Fic: When All is Said and Done - Chapter 20

[mneme2434]

December


Greg turned off the TV with a snort. He could only imagine the look on Nick's face at the moment. The Cowboys had actually lost the game and he was sure Kieran and Warrick were enjoying that fact immensely, neither man being particularly large Dallas fans. He rubbed his face and turned back to the task he had been diligently working on for the past half hour. Re-arranging the family room furniture.

Normally, he would decorate the weekend after Thanksgiving for Christmas, but he really didn't have enough decorations and they hadn't had time to shop. Not to mention the small argument that ensued over whether to get a fake tree or a real one. It had taken nearly two days to decide to go with a real tree and by then the weekend had passed with them not getting much of anything accomplished.

So now, while Elijah was with Sammy while she did some shopping and Nick down in Texas until the following afternoon, he decided to get a head start on the furniture aspect as well as put out the few things he did have. He had managed to clear the space in front of the windows, where the tree was going, and still have the couches facing the fireplace and TV.

The small table and chairs from the arched window area were in the hallway, waiting to go upstairs to the storage room until January, and the plants from the area had been moved into the dining room. He went into the kitchen and bent over to grab one of the two boxes sitting by the door.

It was too heavy to lift and he wound up dragging it across the room. He was glad he was the only one home. There was no one around to get a good laugh out of his wiggling ass and awkward shuffling. He let the box rest behind the couch and as he gasped for air, he just decided to leave it there. It wouldn't kill him to walk around the couch to grab the items out of it.

The land line rang just as he was heading for the second box and he detoured off to the right to answer it. A glance at the caller ID proved a fruitless gesture, the name and number both unfamiliar to him. He debated for a second on whether to pick it up or not, but by the third ring just decided to, figuring it could be something important, "Sanders." He answered after picking up.

/Hello, Gregory./

Greg's eyes widened. There was only one person outside of his mother and nana, and that was only if they were mad at him, who called him Gregory and damned if it was the one person he never wanted to speak to, "Blythe." He said, his fingers tightening on the cordless handset, "What can I do for you."

/I am calling to inform you that arrangements have been put into place for me to gain custody of Emerson./

"Er, who's Emerson?" Greg asked, confused.

/My...our.../ The pause between her 'my and our' was noticeable, even though Greg figured it wasn't supposed to be/son. Emerson Willard the fifth. I have also made note that his last name is to be changed as well./

"Blythe, has it not occurred to you that it states that his name is Elijah Henrik Sanders on his birth certificate? I named him because when you called me about him, you were in the middle of putting him up for adoption! He had no name!" Greg exclaimed, though his teeth were clenched.

/Do not be ridiculous, Gregory. Everything can be changed. My lawyer will be in contact with further details./ She paused/It wouldn't due to fight, dear. They...I don't have it in me to lose./

Greg winced as she hung up and didn't notice as the handset slipped through his nerveless fingers. His first instinct was to find his son and just hold him. He made it half-way up the stairs before he remembered Elijah was with Sammy. He sunk down on to the carpeted step and wrapped his arms around his knees.

He wasn't sure how long he had actually sat there on the steps, but the sudden blaring of Linkin Park's In the End, his ring tone of the week, brought him out of the funk he had fallen into. He stood up and rubbed his face before going back down into the living room and grabbing his cell. He looked down at the caller ID. Nick, "Hello?"

/God, G, did you watch the game? I can't believe the Cowboys lost! Now I'm stuck in the car with these two inconsiderate pricks who are laughing at me and making jokes. It's getting unbearable./

"You poor thing." Greg said, although his small attempt at a joke fell flat.

Nick noticed right away that his tone didn't match his words/Greg? What's wrong? Elijah's not hurt is he?/

Greg let a hollow laugh out when he heard the worried exclamations of Warrick and Kieran in the background. It didn't quell the helpless feeling he had, but it was nice knowing there were a lot of people out there who cared about his son, "He's fine Nick."

/Then what's wrong?/

"What makes you think somethings wrong?"

/God damn it Greg, will you just tell me?/

The sudden silence on the other end of the phone from Nick as well as Warrick and Kieran was enough to cause Greg to break down. He ran his hand through his hair and sighed, "She wants him back, Nick."

