Chapter Twenty Six:
"Daisy, Rosie, Lily, Violet, Clover, Blossom, Heather, Poppy..." Sara flipped to the next page of the baby name book, after catching Greg shaking his head to each name. She was trying to keep him company while he was in hospital, but she wasn't doing a very good job at trying to take his mind off the fact that he was even in hospital. "Florence, Ruth, Victoria, Flora, Viola, Ella..." She placed the book on the table in front of her, asking, "Are you okay? You've barely said a word to me since I got back. I'm sorry I took off without saying anything. It wasn't intentional, Grissom just..."
"It's not about that." Greg stopped her there, not even caring why she and Grissom suddenly disappeared. "This whole thing has just flown by. One minute I'm on the beach with Colt, watching him building a sand castle with his Daddy. The next I'm here, with all this. And I got my date scheduled for the c-section." He explained to her, anxiously biting his lower lip. "May 14th. Two days." He gulped hard. "As much as I want this baby to come out, it seems too early."
"At least you made it through March and April." She pointed out to him, as he had been fearing the whole time that the baby would come early. "You're finally going to get to meet your little girl or boy." She smiled at him, trying to get him to cheer up. "Nick told me about your holiday in California. He said you didn't seem very happy."
"He shouldn't be talking about me to someone else."
"It's only because he's worried." She defended the man, leaning forwards on her chair. "He thought that the break would give you some time to breathe before you took your maternity leave, but he said that you didn't seem like yourself the whole time. You feeling alright, Greg?"
"I'm fine. Bored out of my mind, but fine." He had spent the last two months on maternity leave, trying to take it easy.
But that was a lot easier said than done.
He had alphabetised just about everything in his house. Cleaned the place top to bottom, even the bathroom that he never usually went near on his cleaning spree. He had plenty of time to shop for the baby, which wasn't exactly a good thing, as he had far too many clothes now. He bought plenty of new baby toys that it wouldn't be able to play with for a while, but at least Colt wouldn't get annoyed that the baby would be playing with his toys.
"So, what changed your mind?" Sara changed the subject as she saw that he was uncomfortable. "Since January you thought this baby was a boy. How come you switched to a girl? Did the doctor tell you the gender while I was gone?"
"No... it just feels like a girl." He placed his hands on his stomach, being careful not to move the straps around his waist. They were monitoring his baby's irregular little heartbeats, making him even more worried about them. He had been in the hospital for the past two days, after his doctor first discovered that the baby's heartbeat had drastically changed. He wanted to go home after the first hour, but he had been stuck in the same room for the for past forty eight hours. "I'm sick of this now. It's so boring. I wonna go home. I miss my baby."
"Colt?" She guessed. "He's still in preschool isn't he?"
"Yeah, but I haven't seen him in two days. I didn't want Nick to bring him by while I'm strung up to all of this. Can you read some more names, please?" Greg requested. "When you're talking, it takes my mind off this." He motioned towards the machine beside him, that was constantly making an unusual pounding sound in time with the baby's irregular heart beat. "And Sara, don't let this put you off having a baby of your own. My doc said this is quite common and eighty five percent of baby's with irregular heartbeats are born healthy with no problems." He tried to reassure her.
The woman gave him a nervous smile, before she grabbed for the book in front of her again. She turned to a page of Popular girls names, reading them out to settle the younger man's nerves. "Madison, Chloe, Mackayla, Sophie, Emma, Louise, Lauren... I had a friend called Lauren in middle school. Always thought it was a really nice name."
"Nick has a niece called Lauren." Greg informed her. "I liked Ava and Jessica too, but he's got nieces with those names too. One of his sister's called her daughter, Georgia then two years later another one called their baby girl, Georgina, and there was a big argument. They've still got their full names, but they practically had to have a family court settlement to nickname their kids George and Gina."
"You're kidding, right?"
"Nope, happened right in Mama Stokes' front room. The nicknames was the only idea she had that would stop her daughters from tearing one another's eyes out."
"Wow, I had no idea." Sara flipped the page, deciding that popular names wasn't such a good idea. "Early American girls names? Charity, Chastity, Hope, Grace, Faith, Virtue... they sound like hookers." She turned the page again, noticing that Greg was watching the monitor beside him. The pounding train sound rapidly increased for a few seconds, before it all suddenly went quiet. "What's that? What does it mean?"
The younger man remained silent, hoping it didn't mean what he thought it meant. He turned his head towards the door as nurse suddenly appeared, quickly making her way over to him to see what happened.
"Don't worry, nothing to worry about." She assured him, adjusting the strap around his waist, trying to find the heartbeat again. "Happens all the time, especially when baby is stretching their legs out. Baby moves around, but the monitor can't follow them, so we're always having to adjust them." She tightened the strap as she found the heartbeat again, giving him a smile as the machine started making the familiar sound again. "There we go. Shouldn't be much longer now. Your doctor, Doctor Jordan is on his way in now."
"Thank you." Greg watched her leaving, before he turned his head to look at Sara beside him again. "When's Nick coming in again?"
Sara checked her watch, remembering that Nick had a meeting regarding his future employment as the assistant supervisor, before he could leave. He had warned her not to tell Greg about it, just in case he didn't get it, so she had to stall until he could get here. "Um... I think he still has about four hours left on his shift. Do you want me to call him?"
"No, I'm fine. Read some more names. We've gotta find a name for them before they get here."
