Title: Nick and Sara: A Family Story

Disclaimer: Not mine, I'm just playing

Rating: Teen

Chapter 21

Thanks to Shannon for beta reading!!

The day after Christmas, Nick and Sara went back to work. It was a light day for them, with no new cases, so they were able to go over some cold cases to see if they missed anything or had any new information. All day Nick had the feeling that he was coming down with something, but tried to ignore it hoping that an early night might stave off whatever it was. At lunch he went to the drug store to get some Zicam in hopes of avoiding getting sick.

If Sara needed any proof that Nick was coming down with something she had it when he didn't even challenge her when he said he looked tired and that maybe she should drive. Nick was not a great passenger. He liked being in control.

Nick and Sara walked in the front door and discovered that a fort had been constructed in the family room using sheets, couch cushions, and some chairs from the dinning room. Lisa came running out of the fort to greet them. The sounds from the TV indicated that Mike and Lacey were watching one of the DVDs they got for Christmas from the fort. One of the DVDs, Nick and Sara would have preferred they not watch with Lisa. Nick picked Lisa up, hugged her and noticed that she was still in her pajamas. He thought that was a little odd, but he was tired and not feeling all that great, so he didn't think anymore about it and set Lisa back down.

Nick went into the kitchen, where he found Sara staring at a sink full of dirty dishes and rather messy counters. It looked like Mike and Lacey had made lunch and breakfast without bothering to clean up. Sara was looking very on edge. Nick sensed the holidays had taken a lot out of his pregnant wife and that their teenagers weren't helping any. Since he was feeling pretty crummy himself he said, "We'll order Chinese and then have a little discussion about what we expect over break. Then they can clean up. Okay?"

Sara nodded, "I don't know why all of these things are getting to me. They're just teenagers, they'll do stuff like this. I'm acting like a stereotypical tired pregnant woman, with mood swings. I hate that."

Nick pulled Sara into a hug and rubbed her back, "It's alright. There is some truth in the moodiness and that's fine. It won't last forever. Plus, just because they are acting like exasperating teenagers doesn't mean we have to like it. Why don't you order dinner? I'll get the kids to pick up the fort in the family room."

Nick went into the family room and saw that Lacey and Mike were taking the fort down; but that they were both still in their pajamas and that the fort had covered a mess of empty glasses, crushed chips, and other things. Nick was starting to feel even worse. He took a deep breath and said, "Dinner will be here soon. I expect all three of you to be showered and dressed and this room picked up by then. After dinner we are going to have a conversation about what we expect from you during break. I suggest that Lacey, you get Lisa cleaned up and Mike you finish up in here. You have about thirty minutes."

Nick went back into the kitchen to find Sara starting to clean up. He reached into the cabinet to grab some Advil, "Leave it alone. They should clean it up. The family room is a mess and all of them are still in their pajamas. I told them I expected the family room to be picked up and all three of them showered and dressed when dinner arrives in thirty minutes and that after dinner we would discuss what we expect over break."

"Thanks Nick," Sara said as she sat down at the kitchen chair. "How are you feeling? I know you're coming down with something."

Nick shrugged and sat down next to Sara, "Not great, but I'm hoping a hot shower and a good night's sleep will take care of things."

Dinner was a rather quiet affair until Lisa accidentally knocked over her milk and said, "Fuck."

Everyone froze. Sara was fast on her feet and got a sponge to wipe up, "Lisa, that not a nice word. We don't say that word in this family. Where did you hear it?"

"I'm sorry, Mommy. I won't say it anymore. I heard it in the movie we watched today."

Mike and Lacey looked down at their plates hoping the floor would open up and swallow them, knowing they weren't going to be so lucky.

Nick said, "That's alright, Lisa. You didn't know. Just don't say it again. Why don't you finish your dinner so you can go play?" As he spoke he directed a stern look at the older two.

"Thanks, Daddy."

Very soon dinner was finished, and the table was cleared. Everyone, except for Lisa, was back at the table. Sara started the conversation by saying, "We were disappointed in what we came home to today. I know it's your break and that you want to relax, but it's not fair for Nick and me to come home to a big mess."

"I'm sorry. We weren't thinking," Lacey apologized.

"We should have known better," Mike said.

Then it was Nick's turn to speak. "We expect you to use better discretion around your sister. That includes making better choices about what TV or movies you watch when she is around. You don't have to watch cartoons with her, but you need to pick things with minimal sex, violence, and swearing in them. Stick to movies that are no higher rated than PG. Okay?"

Mike and Lacey nodded.

Sara spoke up again, "So, we expect you guys to be dressed and showered by the time we come home at least for a civilized dinner. We also expect dirty dishes to either be washed or in the dishwasher. Lisa has a play date with Maren and Aiden tomorrow, so she won't be around then. Nick and I will be taking some time off, but think about whether or not you want to be responsible for her. We can take her to daycare. It's not a problem. She loves it there and we are paying for it anyway. Maybe you'd rather spend time with her some other time? Just think about it."

"Lucy is coming for Lisa at 10:30am tomorrow. We'll make sure she's dressed and everything, but we need one of you to make sure she gets off okay. Now why don't you go get started on those dishes and cleaning up the kitchen?"

