Title: Life and Death

Chapter 6: Just a Walk in the Park

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: Yes, that's right, they're MINE! ALL MINE!!! ::motions to CBS executives tied up in corner to be quiet::: Please ignore the cries from those gentleman in the corner. They don't know what they're talking about. CSI doesn't belong to them; it belongs to ME! They're all nuts. Yeah, that's it, nuts…

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Carrie Barnes looked down at her sleeping daughter and brushed a strand of short blonde hair off her face. She looked so angelic and peaceful when she slept. After pulling the blankets back over her and placing Nala, Lexi's rag doll, who had mysteriously made her way to the floor, by her side, Carrie made her way out of the room and quietly closed the door behind her, careful not to wake Lexi.

She sat down at the desk that she had set up in the living room and looked up at a photograph hanging on the wall. She remembered the day the photo had been taken. She and Lexi had gone to the park on Lexi's sixth birthday to celebrate. Carrie was seated on the swing, with Lexi on her lap. Carrie was looking down at Lexi, and Lexi was looking up at her mother. Both were laughing, and didn't notice the photographer who snapped the photo. 'Too good of a shot to pass up,' he had said, and took down their address so he could send them the picture when he had it developed. Carrie never expected to hear from him, but a few days later, there it was in her mailbox- a beautiful 8 by 10 portrait of mother and daughter. It was her favorite.

Now, looking at the photo, she wondered if she would be there to see Lexi's seventh birthday. It was only a few months away, and she knew that time was running out for her. Everything had to be settled before she left the earth, and it was up to her to see to it that things went as planned, for both her and Lexi. Picking up the phone, she dialed Nick's number.

~*~*~

Nick rolled over on his side and reached for the woman asleep next to him. She opened her eyes and smiled.

"Hey," she said softly.

"Hey yourself, sleeping beauty," he said, reaching in for a kiss, "'Morning"

"Umm," she murmured, returning the kiss, "'morning."

"Damn," Nick cursed as the phone rang, "Hold that thought."

"Hello?" he said, irritated.

"Nick? It's Carrie. Did I wake you up? I'm sorry," she apologized.

"No, Carrie, it's fine. I was already up," he looked over at Sara and smiled apologetically. 'I'm going back to sleep' she mouthed to him, and rolled back over so that her back was to Nick.

"What's up?" he asked, sinking back into the pillows, realizing his chances for a romantic morning had been shattered.

"Uh, actually, I was wondering if you talked to Sara yet."

"Yeah, I did."

"Oh." A pause. "Well, what happened?"

"What do you think happened? She freaked, but it's okay now. We worked things out." He brought Sara's hand to his lips and kissed it, and she turned back around to face him, giving him a small smile.

"Well, that's good. Uh, Lexi couldn't stop talking about that playground on the ride home. It's kind of a passion of hers- playgrounds and parks. Ever since she was little, she's been crazy about them," she paused, realizing she was rambling. Since when had talking to Nick become hard? 'Since you broke up,' he inner voice told her. "Uh, so I was wondering if you and Sara wanted to come with us today? To the park, I mean."

"Yeah, hold on, let me just ask Sara."

"Ask me what?" she queried, sitting up.

"Carrie wants us to go to the park today to spend some time getting to know Lexi."

"Sure. The sooner we get to know her, the sooner we get her tested." She said jokingly.

"Sara…" he warned.

"I'm kidding, Nicky," she kissed him before getting up out of bed and heading for the shower, "tell her we'd love to."

"Carrie? We'd love to," he said.

"Great. So we'll see you at one?" she asked.

"Yeah. Bye." He hung up the phone and, throwing off the covers, jumped out of bed to join Sara.

~*~*~

Nick and Sara drove to the playground and parked across the street.

"You ready?" Nick asked, looking over at Sara.

"Yeah. I'll be fine."

"If you feel uncomfortable, just tell me and-"

"Nick," she cut him off. "I said I'll be fine." She gave him a reassuring smile and the couple walked out of the Tahoe and across the street. Even before they arrived at the gate, they could hear Lexi's squeals.

"Mommy, Mommy! They're here!" The little girl ran across the grass to meet Nick and Sara, leaving her mother to slowly catch up.

"Hey, Lexi!" Nick bent down to scoop Lexi up in a hug. "You left these at my house," he said, handing her the pictures she had drawn the day before.

"Thanks!" she exclaimed, and took one out of the middle of the pile. "This is for you. It's a picture of Nala, my dolly. Poppy bought it for me when I was a baby, but he's dead now," she said sadly, before brightening up again. "I want you to have this one, because Mommy said you want to know all about me, so first you have to learn about Nala. Mommy made me leave her home, 'cuz she said she would get dirty. So you get to meet her when you come and visit us. You're going to come and visit us, right? 'Cuz I have lots of other toys for you to meet, and they might not all fit in the car, and then you'll never get to meet them…" The little girl talked on and on as she led her father across the playground to the swings.

"Hi. We kind of got off to a bad start yesterday. I'm Sara Sidle." She extended her hand and Carrie shook it.

"Carrie Barnes. It's nice to meet you. I agree, yesterday was a little crazy. Do you mind if we sit down? I've been trying to keep up with Lexi all morning. She's so excited to get to know Nick. She's really never had a father figure in her life."

"What about, what did she call him, 'Poppy?'" Sara asked as the two made their way to a wooden park bench.