"How about a name with a meaning?" She tried to find the chapter for that, surprised that there was even this many pages of names. "Names that mean noble? Audrey, Freya, Patricia... wow, there's Lindsey. Do you think Catherine knew that her daughter's name meant noble when she named her?"
"I doubt it. She told me she chose it because she liked the sound of it."
"Okay." Sara glanced back at the book in front of her again. "Abigail? It means father's joy. Or Agatha. It means good and honourable. I wonder what Sara means." She searched for her name, getting a smile out of Greg.
"I know some names have different meanings to different cultures."
"Here it is. Pure." She read the name meaning with disgust, as she was hoping for something that was deep and meaningful. "Well, what does Greg mean?"
"Gregory." He corrected her. "It means watchful and alert. It's the second most popular name for the pope."
"I don't even want to know how you know that." She smiled at him. "How about names that mean love? It would go with that sentimental cowboy of yours. Amia, Cara, Cheryl, Darlene... not such a good idea in this day and age. Amy, Darla, Carina, Caralisa, Davita, Mandy, Cheri, Mindy, Venus... there's not very many. You'd think that there would be a lot of names that mean love. Not that there's really that much of it in this world."
"Do you have to be so cynical?" He adjusted himself on the bed, reminding her, "You're married now. You can't be so cynical about things like this."
"I'm not married like you're marred though. I don't spend every night with my husband, with him tending to my every need. I barely even eat a meal with him anymore. You practically spend every waking moment with yours." She pointed out to him. Placing the book on her lap, Sara inhaled a deep breath, deciding to come clean about something. "Greg... I... I didn't go on vacation with Grissom. Gil." She rolled her eyes at herself, as she was still referring to her husband by his surname.
"Where did you go?" He gave her a curious look.
"A couple of months ago, Gil and I started talking babies." She anxiously gripped the edge of the book, looking at Greg in front of her. "Officially this time, as in planning on having a little Gil or Sara walking around. We've been trying for a while and two months ago, I got a positive result on a pregnancy test." Greg watched as the woman gripped the book tighter, explaining, "I lost it a couple of weeks after that. Gil stayed here... I went to my mother's."
"Sara... I..." Greg suddenly felt really selfish for asking her to come here to keep him company. The last thing she'd want to do after losing a baby was sit beside the bed of someone who was about to have one. "If you want to go."
"I'm okay." She spoke softly, giving him a reassuring smile. "It might have been a false positive. It was only two weeks after that I started bleeding... I can't believe I'm telling you this." Sara combed her fingers back through her hair, trying to keep up her smile. "It wasn't really a baby. Not like yours. Yours is a full grown baby, almost ready to face the world. How about names that mean happy?" She turned back to the book. "Allegra, Trixie, Felicity..."
"Sara... you don't have to do this... if you don't want to. You can go home. I don't mind."
Sara shook her head. "I can't leave you here alone. Honestly Greg, I'm fine. I've been fine for a while. We've been talking about trying again as soon as things settle down with his job. Of course we actually have to be home at the same time as each other for that to happen. We're never home at the same time anymore. It's like we're not even living together. My place has no trace of him anyway. You don't have that problem, do you?"
"Not until a few months ago." Greg shook his head, as his life had no trace of Nick in it for three years. "And for the record, I haven't had sex since Christmas. It's May. At this point, I wouldn't blame Nick for using his right hand."
Sara cringed at the thought of her own husband doing that, wondering why it bothered her so much. "So, what do you think of the names?"
"I like Allegra." Greg placed his hand on his stomach, giving out a sigh. "Another one of Nick's nieces though."
"How many nieces does he have?" Sara looked at him surprised.
"Total, I don't know. But he said his Mama has twenty seven grandchildren. Girls are more common in his family, so most of them already have all the cool girly names." He adjusted himself on the bed, feeling as though his legs were going to sleep. "Twenty seven grandchildren is quite an achievement though. Can you imagine her birthday card list? Nick is always forgetting his own sisters birthdays. His mother's personal calendar must be bleeping everyday with somebody's birthday reminder."
"Along with this little one's soon." She flipped over to the next page in the baby names book. "Does Nick have a Jennelle in his family?"
Greg thought about it a moment, before he shook his head. "Nope. What would we call her for short though? Jen or Nelle?" He didn't really like the sound of them, so he shook his head, getting her to move onto the next page. "I don't think she even acknowledges that I'm part of the family. She was great with Colt when he was a baby, but since Nick and I have got back together, she hasn't exactly been the open armed grandmother that she was before. Nick didn't even want to tell her about this one after how she took the news of our engagement."
"She still doesn't know?" She looked at him surprised. "I've never really gotten along with Gil's mother, but we've worked out our differences. I wouldn't hide something like this from her."
"I'm not hiding it from her. She just doesn't know." He defended himself. "How much longer until Nick gets here now?"
"It's been fifteen minutes." Sara smiled at him. "What about Charlotte, Layla, Seraphina or Finley?"
"Finley's cute. I think Nick's family has a Flynne, but they're not too similar, right?"
"No." Sara shook her head, turning towards the door as there was a knock at the door. "There's Catherine. Hey, you're early. I thought you were coming by with Nick." She gave the woman the cut throat signal, reminding her that Nick didn't want Greg to know about the job.
