Title: Life and Death
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I'm not even going to pretend that they're mine anymore. It stirs up too much unwanted publicity and makes my parole officer angry. That wooden club really hurts, you know.
Author's Note: I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get this chapter out. I do finally have my laptop (yay!) but I've been suffering from severe writers' block, so even though I have the time to write, if you don't know WHAT to write, it doesn't help you much, does it? But I want to thank everyone who's reviewed my other stories. For Sweet Dreams: thank you to Meee, Kady Rilla Wholi, MissyJane, cRaZyPiXie, and Melindotty. For Bless the Children: thank you to Sara Sidle Stokes, MissyJane, and Trace-Element. For Reunions: thank you to Sara Sidle Stokes, A Bloom, Hannah7876, Becki, grasshopper, NLD-diva, Lynn, MissyJane, PeTiTeCaT, PassionatePapist, MsCassy, Annie Lune, Sadie, and everyone who reviewed by email (unfortunately I forgot to save them.brain fart). If there's anybody I forgot, I apologize.
And to everyone who has been asking me, your wish has come true.more evil Carrie! lol
~*~*~*~
Carrie carefully maneuvered her Jetta into the parking space at Charlie's Grill, a local Las Vegas restaurant. She entered the establishment and walked up to the hostess, a brunette in her late twenties.
"Hello, my name is Carrie Barnes. I'm meeting a Katie Jenkins?"
"Of course," she said, nodding, "Right this way; she's been waiting for you." Carrie followed the woman to a table where an impatient brunette was waiting.
"Jesus, Carrie. It's about time. What the hell took you so long?" Katie snapped, taking a sip of her martini.
"I had to drop off Lexi at Nick's. He's taking her to see Finding Nemo," she explained, draping her jacket over the back of the chair.
"So what's up?" Katie asked, getting right to the point.
"He's marrying the bitch," Carrie said in disgust.
"What?" Katie exclaimed, almost spitting out her drink, "When? I thought they were just dating?"
"So did I. I never realized they were all that serious. She's not his type, but apparently he proposed when they took Lexi and her friend to that carnival the other night. Lexi hasn't been able to stop talking about it," Carrie said, swirling her water.
"So what are we going to do now? We hadn't planned on her," Katie said.
"Why do think I asked you to meet me here?" Carrie asked, "I need your help."
Katie thought for a moment before speaking. "You said that she's crazy about Lexi, right?"
"Yeah."
"Then we'll work with that. Wait until after the wedding," Katie said, a plan formulating in her head.
"Kate, what if I don't have till after the wedding?" Carrie asked forlornly.
"Then we make sure they get married soon. And here's what we do."
Carrie smiled as Katie shared her plan.
~*~*~
Sara, Nick, and Lexi exited the theater. Lexi was bubbling with excitement and Nick and Sara were smiling at her antics.
"That movie was so good! 'I wish I could speak whale,'" Lexi quoted.
Sara laughed, "Dory was funny, wasn't she?"
"Can we go see it again?" Lexi pleaded, "Please, please, please?"
"You just saw it," Nick said, "Besides, there are other movies to see. You don't need to see the same one over and over."
"Okay," Lexi conceded, "But when it comes out on DVD we have to get it."
"You got it." They walked across the parking lot and reached the Tahoe. Nick opened the door for Lexi and she hopped in. As he was crossing to the other side of the truck he stopped when he saw Sara staring at her hand and smiling.
"What are you smiling about?" he asked, leaning against the side of the truck.
"It sparkles," she stated simply, twisting her wrist in the sunlight, "I still can't get over that I'm wearing it."
"Well I'm glad you approve," he said with a grin.
"Um, Daddy, Sara.can we go now? It's getting kind of hot in here," Lexi called from the backseat of the truck.
"Don't worry, munchkin, we're coming," Sara said, giving Nick a quick kiss before opening the passenger door and sliding into the seat. As Nick backed out of the parking space and pulled away from the theater, Sara turned around to talk to Lexi.
"So Lex," she began, "Your dad and I were talking, and we think we're going to get married next month, on the seventeenth. And we'd like you to be our flower girl. How does that sound?"
