Author's Note: This took a lot longer then i expected so sorry for taking so long. Thanks to everyone who wrote reviews, they helped a lot. This chapter i moved away from Greg and ALexis for a bit and focused on NIck and Sara. I thought it was importnat for me to set up their whole situation. I will come back to Alexis and Greg for the next chapter. Thanks for reading!
s.a.f.
Chapter 2
"You needed me?" Lexi walked into the DNA lab to find Greg busy in his work. He looked puzzled at her statement, "Sara told me you needed help..."
Not having a clue what she was talking about he figured he would play it safe and go along with it, "Oh, yeah. I was just umm, looking at these hairs. I don't think they're human. Take a look and tell me what you think."
"Aren't those cat hairs?" Alexis looked questionable at Greg.
"Yeah," Greg searched the floor for something more to say, "I just wanted to double check." Why are you such a screw up? Now she thinks I'm an idiot he thought.
"Oh, well, double checking is always good. Sara made it seem like you needed help but looks like you've got it under control."
There was an awkward silence. Neither was exactly sure what to do. Say something! Anything! Alexis screamed to herself.
"I like cats," Alexis blurted out. No! Not that! Stupid, stupid, stupid!
"Me too, sorta," Greg replied. Wow, Greg, great job.
Alexis let out a nervous chuckle, "Ok, well I better get back to Nick, we were just…oh," Alexis interrupted herself because Nick was walking straight towards the DNA lab with the bloody shirt they were examining minutes before.
"I think I might have found a pair of handprints. So I need Hodges to just process it maybe take a closer look at this foreign substance on the thumb and maybe with can make an ID. Where is Hodges and what are you doing in here?" Nick turned his attention to Greg, "You're not a lab rat anymore"
"Well Hodges and the rest of the DNA people are missing at the moment so I figured," Nick began to narrow his eyes, "since no one is here, I could do it myself?" Greg answered questionably, "See I heard from Tami on Days that Ecklie was keeping the lab rats extra busy and putting all of his stuff as priority, some scandal with the mayor's wife. Mum's the word though so no one can talk about it so if anyone asks you didn't hear it from me. Anyway, I figured I could help out."
"That's nice but I need you to analyze the fingerprints found on the shovel we recovered. Run them though AFIS and let someone else worry about those hair fibers," Nick said curtly.
Greg could understand where Nick was coming from. Greg loved being a CSI but he couldn't help himself when it came to extracting DNA. It was something he knew he couldn't screw up. He nodded his head in agreement and got up from his chair and headed for the door, when Nick stopped him.
"Thanks for trying to help. Take Alexis with you, and page me if you get any matches."
With that Greg and Alexis were out the door and back to the computers. Nick let out a sigh and bagged his bloody shirt and began to label it for the person who would be analyzing it when Sara walked into the room.
"Hello again; I was just checking on the results from the knife I collected from my scene. Where is everyone?" Sara walked up to the counter and stood across from Nick.
Without looking up Nick said, "Something with the mayor's wife," as he finished up his evidence bag, he lifted his head up and sighed, "How's your case going 'cause I've got nothing."
"Pretty well actually. Turns out your killer slot machine theory is wrong. Bloody knife I found under the slot machine will confirm it," Nick smiled and nodded in agreement but Sara felt that he wasn't really paying attention, "What? You're thinking about something."
Nick shrugged his shoulders, "I hate when I can't make head way with my cases. All I've got is a dead body near a lake and a shovel with no blood on it. I can't even ID the vic! It's just so…frustrating," Nick scratched his head and glanced at the floor. Sara could see that he was having a tough time. She know how much he liked when things well in place.
"Break is coming up soon, so how about we go grab something to eat. It will clear your head and keep you from losing your mind."
"That sounds like a great idea," Yes! Sara thought. This was the chance she was waiting for, a chance for her to connect with Nick on a more personal level. Finally she could talk to him outside of work, "I'll let Warrick and Greg know. I'm sure they need some time to clear their heads too."
Sara just stood there trying to hide the fact that she was extremely disappointed. Obviously this was not working out the way she hoped, "Warrick and Greg? Yeah, that should be umm, fun," she said as she forced a smile.
"Maybe we should invite Alexis too, you know, to get her feeling like part of the team."