/Who wants who back?/

"Blythe...Elijah..." Greg sniffed and sat down on the couch, "When are you coming home?"

/Greg, who's Blythe?/ Nick asked, softly.

Greg could tell that Nick was upset and that he already knew who Blythe was. It was the way he asked the simple question, his voice tight and the drawl evident when he said her name, "She's Elijah's mom."

/That's what I thought. As soon as we get to the hotel, we're going to pack and head to the airport./ Nick replied and Greg could hear the two other men agreeing/I'll get home as soon as possible, okay?/

Greg sniffed, "Okay."

/Love you, babe./

"You too." Greg hung up and leaned back into the cushions. He fingered his phone and soon had it picked up and half dialed before deciding he didn't want Sammy to get into some kind of accident trying to bring Elijah home. He erased her number and punched in his moms, deciding to find out if Blythe had called them for his unlisted phone number.

He jiggled his leg while waiting for her to pick up. When she didn't, he glanced at the clock and groaned at the time before hanging up. It was ten pm. They were probably already sleeping and Sammy really should have been back by now. His thoughts trailed off as he heard keys in the front door and the giggling voice of his son talking to Trixie. He sniffed and wiped at his face again, hoping that his worry wasn't noticeable.

"hi daddy!"

Greg smiled and stood up. He then let out a wholehearted laugh when he saw his son. The poor kid was decked out in red and green from head to toe, making him look like a little Christmas elf, and was carrying three shopping bags that were trailing about two centimeters above the ground, "Hey sproglet! What've you got in the bags?"

Elijah clasped them to his chest and turned his upper body away while still looking at him through now glowering eyes, "you no look! dey pwesents!"

"All right. I won't look." When Elijah's eyes narrowed even more, Greg held up a hand, "Promise!"

"k!" Elijah started up the stairs, "I hide, no peek."

Sammy laughed as Trixie rushed to help him carry the bags up the stairs, "He insisted on shopping for you and Nick. Already knew what he wanted to get for you and wanted to get it done now before he forgot."

"No hints?"

Sammy shook her head, "Nope, sorry. Listen, I'm going to run Trix home and give her her bath. I'll see you in a half hour when you drop Elijah off."

Greg nodded and went upstairs, sending the dark haired little girl down to her mom before turning his attention to Elijah, who was sitting on his bed and doing his best to whistle innocently, "Don't worry my little mouse, I'm not going to peek." Greg said, sitting down next to the Christmas decked boy.

"i knows." Elijah said. He climbed onto Greg's lap and wrapped his arms around his fathers neck, "you okay?'

Greg smiled and wrapped his own arms around Elijah's back, squeezing lightly as he leaned down to blow a raspberry on the soft neck in front of him, "I'm fine babe. You up to a bath before going over to Aunt Sammy's?"

Elijah leaned back against Greg's arms and looked at him before nodding his head, which sent auburn curls tumbling onto his forehead. He must have sensed Greg wasn't in the mood to deal with much, despite his claims to be okay, because it was the first night since getting his tubes put in that he didn't put up a fight about using his ear plugs.

Greg was reluctant to let Elijah out of his sight and the time passed quickly. It only felt like five minutes had passed before he found himself driving to work. He kept wondering if he should just call in, but after missing so many nights already, he didn't want to put anyone out.

He shouldn't have been surprised, but he still was, when Catherine met him at the doors to the lab. The expression on her face told him immediately that Warrick had called her, most likely the second Nick had gotten off the phone with him. He thought back to his brief interactions with Sammy from earlier, but she had not given any indication to knowing about the phone call.

As soon as Catherine saw him, she was pulling him into her arms and that proved to be the last straw. He broke down and started sobbing, burying his head into her neck. She rubbed her hands along his back and ushered him slowly up the walk to the bench that ran along the path.

She sat them down and continued to hold him as he cried. When Warrick had called her to let her know that they were catching a midnight flight back to Vegas, she practically had to pull a tooth to find out why and she was sure that all three men's ears were still ringing from her yelling at him through the phone.

Nick had taken the phone then and told him what had happened and she told him that she was glad she was informed. There was no way Greg was going to make it through shift without some sort of support.

