Title: The Best Christmas
Summary: Nick invites Sara over for Christmas dinner.
Disclaimer: I do not own CSI, although it would have been the ultimate Christmas present.
Author's Note: This idea came to me as I was sitting on my computer and listening to music on the night of Christmas Eve. It kept nagging at my brain, so I sat up until 2:30 writing it. I made a few additions here and there as I was typing it, so I hope you all like it!
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There was a smile on his face as he slept, but it soon faded when he woke up. He'd had that dream again, the dream he'd been having almost every night for a while now. He was walking down a beach with her, and they had the perfect life, not wanting or needing anything more than the love of the other. He wanted, or needed, to tell her how he felt, but he didn't know how. Sure, many ideas had coursed through his head, but none of them had seemed… right.
He looked at the clock. Six pm. Shift started at eight, and Grissom would have a fit if he showed up late. He climbed out of bed and went to the kitchen for a cup of instant coffee… so it wasn't gourmet, but it was better than the sludge they got at the lab.
After he finished that and another cup of coffee, he got in the shower and got dressed. He was on his way to the lab by seven-thirty, and sitting in the CSI break room by ten minutes to eight.
It was then that it hit him… how he'd let her know about his feelings for her. Christmas was in a week. He'd invite her over for a friendly Christmas dinner (as neither of them were going home for Christmas), and then he'd turn it into a surprise. Just as he'd thought about how to ask her to come for dinner, she walked into the break room.
"Hey, Nick," she said.
"Hey, Sara."
"What's up?" she asked, flopping down into the chair opposite him.
"Nothing really, you?" he replied nonchalantly.
"Eh, you know, same old same."
It was now or never. He took a deep breath, and said, "Do you have any plans for Christmas Eve?"
She looked at him. "No… why?"
"Well, neither do I. I just thought that, maybe, you'd like to come over for dinner, or something."
"Aren't you going down to be with your family, like you do every other year?"
"Well, I thought about a change of pace for once," he said, with a hint of a smile on his face. "So what d'you say? Dinner at my place?"
She thought about it for a second. She'd always dreamt about this moment, but never thought it would actually happen. Trying to prevent herself from smiling too much, she said, "Sure. Sounds great."
"Really? Great. Come around, say, seven?"
"I'll be there."
His face didn't show it, but he was glowing on the inside. The easy part was out of the way. Now, he had to come up with something that would show her what his heart was telling him, what only he knew he felt.
The day was Christmas Eve, five o'clock. Nick's dining room table had been set with a poinsettia red tablecloth, fine china and cutlery, candles, and a dozen red roses in a crystal vase at the center. In the adjoining, dimly lit living room there was a brightly lit, nicely decorated Christmas tree, beneath which sat a small box, wrapped in shiny red paper and a black ribbon.
The smell of a gourmet dinner could be found in the kitchen at six o'clock. He put pasta on the stove to boil, and alfredo sauce in a saucepan to warm. He placed some breadsticks on a cookie sheet and slid them into the oven to bake. Once this was done, he went to his bedroom and changed into a pair of black pants, a red shirt, and black cowboy boots. He ran a comb through his short, brown hair before returning to the kitchen to check the food and light the candles on the table.
Over at her apartment, Sara was getting very nervous. She'd been to Nick's house only a few times, and never under these circumstances. She hoped she could keep herself in check, and not go crazy sitting at his dinner table. She contemplated things to say to him as she showered, dressed, brushed her shoulder-length brown hair, and drove to his house.
At promptly seven o'clock, the doorbell rang. He opened it and there she was, in a blue tank top and a black skirt that fell to just below her knees.
"Hey," he said, "you look great."
"So do you," she smiled. She was having trouble keeping her eyes off of him. Everything about him was just so… perfect.
"C'mon in," he said, stepping back to open the door wider. She walked in and caught sight of the grand table setting, with the roses and the candles.
"You must have gone through a lot of trouble to do all this!" she exclaimed.
"It was for you, so it was no trouble at all," he replied with one of those Nick Stokes smiles. Her heart melted every time she saw that smile, and she had to do all she could to keep from throwing her arms around him in a hug. She smiled back at him as they both sat down, and began to eat. "Enjoy," he said.
A half an hour later, when Nick had cleared the table and the dishes rested in the sink, he gestured to the next room and said, "Let's go sit in the living room, and relax."
They were both seated next to one another on the couch when he turned to face her. "I know that Christmas is supposed to be about spending time with those that are special to you. That's why I invited you here. I always knew you were special, ever since the first day you came to Vegas. I felt a sort of connection, and it hasn't let me go since, no matter how much I try to oppress it. Then, this past year, when I was in that.. that thing.. I decided I couldn't ignore that feeling anymore. Every time I thought about pulling the trigger on my gun, your face flashed before my eyes. That's how I knew I could make it out, if I just held on to your memory. Then, when you found me and stayed at the hospital with me, I was even surer of it. Until then I was running from these feelings, afraid of them. Now, I realize, here is where I belong. I'd lose my mind if I have to go one more day without you. It's no use for me to fight it anymore, because the feelings won't go away. That's why I got you this," he said, reaching over and taking the box from its spot on the floor beneath the tree. He handed it to her, and she had tears in her eyes as she peeled back the paper. It was a black velvet box, inside was a lovely diamond heart pendant on a thin gold chain.
"Oh, Nick… it's beautiful!" she sighed, as she lifted the little gold heart from the box and let the thin gold chain fall between her fingers.
"I'm glad you think so, because I think the same thing about you. You're the most beautiful girl that I've ever met, both physically and when it comes to personality. I want to… no, I need to be next to you for the rest of my life. I want to look into your eyes each night, and wake up each morning to your lovely smile. I guess, what I'm trying to say is," he paused, dropping to one knee and taking her hand in his, "Sara Sidle, will you do me the immense honor and spend the rest of your life with me?"
Tears welled in her dark brown eyes as she pulled him up to sit next to her again. She couldn't help but smile as she said, "Nick Stokes, it would be my pleasure." She slid her arms around him in a loving embrace, and they both let tears of joy fall freely from their eyes.
When they released one another, he smiled down into her dark brown eyes. "Look up." She turned her gaze to the ceiling and saw a small bunch of mistletoe she had somehow missed before. She looked back at him, and, as if they'd read each other's minds, they pulled each other close and their lips met.
A few moments later, Sara pulled back. When she spoke, she sounded breathless. "I think that this may be the best Christmas ever," she smiled, and leaned in for another, deeper kiss.
The rest of the evening went on in the same way. They just sat holding one another, living in the moment, a moment that ranked as one of the best in either of their lives.
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Now, if you would, there's a little box down there with the word "Go" in it that's just begging to be clicked!
BballCSI54