A/N: This "epilogue" is seven pages long... just shows to go ya how
reluctant I was to end this little saga I guess. Thank you, Faithful
Reader, for all your wonderful reviews and encouragement; you made all the
blood, sweat and tears (mine, not Nick's) all worthwhile. You rock. Now
read on because everybody loves a happy ending.
*** Epilogue - One year later
Nick walked down the hall, unable to keep a huge grin off his face. He looked over at Sara walking beside him and squeezed her hand. She looked at him and gave him a wide smile to match his own, leaning up to give him a peck on the lips without breaking their stride. They were running a little late but they really didn't care. They had good cause.
Earlier that evening, Sara had woken up to the sensation of Nick lightly brushing hair off her forehead. Her eyes opened to see him lying on his side, watching her intently with a warm smile on his face. He always watched her sleep and cherished waking up to find her lying there beside him every day.
"Hey beautiful," he drawled, his fingers still stroking her hair. She loved the husky, honey-coated-gravel sound of his voice when he first woke up.
"Mm, hi gorgeous," she greeted smiling softly, her eyes drifting closed again. She felt his lips press tenderly against hers and her hand came up to the back of his neck. Fingers lightly scratching his short hair as she returned his kiss, she hummed with great satisfaction. "Have I ever told you how much I adore you?"
"Well let me think..." He pretended to ponder her question for a moment while she peppered soft kisses on his face. His hands roamed under the Dallas Cowboys t-shirt of his that she was wearing to caress her bare back. "Not since we woke up, no."
"Hmm, I guess I'll just have to fix that then, won't I?" she asked grinning and finding his lips for another kiss this one more passionate than the last. He murmured in agreement, trailing burning kisses down her throat that made her shiver in delight. "I love you Nicky," she whispered in his ear, clutching his hard body and pressing herself against him. God, what this man could do to her...
Their hungry mouths met again and parted open allowing their tongues to probe and dance. His strong arms wrapped around her waist and he rolled onto his back, pulling her on top of him so her legs straddled his. Her hands held his head to hers and his wandered freely over her before settling on her waist. He was the first to break away, laying back on the pillow to gaze up at her, looking quite sexy with his hair tousled, face unshaven and muscular naked torso on display.
"Why so serious, handsome?" she asked curiously, resting her chin on his chest and combing her fingers through his hair.
"Just thinking," he replied softly, his fingertips making little circular patterns on her skin where her shirt had ridden up, causing goose bumps to rise in their wake.
"About what? Anyone I know?" she teased, leaning up to trail kisses along his stubbly jaw line. Reaching his cute little ear she licked it and was rewarded with a grunt and a quiver from him.
He chuckled. "Wouldn't you like to know?" he replied, laughing again at the squinty-eyed look she gave him and lifted his head to press his lips to hers. "Babe, you know you're the only lady on my mind."
"Better be," she said playfully, earning an endearing crooked grin from him. She loved the laugh lines that appeared around his mouth and traced them lightly. "You're lucky you're so adorable, you know that?"
"So I've been told," he replied with a chuckle, gently touching her face. "You're not so bad yourself."
She giggled, dropping a lingering kiss on his lips. "So seriously, besides this-" she rocked her pelvis against him provocatively and he let out a low moan. "What's up?"
Nick gritted his teeth and stilled the tantalizing motion of her hips with his hands. "Saucy little minx," he muttered a little breathlessly and she laughed against his mouth, kissing him again.
His dark eyes searched hers and his smile faded slowly as he seemed to come to a decision in his mind. He licked his lips and sighed. "We need to talk."
She frowned at his tone. "Uh, oh." Her hands went to his chest and she pushed herself up to sit on his thighs. "I don't think I like the sound of this. Talk about what?"
"Don't worry Sar," he said reassuringly, rubbing her arms and seemingly reading her mind. "I'm not breaking up with you, not even close."
"Jeez, don't scare me like that Nick," she said breathing a sigh of relief and landing a light punch on his shoulder. "What is it then?"
He studied her a moment, reaching up to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear, and she looked down at him curiously, her brow slightly furrowed as she waited to hear what he wanted to say.
"You know how much I love you, right?" he asked quietly, taking both her hands and lacing their fingers together. She nodded, silently urging him to continue.
"You've become my whole life Sara, I'm crazy about you. I can't even imagine us not being together. You have filled this void in my heart that I don't even think I realized was there. I treasure every moment I get to spend by your side. All I want in this world is to make you happy and be with you forever."
