(no subject)
Jan. 2nd, 2007 03:17 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
kieksterbanjo.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
nickngregRating: Chapter 19: PG
Author: kieksterbanjo
Warnings: None
Summary: Fathers before anything else...Nick and Greg take on the challenge of raising children
Disclaimer: Would I like to own them? YES. But do I? Alas No. I would also like to make money from this and marry Benji Schwimmer from So You Think You Can Dance but one must live in the real world. *sigh*
Chapter 19
“Dad, Aidan told me that thing you guys eat tastes like cardboard. Why does it taste like cardboard?” Charlie asked as Nick carried him into the house.
Nick laughed as he put his keys on the front table and set Charlie onto his feet, throwing Aidan an amused look, “It’s called communion Charlie and it’s a very special bread.” Nick explained before calling up the stairs, “Greg we’re back!”
“I’ll be done in a minute!” Came a call from the second floor.
“Why doesn’t Daddy have to come to church?” Charlie asked with a pout.
“Why do you make it sound like a punishment?” Nick asked with a chuckle as he sat Charlie on the stairs and undid his shoes; the four year old got to colour during the 40 minutes service, “And Daddy doesn’t come to church because Daddy isn’t Catholic.” Nick explained.
“What’s Catholic?” Charlie asked confused.
“It’s your religion Char. Now can we stop with the questions?” Nick asked tickling Charlie under the chin as he giggled.
“Dad can I go skateboarding?” Aidan asked from behind Nick’s back and Nick turned to find him toeing off his dress shoes.
“Yeah that shouldn’t be a problem. You know where you can and can’t go though right?” Nick asked.
“Yes Dad.” Aidan said exasperatedly. Nick and Greg had only gotten Aidan a skateboard for Christmas after he had promised to follow the rules they had laid out for him. The skateboard had been attached to Aidan’s hip since he had gotten it three months earlier and he was very good on it but that didn’t mean Nick and Greg worried any less.
“Look at those handsome boys Angelica. Don’t they look spiffy?” Nick heard from up the stairs and turned to see Greg standing on the second floor landing. He chuckled and loosened the tie around his neck as he surveyed his husband. Greg stood in jeans and a grey t-shirt; both articles of clothing damp with water and bubbles. In his arms, Greg carried Angelica; her wet hair poking out over the fluffy bathrobe Greg had her wrapped in.
“Charlie you can go change into your other clothes and just leave your church stuff on your bed.” Nick explained, following Charlie as he scrambled up the stairs, “Hey.” Nick said softly, giving Greg a sweet kiss.
“Hi.” Greg smiled.
“Hey Jellie.” Nick smiled, taking the baby from Greg’s arms and into his own, “Mmmmmm you smell like bananas.” He commented, snuffling Angelica’s neck as she cackled and tried to push him away.
“What about me?” Greg asked with a pout and Nick laughed pulling Greg towards him and burying his face in other mans neck; inhaling greatly.
“Mmmmmmmm.” Nick said pulling back with a happy sigh, “Good enough to eat.” He mumbled, “But did you get in the bath with her?” He asked pulling on Greg’s t-shirt with a chuckle.
“If she had her way I would have.” Greg laughed looking down at himself, “I’m going to have to redo my hair.” He said with a pout running a hand through his damp hair. Nick smiled and ran a hand lovingly through the sandy blonde locks.
“Bye Dad!” Aidan said quickly as he rushed past the couple and down the stairs; his outfit of baggy pants and sweater a stark contrast to his church clothes.
“Be careful!” Nick called after him as he heard the door close.
Greg furrowed his eyebrows and pointed after him, “Aren’t we leaving soon?” He asked.
“Well, yeah, but we still have to get Charlie and Angelica ready to go and *you* have to change.” Nick said.
“*I* have to change? And what, you think it’s normal to go to a doctor’s appointment in a tie and dress shirt?” Greg cracked, though he couldn’t deny how good Nick looked in his church clothes.
Nick laughed, “Maybe I’m a formal type of guy. It’s not that unheard of.” Greg just rolled his eyes, “All right you go change and I’ll get Angelica dressed and then you can feed them while I get changed. Okay?” Nick suggested.
