I do not, nor have I ever, owned CSI nor did I create the CSI characters.
Rated T
Still need more reviews to write faster! Encouragement makes my writing flow for some reason.
I got a few reviews and so I was able to bang this chapter out.
Hope it isn't boring.
This chapter is mostly a peek into Nick's thoughts and memories...
And of course, some affection between Nick and Jules.
These two absolutely adore each other!
I hope you will take some time to review.
***And I will be sure to get some Emma and Nick time in too...I just have to tie up the loose ends first ;o) Just hold tight & keep reading and reviewing***
He could hear the water running in the bathroom from the shower as he lay silently in bed. He stared up at the ceiling simply enjoying the feeling of being loved so deeply and the happiness it brought to him. He couldn't imagine life without Jules and now he wouldn't ever have to. They made it. She stuck by him through the roughest patch of their marriage. She stood by him when she had every right to throw him out and never look back. She believed in him. And he knew, as he lay tangled in the white sheets, that she would never, ever, give up on him or on their family. And just when he thought that knowledge alone would be the happiest feeling in the world, she blindsided him with the news that they were having another baby. He was still trying to absorb it all.
Nick smiled softly knowing Jules had worried for a moment that the timing wasn't right, but he actually felt this blessing couldn't have come at a better time. He was thrilled with the timing. It was a celebration. He felt like it was a wink from God that his and Jules' relationship was meant to be…the love they shared was unbeatable, unbreakable, and undeniable. The two of them always said they were written in the stars and they truly were.
Nick smiled wider as he looked upward. He began to wonder if he would have a little boy or another little girl added to their family. He honestly didn't care what he had. A little boy would be really nice but then again another little girl would be nice too. A sister for Emma would be great. Nick smiled even wider remembering when Emma was born. He remembered it like it was yesterday. He could still hear the sound of Emma's cry for the first time as she made her arrival. He could still hear the doctor yell to them,
"Congratulations, Nick and Jules! You have yourselves a beautiful baby girl!" he cheered.
"Oh my God, she's here! She is finally here, Nicky!" Jules said as tears ran down her face.
"You…you never stop amazing me…you just gave me the greatest gift…" he stuttered out but couldn't finish his sentence because his own tears stung his face as they streamed down his cheeks.
"We did it, Cowboy," she smiled over at him as the nurse placed their precious little girl into Jules' arms.
"No, YOU did it," he said stroking her hair, "You are amazing! Are you okay?" he asked worried, knowing how hard that had to be for her.
"I'm fine," she whispered as she stared at her baby daughter.
Nick continued to stare silently at the ceiling while he remembered nearly every detail of his daughter's birth vividly. He remembered looking down at them with disbelief. Nick remembered staring in complete awe at the sight of his wife holding his baby for the first time. His daughter. His brand new baby girl. He was dumbfounded. Jules looked up at him as she held their swaddled baby and smiled.
"I think she just might have your nose, Texas," she told him.
Nick reached out and rubbed the side of his baby's cheek with his finger tip.
"Here is your daughter," she suddenly said as she held the tightly wrapped infant up to him. "Say 'hello' to your Daddy, Emma," she cried as she spoke.
Nick leaned down and Jules placed Emma into his arms; the baby looked so small against his embrace. She squeaked a bit from the movement and Nick looked over at Jules with a tinge of fear. Jules smiled and nodded to him letting him know it was fine. Nick remembered looking down at this tiny little infant that lay inside his loving arms and it was a feeling that was different then anything he had ever experienced before.
It was a feeling he would never be able to explain or understand until it happened to him...And it just did.
Nick leaned his face toward her tiny ear and whispered, "Hey there, Sweet Pea, it's Daddy," he choked back his tears.
He had never used the word "Daddy" when referring to himself before and yet the name suddenly fit perfectly and sounded so right.
"I love you, Sweetheart…you know that? You know Daddy loves you?" he whispered to her softly. "You will always be Daddy's little girl…always," he said as the tears fell furiously again. His heart, he thought, had just exploded with love and devotion.
