Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership over any character from the show CSI.
No profit is being made from this story.
A Glimpse of the Past
By Moose
Chapter 1
"How in the world did anyone find the body?" Nick Stokes asked as he followed Brass through the dense woods.
"Two hikers were passing by this afternoon," Brass replied, using his free hand to swipe the wayward branches. "It was already dark by the time we got to the body."
"But you say this is the body of an old woman?" Sara called from behind Nick.
"Yep," Brass replied, arriving finally at a clearing. "That was why we immediately ruled out natural death. She couldn't have gone here on her own."
"So where is it?" Nick asked, glad that they have finally reached their destination.
"Just give me a few seconds to catch my breath, will you?" Brass said, wiping perspiration from his face. Sara just emerged from the woods and stood beside Brass. "This way," Brass finally said.
The two CSIs followed Brass to the edge of the clearing. The familiar yellow police line was already set up, and two of Brass's men were guarding the scene.
"There she is," Brass nodded to the direction of the body. Nick followed his glance and saw an old woman lying on her side. From where he was, he couldn't see any signs of trauma or struggle.
Sara had put her gloves on. "Any ID's?"
Brass stayed outside the area closed by the police line. "None."
"Ready Nick?"
Nick nodded and put on a clean pair of Latex gloves. As Sara took pictures, he examined the vicinity. He searched for several minutes, but he didn't find anything. He walked back to where Sara was.
"Are you done?" he asked. "I couldn't find anything."
Sara snapped a couple more pictures. "There, we can move her now."
Methodically, Nick and Sara moved the body until she was lying on her back. They found out that the woman had a purse with her; her previous position just concealed the purse. Sara took a couple more pictures as Nick examined the ground where the body was previously lying on. Still no clue.
"I guess this is all we have," Sara said, motioning to the attractive purse by the woman's side. She opened the purse and caught a whiff of perfume. Nick was now standing beside her, watching her look for anything that could help them move on in the case. Sara found a wallet and handed it over to Nick. As she continued searching the purse, Nick opened the wallet and found himself staring at the woman's ID. "Hey, Sara, look at this," he said, showing the ID to Sara.
"Eleanor Rose," Sara read the name aloud. "This is an ID from Morning Star Nursing Home. Do you know where that is?"
Nick shook his head. "No, but maybe Brass knows." He nodded to the waiting coroner's aides. They entered the restricted area and began loading the body on a stretcher. Sara and Nick walked over to where Brass was standing. Nick showed him the ID.
"I think I know where that is," Brass said. "Come on, I'll ride with you to the home."
"Okay," Sara nodded, bagging the purse and wallet. She followed Brass back into the woods, with Nick just behind her. They walked in silence, concentrating on not losing their footing in the dark and at the same time of not getting hit by the unruly branches from the trees.
Sara almost bumped into Brass when he suddenly stopped in front of her. Behind her, Nick didn't see them stop and actually walked straight into Sara. "Sorry," Nick apologized, reaching out to steady Sara. "Why are we stopping?"
"I must have taken a wrong turn somewhere," Brass replied. Sara looked over his shoulder and saw that they were now at the edge of a clearing. Brass stepped into the clearing and faced them. "We didn't pass this place earlier, did we?"
Sara shook her head. She was looking at the building behind Brass. It was old and dilapidated, and it looked as though no one's been in it for several years. It looked like an old warehouse.
"Hey, this place might be related to our case," Nick said, shining his light on the building. "After all, it's quite near our crime scene."
Sara followed Nick's light with her eyes. "Maybe, but until we know for sure, let's not waste our time exploring some old structure."
"Sara's right," Brass said, heading back into the woods. "Come on, I'll try to get us back to the road."
Sara started to followed him, but she looked back to check if Nick was with them. He was still standing at the clearing, but just when she was about to call him, he turned and headed her way. Sara turned back and walked to the direction where Brass had gone. She and Nick walked in silence for a few minutes, but when they can't seem to catch up with Brass, she decided to call out, "Hey Brass, you'd better wait for us."
There was no reply.
Sara looked back at Nick. Nick shrugged and called, "Brass! Wait up!"
There was still no reply.
"Great," Sara muttered under her breath. She stopped walking. "Do you know where we are Nick?"
Nick looked around him and shook his head. "No. I have no idea Brass could walk that fast in these woods."
