Author's Note: Okay, I have a bunch of thank you's in this chapter. First
off, thank you to all that reviewed. Moose, hyperchick88, RegFrankieFan,
Desirae, Sylphide, Angelic Little Angel, MissyJane, CSIRMT, Pagan, Drvvh,
Kiki, and Erin, thank you so much! For those of you that said you wanted to
see more of Sara's reaction, I apologize. My original intent for this
chapter was to have more of both Sara and Nick's feelings on the subject,
but that didn't work out. But I promise- the next few chapters will get
into that more. Also, I want to thank LissaMarie, my wonderful beta. Thank
you so much, Lissa! And, last but not least, I want to thank my friends for
their input on this story. You guys are the greatest! So Erin, Danielle,
Kiki, Kat, and even Samby and Emily and Bree, who don't even watch CSI, but
have helped me so much with this story, this is dedicated to you. Mwah!
Also, I don't think I'll be able to update until Christmas, because all of
my teachers are trying to squeeze everything in before break, so I'm
swamped with work. But I promise that whenever I have time, I'll work on
this. Okay, that said, on with the story ~Emily
********************************
See chapter 1 for disclaimer
Sara pulled into the driveway and walked up to the apartment, struggling to carry three bags full of food. She fished her keys out of her purse and opened the door, nearly dropping one of the bags.
"Nick, could you give me a-" she cut herself off when she noticed the blonde woman on the couch.
"Oh, hi. Sorry, Nick. I didn't realize we had company." She looked at him quizzically, and it was only then that she noticed that he looked extremely shaken and his eyes were red and glistening.
"Have you been crying?" She placed the grocery bags on the floor and sat down next to him. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong," he said quickly, "Sara, this is Carrie, an- old friend. And Carrie, this is Sara, my, uh. my," What was Sara to him? Girlfriend? No, girlfriend was something you said in high school. Lover? No, lover made it sound like they were sneaking around. Partner? No, partner was too formal.
"My, uh, we live together."
"Oh. You're roommates?" she asked sincerely.
"Not exactly," he had failed to supply Carrie with the fact that Sara was a part of his life.
"Then, you two are in a relationship?" Carrie asked, hoping for a negative response, although she already knew the answer.
"Yeah. What is this? Twenty questions?" Sara snapped. She had no idea who this Carrie woman was, or what she did to upset Nick so much, even though he claimed he was fine.
Carrie ignored her. "Nick, you didn't mention her." She looked worried that this new element would cause a serious change of plans for her.
"I'm sorry. I guess it just slipped my mind that this would affect her, too." He couldn't believe how stupid he had been to forget Sara. He was still in a state of shock himself, and he wasn't thinking clearly.
"Would someone mind telling me what's going on? Nick?" Sara was becoming impatient.
Nick looked at her, and then at Carrie, before resting his eyes finally on Sara. "I, uh," He didn't know how to begin. Seeing his discomfort, Carrie spoke up.
"Actually, Nick, I think I'd better go, so you can talk to Sara alone. You need some time to let it all sink in anyway. Let me just get Lexi, and we'll be on our way." She stood up to retrieve her daughter from the kitchen, where they had sent her to color while Nick and Carrie talked things through. She already knew that Nick was her father, although she didn't really understand why he had never made an appearance in her life before. She didn't really need to understand that anyway. Not yet, at least. Losing one parent and gaining another all at the same time was traumatic enough, especially for a six year-old girl.
"Lexi? Who's Lexi?" Now Sara was very confused.
"Lexi is Carrie's daughter." How much he wanted to say his daughter. He had only met his child an hour before, but he was already becoming very attached to her. Although the premise of fatherhood was overwhelming, he was sure he could handle it--With Sara's help. He added mentally. He knew he would need her full support to make it all work out.
Carrie walked out of the kitchen with Lexi in tow. She grabbed their coats as Lexi told Nick good-bye. She climbed onto his lap and gave him a hug.
"Bye Daddy," she whispered in his ear. She looked up at him to see if he was okay with what she said. She was relieved when he smiled.
"Bye, sweetie." She gave him another hug, to which he held on to her tightly. He couldn't wait to get to know his daughter more.
Sara coughed, reminding Nick that she was in the room. He let go of Lexi and she bounced of to her mother.
"Next time we come over, do you think we could go to the park? I saw one when we were driving here, and it had a really big slide. And a sea-saw. Not many parks have sea-saws anymore. But I love them! I wish there were more sea-saws and less of those plastic jungle gym things. Those are stupid," she paused a moment to catch her breath, "So, do you think we could go?"
"Sure." Although she was very shy when they first arrived, once she warmed up to Nick, Lexi proved to be a very talkative young girl.
"Cool!" she grinned at him, "Bye!" With that she ran into the hallway where her mother was waiting.
