MacsGirlMel
Mac's Personal Assistant
Yay, now they can get back with each other *is extremely happy*
Back To You
- Thread starter MegBreanne
- Start date
MegBreanne
Police Officer
Chapter 18:
As soon as they'd freed Nick from the home made jail cell, he'd been whisked off from the house in an ambulance, headed straight for Desert Palms Hospital, with Warrick by his side.
They hadn't really been able to talk to Nick about Sara, and what was going on.
"How are we going to handle this?" Catherine asked, running a hand over her tired face as she stared out the passenger side window of the Denali.
"It's not for us to handle, Cath," Grissom informed her. He noticed the look that she shot in his direction. "Look, all I'm saying is that Nick needs to be the one to reach out and contact his family. Let them know he's alive."
Greg bobbed his head in agreement from the back seat. "And Sara? What do we tell him? They hid their relationship from us, so as far as he's concerned, unless we say otherwise, we wouldn't have the slightest clue . . ."
Grissom sighed. He knew that Greg had a point. Figuring out how to inform Nick of Sara's whereabouts would be tricky. And how much should they tell him?
Sara had already had complications with her pregnancy, and all though since her mandatory bedrest was over, she was still to avoid highly emotional and stressful situations. Nick just showing up would surely be a shock. And what about for him? She was pregnant with his child . . . if they told him about his baby, he'd have time to process the information, in case he reacted in a not so favorable light, though Grissom really couldn't see that happening. But no matter what, he needed to be aware of the situation and what the shock could cause . . . but then again, it wasn't really their place to tell Nick about such a joyous event . . .
After Grissom's long pause, Catherine sighed. "I think we let Nick take the lead. If he wants one of us to call his family, we do. If he wants to do it, fine. As far as Sara is concerned, we should just say that she is on leave of absense from work, and went out of town."
"That sounds good," Grissom agreed, thankful that Catherine just laid it on the line as to what her opinion was. She was at least the more personable of the two of them, and surely she'd have known what to do . . . "But, what if Nick asks where she went?"
"Be elusive," Catherine shrugged. "We can say she went to Texas for a while, but not say where. Nick's an investigator. It's in his blood to find people. And I don't think it'll take long for him to set the ball in motion to find her. He loves her. And a man like Nick - you can't keep someone that in love away from the person that they care the most in the world about." She smiled a little, wishing that she had someone like that in her life.
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"I'm fine," Nick said stubbornly as a number of doctors tested his reflexes, and another shone a bright light into his eyes. "And I'm not blind!"
Warrick chuckled from outside the hospital door, listening to Nick's complaints about the fussing over him.
"How's he doing?" Catherine asked coming to a stop behind him. She peered into the small window on the door trying to get a look at him. Though she'd held him already, she seemed to almost still be trying to make it real.
"He's alive," Warrick smiled. That said it all. "How could anything be wrong?"
Catherine smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder. She sighed as she noticed an orderly yank the paper curtain on the rod around the track, blocking Nick from her view. She turned around to face Grissom and Greg who'd been standing quietly behind them.
"We need to keep this out of the press," she said in a low tone. "Nick has to tell his family first, and if Sara hears about Nick while she's alone, something really bad could happen . . ."
Jim nodded his head in affirmation of Catherine's statement as he approached the team. "I made sure that the department has done everything in their power to make sure that this doesn't get out before Nick has had a chance to talk to his family. Including Sara." He looked around at the hospital staff and patients who wandered the halls before turning back to the group and continuing in a low voice, "but we can't keep this under wraps. A Real McCoy story doesn't stay hidden long."
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About an hour later, the doctors emerged from Nick's room with smiles on their faces.
"I presume you are here about Mr. Stokes?" a man in a white lab coat questioned. When all heads nodded in affirmation he introduced himself. "I'm Dr. Ackles, the head Doctor on his case. He's doing remarkably well. Though I strongly insist that he seek therapy to deal with his ordeal, physically, he's in good shape. He wasn't starved, and doesn't seem to be abused. I have prescribed a round of antibiotics for him though. A small infection has formed in his mouth. It appears that a molar was ripped from his gums at some point during his ordeal. He says that he doesn't remember when it happened. It looked like it was done a number of weeks ago, so I'm pleased at how limited the infection is. He appears to be suffering from exhaustion, so I have also prescribed some sleeping pills for him, but because of the situation, I would like for another person to be in charge of handling them. He appears to be in OK shape mentally, but that can all change when the reality of the situation sets in. I don't want him to conciously or unconciously take too many of them. At this point, I don't see reason to prescribe him any sort of antidepresents." The doctor looked around at all the people who were listening to his every word, and smiled. "It seems as though Nick has a wonderful support system in place and because of that, I believe he'll do just fine. That being said, this is a period of readjustment for him, so keep an eye on him. Don't crowd him, but don't leave him alone either, alright?"
"Thanks doc," Greg smiled, as Warrick reached out and shook the mans hand.
"Can we see him?" Brass asked eagerly.
Doctor Ackles nodded.
"I'm sure he'd appreciate that. But make sure to keep it brief. We have given him a few of those sleeping pills so he can get some good rest while he's here, but I honestly believe that if nothing severe happens over night while we observe him, he'll be on his way home in the morning."
Grissom sighed in relief. "Thanks again, Doctor Ackles."
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A slight knocking on the door caused Nick to turn his head at the noise. When he saw five framiliar faces staring back at him, he couldn't help but smile faintly. "Hey guys."
"How you feeling?" Catherine asked as she took a seat in the chair beside the bed.
"Better than a few hours ago," he tried to smile, but bit back a yawn.
"I bet," Catherine smiled taking one of Nick's hands in her own.
"I know I asked this before, but . . . where's Sara?"
Grissom jumped in head first. "She took your abduction and supposed death really hard, Nick."
Nick swallowed around the lump that had quickly formed in the back of his throat. He nodded his head in understanding, silently begging for him to continue.
"I don't really think getting into specifics right now is important, but for her own sake, I put her on a Leave of Absense."
"Oh," he managed. "Did anyone call her?" When he noticed that they were all glancing at one another, he took a deep breath. "I'd like to see her, guys."
"She's out of town, Nick," Warrick broke it to him gently.
"When'd she leave? Is she coming back soon?" he asked quickly.
"She left shortly after you disappeared," Greg informed him. "And she hasn't decided if she's coming back."
"Oh," he felt like all the air had been knocked out of his lungs. "Do you know where she went?"
"Texas," Catherine smiled faintly at him. "She didn't even tell us where she was going when she left. She just kind of packed a bag and off she went." She saw the sleepiness in his eyes. Her thumb stroked the skin on the back of his hand. "She really misses you, Nicky. We all have."
He tried to smile, but the tears welled up in his eyes as he pursed his lips together. He nodded his head at them, barely managing to squeak out, "me too."
The door creaked open slightly and Doctor Ackles walked in, looking at Nick and then the rest of the group regretfully. "I know you've not seen each other for a while, but," he glanced at his watch, "it's time to call it a night." He heard Nick sigh in annoyance and looked at him pointedly. "It's just for one night. You need your rest if you intend to leave this hospital tomorrow and start to resume your life."
"Fine," he grumbled, though he was very grateful for everything that the doctors had done for him.
"Hey Nick?" Warrick called, getting his friends attention. "Do you want one of us to call your family?"
Another smile tugged on Nick's lips. He'd missed them so much. The whole thing had left him realizing that he hadn't spent nearly enough time with his family. He'd wished many times that he could just see them one more time. Talk to them one more time. Tell them he loved them one more time. "You know, I think I should probably call them. I want to hear their voices. Hear their reactions when they hear my voice."
Grissom, who'd taken up residence on the opposite side of the bed than Catherine, reached for the phone that sat on the bedside table.
"I think I better wait until morning," Nick yawned, rubbing a hand over his tired face. "If I call now, I know I won't be able to get off the phone. And I don't want to fall asleep while my parents are talking to me. Might not be the best of ideas, huh?" he smirked. "Besides, if I call now, I'll probably wake them up. And I know they wouldn't be able to get back to sleep."
The doctor once again poked his head into the room and cleared his throat and glanced at his watch again for emphasis this time.
"Glad your back, man," Warrick smiled then held out his fist for Nick to bop. The two laughed when they did their little buddy-handshake thing, both having been convinced it'd never happen again.
"Glad to be back."
"I'll bring you some of my Blue Hawaiian blend tomorrow morning," Greg offered, smirking slightly.
"Looking forward to it, G," he smirked back. He reached out his hand and when Greg went to take it in a handshake, he pulled the young CSI down and hugged him briefly, slapping his back. "I know this couldn't have been easy for you. Thanks."
On the way over in the ambulance, Warrick had told Nick bits and pieces of what had been going on in the lab - and how he and Greg had suspected something was up between Walter Gordon's daughter and Sylvia Mullins, including that they'd staked out her home. And know that his case, while being burried alive, was the biggest to date case Greg had worked on, Nick knew it had to have been hard for the new CSI. To work on something so extreme, and personal - like a friend being burried alive - could not have been easy even for a seasoned CSI . . .
"I do it again in a heartbeat, dude," Greg answered honestly, then quickly added, "but I hope I don't have too."
"Me too."
Catherine tried to form the words, but really couldn't. She just ended up making choked up sounds, causing everyone to laugh slightly.
"Oh shut up, guys," she managed, though giggled a little. Then she turned serious. "I don't want to leave you, Nicky."
"I'm not goin' anywhere, I promise," he smiled. He didn't want any of them to leave either, but he knew that they had too. Glancing over he noticed Grissom really didn't know what to say. "You'll come by in the morning?"
He nodded his head. "You bet."
After that, they slowly filtered out of the room. Obviously no one wanted to leave, but none of them wanted to irritate the hospital staff that was caring for their very missed friend, and end up being kicked out.
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The following morning, Catherine and Warrick were the first to arrive at the hospital. Warrick carried a styrofoam box from the diner near the lab.
Warrick knocked on the door and stepped in cautiously. "You decent?"
Nick slowly looked up from Warrick and set down the phone back into its cradle. He looked troubled, but shook his head and forced a smile. "Yeah, I'm decent." He smiled as Catherine stepped in the room. "Good morning."
"Good morning, handsome," she smiled at him.
Nick smelt the air and his stomach grumbled. "What's in the box?"
"Your breakfast," Catherine informed him. "Pancakes with butter and tones of maple syrup. And bacon and sausages."
Warrick handed Nick the container which held not only the food, but the plastic fork as well.
Hungrily, he tore open the offered box and dug in.
Catherine chuckled as Nick savored the taste.
"Better than I remembered," he commented as he dug in to the food for another bite.
Warrick nodded towards the phone, his eyebrows raised. "So, what's up? You looked like you were deep in thought when we came in."
He slowly lowered the fork from his mouth and set it back down in the container. He glanced down at the bed. "I'm just not sure how to do it. Call my parents, I mean."
"It's pretty simple," Greg joked, walking into the room with a jug of his Blue Hawaiian and styrofoam cups to go around, "you just pick up this end here," like this, he set down the stuff in his arms and picked up object, demonstrating, "dial the numbers, and it's like magic -- someone will answer."
Nick rolled his eyes, but smirked. "Gee, why didn't I know that?"
"Seriously, Nick," Catherine tried to get the conversation back on track, "what's going on?"
He sighed, scratching the back of his head. "I just don't know how to do it, you know. I mean, it's not like I can just say "Hey, it's Nick. How are you all doing?". They thought I was dead. Getting a phone call from your back from the dead son has got to be one weird conversation."
"Imagine the reunion," Greg grinned.
"That's a great idea, Greg," Grissom entered the room. "Go home, Nick. Don't call them. Just go."
Nick pondered the idea for a few minutes. "I don't know, guys. I mean, I'm just so tired. Driving wouldn't be safe. And flying . . . I've spent so much time in a tight space that if I went back, I think I'd probably just loose my mind."
"I'll talk to my father," Catherine said. "You could fly home in his jet. You'd have more space to move around, and it's actually rather large. Besides that, you'd be able to take some pills with you just incase you need to relax. The regulations for private jets are lot more lax than those of commercial flights."
Nick thought about it for a minute. "Are you sure he won't mind?"
"I'm sure he'd be thrilled, Nick. For as much as he has a reputation for being heartless, he is a kind man when it comes down to it. He knows how much I've missed you, and he'll know what it means to me if you're able to go see your family."
"OK," he breathed out. "But I do have a favor to ask you all."
"Name it," Greg said as they all waited to hear what the favor was.
"Come with me?" he asked. "I don't want to be by myself anymore." He felt so weak even admitting that, but he knew that this was not the time for his pride to get in the way. He needed his friends. He knew that. He could admit that.
"I'm sure we can arrange for that," Grissom nodded his head. "I'll have to clear it with Ecklie. But I have a couple of favors to call in, and I think this qualifies as a good reason."
Nick smiled thankfully. "Lindsay would love the ranch, Cath. Lots of space to just run around. Clean air. I've got a couple of neices her age. They'd get along great."
"I'll tell her to pack her bags, Nicky," Catherine beamed.
"So, as soon as I get out of here," Nick sighed, smiling, "I'm going home."
"Yep," Warrick grinned. "Sounds good, huh?"
Not long afterwards, the team left his side at the hospital to go home and pack their bags, as well as for Grissom to speak with Ecklie. Warrick agreed to stop by Nick's house to grab some of Nick's clothes that hadn't yet been sent to the second hand stores. When Nick was released, he walked out of the hospital and sat down on a bench, feeling the warm sun on his face, the fresh air in his lungs.
Waiting for his friends to get back so they could get to the private jet, he smiled. "I'm almost home."
TBC . . . .
As soon as they'd freed Nick from the home made jail cell, he'd been whisked off from the house in an ambulance, headed straight for Desert Palms Hospital, with Warrick by his side.
They hadn't really been able to talk to Nick about Sara, and what was going on.
"How are we going to handle this?" Catherine asked, running a hand over her tired face as she stared out the passenger side window of the Denali.
"It's not for us to handle, Cath," Grissom informed her. He noticed the look that she shot in his direction. "Look, all I'm saying is that Nick needs to be the one to reach out and contact his family. Let them know he's alive."
Greg bobbed his head in agreement from the back seat. "And Sara? What do we tell him? They hid their relationship from us, so as far as he's concerned, unless we say otherwise, we wouldn't have the slightest clue . . ."
Grissom sighed. He knew that Greg had a point. Figuring out how to inform Nick of Sara's whereabouts would be tricky. And how much should they tell him?
Sara had already had complications with her pregnancy, and all though since her mandatory bedrest was over, she was still to avoid highly emotional and stressful situations. Nick just showing up would surely be a shock. And what about for him? She was pregnant with his child . . . if they told him about his baby, he'd have time to process the information, in case he reacted in a not so favorable light, though Grissom really couldn't see that happening. But no matter what, he needed to be aware of the situation and what the shock could cause . . . but then again, it wasn't really their place to tell Nick about such a joyous event . . .
After Grissom's long pause, Catherine sighed. "I think we let Nick take the lead. If he wants one of us to call his family, we do. If he wants to do it, fine. As far as Sara is concerned, we should just say that she is on leave of absense from work, and went out of town."
"That sounds good," Grissom agreed, thankful that Catherine just laid it on the line as to what her opinion was. She was at least the more personable of the two of them, and surely she'd have known what to do . . . "But, what if Nick asks where she went?"
"Be elusive," Catherine shrugged. "We can say she went to Texas for a while, but not say where. Nick's an investigator. It's in his blood to find people. And I don't think it'll take long for him to set the ball in motion to find her. He loves her. And a man like Nick - you can't keep someone that in love away from the person that they care the most in the world about." She smiled a little, wishing that she had someone like that in her life.
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"I'm fine," Nick said stubbornly as a number of doctors tested his reflexes, and another shone a bright light into his eyes. "And I'm not blind!"
Warrick chuckled from outside the hospital door, listening to Nick's complaints about the fussing over him.
"How's he doing?" Catherine asked coming to a stop behind him. She peered into the small window on the door trying to get a look at him. Though she'd held him already, she seemed to almost still be trying to make it real.
"He's alive," Warrick smiled. That said it all. "How could anything be wrong?"
Catherine smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder. She sighed as she noticed an orderly yank the paper curtain on the rod around the track, blocking Nick from her view. She turned around to face Grissom and Greg who'd been standing quietly behind them.
"We need to keep this out of the press," she said in a low tone. "Nick has to tell his family first, and if Sara hears about Nick while she's alone, something really bad could happen . . ."
Jim nodded his head in affirmation of Catherine's statement as he approached the team. "I made sure that the department has done everything in their power to make sure that this doesn't get out before Nick has had a chance to talk to his family. Including Sara." He looked around at the hospital staff and patients who wandered the halls before turning back to the group and continuing in a low voice, "but we can't keep this under wraps. A Real McCoy story doesn't stay hidden long."
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About an hour later, the doctors emerged from Nick's room with smiles on their faces.
"I presume you are here about Mr. Stokes?" a man in a white lab coat questioned. When all heads nodded in affirmation he introduced himself. "I'm Dr. Ackles, the head Doctor on his case. He's doing remarkably well. Though I strongly insist that he seek therapy to deal with his ordeal, physically, he's in good shape. He wasn't starved, and doesn't seem to be abused. I have prescribed a round of antibiotics for him though. A small infection has formed in his mouth. It appears that a molar was ripped from his gums at some point during his ordeal. He says that he doesn't remember when it happened. It looked like it was done a number of weeks ago, so I'm pleased at how limited the infection is. He appears to be suffering from exhaustion, so I have also prescribed some sleeping pills for him, but because of the situation, I would like for another person to be in charge of handling them. He appears to be in OK shape mentally, but that can all change when the reality of the situation sets in. I don't want him to conciously or unconciously take too many of them. At this point, I don't see reason to prescribe him any sort of antidepresents." The doctor looked around at all the people who were listening to his every word, and smiled. "It seems as though Nick has a wonderful support system in place and because of that, I believe he'll do just fine. That being said, this is a period of readjustment for him, so keep an eye on him. Don't crowd him, but don't leave him alone either, alright?"
"Thanks doc," Greg smiled, as Warrick reached out and shook the mans hand.
"Can we see him?" Brass asked eagerly.
Doctor Ackles nodded.
"I'm sure he'd appreciate that. But make sure to keep it brief. We have given him a few of those sleeping pills so he can get some good rest while he's here, but I honestly believe that if nothing severe happens over night while we observe him, he'll be on his way home in the morning."
Grissom sighed in relief. "Thanks again, Doctor Ackles."
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A slight knocking on the door caused Nick to turn his head at the noise. When he saw five framiliar faces staring back at him, he couldn't help but smile faintly. "Hey guys."
"How you feeling?" Catherine asked as she took a seat in the chair beside the bed.
"Better than a few hours ago," he tried to smile, but bit back a yawn.
"I bet," Catherine smiled taking one of Nick's hands in her own.
"I know I asked this before, but . . . where's Sara?"
Grissom jumped in head first. "She took your abduction and supposed death really hard, Nick."
Nick swallowed around the lump that had quickly formed in the back of his throat. He nodded his head in understanding, silently begging for him to continue.
"I don't really think getting into specifics right now is important, but for her own sake, I put her on a Leave of Absense."
"Oh," he managed. "Did anyone call her?" When he noticed that they were all glancing at one another, he took a deep breath. "I'd like to see her, guys."
"She's out of town, Nick," Warrick broke it to him gently.
"When'd she leave? Is she coming back soon?" he asked quickly.
"She left shortly after you disappeared," Greg informed him. "And she hasn't decided if she's coming back."
