TITLE: Facing the Music
AUTHOR: Micky Fine
DISCLAIMER: All characters from CSI do not belong to me. All members of CSI: Phoenix are of my own creation. The song featured in this chapter is "Fallen" by Sarah McLachlan.
SUMMARY: A post-ep for the season finale. G/S. Chapter 3/4.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Due to greatly enthusiastic praise I was immediately prodded to write the next chapter as quickly as possible. Thank you from the bottom of my author's heart for your fantastic reviews, but to get me to release that final chapter you know you'll kindly have to press that review button (not so subtle hint). All song lyrics are in italics.
Heaven bent to take my handAnd lead me through the fire
Be the long awaited answer
To a long and painful fight
Nick pulled into the lot at the CSI in Phoenix. It amazed him at how similar the building was to the one back home in Vegas. With a regretful sigh, he turned off the car and the air conditioning and stepped into the oppressive heat. He quickly hurried into the building and the welcoming coolness inside.
After waiting for her to finish her telephone conversation, Nick approached the receptionist. "Hi, I'm looking for Sara Sidle?"
"Nick Stokes?"
"Yes."
"She's expecting you. She should be in the processing lab down the hall. Third door on your left."
"Thanks."
"No prob."
Nick wandered down the hallway slowly, peeking into the various labs that he passed, checking out the equipment. Although Phoenix wasn't the second highest rated lab in the country, it was in the top twenty and Nick was suitably impressed with the materials they had at their disposal.
He finally reached the room where Sara had been foretold to be and, instead of stepping inside immediately, he stood in the doorway and studied his friend. She had cut her hair to a chin-length bob, probably to ward off some of the heat. She was dressed in jeans and a blue t-shirt and her face was full of concentration as she moved pieces of glass around on a layout table. But there was something else in her face, something that he couldn't put his finger on. Shrugging it off, he cleared his throat to announce his presence.
Sara turned around and her face broke into a huge grin when she saw his face. "Nick!" she exclaimed as she ran over to him and threw her arms around his neck. She giggled when he twirled her around.
"Heya, Sara."
"Oh, did I ever miss that accent of yours."
"Just my accent."
"Well, the face that goes with it is pretty nice too," Sara teased.
"C'mon, I know what you really missed was my impressive wit and sterling character."
Sara grinned, "Sure, ok, I definitely missed that."
"Ah, I'm hurt, the woman invites me out here to insult me," he said placing a hand over his heart, as his face twisted in mock pain.
"I
hear the news is true, we do have a visitor," said a strange male voice.
Truth be told I've tried my best
But somewhere along the way
I got caught up in all there was to offer
And the cost was so much more than I could bear
Nick turned around to see a young, thin, dark-haired man with stunning azure eyes. Sara laughed. "The rumor mill here is the fastest in the country I swear," she said shaking her head. Then pointing her hand in the direction of the new arrival she said, "Nick, meet Matt Spurgeon. Matt, I'd like you to meet Nick Stokes, a friend of mine from Vegas who came to visit me."
"Ah, so is he..." Matt stopped abruptly at the violent shaking of Sara's head.
"Am I what?" Nick asked, looking curiously between the two.
"Nothing," Matt and Sara said at the same time.
Matt and Nick chatted briefly until they were once again interrupted, this time by a petite redhead, with snapping emerald green eyes. "Hey Sara," she said, "I have some more stuff for you to go through."
"Ok, thanks Kate, can you put it over there?" Sara said pointing at the other layout table.
"Sure, who's the new guy?" Kate asked, looking Nick up and down.
"Friend of mine from Vegas, Nick meet Kate."
The two exchanged greetings and Sara moved over to the other layout table to poke at the new evidence. From what Nick could determine it looked like debris.
"What is that?" Nick asked.
"Evidence from a house explosion. It's from an area that was sheltered from the blast radius," Kate replied.
"Trust Sara to get all the good stuff," Matt complained moving over to the same spot Sara had occupied before, sifting through various pieces of glass.