As Nick kicked his feet around under the white Bellagio sheets, he closed his eyes and remembered the look on Warrick's face when he finally came out with the news and information once Jules was taken to Recovery and the baby was done being checked over. He saw Warrick first. He was pacing back and forth before he spotted Nick coming through the doors with his mask hanging down around his neck. Nick looked farther down the hall and saw Catherine and Trista talking to his sisters Lynn and Laurie and he smiled at the support they were giving him. His mother looked up from her seat, jumped up, and hurried toward him. Nick felt a hand on his shoulder and looked over to see his brother in law looking worried.
"Well, man? Well, is she okay?" Warrick said panicked.
"Both of my girls are doing fine!" Nick said proudly.
"Whoooosh" Warrick let out a sound of pure relief and ran both hands over his face before continuing, "The baby? How is she?" he smiled.
"She is beautiful…she is perfect, Rick, absolutely perfect!" he grinned.
"Oh, how is she, Nicholas?" his mother asked as she leaned in and kissed her youngest son.
"Oh Ma! She is absolutely perfect! Jules said she thinks she has my nose...which means she has your nose, too," he laughed as tears welled in his eyes.
"Ohhh Nicky, Nicky, Nicky...I can't believe she is finally here," his mom began to cry, "and how is Jules? Did she have a hard time?"
"She is fine. She's a champ," he smiled wide and said proudly.
Warrick gave a sigh of relief again and smiled.
Trista, who had been standing quietly behind Warrick, stopped biting her nails worriedly when she heard Nick reassure his mother that Jules was fine.
Catherine, Laurie, and Lynn came up along side them to hear the news. Nick kissed them all hello before telling them where they can see the baby.
"Come on, I will show you," he said touching his brother in law's arm and leading them all to the elevator and up a floor to the window at the end of the hall.
"See that little peanut with the pink cap," Nick said pointing to the baby girl on the end.
Warrick sucked in a gasp of air when he saw the tiny little baby at the end.
Trista began biting her bottom lip and was firmly fighting back her tears.
"Say 'Hello' to MY daughter, guys, " he said beaming with pride as he continued with her "stats", "…weighing in at a staggering 6 lbs 7 ounces and standing 19 inches tall," he said acting as if he was an announcer in a boxing ring.
All seven of them all looked at the baby and laughed simply from happiness.
"Mom, did you see the name tag on her bassinet?" he asked his mother who he scooted in front of his body and aimed her in the baby's direction by putting his hands on her shoulders.
Each one of them all looked closer and saw the tag with "Emma Jillian Stokes" written in black marker and attached to the little clear basket that held Nick's daughter.
"You are looking at Emma Jillian Stokes...your newest granddaughter," Nick pressed his lips together and swallowed hard. His emotions were on overload.
Jillian Stokes' lip quivered as she turned around and faced her youngest son.
"You...her...her middle name...you named her after ME?" she said as her voice cracked.
"Mom, of course...Jules and I both wanted it," he hugged his mother tightly.
"Oh, Nicholas, I am so...Oh my God, that is so touching!" she said and hugged him tighter.
All of the women looked at each other smiling and Nick continued to hug his mother while he looked over at Warrick who was still staring into the window at his niece.
"You okay there, Rick?" Nick laughed at how dumbfounded Warrick was.
"My God..." he said slowly never taking his eyes off the baby, "My God, my Baby Girl just had a baby girl," was all Warrick could say. He spoke softly almost in disbelief at the reality that looked back at him.
Nick's mother let go of her son and Nick and Warrick faced each other and smiled.
Warrick stuck out his hand and shook Nick's.
"You did good, man, you did good," he leaned over and hugged Nick.
Nick left his memories abruptly when he heard his wife call to him from the bathroom.
"Hey, Niiiickk?" Jules yelled out from the bathroom loudly.
"Yeah, Babe?" he yelled back with his face still looking up at the ceiling.
"Why are you so quiet in there?" she asked him curiously.
"Just thinking, Sunshine…Why? What are you doing in there?" he yelled back.
Jules came walking out of the bathroom wearing only her bra and panties. Her hair was wet and she was drying it in a towel as she walked to the foot of the bed.
"I was just thinking too…" she said and moved her jaw to the side in thought," …okay, so we know Brooke has a mental illness or something, but there are a lot of unanswered questions still," she paused and looked at him as he scooted up and propped his back up against the headboard.
