." The woman suggested, lifting her grandson out of his arms. "You can keep an eye on your kids while you're cooking or something in here. Put a lock on that gate so they can't get out. You could even get a dog?"
"Ohh, Nicky wouldn't like that." Greg sucked in a sharp breath.
"I thought you said he grew up with dogs?"
"On a ranch, but you know what he's like with his cleaning. He won't want a dog in here." He gently rocked his toddler in his arms, wishing he could take him with him to the doctor's.
"Shouldn't you be heading off to your appointment?" His mother noticed the time.
"Yep, Nick's just looking for the diaper bag." Greg stuffed his phone into his pocket, taking the diaper bag off Nick as he made his way into the kitchen.
"I can do that." Jean took the bag off his hands, ushering the two of them out the door. "Go on, go. You're going to be late for your appointment at this rate. Make sure you get one of those sonogram pictures. I want to see my next grandchild before we head back home. Maybe get an extra one, so I can show it around back home."
"Okay." Greg gave her a smile, pressing a kiss to his toddler's forehead. "Be a good boy for Nana. We'll be back before yah know it." He reluctantly left his child, following in Nick's footsteps towards the door. "I'm really nervous." He held the man's hand, walking with him towards the car. "Are you?"
"Yeah, but I'm excited too." He leant forwards, pressing a kiss to his partner's lips. He quickly pulled back as he spotted someone out of the corner of his eye, surprised to see a woman stood at the end of their driveway. She looked a little shocked to see the two of them kissing, but that didn't stop her from advancing towards them.
"Hi, I'm sorry to disturb you." She made her way towards them, with a wide smile on her face. "I'm Evelyn Hale. I live right across the street." She pointed to her house that was directly opposite their own.
"Greg." The younger man introduced himself first. "And this is my... Nick." He pointed to the man beside him, not sure how to introduce him to people now. He couldn't still call him his boyfriend, not after everything that had happened to them.
"Hi." Evelyn shook each of their hands. "Oh you have children?" She noticed the child seat in the back. "How many?"
"Just the one." Nick answered her, feeling the younger man tense up beside him. He didn't usually like to give intimate details about their personal lives to complete strangers, so Nick decided to give her a few details to satisfy her curiosity. "We have a three year old son."
"Aww, that's a cute age. I have five children. They're fourteen, eight, six and twin two year old girls. Three girls and two boys in total. Anyway, I don't mean to keep you. I just saw that you were moving in today and I wanted to be the first to welcome you. Shame about the weather, but that doesn't mean you can't have a sunny smile for this special day." She smiled warmly at the two of them, before she handed them the flower pot from her hands. "Sunflowers. I grow them in my garden."
"Thank you." Nick took the flower pot off her hands, not sure what to say to her. He didn't really like flowers himself, but he wasn't about to hand it back to her.
"Thank you." Greg gave her a smile in return, waving her off as she turned to make her way back to her house across the street. "Think we freaked her out?" He turned to look at his partner beside him. "She couldn't look us in the eye after she saw us kiss."
"So," Nick shrugged, setting the flower pot by their front door, before he opened the passenger side door of his car for his partner. "She seemed nice enough. She probably has her hands full with five kids. She won't have time to worry about the gay guys across the street."
Greg giggled softly, slumping into the car. He pulled his seatbelt on, placing his hands on his stomach as his partner started up the car. He felt butterflies fluttering around in his stomach, not sure if it was his nerves or the baby. He reached across the car to hold his partner's hand, relieved that he wasn't going to go through this alone this time.
It may have been over three years since he was last pregnant, but it only felt like a couple of months ago to him.
Once they reached the doctor's office, Greg started to feel a little queasy. As usual, the waiting room was full of pregnant women or women with gynaecological problems. Paediatrics was on the same floor, so the other half of the waiting room was full of babies and young children, waiting to see their doctors too.
"C'mon," Nick found them some seats, holding Greg's hand tightly in his own as they sat down. He looked across the waiting room at the little baby's, getting more and more excited to finally see his own on the monitor. "Stop bitin' your lip." He smiled at his partner beside him. "Don't be so nervous."
"I can't help it. I am really nervous."
"What have you got to be so nervous about?" Nick tried to understand, wishing there was some way that he could help him. "We're just gettin' a check up of the baby's first few weeks. And we get to see what he or she is like at the moment. There's nothin' to be nervous about." He gave him a wide smile as he clutched his hand a little tighter. "Relax baby, everythin' is gonna be okay."