"Oh. That's my father. He died when Lexi was a year old. He loved her so much; she was his only grandchild. And my mother died when I was fifteen, so for my whole life it was just dad and me. Now it's just me and Lexi," she finished sadly.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked."

"Don't be. You have a right to ask questions. If you don't mind my asking, how do you feel about all of this? I know it must be a shock, and you have every right to be angry. Hell, I'd be pretty upset too if I were in your shoes."

"I'm not really upset. Well, not anymore. Nick and I talked things through last night, and we came to a mutual agreement to take things slow until we get to know Lexi more. Until then, I'm not passing judgment," Sara stated, and left it at that. "If you don't mind my asking, what exactly... you know...what kind of cancer do you have?"

"Of course I don't mind you asking. I guess I should have told you that. 'Cancer' is so vague. I have breast cancer."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay. The thing I regret the most is that we didn't catch it until it was in the later stages. I blame myself for that. I never had mammograms or anything like that, mainly because I thought I didn't need them. I thought I was invincible. Not to mention that my family doesn't have a history of breast cancer, so I thought I didn't have to worry. Stupid, stupid, stupid…" She was talking to herself now, and Sara felt for this woman whose life was being torn from her just because she thought that nothing could ever happen to her. She saw this every day. People who lived in a bubble and thought nothing bad would ever happen to them. Then they ended up dead.

An awkward silence settled around the two, and Sara attempted to break it, "He's so good with her," she commented, watching Nick chase Lexi around the playground, and hearing her joyful screams and giggles when he scooped her off the ground.

"Yes, he is," Carrie said. "He'll make a good dad."

"I know he will," Sara said, and rose when she saw Nick and Lexi walking toward the bench where she and Carrie were sitting. "You two look like you're having fun."

"We are!" Lexi exclaimed. "Who are you, again?"

Sara laughed, "I'm Sara."

"Oh yeah. You were at my daddy's house yesterday, right? I saw you there. Are you my daddy's girlfriend? That's what mommy said. Mommy said-"

"Okay, young lady. Take a breath. You're making everyone's head spin with all that talking," Carrie admonished.

Lexi took a deep breath, "Mommy said that you live with my daddy. But she said you aren't married. Why don't you want to marry my daddy? He's really fun-"

"O-kay! That's enough," Carrie said, embarrassed. "Lexi, I think we've had enough fun for one day, and Mommy's getting tired, so its time to go home. Tell Daddy and Sara good-bye."

"Bye Daddy!" she gave him a big hug. "Next time, remember to bring Lindsay, so we can go on the seesaw."

"Lindsay?" Carrie questioned.

Sara answered her, "Lindsay is our friend Catherine's daughter. She's only a little bit older than Lexi. We work with Catherine."

"Yeah. I told Lexi that next time we come to the park we could maybe bring Lindsay, so she could go on the seesaw," Nick explained. "I hope that's not a problem."

"Why would it be a problem? If Catherine and Lindsay are a part of your life, they're going to be a part of Lexi's life, so she should get to know them as soon as possible. Come on Lexi, get your things. And don't forget to say good-bye to Sara."

Lexi grabbed her lightweight jacket and the pictures that Nick had brought her and walked up to Sara. "Bye Sara!" she motioned to Sara to bend down, "Next time we can talk. But don't tell Mommy, 'cuz she'll get mad," she whispered into her ear.

Sara smiled. "My lips are sealed." She made a gesture zipping her lips and throwing away the key. "Bye sweetie." Sara stood up and walked over to Nick as Carrie and Lexi exited the park and walked down the street where Carrie's car was waiting.

"She's cute," Sara said.

"I know; she's adorable. And she has so much energy- it's amazing. I've never seen someone talk as much as she does." He took her hand and they walked out of the park and across the street to the Tahoe.

"You're really good with her."

"Well, I've had a lot of experience."

Sara stopped in her tracks. "Please, don't tell me you've got another kid somewhere that I don't know about. One I can handle. Two? That's a little much."

Nick laughed. "I meant my nieces and nephews. I'm their favorite uncle, you know."

"I'm sure," she said teasingly.

"What? I am," he defended himself.

"Come on, Uncle Nicky. We've got to be at work in an hour."

"Okay." He led her to the truck and stopped at the door. "Thank you. For coming today, I mean. It meant a lot to me."

"Nick, you have to remember that this isn't all about you. Lexi's going to be just as much a part of my life as she is yours. We're in this together."

"I love you." He leaned in to kiss her.

She wrapped her arms around his neck. "I love you, too."

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A/N~ Not too many reviews. ~tear~ Are you guys still enjoying this? I promise- it's going to get much better. It's just taking longer than I thought to get the storyline going. I don't know what else I can offer you. The guys worked last time…hmmm… CHOCOLATE! Yes, that's it. Chocolate. It's the next best thing to George, Gary, and Eric. So pretty please, with George, Gary, Eric, and CHOCOLATE on top review? Pleeeeeeze???

Also~ I don't know when I'll have chapter 7 up. I would have liked to had it at least started by now, but there was a death in the family and I've been preoccupied with that lately. But I'll try to have it up by next weekend sometime. I promise.

Also, Also~ I know I promised that the team would meet Lexi in this chapter, but things didn't work out like that. But that'll happen in the next chapter. I promise. (How're you liking all these empty promises? Huh? :-D) But I won't write it if you don't review. *hint, hint* I think that's about it.

~Emily