AN: Thank you for the support, here is the next chapter. Warning: A few questionable words.
Chapter 6: A Special Visit
July 4th, 2026
As the 'kids' were still in their rooms, Sara and Grissom were in the kitchen cooking breakfast, which would be a little more than usual because they were going to have a few special guests.
They were just setting the table when there was a knock on the door, and Sara and Grissom smiled at one another, then after turning off the stove, Grissom met Sara in the middle of the room before taking her hand and walking them towards the living room, and once they were in there, Grissom released her hand so she could go to the door and open it, smiling brightly when she came face to face with one of her oldest/dearest friends. "Oh my gosh, you're here."
Nick Stokes, not only a husband of a 11 years and now a father of two, but also the director of the Las Vegas Crime lab, smiled brightly as he wrapped his arms around one of his oldest/dearest friends. "I know, its been too long."
She chuckled. "Way too long."
The families haven't seen one another in person since Nick and Diana's daughter, Emma, was born, which was about six years ago. There has been a lot of phone calls and video chats since then, but it just wasn't the same.
After Nick and Sara got out of the hug, Diana and Sara smiled at one another and gave each other hugs before the Stokes parents moved to the side so Sara could see 9 year old Austin, who resembled Nick quite a bit, and 6 year old Emma, who looked a lot like her mother, but there was definitely some Stokes resemblance too, especially in her smile.
Sara chuckled as she looked at the kids. "This can't be Austin and Emma."
Austin, who knew her a little better than his sister, smiled with a nod. "It really is, Aunt Sara."
Sara chuckled again, loving being called 'Aunt Sara', before she brought them in a hug while Nick and Diana walked inside so they could greet Grissom.
Once everybody was inside, Sara closed the door before she shouted towards upstairs. "Girls, time to get up, please come down when you're ready."
While Grissom and the Stokes family were walking into the kitchen, Sara headed for the office/William's temporary room, and knocked on the door.
When she didn't hear a reply, she slowly opened it to see Max sleeping at the end of the bed while William was sitting up, reading like he was in a zone, so she walked up to him and spoke as she touched his shoulder, making him jump, she then gave him a smile. "I"m sorry, baby. I just wanted you to know breakfast is ready and the Stokes family is here."
William nodded with a smile. "Thanks mom, I'll be out in a bit."
"Ok." She started walking towards the door but then turned around and asked. "Are you ok, you seemed to a little zoned out when I walked in here?"
He chuckled as he nodded his head again. "I'm fine mom, you know how I can get when I'm into a story, or whatever else I'm reading."
He definitely wasn't lying there, unless you got his full attention, he tuned everyone out when he was reading/studying, so she nodded with a smile. "Alright, I'll see you out there."
After one more nod, Sara left the room, and William took a breath and shook his head, still trying to calm his racing heart. He was use to being zoned out, but this one seemed a little deeper than usual. He shook his head again and puts the book-marker in place before setting it on his nightstand, and as he was moving off the bed, Max opened his eyes and lifted his head up, wagging his tail at him, making William smile as he gave a little attention to his dog before walking to his makeshift dresser and heading towards the bathroom, least with him having this room, he gets his own bathroom, so there was no waiting for his turn.
By the time Sara had made into the kitchen, Isabella and Katie were already there, so the Stokes family had already greeted them, then a few moments later Bella walked into the room, and Nick stood up from his spot at the table and smiled at the young lady. "Is this Bella I've heard so much about?"
While never had the pleasure of meeting her in person before, he has heard about her, and one of the reasons why he wanted to take this trip was to meet her personally, because if she was special to the Grissoms then she was special to him.
Bella shyly smiled before saying. "And that must mean you're Uncle Nick, I mean..."
Nick cuts her off with a chuckle as he held out his hand. "Hey, you can call me Uncle, I don't mind."
Bella nodded with a smile as she shook his hand, and as they released them, Nick cleared his throat and introduced her to the rest of his family.
About ten minutes later, William walked into the room. "Morning, everyone."
Nick, who had his fork lifted up to his mouth, stopped midway and smiled as he placed the fork back down on his plate and stood up again, then as he walked up to the young man, he shook his head with a chuckle. "No way this is little William, you're almost as tall as me."
William chuckled with a nod. "Yep, it's me Uncle Nick."
They all chuckled as the older man brings the younger man in a hug, then after pulling back, Nick cupped his cheek and shook his head with another smile. "Damn, you look so much like your father."
Before another word was said, Emma spoke with a giggle. "Daddy said Damn!"
