FIC Brick by Brick
8/5/15 14:30![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shanachie_quillTitle: Brick by Brick
Characters: Nick Stokes/Greg Sanders, Bill Stokes/Jillian Stokes, Stokes Siblings and families
Fandom: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Series: My Private Nation
Written For: whogeek
Prompt: Greg meets Nick’s family
Summary: Greg is introduced to the Stokes clan.
Rating: PG
Spoilers: For the rest of the series
Warnings: boys will be boys, boys are adorable, Stokes family is protective
Disclaimer: No one recognizable belongs to me. Not making any money off this.
Second Disclaimer Despite being fanfiction, this is MY work and I do not give anyone or any other site permission to republish this story under my name or any other without my authorization.
Author's Note: So it took me a little longer, but I finally got the next story in this series done. I have the next few either planned or started, but there’s a lot of other things going on so I’m not going to promise them any time soon. Since I’m not even sure if anyone is reading them, I’m not going to worry. Let me know if you actually want to see more of these (I’ll still finish the series, but it would be nice to know if someone is reading).
“I don’t think I want to do this,” Greg said as Nick scooped his keys up from the counter. “Can’t we… I don’t know; wait until there’s less of them?”
Nick chuckled. “Darlin’, there is never gonna be less of them. It just comes with being part of my family.”
Greg sighed. “There’s just entirely too many of you. Why did your parents want that many kids anyway?”
“I’m not sure they wanted that many, it just happened. And it helped to have all of us around the ranch.”
Greg heaved another sigh as he grabbed his jacket. “All right run them down again.”
“You ain’t gonna need your jacket, G,” Nick pointed out.
“You know your accent is thicker down here,” Greg said in an effort to distract Nick.
The Texan didn’t take the bait as he grabbed Greg’s belt loops and tugged the blonde towards him. “Ya think there might be a reason for that?” he questioned.
Greg grinned, remembering what they’d been doing when Nick had been off duty the last few days. “Oh. Right. So. Siblings?”
“Okay. You met Mama. Jillian. Then Dad is Bill.”
“Yeah Mrs. and Judge Stokes is fine,” Greg responded. “And you’ve got… five siblings?”
“Five sisters,” Nick corrected. “I’ve got a brother too. Bill Junior is the oldest and I’m the youngest. All the girls are in the middle. Bill or BJ,” he paused as Greg snickered, “is married to Annabelle and they have Billy the Third. Then is Addison or Addi. She’s not married. Next is Brea who is married to Logan and they have Reagan and Dustin.”
“But Reagan is a girl?” Greg checked.
“Yes. And then Cherie and Taylor. She’s pregnant with their first. Then last Dina and Eileen is right before me.” Nick tugged on Greg’s belt loops until the other man looked up at him. “But don’t worry if you can’t remember all that. The kids’ll be running in and out and the girls won’t stop talking… probably all at once. They’ll keep telling you who they are.”
Greg shook his head. “I still say there’s too many of them.”
“So speaks the only child,” Nick pointed out.
Greg threw up his hands, settling his arms around Nick’s neck. “All right. Subject me to your family then.”
“You know they aren’t that bad, G. I think you’ll like them,” Nick said as he led the way out of the apartment. He motioned for Greg to shuck his jacket. “And you really won’t need that.”
“Nicky, I met your mother about twenty minutes after you’d fucked me. Somehow I’m not sure this can be… easy. Oh and she figured out that’s what we were doing!”
Nick rolled his eyes. “It was rather obvious. You had my shirt on and weren’t completely dressed.”
Greg got into the truck, saying, “I’m not sure why that was a clue. Other than the shirt being unbuttoned, I wasn’t any less dressed than usual.”
“It was my shirt!”
“Not like it’s the first time.”
The boys bickered good-naturedly about the shirt (and Greg’s habit of stealing Nick’s clothes) on the drive out to ranch. Nick really wasn’t concerned with his mother knowing what was going on; they were both adults and he was living on his own, but it actually seemed to be bothering Greg a little. Nick put the truck into park and turned to look at Greg. “You know Mama doesn’t care,” he started.
“Doesn’t care about what?” Greg questioned.
“She doesn’t care that we were…” Nick paused to be sure that Greg was watching him. “She doesn’t care that we were making love, G, any more than your Nana and Papa Olaf do. She just didn’t want to see evidence of it.”
“Really, Nicky? Why do you do these things to me?” Greg almost whined.
Nick pulled Greg towards him, kissing him when he got in range. “I wasn’t aware I was doing anything to you that you object to,” he whispered.
“I never said I object to the things you do and you do them just fine.” Greg grinned.
Nick’s groan was swallowed up by Greg leaning in and capturing his lips. The boys were so engrossed in each other that they forgot where they were until a banging on the window caused them to jump apart.
“Mom wasn’t kidding,” a girl with the same dark hair and eyes as Nick said. “He’s adorable.”
“Go away, Eileen!” Nick told her.
