The Anniversary
The Las Vegas Crime lab was having its 20th anniversary and the sheriff was planning to have a huge party. Everyone was going to be there and it was a very publicized event at the Rampart Casino. The night of the party there were a few people to stay behind to run the lab, but otherwise, everyone was there.
Catherine and Sara had gone to buy dresses weeks ago. It was a very black tie kind of party and Sara knew she would need help in the dressing part of it.
So the night of the party, she was all dressed up and ready to go. Everything was going smoothly, she was on time, she looked good, and then her car broke down.
"Damn it!" she shouted pounding the dash after she tried starting it. Normally she would have gotten out and tried to fix it, but she wouldn't dare ruining her dress. She stepped out of the car and stood on the side walk for a minute deciding what to do. After a moment she had an idea. She pulled out her phone and dialed. It rang 4 times then the machine kicked in. she slammed the phone shut and tried a different number. He picked up.
"Nick! Have you left yet?" she asked desperately.
"…No…" he was a little confused.
"Could you do me a huge favor?"
"Sure, Sara, what do you need?"
"My piece of shit car just broke down. Could you take me to the party?"
"Ok. I'm almost ready. I'll be there in ten."
Sara hung up and went back into her apartment. It was November and it was starting to get a little chilly and she only had a thin black coat on. She almost never wore that coat, except it went with the dark blue dress she was wearing tonight. She waited in the front hall and watched Nick pull up 2 minutes before he was expected. She rushed down the steps and got into his car after locking her door.
"Hey, thanks for picking me up," Sara said as she straightened the knee length dress out and he started driving.
"No, problem." She looked over at him. She had seen him in a suit before but she had to admit he looked good. He smelt good too. It filled the car, but Sara had always loved that smell. She shook her head, trying to stop that train of thought.
"You looking forward to this?" Nick asked out of the blue.
"What, the party? Oh yeah, I guess so. I'm not really the partying type, I guess," Sara admitted.
Nick smiled at that, "Oh, come on Sara. You're telling me you never went to parties?"
"Well, of course I went to parties. What do you think I lived in a hole all my life?" Sara asked with a smile. "I went to plenty of pretty wild parties in college but I haven't been to one in a while."
Nick smiled and nodded. "I would have liked to see the party animal Sara." Nick said with a smirk.
Sara rolled her eyes at him, "You are never going to see a party animal me. You would have to get me very, very drunk." Nick kept smiling. "And you are not getting me drunk," Sara said, pointing a finger at him.
"I never said anything," Nick said taking his hands off the wheel and raising them in surrender.
"You didn't have to. I know that look," she said. She was smiling too. She couldn't help it.
"And besides," Sara continued, "this is not the place to be a party animal; in front of my boss and the sheriff? I don't think so," she finished, crossing her arms and leaning back in her seat.
They were silent a moment. Then, "I still would like to see it."
"Nick!" She said glaring at him. Of coarse it would have been more effective if she wasn't smiling too, but again, she couldn't help it.
They pulled into the parking lot and Sara and Nick got out of the car. At coat check their coats were taken and Nick got a look at Sara's dress. He had never seen her in a dress like this before. It was a blue spaghetti strapped dress that had a wrap around bunch ribbon in the middle. It flowed down to her knees and moved well as she did.
A "Wow," slipped out of Nick mouth.
Sara looked at him. "You like it?" she asked standing up straight.
"Yeah, Sar, you look good," Nick said. Sara blushed a little. She had never had Nick look at her like that. She turned around walked down the hall leaving Nick to follow her.
She went into the hall and stopped to take it all in. It was split into two sections. One was being set with tables and the other had a large hardwood floor for dancing. There was a small elevated stage where a band was playing soft orchestral music, but no-body was dancing. There were quite a few people there but they were all standing on the sides talking with each other.
Nick materialized beside her, "This like that parties you used to go to?"
