Title: Stuck

Author: Megan

Pairing: Nick/Sara

Rating: PG 13 (for a few bad words)

Summary: Nick and a pregnant Sara are trapped in an elevator on Christmas Eve.

Notes: This is in response to Emily's challenge posted at the Nick-Sara Shipper group. Also I don't really know the complete lay-out of the lab, so just use your imagination here. If I'm wrong, you can sue me, but you're not going to get anything.

Must include:
1) N/S (other pairings welcome)
2) Reference to a holiday movie (Rudolf, Frosty, Charlie Brown, etc.)
3) A Christmas song (don't have to include lyrics...you can just mention it if you want)
4) A name that begins with one of the first 5 letters of the alphabet (A,B,C,D, or E...

Merry Christmas everyone!

~~$~@~$~~

"I can't believe we're both working on Christmas Eve" Sara complained as she and Nick entered the break room for coffee. "And it's not even our shift. We're covering for days!"

Nick couldn't help but laugh at his girlfriend's whining. "Sara, really, it's not a big deal. Sine we're working a day shift, we'll be home in time for dinner. It's not like we had any plans anyway."

Sara gave him a look that spoke volumes. "Nick, we could be spending quality time together. We could be decorating the baby's room."

Nick placed his hands on Sara's shoulders in an attempt to calm her down. "Sara, we've got over six months before that baby even comes. There's plenty of time. And besides that, you know if we were at home alone, working on the baby's room is not what we'd be doing."

Sara blushed at Nick's oh-so-true statement and turned her head away from him slightly.

"Come on" his voice was gentler now, almost dripping with honey. "We'll work for a few hours, and then I'll take you home, and make some dinner."

"Fine" Sara huffed in an attempt to make Nick think she was mad, but he knew her better than that.

Nick smiled and pulled her into a gentle hug. "That's my girl"

"Yeah, and I'd be even more 'your girl' if we were married" Sara spat.

Nick dropped his hands from her shoulders and took a deep breath. "We've had this discussion, Sara. And you know the outcome. I really don't want to talk about it again. Especially when we're at work."

"Is there another girl-?" She questioned.

"Sara" He had a hint of warning to his voice. "Not here" Nick slowly turned away from her and left the break room, headed for Grissom's office where either some paperwork or an assignment was waiting for them.

After a few seconds of staring at the table, Sara followed Nick down the hall. "Nick, I'm sorry-"

"We've just got paperwork to file"

"Nick-" Sara tried again.

"Looks like we'll be down in the basement all day. We better get started." Nick continued as if she hadn't said anything at all.

Sara sighed in frustration, but decided not to push it right now. "I guess we better get started."

Nick took a box of old case files and moved past her and down the hallway towards the elevator. Sara quickly fell in step behind him. In truth, she'd only been in the basement once, and would probably get lost if she weren't following him.

They boarded the elevator in silence, neither one wanting to set the other off.

The ride was fine.

It was when the elevator made a few clanking noises and came to a sudden stop where things started to change.

As soon as the elevator stopped, Nick bent down and called maintenance on the emergency phone. After making the call, he looked up and turned to Sara, and immediately his heart began beating faster.

Her face was pale, and the look in her eyes was that of a little child who'd just seen a ghost. He could tell she was beginning to sweat, and her body started shaking.

"Sara" he tried to sound calm, but new it wasn't working.

He knew she was extremely claustrophobic.

"Sara, talk to me" he pleaded, reaching for her hands.

"Can't. Breathe."

Nick immediately took her in his arms, and lowered their bodies to the ground. He sat with his back to the wall of the elevator, and had Sara lean up against his chest. He laid her hands on top of his legs, which were on each side of her body, and then laid his hands over hers.

"Breathe with me" he whispered in her ear.

Sara gripped onto Nick's legs, and in response he held her hands tightly.

"Take slow breaths. Feel me breathing. Come on, Sara. Do you feel me?"

