Hopefully this will be a better chapter than the last one. I didn't really
know how to write the last one. Oh to be a talented writer eh? Anyway, I
hope that people read and enjoy this one because it's a bit lighter (and I
mean only a bit) than the last few. It may be the last one or there could
be another one after this I'm not entirely sure. Anyway that's way too much
information about me. Chapter 5.
It's amazing how quickly time flies when you're either dreading or looking forward to a specific period of time. The 16th of December rolled swiftly on and the two best friends had packed and boarded their plane to Texas. The topics of conversation had been light, breezy, Sara trying to keep Nick's thoughts off the inevitable for as long as possible. The journey was comfortable enough, that was until the pilot decided it was time for some Christmas cheer. Unfortunately, this consisted of some Christmas country songs and Nick's ears relented when they heard a familiar song. It was typical, typical almost to the point of irony.
"It's just a hard candy Christmas."
Whilst Sara found the country music annoying, she noticed how her companion's emotions had changed several times throughout the song. He'd gone from sadness to serenity and then to something unknown. Something only Nick would know. Something that Sara had a sneaky suspicion linked to his past but she repressed the urge to ask. Private thoughts are just that, private and no one deserves to have them publicised if they do not desire to. Nick was a secretive person, just like she was and she smiled to herself that she'd found a friend who was so like her.
Nick on the other hand had started to think about his home, and in particular his bedroom. The place where so many dreams and aspirations had been stolen or at least hidden. And maybe just maybe they could be recaptured on this trip or was that fantasy just too much to ask for? He was looking forward to seeing his mother and father and having a traditional Christmas with all the family. He could see his new niece, Amy, and he could check on how his Sister's new job was panning out. He missed all this in Vegas. You can pick up the phone and call but it's never the same. You want to be able to drive over to their house and see how they are, not here the counterfeit expressions over the phone used to conceal true feelings. But Nick did not have that luxury. And although he regretted this he liked Vegas. It was far enough away from any past dangers and that was the way Nick liked it.
He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice Sara's attempts at conversation. Even if his subconscious digested the information it didn't let him acknowledge it and somehow he was grateful to be left to his own devices to figure out how he'd cope with Christmas. The song changed to Wham's last Christmas and Nick let go of the grasp he had over the previous track. It was time to let go. Time to move on, and no matter how much he resented this fact he knew it was the right thing to be doing.
Still lost in thought, he didn't hear the pilot announcing that they would be landing in Texas in approximately 10 minutes. It was Sara who brought him round to the fact that he was nearly home. Nearly back where he belonged.
The airport duties went past in a blur, both of the travellers thoughts elsewhere. Sara's with Grissom, spending the holiday with his mother blissfully unaware that She had feelings for him. And he probably would never know. And Nick's thoughts were lost in the extreme parallels of relief and anxiety. Relief he was home and anxiety for the same reason. It was time to face the music, and piling their bags into a Taxi, Nick gave the driver the address and settled into the back seat with his travelling companion.
The journey was short and Sara enjoyed the way that the afternoon winter sunshine flooded in through the taxi window. She was surprised that it hadn't snowed. But hey this was Texas. She smiled at the beautiful scenery around her, wishing she'd been here before. But before she knew it they had arrived outside a charming house just outside the city centre and she was amazed at how the house alone radiated warmth and kindness when she knew it's vicious past. Nick paid the driver and swapped Merry Christmas' and opened his door to manoeuvre himself round to the boot of the car to empty their possessions. Sara joined him and grabbed her bags, smiling as Nick tried to carry them for her. Quickly she grabbed them and followed him up to the huge expanse he called home.
It was huge though by no stretch of the imagination and decked fully from roof to floor with Christmas decorations. They even had decorated and evergreen fir tree with lights. The house was painted a pristine white and if it had snowed you probably wouldn't have been able to see it. The windows down stairs were steamed up, probably due to cooking and the front porch, where they both now stood proudly displayed a 'Welcome to our home at Christmas' mat. Something told her the Stoke's Family didn't due Christmas by halves.
Nick rang the doorbell and turned to face Sara who smiled at him expectantly. To tell the truth neither of them had been this excited for a long time at Christmas and it was good to revert back to feeling like a kid again.
Nick returned his gaze back to the door and a wide grin spread quickly across his face when he saw someone approaching. The door flung open with a satisfied creak to reveal Mrs Stokes. Her face lit up instantaneously upon sight of her son, and she flung her arms around him squeals of delight escaping from her slim frame. Nick's bags had landed on the floor so that he could provide an adequate hug to his mother and as soon as she let him go the introductions began.
