Appreciation by SLynn
Summary: An art heist, an arsonist and a lot of angst. Takes place approximately four months after the end of 'Precious Things' This is the fifth in a series. Greg/Sara and Nick/OC
Spoilers: Up to 'Nesting Dolls'
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I'm just borrowing and will return them all when I'm done, virtually untouched.
Chapter 18: Tell Me
Nick and Warrick had been working hard to solve the mystery of who stole 'Adonis in Blue' from the gallery at the Bellagio. Stephanie Winger had voluntarily given up her prints to no avail. She wasn't involved as far as they could tell. Their only lead left was her soon-to-be ex-husband and Brass was bringing him in that morning.
Except Nick couldn't make it.
They'd talked to Ms. Winger before shift had begun and cleared her during the course of the night. As soon as Warrick told Nick they needed to head back over for another interrogation he'd begun to shake his head. He didn't even get the sentence completely out of his mouth.
"Why not?" Warrick asked, not believing it.
"I can't," Nick said again, "I've got an appointment."
"Appointment?" Warrick asked, still not believing it. "For what? Not your arm again..."
"No," Nick said, "It's not serious."
"Then cancel because work is."
"I can't," Nick said shutting his locker, things ready and moving to go.
"What's this about man?"
"Later," Nick said with a nod, "I'll tell you later."
Warrick nodded and called out to him once more before Nick got too far away.
"What should I tell Brass?"
"That I couldn't make it," Nick said with a smile before he left.
Nick walked quickly down the hallway checking his watch as he did. Amy's appointment was at nine o'clock and it was already past eight. He needed to hurry.
Wasting as little time as possible he unlocked his Jeep and sped out towards the main street in the direction of his house. When he got there Amy was waiting on the porch. She didn't question the time just got in and gave him a nervous smile.
The drive was quiet and quick and they arrived with fifteen minutes to spare.
It was time they needed because the paperwork was immense. Amy had just finished before the nurse called her name.
"Do you want me to come with you?" Nick asked as it dawned on him they hadn't discussed it before.
"Yeah," Amy returned quickly, looking relieved.
The first thing they did was take all her vitals before drawing several vials of blood. Next it was a urine sample and then they waited in a private room for Dr. Foster to join them.
Amy sat on the table swinging her legs, just short enough where she couldn't quite touch the step.
"Relax," Nick said squeezing her hand and smiling.
Amy smiled back but looked like she might be sick. They hadn't asked her to change into a gown, which she thought was a good thing, but wanted to know without any more delay what the news was.
Finally a gentle tap at the door and Dr. Foster came inside.
"Hello," she said warmly, "Amy nice to see you again. You, I don't know."
"Nick Stokes," he said shaking her hand.
"Well, I know why you're here," she said, still friendly and warm, "Have a seat and let's get right to this."
Amy took a shaky breath and Nick pulled a chair up beside her still holding her hand.
"The blood test came back positive," Dr. Foster confirmed, "Given what you told me at your last appointment and what the sample told me I'm estimating you're about seven weeks pregnant, due in very late April."
Amy let out a very nervous laugh and put her free hand to her face. Nick turned to her, concerned but not letting go.
"Do you need a minute?" Dr. Foster asked.
"No," Amy said wiping her face, "No. I'm fine."
"Have you two discussed your options?" she asked, at once serious. "Would you like me to go through them with you?"
"No," Amy said still nervous, "I mean, yes we have. We already know we're keeping the baby."
"Alright," she continued, "I've got you prenatal vitamins I want you to start immediately. If they give you too much trouble let me know, some women don't take to them well. I don't see any reason to limit your activity just no strenuous exercise right now. I'll need to see you once a month through the first two trimesters, then once every two weeks until the last month. The last month you'll be having weekly appointments. Do you have any questions for me?"
"Yes," Amy said nodding now, "I work in a Chem lab, is that safe?"
"What kind of research?"
"DNA typing for the Las Vegas Police."
"That should be fine. I'll get you a list of the chemicals to stay away from. I'm assuming you have a fume hood, standard safety precautions all in place."
"Yes."
"And do you wear a mask at work?"
"No."
"Start," Dr. Foster said firmly enough so that both Nick and Amy nodded. "Anything else?"
Amy and Nick both shook their heads.
"Great," Dr. Foster said enthusiastically, shaking both their hands again and moving towards the door, "Please go ahead and make your next appointment with Susie. I'll get that handout for you and those vitamins."
