(A/N) Here's the looooong awaited CHAPTER 8. I'm so sorry it wasn't up sooner. I was dealing with the grief of losing someone very dear and close to me, my grandfather. I haven't had time to come up with the latest addition, because school has started for me as well, so I have deep apologies to each and every one of you. I would like to dedicate this chapter to my grandfather.

Dedication:

Jadunath Gupta

Beloved Grandfather and Close Friend

November 30, 1931- July 30, 2005

Chapter 8: The Marriage.

By: Medha Gupta

Dated: October 6, 2005

Thoughts swum around in Nick's head as he woke up. I'm going to be married to Sara Sidle, he thought. He took a deep breath. He missed seeing her every night, but he was strangely excited. Tonight, he was going to stop being single, and he was going to be married. Marriage, the word rung inside of his head, a whole new world was coming up for him. The thought overwhelmed him, Warrick came in; he had spent the night at Nick's so that he could start preparing as soon as he woke up.

"Do you have the tuxedos?" Nick asked.

"They're coming," Warrick replied.

"The rings?"

"Came from the engravers just now," Warrick replied holding them up. Nick looked at the band, he was very pleased. The band, "Me + You Forever. He smiled when he saw the rings, and his stomach jumped up and down. Warrick grinned, "Nick, we're losing you to Sara."

"We?"

"Single men."

"I thought you were married," Nick wondered out loud.

"Tina and I got divorced a couple of weeks ago, I mean, it just didn't work out. She was seeing another guy," Warrick looked sad.

"I'm so sorry," Nick said.

"It's ok, I never loved her anyway. It was a spur of the moment decision to marry her. Anyways, today is all about you and how much you love the girl." Warrick clapped Nick on the back. Nick hugged him in return.

"Guess we have to go out into the battle zone," Nick said. His family was here from texas, all twenty one of them. And this was just his immediate family. His grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles etc.. were all staying at the hotel. But Nick had insisted that his mom and dad stayed, and then his brothers and sisters sent him on a guilt trip until he actually caved.

They both went out into the main dining room, and Gillian Stokes was cooking some breakfast. Nicks father, Bill, and his brothers and sisters, Henry, Sydney, Abby, Lennie, and Valerie were sitting at the table. Henry was the oldest, next Sydney and Abby, Lennie, Valerie, and Nick was the youngest. They were all already married. Henry's wife Jasmine, a beautiful Hawaiian girl, was busy feeding their two kids: Amber and Calliegh. Sydney was married to a New Yorker named Drew, he was still sleeping, and she had one kid, Erin. Abby was married to a Hispanic doctor in Los Angeles, Eduardo Sanchez; Abby also had one kid, Anita. Lennie was married to a Bostonian girl, Rachel, he met her when he went to Harvard (He was the doctor in the family), and they had three kids, two of which were twins, Ashley, Allie, and the ten month old, Chelsea. Valerie was a lawyer, and she also married one. She lived in Orlando and had one kid, Luke. Nick had a rather large family, and a small apartment. How he fit them all into his apartment, he had yet to figure out.

"Well, there's the last of the single Stokes!" Henry said as Nick walked in. Henry had been a bit disappointed when he wasn't named best man at Nick's wedding. After all, he was the older brother. But he smiled and got over it. After all, he did love his brother, and he hardly ever got to see him anyway. He was content in being the head usher. Nick smiled and sat down,

"Mmmm, mom, what did you make?" He asked. She put a plate of pancakes right in front of him. They all ate, and laughed and talked. Pretty soon, everyone was awake and having a blast. The kids, whose ages ranged from sixteen years to ten months old, were all in the large bedroom. They had already eaten their breakfast. As soon as they finished, they all started getting ready for the wedding which was set to start at eleven. The kids were pinched, prodded, poked, and they were ready first. And then the adults were ready. Nick hoped Sara was fine, and not nervous. Most of all, he hoped that she didn't back down. Oh God, what if she does? He thought. Warrick, sensing his hesitation, came up to him.

"Don't worry," He said, "She loves you too much." Nick smiled. They all got ready and headed to the Venetian; they would get married inside the beautiful wedding chapel. The reception was going to be held in one of their ballrooms. The whole thing seemed surreal to Nick as they drove over. Nick didn't want to arrive in a limousine; however they did rent a large van accommodating all twenty two of them. The smile never once left Nick Stokes' face.

