Sara only felt slightly awkward as she and Nick finally made an appearance in the main house about an hour and a half later. Nick had indeed helped her to pick up where they'd left off and then they had lain in bed for quite a while tangled in each others arms as Nick relayed the information that Grissom had given to him. Sara could tell that he felt a little weird talking to her about Amy in the afterglow of sex with her; but first and foremost she had always been Nick's friend and she didn't want him to feel like he couldn't talk to her about what was going on just because he was afraid that she might misinterpret it. She had reminded him with a bit of a smirk that she'd just flown there to see him without being invited and that it was a pretty safe bet that she wanted to be there. That had turned into a bit of a tickle fight and then a make out session that was well on its way to round number two when they decided that they didn't want to keep Nick's parents all day. After a quick shower, they headed towards the main house.
Nick held Sara's hand as if it was the most natural thing in the world. They wandered in through the kitchen and finally found his parents sitting in the spacious family room lounging in adjoining leather armchairs; his father studying the latest copy of the Law Review and his mother flipping a family photo album. She glanced up and smiled at Nick and Sara as they came in the room.
It was Bill Stokes though that spoke first. "Nice to see you two finally decided to join the rest of the world." His voice was slightly gruff, but as he noticed a look of panic flash across Sara's face, he winked at her. "I'm all bark and no bite, Sara."
Sara chuckled a little self consciously and then smiled as she felt Nick give her hand a squeeze. She had stared down murder suspects during interrogation, but for some reason being there with Nick and his parents was far more intimidating to her. The warmth with which they had welcomed her though had helped to dissipate her initial fear that maybe she should have waited to be invited.
"I take after him." Nick looked perfectly serious.
Sara snorted out a laugh as she regarded him for a moment. "You hardly even bark." She knew that he could be tough as nails when needed, but she knew well enough to know that he would turn to a pile of mush given the right circumstances.
"Hey." Nick began to protest even as a grin spread across his face.
"She's right, honey." Jillian chimed in with a smile. "You always were my softie." She had such pride in the man that Nick had become, and she was glad he was home if even for a little while.
As Nick and Sara sank into the soft leather couch, Bill quirked an eyebrow Nick's direction. "Did you call Dr. Grissom back, son?" Part of him wondered how much Sara knew.
"Yes, sir." Nick replied, not really wanting to rehash all of the details, but knowing that his father the judge and his mother the former defense attorney would want just that.
"Good. Time is important in cases like this." Bill Stokes brow was deeply furrowed.
"I know." Nick hoped that he could somehow either make it through this conversation or steer it quickly in another direction.
Bill continued. "Is there any reason you can think of that anyone would want to kill that girl?" He knew that it was really bothering Nick and he thought that if they could get their minds into the case that perhaps Nick could let go of whatever part of Amy still had a hold on him.
Nick let out a sigh and glanced over at Sara before he responded to his father's question. "Well, Sara and I have been talking about that...apparently Amy was pregnant." At the shocked look on his parent's faces he held up his hand and shook his head. "According to the coroner's prelim she was pregnant before I started seeing her; she must have either found out just before then, or shortly afterwards."
Bill nodded in understanding; but Jillian looked a bit stricken.
Nick glanced at her in concern. "You ok, mom?"
She looked his direction and smiled, her eyes reflecting that she was still thinking about what she'd just heard. "Who was she dating before she met you, Nicky?"
"Don't know really...Grissom is checking with one of her friends." Nick rubbed the nape of his neck as he felt a bit of anxiety building. This was definitely going to be a nightmare-filled night if the conversation continued along this vein.
Sara locked eyes with Jillian and it seemed as if an understanding passed between them. Jillian spoke again. "I read an investigative piece in the..."
Before she could continue, Sara chimed in. "The Washington Post...I read it too."
"What article?" Nick looked a little confused as did Bill.
Jillian nodded at Sara and then continued. "It started out as a study on homicides committed against women, and they found out quite by accident that 60 percent of the women were either pregnant or had just given birth. They were murdered by a husband or a boyfriend."
"I'm sure Grissom is checking out every lead and running it against the evidence." Nick felt at a loss to do anything about Amy's case and right now all he wanted was to think about something else entirely.
"Interested in going to a Cowboys game on Sunday?" Bill interjected as he realized that Nick just might not want to have this conversation going into any more depth in front of Sara or Jillian.
Nick's grin seemed to appear instantly, relieved to have someone else change the subject. "Have you ever known me to turn down football?"
"What about you, Sara...you a football fan?" Bill inquired, hopeful that he could get an opportunity to get to know Sara a little bit better.
"Uh, truthfully, I don't really know much about it." She confessed with a smirk.
Jillian chimed in. "Well I'm sure that Nicky will do his best to get you interested in it." She set the photo album aside and gestured towards the kitchen as she stood up. "We were just going to have steaks for supper, nothing fancy really; Bill likes to use the grill outside when the weather's like this."
Sara hadn't considered that there was a reason that Nick loved a good cut of steak; in her mind at least, eating steak went hand in hand with being a Texan. She was about to say something when Nick addressed his mom.
"Actually, Sara's a vegetarian, Mom." Nick had a smile on his face as he spoke to his mother, and he caressed Sara's hand with this thumb.
"Oh, ok." Jillian's smile was genuine. "I'll just pull out some of those veggie burgers that your Aunt Gayle likes then." Her smile seemed to put Sara at ease, and Jillian made a mental note to see if she could spend some time alone with Sara while she was there to get to know her better.
Any reservations Sara had about being with Nick and his family disappeared over dinner as the conversation flowed easily around the table in the outdoor kitchen; stories of Nick's antics when he was younger flowed freely. Sara smiled, feeling completely at ease; there was just something about being here with Nick that felt like coming home.