Title: Save Tonight

Author: Megan

Pairing: N/S

Rating: PG For slight sexual content.

Disclaimer: The cast of CSI does not belong to me. I just borrow them for fun times on the weekends. ;-)

Author's Notes: It's a total songfic. I heard the song, got the idea, and immediately started writing. If it doesn't make sense, I'm sorry. Oh, it does take place about 3 years after the end of the third season.

~~$~@~$~~

Sara threw her keys down on the table, inside the front door of her simple two-story home. She shifted her 15 month old daughter, Cathryn – named after her co worker and friend – from one hip to the other.

She silently carried the sleeping child up the stairs and down the hall to her bedroom: a simple crib in one corner, a rocking chair next to it, and a changing table from Catherine on the other wall. The room had been painted white and then sponged pink. It was Lindsey's idea. As soon as Cathryn was born, Lindsey insisted she come over and decorate. For a 12 year old she sure did know what she was doing. Sara was sure she could definitely make it in the world of interior design.

Sara lay her sleeping child down in the crib, and leaned over to kiss her forehead.

She was a mirror image of her father, from the deep brown eyes, to her light personality. Cathryn was always the life of the party, never getting too upset. Today she had been very fussy, though, not her usual cheerful self. Sara had a feeling that her small child was a lot smarter than people thought. She could pick up on everything, especially her mother's sadness, and then numbness. The past week had been hell for them.

Sara could feel the tears start to slide down her cheeks again as she walked into her empty bedroom. She slipped out of her long black dress, leaving it in a heap on the floor. She went to the dresser she shared with her husband and pulled out one of his old t-shirts. Holding it to her face, she breathed deep and relished in the lingering smell that was uniquely his.

She slipped the shirt over her head, and crawled into the queen-sized bed that they had picked out right after they bought the house a little over two years prior. She reached out and grabbed the pillow that lay on his side of the bed, pulling it to her body and inhaling his sent once more, just let out a loud sob, and buried her face, as if ashamed to be crying.

"Sara, honey, why are you crying?"

Sara lifted her head out of the pillow and gasped when she saw him standing there at the foot of their bed. He was dressed in a navy blue button up shirt, and black slacks. He looked so handsome. In his hand was one of Cathryn's small teddy bears. It was the one Warrick had given her when she turned one. "Nick?"

He slowly walked up to where she was now sitting, and sat down next to her. He placed the small stuffed animal on top of the pillow Sara had been clutching. He then turned back to her, and brought a hand to her cheek, wiping away the tears that continued to silently fall.

go on and close the curtains
'cause all we need is candlelight
you and me ... and the bottle of wine
and hold you tonight

Sara closed her eyes, and kissed the palm of his hand as he caressed her cheek. "Why did you leave?" She asked him in a whisper.

"Sshh… Don't talk." He gently laid her back down on the bed, and leaned down, bringing his lips down to meet hers.

Sara wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down further. She nibbled at his bottom lip until he opened his mouth, allowing her tongue access to dance seductively with his own. She brought her hands down to his shirt, and began unbuttoning the buttons, tossing the shirt to the side, not breaking the kiss once.

Nick's hands slip up underneath the shirt his wife was wearing, caressing the bare skin of her sides, while her hands roamed up and down his back as if to memorize by touch every muscle and bone.

well we know i'm going away
and how i wish - i wish it weren't so
so take this wine and drink with me
let's delay our misery

After they had made love, Sara lay, wrapped in a sheet on her back. Nick was propped up on one arm, watching over her. They just lay there, together in silence. He tightened his grip around her waist. She brought a hand up to his face and began tracing the outlines of his cheek bones, and then lazily brought her fingers down to his jaw and lips.

"I don't want you to go."

"Sara, you know I have to."

"What about Cathryn? What about me? I can't do this without you." She could begin to feel the tears pouring out of her eyes again, but as soon as they left her eyes, Nick leaned in to kiss them away.

"I'll always be with you, Sara." He brought his hand up to her chest, and laid it over her heart.

"Don't say that. I need you here." She gripped his hand in hers "With me."

He didn't say anything, only brought her hand up to her face, and wiped away the tears with his thumb. He leaned down and kissed her lips again; the kiss full of the same passion they had shared for the past 3 years.

save tonight and fight the break of dawn
come tomorrow - tomorrow i'll be gone
save tonight and fight the break of dawn
come tomorrow - tomorrow i'll be gone

"I can't live without you, Nick."

