The door to the locker room opened and Nick and Sara turned to see who had
entered the room before stepping apart.
"Grissom wants you in the layout room, Nick." Warrick froze as he took in the scene before him. He looked concerned as he noticed Sara's tears. "Everything ok?"
Sara wiped her eyes with her fingertips and laughed softly, looking at Nick. "You want to tell him, or do you want me to?"
Nick still looked a little shell shocked, but nodded at her. "I can."
"What's going on? You two aren't breaking up are you?" Warrick's concern for his two friends had grown considerably over the past several weeks.
The very thought of Nick leaving her made Sara start crying again and Nick shot Warrick a glare as he pulled her into a hug and began rubbing her back. "Hey, Sara honey, it's ok. I'm not going anywhere except maybe to kick Warrick's ass for suggesting such a ridiculous thing."
Warrick looked at Nick and Sara with confusion. "What's going on?"
An annoyed Grissom rounded the corner into the locker room. He stopped in his tracks as he took in the scene of Nick still trying to comfort a crying Sara. "What's going on?"
Warrick turned toward him. "That's what I was trying to find out before I put my foot in my mouth."
Grissom looked at him quizzically.
Warrick shook his head. "Never mind."
Grissom stepped a little further into the room, concern evident on his face. "Nick? Sara? Is everything ok?"
Sara pulled away from Nick and wiped her eyes. "Nick, will you tell them?"
Nick took her hand and gave it a squeeze. "Yeah, babe, I will." He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead before turning to face Grissom and Warrick. Sara had a death grip on his hand and Nick tried to reassure her by caressing the back of her hand with his thumb. As he prepared to share what Sara had just told him, the reality of the situation sank in a bit deeper and he found himself holding onto Sara's hand for dear life. He looked directly at Warrick and Grissom and he suddenly felt like his throat was constricting. He took a couple of deep breaths before finally speaking. "Sara's pregnant."
Grissom and Warrick could not have been more shocked if someone had told them that there was a herd of Wildebeests in the DNA lab.
The silence in the room was overwhelming and as Sara looked around at everyone's faces, she started crying again; a wave of nausea washed over her, causing her to make a sudden dash for the ladies room.
Nick sank down on the bench in front of the bay of lockers and just stared straight ahead, still trying to steady his breathing.
"I take it this came as a surprise." Warrick ventured.
Nick just nodded his head, running his fingers through his shortly cropped hair. "She hasn't even met my family yet and they've already completely freaked out that I got married without telling them."
Grissom tried to keep his tone even. "Do you and Sara want children, Nick?"
Nick glanced up at his boss with a slightly confused expression. "We haven't exactly talked about it, but I know I do. I just didn't think we'd be starting a family quite so soon." Nick let out a deep breath. "Hell, everything has moved so fast, I'm not sure what's coming next." He rested his elbows on his knees and put his face in his hands.
Grissom and Warrick exchanged a concerned look. Grissom mouthed something to Warrick before sitting down next to Nick on the bench. "Nicky, why don't you take a few minutes to get your bearings and when Sara comes out of the ladies room, I'd like both of you to come down to my office. Ok?" Warrick disappeared down the hallway.
Nick nodded. "Ok." His voice had a hitch in it, and Grissom could tell he needed a few minutes alone to compose himself. Nick found himself sobbing into his hands as he heard the locker room door close. It wasn't that he didn't want children, and it wasn't that he didn't love Sara; it was just that so much had changed in such a short span of time, he just felt overwhelmed. He heard the door open and soft footsteps coming toward him. He glanced up to see Sara approaching with a concerned expression on her face.
"You're not ready for this are you?" Sara looked as scared as he felt.
He smiled at her through his tears and reached for her hand, pulling her down to sit on the bench next to him. "I'm just scared, Sara. I love you, and I know that we're going to love this baby, but I'm scared."
"I'm scared too." Sara whispered as she leaned her head onto his shoulder.
Nick let out a deep breath. "Sara, it's going to be ok. It's just a lot for both of us to adjust to. I mean things between us have been moving at lightning speed and I just don't think we've been thinking too clearly."
They were quiet for a moment and then Sara's tentative voice broke the silence. "Are you sorry that you married me?"
Nick looked at her with a shocked expression, he cupped her face in his hands, and his brow furrowed as he looked at her intently. "No, I'm not sorry I married you. I love you, Sara. I've loved you for a long time, and if I had the chance to do it all over, I'd marry you again in a heartbeat."
"I love you, Nick." Sara's voice was thick with emotion and barely a whisper.
He leaned in and softly kissed her, smiling as he pulled away. "I love you too."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When Nick and Sara entered Grissom's office, they noticed that Warrick and Catherine were there too.
