Disclaimer: If it's familiar to you, it doesn't belong to me.
Author's Note: In response to a Snickers Challenge.
"Really." There was doubt in Sara's tone as she looked at Nick with a raised eyebrow while walking with him down the hall to the DNA lab.
"Yeah. So?" he challenged.
Sara shrugged. "I just figured you as a Ginger kind of guy."
"Why? Because a guy's response to the Ginger versus Mary Ann question is supposed to be some kind of deep-rooted, subconscious indication of his ideal woman, and you think you're a Ginger?"
Sara smirked at Nick's sarcasm. "Well I'm definitely not a Mary Ann."
"Yeah. She's cute and sweet," Nick quipped.
Sara punched him in the arm and glared at him. "You're just lucky you're cute and sweet."
"Aren't I?" Nick replied with a toothy grin.
Sara rolled her eyes and pushed Nick through the doorway of the DNA lab.
"New highlights reacted with the chlorine when I went swimming," Greg explained, not waiting for the two CSIs to ask why his hair was streaked with green.
"Uh huh," was all Nick said. He had noticed Greg's hair but hadn't given the color a second thought; he was used to Greg's interesting hairstyles and thought the green was just some kind of fashion statement.
"Did you run that blood from the dress?" Sara asked. She too hadn't really given Greg's hair much thought.
"You mean this dress?" Greg pulled a skimpy, black sequined cocktail dress from the paper bag sitting next to him. He held the dress up to Sara, as if trying to imagine what she would look like with it on. "Not yet, but after I swab it maybe you could-"
"In your dreams, Greg," Sara interjected.
"I'm sure you will be," Greg grinned.
Nick raised an eyebrow in playful but firm warning, knowing that Greg's flirting was harmless but wanting to stay focused on the case.
"Yeah. Okay. Uh, I'll swab it and page you when I get the results." Greg got back to the task at hand.
"Do that," Nick said as he turned and followed Sara out.
With no other tests pending besides DNA, the only thing to do was wait, and at that early morning hour, waiting with a cup of coffee in hand was the only way to go.
"Have you guys seen the remote control?" Warrick asked without turning around when he heard two pairs of footsteps walking into the break room. He was shuffling around in a cupboard above the sink, obviously in a hurry to find something. The rest of the cupboards and drawers were wide opening, indicating Warrick had already checked there.
"No," Nick replied as he poured two cups of coffee.
"Well can you help me look for it? Bo Jackson is going to be on Faking It in five minutes. He's showing this jock how to make sweet potato pie to help him run a bakery."
"What's wrong with using the buttons on the TV?" Sara wondered.
Warrick stopped his searching momentarily to give Sara a look, as if she'd just asked the most ridiculous question in the world. "Those buttons are just for decorative purposes. If they were intended to be used they wouldn't make remote controls."
"Oh, right," Sara deadpanned. Men could be so lazy. She took one of the coffee cups from Nick and went to sit on the couch, not wanting to waste her breath on trying to talk some sense into Warrick.
Nick had another question in mind. "Faking It?" He acted like he had no idea what Warrick was talking about.
"Like you don't watch TLC too, Mr. Discovery Channel," Warrick quipped.
"Only the good shows," he retorted. "I.e., not Faking It," he smirked.
"Sure man," Warrick replied, opening the mini-fridge in a last ditch effort to find the remote control. "Oh yeah, come to papa!" he exclaimed triumphantly as he pulled the remote out of the fridge.
The two men joined Sara on the couch and Warrick turned on the TV with the remote.
"Hey, Flashdance," Nick commented when the picture came on, though immediately realizing his statement was made with far too much enthusiasm than he would have liked.
Sara and Warrick both looked at him.
"Uh, I meant-"
Nick was saved by Grissom poking his head into the break room. "Hey Warrick, did Bobby get back to you on- hey, Flashdance," Grissom intoned with almost as much enthusiasm as Nick when he noticed what was on TV.
The three younger CSIs all exchanged glances, biting their lips to prevent from laughing.
"Cath was going to check in with him," Warrick answered Grissom's question without so much as cracking a smile.
"Okay. Let me know as soon as you find out." And with that Grissom continued on his way, oblivious to his Flashdance comment.
The three CSIs looked at each other again, no longer on the verge of laughter, but now not knowing what to say.
"So, Faking It?" Nick finally spoke, deciding it was best to just let it go.
But before Warrick could change the channel, Sara's cell phone rang. She grabbed the phone from her belt. "Stokes," she answered. "Great. Thanks, Greg." She turned to Nick after she hung up. "The blood was a match to the ex-husband. We got him."
"The dynamic duo strikes again," Warrick quipped.
