Hello everyone! This is the new series in conclusion to Old Connections. R+R!
DISCLAIMERS: i own NONE of the regulary C.S.I. characters (i.e. Nick, Sara, Grissom, Catherine, etc)
~*~
"Nicky! My sweet Nicky!" Grandma Rose cried when I arrived home.
Home consisted of our large ranch. It ran about 30 acres, and was full of animals. Although, my father was a D.A., my mother loved the little "country life", as she called it.
"Now, now, mother, no need to strangle him," my mother said.
"Shush, Patricia. Can't you tell Nicky's been through enough. You're girlfriend got you in this mess?" she asks.
"It was an old boyfriend..." I mutter helplessly.
"She must've been a slut." she says, before hitting me.
"OW! What was that for?!" I yelp.
"The girl's you're always fooling around with are always idiots with bad pasts!" she yells, before she swats me again.
"Grandma, Sara wasn't an idiot. She's very smart, graduated from Columbia..." I mutter.
"Then how did she end up getting you in trouble?" she demands to know.
"Stop! Sara's a good person. Good, honest, loyal..."
"Then why'd you dump her?"
"I didn't dump her. It was a mutual decision..."
"Hey, you wanna take your things up to your room, Nick?" my mom asks me, trying to break up our argument.
"Gladly!" I huff, before grabbing my suitcase and taking it upstairs.
~*~
"Hey Nick," my dad says, joining me at the stables.
"Hi Dad." I say, before I continue stroking my horse, named Bell.
"Hi Bell," he says, acknowledging the horse.
I continue stroking her until my dad notices the silence.
"So, tell me about Sara. What's she like?" he asks kindly.
"You know, you're the first person to ask me that." I chuckle.
He laughs along with me. I love my father.
"She's...she's wonderful. She makes me feel warm and tingly inside. I mean, every time I think about her, I feel, giddy? I guess that's the word. She, she makes me feel special dad. Like, I shouldn't change who I am...she makes me laugh."
"She also makes you cry," he comments.
"Maybe, I made my move too soon. I mean, we haven't been dating that long...and no one at work knew about it. Maybe I went too fast..."
"Maybe, or maybe she just freaked."
"Sara doesn't freak out...well, unless it's over a dead body,"
My dad laughs. "Well, marriage is another issue. It's something that will change your whole life. I remember being hesitant with your mother. Your mother, yeesh. Poor her...she waited five years before I finally popped the question."
"5 years! That's soo long, Dad,"
"I know Nick. But, sometimes... love is worth waiting for." he said, before winking and heading back to the house.
~*~
"Nicky, sweetie, I just wish you wouldn't leave so soon." Patty Stokes said, helping her son load his luggage into the cab.
"I know, Mom. But, the sooner I get back to work, the sooner my life is...well, my life again," he says, before kissing his mother and grandmother on the cheek.
"Well, Son. I hope, you've learned something about our talk, last night." he says, smiling.
"I did Dad. Thanks...for, the advice. I'll uhh...I'll try to work it out,"
"That's my boy," Ed Stokes said, ruffling Nick's extremely short hair. "Bring her down here sometime,"
"If you're talking about Sara...I don't want that girl anywhere near my Nicky..." Grandma Rose complained.
"Bye Dad," I say, hugging him tightly, completely ignoring my Grandmother's comment.
~*~
"We are now arriving in Las Vegas. Thank you for flying with us today..." the announced boomed.
I picked up my carry-on bag and finally made my way to the gate.
"Nick! Over here!"
I turn and try to follow the voice. Finally, I spot them. Catherine, waving amicably. Greg had a sign, that read 'Welcome Back, Nick!' Grissom and Warrick just smiled.
After hugs and hellos, they dragged me to the luggage claim area, where I found my suitcase and we headed for the lab.
"I talked to Sara a couple days ago," Grissom informed me, when there was a moment of silence.
"How is she?" I ask, gulping.
"She's fine. Her father's a therapist. She's in good hands..."
"She's going for treatment?" I ask.
"No, she just...she sounded a bit shaky on the phone, to be honest. And she hung up very quickly."
"Oh." I didn't know what else to say.
"She's resigning..."
"What?!" Now that really caught my attention.
"You didn't hear?" Warrick finally speaks up.
"When did she say she was resigning?" I ask, my voice rising.
"She called, the night she...disappeared. She said she was moving back to San Francisco. I thought the Feds would've told you something," Warrick explained.