"Yeah... all the overtime." She came up with an excuse. "I got done early, so I thought I'd come by and see you now."
"Here." Sara handed the woman the baby names book from her hands. "I've gotta get going. He thinks it's a girl today. Nick's gonna come by once his shift is over." She grabbed her coat and handbag, pressing a kiss to Greg's forehead as she hugged him goodbye. "Call me if anything happens, okay."
"Okay." Greg gave her a nod, wishing he wasn't stuck in a bed, so he could go with her.
"Bye, Catherine."
"Bye." Catherine gave the woman a smile goodbye, before she made her way round Greg's bed. She hugged him tightly a moment, before she pulled out a little stuffed tiger from her bag. "Lindsey and I picked it out."
"Wow. Thank you." He held it close to his chest. "Colt still has the giraffe you bought him."
Catherine smiled as she took a seat on the edge of his bed. "So you think it's a girl today? You're carrying a little too low for it to be a girl."
"You don't honestly believe in all those old wives tales, do you?" Greg giggled softly, adjusting himself to sit up straight. "Besides, it wasn't this low two days ago. Doc said the baby's head dropped into my pelvis over night. I can really feel it too."
"You've got cold hands too, that's another sign of a boy." She continued with her superstitions.
"Or bad circulation." He grinned at her. "I had acne with Colt. Everyone said that was a sign of a girl, because they take your beauty away, but he came out a boy. Doctors say that those old wives tales are only fifty percent true. And different cultures have different beliefs on gender prediction, so it's all crap really." He placed his hand on his side, feeling a sudden cramp coming on. "Besides, I've been eating chocolate and sweets since the beginning. Craving sweets is a sign of a girl."
"Are you in pain?" She noticed him clutching his side again. "Do you want me to get someone for you?"
"No, I had them yesterday too. My doctor said they were just Braxton hicks contractions. They've been coming and going all the time." He tapped the book in her hands as he titled his head back against his pillow. "You wonna help me out with names?"
"Sure." She opened the book in her lap. "When we were choosing for Lindsey, we were at it for weeks. We had miles of lists. The moment she was born, I thought one of the names we had picked would immediately fit. It wasn't until I was alone, holding her in my arms that one of the names really fit her. The moment she opened her eyes and looked at me, she was Lindsey."
Greg smiled at her, desperately hoping that he got to hold his baby at the end of all of this. "Start on the short baby names."
"Okay." Catherine tried to find the right page. "You want me to just read out the whole list?"
"From the girls side, yeah."
"Okay." She smiled at him, starting at the top of the list. "Ava, Fern, Opal, Rose, Tia, Amy, Lyra... you'd think they'd put it in some kind of alphabetical order. Alice, Iris," She continued, giving out a sigh as the younger man continued to shake his head. "What you need is a pen and paper. You and Nicky can write separate lists of names you like, then you can compare lists and choose one that you both like."
"Do you have a pen?" He asked her, watching as she immediately started to rifle through her bag. "I've already gone through so many names, it's hard to remember any of them."
"Exactly my point, if you write down your favourite ones, you'll remember them for later." Catherine handed him a pen, before she searched for a piece of paper.
"Sorry, am I interrupting?" Greg's Doctor knocked at the door, quietly stepping inside. "Still picking out baby names, I see."
"Helps take my mind off this." His patient motioned towards the machine beside him. "This is my friend, Catherine. This is my doctor, Doctor Jordan. It's okay, you can talk in front of her."
"Okay." Doctor Jordan stepped closer, setting his patient's notes on the table in front of him. "I know we scheduled the c-section for two days time, but if it's alright with you, I'd like to get the baby out a little earlier. There's nothing to be too worried about, but as I said before, baby has moved down into your pelvis. Your hips aren't as wide as they should be, so it's putting some pressure on baby and possibly the cord. Normally they wouldn't stay in this position for very long, as its the birthing canal, but obviously with you it's a little different."
"So it's me?" Greg gave him a fearful look.
"No, baby is just a little too determined to face the world right now. So, have you had anything to eat today?" As the younger man shook his head, he gave him a smile. "Alright, I'll book you in for later today. Until then, you should get some sleep and try to stay calm. If you'd like to call whoever you'd like to be with you, that's fine. Only one person in the operating theatre with you, but you can have visitors after."
"Thank you." Greg tilted his head back, even more terrified now. He thought that he still had two days left to prepare, but he would meet his baby in a matter of hours now. "You have to call, Nicky." He immediately looked at Catherine beside him, once the doctor was gone. "And my Mom and Dad. My Mom said she'd take Colt. He's at preschool at the moment."
"Don't worry about anything." She tried to reassure him, suggesting, "You should get some sleep. You remember how tired you were after your last one." She pressed a kiss to his forehead, while she took her phone outside to start calling Greg's family for him.
Greg couldn't believe how quick it had all gone. It seemed like just a few days ago he was getting inseminated, now he was about to meet the baby that had been growing inside of him, shortly after his first only just turned four.
After a few hours of sleep, Greg slowly fluttered his eyes open to the familiar sound of Nick's voice. He stretched his arms out on the bed, spotting the older man stood outside his room, with a phone pressed against his ear. He quickly said goodbye to whoever he was talking to once he saw that Greg was awake, making his way into the room to greet him with his usual passionate kiss.
"I missed you."
