Chapter Nine – Revelation

Strolling through the grocery store with his crumpled shopping list in his hand, Greg sighed, wishing he was anywhere but here right now. Grocery shopping had to be one of the most boring chores of his adult life. He would rather be knee deep in sludge, searching for clues to a case than stuck going aisle to aisle searching for every last item they needed on his list. He stopped short of the frozen food aisle, watching a man and his wife or girlfriend arguing over which bag of frozen peas to buy. She barked something back at the man in Spanish, throwing the bag of frozen peas that she wanted into their cart.

He wished Nick was here so they could argue over frozen vegetables.

Greg lowered his gaze as they stormed past him, feeling his phone vibrating against his hip. "Ugh Mom, at least give me an hour to myself." He groaned, sensing exactly who it was before he even answered it. He knew he shouldn't have told her that he still had a few days off from the lab. She saw it as a chance to constantly hassle him about every little detail of his life.

He thought she would ease off now she knew about Nick and him, but her fears seemed to have only doubled.

With a sigh, Greg plucked his phone from his pocket, smiling as he saw another name flashing across his screen. He immediately felt butterflies bubbling in his stomach, feeling like a kid on Christmas morning. "Hey. Is your shift really that boring without me, Tex?"

"Completely. Even the criminals are dull." Nick ducked into the locker room, popping open the lock to grab his things. "I'm actually on my way out. Cath and I finished up early. Suspect was too stupid to cover his tracks. Where you at?"

"I took the hint over that grocery list you stuffed inside my favourite coffee mug."

"I thought that might get your attention." He chuckled softly, perching himself on the bench to change his shoes. "I figured since you're off for the next three days you could restock the cupboards. You know since you ate most of my food anyway. I didn't realise how much you tucked away until you were livin' with me twenty four seven. Are you almost done?"

"Uh," Greg struggled to straighten out his list, trying to figure out how much he had actually picked up. "All I have left is… your shaving foam to find and I assume the 'something for dinner question mark' part means I have to figure out what to buy."

"That's the general idea, G. For tomorrow night. It's the first day of a whole new year, so I figured we could eat in together." Pulling his jacket on over his shoulders, he smirked, "And you used up all my shavin' foam. You left the empty can on the shelf. I cut myself twice with the razor tryin' to shave this mornin'." He smoothed his fingertips across his shredded jaw line. "I didn't realise you shaved so much before we actually started livin' together and sharin' everythin'."

"Any regrets on that part?"

"On livin' with you full time?" The man paused a moment to keep him in suspense. "Never. This is what I've wanted all along. I'll just have to double stock all the stuff you like to borrow."

"It grows quickly and you buy the sensitive stuff that doesn't make my skin burn." Greg stroked his chin, feeling some spiky bits of stubble already. "You're so lucky you only have to shave every three or four days. I'm surprised you even managed to grow that porn stash at the rate your hair grows."

"Yeah that was a bad choice." Nick rubbed his lip as he closed up his locker. "I was goin' through a phase. I used to have a full goatee back in Texas. I thought it would make me more dateable but I could only get it grow on my lip evenly without it lookin' like I had mange."

"Now that I would have liked to see," Greg tried to picture the man of his dreams with a full goatee. "The goatee not the mange." He clarified, before he realised what he had said. "Wait, more dateable? Whose attention were you trying to get by growing this extra facial hair?"

"I can't tell you that. My fiancé might get jealous." Nick laughed into his phone, nodding to Catherine as she stepped into the locker room. "Hey, do you want to join us for some drinks later? Catherine said she's buyin'."

Catherine rolled her eyes at the man, retrieving her purse from her locker. "I said one round only. I'm on a budget after Christmas. I'll see you there later. I have to pick Lindsey up from her friends and take her round to my mother's. We're off to see the fireworks display for the kids." She waved goodbye to him as she left the room, bumping into Warrick just in time to remind him about their little gathering.

"Drinks for New Years?" Greg queried, heading for the men's hygiene aisle in the store. "I thought you didn't like the whole party scene around New Years Eve?"

"I don't. Not really." He combed his fingers back through his hair, checking the familiar signs of exhaustion around his eyes in the mirror. He really needed a good night sleep, but he wasn't about to pass up the opportunity to be out with his friends and fiancé. "It's just a few people from graveyard shift. We never get to celebrate things like this and we kinda deserve it after the last year we've had. You deserve it more than anyone and I kinda want a traditional New Year's kiss with my fiancé in public."

