Chapter Five

"If you keep me here one second longer, I'm pretty sure it qualifies as kidnapping. Holding someone against their will is a criminal offence, you know. I feel obligated to report you." He followed his nurse back to her station, getting an eye roll from the woman as she sorted through her patient files on the desk. "If I can't go until my doctor sees me, then can you go and find him? I want to go. I shouldn't have to wait for him to show up, before I can go home."

"There are other patients, Greg. And we're not keeping you here against your will. You're here because you're unwell. The doctor will see you soon." Nurse Sandra took the patient notes towards the drugs cabinet, keeping Greg outside the door, while she prepared the morning drugs round. "Go back to bed. I'll let you know when your doctor is back on shift."

"So he's not even here?"

"Greg..."

"Then just sign me out of here, so I can go home and get out of your hair." He gave her the puppy dog eye expression, but she didn't give in. "Fine." He gave out a reluctant sigh, turning back to his ward down the hall. He dropped back to his bed, wishing he had his phone with him, but the suspect probably still had it. He realised he'd probably have to cancel his credit cards and change his phone number. He had only just memorised the last one, now he'd have to start all over again. "Doctor Doyle." He sprang to his feet, hurrying after his doctor as he spotted him walking down the hall. "Can I please go home now? It's only really my ribs that hurt. I'll take time off work or whatever, I just wonna go home."

"We're just waiting for your latest blood work." The doctor reached for a file over the nurses' station, ushering Greg back to his ward. "I found your old notes, apparently you've been anaemic for quite some time. What did your last doctor prescribe?"

"Iron tablets." Greg took a seat on his bed again, holding his arm out as his doctor decided to check his blood pressure again. "Can I go home?" He began to sound a bit like a child, but his doctor pressed on.

"Your blood pressure is a little low too." He reported, reading through the night time obs that the nurses had taken. "I'm a little worried..."

"Why does all this even matter?" He interrupted the man, really wanting to go home.

"Because I don't think that you were knocked out. Your head is fine, and you don't have any of the usual symptoms. I think you fainted. Your anaemic and your blood pressure is low, over exertion like running could have caused you to faint like that. Have you been feeling dizzy, tired or breathless lately?" The man queried, getting a slight nod from his patient. "Did you finish the course of iron tablets your previous doctor prescribed?"

"I meant to." Greg spoke softly, gritting his teeth together as his doctor looked at him disappointed. "So I just get some more, then I can go home, right?"

"Yes, but you need to take these ones. This is very serious, Greg. Your heart is working overtime, trying to pump more blood around your body to compensate for the lack of oxygen in your blood. Untreated, it can lead to congestive heart failure. You'll also need to take some time off work, and book some follow up appointments with your doctor." He gave him a look that reminded him of one his mother used to give him, especially when she wanted him to do something. "You'll need somebody to drive you home too. I wouldn't recommend driving by yourself for a while either. These dizzy spells could happen at any time."

"Okay." He agreed. "Can you call, Nick?"

"Yeah." The man nodded, pocketing his pen as he left the ward. He spoke to the nurses at the station about his meds, before he picked up the phone to call his patient's husband for him. "Hi, Mr Stokes, this is Doctor Doyle from Desert Palms hospital. Your husband, Greg Sanders is ready to go home now. I'd also like to speak to you about his medication when you get in... yeah, same ward as last night. Okay, thank you." He hung up the phone, taking his next patient's notes off the nurse in front of him.

"Are you discharging the diva yet?" Sandra queried, getting a smile from the doctor. "I'll make sure his regular doctor gets his notes. You want me to let you know when his husband gets in."

"Yeah, I need to go over the meds with him. Try and keep Mr Sanders in his bed until then."

"I'll try." Sandra waved him off, making her way into Greg's ward. "How are those painkillers working out for you?"

"Go down better with a glass of merlot." He joked, tilting his head back against his pillow. "When do you get to go home?"

"Uh... in about three hours." She checked her watch. "You will be going home soon enough, so why don't you try and get some sleep. I know it's not the most comfortable place to sleep, but your husband will be here soon to take you home."

"Fine." He gave her a wave as she walked away, wishing he wasn't in a ward of his own. A lot of people liked to be by themselves in places and situations like this, but he hated it.

He eventually fell asleep while he was waiting to go home, waking up to the familiar sound of his husband's voice. He turned his head towards the hallway, watching a nurse handing Nick a prescription, before she let him into the ward with Greg. "What's that for?" He struggled to sit up, trying to see what it said.

