(no subject)
From now on, the rest of the chapters will be on my page, but you can link back to the nickngreg comm in the first 6 chapters. So, no worries there.
Chapter List
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July
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Greg reached out and clasped Nick's arm, tugging him to a stop, "Nick? I'm nervous."
Nick turned and looked at Greg. He was holding a sleeping Elijah on one arm and the young boys weight was pulling the neck of Greg's t-shirt wide, leaving a very nice view of part of his collar bone and shoulder. Nick smiled at the sight, "What about, G?"
The look on Greg's face went from nervousness to disbelief, "Meeting your parents?" He drawled out, lengthening the words and turning it into a question.
Nick rolled his eyes and grabbed Greg's hand with his own free one, pulling him to the luggage return, "You have nothing to worry about. I survived meeting yours."
"We weren't exactly together when you met my parents, Nick. So that was less pressure on you." Greg said, following Nick reluctantly.
"Please," Nick scoffed lightly, "I wanted to date you and they knew it. So the pressure was there, thank you." He watched the return and when their luggage came into view, he pulled the three bags off of the conveyor belt. He shouldered the duffel they had used for Elijah's things and then passed Greg his suitcase. "Mom said they'd meet us by McDonald's." Nick added after a minute.
Greg raised an eyebrow and looked around. He never felt comfortable meeting up with people at large airports. In fact, whenever his parents came to visit, he had them call his cell once they reached the first phone they came to after leaving their gate. That way he could find them right away. This picking a place and going there wasn't cool if you didn't know the airport, "Good idea Nick. Where is it?"
"We'll check the directory." Nick said with a shrug, ignoring the sarcasm in Greg's voice. He ushered Greg towards the nearest one, "See here? McDonald's is by gate D33. Easy enough since we came out at D25."
Greg just shrugged, willing to let Nick take charge. They headed to their left and sure enough, after a few minutes of walking and dodging impatient holiday travelers, the golden arches came into their sight. As did, apparently, Nick's parents.
"Mama! Cisco!" Nick called out with a wave.
Greg's eyes followed where Nick was looking and caught sight of his boyfriends parents for the first time in person. Judge Stokes was tall and lean and from what he could see, he had a softer jaw line than Nick did.
Jillian Stokes was short compared to her husband but Greg couldn't determine her actual height at their distance. He could see red hair that had more of an orange tint to it than Elijah's, which was a rich auburn in color.
"Nick!" Jillian called back, waving as well.
As they got closer to his parents, Greg started to hang back and by the time they reached them, Greg was about five feet or so behind Nick and dragging his feet. He watched Nick greet and hug his mom and shake hands with his dad. He then gulped as the sharp hazel eyes of Judge Stokes zeroed in on him.
Nick seemed to know what his dad's gaze was settled on and turned around with a smile before giving an exasperated sigh, "Greg, get over here."
Greg once thought that Nick had an intense gaze and it used to take all his willpower not to turn away from it. Now, he was faced with the same intensity, except it was from three Stokes instead of just the one he was still getting used to. He managed to move closer to Nick, but still used him as a barricade from the couple.
Nick, realizing that that was as good as he was going to get at the moment, just shook his head and began the introductions, "Mama, Cisco, this is Greg and his son Elijah."
Jillian's smile was fast and furious as she held out her hand, "It's great to finally meet you Greg."
"You too, Mrs. Stokes." Greg said, accepting the hand. He looked at Nick's father who nodded his head at him in greeting, "Sir." he said, the sheepish grin he had been wearing faltering slightly as he watched the older man look him over.
Judge Stokes' gaze finally settled on Elijah, "Liam dug out the kids old car seat for you to use."
Nick nodded and re-shouldered the duffel bag, "That's good. We were worrying about that." He followed as his dad turned and headed for the exit. This left Greg walking with Jillian who had, it seemed, hung back to talk with him.
"Your son is adorable. How old is he again?" Jillian asked, reaching over to run her fingers through the red locks.
"Three. A very hyper three." Greg replied, smiling down at his sleeping son.
Jillian nodded and then said after a moment, "I loved the pictures Nick sent."
Greg's head whipped around so fast he almost gave himself whiplash, "Pictures? What pictures?"
"He didn't tell you he sent them?" Jillian asked, sounding surprised.
"Mrs. Stokes, I didn't even know he had taken any." Greg replied, looking at Nick who seemed to be speeding up to walk with his dad. Greg wondered if it was because he had overheard the conversation going on behind him.
