Chapter 5

Two weeks later Alex and Greg were sitting on the oversized couch in their family room. Ollie was sitting in the recliner, headphones on, pretending to give all his attention to his Playstation Portable, instead of his parents. In truth, he couldn't have been happier to see his mom leaning her head on his dad's shoulder on the couch. And he would never tell, but it didn't even gross him out when his mom kissed his dad.

It had been a tough couple of weeks. Greg had gotten out of the hospital and had gone home to Alex. But they were still arguing. Greg was having a hard time letting go of his anger and hurt. Alex was sick of walking on eggshells. Alex and Greg agreed they needed to see a marriage counselor and were in the process of finding one. But not every day was bad. At the current moment, everything was going well.

The picture-perfect family moment was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Don't get it," Greg said as Alex started to stand.

"What if it's important?" Alex questioned.

"They would have called," Greg pulled Alex back down to the couch. The knock came again, this time accompanied by the doorbell.

"What if it's the Lab?" Alex asked, thinking it silly they not answer the door.

Greg let out a frustrated sigh. "Fine, get the door."

Alex gave him another peck on the cheek and then went to answer the door. She didn't really want to answer the door either, but with all their cars in the driveway, it was pretty obvious they were home. She knew whoever it was would not go away.

As soon as she opened the door, she went to shut it again. But Nick caught the door before it could shut all the way. He stepped in to the doorway, but didn't really enter the house.

"Alex, please, I come in peace," Nick told her.

Alex faltered. His eyes, his voice, they put a flutter in her heart. And then she got mad at herself, at him. "After two weeks?" Alex anger was evident in her voice.

"I…I wanted to give you space," Nick replied, wanting to explain. "But I'm not here to try and win you back or anything like that."

"Then why are you here?" Alex crossed her arms and deflated a little. Still she wouldn't let him in the door, though.

"I want to see Oliver." The sincerity and pleading in his eyes was searing.

"He doesn't want to see you."

"Isn't he old enough to make that decision himself?" Nick questioned.

"Who is it?" Greg called from the other room. He could hear voices, but no words.

Alex ignored him. She didn't want to lie and she didn't want to tell the truth. She didn't know what Greg would do if he saw Nick standing in the door.

"Get out," she ordered Nick and started to close the door.

"Not until you let me ask Oliver himself," Nick stood his ground and held the door open.

"Please don't make me call the police."

Nick's anger sparked to life at the mention of the police. Oliver was his son. He had every right to see him. "I want to see my son."

Alex put her hand over her eyes. She didn't want to have this conversation again. Before she could say anything, though, Greg came to check on her.

"Who is—" Greg started to repeat his earlier question, but stopped when he saw Nick.

A small smile crept across Nick's lips at the sight of his old friend. He hadn't really seen Greg at the hospital. Memories of their time at the lab together flooded him. But his happiness was soon squashed by the look on Greg's face.

"What are you doing here?" Greg demanded to know.

Nick could tell that Greg did not share his nostalgia at the current moment. "I want to see my son."

Greg took a deep breath. He'd been thinking of this very subject a lot lately. And the ultimate conclusion he came to was that it was Oliver's choice. "Ollie," he called to his son.

Alex shot him a dirty look. She didn't know what he was up to.

Ollie came trudging in to the foyer, not looking up from his PSP. "What dad?" he asked, still playing.

Nick's smile came back at the sight of Oliver, even though it hurt to hear him call Greg dad. "Hey Oliver," Nick said.

At the sound of Nick's voice, Oliver looked up. His face hardened. There was so much he wanted to say that it all got stuck and nothing came out.

Greg could see the emotions playing through his son's face. "Ollie," he tried to get the boy's attention.

Ollie looked at his dad.

"Ollie, Nick wants to see you," Greg told him.

"He's looking at me right now," Ollie retorted.

Greg put his hands on his son's shoulders. "Ollie, I know you've known that I'm not your biological dad. I'm sure you have questions. And now, here he is, your biological father standing in front of you. If you want to know him, want to spend time with him, it's okay with me. It doesn't change anything between us."

Ollie's face softened as his dad spoke. His dad knew him so well. He did have questions. He was curious—he couldn't help himself, especially after seeing him at the hospital. He was so angry that day, but he had thought a lot about Nick since then. He was so afraid that it would hurt his dad. Now, his dad had said it was ok. He threw his arms around his dad.

There was a tear in Alex's eye. She'd been married to Greg for eight years, but he still surprised her. And he still surprised Nick, too. Nick couldn't believe his ears as Greg spoke. After everything, he never would have thought Greg would be so understanding.

"Do you want to talk to Nick?" Greg asked his son.

Ollie searched his father's eyes for the catch, but found none. He nodded. "It's ok with you?"

"It's ok with me," Greg replied. Then he looked at Alex. "Is it ok with you?"

Alex could only nod.

Nick's smile returned. Oliver did want to see him. This was one of the best days of his life. "Where…where do you want to go to talk?"

"Is it ok if we go up to my room?" Ollie asked his dad.

Greg again looked at Alex. She seemed ok with the idea. "Yea, that's fine." Then Greg turned to Nick. "Would you like to come in?"

Nick nodded and crossed the threshold in to the Sanders' home. "Thank you."

"Crap," Ollie interjected. "I've got to pick up a few things before you come up. Give me a minute." Ollie ran up the stairs, for which, Greg was glad.

When he was sure Ollie was out of hearing range, Greg again turned towards Nick. "I'm going to say this only once. You do anything to hurt him and I will hurt you."

Nick interrupted, "I would never—"

Greg cut him off. "And you would never hurt Alex either, huh? I am not happy that you are here, but for the love of my son, you are welcome in my home as long as he wants you here, but not a moment longer."

"I understand," Nick replied. "Thank you."

"Ok, come up!" Ollie called form upstairs.

"It's the third door on the left," Greg told Nick.

Nick quickly went up the stairs, excited to talk to Oliver. He couldn't wait to hear stories about Oliver as a child, to see pictures of him growing up. Nick knew he had missed so much and didn't want to miss anymore.

When Nick was out of sight, Alex grabbed Greg in a tight hug. "I don't know if this is ok," she confessed.

Greg kissed her on the forehead. "It'll be ok."

"It'll be ok?" she needed more reassurances.

"It will be ok," Greg repeated. "Ollie's 15. He's a good kid. He's got understanding parents." He kissed her forehead again then moved his lips close to her ear. "And if Nick fucks up, we know how to get rid of a body."