Chapter Eight: Out of the Rabbit Hole

"I... can hear people talkin' around me... like all the time. Not so much what they're sayin', but... just the sound of their voices." The man spoke softly, trying to focus on the shape of the younger man's face beside him. "Voices I can't understand. Blurred images of people that I think I know... you expect me to believe that this is the real world." He smirked, hearing the familiar sound of Greg's laughter echoing into his head. "How long have I been here again? I know you told me..."

"Eight months." Greg gently brushed his fingers through Nick's hair. "You want me to go, so you can get some sleep again? You weren't so loopy yesterday."

"No." He firmly shook his head. "I don't want you to go. The doctors have been askin' me all sorts of questions all day . . . I'm just kinda, tired I guess. Who ever knew that comas came with so much homework after you wake up?" He smirked, flexing out his fingers, trying to curl them into a fist. He had already tried moving his legs, but they felt stiff. The doctors had assured him that it wasn't permanent, but he didn't like waking up in his old body that didn't work. "How long have I been awake now?"

"One week, almost two actually." Greg lifted Nick's hand into his own, weaving their fingers together. "You woke up on Saturday last week; it's now Thursday, almost Friday." He pointed out the time on his watch. "Do you remember who I am?"

Nick smiled at him. "Of course I do." He tightened his fingers as much as he could around Greg's hand, while looking up into his eyes. "I can't believe that I believed all of that... other world. There was so much of it that didn't add up, but I didn't... I didn't stop and question it once." He brushed his thumb across the back of Greg's hand, in slow jerky movements. "You would have."

"Not if it was my ideal reality." He pursed his lips together, remembering what he had seen in Nick's supposed perfect world. "Nicky, I don't blame you for staying a little longer, so stop giving me that look. You don't have to tell me anything, I'm just glad that you're here now. You are happy... that you're here, right?"

The older man nodded slightly, adjusting his head to a comfier position against his pillow. "I feel like I've screwed up big time though." He looked up into the younger man's adoring eyes. "I changed everythin' that made me Nick, just to be with you, not knowin' that you liked me like this. I feel so stupid."

"Don't." Greg swivelled himself around, so he could lay himself down beside Nick, resting his head against the pillow in front of him. "You have nothing to feel stupid about, and you didn't screw up. You didn't know what was going on. And for the record, you make a pretty sexy girl."

Nick chuckled softly, feeling blush creeping into his cheeks. "You're never gonna let me live that one down, are you?"

"A Boyfriends right." He giggled softly, gently placing his hand over Nick's chest, feeling his heart beating against his hand. "That is, if you want me to be your boyfriend, where you stay a guy this time. You may have made a sexy girl, but I love you like this, as a real man." He circled his hand across the man's torso, whispering, "The Greg you made in your head might have liked you like that, but I love you just as you are now. I've gotta have it all. Every quality that makes you, you."

Blushing, Nick licked his lips, before he spoke, "I wish you'd told me before. You coulda saved me a lot of trouble."

"So you do wonna be my boyfriend?"

"Isn't my pathetic ideal world proof of what I want?" Nick smirked, squeezing Greg's hand a little tighter, as he confessed, "In that... in my head, there were some things that I liked... that I could definitely get used to. When I was little, my father was closer to me. Don't get me wrong, we were pretty close when I was a boy, but as a girl, he really... he loved me. He showed it more than he said it. I still feel so different... on the outside. It took me ages to get used to havin'... you know, breasts, now it feels weird that I don't." He abruptly changed the subject, smiling as he looked into Greg's eyes. "That's doesn't mean I have some secret desire to become a girl again though. I hated a lot of it. Dresses in particular, you have no idea how vulnerable they make you feel. My weddin' dress, that was the most uncomfortable. My mother was actually the one who insisted on the low bust cut for my husband's sake."

Greg smiled at him, raising his hand to brush his thumb across Nick's cheek. "I bet you can't wait to get back to jeans and t-shirts again, huh?"

