While Nick was in the shower, Sara drank the beer and decided to look for
her underwear. Wandering back into Nick's bedroom, she didn't see them
anywhere on the floor so she decided that she would pull the blankets off
of his bed to see if they had gotten tangled in the sheets. She set the
beer down on his nightstand and as she did she froze. There was a big
piece missing from this puzzle and suddenly she didn't feel well again,
only this time it wasn't because her stomach was churning. She sat down on
the edge of the bed and stared into the wastebasket. She was still sitting
there when Nick returned from the bathroom.
He wandered back into his bedroom in his boxers, towel drying his hair, and looked at her quizzically. "Uh, Sara? Are you ok?"
She glanced up at him. Fear was clearly etched on her face. "There's no condom in the trash. There's not even a wrapper."
He stopped in his tracks and followed her gaze to the wastebasket. "Well, maybe that just means we didn't do what we thought we might have done." He was trying to keep his voice calm.
Her voice was earnest. "What if we did? If we did that means we had unprotected sex."
"Now, Sara, let's think about this rationally." His voice wavered.
Her eyebrows shot up and she looked at him in disbelief. "Rationally? Nick, you're not the one who has to worry about whether or not you might get pregnant."
At that last word, Nick swallowed hard. He was going to have to think seriously about whether he really liked beer that much. "Ok, but I think we're getting ahead of ourselves here. We still don't know for sure that we actually had sex."
"Well we don't know that we didn't either." There was mild irritation and panic in Sara's voice.
Nick let out a deep breath and sat down on the bed next to Sara. "But we still don't know that we did. I mean both of us seem to remember quite a bit, and it's obvious where it was headed by where we ended up, but neither of us can remember that little detail."
"I'd hardly call that a little detail, Nick." There was an elevation in the tone of her voice.
He tried to sound reassuring. "Ok, so it's not such a little detail, but the fact is, we still don't know if we had sex, Sara. I'm pretty sure that I would have remembered if we had because I'm sure I would have enjoyed it."
"Nick, we were both drunk. As much as we both think we'd remember something that I'm sure would have been a memorable experience, alcohol clouds things." Sara still felt slightly panicked, but she was also considering Nick's words and had to restrain a smile.
He knew she was right, but a smile played at his lips. "I still say that if I'd had sex with you, I wouldn't be able to forget it."
Sara glanced over at him as an idea struck her. "Do you have your kit in your Denali?"
Nick looked confused for a moment. "Yeah, but why?"
Sara rolled her eyes momentarily as if he was an idiot for even asking. "Alternate light source."
If Sara hadn't been so serious, Nick might have laughed at running the ALS over his bed to see if there was any evidence on the sheets that they'd had sex. "I'll go grab it." He got up and headed toward the door of the bedroom.
"Nick." Sara halted him with her voice.
He turned around with a befuddled expression. "Yeah?"
Sara pointed at him, her expression slightly amused at him standing there in his underwear. "You might want to put a pair of pants on."
He glanced down and upon seeing that he only had his boxer shorts on, an embarrassed smile spread across his face.
Sara smiled. As Nick grabbed a pair of jeans and pulled them on and then disappeared down the hallway and outside to retrieve the ALS from his Denali, Sara considered the situation. What prompted them getting themselves into this situation in the first place? Did the alcohol just allow them to get to what was bubbling under the surface? With all the flirting they'd done over the last three and a half years, did they both really want something more? If that was the case, then even if they'd had sex, maybe this wasn't a mistake, maybe it was just a push, albeit a surprising push, in the right direction.
Nick returned with the ALS in hand and two pairs of orange goggles. "You want to get the lights?"
Sara got up and took the second pair of goggles from Nick's hand before walking over and turning the light out.
Nick smiled at her as she came and stood next to him. "Do you want to do the honors?"
Sara chuckled in spite of herself. "Sure." If anyone at work found out that they were using the ALS on Nick's bed to try and figure out if they'd had sex, they'd never live it down. Sara pulled the sheets and comforter off the bed and Nick turned the ALS on. Sara grimaced as little patches fluoresced on the sheets.
Sara's voice sounded professional. "I'd expect more without a condom."
"Still, there appears to be a little bit of both of us here." Nick tried to sound logical as they surveyed the fluorescing material on the sheets.
Sara glanced over at him. "Are you sure it's both of us? I mean I know there's evidence of a female, I mean, uh, that."
Nick raised an eyebrow to silence her. "Yes, I'm sure it's a little bit of both of us. I haven't been with anyone in quite a while."
Sara tried to rationalize. "How long is a while?" When Sara had moved to Vegas, Nick had a reputation that led you to believe he went through women as often as he changed his sheets.
Nick looked somewhat embarrassed. He let out a deep sigh and studied her. "Would you like the date and time?"
Sara tried to suppress the embarrassed smile that began to spread across her face. "I'm sorry, Nick."
