"Magnificent Lasagne and Artificial Worms"

by Kristafied

Canon, what canon? Set post Grave Danger; mostly diverges from canon at that point.

Sara/Nick Friendship, becomes Snickers

Rating: M (for language and eventual smut)

A/N: Not sure if the timeline of Nick coming back to work and Warrick getting married matches up with how I have it here, but let's just roll with it for now. Also, I've never been to Vegas, so all locations are completely made up.

Disclaimer: If I owned them, I wouldn't have all this debt from grad school.

Chapter Eleven

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By the time they pulled in to his driveway, Nick found himself fully awake, and suddenly too wired from his earlier panic attack to go back inside. Sara must have seen him hesitate as he got out of the truck, because he felt her arm around his shoulders and heard her voice close to his ear. "You know, I could go for a walk. It's too nice a night to stay in."

Nick smiled broadly at her, then insisted on running inside to brush his teeth and get them a bottle of water before they set off. She sat on the front steps and stretched her legs out in front of her to wait. Nick took his time brushing his teeth and gargling the vomit taste out of his mouth until he could only smell mint when he breathed on his hand. A quick splash of water over his face, a once-over in the mirror, and a quick smoothing of his hair with his hand later, and Nick grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and locked the door behind him on the way out. On the tiny porch, he paused.

Sara's long legs were crossed at the ankle and she had leaned her head back to look up at the sky, her elbows propping her up at an odd angle. Her slim, pale neck gleamed in the porch light and when she caught sight of him, she gave him her wide, gapped-toothed smile and heaved herself to her feet, brushing dust from the back of her skirt. Unable to resist, Nick descended the steps in one leap, pulled her close, and kissed her smiling mouth. "You are beautiful, Sara."

She pulled away, her smile growing even wider, and a wicked gleam glowing in her eyes. "So are you, Nick. Gorgeous."

Nick shook his head, rolled his eyes, and decided to follow her lead and keep things light. "I'm not gorgeous. I'm a skinny guy with a big head. If I didn't lift weights as much as I do, I'd look like a lollipop."

That did it. Sara's eyes grew rounder and larger, and she stepped back, held him at arm's length, and examined him head to toe. Nick felt his lips twitch in an effort to keep a straight face as she suddenly whooped, clapped a hand over her mouth, and began to giggle helplessly. Nick looped his arm around her and pulled her down the walk, both of them still laughing.

Ten minutes later, Sara discovered the tiny local park and kicked off her sandals to walk barefoot in the grass. Nick convinced her to join him on the swingset: "C'mon, Sara, I know your inner child's in there somewhere – let her out for a few minutes!" Their swinging quickly escalated into a contest to see who could go higher, and they struggled to keep quiet enough not to disturb the neighbors with their trash-talk and laughter.

Sara pumped harder, and when she reached the apex of her swing, flung herself into the air. Nick let his legs go slack and enjoyed the view of her skirt billowing up to her thighs until she made a solid landing several feet away. He followed her and savored the brief moment of flight before landing heavily on the ground and getting mud on his knees. Sara pulled him to his feet and helped him brush off the dirt. He led her over to the jungle gym where they climbed to the top and lay back on the platform, watching the night sky. Nick enjoyed the quiet for a few minutes before asking, "Did I ever tell you about going paragliding?"

Sara rolled onto her side, propped herself up on one elbow, and favored him with a raised eyebrow. "Not yet."

"I went after that case of the DB that landed on the sidewalk from 15,000 feet. God, that was amazing. You basically run off the edge of a cliff, and you get pulled up instead of down. I drifted for a while. It's incredible, Sara, it's so quiet. You're alone, but you can see everything. I think if I were a bird, I'd never land. Except maybe to eat."

Sara chuckled and reached a hand over to run through his hair. Nick let his eyes drift shut and shifted closer to her, so when she spoke, he could hear her voice resonating through her chest. "You sound like Jonathan Livingston Seagull."

"Who?"

"It's a book about a seagull who breaks away from the flock because he loves flying so much; it's really about individuality. I have a copy at home; I'll lend it to you, I think you'd appreciate it. I read it when I was a kid."

She was quiet for a minute, so he prompted, "Tell me a happy memory from your childhood. I've heard about the bad stuff; now tell me something you liked."

