I think Greg was ready to tie the three of us up as we all paced back and forth waiting for the results of the DNA comparison. He kept glancing up, at first he was amused, then his amusement gave way to annoyance. He finally let out a deep sigh, raising an eyebrow. "I'll page you."

Warrick took the hint and quickly left the lab in search of something to occupy him until Greg was finished. Nick and I on the other hand continued to hover.

Greg stopped what he was doing and shot us both a look. "The results aren't going to come any faster. Can't you two find some place to go make out or something?"

I caught Nick chuckling as I glared at Greg. "Believe it or not, Greggo, Nick and I can refrain from making out on company time."

Greg rolled his eyes. "The results still aren't going to come any faster."

Nick cleared his throat. "Sar, the man's right. We can at least go over some of the other evidence while we're waiting."

Begrudgingly, I followed Nick back to the layout room where every inch of table space was covered in credit card statements, crime scene photos, and other assorted evidence. It occurred to me that even if we could find a biological connection between Mr. Williams and our suspect it still wouldn't put us any closer to finding out where he was and being able to put him behind bars. Suddenly, I felt deflated. I sat down on one of the stools and rested my chin on the heel of my good hand, letting out a deep sigh.

Nick glanced up at me with a curious expression. "You ok?"

I looked up at him and I could feel my brows knitting together in frustration. "It doesn't matter you know. We could tie all these things together and unless we get a lucky break all our work doesn't mean squat."

Nick regarded me seriously for a moment. "Sara, that's the job. We do our job as thoroughly as possible so that when he gets caught, there's enough to stick him behind bars so he can't do this to anyone else. Remember, we're the victim's last voice.

"Grissom doesn't think so. It's all about evidence to him." I stared at the brace on my hand and absentmindedly flexed my hand.

"Without the victim, the evidence wouldn't matter. All of these things sitting here in front of us are just things. Without the victims bringing it together to tell us a story, it's just a bunch of paper." Nick tried to reassure me, but at the moment I just felt like wallowing in pity.

I glanced up at him. "I can't do it."

Confusion clouded his face. "Do what?"

I gestured toward the table in a sweeping motion. "This." I met his concerned gaze. "We've been working our asses off and what for? The guy is probably long gone by now. He's probably moved on to a different state and changed his name again."

Nick looked concerned. "I'll be right back." He got up and quickly walked out of the layout room and down the hallway.

I wasn't sure exactly where he was going, but at the moment, I didn't feel like following him. I don't think I'd ever felt so low on a case. I'd always been able to find a reason to keep pursuing the evidence, confident in my abilities and that of my teammates. This was different. I didn't think we were going to be able to solve this case and for the first time in my career, I felt completely defeated.

I laid my head down on the layout table on top of my crossed arms and let out a deep sigh. I'm not sure how long I'd been there like that when a voice interrupted my thoughts.

"Sara?" Catherine sounded concerned. There was a motherly tone to her voice that I didn't think I'd ever actually heard directed towards me.

I lifted my head slowly and looked toward the door where she leaned against the frame. "Hey, Catherine."

She lifted an eyebrow and a curious expression crossed her face. "You ok?"

I nodded and rubbed my eyes. "This case is just hitting a dead end that's all."

A smile played at her lips. "I heard just the opposite. Greg said you came up with another angle on things and he said everyone else was going to have to wait until your test results were done."

I let out a faint chuckle. Leave it to Greg to put me at the top of his list. "I'm not very hopeful."

"That doesn't sound like the Sara Sidle I know." Catherine looked a bit perplexed.

I let out a deep sigh. "I guess you just can't solve them all."

Now Catherine looked downright concerned. "Are you sure you're ok?"

Nick chose that moment to reappear. He looked far too happy. "C'mon, Sara."

I looked at him curiously. "Where are we going?" The last thing I wanted to do at that moment was to follow another lead around town.

Catherine glanced at Nick and shot him some sort of expression that I couldn't quite read.

"I'm taking you home." Nick stated matter of factly.

"I can't go home. We have work to do." I detected a hint of a whine in my own voice and I think at that moment I realized that I was exhausted.

Nick chuckled. "Work can wait. You, Ms. Sidle, need some sleep."

"But shift isn't even over yet." Yes, there was definitely more than just a hint of a whine in my voice. If I hadn't been the one whining, I think I might have laughed, which is exactly what Nick did.

