Title: Life and Death
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: My therapist says I'm in denial and I have to face the facts. So, no, I DO NOT OWN CSI! There, now I can move on and put my obsession with CSI behind me . . . riiiiiiight. . . like that's ever gonna happen.
Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who reviewed. You guys are the best. Also, I just want to say that I whole-heartedly support Brianna. Go read her story, Truths, because it's awesome.
Dedication: This is for Jacqueline, my ever-faithful beta. You rock, Jacqueline.
~*~*~*~
Carrie pulled her Jetta in front of the address Nick had given her and turned off the engine.
"Why are we stopping here, Mommy?" Lexi called out from the back seat.
"I don't know, sweetie. Your daddy asked me to drop you off here, but I don't know why," Carrie explained, "Why don't we wait outside for them?" Lexi nodded and unbuckled her seatbelt while Carrie got out and opened the door for her daughter. Carrie took Lexi's hand and they walked across the street. A minute later the Tahoe pulled up in front of the house.
"You found it," Nick called, hopping out of the truck, Sara close behind him. Carrie cringed when she saw the engagement ring sparking on Sara's ring finger.
"Yep. You wanna tell me why I'm dropping her off here today?" Carrie asked, pushing her sunglasses to the top of her head.
"This is our new house," Nick said, laughing at both Barnes girls' shocked expressions.
"You bought a house?" Carrie exclaimed.
"You bought a house!" Lexi squealed at the same time.
"Yeah. So what do you think, Lex? Do you like it?" Sara asked.
"I love it!" Lexi screamed, hopping up and down, "Can we see the inside?"
"Of course," Sara said, dangling the keys in front of her. Lexi grinned and Sara led the way up to the door. As soon as she put the key in the lock and turned the knob, Lexi was running into the house. The little girl 'oooh'ed and 'ahhh'ed with each room, and stopped short when she came to one of the bedrooms.
"Can I have this one?" she asked tentatively, taking in the beautiful bedroom with awe. It was a soft yellow color with daisies hand-painted along the bottom, and the ceiling was sponge-painted so that it looked as if clouds were floating above.
"You can have any room you want, except our bedroom," Nick said, bending down next to Lexi, who was still scanning the room with her eyes.
"I want this one," she said softly, almost in a whisper, "It's the most beautiful room I've ever seen."
"Then it's yours," Sara said, crouching down to join her fiancé and soon-to- be stepdaughter.
Carrie looked in disgust at the trio. Her days left with Lexi were slowly dwindling, and her daughter always wanted to spend more time with Nick and Sara than with her own mother. It was a step forward in Katie's plan, but a step behind in Carrie's own plan to spend her remaining days with her daughter.
"Lexi, I have to go now, okay, sweetie? Mommy has to meet with her lawyer," Carrie said, "I'll be back to pick you up later."
Lexi ran up to her mother and gave her a hug. "Bye, mommy!"
"Bye, Lex. I love you." Carrie kissed her daughter's forehead and turned to Nick and Sara. "Should I pick her up here or at the apartment?"
"At the apartment. We're only staying here for a little while," Sara said, "We have to go over some things with the realtor."
Carrie nodded. "See you later, then." After giving Lexi another quick kiss she headed down the stairs and out the door.
"I was thinking that later you and me could go to a baseball game, Lex. What do you think?" Nick asked his daughter as they exited the bedroom and made their way down the stairs.
"Really? I love baseball! One time Mommy took me to a game, and we had so much fun! We ate hot dogs and popcorn and cotton candy and it was so much fun. We were going to go to another one but then Mommy got sick," she said sadly, her bright eyes beginning to lose their sparkle.
"Well today's your lucky day, then," Sara said with a smile, trying to cheer the little girl up.
"Are you coming, Sara?" Lexi asked, looking up at the brunette.
"Nope," Sara said with a smile. "Baseball's not really my thing. Besides, I have to work."
"Oh. So it's just you and me, Daddy?" Lexi asked.
"Yep. Just you and me."