Diana looked at her husband. "Nicholas!"
Everybody started chuckling again while Nick removed his hand from William's cheek and looked at his wife with a shy look before walking over to his daughter and tickling her while whispering. "Don't repeat daddy, sweetie."
While another round of chuckling was happening, Diana walked up to the young man so they could greet one another before William joined the family for breakfast as they did a little small talk, catching every one up on what's been going on.
Once breakfast was consumed, and the dishes were put in the dishwasher, the Grissom family, plus Bella, packed a day bag and various items for Max, because they all were going to spend time at the beach with the Browns and Boldens, at least until the rest of the families can join in the fun when their shift ends at the lab.
An hour turned into two, then two turned into three, and before they knew it the beach was getting fuller by other locals/visitors/tourists, and while the grown-ups were talking, the kids, plus Elizabeth and Bella were building a sandcastle, William was playing fetch with Max as Rick was sitting next to him, and after he threw the ball, William chuckled while shaking his head at his best friend, who was staring at the girls. "Why don't you just ask her out already?"
Rick looked at her best friend in shock. "What? Who are you..."
William cuts his best friend off with a smirk. "How long have I known you?"
"Pretty much our whole lives, give or take a few years."
"And I've never seen you look at anybody like you look at Elizabeth, especially lately, so what are you waiting for?"
As Rick looked towards Elizabeth again, his heart racing like it's been doing for years now every time he looks at her, he sighed. "Mostly out of fear. Outside of you, she's my best friend, and the thought of sharing what I really feel about her, and if she doesn't feel the same way, I could lose her." He shook his head before finishing with another sigh. "That's a risk I don't know if I'm willing to make."
After throwing the ball again, which Max took off after it, William shook his head again. "Or she could feel the same way that you do and you could get the girl you've had a crush on since you were 10 years old, probably even longer than you care to admit." He then smiled a little wider. "Look at her, you know she isn't going to stay single forever, someone is going to start noticing how beautiful she's becoming."
Rick looked at her for several more seconds before looking at William and speaking a little shyly. "Which at one point I thought it would be you, and you were just being the loyal friend so you wouldn't say anything to her for my sake."
William started to chuckle. "Elizabeth and I?" He chuckled a little harder before finishing after calming down, looking at his friend with sincerity. "Believe me man, I do see the beauty there, I can't lie about that, but only in a best friend type of way, and that's it, that's all there ever will be between us."
Rick then smirked. "I know, and I remembered why when she showed back up in your life."
He nodded towards the girls again, this time at Bella, making William look towards them before looking at him wide-eyed. "Wait, wha..."
Rick cuts him off with a chuckle. "Oh come on man, I may not have your intelligent level, but I'm not stupid. There is a reason you haven't looked twice at some of the beautiful girls in our school who's been looking at you for years (William shook his head with a shy smile, making Rick chuckle while shaking his head) It's true, there is just something about you that these women are crazy for." He then smirked. "I mean I don't see it, but they somehow sure do." William lightly hits his arm, making Rick chuckle one more time before finishing in a sincere tone. "Then she shows up and I see it in your eyes man, she's your 'one', she was back then and still is." He smirked one more time. "So, the same thing could be said to you, what are you waiting for?"
William looked over at the girls again, his heart started racing when Bella looked his way and smiled at him, and as he started to smile at her, he hears Rick. "Oh hell no, what do they want?"
William looked at his friend with a curious look, and Rick nodded to the left, so he followed his line of sight and saw two guys, jock guys to be exact, walking towards the girls, one of them being Jason, the boy who William had befriended when he was moved up to the advanced group in grade school, which they had been friends from that moment and all through middle school, even during their Freshman year of High School. Then the summer before going into Sophomore year happened, Jason went to basketball camp, he started spending more time at the gym to bulk up his body and got a major growth spurt, and now he's the captain of the basketball team and one of the star wide-receivers on the football team.
As the guys were getting closer to the girls, Rick was freaking out. "Well, aren't we going to do anything?"
While watching the guys, who had reached the girls, which they were now standing and smiling while talking to them, William spoke again. "And do what exactly? They are free to talk to anybody they want, and going over there will only make us look like we are possessive jerks, a look I don't think will be good for either of us." Rick sighed as he slumped in his seat a little while crossing his arms over his chest before William turned his head to look at his friend with a smirk. "You want to do something? Ask Elizabeth out, let her know you're interested in her in a more than a friend way."
