Disclaimer: I don't own, didn't create, and don't profit from CSI.

Rating: G

A/N: As always, thank you for all the reviews!

Chapter Four

"It was a disaster," groaned Nick, rubbing his face with his hands.

Warrick looked at his friend sitting on the bench in front of him, hunched over with his face in his hands, and couldn't help but pity the poor guy and at the same time, shake him until he regained his senses.

"So let me get this straight: you guys were fooling around and up in your bedroom. Things are going smoothly –"

"Well, except for the part where she said she didn't want to hurt me."

"And what did you say?"

"That I might hurt her first."

"Smooth, Nick," quipped Warrick, folding his arms over his chest as he leaned back against the bay of lockers. "So she was pretty much naked –"

"She was naked."

"Sara was naked, on top of you, and you were still clothed."

"Correct."

"And then she just started balling her eyes out for no reason."

"Yepp."

"While she was naked and on top of you."

"Uh huh."

"And you were doing what when this happened?"

"Hey man, we don't need to get into specifics here. What I was doing is irrelevant."

"I was just thinking that maybe she didn't like what you were doing."

"Ha ha. Can we be a little more serious here?" asked Nick, glancing up at his friend.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist. Did you guys talk about it?"

"We didn't have to. We both knew why she was crying."

"Well, I don't so spill."

"She's in love with Grissom. She doesn't want to be having sex with me. In some twisted way, she probably felt as if she was cheating on him."

"Why did you even put yourself in this situation, Nick? You're a good looking guy. I'm sure you have no problem finding a woman."

"I don't just want some woman, Warrick."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. You just want Sara but maybe you should look at this like maybe it wasn't meant to be. You don't want to get involved with her when she's in love with someone else no matter how good the sex is."

"I don't know how good the sex is," Nick muttered, standing up and shoving his hands in his pockets. "So what the heck do I do now? I still have to work with her."

"I'm sure you're used to being in awkward situations with her by now."

"That was before I've seen her naked."

"How was she, by the way? I imagine she has a smoking hot body underneath those black slacks and v-neck sweaters," grinned Warrick.

"You know I'd never tell you."

"I know. Just wanted to see if you would fall for it just once."

"Not likely."

Warrick glanced down at his watch and let out a long sigh.

"We should probably start heading over to get our cases."

As they left the locker room, Nick gave Warrick a big thump on the back.

"Thanks for the talk, man. I really appreciated it."

"No problem. Just next time, I actually want to hear some details."

"Why, isn't Catherine putting out enough for you?"

Warrick gave his friend a hard shove, nearly sending him into one of the new lab techs that was walking by. Nick promptly apologized and then quickly chased after Warrick until Catherine's voice stopped him.

"Boys, does this look like a playground to you?"

"Someone's a little cranky this morning," Nick muttered under his breath to the man beside him. "Did you not put out this morning?"

"I think you should worry about your own love life more than mine."

The three of them walked to Grissom's office where Sara and Greg were already sitting waiting for them. Nick averted his eyes from Sara's inquisitive gaze and settled himself as close to the door as possible in case he needed to make a mad dash away from her.

"We've got two big cases today," started Grissom, distributing folders to everyone. "Greg, you're still in training so you're going to be with Catherine and Warrick. You guys are headed to the strip where a notorious club owner was found dead on the sidewalk outside a strip joint."

"Another day in Las Vegas," muttered Warrick as he flipped through the file.

"Sara and Nick, since you guys did such a good job on the decomp case in the desert a few months ago I thought you guys might enjoy another."

"Thanks," they both muttered together.

"I've got a bunch of paperwork to do so I won't be out on the field today."

With that, the five CSI left Grissom's office and headed down the hall to front. Nick hung back with Sara, more out of obligation that she was his partner than out of want. He listened to his three coworkers in front of him noisily chatting about who they thought the vic was and were taking bets on the cause of death. He already knew that Warrick would win because he always did.

"My truck or yours?" Sara asked quietly once they were out of the building.

"Mine," he replied, taking his keys out of his pockets and walking straight for his truck.

Nick needed the distraction of driving – of anything – to make the day go by faster. The last thing he wanted to do was picture Sara naked or her naked on top of him crying. He shuddered at the last image as he climbed into his truck. It bothered him seeing her in so much pain the night before. As cold and unsympathetic as he had been, the entire time Nick had been fighting the urge to take her in his arms and comfort her. He knew he could make everything better for Sara if only she would let him.

