It's All In The Timing

Disclaimer - I don't own CSI. Just the characters you don't recognise belong to me.

A/N: This is my first multi-chapter story in over a year, and the last one I started hasn't been finished yet. But anyway, this one will get finished as it's already practically written in my head. So here's the first chapter. Enjoy.

Chapter 1

"I thought this shift would never end," Nick sighed exasperatedly as he closed his locker door.

"Tell me about it," Sara agreed, equally as exhausted as her colleague. "That house seemed to have had an extension built on whilst we were there. We were there, what, ten hours? It felt at least twice that."

"Wow. Am I actually hearing this? Are you complaining about work, Sara?" Nick asked, mocking a gasp and a shocked expression.

"I'm allowed to have bad days too, you know," she smirked, narrowing her eyes slightly.

"Well, at least you don't have to drive all the way to Dallas now," Nick rubbed his tired eyes.

Sara raised an eyebrow. "Going home to see your parents?" she guessed.

"Yeah, but if I would've known about this case I would've left yesterday," he stated. "Or not at all."

"How long are you going for?"

"Only a week. That's all the time I could get right now, and probably the maximum amount of time I can put up with my family," he smiled.

"That's families for you," Sara shrugged.

"My mum's the worse for it. Always asking me questions and complaining that I don't visit enough," Nick shook his head at the thought, leaning again his locker. "I'm not really in the mood for all that now."

"You should go," Sara insisted politely. "It'll be good for you to get away for a bit."

Nick gave her a look as he scoffed. "This coming from you?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, alright. So take it from someone who knows; everyone needs a break every once in a while. And I'm better at taking time off now, before you start."

"I don't want to leave now, not with this case actually getting somewhere," Nick explained, half-hearted trying to convince Sara to see things his way.

"I'm sure we'll manage. And if we can't we'll call you," Sara pursed her lips to prevent a smile. "Go and see your family, Nick. Have a good time and forget about us for a little while."

"It's impossible to forget you, Sara," he grinned.

"Just go," she gave him a gentle shove.

"Ok, I'm going," Nick started walking backwards towards the door. "Try not to miss me too much, now won't you?"

"It'll be a struggle, but I'll survive," Sara smirked, her voice thick with sarcasm. "I'll see you next week."

"Yes you will," Nick winked before leaving the room.

Sara chuckled to herself as she pulled on her jacket and did her best to subdue a yawn.

Nick popped home quickly to pick up his small suitcase of clothes and essentials that he was taking to his parents house. He made sure his doors and windows were all securely locked before heading to the diner to grab a quick bite to eat and drink as much coffee as he could in thirty minutes.

Several hours later Nick pulled into the driveway of his childhood home, noting that it wasn't as big as he had remembered it to be. That must have been memories from his childhood taking over. He climbed out of his car, also noticing the difference in temperature in Dallas to the place that was now his home. Making his way towards the front door, Nick knew instantly that he was going inside and going straight to bed for a few hours at the very least.

He went to use his key, naturally expecting for the door to be locked, but whilst trying to open the door he pushed down the handle and it opened without needing to be unlocked. He initially thought it was strange but stepped inside his old home regardless.

"Nicky," Gillian, Nick's mum, walked through from the living room and greeted him with open arms.

"Hi mum," he hugged her back, sounding slightly confused. "Shouldn't you be at work?"

"I took the day off," she explained. "Couldn't have you coming home to an empty house."

"You really didn't have to," Nick insisted, shaking his headed slightly.

"I wanted to," Gillian smiled. "Now come in, make yourself comfy. Want some breakfast?"

"No, thanks. I ate before I left," he explained, following his mum into the large family kitchen.

"So is that why it took you so long to get here?" she questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"There was traffic, mum. I didn't have any control over that," Nick rolled his eyes.

"What did you eat?" Gillian's question was met with an incredulous expression. "I have to make sure my son is looking after himself."

Nick let out a sigh. "I can look after myself just fine, you know mum. I've been doing it for long enough now."

