Since Sara was one of his best friends, Nick felt it was his responsibility to throw her at least some sort of a birthday bash on September 16th. He'd already suggested a few weeks ago that their two little families get together for a barbeque, so that became the plan. Nick would buy the hot dogs, hamburgers, and veggie burgers, and Sara promised to bring some salads and side items. Luckily, her birthday fell on a Friday this year, and they were both freed up from work. On Friday evening at about six, Nick was finishing up the final touches on his preparations in the kitchen. The trash can had filled up fast, so he had just taken the bag out and twisty tied it.
"Madeline!" He called to his daughter, who had just finished picking up the living room. One great thing about her being grounded was that he got to give her extra chores, which he was taking full advantage of this evening, much to his daughter's displeasure.
Madeline grumbled from where she was painting her toenails in the living room. "What now?"
"I've got some trash that needs to be taken out." He told her, washing his hands at the sink since he was about to handle some more food. Nick also had one of his best dress shirts on, a nice white and blue striped one paired with some faded jeans, and didn't want to mess it up by taking out the trash.
"Then why don't you take it out?" Maddie suggested logically.
"Because for this month, you're my indentured servant." He joked a little, but basically she was.
The twelve year old rolled her eyes and got up, walking with her toes curled up so as not to get polish on the floor. She walked to the kitchen and picked up the full trash bag, giving her father an evil glare.
"Why do we have to have the Nerdstons over?" She complained. Sara and Cody weren't exactly the most exciting people to hang out with. Maddie bet that Cody liked to put his boogers under a microscope and spent his days studying dust bunnies.
Nick smirked a little, but bit his lip. "Because Sara's my friend and it's her birthday. Besides, I thought it would be nice to have a little get together anyway."
"You thought." She grumbled, not at all pleased that she had to spend her Friday night with the Sidles. Not that she'd be allowed to go anywhere anyway, but Madeline would rather just be up in her room reading. She definitely didn't want to hang around and watch her father flirting with another woman.
"Be nice." He warned her, raising his eyebrows, but he was in too good of a mood to be annoyed with her. Truth be told, Nick had been looking forward to the barbeque all week. Getting Sara Sidle away from work was a treat for him. She was such a different person away from all the forensics and crime they dealt with every day. Sara was lighter, more at ease, more loveable, when they hung out. It was definitely a Sara Sidle he would like to get to know more.
Maddie put down the trash bag momentarily and wrapped her arms around her father from the side as he sprinkled some spices onto the burgers on the counter. "Daddy, can I pleeeaaase have a friend over? I promise promise we'll be perfectly well behaved, and we won't make fun of Cody."
She'd already asked him once that evening and he'd turned her down. Nick didn't even know why she tried, because he almost virtually never gave in.
"I already told you the answer's no." Nick reminded her calmly, but firmly. "You're still grounded, and even if you weren't I wouldn't let you. This is just a little get-together. Sara's family and mine."
"Then why didn't you invite Mom?"
Nick stopped what he was doing and looked down at his daughter, still hugging him. He would hug her, but then he'd get spices and burger grime all over her shirt. Madeline would go days without speaking of her mother, and out of the blue she'd say something like that to remind him how hard this was on her. Sometimes, he thought she said things like that just to make him feel guilty. "She's in New York. She's not gonna fly in just for a barbeque."
Maddie was hoping she'd get him to admit that he didn't want her mom there because he wanted to mack on Sara. It was ridiculous, honestly, the way he flirted with her over the phone. He was worse than some of the kids at her school. Madeline could always tell when she called, or when he called her, because his voice changed a little. It took on a caring, almost gentle tone, like the one he used to use with her Mom, only to a new extreme. Her dad liked Sara. It was obvious. But Maddie really thought he should be careful, because if her mother knew, she'd never take him back. She couldn't understand why her parents couldn't just work things out. Maddie figured it would only take time before they realized how stupid they were being and got back together. Her mother would realize how idiotic she was acting, and her father would finally get it through his head not to pick fights with her so much.
