A New Addition

Pairing: Nick and Sara

Catherine takes Sara shopping for a maternity wardrobe and some other things. Nick has to pull a double shift due to someone in Swing shift on vacation.

Disclaimer: I don't own Nick, Sara or any other CSI character. I do own Nick and Sara's families and any other non-CSI character.

Shopping Mall, Girl Talk and Double Shift

Catherine and Sara were sitting at a table in the food court. They weren't eating, but resting their legs after at least an hour of walking from shop to shop. Shopping would resume when they felt more energized.

"Nick is pulling a double today," Sara said. "Someone from Ecklie's team decided to take a day off. If I come home to see my husband's sleeping form either on the couch or in our bed, I will know that it was Ecklie."

"I don't understand why he couldn't get Greg to pull a double," Catherine said. "He just became a CSI and needs the experience. I don't think it was fair that Nick has to work a double when he should be here with you."

"Ecklie is a jackass," Sara said.

"I agree," Catherine said. "Sara, I need to talk to you about something. Last week, I was on a case with Nick and Grissom. While we were on the way back to the crime lab to process the evidence, Nick told us something about your mother."

"What about my mother?" Sara asked.

"Nick told us that when you told her about the baby," Catherine said gently. "She said something very cruel and wasn't sincere with her congratulations."

"My mother can be the biggest bitch in the world," Sara said. "She almost didn't go to my wedding because it was in Dallas instead of Vegas or San Francisco. She made a scene at San Francisco International Airport two days before the wedding."

"What did she do?" Catherine asked in near shock.

"According to my brother," Sara said. "She threatened an airline counter agent and was nearly arrested. My father had to sedate her before they boarded the plane. The only good thing that came out of it was that she had a good time at the wedding."

"At least, she had fun," Catherine said. "I don't understand why she wasn't happy with the news about the baby. Doesn't she have two other grandchildren?"

"I don't get it either," Sara said. "My brother has two children and this one will be our parents' third grandkid."

Suddenly, Sara's cell phone rang.

"Sidle-Stokes," Sara answered.

"Sara, it's me, Nick," the familiar voice with the Texas drawl said.

"Hey, Cowboy, how are you coping?" she asked.

"I would rather be with you at this time," Nick said. "Damn, I hate Ecklie! The investigation is slow, but we are making surprisingly great progress."

"That's good," Sara said. "Nick, I would love to chat with you more, but you have some work to do. I am at the mall with Catherine and we will be here for another hour or two. I am going straight home and taking a nap. I will see you tonight at work."

"I can't wait to see the new clothes you bought," Nick said. "That is if I can stay awake."

"Do you want me to call Greg and tell him to give you the first cup of coffee," Sara said.

"No, that won't be necessary," Nick said. "I think I can manage for a while. Sara, I have to go. I'll see you tonight. I love you and Tadpole!"

"We love you, too, Nicky," Sara said and they hung up.

"So, when are you going to stop calling the baby Tadpole?" Catherine asked with a chuckle.

"When I am three months along and that will be two weeks away," Sara said. "Nick and I were going to call it Fetus until we know the sex of the baby. However, Nick now wants to call it Mini-Baby until we know if it's either Princess or Prince."

"The two of you are too much," Catherine said still chuckling. "How about we do some more shopping? I think you may need a nice maternity dress for a future event."

"Catherine, don't tell me you and Grissom set a date before my baby is born," Sara said in shock.

"We haven't set a date, yet," Catherine said in a reassuring tone. "Nick's parents, your in-laws, will celebrate their golden anniversary in July. I have a feeling Grissom will let you and Nick go to Dallas for the celebration. You probably need a nice dress for the occasion. Also, you should buy a gift for Nick to show him how much you care about him and that he is special to you!"

"I don't know what to get him," Sara said. "I mean, he is my husband, I should know what he likes. However, I don't want to give him another present associating with his pending fatherhood. It should say 'I love you' and 'You're special to me'."

