Chapter Seven: Alone

Gently placing his hand on his daughter's forehead, Nick watched her peacefully sleeping, glad to have her back in his arms again. He touched his lips to her delicate cheek, looking towards the door as he heard the sound of a throat clearing. "Hi." Lori spoke softly, smiling as she saw the two of them together. "See, I knew you'd get her back. You just had to have a little faith." Taking a step closer, she leant against the side of the little girl's bed, smiling between the two of them. "She's even more adorable then in that picture you showed me. She looks just like you too, gorgeous and mysterious."

"Uh... thanks." Nick shyly smiled at her, watching his daughter peacefully sleeping a moment, before he asked, "How's Willa doin'?"

"Better." She gave him a reassuring nod. "She's still gonna need to be in for a while. The doctor's keeping an eye on her, but I recon she's gonna pull through. Just like this little one." Lori took a look at the monitors and things beside her bed, before looking into the eyes of her father. "She's just a little dehydrated, but she's gonna be okay."

"You can tell that just by lookin' at her?"

"Oh yeah, I'm psychic." She grinned at him. "She's a very beautiful little girl, Nick. I'm glad she came home safe. She'll have her Daddy to protect her now."

"I'm not very good at that."

"Of course you are. It's a natural instinct for every father. In fact, it's a primitive reaction for every male species, especially towards the women in their lives; wives, sisters, mothers and daughters. And in a child's eyes, a father is a great leader and a protector. Ask any young child who their biggest hero is, they're more likely to say their father than anyone else." She pointed out to him, giving him a reassuring smile. "It's not your fault that your child was kidnapped by some deranged lunatic. But you can protect her now. Fathers give their children a sense of security, and that's exactly what you're gonna do for your own daughter."

"You barely know me."

"I know enough." Straightening up, she said, "I'll come check on you in a bit. You won't leave without saying goodbye, right?"

"I promise." Nick nodded to her, waving to her, as she turned to leave. He turned his attention back towards Tayla once she was gone, touching another kiss to her forehead, promising to protect her forever.

Fluttering his eyes open, Greg struggled to inhale a deep breath, feeling a strange pressure against his throat. "Hey, don't try to talk." A voice whispered softly to him.

He turned his head to the side, surprised to see Nick stood beside his bed.

After the argument they had earlier, he thought the man wouldn't want anything to do with him, but there he was, gently brushing his fingers through his hair, before he whispered, "I'm really sorry about what I said, Greg. You know I didn't mean anythin' I said, right?"

The younger man removed the breathing mask from his mouth, giving Nick a slight nod.

He smiled in relief. "I can't even remember half of what I said, but I know that I didn't mean any of it. I didn't break up with you because of somethin' you did. It was because of me; I knew I'd eventually end up breakin' your heart, so I chose the easy way out." He explained, actually quite relieved that Greg couldn't talk, as it was easier to talk to him when he wasn't always butting in. "And Tayla gettin' kidnapped wasn't your fault either. I shouldn't have said to you."

"Nic-ky," The younger man choked.

"Don't try to talk." Nick took a seat on the edge of Greg's bed, lifting the younger man's hand into his own. "The doctor said that you shouldn't try to talk. You were barely breathing when they brought you in." He gently flattened the younger man's tousled hair, looking into his eyes. "The truth is... I still love you, Greg. I always will."

Greg gripped his hand tighter, giving the older man a slight smile.

"Oh, and your mother's on her way." Nick remembered, smiling as Greg rolled his eyes. "I didn't call her, I swear. One of the doctor's must have done it, since she's your emergency contact. She called me a few minutes ago, askin' how you were. I told her that you were fine and still sleepin', but she insisted on comin' over."

Greg gave him a smile, knowing nothing could stop his mother from seeing him.

As he saw Greg struggling to breath from the pressure in his throat, he carefully adjusted the oxygen mask on his face for him, gently running his fingertip down the side of the younger man's beautiful face.

"Thanks, Greg." He spoke softly. As the younger man gave him a confused look, Nick explained, "For savin' my daughter, even after what I said to you. You know I'm gonna yell at you later for puttin' your life in danger though, right?" He quickly warned him, making Greg smile again. "I have to get back to Tayla in a minute; I don't want her to wake up alone."

Greg nodded to him, releasing his grip on the older man's hand.

