Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize. I own Reggie, Betty Rogers, Fred the bear, Nathan, Oliver, O'Malley, Jacob Peterson, Betty Peterson, Jessica, Louis, James, Tim, Eric, Mark Evans, Tyler Stevens, Paul Waters, Allison Enders and Elizabeth Enders.
Welcome to the Family
Chapter 9Sara rolled off the couch-and Nick- landing on the floor with a thud and a groan. Nick chuckled sleepily at her from the couch while she glared angrily up at Warrick, who'd been the one to wake her.
"Sorry Sar," Warrick said innocently.
"Bit me Brown," Sara grumbled, heaving herself up off the ground.
"That's Nicky's job, not mine," Warrick returned with a rakish grin
"Yup, and I like that job." Nick confirmed happily, pulling Sara back onto the couch by her belt loop.
"Ah! Nick!" Sara laughingly protested as his arms held her securely down by his side. She giggled, playfully slapping his chest, "Ass."
"But you love me anyway." Nick returned with a boyish grin.
"Well," She teased lightly, eyes laughing in delight, "Every girl needs some arm candy!"
"Arm candy? I'm just arm candy?" Nick playfully demanded, "I'll show you 'arm candy'!"
Sara shrieked with laughter as Nick's fingers danced over her sides, tickling her mercilessly. Sara squirmed, trying to get away, but Nick's arm held her firmly in place. Suddenly, 'though, Sara's arm hit Nick in the chest, making him 'oomph' and let go of her as she toppled, again, to the floor, laughing breathlessly.
Nick rubbed at his chest gingerly, but grinned down at his girlfriend, who smiled back, eyes dancing. Warrick, still leaning against the back of the couch , shook his head, laughing slightly at his best friends. The happy moment was interrupted, however, by Grissom noisily banging into the room.
"Lets go." Was all he said before he was gone from the room again.
The trio shared bewildered looks and scrambled to their feet and after their boss. They followed after Grissom, who led them though the halls and out to the parking lot. There, he gave them an address and then got into his Tahoe and speeding away.
"What-?" Warrick asked, staring after the elder man with a furrowed brow.
Nick and Sara shrugged, befuddled themselves. The trio shrugged before getting into their respective cars and driving away to the address.
Catherine was waiting for them when they got there. As were dozens of reporters held back from the one-story bungalow house with police tape.
The quartet stepped under the line and into the front hallway where Grissom was already waiting. The four younger CSIs stared expectantly at him.
Grissom sighed softly and then began the explanation, "Alexandria Enders was 18 when she was raped by 3 separate men after being abducted on her way home from school. The men had planned to kill her but were interrupted and she got away. However, she also ended up pregnant-her daughter Elizabeth is now 16. Their neighbours heard yelling, screams and then a couple of gunshots.
"The responding officer found this," Grissom led them into the living room of the house, where the man lay face up on the ground with a shot through the chest and one that grazed his forehead, surrounded by a pool of blood, "Both Alexandria and Elizabeth are missing. Neighbour who called it in said he heard a car speeding away from the house.
"I'll take upstairs," Nick said, face grim.
"We'll take up stairs," Warrick corrected, following the Texan from the room.
"I'll check the exits," Sara said, following after them.
"Gil, since when have you called victims by their first names?" Catherine asked curiously after a few minutes of silently gathering evidence.
Grissom
sighed wearily, raising his eyes to Catherine as he answered sadly,
"Since the victims are my daughter and granddaughter."
XoXoXoXo
Reggie woke the next morning still in Greg's arms. Sleepily, she tilted her head up to see his face, to find him grinning down at her, threading some of her hair gently through his fingers.
"Morning baby," he grinned softly, brushing a gentle kiss on her forehead.
"G'morning," Reggie yawned sleepily, laying her head back down and snuggling closer to him, unwilling to be dragged from sleep.
Greg chuckled lightly, his arm tightening slightly around her as he settled back against the pillows, resuming his earlier activity of watching Reggie. Not the creepy-stalker kind of watching, but the how-on-earth-did-I-ever-manage-to-find-the-woman-that-I-love kind of watching.
Because Greg was in love, head-over-heels, irretrievably lost in her. Reggie could match his wild side, but could also match his intellectual side-and she wasn't creeped out by the dead body aspect of his job like most of his ex-es had been.
Taking a deep breath, he whispered softly, "Hey Reg?"
"Yea?" Reggie asked on a sigh, having given up on the fruitless attempt to regain her sleep-and the dream with her and Greg.
"You awake?"
"No, I talk coherently in my sleep all the time," Reggie teased gently, lifting her head to grin at him, but instead finding herself drowning in a sharp breath at the love she found in the honey-brown gaze.