"And you want to flirt with Sara." Maddie told him bravely. Nick could have gotten a bit offended, but he decided to take it with a grain of salt. He gave her a look and then wrapped one of his arms around her neck and started giving her a noogie.
"You think I flirt with Sara? Huh?"
"You dooo!" She laughed, struggling to get free from his grasp. "And the other day when you were napping on the couch, you said her name in your sleep!"
Nick felt his face turn a certain shade of red. God, he hoped he hadn't. It was true that he had a crush on Sara, but he didn't want it out in the open. Was he being that obvious that his twelve year old daughter had picked up on it? Pre-teen girls were always gossiping about who liked who. He overheard it a lot when Maddie was on the phone with her friends.
"You're a liar, you little booger." He accused her, releasing her from the hold he had around her neck.
Maddie composed herself, fixing her mussed up hair as she grabbed that trash bag once again. "You wish. You were like 'Ohh Sara! I want to kiss you so baad!'"
She giggled and yelped when he picked up a tea towel and whipped it at her, dodging it just barely. "I need to lock you in your room. Go take the trash out."
Nick shook his head as his daughter left to do her task. He had wondered what it would like to kiss Sara Sidle many times. Those lips of hers. When she pursed them together when she was annoyed, they looked so enticing. For years, he'd wondered how they'd taste, and how they'd feel beneath his; how soft her skin was. Heck, he'd imagined much more that that to be frank, but he didn't need to be thinking about that when she was about to come over. Then he'd probably stare at her lips all night and picture her naked.
He wanted to ask Madeline about how she felt about Sara. Nick knew she thought Sara was nerdy, but she was so much more than that. As a father, Nick intended to always put Maddie's feelings and needs first. He would never date a woman she really didn't like, or a woman who couldn't accept that his daughter came first. Sara seemed to understand that as a single parent herself. They understood each other, very much in the same boat. However, Nick knew Madeline well, and was aware that she was as stubborn and one-minded as her mother. Once she'd made up her mind about someone, it was hard to sway her opinion. She'd always liked Sara, but he sensed, even though she was joking about it, that she didn't like the idea of him liking another woman. It was too soon. Lauren had only been gone a few months.
When the doorbell rang about ten minutes later, Nick reminded Madeline to be on her best behavior, which she rolled her eyes at. She reminded her father she wasn't going to babysit Cody and if he started picking his nose, she was gone.
Nick opened the door to a smiling Sara and an excited-looking Cody. He loved being around Nick, and was tickled that he'd be spending the evening around him.
"Hey!" Nick grinned widely, taking in the sight of Sara in a form-fitting pair of jeans, and a light blue tank top paired with a dark blue jacket. As she walked in, Nick caught a whiff of her hair and didn't think he'd be able to stop himself from sticking his nose there. There were children present, though, so he managed to restrain himself. Nick doubted he'd stay on Cody's good side if he saw him sniffing his mother's hair randomly. "Happy birthday."
"Thank you." She smiled as they walked in to the living room, where Madeline was sitting on the couch. "I've been having a great day. Cody got me this jacket and made me a beautiful card."
"Wow, that sounds nice. Your jacket looks great. You must have good taste, my man." Nick ruffled Cody's hair a little, and he beamed at the praise.
"My babysitter helped me pick it out."
"Well, you made a very good choice. Come on in and sit down." He held his arm out, motioning for the two Sidles to sit on the couch. "Can I get you something to drink?"
Cody looked at his mother, as if he needed permission to request a drink. She raised her eyebrows at him, prompting him to speak up. "May I please have some apple juice, and if you don't have that, can I have some water?"
Nick smirked at the kid. He was so polite and timid it was adorable.
"We have both. I'll get you a glass of apple juice." He assured the boy. "Sara, would you like some wine?"
"That would be great."
Nick thought he sounded entirely too formal, but he was just trying to be polite. The truth was, he was nervous. It had been a long time since he'd felt nervous around a woman. He'd known Sara for years, but he found himself wanting to impress her and a desperate need to make her laugh. They made small talk for about ten minutes, each politely asking the other's child about their activities and school. Nick was pleased that Madeline answered Sara politely, telling her about her gymnastic endeavors and her favorite subjects at school. After a few minutes, Nick excused himself to go start the burgers and hot dogs on the grill. He suggested to Madeline to get out Sorry to keep their guests occupied.
