hey guys,

just to let you know, if you go to my homepage (under my profile of course), and click on Once In A Lifetime. On the next page is two links, one to the story (which led last week to the chapter with the lyrics lol); the other is "Sara's Scrapbook", which is mentioned in this chapter. Currently the first few pages are up where you can see them if you like, a wedding page from England, and pictures of Rose... More pages will be added by the time this story is complete. Just wanted to spread the word in case anyone is interested :-)

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Chapter 5
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Saturday July 1st, 2006
Las Vegas, Nevada
Montecito Hotel
Penthouse Suite
9:25 a.m. (PST)

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As Sara had figured, it hadn't taken long for the 'team' to find out about Rose - Catherine overheard her talking to Jordan on her third day at work asking how Rose was. From there it had pretty much snowballed that by the end of shift, everyone in the lab knew that Sara had a daughter besides being married and expecting twins. There were times Sara swore they were all in high school or something the way the gossip traveled in this place. Two days later when she was packing up in the locker room, she'd been cornered by the entire team minus Grissom, informing her they were buying breakfast for her, Jordan, and Lily. In other words, they were going to see the Sidle child if it was the last thing they did.

Sara had shaken her head, and called everyone to give them a head's up. Nigel, Bug, and Garret had arrived the day before and the group had moved from the Luxor where the three women had stayed, to the Montecito. Lily had always wanted to stay at the Luxor, hence the reason they were there the first week. Because of past friendships with the staff at the Montecito, and the fact Jordan and everyone had helped them with a few cases before the Las Vegas police were called in, they offered the group a wonderful rate. And it was kinda nice in Sara's mind, staying at a hotel that she had never been called to process. It was a very rare occurrence to get a call to the Montecito for any CSIs.

Grissom was grabbed just as he was unlocking his car, and now, twenty minutes later, they were gathered in the penthouse suite at the Montecito, introductions were made by the others as Sara slipped into her and Nigel's room to find him changing Rose. Changing her own clothes, she took Rose from him before they returned to the sitting room to find Jordan explaining how they managed to get the penthouse suite.

Everyone loved Rose as she was passed from person to person, Nigel pulling Sara to sit at one of the couches with him. Both of them watching Grissom discreetly, especially when Catherine placed Rose in his arms. While Rose was being held, orders to room service were placed, and once Catherine had placed Rose in Grissom's possession, she turned to Sara with a wicked glint in her eyes.

"So, now that we've finally met her, details would be nice."

Glancing up at Nigel as he chuckled behind her, Sara reached up and smacked the back of his head lightly before the other members of their group from Boston laughed. Turning her attention back to the CSIs she smiled softly, "She was born in January, has duel citizenship since she was born in London…"

"You never did explain; why were you in England so long?" Greg asked just as they heard a knock on the door.

Once breakfast was distributed, and Rose was back with Sara, Nigel having quickly fixed a small cup of Rose's own cereal with fruit, the questions began once more. Immediately going back to why she was in England for so long.

"I learned I was pregnant when I was in London, my doctors also forbid me to fly until after Rose was born, it was too much a risk. So… we stayed."

"Wouldn't that have put you back in Boston at the earliest around February… what took so long to come back here?" Catherine asked curious.

"Actually we were waiting for my green card to be approved," Nigel spoke up. "I had to go back to England because my visa ran out, Sara came with me with the intent to return to Vegas when her LOA was up, until she was informed she wouldn't receive clearance from her doctor and no airline would let her fly without it."

"Well that's just joyful," Catherine rolled her eyes.

"So, back to baby info," Greg continued. "What's the cutie's name?"

"You mean besides Rose?" Jordan chuckled.

"Well of course," Greg agreed.

"Gillian Rose Garnet," Sara answered before pulling the spoon away from Rose just as she reached out to hit it. "And I think she just decided she was done eating."

"Garnet? Like the stone?" Warrick asked as while Sara set aside the cereal and cleaned Rose up.

"Yes, I doubt any of you know this, but my middle name is Opal, my brother's middle name was Moonstone. It was Nigel's idea to continue the tradition as it were with Rose. She has a two part first name as it's another tradition from my family as well," Sara explained.

"Oh? What's your first name?" Nick asked curious, they had never knew it was anything other than Sara…

"Sara Lynn. My brother was Andrew Evan, my mother's first name is Laura Ann. It comes from mom's side of the family."

"Interesting. Were the gemstones from a certain part of the family?"

"Nah, that started with Andy and me," Sara answered Warrick's question.

"Cool."

"Here, give me Poppin so you can eat," Nigel instructed before Sara handed Rose to him.

"So what's London like?" Nick asked as Sara turned to her breakfast.

"Lovely," Sara smiled. "I actually have a photo album around here somewhere… I'm working on it in my spare time to get it completed before the twins come."

