WASTING TIME

Disclaimer: :( This is me tired of saying none of this belongs to me. Only the plot. Then again, I've been destroying so many clichés I don't even think the plot is mine anymore.

Author's Note: Sorry for the delay on the update. Real life made a number on me again. On with the show it is...
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Chapter 8: Collateral Damage

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Nick tugged hard at the covers, but that only got him a glare from her.

"Leave me alone!" She warned "I am not getting up, much less going to work!"

And with that, she turned around, closed her eyes and went back to pretending she was sleeping.

He hated it when she was so stubborn.

Sara had arrived at his house a few hours after leaving the crime lab the day before, very upset.

"Well, this is *my* bed, and I'm kicking you out" He said, motioning for the covers again, but her pout stopped him. Softening considerably, he sat down while she turned towards him.

"I can't go back to work. How am I going to face Catherine? Just in case she didn't hate me enough after Eddie's case I just had to go and almost ruin her entire case..."

She sighed frustrated and with slumped shoulders leaned against his chest. He responded, kissing her forehead while putting a comforting arm around her.

"Honey, you are only human, remember?" Much to his surprise, she sniffed softly. "Hey, I'm sure you have at least three messages from Cath on your answering machine, saying how sorry she is for yelling at you."

"You think?"

He smiled. "I'm sure. Now get dressed, I'll make some breakfast."

She grimaced. "I don't know about that, I'm feeling funny."

"Save that for the next time you don't want to get up." He said while heading out of the bedroom.

**************

"Hmm... what is that?"

Nick diverted his attention from the kitchen to the woman that had just entered the room.

"Bacon. I hope the smell doesn't bother you."

He immediately kicked himself for not thinking about it first. It wasn't like he hadn't considered her aversion to meat, but seeing as she had never seemed disgusted by it before he hadn't given it much thought.

Her response caught him by surprise.

"Are you kidding me? That smells great! In fact, it smells so great I want some."

His eyebrow was raised involuntarily.

"OK. You do remember you don't eat meat, right?"

Rolling her eyes, she took a seat around the already set table. It was funny how good at housekeeping Nick could be when he wanted.

"I *do* remember. But today I have a craving for bacon, so shut up and do as you're told."

She smiled as if to cover her sudden outburst and he grabbed her plate, thinking that perhaps a moody Sara was more than he could put up with on a daily basis.

Payback came a few seconds later when, after putting the first piece of bacon in her mouth, she stormed out of the room.

**************

"You don't have to go in. I'll tell Grissom you weren't feeling OK."

"And how exactly are you going to explain the reason I was at your place? After all the fuss you did today to get me out of bed of course. I am going in!"

And with that she jumped out of his Denali. He did his best at following her closely, finally making her stop before she crossed the main entrance.

"Sara, wait." His grip on her arm softened, but remained firm as he tried to understand her renewed anger at him.

"Look, Nick, it's probably a momentary thing. Don't worry." Her attempt at resuming walking was prevented by his hand.

That was not what he wanted to know. She sighed, frustrated at his action.

"Sara..."

"Is there a problem here?"

Both of them turned to face their boss, who looked back expectantly. Nick released her quietly, almost ashamed at being caught arguing like that.

On the other hand Sara apparently wasn't, and she took advantage of her coworker's lack of reaction to walk past both men.

Grissom just stood there, giving him a long warning look.

Perhaps they should start being more careful after all.

**************

"I'm telling you Cath, he won't be driving his Denali anytime soon."

Nick marveled at his friend's amusement, the excitement evident in his voice. He went into the locker room to find a very amused Greg making their female coworker's efforts at not laughing an impossible task.

But his thoughts were somewhere else.

"Hey, has anybody seen Gris?" He asked. Might as well give his boss some excuse regarding his behavior earlier. Sara would get really angry if he suspected anything.

Yet all his question accomplished was to make the older woman crack up. Her laughter was contagious, and he found himself smiling faintly.

"He's either cleaning his Tahoe or checking on Sara" She explained. He frowned.

"She puked all over it" Greg elaborated before erupting into laughter.

Now he was worried.

"What? Where is she now?"

The expression in his face made Catherine sober up.

"Warrick took her home." She answered, apparently worrying more about his reaction than their coworker's health "It's probably the flu..."

Gathering his things in what probably was record time, he left the building in a hurry –- a sole destination in his mind.

In other circumstances a million different possibilities would have crossed his mind, but not this time. This time, he couldn't think straight.

Sara was pregnant.

