Previous part of Don't Fence Me In.

***

The slope wasn't large enough to cause them any damage other than scrapes, but it was enough for both Nick and Gray to lie with the wind knocked out of them when they rolled to a painful stop.

"Nick..." Gray wheezed, watching the sky spin above him. "Are you okay?"

Nick coughed to clear his mouth of dust. "Yeah... you?"

"Yeah. I think I'm too old to be rolling down hills. Remember when it used to be fun?" Gray slowly sat up, and looked at his younger brother. "Crap, you're bleeding."

Nick touched his hand to his forehead, then looked up at Gray. "So are you."

Gray mirrored Nick's actions and smeared his own blood from his cut cheek.

"How long is this going to go on for?" Nick asked suddenly.

Gray wanted to continue playing dumb, but he couldn't keep up the charade anymore. "I know you're angry at me, Nick. And there's really nothing I can say to justify myself."

"Why don't you just tell me why you haven't spoken to me for the past eight months?" As he said this, Nick felt the lead weight return to his stomach. Deep down, he wasn't really sure if he was ready to, or even wanted to, hear the answer.

"To tell you the truth, I was pissed at you." Gray sighed.

His worst fears confirmed, Nick felt the sting of tears but he willed them away. "Does it bother you that much... that I'm with Greg?"

Gray looked at him, surprised. "What? No... shit, this is all coming out wrong. I just want things to be fine between us again! I don't care if you go with guys---"

"Guy!" Nick interrupted him, angrily. "I'm with a guy! We've been together for three years. We're not all promiscuous disco bunnies, you know!"

"Nick, we're not going to get anywhere if you keep jumping down my throat! You know I didn't mean... I mean, I know you and Greg are a proper couple..."

Nick began fidgeting with the ball. "We are. I love him."

"And I can tell he feels the same. Jesus, you only have to see the way you two look at each other. I don't even know how you managed to keep it a secret for so long at work."

"People have a habit of missing the obvious, no matter how close they are." Nick admitted. "So, if you're fine about it all, Gray, why didn't you call me?"

"I was so fucking mad at you, Nick... because you had kept it a secret for so long. We're brothers, and you shut me out of a huge part of your life. You were seeing Greg for three years! I introduced you to Sally within two months! You knew everything about us immediately... but you, three fucking years! And I bet if all that shit in Vegas hadn't gone down we still wouldn't know!"

Nick sighed, not wanting to entertain the possibility that it could be true. "I don't know, Gray. It was already starting to come to a head. Walter Gordon just accelerated it, and maybe that was the best thing to ever come out of it."

"You didn't trust me, Nick. That's what kills me."

Nick couldn't believe he was talking this honestly with his brother. Truth be told, their relationship was very much like his friendship with Warrick "“ true feelings were always hinted at but never fully divulged. Not like his friendship had been with Greg, even before they had become more than friends. "It wasn't about trust, Gray. I was so scared of everything. And I did Greg a disservice, because I kept him separate from such a huge part of my life."

"Yeah, you did." Gray said passionately. "When I found out about the two of you, I just couldn't believe it. Looking back at... that huge situation in Vegas... and he had to deal with it on his own, Nick! If it had been me, I would have known at least that Sally would have had all the support she needed from our folks and the girls. That kid was alone, not even your friends were there for him in the way he would have needed them to be!"

Nick was surprised that Gray was so perceptive about it all, and he saw the events of his burial in a new light. He had had enough trouble dealing with his own demons, but everybody was there surrounding him and supporting him... even if he had felt at times like he was being suffocated all over again. But Greg... he had been alone. He remembered how Greg had existed on the outskirts of every hospital visit, as everybody else had assumed their rank in the importance of taking-care-of-Nick to be far superior to that of anybody else's. Whether it was his mother, or Warrick, or even Catherine and Grissom "“ when all he had wanted was to be alone with his partner. And he knew Greg would have wanted the same, but he had remained stoic because that was what Nick had wanted. Or at least, that was what Nick had believed he wanted at the time until his world had been thrown into chaos. Gray's words had opened up a whole can of worms for him about what Greg had dealt with in those weeks at the hospital, and lord knew Nick wasn't easy to live with coming out of the hospital either for those first few months.

And Nick had blown up at him because of one stupid comment made in his childhood bedroom. One comment. Nick rubbed his face, feeling like the world's biggest asshole.

Opposite him, Gray felt the same. He looked at his younger brother and observed the pain etched across his features. "I'm going to say something to you, and if you ever repeat it I'll deny it, you hear?"

"Okay." Nick nodded slowly, intrigued.

"I... I love you, man."

Nick stared at him, his mouth twitching.

"You asshole!" Gray moaned. "You're just waiting to laugh."

"I'm sorry..." Nick suppressed the giggle.

"I just thought I should say it. But now I wish I didn't."

Nick sobered. "Sorry. It's just... I love you too. And that's not something I thought I would be saying to you today. In fact, I thought I would have been punching you out."

"You? Punch me out? You wouldn't be able to."

"Tough guy, huh? I thought you loved me?"

Gray snatched the ball away from his brother, then just as quickly hit him in the head with it. Nick laughed, but a shadow had passed over Gray again.

"You almost died, Nick." he said softly.

"But I didn't."

"It doesn't matter. You don't understand, you're the youngest. You don't know what it feels like to have this kid that you've felt responsible for all your life almost be taken away from you. Beth and I cried for two hours on the phone together when Mom and Dad first called and told us that you had been abducted at work."

"I... I didn't know that."

"We couldn't imagine you... dying. And when you were found, we were so relieved. I didn't want to let you out of my sight again... but you had your own life to lead. So when I found out about Greg, all I could think was that you didn't feel the same way we did, or else we would have known about you two. At least me and Beth! And although I can understand on some level why you didn't tell us before... it doesn't mean that it didn't hurt. And Beth might never tell you this, but she was even more crushed than I was. But unlike me, she was able to get over it quicker."

Nick winced at the realisation of how much this secret he had thought was his burden alone had affected everybody he cared for.

At the expression on his brother's face, Gray continued after the briefest of pauses. "I'm not saying this to hurt you, and I'm not using it to justify myself, because I know that what I did wasn't fair."

"I'm sorry, Gray. You don't know how much."

"I'm sorry, too."

Nick hesitantly offered his hand. "Uncle?"

Gray smiled, and shook it. "Uncle."

"Thanks for picking us up at the airport."

"You're welcome. And I really like Greg. But I have the feeling that nobody could dislike him once they've met him."

"Well, Laura hasn't arrived yet."

"We'll deal with Laura once she gets here." Gray stood shakily, as if all the emotion he had spilled had sapped his strength. "Are there any other secrets you need to share, Nick, so we can get them out of the way?"

Nick blanched, as he was reminded of the only other secret in his life that had ever plagued him. It wasn't something he really wanted to talk about again, but now that he was aware of the effect secrets could have on the people he loved he was hesitant to keep hiding something else. "There is... but I think I've said enough for today. I... I really can't go through it now."

"You're worrying me, Nick."

"I will tell you, I promise." Nick let Gray help him to his feet. "Is that okay?"

