Muffled shouts and hammering sounds faded in and out in the darkness. Nick
wasn't sure where he was, all he knew was that his head hurt. He tried to
piece together what he could remember. He and Sara had been at a crime
scene. The earthquake. Trapped. Scared. She almost kissed him. She got
out. Relief. Only he was trapped. She was safe. Why was it so dark?
Consciousness overtook Nick and he realized that during the aftershock, something had knocked his hardhat off and his headlamp had gone with it. The cell phone had fallen out of his grasp and he wasn't sure where it was. Lying in a fetal position and shrouded in darkness, Nick tried to take stock of the situation and determine if he was injured. One by one he moved his arms and legs and found that while he didn't seem to be injured, the lace of one of his boots was caught on something and he couldn't move his left foot. He only had an inch or two of clearance above where he lay and his knees were right up against the concrete of the foundation. Other than a nasty headache, he seemed to be doing ok. Now if he could just get out. From the sounds of things, it seemed as if the rescue crew was working to do just that. All he could do was wait and pray.
His thoughts drifted to Sara in an attempt to remain calm. He was glad she had gotten out. From the amount of space left in there, they both wouldn't have fit and one or both of them would have been killed or very seriously injured if she hadn't gotten out when she did. He let out a deep sigh and could feel a tear slide down his cheek. He'd been in love with her for a long time, but had never had the courage to tell her. He silently prayed that he'd get the chance to share that beer with her, to woo her with his charm, and buy those damn lemons. Hell, he'd buy her lemons every time she worked a decomp if he could just get out and see her again. She'd come so close to kissing him and now all he could think about was wanting to kiss her senseless. He vowed that if he got out of there alive that the first thing he was going to do was find Sara so he could kiss her and tell her that he loved her.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
As the rescue workers pulled the concrete away, they expected to see a very seriously injured or dead man. Instead, the view that greeted them was a very dusty, very grimy, but a smiling Nick Stokes.
"I sure as hell am glad to see you guys." There was relief evident in Nick's voice.
"He's alive!" A cry went out from the rescue workers.
Sara started to cry again, this time in relief. She had been so sure that Nick had died when he hadn't followed her out of the rubble. She didn't trust her legs quite yet, so she just continued leaning against Warrick, alternately crying and laughing.
"The lace from my boot is caught." Nick informed the rescue personnel as they started to pull him out of the very small void he'd been caught in.
One of the workers reached in with a small blade and cut at the lace. Once his lace was severed, the workers pulled Nick free of the rubble.
Immediately he began to question them. "Where's Sara? I need to see Sara." He kept glancing anxiously around trying to spot her.
"We need to check you out and make sure you're ok, sir." The paramedics had moved in and had started to check him over, taking note that he had a bump and a cut on his head.
"No." Nick shook his head and continued looking for Sara. "Sara?" His brow was furrowed and once he spotted her, he pushed the paramedics aside, insisted on standing up and walking toward her, despite the paramedics' insistence that he get checked out first.
She stood up next to Warrick and Greg, tears still sliding down her face. "Nick!"
Nick walked toward Sara on shaky legs and cupped her face in his hands capturing her lips with a kiss infused with years of pent up passion. As Nick broke the kiss, he enveloped her in a hug, tears streaming down his face. "Oh, Sara, I love you." His voice was thick with emotion.
Sara held onto him to make sure he was real, that he really was alive. "I love you too, Nick. I was afraid I wasn't ever going to see you again." Sara was crying tears of relief.
A mixture of shock and amusement flickered across the faces of the rest of the team as they watched Nick and Sara who seemed to be oblivious to everyone else around them.
"Shh. Hey, I had to see you again. You have to buy me a beer, remember. And it's my turn to buy the lemons." He grinned and pulled back, searching her eyes through his own tears.
She sniffled as she looked into his eyes. "You weren't behind me. I was so scared."
"Hey, I'm here now. I'm here now." He furrowed his brow and wiped her tears with his fingers, smearing the dust on her face in the process. "I told you we'd get out. I told you we'd be laughing about this in a week." He tried to reassure her with his voice and pulled her firmly against him again and rubbed her back.
Warrick's voice broke through. "No offense; but you two smell."
Nick glanced over and noticed his friend standing there with a smile on his face. "We're alive, man, we're alive."
Warrick enveloped them both in a hug. "And I am so damn thankful, man." There was a catch in his voice as he released them.
Sara started to laugh through her tears as she pulled away from Nick's embrace to face the rest of the team.
Greg stood there grinning. "I knew you'd get out. You had to. What would we do without you?"
Nick hugged Greg and clapped him on the back. "Thanks, man."
Catherine was smiling as tears streamed down her face. "Nicky, thank God you're ok." She gave him a hug and then as she pulled away laughing, wrinkling her nose. "Warrick's right, you two smell."
"I'll spring for the lemons." Grissom interjected with a smile.
Nick shook his head. "No, I promised Sara. It's my turn." He glanced at her and smiled.
Tears continued to fall down Sara's face as she smiled in return.
Grissom cleared his throat and a held out a hardhat that had been split in two. He raised an eyebrow at Nick. "I think this quite possibly saved your life, Nicky. The rescue workers found it behind where you were laying, underneath a support beam."