"That's beautiful," she smiled and kissed the back of his hand, touched by his sincere words. "I love you too baby. But I still don't understand what this is all about. What's going on with you?" she asked, holding his hand to her chest.
He didn't answer, but stretched his free arm over to his nightstand, opening its tiny drawer. She watched his hand reach inside and pull out a tiny velvet box that he slowly held out to her. A small gasp escaped her lips, her hand coming up to her mouth. Her wide eyes watered and met his gaze questioningly. He gave her a slight nod.
"Marry me Sara," he said softly, opening the box to reveal a beautiful, simple diamond set in white gold.
"Oh, my God," she whispered. Making a sound that was a combination of a sob and a laugh she dropped onto him, her tears spilling onto her cheeks as she crushed his lips under hers. "Yes," she said, punctuating each 'yes' with a kiss. "Yes, yes, yes."
He laughed into her mouth, returning her kisses and wrapping his arms around her tightly, his own tears falling from his eyes. He gently sat them up so she was seated in his lap. Both of them sniffling and smiling, he removed the ring from its box and took her left hand in his. Resting their foreheads together they both watched as he slid the diamond onto her finger. Their teary eyes met and they laughed again, simultaneously leaning towards each other for another searing kiss, their tongues tangling. Her arms wrapped around his neck and his slid around her waist as they lay back down again, their mouths never parting when he carefully rolled them over, easing his weight onto her.
"I love you Sara," he said, grinning as he looked down affectionately at her.
"I love you too," she replied, smiling and kissing him again. "So much."
She pulled him down to her and their passion mounting, they quickly found what they believed was a very good reason to be late for work.
Now at the lab, they made their way to the break room hand in hand, anxious to share their news with the rest of the team.
"Well, well, well. Hello love birds," Catherine greeted the couple as they entered the room, widening their beaming smiles even more. "Thanks for coming."
"And just when I was starting to think that his tardiness wasn't rubbing off on you," Grissom quipped, looking up from his crossword puzzle over the rims of his glasses.
"Sorry Griss, I guess I'm just a bad influence," Nick said with a wicked grin and a wink at Sara. She winked back and went over to where Catherine was standing to get them both some coffee.
"Well, I could have told you that," Warrick supplied, flicking the television off. He looked between his friends suspiciously. "Why are you two in such a good mood? Actually, wait... do I even want to know the answer to that question?"
"Oh, no reason," Sara replied cheekily, deliberately reaching past Catherine with her left hand to retrieve a mug from the cupboard. Before it could even get halfway there, Catherine noticed the glimmer on Sara's hand and let out a squeal, drawing the three men's attention.
"Sara!" she exclaimed, grabbing the woman's hand and gawking at the diamond on her finger. Catherine looked up at Sara's smiling face then at Nick's, her own expression mirroring that of a child on Christmas morning.
"We're engaged!" Nick announced proudly, coming up behind Sara, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her cheek.
Catherine squealed again then started to cry, pulling them both into a tight hug.
"Alright, way to go man!" Warrick congratulated, coming over and giving Nick a quick hug, thumping him on the back. "I knew it was only a matter of time. This is wonderful you guys, you're going to be so happy."
"Yeah I know, I haven't been able to stop smiling since she said yes," Nick admitted chuckling, unable to take his eyes off a laughing Sara who was still trapped in Catherine's embrace. "My cheeks are starting to hurt."
"Congrats, Sara," Warrick said, lifting Sara off the ground with a big bear hug and kissing her cheek. "I'm thrilled for you, girl."
"Thanks, Rick."
Grissom waited until the other two backed off, Catherine still sniffing and carefully wiping under her eyes so she didn't smear her mascara.
"Congratulations Sara," Grissom said kindly, surprising her when he pulled her into a gentle hug.
"Thanks Grissom," she replied, placing a kiss on his bearded cheek. She had been apprehensive as to what his reaction would be given their history and was greatly relieved to have his support.
He pulled away and smiled then turned to Nick and shook his hand. "Congratulations, Nicky my boy."
"Thank you Griss," Nick said sincerely. Sara went over to him and held his hand, smiling happily when he planted a lingering kiss on her lips.
"Party at Nick and Sara's after shift!" Warrick proclaimed, slinging his arms around their shoulders and making everybody laugh.
"Did I hear someone say party?" Greg asked, drawing everyone's attention to where he stood in the doorway. "What's the occasion?"
"Uh oh," Catherine muttered under her breath. They all knew Greg harbored a secret love for Sara, despite the fact that she and Nick had been dating exclusively for a little over a year. Hearing the news of their engagement he would be crushed.
Sara and Nick exchanged a glance then she pulled away from him and went to stand in front of the lab tech. "Greg, I have something to tell you."
