Nick was startled from sleep by the sound of Sara whimpering next to him.
As his eyes opened and adjusted to the light filtering in through his
blinds, he noticed that she was crying in her sleep. "Sara." His voice
was gentle as he whispered. "Sara, wake up. It's ok, babe."
"Nick?" There was a waver in her voice as her eyes fluttered open.
His fingers brushed away the tears on her face. "Shh, it's ok, you're ok."
"I thought we were still trapped. I was so afraid we were going to die." She sniffled. "Nick, don't tell anyone that I'm still scared."
"I'm still scared too, Sara." Nick let out a heavy sigh.
Sara reached out and caressed his cheek. "I don't think I could do this without you."
Nick let out a chuckle even as he felt tears stinging his eyes. He leaned over and softly kissed her, cupping her face with his hand.
Sara responded fervently to his kiss. Somehow his touch made her feel alive, assured her that she was safe and suddenly, she couldn't get enough. As they broke the kiss, eyelids heavy from the intoxicating feelings it produced, Sara softly whispered in the semi-darkness. "Make love to me, Nick."
Nick wanted her as much as he wanted the comfort that sex would provide. He didn't question her request, he just rolled her onto her back and closed his lips over hers as his fingers began to unbutton her pajama top. As his fingers came in contact with her bare skin, it reminded him that he was alive, that she was alive.
Sara began to tug at the hem of his T-shirt, wanting to touch his body, wanting to feel his skin against hers, to be assured that they had in fact survived the earthquake, that she wasn't dreaming.
Before long, the rest of their clothes had been shed and they continued touching and kissing fervently as if when they stopped the world might cease to exist. With each touch, with each caress, with each pleasured moan, with each kiss, they felt alive, finally falling into an exhausted sleep, bodies tangled together. Each time they woke from the nightmares that haunted them as they tried to sleep, they made love again, numbing the pain by reminding their bodies how alive they were.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"When are Nick and Sara going to be in?" Catherine queried Grissom who was trying to make heads or tails out of the knife wounds that he'd cast from Candace Matthews' body.
He glanced up. "I just told them to get some sleep, I didn't tell them when they needed to come in."
Catherine wrinkled her brow. "I wonder if they got any sleep at all."
Grissom let out a deep breath. "Post traumatic stress is common in situations like this."
"Uh, Gil, if you don't mind me asking, what do you think of the personal development between them?" Catherine was tiptoeing around the issue.
Grissom's mouth twitched slightly upward. "I think Nick will make her happy. As long as they behave professionally at work, I don't have a problem with it."
Catherine looked as if she was going to pose another question.
"I'm fine with it, Cath. I've never been interested in Sara that way. I've admired her skill as a CSI and I think she was infatuated with me for a while, but nothing was ever going to happen there." Grissom turned his attention back to the casts from the incisions the murder weapon had made.
Catherine's eyes focused on the layout table where the casts lay. "They appear to all be from the same knife."
Grissom nodded. "Now if we can just get a break and find the knife before Brass brings Raymond Martin in for questioning."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Nick and Sara arrived at the lab mid-way through shift. Both of them were still fairly exhausted, but more due to their activities between the sheets than from actual lack of sleep. They found Grissom in his office looking over the autopsy report.
Grissom glanced up as they stood in the doorway. "Did either of you get any sleep?" Concern was etched on his face as he studied them.
Nick nodded. "You can only sleep so much."
Sara glanced at Nick, an unspoken understanding passed between them. Neither of them was going to mention the nightmares that had plagued them, nor were they going to tell anyone that the only time since the ordeal had started that they stopped thinking about it was when they were having sex.
Grissom cleared his throat. "Have a seat, I want to talk to you about something before we go over the case."
Dread kneaded at Sara's stomach. She had a fairly good idea what Grissom was going to say and she didn't want to hear it. She glanced at Nick as she sat down in one of the chairs opposite Grissom. He flashed her a quick smile, trying to appear calmer inside than he felt.
"You know, if either of you want to take some time off to process what happened yesterday, I can certainly authorize leave." Grissom began.
Sara started to tense. The last thing she wanted to do was take time off so she could think more about what had happened. Right now all she wanted was to lose herself in something and work fit the ticket just fine.
Nick noticed Sara's tension, he felt it too. He knew that Grissom was probably right, but he didn't really want to think about what had happened either. He knew that Sara was really the only person who truly understood what he had gone through. He was pretty sure that Grissom would suggest that they both see a psychologist or something, and he knew that there was no way in hell that Sara would agree.
