Chapter 3
A/N: I should have put this in Chapter 2 but, oh well. This story has been finished for awhile now and I had every intention of posting this last summer in its entirety but...I either got lazy or life caught up to me. Lord knows it was probably both. Anywho, posting as much as I can tonight. Oh, and for some reason, every time I read this story or think of the title, Papa Roach's 'What Do You Do' runs through my head. Probably because a line of the lyrics is "When all is said and done, you could be the one"....it amused me. XD
Chapter List
Warnings: swearing...
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May
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"daddy..."
Greg groaned and thrust his head under his pillow, determined to ignore the call as well as the poking finger that accompanied it. Elijah's voice had a bit of a whine to it, but it was still a quiet whine so he wasn't going to worry about it...yet. He really wished that he wasn't being woken up right now, because he hadn't gotten much sleep between a late shift and Rayne's sudden need for spring cleaning that morning which meant the vacuuming and slamming of closet doors had been really loud through his cracked bedroom door.
"Daddy..."
Elijah's small voice suddenly got much deeper and the poking into his chest became much more firm. Curious about this, he lifted his elbow just enough to raise the pillow up so he could look out from under it. Nick was crouched down, so that he was closer to Elijah's height, and had taken over the prodding.
He dropped his arm, hoping that they would let them go back to sleep, but it seemed Lady Luck was visiting some other poor sod this afternoon. They did live in Las Vegas after all.
Nick's firm pokes started to lighten up and were moving steadily...down...Greg let out an undignified screech as the wandering finger made contact with the side of his torso and he thrust his lower body away from it quickly, much to the amusement of his tormentors.
Greg flopped over onto his back and sighed, "I really hate you two right now." But when no response seemed to be forthcoming, he looked over at the pair, wondering what was going on.
Nick, who had been chuckling along with the three-year-old at Greg's response to the tickling, had turned to watch Elijah's all out laughter, a small smile on his face. Greg, not able to resist the moment, flipped back over onto his stomach and crawled to the edge of the bed to wrap his arm around Nick's shoulders and chest. He rested his head on the free shoulder, angling himself so he could watch his son as well. He lifted his head up slightly and kissed the shoulder he was resting on when Nick reached up and covered his arm with his hand.
Greg caught sight of his alarm clock then, "Holy smokes, why didn't you two wake me? We're going to be late!"
Elijah hiccoughed as his laughter receded and he leaned against Nick's leg, a punch drunk expression on his face, "did! lotsa times, daddy." He then giggled as another hiccough escaped.
Nick nodded as he reached out and wiped away the tears of mirth from the freckled face, "He's right G. We've been in and out for the past hour. Each time it was just 'ten more minutes!'"
Greg pushed himself into an upright position and ran his hand through his hair. His nose wrinkled in a grimace when his fingers hit the practically non-existent strands of hair above his ears. He should have never agreed to playing barber with Elijah, safety scissors be damned. He was able to pull the look off without looking stupid, but everyone had gotten a good laugh out of the story when Nick started explaining what had actually happened. Of course, now everybody at the lab knew about Elijah, but the reactions he received hadn't been as bad as he had once feared.
"Still..." He muttered. He climbed over Nick and swooped down to pull his son up into his arms. Elijah squealed and started laughing again as Greg spun him to curve around his hip, "Catherine and Warrick said to meet them at three. It's nearly two. I won't have time to eat." He looked up at Nick and put on his best doe eyes, "Unless certain peoples are willing to make me something..."
Nick snorted and grabbed Elijah, "No go, man. Soon as you're dressed we're off." He stepped away with the toddler hanging upside down and staring at his dad through shining brown eyes while he kicked his feet.
Greg grabbed Elijah's legs and lifted him to look at his face, "How much sugar did he feed you after Rayne left, sproglet? You are wired."
With Greg lifting Elijah, Nick was able to get a better grip on the toddler and he proceeded to flip him right side up, "Just a cup of apple juice Rayne had left in the fridge man, I swear. He was like this when I got here." Nick then turned and headed out of the room. Elijah peeked up over his shoulder and wiggled his fingers at Greg, who responded in kind before heading to the bathroom.
Despite Greg's warnings that they were going to be late, they left the Las Vegas city limits at around two thirty, which meant they would actually be at their destination early. Greg had only taken about ten minutes to shower and dress, a shocking feat for him, and just decided to run a handful of mousse through his hair to get it slightly spiky instead of going through his normal half hour routine.
It had then taken another ten minutes to make sure Elijah's bag was all packed before they were out the door. They had decided to get snacks to hold them over until dinner when they stopped for gas, so they didn't need to worry about finding food in the house which was something that would have put them way behind.