"Really? I can be your flower girl?" Sara nodded. "That's awesome! I promise, I'll be the best flower girl ever! Do I get a flower girl dress? A pink one? With roses? Oooh, can I pick out my own dress? I'm so excited!" she squealed, and Nick and Sara laughed.
"I'll tell you what, Lex," Nick said, looking at her through the rearview mirror, "You can get a pink dress, maybe with roses, and you can pick it out, but Sara has to approve it, okay?"
"Okay," she agreed.
"Catherine, Lindsey, and I are going dress shopping next week. Do you want to come?" Sara asked.
"Yeah!" Lexi exclaimed, "This is going to be so much fun! I love weddings, even if I don't like for-mal-ties, or whatever they're called." Sara laughed, recalling the day when Lexi was first introduced to the team.
"Am I going home, or to your house, Daddy?" Lexi asked, leaning forward in the seat so she was closer to Nick and Sara.
"I'm taking you home. Your mom said she wanted you with her. She misses you, I think. You've been spending a lot of time with us lately, and I think she's lonely, sitting in that tiny apartment all day with no one to entertain her," Nick said.
"I know. But soon I'm going to be spending much more time with you guys, right?" Lexi inquired.
"I hope so," Nick said, looking across the seat at Sara and taking her hand, smiling, "I really hope so."
~*~*~
After dropping off Lexi at the apartment Carrie had gotten as soon as she came to Vegas, Nick and Sara drove home, stopping quickly at their favorite Chinese restaurant to pick up dinner. They parked the Tahoe in its designated spot at the apartment complex and walked up the stairs to their door. Once inside, Sara checked the messages on the machine while Nick set up dinner. There was one message from Catherine, confirming their plans for dress shopping, and one from Nick's mother, congratulating them on their engagement. Sara smiled and erased both messages, making a mental note to call them both later.
She walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. Pouring it into the glass Nick had set down at her place, she sat down in the chair and waited for Nick to join her. She scooped some chicken and broccoli onto her plate as Nick took a seat, grabbing an egg roll.
"Nick, I was thinking: where are we going to live?" Sara asked, breaking the comfortable silence they had settled into.
"What do you mean?" he asked, taking a bite of his egg roll.
"Well, the apartment's great, but its so small. Even with the office for Lexi, we can't live here," Sara explained, taking a sip of her water.
"I know."
"So I was thinking that, uh, maybe we could."
"Get a house?" Nick offered causing a grin to spread across Sara's face. "I was thinking the same thing," Nick said.
"Thank you, Nick. And it doesn't have to be a big house. Whatever we can afford is fine," she said, beaming at the prospect of house hunting.
"We'll get a nice, big house; don't worry about what we can afford," Nick said, taking another bite of his egg roll.
"When do you want to start looking?" Sara asked, "We should look as soon as possible, so we can move in right after the wedding. That way Lexi can be settled when, well, you know."
Nick nodded. "I know. I'll call the real estate agency right after dinner and make an appointment to start looking tomorrow after work."
Sara stood up and brought her plate and glass to the sink, giving Nick a quick kiss on the way. "Thank you."
~*~*~
Nick parked the Tahoe in front Bob Manning's office. He had been highly recommended by Catherine, who had used him when she bought her house. He and Sara got out and entered the air-conditioned office. Mr. Manning quickly walked up to them.
"Mr. Stokes? Ms. Sidle?"
"Nick and Sara, please," Nick said, shaking Mr. Manning's hand.
"In that case please call me Bob. Let's get right to business. You gave me your price range on the phone, so I was able to narrow the search down to a few houses. We can go see them now, if you'd like."
"Sounds great," Sara said, and she and Nick followed Bob out the office door and into the parking lot. They got into the Tahoe and followed Bob in his Taurus to the first house. Sara gasped when she saw it.
"Oh my god, Nick. It's so beautiful!" The house was two stories with a gorgeous front and back lawn, and an in-ground pool in the back. The front was white brick and the back and sides were white siding, and from their vantage point in the Tahoe they could see a deck peeking out behind the house.