"Well, he knows these parts better than we do," Sara said, setting her field kit down. She got her cell phone from her pocket. "I'm calling Brass."
The phone rang for several times but Brass was not answering. Sara just left a message at his voice mail. "What do we do now?"
Nick shone his light around them. "I can't figure out if we're close to the road or not," he admitted. "Maybe we should just go back and try calling them again. I don't want to get lost in these woods."
"Yeah, me, too," Sara agreed, although she didn't like the idea of going back to the clearing with the old building. "Come on."
Nick about-faced and they retraced their steps back to the clearing. They didn't have any trouble finding the place. "Well, here we are."
Sara dialed Brass's number again. This time, a recording informed her that he was out of range. "Out of range," she reported to Nick. "I'll call Grissom and ask him to contact Brass."
Nick nodded and looked at the building. From where he stood beside Sara, the building looked empty. Just then, a light flickered on in one of the windows.
"Griss? Yeah, it's Sara," Sara was saying. "Nick and I got lost in the woods just off Highway 41. Brass was with us, but we lost him. What's that again? No, I can't contact him. Yeah, just tell him we'll be waiting for him at the clearing with the old building. He should know where that is," she paused for a while. "Yeah, okay. Thanks Griss."
"Hey, Sara, look," Nick nudged her right after she ended the call. Sara saw the lighted window. "Come on, someone in there might know how to get back to the road."
Sara followed Nick. They walked towards the door and Nick knocked. Soon, an attractive young woman opened the door. "Can I help you?"
"Hi, we're looking for the way back to the highway," Sara replied with a smile. "Could you-" Sara's sentence was drowned by the rumble of thunder. Before she could continue, rain began falling torrentially.
"You'd better come in," the woman said, opening the door wider. "If you got lost when it wasn't raining, I think you'd be safer to let the rain pass first before trying to find your way back to the road."
Sara followed Nick in. The interior of the building wasn't much different from the exterior, it did seem as if the woman had been existing on the basics. There were no furniture and the lighting was poor. Sara was standing so close to Nick that she could feel him tense. She knew what he was thinking. If this woman had anything to do with the death of Eleanor Rose, they had better stay alert around her.
"I apologize for the light," the woman said. "I hardly stay here, and only the backroom and the office have working light bulbs. My name is Lee, by the way."
"I'm Nick and this is Sara," Nick said. He felt that they shouldn't tell Lee yet why they were wandering in the woods at this time of the night. "We're sorry for the intrusion."
Lee smiled graciously. "No need for apologies. Hikers often get lost in these woods, and I've let several spend the night here."
"We won't be spending the night here," Sara assured her. "When the rain has stopped, we'll be going our way again."
"Okay," Lee said. "Just in case, you'd better rest for a while. If you'll follow me, I have coffee at the office."
Sara glanced at Nick. She knew they should be alert, but somehow, she felt at ease with Lee. Still, it would be better if they were in a better lighted place. Nick seemed to be more relaxed now, but he leaned towards Sara and whispered, "Let's just stay close together, okay?"
In the darkness, Sara nodded and followed Nick, who followed Lee. They both have their flashlights turned on, so it was easier to move in the dark. Lee seemed to be walking towards the other end of the building.
"Well, here it is," Lee said, stopping before a bright doorway. "This is the office."
Sara and Nick cautiously followed her in. There was a couch, and a big antique desk with papers scattered on it. A small stove was at one end of the desk, and there was a pot settled on it.
"Please, have a seat," Lee said, motioning to the couch. "Would you like some coffee?"
As precaution, both declined. Lee didn't seem to mind, and she poured herself a cup before facing her visitors again. "I'm a writer," Lee explained, nodding towards the papers on the table. "I usually go here when I need to be alone."
"What books do you write?" Sara asked politely. She and Nick sat close together on the couch, still not quite letting their guards down.
"Fiction," Lee replied. "Mostly about romance. That's why I like this place. This used to be a studio owned by Richard Stockard, one of the richest and most powerful men in Vegas in the first half of this century."
"I've heard of that guy," Sara said. "So is this where his famous showgirls trained?"
Lee nodded enthusiastically. "Yes. Stockard's son, Bruce, managed this studio. This is actually Bruce Stockard's office. The showgirls that trained here were Stockard's best. There's also this great love story about one of the Stockard's stars, would you like to hear it?"