"We kissed last year." Greg reminded him, not falling for his buttering up attempt. "By the Bellagio fountain. It was practically our first public kiss."

"Yeah but we were the only two people there and you weren't my fiancé then." He pointed out to him. He cleared his throat, asking, "Are you sayin' you don't want to go out with me tonight, G? We're not even down the aisle yet and you're already turnin' down the chance to spend a night out with me?"

"Nice manipulation technique, Tex." Greg smiled into his phone, finally landing his hand on the shaving foam for sensitive skin. He rolled his eyes, giving out a heavy sigh. "Fine, I'll go with you. If that's what your heart really desires. Wow complete role reversal there. I thought I was the party guy and you were the guy who would rather stay at home and watch TV."

"You're getting' old, G." He playfully teased him.

"Maybe I'm a bad influence on you, but you're a good influence on me. My Mom will be thrilled." He giggled. "Have you already eaten?"

"No, I'm about to." He waved to his colleague through the window of the door. "Warrick's buyin' me dinner. It's a chance for us to catch up, but I promise you'll have me all to yourself tomorrow night."

"Okay, when and where?"

"It's a new club on the strip," Nick retrieved the card from his pocket that Catherine had given him earlier. "It's called The Ivory Vortex. Cath said around eleven thirty."

"You're inviting me out to a strip club on New Years?" Greg spoke a little too loudly, receiving some odd looks from the other shoppers. He cleared his throat, presenting an older lady with a warm smile as he hurried down another aisle that wasn't so busy.

"It's not a strip club." Nick assured him. "Trust me; it's better than it sounds. From Catherine's description it's a place the rich and powerful go after a long day of work to get away from the common riff raff. It says on the card that it has a classy cocktail bar with a dance floor and a live DJ playin' easy listenin' music. She has connections now, so she managed to get us reservations under Willows. Will I see you there?"

"I guess." He answered rather unenthusiastically.

"I can come get you if you're worried about…"

"It's fine." He cut the man off. "I'll be there."

"Alright, I love you."

"Love you more." Greg snapped his phone shut with a sigh, realising he was stood in front of a large selection of pregnancy tests. "That's just perfect." He shoved his phone back into his pocket, feeling his nostrils tingling from a familiar smell. He tilted his head to one side, realising why. "Sara?"

"Huh," The startled woman dropped what she was holding, turning to face the man. "Greg? Oh, hi," She lunged forwards to hug her pseudo baby brother tightly in her embrace. "What are you doing here?" She was relieved to see his normal features back. The last time she saw him he was still a swollen bruise. She could still see the evidence of old wounds that hadn't quite healed yet, but he was finally starting to look like his old self again.

"Grocery shopping." He held up the list from his hand as evidence. "You're back. It feels like you've been gone for weeks. Where did you go? I didn't even see you after I got out of hospital." He cast his eyes downwards, feeling the blood draining from his face as he saw what she had dropped. "No way. I knew it!"

"Shh," She put her finger to her lips, leaning closer to whisper, "Please Greg, you can't tell anyone. I haven't even told the father yet."

"You mean you already know? Wait it is," Greg checked their surroundings to make sure they were alone, before he whispered, "Grissom, right?"

"Yes," She hissed back, her cheeks burning an even brighter shade of red. She struggled to catch her breath as her nerves bubbled their way to the surface. "I can't believe this is happening. I'm not the kind of person who forgets to use birth control or something to stop this kind of thing from happening. I've never had the desire to be a mother. I never exactly had one that I could really look up to growing up. There's no way I would ever want to inflict my childhood on someone else…"

"Sara," He grabbed her hand to keep her stable. He had seen enough panic attacks to know that she was on the verge of having one. "Just breathe." Greg gave her a reassuring smile as she lifted her gaze to meet his. "You're going to be okay. Better than okay, you'll be amazing."

"You don't know that."

"Yeah, I do." His smile spread a little wider. "Sara, you're not your parents. Your mother didn't raise you. You talk about your foster mothers all the time. They raised you right. Taught you right from wrong, made you into the woman you are today. You'll be an amazing mother because you know what the alternative is like."