"But, she's technically still thinking about it. She said she was still thinking about it, but, her voice assured me that she was staying." Grissom said.
"Oh."
I'm in complete, utterless shock.
~*~
The pain's nearly gone. The physical pain, for the most part. The emotional pain, well, that's a different story.
Grissom gave both Nick and I two weeks off, given our emotional ordeal. He asked about my resignation, and I told him I'd think about it. Nick and I barely spoke after our release from the hospital. He wanted to see me- my parents told me. But, I refused to see him.
Does it seem like I'm blaming this whole, kidnapping incident, on him? I honestly don't know. If we hadn't, gotten in a fight, I suppose...but, he was out to kidnap me anyways. These thoughts had been swarming in my head through the nights in the hospital and on the plane.
"Sara, honey, are you all right?" my mother asks me worriedly.
We're on the plane back to San Francisco. I'm sick of the treatment I'm getting from my parents.
"I'm fine, mom. Really, I'm just tired..." I tell her.
"Tired...you've done nothing but sleep. I swear, you've been in hibernation since.." my father starts to crack a joke of him.
"Stop it, Peter!"
"I was just trying to cheer up the situation. It's more than whatever you're doing..." he mutters.
My mother turns her attention back onto me.
"Sweetie, we told you not to take that job in Las Vegas."
"I loved my job in Vegas. It was better than in San Francisco..."
"How is it better?" my mom asks.
"The people...they act like, family."
"But, you have family in San Francisco.." she responds.
I don't want to talk to her. I really don't.
~*~
"Welcome home, honey.." my mom says, as we walk up the stairs of our house.
Home sweet home.
I walked into the familiar house and looked around. Nothing had changed. The same decorations, scent, photos on the walls.
"Hasn't changed much, huh?" my mom asks, on the phone, checking messages.
It wasn't until now that I realized how much I had really missed home. The place where I grew up; my childhood. First birthdays, crushes, parties. The nights I had spent working on science projects and homework.
"Sweetie, Gil Grissom called for you,"
"Grissom called?" I ask, surprised.
"Wanted to check if you arrived safely. Told you to call him on his cell,"
"I'll take it upstairs, mom."
~*~
I dialed the familiar number and waited. It rang once, twice, and finally...
"Grissom." the voice answered.
"Hi Grissom. It's Sara," I tell him, trying not to cry.
"Sara! Our missing CSI. How are you? Well, I can tell you arrived safely."
"I'm good. I mean, well, I just got back. But, so far, I'm good." I say.
My voice is breaking. I'm pleading with God not to cry, not on the phone, not on the phone with Grissom.
"How are you? How is everyone?"
"Everyone's great...and missing you."
"How about...Nick? Is he there, or..."
"Nick's in Texas. He's staying with his parents for a few days. He'll be back in Vegas on Friday." he told me gently.
"Ok, ok then. Well, I just wanted to see how he was adjusting."
"Have you and Nick talked? Since, what's happened?"
"Uhh...no. We were, released on different dates, and well, we just don't want to talk."
"I'm sure he's thinking about you," he tells me.
"Right. Okay then, I uhh...have to go, Grissom. Thank you for calling. I'll umm...talk to you soon,"
I don't even wait for his "good-bye" before I hand up the phone. Just talking about Nick was making me sob uncontrollably. Why? I don't love him, I don't care about him. I was a liar, and I knew it.
When Nick proposed, I was the happiest gal in the world. He had finally admitted he loved me, which was something that had come as a hard task for Nick Stokes. But, I choked last minute...and stalled. As much as I loved Nick, I wasn't ready to get married. I wasn't ready to settle down, and have kids. I don't think I was willing to work half-shifts either. But, I couldn't tell him...I don't know why. I guess, I've been dependent all these years that, I couldn't say I was "good" or "ready" for something. But then, he started accusing me of...I'm not even going to go there.
"Sara, honey. Why are you crying?"
My mother has caught me. Damn.
"It's nothing mom. Just, hormones..."
"Oh my god, are you pregnant?" she gasps.
"No mother! I'm not. It's just...it's nothing!"
"You know what, I'm going to tell your father to run out and buy one. Just in case..." she tells me.
Do you see why I was in such a rush to leave San Francisco?
"Mother! I am not pregnant! I'm just...I miss them. I miss Las Vegas." I said exasperated.
"You miss Nick?" she said sadly.
"Terribly." I finally admit.
In my bedroom, I end up spilling the marriage proposal, my thoughts and why I said no, and the contents of our short-lived fight.
