Holidays at the Stokes Place

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

Nick and Sara have returned to Vegas. Brass picks them up from the airport and takes them home.

A/N: This is the last official chapter of the story. However, I have a special bonus chapter for you in the works real soon! Stay tuned to find out about this treat!

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.

The Return to Vegas

"Sara, look at Vegas," Nick said. "It looks like one of those miniature model cities from 30-something thousand feet in the air."

"Wow, it looks so peaceful down there," Sara said. "It looks like no crimes have been taking place. Of course, you know that appearances can be deceiving."

"I know," Nick said softly.

The captain made her announcement that they are beginning the descent to Las Vegas. She told the passengers to turn off all electrical equipment, keep their seat belts fastened, bring their seats in the upright position and to stow the tray tables. She also mentioned the weather and temperature in Vegas. She concluded her announcement with the ETA at McCarran International Airport and told the flight attendants to prepare for landing.

Since Nick and Sara were awake the entire flight, they didn't have to worry about putting their seats back in the upright position. However, they had coffee and a snack so they had to stow the tray tables. The flight attendants came by with garbage bags so the passengers could throw out any last minute garbage. Nick was close to the aisle, he gave the flight attendant his and Sara's garbage. Nick offered Sara a stick of gum, she accepted and he took one for himself so their ears didn't get stuffed up during landing. Sara held Nick's hand as the plane descended to Vegas.

The plane finally touched down at McCarran and started taxiing down the runway.

"Ladies and gentlemen welcome to McCarran International Airport," a flight attendant said. "We ask that you remain seated with your seat belts on until the captain turns of the seat belt sign and the plane has come to a complete stop. Be careful when you open the overhead bins as items may have shifted during the flight. If Las Vegas is your final destination, then welcome and your baggage claim area is C. If you are taking a connecting flight, please take the time to look at the screens for your flight number and departure time. On behalf of the Dallas-Fort Worth based crew, we know you have a choice of airlines and we are happy you chose ours. Have a nice day!"

"Flight attendants prepare for arrival," the captain said.

Once the plane came to a complete stop at its gate, everyone unfastened their seatbelts and carefully opened the overhead compartments. Nick helped two high school aged girls with their compartment. My husband, the terrific gentleman, Sara thought. He noticed Sara staring at him.

"Hey, they remind me of our teenage nieces," Nick said as he opened the bin that he kept their tote bag in. "Come on, Brass is waiting for us."

Nick and Sara left the plane and headed towards baggage claim. Sara had the claim stubs for their suitcase and garment bag. She saw the garment bag that matched the claim number and the name 'Sara Stokes' on it. She then looked for a match for the suitcase under the name 'Nicholas Stokes'. Nick took the claim stubs and took the suitcase with the matching number and name. They went looking for Brass, but they didn't need to look for very long. He smiled when he saw them.

"Nicky, Sara, welcome back to Las Vegas," Brass said as he embraced them. "Let me help you with your bags."

"Thank you, Brass," Nick said.

The three of them left the terminal building to go to Brass' Tahoe. He placed the garment bag and suitcase in the back. Nick sat in the front passenger seat while Sara sat behind him. Once Brass was settled in the driver's seat, they were on there way. Brass even played Nick and Sara's favorite rock station.

"How was Dallas?" Brass asked.

"It was awesome to come home," Nick said. "Even though my home now is in Vegas, once in a while, I just want to visit the family in Dallas. We had a great time."

"We went to Nick's favorite park," Sara said. "I met one of his childhood friends and his family. We took our younger nieces and nephews to the Dallas Zoo. We had a great time checking out some of the animals. We also went to the Dallas Museum of Natural History."

"While we were at the museum," Nick said. "Sara discovered a mammal and a bird that kind of reminded her of Greg Sanders."

Brass laughed at Nick's remark. He would have paid good money just to see Greg's reaction to the findings.

"We also saw the museums bug collection," Sara said.

"Gil is going to love that," Brass said. "Did you photograph a sample of the collection and taken notes on them?"

"Yeah, we did," Nick said. "We probably have several dozen photos of insects in our suitcase. We must have taken an entire notebook's worth of notes."

"Jim, you told us you went to Catherine's for New Year's Eve," Sara said. "Did anything interesting happen?"

"Nothing unusual happened besides the expected ball drop in Times Square," Brass said. "We all had a wonderful time at Catherine's. However, Lindsey said that before the end of the year you are going to have a baby."