She heard the bench creak behind Greg and she glanced up through her hair to find a concerned Sara looking at her in worry and confusion while also running a hand along Greg's back soothingly. She shook her head softly in a not now sort of way and hoped that Sara didn't take it personal. She wasn't sure if Greg was ready to have the whole world know yet.

When Greg finally managed to pull himself together, Sara was inside and it was nearly a twenty minutes into shift. Both of them stood up and with Catherine's arm around his waist, she led him to the locker room, "I'll let you know if I have to go out on scene or not. This way you'll know if I'm in the building when you need me."

"If you're not?" Greg asked, his voice small.

"Greg, it would help maybe if you told someone? What about Bobby? Or Jacqui? You've gotten pretty close to her since she moved back onto third." Catherine offered, sitting down on the locker room bench next to him.

Greg gave a small chuckle, "So nice of you to keep up on the inner friendships of us lab-rat's Cath."

Catherine reached up and tugged on one of Greg's spikes, "You listen to me, lab-rat. You may annoy the living hell out of us at times, me and Sara especially, but you're still our friend and we do care about you. I know it only seems like this closeness came from you dating Nick, but Greg, we've had a soft spot for you ever since you started here. I think if it was anyone else, neither Grissom or I would tolerate half the shit you put us through."

"Whoa, Cath, getting a bit deep there." Greg said with a small smile, "I get what your saying and it means a lot. I'll...maybe I'll tell Bobby. He knows about Blythe."

Catherine leaned back and looked at him, before shaking her head, "I'll tell him as soon as I get my assignment slip. You just go to your lab and get some music going and clean up after swing. Take your mind off of it for as long as you can. Like I said, I'll stop by if I leave, if not you have my pager number."

Greg sighed and knew he wasn't going to be able to talk her out of it, "All right. Thanks." He said. He stood up and gave her one last hug before pulling off his jacket and replacing it with his lab coat. He followed her out of the locker room and went down the hall to the DNA lab while she turned right and went into the break room.

He sat down and powered up the equipment before digging through the drawer for a CD. He wasn't really in the mood to listen to music, but Catherine was right. He needed to take his mind off of Blythe unless he wanted to start bawling again. Actually, what he needed to do was call his freaking lawyer and find out if what she was doing was even possible. She had wanted to put him up for adoption for heavens sake, why would a judge allow someone like that to take him back?

Greg found one of his Manson CD's and put that in, although he kept the volume down below its normal full blast. He cleaned the machines and the counters, put away reference books and loose papers, doing the same things he spent the first two hours of shift doing when it was slow and the CSI's were on scene collecting his work.

He finished fairly quickly, since the swing shift tech had managed to mostly pick up after herself for a change, and wondered what the hell he was going to do until he got samples.

It was then that Bobby knocked on the lab door, a solemn look on his normally laughing face and holding two cups of coffee. Greg took the offered coffee and after a sip realized it was from his own stash, "Bobby..." He practically growled at the first Texan who made himself at home in his life.

"I didn't make it. I just deliver." Bobby replied, holding up his hands, "So, Ms. Willows told me what happened. How you doin'? Honestly?"

Greg shrugged and cupped his hands around his mug of coffee, "I dunno. I've felt sorta numb since she called. Only cried once."

Bobby nodded, but didn't say anything. Both of them knew he didn't have to. While Bobby may not know exactly what Greg was going through at that moment, it wasn't all that hard for him to imagine.

Bobby sat with him until samples started coming in and Greg had to admit that he was feeling a bit hurt that Catherine never stopped by to tell him she was leaving. Until that point, he hadn't really thought on how close he had let himself get to the other CSI's and it was a worrying thing if he was going to freak out about her not telling him. She might not have even left the building. After all, she did say there was a chance she wouldn't and to just page her.

He was tempted to do just that when Sara came in with a whole mess load of samples, "Multiple rape scene." was all that she'd say when she passed them over.

Greg just nodded and set to work, glad for the opportunity to do something more constructive than sitting and brooding. Catherine walked into the lab some time later, a frown set on her face and her arms crossed. Greg glanced at her before continuing to work, so close to finishing Sara's samples that he could practically taste it.

