A/N: Thanks to: PandorasHollow, nickysbabygirl, AnMaDeRoNi, jordanx3, MartinaCruz, Rissa545, lovestoact, icklebitodd, and Space-Case7029 for the reviews on the first chapter. I didn't expect it to be such a hit. Thanks again. And now for chapter two…
Headliner
Chapter 2
Sara thought Nick would faint. "Are you okay?" she asked him.
"Yeah, I'm just a little stunned that's all."
"Did you find out what she wanted?"
"Sorry, I was too busy doubting her. She was really upset you hadn't told us about her. Why did you do that?"
She shrugged. "I don't know."
Greg came bursting down the hallway. "Sara! Is the little squirt yours?"
"Yes she is, Greg, and don't call her a squirt."
"Sara Sidle is a mother. That's something I never thought I'd say," mentioned Warrick, "How old is she?"
"Sixteen as of last month," Sara responded.
"Goodness, that's older than Lindsey," exclaimed Catherine.
"Listen, if what Nick says is true, then I'm going to have one very unhappy kid when I get home. I'll see you all tomorrow."
They waved good-bye and headed to the locker room. "Sara and kids just don't seem like they'd fit," said Warrick.
"She did fine a few years ago with a victim, remember? She played it out that she didn't have a clue quite nicely, though. I wonder why the act," Catherine stated.
Sara arrived home to a rather unpleasant reception. Through the walls she could hear music booming. She sat her purse on the counter, throwing her keys into the leaf-shaped dish, and walked to her daughter's door. She pounded on it three times. "Noise level, Alexis!"
The volume went down and she moved to the kitchen. A few moments later, the walls were shaking again. She yanked open the door. "Okay, kiddo, in the living room, now!"
The brunette stomped past her mother and flung down on the couch. "I don't know what the problem is; I have nothing to say to you!" she shouted.
Sara sat on a chair opposite the couch. "Then you're going to listen. I'm sorry you're upset, but I did what I did for a reason."
Alexis scoffed. "Oh yeah, what would that be?"
Sara snapped up. "You are sixteen-years-old; I do not have to defend my actions to you." The girl rolled her eyes. "Alright, Lexi, get in your room and stay there until your attitude goes away."
She glared at her mother. Sara grimaced when she heard the door slam. "If I had a dollar for every time you did that!" she yelled.
"You'd have about ten bucks!" Lexi hollered back.
Sara retired to her room and flopped on the bed. She sunk in the blankets and sighed. Lexi was right; they hardly ever fought. In that Sara was a single parent, they had a special bond. She closed her eyes. By not telling the lab about Alexis, she had put a serious sprain in several relationships.
Lexi covered her head with a pillow. She felt tears welling in her eyes. Why had her mother hid her from her friends? Did she have regrets about having a child? Sara always said she didn't, but now Lexi wasn't so sure. She stayed in her room for a long time. It was Saturday and she didn't have school. Her stomach rumbled. Amidst all her arguing she had forgotten breakfast. The center of the house was empty. Mom must still be sleeping, she thought. The fridge was nearly barren. Luckily a box of pancake mix sat on the pantry shelf.
Sara scurried out of her room when Lexi was placing the first batch on a plate. "That smells wonderful," she said and sniffed the air.
"I hope they taste good as well. It's all we have. Did you sleep alright?"
"Fairly well. It's Saturday; didn't you have any plans?"
"Courtney wanted to go shopping, but I said I had other things to do."
"Like what?" Sara inquired.
"I wanted to make sure we were okay," she said.
Sara walked over and wrapped her arms around her daughter. We're just fine, baby." She planted a kiss on Lexi's forehead. "You know what? Why don't you come to work with me today? I know it won't completely make it up to you, but it's a start."
The girl lit up. "I'd love that! I'm going to get ready!"
"We don't leave for three more hours," she shouted down the hall. That kid of mine, she thought, is sure something.
When they entered the lab three-and-a-half hours later, Sara proceeded to tell every person on staff who the girl with her was. By the time they reached the break room, she was getting nervous. Her toughest critics in this situation would be the grave shift.
Catherine knew each of them had to hold off passing judgment, at least while Lexi was around. She thought that the girl probably felt betrayed by her mother and didn't need them to make it any worse. She smiled and gladly took the teen's hand when it was her turn. "Are you hanging out for awhile?" she asked.
Alexis turned to face her mom. "Yeah she is. I thought it was a good idea."
Greg had just poured Lexi a cup of coffee when Grissom walked in. She took one drink and spit it back into the mug. "No offense," she said, "but that's gross." Greg pretended he'd been shot and dropped to the floor.
"So not everyone likes your coffee, Greg, grow up," said Grissom.
Lexi stared at him. So this was Gil Grissom. This was the boss who knew more about insects than anyone on the planet.
He glanced her direction. "Who are you?"
Sara started to speak but Lexi answered first. "My name is Alexis. I belong to Sara."
Sara looked guiltily at her boss and raised a hand. Grissom looked confounded. "What she means by that is she's my daughter." Grissom didn't say a word. He just grabbed some coffee, tipped his head to the gang, and left.
"How should I react to that?" Lexi questioned.
"He doesn't mean anything by it. That's just who he is," Catherine stated.
The night dragged on, slightly less eventful. Greg had set up a stereo and wasted no time in showing Lexi all of his favorite music. Warrick was surprised when it didn't give her an intense headache. Sara could tell that her daughter truly enjoyed this group of people. Alexis felt like she had known them all her life. She had, of course, been told endless tales about them. A very large part of her wished they'd been given the same courtesy. Greg wanted to know everything about her.
"When is your birthday?"
"April 23rd."
"What is your full name?"
"Alexis Nicole Sidle."
"Who is your father?"
She sighed. "I don't know."
"You don't know? What do you mean you don't know?"
She focused on his hair as she explained. It was nice and floppy. "My mom never told me his name. She's never really talked about him at all, actually. I'm not resentful for it. She says she just didn't want me getting hurt. I can understand that."
"So he was a jerk?"
"Greg, quit grilling the girl," Warrick said.
She shook her head fiercely. "No, she says he was a complete gentleman."
"And yet she didn't want you getting hurt?"
"That's the mystery of it all."
Grissom had paired Sara and Catherine together in hopes they'd push each other's buttons. Sara suddenly admitting she had a kid was too much to take in. He hoped she'd give an explanation as to the secrecy, but he wasn't holding his breath.
Catherine pulled out of a Starbucks. Sara sat beside her sipping on a mocha. Catherine drummed her fingers on the steering wheel.
"Cath, is something bothering you?"
"No, I was just thinking." She paused for a moment. "Sara, I know why you didn't tell anyone about Lexi."
"You do?"
"Yeah." She drove on in silence and Sara was relieved that her co-worker had dropped the subject. They stopped at an intersection. Catherine looked at her as she was sipping her drink and said, "So when are you going to tell Nick he's a daddy?"
Sara sucked in air, taking coffee with it. She started choking and her eyes turned red.
A/N2: What did you think? Let me know. Thanks much.