"Right….Alexis. Yeah, sure, that might be fun," Sara couldn't believe what had just happened. She was in shock. "I better go and get some more work done before break. See you later." With that Sara bolted out of the lab trying not to let her disappointment show and the fact that she felt let her efforts were hopeless. She sped through the halls of the Crime Lab, not even saying a quick hi to Grissom who was in his office. She saw Greg and Alexis crowded by a computer through the glass walls of the lab. When she caught up to them she walked in and said in a distained tone, "We're having lunch during break" and walked out.
Alexis and Greg just looked at each other sharing puzzled looks. "Does that mean we're invited?" called out Greg.
"Yes!" yelled Sara who was already half way down the hallway.
"Nothing like good service and cheap food huh guys?" asked Warrick as the team filed into a booth.
"Mmmhmm," replied Nick as he sat on the end of the bench next to Sara. Sara wasn't really as upbeat as he had hoped but he just brushed it off figuring she needed her space. Maybe something happened with her case and she was feeling bad about it. Whatever it was he hoped that she would put it aside and enjoy the company. Secretly he hoped that she enjoyed his company. He had always liked her more than a lab partner or a friend, but always found it hard to commit to making a move. He had been burnt in the past and he knew that being rejected hurt more when you actually cared for someone the way he cared about her. He was afraid of getting to close to her because he didn't want to ruin the friendship they are already had. He knew that if he was alone with her he would say or do something stupid and ruin the little chance he had with her. That's why he invited Warrick, Alexis and Greg. Sure it was nice to have lunch with your friends, but he wasn't sure if he was ready to be alone with Sara. He wasn't sure that she like him that way anyway, he would just make things awkward for her. It was better for her sake if his other coworkers were around. One day he would work up enough courage to like her know how he felt, but for now, he was just Nick the friend, and nothing more.
"So, Alexis how's your first day going?" asked a curious Nick.
"It's going very well. Better then I thought."
"What were you expecting?" replied Warrick.
"Well coming into the number one crime lab in the country, I thought it was going to be a strict and hardworking lab," the guys laughed but Sara's eyes narrowed. Noticing Sara's resentment Alexis quickly added, "Not that you aren't. Believe me you are. I just didn't expect such fun and friendly people. Nor did I expect a warm welcome. But you guys have made me feel included and I thank you for that."
Sara just rolled her eyes and turned her attention the window. She wasn't in the mood to hear some goody two shoes talk about how lovely her job was and how much she adored her new coworkers. Please, her first day wasn't that great.
The waitress arrived at their table and everyone started putting in their orders. When she came around to Nick he ordered his usual bean burrito. Next was Sara but she was still staring out the window watching the cars on the street thinking about why she was so romantically challenged. He subtle hints, or what she thought were subtle hints, didn't seem to grab Nick's attention. What did she have to do? Talk about how great life was and smile all day. That's exactly what Alexis was doing and he seemed to be interested enough. Err, that made her so mad. This girl walks in on her first day and everyone already loves her. She wasn't jealous. She was just annoyed. What was holding Nick back? What was he even aware that Sara had feelings for him? What would she have to do to —
"Sara!" Sara's train of thought was interrupted by Greg's voice.
"What?" Sara spun around to see an impatient waitress holding her pad and pencil, "Oh, umm, the veggie platter please, and a glass of water," She turned back to the window and re-entered her thoughts. The guys continued to grill Alexis with questions. For some reason Sara couldn't tune their laughter and causal chatting out. She needed to excuse herself before she said something she would regret. Before she was able to get, she felt a hand touch hers. She looked and noticed it was Nick's.
"You okay Sar?" Nick looked into her eyes with a concerned look, "Alexis was just telling us about her–"
"That's great," She quickly pulled her hand away. She could care less about Alexis and her stories, "Excuse me," Sara got up from her seat and began to push passed Nick who stood up trying to lest her by only to knock Sara over into the aisle. Luckily, Nick caught her by the arm and pulled her close to him. Nick let out a laugh and smiled. Normally Sara who casually laugh and brush the whole thing off, but there was something about Warrick, Greg, and Alexis being there and the fact that she felt so insignificant that she couldn't just laugh it off. She wanted him to want her so badly that she couldn't even take the fact that he was holding her because it didn't mean anything.
"I've got to go to the bathroom." And with that Sara pulled herself away and headed for the back of the diner leaving Nick to wonder what he had done wrong.
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