Greg forced a smile in return, wishing he could stop feeling so nervous, but the feelings wouldn't go away.
The nurse eventually called his name, leading the two of them to his regular doctor's office. Doctor Jordan had already taken both of their medical histories down, so he just needed to check Greg over to make sure that he was still healthy, before he could check on the fetus to see how it was progressing.
Nick took a seat while the tests were going on, cringing as the nurse took two separate samples of blood from his partner's arm. Greg didn't seem too bothered by it, but Nick couldn't stand the sight, even though he had seen much worse in his years as a crime scene investigator.
"Alright, hop up on the bed." Doctor Jordan put his tape measure away, after measuring his patient's stomach. He got his nurse to turn the lights off across the room, so he could start up the ultrasound to get them their first picture of the baby. It took a moment to find the baby, making Greg fear the worst as he couldn't see a thing. "There we go." He moved it further to the left side of Greg's navel, finding the sac where the baby was growing. "Can you see it?"
"It's so tiny." Greg reached out for Nick's hand beside him, pulling him closer so he could get a better look.
"That's the baby lying at the bottom there." His doctor pointed to the little white blob in the bottom, before he moved in for a closer look. "This round part here is the head. It's still a little alien like at the moment. There's the heart beating." He focused on the flickering part of the baby. "These faint pointy parts here are the arms and legs. Baby's head is right against your abdomen, so its legs must be back near your spine."
"Is that okay?" Nick asked him, placing his arm around Greg's shoulders.
"Yeah, they move around a lot in the early stages. It's basically just like a swimming pool in there for them. When they're this small, they can still move anywhere they like. It's as they get bigger that they can't move as much, then we have to worry about the baby being in the right position for delivery. But not in your case, Greg."
"There is just one in there, right?" Greg double checked, hoping that all his talk earlier was just mindless babbling and not a prediction. He thought that it would be cool to have twins, but he really didn't think that he could handle it at the moment.
The doctor did a double check for himself, before he gave his patient a nod. "Yep, just the one." He assured him. "Let's get a few measurements, and I'll get you guys some good pictures to take home with you." He moved his mouse across the screen of the ultrasound, trying to get some measurements of their baby, before he took a few pictures. "Would you like to hear the heart beat?"
"Yeah." Nick immediately answered, hearing the amazing sound of his baby's heart beating from the machine. The sound alone brought tears to his eyes, feeling as though he had just heard the most beautiful sound in the world. "Is it alright?"
"Yep, that's a nice strong healthy heart beat there." He managed to get them a side picture of the baby, getting them a good view of its little arms coming out the sides of its body. "You see this dark cloudy bit coming out here." He pointed their attention to something else. "That's the umbilical cord that connects you and baby together."
Greg smiled at the image of his baby, feeling more excited now that he could actually see the baby on the monitor.
"What about the bleedin' he had?" Nick had to darken the mood with his worries.
"You haven't had any bleeding since your last appointment with me, have you?" Doctor Jordan asked his patient, while he put away the ultrasound device. "Some people have some bleeding all through their pregnancy, but it doesn't affect the baby. You had some light spotting at six weeks, but haven't had any since, so I wouldn't worry too much about it. We couldn't find anything wrong with you then, and you're still perfectly healthy and the baby is growing fine. Unless you have anymore or any pain, I wouldn't worry too much about it." He gave Greg some tissues to wipe his stomach, before Nick helped him to sit up. "We'll arrange your next appointment for sixteen weeks. Unless you have any problems, I'll see you then."
"Okay." Greg slid off the table, relieved that it was finally over. He took what he needed from the doctor, before he made his way out to the car with Nick. Even though the thought of multiple babies made him terrified of the whole situation, he was a little disappointed that there really was only the one inside of him.
"We need to grab some food before we head back." His partner opened the passenger side door for him, giving him a smile as Greg was a million miles away, looking at the pictures of his baby in his hands. "Hey," He wrapped his arm around his waist. "Are you alright now?"
"It looks so different." Greg held up the picture to him. "I was expecting to see another, Colt. But they're so different already." He turned to look at Nick beside him, asking, "What if it doesn't like me?"
