Fic: A Growing Family (8/?)
TITLE: A GROWING FAMILY
RATING: PG-13
PAIRING: Nick/Greg
WARNINGS: Adult scenes and language
SUMMARY: Family situations change
SPOILERS: None
Previous parts of this story can be found here
Now that the sex problem’s had a solution they both devoted themselves to the housing situation. Neither could understand why they couldn’t find something they both liked. They weren’t that picky. They wanted three bedrooms and two baths. It could be an apartment or condo but it had to be on the top floor or high ceilings with no attic. Nigel Crane was long gone but still exerted a certain influence on Nick. Add to that, being confined in a tight space with only inches between him and a solid lid and Nick had issues. Greg never faulted him on those issues just made damn sure that he did everything possible to keep from triggering those issues. If that meant looking for an apartment for the next year…well, he was okay with that.
They thought once they had found the perfect place. Nick was going over the final details with the leasing agent and getting ready to write a check for the deposit while Greg was doing what Greg did best; charming everyone in a five mile area. He was chatting with several delightful ladies who would be their neighbors.
Just as Nick pulled his checkbook out, Greg came rushing up, grabbed the checkbook out of his hand and told the agent the apartment was lovely but they would have to discuss the rest of the details later; they had to leave. Needless to say, Nick was perturbed. “What the hell, Greg. Did you just figure out another way to fuck me without being on top?”
“Bastard” Greg snarled. “No I was making nice with our potential neighbors who told me they both had a serious roach problem that had been going on for months now and they couldn’t get management to come up with a permanent solution. They would come in and spray and dust a little powder but one of the ladies spoke with a professional exterminator who told her they needed to move the tenants out, drill holes in the walls and pump a pretty heavy duty solution into the walls. It was going to cost a lot of money and management was stalling big time.”
When Greg said ‘roaches’ Nick had to stop and grab his arm for a second. While he was making an unbelievable recovery, insects were a definite problem. When he got his balance back, he leaned forward and kissed Greg gently on the cheek. Greg blushed a little, he was still getting used to the fact that Nick, once he accepted that the love of his life was a man, seemed to have no problems with displaying his feelings just like he would with a woman. He was reserved at work of course but that was more Nick’s basic nature than a reaction to their same sex romance. “Sorry love, I should know by now, you look out for me better than I do myself”.
“You got that right”. Greg tried hard to sound peeved but he was too pleased at the obvious love in Nick’s voice and actions to really be upset.
After that, they decided to lay off for a week and then revisit some of their original top choices and see if maybe they really were being too picky. Things might have gone on this way for some time but one night, they were both assigned to a 419 in a part of Las Vegas neither had been before.
When they pulled up in front of the lovely old home on a tree lined street in what was obviously an old neighborhood, they found Brass waiting on the porch. As they walked up, Greg commented on the fact that they had never been here before and actually had to check a street map to make sure they knew the cross street. Brass told them this was the first time in longer than he could remember that he’d been called to a scene of violence in this area. He was a little sad that it happened here in this beautiful setting. The three men went into the house to start their process.
Brass said their victim was 82 year old Eleanor Harris, a widow with only a brother-in-law left for family. They were quite fond of each other and visited often. The brother-in-law had left two days prior after a long weekend. The neighbor had been calling Mrs. Harris to discuss a church social but her phone had been ringing busy for almost 3 hours. Greg interrupted and asked, “She was calling at 3:00am to talk about a church social?”
Brass grinned and said, “I asked the same thing in almost those exact words. She said when you get old like them you don’t need much sleep. She saw the lights on and knew Eleanor was up. She figured if neither one of them could sleep, they might as well do something useful.”
He went on to tell them, the neighbor called repair service and asked to have the phone checked. The service operator said it sounded like the phone was off the hook. The neighbor came over to check on Eleanor. She had a key to the house and started to unlock the door when she decided to glance through the front room window and knock on the glass if she could see her. When she saw the body on the floor and the large pool of blood which was very visible through the window, she called the police.
Greg asked him how the first responders got in and he told them the neighbor used her key and let them in. That meant, the front door was securely locked. The two CSI’s headed into the house to start their collections. Nick began to take photo’s of the body and the room. Greg went to look for a possible entrance. After several frustrating minutes, they joined up in the foyer just outside the living room. They couldn’t do much until Super Dave showed up and formally declared their victim dead.