Greg gave a thumbs-up and turned to walk towards the master bedroom as Nick headed towards Angelica’s bedroom, “Oh Nick?” Greg asked, stopping Nick in his tracks. Nick turned around with a questioning look on his face. Greg looked suddenly nervous as he scratched the back of his neck, “Could you do me a favour with this whole ultrasound thing and not leave me alone with Leighanne?”
Nick laughed as if Greg was joking but then realized that Greg wasn’t laughing, “You don’t want to be alone with her? She’s the mother of your child and about to have another one of your children and you can’t be alone with her?”
Greg sighed, “It’s just awkward. We were alone for like two minutes the last time I saw her and it was two of the most awkward minutes of my life.”
Nick laughed at the overdramatic tone in Greg’s voice, “All right Greg. I won’t leave y’all alone together.”
“Thank you.” Greg said, even though he knew Nick was being slightly sarcastic. It was the words that counted not the feeling behind them.
-- -- --
“Nicky!” Nick and Greg heard as they entered the doctor’s office after dropping the kids at Carolyn’s.
Nick broke into a large smile and pulled the brunette jogging towards him into a big hug, “Leigh!” He said excitedly.
“I haven’t seen you in a fortnight.” Leighanne smiled, her words edged with the slightest Texan accent.
“Work’s been busy.” Nick said as way of apology.
Leighanne turned to Greg who stood with his hands in his pockets and a nervous smile on his face, “Hi Greg.” She said softly.
Greg nodded, “Hi.” He smiled and an awkward moment ensued as the trio stood, unaware of what to do next.
“So how are things going?” Nick asked as way of tension breaker, bringing Leighanne to sit in a chair next to him.
“Well. Though it’s odd how much of being pregnant you forget between children.” She laughed to herself, running a hand over her stomach. Greg noticed she wasn’t showing very much and found the move almost odd without a large belly underneath it.
Nick laughed at Leighanne’s comment, “Trust me it’s the same with raising the children. I don’t think I’ve actually comprehended there’s going to be another one.”
Leighanne smiled, “So do you guys want to know what the sex is today?” She asked looking between Greg and Nick.
“That’s Greg decision. I’m good either way.” Nick shrugged turning to Greg.
Greg knitted his eyebrows. He hadn’t really thought about it. They’d known with Aidan and Charlie and with Angelica the doctor had told them they were having a boy at the three month ultra sound, only to be proven wrong in the delivery room, “It might be nice to be surprised. I mean it’s not like we don’t have clothes and toys for both sexes now. Could be fun.” He shrugged looking at Nick for conformation.
Nick nodded with a smile, “Then it’s decided. We’ll be surprised.”
The door to the small group’s left opened and a middle aged doctor came walking through with a smile on his face, “Well hello you three. I must say I never expected to see you back.” He laughed.
“Neither did we.” Leighanne chuckled.
“All right well why don’t we get this show on the road?” The doctor asked.
-- -- --
Twenty minutes later had the doctor still asking Leighanne questions. The actual ultra sound had not begun yet. Suddenly Nick’s cell phone vibrated against his hip and he unclipped it, “Stokes?” He answered, forgetting he wasn’t a work. He saw Greg smirk out of the corner of his eye. Greg loved when Nick answered the phone like that, “Oh no, really?” He asked the phone and Greg looked at him oddly, “No no it’s all right. I’ll be there soon.” He said as he clapped his phone shut with a sigh.
Greg’s eyes widened, even though he hadn’t heard the other side of the conversation, “You’re leaving?” He hissed quietly.
“Carolyn’s boyfriend sliced his finger open at work or something and she’s the only one who can take him to the hospital. I have to pick up the kids.” Nick whispered.
“Why can’t I go?” Greg asked.
Nick scoffed, “And let you drive my car? Yeah, right, in your dreams babe.”
Greg growled low in his throat, “So not only are you leaving me here alone with her, you’re leaving me alone with her for the whole rest of the appointment.”
“I’m not missing this. I’ll just bring the kids here. You’ll be fine.” Nick assured.