"I got it," Lily spoke up as she produced the scrapbook and passed it to the CSIs.

"When did you two first meet?" Greg asked when he saw a picture of what must have been Sara in her early twenties with Nigel. Her hair was much longer than now, almost waist length…

"Good God… how long has it been now?" Sara asked glancing at Nigel "Fourteen… fifteen years… something like that…"

"About fifteen and a half," Nigel nodded.

"Ahh, so you two had a prior relationship?" Catherine asked as they continued to look at the pictures.

"Not initially, we were friends at first, I was in a relationship when we met," Sara shrugged.

"Bloody bastard," Nigel muttered.

"I'm going to seriously hurt you if my daughter's next word is either bloody or bastard Nigel Townsend," Sara warned.

"Sorry love," he answered sheepishly. "But he was," he added.

"I'm not disputing that," Sara rolled her eyes.

"Do we ask?" Nick questioned.

"Ken and I were together all of my Sophomore year and part of my Junior. He was a year ahead of me, BMOC… Organic Chem T.A," Sara began shaking her head. "Spring Break 92 we flew down to Miami, when I caught him in bed with two women I ended it."

"What?" Catherine asked shocked.

"Oh that was seriously wrong," Greg shook his head.

Sara shrugged, "The sisters he was with weren't happy either when they found out he was in a relationship," she smiled. "Nigel came down and drove me back home. A few months later we started dating. Was a year, then I got my scholarship to Berkley and this one practically pushed me on the plane," Sara chuckled.

"What? I wasn't going to let you pass up an opportunity like that just because of me," Nigel countered with a smile.

"I remember that," Jordan laughed. "We had to drag his butt out of the morgue, and poor Garret was ready to kill him because he kept playing all this really depressing music."

"Wait, that was because you left?" Garret asked looking at Sara. "I'm beyond glad that you didn't leave again I think we would have had an extra body in the crypt if he started that again."

"You wouldn't hurt me Dr. M," Nigel countered with a grin. In response Garret merely raised one eyebrow.

"I wouldn't push him babe," Sara chuckled.

"Oh! Wedding pictures!" Catherine cried suddenly gathering everyone's attention to the scrapbook. "Why does it look like you got married in the air?"

Everyone who was at the wedding laughed hearing her question, "We were married on the London Eye," Sara explained when she caught her breath. "135 meters up."

"Whoa, cool wedding," Greg grinned. "So where was the reception? Not in a hot air balloon I hope…"

"I think my Aunt would have killed us," Nigel laughed.

"We had the reception down at the Swan Star, our local pub. Mac insisted on making everything. There's pictures from the reception as well," Sara explained before Catherine turned the page and found them.

"So who's who?" Warrick asked.

"Aunt Bea's the one in the black suit," Nigel began.

"In the group shot, Angie is on Bea's left, her husband Charles is next to her and in front of them are Charlie and Becca. Bea's right is her middle child James, his wife Eliza and he's holding their son Arti. Obviously Nige and I are sitting on the chairs, and to my right standing a bit in front of her brother is Bea's youngest, Anne Marie."

"The two caught arguing in a picture are Mac and his ex-wife Abby, she owns the sewing shop next to Bea's Teas. Ol' Timothy is another of the group as it were, he's the one trying to give Sara a wedding kiss," Nigel chuckled.

"Wedding kiss?" Greg asked, "Ok, that's it, I need to move to London if that's a tradition or something."

"That's just Ol' Timothy," Sara laughed. "He's a sweetheart, and it became a running joke that he was trying to get me to leave Nige and run away with him."

"Interesting…" Catherine nodded. "Why does your cake have a motorcycle as part of the cake top?"

"Because my husband is a biker," Sara answered without missing a beat.

"A Brit biker who works as a medical examiner in Boston… Is there anything else we should know about you?"

"I'm a complete utter nut according to those I work with, part-time fashion designer, paranormal fanatic, I believe in Vampires and Aliens… I'm a doctor, was in the military, can be classified as a Goth, and otherwise just a weird bloke," Nigel answered Catherine's question.

"Yes, I married the world's most eccentric man," Sara chuckled seeing the looks of disbelief on the CSIs' faces.

"We noticed," Nick laughed.

"I'm going to put her to bed," Sara smiled when she noticed Rose was sound asleep. "Be right back," she added as she took Rose before heading towards their room. While she was gone, Catherine found the baby pictures. When she returned, Sara walked over and sat down next to Nigel before looking up at him.

"Oh no, I know that expression…" Nigel began. "I'm not going to go hunt down a Subway unless you give me directions," he added with a smile.

"Subway?" Jordan asked confused.