Sara's breaths slowly started to even out.

"Do you feel my heart beating? Do you feel me breathing? Make us breathe as one, Sara."

Slowly, Sara loosened her grip on Nick's legs, and her breathing returned to normal. Nick let out a sigh of relief, and laid his head back against the wall. He laced his fingers together with Sara's, and wrapped their arms around her abdomen.

After a few minutes, Nick leaned forward and planted a kiss on top of Sara's head. "You doin' okay, Sar?"

"Yeah" she whispered.

"Good"

Nick took a deep breath, not releasing Sara from his embrace. "Sara. I'm so sorry. It's only two flights. I should have taken the stairs."

"You didn't make the elevator stop" Sara replied weakly.

Nick kissed her head again, and sighed. "I know. But still-"

"Don't" That one word shut him up. It wasn't the word, really, but the effort she took to say it.

Sara slowly pulled away from him, and moved the side of the elevator perpendicular to the side Nick was leaning against. He didn't bother trying to tell her to sit still because he knew she wouldn't listen to him.

"There's no other girl, Sara." Nick confessed, breaking the silence.

Sara closed her eyes tightly and let her head rest against the wall.

"I told you I love you. I wasn't lying. I told you I would spend the rest of my life with you and this baby, Sara. I meant every word. I just can't marry you. No matter how much I love you, I just can't right now."

"Why? I don't understand"

Nick reached for her hand, tentatively. "Do you love me? Are you in love with me, Sara? Or are you still in love with Grissom?"

Sara flinched at the tone in Nick's voice, but didn't respond.

He let go of her hand, and leaned back against the wall. "When you can answer those questions for me truthfully, we can go from there. But for now, we're just two best friends who fell into bed with each other and ended up with a baby. But no matter what happens, I am still that baby's father. I am still your best friend. I am still here for you. And if you need to move out, or want to move out, then I support you."

They both remained quiet for what seemed like two hours, but in reality, not even ten minutes passed before Nick began humming.

Sara couldn't help, but smile, and before he could stop, she started singing with him. "Silent night, holy night. All is calm…." She trailed off when she realized she was going solo, and gave him a questioning glance.

"I love your voice, Sara"

She smiled in response.

"I hate silence" Nick confessed.

"Do you want to sing more Christmas carols?" Sara asked, shyly.

Nick shook his head. "I'd rather you talk to me."

Sara's face fell. "I can't"

"And I won't push you. I'm sorry."

There it was again.

Silence.

Nick thought about starting to hum again, but decided against it. He could tell from the look on Sara's face, the furrowed brow, and the blank stare, that she was thinking. He wanted her to think. Ever since she told him she was pregnant two weeks ago, he'd been waiting and waiting for her to make some decision. She had moved in with him temporarily while her apartment was being renovated just a few weeks before that.

And nearly four months before she moved in with him, they found their way to his bed in an exciting night of passion. And somehow, they hadn't been able to stay away from each other.

Nick knew she was only with him because Grissom had rejected her. This was her attempt to get back at him.

Did Nick care?

Of course.

Was he going to tell Sara to go away and find another fuck buddy?

Hell no.

He'd been slowly falling for this woman for more than a year. He was going to be there for her no matter what.

"Have you thought of a name for the baby?" Nick asked timidly.

The corners of Sara's mouth slowly turned upward, which almost shocked Nick, but he didn't let her know it.

"Yeah" She replied. "If it's a girl, I want to name her Alissa Kathleen. And if it's a boy, I want to name him Adam…" Her voice trailed off, and the smile started to fade.

"What?" Nick asked. "Don't have a middle name for Adam yet?" He was trying to tease her, trying to lighten the mood, but it didn't seem to be working.

She looked up into his deep brown eyes. "Nicholas. I want to name him Adam Nicholas."

Nick's lips formed the shape of a silent "O", and his gaze dropped down to his folded hands that were lying in his lap.

