Title: Supernova

A/N: I said earlier I was going to hint at N/S (nothing more) and I've kept to my word (I think), but I'm going to drop a larger hint in this chapter.  If that offends you (which it shouldn't, because I promise just to hint!), you don't have to read.  If you choose to read, thanks.

I really appreciate all the wonderful reviews I've received throughout the story, and I hope that I was able to improve based on your feedback.  Thanks to my reviewers: adpi24, SAR, pdhtgal, Jessica S., MissyJane, Burked, A Bloom, Ina, forensicsfan and Greggo'sGirl.  I would appreciate, if you have a moment, a brief comment on the entire story (i.e. plot, characters, etc.) so I can learn and hopefully improve.  Otherwise, I hope you enjoyed my brief foray into the world of 'CSI', and wish you all the best.

The song I have included in this segment is 'The Lover after Me' (Savage Garden, Affirmation, 1999.)

Disclaimer: The television program 'CSI: Crime Scene Investigation' does not belong to me.

***

Sara walked into the locker room.  Warrick and Cath had left to go home right after the interview because it was their night off.  She had covered the rest of night with Nick and Grissom.  Fortunately it had been pretty uneventful, just a botched burglary attempt that had been resolved thanks to a confession.

                She'd passed Nick on the way into the locker room.  He just smiled at her, not saying anything.  She returned the smile, but she wasn't really paying attention.  Sara had managed to avoid Grissom all night, but she knew she'd have to talk to him on the way out.  She always said good-bye, and it would trigger something in his mind if she didn't.

                Sara grabbed the lightweight polyester jacket from its hook in her locker.  A piece of paper fluttered to the ground.  She wondered if it was the grocery list she'd lost last week.

                It wasn't.  It was a note from Nick, in his distinctive writing.

***

                Sara:

                If you want, I'll be at the diner at 8:00am.  I'd like your company.

                Nick.

***

                She crumpled the note into her pocket, unsure of what she wanted to do with it, and shut her locker.  Sara strode down the hall, determined to get her conversation with Grissom over with as soon as possible.

                "Morning, Grissom," she said, leaning inside his door.  "I'll see you tonight."

                She turned around.  She wanted, no, needed to leave.  She managed to get three strides down the hall before his voice froze her in her tracks.

                "Sara."

                She walked back to the door and stood mutely in the doorway.

                "Umm," Grissom stuttered, tripping over the words, "did you want to get breakfast?  Talk, perhaps?"

                His eyes pleaded with her, begging her to understand.  She wanted to hear him, but she knew she couldn't.  She breathed deeply; knowing what she had to say was going to be hard.

                "I need to go," she said softly, but clearly.  "Please."

                Grissom stared at her for a moment, and then nodded.

                Sara headed back towards the door, whispering 'thank you' as she walked down the hall.  He didn't hear, but he knew.

                Sara pulled her car out of the parking lot, heading in the opposite direction of the diner and her apartment.  She needed to clear her mind, and it was a gorgeous morning for a drive.  She clicked the radio back on, the station the same one she had on the night she'd been at the park.  Sara expected the fates would play a joke on her, and the same song would be playing, but it was different.

***

Here I go again I promised myself I wouldn't think of you today
It's been seven months and counting
You've moved on
I still feel exactly the same
It's just the that everywhere I go all the buildings know your name
Like photographs and memories of love
Steel and granite reminders
The city calls your name and I can't move on

***

                Not that much different, Sara thought.  Still warning me that I can't move on.

***

Ever since you've been gone
The lights go out the same
The only difference is
You call another name
To your love
To your lover now
To your love
The lover after me

***

                Sara turned the car onto a long, windy street that weaved in and around a beautiful residential area: perfect picket fences, immaculate lawns, freshly painted exteriors, blooming flowers, and manicured hedges.

***

Am I all alone in the universe?
There's no love on these streets
I have given mine away to a world that didn't want it anyway
So this is my new freedom
It's funny
I don't remember being chained
But nothing seems to make sense anymore

Without you I'm always twenty minutes late

***

                Sara glanced at the clock.  7:53 am.  Did she want to meet Nick?  If she went, was she going because she wanted to or because she wanted to rid her mind of her memories?

***

Ever since you've been gone
The lights go out the same
The only difference is
You call another name
To your love
To your lover now
To your love
The lover after me

***

                Sara drove past the lab, glancing into the parking lot to see Grissom's car.  As usual, he was still there.  If it had been a normal day, she reasoned, I would still be there too.  But I'm not, she thought, finally making a decision.

***

And time goes by so slowly
The nights are cold and lonely
I shouldn't be holding on
But I'm still holding on for you

Here I go again
I promised myself I wouldn't think of you today
But I'm standing at your doorway
I'm calling out your name because I can't move on

***

                Sara waited at the red light for the light to turn.  She had moved on.  She wasn't ready for something new, but she'd been able to tell him she had moved on, in words only he really understood.  She missed him, especially now as she drove through the places she haunted with him over the past three years, but she was moving on just the same.

***

Ever since you've been gone
The lights go out the same
The only difference is
You call another name
To your love
To your lover now
To your love
The lover after me

***

                The sun dazzled Sara's eyes as she stepped out of the car.  She walked towards the door, and opened it slowly.  Inside, she glanced around, searching for Nick.  She found him, sitting quietly in a corner, back to the door.  She walked up to him, and placed a hand on his shoulder.  He spun around quickly.

                "Still looking for company," Sara asked hesitantly.

                Nick's face broke out into a smile.

                "Of course."

                Sara sat down while Nick ordered her a cup of coffee and passed her a menu.  While Nick placed the order, Sara looked around, absorbing the homey feel of the diner.  Nick's voice interrupted her daydream of her childhood, when her own kitchen felt just like the diner.

                "Why," he said quietly.

                Sara looked at him, confused.

                "Why did you come," he clarified.

                Sara's thoughts spun. It would be futile to lie to him.  Why did she come?  Her mind churned out dozens of possible answers.  Thought you needed some company.  I need to eat, too.  I don't know.  I didn't want to go to breakfast with Grissom.  I needed company.   This stupid song on the radio told me I needed to move on.  I just needed to.

                The sun reflected in the pitcher of water, casting slivers of dancing light across the table.  Sara looked up at Nick, who was waiting patiently for a reply.

                "I wanted to."

***

La Fin/The End.