A New Addition

Pairing: Nick and Sara

The Stokes family has a get together before Nick, Sara and Abigail return to Vegas.

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 Five

Almost everyone was in the backyard of Stokes Manor. There were several barbeques cooking Texas style barbeque and one that was reserved for grilled pizza. The week had gone by so fast that Nick and Sara couldn't believe that they were leaving for Vegas the next afternoon. Tonight, was all about having fun and interacting with the rest of the family. The teenagers were in one part of yard talking about various things, mostly about colleges. The younger kids were running around or near their parents. Most of the men were tending to the barbeque while the women were sitting at the patio area drinking wine, champagne, soda or water and watching their husbands cook.

"Sara, I can't believe mom took Abigail to work with her yesterday," Marissa said.

"Believe me Marissa, I was there," Sara said. "Her colleagues went goo-goo over the sight of a baby."

"Abigail didn't fuss or cry when she was passed around the office like a bag of potato chips," Cynthia said.

"That really surprised me," Sara smirked. "A few weeks after I returned to work, Nick and I brought Abigail to the crime lab. The supervisor from day shift was hanging around the lab and saw her in the carriage. He picked her up and she was freaking out. My boss Gil Grissom heard what happened and rescued her from our nemesis by using that famous scene from 'The Exorcist'."

"The guy's name is Conrad Ecklie," Cynthia told her five daughters and Audrey. "I haven't met him, but from Nick and Sara's description of him, he is a rotten man. Your brother had to pull a double shift and had to deal with that creep!"

"I hope Abigail isn't scarred for life," Sabrina said.

"She is Nick and Sara's daughter and a tough baby," Wendy said. "I doubt she'll remember being held by that mean man. Now I can't watch that movie without being reminded of that piece of human slime."

Nick approached Sara and looked at her as if he needed to ask her something rather important.

"Sara, what would you like on your grilled pizza?" Nick asked. "I am about to make some. I spent the morning making the dough for the crust."

"How about you make for me a Greek style pizza?" Sara said. "Use feta cheese instead mozzarella, go a little heavy on the oregano, pitted black and green olives and throw in some grilled veggies. Could you also lightly drizzle some olive oil before you serve it to me?"

"I'll do that," Nick smiled.

"Nick, could you make for me a pizza with barbequed chicken?" Heather asked.

"Sure, I could do that," Nick beamed. "Ladies, anyone else wants pizza before I relieve Pete from barbeque watch duty."

"No thanks," Kathleen said. "Some of us will have plain Texas style barbeque."

Nick smiled at his wife, mom, sisters and sister-in-law and left to make the pizzas.

"Sara, Haley Watson called this morning while you and Nick were still sleeping," Cynthia said. "She said last night when you and Nick were at their house, Abigail made a new friend."

"Yes, it's Samantha the blue gray Turkish Angora cat," Sara said. "That gorgeous creature is so friendly towards adults and children. I was afraid that Abigail would be scared of Samantha or the cat would harm the baby. I was wrong when Samantha was looking at her and rubbing her face on Abigail's tummy and she enjoyed it. We heard her squealing and giggling in delight. Nick was very concerned at first because we took Abigail to the Southern Nevada Zoo and Botanical Garden when Jason and his family visited us. We looked at the lions, one of them opened his mouth to reveal his teeth and fangs. She was screaming and crying in fear since the size of those fangs were intimidating. She was fine with Samantha."

"Speaking of Samantha," Cynthia said. "When Nick and Sara first met that cat during the Holidays of 2004, she immediately took a liking to them. Sara was sitting on a chair talking when Samantha decided to spend some time on her lap."

"This creature approached me and meowed at me," Sara said. "She strutted underneath my chair to my other side and meowed again. She returned the original side, looked up at me and leapt up to my lap. She walked on my lap until she found a comfortable spot to lay herself on me. Nick took several photos of Samantha on my lap."

"I have a copy of the photos in my room," Cynthia said. "Nick had emailed Jason and Haley the pictures. There is one photo that is in a frame that in Abigail's room."

"Where else did you go during this trip?" Heather asked.

"Nick and I took Abigail to her first trip to the Dallas Zoo," Sara said. "We went to the Children's Zoo. We saw birds, primates and lemurs."

"The ring tailed lemurs are very cute," Wendy added.

"You should watch 'Fierce Creatures'," Sara said. "It's a funny movie and that lemur is adorable."

Half an hour later, they were all seated, eating, drinking, laughing, talking and joking. The barbeques were turned off and allowed to cool off before anyone could clean them up. Marissa and Sara at times left the table to check on their young daughters. After a while, some of the younger kids were bored so they left the table and amused themselves until it was time for dessert. The older kids and teenagers also left the table, but they went inside the house to watch some TV. That left most of the adults who continued with their conversations and laughter while Nick, Sara, Tom and Cynthia cleared off the table and brought all the dirty dishes and utensils to the kitchen. They brought homemade tiramisu, a chocolate cake and three fruit pies to the spread as well as cups for the hot beverages. Cynthia left to heat up some water for coffee and tea. Nick and Sara brought a wooden box containing an assortment of teas and a carafe of coffee. The kids and teenagers were called back to the tables. The dessert conversation included a lively discussion about the comedy older kids and teenagers watched on TV.

Three hours later, they party was over and Nick's siblings and their families went home.

Nick and Sara helped Cynthia with the clean up and dishwashing. As soon as those tasks were finished, Sara and Nick went upstairs nearly exhausted.

"Nick, do you want to finish packing up our things now or when we wake up?" Sara asked.

"I am feeling too beat to do anything else, but sleep," Nick yawned. "We'll finish packing tomorrow. You look exhausted, too. Let's get into bed. Abigail is asleep already after her recent feeding and changing. If she starts crying for something, that would be the only time one of us will wake up."

"That sounds like a good idea,"she smiled.

Moments after they got ready for bed, they were inside the covers. They were in each other's arms.

"I love you, Sara," he whispered and kissed her cheek.

"I love you, too, Nick," she purred and kissed him in the lips.

They had fallen asleep a few seconds later.

TBC