The Nik of Time

by Sandrine Gasq-Dion

  ~The Nik of Time~

  Sandrine Gasq-Dion

  Dedication

  To my family

  Jenjo and Kim

  Cheryl Burns Caldwell for the title

  Jennifer F. Photography

  My cover model for his wonderful sense of humor

  Kenneth Carter for the cover

  For Nikoli

  © Copyright 2013

  This is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or business establishments, events or locales is coincidental. All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. WARNING: This book contains material that maybe offensive to some: Violence, graphic language, homosexual relations, and adult situations.

  ~~Prologue~~

  ~Chapter One~

  ~*Chapter Two*~

  ~*Chapter Three*~

  ~*Chapter Four*~

  ~*Chapter Five*~

  ~*Chapter Six*~

  ~*Chapter Seven*~

  ~*Chapter Eight*~

  ~*Chapter Nine*~

  ~*Chapter Ten*~

  ~*Chapter Eleven*~

  ~*Chapter Twelve*~

  ~*Chapter Thirteen*~

  ~*Chapter Fourteen*~

  ~Epilogue~

  ~~*Prologue*~~

  Andrei Panchenko-Markov grinned at the sight of all the men huddled in the nursery. They were gathered at his and Vince’s house, putting together their fifth crib in several days. Jake and Dante were lounging by the bedroom door with Jason and Jay, drinking beers and watching the rest of them try to figure out how to assemble the small bed. Naturally, each crib had been different. Vince took in their smug smiles and shot them a look.

  “You know, it would be nice if you guys actually came over here and helped, seeing as how you’ve already put your cribs together.” Vince glared at his friends.

  “Yes we have,” Jake smiled. “And it was quite the learning experience for all of us.”

  “Yes, it was,” Jason chuckled. “I thought for sure Josh would throw it out the window.”

  “When the last one was done and we still had a screw left, I thought he was going to scream,” Jay snickered.

  “Oh, you mean like this one?” Vince held a screw up and looked at Andrei. “Where the fuck does this one go?”

  “I do not know…” Andrei looked at the instructions. “Maybe it is an extra one?”

  Dante chuckled and sipped his beer. “Maybe.”

  “Oh, fuck off, Russo.” Chris looked over at him, laughing.

  “How did your crib go?” Kyle crossed his arms and looked at Alex.

  “It went…out back in the tool shed,” Dylan laughed.

  “I bought the floor model,” Alex grinned.

  “Um…Andrei?”

  Andrei looked up; their surrogate, Wendy, had blood trickling down her leg.

  “Oh my God!”

  “We have to go - and NOW.” Reece glared at the men just standing there. “Move it!” he barked.

  “Keys…where are the keys?” Vince was mumbling to himself, fumbling around on the kitchen counter.

  “Just come with us,” Lorenzo snapped, dragging Vince out the door.

  Andrei went with Wendy in Mark and Paul’s car and held her hand; she was screaming at the top of her lungs and Andrei winced.

  “What can I do?” Andrei palmed her face.

  “I want to scream at you, but you’re so damned gorgeous I can’t,” Wendy smiled weakly and then let out another wailing howl.

  They all made it to the hospital and found Stefan and Jordan Youngblood waiting for them. Wendy was taken straight into the delivery room with Vince and Andrei following. The screaming was so loud that it reached the waiting room. Alex tensed up and looked at the rest of the group.

  “She’s early.”

  “We’ll have to wait and see if the baby’s lungs are mature enough to survive.” Reece ran his hands through his hair. As a doctor, he was acutely aware of the potential problems.

  “Daddy?”

  Paul crouched down to his son’s eye level. “What is it, buddy?”

  “Is the baby going to be OK?” Colin asked nervously.

  “We can pray.” Paul held him tightly.

  ~*~

  The doctor was looking at the ultrasound and shaking his head. Vince was giving him the evil eye as Andrei took Vince’s hand and squeezed.

  “The umbilical cord is wrapped around the baby’s neck, Wendy; we need to get him out now.”

  “Then do it, doc,” Vince fairly snarled as the doctor moved quickly toward the bed.

  “You two have to leave now.” The nurse eyed Vince and Andrei nervously.

