Love Conquers All
Disclaimer - I don't own CSI.
A/N: This is finally finished. Been working on it for a few weeks. If you enjoy it, feel free to leave a review to let me know.
Chapter 1
Sara slammed her car door shut. She was fuming. He had better had a good explanation for this. She knew she generally didn't have much patience anyway but he was seriously testing what little patience she did possess. It was time for him to explain himself. She'd gone to all that effect, getting dressed up, and for what? He hadn't even called her. She was beyond consolable.
She marched over to the front door and hammered on it a few times, hopefully taking out some of her frustration on the door. She knew she had a key that she could've used but at that moment in time she wanted him to know just how angry and upset she was, punishing him in a way. But when it opened, she let everything she'd been letting build up inside of her just explode out.
"Oh, good, so you're not dead then. You might just be in a minute. What's taken you so long? I can't believe you. I can't believe you'd do this to me. You forgot about today, didn't you?" Sara ranted on, completely oblivious to everything around her. "Do you have any idea how worried I've been? I thought something must have happened to you."
It was only then that she finally looked straight ahead and saw who was stood in the doorway. She raised her eyebrows in surprise. Stood before her was an ageing man, probably in his early seventies, and not Nick as she'd expected. She suddenly felt very self-conscious and embarrassed. She quickly cleared her throat and stood up straighter.
"Hi. Is… uh, is Nick in?" she smiled sheepishly, saying the first thing that came to mind.
The old man smiled back at her, obviously trying his best not to smirk. "Nicky, a lovely young lady is here to see you."
Sara snorted lightly at his compliment.
The man smiled at her again before stepping aside as Nick approached his front door.
"Hey," he greeted, smiling brightly.
Sara scowled at him. "Did you forget we had plans this evening?"
"No, not at all," Nick shook his head. "My parents are here."
"And you didn't think that you should've told me?" Sara crossed her arms over her chest.
"I didn't know they were coming. I got home and found a message on my answer machine saying they were at the airport and before I even had a chance to call you they were here. I'm so sorry," Nick explained.
Sara sighed, letting her arms fall to her side again. "It's fine. It doesn't matter."
"Of course it matters," Nick insisted. "I wanted to go out with you tonight, you know I did. But I'll make it up to you."
"You'd better," Sara squeezed her lips into a tight smile.
"So… you're here now…," Nick looked sheepish as he continued. "Do you want to come in and meet my parents?"
Sara's face instantly fell.
"I know this isn't exactly how I wanted you to meet them, or how I'm sure you would have wanted to either but they're here and you're here and I'm not sure we should pass up an opportunity like this," he stated. "But you don't have to if you don't want to…"
"No, I… I want to," Sara insisted, though she looked terrified.
"Really? Why don't you tell your face that?" Nick smirked.
"Shut up," Sara reached out a hand and hit lightly on the arm. "I just hope they like me."
"They will, I'm sure of it," Nick insisted. "They'll love you like I do."
Sara smiled and let out a nervous laugh. "This isn't what I expected to be doing tonight when I woke up five hours ago."
"Me neither," he agreed. "I expected it to just be me and you, and maybe a mattress…"
Sara gave him a stern look. "If your mum and dad can here us what are they going to think of me?"
"They're gonna think that you're gorgeous and I can't keep my hands off you," Nick smirked, his eyes twinkling with mischief. "The latter of which, of course, isn't true at all. It's you that can't keep your hands off me."
Sara shook her head at the man standing in front of her, trying so desperately hard not smile at him. She failed miserably.
"That's it, now keep smiling," Nick took Sara's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze for reassurance before entwining their fingers. "You'll be fine."
Sara nodded, taking a deep breath before she finally stepped inside her boyfriend's home.
Nick brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it gently. "Ready?"
"As I'll ever be," she shrugged as she quietly closed the front door. He then began to lead her in the direction of his living room.
"Mum. Dad," said Nick, getting his parents attention. "There's someone I'd like you to meet. This is Sara…"
"Is she your girlfriend?" Nick's mother, Gillian, interrupted.
Nick smiled proudly. "Yeah, she is."
"You never told us you had a girlfriend," Gillian exclaimed.
"Well, I'm telling you now," he insisted.
Nick's father made the first move to introduce himself to Sara. "Hello, I'm Bill."
