A New Addition

Pairing: Nick and Sara

Abigail goes with her parents to Dallas for the first time.

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.

Abigail's First Trip to Dallas, Part One

"How did Abigail enjoy her first flight?" Kathleen asked.

"She was cranky when the plane took off from Las Vegas," Nick said. "Of course, there was the turbulence and landing. She was asleep during most of the flight."

"I am glad to hear that," his oldest sister said. "Welcome to Dallas, Texas, Abigail Melanie!"

"Where are mom and dad and why did you bring us here from the airport?" Nick asked.

"Mom's still in court defending some poor slob who was caught stealing a car from a local dealership and took it for a joyride to Fort Worth and San Antonio," Kathleen responded. "Dad is staying in Austin, there's a case he is hearing. He won't get here until tomorrow. Our siblings and their families have their own lives. I took a week off from work since I volunteered to take you guys around town. Everyone is getting together at Stokes Manor tonight for dinner. Don't worry, you aren't going to be stuck here, you are staying with our parents."

"Kathleen, I don't dispute that," Nick smiled. "I know that there is plenty of room at Stokes Manor. Besides, I want to show Abigail the horses, the garden and our grandpa's tree."

"Sakura just foaled for the first time ever last week," Kathleen said. "It's a girl and mom named her Melina."

"That's a beautiful name for a gorgeous creature," Sara said as she rejoined them. "Maybe Abigail could ride Melina when she gets older."

The phone rang and Kathleen answered it after the first ring. It was her mother telling her that she will be home in an hour and to bring Nick and his family to Stokes Manor afterwards.

"That was mom," Kathleen said. "She'll be home in about an hour. I'll take you there. Just sit on the living room, relax and watch TV. Do you want something to drink? I have iced tea, juice and water. Are you hungry? I have a frozen organic vegetarian pizza in the freezer that I could heat up."

"Yes, we're both hungry and thirsty," Sara said. "We hadn't had anything since the pathetic excuse for a breakfast during the flight."

"Anything to make us forget about that awful food," Nick protested. "I didn't buy first class tickets for my family to have a crappy breakfast. Somebody needs to complain about it!"

"If you wait about twenty minutes," Kathleen said. "I will have it ready for you. Nick, there are some things about you that never seemed to change. Just relax with your wife and daughter in the living room and let me do everything."

Nick went to the living room and sat next to Sara. Abigail was lying on Sara's lap playing with a button on her blouse. They were watching Everyday Italian on the Food Network. Nick was focused on how Giada made tiramisu and made some yummy noises. Sara almost swatted him in the arm. Sometime later, Kathleen brought the piping hot pizza on a plate. It was sliced into six portions and topped with dried oregano and basil. She went back to the kitchen to get iced tea and three glasses. Kathleen sat on the other side of her baby brother. Abigail tried reaching for the slice that her mommy was eating. When it got to the point that she wasn't getting the pizza, she started to loudly fuss.

"It looks like she was some of your pizza, Sara," Kathleen observed. "Does she know she doesn't have teeth, yet?"

"Kathleen, I think Abigail wants to play with it, not eat it," Sara said. "Nick, could you go and bring her those plastic toy keys. Those are her favorite toys."

"I'll go get them," Nick said as he got up, went to the diaper bag and got the toy. "Sara, here you go. Abigail, play with these so mommy and daddy can finish eating. Mommy will feed you a little later. Pizza is not a toy."

They finished the pizza and ice tea while Abigail played with her favorite toy and nearly threw it at the TV. Nick helped his sister with the dishes while Sara took Abigail to another room for privacy and nursed her. After Abigail had her fill and was burped, Sara laid her on her lap and started to gently draw little circles on her tummy. As soon as Nick finished helping Kathleen, he went looking for his wife and daughter. When he found them, he sat next to Sara. He gingerly took Abigail off Sara's lap and cradled the five and a half month old infant in his arms.

"I am sorry I yelled at you," he said to Abigail.

"Nick, you didn't yell at her," Sara sighed. "You only spoke to her in a rough tone."

"I shouldn't have done it," Nick shook his head. "It just that she seems to think adult food is a baby's toy. Do you remember when she wanted to play with a piece of my cookie?"

"We were at McCarran seeing your mom off before she returned to Dallas," Sara smiled.

Nick chuckled at the thought that their daughter wanted a piece of his cookie to play with. He thought she wanted to eat it, but she couldn't because she didn't have teeth. He sometimes wished that she did have teeth so he could share a cookie with her. He softly kissed her in the forehead and she touched his nose. He laughed and she made some gurgling noises.

An hour later, Kathleen called her mom to find out if she was home from work. It turned out she had just arrived and waiting for Nick and his family to come on over. Kathleen told her that she'll bring them to Stokes Manor. A few minutes later, she found them and told them that mom had just gotten home and she was going to take them there. Nick took the suitcase and Abigail's car seat while Sara took the folded baby carriage that still had plastic ties keeping it folded due to being checked and the diaper bag. Kathleen held Abigail so her poor parents could lug their stuff. The walk was less than an eighth of a mile, but still it was exhausting. Kathleen regretted not taking her Tahoe, but she figured that since she lived two doors away from Stokes Manor, that walking would be the best way of getting there. When they arrived at the house, they rested outside the door for a minute.