Sara cracked the slightest smile, quickly retrieving the box from the floor. She shoved it into her basket under a few other things, feeling her heart rate starting to normalise again. "Please don't tell anyone about this. Not even Nick. I don't want anyone else to know."

"I won't." He made a cross over his heart. "I promise."

"Is it corny to tell the father on New Year's Eve? I don't even know how he feels about kids. He'll go out of his way to avenge the murder of one on a case, but he does everything he can to avoid speaking to them if they're around the lab."

"I don't know. I think he's always gotten on pretty well with Lindsey." Greg pointed out to her. "I don't think it's corny at all. You know if he doesn't give you the answer you're hoping for, I'm always…"

"Greg," She frowned at him. "You're with Nick now."

"Here for you." He finished his original sentence, flashing her one of his adorable smiles. "I'll always love you Sara, just not in the way that I love Nick. I should have known you preferred older guys." He sucked in a breath. "You can introduce me to your baby as Uncle Greg. I've always wanted to be a cool uncle. They can brag about me to all their friends. And I'll even babysit. Not when they're a baby. I can't do all that messy diapers and constant tears stuff. But when they're talking and walking around, I'm your guy."

"Thank you, Greg." She leant forwards, giving him another quick hug. "I was terrified about coming back here. Now I feel like I never should have left, especially you… I couldn't have picked a worse time to walk out on you."

"I'm fine." Giving her his best smile, he assured her, "I really don't need a crowd of people constantly hovering around me to make sure I'm okay. It's the exact opposite of what I want at the moment, but I am glad you're back. The lab hasn't been the same without you."

"Really?" She gave him a surprised look. "You're back to work already?"

"Yeah. Well they've shackled me to the lab for now. I'm on strictly light duties until Ecklie and Grissom decide that I'm no longer made of glass. I can't wait to get back out into the field."

"I'm sure Grissom just wants to make sure you're ready before you step foot out in the field again." Placing her hand over her heart, Sara whispered, "He's always had a soft spot for the people on his team. I swear he thinks of you all like his own children. He would never admit that part, but he worries more than a supervisor should." She took a step back, letting another customer by them to grab herself a pregnancy test. She looked as though she was still in High school, barely able to take care of herself let alone a newborn, bringing Sara's anxiety back.

If she couldn't handle a baby then what chance did Sara have?

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah," Sara shook herself out of her thoughts. "Can we please get out of this aisle now? We're surrounded by pregnancy tests and diapers. It's a little obvious if anyone sees us."

"Sure." He turned his shopping cart around, getting them back to safety. "Do you have a few minutes to spare for a coffee with an old friend?"

Sara returned his smile. "I'll always have time for you, Greg. I've got a few hours to work up the courage to finally tell Gil that he's going to be a father anyway." She gripped her basket a little tighter to her stomach.

"No offence intended, but I don't think presenting a pee stick to a man is a way to his heart."

"Yeah," Sara quietly concurred. "Oh, I got one of those scan things if you want to see it." She remembered, rifling through her handbag to find it. "Here… damn," She smoothed out the crumpled image in her hands. "This was going to be my first choice to tell him."

Greg took the crumpled image from her hands, giving it a curious look. "I've never really had the chance to study one these in detail, but this looks pretty baby sized, not one of those weird alien shrimp things that you usually see and have to nod along as they point out the parts to you."

"Yeah… I know," Sara silently followed him through the store for a moment, before she admitted, "I'm twenty four weeks. It's a girl. They told me at my last scan. I've known that I was pregnant for a while… I was just hoping that it would go or wait until I was ready to deal with it. After what happened to you, I was terrified that I might lose it being at the lab, so I had to leave to clear my head a bit. I know what I want now… I'm just terrified that he won't want the same."

"You won't know until you tell him." He pointed out the obvious to her.

"Yeah… I know." She sighed softly, wishing they could stop talking about this. It was all she had been thinking about for the past few weeks and it was really starting to get on her nerves. "So, what's going on with you and Nick? Are you doing anything for New Years?"

"I'm being dragged out to a club against my will for a few drinks, but we're good. Actually, I have a little announcement of my own to tell you."

"Oh god, you're not pregnant too are you?" She teased him.

"No." Greg shook his head. "I properly proposed to Nick finally and I have a little surprise laid out for him."

"You proposed to Nick?"

"Yes." He laughed at her response. "Who else would I marry?"