"Sure," Nick replied, leaning back on the couch. He felt Sara leaning against him, and he shifted ever so slightly so that they both would be in a more comfortable position. Sara didn't seem to mind, and Nick found himself wanting to take her hand. Stop it, you're in a room with a suspect and all you can think of is holding Sara's hand? Nick scolded himself.
"Well, Stockard had this star, Scarlet," Lee began. "They say Scarlet's one of the most beautiful women in her time. She's really talented, too. Her voice was as sweet as a nightingale's and she dances with the grace of a ballerina. So it was really no surprise that she was Stockard's most famous showgirl.
"But Scarlet was not happy to be in Richard's group. She feels that they work way too hard, and most of the other girls were resentful of her. Her only friend in the company was Bruce Stockard. He was the only one who seemed to understand why Scarlet did not want to be a showgirl for the rest of her life. More than anything, she wanted to study and to travel. She became a showgirl just so she could earn the money she needed. So, when she began earning big time, Scarlet began to think of ways to get out of Richard's company.
"Richard, meanwhile, thought of ways of making Scarlet stay. He knew that her leaving could be a huge blow to his business, something that he could not afford at that time, when the country's economy was down because of the Second World War."
"So what did he do?" Sara asked, fighting the urge to lay her head on Nick's shoulder. Focus, Sara. You have to stay alert.
"Richard wanted Bruce and Scarlet to get married. He knew that marriage would bind Scarlet to his company for good," Lee narrated. She took a sip from her cup. "But, good friends that they were, Scarlet and Bruce were never in love. Scarlet loved Bruce's bestfriend Timothy Grant, and Bruce loved Timothy's younger sister Samantha. Richard knew this, and he was not happy with it. You see, not only will Bruce's marriage to Samantha would ruin Richard's plans for Bruce and Scarlet but it would also mean that Richard would have a middle class daughter-in-law. He couldn't take that.
"So, Richard decided to take both Tim and Samantha out of the equation. He had his men tamper with Tim's car. Unfortunately, Bruce decided to join Tim and Samantha at the last minute. All three of them died in the car crash."
"That's so sad," Sara remarked, laying her head on Nick's shoulder. At the same moment, Nick took her hand and held it.
"Yeah," Lee agreed with a far away look in her eyes. "Scarlet almost went mad with grief. Richard was arrested and tried for the crime, but he was acquitted. His company went bankrupt years later. That was when I bought this place."
They sat in silence for a while, until Lee stifled a yawn. Suddenly, Nick and Sara became aware of the time. "Lee, we're so sorry we kept you up this late," Sara apologized. "If you don't mind, we'll just wait for the rain to stop and then we'll just let ourselves out. You go sleep now."
"Are you sure that's all right with you?" Lee asked. Nick and Sara nodded. "Very well, I'll retire now. I'll be in the other room if you need me, okay?"
"Thanks," Nick replied. Reluctantly, he let go of Sara's hand and walked Lee to the door. He closed the door behind her and locked it. He pulled the nearest shelf so that the door wouldn't open even if it was unlocked. "There," he said, satisfied that they were secure.
"Who'll sleep first?" Sara asked, not at all getting up from the couch. "We can't sleep together, you know." The moment she said that, she just wanted to put her foot in her mouth.
"Who says we can't?" Nick grinned, moving closer to Sara. "I just locked us in, Sara."
"Aw, come on, Nick," Sara said, trying not to be affected by Nick's closeness. "You know what I meant."
"No, I don't," Nick said softly. His face was just inches away from Sara's. "Tell me why."
Sara found herself unable to think clearly. "Because we - because - " Sara stammered. She found herself getting lost in Nick's eyes. Her heart was pounding wildly, and all she could think of was how much she wanted Nick to kiss her right then.
Nick closed the gap between them. He gently brushed his lips against hers. Everything fled from his mind except the wonderful sensation that he was kissing Sara. He pulled back a little and looked in her eyes, hoping that he would not see anger or repulsion. Sara slowly opened her eyes and Nick found them reflecting what he was feeling. With a small smile, he pulled Sara closer and bent down to kiss her again. He could feel Sara relaxing in arms and this prompted him to kiss her more deeply. Sara kissed him back with the same fervor, and time seemed to stand still for the two of them.
When they finally separated, Nick sat back but he did not let go of Sara. Sara sighed contently and hugged him back. They stayed that way for a while, neither one speaking and both just enjoying the other's closeness. Soon, both of them had fallen asleep in each other's arms.