"Oh," he felt like all the air had been knocked out of his lungs. "Do you know where she went?"
"Texas," Catherine smiled faintly at him. "She didn't even tell us where she was going when she left. She just kind of packed a bag and off she went." She saw the sleepiness in his eyes. Her thumb stroked the skin on the back of his hand. "She really misses you, Nicky. We all have."
He tried to smile, but the tears welled up in his eyes as he pursed his lips together. He nodded his head at them, barely managing to squeak out, "me too."
The door creaked open slightly and Doctor Ackles walked in, looking at Nick and then the rest of the group regretfully. "I know you've not seen each other for a while, but," he glanced at his watch, "it's time to call it a night." He heard Nick sigh in annoyance and looked at him pointedly. "It's just for one night. You need your rest if you intend to leave this hospital tomorrow and start to resume your life."
"Fine," he grumbled, though he was very grateful for everything that the doctors had done for him.
"Hey Nick?" Warrick called, getting his friends attention. "Do you want one of us to call your family?"
Another smile tugged on Nick's lips. He'd missed them so much. The whole thing had left him realizing that he hadn't spent nearly enough time with his family. He'd wished many times that he could just see them one more time. Talk to them one more time. Tell them he loved them one more time. "You know, I think I should probably call them. I want to hear their voices. Hear their reactions when they hear my voice."
Grissom, who'd taken up residence on the opposite side of the bed than Catherine, reached for the phone that sat on the bedside table.
"I think I better wait until morning," Nick yawned, rubbing a hand over his tired face. "If I call now, I know I won't be able to get off the phone. And I don't want to fall asleep while my parents are talking to me. Might not be the best of ideas, huh?" he smirked. "Besides, if I call now, I'll probably wake them up. And I know they wouldn't be able to get back to sleep."
The doctor once again poked his head into the room and cleared his throat and glanced at his watch again for emphasis this time.
"Glad your back, man," Warrick smiled then held out his fist for Nick to bop. The two laughed when they did their little buddy-handshake thing, both having been convinced it'd never happen again.
"Glad to be back."
"I'll bring you some of my Blue Hawaiian blend tomorrow morning," Greg offered, smirking slightly.
"Looking forward to it, G," he smirked back. He reached out his hand and when Greg went to take it in a handshake, he pulled the young CSI down and hugged him briefly, slapping his back. "I know this couldn't have been easy for you. Thanks."
On the way over in the ambulance, Warrick had told Nick bits and pieces of what had been going on in the lab - and how he and Greg had suspected something was up between Walter Gordon's daughter and Sylvia Mullins, including that they'd staked out her home. And know that his case, while being burried alive, was the biggest to date case Greg had worked on, Nick knew it had to have been hard for the new CSI. To work on something so extreme, and personal - like a friend being burried alive - could not have been easy even for a seasoned CSI . . .
"I do it again in a heartbeat, dude," Greg answered honestly, then quickly added, "but I hope I don't have too."
"Me too."
Catherine tried to form the words, but really couldn't. She just ended up making choked up sounds, causing everyone to laugh slightly.
"Oh shut up, guys," she managed, though giggled a little. Then she turned serious. "I don't want to leave you, Nicky."
"I'm not goin' anywhere, I promise," he smiled. He didn't want any of them to leave either, but he knew that they had too. Glancing over he noticed Grissom really didn't know what to say. "You'll come by in the morning?"
He nodded his head. "You bet."
After that, they slowly filtered out of the room. Obviously no one wanted to leave, but none of them wanted to irritate the hospital staff that was caring for their very missed friend, and end up being kicked out.
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The following morning, Catherine and Warrick were the first to arrive at the hospital. Warrick carried a styrofoam box from the diner near the lab.
Warrick knocked on the door and stepped in cautiously. "You decent?"
Nick slowly looked up from Warrick and set down the phone back into its cradle. He looked troubled, but shook his head and forced a smile. "Yeah, I'm decent." He smiled as Catherine stepped in the room. "Good morning."
"Good morning, handsome," she smiled at him.
Nick smelt the air and his stomach grumbled. "What's in the box?"
"Your breakfast," Catherine informed him. "Pancakes with butter and tones of maple syrup. And bacon and sausages."
Warrick handed Nick the container which held not only the food, but the plastic fork as well.
Hungrily, he tore open the offered box and dug in.
Catherine chuckled as Nick savored the taste.
"Better than I remembered," he commented as he dug in to the food for another bite.
Warrick nodded towards the phone, his eyebrows raised. "So, what's up? You looked like you were deep in thought when we came in."
He slowly lowered the fork from his mouth and set it back down in the container. He glanced down at the bed. "I'm just not sure how to do it. Call my parents, I mean."
"It's pretty simple," Greg joked, walking into the room with a jug of his Blue Hawaiian and styrofoam cups to go around, "you just pick up this end here," like this, he set down the stuff in his arms and picked up object, demonstrating, "dial the numbers, and it's like magic -- someone will answer."
Nick rolled his eyes, but smirked. "Gee, why didn't I know that?"
"Seriously, Nick," Catherine tried to get the conversation back on track, "what's going on?"
He sighed, scratching the back of his head. "I just don't know how to do it, you know. I mean, it's not like I can just say "Hey, it's Nick. How are you all doing?". They thought I was dead. Getting a phone call from your back from the dead son has got to be one weird conversation."
"Imagine the reunion," Greg grinned.
"That's a great idea, Greg," Grissom entered the room. "Go home, Nick. Don't call them. Just go."
Nick pondered the idea for a few minutes. "I don't know, guys. I mean, I'm just so tired. Driving wouldn't be safe. And flying . . . I've spent so much time in a tight space that if I went back, I think I'd probably just loose my mind."
"I'll talk to my father," Catherine said. "You could fly home in his jet. You'd have more space to move around, and it's actually rather large. Besides that, you'd be able to take some pills with you just incase you need to relax. The regulations for private jets are lot more lax than those of commercial flights."
Nick thought about it for a minute. "Are you sure he won't mind?"
"I'm sure he'd be thrilled, Nick. For as much as he has a reputation for being heartless, he is a kind man when it comes down to it. He knows how much I've missed you, and he'll know what it means to me if you're able to go see your family."
"OK," he breathed out. "But I do have a favor to ask you all."
"Name it," Greg said as they all waited to hear what the favor was.
"Come with me?" he asked. "I don't want to be by myself anymore." He felt so weak even admitting that, but he knew that this was not the time for his pride to get in the way. He needed his friends. He knew that. He could admit that.
"I'm sure we can arrange for that," Grissom nodded his head. "I'll have to clear it with Ecklie. But I have a couple of favors to call in, and I think this qualifies as a good reason."
Nick smiled thankfully. "Lindsay would love the ranch, Cath. Lots of space to just run around. Clean air. I've got a couple of neices her age. They'd get along great."
"I'll tell her to pack her bags, Nicky," Catherine beamed.
"So, as soon as I get out of here," Nick sighed, smiling, "I'm going home."
"Yep," Warrick grinned. "Sounds good, huh?"
Not long afterwards, the team left his side at the hospital to go home and pack their bags, as well as for Grissom to speak with Ecklie. Warrick agreed to stop by Nick's house to grab some of Nick's clothes that hadn't yet been sent to the second hand stores. When Nick was released, he walked out of the hospital and sat down on a bench, feeling the warm sun on his face, the fresh air in his lungs.
Waiting for his friends to get back so they could get to the private jet, he smiled. "I'm almost home."
TBC . . . .
MacsGirlMel
Mac's Personal Assistant
I think they should go ahead and tell her, she needs to know.
more more!
more more!
MegBreanne
Police Officer
Chapter 19:
"Which way, Man?" Warrick asked as he sat in the drivers seat of the Silverado pick up truck that they'd rented at the Dallas/Ft. Worth airport.
Nick pointed, from the front passenger seat, in the direction that Warrick needed to go. He checked out his surroundings, breathing in the clean, but hot, Texas air.
"God, it's hot," Lindsay groaned as she fanned herself with a tourism brochure. She was in the front, sitting between Warrick and Nick.
"Yeah, it is," Nick agreed softly. The windows were rolled down and though the wind was blowing, it was still quite warm. The sunshine on his face was still something that he was getting used to again. And he was revelling in the sensations that it was providing him with.
"Move your elbow," Catherine hissed quietly between clenched teeth.
"Sorry," he apologized and shifted in his seat, trying to readjust his body.
"You need to eat something Greg, 'cause your a little too boney," she informed him.
Nick laughed. "Just wait 'til my mom feeds ya, Greg. Cath won't be complaining about not enough meat on your bones then."
"That just sounds wrong," the fifteen year old groaned, getting a round of laughs from everyone.
"Are you sure your parents won't mind us staying at the ranch, Nick?" Grissom asked from the back seat.
"There's plent of room, Gris. I promise ya," he said, taking a deep breath.
Nick surveyed the land around him. The rolling green pastures and the blazing hot sun shone down on the landscape. "God I've missed this," he said quietly. And he couldn't help but think of the one person that he really wanted to share it with . . . and how she wasn't there with him.
Soft rock played from the speakers of the truck quietly. The time passed slowly for everyone in the vehicle, anxious to get to the ranch.
"Won't be much longer," Nick said, starting to feel his body tighten with anxiety and excitement.
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She was trying to enjoy herself. She put a smile on her face and tried to listen, though her heart was begging her not too . . .
" . . . so, we're sitting there," Charolotte giggled, "on the bed in our upstairs bedroom, talking about these two really cute guys from our school, thinking that we're all alone and little ears wouldn't be able to listen in -"
"And we hear this sneeze," Rebecca, the second oldest of Nick's sisters laughs. "I remember yelling out that who ever was out there was going to wish they'd never been born!"
"Poor little guy was so frightened he fell out of the tree and broke his arm!" Charlotte finished, wiping the tears of laughter away from her orbs.
"And all Nicky got was one buck?" Nicole questioned her siblings this having been the first time that she'd heard the real reason behind Nick's broken arm that had happened at the tender age of 4. The little guy had been quite the climber. And had been told the only way to get his super important, and super secret job done was to climb the tree outside the bedroom and listen closely to hear what they were saying, then report back what he'd heard . . .
Tom smirked, laughter dancing in his own eyes. "One buck back then was a lot of cash!" he defended, though he couldn't help but chuckle. "Besides that, Nick could've counter offered and tried to get a couple of extra bucks."
"He was too young to know any different!" Bill smiled.
"You, however," Jillian said with a stern face aimed towards her oldest, "knew better." Soon, she broke out in a soft smile of her own, recalling the memory.
"Yes, I did know better. In fact, I remember thinking that my little sisters were getting a little too boy crazy for my liking and that they wouldn't tell me who they were dating. And since I needed to know so that I could teach them a thing or two about how to treat the Stokes women, I needed someone who could get me that information."
"We wouldn't tell you for good reason!" Gabby, who'd been sitting quietly by, interjected. Though she hadn't been privy to this particular saga, she knew Tom's older brother protective streak well.
"Well I got my information from a reliable source and that's what counts," he smirked.
"Yeah from a four year old!"
"Who broke his arm!"
"For a whole buck!"
Sara sat back, her arms resting on the sides of the chair, hands draped lightly over her stomach. She smiled a little, trying to be happy. She was the only one who was having problems enjoying herself.
Everyone had been concerned that this being the first Stokes family summer barbeque without Nick that it would be sad. But in a way, the entire family with the exception of Sara, were bonding over his loss. Telling stories and laughing at little memories.
"Excuse me," Sara smiled a little uncomfortably as she stood up, her throat constricting. "I'm just going to go for a walk." She just didn't understand how they could all be so OK with things. How they were seemingly at peace with what had happened.
"I'll join you," Madeline offered, starting to stand up herself.
"No, no," Sara said quickly, turning to glance at her. "You stay. Have fun," she encouraged. Though she felt like she were being rude, and short of saying, 'I need to be by myself,' she just couldn't be around people at the moment.
Maddy nodded her head and eased back into the chair. "If you're sure."
Sara nodded her head and turned around, walking away from the group that sat around the roaring fire in the fire pit and the laughing children who played in the pool and with the various activities that were set up around the yard. The laughter, as nice as it was to hear, was just making her heart ache. How could the world go on like nothing had happened?
"One of us should go after her," Nicole said softly, the mood around the fire sombering.
"No Dear," Jillian shook her head, watching Sara's retreating back. "She just needs to be alone for a while."
The entire family continually glanced at Sara, who'd came to a stop by the half acre pond. The stream and the sounds of the gentle water had a calming effect on her. Perhaps it was because she sat on the swing in the center of the gazebo -- both of which Nick had built. The gazebo had been his mothers day gift to Jillian years back. Over the years, a few up grades had been completed. A coat of white paint, some small white tube lights . . . a few potted plants. The love seat swing sat in the middle of the gazebo, also painted white, which over looked the pond.
Sitting down, Sara allowed a few tears to fall. She placed her hand on her belly. "I'm sorry sweetie," she said softly. "I know you probably want to hear these stories about your Daddy. And one day, you will. I promise. I just can't be there right now. And for the time being, you're stuck with me," she chuckled a little, though it wasn't particularly funny. It was time to laugh or cry, and she was already crying . . .
Sara could hear Nick's nieces and nephews playing ball in the back ground, laughing happily and yelling joyously at one another, egging the others on. Everyone was having fun. Everyone but her. She just didn't want to be responsible for making everyone else miserable. Why should they be? It's not like they hadn't suffered enough already . . .
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The pick up came to a slow and smooth stop infront of the iron gates of the Stokes ranch. The silence in the truck was thick with unspoken emotion.
Warrick glanced over at Nick and noticed that he was taking slow, deep breaths, almost like he was trying to calm himself down. "Ready?"
Nick slowly tore his gaze off the framiliar property and turned his attention to his friend. "Yeah," he nodded his head. He quickly informed Warrick of the code which would open the gates and let them on to the property.
When the iron gates began to open, Nick heard the framiliar creaking. "I'm home," he said quietly as Catherine placed a comforting hand on Nick's shoulder.
Warrick drove leisurely down the driveway, letting Nick take it all in. The driveway was long and winding, but the house slowly came into view and Greg let out a low whistle.
"This is where you grew up?"
Nick nodded his head in affirmation. A smile spread across his face as he noticed a number of framiliar vehicles in the driveway.
"What's that noise?" Lindsay asked, her nose slightly wrinkling with distaste. "Is that country music?"
Nick laughed. "I'll be damned," he smirked.
"What?" Catherine smiled.
"The whole family is here. Every summer, my parents have a huge barbeque and we'd all get together for it . . ."
"So you get to surprise them all at once," Lindsay smiled, setting aside her hatred for country music.
"Exactly," he drawled, slipping back into the ease of his old self. He reached an arm over, dropping it across Lindsay's shoulders. "You're gonna enjoy it here."
She smiled at Nick, still disbelieving that he was sitting there with her. "I'm sure I will," she answered, looking slightly past him towards the stables.
When the truck came to a stop, a couple of animals came running up to the truck to check out who had come along. After a couple of vicious sounding barks directed the never seen before people, Nick opened the passenger side door. "It's OK guys."
Quickly the animals bounded over to Nick, wagging their tails and leaning into him, begging to be pat. He scratched them behind their ears lovingly before turning around to the people in the truck who were sitting their patiently. "It's OK, guys. They won't bite."
When they five passengers had all made it out of the truck, a hyper dog ran towards the group singing.
"Sparky!" Nick knelt down on the ground and grabbed his dog affectionately by the fur around his neck, patting him lovingly. "I've missed you, buddy."
The dog just jumped around, staying close to Nick and licking his face, it's entire body shaking with excitement.
"Boy if this is the reaction you get from the dogs, imagine what your family'll be like," Greg joked.
"The dogs are family, G," Nick smiled as he stood up, Sparky staying close to his leg as he began to walk away. "C'mon, party's out back," he waved for them to follow. "We'll grab our bags later."
Nick lead the group the back yard and glanced back at the group, a sparkle in his eye. He raised his eyebrows in mischief.
"What's he gonna do?" Grissom whispered to Catherine curiously. She just shrugged her shoulders. The small grouped stopped walking, standing back far enough where they'd be able to see the family reunion, but not intrude on it.
Nick spotted four year old Zachary, Maddy's son. "How's the hot dog, Buddy?" Nick questioned the little boy suddenly, picking up the small child in his arms and flipping him upside down. The little boy shrieked with laughter.
"Good!" he nodded his head from his upside down position.
"You wanna have a hot dog eating contest?" Nick asked him conspiritorily. "I remember promising you that we'd do it this year."
Zack's head slowly flexed forward so he could get a good look at the man holding him upside down. "Hey!" he said loudly, but happily, getting the attention of the entire family. "I thought you weren't coming this year!"
Nick smiled at his nephew before turning his attention completely to the shocked faces of his family, which he knew were now looking at them. "Change in plans, Bud." He slowly flipped the tyke right side up and placed him back down on the ground.
The silence that hung in the air was of utter shock and disbelief.
"Nicky?" Jillian was the first to ask, not believing her eyes and barely able to trust her voice. She stepped forward a bit, reaching out to touch him, but hesitating to go any farther. Her hand fell to her sides, scared that he'd disappear just before she could touch him.
"Yeah," he nodded his head, his chin quivering slightly as he took a few tentative steps towards his family. His mother specifically. "It's me," he assured her as he reached out and gently touched her shoulder.
"Oh!" she gasped in shock, the tears that had pooled in her eyes flowing down her cheeks. "Nicky!" her voice was low and cracked with emotion as she collapsed into her youngest childs arms, completely dependent on her son, who'd been supposedly dead for the last few months, to hold her up, keeping her from hitting the ground. "It's really you!" she sobbed, her arms encircling his neck, as she held on tightly. She regained her footing.
"I've missed you," he whispered into her ear, kissing her temple.
"I love you," she said, pulling back and looking into his soulful eyes. His orbs were clouded over a little and he didn't seem to have the same spark as he used too. A sure sign that whatever he'd been through wore on him greatly.
"Let me have a crack at him," Bill couldn't contain his smile as he reached out and pulled his son roughly against him in a tight hug. A stray tear fell down his cheeks. "Good to have you back, Poncho."
"Good to be back, Cisco," Nick laughed. He looked over his fathers shoulder as he pat the older man on the back. He saw the faces of his siblings who stood there, their faces unreadable. His nieces and nephews were just as shocked as the rest of the family, but seemed to be taking it all in. The younger kids just smiled happily, glad to have their Uncle back - but not quite grasping just how close they'd actually been to loosing him. The concept of death was still kind of foreign to them.
"Hey guys," he greeted them. The silence that continued made him chuckle. "Well aren't you going to say anything?"
After a few seconds, all six of his siblings and their spouses began to laugh and cry, hugging him.
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Sara heard the noise at the barbeque suddenly stop. When she turned around to see what was up, the sun was in her eyes, blocking her view. It didn't appear that anyone was hurt. No one was running, and there was no yelling. No one was in distress. She turned her attention back to the pond, just listening the calming noises of the gently rippling water.
A few seconds later, she heard the sudden burst of happy laughter. She turned around again, but still couldn't see anything. The combination of the sun, and the fact that the entire family seemed to be concentrated in one area blocked her view.
She smiled a little feeling the fluttering in her stomach. "You just saying hi, sweetie?" she asked quietly. "I know your in there. We all do," she rubbed her slightly protruding belly. "When are you going to kick me hard enough for your grandparents to feel ya, huh? I know Grandma and Grandpa are really anxious for that. And to tell you the truth, so am I . . ." she chuckled slightly to herself, glancing up at the sun. "Listen to me Nick," she said, "I'm asking our child to kick me."