~*~*~
Sara dumped her dinner dish in the sink and wiped down the kitchen table. She went into the bedroom to grab her jacket when the sound of the doorbell interrupted her.
Walking out of the bedroom she opened the door and was surprised to see Carrie at the doorstep.
"Carrie. Hi," Sara said uncomfortably, "You're early."
"I know, but my doctor's appointment ended early so I thought I'd swing by and pick up Lexi and give you and Nick some time to yourselves," Carrie explained as she walked past Sara into the apartment, "Congratulations on your engagement, by the way."
"Uh, thanks," Sara said slowly, following the blonde woman, who had started walking through the hallway and examining the pictures on the walls, "I thought you said you were meeting your lawyer?"
"I-I was. I mean I did," Carrie stammered.
"But you just said." Sara commented, letting her sentence trail.
Carrie ignored her and stopped in front of a picture on the wall, and Sara crept up behind her to see which one she was looking at. She smiled when she saw which one had caught the other woman's attention. It was a picture taken by Catherine the night of the carnival. The night Nick proposed.
After they had gotten off the Ferris Wheel Catherine insisted on buying everyone ice cream to celebrate, and had snapped a candid shot of Nick and Sara sitting on a park bench, Lexi snuggled between them, looking up at the fireworks that were still blazing across the night sky. All three had chocolate ice cream cones in hand, and Lexi was leaning against Nick's shoulder, her tired eyes drooping. When Catherine presented it to them two days later, Sara fell in love with it and immediately put it in a frame.
It was the first picture of their family.
Sara glanced over at Carrie, whose lips were set in a tight line and eyes were clouded over with anger. "Where's my daughter?" she asked stonily, and Sara noted the emphasis on the word 'my'.
"Nick took her to the baseball game. He has the night off," Sara explained, eyeing Carrie curiously, "We weren't expecting you to be here so early."
Carrie shook her head slightly and gave Sara a smile, her mood brightening significantly. "Right. Sorry." She walked toward the couch and Sara followed behind her. "Actually I'm glad they're not here. I wanted to talk to you alone."
"Okay," Sara said, sitting on the couch beside Carrie.
"It's about the wedding," Carrie said, "I don't want to tell you how to plan your wedding, but I think it'll be easier on Lexi if you have it soon."
Sara nodded. "We were thinking the same thing. We're planning on getting married as soon as possible, probably next month," Sara explained, "And I asked Lexi to be my flower girl. We were planning to go dress shopping tomorrow when she's here. I hope that's not a problem."
"Of course not," Carrie said with a smile, "She hasn't been able to stop talking about it."
"I'm glad."
"Actually, though," Carrie started, "What I really wanted to talk to you about was after the wedding."
Sara looked at her inquisitively. "What do you mean?"
"I mean when this is all over. With Lexi. Are you planning on legally adopting her?" Carrie asked softly.
Sara was surprised by Carrie's bluntness. "I-I don't know. We hadn't really thought that far ahead."
"Well I think it would be best for everyone involved if you started thinking about it," Carrie said, rising from her seat, "Especially Lexi. I want to make sure she's taken care of before I leave. My lawyer and I have been discussing our options and we think it would be best if you two legally adopt Lexi before I'm gone. That way I can be sure that you'll have custody. You know how courts are when it comes to cases like these."
Sara nodded and led her to the door. "I'll talk to Nick later. This is all just so overwhelming. I'm still trying to sort it all out in my head."
"I understand," Carrie said, "Could you have Nick drop her off when they get home? I'm starting to feel a little tired."
"Sure," Sara said as she opened the door, "I just have one question."
"Shoot."
"If Nick is Lexi's biological father, we really don't have anything to worry about, do we?" Carrie looked her in the eye and turned on her heel, heading down the staircase where her Jetta was waiting.
~*~*~
Nick opened the door to the apartment and Lexi rushed in, heading towards the kitchen. "Sara! Sara!"
"She's at work, shortcake," Nick said, placing Lexi's souvenir inflatable bat on the table.
