A/N: Okay, figured get this up before the season premiere. Enjoy.

"You see her anywhere?" Nick asked. The two had been outside on the sidewalk of the arrivals section of the airport for the past few minutes, looking for Sara. Cassandra had told him look left, and she was looking right.

"No. This is crazy, she got in forty-five minutes ago. Even getting to the baggage claim and getting bags wouldn't take that long," Cassandra replied.

"And neither would looking towards those two doors, you two,"

Cassandra turned and grinned at the brunette who was now on her left. "Saz!" she threw her arms around her sister.

Sara hugged her back, laughing at the nickname she had since they were teenagers. "Hey Cass. Sorry I took a while. Some jackass kept coming onto me when I got a drink waiting for you guys," she pulled away, then looked at Nick and rocked back and forth from heel to toe. "Nick…"

"Sara…" Nick replied, smiling weakly.

The two just stared at each other for a while. It was awkward seeing each other after a number of months, and their silence wasn't making the situation any better.

Cassandra noticed that it was even getting awkward for her. She coughed and bumped into Sara, causing her sister to stumble forward, right into Nick's arms, and hers went under his, so they were pretty much hugging.

Nick chuckled and tightened his grip on her, making it an official hug. "Thanks, Cass," he rolled his eyes, then let Sara go so he could put her suitcase in his car.

Sara smiled, then looked at Cassandra. "So, anything new in the past hour?"

"No, thank God," Cassandra replied.

Sara nodded. "That's good. Let's talk on the way back home. I'm tired, and traffic's gonna be a bitch,"

"I'm game for that!" Nick nodded. "I'll drive,"

--

A few minutes later they arrived back at Nick's house and set everything down in the guest room since Cassandra had decided to sleep on the couch and give Sara the room. They had just gotten fully settled and Nick had just begun to get drinks for everyone when there was a knock at the door. He went down the hall and opened it, surprised to see Gil. "Grissom! Why are you here at this hour?"

"Couldn't wait to tell Cassie something that I just found out. Can I come in?"

Nick motioned towards the kitchen, trying to hide a grin. "Go right ahead,"

Gil stepped inside and headed for the kitchen. "I just did some research that may help us with the case that Cassie may like hearing. It's about that last victim. I remember hearing about a listed relative of his from…" Gil cut himself off and froze when he saw Sara. "…Sara," he stared at her for a while.

After a while of dead silence, Nick and Cassandra found themselves in an awkward situation for the second time that night. They exchanged looks before making a B-line out of the room to give the couple privacy, but that didn't last too long. Curiosity got the better of them. Nick leaned on the wall a few feet away from the entrance so he wouldn't be seen while he pressed his ear to it, and Cassandra ducked under him to do the same. Morality be damned.

"So… uh… I trust you've been… well… since the last time I saw you?" Gil asked.

"Yeah, I've been fine,"

"How's your mother?" Gil asked.

Nick and Cassandra snorted, then stopped and looked at each other, realizing their slip. They grinned at each other.

'Why is he making small talk?' Nick mouthed.

'It helps with awkward situations, genius," Cassandra whispered.

Nick rolled his eyes.

The conversation inside hadn't progressed much. Actually, it hadn't progressed at all. ""I'm glad to hear it," Gil replied.

"Yeah, so was I," Sara agreed.

Nick and Cassandra exchanged looks when her voice seemed to be getting a bit to loud, then both jumped back and covered their ear that had been at the wall, because something had just slammed into it, which made a loud bang that they reacted to. When they saw Sara poke her head out of the kitchen and cock an eyebrow at them, they realized she had punched it.

"Hi. Do you two mind?" Sara demanded.

Nick and Cassandra's shoulders sunk and they retreated back down the hallway towards the bedrooms when she went back inside. They immediately went back to where they originally were, but Sara had beat them to it and was at the kitchen entrance, glowering at them. The glare made them retreat fully into the guest room.

"Well, we tried," Cassandra sighed, collapsing on the futon.

" 'Tried'? Darlin', we haven't stopped," Nick grinned, then got the drinking glass in the corner. "This room and the kitchen share a vent," he pointed at the vent by the floor and bent down, loosening it. "Sad thing is that I learned that from the stalker guy I told you about. If we just…" he got the grate loose so he could get closer, then jumped when there was yet another bang that echoed.