She glanced down at the soft material of the shirt she was wearing. Just a plain white cotton tee, which she had paired with khaki shorts. "The doctor said that you'll kick when your ready. So anytime you are, Champ, so am I."
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A few minutes later, Catherine, Lindsay, Warrick, Greg and Grissom joined the group.
Catherine pulled Nick's mother to her for a quick hug. "Congratulations," she smiled at the older woman. "You've got your son back."
"Isn't it wonderful?" Jillian smiled. "Not only do we have him back, but he's going to have the chance to be a father to his child." Jillian looked whistfully at Nick for a moment before gasping, which got the attention of Bill and most of Nick's siblings who were still talking excitedly to him.
"What's wrong, Mom?" Nick asked turning around to look at her. "Did I do something wrong already?" he joked.
She smiled, a new batch of tears springing to her eyes as she chuckled softly, reaching out to take Nick's hand in hers. "No, no, nothing like that."
"Then what is it?"
"There is someone else who'll want to see you, Nicky," she smiled at him.
The rest of the family registered what she meant and small smiles graced their lips. Which Nick noticed.
"What? Who?"
Bill smiled proudly at his son. "You did good, Poncho. Real good," he uttered the words a second time as he placed his hands on his sons shoulders and turned his body toward the lake.
The look on Nick's face brightened when he saw the silhoutte of her body in the sun light. He'd know that body anywhere.
He wordlessly stepped away from his family intent on going to her side, but a hand reached out and stopped him. With a questioning look, he turned around, wondering why he hadn't been let go. "Nicole?" he questioned her.
"Don't scare her, Nicky," she smiled softly.
"Why would I scare her?" he asked her, wrinkling his eyebrows in confusion.
Nicole offered a half smile. "Just don't, Nicky. You'll understand why soon enough."
Nick let his hand slip out of his sisters as he began his journey towards the gazebo once again, confusion etched across his face. Shaking his head, he pushed the thought aside. All that mattered was Sara. That she was here. That they were finally going to see each other again.
So many questions ran through his mind - including 'why is she here?' as he slowly moved across the grass. His long, lean legs began to carry him faster and faster until he broke out into a dash across the yard, needing to hold her as quickly as possible.
Warrick chuckled. "Think he's anxious?"
Tom glanced over at Warrick and Greg who stood only a few feet away as the entire family watched as Nick ran towards his love. "Wouldn't you be if you had a woman like Sara?"
"And a woman with her body," Greg muttered, earning himself an elbow in the side from Catherine.
"Well it's true," he protested, rubbing his sore side. She and Nick might be involved, and she might be his pregnant friend, but he was still a red blooded male who'd harbored a crush on her for years.
Nick slowed down as he neared the gazebo. Her silhoutte had become a less and less, and he was able to see her body in the now fading sunlight. He could feel the air leave his lungs and a few tears sprung to his eyes.
Opening his mouth to speak, he found he couldn't. His throat was dry, and he was nervous. He smiled slightly, his lip quivering. Making one more attempt, he managed to croak out, "Sara?"
The hair on her arms stood up and she gasped in shock. "Nick?" Closing her eyes tightly, she prayed that she wasn't crazy. She wasn't hearing things. Slowly, she turned around . . . .
TBC . . . .
A/N: Well, I thought that this would be the reunion chapter, but after it continued to grow in length before I got the main event, I decided that I'd best just end it here, for the sake of being able to update. Even if it is a little later than usual, for which I can't apologize enough. SO, that being said, the next chapter will be the reunion chapter. And just like the last time, if there is anything that you'd like to see happen, please let me know as I will consider all suggestions that come my way.
And if you're wondering in what chapter Bill previously said "you did good Poncho, Real good," it's in chapter 6.
Also, one of my faithful readers (Mma63), whom I value very deeply, expressed some concerns about this story to me. And while I hope that I have assured her of the course that this story is taking, I thought I would let everyone know here that the drama is far from over. I still have a number of avenues to explore, including the wrapping up of Nick's abduction, his dealing with things, and of course, the newest addition to the Stokes family.
"Which way, Man?" Warrick asked as he sat in the drivers seat of the Silverado pick up truck that they'd rented at the Dallas/Ft. Worth airport.
Nick pointed, from the front passenger seat, in the direction that Warrick needed to go. He checked out his surroundings, breathing in the clean, but hot, Texas air.
"God, it's hot," Lindsay groaned as she fanned herself with a tourism brochure. She was in the front, sitting between Warrick and Nick.
"Yeah, it is," Nick agreed softly. The windows were rolled down and though the wind was blowing, it was still quite warm. The sunshine on his face was still something that he was getting used to again. And he was revelling in the sensations that it was providing him with.
"Move your elbow," Catherine hissed quietly between clenched teeth.
"Sorry," he apologized and shifted in his seat, trying to readjust his body.
"You need to eat something Greg, 'cause your a little too boney," she informed him.
Nick laughed. "Just wait 'til my mom feeds ya, Greg. Cath won't be complaining about not enough meat on your bones then."
"That just sounds wrong," the fifteen year old groaned, getting a round of laughs from everyone.
"Are you sure your parents won't mind us staying at the ranch, Nick?" Grissom asked from the back seat.
"There's plent of room, Gris. I promise ya," he said, taking a deep breath.
Nick surveyed the land around him. The rolling green pastures and the blazing hot sun shone down on the landscape. "God I've missed this," he said quietly. And he couldn't help but think of the one person that he really wanted to share it with . . . and how she wasn't there with him.
Soft rock played from the speakers of the truck quietly. The time passed slowly for everyone in the vehicle, anxious to get to the ranch.
"Won't be much longer," Nick said, starting to feel his body tighten with anxiety and excitement.
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She was trying to enjoy herself. She put a smile on her face and tried to listen, though her heart was begging her not too . . .
" . . . so, we're sitting there," Charolotte giggled, "on the bed in our upstairs bedroom, talking about these two really cute guys from our school, thinking that we're all alone and little ears wouldn't be able to listen in -"
"And we hear this sneeze," Rebecca, the second oldest of Nick's sisters laughs. "I remember yelling out that who ever was out there was going to wish they'd never been born!"
"Poor little guy was so frightened he fell out of the tree and broke his arm!" Charlotte finished, wiping the tears of laughter away from her orbs.
"And all Nicky got was one buck?" Nicole questioned her siblings this having been the first time that she'd heard the real reason behind Nick's broken arm that had happened at the tender age of 4. The little guy had been quite the climber. And had been told the only way to get his super important, and super secret job done was to climb the tree outside the bedroom and listen closely to hear what they were saying, then report back what he'd heard . . .
Tom smirked, laughter dancing in his own eyes. "One buck back then was a lot of cash!" he defended, though he couldn't help but chuckle. "Besides that, Nick could've counter offered and tried to get a couple of extra bucks."
"He was too young to know any different!" Bill smiled.
"You, however," Jillian said with a stern face aimed towards her oldest, "knew better." Soon, she broke out in a soft smile of her own, recalling the memory.
"Yes, I did know better. In fact, I remember thinking that my little sisters were getting a little too boy crazy for my liking and that they wouldn't tell me who they were dating. And since I needed to know so that I could teach them a thing or two about how to treat the Stokes women, I needed someone who could get me that information."
"We wouldn't tell you for good reason!" Gabby, who'd been sitting quietly by, interjected. Though she hadn't been privy to this particular saga, she knew Tom's older brother protective streak well.
"Well I got my information from a reliable source and that's what counts," he smirked.
"Yeah from a four year old!"
"Who broke his arm!"
"For a whole buck!"
Sara sat back, her arms resting on the sides of the chair, hands draped lightly over her stomach. She smiled a little, trying to be happy. She was the only one who was having problems enjoying herself.
Everyone had been concerned that this being the first Stokes family summer barbeque without Nick that it would be sad. But in a way, the entire family with the exception of Sara, were bonding over his loss. Telling stories and laughing at little memories.
"Excuse me," Sara smiled a little uncomfortably as she stood up, her throat constricting. "I'm just going to go for a walk." She just didn't understand how they could all be so OK with things. How they were seemingly at peace with what had happened.
"I'll join you," Madeline offered, starting to stand up herself.
"No, no," Sara said quickly, turning to glance at her. "You stay. Have fun," she encouraged. Though she felt like she were being rude, and short of saying, 'I need to be by myself,' she just couldn't be around people at the moment.
Maddy nodded her head and eased back into the chair. "If you're sure."
Sara nodded her head and turned around, walking away from the group that sat around the roaring fire in the fire pit and the laughing children who played in the pool and with the various activities that were set up around the yard. The laughter, as nice as it was to hear, was just making her heart ache. How could the world go on like nothing had happened?
"One of us should go after her," Nicole said softly, the mood around the fire sombering.
"No Dear," Jillian shook her head, watching Sara's retreating back. "She just needs to be alone for a while."
The entire family continually glanced at Sara, who'd came to a stop by the half acre pond. The stream and the sounds of the gentle water had a calming effect on her. Perhaps it was because she sat on the swing in the center of the gazebo -- both of which Nick had built. The gazebo had been his mothers day gift to Jillian years back. Over the years, a few up grades had been completed. A coat of white paint, some small white tube lights . . . a few potted plants. The love seat swing sat in the middle of the gazebo, also painted white, which over looked the pond.
Sitting down, Sara allowed a few tears to fall. She placed her hand on her belly. "I'm sorry sweetie," she said softly. "I know you probably want to hear these stories about your Daddy. And one day, you will. I promise. I just can't be there right now. And for the time being, you're stuck with me," she chuckled a little, though it wasn't particularly funny. It was time to laugh or cry, and she was already crying . . .
Sara could hear Nick's nieces and nephews playing ball in the back ground, laughing happily and yelling joyously at one another, egging the others on. Everyone was having fun. Everyone but her. She just didn't want to be responsible for making everyone else miserable. Why should they be? It's not like they hadn't suffered enough already . . .
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The pick up came to a slow and smooth stop infront of the iron gates of the Stokes ranch. The silence in the truck was thick with unspoken emotion.
Warrick glanced over at Nick and noticed that he was taking slow, deep breaths, almost like he was trying to calm himself down. "Ready?"
Nick slowly tore his gaze off the framiliar property and turned his attention to his friend. "Yeah," he nodded his head. He quickly informed Warrick of the code which would open the gates and let them on to the property.
When the iron gates began to open, Nick heard the framiliar creaking. "I'm home," he said quietly as Catherine placed a comforting hand on Nick's shoulder.
Warrick drove leisurely down the driveway, letting Nick take it all in. The driveway was long and winding, but the house slowly came into view and Greg let out a low whistle.
"This is where you grew up?"
Nick nodded his head in affirmation. A smile spread across his face as he noticed a number of framiliar vehicles in the driveway.
"What's that noise?" Lindsay asked, her nose slightly wrinkling with distaste. "Is that country music?"
Nick laughed. "I'll be damned," he smirked.
"What?" Catherine smiled.
"The whole family is here. Every summer, my parents have a huge barbeque and we'd all get together for it . . ."
"So you get to surprise them all at once," Lindsay smiled, setting aside her hatred for country music.
"Exactly," he drawled, slipping back into the ease of his old self. He reached an arm over, dropping it across Lindsay's shoulders. "You're gonna enjoy it here."
She smiled at Nick, still disbelieving that he was sitting there with her. "I'm sure I will," she answered, looking slightly past him towards the stables.
When the truck came to a stop, a couple of animals came running up to the truck to check out who had come along. After a couple of vicious sounding barks directed the never seen before people, Nick opened the passenger side door. "It's OK guys."
Quickly the animals bounded over to Nick, wagging their tails and leaning into him, begging to be pat. He scratched them behind their ears lovingly before turning around to the people in the truck who were sitting their patiently. "It's OK, guys. They won't bite."
When they five passengers had all made it out of the truck, a hyper dog ran towards the group singing.
"Sparky!" Nick knelt down on the ground and grabbed his dog affectionately by the fur around his neck, patting him lovingly. "I've missed you, buddy."
The dog just jumped around, staying close to Nick and licking his face, it's entire body shaking with excitement.
"Boy if this is the reaction you get from the dogs, imagine what your family'll be like," Greg joked.
"The dogs are family, G," Nick smiled as he stood up, Sparky staying close to his leg as he began to walk away. "C'mon, party's out back," he waved for them to follow. "We'll grab our bags later."
Nick lead the group the back yard and glanced back at the group, a sparkle in his eye. He raised his eyebrows in mischief.
"What's he gonna do?" Grissom whispered to Catherine curiously. She just shrugged her shoulders. The small grouped stopped walking, standing back far enough where they'd be able to see the family reunion, but not intrude on it.
Nick spotted four year old Zachary, Maddy's son. "How's the hot dog, Buddy?" Nick questioned the little boy suddenly, picking up the small child in his arms and flipping him upside down. The little boy shrieked with laughter.
"Good!" he nodded his head from his upside down position.
"You wanna have a hot dog eating contest?" Nick asked him conspiritorily. "I remember promising you that we'd do it this year."
Zack's head slowly flexed forward so he could get a good look at the man holding him upside down. "Hey!" he said loudly, but happily, getting the attention of the entire family. "I thought you weren't coming this year!"
Nick smiled at his nephew before turning his attention completely to the shocked faces of his family, which he knew were now looking at them. "Change in plans, Bud." He slowly flipped the tyke right side up and placed him back down on the ground.
The silence that hung in the air was of utter shock and disbelief.
"Nicky?" Jillian was the first to ask, not believing her eyes and barely able to trust her voice. She stepped forward a bit, reaching out to touch him, but hesitating to go any farther. Her hand fell to her sides, scared that he'd disappear just before she could touch him.
"Yeah," he nodded his head, his chin quivering slightly as he took a few tentative steps towards his family. His mother specifically. "It's me," he assured her as he reached out and gently touched her shoulder.
"Oh!" she gasped in shock, the tears that had pooled in her eyes flowing down her cheeks. "Nicky!" her voice was low and cracked with emotion as she collapsed into her youngest childs arms, completely dependent on her son, who'd been supposedly dead for the last few months, to hold her up, keeping her from hitting the ground. "It's really you!" she sobbed, her arms encircling his neck, as she held on tightly. She regained her footing.
"I've missed you," he whispered into her ear, kissing her temple.
"I love you," she said, pulling back and looking into his soulful eyes. His orbs were clouded over a little and he didn't seem to have the same spark as he used too. A sure sign that whatever he'd been through wore on him greatly.
"Let me have a crack at him," Bill couldn't contain his smile as he reached out and pulled his son roughly against him in a tight hug. A stray tear fell down his cheeks. "Good to have you back, Poncho."
"Good to be back, Cisco," Nick laughed. He looked over his fathers shoulder as he pat the older man on the back. He saw the faces of his siblings who stood there, their faces unreadable. His nieces and nephews were just as shocked as the rest of the family, but seemed to be taking it all in. The younger kids just smiled happily, glad to have their Uncle back - but not quite grasping just how close they'd actually been to loosing him. The concept of death was still kind of foreign to them.
"Hey guys," he greeted them. The silence that continued made him chuckle. "Well aren't you going to say anything?"
After a few seconds, all six of his siblings and their spouses began to laugh and cry, hugging him.
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Sara heard the noise at the barbeque suddenly stop. When she turned around to see what was up, the sun was in her eyes, blocking her view. It didn't appear that anyone was hurt. No one was running, and there was no yelling. No one was in distress. She turned her attention back to the pond, just listening the calming noises of the gently rippling water.
A few seconds later, she heard the sudden burst of happy laughter. She turned around again, but still couldn't see anything. The combination of the sun, and the fact that the entire family seemed to be concentrated in one area blocked her view.
She smiled a little feeling the fluttering in her stomach. "You just saying hi, sweetie?" she asked quietly. "I know your in there. We all do," she rubbed her slightly protruding belly. "When are you going to kick me hard enough for your grandparents to feel ya, huh? I know Grandma and Grandpa are really anxious for that. And to tell you the truth, so am I . . ." she chuckled slightly to herself, glancing up at the sun. "Listen to me Nick," she said, "I'm asking our child to kick me."
She glanced down at the soft material of the shirt she was wearing. Just a plain white cotton tee, which she had paired with khaki shorts. "The doctor said that you'll kick when your ready. So anytime you are, Champ, so am I."
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A few minutes later, Catherine, Lindsay, Warrick, Greg and Grissom joined the group.
Catherine pulled Nick's mother to her for a quick hug. "Congratulations," she smiled at the older woman. "You've got your son back."
"Isn't it wonderful?" Jillian smiled. "Not only do we have him back, but he's going to have the chance to be a father to his child." Jillian looked whistfully at Nick for a moment before gasping, which got the attention of Bill and most of Nick's siblings who were still talking excitedly to him.
"What's wrong, Mom?" Nick asked turning around to look at her. "Did I do something wrong already?" he joked.
She smiled, a new batch of tears springing to her eyes as she chuckled softly, reaching out to take Nick's hand in hers. "No, no, nothing like that."
"Then what is it?"
"There is someone else who'll want to see you, Nicky," she smiled at him.
The rest of the family registered what she meant and small smiles graced their lips. Which Nick noticed.
"What? Who?"
Bill smiled proudly at his son. "You did good, Poncho. Real good," he uttered the words a second time as he placed his hands on his sons shoulders and turned his body toward the lake.
The look on Nick's face brightened when he saw the silhoutte of her body in the sun light. He'd know that body anywhere.
He wordlessly stepped away from his family intent on going to her side, but a hand reached out and stopped him. With a questioning look, he turned around, wondering why he hadn't been let go. "Nicole?" he questioned her.
"Don't scare her, Nicky," she smiled softly.
"Why would I scare her?" he asked her, wrinkling his eyebrows in confusion.
Nicole offered a half smile. "Just don't, Nicky. You'll understand why soon enough."
Nick let his hand slip out of his sisters as he began his journey towards the gazebo once again, confusion etched across his face. Shaking his head, he pushed the thought aside. All that mattered was Sara. That she was here. That they were finally going to see each other again.
So many questions ran through his mind - including 'why is she here?' as he slowly moved across the grass. His long, lean legs began to carry him faster and faster until he broke out into a dash across the yard, needing to hold her as quickly as possible.
Warrick chuckled. "Think he's anxious?"
Tom glanced over at Warrick and Greg who stood only a few feet away as the entire family watched as Nick ran towards his love. "Wouldn't you be if you had a woman like Sara?"
"And a woman with her body," Greg muttered, earning himself an elbow in the side from Catherine.
"Well it's true," he protested, rubbing his sore side. She and Nick might be involved, and she might be his pregnant friend, but he was still a red blooded male who'd harbored a crush on her for years.
Nick slowed down as he neared the gazebo. Her silhoutte had become a less and less, and he was able to see her body in the now fading sunlight. He could feel the air leave his lungs and a few tears sprung to his eyes.
Opening his mouth to speak, he found he couldn't. His throat was dry, and he was nervous. He smiled slightly, his lip quivering. Making one more attempt, he managed to croak out, "Sara?"
The hair on her arms stood up and she gasped in shock. "Nick?" Closing her eyes tightly, she prayed that she wasn't crazy. She wasn't hearing things. Slowly, she turned around . . . .
TBC . . . .
A/N: Well, I thought that this would be the reunion chapter, but after it continued to grow in length before I got the main event, I decided that I'd best just end it here, for the sake of being able to update. Even if it is a little later than usual, for which I can't apologize enough. SO, that being said, the next chapter will be the reunion chapter. And just like the last time, if there is anything that you'd like to see happen, please let me know as I will consider all suggestions that come my way.