"I know, I know. I'm just pleased to see you, that's all," she insisted. "And I'm your mother, so it's my job to worry about you, no matter how old you are."

"Where's dad?" Nick wondered, making his way into the kitchen.

"He's working, some corporate thing. But he doesn't think he'll have to work late tonight, so he'll he home in a few hours," Gillian explained.

"What about you? How's work?"

"I could ask you the same thing," she raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I suppose it's fair to say that neither of us are ever going to be out of a job," Nick smiled, letting out a slow sigh.

"You more so than me," Gillian added.

"What makes you say that?" Nick wondered, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm not getting any younger, Nicky," she stated. "Neither is your father. We're both making the most of it while we still can."

Nick merely nodded. "So, what about the rest of the family?" he asked, somewhat reluctantly, almost dreading the answer before he'd even asked the question.

"I've invited everyone here tonight for a barbecue and a big family get together," Gillian explained. "It's the only night everyone can make it. And it's been so long since we've managed to have the whole family in the same place at the same time. Last time you were here Angie was out of town and then at weekends when I can manage to get everyone here you're always missing."

"Yes, I know, mum. I'm sorry. You know I wish I could visit more but it's tough getting time off and my work is really important to me," Nick stated, rather more defensively, borderline sternly, than he had intended.

"That doesn't mean your family can be any less important," she countered, raising an eyebrow.

Nick simply sighed. "I don't want to argue with you. I don't want us falling out after I've only just come home."

"I know, I know," Gillian held her hands up in defeat. "But you're father and I miss you, that's all. Everyone misses you."

"I miss you too, mum."

"Oh, come here," she exclaimed, throwing her arms open. "I need another hug."

Gillian pulled away reluctantly after Nick protested and practically begged his mother to let go of him.

"If you've eaten already then can I get you a drink? Some coffee? Some orange juice?" she asked.

"Orange juice would be good. But I know where everything is, mum," Nick smiled. "I can get it myself."

"I don't know about that," Gillian said, reaching inside one of the cupboards above the sink for two small glasses. "Your father has a habit of rearranging everything. Nothing is in the same place two weeks in a row."

She placed one glass down on the table in front of Nick and retrieved a carton of fresh orange juice from the fridge and continued to fill the small glass. She proceeded to pour herself some before taking a seat at the dinning room table.

"Thanks," Nick smiled at his mother.

"Come on, sit down," she insisted, shifted in her seat to face him correctly. "So honestly, how is work?"

"Fine, just the same as usual," Nick answered honestly, covering his mouth when a yawn took over her face.

"Promise me you'll try and stay safe?" Gillian asked, furrowing her brow in concern.

Nick nodded smiling sincerely. "I'll try."

"You'll do more than try, Nicky," his mother exclaimed.

"I'm just joking, mum," he rolled his eyes, trying to stop himself from yawning. "I promise."

"You really shouldn't do that to me," she insisted.

"I know, I'm sorry. But mum, I'm a scientist not a bounty hunter," Nick pointed out.

"You still carry a gun for a living," she maintained. "And you come face to face with people who want to shoot you on a near daily basis."

"I'm fully aware of that," Nick stated softly. "But please, mum, stop worrying."

"I can't stop worrying. I'm your mother; it's what mothers do. I worry about all of you all the time, even though you're grown up now and have families of your own," Gillian explained.

"It's a wonder you have time to do anything else," Nick tried to smile but a yawn took over his face instead.

"Oh, sorry. You've been up all night, of course you're tired. Why don't you go upstairs for a few hours?" she suggested. "We've got a whole week to catch up, so you should try and get some sleep."

"I think I'll do that," Nick agreed. He stood up and stretched, yawning for the third time.

"Sorry I've not been much company so far."

"A few hours sleep will change that," Gillian maintained, giving him a look of concern and strong encouragement as only a mother can.

"Will you...?" Nick started.

"Yes, I'll wake you in a few hours," Gillian interrupted.

"Thanks, mum," Nick gave his mother a peck on the cheek.