Without speaking another word, Nick carefully lifted the mask from Greg's mouth, capturing his partner's lips for a gentle kiss. He traced his former lover's lips with his tongue, instantly making Greg part his lips. He thought he wouldn't remember how to kiss him as it had been so long, but as soon as their tongues touched, they found their usual rhythm, while pawing their fingers through one another's hair.

Greg pulled back to look into the older man's eyes, hoarsely whispering, "I love you too, Nicky."

"I know you do." He winked at him, pressing a kiss to the younger man's forehead. "Get some sleep; I'll come see you later." He promised him, slowly climbing off his bed. He didn't want to leave him alone, but he didn't want his daughter to wake up alone either.

After calling for her son at the top of her lungs for the past few minutes, with no response, Samantha finally decided to make her way up the stairs, entering her son's bedroom. From the doorway, she could see her son lying on his back in the middle of his bed, staring up at the old planes he used to build, hanging from his ceiling.

She took a moment to look around his messy bedroom, rolling her eyes at the sight of the dirty socks left carelessly across his floor, the screwed up pieces of paper scattered around his desk and the pile of yesterdays clothes at the bottom of his bed.

"Honey, these clothes are all wet." She lifted the wet clothes from his bed, throwing them to the door, so they wouldn't soak his sheets anymore than they already had. "You know that you shouldn't just leave wet clothes lyin' around." She waited for her son to react, but he stayed put on the bed, staring straight up at his ceiling. "Bradley! Sweetheart, what's the matter? You haven't said a word since you got back." Taking a seat on his bed, she gently ruffled her fingers through his hair, giving him a curious look. "C'mon honey, talk to me."

Bradley shook his head, crossing his hands over his chest.

"C'mon honey, it can't be that much of an earth shatterin' event, especially if you're just stayin' in here." She sighed softly. "Is this about your father again? I just got off the phone with him a few minutes ago. They found Tayla; he's in the hospital with her in Utah, she's..."

"I don't care." Bradley interrupted her.

"Oh, so you can hear me? While I've got you listenin', may I remind you that you still left your towel on the bathroom floor, which you know really annoys me." She waited for another reaction, but he remained motionless and silent. "C'mon honey, talk to me. You know how bored I get talkin' to myself."

"Leave me alone then." He bitterly suggested to her.

"You're only thirteen; does the bitterness towards your parents really have to start now?" She groaned, wishing she had more children, so when one wasn't speaking to her, she could go and pester another. "Tell me what's wrong, honey."

"I hate my life." He finally answered her.

"Don't say that, sweetheart, you're only thirteen. You'll have plenty of time in the future to hate your life." She tried to make a joke, but Bradley wasn't laughing. "Do you wonna tell me about it, honey?"

"Would you stop callin' me that!" He snapped at her. "I hate it when you call me honey, sweetheart or sweetie. I'm not a baby!"

"I know." She backed off, not ready to give up her little boy just yet. "Swe... I mean, Bradley, are you bein' bullied?"

"Oh Mom, just leave me alone." He complained.

"I'm not leavin' you like this." She shook her head. "You think I don't know what's goin' on here? I've seen the boys in your class. They seemed to have all shot up over the holidays. Calvin especially. He's getting tall, just like his father. Did you notice?"

"Yeah, I think I noticed." He remarked, as Calvin was almost twice his size now, which really came in handy when he was beating him up. "Mom, I really don't wonna talk about this, especially with you."

"Do you want to talk to Gary about it? He went through it."

"No." Bradley firmly shook his head. "I don't need someone to talk to, because I don't even care. I'd prefer to be a kid forever."

"We'd all prefer that, honey." She chuckled softly. "Are you sure you..."

"Mom, can you please just leave me alone?"

"Okay, forget I ever said anythin'." She climbed to her feet, lifting his laundry from the doorway. "You know, your father was a late developer. Your Grandma Stokes showed me the pictures of him at your age. He still looked like a twelve year old until he turned fifteen, when he finally had his growth spurt. You wouldn't know it by lookin' at him now, huh?"

Bradley shook his head, sitting up straight on his bed to ask, "Mom, if Dad's gay... does that... does that make me gay too?"

"No honey, bein' gay... it's not genetic." She shook her head, taking a seat on his bed again. "Is that what you're so worried about? Because your father's always been attracted to men; it doesn't make him any different from the father you've always known. And you're only thirteen; you don't really need to figure that sort of stuff out right now. If you're not attracted to girls or boys yet, don't sweat it."

