The sun had long since risen high in the sky when Sara stretched out languidly like a cat intent on simply rolling back over and resuming its nap. A sleepy smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as her eyes came to rest on Nick who was still sound asleep, mouth agape, letting out little snores. His jeans lay pooled on the floor near the bed where he'd shucked them off as he'd followed her into bed earlier that morning, leaving him adorned in his t-shirt and his boxer-briefs that Sara observed made him look both sexy and rumpled. The hint of drool around the corner of his mouth just seemed to emphasize rumpled though and Sara couldn't hold back a soft giggle.

Nick snorted as if something had interrupted a snore and then he seemed to furrow his brow trying to regain the peaceful sleepy state he'd just been enjoying. His hips shifted a bit as he rolled onto his side unknowingly right towards Sara so that they were nearly nose to nose.

Being this close to Nick and being able to study him at her leisure, Sara couldn't help but take notice that over the years, more lines had gathered around the corners of his eyes and that despite seeing a glimpse of hell everyday through work, the lines were more from laughing and smiling rather than holding onto a stoic expression. She admired him for the ease that seemed to come to him, but she knew that he just like she had things that they had buried deep that they would always carry around with them. She was just glad that he had finally left the life of a CSI behind so that maybe he could step out and enjoy the sunshine that a different life seemed to offer.

Maybe it was the sensation of warm puffs of air hitting his mouth or the feeling that someone was staring, but in any case, Nick gradually began to wake up and a smile twitched his mouth even as his eyes stayed closed at the realization of exactly where he was, "Morning, Sar."

"Hey," Sara leaned in and pressed her lips against his.

Nick responded by snaking his arm out around her waist and pulling her closer; it was quite a few moments later when he pulled back and offered her a sigh and a smile, "Nice way to wake up." In the back of his mind he considered what he wouldn't give to be able to do this everyday for the rest of his life.

Sara smiled back, "I could get used to this." She hadn't intended to put her heart all the way out there, but the reality was that too much life had already passed her by and somehow she knew that with Nick his heart was already out there too.

"I'm not sure I want to get used to it; I'm still finding it pretty amazing," Nick's smile grew a bit wider and he leaned in for another kiss. This time it was a little hungrier, a little clearer as to exactly what he found amazing about the whole situation. They had talked about so many things the night before but hadn't really clarified where things between them were headed, but for some reason it seemed that they both already knew.

Sara was a bit breathless when they broke off the kiss. Somehow they'd become a tangle of arms and legs, hers having been hooked over Nick's hip; clearly they were racing towards that last line to cross. She leaned in for another kiss, but was a little surprised at how chaste it was and her disappointment showed.

Nick offered a sheepish grin, "I'm gonna have to go hit the bathroom."

Sara let out a soft chuckle, yes, the morning was beginning to send inconvenient signals her body too; ones that if not dealt with were going to interfere with where she hoped this was leading, "I think that sounds like a great idea…I'll use this one and there's one down the hall."

"Meet you back here in a few minutes?" Nick asked, hoping he didn't sound overly excited at the prospect of what he hoped was to come.

"Yeah," Sara grinned right back. If she timed this right, she might even be able to brush her teeth, or at the very least, gargle with a little mouthwash. Not that Nick had complained about her breath, but she was sure that it couldn't be good.

"Alright then," Nick hoped that he could find his toothbrush quickly; he'd dreamed of this moment for quite some time and now that it seemed to imminently be on the horizon, he didn't want her to look back and remember it with a puff of morning breath. By the time Nick took care of business, found his toothbrush, hastily made good use of it, and made it back down the hallway to Sara's bedroom, it seemed that she had beat him there.

"Took you long enough," There was a mischievous grin on Sara's face as she regarded the man looking at her with a very hopeful expression.

"Didn't take you long at all," The irony of stereotypical gender bathroom time being flip-flopped wasn't lost on either of them as Nick just stood there and drank in the image of Sara curled up in the sheets. The realization that she didn't seem to be wearing what she had on earlier hit him about the same time something hit him in the chest.

"Get over here, Stokes," Sara grinned as she watched Nick glance down and realize that the clothes she'd been wearing earlier were now at his feet. A smile spread across his face as it registered that all that was between him and her was that sheet she was curled up in and Sara couldn't help but feel a fluttering anticipation in her belly at what was to come.

Nick peeled his t-shirt off and as gracefully as his forty-something body could manage, he launched himself at the bed. He was beyond excited and as he scooted closer to her, he eagerly leaned in and kissed her.

His kiss was a welcome relief from the uncertainty that had been before he'd left Vegas for LA and after his confession last night that he had moved here to be near her; to see what might happen between them she was thrilled that this step was right here, right now. Before too long, Nick's boxer-briefs joined his t-shirt on the floor as he joined Sara underneath the sheets. And then bliss, sweet bliss.