CSI: Braden Sanders-Stokes: New Life, New Family

A/N: So, I wasn't planning on this chapter being so long compared to the others, but then again, I didn't expect Mandy to have issues and Bobby to play such an important role. I must apologize to fans of Hodges, I had to throw him under the bus... but I love the scene... and Bobby's part in it. Overall, I hope you like it, and don't forget to tell me what you think!

Summary: Braden meets new friends at the LVPD Crime Lab, though only one of them gets to receive the title of friend right away. Braden is three years old, in this, the third chapter.

"Come on, kiddo. They won't bite," Nick said as he, Greg, and Braden entered the LVPD crime lab.

Braden clutched Nick's leg and hid behind it, peeking out until he saw Judy before hiding his face again.

"Hey Judy," Greg greeted the receptionist.

"Hey Greg, Nick. Who's this?" She looked over the counter at the little boy.

"This is Braden, but he's feeling a little shy right now."

"Come on, Braid, it's only Judy. She's harmless."

"I hope you didn't portray me as the big, bad police captain," Brass's voice reached them from down the hall.

"Brass, what are you doing here so early?"

"Catherine told me you were bringing him by and I had to meet the man that took over your lives. And you must be Braden," Brass knelt down so he could be more at eye level with the three year old. "I'm Jim Brass, I work with your daddies."

Braden only hid further behind Nick.

"You did!" the captain looked up at the fathers. "Ok, which one of you told him I'm a big, scary guy?"

"Hey, when I first started here you were big and scary," Greg said with a smile.

"Yeah, cause you were a wild child back then who needed to be kept under control and constant surveillance."

Nick laughed, "he still is."

"Well, you've managed to tame him some."

"Hey!" Greg sounded a little offended but the smile hadn't left his face.

Behind him, Nick felt tiny hands tightening the hold on his leg.

"Braden, let's go for walk, ok?"

Braden shook his head in a silent plea not to go anywhere else but home.

"Come on, I'll carry you." Greg knelt down next to the boy and reached his arms out.

Reluctantly, Braden let go of Nick's leg and crawled into Greg's arms as he picked him up. He looked around behind Greg, wide, scared eyes taking everything in.

Nick moved to Greg's side. "It's ok, we're right here." He stuck his finger out to poke the toddler's fist but the boy had other plans as his tiny hand closed around Nick's finger and held on tight.

"Oh, honey, you've gotta let me go."

Greg looked back at them to see what was going on. "We're cool, Nicky. Just walk with me."

They left Judy smiling after them and walked together to the break room where Grissom was already handing out assignments.

The moment the door opened everyone was up, ignoring their supervisor in favor of the new family. Greg was smiling his grandest smile ever while holding their son. Nick was smiling too, but as he was a step behind Greg with Braden still clutching his finger, he kept an eye on him, making sure he would be ok meeting several new people all at once.

"So this is Braden," Catherine approached, trying to circle Greg so she could see the boy's face. But Braden had seen Brass walking in behind Nick and buried his face in Greg's neck, effectively hiding himself from her and everyone else.

"He's a little shy," the captain explained.

"I know how you feel," Sara said.

No one tried to pry him away from Greg because they all understood his need to be as close to the two people he actually knew.

"He might outgrow this," Grissom pointed out.

"You know I used to get picked on in high school. But not anymore."

"You're not in high school anymore, Warrick," Sara snorted.

"He's not gonna get picked on. I'll beat the kid who picks on my boy."

"Careful what you say, Nicky. If that ever happens, I'll know who to look for as first suspect."

Nick glared at his boss as everyone laughed.

"Alright, Greg, you and Warrick have a DB out near Henderson. Sophia's waiting for you," Gil handed Warrick the slip of paper.

"Just have to grab my kit from my locker and I'll be right there. Nick, can you take him?"

Greg turned to his husband as Nick let his arm follow Braden, almost wrapping it around Greg.

