Chapter 7

The graveyard shift gathered in Warrick's backyard the next afternoon before shift. Warrick moved around, chatting with his friends until he noticed that his wife was sitting in her chair, crying. In the middle of a sentence, he left Greg and hurried over to Gemma. "Baby? What's the matter? Are you in pain?"

"No." Gemma sobbed, sniffling as she tried to control her raging emotions.

"Then, why are you crying?" Warrick used his thumbs to wipe away her tears. "You know I hate to see you crying."

"I'm just happy." Gemma sniffed. "They're…, family. I've never had a real family before. You've given me a family!"

Warrick looked across the yard with a puckered brow; all he saw was his friends. "Who?"

"Nick, Sara, Greg….., all of them. They're our family, aren't they?" Gemma gave him a teary smile. "This is how I've always imagined a family to be like."

Warrick gave her an unsure look and then looked across the yard again. It dawned on him that Gemma was right. They were like a family. Gil was the stern but doting father. Catherine the wise older sister, always eager to teach them from her mistakes so they wouldn't have to repeat them. Sara the overachieving younger sister, determined to outshine everyone else. Greg the nutty younger brother, dogging everyone's steps, set on being just like everyone else.

Even Doc was the quirky uncle that everyone had in his or her families, always ready with some odd story that had a moral punch line. The others, Archie, David, and Judy, they were the cousins that you only saw at family gatherings but wondered why you didn't hang out with them more often. Even Hodges was the annoying cousin that followed you around, just so he could tattle on you later. Watching Hodges chatting with Catherine, Warrick shook his head. He wondered, once more, why Gemma had chosen the odd man as her best friend.

Thinking of best friends brought his attention to Nick. Nick sat on the far edge of the group, in a heated discussion with his girlfriend, Lucy. If he could pick one person in the world to be his brother, it would be Nick. Other than Gemma, Nick was the one person who knew him the best. He knew all his faults and accepted him as he was. He was the one to go to if he needed advice or a shoulder to lean on. Nick was the one that understood, no matter what. Nick was his brother, blood or not.

Although, now, Nick did not seem to be in a brotherly mood towards Warrick. He'd asked immediately how the meeting with Sean went. When Warrick had angrily told him, Nick had looked disenchanted with him and walked away. Nick hadn't spoken to him since.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Warrick agreed, turning his attention back to his wife. I have all the family I've ever wanted or needed. I've got it right here with you."

"What do you mean you weren't really at a meeting?" Nick muttered, his voice bordering on anger.

"I had a visiting. Warrick needed a push to meet his brother. He was going to avoid seeing him. Sean was going to go back to England without ever speaking to Warrick. I knew Gemma was going to be in labor, and with Grams and me out of the picture, she would need someone to help her. Sean just happened along." Lucy whispered her confession.

"So, you drug Grams into this?" Nick frowned. "She wasn't visiting a sick friend?"

"No, we went shopping together." Lucy shrugged. "I explained it to her, she agreed with it. She wants Warrick to expand his family, learn more about his history."

"It seems like you put your own feelings above Gemma's in this. She needed her family with her. You're supposed to be her friend, Lucy." Nick reprimanded, full of disapproval.

"I knew she was okay. If he hadn't have been there, Grams and I would have came." Lucy looked a little uncomfortable as she defended herself, but she was keeping her chin up, determined that she had been right to do as she did. "She has her guardian angels, watching over her. I've spoken with some of them; they wouldn't let her come into harm again. Grams and I were close enough that we could have gotten to her if she really needed us."

"It just seems rather cruel to punish Gemma just because her husband is a jackass." Nick growled, surprising the redhead.

"What's all that about?" Lucy looked over at where Warrick was sitting with Gemma. He was looking over at Nick, an unreadable expression on his face. Lucy heard the whispering in her head. "You guys are fighting?"

"No, not really." Nick was pointedly not looking over to where his best friend was, proving that it was some degree of a fight on his side. "I just thought he should hear Sean out, so I convinced him to go see him last night. I sort of forced him to go see him."

"And?" Lucy knew the answer, but sometimes knowing things ahead of time wasn't the right way of doing things. She played dumb so Nick could get it out of his system.

"He told the guy to get lost. Just about threw him onto the plane back to England." Nick grumbled.

"And? You believe the man? You think they might really be brothers?" Lucy probed, wanting him to admit the feelings she already knew he felt.

"I think it might be a possibility. Look at him! He's not really a dark skinned guy. His eyes are green, for goodness sakes!" Nick cried out, instantly quieting himself as he realized he was drawing attention to himself. "He could very well be half white."

"And Warrick doesn't believe he is?"

"I don't know. He's just very angry about the whole idea." Nick sighed, watching his friend covertly. "Growing up without a father has got to be rough, especially when you lose your mother too. The possibility that this guy was off raising another son could be a little more than Rick can accept." Even while angry, Nick had an unusual ability to be understanding.

"So? Are you going to give him some space to sort it out? Or are you going to continue being mad because he didn't react with the eagerness that you felt he should?" Lucy questioned.

Her lover turned his deep brown eyes on her, and shook his head. "You know, sometimes its damn right irritating to have a girlfriend who knows everything." He grinned playfully before leaning over and kissing her passionately.

"Hey now." Greg was suddenly standing over them. "Knock that off, there's children present."

Pulling apart, they looked up to see that Greg was holding the newborn. Nick stood up, gently taking the baby from him. He was actually shaking as he held the tiny thing. He'd never held a baby so small. His nieces and nephews had all been born after he had left Texas. They'd been sturdy toddlers by they time he'd finally went to see them. Even Jessica had arrived in the family already a toddler. He quickly handed the baby to Lucy, afraid he might hurt her.

"Hey, that's my daughter, not a football, Stokes!" Warrick reprimanded him gently as he approached. He stood a few feet away, as if unsure if he would be welcome.

"Yeah, she's too pretty to be a football." Nick agreed, stepping over to hug his pal. "Good thing she looks like Gemma, huh?"

"Aw, Nicky, I know you think I'm sexy!" Warrick quipped, returning the hug. Nick was the type of guy that liked to hug. It had taken Warrick a long time to get used to Nick's fascination with hugging. They'd agreed that as long as it wasn't in public, an occasional hug would be acceptable. Although this hug was technically in public, he didn't consider the fellow graveyard shifters public. As Gemma had just pointed out, they were his family.

One thing was for sure, Warrick was glad that Nick now had Lucy to fulfill his monthly hugging quota.

Tbc…..