When Nick woke up, he was struck by the irony of the situation. The previous morning, before he'd told Sara he loved her, before Sara confessed she loved him too, before he asked her to marry him, he had woken up to find a half naked Sara Sidle laying across his chest. This morning, the morning after he told her he wanted to grow old with her, after she'd accepted his proposal, after she stared at her engagement ring forever, he had woken up still dressed in the clothes he wore to her friend's wedding and Sara still wore her dress, including the string of pearls. He wondered how long it had taken her to fall asleep. He grinned as he looked down at her left hand, still resting against his chest. That ring was definitely meant for her. He looked at her face as she slept and he felt a sudden rush of contentment. He was going to marry Sara Sidle and he was going to be the man who had the privilege of watching her wake up every morning.

He silently wondered what the rest of the night shift crew would think about the whole situation. For some reason, he didn't think that Warrick would be surprised that he'd gone so far as to propose, he'd been dropping hints to Nick for a while that he thought he had a thing for Sara. What would shock him though, is that Sara had actually said yes. It would shock them all.

She began to stir against him, not quite waking up. Nick watched as her hand flexed and then stiffened. Her eyes fluttered open and she lifted her head abruptly, let out a sigh as her hand relaxed and put her head back on Nick's shoulder.

Nick couldn't help but laugh.

She lifted her head again and a smile flickered across her face. Her voice was sleepy. "What?"

"You didn't get any sleep did you?" Nick sounded amused.

She looked sheepish. "A little."

Nick wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead. "I love you, Sar."

Sara let out a sigh. "I love you too. I was afraid I'd wake up and it would all be a dream."

Nick reached up and caressed her cheek with his thumb. "It's no dream, it's real." He leaned in and softly kissed her.

They exchanged soft warm kisses for a while, savoring the taste of each other's lips. As they broke apart, Sara looked at Nick with a bewildered expression. "All of this is going to take some getting used to."

Nick searched her eyes. "I know what you mean. I'm so used to trying to hide how I feel about you."

Sara giggled. "Me too." She laid her head back onto his shoulder and flexed her hand. "What time is it?"

Nick raised his arm and looked at his watch. "It's about seven. We should probably get on the road soon if we're going to get to work on time tonight."

"Not yet." Sara propped herself up and looked down at him with a coy expression. "I want to kiss you again."

Nick chuckled. "I think we can make time for that." He leaned up and kissed her long and deep.

When they finally broke apart Sara whimpered. Their eyes locked and smiles spread across their faces. She began to giggle. "You make me forget my name when you kiss like that."

Nick just grinned.

Sara glanced at her ring again and flexed her hand.

"It's a good thing we work the night shift." Nick remarked with a lopsided grin.

Sara raised an eyebrow at him. "Huh?"

"If we worked days, you'd be so busy flashing that in the sunlight, you'd never be able to concentrate on your case." He looked both amused and filled with pride.

An embarrassed smile flashed across her face. She leaned down and kissed him quickly, pulling away and pushing herself to a sitting position. "I'm going to take a shower so we can get on the road."

Nick grinned at her. "Have I told you today that I love you?"

She giggled. "I think you might have mentioned it once or twice. I love you too."

Nick closed his eyes as Sara disappeared into the bathroom to take a shower. He was absolutely amazed at the events of the last twenty-four hours. The thought occurred to him that he'd better call his parents and tell them about Sara. He wondered if he should wait for Sara, but then thought perhaps that might be a little too overwhelming. He picked up the phone and dialed his parent's number.

His mother was pleased as always to hear his voice and filled him in on all the latest news from his siblings. After a few minutes of small talk, his mother asked what she always asked when he called. "So, Nicky, when are you going to find a nice girl to settle down with?"

Nick chuckled. "I'm glad you asked."

That threw his mother for a loop and she was silent on the other end of the line.

"Mom, do you remember Sara?" His parents had been out of visit the previous year and had taken the entire night crew out for breakfast after they'd gotten off work so they could meet them all.

"Yes. She's a nice girl." There was a question in her tone.

"I asked her to marry me, Mom." Nick tried to keep his tone even, but couldn't restrain his smile.

"And?" Her tone was definitely one that indicated that she knew where the conversation was going, but she was going to let him tell the story.

"She said yes." Nick chuckled softly. "Can you believe that, Mom? She said yes."

"Oh, Nicky, I'm so happy for you both." Nick's mom sounded like she was crying happy tears.

Nick filled his mom in on a few more of the details and then ended the call as Sara emerged from the bathroom wrapped in a robe with a towel around her hair. He just grinned at her. "I called my parents."

She grinned. "We're really getting married."

He nodded and pulled himself off of the bed. "Yes, we are." He walked over and leaned down to kiss her softly. "I'm going to take a shower."

Sara couldn't wipe the smile off of her face as she stared down at her ring. Nick disappeared into the bathroom and she pulled the towel off of her head and pulled some clothes out to wear on the way home and began packing. She had come across the little outfit she'd bought the previous day and smiled at the irony. She had no intention of taking it back now.

By the time Nick emerged from the bathroom dressed in a pair of faded blue jeans and a gray LVPD T-shirt, Sara was dressed and was closing her suitcase. He quickly packed his things. They grabbed a quick breakfast in the hotel restaurant and then loaded their things in the SUV to head back to Vegas.