"You've left Nick and finally come to your senses and realized that I'm the only man for you?" he asked, resting his hand over his heart and waggling his eyebrows at her. Nick rolled his eyes, but found he really couldn't blame the guy for trying.
Sara blinked then shook her head. "Um no, not exactly," she went on and held up her hand for him to see her ring. "Nick asked me to marry him today."
Greg's jaw dropped, and he looked at her with heartbroken Bambi eyes. "And you said yes?!" he demanded incredulously.
"Thanks Greg," Nick said dryly, crossing his arms and leaning against the counter.
"Aw, don't be sad Greggo," Sara said smiling at his pout. "You know I'll always love you." With that, she grabbed his sulking face in her hands and placed a loud, smacking kiss right on his lips leaving him stunned and making the group laugh in surprise.
"Hey, hey, hey," Nick scolded lightly, his tone mock serious. "That's about enough of that."
"Well it had to be done before I become a married woman," Sara teased back, ruffling Greg's already disheveled hair before returning to Nick's side and sliding her arm around his waist.
"Uh huh," he looked skeptically at her, putting a possessive hand on her hip and pulling her closer to his side. The act wouldn't have been any less subtle if he had pounded on his chest with his fists, jumped up on the counter, pointed at her and shouted "MINE!" at the top of his lungs.
Greatly amused by this apparent touch of jealousy, she leaned over and whispered in his ear. "Don't worry. You're still the only man for me cowboy."
Nick looked at her and grinned. "I'd kiss you for that Sidle, but you seem to have lab tech all over your mouth." She laughed and slapped his arm.
"Greg you should see the look on your face man," Warrick managed through his laughter, making everyone else crack up again.
Greg finally came out of his daze and turned bright pink. He ducked his head adorably, a bashful smile on his face. "Well, then I guess it's okay if you get married," he said with a small shrug.
"I'm glad we have your blessing Greggo," Nick said chuckling and patting his friend on the back.
"Well as happy as I am for the bride and groom to be," Grissom said picking a folder up off the table. "We still have a shift to get through if we want to do any celebrating later on."
"Let's do it," Catherine declared, rubbing her hands together anxiously. "What have you got for us?"
As Grissom started handing out assignments, Nick met Sara's eyes and smiled again. Surrounded by the ones he loved and engaged to spend the rest of his life with the one he cherished most of all he truly felt like the luckiest man in the world.
THE END
*** Epilogue - One year later
Nick walked down the hall, unable to keep a huge grin off his face. He looked over at Sara walking beside him and squeezed her hand. She looked at him and gave him a wide smile to match his own, leaning up to give him a peck on the lips without breaking their stride. They were running a little late but they really didn't care. They had good cause.
Earlier that evening, Sara had woken up to the sensation of Nick lightly brushing hair off her forehead. Her eyes opened to see him lying on his side, watching her intently with a warm smile on his face. He always watched her sleep and cherished waking up to find her lying there beside him every day.
"Hey beautiful," he drawled, his fingers still stroking her hair. She loved the husky, honey-coated-gravel sound of his voice when he first woke up.
"Mm, hi gorgeous," she greeted smiling softly, her eyes drifting closed again. She felt his lips press tenderly against hers and her hand came up to the back of his neck. Fingers lightly scratching his short hair as she returned his kiss, she hummed with great satisfaction. "Have I ever told you how much I adore you?"
"Well let me think..." He pretended to ponder her question for a moment while she peppered soft kisses on his face. His hands roamed under the Dallas Cowboys t-shirt of his that she was wearing to caress her bare back. "Not since we woke up, no."
"Hmm, I guess I'll just have to fix that then, won't I?" she asked grinning and finding his lips for another kiss this one more passionate than the last. He murmured in agreement, trailing burning kisses down her throat that made her shiver in delight. "I love you Nicky," she whispered in his ear, clutching his hard body and pressing herself against him. God, what this man could do to her...
Their hungry mouths met again and parted open allowing their tongues to probe and dance. His strong arms wrapped around her waist and he rolled onto his back, pulling her on top of him so her legs straddled his. Her hands held his head to hers and his wandered freely over her before settling on her waist. He was the first to break away, laying back on the pillow to gaze up at her, looking quite sexy with his hair tousled, face unshaven and muscular naked torso on display.
"Why so serious, handsome?" she asked curiously, resting her chin on his chest and combing her fingers through his hair.
"Just thinking," he replied softly, his fingertips making little circular patterns on her skin where her shirt had ridden up, causing goose bumps to rise in their wake.
