The green glow from the digital clock read six in the morning and Sasha yawned. They'd been back in Las Vegas for a week and she was just becoming accustomed to waking up with her head on his bicep, having not felt him slide into the bed next to her after his shift. It was apparent that they fit so well together that all he had to do was take her into his arms and she was able to find the most comfortable place. She ran her hand along the strong arm that was draped over her waist, perfectly notched in the curve of her hip, and felt him pull her closer. He'd just gotten off a double shift and wouldn't notice if a bomb went off, but he felt her gentle touch. "I love you, East Texas." Waiting until she was certain he was back in a sound sleep, she slipped out of bed and made her way to the porch for the morning paper.

Nick walked out of the lab after his shift the next day and saw the beautiful raven-haired woman leaning against his truck. Right on time, he thought to himself with a smile, and walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her, and kissing her deeply. Her arms wrapped around his neck, her fingers tangling in his hair as she kissed him back. "Hi, Ma'am."

She returned his grin when they broke about a minute later. "Hi, East Texas. Did you save any wayward females from faulty elevators?"

"Nope, not tonight." He kissed her again. "Did the truck give you any trouble?"

"Nope. I only ran over three pedestrians and one concrete barrier."

"How long has it been since you've driven?"

Laughing, she shrugged. "That might require a CSI to figure out because I really don't remember."

"Thank God you didn't tell me that before I gave you the keys."

"My Super Boy Scout was prepared for that, I bet."

"Yeah, I was. My insurance is all paid up." They laughed before he kissed her and helped her into the passenger side of his truck. "Let's get out of here."

"I just ran a couple of errands." She answered his question as they pulled out of the driveway. "I do thank you for the use of your baby."

"What sort of errands, Sash?" He looked over at her. "And you are welcome."

"Nothing you need to worry about. Just grocery shopping, getting my nails done, stuff like that."

"Is that what you were doing at PD last night? Getting your nails done?" She stayed silent and he took her hand. "Baby, I thought we were past this."

"Nick, I don't like talking about it and you know that."

"Maybe, but when I see my girl talking to a detective while I'm at work, I get concerned."

"There's nothing to be concerned about. It was routine paperwork."

"Unless you were working on an article, there is nothing routine about talking to a detective, Sasha." Stopping at a red light, he shook his head and looked over at her again. "Come on now. What's going on?"

"I got a call from Andy that my father had been sniffing around the magazine and I wanted to make sure that the Order of Protection from New York was properly filed in Clark County. You happy now?" She pulled away and glared at him.

"Concerned, yes. Upset that you didn't tell me before you went to talk to a detective, sure. But happy? Not by a long shot. Why didn't you tell me before, Sasha?"

"Because Andy just called yesterday morning and I didn't think it was something I needed to worry you about. This happens every year around January."

He shook his head again. "Is you life in danger?"

"I don't know."

"Sasha!" Nick slapped the steering wheel.

"Nick, I'm telling you the truth. I don't know. Last time I saw him, he grabbed my arm so hard he left a bruise that was there for a week, but,"

"You bruise easily." He lowered his voice as he finished her sentence.

"Exactly. It certainly helped when I was filing for the original TRO, but the truth is, I don't really know what he is capable of. All I know is that he doesn't like when someone screws with his wallet and I screwed with his wallet."

"OK." Nick took her hand and sighed. "We'll figure something out."

"There is nothing to figure out, Nick. Like I said, he does this every year around this time. I think it has something to do with him wanting to make amends as a new year's resolution."

"Is that what you want? To make amends?"

"Not really, but I don't know that I want to spend the rest of my life on the run and put you in the middle of a childish family squabble."

"Come on, Sash. Number one, family squabbles rarely require orders of protection. Second, you haven't put me in the middle. If I didn't want to be involved, I would have found my own way home from New York not taken you to Texas to meet my parents and be upset that you didn't tell me before Vartan. Please, Sasha, give me a little more credit." He kissed her hand again. "I'm sorry he hurt you, Baby. I'm sorry you can't trust anyone because of what he did. He's your father. He was supposed to protect you, to be the one man in your life you could turn to, but since he did none of those things, I will. Sasha, I'm here for the long haul if you'll have me. I promise, I can and will protect you, scare all the monsters out of the closet, and be the one person you can turn to when you feel like the world is getting too much for you." At the next red light, he looked over at her and found her staring at him, tears falling down her cheeks, a look of utter shock and disbelief in her deep blue eyes, and her free hand over her mouth. Pulling the truck to the curb, he turned to her, and took her face in his hands, wiping the tears away with his thumbs. "It is what a man does for the woman he loves, Sasha, for the woman he wants to spend the rest of his life with."

"Oh my God!" It was barely audible. Could she really have heard what she thought she'd heard? It was so eloquent, so genuine, so open, and it was followed with a proposal. At least she thought it was followed with a proposal. No one had ever told her the things Nick just had so she wasn't so sure she'd heard what she thought she heard.

"This isn't exactly how I had it planned, Sasha, but I'm serious. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you do me the honor of marrying me?"

Her mouth opened, but no sound came out. Suddenly, all the words she used to make her living with were gone. She tried again and again, not even a squeak. Instead, she settled for nodding. Her head bobbed up and down and the tears became stronger when her body hitched.