Chapter Nine
"Sorry, sorry, sorry," Pulling his jacket off as quickly as he could, Greg pecked a kiss to his husband's forehead, before he slipped into the seat opposite him. "I was on the phone to my Dad for over an hour. Mom's in the hospital. She stepped on a nail or something and it went straight through her sandal. She hasn't broken any bones or damaged any nerves in her foot, but she's making a really big fuss about it. I'm sorry, I completely lost track of time." He hooked his jacket on the back of his chair, reaching for his menu off the table. "Did you order without me?"
"You mean for the forty minutes that I've been sittin' here?" Nick sarcastically remarked, grabbing for another bread stick from the middle of the table. They had arranged this date over three weeks ago, constantly reminding each other to take the time off work, so neither one of them had an excuse to miss it. He left work early to get ready, only to have to wait around for so long for his partner to arrive.
"I'm sorry." Greg picked up his chair, moving it round the table, so he could sit right beside his husband. "I'll make it up to you, I swear." He lifted the man's hand from the table, weaving their fingers together. "Ooh... starting with a present." He suddenly remembered, reaching for his jacket behind him again. He pulled an envelope out of the inside pocket, placing it in front of the older man on the table. "C'mon, you know as well as I do that you can't stay mad at me for long."
Nick set down the bread stick from his hand, picking up the envelope instead. He peeled back the flap, pulling out two tickets, realising that they were to Texas. "I'm not goin'." He replaced them to the envelope, dropping it back to the table. "I don't want to see them."
"Your Mom invited us and you need to see your Dad. He's having his heart bypass op in a couple of weeks time."
"Yeah, I know, Greg. But I don't want to go. I told you that two weeks ago, when you brought it up then." Nick scraped his chair back, making his way out of the restaurant. He made his way out to the car park, before his husband caught up to him, grabbing his arm.
"Nicky, wait. You're supposed to leave the dramatic exits to me."
Nick pulled his arm away from him, not in the mood for his jokes. "I told you to drop it, but instead you do the exact opposite and buy tickets. Are you tryin' to piss me off on purpose? I told you I didn't want to go. I don't want to see him and I certainly don't want to go there with you."
"What do you mean by that?" Greg took a step in front of him, trying to slow his huffy exit for a moment, so they could talk it out. "He's your father, Nick. And your mother is really excited to see you. What's so bad about spending the weekend with them?"
"I don't want to go, so I'm not goin'." Nick stepped around him, getting his arm grabbed again. He shook his elbow free, feeling it colliding against something in the process. He quickly turned to look at Greg, just in time to watch him grabbing his eye where he had hit him. "Oh Greg, I'm..."
"Don't touch me." Greg shoved him away from him, making his own huffy exit to his car. He blamed himself more than he did Nick. He had always been trying to push the parent issue, always getting the exact same result. He knew that Nick never meant to hit him, but this was the second time he had been hit when they were discussing his parents.
"Don't dunk the whole thing in there." Greg knelt down beside his son, scraping off some of the paint from the roller. They were finally giving their guest bedroom upstairs a repaint, so it could become the new baby's room. He knew that it was probably too early to be decorating anything for the baby, but he wanted to celebrate entering his second trimester with something. "Look, you just gently..." He showed Colt how to properly get paint on the roller, before he rolled it against the wall in front of them. "Like that, so it doesn't drip. You don't need to cake it on, just a light coat will do it."
"Okay. Okay. I know how to do it. I got it, Papa." Colt pulled the roller out of his father's grip, wanting to do it by himself. "Like this."
"You got it." Greg crawled back across the floor on his knees, retrieving his own roller. He raised it towards the wall in front of him, hearing the front door closing as Nick finally returned home. He hadn't spoken to him since last night and they didn't part on the best of terms, so he wasn't quite sure what to expect.
He sat back on his heels, watching out the doorway for Nick to make his way up the stairs. He heard his youngest son's little feet running through the entrance to their house, before he heard the click of the safety gate at the bottom of the stairs. His toddler immediately scurried up the stairs, waiting at the second gate for Nick behind him.