"Oh. When will she get back?" the young girl inquired.
"Not till the morning, sweetie," Nick answered. He walked further into the kitchen and saw the blinking light of the answering machine on the counter. Pressing the play button, he smiled when he heard Sara's familiar voice.
"Hey, Nick. It's me. Carrie stopped by earlier and asked if you could drop off Lexi when you guys get home. We have to talk later. Hope you had fun at the game. Love you."
"Okay, Lex," Nick called, "Time to go."
"But I wanted to see Sara," the six-year-old whined.
"Sorry, sweetie. You can see her tomorrow," Nick said, "Come on."
Lexi grumbled and grabbed her things, following Nick out the door and down the steps to the Tahoe. She hopped into the backseat and Nick began the fifteen-minute drive to Carrie's apartment. By the time he pulled up in front of the complex the little girl was fast asleep, her head resting against the windshield. Nick smiled and gently picked up his sleeping daughter.
~*~*~
When Nick returned to the apartment he made himself a cup of coffee and sunk into the plush sofa while he waited for Sara. He absently flipped through the channels and sighed in frustration when nothing was on. Walking across the apartment to the bedroom, he grabbed the black cordless phone and dialed Sara's familiar cell number.
"Sidle."
"Hey gorgeous," Nick said with a smile as he sat on the edge of the bed, "Where are you?"
"In the break room, trying to sneak some of Greg's Hawaiian Blend before he can see me," she said. Nick heard Greg yelling at her in the background and laughed. "I told him he could either be a big boy and share or explain to my big bad fiancé why I have to go through caffeine withdrawal," Sara laughed, "Needless to say he left me alone."
"It's nice to know I'm good for something," Nick teased, "Are you working on a case?"
"Nope," Sara said, "Crime seems to have taken a break tonight. The only call we got was a routine break-in at a liquor store, and Warrick and Cath are already on it. I probably could have gone to the game with you."
"I wish you could have. Lexi missed you," Nick said, "She kept asking why you couldn't come, and when we got back home the first thing she did was go look for you."
"You gotta love her," Sara said with a smile, "She's too cute."
"She's really attached to you, Sar," Nick said.
"I know. While we're on the subject, there's something I wanted to talk to you about," Sara began, "I think we should get her tested, Nick. Soon. Carrie came by before, and I got some really bad vibes. When she was looking at that picture from the carnival she got really angry, but the next minute she was as pleasant as could be. And you know how she told us she had to meet with her lawyer?"
"Yeah. About her will, right?"
"Exactly. But when she showed up she said she was at the doctor's. When I asked her about it she never answered my question, and then she changed the subject. And she was very insistent that we adopt Lexi right away. Something's going on, Nick. And we need to find out what it is," Sara said, bringing her cup of coffee to the leather couch.
"But Carrie's always been like that. That's what I was trying to tell you before. She gets weird sometimes, but that doesn't mean that she's lying. I mean, look at it from her perspective. She knows that she only has a few months left, and she wants to make sure her daughter is taken care of before she's gone. You would be a little insistent, too," Nick rationalized.
"I know, but I just have this gut feeling that something's going on. Something that goes beyond Lexi, and I want to know what it is," Sara said, "And the first step in figuring that out is to have her tested."
"Sara."
"Nick just trust me on this, okay? We both agreed we would wait to get her tested, and we did. It's been almost two months now. I love Lexi as much as you do, but if we're going to keep her, we're going to need proof that she's yours," Sara insisted, "Please, Nick."
Nick sighed and raked a hand through his short brown hair. "Okay. Tomorrow."
"And we won't tell Carrie?" Sara said.
"We won't tell Carrie."
~*~*~
A/N~ Next chapter: Wedding dress shopping, more "Evil Carrie", and of course, Nick and Lexi's paternity test. (Tell me you weren't waiting for that the entire story.come one, just try :-D) But you know what to do if you want it, you have to click on that little purple button down there and tell me what you think!!