"Actually," He struggled to turn his head, slowly leaning forwards to press their lips together. As Greg turned his head to a better angle, Nick was able to deepen the kiss, feeling his once lifeless body starting to tingle all over. "I've been waitin' to kiss my miracle drug since I first woke up. You kiss a lot better than in my dream."

"Told yah, real is always better."

Nodding in agreement, Nick said, "From now on, no more puttin' things off. I want to spend every day that I have, doin' somethin' that I want to do, rather than what other people want me to do. Like bein' with you, I want a real first time with you. I want everythin' that I didn't have in my head. You were right, even though I refused to believe it, that Greg wasn't you. Savin' you from things that happened to you changed you too. I didn't stop the lab explosion, but I stopped you from goin' to work that night that you..."

"You did?" He interrupted him, knowing what he meant.

Nick nodded slightly. "Without all that... experience though, you were nothin' like you are now. Even I changed. I stopped the stalker, I wasn't framed for the murder of Kristy Hopkins... and I was never in that Plexiglas coffin. Warrick was instead of me, and I felt guilty, because I made it happen."

"You didn't." Greg shook his head. "It was just some crazy dream that you cooked up in your head. Where you were a girl with big boobs and a hot little body..."

"Stop teasin' me." Nick pouted at him, wishing he could raise his arm to tickle him. "Nurse Amy let you stay because you were helpin' me. She'll kick you out if she hears that you're teasin' me."

"I'm sorry, baby." Greg pressed his lips to the older man's forehead, draping one arm over his manly chest. "No more teasing, I swear." He smiled warmly at him. "You know, I saw you in that wedding dress. You looked like a white goddess."

"Oh god." Nick closed his eyes, whimpering, "Why couldn't I have dreamt of becomin' an astronaut or a cowboy? Somethin' cool like that, instead of a girl."

"You had your reasons." The younger man understood, resting his forehead against Nick's. "Before you went in... you were saying how much easier it would to date the guys you wanted to date if you had been born a girl, so this fantasy world played on that, giving you exactly what you wanted." He smiled as Nick's eyes fluttered open, slowly travelling upwards until they were locked on his own. "You just don't see what I see when I look at you. If you did, you wouldn't want to change a thing about yourself. I love you, just as you are."

"You tryin' to make me cry now?"

"Far from it." He shook his head, grazing his lips across Nick's. "The bad thing about dreams... is that you always have to wake up from them. Living with me in the real world is gonna be hard, because it's going to be anything but perfect... but I want you to have everything that you deserve. I mean... if you still want me."

Smile wrinkles deepened at the corners of Nick's eyes, lifting Greg's heart to new heights. "You're everythin' that I've ever wanted." He assured him. "I gave up my career and my life for you, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. You're all I've ever wanted, Greg."

Greg smiled with joy, unable to think of anything else to say.

"My word, are you... you're speechless." Nick chuckled, adoring the younger man even more. "I never thought I'd see the day."

"Well, no one's ever declared anything to me like that before." He defended himself, anxiously biting his lower lip. "You all think I'm a big goof, but I have feelings too."

"I know you do."

Smiling as he looked into Nick's eyes, he whispered, "For the past few months, you're all I've thought about. When we first... I wasn't so sure what I wanted or what direction we were going in, but now I'm sure that I want to be with you for the rest of my life. Or for as long as you can stand me, either way I'm cool."

"You're adorable." Nick winked at him. "I'd hug you right now if I could lift my arms. Speakin' of," He suddenly remembered. "Who the hell did this to me anyway? Before... all of this I guess, I never even believed in magic or any of that."

"Me either." Greg agreed. "And my Nana Olaf said she'd sort it, you just need to focus on getting better. Your physiotherapist is coming by tomorrow. We're gonna have you lifting things and walking in no time."

"Good, I can't wait to go to the bathroom by myself again." He smiled at him. "And Greg... thanks for... you know, stickin' by me. Grissom and Amy told me that you never left my side. You even turned down that job and lost your apartment..."

"You're way more important." The younger man assured him. "And it's not like I haven't been taking care of myself too. My stuffs all in boxes over at Catherine's, I've been sleeping on her sofa for a while, but I can find another apartment..."

