Thanks again for all of the awesome reviews! See, I told you I wouldn't kill anyone! I did enough of that in Changes. Ha!

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Nick woke with a start nearly two hours later. He had slept very uncomfortably in a chair right next to Sara's bed. He hadn't even left to go to the bathroom. Not that he'd even thought about it since he'd first seen her slumped over on the floor of her crime scene.

He sat up straight in the chair and stretched the kinks out of his neck. He looked over at the clock on the wall. It was almost 3:00pm. He'd been in this hospital for a little less than twelve hours, but he felt as if he'd aged a few years.

Nick sat for a few minutes; the only noises in the room were the quiet beeping of the monitors on the other side of Sara's bed, and her soft breaths, which Nick thought were a bit shallow. He figured that Sara got pregnant in July. They had started their 'friends with benefits' situation a little less than two months after she and Hank had broken up. In fact it was about a week or so after the explosion and after Grissom turned her down for dinner. She had come to him a few nights after hat and told him everything.

That was the first night they fucked. And at first, that's what it was: fucking. But then it turned into sex, and the last few times they were making love to each other. Sara had explained to Nick once that there were actually differences. He thought she was being silly, but it's that same silliness he fell in love with.

According to the doctor, the baby was conceived in early July. That didn't surprise Nick. They were together on the 3rd through the 6th. As far as Grissom knew, Nick had flown to Texas to be with his family for Independence Day and Sara had gone to Tamales Bay to see her parents, because it was their 35th wedding anniversary. Really, though, they went camping. It was one of the best trips they'd ever had. They made s'mores and pizzas over the fire.  And then they made love by the fire; slowly, taking their time to memorize each other's bodies. Nick had never been one for romance, but he knew he could have gotten used to it.

Then two weeks after that, Sara told him she was pregnant, and everything went to hell.

That was almost five months ago, though.  

Nick sat up straight, as something just dawned on him. "Today is Thanksgiving" he said out loud. He leaned his elbows on the edge of Sara's bed, and propped his head up.

She was still asleep.

Nick thought to himself about how much he had to be thankful for. He couldn't believe that things had turned out the way they had.

Sara was going to be okay, and so was their child.

Nick couldn't help, but smile as he watched Sara sleeping. He could see the bulge in her abdomen, which Sara claimed to grow more and more every day. He had barely noticed. She's still the most beautiful woman he knows. She beautiful on the inside, as well as on the outside.

"I love you" Nick whispered into the quiet room.

"I love you, too, man, but I really don't swing that way, ya know?"

Nick spun around to find a grinning Warrick leaning against the door frame.

"Jesus Christ!" Nick breathed.

"Just call me, Warrick, man" he chuckled.

"Are you trying to give me a heart attack or something? How long have you been in here?" Nick asked, quietly as to not wake Sara.

"I've been in here for a while. Since before you even woke up, Sleeping Beauty"

"Oh, you're so funny" Nick said sarcastically.

"I know. I know."

Nick stood up and walked out of Sara's room, motioning for Warrick to join him.

Once they were out in the hall where they didn't have to whisper, Nick asked. "What's up?"

"Nothing. I was just checking on you, too. And Catherine wanted to know how Sara was doing as well. She going to be released in a few hours and wanted to see the two of you before she left" Warrick explained.

"She's being released already?"

"Yeah"

"That's good. Make sure she gets plenty of rest, though. She's been through a lot" Nick advised.

"Yeah I know" Warrick agreed. "So has she woken up yet?" he asked.

Nick shook his head.

"Yeah, I didn't think she would" Warrick gazed back through the window of Sara's room and watched her. "That poor girl has been through way too much"

"I know, and how much of it was my fault"

Warrick looked back over at his friend. "Nick, man, you can't think like that. If you keep blaming yourself for something that was way out of your control, then you two will never be able to get past this"

"It's so hard" Nick confessed.

Warrick laughed. "Life is hard."

"Yes, it is."

"Well, hey, I'm gonna go get Cath's stuff together to we can get out of here as soon as possible. I'll bring her over before we leave, okay?"

"Okay, sounds good" Nick responded before heading back into Sara's room and sitting back down in the chair by her bed.

Warrick smiled as he watched Nick take her hand in his and begin talking to her. Then he walked back into Catherine's room where she was just finishing getting dressed after a quick shower.

"Hey there" he said sweetly, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"I really want to go home" Catherine whispered into his chest.

"We're gonna go as soon as we can. Don't worry."

"Good. How's Nicky?" She asked as she pulled away and sat back down in her bed.

"As good as he can be. He's still blaming himself for everything, but I think he'll stop as soon as Sara wakes up and yells at him for it" Warrick informed her.

Catherine laughed, "Yeah, she'll probably grill his ass for it"

"That's our Sara"

Next door, Nick was talking quietly to Sara, asking her to wake up so he could see her pretty brown eyes.

He leaned back in the chair again, and closed his eyes, but when he felt Sara squeeze his hand, his eyes snapped open, and he leaned forward again.

"Sara?" he whispered. "Sara, can you hear me? Please open your eyes."

"Nick" she croaked as her eyelids slowly fluttered open.

Nick squeezed her hand and smiled. "Hey" he greeted her.

"Where am I?" she asked, as she gazed around the room. "What happened?"

"Sara, you're in the hospital. You were attacked at a crime scene" Nick spoke softly.

"Oh my god!" Sara brought her hand to her mouth, as tears began to pour down her cheeks.

"Honey, you were shot in the shoulder"

Sara looked up at Nick, the fear and worry evident all over her face. "The baby? Nick, oh my god! Please tell me I didn't lose the baby! Please?" she begged.

Nick squeezed her hand again, and leaned forward to kiss her forehead. "The baby is fine, sweetheart. You did good."

Sara began crying even harder, but this time they were tears of joy and happiness that she and her baby were okay.

Nick quickly slid into bed with her and wrapped his arms around her shaking body. He pulled her body against his, being very careful of her wrapped shoulder, and broken ribs. He placed a kiss on top of her head and whispered, "Everything is going to be fine, honey. We're fine."

Sara's sobs subsided a few minutes later. "Nick?" She asked, suddenly, worried.

"What's wrong?"

"Catherine? Is she okay? Where is she?" She asked in a panic.

"Sara, she's fine. You saved her life. She's perfectly okay, and she's in the room next door to this one. Warrick's getting ready to take her home, but they'll stop by to see you before they go"

Sara breathed a sigh of relief and Nick could feel her relaxing in his arms.

"Nick, I had never been so scared in my life" Sara confessed.

"I know, honey, but you're fine now. Our baby is fine, and Catherine is fine. No one is going to hurt you again. I promise"

Sara couldn't help but laugh. "You can't make that kind of promise, Nick."

"Sure I can"

"What are you going to do? Become my body guard?" Sara asked.

"Babe, I already am."

Sara didn't comment. She just smiled, and laid her head back down on the pillow, scooting closer to Nick, holding his hand between their bodies. "I love you" she whispered before drifting off to sleep again.

Nick kissed the top of her head and whispered, "I love you too, Sara" He closed his eyes, and finally allowed himself to fall into a not-so-restless sleep.

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      TBC

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Sorry this chapter was so short, but I felt right ending it where I did. Let me know what you think!

Happy Holidays!