"Oh sweetie...I understand. And I'm sure, that, if you explained it to Nick, he'd understand too," she comforts me.
"Mom, if I was in Nick's position, I wouldn't understand it."
"You were scared. Scared of marriage and the little packages that come with it. That's nothing to be ashamed of, Sara."
"I know, mom. I know. But, you know, it was beautiful. It was a perfect moment."
"Get some rest. Have you made up your mind about resigning?"
"I'm still thinking about it..."
"Ok, well. Take your time," she says, before plopping a kiss on my head and leaving me to my privacy.
~*~
"Sara, you wanna come in here?"
I walk into my father's personal study, wondering what he wants.
"Take a seat, sweetie," he gestures the chair.
"Dad, I'm not one of your patients..." I tell him.
My father is a psychiatrist slash therapist, if you couldn't already tell.
"Just sit," he says.
I sit down on the plush red sofa.
"Your mother told me about what happened. You're scared of marriage?"
"Not scared. Well, ok, scared. But, also of the consequences,"
"What consequences?" he asks.
"Just...I don't know. I'm not ready to give up, like, ok...if we got married, I wouldn't be able to go out with the guys and just, drink or something,"
"You do that in Las Vegas?" he asks narrowing his eyes.
"No! I mean, yea, well, sometimes. If there's a celebration," I admit. "And if I get married, there's a good chance I'll have kids..."
"There's a great chance you'll have kids..." he says winking.
"Daddy...but. I guess, I just like the life I'm living right now. Just, being with him, as a couple. Not as a married couple. To me, it's more romantic, I supposed..."
"Will you ever get married?" he asks, concerned.
"Of course, Daddy. Just, when I'm ready."
"You should tell Nick. You shouldn't be, ashamed or sorry, of being afraid of marriage," he advises me.
"I don't want to,"
"Why, honey?"
"Because...I don't know. For some reason, it seems like I'll be admitting I was wrong, and he was right."
"You don't want to sacrifice your pride?" he asks.
"Something like that, yes."
"But sweetheart, if this Nick guy's so great, don't you think he wouldn't care about your pride. As long as you're together? And, isn't it better to be with him, than be without him?"
"It's too late, now..." I mutter.
"It's never too late,"
~*~
DISCLAIMERS: i own NONE of the regulary C.S.I. characters (i.e. Nick, Sara, Grissom, Catherine, etc)
~*~
"Nicky! My sweet Nicky!" Grandma Rose cried when I arrived home.
Home consisted of our large ranch. It ran about 30 acres, and was full of animals. Although, my father was a D.A., my mother loved the little "country life", as she called it.
"Now, now, mother, no need to strangle him," my mother said.
"Shush, Patricia. Can't you tell Nicky's been through enough. You're girlfriend got you in this mess?" she asks.
"It was an old boyfriend..." I mutter helplessly.
"She must've been a slut." she says, before hitting me.
"OW! What was that for?!" I yelp.
"The girl's you're always fooling around with are always idiots with bad pasts!" she yells, before she swats me again.
"Grandma, Sara wasn't an idiot. She's very smart, graduated from Columbia..." I mutter.
"Then how did she end up getting you in trouble?" she demands to know.
"Stop! Sara's a good person. Good, honest, loyal..."
"Then why'd you dump her?"
"I didn't dump her. It was a mutual decision..."
"Hey, you wanna take your things up to your room, Nick?" my mom asks me, trying to break up our argument.
"Gladly!" I huff, before grabbing my suitcase and taking it upstairs.
~*~
"Hey Nick," my dad says, joining me at the stables.
"Hi Dad." I say, before I continue stroking my horse, named Bell.
"Hi Bell," he says, acknowledging the horse.
I continue stroking her until my dad notices the silence.
"So, tell me about Sara. What's she like?" he asks kindly.
"You know, you're the first person to ask me that." I chuckle.
He laughs along with me. I love my father.
"She's...she's wonderful. She makes me feel warm and tingly inside. I mean, every time I think about her, I feel, giddy? I guess that's the word. She, she makes me feel special dad. Like, I shouldn't change who I am...she makes me laugh."
"She also makes you cry," he comments.
"Maybe, I made my move too soon. I mean, we haven't been dating that long...and no one at work knew about it. Maybe I went too fast..."
"Maybe, or maybe she just freaked."