"Move in with me." Nick cut him off, feeling embarrassed that he said that out loud. "I mean... I have a spare bedroom that's never in use." Seeing the disappointment in Greg's eyes, he smirked, "Or you can bunk in with me."

"You really know how to sweep a guy off his feet, huh?" He smirked, brushing his fingers through Nick's gorgeously soft hair. "Don't you think that it's a little soon to be moving in together though? Our first date may have been eight months ago, but still..."

"I told you, no more puttin' things off."

Loretta was sitting on her sofa, flipping through the channels on the TV in front of her with a beer in her hands, when the two women made it to her dingy little motel room. When she saw the two women entering her room from the door across the room, she instantly smiled, lowering the beer from her mouth. "I was wondering how long it would take you ladies to find me." She cockily smirked. "As soon as I found out that Nick was in love with that charming young man of yours, I instantly backed off. Honestly ladies," She pulled up the sleeve of her blouse, tapping her watch as she shook her head. "I was expecting you sooner than this."

"Hello, little sister." Jean remarked, looking at the woman nearly twice her age. "I told you if I ever saw you again, I was going to kill you." She lunged forwards, being held back by her mother beside her. "You're going to stand by and let her remark her way out of this one again?" She turned to look at her mother. "She almost killed Nick!"

"I'll handle this." Her mother gave her a look, before she took a step closer towards Loretta. "As soon as Greg showed me those files, I knew this was down to you. You wouldn't need to feed on the life source of humans if you actually obeyed the rules. You use bad magic's, you drain the life from yourself. That was one of the first lessons I ever taught you."

"I hate all these stupid rules." Loretta set her beer down on the coffee table. "There's so many rules for every little thing, we should be living how we want, not obeying dumb rules that don't even make any sense."

"The rules are there to protect yourself and the people around you." The older woman stepped forwards. "You know that."

"It's funny how you let her break all the rules." Loretta pointed towards her big sister, Jean by the door. "She's married a human. She gave birth to a hybrid child. She didn't teach her child how to use his powers or any of the stupid rules. But of course, she's the 'perfect' child." She finger quoted perfect in a mocking tone. "I'm the screw up, right?"

"You're hurting people for your own selfish reasons!" Her mother snapped at her. "I didn't raise you girls this way. Jeannette just wanted to raise a family. She married a human man without using her magic, she didn't manipulate him in anyway and her child was made naturally. She hasn't broken any rules. You however have been hurting people since you graduated. I should have stopped you when I had the chance, but I loved you too much to see straight then."

Loretta folded her arms across her chest, giving her mother a daring look. "So, what are you gonna do about it?"

With a snap of her fingers, their mother showed her exactly what she was going to do about it, sending her back to their world, where she would stand trial before the court for her crimes. She never turned her in before as she knew how brutal their methods of punishment could be, but after looking over her grandson's discoveries, she couldn't deny what her daughter was anymore.

"Mom, are you okay?" Her daughter stepped up beside her, placing her hand on her shoulder.

Her mother placed her hand on her own, giving her a nod. "Yes, I'm fine. C'mon, we should go. We're running late."

"Witches who can fast travel can never run late." Jean giggled, looking down at the floor as she made a confession. "Mom, I was wrong to judge you... when you pushed Lori away, and again when you didn't report her in right away. I'm sorry." She looked up into her mother's wise green eyes. "I'm thinking that maybe I was wrong for telling you not to teach Greg too. I just... I wanted him to have a normal life without... any of this. He almost got through it... but you said that while you were anchoring him, you definitely saw some..."

"Yes." Her mother nodded. "His powers are dormant though. He's not even aware of them. But you were right not to tell him. I should have protected you and your sister, the way you protected your own child. Your father always wanted it that way, but I never listened to him."

"I don't blame you." Jean quickly assured her. "You took us away from our world and brought us here, and I'm very grateful for that, because I love it here. I don't look back on any of my past with regrets. You did what you had to in order to keep us safe." She wrapped her arms around her mother's shoulders, holding her tightly in her arms. "I love you."