**************

By the time he got to her place Nick barely remembered his own name, but he managed to remember where she used to place the extra key.

The familiar surroundings somehow soothed him, and he let out a sigh. This was not the way things were supposed to be. He would get married and then maybe after a couple of years the kids would come.

But apparently it was a little late for that.

He slowly made his way to her bedroom. He could easily identify her sleeping form on the bed, under the covers. The scene was no longer unfamiliar; it hadn't been for a long time then. Neither was her scent.

His eyes stung, and he rubbed them. It wasn't that Sara didn't have everything he wanted in a woman. She probably was the person he confided the most in. She probably was the woman he would pick to mother his child -- out of all the women he knew at the time.

It was just that... he didn't think he could quite put the finger on it.

She shifted in her sleep, and the sight looked overwhelmingly inviting to his weary muscles. He hadn't realized he was so tired, and he actually doubted he had a reason to feel that way other than nervous tension. But he gave in anyway, reclaiming his place by her side carefully enough not to wake her up.

Somehow his hand made its way to her belly and he found himself surprised at his own reaction to a contact that was anything but new, yet something felt extremely different to him.

They had created a life and that idea would marvel him forever, he concluded.

Lost as he was in his own amazement, he didn't notice she was awake until she felt her hand caress his, calling for his attention. He raised his gaze to meet a sleepy smile.

"Hey" was all he could utter.

"Hey." She replied, smiling even more warmly. "Nick, I --"

"Look, Sara" He started, trying to muster up some courage to say what he felt in his heart. Not much came out, though, only the necessary to spare her the explanation. "I know."

The woman beside him raised an eyebrow. She looked from his eyes to their hands entwined and frowned slightly, shaking her head almost imperceptibly.

"I..." He looked away, bracing himself for whatever she felt the need to express. "I am not pregnant, Nick."

The temperature of the room dropped a couple of degrees, and he felt frozen and dumbfounded. Her words were ringing in his ears, but they made no sense.

"...uh?"

And he had considered himself as gifted with words and people...

"Are you okay?" She asked, a little concerned about his current speechless status. He looked at her, letting the words sink in. Sara was not pregnant with his child.

"How?" He reacted. "I mean, morning sickness, cravings, tiredness – we were always careful, but not that careful. Besides, there is nothing 100% effective, right?"

"I have the flu. And the rest you can blame it on PMS. I'm sorry Nick..."

The oddness of the situation struck them both. There she was, apologizing to him for not being pregnant while in a purely physical relationship. Nick tried unsuccessfully to suppress a smile, and soon enough they were laughing animatedly.

"Drama Queen" She accused. He just smiled.

"I just didn't expect you *not* to be pregnant"

His lame attempt at trying to hide the hint of disappointment still present in his eyes had been successful only due to the lack of illumination of the room. But dim lights did nothing to her ears.

Sara smiled, and softly placed a kiss on his cheek.

"You know, if I wanted to have a child right now you would be my first choice. You're going to make a great dad."

Instinctively tightening his grip on her, he shifted slightly allowing her to place her head on his chest. He didn't dwell on any subtext or hidden meaning he knew he'd be able to find in her words if he looked hard enough.

He just kissed her hair.

"My parents were good. If I become half the father my dad is I'll do great."

Contrary to popular belief, Nicholas Stokes was very self-conscious when it came to the information about himself he wanted to give away. And rare cases like this, when he appeared so careless and stripped of any defense mechanism, came only from the uncontrollable need to share his feelings.

"Really?"

He nodded. "Enzo Ferrari, as in the cars, said once that every time a car racer had a son, he became a second slower. And it was the same with my dad. You would think that he'd be too busy to play with his children, but he made time. He made time for the seven of us. We always came first. That's what I want for my family..."

She swallowed hard at the sound of his voice, thick with emotion, wondering what was wrong with her. Why couldn't she just love a man like him? Wasn't he everything she wanted in a man?

Why hadn't she seen the wonders of Nick Stokes in the first place, instead of rekindling her unrequited feelings for Grissom?

Oh, but she had. She had been attracted to him. She liked the way she felt around him. They flirted, openly. But she had had her share of jocks and wild parties throughout college.

And she enjoyed the thought that she had actually grown up since then.

Silence told her it was her time to open up, in a routine they had perfected what seemed a long time ago.

"My parents were alright. But I think I spent so much time angry at them that I almost forgot what I felt for them..."

- END OF CHAPTER EIGHT
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Written by Mary S.