"Well I fucking hate you too." He said harshly before snapping his phone shut and somehow refraining from throwing it at the wall.
"Dad?" Alex said, getting Nick's attention.
Nick looked over at Alex and smiled slightly. "Sorry, I didn't hear you guys come in. I was talking to..."
"My mom." Alex finished.
Nick nodded. "Unfortunately."
"Why did you answer the phone in the first place?" Alex asked.
"I actually called her...it's not important. We won't be talking anytime soon. Or ever at all most likely."
Alex shook his head slightly before changing the subject. "Dad, this is Sydney. Syd, this is my dad."
Syd smiled shyly and extended her hand, which Nick shook. "Nice to meet you Mr. Stokes."
"Please, call me Nick. It's nice to meet you as well. Sorry I swore."
"He does that a lot, especially when he talks to my mom." Alex said.
Nick sighed. "Yeah, that has a little bit to do with it." His phone suddenly rang loudly. Nick looked at the caller ID and sighed again. "Alex, pretend to be me."
"Why? Who is it?"
"Ecklie."
Alex shook his head. "No. Be a big boy and take care of that yourself. You wouldn't let me go to the Red Sox parade, so I'm not doing this for you. Fair's fair."
Nick rolled his eyes. "You're so mature." He opened his phone and reluctantly held it to his ear. "How can I help you?" He listened for a couple seconds before rolling his eyes again and responding. "Fine, I'll do it. It wasn't my fault, or even my case, but I'll fix it. For you Ecklie."
"Greg mess up a case file again?" Alex asked when his dad closed his phone and slid it into his pocket.
Nick shook his head. "No, Ecklie did but it trying to make it look like Greg and Warrick messed up. So I get to go fix it." Nick went into his bedroom and returned with a jacket that he pulled over his shoulders. "Did you miss any work at school when I took you to get your license?"
"Nope. It's Friday, teacher's don't give out homework on Friday's."
"You lucked out there. Alright, I gotta go to the lab for a little while. I'll be back for dinner with everyone else later. Don't let Maverick in my room, he keeps trying to eat my pillows." Nick smiled at Syd on his way out. "See you guys later."
Alex led Syd over to the couch and then went into the kitchen, returning moments later with two water bottles for the two of them. He handed one to Syd and immediatly took a long sip of his. Syd fiddled with her cap, still somewhat nervous.
"I knew kids said you and your dad looked a lot alike...but that's uncanny." Syd commented.
"I know. It's kinda weird. Thank God I'm more like him instead of my mom though."
Syd nodded slowly as she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I don't wanna pry, and I know it's none of my business, and if you don't wanna answer it you don't have to. I don't want you to get mad or anything-"
Alex cut her off. "Syd, you can ask me anything. I'm your boyfriend. That's what I'm here for." He said with a smile.
Syd sighed. "Okay. I just heard stuff at school about your family and never really knew the truth. What's the deal with it all, like with your mom and dad?"
Alex had been expecting that question. "My mom and dad met at my dad's brother's wedding in Texas. They hooked up, and it was a one night stand kinda deal so he came back here after. My mom obviously got pregnant, but she didn't tell my dad about it. When I was eight, she sent me up here to live with him cuz she was sick of me. Then she came back up here with her stupid boyfriend and tried to take me back for whatever reason. There was a whole trial about custody and everything, and my dad won. My mom forever hates me dad, and he hates her because she's tried to kill both of us on numerous occassions. It's pretty much what you've heard in school."
"I'm sorry." Syd said. "That's terrible. You and your dad get along though, right?"
"Oh yeah, I love living here. It's a lot better. My dad's a really good guy. Just when he talks to my mom, he understandably gets a little mad kinda easily."
Syd smiled slightly. "Yeah, I don't blame him there. Zach told me all about how great your dad and all your dad's friends are."
"See? You have nothing to be nervous about." Alex reassured her.
"Yes I do." Syd argued. "I'm meeting all the people you always talk about. And I don't even fully understand why this whole big party thing is going on in the first place."
During their conversation, Alex and Syd had left the living room, then the house altogether. They had made their way out into the backyard, into the fresh air of the cool late October afternoon. The air was colder than it usually was, but only cold enough that a light sweatshirt was required for comfort. They took seats on the back deck facing the yard where the sun was slowly starting to go down behind the trees on the outskirts of the yard.
"It's my dad's best friend's birthday. Warrick's. Ironically, it's my half-birthday, which is why I got my license today. So it's a join celebration I guess. I don't know really, just go along with it. Everyone wants to meet you anyway." Alex explained.
Syd looked at him wide-eyed. "How many is everyone?"
"Warrick, Greg, Catherine, Grissom, and Brass. Then Zach and his dad are coming too, but you already know them. It's not that many. They're all really nice, don't worry."
"I hope they like me."
"They will, I'm sure of it." Alex said. "They're my family. Grissom's like my grandfather because he's the oldest and smartest out of everyone. He's my dad's boss. Brass is like the over protectice but cool uncle. He's the police captain of LVPD. Then Greg's like my brother. He acts like he's seventeen but is an absolute genius. I might as well call Catherine 'mom' because she's the most maternal person ever. And Warrick's like an extension of my dad. It's one big crime-fighting family."