And if you're wondering in what chapter Bill previously said "you did good Poncho, Real good," it's in chapter 6.
Also, one of my faithful readers (Mma63), whom I value very deeply, expressed some concerns about this story to me. And while I hope that I have assured her of the course that this story is taking, I thought I would let everyone know here that the drama is far from over. I still have a number of avenues to explore, including the wrapping up of Nick's abduction, his dealing with things, and of course, the newest addition to the Stokes family.
MacsGirlMel
Mac's Personal Assistant
awww...well I hope you post soon. I want more!
MegBreanne
Police Officer
Chapter 20:
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Nick slowed down as he neared the gazebo. Her silhoutte had become a less and less, and he was able to see her body in the now fading sunlight. He could feel the air leave his lungs and a few tears sprung to his eyes.
Opening his mouth to speak, he found he couldn't. His throat was dry, and he was nervous. He smiled slightly, his lip quivering. Making one more attempt, he managed to croak out, "Sara?"
The hair on her arms stood up and she gasped in shock. "Nick?" Closing her eyes tightly, she prayed that she wasn't crazy. She wasn't hearing things. Slowly, she turned around . . . .
"God," she whispered, blinking rapidly and taking a small step backwards, her lower back making contact with the railing of the gazebo, preventing her from falling into the water. "This isn't real," she told herself. "You're not really here. You can't be."
His smile was filled with emotion. "I'm here," he assured her as he took a final step into the gazebo. When he tried to move towards her, she stepped back, her eyes filled with fear. "Sara?" He took in her full appearance . . . she looked different. Not bad different . . . just different. And it was slightly unnerving.
She shook her head vehemently, her natural curls flying around her face emphatically. "No," she choked out, squinting at his image with blurred vision due to tears. "You're not here. This is not real."
His own tears fell. "All I want to do is hold you," he told her honestly, his own tears cascading down his face. Tentatively, he took a step forward, reaching out to her. But when she moved away from him again by stepping to the side, keeping her distance, he stopped. "Why won't you let me?"
"I want too," she admitted. "But I'm talking to a ghost. I'm seeing a ghost! You're not real!" she bawled. "I can't take the pain of realizing that your just in my imagination just as we're about to touch and you disappear. My heart just can't take it," she whispered.
"Sara," he tried again, this time not moving . . .
"I'm crazy," she flung her hands up in the air. "I see you and I'm talking to you. And I can't make it real that you're really gone, but everyone is telling me that you are. They wouldn't lie, Nick. How can you be gone, but here at the same time?"
"They didn't lie, Sara," he stepped forward and this time she didn't move. She stood firmly in place, her eyes never leaving his gaze. "They just didn't know the truth."
He sighed, looking down at the wooden floor of the gazebo. He turned away and took a step forwards, away from her, and towards the waters edge. He just wanted to hold her in his arms. And she wouldn't let him. He didn't understand why she wouldn't believe that it was really him . . . and it was frustrating. He didn't know how to get her to believe . . .
"Don't go," she pleaded with him quietly, still not believing her eyes.
"I'm not going anywhere," he told her, turning back and looking at her terror filled eyes.
"You always leave," she shuddered, sniffling. "Everytime I see you, you leave me again." She wrapped her arms around her torso. "I saw you in the kitchen making pancakes. You smile at me over your shoulder, I blink and your gone. Then I wake up, and it was a dream. Or that time that you were in the stable, cleaning out Lightenings stall. You were there, and then you were gone. Don't you see, Nick?" she begged him, the tears falling furiously. "Everytime I see you, it reminds me of how much I miss you. And how much I can't make myself believe that you're gone. But then you leave again, and my heart breaks all over." She took a shaky, deep breath. "I don't want you to go, Nick. I can't find the strength to let you go . . . in my heart," She looked away from him, then looked up, surprised that his figure was still standing there. This was the longest vision of him that she'd ever had . . .
He smiled through his own tears, stepping forward once again. "I guess it's a good thing that I won't let you go either, then," he smirked at her. "And I won't let you go because I don't want to. And even if I wanted too, and I never will, I doubt I could."
The breeze kicked up and she could actually smell him. Her eyes widened a little in shock. "This can't be happening," she whispered, reaching out and then pulling back before she could touch him, much like his mother had done.
He stepped forward a little, stopping just a few feet away from her. "This shouldn't have had to happen," he said to her honestly, dropping down to be eye-level with her. "I never should've been taken. But I'm back, Sar. You just have to trust me. Us." He reached a hand out to her, his eyes encouraging her to take the final step and place her hand in his. "Please," he begged her, "trust in me."
She stared at him for what seemed like an eternity to them both. She chewed on her bottom lip in contemplation. If she reached out, he could disappear. But her heart was telling her that this time was different than the rest . . . and a slight fluttering feeling in her stomach encouraged her to reach out. What did she have to loose?
Tentatively, she raised her hand from her side and watched, as if in slow motion, her skin made contact with his.
"Oh!" she gasped, her other hand flying up to her mouth in shock and relief. Her eyes glistened immediately as even more tears threatened to fall. "It's really you?"
His heart swelled with love and a rush of emotion as their skin finally touched after months of burning and aching to feel her again. He couldn't find his voice, so he just nodded his head as his own tears fell rapidly. He grasped her hand firmly in his as he stood up, pulling her with him.
Standing toe to toe, with only an inch or two between them, he released his grip on her hand, bring both up to her face to cradle her cheeks softly. His finger traced the outline of her face from her temple, down the curve of cheek and to the edge of her lip. "I'm home," he whispered to her.
She could feel herself leaning into his touch, her eyes never leaving his. Her hands had somehow ended up grasping desperately at the material of his shirt, not willing to let him out of her grasp. She could feel the muscles in his abdomen under her touch. Her hands slowly splayed out across his chest then slowly and methodically moved north, her hands finding his shoulders, then slowly up his neck and finally up to the sides of his face. She was memorizing his every feature as if the moment wouldn't last. They now knew how quickly their lives could change, and how vulnerable they really were.
With her hands in his hair, her thumbs darted out and gently swept across the skin under his tired eyes. "I love you so much," she whispered.
"I love you more than you'll ever know," he said, resting his forehead against hers.
He was dying to kiss her, but wasn't quite sure how much she could handle . . . her reaction to him being there had caught him off gaurd, and he still couldn't quite put his finger on how she was different. For now, if this was all she felt comfortable with, he wouldn't push her. That he'd just enjoy the feel of being in her arms again. The feeling that he thought he might never get the chance to bask in again . . .
But he didn't have to wait long. He smiled slightly as he felt her tugging his head down to meet hers.
When their lips touched, the sparks flew. It was slow and tender, but both reveled in the feelings that it created. Sweet and simplistic.
Nick was the first to take it a step farther. He opened his mouth slightly to run his tongue along her lip, but was mildly amused and definitely not shocked to find her ready and waiting for his next move. Her tongue collided with his effortlessly as their tongues, lips and heads moved in almost practiced movement.
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"They make such a cute couple," Jillian smiled as she watched her son, and hopefully, future daughter in law, in their romantic embrace.
"You've seen them together before?" Greg asked them. He shook his head. "When? How? I thought you all didn't know about Nick and Sara?"
Jillian chuckled at the rapid speed to which Greg fired off questions.
"No, I hadn't seen them together before. But since Sara has come out here, I can see how it is that they fell in love. They deserve to be happy."
Catherine smiled at Nick's mother. "Yes, they do. I just wish that we'd noticed their chemistry before . . . looking back, it's easy to see why they'd turn to each other. They balance each other out. They'd only just really found each other when all this happened." She looked down at the ground, feeling guilty.
Warrick looked up at the almost dark sky. "We're supposed to be one of the best labs in the country," he started.
"And we let him down," Grissom bit the inside of his cheek. It was the first time that he'd really allowed himself to believe that he'd possibly let the ball drop on finding Nick. He'd just accepted that Nick was gone.
Bill shook his head. "You had evidence. This couldn't have been easy on any of you," he answered. "Besides, you all didn't even handle his case after . . . . it happened."
"You're much too generous," Catherine shook her head, tears glistening in her eyes as she peered over at her two friends who were still holding on to one another in a tight embrace, sharing sweet, but obviously passionate reunion kisses. She, along with the rest of the night shift should have pressed farther for a deeper investigation. And because they hadn't, their friend had lost months of his life to a traumatic event.
Nicole wiped a few tears from her eyes. "What matters now is that Nicky is back. It doesn't matter how."
The unspoken truth that the entire family would want to be filled in hung in the air, but for the time being, they were just content with finally being a complete family once again.
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Sara pulled back from his embrace, her chest heaving as her lungs burned for air, her lips swollen. Her body leaned against his in need of support.
Nick smiled widely as he cradled her head in his hands at the base of her neck. "I see somethings never change," he smirked a cocky grin at her. "I still make you weak in the knees."
She smiled up at him, but had to take a deep breath to steady the butterflies that were swirling in her stomach. "I think I need to sit down."
His cocky grin immediately disappeared and was replaced by a look of concern. "Sara?"
"I'm fine," she said as he helped her carefully sit down as she took a few deep and steady breaths. "I promise. Just the heat. I'm not used to the humidity here."
"How long have you been here?" he asked her, setting himself down on the bench beside her. He turned his body towards her, resting his arm across her shoulders, as she snuggled in to his side.
She pulled her head back to look him square in the eye. The moment of truth. The one she'd wish she'd been able to have with him, but never thought she'd get. A moment that now that it was here, she didn't know what to say. She knew what she needed to, but how do you tell a man whose life had been thrown into utter chaos that just when he thinks things might have some chance in hell of being the way that they were before, that something so life changing was happening . . . . it was overwhelming to her. She couldn't imagine how he'd react . . . .
She took a deep breath. "A couple of months. I came here because I needed to talk to your family."
He smiled lovingly at her, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear. But the breeze just let it fall back against her cheek. He smiled, tucking it a second time behind her ear. "I always thought that I'd be the one introducing you all to each other."
"I wish you had," she smiled, once again leaning into his touch. "I . . . " she glanced down at her hands.
"Hey," he said softly, his hand finding it's way under her chin, cupping it, and making her look him in the eye. "You what?"
"I had something to tell them," she hedged, swallowing around the dry lump in her throat. "Something that I couldn't tell them over the phone."
His eyes narrowed at her as he took in her words. He was confused. "OK . . . " he drawled. "What did you have to tell them?"
She closed her eyes tightly, savoring the feeling of being back in his arms. She didn't know what had happened yet, and how he'd made his way back to her, and really, it didn't matter. But she knew that whatever he'd gone through was a life changing experience. The Nick that sat with her was not the same guy that he had been all those weeks ago when she'd last seen him . . . and because of that, she didn't know how he'd react to what she had to tell him. To what she couldn't hide.
She took another deep breath and locked her eyes with his, biting her bottom lip to keep from crying again, but the tears were already pooling.
"You're scaring me, Sara," told her, pulling her body tighter to himself without realizing it.
Deciding that she couldn't put it off any longer, and that she shouldn't, her words came out quickly, in a big jumble of words. "I'm pregnant, Nick."
His grip on her loosened and he sat back from her, taking in all in. "Pregnant?" he asked, almost no emotion in his voice.
A tear fell from each eye as she tightly shut her lids. Indifference was not a reaction she had anticipated. An excited Nick, yes. A shocked Nick, yes. Perhaps even a stunned Nick. Or an upset Nick. After all, they hadn't been planning a baby. It had just happened. And now he was just going to start the long journey to getting back to his old life. Back to a normal life. And she'd just thrown him for a loop.
She nodded her head slightly. "Yes."
"Sara?" he questioned her, his voice not giving the slightest hint of how he was taking the news.
She silently steeled herself for the look in his eye. But when she opened her lids and looked into his chocolate eyes, the look on his face caused relief to flood her entire body. He was smiling from ear to ear, and his eyes had a sparkle to them.
"We're having a baby?" he asked in wonder, just barely above a whisper. When she nodded, the smile on her face grew. He looked down at her stomach and she laughed a little, pulling the material of her shirt tight across, letting him see the little bubble that had appeared.
"I knew you looked different," he told her matter of factly. "Now I know why." He leaned in and placed a quick chaste kiss on her lips, but pulled back before it could become anything more. "Is it kicking yet?"
She moved her head from side to side. "Yes and no." He looked from her stomach, back up to her eyes. She laughed. "I can feel the baby moving. No one else has been able to, though."
Nick looked up at her with wonderment in his eyes. "Can . . . . can I . . . you know?"
She laughed slightly, grabbing his hand and placing it on her belly. She didn't remove her hand from the back of his. "Can you feel it?" she asked.
He shook his head no, staring at her stomach intently. When he glanced up, his eyes were dancing. "Is it moving?"
She nodded a little, smiling at him. "I think our child is saying hi," she hesitated for a moment, but decided to surge forward, "to it's Daddy."
His smiled increased and she could see all his pearly white teeth. "You think it knows who I am? Even though I haven't been here for you? For the both of you?"
Sara nodded to him. "I know so," she bit her lip. "I found that CD you made me. And everytime I've listened to it, I've always said, 'that's your Daddy singing.'"
He blushed slightly. "I wish I could've given it to you myself," he told her. "I had planned to. That weekend, actually."
When his eyes clouded over, she could tell he was slipping into that dark place.
"Hey," she called him softly, getting his attention. "You've given me so much, already. Your love means so much to me, Nick. And now, you've given me a child."
The clouds that had settled in his eyes lifted and the sparkle returned.
"Our child," he nodded in affirmation. He leaned up and kissed her lips sweetly again.
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Twenty minutes later, the two headed back up towards the house, their arms linked around one anothers waists, leaning into one another as they walked. Smiles were plastered on their faces.
For those twenty minutes that they'd spent just the two of them, they'd sat in awed silence. They were back together. They were having a baby. They'd continued to trade slow, loving kisses.
But before long, both realized that they should probably get back to the party.
Sara's smile grew when she saw her friends and turned to Nick, giving him a slight shove. "Why didn't you tell me they were here?"
He chuckled a little. "'Cause I wanted you all to myself."
She tried to act indifferent, but she was downright giddy. "You could've just told me that, you know!" She leaned up and kissed him.
"I think a part of my heart just shattered," Greg joked.
"Can't have that, now can we?" Sara smiled, stepping out of Nick's embrace, but still holding one of his hands tightly in hers. She leaned up and kissed Greg on the cheek.
"Aw, shucks," he said, looking like a bashful twelve year old boy who'd received his first kiss.
Sara never let go of Nick's hand as she hugged both Warrick and Catherine, warmly greeting them.
"You're getting bigger," Warrick commented, glancing down at her stomach.
"You knew?" Nick was shocked. "Why did you tell me?"
"It wasn't our place to say anything," he answered, smiling at Sara. "It's something that Sara needed to tell you herself. Congrats man."
"Thanks," he smiled, doing the little hand bop thing with his best friend yet again.
The four younger kids started to yawn and Jillian smiled at them kindly. "I think we should wrap things up," she said softly to Bill.
"Yeah," he agreed, then clapped his hands together loudly, getting everyones attention. "Everyone ready for fireworks?"
Lindsay's head snapped up. She had become fast friends with Nick's two nieces, Hannah and Adrienne and the three had been talking about school and things that they were all planning on doing during their summer vacations. "Fireworks?"
Her enthusiasm made her mother laugh. Living in the bright lights of Vegas definitely had it's perks. But sometimes something as simple as fireworks were more than enough. It was a spectacular sight - one that they didn't see often.
"C'mon," Nick nodded his head towards his friends as he held Sara tightly against him, not prepared to loose contact with her just yet . . . he lead them all down to the pond, his family making their way towards the water as well.
The lights from the house had been turned off and the only light illuminating the area was that of the stars and moon, and the fire that was still roaring.
Bill lit the end of the first firework display, which he'd rigged so that they'd all go off at timed intervals. He scrambled back a safe distance and wrapped his arms around Jillian, preparing to see the colorful display.
Nick stood behind Sara, his hands splayed out across her abdomen, his face in the crook of her neck, breathing in her scent. He loved watching her. And the look of pure joy that was radiating from her face was enough to light up his entire heart and world.
Sara gasped and giggled as she turned her head to look at Nick, whose face was absolutely priceless. His eyes were wide and he was looking at her in disbelief. "Was that . . . ?"
She nodded her head enthusiastically. "Mmm hmm. Did you feel it?"
"That was our baby kicking?" he asked her, not quite sure it was real.
She turned in his arms, her back to the fireworks that were still loudly popping off, one by one.
"I love you," he smiled, standing as close to her as he could. He leaned his forehead against hers.
"I love you too," she smiled back. "Thank you for coming back to me."
And with that, their lips came together in a passionate kiss as the fireworks continued to explode behind them . . . .
TBC . . . .
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Nick slowed down as he neared the gazebo. Her silhoutte had become a less and less, and he was able to see her body in the now fading sunlight. He could feel the air leave his lungs and a few tears sprung to his eyes.
Opening his mouth to speak, he found he couldn't. His throat was dry, and he was nervous. He smiled slightly, his lip quivering. Making one more attempt, he managed to croak out, "Sara?"
The hair on her arms stood up and she gasped in shock. "Nick?" Closing her eyes tightly, she prayed that she wasn't crazy. She wasn't hearing things. Slowly, she turned around . . . .
"God," she whispered, blinking rapidly and taking a small step backwards, her lower back making contact with the railing of the gazebo, preventing her from falling into the water. "This isn't real," she told herself. "You're not really here. You can't be."
His smile was filled with emotion. "I'm here," he assured her as he took a final step into the gazebo. When he tried to move towards her, she stepped back, her eyes filled with fear. "Sara?" He took in her full appearance . . . she looked different. Not bad different . . . just different. And it was slightly unnerving.
She shook her head vehemently, her natural curls flying around her face emphatically. "No," she choked out, squinting at his image with blurred vision due to tears. "You're not here. This is not real."
His own tears fell. "All I want to do is hold you," he told her honestly, his own tears cascading down his face. Tentatively, he took a step forward, reaching out to her. But when she moved away from him again by stepping to the side, keeping her distance, he stopped. "Why won't you let me?"
"I want too," she admitted. "But I'm talking to a ghost. I'm seeing a ghost! You're not real!" she bawled. "I can't take the pain of realizing that your just in my imagination just as we're about to touch and you disappear. My heart just can't take it," she whispered.
"Sara," he tried again, this time not moving . . .
"I'm crazy," she flung her hands up in the air. "I see you and I'm talking to you. And I can't make it real that you're really gone, but everyone is telling me that you are. They wouldn't lie, Nick. How can you be gone, but here at the same time?"
"They didn't lie, Sara," he stepped forward and this time she didn't move. She stood firmly in place, her eyes never leaving his gaze. "They just didn't know the truth."
He sighed, looking down at the wooden floor of the gazebo. He turned away and took a step forwards, away from her, and towards the waters edge. He just wanted to hold her in his arms. And she wouldn't let him. He didn't understand why she wouldn't believe that it was really him . . . and it was frustrating. He didn't know how to get her to believe . . .
"Don't go," she pleaded with him quietly, still not believing her eyes.
"I'm not going anywhere," he told her, turning back and looking at her terror filled eyes.
