Chapter twenty-eight – Ten things I like about you (warning barf bucket may be required whilst reading this chapter due to extremely corny soppy banter!)

Greg looked at the clock and he stirred the sauce in the pan. He would have to go to work soon and he really didn't want to. There had been no more kisses and no talk about the kiss between Harriet and himself and he wanted time for both things. They had gotten caught up with another surprise when they got home. There was a huge pile of birthday presents for Jake, which the little boy launched himself onto and subsequently began tearing at the paper along with a letter from Rick. It turned out he had gone back to England, leaving Jake with Harriet. That was why Jake had been acting strangely because his father had told him of his plans the night before and naturally it had been upsetting for him.

'I don't mind though, mummy, I like being here with you,' Jake had said after she had read part of the letter out loud that detailed what Rick was doing and what he had spoken to Jake about.

'Are you sure?' Harriet had asked.

'Yes,' Jake said. 'I think you're the best Mummy in the world.'

That had then reduced Harriet to tears, a mix of happiness and regret Greg had assumed.

'What does the rest of the letter say?' Greg had asked, seeing that it looked longer than what she had read out.

'Oh nothing, just some private stuff between Rick and me,' Harriet said.

'O.k.,' Greg had said, not wanting to push the matter but thinking it was weird.

Now it was getting on for six o'clock and Greg was making dinner for the three of them. Jake and Harriet were sitting on the carpet behind the sofa playing with some toy cars that Rick had bought. Jake was having a whale (or a dolphin –sorry) of a time making extremely loud swerving and braking noises.

Greg took the pan off the heat and poured the sauce onto the pasta he had cooked.

'Dinner's ready,' he called to them, putting the plates on the breakfast bar.

'Yes mum,' Harriet joked, looking up and smiling at him.

Greg laughed and rolled his eyes whilst Jake got up and ran to the sink and washed his hands. Harriet slowly followed and sat down on a stool.

'Wow, Rick really taught him his manners, huh?' Greg said, sitting down opposite her.

Harriet smiled, looking at Jake as he dried his hands on a towel and struggled to climb onto another bar stool. Greg picked him up under the arms and gave him a lift up.

'Thanks Greg,' Jake said and began to eat, slopping pasta sauce all over his t-shirt.

'Nice,' Harriet said, sarcastically. 'Jake, honey, try opening your mouth when you eat.'

Greg snorted at her comment and nearly lost the mouthful of pasta he had just taken. Harriet rolled her eyes and began to eat.

'You're both as bad as each other, honestly it's like having two kids to look after.' She said.

'Hey who cooked dinner?' Greg protested.

'Ooh sorry, wifey,' Harriet smirked and continued to eat her dinner.

When they had finished dinner, Harriet offered to wash up so Greg went and sat with Jake on the sofa, preparing to pick a film for them to watch when he remembered something.

'Hey Jakey, I forgot something,' Greg said.

'What?' Jake looked up at him, interested.

Greg looked underneath the sofa and pulled out a present and gave it to the little boy who jumped up and down with excitement.

'Ooh ooh, is it one of those miccosoaps I asked for?' Jake said.

'Open it and find out,' Greg smiled as Harriet came and sat beside them.

He was pleasantly surprised to see that she sat down on his side and put a hand on his back. Maybe she didn't have any regrets about the kiss after all and he had nothing to worry about. He put his hand on her knee and watched as Jake ripped the paper open and jumped up and down yelling 'miccosoap! Miccosoap! Miccosoap!'

'Jake calm down or you'll be sick,' Harriet warned him.

He sat down on the sofa and tried to open the box. It was only a small child sized microscope but it was quite heavy and he needed a bit of help from Greg.

'Wow it's huge!' Jake exclaimed as Greg pulled it out of the box.

'This is a cool one too,' Greg said. 'You can plug it into your mom's laptop and see it all on the screen.'

'Wow, can I do it now mum, can I, can I?' Jake asked, frantically.

Harriet smiled. 'Of course you can.' She said, getting up and taking Jake and his microscope to her room.

'O.k., do you think you've got the hang of it now?' Harriet asked.

