Sara woke in a cold sweat gasping for breath. Images of her apartment in chaos with dead bodies strewn about had pulled her from sleep. It took her a few minutes to remember where she was and why she was there. She was at Nick's in his guest room. She couldn't tell what time it was, there was no clock in the room, and the heavy wooden shutters effectively blocked out the light. She got up out of the bed and softly opened the bedroom door. The lights in the rest of the house were out, she looked at Nick's closed bedroom door and she figured that he was asleep. She wondered if he really meant it when he said she could wake him if she needed anything and if this qualified. She wandered down the hall and into the kitchen. She flipped on the light above the stove, the clock on the stove said 9am. She'd only been asleep about four hours. It took her a few tries, but she finally located the cupboard where the glasses were. She went to the sink and got herself a glass of water. She took a few sips and then decided she wasn't really thirsty, emptying the rest of the contents into the sink. She walked softly back down the hallway and started back into the guest room. She hesitated for a moment and then walked across the hallway. She let out a deep breath before she open the door to Nick's bedroom. In a whisper she called out, "Nick? Nick? Nicky?"

A groggy voice answered her, "Yeah, Sara?" Nick sat up in his bed. It took a few moments for his mind to adjust, "Are you ok? Do you need something?"

Tentatively, Sara answered, "Uh, I can't sleep. I had a nightmare."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Nick offered rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"Would that be ok?" Sara sounded unsure.

Nick yawned audibly, "Yeah, come here."

Sara walked over to Nick's bed and sat down on the edge of it, "I'm sorry for waking you up."

"It's ok, Sar." He reached out and pulled her into a hug. He could tell she was sweaty, her hair was damp and the shirt clung to her small frame. "What was it about?"

Sara leaned into Nick's arms, "It was my apartment. Everything was smashed up. My furniture was sliced up and there were dead bodies everywhere."

Nick hugged her a little tighter.

"I know it shouldn't bother me, I mean we see stuff like that everyday." Sara tried to rationalize.

Nick whispered in Sara's ear, "Sar, it's different when it's your stuff and your place."

"Nick?" Sara said tentatively.

"Yeah, Sar?" Nick replied softly.

"Can I stay in here with you? I mean would you just hold me for a while? I'm kind of scared; I don't want to be alone." Sara explained.

"Yeah," Nick answered.

He scooted over on the bed and made room for her to slip beneath the covers next to him. Nick wrapped his arms around her and Sara laid her head on his shoulder, her arm slung over his chest. Nick stroked her hair until he heard her breathing even out and he knew that she was asleep. Shortly thereafter, he drifted off to sleep as well.

Sara stirred from sleep several hours later. A nervous smile tugged at her mouth as she realized her shirt had ridden up and Nick's hand was splayed across her bare stomach. She lay there not quite ready to get up.

Nick began to stir. He smiled as he realized that Sara lay in bed next to him. He realized where his hand had strayed while they slept, and he began to move it from under her shirt to rest on her hip. A grin spread across his face and he began planting kisses on Sara's neck.

Sara squirmed next to him and giggled, "Nick Stokes, that tickles."

"Sara Sidle, I didn't know you were ticklish." Nick continued kissing Sara's neck until she rolled onto her back. He grinned at her and rolled on top of her pushing her shirt further up and tickling her sides. Sara continued giggling and pulled at Nick's shirt trying to find a ticklish spot on his sides. Nick continued tickling Sara until he grazed her breast with his fingers. They both stopped and locked eyes. Nick pulled his hand away and whispered, "I'm sorry, Sara."

Sara looked into Nick's eyes before whispering back, "I'm not." She raised her hand to his face and traced his lips with her fingers. Nick still rested on top of Sara and he leaned down and kissed her lips softly, tangling his fingers in her hair. The kiss started like a smoldering fire and quickly caught flame. As their tongues danced ferociously, their hands roamed and explored. The need for air caused them to break the kiss.

"Sara." Nick whispered. "We've got to stop."

Sara tried to catch her breath, "I know, Nick, it's too soon."

"We've got a lot to talk about before we take that step." He searched her eyes and caressed her forehead with his fingers.

"Yeah," Sara nodded.

Nick rolled off Sara and lay on his back. He let out a deep breath. Sara rolled onto her side and looked at him, "Nick, I'm going to go take a shower."

"Ok," Nick looked at her with an adoring expression on his face; he traced her cheek with his finger.

Sara got out of bed and headed toward the bathroom to take a shower. Nick laid his hands on his forehead and tried to get his breathing back to normal before getting up to get ready for work.