"Hey, that's your jigsaw puzzle," Sara said, beginning to sift through the debris, "the explosion is mine. We drew straws remember?"
"Yeah, yeah," Matt muttered.
"Well, I've got DNA to check on," Kate said, heading towards the exit, "but I hope to see you again before you leave Nick."
Nick nodded, and then smiled after Kate had left.
"Better watch it Nick," Sara warned, "Kate's broken all the hearts possible in Arizona, and I would hate for Nevada to be her next state of choice."
Nick grinned and then wandered over to hover at Sara's elbow for several minutes. With a slight sigh of irritation Sara finally said, "Nick, if you're starved for something to do, go help Matt with his glass, ok?"
Nick had been immersed in piecing the glass together for over an hour when Sara suddenly said in a sickly voice, "Matt!"
With lightning quick reactions, Matt kicked the garbage can in Sara's direction just in time for her to retch into it. He then moved to Sara's side rubbing her back in small circles until she wiped her mouth and stood upright again.
"Sara, are you ok?" Nick asked in alarm.
"Oh yeah, I'm fine," she said, then lifting out a human finger from amongst the debris, "this just gave my stomach a little turn."
Nick stared at the finger in confusion, "That set you off? Have you lost your stomach out here in Arizona 'cause in Vegas the only time you ever had a reaction like that to evidence was on that decomp in a bag. You remember, the guy..." Nick trailed off as he saw Sara put her hand up and turn slightly green.
Matt began to quietly chastise Sara, "Have you been to the doctor lately? Have you told her that this hasn't stopped yet?"
"Yes, I've been to the doctor. She said that this would probably last until the end of...soon," Sara said with a quick look at Nick's confused face, "and in case you hadn't noticed it happens less frequently now. I'm down to only once every two weeks."
"Great achievement," Matt said with sarcasm.
"Sara, what is going on here?" Nick asked with confusion and protective anger.
"I always thought morning sickness was pretty evident for what it was," Matt said and then exclaimed when Sara punched him in the arm. "Whoops, forgot I wasn't supposed to let that slip." Seeing Sara's glare he began to edge towards the door saying, "I think I'll leave you two to chat."
Though I've tried, I've fallen...I have sunk so low
I have messed up
Better I should know
So don't come round here
And tell me I told you so...
There was a quiet lull as Nick regained his ability to speak, when he did he slowly said, "Morning sickness? That would mean you're pregnant?"
With an eager face Sara asked, "Any way I could convince you that it's caused by something else?"
Nick shook his head and Sara sighed.
"Guess the cat's out of the bag then. Yeah, I'm pregnant."
"Why didn't I see it before?"
"Well, Nick there's thing called the first trimester where, thankfully, your stomach remains the same size but your constantly heaving. You know, morning sickness is poorly named because it hits almost anytime, not just the morning."
"Thanks for that info, I'll keep it in mind."
Sara rolled her eyes at Nick's mild joke.
"But to be pregnant, you would have had to have..."
"Yes, Nick, I had sex. Shocking as it may be."
"No it's not shocking, it's just...who's the father?"
"You've been dying to ask that since Matt opened his big fat mouth haven't you?" Sara said with a wry grin, "Well, I hate to disappoint you, but I'm not going to tell."
Nick
was silent for several minutes, his investigator's mind going to work.
Sara watched him suspiciously seeing the wheels turn in his head. It was
several more minutes before Nick said, "It's Grissom, isn't it?"
We all begin with good intent
Love was raw and young
We believed that we could change ourselves
The past could be undone
But we carry on our backs the burden
Time always reveals
The lonely light of morning
The wound that would not heal
It's the bitter taste of losing everything
That I have held so dear.
For a moment Sara thought about denying it, but knowing how intelligent Nick was she knew he would see through a lie so, with a sad smile and watery eyes she whispered, "Yes."
Tears began to spill over onto her cheeks as Nick pulled Sara into a hug. He held on until she got her sniffles under control. When she let go he handed her a Kleenex. "Ok now?" Nick asked softly.