"Come on, Braid, Daddy has to go to work," Nick coaxed.

A little unwillingly, the boy let go of Greg and let Nick take him into his arms.

"Hey, I'll see you later, kiddo," Greg said, giving his son a peck on the cheek before ruffling his hair. He looked up at Nick, "I'll call you when I get done," and kissed him goodbye.

"Be careful out there."

"Always am, babe."

When Greg stepped back out into the hall with Warrick, Braden finally took notice of what was going on.

"Where you going?" he asked in his small voice, his eyes wide with fright and his arms reaching out for Greg.

"I have to go to work. But I'll see you later, I promise... Nick... I'm sorry," Greg nodded toward their son and Nick saw the tears running down his face.

"I've got him, don't worry. You get to your scene."

As the door closed after Greg, Braden's silent tears became sobs as he struggled to get out of Nick's grip to chase after Greg.

"I guess this is what happens after we both have a week off for him to settle in," Nick said, doing his best to hold the boy still and sooth his fears at the same time.

"Just wait until next week, after he's spent this one with you and it's your turn to work for a week."

"Yeah, I'll be glad when we get settled into a routine where he knows we're both coming back every morning."

"Good luck. Though I doubt you'll need it."

"Thanks, Cath."

"Braden, it was nice to meet you, but we've got to run. Nick, I'll see you next week."

"You got it boss."

"And I should get back to my desk. Too much paperwork needs my signature," Brass sighed. "You'll keep us all posted on anything that happens, won't you? You know, share photos and everything? You're the first set of happily married coworkers I think we've ever had. At least while I've been here."

"Of course, though I'm not sure if I should be happy or worried about that last part."

Brass gave a half laugh half snort before directing his attention to the child, "Braden, you're upset, but trust me, Greg will be coming back. But trust me on this too, don't trust him when he talks about me. I'm not as bad as he thinks."

Nick tried to smile at the small joke, but Braden's crying was getting to him and he had to calm him down.

When the two of them were alone Nick managed to sooth him a little until his sobs had returned to silent tears on his confused face. He wished he'd thought to bring Braden's elephant or his favorite blanket, but he hadn't been planning on staying long enough to need them and he definitely wasn't planning on Braden getting so upset at Greg leaving. He should have known it was going to happen though. Having a child to care for, for the first time, was a learning experience, and now he knew to pack those important, comforting things no matter where they went.

Braden turned into Nick when the door opened and a lab tech walked in.

"So that's the kid, huh?" Hodges's voice broke the comforting silence where previously the only thing Nick could hear was Braden's deep breaths and sniffles. "He doesn't seem very happy." The tech reached for a mug and poured himself a cup of coffee.

"He's shy, and this is a hard night for him, meeting everyone all at once. Give him a break, will you?"

"I wasn't shy at his age. He's got nothing to be shy about, he has no idea how cruel the world is yet."

Nick thought back to Dana's words about Braden watching his father kill his mother and then himself.

"If only you knew the truth," but Nick wasn't about to tell him.

Hodges was already back at the door, his hand on the knob, and then he was gone. Nick watched him go, glad he'd left when he had. He could have decked him for what he'd said, but he had a son now, and he wasn't about to do anything so rash and stupid in front of him.

"They could have gotten a happy child, at least," he heard Hodges's comment from out in the hallway.

He looked up just in time to see Bobby's arm come flying out and punch Hodges in the face, sending the tech to the floor, his coffee mug shattering and the hot liquid spraying all over him.

"You get what you deserve for saying something like that," the Oklahoma boy said without a second glance before entering the break room.

"And here I thought you were all sweet and innocent," Nick smiled a little. "But seriously, thanks for that. You have no idea how much I wanted to do that."

"He deserved it. End of story." The ballistics tech sat backwards in a chair, facing Nick. "How's his night been so far?" he nodded toward the child in his arms.