“Mama’s waiting for you,” Eileen told him.
“We’ll be in soon,” Nick told her in response. “Go away.”
“But, Ni-ick,” she whined.
Nick thumped the window in retaliation. “Go away,” he repeated.
Greg groaned as she finally stomped away. “Oh, yeah, this is gonna be so much fun and games.”
Nick laughed, tugging Greg with him as he got out of the cab. “Eileen is… well remember she’s the youngest after me. And the youngest girl.”
“That’s not very comforting,” Greg answered.
As they approached the house, three kids came running towards them, all of them yelling, “Uncle Nick!”
Nick picked up the only girl, swinging her onto his hip and stepped around the boys, greeting all three of them in turn. As they all walked into the house, he listened closely to what they all were trying to tell him. Greg was amazed that Nick seemed able to follow each conversation, even though the kids were all talking at the same time. When Greg took his eyes off the boys, he realized the little girl was staring at him over Nick’s shoulder. “Hi,” he attempted.
“Who are you?” she asked.
“He’s Uncle Nick’s boyfriend, stupid,” the smaller of the two boys answered.
“Don’t call your sister, stupid, Dustin,” Nick chided. “Her question was fine. Reagan, this is Greg.”
Reagan rested her chin on Nick’s shoulder as she continued to examine Greg. “Why is he your boyfriend?” she asked, eventually.
“Well, because…” Nick attempted.
A grinning man lifted Reagan out of Nick’s arms. “Try to think of an answer to that one, Stokes,” he said. Setting Reagan down, he instructed them to go play. Once they ran off, he turned to the older boys. “Hi, I’m Logan. Welcome to the madhouse,” he said, offering his hand to Greg.
“Thanks.” Greg shook the older man’s hand. “I think.”
Logan grinned. “It’s a madhouse, but it’s our madhouse.” He looked at Nick. “Mama’s in the kitchen. You might wanna take him back.”
“Where’s Dad?” Nick asked.
“In his den,” Logan answered. “Are you going?”
“I’m going to go introduce Greg. He’s already met Mama,” Nick told him.
Logan’s grin widened. “Yeah, we heard about that. Can’t be as bad as all that.” He nodded at Greg. “Remind me later to tell you about my first meeting with Mama.”
“I’ll try,” Greg said over his shoulder as Nick pulled him down the hall towards the room.
Nick stopped at the end of the hall, knocking on the door, and when a voice answered from inside, he cracked it open, asking, “May we come in, Sir?”
“Pancho,” the man inside replied. “Come in.”
“Pancho?” Greg mouthed.
“Nickname from when I was a kid,” Nick told him. He pushed his way into the room. “Hi, Dad.”
“Nick.” The man got to his feet, coming around the desk to hug his son. “I didn’t expect to see you before dinner.”
“I wanted to introduce you to Greg before he’s inundated with everyone.”
The judge turned towards Greg, holding his hand out to the blonde. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
“Ah, yes, sir,” Greg stumbled a bit over his words before straightening up. Nick knew he had problems sometimes with people in positions of authority, especially men. Despite the love and affection he got from Nana and Papa when he was younger and then from Nick, the dark haired man knew that Greg still worried Nick would decide he wasn’t worthy.
And he also knew his father would instinctively see the issue and hopefully be able to speak to Greg the right way. In fact, he glossed over Greg’s stumbling smiling at both young men. “I’m assuming you came right back here without greeting your mother?” he asked Nick.
“Mama surprised us at the apartment the other afternoon,” Nick responded. “I thought you might want to meet him.” He grinned. “And he’s already met a couple of the siblings.”
“Well, they don’t bite,” Judge Stokes told him.
Greg coughed as Nick bit his lip. “I’m just not used to so many people at a family gathering,” Greg finally explained.
“Small family?” the judge asked, leaning against his desk.
“I’m an only child of an only child,” Greg answered. “It’s really just my Nana and Papa and me.”
“Guess we better wait a bit for that actual family gathering,” Nick joked and when Greg turned horrified eyes towards him, he tugged on the other man’s hand. “I’m teasing. I told ya, just my siblings and their families tonight.”
A knock on the door interrupted whatever Greg would have said in reply and a girl stuck her head in after a moment. Greg was amazed at how much she resembled Nick. “Mama says dinner’s ready and y’all need to stop hogging Nicky’s boytoy.”
Greg snickered as Nick rolled his eyes and the judge said, “I am absolutely certain that is not what your mother said.”
The girl shrugged unrepentantly. “Well, maybe not in those words.” She wiggled her fingers at Nick and Greg. “Hi, baby brother. Hi, boytoy.”
“Sister?” Greg hazarded, figuring he had a pretty good shot, considering her resemblance to Nick.
“Dina, Greg. Greg, Dina. And yes, sister,” Nick replied.
“He’s cute, Nicky. Nice taste,” she said, her eyes roving over Greg.
