Chapter Sixteen

"I love bein' a parent. The moment I found out about Colt, I felt as though I had this great purpose and huge responsibility to raise this little boy." The Texan explained, spreading the light green paint from his roller against the wall in front of him. He glanced round at his friend Mandy after a while, rolling his eyes as she wasn't even listening to him. She was leant against the ladder in the middle of the twins new room, flipping through the pages of one of the children's books. "Anythin' interestin'?" He asked, moving her aside as he set the paint pot on top of the ladder. "I don't need a babysitter you know."

"Sara just said to keep a eye on you, just in case you needed anyone." Mandy set the book down, folding her arms across her chest as she took a look around the room. "Why green?"

"Greg picked the colour before we knew what they were. Did Sara tell you to babysit me?" He confronted her. "Because you look like a bored babysitter."

"She just thought that you might need somebody with you, you know, while Greg's still under sedation. So you picked green as a neutral colour? Most people go with yellow."

"I can't stand the colour yellow." Nick pulled his sweatshirt off, tossing it onto the crib he had set in the middle of the room. He still had to piece together the other one, but it didn't look like the twins would be coming home anytime soon. "So your sister is eight months pregnant?" He got back to what they were talking about originally. "Does she know what she's havin'?"

"Boy. She already painted the nursery blue. She hasn't picked a name yet though. I've gotta go to her baby shower at the end of the week." She groaned, stepping aside as he moved the ladder across the room. "I don't see the point in a baby shower if there isn't a baby there to shower with gifts. How come Greg never had one for the twins?"

Nick gave her a shrug. "He just didn't want one. We lost two pregnancies before he got pregnant with the twins... so I guess it was just too hard." He climbed the ladder, painting the higher section of the wall that he couldn't reach before. "Don't tell Greg I told you." He realised that she didn't actually know that.

"Was that when you guys broke up again?"

"We didn't break up." Nick objected, hearing the front door clicking shut as his mother in law returned home with the boys. "Things just got a little difficult to deal with and we separated... temporarily." He explained to her, stepping down from the ladder. "You wonna finish up these walls for me?"

"Oh no, I'm strictly here to observe." She grinned at him, checking the time on her watch. "I should get going anyway. My shift starts in a couple of hours."

Nick wiped his paint covered fingers down the old jeans he was wearing, before he led the way downstairs. To give him some space while he did some decorating, his in laws offered to take the boys out for dinner. He noticed Daniel right away, carrying Jackson against his shoulder, while Colt managed to walk in by himself.

"Jacks threw up." Colt announced, running into the arms of his father for a hug. "He had three chocolate brownies and loads of ice cream."

"He's fine." Jean assured him, slipping Jackson's shoes off, so her husband could carry him up to his bed. "He had two and a half brownies from his chocolate brownie sundae that he ordered then they started playing with some of the other kids on the jungle gym. Did you finish up?" She noticed the paint on his leg.

"Eh almost," He stepped aside from the stairs, letting Mandy by him. "This is Mandy, from the lab."

"Hi, Mrs Sanders. We have met a few times." Mandy could tell by the look on the woman's face that she didn't recognise her at all. "Okay, well I gotta get to work. Bye, Nicky. Bye, Colt."

"Bye, Auntie Mandy!" Colt waved her off from his father's arms. "Why was she here, Daddy?"

"She wanted to know how Papa was doin'."

"C'mon Colt, let's go run that bath." Jean took his jacket off him, giving Nick a smile as she lifted his son from his arms. "Did you want me to make you something to eat before I get the boys ready for bed?"

"No I had somethin'." He lied, letting her take his son upstairs.

He returned to the twins new room to finish painting the last wall, before he decided to get some sleep himself. It was weird sleeping in his bed without his husband there, but he didn't really have any other choice at the moment. His husband was still sedated, lying alone on a strange hospital ward.