Emotion washed over Nick as he realized exactly how close he'd come to not seeing another day, to not ever seeing Sara again. Sara reached for his hand and gripped it tightly. She was thinking the same thing.
Consciousness overtook Nick and he realized that during the aftershock, something had knocked his hardhat off and his headlamp had gone with it. The cell phone had fallen out of his grasp and he wasn't sure where it was. Lying in a fetal position and shrouded in darkness, Nick tried to take stock of the situation and determine if he was injured. One by one he moved his arms and legs and found that while he didn't seem to be injured, the lace of one of his boots was caught on something and he couldn't move his left foot. He only had an inch or two of clearance above where he lay and his knees were right up against the concrete of the foundation. Other than a nasty headache, he seemed to be doing ok. Now if he could just get out. From the sounds of things, it seemed as if the rescue crew was working to do just that. All he could do was wait and pray.
His thoughts drifted to Sara in an attempt to remain calm. He was glad she had gotten out. From the amount of space left in there, they both wouldn't have fit and one or both of them would have been killed or very seriously injured if she hadn't gotten out when she did. He let out a deep sigh and could feel a tear slide down his cheek. He'd been in love with her for a long time, but had never had the courage to tell her. He silently prayed that he'd get the chance to share that beer with her, to woo her with his charm, and buy those damn lemons. Hell, he'd buy her lemons every time she worked a decomp if he could just get out and see her again. She'd come so close to kissing him and now all he could think about was wanting to kiss her senseless. He vowed that if he got out of there alive that the first thing he was going to do was find Sara so he could kiss her and tell her that he loved her.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
As the rescue workers pulled the concrete away, they expected to see a very seriously injured or dead man. Instead, the view that greeted them was a very dusty, very grimy, but a smiling Nick Stokes.
"I sure as hell am glad to see you guys." There was relief evident in Nick's voice.
"He's alive!" A cry went out from the rescue workers.
Sara started to cry again, this time in relief. She had been so sure that Nick had died when he hadn't followed her out of the rubble. She didn't trust her legs quite yet, so she just continued leaning against Warrick, alternately crying and laughing.
"The lace from my boot is caught." Nick informed the rescue personnel as they started to pull him out of the very small void he'd been caught in.
One of the workers reached in with a small blade and cut at the lace. Once his lace was severed, the workers pulled Nick free of the rubble.
Immediately he began to question them. "Where's Sara? I need to see Sara." He kept glancing anxiously around trying to spot her.
"We need to check you out and make sure you're ok, sir." The paramedics had moved in and had started to check him over, taking note that he had a bump and a cut on his head.
"No." Nick shook his head and continued looking for Sara. "Sara?" His brow was furrowed and once he spotted her, he pushed the paramedics aside, insisted on standing up and walking toward her, despite the paramedics' insistence that he get checked out first.
She stood up next to Warrick and Greg, tears still sliding down her face. "Nick!"
Nick walked toward Sara on shaky legs and cupped her face in his hands capturing her lips with a kiss infused with years of pent up passion. As Nick broke the kiss, he enveloped her in a hug, tears streaming down his face. "Oh, Sara, I love you." His voice was thick with emotion.
Sara held onto him to make sure he was real, that he really was alive. "I love you too, Nick. I was afraid I wasn't ever going to see you again." Sara was crying tears of relief.
A mixture of shock and amusement flickered across the faces of the rest of the team as they watched Nick and Sara who seemed to be oblivious to everyone else around them.
"Shh. Hey, I had to see you again. You have to buy me a beer, remember. And it's my turn to buy the lemons." He grinned and pulled back, searching her eyes through his own tears.
She sniffled as she looked into his eyes. "You weren't behind me. I was so scared."
"Hey, I'm here now. I'm here now." He furrowed his brow and wiped her tears with his fingers, smearing the dust on her face in the process. "I told you we'd get out. I told you we'd be laughing about this in a week." He tried to reassure her with his voice and pulled her firmly against him again and rubbed her back.
Warrick's voice broke through. "No offense; but you two smell."
Nick glanced over and noticed his friend standing there with a smile on his face. "We're alive, man, we're alive."
Warrick enveloped them both in a hug. "And I am so damn thankful, man." There was a catch in his voice as he released them.
Sara started to laugh through her tears as she pulled away from Nick's embrace to face the rest of the team.
Greg stood there grinning. "I knew you'd get out. You had to. What would we do without you?"
Nick hugged Greg and clapped him on the back. "Thanks, man."
Catherine was smiling as tears streamed down her face. "Nicky, thank God you're ok." She gave him a hug and then as she pulled away laughing, wrinkling her nose. "Warrick's right, you two smell."
"I'll spring for the lemons." Grissom interjected with a smile.
Nick shook his head. "No, I promised Sara. It's my turn." He glanced at her and smiled.
Tears continued to fall down Sara's face as she smiled in return.
Grissom cleared his throat and a held out a hardhat that had been split in two. He raised an eyebrow at Nick. "I think this quite possibly saved your life, Nicky. The rescue workers found it behind where you were laying, underneath a support beam."
Emotion washed over Nick as he realized exactly how close he'd come to not seeing another day, to not ever seeing Sara again. Sara reached for his hand and gripped it tightly. She was thinking the same thing.