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For The Nights I Can't Remember

A/N: This is something I've wanted to write for a long time. It's inspired by one of my favourite songs, For The Nights I Can't Remember by Hedley. I'm quite pleased with the outcome. Anyway, enjoy!

It wasn't the big things that meant as much. It was the little things. The little things that people had a habit of forgetting. If not forgotten then it was the little things that were often taken for granted. Like how he would pour her a cup of coffee without realising it. How when she would leave him sleeping for just a few more minutes because he looked so peaceful. How whenever a football game was on she would put up with his endless rants at the TV because he felt like he was achieving something. How he would always without fail kiss her goodnight and tell her he loved her, because he never wanted her to ever doubt it for a second. It was the little things in their relationship that made the difference.

Calling them 'little things' made them sound petty and not important, at least that was how Sara thought it sounded. In reality the so called little things could quite often be the biggest part of a relationship, the glue that kept two people together, the most important part of the life they lived together. Perhaps calling them simple things would be more appropriate. Simple, yet a necessity.

Little, simple- whatever you wanted to call them- they were crucial to any relationship, Sara felt. They were often the parts of a relationship that occurred naturally, had a mind of their own. They were just there, doing their job but not bragging about it. Seen but not heard, in a hypothetical sense. It was very similar to conversations she had had with Nick over the years, each one in their own way telling a story about the person or people involved. And over the years they had had many conversations, even more since they'd been together. She found herself feeling rather sad and guilty for not remembering every one. But how could she? It was impossible, even for someone as clever as her. And she couldn't remember everything Nick had told her about himself and his childhood, though she did try. She could, however, recollect a few things he'd mentioned like camping trips, a particular family holiday when he was 11, his first kiss, the last minute babysitter. She supposed this was more like the simple things in their relationship. She presumed some passed under their noses and neither of them were aware of them taking place at all. They may not have been able to remember everything they'd learned about each other over the years but just knowing even the small things made them understand each other much better as people and individuals, which in turn only made them stronger as a couple.

It had been a funny old day, pretty cold and miserable for the middle of June. And to make the day even weirder, no crimes were reported all that day, not in day shift or night shift. It was a shift meant solely for paperwork, and endless gossiping between colleagues. Their relationship wasn't a secret, it never had been. The pair of them had discussed the possibility of keeping it to themselves but in the end came to the same conclusion that while they would have probably enjoyed the thought of sneaking around to be together but they didn't want to have to, didn't want to have to pretend they felt nothing for each other. So their flourishing relationship became public knowledge. And 2 years later they were still together and very much in love. Now engaged Nick and Sara had a future to plan for. Despite their honesty from the very beginning it never stopped the constant chatter amongst co-workers, not even for a moment.

They were generally able to ignore the comments, the questions and curious faces, but on a day where paperwork was the only thing occupying their minds it was a whole lot harder to do. Sara was feeling strung out and irritable when their shift had started and it hadn't improved at all as the day had gone on. The lab techs were worse for it, of course, but on the whole most people were perfectly fine with the pair of them being engaged to be married.

Just thinking those words made a smile grow on Sara's face. Engaged to be married, and to Nick of all people; who would have thought it? She certainly wouldn't have. She stood by the fact that if back when they first met someone were to have told them that would one day end up getting married she would have probably laughed in their face. Same goes for when they first started seeing each other. They weren't expecting anything, hoping for the best really. Sara admitted to hoping that they didn't wreck everything at work, so anything and everything else became a bonus. Also, she was pretty sure that she didn't want to be disappointed or left heartbroken again. Sara had considered where their relationship could have led to as she was sure Nick had done too but for that to actually be true seemed surreal. She and Nick were happy, and in love, two things she had started to believe didn't exist together after so many key downs. But then in walked her knight in shining armour. Neither of them had been looking for love, but these things can sneak up on you and bite you in the backside before you notice what's going on. So before she was truly aware Sara had fallen for him, hook, line and sinker. After trying to fight it, pretending the feelings weren't there, she resulted to avoidance. How she hadn't seen it coming she will never know, but naturally Nick got suspicious of her bizarre behaviour of leaving a room whenever he entered or telling Greg to pass on some information, making some pathetic excuse as to why she couldn't tell him herself. The following day they practically confessed their love for each other after he confronted her about what had been going on and the rest is history, as they say.

Sara often thought over what had happened between them, how they'd gotten to where they were now. She often wondered why they'd not gotten together sooner, but then, as Nick had kindly pointed out, you can't mess with fate. She thought that was so lovely, the thought that them being in a relationship was fate, destiny even. In other words, they were meant to be together. That made accepting his proposal a no-brainer, as if she would have said no anyway.

But the one thing she wanted more than anything else was to make Nick happy. That was it, plain and simple. If he was happy, she was happy. They had really only been together for a short amount of time in comparison to how they'd known each other but neither of them could imagine things begin any different to how they were. They were practically inseparably. Sara always seemed almost out of sorts whenever Nick wasn't working, and vice versa for him. Nick couldn't live without her, as he told her on a regular basis. But maybe all that time they spent together would be harmful to their relationship in the long run. Maybe they would run out of things to talk about, grow bored of each other. Sara did worry that eventually they would drift apart, and subsequently fall apart. And she couldn't take another heartbreak. He told her often that that would never happen as long as they has a say in the matter, insisting she was paranoid. But she couldn't help it. Together they were a force to be reckoned with, and she didn't want that to change.