~Emily
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: My therapist says I'm in denial and I have to face the facts. So, no, I DO NOT OWN CSI! There, now I can move on and put my obsession with CSI behind me . . . riiiiiiight. . . like that's ever gonna happen.
Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who reviewed. You guys are the best. Also, I just want to say that I whole-heartedly support Brianna. Go read her story, Truths, because it's awesome.
Dedication: This is for Jacqueline, my ever-faithful beta. You rock, Jacqueline.
~*~*~*~
Carrie pulled her Jetta in front of the address Nick had given her and turned off the engine.
"Why are we stopping here, Mommy?" Lexi called out from the back seat.
"I don't know, sweetie. Your daddy asked me to drop you off here, but I don't know why," Carrie explained, "Why don't we wait outside for them?" Lexi nodded and unbuckled her seatbelt while Carrie got out and opened the door for her daughter. Carrie took Lexi's hand and they walked across the street. A minute later the Tahoe pulled up in front of the house.
"You found it," Nick called, hopping out of the truck, Sara close behind him. Carrie cringed when she saw the engagement ring sparking on Sara's ring finger.
"Yep. You wanna tell me why I'm dropping her off here today?" Carrie asked, pushing her sunglasses to the top of her head.
"This is our new house," Nick said, laughing at both Barnes girls' shocked expressions.
"You bought a house?" Carrie exclaimed.
"You bought a house!" Lexi squealed at the same time.
"Yeah. So what do you think, Lex? Do you like it?" Sara asked.
"I love it!" Lexi screamed, hopping up and down, "Can we see the inside?"
"Of course," Sara said, dangling the keys in front of her. Lexi grinned and Sara led the way up to the door. As soon as she put the key in the lock and turned the knob, Lexi was running into the house. The little girl 'oooh'ed and 'ahhh'ed with each room, and stopped short when she came to one of the bedrooms.
"Can I have this one?" she asked tentatively, taking in the beautiful bedroom with awe. It was a soft yellow color with daisies hand-painted along the bottom, and the ceiling was sponge-painted so that it looked as if clouds were floating above.
"You can have any room you want, except our bedroom," Nick said, bending down next to Lexi, who was still scanning the room with her eyes.
"I want this one," she said softly, almost in a whisper, "It's the most beautiful room I've ever seen."
"Then it's yours," Sara said, crouching down to join her fiancé and soon-to- be stepdaughter.
Carrie looked in disgust at the trio. Her days left with Lexi were slowly dwindling, and her daughter always wanted to spend more time with Nick and Sara than with her own mother. It was a step forward in Katie's plan, but a step behind in Carrie's own plan to spend her remaining days with her daughter.
"Lexi, I have to go now, okay, sweetie? Mommy has to meet with her lawyer," Carrie said, "I'll be back to pick you up later."
Lexi ran up to her mother and gave her a hug. "Bye, mommy!"
"Bye, Lex. I love you." Carrie kissed her daughter's forehead and turned to Nick and Sara. "Should I pick her up here or at the apartment?"
"At the apartment. We're only staying here for a little while," Sara said, "We have to go over some things with the realtor."
Carrie nodded. "See you later, then." After giving Lexi another quick kiss she headed down the stairs and out the door.
"I was thinking that later you and me could go to a baseball game, Lex. What do you think?" Nick asked his daughter as they exited the bedroom and made their way down the stairs.
"Really? I love baseball! One time Mommy took me to a game, and we had so much fun! We ate hot dogs and popcorn and cotton candy and it was so much fun. We were going to go to another one but then Mommy got sick," she said sadly, her bright eyes beginning to lose their sparkle.
"Well today's your lucky day, then," Sara said with a smile, trying to cheer the little girl up.
"Are you coming, Sara?" Lexi asked, looking up at the brunette.
"Nope," Sara said with a smile. "Baseball's not really my thing. Besides, I have to work."
"Oh. So it's just you and me, Daddy?" Lexi asked.
"Yep. Just you and me."