  “Not a chance. Do it.” Vince crossed his arms and fixed the doctor with his most dangerous look.

  The emergency C-section was performed quickly, with a minimum of talk, and Vince watched them take the baby out - his face was blue and he wasn’t breathing, much less crying. The nurses rushed him over to the table and began CPR. The doctor looked over his shoulder at Vince.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Fuck you!” Vince pulled out his gun. “That boy is a Markov; he will live. Now keep going!”

  “Mr. Markov…”

  “Vince…” Andrei pleaded with his husband. “We must do something!”

  “Get the fuck out of my way.” Vince shoved them all aside and began trying to resuscitate his son. When they finally heard a faint cry, Vince picked up his son and smiled.

  “I knew you could do it, Nikolai.” Vince wrapped him up and handed him to Andrei. “Say hello to our son,” he said softly.

  Andrei took the baby and smiled down into his face. “He is so beautiful, Vince.” He touched the baby’s fingers gently, tears streaming down his cheeks.

  Vince turned on the medical staff. “Get out. Right. The. Fuck. Now.”

  He followed them out into the hall and called in Jordan. Jordan checked on Wendy and moved everyone back so a replacement doctor could finish the surgery and different nurses could clean up Nikolai.

  “You didn’t give up.” Jordan clapped Vince on the back, smiling broadly.

  “I will never give up on my son.” Vince smiled and looked at Andrei, who was reluctantly handing the baby to the nurses.

  When everything had calmed down, and Wendy was settled in her room, Vince brought everyone in to see their new son.

  “Can I see?” Colin was climbing up on a chair.

  Andrei crouched down with the baby and Colin gazed at Nikolai; he took his little fingers and kissed his soft forehead. “Hello, Nikolai. I’m Colin.”

  The baby squeezed his fingers and Colin smiled at him. Andrei looked at Vince and felt the tears coming.

  “You saved him.”

  “He is our son, Andrei….I would do anything for him.” Vince took Andrei in his arms and they both admired their baby boy.

  Stefan shot a look at his husband, who also happened to be the hospital’s chief of staff. “You’d better go take care of the doc before he gets security in here.”

  “Not the first time there’s been a gun in this hospital,” Jordan laughed, looking at Josh and Justin.

  “Whatever,” Justin laughed. “That asshole had it coming.”

  “No shit,” Josh cracked up.

  “Vince…” Jordan made his way over. “We’re going to have to put Nikolai in the NICU just for a bit, Okay?”

  Vince held his son tightly to his chest. He wasn’t ready to let go. “All right, but Andrei and I go with him, all right?”

  “Whatever you want,” Jordan smiled and hugged them.

  “Can I go, too?” Colin looked up at Vince.

  “Oh, Colin,” Paul began.

  “If it is okay with your father,
I would love for you to come with us. Nikolai needs a friendly face.” Vince winked at Colin.

  “You sure?” Paul looked at Vince.

  “I think his sister wants to see him, too.” Dante brought Katiana in; she giggled and kissed Nikolai’s forehead.

  Andrei watched as Nikolai’s half-sister, Katiana, smiled and hugged him. He and Vince had decided to use the same surrogate as Dante and Kyle. She was a good person - trustworthy, intelligent, and had taken wonderful care of herself and the baby. After seeing how well she had done with Kyle and Dante’s child, Andrei and Vince had asked her to carry their child as well. Wendy had been a saint.

  A nurse came in and put her arms out for the baby, rolling her eyes when Vince growled at her.

  “This one I trust.” Jordan motioned to the nurse. “She’s not an incompetent crybaby. Just bossy.”

  “Oh, go to hell, Jordan,” the nurse winked.

  “See?” Jordan laughed.

  Vince handed Nikolai over and eyed the nurse. “Lead the way.”

  ~*~

  During the first two weeks at home with Nikolai, Andrei slept peacefully for eight hours every night. Whenever he tried to get up with the baby, Vince would already be there, taking care of everything. Instead of arguing with Vince, Andrei bided his time and waited. He knew that sooner or later Vince would run out of energy and be so sleep-deprived that Andrei could finally spend some time with his son.