"Stuart, Grant, Curtis, Louis, Cody, Harry, Leroy..." Sara chuckled slightly, shaking her head at Nick for that name on his list. "Grayson, Brandon, Adrian, Liam... they all sound pretty good, but none of them really go with the names you picked on your girls list." She pointed out to him, dropping to the sofa beside him. She came round early to make sure he was doing alright without Greg at his side, but he didn't seem like the same Nick. "I can't imagine ever trying to name a baby. It must be really hard to try and pick out a name that's gonna stick with this little person for the rest of their lives. Our names are kinda like our personality too, so you have to get it right."

"Thanks Sara, you're really helpin'." He sarcastically remarked, throwing down his pen after copying out another three names from the baby name book. "I phoned my Mama last night when I couldn't sleep. She wants to catch the first flight over to see the twins."

"That's good though, right?" She caught a faint nod from the man. "You don't believe she'll come?"

"No."

"When are you going back to see, Greg?"

"Eh... I don't know, they took him off the ventilator last time I was there, but he was still pretty sleepy." He glanced up at the clock, realising he should wake the boys up soon as it was almost noon. "I guess I'll go back after I've fed them some lunch."

"I can take care of them. That's why I'm here." She reminded him, wishing she could sooth all his troubles. "C'mon, I'll get em up, feed them and take em to the park or something. Kids still like the park, right?"

"Yeah." He chuckled softly, tilting his head back against the sofa cushions. "Kids haven't changed that much. You have to watch Jacks on the monkey bars though and Colt has a habit of lettin' go when he's really high on the swings. Just try and keep them both in sight, I'm sure they'll be fine." He licked his lips, having a sudden thought. "I just realised I'm gonna have to keep my eyes out for four kids now. It's hard enough with two, and twins are supposed to be harder."

"You're just realising that now?" The woman chuckled, playfully slapping his knee, before she helped him up. "Go see, Greg, I'll take care of the kids. When are the in laws getting back?"

"They went back to see the kids. Jean is comin' back tonight, but I think Daniel is gonna stay there for now. She has a key, so you don't have to hang around to let her in." Nick made his way through to the kitchen, stepping into the laundry room to grab some clean clothes for himself and the boys. "That's Colt's..." He handed a t-shirt over to Sara, while he found some shorts and things for them.

"I can do this. Go get yourself ready to see, Greg." Sara ushered him out of the way. "Go on. I may not be a mother, but I can take care of two kids for a couple of hours."

"You'll soon be regrettin' that." He warned her.

Following his Auntie Sara through the park, Colt stopped as they reached the swings, watching her un-strapping the buckles holding his brother in the push chair, before she let him go play. Jackson didn't really like swings, so he hurried straight past them, going for the climbing structure that was already crowded with children. Sara pulled the push chair over to a free bench, taking a seat on the edge, before she noticed Colt still stood beside her. "You don't wonna go play?"

"Why aren't we allowed back to the hospital?" Colt climbed onto the bench beside her, watching her going through the bag of food she brought with her. "Is something wrong with the babies? Or is it Papa?"

"No, your Papa's just really tired, so I said that I'd look after you both today." She handed him a juice box, getting another one set up as Jackson came hurrying back to them. "Drink it here." She stopped him from running off again. "I'm gonna take you by the hospital during visiting hours, then your Daddy is gonna take you home for dinner and bed time."

"How long will that be?" He continued to question her, wondering if something really was wrong. If there wasn't anything wrong, then their Daddy would have taken them with him to see the babies. "Daddy and Papa said that I get to help chose the babies names. I've already picked one."

"Really, what is it?" Sara gave him a curious look.

"I haven't even told Daddy yet." Colt shook his head from side to side, keeping the woman in suspense. "It's for my little brother. I don't know what to call my little sister yet."

"Can you give me a hint?" She took the juice box back from Jackson, letting him run off to play again. "What does it start with?"

"E."

"E?" Sara pursed her lips together, trying to think of boys names that started with an E. "E... Edward? No, okay. Earl?"

"No." Colt threw his head back in giggles.

"Okay, those were just warm ups. Nod when I get it right." Sara kept an eye on where Jackson was, trying to think of some more names. "Emmett? Elliot? Eric?" She watched Colt shaking his head to each one. "Ewan? Everett? Eddie? No... um, how about Elvis?"