As Sara walked down the aisle, Nick's jaw dropped. She never once let him see her dress, and Catherine was the only one who had seen it before. Her hair was pinned up, and curls framed her delicate face. A small tiara was delicately placed under her veil, and all her veil come down to her mid-back. Her dress was a stunning white with silver sparkles, she shimmered in the light. It wasn't a ballroom dress, but it flared out at the bottom all the same. All traces of death were wiped away from her face, and in its place was the most gorgeous of make up. She was an angel touched down from earth today. Nick's heart rate sped up, and he felt a strange sensation. She came down with Grissom, which was in a way ironic, because, she had a crush on him for the longest time. Before he knew it, she was where he was supposed to take her arm. He did everything as he was supposed to, self conscious of his own appearance. Nick didn't feel as if he was good enough for her, all traces of doubt were wiped away when they stood at the altar. The ceremony was beautiful within itself. As they finished saying the vows, the priest said the best part of the whole ceremony (in Nick's opinion), "By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride." Nick immediately grabbed Sara and kissed her, everyone smiled. "Ladies and Gentlemen, may I now present Mr. and Mrs. Nick Stokes." Nick and Sara walked down the aisle amidst clapping and words like "Congratulations," or, "Mommy, is he her Prince Charming?"

The theme for the reception was a Winter Garden. Fake snowflakes lined the rooms, and white flowers were placed everywhere.

"This is great," Sara said, "Everything is so beautiful and perfect." She squeezed Nick's hand.

"You look beautiful," Nick said.

"Thanks," Sara kissed him. They cut the cake, and soon it was time for Warrick to give his speech.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, when Nick asked me to be his best man, I couldn't refuse. Ever since, I was thinking of the perfect speech for my best friends wedding. Nick, Sara, I've known you guys for a long time. Nobody has shown more love for each other than you two, and nobody has cared that much for each other, at least, that I know of," he turned to the audience, "You guys have been tested, a lot, but your love has never wavered, its never even hinted at going away. Nick, you've always been like a brother to me, and now, I have a new sister. Good luck you two." He smiled and stepped off, and hugged both Nick and Sara. Sara kissed him on the cheek, which surprised Warrick.

"Hey big bro," she said. Warrick smiled and gave her another hug. Catherine then stepped up on the platform and walked up to the mike.

"When I first met Sara, I don't know why, but she seemed different than anyone else I had met. She was always amazingly smart, although maybe she would say too much. As I got to know her, we became okay friends, albeit we weren't like sisters. So when she asked me to be her maid of honor, I was like, what? But as I have gotten to know her over the past few months, she has become like a sister to me. But enough about me, this isn't about me. It's about Nick and Sara. What can I say about Nick and Sara? They're some of my closest friends and colleagues, so when my best friends are happy, I'm very happy, and I hope that they are happy forever. Not hope, actually, I know that they'll be happy forever." She also smiled and embraced the happy couple.

"Great speech," Sara said.

"Yeah, awesome Cath," Nick echoed. He laughed and hugged her. The rest of the reception was amazing. The music they played was fun and enjoyable…but night was quickly approaching. As the last dance came to a close, everyone ushered Nick and Sara to the elevators and to their luxury suite. They headed towards the lobby where they were pinched and prodded by old ladies who thought that they were the "sweetest things." They grabbed the first elevator, and it was thankfully empty. Nick embraced Sara.

"Hey, Mrs. Stokes," he said holding onto her waist and whispering into her hair. He put his hand on Sara's face, and felt tears. He pushed her chin up, and she looked at him. "Sara, don't cry…what's wrong?" He asked.

"Nick, you idiot, I'm just too happy for words." She buried her head into his tux. Nick stroked her hair.

"Sara, I love you," Nick said.

"I love you too."

"I hope this is forever."

"Of course it is," Sara replied.

They watched the elevator doors open into the beautiful suite that encompassed the entire floor. Nick quickly picked Sara up and carried her over the threshold.

"Ready?" He asked.

"When you are." Sara replied. He kissed her, picked her up, took her inside the bedroom, and closed the door.

"After that, we had you, Christina. Three years later, we had Emily, and then seven years later, you were born, Alyssa. We fought like any other married couple, and then one day, she never came back. I don't even remember what the fight was about, or what we said, all I remember was the door slamming, and Catherine telling me that they couldn't find Sara." Nick said. He looked at his children, the only remaining reminder of his amazing wife.

"Did they run an investigation?" Christina asked.

"Yeah, for four months. Then Grissom had to close it, he had no choice. She was gone, and she was probably dead by then." Nick said, his eyes more distant than ever.

"Do you believe that?" Emily asked.

"No, not one word of it." Nick replied. He turned and looked at Alyssa who had fallen asleep on the couch. The clock read 2:13 AM.

"Go to bed now, Chris, you want to tuck Alyssa in?" Nick asked kissing her.

"Sure," Christina said kissing him. He then kissed Emily, and lastly Alyssa. He went into his room, and sobbed.

"Sara, I know you're out there, come back! I need you, the girls need you!"

A/N: OMG I know its been like forever. Once again, read it and review please. You know the little purple button on the bottom left hand side of your monitor? Well, constructive criticism is appreciated. Um, once again, I don't like flames. Uh, yeah, it won't be four+ months before I update again. I'm really really really really really really really really really really sorry. Well, review!