"Painkillers." Nick showed him, grabbing his bag of clothes from the cabinet beside his bed. "You ready to go home?"

"Yeah." The younger man pushed the covers off him, adjusting his hospital gown, before he slid off the bed. He reached into the bag for his jeans, slowly pulling them on beneath his gown. He allowed Nick to aid him by loosening the strings to his hospital gown, but insisted on lifting his own t-shirt on over his head. "Ow," He groaned, lowering the material against his bruised ribs. "Where are the boys?"

"Still with my sister, she doesn't mind takin' them for the day."

"Colt has school."

"I know, he can go in with his cousin. They're in the same school." Nick pointed out to him, easing Greg's jacket onto his shoulders for him. He reached into the bag for his sneakers next, indicating for Greg to sit down, so he could put them on for him. "Gwen's home all day, so she's gonna look after Jackson for us. She said she can take him for however long we need."

"I don't need a babysitter." Greg took his prescription off Nick's hands. "You're just driving me home, that's all. Sara's out of town for the weekend and I don't want to worry my mother."

"Good to know I'm not your only choice." He sarcastically remarked, leading the way to the hospital pharmacy downstairs. He let Greg take a seat in the waiting room, while he took his place in the queue to get the younger man's pain killers for him. "One every four hours." Nick handed him the box, leading him out to his truck outside. "She said to make sure you don't double up, they're the strong stuff. Knock you old cold if you OD."

"I can read directions." Greg climbed into his truck, pulling his seatbelt across his chest. He tilted his head back against the seat, feeling relaxed and safe for the first time since he left home the day before. "Hey, Nick..." He spoke softly, watching the older man driving for a moment, before he spoke, "Thanks... I know that sounds pretty lame after what I said to you last night. But thanks for being there last night and again now. Even though I don't deserve it, you're always there when I need you. Mostly." He added, remembering the reason why they broke up in the first place. "You're mostly always there for me, and that's pretty cool."

Nick gave him a slight smile, turning his head to look at him as he stopped at the traffic lights. "I'm tryin'. I want to be everythin' you need, everythin' you deserve. I just need you to give me another chance."

"Do you still think I'm far too selfish to ever be part of a family?" He repeated the last thing he had said to him last night.

"I didn't say it exactly like that, did I?" Nick anxiously bit his lower lip, directing his truck towards their house. "You know that I didn't really mean it."

"Maybe, but then again, maybe you were right. I'm not holding my hands up or anything like that... I'm just saying, I know what I want and I'm really stubborn about getting it. I never really had to share anything growing up, and since college, I've just been able to get what I want when I want it... even you. And you can't talk, because you haven't really changed either. You still walk out on me."

"You told me to go." He reminded him.

"So you go? If I told you to jump off a cliff, would you do it?"

Nick rolled his eyes at him, slowing down as he reached their street. "I don't get you, Greg. You tell me to listen to you, then you shout at me because I did exactly what you asked. I can't win with you. What exactly do you want from me? If you even want me at all anymore."

"I do." He spoke softly, pulling his seatbelt off as they approached the house. "I just want you there when I really need you. Ever since I married you, I've never felt so alone in my entire life. I used to be able to depend on you to be there when I needed you, but you haven't been the same since you walked out on me. I was kidding myself to think that we could just go back where we left off. And having another baby with you was the dumbest idea ever. You clearly weren't ready to be thrown into all of this, and now I'm paying the price."

"You mean, Jackson?" Nick stopped the car, surprised that Greg would even say that. "I was ready, Greg. We made that decision together."

"Did we really though? Looking back on it, I think it was all me. I don't ever remember you saying anything about wanting another baby. It was all me, just like you said yesterday at the hospital. I thought a baby would make up for the fact that you had just abandoned me and made me think you were dead for three years, but it didn't change anything. You're still the same guy that walks out when things get tough. You're not in it for the long run, and I can't be with somebody like that. Colt and Jacks deserve someone that's always gonna be there for them, no matter what."

"I love you and I love them more than I've ever loved anythin' my whole life. You want me to fight to keep you, because I'll do it. I wanted another baby with you, I still do. I still want you too. I was an idiot for walkin' out on you the first time, and for lettin' you kick me out like that over some stupid argument. But I'm not givin' up. You are what I want, Greg. You're all I've ever wanted. I came back for you. And if I make it to my seventies, I'll still only want you."