Bradley frowned at his mother, as that really wasn't the answer he was hoping for.

"I wish you'd talk to me, Bradley. You used to talk to me all the time. I wish I knew how to make things right for you, sweetheart. You used to be so lively as a child. It was just you and me, the best of friends. Is it Gary, do you not like him?"

The mere mention of the man made his skin crawl. For his mother's sake, Bradley gave her a shrug, answering, "He's okay."

"Three years of gettin' to know him, and the only thing you can say is... he's okay?" Samantha gave her son a surprised look. "You'd tell me if you didn't like him, right sweetheart? I asked you that when I first introduced him to you. You seemed to like him then, but since I married him, you've been so distant. What's the matter?"

"It's nothin'." He shook his head, averting his eyes from her.

"It's not nothin'. Is there somethin' about him that you don't like? Is he mean to you? Is he the one teasin' you? If he was, you know you can tell me, right? I wouldn't get mad or anythin', I just wonna know that he's nice to you."

"No Mom, just leave me alone." He didn't want to talk about it, especially not to her.

"You'd tell me if he was bein' mean to you though, right? You mean more to me than any man, honey." She assured him, affectionately brushing her fingers through his hair. "I'd give my life for you, sweetheart. You can trust me with anythin'."

Anxiously biting his lip, Bradley explained, "He's okay, Mom. But he's not Dad. Why couldn't you have married him?"

"Because... your father's gay, sweetheart."

"He married Miranda." Bradley reminded her. "He can't be that gay. Grandma Stokes said gay men don't get married to women, or have babies. Maybe he's not really gay."

"Trust me, he is, and your grandmother was just stereotypin', she's never met a gay man in her life. How would she know what a gay man is like? The gay men I've met are all different; none of them can exactly be classed into..."

"Mom." He cut her off, as she started ranting. "You still didn't answer my question."

"Right, well I couldn't marry Nick, even if I wanted to, which I don't. Not only is he gay, but he's also in a relationship with another man. He married Miranda because he loved her. Gay men can sometimes fall for women too, it's difficult to explain, but your father fell for her, and that's why they married."

"Dad's with a man?" Bradley looked at his mother surprised.

"Oh," She realised she had let that slip, quickly explaining, "Well, it's not just any old man, honey. He's been with him for a while. You should really let your father explain it to you."

"Don't you love him?" He asked her. "He's my Dad."

"Well... we have a pretty good relationship, but I don't love him like I love Gary, if that's what you're askin'. Nick does have certain qualities, but I mostly just see him as a friend... or just the donor to my beautiful little boy." She grinned at him, making her son frown again. "Nick and I made you, so I guess I do sorta love him, but not in the way you want me to."

"Why?" He immediately asked.

"It's complicated."

"How?"

Samantha sighed softly, gently ruffling her hand through her son's hair. "It just is, honey. You'll see. You can love people differently throughout your life. I love you more than anythin' in the world. I love Nick for helpin' me create you. And I love Gary, because he's my husband."

"I get it. I just wish... things could be simple." He complained. "Everyone else I know has a Mom and a Dad. They don't have step sisters, half sisters, step fathers or fathers with boyfriends. It's not fair."

"Gary loves you, honey. He loves you like his own son."

"Don't say that." He cringed, pushing her hand away from him. "He's not my father. He's got nothin' to do with me."

"Alright." She raised her hands, wondering why he was getting so defensive about it. "Well, I should go and get dinner started. You alright now?"

Bradley nodded to her, watching her collecting up his washing, before she made her way to the door again. "Hey, Mom." He called after her, waiting for her to look at him, before he asked, "Can I go stay with Dad?"

"Well... I guess so, but you're still in school. Couldn't you wait until half term or somethin'?"

He shook his head, "No, I wonna go now."

"Okay, I'll call him and see what he says." She assured him, giving him a smile, before she carried his washing down the stairs, towards the utility room. She knew that Nick would say the same thing as her, but she had to try and convince him to take their son, hoping that he could get through to him and find out what was going on with him.

Ambling his way through the halls of the hospital, CSI Warrick Brown started to wonder if he would ever visit another city and be able to see the sights, rather than the inside of every hospital. He made his way towards the children's ward, greeting Catherine and Grissom with a smile, before he turned to enter one of the rooms.