"I love you too, sweetheart. And I promise, I won't teach Greg a thing."

Jean smiled, wiping a tear from her eye. "Right, let's go. We don't want to miss the biggest day of my little boy's life."

"You've gotta stop calling him that eventually." Her mother giggled. "I stopped calling you my little girl on the day of your wedding."

"Well, looks like today's the day." She pulled open the motel room door, ushering her mother through the door first. They stepped out of the dingy motel room, into a grand hotel lobby, adjusting their pristine attire for the wedding, spotting Greg anxiously biting his fingertips, leant against the front desk. "Sweetheart!" Jean called out to him, greeting her nervous son with a hug. "You're shaking like a penguin in Antarctica. What's the matter?"

"I'm nervous." Greg shrugged, pulling back from her.

"Don't bite your nails." His grandmother pushed his hand away from his mouth. "What have you got to be so nervous about?" She adjusted his bowtie for him.

"The fact that I've been dating Nick for less than a year and we're getting married already comes to mind. I think it's the public kiss that is really scaring me though, especially in front of our parents and the people we work with." Greg pushed his Nana Olaf's hands away from the bowtie that Sara had spent ages tying for him, checking the time on his watch again. "Maybe Nick's joke of running away to Hawaii to get married wasn't such a bad idea."

"Don't be ridiculous." His mother pushed his hands away from his bowtie, adjusting it for herself. She brushed her hands down the sleeves of his jacket, smiling at how grown up he looked. "You're going to be fine. I think your father and I are used to the two of you kissing by now. You're always at it whenever you visit."

Greg rolled his eyes at her, spotting a tear in his Nana Olaf's eye. "Don't you start, you'll get me started." He warned her, stepping forwards to hug her. "I wouldn't even have Nick if it wasn't for you. Thank you."

"You did most of it yourself, sweetheart." Nana Olaf gently smoothed her hand across his back, pulling back before she wrinkled his suit. "C'mon then, no more of this girly heart to heart stuff, let's get you up that aisle and get you married." She ushered him along, spotting Daniel waiting to greet them. "You look nice for a bag of bones." She teased her son in law.

"Ignore her." Jean wrapped her arms around her husband, pecking a kiss to his cheek, before she pulled their son into their embrace. "You think that Nicky can really stomach being a part of the Sanders clan?"

"You bet he is." Greg smiled at his parents, waving to the man in question, being smothered by his own mother and sisters with hugs. "Mom, don't kiss me in front of everybody." He wriggled away from her. "Behave yourself, and don't burst into tears." He warned her.

"I can't help it if I shed a few tears." Jean waved to her son, slipping her hand into her husband's. "You have some tissues with you, right?"

"Of course, my dear." Daniel opened his jacket, revealing the packet of Kleenex tissues inside his pocket. "Looks like the Minister wants to get started." He pointed towards the front, where the female Minister was just setting up. Daniel led his wife and mother in law down the aisle, shaking hands with Nick's father, whom he had met several times before, shortly after their son's announced their engagement to them.

Daniel didn't know how Nick managed to bring his parents round on the idea of him getting married to another man, especially after he had told them how traditional they both were. His father seemed a little reluctant at first, but he seemed to have come around now. He was even hugging his son, congratulating him on his special day.

When everyone finally took their seats, so the service could begin, Nick and Greg joined hands at the front, smiling as they looked into one another's eyes with excitement fluttering through their stomachs.

"We are gathered here in the sight of God and these witnesses to unite Nicholas Parker Stokes and Gregory Hojem Sanders in holy matrimony." The Minister started, reading the call to worship, as per Mrs Stokes' instructions. "Nick and Greg, as you prepare to take these vows, give careful thought and prayer, for as you make them, you are making an exclusive commitment one to the other for as long as you both shall live. Your love for each other should never be diminished by difficult circumstances, and it is to endure until death parts you. We have gathered together to witness and bless their union in marriage. To this sacred moment they bring the fullness of their hearts as a treasure and a gift from God to share with one another. They bring the dreams which bind them together in an eternal commitment. They bring their gifts and talents, their unique personalities and spirits, which God will unite together into one being as they build their life together. We rejoice with them in thankfulness to the Lord for creating this union of hearts, built on friendship, respect and love. Amen."