"I love you, Regina Lauren Sidle," he whispered softly, "God only knows how I know that after only a week, but I do."
"Oh Greg," she smiled, her eyes filling with tears as she sniffled, "I love you too."
"Good," Greg grinned, his smile from ear to ear as his eyes danced with laughter.
No less than 2 seconds later, he couldn't contain himself anymore. He gave a loud 'whoop' of laughter and happiness, crushing Reggie to his body, making her laugh aloud as she joined his excitement before crashing her lips to his.
The
kiss was long and lingering; short and wild; sensuous and gentle;
rough and sexy; out-of-this-world; languorous anything and everything
but, always, it held their love for each other.
XoXoXoXo
"Hey 'Rick, what's this look like to you?" Nick asked, gazing curiously at a blob of liquid on the floor at the top of the stairs.
Warrick came out of the master bedroom and crouched opposite the Texan. Both men cocked their heads curiously at the dark purple liquid that had pieces of glass and some blood mixed in with it.
"Dunno," Warrick answered, taking out a pair of tweezers and pulling a piece of glass from the liquid. Frowning, he held it up, asking curiously, "What is it this from?"
Nick frowned thoughtfully before suggesting, "Maybe the liquid was in a glass in one of the vic's hands and she dropped it, maybe cut her foot-could have nothing at all to do with this."
"Or everything," Warrick murmured, slipping the piece of glass into an evidence envelope.
Nick pulled his own tweezers out of his kit-after taking a couple of pictures-and bent to help Warrick remove the rest of the glass. Warrick had just taken a swab of the liquid to bring back to Hodges when a yell interrupted the semi-quiet of the house.
"WHAT?" Catherine screeched from the living room.
Nick and Warrick shared an uncertain look, but the sound of Sara's footsteps moving to the living room decided for them. Leaving their kits where they were, the pair moved swiftly down the stairs and into the living room, careful not to disturb any evidence.
"What's wrong?" Nick asked as he and Warrick stepped into the living room moments after Sara, to find Grissom rubbing a weary hand over his face, with Catherine gaping stupidly at him a few steps away.
"Grissom. Daughter. Granddaughter," Catherine spluttered incoherently
"What? Cath, relax." Warrick frowned in concern, crossing quickly to her side.
Grissom sighed, "The victims are my daughter and granddaughter.
"What?" the three younger CSIs gaped.
Grissom
sighed again, suddenly looking his age as he said, "I didn't know
them until a couple of weeks ago, Alex's mom didn't want me to
know. I'll explain more of it later, but just get back to work now,
please! We have to find them."
XoXoXoXo
"Hungry, babe?" Greg asked, hours later, glancing across the basement at Reggie, who was elbow deep in boxes.
The pair had gotten up and gotten dressed soon after they'd woken up. After a quick breakfast, the pair had descended to the basement to decide what Reggie wanted to keep and what she was going to pass on to nieces or nephews or Goodwill. And then, of course, they'd have to start re-packing everything to fit into the U-Haul truck with enough room for the furniture she had stashed away in a storage locker.
"Yea," Reggie yawned, pulling more knickknacks from a box before standing. Stretching languorously, she padded to Greg's side, where he'd been re-packing the stuff Reggie wanted, and slipped her hand into his, grinning up at him, "C'mon, fieldmouse, let's go raid Nate's fridge. He won't know, since he's not here!"
Greg laughed, starting the trek through the maze of boxes, her hand held firmly in his, as he asked, "Where did he go, anyway?"
"He met a guy a few days before I left for Vegas and he's been seeing him since. They went out to lunch and then Nate's bringing him back to meet us before we leave," she answered, willingly letting him lead the way.
"But we're not leaving until the day after tomorrow," Greg said, finally reaching the stairs and stepping back to let her lead the way up.
"Yea, but Eric-the boyfriend- has some kind of meeting tomorrow," Reggie answered as they ascended the stairs.
"Oh, that's cool," Greg answered, stepping out after Reggie and shutting the basement door after himself before joking, "Should I expect more talk about what a 'stud' I am?"
Reggie laughed, shaking her head at him, but the doorbell rang before she could reply. Reggie sighed, throwing a longing glance towards the kitchen but changing direction to answer the door. Greg laughed lightly at her, shaking his head before grabbing her wrist, spinning her around back to the kitchen.
Kissing the back of her now-exposed neck, he said, "You start the sandwiches and I'll get the door."
"Thanks Greggy," she grinned, throwing a grin back at him over her shoulder as she began retreating to the kitchen.
