She left the room to see Grissom coming towards her.
"What are you doing here?"
"Hello to you too. There wasn't much to do so I ducked out early. Is Nick still driving you crazy?"
"Not as much any more. I showed him how to read the monitor and they are playing cards. You wouldn't have recognized him. He was like a kid and needed to be told what to do. He hadn't called either family until I told him to do so."
"Hasn't he been through this a few times before with his sisters?"
"I asked him that and he said that he has just never been this involved before." Grissom kissed her temple.
"It's a good thing that you were here then huh?" She nodded against his mouth. They were about to go in but Sara saw the doctor so she had them wait outside.
"Is there a Sara out here?" She heard a moment later.
"Yes. How is she?"
"She's almost there. She's asking for you. Are you going to be there for the birth?"
"Only if she wants me to be." Sara said and led Grissom into the room.
"There you are!" Sophia exclaimed. Clearly, Nick was having the same effect on her as he'd had on Sara.
"So, what did he say?"
"Eight and a half centimeters." Nick said and Grissom took his cue.
"Nick, let's go for a walk."
"Grissom, when did you get here?" Nick followed him out the door.
"A few minutes ago. Come on. Sara needs a coffee and a snack." The door shut behind them. Sara took her seat next to the bed.
"Thank you. I love him, but his pacing was driving me crazy." Sophia said and grabbed her hand. Sara coached her through it.
"It's getting worse. I don't know how much more of this I can take." Sophia fell against the bed.
"It will all be over soon. Did you want to play again?" Sophia shook her head. It would have been pointless to play anyway.
"Another one is starting. Welcome to hard labor." She told the blonde and took her hand.
"Don't leave me." Sophia panted and Sara squeezed her hand.
"I will stay as long as you need me." Sara assured her.
The men returned to hear Sophia cursing out Nick.
"… his ass in a sling. Where in the hell is he?!" Grissom turned to him.
"You're up. You can do this. Send Sara out if Sophia will let her go." Nick nodded and took a big breath before entering the room.
"Hi Honey."
"Asshole." She grunted. Grissom had heard this and laughed quietly to himself. This is how Catherine found him.
"Everybody is on their way. What is so funny?"
"Sophia is almost ready to deliver. I had to take Nick for a pep talk. He just went in there and she called him an asshole." Catherine chuckled.
"I think I said much worse things to Eddie."
"I remember. I was there for some of it." He reminded her again and she nodded. The rest of the team showed up and Sara managed to escape for just a minute.
"I don't think she will let Nick come near her for a while. Please tell me I wasn't like that." She snuggled into Grissom's arms.
"You didn't call me any names, but the doctor did have to get assertive with you." Nick popped his head out.
"Sara, she wants you in here. It's time." Sara kissed Gil quickly and went back into the room.
Sara was in charge of holding Sophia up and Nick took a position near the foot of the bed so he could watch his child being born. Nick was speechless at the sight before him. He couldn't believe how amazing it was to witness a live birth. He had tears streaming down his face unnoticed as he watched. The doctor directed him to cut the cord and he did as he was told. Sara left the room as quickly as she could to give the new family some time alone. Grissom was watching the door and was at her side the moment she exited.
"Well?" He prompted.
"Nick will be out in a minute. It's his news to tell, not ours." He kissed her for a minute and then was content to just hold her. Sure enough, Nick emerged.
"Sara, Gil, could you come in for a minute please?" They were confused but followed him into the room. Nick placed the baby in Sara's arms.
"I would like to introduce you to Sara Gillian Stokes." Sara smiled and let a tear escape at the use of her name for the baby.
"I'm honored. Thank you." Gil held her and looked at the new arrival of the crime lab. Sara handed the baby back to the new mother.
"Nick you better tell them about the baby before they come busting down the door." Grissom advised and gave Sophia a kiss on her cheek.
"She's beautiful. Congratulations." He left and at the same time guided Sara out of the room. The rest of the team had their chance to visit the baby after Sara and Grissom said their farewells.
Four weeks later, Nick was paired up with Sara on a case. It was fairly obvious that he was suffering major withdrawal.
"Nick, you need to resolve that tension if you don't think you can hold out for two more weeks."
"This is a lot harder than I thought it would be; how did Grissom manage to survive?"
"I gave him some oral assistance when he needed it."
"I never would have guessed you for that type of woman." Nick teased.
"There are a lot of things you don't know about me. How are Sophia and little Sara doing?"
"They're great. They have a routine established and I still do what I am told."
"Then you are doing the right thing. Is she still stressed out?"
"I think that she is still a little stressed. I'm not sure if I am adding to it or detracting from it." Nick confessed.
"Do something nice for her. The first time I helped Grissom was because he let me sleep for an extra forty minutes. He and Jr. made me breakfast. It doesn't have to be some grand gesture, just something to let her know that you care and that you are there for HER, not just the baby." She told him. He nodded.
"I will give it a try. Sara is usually awake when I get home though."
"You'll think of something." She reached over to pat his shoulder in reassurance. They had arrived at the scene at the same time.
***EPILOGUE***
Needless to say, Nick had overcome his problem and the family was flourishing. Sophia gave birth to three more children over the next ten years and having Sara as her best friend helped her through the difficult times.
Warrick and Tina split up over irreconcilable differences, namely Catherine. Warrick gave in to his heart's desire and eventually married Catherine. They were both extremely happy and made since it was a second marriage for them both, they worked even harder to keep it successful. They never had children of their own but it didn't bother them. They had several surrogate nieces and nephews to spoil, to which they went to great lengths to accomplish the task.
Greg found love at the coffee shop. Everyone loved Kristine, especially since she wasn't nearly as stingy with her quality coffee as Greg was. She regularly sent in a pound of the 'good stuff' to share with the team. Greg loved that she wasn't disgusted by his job and all that it entails. They married and started their family.
Brass was happy to be the grandpa, though depending on the child, depended on what his name was. He decided that this surrogate family of his was infinitely better than any relationship he was going to ever have with his daughter, Ellie. He regularly took turns with Warrick and Catherine to babysit all of the children.
Finally, Gil and Sara had a daughter, Nicole Sophia, shortly after Jr. turned two. Neither one of them was ready to retire and fortunately for them, Mrs. Jax was happy to continue being the nighttime babysitter. The children loved her as their grandmother anyway. The Grissom's made a point to gather all of the families together weekly to keep their friendships in tact and to let the children all play. Even after everyone had retired and the children had grown, the weekly gatherings continued without fail. The children, eleven in all, were all the best of friends and stayed together just as their parents had.
The End.
January 23, 2007
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A/N: I know the ending was short and for that, I apologize. As you can see by the date, I wrote this a few years ago and summarizing was the best way for me to end stories. For those of you also following Feeding time, I will try to post the next chapter either today or tomorrow. It's been crazy at my house lately and I haven't had time to write. Reviews are wanted and appreciated. Have a great day everyone! Kelly