Disclaimer: see first chapter
A/N: Thanks to everyone who has been reviewing, you really motivate me to keep going. I'm trying to portray this as accurately as possible, and since I've never been pregnant myself, I've been relying on websites, and what I remember my friend Jenny telling me while she was pregnant. If something seems glaringly wrong, please let me know and I'll try to fix it! Enjoy, and let me know what you think!
It took Sara two weeks to stop glaring anytime anyone had a cup of coffee within a twenty foot radius of her. It was definitely one of the harder things to deal with, especially since she was used to consuming two or three cups per shift.
Things were beginning to change around the lab, and Sara wasn't quite sure how she felt about it. Grissom began strictly enforcing her work hours, not letting her stay a minute later than her shift officially ended. So far Nick had kept his promise about not hovering, and everyone else seemed to take his lead, but there were still times that the boys slyly left her in the lab while processing a scene they didn't think she should be at. She was grateful for the concern, and knowing that in fairness to the life growing inside of her, she had to concede to some of their concerns, but she refused to let her professional responsibility come into question. She dreaded letting Ecklie, who had recently become lab director, use her pregnancy as a reason to keep her locked away in the lab and out of the field.
She wasn't sure exactly what would happen the first time they all had to pull a double, and honestly, with the way she had been feeling, she wasn't sure she'd make it through two shifts without collapsing from exhaustion. So far, pregnancy had been kind to her in the morning sickness department, but it was more than making up for it in exhaustion. There were days Sara was barely able to drag herself out of bed, let alone shower and get ready for her shift. Consequently, she spent most of her time away from work in bed or lying on her couch.
In fact, that's where she was now, curled up on the couch in a t-shirt and a pair of boxers, trying to find the energy to sit up and reach for the remote. She had been invited to go out with the boys that night, but had told them she had some stuff to get done around the house. She didn't want them to realize how much this baby was kicking her ass already, thinking that if they knew, they'd start the hovering she was dreading.
Sighing, Sara realized she was going to be stuck watching a Danielle Steele movie of the week because there was no way she was getting up to get that remote. A loud bang on her door made her groan in frustration. She considered ignoring it for a minute, and going back to her Lifetime movie hell, but the person on the other side of the door was too persistent for their own good. As she pushed herself up off the couch, she prepared to slaughter whoever was at her front door.
Her death glare settled on Nick, who pushed his way in, balancing a pizza and two dvd cases.
"I decided to bail on Warrick and Greg, thought I could persuade you to play hooky from your chores and watch a movie. I even brought food with me…" Nick trailed off when he noticed the look Sara was giving him. His gaze traveled back and forth between her and the rumpled state of the couch. "Looks like I wasn't interrupting anything. What happened to all that important stuff you had to do?"
Sara wasn't quite sure why, but suddenly she burst into tears, still standing with her front door wide open. Nick looked puzzled, but then set down the boxes and enveloped her into a hug before leading her back to the couch. She collapsed into the seat, curling up into a ball and sniffling.
"I'm sorry Sar…I don't know what I did, but I'm sorry." He furrowed his brow and reached out a hand to stroke her hair, but she batted it away angrily as she continued to cry. Instead, he sighed, and left to close the door and put the pizza in the kitchen.
By the time he came back, Sara had turned herself towards the back of the couch, head buried in the pillow. She was mortified; first at bursting into tears for seemingly no reason, and then for being so mean to Nick when he was only trying to be nice. She felt the cushions bounce as he sat, her knees trapped between him and the couch as he tentatively reached out and rubbed her back. This sweet gesture caused her to start crying all over again, and it was several minutes before she could gather her senses.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
"Nothing to be sorry about, darlin. You're allowed the occasional out burst, those hormones are working a number on your system. I'm just sorry I made you cry." The soothing tone of his voice reassured Sara, but she still felt bad that he thought it was his fault.
"It wasn't you, Nick," she replied, turning to face him and running a hand over her eyes to wipe away the tears, "It's just…I have so much to do, but I'm just so damn tired all the time. I need to find a house, finish my maternity leave paperwork, I've got a stack of books from Catherine to go through, pregnancy books, name books…I've got to find daycare, and furniture, but all I can do is lay on the damn couch."
Despite her best efforts, she could feel the tears welling up again, but this time she didn't resist when Nick pulled her up and into a hug. "Sar, you've got time for all of this. You don't have to get everything done now, and you've got people to help you when you do have to get this stuff done."
"But what if it's not ready when the baby comes?" she sniffled, leaning against him.
