Sara poured over the photos a long time with Nick and Grissom. After a while she sort of detached herself from the reality of the situation and her professionalism kicked in. While Keith McCormick had readily confessed, they needed to make sure the evidence backed that up so it would hold up in a court of law. Evidentiary procedure was almost as important as collecting the evidence itself. Sloppy collection and handling practices had lost more than one case in court, and the LVDP CSI Lab wasn't second in the country by accident. They worked hard at making sure their collection of evidence was detailed and accurate.

Sara started rubbing her temples. She could feel a headache coming on. She realized that all she had eaten since she got up was a glass of orange juice, which now probably made Grissom's trash can smell to high heaven, a cup of coffee and half of a Krispy Kreme donut.

Nick looked at her with interest, but it was Grissom who spoke first, "Sara, why don't you take a break, shift's almost over."

Sara continued rubbing he temples and looked up, "Ok."

Nick looked over at her, "Sara, have you eaten anything besides that donut earlier?"

She shook her head.

Grissom interjected, "I've got money in the budget for some meals. Nick, why don't you order some takeout. None of us has eaten much the last 24 hours. Warrick and Catherine should be back soon and I think all of us could use something to eat."

Nick nodded, "Ok, Gris." He turned his attention to Sara, "Hey, Sar, why don't you come with me." He smiled at her.

Sara nodded, "Ok."

The pair of CSIs walked out of the layout room and headed for the break room in search of a takeout menu as well as a change of scenery.

Twenty-five minutes later, Warrick and Catherine had returned from processing the scene. The Chinese takeout had arrived and Greg had joined the rest of the night shift team in the break room. There was a volley of banter around the table typical of people who were comfortable in each other's presence.

Greg looked over at Nick and Sara, a regretful smile crossed his face, "So, Sara, I hear you and Nicky boy went on a hot date."

Sara tried to restrain a full grin.

Nick interjected, "Any date with Sara would be hot, simply because she' Sara."

Sara blushed as Nick looked at her appreciatively. She winked at him.

"No argument there, man," Greg responded, "I just wish it was me." Greg looked over at Catherine, "So, Catherine, looks like it's just you and me." Greg waggled his eyebrows.

Warrick chuckled, Nick laughed, Sara grinned, Grissom wore an annoyed look on his face, and Catherine just replied, "In your dreams, Greg."

"I'll take what I can get." He smirked and put another bite of Moo Shoo Pork in his mouth. He looked over at Sara again, "So, Sara, how was that first date?"

Sara smirked and replied, "I'll let you know when it's over, Greg. Nick hasn't taken me home yet." She winked at Nick.

Nick just grinned at Sara and popped some sweet and sour chicken into his mouth before winking back.

Greg's jaw hung open slightly.

Warrick gestured toward Greg, "Hey, Sanders, you might want to close your mouth, you're going to start attracting flies."

A sly grin crossed Catherine's face.

Grissom tried to suppress a half smile and shook his head.

By the time the group had finished eating, shift had been over for a hour. Grissom headed back to the layout room, Catherine went home to check on Lindsey, Warrick headed home to get some sleep, and Greg mentioned something about trying to find a hot chick at Western LVU where he tutored chemistry students. Nick and Sara walked out into the parking lot in the morning sun. Sara decided just to ride with Nick back to his house and leave her Tahoe at the lab.

As they walked into Nick's house, Sara headed straight for the couch and let out a deep sigh as she sat down. Nick followed her into the living room and leaned his shoulder into the back of the couch as he sat facing her, "You doing ok, Sara?"

She rubbed her forehead with her hand, "Just a lot of stuff to process Nick. He's been watching me since I moved into my apartment and I had no idea."

Nick placed a hand on her shoulder and looked at her with concern in his eyes, "Why don't you get some sleep, Sara?"

She laid her head back on the couch and looked over at him, placing a hand on his knee, "I know I should, Nick, but I'm afraid to."

An understanding look crossed Nick's face as he pulled her into a hug, kissing the top of her head. His hands stroked her back and he felt tears dampen his shirt as Sara buried her face in his shoulder. "It's ok, Sara."

Sara pulled away to look at Nick. He smiled at her and reached over to brush the tears from her face. A faint smile tugged at her mouth. She took Nick's hand in hers and looked down at their fingers intertwining. She looked back up at him, "Thanks, Nick."

"You're welcome." He smiled at her. He reached up and ran a finger down her cheek. He leaned in a placed a gentle kiss on her lips. Sara's hand reached up and cupped his cheek as she pulled him closer to deepen the kiss. Nick encircled her waist with his free arm and his lips parted as his tongue teased her lips, which tasted faintly of soy sauce and ginger. Sara parted her lips and their tongues danced slowly, deliberately. As they broke the kiss, Sara rested her head on Nick's chest. They sat there, arms entwined, enjoying being close to one another and fell asleep.