A/N: Sorry for the really long wait. I was halfway through writing this when I was forced to take a vacation to Wisconsin to visit family (god help me). Unable to access a computer, heck there wasn't even a cell phone reception for most of the time, I had to wait till I returned. Then Volleyball clinics took up time and School's about to start. But here I am posting this chapter. It may be funky but I had to introduce Sara's family a bit. I have many plans of the wedding already involving part of the challenge: super soaker fights :D ! It's gonna be interesting. Enjoy the chapter.

Airforceintraining

/\ /\ /\ /\ /\

On the Coast of Somewhere Beautiful

Chapter Nine

Sara turned to her left where Kenny sat staring out the window of the plane as they started their decent. She let out a sigh thinking of everything that awaited them all when they landed. Well it turns out, Jason knew the whole time that Nick was going to propose. After Jason's proctectiveness was shown, Nick asked him permission to ask Sara to marry him. Jason whispered as he dropped them off at the airport for Sara to take care and he still had people who would kill Nick at her call.

Sara turned to her right where Melinda's seat was abandoned as Nick held her in his arms, both sleeping.

"Wuchya thinking about mommy?" Kenny asked and Sara turned to her son.

"Little bit of everything Cowboy," Sara replied with a small grin.

As the plane shook a little from turbulance, Kenny pretended to be brave, but his hand found Sara's who grinned and held it tight. They would soon be landing at McCarrin Airport in Las Vegas to tell the CSIs there that Nick had in fact, begged and got her back.

"Mommy," Kenny whispered and Sara turned.

"Yeah?" She asked brushing his hair back from his face with her fingers.

"You forgive daddy?" Kenny whispered again.

"Yeah I do," Sara nodded with a sigh.

Kenny nodded, "So do I, but Uncle Jason said if he does something I can squirt my gun at him."

"What has Jay been teaching you," Sara muttered with a chuckle.

Kenny just grinned and then looked out the window as the hotels were in sight.

"Mommy is daddy stayin with us now?" Kenny asked.

"Yeah," Sara answered. "You okay with that cowboy?"

"Is he gonna leave again?" Kenny wondered and Sara shook her head no. "Then it's alright."

10 minutes later the plane landed and the 4 were headed to the baggage claim.

"You watch the kids, I'll grab the bags," Nick said kissing Sara before going to the place where the bags from their flight were coming out.

Melinda was on Sara's hip sleeping in her arms while Kenny stood beside her.

"Surprise," A voice smirked and Sara turned to see Greg and Warrick.

"What are you guys doing here?" Sara asked with a smile.

"Making sure Stokes didn't mess up again," Warrick replied.

"Well he didn't," Sara smirked.

"Who's this young lady?" Greg grinned as Melinda woke up and was now looking at the two.

"Jessica's daughter, Melinda," Sara answered. "Mel meet Warrick and Greg."

"Hey," She smiled and they smiled back.

"Where you guys staying?" Greg asked.

"My place to pack some stuff up," Nick answered walking over with a few bags. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Helping with luggage and to pick you all up," Greg said.

"And to take you all out to the diner where the rest of the gang is waiting," Warrick replied.

"Food?" Kenny and Melinda chimed in getting grins.

Break

After a lunch with the old gang, the 4 retreated to Nick's place. The kids were asleep in the guest bedroom while Sara and Nick sat on a blanket in front of the fireplace which seldom was used in the Vegas home. Sara was just staring into the flames as Nick held her.

"Can I ask you something and not have you flip?" Nick asked.

"Sure," Sara replied.

"Who do you want to walk you down the aisle?" Nick wondered.

Sara sighed staring in the fire before turning to Nick, "My brother."

"Brother?" Nick asked.

Sara nodded with a slight grin, "Wanna hear a story?"

"Sure?" Nick replied and they got comfy so that they were facing each other.

"Well like you, I was born into a big family," Sara explained shocking Nick. "5 older brothers and one twin brother. So I was the baby girl as they called me."

Nick grinned as Sara softly smiled.

"So there were 7 of you and you were the youngest like me?" Nick asked surprised and Sara nodded.

"Now here's the shocking part," Sara smirked. "The first ones were triplets: Trenton, Tristen, and Tucker."

Nick's jaw dropped as she continued.

"Next was another set of twins: Micah and Malokai. Then me and Spencer," Sara said and Nick was surprised.

"So which brother?" Nick asked shocked.

"The only one still alive," Sara replied. "Trenton."

"What happened to the others?" Nick asked.

"Ah," Sara sighed laying on her back and staring. "What happened was...my dad."

Nick leaned up looking at her in confusion but she didn't look at him.

"Remember before I left, that argument I had with Catherine?" Sara asked and Nick nodded. "Yeah well the reason was cos I grew up around that."

Catherine's words echoed in Nick's head from Long ago, "You know...every time we get a case with a hint of domestic violence or abuse, you go off the deep end. What is your problem?"

Nick didn't ask, but he was happy when Sara kept going.

"He snapped one day," Sara explained. "Spencer and I were in 6th grade, just turned 11 two weeks before hand. We had to stay after school for another hour because we got detention for rallying all the 6th graders to jump up on the tables and start a food fight."

Nick chuckled and Sara grinned a little.

"It was awesome," Sara said and then sighed. "So we got home late, everyone else was in High school so they got home way earlier. We got home and it was dead silent, and we learned a long time ago that silence wasn't good. We headed down the hallway when we saw the door to my parents bedroom open. Staring at us was Malakai's dead body."

Nick felt his stomach tighten as Sara continued.

"Then my dad appeared behind us with a bloody knife so we took off down the hallway and the only room that had a lock was the one with the bodies in it. So we ran in there and locked the door. Only one still breathing was Trenton but he got stabbed in the stomach and was leaning against the wall trying to calm his breathing," Sara said then paused. "After that I don't remember. I woke up in the ICU a month later. Got stabbed 18 times. Trenton and me were the only ones who made it. Gotta say it didn't get much better after that either."

Nick was in shock and had no idea what to say so he went with, "Where's he now?"

"At our ranch in Tennesee," Sara said and Nick raised an eyebrow. "We got adopted into this family that actually was good finally, and they moved to Tennessee. They died 10 years ago and left us the ranch. That's the place we consider home."

"Small town?" Nick asked and Sara got a grin on her face.

"Smallest you can get," Sara grinned. "Jericho, Tennesee is small as you can get. Farming town with a population of 342 which I could probably all name."

Nick chuckled, "Well I grew up in a small town outside of Dallas and had a nickname as most do in a country small town. Mine was Pancho. What was yours?"

"Austin," She answered. "My middle name."

"So Austin," Nick smiled. "We'll leave here earlier and stop in Tennessee before heading home to DC so I can talk to your brother."

"I better call him first rather than showing up there engaged," Sara said.

"Overprotective?" Nick asked.

"Not just him, my step brothers and sisters," Sara replied and Nick raised an eyebrow making Sara chuckle.

So they continued tlaking into the night about their families and crazy stories of childhood while talking about their future and the wedding.

Sad kinda, but in the future: Sara meets the Stokes family, and Nick meets the crazy country kids at the Ranch that Sara calls family and calls home. Add Kenny and Melinda's crazy antics in and you got a few bits of laughter as the wedding is being planned.