"Hey mom. This is Sara. Sara this is mom."
"It's lovely to meet you Sara I've heard lots about you."
"I wouldn't believe all of it!"
"Come on in dear you must be freezing out there!" And she stepped away form the door to welcome the pair into the house. The hallway was a large cream expanse dripping with the contented feeling of taste and decadence. Every nook and cranny was a welcoming committee and Sara felt welcome, almost to the point of contentedness, in her colleague's house.
"Michael! Your sons just arrived!" Mrs Stokes exclamation made Sara physically jump. The elegant woman smiled warmly at Sara and she could see where Nick got part of his looks from.
"Sorry dear didn't mean to make you jump."
"It's alright Mrs Stokes."
"Oh please call me Julia."
Sara smiled again at the lady and marvelled at how she didn't look old enough to be someone's mother. She heard footsteps and looked up at the stairs where she assumed Nick's father would be descending from. It was Nick 20 years from now. The other half of Nick's good looks had just become apparent and Sara smiled to see the father embrace his son in a warm hug. Time showed slightly more on Nick's father than on his mother but he still didn't look a day over 50.
His father released Nick and walked briskly over to where Sara was standing in the hallway, feeling slightly awkward and out of place in this family reunion.
"Sara I presume?" It was a gentle voice, nothing like Sara had expected.
"Yes, I'm pleased to meet you Mr Stokes."
"The pleasure is all mine. And please, it's Michael."
"Well, Michael, I've heard a lot about you. Nick talks about you a lot."
"Nick joined his father in the conversation between Sara and offered the simple reply of, " Well yeah. When's food ready?"
"Excuse my son Sara. He's always hungry."
"Oh yes. Not a day goes by when the lab fridge isn't raided!" Their laughter was welcome in the hallway. Especially Nick's laughter, which was wholehearted enough to fill the vacant years of him not being there.
"Dinner!" Julia's voice rang throughout the house and her high-pitched tone was neither harsh or cold but welcoming and eradicated any earlier awkwardness felt on Sara's part. The bags were left in the hall and they walked through to the even larger dining room. The table was laid out ready for a feast and filled the room with its length.
Dinner passed in a blur, catching up and making new acquaintances being the main topics of conversation. Sara felt like she'd known the family for years and suddenly wished that Nick had had the privilege of sticking around instead of moving to Vegas. But he'd had his reasons just like she had.
After dinner came the real test of character as Sara and Nick both went to their rooms. Nick showed Sara hers first putting off his own until necessary. Sara picking up on his obvious discomfort dropped the bags in the room and motioned for him to lead the way to his own room. He resisted at first but relented knowing how stubborn Sara could be when she chose to be. The corridors were long and narrow all with the matching cream and gold wallpaper. Sara could almost sense the wealth of the family. She had been trailing behind him, taking in everything, absorbing all of the richness and opulent surroundings. However she soon regained her composure and positioned herself at his side, squeezing his hand for moral support.
The door was heavy pine and had 'Nick' engraved into its frame. It also had little markings, which held height markings of how Nick had turned from a boy into a man. He pushed open the door with an anxiousness flooding over him. Nick could almost feel the past demons flying past him in a sudden gust of air. Standing in the doorframe, frozen with recollections of long departed days. Sara nudged him in the back and said, "I'm here Nick, It's ok she can't hurt you anymore."
He dropped the bags just inside the room next to one of the dark blue checked walls. It was almost a Burberry pattern but blue. It was a proper man's room and Sara suddenly felt the masculinity of it flooding her sense.
"Go on Nick you can do it."
He moved closer and closer to the bed and reached out hesitantly to touch it, afraid that it might reach out and grab him back into it. He drew his hand away momentarily before clasping his hand around one of the bedposts. He exhaled noisily the relief of relinquished fear filling the room.
"It's ok Nick, Go on sit down." She motioned her hands as if ushering him to sit down and he slowly lowered himself down onto the bed. Closing his eyes he breathed in deeply as his mouth curled downwards into an unfamiliar frown. Sara sat next to him, not feeling his pain, not feeling the sensation of having those unpleasant memories flood back to him. Slowly she reached over to him and ...........