~*~*~
Sara dumped her dinner dish in the sink and wiped down the kitchen table. She went into the bedroom to grab her jacket when the sound of the doorbell interrupted her.
Walking out of the bedroom she opened the door and was surprised to see Carrie at the doorstep.
"Carrie. Hi," Sara said uncomfortably, "You're early."
"I know, but my doctor's appointment ended early so I thought I'd swing by and pick up Lexi and give you and Nick some time to yourselves," Carrie explained as she walked past Sara into the apartment, "Congratulations on your engagement, by the way."
"Uh, thanks," Sara said slowly, following the blonde woman, who had started walking through the hallway and examining the pictures on the walls, "I thought you said you were meeting your lawyer?"
"I-I was. I mean I did," Carrie stammered.
"But you just said." Sara commented, letting her sentence trail.
Carrie ignored her and stopped in front of a picture on the wall, and Sara crept up behind her to see which one she was looking at. She smiled when she saw which one had caught the other woman's attention. It was a picture taken by Catherine the night of the carnival. The night Nick proposed.
After they had gotten off the Ferris Wheel Catherine insisted on buying everyone ice cream to celebrate, and had snapped a candid shot of Nick and Sara sitting on a park bench, Lexi snuggled between them, looking up at the fireworks that were still blazing across the night sky. All three had chocolate ice cream cones in hand, and Lexi was leaning against Nick's shoulder, her tired eyes drooping. When Catherine presented it to them two days later, Sara fell in love with it and immediately put it in a frame.
It was the first picture of their family.
Sara glanced over at Carrie, whose lips were set in a tight line and eyes were clouded over with anger. "Where's my daughter?" she asked stonily, and Sara noted the emphasis on the word 'my'.
"Nick took her to the baseball game. He has the night off," Sara explained, eyeing Carrie curiously, "We weren't expecting you to be here so early."
Carrie shook her head slightly and gave Sara a smile, her mood brightening significantly. "Right. Sorry." She walked toward the couch and Sara followed behind her. "Actually I'm glad they're not here. I wanted to talk to you alone."
"Okay," Sara said, sitting on the couch beside Carrie.
"It's about the wedding," Carrie said, "I don't want to tell you how to plan your wedding, but I think it'll be easier on Lexi if you have it soon."
Sara nodded. "We were thinking the same thing. We're planning on getting married as soon as possible, probably next month," Sara explained, "And I asked Lexi to be my flower girl. We were planning to go dress shopping tomorrow when she's here. I hope that's not a problem."
"Of course not," Carrie said with a smile, "She hasn't been able to stop talking about it."
"I'm glad."
"Actually, though," Carrie started, "What I really wanted to talk to you about was after the wedding."
Sara looked at her inquisitively. "What do you mean?"
"I mean when this is all over. With Lexi. Are you planning on legally adopting her?" Carrie asked softly.
Sara was surprised by Carrie's bluntness. "I-I don't know. We hadn't really thought that far ahead."
"Well I think it would be best for everyone involved if you started thinking about it," Carrie said, rising from her seat, "Especially Lexi. I want to make sure she's taken care of before I leave. My lawyer and I have been discussing our options and we think it would be best if you two legally adopt Lexi before I'm gone. That way I can be sure that you'll have custody. You know how courts are when it comes to cases like these."
Sara nodded and led her to the door. "I'll talk to Nick later. This is all just so overwhelming. I'm still trying to sort it all out in my head."
"I understand," Carrie said, "Could you have Nick drop her off when they get home? I'm starting to feel a little tired."
"Sure," Sara said as she opened the door, "I just have one question."
"Shoot."
"If Nick is Lexi's biological father, we really don't have anything to worry about, do we?" Carrie looked her in the eye and turned on her heel, heading down the staircase where her Jetta was waiting.
~*~*~
Nick opened the door to the apartment and Lexi rushed in, heading towards the kitchen. "Sara! Sara!"
"She's at work, shortcake," Nick said, placing Lexi's souvenir inflatable bat on the table.
