Sequel to Endeavour - Continuance

Disclaimer - I don't know CSI, yet.

N/A: this is set about 4 years after Endeavour. Ava is 4 and her little sister is 1. Told from Sara's POV again. Enjoy!

Just Another Day

"Daddy, daddy, daddy, wake up!" Ava shouted whilst jumping on our bed.

"Ava Marie Stokes, what have I told you about waking up your daddy when he's sleeping," I said from the bedroom door.

"It's ok Sar, I should've been getting up now anyway," Nick said as he sat up and rubbed his eyes.

"That's not the point Nicky, you need your sleep," I sighed.

"What's that you've got there, princess?" he asked as he lifted Ava onto his knee.

I watched as Ava showed Nick the book she had in her hand, 'The Little Mermaid' her favourite story. Nick had read that story to her many times before, so many in fact that he could virtually tell you the story word for word without the book, even in his sleep. Ava was so much like him it was unreal. She had his laugh, his smile, even his facial expressions sometimes. Ava sat there so peaceful listening to every word that Nick said, she was most definitely a daddy's girl. But so was her little sister.

As if by magic, the house echoed with a baby's cries. I went next door to the nursery and there she was, our little one-year-old. She stared up at me as I picked her up. She wasn't sleeping well, and she was coming down with a cold, so at every given moment she cried.

Her full name was Madeleine Hazel Stokes. She was born 9 months after Nick and I got married and she fitted right in. Ava loved being a big sister and we loved being parents again. Our team loved Maddie, Greg was just happy someone else would one day call him Uncle Greg.

"Maddie, what's the matter?" I asked in my baby voice.

She giggled then smiled. She had Nick's smile, just like Ava.

"Do you want to come to work today?" I asked.

"Ava wants to," Nick said as he peeked his head round the door.

"Does she? Won't she be tired?" I asked.

"Yea but she hasn't seen the team in ages and they would only moan if we only brought Maddie with us," he said as he walked over to me.

"She's still gonna be tried, we'll just wait and take them in some other time," I said as I past Maddie to him.

"Well you can go and tell Ava that, she's gone into her room to get Ellie (her favourite teddy). She's really excited about going to see Uncle Greg, Uncle Warrick and Auntie Catherine," he smiled. "And if she's tried she can sleep on the break room couch, we all have at some point, it can be her turn."

"Fine, but if she gets in the way it's your fault," I said walking out the nursery.

"How come when she's bad it's my fault?" he smiled.

I smiled back. I walked into Ava's room. It was a typical little girl's bedroom. She had shelves of toys and teddies, boxes of toys and teddies and a floor covered in toys and teddies. She was sat playing with her favourite toy of the moment, a little mermaid doll. I tip-toed behind her, picked her up and span her round the room. She burst into a fit of laughed her. I loved her laugh, it was infectious.

Normally, we would pay for a babysitter to look after Ava and Maddie but we thought the team would want something to help distract them from the big bad world. And we didn't mind having the job of providing the distraction. The team loved Ava and Maddie, even Grissom couldn't help but smile when he saw them. He had been really nice to Nick and I, giving us the occasional day off, some times even the same day off.

Being parents and working the night shift was hard to juggle at first but Nick and I soon got Ava and Maddie into a routine, maybe not a normal routine but still a routine. Sometimes I felt Nick and I hardly spent anytime with our children let alone have any 'alone time' together. But thankfully our amazing friends would give us all the 'alone time' we ever needed and have our little devils over for sleepovers. Ava loved Lindsey and Uncle Greg's big back garden. Maddie just loved the new attention she would get.

"You ready yet?" I shouted to Nick from the kitchen.

"Give me 10 minutes, I've just the shower," he said as he appeared at the doorway.

"Hurry up, I think I think our 4-year-old is going to explode," I smiled.

"I want a kiss first," he said with his lips ready.

"Fine," I said as I leaned in for a kiss.

"What that so hard?" he smiled.

"Just go," I said.

"I'm going."

It still amazed me how after being together for 5 years nearly, married for 3, that we could still flirt with each and that everyday I fell in love with him a little bit more.

"Come on you lot we're going to be late," Nick said as eventually emerged from our bedroom.

"I've got Maddie," I said as I headed for the door.

"Daddy?" Ava asked as she took Nick's hand.

"Yes Ava," he said.

"Are we going to see Uncle Greg?" she asked.

"Do you want to see Uncle Greg?"

"Yes please, he's silly and he's good at hide and seek," she smiled as Nick strapped her into her car seat.

"Well I don't know if you will be able to play hide and seek with Uncle Greg, 'cause he's going to be working like mummy and daddy," I told Ava.

"Awww, that's not fair," she sulked.

"I know but I'm sure Hodges or Wendy will be able to play with you, as long as you don't get in the way to much," I said as Nick reversed the car out of the driveway.

"Yay, Hodges is funny to," Ava smiled.

The rest of the car journey was mostly Ava laughing at stories Nick was telling her about Greg and Warrick.

"Uncle Warrick's a giant," Ava laughed.

Nick and I couldn't help but smile and I could even see Maddie smiling too. Maddie was starting to say things, well mama and dada was about it so far. She had said hiya once to Greg, which made him nearly die. Out of our friends, Greg and Catherine had the most to do with Ava and Maddie, but they loved Uncle Warrick and 'Grandad' Grissom, as Ava once called him, all the same.

As we walked into the lab, Ava let go of Nick's hand and ran straight for Greg.

"Uncle Greg!" she shouted.

"Hey kiddo," he smiled as he picked her up. "Hey guys."

"Hey, sorry about Ava she was really excited about coming and seeing you all," I said.

"She's cool and so is this little one. How's she been?" he asked looking down at a sleeping Maddie in her car seat.

"She's fine, until she starts crying," I smiled. "She laughed earlier."

"Oh she did, who's a clever girl," Greg said.

"Greg, she's not a dog," Catherine said. "Ava, come here and give your Auntie Catherine a hug."

Ava ran into her arms screaming. And with that, the whole lab new she was there. They soon formed a long queue behind Catherine for a hug. Ava already had a reputation, she was the best hug giver ever. They then quietly stared at Maddie who was still fast asleep even after all the commotion.

"Uncle Warrick," Ava screamed.

"Hi Ava," Warrick said.

"Right then, oh," Grissom said as he entered the break room.

As people disappeared, Ava ran towards Grissom.

"Grandad Grissom," she said as she hugged his legs.

Thank you for reading, review please xxx oh and I don't own The little mermaid either x