"You always leave," she shuddered, sniffling. "Everytime I see you, you leave me again." She wrapped her arms around her torso. "I saw you in the kitchen making pancakes. You smile at me over your shoulder, I blink and your gone. Then I wake up, and it was a dream. Or that time that you were in the stable, cleaning out Lightenings stall. You were there, and then you were gone. Don't you see, Nick?" she begged him, the tears falling furiously. "Everytime I see you, it reminds me of how much I miss you. And how much I can't make myself believe that you're gone. But then you leave again, and my heart breaks all over." She took a shaky, deep breath. "I don't want you to go, Nick. I can't find the strength to let you go . . . in my heart," She looked away from him, then looked up, surprised that his figure was still standing there. This was the longest vision of him that she'd ever had . . .
He smiled through his own tears, stepping forward once again. "I guess it's a good thing that I won't let you go either, then," he smirked at her. "And I won't let you go because I don't want to. And even if I wanted too, and I never will, I doubt I could."
The breeze kicked up and she could actually smell him. Her eyes widened a little in shock. "This can't be happening," she whispered, reaching out and then pulling back before she could touch him, much like his mother had done.
He stepped forward a little, stopping just a few feet away from her. "This shouldn't have had to happen," he said to her honestly, dropping down to be eye-level with her. "I never should've been taken. But I'm back, Sar. You just have to trust me. Us." He reached a hand out to her, his eyes encouraging her to take the final step and place her hand in his. "Please," he begged her, "trust in me."
She stared at him for what seemed like an eternity to them both. She chewed on her bottom lip in contemplation. If she reached out, he could disappear. But her heart was telling her that this time was different than the rest . . . and a slight fluttering feeling in her stomach encouraged her to reach out. What did she have to loose?
Tentatively, she raised her hand from her side and watched, as if in slow motion, her skin made contact with his.
"Oh!" she gasped, her other hand flying up to her mouth in shock and relief. Her eyes glistened immediately as even more tears threatened to fall. "It's really you?"
His heart swelled with love and a rush of emotion as their skin finally touched after months of burning and aching to feel her again. He couldn't find his voice, so he just nodded his head as his own tears fell rapidly. He grasped her hand firmly in his as he stood up, pulling her with him.
Standing toe to toe, with only an inch or two between them, he released his grip on her hand, bring both up to her face to cradle her cheeks softly. His finger traced the outline of her face from her temple, down the curve of cheek and to the edge of her lip. "I'm home," he whispered to her.
She could feel herself leaning into his touch, her eyes never leaving his. Her hands had somehow ended up grasping desperately at the material of his shirt, not willing to let him out of her grasp. She could feel the muscles in his abdomen under her touch. Her hands slowly splayed out across his chest then slowly and methodically moved north, her hands finding his shoulders, then slowly up his neck and finally up to the sides of his face. She was memorizing his every feature as if the moment wouldn't last. They now knew how quickly their lives could change, and how vulnerable they really were.
With her hands in his hair, her thumbs darted out and gently swept across the skin under his tired eyes. "I love you so much," she whispered.
"I love you more than you'll ever know," he said, resting his forehead against hers.
He was dying to kiss her, but wasn't quite sure how much she could handle . . . her reaction to him being there had caught him off gaurd, and he still couldn't quite put his finger on how she was different. For now, if this was all she felt comfortable with, he wouldn't push her. That he'd just enjoy the feel of being in her arms again. The feeling that he thought he might never get the chance to bask in again . . .
But he didn't have to wait long. He smiled slightly as he felt her tugging his head down to meet hers.
When their lips touched, the sparks flew. It was slow and tender, but both reveled in the feelings that it created. Sweet and simplistic.
Nick was the first to take it a step farther. He opened his mouth slightly to run his tongue along her lip, but was mildly amused and definitely not shocked to find her ready and waiting for his next move. Her tongue collided with his effortlessly as their tongues, lips and heads moved in almost practiced movement.
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"They make such a cute couple," Jillian smiled as she watched her son, and hopefully, future daughter in law, in their romantic embrace.
"You've seen them together before?" Greg asked them. He shook his head. "When? How? I thought you all didn't know about Nick and Sara?"
Jillian chuckled at the rapid speed to which Greg fired off questions.
"No, I hadn't seen them together before. But since Sara has come out here, I can see how it is that they fell in love. They deserve to be happy."
Catherine smiled at Nick's mother. "Yes, they do. I just wish that we'd noticed their chemistry before . . . looking back, it's easy to see why they'd turn to each other. They balance each other out. They'd only just really found each other when all this happened." She looked down at the ground, feeling guilty.
Warrick looked up at the almost dark sky. "We're supposed to be one of the best labs in the country," he started.
"And we let him down," Grissom bit the inside of his cheek. It was the first time that he'd really allowed himself to believe that he'd possibly let the ball drop on finding Nick. He'd just accepted that Nick was gone.
Bill shook his head. "You had evidence. This couldn't have been easy on any of you," he answered. "Besides, you all didn't even handle his case after . . . . it happened."
"You're much too generous," Catherine shook her head, tears glistening in her eyes as she peered over at her two friends who were still holding on to one another in a tight embrace, sharing sweet, but obviously passionate reunion kisses. She, along with the rest of the night shift should have pressed farther for a deeper investigation. And because they hadn't, their friend had lost months of his life to a traumatic event.
Nicole wiped a few tears from her eyes. "What matters now is that Nicky is back. It doesn't matter how."
The unspoken truth that the entire family would want to be filled in hung in the air, but for the time being, they were just content with finally being a complete family once again.
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Sara pulled back from his embrace, her chest heaving as her lungs burned for air, her lips swollen. Her body leaned against his in need of support.
Nick smiled widely as he cradled her head in his hands at the base of her neck. "I see somethings never change," he smirked a cocky grin at her. "I still make you weak in the knees."
She smiled up at him, but had to take a deep breath to steady the butterflies that were swirling in her stomach. "I think I need to sit down."
His cocky grin immediately disappeared and was replaced by a look of concern. "Sara?"
"I'm fine," she said as he helped her carefully sit down as she took a few deep and steady breaths. "I promise. Just the heat. I'm not used to the humidity here."
"How long have you been here?" he asked her, setting himself down on the bench beside her. He turned his body towards her, resting his arm across her shoulders, as she snuggled in to his side.
She pulled her head back to look him square in the eye. The moment of truth. The one she'd wish she'd been able to have with him, but never thought she'd get. A moment that now that it was here, she didn't know what to say. She knew what she needed to, but how do you tell a man whose life had been thrown into utter chaos that just when he thinks things might have some chance in hell of being the way that they were before, that something so life changing was happening . . . . it was overwhelming to her. She couldn't imagine how he'd react . . . .
She took a deep breath. "A couple of months. I came here because I needed to talk to your family."
He smiled lovingly at her, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear. But the breeze just let it fall back against her cheek. He smiled, tucking it a second time behind her ear. "I always thought that I'd be the one introducing you all to each other."
"I wish you had," she smiled, once again leaning into his touch. "I . . . " she glanced down at her hands.
"Hey," he said softly, his hand finding it's way under her chin, cupping it, and making her look him in the eye. "You what?"
"I had something to tell them," she hedged, swallowing around the dry lump in her throat. "Something that I couldn't tell them over the phone."
His eyes narrowed at her as he took in her words. He was confused. "OK . . . " he drawled. "What did you have to tell them?"
She closed her eyes tightly, savoring the feeling of being back in his arms. She didn't know what had happened yet, and how he'd made his way back to her, and really, it didn't matter. But she knew that whatever he'd gone through was a life changing experience. The Nick that sat with her was not the same guy that he had been all those weeks ago when she'd last seen him . . . and because of that, she didn't know how he'd react to what she had to tell him. To what she couldn't hide.
She took another deep breath and locked her eyes with his, biting her bottom lip to keep from crying again, but the tears were already pooling.
"You're scaring me, Sara," told her, pulling her body tighter to himself without realizing it.
Deciding that she couldn't put it off any longer, and that she shouldn't, her words came out quickly, in a big jumble of words. "I'm pregnant, Nick."
His grip on her loosened and he sat back from her, taking in all in. "Pregnant?" he asked, almost no emotion in his voice.
A tear fell from each eye as she tightly shut her lids. Indifference was not a reaction she had anticipated. An excited Nick, yes. A shocked Nick, yes. Perhaps even a stunned Nick. Or an upset Nick. After all, they hadn't been planning a baby. It had just happened. And now he was just going to start the long journey to getting back to his old life. Back to a normal life. And she'd just thrown him for a loop.
She nodded her head slightly. "Yes."
"Sara?" he questioned her, his voice not giving the slightest hint of how he was taking the news.
She silently steeled herself for the look in his eye. But when she opened her lids and looked into his chocolate eyes, the look on his face caused relief to flood her entire body. He was smiling from ear to ear, and his eyes had a sparkle to them.
"We're having a baby?" he asked in wonder, just barely above a whisper. When she nodded, the smile on her face grew. He looked down at her stomach and she laughed a little, pulling the material of her shirt tight across, letting him see the little bubble that had appeared.
"I knew you looked different," he told her matter of factly. "Now I know why." He leaned in and placed a quick chaste kiss on her lips, but pulled back before it could become anything more. "Is it kicking yet?"
She moved her head from side to side. "Yes and no." He looked from her stomach, back up to her eyes. She laughed. "I can feel the baby moving. No one else has been able to, though."
Nick looked up at her with wonderment in his eyes. "Can . . . . can I . . . you know?"
She laughed slightly, grabbing his hand and placing it on her belly. She didn't remove her hand from the back of his. "Can you feel it?" she asked.
He shook his head no, staring at her stomach intently. When he glanced up, his eyes were dancing. "Is it moving?"
She nodded a little, smiling at him. "I think our child is saying hi," she hesitated for a moment, but decided to surge forward, "to it's Daddy."
His smiled increased and she could see all his pearly white teeth. "You think it knows who I am? Even though I haven't been here for you? For the both of you?"
Sara nodded to him. "I know so," she bit her lip. "I found that CD you made me. And everytime I've listened to it, I've always said, 'that's your Daddy singing.'"
He blushed slightly. "I wish I could've given it to you myself," he told her. "I had planned to. That weekend, actually."
When his eyes clouded over, she could tell he was slipping into that dark place.
"Hey," she called him softly, getting his attention. "You've given me so much, already. Your love means so much to me, Nick. And now, you've given me a child."
The clouds that had settled in his eyes lifted and the sparkle returned.
"Our child," he nodded in affirmation. He leaned up and kissed her lips sweetly again.
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Twenty minutes later, the two headed back up towards the house, their arms linked around one anothers waists, leaning into one another as they walked. Smiles were plastered on their faces.
For those twenty minutes that they'd spent just the two of them, they'd sat in awed silence. They were back together. They were having a baby. They'd continued to trade slow, loving kisses.
But before long, both realized that they should probably get back to the party.
Sara's smile grew when she saw her friends and turned to Nick, giving him a slight shove. "Why didn't you tell me they were here?"
He chuckled a little. "'Cause I wanted you all to myself."
She tried to act indifferent, but she was downright giddy. "You could've just told me that, you know!" She leaned up and kissed him.
"I think a part of my heart just shattered," Greg joked.
"Can't have that, now can we?" Sara smiled, stepping out of Nick's embrace, but still holding one of his hands tightly in hers. She leaned up and kissed Greg on the cheek.
"Aw, shucks," he said, looking like a bashful twelve year old boy who'd received his first kiss.
Sara never let go of Nick's hand as she hugged both Warrick and Catherine, warmly greeting them.
"You're getting bigger," Warrick commented, glancing down at her stomach.
"You knew?" Nick was shocked. "Why did you tell me?"
"It wasn't our place to say anything," he answered, smiling at Sara. "It's something that Sara needed to tell you herself. Congrats man."
"Thanks," he smiled, doing the little hand bop thing with his best friend yet again.
The four younger kids started to yawn and Jillian smiled at them kindly. "I think we should wrap things up," she said softly to Bill.
"Yeah," he agreed, then clapped his hands together loudly, getting everyones attention. "Everyone ready for fireworks?"
Lindsay's head snapped up. She had become fast friends with Nick's two nieces, Hannah and Adrienne and the three had been talking about school and things that they were all planning on doing during their summer vacations. "Fireworks?"
Her enthusiasm made her mother laugh. Living in the bright lights of Vegas definitely had it's perks. But sometimes something as simple as fireworks were more than enough. It was a spectacular sight - one that they didn't see often.
"C'mon," Nick nodded his head towards his friends as he held Sara tightly against him, not prepared to loose contact with her just yet . . . he lead them all down to the pond, his family making their way towards the water as well.
The lights from the house had been turned off and the only light illuminating the area was that of the stars and moon, and the fire that was still roaring.
Bill lit the end of the first firework display, which he'd rigged so that they'd all go off at timed intervals. He scrambled back a safe distance and wrapped his arms around Jillian, preparing to see the colorful display.
Nick stood behind Sara, his hands splayed out across her abdomen, his face in the crook of her neck, breathing in her scent. He loved watching her. And the look of pure joy that was radiating from her face was enough to light up his entire heart and world.
Sara gasped and giggled as she turned her head to look at Nick, whose face was absolutely priceless. His eyes were wide and he was looking at her in disbelief. "Was that . . . ?"
She nodded her head enthusiastically. "Mmm hmm. Did you feel it?"
"That was our baby kicking?" he asked her, not quite sure it was real.
She turned in his arms, her back to the fireworks that were still loudly popping off, one by one.
"I love you," he smiled, standing as close to her as he could. He leaned his forehead against hers.
"I love you too," she smiled back. "Thank you for coming back to me."
And with that, their lips came together in a passionate kiss as the fireworks continued to explode behind them . . . .
TBC . . . .
MacsGirlMel
Mac's Personal Assistant
*squees* I know there is more to come but I love the fluff of this part 
MegBreanne
Police Officer
Thanks for the reviews!
WARNING: Some Sexual Content ahead.
I disclaim . . . .
Chapter 21:
A few hours later, after the different broods of the Stokes family went back to their respective homes, Jillian and Bill set up the team with their sleeping arrangements. Since it was a large home that had been used for rearing seven children, it hadn't been difficult to find places for their unexpected, but very welcome, guests.
After showing the group where they'd be sleeping, the senior Stokes smiled at their youngest, hugged him for a while then retreated up to bed, leaving Nick, Sara and the rest of the team outside, sitting around the fire which was quickly fading. Lindsay had already been ordered by Catherine to turn in for the night. Her new friends had gone home, and Catherine thought given the long day it'd been for all of them, that she'd better turn in as well.
Nick had listened half heartedly as the team filled both he and Sara in on what had been going on at the lab. How Hodges latest scheme had left him in hot water with Ecklie, and how Wendy was giving him the cold shoulder . . . .even about the romance that seemed to be brewing between Mandy and Henry . . .
Warrick waved his hand around in front of Nick, but got no response as his friend gazed into the fire . . . his eyes held no emotion.
"Nick?" she asked softly, shifting in her chair beside him, squeezing his hand that she was holding, and reaching out with the other to gently touch his arm. "Honey?"
He shook his head, clearing the cob webs that seemed to fog over his mind. He glanced at Sara, giving her a small smile, then to his friends. "I'm fine," he acknowledged, seeing the looks on their faces. When he noticed that none of them seemed to really buy it, he let a larger smile grace his lips. "Honest! Just a little tired, that's all."
Gil looked at his watch, checking the time. He whistled. "It's nearing one am."
"Woah," Catherine was shocked. "I guess it's time we turn in, huh?"
Sara nodded her a head a little, standing up. She glanced around the fire looking for a couple of buckets of water that Bill had placed beside the fire earlier in the afternoon.
"Got it," Nick said quietly, his lips brushing Sara's cheek as he moved past her for one of the pales.
She smiled a little at the tingling feeling on her skin, still unable to truly believe that he was really standing there.
Warrick, Greg and Grissom quickly followed, grabbing the additional water buckets and pouring them over the smoldering embers.
Sara and Catherine quickly picked up the plastic cups, and paper plates and napkins that were scattered around the chairs.
Nick grabbed a hold of Sara's hand and held it tightly in his as they made their way to the house. He smiled, but it seemed forced . . . and unsure.
She smiled back, her thumb tenderly stroking the back of Nick's.
Upon stepping into the dark home, his grip tightened a little on her small hand. He held his breath unconciously until she she led him through the once framiliar room and found the small light above the stove. When she turned it on, he let out the breath that he hadn't realized he'd been holding.
Catherine glanced over at them quizzically as Sara led Nick towards the staircase.
"You want me to turn that off?" she asked quietly.
Sara glanced at Nick out of the corner of her eye and noted the slightly panicked look. She turned her attention to Catherine and shook her head. "Nah. Lindsay might need a bit of light if she wakes up and needs the washroom or something."
"OK . . ." she said, though not entirely believing that to be the reason for leaving the light on. "Night."
"Night," Nick yawned.
Grissom, Warrick and Greg all nodded their heads as their way of saying good night.
Nick followed Sara upstairs willingly. He stayed close behind her, breathing deeply to steady his breathing patterns that he could tell were becoming a little more panicked with each step. Though the upstairs part of the home was bathed in the moonlight that streamed through the window, he couldn't help but want light . . . need light. And human contact . . .
Sara turned the knob of the bedroom door and hit the light switch, which was on a dimmer. The room was illuminated in a soft artificial light.
"God, you're beautiful," he said, closing the door with a soft click behind him, then grabbed her by the waist and he pulled her body close to his. He planted a passionate kiss on her mouth, sighing intently as he allowed the feelings of uncomfort to wash away as he got lost in the feel of Sara in his arms.
She pulled back after a few moments, in desperate need of air. He'd caught her off guard, but she wasn't complaining. She leaned her head against his forehead, her hands grasping at his shoulders for support. She could feel his hot breath tickling her nose as his arms encircled her waist tighter. She smirked. "You're not really tired, are you?"
He shook his head no, though he could obviously feel the exhaustion creeping in. He kissed her again, his tongue darting out to taste her lips. "I've wanted you so badly for so long," he told her, dipping his head down for another passionate exchange.
She lost herself in his arms, melting into him. She moaned when his strong hand reach forward and cupped her heavy breast. Her nerve endings were already sensitive and on high alert, and now with Nick's talented hands, she could feel herself getting hotter by the moment. "I want you, too," she told him when his lips left hers and latched on to the milky white skin of her neck.
He slowly back her up towards the bed, his lips never leaving her skin and his fingers now gently twisting at the hardened rose bud of her breast, through her shirt. Her hand reached down and brushed against his engorged package. He moaned deeply, his mouth leaving her skin, desperate for air. "You have no idea what you're doing to me," he latched on to her ear lobe. His jeans fell to the floor with a soft thud, and he gently stepped out of them . . . .
Her eyes rolled into the back of her head. "You mean like what you're doing to me?" her voice was throaty. Her head fell to the side, giving him better access to the crook of her neck that he loved to lick and suck. Her eyes opened and she found herself staring at the sonogram picture. "Oh, God," she gasped.
Nick chuckled and his hands slowly started to inch her shirt up. He took a moment to allow his hand to rest on the slight swell of her abdomen, all the while continuing to kiss her skin.
"NIck," she sounded desperate. He continued on. "Nick." He smiled to himself, thinking that it'd have taken more than just a few more minutes before she'd be begging him. "Nick!" This time, the sound in her voice was panicky and so he looked up into her startled eyes, haulting his actions.
"What's wrong?" he asked her quietly, his heart racing.
"We can't do this," she whispered, regret in her voice.
His brows knitted together in confusion as he leaned slightly away from her, peering deep into her eyes. "What do you mean?" He glanced at the door. "I can lock it if your concerned someone will walk in . . ."