"No." He continued to giggle, shaking his head at her. "Those are terrible guesses."

Sara smiled at him, trying to think of some more. "Earnest? Edwin? Okay, what's the last letter of the name?"

"N."

"Okay, starts with an E and ends with an N?" She checked, before she tried to think. "Einstein?" She thought of the first thing that came to mind, getting another giggle out of Colt as it was wrong again. "Evan? I... can't think of anymore. I have no clue. Can you tell me?"

"Ethan." Colt giggled, leaning back against the bench. "Do you like it?"

"Yeah." She smiled at him. "A perfect name for your little brother. You'll have to tell your Daddy later. What are you gonna call your little sister though? She'll feel left out if she doesn't have a name."

"I don't know any girls names though."

"Sure you do, there's loads of girls at your school. You've got cousins, aunts and grandmothers that are girls." She pointed out to him, searching for Jackson in the crowd of children. She spotted him on his hands and knees on the floor, realising he had scuffed his knees as he came off the slide. She hurried over to him, sweeping the child off the floor as his tears started to form in his eyes. "Ooh, that was a nasty bump." She took him back over to the bench, brushing down the dirt from his legs. "Ooh, it's okay. Just a little scratch. Let's get back to the car to clean those up."

Colt took hold of his brother's push chair, following Sara out of the park. He leant against the back of the car as Sara sat his younger brother on the back. She grabbed her first aid kit that she kept handy, gently cleaning the grazes on his knees.

"Daddy doesn't do it like that." Colt commented on how she was doing it.

"How does Daddy do it then?" Sara took a step aside as Colt took over. He gently dabbed the graze on his younger brother's knee, before he reached for a plaster to stick over it. "Good job." She smiled at him, lifting Jackson into her arms again to hug him. "Shall we go get some ice cream?"

"Yeah." Colt cheered, quickly climbing into the car, so they could leave. She took them to the store so she could do some shopping of her own, letting the boys walk free, while she pushed the shopping cart.

Colt held his younger brother's hand for the first portion of the trip, before his brother started to get tired. He attempted to lift him up, almost toppling them both through one of the displays against the end of the aisle.

"Careful." Sara helped them both up, lifting Jackson into her arms as she saw how tired he was. "You're not quite strong enough to lift him up yet."

"I almost did."

Jackson shook his head from side to side, putting a smile on Sara's lips.

"He didn't did he?" She giggled softly, leading them through to the frozen foods section. "Okay, what kind of ice cream do you want?" She gave Colt a boost, so he could take a look inside. She glanced up as she heard footsteps, catching a woman smiling at her from the other side of the aisle.

"How old are your boys?"

"Oh eh... they're not mine." Sara shook her head, realising the woman hadn't even asked that. "Seven and four. They're my friends kids." She gave her an awkward smile as she walked away, before she turned back to Colt.

"Daddy hates it when women do that." Colt picked out an ice cream for himself, but he had three others in his hands that he took over to his brother, so he could decide what he wanted.

Jackson studied the packets for a moment, before he pointed to the mint chocolate one. "That one."

Sara smiled at them both, wishing she did have children like them. She felt envious of Nick and Greg the last time that they were having a baby, but now they had two children and two babies, while her hopes of having a child was practically nonexistent now that her marriage was falling apart at her fingertips.

"Can you call a girl chocolate?" Colt queried, putting the other two back.

"Chocolate?" Sara giggled softly, shaking her head at him. "I wouldn't like to be called Chocolate. I like to eat it, but I wouldn't my name to be that. Have you thought about names like Chloe, Sophie or Madison? They're simple but girly. She needs a girly name with three brothers."

"Is Mercy a girl's name?" He followed her through the rest of the store, getting a nod from his aunt. "There's a girl in my class called Piper Mercy."

"Mercy's her surname?" Sara assumed, getting a nod from the child as they approached the checkout. "Ethan and Mercy don't really go together though, do they?" She paid for her shopping, taking a moment to unwrap the boys ice creams, before she took them to the car. "Alright, let's head home for some food, before we head off to the hospital to see Daddy."