"I MEAN IT, NICK!" Sara yelled.

Nick frowned and hung his head when he heard Gil laughing, then looked at Cassandra, who was now rolling around laughing on the futon. "Laugh it up," he growled.

"Don't mind if I do," Cassandra replied through fits of laughter.

Nick sighed and chuckled. "Fine. Sidle's one, Grissom one, Stokes zero," he sat down on the floor by the futon. "So how long do you think they'll be?" he asked once Cassandra had sat up.

"Dunno. They're both annoyingly stubborn so we could be here a while," Cassandra replied.

Nick nodded, then reached over to the nightstand in the room, opened the drawer and pulled out a bag of chips. "I knew putting these in there would come in handy someday!"

"Are you kidding me?!" Cassandra was in fits of laughter again.

"No, I'm not," Nick replied, then held the bag up to her. "Want a few?"

"Not now, thanks," Cassandra shook her head then picked up Sara's backpack that was at the head of the bed and started fishing through it, pulling out a bag of peanuts. She nodded, satisfied, then opened it and tipped it so a few went into her mouth, then she flicked a couple at Nick.

Nick grinned. "I could care less about peanuts themselves, it's peanut butter I have a problem with, so you can't get me there,"

"Oh really?" Cassandra reached back into Sara's backpack and pulled out a package of Ritz sandwiches with peanut butter, then smirked at Nick.

"Oh, oh, no way! Now you're kidding me!" Nick laughed.

"Nope," Cassandra opened the package, opened one of the sandwiches and tossed both ends at him.

Nick jumped up. "Oh, that's how you wanna work this, huh?" he flicked a chip at her.

The tossing soon turned into a mini-food fight for a few minutes until Gil came into the room. "You two done having middle school flashbacks?" he asked, taking the bag of chips from Nick and throwing a couple in his mouth. He had gained most of his color back from when he had gone pale after seeing Sara, and he was smiling. Both were good signs.

"Not yet," Cassandra replied, then picked up one of the side of the crackers that still and the peanut butter intact and put it facedown on Nick's head. "Now I am,"

Nick made a face and instantly went to work on getting the cracker off his head.

Cassandra grinned, happy at her victory, then looked back at Gil. "You wanted to see me about something?"

--

A few minutes later:

The four were now back around the kitchen table, talking.

Gil was pointing at a picture he had put down on the table. " And I was looking at a list of his friends, and it led to this guy, Jeremy Lewis, who I could've sworn I've heard about in the past, and I thought it was from you," he motioned at Sara.

Sara crossed her arms and shrugged. "Sorry, I really don't remember?"

Gil looked at Cassandra. "You? You were the one who recognized the vic after you saw Sara. Does that name ring a bell?"

Cassandra shrugged. " Jake, Lynn, Steph, Max, Sara here, and you guys. I don't have many close friends, and I doubt I'd recognize the name if I knew the guy, anyway. I'm not really a people person often," she replied.

"Wait a minute…" Sara murmured. "We're not people people…"

"Huh?" Cassandra asked.

Nick and Gil exchanged confused looks.

Sara smiled slowly. "That's it! We're not people people!"

"Sar, what are you talking about?!" Cassandra demanded.

Sara looked at her sister. "J.J, Cass. I'm talking about J.J,"

"And that means…?" Cassandra waved her hand in a circular motion.

Sara nodded. "Cass, six years back, New Years Eve party at my friend Carol's. J.J. There were two people who hit it off together and have been friends ever since. They claimed they weren't 'people people' at that party, and now when they're together, they call themselves…" she motioned at Cassandra.

Cassandra realized what she meant. "Call themselves J.J. Jake and Jeremy!"

Sara smiled. "Exactly!"

Nick crossed his arms. "Jake as in…" he nudged Cassandra's side. "Your Jake?"

"Uh huh," Cassandra nodded.

"So we have a lead?" Gil asked.

Cassandra nodded. "Yeah, we do. I'll call him first thing in the morning… er… later than this, though,"

"Right," Gil nodded.

The four looked at each other, exchanging even more smiles.

Gil's biggest smile was directed at Sara. "You may not be able to go on the field with us, but after that realization, there's only one thing left to say: Welcome back to the team,"

All Sara could do was smile right back at him. "Good to be back,"