"Hi," Sara smiled, shaking his hand.
"Sorry, Sara. I'm Gillian, Nick's mum," the older woman stated.
"Hi…," before Sara had a chance to say anything else Gillian had wrapped her arms around her in a rather uncomfortable embrace.
"It's so nice to meet you," Gillian stated as she pulled away.
"And you."
Gillian took a step back again to stand in line with her husband. She looked Sara up and down. "Oh, no, Bill. I have the distinct feeling we've ruined their plans."
"You have," Nick didn't hesitate to confirm his mothers suspicions. "We were supposed to be going out for dinner tonight."
"But it's okay," Sara quickly jumped in. "It's not like we don't see each other at work or anything."
Gillian nodded in understanding. "I thought it was a coincidence if Nicky worked with someone and dated someone with the same name. I'm glad to finally put a face to the name."
"Yeah, and you," Sara nodded. "I've heard lots about you, both of you, your whole family in fact."
"And we've heard lots about you," Bill added.
"I think I could use some coffee," Nick announced a moment later, breaking the silence.
"Yep, me too," Bill agreed.
Nick turned his attention to Sara. "Do want some coffee, Sara?" he gave her a knowing look.
"Sure," Sara nodded. "I'll give you a hand."
Nick followed Sara into the kitchen. Once they were inside and hopefully out of earshot of Nick's parents, Sara let out a sigh.
"Are you okay?" Nick asked, flicking on the kettle.
"Yeah," she nodded, flashing him a small smile.
"What do you think of them so far?" Nick wondered.
"I think they're lovely people, but of course they are because they're your parents. They're a lot like you. Rather, I should say you're a lot like them," Sara answered.
"I told you you'd be fine," Nick maintained.
"I know you did."
"I'm so sorry about all of this, Sara," he insisted.
"So you should be," she smirked. "I'm kidding, it's fine."
"I'm sorry we didn't get to go out," he sighed.
"I'm sorry for coming round here practically screaming at you," Sara bit her lip, feeling guilty as she decided to apologise as well. "But you really had me worried for a moment there."
"I'm sorry about that," Nick placed a hand on her arm. "You know I never meant for that to happen. But I just forgot to try to get a hold of you. My mum was busy asking my twenty different questions."
"It's alright, no real harm done," she insisted.
"You look beautiful tonight, by the way," he smiled sweetly at her, commenting on the medium length dark blue dress she was wearing.
"I'm glad you think so," she smiled back. "You could have got dressed up too, you know."
"I was a little preoccupied with my the sudden arrival of my parents," Nick explained, smirking slightly.
"I guess I'll just have to take you word for it," she pursed her lips.
"I'll make it up to you, I swear," Nick promised. "We'll go out tomorrow."
"Good," Sara couldn't help but smile, taking his hand in hers again. "I was looking forward to our date."
"Me too," Nick stated. "What are we at now, twenty dates?"
"And counting," she commented, looking him in the eye.
He looked at her with loving eyes as he gently pushed some of her hair behind her ear, letting his hand linger on her cheek for a little while.
"Nick," she sighed, leaning her head gently against his hand. "Not now."
Nick let out an exasperated sigh. "I know, but I can't help myself."
The kettle boiled and Sara moved away from Nick and took two mugs out of the cupboard from above the sink, without even having to think about it while Nick returned to his living room to collect his parents' empty mugs. Nick went on to prepare the coffees in silence. The whole time Sara stood beside him, adding sugar and milk where appropriate. They were in complete sync with each other.
"We thought you two had gotten lost," Gillian joked as she entered the kitchen.
"Huh?" Nick hadn't been listening, he had been to busy staring at Sara.
"Sorry to have interrupted," Gillian pursed her lips.
"You didn't," Sara smiled, glancing at the floor as she handed Gillian her coffee.
Nick carried his dad's coffee through to the living room and the four of them sat down.
"I'd like to make a toast," Gillian announced.
"Gill…," her husband rolled his eyes.
"To Nick and Sara," she continued regardless. "Long may this relationship of yours continue."
Sara blushed as she mumbled their names under her breath and chinked her coffee mug with Bill. This wasn't at all how she had expected to spend her evening with Nick.
Suddenly Nick's cell phone began to ring. Swing shift was busy so he was needed at a potential murder scene, and he volunteered Sara's services as well.