A small smirk formed on her lips and she dropped her eyes to material of his shirt. "No, it's not that . . ."
He cupped her chin so she'd look at him. "You can tell me," he told her softly.
She looked into his deep eyes. The pain that she'd seen resting just beneath the surface of his orbs had completely disappeared and in place of it, all she could see was his concern for her. Moments like this when she could feel his love with just a simple look . . . she wanted to absolutely throw him down and devour him. Have her way with him.
"I don't want to worry you," she finally answered quietly.
"I want to know, baby," he didn't look away. His hand was now cupping her cheek and his thumb caressed the smooth skin on her cheek. "I need to know."
She closed her eyes tight, and shook her head in understanding. "We can't because of the baby."
Nick broke out into a smile and chuckled. "Are you concerned that we'll hurt the baby?" He didn't wait for a response. "Couples who are expecting children make love all the time Sara. It's perfectly safe."
She shook her head, tears springing to her eyes. "You don't understand, Nick." She took a deep breath. "A few months ago, shortly after I got here, I fell down the stairs."
The small smile that was still playing on his lips disappeared.
"Your Dad called an ambulance and I was rushed to the hospital. Everything was OK, but the doctor put me on bedrest."
"Are you OK now?" he asked, looking her up and down, checking for anything that would give him reason to be concerned. Sara was too important to him to allow anything to happen to her. And though he'd only known of his unborn baby for the last few hours, he couldn't imagine his life without him or her . . .
She nodded her head, taking his hand in hers, bringing it up to her lips for a kiss and then placing his hand, palm down, on her abdomen. "Yes. We're fine. But when it happened, Dr. Brenner told me to avoid stressful activities. And highly physical ones. I never asked her if sex was OK mainly because . . . I mean, without you . . . "
He pulled her in close to him, craddling her body against his. "I understand," he assured her. He rocked her body slowly.
"I'm sorry for disappointing you," she said quietly.
"You didn't," he assured her. "I would've been disappointed if you didn't stop us before we got too carried away. But you did. I knew before that you'd be a good mother. This just proves it." He brushed the hair back from her face, pressing a kiss to her temple. The room remained silent for a few minutes. "Sara?"
"Mmm?" she mumbled against his chest.
"In the morning, would you mind if we made an appointment for you to have an ultrasound? I want to see for myself that our baby is healthy."
She smiled. "Of course," she answered. In fact, she couldn't help but be excited to see the look on his face for the first time he'd see his baby . . . it was something that she had wanted to share with him, but at least he'd get the chance now. "And I'll ask about," she motioned between them, feeling somewhat bashful.
He chuckled again. "Eager, huh?" Not that he minded.
"You have no idea," she giggled, her cheeks turning somewhat red in color.
His smiled. Glancing over at the digital clock, he noted the time was nearing two in the morning. "You and our baby need some sleep, Sunshine."
"Do do you," she told him softly. "Are those sleeping pills kicking in?" she asked him, stiffling a yawn.
"A little," he nodded.
Catherine had been in charge of the sleeping pills since he'd left the hospital, but had quickly given the prescription over to Sara, who'd given him the nightly dosage just after the fireworks.
"Hmm," she sighed. "Maybe we should see about getting you some stronger ones. It should've kicked in by now."
"These are just fine," he told her softly, resting his head down on the pillow as he watched her closed eyes. Her breathing patterns evened out and became slightly more shallow. "I love you."
"I love you, too," she mumbled, almost asleep.
A few minutes later, Nick was watching her sleep, his eyes taking in her every feature. Finally, his gaze wandered down to her stomach and a smile tugged at his lips.
Yes, he was thrilled he was having a baby. And with the woman that he loved more than anything. And his excitement was genuine. But he was beyond terrified. And he couldn't tell anyone . . . they were all so excited about the baby . . . just a week ago, he'd been sitting in a cell, missing his old life. Missing Sara. Hoping that she'd be able to move on with her life, and live it to the fullest, to be happy . . . and now he was on the outside, with her and his family and friends . . . . with a baby on the way. His life was changing so quicky, and he felt powerless and out of control . . .
When the clock read three am, he pried himself out of her arms, immediately missing the contact of her skin, the faint sound of her inhaling and exhaling . . . he grabbed his pair of jeans off of the floor and quietly made his way into the bathroom. He turned on the light, and looked at her for one last moment before closing the door behind him, and locking it. His throat constricted being in such a small space again . . . he yanked open the window, allowing the cool night breeze to engulf him. He sighed in relief. While he'd been locked up at Sylvia's, the bathroom had become his only place of privacy. Now, being locked in there once again, was overwhelming. But the only thing keeping him sane was the gentle breeze from the window. A window that he hadn't had at Sylvia's . . .
Nick looked at his reflection in the mirror, the dark circles under his eyes hard to miss. He dug into the pockets of his jeans and pulled out two little white pills. He looked at them with hatred. "I don't need you," he said quietly, but angrily to the small objects in his hand. He dropped them without a second thought into the toilet, then flushed.
He then splashed some cold water on to his face, making him a little more alert. Sighing again, he turned to the door, unlocked it and stepped back into the room. He crossed the space to the door, and turned the dimmer off, the only light now in the room now offered solely by the bathroom fixture.
Crawling back into the bed without turning the light off, he laid down beside Sara, trying to slip her back into his arms without disturbing her. After he managed to do that, he watched her . . . the sun was slowly rising by the time he fell into an exhausted slumber . . . .
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When he woke up, the room was virtually dark. The windows had been closed, blinds had been drawn and fans were now on . . . the clock read one pm. He rolled over to his opposite side and came face to face with Sara, who was just waking up herself.
"Morning," he yawned, stretching his arms above his head.
She smiled. "More like Good Afternoon, Cowboy."
"I love it when you call me that," he teased, leaning in and placing a kiss on her lips. When he pulled back, he looked deep into her eyes. "In all the time I've known you, and all the time we've been together, I don't think I've ever known you to sleep this late."
"Yeah, well, pregnancy has a tendency of making a woman very tired," she told him, smiling softly. But she conviently forgot to mention the times that he'd woken her up -- thrashing around in his sleep, kicking and clawing at the evil that followed him in his dreams. His whimpering that broke her heart . . . all she could do was try to hold him in her arms as best she could and whisper to him that she was there and that everything would be OK . . .
He smiled at her for a second, then broke out into an even larger smile. "God, you're sexy." And he leaned in and kissed her passionately, slightly rolling on top of her.
"Nick," she said breathlessly, smiling as she settled into the covers. She knew that he wouldn't let it get too far - knowing about the problems that she'd had with the pregnancy. For now, she'd just enjoy fooling around. It kind of excited her, oddly enough. She felt like his parents could walk through the door at any moment, and she'd be caught with her boyfriend. It was so high school, but so thrilling at the same time . . .
"I love waking up with you," he told her, nibbling on her ear lobe.
"Nick," she gasped. When he didn't stop, she pushed on his shoulders, roughly pushing him off of her. She jumped up, a hand over her mouth, "I'm gonna be sick!"
He watched her dart across the room and into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. He stood up and followed, slowly opening the door. He saw her hunched over the toilet, heaving. He crouched down beside her, pulling her hair back with one hand and rubbing her back with the other.
When she finished, she sighed, and sat back on her heels, he reached up and grabbed the water bottle which was sitting on the counter. Obviously she'd been here before and was well prepared. "Pretty rough, huh?"
She looked up at him. "Morning sickness, my ass," she huffed. "It happens any time it damn well wants too."
He offered her his hand to help her up as his other hand reached up to work the kinks out of his neck. "I think a late lunch sounds good, don't you?"
She groaned in disgust and lightly pushed him away from herself.
He just laughed and pulled her against him . . .
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"Nick!" Sara said, exasperated. "Stop pacing. You're making me dizzy."
"Sorry," he apologized, stopping in his tracks. He glanced down at his watch. "Where is the doctor?"
"I'm sure she's just running a little behind," Sara told him calmly.
He watched the door nervously. The only noise aside from the seconds hand ticking on the mounted wall clock were that of Nick's finger nails being bitten off.
"Hey," Sara softly chided, reaching out in front of her, grabbing his hands from his mouth. When she noticed she had his full attention, she offered him a smile. "I'm sure everything is OK. Just have a little patience."
He sighed, dropping his head. "Sorry. I'm just anxious," he told her. Of course, terrified would've aptly described how he was feeling as well . . .
"If you weren't, I'd be worried," she told him.
He offered her a weak smile, squeezing her hand which was still holding his. "I love you." He couldn't stop telling her that. He'd known the fear of never being able to say it again, to the people whom it meant the most, and he wasn't going to loose that again.
"I love you," she responded back.
Finally, the door opened and Dr. Brenner appeared with Sara's chart in her hand. "Hello," she greeted, and looked oddly at the man beside her. Jillian, and Nicole, had been the only people who'd ever accompanied Sara to her visits . . . she'd never been with a man though.
"Hi, Dr. Brenner," she smiled.
Nick nodded his head. "Hello."
Dr. Brenner nodded back, extending her hand and introducing herself. "And you would be?"
He smiled bashfully. "Sorry. Nick Stokes."
The woman visibly paled, her hand fell limp from his to her side. She looked over at Sara. "What?" She looked back to Nick. "How?"
Nick chuckled. "Long story."
"Well in any case, welcome home, Mr. Stokes. I'm very happy for you both."
"Thanks," he acknowledged. "And you can call me Nick."
Dr. Brenner easily fell back into her professional mode. "Sara, you were in just a couple of days ago. Has something happened? Any bleeding? Cramps?"
"No, no," Sara shook her head. "Nick came home last night," she smiled, feeling the tears welling up in her eyes from the emotion of it all. "And I told him about the fall after I'd first gotten here, and how you had me on bed rest . . ."
"As a precaution," Dr. Brenner nodded.
"Well, I just wanted to see for myself that everything is OK," Nick finished explaining. "I guess it could be the worries of a first time father wanting to make sure that everything is really OK, but I just need to know. I hope we're not being a bother to you."
She smiled at the young man. "Definitely not a bother," she smiled. "I wish more expectant fathers would take such a pro-active role." She closed the file in her hands and placed it on the counter behind her. "Have a seat, Nick," she told him as Sara laid back on the exam table.
Nick did as he was told, pulling the stool from the head of the bed off to the side so he could see Sara's face and hold her hand more easily.
The doctor rolled the ultra sound cart over to the bed and took a seat on her own stool near the foot of the bed. Sara had rolled up her shirt, exposing the slightly expanding skin.
"You've done this before," Nick joked, somewhat awkwardly. He was at a loss as to what to say. He knew that this was a part of bringing a life into the world, but seeing her in such a clinical light made him a little uncomfortable. He couldn't help but wonder how he'd react when it came time to have the baby.
"Maybe once or twice," Sara nodded, smiling at him, trying to ease his apparent uncomfort. She squeezed his hand. "Ready?"
He nodded.
"Here we go," Dr. Brenner smiled, flipping on the machine. The steady but fast heart beat reverberated through the room, and Nick could make out small movements on the monitor.
He gasped excitedly, tears shining in his eyes. "Wow," he couldn't say anything else. He looked down at Sara, who was watching him closely. He leaned down and hovered just above her lips. "You've done good, baby." He then closed the gap between them and kissed her tenderly.
"Do you have any questions?" the doctor asked when they pulled apart.
Nick shook his head, at a loss for anything to ask . . .
"Uh, yeah, I have a question," Sara smiled, looking at Nick, though she was turning a little red . . . "About those 'highly physical activities . . .'"
Dr. Brenner smiled at the embarrassed couple . . . ah, to be young and in love!
TBC . . . .
WARNING: Some Sexual Content ahead.
I disclaim . . . .
Chapter 21:
A few hours later, after the different broods of the Stokes family went back to their respective homes, Jillian and Bill set up the team with their sleeping arrangements. Since it was a large home that had been used for rearing seven children, it hadn't been difficult to find places for their unexpected, but very welcome, guests.
After showing the group where they'd be sleeping, the senior Stokes smiled at their youngest, hugged him for a while then retreated up to bed, leaving Nick, Sara and the rest of the team outside, sitting around the fire which was quickly fading. Lindsay had already been ordered by Catherine to turn in for the night. Her new friends had gone home, and Catherine thought given the long day it'd been for all of them, that she'd better turn in as well.
Nick had listened half heartedly as the team filled both he and Sara in on what had been going on at the lab. How Hodges latest scheme had left him in hot water with Ecklie, and how Wendy was giving him the cold shoulder . . . .even about the romance that seemed to be brewing between Mandy and Henry . . .
Warrick waved his hand around in front of Nick, but got no response as his friend gazed into the fire . . . his eyes held no emotion.
"Nick?" she asked softly, shifting in her chair beside him, squeezing his hand that she was holding, and reaching out with the other to gently touch his arm. "Honey?"
He shook his head, clearing the cob webs that seemed to fog over his mind. He glanced at Sara, giving her a small smile, then to his friends. "I'm fine," he acknowledged, seeing the looks on their faces. When he noticed that none of them seemed to really buy it, he let a larger smile grace his lips. "Honest! Just a little tired, that's all."
Gil looked at his watch, checking the time. He whistled. "It's nearing one am."
"Woah," Catherine was shocked. "I guess it's time we turn in, huh?"
Sara nodded her a head a little, standing up. She glanced around the fire looking for a couple of buckets of water that Bill had placed beside the fire earlier in the afternoon.
"Got it," Nick said quietly, his lips brushing Sara's cheek as he moved past her for one of the pales.
She smiled a little at the tingling feeling on her skin, still unable to truly believe that he was really standing there.
Warrick, Greg and Grissom quickly followed, grabbing the additional water buckets and pouring them over the smoldering embers.
Sara and Catherine quickly picked up the plastic cups, and paper plates and napkins that were scattered around the chairs.
Nick grabbed a hold of Sara's hand and held it tightly in his as they made their way to the house. He smiled, but it seemed forced . . . and unsure.
She smiled back, her thumb tenderly stroking the back of Nick's.
Upon stepping into the dark home, his grip tightened a little on her small hand. He held his breath unconciously until she she led him through the once framiliar room and found the small light above the stove. When she turned it on, he let out the breath that he hadn't realized he'd been holding.
Catherine glanced over at them quizzically as Sara led Nick towards the staircase.
"You want me to turn that off?" she asked quietly.
Sara glanced at Nick out of the corner of her eye and noted the slightly panicked look. She turned her attention to Catherine and shook her head. "Nah. Lindsay might need a bit of light if she wakes up and needs the washroom or something."
"OK . . ." she said, though not entirely believing that to be the reason for leaving the light on. "Night."
"Night," Nick yawned.
Grissom, Warrick and Greg all nodded their heads as their way of saying good night.
Nick followed Sara upstairs willingly. He stayed close behind her, breathing deeply to steady his breathing patterns that he could tell were becoming a little more panicked with each step. Though the upstairs part of the home was bathed in the moonlight that streamed through the window, he couldn't help but want light . . . need light. And human contact . . .
Sara turned the knob of the bedroom door and hit the light switch, which was on a dimmer. The room was illuminated in a soft artificial light.
"God, you're beautiful," he said, closing the door with a soft click behind him, then grabbed her by the waist and he pulled her body close to his. He planted a passionate kiss on her mouth, sighing intently as he allowed the feelings of uncomfort to wash away as he got lost in the feel of Sara in his arms.
She pulled back after a few moments, in desperate need of air. He'd caught her off guard, but she wasn't complaining. She leaned her head against his forehead, her hands grasping at his shoulders for support. She could feel his hot breath tickling her nose as his arms encircled her waist tighter. She smirked. "You're not really tired, are you?"
He shook his head no, though he could obviously feel the exhaustion creeping in. He kissed her again, his tongue darting out to taste her lips. "I've wanted you so badly for so long," he told her, dipping his head down for another passionate exchange.
She lost herself in his arms, melting into him. She moaned when his strong hand reach forward and cupped her heavy breast. Her nerve endings were already sensitive and on high alert, and now with Nick's talented hands, she could feel herself getting hotter by the moment. "I want you, too," she told him when his lips left hers and latched on to the milky white skin of her neck.
He slowly back her up towards the bed, his lips never leaving her skin and his fingers now gently twisting at the hardened rose bud of her breast, through her shirt. Her hand reached down and brushed against his engorged package. He moaned deeply, his mouth leaving her skin, desperate for air. "You have no idea what you're doing to me," he latched on to her ear lobe. His jeans fell to the floor with a soft thud, and he gently stepped out of them . . . .
Her eyes rolled into the back of her head. "You mean like what you're doing to me?" her voice was throaty. Her head fell to the side, giving him better access to the crook of her neck that he loved to lick and suck. Her eyes opened and she found herself staring at the sonogram picture. "Oh, God," she gasped.
Nick chuckled and his hands slowly started to inch her shirt up. He took a moment to allow his hand to rest on the slight swell of her abdomen, all the while continuing to kiss her skin.
"NIck," she sounded desperate. He continued on. "Nick." He smiled to himself, thinking that it'd have taken more than just a few more minutes before she'd be begging him. "Nick!" This time, the sound in her voice was panicky and so he looked up into her startled eyes, haulting his actions.
"What's wrong?" he asked her quietly, his heart racing.
"We can't do this," she whispered, regret in her voice.
His brows knitted together in confusion as he leaned slightly away from her, peering deep into her eyes. "What do you mean?" He glanced at the door. "I can lock it if your concerned someone will walk in . . ."
A small smirk formed on her lips and she dropped her eyes to material of his shirt. "No, it's not that . . ."
He cupped her chin so she'd look at him. "You can tell me," he told her softly.
She looked into his deep eyes. The pain that she'd seen resting just beneath the surface of his orbs had completely disappeared and in place of it, all she could see was his concern for her. Moments like this when she could feel his love with just a simple look . . . she wanted to absolutely throw him down and devour him. Have her way with him.
"I don't want to worry you," she finally answered quietly.
"I want to know, baby," he didn't look away. His hand was now cupping her cheek and his thumb caressed the smooth skin on her cheek. "I need to know."
She closed her eyes tight, and shook her head in understanding. "We can't because of the baby."
Nick broke out into a smile and chuckled. "Are you concerned that we'll hurt the baby?" He didn't wait for a response. "Couples who are expecting children make love all the time Sara. It's perfectly safe."
She shook her head, tears springing to her eyes. "You don't understand, Nick." She took a deep breath. "A few months ago, shortly after I got here, I fell down the stairs."
The small smile that was still playing on his lips disappeared.
"Your Dad called an ambulance and I was rushed to the hospital. Everything was OK, but the doctor put me on bedrest."
"Are you OK now?" he asked, looking her up and down, checking for anything that would give him reason to be concerned. Sara was too important to him to allow anything to happen to her. And though he'd only known of his unborn baby for the last few hours, he couldn't imagine his life without him or her . . .
She nodded her head, taking his hand in hers, bringing it up to her lips for a kiss and then placing his hand, palm down, on her abdomen. "Yes. We're fine. But when it happened, Dr. Brenner told me to avoid stressful activities. And highly physical ones. I never asked her if sex was OK mainly because . . . I mean, without you . . . "
He pulled her in close to him, craddling her body against his. "I understand," he assured her. He rocked her body slowly.
"I'm sorry for disappointing you," she said quietly.
"You didn't," he assured her. "I would've been disappointed if you didn't stop us before we got too carried away. But you did. I knew before that you'd be a good mother. This just proves it." He brushed the hair back from her face, pressing a kiss to her temple. The room remained silent for a few minutes. "Sara?"
"Mmm?" she mumbled against his chest.