Hope you enjoyed that. I'm slightly proud of this chapter. It's long and I don't know I'm just proud of it! Please please please R&R as it would really make my Christmas. If I don't write again until then I wish you all a merry Christmas and happy new year and I hope everyone gets what they want form Santa ;) Yours. tinkerbell XXX
It's amazing how quickly time flies when you're either dreading or looking forward to a specific period of time. The 16th of December rolled swiftly on and the two best friends had packed and boarded their plane to Texas. The topics of conversation had been light, breezy, Sara trying to keep Nick's thoughts off the inevitable for as long as possible. The journey was comfortable enough, that was until the pilot decided it was time for some Christmas cheer. Unfortunately, this consisted of some Christmas country songs and Nick's ears relented when they heard a familiar song. It was typical, typical almost to the point of irony.
"It's just a hard candy Christmas."
Whilst Sara found the country music annoying, she noticed how her companion's emotions had changed several times throughout the song. He'd gone from sadness to serenity and then to something unknown. Something only Nick would know. Something that Sara had a sneaky suspicion linked to his past but she repressed the urge to ask. Private thoughts are just that, private and no one deserves to have them publicised if they do not desire to. Nick was a secretive person, just like she was and she smiled to herself that she'd found a friend who was so like her.
Nick on the other hand had started to think about his home, and in particular his bedroom. The place where so many dreams and aspirations had been stolen or at least hidden. And maybe just maybe they could be recaptured on this trip or was that fantasy just too much to ask for? He was looking forward to seeing his mother and father and having a traditional Christmas with all the family. He could see his new niece, Amy, and he could check on how his Sister's new job was panning out. He missed all this in Vegas. You can pick up the phone and call but it's never the same. You want to be able to drive over to their house and see how they are, not here the counterfeit expressions over the phone used to conceal true feelings. But Nick did not have that luxury. And although he regretted this he liked Vegas. It was far enough away from any past dangers and that was the way Nick liked it.
He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice Sara's attempts at conversation. Even if his subconscious digested the information it didn't let him acknowledge it and somehow he was grateful to be left to his own devices to figure out how he'd cope with Christmas. The song changed to Wham's last Christmas and Nick let go of the grasp he had over the previous track. It was time to let go. Time to move on, and no matter how much he resented this fact he knew it was the right thing to be doing.
Still lost in thought, he didn't hear the pilot announcing that they would be landing in Texas in approximately 10 minutes. It was Sara who brought him round to the fact that he was nearly home. Nearly back where he belonged.
The airport duties went past in a blur, both of the travellers thoughts elsewhere. Sara's with Grissom, spending the holiday with his mother blissfully unaware that She had feelings for him. And he probably would never know. And Nick's thoughts were lost in the extreme parallels of relief and anxiety. Relief he was home and anxiety for the same reason. It was time to face the music, and piling their bags into a Taxi, Nick gave the driver the address and settled into the back seat with his travelling companion.
The journey was short and Sara enjoyed the way that the afternoon winter sunshine flooded in through the taxi window. She was surprised that it hadn't snowed. But hey this was Texas. She smiled at the beautiful scenery around her, wishing she'd been here before. But before she knew it they had arrived outside a charming house just outside the city centre and she was amazed at how the house alone radiated warmth and kindness when she knew it's vicious past. Nick paid the driver and swapped Merry Christmas' and opened his door to manoeuvre himself round to the boot of the car to empty their possessions. Sara joined him and grabbed her bags, smiling as Nick tried to carry them for her. Quickly she grabbed them and followed him up to the huge expanse he called home.
It was huge though by no stretch of the imagination and decked fully from roof to floor with Christmas decorations. They even had decorated and evergreen fir tree with lights. The house was painted a pristine white and if it had snowed you probably wouldn't have been able to see it. The windows down stairs were steamed up, probably due to cooking and the front porch, where they both now stood proudly displayed a 'Welcome to our home at Christmas' mat. Something told her the Stoke's Family didn't due Christmas by halves.
Nick rang the doorbell and turned to face Sara who smiled at him expectantly. To tell the truth neither of them had been this excited for a long time at Christmas and it was good to revert back to feeling like a kid again.
Nick returned his gaze back to the door and a wide grin spread quickly across his face when he saw someone approaching. The door flung open with a satisfied creak to reveal Mrs Stokes. Her face lit up instantaneously upon sight of her son, and she flung her arms around him squeals of delight escaping from her slim frame. Nick's bags had landed on the floor so that he could provide an adequate hug to his mother and as soon as she let him go the introductions began.
