Title: Stripping

Author: Megan

Pairing: Nick/Sara

Rating: PG

Summary: Stripping, talking, falling, and landing.

Spoilers: I suppose you could say there are some for Who Are You? It's going to be similar to Warrick and Sara's case in that episode, except its Nick and Sara, and it takes place in present time, not back in Season 1. There might also be stuff mentioned from any of the episodes from the beginning until now.

Author's Notes: Well, I figured since I had the weekend off, and absolutely nothing to do besides schoolwork, that I could handle a small challenge. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! :-)

Challenge: Nicky and Sara talk/fall in love while stripping down a car. They must lose
one article of clothing each.

~~$~@~$~~

"Hey Sara, are you ready?"

I turned my gaze from the tiny Geo Storm to where Nick was leaning against the door frame. "Yep. Just waiting for you."

"So, what exactly do you think we'll find?" Nick asked as he inspected the car.

"Well, I was hoping to find a bullet. Or maybe even another gun. I don't know. I'm really at a loss with this one. I mean, the guy's gun was missing two bullets. His wife said he was shot twice, but there was still only one bullet in him. Where's the other?" I pulled my hair back into a messy bun as I talked to Nick.

"Sara" He was doing it again. He had that tone of voice. You know which one I'm talking about? Like whenever he lectures me, he uses that voice. The 'warning' voice.

I hate it.

Then again, at least he cares.

Unlike some people.

I narrow my eyes at him, the way I always do. "What?"

He puts his hands on his hips, and stares at me intently. "The wife said he killed himself. He shot himself twice. Both times in the chest. Right in front of her. We have an eye witness, one of the bullets, and the autopsy. We don't need the second bullet."

I shook my head as I turned away from him to face the plethora of tools we had to work with. I don't even know what half of these things are called. To me, they're all chainsaws or screw drivers.

Whatever works.

I picked out one of the chainsaws. I figured I could use it to take the doors off. When I turned around, my breath caught in my throat and I nearly dropped the chainsaw.

There stood Nick, topless. His chiseled upper body on display for anyone who wants to see.

Which at this point in time, was just me.

I swallowed hard and turned back around before he even noticed I had seen him.

I put the chainsaw back down, to insure that I wouldn't drop it on my feet. I put my hand on my chest and quickly got my breathing back under control.

"Sara?" He put his hand on my shoulder as he said my name. His drawl a little more evident now than before.

"Yeah" I answered quietly.

"Are you okay?"

I turned to face him, and tried not to stare at his gorgeous body. I looked down at my feet and spoke softly. "I'm fine."

The feeling of his fingers on my skin shocked me. He gently lifted my chin so that he could look in my eyes. We stared at each other for a few minutes. I knew he was trying to read me. He's always been able to do that. Ever since day one.

"Sara" He dropped his fingers from my face, but didn't stop looking deep into my soul. "You've been like this ever since…"

"Ever since what, Nick?" I crossed my arms over my chest defensively.

"Well, ever since the explosion."

His words echoed in my head as I turned back to the chainsaw. I closed my eyes tightly to try and prevent the images of fire and exploding glass from invading my head.

It wasn't working.

I picked up a few tools and moved back over to the car and began working on the doors. Within ten minutes I had both of the doors on the right side of the car off, and lying off to the side.

Nick had begun working on the other doors without another word to me about the explosion.

Almost two hours later we had the car in pieces. I stood up, and started to gingerly massage the back of my neck. I unbuttoned my blouse the rest of the way and shrugged it off my shoulders. Underneath I was wearing a white tank top with spaghetti straps. I tossed my blouse over to where my cell phone and pager were sitting on a table. I immediately went back to massaging my neck, where I'm sure there were several knots.

"We didn't find it" Nick pointed out, walking over to me.

"Well, I haven't taken the seats apart yet. Maybe it's stuck in one of them."

"Sara, there weren't any bullet holes in the seats. How would it have gotten in there? Magic?" He used the t-shirt he'd removed earlier to wipe the sweat off his face, and smiled at me.