“Nick… I think your sister just hit on me. I don’t know if I should be terrified or intrigued,” Greg commented.
“Your best friend has hit on me more times than I can count,” Nick pointed out.
“Your best friend hit on my brother?” Dina questioned. “He either has balls or is suicidal.”
“Nah, she was drunk. And her boyfriend was there,” Greg answered.
“That’s hysterical. I would have paid to see Nicky’s expression.” Dina giggled.
“Oh, I think I’m going to like this one,” Greg said with a grin. “Can I keep her?”
“No. Absolutely not,” Nick said. “Nope. You already have an Ella. You do not need another one.”
“But I need a Texas Ella. Especially if I…” He stopped. “I need a Texas Ella.”
“No. No, you do not. One the world would not survive. Two what would Ella say if she heard that? Three I’d ask you how much you’ve had to drink, but we just got here and I’ve been with you the entire day. And four just no because that leads to world domination and you may not take over the world tonight, G.”
Dina’s eyes lit up with glee. “Is that actually a consideration?”
“With Greg I’ve learned to cover my bases.”
She cackled and entered the room, linking her arm with Greg’s and dragging him away from Nick. “Come. Tell me about Ella and your plans for world domination and I’ll tell you all my blackmail stories about Nicky.”
“Di-na!” Nick moaned as his sister dragged his boyfriend from the room. Greg threw him a look over his shoulder that was half-gleeful and half-terrified. Nick turned back as he remembered his father was still in the room and the older man made a choking noise. “Sorry, Dad. Greg is…” he paused not sure exactly how to excuse or explain what had just happened.
“Does he make you happy, Pancho?” the judge asked.
Nick blinked. “Yeah?”
“You don’t sound sure.”
“He does. I just wasn’t expecting the question,” Nick admitted.
“Nick, I honestly don’t care what your partner’s attitude or what his gender is, as long as he or she is polite to your mother and me. And as long as you’re happy. So. Are you happy?”
Nick smiled as he realized what his father meant. “Yeah, I'm happy. He makes me happy.”
“Good.” Bill Stokes clapped his son on the shoulder. “Should we go rescue your boyfriend from your sister?”
“Make sure they aren’t plotting world domination?” Nick questioned.
“Is that actually a consideration?” Bill Senior asked as the two Stokeses left the study.
“I’m actually more worried about Dina than Greg.”
Bill Senior didn’t question the comment, but followed Nick through the house to the living room where the rest of the family had started to gather. Greg was somehow surrounded by three of Nick’s four sisters (only Brea was missing and Nick assumed she was in the kitchen with his mother), but appeared to be holding his own. Reagan was standing in front of him, her hands on her hips as she stared up at him. Nick couldn’t decide if she was trying to examine him or just making sure he wasn’t going to leave. Whichever, he decided he wasn’t going to get close with Greg surrounded and he swooped in, scooping Reagan up and tipping her over his shoulder. She squealed in response, kicking her legs, and trying to squirm out of his grasp.
“Nicholas, you’d better not be torturing my daughter!” Brea yelled from the kitchen.
“Define torture!” Nick yelled back, rolling his eyes at his sister’s comment and drawing soft laughter from the siblings present and Greg.
Brea came out of the kitchen, drying her hands on a towel, and glared at her baby brother. “Put her down, Nicholas,” she ordered.
Nick sighed, but did as she commanded. “It’s not like I’m going to drop her, Brea. I wasn’t the one that dropped Dustin on his head.”
Before Brea could respond, Jillian Stokes came out of the kitchen. Almost immediately the Stokes children stopped bickering as she looked around at them. Her brown eyes, so like Nick’s, settled on Greg and she smiled at him. “Greg. It’s nice to see you again.” She continued, “Dinner is ready. I was under the impression I taught all of you manners.”
“Yes, ma’am,” they all muttered, looking abashed.
“Good.” Jillian nodded decisively. “Hands washed and to the table then, please.”
“Is it just me or did your mom just make you all feel like you were ten again?” Greg whispered to Nick as the group separated to the various bathrooms and sinks to follow Jillian’s direction.
“It’s not just you,” Nick replied, reaching around him to snag the towel off the bar and drying his hands. “You doin’ okay?”
“Yeah.” Greg smiled at him, leaning back against the sink for a minute, then surged forward to kiss him before ducking out of the bathroom. “I’m keeping Dina,” he yelled over his shoulder.
“That’s not funny, G!” Nick yelled after him. He pulled up short when he spied his older brother. “Hi, BJ.”
“Do I want to know?” the eldest Stokes sibling asked.
Nick shook his head. “No. Probably not.”
“Is it something I should know?” Bill Junior asked.
“Just Greg being…” Nick shook his head again as he tried to figure out how to explain it. “You’ll just have to get to know him.”
Bill Junior smiled at his younger brother. “I look forward to it. I’m glad he makes you happy.”
The siblings settled into various chairs around the den after they’d cleaned up after dinner. Greg hadn’t really been surprised at how easily the group of separated out chores and divided up corralling the three children. It spoke of many years of shared chores and understanding.