Greg dug through the bag at his feet and passed Nick his soda after opening it. He then pulled the pop-top of the bottle of apple juice for Elijah and turned around to hand it to him. Elijah, though, was sound asleep, his chin resting on his chest, "Well...that's a switch." Greg said, amused that the previously hyper toddler had dropped off so quickly. He turned back around and dropped the bottle back into the bag after closing it.
"That can not be comfortable." Nick commented after glancing in the mirror.
Greg shrugged, "His head'll just flop forward again if I push it back. Better to just leave it." He opened a bag of Frito's and offered some off to Nick, "I wonder how Catherine knew about this place?"
Nick popped a couple of the chips into his mouth, "I think it was more Lindsey's idea, actually. Some kid from her school had a party out there and she just had to go. Thing is, Warrick told me that children under four can't ride the horses, even with an adult. Sucks, 'cause ridin' is the best part."
Greg looked through the brochure Catherine had given him the week before, "Still, there's aWild West show and a petting zoo. That should keep him entertained. For a while at least."
"We should take him to my parents ranch. At least there he'll be able to ride a horse."
Greg dropped his hand to his thigh and looked at Nick, a bit surprised. This was the first time since they had started dating that Nick had brought up his parents. Greg wasn't entirely sure why Nick hadn't before, but he hadn't wanted to push the issue, "Nick..." He wasn't quite sure what to say.
Nick looked over at Greg and reached out to grab his hand, "I told them."
"You...told..." Greg looked down at their hands, still at a loss of what to say.
"About you," Nick glanced back at Elijah again and smiled, "and Eli. They know that I've dated guys before and I think the only thing that shocked them was that you had a son."
Greg finally found his tongue as he slumped back into the seat, "Why in the world would that surprise them?" He knew he sounded a bit offended, but hell, what was it about him being a father that seemed to stun people?
Nick squeezed his hand, "Relax. It was because I never mentioned Eli before when I talked about you, that's all. My parents are really liberal. They kinda had to be what with me being bi-sexual and Sammy's husband being black."
"Sammy?" Greg asked, suddenly feeling very confused, "Who's Sammy?"
Nick made the turn to their destination as soon as they passed the sign proclaiming it to be the entrance to 'Bonnie Springs/Old Nevada.' before he answered, "One of my sisters. She's a designer out in New York, which is where she met Kieran. He's a pretty cool guy. Him and Warrick are a lot alike, which is probably why I get along with Warrick so well."
"One of...how many sisters have you got?" Greg thought this was great. Other than a "movie date" after Elijah's bedtime a week ago, they hadn't spent much time alone since getting together. Any sort of 'getting-to-know-you' type discussions hadn't happened beyond agreeing to see just each other, thanks to Elijah's continuous presence. It hadn't been a bad thing to have his son around, but it was taking longer to get to know one another better.
"Five and an older brother. Liam's the oldest, then there's Lynn, Tasha, Sammy, and the twins Maddy and Aly. Followed by yours truly, of course."
Greg pointed out an empty parking space even as he muttered, "Of course." His tone was good natured, though, "Are those all nicknames?"
"Yeah. Liam was named for dad, but mom didn't like the junior tag. My sisters' actual names are Lynnette, Natasha, Samantha, Madeline and Allison, and well, you know mine."
As Nick parked, Greg began scanning the parking lot for Warrick's black Dodge Dakota, "I think we beat them here."
"Unless they took Catherine's car." Nick shut down the SUV and leaned back in the seat, letting Greg do the looking for their co-workers, "What excuse did Sara come up with to not show? 'Cause I know Catherine asked her and you were in the break room at the time."
"I don't see Catherine's jeep either and Sara said something about a meeting. I wasn't really listening." Greg rolled down the window and lifted his face into the wind.
The breeze was still a bit chilly, despite it being the beginning of May, but he wasn't going to complain. It complimented the warming spring air wonderfully. He opened his eyes just in time to see Warrick pull in two spaces down from them, "There they are." Oh boy, now he was feeling nervous. He bit his lip and looked at Nick as he undid his seatbelt.
Nick leaned over and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips, "It's okay. They'll love him."
Greg nodded and whispered, "I hope so." before returning the kiss and getting out of the truck. He opened the back door and pressed on the tender area of Elijah's side, an easy way to wake the boy up in a good mood. He had no idea how it happened, but Elijah shared the same ticklish spot that he did, as did his own dad, and it had always been utilized as a wake up call.
Elijah jumped awake with a shocked laugh and grabbed his fathers finger as he looked around through heavy lidded eyes, "whewe we?"