"You mind telling me what that was all about?" Sara asked him as she brought two of the bags into the kitchen. Nick followed her, grabbing the remaining bag.
"I think you'd better sit down," he led her to one of the chairs at the table, and then sat down in the chair across from her.
"Where should I begin?"
"The beginning is always a good place to start," she took his hand in hers and gave him a reassuring smile, letting him know that she was ready for whatever he was going to say.
"Yeah, I guess it is," he took a breath and proceeded to tell her the story of how he came to know Carrie.
"I met Carrie in Dallas. Her dad was my boss at the police department there. I met her at the hospital one time when he got shot on the job. We all felt guilty about it, even thought it was none of our faults. We each took turns coming to visit him every day, so he wouldn't get lonely. Well, the day I went to see him also happened to be the day that Carrie went to see him. She had been away, so she came home to find out that her dad had been shot. I was sitting there, chatting with Dave, her dad, when Carrie came in, completely distraught. She felt like it was her fault, even though she wouldn't have been able to stop it. Anyway, we finally got her to calm down, and Dave asked me to take her out for coffee, so he could rest. We hit it off right away- we spent the whole day together. That was only the first of many dates. We fell in love, and eventually moved in together. We were so happy. Then one day she went to LA for the weekend with her friends. So me and a bunch of guys from work went to this bar for a night out. There was this waitress who kept hitting on me and buying be drinks. It started out as innocent flirting, but then one thing led to another, and before I knew it, I was taking her back to my place. I was carrying her into the bedroom, clothes flying everywhere, and when I opened the door, there was Carrie, waiting for me. She had come home early- as a surprise. I can still see the look on her face when I walked into that room. She looked so hurt, so ashamed. She just walked out the door, and I never saw her again. Not until today. I got a call the next morning from Dave. He said not to bother coming into work that day because I was fired. That was the only time I ever cheated on any woman in my life. And it cost me my relationship with her. I wish I could have blamed it on the booze, but I was fully aware of what I was doing. I might have been a little tipsy, but I still knew what was going on."
Sara looked at him, waiting for him to continue. Seeing that he was still lost in his memories, she took the initiative to probe a little.
"That's when you came to Vegas?"
"Yeah. I came at first just for a vacation, to get away from it all, but I decided to stay."
"So why was she here today?" she questioned.
"Carrie's sick. Really sick. She has cancer, and the doctors only gave her six months to live."
"Nicky, I'm so sorry." She squeezed his hand and moved her chair closer to his.
"Yeah, well, that's not it. After I left, Carrie began to piece her life back together. But then she found out that she was pregnant."
"It was your baby?" she asked, shocked.
"Yeah. She never told me, so I had no idea," He looked at Sara, hoping she would understand. He would never want her to think less of him because she thought he would abandon his child if he knew about it. But now she was deep in thought.
"Then, that means."
"Lexi is my daughter."
TBC.
A/N~ Please review! Let me know what you think, and what you want to see happen.
********************************
See chapter 1 for disclaimer
Sara pulled into the driveway and walked up to the apartment, struggling to carry three bags full of food. She fished her keys out of her purse and opened the door, nearly dropping one of the bags.
"Nick, could you give me a-" she cut herself off when she noticed the blonde woman on the couch.
"Oh, hi. Sorry, Nick. I didn't realize we had company." She looked at him quizzically, and it was only then that she noticed that he looked extremely shaken and his eyes were red and glistening.
"Have you been crying?" She placed the grocery bags on the floor and sat down next to him. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong," he said quickly, "Sara, this is Carrie, an- old friend. And Carrie, this is Sara, my, uh. my," What was Sara to him? Girlfriend? No, girlfriend was something you said in high school. Lover? No, lover made it sound like they were sneaking around. Partner? No, partner was too formal.
"My, uh, we live together."
"Oh. You're roommates?" she asked sincerely.
"Not exactly," he had failed to supply Carrie with the fact that Sara was a part of his life.
"Then, you two are in a relationship?" Carrie asked, hoping for a negative response, although she already knew the answer.
"Yeah. What is this? Twenty questions?" Sara snapped. She had no idea who this Carrie woman was, or what she did to upset Nick so much, even though he claimed he was fine.
Carrie ignored her. "Nick, you didn't mention her." She looked worried that this new element would cause a serious change of plans for her.
"I'm sorry. I guess it just slipped my mind that this would affect her, too." He couldn't believe how stupid he had been to forget Sara. He was still in a state of shock himself, and he wasn't thinking clearly.
"Would someone mind telling me what's going on? Nick?" Sara was becoming impatient.
Nick looked at her, and then at Carrie, before resting his eyes finally on Sara. "I, uh," He didn't know how to begin. Seeing his discomfort, Carrie spoke up.