"Don't you ignore me, Greg Sanders."

"I'm not, Cath. Just let me finish this." He said and was glad when she did. She didn't leave the lab, but she was patient enough to wait until he had printed his results and paged Sara, "All right, what's up."

Catherine dropped down on the stool next to him, left in the lab from when Bobby had been in by him, "You didn't page me."

Greg sighed, "To be honest, Catherine, I thought you left to go on scene. With both Nick and Warrick off, well, all hands on deck, you know?"

"Yeah, usually, but with two of us gone, Grissom has to call in at least one of the weekend guys. Anyway, that's really not why I came in. There's someone here to see you and Grissom said to take a dinner break, since you skipped yours."

Greg glanced at the clock. It was already five, "Holy...time certainly flew. Who's here?"

"Go down and see."

Greg eyed Catherine for a moment, but nodded and stood up, "Outside?" She nodded as well and held out his jacket, "How did you...never mind. I don't want to know." He pulled off the lab coat and dropped it over his chair before leaving, pulling on his jacket as he went.

He stepped outside and took a deep breath of the cool, crisp air before looking around. His eyes fell on the person waiting for him and they instantly welled up with tears, "Nick..."

Nick stood up and walked over to Greg. When he was within a foot of the lab-rat, he reached out and grabbed Greg's hand, tugging him close before wrapping his arms around the smaller body, "Don't worry Greg, everything will work out. She will not take our son from us."

Nick's verbal admission to Elijah being both of theirs added fire to his hope, but it also caused him to start crying again, "I hope not, Nick. I really, really hope not." he whispered, wrapping his own arms around Nick's waist.

~~

Greg hung up the phone and sat down at the island, resting his forehead on the palms of his hands. Nick closed the dish washer door, came up behind him and started rubbing his shoulders, "So?"

"Malcolm said that while it was usually unheard of for such cases to go as far as this one has so far, given the background, the Stanfield name and money hold a lot of sway. It got pushed through, apparently by Blythe's father." Greg sighed, "He said not to give in. Despite her calling me, Blythe's not the one holding the cards and thats going to raise some flags with any judge."

"Any idea of when this is going to get worse?"

Greg shook his head, "No, but Malcolm said definitely not until after the first of the year. Said that'll give him time also to look and see who will be available to represent us."

Nick nodded as he dropped his hands and wrapped them around Greg's chest, "Elijah is with Rayne for the afternoon and we both have the night off. What do you want to do?"

The way Nick said it, Greg knew he wasn't talking about sex, despite the phrasing used. He turned sideways on the stool and looked his lover straight in the eye, "I want to go shopping. If this..." He paused when his breath hitched, "If this is the last Christmas I have with him, I'm going to damn well make it the best he'll ever have."

"All right, but G keep this in mind, we are not going to lose him and I'll damn well keep saying it until you believe me." Nick said it so firmly that Greg couldn't help but believe him, even if the hope was still minuscule at the moment, "So, shopping. We need tree decorations as well which means we're taking the Tahoe."

Greg kissed Nick on the cheek and stood up, "Okay. Let's go then."

They started off at the mall, their first destination a department store that sold the decorations they would need. They found and tossed many boxes of colored stringed lights and garland into the cart, deciding rather quickly that tinsel and three-year-olds wouldn't mix very well. They had grabbed close to five boxes of each, not sure exactly how large of a tree they were going to get.

While Nick was picking out boxed ornament sets, Greg looked over the individual displays of specialty ones, instantly finding a globed one that proclaimed, 'world's greatest dad' on it. He looked over at Nick with a small smile and plucked it off its hanger before looking for a year three ornament for Elijah, a tradition he had started for Elijah's first Christmas.

He found what he was looking for quickly and as he was turning to add them to the cart's rapidly growing pile, he saw an ornament that caused his throat to close. It was a figurine of a father and son, the fathers hand resting on his son's head. He reached out slowly and grabbed it, adding it to the collection in his hands without a second thought.

Nick saw it and the reaction it caused, but didn't say anything. Instead, he gently ushered Greg down the next aisle, which contained decorative, lighted garlands as well as a large collection of stockings.