"Papa..." Jackson ran into the guest bedroom, crashing into his father's arms.
Greg just managed to move the roller in time, before his little boy toppled into his embrace. "Hey, Buckaroo. Did you have fun today?" He pressed a kiss to his forehead, guessing he had been painting at preschool, because he had green paint in his hair. "You not gonna talk to me?"
Jackson shook his head, resting against his father's shoulder. He was definitely Nick's son. His fourth birthday was coming up soon and he still barely said two words. When Colt was his age, Greg couldn't get him to shut up. He couldn't believe how different the two of them were already.
"Daddy," Colt scrambled to his feet, hugging the man in the doorway. "Daddy look, Papa hit his head in the shower." His son pointed towards the bruise on his father's face, not knowing where it really came from.
"G-reg..." Nick's voice croaked as he motioned over his shoulder. "Can I... can I talk to you for a sec?"
"Yeah." Greg pressed a kiss to his toddlers forehead, letting him out of his arms. "Colt, why don't you go play with Jacks for a minute? We'll finish the painting later." Colt reached for his younger brother's hand, leading him downstairs to play with their toys. "Did you go straight to work after...?" He asked his partner, carefully rolling the paint across the wall in front of him.
Nick knelt down beside him, looking at the bruise he had caused. It wasn't that big, but it was very noticeable. The purplish bruise stretched from just beneath his tear duct, fading out to the other side of his eye. His bottom eyelid was still a little bit puffy, making it still look fresh.
"The shower?" He finally asked.
"Sounds better than door knob." Greg pointed out to him. "Door knobs are so over used, that it's not even believable anymore. We don't exactly have door knobs low enough for me to smack my eye on and the kitchen cupboard ones are too thin and the wrong shape. Shower knobs however are the perfect size and people slip in the shower all the time. They mostly go through the glass door, but seven year olds don't look into the details like we do." He over explained his reason, getting a smile out of Nick as he loved that part about him.
"Greg, I'm..."
"No apology needed." Greg interrupted him, dropping the roller into the paint tray in front of him. "I doubt they'll give me a refund on the tickets, but I wasn't actually looking forward to going anyway. Can you sell plane tickets on Ebay?"
"I hate it when you do that." Nick crawled slightly closer on his knees, taking a closer look at the bruise he had caused. "You make me sound like an abusive husband when you brush it under the carpet like that. Maybe I am, and you defendin' me all the time isn't goin' to help."
"Can you not examine me like that, it's creepy." The younger man climbed to his feet, sitting on the mattress behind him that was covered with a plastic sheet to protect it from the paint. "I'm not a victim. I'm not with you because you have some kind of authority over me. I'm not scared of you. I don't think that abuse is normal. And you're not a bully. The last time you hit me was well over a decade ago and that was when I wanted you to tell your parents about us."
"I shoved you against your locker. How does that not make me a bully?" Nick climbed to his feet, taking a seat on the mattress beside the younger man. "Come to think of it, I've done that to you twice. I hit you after you wouldn't take Warrick's side with the Gedda thing. I verbally abuse you all the time. All because I can't deal with the crap goin' on in my head."
"You're an emotional guy. You want me to hit you to make it even?" Greg reached for his lover's hand, entwining their fingers together over his stomach. "You don't verbally abuse me. And looking back on that whole Lou Gedda thing, I deserved to get punched. If not by you, Catherine woulda clawed my eyes out for not taking his side. And lockers don't really hurt."
Nick chuckled softly, rolling his eyes at Greg as he had done it again. "I'm really sorry about yesterday, G. I didn't mean..."
"I know."
"Can you just let me explain?" He playfully jabbed his partner in the side, before he tried to explain. "I got a letter yesterday . . . from the hospital. First time in three years, they want me to go back for repeat blood work. I know it could be any number of things, but it's me. I know it's gonna be bad. And then I had to get ready for date night with you, with that on my mind. When you were late, it only made me more agitated. I shouldn't have done what I did, but I really don't wonna go see my folks."