Greg smiled at Nick, who was grabbing the pack from the other side, and then unbuckled Elijah from the car seat, swinging him out of the truck to rest on his hip, "It's a surprise." He said, shutting the door and walking to the back of the truck to stand next to Nick.
Elijah rested his head at the crook of Greg's neck and shoved his thumb into his mouth, a habit that only came about when he was waking up, "k."
The two men watched their friends silently as they went about waking Lindsey, who apparently fell asleep en route as well. Warrick finally managed to extract the sleepy seven-year-old and they walked over to join Nick and Greg.
Greg smiled as Elijah wormed his head further into his neck, hiding his face. Now this was typical Elijah behavior and something he could work with. Remembering his son's reaction to meeting Nick still left him a bit disconcerted, "Warrick, Catherine, this is Elijah. He's ah, a bit shy around new people. Just give him time to warm up to you."
They both nodded and as the group started towards the ranch, Nick waved his hand at Lindsey, who was still ensconced in Warrick's arms, "Why is she so tired?" he asked, taking in the droopy eyelids and occasional yawning.
Catherine shook her head, bemused, "She was too excited about coming out here to get any decent sleep last night." She then stopped and looked around, pushing her blond hair out of her face, "Maybe we should take them to the petting zoo first. Let them wake up some before that old west show starts." Apparently, Catherine had taken in the fact that Elijah was still half asleep as well.
Greg nodded, "Sounds good."
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Nick really, really wished he had thought to grab a camera. Elijah was standing by the hen coop, holding a little chick carefully in both hands. The look on the little boy's face was absolutely priceless. He figured that the gift shop by the restaurant had cameras, but he didn't want to miss anything by running to purchase one.
"Here."
Nick looked over at Warrick and smiled when his friend passed him a disposable camera, one that still had all twenty four exposures on it, "Thanks. How'd you...?"
Warrick snorted and shoved a hand in his pocket, "Between you and Greggo? Please. We figured one if not both of you would forget a camera. We packed a few other emergency supplies as well."
Nick snapped a picture of Elijah grinning up at Greg, who was crouched down and bracketing his son with his legs. That would be a great picture to send to his parents to show off the two new 'men' in his life. "You, my friend, are a life saver." He said, snapping another picture as a hen almost knocked Greg over. He wondered briefly if a camcorder would have been a better wish as he watched Greg's arms flounder around as he tried to balance himself out.
Warrick shook his head and took his own picture of Lindsey staring up at a pony with an adoring expression on her face, "Nah, just the boyfriend of a single parent just like you."
"What?" Nick's head whipped around to look at Warrick, who was still looking over at Lindsey.
"Nick, you're not exactly subtle when it comes to Greg and I also didn't miss those kisses you two shared in the truck." Warrick glanced at Nick, "You mad that I figured it out?"
"Nah." Nick shrugged, "I was gunna tell you eventually but Greg and I haven't even been together for a month yet and..."
Warrick held up his hand to silence Nick, "I get it bro. Cath and I felt the same way before we told you."
They stood there silently as they watched Elijah run over to Lindsey on the other side of the pen. He latched onto her jeans and stared up at the pony with not exactly fright, but it was obvious he wasn't too sure about the size of this new creature up close.
"He's cute. You can certainly see Greg in him. Where'd the red and freckles come from?" Warrick asked.
Nick had been in the process of pulling himself up to sit on the railing, but he paused halfway in his ascent and laughed as Greg slipped in something not entirely pleasant, if the look on his face was any indication, "His mom. Greg's father has freckles but none of his family are red-heads." Nick's answer was a bit absentminded. He tried to think of how to get the gunk off of Greg's shoe before they left as he let himself drop back down to the ground.
Warrick nodded as he pointed at Greg, "See, that's why we packed emergency supplies. I bet you didn't think to grab baby wipes for stuff like that did you? Baby wipes are like the all purpose cleaner for a parent."
"No we didn't, since Eli is almost fully potty trained." Nick clapped Warrick on the shoulder, "Guess you better get some while I head off the fireworks. Those are his favorite pair of shoes." He walked over towards Greg, watching where he was stepping as well to avoid an accident of his own, "Look on the bright side G," He said as he came up to his boyfriend, "At least you didn't fall."
"That's true." Greg said, snorting a bit as the humor of the situation caught up to him, "So, smart guy, any idea how to get rid of this? Otherwise it's going to be a nasty ride home."
"Warrick's getting some baby wipes." Nick said. He looked over at Elijah who, when he caught Nick looking, squealed and ran over to them, "Remind me to check the rug-rats shoes once we finish here."
"nicky!" Elijah yelled, "howsey 'ikes me. take home!"
"Er," Nick glanced at Greg who smiled and raised an eyebrow, "Where would you keep it, little man?"