"You're adorable." He hugged him against his chest. "You're givin' this baby life, love, a home, how could it not like you? Or love you even. There's nothin' wrong with you bringin' a baby into this world, Greg. Life is the most amazin' gift in the world, and you're the most amazin' man I've ever met to be able to do this for our baby. He or she will love you, just as much as Colt loves you. Just as much as I love you."
Greg closed his eyes as the man kissed him, realising that he was probably right. "What's wrong with me?" He suddenly shouted, pulling away from Nick. "I never used to be like this. I used to be able to stand strong on my own. Now I feel as though I can't do it unless you're at my side. You've turned me into... mush."
Nick chuckled softly, even though he was slightly confused by what he had just said. "Mush?"
"Yes, mush. I'm a gooey sticky mess without you." He smiled at him, realising how stupid that sounded. "I never knew what love was, until you turned me into this. Don't get me wrong, I like it. I love being with you and planning for our future. I'm just still scared that you're going to walk out on me, especially now." He placed his hands on his stomach. "I'm mush. If you leave now, I won't be able to keep it together for Colt or this baby."
"I'm not goin' anywhere." Nick took his hands into his own, giving out a sigh as he looked into his eyes. "I know I've hurt you in the past, but you can trust me now. I'm not goin' anywhere. I had no idea what I was walkin' out on before. I have a son now. We're about to have another baby together. We have this amazin' new house to build memories in, why would I go?"
"I don't know." Greg shrugged, backing away from the man. "How could you leave me in the first place?" He asked him. "Maybe if you had never of found out about Colt, you wouldn't have stuck around. It's hard to believe that you really love me that much, when you could have just walked out on me like that. It doesn't matter that you didn't know about Colt, you still left us. You left me. Did you even stop to think about how I would feel? Did you even care that you hurt me?"
Instead of answering his questions, Nick gulped hard, wishing they had waited a while to get pregnant, so he wouldn't have to deal with all of these questions in Greg's over emotional state.
"If you really loved me, you wouldn't just leave me like that. Give me my car keys. Give them to me!" Greg reached his hand out to the man, snatching them from the man's hand as he removed them from his pocket.
Before he broke down into tears, the younger man pushed him out the way, making his way round to the driver's side door. He quickly drove away, leaving Nick behind at the hospital. He didn't care that he had left him alone or without a ride, he just didn't want to be around him right now.
"How'd it go?" His mother greeted him at the house, immediately noticing that he had returned home alone. She watched her son kicking off his trainers, before he breezed past her towards the stairs. She could sense that something had happened at the doctor's, as Greg made his way straight up stairs, rather than looking for Colt.
"Where's Nick?" Daniel joined her in the entrance hall, giving her a curious look. "What?"
"I don't know." Jean shrugged, ushering him back into the front room. "Let's give him a few minutes." She feared that her son had lost the baby or something, putting him in the bad mood that he was in now. From her own experience, she knew that he'd probably want to be alone for a while.
At least until he came to terms with it himself.
Making his way up the driveway, Nick involuntary shivered, wishing that he didn't have to do this. It was too late to turn back now, and he didn't think that he could walk for much longer. He gave the front door a knock, anxiously biting his bottom lip as he waited for someone to answer.
"Uncle Nick," His niece opened the door to him, surprised to see him after all this time. "When did you get back?" The fourteen year old gave her uncle the once over, realising he hadn't aged a day since the last time she saw him. He used to be her favourite uncle when she was eleven. They were more like brother and sister than uncle and niece, but a lot had changed since then.
"A while ago." He shrugged his shoulders together, looking into the house. "Your Mom home, honey?"
"No, just me and Nikita." Trish stepped back, ushering the man inside. "Where's your car?" She noticed that his truck wasn't in the driveway, neither was any other kind of car.
"I walked." He wiped his feet, closing the door behind him. He was beginning to feel like that coma patient again, as his niece was all grown up now. She was still just a little kid when he last saw her, now she was growing into a beautiful young woman. "When will your Mom be back?"
The teen shrugged her shoulders, leading him through to the kitchen where her sister was sat in the highchair. "She's taken Owen to his swimming lesson. She usually hangs around for the whole lesson, otherwise he throws a fit. Did you want me to ring her?"
"No, it's okay." He shook his head, looking at the baby in the room. She looked much bigger than the last time he saw her. She was only seven months old when he got back, now she had to have at least been a year old. "Were you havin' lunch?" He motioned towards the sandwich things that had been left out.
"Yeah, just about to." Trish stepped around the counter, feeling awkward around the man she used to look up to. "Um... do you want something?"
