(no subject)

[kieksterbanjo.livejournal.com]

Title: Fathers First
Rating: Chapter 21: PG13
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 21

 

          It was as normal as any morning could have been; rife with giggles, running footsteps, food and love. Everything a morning should have been. Greg smiled as Charlie ran past him to the kitchen where Nick was gracefully flipping pancakes in the air and onto Aidan’s awaiting plate.

 

          He followed his son into the kitchen to find Charlie picking up his own plate and standing patiently, or semi-patiently, next to Nick; bouncing on his toes as he shifted his haphazardly thrown on do-up sweater on his shoulders. Greg casually moved behind the little boy and fixed the sweater himself. Just in passing; it wasn’t even a move that required a thank you or any acknowledgement. It was normal and Greg smiled again at the thought.

 

          Greg made his way to the table where Angelica sat in her highchair banging on the table, waiting for Nick to get her her own pancake and Aidan tried slyly to not look like he was feeding Nitro pancakes under the table. Greg gave him ‘the look’ and Aidan smiled sheepishly, bringing both hands onto the table.

 

          Greg heard Nick move behind him and shifted out of the way just in time for Nick to plop a pancake onto Angelica’s plate. Nick spun around again to deposit the frying pan onto the stove; giving Greg a peck on the lips on the way. Greg moved back to where he had previously been standing and picked up a knife to cut Angelica’s pancake so she could eat it. Charlie jumped onto his chair and reached hurriedly for the syrup; pouring a generous amount onto his pancake. A little too generous however as Greg leaned over to stop the flow before Charlie’s pancake drowned in brown liquid.

 

          Greg heard more shifting from behind him and reached back almost automatically to grab the offered coffee cup from Nick while simultaneously continuing to cut for a clearly impatient Angelica. Greg felt Nick brush against his back on his way to his own seat and watched him sit. He and Nick wouldn’t eat yet, intent on grabbing a few more hours of sleep after the boys went to school before ‘starting their day’.

 

          “You should name one of the babies Stewie.” Aidan said conversationally, taking a bite of his pancake. The baby name debate had been a lively one since the news of the twins’ eminent arrival; everyone seemed to want to put at least their two cents in.

 

          Greg chuckled as he took his own seat, “Stewie huh? That’s interesting. What made you think of that?”

 

          Aidan shrugged, “It’s a character from Family Guy. He’s funny.”

 

          “When are you watching Family Guy. That show is too old for you.” Nick scolded.

 

          Again Aidan shrugged, “Cameron’s older brother watches it all the time when I’m there.” He answered and Nick nodded, leaning back in his seat.

 

          “Name it Charlie Jr.!” Charlie blurted and Greg turned to find his son dangerously close to wrecking yet another outfit with syrup stains.

 

          “But Charlie’s your name.” He said, getting up and grabbing a kitchen towel to wrap around Charlie’s neck, “You have to wear this outfit to school.” He said as the little boy protested.

 

          “Yeah you wouldn’t want two Charlie’s in the house would you?” Nick asked with a smirk.

 

          “I guess not.” Charlie sighed, shifting on his chair to sit on his knees.

 

          “I’ve always liked Abigail.” Nick shrugged and Greg smiled behind his coffee cup.

 

          “Abigail. Huh.” Greg said thoughtfully and then shook his head, “Nope, couldn’t work. I dated an Abigail in high school. Let’s just say it didn’t end well.” He shuddered and heard Nick laugh. It seemed with any name the two could come up with there was always someone they knew by that name that either Nick or Greg didn’t like.

 

          “How about Steven? Steven could work.” Greg suggested.

 

          Nick scrounged up his face and shook his head. Greg rolled his eyes playfully and turned to look at Aidan. He burst out laughing as Aidan’s face held the exact same expression’s Nick did.

 

          “Fine. No Steven. What about Matthew?” Greg asked with a hopefully shrug. Nick broke into a laugh and Greg wasn’t sure why until he turned to find Angelica’s tongue stuck out and her head shaking back and forth quickly. Greg sighed with a laugh and ran a hand playfully over Angelica’s face, “Everyone’s a critic.”

 

-- -- --

 

          “You should name it something exotic. Like Lyric.” Warrick said thoughtfully that night at work as he adjusted his holster on his hip.

 

          Greg looked up from his locker where he was frantically searching for his missing flashlight and chuckled, “Is that a boy’s name or a girl’s name?”

 

          “It’s a boy’s name.” Warrick said with an impatient sigh and Greg ‘ah’ed in realization.

 

          “We’ll think about it.” He said encouragingly, letting out a breathy ‘yes’ as he found the wayward flashlight. He stood up and patted Warrick on the back with a laugh as Warrick just set his mouth in a line and shook his head.