“Did you find anything at all Greg?”
“Not a darned thing, not a forced door; even the back door into the garage was locked. There is not a cut screen, nor an unlocked or open window. Mrs. Harris had a sprinkler system and it’s been off for almost two hours now according to the control system. There is not even a spider web trail on the wet grass around the house. No one forced their way into this house and if she let them in, then they carefully locked up after themselves. That’s not all Nick; there is something not right about this whole scene. Come in here.”
Greg led Nick into the dining room. He walked over and picked up a small silver bowl on the sideboard. “See this little beauty? This thing is solid .999 sterling silver, easily worth close to a thousand dollars. Same with these candlesticks. This room is full of stuff that could easily be put in a pillowcase and taken to a pawn shop.”
About that time, the coroner’s van pulled up and Super Dave got out and headed into the house. As he began his careful assessment of the body, Nick and Greg headed for Mrs. Harris’ bedroom. They found a jewelry box with several valuable pieces carefully placed in their little velvet bags to protect them. Mrs. Harris was a meticulous housekeeper and someone who obviously took good care of her belongings.
Nick thought for a minute then pulled Greg back into the living room and over to the body. He knelt down and carefully lifted the victims hand. She was wearing a large solitaire and a heavy gold band completely encircled with diamonds on her left hand. Greg reached out and uncovered her right hand. She was wearing a large black pearl set in either white gold or platinum on that hand. Greg used his pen to lift her hair up to expose her ears. The two investigators looked at the large black pearl studs and then at each other.
“What the hell, Greg? What kind of perp, breaks into a home without leaving a single trace, kills a harmless old lady and doesn’t take one single thing?”
Super Dave cleared his throat and said in his quiet way, “Guys, I don’t want to try to butt into your job…”
Both men hurriedly assured him to feel free to butt in all he wanted. Super Dave had earned the respect of every CSI in the unit and they were more than willing to listen to his ideas.
“I don’t think this lady was attacked. I know there is a lot of blood here and with this much blood, there ought to be significant skull damage. There is none. Other than a bump on her forehead which I’m pretty sure she got when she hit the floor, there is not one single break or indentation.”
“Well Dave, what the heck killed her?” Nick was completely puzzled and was going over poisons in his mind even while he was talking.
“I think she had a massive cerebral hemorrhage. The minute the vein burst, blood came gushing out her mouth, nose and ears. She evidently lived for at least 10 or 15 minutes after the initial trauma and her heart continued to pump blood out until she died.”
After Dave’s explanation (which turned out to be right on the money) they packed up their kits and headed back to the lab. As they were leaving the lovely old neighborhood, the lights of the SUV flashed across a sign. Greg slammed on the brakes and began to back up in the middle of the street. Nick who had been making some notes on the odd case almost dropped his notebook and pen. He turned to look at his partner and asked, “What the heck, Greg? Did you forget something?”
Greg didn’t answer. He was pawing through the central console for the large flashlight they kept there. Finding it, he turned the light on the sign that had caught his attention and then up to the house set well back from the street. Nick turned to look at what was so interesting to his driver and caught his breath when he saw the big, wide porch, the huge windows, the flagstone walkway and the green lush, somewhat overgrown yard. He found himself writing down the number on the ‘For Sale’ sign without even realizing he was doing it. The two men sat there, in the middle of the street at almost 5:00am in the morning for several minutes.
Finally, Greg slowly put the car in drive and continued their trip back to the lab. Neither one spoke about the house; not one single word. They finished their reports. Each went out on one more call before their shift was over. They were both over an hour late getting off. They were going to pick up some pastries for breakfast and that’s where they intended to go but without anyone saying a word, they found themselves back on the street, looking at the house in the early morning sunshine. It was even better; big, one story, nice porch, nice front yard, equally nice back yard, a big two and half car detached garage on the back property line. They were walking around the yard when someone cleared their throat and said, “Gentlemen, can I help you with something?”
They turned to find a pleasant looking lady in her early fifties standing there looking at them. She was holding a cell phone in her hand and Nick was willing to bet she had the cops on speed dial and if they didn’t give her an answer she liked, she was going to press the button.