"Now we just have to see what the inside is like," Nick said, parking the truck and hopping out. Sara followed suit and they walked up to Bob, who held the key. The trio walked up to the front door and entered the home. Sara gasped in shock at what she saw.
"Oh my god." If the outside was heaven, the inside was hell. It smelled musty, and the carpet was moldy from water damage. Each room was worst than the one before it, with peeling paint and broken windows. The ceiling in one bedroom was cracked almost to the point where it couldn't be repaired. Sara cringed as they walked through each room.
"I think I've seen enough," Sara said, "Could we go see the rest of them?" Bob nodded and Sara led the way to the waiting vehicles. "I'm driving this time," she said to Nick, who rolled his eyes but got into the passenger seat. They drove to another house about twenty minutes away and Sara furiously shook her head as they pulled up.
"No, no, no. There is no way I'm living here. No way in hell," She said in disgust at the house. The exterior was the opposite of the previous house. It desperately needed to be resided, and the shutters were hanging by a thread. The windows were broken, the roof needed repair, and it would take forever and a day to pull out all the weeds in the front lawn.
"Come on, Sara. We came all this way so we might as well take a look at the inside," Nick pleaded, although he wasn't looking forward to going in, either.
"You can go. I'm staying here," she insisted, and crossed her arms for emphasis. Nick sighed and opened the door to the Tahoe, stepping out and heading up to Bob. Sara leaned forward in interest as a few inaudible words were shared and Nick headed back to the running truck.
"You win. We're going to the last house," Nick said, giving his fiancée a kiss as he sat down next her. Sara pulled out into the street, following the realtor to the final address.
"I'm scared. What's this one gonna be like?" Sara asked, cringing at the thought of another ramshackle of a house.
"They all can't be bad, Sara. Have a little faith in the guy; he said he was saving the best for last," Nick said, taking Sara's hand in a sign of reassurance.
She sighed audibly and shook her head. "Alright, alright.but if this one is crapola we find a new realtor ASAP." Nick merely grinned as they pulled up to a beautiful house with a sand color brick exterior and a black wrought iron fence.
"This is nice," Nick said as they exited the vehicle and walked up the luscious green lawn to the door.
"Yeah, it's beautiful from the outside, but then again so was that first one," Sara said, not wanting to get her hopes up, because inside she really adored the house. They walked into the beautiful front hallway and Sara sighed in content. "This is really gorgeous, Nick." He nodded his head in agreement and the couple followed Bob through the rest of the two-story house. Each room was more beautiful than the next, and all four bedrooms were huge, including the master bedroom, which was bigger than the living room. Attached was the master bath, with a Jacuzzi tub and stall shower, and beautiful marble finishing carved with intricate detail. When the tour concluded, Sara and Nick turned to each other and grinned.
"We'll take it," Nick said, squeezing Sara's hand.
Bob nodded and shook both Nick and Sara's hands. "I'll get all the papers ready and we'll make an offer tonight. I have no doubts that this will be yours in no time," he said with a smile, "Congratulations." The couple thanked him and walked out the door and down the street to the Tahoe hand in hand.
"You wanna take Lexi to see it tomorrow?" Sara asked as she slid into the drivers seat.
"Yeah. You think she'll like it?" he asked, getting into his own seat.
"I think she'll love it." Sara pulled away from the house and headed toward their apartment, grinning like a maniac.
"Why do I think that smile isn't just because of the house?" Nick teased, looking over at Sara.
"We're really going to be a family, aren't we?" Sara asked, turning to glance at Nick, who now shared her grin.
"Yep. It feels great, doesn't it?" Sara answered him with a huge smile.
~*~*~*~
A/N~ Bob Manning is an actual real estate agent in Las Vegas (I looked it up on Google ^_^) and I started to describe an actual house for sale in Vegas, but then I got bored. lol. And my friends and I took my little sister to see Finding Nemo last week, and I laughed so hard I thought I would pee my pants. It was such an awesome movie, so I had to put it in. lol. Please review.I know this chapter was a little rushed (at least I think it was) but I was tired of all those chapters where nothing happened, and I want to get this story finished so I can start working on the sequel and another story that I've had in my head for awhile. Please review: your feedback is what keeps me writing.