They were out the door again and in the Jeep in another ten minutes both in a daze.
"What do you think?" Nick asked her quietly.
He hadn't even started the engine up yet. They'd just sat there in silence still holding each other's hands.
"That I can't believe this is actually happening," Amy finally said.
Nick nodded and looked down, not sure what to say.
"And," she continued after a pause, "I'm kind of excited."
He looked up at her, not sure if he trusted that yet.
"Nervous," she went on, starting to ramble, "but excited. I mean, it's kind of, wow right?"
Amy finally turned to him and he saw her eyes were bright now, tears hanging off the lower lids but smiling.
"It's very…" Nick said, smiling and nodding too.
She let out a strangled laugh before leaning over and kissing him.
It was hard to believe they were going to be parents.
Greg and Sara decided that night to have breakfast at the house.
As awkward as it might be to have the conversation at the house that was once their home, it would be that much worse trying to really talk with strangers running around them and constant interruptions.
So Sara said she'd bring by some bagels with fixings while Greg raced back to ensure everything was clean. He just remembered to stop on the way and grab a few necessities like milk and juice and butter from the convenience store down the street. Racing into the house the first thing he did was pull together the blanket and pillow he slept with from the couch and throw them into the now completely bare spare room. He was just getting the groceries put away when Sara pulled up.
And man, it was getting ridiculous.
He'd just seen her. They'd had a pretty good night actually after that initial moment. They'd talked and laughed and acted just like they use to. And he felt just like he use to. Like a man with an unconquerable crush.
Sara made her way up the steps and feeling every bit as nervous and uncomfortable as Greg did. Maybe worse. Greg didn't have an audience the way Sara did. Betty's curtains fluttered noticeably from across the street making Sara wish she made it inside before Betty made it out.
Greg met her at the door and surprised them both by kissing her cheek and taking the bag from her without ceremony. Stepping back to let her in he fumbled for a split second at the door before taking everything to the kitchen.
Sara looked around and saw much hadn't changed since the last time she'd been there nearly three months ago.
Greg had called her over then because when he'd finally begun to reorganize the house he'd ran across some more of her things. It had been the first time they'd talked face to face outside of work since their breakup; it was also the first time they'd had sex after their breakup.
They sat down to eat, neither knowing what to say or who should start.
"I'm sorry if I overreacted about Erika," Sara said, decided to take the initiative.
"Well I'm just sorry about Erika. Period."
Sara smiled and felt relief. It was pretty easy to see Greg really wasn't going back to her anytime soon. That even if she had once broken his heart he was past it now.
"I just," Greg started, picking apart his bagel rather then eating it, "I don't want you to think that's the type of woman I like. She wasn't always like this. Her ex-husband isn't the greatest guy in the world, not that he deserved… but that's not important. Josh is like twenty years older then Erika, she was his second wife and he's already moved on to his newest twenty-year old wife number three."
"You know her ex?"
"Yeah," Greg said uneasily, "We've met. My parents too."
Sara nodded and took it in without judging.
"Erika," Greg said with a sigh, "and this is going to sound stupid, but Erika was the first person to really notice me."
"That doesn't sound stupid."
"Thanks, but considering she's manipulative as hell…"
Sara laughed.
"I use to think she left me because I told her about the cancer, that I couldn't have kids. Now I just think that when I told her she realized how serious I was about her and she still thought of it as just a fling."
Greg stopped and took a drink of his juice, shaking his head.
"I was so stupid," he said with a laugh, "I should have known but…"
"Love makes you blind," Sara finished for him.
"No," he said looking at her directly, "I wasn't in love with her. I thought I was but it was more like infatuation. I really thought when I moved here I'd be pining away forever but it really only took a month. A month on my own and here and loving my new life and I was okay again. I still can't believe I moved so far from home just to get away from her. That was crazy."
"No, not crazy. Crazy is moving here to be near someone who couldn't return your feelings."
Greg continued to meet her eyes and she momentarily faltered. She knew Greg could easily guess what she'd meant, but didn't know how he'd take that. His reactions had kept her quiet for a long time; worried he wouldn't look at her the same way once he'd learned some truths about her. Worried he might not want someone so damaged when he already had so many problems of his own.
But she saw it there, the flicker of a smile just behind his eyes. Something like relief. Something like happiness.
Greg just reached across the table and took her hands in his, smiling now not just in his eyes.
"Tell me."