Syd laughed lightly. "I'm excited and nervous at the same time I guess. I know there's nothing to worry about, but that never stops me from worrying. Ever." She looked out over Alex's for the first time since they got out there. "You have a halfpipe in your backyard?"
"Yeah." Alex responded, as if everyone had halfpipes in their backyard. "I haven't used it much recently though. My uncle got it built for me when I was younger. My uncle Colin, the one that was killed. Erik's dad."
"Oh." Syd said softly. "I'm really sorry about all that, it must have been tough."
Alex nodded. "Yeah. It still doesn't feel real. I keep thinking Erik's gonna call me sometimes or something or that I'm gonna see both of them when I go back to Texas for Christmas. It sucks cuz I know I never actually will ever again."
Syd put her hand on Alex's arm and rubbed it gently. "Luckily you have such a great family to help you get through all that, huh?"
Alex smiled. "Yeah, and a great girlfriend. I'm a pretty lucky kid when it comes down to it."
"So tell me again why you felt it was necessary to repeatedly swear at Ecklie under your breath. Did you honestly think Nick wouldn't hear you and start cracking up?"
Warrick's voice was audible before him and Greg were visible. Moments later, both men came through the front door, closing it behind them. They stood in entrance way to the house and continued their conversation.
"I don't know." Greg replied. "I guess I thought he had more self control or something. It wasn't that big of a deal. Grissom giggled once or twice too. It's fine."
Warrick rolled his eyes. "Whatever man."
The two CSIs the noticed Alex and Syd, who were sitting on the couch watching TV. They walked over into the living room and sat down on the loveseat next to the couch, both smiling at the two kids on the leather couch opposite them.
"Syd, this is Greg and Warrick. Guys, this is Syd." Alex said, introducing them.
"Nice to finally meet you both." Syd said.
"You too." Warrick and Greg said in unison.
"So where's my dad?" Alex asked.
Warrick sighed. "I don't know. Probably still yelling at Ecklie. Who knows. Last time I saw him, I told him I'd come here and hold down the fort. I had to take Greg with me before he got him and Nick both fired for being smartasses."
Alex laughed. "Why am I not surprised?"
"Cuz they're both idiots." Warrick answered. "He'll be back in a little bit with Cath, Grissom and Brass."
A little bit ended up being only twenty minutes. Alex, Syd, Warrick and Greg were watching Mythbusters when Catherine entered the house, carrying three large grocery bags. Zach and his dad followed, with Brass and Grissom close behind. They each had armfulls of bags packed with food and other necessities. Alex, Syd, Warrick and Greg all stood and went to help everyone else, which led to other introductions. Once all that was done, all the bags were set on the kitchen table and counter.
"Why is there so much food?" Greg asked.
"It's a special occassion." Catherine said. "Warrick's birthday, and Alex's half-birthday. Fifteen and a half is a big deal. He has his license. That's a big deal. So we need to celebrate with lots of good food."
Greg shrugged. "Good enough for me."
"Is my dad still at the lab?" Alex asked.
"No, I'm right here." Nick said as he joined everyone else in the kitchen. "I just had to do something quick."
Maverick was bounding around the kitchen, enjoying all the people in the house. Catherine and Grissom started cooking dinner, with the help of Syd and Alex. Nick and Greg started playing video games and Warrick was arguing with Brass over something that happened years ago and didn't matter anymore. Zach joined in helping with dinner, and Mike went into the living room to watch Nick beat Greg in Madden for what had to be the hundredth time that month.
When dinner was ready, they all crammed in to the kitchen and sat at the table that was slightly too small for all of them. They ignored it and just enjoyed all of the excellent food and each others company. Not too long after dinner started, Syd started to feel more comfortable and talking to everyone willingly. They all laughed and joked throughout dinner and stayed at the table for another hour after they had finished.
Alex and Greg had just finished clearing the table when Nick called his son into the living room where everyone else had gone to. Greg followed Alex in, a grin on his face as well as everyone else's. All except for Syd, who knew as much as Alex did. Nothing.
"What's going on?" Alex asked.
"I got you a little half-birthday present." Nick said. He tossed something shiny and silver across the room to Alex, who caught it. "There ya go."
Alex caught the cool metal object and opened his hand to reveal it. It was a Boston Red Sox World Series Champions key chain. The Red Sox logo was in a field of blue and bordered with a silver circle. The center was smaller than the outer part, allowing the emblem to spin if one were so inclined.
Alex smiled. "Thanks. This is awesome."
"Yeah, but you need something to put on it." Nick said as he tossed another gleaming object to his son.
As soon as Alex caught it, he knew what it was. He didn't have to open his hand, but that didn't stop him. He flexed is fingers and looked down at the car key sitting in his palm. He stared down at it for a second before looking back up at his dad, his smile wider than before.
"You got me an Audi?"
Before Nick could respond, Alex was out the front door and standing on the front porch, looking at the navy blue Audi in the middle of the driveway. He was shaking his head slowly as everyone else joined him outside.
"You got me an Audi."
"I kinda had to. I knew a guy, and he gave me a wicked good deal on it. It was too good to pass up. You like it?"
Alex laughed slightly. "Are you serious? It's an Audi. What's not to like?"
Sorry this took so long to get up. The next chapter is almost finished and will be up soon. Thanks for the reviews, they mean a lot.