"bedwoom." Elijah said after scoffing through his nose, a gesture that all three-year-olds seemed to have down pat, if his nieces and nephews had been any indication.
"Hate to tell you Eli," Nick said, lifting the boy to his shoulders, "Horsey has a home. I don't think he'd be too happy about moving all of a sudden."
Elijah's shoulders drooped, "awww." He groaned, making it evident that he was disappointed by that bit of information.
"Tell ya what. One of these days if daddy says it's okay, we'll take you to see some of my horses and maybe you can name one. How's that sound?" Nick said, looking up at Elijah's face to avoid looking at Greg's.
Elijah gasped and whipped his head around to look at Greg, "daddy?"
"Er, we'll see. For now, let's go see Warrick and get our shoes cleaned off, okay?" Greg said.
Nick thought his voice sounded alright, but when he looked at Greg finally he knew he was gunna be in trouble later. The eyebrow was still raised and though he wasn't frowning, he definitely wasn't smiling.
"k!" Elijah threaded his fingers into Nick's hair and tugged one hand in the direction of where Warrick and Catherine were busy cleaning off Lindsey's shoes.
When they crossed the pen, Warrick took one look at Greg's face and grimaced, "Man, Nick, what did you do?" At this, Catherine looked up as well, eyebrows rising in question when she saw Greg's look.
Nick shook his head and handed Elijah off to Warrick. He grabbed a handful of baby wipes and tugged on Greg's arm, directing him to a set of deserted picnic tables a few feet away. Greg pulled his arm back but followed him, which Nick was grateful for. He had an idea of why Greg was so upset and how to remedy it, but he sure as hell didn't want to do it with an audience.
Greg tried to snatch some of the wipes from Nicks hands, but Nick shook his head again and urged Greg to sit on the table top. He grabbed the foot with the worst mess and started wiping it off, "I was going to tell you later."
Greg crossed his arms and finally let the frown out completely, "Tell me what? That you had horses? Nick, I'm more upset that you're making promises when there's a good chance you won't be able to keep them."
Nick finished one foot and started on the other, "There's a pretty damn good chance I can keep this promise, but I don't know if I want to tell you when you're this pissed off."
"How? You going to get horses out here for my son? 'Cause I know you don't have any here in Vegas." Greg said with a laugh, though it wasn't a particularly nice laugh.
Nick sighed and threw the used wipes into the trashcan. He wasn't worried about his own shoes. He had watched where he stepped when he went into the pen, "My parents invited us to the ranch for the fourth of July."
"So that's why you brought them up in the truck."
"No, it's not. They invited us a couple of weeks ago when I told them we were finally dating. I mentioned the ranch in the truck because I didn't, and still don't I might add, think it's fair that a three-year-old can't ride the horses here." Nick said, crossing his own arms, "I brought up the invite this time because I wanted you to know I can keep a damned promise if I make one."
Greg pushed himself off the picnic table and put his hands on his hips, "That mean you weren't intending on bringing up the fact that your parents invited us to the ranch unless absolutely needed, like just now?"
"What? No! I was..."
"You were what? Waiting to see if we we're going to make it to three months before springing it on me at the last minute?"
Nick threw his arms up in the air, "Will you stop putting words in my mouth?! Your birthday is Sunday, remember?"
"What has that got to do with anything?" Greg was loosing steam, Nick could tell. His shoulders had lost some of their rigidity and his eyes had a confused crease to them because of the sudden left turn in the conversation. Or argument. Nick wasn't really sure which it was because while there had been no yelling, anger had certainly been involved.
Nick sighed and ran his hand through his hair, "Last week, when Catherine invited us to come out here, I said it had to be on Friday 'cause we had to work Saturday night 'cause we took Sunday off. She had only agreed 'cause Lindsey had no school today, remember?"
"Yeah," Greg drawled, his confusion becoming much more visible by way of a wrinkling nose, "I do, but I...oh. You told me it was a surprise when I asked."
"Right, well, the invite was a part of it."
All of Greg's confusion melted away as did any lingering anger. He gave Nick one of his brightest smiles in warning before pouncing, sealing their mouths together.
Nick's arms came up quickly to catch Greg and took a small step back to steady them before closing his eyes and enjoying the kiss. A throat clearing interrupted them a few seconds later and they pulled apart to look at their smirking friends.
"You guy's done with the verbal foreplay? 'Cause the show starts in ten minutes and its on the other side of the corral." Warrick asked, pointing his thumb over his shoulder.
They both cleared their throats before looking around. They hadn't attracted any attention, thankfully, due to the small fact that there were very few people milling about and those that were were minding their own business. Their argument hadn't been loud enough nor close enough to garner any curious looks.