 

          Greg jogged from the locker room, already late for the night’s assignments due to his missing equipment. He prayed he didn’t end up with a trash run.

 

          He pushed the door open to Grissom’s office to find his boss leaning against his desk looking thoughtfully at a paper, “Sorry boss. Misplaced my flashlight.” Greg said apologetically, holding up said flashlight and shaking it a little.

 

          “That’s fine.” Grissom said shortly hardly looking up from his paper, “You’re,” He looked up at Greg over his glasses and Greg smiled back with his patented cheesy grin, “own your own tonight. Everyone’s already out and there’s no one else.” Grissom sighed and handed a surprised Greg the paper he’d been reading.

 

          “It’s a murder.” Greg said in disbelief.

 

          “We’ll all just be a phone call away if you need us.” Grissom advised as if almost afraid he was making the wrong decision.

 

          “I’ll be fine.” Greg said confidently, saluting his boss comically before turning around to leave.

 

          “Oh and Greg?”

 

          “Yeah?” Greg asked spinning around on his heal to face Grissom with a questioning glance.

 

          “William is a solid name for a young boy.” Grissom said with a small smile.

 

          Greg chuckled, “We’ll keep it in mind sir.” He said before jogging out of the office before Grissom decided to take the case from him.

 

          A solo murder. Greg was going to work a murder. Solo. He almost couldn’t believe it. If only it weren’t Nick’s night off or Greg would be gushing right about now. As the thought crossed his mind Greg checked his watch and nodded before pulling his phone from his pocket and dialing Nick’s cell phone, “You’ll never guess what case I got tonight…” He started when Nick picked up the phone.

 

-- -- --

 

          “I promise. I will. I know. Nick!” Greg almost yelled into the phone as he hopped out of the truck and started to walk towards the crime scene. Nick hadn’t let Greg go since the lab and had spent the last five minutes of their call instructing Greg on how to handle his situation; though the instructions were nothing more then procedure that Greg already knew, “I know.” He said softer. He nodded to O’Reilly who stood on the doorstep of the house, “I know you’re just looking out for me and I appreciate that. But I gotta go. I’m at the scene.” Greg paused, “I love you too.” He clapped his phone shut and turned to O’Reilly, “So what do we got?”

 

          O’Reilly smirked but nodded and opened the door to the home, “Vic’s a 25 year old female, found by her boyfriend. Called it in an hour after he found the body.” O’Reilly turned a corner and as Greg followed he got a view of the victim. She was slumped over the stair banister, blood dripping from a wound on her head, down her arm and pooling on a stair’s ledge.

 

          “Is this her house?” Greg asked looking around, thinking the house seemed a little large for one person.

 

          “No it’s her mother’s house. Her boyfriend said she was house sitting while her mother’s in Colorado; has been for 2 weeks.” O’Reilly answered.

 

          Greg nodded, “And how did the boyfriend get in and find the body?”

 

          “Says he came over most nights to keep her company. She would leave the back door unlocked for him.” O’Reilly said pointing through what Greg assumed was the kitchen.

 

          “A 25 year old female leaves a door unlocked at night while she’s by herself in this day and age?” Greg asked dumbfounded, O’Reilly just shrugged, “Well it’s not suicide.” Greg concluded quickly, “Why’d the boyfriend wait so long to call it in?”

 

          “Says he was in shock.” O’Reilly commented, Greg just turned and gave the older man a look, similar to the one he had given Aidan that morning, “Yeah didn’t believe it either, I’ll go see what I can pull from him. You good on your own?” O’Reilly asked and Greg just nodded looking back up at the body half a story above him, “Oh and I was thinking the other day,” O’Reilly paused and Greg rose his eyebrows in the other man’s direction, “My cousin named her kid Liam. I’ve always liked that name. Good Irish name. Just thought I’d let you know.” He said thoughtfully and Greg just laughed before O’Reilly turned and walked from the house.

 

          Greg watched him leave before setting down his field kit to open it and pull out his flashlight. He panicked when he saw that his flashlight was again not where it should have been but then remembered he’d put it in his vest pocket. Straightening up while scolding himself Greg made his way to the back door the boyfriend had apparently used to get into the house. He turned his flashlight on and directed its beam at the closed door.

 

          As he walked towards it he couldn’t help but think how quiet the scene felt; normally he’d have had someone to talk to while they processed. Solo, felt so alone.

 

          In the next second however he went from feeling alone to feeling not quite so alone as a shot like that of a beebee gun filled the kitchen and a bullet exploded against the cupboard to the right of Greg’s head.

 

          “Shit!” He said alarmed ducking to the right and covering his head. He spun quickly with wide eyes to find an equally wide eyed woman staring back him; also staring back at him was the barrel of a gun complete with silencer.