Nick sighed, "I wish it could have been easier. I don't think we were thinking straight when we decided to bring him here. Everyone wanted to see him so badly. But he's just so shy."

"When we first got Austin, she was as shy as anything. But she slowly grew out of it. I'm sure he'll be fine eventually."

Nick felt himself relaxing and hadn't even realized how nervous and tense he'd been about bringing Braden to the lab to meet everyone.

"How's Jack? It's been awhile."

"Yeah, it has. And he's doing fine," Bobby smiled at the mention of his husband.

"We should get together sometime, have dinner or something."

"You get settled with him first then we can talk. But I'll tell you now, dinner sounds like a fine idea."

"Jack does make a mean pasta dish."

"I'll tell the chef you said that," Bobby laughed a sweet natured laugh.

Braden sniffled again when he turned his head to see who was laughing. He was still clutching Nick for dear life after meeting Hodges, but he didn't seem scared as he looked up at Bobby.

"Hey there," the tech's voice was low and soft. "How are you?"

The three year old thought about it for a moment, finally releasing Nick with one hand and sticking his finger in his mouth. "K," he finally said, around the finger. "Who you?"

Bobby smiled, "My name's Bobby. I work with your daddies."

"K. I want my stuffie," the boy looked up at Nick.

"And I thought you were shy. Turns out I was a little wrong."

Bobby laughed again. "I've had experience with shy kids, what can I say?"

"Stuffie!"

"I'm sorry, Braid. I didn't bring it."

"You didn't?" Braden looked like he was on the verge of tears again at the sad news.

"Nick, you didn't bring his stuffie? That's rule number one, man. How could you forget?"

"Yeah, how could you?" Braden tried to imitate the tech.

"I know, I learned that one just before you walked in." Nick looked down at his son, "Believe me, little one, it won't happen again. I promise."

"Good," Bobby nodded.

"Well, look, I promised a few people I would see them before I left so I've gotta make my rounds."

"Is Mandy still trying to..."

"Yeah. All that singing to her really did her in. I'm sunk, unless I show up with a kid, and a wedding ring."

"She'll find someone else, Nick. Don't worry. I heard they were going to be bringing in another tech for something. And I heard he's pretty smokin' and straight. I'll find away to get her off your back. Or, I should say, I'll find away for him to get her off your back for you."

Nick chuckled, "I don't know if that's gonna be possible. The wedding ring didn't do it the first time. And neither did kissing Greg in front of her. I'm not sure seeing Braden's gonna help anything."

"Yeah, but a hot available guy might. You go, show her your proof, and this adorable little boy, say hi to everyone, and come see me before you leave. This is going to be a boring shift otherwise."

"Sure thing."

Slowly, Bobby reached out and touched Braden's nose with his finger. "And I'll see you later, sprout. You be good for your daddy, ok?"

There was a long pause and Nick wondered if the boy would even answer when there was an audible "k."

"Hey Mandy," Nick smiled as he entered her lab.

Braden was tucked, safely, into his arms, and refused to look at his surroundings once they'd left the relative refuge of the break room and Bobby's company.

"Hi Nick," she smiled back a dazzling smile, though it didn't compare to Greg's. No one's smile compared to Greg's. "So, introduce me. Who's this? You babysitting for someone? Or something?"

The look on her face clearly told him she found the idea of him with a child hot. He inwardly winced, not wanting to hurt her feelings. She was a nice girl and a great lab tech. Even though she did have a crush on him, he hoped this wouldn't ruin their friendship in anyway. But then he thought about the two reasons he got up every morning and knew that even if she backed away completely, not even wanting to be friends, he would still be ok.

"No Mandy," his smile turned into a grin. "This is Braden. As in, Braden Sanders-Stokes."

Her smile faltered into a surprised 'o' before she managed to recover herself. "Wow... I just... I'm sorry..." she stumbled over her words. "I just never pictured you two as fathers... well, I mean... Greg... mostly... you, I could... but together... sorry... this is coming out bad..."