Greg nodded and bent over to pick up Elijah, who looked confused. Nick gathered that the toddler had seen the fight, but hadn't really understood what had been going on, "All right, let's head over there."
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TBC...
Chapter 4
Chapter List
Warnings: swearing...
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May
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"daddy..."
Greg groaned and thrust his head under his pillow, determined to ignore the call as well as the poking finger that accompanied it. Elijah's voice had a bit of a whine to it, but it was still a quiet whine so he wasn't going to worry about it...yet. He really wished that he wasn't being woken up right now, because he hadn't gotten much sleep between a late shift and Rayne's sudden need for spring cleaning that morning which meant the vacuuming and slamming of closet doors had been really loud through his cracked bedroom door.
"Daddy..."
Elijah's small voice suddenly got much deeper and the poking into his chest became much more firm. Curious about this, he lifted his elbow just enough to raise the pillow up so he could look out from under it. Nick was crouched down, so that he was closer to Elijah's height, and had taken over the prodding.
He dropped his arm, hoping that they would let them go back to sleep, but it seemed Lady Luck was visiting some other poor sod this afternoon. They did live in Las Vegas after all.
Nick's firm pokes started to lighten up and were moving steadily...down...Greg let out an undignified screech as the wandering finger made contact with the side of his torso and he thrust his lower body away from it quickly, much to the amusement of his tormentors.
Greg flopped over onto his back and sighed, "I really hate you two right now." But when no response seemed to be forthcoming, he looked over at the pair, wondering what was going on.
Nick, who had been chuckling along with the three-year-old at Greg's response to the tickling, had turned to watch Elijah's all out laughter, a small smile on his face. Greg, not able to resist the moment, flipped back over onto his stomach and crawled to the edge of the bed to wrap his arm around Nick's shoulders and chest. He rested his head on the free shoulder, angling himself so he could watch his son as well. He lifted his head up slightly and kissed the shoulder he was resting on when Nick reached up and covered his arm with his hand.
Greg caught sight of his alarm clock then, "Holy smokes, why didn't you two wake me? We're going to be late!"
Elijah hiccoughed as his laughter receded and he leaned against Nick's leg, a punch drunk expression on his face, "did! lotsa times, daddy." He then giggled as another hiccough escaped.
Nick nodded as he reached out and wiped away the tears of mirth from the freckled face, "He's right G. We've been in and out for the past hour. Each time it was just 'ten more minutes!'"
Greg pushed himself into an upright position and ran his hand through his hair. His nose wrinkled in a grimace when his fingers hit the practically non-existent strands of hair above his ears. He should have never agreed to playing barber with Elijah, safety scissors be damned. He was able to pull the look off without looking stupid, but everyone had gotten a good laugh out of the story when Nick started explaining what had actually happened. Of course, now everybody at the lab knew about Elijah, but the reactions he received hadn't been as bad as he had once feared.
"Still..." He muttered. He climbed over Nick and swooped down to pull his son up into his arms. Elijah squealed and started laughing again as Greg spun him to curve around his hip, "Catherine and Warrick said to meet them at three. It's nearly two. I won't have time to eat." He looked up at Nick and put on his best doe eyes, "Unless certain peoples are willing to make me something..."
Nick snorted and grabbed Elijah, "No go, man. Soon as you're dressed we're off." He stepped away with the toddler hanging upside down and staring at his dad through shining brown eyes while he kicked his feet.
Greg grabbed Elijah's legs and lifted him to look at his face, "How much sugar did he feed you after Rayne left, sproglet? You are wired."
With Greg lifting Elijah, Nick was able to get a better grip on the toddler and he proceeded to flip him right side up, "Just a cup of apple juice Rayne had left in the fridge man, I swear. He was like this when I got here." Nick then turned and headed out of the room. Elijah peeked up over his shoulder and wiggled his fingers at Greg, who responded in kind before heading to the bathroom.
Despite Greg's warnings that they were going to be late, they left the Las Vegas city limits at around two thirty, which meant they would actually be at their destination early. Greg had only taken about ten minutes to shower and dress, a shocking feat for him, and just decided to run a handful of mousse through his hair to get it slightly spiky instead of going through his normal half hour routine.
It had then taken another ten minutes to make sure Elijah's bag was all packed before they were out the door. They had decided to get snacks to hold them over until dinner when they stopped for gas, so they didn't need to worry about finding food in the house which was something that would have put them way behind.
Greg dug through the bag at his feet and passed Nick his soda after opening it. He then pulled the pop-top of the bottle of apple juice for Elijah and turned around to hand it to him. Elijah, though, was sound asleep, his chin resting on his chest, "Well...that's a switch." Greg said, amused that the previously hyper toddler had dropped off so quickly. He turned back around and dropped the bottle back into the bag after closing it.