"Sara, you're not doing yourself or anyone else any good at the moment. Don't argue with me because you're not going to win. You need some sleep." Nick sounded mildly amused, but his tone was firm enough that I knew if I insisted on protesting, he'd do something crazy like walk over and throw me over his shoulder to make sure I did go home.

Catherine looked a bit bewildered. If someone else had tried to make me go home, I'm sure she would have expected World War Three to break out.

I stood up and rolled my eyes at Nick, gesturing toward the table. "What about all of this?"

He raised an eyebrow at me and crossed his arms in front of his body. "Warrick said he'd take care of it."

I was about to open my mouth to ask about the DNA results when Nick raised his index finger to his lips as and continued.

"And Greg will still call when the results are in, but the truth is, at the moment, we really don't have much else to go on, so you are going home and getting some sleep." He looked entirely too satisfied with himself.

"What about Grissom?" It occurred to me that our boss wouldn't be too please with my lack of dedication to the case by skipping out early with my new boyfriend.

Nick smirked as Grissom walked into the layout room.

"What about me, Sara?" Grissom had a slightly amused expression on his face.

I tilted my head as I looked at him. "Do you just stand in the hall until you hear someone say your name?" I'm sure I sounded annoyed, but the man certainly had strange timing.

Grissom shook his head, and I could swear that a hint of a smile was about to pull the edges of his mouth up at the corners. "Nick informed me that your case is at a standstill and you appear as if you could use some sleep. I suggested that you go home and take at least part of the next shift off."

I think my mouth must have been slightly agape. Was this the same Gil Grissom? And if it was, why the hell was he being so nice to me? I turned toward Nick to protest and he simply raised a single eyebrow at me. I just let out a deep breath and headed toward the door, brushing past Grissom and Catherine, who I could swear was grinning as I walked past her. Nick fell in step behind me as I headed towards the locker room to get my coat. After I shut my locker, Nick offered me his hand and we walked out of the lab with our fingers laced together, heading toward his Denali.

It didn't take long to reach my apartment and as I removed my coat, Nick took it and hung it up. I just stood there staring at him, wondering what in the hell I had done to deserve someone like him. When he turned around he looked at me curiously, a smile playing at his lips. "What?"

I let out a heavy sigh and pulled him into a hug. "I don't know why I deserve you."

He chuckled. "I could ask myself that question you know. I don't know why I deserve you." He whispered in my ear. "Why don't you take a bubble bath or something and go to bed? You look exhausted, Sar."

I knew he was right, but at that moment I didn't have the energy. I stepped out of his embrace and walked over to the couch, sinking into it and laying my head against the back. "Hang out with me for a little while."

He grinned at me and sat down next to me on the couch. "How 'bout I run a bath for you and stay until it's ready?"

I let out a soft chuckle. "Ok." The image of Nick preparing a bubble bath was priceless.

"What about your pajamas?" He looked a little afraid all of a sudden at the thought of snooping through my dresser drawers.

I couldn't help but giggle. "Top drawer on the left."

He leaned over and kissed me softly before pulling himself off the couch and heading into my bedroom to find some pajamas. He returned a few minutes later with pajamas in hand. "These ok?"

I nodded and giggled again.

He raised an eyebrow at me and tried to restrain an embarrassed grin. "What?"

I tilted my head and smirked. "Do you do this often?"

He chuckled. "I do have seven nieces and nine nephews, Sar." He gestured toward the bathroom. "Do you have a preference on bubble bath?"

I smirked at him. "Uh, why don't you surprise me."

He grinned and then disappeared into the bathroom where I could hear the water running into my tub. He emerged a few minutes later and planted himself next to me on the couch, slinging his arm around my shoulder. We sat that way for a few minutes until Nick thought enough water had flowed into the tub. "Hey, I need to go check on your bath water."

Nick got up and disappeared into the bathroom again and I heard the water shut off a few moments later. He reappeared and looked down at me smiling. "It's ready, Sar."

I reluctantly pulled myself off of the couch and wrapped my arms around Nick's waist. "Thank you."

He kissed the top of my head. "Any time." He pulled away and placed a soft kiss on my lips. "Call me later when you wake up." With that, he headed for the front door and I headed for the bathroom where I found a wonderful surprise. Nick had taken it upon himself to light all the candles in my bathroom, giving the room an even more relaxing feel. As I sank down into the tub, I wondered to myself what I had done to deserve such an amazing man.