"What a shame you have to go into work so early," Gillian sighed.
"I know, mum, but these things can't be helped," Nick reasoned.
"It was lovely meeting you, Sara," Gillian stated.
"And you," she smiled.
"Will we see you again tomorrow?" Gillian asked. "We haven't really had a chance to get to know you properly yet."
"I should think so," Sara nodded.
"And don't worry Nicky, we're off to a hotel for the night," Gillian informed her youngest son.
"You didn't have to...," Nick started.
"It's booked and paid for now," Bill insisted. "And I'll be sure to make sure your mother phones before we turn up, we wouldn't want to cramp your style."
It was Nick's turn to blush. "Thanks, dad."
He swiftly took the opportunity to slip out the front door.
"Have fun," Gillian smiled as Nick and Sara climbed into Nick's car.
"I'm sure we won't."
Nick drove round to Sara's apartment so she could quickly run inside and get changed into something more appropriate for a crime scene. A few moments later she returned but Nick didn't start the engine again immediately.
"I'm sorry about my mum," Nick spoke up, turning towards his passenger. "She can be a bit full on at times. But she means well."
"Don't worry about it," Sara insisted.
"And you don't have to see them again tomorrow if you don't want to," Nick stated.
"I want to."
"Well, it's up to you," he shrugged.
"While we're kind of on the subject, I've been thinking," Sara began, looking out the window. "Maybe now that we've told your parents that we're together maybe we should say something in work."
"You want to tell them?" Nick questioned, double checking he was understanding what she was getting at.
"Don't you?" she countered. "We've been together a little while now, and from my point of view that isn't going to change anytime soon, unless you feel different. I know we agreed to not say anything at first but maybe it's time to tell people. Obviously we're not going to walk in, stand on the break room table and make an announcement or anything, but maybe we could just tell people closest to us like Warrick and Greg. If you wanted to."
Nick took a moment to let her words sink in. He wanted this day to come more than anything, potentially the day he got to tell people that he was with Sara. But in all honesty he expected to be the one bringing the subject up and convincing Sara that they shouldn't keep it to themselves forever. Yet despite his initial surprise he was pleased that she wanted them to come clean about their relationship, and he was glad that meeting his parents hadn't scared her off the idea for good.
Nick smiled, realising he'd left Sara wondering what was going on inside his head. "Yeah, I'd love to tell them."
Sara let out a sigh of relief.
"I think we're ready for this," Nick insisted. "Especially now that my parents know we're together. I mean, this is a huge part of our lives, professionally as well as personally. We say that we don't want it to interfere with work but it's always going to in a way, even if we're not making out in the storage closet. Us being in a relationship, it changes things. And I'm sure as hell that no one in the lab is going to be pleased that we kept this from them for so long. But we'll deal with the aftermath later. Let's tell them."
Sara nodded in agreement. "Let's tell them."
"And then I can take you out for breakfast, lunch, dinner, whatever you want, wherever you want," Nick stated.
"I'll hold you to that."
They soon arrived at their assigned crime scene, though despite their usual focus both Nick and Sara found it hard to concentrate on the task in hand. It was a simple scene really. Too simple. And therein lied the problem. It was quickly established that the murder was in fact a tragic accident, however hard that may have been to understand.
The rest of the shift went by relatively smoothly, with only a reported break in at a liqueur store coming in, but even that didn't require much attention. It gave the team time to reflect and process important life events. But more importantly they could do paperwork. One of the perks of the job.
Night turned into day fairly quickly and before anyone knew it it was time to go home. Not like anyone complained about it at all or for some strange inhuman reason decided they wanted to stay on and work for a few more hours. Once upon a time that would have been Sara staying on simply because she had nowhere else to be. That had become a long and distant memory since she had started dating Nick, with him insisting on a regular basis that sleep was important. That was perhaps the biggest change their relationship had caused, inside the crime lab anyway, so they often wondered why their colleagues hadn't noticed.
"Hey," Warrick acknowledged Nick as he entered the locker room.
"Hey," Nick smiled back. "Finish your paperwork?"
Warrick snorted. "Oh, yeah. It's a such waste of paper, think of the trees that could be saved if we didn't have to write down our every move. They never tell you about this when you sign up for the course. They never tell you that you sneeze and you have to fill out a mountain of paperwork."