"Um... yeah. Just a bit. But it's ok. I know we didn't tell everyone we were adopting, so for most people this will be a surprise."

"You told the team, of course. Right?"

"Yeah. I... I couldn't stop thinking about it during our last case and Warrick called me on my odd behavior. I didn't have a choice."

"And what about the rest of the lab techs?"

"Not many." Nick suddenly felt bad for not telling everyone. "Bobby knows. Archie. I think Hodges over heard something cause he knew and I certainly didn't tell him and I know Greg wouldn't have."

"Ugh. He's such a jerk."

The printer by her side beeped as a piece of paper slid into its tray. She took it and put it into a folder.

"Look, I'm sorry we didn't tell everyone... you..."

"No big deal. It's not like you had to. We all knew you were married anyway so the option was open. I think we were more shocked when you two tied the knot. Did he... the jerk, I mean... say anything to you because of...?" here, she nodded toward Braden.

"Of course. But it could have been worse."

"Well, ignore the idiot. He just likes to think he's supreme around here. You'll both make great parents. I can see he's shy, but with the two of you... he'll turn out just fine."

Nick went out on a limb he didn't normally visit very often. "Mandy... I thought you..." but he had a hard time asking the question he wanted to ask. "I thought you... you liked..."

"Nick, you're a Texan. You've got a sweet southern accent. You're hot. Who around here wouldn't want you? Except the straight guys of course," Mandy laughed nervously.

"Well, thank God I think that includes Hodges," Nick tried joking to keep the atmosphere light. The last thing he needed was things to turn dark between them.

She sighed before putting down the folder she'd been holding and then picking it up again, as if feeling the need to fidget with something to calm her down.

"I'm sorry. I know, you're right... I did have a crush on you... do... do have a crush on you. I don't think it's going to go away. Ever. And I was a little upset when I found out about you... and... and Greg. I've spent a lot... a lot of time thinking about it. And it comes down to this..." she paused for a few moments and Nick wondered if she would be able to say whatever it was she wanted to say. "I just... I just want you to be happy. I'm really not like all those other girls who'll go crazy just because you turned gay, married Greg, and adopted a kid... and... I can see that you are happy. You're the happiest I've ever seen you... so... congratulations... on everything that's making you happy right now."

"Well, thank you Mandy. That really means a lot to me."

Nick had to admit he was surprised at her sudden turn around but she sounded sincere enough to be believed. He'd expected her to keep her crush for life and never let him forget it. Maybe even try to undermine Greg somehow, though he really doubted that idea.

"But... there is one thing..."

"Yeah?" Suddenly, he found himself skeptical.

"I'm still gonna make you sing for your results on occasion. Do you mind?"

Nick laughed, "It's ok, I don't mind. Long as I don't have to do it every time."

"Maybe once a week?"

"Deal." Nick moved back toward the door, shifting the heavy child in his arms. "Hey, by the way, I hear their hiring a new lab tech. They say he's hot, straight, and available. Just thought you might want to know."

Mandy's eyes lit up. "Oooohhh, thanks for the info!"

"No, I'll admit, I haven't gotten much sleep at all since he came home," Nick said, watching Braden lovingly as the boy slept soundly in his lap.

"You and Greg too I bet, huh?" Bobby asked, setting his pen down and watching Nick.

"Actually, Braden helps get energy out of Greg. He's a little more mellow now. But, in a good way. He's still wild and crazy Greg. I wouldn't want that to change." Nick stared off into space for a moment. "It's just... the two of them have so much fun together. I love watching them. I never thought I'd get this, Bobby. For so long I thought this could never happen. But it did. And... I just feel so overwhelmed, I almost don't know what to do. It hurts... but it's a good hurt. You know? Am I making sense?" Nick finally turned to face the ballistics tech.