"Sara doesn't freak out...well, unless it's over a dead body,"
My dad laughs. "Well, marriage is another issue. It's something that will change your whole life. I remember being hesitant with your mother. Your mother, yeesh. Poor her...she waited five years before I finally popped the question."
"5 years! That's soo long, Dad,"
"I know Nick. But, sometimes... love is worth waiting for." he said, before winking and heading back to the house.
~*~
"Nicky, sweetie, I just wish you wouldn't leave so soon." Patty Stokes said, helping her son load his luggage into the cab.
"I know, Mom. But, the sooner I get back to work, the sooner my life is...well, my life again," he says, before kissing his mother and grandmother on the cheek.
"Well, Son. I hope, you've learned something about our talk, last night." he says, smiling.
"I did Dad. Thanks...for, the advice. I'll uhh...I'll try to work it out,"
"That's my boy," Ed Stokes said, ruffling Nick's extremely short hair. "Bring her down here sometime,"
"If you're talking about Sara...I don't want that girl anywhere near my Nicky..." Grandma Rose complained.
"Bye Dad," I say, hugging him tightly, completely ignoring my Grandmother's comment.
~*~
"We are now arriving in Las Vegas. Thank you for flying with us today..." the announced boomed.
I picked up my carry-on bag and finally made my way to the gate.
"Nick! Over here!"
I turn and try to follow the voice. Finally, I spot them. Catherine, waving amicably. Greg had a sign, that read 'Welcome Back, Nick!' Grissom and Warrick just smiled.
After hugs and hellos, they dragged me to the luggage claim area, where I found my suitcase and we headed for the lab.
"I talked to Sara a couple days ago," Grissom informed me, when there was a moment of silence.
"How is she?" I ask, gulping.
"She's fine. Her father's a therapist. She's in good hands..."
"She's going for treatment?" I ask.
"No, she just...she sounded a bit shaky on the phone, to be honest. And she hung up very quickly."
"Oh." I didn't know what else to say.
"She's resigning..."
"What?!" Now that really caught my attention.
"You didn't hear?" Warrick finally speaks up.
"When did she say she was resigning?" I ask, my voice rising.
"She called, the night she...disappeared. She said she was moving back to San Francisco. I thought the Feds would've told you something," Warrick explained.
"But, she's technically still thinking about it. She said she was still thinking about it, but, her voice assured me that she was staying." Grissom said.
"Oh."
I'm in complete, utterless shock.
~*~
The pain's nearly gone. The physical pain, for the most part. The emotional pain, well, that's a different story.
Grissom gave both Nick and I two weeks off, given our emotional ordeal. He asked about my resignation, and I told him I'd think about it. Nick and I barely spoke after our release from the hospital. He wanted to see me- my parents told me. But, I refused to see him.
Does it seem like I'm blaming this whole, kidnapping incident, on him? I honestly don't know. If we hadn't, gotten in a fight, I suppose...but, he was out to kidnap me anyways. These thoughts had been swarming in my head through the nights in the hospital and on the plane.
"Sara, honey, are you all right?" my mother asks me worriedly.
We're on the plane back to San Francisco. I'm sick of the treatment I'm getting from my parents.
"I'm fine, mom. Really, I'm just tired..." I tell her.
"Tired...you've done nothing but sleep. I swear, you've been in hibernation since.." my father starts to crack a joke of him.
"Stop it, Peter!"
"I was just trying to cheer up the situation. It's more than whatever you're doing..." he mutters.
My mother turns her attention back onto me.
"Sweetie, we told you not to take that job in Las Vegas."
"I loved my job in Vegas. It was better than in San Francisco..."
"How is it better?" my mom asks.
"The people...they act like, family."
"But, you have family in San Francisco.." she responds.
I don't want to talk to her. I really don't.
~*~
"Welcome home, honey.." my mom says, as we walk up the stairs of our house.
Home sweet home.
I walked into the familiar house and looked around. Nothing had changed. The same decorations, scent, photos on the walls.
"Hasn't changed much, huh?" my mom asks, on the phone, checking messages.
It wasn't until now that I realized how much I had really missed home. The place where I grew up; my childhood. First birthdays, crushes, parties. The nights I had spent working on science projects and homework.
"Sweetie, Gil Grissom called for you,"
"Grissom called?" I ask, surprised.
"Wanted to check if you arrived safely. Told you to call him on his cell,"
"I'll take it upstairs, mom."
~*~
I dialed the familiar number and waited. It rang once, twice, and finally...
"Grissom." the voice answered.
