On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me;
Twelve years of perfect, Eleven fairies flying, Ten steps a-walking, Nine months awaiting,
Eight seconds silence , Seven hours of marriage, Six ghosts remembered, Five shades of red, Four best of friends, Three day shift, Two miles to go, And a brown leather charm necklace.

24th December 2010

"It's perfect Nicky." Sara smiled, looking at the tree Nick had decorated in the garden. It was an average forest pine-tree, and had taken three men, a woman, twenty eight cups of tea and coffee and three days to finish.

"It's massive Daddy, like lots and lots of Zoe's high." The almost-three year old squealed as she ran into the garden, followed by the small puppy they'd bought for her.

"It is Huh," Nick grinned, lifting Zoe into his arms as she flew past.

"Yip, cause even with you lifting me up I'm still not nearly as tall as it, and you're a giant Daddy." Zoe said, reaching her arms up to see if it brought her anywhere near the top of the fifty foot tall tree.

"Well come on in then Rainbow because I hate to say this but it's getting dark which means it's your bedtime. Especially if you want Santa to come." Nick chuckled, walking towards Sara who was standing at the doorway since she couldn't be bothered finding her shoes to go outside.

"Do I really have to go to bed Mummy?" Zoe asked, "I'm not tired."

"Yes, but first you can go Skype Ally and Lindsay, wish them a Merry Christmas." Sara smiled, watching Nick let Zoe go and watch her run over to the laptop where Ally and Lindsay's faces were already.

"Apparently we all sound really different." Sara said to Nick.

"What?" he asked, looking at her.

"I was on the phone to Catherine while you two were outside, apparently we all sound really different and I've noticed it in Zoe, she's so Southern when she talks now, takes completely after her Daddy." Sara chuckled, sitting down at the large kitchen table.

"You twang too Sunshine." Nick grinned, kissing her on the cheek as he went to sit down next to her.

"I can't believe we've been here for a month now." Sara announced, looking out of the window of their San Antonio home.

"You regret it?" Nick queried, worried that she did.

"Not at all, I didn't want Zoe to grow up in Las Vegas; I wanted her to get the chance to grow up like you did. Outdoors, free and with no murder around every corner, no sex offender in every street. And I love it here, it's beautiful and it's dark at night." Sara sighed peacefully, twirling her now short again hair around her finger. "She's really happy here, all her family's here."

"Not all of her family are her Sara, all my side of her family are here." Nick reminded.

"That's the way I want it, I don't want her to ever know my side, if I have to have a side of the family I'll take everybody back in Las Vegas." Sara smiled.

"Can you believe it's been twelve years?" Nick asked, changing the subject.

"No." Sara laughed honestly.

"Twelve years since you came home with me for the first time." Nick grinned.

"Twelve years since I woke up in your bed." Sara added, resting her head on Nick's shoulder.

"Twelve years since you freaked out because you'd slept with a co-worker." Nick exclaimed.

"Twelve years since I freaked because I'd slept with you, the guy who came into my dreams every other night." She corrected.

"Twelve years since I realised I wanted to end up here with you one day."

"Twelve years of perfect." She smiled.

She was the woman who would never get married, she'd never have kids. She wasn't a maternal type. She was a workaholic who spent her spare time head deep in a forensic journal but he'd pulled her out. Shown her a different world, shown her a fairytale.

At first she'd been reluctant; the real world didn't have happy endings. She didn't want to get hurt, or hurt somebody else. Especially if it was Nick Stokes she would end up hurting. He was her best friend, but gradually he'd became more. A best friend and a lover, a boyfriend and a best-friend. A husband and a best-friend. A husband a father and a best-friend. He'd been it all and he was still there.

As they sat in their three floor San Antonio house in the middle of nowhere. A three year old daughter on the sofa talking loudly to her best-friends through a computer screen, a cat curled up beside her and a tiny puppy sitting at her feet. Their family lived a few miles away and would visit regularly. They talked every night to the people back in Las Vegas. The place they'd left ever since they'd found the monsters in it made it no place to raise a young girl properly.

Every decision they'd made in the last twelve years crafted this picture, everything in it even down to large Christmas tree in the back garden.

In the kitchen they had twelve photo's in different coloured frames, it was on to symbolise every year of there being two of them together. The first was the picture they'd taken on their first night, the one she'd gotten printed on a mug for him, the second was the picture of Josie, Nick and Sara playing a game with Barbie dolls which Josie had gotten from 'Santa'.

The third was a picture of the two of them when they'd finally gotten home from the three day shift.

The fourth was a picture of Nick, Sara, Warrick and Greg their heads very squished together trying to get everybody in the photo.

The fifth picture wasn't really a picture, it was a Congratulations card they'd gotten that had been signed by everybody that they had been given the day after the dreadfully embarrassing way that told each and every one of their co-workers that "Yes, they were dating."

The sixth was a picture of the cast of the Muppets in the Christmas Carol which had been Sara's Christmas present the next year.

The seventh was a wedding photo, standard and traditional apart from the Christmas tree behind them.

The eighth was a picture of the long-awaited positive pregnancy test.

The ninth was a picture of Sara and Nick holding the tiny baby Zoe.

The tenth was a picture of Zoe standing by herself in her rainbow outfit in front of the tiny Christmas tree they had that year.

The eleventh was a drawing Nick had done that night of the Csi's as fairies, they all looked quite comical and whereas he was going to through it out, Sara had framed it and kept it, saying they would never get rid of it.

And the twelfth picture was of the three of them standing outside their new house. The one they lived in now.

"What was your favourite part of this year?" Sara asked, stroking his hand with her thumb.

"Definitely not the Relationship between co-workers talk from Grissom, that was like getting the Sex-Talk from your father." Nick shuddered jokingly.

"I never got that." Sara shrugged.

"What the sex talk?" Nick asked.

"Nicky my parents were hippies." She reminded.

"So what was your favourite part, Sar?" He asked.

"Waking up to you." She smiled. "On the first day, the second, the third and every day after. I love waking up to you Nicky."

"I don't have a favourite part, my favourite part is life with you, it's been going on for over twelve years and it'll continue till the end of the earth." Nick said, kissing the top of her head.

And so it would.

A love that lasted forever.