"It'll have to be." Gray looked concerned, but decided not to push him as they finally seemed okay.

"Now that I'm communicating openly and freely, I have to talk to Greg. We had an argument before. It was stupid and I over-reacted. And I've been blowing him off ever since."

"You're both nervous. That's natural, the first time you've been here together and all. But he's the one person you shouldn't be fighting with if you want to survive this holiday."

"You're scaring me now." Nick grinned. They started making their way up the slope, their bones in agony. "It's like Oprah's been sorting you out, or something."

Gray whacked him over the head, and a companionable silence fell between them.

"So you two really make out, and stuff?" Gray asked suddenly.

Nick rolled his eyes. "No, we're completely celibate. And we never touch each other."

Gray smiled, slightly embarrassed. "I'm just trying to be the cool brother. The only other experience I've had with this is when Sally dragged me to Brokeback Mountain."

Nick laughed, and shook his head. "It's true what they say, then. Everyone has seen that movie."

The two brothers reached the backyard again, laughing, the antagonism easily dissolved between them through the means of a violent sport and the honesty that could only come through its aftermath. That was how boys fixed things.

***

"Oh look, here come the men," Beth sang out, "returned from war."

Five sets of eyes swivelled to the crest of the slope from which Nick and Gray had disappeared. They were re-emerging above the lip of the slope, both slightly limping, and leaning against each other for support. Gray's hair was dishevelled, but as Nick's was shorter it appeared unruffled except for the small twig sticking haphazardly out of it. Their clothes were dusty, and Nick had a tear in the right knee of his jeans.

"Oh, hell." Jillian exhaled heavily. She stood up, and walked over to the top of the steps. "What are you boys playing at?"

"Calm down, Mom." Nick yelled out.

"Calm down?" Jillian's face coloured with anger. "Don't you tell me to calm down, Nicholas Stokes!"

Gray laughed to himself, but stopped immediately when Jillian turned her laser eyes upon him. "Don't think you're getting out of this, Graham Aaron Stokes!"

"Full names!" Beth reached for another glazed doughnut from the box. "This is getting good."

"Schadenfreude is ugly, Elisabeth." Jillian said, without turning around.

Beth slunk into her seat. Greg had to repress his grin. This was an entirely new world to him, as he had no siblings of his own. The easy camaraderie between the Stokes was a beautiful thing to watch, although Greg knew he shouldn't jump to conclusions until the others turned up and he could see whether it held true to all of them.

"We've sorted everything out, Mom." Nick explained as they reached the bottom of the steps.

"Goody for you." Jillian glowered. "You've both been acting like ten year olds, and now that you've decided it's sorted out you want us to step in line with you?"

"I thought you would be glad we've made up?" Gray asked.

"It shouldn't have gotten to the point where you had to make up." Jillian shot back.

Beth came up behind her, sticking the rest of her glazed in her mouth. "Come on, Mom," she said through a mouthful of food, "just be glad it's over."

"That's a beautiful sight, Beth." Nick smiled up at her.

Behind their mother's back, Beth shot him the bird. Both brothers began to laugh, and Jillian whirled around as Beth quickly dropped her hand. Jillian's eyes narrowed.

The four of them made their way back to the table. Nick dragged a chair beside Greg, and tried to catch his eye but Greg was captivated by the coffee in his mug. Gray winced as he eased himself besides Sally. He tried to rest a hand on her thigh, but she slapped it away.

She did, however, turn to look at him. "You're bleeding."

"I know."

"You are such an idiot."

"And you are such a sweet talker."

She smiled before she could stop herself. "Come on, let's go fix you up."

They left the table, and silence fell.

Nick kept staring at Greg. He knew Greg loved his coffee, but unless his mother had suddenly started stocking Blue Hawaiian he knew Greg couldn't be that fascinated by what was in his mug.

"Greg," Beth nudged him, "he's going to start whining like a puppy any minute now."

Greg looked up at her. "So? I'm not his Florence Nightingale."

He felt Nick's hand enter his and warmly curl around it. He closed his eyes and sighed. "Oh, who am I kidding?"

He opened his eyes again and found that Nick, indeed, was giving him the wounded puppy eyes.

"There's a first aid kit in your bathroom." Jillian prodded him.

"All right." Greg sighed, standing up. "Come on."

Nick grinned. "Lead on, Florence."

"I hope the antiseptic stings like hell."

Jillian, Beth and Tony watched them go.

"He is so good for Nick." Beth said thankfully.

"Do you notice, despite all the stuff with Gray, just how happy Nick looks this year?" Tony asked.

Jillian nodded. "I'm not going to let anybody ruin this for him. He... almost didn't make it here this year."

Beth leaned in and grabbed her mother in a fierce hug. "It's okay, Mom. Don't think about the could haves. We were lucky enough to get the should have."

Jillian tightened her grip on her daughter and allowed the tears to flow freely while Nick was distracted enough in another part of the house to not be a party to them.

-------------------------------

From the bedroom they opened the door to the en-suite, and Greg entered first. They hadn't exchanged a word on the way up there, both of them knowing that the other was waiting for privacy before anything was to be said.

As Nick closed the door behind them, Greg turned around to ask Nick to sit on the edge of the bath while he checked the medicine cabinet; but Nick had gently wrapped an arm around his waist and drawn him in, his breath hot against his neck.

"I'm sorry, G, I've been such a dick."

Greg relaxed against him. "You have..."

Nick laughed and gently nuzzled against his skin.

"...but I'm guilty of it as well. I'm so sorry for what I said to you earlier. I guess I was just---"

"Stressed. I know."

"Shut up, and let me apologize to you!"

"But I want to apologize to you."

Greg began to laugh. "Shit, will you listen to us? If I stumbled across two people having this conversation I would be gagging."

"Just let me say this quickly then, I've been acting like a shit because of Gray, and worrying about how everybody else is going to be, so I just over-reacted earlier..."

"Okay, and I'll add that I'm sorry I accused you of being something you're not and never have been to me... I guess I'm nervous too."

"Apology accepted."

"Same here."

"Now, kiss me."

"Gladly."

As their lips met, Nick moaned, "Let's never fight again."

"Good luck with that." Greg laughed. He ran his hand up Nick's cheek and grimaced.

"Are you sure you don't want to be my Florence Nightingale?" Nick asked.

"I'll be your Greg Sanders, who patches your boo-boos."

"I would laugh at that, but it hurts."

"Sorry, it's your bedroom that brings it out in me." He led Nick over to the tub, and gently lowered him on to the edge before going back to the medicine cabinet. "Your mom prepares well." he mused, rifling through the various bandages, pills and ointments.

"She had seven children, what do you expect?"

Greg selected a tube of antiseptic cream, and knelt beside his partner. He ran a finger along the hole in the knee of Nick's jeans and scowled slightly. "I bought you these."

"I know."

"They were expensive."

"You tell me that plenty of times."

"Well, they are." Greg ran his finger in through the hole of the fabric and touched the skin beneath. Nick shivered pleasantly. "Freak." Greg smiled. He withdrew his hand and concentrated upon the scratches on Nick's face. He wiped at the small wounds with a medicated swab before applying a liberal amount of the ointment.