"Sweetheart, if you expect everything to be ready…well it's just not gonna happen. The important stuff will get done, and the rest…well, it'll get there. Not even Sara Sidle can be prepared for everything, and if this kid is anything like you, he or she's gonna make sure of that. Keep you on your toes, like you do with the rest of us."
Sara allowed herself to smile, but she still had doubts. Still, knowing that she had Nick there with her made her feel a little bit stronger. He squeezed her shoulder gently and dropped a kiss onto her temple.
"Why didn't you tell us you were feeling so lousy Sar? Grissom would have given you some time off."
"I can do my job Nick." Sara winced at the harsh tone her voice had taken, but she was so frustrated that everyone thought they had the easy answers. Nick must have sensed this, because Sara noticed a pause before he answered.
"We know you can do your job Sara. And you do a damn fine job at it too. But things are different now. You won't feel like this forever, but you need to take care of yourself. Your first priority should be to yourself and this baby, not to the lab. No one is going to think any less of you if you take some time off."
Sara could feel her resolve slipping as she listened to Nick's logical argument. Plus, the scent of his aftershave had a calming effect on her, so she allowed herself to lean against him and process her thoughts.
"Maybe a week," she finally conceded with a small smile, "But that's it."
Nick chuckled next to her, and dropped another kiss on her head before standing up. "See how you feel. Now, how would you feel about some pizza?"
"Sounds good."
Sara got comfortable on the couch while she listened to Nick rustle around in the kitchen. She spotted the movies just within her reach, and leaned over to check out his selections.
"Hey Nick, I never figured you for a fan of My Big Fat Greek Wedding," she teased.
"Well, I figured you'd appreciate that more than The Ring," he shot back with a grin as she shuddered. She had gone with Warrick, Nick, Greg, and Catherine to see that movie when it first came out, and Greg and Nick had both complained of indentations from her fingernails for days afterwards.
Nick came back to the couch, balancing two plates full of cheesy, vegetable pizza, a stack of napkins, and two glasses. As he plopped carefully down onto the couch beside Sara, he handed her a plate and set the napkins down on the table in front of them. Sara eyed him warily as he set down a glass of milk in front of her.
"But I don't like milk," she protested, taking a sloppy bite from the first piece.
"I know, but you really need to drink it. Besides, there wasn't much else in that fridge of yours."
"Did you have to pour such a big glass?" she complained and she reached out and choked down the entire glass in almost one chug. When Nick gave her an amused look, she glared. "It has to be ice cold…if it sits, I won't drink it. Happy now?"
Nick just grinned in reply and took a sip of the ice tea he had poured for himself. "Knew I'd have more fun with you tonight."
"So why exactly did you ditch Warrick and Greg?"
Nick swallowed another cheesy bite and downed the rest of his glass before he attempted to answer. "Well, Warrick ditched us first. Something about Catherine needing help fixing her washing machine." Nick rolled his eyes. "Like we would really buy that for a second. Anyways, Greg wanted to go out to some new club, meet some girls, but I just wasn't in the mood for it tonight. So I figured I'd see what you were up to."
Sara tried to conceal a blush as she took another bite of pizza. She wasn't sure exactly why she was so pleased that Nick had chosen her over the chance to pick up some girls at a club, but it was something worth taking some time to mull over once she wasn't so exhausted.
Her mind had wandered, and it wasn't until she heard Nick say, "So what do you think?" that she snapped back to reality.
"Huh? Sorry," she replied sheepishly, hoping that he wouldn't guess why her mind had suddenly taken a detour.
"I'm that captivating, huh?" he teased, "I asked you if you wanted me to come over Sunday after shift. I can bring some breakfast, and the real estate listings. If you're up to it, we can go out for lunch, and maybe grocery shopping."
Sara nodded and set her now empty plate down on the table, before reaching over and giving Nick a big hug. He seemed a bit surprised, but returned the hug fully.
"Thank you," she whispered in his ear.
"For what?"
"For being here…for being you."
Sara could see his cheeks redden as he ducked his head for a moment. When he looked back up at her, he was wearing a cheesy grin. "I am a great guy, aren't I?"
Rolling her eyes, she swatted him on the arm and gestured at one of the dvd cases on the table. "And modest too…"
Nick just chuckled and quickly popped the movie into Sara's DVD player. When he returned, he pulled her feet into his lap while she got comfortable, before covering her with a blanket from the back of the couch. Sara knew she wouldn't make it more than ten minutes into the movie, but she was happy to wake up several hours later, and see Nick still in the same spot, his head leaning against the back of the couch, snoring lightly. She spread the blanket out to cover him as well and drifted back to sleep.