Nick woke up gasping for air, he felt as if he'd been run over by a train, "Wha…what happened?"

"Nick?" he heard Sara, though he couldn't tell where she was, he couldn't even tell if the room was to bright or two dark, to him it seemed like both. "Nick, are you all right?" he heard her ask again, "Speak to me"

"I…I'm all right" he replied with a hoarse voice, "What happened to me? Where's Greg?" He felt Sara caress his hair and he noticed it was longer.

Suddenly she was hugging him, "You're all right" she shouted happily, "You're back"

"Back?" his throat was dry, and he began to feel a pounding headache, "Where did I go?"

Suddenly he heard a second voice, "We don't have time for this, we have to take him somewhere private"

"Caroline" he whispered, "you're Caroline…where do I know you from?"

He felt someone place a shoulder under his arm to help him up; he hadn't realized how weak he was. His whole body was numb as if he'd spent a long time in the same position.

"How are we going to get him out?" he saw that Sara was the one helping him up, his eyesight was finally adjusting to the illumination.

"Just leave that to me" he saw Caroline open a door before them and wait for them to pass through.

"What the hell is going on here?" he barely managed the words when he heard another woman speak.

"Where do you think you're taking him?"

"We filled the paperwork" he heard Caroline say, "We're taking him home, he's much better now"

"Of course" the woman replied, "he's much better"

"Who was that?" he asked, "where are we?"

He knew he must have dosed off because the next thing he knew they were taking him out of a car and leading him up a porch, his eyes were finally better and he was sure the place looked familiar but his mind was too fussy to make sense of it, "Where are we?"

"My house" Sara replied, "Caroline, Nick you may come in"

The two of them sat him on a couch then sat before him, "What happened to me?" why do I feel so sick?"

"It's a number of reasons" Caroline replied as the two of them held his hand, "But first tell us what you remember"

"Greg…he murdered some people, I went up to his room and he was covered in blood, it was like he had just snapped, he was crazy"

He saw the two of them look at each other then back at him, "what then?"

"We started talking and then he jumped me, I blacked out next thing I know I was being dragged by you two"

"Ok then" Caroline clapped her hands, "let's start at the beginning, Sara?"

"This is going to sound hard to believe Nick, but Greg didn't just snap. He became a vampire"

"Wait a what?"

The two of them went on for what seemed like hours, explaining to him what Greg had done. How he had fried his brain, how he had spent the last twelve months in a mental hospital, how Sara had gotten Caroline to help him and what that help meant.

"That still doesn't explain why I feel so sick" he said once the two had finished their story.

"In your condition you barely ate slept or even moved, your mind was suddenly thrust out of the loop it had been reliving the last year and you're in transition to becoming a vampire. I don't know if there's anything that could make your situation any worse"

"I'm not having contractions am I? See there's a good thing right there!" Nick said jokingly, bending in pain as he tried to laugh, "I guess it was a good thing Greg used protection before screwing me over"

"How can you make jokes at a time like…" Sara was about to nag him when Caroline stopped her.

"No! let him, it's better that he takes things less seriously. That could make the difference between a vampire like me and a vampire like Greg"

"So what happens now?" he sat up and took a more serious posture, "I drink blood and become a vampire?"

"Or you don't and you die" Caroline finished for him.

"Well, it'd be a shame to finally be back only to die" he crossed his arms, "But drinking blood and becoming a vampire…I don't know"

"It doesn't have to change you" Caroline commented, "It will change how you'll live, but it doesn't have to change who you are" she looked over at Sara and knew what she was thinking, "It changed Greg because he allowed it to change him"

"And how do I stop it from changing who I am?"

"Practice, patience…and a good teacher wouldn't hurt" Caroline added, "Luckily you have me"

"So where do we get blood?" He hadn't realized how stupid his question had been until he'd said it, "I mean…whose?"

"Me" Sara replied as she took off her jacket.

"What?" He frowned, "No, I couldn't…I…"

"I wear Greg's scar with shame, yours I would wear with honor" she lifted the arm of her blouse and showed him the scar on her arm, "If you have to do it, wouldn't it be better to do it on someone who is willing?"

"She's right" Caroline said as she sat next to him.

"Greg lost control and killed several people, what if I…I don't want to hurt you"

"You won't" Sara smiled, "I trust you"

"And I'll be here" Caroline added, "I can stop you if things get out of hand"

Hoping they were right, he looked at them both then nodded. Slowly he reached for Sara's arm and took it up to his mouth, "I…I can't! I can't do it!"

He needs motivation Caroline said as she handed Sara a card opener from the side table, Just a pinch, the smell of blood will get him going. Sara placed the card opener and pricked her arm, a small drop forming where the point met her skin.

That was all Nick needed, he didn't know how it had all happened but the next thing he knew he was being pulled away by Caroline. "That's enough" she shouted, you've had enough"

"Oh my god!" Sara, I'm sorry, did I…"

"I'm fine" Sara smiled, "It didn't hurt much, and you didn't drink much either" he saw her sit down on the couch and close her eyes.

"What happened is she ok?" he looked desperately at Caroline who calmly walked up to her, "She had a long day, and the blood loss didn't help" she grabbed hold of her and lifted her up as if she were carrying a baby, "She'll be all right, she just needs some sleep"


There was a sudden thump and Sara woke up to find that she was laying on her bed.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you"

On a corner of her room she found Nick sitting alone in the darkness, "I was worried and came to check up on you"

"I'm fine" she said stubbornly as she sat on the edge of the bed, "Are you hungry? do you want more?"

"What? No I…" He sighed, "I don't ever want to do that to you…or anyone ever again"

"It's the least I could do. After all, if I'd had better sense, if I'd warned you in time instead of worrying over a stupid bandage…"

"Never do that again" Nick stood towering before her, "Don't blame yourself for what happened to me. That's all on Greg, not on you"

"But if I had…" she stood to face him.

"I remember" Nick interrupted her. She looked at him puzzled and waited for him to continue. "Katherine came to visit me every weekend to see how I was doing; you came every day"

"I…" she was speechless; she'd never thought he'd remember things so clearly.

"You were there when I had no one else to lean on, thank you" he whispered, and suddenly he kissed her. She thought she should back away, slap him even; but the truth was, she didn't want him to stop.

Slowly he guided her back on to the bed as she pulled his shirt off over his head. It wasn't long before they were at it under the covers. At first she had feared that he would loose control and end up crunching into her jugular. But all the while Nick was being as gentle as possible, several times she felt his teeth up against her neck, but he never took the bite. Their bodies rocked back and forth until finally they peaked and fell asleep side by side.

Morning came too soon Sara thought as she tenderly caressed Nick's chest, "You're cold to the touch" she whispered.

"I'm sorry" he replied, "Caroline said I should drink coffee to…"

"Shh" Sara placed her index fingers over his lips, "It's ok, it's a nice change"

"What are we doing?" Nick frowned, "You're married, and I…" he sighed as he sat up, "I'm a dead man"

"You're more alive than my marriage" Sara sat up too, "I haven't seen my husband in three months, and before that I only saw him for two weeks. I try to tell my self that it's all right; I even try to convince my self that he loves me because of my mind and not my body but…"

"I didn't know you and Grissom were having problems" Nick placed his hand on her back and she slowly moved in under his arms until he was hugging her.

"Really? You and me in the sack didn't give it away?"

"I suppose that should have been my first clue" he laughed as he held onto her more tightly, "I guess I'm a little out of practice on being a CSI"

"Oh my god!" She shouted, scaring Nick right out of the bed.

"What is it?" he asked as he looked around for some sort of intruder.

"I'm late for work!"