Sara nodded.
Continuing in a soft, understanding voice Nick asked, "Grissom doesn't know does he?"
Once again Sara shook her head and then added, "And you have to promise not to tell him."
"Sara, you can't just keep this from him. That baby is his too."
"I know that. And I will tell him. Just not now."
"Sara are you sure, I mean..."
"Trust me Nick, it's for the best."
"Alright."
"Are
you gonna promise not to tell?"
I've fallen...
I have sunk so low
I have messed up
Better I should know
So don't come round here
And tell me I told you so...
"Not quite yet. I have to make sure that everything with you is ok, and make sure that the baby isn't at risk or something. It's the least I can do for Grissom."
"Fair enough, what do you want to know?"
"Everything you're doing to take care of yourself? And why are you even working?"
"Ok, first question. I see the doctor every other week and she makes sure that we're healthy. I'm on a special diet that I stick to strictly. Plus, on Sundays Matt, his wife and their two kids make sure I come to their house for dinner and feed me things that Sue, Matt's wife, guarantees will stick to my ribs.
"As for work, Matt is what everyone here fondly calls my baby-sitter. He's always nearby and makes sure I'm safe. I never go to a newly opened case site, I only go in once it has been secured at least twice. If I interview suspects it's only the non-violent ones and there's always at least two other people in the room. And my boss here, Chris, is constantly checking on me and he never assigns me to anything too strenuous or too dangerous. How's that? High enough for your standards? Will it alleviate your concern for me on Grissom's behalf?"
"I guess it'll have to do," Nick said, "but you have to promise me that you'll tell Grissom about the baby."
"I promise."
"Then I promise not to tell Grissom."
Sara gave Nick another hug. "Thank you," she whispered in his ear.
"Alright, enough with that. You promised me some good times on my vacation. So far all I've done is work on the worst jigsaw puzzle in the world."
Sara laughed and then took Nick's hand, dragging him out of the room, "Ok, if you're not into jigsaw puzzles how does baby shopping sound to you?"
Sara's laughter at Nick's groan trailed after them as they walked out of the lab and into the bright sunshine.
Heaven bent to take my handNowhere left to turn
I'm lost to those I thought were friends
To everyone I know
Oh they turned their heads embarrassed
Pretend that they don't see
But it's one missed step
You'll slip before you know it
And there doesn't seem a way to be redeemed
Nick wandered into Grissom's office, waiting for him to look up. When Grissom did, Nick could almost see the hidden eagerness in his features.
"Hey Nick, how was your trip?"
"Good."
"Did you have a good time?"
"Yup."
"You're being a little closed mouthed. Is Sara ok?" Grissom asked with sudden concern.
"Oh yeah, she's fine," Nick rushed to reply.
"She's taking good care of herself, not too busy?"
"Nah."
"She's not seeing somebody, is she? Is that why you're being so brief?"
"Oh no. She doesn't want to be dating right now, and besides she doesn't have time with all the painting and shopping and all that other prep for the baby."
"What baby?" Grissom asked accusingly.
"Oh shit," Nick whispered, "Did I say baby?"
"Uh, yeah."
"Would you believe me if I said it was someone else's baby?"
"Should I?"
"No. Shit, Sara is going to kill me."
"Why?"
"She didn't want you to know. She wanted to..." Nick trailed off and watched perplexedly as Grissom jumped up and began to gather his things together.
"What are you doing?"
"Going to see Sara."
"Grissom, I'm not really sure that's such a good idea. I mean, they're taking really good care of her out there in Phoenix and I got a feeling that she didn't want you to know for some really good reason."
"Nick?"
"Yeah?"
"Is the baby mine?"
"Yes."
"Then I have to go."
Nick watched helplessly as Grissom flew out of his office and the lab. "Sara's going to kill me," he repeated.
Though I've tried, I've fallen...I have sunk so low
I have messed up
Better I should know
So don't come round here
And tell me I told you so...
Next chapter: Grissom goes to Phoenix.