Greg gulped hard, feeling his heart in his throat as he feared that the cancer was back. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"We planned our date night ages ago. I didn't want the anniversary of our first time to be ruined, but I did that on my own. We've got a baby on the way. Two beautiful boys. I... I don't want to ruin what we have."
Greg immediately reached his arms out for Nick, pulling him close against his shoulder. He could feel him breaking down into tears against him, meaning he had to stay the strong one out of the two of them. He hugged the older man tighter against his side, wishing they could just get a break. "You know... it might not even be that..."
"You know it will." Nick leant further into Greg's embrace, feeling his baby bump between them. He hadn't realised that Greg had even popped until now. The baggy clothes he had been wearing lately hid his figure well, but he couldn't practically feel a whole baby against him now.
They crashed back against the mattress after a few minutes, holding each other tightly for a moment of comfort. Greg closed his eyes as he felt his husband's breath on his neck, wishing he knew what to say to make it all better, but he didn't know if there was anything he could say. He felt Nick move after a few minutes, getting a breath full of his hair as the man readjusted himself against his shoulder. His hand made its way to the pregnant belly between them, trying to guess which part of the baby he could feel against the surface.
"They've been doing summersaults all day. It's been making me queasy." Greg spoke softly, pressing his lips to his partner's hairline. "I think I felt a kick earlier."
"Their first?" Nick glanced up at the younger man with his puffy eyes.
"Yeah, first I've felt anyway." He smiled as Nick's hand immediately tried to seek out a kick. "Think we'll get a girl this time?"
"You want a girl? Even after what your Mom said about gay guys gettin' a girl, just to put them through the beauty pageants and stuff?"
"She's been watching too much television." Greg giggled softly, combing his fingers back through his partner's hair. "I've always kinda wondered what it would be like to have a girl. Don't you want a girl after having two boys?"
"Yeah, I just don't want you to get your hopes up again. You thought Jackson was gonna be a girl. I don't care what we get. I just want them to be healthy. Speakin' of, when's your next scan? I'll take the time off this time, so I can get to see them in real life."
"Um... I think it's the end of this week. It's the anomaly scan. I was gonna ask you about that actually. Do you think we should get that genetic test thing?"
"The amnio thingy?" Nick glanced up at him. "I thought you didn't believe in that, because you wouldn't be willin' to get rid of it even if it did have some kind of defect."
"I've been thinking about it though and I don't think it's really fair. After what Wendy went through last year, I don't think I could go through all of that. She knew that her baby was going to have some kind of problem. The doctors put the baby through all those surgeries and things, and it didn't even survive anyway. It just... doesn't seem fair. I don't want to put our baby through that."
"You're barely in your forties, there can't be... I mean, there's nothin' that runs in our families. As far as I know anyway." He placed his hand on Greg's stomach again, hoping that he hadn't done anything to their child. "What about the risk of miscarriage? If I really am sick again, this could be our last chance to have a baby."
"It's not a very high percentage." Greg combed his fingers back through Nick's hair, looking into his teary eyes. "Just the percentage of you getting cancer again. It's not very high. Maybe they screwed up your test in the lab or they went a consultation to tell you that you no longer need the short periods of surveillance. They might be extending it, because you've been clear for so long."
"I really doubt that." He leant on his elbow beside Greg's head, looking down into his eyes. "I always knew that it would come back. I just didn't know when."
"You're talking like it's already here. You don't know what it is. Can't you call your doctor and get a heads up before this consultation? You must be able to do that." He brushed his fingertip beneath Nick's eye, trying to think of something to say to keep him fighting. When he first came back to him, he was still going through the treatment of his cancer, but he never gave up or submitted defeat to what was happening to him. "Ow Nicky, your knee."
"Am I hurtin' you?" Nick struggled to a sitting position, so Greg could get up.
"No, you're leaning on the baby. And the baby's leaning on my bladder. I gotta go." He pecked a kiss to the older man's cheek, before he pushed himself to his feet. "I'll be right back." He hurried across the hall, loosening the elastic waist of his jeans, so he could use the bathroom. He heard a sudden thud a few moments later, followed by the high pitched wails of his toddler.