"You look a little tired," she stated softly as he began to back his truck out of its parking stall.

With his hand on the back of her seat, he could feel the heat from her body warming his fingertips and the strands of her hair tickle his skin. He glanced at her and then looked back to make sure he didn't run anything over.

"I didn't get much sleep."

"Me neither."

Silence filled the car as Nick drove out of the parking lot and headed towards the highway. It was going to be a long drive, he thought to himself. The two of them would be out in the middle of the desert in the suffocating heat, stuck with one another and maybe a few other officers.

"I think that I should maybe tell you why I started crying," she began, searching his face. "I'm not sure that you understand why."

"I think it's pretty obvious."

"Okay. Tell me what happened then."

"You're in love with Grissom and sleeping with me would have been the wrong thing to do. You felt bad for using me and you felt like you were cheating on him."

Sara's soft laughter filled his ears. Confused, he hastily stared at her, wondering what exactly was going through her head.

"I really don't find that funny, Sara."

"That's not at all why I was crying, Nicky."

"Enlighten me then."

"I was thinking of how good you treat me and would treat me if you were my boyfriend. I couldn't stop thinking of how big of a mistake I made in choosing Grissom over you, Nick. He's told me enough times that he doesn't love me and I refused to believe him when I had a perfectly great guy right in front of me the entire time."

Sara placed her hand gently over top of Nick's that had been clutching the gear shift for dear life as she spoke.

"I messed up really badly and now I'm afraid that you won't give me a second chance."

"Why should I?"

"You're right. You probably shouldn't."

"You were all but using me last night and you've been dragging me around this entire time by leading me on with your flirtations at work. And I don't want to be second, Sara. I don't want you to be with me because Grissom won't be with you. I'm not second to anybody, especially him."

"I know that, Nicky."

"So why the sudden change of heart?"

"I've always had a thing for you. It just never developed like it did for Grissom."

"Yeah, right."

"Common, the day we met flinging bodies off of a roof? You totally knew I was checking you out."

"So you find me attractive. Big deal."

"I'm asking for a second chance, Nick. If it doesn't work out then at least we can say that we tried and we can both move on."

"What makes you think I already haven't?"

Sara paused, her mouth slightly a gape as she stared at him. He glanced at her, feeling a tinge of smugness that he made her feel disappointed and hurt for a moment.

"You still look at me the same way even though I can tell that you try not."

"I keep looking at you like that because I keep seeing you naked," he drawled, glad that he had to turn the corner so he could have the excuse to look in her direction and see the blush that crept up from her blouse.

"Oh," she murmured, her eyes glued to the window, purposely avoiding the smirk she knew would be plastered across his face.

"That birth mark on your stomach is cute," he continued, seeing just how far he could take it.

"Thanks. I didn't get a chance to see yours."

"Maybe one day I'll show you. In private, of course."

"It wouldn't be a unheard of for you to take off your shirt in public, Nicky."

"True, but I don't normally drop my pants…"

Her eyes flickered to his face and then quickly back out the window. She didn't realized that her hand was still resting on top of Nick's until he turned his over and laced his fingers with hers. Glancing down at their intertwined hands, Sara couldn't help but smile as his warmth enveloped her.

"Does that mean you're giving me a second chance?" she wondered, soundly a little to hopeful to her ears.

"It means I'm thinking about it."

A moment later, the truck stopped and Sara looked around as she undid her seatbelt. Desert, desert, and more desert for miles on end. She couldn't say that she was surprised but she had still thought that maybe there would be some shade somewhere within sight.

"I hope you brought sunscreen," Nick said, stepping out of the truck.

"I forgot," she sighed, adjusting the hat on her head as they walked to meet Brass who walked towards them.

"You're lucky I brought mine," he grinned. "I'd more than happy to help you put some on."

"Nick, Sara. Good timing as usual," greeted Brass. "I'm out of here. I'm done sweating like a pig in this ridiculous suit. You can't miss the body. Just follow your nose."

"Thanks," Nick replied, looking from the detective to the abandoned car surrounded by investigators. "You ready, Sar?"

"I don't think you can ever be ready for a decomp, Nick."