Disclaimer: see first chapter

A/N: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed the past several chapters. This chapter is told half in Sara's POV, and half in Nick's POV. I would have made them two separate chapters, but it's really so short that I didn't see the point. I think it'd delineated enough that it shouldn't cause any confusion, but if it does, let me know and I'll fix it. This next chapter is dedicated to I Want George, who definitely left the funniest (and longest : ) ) review!

2 months later

Sara opened the door to her apartment, welcoming the wafting smell of vegetarian lasagna coming from the kitchen. Her morning sickness had gotten worse, not too long after she finally decided to take some time off work. It seemed for weeks on end, that any aroma sent her running to the nearest bathroom or trashcan. She was so thankful that she had finally entered her second trimester, and the smell of food no longer sent her running to revisit her previous meal.

"So?" Nick asked expectantly, wiping his hands on a towel and tossing it onto the counter.

"So what?" Sara retorted, biting back a grin and carefully lowering herself onto the couch, "And what the hell are you doing in my apartment?"

"Hey, I'm just being nice and making you dinner. Don't want me in here, shouldn't have given me a key. And you didn't answer my question." Sara found him a comical sight, standing in the middle of her kitchen, hands on his hips, with an expectant expression on his face. She threw her head back onto the couch, yawning theatrically. She wasn't quite ready to stop teasing him yet.

"The doctor says I'm right on schedule, everything is normal, the baby is doing great…"

"That's great, really, but you know what I mean." Sara tried to feign confusion, exasperating Nick further. "Which border am I going to be hanging? The flowered one? Or the teddy bears playing baseball?"

"I don't know Nick…" Sara could tell by the expression on his face that she wasn't going to be able to get away with it for much longer.

"Sara…"

"Well, first I need a house that has a nursery that has walls for you to hang this border on. And actually, you won't be hanging either. I'm not really a fan of that flowered border we looked at before. Too cutesy." Sara wrinkled her nose at the remembrance of the samples she and Nick had spent the past weekend looking at. "But I'm sure I'll find something else."

"Come on Sar…oh, wait…girl?" Sara nodded happily, giggling as a grin the size of Texas spread across his face once he realized what she had said. Ever since the initial shock of her pregnancy wore off, Sara had been hardly able to contain her excitement and anticipation, but if it was even possible, Nick was more excited than she was.

"Yes, girl, and she's hungry. How's that lasagna coming?" Anticipating his next question, she reached into her purse and pulled out the sonogram picture, watching in amusement as he rushed over and carefully snatched the picture from her. She didn't miss the soft smile that lit up his face as he examined her first baby picture.

"She's a beauty, just like her mother. And the lasagna's almost done, just a few more minutes in the oven."

Sara rolled her eyes as she felt her face begin to take on a pinkish hue. "Thank you Nick, you didn't have to do this," Sara said seriously, "You've just been spoiling me lately."

"Yeah, but then we would have either been late to the Christmas party, or you would have been complaining all night that you were hungry. And I think you're worth it."

Sara grinned at him sheepishly, and failed to conceal another blush, something that had been happening to her when she was with Nick a lot lately. "Hey! I am eating for two you know, and these holiday parties are always alcohol and hardly vegetarian friendly."

Two hours later Sara had eaten, showered, and dressed. Nick had to suck in a breath when she walked out of her bedroom. She was a vision in a knee length cranberry shift with a neckline deep enough to accentuate her newly developed cleavage. Nick suppressed a smirk; pregnancy had definitely done wonders for her in that department. Along with loose curls spilling over her shoulders, glowing skin, and a gleam in her eyes, Sara was more beautiful than Nick could remember any other woman he knew ever being.

"Wow…Sar, you look amazing," Nick stuttered from the couch, trying to quash the thoughts running through his mind. There was no way he should be thinking about his very beautiful, very pregnant, best friend the way he had been the past several weeks.

A faint blush stained her cheeks as she made her way to the couch, shoes in hand. She began to fasten the straps on her flat sandals with a smile playing across her lips.

"I finally let Catherine take me shopping for maternity clothes. I got tired of trying to squeeze into my old clothes every day."

Nick chuckled at the memory of a phone call he received from a very tearful Sara the first time she wasn't able to zip her favorite pair of jeans. For weeks she refused to acknowledge the fact that she was gaining weight, leading to some very emotional outbursts when Nick or Catherine tried to intervene.

Sara narrowed her eyes at him. "And what's funny about that?"

Aware that he had to tread very carefully in order to avoid bodily injury, Nick paused for a moment to form his answer. "I'm just amused that you were so adamantly against buying maternity clothes, in light of the fact that you look pretty hot in that dress."

The expression on Sara's face softened as she blushed again. She giggled and slapped him playfully on the arm. "Well Stokes, you do know how to make a girl feel good. And I have to say, you look pretty fine yourself in that suit. I may just have to rethink my opinion of office parties that require you to dress up."

"Come on Sar, we're gonna be late if we don't get a move on." Nick flashed her a grin and offered her a hand to help pull herself off the couch. After grabbing his car keys, they were out the door and on their way to the LVPD Crime Lab Christmas party.