CSI: Braden Sanders-Stokes: Saying Goodbye, One More Time

A/N: You know, so many stories out there have Greg with some sort of injury, which makes it impossible for him to move heavy furniture. The poor guy ends up pouting and complaining, and arguments and misunderstandings occur. It's never a pretty sight. So, this chapter is the opposite of that, and I hope you enjoy it!

Summary: The college hunt was over before it even began. Now, are the boys ready to say goodbye once again when Braden takes the next step in his life? Braden is eighteen, in this, the seventeenth chapter.

Greg sat down at the kitchen table on one side of Braden, a large yellow envelope in his hand. Nick sat down on the teenager's other side, another large yellow envelope in his hand.

"Braden, we need to talk to you."

"About what?" the boy looked up from his homework, eyeing the envelopes, the expression on his face one of apprehension.

"Well, there's a college fair that's going to be in town next week, and we were thinking of going if you're interested. Schools from all over the country will be there, and you can talk to them, see which ones you like, and which you think you might want to apply to. You don't have to know what your major is yet. Just as long as you have some ideas, that'll be fine."

"What's that?" Braden pointed toward the yellow envelope in Greg's hand.

"Well, I just got this in the mail today. It's an introductory package to Stanford. And there's an application in here if you want to apply."

"And this is for A&M," Nick added, nodding toward the envelope he held. "We just figured we'd toss these suggestions out there. But really, you can go anywhere you want."

"Um..." Braden turned to dig a wrinkled piece of paper out of his pocket. "This came in the mail yesterday." He unfolded it and showed it to his fathers.

It was an acceptance letter to the University of Las Vegas.

Both men stared at each other over his head, astonished. When had this happened?

"I want to get a science degree here," Braden said, interrupting their thoughts. "And then I want to apply for veterinary school."

"Sure, of course...."

But, wow... Greg wasn't sure the shock would ever go away.

Braden grabbed several bags from the back of is father's SUV and headed toward the large brick building they'd parked in front of.

"Nick," Greg warned as his husband reached for the large trunk.

"What?"

"You're going to leave that right there. Here." He handed him a back pack and a duffle bag, both light in weight. "You're not going to aggravate your shoulder."

"G..."

"Nick. We already had this argument when we loaded the car. I'm not having it here. Just take these two bags up and when Braden gets back he can help me with the heavy stuff."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. Go."

Nick sighed, but began trudging toward the dormitory on the University's campus.

Greg surveyed the commotion going on around him as parents helped their freshmen college students get all of their gear from cars and trucks into dorm rooms. He couldn't believe they'd made it this far. With everything they'd gone through, he'd been certain they wouldn't have.

He remembered the time he thought those skin heads had turned his son into a horrible gay-hating child monster. But they hadn't because the little boy had called 911 to save his parents. His son had also shown just how grown up he could be at an early age when he was forced to take care of himself and the dog for a whole day. Greg still felt guilty for not paying his child any attention that day, but at the same time, the reason why made his heart constrict and pain flood his veins. There was no escaping these emotions, and he knew there never would be.

He always tried to follow thoughts like those with others like Braden's fifth birthday party held at the roller rink. That one always made him smile.

And now, his son was almost taller than he was, and headed off to college.

Was he ready for this?

"Dad! Dad! My roommate's here!"

Greg chuckled. Of course Braden was ready. He had been for several months. But Greg himself? Was HE ready for this?

Nick hadn't slept at all the night before, so he knew his husband wasn't. Not in the least bit.

Finally looking up, a tall, gangly teen followed Braden from the steps of the dormitory with Nick behind him. The boy had short dark hair, and friendly features.

"Dad, this is my roommate Josh. Josh, this is my dad."

"Hi, nice to meet you."

The two exchanged pleasantries before Josh explained that his parents were waiting for him by their car a few yards away and he had to get started unpacking.

"Alright, Braden, I need you to help me get this trunk out of the car and onto the hand truck so we can get it into the building as easily as possible."

"Sure thing, Dad."

"Nick, you can either stay with the car, or grab something, lock it up, and follow us."

Nick, grudgingly grabbed a few small boxes and handed them to Braden once Greg was set with the large trunk. He then grabbed several smaller items for himself and locked the door before following the other two up to Braden's new home.

"You know, you really don't have to live on campus, Braid. Especially not when school's so close to home."

"I know, Da. But I want the whole college experience everyone keeps talking about."

Nick just nodded in agreement.

"Don't worry, I'll be home often enough for your good cooking. I heard some of the seniors saying the food isn't that good here."

"It's college food," Greg piped up. "What do you expect?"

Nick sat down on the couch, resting his head in his hands, elbows on his knees.

"What were we thinking?" he asked.

Greg stopped in the doorway.

"What do you mean?"

"Raising a kid. I knew this day would come. I knew it would be hard. I just didn't realize it would be this hard."

Nick looked up at Greg, his tired eyes revealing just how much emotional pain he was feeling.

Greg quietly moved into the room and sat down beside him.

"I don't regret any of this, G. None. At all. I really don't. But... it just doesn't feel right. He was a quiet kid. Sure. But the house is... it just feels so empty without him."

"It'll get easier. I'm sure. Just... think about all the time you and I get to spend alone together now."

"You know, I thought that would help. I tried that last week. And it did. But only a little."