"About what? Anyone I know?" she teased, leaning up to trail kisses along his stubbly jaw line. Reaching his cute little ear she licked it and was rewarded with a grunt and a quiver from him.
He chuckled. "Wouldn't you like to know?" he replied, laughing again at the squinty-eyed look she gave him and lifted his head to press his lips to hers. "Babe, you know you're the only lady on my mind."
"Better be," she said playfully, earning an endearing crooked grin from him. She loved the laugh lines that appeared around his mouth and traced them lightly. "You're lucky you're so adorable, you know that?"
"So I've been told," he replied with a chuckle, gently touching her face. "You're not so bad yourself."
She giggled, dropping a lingering kiss on his lips. "So seriously, besides this-" she rocked her pelvis against him provocatively and he let out a low moan. "What's up?"
Nick gritted his teeth and stilled the tantalizing motion of her hips with his hands. "Saucy little minx," he muttered a little breathlessly and she laughed against his mouth, kissing him again.
His dark eyes searched hers and his smile faded slowly as he seemed to come to a decision in his mind. He licked his lips and sighed. "We need to talk."
She frowned at his tone. "Uh, oh." Her hands went to his chest and she pushed herself up to sit on his thighs. "I don't think I like the sound of this. Talk about what?"
"Don't worry Sar," he said reassuringly, rubbing her arms and seemingly reading her mind. "I'm not breaking up with you, not even close."
"Jeez, don't scare me like that Nick," she said breathing a sigh of relief and landing a light punch on his shoulder. "What is it then?"
He studied her a moment, reaching up to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear, and she looked down at him curiously, her brow slightly furrowed as she waited to hear what he wanted to say.
"You know how much I love you, right?" he asked quietly, taking both her hands and lacing their fingers together. She nodded, silently urging him to continue.
"You've become my whole life Sara, I'm crazy about you. I can't even imagine us not being together. You have filled this void in my heart that I don't even think I realized was there. I treasure every moment I get to spend by your side. All I want in this world is to make you happy and be with you forever."
"That's beautiful," she smiled and kissed the back of his hand, touched by his sincere words. "I love you too baby. But I still don't understand what this is all about. What's going on with you?" she asked, holding his hand to her chest.
He didn't answer, but stretched his free arm over to his nightstand, opening its tiny drawer. She watched his hand reach inside and pull out a tiny velvet box that he slowly held out to her. A small gasp escaped her lips, her hand coming up to her mouth. Her wide eyes watered and met his gaze questioningly. He gave her a slight nod.
"Marry me Sara," he said softly, opening the box to reveal a beautiful, simple diamond set in white gold.
"Oh, my God," she whispered. Making a sound that was a combination of a sob and a laugh she dropped onto him, her tears spilling onto her cheeks as she crushed his lips under hers. "Yes," she said, punctuating each 'yes' with a kiss. "Yes, yes, yes."
He laughed into her mouth, returning her kisses and wrapping his arms around her tightly, his own tears falling from his eyes. He gently sat them up so she was seated in his lap. Both of them sniffling and smiling, he removed the ring from its box and took her left hand in his. Resting their foreheads together they both watched as he slid the diamond onto her finger. Their teary eyes met and they laughed again, simultaneously leaning towards each other for another searing kiss, their tongues tangling. Her arms wrapped around his neck and his slid around her waist as they lay back down again, their mouths never parting when he carefully rolled them over, easing his weight onto her.
"I love you Sara," he said, grinning as he looked down affectionately at her.
"I love you too," she replied, smiling and kissing him again. "So much."
She pulled him down to her and their passion mounting, they quickly found what they believed was a very good reason to be late for work.
Now at the lab, they made their way to the break room hand in hand, anxious to share their news with the rest of the team.
"Well, well, well. Hello love birds," Catherine greeted the couple as they entered the room, widening their beaming smiles even more. "Thanks for coming."
"And just when I was starting to think that his tardiness wasn't rubbing off on you," Grissom quipped, looking up from his crossword puzzle over the rims of his glasses.
"Sorry Griss, I guess I'm just a bad influence," Nick said with a wicked grin and a wink at Sara. She winked back and went over to where Catherine was standing to get them both some coffee.
"Well, I could have told you that," Warrick supplied, flicking the television off. He looked between his friends suspiciously. "Why are you two in such a good mood? Actually, wait... do I even want to know the answer to that question?"
"Oh, no reason," Sara replied cheekily, deliberately reaching past Catherine with her left hand to retrieve a mug from the cupboard. Before it could even get halfway there, Catherine noticed the glimmer on Sara's hand and let out a squeal, drawing the three men's attention.