"Stings." Nick said softly.

"Baby." Greg smiled. "Violence is never the answer, you know."

"You've never had siblings, Greg. It's just the way we act with one another."

"You're also not kids anymore."

Nick groaned. "That whole not fighting thing only lasted two minutes..."

"I'm not starting a fight. You know I'm right in this case. Do you think we should resolve things by beating each other up?"

Nick looked mortally offended. "Have I ever touched you in an argument?"

"No."

"There you go. Brothers sometimes fight. It's stupid, but it's what they do. And there's a huge step from there to domestic violence!"

"I know, Nicky. I just wish sometimes you weren't so tactile. In the violent sense, I mean. You can be the normal tactile with me any time."

Nick smiled at him. "I'm not that bad, am I?"

"I plead the fifth." Greg stood, and held out his hand. "I just want to see you get through this holiday without fighting anybody else."

Nick took the offered hand and pulled himself up. "I swear. I love you, G."

"I love you too."

They re-entered the bedroom, and Greg yawned. He stumbled over to the bed and allowed himself to fall onto it face-first. Nick crawled beside him. "You tired, baby?"

"Mmmmph." Greg responded.

Nick stroked his back slowly, and felt his own eyelids grow heavier. He snuggled in closer to Greg, who rolled over and crushed himself into Nick's chest, and they both easily gave in to sleep.

--------------------

Neither of them heard the soft knock at their door an hour later. Jillian and Bill tentatively peeked in to find them wrapped up in each other and sound asleep above the covers. Jillian closed the doors to leave them to their privacy, and smiled at her husband.

"I guess they made up." Bill remarked. All of their children may have thought they could hide things from their parents, but under their own roof Bill and Jillian were aware of everything. It hadn't been lost on them that there had been tension between Greg and Nick over lunch.

"Calm before the storm." Jillian said, a little sadly. She had known that Nick and Gray would have gotten past their differences pretty quickly, but there were still more arrivals to come. And Laura was the one to worry about...

***

The sounds of car doors slamming made Nick wake groggily, his mouth dry and Greg's heavy slumbering frame draped across him. He swallowed to try and make the cotton in his mouth dissipate, and gently nudged his partner. "Greg? Wake up, we fell asleep."

Greg jerked awake, his hair mussed and his eyes at half-mast. "Huh?"

"I think someone else has arrived." He rubbed Greg's arm and leaned in to kiss him.

"What was that for?" Greg grinned.

"I need a reason?"

"Never."

"I just like to kiss you when I wake up. That way the day... well, in this case the rest of the evening, starts well."

"I think you need some extra support today then." Greg placed his palms on Nick's cheeks and pressed against him into the pillow with a deep kiss.

Nick breathed heavily, shuddering. "It's going to be a great dinner, then?"

Greg laughed. "I wish we didn't have to go down. Because I would show you how great it could be."

Nick slapped him on the ass. "I have no doubt." He jumped out of bed and crossed to the window. Greg slowly followed, rubbing the slapped area with a grin. He stood behind Nick and wrapped his arms around his waist, and Nick held his hands over where they joined.

"It's Laura and Mark." he said softly, and nervously.

Greg squinted to make out the woman in the twilight who was pulling bags out of the back of the car. Like all the Stokes, she was dark-haired, but she pulled hers back in a ponytail, unlike Beth's sleek shoulder-length bob. He could already tell that she didn't share their easy-going gait either.

"She moves like your mom." Greg observed.

"Yeah, but with a stick up her---"

Greg burrowed his chin into Nick's shoulder.

"---Owww!"

A knock sounded at their door. They both yelled out permission for entry, and Gray stuck his head in. "I thought I should come and tell you Laura's here. Mom thought you might still be asleep."

"We heard them." Nick said.

Greg rubbed his hands through his hair to make it more presentable, and Nick moved towards the door.

"Don't forget." Gray said in a low voice as he passed by him. "Beth and I are here for you guys."

"I won't forget. Thanks, bro." They hit knuckles and smiled shyly at each other.

Greg pushed past them. "You could just hug, you know."

------------------------

There weren't the same remonstrations of affection that there were when Beth had announced herself to the ranch at large. Laura entered quietly, her husband in tow, and went to her mother first. Her husband Mark stood back, slightly aloof; and Greg was aware that he was flanked by Beth and Tony, and Nick by Gray and Sally, as if they were walls that should not be breached in battle.

"Laura, where are the kids?" Bill asked as his daughter came forward to greet him and Jillian moved on to Mark.

"Oh..." Laura fixed an errant strand of hair from her forehead. "They're just staying with their other grandma for a couple of nights..."

Mark broke in, as if to support her. "You know what my mother's like about Christmas, Jillian."

"Yes." It was the first time Greg had heard an edge of iciness in Jillian's tone. "A lot of mothers are like that about Christmas."

If it was a slight, Laura and Mark ignored it and turned their attention to the flank of Stokes siblings and partners. Bill moved over to Jillian and placed a supportive hand on her shoulder.

"Hi, everyone." Laura embraced Beth awkwardly, and Beth returned it just as awkwardly... especially when Laura's charm bracelet got caught in a clump of Beth's hair and practically brought her to her knees crying out in pain. Greg and Tony managed to untangle the two between their fumbling efforts, and Beth stood free again with a glare on her face.

"It wasn't deliberate, Beth!" Laura said to her sister.

"Don't get too upset about it, Laura." Beth rolled her eyes.

Laura sized up Greg, and Nick stepped forward. "Hey, Laura."

If Greg had fought Laura and Beth's embrace was icy, then that with Nick was positively glacial. But Laura appreciated that appearances must be maintained. "How are you, Nick."

"Good, good." Nick reached forward and pulled Greg towards them. "This is Greg."

Greg shoved his hand towards her. "Nice to meet you."

Laura looked for a moment as if she wasn't going to take it, then gingerly shook it. "I have... heard a lot about you."

"Don't believe everything you hear." He was trying too hard to be jovial, and he was scared it was showing. "I'm going to set it all straight in my autobiography."

The joke was wasted on her. She nodded, and turned away.

Greg raised an eyebrow at Nick, who shook his head slightly.

An uncomfortable silence settled over the room. Mark had stayed on the opposite side of the room, and made no sign as if he was going to move over and greet any of them.

"Hi, Mark." Nick said, and gave an exaggerated wave.

"Hello, Nick." Mark replied in an even tone.

"So..." Beth began to say, but Tony tugged on her arm. She glared at him. "What?" she hissed.

"Don't start the war yet." he pleaded. "They just walked through the door."

"Momma, can we have some coffee?" Laura asked. "And I take it we're staying in my old room?"

Jillian nodded. "You are, and I'll put some coffee on."

"I'll take the bags up." Mark said, and nobody raced to help him. Laura followed her mother into the kitchen.

"Please tell me Laura's room isn't near ours." Greg finally said.

"Opposite wing of the house." Nick replied, his mouth set in a firm line.

"Good." Greg breathed a sigh of relief.