As he entered the room, he immediately saw his best friend sat beside the bed, watching his daughter sleeping. "Hey." He spoke softly, giving Nick a smile as he looked round at him. "I gotcha something." He removed the stuffed kitten from his pocket, handing it over to Nick.

"Goober, thanks. You shouldn't have." Nick smiled back at him, setting the kitten on the bed beside his daughter. "I didn't know you were drivin' out here."

"Couldn't miss it. Half the team is out here after all. Sara and I are picking up the slack as best we can, but Ecklie's team are bitching from all the doubles they're pulling." He smirked, taking a seat on the chair the other side of Tayla's bed. "So, is she doing okay?"

"Yeah, she's just sleepin'. She was a little dehydrated when they found her, most of her cuts and bruises are superficial, but she's okay." He nodded, resting his hand on the top of her head, beside the bandage where her head had collided with the edge of the bath tub. "You been to see Greg yet?"

"Nope, his mother's in there. I'll stop by and see him later. That woman's scary. I always wanted to know what it was like to have a mother, but that woman steers me clear of ever wanting to know."

"She's not that bad." Nick chuckled softly, resting against the side of Tayla's bed. "And not all mothers are like her either. Greg's lucky to have such a carin' mother. They don't come around too often."

"Every once in a while they come in the shape of a father." Warrick smiled at him, looking at the love in his eyes that he had for his daughter. "How's Willa doing? Cath told me she had meningitis, isn't that fatal?"

"Not if you catch it in time, which apparently they have. Miranda's sister Angela is with her now. Last I heard, the doctor said that there's a ten percent chance that Willa could lose her hearin'. After that, apparently there's a seventy two percent chance she'll become deaf before her third birthday."

"But that's better than the death kinda death, right?" Warrick immediately wished he never asked that, as he could see the worry written all over his friend's face. "I'm sure she'll be fine."

Nick gave him a nod, turning his head back to his daughter as she started to stir. "Hey, sweetie." He spoke softly, placing his hand on her head as her eyes started to flicker open. "You okay, baby?"

The sleepy little girl rubbed her eyes open, before she reached her hand out for her father's, weaving her little fingers between his own. "Daddy." Tayla struggled to sit up, throwing her tiny arms around her father. She rested her head against him, breathing in his familiar soothing scent. "Daddy, I missed you."

"I missed you too, baby." He hugged her closer, pressing his lips to the side of her head. "It's okay, baby. You're safe now." He assured her, feeling her shivering against him. "Didn't I tell you that I'd find you?"

Tayla nodded, closing her eyes against his shoulder.

Nick smiled as he hugged her tighter, feeling her tiny heart beating against his chest, just like he used to be able to when he held her as a baby. He held her in his arms for the longest few minutes of his life, not wanting to let her go, for fear of what would happen to her.

"Hey look, your Uncle Warrick brought somebody to see you." Nick lifted the kitten from her side, handing it to his daughter. "I guess he didn't like bein' left alone in Vegas."

"Uncle Warrick or Goober?" Tayla cheekily grinned, clutching the kitten tightly against her chest.

"You could at least say, thanks Uncle Warrick." Her Uncle smirked, giving her a playful tickle as she leant back against her pillow. "Goober isn't exactly the easiest person or cat should I say, to drive with for four hours. We had to stop every few minutes for him to pee. Then he wanted the air con on, and insisted that we keep the radio off."

Tayla giggled softly, reaching her hand out for her father's again. "Daddy, where's Uncle Greg? I saw that man hurting him. Is he..."

"He's just down the hall." He stopped her from saying the D word, knowing he'd have to talk to her about her mother later. "You can go see him..."

"Now." She interrupted him, pouting her lip out to him. "Daddy, I wonna see him."

"She's just as stubborn as you." Warrick smiled at his friend. "You want me to go find a doctor for you?"

"No, I got it. Stay here with her a sec, make sure she doesn't leave." Nick pressed a kiss to his daughter's forehead, before he climbed to his feet, going on his search for her doctor. Warrick waited with Tayla while he was gone, holding her little hand, while she talked about how her father won her kitten Goober in a fairground game, when she was three.

Nick returned a few minutes later with her doctor, getting her checked over, before he took her to see Greg. He lifted his baby girl into his arms once the doctor was done, wheeling the IV pole along with him, towards Greg's room at the opposite end of the hospital.

