A New Addition
Pairing: Nick and Sara
Sara's parents arrive at Nick and Sara's place uninvited to meet their new granddaughter. How will Sara and Nick cope?
A/N: I apologize for the delay in getting 'A New Addition' updated. I had a very brief spell of writer's block and then came the 'Grave Danger' episode of CSI that prompted me to write 'Reassurances'. I hope to update this story soon.
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.
The Visitors from Hell
"Sara, I just finished bathing and dressing Abigail," Nick smiled. "She is now in her crib sleeping."
"Thanks, Nick," Sara said. "Now let's get some sleep."
"I hope she stays asleep after the pediatrician's appointment," Nick said as he slowly got into his side of the bed. "Man, that poor girl cried during the entire ride back home."
"She had to get vaccinated and immunized," Sara pointed out. "I never thought getting an injection would cause her some pain. The last time she didn't cry as much."
Nick was already asleep and Sara soon joined him. They just wanted to sleep without Abigail suddenly waking up in fright over getting her shots. It was a hard day for her parents too seeing their infant screaming and crying afterwards. Cynthia even tried to console her granddaughter by singing her that lullaby and gently rocking her, but it was futile. Thankfully after Nick bathed her with lavender scented baby's bath and dressed her, she had cried herself into exhaustion and fell asleep the second Nick put in her crib.
A few hours later, Sara woke up to the cries heard on the baby monitor. Nick woke up immediately afterwards. They both went to Abigail's room to investigate. She just needed to be changed and fed. Nick changed her while Sara sat on the rocking chair. When Nick put Abigail in Sara's arms, Sara started to nurse her. Nick just stood there looking at his wife and baby daughter. He smiled and had a tear streaming down his face.
"Nicky, are you okay?" Sara asked as she burped Abigail.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Nick winked. "I am just looking at the mother-daughter bonding. I think it is so sweet!"
"You have also bonded with her," Sara observed.
"Sara, father-daughter bonding is different," Nick smiled. "When she is in my arms, it's a special feeling that catching perpetrators can't rival. When I kiss her in the forehead, she likes to grab my nose with those tiny hands of hers. I look at her and say to myself I helped create this cute little bundle of joy. I enjoy fatherhood and I know you enjoy motherhood."
Sara grinned at what Nick told her. She was still holding Abigail when a thought came to her.
"Nick, why don't we shower, get dressed, get the baby carriage and go for a walk?" she asked. "I think she wants some fresh air. Maybe we'll run into the Tucker girls who have been asking about my pregnancy and the baby."
Before Nick could reply, they heard the doorbell ring. He darted out of the room to see who it was. Sara got up from the rocking chair with Abigail still in her arms and followed Nick to the front door. He opened it and they both were stunned at the two people facing them.
"Mom, dad, what the hell are you doing here?" Sara asked with clenched teeth. "You didn't call or email us."
"We decided to visit Vegas and meet our new granddaughter," Alexandra Sidle said. "Annabelle Marie is her name?"
"Her name is Abigail Melanie," Nick was livid at his mother-in-law's attempt to be nice. "I left you a message the day she was born."
"Alexandra, how could you not remember your own grandchild's name?" Michael Sidle asked in disbelief. "Did you even take the time to listen to your son-in-law's message?"
Both Nick and Sara rolled their eyes in disbelief.
"Sara, can I hold her for a moment?" Alexandra asked.
"I don't see why not," Sara said with reserve.
Alexandra gently took her granddaughter from Sara and cradled the infant in her arms. Abigail looked at the strange woman and she started to fuss, scream and cry.
"What's wrong with Abigail?" Cynthia said as she approached the front door.
"She doesn't like to be held by complete strangers," Nick explained as he gingerly took Abigail from Alexandra's arms and cradle her in his.
"Nick, I am not a complete stranger," Alexandra defended herself. "I am her grandmother."
More like a grandmother that didn't care about Abigail before and after she was born, Nick thought.
Cynthia looked at her daughter-in-law's parents and tried to hide her disgust. She still couldn't understand how a woman like Sara could have come from people like Alexandra and Michael. When Nick told her when Sara told her mother she was pregnant and the woman's reaction, Cynthia was livid. She knew that Sara was closer to her than to her own mother. When Sara was pregnant with Abigail, the Stokes family was super supportive while the Sidle family was absolutely apathetic at best.
"Are you going to let us in?" Michael asked. "Your neighbors are probably looking at us funny."