I shrugged my shoulders in defeat. I really hoped that this wouldn't turn out to be suicide, but there was nothing pointing in another direction. I just didn't believe the wife. She didn't seem upset enough, I suppose. "I don't know" I sighed as I plopped down on the floor next to the passenger seat.

Nick silently pulled a chair up behind me and sat down. Before I could protest, I felt his hands on my neck, gently kneading my skin with his fingers.

We sat in silence for a few minutes. I was so relaxed I barely even noticed when he began talking. When his hands stopped moving over my skin, I turned my head slightly. He had an amused look on his face. He cocked an eyebrow, and a smile spread across his face.

"What?" I asked, confused.

He let out a small chuckle. "Did you not even notice I was talking to you?"

I felt a blush creep up my cheeks and I turned away from him, as he began massaging my beck and shoulders again. "Sorry" I mumbled. "What did you say?"

"I asked you if you wanted to grab breakfast when shift is over."

"Oh." I said simply. "Are we all going out to the diner again?"

I could tell Nick was smiling, just by the way his voice sounded. "No Sara."

"Oh."

"Just you and me" He clarified.

"Oh." I repeated.

"If you don't want to, it's-"

"No, I do. Sure. Why not?" I laughed nervously.

Nick continued massaging my neck for a few more minutes. His next words almost shocked me. "Sara, I'm worried about you."

"Why?" I answered quickly.

"You know why. You know you don't have to prove yourself to anyone, especially to me."

"I know."

He dropped his hands from my back, and laughed sarcastically.

I turned around completely so I was facing him. "What?"

"You don't have to prove yourself to Grissom either."

My face fell, and I looked away from him. "Yes, I do."

"No, Sara. You don't."

I turned back towards him; he had this sparkle in his eye that I'd not seen too many times before. "You don't understand" I said simply.

Nick shook his head and got up. He walked over to where he had left his cell phone, watch, ring, and pager. "You're too good for him."

I stood up, and took a few steps towards him. "What did you say?"

"He'll never love you the way you want him to. And you know that. You're too good for him. Why can't you see that and move on? Why can't you forget about Grissom? Stop doing all of this work for him, and start doing it for the victims. We already know you're a good CSI. We all know that." He paused for a few seconds to catch his breath.

"Nick, you don't know what you're talking about." I spoke quietly; emotionless.

"Sara, open your eyes! Look around you. There are people you love you. You're just too blinded by your obsession with him to notice."

His words shocked me. I felt like I had been punched in the stomach, and I could barely breathe. I knew he was right.

He was always right.

I just hated admitting I was wrong.

Nick quickly turned his back on me and headed for the door. "I'll get the dayshift to clean this up."

"What about breakfast?" I asked in a small voice.

"I forgot I already had plans to go help Warrick with a new stereo system. We can do it some other time. Sorry." With that he was gone.

For a few seconds I couldn't move. I could barely even register what had happened.

But suddenly it hit me.

He was right.

More right than he even knew.

And there was only one thing I could do.

I ran out of the garage, not even bothering to grab my things. I ran down the halls, past several confused lab techs. I didn't stop running until I got to the parking lot, where I found him. Lucky for me he hadn't left yet.

He was leaning up against his Denali, looking out at the sunrise.

"Nick!" I called as I ran towards him.

He stood up straight, and looked at me, eyes cold, expression solid.

"Nick" I said breathlessly, coming to a stop a few feet away from him. "I'm sorry."

His expression softened a little. "No, I am. It's not my place-"

"Yes, it is." I cut him off, shaking my head from side to side in disagreement. He started at me, confusion etched on his face. "You're my best friend. If I don't have you looking out for me, no one will, and I'll trip and fall."

"Sara, I won't let you fall."

"I know."

"I just don't want you to get hurt."

"I know"

He glanced back over at the sunrise, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "Warrick is pulling a double."

"Oh"

"Breakfast?" He asked, glancing my way again.

"Yeah." I agreed, allowing the grin to take over my lips; showing off the gap in my front teeth.

From this point on, I knew.

Grissom was my past.

And nick is my future.

~~$~@~$~~

The End

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