Nick's mouth practically opened at hearing about Lindsey's prediction. He wanted to tell Brass about the talk he and Sara had yesterday. Unfortunately, Sara had made him swear not to tell anyone outside the family about their plans. He knew that if he did, he would have the Wrath of Sara to deal with at home.

"She actually said that?" Nick asked.

"Yes, Catherine almost choked on a piece of biscotti when Lindsey said that," Brass said. "Here is the kicker, she also said that it will be a girl."

"That girl has a mind of her own," Sara said. "She is barely a teenager and already she has a future as a psychic."

All three of them laughed at Sara's comment. Nick and Sara were thinking about yesterday's conversation in the park. They were both in disbelief that Lindsey would say something like that. Part of them wanted it to be a joke, but they both knew that it wasn't.

"Let's change the subject," Brass said. "I talked to Gil yesterday. I told him that I would be picking you up at the airport. He told me to tell you that you would be off until the 6th."

"I thought we were going to be back on the 5th," Nick said. "What has gotten into Grissom?"

"Maybe the man has stars in his eyes," Brass offered his theory. "You know that he proposed to Catherine."

"Lindsey was the one that told us," Sara said with a slight chuckle.

"I imagine she would blab it out," Brass said.

An hour later due to airport traffic, they arrived at Nick and Sara's apartment complex. Brass got out of the car first and opened the passenger side doors. Nick and Sara got out and followed Brass to the back. He opened the back do and helped them with their bags.

"Thank you, Jim for giving us a ride home," Nick said. "Sara and I really appreciate it a lot."

"You are very welcome, Nick," Brass said. "I would have done just about anything for two of my favorite CSIs. I have to get back to the crime lab. There is a new case that came up yesterday and there are no leads so far. Don't worry, I got O'Riley to cover for me while I was waiting for you at the airport. Oh, I forgot to tell you that January 7th, there will be a party at Warrick's place to celebrate Gil and Catherine's engagement. It is a dress up occasion."

Nick and Sara just smiled at Brass. As he pulled out of the parking spot, they waved to him and he waved back. When he was out of the complex, Nick and Sara started walking toward the apartment. Nick was dragging the suitcase while Sara carried the garment bag as well as the tote bag. They were both exhausted from the flight. What they wanted was to go to bed and sleep it off.

"Do you want me to do the honors?" Nick asked when they stopped in front of their door. "Unless, you want to do it."

"Nick, I am carrying the garment bag with both hands," Sara said. "You have a free hand, so go right ahead."

Nick fished for the house key in his pocket. He unlocked the door and they went inside the apartment. Sara turned on the lights in the foyer and living room. They placed the bags on the couch and debating whether or not to open the suitcase and place the majority of their clothes in the hamper. Nick's suit and Sara's dress were going to the cleaners.

"Are you hungry?" Sara asked.

"Yeah, I am starving," Nick said. "Let's order a small pizza with whole wheat crust, onions, mushrooms, black olives and extra cheese."

"I'll make the call," Sara said.

A little over a half hour after Sara called in the order, the pizza and iced tea arrived. Sara paid the delivery man and gave him a generous tip. She locked the door. Nick set the table and they ate their pizza. They talked about their trip and its highlights. For dessert, they had cookie dough ice cream.

"Sara, let's deal with the suitcase and bags tomorrow," Nick said with a yawn. "Why don't we go to bed? I can see you could barely keep your eyes open."

"Nick, I am not that tired," Sara protested.

"Sara, we had flown from Dallas-Fort Worth to Vegas," Nick said. "It was an almost three hour flight. I am exhausted myself. Don't argue with me any further! We are going to bed and get some much needed and deserved sleep."

Sara huffed in frustration as this was an argument she wasn't going to win.

"Tell you what," Nick said. "We can watch the Discovery Channel or Animal Planet until we fall asleep. What do you think?"

"I love watching the Discovery Channel and Animal Planet with you, Cowboy," Sara said.

Fifteen minutes later, they were in bed watching a documentary about primates on Animal Planet. At first, they were paying attention, but they hardly could stay awake for two minutes. Sara immediately turned off the television.

"I love you, Sara," Nick said.

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

They kissed each other tenderly and drifted off to sleep in each other's arms. They were looking forward to the day off, going back to work, the party for Grissom and Catherine at Warrick's and plans for an addition to the Stokes family.

THE END

Stay tuned for a special bonus!