 

-- -- --

 

          There are defining moments in a person’s life. Moments that cause a person to think of their life and what brought them to where they are. That particular moment in Greg’s life happened far to fast to be defining and yet he had a feeling that if he survived he’d be thinking of it for years to come.

 

          His breath caught in his throat as he thought about NOT surviving it. He’d had his fair share of close calls, the lab explosion being by far the closest. But the feelings he’d felt back then were nothing like what he was feeling with the barrel of a gun pointing in his direction. He had to much to live for to be in his current situation. Back when the lab exploded Aidan had only just turned one year old and while the thought of never seeing him or Nick again scared Greg shitless, Greg had not yet become a biological father himself. He was a father! And above that he was about to become a father again! His will to survive had never been as strong as it was thinking Charlie would be left without his biological father and his twins would never get to know him at all.

 

          “Who are you?!” The woman shrieked loudly her hands shaking as she clasped the gun.

 

          “Who are YOU?!” Greg asked back holding his hands up in surrender, beyond thinking that might now have been the thing to say.

 

          “You can’t arrest me. I won’t let you. I was just trying to protect sister!” The woman screeched noticing Greg’s vest and shook even more violently. Greg eyed the door behind her wondering where O’Reilly and all the other cops that were outside were.

 

          “You protected your sister by shooting her?” He asked confused.

 

          “No!” She yelled and Greg jumped, “It was dark, the back door was open. I thought someone had broken in. I didn’t mean to kill her!” The woman was sobbing now and Greg could see her finger hover dangerously close to the trigger.

 

          “Look, I know you didn’t mean to kill her.” Greg said as calmly as he could, “But killing me on purpose isn’t going to help you out is it?” He watched as her bottom lip trembled, “What happened here was an accident, a terrible accident, but it doesn’t make you a murderer. You don’t want to become one do you?” Greg’s eyes watered and he wanted nothing more then to wipe away the tears before anyone saw them but he felt the movement might set the woman off; so he let them fall.

 

          “I didn’t mean to kill my sister.” She whispered with such hurt that it made Greg hurt.

 

          “I know. Just…give me the gun.” Greg whispered, moving slowly towards the woman. He wasn’t going to tackle WHY she had brought a gun to her sister’s house in the middle of the night; all he was worried about was getting it out of her hand, “Give me the gun.” He whispered again and slowly, ever so slowly, the woman turned the gun in her hand and handed him the butt.

 

          Greg reached for it quickly and yanked it from her hand, releasing the clip and throwing both pieces into separate corners of the room, wanting it as far away as possible. The woman collapsed against him and he caught her in his arms before she fell, “O’Reilly!” He screamed enraged and felt the woman jump. He waited a moment before he heard the front door creak and O’Reilly’s heavy footsteps down the hallway.

 

          O’Reilly’s beady eyes bulged when he saw the pair in the kitchen and moved quickly to pull the woman from Greg, “Another victim?” He asked alarmed.

 

          “The shooter.” Greg gasped, suddenly unable to catch his breath. He walked past O’Reilly and the woman on shaky legs, pulling off his latex gloves in the process and walked out the front door of the house.

 

-- -- --

 

          “Greg, are you sure you’re okay?” Grissom asked for probably about the tenth time since he had shown up at the scene an hour later.

 

          Greg sat on the curb outside the house and nodded silently staring at an ant carrying a leaf across the road, “You gave the detective your statement right?” Again a nod, “Well we can handle it from here. You can go home for the night.” Grissom said softly. A third nod from Greg, “Are you sure you don’t want us to call Nick? Have him come pick you up?”

 

          This time Greg shook his head and whispered, “Couldn’t leave the kids. I’ll just drive. I’m fine.” Grissom nodded curtly and patted Greg on the back before making his way into the house.

 

          Greg sat and starred at the ant for a few minutes longer before picking himself up and walking to the truck parked where he had left it. He got in, put his kit on the seat next to him, put the keys in the ignition and turned the car on before resting his head on the steering wheel. His breathes were still coming out in slight pants and he knew he had to calm down before he could drive home.

 

          “You’re alive. You survived. You’re alive. You survived. You’re alive.” He kept chanting to himself but no matter how much he tried to calm his breathing, nothing worked. As he lifted his head from the steering wheel he suddenly knew what it was that wasn’t letting him calm down. He hit the break and moved the gear shift into reverse, gliding out of the driveway and speeding down the streets.

 

-- -- --

 

          Greg opened the front door quietly, sure that Nick would be on the couch waiting for him to get home. He was correct as usual and a faint smile crossed his lips as he found Nick asleep on the couch with a book on his chest and his glasses still on. He closed the door as quietly as he could though not wanting to wake Nick up quite yet and tiptoed up the stairs to the second floor.