"Not so lucky for us." Gray said, trying to keep things light.

"Oh well." Nick shrugged. "It's not you she hates." He walked through the front door and disappeared out into the growing darkness beyond it.

"I don't think she hates him." Beth said to Greg. "It's just..." she trailed off.

Greg nodded. He had heard it all before. Love the sinner, hate the sin. The same old bullshit that so many people had used against them when they didn't conform to someone else's vision of morality.

"I better check up on him." Greg said softly. Beth nodded, and rubbed his arm affectionately.

Gray stared up the passageway to where Mark had disappeared with the luggage. "Maybe I should check up on Mark."

"I'll take Laura." Beth agreed.

The two siblings slapped palms, and their partners sighed inwardly.

***

"Hey, cowboy. You still haven't shown me the stables yet."

Nick grinned at the voice that had sounded behind him. He turned around, and Greg leapt at him. They stumbled across the porch and fell into the swing chair on the far left of the porch.

"This'll do." Greg gave a little wink and leaned into him. "Will Scarlett O'Hara be joining us for mint juleps?"

"That was Georgia, G. We're in Texas."

"Meh, you all sound the same."

Nick gave him a slight punch on the shoulder, laughing.

Greg traced his jawline, turning serious. "We'll get through this, Nicky."

"I know."

"It was never going to be sunshine and puppy dogs all the time."

"Would have been nice, though."

"Was she always... y'know..."

"Staunchly conservative? Not so much. I mean, I don't want to place all the blame on one person, but she only started becoming so once she married Mark."

"He turned her to the dark side, then?"

"Funny. Look, I don't want to sound like I'm trashing people with faith, but... I mean, my parents always took us to church, and they still go every week... but Mark, he's very involved in his church, and although they preach love and understanding... well, it's really only love and peace if you're just like them."

"Oh..." Greg wanted to say something snide, but refrained.

"Yeah."

Refraining didn't last long. "Is it one of those scary churches with the rattlesnakes and the speaking in tongues?"

"No." Nick repressed a smile. "Just you know... traditional. But it's not just me she has a problem with. She doesn't get along with Marcie either, and that's just because she and Steve haven't married yet."

"Are they going to think I'm evil and converted you or something?"

Nick laughed. "Probably."

"Great."

Nick rested his chin on top of his head. "It probably doesn't help that I live in the original Sin City."

The front door opened, and Mark stepped out. He already was wearing a harried expression, but it only deepened when he saw the two men sprawled out on the porch swing and Greg settled comfortably against Nick's chest.

"You looking for Laura?" Nick asked, amiably.

Mark nodded, then turned back and retreated into the house.

"Wow, did you just feel the temperature drop?" Greg snorted.

"Just a little." Nick agreed.

"That look on his face... you would have thought he walked out here and found me giving you a blowjob or something."

"He probably wouldn't have known what it was, if he did." Nick said, in a rare form of snarkiness,

Greg choked. "Nicholas!"

Nick grinned in the darkness. Every now and again, he liked to provoke that kind of reaction in Greg, as ninety percent of the time it was the other way around. This time it would be Greg picking his jaw off the floor...

-------------------------------------

"You can't act like this." Beth had long passed from anger into desperate pleading, realising that nothing else was going to work.

Laura glared at her, and made her way to the breakfast table with her coffee. "Are you saying I can't have my own opinion?"

"I just don't understand your opinion, that's all."

"Well, to tell you the truth I feel the same about yours."

"Girls, lower your voices." Jillian warned, steadying herself by leaning upon the kitchen counter. "I don't want Nick to hear this."

"How can you be fine with this, Momma?" Laura asked.

"There's nothing to have to be fine about." Jillian glowered. "He hasn't done anything wrong."

Laura raised an eyebrow.

"Don't you dare do that!" Beth spat. "He's your brother! He spends his life protecting people, and you're judging him?"

"I'm not judging him. It's not my place to judge."

"Well, you're doing an awfully good job of it."

Footsteps sounded near the entry, and Mark walked in. He noticed the uncomfortable postures immediately. "Laura?"

"It's okay." she said. "I'm fine."

"You're fine?" Beth asked. Her eyes were tearing up, as they always did when she was angry beyond belief. They wavered, as she refused to let them fall. "Mark, are you fine?"

"I'm not here to cause an argument." Mark said smoothly. "It's your house, Jillian, you make your own call."

"Why, thank you, Mark." Jillian replied, the set of her mouth displaying the harsh tone she wouldn't allow her voice to have.

"Momma..." Laura opened her mouth as if to spill a diatribe of some sort.

"Don't." Jillian warned. "I mean it, Laura. I know you have your thoughts on this matter. I raised my children to have opinions of their own." she paused. "Even if they're wrong."

Beth smiled proudly at her mother, Laura's lips became thinner with displeasure.

"Is there a problem?" Bill asked, from where he had suddenly appeared behind Mark.

Jillian and Laura shook their heads, Mark remained silent, and Beth nodded.

----------------------------

"Shift over, you two."

Nick and Greg were jolted out of their state of languor by Sally and Tony coming out onto the porch. They stretched and sat up properly; Sally and Tony squeezed into the three-seater with them as best they could.

"Ooh, snug." Sally remarked.

"You don't think it's going to break, do you?" Greg asked nervously as the support beams groaned above their heads.

"It's not like we have far to fall." Tony pointed out.

"Uh, so are we all hiding out here?" Sally asked.

"I know I am." Tony replied before Nick or Greg could lie.

"Just got over one trauma, and up pops another." Sally mused.

The window behind them shot up, and they jumped. Gray stuck his head out. "Here you all are!"

"Where have you been?" Nick asked.

"Oh, just catching up." Gray said evasively.

"With who?" An edge crept into Nick's tone.

"Anybody want a drink?" Gray asked, a little too brightly.

Tony, Greg and Sally immediately placed orders running all over the top of each other's. Greg felt Nick's fingers against his arm began to tap out an impatient Morse code of irritability and nervousness.

"He'll have a beer." he told Gray, who was obviously waiting for the final order.

Gray nodded, and pulled the window down behind him.

"He took on Mark, and Beth took on Laura, right?" Nick asked of Sally and Tony.

Their silence was more than enough of an answer.

"Oh, man." Nick muttered. "No wonder he looked so pissed earlier."

"It's nice." Greg said. "They're defending you."

"I can fight my own battles."

"Oh, shut up!" Greg rolled his eyes. "Whine, whine, whine. They're your siblings, they're meant to do this kind of thing. This morning you were moaning about how Gray wouldn't speak to you, and now you're pissed because he's sticking up for you."

"He has a point." Tony said, and Sally made a hum of agreement.

Nick hunched down even further. "Well, I can really tell I'm home now, because everybody's ganging up on me."

The front door flew open, and Mark marched out onto the porch, followed by Laura. "I'm not going to stay here!"

"Mark, please, calm down."

For the moment the two were unaware of the four other family members hunkered down at the dark end of the porch.

"I told you this was a bad idea." Mark continued.

"I don't agree with it all either, but they're my family."

"You said yourself that that can only go so far."