"Oh. When will she get back?" the young girl inquired.
"Not till the morning, sweetie," Nick answered. He walked further into the kitchen and saw the blinking light of the answering machine on the counter. Pressing the play button, he smiled when he heard Sara's familiar voice.
"Hey, Nick. It's me. Carrie stopped by earlier and asked if you could drop off Lexi when you guys get home. We have to talk later. Hope you had fun at the game. Love you."
"Okay, Lex," Nick called, "Time to go."
"But I wanted to see Sara," the six-year-old whined.
"Sorry, sweetie. You can see her tomorrow," Nick said, "Come on."
Lexi grumbled and grabbed her things, following Nick out the door and down the steps to the Tahoe. She hopped into the backseat and Nick began the fifteen-minute drive to Carrie's apartment. By the time he pulled up in front of the complex the little girl was fast asleep, her head resting against the windshield. Nick smiled and gently picked up his sleeping daughter.
~*~*~
When Nick returned to the apartment he made himself a cup of coffee and sunk into the plush sofa while he waited for Sara. He absently flipped through the channels and sighed in frustration when nothing was on. Walking across the apartment to the bedroom, he grabbed the black cordless phone and dialed Sara's familiar cell number.
"Sidle."
"Hey gorgeous," Nick said with a smile as he sat on the edge of the bed, "Where are you?"
"In the break room, trying to sneak some of Greg's Hawaiian Blend before he can see me," she said. Nick heard Greg yelling at her in the background and laughed. "I told him he could either be a big boy and share or explain to my big bad fiancé why I have to go through caffeine withdrawal," Sara laughed, "Needless to say he left me alone."
"It's nice to know I'm good for something," Nick teased, "Are you working on a case?"
"Nope," Sara said, "Crime seems to have taken a break tonight. The only call we got was a routine break-in at a liquor store, and Warrick and Cath are already on it. I probably could have gone to the game with you."
"I wish you could have. Lexi missed you," Nick said, "She kept asking why you couldn't come, and when we got back home the first thing she did was go look for you."
"You gotta love her," Sara said with a smile, "She's too cute."
"She's really attached to you, Sar," Nick said.
"I know. While we're on the subject, there's something I wanted to talk to you about," Sara began, "I think we should get her tested, Nick. Soon. Carrie came by before, and I got some really bad vibes. When she was looking at that picture from the carnival she got really angry, but the next minute she was as pleasant as could be. And you know how she told us she had to meet with her lawyer?"
"Yeah. About her will, right?"
"Exactly. But when she showed up she said she was at the doctor's. When I asked her about it she never answered my question, and then she changed the subject. And she was very insistent that we adopt Lexi right away. Something's going on, Nick. And we need to find out what it is," Sara said, bringing her cup of coffee to the leather couch.
"But Carrie's always been like that. That's what I was trying to tell you before. She gets weird sometimes, but that doesn't mean that she's lying. I mean, look at it from her perspective. She knows that she only has a few months left, and she wants to make sure her daughter is taken care of before she's gone. You would be a little insistent, too," Nick rationalized.
"I know, but I just have this gut feeling that something's going on. Something that goes beyond Lexi, and I want to know what it is," Sara said, "And the first step in figuring that out is to have her tested."
"Sara."
"Nick just trust me on this, okay? We both agreed we would wait to get her tested, and we did. It's been almost two months now. I love Lexi as much as you do, but if we're going to keep her, we're going to need proof that she's yours," Sara insisted, "Please, Nick."
Nick sighed and raked a hand through his short brown hair. "Okay. Tomorrow."
"And we won't tell Carrie?" Sara said.
"We won't tell Carrie."
~*~*~
A/N~ Next chapter: Wedding dress shopping, more "Evil Carrie", and of course, Nick and Lexi's paternity test. (Tell me you weren't waiting for that the entire story.come one, just try :-D) But you know what to do if you want it, you have to click on that little purple button down there and tell me what you think!!
~Emily