"Nick, you and I are going to get into a lot of trouble. Tomorrow night when we have to go to work, I suggest we show up horribly late," Greg snickered.

Just then there was a knock on the door.

Greg got up to answer it and was surprised to find Bobby and Jack standing on their doorstep, arms loaded down with bags and something that looked like a casserole dish.

"We figured you could use some company tonight. I hope you don't mind, but we brought dinner."

Greg opened the screen door for them.

"Not at all, come on in. We hadn't even begun to think about food yet."

"Figured as much."

Nick stood up and greeted their friends, helping to carry the food into the dinning room.

"So, you've done this before. How did you do it?" Nick asked as they sat down and began to dig into the tuna noodle casserole Jack had cooked.

"Pretty much the same way you're handling it now. Only we didn't have neighbors dropping in with food."

"I don't think I can handle having an empty house," Nick admitted.

"I told him to think of all the alone time we'll get. If we're late for work tomorrow night, don't worry about us, alright?"

Bobby grinned. "I think I told you the same thing almost... what... eight years ago now? God, it seems like only yesterday."

"Yeah, I know."

"What you two need is another dog. That's what you need."

"Another dog?"

"When Austin left for college that's when we got Checkers, our cat. She saved the day, and made sure the house wasn't empty. But we still had all the alone time we could ever want."

"I like that idea, G. Can we get another dog? I do miss Comet."

"Of course we can get another dog. I think Braden would like that too when he comes to visit."

"You know, I was so sure he was going to choose Stanford, the way he was trying to copy you for so long," Nick commented.

"Well, this is good," Bobby said, setting his fork down. "He needs his own school. And he's not far from home either, so that's probably a good thing for him. He has friends that are going there too I bet. Right?"

"We had a hard time convincing him this was his forever home. I guess it would make sense that he wouldn't want to be far away."

"It certainly won't be easy for him. True, he's close to home, which I know he wanted. But all of his friends are going out-of-state."

"They are? What about his girlfriend?"

Nick chuckled. "Braden insists that they're not really dating. But they're doing everything a couple usually does. Anyway, yeah, even Patty's leaving Nevada. She's actually going down to Huston, Texas. This'll be an interesting time for him."

"Even though he's shy, he still made friends pretty easily in school. I'm sure he'll be fine."

"Of course he will be. You two just need to get that dog. Dogs are a good way to keep your mind off things you don't need to be thinking about. And worrying about Braden is definitely something you don't need to be doing."

"Right."

Later that night, Greg was in the livingroom when Nick came looking for him. It felt odd not to be typing madly on his laptop like he usually did every night, or morning, right before bed. But tonight wasn't just any night.

"Hey G," Nick whispered, resting a hand on the back of his husband's neck. "You're not working on the second novel? I thought for sure, after that great review you got the other day for the first one, I wouldn't be able to tear you away from book two."

"Not tonight."

Greg reached up and pulled Nick down to sit beside him so he could see the framed picture he'd been staring at: Each family member was clearly labeled in Braden's small handwriting from Comet, to the little boy's Dad and Da, to the little boy himself.

"I'll never forget that day," Greg said, as he outlined his son's head with his finger.

"Me neither."

Nick leaned in to give Greg a light kiss on his cheek.

"So, why aren't you going to work on your novel tonight?"

Greg put the picture down on the nearby table and turned to face Nick, with a glint in his eye.

"Because, I want to be with you. That's why."

He surged forward then, and gave Nick a hard kiss before pushing him backward against the couch to perch on his hips. When he let their lips part, he sat up a little, both hands flat against Nick's chest.

"I don't want to be sad tonight. I want to make you happy. Ok?"

"More than."

"Ok boys, welcome home!" Greg called out as he opened the front door and held it open.

Two brindle Greyhounds bounded into the room, tails wagging happily.

Nick brought up the rear.

Both dogs began to race around the kitchen, chasing each other, until one began to slide into the other.

"Des!"

"Star!"

"Greg, I thought you put down the carpeting before we left this morning!" Nick called out, as he grabbed Desert Wind's slip collar to keep the young dog from completely losing his balance.

Greg took hold of Silver Star, holding him close as he was now shaking terribly from the fright of the slippery floor.

"Hey, it's ok, boy. You're gonna be ok," he soothed. "I meant to put the carpeting out, but I guess I forgot in all the excitement. Sorry. Here, if you take him, I'll go get it."

Nick took the second dog and held them together while Greg dug into the pantry for the carpet squares they'd used to help Comet on the same floor so many years ago.

"Here you go, boys." Greg put the squares on the floor in various places.

Silver Star leaned down to sniff one before moving to it. He then looked up at Greg appreciatively and gave his new owner a big lick across his face.

"Awww, you're welcome buddy."

"Yeah, just don't expect me to be kissing you after that, G."

"Did you hear that, Star? He's being mean, isn't he?" When the dog seemed to nod at him, he said, "Yeah, I thought so."

Just then, something caught Desert Wind's eye from the livingroom window. The dog burst from Nick's grasp and darted for the livingroom before Greg was able to catch him and stop him from going clean through the glass. Nick held Star back before he could get the same idea his brother had.

"Here we go again, Nick," Greg said, looking back at his husband with a smile. "Kids all over again."

"Yeah, kids again.... oh boy..."