VIII - GRICK

Sara was pissed off. Livid, as a matter of fact. She didn't know what in the world was going on, but Grissom and Nick were getting on her nerves. There they sat, the three of them at her table, in her kitchen, eating her food, and nobody was talking. All efforts she had made to start a conversation had been spectacularly shot down by the mono-syllabic grunts of the two Neanderthals on either side.

Gris kept looking from her to Nick; from Nick to her, and it was driving her crazy. Nick was glaring daggers at Grissom, and the tension that had been noticeably absent from his features when he had woken up was back with a vengeance.

She frowned in annoyance. Nick didn't need any extra stress right now, but he definitely had a bug up his butt about Grissom. She would have laughed at her almost-pun - bugs, Grissom, Grissom, bugs - hahaha, but she was too angry. And Grissom - the most insanely private person she had ever met - was clearly trying to figure out just what was going on between her and Nick. For more years than she could count, she had wanted Grissom to show some kind of personal interest in her, and now that he was, she wanted it to stop.

To be quite honest, Sara was confused. She had been half in love with Grissom since the very first lecture she had ever attended, but she had the sneaking suspicion he had always viewed her as Eliza Doolittle to his Henry Higgins. She admired his intellect, his sly wit, the way his mind could look at all aspects of even the most complicated crime scene and come up with viable working theories. Add to that the soft timbre of his voice, his beautiful blue eyes, and the little grooves bracketing his mouth when he smiled at her, and he was damn near perfect.

For almost two years - since she had joined the Las Vegas CSI lab - she had actively tried to encourage Grissom to view her as more than an ex-student; more than 'just-a-good-friend'. The only sign from Grissom that he was not oblivious to her as a woman was when he had sent her a beautiful exotic orchid plant several months ago, and when he had told her she made him see beauty. The problem with Grissom was he didn't really seem to need anybody. Sara wasn't sure if he would ever really need her, at least not the way she wanted to be needed.

This brought her to Nick. She glanced at him from under her lashes, noticing the scowl on his face as he shoveled forkfuls of spaghetti into his mouth, and sighed. Nick was probably one of the nicest people she had ever met. He had gone out of his way almost since day one to make her feel welcome. He was charming, he was handsome, and he had the rare ability to make the people around him feel good about them just by being in his presence. He seemed to sense whenever she was angry or upset, and would always go out of his way to make it better - whether it was through his outrageous flirting tactics, or just by providing a strong shoulder to lean on. But because Nick was like that with everyone, she had never once considered that *maybe* there might be something more there.

And then, the morning's revelations. She had seen a side to Nick she had never seem before, and she was honored and humbled that he had chosen to share with her what was most definitely the greatest tragedy of his life. Holding Nick as he had cried in her arms, Sara had finally realized there was more to Nick than the charming flirt. With her new-found knowledge, she was starting to understand where his whole good-guy, Texas Ranger cowboy image came from, and she admired him for wanting to make a difference.

She had been intensely aware of him - his masculinity, his scent, the feel of his hair and the muscles in his back, when she had woken up this morning. In that dream-like half-awareness between being fully awake and still asleep, she had enjoyed his weight on her; and the feel of his breath through the thin material of her cotton t-shirt whispering across the sensitive skin of her breast. Without even concentrating, she could still feel the soft skin over tight muscle at the small of his back - skin she had caressed less than two hours ago.

God, she was confused. Grissom - Nick. Nick - Grissom. If she could only combine the two of them she would have the perfect man, and she would call him Grick. Her sudden giggle caused the two men to look at her sharply. Nick simply waggled his eyebrows at her, and gave her the first genuine smile she had seen from him since Grissom's arrival.

Grissom looked at her thoughtfully. "What's so funny?"

"Uhm, nothing - Just keeping myself amused since you two are so obviously not up to the job." Sara grinned, taking the censure out of her voice with her look. "I don't know what's going on to make you two so tense with each other, but you better figure it out before we get to work. I don't think Warwick will appreciate it any more than I do."

She stood and reached into her jeans pocket. "I've still got your keys Nicky, so I'm taking your truck to work. You ride in with Grissom. I'm leaving now. Lock my apartment when you leave - my keys are on the table by the door. See ya."

