I am so, so, so sorry that I has taken me two months for this update. I really am. My muse had completely disappeared once Jorja left the show. I hope you haven't forgotten about this story. Special thanks to all those who read and reviewed the last chapter. And an extra special thanks to Monica - for letting me know that the story was missed! hugs
I disclaim. Own nothing, have nothing - you sue, you'll get nothing.
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Sara was laying on the couch, her hands protectively drapped across her bulging belly. She was now 37 weeks pregnant and counting. As terrified as she was of labor and delivery, she was ready to have her body back.
Nick looked over at her and smirked.
"What?" she said kind of grumpily.
"You're cute when you pout," he answered.
"I'm not pouting," she informed him.
"Sure," he chuckled as lifted her legs easily to sit down where they had been resting. He sat her legs down on his and began to absently rub soothing circles on her skin. They sat in the darkness of their home, the only light coming from the glow of the fireplace and the white lights that adorned the Christmas tree.
He glanced over at Sara and took one of his hands and placed it on hers, squeezing her fingers lightly. "Think we'll have a baby by Christmas?"
"I hope so!" she sighed dramatically. It was December 17th and though her due date was still, technically, a couple of weeks away, the Doctor had said that the baby was perfectly ready to be born.
He smiled. Yes, she had become increasingly frustrated as she got larger. Her mood wasn't as stable as it had been, and Catherine told him to chalk it up to lack of sleep and being uncomfortable, as well as scared of the delivery. And if he were being honest with himself, the thought of the delivery terrified him as well. He just hoped it all went smoothly. He had been assured, just like Sara, that the baby was healthy and that by all accounts, the delivery itself should be normal. But that with modern medicine and the help of the nurses and doctors at the hospital, things would go as smoothly as possible.
He looked over at her face, glowing not only because she was an expectant mother, but because the colors from the fire that illuminated her skin.
Even though her eyes were closed, she felt him staring. She slowly opened her eyes. "What?" she asked softly, entangling her fingers with his.
"Nothing," he said softly, "just thinking about how beautiful you are. And how lucky I am to have you in my life. How you're giving me the gift of a child."
She smirked at him. "No need to sweet talk me, Stokes. You already knocked me up."
He smiled a bit more. "I'm serious. I love you."
"I love you too," she smiled, pulling on his hand to indicate that she wanted him to give her a kiss.
So, he leaned over her torso, careful not to put his weight on their baby and kissed her soft lips.
"Hey now," he said, breaking the kiss and looking down at Sara's stomach, "I'm trying to have a private moment with Mommy."
Sara laughed when the baby kicked again. "I don't think he cares."
"He? You think it's a boy?" Nick asked, his eyes shining.
She shrugged. "At the moment, yes. What do you think?"
While it was true and he and Sara would be thrilled with either a son or a daughter, and all they truly wanted was for him or her to be healthy, he couldn't stop the smile that spread across his face. "Well, I think she's going to have your smile."
"You think it's a girl?"
He nodded his head. "Well, at the moment, anyway!"
She giggled. Nick placed his large palm against the baby bump. "So, who are you? Are you Daddys little Princess, or Mommys little Man?"
"I think he's ignoring you," Sara whispered playfully when she didn't feel the baby kick in response.
"Oh, really, huh?" Nick smirked and leaned down and kissed her again.
And then the baby kicked.
Sara started to laugh. "Oh, now I have to pee!" she giggled as Nick leaned back up and helped her to sit up and then stood to help her stand.
He watched as she made her way to the downstairs bathroom and then sat back down on the couch. He eyed the small gift bag, stuffed with shiny paper. He smiled a little, thinking of her reaction. He planned to give it to her on Christmas Eve. His family was flying in late on the 23rd, and even though they'd be staying at Nick and Sara's, he was sure he could steal a little time with her in front of the tree and the fire on the magical night and make it just a little more special.
"What're you thinking?" Sara smiled as she sat down beside him and curled into his side.
He wrapped an arm around her and kissed her temple as he played with her hair. "That we need to enjoy this. It's not going to stay quiet around here for long."
She smiled. "You're right."
"Having some noise and chaos will be just like it was when I was growing up. Minus the six other kids." He squeezed her shoulder.
"We'll have more kids, Nick," she assured him. "I just don't know about us having as many as seven!"
He laughed. "Good. I'm not sure I could handle six. Two or three sounds like a pretty good number, doesn't it?"
She nodded. "Mmm Hmm."
Silence filled the room once again and the two sat in contentment. Until the phone rang.
Nick sighed and reached behind him to grab the cordless phone that sat in the cradle on the table behind them. "Hello?"
"What's up man?" Warrick asked, by way of a greeting.
"Not much." He looked over at Sara and mouthed 'Warrick.'
"Are you and Sara up for coming out tonight? Grissom's out of town at the bug convention, but Greg, Cath and I just wrapped up a case and since we aren't needed, Ecklie decided to give us the night off. Party time."
Nick chuckled. "I don't know, man."
Sara rolled her eyes and grabbed the phone from Nick, having heard the question that he'd posed. "Hey Warrick. What did you three want to do?"
"Nothing insane. Probably dinner. Maybe a show after wards."