Sara played one game with the kids, and since they seemed to be getting along decently, she excused herself to go help Nick with the preparations. It was slightly chilly outside, so Nick had put on a fleece pullover to barbeque in the backyard. Sara still had her jacket on since it was part of her outfit, so she stepped out into the fall air. She didn't miss the way Nick seemed to beam that she'd joined him.
"Hey. How's it going in there?" His fondness of the female standing right next to him was obvious. Sara blushed at the way his full attention seemed to be on her, and his visible delight that she'd joined him.
"Pretty well." She nodded and watched him flip one of the veggie burgers over. It was so sweet that he'd bought them especially for her. No one had ever cared that much to do something like that for her. It was small, but it was a big deal to Sara. "The kids are playing another game of Sorry."
"That's good." Very good, in fact, that Madeline was being nice to their guests.
"Cody was really excited about coming over tonight. He just loves you." Sara admitted. She'd never seen her son act the way he did when Nick was around. It seemed like he opened up and let his true personality show its head around Nick. He brought out Cody's best side, and the kid exuded a confidence she didn't often see.
"Well, he's a neat little boy." Nick had never met a kid more polite than Cody, and while that was in good in some ways, it seemed to him that Cody didn't really know how to let loose and have fun. Not that it was Sara's fault. Not at all. It's just that the kid was naturally so timid, and it would take some work and time to get him out of his shell.
"Thanks." She told him, and glanced down at the burgers. "Nick, one of the burgers is on fire."
Nick guessed he'd been paying too much attention to Sara's eyes. Not knowing what else to do, he batted the enflamed veggie burger onto the lawn and stomped on it with his foot. "Jesus!" He exclaimed, feeling rather idiotic and embarrassed for letting a veggie burger catch flame when he'd been standing right there. "I don't know how that happened."
Sara was already laughing, and it only took a few moments for Nick to join in after he'd wiped his shoe off on the grass. "No veggie burger for me, I guess." She smirked at him, and was amazed at how totally at ease she felt around Nick.
"I'm so sorry, Sara. I've got some more in the freezer." He remembered. He'd stashed the extras from the packet he'd bought in the freezer, just in case Sara happened to come over on another occasion.
"I'll supervise and make sure nothing else gets cremated." She assured him. Nick laughed and opened the sliding door to head into the kitchen. Oddly, he found Cody sitting alone on the couch, staring blankly at the game board.
"Hey Code-man. Where'd Maddie go?"
"She's on the phone." He reported, his voice sounding a bit disappointed that he was in there all alone.
"Oh. Well, you can come join us out in the yard. We still have a swing set out there you can play on." Nick opened the freezer to retrieve the veggie burgers, which hadn't really had time to be properly frozen. They should be okay to put on the barbeque. Cody seemed satisfied by this answer. He nodded and stood up, waiting for Nick to tell him what to do. "Why don't you go ahead outside and I'll see what Madeline's up to."
Cody complied as Nick climbed the stairs to find out what his daughter was doing. Her bedroom door was closed, so he knocked and then opened the door. Maddie was reclined on her bed, the telephone sitting between her ear and shoulder, engrossed in a conversation. He stepped in and crossed his arms, hoping to send the signal that she needed to wrap up her phone call.
"Hold on, Momma." He heard her say, and then she moved the receiver away from her ear. "Dad, it's Mom on the phone. Can't I stay up here and talk for a while?"
Lauren on the phone was definitely different than if Maddie had been up here talking to one of her friends. Unfortunately, Maddie didn't get to talk to her mother as often as she'd like, so conversations on the phone was something she looked forward to especially.
"Sure, baby. Don't be too long, though. Dinner will be ready soon and we've got company."
