Fic: When All is Said and Done - Chapter 22

[mneme2434]

All right, two things. Those of you who were waiting to see Greg's revenge/punishment, well, thats going to be one of the one-shots that comes out when this story is finished. The main reason is that the last chapter was added in after the story itself was finished. So, no where to put it. I will write it eventually though, no worries. Second, this chapter is like, pure fluff. That's what you get when you mix a three-year-old and Christmas.

December


Greg finished wrapping Nick's last gift with a happy sigh. It had been hell trying to find time away from the Texan long enough to get it done but he finally had, even if it was Christmas eve. He gathered up the large pile and carried it downstairs, settling them under the tree. A glance at the clock showed it to be nearing nine and he went back upstairs to Elijah's room.

Nick walked out of the bathroom with Elijah in his arms and wrapped up in a towel. They had spent much of the afternoon trying to tire the toddler out as much as possible and Nick knew they had succeeded when Elijah's nightly fight with the ear plugs was quieter than what was usual.

Greg took Elijah from Nick's arms and scrubbed him down while Nick dug out Elijah's special Christmas pajama's, his one present that he was allowed to open early. They dressed him and had him tucked in in no time. Greg sat down on the edge of the bed, allowing Elijah to snuggle up to him while Nick read his bedtime story.

Nick sat down on the opposite side of him and cracked open the new pop-up book, holding it so Elijah could easily see the pictures that stood up from their holding spots, "Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas would soon be there..."

Greg leaned his head against the headboard and watched Nick read the famous poem out loud. He remembered his own father reading this to him when he was younger and had happily grabbed a copy when they had been at the bookstore while shopping for their parents.

Nick barely made it into the second verse before Elijah dropped off and they both smiled at each other over the sleeping head before carefully climbing off of the bed. They both kissed him and Greg tucked the blankets up before running his fingers along a smooth cheek. He followed Nick out of Elijah's bedroom and shut the door before turning to his lover, "Ready?"

"No, not really." Nick groaned, looking over the railing at the tree, "But I suppose we have to."

"Hey, look at it this way. We've got most of the gifts wrapped. We just need to bring them downstairs."

"And fill the stockings, and put together that bike, and..."

Greg kissed Nick, running his fingers up into the brown locks so he could angle Nick's head better, "Well, the sooner we get it done, the sooner we can enjoy more...physical activities." He said after he pulled away.

Nick threaded his fingers through Greg's belt loops, "Or we could just start that now and put off the Santa Clause act until after..."

"Nick, that kid is going to be up early. Do you want to get caught carrying presents down the stairs?"

"Um, no. Let's go get to work." Nick removed his hands from Greg's hips and pushed him towards the play room.

Greg went with a laugh and led the way to the storage room. He unlocked the door and opened it before standing back, "Think we can get it all down in one trip?"

"You're kidding right?" Nick grabbed the box that their new vacuum had come in and began piling presents into it, "If not one, then two at the most if we use this."

"Okay." Greg kneeled down and began to help, piling boxes and bags into the large box, "Looks like more than two." Greg said, as they uncovered the larger, buried presents.

"Yeah, I forgot about those. I'll bring them down while you put the bike together."

Greg sat back and crossed his eyes at the thought of the toddler bike and its many components, "That is so not fair." He grabbed his end of the box and lifted when Nick motioned to do so. Together, they carried it downstairs and unloaded the box before going back up to reload. After the second trip, Greg followed Nick back up and they left the tree box, grabbing the bike's box instead.

Greg stayed downstairs and began to hunt out the various parts for the bike. When Nick came down with two of the larger gifts, Greg had all the parts out and laying around him. He diligently set to work, looking up only when Nick walked into the room. He raised his eyebrows once when Nick brought in a pile that didn't look familiar. Nick just winked and arranged them under the tree with the rest before leaving the room again.

He finished the bike and tied a bow around the plastic bar between the handle and the seat. He lifted it up and dropped it down gently so it was resting by the window, but hidden from view. He stepped back and smiled as an arm slipped around his waist. He leaned back against Nick's chest and took in the sight of the finished tree, "That looks great."

"Oh yeah." Nick agreed. He held up his free hand, "Here."

Greg took the stocking and groaned, "We're not done yet, are we?"