"What about a pair of cufflinks or a tie tack?" Catherine suggested. "Maybe he should get a book about California or Massachusetts. You're from California and you went to college in Massachusetts, right?"

"Yeah, but I want to buy him a book on Texas," Sara said.

"Sara, that man has plenty of things Texas than I can count on my fingers and toes," Catherine said. "Give him a little California or Massachusetts to add into the mix. I am sure that he would appreciate that."

"I guess you are right," Sara smiled.

"Let's do some more shopping," Catherine said with a smile as the two women got up from their seats.

Meanwhile at the Crime Lab

"Hey, Stokes, I have the results of the DNA tests," Hodges said.

"Do we have a match or not?" Nick said. "I am a little tired and I don't have the patience to deal with idiocy."

"It's a positive perfect match," Hodges said after Nick violently swiped the document from his hands. "We got our woman."

"The killer is a female?" Nick asked. "That damn bitch Brandi has played us all this time. I will call Vega. She is so going down."

"Nick, how's Sara doing?" Hodges asked.

"She's two and half months pregnant," Nick said dreading the nuisance's need for conversation. "Other than that, she is fine."

"Why isn't she doing a double with you?" Hodges asked.

"Ecklie called me to do a double," Nick said. "He didn't want Sara to come. No, her pregnancy wasn't a factor in his decision. He needed only one person to fill for someone on vacation."

Ecklie approached the two men. Hodges was relieved to see him, but Nick subtly cringed.

"I heard that Brandi killed that elderly couple," Ecklie said. "She was blaming it on her boyfriend. Hodges, call Vega and tell him to bring Brandi in."

"I'll call him," Nick said. "Hodges, go back to the lab."

"No, Hodges, call Vega," Ecklie said. "I just want to talk to Nick for a minute."

Nick hated to be in the same area with the supervisor. Not since the Kristy Hopkins murder has a man been on Nick's short list of people to hate than Conrad Ecklie. He hoped that the encounter will be brief.

"Stokes, I just want to thank you for pulling a double," Ecklie said.

"No problem," Nick said quietly.

Almost immediately, Ecklie left to go to his office. Nick breathed a sigh of relief. He went to meet Vega to confront Brandi with the evidence that will likely send her to prison for the rest of her life. Afterward, he planned to go to the break room to rest until Sara arrived at work.

Back at the mall

"Sara, you are going to look stunning in that dress," Catherine said.

"It almost looks like the cocktail dress I wore to Nick's fraternity brother's wedding and last year's Christmas Eve dinner," Sara said. "Only it's a dark plum color and the cut is slightly different. It's obvious that it is a maternity dress."

"Nick will look forward to taking you out for other occasions wearing that until you have the baby," Catherine smiled. "I don't think you will wear it just for his parents' 50th anniversary."

"I am sure their will be some dinner parties in the future," Sara chuckled.

"You are smiling," Catherine said. "Is there something else?"

"I bought for Nick two picture books," Sara said. "One is about California and the other is about Massachusetts. I had them gift wrapped and I am enclosing a card."

"He will love them," Catherine smiled. "I don't know about you, but I am getting hungry. Would you like to go for some pizza?"

"Yes, I would," Sara said. "Besides, Tadpole needs nourishment to grow."

Catherine laughed and the two women went to the food court for lunch. They each had one slice of veggie pizza and bottled water. The conversations were about when Catherine was pregnant with Lindsey and Sara's eight month pregnant sister-in-law Marissa. Sara told her that she and Nick have been reading the book and they are more informed on the pregnancy. She also told Catherine that she is using her support system when it was necessary.

An hour later, Catherine and Sara had already gone their separate ways until it was time for work. Sara arrived at the apartment and put away most of her purchases. She took the wrapped gift from the bag and put it on Nick's side of their bed. She took out a card from the small bag and wrote: Dearest Nick, here is a something to show that I love you and I think you are special. Love, Sara. She placed the card in the envelop, wrote Nick on it and put it on top of the present. She laid down on her side of the bed, set her alarm clock to wake her up in two hours and fell asleep thinking about Nick and Tadpole.

TBC