Greg fingered one of them, which had the image of a puppy on it, "I think he's old enough for a stocking this year."

"Yeah." Nick saw another with a reindeer, "Why don't we get three? One for each of us."

"All right."

They added three stockings to the cart as well as four strands of the lighted garlands for the entry way and stair rails. After deciding on other minor decorations, the brought their purchases to the truck before heading back into the mall, "Where to next?"

Greg looked around and spotted K.B. Toys, "There." He said, starting for the store.

Greg would have preferred Toy's R Us, but when they had driven by the store, the parking lot had been completely full. He grabbed a cart and started down the first of five aisles, looking over the toy selection. This aisle held the stores infant toys and he paused in front of an activity mat, "We could get Dakota that." He said, pointing at the display box.

Nick shrugged, "We could. I don't think Sammy has one." He grabbed a box and stored it on the cart's bottom rack, "That and a few more smaller toys and a couple of outfits I think."

"Yeah, that sounds good." They picked out the toys quickly, both laughing when they showed each other the same toy, the only difference being the maker of the toy, "All right, I think one would be enough." Greg said, putting his back.

They went down the next aisle and gaped at the over abundance of pastels lining the shelves, "I think we found the dolls." Nick muttered, poking a finger at one of the boxes.

"Trixie and Lindsey?" Greg asked, looking around.

"Lindsey doesn't play with dolls, Greg. She'd shoot you if you got her one."

Greg rolled his eyes, "I meant a Barbie." Greg said, pointing further down the aisle.

"Oh. Yeah, all right." Nick shrugged, "We can Trixie this for her big gift."

Greg looked over at Nick who was pointing to a nursery play set, "Sure. A doll with two matching outfits for it and she'll be pretty much all set."

Nick grabbed the box and piled it on top of the activity mat's box while Greg chose a doll and two outfits for it. They decided on a Barbie doll for Lindsey and quickly made their way out of the aisle to the next. Greg stopped and stared at the back wall, his head cocked to the side slightly, "How about a board game for Maddox?"

"Sure, why not?" Nick said. They agreed to get him a battleship game and found a board game for Sammy and Kieran as well. Greg saw a hand held learning game that he knew his son would love and tossed it and most of the matching cartridges into the cart. Nick went into the next aisle while Greg was doing that and let out a happy laugh, "Here we go."

Greg's eyebrows rose and he followed Nick, stopping when he saw his lover. The man was walking towards him, loaded down with a variety of colorful boxes, "What the..."

"Play doh, a large variety box of colors, a Thomas the Train Engine Play doh modeling set as well as a shapes modeling set." Nick said, dropping the boxes into the cart.

"Huh." Greg said with a shrug, "All right."

He joined in the hunt and found a large amount of smaller activity toys that his son would like. Nick found a large Lego pad at the end of the aisle and placed it on top of the two boxes under the cart.

When Greg met up with him at the end of the aisle, he scratched the bridge of his nose as he looked over the growing pile, "How are we going to get this all out to the truck?"

"Very carefully, I think. We still have one more aisle to go." Nick said.

Greg maneuvered the cart around the wall and sighed. Action figures. The one thing his son wasn't into, "I think..." He trailed off and went further down the aisle, "We found the building toys."

Nick joined him and they stared at the wall with glazed over expressions. Both of them happily played with Elijah's Lego set and Greg's old and worn Tinker toy set and the array of both items in front of them was astounding. They both reached out at the same time, Greg going for the Lego's, large ones for his son as well as a smaller sized set, while Nick grabbed various boxes of Tinker toy's.

They turned around to the other side of the aisle and found the Lego kits. They saw a few Harry Potter sets and agreed that they had found Maddox's large gift. A bit further down the aisle, Greg paused and just stared, "I didn't think they made those anymore."

"What?" Nick looked and gasped, "Holy shit. Lincoln logs. Eli..."

"Loves them, I know. He's always going on about playing with them at daycare. Look at the varieties." He reached out and grabbed two tubs, a stagecoach station and the fort, while Nick grabbed the pioneer outpost and the prairie farm.

"Anything else?" Nick asked, looking around, "What about those blocks?"