"Nope." Nick kissed the back Greg's neck and dropped his arm. He turned around and grabbed a plastic shopping bag off of the couch. Inside were a myriad of stocking stuffers for their son. They had already done up each others and the two bulging stockings were leaning against the couch, ready to be hung.

Both men dug into the bag and started to transfer products from plastic bag to cloth sock. There were different candies, stickers, a coloring book, small animal figurines, and a music CD. There were also a few wrapped gifts from them individually and they didn't actually know what the other had chosen.

After it was stuffed past the brim, Nick took up the decorative holders for the stockings and placed them on the mantel above the fireplace. Greg handed him each stocking and stood back as Nick hung up the last one. He turned off the lamps as Nick turned on the mantel lights and then grinned, "This looks so awesome." He whispered, taking in the scene before him.

"Yeah it does." Nick turned the lights off and faced Greg, "Well?"

"Well what?"

Nick raised his eyebrows and stuffed his hands into his pockets, "Upstairs?"

Greg laughed, "All right."

~~

Greg tossed the covers over his head when he heard the bathroom door slam shut from the room across the landing, "He's awake."

Nick grunted and turned over, dropping his arm over the covered back next to him, "The suns not even up!"

"Like that matters. He's three and it's Christmas." Greg leaned in and gave Nick a kiss just as Elijah's door slammed open. They heard the thundering of little feet start across the landing through their cracked door, and both men looked at it when the pounding came to an abrupt halt, "You turned the lights on, didn't you."

Nick laughed and sat up, "Maybe. Certainly saved us from getting trampled."

Greg sat up as well, "Why did you let me sleep?" He asked as he climbed out of bed and started for his closet. He was having a hard time getting moving, a common side effect of his naps when he took them.

"While neither one of us is working tonight, I don't think falling asleep on Elijah at all today would be a good thing." Nick got up as well and grabbed his robe off of the chair, "I didn't say it earlier, by the way, so Merry Christmas."

Greg gave Nick a large smile as he walked back into the bedroom. He walked up to Nick and grabbed the lapels of the blue, terry cloth robe and pulled his lover close, "Merry Christmas to you too." He leaned in and gave Nick a kiss.

Nick pulled away after a minute and licked his lips, "You taste so good," He said, before leaning in for another kiss.

Greg allowed it and then stepped away completely, "Come on, before he starts complaining or something." He grabbed Nick's hand and weaved their fingers together.

They walked over to the double doors leading out of their bedroom and Greg slowly pulled the door that was already open a crack wider. When they saw their son, they both looked at each other inquiringly. Nick nodded and went up into the sitting room for the camera.

Elijah was kneeling on the landing, his small hands gripping the rails tight as he pressed his face in between two of the wooden bars. His face was alight in awed happiness, his eyes wide and mouth open as he took in the scene below him. He was also sans his pajama bottoms, much to the older mens confusion.

"We did dress him in bottoms, didn't we?" Nick asked as he snapped a picture.

Greg laughed, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure we did. He either kicked them off while he was sleeping or pulled them off when he went to the bathroom."

Nick placed the strap over his wrist and grabbed Greg's hand back up, "Should we put them back on him?"

"Nah. He probably won't sit still long enough."

They stepped out onto the landing and walked over to stand behind Elijah, taking in the sight below as well. Nick had shut the curtains over the big windows and because the sun wasn't quite up yet, the lights had nothing to overpower them and were twinkling happily over sparkling paper and the silver garland.

"Hey sproglet." Greg said, resting his free hand on Elijah's head.

"daddy," Elijah breathed, not moving an inch, "look! santy came!"

"I see that. Kind of a bummer Nicky and I took naps. I've never seen Santa Clause before."

Elijah peeled his fingers from the wooden boards and slowly stood up. He turned to his two fathers and raised his arms, "up?"

Nick crouched down and wrapped his arm around Elijah's thighs and stood up once the small arms were wrapped tight around his neck, "Let's go downstairs. We can get some hot chocolate and something to eat for while we open the presents. How's that sound?"

"weal gooood."

While Greg was fixing them some food, Kringle at Elijah's request along with the promised hot chocolate, Nick carried the wide eyed toddler into the family room. He set Elijah down on one of the couches and pulled down his and Elijah's stockings. He handed Elijah's over, chuckling at the way Elijah carefully held it with both hands, looking both awed and confused.

