Disclaimer: I own nothing – nothing! Sob!
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C: 1
It was late December – two days before Christmas – and the weather in Las Vegas was icy. Snow was expected and a muffled, close fog had settled over the county like a giant woollen blanket. Nightmarish wind howled around the buildings and over the desert. Most people were at home in bed, while others were out in cosy shops, buying the last of their Christmas gifts – but not the graveyard shift of the LVPD Crime Lab.
Sara Sidle cringed in the front seat of the Tahoe as she felt another coughing fit coming on. Lurching forward in her seat, she covered her mouth as the coughs wracked her body. Eventually, it subsided and Sara sat up again, casually brushing her hair back from her face. A bottle of water appeared at her shoulder and she accepted it, casting a grateful look back at Greg Sanders, who smiled at her from the back seat.
"You okay Sara?" Nick Stokes asked, his eyes darting from the road to glance worriedly at her.
Sara nodded, "Yeah."
"Gotta stop smoking that crack, huh Sidle?" Greg mocked from behind her.
Sara scowled back at him then grinned wryly. "I will when you stop dealing it Greggo," she said smoothly.
"Touché." Greg smiled. Sara chuckled. She'd fast learnt to keep up with Greg's quick retorts and now enjoyed the occasional banter with him. Beside her, she heard Nick chuckle lightly and her heart flushed with warmth.
"We there yet?" Greg whined, leaning in between their seats like an impatient child.
"Nah. Still gonna be at least 10 minutes in this traffic," Nick responded grimly.
Sara sighed irritably. She hated waiting – especially when it was because last-minute Christmas shoppers were crowding the roads. A low growl issued from her stomach and she dug a hand into her jacket pocket, fishing out a cherry lollipop. Her head had begun to grow fuzzy since they'd left the lab and it was beginning to bother her: she wanted to be sharp at a crime scene. Sara guessed it was because she'd missed 'breakfast'. She pushed the wrapper into the car's ashtray and popped the sweet into her mouth twirling the stick happily and savouring the sweetness.
"Returning to your childhood, Sar?" Greg's voice interrupted her pleasure.
"Ha ha Greg. Ha ha," Sara said flatly, masking the ripple of dread that sped through her at the mention of her childhood. "It's actually because I worked a double last night and spent the whole day arguing with my electrics company. The power in my building went out last night – and everyone thinks it's because of something in my apartment. The fact that I wasn't there last night – and can thus not have caused the short – means nothing to the super. Plus, when they finally discovered it was actually a damaged cable in the apartment above mine, the company kept sending these totally inept guys to fix the problem. I couldn't cook anything the whole day. When I decided to give up and head out for something, I got Grissom's call about getting to the lab early. So here I am. I feel like I haven't slept or eaten in days."
"Actually," Nick said, "It's been quite a while since you've had time off."
"Going on four weeks," Sara said glumly.
"Damn," Greg said, "What are you doing here, girl?"
"Not giving Ecklie any more reasons to fire me. We all know he's just looking for a reason." Sara said.
"Ass," Nick muttered darkly from beside her. Sara sighed. She held the lollipop in her cheek and took a final sip of the water before passing it back to Greg.
"Thanks."
"My pleasure," Greg peered over at Sara and grinned. He tapped Nick's shoulder and the Texan cast a glance in his partner's direction. He smiled.
"What?" Sara asked, immediately frowning.
"Your sweet," Greg explained, "No lipstick can give you that shade of red."
Sara reached up and flipped the mirror down. She gasped: her lips were blood red.
Nick blinked, "Hey! That colour actually suits you," he said with a wink.
Sara blushed, "Thanks Tricky Nick, but I think I'll stick with Revlon."
Nick chuckled and turned his eyes back to the road. They didn't stay there long, however. Soon, he caught himself sliding his eyes over to steal another glance at the brunette CSI beside him. Slowly, he took in her jeans and navy long-T. Both fitted her seamlessly. After a brief glance at the road, his eyes returned, this time to her face. Her skin was pale, unusual for Sara, who usually glowed healthily, but Nick reasoned it was something to do with the icy weather that had descended on Vegas. The redness of her lips made her dark eyes glow a deeper, warmer brown as they scanned the case file Grissom had given them. The lights from outside the Tahoe slid over her hair, making it shine silkily. Nick was suddenly overcome with a desperate desire to reach over to Sara. He stayed dead still, however, forcing his eyes to focus forward on the tar zooming beneath them. A relationship with Sara was a pipe dream. And, he reasoned, even if she was interested, Ecklie was watching her like a hawk. A relationship within the team was exactly the 'inappropriate behaviour' he needed to be permanently rid of Sara. No, Nick decided, he would have to keep his feelings to himself.
xxx
Sara shivered and pulled her Forensics jacket tighter around her body as she got out of the Tahoe. Her breath came out in thick mist as she breathed in the icy night air. It caught in her throat and Sara gripped her car door for support as another coughing fit seized her body. She felt a supportive hand on her back and turned to see Nick, his eyes filled with concern.