  Two weeks and two days in, Vince collapsed and Andrei got his wish. He relaxed on the couch, feeding the baby. Nikolai was smiling gummily at him and Andrei played with his little fingers. He heard a short knock and then Mark and Paul walked in with the kids. Andrei had no idea why they still knocked. Being as close as they all were, it wasn’t unusual to have any of the group just walk in at any time.

  Paul headed for the kitchen as Mark came in with Phoebe, Conner and Colin.

  “Beer in the fridge?” Paul looked around the corner.

  “Yes, Paul,” Andrei smiled.

  “Vince?” Mark looked around.

  “He has been asleep for 12 hours,” Andrei chuckled.

  “Finally collapsed, huh?” Mark smiled. He looked down at Conner, sleeping peacefully with his pacifier.

  “How are you coping with your own crazy?” Andrei snickered.

  “Well he’s a lot like Vince in that respect — baby-proofing the hell out of the house and doing everything on his own.”

  “I let you change him yesterday.” Paul came in with a beer, smiling.

  “Oh yes, thank you so much for that.” Mark rolled his eyes.

  “I’m trying,” Paul grinned, placing a kiss on Mark’s head.

  Andrei laughed and put Nikolai over his shoulder; he ran his hand around in circles and Nikolai let out a loud burp.

  “Wow,” Andrei smiled at his son. “That was a good one.”

  “He’s so cute,” Colin giggled, leaning over the back of the couch.

  “Come sit down, Colin.” Andrei patted the couch.

  Colin sat down next to them and Nikolai reached for him; Andrei smiled and put Nikolai in Colin’s arms.

  “He’s very tiny,” Colin smiled, kissing Nikolai’s smooth cheek.

  “Well, he surprised us by coming early,” Andrei smiled. “But he is putting weight on.”

  Nikolai let out a loud sigh and everyone heard Vince come to life in the bedroom.

  “Where is he? I hear him!”

  “We are out here, my love,” Andrei called out with a smile.

  Vince came out in disarray and skidded to a stop when he noticed the guests in his living room.

  “Hey.”

  “Wow. You look like hell, Vince,” Mark said, barely stifling a laugh.

  “Very funny.” Vince smiled down at his son. “I need to feed him.”

  “It has been done,” Andrei said, somewhat smugly.

  “Diaper?”

  “Done, but I am sure he will leave you a present soon.” Andrei smiled wide.

  “I’m sorry, babe.” Vince sat next to Andrei on the couch and stroked his hair. “I know I haven’t been easy to live with.”

  “Pffft,” Mark laughed.

  “I know, I know, I’m nuts.” Vince rolled his eyes.

  “Admitting it is the first step,” Colin piped up.

  They all laughed loudly and Vince looked at Colin. “You have been hanging out with Uncle Chris again, haven’t you?”

  “Maybe,” Colin hedged slyly.

  “Well, pretty soon he’s going to have his own child and then we will see what he’s like.” Vince grinned maniacally.

  “Oh, it won’t be Chris that’s nuts, it will be Dimitri,” Mark stated emphatically.

  “Five bucks?” Vince smiled.

  Mark snorted. “You’re on.”

  ~*~

  As Nikolai grew, so did the love Colin had for him. Andrei watched affectionately as Colin doted on his son at every opportunity. When Nikolai turned one, they threw a huge party for him. The cake had been served and the adults were sitting around the living room with coffee.

  Colin had taken Nikolai and now sat on the couch with him, playing with his cheeks. Nikolai just smiled and let out little noises, throwing in a spit bubble now and then. Andrei smiled at the two of them.

  “He likes you very much.” Andrei stroked Colin’s face with the back of his hand.

  “You think he can see me, Uncle Andrei? I know babies can’t see very well.”

  “You are very smart, Colin; I think he sees you just fine.” Andrei smiled as his son put his hand out to Colin.

  Colin held Nikolai close and whispered in his ear. “I’ll always protect you.”

  Vince smiled as he watched Colin with his son, and took Andrei’s hand; he pulled him up and stroked his face.

  “Looks like we have an extra bodyguard.”

