Disclaimer – I don't own CSI.
A/N: First story of 2017! Here is my Snickery twist to the ending of season 15, well sort of. I've been thinking about this for a while but only just plucked up the courage to write it. Okay, here goes...
I Lived
"Are you sure about this?" Nick looked at Sara as she
"Of course, I'm sure," Sara answered, though she was distracted. "Now would you hurry up and get ready."
Nick looked serious, and somewhat confused. "Are you really sure? I mean, this is a big deal..."
"Nick, we've been through this already," she snapped at him, rummaging through a kitchen draw. "Just go and put your damn boots on, we're going to be late. And can somebody please find me the fu...?"
"You looking for these?" Isabel handed over the car keys her mother had been looking for.
"Thank you, sweetheart," Sara let out a breath and retrieved the keys from her daughters' hand.
"It's just as well one of us in this family has their head screwed on," she quipped as she walked away, passing her father who duly tousled her dark brown hair.
"If you're the one with your head screwed on, kiddo, then we're all doomed," Nick teased. He then turned to address his wife, his boots and jacket on. "Ready when you are."
She narrowed her eyes at him. "You know sometimes..."
"Love you too," he winked.
"Mum, Harry hit me again," a voice called from behind them.
"Yeah, well, Sophie took my book and won't give it back," the 7 year old complained.
Both adults looked at each other, and simultaneously sat their children down on the sofa, handing Harry his book back. Nick lifted their youngest, Mia, who at the tender age of 4 was very much in awe of her elder siblings, placing her between the other two.
"Now behave," Sara instructed, kissing their youngest on the top of her head. "We'll be home soon."
"Don't we always?" Harry questioned smugly, looking the double of his father as he gave a cheeky smile.
Before Sara could even think of a reply there was a knock at the door. Sophie leapt up from her seat and went straight to the door, swinging it open wide.
"Hello, Sophie," smiled Mrs. Mitchell from across the street, before looking up and noticing that Nick and Sara were still in the house. "Oh, you're cutting it a bit fine, aren't you?"
"We're just leaving," Nick replied.
"Izzy's upstairs, and Mia's just about ready for her bed," Sara explained to the elder woman before pointing to her middle children. "And these two still have some homework to do."
"I'll see that it's done," Mrs. Mitchell nodded.
"Be good guys," Nick called out to their children. "We'll see you in the morning. Love you."
Pulling into the parking facility a short while later, Nick safely parked the vehicle and removed the key from the ignition. He turned to face his wife, letting out a slow breath. "We, uh, we don't have to do this today, I mean, it can wait...," he tried to back out of their plans.
"No, it can't. He needs to hear it from us," Sara insisted, in a stern voice she often used
"I had a feeling you'd say that...," he signed as he opened his door and climbed out the car.
"You know it's the right thing to do," Sara added as she too exited the vehicle.
They walked alongside each other towards the front entrance, with Nick holding the door open for the mother of his children. "Ladies first."
For one reason or another they hadn't been able to track down and pinpoint the specific member of their team that they wished to speak to the entire length of the shift. One of them was always busy, hard at work processing evidence and piecing together problems, which took president over everything else.
"Finally, there you are," Sara announced as she and Nick walked into the locker room, finding Greg sitting on the bench to put on his work boots. "We need to talk to you."
"Sounds ominous," Greg stated, looking marginally confused. "Do I need to sit down?"
"It's not a big deal... well, no, it kinda is, well, sort of...," Sara found herself stumbling over her words.
"I got a job offer to head up my own team, in San Diego," Nick stated. "And I've taken it."
Greg gave a slow nod in return. "Oh..."
"We thought about it long and hard, Greg, you must know that. We didn't want to just take this up on a whim. Nicky wasn't even considering it until I told him he should," Sara added, trying to justify themselves to their friend. "But it's such a great opportunity, I couldn't let him say no. So we're moving to San Diego."
"I see," Greg continued nodding, presumingly in some degree of shock. "I guess congratulations are in order."
"Thanks, man," Nick smiled awkwardly. It felt like the wrong reaction somehow.
"I always knew you'd get to lead a team at one point, I just never figured you'd leave...," Greg trailed off. Shaking off that last thought, he continued, "When do you start?"
"In a few weeks."
"So soon...," he nodded. "Well, just so you know, I'm gonna be in charge of your leaving party, and don't even try and talk your way out of having one. Everyone will want to say goodbye."