Jake nodded, looking intently at the screen. 'I think so.'

'O.k., now I want you to stay here until I say you can come out unless you get desperate for the toilet. I need to talk to Greg.' She instructed him.

Jake nodded again and put a slide under the microscope as she had shown him.

Harriet smiled and left the room, quietly closing the door on him. He was so engrossed in the microscope and the computer that she didn't think he would bother them for a while. She walked back to the sofa and sat down next to Greg who sat up straight when he saw her as he had been slouching wearily, legs sprawled out in front of him.

'So,' she said, exhaling nervously.

'Yeah,' Greg replied, stealing a sideways glance at her and blushing.

'Aww you're like a school kid,' Harriet laughed.

'Well, I'm kind of embarrassed,' Greg said. 'About…you know.'

'Yeah, I know, but are we cool?' she asked.

Greg smiled. 'I'm cool if you're cool.'

'I'm very cool thank you.'

Harriet wasn't quite sure that they were cool enough so leaned closer to him and kissed him again. This time it wasn't as awkward as before but it was just as nice. It felt more natural. She pulled away after a few seconds and he smiled at her again, this time looking more relaxed.

'I didn't even know you liked me,' Greg said, quietly.

'I didn't to start with,' she said. 'I couldn't stand to be in the same room as you.'

'Likewise,' Greg laughed.

'Are we idiots or what?' Harriet laughed.

Greg nodded in agreement. They sat in silence for a minute or two until Harriet felt like things were getting awkward again.

'So what changed your mind?' she asked.

'I don't know, we became friends I guess. I didn't actually realise I felt anything more than that until Nick pointed it out after the funeral and I was going to ask you out then but-'

'But Jake showed up?' Harriet finished for him.

Greg nodded. 'So what about you, when did my charm finally win you over?'

'What charm?' Harriet joked.

Greg scowled at her sarcastically.

'The day Jake got left on our doorstep and we were sitting in the break room,' Harriet said.

Greg frowned 'What was so special about that?'

'You told me there was no way I would have ever been a bad mother,' Harriet said, feeling her eyes well up as remembered how great that had felt.

'I was right wasn't I? Jake thinks you're the best mom ever remember?'

'Yeah I know, I just wish someone would have told me before. No one did you know, it was like they didn't believe it themselves.'

Greg felt a little angry with that. Here she was, having spent god knows how long regretting her lack of motherhood and no one had tried to talk her around. He had hardly known her when he'd found out about Jake and he had had no doubt that she could do it.

'Well I believe in you, I always did,' he said, putting a hand on her face and looking into her eyes. 'I can't believe no one said anything.'

'If they hadn't I might never have come to Vegas and met you,' she pointed out.

'True, I'm very, very glad you did,' Greg said. 'But if it meant you wouldn't have to miss out on Jake's life, I would gladly sacrifice that for you.'

Oh man, that sounds so corny, he told himself. But he meant it, her happiness meant everything and while he would have been reluctant to surrender her to Rick, he would have gladly done it for Jake. Harriet put her hands on either side of his face and kissed him deeply. He kissed her back, glad that he had finally made a move.

'Thank you,' she said, moving back. 'That really means a lot to me but I can't dwell on the past and good things come with the bad as they say.'

'So this is definitely a good thing?' Greg asked, stroking her hair away from her eyes.

'Absolutely, I like this,' she said.

'That's good because I like you and I like your smile.' Greg said, feeling like a completely soppy goofball but not caring that much.

'Well I like your eyes,' Harriet said back in a way that made it sound like she was challenging him to better her compliment.

'I like the bacon sandwiches you make,' Greg said.

'I like your personality representing cereal theory you have.'

'I like that you have a thing for insects'

'Hey, you make it sound like a fetish!' Harriet smirked. 'I like that you're the only person who doesn't call me Hattie.'

'Well you're not an accessory,' Greg smiled. 'I like that you bite your lip when you're thinking of something.'

'I do that?' Harriet asked.

Greg nodded, and then waited for her to continue, wondering if she had more to say.

'O.k. I like,' she paused for a moment a bit her bottom lip.

'You're doing it now!' Greg pointed out.