Knowing that Elijah was watching him and trying to figure out what to do with the stocking, Nick took his own and after a brief peek inside to see if he could determine any of the little knick knacks Greg had bought him, he grabbed it with both hands and upended it, sending the small gifts sprawling all over the second couch.

Elijah giggled and upended his as well, oohing over the small unwrapped toys and meshed bags of candy that he saw first. When Greg came in, Elijah was sitting on the couch, legs sprawled wide and his toys and unwrapped gifts between them on the cushion. Greg pressed a kiss to the top of his son's head before handing him his hot chocolate, which he had placed in a travel coffee mug that was safe from spilling.

Greg passed Nick his mug and sat down on the floor, "The Kringle will be thawed in a bit." He said, setting his own mug on the coffee table as Nick handed him his own stocking.

Elijah giggled behind his hands before saying, "flip it daddy!"

Greg looked up Nick before turning his attention to Elijah. He scratched the bridge of nose, "Flip it, huh? Nothing breakable in here is there?" He asked, peeking inside.

"No."

"All right then." Greg flipped his stocking over and laughed as two of the presents bounced on the floor, one rising over his head, which he tried to catch. He managed it on the items third bounce. It was fairly large for a bouncy ball, he was just able to close his fingers around it, and had diamond facet like protrusions instead of being smooth. Three of the bumps had something on them and when he brought the pearl colored ball closer to his face he saw that they said 'lab rat' and had the picture of a rat in a lab coat in between the two words. He laughed through his nose, "How the heck did you do this?"

"My secret. I'll go get the Kringle and then we can start on gifts." Nick said, twirling one of Greg's spikes in his fingers before heading into the kitchen.

He brought in the cookie sheet that Greg had used to thaw the Kringle on in as well as three small plates and set them down on the coffee table. He dished out two slices for the bouncy toddler who was now on the floor with Greg. He set the small plate next to Elijah's mug of hot chocolate and made up two plates for himself and Greg. He then sat down behind Greg, legs spread out straight on either side of the slim hips, and began digging through the gifts for Elijah's first one.

Elijah was fairly patient when it came to the opening of the presents. He'd open two of his, and then would work on eating his Kringle while either Nick or Greg opened one of theirs. Watching him open presents was something of a shock for the two men. In Nick's family, the kids would normally open their gifts and set them to the side to wait for everyone else to finish before actually opening whatever toy they were given to play with. His mom had made sure of that. Greg was just amazed at how much Elijah took after him. Clothes were admired briefly and then tossed, books were glanced through and carefully set aside and the toys, well, everything came to a screeching halt every time he opened a toy.

Greg leaned forward and pulled two large boxes out from the side of the tree he was closest too. He scooted away from Nick's hold and placed the two boxes where he had been sitting, "Open the top one first." He said with a smile.

Nick did so and promptly frowned, "Greg, I own a Playstation one, not two." He took in the six titles nestled in the box, 4X4 Evo; Madden 2002; NHL 2002; Tekkan 4; Jak and Daxter; and Kingdom Hearts. A couple of them instantly caught his attention, but a few were a bit more...Greg centric. There were also various items laying around the games, like a second controller and memory cards.

"I know, Nick. I do know what platform we use when we play. Open the second."

Nick stared at Greg for a moment and then narrowed his eyes, "You didn't." Greg just smiled and Nick sighed before opening the second gift quickly. Sure enough, he had enough of the paper pulled away to reveal the crisp packaging of the Playstation 2, "Greg..."

"Shut up Nick." He grabbed another box and slid it over to Elijah, "Here you go sproglet."

Elijah ripped away the paper with ease and his eyes lit up as he squealed. Greg smiled at the response. The dance game was probably a bit advanced for the three-year-old, but he could help him out with what to do whenever he decided to play it. He figured Elijah would pick it up easily enough, as he loved to dance.

Greg's 'large' gift from Nick was an iPod, something he had been mooning over since the second version had come out in July, which was compatible with windows.

Tears had been shed over Elijah's gifts to them, followed by large hugs and kisses. He had gotten Nick a digital frame that stated 'I love you' on the edges and held a picture of the little boy wearing a big grin and antlers on his head. Apparently, the picture had been done professionally, more than likely done when Rayne had taken him to the mall earlier in the week. She had, but then neither man actually knew it for a fact. Greg had gotten a key chain that sported 'I love dad' and held the same picture. Both had buttons that, when pressed, had Elijah's voice floating out at them from hidden speakers proclaiming the same message that decorated the frames.