~Emily
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I'm not even going to pretend that they're mine anymore. It stirs up too much unwanted publicity and makes my parole officer angry. That wooden club really hurts, you know.
Author's Note: I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get this chapter out. I do finally have my laptop (yay!) but I've been suffering from severe writers' block, so even though I have the time to write, if you don't know WHAT to write, it doesn't help you much, does it? But I want to thank everyone who's reviewed my other stories. For Sweet Dreams: thank you to Meee, Kady Rilla Wholi, MissyJane, cRaZyPiXie, and Melindotty. For Bless the Children: thank you to Sara Sidle Stokes, MissyJane, and Trace-Element. For Reunions: thank you to Sara Sidle Stokes, A Bloom, Hannah7876, Becki, grasshopper, NLD-diva, Lynn, MissyJane, PeTiTeCaT, PassionatePapist, MsCassy, Annie Lune, Sadie, and everyone who reviewed by email (unfortunately I forgot to save them.brain fart). If there's anybody I forgot, I apologize.
And to everyone who has been asking me, your wish has come true.more evil Carrie! lol
~*~*~*~
Carrie carefully maneuvered her Jetta into the parking space at Charlie's Grill, a local Las Vegas restaurant. She entered the establishment and walked up to the hostess, a brunette in her late twenties.
"Hello, my name is Carrie Barnes. I'm meeting a Katie Jenkins?"
"Of course," she said, nodding, "Right this way; she's been waiting for you." Carrie followed the woman to a table where an impatient brunette was waiting.
"Jesus, Carrie. It's about time. What the hell took you so long?" Katie snapped, taking a sip of her martini.
"I had to drop off Lexi at Nick's. He's taking her to see Finding Nemo," she explained, draping her jacket over the back of the chair.
"So what's up?" Katie asked, getting right to the point.
"He's marrying the bitch," Carrie said in disgust.
"What?" Katie exclaimed, almost spitting out her drink, "When? I thought they were just dating?"
"So did I. I never realized they were all that serious. She's not his type, but apparently he proposed when they took Lexi and her friend to that carnival the other night. Lexi hasn't been able to stop talking about it," Carrie said, swirling her water.
"So what are we going to do now? We hadn't planned on her," Katie said.
"Why do think I asked you to meet me here?" Carrie asked, "I need your help."
Katie thought for a moment before speaking. "You said that she's crazy about Lexi, right?"
"Yeah."
"Then we'll work with that. Wait until after the wedding," Katie said, a plan formulating in her head.
"Kate, what if I don't have till after the wedding?" Carrie asked forlornly.
"Then we make sure they get married soon. And here's what we do."
Carrie smiled as Katie shared her plan.
~*~*~
Sara, Nick, and Lexi exited the theater. Lexi was bubbling with excitement and Nick and Sara were smiling at her antics.
"That movie was so good! 'I wish I could speak whale,'" Lexi quoted.
Sara laughed, "Dory was funny, wasn't she?"
"Can we go see it again?" Lexi pleaded, "Please, please, please?"
"You just saw it," Nick said, "Besides, there are other movies to see. You don't need to see the same one over and over."
"Okay," Lexi conceded, "But when it comes out on DVD we have to get it."
"You got it." They walked across the parking lot and reached the Tahoe. Nick opened the door for Lexi and she hopped in. As he was crossing to the other side of the truck he stopped when he saw Sara staring at her hand and smiling.
"What are you smiling about?" he asked, leaning against the side of the truck.
"It sparkles," she stated simply, twisting her wrist in the sunlight, "I still can't get over that I'm wearing it."
"Well I'm glad you approve," he said with a grin.
"Um, Daddy, Sara.can we go now? It's getting kind of hot in here," Lexi called from the backseat of the truck.
"Don't worry, munchkin, we're coming," Sara said, giving Nick a quick kiss before opening the passenger door and sliding into the seat. As Nick backed out of the parking space and pulled away from the theater, Sara turned around to talk to Lexi.
"So Lex," she began, "Your dad and I were talking, and we think we're going to get married next month, on the seventeenth. And we'd like you to be our flower girl. How does that sound?"
