Love's Hideout

"Ow!"

"It's only a scratch. Poor Henry is the one that's wounded."

Nick pouted as he sat on the stool at the kitchen island while he let himself succumb to the first aid ministrations of his wife. He knew better than to argue with her especially when it concerned her lab rats. Technically, they were the crime lab's technicians but they were her 'babies'. She was their advocate, their support and the occasional ear to talk to. They tended to win over him in most cases. He muttered, "We all got something when that broad ran us off the road."

Sage Parker smiled in a bemused fashion at her husband as she put more of the solution she had mixed for bruises and cuts on the clean rag and placed it on the bruise on his chin. Her free hand ran through Nick's hair as if to reassure herself that he was okay but also because she liked to.

Nick, along with Greg and Hodges, took the night off to take Henry on an impromptu birthday dinner to a rib place in the middle of nowhere. He came back with contusions on his face and deep seated aches in his body along with a DB killed by a toasted raccoon and the mystery solved of a hepatitis B outbreak. Poor Henry had come home with a couple of lacerations and contusions to his face, a sprained ankle and his hand burned by sulfuric acid. The tale he told her seemed farfetched and yet not.

Nick was well aware that hearing about his being in a car accident probably scared his beloved. It wasn't too long ago they both had been in a car accident that could have crippled her for life. There wasn't a day that went by that he wasn't grateful to God that her injuries hadn't been as serious as they could have been. She had recovered and was walking around again and working cases. It was a sight he was grateful to see.

Sage had felt her breath hiccup when Nick told her about the accident and the events that followed, but she kept a straight face. It was bizarre, but in the end, she was glad that everyone was okay. She replied to Nick's mutter, "And be glad that's all you got." She gave a small smile and ran her fingers through his hair. "Still my hero, Ness. You brought everyone back more or less unharmed."

Nick wanted to close his eyes at the feeling of her fingers through his hair. Her touch never failed to send him into a feeling of contentment. He replied, "Yeah well… not exactly what we wanted to do for Henry."

"Seems like he enjoyed it," Sage replied as she dabbed the solution on Nick's fat lip. She gave a wry smile and she added, "He told me."

"Seems like the lab rats like to tell you everything," Nick teased. "Fearless leader."

Sage gave Nick a playful slap on his shoulder. "That is so old, Ness. You make me sound like I'm out of a Rocky and Bullwinkle episode."

"Only because it's true, Sass," Nick countered with a playful smile. He adjusted his position on the stool and let the grin filled his face. "You're fearless when standing up to people for what you think is right. And when you're trying to prove a point like with the furniture in your office."

Sage snorted at that. She was well aware that it amused people still how she managed to have her office redone when Ecklie made her into a supervisor for her behavioral analysis team. Nick knew she hadn't wanted to be in a supervisor position when she came to Vegas when Grissom hired her. Not after what she went through in DC. So she made it known when Ecklie told her to build a team and the lab knew. It was a public exhibition of Sage's ability to be polite but insulting at the same time.

Nick chuckled with her and reached for her empty hand and held it in his own. His thumbs rubbed the top of her hand, feeling the bones and muscle. "It's why I love you."

"That the only reason?"

Nick knew that he could easily dig himself into a hole with this. It was a game really between them. She knew full well the trap men could get into when a woman asked them to assess their appearance. She knew he liked her even in old grey sweats she had and he meant it. He even kissed her after she came back from a trash run and she had been in a dumpster. He grinned and said, "The one that had me coming back for punishment. Glutton for it, but what I admire. That and you're not bad on the eyes. You're definitely the best cook…"

Sage gave another playful slap to Nick's shoulder. "You and your stomach."

"You had me with the chocolate peanut butter brownies," Nick grinned playfully.

"You don't like peanut butter."

"But I like your brownies." Nick put on his most angelic face with a slight pout just to be funny and tease her a little.

They both laughed. Sage hummed as she continued to clean and apply solution to Nick's contusions. She smiled as Nick held still, much like a kid tries to hold still when at the doctor's office. It made her want to laugh at the look on his face. She glanced at him and asked, "So… tell me about the raccoon."

Nick choked out a laugh and continued to hold still, "Well the dead guy Gomez, was trying to get rid of it by making it crispy in a metal pipe by flooding it with gas. Didn't realize the gas pooled at the bottom and tried to kill it the old fashioned way. With a .38."