"What blocks?" Greg asked, confused, "I don't see any...oh. Yeah, why not?" He grabbed the box that contained an alphabet and number set of blocks in a wooden wagon, "Oh, and those dominoes. It'll give him something to do during bath time." He said, pointing up to the top shelf.

"Yeah, maybe he'll be so interested in them that he'll stop fighting us about his plugs." Nick muttered, stretching up to grab the plastic bag.

On their way to the check-outs, they added a few boxes of puzzles as well as some movies. Greg saw another display near the door that caught his eye and he gravitated towards it. It was mostly outdoor toys and the selection for toddlers was fairly large. He grabbed an inflatable ball pit, a box of bubbles, and a neat little plastic golf set. He was tempted to grab the Nerf baseball set, but the bats were plastic and the bruises that came to mind didn't look pretty.

After checking out, Greg had to remind Nick to breath after they received the total, and then casually mentioned that they still had the rest of Nick's nieces and nephews to shop for eventually. The look Nick shot him promised retribution was in his future and he laughed all the way out to the truck.

They stopped at Pizza Hut on the way home, deciding that cooking after all the shopping they did just sounded like an exhausting chore. Greg called in the order when they were about twenty minutes from home and they managed to get to the restaurant just as their order was being packed up.

When they got home, it was closing in on seven and Rayne said they'd be back at the house by eight. They quickly devoured their food and started hauling toys up to the storage room that was off of the playroom. By the time eight rolled around, Nick and Greg were carefully hauling the tree stand they bought into the living room.

They had the box open and the stand out and half set up when Rayne ushered Elijah into the house at quarter past. The red-headed toddler rushed right into his dads arms and gave him a wet kiss on the cheek. Greg smiled and squeezed his son, "Did you have fun?"

Elijah nodded and ran over to Nick to give him the same greeting. Once that was accomplished, he plopped down onto Nick's lap so he was facing his dad, "lots and lots. played wit' baby!" He exclaimed with an almost shocked look on his face.

Greg laughed and looked up at Rayne, "You went over to Lauren's?"

Rayne shrugged lightly and ruffled Greg's hair, "I wanted to drop of the blanket I was knitting up for Summer. We stayed and had milk and cookies and yes, Elijah did play with Summer. It was cute. We also stopped and saw Santa."

"Cool...did you get pictures?" Greg asked, ignoring Nick's hurt look and his own pang. They had been planning on taking Elijah the next day, as they had it off being a Saturday.

"Of course. They're in the kitchen. I used a whole roll at Lauren's so I got them developed why we waited in line." What she didn't tell the two men was that she had actually taken Elijah to get his picture professionally taken at the mall. It hadn't been intentional to see Santa, but it made for a good cover story for being at the mall in case Elijah blabbed, as the pictures were going to be part of his gift to his dads.

Elijah looked up at his dad, "go see santy 'gain? fo'got someting."

Greg let out a grin as did Nick, "Sure thing sproglet. We can go tomorrow."

"cool."

~~

"nicky, what dis?"

Nick looked down at Elijah, who was kneeling in front of the coffee table, "That's a snow globe, little man."

Elijah cocked his head and reached out a finger to run down the side of the glass, "what do?"

Nick kneeled down on the floor and then grinned as Elijah scooted back to plop on his thighs. Nick reached around the toddler and pulled the globe closer, "Help me pick it up."

"k." Elijah wrapped his hands around the base and together, the two of them lifted up the large, ornate snow globe.

"All right, what we need to do is flip it. Ready?"

"yeah."

Nick started to tilt the globe, Elijah losing his grip as he saw the glitter inside start to swirl in the water. He gave a gasp and leaned closer as Nick brought the snow globe back up right. Elijah quickly grasped the gold base and pulled it closer, watching with wide eyes as the glitter settled around the tiny house and trees inside the glass.

"woooow."

Nick released a hand from the globe and wrapped it around Elijah's chest to give him a squeeze, "Pretty cool huh?"

"yeaaah." Elijah breathed out, still staring at the glitter.

They flipped the snow globe a couple more times before a clearing throat caught their attention. They both turned to the doorway, "daddy! you see? shiny!" Elijah pushed the globe along the table so Greg could see it.