"You're making perfect sense. There was a time, a long time ago, when I felt the same way. And then Jack entered my life and a few short years later there came Austin. Some days, I sit back and think about it all, and I still can't believe it's true. It's like a dream. A dream come true, but it almost feels like unattainable clouds that keep floating away, just out of reach. But then Jack's there, suddenly beside me, and I know it's real."

Nick nodded. "That's it. That's exactly it. I can't believe it's true..."

Bobby sat in the break room, sipping a cup of coffee, remembering the end of his conversation with Nick not that long ago. He hadn't seen Greg all night. Nick had mentioned that Greg would be calling to let him know when he was finished so he could pick him up.

He knew Greg's shift would be ending relatively soon and didn't want Nick's cell phone going off to wake either the man or the child asleep on the couch not three feet away. Braden was on the inside, curled up into a little ball, while Nick stretched out, on his side on the edge, his arm wrapped protectively around the little boy. Both were dead to the world.

Quietly, knowing Greg would have to pay him back for this one, he slipped his cell phone out of his pocket and snapped a picture of the two with its camera before sending it to Greg.

Greg had been in and out of the lab all night going back and forth between the crime scene and the lab with evidence and he was surprised he hadn't noticed Nick's truck still in its original parking space. But this time he did notice it as he parked the SUV and got out. This was his last trip, and as he'd only been making sure he hadn't missed any stray evidence, bagged or not, he had none with him this time. Warrick was already inside processing what he'd brought in on his first several trips and had informed him during their last phone conversation that he would be wrapping it up soon and picking it up the following night. Grissom had oked it, which meant Greg could go home.

And right now, that's all he wanted to do. He looked back at his phone and keyed up the image Bobby had sent, wishing he'd been able to see the tech before he'd had to rush off to his scene. He saw Nick and Braden sleeping on the couch together for the millionth time and his heart melted. Now, he just had to put his kit in his locker and find the break room.

He found Bobby waiting for him, keeping noisy people at bay from the couch. He stopped to watch his two boys sleeping for a long moment.

"I told him to take a nap when he got tired because it was so late he would have gotten settled in at home and then had to come right back here to pick you up," Bobby whispered.

"He stayed that long?"

"Well, the lab was slow, and we got into a long conversation. Braden fell asleep where he was and didn't seem to mind. So about an hour ago they moved out here to wait for you. By the way, I told Nick once you get settled with him, come on over and we'll have dinner."

"Thanks Bobby. That would be awesome."

"Alright, well, I should get back to my paperwork. I'll leave you to the waking up of the boys."

When the tech was gone Greg knelt beside Nick. He didn't want to wake him up, he looked so cute, sweet, and innocent sleeping with Braden, but he knew they had to get home. He needed his sleep too and there wasn't enough room on the couch for all three of them. He looked back at his phone at the picture still displayed there, and knew the image wouldn't go away. He placed his hand on Nick's shoulder.

"Nick... Nicky, wake up," he called just loud enough for Nick to hear him but not Braden.

"Hmmm... Bobby?"

"No, silly. It's me."

Nick opened his eyes and turned onto his back to stare up at Greg. "Hey."

Not caring who saw them, as usual, Greg leaned in for a kiss. "Hey yourself. You ready to go home?"

"I would love to go home. Are you ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be. Here, let me carry him," Greg reached out and took a sleeping Braden from Nick, not wanting to wake the boy up. On their way out the door, Nick put an arm around Greg's waist and pulled him closer.

"He was great around Bobby today. As soon as he'd been in the room a few minutes Braden seemed ok with him there. Much better than his reaction to Hodges."

"Hmmm... must be that southern boy charm. And that accent... I mean, look at you.. When was the last time you heard yourself sing? Or even just talk?" Greg looked over at Nick, his mouth almost salivating at the sight. "The whole package is cute, and hot. And southern boys are very trustworthy. Braden knows more than you give him credit for... Hodges... Pffft. He doesn't have anything on southern boys... Especially you."