"Amen." The wedding guests parroted.

"Now, Nick and Greg have written their own wedding vows to one another, that they would like to share with us today." She smiled at the couple, watching Greg unfolding a piece of paper from his pocket to read his first.

"Nicky," He inhaled a deep breath. "You have always been my best friend. Ever since I have known you, I've always known that there was something special about you. Since we've been together, you've made me feel more complete, more alive... and you have shown me the true meaning of happiness. I am a better person with you by my side, and I am completely prepared to spend the rest of my life with you, whatever adventure you may bring." He smiled up at him, feeling his hands shaking against the edges of his piece of paper. "I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you, getting to know the man you are inside, falling in love with you a little more every day. Today, I give you my hand, my heart, my soul and my unconditional love, completely and forever." Greg retrieved one of the gold wedding bands that the Minister was holding, slipping it onto Nick's finger. "I love you, with all my heart."

The corners of Nick's mouth gently creased, bringing a beautiful smile to his flawless features. Greg was tempted to kiss him now, but he knew that he had to wait for that part.

Following Greg's lead, Nick searched his pockets, finding the folded piece of paper he had written his vows on. He had been hoping to memorise them, but he kept changing them as the days went by, thinking up more things that he wanted to say to Greg on the best day of their lives.

Nick cleared his throat, reading the first line in his head, before he gained the courage to say how he felt in front of the real people in his life. "In all my life, I never felt like anyone ever listened to me, respected me or really understood me. But then I met you," He looked up at his partner, feeling the warmth of Greg's soul in his heart, just by looking into the younger man's eyes. "Since I found you, you brought new meanin' to my life. I have been wishin' for so many things for as long as I can remember, but you're the only one who's ever made any of them come true. With you, I will walk the path I was meant to, from this day forward."

Greg smiled as he heard that line, relieved to hear that Nick actually preferred the real version of him, rather than the version of him from his perfect world.

"I traded a fantasy for a reality, feelin' like... Alice in Wonderland when she comes back." Nick continued, knowing only Greg's family would understand this part, "Although the fantasy world sparkled its flawless perfectness every day, my eyes are wide open now to you and the real world. I'd take this reality over any fantasy." Nick slipped the gold wedding band onto his partner's finger, giving him a wink. "Because spendin' the rest of my life with you, will be a dream come true."

The Minister smiled at the two of them, addressing the crowd once again, "Now that Nick and Greg have given themselves to each other by the promises they have exchanged, I pronounce them life partners. May the Lord bless you and keep you safe. May the love of God be above you to overshadow you, beneath you to uphold you, before you to guide you, behind you to protect you, close beside you and within you to make you able for all things, and to reward your faithfulness with the joy and peace which the world cannot give, neither can it take away. Amen."

"Amen." The tearful guests parroted.

"Nick, Greg," The Minister smiled at each of them. "You may now unite your marriage with a kiss."

Greg leant forwards first, licking his lips, smiling as Nick immediately did the same. He brought their lips together for a delicate kiss, keeping it strictly PG for Nick's father's sake. He felt Nick melting into his arms, surrendering everything he was to him.

"C'mon, Nicky," Greg slipped into his hand into Nick's grasping his fingers over the back of his husband's hand. "Are you ready to take your first steps as a married man in the real world?"

"More than ready." He replied, returning the same grip to Greg's hand. He smiled as he looked into his husband's eyes, finally feeling as though he belonged.

Complete at last.

The End

Or is it?

Thanks so much for following this story.

It's a sort of cliffe ending because I might write a sequel to it. I say might, because I haven't planned on writing one, but after re-reading this last chapter, I thought up another story line, so I changed how Loretta went out.

Please let me know what you thought, and if you would like more stories with AR or gender swap theme to them.

Thanks for reading!

~ Holly