"I missed you too." Nick immediately replied, taking a seat on the edge of his partner's bed. "I'm sorry I left you today. I see you managed to get some sleep though. You haven't been able to sleep the past two days." He affectionately brushed his fingers through the younger man's hair, seeing the worry in his eyes. "Hey baby, c'mon. Everythin's gonna be fine." He climbed to his feet to hug him tightly, feeling Greg's arms snaking around his shoulders to hold him closer. "Trust me on this, okay? I'm not gonna let anythin' happen to you or our baby."
Clutching the man tighter, Greg closed his eyes, wishing he could believe him. But he still couldn't settle his nerves. He desperately tried to sleep again with Nick lying beside him, but it was a lot easier said than done with the constant train noise going beside him. It woke him up as it started to slow down, then when it suddenly started to speed up again, he clutched Nick tighter beside him.
"You wonna know why I was at work so late?" Nick tried to think of something to say, trying to keep Greg's mind off what was about to happen. "I got asked about the position of swing shift assistant supervisor."
"Did you take it?"
Nick gave him a nod, receiving a smile from the younger man. "I start next week as the official assistant swing shift supervisor."
"Try saying that ten times fast." Greg smirked, before he gave his husband a proud hug. "You are going to stick with it this time, right?" He teased him, playfully ruffling his fingers through the man's hair. "I'm kidding. I'm glad you're doing what you love again. And about what you were saying about letting you take care of me. I don't want to put all the pressure on you..."
"There won't be any pressure. I'm doin' this because it's my job to take care of my family."
"But I'm willing to give it a try." He finished what he was trying to say, before Nick interrupted him. "If it gets too much for you, you have to tell me though. You can't just keep going because you feel you have to. You've been through a lot more than me in the past three years. You need the break from it all more than me."
"Greg, I'm fine. I had cancer. I don't have it anymore." He reminded him. "I don't need you constantly lookin' out for me for somethin' that I had. I finally feel like myself again, so there's really no need for you to keep watchin' out for me." He combed his fingers through Greg's hair, adoring the pillow creased mess on his head. "It's my turn now. You're about to have a baby in..." He checked his watch, feeling his heart skipping as it was even closer now. "Less than an hour."
"I'm supposed to be getting my epidural soon." Greg cringed at the thought. "You're not going anywhere, are you?"
"No, I'm stayin' put." Nick climbed off the bed, grabbing for the nearest chair. He pulled it closer to the bed, removing the baby names book that was sat on the surface. "You been readin' through this again?" He flipped through it himself, taking a seat on the chair. "Found any good ones yet?"
"It's not so easy to find a name without you here, or knowing what the baby is." He pointed out to him. "Where's Colt?"
"With your Mom and Dad. They're at ours with Tyler and your Aunt Chrissie, until this little one is out." He smoothed his hand across the younger man's stomach, leaning over him to press another kiss to his cheek. "Honey, don't look so worried. Everythin's gonna be okay."
"I'm scared." He whispered softly, adjusting his head against the pillow. "I never thought my life would turn out like this. I'm married to a guy I don't deserve and I have the most amazing four year old. Now I'm about to go into surgery to get the next one cut out of me."
"Not quite as dramatic as that." Nick gave him a slight smile. "And you do deserve me."
The younger man gave him a smile, pulling him closer to hug him tightly. "I'm glad you're here this time." He gently combed his fingers through Nick's soft hair, feeling the man's heartbeat against his own. "I love you, Nicky. You know that, right?"
"I know. I love you too."
While he was still hugging Greg, Nick didn't even notice that Doctor Jordan had stepped into the room, remaining by the door until the two of them finished. As soon as they broke apart, he helped Greg to sit up, so the anaesthetist could get him set up with an epidural before his c-section.
Nick held his hands the whole time, helping him to keep still as the needle went into his back. He really didn't want him to go through any of this painful part, but he knew that it was better for both him and the baby if they got it over and done with.
Greg breathed out as soon as it was in, releasing his grip on Nick's hands until the colour returned to them. The doctor then talked them through the procedure, telling them to relax for a moment, until he came to get them for the c-section.
"Are you sure you don't want your Mom here?" Nick retook his seat on the chair beside the bed, adjusting the cover's over Greg's chest for him.
"No, I want you here." Greg held Nick's hand at his side. "It doesn't matter that she was here last time. You're here now and I want you. You did remember to bring the hospital bag, right?"
"Yep." Nick pointed to the bag against the wall. "I double checked it before I got here. Got the camera too. Your Mom wants lots of pictures of her next grandchild." He reached for the stuffed tiger on Greg's bedside table, giving him a confused look.
"Catherine got it for the baby. Oh," He suddenly remembered. "You need to call Sara and Wendy before we go in. They wanted to know when..."
"Okay, okay." Nick stopped him there, pulling his cell from his pocket. "I'll take it outside. Be back in five minutes." He promised, pressing a kiss to the younger man's forehead as he climbed to his feet. "I'll call your Mom too, tell her we're about to go in."
"Nick." Greg called after him, stopping him in the doorway. "Love you."
The older man smiled back at him, relieved that Greg wasn't still fearing that he was about to run out on him. He quickly made his way outside to make his calls, telling each of the three women the news in brief sentences, so he could quickly get back to Greg.
As soon as he got back, there was a computer image of his baby set up beside the bed. He gave Greg a smile as he sat down, watching the technician moving the device around on Greg's stomach, trying to see the exact location of the baby.