“You’re going to bring the kids here? I thought we weren’t going to do that.” Greg asked. They’d agreed right from the start that until the kids could understand exactly who Leighanne was they weren’t going to make them interact for fear of confusing them. Aidan knew the full story and Charlie knew the cliff notes but Angelica didn’t know anything.
“What else can we do? I don’t want to miss this and I have to pick them up. It’ll be fine.” Nick said patting Greg’s hand before turning to the doctor and Leighanne, “I have to go somewhere but I’ll be back soon. Don’t start without me.”
The doctor laughed, “I think we can do that Nick.”
“Niiiiiiiick.” Greg whined holding onto the older man’s hand as Nick got up. Nick gave him a look and Greg let go of his hand with a pout, crossing his arms stubbornly over his chest.
“I’m actually done with this part so I’m going to go check on some things before Nick gets back. I’ll just be right outside if you need anything.”
Greg’s eyes widened again. It was bad enough that Nick was leaving him alone when Leighanne and the doctor were talking but it was a whole different animal when they would be left in the room totally alone together.
As the door shut behind the doctor Leighanne turned to Greg who seemed to want to look at anything other then Leighanne. She made him more nervous then Grissom ever could, “Why do you look like your about to piss your pants?” Leighanne asked amused after a moment of silence.
Greg’s wondering eyes came to rest on Leighanne and he smiled nervously, “Am I the only one who finds this situation awkward?” He asked.
Leighanne scoffed, “Greg honey? We’ve had a kid together. I’ve had fluids from your body shoved into mine…twice! How can you feel awkward?”
“Well don’t you paint a pretty picture.” Greg muttered sarcastically to himself, “But THAT’S exactly what makes it awkward!” He exclaimed.
Greg watched as Leighanne attempted to quell her laughter and rolled his eyes, “I obviously AM the only one that finds this strange.”
Leighanne sighed, “Look Greg I can understand why you feel weird. I’ve known Nicky my entire life and it just seemed right for me to be the one to give birth to his children. You, I met 10 years ago and have only talked to a handful of times. It’s less natural for me to have your children. But can’t we just agree that we’re doing a good thing? That the end result justifies the means? That we can sit in the same room together and carry on a civil conversation?”
Greg eyed Leighanne skeptically contemplating his answer. Finally he relented, “All right I can do that.” He said softly with a sigh. Leighanne smiled and stuck out her hand professionally and Greg laughed before shaking it in his; sealing the deal.
Greg seated himself in his chair again and looked at Leighanne as if expecting her to make good on their agreement and start a civil conversation. It seemed she was also at a loss for what to say and Greg pursed his lips, nodded and slapped his hands onto his thighs, “I’m just going to get some coffee. Do you want some water?” He asked getting up.
Leighanne seemed almost giddy about the out, “That would be great.” She said with a smile.
Greg nodded and quickly extracted himself from the room, breathing a sigh of relief once he was out, unaware that back in the room Leighanne let out her own sigh of relief.
-- -- --
“Daddy!” Greg heard and looked up to find Charlie barreling towards him as he sat in a chair outside the examination room.
Greg caught the little boy in his arms to stop his momentum and laughed as that same momentum caused Charlie to fall back onto his butt, “I just saw you an hour ago Charlie man.” Greg reasoned as Charlie just shrugged and stood up between Greg’s legs.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Greg heard Nick sigh as he walked up to Greg and Charlie with Angelica and Aidan in tow, “You couldn’t even spend ten minutes with each other?”
“Hey we tried.” Greg said indignantly, “We came to an agreement that we would get past the awkward…and then I went to get coffee.” He shrugged. Nick laughed and shook his head.
“Daddy what are these?” Greg turned his head to find that Charlie had moved from between his legs and across the hall to a wall of medical supplies. He was currently removing tongue depressors at an alarming rate.
“Hey hey hey.” Greg scolded getting up and making his way to Charlie, stopping him from pulling any more wood sticks from their holder, “They’re tongue depressors and what did we talk about touching things that aren’t yours without asking?” He asked holding Charlie to him as he started to pick up the tongue depressors on the ground, “Go sit in my chair near Dad, Char.” He said, pointing to where Nick stood and Charlie made his way over.