"Hi Grissom. It's Sara," I tell him, trying not to cry.
"Sara! Our missing CSI. How are you? Well, I can tell you arrived safely."
"I'm good. I mean, well, I just got back. But, so far, I'm good." I say.
My voice is breaking. I'm pleading with God not to cry, not on the phone, not on the phone with Grissom.
"How are you? How is everyone?"
"Everyone's great...and missing you."
"How about...Nick? Is he there, or..."
"Nick's in Texas. He's staying with his parents for a few days. He'll be back in Vegas on Friday." he told me gently.
"Ok, ok then. Well, I just wanted to see how he was adjusting."
"Have you and Nick talked? Since, what's happened?"
"Uhh...no. We were, released on different dates, and well, we just don't want to talk."
"I'm sure he's thinking about you," he tells me.
"Right. Okay then, I uhh...have to go, Grissom. Thank you for calling. I'll umm...talk to you soon,"
I don't even wait for his "good-bye" before I hand up the phone. Just talking about Nick was making me sob uncontrollably. Why? I don't love him, I don't care about him. I was a liar, and I knew it.
When Nick proposed, I was the happiest gal in the world. He had finally admitted he loved me, which was something that had come as a hard task for Nick Stokes. But, I choked last minute...and stalled. As much as I loved Nick, I wasn't ready to get married. I wasn't ready to settle down, and have kids. I don't think I was willing to work half-shifts either. But, I couldn't tell him...I don't know why. I guess, I've been dependent all these years that, I couldn't say I was "good" or "ready" for something. But then, he started accusing me of...I'm not even going to go there.
"Sara, honey. Why are you crying?"
My mother has caught me. Damn.
"It's nothing mom. Just, hormones..."
"Oh my god, are you pregnant?" she gasps.
"No mother! I'm not. It's just...it's nothing!"
"You know what, I'm going to tell your father to run out and buy one. Just in case..." she tells me.
Do you see why I was in such a rush to leave San Francisco?
"Mother! I am not pregnant! I'm just...I miss them. I miss Las Vegas." I said exasperated.
"You miss Nick?" she said sadly.
"Terribly." I finally admit.
In my bedroom, I end up spilling the marriage proposal, my thoughts and why I said no, and the contents of our short-lived fight.
"Oh sweetie...I understand. And I'm sure, that, if you explained it to Nick, he'd understand too," she comforts me.
"Mom, if I was in Nick's position, I wouldn't understand it."
"You were scared. Scared of marriage and the little packages that come with it. That's nothing to be ashamed of, Sara."
"I know, mom. I know. But, you know, it was beautiful. It was a perfect moment."
"Get some rest. Have you made up your mind about resigning?"
"I'm still thinking about it..."
"Ok, well. Take your time," she says, before plopping a kiss on my head and leaving me to my privacy.
~*~
"Sara, you wanna come in here?"
I walk into my father's personal study, wondering what he wants.
"Take a seat, sweetie," he gestures the chair.
"Dad, I'm not one of your patients..." I tell him.
My father is a psychiatrist slash therapist, if you couldn't already tell.
"Just sit," he says.
I sit down on the plush red sofa.
"Your mother told me about what happened. You're scared of marriage?"
"Not scared. Well, ok, scared. But, also of the consequences,"
"What consequences?" he asks.
"Just...I don't know. I'm not ready to give up, like, ok...if we got married, I wouldn't be able to go out with the guys and just, drink or something,"
"You do that in Las Vegas?" he asks narrowing his eyes.
"No! I mean, yea, well, sometimes. If there's a celebration," I admit. "And if I get married, there's a good chance I'll have kids..."
"There's a great chance you'll have kids..." he says winking.
"Daddy...but. I guess, I just like the life I'm living right now. Just, being with him, as a couple. Not as a married couple. To me, it's more romantic, I supposed..."
"Will you ever get married?" he asks, concerned.
"Of course, Daddy. Just, when I'm ready."
"You should tell Nick. You shouldn't be, ashamed or sorry, of being afraid of marriage," he advises me.
"I don't want to,"
"Why, honey?"
"Because...I don't know. For some reason, it seems like I'll be admitting I was wrong, and he was right."
"You don't want to sacrifice your pride?" he asks.
"Something like that, yes."
"But sweetheart, if this Nick guy's so great, don't you think he wouldn't care about your pride. As long as you're together? And, isn't it better to be with him, than be without him?"
"It's too late, now..." I mutter.
"It's never too late,"
~*~