"See this part here," She motioned to something alongside the baby. "That's the umbilical cord. This part up here is the placenta, still firmly attached to the uterus. Your baby's head is right down here." She moved the device further beneath Greg's navel, showing them a side view of the baby's facial features. "I'll get these to the doctor. We'll be back in a minute to take you through to surgery."
"Okay." Greg grabbed one of the wipes she handed him, wiping away the sticky goo from his stomach. He gave Nick an anxious smile beside him, starting to feel more excited than scared, as he was so close to meeting his baby. "What did my Mom say?"
"I got your Dad. Your Mom was in the garden with Tyler and Colt. He was practically in tears when I told him we're about to go in. He said to call him as soon as we get out, so he knows everythin' went okay." He pushed himself to his feet, giving Greg a hand to adjust the gown over his stomach. "C'mon baby, no tears. You're about to have a baby."
"I'm fine." He inhaled a deep breath. "The little body suits and stuff are in that bag, right?"
"Yeah, I double checked. The newborn ones and the one to three months ones, but I doubt they'll need them yet."
"It's just in case. You never can tell how big or small they are." Greg looked towards the door, gulping hard as the nurses returned. He felt as though he was in the midst of a panic attack as they were unhooking him from the monitors, so they could take him through to surgery. "Nicky."
"I'll be right there, G." Nick assured him, taking the scrubs that the nurse had offered him. He quickly changed into them, washing his hands as directed, starting to get even more nervous himself. He followed the nurse down the hall towards the maternity wing once they were ready for him, anxiously biting his lower as he stepped into a room full of surgical equipment. Greg was already lying on the table, with a sheet hanging above his chest, stopping him from being able to see anything.
"Hey," Nick took his hand into his own, taking a seat on the chair the nurse had set up for him. "I'm here, baby." He pressed a kiss to Greg's forehead, starting to feel a little queasy. He had seen his fair share of blood, guts and body parts over the years, but he had never witnessed a live surgery on someone he loved. His own surgery suddenly flashed through his mind, reminding him of all the pain he experienced afterwards, making him suddenly regret wanting Greg to ever go through this.
"You look worse than me." Greg smirked, brushing his thumb across Nick's cheek. "I can't feel anything. Don't worry. And don't look." He pulled him closer, so his view of the surgery about to take place was obstructed. "You don't have to cut the cord if you don't want to either. They do it over there, anywhere." He pointed towards the familiar cooling table, where Colt was taken as soon as he was out.
"I'm fine." Nick assured him, holding Greg's hand a little tighter. "I'm nervous. More nervous than I was when I met Colt for the first time. And he smacked his head on the table within the first five minutes of meetin' me."
Greg giggled softly, shaking his head at the man. "He doesn't remember it like that. He remembers it as the first day he met his real Daddy."
"Alright, we're all ready, Greg." Doctor Jordan announced, checking with his team, before he started.
"Let me know if you can feel anything." The woman by Greg's head warned him, giving him a smile as she checked on the monitors beside her.
Greg gulped softly, tilting his head back to look into Nick's eyes above him as his doctor made the first cut across the old c-section scar on his abdomen. He felt a strange tugging sensation as he cut through the next few layers, towards his uterus.
"We didn't put the crib in our room yet." Nick suddenly remembered, trying to take both of their minds off it. "I set up the car seat in my truck, but I forgot to move the cot. Your Mom washed all the clothes again. Colt helped to fold them all and put them in the chest of drawers in our room."
Greg smiled at him, missing his little boy again. "What did you tell, Colt?"
"That you're about to have his baby brother or sister soon. He's really excited about it. He still wants a little sister though." Nick took a peak around the screen, wishing he hadn't as the doctor's hand was practically inside his partner's body this time, with a pair of scissors in his hands.
After a few minutes went by, there was the sound of a sudden gush of water. The nurse beside them explained that it was just his waters going, meaning that the baby would be out within the next few minutes.
Nick managed to brave another look, spotting a tiny little leg sticking out this time. He almost burst into tears at the sight of their tiny little toes. Every perfect little pink toe had a nail to it and tiny little wrinkles at the joints.
As the second doctor applied some pressure to Greg's stomach, they cautiously guided out a second perfect little leg. The bottom and back was next to follow, with a bluish cord wrapped around it. It didn't constrict them from moving their little legs though.
"What can you see?" Greg asked as the man's eyes had started to glaze over.
Nick tried to form words in his mouth to tell him what he could see, but the second he caught sight of a tiny little hand, he couldn't say a word.
Blue little fingers with long fingernails.
Wrinkly little palms.
Short little arms curled tightly to their chest.
It was all just a little too overwhelming for him.
The doctor hooked his fingers over their tiny little shoulders, so he could ease them the rest of the way out. The head came out a few seconds later, revealing a slightly blue little face. Their lips and tiny little eyes looked just like Colt's, causing the tears from Nick's eyes to spill.
"Here we go. You wonna see what you got?" Doctor Jordan lay the baby down on Greg's legs, so they could quickly clamp and cut the cord. He carefully lifted the baby into his hands, holding the tiny bundle above the sheet, so Greg could take his first look at his baby.
The younger man stared in amazement at the tiny baby, realising why Nick couldn't even speak. "A boy." He whispered softly, examining every inch of the tiny baby boy while he had the chance. He closed his eyes as soon as he was gone, feeling tears of his own coming on. He was pissed at himself that he got it wrong again, rolling his eyes at himself for ever believing his Nana Olaf when she said that he might have inherited her psychic ability.