"Allow me to ring the doorbell," Kathleen smirked at her kid brother.

"Kathleen, didn't we see each other last night?" Cynthia asked after she immediately heard the doorbell.

"Mom, I remember that really well," Kathleen laughed. "Actually, I brought with me a few visitors."

"Abigail, you are getting to be a big girl," Cynthia gasped as she took her youngest grandchild off her oldest child's arms. "Where are your parents, sweetie pie?"

"Here we are, mom," Nick smiled.

"Nick, Sara, how have you been?" Cynthia asked.

"We're fine," Sara said. "Parenthood has been treating us well. Abigail is a good baby despite having her moments. I returned to work almost three months ago. Now before you ask, Janine is working out really well. She is house-sitting for us while we are in Dallas."

Cynthia looked at the suitcase, baby carriage, car seat, diaper bag and Sara's purse. Nick immediately took notice and felt the need to contribute some sort of observatory commentary to the picture.

"Now we know what is like to travel with a baby," Nick said. "Would you believe there was a punk high school kid who asked if we checked our daughter with the luggage? She was screaming and crying during take off, turbulence and landing. He was annoyed and told us off."

"Nick, why didn't you tell me about this before?" Kathleen asked.

"I didn't want you to fret about it," Nick said. "Besides, Sara gave that kid her infamous death glare and he apologized to us right away."

"Nicky, some kids can be total idiots!" Cynthia said. "At least Sara dealt with it without beating the shit out that punk!"

"Mom, are you saying that I don't deal with matter in a violent way?" Nick asked. "You know I rarely use violence to deal with problems."

"No, I didn't say that," Cynthia calmly replied. "I know that you can deal with things without resorting to violence most of the time. I was just saying that the punk deserved to have the crap beaten out of him for saying my granddaughter should be treated like cargo, but Sara handled it so she didn't get you kicked out of the flight for brutality."

"Oh, I am sorry," Nick smiled.

"Don't worry about it," Cynthia smiled back. "Do you guys want something to eat?"

"I gave them pizza and iced tea at my place," Kathleen chimed in. "Nick and Sara shouldn't be that hungry."

"Let's show Abigail around Stokes Manor," Nick suggested.

Cynthia was still holding Abigail, while Nick, Sara and Kathleen flanked around the older woman. She first showed the baby around the big house concluding the tour of the house by showing her Nick's old bedroom that became a guest room. When Abigail saw a picture of her father as a teenager with a mullet, she freaked out.

"Princess Abby, that was how most teenaged boys of the mid 1980s and very early 1990s wore their hair," Nick said. "I am sorry that photo scared you, but I can't erase it."

"Nicky, you are so lucky that you didn't get a Mohawk like one of your high school buddies did," Kathleen said. "I don't know if Abigail would have reacted the same way."

"Shut up, Kathleen!" Nick hissed.

Cynthia showed her granddaughter a picture of Nick when he was a baby that was taken January of 1972. Abigail was intrigued with that photo and stared at it with curiosity.

"That was your daddy when he was about your age, Sweetie," Cynthia said. "You look a little like him."

They went outside to show Abigail the rest of Stokes Manor. Nick was the one holding his daughter.

"These two smaller houses are the guest houses," Cynthia said. "When all the kids were living here, we had these big parties. We usually have guests staying over and they would use these two buildings at times if the extra rooms were taken. The family still uses them today."

The next part of the property was the indoor/outdoor swimming pool.

"Abigail this is the swimming pool," Kathleen said. "During the cold months, it becomes an indoor pool so we can swim all year round. Imagine your daddy as a kid and teenager seeing your aunts lying around the pool area or on those water lounge chairs. He sometimes played cannonball and splash us just to annoy us."

"Hey, I was a smart ass kid and teenager," Nick protested. "Abigail, pay no attention to what your Aunt Kathleen says about me."

"It's true!" Kathleen said.

Cynthia rolled her eyes over her oldest and youngest nearly bickering over what the youngest did. They just went to the floral and herb garden.

"We are now at my favorite area of the property, the garden," Cynthia said. "It is an area of beauty because of the flowers, but the herbs are used for cooking and teas. We almost never had to buy herbs from the local supermarket since we grow them here. The family was kind of into organic before it became mainstream. Your daddy used to help me with the garden when he was a teenager. This was a relaxing way to enjoy myself after work and dealing with seven kids."

Nick and Kathleen looked at each other and smiled. Somehow, Sara understood the smile to well. It represented both pride and innocence from the trouble the got themselves into at times.

It was Sara's turn to hold Abigail as they walk toward a tree, but not before checking out the multipurpose area of the back yard. When they were about two feet away from that particular tree, they stopped. Abigail was looking at the monstrous looking thing and tried to grab a branch that looked like it was too close for comfort.

