Sara Meets The Stokes
Pairing: Nick and Sara
Nick is cooking a romantic candlelit dinner for Sara. What does he have up his sleeve tonight?
A/N: I originally wanted to write this chapter as a stand alone one shot story. However, by demand, I decided to write this as an epilogue to this story. I hoped you enjoyed reading this story as much as wrote it!
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the CSI characters. I only own Nick's family.
Epilogue
Three months later
Nick carefully read the instruction of the package of fresh Portobello mushroom ravioli he purchased from a friend's gourmet grocery store. He had a pot of boiling water on top of the stove. He took a small knife, cut open the package and slowly emptied the contents into the pot. He lowered the heat of the burner that had the sauce he made to keep it warm while the pasta was cooking. He placed a colander on the basin of the sink. He stirred the pasta so no individual pieces would stick to each other.
Sara was due to arrive at his place within an hour. She pulled a double shift meanwhile he worked three quarters of his. Grissom was kind enough to allow him to leave work early to pull off a romantic candlelit dinner with a special surprise for Sara. He had to shop for groceries and a little present for her from a jewelry store. Now he was cooking dinner and waiting for her arrival.
He tested one of the raviolis for doneness. After he was satisfied, he carefully took the pot, poured the contents into the colander and allowed the ravioli to drain. Using the potholders, Nick grabbed the colander and put the pasta into the pan that had the sauce. He replaced colander in the sink and immediately stirred the ravioli into the sauce. He covered the pan and turned off the heat. He made the salad and tossed in the dressing and put it in the refrigerator. He also checked on the status of the tiramisu he bought the day before that he had in the freezer and had thawed it in the fridge since the morning. It looked like it was ready to be eaten, but he kept in there until it was time for dessert.
A few moments later, he heard his front door open and loudly slam shut. He knew Sara had arrived. He saw her walking into his living room. She had a scowl on her face that looking at Nick's grin couldn't alleviate.
"Sara, what's the matter with you?" Nick asked with concern.
"It was a case that Warrick and I were investigating!" Sara snapped.
"If Warrick did or say anything to piss you off," Nick said. "I will kick his ass for-"
"Nick, it wasn't Warrick that put me in a foul mood," Sara said. "It was that fucking punk kid that played us both and O'Riley is practically livid. Warrick is in a rotten mood. Grissom had to send us home early."
"Come to my room," Nick coaxed her. "I want to give you a neck, shoulder and back massage with lavender oil. You can lie down on my bed for a few moments to calm down until I call you to dinner. How does that sound?"
"You sure know how to make a girl feel better," Sara smiled as Nick led her to his room.
She removed her blouse and bra and laid on her stomach on Nick's bed. He went to his bathroom and came back with a small bottle of lavender oil mixed in a soybean oil base he bought from The Body Shop. He poured a small amount of it and started massaging Sara's neck, shoulders and back. She moaned with delight and her mood improved significantly. He washed his hands and allowed her to take a cat nap while checked on the dinner.
"Sara, dinner is ready!" Nick shouted from the kitchen. "Wake up, put back your bra and blouse and come to the table!"
A few moments later, a happier Sara emerged from Nick's bedroom and notice that it was dim in the dining room. The only sources of light were several candles that he had lit to give the room a romantic ambiance.
"What's the occasion, Nicky?" Sara asked.
"Can't I have a romantic candlelight dinner with my girlfriend for the hell of it?" Nick asked with a slight whine.
"Of course, you love to spoil me," Sara observed.
There will be a special surprise for you in a little while, Nick happily thought.
Nick smiled and went to get the salad and a bottle of champagne. He served Sara and then himself the salad. He poured the champagne into the glass flutes. He made a toast. Both he and Sara lifted their glasses and gently tapped each other's glass. They started eating the salad.
"Wow, this dressing is delicious!" Sara said. "Nick did you make it or buy it?"
"I bought it," Nick smiled. "I am glad you like it. Oh shit, I forgot to heat the baguette."
"Nick, don't get stressed out over it," Sara said. "Or it would be my turn to give you a massage."
He chuckled and took a small sip of his champagne.
"So, how did that punk play you, Warrick and O'Riley?" Nick asked.
"I don't want to go into details," Sara said. "All I can say is that he deny killing the girl and told us his stepbrother did. Thanks to our lab rat Greggo and his DNA expertise, that punk is so busted. Nick, I don't this is an appropriate topic of conversation for a romantic dinner."