Madeline nodded and went back to her conversation with her mother. She'd called out of the blue, and Madeline had been elated. Most of the time, it seemed that Madeline had to chase her down to be able to talk to her. It was quite special that Lauren had actually contacted her first. They'd been talking about all sorts of things – friends, boys, school, everything. As her mother wrapped up the phone call about ten minutes later, it made Madeline miss her even more. She wanted so badly to have her mother right there with her, sitting next to her on the bed as they chatted about girl things. Her mother may have painted her nails or braided her hair. But now, there was none of that.
They hung up, but Madeline just laid on her bed alone for a little while. She knew her mother wasn't perfect, but she didn't understand why her father couldn't see past that. Madeline wasn't perfect, and he still loved her. Why was it so hard for him to love her mother? Sometimes she just wanted to slap both her parents across the face and tell them what idiots they were being. Why weren't they trying harder? Why had they given up?
A few minutes later, Madeline heard her father call her name from downstairs. Presumably, dinner was ready, though she didn't have much of an appetite anymore. She certainly wasn't in the mood now to sit down and have dinner with Sara and her geeky son like they were a little family. If her father wasn't with her mother, Madeline was starting to think he didn't belong with anyone. She trudged down the stairs, wishing the evening was over already, but as she approached the dining room, Madeline found that Cody was sitting in the seat she always sat in. Little jerk. Hadn't her father told him that was her seat?
"Excuse me, but you're in my seat." Maddie informed the boy. Cody looked embarrassed, not sure what to say. He just picked up his glass and was about to switch seats when Nick put his hand on his shoulder, giving it a squeeze, as he brought some tomatoes to the table.
"Sweetheart, it's just one meal. It's not a big deal." He told Madeline, knowing exactly what she was trying to do. She was trying to claim her turf, which was completely unnecessary because Cody was just over for the evening.
Maddie glared at her father and pulled out another chair loudly, plopping herself down. Cody sat back down also, afraid that he had ticked Madeline off. He'd never met a girl with such mood swings. Soon, all four of them were seated at the table, putting all the fixings on their respective burgers and hot dogs. Not knowing any better, Maddie grabbed a veggie burger and put it on her plate.
"Baby, you might not like that. It's a veggie burger." Nick told her, not thinking his daughter would like it very much. She was a carnivore, like he was. He had to chuckle at how she scrunched up her face, disgusted with the idea. She stabbed it with her fork and plopped it back onto the serving plate in the middle of the table.
"I'll have that one." Sara smiled, transferring the burger to her own plate.
Maddie may no attempt to be friendly throughout the meal. Any questions asked of her were answered with one word and no eye contact. Nick wasn't sure why her mood had taken such a downturn. Well, he had some idea. It wouldn't surprise him if Lauren had sad something to upset her. Half the time when they spoke, Madeline was in a worse mood afterwards.
"Maybe after dinner we could play another board game." Nick suggested, knowing Cody like quiet games. He seemed to perk up at the suggestion, but when Nick looked at Maddie for approval, she looked sullen and uninterested. "What do you think, Madeline?"
"I'd rather not." She told him honestly. She'd had quite enough of having to watch them stare at each other and try to cover it up. They were obviously into each other, and it disgusted Madeline now. Didn't he know that if her mother found out he was already flirting with other women that she'd never come back?
"Well, I think our guests would enjoy it."
Madeline stopped herself from rolling her eyes just in time. However, her mouth seemed to have a mind of its own. "Well, I'd rather not spend the whole evening hanging out with geeks."
Sara and Nick's mouths both gaped open at her comment. Sara cleared her throat and pushed some of her beans around on her plate mindlessly, wondering how Nick was going to handle that one.
"Go to your room." Nick told her calmly and simply. Sara saw the look on his face, and wanted to crawl under the table to hide, and it wasn't even directed at her. Madeline just smiled at her father, which ticked him off even more. Going to her room had been exactly what she wanted, even though she knew she was in trouble. It would save her from having to watch her father and Sara flirt with each other. She wiped her napkin and stood up, then walked up the stairs, feeling like she had one. Surely, her father would get the message that she didn't like him flirting with Sara, and wasn't okay with them acting like they were all a little family.
