Title: Moonlit Confessions
Author: DarkDreamer56
Archive: If you want it, ask please!
Rating: T
Pairing: N/S
Disclaimer: If I owned them, we'd be getting a lot more Snickers action about now…
Spoilers: mild spoilers for Season 6

A/N: This is in response to the challenge I posted over at the Snickers group. Thanks to everyone who reviews my stories!

Claire: Yeah, one of the girls at work was thinking about having one of those parties, and she brought the booklet into work one day. Very interesting. Challenge accepted, give me some time to work on it though. And I'm sure you'll figure out what to do with them next, but if you get stuck, I'm sure none of us would mind a repeat of the last chapter :)

Julie: I'm working on your latest challenge, I'll try to have it done in the next few days. Hope your wandering mojo has decided to stay home for awhile.

Sara was watching the bride and groom dance, when she felt someone's hand brush across her back, and warm breath against her ear as he whispered, "You look far too beautiful tonight to be sitting here by yourself."

Turning around, she found Nick leaning over her shoulder with a cheesy grin on his face. She couldn't help but smile as she quirked an eyebrow in his direction. "Think of that one all by yourself Nick?"

Nick chuckled as he settled into the seat next to hers, draping his arm across the back of her chair. "It may be cheesy, but tonight it happens to be true. Why are you sitting all by your lonesome when everyone is out there dancing?"

Sara shrugged, reaching towards the bowl of M&M's sitting next to the centerpiece of pink and yellow Peruvian lilies. She grabbed a handful of the blue and pink chocolates, reminded more of a baby shower than of a wedding.

"Come on, you can't tell me that no one has asked you," Nick teased, grabbing some of the candies from her hand.

"Well…Greg's busy entertaining that blond from the bridal party…"

"The one that kept pulling those Crystal Light packets out of her purse during dinner? Or the one that spilled the bottle of hot sauce on him?"

"Neither," Sara corrected with a grin, "the one in the poufy magenta dress…"

"You know, I've never been to a wedding where each of the bridesmaids had a different colored dress…my sisters would have died at the thought that everything wasn't uniform," Nick added, settling himself into the chair. "And that accounts for Greg only."

"Warrick is out there dancing with his wife," Sara added, pointing out Warrick and Tina in the crowd. She couldn't help but smile at the newlyweds, knowing that they hadn't had this chance at their own wedding. Though, she supposed that getting married at midnight in a drive thru wedding chapel would do that. "Grissom asked…I figured it was best not to open that can of worms." The man in question was now chatting with Catherine, who was trying not to look at Warrick and Tina. "And, you seem more intent on finishing off that bowl of M&M's than asking," she concluded with a small smile.

Truthfully, Sara wasn't a fan of weddings to begin with, and was merely biding her time until she could casually slip out, but she couldn't just refuse to show up when David Phillips had invited her and most of the night shift to his marriage to Lily Winters, an antiques dealer from Summerlin.

"Only because you rebuffed my attempt to ask the first time," Nick shot back with a smile.

Sara tilted her head towards him. "If that sad pick up line was your attempt, you've been out of the game for a little too long there Nick"

Nick chuckled as Sara reached over and patted his arm mockingly. "Well, then I guess you're going to have to dance with me and change that." The twinkle in his eye was too much for Sara to resist, and she found herself grinning and accepting his outstretched hand as he stood up.

Nick led her to the far end of the dance floor, away from their friends, as Ben E. King's "Stand By Me," filtered over the DJ's sound system. He wrapped one arm securely around her waist, and held her hand close to his chest as Sara snaked her arm around his neck. It was nice to take a few minutes and concentrate on nothing but the feeling of dancing with Nick. She felt safe in his arms, a feeling that had been more than fleeting for most of her life. Sara knew nothing would ever come from it, but it was nice to be able to pretend, even for a few minutes, that everything in her life was working out the way she wanted.

By the time the song was ending, Nick had pulled her closer, and Sara's head was resting against his shoulder as Nick rubbed circles over the small of her back. With her eyes closed, Sara didn't notice Warrick and Tina approaching until she heard him chuckling softly.

"You two look kind of cozy…mind if I cut in?"

Sara lifted her head and smile at the newlyweds, but not before she noticed the faintest tinge of pink infiltrating Nick's complexion; and if she was honest with herself, her cheeks were probably a little bit pink as well.

"You sure your wife won't get jealous?" Nick asked, sending a grin in their direction.

"Not if she gets a chance to dance with you," Tina replied with a smile of her own. Sara liked Tina; she knew there was a lot of animosity amongst the team about Warrick's seemingly quickie marriage, and the subsequent tension between Catherine and Warrick made working with them uncomfortable, but Sara thought that Tina was a good match for Warrick. Sara also genuinely liked the woman, and they had hit it off almost immediately.

They switched partners, and Sara spent the next three and a half minutes making idle chit chat with Warrick while he spun her around the dance floor.

