Summary: Sometimes, cases like these are what you need to look over your past, and see what's right in front of you. NickSara one-shot
A/N: My first attempt at something like this! So, please R&R, tell me what you think! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own CSI or any of its characters, I am merely using them for a few stories. The song is Crash And Burn by Savage Garden, which I do not own either.
Crash and Burn
Right, Sidle, hitting your head against the locker does nothing to change what happened, Sara told herself mentally. It was cases like these that made her feel so helpless, so unable to do anything. A young woman, only ten years younger than Sara herself, had been raped, beaten, and left for dead- by her boyfriend and his friends. She had died in surgery.
"Her boyfriend," Sara said aloud, before realising she had.
"Yeah. Sucks, doesn't it?" Came a voice from behind her. She knew that voice. That strong, deep voice, belonging to the man who had been working the case with her, her best friend- Nick Stokes. Sara smiled, but her heart wasn't in it.
"Yeah. Kid had her whole life in front of her. Hell, that was me ten years ago," Sara said, then sighed and leaned her head against her locker again.
"I know the feeling. Remember that pledge a few years back? Johnson?" Nick said quietly. Sara nodded. "That's how I felt. 'That could have been me'. Only it wasn't. We made it through and now we're here to help the people that didn't."
"I know. But I always...I don't know. Stuff like this shouldn't happen. Kids shouldn't kill kids. She loved that guy, and look what she got in return. Makes you want to swear off love. A feeling I've gotten far too often since I got here." There was silence for a minute.
"Oh?" Nick finally said, breaking the silence.
"Yeah. It's not just the cases like these- it's just everything. I love it here, don't get me wrong, but..." she let her answer trail off.
"Grissom?" asked Nick, which surprised Sara. She had never really talked to Nick- or anyone else- about her feelings for Grissom. Yet here was Nick, who seemed to know. He walked over and sat next to her, looking at her. She sighed.
"Yeah." Silence again. "How'd you know?"
"You think it isn't obvious? I think anyone in the lab could tell. I think he's an idiot." Nick paused, then added, "Want to go get some breakfast or something?" Sara wondered about what Nick meant by the idiot remark.
"Sure."
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Fifteen minutes later, they were sitting in a booth in the diner that the team frequented after shift. They had both ordered coffee and were chatting about random things that came to mind. Suddenly, Sara wanted to know.
"What did you mean when you called Grissom an idiot earlier?" she said, then held her breath. Nick focused on his coffee for a minute, then looked up at her, his dark, brown eyes looking into hers.
"Exactly what I said. He's got the greatest girl in the world crazy for him and he won't take her." Nick looked back down and focused on stirring his coffee. Sara just stared at him. Her heart had skipped a beat just then. He had called her the greatest girl in the world- Nick had said that! Nick who could have any girl in the world, probably, yet chose to call her the greatest. Or maybe he just meant it in a friendly way.
Sara was confused. Grissom...and now Nick. She knew Nick was her friend. What if it was something else? She knew she'd never have Grissom. But maybe there was something better. Someone better. Nick glanced up at her and smiled to see her staring at him. She loved his smile.
"The invincible Sara Sidle, speechless?" he teased her.
"Yeah," she muttered, looking away. She didn't know if she could take his eyes. Those wonderful eyes looking at her, so full of emotion- the one thing she feared the most.
They made small talk for another ten minutes while they finished their coffee, then Nick drove Sara back to the lab to pick up her car. He came around and opened the door for her and walked her over to her car. As she was about to get in, he placed a hand on her arm.
"Sara," he sad quietly. She turned to look at him and he stepped closer to her. "I meant what I said. You are the greatest girl in the world." Slowly, as if to give her time to back away if she wanted, he leaned down and brushed his lips to hers. Her eyes widened in surprise, but she kissed him back. Suddenly, the dam Grissom had made her put around her heart broke from the flood of emotions caused by Nick Stokes. Emotions coursed through her. And she suddenly realised, that she didn't care anymore about the number of times Grissom had turned her down. The truth of Hank no longer hurt. She had Nick- and now she knew that she'd never need anyone else again.
A line from a song she'd heard on the radio once came back to her.
Let me be the one you call, if you jump I'll break your fall, if you need to crash, then crash and burn you're not alone.