A/N: Quick thanks to Mma63 and jdcocoagirl for reviewing the first two chapters, loving your guys' feedback!
"So, Nicholas."
I raised my eyebrows slightly at her use of my full name, but stayed quiet, waiting for what she'd say next.
"You've managed to make me talk an entire hour about myself," she went on. "Not easily accomplished. But… it's your turn."
"Shoot."
"Okay… why'd you leave Texas?"
"I'm wanted in four counties."
"Nick."
I smiled at her.
"I love my family," I started off, serious this time. "Sunday dinners, babysitting for the nieces and nephews, I loved it. I still love it. But my parents… they were both incredibly gifted and intelligent, and I guess I felt like I could never… live up to what they wanted me to be."
Sara stayed silent, but nodded.
"I wanted to make a name for myself in a town and a crime lab where no one knew my parents and their legacy," I continued. "The Dallas lab… it was great, but I was suffocating. I wanted a town that was as different as possible from the quiet ranch town I grew up on."
"Vegas," Sara finished.
"Vegas," I repeated. "Not long after I moved, I got the offer for a CSI position at the lab, and, well, the rest is history."
"You're really good at what you do, Nick."
My eyebrows shot up in surprise at her offhand comment. It wasn't usually like Sara to dish out random compliments.
"Thanks, Sara."
"So, um," she said, clearing her throat. "How big is your family, exactly?"
"Youngest of seven," I answered. "One brother and five sisters."
"Wow. Could you not wait to get out?"
I shot her a confused look.
"Of course not," I said. "I loved my big family. My brother was moved out by the time I was in elementary school, but my sisters loved hanging out with me."
I laughed.
"Actually, I think they just loved teasing me," I said, smiling at the memories. "They dressed me up in everything from their ballet costumes to Dad's suits."
"And you still turned out okay?" Sara joked.
"Absolutely," I said. "They always looked out for me. And now, I look out for them."
"That must be nice," Sara said, so softly I could barely hear her.
Another realization dawned on me.
"You an only child Sara?"
"No," she said simply, her voice verging on a whisper. "I have a brother."
I could sense a pleading tone in her voice that indicated she didn't want to say anything more.
"My… my mother still calls four times a week," I said, shifting the focus off Sara's family and back on mine. "Kind of annoying, but, the woman did raise me."
Sara made a noise that sounded like she attempted to laugh, but couldn't quite manage it. She cleared her throat quickly and turned back to me.
"So, what were you like in college?" she asked, shooting my own question back at me.
"You don't want to know," I laughed.
"Yes," Sara urged, punching me on the shoulder. "I do."
I sighed.
"I was a jock," I answered. "A frat guy. The guy who partied nearly every weekend and had the hangover on Monday to prove it."
I winced just slightly after letting the confession out. Sara knew that I had pledged in college – I had told her so during our homicide case at the fraternity house. Why I cared so much, I didn't know. But I did.
"Do you still talk to your frat brothers?"
I thought about that. A few of us – Drew, Jason, Kevin – still kept in touch by e-mail. But the others pretty much fell by the wayside after graduation day.
"Not really," I admitted.
"You were a ladies' man, weren't you?"
I shoot her a look of mock disbelief, clutching my heart for added effect.
"Now, Sara, what would make you say that?"
Sara just smiled at me more.
"You're still a ladies' man," she smirked.
I let out a laugh.
"Oh, that's the reputation I have around the lab is it?" I teased, fully aware that it was.
"Yes, as a matter of fact, it is," Sara teased right back.
I shot a quick glance at her out of the corner of my eye. Leaning back comfortably in the seat of the Denali, the morning sun glaring behind her and a rare, genuine smile on her face, she was positively radiant. I forced myself to look away.
"Well then, you might be happy to know that it's really not true at all," I said, serious this time.
"Just an over exaggeration?"
"More like a misconceived impression," I correct.
Sara was silent at that.
"I mean, the frat boy in me who is refusing to believe he's growing up still likes to party," I went on. "Don't get me wrong. But really, when it comes down to it, when I find a girl I really want to be with… I'm going to be with her. And only her."
Sara's quiet at this too, but this time, she turns towards me, the corners of her mouth quirking up slightly. I smile back at her, and we sit there for a few moments, lost in thought.