A Glimpse of the Past
By Moose
Chapter 1
"How in the world did anyone find the body?" Nick Stokes asked as he followed Brass through the dense woods.
"Two hikers were passing by this afternoon," Brass replied, using his free hand to swipe the wayward branches. "It was already dark by the time we got to the body."
"But you say this is the body of an old woman?" Sara called from behind Nick.
"Yep," Brass replied, arriving finally at a clearing. "That was why we immediately ruled out natural death. She couldn't have gone here on her own."
"So where is it?" Nick asked, glad that they have finally reached their destination.
"Just give me a few seconds to catch my breath, will you?" Brass said, wiping perspiration from his face. Sara just emerged from the woods and stood beside Brass. "This way," Brass finally said.
The two CSIs followed Brass to the edge of the clearing. The familiar yellow police line was already set up, and two of Brass's men were guarding the scene.
"There she is," Brass nodded to the direction of the body. Nick followed his glance and saw an old woman lying on her side. From where he was, he couldn't see any signs of trauma or struggle.
Sara had put her gloves on. "Any ID's?"
Brass stayed outside the area closed by the police line. "None."
"Ready Nick?"
Nick nodded and put on a clean pair of Latex gloves. As Sara took pictures, he examined the vicinity. He searched for several minutes, but he didn't find anything. He walked back to where Sara was.
"Are you done?" he asked. "I couldn't find anything."
Sara snapped a couple more pictures. "There, we can move her now."
Methodically, Nick and Sara moved the body until she was lying on her back. They found out that the woman had a purse with her; her previous position just concealed the purse. Sara took a couple more pictures as Nick examined the ground where the body was previously lying on. Still no clue.
"I guess this is all we have," Sara said, motioning to the attractive purse by the woman's side. She opened the purse and caught a whiff of perfume. Nick was now standing beside her, watching her look for anything that could help them move on in the case. Sara found a wallet and handed it over to Nick. As she continued searching the purse, Nick opened the wallet and found himself staring at the woman's ID. "Hey, Sara, look at this," he said, showing the ID to Sara.
"Eleanor Rose," Sara read the name aloud. "This is an ID from Morning Star Nursing Home. Do you know where that is?"
Nick shook his head. "No, but maybe Brass knows." He nodded to the waiting coroner's aides. They entered the restricted area and began loading the body on a stretcher. Sara and Nick walked over to where Brass was standing. Nick showed him the ID.
"I think I know where that is," Brass said. "Come on, I'll ride with you to the home."
"Okay," Sara nodded, bagging the purse and wallet. She followed Brass back into the woods, with Nick just behind her. They walked in silence, concentrating on not losing their footing in the dark and at the same time of not getting hit by the unruly branches from the trees.
Sara almost bumped into Brass when he suddenly stopped in front of her. Behind her, Nick didn't see them stop and actually walked straight into Sara. "Sorry," Nick apologized, reaching out to steady Sara. "Why are we stopping?"
"I must have taken a wrong turn somewhere," Brass replied. Sara looked over his shoulder and saw that they were now at the edge of a clearing. Brass stepped into the clearing and faced them. "We didn't pass this place earlier, did we?"
Sara shook her head. She was looking at the building behind Brass. It was old and dilapidated, and it looked as though no one's been in it for several years. It looked like an old warehouse.
"Hey, this place might be related to our case," Nick said, shining his light on the building. "After all, it's quite near our crime scene."
Sara followed Nick's light with her eyes. "Maybe, but until we know for sure, let's not waste our time exploring some old structure."
"Sara's right," Brass said, heading back into the woods. "Come on, I'll try to get us back to the road."
Sara started to followed him, but she looked back to check if Nick was with them. He was still standing at the clearing, but just when she was about to call him, he turned and headed her way. Sara turned back and walked to the direction where Brass had gone. She and Nick walked in silence for a few minutes, but when they can't seem to catch up with Brass, she decided to call out, "Hey Brass, you'd better wait for us."
There was no reply.
Sara looked back at Nick. Nick shrugged and called, "Brass! Wait up!"
There was still no reply.
"Great," Sara muttered under her breath. She stopped walking. "Do you know where we are Nick?"
Nick looked around him and shook his head. "No. I have no idea Brass could walk that fast in these woods."
"Well, he knows these parts better than we do," Sara said, setting her field kit down. She got her cell phone from her pocket. "I'm calling Brass."