As they stepped outside the terminal and headed towards the parking lot, Jillian began digging through her purse, even as she mumbled, "It's Jillian, Greg." She pulled out a black folder that looked almost like an address book and flipped it open to the back. She passed it to Greg and watched silently as he took it in.
The picture was from their trip to 'Bonnie Springs/Old Nevada' which surprised him somewhat, because while he could remember Warrick toting around a camera he really couldn't remember Nick having one. But this picture...he remembered falling asleep on the bench while Lindsey had been on her horse ride with Catherine and Warrick.
Elijah had dropped off first, sated from dinner and feeling warm and safe in his dads arms. Greg had just laid his head against his son's and let himself drift off as well. Nick had done an amazing job with it, angling the camera just so to have the setting sun in the background as well.
"Wow, this is..." Greg trailed off as Jillian turned the page and he found himself looking at Elijah's laughing face. His nose and cheeks were a bright red, causing his freckles to stand out even more. His hair was dripping wet and Greg, who was also drenched and dripping water, was sitting behind him, sculpting it up into spikes.
That one was from their barbecue. Greg could have sworn that Nick had been tending to the grill while he had been doing that. Again, Nick had caught the picture with an amazing background. He could just see the hose spraying water around the slip and slide, and there was a huge rainbow behind him from the mist that was floating in the air because of it.
"Those two are my favorite. I've got another one at home, with Elijah holding a baby chick, framed on the buffet." Jillian said, taking back the booklet, "And I want Nick to take one of the two of you up on a horse, since it'll be your first time."
Greg stopped walking and stared at her, "But...why?"
Jillian stopped as well and turned to face him, "Because my son loves you."
-----
Greg looked around the designated play area in awe. He had once thought his own house pretty amazing, but this was just intense, "Nick, I can't believe this."
Nick looked around, taking in the sky lights set over the indoor play area, encased by knotted pine beams, the mats covering the floor, as well as the plastic play house, "Mom's idea. Every time she got pregnant, she wanted another bedroom built around the play area so that everyones room would be off of this." He said, pointing out six doors, two on each wall, "By the time I came along, there was no more room to add on, so mom just kept me in the nursery and changed the décor as I got older."
Greg shook his head, "Wow." He dropped on to one of the chairs and watched as Elijah, who had woken up during the forty five minute trip to the ranch, ran and tumbled head over feet on the foam mats that seemed designated for that purpose.
Nick looked at his watch, "Up to meeting some of the other family members? They should be heading in for lunch about now."
"Sure." Greg said. He stood back up, "Eli! Come on sproglet."
Elijah's head popped up from behind a large, foam triangle, "dis fun daddy." He said as he climbed to his feet. He ran over to Greg and Nick, but bypassed his dad and went straight for Nick. He clasped one of Nicks large hands with his two small ones and dropped his weight down and lifted his feet, dangling in the air.
Nick laughed and lifted his arm, Elijah swinging like a pendulum, "Want up, little man?"
"yes, please." Elijah giggled.
Nick slid his arm under Elijah's thighs and freed his other hand gently from the toddlers grip. He reached out to grab Greg's hand and started to pull him out of the playroom, "Maybe we can get you two up on horses this afternoon. Mom said she didn't have anyone coming by for lessons and the kids usually spend the afternoons outside if its not storming."
Greg looked over at Nick, "What is it with you and horses?"
"Greg, I grew up around horses. You not having been on one is just...wrong to me." Nick replied as they turned down the short hallway leading into the kitchen.
Greg opened his mouth to reply but anything he might have said would have been overpowered by the three loud cries of, "Nick!" that rang out as they stepped into the kitchen.
"Hey guys!" Nick dropped Greg's hand as two red-heads started for him at high speeds. He caught each one in a hug as they reached him, "God, it's good to see you. Hey bro."
Greg was surprised to see that Liam and Nick looked nothing alike. Liam had their fathers height, and surprisingly enough, blond hair. He also had their fathers softer jaw line and slim build. The brown eyes were about the only thing the two siblings seemed to have in common when it came to their physical appearances.
"It has been too long, boy. You need to come home more often." Liam patted Nick on the shoulder and then grinned at Elijah, who had buried his face during Nick's hugs with his sisters, "Who's the squirt?"
Nick took a step back so he was at Greg's side again, "Guys, this is Greg and this little guy who is trying to find a hole in my neck is Elijah, his son."
Greg just smiled and nodded as all three Stokes chimed in greetings to him. He had no idea which sister was which and didn't want to make a fool of himself, so outside of murmuring a quiet, "Hi." He didn't say much else.