With that, Nick shared one last smile with his mother before heading upstairs to his former childhood bedroom, collecting his small suitcase that he'd abandoned in the hallway on the way in. Once he had changed into something more suitable to sleep in, in this instance the pyjamas his mum had bought him for Christmas that he had felt almost compelled to take with him, Nick got settled in his bed. Yawning again, his thoughts seemed to eventually slow down allowing him to gently fall into a deep slumber.

Deep, it was. Long, it wasn't. Just over an hour later Nick woke suddenly, confused and dazed. He couldn't figure out what had woke him up but decided to worry about that later after he'd gotten more rest. But sadly, he couldn't fall back to sleep. He tried and he tried, tossed and turned for what felt like hours until finally he gave up. He was exhausted, spent most of his time whilst changing position yawning, so why on earth could he not sleep? Ah yes, that was why. She was why. He had tried so many times over the years to get her out of his head but as always that was a task that always resulted in failure.

Several hours later the entire Stokes family had invaded the living room and kitchen of the large house, though with so many people around the house suddenly felt very small. Nick had managed to eventually doze off again but then was rudely awoken a short time later by his dad slamming the front door closed as he returned home from work. Just what he needed. Nick climbed out of bed like a stroppy teenager and remained in a grumpy mood for the rest of the day.

He was pretty much the centre of attention, which he did not enjoy one bit. Each one of his nieces and nephews wanted to speak to him or wanted him to join in with their game in the back garden. His sisters all wanted to speak to him too, wanting to discuss girly things and his failed love life, as well as his brother and brothers-in-law, who thankfully only cared about examining the latest Dallas Cowboys game. He was being pulled in all directions. While he did love each member of his family a great deal he was being suffocated by them all. And if that wasn't bad enough his mind still was racing with thoughts of Vegas and the people he'd left behind.

"Hey, Nicky," Angie, his eldest sister, greeted cheerfully as she walked towards him. She had waited patiently whilst various other family members interrogated him like he would interrogate a suspect in a case.

Nick forced an equally wide smile, as her presence broke him out of his reverie. "Hey, Angie."

She reached out and hugged him gently. "It's good to see you," she insisted once she pulled away.

"You too," Nick nodded. "You look good."

"So do you," she replied. "How's Vegas treating you?"

Nick shrugged, pursing his lips thoughtfully. "You know… the same as always."

"It's good to have you here, Nicky," Angie smiled.

"Glad to know I'm missed," Nick smirked.

"I never said that," Angie insisted, teasing him.

Nick laughed lightly, yet awkwardly.

"You okay? You seem a little down," Angie asked, looking concerned.

"I'm just tired," he answered, this time forcing only a small smile.

"Well, you'd better sort that out soon. We have big plans for you this week," Angie stated, humour in her voice.

"Can't wait," Nick said dryly, giving his sister a look.

"I'll see you later," Angie walked away chuckling to herself.

Nick swiftly returned to his previous task. He looked attentive as he sat in the corner of the room and mulled over every thought whizzing round his head. If he were being honest with himself he knew he was being ridiculous but he couldn't get her out of his head. It was time to fess up, to himself more that anyone else; he couldn't stop thinking about Sara. And this wasn't the first time she had practically taken over his brain.

"Please tell me he's not been like this since he arrived?" Bill asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, he seemed fine when he got here, just tired. He went up for a few hours earlier but he mustn't have got much sleep," Gillian explained, glancing over at their youngest son at the other side of the room. "I'm sure he'll be back to his normal self tomorrow after he's had a good nights sleep."

"Really?" Bill didn't seem convinced.

"Yeah. You're just over thinking it, Bill," she insisted. "Nicky will be fine."

"Well as long as he gets rid of that stupid glum expression on his face," Bill commented. "He looks as though we're holding him hostage."

"He would probably say we were," Gillian pursed her lips before speaking up and addressing the room full of people. "Ok, who wants ice cream?"

"I do! I do!" came the shrill reply from her younger grandchildren. How excited they all seemed to get over ice cream just about brought a small smile to Nick's face.

Thank you for reading. I hope to have the next chapter up soon, and with any luck the chapters will be posted fairly regularly. Please review.