Ovarian Grievance

Pairing: Sara and Nick

Sara meets with the surgeon.

A/N: This is based loosely on what happened to me the past three months.

A/N2: I forgot to mention from the previous chapter that the backyard and possibly someone else own 'Sphinx'. He or she isn't a kitten, but a full grown grey cat.

Disclaimer: I don't own Sara, Nick or any other CSI character. If I did own the show, the final scene from 'Way to Go' wouldn't exist. I only own my original characters and this story plot.

Meeting the Surgeon, a Lecture and a Massage

Sara was sitting on the examining table taking some calming breaths waiting for the surgeon to arrive. Nick was sitting on the chair that was in the room. Catherine was waiting outside to take over for Nick if seeing something being done to Sara was too much for him to handle. Usually, he wasn't allowed to be in the examining room with her, but he had some questions to ask Dr. Calabrese. He promised to let Catherine take over if Sara would get examined by the doctor whether internal or not.

"Are you nervous?" Nick asked Sara.

"Hell yeah, I'm nervous," Sara replied. "What if she wants to call Desert Palm and schedule the surgery for tonight? I don't think Grissom would be happy about that."

"You don't know what Dr. Calabrese would tell us," he tried to calm her. "She might schedule it for tonight, next week or next month. If it turns out to be an emergency, she'll tell you to go to Desert Palm immediately. I don't think Grissom would get mad at you for that. He'd prefer that you put your health above work in a situation like this."

"I guess you're right," she sighed. "I am getting worked up over this."

"I agree," he smirked. "Sara, I have to tell you something, but you have to promise that you won't kill or inflict bodily harm on me."

"I promise," she huffed. "Please, tell me or I will either kill or seriously hurt you!"

"While you were sleeping," he started. "I called my parents to tell them about you and your problem. My mom told me that as soon as we know anything, we should call her right away. She is planning to come here to help care for you. She probably has an airline's website bookmarked. My dad will try to make it."

"Nicholas Stokes, that is one of the sweetest things you have ever done," she was almost crying.

"Is everything okay here?" Catherine asked when she opened the door. "I heard some threat of some serious bodily harm in here."

"Everything's is fine," he said. "We were just talking."

"Sara, if you need me to relieve Nick," Catherine smiled. "Just holler!"

"I will!" Sara winked.

A few minutes later, a tall woman with dark brown hair and in her late 30s, early to mid 40s entered the exam room.

"Ms. Sara Sidle?" the woman asked, Sara nodded and the two women shook hands. "I am Dr. Calabrese. Who is this young man?"

"I'm Nick Stokes," Nick said as he extended his hand and met it with Dr. Calabrese's. "Ms. Sara Sidle is my fiancée."

"Pleased to meet you both," Dr. Calabrese smiled. "I had read the report of your ER visit from about a week ago."

Dr. Calabrese looked at the nervous couple and decided to reassure them.

"Ms. Sidle, the tumor has to come out," Dr. Calabrese started her talk. "These suckers can move around and tend to twist. When they twist, they are extremely painful. I think that's what caused you to visit the ER last week."

Nick took Sara's hand into his and gave it a gentle reassuring squeeze.

"I am going to be blunt," the surgeon said. "You need to have this surgery or the tumor will get bigger and cause you more grief. You will have a laparotomy since the teratoma is too big for a laparoscopic procedure. We'll put you to sleep, so you won't feel a thing. Sara, do you or Nick have any questions?"

"Could I still have children?" Sara asked.

Nick still couldn't believe that question that Sara just asked Dr. Calabrese. A few years ago, he could listen to her saying that she wasn't maternal enough or didn't want children. Part of that was because she grew up in an abusive environment and was sent to foster homes after her mother was arrested and convicted for the murder of her father. It took a trip to Dallas, Texas two years ago and his numerous nieces and nephews to change Sara's mind. Those kids adored her and she them. They started to call her Aunt Sara although she and Nick were just dating.

"When I go in," Dr. Calabrese replied. "I am going to remove the tumor and possibly the entire affected ovary if the tumor overcomes it. I will check the other one and your uterus. There is a tiny chance that you might have to have a hysterectomy, but it's extremely rare. I will do my best to save your reproductive organs so when you are ready, you can have children."

Both Nick and Sara breathed a cautious sigh of relief.

"How long will Sara be in the hospital?" Nick asked. "What about out of work recuperating?"

Nicky, once again you are lucky that you didn't mention that I'm a recovering workaholic, Sara thought. If you flapped your lips about this, there will be payback later.

"I would say about two to four days in the hospital," Dr. Calabrese said. "As for work, what do you do for a living?"

"We are criminalists or crime scene investigators," Sara said. "We do our work at the lab and in the field."

"You will miss about two or three weeks of work," Dr. Calabrese responded. "However, when you return, I want you to work in the lab exclusively until I examine you about a month later."