"That can not be comfortable." Nick commented after glancing in the mirror.
Greg shrugged, "His head'll just flop forward again if I push it back. Better to just leave it." He opened a bag of Frito's and offered some off to Nick, "I wonder how Catherine knew about this place?"
Nick popped a couple of the chips into his mouth, "I think it was more Lindsey's idea, actually. Some kid from her school had a party out there and she just had to go. Thing is, Warrick told me that children under four can't ride the horses, even with an adult. Sucks, 'cause ridin' is the best part."
Greg looked through the brochure Catherine had given him the week before, "Still, there's aWild West show and a petting zoo. That should keep him entertained. For a while at least."
"We should take him to my parents ranch. At least there he'll be able to ride a horse."
Greg dropped his hand to his thigh and looked at Nick, a bit surprised. This was the first time since they had started dating that Nick had brought up his parents. Greg wasn't entirely sure why Nick hadn't before, but he hadn't wanted to push the issue, "Nick..." He wasn't quite sure what to say.
Nick looked over at Greg and reached out to grab his hand, "I told them."
"You...told..." Greg looked down at their hands, still at a loss of what to say.
"About you," Nick glanced back at Elijah again and smiled, "and Eli. They know that I've dated guys before and I think the only thing that shocked them was that you had a son."
Greg finally found his tongue as he slumped back into the seat, "Why in the world would that surprise them?" He knew he sounded a bit offended, but hell, what was it about him being a father that seemed to stun people?
Nick squeezed his hand, "Relax. It was because I never mentioned Eli before when I talked about you, that's all. My parents are really liberal. They kinda had to be what with me being bi-sexual and Sammy's husband being black."
"Sammy?" Greg asked, suddenly feeling very confused, "Who's Sammy?"
Nick made the turn to their destination as soon as they passed the sign proclaiming it to be the entrance to 'Bonnie Springs/Old Nevada.' before he answered, "One of my sisters. She's a designer out in New York, which is where she met Kieran. He's a pretty cool guy. Him and Warrick are a lot alike, which is probably why I get along with Warrick so well."
"One of...how many sisters have you got?" Greg thought this was great. Other than a "movie date" after Elijah's bedtime a week ago, they hadn't spent much time alone since getting together. Any sort of 'getting-to-know-you' type discussions hadn't happened beyond agreeing to see just each other, thanks to Elijah's continuous presence. It hadn't been a bad thing to have his son around, but it was taking longer to get to know one another better.
"Five and an older brother. Liam's the oldest, then there's Lynn, Tasha, Sammy, and the twins Maddy and Aly. Followed by yours truly, of course."
Greg pointed out an empty parking space even as he muttered, "Of course." His tone was good natured, though, "Are those all nicknames?"
"Yeah. Liam was named for dad, but mom didn't like the junior tag. My sisters' actual names are Lynnette, Natasha, Samantha, Madeline and Allison, and well, you know mine."
As Nick parked, Greg began scanning the parking lot for Warrick's black Dodge Dakota, "I think we beat them here."
"Unless they took Catherine's car." Nick shut down the SUV and leaned back in the seat, letting Greg do the looking for their co-workers, "What excuse did Sara come up with to not show? 'Cause I know Catherine asked her and you were in the break room at the time."
"I don't see Catherine's jeep either and Sara said something about a meeting. I wasn't really listening." Greg rolled down the window and lifted his face into the wind.
The breeze was still a bit chilly, despite it being the beginning of May, but he wasn't going to complain. It complimented the warming spring air wonderfully. He opened his eyes just in time to see Warrick pull in two spaces down from them, "There they are." Oh boy, now he was feeling nervous. He bit his lip and looked at Nick as he undid his seatbelt.
Nick leaned over and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips, "It's okay. They'll love him."
Greg nodded and whispered, "I hope so." before returning the kiss and getting out of the truck. He opened the back door and pressed on the tender area of Elijah's side, an easy way to wake the boy up in a good mood. He had no idea how it happened, but Elijah shared the same ticklish spot that he did, as did his own dad, and it had always been utilized as a wake up call.
Elijah jumped awake with a shocked laugh and grabbed his fathers finger as he looked around through heavy lidded eyes, "whewe we?"
Greg smiled at Nick, who was grabbing the pack from the other side, and then unbuckled Elijah from the car seat, swinging him out of the truck to rest on his hip, "It's a surprise." He said, shutting the door and walking to the back of the truck to stand next to Nick.
Elijah rested his head at the crook of Greg's neck and shoved his thumb into his mouth, a habit that only came about when he was waking up, "k."