Now Cherie (whom Greg had realized early on was the quietest of the siblings) rubbed her stomach as she carried on a soft conversation with Addi. Brea and Eileen had dug a checkerboard out from somewhere and were engaged in a cutthroat game while Annabelle looked on. Meanwhile Bill Junior and his brothers in law were looking through a hunting catalog. Dina and Greg had their heads bent together and were cackling over something. Nick had given up trying to separate them about halfway through dinner, figuring it was a losing battle. He settled into the chair that was left, stretching out his legs in front of him as he watched his family.
Jillian leaned down and kissed the side of Nick’s head, smiling when he tried to duck away from her. “There’s room for you and Greg to stay the night if you don’t want to drive back into town,” she reminded him.
“I’ve gotta work tomorrow, Mama,” he pointed out. “Don’t really need to drive back into town in the morning and then have to get ready for my shift.”
“Well, the offer’s there,” she told him. She looked over at Greg. “It was nice to see you again, Greg.”
“Yes, ma’am, Mrs. Stokes, er, Jillian,” Greg stumbled.
She shook her head at his inability to choose which name to call her. “Jillian is fine,” she said before moving around the room to say goodnight to the rest of the Stokes’ children and in laws. Bill Senior followed behind her, having quiet conversations with a few of the siblings and commenting on the game before leaving the room with his wife.
“We’ll see you in the morning, BJ,” Senior reminded his elder son. “We’ve got that meeting with the Chamber and then your mama has the ladies’ luncheon.”
“Yes, sir,” Bill Junior replied. “I’ll be ready.”
As soon as they had vanished up the stairs to the bedrooms, Brea practically pounced on Greg. “Okay, spill,” she ordered.
Greg looked at her wide-eyed as he leaned away. “Spill? Spill what? Nick, I take it back. She’s just like Ella. She’s scary!”
For a minute the sisters’ voices overlapped as they demanded, “How’d you meet Mama? Who’s Ella? How do you do this long distance thing? What do you see in my baby brother? Are you going to keep making him miserable? What are you going to do now? When are you going back to California? Do you have a job? Nicky said you finished college? What are you going to do for work?”
Greg turned to Nick, the deer in the headlights look becoming more pronounced. “Help?”
Nick, in turn, bit his tongue so he didn’t laugh and lifted his arm, allowing the other man to burrow in against him. “Leave G alone, y’all,” he said. “He’s not used to being bombarded with questions.”
“Well, how are we going to get to know him if we don’t ask him questions?” Brea asked practically.
“Not by all of you asking him questions at once,” Nick pointed out.
Greg realized that although Logan had spoken to him a few times, Cherie’s husband, Taylor, hadn’t said a word from his place next to his wife. He had a feeling it was out of self-preservation. “I’m beginning to think that Ella and your sisters should never meet,” Greg piped up.
“Okay, I really want to know who Ella is,” Dina said. “Because that’s like the… I don’t know how many times you’ve mentioned her. So… friend or foe? Does Nicky know her?”
Greg glanced up at Nick from his lower position. “Ella is… kinda hard to describe. She’s my best friend. We’ve been friends since kindergarten and yes, Nick knows her.”
Four of the five sisters nodded, but Greg wasn’t entirely sure which four. They all resembled each other and they had started to blend together by now. Addison sat up from where she was settled on the floor. “So. Are you done making our baby brother miserable?”
“Can I refuse to answer that one?” Greg responded. “I just got here a couple of days ago and Nick and I really haven’t had a chance to talk about… things.”
“So I guess that means you aren’t telling us if you have a job yet or when you’re going back to California?” Cherie questioned.
“Or what you’re going to do now?” Eileen added.
“Actually right now,” Greg said, “I think we’re gonna go home.” He glanced at Nick. “If it’s okay with Nick… He does have an early shift tomorrow.”
Nick made a sound of agreement as both of them got to their feet. The siblings followed their lead and began to gather around, hugging Nick and then drawing Greg in. The blonde accepted their hugs with good grace, sticking close to Nick as they said their good-byes.
The darker haired man took Greg’s hand as they exited the house. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?” he asked.
“I survived,” Greg agreed.
Nick grinned. “I think you did more than survive,” he told him. Tugging Greg around, he kissed his briefly. “I think you made a lasting impression on them.”
“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” Greg asked as they climbed into the truck.
“Well, they didn’t chase you away with pitchforks.”
Greg looked at him in worry. “Was that actually a possibility?”
“Nah, they haven’t done that since Brea’s… third… I think it was… boyfriend.” Nick put the truck into gear and started down the driveway.
“And Brea is the one that has… two kids, right?” Greg checked.
“Yup. So I think you’re good.” Nick grinned at him quickly before looking back at the road. “I think they liked you.”
“I liked them. They were a bit overwhelming, but,” Greg paused to think about it, finally finishing, “Yeah. I liked them.”