"Greg this is Liam, Lynn," Here, he pointed to the red-head who had her hair tied back into a high ponytail, "And Tasha." She was the shorter of the two, had a rounder face and a pixie hair cut.
"Where are Leslie and Noah?" He asked, referring to Liam and Lynn's spouses. He looked over their shoulders towards the large dining room where his mom was setting up lunch.
Liam laughed, "Tommy took a digger into one of the stalls, so Lie is getting him cleaned up."
"And Noah is rounding up the rest of the kids. They'll be here in a minute." Lynn said, "Come on in and get comfortable. Mama made hamburgers and corn on the cob." She linked arms with Greg, much to his surprise, and led him to the dining area.
Greg looked at the long table and just about dropped his jaw. There had to be close to fifteen chairs set around it and just next to it was a smaller table with just as many chairs, but on a smaller size scale.
"Crazy isn't it? With so many of us, mama kind of had to build outwards. Wait 'til you see it when everyone's here." Lynn said, catching sight of the look of bewilderment on Greg's face.
Greg looked at Nick, who smiled at him. He really couldn't figure out why Nick had been so surprised with his own home. If he had grown up around all of this, he knew he wouldn't have been. Then again, his house was huge and he was shocked by what he saw now, so maybe he really did get Nick's reaction after all.
He reached out and poked Elijah's ticklish spot, smiling when Elijah giggled and tried to burrow closer to Nick, "Hey sproglet, don't you think it's time to come out and join the rest of us?"
Elijah shrugged, "lotsa people daddy."
"Sure are, but Mrs. Stokes made your favorites for lunch." Greg said, trying to entice Elijah out of hiding.
"It's Jillian, Greg." She reminded him as she breezed past them, heading for the kitchen.
"Right." Greg replied, smiling after her before looking back at his son, who was looking up at him, though his face was still turned towards Nick's neck, "C'mon babe. They're all of Nick's family and you like Nick, right?"
"luv nicky." Elijah said as he sat up straighter and took in the beaming faces around him. Then his eyes widened as six kids of varying ages slammed into the room ahead of a laughing black haired man. He whimpered and re-buried his face.
"Don't worry about it G." Nick said, sitting down, "I can feed him like this."
Greg sat in the chair next to him, "If you say so. I'll cut everything down for him so it'll be easier for you."
By the time everyone was sitting, it seemed they were just waiting on the head of the house before starting. Judge Stokes came in a minute later and took a seat at the head of the table before looking around at everybody, "What are you all waiting for?"
"You pops. We have guests." Liam said while pointing at Greg, "Thought it best to put on some manners."
Bill rolled his eyes, "It's lunch, not a formal dinner. Dig in already."
That said, everyone practically dove for a platter. Greg sat back and watched in amazement, choosing to ignore Nick's laughter.
"Nothing ever changes around here." Nick said and took hold of the plate of corn as his mother passed it to him.
-----
After lunch, Jillian shooed Nick, Greg and Elijah into the family room while she picked up the kitchen and dining room. The family room was right off of the dining room, and so both men seated themselves where they could still watch Jillian. Especially since now that most of the kids had gone back outside while Nick's siblings went back to work, Elijah was feeling more confident.
The toddler scrambled down off of Nick's lap and carefully made his way to the dining room table, resting his hands on the wooded top and peering over the edge, watching Jillian wipe the table as she stacked dishes.
Smiling at Elijah as she worked, Jillian started asking questions, hoping that would help to bring him out of his shell, "What's your favorite animal, Elijah?"
Elijah looked over his shoulder at his dad and Nick, both of whom nodded encouragingly at him. Both were silent though, watching the scene before them in anticipation. Both had hopes, though unvoiced, about breaking the toddler of his inherent shyness or, at the most, for him to open up to new people a bit more quickly than he did.
"puppy." Elijah said, just a bit louder than a mumble.
It was loud enough for Jillian to catch, "Puppies huh? Want to know something neat?"
Elijah nodded his head quickly, "yeah."
Jillian walked over and crouched down in front of the three-year-old although still a ways away, "We have a new litter of puppies out in the second barn."
"weally?" Elijah asked, his eyes widening.
"Yup." Jillian nodded, "Would you like to see them?"
Greg, who was sitting within view of Elijah's face, didn't think his sons eyes could get much wider than they were right at that moment, "Brace yourself." He whispered to Nick, who looked at him in confusion.
Elijah whipped around on his heel and ran for the two men at top speed, his caution a distant memory in light of the news Jillian had given him, "daddy! nicky! see puppies pleeeeaase!" He all but yelled, scrambling up the space of couch between them, what little there was, in order to stand on Greg's legs, "pleeeaase see puppies?" He asked again, pulling out the doe eyes he had inherited from Greg as he rested his hands on Greg's shoulders for balance.