"I thought he already proposed to you. Is that how it works with guys?" She found them a reasonably empty checkout on the end.

"I don't know. I'm kinda making it up as I go along." He cracked a grin. "If you buy me a coffee I'll tell you all about it."

"Deal." Sara set her basket on the conveyor belt, giving the young pimple faced cashier a smile.

"En-gaged?" The word caught in Catherine's throat. She set her wine glass down to avoid throwing it everywhere. The music was pretty loud in the club and there were lots of people talking all around them, so maybe she just misheard him. "Seriously, Greg and you… engaged? You've only been dating for five minutes; don't you think this is rushing into things?"

"Two years." Nick drunkenly corrected her. "I've been datin' him for two amazin' years. You've only known for a few weeks, but we've been together for just over two years now. And yes I'm serious about him and I want to marry him because I love him more than anythin' in this whole wide world. And he totally gets me. You know when you just click with someone instantly and you're like… where have you been my whole life?" He dreamily stared off into the distance. "Greg gets me."

"But do you get Greg is the real question?" Catherine cackled.

"Wow," Mandy took a second look at the ring on his finger. "Go on then, tell us the juicy details."

Nick shook his head, waving his finger in the air. "I don't kiss and tell."

"Unless it's a fake story about one of your ladies," Hodges remarked, wishing he had never bothered to come with them. There was still no sign of Wendy and the evening wasn't getting any better the more his colleagues drank. "Why do people even celebrate this?"

"Oh cheer up," Mandy groaned, pushing another shot in his direction. "Get that down your neck."

"I'm not really one for shots." Hodges pushed it away.

"Wait, wait," Catherine ran her fingers back through her hair, pointing a finger at Nick. "Greg proposed to you over Christmas? How did he do it exactly?"

Nick polished off his ring, trying to remember all the details. "Well, he promised me this big surprise. We were drivin' for about… twenty, thirty minutes, before we arrived at his favourite spot in the world. The beach where he practically spent his childhood with his father. It was freezin' cold in the water, but he gave me a whole speech of how he used to go there as a kid and picture his life when he was older."

"Aww," She cooed. "Who ever thought Greg Sanders would be capable of romance?"

"There's many things you don't know about, Greg."

"I need the ladies." Mandy finished her drink, slamming her glass down against the bar. She searched around for her bag, before she attempted to get up. "Catherine?"

"No, I'm good. I want to hear more about this. Let's see the ring again," Catherine leant over the bar, watching the man clenching his fist to present the ring to her. "Oh, very nice." She studied it closer, noticing the tarnish around the edges. "Oh, I thought with Greg's salary he could afford something a little more high end. Did he win it in a pinball game or something?"

"Hey, it's a family heirloom." Nick stared at the ring in admiration, giving it another quick polish with the sleeve of his shirt. He took it off around the lab to protect it from damage or theft, wearing it on a chain around his neck instead. His finger felt vacant without it. The constant reminder of it felt as though a small part of Greg was always with him. "It's priceless."

"Well in that case, I'm very happy for you. Both of you." Patting her colleague on the shoulders, Catherine gave him a smile, before she motioned for the bar tender to refill their empty glasses. "Same again. Where are the others?" She glanced at her watch. "They're going to miss it at this rate."

"Lab. Work. Same old, same old." Mandy returned from the ladies with a fresh coat of red lipstick, plopping herself down on one of the bar stools. "I'm back there as soon as this little celebration is over."

"Better stay away from the hard stuff then." Catherine slid the tequila shot away from her colleague, ordering her a water instead. "Ecklie will have my head if he hears about our little celebration in the middle of a shift."

"I'm off shift." Nick grabbed his beer bottle by the neck, taking a quick swig.

"Some New Year's Celebration this is gonna be." With less than four minutes to go, Catherine didn't have high hopes that she was going to get a kiss from her favourite man this year either. "Well, just us three then."

"Four." Hodges reminded them that he was still there, drowning his sorrows in a perfectly aged scotch.

"As if anyone could forget about you," Catherine presented the man with a smile, putting her back to the bar to search for a good looking man in the crowd. "If push comes to shove for the midnight kiss, I think you should take Hodges and I'll take Mandy." She teased her newly engaged colleague. "We could always kiss and leave the nerds to an awkward lip lock."

