A New Addition
Pairing: Nick and Sara
Cynthia tells Nick some good news. He gives her some news about his boss.
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 Good Cousin and The Announcement
Nick went to the lobby of the crime lab to meet his mother so they could go out to lunch. His father left to go back to Austin and some of his siblings and their families returned to Dallas yesterday. Only Marissa, Kathleen and their families decided to stay in Vegas for another two days.
He was now in the second half of a double shift and in this half he was working with Ecklie. He was getting by on coffee that was first made by Greg which was good. The coffee made by one of Ecklie's people tasted and looked like mud. He hated pulling doubles not just because he was working with Ecklie's shift at this time, but he hated to be away from Sara and Abigail for a long period of time.
"Nick, am I early?" Cynthia asked as she entered the lobby.
"No, you are on time," he smiled. "How are Sara and Abigail?"
"They're fine, but slightly tired," she said. "Kathleen and her family are there with them. The kids adore Abigail and I thought they were going fight over who was going to hold her first. Luckily, Kathleen made that decision for them by cradling Abigail in her arms first."
Nick smiled and chuckled at the thought of that scene.
"Mom, we are going to the Olive Garden," Nick said.
"You must really love that place," Cynthia observed. "I know that you love Texas barbeque, Mexican, Japanese, Thai, Tex-Mex and Indian, but you also love Italian."
"Warrick is trying to get Sara and me to go with him and his girlfriend to this new Brazilian restaurant," Nick said. "I am not sure if they would accommodate a vegetarian, like Sara."
"I am sure if Warrick called the restaurant to ask them if they can accommodate Sara," she tried to reason with her son. "I was more than happy to accommodate her when you first took her to Dallas to meet the family."
"I remember sending you a copy of Sara's favorite cookbook a month before we left to visit you," Nick chuckled.
"Come on, Nicky," Cynthia smiled. "Let's go to lunch now so your boss won't get mad at you."
"Mom, I am pulling a double shift," he pointed out. "I worked my shift and I am now filling in for someone taking a sick day on day shift. Gil Grissom is my boss, not Conrad Ecklie!"
They went to Nick's Tahoe and were on there way to the Olive Garden. Nick played a CD of a 70s group that they both liked and got hooked on since Kathleen, Tom, Wendy and Sabrina were teenagers at some point during that decade. After Nick found a parking place, he parked the Tahoe and turned off the radio. He and his mother got out of the car and entered the restaurant.
After they were seated and given menus, Nick knew exactly what he wanted, but Cynthia was debating what she wanted. The waiter came by and took the beverage order which was a liter of San Pellegrino with some lime slices. Cynthia told the waiter she needed a few more minutes. He told her not a problem and he would bring the Pellegrino ASAP. When he brought the sparkling water with two glasses, Cynthia already made her decision. She ordered the ravioli di Portobello and Nick had cheese ravioli with meat sauce. They requested salad to share and he left to place the order.
"Nick, I need to talk to you about something," Cynthia said.
"Mom, what's wrong?" Nick was concerned.
"There's nothing wrong," Cynthia replied. "Do you remember your cousin Janine Stokes, the one who lives in Amherst, Massachusetts? Your father's brother Joe is her father. She is currently a professor of sociology at the University of Massachusetts."
"Yeah, I remember her," Nick looked slightly puzzled. "The last time I saw her was at my wedding. Why are you bringing her up?"
"Nicky, I will explain everything if you give me a chance," Cynthia was nearly getting impatient with her son.
"I'm sorry about that," Nick said. "Please continue!"
"I had spoken to her this morning," she explained. "I told her about Abigail and the fact that Sara is going back to work at the end of the month. I also mentioned that you need someone to look after your daughter after Sara returns to the crime lab. She is taking a sabbatical leave and coming to Vegas the day before I leave for Dallas."
"How long will she be staying?" Nick asked. "What about her husband and two daughters?"
"I don't know how long she will be here," Cynthia said. "Janine got divorce a month after you and Sara got married. She dropped her ex-husband's name and went back to using her maiden name. Lisa just started graduate school at a university in California last semester and Stephanie is in her junior year at the University of Connecticut."
"So that explains why she is now known as Janine Stokes," Nick said. "I am sorry for not being aware of the goings on in family outside this branch of the family tree. You know I am busy with work and helping take care of my daughter."
"Nicky, it's okay," Cynthia said. "Janine doesn't communicate much with the family. She is always teaching, researching, publishing a paper or giving a talk. You know how it is in academia, publish or perish."
"I understand completely," Nick smirked. "In my freshman year in college, I took an intro course in sociology. My professor took a very brief moment to explain the life of a professor and she mentioned 'publish or perish'."
The waiter arrived with salad, breadsticks, two small plates and two larger plates. He asked them if they wanted some grated parmesan cheese in the salad. They said yes and he grated some over the bowl. After he left, Nick served his mother and himself the salad.
"Does she know about what happened to me when I was nine?" Nick asked in a bare whisper.
"I didn't tell her because you would have gotten mad at me," she whispered. "It would be best that you talk to her about it."
"I guess you are right," Nick smiled as he took a bite of his breadstick.
A while after they finished their salad, the waiter took the salad plates and the bowl. He told them their raviolis were on their way. When their entrées arrived the waiter asked them if they wanted some cheese on their raviolis. They both wanted a very small amount. He told them to enjoy their meal as they started to eat.