"Sara? You okay?"
"Of course," she smiled dismissively.
"You don't sound okay. Maybe you've overdone it. You should go back to the lab and get some time off – this cold can't be good for that cough."
"Nick," Sara raised an eyebrow, giving him 'the look'.
Nick smiled and shook his head, "You're incorrigible, Sidle."
Sara smiled back and shrugged. Her eyes locked with his and she became suddenly aware of herself. His hand hadn't left her back; blood was rushing to her head; God, he had striking eyes. She wanted to lose herself in them. Sara wasn't used to the concern Nick was showing for her, but she liked it. His eyes stayed locked with hers, radiating concern and comfort, but also something else. What was that? God, she didn't care. For the first time in ages, Sara Sidle felt the need to throw herself into another's arms and sob away her problems, let all of her worries loose. It was in that moment that Sara realised it: she was completely head-over-heels in love with Nick Stokes.
Sara wrenched her gaze from his, hurling it into the ground. Crime scene! Crime scene! Her mind screamed, focus on the crime scene!
"Uh, guys? Crime scene?" Greg's voice came as if he'd heard her thoughts. Beside Sara, Nick grunted and turned away.
Without another glance at him, Sara turned to pull her kit from the Tahoe. "Yeah. Grissom said the body was tied to one of the jetty support poles," she said. By the time she looked back to Nick, he had moved off and was following Greg towards the huge body of water that was Lake Mead.
Sara caught up with them as they stood at the water's edge. Brass came walking over from a group of policemen and nodded to greet them.
"Body was spotted by a helicopter passing over. Nobody's been near it yet so it's all yours," he explained.
"Over there," Nick said, shining his torch on a square, dock-like jetty to their left. The torchlight caught the bloodied and bruised form of a woman, lashed to the jetty's pole.
"The water level's lower than the vic – only reaches her waist," Sara commented. "Suggests the killer was on the jetty when he put her there."
"But…there still might be evidence in the water around that pole," Nick said, raising an eyebrow mischievously in Sara's direction. She quickly caught on and grinned.
"I nominate Greg!" she said quickly, grateful that they'd been able to avoid any discomfort from the 'moment' they'd had a few seconds earlier.
"Ditto that," Nick intoned, grinning.
Greg cast a disdainful look at the icy water then scowled back at the two CSIs. "You've got to be kidding me." They shook their heads.
"We need to check for evidence before the body is moved," Sara explained.
"Suit up newbie!" Nick said with a sly grin.
Greg pouted and dragged himself back to the Tahoe.
Nick winked at Sara before raising his camera to take a shot of the jetty. Sara glanced around, shining her torch where her eyes went.
"This side of the lake is pretty isolated," she commented, slowly walking and shining her torch on the ground in front of her.
"Perfect place for a murder," Nick replied, snapping the camera.
"Brass said earlier that the only place of residence on this side is on old house, 'bout half a mile from here." Sara took a cautious step onto the jetty. It gave a grumpy creak and she paused.
"Well that doesn't sound too stable," Nick commented.
"Then how did our killer drag the vic – possibly struggling – over it?" Sara questioned with a frown. She took another cautious step, moving carefully over to the edge, just above the pillar where the woman was tied and scanning the boards with her torch. A red flash-
"I've got blood here!" Sara called, crouching. When Nick didn't answer, she cast her eyes in his direction.
"Ha ha!" Laughter rose in Sara. Nearby, Nick turned the camera and took a shot. From the inside of his head-to-toe red wetsuit, Greg scowled.
"You look like an inflamed seal!"
Sara chuckled and raised an eyebrow, "Little Greg, all covered in rubber, hmmmm."
"Cut it out!" Greg grumbled, pausing to pull on a pair of gloves.
Sara turned back to the blood and swabbed a sample, pocketing it. She stood to continue searching, moving slowly over the jetty until she reached its centre. Nick walked over towards her, headed for the vic's pole. Suddenly a loud crack rang out from beneath them. The weak jetty boards collapsed, plunging Nick and Sara into the icy water below.
A/N Soooo, let me know what you think - i'd lurve to know!