“You guys are going to sit out here okay? Aidan can you watch your brother and sister? We’ll be right in there.” Nick said pointing to the door. Aidan nodded and sat next on a chair next to Charlie as Nick picked Angelica up to sit next to Aidan on his chair.
“Hey Greg I heard voices out here. What’s going on?” Leighanne poked her head out of the room and her eyes widened at the site of the three children sitting across the hall. The three looked at her unimpressed however, “Hi.” She said lamely waving a hand nervously.
“Hi.” Aidan answered; Charlie and Angelica remaining quiet.
“Ummmm Aidan, Charlie and Angelica this is Leighanne.” Nick said as he gripped Angelica’s jacket tightly looking at Greg who had joined the little group looking back and forth between his three children and Leighanne.
There was a quiet moment that followed and the tension was obvious, “It’s nice to meet you.” Aidan said finally.
Leighanne put a hand to her chest and scrunched up her face, “It’s good to meet you too.” She said, her voice tight with restrained tears.
“We’ll just be in here.” Nick gestured again to the room and Aidan nodded silently, still eyeing Leighanne. Nick put a hand on Leighanne’s shoulder and pushed her gently back into the room before following her in.
Greg paused on his way in and ran a hand over Charlie’s head before making his way inside, closing the door almost closed behind him.
-- -- --
“Wow I didn’t expect that to hit me the way it did.” Leighanne said as she sat once again on the examination table, “Stupid hormones.” She laughed as she wiped tears from her eyes, “God I haven’t seen Aidan since he was 3. He’s such a…you, Nick.” She said amazed. Nick and Greg remained silent, “And Angelica.” She paused as if remembering the moment, “She’s…beautiful.” She whispered as if she couldn’t believe it, “And Charlie’s the spitting image of you Greg.” She commented.
Greg and Nick were unaware of how to respond but then didn’t have to as the doctor poked his head in, “Are we ready to go?” He asked.
Leighanne nodded as she finished wiping her tears and slide back on the table and lying back, “All right lets get a look at baby number four shall we?” The doctor smiled and then proceeded to set up the ultrasound as Nick and Greg stood next to the table so they could see the screen the ultrasound picture would come up on, “Allright.” The doctor sighed when he was all ready, “Are we finding out the sex of the baby today?” He asked, looking at all three in turn.
Nick shook his head, “Not this time.” He said quietly, grabbing Greg’s hand in his left and Leighanne’s in his right as the machine started to work.
“Well everything is looking great so far.” The doctor said as he manipulated the wand in his hand, “That’s the head there.” He said pointing at the screen, “And that right there. That’s the spinal cord. And…” He paused and looked at the screen oddly.
“What?” Greg asked concerned as the doctor’s eyebrows knitted.
“Ummm just let me do one thing.” He said as way of answer and flipped a switch on the wound and suddenly the rapid sound of what could only be the heartbeat filled the room.
A moment that had in the past caused hugs and smiles to ensue caused only confused faces, “Why does it sound like that? Is it supposed to sound like that? That can’t be right.” Greg said worried. After three kids Greg knew what a heartbeat sounded like over the machine; the sound he was hearing now was not it. The doctor however did not answer but continued to move the wand over Leighanne’s stomach, “Hello?! Why does it sound like that?” Greg asked sharply and Nick laid a hand on his shoulder to calm him.
The doctor muttered something to himself and turned to the three anxious faces with a resigned nod, “Lady and gentlemen, it would appear what we have here…is twins.”
“Twins?!” Leighanne asked confused.
“Twins!” Nick said alarmed.
“WHAT?!” Greg said, his eyes widening exponentially.
TBC
A/N: Feedback equals fantastic…I would love it if you left some. Thanks for reading.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-01-02 09:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-02 12:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-02 12:32 pm (UTC)LOL, when I finished reading chapter 18 I went "Aww, it'd be so cute if they had twins" and...wow.
Anyways, great fic. I love it and I wanna read more soon, so keep up the great work!
Happy 2007!
no subject
Date: 2007-01-09 04:08 am (UTC)