"I made more late night runs to the 24-hour Subway when she started craving those things, it was almost an nightly occurrence…" Nigel chuckled.

"Relax, I'm not craving Subway."

"Sweet Nancy! It's a miracle!" Nigel grinned as he crossed himself. "Wait… what are you craving?" he asked looking back at her concerned.

"Fish and Chips from Tommy's," Sara sighed. "Babe…"

"No way, I love you dearly but I'm not flying to London to get you Fish and Chips from the Chippie. My Aunt would kill me for not bringing you and your doctors would kill me for bringing you…" Nigel argued.

"Damn," Sara sighed.

"Good fish and chips?" Grissom asked curious.

"Oh the best… Tommy's one of the few who still uses newspaper. I don't use malt vinegar like this one does, I have lemon on mine. You don't use tarter sauce though, that's just wrong…" Sara sighed before glancing up at Nigel once more.

"Oh for the love of God… I'm not going to London, but if you can wait 24-hours I'll get some for you," he shook his head.

"You are so whipped Nige," Jordan laughed.

"And quite happy about it," Nigel smirked before rising. "While I'm placing an order over 5,000 miles away, is there anything else I should get?"

"Oooh, Mac's Cornish Pastie," Sara began as he made his way towards their bedroom. "And Hotpot… oh and Parkin … oh Lamb Henry… Steak and Guinness Pie…"

Nigel popped his head back out of the room and looked towards her before shaking his head. "Why don't I just see if he can send one of everything on the menu while I'm at it?"

"You get Black Pudding or Steak and Kidney Pie and I'll ring your neck!" Sara shot back. "And don't you dare order the Cholesterol Special Nigel Eames Townsend!" she called after him when he disappeared from sight.

"Cholesterol Special?" Grissom repeated

"Oh God, I swear it is made simply to raise your cholesterol ten points," Sara rolled her eyes, "You get your choice of home cooked ham or a Lincolnshire sausage, with a fried egg, chips and peas or beans. My dear husband prefers it with sausage and beans…" she continued shaking her head.

"This is also the only man I know other than Bug, who actually eats a traditional English breakfast," Lily shook her head. "I still wonder how it is he is so thin after watching him eat that every morning we were in England…"

"I saw him order a traditional breakfast every day for six months, you think he would have gained as much weight as I did from being pregnant but he didn't," Sara shook her head.

"Fast metabolism," Nigel answered as he walked back into the room. "James and Angie have it too." He continued as he joined Sara on the couch. "And, you'll be happy to know Mac is going to overnight ship one order of everything on the menu, except for Black Pudding, Steak and Kidney Pie, and the Cholesterol Special for me because he doesn't want to give you more reason for morning sickness or to kill him. And as luck would have it, the family was there for supper, and found out you were craving foods from home, so Aunt Bea is sending enough tea to serve a small army and an electric kettle, along with a few jars of her preserves, clotted cream and fresh scones, all we need to do is find a toaster oven for heating them. Her words, not mine. Eliza is also planning to make all your favorite cakes and pies and send them, and Abby said to tell you she's going to send along a few outfits for Rose and will go bug Tommy for your fish and chips."

"I love your family," Sara sighed happily.

"Just how much food is going to be coming?" Greg asked shaking his head.

"Enough to feed a small army," Sara chuckled. "Want to do brunch tomorrow?"

"Sure, can I bring Lindsey?" Catherine asked.

"Why not, we'll invite Jim too. That is if you guys don't mind," Sara asked glancing at those from Boston."

"Not at all, gives me a chance to talk with Dr. Grissom," Bug smiled.

"Oh God, more insect talk," Jordan groaned.

"You'll survive," Lily laughed.

"Well then, we should probably all get home to get some sleep as is," Grissom began after a moment.

"And we need to go find some electric appliances," Lily grinned.

"Suddenly I'm very scared…" Jordan shook her head as the CSIs gathered their things to leave.

"That makes two of us," Garret agreed.

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Monday July 24th, 2006
Las Vegas, Nevada
LVPD Crime Lab
Break Room
10:45 a.m. (PST)

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The Las Vegas gang's introduction to all foods English went rather well, that is until Josh Duhamel arrived bearing a gift of alcohol for the group, Sara's greatest enemy when it came to morning sickness, and she found herself in the bathroom. The poor man returned a few minutes later trying to make amends with fresh strawberries and cream knowing Sara enjoyed them a few days earlier, but by then she had entered morning sickness phase and the sight of food had her back in the bathroom. When she had returned from the second trip and collapsed on the couch with her head in Nigel's lap, she'd been ready to not move again any time soon… only to have Ecklie of all people show up. He'd heard the best people from the Boston Coroner's Office were in town and wanted to try and see if he could persuade any of them to stay in Vegas. When the knock had sounded at the door, Sara had raised her head enough to say 'if it's that man again with food… no jury in the world would convict me'… Nigel had to keep her from attacking Ecklie on her way to the bathroom for a third trip when he came bearing a fruit basket.