"Are you okay, Sar?" Nick asked, entering the locker room, bringing Sara out of her thoughts.

"Uh huh," she nodded. "Just thinking."

"About anything in particular?"

"Not really," Sara shrugged. "I just..."

"You just, what?" Nick asked, urging her to continue.

"I don't ever want you to be bored with me, bored of me," she insisted, hanging her head slightly.

"Babe, we don't know the meaning of the word," he smiled. "We could never be bored. And I could certainly never be bored of you. Everyday there is something new, and I get to experience that with you. I'm not just talking about work, I'm talking about life in general. I want to live everyday with you by my side."

"Do you mean that?" she wondered, biting her bottom lip.

"Do you even have to ask?" Nick countered, lowering himself down beside her. "You know you mean the world to me. I love you. That's never going to change."

"Do you wanna elope?" Sara asked, looking her fiancé in the eye.

Nick coughed. "Are you being serious?"

"Yeah, I am. I love you more than anything and you love me, so let's just go and elope," she smiled sheepishly.

"I don't really know what to say..."

"Say yes," Sara grinned. "Say you'll marry me today. I know you would have probably wanted your parents at our wedding if not your whole entire family but...

"We can work something out. Have a big family meal or something to celebrate," Nick interjected. "Yes, let's go and get married now, Sara. What are we waiting for?"

And with that they shared a passionate kiss, further cementing their feelings for one and another.

"Ooh, look who it is," Greg smirked as Nick and Sara walked through to the break room hand in hand a few moments later.

"Leave them alone, Greg," Catherine insisted sternly.

"We were wondering if we could ask you guys a question?" Sara began.

They were greeted with curious looking eyes.

"We were wondering if any of you were free in about three hours time?" Nick asked, trying to subdue his grin.

"Why?" Warrick instantly asked.

"Because we're going to need at least two witnesses at our wedding," he explained, beaming with pride.

"Your what?" Catherine exclaimed, not sure she'd heard him right.

"We're going to elope, today," Sara stated.

"Why? What's happened?" Warrick wondered, still looking confused.

"Nothing's happened. We just don't want to wait anymore, that's all. Right, Nicky?" she turned to look her soon-to-be-husband in the eye.

"Right. But we can't do it without witnesses...," he raised a questioning eyebrow at the people in front of him.

Greg was the first to speak. "I'm pretty sure I can find the time to watch you two get hitched."

"I wouldn't miss it for anything," Catherine jumped in.

Within hours they were married, officially husband and wife. The day that was supposed to have been planned meticulously to the very last detail and perhaps more importantly the happiest day of their lives had ended up being a bit rushed, some would probably say hasty, but that didn't make it any less special and memorable to them, and definitely no less happy. Whilst Nick couldn't have his family there they were lucky to have many of their close friends present as they committed themselves to each other after word had gone round that there was a wedding to attend. It was indeed a very special day for them, definitely a story for the grandchildren.

From the small chapel -because they would never have opted for a drive thru wedding- they went to one of Vegas' many hotels. She couldn't stop herself from laughing as he picked her up and carried her over the threshold.

A few hours later they were lying next to each other in bed. She found it somewhat bizarre how the mornings events had panned out. When she woke up to the ever familiar sight of Nick lying inches away from her, almost always with an arm around her waist, she hadn't expected the next time she was in bed with him they would be married. Perhaps she should have, anything can happen in Vegas. Yet, it was a pleasant surprise she would treasure forever. This was by far the best day of her life so far, as a wedding day should be. But this was the rest of their lives that they were bargaining with, not something that should be messed with lightly or decided upon on a whim. Plus potentially their eternal and everlasting happiness. Marriage is a major commitment to make, and a terrifying one too. But she didn't regret it for a second, and she knew she never would. She did have a few regrets though, as she supposed most people did, even if they were just little things. She regretted not remembering more of their history over the years, more about just their every day lives and not just the big standout moments.

But naturally neither of them could remember everything, every day they had spent together. Nick admitted to not even remembering some if their first dates. But that didn't matter.

Nick turned onto his side and gazed loving into his new wives eyes. "What are you thinking about?"

"Just how lucky I am to have you," she answered, smiling slightly.

"Right back at you," he smiled, placing a hand on her hip.

"I'm sorry for the nights I can't remember," Sara stated, her voice soft.

"Me too," Nick squeezed her hip gently, looking her in the eye as a small smile spread across his face.

Nick leaned in and kissed Sara gently on her forehead, allowing him lips to linger slightly. She closed her eyes, savouring the warmth of her husband's body against hers. She knew then that the past wasn't important. What mattered was their present, and their future together.

Thank you for reading. Hope everyone enjoyed this. More stories to come soon. Please review.