He introduced himself and Greg and told her they had responded to a call earlier that morning several streets over. They’d seen this house as they were leaving and they both wanted to see it in daylight.
The woman looked them both over for a few seconds then obviously made a decision. She dropped the cell in her pocket, smiled and introduced herself as Celia Watkins. She lived next door and sort of kept an eye on the place. “Would you like to see inside?” she asked.
Nick looked over at Greg. He saw the stars in his lover’s eyes. He knew damn well he better say yes or he might be sleeping on the couch until sometime into the next decade.
They had not been inside the house for more than two minutes when both men realized they were placing their furniture and Greg for sure was picking out paint colors in his mind. They both cringed at the wallpaper which seemed to cover every single upright surface. Greg groaned out loud when they walked into the main bath and there was wallpaper on the ceiling. But there was also gorgeous marble tile flooring throughout the entire home. Space, high ceilings, big windows, crown molding, baseboards that must have been 10 inches high with what appeared to be carving on them; the wonders just went on and on.
Nick was still striving to be the practical one but that went right out the window when they went out to look at the garage. It was so huge because there was a complete workshop with benches, work tables and cabinets built into one side. The rafters were stacked with planks of wood and the garage itself had all sorts of treasures hidden under large tarps. Mrs. Watkins mentioned that the former owner was a furniture maker in his spare time. She added that he was so good, he eventually quit his day job at the casinos and just built custom furniture. The house had been vacant for more than a year. There had been a bitter battle between two nephews (the man had no living children and had left everything to the nephews) and the house had languished. Now that it was over, the current economic crisis had reduced the value of the house to the point where the whole court battle seemed stupid and greedy.
She gave them a number; they called and made an offer contingent on an inspection. The inspection showed problems but nothing they couldn’t handle. The worst problems were a crumbling chimney, an outdated heating/cooling system and an equally outdated electrical control panel. They went home got some quotes, prepared to do battle and called the current owner. When the owner said he had no intention of paying to clean out the garage; that was strictly up to them Greg took one look at Nick’s face and knew their roles had just reversed; now he was the voice of reason. Boy, were they in trouble.
RATING: PG-13
PAIRING: Nick/Greg
WARNINGS: Adult scenes and language
SUMMARY: Family situations change
SPOILERS: None
Previous parts of this story can be found here
Now that the sex problem’s had a solution they both devoted themselves to the housing situation. Neither could understand why they couldn’t find something they both liked. They weren’t that picky. They wanted three bedrooms and two baths. It could be an apartment or condo but it had to be on the top floor or high ceilings with no attic. Nigel Crane was long gone but still exerted a certain influence on Nick. Add to that, being confined in a tight space with only inches between him and a solid lid and Nick had issues. Greg never faulted him on those issues just made damn sure that he did everything possible to keep from triggering those issues. If that meant looking for an apartment for the next year…well, he was okay with that.
They thought once they had found the perfect place. Nick was going over the final details with the leasing agent and getting ready to write a check for the deposit while Greg was doing what Greg did best; charming everyone in a five mile area. He was chatting with several delightful ladies who would be their neighbors.
Just as Nick pulled his checkbook out, Greg came rushing up, grabbed the checkbook out of his hand and told the agent the apartment was lovely but they would have to discuss the rest of the details later; they had to leave. Needless to say, Nick was perturbed. “What the hell, Greg. Did you just figure out another way to fuck me without being on top?”
“Bastard” Greg snarled. “No I was making nice with our potential neighbors who told me they both had a serious roach problem that had been going on for months now and they couldn’t get management to come up with a permanent solution. They would come in and spray and dust a little powder but one of the ladies spoke with a professional exterminator who told her they needed to move the tenants out, drill holes in the walls and pump a pretty heavy duty solution into the walls. It was going to cost a lot of money and management was stalling big time.”
When Greg said ‘roaches’ Nick had to stop and grab his arm for a second. While he was making an unbelievable recovery, insects were a definite problem. When he got his balance back, he leaned forward and kissed Greg gently on the cheek. Greg blushed a little, he was still getting used to the fact that Nick, once he accepted that the love of his life was a man, seemed to have no problems with displaying his feelings just like he would with a woman. He was reserved at work of course but that was more Nick’s basic nature than a reaction to their same sex romance. “Sorry love, I should know by now, you look out for me better than I do myself”.