Sara stuck out her arm and hit him lightly in the chest. Nick pretended to be hurt. "It was just a question," he pretended to be innocent. Sara rolled her eyes.
Sara and Nick walked casually into the large hall. A waitress walked by them with champagne flutes on a tray. Nick grabbed two as she walked by and he handed one to Sara.
"I told you weren't going to get me drunk," Sara said.
"Come on. It is a party and what is one glass going to do to you?" Nick offered the champagne again. She took it and took a sip.
"This is really good," she told Nick. Nick smiled.
They walked around the floor and passed by a few people they knew. Eventually they passed by Catherine. She was standing talking to Warrick when they walked up.
"Hey, guys, when'd you get here?"
"About 5 minutes ago," Nick said.
Catherine looked at Sara. "Oh, I came with him," She said pointing at Nick and drinking more of the champagne.
Catherine's eyebrows shot up. "Really?" she asked, mildly amused.
"Yeah." then she got it, "Oh, no, no. My car broke down, he gave me a ride," she explained. All three of them smiled at her. "It's true," she said quietly to the inside of her champagne glass. She drank more and asked, "Have you tasted the champagne? It's great."
Catherine gave half a laugh. "Yeah."
Sara was blushing again. She had finished the champagne and was ready for another. Right on queue a waitress walked by with another tray. She turned and put her empty glass on the tray and took another in one swift move, taking a sip right away.
Catherine and Warrick were talking about the dinner now. Apparently it would be starting in under an hour. Greg strolled up to them with champagne in his hand.
"What a lively party, huh," he said sarcastically.
"What would you like for the lab's anniversary, Greg?" Catherine asked, "A kegger and a few strippers?" she asked.
Greg nodded his head slowly. "Yeah, that might be nice."
Catherine rolled her eyes. "I'm only joking," Greg defended, "I'm just saying, someone should get out there and dance."
"Well why don't you dance?" Nick asked him.
"No, no. I have two left feet. Someone else should go up," he said looking at Sara.
"I don't dance," Sara told him.
"Well, why don't you show us how you used to party in college?" Nick asked.
Sara glared at him. "You used to party in college?" Warrick asked with a smile.
"Yes. And I made the mistake of telling Nick." She swung around and glared at him. He gave a charming smile and Sara shook her head at him and tried to stop herself from smiling too. She rolled her eyes and took a gulp of champagne.
"So what do you say Sara? You want to dance?"
"No, I don', Greg," she said flatly.
Greg asked Catherine but she said no too, which sent Greg on his way. About an hour later Sara had drank 3 more glasses of champagne and was on her sixth. They were called to sit down for dinner and wouldn't you know it, Sara was sitting next to Nick. The dinner was uneventful; everyone drinking more and talking about nothing in particular. There were a few speeches and people were having a mildly amusing time.
After dinner, everyone was shooed out to the dance floor, but once again, no-one danced. By this time Sara was very tipsy.
"Why is no-one dancing?" she asked squinting her eyes at the dance floor.
"I don't know. Maybe no-one wants to." Catherine answered. She thought it was funny how drunk Sara was getting.
Sara looked around at them a moment. "Do you want to dance?" she asked Nick.
Nick smiled at her. "I don't think so," he said with a little laugh.
"What is there something wrong with the way I dance? I'll have you know I am a very good dancer." Sara handed her champagne glass to Warrick. "Come on, we'll dance," she said taking Nick's hand. "We will get this party moving a little bit."
Nick looked back at Catherine and Warrick who were trying not to laugh. He shrugged his shoulders and let Sara lead him to the middle of the dance floor. She spun around and wrapped her free arm around his neck. She pulled herself close to him with that arm and he placed a hand on her waist. He put his hand on her back and she started to sway. Nick went with her and they slowly twirled around the dance floor. He could feel everyone's eyes on them while they spun and surprisingly, a few more couples came onto the floor to join them.