While Sara took the boys home to feed them, Nick finally rested his head against Greg's bed, feeling exhausted after practically no sleep last night. He was hoping that Greg would at least be awake this time he came to see him, but he was still fast asleep. He was off the ventilator and doing a lot better now that he had more blood inside him, but he was still exhausted and didn't quite look like himself yet.

Nick propped himself up on his elbow after a few minutes, noticing the younger man's eyelashes twitching slightly. He watched the delicate angels wings over his eyes fluttering open and shut for a few seconds, before he pushed himself to his feet to lean over him. "It's me baby, open your eyes." He whispered, gently pressing a kiss to his forehead. He shielded the younger man's eyes from the bright lights above him, presenting him with a smile as he finally managed to open his eyes. "Hey, gorgeous."

"Hi." Greg croaked, closing his eyes the second Nick moved his hand away.

His husband grabbed for the glass of water off the tray table, adjusting the straw as he held it out for Greg. "Here... take this, G." He placed the straw in the younger man's mouth, letting him take a few sips of water. "Do you feel okay?" He returned the glass of water to the tray table, shielding his hand over Greg's eyes again.

"Yeah." Greg turned his head to the side, knowing he'd be in a lot of pain if he adjusted himself under the covers, but he wanted to get in a comfier position. He managed to adjust himself a little, causing some discomfort to his side. "Can I go home yet?"

"I don't think they'll allow that yet, baby. You lost a lot of blood. We thought we were gonna lose you." Hooking his foot around the chair leg behind him, he pulled his chair closer, so he could take a seat closer to his husband. "I missed you."

"You've got a green chin." Greg reached his hand out to him, brushing his thumb across the man's chin.

"I painted the twins room last night." Nick scratched the paint off with his thumb, getting a smile out of his husband. "I've left the window open to let out the paint fumes. I'm gonna put the second crib together tonight and Jean's gonna help me with their bed sheets and puttin' their clothes in the dresser. She's washed and ironed all those outfits that we got last week."

"Are they okay?"

"Yeah..." His husband spoke softly, gently combing his fingers through his partner's hair. "They're a little small and their lungs are a little undeveloped, but the nurse said they're little fighters. Our little girl is on a full ventilator, they've both got feedin' tubes and the uv lamps or whatever they're called to try and regulate their body temperatures. They haven't got any baby fat under their skin, so they have to do it for them. They're really tiny. I don't think any of their clothes are gonna fit them. You should see the size of the diapers on them."

"Have you got to hold them yet?" Greg hoped that he hadn't as he wanted to hold them first, but he didn't want his babies to feel like they were all alone.

"No, they wouldn't let me. I've held their hands. They've both got a strong grip."

"What do they look like?" Greg felt a tear in his eye as he asked the question, but he really couldn't remember what his twins looked like. He watched Nick searching his pockets, bringing out his phone that he had taken some pictures on. "I can't believe I'm seeing my babies for the first time on a phone screen."

"I'll ask if we can go down there later." Nick assured him, turning the phone in his direction. "This is the boy. They keep the hat over his eyes to shield them from the light." Greg turned his phone to where he could see it, not sure what he was looking at for a second as the picture had been taken from outside the incubator. "See his little foot?" Nick pointed to the edge of the screen.

"Your photography skills suck." Greg harshly told him. "How'd you ever become a CSI?"

"They wouldn't let me have my phone out down there, so I had to snap a quick shot of each of them." The man defended himself, flipping the photo to the next. "And this is the girl. Look at her hair, one of the nurses down there said she looks Latin with her thick dark hair."

"I wish I could see them for real." He sighed softly, trying to see his daughter in the second picture. It was a little clearer than the last, but not by much. It looked as though the photographer had fallen over during the picture taking as it was slightly blurred. "Who has the boys?"