The two men watched their friends silently as they went about waking Lindsey, who apparently fell asleep en route as well. Warrick finally managed to extract the sleepy seven-year-old and they walked over to join Nick and Greg.
Greg smiled as Elijah wormed his head further into his neck, hiding his face. Now this was typical Elijah behavior and something he could work with. Remembering his son's reaction to meeting Nick still left him a bit disconcerted, "Warrick, Catherine, this is Elijah. He's ah, a bit shy around new people. Just give him time to warm up to you."
They both nodded and as the group started towards the ranch, Nick waved his hand at Lindsey, who was still ensconced in Warrick's arms, "Why is she so tired?" he asked, taking in the droopy eyelids and occasional yawning.
Catherine shook her head, bemused, "She was too excited about coming out here to get any decent sleep last night." She then stopped and looked around, pushing her blond hair out of her face, "Maybe we should take them to the petting zoo first. Let them wake up some before that old west show starts." Apparently, Catherine had taken in the fact that Elijah was still half asleep as well.
Greg nodded, "Sounds good."
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Nick really, really wished he had thought to grab a camera. Elijah was standing by the hen coop, holding a little chick carefully in both hands. The look on the little boy's face was absolutely priceless. He figured that the gift shop by the restaurant had cameras, but he didn't want to miss anything by running to purchase one.
"Here."
Nick looked over at Warrick and smiled when his friend passed him a disposable camera, one that still had all twenty four exposures on it, "Thanks. How'd you...?"
Warrick snorted and shoved a hand in his pocket, "Between you and Greggo? Please. We figured one if not both of you would forget a camera. We packed a few other emergency supplies as well."
Nick snapped a picture of Elijah grinning up at Greg, who was crouched down and bracketing his son with his legs. That would be a great picture to send to his parents to show off the two new 'men' in his life. "You, my friend, are a life saver." He said, snapping another picture as a hen almost knocked Greg over. He wondered briefly if a camcorder would have been a better wish as he watched Greg's arms flounder around as he tried to balance himself out.
Warrick shook his head and took his own picture of Lindsey staring up at a pony with an adoring expression on her face, "Nah, just the boyfriend of a single parent just like you."
"What?" Nick's head whipped around to look at Warrick, who was still looking over at Lindsey.
"Nick, you're not exactly subtle when it comes to Greg and I also didn't miss those kisses you two shared in the truck." Warrick glanced at Nick, "You mad that I figured it out?"
"Nah." Nick shrugged, "I was gunna tell you eventually but Greg and I haven't even been together for a month yet and..."
Warrick held up his hand to silence Nick, "I get it bro. Cath and I felt the same way before we told you."
They stood there silently as they watched Elijah run over to Lindsey on the other side of the pen. He latched onto her jeans and stared up at the pony with not exactly fright, but it was obvious he wasn't too sure about the size of this new creature up close.
"He's cute. You can certainly see Greg in him. Where'd the red and freckles come from?" Warrick asked.
Nick had been in the process of pulling himself up to sit on the railing, but he paused halfway in his ascent and laughed as Greg slipped in something not entirely pleasant, if the look on his face was any indication, "His mom. Greg's father has freckles but none of his family are red-heads." Nick's answer was a bit absentminded. He tried to think of how to get the gunk off of Greg's shoe before they left as he let himself drop back down to the ground.
Warrick nodded as he pointed at Greg, "See, that's why we packed emergency supplies. I bet you didn't think to grab baby wipes for stuff like that did you? Baby wipes are like the all purpose cleaner for a parent."
"No we didn't, since Eli is almost fully potty trained." Nick clapped Warrick on the shoulder, "Guess you better get some while I head off the fireworks. Those are his favorite pair of shoes." He walked over towards Greg, watching where he was stepping as well to avoid an accident of his own, "Look on the bright side G," He said as he came up to his boyfriend, "At least you didn't fall."
"That's true." Greg said, snorting a bit as the humor of the situation caught up to him, "So, smart guy, any idea how to get rid of this? Otherwise it's going to be a nasty ride home."
"Warrick's getting some baby wipes." Nick said. He looked over at Elijah who, when he caught Nick looking, squealed and ran over to them, "Remind me to check the rug-rats shoes once we finish here."
"nicky!" Elijah yelled, "howsey 'ikes me. take home!"
"Er," Nick glanced at Greg who smiled and raised an eyebrow, "Where would you keep it, little man?"
"bedwoom." Elijah said after scoffing through his nose, a gesture that all three-year-olds seemed to have down pat, if his nieces and nephews had been any indication.
