Holidays at the Stokes Place

Pairing: Nick and Sara (Of course! I wouldn't have it any other way)

Nick and Sara return to Nick's favorite park for a day of relaxation. They already had all their Christmas present shipped to their home since they couldn't take all that stuff with them on the plane.

Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own Sara, Nick or any other mentioned character on CSI. If I did own Sara and Nick, they would have been hooked up and hitched already! (Writers of the show: take notice. However, I do own Nick's family.

Confessions and Baby Talk

Sara was sitting on the bench looking at the Dallas sky. Nick left to get a sip of water from the water fountain. He returned and joined her on the bench. She smiled at him as he sat next to her.

"Do you miss me?" Nick asked.

"You have no idea," Sara smiled.

Nick only chuckled. He snaked his arm around Sara's waist and pulled her a little closer. She laid her head on his shoulder. They sat in silence for a few moments taking in the beauty of the park and the cotton cloud filled Dallas sky.

"Nick, I have a confession to make," Sara said quietly.

"Are you pregnant?" Nick asked almost alarmed.

"No, I am not," Sara said. "I just need to get something off my system."

"What is it?" Nick said releasing his embrace and holding her hand. "Sara, the suspense is killing me!"

"Before I fell in with and eventually married you," Sara said. "I was afraid to get into a deep relationship that would lead to marriage."

"How come you were afraid?" Nick asked.

"You know my family," Sara said. "My unreasonable mother, somewhat clueless father and crazy brother: they are not like your parents and siblings. My brother's kids are two of the worst imps ever conceived. I know that your nieces and nephews have their impish moments, but they are the best kids in the world."

"Sara, what does this have to do with your past fear of marriage?" Nick asked with gentle insistence.

"I pitied the man who would marry me," Sara said. "That meant he would also be married into my family and I don't think he could handle it."

"Oh, Sara, do you remember our wedding vows?" Nick asked and Sara nodded. "There was that line saying 'for better or for worse'. It showed that I could handle being a part of your family regardless of how crazy they really are. Sara, I must confess that I was more nervous about meeting your family than you probably were meeting mine."

"You, Nick Stokes, nervous about meeting my strange and crazy family," Sara said in shock and with a very subtle laugh. "I can't believe it!"

Nick blushed.

"It's true," Nick said. "I did handle the situation really well. I remember your brother asking me why a son of a judge and lawyer would fall in love with a daughter of ex-hippies. He thought that it was a strange combination. I told him that I didn't care about your parents being hippies, I told him I love his little sister dearly and that what matters to me the most."

There was a brief silence as they took in the fresh air.

"It was this past Thanksgiving that ruffled my feathers a bit," Nick broke the silence. "I have to admit that you were the only bright spot during our stay with them."

"Yeah, I bring a sense of normalcy to my side of our family," Sara chuckled.

"Sara, I love you and please don't ever underestimate that," Nick said. "You are very special to me."

"Nick, I love you, too," Sara replied. "Believe me, I would never do that."

"Do you want to go for a walk?" Nick asked. "We can talk more."

"I'd love to," Sara said. "I am getting tired of sitting anyway."

They got up from the bench and started walking. At first they were holding hands. Nick put his arm around Sara's waist and pulled her closer. She put her arm around his waist. They passed by an elderly couple who just stared at them. Nick and Sara just smiled at them and continued their walk.

"Ah, young lovers, they are so sweet," the elderly woman said to her husband.

"They remind me of how we were when at that age," he said.

Nick thought about the elderly couple that he and Sara encountered. He wondered when they become old themselves, would they admire young couples and reminisce about the youth gone by. After a while of walking, they stopped but didn't sit down. There was another brief silence as they stared at each other.

"Nick, I was thinking about starting a family," Sara said.

He nearly fainted at Sara's thoughts about having a family.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, I am fine," Nick said. "I never thought I would see the day when you say you wanted kids."

"That was when we first met," Sara said. "As we got to know each other and started dating, my attitude started to change. When you took me to Dallas to meet your family for the first time, I knew that I wanted to have children more than ever."

"Sara, the day that I saw you while I was throwing dummies off that hotel rooftop," Nick said. "I knew that I found the woman that would end my so-called reputation as a ladies' man, that I would love to settle down and raise a family with. My only regret is that we didn't fall for each other sooner."

"I regret that also," Sara said. "I am glad that I am married to you now."

"Me too, Sara, me too," Nick said as he pulled her into an embrace. "So, when do you want to start trying for a baby?"

"After we settle back in Vegas," Sara said. "I don't want to unpack and stress out over that and have worry about getting pregnant or not."

"We don't have to rush into it," Nick reassured her. "At least we are planning for it. Besides, I want to pass down the Stokes charm to our kids."

"Don't forget our looks, intelligence and our smiles," Sara beamed. "If we give them those things, they have it made."

"I love you, Sara," Nick said sweetly.

"I love you, too, Nicky," she replied with the same tone.

They kissed and slowly released each other from their embrace. Nick grinned at Sara as they resumed walking. They stopped to look at the flowers in the small garden and taking photos. An hour later, they were hungry and left the park. They went to a Thai restaurant for lunch. Three hours later, they were back at Stokes Manor packing most of their things. The next day they would fly back to Vegas. Thomas and Cynthia would take them out for dinner at a French restaurant.

TBC