Their newborn was quickly carried over to the cooling table across the room, where the nurses were ready and waiting for him. As soon as a second nurse started to clean the baby with a towel, he let out a gurgled cry at the top of his lungs, bringing smiles to both Nick and Greg's lips, as if it was the most beautiful sound they had ever heard.
While the doctors were stitching Greg up again, one of the nurses called Nick over to join them to meet his baby.
Checking it was okay with Greg before he left, Nick slowly climbed to his feet, joining the nurses across the room. He stood at the end of the cooling table, watching as his baby's boy's adorable lower lip quivered. He didn't look as blue as he did a few minutes ago, but he didn't seem to like the towel that the nurses were trying to wipe him down with.
"Would you like to cut the cord?" The older nurse asked, placing a blue clip closer to the baby's belly button, so Nick could cut the rest of the cord. He hesitantly took the scissors into his hands, wishing he could just pick up his crying baby boy, but he knew that they still had so much more to do, before they could finally hold him.
Nick cautiously cut through the umbilical cord, cringing at the sight of the blood. He feared that he was hurting him by doing it, but his cries didn't change to a scream of pain, indicating that he really couldn't feel it.
The nurse gently wrapped their baby up in a blanket, before she carried him over to the table, so Greg could see him up close. They placed the bundled baby beside his head, surprised that the baby almost immediately stopped crying, for the first time since he came out. Greg had only just placed his hand around his baby, which seemed to be just enough to settle him.
As soon as Greg was stitched up, they wheeled him out of theatre with his baby boy, taking him back to the ward to recover. The nurses immediately took his son away from him again though, taking him to be checked over by the paediatrician with Nick in toe.
A woman in her late thirties shook Nick's hand, introducing herself as Doctor Muller, before she stepped up to his son lying on the cooling table in the room. His son had started sucking his fingers to calm himself, making the most adorable sucking sounds as he tried to open his eyes for the first time.
"Good sucking reflex, that's always a good sign." Doctor Muller unravelled him from the blanket keeping him warm, making the little boy start to fuss again. "Oh dear, I'll be done as quick as I can, baby boy." She started checking his head first, making sure everything was normal, before she continued to check the rest of his body, only making him cry more and more. "Good set of lungs." She smiled at the anxious father beside her.
Nick was anxious to find out if his son's heart was okay now, wondering exactly what they did with baby's who had abnormal heartbeats. One or two of his sisters babies had been born with an abnormality. He knew that one of their little girls was born premature and spent seven weeks or so in an incubator. He had no idea what was wrong with the other one, but now he was starting to feel like a bad brother as he was in the same situation as them now.
The woman removed the stethoscope from around her neck, putting the buds in her ears so she could listen to the baby's heartbeat.
"This isn't very easy with you screaming your little head off, baby boy." She chuckled softly, listening carefully for any unusual sounds in his chest. "Fine." Doctor Muller reported, assuring the new father that his heart rate was completely normal and healthy for a newborn baby. "Let's get you weighed now, little one. Not much longer now, then we'll leave you alone." She assured the crying little boy, placing him on the scales which only made him even more uncomfortable.
"Six pounds... exactly." The nurse reported, resetting the scales to make sure. The weight came out the same again, so she wrote it on the birth certificate she had with her, giving Nick a reassuring smile. "Don't look so worried, Mr Stokes. You have a very healthy little boy here." She took over from the Doctor, carefully pressing a black ink pad against the little boy's foot for his birth certificate. She did the same with the other, whispering, "Don't curl your toes up, baby boy."
Finally she put him in a diaper, wrapping him back in his warm blanket, so he could go back with his father and sleep after his horrendous ordeal.
Struggling to sit up as he saw the baby cot being wheeled down the hall, Greg anxiously bit his lower lip, smiling as Nick was accompanying the tiny baby inside. "Is he okay?" His movement was limited, but that didn't stop him from trying to see his baby.
"Yeah, he's okay." Nick thanked the nurse, sliding his hands beneath his baby boy. He carried him over to Greg, carefully positioning him on the younger man's chest. "I called your Mom already. She's on her way. He's beautiful, Greg." He whispered, pressing a kiss to the younger man's forehead. "Just like you."
"He looks just like, Colt." Greg spoke softly, holding his little boy close against his bare chest. He tilted his head back against his pillow, looking up at Nick beside him. "Wow, that went fast. I thought it would take longer. Are you still crying?" He smiled in awe at him. "You wonna hold him again."
"No, he'll only start cryin' again. Besides, you've only just got him." The man took a seat on the edge of Greg's bed, smiling as he looked at their beautiful creation. "You're the only one that he's been completely calm with. It's like he knows that he came from you."
"He's smart." Greg brushed his thumb across his son's forehead, noticing his eyes beginning to open. He looked really tired, but his little eyes were a complete mirror image of the man's beside him. "I thought for sure that he was gonna be a girl. What are we gonna call him now? I only have girl names in my head."
Nick gave out a smirk, gently pressing another kiss to Greg's forehead. "Don't stress about it. He won't hold it against you that you thought he was a she. And we picked quite a few boys names before, we just have to decide which one fits." He reached for his phone as it bleeped, giving Greg a smile as he climbed to his feet. "Your Mom's here. I'll go get her."