“Good.”
Characters: Nick Stokes/Greg Sanders, Bill Stokes/Jillian Stokes, Stokes Siblings and families
Fandom: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Series: My Private Nation
Written For: whogeek
Prompt: Greg meets Nick’s family
Summary: Greg is introduced to the Stokes clan.
Rating: PG
Spoilers: For the rest of the series
Warnings: boys will be boys, boys are adorable, Stokes family is protective
Disclaimer: No one recognizable belongs to me. Not making any money off this.
Second Disclaimer Despite being fanfiction, this is MY work and I do not give anyone or any other site permission to republish this story under my name or any other without my authorization.
Author's Note: So it took me a little longer, but I finally got the next story in this series done. I have the next few either planned or started, but there’s a lot of other things going on so I’m not going to promise them any time soon. Since I’m not even sure if anyone is reading them, I’m not going to worry. Let me know if you actually want to see more of these (I’ll still finish the series, but it would be nice to know if someone is reading).
“I don’t think I want to do this,” Greg said as Nick scooped his keys up from the counter. “Can’t we… I don’t know; wait until there’s less of them?”
Nick chuckled. “Darlin’, there is never gonna be less of them. It just comes with being part of my family.”
Greg sighed. “There’s just entirely too many of you. Why did your parents want that many kids anyway?”
“I’m not sure they wanted that many, it just happened. And it helped to have all of us around the ranch.”
Greg heaved another sigh as he grabbed his jacket. “All right run them down again.”
“You ain’t gonna need your jacket, G,” Nick pointed out.
“You know your accent is thicker down here,” Greg said in an effort to distract Nick.
The Texan didn’t take the bait as he grabbed Greg’s belt loops and tugged the blonde towards him. “Ya think there might be a reason for that?” he questioned.
Greg grinned, remembering what they’d been doing when Nick had been off duty the last few days. “Oh. Right. So. Siblings?”
“Okay. You met Mama. Jillian. Then Dad is Bill.”
“Yeah Mrs. and Judge Stokes is fine,” Greg responded. “And you’ve got… five siblings?”
“Five sisters,” Nick corrected. “I’ve got a brother too. Bill Junior is the oldest and I’m the youngest. All the girls are in the middle. Bill or BJ,” he paused as Greg snickered, “is married to Annabelle and they have Billy the Third. Then is Addison or Addi. She’s not married. Next is Brea who is married to Logan and they have Reagan and Dustin.”
“But Reagan is a girl?” Greg checked.
“Yes. And then Cherie and Taylor. She’s pregnant with their first. Then last Dina and Eileen is right before me.” Nick tugged on Greg’s belt loops until the other man looked up at him. “But don’t worry if you can’t remember all that. The kids’ll be running in and out and the girls won’t stop talking… probably all at once. They’ll keep telling you who they are.”
Greg shook his head. “I still say there’s too many of them.”
“So speaks the only child,” Nick pointed out.
Greg threw up his hands, settling his arms around Nick’s neck. “All right. Subject me to your family then.”
“You know they aren’t that bad, G. I think you’ll like them,” Nick said as he led the way out of the apartment. He motioned for Greg to shuck his jacket. “And you really won’t need that.”
“Nicky, I met your mother about twenty minutes after you’d fucked me. Somehow I’m not sure this can be… easy. Oh and she figured out that’s what we were doing!”
Nick rolled his eyes. “It was rather obvious. You had my shirt on and weren’t completely dressed.”
Greg got into the truck, saying, “I’m not sure why that was a clue. Other than the shirt being unbuttoned, I wasn’t any less dressed than usual.”
“It was my shirt!”
“Not like it’s the first time.”
The boys bickered good-naturedly about the shirt (and Greg’s habit of stealing Nick’s clothes) on the drive out to ranch. Nick really wasn’t concerned with his mother knowing what was going on; they were both adults and he was living on his own, but it actually seemed to be bothering Greg a little. Nick put the truck into park and turned to look at Greg. “You know Mama doesn’t care,” he started.
“Doesn’t care about what?” Greg questioned.
“She doesn’t care that we were…” Nick paused to be sure that Greg was watching him. “She doesn’t care that we were making love, G, any more than your Nana and Papa Olaf do. She just didn’t want to see evidence of it.”
“Really, Nicky? Why do you do these things to me?” Greg almost whined.
Nick pulled Greg towards him, kissing him when he got in range. “I wasn’t aware I was doing anything to you that you object to,” he whispered.
“I never said I object to the things you do and you do them just fine.” Greg grinned.
Nick’s groan was swallowed up by Greg leaning in and capturing his lips. The boys were so engrossed in each other that they forgot where they were until a banging on the window caused them to jump apart.
“Mom wasn’t kidding,” a girl with the same dark hair and eyes as Nick said. “He’s adorable.”
“Go away, Eileen!” Nick told her.
“Mama’s waiting for you,” Eileen told him.