Rick cleared his throat as he slowly uncrossed his arms. "Well, maybe I will...when I get enough courage." William chuckled and shook his head, then Rick smiled and said. "At least tell me what they are saying."
"Rick..."
But he cuts him off with a bigger smile. "Come on, man, do that voodoo thing."
William chuckled again. "It's not voodoo, it's called reading lips, and I'm not exactly an expert at it."
Like his father, William had a talent of reading lips, even though he wasn't anywhere near his level, but like his father always said, practice makes perfect.
Looking at his friend's pleading eyes, William nodded with a sigh. "Ok, I'll try."
Rick nodded while William looked at the guys & girls again, then after taking a breath he zoned all the other activity that was going around out and concentrated on their lips before relaying what he was reading. "They are talking about how their summer has been so far. Him and their friends are hosting a party later tonight, and they are getting ready to play a few games of beach volleyball, so they are inviting the girls to come join in the fun."
After he watched/heard a few more laughs and smiles, Jason and his friend walked away while Rick said softly. "So, the classics."
William nodded with a smile. "Pretty much, man." Then he smirked. "And it gives you a little more time to do what you have to do."
Before Rick could reply, Elizabeth, who was with Bella, smirked. "What does he have to do?"
The guys looked at the girls, and Rick immediately shook his head. "Oh nothing, something my mom wanted me to do." Before they could reply, he continued with a smile. "So, about that party?"
The girls looked at him with confusion as Elizabeth spoke again. "How did you know about the..." She then looked at William, knowing him just as well as Rick did, with a raised eyebrow. "Practicing your little trick there, William?"
William shyly smiled while Bella looked between the two in confusion. "Trick?"
Elizabeth smiled as she looked at her. "Lip reading."
Instead of seeing a disgusted or ashamed look on Bella's face, it was one of amusement as she replied with a raised eyebrow. "Lip reading, huh?"
William cleared his throat with a nod. "Still learning, but yeah."
She then smirked. "Then I guess I better start watching what I say."
William raised an eyebrow at that, making Elizabeth snicker, then after a moment, Elizabeth cleared her throat before speaking again. "Well, then if you knew about the party, then you knew about the volleyball game, want to join?"
Rick nodded with a smile as he stood up. "Sure."
Both Elizabeth and William looked at him and replied at the same time in shock. "You do?"
Rick looked at them like he was offended and said. "Excuse me, I am on the baseball team you know, so I do have some athletic ability."
Elizabeth then snickered. "Yeah, but you are...what do you call it, William?"
"A bench-warmer."
Elizabeth nodded. "Yeah a bench-warmer, no matter how much my Uncle has taught you, you still haven't had a breakthrough yet."
After Brett left the CSI lab, he did take time off so he could spend more time with his family, especially with Andrew, then when he was looking for something to do, an old friend of his asked if he was interested in coaching baseball (Ages 10-13) , and since it was his favorite sport he thought he would give it a shot, and the rest they say is history.
He coached Eli for a year before the young man wanted to concentrate more on Football and Basketball, William also for a year before he realized he was better at watching it than playing it, Rick for all three years, and he was currently coaching Andrew, not to mention countless other boys, even a few girls had been on his teams through the years.
Rick nodded, then he replied with determination. "OK you're right, I might not be the greatest baseball player ever, but I've stuck with it this long, and this year will be different, you'll see."
Before any more teasing happened, Bella nodded with a smile. "I really hope so Rick, I have faith in you."
Rick nodded with a smile. "Thank you, Bella." He then looked between his two best friends. "See, least someone has faith in me."
William, now feeling a little bad, stood up and places his hand on his shoulder and replied. "Come on man, you know we are just joking."
After Elizabeth nodded with a reassuring smile, Rick cleared his throat and nodded. "I know, I just do want this to be my year, you know, I want to make my dad proud."
One of the reasons he started playing baseball was to make Warrick proud. His father was into sports, and Eli turned into the ultimate jock, so while he might not have his brother's natural athletic ability, he wanted to at least give it all he could for as long as he could.
As they nodded in understanding, Bella smiled. "If you feel that strongly about it, maybe I could help you practice more?"
They all looked at her in shock, and Rick chuckled as he asked. "Wait, you know about baseball too? Is there anything you don't know or can't do?"
Bella smirked as she looked at William. "Yeah, lip reading."
They all chuckled before Elizabeth and Rick started heading towards the 'popular' area, but before Bella moved, she looked at William and asked. "You coming?"
William shook his head with a smile. "Nah, believe me it's safer if I just watch."
Bella nodded with a smile. "Ok, I'll see you later."