"Sure, come in," Nick said immediately ruing the decision.
"Do you have an extra room for us?" Alexandra asked in that sickly saccharine tone that sent chills up Nick's spine.
"Mom, we have a three bedroom, two and half bathroom apartment," Sara explained with an attempt to keep her cool, but that was rapidly waning. "There's the master bedroom. Abigail's room is right next door to our room. We have a guest room, but Nick's mom is occupying that room. You might want to go to a hotel, there are plenty in Vegas."
"I would be more than happy to help reserve a hotel room for you," Nick said with extreme bitterness in his voice.
"Caesar's Place, Luxor, Bellagio, the Mirage, that one that has a Parisian theme or the New York theme," Alexandra said with great delusion in her voice. "I know those places seem to be lovely."
I could send them to some cheap no frills motel, Nick thought. Alexandra and Michael would be pissed at me. Oh, I know where to put them – at the Gold Coast. Nick, you are a sly dog.
"Mom, can you hold Abigail while I get the yellow pages?" Nick asked.
"Sure," Cynthia smiled as Nick gently placed Abigail in her arms.
"Sara, can I talk to you in private?" Nick asked.
"Let's go to our bedroom," Sara whispered. "We'll leave your mom to have a scowl fest with my parents."
Nick snorted as he and Sara went to their bedroom. Since Sara was the last one to enter the room, she closed the door. They sat down on their bed and looked at each other.
"Who do these two people think they are?" Nick asked Sara.
"They are my parents," Sara said. "You knew that! I know you are thinking what the hell my parents are doing here."
"They didn't call us to let us know they are coming," Nick angrily stated.
"It was really rude of them," Sara said. "They just show up here out of the blue and expect to be a part of their new granddaughter's life. My mom thinks I can forgive her for that cruel comment when I told her I was pregnant, she has another thing coming."
Nick got up and opened the door a little to see if his mother was able to hold her own against Sara's parents. He closed the door and turned to Sara.
"What is going on out there?" Sara asked.
"I don't know," Nick smirked. "It looks like my mom had won her scowl fest. She must have taken Abigail back to her room before facing your parents. She is in the kitchen drinking a glass of water."
"Nick, are you going to call the hotel?" Sara asked. "The sooner they are out of our place, the less tension there is here."
"Do you remember where we put the directories?" Nick asked. "We had to reorganize the place and I forgot where we put those books. I don't even remember the last time I used them."
"They are in the shelf of the closet on your side," Sara said.
"Thank you," Nick grinned and kissed Sara.
He got up from the bed again and went to the closet to get the yellow pages. He placed it on his side of the bed and opened to hotels. He got the number he wanted and jot it down on a piece of paper. He closed the book and put it back where he found it.
"Are you going to call for them or they will call the hotel themselves?" Sara asked.
"I'll figure that out when we get out of the room," Nick smirked. "It is looking more like they could call and reserve a room themselves. I don't think they need us to call for them."
Sara opened the door and walked out of the room with Nick not far behind her.
"Were you able to get phone number of the hotel?" Michael asked.
"Here is the number for the Gold Coast hotel," Nick said giving his father-in-law a sheet of paper. "It's not the Bellagio or Caesar's Palace, but it is decent."
"Thank you," Michael said softly. "Nick, do you mind if I use your phone?"
"Go right ahead," Nick smiled a very sarcastic smile.
Sara went to the kitchen to keep her mother-in-law company and to avoid being in the same room with her own mom. She felt bad for Nick standing in the living room with her parents. She stepped out to see if anyone in that room killed each other. Thankfully, nothing obviously bad happened. However, Nick was getting more impatient as Michael spoke with Reservations.
"Have they always been like this?" Cynthia asked Sara.
"Yes, and it's annoying," Sara said. "The first time they did it was when I got my first real apartment in San Francisco after I started working for the San Francisco Police Department. I was cleaning the place up after I finished getting settled in and my parents barged in without a phone call to let me know they were coming. The second time was a month after Grissom brought me to Vegas. At the time, I had a very modest two bedroom apartment that I decorated myself. There was no advanced warning and I had to put them up for the night. Could you imagine the tension of that visit?"
"You poor dear had to put up with those people most of your life," Cynthia mumbled. "When did my son start dealing with your folks barging into your place uninvited?"
