Title: With Arms Wide Open

Rating: PG-13, to be safe

Disclaimer: I don't own CSI or its characters. End of story.

Author's Note: This is in response to Dorothy's challenge. Reviews are highly appreciated.

~*~*~*~*~

Nick rolled over, reaching his arm across the bed for Sara. He felt the cool sheet beneath his hands and opened his eyes in confusion. As much as Sara insisted she didn't need sleep, it always took an arm and a leg from him to get her up in the morning, which he didn't mind, because it usually resulted in shared morning activities. For Sara to be up before him was unheard of. He slipped out of bed and made his way down the hall, pausing at the bathroom door when he heard someone vomiting.

"Sara?" The sound of more vomit making its way into the toilet was his only response. "Sweetie, are you okay?" She didn't answer, and a moment later Nick heard the water running and the sound of her rinsing out her mouth and washing her face. She slowly opened the door and offered a small smile to his worried gaze. "Are you okay?" Nick asked, placing two concerned hands on her shoulders.

"I'm fine," she insisted, "Probably just some bad Chinese," She put on another smile before her face fell and she rushed back into the bathroom. Nick crouched down and rubbed her back soothingly, whispering words of comfort. When she finished, Sara looked up at him with a soft smile. "Okay, maybe I'm not fine."

Nick ushered her back into the bedroom and pulled down the covers on her side of the bed. "Go back to sleep. I'll tell Grissom that you're too sick to go to work." He waved his hand when she began to protest. "Sara, there's no way you can go to work like this. Grissom will understand. Now get some sleep." He planted a soft kiss on her forehead and left the room.

Sara sank into the plush pillows and sighed in frustration. She hated being sick. When you were sick you had to depend entirely on others, a feeling she despised. And to have to skip work because of it made it even worse. She reached over to the nightstand and grabbed the cordless phone from its cradle. After searching through the drawer she finally produced her phone book and flipped through the pages to find the number she was looking for.

"Hello, this is Sara Sidle. Could I make an appointment for eight o'clock with Dr. Anderson?"

~*~*~

Sara opened the door and threw her keys onto the table. Plopping down on the couch, she closed her eyes and let the events of the day sink in. She had taken a shower as soon as she got off the phone with the doctor's office, and she felt better as she drove the fifteen miles to her appointment. Dr. Anderson saw her right away and ran a few tests, the results of which astonished Sara completely.

"Your results are back," Dr. Anderson had said, walking into the stark white room.

"And?" she had asked impatiently, "What is it? Flu, food poisoning?"

"Nope," the doctor had said with a smile and a shake of her head. "You're pregnant. Congratulations!" Sara had stared at the doctor in shock, and was in a daze as Dr. Anderson filled her in on some information and made another appointment. She was still in a daze as she drove home and was even now as she lay on the couch. How could that had happened? She was on the pill; she wasn't supposed to be pregnant.

'Leave it to me to be that one percent that falls through the cracks,' she thought wryly to herself. This was unreal. It was all a big misunderstanding, and Dr. Anderson would call back any minute now and tell her that they had mixed up the test results and that Sara Sidle wasn't pregnant. A woman who was actually ready to be a mother was.

And what would Nick say? He was the one who had suggested the pills in the first place, saying he wasn't ready to start a family yet. He wanted her all to himself, those were his exact words. Of course, he was probably joking when he said it, but Sara knew he didn't want kids. Not yet, at least.

She sat up and brought her knees to her chin, contemplating her situation. She was going to have a baby and there was nothing she could do about it. The least she could do was make the best of it. For starters she would stop wallowing in self-pity. There were so many people who wanted to have a baby but couldn't, like Catherine and Grissom. They had been trying to get pregnant ever since they had been married two years before, but they were having so much difficulty. If Catherine knew Sara didn't want to have a baby she would probably slap her. And with just cause. Sara was an adult and it was time she started acting like it. She would have her baby and love and care for it, even if it was unexpected.

Secretly she had always dreamed of having children, but not this soon. She had wanted to be married and settled with someone, and even though her relationship with Nick was strong, they weren't married and she couldn't guarantee that he would always be there for her, or the baby.

She glanced across the room at the clock poised on the mantle and saw that Nick would be home in a few hours. If she was going to tell him the news tonight, she needed to get some things.

~*~*~

Nick turned the key in the door and immediately smelled the aroma of spaghetti and meatballs filling the apartment. He threw his keys onto the table and hung his jacket on the coat rack. He walked into the kitchen and saw Sara standing at the stove, her back to him, stirring the tomato sauce. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her neck. "I thought you were sick," he whispered in her ear, softly massaging her shoulders.