After another nod, Bella rushed to catch up with the other two, and as William sat down in his beach chair, Max lifted his head up and made a huffing noise at him, making William chuckle as he pets his dog. "What?" He made another huffing noise as he looked over towards his friends before looking at William again, and William raised an eyebrow as he asked. "What, Bella?" After one more huffing noise, William smiled. "I know buddy, maybe someday." After Max yawned this time, William chuckled as he leaned down and kissed the top of his head before whispering with emotion. "You know how much I love you, right? (He barked in response) You're the best dog any boy could have asked for."
A few more minutes of giving his dog attention, William was reaching for his book, but before he could get it, Katie came running up to him and asked. "Brother?"
William smiled at his youngest sister. "Yes, Katie?"
"Will you come help with the sandcastle?"
Giving him that soft, puppy dog eyed look, made William nod with a chuckle. "Ok."
Katie nodded with a smile. "Thank you, brother."
William stood up before his younger sister tugged on his arm. "You're welcome, sister."
(A Few hours later)
Nick, Warrick, and Sara were walking along the shoreline talking and laughing about old times, then they stopped their feet, and as they looked out in the horizon, Nick sighed before looking at two of his best friends with a smile. "Can you believe it, 26 years guys, who would have thought we be here together, and not only here physically, but married with kids." He then smirked at Warrick. "Grandkids."
As Sara snickered, Warrick smirked at Nick, but there was also a little seriousness in there as well. "Which at one point I know you would have gladly taken my role of 'grandpa'."
Nick looked at Warrick a little wide-eyed. "Warrick, I..."
Warrick cuts him off while placing his hand on his shoulder. "Of course I knew how you felt about her, we are best friends, you're like my brother." He then gets emotional as he finished. "So, thank you, thank you for stepping aside to let me be with her. I couldn't imagine building my life with anyone else."
Nick nodded, then replied with emotion. "And thank you for proving to me that I made the right choice in not saying anything, you made her happier than I probably ever could have."
Warrick shook his head with a chuckled at that. "I don't know if that's entirely true." Then he became more sincere. "But thank you for saying that."
As Nick nodded again, Sara smirked. "You know, Catherine isn't the only one Nick had his eye on before Diana."
Warrick looked at Sara curiously as Nick looked at Sara with wide-eyes. "Sara..."
She cuts him off with a chuckle. "What? It's been long enough, right? Everybody is happily married and moved on."
Warrick looked between them, before he asked Nick. "It wasn't Sara, was it?"
Sara chuckled again while shaking her head in a teasing tone. "Unfortunately, it was never me." Before he could ask, Sara continued. "But another brown haired woman."
Warrick looked at Nick a second later with a raised eyebrow. "Carly?" Nick shyly smiled, and after a pause, Warrick nodded with a smile. "You know what, I think if things were different, I could see it."
Sara nodded in agreement. "Me too."
As Nick turned to look at their families, he spoke with emotion. "But things happened the way they were suppose to, and I can't imagine it being any differently."
Both Sara and Warrick placed one of their arms on Nick's back while nodding in agreement with bright smiles and tears in their eyes before speaking at the same time while also watching their families. "Me neither."
Later that night
When it was time for the fireworks, the girlfriends/wives were sitting on the laps of their boyfriends/husbands while their babies were in their arms and the other kids on blankets in front of them, and William was sitting in a chair with Katie in his lap, looking up at the sky, zoned out, so he jumped a little when Bella touched his shoulder, then she smiled shyly as she replied. "Sorry about that."
He waved it off before asking. "What are you doing here, I thought that..."
Bella cuts him off with a smile. "Nah, we agreed that we needed to be here."
William raised his eyebrow. "We?"
She nodded her head to the left with the smile still on her face, so he turned his head to see Elizabeth now sitting with the Hughes/Bolden family while Rick was sitting with the Brown family, before he turned to look at her with a smile. "Thank you for being here."
"You're welcome."
Their intense moment of looking at one another was interrupted when Katie asked. "Can I set on your lap, Bella?"
Bella looked at the little girl and held out her arms with a smile. "Of course, sweetie."
Once the little girl was in her lap, she wrapped her arms around her waist as they looked up at he sky together, and William watched them, warmness filling his heart before he looked back up at the sky with a smile.
Sara and Grissom, who had watched the interaction, looked at one another with a smile, and after he kissed her temple, she snuggled into his arms as their attention went up to the sky too, happy how today went.
AN: Hope you enjoyed this nice visit. More to come, thanks for reading and please review.