"Sara. Jacks got up twice last night, mostly because your Mom fed him a chocolate brownie sundae that had him pukin' all night, but he wanted you there too. I finally got him to sleep in the bed with me. Colt's been alright though. I think it's sinkin' in that he's a big brother to three kids now." Nick put his phone away, resting against his elbow on the bed as he looked into the younger man's eyes. "You want them to come by later? Sara can bring them then take em back for bed."

"Yeah... okay." Greg reached for his partner's hand, holding it close to his chest. "I'm sorry I scared you." He brushed his thumb across the remaining green specs of paint on his husband's chin, giving him a wide smile. "Where's my kiss?"

"You never asked." Nick climbed to his feet, leaning over his partner to seal a kiss to his lips. "I gotcha some PJ's if you wonna get out of this hospital gown later." He kissed him again, gently parting the younger man's lips with his tongue. "I gotcha some sweats and t-shirts too."

Greg smiled at him, pulling the man a little closer to deepen the kiss. "Can you help me change now? I'd rather it was you than some nurse half my age."

"Aw, you feelin' old, G?" His husband teased him, grabbing for the bag he had bought with him. He pulled out a pair of his pyjamas, setting them on the end of the bed. "Careful." He warned him, helping him to sit up. "I don't want you poppin' your stitches." He eased Greg forwards a little, loosening the ties of the hospital gown. "How's it feel?"

"Numb." Greg pushed the covers back slightly, putting his arm through the sleeve of his pyjama top. He pulled away the hospital gown so Nick could button it, realising his stomach had deflated already. He still had his thick red blotchy stretch marks, but they were a lot closer together now that his stomach wasn't being stretched by two babies inside him. He thought that Nick would have been repulsed by him now, but he was still so loving and gentle towards him.

Nick grabbed for his pyjama bottoms after he helped him to lay down again, taking a good look at his stitches while he got the chance. They were concealed beneath a peeling bandage, so he could only see a small portion of them, but they looked very painful.

"Does it look horrible?" Greg asked, waiting for Nick to return to his side.

"No worse than last time." He assured him, stroking his fingers through the younger man's hair. "Promise me no more babies, I almost lost you this time. I want you more than I want a big family."

Seeing a tear in his husband's eye, Greg reached his arms out to him, pulling him in for a hug. "Tell me more about my babies. Do they look more like me or you?"

Glancing over his shoulder, Nick noticed one of Greg's nurses making her way to the front desk. "How about I find out if we can go and see them?" He pressed a kiss to his husband's head, before he hurried after the nurse to ask her. She took some persuading, but it didn't take too long with his Texan charm. He grabbed a wheelchair by himself, taking it through to Greg.

"I really wouldn't advise this so soon." The young nurse protested, giving him a hand to get Greg out of the bed anyway.

"We'll be careful." Nick promised her, supporting Greg's weight as he gently lowered him into the chair. "You okay?" He got a slight nod out of the younger man as he adjusted himself to a comfier sitting position.

"Here, take this." The nurse grabbed the blanket from the end of the bed, tucking it around Greg on the chair. "If you feel faint or anything, just tell one of the staff down there."

"We will." The Texan assured her, pressing a kiss to the top of his partner's head, before he started moving. He carefully wheeled him towards the elevators, noticing an excited smile spreading across his lips. He pulled his phone out just as the elevator arrived, receiving a text from Sara just as she arrived outside. "Do you want the boys to come down with us? Sara's right outside."

"Okay." Greg nodded, hoping he didn't look too scary. He could barely see his pale complexion in the wall of the elevator, but he had hoped Nick would tell him if he looked like a monster. "Will they let us all go in there?"

"If we're quiet. We'll let the boys have a quick look than Sara can take them back to wait in your room." Nick quickly texted Sara the floor number to meet them on, meeting her at the entrance to the neonatal intensive care unit. "Careful." He warned the boys as they ran towards Greg's wheelchair. "Papa's still very poorly."

Colt carefully leant over the arm of the wheelchair, giving Greg a quick hug. "Can I tell Papa the name I've chosen for the baby boy?"

"I can talk you know." Greg playfully tickled his son, adjusting the blanket draped over him to hide the bandage. "What name did you choose for the baby boy?"