"All better now," she said with a grin as she turned to face him, wrapping her arms around his neck and planting a kiss on his lips, "So I thought I'd make you something special for dinner." She turned back to the sauce and turned down the flame. "There's some fresh Italian bread on the counter if you want to slice it for me," she called over her shoulder.

"Sure," he said, taking the bread knife and carefully slicing the bread, "I picked up a bottle of red wine for later on the way home to make you feel better," he said, "But seeing as how you're miraculously healed, I guess we could have it for dinner," he teased.

Sara poured the pasta into the waiting colander in the sink before scooping it into two bowls. "Actually," she began, pouring sauce onto the spaghetti with a ladle, "I think I'll just have a lemonade." She carefully placed the steaming bowls on the two set places at the table, going back to the counter to grab a lighter and lighting the two tall candles.

"What?" Nick asked incredulously, "Sara, you've got to have red wine with pasta," Nick insisted, holding her favorite wine in front of her.

"I really appreciate that you were thinking of me, but I'd rather have a lemonade," Sara said nervously, "Are you done with the bread?"

Nick eyed her suspiciously as he handed her the basket now filled with sliced bread. "What's going on, Sara? You're acting strange."

"Why don't we sit down?" Sara suggested, taking her seat and opening the red cloth napkin onto her lap.

"What's wrong?" Nick asked as Sara put a forkful of spaghetti into her mouth. She slowly and carefully chewed, wanting to postpone the inevitable as long as possible. Sadly it came too soon. She swallowed and took a sip of her lemonade to wash it down.

"I went to the doctor's today."

Thoughts of all the possible horrible things that could be wrong with Sara popped into his head, and he immediately went into protective mode. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine," she reassured him, "Dr. Anderson just ran some tests, and one of them came back positive."

"Which one?" Nick asked worriedly.

"Nick, I'm pregnant." There, she said it. And by the look on Nick's face it was not what he expected to hear.

"You're what?!" he cried, unable to believe what she was telling him.

"I'm pregnant," she repeated, biting her lip as she awaited his reaction.

"But . . .I thought . . . weren't you on the pill?"

"I know, I was, I mean I am, but it's not foolproof, Nicky. It's only ninety-nine percent guaranteed to prevent pregnancy, and I guess I'm the one percent," she explained.

"I have to go," he said, jumping out of his chair and heading for the door, grabbing his jacket and keys on the way.

"Nick, wait!" Sara called out, but he was already gone.

~*~*~

Nick pulled out of the driveway in his Tahoe, hitting the button on his radio and tuning it to the local country music station. He drove aimlessly along the streets of Vegas, finally getting frustrated with the traffic and heading to Interstate 95 to drive uninterrupted while he cleared his head. He heard his cell phone ringing and knew it was Sara wanting to know where he was, but he couldn't deal with her now so he chose to let it ring.

How could this have happened? He didn't want to believe that Sara had purposely stopped taking the pills, but the odds that she got pregnant anyway were so slim that he found it hard to believe. And either way, he wasn't ready to be a father. He still had so much he wanted to do before starting a family. He wanted to spend his free time going out, not staying home with a baby.

Why couldn't this have happened to someone else? Catherine and Grissom would be so thrilled to have a baby, but instead of giving them what they wanted God decided to punish Nick and make Sara pregnant. It wasn't fair. He and Sara had plans and dreams. They were going to save all their vacation days and see the world. Rome, Egypt . . . there was so much they wanted to do and see before settling down, but now things had come crashing down on them. And he had no idea what to do about it.

~*~*~

Sara slammed the phone down. "Why won't you pick up the goddam phone, you coward?" she swore, not knowing what to do. He should have stayed and talked to her instead of storming off, and now she had no idea of where to find him, or even if he would come back. With a sigh she dialed a number and smiled when she heard a familiar voice on the line.

"Mrs. Stokes?"

"Sara? It's so good to hear from you! How are you?" she greeted

"I'm okay. Listen, did Nick call you?" Sara asked.

"No, honey, why?"

Sara raked a frustrated hand through her hair. "It's just that I told him some news and he stormed off and now I don't know where he is," she explained.

"What kind of news, honey?" she inquired curiously.

"I'm pregnant."

"Oh my God, Sara, that's wonderful!" she exclaimed, "Congratulations!"

"Thank you," Sara said, grateful that someone was happy about it.

"Wait a minute: You told my son that he was going to be a father and he stormed off without telling you where he was going?" Mrs. Stokes asked angrily.