"Nice to see you up and about." Aunt Catherine greeted Tayla in the corridor, pressing a kiss to the child's head, before she hugged them both tightly in her arms. "Grissom and I are just heading back home, so... I guess we'll see you back in Vegas."

"Yeah, I'm gonna stay... for Greg, and Willa." Nick nodded.

"Okay, lemme know if you need anything." Catherine smiled at him, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "You, look after your Daddy, little lady." She warned the little girl in his arms, giving her a smile as she clutched her father tighter.

"Bye." Nick waved her off, carrying his daughter in the opposite direction to Greg's room. "See look, there he is." He whispered softly to his daughter. He slowly made his way into the younger man's room, glad his mother had stepped out to call her husband, as she'd still be fussing over him if she were here. "This little lady wanted to come and see you."

"Hey you." Greg croaked, adjusting himself against his pillow.

"Uncle Greg, your necks all purple." Tayla immediately noticed, making the younger man smile.

"Why doncha give your Uncle Greg a big hug, and thank him for bringin' you back to me?" Nick whispered, carefully lifting Tayla onto the side of Greg's bed. Tayla carefully wrapped her arms around her Uncle Greg, noticing he had the same device on the back of his hand as her.

"I have one of those." She held out her hand to him. "Does yours itch too?" Greg gave her a nod, smiling up at Nick as she hugged him tightly. "Thank you, Uncle Greg." She whispered to him.

"You're welcome, sweetie." He hoarsely whispered back, clutching her tightly against his side.

"I'm glad you're okay, Uncle Greg. Daddy, can we stay here with Greg?" Tayla looked round at her father, giving him a pleading look. "Please, Daddy."

"If Greg really wants us to," Nick looked towards him. Greg immediately nodded, making Nick smile at him. "Okay then, I guess we can stay until his mother kicks us out." He smirked, taking a seat beside Greg's bed. "Did Griss and Catherine come and see you?"

Greg nodded to him, before indicating towards the water on his table. Nick quickly climbed to his feet to help him with it, slowly raising the straw to Greg's mouth, so he could take slow sips. "You know, Nicky," He croaked. "This doesn't change anything..." He looked at Tayla beside him, before he continued, "Between us, we're still not . . . together."

Nick gave him a confused look, "Why?"

Greg rolled his eyes at him, then looked towards the door as it opened, actually relieved to see his mother for the first time in his life.

"Hello, Nicky!" She pleasantly greeted the older man, despite the anger she had towards him for breaking her son's heart. "Oh, this must your daughter, Tayla. Hello, sweetheart. I'm so glad that my son risked his life to save you, even though I wish to God that he didn't, but he's just completely selfless like that." She smiled in the direction of her son.

"Mom, can you... take Tayla a sec. Nick and I... we need to talk." Her son whispered.

Jean Sanders looked between the two men, then gave him a nod. She carefully lifted the child from the bed, giving the two of a smile. "Alright then, let's go see if we can find you some crayons. You like to draw, don't you?"

"Yeah." Tayla nodded her head, waving to Nick and Greg, as Jean carried her out of the room, wheeling her IV pole alongside her.

"Give me one good reason why." Nick immediately asked the younger man, as soon as Jean and his daughter were gone.

"You broke my heart." Greg reminded him, feeling his throat tightening, every time he tried to talk.

"I apologised about that."

"Not the argument we had in the hospital." Greg shook his head, inhaling a deep cleansing breath, before he tried to speak again, "I forgive you for that. Given the circumstances . . . it was completely understandable . . . and I know that you didn't mean it." He inhaled another breath, holding his throat in pain. "But before that . . . when Tayla . . . wasn't missing. You broke my . . . my heart; because you cared more about your best friend's opinion . . . of you . . . then you did for me. I don't forgive you for that. Not that you ever apologised in the first place." He remarked, breathing deeply a moment. "But I don't wonna be with you . . . anyway."

"Did your mother put you up to this? Because she's hated me since the moment you introduced me to her. I believe the first words out of her mouth were, you can do better." He remembered, watching the younger man shaking his head in response. "Then what?"