"We won't be that far away. We'll visit, and you can come stay with us, the kids would love that, but it's just... it's the right time for us, Greg, and...," Sara began explaining.
"Hey, you don't need to justify yourselves to me," he insisted. "Sure, I'm going to miss you. You two have not only helped to make me the investigator I am today but the man I am today, and for that I am eternally grateful. And of course I've loved watching your kids grow up for the last, what, nearly 13 years? But all good things must come to an end, isn't that what they say? You need to do what's right your family, that's what's important. Who am I to get in the way of that?"
"Thank you," Sara smiled.
"Hey, man, we're gonna miss you too," Nick stated. "We're going to have start paying for babysitters..."
Sara gave her husband a playful shove. "Don't listen to him. We will miss you, you know that."
"Of course you will, I'm quite the unique individual. You won't find yourself another Greg out in San Diego," Greg stated proudly.
"That's probably just as well...," Nick began replying but was quickly shut down by his wife's intimidating stare that she usually reserved only for suspects in an interview room, clearly suspicious of what he was going to say next.
Seemingly unaware of what was going on between the married couple, Greg swiftly turned towards Sara to address her with a question. "What are you going to do, Sara? I mean, you two can't work together anymore, not if Nick's going to be a supervisor, so what will you do? I can't see you sitting at home all day, and I doubt you can afford it with 4 kids to feed."
"I've looked into to it, and there's an opening coming up for a lecturer at the local university," Sara replied.
"You're going to teach?" Greg asked incredulously.
"Yes, what's wrong with that?" she retorted. "It's just on a temporary basis at first, I'm on maternity cover, but if all goes well who knows."
"So you're going to be educating this country's next set of crime solvers?" Greg shook his head, smiling at the thought. "God help them."
"My thoughts exactly," Sara admitted, with a scoff.
"Hey, you'll be great," Nick insisted, smiling.
"Yeah, you will," Greg nodded, almost reluctantly. "You both will. That's the worst part."
Nick and Sara both looked at their younger colleague with a mix of sadness and sympathy.
"Hey, who am I to stand in your way?" Greg raised his hands. "And I mean, I will surely be in line for a promotion with you two out of the way..."
"It would be a long time coming," Sara stated.
"I really am happy for you two," Greg continued. "It's a really great opportunity for you both, and the kids too. You'll have a great time, and you'll wonder why you ever considered not going. It'll be great."
"That's the plan," Sara nodded.
Greg rose to his feet. "Well, I think you two owe me breakfast."
"Oh, do we?" Nick arched an eyebrow as he smirked.
"Most definitely," Greg nodded his head. "You two are abandoning me all on my own, just me and the newbies? How will I cope?"
"Oh I think you'll be alright, Greg," Nick insisted, smirking. "A little bird told me..."
"Really? What exactly has she been telling you?" Greg pursed his lips, casting a glance at Sara.
"Enough," Nick replied coyly. "Involving you and a certain blonde..."
Sara cast him a stern glare.
"But that would be telling," Nick winked.
Inhaling deeply, Greg chose to change the subject. "We going for breakfast or not? I'm starving."
"I suppose we should," Sara agreed, checking her watch. "We'd better get a move on though, the kids are due up in an hour."
They headed off to the diner - where else? - for breakfast. Despite the easy conversation, there was a kind of sadness in the air. They wouldn't have many more times together like that, just eating and chatting, and that was both terrifying and exciting all at the same time. The thought of relocating and starting over in a new city was daunting, especially after being so comfortable in Vegas. All in all, Vegas wasn't too bad once you scratch away at the layer of crime and gambling, and it was all their kids had known, their hometown. But with change comes new opportunities, and while that was nerve racking beyond belief it could turn out to be the best decision they'd ever made. Only time would tell.
"And now we get to tell the kids it's official," Nick breathed, stepping into the driver's side of their car after breakfast. "And then I need to contact whoever it is over at San Diego to get more details about the transfer. And then we've got to think about selling the house, finding a new one, and then start looking for schools for the kids..."
"Nicky, would you calm down?" Sara gave him a look. "We'll sort it, all of it. It'll be fine. We'll get there, we always do."
Nick sighed, closing the door. "I just don't want us to regret this."
"We won't," she stated. "We'll love this new adventure. Just you wait."
Nick could only look over and smile at his wife as he turned the key in the ignition. On came the radio, and out blasted the chorus of 'I Lived' by the band OneRepublic. Nick quickly put the car into reverse and they were soon on their way home.
Thank you for reading. Please review.