"I'll pass, thanks." Nick pulled his phone out to check for any messages, hoping his fiancé got here soon. Since Ecklie finally heard the rumour floating around the lab that they were dating, he had put a limit on the hours they spent together at the lab. He had barely seen him for more than four hours since they got back from Greg's parents in California.

"How are you coping being on separate shifts?" Catherine gently elbowed his side, recognising the look in his eyes. "You miss him, don't you?"

"Like a heartbeat." He smirked. "It's not all bad. We're both still under Grissom's supervision, so there's no chance of a repeat of what happened before. It was pretty exhaustin' tryin' to keep the whole thing secret in the first place, so it makes me a little relieved that we are finally out. But on the other hand, I want things at the lab to stay as normal as possible. I've already got some looks and the obvious back away and avoid from the deputies isn't exactly comfortin'. If I was in danger on a scene, would they actually help me or be too afraid to go near me?"

"It won't be forever." Catherine placed her hand on his. "Look at it this way, you're finding out who your true friends are. I was pretty shocked when I heard the news. I mean Greg was pretty obvious. He's into all kinds of kink and he's been known to date girls and guys ever since he started at the lab, but you've always been the sweet talking ladies man."

"I'm not a ladies man though."

"No, your Greg's man." She cheekily giggled. "That's what shocked most people. It's like finding out Santa isn't real for most of the women around the lab. Don't forget you actually dated a few of them in the early days. Jacqui feels like you used her to boost your rep or something."

"It was just dinner. We didn't even kiss and she paid for her own meal. It wasn't a date in any way shape or form."

"Okay then," She racked her brain, trying to think of another lady let down by the lab hotty. "How about Davina Granger from the sheriff's department? Correct me if I'm wrong, but you guys dated for at least three weeks before you broke up with her. You must have kissed her at least once."

Nick nodded his head slightly, throwing back another swig of his beer. "I did. We only went on a few dates before she started bringin' up marriage and kids."

"So you two never…?" She pried.

"Nope. She tried though. She booked us a hotel room, cracked open the mini bar as soon as I arrived and tried to get me into bed. She ended up drinkin' herself into a coma from the nerves. I left her sleepin' while I hit the hotel bar."

"What about Sofia?"

"Hey, she kissed me." He protested. "I almost fell down a set of stairs when she did that. She caught me completely off guard."

Catherine threw her head back in laughter, tapping the back of his hand. "Of course, you're just a victim to your good looks." She giggled softly. "Do you have an excuse for every woman you dated?"

"Yes." Nick gave her a grin. "I'm gay, Cath. I dated women to fit in. I'm not proud of it, but I never took advantage of anyone."

"Mmhmm," She hummed, breathing in a deep breath before she brought up a painful moment from his past. "What about Kristy Hopkins? Was that all just to cover up who you really were?"

Nick softly bit his bottom lip, before he shook his head. "No. I… I really liked her. I knew what she was and what she did for a livin', but I felt a connection to her. I was lonely. I could never tell my family or anyone else who I really was. Kristy… her folks threw her out on the streets when she was still just a kid. She never had a chance to be somebody. Before she died, she wanted to make things better. She had plans to go back to school, get out of that life. I kinda admired her for that."

"Did you love her?"

"No. It wasn't that kind of relationship." Nick shook his head, tipping back his beer bottle. He gulped it down, wiping his lips with the back of his hand. "Yes we had sex, you already know that. I can't be the first gay man to sleep with a woman for comfort. Besides, she wanted to repay me for savin' her from Jack. I hadn't been with anyone in three, four years before her." He confessed. "It wasn't for love or anythin' like that. It was for a connection with another person. It helped me feel a little less lonely, empty inside. Greg is so much more to me than that. He gets me."

"Wow," Catherine grabbed her full glass of wine, giving out a soft sigh. "I always thought you just did it for a quick roll in the sack with a babe like her. What red blooded man wouldn't want to bed a beautiful woman like that?" She sighed softly. "I'm surprised you didn't try to find yourself a male prostitute."

"I'm not really into the payin' for sex thing." Nick chuckled softly, shaking his head at her. He leaned in a little closer, whispering, "I was a virgin before, Greg."

"Greg popped your cherry, huh?" She grinned into her glass of wine. "You don't want to play the field a little before he drags you down the aisle?"

"I've done other things with guys." He enlightened the woman. "Greg's the first one that I really let inside. He knows all my secrets, he always knows how to cheer me up or calm me down and he won't have to drag me anywhere. I'll go willingly. I love him more than anythin' in the world. He really gets me."