"Hey mom. This is Sara. Sara this is mom."
"It's lovely to meet you Sara I've heard lots about you."
"I wouldn't believe all of it!"
"Come on in dear you must be freezing out there!" And she stepped away form the door to welcome the pair into the house. The hallway was a large cream expanse dripping with the contented feeling of taste and decadence. Every nook and cranny was a welcoming committee and Sara felt welcome, almost to the point of contentedness, in her colleague's house.
"Michael! Your sons just arrived!" Mrs Stokes exclamation made Sara physically jump. The elegant woman smiled warmly at Sara and she could see where Nick got part of his looks from.
"Sorry dear didn't mean to make you jump."
"It's alright Mrs Stokes."
"Oh please call me Julia."
Sara smiled again at the lady and marvelled at how she didn't look old enough to be someone's mother. She heard footsteps and looked up at the stairs where she assumed Nick's father would be descending from. It was Nick 20 years from now. The other half of Nick's good looks had just become apparent and Sara smiled to see the father embrace his son in a warm hug. Time showed slightly more on Nick's father than on his mother but he still didn't look a day over 50.
His father released Nick and walked briskly over to where Sara was standing in the hallway, feeling slightly awkward and out of place in this family reunion.
"Sara I presume?" It was a gentle voice, nothing like Sara had expected.
"Yes, I'm pleased to meet you Mr Stokes."
"The pleasure is all mine. And please, it's Michael."
"Well, Michael, I've heard a lot about you. Nick talks about you a lot."
"Nick joined his father in the conversation between Sara and offered the simple reply of, " Well yeah. When's food ready?"
"Excuse my son Sara. He's always hungry."
"Oh yes. Not a day goes by when the lab fridge isn't raided!" Their laughter was welcome in the hallway. Especially Nick's laughter, which was wholehearted enough to fill the vacant years of him not being there.
"Dinner!" Julia's voice rang throughout the house and her high-pitched tone was neither harsh or cold but welcoming and eradicated any earlier awkwardness felt on Sara's part. The bags were left in the hall and they walked through to the even larger dining room. The table was laid out ready for a feast and filled the room with its length.
Dinner passed in a blur, catching up and making new acquaintances being the main topics of conversation. Sara felt like she'd known the family for years and suddenly wished that Nick had had the privilege of sticking around instead of moving to Vegas. But he'd had his reasons just like she had.
After dinner came the real test of character as Sara and Nick both went to their rooms. Nick showed Sara hers first putting off his own until necessary. Sara picking up on his obvious discomfort dropped the bags in the room and motioned for him to lead the way to his own room. He resisted at first but relented knowing how stubborn Sara could be when she chose to be. The corridors were long and narrow all with the matching cream and gold wallpaper. Sara could almost sense the wealth of the family. She had been trailing behind him, taking in everything, absorbing all of the richness and opulent surroundings. However she soon regained her composure and positioned herself at his side, squeezing his hand for moral support.
The door was heavy pine and had 'Nick' engraved into its frame. It also had little markings, which held height markings of how Nick had turned from a boy into a man. He pushed open the door with an anxiousness flooding over him. Nick could almost feel the past demons flying past him in a sudden gust of air. Standing in the doorframe, frozen with recollections of long departed days. Sara nudged him in the back and said, "I'm here Nick, It's ok she can't hurt you anymore."
He dropped the bags just inside the room next to one of the dark blue checked walls. It was almost a Burberry pattern but blue. It was a proper man's room and Sara suddenly felt the masculinity of it flooding her sense.
"Go on Nick you can do it."
He moved closer and closer to the bed and reached out hesitantly to touch it, afraid that it might reach out and grab him back into it. He drew his hand away momentarily before clasping his hand around one of the bedposts. He exhaled noisily the relief of relinquished fear filling the room.
"It's ok Nick, Go on sit down." She motioned her hands as if ushering him to sit down and he slowly lowered himself down onto the bed. Closing his eyes he breathed in deeply as his mouth curled downwards into an unfamiliar frown. Sara sat next to him, not feeling his pain, not feeling the sensation of having those unpleasant memories flood back to him. Slowly she reached over to him and ...........
Hope you enjoyed that. I'm slightly proud of this chapter. It's long and I don't know I'm just proud of it! Please please please R&R as it would really make my Christmas. If I don't write again until then I wish you all a merry Christmas and happy new year and I hope everyone gets what they want form Santa ;) Yours. tinkerbell XXX