The phone rang for several times but Brass was not answering. Sara just left a message at his voice mail. "What do we do now?"
Nick shone his light around them. "I can't figure out if we're close to the road or not," he admitted. "Maybe we should just go back and try calling them again. I don't want to get lost in these woods."
"Yeah, me, too," Sara agreed, although she didn't like the idea of going back to the clearing with the old building. "Come on."
Nick about-faced and they retraced their steps back to the clearing. They didn't have any trouble finding the place. "Well, here we are."
Sara dialed Brass's number again. This time, a recording informed her that he was out of range. "Out of range," she reported to Nick. "I'll call Grissom and ask him to contact Brass."
Nick nodded and looked at the building. From where he stood beside Sara, the building looked empty. Just then, a light flickered on in one of the windows.
"Griss? Yeah, it's Sara," Sara was saying. "Nick and I got lost in the woods just off Highway 41. Brass was with us, but we lost him. What's that again? No, I can't contact him. Yeah, just tell him we'll be waiting for him at the clearing with the old building. He should know where that is," she paused for a while. "Yeah, okay. Thanks Griss."
"Hey, Sara, look," Nick nudged her right after she ended the call. Sara saw the lighted window. "Come on, someone in there might know how to get back to the road."
Sara followed Nick. They walked towards the door and Nick knocked. Soon, an attractive young woman opened the door. "Can I help you?"
"Hi, we're looking for the way back to the highway," Sara replied with a smile. "Could you-" Sara's sentence was drowned by the rumble of thunder. Before she could continue, rain began falling torrentially.
"You'd better come in," the woman said, opening the door wider. "If you got lost when it wasn't raining, I think you'd be safer to let the rain pass first before trying to find your way back to the road."
Sara followed Nick in. The interior of the building wasn't much different from the exterior, it did seem as if the woman had been existing on the basics. There were no furniture and the lighting was poor. Sara was standing so close to Nick that she could feel him tense. She knew what he was thinking. If this woman had anything to do with the death of Eleanor Rose, they had better stay alert around her.
"I apologize for the light," the woman said. "I hardly stay here, and only the backroom and the office have working light bulbs. My name is Lee, by the way."
"I'm Nick and this is Sara," Nick said. He felt that they shouldn't tell Lee yet why they were wandering in the woods at this time of the night. "We're sorry for the intrusion."
Lee smiled graciously. "No need for apologies. Hikers often get lost in these woods, and I've let several spend the night here."
"We won't be spending the night here," Sara assured her. "When the rain has stopped, we'll be going our way again."
"Okay," Lee said. "Just in case, you'd better rest for a while. If you'll follow me, I have coffee at the office."
Sara glanced at Nick. She knew they should be alert, but somehow, she felt at ease with Lee. Still, it would be better if they were in a better lighted place. Nick seemed to be more relaxed now, but he leaned towards Sara and whispered, "Let's just stay close together, okay?"
In the darkness, Sara nodded and followed Nick, who followed Lee. They both have their flashlights turned on, so it was easier to move in the dark. Lee seemed to be walking towards the other end of the building.
"Well, here it is," Lee said, stopping before a bright doorway. "This is the office."
Sara and Nick cautiously followed her in. There was a couch, and a big antique desk with papers scattered on it. A small stove was at one end of the desk, and there was a pot settled on it.
"Please, have a seat," Lee said, motioning to the couch. "Would you like some coffee?"
As precaution, both declined. Lee didn't seem to mind, and she poured herself a cup before facing her visitors again. "I'm a writer," Lee explained, nodding towards the papers on the table. "I usually go here when I need to be alone."
"What books do you write?" Sara asked politely. She and Nick sat close together on the couch, still not quite letting their guards down.
"Fiction," Lee replied. "Mostly about romance. That's why I like this place. This used to be a studio owned by Richard Stockard, one of the richest and most powerful men in Vegas in the first half of this century."
"I've heard of that guy," Sara said. "So is this where his famous showgirls trained?"
Lee nodded enthusiastically. "Yes. Stockard's son, Bruce, managed this studio. This is actually Bruce Stockard's office. The showgirls that trained here were Stockard's best. There's also this great love story about one of the Stockard's stars, would you like to hear it?"