"You think I'm that easy to forgive and forget?" He almost yelled, feeling the burning pain returning to his crushed windpipe. "I'm not that easy . . . and your apology can't be that simple. I loved you. I woulda done anything for you . . . and you broke my heart . . . because you cared more about Warrick . . . then you did me." He paused again, feeling his chest heaving beneath him, trying to get back the air it had lost. "I can't forgive that. You can't just walk all over me . . . and get away with it. I have feelings too."

"That's not what I was doin'. I love you; I'd never do that to you."

"You already have!" He yelled, starting to choke on the dryness in his throat.

Nick reached for the water again, holding the straw steady, so Greg could take another sip. "Greg, this hasn't exactly been the easiest year for me. I almost lost you. I almost lost Tayla. My family want nothin' to do with me. My mother literally kicked me out of the house I grew up in, and my best... I mean, my former best friend hates the sight of me. I can't believe he actually showed up here at the hospital."

"You think I've had an easy year? Not everything is always about you, Nick! I almost died in an alley . . . I was almost convicted of murder . . . they paid off the family of the guy I killed, making me look like the guilty one . . . and you broke up with me. I never even wanted to date you in the first place. It was your stupid idea." The younger man breathed deeply, looking up into Nick's eyes. "I'm not saying . . . that you're allowed to date other people . . . or anything like that though Nicky . . . we're on a temporary break." He warned him. "You broke my heart . . . it's gonna take me a while to trust you again . . . but I still love you too."

Nick sighed softly, "Okay, so you're just talkin' about needin' some space, right?" The younger man gave him a shrug, not sure what he needed. "I'll do anythin' to make it right again, Greg. And what do you mean you never wanted to date me?" He suddenly asked, making Greg roll his eyes. "C'mon, I wonna know. What'd I do wrong?"

"Nothing." Greg shook his head.

"Then what was it?" Nick tried to think what he had done wrong. "Was it the fact I kissed you on our first date?"

"If it was . . . why would I have invited you inside?" The younger man smirked, reaching out for Nick's hands with his own. "But you turned me down anyway."

"I'm a gentleman."

"Some gentleman." He giggled softly, gulping back the dryness in his throat. "By the fourth date, you were already copping a feel of my arse. You made out of me on my sofa . . . when I was drunk." He reminded him.

"Actually, we were both drunk." The older man corrected him. "And I just had to cop a feel of that cute little arse of yours; you can't blame me for that. You should be grateful, usually it's the second date I cop a feel. We both passed out on the sofa. I was so drunk; I couldn't get it up anyway. And I didn't sleep with you for three weeks..."

"You made me think you didn't like me."

"I'm sorry." He apologised, looking into Greg's eyes. "I didn't want to rush into things with you. I rushed them with Samantha, and look where we are now. I married Miranda after a couple of months of datin', then we got pregnant and everythin' went to hell. I've ruined every relationship I've been in so far, yours and mine included. I broke up with you to keep myself from hurtin' you down the line."

"Well that back fired." The younger man remarked.

"See, I've done it again." He pointed out to him, pulling his hands away from Greg. "I've never loved anyone as much as I've loved you. Me and you, we had somethin' really special, I just didn't realise it until it was over."

"I'm not giving up on you, Nicky." Greg spoke softly, waiting for Nick to lift his gaze. "I do wonna be with you . . . but you hurt me. This is the reason I never wanted to date you in the first place." He panted heavily, hating himself for saying this out loud. "You're not the only one who has ruined relationships in his past. I didn't want to date you, because I thought it would ruin our friendship . . . that we'd never be able to get to goof around and stuff again, if we broke up. I had the best friendship with you . . . I didn't want to ruin it."

"I'll do anythin' to make it right, Greg."

"I know you will, but... we really need time apart, Nick. Can you give me that?"

Nick reluctantly gave him a nod, fearing he would lose Greg forever if he didn't agree to it. "Okay." He nodded, climbing to his feet off the bed. "But you can't date anyone else either."

"I promise." Greg winked at him, not even thinking about dating anyone else, as Nick was the only one he could see in his future. "Hey, give me a kiss."

"You sure you wonna give into your addiction so soon?" Nick asked him, leaning over his bed to look into those beautiful soulful eyes of him. "Don't you think it would be better if you waited?"

The younger man rolled his eyes at him, before reaching out for Nick's collar to pull him closer, "Just kiss me, you idiot."

Thanks for reading, please let me know what you think so far :D

~ Holly