Other gifts for Nick were art supplies, movies, CD's, camping gear, and clothes. His parents had gotten him a leather bound sketchbook that had a tie strap around it as well as a personalized, stainless steel Cowboys mug. Greg had received a few hoodies from his boyfriend's family as well as a few movies and alphabetical CD dividers. Nick had also gotten him a gift card to go with the iPod, some more wild dress shirts, a plug-and-lay Atari, and a whole crap load of leather wrist cuffs. He was grateful for those as he had lost his collection on his various moves and then his last two the year before.

Greg's parents had given him four packages of Egyptian cotton sheets, all of which had incredibly high thread counts, and he blushed furiously at the implication while Nick had a good laugh. His flush deepened at his grandparents gift, a basket of specialty massage oils as well as a home spa kit. His grandmother's thoughts on the gift were probably innocent of innuendo while his papa Olaf had probably done the same thing that Nick was doing now when the gift had been wrapped and packaged. Which was laughing...hard.

Greg had one last gift for Nick, but wasn't sure how his lover was going to take it. He passed over the bag and bit his lip as Nick dug through the festive paper inside.

Nick chuckled and pulled out a teddy bear, one that had an uncanny resemblance to Greg. Or it would have, if it wasn't for the glasses on its face. It had wild, spiky hair on its head and was wearing a lab coat. The attached card proclaimed it to be from the Vermont Teddy Bear Company and inside the cardboard tag, the message read, 'You make me feel like a mad scientist. Wanna do a little experimenting in my lab?'

Nick leaned over and gave Greg a long, wet kiss. As he pulled away he whispered, "Any time babe."

Elijah made a face at his fathers before opening the gift that Nick had passed over. Inside was a pair of toddler in-line skates. He jumped to his feet and ran to his dad, "daddy, daddy, wanna use now!" He exclaimed pointing at the box, "please, please, please?"

Greg reached out and tickled Elijah, laughing as the little boy squirmed and squealed, "All right, chill sproglet. You don't have very many presents left so go ahead."

"yay!" Elijah ran back to the gift and began to tear at the cardboard container.

Greg looked at Nick, still grinning, but his grin faded when he caught sight of the slightly distressed look on Nick's face, "You okay?"

Nick nodded and grabbed another gift, "Open this first, little man."

Elijah cocked his head and then shrugged. After opening it, he lifted the cover off the plain generic box and peered inside, "aww, do i hafta?"

Greg, who had forgotten about the second part of that gift, nodded and pulled the blue helmet and pads out of the box, "'fraid so my little mouse." He dropped the helmet onto his sons head and pushed him towards Nick, who he handed the elbow and knee pads to, "I'm going to clean up some of this paper so he has more room. Guess it's a good thing it's all wood flooring down here." He mused as he walked off to find a garbage bag.

Elijah managed to make two treks around the downstairs, as long as he was hanging onto Nick's hands, who was walking behind him. While they weren't proper in-line skates yet, his balance on them wasn't all too good. It was on his second trip through the family room that he spotted the bike and instantly had to give it a go. Nick left the all the safety accessories on Elijah, removing only the skates.

It was barely twenty minutes later that the three-year-old was passed out on the couch, Stitch clasped tightly in his hands. It was because of the little purple and lavender clown that Greg and Nick had refrained from buying Elijah any stuffed animals. They knew that they would get neglected over the clown.

Figuring that the toddler was out for awhile, they took separate showers and worked on the dishes they were contributing to the early dinner they were having with Sammy and Kieran later that afternoon. They were also planning on more gift opening with the family before they ate, something Elijah would be sure to enjoy.

~~

Greg slouched down on the bench as he toed off his shoes, "Four hours yet. What the hell are they doing?"

Sammy shrugged and started working on the knot holding her skates together, "Who knows. Glad they kept the kids though."

"Yeah. Too many people out there to bring in newbies." He pulled on his hockey skates and laced them up. He stood up carefully and then pulled off his jacket to reveal the zipped hoodie he was wearing. He pulled his gloves on and held his hand out to Sammy once she had her cream colored ear band and matching gloves on, "I am going to make so many guys here jealous. You look fantastic."

Sammy smirked as she took Greg's hand, "Just remember that both of us have significant others." She stood and followed Greg down to the ice.