"I want to tell my little brother first to see if he likes it." Colt hurried on ahead, following Sara and Jackson through the double doors. "Daddy, Auntie Sara gave us ice creams today. She's bought a new dog too. She showed us the pictures. She said we can play with him when we go over there next. Can we go today?"

"Uh... we'll see, we're goin' to see your baby brother and sister first." Nick got them buzzed through to the ward, wheeling his husband in backwards, while Sara held the door open. "Are you okay?" He checked on him again, getting a smile out of the younger man. "Colt, stay with Sara." He stopped him running off too far. "No runnin' in here." He motioned to the ward where all the tiny baby's were sleeping.

As soon as they were inside, Greg looked around at all the tiny baby's hooked up to all sorts of machines, wondering which ones were his. Nick stopped at one of the incubators, positioning Greg's wheelchair alongside it. He couldn't quite see the baby inside, but he could tell that there was one in there. He noticed a tube going inside their tiny little mouth, tape stuck across their cheeks and a few wires and things spread out across their tiny little body, making them look like a robotic baby in a factory, rather than a newborn.

"This is the boy, Papa." Colt informed him, putting his father's arm around him as he leant against the side of his wheelchair. "Can we call him, Ethan, Papa?"

"Ethan?" Greg double checked, giving his son a smile. "I think he'll like that name."

"Do you want to hold him?" One of the nurses asked, lifting up the side before the younger man had a chance to answer. She adjusted a few of the wires and things, carefully lifting out the delicate little bundle, placing him into his father's waiting arms for the first time. "Don't worry about the wires and things, you're not going to pull anything out or hurt him. I know it looks a little scary, but they're all just there to monitor him and make sure he's doing alright."

Nick knelt down beside his partner, glad that Greg was the first to hold him. "I think he looks like you."

"Look at that brow, he's a miniature you." Greg giggled softly, pressing a kiss to the side of his husband's head. He delicately took his son's tiny little fingers into his hand, falling in love with him right away. "Hi, Ethan." He spoke softly, noticing Sara wiping her hands across her cheeks as her tears started to flow. "Are you okay, Sara?"

"Yeah." She croaked, excusing herself as she left the room.

"I'll go." Nick ushered the boys closer to Greg's chair, making sure they stayed put, before he hurried after Sara. He didn't know what had set her off, so he hugged her as soon as he found her, hoping it would do the trick. It took a moment for him to remember Greg telling him that Sara had only just had a miscarriage of her own. "I'm sorry. I didn't think. If this is too much for you."

Sara shook her head, pulling back slightly to wipe the tears from her face. "It's not that. It's... I don't want to put this on you. This is your day with your family and your new twins. You don't need to hear my problems."

"Yeah I do, because you're our family too." Nick grabbed her a tissue, letting her dry her eyes. "Is it Grissom... Greg said."

"I forgot that you two tell each other everything." She smiled at him, nodding as she folded up the tissue. "Yeah, it's over. I'm single... again. Single and childless in my forties, is there anything more pathetic? You don't need to hear this. You've got twins to look after, and Greg, and your op. Did they set a date yet?"

"I asked if they could postpone it for a while. Greg can't manage the boys on his own at the moment and we don't know when we'll be able to take the twins home. I'll be out of the picture for a while after this op and it's really bad timin' at the moment."

"I'm always around if you need me." Sara assured him, ushering him back to the door of the NICU. "Go on, go and be with your family. I'll be fine. I'm gonna go to the ladies and splash my face with some cold water."

"It works both ways, Sara." He called out to her. "We're always here whenever you need us. Families have to stick together." The woman gave him a smile, before she made her way towards the ladies room. Nick returned to the ward, kneeling down beside Greg's chair as the nurse lifted out their smaller twin, carefully placing her in Greg's arms too. They both fit perfectly against each of his forearms, putting a wide grin on the younger man's face.

Looking up at the boys for their input, he asked, "So, what are we gonna call your little sister then?"

Thank you for reading, please review!

~ Holly