"I know, but we're here now." Laura folded her arms. "And sometimes it's easier to think like that when you're away."

"You mean, to think with a clearer head when you're away."

Greg felt Nick's hand tighten on his arm. Tony and Sally remained silent, all of them were aware they were in a bad situation.

"God, Laura, this is exactly why I didn't want the kids to be here!"

"What? You told me... your mother needed them!"

"Because it was easier to tell you that!"

Nick leapt out of the swing chair so fast that it almost threw the other three occupants out. Greg scrambled after him, but Nick was already down the stairs and heading towards his sister and brother-in-law.

"Why didn't you want to bring the kids here?" Nick demanded.

"Nick---" Laura put up her hands to try and calm him down.

"Why?" Nick asked again, although he had already guessed at the answer.

Mark was pale at the confrontation, but he stood his ground. "To keep them away from the both of you! To keep them safe!"

Nick's hands were balling into fists. By this time Greg had come up behind him, and had grabbed the back of his jacket as if he could somehow keep him away. Even Laura was looking at Mark with a puzzled expression, and it was Greg who spoke up. "Keep them safe from what? Converting them?"

Mark steeled himself, his eyes not really meeting anybody else's. "And more."

It took everybody a moment to analyse what he had said, and what it meant, but Nick cottoned on immediately. Greg felt his body tense up even through the layers of winter clothing, but didn't see the swing coming as Nick punched Mark across the face with full force. Laura screamed, and Mark hit the ground backwards. Sally and Tony immediately started running from the porch, and it was mere seconds before the front door flew open and the rest of the Stokes spilled out.

Nick advanced on Mark, who was struggling to get his wind back while lying in the dirt. Greg was trying to pull Nick back but the fact that he was normally stronger anyway, combined with his anger, meant Greg had no real power. Mark was on his knees when Nick kicked him in the stomach, and he fell back down again. Laura screamed again, and ran over to Nick, and Greg gave a savage yank as Nick lifted his foot a second time. Off balance as the yank occurred, Nick fell back. Greg supported him, and with Tony's help managed to pull him away. Nick was livid, his eyes black with hatred in a pale face. He managed to shake the other two men off, and was ready to turn back on Tony when Bill reached him and grabbed him by the arm.

"Pancho." he said softly, but sternly. Bill didn't know what had preceded this, but he knew after almost thirty years how he could reach his son and make him pull back.

"What is going on here?" Jillian demanded, and Beth was scared by how much her mother now looked like a woman who had reached breaking point.

Laura was sobbing as she helped her husband to her feet.

Nick turned to his mother, and if Jillian looked like she was at breaking point, Nick looked like he had bypassed it miles before. "They..." He shook his head, unable to go on, and stumbled past them, back towards the house.

As he passed Gray his brother reached out to him, but Nick pushed him away.

Greg stared at the people around him, sick to his stomach. He knew Nick and himself had had nothing but support from the majority of them, but these accusations only served to make him aware of how other people could think. He didn't know where they were going to go from here, all he knew was that he had to be with Nick. He shoved his hands into his pockets and caught up with him at the porch steps.

***

Greg closed the door behind them, and Nick slumped onto the bed, his head in his hands. His body shook with convulsive sobs, and his breath hitched in his throat as if he was choking. Greg sat behind him, on his knees, and wrapped one arm around Nick's waist. His free hand traced comforting circles on his back, trying to soothe him. Nick leaned into his chest, seeking his warmth, and Greg tightened his grip.

"Let it out, Nicky." he breathed.

He wasn't sure how long they sat like that for, but Nick's breath began to even out, and he could finally formulate words.

"I-I'm sorry..."

"Why?" Greg asked.

"I promised you... that I wouldn't fight. And I lost it again. I proved your argument by trying to beat the crap out of Mark."

Greg frowned. "In this instance I think it was totally deserved."

"You know it doesn't work that way." Nick reminded him.

"I don't care. When he said that, I wanted to do it myself."

"I can't believe "“ that they would accuse us "“ that they would accuse me---"

Greg felt an unbearable mixture of sadness and anger wash through him, as he remembered the early hours of that morning not that long into their relationship when a nightmare of Nick's terrified him out of sleep. After much hesitancy Nick had broken down and told him of the secret that had haunted him throughout his life. Now all Greg wanted to do was protect him even though he knew the damage had long been afflicted; that there was nothing he could do to stop the after-effects except be a comforting presence, and try to hold the demons at bay. He knew that Jillian, Bill and Catherine Willows were the only other people to know of Nick's abuse as a child "“ and even then Catherine knew very little of the details. Nick had made it a life-long mission to try and keep it from others. His siblings had never been privy to it, so they could only have looked on in shock and not known how deeply Mark's accusation had hit their brother. To them it was a terrible thing that was said, they didn't know that it was an allegation of abuse levelled at somebody who had actually been a victim of it.

He wondered what was going on downstairs, and hoped that Nick wasn't being painted as a violent aggressor. Nick clung to him even harder than before, and Greg felt helpless because he didn't really know what he could say. His own fight or flight response was telling him to throw in the towel, bundle Nick into the car they had rented and to get the hell out of there; but he knew they couldn't.

All he could do was repeat the mantra that was used so often when Nick awoke from nightmare: "I'm here. You're safe. You are loved."

Even if he felt that what he was saying could possibly be a lie meant to calm someone in a moment of crisis. That there was no way he could guarantee safety, but he could be there and he could love.

-------------------

When Jillian heard what Mark had said, her face dropped into a Halloween mask of anger. "How... dare you!"

"It was a valid reason." Mark gasped, still trying to catch his breath back.

Jillian turned on her daughter. "And you support this?"

"I--- I didn't know." Laura said, weakly.

"Well, you know now." Bill said harshly. "Do you really think your brother is capable of..." he couldn't even bring himself to say the word.

Beth looked down upon them with ill-disguised disgust. "You two really have a narrow vision of the world, don't you? If you even tried to exist outside your little bubble..."

"Beth." Tony stepped up behind her.

"No!" she pulled away from him. "I'm not going to shut up!"

"I never asked you to." Tony said quietly, grabbing her hand and squeezing it in support. She looked at him gratefully.

Gray, however, was not to be calmed. "Are you really thinking Nick or Greg would touch your children? You do know that a great percentage of molestations occur within churches, don't you? Have you accused them as well, just to be fair?"

Mark drew himself upright, despite the pain. "Don't you even---"

"Stop it!" Jillian cried. "Stop it!"

Her adult offspring instantly quietened, shaken by the quavering nature of their mother's voice. It was like they were transformed back into children, when the greatest crime they could ever commit at that age was to make their mother cry.

"I have never been so disappointed in one of my children before." Jillian said shakily. "To say that, after everything your brother has been through... especially after what happened to him before..." she broke off, regretting that she had alluded to something she had promised Nick long ago never to divulge until he felt ready to.

"Before what, Mom?" Beth asked, immediately picking up on her mother's hesitancy, a look of fear instantly transforming her expression.

Everything suddenly fell into place for Gray, especially in light of what Nick had said to him earlier about some other secret he had to share. "My God, Momma." he breathed.