Sara gripped Nick's hand as they exchanged a curious glance. Nick closed the door and they both took a seat, looking around the room at the faces of the other three CSIs.
Surprisingly, it was Catherine not Grissom who spoke. "You're probably wondering what this is about. I'm going to just get to the point. We're all worried about you. Under normal circumstances, getting married and having children is stressful, and for the two of you, neither of these things has happened under normal circumstances."
Nick squeezed Sara's hand.
Catherine continued. "We may be your coworkers, but we're also your friends and we're like a little family. When one of us is hurting, all of us are hurting. I know that none us really understands what the two of you went through when you were trapped after the earthquake, but I do know what we went through waiting until we knew whether or not you were both ok. We care about you both and we want you to know that you don't have to do this alone. We're here for you."
Nick's voice was a whisper. "Thanks, Cath."
Sara felt a tear slide down her cheek.
Grissom cleared his throat and looked at them over the rim of his glasses. "I believe that both of you could benefit from counseling for post traumatic stress."
Sara looked at Grissom as more tears formed in her eyes.
"I'm not calling either of you into question about your ability to do your job, but I also don't think that either of you have been thinking clearly since the earthquake." Grissom continued.
Nick just nodded. "I don't think we have either." He glanced around the room. "But I also want to say that regardless of that, neither one of us has any regrets about getting married."
Catherine smiled and Warrick let out a chuckle before interjecting a bit of lightness into the conversation. "Hell, Nick, you've been in love with Sara even longer than you're willing to admit."
Nick just smiled at Sara who laughed in spite of her tears.
"Be that as it may, I still believe that you both need to see a counselor." Grissom insisted.
Catherine interjected. "I think that Grissom's right. We care about you and we want both of you to succeed in your jobs and in your life with each other. If you don't deal with what happened during the earthquake, it's going to have ripple effects in your relationship. And take it from me; things just get more complicated when a kid enters the picture."
A look of momentary panic flashed across Sara's face as the reality of her pregnancy hit her again. Nick just squeezed her hand reassuringly even as he felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.
"You guys are going to be great parents." Catherine smiled at them; recognizing the nervousness of pending parenthood on their faces.
"I have the number for a counselor that the department recommends, but it's up to you." Grissom looked at both of them expectantly as he held out a business card.
Sara took the business card from Grissom's outstretched hand. "Ok, we'll go."
Nick nodded. "Yeah, I think it's a really good idea."
Both of them knew that Sara's pregnancy was a huge wake up call and that they were both in way over their heads.
"Grissom wants you in the layout room, Nick." Warrick froze as he took in the scene before him. He looked concerned as he noticed Sara's tears. "Everything ok?"
Sara wiped her eyes with her fingertips and laughed softly, looking at Nick. "You want to tell him, or do you want me to?"
Nick still looked a little shell shocked, but nodded at her. "I can."
"What's going on? You two aren't breaking up are you?" Warrick's concern for his two friends had grown considerably over the past several weeks.
The very thought of Nick leaving her made Sara start crying again and Nick shot Warrick a glare as he pulled her into a hug and began rubbing her back. "Hey, Sara honey, it's ok. I'm not going anywhere except maybe to kick Warrick's ass for suggesting such a ridiculous thing."
Warrick looked at Nick and Sara with confusion. "What's going on?"
An annoyed Grissom rounded the corner into the locker room. He stopped in his tracks as he took in the scene of Nick still trying to comfort a crying Sara. "What's going on?"
Warrick turned toward him. "That's what I was trying to find out before I put my foot in my mouth."
Grissom looked at him quizzically.
Warrick shook his head. "Never mind."
Grissom stepped a little further into the room, concern evident on his face. "Nick? Sara? Is everything ok?"
Sara pulled away from Nick and wiped her eyes. "Nick, will you tell them?"
Nick took her hand and gave it a squeeze. "Yeah, babe, I will." He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead before turning to face Grissom and Warrick. Sara had a death grip on his hand and Nick tried to reassure her by caressing the back of her hand with his thumb. As he prepared to share what Sara had just told him, the reality of the situation sank in a bit deeper and he found himself holding onto Sara's hand for dear life. He looked directly at Warrick and Grissom and he suddenly felt like his throat was constricting. He took a couple of deep breaths before finally speaking. "Sara's pregnant."
Grissom and Warrick could not have been more shocked if someone had told them that there was a herd of Wildebeests in the DNA lab.
The silence in the room was overwhelming and as Sara looked around at everyone's faces, she started crying again; a wave of nausea washed over her, causing her to make a sudden dash for the ladies room.
Nick sank down on the bench in front of the bay of lockers and just stared straight ahead, still trying to steady his breathing.
"I take it this came as a surprise." Warrick ventured.
Nick just nodded his head, running his fingers through his shortly cropped hair. "She hasn't even met my family yet and they've already completely freaked out that I got married without telling them."