He smiled at her. "Sara, it's been long enough to know that it can't be anyone but you." No one really knew that after Kristy Hopkins was murdered he had thrown himself more into his job and hadn't dated much.
Sara studied the bed and furrowed her brow, gesturing towards it. "This doesn't really give us anything conclusive. I mean aside from the obvious fact we were definitely attracted enough to each other to, uh." She stopped talking.
Nick glanced over at Sara. "You said it yourself, Sara. We woke up naked together. What other conclusion can we come to? We got drunk and had sex." Nick's only regret was that he couldn't remember the last part.
Sara crossed her arms in front of her body. "We don't know that, the evidence isn't absolutely conclusive."
Nick started laughing. "Do you realize how ridiculous we sound?"
Sara smirked and then started laughing. "Yes, and if anyone at work gets wind of this, we're never going to live it down." She shot him a serious glance. "You're not going to say a word about using the ALS in here are you?"
Nick grinned and shook his head. "No, I'm not." He started laughing again and caught Sara's eye. "For a minute there I was afraid you were going to suggest we take samples from the sheets and have Greg run a DNA profile."
Sara's jaw dropped. "If he found out, we'd not only never hear the end of it, he'd embellish."
"You know we do look pretty ridiculous." He chuckled, pushing the goggles onto the top of his head.
And they did look pretty ridiculous too. Nick stood there clad only in his jeans and a pair of orange goggles holding the ALS and Sara wore one of his T-shirts and a pair of his boxers in addition to another pair of orange goggles. Nick's comforter and sheets were on the floor, and Sara still hadn't found her underwear.
Nick turned the ALS off and walked over and flicked the bedroom light on. As he glanced down at the floor, he grinned. He walked back toward the tangle of sheets and pulled out a black lace bra and held it up looking like the cat that swallowed the proverbial canary.
Sara reached for it, but Nick dangled it just out of reach. Sara rolled her eyes. "Nick."
Nick chuckled, a mischievous glint in his eye as he held it up by the straps in front of his face. "I seem to recall you looked pretty damn sexy in this. I sure as hell wouldn't mind seeing you in it again, or out of it for that matter."
Color began to creep up Sara's face as she grabbed for the bra again, this time successfully. "We have to work, Nick." She tried to glare at him, but it came out as a smirk. She smiled to herself that it indeed appeared that Nick seemed to want something a little more than friendship, now if she could figure out if it was because of the predicament they'd woken up in, or if he really had feelings for her. She wasn't about to end up like that with him again unless she knew the answer to that question.
They searched through the sheets, but Sara finally gave up on locating her panties and just got dressed so she could go home, shower, and change before work.
He wandered back into his bedroom in his boxers, towel drying his hair, and looked at her quizzically. "Uh, Sara? Are you ok?"
She glanced up at him. Fear was clearly etched on her face. "There's no condom in the trash. There's not even a wrapper."
He stopped in his tracks and followed her gaze to the wastebasket. "Well, maybe that just means we didn't do what we thought we might have done." He was trying to keep his voice calm.
Her voice was earnest. "What if we did? If we did that means we had unprotected sex."
"Now, Sara, let's think about this rationally." His voice wavered.
Her eyebrows shot up and she looked at him in disbelief. "Rationally? Nick, you're not the one who has to worry about whether or not you might get pregnant."
At that last word, Nick swallowed hard. He was going to have to think seriously about whether he really liked beer that much. "Ok, but I think we're getting ahead of ourselves here. We still don't know for sure that we actually had sex."
"Well we don't know that we didn't either." There was mild irritation and panic in Sara's voice.
Nick let out a deep breath and sat down on the bed next to Sara. "But we still don't know that we did. I mean both of us seem to remember quite a bit, and it's obvious where it was headed by where we ended up, but neither of us can remember that little detail."
"I'd hardly call that a little detail, Nick." There was an elevation in the tone of her voice.
He tried to sound reassuring. "Ok, so it's not such a little detail, but the fact is, we still don't know if we had sex, Sara. I'm pretty sure that I would have remembered if we had because I'm sure I would have enjoyed it."
"Nick, we were both drunk. As much as we both think we'd remember something that I'm sure would have been a memorable experience, alcohol clouds things." Sara still felt slightly panicked, but she was also considering Nick's words and had to restrain a smile.
He knew she was right, but a smile played at his lips. "I still say that if I'd had sex with you, I wouldn't be able to forget it."
Sara glanced over at him as an idea struck her. "Do you have your kit in your Denali?"
Nick looked confused for a moment. "Yeah, but why?"
Sara rolled her eyes momentarily as if he was an idiot for even asking. "Alternate light source."
If Sara hadn't been so serious, Nick might have laughed at running the ALS over his bed to see if there was any evidence on the sheets that they'd had sex. "I'll go grab it." He got up and headed toward the door of the bedroom.