Jillian turned to look at him, and saw the light of recognition in his eyes. "No, Gray..."

"Momma!"

"What is it?" Beth asked, even though she knew deep down what it was. Her fears were confirmed by the looks flying between her older brother and her mother. Her hands flew to her mouth. "Oh, no... not Nick..."

Bill sighed and closed his eyes.

"What?" Laura asked. "What?"

"When did it happen?" Gray asked in a monotone, as if all the emotion he could have felt had been drained from his body.

Jillian crossed her arms, hugging herself, her thoughts focused on her baby boy. Who no matter how old he became, still seemed like that nine-year-old she had let down without even knowing it...

------------------------------

"They're probably talking about me right now." Nick whispered in the privacy of his old bedroom.

They were now lying down together. Nick had curled himself into a protective ball against Greg, who had wrapped his arms around him as if he was afraid to let him go.

"It doesn't matter if they are." Greg said, lovingly stroking with his thumb the inch of skin that was exposed by Nick's jacket and shirt riding above his jeans.

"How can I go back down there, once they know that as well?"

Greg knew exactly what was worrying Nick. He had been with him long enough to know his fears and weaknesses, and, well... being a man himself, he knew the pitfalls of masculine pride. "Nicky, do you really think they're going to see you as less of a man? Because of us? Because of what happened to you when you were nine?"

He expected Nick to issue the standard denial, but he couldn't even bring himself to make a rebuttal "“ which worried Greg more.

"Nick "“ you were nine years old! How could you have defended yourself?"

"I should have---"

Greg sat up, and pulled Nick up to look at him. "If you were investigating the abuse of a nine year old boy today, would you look at him and think he was a victim, or that he should have been able to fight off his attacker?"

Nick opened his mouth, but couldn't speak once again.

"So why do you expect more of the kid that you were?" Greg asked tenderly.

"I shouldn't." Nick said, finally. "But when you're the victim, you always think you could have done more to save yourself." He lay down again, and as Greg remained sitting he rested his head in his lap. "And I don't think of myself as less of a man for loving you."

Greg smiled to himself and while his partner couldn't see him, allowed a few tears to fall.

-------------------------

Exhausted, most of the Stokes had gone their separate ways. Sally and Tony had followed Jillian and Bill back into the house, but Beth suspected that her parents would be hiding themselves away consoling each other while Sally and Tony would probably be trying to make sense of what had just gone down in the front yard. Mark and Laura had gone for a walk, presumably to decide whether to stay or return to their own home. She guessed they wouldn't have gone that far due to Mark's injuries, but frankly she couldn't have cared less. The way she felt at the moment, she would have loved it if he was injured enough to require a wheelchair.

She had pushed Gray up the stairs, and they had retired to the swing-chair on the porch. They stared out into the darkness, trying to absorb everything they had just learned.

"Is our Nick the most shat-upon person you've ever known?" Gray asked, almost inaudibly.

"He certainly does seem to be the world's whipping-boy."

"I... just can't believe it. That he kept that a secret for so long."

"Well, abuse relies upon shame to keep it secret."

"He hinted that he had something else to tell us today, but he couldn't do it. There was a look in his eyes... it was so raw, Bethy. I couldn't push him about it. And now I guess I know what it was."

Beth was seeing a raw pain in Gray's eyes as well, and she was pretty sure that if she was to look in a mirror it would be reflected within her own as well. "You would have been away in college at the time, Gray. There was nothing you could have done." she hid her head in her hands, and her body shook silently.

Gray's arm came around her protectively. "There was nothing you could have done either."

"I was still in high school!" Beth cried, still unable to look at him. "I was home! I should have been here to protect him!"

"There was no way any of us could have known. Mom and Dad didn't even know until Nick was in college. Don't you think they feel like they failed him? But how were they to know? Are all parents meant to never go out, on the off chance that something will happen to their kids in the safety of their own home? You could never leave the house then, or ever let your kids out the front door."

"And logically I know that, Gray." Beth finally sat up, and rubbed at her face. "And just think of Laura and Mark, thinking Nick and Greg would molest their children," she said bitterly, "when it was a straight woman who molested her own brother."

"They don't know any better." Gray shrugged. "I don't know whether to feel sorry for them or whether to be angry."

"No wonder Nick never told us about Greg for so long. He's been so used to keeping secrets to himself. All those years of inbuilt shame. What a waste."

"It's not wasted any more. Beth, you've got to stop beating yourself up about this. We all do. It's the last thing Nick needs, to see all this guilt coming off us like steam. It will just make him feel guilty."

"One endless cycle of guilt. Just another family holiday."

Gray snorted in amusement, then became serious. "Oh God... that was why he wanted to change bedrooms my first year of college. I thought that he was just being a brat... oh, shit, I gave him hell for it! I gave Momma hell for caving in to him! He mustn't have been able to stay in there..."

"Gray..." Beth stroked his hair tenderly.

"I just want to go and give him a big hug, but I'm scared to."

"Why are you scared?"

"Because if I start, I'm too scared to let him go in case something else happens to him."

He was surprised by her throwing her arms around him and giving him a huge hug. "You still surprise me, after all these years. That is the sweetest thing I have ever heard you say."

She expected him to shrug it off as all men did, but he was way past that.

They sat in silence, then realised that they each were looking upwards to where Nick would most likely be. "Should we go up and see him?" Gray asked.

Beth shook her head. "He probably feels safest with Greg at the moment. We'll just leave him there for the moment." She stood up. "I'm going to go and see if Mom needs any help with dinner."

Gray followed her back into the house, which was weighed under by the silence within it.

***

Nick's thoughts were so thick with worry that he could feel them physically "“ it was as if the air had turned into water around him and was pressing him down into the mattress, so that the mere thought of moving was an impossibility. He desperately wanted to be able to numb that part of his brain which was churning over with endless pain, but there was no such relief. All he could do was latch onto the one positive thought he was able to summon at the moment "“ that Greg was with him. He could feel the heat coming off his body as Greg held him and whispered into his ear. They were sweet and comforting words of love, which Nick felt he didn't deserve. He was ashamed of the anger that had possessed him down in the yard, and he couldn't bear the thought of what everybody thought of him for giving in to it. He kept thinking back to how Greg had said he could understand why he did it, but Nick also remembered what he had said earlier in the day about violence not being the answer "“ and all Nick had done up to that point was a few jostles on the football field with his brother.

"I don't know if I can go down to dinner." Nick whispered. "Just that first look they will give me when I walk in the kitchen..."

"You have to. We can't just run away, no matter how tempting a thought that is. Otherwise, it will just be harder to come back next year."

"Stop being right. Do you think Mark and Laura stayed?"

Greg sighed, and stared at the ceiling. "I don't know. If I was Mark, I would be scared of your parents and Beth and Gray coming after me at some point to finish the job you started."

"He thinks he's justified. The justified feel they have nothing to fear."

"God, you're turning into Grissom in your old age."

Nick whipped the pillow out from under Greg's head, and pulled it over his face. Greg struggled against him, his laugh muffled. Nick held it there and then dragged it back down to reveal Greg's flushed, amused face.