"Sara!" she exclaimed, grabbing the woman's hand and gawking at the diamond on her finger. Catherine looked up at Sara's smiling face then at Nick's, her own expression mirroring that of a child on Christmas morning.
"We're engaged!" Nick announced proudly, coming up behind Sara, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her cheek.
Catherine squealed again then started to cry, pulling them both into a tight hug.
"Alright, way to go man!" Warrick congratulated, coming over and giving Nick a quick hug, thumping him on the back. "I knew it was only a matter of time. This is wonderful you guys, you're going to be so happy."
"Yeah I know, I haven't been able to stop smiling since she said yes," Nick admitted chuckling, unable to take his eyes off a laughing Sara who was still trapped in Catherine's embrace. "My cheeks are starting to hurt."
"Congrats, Sara," Warrick said, lifting Sara off the ground with a big bear hug and kissing her cheek. "I'm thrilled for you, girl."
"Thanks, Rick."
Grissom waited until the other two backed off, Catherine still sniffing and carefully wiping under her eyes so she didn't smear her mascara.
"Congratulations Sara," Grissom said kindly, surprising her when he pulled her into a gentle hug.
"Thanks Grissom," she replied, placing a kiss on his bearded cheek. She had been apprehensive as to what his reaction would be given their history and was greatly relieved to have his support.
He pulled away and smiled then turned to Nick and shook his hand. "Congratulations, Nicky my boy."
"Thank you Griss," Nick said sincerely. Sara went over to him and held his hand, smiling happily when he planted a lingering kiss on her lips.
"Party at Nick and Sara's after shift!" Warrick proclaimed, slinging his arms around their shoulders and making everybody laugh.
"Did I hear someone say party?" Greg asked, drawing everyone's attention to where he stood in the doorway. "What's the occasion?"
"Uh oh," Catherine muttered under her breath. They all knew Greg harbored a secret love for Sara, despite the fact that she and Nick had been dating exclusively for a little over a year. Hearing the news of their engagement he would be crushed.
Sara and Nick exchanged a glance then she pulled away from him and went to stand in front of the lab tech. "Greg, I have something to tell you."
"You've left Nick and finally come to your senses and realized that I'm the only man for you?" he asked, resting his hand over his heart and waggling his eyebrows at her. Nick rolled his eyes, but found he really couldn't blame the guy for trying.
Sara blinked then shook her head. "Um no, not exactly," she went on and held up her hand for him to see her ring. "Nick asked me to marry him today."
Greg's jaw dropped, and he looked at her with heartbroken Bambi eyes. "And you said yes?!" he demanded incredulously.
"Thanks Greg," Nick said dryly, crossing his arms and leaning against the counter.
"Aw, don't be sad Greggo," Sara said smiling at his pout. "You know I'll always love you." With that, she grabbed his sulking face in her hands and placed a loud, smacking kiss right on his lips leaving him stunned and making the group laugh in surprise.
"Hey, hey, hey," Nick scolded lightly, his tone mock serious. "That's about enough of that."
"Well it had to be done before I become a married woman," Sara teased back, ruffling Greg's already disheveled hair before returning to Nick's side and sliding her arm around his waist.
"Uh huh," he looked skeptically at her, putting a possessive hand on her hip and pulling her closer to his side. The act wouldn't have been any less subtle if he had pounded on his chest with his fists, jumped up on the counter, pointed at her and shouted "MINE!" at the top of his lungs.
Greatly amused by this apparent touch of jealousy, she leaned over and whispered in his ear. "Don't worry. You're still the only man for me cowboy."
Nick looked at her and grinned. "I'd kiss you for that Sidle, but you seem to have lab tech all over your mouth." She laughed and slapped his arm.
"Greg you should see the look on your face man," Warrick managed through his laughter, making everyone else crack up again.
Greg finally came out of his daze and turned bright pink. He ducked his head adorably, a bashful smile on his face. "Well, then I guess it's okay if you get married," he said with a small shrug.
"I'm glad we have your blessing Greggo," Nick said chuckling and patting his friend on the back.
"Well as happy as I am for the bride and groom to be," Grissom said picking a folder up off the table. "We still have a shift to get through if we want to do any celebrating later on."
"Let's do it," Catherine declared, rubbing her hands together anxiously. "What have you got for us?"
As Grissom started handing out assignments, Nick met Sara's eyes and smiled again. Surrounded by the ones he loved and engaged to spend the rest of his life with the one he cherished most of all he truly felt like the luckiest man in the world.
THE END