"That's good to know," Sara sighed.

"Sara, we'll take very good care of you," Dr. Calabrese reassured her new patient.

"When will I be scheduled for surgery?" Sara asked.

"I will have to check with my assistant and nurse," Dr. Calabrese answered. "We will contact Desert Palm Hospital to schedule an available OR. You will receive a package in the mail that tells you what to do to prepare for the procedure and it will have some forms for you to fill out. If you have another attack of this pain again, have your fiancé or anyone else rush you to Desert Palm immediately for emergency surgery. You don't want this grievance to continue. Now, I am going give you a brief examination today and a thorough one about a week before the schedule surgery."

"Guess, I can take this as my cue to leave and have Catherine take over," Nick smirked as he got up from the chair. "Dr. Calabrese, when will we hear from you about Sara's scheduled surgery?"

"You'll probably hear from my assistant or me in less than a week," Dr. Calabrese smiled.

Nick left the room, briefed Catherine about what was going on, sat down and she entered the exam room.

"Dr. Calabrese, I'm Catherine Willows," Catherine said extending her hand to meet the doctor's and the two women shook hands. "I am a friend and colleague of Nick and Sara's. I'm here to show support for Sara. She banned her own fiancé from seeing her getting examined. I hope she reconsiders this if and when she becomes pregnant."

"It's nice to meet you, Catherine," Dr. Calabrese smiled. "Don't worry, I have seen patients bring their females friends for moral support."

"That's great to know," Catherine smirked.

"Sara, lie back on the table and lift your blouse," Dr. Calabrese said. "I am going to feel around your abdomen. I want to do an internal exam, but I would like to hold off on that until we do the pre-surgical thorough exam. You might feel some slight discomfort. Just feel free to whine if something is uncomfortable."

Sara just nodded as the surgeon was touched several areas of her abdomen. She let out a barely audible moan that only Dr. Calabrese heard when it was close to the vicinity of the lower right quadrant. The surgeon quickly apologized and finished the exam by feeling the lower left quadrant.

"Looks like the tumor hasn't gotten bigger," Dr. Calabrese finally spoke. "So far, I don't see any reason why it should be an emergency procedure at this point in time. My assistant or myself will be in touch with the details. Again, if you feel severe pain in that area, have Nick, Catherine, any other friend or a trusted neighbor rush you to Desert Palm Hospital right away. I will likely perform the emergency surgery, but if I am not there or on call, one of my colleagues will be there. We'll take excellent care of you."

"Thank you for your reassurances," Sara said. "It's nice to meet you and to know that I am in capable hands."

"It's been a pleasure to meet you, Catherine and Nick," Dr. Calabrese smiled as she shook both Sara and Catherine's hand. "We'll be in touch. Sara, what is the best way to contact you?"

"It's best that you contact me by cell phone," Sara responded. "You can also call my home number, there is answering machine that's on 24/7. Don't contact my work unless it's urgent."

"Have a nice day," Dr. Calabrese beamed.

"Thanks, you too," Sara and Catherine said in unison.

I can't wait until Grissom hands out assignments tonight, Catherine thought as she and Sara left the exam room to meet with Nick. I hope Grissom partners me up with Nick, I'll swat him in the head and give him a big lecture on being there with his fiancée when she has her exam. When Sara has her pre-surgical exam, I'll be there, but I'll make sure Nick is there. The man grew up in a house full of women and couldn't handle being with his own fiancée's examination.

Sara went to the scheduling station and was told that she was all set for the time being. Once the three people left the office, the couple and Catherine made their separate ways and told each other that they will see each other at work.

When shift began, Grissom handed out the assignments. Warrick, Greg and Sara had a 419 at the Venetian. Catherine and Nick had a 414 at Caesar's Palace. Grissom had to meet with Ecklie and the Sheriff for a meeting. Sara and Nick walked together until they separated to be with their partners of the shift. The couple embraced and kissed before parting for their assignments.

On their way to Caesar's Palace, Catherine swatted Nick in the head. He wondered why she did that and why he deserved the swat. She gave him a lecture about being there for his fiancée when she was being examined, even if it's an internal exam. Catherine also mentioned that she will make sure that he will be at that examining room supporting Sara. She also told him that she will be there so she could prevent him from getting out or intervene when Sara threatens to kick him out of the room. That would be a promise and a threat. When the two arrived at the crime scene, they went on about their business.

After shift ended, Nick and Sara were at home. Nick didn't dare tell Sara about what Catherine told him since he didn't want to deal with the fallout of what Sara or Catherine would do to him. He made his famous pancakes and hot chocolate for breakfast. When the leisurely conversation filled meal was over, he gave Sara a soothing deep tissue massage with lavender oil. About an hour later, they were both blissfully asleep in each other's arms.

TBC