"How on Earth did Tina let you out of the house with that tie?" Sara asked, tilting her head to the side as she analyzed the hideous tie in front of her. From far away, it had appeared to be a perfectly ordinary blue silk tie with admittedly rather large polka dots, but upon closer inspection during the ceremony, she had realized that the polka dots were in fact little sheep.

"I'm perfectly capable of dressing myself, and I thought it was different." Warrick squeezed her hip to drive home his point, but nothing he would say was going to deter Sara.

"Greg, I'd expect this from. And even Nick can have his off days…but you Warrick…I just don't know what to think." Sara was half teasing, half serious. Warrick was usually impeccably dressed, and she just couldn't wrap her mind around that tie. Warrick just rolled his eyes and spun her around.

Chancing a glance over at Tina and Nick, Sara noticed them laughing at something, and she couldn't help but smile. Nick's laughter was something that had become a rare occurence after his abduction, and Sara was happy to hear the sound whenever she had the chance.

Soon the song was over and Tina came back over to reclaim her husband. "You and Nick are going to have to come over and have dinner sometime soon." Sara didn't miss the look Tina shot her as she looped her arm through Warrick's. "Why don't you three figure out a good night, and Warrick'll let me know? Come on sweetie, let's go congratulate the newlyweds." After one more lingering look in their direction, Tina and Warrick headed off towards David and Lily.

"Well, she couldn't be any more obvious, could she now? If we're not careful, she'll be trying to get us hitched at a drive thru chapel on the way home." Nick whispered, pulling Sara off the dance floor and back towards the table. Sara blushed, surprised that Nick actually chose to acknowledge Tina's ploy. He was always one to surprise her, and it was a nice to see a man actually acknowledging her, as roundabout as it might be.

Sara wrinkled her nose. "I could live in Vegas for the rest of my life, and there's still no way I'd ever get married at a drive thru wedding chapel."

Nick chuckled. "Me neither…what do you say we go get some fresh air?"

Nick reached out and grabbed Sara's hand, leading her out the side door to the small courtyard. The reception was being held at one of the nicer hotels, about as far away from The Strip as you could get in Vegas.

Sara walked with him out to the small gazebo set off to the side of the property. She settled onto the step beside Nick, happy to be away from the wedding atmosphere for a minute. In fact, as she stretched her legs out in front of her, legs crossed at her ankles, she realized how happy her feet were to be off of the dance floor, and she reached down and unfastened the straps to her overpriced black heels.

"I never understood how you women could walk around in shoes like that, not that I don't appreciate the image of course." Nick then scooted down two steps and turning sideways, took her feet into his lap. He gently worked her right foot, massaging the arch of her foot, and then the instep, before moving on to the left. Sara leaned back, a small sigh escaping her lips now and then. This was something she could definitely get used to She had a momentary thought that she was glad she had decided to paint her toenails, almost as an afterthought, and that she had chosen Tulip Take Off, rather than another garish shade of pink she had found in the back of her medicine chest.

"You seem more relaxed than you have all night," Nick mused, lightly running his thumb over her ankle back and forth.

Sara opened her eyes as she felt his hand leave her ankle, and she watched him move back up to sit beside her, her shoes lying forsaken on the step in front of her. "I guess I'm just not a big fan of weddings."

"Been a bridesmaid one too many times?"

"Something like that." Sara granted him a lopsided smile and played with the hem of her black strapless dress. She wasn't sure she should launch into all the reasons that marriage terrified her, not to mention the failings in all of her relationships that left her wondering if there was anyone out there that would even consider her as marriage material. And that weddings always seemed to bring those thoughts to the forefront of her mind.

"I know how that goes…six siblings, seven weddings…between that and birthday parties and anniversary parties, I think my family single handedly supports one of the reception halls in Dallas."

Sara gave him a quizzical look. "Seven?"

"Jenny, the oldest, married her high school sweetheart; I guess I was eight or nine. It lasted a couple years, but it didn't work out. He was kind of a jerk anyways. Now she's married to one of my brother's law partners."

Sara nudged him gently in the side. "So now they're just waiting on you."

"Yeah…something like that." Nick averted his eyes, absentmindedly brushing non existent dirt from the knees of his suit.

They spent the next few minutes in silence, gazing up at the sky. For once, Sara was far enough away from The Strip so that the bright lights didn't permeate the sky, and she could finally see the stars clearly visible against the black backdrop. She lost herself in the sky, and didn't even notice her surroundings again until she felt something soft fall against her shoulders. Looking over, she noticed that Nick had wrapped his suit jacket around her.

"You looked cold…your fingers were getting a little purple," he offered as an explanation, casually slinging an arm over her shoulder and rubbing to warm her up. Sara couldn't help but smile. His next question, though, threw her for a loop. "You ever think of getting married?"

Sara looked up at Nick with wide eyes. "Do you?"

"I guess I've been thinking about it more lately, you know, with everything that's happened." Nick paused for a moment, clearing his throat. Sara knew that Nick's abduction had made everyone around him look at their lives a little bit differently; though he wouldn't admit it to Nick and Sara, it had probably served as the catalyst that caused Warrick's hasty union. Sara couldn't deny that the thought had crossed her own mind on occasion. "I'm thirty four, I guess I always thought I'd be settled by now, maybe have a kid or something. Coming from such a big family, I think that's what my parents expected too. You ever think about it?"