"I got him." Nick hurried down the stairs, scooping up his son from the floor. "Ooh baby... where's it hurt?" His toddler pointed to his elbow as he continued to cry, immediately getting a kiss there from his Daddy. "He's okay." He assured Greg as the younger man had hurried down the stairs behind him. "He just got a little bump."
"But little bumps hurt Daddy." Greg smiled at him, lifting his baby free from the man's arms. He hugged his little boy close, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. "Do you wonna come help me in the kitchen? We've gotta make some dinner. Daddy's gonna be hungry soon."
"I actually have to head into work now. But I'll grab somethin' there." Nick assured him, sealing a quick kiss to his lips.
"Hey, wait a second." Greg set Jackson on the floor, sending him off into the playroom with his brother for a moment. He followed Nick out into the hall, watching him pulling his jacket back on to leave. "Aren't you gonna call your doctor? You can't ignore this Nick. I still need you around."
"I'm not goin' anywhere." He wrapped his arms around his husband, pulling him close against his chest. "Except to work. I'll try and get off early." He sealed a proper goodbye kiss to his lips, moving his hands to his pregnant belly again. "Everytime I'm with you, you remind me of why I keep fightin'. And you don't need to sell the tickets. I'll go see my father."
"Really?" Greg gave him a surprised look. "You realise it's this weekend, right? You always bite my head off when we have to pack last minute to go to my Mom's."
"We'll start packin' tonight. Who's takin' the boys?"
"Dad, he's in town tomorrow on business. He can collect them from here and take them back with him Friday. He's never had them both on his own before, but I'm sure he'll be alright. If we keep Jackson up, he should sleep through the whole drive. Maybe we can take Colt round to the park with Evelyn's twins. They always manage to wear him out."
"Okay." Nick sealed another kiss to his husband's lips. "Jackson still has little critters in his hair by the way. I got told off at pre-school by another mother that claimed our son gave them to her daughter. Oh and three kids are off sick with chicken pox."
"Seriously?" Greg looked at him wide eyed, remembering his mother saying that he had never had it before.
"Yeah, I had it when I was six. You haven't had it?" He gave the younger man a surprised look. "You can't be around kids that have it while you're pregnant, G." Realising he was needed here, Nick pulled his jacket off again, ditching his car keys onto the side table. "It's okay. Don't panic. I can't believe I didn't know that you haven't had it."
"Colt hasn't either." Greg quickly added, suddenly worrying about a million more things that could happen to his baby.
Nick made his way into the playroom with the boys, lifting Jackson on his lap first. He anxiously checked his arms and legs for any of the familiar spots, before he peered under his t-shirt. "I can't see any, G." He called out to him, ushering Colt closer to him. "C'mere bud, I need to see if you've got any spots."
Colt climbed to his feet, taking his Lego blocks with him over to his father. He kept his eyes focused on the model he was building, while Nick checked under his t-shirt for any sign of the usual spots. "What are chicken pox, Daddy?"
"They're itchy red spots that you get all over your body." He turned Colt in his arms, checking his back next. "He looks okay, G. Should we book an appointment with their doctor?" He asked, noticing Greg standing in the doorway now. "I think for you they have to do a blood test to see if you're immune to it or somethin', before they give you the shot."
"How do you know that?" Greg gave him a curious look.
"My sister, Vicki, she didn't get chicken pox until her second pregnancy. Her toddler brought it home with her, and her baby was fine." Nick tried to assure him, letting his boys go and play again. "I'll ring their paediatrician and see what we need to do. It'll be fine." He climbed to his feet, pressing a kiss to Greg's cheek, just beneath the bruise to his eye. "C'mon, you get started on makin' dinner and I'll ring their doctor. I'll ring your doctor's office too, see what we need to do." He pressed another kiss to his cheek, giving him a reassuring hug. He didn't let on to him, but he was actually grateful to have something to take control over again. He didn't have any control over the cancer in his own body, but he could keep his family safe.
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