Greg couldn't find it in himself to say no. Not that he wanted to. He just nodded helplessly and accepted the exuberant hug he was given.
"Which dog had pups?" Nick asked, as Jillian came into the family room, her dishcloth deposited in the kitchen.
"Pepper. One of the boys' dogs." She replied, referencing Liam and Leslie's boys, Jeremy and Thomas, "We're not even sure who the sire is. Some of the puppies look like Duke while others look like Rascal and Bogart."
Nick blanched at the thought of his dads old hound, Bogart, siring pups at his age. Shaking of things it would be wise not to think about he asked, "How many?"
"Seven. Originally eight, but the runt didn't make it. Which is a shame, cause it was the only one of the litter that looked like Pepper. Ah well..." Jillian trailed off and looked down at Elijah who was now tugging on her jeans with an expectant look on his face, "You ready to go see them?"
"yes please!" He said.
Greg ran a hand through Elijah's hair, "Want us to tag along, sproglet?" The question, which seemed rhetorical, actually served a purpose. Elijah's answer would tell him how comfortable he was with Jillian.
Said toddler bit his lip and rubbed his finger along the bridge of his nose before nodding slowly, "yes. you see puppies too."
"Sounds like a plan." Nick said, glancing at Greg. Both men caught that if it weren't for the excitement of his dad and Nick seeing the puppies as well, the toddler probably would have said no.
-----
Nick shut the door to Lynn's old room and turned to Greg, who was lounging on one of the chairs in the playroom with a book in hand, "You sure he'll be all right in there?"
Greg rolled his eyes and closed the book, "Nick, he'll be fine. We made sure to show him which room we'll be in, told him that there are always lights on out here just in case, gave him his blanket and stuffed clown as well as Sammy's old night light. He has got to be the most comfortable kid in the world right now and I think the only thing that's going to wake him up is if you keep checking in on him."
"Right." Nick said. He walked over and sat down on the arm of the chair Greg was in.
Greg slid an arm around Nick's back, "What are you so worried about anyway?"
"It's a new house for him." Nick replied, not really sure what the cause of his anxiety was.
"He's adapted pretty well so far and Lynn's room is a straight shot from yours so I really do think he'll be okay." Greg said. He squeezed Nick's waist before standing up, "Speaking of, don't you think it's about time you showed me your room?"
Nick laughed and stood as well, "I suppose so. Not that it's anything special. Mom pretty much generalized the rooms after we all moved out."
Nick's old room was just as he said it was, generalized. There wasn't anything in the room to show that Nick had spent a good eighteen of his years growing up in it. The room had two closets just beyond the door, opposite a small en-suite bathroom as well as a wall length window seat, a feature that seemed to be a fixture in nearly every room in the house.
Greg could see why Jillian had had them built. Where ever a window seat was placed, there was an incredible view beyond. Nicks, once you looked past the small garden under the window and the corner of Aly's old room, overlooked the rolling front lawn of the ranch to the west, allowing for a fantastic view of the sunset.
Greg walked over to the window and rested his hand on the wood beam that held the window panes in place, "Wow." He whispered, taking in the sun that was setting behind a small set of hills. With the sporadic clouds on the horizon, it made for an amazing sight.
Nick followed and wrapped his arms around Greg's waist, resting his chin on the shoulder in front of him, "Nice huh?"
Greg nodded and together, they watched as the sun set fully, leaving a sky of navy and purple behind. Finally, Greg stirred and turned in Nick's arms, kissing his temple, "I'm gunna go use the bathroom and change."
"Okay." Nick dropped his arms and turned to the bed, which was where he had dropped the suitcases earlier while Greg had chased after Elijah in the playroom.
He handed Greg his sleep pants and a tank top and Greg took them to the bathroom. Greg shut the door with a sigh and leaned against it.
Despite the three months of being together and the one month of Nick knowing of his feelings and them living together, they still hadn't seen each other sans clothes no matter how many times they had made out and brought each other to orgasm.
It was mostly his own fault. His main worry was Elijah bursting into the room but his other concern was that he had never been with a guy before. Oh, he had had plenty of boyfriends, but during college his main priorities had been school work and all the labs that he could sign up for. Most of his boyfriends and even his girlfriends at the time never stayed with him all that long because of it.
Elijah had come from a drunken tryst with a lab partner during his second year of post-grad classes. She hadn't informed him until a small niggling of guilt had come to her in the delivery room. He had flown straight to Atlanta, where she had moved to during winter break that year. After getting the paternity testing done to prove him as the father, he had then had to fight to get his son.