 

          He softly pushed the door to Charlie’s bedroom door open to find the five year old fast asleep under the covers. Like Greg, Charlie seemed to move a lot in his sleep and currently had his arms and legs at odd angles. Greg shuffled into the room and sat next to the small bed, pulling his knees up to his chest and holding them with his arms. He reached over and ran a hand over the soft brown hair peaking out from the comforter, “Always do your homework.” He said softly, “And go to college. It doesn’t matter what you take, just get an education. Because if you have an education nothing can stop you. And always look out for your brother and sister and the twins because there is nothing more important in this world then family. Nothing…

 

          “Always shave against the grain and don’t use aftershave. It burns.” Greg paused a moment to collect his thoughts, “Don’t ever start to smoke. I know I did but it’s one of the worst habits you can have and I don’t want that for you. And don’t ever mix beer with liquor…you know, when you get old enough to drink. I know the saying is ‘Liquor before beer you’re in the clear; Beer before liquor you’ve never been sicker’ but it’s just easier to stick to one. Uh, and when you get old enough to have a girlfriend, treat her right. Treat her like the princess she is and never hurt her…but don’t let her walk all over you either. Make sure she’s treating you right too. It goes both ways. And uhhhh,” Greg paused again and looked up at the ceiling, “Umm, make sure whatever style you choose you choose for yourself. Don’t let anybody ever make you feel guilty for being who are. And don’t ever apologize for it no matter what anyone else says.” It was the third time he’d paused but this time he couldn’t come up with anything else to say, “I think that’s it. There’s probably more I’m missing but I think I got all the important stuff.”

 

          He got up slowly from his seated position and looked down at the sleeping boy from above. He turned to leave the room before turning back , “Oh and one more thing? Don’t ever doubt that you are completely, totally and unconditionally loved. You will never be alone, Charlie, if you remember that. I promise.” He whispered. He felt tears well up in his eyes but he fought them back. He’d found the calm he needed. He had no idea the reason he couldn’t calm down at the scene was because the incident had left him worried that he wouldn’t get to tell Charlie those little life lessons you learn from a parent and take for granted. It didn’t seem to matter that Charlie was asleep at the time.

 

          Greg turned slowly to walk from the room and once outside he found Nick leaned against the wall next to the door a confused look on his face even though he appeared to be crying, “How long have you been there?” Greg asked softly.

 

          “Since the beginning. Did something happen at work? What was that?” Nick’s voice cracked as he talked and he coughed to clear it.

 

          Greg shook his head and grabbed Nick’s hand, “Can I tell you later?” He asked and Nick nodded immediately, squeezing the hand he held in his and pulling it towards their bedroom.

 

          “If you could only suggest one name for one of the twins what would it be?” Greg asked softly as they got ready for bed.

 

          Nick looked thoughtful for a minute as he took off his shirt and pulled on his t-shirt, “Isabelle.” Nick smiled, the ring of the name making him smile, “You?”

 

          Greg pulled back the covers of the bed and got in as he thought to himself, “Austin.” He said thoughtfully and Nick couldn’t help but smile at that name as well, “But we’ve got a lot of time to choose.” Greg shrugged snuggling up to Nick as the older man slid into the bed next to him.

 

          Nick kissed the top of Greg’s head and sighed, “Yeah we really do.”

 

TBC

 

A/N: So what do YOU think the names will be? LOL. Hope you’re liking it. I would love it if you left some feedback.

Comments

[inflowers.livejournal.com]

Pardon my french, but I fricking love this story.
I just, wow. I can't even put into words how much I love this story.

[theboysgonehome.livejournal.com]

*dies*

That was... wow. Amazing. Just. Yeah. I have been rendered speechless by this. Beautiful and heartbreaking and moving.

[barush.livejournal.com]

oh, I just LOVE the bit of angst with happy ending...*smiles*
same as I LOVE your story:)

I'm quite curious what the names will be, but it's completely up to you:)

[musicluvr325.livejournal.com]

Okay, really you just picked two of my favorite names for kids. Mattew and Isabelle. Those are what I will name my kids if I ever have any :)

PoorGreg. How scary that would be. I loved the little talk. I could see him doing that.

[ic789.livejournal.com]

This one made me have a little cry, I completely felt the need for Greg to tell his little Charlie everything he needed to have a successful life. Awww, I love this family. I know that Nick will be there for Greg when he needs to tell his husband that he might've left him.

I love that everyone wants to put in their 2 cents about the twin's names. Maybe their nicknames could be
"Peanut" and "Butter". Thanks for the good work! Cheers!