"The department has a psychologist on retainer who deals with post traumatic stress." Grissom looked at both of them over the rim of his glasses.
Sara clenched her jaw. "Let's just talk about the case, ok."
Grissom glanced at Nick.
"Did you find our kits?" Nick queried his boss, keeping the tone of his voice even.
Grissom shook his head. "No, the structural engineer said it was unsafe to enter. All the evidence has been compromised by the earthquake anyway. We did cast the stab wounds of the vic though in case we can find the murder weapon."
Sara raised an eyebrow. "Have we gotten an ID on the vic yet?"
Grissom nodded. "Candace Matthews, a twenty-six year old prostitute. She was stabbed twenty-seven times. The house she was found under belongs to her mother."
Nick's eyebrows shot up. "The mother?"
Grissom raised his hand and continued. "We don't think that it was her mother, Brass is bringing in the mother's ex-boyfriend for questioning. He had motive, and possible opportunity. We just don't have a weapon."
"Or compelling reason to get a DNA sample." Sara interjected.
Grissom let out a deep breath. "That's why we'll ask him to give one voluntarily, so he can clear himself from suspicion."
Nick nodded as he processed the information. "How did the mother take it?"
"Not well." Grissom replied. "Her reaction leads me to believe she had no knowledge of it, unless she's one hell of an actress."
"We've seen that before." Sara furrowed her brow as she tried to put some of the pieces together.
Grissom was quiet for a moment and then cleared his throat. "There is just one other thing."
Nick huffed slightly. He anticipated that Grissom would say something about the interaction between himself and Sara.
A faint smile played at Grissom's mouth. "I trust that the two of you will maintain your professionalism while you're at work in spite of your personal relationship."
"Why wouldn't we?" Sara looked annoyed.
Nick just felt like he was waiting for the other shoe to drop.
"I didn't say you wouldn't, but I am your boss, and I need to say it for the record." Grissom replied in an approving tone.
"Oh." Sara obviously didn't expect him to respond quite like this and neither did Nick.
Grissom stopped them for a moment. "Oh, there is one other thing. For the time being, I'm taking over as primary on this case."
They exchanged a look that spoke volumes as they stood to leave.
"Nick?" There was a waver in her voice as her eyes fluttered open.
His fingers brushed away the tears on her face. "Shh, it's ok, you're ok."
"I thought we were still trapped. I was so afraid we were going to die." She sniffled. "Nick, don't tell anyone that I'm still scared."
"I'm still scared too, Sara." Nick let out a heavy sigh.
Sara reached out and caressed his cheek. "I don't think I could do this without you."
Nick let out a chuckle even as he felt tears stinging his eyes. He leaned over and softly kissed her, cupping her face with his hand.
Sara responded fervently to his kiss. Somehow his touch made her feel alive, assured her that she was safe and suddenly, she couldn't get enough. As they broke the kiss, eyelids heavy from the intoxicating feelings it produced, Sara softly whispered in the semi-darkness. "Make love to me, Nick."
Nick wanted her as much as he wanted the comfort that sex would provide. He didn't question her request, he just rolled her onto her back and closed his lips over hers as his fingers began to unbutton her pajama top. As his fingers came in contact with her bare skin, it reminded him that he was alive, that she was alive.
Sara began to tug at the hem of his T-shirt, wanting to touch his body, wanting to feel his skin against hers, to be assured that they had in fact survived the earthquake, that she wasn't dreaming.
Before long, the rest of their clothes had been shed and they continued touching and kissing fervently as if when they stopped the world might cease to exist. With each touch, with each caress, with each pleasured moan, with each kiss, they felt alive, finally falling into an exhausted sleep, bodies tangled together. Each time they woke from the nightmares that haunted them as they tried to sleep, they made love again, numbing the pain by reminding their bodies how alive they were.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"When are Nick and Sara going to be in?" Catherine queried Grissom who was trying to make heads or tails out of the knife wounds that he'd cast from Candace Matthews' body.
He glanced up. "I just told them to get some sleep, I didn't tell them when they needed to come in."
Catherine wrinkled her brow. "I wonder if they got any sleep at all."
Grissom let out a deep breath. "Post traumatic stress is common in situations like this."