"It's good to see you smile." Greg ran his fingers over Nick's mouth. "I hate to see you sad."

Nick kissed his fingers. "Let's go down to dinner, and get this over with."

"Are you sure?"

"Will you be with me?"

Greg thought of making his usual jokes to lighten the situation, but decided against it. There was a time and a place, and Nick needed him to be grounded at the moment. "You know I will be."

Nick smiled gratefully. "Lucky me."

----------------------------------

When they stepped out into the hallway they immediately noticed the two figures sitting in shadows at the top of the stairs, their heads bowed together as they conversed in barely audible tones.

Beth and Gray looked up when they heard the door close.

Nick couldn't move any further when he saw them, as all his doubts and insecurities came flooding back. He felt Greg's hand take his and squeeze it supportively, for which he was thankful.

Wordlessly, his two oldest siblings approached him. He could see Gray's pained expression, and the tears filling Beth's eyes. As if they were one being, they swept him into a bone-crushing hug. Greg dropped his hands, and fell back. He felt as if he would start crying as he witnessed Nick getting the support and recognition he needed. He could hear them both minister heart-felt apologies, and could hear Nick's breath hitch again as he tried not to break down.

Then Beth was reaching for him, dragging him into their circle. He entered gladly, feeling Nick grope for him blindly. How long they remained like that, Greg couldn't put a time on. But he knew Nick felt supported, propped up by those who would love and protect him with all of their ability. And that was all Nick needed to get him through those dark periods.

--------------------------

Gray's fear that he wouldn't be able to let go of Nick once he started was put to the test, but gradually he and Beth knew they had to separate from him and move back down to the kitchen.

"Are Mom and Cisco upset?" Nick asked.

"Not with you." Beth shook her head. "Oh, Nick, why didn't you tell us?"

He couldn't really answer, as there was no suitable answer he could supply. He could only shrug, feeling small and senseless.

Gray and Beth could only look at him sorrowfully, and he knew that the pain would be between them all for a while. He felt like he had let them down, and they felt like they had let him down. It was an endless circle of guilt, hurt and unfulfilled wishes.

Nick entered the kitchen flanked by his older siblings and his partner. It was uncomfortably quiet in there, as the only sounds came from the dishes being laid by Tony, and the foods being placed upon them by Jillian and Bill. Sally sat at the table, and Laura was beside her. Laura looked drawn and pale, her right elbow upon the table and her hand against her mouth. There was no sign of Mark.

"Do you need a hand, Mom?" Nick asked quietly.

She smiled warmly at him, pretending gamely that everything was fine. "No, honey. We're almost done. You lot sit down."

Bill gave a small Cisco wink to his son, which lifted his spirits slightly.

Nick sat at the opposite end of the table away from Laura "“ not out of spite, but because he wanted to be as far away from Mark as possible when he came for dinner. Sally reached across and briefly squeezed his hand, and met her husband's eyes for the secret tell-all looks that could pass between partners in the space of seconds.

He recognised it because he could read about four different sentences within Greg's eyes as he sat beside him and laid a comforting hand on his thigh.

Laura had twisted the sleeves of her jumper down over her knuckles, and Nick recognised it as a sign of someone who had retreated deep into themselves. His sister was worried and scared, and although he felt like he shouldn't, he felt pity for her. But it wasn't over-riding his own sense of self-protection either.

"Nick---" Laura finally said.

He interrupted her. "I'm not going to apologise to him, Laura."

She nodded; she had known it all along. "I didn't think you would."

"Good." He thought maybe he was pressing it too far, but he felt she had to know.

Laura finally looked up and met his eyes. "I just want you to know... I don't think... you're capable of those things."

It was now that the harshness crept into his voice. "Those things? You mean, molesting your kids? My nephews?"

A small sob escaped her although she was trying to hold them in. "I'm sorry, Nick."

He shook his head slowly. "It's not you I need that apology from. It was your husband who said it. And he needs to apologise to Greg as well, because it wasn't just me he accused."

Thinking he was skating on thin ice, as he should play the nice guy no matter what he secretly thought, Greg decided to speak up. "I don't want an apology from him. I don't think he'd mean it, so it would just be empty. I'd rather he didn't pretend, when I know he would still think it."

Nick sighed, and nodded, knowing it was true.

"He's not here." Laura said softly.

Silence fell again over the kitchen as all movement ceased "“ this was obviously new to everyone present.

"What?" Bill asked, dangerously.

"He went back home."

"And he just left you here?" Beth demanded.

"I told him he could." Laura nodded.

"Real ballsy husband you have there." Beth said unapologetically.

Gray was shaking his head slowly, simmering anger making his skin appear as if something was moving just below the surface. "Fucking coward."

It was the first time such a word was ever uttered at the Stokes dining table, and normally it would not have been allowed to fall. This wasn't a normal time, however, and Bill and Jillian let it pass. He had spoken for them all.

"So you're meant to clean up his mess?" Jillian asked. "I take it he's not coming back?"

Laura cleared her throat as she tried to stop her tears again. "I guess maybe not."

The desperation in Jillian's voice cut through all of her children's hearts, and couldn't help but affect their partners either. "And my grandchildren?"

"I don't know, Momma."

Jillian stared down at the floor. "I see." She suddenly started to wipe her hands on the tea-towel she had been holding as if it was the most important thing in the world to do.

Unable to take any more, Nick stood up as if he was going to bolt, but it was Bill's voice that cut through everything and halted him.

"Pancho. Sit down." It was a command. A gentle command, but a command anyway. "We're about to serve."

Nick looked down at Greg, who gently hooked a finger through one of the loops on his jeans, and pulled him back down upon his seat.

"Game faces on." Beth whispered to those seated at the table as Jillian and Bill began bringing the last plates of food over.

***

Everybody had tried to act as if it was a normal dinner without anything untoward having happened beforehand. They weren't that successful, with a strained atmosphere making everybody else seem ten times more apprehensive than they actually were. Greg had felt himself feeling sorrier for Laura as the meal progressed, even though this itself made him feel even shittier as he knew his loyalties lay with Nick. Laura kept her eyes on the plate, barely eating, her face drawn. There were several attempts to draw her into conversation, but she gave the briefest of replies. She looked like she was struggling underneath a giant anvil perched on top of her head.

Once the meal was finished Gray and Nick began loading the dishwasher with Beth barking orders at them from the table. Bill sat next to his distant daughter and talked with her in low tones. Normally by this stage everybody would be settling in to raucous conversation over coffee, but they all seemed like they wanted to retreat to separate corners and lick their own wounds in private "“ or at least extremely small groups. The phone rang twice; once it was Marcie saying that she was running a couple of hours late and was going to miss dinner, which they had already assumed for the mere fact that she wasn't sitting at the table with them. The second phone call was Ginny checking in with her parents. She had also asked to speak to her uncle, and Greg watched Nick as he spoke, his eyes crinkling with genuine laughter and affection as he made small talk with his niece and said he would see her in the morning.