“You got that right”. Greg tried hard to sound peeved but he was too pleased at the obvious love in Nick’s voice and actions to really be upset.
After that, they decided to lay off for a week and then revisit some of their original top choices and see if maybe they really were being too picky. Things might have gone on this way for some time but one night, they were both assigned to a 419 in a part of Las Vegas neither had been before.
When they pulled up in front of the lovely old home on a tree lined street in what was obviously an old neighborhood, they found Brass waiting on the porch. As they walked up, Greg commented on the fact that they had never been here before and actually had to check a street map to make sure they knew the cross street. Brass told them this was the first time in longer than he could remember that he’d been called to a scene of violence in this area. He was a little sad that it happened here in this beautiful setting. The three men went into the house to start their process.
Brass said their victim was 82 year old Eleanor Harris, a widow with only a brother-in-law left for family. They were quite fond of each other and visited often. The brother-in-law had left two days prior after a long weekend. The neighbor had been calling Mrs. Harris to discuss a church social but her phone had been ringing busy for almost 3 hours. Greg interrupted and asked, “She was calling at 3:00am to talk about a church social?”
Brass grinned and said, “I asked the same thing in almost those exact words. She said when you get old like them you don’t need much sleep. She saw the lights on and knew Eleanor was up. She figured if neither one of them could sleep, they might as well do something useful.”
He went on to tell them, the neighbor called repair service and asked to have the phone checked. The service operator said it sounded like the phone was off the hook. The neighbor came over to check on Eleanor. She had a key to the house and started to unlock the door when she decided to glance through the front room window and knock on the glass if she could see her. When she saw the body on the floor and the large pool of blood which was very visible through the window, she called the police.
Greg asked him how the first responders got in and he told them the neighbor used her key and let them in. That meant, the front door was securely locked. The two CSI’s headed into the house to start their collections. Nick began to take photo’s of the body and the room. Greg went to look for a possible entrance. After several frustrating minutes, they joined up in the foyer just outside the living room. They couldn’t do much until Super Dave showed up and formally declared their victim dead.
“Did you find anything at all Greg?”
“Not a darned thing, not a forced door; even the back door into the garage was locked. There is not a cut screen, nor an unlocked or open window. Mrs. Harris had a sprinkler system and it’s been off for almost two hours now according to the control system. There is not even a spider web trail on the wet grass around the house. No one forced their way into this house and if she let them in, then they carefully locked up after themselves. That’s not all Nick; there is something not right about this whole scene. Come in here.”
Greg led Nick into the dining room. He walked over and picked up a small silver bowl on the sideboard. “See this little beauty? This thing is solid .999 sterling silver, easily worth close to a thousand dollars. Same with these candlesticks. This room is full of stuff that could easily be put in a pillowcase and taken to a pawn shop.”
About that time, the coroner’s van pulled up and Super Dave got out and headed into the house. As he began his careful assessment of the body, Nick and Greg headed for Mrs. Harris’ bedroom. They found a jewelry box with several valuable pieces carefully placed in their little velvet bags to protect them. Mrs. Harris was a meticulous housekeeper and someone who obviously took good care of her belongings.
Nick thought for a minute then pulled Greg back into the living room and over to the body. He knelt down and carefully lifted the victims hand. She was wearing a large solitaire and a heavy gold band completely encircled with diamonds on her left hand. Greg reached out and uncovered her right hand. She was wearing a large black pearl set in either white gold or platinum on that hand. Greg used his pen to lift her hair up to expose her ears. The two investigators looked at the large black pearl studs and then at each other.
“What the hell, Greg? What kind of perp, breaks into a home without leaving a single trace, kills a harmless old lady and doesn’t take one single thing?”
Super Dave cleared his throat and said in his quiet way, “Guys, I don’t want to try to butt into your job…”
Both men hurriedly assured him to feel free to butt in all he wanted. Super Dave had earned the respect of every CSI in the unit and they were more than willing to listen to his ideas.
“I don’t think this lady was attacked. I know there is a lot of blood here and with this much blood, there ought to be significant skull damage. There is none. Other than a bump on her forehead which I’m pretty sure she got when she hit the floor, there is not one single break or indentation.”