"No, I'm fine." He assured her, looking at the watch on his wrist. Just looking at the clock face brought chills to his spine, as though Jean was somehow keeping watch over him constantly now that he was wearing the watch she had given him. "You mind if I wait for your Mom?"
"No." Trish shook her head. "What's wrong?" She queried, sensing he wasn't going to tell her anyway, but it was worth a try. "I'm not a kid anymore, Uncle Nick. You and my Mom never exactly got along before, so why the sudden rush to talk to her now?"
Nick took a seat at the island, not really sure himself. "She's closer... distance wise. And she's family. I really need family right now."
"Then what am I?" She asked him. "Do you think I'm not mature enough to deal with your adult problems?"
"Well, there's a teddy bear on your t-shirt." Nick pointed out to her, getting a smile out of his niece. "I think you're very mature for your age, but I'm lookin' for advice, not someone to discuss my adult problems with."
"Mom has a liquor cabinet in the front room."
"I don't need that." He smiled at her, resting against his elbow on the counter. "You had a boyfriend yet?"
"Got one." She declared, retrieving her cell from her pocket. "His name's Dale. Why'd you look at me like that?" She stopped as she noticed a look in his eyes that she had never seen before.
"Sorry, in my mind you're still eleven. Still playin' with Barbie dolls and askin' me to push you on the swing." He looked at the child he had missed growing up, feeling like a bad father again. "I guess it's weird to see you suddenly grown up. I used to change your diapers."
Trish giggled softly, taking a seat opposite him. "My Mom said she used to change yours."
"She did, and she never let me forget it either." He looked up at her, giving her a smile. "I'd give anythin' to be your age again. That way I can start over."
"Won't it be a little boring, since you already know exactly what's going to happen? And by changing the past, you'll change your future. You might have never even met Greg, because of some crazy butterfly effect thing."
He chuckled softly, shaking his head at his niece. "What have you been watching? I didn't mean literally. I don't want to rewrite anythin' really, just the past three years. I shoulda been there."
"Why weren't you?" She leant on the counter in front of him, waiting for some kind of explanation, but he couldn't even explain it to himself, let alone the man he adored. "When my Mom got pregnant with me, my Dad ran away. He said he didn't feel ready to grow up and take care of someone else at that point in his life. But he came back before I was born. He still hasn't grown up that much, he just has kids to take care of now."
"I didn't even know I had a child." Nick reminded her. "If I had known, I wouldn't have left. I've always wanted a child."
"Didn't you want Greg?" The teen tried to understand his complex grown up life. "If I wanted to be with somebody, I wouldn't leave without them. I only met Dale a month ago, but I wouldn't move away without telling him."
Instead of giving her an answer, the man looked down at his hands, realising now why the younger man was so upset. He was only thinking of himself when he left. He hadn't given a single thought to how Greg would handle his sudden disappearance. Now Greg was in the exact same position he was before and he was terrified that he was going to walk out on him again.
Just like he always did, Greg gave the first push, trying to spare himself a little of the pain later on.
"I should go home." Nick climbed to his feet, getting a smile out of his niece as she did manage to help. "Do you babysit a lot?" He motioned towards her younger sister.
"Yeah, I get paid for it too. I'm gonna take a course in childcare or something. I love babies, but I really wonna work with kids." She explained to him. "Why, do you need a babysitter?"
"Greg's lookin' for a new babysitter for Colt. And we're..." He didn't think he should disclose their news to her, but he knew he could trust her. "Well, we're expectin' another baby in a few months. So we might need a new babysitter. Our last one is takin' up a full time college course, and we don't really know anyone in our area..."
"Sure." She quickly grabbed for a pen and paper, writing down her cell phone number for him. "My Dad usually drops me off and picks me up, so you won't have to worry about that. I'll even give you family rates." She teased him, quickly grabbing a hug from her favourite uncle. "I missed you, Uncle Nicky. Thanksgivin' isn't the same without you back at the ranch. Are you goin' this year?" She pulled back from him. "Are you? Please, Uncle Nicky. I won't tell anyone about the baby, I swear."
"Thanks... but I," Nick looked at his watch, realising that it was only a week away. He doubted that Greg would want to go with him or that his mother would even want him there after he disappeared. "I don't know, honey. I haven't exactly been invited. I really need to stay here and patch things up with Greg. It'll be our first family holiday together."
