Title: Tomorrow
Author: DarkDreamer56
Archive: If you want it, ask please!
Rating: T
Pairing: N/S friendship, GregSara friendship
Disclaimer: If I owned them, Nick and Sara would be together, and Warrick would be shirtless all the time…
Spoilers: season finale! ("Grave Danger)

A/N: Okay, here is the first of probably several post season finale ficlets. Enjoy!

Sara watched Catherine and Warrick fuss over Nick in the stark white Desert Palm hospital room. Catherine's eyes were shining with unshed tears as she whispered something to Warrick. From her spot in the hall, Sara could see that Nick was still n shock; it was hard for him to focus on any one thing for too long, and his hands and legs still shook. She was thankful that at least the contractures were improving; seeing Nick lying on the ground, covered in dirt and curled up in fetal position had nearly broken her heart.

She had tried to go into the room at least a dozen times, but each time she put a foot over the threshold, she couldn't bring herself to intrude on the moment between Warrick, Catherine, and Nick. The moment they found out that Nick had disappeared the two shifts had come together, intent on finding their friend. There had been no fighting, no squabbling over turf; only communication and working together to bring him home. But as soon as Nick was found, the shifts split again.

Warrick and Catherine climbed into the ambulance behind Nick, leaving Sara, Greg, and Grissom to watch them race away. Sara watched the crew pull what was left of the Plexiglas coffin away from the explosion, and realized that she couldn't stand being there anymore. With the keys to Warrick's Denali heavy in her hand, she walked away, ignoring concerned questions from Brass and Grissom. It wasn't until she had locked herself inside the driver's seat that the numbness completely fell away, giving way to violent sobs that wracked her body. She rested her head against the wheel, tears soaking the steering column as waves of raw emotion hit her over and over.

Eventually, the shaking stopped, the deluge of tears tapered off, and Sara was finally aware enough of her surroundings to realize her phone was ringing.

"Sidle," she croaked, pushing a piece of tearstained hair out of her face.

"Hey Sara, where are you?" Warrick asked on the other end of the line.

"How is he?"

"The doctor's are checking him out now. Where are you?"

"I'm still here. We'll be leaving in a minute, I just have to find Greg."

"Have you been crying?" Sara could hear the concern in Warrick's voice.

Sara surprised herself by flatly telling Warrick the truth. "I think I just about flooded your car. Sorry about that." She couldn't help the bitter laugh that escaped next.

"You okay girl?"

Sara chose to avoid the question, realizing that Warrick probably already knew the answer; none of them were okay yet. "We'll be there soon."

She heard Warrick sigh on the other end. "We'll meet you in the waiting room down by Emergency."

Sara snapped her phone shut, and was about to start her search for Greg, when she noticed his lanky form heading towards the car, shoulders slumped, and looking as exhausted as Sara felt. She unlocked the doors, letting Greg climb wearily into the passenger's seat. As he buckled his seat belt, Sara turned the car back towards Vegas. The drive was silent; both too emotionally drained and worried to attempt conversation. Sara glanced over at him about half way through the drive, seeing Greg staring out the window, tears dangerously close to the surface.

"You did good Greg. We found him." Sara whispered, reaching over to grasp his hand. He began to sniffle, and Sara felt her eyes welling up again as Greg gripped her hand and finally let a few tears run down his face.

"I just stood there. I froze. I could have helped Warrick dig…I could have gotten the fire extinguisher earlier…but all I did was stand there." A few more sniffles escaped as he used his free hand to wipe his eyes.

As bad as Sara felt, her heart broke just a little bit more. Greg had always looked up to Nick, and this would have been a nerve wracking case for Greg to work, inexperienced as he was, even without the added pressure of the victim being one of their own.

"Greg, too many people would have made it harder to get him out. You did what you were supposed to; you got the extinguisher, you killed the ants." She squeezed his hand for emphasis, willing the exit for Desert Palms to appear; neither of them would be able to deal with things until they were sure that Nick was okay.

Now they were at the hospital, and Sara still couldn't enter the room. Greg, feeling slightly better after hearing that Nick was going to be okay, had decided that Sara needed to eat something and had gone in search of a vending machine. It gave him a task to accomplish, and Sara didn't have the heart to tell him that nothing she ate would stay down for very long.

She watched Warrick and Catherine with Nick, how close the trio was; she remembered when she used to be that close to them. Sara couldn't help but wish she was the one in there with Nick, holding his hand and calming him down. The last time Nick had been in the hospital, Sara had been the one to fuss over him, holding his hand, and even insisting on pushing the wheelchair herself. Unfortunately, she had lost that right somewhere along the line.

Sara wished she could blame Ecklie, for splitting the team and causing the rifts in their friendships, but if she was honest with herself, things had begun to change long before that. If they had all worked at it, they could have gotten past the split, but Sara had been drifting away from Warrick and Nick for a long time, and she and Catherine had never had what anyone would call a close relationship; ever since her leave of absence over the summer, things had been distant between her and her coworkers. She had been messed up for a long time, and by the time she finally climbed out of the hole and started putting her life back together, the damage had been done to her relationships with Nick and Warrick. She hated that it had taken Nick being buried alive to make her realize how much they still meant to her.