"That's about it," Sara confirmed, plopping onto one of the kitchen counter stools.

"Well he's got some nerve. Just wait till I get my hands on him . . ."

"Mrs. Stokes, please. I didn't want you to get mad at Nick, I just wanted to know if you knew where he was," Sara said, not wanting Nick to get in trouble with his family.

"Don't worry, honey. And if I find out where he is I'll let you know." She assured her, "Good-Bye."

"Bye." Sara hung up the phone and rested her head on the table, tears brimming in her eyes. "Where the hell did you go, Nick?"

~*~*~

Nick continued driving along the highway, not wanting to run away but not being able to face Sara yet. He heard the ringing of his cell phone and decided to answer it this time, realizing Sara deserved to at least know where he was.

"Hello," he greeted tiredly.

"You were never one for running away, Nicky."

"Mom?" Nick asked in confusion. Why was she calling him? "What do you mean?"

"You know damn straight what I mean. I talked to Sara and she told me what happened. She's really worried about you."

"Mom, I really don't think it's any of your business," Nick said, rubbing his temple. Just what he needed: a verbal lashing from mommy.

"Actually I think it's very much my business. Your girlfriend is carrying my grandchild and you leave her without telling her how you feel or where you're going. For all she knows you're gone for good," she chided, "You got some nerve, Nicky."

"Mom, please. I need some time to think, to sort everything out in my head," Nick said.

"Yeah, well so does Sara. And you two need to sort things out together, because you're in it for the long run now. She loves you, Nicky. Don't disappoint her." Nick heard the click of the phone as his mother hung up. He knew she was right, but he just couldn't face Sara yet.

The country music was getting on his nerves and Nick fiddled with the knob on the radio until he found a song he liked. It soon ended and another one came on. As Nick let the words sink in his thoughts drifted back to Sara.

Well I just heard the news today
It seems my life is going to change
I close my eyes, begin to pray
Then tears of joy stream down my face

With arms wide open
Under the sunlight
Welcome to this place
I'll show you everything
With arms wide open

Well I don't know if I'm ready
To be the man I have to be
I'll take a breath, take her by my side
We stand in awe, we've created life

With arms wide open
Under the sunlight
Welcome to this place
I'll show you everything
With arms wide open

Now everything has changed
I'll show you love
I'll show you everything
With arms wide open

If I had just one wish
Only one demand
I hope he's not like me
I hope he understands
That he can take this life
And hold it by the hand
And he can greet the world
With arms wide open...

Nick pulled the truck to the side of the road and cut the engine. He laid his head on the steering wheel and tried to fight the tears that were stinging his eyes. He had been so selfish. His mother was right; he needed to be with Sara now. Jesus, if he was this shocked by it, she had to be even more so, and he had left her. He had left her alone because he was too damn scared to face it. He left her when she needed him the most. Wiping his eyes, Nick pulled back onto the stretch of highway and headed to the nearest exit to turn around and go home. Home to his Sara and their baby.

~*~*~

Nick quietly walked into the apartment and the first thing he noticed was Sara lying on the couch, asleep, the phone clutched tightly in her hand. He felt a wave of guilt realizing how worried she must have been. He hung his jacket on the coat rack and walked into the living room, crouching down to look at Sara. He could see the stains on her cheeks from the paths her tears had taken, and there were several used tissues scattered on the coffee table and floor. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and the slight movement caused Sara to stir and slit her eyes open. When she realized that it was Nick she sat up straight and threw her arms around him, holding onto him tightly and not wanting to let go.

"I thought you weren't coming back," she whispered.

Nick rubbed her back and held her close. "Of course I was coming back. I just needed some time to think." Sara nodded but didn't say anything. He was here, that was all that mattered.

"Sara," Nick said.

"Yeah?"

"I want this baby. I just want you to know that. And I can't guarantee that I'll be a good father, but I'll try. I swear to God, Sara, I'll try," he promised, holding her tighter.

"I know you will. And so will I. I know that this is something really unexpected, and it shook things up a little bit, but we have to get through it together," Sara said, her head resting on his shoulder, "And just think about how cute our baby will be," she teased in an attempt to lighten the mood, "My nose, your eyes and smile . . . It'll be great. You'll see."

"I can't wait," Nick said, kissing her softly, "I love you. Both of you."

~*~*~*~*~

A/N: The song is 'With Arms Wide Open' by Creed. I've always wanted to work that song into a story, so I was very excited when this challenge was posted because I knew I would be able to use it. lol Please review and tell me what you think!!

~Emily