Sara took a deep breath, and let it out slowly before speaking, her voice almost shaking from her nervousness. "Nick, I do love you. I'm not ashamed of this" she rested her hand on her abdomen as she spoke. "You are my best friend, and there's no one I'd rather have be the father of my child. "Grissom…"

At the mention of their boss's name, Nick looked up at her pretty face. "Grissom?" He asked, urging her to continue.

"He's my teacher, my mentor, and my friend. He helped me get to where I am. If it weren't for him, we would have never met. So I guess we should be thanking him for that."

"That doesn't answer my question, though, Sara" Nick whispered.

"No, Nick, I'm not in love with him. At least, not anymore. I may have been at one point in time. Or maybe I was just infatuated with him. Grissom is brilliant. I wanted to know what made him the way he is. I wanted to know everything about him. He's the only other person that could understand me. We're the same, but not compatible," she explained.

Nick looked back up at her, but didn't say anything.

Neither did Sara.

She slowly crawled over to Nick, and sat next to him. She closed her hand over his. "I know you won't be able to feel anything yet because the baby is still so little, but just imagine." She placed his hand on her abdomen, and then looked back up at his face with a small smile on her lips. "Our baby is growing in there."

Nick smiled as well. "I know"

Before either one of them could say anything, else the elevator began moving again with a jump, causing them to break apart.

When they finally got down to the basement where the storage room for old case files was, almost three hours had passed since they'd first entered the elevator. They worked quickly and quietly until all of the files were in the correct places.

They finally got back home a few hours before midnight, which was a few hours after they had hoped to have arrived.

Sara woke the next morning to an empty bed, and the strong smell of coffee. She padded out to the kitchen and walked over to Nick, wrapping her arms around his waist. "Merry Christmas" she greeted, planting a small kiss on his cheek.

"Good morning, Sara" was his reply.

Nick turned around to face her, and couldn't help but smile. She was so adorable in the morning with her messy hair, and over-sized flannel pajamas.

"I got you a present" Sara admitted, happily.

"Well, I got you one, too" Nick replied smugly. He linked her arm through his and led her over to their tiny Christmas tree where several gifts were sitting; most of which were for their co-workers.

They plopped down next to the tree, and Sara reached for a medium-sized, rectangular box. "Here" she said, handing it to Nick.

He carefully pulled the lid off of the box, and took the tissue paper out. He lifted a blue t-shirt out, and smiled when he read it "Best Daddy Ever" There was a picture of a little baby holding a rattle underneath the words. Nick looked back inside the box, and there sat a small book entitled "Raising My Baby: Tips for New Parents"

"I figured we could both use that" Sara said in reference to the book. "Catherine suggested it."

"Thank you" Nick whispered. "For both of them."

"Your welcome"

Nick reached under the tree and pulled out a small gift bag. "This is for you."

Sara took the bag from him, and pulled a small velvet box out of it. She couldn't help the smile that was taking over her lips. "Nick-" she said as she opened the box. Inside sat a 14k diamond engagement ring with a silver band. "Oh my" she gasped.

"I've had it for a few weeks now. But I couldn't bring myself to ask you. And with everything-"

"Nick" Sara said cutting him off.

"Sorry." He scratched his head. "So, um, Sara, you know how I feel about you. Even before 'we' happened, I was falling in love with you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. And after yesterday, I became even surer that this is what I want." He took a deep breath. "Will you marry me?"

"Yes!" Sara exclaimed, throwing her arms around his neck.

"Good, because I don't know what I would have done if you said no. I mean that would have just been awkward, and then I'd have to-"

His ramblings were cut short when Sara pressed her lips to his.

When Sara pulled back, Nick took the ring from the box, and placed it on her finger. "Merry Christmas, Sara."

~~$~@~$~~

  The end!

~~$~@~$~~

Well, I hope y'all liked it! Let me know! Merry Christmas!