"Actually, Nick, I think I'd better go, so you can talk to Sara alone. You need some time to let it all sink in anyway. Let me just get Lexi, and we'll be on our way." She stood up to retrieve her daughter from the kitchen, where they had sent her to color while Nick and Carrie talked things through. She already knew that Nick was her father, although she didn't really understand why he had never made an appearance in her life before. She didn't really need to understand that anyway. Not yet, at least. Losing one parent and gaining another all at the same time was traumatic enough, especially for a six year-old girl.
"Lexi? Who's Lexi?" Now Sara was very confused.
"Lexi is Carrie's daughter." How much he wanted to say his daughter. He had only met his child an hour before, but he was already becoming very attached to her. Although the premise of fatherhood was overwhelming, he was sure he could handle it--With Sara's help. He added mentally. He knew he would need her full support to make it all work out.
Carrie walked out of the kitchen with Lexi in tow. She grabbed their coats as Lexi told Nick good-bye. She climbed onto his lap and gave him a hug.
"Bye Daddy," she whispered in his ear. She looked up at him to see if he was okay with what she said. She was relieved when he smiled.
"Bye, sweetie." She gave him another hug, to which he held on to her tightly. He couldn't wait to get to know his daughter more.
Sara coughed, reminding Nick that she was in the room. He let go of Lexi and she bounced of to her mother.
"Next time we come over, do you think we could go to the park? I saw one when we were driving here, and it had a really big slide. And a sea-saw. Not many parks have sea-saws anymore. But I love them! I wish there were more sea-saws and less of those plastic jungle gym things. Those are stupid," she paused a moment to catch her breath, "So, do you think we could go?"
"Sure." Although she was very shy when they first arrived, once she warmed up to Nick, Lexi proved to be a very talkative young girl.
"Cool!" she grinned at him, "Bye!" With that she ran into the hallway where her mother was waiting.
"You mind telling me what that was all about?" Sara asked him as she brought two of the bags into the kitchen. Nick followed her, grabbing the remaining bag.
"I think you'd better sit down," he led her to one of the chairs at the table, and then sat down in the chair across from her.
"Where should I begin?"
"The beginning is always a good place to start," she took his hand in hers and gave him a reassuring smile, letting him know that she was ready for whatever he was going to say.
"Yeah, I guess it is," he took a breath and proceeded to tell her the story of how he came to know Carrie.
"I met Carrie in Dallas. Her dad was my boss at the police department there. I met her at the hospital one time when he got shot on the job. We all felt guilty about it, even thought it was none of our faults. We each took turns coming to visit him every day, so he wouldn't get lonely. Well, the day I went to see him also happened to be the day that Carrie went to see him. She had been away, so she came home to find out that her dad had been shot. I was sitting there, chatting with Dave, her dad, when Carrie came in, completely distraught. She felt like it was her fault, even though she wouldn't have been able to stop it. Anyway, we finally got her to calm down, and Dave asked me to take her out for coffee, so he could rest. We hit it off right away- we spent the whole day together. That was only the first of many dates. We fell in love, and eventually moved in together. We were so happy. Then one day she went to LA for the weekend with her friends. So me and a bunch of guys from work went to this bar for a night out. There was this waitress who kept hitting on me and buying be drinks. It started out as innocent flirting, but then one thing led to another, and before I knew it, I was taking her back to my place. I was carrying her into the bedroom, clothes flying everywhere, and when I opened the door, there was Carrie, waiting for me. She had come home early- as a surprise. I can still see the look on her face when I walked into that room. She looked so hurt, so ashamed. She just walked out the door, and I never saw her again. Not until today. I got a call the next morning from Dave. He said not to bother coming into work that day because I was fired. That was the only time I ever cheated on any woman in my life. And it cost me my relationship with her. I wish I could have blamed it on the booze, but I was fully aware of what I was doing. I might have been a little tipsy, but I still knew what was going on."
Sara looked at him, waiting for him to continue. Seeing that he was still lost in his memories, she took the initiative to probe a little.
"That's when you came to Vegas?"
"Yeah. I came at first just for a vacation, to get away from it all, but I decided to stay."
"So why was she here today?" she questioned.
"Carrie's sick. Really sick. She has cancer, and the doctors only gave her six months to live."
"Nicky, I'm so sorry." She squeezed his hand and moved her chair closer to his.
"Yeah, well, that's not it. After I left, Carrie began to piece her life back together. But then she found out that she was pregnant."
"It was your baby?" she asked, shocked.
"Yeah. She never told me, so I had no idea," He looked at Sara, hoping she would understand. He would never want her to think less of him because she thought he would abandon his child if he knew about it. But now she was deep in thought.
"Then, that means."
"Lexi is my daughter."
TBC.
A/N~ Please review! Let me know what you think, and what you want to see happen.