Everyone departed after that, and with the knowledge about not letting Sara smell alcohol anytime in the near future, her morning sickness never became a problem again. Independence Day she had off and spent with the gang from Boston, watching the Las Vegas festivities from their suite and watching the Boston Pops on TV, Jordan producing her guitar once more as was now tradition she claimed. The next day, Bug, Garret, Lily and Jordan flew home, and Sara, Nigel and Rose moved to a smaller suite in the Montecito.

The next three weeks passed all too quickly it seemed at times, and far to slow at others. Sara worked weekdays, having the weekends off, and spent time with the team. Grissom was often found visiting the Townsend suite and Sara laughed when both men were surprised to find they got along quite well for all their personality differences and the fact Nigel had won Sara as it were. Around Sara's third week, Catherine had confronted Grissom to see if he knew Rose was his, she'd known since the day she first saw Rose… she'd been his friend for over ten years… she'd recognize his eyes anywhere. After that, the rest of the team had been told, and both Sara and Nigel agreed that it was very likely Grissom was going to be a part of his daughter's life. Especially when Rose added Dada to her previous repertoire of Mum and Pop… as best they could figure Pop was her name for Nigel since he always called her Poppin.

Finally though, Sara's four weeks were up, and it was time for them to return to Boston so they could have Nigel there for work on Friday. The team had insisted on a going away party, and Sara had just shaken her head and agreed when Nigel pointed out she had to have one. Which was why they were at the lab, the day they were suppose to start driving back across country in Jordan's car.

"Hey," Grissom spoke drawing her attention from her thoughts as he sat down next to her, taking Rose from her lap.

"Hey back," Sara smiled as her daughter reached up to tug on her father's beard.

"So you're leaving…"

"Yup," Sara nodded.

"So how we going to do this?" he asked and Sara grinned.

"Well, I had figured that maybe you can come visit us in Boston, and we'll come visit here after the twins are born and I can fly again until she's in school at least. Then I figure she can come out and spend a month or so in the summer and we can figure out holidays. I'll fly with her when she's younger or maybe you can fly to Boston then bring her back and I'll fly out here to take her home or something. But we have time to figure that out after all."

"That we do…" he agreed as he brushed a brown ringlet from Rose's forehead. "You know, every now and again I'll wonder how things might be if I hadn't left that morning. But then I see you with Nigel… he's a good man Sara. He's better for you than I ever was. I'm happy for you.

"Thank you," Sara smiled. "You know, I think there's someone out there for you too, just give it time. Give love a chance okay?"

"I'll think about it," he nodded as Nigel walked over to join them.

"Time to go?" Sara asked with a smile.

"We should love," he agreed before helping her stand. "Want to carry her out old man?" he asked Grissom with a smile. Grissom just shook his head at Nigel's nickname for him.

Goodbyes were said, and threats on lives were given if Sara even dreamed about not keeping in contact, and soon the three were walking out to Jordan's car. Grissom strapped Rose into her car seat before shutting the door and looking at Sara and Nigel.

"Take care of yourself Gil," Sara smiled before hugging him.

"You too," Grissom smiled, "Take care of her."

"Always," Sara promised before walking around to her side of the car.

"Take care of them both," he added looking at Nigel.

"Always," Nigel promised before offering his hand. "We'll see you soon no doubt."

"Probably," Grissom smiled before stepping back and letting Nigel get in the car. Watching them leave, he smiled before turning to look at Catherine, he'd recognize her perfume anywhere.

"You okay?" she asked softly.

"Yeah, I am," he smiled. "Come on, we have to get everything cleaned up and get some sleep before shift."

"You're one of a kind Gilbert Grissom," Catherine laughed as they turned and headed back into the lab.

Reader Responses:

Daynaa - hey love:-) glad you liked it :-) and glad you liked the ABBA stuff, I had a blast with that :-) (I know weren't they so cute?) :-)

Spikes-storm - hi sweetheart :-) me so happy you love it :-D updates are only once a week though ;-)

Transgenic-girl - true honey, but -shrug- maybe it's the part of me that likes to believe in fairytales and dreams coming true -shrug- but I do enjoy a good Sara/Nick story too so... G/S is just my first love ;-)

Future Miss CSI60 - hello darlin', welcome to the group :-) lol glad you are liking it :-) and thank you for NSDS ;-) lol so you survived S/W and you think you can survive this one... hmm maybe you shouldn't read my new story that I'm doing with my sister... (she was the co-author on NSDS and RH ;-) ) oh well :-) Enjoy the rest :-D

Please review:-)