Summary: Nicky wants the baby!
Rating: E for Everyone, for now.
Disclaimer: Please see Chapter 1. That says it all, LOL!
Please accept our apologies for the delay. Prairie has been dealing with the sadness of losing a beloved pet.
"Maria. I just met a girl named Maria."
Chapter Three
When four p.m. arrived on Saturday afternoon, Nick was shocked at how many people showed up for the planning strategy session. Doc and Judy, of course, but soon it was a "flood" of CSI family members. Second was Sara, with Greggo in tow. Then Cat showed up, dragging "Big Jim" along with her. Dr. Ray arrived with Hodges. (Shrug, what can I say…? Somebody had to prod Hodges into coming). Judy, the night shift receptionist motored up, looking forward to a few hours without catering to the needs of her husband and kids. SuperDave brought his beautiful bride, Jennifer. Last, but by no means, least, the remaining Lab Meeses* came scurrying up the walkway, individually known as Archie, Henry, and Bobby.
Nick was relieved that he'd bought far more hamburger meat and hotdogs, coleslaw, potato salad, pickles, drinks, and desserts than he'd thought was really necessary. The men, naturally, claimed the right to become the "Grill Kings," and took over cooking the meat. The women, sigh…got right down to setting up and dishing up and getting it all out to the picnic tables Nick had in his backyard.
Once everyone had their fill, the strategy meeting moved indoors to the air-conditioned living room. Nick began the proceedings by outlining what he had accomplished to date and then opened the meeting to all questions, comments, and suggestions.
And brother, did they have questions, comments, and suggestions, by the boatload!
Cat started it off with a list of everything Nick would need before he could bring Maria home; everything from an infant car seat, various nursery furniture items, the proper kind of nursing bottles, right down to how many "onesies" Nick should have on hand, to start. Nick's head was spinning by the time she finished. And what Cat missed, the two Judys, Sara and Jen, covered. The guys didn't say a word during this part of the planning. Except for Doc and SuperDave, they were in too much shock. The guys without kids were thinking about how much it was all going to cost and how unbelievably complicated it all seemed, just for one small, six pound, squirming, example of humanity.
Doc spoke up next, outlining the medical and nutritional needs of an infant, and stating that he found the pediatrician that Nick selected to be highly satisfactory.
On the issue of the Nanny situation, Nick said he'd already asked Ecklie for the six week parental leave that new adoptive parents were entitled to have under Nevada law. Ecklie, of course, had argued for it to be only four weeks, but Nick said he stuck to his guns and got the full six. This would give him enough time to do the kind of "Nannysearch" that he wanted to do. No one except one of the very best would be caring for Maria during Nick's working hours.
Ray entered the conversation at that point, asking Nick what he intended to do about his working situation. Night shift sucked for parenting. (As Cat well knew). Nick nodded, and said that when Maria got closer to pre-school age, he would enter his name for the next day shift or swing job that opened up, even if it wasn't a supervisory position. Less money didn't really matter compared to having a more "normal" parent/child schedule. Cat's heart broke a little bit when she heard this. She knew how much she was going to miss her deputy Supervisor. And not just for his outstanding skills, but for his friendship and unceasing support.
It was decided that until Nick was able to engage a seasoned Nanny, everyone would take shifts throughout the day to help Nick with the baby.
The meeting continued on in this vein, until just about every possible scenario had been examined and solutions put forward. Judy left around 8pm, explaining that her husband was probably frantic to have her home by now, as their boys were a handful. She also told them that she, too, was putting in for the next available day or swing shift. The night shift was very difficult when there were small kids who needed their Mom, but Mom desperately needed to sleep. Everyone knew how much they would miss Judy whenever she made the change.
The group started to wind things down, when Jim Brass spoke his piece.
"Nick, it seems that one major obstacle has been completely overlooked. Even though you've asked an attorney to start the adoption process, no one has sat down with Nate and his Dad to discuss this. Have they? And I'll bet you a year's worth of breakfasts at Frank's that Mr. Culver is going to fight you tooth and nail. And, as of right now, he has the absolute legal right to place Maria for adoption with anyone he selects. If you're lucky, he won't place her the second he gets wind of your intentions. You also have to get pass a Judge's preference for placing a newborn with a stable couple, so the baby has a Mother. Are you ready for that, Nick? Are you emotionally prepared if you DON'T win custody of Maria?"
Everyone stared at Jim ("Well that was a major 'downer," was uppermost in everyone's thoughts.) No one could bring themselves to make eye contact with Nick, who stood there with a truly stricken look on his face, while Catherine's heart ached for her friend and colleague…
TBC, over to Prairie now.
* When I was a kid, I loved a TV cartoon that had Jinx the Cat and his frenemies, Pixie and Dixie. Whenever Jinx chased the mice, he yelled, "I just love Meeses to pieces!" I like "Lab Meeses" better than "Lab Rats," LOL!