Mike and Lacey complied after apologizing once again to Nick and Sara.

Nick was planning on taking a hot shower, but when he saw Sara absent mindedly rubbing her back, he had a different idea…

With Sara lying back against his chest while they soaked in a nice hot bubble bath, they merely enjoyed the hot soothing water and each other. Nick's mind was wandering, he thought about where he was and how intimate this was. This part of his relationship with Sara had been kind of a surprise to him.

While he had had his fair share of relationships, and probably more than his fair share of meaningless sex partners…Sara was the first woman he'd lived with. He had never realized how much joy and intimacy there was in everyday things. If when he was twenty, he had been told that someday he'd be soaking in a bubble bath with a woman who looked like Sara with no intention of sex, he'd have laughed. If he'd been told that she was pregnant with his child, he'd have been kind of freaked out, because after all, there were women and there were mothers. Although, being the youngest of seven children it should have been obvious that mothers did indeed still have sex. If he'd been told that at thirty, he would have a glimmer of understanding women. If he'd been told that the woman was his pregnant wife, he would have thought he'd understood. In his mind getting married, settling down, and having kids was just that…settling. Giving up things like mind blowing sex for a family when you were done with exciting. His sisters had made sure he realized that a pregnant woman, especially one he was responsible for deserved pampering.

Being with Sara had taught him that 'settling down' was not settling at all. Granted they went out much less and it required more planning, but his life was richer. Most of the time Sara just got him and he got her. It was like being with her made him the best version of himself. He felt completely at home with her. It was like all his other relationships had been pale copies and now he had the real thing. It was comfortable, but never boring. He finally was able to open up about some things and let them go. Sara knew everything there was to know about him and it was freeing.

Nick's head had started to pound again, and the water was getting cold. He realized that Sara had actually fallen asleep. He woke her gently. They dried off, changed for bed, and were asleep spooned together almost as soon as their heads hit the pillows.

Nick woke up in the middle of night with a terrible coughing fit. His whole body ached and his head felt like it was going to explode. Somehow in the last couple hours he had become in his opinion a snot factory. Sara woke up too, said he felt warm and insisted on taking his temperature. He was running a slight fever.

"Sorry Babe, but no work for you tomorrow. I'd say that your flu shot didn't take and you've got the flu. Let me get you some medicine," Sara said getting out of bed to rummage in the medicine cabinet.

Nick didn't even argue which was probably just another testament to how crummy he felt. He thought he should feel slightly offended that his wife came back to the bedroom with medicine and a glass of water , helped him to sit up, and held that glass for him like she did for Lisa when she was sick, but he was too tired to think it about it and went back to sleep.

Nick awoke to a quiet, empty house. There was a note from Lacey leaning up against a glass of apple juice letting him know where everyone was for the day. He drank the juice, considered getting up, but went right back to sleep.

Hours later, Sara shook Nick awake, which took some effort. She helped him sit up and put a tray with chicken soup and crackers in front of him. "Nick, you really need to eat something for me, Baby."

Nick complied happy to see that she had put the soup in a mug so he didn't have to use a spoon. He drank the soup and ate some of the crackers. Then he let Sara coax him out of bed, into the shower, and into a fresh pair of boxers and a clean t-shirt. He did feel a little better like she said he would, but he still was dying to go back to sleep.

The whole Stokes family got the flu between Christmas and New Years that year. Sara was the sickest because being pregnant she just had to ride it out. She couldn't take anything to make her feel better. Nick and Sara spent many nights with a sick Lisa sleeping between them. Normally, they tried to discourage that, but neither of them really had the energy when she was at her sickest to get-up and go upstairs to check on her.

By the time New Year's Eve rolled around, Nick was back at work, although not quite full speed. Sara was still sick, but almost better. Lisa was almost back to normal and had more energy than anyone in the whole family. Mike and Lacey were still too sick to be allowed to go out, which disappointed them, but eased Nick and Sara's fears. They knew their kids were too smart to drink and drive or to get into the car with someone who had been drinking, but New Year's Eve in Vegas always resulted in numerous drunk driving fatalities. Nick and Sara were happy that Mike and Lacey would be home and could not end up being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

To celebrate New Year's Eve, Nick and Sara had planned a family night of movies and games. It was unfortunate that it took everyone getting sick for it to happen, but Nick thought that it might be one of the last times they would do something like this for New Year's Eve. They probably could decree a few more family nights when nothing big was going on, but teenagers wanted their own lives and their own celebrations.

They kicked the night off with a game of Trivial Pursuit. Mike and Sara were one team and Lacey and Nick were the other. Lisa bounced back and forth between the teams as she felt. During discussions about the correct answer she would agree with her brother or sister and nod vigorously while possible answers were discussed. By about ten o'clock the first game ended with Mike and Sara being victorious, Lacey and Nick demanded a rematch, while Lisa had fallen asleep on the couch clutching her stuffed bunny and looking angelic.

The second game was neck in neck the whole way through. In the end, Sara's limited awareness of pop culture from her teenage years hurt her team and cost them the game. Nick and Lacey won. Just as they finished the game it was time to turn on the TV to see the countdown to midnight.

2011 had been a big year for the Stokes Family and 2012 was looking like it might be an even bigger one.

The End Part 1