"That's pretty cool, sproglet." Greg grinned and then pointed towards the garage, "You guys ready?"

Elijah nodded enthusiastically and jumped off of Nick's lap, running for the kitchen and his jacket. Nick stood up and walked over to Greg, pulling him into his arms, "We gunna have enough time?"

Greg shrugged and looked at the clock over the mantle, "It's five now, malls open till nine and so is the tree place. I think we'll be okay."

Nick gave Greg a kiss before stepping back, "The mall is going to be packed you know."

Greg nodded, "That's why we're going now. Where are we going to eat?" He followed Nick into the kitchen, pausing to help Elijah worm into his jacket.

"I have no idea." Nick replied, grabbing his coat off of one of the stools.

Nick's assessment on the crowds at the mall was pretty accurate. From the second they had left the truck, Elijah had been tucked into Nick's arms, neither man wanting to chance loosing the toddler in the throng of holiday shoppers. It had then taken them nearly twenty minutes and a couple of detours to make it to the hall where the malls Santa had set up shop for the season. The line, full of children anxious to see the man, wasn't all that long but it was going to take them close to a half an hour before their turn came.

When Elijah was finally placed on the jolly mans lap, Nick was nearly blown away when Santa said, "Well hello again Elijah. Did you forget something?"

Nick turned to Greg, who's own mouth was agape, "Thats nuts. Who has that good a memory?"

Greg's mouth snapped shut as he shrugged, "I have no idea. Maybe he's got a photogenic one."

Nick hummed in response as he looked back at their son, who was nodding bashfully.

"i wants twain like chwis." Elijah replied, his eyes shining as he stared up at Santa's face.

Santa nodded and stroked his beard, "I see. Well, Elijah, train sets are very popular this year, but I will certainly see what I can do." A thoughtful look crossed the mans face, "How big of a set would you like?"

"i little, so like me."

"Yes, if it were too big you'd need help to play with it." Santa patted the top of Elijah's head, "Is that everything?"

Elijah nodded, "uh huh. tank you."

Santa laughed, "You're very welcome, Elijah."

One of the elf clad teenagers came forward then and helped Elijah down. After receiving his candy cane, he rushed towards the gate where the adult line ended. Nick caught the running boy easily as Greg was handed a card from another elf helper. As they stepped out of the line and into the main hall, Nick peered over Greg's shoulder as the lab rat opened the card.

There was a Polaroid of Elijah sitting on Santa's lap, taken while the three-year-old had been looking up at the man's face, nestled inside with a holiday tiding opposite. Both men grinned at each other as Greg closed the card back up. Elijah chose that moment to tug on the neck of Nick's jacket, "i hungry. we eat?"

They went to a steakhouse for dinner. It was an interesting meal as this was the first time they had taken Elijah some place where the meals came with salads beforehand. Elijah wasn't too sure of the greens in the bowl, but he had crunched away happily at the croutons, even going as far as stealing the seasoned bread from both Greg and Nick's bowls.

Once they left the restaurant, they drove down three blocks to a tree lot, the reason for choosing the restaurant that they had. Nick went off to park after dropping Greg and Elijah at the gate. When he went to join them, he was amused to find Elijah trying to pull Greg in every direction his eyes turned as he looked at the trees spread out before him.

"Having fun, G?"

Greg looked over his shoulder at him, "Tons. He can't make up his mind where to go first."

Elijah caught sight of a large pine then and promptly took off towards it, dragging Greg along as best he could, "daddy! look!"

When they came to a stop in front of it, both men craned their necks back as they took in the height of the tree, "It's huge. I don't think we have enough lights or ornaments to cover it." Greg said.

Nick nodded in agreement, "Try another one, little man."

"but..." Elijah looked at them before sighing and starting down the aisle again. The next tree Elijah chose had a few gaping holes in the back and was instantly shot down.

"Third times the charm." Greg said, placing his hand on Elijah's head as they walked along yet another aisle. Nick, on the other hand, was beginning to wonder if they should have just gone with a fake tree for all the luck they were having.

About to suggest either going to another lot or going with a fake, Elijah let out a squeal and bolted down the aisle.