"I know, I know," he grumbled and threw his forearm over the top of his head.
Nick was wondering when she was going to try to put all the pieces together and solve this puzzle. He knew it wouldn't be long before she tried to put it all together...She was a chemist after all, and she would no doubt go searching for the "formula" to why this all happened. Nick knew it was only a matter of time before the questions began to fly and sure enough he was getting hit with them right now.
"Like, how did she get you in the room? Did she give you something? A drug? What kind? And why? What was her motive? Why now?" she said frowning with curiosity.
Nick sighed at the questions that were flowing his way.
"Do we have to even think about it? How about we just put it behind us?" he said hoping she would agree. "even if we don't have to think about it for a little while, okay?"
He suddenly didn't want to tell her about her mother still being alive or that Jimmy Cole was still trying to hurt her. He just wanted to enjoy their moment. Enjoying making it through this nightmare only to have a dream come true in the end.
Jules nodded. "I guess…yeah… it just bugs me," she said and flung her damp towel on the chair as she crawled up to the top of the bed to snuggle with him and just talk.
Nick reached his arm back down from his head and scooped her into his side.
"What were you thinking about in here?" she asked after she got herself nuzzled up and comfortable in his arms.
"I was thinking about happier things," he looked over at her and smiled.
"Oh yeah?" she pressed her lips together and frowned curiously, "...like what?"
"I was remembering when Emma was born," he smiled sweetly at her.
"Aww, remember! She was so tiny," Jules gushed.
"I remember every minute of it…I was just replaying it over in my head," he told her.
"God, that was one of the happiest days of my life," she whispered and snuggled her body into his armpit deeper.
"And we're gonna have another one, I am still so shocked, Sunshine," he whispered back in his southern drawl.
"Crazy, huh? After this storm…we really did get a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow," she smirked at her corny metaphor.
"Hey, Honey," he said quickly and suddenly, "I wanna get out of here," he said scanning the room for his clothes, "I have got to go see my little girl, okay?" he explained honestly, "I hate to cut our alone time short, believe me, but I miss her so much it literally hurts me," he said beginning to sit up, "I know I spent time with her while we were separated but, I just want to be in my own home with her. I want to sit on the floor in my own living room and play with her and be able to look up and see you close by," he said sincerely.
"Cowboy, I couldn't agree with you more," she said and hopped up from her snuggled position in his arms.
Nick scanned her scantily thong covered ass as she leaned over and grabbed her cell phone. She didn't notice his lustful stare, she just called Brett to get the update on where they were and if he could pack it up and come back home.
Nick shook the lustful thoughts from his head and began to grab his clothing and belongings. He grabbed everything quickly and dumped it all haphazardly into his suitcases. Jules watched out of the corner of her eye as he carelessly tossed things into his suitcases.
After Jules hung up with Brett, she gave Nick the run down.
"Brett is just finishing lunch with her and they will head back home," she explained as she looked into his suitcase smirking at the sight of it. "Cowboy, never in all the years we've been together, NEVER have I ever seen you throw your shit into a suitcase like that. I never thought I would see the day when Nick Stokes turned into a sloppy, unorganized mess!" she laughed hard.
"You like it don't ya!" he laughed along with her knowing she always made fun of how particular he was.
"Yeah, yeah, I do actually! Now I don't have to feel like the only messy one in the family!" she laughed again.
"Well, don't get used to it! I am only just in a hurry to get out of here and see my kid!" he said and grabbed her around the waist pulling her close to him.
Both Nick and Jules kissed each other softly and Jules wrapped her arms around his neck, reached her hands to the back of his head, and let her fingers swim through his dark hair.
Nick let his hands fall down from her bare waist and onto her ass. He ran his hands over her bare cheeks and pulled her hard into him. And, just as could be expected, the spark of their kiss caused another fire storm and Nick began to walk her backward to the bed again.
"What are you up to, Texas?" she whispered between kisses.
"Well, we have time before Brett heads back to our house," he mumbled back.
"You already made love to me about an hour and a half ago!" she mumbled still kissing him passionately.
"Yeah, and now we have to shake the walls one last time before we go," he laughed as he laid her down gently onto the bed.
...And they did.