"They'd probably worry it would put too many people off," Nick reasoned.
"Well, I for one would have thought twice before submitting my college application," Warrick insisted.
"I can see why," Nick commented.
"I was thinking that we could maybe go and get a drink or get some breakfast, or both I guess, if you're up for it?" Warrick suggested. "To cheer us up a bit."
"Cheer you up, you mean," Nick corrected him.
"Whatever. Do you wanna come?"
Nick looked away for a moment. "I, uh, I wish I could, man, but I've, uh, got plans. Rain check?"
"Sure," Warrick nodded. "As soon as you tell me who she is?"
"What, I... I don't know what you're talking about...," Nick stuttered, his response coming naturally.
"She works here, doesn't she?"
Nick opened and closed his mouth repeatedly like a fish out of water as he thought of what to say.
"Sara?" Warrick guessed.
"Maybe," Nick tried to play it cool.
"Yeah...," Warrick urged him to go on. "Come on, you can do better than that."
"Well, you already know what I'm going to say so why should I bother?" Nick gave him a look.
"Of course I do," he exclaimed. "Do I look like I came down in the last shower?"
"How did you guess?" Nick asked.
"I saw the way you looked at her tonight," Warrick stated.
"We agreed earlier that we would tell you all so I guess I must have let my guard down," Nick explained.
"Just how long have you already been hiding it for, exactly?" Warrick asked, sounding curious.
"Only a few months," he insisted.
"I get why you didn't say anything, better safe than sorry I guess but I just can't believe that none of us never noticed," he shook his head in despair.
"You weren't looking for anything," Nick argued. "And you had no reason to suspect that we were together."
"I should have," Warrick stated. "The way you used to be around her... Damn, why didn't I know? It was so obvious you had feelings for her."
"Well, the feelings are mutual," Nick grinned, full of pride and looking a little bit smug.
"And we're probably gonna notice all the time now, aren't we? Gonna see how loved up you are," Warrick teased.
Nick shook his head. "Nah, that's unlikely. Sara is always having a go at me for looking at her or standing too close to her when we're working. She's determined we have to stay professional."
"So are things serious between you two?" Warrick asked.
"I think we're heading that way, with any luck," he tried not to smile too hard.
"Is she 'the one'?" Warrick asked, humour in his voice.
"I would say so, yes," Nick nodded, trying not hide his sudden embarrassed. "I hope so anyway."
"Got big plans then?"
Nick mumbled under his breath, "Oh, you know, maybe..."
"I'll figure this out for sure," he insisted, smirking slightly.
"We're just gonna take things slow," Nick maintained. "See where things go."
"You two are gonna be great together, I'm sure," Warrick smiled. "I'm happy for you. Just don't hurt her, okay?"
"Yes, I know," Nick rolled his eyes. "I don't plan on it."
"I really am happy for you, Nick," Warrick stated.
"Thanks, man," Nick smiled.
"Sure I can't tempt you into coming out for just one drink?" Warrick tried.
"Nope, sorry," Nick shook his head. "It's been a long day but productive too as you now know about my relationship with Sara and I have a date in a few hours."
"Who has a date in a few hours?" Greg interrupted, poking his head round the locker room door.
"I do," boasted Nick, smiling widely as he headed towards the exit.
"Ooh, who's the lucky girl?" Greg teased.
"I'll tell you later," Warrick said, standing up, patting Greg on the back and giving Nick a knowing look.
"Oh, okay," Greg looked confused.
"I shall see you two later," Nick said before quickly exiting the room and hurrying after Sara who was just up ahead of him.
"Hey, gorgeous," he smiled as he began to walk beside her.
"Hey yourself," she smiled back.
"Are we still on for our date?" Nick asked.
"You bet we are," Sara nodded, sliding her hand into his and intertwining their fingers together. "Unless something comes up again, of course."
"Nothing is going to get in the way of us anymore," he stated matter-of-factly.
"Ah, that explains a lot," Greg exclaimed audibly from behind them as Warrick explained who Nick's date was.
Nick stopped in his tracks and turned to face Sara, moving in quickly to kiss her before she had a chance to argue with him. It was a short yet sweet kiss, but it would do for now.
Thanks for reading. The second chapter will be up shortly. Please review.