"See, I told you it would work." Sara whispered in his ear. They danced for a while then the band finished that particular song. Everyone stopped dancing and clapped for the band. Nick turned to leave the floor but Sara grabbed his arm. "Where do you think you're going?" she asked him.
"I…thought we were done," he said pointing at the wall.
"I don't think so, cowboy. We aren't even close to being finished." She pulled him into her again and wrapped her arm around his shoulder. They slowly twirled again and then Sara said, "Spin me."
"What?"
"You know. Take my hand and spin me," she said. Nick smiled at her. He led her out then spun her twice and she put her arm back in its place again.
She had a huge smile on her face. She laughed once. "That was fun."
"Yeah it was," Nick couldn't believe how drunk Sara had gotten, and to tell the truth, it was pretty funny.
Sara closed her eyes and listened to the music. "I love this song," she said softly. "Oh, the end is coming! Dip me!" she said. Nick gave out another laugh and spun Sara out before taking her in and dipping her over one arm. He bent down with her and their eyes locked a moment. Then the last note finished and she hopped back up.
There were quite a few people on the floor now and Sara and Nick wove through everyone to get back to where Catherine and Warrick were standing. As soon as she got to Warrick she took her glass back and drained it, giving a big sigh. "That was fun," she said.
"It looked like fun," Warrick said. He was trying not to laugh at her. She got another drink then downed half of it before a man came up to Catherine and tapped her on the shoulder
"Hey mugs," he said.
"Sam!" She said and hugged him. "What are you doing here?"
"It's my casino. I can go where I want. And I heard you were here so I came to say hello. Who are your friends?"
Catherine introduced the three CSIs to Sam. When she got to Sara he took her hand and kissed it.
"Always a pleasure to meet a beautiful lady," he said. Sara didn't know what to say. She had never met this man and he was kissing her hand. And the alcohol wasn't helping either. "Umm, thank you," she managed through a hiccup.
Sam gave out a little bit of a laugh. "I have already danced with a few of the women in this room, and I saw you dancing earlier. Would you like to dance?" Sam held out his hand to Sara. She looked at Catherine. That big smile had come back. She urged Sara to go with her eyes and Sara looked back at Sam. "Sure," was her timid reply.
Catherine gave them a few second head start then said, "I have to see this," leaving their spot on the wall to go to the very edge of the dance floor. Nick and Warrick looked at each other then followed her.
"Why is this going to be special?" Warrick asked.
"Well, first, Sara is drunk, and she has to dance with, quite possibly, the worst dancer in the world," she told them, pointing at Sam. Sure enough, Sam was pumping the hand attached to Sara's like he was using a shovel. Sara had a look of panic on her face as he led her around the floor. She looked over at the threesome on the side. They all waved and tried not to laugh. Just then, without warning, Sam whipped her around and flung her out. She nearly tripped before he pulled her back into him, pumping her arm around again.
"Wow. How many times have you had to dance with him?" Warrick asked Catherine.
"Way too many," Catherine couldn't get the smile off her face.
"The poor kid," Nick said.
"She can hold out." Warrick said. In truth, he wanted to see the pair dance longer.
"I don't think it's a good idea to jostle her like that with amount of alcohol in her system," Nick said. He paused a moment then said, "I'm going to go and butt in."
"No, wait, Nick," Warrick stopped him. "Just one more minute." Nick rolled his eyes turned to go help his friend.
He tapped on Sam shoulder once he reached them. Sam's head turned. "May I butt in?" he asked politely.
"Of course, Stokes was it?" Sam said. He took Sara's hand and kissed it again. "It was my pleasure," he said then left. Nick took Sara's hand and she wrapped her arm around his shoulder again.
"Thank you so much," she said dramatically, her eyes wide.
"It looked like you were having so much fun," Nick said innocently.
"Well I don't know where you were standing, but from here it looked like he was trying to take my arm off," she said. She rolled her shoulders to get the kinks out.
