A/N: Thank you for reading!
Hidden Answers
Chapter 2
Sara Sidle had known Nick Stokes for nearly two decades; his face in surprise tickled her to no end so she stood and laughed as his chin dropped and his eyes widened.
By the time Nick recovered, Grissom had rounded the truck to see the younger man standing in wide-eyed, speechless astonishment. He knew immediately what had occurred when Nick's eyes met his; laughing, Grissom nodded.
Nick said, "After all this time—you two are having a kid! Wonders never cease to amaze me." Shaking his head, he reached out to Sara. "Girl! Why didn't you tell me? Am I not the best bud you have?"
"We wanted to see you," Sara said as an explanation as she smoothed her hand over a slight bulge under her shirt.
Throwing his head back in a laugh, Nick said, "This way—and I have more questions! Due date? Any problems? Do you know what you're having—boy or girl? Are you going to live on that—that floating barge of a boat?"
Grissom and Sara laughed. She said, "This is a true story straight from science-fiction, Nick—and when you have time, you'll get the extraordinary story of how I—at age 45—ended up in 'the family way'." She pushed her hand into the crook of his arm as they headed to the elevator.
Their conversation took fourteen turns in four minutes before Nick opened the door to a modern one-level condo, all floor-to-ceiling windows along one wall; the constant sound of pouring rain dulled by layers of glass overlooking a cityscape washed by the ongoing storm.
His earlier statement of going to work seemed to be forgotten as Nick opened doors to a well-furnished guest bedroom and bathroom before going into the kitchen where he began to make tea while keeping a running dialogue going about the storm, the seminar, his job, and occasionally, coming to a complete stop to look at Sara and grin.
Tea was in cups and the Grissoms were seated on tall stools before he raised eyebrows, saying, "Okay, tell me the story." After a soft chuckle, he added, "Greg and I had given up any hope of being uncles to a sweet baby Sara." Glancing at Grissom, he said, "Well, either one, but I'm partial for girls." His head turned from one to the other as if pulled by opposing hands.
Smiling at him, Sara pointed to her husband. "You want to start?"
He shook his head, giving a finger motion for her to go ahead.
"Well, I'll cut it short—otherwise, it will take hours and I'd love to get back to sleep in that nice bed you've got!" Dipping a spoon into her cup of tea, she stirred for a few moments. "The beginning was when we didn't—I couldn't—get pregnant. Then I did—but didn't last long."
When Nick's face expressed his concern, she hurried to say, "This was years ago—one of the reasons I returned to Vegas but—but everything we did for—for two years got us nothing. So—we—sort of moved on—and—and…" she stumbled over a few words.
"I left her in Vegas," Grissom said quietly.
"I know about that," Nick added. Quickly, he grinned, "But then you two got back together—finally!"
Grissom smiled and reached for Sara's hand. "We did."
With a soft laugh, Sara said, "It did not take long for both of us to realize—and admit we'd like to have kids—which put us in one of the top fertility clinics in the world in LA. And that's where everything got kicked into high gear."
Grissom broke in with, "High gear at warp speed. After IVF plus genetic screening—a fascinating process—we have a little..." He grinned and opened his hand to Sara for her to finish.
"We're having a," she paused just to keep Nick waiting for a full minute, "girl in about five months."
Nick gave an excited "whoop", did a little shuffling dance, saying, "This makes my day—no, it makes my entire outlook on life brighter! You and Grissom having a little girl! Makes me want to live a long long time!" He sucked in a breath, releasing it slowly. "A baby! Don't tell me you are staying on that boat!"
"Oh, no," Grissom said. "We've got my mother's place in Venice Beach."
Nick's eyebrows lifted at this revelation.
"My mother had several surprises—she kept the place that she'd bought when they were trying to fill in the canals. It was run down, wasting away and then the entire area got a new life, increased in value. She had several other rental properties—places she'd purchased years ago—in the same neighborhood."
Chuckling, Nick joked, "Now, you are the landlord?"
Shaking his head, Grissom said, "We don't want to be landlords—I sold one to buy the boat. And we've put two others on the market—going to update and renovate the one my mother lived in before she moved to Vegas."
"And you are having a baby girl!" Nick's voice still held a note of excited uncertainty. "I know why you waited—not sure I'd believed it otherwise. Does Catherine know? Does Greg?"
Both Grissom and Sara shook their heads. "We haven't seen them yet," Sara said, adding, "So keep it quiet—we want to see their faces."
Straightening to his full height, Nick said, "I do have to go to work. Make yourselves at home—eat what's here. Fruit, juice, plenty of coffee, milk, cereal—all the healthy stuff is here." Walking around the counter, he hugged Sara and shook Grissom's hand. He said, "Stay here until you are ready to leave San Diego. As you expect, I'm not here much and with this weather, I cannot imagine what's going to come along but I will be there to hear your—you address wildlife smuggling."
Within minutes, he left the condo.
Grissom walked to the windows, watching as gale winds ripped leaves from trees, blew trash cans into streets, shredded flags and awnings, tore at anything that wasn't securely fastened down. Sheets of rain poured down the windows. Sara came to his side; instinctively, he pulled her into an embrace.
Softly, he said, "You make it sound like we took separate flights to get where we are now." His face nuzzled into her hair.
She teased, saying, "Long flights to Mars." With a quiet laugh, she said, "I can sleep—keep me company for a while. A non-moving bed and rain on the windows—the perfect combination, I think."
He agreed with her request, fairly certain he would not sleep. However, he had not considered that his wife's declaration about sleep would include a prelude.
Years ago, she had claimed he taught her that the act of love was meant to last longer than a song on the radio. As she opened his shirt, running long fingers across his chest, he sought her touch, desired her tenderness; weeks ago, realizing that pregnancy had added an unexpected aspect, he had questioned her obstetrician about having sex.
They had been enlightened to the point that Sara gave in to uncontrolled giggles as the physician's explanation became somewhat long-winded. The doctor had bitten her bottom lip, finally laughing with Sara. Her words had been "Have all the sex you feel like having—it's healthy in more ways than not."
His own interest in sex was abiding and deep, and, for years, stealthily incognito. Well aware of how many men flaunted and bragged of their desires and conquests, he had not. That is—until a certain young woman, much too young for him to take seriously, had gotten his attention at a conference in San Francisco.
As she took his hand, he asked, "Nick's house?" Physically, he did not want to go in the directions of his thoughts.
Sara's laughter of rolling giggles seemed to bring a rush of heat to his groin. Her eyes rolled as she said, "He has a washer and a dryer, dear. And—he's right. He'll be gone for hours."
Any worry on his part proved groundless when she walked out of the bathroom completely naked, skin glowing, hair damp. He responded in a direct, no-nonsense manner; he removed his clothes.
With familiar fluid motions, he led her to bed, laid her down, and proceeded with grace and certainty to bring his wife to her initial orgasm. When her second climax occurred, he was so deeply involved, all he remembered were the sounds of the ocean, an explosive groaning, an exhalation of pleasure that put him in satisfied ecstasy.
Much later, when Sara fell back to sleep, she dreamed of an ocean of white-capped waves, sunny skies, and sleek dolphins while the storm swept on. A man, losing his footing while running in the storm, drowned as water rushed across a well-marked public trail. Several dozen people were pulled from flooded cars. More victims would be found later. Wind and rain caused power outages all over the city but not in the building where she slept.
A/N: Yes, that 'pregnant pause' comment was appropriate! Thank you for reading-we appreciate hearing from everyone!