"Sounds about as weird and almost funny like the scuba diver up a tree," Sage replied with a grin. "I'm still surprised at how you managed to explain that." She finished what she was doing and began to clean up.

"What can I say, got a way with words," Nick countered with a slight swagger as he twisted on the stool to follow Sage as she made her way into the kitchen to clean up. "Not at all that different with the guy that drove into a hole in the road with the dead body in the trunk."

"Probably," Sage replied as she rinsed the rags and went to toss it into the laundry and put away the bottle of the antiseptic in the hall cupboard. She came back, "And this Gomez killed Harry and served him to his customers?"

Nick made a face at that. "Yeah. Source of the hepatitis B outbreak."

Sage made as face as she came back wiping her hands. "I'd be more worried at the fact that we had cannibalism. Though it is not really uncommon. There are still a few tribes particularly in Africa that have ritual cannibalism."

"Relevance?"

"Just following a train of thought."

Nick gave a wry look at Sage as he watched her work in the kitchen. "You are mean."

"Learned from the best." Sage looked over her shoulder and gave a similar look back at him. It turned into a smile. "And you did subject Henry to an interesting day."

"And you're letting me have it." Nick pouted at that. "We didn't know the place was closed down." He looked and saw the smirk on Sage's face. His eyes narrowed. "You're gonna get it, Sass."

"I would love to see you try."

Nick glowered but didn't mean it. He watched as Sage began to pull stuff out of the cupboards to make breakfast. He got up and snuck up behind her and grabbed her in a bear hug, making her shriek at him He pulled her close and held her tightly to his body. Bending his head, he crooned softly in her ear, "How about that, Sass?"

"Very good, Ness. Now let me go. I'm making breakfast."

"Later."

Sage found herself being lifted and flung over Nick's shoulder like she was a sack of flour. She squealed and swatted at Nick's back and squirmed to get away. She was rewarded with a smack to her rear and Nick saying, "Behave."

"Are you ordering me around, Nick Stokes?"

"And what if I am, Sage Parker?"

It was a challenge since Nick used her maiden name. True she used it in a professional capacity but when they played, he always called her by his name. This was different and she accepted it. Sage retorted, "Then you're gonna pay for it."

"I'd like to see you try." Nick grinned as he adjusted his grip on his wife, his left hand supporting her right hip. It was a little awkward but he wasn't going to do anything that would hurt her even though she had been given a clean bill of health. He growled, "Stop squirming."

"Not on your life, bud."

Nick laughed as he carried her to their room telling Casey, the new dog to stay put. The pup didn't move but yawned from her spot like she was bored. If she truly sensed ill intentions, she would have been over the situation like the K9 police unit dogs would. Sage groused since the puppy was obviously not going to be of any help in this case. Not that she wanted it to help.

Nick held tight to his wife until they were in their room and he set her on her feet but didn't relinquish his grip. He let her grouse at him before he pressed his mouth to hers in a searing kiss. He felt her melt in his grip but he didn't relax. He knew her well and expected it when she launched her own attack on him. He let her get close enough and then adjusted his grip to turn and pin her to the wall, her legs wrapped on his hips and he was pressing kisses wherever he found bared skin.

"You are so going to get it later, Ness," Sage breathed.

Nick chuckled at that idle threat. He reached over and managed to close the door while pressing another kiss to her neck and she tried to nibble his ear. He knew that she would pay him back for this and he still had to have his 'punishment' for letting Henry get hurt even though she was just as upset with Greg and Hodges getting hurt, but he didn't mind racking up the 'debt'.

A dull, sharp pain caught his attention and he realized she had bitten his ear. It wasn't hard enough to bleed but enough to get his attention. Growling, he pressed his mouth over hers and moved to the sensitive spots on her neck. It was back and forth until he had her pinned to their bed and he was hovering over her grinning, "Still think you can get back at me?"

"Just you wait."

The only thing that followed was Nick's bark of laughter. Casey lifted her head in the direction of the room. She gave a slight whine as she lowered her head onto her paws. She yawned and tried to take a snooze.

A/N: Sage 'scolds' Nick after Henry's near disastrous birthday and it turns into something totally different. Tag to Appendicitement. Enjoy.