Grissom tried to keep his tone even. "Do you and Sara want children, Nick?"
Nick glanced up at his boss with a slightly confused expression. "We haven't exactly talked about it, but I know I do. I just didn't think we'd be starting a family quite so soon." Nick let out a deep breath. "Hell, everything has moved so fast, I'm not sure what's coming next." He rested his elbows on his knees and put his face in his hands.
Grissom and Warrick exchanged a concerned look. Grissom mouthed something to Warrick before sitting down next to Nick on the bench. "Nicky, why don't you take a few minutes to get your bearings and when Sara comes out of the ladies room, I'd like both of you to come down to my office. Ok?" Warrick disappeared down the hallway.
Nick nodded. "Ok." His voice had a hitch in it, and Grissom could tell he needed a few minutes alone to compose himself. Nick found himself sobbing into his hands as he heard the locker room door close. It wasn't that he didn't want children, and it wasn't that he didn't love Sara; it was just that so much had changed in such a short span of time, he just felt overwhelmed. He heard the door open and soft footsteps coming toward him. He glanced up to see Sara approaching with a concerned expression on her face.
"You're not ready for this are you?" Sara looked as scared as he felt.
He smiled at her through his tears and reached for her hand, pulling her down to sit on the bench next to him. "I'm just scared, Sara. I love you, and I know that we're going to love this baby, but I'm scared."
"I'm scared too." Sara whispered as she leaned her head onto his shoulder.
Nick let out a deep breath. "Sara, it's going to be ok. It's just a lot for both of us to adjust to. I mean things between us have been moving at lightning speed and I just don't think we've been thinking too clearly."
They were quiet for a moment and then Sara's tentative voice broke the silence. "Are you sorry that you married me?"
Nick looked at her with a shocked expression, he cupped her face in his hands, and his brow furrowed as he looked at her intently. "No, I'm not sorry I married you. I love you, Sara. I've loved you for a long time, and if I had the chance to do it all over, I'd marry you again in a heartbeat."
"I love you, Nick." Sara's voice was thick with emotion and barely a whisper.
He leaned in and softly kissed her, smiling as he pulled away. "I love you too."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When Nick and Sara entered Grissom's office, they noticed that Warrick and Catherine were there too.
Sara gripped Nick's hand as they exchanged a curious glance. Nick closed the door and they both took a seat, looking around the room at the faces of the other three CSIs.
Surprisingly, it was Catherine not Grissom who spoke. "You're probably wondering what this is about. I'm going to just get to the point. We're all worried about you. Under normal circumstances, getting married and having children is stressful, and for the two of you, neither of these things has happened under normal circumstances."
Nick squeezed Sara's hand.
Catherine continued. "We may be your coworkers, but we're also your friends and we're like a little family. When one of us is hurting, all of us are hurting. I know that none us really understands what the two of you went through when you were trapped after the earthquake, but I do know what we went through waiting until we knew whether or not you were both ok. We care about you both and we want you to know that you don't have to do this alone. We're here for you."
Nick's voice was a whisper. "Thanks, Cath."
Sara felt a tear slide down her cheek.
Grissom cleared his throat and looked at them over the rim of his glasses. "I believe that both of you could benefit from counseling for post traumatic stress."
Sara looked at Grissom as more tears formed in her eyes.
"I'm not calling either of you into question about your ability to do your job, but I also don't think that either of you have been thinking clearly since the earthquake." Grissom continued.
Nick just nodded. "I don't think we have either." He glanced around the room. "But I also want to say that regardless of that, neither one of us has any regrets about getting married."
Catherine smiled and Warrick let out a chuckle before interjecting a bit of lightness into the conversation. "Hell, Nick, you've been in love with Sara even longer than you're willing to admit."
Nick just smiled at Sara who laughed in spite of her tears.
"Be that as it may, I still believe that you both need to see a counselor." Grissom insisted.
Catherine interjected. "I think that Grissom's right. We care about you and we want both of you to succeed in your jobs and in your life with each other. If you don't deal with what happened during the earthquake, it's going to have ripple effects in your relationship. And take it from me; things just get more complicated when a kid enters the picture."
A look of momentary panic flashed across Sara's face as the reality of her pregnancy hit her again. Nick just squeezed her hand reassuringly even as he felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.
"You guys are going to be great parents." Catherine smiled at them; recognizing the nervousness of pending parenthood on their faces.
"I have the number for a counselor that the department recommends, but it's up to you." Grissom looked at both of them expectantly as he held out a business card.
Sara took the business card from Grissom's outstretched hand. "Ok, we'll go."
Nick nodded. "Yeah, I think it's a really good idea."
Both of them knew that Sara's pregnancy was a huge wake up call and that they were both in way over their heads.