"Uh, Gil, if you don't mind me asking, what do you think of the personal development between them?" Catherine was tiptoeing around the issue.
Grissom's mouth twitched slightly upward. "I think Nick will make her happy. As long as they behave professionally at work, I don't have a problem with it."
Catherine looked as if she was going to pose another question.
"I'm fine with it, Cath. I've never been interested in Sara that way. I've admired her skill as a CSI and I think she was infatuated with me for a while, but nothing was ever going to happen there." Grissom turned his attention back to the casts from the incisions the murder weapon had made.
Catherine's eyes focused on the layout table where the casts lay. "They appear to all be from the same knife."
Grissom nodded. "Now if we can just get a break and find the knife before Brass brings Raymond Martin in for questioning."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Nick and Sara arrived at the lab mid-way through shift. Both of them were still fairly exhausted, but more due to their activities between the sheets than from actual lack of sleep. They found Grissom in his office looking over the autopsy report.
Grissom glanced up as they stood in the doorway. "Did either of you get any sleep?" Concern was etched on his face as he studied them.
Nick nodded. "You can only sleep so much."
Sara glanced at Nick, an unspoken understanding passed between them. Neither of them was going to mention the nightmares that had plagued them, nor were they going to tell anyone that the only time since the ordeal had started that they stopped thinking about it was when they were having sex.
Grissom cleared his throat. "Have a seat, I want to talk to you about something before we go over the case."
Dread kneaded at Sara's stomach. She had a fairly good idea what Grissom was going to say and she didn't want to hear it. She glanced at Nick as she sat down in one of the chairs opposite Grissom. He flashed her a quick smile, trying to appear calmer inside than he felt.
"You know, if either of you want to take some time off to process what happened yesterday, I can certainly authorize leave." Grissom began.
Sara started to tense. The last thing she wanted to do was take time off so she could think more about what had happened. Right now all she wanted was to lose herself in something and work fit the ticket just fine.
Nick noticed Sara's tension, he felt it too. He knew that Grissom was probably right, but he didn't really want to think about what had happened either. He knew that Sara was really the only person who truly understood what he had gone through. He was pretty sure that Grissom would suggest that they both see a psychologist or something, and he knew that there was no way in hell that Sara would agree.
"The department has a psychologist on retainer who deals with post traumatic stress." Grissom looked at both of them over the rim of his glasses.
Sara clenched her jaw. "Let's just talk about the case, ok."
Grissom glanced at Nick.
"Did you find our kits?" Nick queried his boss, keeping the tone of his voice even.
Grissom shook his head. "No, the structural engineer said it was unsafe to enter. All the evidence has been compromised by the earthquake anyway. We did cast the stab wounds of the vic though in case we can find the murder weapon."
Sara raised an eyebrow. "Have we gotten an ID on the vic yet?"
Grissom nodded. "Candace Matthews, a twenty-six year old prostitute. She was stabbed twenty-seven times. The house she was found under belongs to her mother."
Nick's eyebrows shot up. "The mother?"
Grissom raised his hand and continued. "We don't think that it was her mother, Brass is bringing in the mother's ex-boyfriend for questioning. He had motive, and possible opportunity. We just don't have a weapon."
"Or compelling reason to get a DNA sample." Sara interjected.
Grissom let out a deep breath. "That's why we'll ask him to give one voluntarily, so he can clear himself from suspicion."
Nick nodded as he processed the information. "How did the mother take it?"
"Not well." Grissom replied. "Her reaction leads me to believe she had no knowledge of it, unless she's one hell of an actress."
"We've seen that before." Sara furrowed her brow as she tried to put some of the pieces together.
Grissom was quiet for a moment and then cleared his throat. "There is just one other thing."
Nick huffed slightly. He anticipated that Grissom would say something about the interaction between himself and Sara.
A faint smile played at Grissom's mouth. "I trust that the two of you will maintain your professionalism while you're at work in spite of your personal relationship."
"Why wouldn't we?" Sara looked annoyed.
Nick just felt like he was waiting for the other shoe to drop.
"I didn't say you wouldn't, but I am your boss, and I need to say it for the record." Grissom replied in an approving tone.
"Oh." Sara obviously didn't expect him to respond quite like this and neither did Nick.
Grissom stopped them for a moment. "Oh, there is one other thing. For the time being, I'm taking over as primary on this case."
They exchanged a look that spoke volumes as they stood to leave.