The hand in his hair slowed but did not stop, and when he opened his eyes, she looked pensive for a moment before her lips lifted in a small but genuine smile. "Well, I told you about Boop. My Nanna used to invite me over, especially if she knew things were bad at home, and we'd bake cookies together. She'd let me snitch the batter, as much as I wanted. She always warned me I'd get sick, but I never did and she never stopped me from snitching."

Nick pulled Sara's hand from his hair to press a kiss to her palm. She ran her thumb across his cheek. "Nanna was trying to convince Mom and Dad to let me come live with her when she died. I often wonder if that would have changed how things turned out." Sara leaned in and pressed a fast kiss to his forehead. She shifted position to resume stroking his hair and asked, "How about you? Tell me one of your good childhood memories."

Nick thought for a long moment, then met her eyes with determination. "Actually, I told you some funny ones the other night. Do you mind if I kill the mood and tell you about something bad that I think is important for you to know?"

"Of course I don't mind." Sara's hand stilled.

"Would you keep...? That feels really good." He gestured toward his head. Sara's concerned frown lightened briefly and she traced her fingertips along his hairline and her thumb along his eyebrows. Nick could feel his gut tightening but he forced the words out with somewhat less effort than he had feared. "I was molested when I was nine."

Sara sat up entirely. "What?"

He knew she'd heard the first time and didn't repeat himself. "I'm the youngest, and usually one of my sisters would babysit me, but one afternoon, everyone must have had plans, because my mom called this woman who lived a couple miles away. I think one of my sisters knew her. She, uh, I woke up with her in my bed, touching me. I was a kid, and I was confused and didn't really know what was going on. I'd heard the birds and bees stuff, but what she did..." He paused, then added, "I never told my parents, and they never found out about it."

Sara nodded, keeping her bright, sad eyes on his.

Nick found himself sharing some of his musings from the other day. "I'm cool with sex, you know, it's fun and it feels good, but I've always had trouble with trust. I've had relationships, but they don't usually get too serious emotionally." He paused, then added, "I think that's why I wanted to tell you. I've only ever told a couple of people – Catherine knows because she caught me upset over a case. I'm – obviously -- very attracted to you, which is new for me because we also know each other so well, and I guess I'm worried about how I'll react if we let things get serious. My little freak-out earlier wasn't just about the box." He felt himself blushing and kept his eyes closed. "I'm going to mess this up, Sara, it's just a matter of time."

Sara's arms were around him so tightly he was unable to take a deep breath. He chuffed a laugh as he returned her embrace. Without warning, her voice close to his ear was unexpectedly loud. "I was eleven."

He froze, his hands clutching her back. She continued, "He did it fourteen times, always on nights when he was drunk and Mom was at work. It started a few weeks before Nanna died. I told her, and she told Mom, but Mom didn't believe it until she came home early from work and caught him in my room. That was the catalyst for that last big fight when she finally killed him. Because of me. She couldn't leave him for herself, but she could kill him for me. I've never been able to decide whether to love her or hate her, so I end up doing both."

They both stared at each other, silent, dry-eyed, in a moment of complete understanding.

XXXX

Upon arriving back at Nick's house, they agreed on their traditional fare of a comedy and food, but this time with pajamas and hot chocolate. Nick took his tee shirt and plaid cotton pants into the bathroom, giving Sara the bedroom to change into some of his old sweats. When he came out, he found her standing next to his neatly made bed, looking utterly adorable in his oversized LVPD sweatpants and Longhorns tee, holding a pillow in her arms, and laughing. Nick followed her gaze and saw Boop and Bear lying next to each other. Slightly defensive, he retorted, "I thought they looked cute together."

Sara wiped her eyes on his pillow and kissed him tenderly. "They do."

Still somewhat embarrassed, Nick explained, "I found Boop on the floor in the living room when I got home from work this morning, and this seemed like the best place for him. You know, until I could give him back to you."

She kissed him again. "It is." She gave him a wide smile and nudged him in the general direction of the kitchen. "You make the cocoa, I'll pick out the movie."

They made it through the sword fight between Inigo Montoya and the Dread Pirate Roberts before falling asleep on the couch. The blue screen woke Nick at about three a.m., and he extricated himself from Sara's embrace, silently placed the mugs in the sink and clicked off the television before giving himself the secret thrill of picking Sara up and carrying her to bed. He fell back to sleep happy that she had bypassed Boop and snuggled up to him instead.