They spent about ten minutes of their time on the ice getting used to the gliding sensation. Neither of them had actually been on an ice rink in years, but soon realized it was much like riding a bike and it wasn't long before they were comfortably moving around edge of the rink with the crowd.

Enjoying the looks he was getting from envious male skaters, Greg kept Sammy's hand clasped in his and spent a lot of time whispering in her ear. He was just telling jokes and humorous stories involving Nick, but it was certainly getting the desired effect of many jealous stares, as it seemed he was whispering sweet nothings in her ear.

They took a break after an hour or so to use the bathroom and warm up with some hot chocolate. While Greg was at the snack counter, he watched out of the corner of his eye as several men went up to Sammy to talk to her. She was certainly enjoying herself and Greg was glad that he had helped put the flush on her cheeks.

When they finally left, as the rink was closing to prepare for the New Years Eve party it was throwing that night, Sammy was practically glowing, "That was so much fun!" She exclaimed, bouncing in her seat, "I feel really guilty, but I'm glad the kids weren't with."

Greg snorted and turned the corner onto his road, "You didn't do anything I'm going to have to warn Kieran about, did you?"

"No." Sammy said, shaking her head, "They certainly tried though. I was asked six times for my number. That's never happened to me in one day before."

Nick had told Greg to park in front of the house when they got home and the Texan had been kind enough to turn on the porch lights. It was closing on eight, the latest Greg had allowed to stay away, so he could be there to put Elijah to bed.

As Greg shut down the car and unbuckled his seatbelt, he asked, "Have you heard anything about fireworks tonight?"

"Yeah. Maddox is going with one of his friends. From what he told me, one of the sets is going off somewhere in the desert behind the house. Maybe we'll be able to see them."

Greg climbed out, "That would be cool."

They started up to the house and were mildly surprised to find Nick and Kieran waiting for them just inside the door. Glancing over his lovers shoulder, Greg could see that the curtains were closed in the family room, blocking out the view of the backyard. He exchanged a confused look with Sammy as they took off their jackets, "So? What do you have planned?"

Nick took his jacket, "That's still a surprise. Eli and Trixie are up in the media room watching a movie. They've both been bathed and are ready for bed if you want to put them down. We'll be up in a few to help."

Greg noticed that while Nick and Kieran were holding their jackets and 'snow' gear, they weren't actually doing anything with them. Shaking off his confusion, he started up the stairs with Sammy following him. They walked into the media room just as the movie was finishing and were bombarded by two tired toddlers.

"mama, want stay up. maddocks said der gunna be fireworks." Trixie murmured, burying her forehead into Sammy's thigh.

"yeah, daddy. wants ta watch." Elijah added, climbing up into his dads arms.

"Sorry guys, but the fireworks aren't going to be for a few hours yet. You won't make it that long." Greg said, kissing Elijah's temple.

"aww."

Nick and Kieran met them at the door to Elijah's room, "Where did you put Dakota?" Sammy asked, peering into Elijah's room and noting that the pack and play set wasn't in there.

"He's in Rayne's room. This way if he wakes up, he won't bother these two. I've got the portable monitors set up." Kieran replied.

They placed the two toddlers on Elijah's bed, making sure they had water, Stitch, Trixie's crocheted blanket, and that the night light was on. They both got kisses from all four adults and Sammy and Greg tucked them in.

When they got back downstairs, Nick and Kieran stopped them from continuing on past the entry, "Jackets back on." Nick said, handing Greg his while Kieran helped Sammy into hers.

Confusion was back full force, only to grow stronger as Nick held up a black, crushed velvet cloth, "Trust me?"

"You know I do cowboy." Greg said with a soft smile.

Nick nodded and stepped behind him, leaving Sammy facing him. Greg met her eyes with raised eyebrows just before the cloth strips were placed over their eyes. Nick kissed the back of his neck before moving back around in front of him and taking his hands, "All right, just follow me."

"Right. Not much of a choice there." He snickered when Nick punched his arm.

They were led towards the kitchen and out through the back doors. Greg suppressed a shiver when they stepped out into the outdoor hallway leading to the patio. Because of the time, it had to be down to around forty degrees and he hoped they weren't going to be out here all that long.

It wasn't long until he felt warmth on his face and he knew then that they had reached the patio. There was a fire going in the fireplace for the first time since his aunt and uncle died. He wondered briefly how long in took the two men to clean it but let the thought go when Nick stopped walking and turned him so he was half facing away from the fire.