The adopting couple, as well as Blythe, hadn't been happy, but the courts had ruled in his favor and for Blythe to pay the couple back for the expenses they had put into her pregnancy that would guarantee they would be the ones to get the child. Since then, and really before hand as well, sex had never been his number one priority.
Greg went back into the bedroom after quickly changing and dropped his clothes in the now empty suitcase. He looked around the room and spotted Nick sitting on the window seat, back up against the wall. He walked over and leaned against the wall next to him, "Nick? You okay?"
Nick shrugged, "Have you noticed that despite sharing a bed for a month, we haven't even seen each other in our underwear? I'm not complaining or trying to push you or anything, but G, thats rare for me."
Greg nearly choked. Nick had basically just mirrored his own thoughts. It was a bit freaky, "I was, ah, just thinking about that."
"Yeah?" Nick looked up at him, though it was obvious he wasn't sure how to take the statement.
"Yeah." Greg looked away from Nick and out the window. He wasn't sure he wanted to have this conversation at Nick's parents house, but it seemed like he didn't have much choice, "Did you know that since Elijah was born, in fact since he was conceived, I haven't had sex? With anyone? Not to mention my first time actually having sex was when I was twenty-two." He added with an embarrassed mutter. It had never been easy for him to admit the age at which he lost his virginity.
He looked down in time to see Nick's eyebrows crease in confusion, "But I remember last year you talking about some blond with amazing green eyes and perfect toes."
Greg ran his hand over his face and snorted, "She was wearing high heals that were kinda strappy and it was at a bar. We had made a date for the following weekend but while we were on it, she walked out on me when she found out I had a kid. The whole thing never evolved to sex. I don't do one night stands."
"So what did you do? Swipe her glass?" Nick asked, amused, "'Cause you had said you were looking at her..."
"Don't remind me." Greg said quickly, knowing where Nick was going with that sentence, "And no, I didn't. They were my own, but that would have sounded really lame."
"Yeah." Nick paused, "Greg, I don't care that you haven't had sex in...wow, nearly four years..."
"That's not all." Greg interrupted, "I mean, well, I haven't exactly been with a guy before."
"You..."
"That's not to say I haven't dated a guy before," Greg said, hastening to explain and interrupting Nick in the process, "It's just that I haven't had sex with a guy before. It's a bit of a nerve wracking idea you know? Sure, I think about it and all and I have experimented with myself but...mph." Greg's eyes narrowed over Nick's hand, which had clamped over his mouth to stop the nervous babbling.
"Chill G." Nick said, rising to stand before him, "I don't care about all that okay? Sure, it's good to know that you've never done that before. It makes our first time all the more special and if and when I do...do that to you, I'll know to take it slow."
Greg pulled Nick's hand from his mouth and smirked, "You are such a romantic. You can't even say it. 'When you fuck me.' It's not hard to say."
Nick shook his head, "I don't care if this is going to make me sound like a sap, but our first time won't be about fucking. It'll be about making love."
Greg found himself at a loss for words. How was it that Nick could do that? Just strip him of all words, including his large stash of witty comebacks, and leave him gaping like a fish out of water.
Nick, however, didn't give him much time to answer before he continued, "I never did tell you."
"What?" Was about all Greg could manage. He would have been embarrassed if he had it in him to be so at the moment, because this lack of words was really not him.
"That I loved you as well. It's been nearly a month since you told me and I never reciprocated." Nick continued. He slid his arms around Greg's waist and pulled him close.
It was as Greg was stepping away from the wall that he found his voice, "I, ah, wasn't exactly worried about it. You said this whole relationship was moving kinda fast. And I had started falling for you just after I started at the lab and I know you could barely tolerate me at the time, so..."
Nick kissed him, slipping his tongue into Greg's open mouth but managing to keep the kiss soft at the same time. He pulled away and licked Greg's lip before licking his own, "Yeah, you were a little weird G. But I could tolerate you. In fact, I'd say I started to fall for you around that time you were talking about that blond. The way your eyes lit up," Here he kissed the corner of Greg's eye, "And that killer smile you flashed me." He kissed Greg on the mouth again, but it was barely a whisper.
Greg chuckled softly, "You mean I didn't have you at 'anal swab'?" He asked, "Must have lost my touch there."
"God G." Nick groaned and dropped his forehead onto Greg's shoulder as he was reminded of Greg's third week at the lab, "That was bad."
TBC...
Chapter 8