"Yes you can. And you have to, Sara, for our baby girl. You have to be strong for her. Be strong for me."

"You promised you'd never leave me, Nick! Why did you leave?" She was hysterical again. Nick only responded by placing another soft kiss on her cheek.

"Sara, you're going to have to let me go."

She looked up at him with fear in her eyes. "How could you ask me to do such a thing?"

"Honey, it's been a year."

She fought back another onslaught of tears. "I can't."

there's a log on the fire
and it burns like me for you
tomorrow comes with one desire
to take me away

He kissed her cheek again. "I saw you two today."

"I wish she could know you. But she probably won't remember. I keep the picture from our wedding by her crib. I tell her all about you. About how you proposed. About how you were at work. About how you got emotionally involved without letting it affect you." She wiped violently at the tears that were staining her cheeks, trying to fight them off, but failing miserably.

"I know" he whispered into her hair.

"Who's going to walk her down the aisle at her wedding, Nick? Who is going to help me take care of our baby? You know how I am with kids. What if I mess up?"

He ran his fingers through her hair, and let out a small chuckle. "You're doing just fine. And I bet Greg would walk her down the aisle. Better yet, Warrick, Greg, and even Grissom could all walk her down the aisle. I promise I will take care of her. And you."

"I love you so much."

"I love you too, Sara."

"Please don't leave."

"I have to."

it ain't easy to say good bye
darling please - don't start to cry
'cause girl you know i've got to go
and Lord i wish it wasn't so

"Don't cry Sara." He brushed his lips against hers once more before sitting up.

"How can I not?" She sat up next to him.

"I'm never going to leave you for good. You know you can always talk to me, and I'll always help you the best way I know how." He tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear, letting his fingers linger on her face.

Sara reached for his hand, and held it tightly. "Nick, please –"

He stood up, and leaned over to kiss her one last time. "I love you."

save tonight and fight the break of dawn
come tomorrow - tomorrow i'll be gone
save tonight and fight the break of dawn
come tomorrow - tomorrow i'll be gone

"I love you, Nick. I love you so much."

"Sshh. Go back to sleep. Cathryn needs you to be strong."

Sara lay back down on the bed, and rolled onto her side so she wouldn't have to see her husband's retreating back.

Nick watched her as she slipped back into his pants. "Save tonight, Sara."

tomorrow comes to take me away
i wish that i - that i could stay
but girl you know i've got to go
and Lord i wish weren't so

The sound of soft cries stirred Sara from her sleep. "Nick!" She sat up in bed quickly, and looked around the room. Empty. She could hear her young daughter's cries coming from the room across the hall.

She got out of bed, and headed for her daughter's nursery. Cathryn was standing up in her crib, holding onto the railing. As soon as she saw her mother, her cries subsided into soft whimpers.

Sara picked up the baby, and she instantly cuddled into her mother's embrace, tangling her tiny fingers in her mother's long brown hair. "Mommy loves you so much, Cathy-baby." She planted a soft kiss on her daughter's cheek, and glanced down to see Nick's brown eyes staring back up at her. Their wedding photo, sitting on the table next to Cathryn's crib was surrounded by a simple metal frame. "Daddy loves you, too." She rubbed Cathryn's back, softly humming a lullaby. She looked around for the teddy bear Warrick had given her daughter. "Where's you bear, sweetie?"

Sara walked back across the hall into her bedroom, and that's when she saw it. Lying on the bed, wrapped in a royal blue button up shirt, was Cathryn's teddy bear. She walked over to the bed, and got in, careful not to disturb the sleeping child in her arms. She gently lay down on her side, resting Cathryn on the bed next to her. The toddler immediately snuggled closer to her mother.

Sara just laid there awake, staring down at her pride and joy. A small smile somehow managed to reach her lips. She allowed her head to fall down onto the soft pillow. She reached over to touch the shirt that had been wrapped around Cathryn's bear. The same shirt Nick had been wearing on the day of the accident. The same shirt he had been wearing when he visited her. She ran her fingers over its soft fabric and sighed.

"Save tonight, Nick."

~~$~@~$~~

The end.

The song is called "Save Tonight" and it belongs to Eagle Eye Cherry, not me.

Anyway. I hope you all liked my short story. I actually got all choked up writing it. I'm such a sap, though, so it doesn't take much.

Please review and tell me what you think, but please leave the flames at home. :)