Sara sighed, pulling Nick's jacket around herself a little bit tighter. "I used to…but not so much anymore. I guess weddings bring it up, but I try not to think about it too much."

"So you're content to just let things happen in their own time?" Nick seemed truly curious about her thoughts on the subject, making Sara a little bit nervous.

"Nah, I just don't think anything's going to happen." She cast her eyes downward, unsure of why exactly she was admitting this all to Nick so easily.

"Why not?" Nick's tone was surprised as he turned towards her slightly

Sara laughed nervously. "Like you said…I'm thirty four, and it's not like there's anyone exactly dying to fill the position. I just don't think it's in the cards." Sara suddenly became interested in the fingernails of her right hand, peeking out from the side of Nick's suit jacket. When Nick didn't say anything right away, Sara realized sadly that he didn't have anything to refute her argument with, and for some reason, that depressed her more than anything else.

Nick's arm drew her closer, so that she was practically flush with his side. "So…you're basing this on Grissom, because he is so relationally inept that he passed up the chance to have a life with you, which obviously means that no one would ever want to marry you. And Hank, who made you realize that a guy would have to be crazy to think of you as anything other than the other woman." Nick's tone was even, but Sara would have to be deaf not to notice the anger trying to hide in his voice. She couldn't help but stiffen slightly in his arms, even though she knew the anger wasn't really directed towards her, but the situation. Nick had never exactly hidden his anger at Hank for using her, and he'd also had some choice words for the way that he thought that Grissom treated her.

His tone softened slightly as he continued, squeezing her shoulder and relaxing her slightly. "You're not as hard to read as you might think Sar. And for the record, you're wrong. Any guy would be lucky to have you."

"Nick, that's sweet, but you really don't have too…"

"I'd be lucky to have you," he whispered quietly. Silence descended over them rapidly, and the only thing that Sara was cognizant of for the next few seconds was the feeling of Nick's arm wrapped securely around her, and her sudden intake of breath as she absorbed what he had said.

"You don't mean it," she protested sadly, "We're…we're at a wedding, and you said that you've been thinking about it, and I'm here…" She wouldn't mind if he were telling her the truth, but she just couldn't believe that Nick could ever have those feelings for her.

"So you think if it was Catherine I was out here with, I'd feel the same way about her? Sara, this isn't something new."

Sara's eyes widened at his latest revelation, as he turned towards her with a sad smile on his lips. "I didn't know how to tell you before, but life is just too short Sar…you should know that there is someone out there who would put you before anything else if he got the chance."

Sara's brain was on overload from everything Nick was telling her, and just when she thought that she couldn't take anymore, Nick's hand was cupping her cheek. Before she knew it, he was leaning towards her, and instinct took over as she helped close the distance between them. Their lips met, and a burst of electricity shot through both of them. The kiss was slow, but insistent as Nick's tongue sought entrance to her mouth. Any doubts about Nick's feelings for her fell away as she readily complied to his request, shifting closer to him by kneeling on the step below them. She ran one hand up his arm, snaking it around his shoulder and grasping the hair at the back of his neck, while her other hand braced herself against his thigh.

They pulled apart several breathless minutes later. "Do you believe me now?" Nick asked huskily, rubbing his thumb gently across her cheek.

Sara nodded numbly, still amazed at what had just transpired between her and Nick; she didn't think she was quite able to form a coherent sentence yet. She must have been silent for longer than she realized, because a nervous look crossed Nick's face, as his thumb stilled on her cheek.

"It's okay that we…that I…I didn't cross a line, did I?"

Sara finally came out of her daze long enough to beam up at him. "Yeah, you crossed a line…but I was right behind you," she whispered, leaning in for another kiss.

"Yeah, sometimes you can be a little slow on the uptake," Nick teased, wrapping an arm around her waist.

"I'll have to work on that," Sara mumbled, before she lost herself in another one of Nick's kisses.

Several slow kisses later, Sara finally pulled away, the smile permanently etched on her face. "Someone is going to come looking for us soon," she whispered.

"So, they'll find us out here…I think the rest will be self explanatory," Nick replied, running his hand up and down her side, with a gleam in his eye.

"Nick…we should go back in." Sara made no move to get up from the stairs.

"Dance with me again?" Nick asked.

"We'll have to go back inside for that."

Nick shook his head and smiled. "And let a perfectly good clear night sky, and a full moon, go to waste? Come on, we've got the gazebo to ourselves."

The look on his face was too much for Sara to resist, and she found herself once again giving in to his request as he pulled her up and onto the platform of the gazebo. His jacket lay discarded on the step asanother slow song, one that Sara didn't recognize, filtered through the open doors. Nick took her in his arms and they began to sway gently.

As Sara rested her head against his shoulder, wondering what possibilities still lay in store for her and Nick, she couldn't help but smile. Maybe weddings weren't so bad after all.

FIN.