"Hate to tell you Eli," Nick said, lifting the boy to his shoulders, "Horsey has a home. I don't think he'd be too happy about moving all of a sudden."
Elijah's shoulders drooped, "awww." He groaned, making it evident that he was disappointed by that bit of information.
"Tell ya what. One of these days if daddy says it's okay, we'll take you to see some of my horses and maybe you can name one. How's that sound?" Nick said, looking up at Elijah's face to avoid looking at Greg's.
Elijah gasped and whipped his head around to look at Greg, "daddy?"
"Er, we'll see. For now, let's go see Warrick and get our shoes cleaned off, okay?" Greg said.
Nick thought his voice sounded alright, but when he looked at Greg finally he knew he was gunna be in trouble later. The eyebrow was still raised and though he wasn't frowning, he definitely wasn't smiling.
"k!" Elijah threaded his fingers into Nick's hair and tugged one hand in the direction of where Warrick and Catherine were busy cleaning off Lindsey's shoes.
When they crossed the pen, Warrick took one look at Greg's face and grimaced, "Man, Nick, what did you do?" At this, Catherine looked up as well, eyebrows rising in question when she saw Greg's look.
Nick shook his head and handed Elijah off to Warrick. He grabbed a handful of baby wipes and tugged on Greg's arm, directing him to a set of deserted picnic tables a few feet away. Greg pulled his arm back but followed him, which Nick was grateful for. He had an idea of why Greg was so upset and how to remedy it, but he sure as hell didn't want to do it with an audience.
Greg tried to snatch some of the wipes from Nicks hands, but Nick shook his head again and urged Greg to sit on the table top. He grabbed the foot with the worst mess and started wiping it off, "I was going to tell you later."
Greg crossed his arms and finally let the frown out completely, "Tell me what? That you had horses? Nick, I'm more upset that you're making promises when there's a good chance you won't be able to keep them."
Nick finished one foot and started on the other, "There's a pretty damn good chance I can keep this promise, but I don't know if I want to tell you when you're this pissed off."
"How? You going to get horses out here for my son? 'Cause I know you don't have any here in Vegas." Greg said with a laugh, though it wasn't a particularly nice laugh.
Nick sighed and threw the used wipes into the trashcan. He wasn't worried about his own shoes. He had watched where he stepped when he went into the pen, "My parents invited us to the ranch for the fourth of July."
"So that's why you brought them up in the truck."
"No, it's not. They invited us a couple of weeks ago when I told them we were finally dating. I mentioned the ranch in the truck because I didn't, and still don't I might add, think it's fair that a three-year-old can't ride the horses here." Nick said, crossing his own arms, "I brought up the invite this time because I wanted you to know I can keep a damned promise if I make one."
Greg pushed himself off the picnic table and put his hands on his hips, "That mean you weren't intending on bringing up the fact that your parents invited us to the ranch unless absolutely needed, like just now?"
"What? No! I was..."
"You were what? Waiting to see if we we're going to make it to three months before springing it on me at the last minute?"
Nick threw his arms up in the air, "Will you stop putting words in my mouth?! Your birthday is Sunday, remember?"
"What has that got to do with anything?" Greg was loosing steam, Nick could tell. His shoulders had lost some of their rigidity and his eyes had a confused crease to them because of the sudden left turn in the conversation. Or argument. Nick wasn't really sure which it was because while there had been no yelling, anger had certainly been involved.
Nick sighed and ran his hand through his hair, "Last week, when Catherine invited us to come out here, I said it had to be on Friday 'cause we had to work Saturday night 'cause we took Sunday off. She had only agreed 'cause Lindsey had no school today, remember?"
"Yeah," Greg drawled, his confusion becoming much more visible by way of a wrinkling nose, "I do, but I...oh. You told me it was a surprise when I asked."
"Right, well, the invite was a part of it."
All of Greg's confusion melted away as did any lingering anger. He gave Nick one of his brightest smiles in warning before pouncing, sealing their mouths together.
Nick's arms came up quickly to catch Greg and took a small step back to steady them before closing his eyes and enjoying the kiss. A throat clearing interrupted them a few seconds later and they pulled apart to look at their smirking friends.
"You guy's done with the verbal foreplay? 'Cause the show starts in ten minutes and its on the other side of the corral." Warrick asked, pointing his thumb over his shoulder.
They both cleared their throats before looking around. They hadn't attracted any attention, thankfully, due to the small fact that there were very few people milling about and those that were were minding their own business. Their argument hadn't been loud enough nor close enough to garner any curious looks.
Greg nodded and bent over to pick up Elijah, who looked confused. Nick gathered that the toddler had seen the fight, but hadn't really understood what had been going on, "All right, let's head over there."
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TBC...
Chapter 4