"I don't think you should tell him that," Nick said, still smiling.
"It's our little secret," Sara whispered and put a finger to her lips and zipped them shut. They danced for a moment longer before Sara spoke again. "You're such a great friend." she took a finger and touched his lips. Nick smiled at her.
They danced to the slow song and eventually Sara felt her eyes get droopy. She rested her head on Nick's chest and kept dancing. Nick was surprised. 'It's just the alcohol' he thought.
Sara took a deep breath. "You smell good," she said with her eyes still closed.
"Really?" Nick asked.
"Really good," she whispered. She stumbled a little as she unknowingly drifted off but snapped back up, catching herself.
"Whoa. Almost fell asleep there," she said shaking her head.
Nick laughed. "Maybe you should go home."
"No," she said closing her eyes and shaking her head violently like it was the stupidest thing he ever said, "the party is just getting started! We got to party!" she said and almost fell over again. Nick caught her and took her back to the wall. "I really think I should take you home," he said. He sat Sara down in one of the chairs at the wall.
"No, no I'm just fine," she said. Her head lulled to one side then she snapped back up, her eyes wide.
"Alright, I'm taking you home," Nick said and lifted her off the chair. He slowly took her around the dance floor, Sara stumbling and catching herself on Nick's wide shoulders. Nick got both their coats and headed out to the parking lot. Thankfully they weren't parked far from the casino because Sara was stumbling more and more. Nick loaded her into the SUV with little help from Sara.
"Can you buckle up?" he asked her.
"Wha-?" dazed.
"Buckle up," Nick said louder. Sara looked around in confusion. Nick laughed. "You are so trashed," he said as he buckled her up.
"Who are you calling trash?" she said half heartedly, her eyes half closed.
"No-one," he said with the smile on his face. He circled to the driver's side and buckled himself up. He glanced over at Sara as he turned the engine over. She was almost asleep. 'She is really going to feel that tomorrow,' he thought, turning in the seat to back out. It was a good thing she had the day off.
Sara slept the whole drive to her place. They were halfway there when Nick heard her start to snore. He took a quick glance at her. Her head was hanging over the seat and her mouth was wide open. He laughed and refocused on the road.
When they got to Sara's place he checked her coat for keys. He found none. He thought of where they might be. He remembered she had a purse when she came, but he hadn't thought to look for it when he left. He took out his cell phone and called Catherine.
"Have you seen Sara's purse?"
"Yeah, we found it just after you left," she said.
"Well, she put her keys in there, so I can't get into her house."
Catherine laughed into the phone, "Well, I can't leave yet and Warrick stuck with me. Why don't you just bring her to your house," Catherine said. She was obviously amused.
Nick sighed. "Ok, I guess so. I'll see you later, Cath." Nick hung up the phone and got back into his car. He drove the 5 minutes to his place and unlocked the door before going back to get Sara. He carefully unbuckled her and picked her up. Her head rested on his chest and lulled about as he walked up the steps. He took her to his couch and rested her down carefully. As soon as he put her down she flopped off again. He caught her before she hit the ground and pushed her back on unsuccessfully. She flopped around as if she was made of rubber.
"Fine. Have it your way," he said to his unconscious friend. He picked her up again and carried her into his bedroom. She woke up a little as he carried her.
"Nick?" she asked drunkenly.
"Yes?" he replied as he pushed the door open with his back.
"We should dance again," She said as she fell unconscious again.
"Yeah, that was fun," he said, resting her gently on the bed. He took off her shoes and set them beside the bed. He lifted her legs a little and took the sheet out from under her and draped it over her unconscious body. As he rested the top by he chin, he looked at her. She looked so peaceful when she slept. He unconsciously brushed a strand from her face and slowly tucked it behind her ear. He quickly took his hand away, realizing what he was doing. He got a pair of pajamas out of the bureau on the opposite wall and went to sleep on the couch, saying good night to her before he left.