"Naw, you're so drunk on Greg." She put her arm around him, adoring the look in his eyes. "You've got yourself a keeper there, Nicky. Apart from the fact that he's about to miss kissing his fiancé on New Year's eve, he's okay in my books."

"He'll be here. He promised me." Nick nodded. "Greg always keeps his promises."

"I guess we'll find out."

"Oh, this is it." Mandy checked the time on her phone. "Ready for the countdown? A whole new year awaits us. Look out 2007, here we come!"

"Ten… nine… eight…" The crowd in the bar started the countdown.

Hodges tapped his empty glass, watching the young bartender topping it up while he checked his messages. He was still waiting for Wendy to return his last text, but he feared he had ruined it for good with her after he cancelled on her for plans with his mother.

"Seven… six…"

Mandy slipped the bartender a few bills while Catherine was distracted, ordering herself a set of shots to drown her sorrows. Another year single and alone while her little sister was about to bring baby number three into the world. It wasn't fair.

"Well, just you and me, Nicky." Catherine turned to look at the man, giving him a warm smile.

"Not quite." Nick lowered his beer, lighting up at the sight of a beautiful young man pushing his way through the crowd trying to find a partner. He ditched his beer on the side to meet him halfway, taking the man into his arms.

"Three… two… one… Happy New Year!"

After a tender kiss, Greg stroked his fiancé's cheek, whispering, "Happy New Year, Nicky."

"You made it." Nick tightly embraced him in his arms.

"Of course I did." He adorably giggled, initiating another kiss as the crowd started to scream in excitement. "Did you doubt me?"

"Not even for a second. Mm, I missed you." He kissed him again, instantly feeling the tension of his night at the lab draining away. "Celebratin' New Years Eve without you didn't feel right. I'm glad you made it." Nick hugged him a little tighter in his arms, gently swaying their bodies together as the music started up again. "Come dance with me."

"Not yet. I need you to come outside." Greg gently pulled away. "I have a surprise for you."

"A surprise?" Nick furrowed his brow. "What kind of a surprise?"

"It wouldn't be a surprise if I just blurted it out, would it?" He cracked a grin, leading the man by the hand. "Come outside. C'mon, don't you trust me?"

Nick returned his smile. "I trust you with my life."

Catherine watched the two men leaving the bar, sighing heavily as she turned to face the cute young bartender. She adjusted her blouse to show off a little more cleavage, ushering him closer to order another drink. "Looks like you got a raw deal working on a night like this."

"It's not so bad." The younger man shrugged. "I've got two weeks off after this. I'm taking my boyfriend to San Francisco to meet the folks. We're getting married in January."

Catherine sighed again. Of course he was gay. He was cute, good looking and he could actually smile unlike her late husband. She raised her glass, throwing back the shot with one gulp. "Congratulations. I think I'll call it a night." She grabbed her purse from the bar stool, pushing her way through the lovey dovey couples towards the exit.

Bursting through the doors of the bar, Catherine breathed in a deep breath of fresh air, ready to call it a night and head home to her daughter. She paused at the edge of the parking lot, watching Greg covering his hands over the man's eyes as he led him to his car.

"Okay stop," Greg kept his hands over his eyes. "Keep those eyes closed. No peeking." He cautiously took a step away from him, popping open the back door to his car. He returned to Nick's side, playfully jabbing his hip. "Okay, you can open your eyes now."

Nick slowly opened his eyes, blinking his eyes together a few times in disbelief. "Wh-what are you doin' here?"

"Surprise! Happy New Year, baby brother!" His sister, Vicki threw her arms around her brother's shoulders first. She was wearing a glittery pink sash over her cocktail dress with a fluffy tiara in her brunette hair. "I haven't hugged you this hard since you left for college." She laughed in his ear.

"My turn." His other sister, Gwen tipsily stumbled into him.

"Are you drunk, sis?" He chuckled softly, holding her upright.

"Best New Years Ever!" She declared to the world. "We should definitely do this more often."

"Stop embarrassing yourself, Gwendolyn." Jillian scolded her daughter, clambering out of the car. "Hello, sweetheart."

Nick had tears in his as he moved toward her, hugging her gently in his embrace. He really wished he hadn't drunk so much. He didn't even know if this was real or some elaborate fantasy.