Nick started to shake again, and seeing Warrick place a hand on his shoulder and whisper gently until Nick calmed down, brought Sara to a stark realization; she no longer had a place in that group. Holding back tears, she turned to walk away, only to hear Catherine call out, "Sara, how long are you planning to stand out there before you come in?"

Sara turned around, lingering in the doorway. "I didn't want to interrupt," she answered awkwardly, wiping at her face.

"You're not interrupting anything," Catherine replied gently, "Nick was asking about you and Greg a little while ago. Come in."

Sara entered the room, surprised that Catherine gave up her seat next to the bed, allowing Sara to sit and get a good look at Nick for the first time all night. He was pale, the angry red welts standing out in stark contrast to his skin. Sara rested her fingers on the edge of the bed, and Sara noticed the tremor in Nick's hand as he reached out and grazed her fingers. The panic in his eyes subsided as he made contact with her fingers, and Sara couldn't stop a stray tear when she realized how terrified he was not to be in constant physical contact with someone.

Instinctively, she leaned forward and entwined their fingers. "Hey, it's okay. It's okay now." Her voice wobbled, but she gave his hand a gentle squeeze for reassurance. Nick's eyes focused long enough to meet hers, and he seemed to calm down.

"Nicky, Warrick and I are going to get some coffee, but Sara is going to stay with you, okay?" It took a minute for Nick to acknowledge Catherine, but he eventually nodded in response. Catherine leaned over Sara and patted Nick's shoulder.

She then surprised Sara by ruffling her hair a little, before whispering, "We'll be back in awhile; we just need a couple minutes." Catherine had stayed strong from the moment they arrived at the nursery, but now her voice sounded near tears. "He's able to focus a little bit better now, but he's still kind of out there."

Sara looked up towards Catherine. "I'll take good care of him."

Catherine gave her a sad smile. "I know you will."

Warrick and Catherine left the room, leaving Sara and Nick in silence. Sara didn't know what to say to Nick, and he was in no condition to carry on any lengthily conversation. Instead, she just watched him, thanking God that he was alive and okay. Well, as okay as he could be right now.

"Sar," he croaked hoarsely, "the light, it's so bright…" Sara reached over his head and pulled the cord, turning the light off. Seconds later Nick responded, shaking, flailing his arms, and moaning. Sara smacked herself mentally for being so stupid as she pulled the cord again to get the light to its dimmest setting.

"Nick, look at me," she commanded gently. He didn't respond, except to stop the flailing of his arms. Sara repeated herself a few times, and then finally grasped his chin, gently turning his head towards her. "It's okay, the light is back on now. I'm sorry…I should have known better." Tears rolled down her cheeks as she stroked his hair. It took awhile for Nick to stop shaking, and for his breathing to return to normal.

"You're crying," he announced suddenly, "You were crying before…"

Sara looked at him quizzically, wondering exactly how out of it he was. This was the first time that she had seen him, except for a brief time before he was loaded into the ambulance, but then she had still been too numb to cry.

"Warrick was worried about you. Told Catherine you were crying in the car…you okay?" he asked weakly.

Sara was surprised that Nick had been lucid enough to remember that conversation, and touched by his concern despite what happened.

"Hey, don't worry about me…you need to get some rest."

Nick went on like she hadn't even spoken. "I heard you…you called for the paramedics…I couldn't see you, but I knew you were there…" His voice cracked, but he continued. "You, and Greg, and Gris…I thought I'd never…" His face crumbled, cutting off the rest of his thoughts as he began to sob.

"Hey," Sara said firmly through her own tears, "We will always find you, okay? Okay? We were all working the case the second we heard you were missing. And we got you back…we got you back." Sara repeated the last part for her own benefit as much as for Nick's. Both were sniffling as Nick clung to her hand.

Sara rubbed his hand with her thumb and brushed a few tears from his face, careful to avoid the ant bites. It seemed to calm him down, but Sara could tell that he was beginning to lose focus again. "You should get some rest."

"I don't know if I can sleep…" His eyes were already half closed.

"You should try. The sooner you get some rest, the sooner you get to go home." Even Sara was surprised at the tenderness in her voice.

Nick regarded her for a minute and sighed. "When I wake up…you'll be here?"

"There are a lot of people who want to get in and see you," she reminded him gently.

Nick nearly cut of the circulation in her hand as he whispered, "Please Sara…stay?" Sara could feel another piece of her heart shattering.

"They'll have to drag me away."

Nick sighed as Sara leaned over and planted a kiss on his forehead. Soon, his eyes fell closed and right before he dropped off to sleep, he murmured, "I missed you…"

"I missed you too," Sara whispered, but Nick's deep and even breathing signaled that he was already asleep. With the first smile she had been able to produce since Nick had disappeared, Sara realized that it was okay. She had tomorrow, and every day after that to make sure that Nick knew how much he meant to her. For now, she could just watch him sleep, and be thankful that there would be a tomorrow.

FIN.

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