  “Lin.” Nikolai put his arms out to Colin.

  Colin smiled and picked him up, holding him close. “What’s up, little man?”

  “Luv.” Nikolai patted Colin’s face and gave him a wet, open-mouthed kiss.

  “Wow…” Vince cracked up.

  “He is very forward,” Andrei chuckled.

  “It’s OK.” Colin smiled, holding Nikolai tightly. “I love him, too.”

  Colin walked off with Nikolai cuddled in his arms, and Vince looked at Paul and smiled.

  “You are paying for that wedding.”

  ~*~

  When the terrible twos hit, Vince almost went bald. The only one who could calm his son down was Colin, so he spent a lot of time at Vince and Andrei’s. Today was no different. They were all gathered around, hanging out with the kids, and Nikolai was pulling the DVDs off of the shelf.

  “Nikolai, Daddy has said no.” Andrei cocked an eyebrow at him.

  Nikolai pulled another one down and looked at his father with a wide smile. “No,” Nikolai giggled as it hit the floor.

  “Nikolai, that’s not nice,” Colin frowned.

  Nikolai pouted and put the movies back on the shelf. Granted they were upside down, but Andrei didn’t care. The look on his son’s face was priceless.

  “Better?” Nikolai smiled.

  “Much.” Colin put his arms out and Nikolai went into his embrace.

  “I am thinking we will have to hire you fulltime, Colin,” Andrei smiled at him.

  “He’s just like Uncle Vince, that’s all,” Colin snickered.

  Vince laughed. “I’d argue but it’s true.”

  ~*~

  When Nikolai was five years old, he and Colin became inseparable. Each and every time they were near each other, Nikolai would run and pounce on Colin, knocking him down. Colin had begun calling him ‘Tigger.’

  As the gang was gathered at Jordan and Stefan’s to watch a football game, the kids decided to spend the day outside. Colin had fallen asleep in a lounge chair and Nikolai was palming his face and smiling. Colin was his best friend in the whole world and he always watched out for him. Nikolai glanced up to see his fathers and uncles lo
oking at him, and he blushed.

  “What?”

  Vince smiled and mussed his hair. “You like him.”

  “I love him, Daddy.” Nikolai blushed crimson.

  “Oh, really?” Andrei raised an eyebrow.

  “He’s my bestest friend,” Nikolai giggled.

  “Well, we know he loves you,” Mark smiled at the little boy.

  “Really?” Nikolai’s eyes widened.

  “Oh, definitely,” Paul assured him.

  As the sun set, the kids ran around the pond, chasing each other. Most of the adults were inside getting dinner started. Colin had woken up in the lounge chair alone and panicked. It wasn’t like Nikolai to leave his side. He cursed himself for taking a nap. He looked everywhere for Nikolai and couldn’t find him. Suddenly, he heard a loud cracking noise and looked up; Nikolai was in the tree house.

  “Nikolai…get out of there now. It’s not strong anymore and the boards are rotted.”

  “I thought they fixed it?” Nikolai felt a board give way and tried to hang on to anything he could find.

  “Colin!” he shouted in panic.

  “Oh God!” Colin watched in horror as the board was breaking. “Get out of there!”

  Nikolai was trying to crawl out the window of the tree house and Colin was underneath it, with his arms out.

  “I’m scared, Colin!”

  “I’ll catch you, I promise!” Colin positioned himself.

  All the kids had turned around when they heard the shouting and Jordan flew out of the house with Vince right on his heels. Nikolai leapt from the window and Colin caught him, knocking them both to the ground. They watched in horror as the tree house gave way and landed on the boys.

  “Fuck!” Vince ran and tried to find both children.

  “Get out here guys!” Jordan shouted.

  Everyone ran over and started pulling boards off; Nikolai was found first. There was a deep gash in his forehead and his leg was obviously broken. He had landed right on top of Colin, who had broken most of his fall.

  “Oh God!” Andrei cried.

  “Hang on, Colin, we’ll get you out!”

  “Oh, God, Paul!” Mark held Phoebe tightly to him.

  “My brother!” Conner was trying to pull off more wood and they were finally able to reach Colin; he was unconscious and bleeding badly.