After he got off the phone, Nick slipped back up the stairs. It was far too early for bed, and Beth and Gray had already made everybody agree to meet up by eight for poker, but he had felt himself overwhelmed by emotion again and he needed to retreat. Greg managed to sneak away as well, but their lack of surreptitious slinking meant that everybody was alerted by their disappearance. Greg knew Nick probably wanted to be alone, but he had to check on him anyway.

Nick curled up in the armchair by his bedroom window. He wanted to close his eyes but he was captivated by the view "“ the moon filtering the Texan landscape in a charcoal blue haze to the point where it almost looked like a plasticine film-set that had escaped from a Viewmaster. It made him feel melancholy. When he was in Vegas he had always missed this scenery; and yet now he was here he found himself strangely missing the bright lights, the ever-present sound of police sirens and unrelenting traffic. He wondered whether he was cursed to forever live in this limbo of never being fully content with wherever he happened to find himself.

The door opened and closed behind him, and he caught a faint whiff of Greg's cologne before he even felt his presence. The instantaneous smile that came to his face reminded him that no matter where he was, he knew his home was with Greg.

"Do you want me to leave you alone?" Greg asked hesitantly.

Nick turned around and held out his hand. "Never."

Greg took the hand that reached out to him, and smiled the bashful smile that always made Nick's toes curl. He loved every smile Greg made, but this was his favourite "“ the downcast eyes that peeked upwards regardless, the faint turning up of his lips, the slight colour that would always come to his cheeks. The look that revealed what Nick always felt himself "“ that he couldn't believe he was so happy, and so lucky.

"This armchair's built for two." Nick said.

Greg laughed. "No, Nicky, it's not."

"It is." Nick said convincingly. He pulled him down, and he squeezed in as best as he could.

"That's a beautiful sight." Greg breathed as he looked out the window.

"Yeah, it is." Nick smiled, not taking his eyes off him.

Greg caught him looking, and whacked him. "You Texans, and your natural charm."

Nick gently stroked his cheek. "Thank you. For everything."

Greg leaned in to kiss him, then paused, hovering above his lips. "Same." he whispered, before pressing them against his.

Nick's hands moved down his body. Their breathing deepened, and Greg could feel Nick starting to pull his shirt out of his pants. His own hands pulled at Nick's jacket and was just sliding it off his shoulders when a knock at the door sounded.

They both laughed silently against each other. "Oh, hell." Nick whispered.

Greg nimbly jumped backwards, and landed the short distance away to sit on the bed.

"Come in." Nick called out, in a huskier tone than he intended.

The door opened slowly, and Laura appeared in the doorway.

"That's the person I least expected." Greg mused, then realised he had said it aloud.

"Can I come in?" Laura asked hesitantly.

"That's what I said to do." Nick shrugged.

"Would you like me to leave?" Greg asked.

"No." Nick said immediately, but Laura cut him off.

"Would you, please?"

Greg didn't take his eyes off Nick, waiting for his response. Nick nodded, even though Greg could tell he would have preferred him to stay. He watched Greg leave, and once the door was closed behind him Laura perched on the edge of the bed and folded her hands in her lap.

"Have you come to try and convince me to turn away from my sinful life?" Nick asked mercilessly.

"I came to apologise." Laura said softly. "I didn't know Mark was deliberately keeping Kevin and Jake away from here."

"Well, you know now. Are you going to do anything about it?"

"Everything's up in the air at the moment."

"Jesus, Laura."

Her head snapped up at the curse, but he kept on talking.

"You can't do this to Mom. No matter what you two think of me, you can't punish her by keeping her grandkids away at Christmas."

"It's not a punishment."

"You're trying to pretty it up by claiming it's not, Laura, but you're lying."

"Do you want me to turn against my husband, and his wishes?"

"What about your wishes Laura? It's the twenty-first century, for fuck's sake!"

"Wouldn't you stick by Greg?" Laura asked.

"Well, the difference is, Greg would never do what Mark did."

"That's not fair."

"No, it's true. Just tell me what you think!"

A tear slid down her cheeks. "You're my brother, and I love you. But it doesn't stop me from knowing, deep down, that the way you're living is wrong."

Nick felt as if he had been punched in the stomach. "Then there's no where we can go from here. Would you rather that I live alone and unhappy, than have Greg in my life?"

"I just want you to be normal."

"Like you? Give me a break! You know what, Laura, when I was in that coffin---"

She blanched at the word, but he pressed on.

"---all I could think of was that if I got out, I would live the life I had been denying myself. That I would be honest with my family and friends, and Greg and I could be open together. For there's nothing I have to be ashamed of. I may be petty here, but I would rather that than the way you live your life, and the way you look down upon people. And I would hate my kids to have that kind of pressure to live up to."

"Don't bring my kids into this, Nick." Laura warned.

"How can I? You kept them out of it."

"Look, I came here to try and talk to you---"

"You shouldn't have bothered."

She wiped at her face. "I'm sorry about what happened to you when you were a kid, Nick."

"I guess that's one thing you can truly feel sorry for." Nick murmured.

"Can I ask one thing?"

He was practically sure he didn't want her to, but she continued anyway.

"Is this why you are the way you are?"

"You're pushing it." he growled.

"No, truly, Nick, is this why you have turned away from women? Because there is therapy you could go to... our church..."

"Get out." he warned her.

"Just listen to me, Nick---"

"Get the fuck out!" he hissed, unable to look at her, glad that it wasn't Mark again as he knew his hands were balled into fists.

She laid a quick hand upon his shoulder, and Nick felt as if it would burst into flame.

"You can always call me if you want help." she whispered, and quickly left the room.

The sad thing was, Nick knew that she felt she was being helpful.

-----------------------------

Greg had heard Nick's tone, defensive and angry, and had just been coming back down the hall he had been pacing in order to enter the room again, but he was still a few steps away when the door opened and Laura stepped out.

"What did you say to him?" he demanded.

"Only what I felt should be said."

Anger was melting the layers beneath his skin. "He doesn't need this shit! You have no idea of what he has been through the past year "“ you never even came to the hospital when he wasn't the evil gay man you see him as now. You didn't seem to give a fuck then, why pretend now?"

"Don't you tell me what I think or whether I care about Nick! I do! I know it's funny for all of you to sit around and make fun of my life and my family because we think about more than the present. I want my brother to be happy, and he never really can be."

"How do you know that?" Greg glowered.

"Because he will live a very lonely life. He could be a great father, but because of your lifestyle he will never have that."

"There are ways we can have children. Jesus, you seem to think we had designs on yours."

Her eyes widened, and she advanced upon him.

A thud to the ground made her halt, and they both turned around to see a dark-haired woman with an obviously pregnant belly standing and staring at them. The bag at her feet was obviously the source of the thud.

Her Stokes heritage was evident by the first thing she said to them. "What the hell is going on here?"

Laura shot one more look at Greg, her face becoming inscrutable even as she turned and pushed past her sister on the way down the stairs.

The new arrival rolled her eyes, and turned her attention back to the stricken-looking man in the hallway. "Hey, I'm Marcie." she shook his hand vigorously. "You must be Greg, I'm so pleased to meet you."

***

Next part of Don't Fence Me In.