Harriet laughed and stopped biting it. Then her face changed a little like something was bothering her.

'I like that you listened to me every time I had a problem.' She said.

'I like that you could tell there was something bothering me yesterday and that you didn't make me feel like an idiot for feeling like that.'

'I like that you helped me fall in love with my son,' Harriet said. 'I will never forget that above everything else.'

Greg smiled; they had been idiots not to see what they could have had before. They had been through a lot in a month and they had seen the best and the worst in each other. Maybe it was best that it had happened the way it did. It meant there was little else they didn't understand about each other.

'I don't really think I can top that one,' Greg said. 'So this will have to do.'

He took her face in his hands again and gave her a long emotive kiss. He felt so strongly towards her that he knew it would be a matter of time before he fell completely in love with her but it was too early to say so yet. Remembering that he had to go to work, as much as he would love to stay here and kiss her all night he finally pulled away.

'Sorry, I have to go to work,' he said, stroking her lips with his thumb.

'No you don't,' Harriet said with a smile.

'Yeah I do,' Greg said. 'We're not all slackers like you.'

'Hey!' Harriet hit him on the arm. 'I spoke to Grissom, told him you needed a night off because you were under a lot of strain still and he agreed.'

'He agreed to being short a lab tech and a CSI?' Greg said, not believing his boss would be so accommodating.

'When he realised you were still hurting about the Richardson case he said it was fine.'

'I'm not so upset anymore though, kind of feel like a fake,' Greg said, relieved that he didn't have to go to work.

'It's only one night, it's not a big deal,' Harriet said.

'You just get more and more surprising,' Greg said, giving her another kiss.

Harriet was enjoying this new element to their friendship. She could tell that Greg genuinely cared about her and for the first time in months, maybe even years she felt like she was safe and didn't have to worry about anything. As he kissed her, she wished she could stay there with him forever, just him and her but then her mobile phone went off, interrupting their little moment of passion.

'Oh great,' she said, moving her face away from Greg and taking her phone out of her pocket.

She smiled to herself as he continued to place small kisses on the side of her face. She shrugged her shoulders when he tried to kiss her neck.

'Don't do that it tickles,' she laughed, opening up her phone.

'Sorry who's texting you? Your boyfriend on the side?' Greg asked, jokingly.

'Ergh, are you two kissing again?' a child's familiar voice piped up.

Harriet looked up from her phone as the message was loading to smile at Jake who had emerged from her bedroom. He was twitching around and hopping from foot to foot. She was about to speak to him when she glanced at her phone again. There, as bold as day was a photograph of her and Greg kissing in the alley outside the circus with the words 'busted right back at ya!' flashing above it.

'Oh no,' she said, cringing.

'What is it?' Greg asked, peering over her shoulder.

She held it up so it he could see. 'Nick and Sara getting their revenge.'

'Oh man, I didn't even know they were there,' he said. 'Wait a minute, what's that?'

Greg pointed to a small blurred figure standing to the side of them in the photograph. It was Jake and he was looking directly at the camera. Harriet and Greg simultaneously looked up at Jake who was still standing in the living room hopping skittishly from foot to foot.

'You knew they took a picture?' Harriet asked, not believing how well a four year old could keep a secret.

Jake smiled, cheekily. 'That's why I was laughing.'

'You little traitor!' Greg said, getting up as if to chase the boy round the room.

'No! I really need a wee,' Jake said, pathetically.

Harriet laughed and took Greg's hand. 'Leave him, let him use the toilet. It just means he can't make any more complaints about us kissing,' she said, giving Jake a knowing stare.

'Yes mummy,' Jake said and dashed into Greg's room to use the bathroom.

She laughed to herself and then looked at Greg. He grinned back and raised his eyebrows.

'So does that mean I get to do it as often as I like?' he asked, pulling her up by the hand so that she was standing close to him.

Harriet slid her arms around his neck and smiled at him. He seemed to take that as his cue and proceeded to kiss her.

A/N - realise this one was super super cheesy but I did warn you more than once so no sueing me please and thank you! I tried to lighten it up a bit at the end with Sara and Nick getting their own back. Last chapter coming right up...