A/N: This chapter is dedicated to DarkDreamer56 . . . I hope you don't mind that I borrowed Tina's cat from your story Pseudo Dating :)
I wasn't sure what was more stressful having to go into the lab to pick up my check or pick up Sara from UNLV and drive to the airport to meet my parents. Reece didn't seem fazed by the fact that Catherine and Greg were working and it was very likely that they would see us. Nor did Reece seem to appreciate that her grandparents didn't believe in children out of wed-lock. Sometimes, I wished that I could go back to being a child. Things were so much simpler then.
I hadn't successfully avoided Greg and Catherine at work the last few days, but I noticed a change in how they both treated me. Greg was distant. Catherine was pissed. A pissed off Catherine isn't something that I have ever tried to mess with. She gave me the whole lecture about being responsible. Her definition of responsible was finding someone that deserved me. Catherine was silly to think that Sara was somehow below me. I couldn't think of a person that I could possibly want to be with more than Sara.
"Is that the little princess?" Hodges asked as I walked into the break room holding Reece.
"Yep," I replied.
"Can I hold her? I'm really good with children," Hodges asked.
"Nope," I replied as I began to use one hand to rifle through my mailbox and the other to secure Reece to my chest.
"Why not?" Hodges asked.
"Because she's my little princess, buddy," I replied.
"At least she's cute," Catherine said as she began to inspect Reece.
"Not now, Cath," I replied as I continued to dig for my check so I could get the hell out of the lab.
"Nicky, she looks a lot like Sara," Catherine said. I rolled my eyes. I knew what she was getting at.
"Yep, but everyone thinks she has my eyes," I replied with a smile. Catherine shook her head.
"Go easy on him," Hodges retorted. Thank God for Hodges. It wasn't something that I ever thought I would be thinking. He was an unlikely ally.
"Hodges, you can hold Reece," I said as I handed over Reece who seemed to be okay with Hodges. She eyed him curiously before deciding that he wasn't all that bad.
"Nick, I'm just trying to say . . ." Catherine began.
"Nope. Not today. I'm happy. Your opinion doesn't really matter anymore," I replied harshly.
"It used to," Catherine replied as she walked out of the room. It was quiet despite Hodges introducing himself as 'Uncle David.'
"She's adorable," Hodges said in between bouts of baby talk that even sickened me despite the fact that I probably didn't sound that much different.
"Nick, is that Reece?" Greg asked as he flew into the lounge.
"Yep," I said as I finally found my check and stuffed it into my pocket.
"Nope, you have to wait your turn," Hodges said as Greg motioned for him to hand over Reece. Never did I think Greg and Hodges would be the ones to accept Reece without a second thought. I guess part of me hoped that Catherine and Grissom would approve. They were like a second set of parents.
"I think Reece would like to meet her Uncle Greg," Greg said pointedly. Oddly enough, Reece began to laugh. I turned around to see her holding on to Hodges for dear life.
"Look, she's happy here with me. Aren't you, sweetie?" Hodges said before launching into gibberish.
"Okay, the little lady is going with me," I said as I took Reece from Hodges. She immediately nestled her head into my shoulder. I began to believe that's exactly what that divot between the pectoralis muscles and the clavicle was made for.
"What's the big hurry?" Greg asked as he waved at Reece, who broke out in shrill laughter at the tiny act.
"I need to pick up Sara from UNLV, and we've got to pick my parents up from the airport. Kind of a busy day considering Reece didn't let Sara sleep at all last night," I said as I tried to stifle my own yawn.
"Her earache?" Hodges asked in a tone that indicated much more concern than I had ever anticipated.
"I think so. She's still adjusting to the new routine," I said as Greg began to play peek-a-boo with Reece. I found out two days ago that that particular game could entertain her to no end. "I'll bring Reece by some afternoon when I'm off. We should really get going."
"Bye-bye, Reece," Hodges said as Reece and I tried to escape from the lab.
"Hey, man," Warrick said, "Tina wants to meet Reece and Sara. You better keep this adorable little gal away from Tina. It's bad enough the cat sleeps on my pillow every night."
"I don't think you would be that horrendous of a parent," I teased.
"I locked the cat in the closet yesterday, so I could eat lunch without it trying to eat my lunch for me," Warrick grumbled.
"Maybe you should hold off on kids for a while," I said with a laugh.
"Damn, she has Sara's smile. You're going to have to lock her up when she's a teenager," Warrick said as he slouched downward slightly to make eye contact with Reece, "I did it again. See . . . my kid would curse like a sailor."
"I'm still going to kick your butt if my daughter's first word is a curse word," I teased.
"Isn't it cute that your daddy thinks he could take on Uncle Warrick?" Warrick asked Reece. I was a little dismayed that she answered his question with laughter.
"See you later, man," I said as I attempted to make another run for the door. I made it ten steps before I nearly walked straight into Grissom.
"How's her earache?" Grissom asked as he momentarily looked up from the file he was trying to read while walking down the hallway.
"Getting better. She's still fussy," I said.
"I have a present for her," Grissom said as he waved for me to follow him into his office. I wasn't sure what to expect from him; I cringed at the thought that I could very well be bringing a preserved fetal pig home with me today.
"It's a Lepidoptera. Butterflies always make me think of Sara," Grissom said as he handed me the mobile with delicate, brightly colored butterflies tethered only by thin fishing line.
My emotions went from grateful to pissed off in a matter of seconds.
It's sweet that he still harbors all those feelings, but he can't have what's . . . I thought. I needed to stop because Grissom could very well have Sara because she wasn't mine.
"Reece is really going to love this. Thank you so much, Grissom," I said with a smile that I had to force onto my face. I nearly had to bite my tongue in order to stifled the anger and jealousy I felt.
"I hope Sara likes it to," Grissom said.
It was at that moment that I knew I wanted something more than co-parenting. I just had to figure out how to make that happen.