Disclaimer: I own none of the characters. "There is No Arizona" - Written by Jamie O'Neal/Lisa Drew/Shaye Smith

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'He promised her a new and better life out in Arizona

underneath the blue never endin' sky,

swore that he was gonna get things in order,

he'd send for her

when he left her behind it never crossed her mind There is no Arizona

No Painted Desert, no Sedona,

If there was a Grand Canyon

She could fill it up with the lies he's told her,

but they don't exist, those dreams he sold her

She'll wake up and find there is no Arizona.

do dn do dn do do She got a postcard with no return address, postmarked Tombstone

It said I don't know where I'm goin' next,

but when I do I'll let ya know

May, June, July she wonders why she's still waiting

She'll keep waiting cause There is no Arizona

No Painted Desert, no Sedona,

If there was a Grand Canyon

She could fill it up with the lies he's told her,

but they don't exist, those dreams he sold her

She'll wake up and find there is no Arizona. Each day the sun sets into the west,

her heart sinks lower in her chest,

and friends keep askin' when she's goin',

Finally she tells them

Don't you know There is no Arizona

No Painted Desert, No Sedona,

If there was A Grand Canyon

She could fill it up with the lies he's told her,

but they don't exist, those dreams he sold her

She'll wake up and find there is no Arizona.

do dn do dn do do He promised her a new and better life, out in Arizona'

As the song ended, Sara turned the radio off and mutter to Nick who was driving the Tahoe toward Arizona, "Typical."

A wry grin crossed his face, "What's that supposed to mean, Sara Sidle?"

"Men." She stated looking ahead at the road.

He chuckled, "That's pretty cynical."

Sara glanced over at him, "After Hank, I am pretty cynical. It's safer that way."

He cocked an eyebrow at her, "So you're going to let one ass jade you for the rest of your life just to spite him?"

Sara shot Nick and indignant glance, "He's not the only one."

He chuckled, "Ok, lest I forget Grissom. Are you going to let these two men who are as relationally inept as hell shape your opinion of every other man on the planet just to spite them?"

Sara just crossed her arms in front of her chest and looked out the window at the desert. They were only an hour into sixteen hour drive to pick up a body in Tucson, Arizona that had a direct bearing on their current case. Sara glanced at the warrant for the exhumation on the seat next to her.

They rode in silence for a little while. Nick kept stealing glances at Sara, trying to keep his grin in check. Sara pretended not to notice, preferring to try and fume.

Finally, she turned to him, "I'm not trying to spite them."

Nick let out an audible chuckle, "Even if you were, you wouldn't succeed."

Sara's eyebrows shot up and looked over at him defensively, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Sara, the only person you're spiting is yourself. You're letting them rob you of any future happiness with someone simply because they both acted like jerks." Nick replied.

"It's still safer that way," Sara muttered under her breath, but not softly enough.

Nick gave her a curious glance, "Why do you say that?"

Sara looked over at him with a curious stare, "Why do you care?"

He raised his eyebrows and glanced at her, "Why do you think I wouldn't?"

With a slightly exasperated expression she replied, "Do you have to answer every question with a question?"

Nick chuckled, "You didn't answer the question."

"Neither did you." Sara smirked.

They rode along in silence for a while.

Sara finally broke the silence, "It's safer because I won't get hurt again that way." She looked out the window at the passing landscape, which wasn't much different than what they'd looked at since they got outside the city limits of Vegas.

Nick wore a studied expression, "Sara, don't you want to be loved?"

"It doesn't matter." She snapped back. Her face was set and she looked out the window again, pulling her arms tighter around herself.

Nick was perplexed, "Yes it does matter, Sara."

"Nick, why is my love life so important to you anyway? Why does it matter whether I ever date anyone again? How did it suddenly become your mission in life to fix whatever is wrong with Sara? Huh?" She glared at him. "And while we're on the subject, why is it that Nick Stokes doesn't have a girlfriend? You can certainly give other people advice, but when was the last time you took it? You keep telling Archie and Greg to go for it, but what about you? Who jaded you?" Sara turned back to look at the window.

Nick didn't respond. He just kept driving. Curious, Sara glanced at him. Nick looked like he'd been hit in the gut. He caught her glance and replied softly, "You're right. I'm sorry. We can drop it if you want."

Sara didn't know what to say. Nick usually always had a come back for everything. She wasn't used to seeing him like this. She reached over and turned the radio on.

'There is no Arizona, no Painted Desert, no Sedona'

She turned it off, "Dammit, don't they have anything besides country music out here?"

Nick didn't reply, his jaw was set and he kept driving.

Sara saw a sign for a rest stop ahead, "Can we stop there? I need to stretch my legs."

"Sure." Nick replied, his voice neutral.

He pulled the Tahoe into the rest stop. Three other cars were in the parking lot. Sara hopped out of the SUV and made her way to the restroom. Nick let out a deep sigh and chided himself for pushing his questions too far. He got out of the Tahoe and went to the restroom. When he emerged he didn't see Sara near the Tahoe, so he decided to stretch his legs, taking a walk toward the edge of the rest stop. He stood there for a while, just looking out at the landscape.

He heard the crunch of gravel underfoot and Sara's tentative voice, "Nick, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. I know you were only trying to be helpful."

He turned toward her, "It's ok, Sara. I shouldn't have pushed."

She raised an eyebrow at him with a friendly expression, "Sometimes I need a good push. I shouldn't have said what I did to you."

Nick's expression finally softened, "It's ok. Forget about it." He gestured toward the Tahoe, "Hey, we still have a body to pick up."