"Oh sweetheart," Jillian Stokes gently smoothed her hand up and down her son's back. "I love you so much. Never forget that. I am so sorry for everythin' that I said or did to you when you trusted us with this." She pulled back, gently stroking her fingers through his tears. "Your father would have come, but he wasn't feelin' too good and didn't quite fancy a girls night out on the town." She snickered softly. "When Greg told me that you were planning on getting married, I thought I'd hop on a plane to show you my support and your sisters wanted to come with me."

"You did this, G?" He looked towards his fiancé.

Greg nodded his head. "I know you've been feeling like you didn't have any love or support from back home. My family threw us a mini engagement party after I gave you my Papa Olaf's ring and I saw the look in your eyes, especially when my Mom started talking about the guest list. You were worried that none of your family would come, so I called your Mom to prove to you that you have their support."

Jillian took her son's hand, giving him a warm smile. "Honey, I am so very proud of you. Of course you have my support." She squeezed his hand in her own. "All I've ever wanted is for you kids to be happy. I thought you having a good job, a steady income and a nice home of your own meant you were happy. I didn't realise how unhappy you were until you brought Greg home with you. I admit I was very cold towards him in the beginning," She gave the younger man an apologetic smile. "I wasn't ready to meet him. You had only just told us that you were… I needed a moment to digest it before I met him, but that's no excuse for the things your father and I said in the beginning. We were ignorant."

"It's not your fault, Mama."

"We were. Don't make excuses for us. We own up to our mistake. Your Aunt Georgia's daughter killed herself because she worried her family would never accept her for being a lesbian. And one of your father's cousins tried to hang himself in his college dorm after he had a one night stand with another man. Thankfully his roommate found him before any damage was done, but his family didn't exactly welcome him back with open arms after he tried to commit suicide,"

"Oh Mama," Gwen stopped her there. "We're supposed to be celebrating. Don't be so morbid. I am way too drunk to have this conversation. And Nicky looks as though he's about to pass out."

The drunks snickered softly.

"Sorry, sorry," Jillian adjusted the tiara on her head, giving her son a smile. "My point was I don't want you to feel as though that's your only way out of this." She clutched his hand a little tighter, looking into his big brown eyes. "I would rather have you alive than anything else. Your happiness is more important than anything else, especially after what you've been through. I won't turn my back on you. Greg is a decent man and I'm looking forward to getting to know him better."

"Thank you, Mrs Stokes." Greg gave the woman a smile.

"You are most welcome, sweetheart." She reached out for the younger man's hand, looking between the two men. "I would absolutely love to come to your wedding. I would even like to help you plan it, if that's not too much to ask. Nicky tells me that he loves you with all his heart and I believe him. I can see it in his eyes and hear it in his voice when he talks about you. I've been through it enough times with my daughters to know that you're the real deal."

"Funny how you didn't believe Anthony was the real deal though." Gwen scowled at her mother.

Greg burst into a grin, adoring the tears pooling in his fiancé's eyes.

"I am serious about him." Nick slid his hand into Greg's free one. "And we would love for you to come. We haven't exactly set a date yet, but we wouldn't mind havin' you help us plan it."

"Excellent." The woman grinned widely. "I've planned five, nearly six weddings in my time. Good thing your sister did back out of that one with Paulo. I had my suspicions about him from day one, but I never would have thought he had a secret double life as a drag queen of all things."

"Mom!" Vicki hissed, embarrassed that she would even bring that up. "What happened to not telling a soul about that one?"

"Oh relax, Greg's family now." She giggled softly, pulling them both in for a hug. "I love a June wedding myself. Your father made us wait until September for our wedding. Much too cold for an outdoor wedding. August would have been nicer. The trees just starting to lose their leaves, so many colours and that crisp fall breeze…" She continued to ramble.

Nick gave his fiancé a smile as he realised what he had let himself in for, falling a little bit deeper in love with him for making such a grand gesture.

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Just a warning that there might be a delay in uploads for the next few weeks. I've had two deaths in the family since my last upload in September and a third isn't looking so hot at the moment either. I'm going to take a little break from writing to spend more time with the family, so the chapters will take a little longer to beta. I've completed up to chapter 14 so far, but they still need some work.

I hope you understand and can forgive me for the delays.

Have a great weekend!

~ Holly