Trish pouted her lip out at him, reluctantly letting him leave. "I guess Christmas is out too then. Hey did you know that Leah is pregnant?" She suddenly remembered, sending chills down the man's spine. "Seven months."
"Leah? But she was..." Nick sighed softly, realising he had missed her growing up too. His brother's daughter, Leah was barely thirteen when he last saw her, now she was old enough to get pregnant. She was the youngest daughter of his older brother, and the only one that didn't get to spend any time with her mother. "She still livin' with her Dad?"
"No, she's with Grandma Stokes now. Has been for the past two years. Uncle Billy remarried again and the new wife was butting heads with the teen in the house. Leah decided to move out on her own. When she first got pregnant, Grandma Stokes was trying to make her marry the father of her baby, but he didn't want anything to do with her." She gulped softly as she realised that comment hit home for him. "You can see her at thanksgiving if you come over."
"Nice try." He smiled at her, backing himself up for the door. "I need to patch things up with Greg. See yah, kiddo."
"Bye." His niece waved him off, wishing that he could just come back for thanksgiving.
Nick made his way straight home, preparing himself for an argument as he made his way up the driveway. He felt as though he deserved anything that they threw at him, but he just wanted to be alone with Greg to reassure him that he wasn't going anywhere.
As soon as he entered the house, he heard the familiar sound of his son crying. He followed the sound into the kitchen, feeling goose bumps tingling their way up his arms as he immediately saw the blood. "What happened?" He made his way over to Greg, trying to see what was wrong. He was stood by the sink with his baby in his arms, trying to comfort him while Daniel dabbed at his wound.
"He was running around with Tyler. He slipped on the floor out there and bit his lip." Daniel motioned towards the entrance hall behind him. "Jean was ready to call an ambulance, but we managed to calm her down." He wiped his grandson's chin again, giving out a sigh of relief as his lip had finally stopped bleeding. "Maybe we should put some ice on it?"
"Yeah. I'm gonna get him some clean clothes." Greg handed the toddler over to his father, before he brushed past Nick in the doorway. He took the stairs up two at a time, heading in the direction of his son's bedroom.
"Greg." Nick followed him in.
"Please Nick, no more apologies." The younger man pulled away as he tried to reach out for him. "Let's just blame it on my hormones and put it behind us." He grabbed a spare t-shirt and sweatpants for his son, before he turned back to the door.
"Greg, wait..." Nick tried to stop him.
"No Nick, I don't want to hear it anymore. I know you're committed to Colt and this baby . . . I just wish that you were that committed to me."
"I am." Nick insisted, but the look on Greg's face said that he didn't believe him. "I can prove it to you." Tugging the college ring off his finger that he had never taken off, Nick stepped forwards, taking Greg's hand into his own. "I'll get you a real one, but this has been with me half my life. More than that actually."
"But it's yours." Greg pulled his hand away from him.
"Now you're mine too." He grabbed his hand again, sliding the ring into place on his partner's finger. "And I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I don't know any other way I can prove it to you, other than always bein' there for you. This ring has been bound to me practically all my adult life . . . now I'm givin' it to you." He smiled at him. "I can't change what I did, but I can be there for you for the future. Even if you didn't have Colt that day that I first saw you, I would still be here, because I love you more than anythin' in the world. I'd give my life for you."
"Nick, I can't." Greg went to pull the ring off, but Nick's hands stopped him. "But I..."
The younger man looked down at the ring on his hand, giving out a smile as he felt the warmth of his partner's ring enveloping his finger. Even though he had never worn a ring before, the ring currently residing on his finger felt as though it had always belonged.
He immediately stepped forwards, wrapping his arms around Nick's shoulders. "You don't have to get me another ring; this one is perfect. It means something, it's not just a ring from a store, it has a past. A meaning to both of us." Greg reminded him that he was a huge fan of history. He immediately leant forwards, sealing a delicate kiss over the man's lips. "I'm sorry you have to put up with me, Tex."
"It's not that bad." Nick smiled back at him. "I adore you. I never want you to feel the way I made you feel again. I really have to change how I do things. Usually you have the weddin' before the baby, but maybe..." He knelt down in front of the younger man on one knee, giving him a warm smile. "Will you marry me before this second baby?"
"Nicky..." Greg looked around at the house they still hadn't unpacked, giving his enthusiastic lover a wide smile. "Yes, but when would we have the time?"