“We’ll be in soon,” Nick told her in response. “Go away.”
“But, Ni-ick,” she whined.
Nick thumped the window in retaliation. “Go away,” he repeated.
Greg groaned as she finally stomped away. “Oh, yeah, this is gonna be so much fun and games.”
Nick laughed, tugging Greg with him as he got out of the cab. “Eileen is… well remember she’s the youngest after me. And the youngest girl.”
“That’s not very comforting,” Greg answered.
As they approached the house, three kids came running towards them, all of them yelling, “Uncle Nick!”
Nick picked up the only girl, swinging her onto his hip and stepped around the boys, greeting all three of them in turn. As they all walked into the house, he listened closely to what they all were trying to tell him. Greg was amazed that Nick seemed able to follow each conversation, even though the kids were all talking at the same time. When Greg took his eyes off the boys, he realized the little girl was staring at him over Nick’s shoulder. “Hi,” he attempted.
“Who are you?” she asked.
“He’s Uncle Nick’s boyfriend, stupid,” the smaller of the two boys answered.
“Don’t call your sister, stupid, Dustin,” Nick chided. “Her question was fine. Reagan, this is Greg.”
Reagan rested her chin on Nick’s shoulder as she continued to examine Greg. “Why is he your boyfriend?” she asked, eventually.
“Well, because…” Nick attempted.
A grinning man lifted Reagan out of Nick’s arms. “Try to think of an answer to that one, Stokes,” he said. Setting Reagan down, he instructed them to go play. Once they ran off, he turned to the older boys. “Hi, I’m Logan. Welcome to the madhouse,” he said, offering his hand to Greg.
“Thanks.” Greg shook the older man’s hand. “I think.”
Logan grinned. “It’s a madhouse, but it’s our madhouse.” He looked at Nick. “Mama’s in the kitchen. You might wanna take him back.”
“Where’s Dad?” Nick asked.
“In his den,” Logan answered. “Are you going?”
“I’m going to go introduce Greg. He’s already met Mama,” Nick told him.
Logan’s grin widened. “Yeah, we heard about that. Can’t be as bad as all that.” He nodded at Greg. “Remind me later to tell you about my first meeting with Mama.”
“I’ll try,” Greg said over his shoulder as Nick pulled him down the hall towards the room.
Nick stopped at the end of the hall, knocking on the door, and when a voice answered from inside, he cracked it open, asking, “May we come in, Sir?”
“Pancho,” the man inside replied. “Come in.”
“Pancho?” Greg mouthed.
“Nickname from when I was a kid,” Nick told him. He pushed his way into the room. “Hi, Dad.”
“Nick.” The man got to his feet, coming around the desk to hug his son. “I didn’t expect to see you before dinner.”
“I wanted to introduce you to Greg before he’s inundated with everyone.”
The judge turned towards Greg, holding his hand out to the blonde. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
“Ah, yes, sir,” Greg stumbled a bit over his words before straightening up. Nick knew he had problems sometimes with people in positions of authority, especially men. Despite the love and affection he got from Nana and Papa when he was younger and then from Nick, the dark haired man knew that Greg still worried Nick would decide he wasn’t worthy.
And he also knew his father would instinctively see the issue and hopefully be able to speak to Greg the right way. In fact, he glossed over Greg’s stumbling smiling at both young men. “I’m assuming you came right back here without greeting your mother?” he asked Nick.
“Mama surprised us at the apartment the other afternoon,” Nick responded. “I thought you might want to meet him.” He grinned. “And he’s already met a couple of the siblings.”
“Well, they don’t bite,” Judge Stokes told him.
Greg coughed as Nick bit his lip. “I’m just not used to so many people at a family gathering,” Greg finally explained.
“Small family?” the judge asked, leaning against his desk.
“I’m an only child of an only child,” Greg answered. “It’s really just my Nana and Papa and me.”
“Guess we better wait a bit for that actual family gathering,” Nick joked and when Greg turned horrified eyes towards him, he tugged on the other man’s hand. “I’m teasing. I told ya, just my siblings and their families tonight.”
A knock on the door interrupted whatever Greg would have said in reply and a girl stuck her head in after a moment. Greg was amazed at how much she resembled Nick. “Mama says dinner’s ready and y’all need to stop hogging Nicky’s boytoy.”
Greg snickered as Nick rolled his eyes and the judge said, “I am absolutely certain that is not what your mother said.”
The girl shrugged unrepentantly. “Well, maybe not in those words.” She wiggled her fingers at Nick and Greg. “Hi, baby brother. Hi, boytoy.”
“Sister?” Greg hazarded, figuring he had a pretty good shot, considering her resemblance to Nick.
“Dina, Greg. Greg, Dina. And yes, sister,” Nick replied.
“He’s cute, Nicky. Nice taste,” she said, her eyes roving over Greg.
“Nick… I think your sister just hit on me. I don’t know if I should be terrified or intrigued,” Greg commented.