"My bad, I apologize for the unfortunate faux pas," Nick blushed. "I just wanted to know what caused you to slam my front door."
"Nick, just shut up and finish your salad," Sara giggled and sipped her champagne.
Nick laughed and took the final bite of his salad. When he saw Sara was finished, he excused himself, took the salad plates and went to the kitchen. He came back with two main course plates. He made another trip to the kitchen so he could bring the pan containing the sauced ravioli that he kept warm.
"That smells delicious!" Sara smiled that turned to seriousness. "Does that have any meat?"
"Sara, I would never do that to you," Nick said. "I told you that I'm more than willing to have a vegetarian dinner twice a week."
"My Texas Cowboy is more than happy to meet me halfway," Sara was feigning shock.
"You know you can't whine about my eating meat," Nick smirked. "I know I can't force you to eat it, but I don't want to hear any complaints about my meat consumption. Is that fair enough?"
"Yes, just serve the entrée," she insisted with laughter.
He put half of the ravioli on Sara's plate and the other half on his. He went back to the kitchen to put the pan on an unlit burner to allow it to cool off before he washed it. He returned to the dining room, sat down and enjoyed eating the ravioli with sauce. He looked at Sara for a reaction.
"Now before you ask me," Nick beamed. "I made the sauce myself."
"It is awesome!" Sara grinned. "It's not the Olive Garden, but it's still yummy!"
"The sauce is my mom's recipe," Nick explained. "She taught the seven of us how to make it and allowed us to tinker with it whenever possible to fit one's tastes and eating styles."
"It looks like she raised a good cook," she said.
"Seven of them to be exact," Nick added with a smile.
Sara took another sip of her champagne and another bite of her ravioli. Nick was still smiling at her while he ate his ravioli and sipped his champagne. Part of the dinner conversation was devoted to jokes about mean Ecklie and that ass-kisser Hodges. They also discussed more serious matters between bites and sips. When Nick finished with his dish and saw Sara had cleaned off her plate, he took the plates to the kitchen sink to be washed.
"Nick, do you need any help?" Sara shouted.
"No, thank you!" Nick shouted back. "You just sit and relax while I do everything!"
This time, Nick took a little longer than usual to come back. Sara understood that he was probably preparing the dessert and possibly some coffee. It wasn't until she smelled fresh coffee brewing that she knew that's what they were going to drink.
Maybe he should give Greggo a break occasionally and make some for the crew, Sara thought.
He returned with two small plates that had one slice each of tiramisu with a little bit of whipped cream. Once he served the tiramisu, he sat down, but there was a pause. Sara grew concerned.
"Nick, is there something wrong?" she asked.
"Nothing's wrong," Nick reassured her. "On the contrary, this just is the perfect moment."
Sara looked at him with confusion over what he meant by that statement.
"Sara, we've known each other for a little over three years," Nick said. "We spent most of that time flirting with each other. Sure, we had a few misses and there was the Hank situation. What is really important are the past few months we have been together as a couple. That trip to Dallas has brought us even closer together than we never thought possible. My family adores you and I know you adore them!"
"Nick, what are you trying to tell me?" Sara asked.
"I want to spend the rest of my life with you," Nick smiled. "I want to grow old with you and raise a family with you."
It wasn't until he revealed a small blue velvet box that was hiding under a cloth napkin near the vase that Sara knew what was going on.
"Sara Margaret Sidle, will you marry me?" Nick asked.
"Yes, Nicholas Anthony Stokes, I will marry you!" Sara cried.
He took out the beautiful, but simple diamond ring and placed it in her finger. They got up, embraced and kissed each other. Nick went back to the kitchen to check on the coffee and returned with two coffee cups. He made another trip to bring the coffeepot. He poured the coffee and sat down. Sara sat at her seat with a tearful smile. They ate the tiramisu and drank the coffee.
"So, when do you want to tell our families, friends and colleagues about our engagement?" Sara asked.
"Let's wait until tomorrow," Nick smiled. "I have a feeling Warrick will be the first to find out."
"I am sure he will tell everyone at the lab before we do," Sara chuckled. "I love you, Nick."
"I love you, too, Sara or the future Mrs. Nicholas Anthony Stokes," Nick said and both he and Sara laughed a little.
THE END