"Stop being jealous and go watch Bo bake a cake." Nick gave Warrick a playful slap on the back as he got up from the couch.
"It's pie," Warrick mumbled as Nick and Sara left.
After wrapping up their case, Nick and Sara made their way to the locker room to grab their things before heading out. When they walked in they saw Catherine sitting on the bench, smiling as she held a red rose in one hand and read a card she held in the other.
"Is that from that sap Vartan?" Nick's tone had a tinge of bitterness in it.
Sara slapped him on the arm.
"What? That's like the third one this week," Nick referred to the rose. "And it's not like you don't see him on the clock too," he pointed out to Catherine. He turned to Sara. "You notice that he hangs around the lab a lot more now?"
"Nick's just jealous because he didn't think of it first," Sara explained to Catherine.
"I thought it was because he feels threatened that someone around here is better than him at laying on the nice guy charm," Catherine teased.
"Hardly," Nick scoffed. "If you ask me, he's just being a big sap. He's a good detective and all, but seriously. Love notes and roses in your locker?"
Catherine smirked. "That's why we didn't ask you."
"I think it's sweet," Sara said.
"Really?" After four years of friendship, six months of dating, and nearly six months of marriage, Nick thought he knew Sara well enough, and knew she liked getting flowers as much as the next girl, but he'd assumed she wasn't one who would get too giddy about little things like notes in her locker.
"Yeah." It wasn't that Sara was hinting at anything; she certainly didn't expect nor think it necessary for Nick to show his affection by surprising her with flowers in her locker, but she had to admire a guy who would do something that sweet.
"Maybe you should be taking notes instead of griping." Catherine gave Nick a playful smile.
"I'm doing just fine thank you, I don't need any tips," Nick smirked.
"You sure about that?" Catherine questioned with a raised eyebrow.
Nick looked at Sara.
"I told Brass I'd go with him to talk to the ADA about our bank heist case that's going to trial next week," was all Sara said.
"Okay." Nick knew anyway that everything was fine between them. If Sara had any complaints, there was no doubt she'd let him know about it.
Sara shut her locker. "And by the way, because someone feels the need to eat two giant bowls of Cocoa Pebbles every day, we're out of milk again," she hinted as she gave Nick a quick kiss before heading for the door.
Nick opened his mouth to protest, but the door had already swung closed behind her before he could get any words out. He turned to Catherine. "I bet you treat Detective Sap like this."
"Worse," Catherine replied.
Nick shook his head and sighed. "Whipped." He was actually beginning to feel sorry for the guy.
"But he likes it," Catherine winked. She shut her locker and hurried out, obviously having post-shift plans that involved something a little more exciting than picking up milk at the supermarket.
"Figures," Nick grumbled.
When Sara got home, she found Nick sitting at the dining table with a glass of orange juice, an empty cereal bowl, a box of Cocoa Pebbles, and a newly opened carton of milk. A grocery bag with tortilla chips and a frozen Canadian bacon and pineapple pizza was sitting on the counter.
"I got a birthday card in the mail last night at the lab," Nick told her as he dumped his favorite cereal into his bowl for the second time that morning.
Sara tossed the bag of chips into a cupboard and put the pizza in the freezer. "Kind of early," she commented, as Nick's birthday was still a couple weeks away.
"Actually, it's late," Nick said as he picked up the card off the table to show her.
"I'll say. Happy 30th Birthday?" Sara read the front of the card and looked at Nick curiously.
"It's just a few years late," Nick tried to defend the person who sent the card.
Sara sat in the chair next to Nick and took a sip of his orange juice. "Who's it from?"
"Uh, a friend from back home. We worked together at Dallas PD." He shoved the card back in the envelope.
Sara scooted her chair closer and propped her forearm on Nick's shoulder. "A friend?" She pushed for clarification when she noticed Nick's reaction.
"An ex-girlfriend," Nick confessed. "We weren't even together for that long. I don't know why she sent me a card. I don't think she ever did before," he rambled.
"Really." Sara eyed him with a straight face.
"Jealous?" Nick teased with a grin.
"Of someone who can't remember how old her ex-boyfriend is? Please," Sara smirked. She grabbed the envelope from Nick's hand and pulled out the card, opening it to read what was written inside. She expected the standard, "Dear Nick," but found a much more amusing nickname instead. "My dear Italian Stallion?" Sara couldn't help a small giggle from escaping.
"I'm a fourth Italian," Nick explained.
"And?" Sara waited for the rest of the explanation.
Nick grinned mischievously at her. "And maybe later I can show you how I earned the 'Stallion' part of my nickname."
Sara raised an eyebrow and gave him a mischievous grin of her own as she snaked her arms around his waist and rested her chin on his shoulder to whisper in his ear. "Why wait until later?"
- The End -
