Sara and I decided that we both wanted to go home and change before our date. I had mixed feelings as I was on my way to pick her up. On the one hand, I was thrilled to be taking her out on an official date. On the other, I was still pissed as hell at Grissom. I was fairly certain that a little more than an attempt at kissing Sara had transpired in his office. She hadn't said as much, but I gathered it by Catherine's reaction to Grissom. I knew Sara would tell me eventually, far away from the four walls of the lab and Gil Grissom.

I pulled into the parking lot of her apartment and smiled. I was taking Sara Sidle on a date. I walked up to her door and knocked. I had stopped and bought her flowers, and they were behind my back. As she opened the door I noticed that she wasn't smiling. I raised a curious eyebrow in concern. She stepped aside to let me in. When she noticed the flowers behind my back, the corners of her mouth began to turn up in a smile.

As I handed her the flowers I queried her. "Sar, are you ok?"

She looked directly into my eyes as she answered. "Nick, I didn't tell you everything that happened in Grissom's office."

I smiled gently at her. "I kind of figured that."

She let out a deep breath. She looked upset. She fingered the flowers nervously and then turned to find something to put them in.

I walked up behind her in the kitchen and snaked my arms around her waist. "Sar, whatever it is, it's gonna be ok."

She set the flowers down on the counter and turned in my embrace. She rest her head and hands against my chest. "Nick, he did more than just try and kiss me. He made it pretty obvious that he wanted a little more than that."

I whispered into her hair. "What did he do, Sara?"

She sounded a bit detached at first as she began to describe how he had called her into his office for what she assumed was to consult on a case. As she told me how he'd pushed her up against the file cabinet and began to grope her as he tried to push his tongue into her mouth, her voice caught. I felt like throwing up. How dare that bastard treat her like this. He'd had three years to make a move and now when she decided she didn't want him, he tried a stunt like this. And I knew that a stunt was exactly what this was. Grissom was making a last ditch effort to keep Sara on a short leash like a lap dog. He had no intention of treating her like the incredible woman that she was.

I knew my anger would get me nowhere and accomplish nothing. I just held Sara tight to me as she began to cry. I knew that she had gone through this and worse before and the last thing she needed was for me to get upset. "It's not your fault, Sara."

"I'm so sorry, Nick." She continued to cry. I led her over to the couch and held her close.

"Sara, you've got nothing to apologize for. You didn't do anything." I soothed her.

"I ruined our first date." She managed through her tears.

I chuckled. "It's ok. We can just hang out here. I just want to spend time with you. We don't need to go anywhere special to do that."

She smiled at me through her tears. "You're a good friend, you know that. I think that's why I fell for you."

I chuckled and raised my eyebrows at her. "So you've gone from falling for me to fell for me."

She nodded and smiled sniffling. "Yeah, I have."

I smiled. "Good. I thought I heard someone else hit the ground nearby when I fell for you."

Sara started laughing. She pushed herself out of my embrace and grinned at me. "Nick Stokes, you are so good for me."

I chuckled. "I'd have to say that you're pretty good for me too, Sar." I reached up and ran my fingers through her hair as I smiled at her. "I love you, Sara."

A grin spread across her face. "I love you too, Nick." She leaned over and softly kissed me. She broke the kiss and snuggle against me on the couch.

We sat that way for a while. Then we decided that we were hungry. Knowing Sara didn't have meat in her house, I decided to take her out for breakfast. By the time we finished eating, Sara decided that we should go do something fun since this was supposed to be our first real date. I grinned at her. You can't keep Sara Sidle down long. That's one of the things I love about her. Yeah, I love her. Wow. She loves me too. I don't think I'm ever going to get this grin off my face. Not that I want to mind you.

Sara suggested putt-putt golfing. How could I say no when she looks at me like that? On the way to the putt-putt golf place, we stopped and picked up the pictures we had taken at Disneyland. She had dropped them off on her way home. I have to say, we looked ridiculous with those damn mouse ears on, but we had a hell of a time there. We laughed so hard at those pictures that we had tears streaming down our faces. Smart woman that she is, she had gotten double prints so we could each have a set. I smiled. Pictures of Sara and I. Together.

We played a couple of games of putt-putt golf and then I took her home. We were both tired, and the day had been especially stressful thanks to Grissom. I walked her to the door and pulled her into a tight embrace.

"I love you, Sara." I inhaled the scent that was uniquely Sara and smiled.

"I love you, Nick." She leaned up and kissed me softly.

Damn, I love her lips. I didn't want the kiss to end, but neither did I want to rush things with her physically. Regretfully, we pulled apart and I kissed her forehead. "Sleep well, Sara."

She looked into my eyes and smiled. Damn, that makes my heart melt. "I will, you too, Nicky."

I held onto her hand for as long as possible as I left to go back to my Tahoe. As I drove home, I'm sure that dopey grin was still on my face. Sara Sidle loves me.