"Sure," Nick replied, leaning back on the couch. He felt Sara leaning against him, and he shifted ever so slightly so that they both would be in a more comfortable position. Sara didn't seem to mind, and Nick found himself wanting to take her hand. Stop it, you're in a room with a suspect and all you can think of is holding Sara's hand? Nick scolded himself.
"Well, Stockard had this star, Scarlet," Lee began. "They say Scarlet's one of the most beautiful women in her time. She's really talented, too. Her voice was as sweet as a nightingale's and she dances with the grace of a ballerina. So it was really no surprise that she was Stockard's most famous showgirl.
"But Scarlet was not happy to be in Richard's group. She feels that they work way too hard, and most of the other girls were resentful of her. Her only friend in the company was Bruce Stockard. He was the only one who seemed to understand why Scarlet did not want to be a showgirl for the rest of her life. More than anything, she wanted to study and to travel. She became a showgirl just so she could earn the money she needed. So, when she began earning big time, Scarlet began to think of ways to get out of Richard's company.
"Richard, meanwhile, thought of ways of making Scarlet stay. He knew that her leaving could be a huge blow to his business, something that he could not afford at that time, when the country's economy was down because of the Second World War."
"So what did he do?" Sara asked, fighting the urge to lay her head on Nick's shoulder. Focus, Sara. You have to stay alert.
"Richard wanted Bruce and Scarlet to get married. He knew that marriage would bind Scarlet to his company for good," Lee narrated. She took a sip from her cup. "But, good friends that they were, Scarlet and Bruce were never in love. Scarlet loved Bruce's bestfriend Timothy Grant, and Bruce loved Timothy's younger sister Samantha. Richard knew this, and he was not happy with it. You see, not only will Bruce's marriage to Samantha would ruin Richard's plans for Bruce and Scarlet but it would also mean that Richard would have a middle class daughter-in-law. He couldn't take that.
"So, Richard decided to take both Tim and Samantha out of the equation. He had his men tamper with Tim's car. Unfortunately, Bruce decided to join Tim and Samantha at the last minute. All three of them died in the car crash."
"That's so sad," Sara remarked, laying her head on Nick's shoulder. At the same moment, Nick took her hand and held it.
"Yeah," Lee agreed with a far away look in her eyes. "Scarlet almost went mad with grief. Richard was arrested and tried for the crime, but he was acquitted. His company went bankrupt years later. That was when I bought this place."
They sat in silence for a while, until Lee stifled a yawn. Suddenly, Nick and Sara became aware of the time. "Lee, we're so sorry we kept you up this late," Sara apologized. "If you don't mind, we'll just wait for the rain to stop and then we'll just let ourselves out. You go sleep now."
"Are you sure that's all right with you?" Lee asked. Nick and Sara nodded. "Very well, I'll retire now. I'll be in the other room if you need me, okay?"
"Thanks," Nick replied. Reluctantly, he let go of Sara's hand and walked Lee to the door. He closed the door behind her and locked it. He pulled the nearest shelf so that the door wouldn't open even if it was unlocked. "There," he said, satisfied that they were secure.
"Who'll sleep first?" Sara asked, not at all getting up from the couch. "We can't sleep together, you know." The moment she said that, she just wanted to put her foot in her mouth.
"Who says we can't?" Nick grinned, moving closer to Sara. "I just locked us in, Sara."
"Aw, come on, Nick," Sara said, trying not to be affected by Nick's closeness. "You know what I meant."
"No, I don't," Nick said softly. His face was just inches away from Sara's. "Tell me why."
Sara found herself unable to think clearly. "Because we - because - " Sara stammered. She found herself getting lost in Nick's eyes. Her heart was pounding wildly, and all she could think of was how much she wanted Nick to kiss her right then.
Nick closed the gap between them. He gently brushed his lips against hers. Everything fled from his mind except the wonderful sensation that he was kissing Sara. He pulled back a little and looked in her eyes, hoping that he would not see anger or repulsion. Sara slowly opened her eyes and Nick found them reflecting what he was feeling. With a small smile, he pulled Sara closer and bent down to kiss her again. He could feel Sara relaxing in arms and this prompted him to kiss her more deeply. Sara kissed him back with the same fervor, and time seemed to stand still for the two of them.
When they finally separated, Nick sat back but he did not let go of Sara. Sara sighed contently and hugged him back. They stayed that way for a while, neither one speaking and both just enjoying the other's closeness. Soon, both of them had fallen asleep in each other's arms.