Six weeks later, the CSIs still had no suspect in the murder of Rachel
King. Their only new lead came from Greg when he was able to match the DNA
from under Rachel's fingernails to the DNA of her unborn child. Their
killer was indeed the father of the baby.
Other cases had come and gone. Some had been solved overnight while others still remained open, but the nightshift team vigilantly kept at Rachel's case, determined to see her killer pay for his crimes.
Nick had gone home to Texas for two weeks to spend time with his family and of course to attend his sister's funeral. He had asked Sara if she wanted to come with him but she declined. Although she knew it would be incredibly hard to let him go she also realized that this was a crucial time for Nick to be with his parents and siblings and Sara felt it wasn't her place to be there. Plus they had been spending nearly all of their time together and Nick agreed with her that it probably would be good for their relationship to spend some time apart and gauge how strongly they really felt for one another. They still hadn't shared the news of their relationship with the team, partially because they so enjoyed having it as a secret only the two of them were privy to, but mostly because they wanted to be sure it was going to work.
"Well, I hope you realize I'll be calling you everyday then," Nick told her, his puppy-dog face out in full force. "Probably more than once."
"I'd expect nothing less," she replied with a smile, pulling his head down to hers for a deep kiss. "And I'll be here waiting when you get back."
And so Sara took Nick to the airport before her shift and saw him off after a teary goodbye full of I'll miss you's and I love you's. True to his word Nick had called her everyday, sometimes more than once depending on her schedule, and they would tell each other about their day, Nick always probing her for any new leads on Rachel. Unfortunately, Sara never had anything to report.
On the day of the funeral Nick had sounded pretty down so she made him promise to call after it was all over. He complied and Sara was pleasantly surprised to hear him sounding better than he had in days. He explained how beautiful the service was and that although everyone was deeply saddened by being forced to say goodbye, at the reception they had all shared their favorite memories of Rachel and it had raised all their spirits. Emotional relief had coursed through Sara as she listened to him share some of the stories with her, both of them laughing and smiling through their tears.
When the day finally came, what felt like an eternity later to both of them, Sara was at the terminal an hour before his flight was scheduled to arrive. Nick was one of the first passengers through the doors and had spotted her right away, stirring up the butterflies in his stomach. He waited for her to see him then flashed her a wide smile that she immediately returned. Calmly but purposefully he made his way through the crowd to stand in front of her.
"Hey Sar," he drawled. Setting down his duffle on the ground, he held her tightly in his strong arms.
"Hey yourself," she replied, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I missed you," she whispered in his ear.
"Good," he whispered back. "Cause I missed you. I love you Sara."
"Good." She pulled away to hold his face, stroking his cheeks with her thumbs. "Cause I love you."
He smiled and leaned down to capture her lips with his. God, he had so terribly missed this, how her lips tasted, how her fingers felt in his hair, how her body felt pressed against his. Of course he had enjoyed seeing his mom and dad, all his sisters and his brother and the seemingly endless stream of nieces and nephews, but this was really home for him now. This was exactly how it should be, he thought, smiling against her mouth when he felt her pull herself closer to him. Nick had come home from Texas with a deep tan and a thicker accent, neither of which Sara found herself minding very much at all. Nope, in fact she didn't mind one little bit.
"Hey cowboy?" she murmured between kisses, finally noticing the looks they were receiving from the people around them.
"Mm?" He was still oblivious to anything but her.
Sara broke away from the kiss to look at him with a devilish gleam in her eye. "How about you let me take you home and I'll show you just how much I missed you?"
He chuckled. "Oh, yes ma'am."
***
A/N: More to come soon.
Other cases had come and gone. Some had been solved overnight while others still remained open, but the nightshift team vigilantly kept at Rachel's case, determined to see her killer pay for his crimes.
Nick had gone home to Texas for two weeks to spend time with his family and of course to attend his sister's funeral. He had asked Sara if she wanted to come with him but she declined. Although she knew it would be incredibly hard to let him go she also realized that this was a crucial time for Nick to be with his parents and siblings and Sara felt it wasn't her place to be there. Plus they had been spending nearly all of their time together and Nick agreed with her that it probably would be good for their relationship to spend some time apart and gauge how strongly they really felt for one another. They still hadn't shared the news of their relationship with the team, partially because they so enjoyed having it as a secret only the two of them were privy to, but mostly because they wanted to be sure it was going to work.
"Well, I hope you realize I'll be calling you everyday then," Nick told her, his puppy-dog face out in full force. "Probably more than once."
"I'd expect nothing less," she replied with a smile, pulling his head down to hers for a deep kiss. "And I'll be here waiting when you get back."
And so Sara took Nick to the airport before her shift and saw him off after a teary goodbye full of I'll miss you's and I love you's. True to his word Nick had called her everyday, sometimes more than once depending on her schedule, and they would tell each other about their day, Nick always probing her for any new leads on Rachel. Unfortunately, Sara never had anything to report.
On the day of the funeral Nick had sounded pretty down so she made him promise to call after it was all over. He complied and Sara was pleasantly surprised to hear him sounding better than he had in days. He explained how beautiful the service was and that although everyone was deeply saddened by being forced to say goodbye, at the reception they had all shared their favorite memories of Rachel and it had raised all their spirits. Emotional relief had coursed through Sara as she listened to him share some of the stories with her, both of them laughing and smiling through their tears.
When the day finally came, what felt like an eternity later to both of them, Sara was at the terminal an hour before his flight was scheduled to arrive. Nick was one of the first passengers through the doors and had spotted her right away, stirring up the butterflies in his stomach. He waited for her to see him then flashed her a wide smile that she immediately returned. Calmly but purposefully he made his way through the crowd to stand in front of her.
"Hey Sar," he drawled. Setting down his duffle on the ground, he held her tightly in his strong arms.
"Hey yourself," she replied, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I missed you," she whispered in his ear.
"Good," he whispered back. "Cause I missed you. I love you Sara."
"Good." She pulled away to hold his face, stroking his cheeks with her thumbs. "Cause I love you."
He smiled and leaned down to capture her lips with his. God, he had so terribly missed this, how her lips tasted, how her fingers felt in his hair, how her body felt pressed against his. Of course he had enjoyed seeing his mom and dad, all his sisters and his brother and the seemingly endless stream of nieces and nephews, but this was really home for him now. This was exactly how it should be, he thought, smiling against her mouth when he felt her pull herself closer to him. Nick had come home from Texas with a deep tan and a thicker accent, neither of which Sara found herself minding very much at all. Nope, in fact she didn't mind one little bit.
"Hey cowboy?" she murmured between kisses, finally noticing the looks they were receiving from the people around them.
"Mm?" He was still oblivious to anything but her.
Sara broke away from the kiss to look at him with a devilish gleam in her eye. "How about you let me take you home and I'll show you just how much I missed you?"
He chuckled. "Oh, yes ma'am."
***
A/N: More to come soon.