Sara could hear Nick's heart beating rapidly as her head lay on his chest. Though thoroughly exhausted, neither of them seemed to be able to fall asleep. Sara's tentative voice cut through the darkness of his bedroom. "Nick?"

"Yeah?" He sounded relieved that she was still awake.

"I can't sleep." She sounded frustrated.

He hugged his arms more tightly around her and let out a deep sigh. "I know, I can't either."

"When I close my eyes, all I can see is us under that rubble." Sara continued softly.

Nick began rubbing her back, finding that the texture of her flannel pajamas was strangely soothing under his fingertips. "I know, me too."

They were quiet for a few moments.

"Sara?" Nick had a slight hitch in his voice.

"Yeah?" Sara absentmindedly traced a pattern on the front of the T-shirt he wore with her fingers.

"I should have died in there." He felt tears stinging his eyes.

She stilled her hand. "No." Sara's voice was fierce and she felt herself clinging more tightly to him.

He rubbed her back. "No, I mean, there is no way the rest of that rubble shouldn't have crushed me. Did you look inside that void? I mean there was about an inch of clearance all the way around me. If that support beam had fallen any further, it would have done more than just split my hardhat."

Sara felt tears sliding down her cheeks. "Nick, I'm so glad you didn't die." Her voice was barely a whisper.

"But I should have." Nick replied earnestly. "I can't help but think that it was some kind of miracle. I mean, I'm not really terribly religious, Sara, but how else can you explain it?"

"I don't think you can. I thought you died when I got out and you didn't." Her voice wavered.

"I love you, Sara." He caressed her cheek with his fingers. "I thought I'd never get the chance to tell you that, I was too afraid to tell you that. I never dreamed you'd feel the same way."

Sara smiled. "How could I not love you, Nick?"

"We're such good friends, I wasn't sure I wanted to risk that. You mean too much to me." He let out a deep sigh. "I could have kicked myself for not saying something when we were both trapped. What if I had died? I would never have told you how I felt. You'd never have known."

"But I do know. I wish I'd said something, but I didn't think you felt the same way either." Sara sounded drowsy. "If I had any doubts about what you felt, they disappeared when you didn't freak out when I peed on you."

Nick chuckled. "You were so upset, all I wanted to do was try and make you feel like things were going to be ok."

Neither of them spoke for a few minutes as they took comfort in just holding onto each other.

"Sara?" Nick's voice was soft.

"Yeah?" Sara sounded like she was on the brink of sleep.

"Do you think that maybe we were spared for a purpose?" Nick sounded contemplative.

"Maybe." Sara sounded like she was fighting sleep.

Nick could feel her body relaxing against him as sleep finally claimed her. A few moments later, he felt himself drift off too.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Brass had pulled Patricia Newton in for questioning. "Ms. Newton, you reported your daughter Candace missing about five days ago. Is that correct?"

The perfectly coifed woman nodded. She looked every part the business woman that she was. "Yes, Candace usually has dinner with me once or twice a week and she calls me nearly everyday. When I hadn't heard from her in a couple of days, I got worried."

"Ms. Newton, are you aware of your daughter's most current profession?" Brass was angling his questioning it to see how much this woman really knew about her daughter's life.

Patricia Newton looked somewhat uncomfortable. "Uh, Candace tends to live on the wild side. I do not approve of her lifestyle, but she is still my daughter, and regardless of her choices, I'm not going to distance myself from her."

Brass glanced over at Grissom who stood in the corner. Grissom just shrugged his shoulders. Brass looked back at Patricia Newton. "So, it wouldn't come as a shock to you that your daughter has been involved in prostitution?"

Ms. Newton shook her head. "She refers to it as working for an escort service, but I know what it really is." She took a deep breath and looked Brass in the eye. "I suspect that she's into drugs too, but she denies it."

"Ms. Newton, we found your daughter." Brass stated simply, but his tone implied there was more to the story.

Ms. Newton studied him trying to keep the expression on her face steady. "Why do I get the feeling you didn't bring me in here to give me good news?" Her astute business skills had given her the ability to sense when things weren't quite right.

Grissom interjected gently. "Ms. Newton, we found your daughter's body underneath your house."

The color drained out of Patricia Newton's face and she turned her head away and threw up. Her expression reflected that of someone receiving the shock of a lifetime. "What?"

Brass looked at his notes and then looked back up at her. "Ms. Newton, you said that until recently your boyfriend, a Raymond Martin, lived with you. Did he ever have contact with your daughter?"

Her face fell as an expression of horror flashed across it. "That was the reason I kicked him out. When he found out what she did for a living, he started hitting on her. Candace told me and I kicked him out." She was silent for a moment. "Do you think he had something to do with this?"

"We'll be questioning Mr. Martin." Grissom interjected.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Nick." There was an edge of panic to Sara's voice as images of being trapped raced through her mind.

Nick hugged her against him as her plea woke him. He whispered against her hair. "I'm here, babe. It's ok. We got out, we got out."

They both drifted back into a troubled sleep clinging to each other.