"Really? I can be your flower girl?" Sara nodded. "That's awesome! I promise, I'll be the best flower girl ever! Do I get a flower girl dress? A pink one? With roses? Oooh, can I pick out my own dress? I'm so excited!" she squealed, and Nick and Sara laughed.
"I'll tell you what, Lex," Nick said, looking at her through the rearview mirror, "You can get a pink dress, maybe with roses, and you can pick it out, but Sara has to approve it, okay?"
"Okay," she agreed.
"Catherine, Lindsey, and I are going dress shopping next week. Do you want to come?" Sara asked.
"Yeah!" Lexi exclaimed, "This is going to be so much fun! I love weddings, even if I don't like for-mal-ties, or whatever they're called." Sara laughed, recalling the day when Lexi was first introduced to the team.
"Am I going home, or to your house, Daddy?" Lexi asked, leaning forward in the seat so she was closer to Nick and Sara.
"I'm taking you home. Your mom said she wanted you with her. She misses you, I think. You've been spending a lot of time with us lately, and I think she's lonely, sitting in that tiny apartment all day with no one to entertain her," Nick said.
"I know. But soon I'm going to be spending much more time with you guys, right?" Lexi inquired.
"I hope so," Nick said, looking across the seat at Sara and taking her hand, smiling, "I really hope so."
~*~*~
After dropping off Lexi at the apartment Carrie had gotten as soon as she came to Vegas, Nick and Sara drove home, stopping quickly at their favorite Chinese restaurant to pick up dinner. They parked the Tahoe in its designated spot at the apartment complex and walked up the stairs to their door. Once inside, Sara checked the messages on the machine while Nick set up dinner. There was one message from Catherine, confirming their plans for dress shopping, and one from Nick's mother, congratulating them on their engagement. Sara smiled and erased both messages, making a mental note to call them both later.
She walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. Pouring it into the glass Nick had set down at her place, she sat down in the chair and waited for Nick to join her. She scooped some chicken and broccoli onto her plate as Nick took a seat, grabbing an egg roll.
"Nick, I was thinking: where are we going to live?" Sara asked, breaking the comfortable silence they had settled into.
"What do you mean?" he asked, taking a bite of his egg roll.
"Well, the apartment's great, but its so small. Even with the office for Lexi, we can't live here," Sara explained, taking a sip of her water.
"I know."
"So I was thinking that, uh, maybe we could."
"Get a house?" Nick offered causing a grin to spread across Sara's face. "I was thinking the same thing," Nick said.
"Thank you, Nick. And it doesn't have to be a big house. Whatever we can afford is fine," she said, beaming at the prospect of house hunting.
"We'll get a nice, big house; don't worry about what we can afford," Nick said, taking another bite of his egg roll.
"When do you want to start looking?" Sara asked, "We should look as soon as possible, so we can move in right after the wedding. That way Lexi can be settled when, well, you know."
Nick nodded. "I know. I'll call the real estate agency right after dinner and make an appointment to start looking tomorrow after work."
Sara stood up and brought her plate and glass to the sink, giving Nick a quick kiss on the way. "Thank you."
~*~*~
Nick parked the Tahoe in front Bob Manning's office. He had been highly recommended by Catherine, who had used him when she bought her house. He and Sara got out and entered the air-conditioned office. Mr. Manning quickly walked up to them.
"Mr. Stokes? Ms. Sidle?"
"Nick and Sara, please," Nick said, shaking Mr. Manning's hand.
"In that case please call me Bob. Let's get right to business. You gave me your price range on the phone, so I was able to narrow the search down to a few houses. We can go see them now, if you'd like."
"Sounds great," Sara said, and she and Nick followed Bob out the office door and into the parking lot. They got into the Tahoe and followed Bob in his Taurus to the first house. Sara gasped when she saw it.
"Oh my god, Nick. It's so beautiful!" The house was two stories with a gorgeous front and back lawn, and an in-ground pool in the back. The front was white brick and the back and sides were white siding, and from their vantage point in the Tahoe they could see a deck peeking out behind the house.