Nick shook his head as he worked some beans onto his own fork after Madeline had left. "I'm sorry about that. I don't know what's gotten into her."
"It's okay. I know you've both been having a hard time." Sara offered, though Madeline's words had hurt. She'd known Madeline most of her young life, and they'd always gotten along well. Sara felt a bit guilty for having feelings for Nick, and Madeline voicing her opinion like that certainly hadn't made her feel any better.
"Yeah, but that's no excuse." He shook his head and took a sip of his water. "I'll let her cool down, then I need to go have a word with her." A few very stern words, that is. Nick was highly embarrassed and disappointed that Madeline would say something so mean to someone he cared about. He realized that she was still hurting over Lauren leaving, but he didn't think Madeline would have that kind of reaction to Sara. Maddie had known Sara pretty much all her life, and she'd never voiced any kind of dislike for his coworker.
The rest of dinner was a bit subdued because of Madeline's insult and departure. It was a bit uncomfortable for Sara and Cody, knowing Nick was likely highly embarrassed and was probably going to tear Maddie a new one. Sara knew how strict he was with Madeline, and this was a major offense in his book.
After the meal was finished, Nick and Sara began to clear up the dishes from the table and take them into the kitchen. Before he did this, Nick set Cody up at the TV, finding the Disney Channel to keep him occupied for a few minutes. He came back into the kitchen, finding Sara at the sink rinsing the dishes off, one side of her hip slightly slouched as she concentrated on the task at hand. It seemed so…domestic again. Them together, doing the dishes, while Cody watched television and Madeline….well, Madeline banished to her room. There was just something sexy about Sara standing in his kitchen, helping with the dishes.
He walked up next to her, giving her shoulder a friendly squeeze and a small smile. "You don't have to do this." Nick told her politely.
"No, it's okay. I want to." Sara told him honestly. "You had us over, it's the least I could do."
He smirked as he took the rinsed off plate from her hand and transferred it to the dishwasher. "Well, it is nice to have a partner. A dishwashing partner, I mean." Nick quickly cleared up, not wanting her to think that he was somehow implying something else. Sara just smiled at him and they continued with their unspoken assembly line.
"It's probably best if we leave soon, since I'm sure you want to go have a word…"
"No, don't leave." Nick urged her. "She's fine up there, thinking about what she's done. Don't let her ruin your evening. I have all weekend to yell at her."
Sara chuckled a little bit as they continued. "Well, it might be nice to play a board game together or two." She admitted.
"I'd like that too."
Forty-five minutes later, they had finished their second game of Sorry, and had moved on to playing Uno. Cody was having the time of his life, smiling and joking around with Nick and his mother. He was secretly glad that Madeline wasn't around, because she made him nervous. And now that she'd called him a geek, he had good reason to want to stay away from her. Nick had poured Sara and himself a glass of wine, which had slowly dwindled away into an empty glass by the end of their last Uno hand.
"You beat me again, Code-man." Nick had given him the new nickname, and Cody thought it was really cool. He liked that Nick had a special nickname just for him.
"Uno's one of my favorite games. I always get Draw Fours."
"Yes you do." He smiled. "Sara, would you like another glass of wine?"
"Yes, please." She handed him her glass of wine as Cody began shuffling the cards. Well, his method of shuffling consisted of spreading the cards out all over the table and moving them around the mix them up. It always took a while, so Sara decided to join Nick in the kitchen. She was feeling a bit confident after one glass of wine, so she walked up to him and squeezed his arm a little, giggling.
"Did you just let my son win Uno three straight times in a row?" She theorized. Sara had noticed how he was quick to stick his pile of leftover cards in the stack after Cody was declared the winner each time. It was so sweet that he understood how much pleasure Cody got out of winning a simple card game. Nick was just that much more irresistible.
He grinned his thousand-watt smile, parentheses forming around his mouth. "I'm not admitting to that. I know better. Not without my lawyer." Nick teased as he poured them both another glass of Chardonnay. She gave him a little playful push, feeling like she was suddenly back in high school.