The two men stared after her in silence as she left. "Good thing my car insurance is all up to date," Nick muttered, loading his plate and then Sara's into the dishwasher. Grissom followed suit.

Neither said anything as they left Sara's apartment, and climbed into Grissom's Tahoe. Grissom kept glancing sideways at Nick, but Nick was studiously looking out the window. It was raining.

"Listen, Nick. I'm sorry for whatever I did to make you feel uncomfortable. I was just concerned about you, and I wanted to find out how you were doing."

"By visiting Sara? Have you asked her to spy on me, like you had her spy on Warwick?" Nick's voice was accusing, and his question made Grissom flinch.

"Well, that was certainly uncalled for. If you recall, I did try paging you. But you were so busy doing - whatever you were doing - you didn't bother to respond." Grissom was normally a very calm man, but he could feel his temper bubbling just below the surface. He felt like he was going to explode.

"And there's the crux of it. You want to know what Sara and I were *doing* on our off hours. You dress it up by saying you were concerned about me, but in reality you're trying to determine if Sara and I are a couple. Nice try, though." Nick's words were cool, and he lifted his hand, studying his fingertips intently. "Learn anything interesting, Grissom?"

"Damnit, Nick! Don't push it. Why wouldn't I be concerned about you? We've been working together for years now. You're one of my best CSI's, and this case with Timmy is pushing all your buttons. I've never seen you act this way before. I'm just trying to understand.."

"Well, stop trying." Nick sighed, leaning forwards and resting his head on the front dash of the Tahoe. "Listen, I'm sorry Grissom. I know you're concerned, but it really isn't necessary. I'm feeling better since I talked to Sara, and I promise that I'm going to keep my emotions regarding this case in check. Anything else?"

No response. Nick turned and looked at Grissom. Grissom continued driving. All of a sudden, Nick felt bad. He was being an idiot, and he was alienating a good friend.

"Listen, Gris. Two years she's been here now. For two years, I've waited for you to make your move, declare you intentions - anything. I've been her friend, and that's been it. But I'm sick of waiting for you to get up the nerve to ask her out. You've had your chance, and now it's my turn. I'm in love with her."

Nick's words were like arrows, cutting through the tension in the car. Grissom sighed, his anger deflating. "I'm in love with her too. But, it's hard. I'm her boss, she was my student. There's a huge age difference."

"That's crap, and you know it Grissom. The heart wants what it wants. And I'm not trying to step on your toes, and I hope this won't affect our working relationship or our friendship, but my heart wants Sara. I'm sorry if yours does too, but I've been a gentleman about this. I've seen the way you look at each other, and I've stayed away because of our friendship. But two years is long enough. I can't do it anymore. I'm sick of always being Mr. Nice-Guy. For once, I'm putting my needs first. I need her in my life. And she needs someone too. I think that person could be me."

"And what does Sara say?" Grissom's voice was soft, the expression on his face sad.

"I don't know. I haven't asked her yet. But I'm going to. I'm taking the chance, even if she shoots me down. I don't want to be asking myself, years from now, 'What if.'" Nick shot Gris an apologetic glance as he said this. "I hope you won't try to stand in my way. I gave you two years. I hope you'll show me the same courtesy. And I hope, whatever the outcome, we'll still be friends."

Grissom pulled into the parking lot at the police station, parking his Tahoe and turning to Nick. "All I want is for her to be happy. I'm not good with people; not like you are. If you can make her happy, then that's good. But I can't guarantee anything Nick. I hope you understand."

The sudden pounding on the passenger side window caused them both to jump. Sara was standing there, in the pouring rain, jumping up and down. Nick opened the door and stepped out of the vehicle. Grissom heard her yelling - "They got her! Timmy's mother is here. Brass has been waiting for us. Come one, Nicky! We have to hurry!" She grabbed his hand and started pulling at his arm.

"Coming Grissom?" Nick hollered into the vehicle, before slamming the door and running to the front entrance with Sara.

Grissom merely sat there for a few brief moments, resting his head against the steering wheel. The rain trickled down the front window like the tears Grissom couldn't cry.