Greg grinned devilishly at her, swatting her bottom before turning back to the door. Opening the door, his cheerful grin faded as he was met by Betty Peterson.
"Hello," Greg said solemnly, his eyes hard, "I'm afraid Nate's not here, but I'm sure he'll call you when he gets in."
"I'd like to speak to Regina," Betty said coldly, sneering contemptuously at Greg.
Greg's eyes flashed angrily at the look she'd given him and he responded just as coldly, "I'm afraid Reggie isn't available at the moment."
"They left you alone in this house?" Betty screeched indignantly.
"I didn't say that, did I?" Greg demanded calmly, 'though his snapping eyes betrayed him, "I said that Reggie isn't available at the moment."
"She'll see me," Betty said with rude certainty.
"Actually," Greg said coldly, "I think you're the last person she wants to see after the way you treated her last night.
"Listen, -George, was it?- this is none of your business so just go get my daughter." Betty spat rudely.
"It's Greg, and, considering the fact that I love your daughter very much, I think it is my business since the only thing you can seem to do is hurt her," Greg returned, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got better things to do."
"No, I will not excuse you, you arrogant brat!" Betty screamed, shoving the door open wider in an attempt to intimidate Greg, who remained unfazed.
Drawn by the raised voices, Reggie came out of the kitchen. Her mouth dropped open in surprise at the sight of her boyfriend and her mother nose-to-nose, growling angrily, but neither party noticed her.
"I think you should leave, Mrs. Peterson. When you come back and talk to Reggie, you better be a hell of a lot calmer," Greg said, his tone finally letting his anger show, his lips curling as he added, "And sober."
"You can't speak to me like that you damn bastard!" Betty screeched, even as Timothy, in a black Honda Civic up along the curb, "Let me talk to my daughter!"
"No!" Greg angrily refused, as Timothy jumped from his car, his face livid as he strode up the driveway, but Greg continued anyway, "You are a selfish, spiteful bitch, Betty Peterson. Your daughter, who isn't even related to you, still loves you anyway, despite all the bullshit you've put her through!"
"You son of a bitch!" Betty shrieked hysterically, her hand flying out of nowhere to connect hard with Greg's cheek.
"Greg!" Reggie shrieked with concern, at the same time that Timothy reached the door, racing towards her lover.
"I'm okay Reggie," he assured her, his eyes sad as she gently touched his already reddening cheek.
"Betty," Timothy ground out angrily, grabbing her arm in a vice-like grip, "Get out of here!"
"You can't-!"
"Get out of here!" Tim yelled angrily, forcefully propelling her down the two steps and to her car where he opened the door for her and pushed her in.
"God, Greg, I'm sorry," Reggie whispered tearfully, gently tracing the print mark on his cheek, "I'm sorry."
"Hey now, it's not your fault, baby," Greg answered softly, wrapping her tiny fingers into his larger ones and gently kissing her knuckles, "It's not your fault, Reggie, I provoked her into it."
Reggie pulled back, swiping at the tears on her cheeks as, her eyes blazing, she said angrily, "It's not your fault either, Greg, it's hers! She just doesn't know how to be a normal human being, a normal mother!"
Suddenly, Reggie's tears were flowing harder and she collapsed into Greg's arms, not noticing her mother squealing out of the driveway or her father remounting the steps. Greg's arms closed securely around her and he murmured soft assurances in her ear, letting her cry into his chest without complaint.
She cried for her mother, a woman who'd once been her best friend, until Reggie had started her search for her biological family, for the woman who'd taught her to love life to it's fullest but who couldn't live up to it in the end. She cried for herself, for the young woman who could no longer gain the approval of her own mother no matter what she did, not like she could have before she'' started her search.
But Greg's arms held her securely, letting her know without words that she was safe, that she was loved. And she clung to him, letting him support her for just a little while.
"C'mon, baby. Let's go inside," Greg said softly, pressing his lips to her hair before gently leading her into the house, nodding expressionlessly at Tim as the older man followed.
Entering Nate's living room, Greg sat on the couch, pulling Reggie onto his lip, unselfconscious despite her father's presence in the room. Reggie just clung to him, unaware of anything but the sadness her mother caused in her and of Greg's warm presence.
Tim stood in the doorway, silently watching the scene unfold before him. He watched his daughter-his youngest child and only daughter, his baby- safely enveloped in a man-whom he didn't know, but who gazed at his daughter with so much love it was almost painful-'s arms
And
all he could do was smile.
XoXoXoXo
A/N Hey people! What's up? Sorry about the wait guys, but it's going to be like that for about two more weeks, 'cuz I've got exams coming up and I've got to cram. But I'll do my best, kay? Well, gotta jet!
Luv,
Red