"I think it was about three months after Nick and I got married," Sara explained. "We were still living in his bachelor pad and looking for a nice place to live. This time, we had just gotten home after pulling a double shift. We were both tired and wanted to get some sleep. When we already settled in bed, we heard a loud knock on the door. Nick was half asleep and half naked when he got up from bed and approached the door and asked who was knocking on our door. My parents announced themselves and poor Nick was debating whether to open the door or not. I could tell he opened the door because I heard my mom give him a lecture about being properly dressed when answering the doorbell. Nick countered by giving them one about calling to give us proper warning that they were coming."
"I can't imagine who was more embarrassed," Cynthia smirked. "My poor half sleepy, half naked son or your parents."
"I think Nick was more humiliated," Sara replied bluntly. "He was fuming afterward and sent them to a cheap motel. It was their punishment for their behavior."
Nick entered the kitchen and found two of his favorite women chatting.
"Nicky, did my parents leave?" Sara inquired. "It is relatively quiet."
"Unfortunately, they are still here," Nick said with his teeth clenched. "There are sitting on the couch doing nothing but stare at each other."
"They have to go now!" Sara hissed. "Nick, was my dad able to get a reservation?"
"Yeah, but I don't know why they are still here," Nick hissed back.
They both left the kitchen leaving Cynthia alone to figure out what was going on in the heads of her daughter-in-law's parents.
"Mom, dad aren't you supposed to go check in to the hotel?" Sara asked with lividness in her tone.
"We just wanted to say goodbye to you, Nick and Annabelle," Alexandra said.
Nick felt his blood boil at the second time his mother-in-law screwed up her own granddaughter's name. He wanted to yell at her, but he looked like Sara probably beat him to it.
"Her name is Abigail!" Sara exploded. "You can't even remember the name of your new grandchild! What is the matter with you?"
Nick tried to diffuse the situation, but Sara was on a roll. He immediately retreated to Abigail's room to check on his daughter.
"Mom, when I told you I was pregnant," Sara was upset. "I expected you to be happy that you were going to have another grandkid. Instead you insulted not only me, but Nick."
"Sara, I meant that as a joke," Alexandra calmly said. "I didn't anticipate the reaction. You didn't return my calls and then Nick has the nerve to leave a message announcing your daughter's birth."
"I didn't have some nerve to tell you about your granddaughter," Nick hissed as he entered the living room. "First, I don't remember you calling us or emailing us after you tried to apologize. Second, Sara is your daughter, you should have been happy for her and Abigail."
There was silence in the living room. Sara started to softly sob. Nick gently took her by the arm and led her to their daughter's room. It was the only place she could go to calm down after blowing up at her parents. Cynthia went to the living room to see the aftermath of her daughter-in-law's confrontation.
"I think you should go to the hotel," Cynthia said coldly. "You have upset Nick and Sara enough today."
"Alexandra, I think we should check into our hotel before they give away our room," Michael said. "We'll call to give you the room number so maybe we could get together after Nick and Sara cool down."
"Sure," Cynthia said not wanting to tell them there would be no chance to get together.
She watched them leave and almost cried herself. She still wondered how could Sara have grown up with these people as parents and turned out the way she did. She also thought about how Nick could call them his in-laws. He loved Sara dearly, so he had to tolerate her parents. She loved Sara, but her parents really were a thorn on her side. She went back to the kitchen to make some soothing chamomile tea for Nick and Sara.
Meanwhile in Abigail's room
"Sara, how are you feeling?" a very concerned Nick asked.
"I'm better," Sara replied. "Are they gone?"
"The last time I checked," Nick smirked. "They already left for the Gold Coast Hotel."
She didn't say anything, but grinned and Nick smiled back. He pulled her into an embrace and gently rubbed her back
"Sara, why don't we shower, get dressed and go outside for a walk," Nick said. "We need it and we could take Abigail in her carriage with us."
"I'd love that," Sara beamed. "After we return, I want to bake chocolate chip cookies."
"We could do that, too," Nick grinned. "I love you, Sara."
"I love you, too, Nick," Sara cooed.
After they showered, dried themselves and got dressed, they grabbed their jackets. Nick unfolded the baby carriage while Sara took a wide awake Abigail out of her crib, put her little hat and jacket and placed her in the carriage. Nick told his mom that he, Sara and Abigail were going out for a brief walk. They returned about an hour later feeling happier and more refreshed. True to her word, Sara baked chocolate chip cookies with the help of Nick and Cynthia.
TBC