"You two ready?" Kieran asked, excitement very audible in the black mans voice.

Both Greg and Sammy nodded and then promptly gasped as the blindfolds were pulled away. Before them was a scene rarely seen outside the ski-slopes of Nevada. Snow was completely covering the back yard and thanks to the overcast night, and whatever it was the two men had done, it actually looked like it was snowing down around them from the heavens.

Greg looked over his shoulder towards the fireplace and saw that the furniture had been pushed towards the house and a large fleece blanket and throw pillows had been spread out on the stone floor. Other than the fire, the only other lights were coming from the garden lamps that Greg had edged the fence around the yard with and white Christmas bulbs that were still strung on top of the fence, left over from the week before.

"Nick..." Greg said, his voice cracking. He cleared his throat and gave his lover a tremulous smile, "This is amazing."

Nick shrugged, "It was Kieran's idea. Apparently somebody couldn't get over the fact that she wasn't going to have snow for the holidays."

Sammy laughed and kissed her husband before pulling away and walking to the edge of patio. She bent over and ran her fingers through the white stuff and her eyes opened wide, "This is real snow!"

"Of course it is." Kieran said with a laugh, "Could you imagine the mess if we had used soap flake snow in the yard? This is clean and by tomorrow afternoon it'll have melted nicely. Same kind of machines they use at ski resorts."

Sammy's awed look fell away and was replaced by a mischievous one that caused Greg to grin. He knew exactly what his friend was thinking. He looked down at himself and shrugged. If he got too wet, he could always go change. He sprinted past Sammy and out into the yard. He bent over and scooped up a handful of the snow and formed it into a ball. Before Greg had a chance to actually throw his snowball, one lobbed him in the back of the head.

He whipped around and scowled at a laughing Sammy. Since she was fairly preoccupied with her humor Greg let his fly, letting out a "Boo-ya!" when it smacked her on the top of the head. The war was on.

While they indulged themselves in the play of kids, Nick and Kieran busied themselves with setting up the rest of their idea. They brought out two bottles of iced champagne, trays of sandwiches, vegetables, and two fondues, one a cheese and the other a chocolate for dessert. They arranged them on the blanket with the two fondue pots in the middle. The desserts were brought out last and it was a vast array of fruits, cookies, and a small cooler of cheesecake balls.

Once they had the food set up, they joined their lovers out in the snow. Greg and Sammy had forgone the snowball fight and were now working on making the 'perfect' snowman, not an easy task with only an inch of snow on the ground. Nick couldn't help but pause a few feet away from Greg and take in the sight of his boyfriend.

Greg's cheeks were flushed from the cold and his laughter. His hair was dripping wet and cold enough so that the snow, which was falling from the makers placed around the yard, was settling on the top strands and were glinting in the soft light. The snowflakes were also settling on his eyelashes and dusting his cheeks briefly before melting from his body heat.

Nick had to restrain himself from grabbing Greg in a fireman carry and dragging him up to their room. He was pretty sure, though, that Kieran wouldn't like being left with the cleanup, a thought that helped steel him from grabbing his lover and running off.

After awhile, Greg and Sammy went inside to change, Dakota waking up forcing the issue. Nick and Kieran and managed to stay pretty dry having missed the snowball fight and avoiding the snow angels that Greg and Sammy made once the snowman was finished. They both shucked out of their jackets and laid them near the hearth to dry, leaving them both in knitted sweaters.

Both were gifts they had received the week before. Kieran's was a powder blue color with cream colored stripes around the wrists and waist that matched the sweater Sammy was wearing. Nick's was a charcoal gray corded sweater that he had gotten from his sister Aly. It was rather snug fitting around the chest and Kieran kept hitting his arm every time he moved to pull at it.

"Will you stop it?" Kieran exclaimed after what had to be the tenth time, "That fidgeting is driving me nuts. Why the hell did you wear it if you're uncomfortable in it?"

Nick shook his head, "It itches. I cut the tag off cause it was sewn into the seam under the arm. Doing that just made the itching worse, though."

"Dumb ass." Kieran said with a laugh and sat down.

Nick put on some music, a Kenny G. CD that Kieran and brought over from the guest house. It had Auld Lang Syne as the last track which would actually end up playing around midnight if they left it on that long, which was a happy coincidence.