"Now we just have to see what the inside is like," Nick said, parking the truck and hopping out. Sara followed suit and they walked up to Bob, who held the key. The trio walked up to the front door and entered the home. Sara gasped in shock at what she saw.
"Oh my god." If the outside was heaven, the inside was hell. It smelled musty, and the carpet was moldy from water damage. Each room was worst than the one before it, with peeling paint and broken windows. The ceiling in one bedroom was cracked almost to the point where it couldn't be repaired. Sara cringed as they walked through each room.
"I think I've seen enough," Sara said, "Could we go see the rest of them?" Bob nodded and Sara led the way to the waiting vehicles. "I'm driving this time," she said to Nick, who rolled his eyes but got into the passenger seat. They drove to another house about twenty minutes away and Sara furiously shook her head as they pulled up.
"No, no, no. There is no way I'm living here. No way in hell," She said in disgust at the house. The exterior was the opposite of the previous house. It desperately needed to be resided, and the shutters were hanging by a thread. The windows were broken, the roof needed repair, and it would take forever and a day to pull out all the weeds in the front lawn.
"Come on, Sara. We came all this way so we might as well take a look at the inside," Nick pleaded, although he wasn't looking forward to going in, either.
"You can go. I'm staying here," she insisted, and crossed her arms for emphasis. Nick sighed and opened the door to the Tahoe, stepping out and heading up to Bob. Sara leaned forward in interest as a few inaudible words were shared and Nick headed back to the running truck.
"You win. We're going to the last house," Nick said, giving his fiancée a kiss as he sat down next her. Sara pulled out into the street, following the realtor to the final address.
"I'm scared. What's this one gonna be like?" Sara asked, cringing at the thought of another ramshackle of a house.
"They all can't be bad, Sara. Have a little faith in the guy; he said he was saving the best for last," Nick said, taking Sara's hand in a sign of reassurance.
She sighed audibly and shook her head. "Alright, alright.but if this one is crapola we find a new realtor ASAP." Nick merely grinned as they pulled up to a beautiful house with a sand color brick exterior and a black wrought iron fence.
"This is nice," Nick said as they exited the vehicle and walked up the luscious green lawn to the door.
"Yeah, it's beautiful from the outside, but then again so was that first one," Sara said, not wanting to get her hopes up, because inside she really adored the house. They walked into the beautiful front hallway and Sara sighed in content. "This is really gorgeous, Nick." He nodded his head in agreement and the couple followed Bob through the rest of the two-story house. Each room was more beautiful than the next, and all four bedrooms were huge, including the master bedroom, which was bigger than the living room. Attached was the master bath, with a Jacuzzi tub and stall shower, and beautiful marble finishing carved with intricate detail. When the tour concluded, Sara and Nick turned to each other and grinned.
"We'll take it," Nick said, squeezing Sara's hand.
Bob nodded and shook both Nick and Sara's hands. "I'll get all the papers ready and we'll make an offer tonight. I have no doubts that this will be yours in no time," he said with a smile, "Congratulations." The couple thanked him and walked out the door and down the street to the Tahoe hand in hand.
"You wanna take Lexi to see it tomorrow?" Sara asked as she slid into the drivers seat.
"Yeah. You think she'll like it?" he asked, getting into his own seat.
"I think she'll love it." Sara pulled away from the house and headed toward their apartment, grinning like a maniac.
"Why do I think that smile isn't just because of the house?" Nick teased, looking over at Sara.
"We're really going to be a family, aren't we?" Sara asked, turning to glance at Nick, who now shared her grin.
"Yep. It feels great, doesn't it?" Sara answered him with a huge smile.
~*~*~*~
A/N~ Bob Manning is an actual real estate agent in Las Vegas (I looked it up on Google ^_^) and I started to describe an actual house for sale in Vegas, but then I got bored. lol. And my friends and I took my little sister to see Finding Nemo last week, and I laughed so hard I thought I would pee my pants. It was such an awesome movie, so I had to put it in. lol. Please review.I know this chapter was a little rushed (at least I think it was) but I was tired of all those chapters where nothing happened, and I want to get this story finished so I can start working on the sequel and another story that I've had in my head for awhile. Please review: your feedback is what keeps me writing.
~Emily