"This tree was planted here as a gift from your great-grandfather for you grandfather and my first anniversary," Cynthia said. "This coming July will be 50 years since we had this tree. Throughout the years the kids played with it or made out around it. Those that used it as a make out place shall remain nameless. Your dad use to climb it and watch either the birds during the day or the stars at night. When he was 11, he was sitting on a branch of this tree admiring the Dallas night sky. I called him to come to bed since it was a school night. When he was about to get off, he lost his balance and fell. He broke his leg and had to spend the night in the hospital. He didn't need to stay overnight, but the medication they gave him to keep him calm so they could set his leg and put it in a cast made him very sleepy so the medical staff allowed him to sleep it off. Since then, we forbade him to climb the tree at night. When he was twelve, he wasn't interested in tree climbing. However, I wouldn't be surprised if he took his girlfriends to the spot for a make out session during his high school days."

"Thanks mom for sharing what happened to me when I was eleven in gory details," Nick said rolling his eyes. "For your information, I never had a make out session near the tree. I brought my girlfriends here to sit around and talk. Sara, do you remember whenever we come to visit, we'd sit around the tree and do nothing, but talk?"

"Yes, and they were some of the most relaxing moments," Sara said. "It's a nice way to get in touch with nature."

Nick sensed that she wanted to say something that was totally kinky. He gave her a look saying 'save it for the bedroom' and 'not in front of the child'. She smiled an innocent looking smile. The group walked towards the horse ranch.

"Princess Abby, this is the horse ranch," Nick said. "I think there are currently about twelve horses that reside here. My parents, your grandparents, received their first two horses as a fifth wedding anniversary gift in 1960. My grandpa, your great-grandpa, built this ranch for them. My siblings, your aunts and uncle, and I learned to ride when we were little kids. I taught your mommy when I took her here for the first time. When you're a little older, I'll teach you."

"Nicky, are you saying a family that rides horses together, stays together?" Sara chuckled.

"Not really," Nick smiled. "I was just saying that I think it would be nice if Abigail learned to ride a horse."

"Yes, it would be nice if she learns," Sara agreed.

"Let's get back inside," Cynthia said. "I would like to show some old home movies that I had converted onto DVD format recently. They're each about 30 minutes long."

"Oh great!" Nick and Kathleen groaned at the same time.

When they returned to the house, Nick helped his mom set up the DVD player that was disconnected to the TV. Kathleen went looking for a few DVDs that her mom told her to get from the coat closet/storage area. She returned to find the player successfully connected to the TV. The first DVD that was played took place Christmas 1971, Nick's very first one.

"You were such a cute baby," Sara said to her husband. "That baby grew into the sweet and handsome man that I married and is the father of our daughter."

Abigail was suddenly looking at her dad when he was four months old with interest. She didn't think the infant in that movie was him, just another baby. She smiled whenever they showed him and even made some gurgling noises.

"Princess Abby, that's your father," Sara said softly. "Don't ogle like that, sweetie!"

Cynthia took out that DVD and put on another one. This one was of Thomas, Sr. and Cynthia's twentieth anniversary back in 1975 at a fancy restaurant. Kathleen, then 17 and Tom, then 15, brought their dates with them. When ever the wait staff wasn't around, Nicky, then barely 4, was playing with Marissa, then 6, and Heather, then 8. Sabrina, then 10, and Wendy, then 12, were just sitting and jabbering away. They were all seated so they could eat dinner.

"Nick, you looked so cute in a that little tux," Sara said.

"Thanks, Sara," Nick smirked.

"I had struggled to put that suit on him," Cynthia said. "He didn't like it all and screamed in protest. When he married you, I laughed at the irony that he put one on and was very happy about it."

"Mom, it's one thing that I was three going on four and celebrating your 20th," Nick said. "It's another that I was 32 and I married Sara."

"Can you shut up and watch this?" Kathleen hissed.

All was quiet as they watched Thomas, Sr. and Cynthia dancing. Kathleen and Tom were dancing with their dates. Wendy gathered all her younger sibling for a few dances. Another moment, Wendy picked Nicky up and spun him around for a few seconds. He was laughing the whole time. The movie ended with Nicky falling asleep on the chair and Cynthia gently picked up the little boy.

Cynthia looked at the clock and released the entire family, except for her husband and oldest grandchild, was going to be here for dinner in about an hour. She turned it off only to get groans from her daughter, son and daughter-in-law.

"We'll see more while Nick, Sara and Abigail are here," Cynthia and that got smiles from the three adults. "Now, I have to heat up the dinner I have made in advance."

It was then that Abigail started to fuss, scream and cry. Sara picked her up and went upstairs to the bedroom to change and feed her. Nick went to the room to find Sara nursing Abigail. Kathleen joined Cynthia in the kitchen meanwhile Nick and Sara were in their room spending some quiet time with Abigail.

An hour later, the family started coming into the house. There was a lot of talking amongst the adults and teenagers. The older kids were playing games and the younger ones were with their parents. When dinner was ready, they were seated and started to eat. Conversations, jokes and laughter accompanied the salad, the main course and beverages. There was also dessert, tea and coffee. After Nick's siblings and their families were gone, Sara put a very sleepy Abigail in the crib. Nick and Sara helped Cynthia clean up and do the dishes. Two hours later, everyone in the house was fast asleep.

TBC