"Can you call Sara again?" Greg called after him, giving him a smile as Nick promised he would. "I like having your Daddy here for this." He whispered, gently smoothing his palm down the tiny baby lying against him. When Colt was born, Greg was left in the dark, while his mother talked to the doctors and watched them checking him over. Even though he still wanted to be able to see the first moments of his baby's life, he was glad that it was Nick accompanying their son this time around.
It meant that he could relax and enjoy his first few moments with his newborn baby.
"Hello." His mother appeared in the doorway, speaking softly as she quietly entered the room. She pressed a kiss to her son's forehead, before she turned all of her attention to her new grandchild lying against his chest. "So beautiful." She immediately wept, getting the familiar eye roll from her son. "What? You know what I'm like with babies. Girl or boy? Nicky never said on the phone."
"Boy."
She gave him a smug smile for his wrong prediction, before she gently placed her hand on the adorable little boy's back. "He's gorgeous. Look at those tiny little fingers. He looks just like you when you were born. More than Colt did."
"More than Colt did?" Greg looked at her confused.
"Well, when he was born. He was a combination of Nick and you. This little boy looks more like you than Nick. He's gonna look just like you when he grows up." She smiled at him, turning towards the door as her husband and Nick stepped into the room. Nick was holding their son, Colt in his arms, who had fallen asleep on the car drive over, while her husband, Daniel was holding Tyler's hand. "Poor thing wore himself out with excitement. He couldn't stop talking about the baby since we told him. I hope you don't mind, Tyler wanted to see the baby too."
"No, I don't mind. Hi, Tyler." Greg smiled at his cousin, raising one of his arms as his father immediately stepped forwards to hug him. "I'm okay, Dad." He closed his eyes, after noticing a tear in the man's eyes too. He had never really seen his father cry, but his mother did say that he was a big softie when it came to baby's.
"So, what are you going to name him?" Greg's mother made her way round the other side of the bed, getting a closer look at her second grandson. "He's gorgeous, look at those long lashes."
"We haven't actually decided yet." He adjusted his son, letting his mother lift him free from his arms for her first hold. He thought that he was going to start crying again, but the baby boy continued to suck his fingers, resting quietly in the woman's arms. "He hasn't liked anyone else holding him so far. He has a really different cry from Colt. He makes this cute gurgling noise as his lip quivers."
"You won't think it's cute when he's waking you up all hours of the night." His mother smirked, taking a seat beside Nick on the chairs against the wall. She looked between her two adorable grandchildren, beginning to feel a little emotional again. "You haven't dressed him yet?" She opened the blanket, realising he really was only in a diaper.
"No, we only just got him back. You're early." Greg pointed his father to the bag on the chair. He quickly retrieved the bag, setting it down on the bed beside his son, so he could pick out the clothes he had prepared for their baby. "Can you show Nicky how to do it?" He held out the little white baby grow, along with the matching little hat to keep his head warm.
"Daniel, take Colt a moment." His mother instructed, carefully climbing to her feet with the baby. She set him in the baby cot beside Greg's bed, softly cooing him as he gave out a whimper. "C'mere then, Daddy." She ushered Nick closer, opening the blanket around her grandson to show Nick how to carefully dress him.
His son fussed a little as his father guided his head through the top part of his clothes, but he didn't even make a noise as his arms went through the sleeve holes. He gazed around through his sleepy little eyes, kicking both his legs in the air as if he was riding a bicycle.
"You look tired." Greg's father spoke softly, gently placing his sleeping grandson on the bed with him.
"I am." Despite the pain he was in, Greg hugged his child tightly, wishing he would wake up soon, so he could meet his baby brother. He quickly closed his eyes as the flash of a camera suddenly blinded him, rolling his eyes as the flash came from his father's phone. "You're supposed to take pictures of the baby." He pointed out to the man, waiting for the colour to return to his vision.
"I did. My boy with his baby." He showed him the picture, giving his son a smile, before he made his way over to the cot on the other side of the bed. He took a picture of Nick with his second grandson, before his wife insisted that he have a hold of the baby boy. "He looks just like Greg did." He immediately noticed as he got an up close look.
"He's a miniature, Greg." Jean agreed, smirking, "I'm sure he'll grow into his ears too."
"His ears aren't that big." Greg scowled at his mother, quickly taking another look for himself. His son's ears did stick out slightly, but they weren't that noticeably big in comparison to the rest of his head. "There's nothing wrong with his ears."
"I'm teasing." Jean quickly reached for her phone as it started to ring, smiling as it was her sister in law, Chrissie. She opted to stay at their house because of the twins, but she still wanted to know how it all went. "Hello... yes, he's had the baby. Uh huh... a little boy." She took it outside into the hall, telling her all about her adorable grandson.
"I'm starving." Greg spoke up, feeling as though his stomach was completely empty.
"You did just lose a lot of weight in one go." His father pointed out to him, letting Nick take his son back. He felt guilty for holding onto him for so long, remembering how it was for himself when he first became a father.
When Greg was born, they had half their family in the waiting room with them. The first day his son arrived, Daniel just watched as their family members passed him around between them, commenting on all of his beautiful features. The first time he really got to hold him uninterrupted, Greg was already three days old.