"I don't want some big lifetime commitment. I just want... I want you to fight for me every once in a while. You give up so easy. It's like you don't even care about me." Opening the passenger side door beside him, Greg climbed out of the truck, making his way up the driveway towards his front door. It wasn't until he reached the door, that he realised that he had left his keys in his car, which was still parked at the lab. He turned to look down his driveway, relieved that Nick had stayed put for once, rather than driving off. "Hey, do you still have your keys on you?"

"Yeah." His husband grabbed them from his glove compartment. Before he handed them over, he parked his truck in the driveway, remembering the prescribed pain killers as he climbed out.

"I can get it from here, I'm a big boy." Greg hurried after him to the front door, blocking the older man's entrance to their house. "Nick, I don't need a babysitter. I can take it from here."

"Do you want me to fight for you, or not? Don't answer that. Move aside." He gave the younger man a slight push aside from the door, so he could unlock it. He held it open to let him in, closing the door behind them, before he made his way through to the kitchen. "You probably shouldn't be drinkin' coffee right now, you want some water or somethin'?"

"You're not staying." Greg folded his arms across his chest, giving out an annoyed groan as Nick came in and took over. He followed him through to the kitchen, taking the glass of water offered to him, while Nick started to clean the kitchen. The boys breakfast plates from the day before were still on the counter, along with the pile up of dirty dishes from their dinner the night before. "Cleaning up dirty dishes isn't exactly fighting for me. So don't think that this is going to make up for walking out on me."

"I don't know how you can live like this, G." His husband swept the crumbs from the counter into his hands, ditching them in the bin. "And I am fightin' for you. You need takin' care of, so I'm here. I do care about you." He assured him, looking into his eyes. "I've never stopped carin' about you. Here, if you feel that I'm not livin' up to my vows as your husband, then take it." He struggled to slide his wedding ring off his finger, before he lifted Greg's hand from his side to place it in his palm. "It's what you want isn't it? How about I just make things easier for you and resign from my post as your husband. It's what you want, isn't it?"

Instead of answering him, Greg curled his fingers around the ring in his hand, watching Nick putting some order back into his kitchen. Clutching the ring tighter, he turned towards the front room, leaving the older man to it as he dropped to the sofa. He didn't think that something so small and insignificant as a ring would make him feel as though he had just lost his whole world.

"Here, take your pill." Nick appeared a few minutes later, dropping a dark red iron pill into the younger man's hand.

"He told you?" Greg immediately saw what it was, feeling betrayed by his own doctor. "I can't believe he told you. What happened to doctor - patient confidentiality?"

"Would you just take it," He handed him his glass of water from the coffee table, waiting for him to swallow the pill, before he took the glass back. "Yeah, he told me, and I'm glad he did." He took a seat on the coffee table, looking into the younger man's eyes as he confessed, "Greg, the thought of losin' you to somethin' like this... it cuts me up inside, especially because I'm most likely the cause that you stopped takin' them in the first place. I love you. And I really don't want to lose you like that."

"Nick." Greg stopped him from climbing to his feet. He pulled him back down to his level, reaching for his hand from his side. He brushed his fingertips across the indent in his finger, before he slid the wedding ring from his hand back into its original place. "Don't ever take it off again, okay? You've got the in sickness and in health vow covered. You just have to make it to the death do us part clause before you're finally rid of me."

"Okay." His husband smiled at him, tempted to kiss him, but he still had to wait until things were a lot better between them. "You want somethin' to eat? I'll make yah some lunch." He made his way back to the kitchen to get Greg something to eat, making something for himself too, so he could stick around a while longer, just to make sure that the man he loved was really okay.

"You know, you really don't have to stick around. I am capable of looking after myself now." Greg returned his plate from lunch to the kitchen, noticing the overflowing laundry hamper was no more. "You don't have to do this, Nick."

"I don't mind. And you always wait to do it when it's overflowin'. You should do it every other day like I told you, especially the baby's clothes. He gets through more clothes than you." He gave the island in the middle of the kitchen another quick wipe, making it sparkle as the sun poured in through the window. "Are you still hungry? I can getcha somethin' else."

"No, I'm fine." Greg set his plate down, smiling in Nick's direction as he started to reorganise his kitchen cupboards. "Are you really sticking around to look after me or is it the fact that my house keeping is driving you crazy?"