"In the morning, would you mind if we made an appointment for you to have an ultrasound? I want to see for myself that our baby is healthy."
She smiled. "Of course," she answered. In fact, she couldn't help but be excited to see the look on his face for the first time he'd see his baby . . . it was something that she had wanted to share with him, but at least he'd get the chance now. "And I'll ask about," she motioned between them, feeling somewhat bashful.
He chuckled again. "Eager, huh?" Not that he minded.
"You have no idea," she giggled, her cheeks turning somewhat red in color.
His smiled. Glancing over at the digital clock, he noted the time was nearing two in the morning. "You and our baby need some sleep, Sunshine."
"Do do you," she told him softly. "Are those sleeping pills kicking in?" she asked him, stiffling a yawn.
"A little," he nodded.
Catherine had been in charge of the sleeping pills since he'd left the hospital, but had quickly given the prescription over to Sara, who'd given him the nightly dosage just after the fireworks.
"Hmm," she sighed. "Maybe we should see about getting you some stronger ones. It should've kicked in by now."
"These are just fine," he told her softly, resting his head down on the pillow as he watched her closed eyes. Her breathing patterns evened out and became slightly more shallow. "I love you."
"I love you, too," she mumbled, almost asleep.
A few minutes later, Nick was watching her sleep, his eyes taking in her every feature. Finally, his gaze wandered down to her stomach and a smile tugged at his lips.
Yes, he was thrilled he was having a baby. And with the woman that he loved more than anything. And his excitement was genuine. But he was beyond terrified. And he couldn't tell anyone . . . they were all so excited about the baby . . . just a week ago, he'd been sitting in a cell, missing his old life. Missing Sara. Hoping that she'd be able to move on with her life, and live it to the fullest, to be happy . . . and now he was on the outside, with her and his family and friends . . . . with a baby on the way. His life was changing so quicky, and he felt powerless and out of control . . .
When the clock read three am, he pried himself out of her arms, immediately missing the contact of her skin, the faint sound of her inhaling and exhaling . . . he grabbed his pair of jeans off of the floor and quietly made his way into the bathroom. He turned on the light, and looked at her for one last moment before closing the door behind him, and locking it. His throat constricted being in such a small space again . . . he yanked open the window, allowing the cool night breeze to engulf him. He sighed in relief. While he'd been locked up at Sylvia's, the bathroom had become his only place of privacy. Now, being locked in there once again, was overwhelming. But the only thing keeping him sane was the gentle breeze from the window. A window that he hadn't had at Sylvia's . . .
Nick looked at his reflection in the mirror, the dark circles under his eyes hard to miss. He dug into the pockets of his jeans and pulled out two little white pills. He looked at them with hatred. "I don't need you," he said quietly, but angrily to the small objects in his hand. He dropped them without a second thought into the toilet, then flushed.
He then splashed some cold water on to his face, making him a little more alert. Sighing again, he turned to the door, unlocked it and stepped back into the room. He crossed the space to the door, and turned the dimmer off, the only light now in the room now offered solely by the bathroom fixture.
Crawling back into the bed without turning the light off, he laid down beside Sara, trying to slip her back into his arms without disturbing her. After he managed to do that, he watched her . . . the sun was slowly rising by the time he fell into an exhausted slumber . . . .
CSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSI
When he woke up, the room was virtually dark. The windows had been closed, blinds had been drawn and fans were now on . . . the clock read one pm. He rolled over to his opposite side and came face to face with Sara, who was just waking up herself.
"Morning," he yawned, stretching his arms above his head.
She smiled. "More like Good Afternoon, Cowboy."
"I love it when you call me that," he teased, leaning in and placing a kiss on her lips. When he pulled back, he looked deep into her eyes. "In all the time I've known you, and all the time we've been together, I don't think I've ever known you to sleep this late."
"Yeah, well, pregnancy has a tendency of making a woman very tired," she told him, smiling softly. But she conviently forgot to mention the times that he'd woken her up -- thrashing around in his sleep, kicking and clawing at the evil that followed him in his dreams. His whimpering that broke her heart . . . all she could do was try to hold him in her arms as best she could and whisper to him that she was there and that everything would be OK . . .
He smiled at her for a second, then broke out into an even larger smile. "God, you're sexy." And he leaned in and kissed her passionately, slightly rolling on top of her.
"Nick," she said breathlessly, smiling as she settled into the covers. She knew that he wouldn't let it get too far - knowing about the problems that she'd had with the pregnancy. For now, she'd just enjoy fooling around. It kind of excited her, oddly enough. She felt like his parents could walk through the door at any moment, and she'd be caught with her boyfriend. It was so high school, but so thrilling at the same time . . .
"I love waking up with you," he told her, nibbling on her ear lobe.
"Nick," she gasped. When he didn't stop, she pushed on his shoulders, roughly pushing him off of her. She jumped up, a hand over her mouth, "I'm gonna be sick!"
He watched her dart across the room and into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. He stood up and followed, slowly opening the door. He saw her hunched over the toilet, heaving. He crouched down beside her, pulling her hair back with one hand and rubbing her back with the other.
When she finished, she sighed, and sat back on her heels, he reached up and grabbed the water bottle which was sitting on the counter. Obviously she'd been here before and was well prepared. "Pretty rough, huh?"
She looked up at him. "Morning sickness, my ass," she huffed. "It happens any time it damn well wants too."
He offered her his hand to help her up as his other hand reached up to work the kinks out of his neck. "I think a late lunch sounds good, don't you?"
She groaned in disgust and lightly pushed him away from herself.
He just laughed and pulled her against him . . .
CSICSICSICSICSI
"Nick!" Sara said, exasperated. "Stop pacing. You're making me dizzy."
"Sorry," he apologized, stopping in his tracks. He glanced down at his watch. "Where is the doctor?"
"I'm sure she's just running a little behind," Sara told him calmly.
He watched the door nervously. The only noise aside from the seconds hand ticking on the mounted wall clock were that of Nick's finger nails being bitten off.
"Hey," Sara softly chided, reaching out in front of her, grabbing his hands from his mouth. When she noticed she had his full attention, she offered him a smile. "I'm sure everything is OK. Just have a little patience."
He sighed, dropping his head. "Sorry. I'm just anxious," he told her. Of course, terrified would've aptly described how he was feeling as well . . .
"If you weren't, I'd be worried," she told him.
He offered her a weak smile, squeezing her hand which was still holding his. "I love you." He couldn't stop telling her that. He'd known the fear of never being able to say it again, to the people whom it meant the most, and he wasn't going to loose that again.
"I love you," she responded back.
Finally, the door opened and Dr. Brenner appeared with Sara's chart in her hand. "Hello," she greeted, and looked oddly at the man beside her. Jillian, and Nicole, had been the only people who'd ever accompanied Sara to her visits . . . she'd never been with a man though.
"Hi, Dr. Brenner," she smiled.
Nick nodded his head. "Hello."
Dr. Brenner nodded back, extending her hand and introducing herself. "And you would be?"
He smiled bashfully. "Sorry. Nick Stokes."
The woman visibly paled, her hand fell limp from his to her side. She looked over at Sara. "What?" She looked back to Nick. "How?"
Nick chuckled. "Long story."
"Well in any case, welcome home, Mr. Stokes. I'm very happy for you both."
"Thanks," he acknowledged. "And you can call me Nick."
Dr. Brenner easily fell back into her professional mode. "Sara, you were in just a couple of days ago. Has something happened? Any bleeding? Cramps?"
"No, no," Sara shook her head. "Nick came home last night," she smiled, feeling the tears welling up in her eyes from the emotion of it all. "And I told him about the fall after I'd first gotten here, and how you had me on bed rest . . ."
"As a precaution," Dr. Brenner nodded.
"Well, I just wanted to see for myself that everything is OK," Nick finished explaining. "I guess it could be the worries of a first time father wanting to make sure that everything is really OK, but I just need to know. I hope we're not being a bother to you."
She smiled at the young man. "Definitely not a bother," she smiled. "I wish more expectant fathers would take such a pro-active role." She closed the file in her hands and placed it on the counter behind her. "Have a seat, Nick," she told him as Sara laid back on the exam table.
Nick did as he was told, pulling the stool from the head of the bed off to the side so he could see Sara's face and hold her hand more easily.
The doctor rolled the ultra sound cart over to the bed and took a seat on her own stool near the foot of the bed. Sara had rolled up her shirt, exposing the slightly expanding skin.
"You've done this before," Nick joked, somewhat awkwardly. He was at a loss as to what to say. He knew that this was a part of bringing a life into the world, but seeing her in such a clinical light made him a little uncomfortable. He couldn't help but wonder how he'd react when it came time to have the baby.
"Maybe once or twice," Sara nodded, smiling at him, trying to ease his apparent uncomfort. She squeezed his hand. "Ready?"
He nodded.
"Here we go," Dr. Brenner smiled, flipping on the machine. The steady but fast heart beat reverberated through the room, and Nick could make out small movements on the monitor.
He gasped excitedly, tears shining in his eyes. "Wow," he couldn't say anything else. He looked down at Sara, who was watching him closely. He leaned down and hovered just above her lips. "You've done good, baby." He then closed the gap between them and kissed her tenderly.
"Do you have any questions?" the doctor asked when they pulled apart.
Nick shook his head, at a loss for anything to ask . . .
"Uh, yeah, I have a question," Sara smiled, looking at Nick, though she was turning a little red . . . "About those 'highly physical activities . . .'"
Dr. Brenner smiled at the embarrassed couple . . . ah, to be young and in love!
TBC . . . .
CSI_Trainee
CSI Level One
What great updates, I thought maybe this fic would never get updated but I am so happy that u did update. Its so awsome. I hadn't read for quite the while so I was really behind on the updates and I have to admit the updates were so cute after Nick came back to sarah that it made me wish I was with my boi, even tho I was talking to him on msn lol. Update soon!!!
MacsGirlMel
Mac's Personal Assistant
lolol they're so cute and naughty :devil: I'm glad you updated...please don't wait so long for the next one!
MegBreanne
Police Officer
Chapter 22:
CSICSICSICSICSICSI
*One week later*
The sun was slowly rising in the Texas sky and a gentle glow filtered through the curtains into their bedroom. Nick lay on his back, Sara on her side cuddled into him. Both extremely satisfied. She kissed his exposed chest, just over his heart. "Wow."
"I always have enjoyed making love to you in the morning," he gave her a tired, half smile. They'd made love several times through out the night, getting sleep here and there, whenever they dozed off.
They'd been given the all clear to make love by Dr. Brenner and they'd returned the ranch immediately, both determined to enjoy some quality alone time with one another, sans clothing. Both had been geared up and raring to go, but the teams presence had hindered their plans. By the time the evenings activities had ended, Sara was absoluetly exhausted. The heat of the day, combined with her on-and-off morning sickness that had lasted all day had forced them to put their plans on hold. It was the following morning that the team had left. And after that, their plans had been thwarted yet again by Nick's siblings, nieces and nephews who wanted to spend time with him. It was finally later that evening, nearly 36 hours after being given the all clear, that the two of them had been able to enjoy the other.
It was beyond amazing. Explosive, even. Sara had felt things she'd never felt before. Her body had been easily excitable and she couldn't believe all the new feelings that Nick had stirred inside of her. She'd learned from one of the pregnancy books that she was reading that her hightened senses were due to the extra blood coursing through her body, as well as her raging hormones.
"That is not breakfast!" Jillian's voice echoed from downstairs.
"Hush, Jillian!" Bill's voice boomed back. "The kids are upstairs sleeping."
Nick and Sara chuckled.
"Think we should join them?" Nick asked softly, stroking her hair back off her forehead and planting a kiss on her temple.
Her stomach grumbled a little. She laughed. "I'd say that's a yes."
"Are you hungry in there?" Nick smiled, leaning down and whispering through the thin sheet to Sara's abdomen. He looked up at Sara with amusement in his eyes. "I think so. Mommy and Daddy have been enjoying some of the finer exercises that human nature has to offer." He winked up at her, causing her to laugh. His smile disappeared, though she could tell it was tugging at his lips, as he turned his attention back to his unborn child. "Of course, you won't be finding out about those exercises until after you've put the two of us in an old age home. And if I find out otherwise, you're goin' to boot camp."
Sara laughed warmly as she pushed herself into a sitting position. Nick leaned over the side of the bed, grabbing the night gown that he'd nearly torn off her body the night before. Handing it to her, and then it's matching robe, she easily slipped it over her head. He reached down and grabbed his pair of Texas A&M draw string pants, and then the white shirt that had somehow landed on the lamp shade.
"Nick?" she said softly as they headed for the bedroom door. When he turned around, looking at her curiously, she continued. "Do you think we should tell them this morning?"
He sighed, looking down at his feet for a minute. He looked back at her, searching her eyes for an answer to the question that she had posed.
"If you're not ready, it's OK," she assured him. "I'm not going anywhere." She reached up and placed both her palms on each of his cheeks. "I love you, and whenever you're ready, I'll be here."
"We can't exactly put it off much longer," he said quietly, putting his hands on her waist, his thumbs stroking the stretched skin of her stomach. "We both want this, right?"
She nodded her head. "But, more than anything, I want to be with you. And if you're not ready . . . "
"I want to start moving on with my life, Sara," he assured her. "Our life."
"OK," she nodded. "But we don't have to do this right away."
"I think the quicker we do this, the better," he bit the inside of his cheek, a habit that he'd picked up to avoid giving away any sort of emotion that threatened to over take him.
She nodded her head, though she eyed him carefully. She was worried. He had yet to truly break down the walls and show her any kind of emotion, or truly tell her what happened. She knew that the team had filled Nick's parents in on what had happened, but she and Nick had been attached at the hips, so she hadn't had the chance to get the full story yet. All she knew were bits and pieces that they'd managed to filter to her, and that of what his siblings had informed her of. It was not a subject that had been brought up in front of Nick just yet, no one quite knowning what to say, and feeling like if he needed to speak of it, he'd bring it up.
Though the Stokes family had always been very open and honest with each other, this was a completely new situation for everyone involved. It was shaky, and unsteady ground. Uncharted territory that, though unspoken, was quite possibly full of land mines . . .
"If you're sure," she told him.
He leaned down and captured her lips with his in a tender kiss.
Slowly, the pair made their way down the stairs and into the kitchen where Jillian was telling Bill that a couple of pieces of toast did not make a balanced breakfast. "You're as stubborn as a five year old who won't eat their green beans!" she told him, frustrated.
Nick chuckled. "Aw, honey," he pulled Sara to his side, "this is what we have to look forward to in a few years."
"With our child, or each other?" she smirked.
"Haha," Bill said, one eye brow raised, but a grin over took his face. "Morning you two." He looked at Nick and a full blown smile covered his face as he chuckled deeply. Nick smiled at his father, then adverted his eyes.
Sara blushed a little. Obviously, Bill knew what they'd been up to lately.
"We were beginning to wonder if the two of you would ever come out of hibernation," Jillian smiled calmly, then glanced over at her husband and winked.
Sara turned beat red and groaned a little in mortification. She opened the cupboard door and grabbed a drinking glass and a coffee mug. She poured some of the black liquid into the mug, and then some cream and a little sugar before placing the mug on the table for Nick, who was fixing them both a little breakfast.
"Can we talk to you guys for a couple of minutes?" Nick jumped right in, getting a curious look from Sara. She mouthed 'now?' to him and he nodded his head.
"Of course, dear," Jillian said, sitting down at the table beside Bill. The two of them glanced back at Nick and Sara somewhat nervously.
"Uh, I don't really know how to say this," Nick started.
Sara jumped in. "I appreciate everything you've done for us," she placed a hand on her stomach. In the week since he'd been home, it had become blatantly obvious that she was expecting . . . .
"But, we feel it's best that we start to rebuild our lives."
Jillian tried to smile, but was having a hard time keep the tears at bay. "We knew this was coming."
"Please don't cry, Jillian," Sara pleaded, her own tears springing to her eyes.
"I don't mean to," she laughed slightly, "but I'm going to miss you both so much."
"We'll come and visit, I promise," Nick offered. "And you guys can come visit us whenever you want."
"I assume you two are talking about going back to Vegas?" Bill asked.
The two nodded their heads. "I was checking out some real estate last night, online," Nick began, "and we want to go back home for a little bit. We'll live in my town house and find a house for us to start our family in. We want to be settled by the time the baby comes, so we figured we'd have to leave pretty soon."
Bill sighed deeply, standing up from the table.
"Dad," Nick said, upset that his father was leaving.
He raised his hand to his youngest son, motioning for him to stop. His emotions began to stir and once again bit the inside of his cheek. He smiled a little when he felt Sara slip her hand into his, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
Bill grabbed a file folder from the cupboard in the pantry. "Your mother and I wanted to do this for you a long time ago, Poncho." He put the file down, then rested his arms over the manilla folder. "Your brother and all your sisters have settled down, and we've built them homes here on the ranch. I guess in my heart -"
"Mine too," Jillian added, knowing exactly what Bill was going to say.
"I always thought you'd move back to Texas. Settle down, raise your family. But the more time passed, the more I realized that your home is now in Vegas."
Nick nodded his head in agreement, his arm reaching around to drape over Sara's shoulders. "Our life is there."
"We know," Jillian smiled through watery eyes.
"When you started telling me about 'Sunshine' over here," he smiled at Sara, "I knew that it was only a matter of time. I never told your mother about your relationship because you wanted me to keep it to myself."
"Which we still have to talk about young man," Jillian said, throwing a glance at Nick before breaking out into a small smile.
"But I did start telling her that I thought it was about time we did something for you. Push you in the right direction." He slid the folder across the table towards the couple.
Nick reached forward, pulling the folder to them. He flipped open the cover and both he and Sara stared at the contents.
"After the incident," Bill called it, "we discussed selling it. But something told us to hang on to it. Then Sara showed up, and we knew why."
Jillian reached over and patted Sara's hand. "We wanted to give it to you a while ago. But the time was never right. We didn't want you to feel like we were pushing you out the door, or anything. And I had a feeling that you'd turn it down."
"If you two want to sell it, that's fine. Find yourself something else, and put the money from the sale of the house towards it. But either way, it's yours."
"It was completed last month. It's just been sitting there, vacant."
The two stared at the pictures.
"I don't know what to say," Sara whispered.
"Originally, when I talked to your mom about buying a home for you, I was looking at properties at Lake Mead."
"But we knew how long of a commute that was. A drive there isn't too bad every now and again, but it's definitely not fun for everyday."
"So, your mother looked online and found this new developement that has popped up in the last couple of years."
Nick looked up at his parents, smiling. "Lake Las Vegas."
Sara read one of the computer printouts that lay inside the file. Lake Las Vegas Resort offers 19 distinct neighborhoods including custom home sites, courtyard villas, waterfront and golf villas, resort condominiums, luxury executive homes and courtyard town homes. The architectural designs throughout Lake Las Vegas Resort are based on a Mediterranean theme, featuring classical proportions and traditional detailing that create the distinctive enclaves surrounding a privately owned 320-acre lake with 10 miles of shoreline. Developed with an emphasis on privacy and serenity, the homes at Lake Las Vegas Resort feature panoramic views of the lake, the resort's world-class golf courses and surrounding desert mountains, as well as the twinkling lights of the Las Vegas Strip.
"There are some amazing restaurants and shopping in the community. You remember Katie, don't you, Nick?" Jillian asked her son. Katie was her high school best friend with whom she remained close. Nick nodded his head. "Well, Katie won a trip to one of the hotels when the community was first being built and absolutely loves it. There are spas and casinos right there. And a full service marina with boat rentals. It just sort of seemed perfect. Almost like a recreational community, but close enough to the city."