"Nick." Sara halted him with her voice.
He turned around with a befuddled expression. "Yeah?"
Sara pointed at him, her expression slightly amused at him standing there in his underwear. "You might want to put a pair of pants on."
He glanced down and upon seeing that he only had his boxer shorts on, an embarrassed smile spread across his face.
Sara smiled. As Nick grabbed a pair of jeans and pulled them on and then disappeared down the hallway and outside to retrieve the ALS from his Denali, Sara considered the situation. What prompted them getting themselves into this situation in the first place? Did the alcohol just allow them to get to what was bubbling under the surface? With all the flirting they'd done over the last three and a half years, did they both really want something more? If that was the case, then even if they'd had sex, maybe this wasn't a mistake, maybe it was just a push, albeit a surprising push, in the right direction.
Nick returned with the ALS in hand and two pairs of orange goggles. "You want to get the lights?"
Sara got up and took the second pair of goggles from Nick's hand before walking over and turning the light out.
Nick smiled at her as she came and stood next to him. "Do you want to do the honors?"
Sara chuckled in spite of herself. "Sure." If anyone at work found out that they were using the ALS on Nick's bed to try and figure out if they'd had sex, they'd never live it down. Sara pulled the sheets and comforter off the bed and Nick turned the ALS on. Sara grimaced as little patches fluoresced on the sheets.
Sara's voice sounded professional. "I'd expect more without a condom."
"Still, there appears to be a little bit of both of us here." Nick tried to sound logical as they surveyed the fluorescing material on the sheets.
Sara glanced over at him. "Are you sure it's both of us? I mean I know there's evidence of a female, I mean, uh, that."
Nick raised an eyebrow to silence her. "Yes, I'm sure it's a little bit of both of us. I haven't been with anyone in quite a while."
Sara tried to rationalize. "How long is a while?" When Sara had moved to Vegas, Nick had a reputation that led you to believe he went through women as often as he changed his sheets.
Nick looked somewhat embarrassed. He let out a deep sigh and studied her. "Would you like the date and time?"
Sara tried to suppress the embarrassed smile that began to spread across her face. "I'm sorry, Nick."
He smiled at her. "Sara, it's been long enough to know that it can't be anyone but you." No one really knew that after Kristy Hopkins was murdered he had thrown himself more into his job and hadn't dated much.
Sara studied the bed and furrowed her brow, gesturing towards it. "This doesn't really give us anything conclusive. I mean aside from the obvious fact we were definitely attracted enough to each other to, uh." She stopped talking.
Nick glanced over at Sara. "You said it yourself, Sara. We woke up naked together. What other conclusion can we come to? We got drunk and had sex." Nick's only regret was that he couldn't remember the last part.
Sara crossed her arms in front of her body. "We don't know that, the evidence isn't absolutely conclusive."
Nick started laughing. "Do you realize how ridiculous we sound?"
Sara smirked and then started laughing. "Yes, and if anyone at work gets wind of this, we're never going to live it down." She shot him a serious glance. "You're not going to say a word about using the ALS in here are you?"
Nick grinned and shook his head. "No, I'm not." He started laughing again and caught Sara's eye. "For a minute there I was afraid you were going to suggest we take samples from the sheets and have Greg run a DNA profile."
Sara's jaw dropped. "If he found out, we'd not only never hear the end of it, he'd embellish."
"You know we do look pretty ridiculous." He chuckled, pushing the goggles onto the top of his head.
And they did look pretty ridiculous too. Nick stood there clad only in his jeans and a pair of orange goggles holding the ALS and Sara wore one of his T-shirts and a pair of his boxers in addition to another pair of orange goggles. Nick's comforter and sheets were on the floor, and Sara still hadn't found her underwear.
Nick turned the ALS off and walked over and flicked the bedroom light on. As he glanced down at the floor, he grinned. He walked back toward the tangle of sheets and pulled out a black lace bra and held it up looking like the cat that swallowed the proverbial canary.
Sara reached for it, but Nick dangled it just out of reach. Sara rolled her eyes. "Nick."
Nick chuckled, a mischievous glint in his eye as he held it up by the straps in front of his face. "I seem to recall you looked pretty damn sexy in this. I sure as hell wouldn't mind seeing you in it again, or out of it for that matter."
Color began to creep up Sara's face as she grabbed for the bra again, this time successfully. "We have to work, Nick." She tried to glare at him, but it came out as a smirk. She smiled to herself that it indeed appeared that Nick seemed to want something a little more than friendship, now if she could figure out if it was because of the predicament they'd woken up in, or if he really had feelings for her. She wasn't about to end up like that with him again unless she knew the answer to that question.
They searched through the sheets, but Sara finally gave up on locating her panties and just got dressed so she could go home, shower, and change before work.