“Your best friend has hit on me more times than I can count,” Nick pointed out.
“Your best friend hit on my brother?” Dina questioned. “He either has balls or is suicidal.”
“Nah, she was drunk. And her boyfriend was there,” Greg answered.
“That’s hysterical. I would have paid to see Nicky’s expression.” Dina giggled.
“Oh, I think I’m going to like this one,” Greg said with a grin. “Can I keep her?”
“No. Absolutely not,” Nick said. “Nope. You already have an Ella. You do not need another one.”
“But I need a Texas Ella. Especially if I…” He stopped. “I need a Texas Ella.”
“No. No, you do not. One the world would not survive. Two what would Ella say if she heard that? Three I’d ask you how much you’ve had to drink, but we just got here and I’ve been with you the entire day. And four just no because that leads to world domination and you may not take over the world tonight, G.”
Dina’s eyes lit up with glee. “Is that actually a consideration?”
“With Greg I’ve learned to cover my bases.”
She cackled and entered the room, linking her arm with Greg’s and dragging him away from Nick. “Come. Tell me about Ella and your plans for world domination and I’ll tell you all my blackmail stories about Nicky.”
“Di-na!” Nick moaned as his sister dragged his boyfriend from the room. Greg threw him a look over his shoulder that was half-gleeful and half-terrified. Nick turned back as he remembered his father was still in the room and the older man made a choking noise. “Sorry, Dad. Greg is…” he paused not sure exactly how to excuse or explain what had just happened.
“Does he make you happy, Pancho?” the judge asked.
Nick blinked. “Yeah?”
“You don’t sound sure.”
“He does. I just wasn’t expecting the question,” Nick admitted.
“Nick, I honestly don’t care what your partner’s attitude or what his gender is, as long as he or she is polite to your mother and me. And as long as you’re happy. So. Are you happy?”
Nick smiled as he realized what his father meant. “Yeah, I'm happy. He makes me happy.”
“Good.” Bill Stokes clapped his son on the shoulder. “Should we go rescue your boyfriend from your sister?”
“Make sure they aren’t plotting world domination?” Nick questioned.
“Is that actually a consideration?” Bill Senior asked as the two Stokeses left the study.
“I’m actually more worried about Dina than Greg.”
Bill Senior didn’t question the comment, but followed Nick through the house to the living room where the rest of the family had started to gather. Greg was somehow surrounded by three of Nick’s four sisters (only Brea was missing and Nick assumed she was in the kitchen with his mother), but appeared to be holding his own. Reagan was standing in front of him, her hands on her hips as she stared up at him. Nick couldn’t decide if she was trying to examine him or just making sure he wasn’t going to leave. Whichever, he decided he wasn’t going to get close with Greg surrounded and he swooped in, scooping Reagan up and tipping her over his shoulder. She squealed in response, kicking her legs, and trying to squirm out of his grasp.
“Nicholas, you’d better not be torturing my daughter!” Brea yelled from the kitchen.
“Define torture!” Nick yelled back, rolling his eyes at his sister’s comment and drawing soft laughter from the siblings present and Greg.
Brea came out of the kitchen, drying her hands on a towel, and glared at her baby brother. “Put her down, Nicholas,” she ordered.
Nick sighed, but did as she commanded. “It’s not like I’m going to drop her, Brea. I wasn’t the one that dropped Dustin on his head.”
Before Brea could respond, Jillian Stokes came out of the kitchen. Almost immediately the Stokes children stopped bickering as she looked around at them. Her brown eyes, so like Nick’s, settled on Greg and she smiled at him. “Greg. It’s nice to see you again.” She continued, “Dinner is ready. I was under the impression I taught all of you manners.”
“Yes, ma’am,” they all muttered, looking abashed.
“Good.” Jillian nodded decisively. “Hands washed and to the table then, please.”
“Is it just me or did your mom just make you all feel like you were ten again?” Greg whispered to Nick as the group separated to the various bathrooms and sinks to follow Jillian’s direction.
“It’s not just you,” Nick replied, reaching around him to snag the towel off the bar and drying his hands. “You doin’ okay?”
“Yeah.” Greg smiled at him, leaning back against the sink for a minute, then surged forward to kiss him before ducking out of the bathroom. “I’m keeping Dina,” he yelled over his shoulder.
“That’s not funny, G!” Nick yelled after him. He pulled up short when he spied his older brother. “Hi, BJ.”
“Do I want to know?” the eldest Stokes sibling asked.
Nick shook his head. “No. Probably not.”
“Is it something I should know?” Bill Junior asked.
“Just Greg being…” Nick shook his head again as he tried to figure out how to explain it. “You’ll just have to get to know him.”
Bill Junior smiled at his younger brother. “I look forward to it. I’m glad he makes you happy.”
The siblings settled into various chairs around the den after they’d cleaned up after dinner. Greg hadn’t really been surprised at how easily the group of separated out chores and divided up corralling the three children. It spoke of many years of shared chores and understanding.