"Sounds good. Where should we meet you?" She listened as Warrick told her where they'd meet up and when she hung up the phone, she looked over at Nick. "What?"
"You feel up to going out?"
"I'm pregnant, Nick. I'm tired and I'm sore, but I can't do anything about that. And besides, after the baby is here, it'll be a very long time until we can just go out spontaneously." She leaned over and kissed Nick quickly, but deeply. She batted her eyelashes.
He smirked as he stood up and once again helped her to her feet. He leaned down to capture her lips in one more quick kiss. He pulled away, "should've thought about that before you let me knock you up!" And he quickly turned and walked away, chuckling.
Her jaw dropped in amusement as she swatted at his bum as he walked away. "Nicholas Anthony Stokes!"
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"How did you get us in there?" Greg asked Catherine as they exited the restaurant.
It was an exclusive new restaurant at one of the casinos. Casual clothes were acceptable, but the atmosphere was unlike any other exclusive eatery in Las Vegas.
"You know I can't tell you that," she answered him coyly.
"The food was phenomenal," Nick raved and Warrick nodded his head.
"Beyond phenomenal," Sara concurred.
"You barely touched your food," Warrick said, raising an eyebrow as if to question if she were really being truthful.
Sara smirked, then used her hands to illustrate just how large her stomach had become. "There's not much room in here, Warrick. Trust me."
Catherine laughed and placed a hand on the baby. "Active tonight, huh?"
Sara nodded her head. "Definitely feels that way." Truth was, the baby's activity level had gone down. The doctor had assured her that the reason was only because the amount of space in the womb was limited, so the lack of activity was normal.
"Hey guys, wanna catch a movie rather than go to a show?" he smiled widely at the group. "King Kong is playing!"
Sara and Catherine groaned while Warrick and Nick looked interested.
"Why don't you guys go?" Sara suggested. She looked specifically at Nick. "Seriously, I'll be fine."
"You sure?" he asked, although she could see the excitement in his eyes.
"I'll be with her, Nick," Catherine assured him. "You have your cell phone?"
He nodded in confirmation.
"Then if you're needed, we'll call."
Sara nodded her head and smiled at Nick, amused by Catherine's assertiveness. "Yeah, that's right."
"OK," he smiled. He leaned over and placed a kiss on her lips. "Love you. Be careful."
"Always," she smiled. "Love you too."
Warrick and Greg nodded at Cath and Sara in silent goodbye.
"Man, you are so whipped," Warrick's deep voice chuckled.
"I am not," Nick protested.
Greg then acted as if he had a whip in his hands. "Yeah, ya are."
Catherine and Sara laughed.
"So, what shall we do?" Catherine smiled. "Take in a strip show?"
Sara laughed.
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The two women walked through Meadows Mall leisurely, eating Haagen Dazs Ice Cream. The mall itself was crowded with Holiday shoppers who'd waited until the final stretch to complete, or even start, their shopping. Thankfully, due to the Holiday Season, the mall hours had been extended to midnight. It was nearly 11:30, so the shoppers were slowly starting to dispurse.
Sara rubbed her back a little to ease the slight ache that had settled there. "The movie should be over shortly," she said to Catherine.
She turned away from Catherine and tried to stiffle a yawn, but Cath caught it. She smiled.
"I need to make a quick pit stop in the ladies room," Catherine told her, "and then we'll be on our way."
"Cath?" The strawberry blond turned around. "If you don't mind, could I just go to the car? I need to sit down. My feet and back are killing me."
Catherine chuckled and handed Sara the car keys. "I'll be there in a minute."
Sara nodded her head and continued on the short distance to the exit doors that lead to the parking lot. When they'd arrived, they lucked out and managed to get a stall close to the mall that was just being vacated by another shopper.
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Catherine exited the mall and headed for her car.
"Where'd you go, Sara?" she asked herself as she approached the stall where he car had been parked, but was now empty.
The dim glow of the parking lot lamp only slightly illuminated the area, but her CSI skills were fine-tuned to see things in the night that people couldn't even see in the day. Something wasn't right. In fact, something was incredibly wrong.
"Woah!" she heard a teenage boy say. "Dude, some chick left her purse by my door!"
"No way!"
Catherine immediately called out to them. "Stop! Don't touch it!"
The boys recoiled. "Hey lady, if this is your purse, we don't want any trouble. We just found it!"
"No, it's not mine," she said as she crouched down. "It's a friends." And it look like it had been thrown there. But why would Sara's purse be thrown to the other side of the parking lot, and her own car be missing? "Dammit."
She pulled open her own purse and dug around for her cell phone. She hit speed dial. "Jim, it's Catherine. I'm at Meadows Mall, parking section J on the upper level. I need some Units and a couple of CSI kits, now."
Jim furrowed his brow. He told another officer quickly what Catherine needed, where she needed it and to get it done. "What's going on?" He knew not to question her when she sounded so insistent.
"It's Sara. She's gone."
"What do you mean she's gone?" he asked, checking his holster and making sure his gun was firmly there, locked and loaded.
"I don't have time to explain, Jim. I have to call Nick."
She quickly ended the call, and then proceeded to call the person who would be absolutely crushed and devastated.
She looked up at the night sky, silently wondering why everything had to go so wrong, just when things were going so right . . .
TBC . . . .