“Well Dave, what the heck killed her?” Nick was completely puzzled and was going over poisons in his mind even while he was talking.
“I think she had a massive cerebral hemorrhage. The minute the vein burst, blood came gushing out her mouth, nose and ears. She evidently lived for at least 10 or 15 minutes after the initial trauma and her heart continued to pump blood out until she died.”
After Dave’s explanation (which turned out to be right on the money) they packed up their kits and headed back to the lab. As they were leaving the lovely old neighborhood, the lights of the SUV flashed across a sign. Greg slammed on the brakes and began to back up in the middle of the street. Nick who had been making some notes on the odd case almost dropped his notebook and pen. He turned to look at his partner and asked, “What the heck, Greg? Did you forget something?”
Greg didn’t answer. He was pawing through the central console for the large flashlight they kept there. Finding it, he turned the light on the sign that had caught his attention and then up to the house set well back from the street. Nick turned to look at what was so interesting to his driver and caught his breath when he saw the big, wide porch, the huge windows, the flagstone walkway and the green lush, somewhat overgrown yard. He found himself writing down the number on the ‘For Sale’ sign without even realizing he was doing it. The two men sat there, in the middle of the street at almost 5:00am in the morning for several minutes.
Finally, Greg slowly put the car in drive and continued their trip back to the lab. Neither one spoke about the house; not one single word. They finished their reports. Each went out on one more call before their shift was over. They were both over an hour late getting off. They were going to pick up some pastries for breakfast and that’s where they intended to go but without anyone saying a word, they found themselves back on the street, looking at the house in the early morning sunshine. It was even better; big, one story, nice porch, nice front yard, equally nice back yard, a big two and half car detached garage on the back property line. They were walking around the yard when someone cleared their throat and said, “Gentlemen, can I help you with something?”
They turned to find a pleasant looking lady in her early fifties standing there looking at them. She was holding a cell phone in her hand and Nick was willing to bet she had the cops on speed dial and if they didn’t give her an answer she liked, she was going to press the button.
He introduced himself and Greg and told her they had responded to a call earlier that morning several streets over. They’d seen this house as they were leaving and they both wanted to see it in daylight.
The woman looked them both over for a few seconds then obviously made a decision. She dropped the cell in her pocket, smiled and introduced herself as Celia Watkins. She lived next door and sort of kept an eye on the place. “Would you like to see inside?” she asked.
Nick looked over at Greg. He saw the stars in his lover’s eyes. He knew damn well he better say yes or he might be sleeping on the couch until sometime into the next decade.
They had not been inside the house for more than two minutes when both men realized they were placing their furniture and Greg for sure was picking out paint colors in his mind. They both cringed at the wallpaper which seemed to cover every single upright surface. Greg groaned out loud when they walked into the main bath and there was wallpaper on the ceiling. But there was also gorgeous marble tile flooring throughout the entire home. Space, high ceilings, big windows, crown molding, baseboards that must have been 10 inches high with what appeared to be carving on them; the wonders just went on and on.
Nick was still striving to be the practical one but that went right out the window when they went out to look at the garage. It was so huge because there was a complete workshop with benches, work tables and cabinets built into one side. The rafters were stacked with planks of wood and the garage itself had all sorts of treasures hidden under large tarps. Mrs. Watkins mentioned that the former owner was a furniture maker in his spare time. She added that he was so good, he eventually quit his day job at the casinos and just built custom furniture. The house had been vacant for more than a year. There had been a bitter battle between two nephews (the man had no living children and had left everything to the nephews) and the house had languished. Now that it was over, the current economic crisis had reduced the value of the house to the point where the whole court battle seemed stupid and greedy.
She gave them a number; they called and made an offer contingent on an inspection. The inspection showed problems but nothing they couldn’t handle. The worst problems were a crumbling chimney, an outdated heating/cooling system and an equally outdated electrical control panel. They went home got some quotes, prepared to do battle and called the current owner. When the owner said he had no intention of paying to clean out the garage; that was strictly up to them Greg took one look at Nick’s face and knew their roles had just reversed; now he was the voice of reason. Boy, were they in trouble.