"Do you want me to get you something to eat?" He suggested, pressing a kiss to his son's forehead as he left the two of them alone with their family for a moment. "I'll be right back, Tyler. Take a seat beside, Nick." He directed his niece over to one of the chairs, before he left the room.
"Wonna see?" Nick gave her a smile, giving her a closer look of the baby in his arms. Tyler made her way around her cousin's bed, stopping in front of Nick to see the new baby. He opened the blanket slightly, giving Tyler a smile as she carefully studied the little boy in his arms. "He really does look just like you, G." He smiled at Greg, looking between their two little boys. "My brother and me have never looked alike. Even our baby pictures don't look alike."
"He is ten years older than you." Greg pointed out to him, giving him a wide smile. "Maybe your parents' DNA matured a little for you. You got more of their better qualities." He rested his head back against his pillow, looking at their two beautiful boys in their arms. "I imagined holding this newborn baby like a million times in my head, but I never thought he'd be this amazing. I forgot how tiny Colt used to be. He looks even smaller. How much did he weigh?" He suddenly remembered that he never asked.
"Six pounds."
"Wow." Greg spoke softly, watching their baby's tiny hand movements as he stretched out in Nick's arms. "They're so different already. Colt was really quiet as soon as he was out. Mom said when he was being checked over by the doctor, he just curiously looked at everything."
"This little one cried his eyes out the second anyone touched him."
"I think he's got your hair." The younger man brushed his fingertips across the short strands of dark hair sticking out the little hat on his head. "I'm glad you're here for this." He tilted his head back, gracing his husband with a smile. "I don't think I coulda done it by myself again."
"Tyler," Greg's mother appeared at the doorway again. "Would you like anything from the machine?" She sensed that her son and his husband needed a moment together, so she led the child out of the room, taking her to the machine with her to get her something to drink.
Carefully climbing to his feet, Nick took a seat on the edge of his partner's bed, resting their heads together with their boys between them. "I wish the first time I saw Colt was when he was like this. First time I saw him, he was asleep in the pushchair outside your apartment and you were really pissed at me."
"Sorry about that." Greg giggled softly, cringing as he felt as though his stomach was splitting open. "Ow... I forgot about this part too. Weird how you forgot about all the blood, pain and misery when you think of bringing a baby into the world." He placed his hand on the top of his stomach, giving out a soft sigh. "I feel as though I've suddenly deflated or something."
"This little man was in there a few hours ago."
"We can't keep calling him, little man. My Dad nicknamed Colt, mini me, the first day he was born. He didn't have a name for almost four days after he was born." He remembered, trying to think of a name that would suit their new little boy. He blamed the fact that he couldn't think on the drugs being pumped into his system, but he couldn't chose one before this happened either.
"Reece?" Nick looked down at his son, shaking his head as it don't really go. "Jude, Wade, Boone..."
"Hillbilly-ish names?" Greg chuckled softly, immediately stopping with his face twisted in pain. "Oh my god, just knock me out. I thought he said this was the strong stuff."
"Colt is technically a little hillbilly-ish." His partner pointed out to him, using his own words. "Do you want me to go find your Doc? Is it that bad?"
"No. I'll live." He adjusted himself on the bed, backtracking on what Nick just said. "Colt is not hillbilly-ish. It's technically an Old English name." He pointed out to him, getting a grin out of his partner. "What do you think of Rex? Or he could be a Max. That's cute. Or Dexter. I still think that Jackson is cute. But I like Bentley, Micah, Sam, Axel. Or Harrison... Harry for short..."
"How about we sleep on it?" Nick stopped him there, getting more confused as he continued to add more names to the list. "He doesn't need a name his first day. Look, he's not bothered. He's just relieved to be away from those scary people in blue scrubs." He realised that his son was a lot more content in his arms now that he wasn't in scrubs himself, making him wonder if the nurses that were poking at him had scared him away from people in blue permanently from now on.
"Not Rex as in T-Rex." He quickly added. "I just like names that have an X in them."
"I have heard of the name, Greg." Nick looked down at their tiny son, with a worried look in his eyes. He wasn't worried about the baby's health anymore, more over the fact that he might not be around to take care of him.
"Hey Nick, you wonna take Colt home and put him to bed?" Greg suggested, starting to feel tired as his pain medication finally kicked in. "He'll have to see his baby brother tomorrow."
"Yeah, okay." Nick pressed a kiss to his partner's cheek. "As long as you're sure."
"Yep, Mom and Dad can stay with me, while you take him and Tyler back. Make sure he has Pancho with him. I'll send them home later." He cautiously watched as Nick placed their baby boy back in the crib beside his bed, being very careful of his delicate little figure. "Hey, Nicky."
"Yeah." He glanced up from the cot.
"I love you." Giving the man a wide smile, Greg opened his arms as the man made his way over to him to hug him tightly. "I know what's going through your head." He brushed his fingers through the man's hair, holding him closer as he felt his breath on his neck. "You've got to stop worrying. You're going to be here to see him grow up. Both of them."
"You don't know I'm thinkin' that."
"Yes I do." He corrected the man, pulling back to look into his eyes. "You forget that I know you inside - out, Nicky. I can tell what you're thinking just by looking into your eyes. You've been completely clear. I know you're gonna be okay. You have to believe it yourself to get past it."
Looking over his shoulder at their newborn, Nick whispered, "I'm startin' to. I feel like I've traded the nightmare for this fairytale."