"Oh really? Well is there any way I can get you to admit to it without legal counsel?" She flirted. Had that really just come out of her mouth? When she'd developed this much boldness, Sara had no clue.
Nick looked at his partner with an amused grin on his face, trying to hide the fact his heart had just doubled its rate at her implication. He turned his body to face hers, willing to see where she would go with this. Out of the blue, a pair of their hands clasped together, and Sara felt his thumb stroking the back of her hand.
"I don't know." Her voice was almost a whisper. "Maybe…" Sara closed her eyes and leaned in, deciding to throw it all to the wind. He'd been flirting back with her all night, and she was sure this is where they both wanted things to head. Moments later, she felt his warm lips close of hers. The pressure he exerted was so soft, and had so much care and tenderness. When she didn't pull away, Nick tilted his head to the side a little more and kissed her again, with a little more gusto. Her lips tasted sweeter than he'd ever imagined; softer than he'd ever dreamed. But just like any sweet dream he had, he always woke up.
"I hate you!!" Madeline screamed from where she was standing in the doorway of the kitchen, snapping the two adults out of the little self-created haven. She'd come down to get a drink of water, even though she knew she wasn't supposed to, and had come across the scene. How dare they! How dare they kiss right there in her kitchen! How many kisses had her parents shared right in that very room? Right in that very spot? And they had the audacity to lock lips when they were supposed to just be "friends"?
Nick and Sara jumped away from each other immediately, feeling like complete jerks. They'd let things get out of hand. But it had felt so good; so right. It was wrong, though, to kiss like that right in his kitchen, when one of the kids could and did walk in at any moment.
Sara wiped her mouth and turned away in embarrassment, but Nick turned to look at his daughter. "Madeline, it's not what you…"
"Not what I think? Come on, Dad! Friends don't make out in the middle of the damn kitchen!"
Sara cleared her throat. "We should go." She told Nick quietly, moving towards the entryway to find Cody in the living room.
"Damn right you should go!" Madeline told her. "And you better stay away from my dad, because my mom will come kick your ass!"
"That's enough!" Nick's voice boomed, completely surprised by the turn of events. One moment he'd been kissing Sara Sidle, quite possibly one of the best moments of his life, and the next Madeline was threatening to have Lauren beat her up. Where did this kid come up with this stuff? "You've done enough tonight, young lady. I don't recall saying you could come out of your room, so get back up there now." His voice was stern and no-nonsense.
Madeline stormed off, shooting an intimidating glare in Sara's direction as she put on her coat and Cody did the same. Nick just sighed and rubbed the top of his head. The evening had definitely not gone as he'd hoped. Well, he'd gotten to kiss Sara Sidle finally, but the ending had been less than stellar.
"I'm really sorry about all this." Nick apologized, but didn't think any words he could say would fix what had happened. Madeline had completely ruined the moment, but had it been wrong of them to steal even one kiss? Nick knew it was way too soon for him to be in another relationship, but he'd never felt this way about another person.
"It's okay." Sara kept her voice low, so Cody wouldn't be alarmed. "We probably shouldn't have."
Nick wanted to agree, but he couldn't. The kiss had been amazing, and left him wanting more. To feel those soft, supple lips of hers under his would be pure heaven all over again. At the same time, Nick didn't want to risk his relationship with his daughter in order to have it.
"We can talk tomorrow." He said, instead of agreeing one way or the other. Sara nodded, and was secretly a little happy that he hadn't agreed the kiss was a bad idea. It had been amazing, but now she felt so guilty.
Nick walked the mother and son out to their car and made sure they were good to go. He waved them off, wishing the night had ended more amicably. Nick loved his daughter, but he'd never been angrier with her for insulting the woman he loved. He'd taught her to be respectful of all adults, and she'd always been respectful of Sara, up until now. Nick sighed and let himself back into the house. Something was going on with Maddie, and while he tried to be understanding and talk to her about her feelings, he felt her behavior that evening nixed any chance of that. Madeline had been downright rude and hateful, and he wouldn't stand for it. He always put her first, but Nick had his own needs. And right now, Sara was what he needed.