Greg made it back outside first, his jeans and shoes replaced with a dry pair. Noticing that the two men on the patio had taken off their jackets, he pulled his off as well, leaving him in his zip up hoodie with a long sleeved shirt underneath. He dropped his coat on top of Nick's and turned to wrap his arms around Nick's waist, "This is so cool. I haven't seen snow since my freshman year of college when uncle Rick and aunt Sabine took me up to New York for the last time."

Nick kissed Greg and smiled, "Glad you like it."

"Mm, love it...love you." Greg whispered, burying his face at the crook of Nick's neck and shoulder.

"You too babe." Nick slipped one arm around Greg's back and shoulders and rested his other hand on Greg's hip. He started a swaying motion in time to the song playing, now fully ignoring his brother-in-law and sister as he urged Greg to dance with him.

It wasn't long until Greg pulled away from Nick. He gave the Texan an apologetic look, "I'm kinda hungry."

Nick nodded and they moved over to the blanket, joining Kieran and Sammy, "You two looked so sweet. Got some good pictures to send to mama and dad." Sammy said, smiling over her champagne flute.

Nick chose to ignore that and asked, "How long till midnight?"

"Mm," Sammy looked at her wrist, "'bout an hour and a half."

The two couples set about eating and talking, all of them having fun feeding their significant others the vegetables and cheese fondue. Greg and Sammy, both still in humorous moods, took the time to feed each other as well, much to the amusement of Kieran and Nick. At eleven thirty, Nick brought the left-over sandwiches and vegetables into the house while Kieran turned on the chocolate pot to warm it up and followed his brother-in-law inside with the cheese.

"This has been a really great night." Sammy said, once the guys were in the house, "I can honestly say I didn't think either of them had it in them to pull something this spectacular off."

Greg shrugged and took a sip of his hot chocolate. He had passed on the champagne, not really in the mood to drink that night, "I'm more surprised at what they pulled off. Nick can have some awfully romantic ideas sometimes but this...I never would have thought of this."

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Sammy finished her champagne off and set the glass off to the side, "Pour me out some of what you're having will you? I don't want any more champagne."

"Well, that was a waste." Nick said, walking back out, "Could have saved forty dollars if we had gone for just hot chocolate."

Sammy smiled at her brother as he dropped down behind Greg, "Could have, but it was still awfully sweet of you to get it. Just not in the mood for it. I think it's the snow." She leaned back against Kieran when he sat down.

"That's all right. I don't really think we need the champagne." Kieran said. He leaned around his wife and flipped the switch for his Sirius Satellite Radio, "We found the station broadcasting the countdown from Times Square. It's better than lugging a TV out here."

They spent the following half an hour listening to the commentator on the station, the volume set low, and just sipping their drinks. Both Nick and Kieran had switched to the hot chocolate as well, deciding to put the rest of the champagne, a whole bottle and a half, away for another time.

When the commentator announced a minute 'till midnight, Nick stood up and shut off the CD player, "They're gunna play it on the radio anyways." He said when he got three curious looks at his actions, "Turn it up a bit will you?" He then asked, while pulling Greg to his feet.

Kieran did so and Nick led Greg out into the yard and behind the fireplace to give the other couple some semblance of privacy. Nick pulled Greg into his arms and hugged him, "This year has been amazing, you know." He said, resting his forehead on Greg's.

Greg smiled, "Hectic as well." He paused and then said after a moment, "I'm glad you were there for most of it."

"If you think about it though, some of the things that happened probably wouldn't have happened if I hadn't been there." Nick said thoughtfully.

"So? Nick, it's those kinds of things that help us grow as people. I know that the events of the last few months are going to help shape Elijah. You are helping him to grow as well and I'm glad that it's your values that are going to be instilled in him. He's going to grow into an amazing person with you around."

Nick tightened his arms around Greg's waist but didn't say anything. They heard the commentator announce the fifteen second mark and Greg raised his fingers and wrapped them into Nick's hair. At ten seconds he laughed, "Can you feel the tension mounting? It feels like something we don't know about is going to happen." six seconds, "I love you."

Four seconds, "I love you too." Nick said, lifting his forehead from Greg's, "Happy New Years."

Greg leaned in and pressed his lips to Nick's just as the first fireworks shot into the sky in the distance, heralding the new year.

TBC...