"I'm just... helpin' out." He defended himself, stopping what he was doing for a moment. "I know you don't exactly have time for the full sprits of the place. You've got the boys here practically all the time, then you're workin' durin' the day too. I just thought I'd help out. Besides, this house is pretty big and it's a lot of work for just one person."

"Thanks." He spoke softly, hearing what sounded like a key turning in their front door. "My Mom never said she was..."

Nick quickly grabbed Greg's arm, pulling him behind the island. He crouched down behind it with him, putting his finger to his lips, indicating for him to be quiet. He didn't see a car out in their driveway and none of their neighbours had a spare, so it could only mean one thing.

He peered around the edge of the island as they came inside, not recognising the two men that entered their house. If Greg's wallet, ID and phone had been stolen by them when they beat him up, then they must have got hold of his keys too. As Greg was the only one who could really identify them, they probably came by to make sure that he couldn't testify to that fact.

"Nick?" Greg whispered to him, a perplexed look on his face.

His husband put his finger to his lips again, before he opened the cupboard in front of them. Pots and pans weren't exactly the best defence against two suspects that were most likely armed, but it was all he had to work with. "Stay down." He warned the younger man, carefully lifting out the frying pan from the top of the stack.

"Nicky." His partner grabbed his arm, pulling him back towards him. He shook his head, motioning to the phone on the counter opposite them. He didn't want Nick to get hurt, so he figured their best option was call in for backup and wait it out.

Nick shook his head back to him, getting an eye roll from Greg.

"You don't always have to be the big hero, you know." He hissed at him in a hushed voice. "Now I really wish I had a dog. We could set him loose on them."

"Shh," His husband whispered, reaching into his back pocket for his cell. He placed it in the younger man's hands to make him happy, before he attempted to make a move again.

"Nick... no." Greg pulled him back towards him, tapping the phone in his hands. "It doesn't always have to be you. We can wait." He whispered, scared to lose him like this. He looked into his eyes, feeling his heart racing as they could hear footsteps in the hallway outside.

"I have to." Leaning forwards, Nick pressed a light kiss to the younger man's cheek, before he peered around the side of the counter. One suspect was snooping around their front room, poking through their kids DVD collection, but there was no sign of the other one. They must have split up to see if anyone was home, making it a little easier for Nick to take them out.

Crawling onto his knees as Nick made his way out of the kitchen, Greg made his way towards the utility room, so he could make the call to Captain Brass. He kept an eye on Nick around the door frame, gritting his teeth together as the man was just a few feet away from the bigger suspect now.

Nick quickly launched himself over the sofa, taking the suspect by surprise. He forced the older man into the wall, causing him to drop the tire iron that he had in his hands.

"Bobby!" He shouted, swinging his fist towards his attacker.

Greg spotted the younger suspect bolting down the stairs, anxiously biting his lower lip as the odds weren't exactly in Nick's favour anymore. His husband took a swing from the second tire iron to his back, followed by a heavy right hook to the chin.

Watching his husband go down, Greg instantly knew that he wouldn't survive before Captain Brass got here with the backup, so he'd have to intervene. He didn't want his husband to suffer a beating like he had, so he had to force himself to get up. He grabbed one of their chrome stools from around the counter, figuring it would be enough to at least over power the smaller suspect.

Hurrying through to the front room, he struck the younger one in the back with the legs of the stool, forcing him away from his husband. He struck him again to keep him down, giving Nick some space to get up. Nick grabbed for his discarded frying pan, striking the second one in the knees.

The old man managed to sneak in a punch to Greg, stopping him from retaliating, only making his aggressor even more mad.

"Nick, Nick, Nicky!" Captain Brass quickly pulled him off the man, before he battered him to a bloody pulp. "It's done. C'mon, we got it from here." He let him go, watching him immediately tending to Greg on the floor. He motioned for his deputies to come in, indicating towards the two suspects on the floor, glad that they got here in time. A moment later and Nick could have killed the suspect, getting himself into some serious trouble.

"Are you okay?" Nick lightly touched his hand to the younger man's cheek, seeing a deep red impression just beneath his eye where he was hit. It always amazed Greg how he did that. Nick was the one who was beaten up by both suspects, practically kicked and beaten to the ground, but the first words out of his mouth were still 'Are you okay?'

Thank you for your reviews. I'm glad you're enjoying it. I was a bit worried about it because it's a sequel and they're never usually as popular as the originals. Thanks so much for reading.

~ Holly