"This is more than generous," Sara said, "but-"
"No buts," Bill cut her off. "I'm putting my foot down on this, Sara. If you try and convince me otherwise, you're going to have a fight on your hands."
"If it doesn't suit you, or meet your needs, Bill and I will understand if you want to sell it and buy somewhere else."
Nick looked at Sara, who was on the fence about accepting the house.
"We knew that we were running a risk by just buying something for you, son," Bill said. "But we knew that you would turn us down because you can support yourself. And have been for years."
Nick looked from Sara, to his parents, back to Sara, and then to the file again. He looked back up at his parents faces, then over to Sara, who was biting her lip, deep in thought. "I guess we should take a look at it. What do you think?"
Sara's head snapped up and met Nick's eyes. "Yeah, that'd be OK."
"Wonderful," Jillian smiled, standing up and coming over to hug Sara, and then Nick.
"Lets book our flights," Nick suggested, standing up and gently pushing his mother away from himself.
"Now? You want to leave today?" Sara gaped.
He nodded his head. "Why not? Life is too short to waste time."
She took a deep breath and looked at Bill and Jillian with worried eyes.
"Do you two want to join us?" he asked his parents.
"Sure, Nicky," Jillian nodded slowly. She looked at Sara, who was still seated in the chair beside her. Her head was resting in her hands. Jillian sat down in the seat that Nick had just vacated. Quietly, she asked, "Sara?"
"I'm worried about him," she admitted quietly to Jillian and Bill. "It's like, now when he gets an idea in his head, he goes full throttle. Without taking a minute to think it through. I don't think he's sleeping much, and he's not talking to me about what happened. I'm scared that it's eating away at him, and his way of not dealing with things is by running."
"Just give him a little bit of time," Jillian pat the back of her hand. "I'm sure your just being with him is helping more than you'll ever know." She stood up and immediately began to clear the half eaten breakfast.
Bill looked at his wife, who was busying herself with tidying up the table and counters, then back to Sara. He had a sneaking suspicion that Sara was right, and that Jillian, in her euphoric state that Nick was back, was just not ready to believe it either . . . he stood up and walked around the table to sit beside her, where Nick and then Jillian had been . . . "We're gonna make sure he gets through this. I promise."
Sara offered Bill a weak smile. "Yeah." She cleared her throat and then took a deep breath. "I guess I should go start packing."
Bill nodded in agreement as Nick hung up the phone. "Four tickets to Vegas leaving from the Dallas/Ft. Worth airport at two twenty this afternoon." He smiled widely, clapping his hands together in excitment. "Lets pack, babe," he reached his hand out for Sara to take and then lead her out of the kitchen and towards the stairs.
She glanced back at Bill, both sharing a worried look.
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"Just about finished," Nick smiled as he finished placing a few t-shirts in the small suitcase that was on the bed.
She smiled and let her arm full of bathroom toiletries fall onto the comforter of the bed. As she was organizing the items, a gust of wind blew through the open window and she looked outside, noting the changing weather. A chill rang down her spine. She heard the zipper on Nick's suitcase close and her the thud as he dropped it on the floor. "Hon, could you close the window in the bathroom and grab the prenatal vitimins off the counter. I forgot them."
He smiled, nodding his head slightly, walking around the foot of the bed. When he was nearing the bathroom door, the a gust of air came through the bathroom window, slamming the wooden door shut. When he turned the knob, it wouldn't budge. "DAMN IT!" he yelled, suddenly frustrated.
Sara flinched at his sudden outburst as she turned around.
"The lock is jammed," he said through gritted teeth. He tried it again, and again, his muscles flexing as he continued to try hard to get the door to open. Finally, he pounded the palm of his hand against the dry wall, a loud thud reverberating through the room.
"It's OK," Sara said calmly as she walked over to the dresser.
"No, it's not. Your pills are in there, and we can't go far without them," his voice had an edge to it.
"Baby, it's OK, we can fix it," she walked over to him, unscrewing a pen and taking out the plastic tube, which held the ink, from inside of it. She crouched down, and lined up the tip of the plastic, poking it into the small whole in the knob. When she felt a little resistance, she pressed the tip a little harder, turning the knob with her other hand at the same time. When the door easily popped open, she smiled up at Nick.
He sighed, running a hand through his hair and offering her an embarassed smile. He reached down his hand to her, offering it to help her up from her purch on the floor. "Sorry. I should've thought of that."
"It's OK," she shrugged. "You've got a lot on your mind." She reached behind the door, making sure the lock was disengaged.
He leaned down and placed a kiss on her lips, lovingly. He then broke away and went into the washroom to complete his task of closing the window and getting the prenatal vitamins.
Sara watched him, concerned as his mood went from happy, to pissed off and back to happy again in mere seconds . . .
Taking a deep breath, she could only hope that they could weather the storm that she was certain they were entering . . .
TBC . . .
A/N -- Lake Las Vegas really exists! You can visit the official website at http://www.lakelasvegas.com/
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*One week later*
The sun was slowly rising in the Texas sky and a gentle glow filtered through the curtains into their bedroom. Nick lay on his back, Sara on her side cuddled into him. Both extremely satisfied. She kissed his exposed chest, just over his heart. "Wow."
"I always have enjoyed making love to you in the morning," he gave her a tired, half smile. They'd made love several times through out the night, getting sleep here and there, whenever they dozed off.
They'd been given the all clear to make love by Dr. Brenner and they'd returned the ranch immediately, both determined to enjoy some quality alone time with one another, sans clothing. Both had been geared up and raring to go, but the teams presence had hindered their plans. By the time the evenings activities had ended, Sara was absoluetly exhausted. The heat of the day, combined with her on-and-off morning sickness that had lasted all day had forced them to put their plans on hold. It was the following morning that the team had left. And after that, their plans had been thwarted yet again by Nick's siblings, nieces and nephews who wanted to spend time with him. It was finally later that evening, nearly 36 hours after being given the all clear, that the two of them had been able to enjoy the other.
It was beyond amazing. Explosive, even. Sara had felt things she'd never felt before. Her body had been easily excitable and she couldn't believe all the new feelings that Nick had stirred inside of her. She'd learned from one of the pregnancy books that she was reading that her hightened senses were due to the extra blood coursing through her body, as well as her raging hormones.
"That is not breakfast!" Jillian's voice echoed from downstairs.
"Hush, Jillian!" Bill's voice boomed back. "The kids are upstairs sleeping."
Nick and Sara chuckled.
"Think we should join them?" Nick asked softly, stroking her hair back off her forehead and planting a kiss on her temple.
Her stomach grumbled a little. She laughed. "I'd say that's a yes."
"Are you hungry in there?" Nick smiled, leaning down and whispering through the thin sheet to Sara's abdomen. He looked up at Sara with amusement in his eyes. "I think so. Mommy and Daddy have been enjoying some of the finer exercises that human nature has to offer." He winked up at her, causing her to laugh. His smile disappeared, though she could tell it was tugging at his lips, as he turned his attention back to his unborn child. "Of course, you won't be finding out about those exercises until after you've put the two of us in an old age home. And if I find out otherwise, you're goin' to boot camp."
Sara laughed warmly as she pushed herself into a sitting position. Nick leaned over the side of the bed, grabbing the night gown that he'd nearly torn off her body the night before. Handing it to her, and then it's matching robe, she easily slipped it over her head. He reached down and grabbed his pair of Texas A&M draw string pants, and then the white shirt that had somehow landed on the lamp shade.
"Nick?" she said softly as they headed for the bedroom door. When he turned around, looking at her curiously, she continued. "Do you think we should tell them this morning?"
He sighed, looking down at his feet for a minute. He looked back at her, searching her eyes for an answer to the question that she had posed.
"If you're not ready, it's OK," she assured him. "I'm not going anywhere." She reached up and placed both her palms on each of his cheeks. "I love you, and whenever you're ready, I'll be here."
"We can't exactly put it off much longer," he said quietly, putting his hands on her waist, his thumbs stroking the stretched skin of her stomach. "We both want this, right?"
She nodded her head. "But, more than anything, I want to be with you. And if you're not ready . . . "
"I want to start moving on with my life, Sara," he assured her. "Our life."
"OK," she nodded. "But we don't have to do this right away."
"I think the quicker we do this, the better," he bit the inside of his cheek, a habit that he'd picked up to avoid giving away any sort of emotion that threatened to over take him.
She nodded her head, though she eyed him carefully. She was worried. He had yet to truly break down the walls and show her any kind of emotion, or truly tell her what happened. She knew that the team had filled Nick's parents in on what had happened, but she and Nick had been attached at the hips, so she hadn't had the chance to get the full story yet. All she knew were bits and pieces that they'd managed to filter to her, and that of what his siblings had informed her of. It was not a subject that had been brought up in front of Nick just yet, no one quite knowning what to say, and feeling like if he needed to speak of it, he'd bring it up.
Though the Stokes family had always been very open and honest with each other, this was a completely new situation for everyone involved. It was shaky, and unsteady ground. Uncharted territory that, though unspoken, was quite possibly full of land mines . . .
"If you're sure," she told him.
He leaned down and captured her lips with his in a tender kiss.
Slowly, the pair made their way down the stairs and into the kitchen where Jillian was telling Bill that a couple of pieces of toast did not make a balanced breakfast. "You're as stubborn as a five year old who won't eat their green beans!" she told him, frustrated.
Nick chuckled. "Aw, honey," he pulled Sara to his side, "this is what we have to look forward to in a few years."
"With our child, or each other?" she smirked.
"Haha," Bill said, one eye brow raised, but a grin over took his face. "Morning you two." He looked at Nick and a full blown smile covered his face as he chuckled deeply. Nick smiled at his father, then adverted his eyes.
Sara blushed a little. Obviously, Bill knew what they'd been up to lately.
"We were beginning to wonder if the two of you would ever come out of hibernation," Jillian smiled calmly, then glanced over at her husband and winked.
Sara turned beat red and groaned a little in mortification. She opened the cupboard door and grabbed a drinking glass and a coffee mug. She poured some of the black liquid into the mug, and then some cream and a little sugar before placing the mug on the table for Nick, who was fixing them both a little breakfast.
"Can we talk to you guys for a couple of minutes?" Nick jumped right in, getting a curious look from Sara. She mouthed 'now?' to him and he nodded his head.
"Of course, dear," Jillian said, sitting down at the table beside Bill. The two of them glanced back at Nick and Sara somewhat nervously.
"Uh, I don't really know how to say this," Nick started.
Sara jumped in. "I appreciate everything you've done for us," she placed a hand on her stomach. In the week since he'd been home, it had become blatantly obvious that she was expecting . . . .
"But, we feel it's best that we start to rebuild our lives."
Jillian tried to smile, but was having a hard time keep the tears at bay. "We knew this was coming."
"Please don't cry, Jillian," Sara pleaded, her own tears springing to her eyes.
"I don't mean to," she laughed slightly, "but I'm going to miss you both so much."
"We'll come and visit, I promise," Nick offered. "And you guys can come visit us whenever you want."
"I assume you two are talking about going back to Vegas?" Bill asked.
The two nodded their heads. "I was checking out some real estate last night, online," Nick began, "and we want to go back home for a little bit. We'll live in my town house and find a house for us to start our family in. We want to be settled by the time the baby comes, so we figured we'd have to leave pretty soon."
Bill sighed deeply, standing up from the table.
"Dad," Nick said, upset that his father was leaving.
He raised his hand to his youngest son, motioning for him to stop. His emotions began to stir and once again bit the inside of his cheek. He smiled a little when he felt Sara slip her hand into his, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
Bill grabbed a file folder from the cupboard in the pantry. "Your mother and I wanted to do this for you a long time ago, Poncho." He put the file down, then rested his arms over the manilla folder. "Your brother and all your sisters have settled down, and we've built them homes here on the ranch. I guess in my heart -"
"Mine too," Jillian added, knowing exactly what Bill was going to say.
"I always thought you'd move back to Texas. Settle down, raise your family. But the more time passed, the more I realized that your home is now in Vegas."
Nick nodded his head in agreement, his arm reaching around to drape over Sara's shoulders. "Our life is there."
"We know," Jillian smiled through watery eyes.
"When you started telling me about 'Sunshine' over here," he smiled at Sara, "I knew that it was only a matter of time. I never told your mother about your relationship because you wanted me to keep it to myself."
"Which we still have to talk about young man," Jillian said, throwing a glance at Nick before breaking out into a small smile.
"But I did start telling her that I thought it was about time we did something for you. Push you in the right direction." He slid the folder across the table towards the couple.
Nick reached forward, pulling the folder to them. He flipped open the cover and both he and Sara stared at the contents.
"After the incident," Bill called it, "we discussed selling it. But something told us to hang on to it. Then Sara showed up, and we knew why."
Jillian reached over and patted Sara's hand. "We wanted to give it to you a while ago. But the time was never right. We didn't want you to feel like we were pushing you out the door, or anything. And I had a feeling that you'd turn it down."
"If you two want to sell it, that's fine. Find yourself something else, and put the money from the sale of the house towards it. But either way, it's yours."
"It was completed last month. It's just been sitting there, vacant."
The two stared at the pictures.
"I don't know what to say," Sara whispered.
"Originally, when I talked to your mom about buying a home for you, I was looking at properties at Lake Mead."
"But we knew how long of a commute that was. A drive there isn't too bad every now and again, but it's definitely not fun for everyday."
"So, your mother looked online and found this new developement that has popped up in the last couple of years."
Nick looked up at his parents, smiling. "Lake Las Vegas."
Sara read one of the computer printouts that lay inside the file. Lake Las Vegas Resort offers 19 distinct neighborhoods including custom home sites, courtyard villas, waterfront and golf villas, resort condominiums, luxury executive homes and courtyard town homes. The architectural designs throughout Lake Las Vegas Resort are based on a Mediterranean theme, featuring classical proportions and traditional detailing that create the distinctive enclaves surrounding a privately owned 320-acre lake with 10 miles of shoreline. Developed with an emphasis on privacy and serenity, the homes at Lake Las Vegas Resort feature panoramic views of the lake, the resort's world-class golf courses and surrounding desert mountains, as well as the twinkling lights of the Las Vegas Strip.
"There are some amazing restaurants and shopping in the community. You remember Katie, don't you, Nick?" Jillian asked her son. Katie was her high school best friend with whom she remained close. Nick nodded his head. "Well, Katie won a trip to one of the hotels when the community was first being built and absolutely loves it. There are spas and casinos right there. And a full service marina with boat rentals. It just sort of seemed perfect. Almost like a recreational community, but close enough to the city."
"This is more than generous," Sara said, "but-"
"No buts," Bill cut her off. "I'm putting my foot down on this, Sara. If you try and convince me otherwise, you're going to have a fight on your hands."
"If it doesn't suit you, or meet your needs, Bill and I will understand if you want to sell it and buy somewhere else."
Nick looked at Sara, who was on the fence about accepting the house.
"We knew that we were running a risk by just buying something for you, son," Bill said. "But we knew that you would turn us down because you can support yourself. And have been for years."
Nick looked from Sara, to his parents, back to Sara, and then to the file again. He looked back up at his parents faces, then over to Sara, who was biting her lip, deep in thought. "I guess we should take a look at it. What do you think?"
Sara's head snapped up and met Nick's eyes. "Yeah, that'd be OK."
"Wonderful," Jillian smiled, standing up and coming over to hug Sara, and then Nick.
"Lets book our flights," Nick suggested, standing up and gently pushing his mother away from himself.
"Now? You want to leave today?" Sara gaped.
He nodded his head. "Why not? Life is too short to waste time."
She took a deep breath and looked at Bill and Jillian with worried eyes.
"Do you two want to join us?" he asked his parents.
"Sure, Nicky," Jillian nodded slowly. She looked at Sara, who was still seated in the chair beside her. Her head was resting in her hands. Jillian sat down in the seat that Nick had just vacated. Quietly, she asked, "Sara?"
"I'm worried about him," she admitted quietly to Jillian and Bill. "It's like, now when he gets an idea in his head, he goes full throttle. Without taking a minute to think it through. I don't think he's sleeping much, and he's not talking to me about what happened. I'm scared that it's eating away at him, and his way of not dealing with things is by running."
"Just give him a little bit of time," Jillian pat the back of her hand. "I'm sure your just being with him is helping more than you'll ever know." She stood up and immediately began to clear the half eaten breakfast.
Bill looked at his wife, who was busying herself with tidying up the table and counters, then back to Sara. He had a sneaking suspicion that Sara was right, and that Jillian, in her euphoric state that Nick was back, was just not ready to believe it either . . . he stood up and walked around the table to sit beside her, where Nick and then Jillian had been . . . "We're gonna make sure he gets through this. I promise."
Sara offered Bill a weak smile. "Yeah." She cleared her throat and then took a deep breath. "I guess I should go start packing."
Bill nodded in agreement as Nick hung up the phone. "Four tickets to Vegas leaving from the Dallas/Ft. Worth airport at two twenty this afternoon." He smiled widely, clapping his hands together in excitment. "Lets pack, babe," he reached his hand out for Sara to take and then lead her out of the kitchen and towards the stairs.
She glanced back at Bill, both sharing a worried look.
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"Just about finished," Nick smiled as he finished placing a few t-shirts in the small suitcase that was on the bed.
She smiled and let her arm full of bathroom toiletries fall onto the comforter of the bed. As she was organizing the items, a gust of wind blew through the open window and she looked outside, noting the changing weather. A chill rang down her spine. She heard the zipper on Nick's suitcase close and her the thud as he dropped it on the floor. "Hon, could you close the window in the bathroom and grab the prenatal vitimins off the counter. I forgot them."
He smiled, nodding his head slightly, walking around the foot of the bed. When he was nearing the bathroom door, the a gust of air came through the bathroom window, slamming the wooden door shut. When he turned the knob, it wouldn't budge. "DAMN IT!" he yelled, suddenly frustrated.
Sara flinched at his sudden outburst as she turned around.
"The lock is jammed," he said through gritted teeth. He tried it again, and again, his muscles flexing as he continued to try hard to get the door to open. Finally, he pounded the palm of his hand against the dry wall, a loud thud reverberating through the room.
"It's OK," Sara said calmly as she walked over to the dresser.
"No, it's not. Your pills are in there, and we can't go far without them," his voice had an edge to it.
"Baby, it's OK, we can fix it," she walked over to him, unscrewing a pen and taking out the plastic tube, which held the ink, from inside of it. She crouched down, and lined up the tip of the plastic, poking it into the small whole in the knob. When she felt a little resistance, she pressed the tip a little harder, turning the knob with her other hand at the same time. When the door easily popped open, she smiled up at Nick.
He sighed, running a hand through his hair and offering her an embarassed smile. He reached down his hand to her, offering it to help her up from her purch on the floor. "Sorry. I should've thought of that."
"It's OK," she shrugged. "You've got a lot on your mind." She reached behind the door, making sure the lock was disengaged.
He leaned down and placed a kiss on her lips, lovingly. He then broke away and went into the washroom to complete his task of closing the window and getting the prenatal vitamins.
Sara watched him, concerned as his mood went from happy, to pissed off and back to happy again in mere seconds . . .
Taking a deep breath, she could only hope that they could weather the storm that she was certain they were entering . . .
TBC . . .
A/N -- Lake Las Vegas really exists! You can visit the official website at http://www.lakelasvegas.com/
MacsGirlMel
Mac's Personal Assistant
hmm I'm anxious to see how he's coping in the aftermath.