Now Cherie (whom Greg had realized early on was the quietest of the siblings) rubbed her stomach as she carried on a soft conversation with Addi. Brea and Eileen had dug a checkerboard out from somewhere and were engaged in a cutthroat game while Annabelle looked on. Meanwhile Bill Junior and his brothers in law were looking through a hunting catalog. Dina and Greg had their heads bent together and were cackling over something. Nick had given up trying to separate them about halfway through dinner, figuring it was a losing battle. He settled into the chair that was left, stretching out his legs in front of him as he watched his family.
Jillian leaned down and kissed the side of Nick’s head, smiling when he tried to duck away from her. “There’s room for you and Greg to stay the night if you don’t want to drive back into town,” she reminded him.
“I’ve gotta work tomorrow, Mama,” he pointed out. “Don’t really need to drive back into town in the morning and then have to get ready for my shift.”
“Well, the offer’s there,” she told him. She looked over at Greg. “It was nice to see you again, Greg.”
“Yes, ma’am, Mrs. Stokes, er, Jillian,” Greg stumbled.
She shook her head at his inability to choose which name to call her. “Jillian is fine,” she said before moving around the room to say goodnight to the rest of the Stokes’ children and in laws. Bill Senior followed behind her, having quiet conversations with a few of the siblings and commenting on the game before leaving the room with his wife.
“We’ll see you in the morning, BJ,” Senior reminded his elder son. “We’ve got that meeting with the Chamber and then your mama has the ladies’ luncheon.”
“Yes, sir,” Bill Junior replied. “I’ll be ready.”
As soon as they had vanished up the stairs to the bedrooms, Brea practically pounced on Greg. “Okay, spill,” she ordered.
Greg looked at her wide-eyed as he leaned away. “Spill? Spill what? Nick, I take it back. She’s just like Ella. She’s scary!”
For a minute the sisters’ voices overlapped as they demanded, “How’d you meet Mama? Who’s Ella? How do you do this long distance thing? What do you see in my baby brother? Are you going to keep making him miserable? What are you going to do now? When are you going back to California? Do you have a job? Nicky said you finished college? What are you going to do for work?”
Greg turned to Nick, the deer in the headlights look becoming more pronounced. “Help?”
Nick, in turn, bit his tongue so he didn’t laugh and lifted his arm, allowing the other man to burrow in against him. “Leave G alone, y’all,” he said. “He’s not used to being bombarded with questions.”
“Well, how are we going to get to know him if we don’t ask him questions?” Brea asked practically.
“Not by all of you asking him questions at once,” Nick pointed out.
Greg realized that although Logan had spoken to him a few times, Cherie’s husband, Taylor, hadn’t said a word from his place next to his wife. He had a feeling it was out of self-preservation. “I’m beginning to think that Ella and your sisters should never meet,” Greg piped up.
“Okay, I really want to know who Ella is,” Dina said. “Because that’s like the… I don’t know how many times you’ve mentioned her. So… friend or foe? Does Nicky know her?”
Greg glanced up at Nick from his lower position. “Ella is… kinda hard to describe. She’s my best friend. We’ve been friends since kindergarten and yes, Nick knows her.”
Four of the five sisters nodded, but Greg wasn’t entirely sure which four. They all resembled each other and they had started to blend together by now. Addison sat up from where she was settled on the floor. “So. Are you done making our baby brother miserable?”
“Can I refuse to answer that one?” Greg responded. “I just got here a couple of days ago and Nick and I really haven’t had a chance to talk about… things.”
“So I guess that means you aren’t telling us if you have a job yet or when you’re going back to California?” Cherie questioned.
“Or what you’re going to do now?” Eileen added.
“Actually right now,” Greg said, “I think we’re gonna go home.” He glanced at Nick. “If it’s okay with Nick… He does have an early shift tomorrow.”
Nick made a sound of agreement as both of them got to their feet. The siblings followed their lead and began to gather around, hugging Nick and then drawing Greg in. The blonde accepted their hugs with good grace, sticking close to Nick as they said their good-byes.
The darker haired man took Greg’s hand as they exited the house. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?” he asked.
“I survived,” Greg agreed.
Nick grinned. “I think you did more than survive,” he told him. Tugging Greg around, he kissed his briefly. “I think you made a lasting impression on them.”
“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” Greg asked as they climbed into the truck.
“Well, they didn’t chase you away with pitchforks.”
Greg looked at him in worry. “Was that actually a possibility?”
“Nah, they haven’t done that since Brea’s… third… I think it was… boyfriend.” Nick put the truck into gear and started down the driveway.
“And Brea is the one that has… two kids, right?” Greg checked.
“Yup. So I think you’re good.” Nick grinned at him quickly before looking back at the road. “I think they liked you.”
“I liked them. They were a bit overwhelming, but,” Greg paused to think about it, finally finishing, “Yeah. I liked them.”
“Good.”
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