"Elijah!" Both men yelled as they instantly sprinted after him.

Thankfully, the toddler didn't go far. After crossing the main aisle and running into the next, Elijah skidded to a stop in front of a beautiful tree that had branches sweeping upwards at an angle perfect for ornaments, "dis one daddy!"

A worker joined them then, having overheard Elijah's exclamation, "That there's a Leyland Cypress. It's popular. This one's my last and I can't get anymore shipped in this season."

Nick and Greg looked at the price tag and then at their sons hopeful face. Greg nodded and Nick turned to the worker, "We'll take it."

~~

"Wow." Greg said, resting his chin on Elijah's head. Nick had just finished stringing the lights and garland and the tree looked amazing.

"woooow." Elijah breathed out and clapped his hands, "we dec-rate now?" he asked, tilting his head to the side and back to he could look at his fathers face.

Greg gave him an Eskimo kiss, "Sure you're not too tired sproglet?"

"nuh uh. wide 'wake." He used his fingers and pried his eyelids far apart in emphasis.

Nick grabbed Elijah up from Greg's lap and blew a raspberry onto his neck, "That's good, 'cause daddy and I are going to need lots of help with this big tree." Nick paused and glanced at Greg, who nodded, "We even got a special bed-time story for you for Christmas eve."

Elijah pressed his palms against Nick's cheeks and looked at him with wide eyes, "what, what?"

"It's a surprise, babe. You'll have to wait and see. Let's get this tree decorated, okay?" Greg suggested as he stood up.

"k!" Elijah wiggled from his perch on Nick's arms and ran over to the tree before looking back at his two fathers in expectation.

Both men laughed and began opening the boxes of ornaments Nick had picked out as well as pulling out Greg's smaller collection from the large box still resting behind the couch. Nick kneeled down and showed Elijah how to hold the ornament hooks so he wouldn't prick his fingers. He then sat back onto his legs and watched with pride as Elijah hung his first Christmas ornament.

Just as the hook the toddler was holding touched the tree branch, Greg snapped a picture. Elijah's head whipped around at the flash and he laughed when he saw his dad holding a camera. He ran for another ornament and held it up to the tree for Greg to take another picture, which he did happily.

After a few more pictures, Greg put the camera down and started helping. He dug through one of the bags for the three individual ornaments he had bought and called Elijah over to him, "This one's your special ornament, sproglet." He said, holding up the light blue swirly bulb, "Why don't you go hang it up somewhere we can see it?"

"ooh," Elijah took the ornament and then frowned, "whewe hook?"

"This one doesn't need one. The ribbon will hold it on the tree." Greg said, showing his son the loop the ribbon formed, "See?"

"yeah." Elijah nodded and ran to the tree, finding the perfect spot for it next to the Big Bird ornament he had placed just before it.

"Nick." Greg said, straightening up. He walked over to his lover and pressed the one he had bought for the Texan into his hands, "This one is for you." He knew Nick hadn't seen what had been written on the ornament when it was purchased and was anxious to see his reaction.

Nick took the round ornament and turned it over. He stared at the writing for a moment before looking up at Greg, his eyes glassy, "Greg..."

"You like it?"

"I love it." He wrapped an arm around Greg's waist and pulled him close. He leaned in and kissed his lab-rat in thanks before a long and drawn out, 'ewwww,' forced them to separate. Nick laughed, "Some day, Elijah, you will not be ew'ing to that."

Greg looked at Nick, amused, "Nick, I think that no matter how old he is, the sight of us kissing is always going to cause him to say ew. I know my parents kissing in my presence makes me do that."

"Good point." Nick went over to the tree and hung his bulb right next to Elijah's year ornament. He brushed a finger along Elijah's before turning and picking up the shoe box he had been going through before Greg had given him the ornament. He dug through it, curious as to the different types of tree decorations his lover had, and one ornament in particular caught his eye. He lifted it up, wondering if his eyes were playing tricks on him, "Greg?"

"Yeah?"

"Is this...a pickle?"

Greg rolled his eyes as he placed his Linus and Snoopy bell ornament on the tree, "My, but you're observant. They're good luck."

"It's a pickle."

"So we've established."

TBC...