"When Janine arrives," Cynthia said. "She's going to stay at a hotel for a day to allow me to pack my things the day before I leave. She will stay with you, Sara and Abigail until she could find a place to rent near your apartment."
"Thank you, mom," Nick smiled. "Janine may have lost touch with her Texas family, but she's coming through for her Vegas family. I want to call and email my thanks to her for doing this for us. Do you have her contact information?"
"Yes, I do," she beamed as she put her fork and knife down, opened her purse, took out a small piece of paper and gave it to him. "This has her home and cell phone numbers and the email address. The email is her personal one, not the one the school provides for the faculty, staff and students."
"Thanks again, mom," Nick said. "Does Sara know about this arrangement?"
"Yes, she does," she said. "She was there when I made the phone call. Sara so wanted to call you to tell you the news, but she knew that you would be working with Mr. Conrad Ecklie at this time. I also told her not to say anything since I was going to meet you for lunch."
Nick simply nodded as he took another bite of his ravioli. They finished the rest of their entrées in silence. When they finished, the waiter came by to take the dirty plates and silverware away but not before he asked them if they wanted to see the dessert menu. Both Nick and his mom told him yes. He left with the dishes and returned a few moments later with two dessert menus. Cynthia ordered the Black Tie Mousse Cake and Nick had the Chocolate Lasagna. Nick also asked for a regular cappuccino and Cynthia had an espresso.
"Nicky, you must have had enough caffeine in your system to recharge a battery," Cynthia observed.
"I had good coffee in my shift courtesy of Greg Sanders and his famous Blue Hawaiian blend," Nick nearly whined. "Since I am pulling a double and in the second half of the exhausting double, I drank coffee that tasted like rocket fuel. I don't know what rocket fuel actually tastes like, but it would taste like that crap. I need to have decent coffee to get me through the rest of Ecklie's shift."
"I just hope you don't climb the walls when you come home," Cynthia said. "Or disturb Sara, Abigail or myself."
Before Nick could respond, the waiter appeared with their desserts and coffee. After he left to tend to other customers, Nick dipped the small biscotti into the cappuccino and ate that first. He ate a few bites of his dessert while his mom had some of hers. They switched desserts so they could have a little bit of the other, but left half of each dessert to be taken home. Cynthia noticed her son was grinning.
"Nicholas Anthony Stokes, what are you thinking about now?" Cynthia asked. "Or do I have to ship you off somewhere to recover from your temporary abuse of caffeine?"
"You don't have to send me anywhere," Nick chuckled. "I just want to share good news from the lab. Do you remember I told you that Gil Grissom and Catherine Willows got engage Christmas of 2004?"
"Yes, you and Sara told us about it," Cynthia said taking a slow sip of her espresso. "What about it?"
"They finally set a date for the wedding," he smiled. "It's going to be May 8."
"I hope they don't have it at one of those freaky chapels," Cynthia chuckled. "Like the ones that the crazy Alexandra Sidle wanted you and Sara to get married at."
"I don't think they have an entomology themed chapel for Grissom," Nick chuckled. "Seriously, they are going to get married at a church. Their mothers and Lindsey would be mad at them for going to one of those wacky places. Speaking of those chapels, I have to confess something."
"Nick, don't tell me you and Sara eloped at one of those places without telling me," Cynthia panicked. "Your father will have a heart attack if he ever found out."
"Mom, we would never do that to you and dad," Nick reassured her. "You were jumping to conclusions. Sara and I were investigating this really weird case in which a body was found in an alien costume outside of Las Vegas. It turns out that the victim was a minister for this UFO themed chapel. We spoke with his alleged successor about it and he asked us if we wanted to get married at his chapel. We told him that we were married in Texas. He told us that we could get married again that he could marry us, but we still refused."
"So, what happened?" Cynthia asked.
"We had that minister arrested for murder," Nick said. "He killed the guy in the alien suit. Sara and I would never have a second wedding at those places, we would have it at a church. Give us some credit."
"Thank goodness my youngest child has some smart sense in him," she breathed a deep sigh of relief. "The same goes for my daughter-in-law!"
When the waiter returned, Nick asked him for the check and two boxes for the leftover desserts. He left and returned with the check and the boxes. Cynthia put the Chocolate Lasagna in one box and Nick put the Black Tie Mousse Cake in the other. He was about to take out his credit card.
"Nick, I am paying," Cynthia said about to reach in her purse.
"Mom, I want to pay," Nick replied. "You have done so much for the family. You have a career, a husband, seven kids and 25 grandkids. At least allow your youngest child to treat you to lunch."
"Okay, since you are so persuasive," Cynthia smiled. "I'll let you pay."
Once Nick put the credit card in the holder and the waiter took it to be processed. He returned with the holder, card, transaction slip, a pen and two mint Andes candies. Nick left a generous tip on the slip, totaled the amount, signed it and took his copy. He put the restaurant's copy in the holder and gave it to the waiter. He gave his mother one of the candies and took the other for himself. Cynthia took the two small boxes since she was going to the apartment. They left the restaurant, got into the Tahoe and were on their way to the crime lab. When they arrived at the parking lot, Nick parked the car and they got out. Cynthia made sure she had the desserts with her. She gave Nick a hug and a kiss on his cheek before the made their separate ways. She went to her rental car with the two boxes and he returned to the crime lab.
TBC