Chapter 8 – Wedding Rings, Strip Teases
The next night, as Nick drove to his crime scene, he was hoping that Sara was working a different case. Although they had for the most part resolved the 'issues' between them, Nick was still a little nervous about seeing her. He arrived at the scene, a residential neighborhood, and parked his Denali. He ducked under the yellow crime scene tape and entered the home, looking for Detective Brass.
"Hey," Nick said when he found Brass. "Am I the first one here?"
"Nope, last. Catherine's in the kitchen talking to the homeowner, uh, Kyra McCall," Brass answered, looking over his notes. "Sara's upstairs with the body. The fiancé."
Sara. Damn. "Okay, thanks." Nick reluctantly headed upstairs to the primary crime scene. As he entered the master bedroom, he saw Sara talking to their favorite EMT, Hank.
"Nick," Hank nodded as he quickly turned to leave.
"Hank," Nick nodded back. He walked up to Sara, who was photographing the body. "Hey."
"Hey," she said back, continuing to take pictures.
"You okay?" Nick asked.
"What? Yeah. I got over Hank a long time ago. Ancient history."
"No, I didn't mean him. I meant about us," Nick said. Us. What 'us'?
Sara smiled. "Nick, I'm fine. Don't worry about it. Really."
"Okay. Just making sure we were on the same page."
"Aren't we always?" Sara smiled up at him as she finished photographing.
"Oh, Nick, you're here. Finally," Catherine said from the bedroom doorway.
Nick turned around. "I'm ready to roll, what do you got for me?"
"Well I think this bedroom is our primary crime scene, but the bedroom downstairs looks pretty trashed, something probably went down in there too," Catherine said.
"I'm on it," Nick said, heading downstairs.
Catherine, Nick and Sara continued to work on their case the next day, and the course of their investigation led them to a small jewelry store where the couple had recently ordered their wedding bands. Nick and Sara headed to the store to gather some information.
As they entered the store, they saw an older woman, whom they assumed was the owner, talking to a young couple seated in front of one of the display cases.
"I'll be right with you," the older woman called out to Nick and Sara.
As Nick and Sara stood and waited, another couple entered the store. The two immediately walked over to the display case next to the one Nick was leaning on and started pointing and discussing. Nick was trying not to eavesdrop on their conversation but he had nothing else to listen to. Just as the woman was about to explain to her fiancé why platinum was "all the rage now," the store owner approached Nick and Sara.
"Thank you so much for waiting. I've been so busy these past few weeks! I guess the warm summer weather brings out the marriage bug in everyone!" the woman said cheerfully. "So what are you two looking for today? I just got in some beautiful platinum bands yesterday, they're all the rage now."
"Oh, we're not together," Sara said, a little to quickly.
Why'd she have to say it like that? Nick wondered. As if he were the last person on earth she'd ever want to be with.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I just assumed. Two young, attractive people such as yourselves," the woman kindly apologized.
Nick smiled, embarrassed. "Actually, we're--" he started to explain, but was interrupted by the ringing of the store's telephone.
"Pardon me, I need to get that," the woman excused herself to answer the phone.
Nick and Sara smiled awkwardly at each other, both embarrassed that the owner had mistaken them for a couple. Because of the warm weather they had taken off their black LVPD-CSI utility vests, and the woman had obviously failed to notice their ID badges and guns clipped to their belts.
"Excuse me." The woman who had just come in with her fiancé tapped Nick on the shoulder. "Can I get your opinion on something?"
"Uh--" Nick didn't know how to respond.
"Your fiancée is a brunette, like me," the woman continued without waiting for Nick's answer. "Don't you think a platinum band would look better on her finger than a gold band, you know, less color clashing with her hair?"
"Uh, I," Nick stammered. Sara wasn't his fiancée, nor did he have any idea what the woman was talking about. "I'm probably not the best one to answer that," Nick started to explain.
"Ugh, you're probably just like my fiancé," the woman interrupted him. She turned to Sara. "So would you rather have platinum or gold?"
"Uh, we're not engaged," Sara said.
"Oh. Sorry," the woman apologized. "Well if you were, which would you choose?"
"Okay, sorry about that," the storeowner returned to Nick and Sara.
"Excuse us," Nick said, relieved to free himself from the color-clashing obsessed woman.
Nick and Sara obtained the information they were looking for and headed back to the lab. They rode in silence, Nick driving and Sara staring out of the passenger side window to avoid looking at Nick.
"Well that wasn't awkward at all," Nick joked, causing Sara to smile.
"Sorry," she said.
"For what?"
"For the 'oh, we're not together' thing," she said, mimicking the tone she had used with the storeowner. "I didn't mean it like that."
"I know. No worries," Nick smiled. He knew she was just caught off guard. They both were.
"I mean, it's not like I wouldn't want to be with you, I mean I don't, I think we should just be friends like you said, but I mean--" Sara stammered, staring at her shoes.
"Sar, no worries," Nick interjected.
"Yeah. Okay. Just forget it." She turned to look out the window.
"Okay," he smiled. He was starting to wonder if Sara was having doubts about their "friendship." She wouldn't be the only one. Nick was ninety-nine percent sure that they had made the right decision, but there was that one percent that he couldn't ignore. Actually, he thought, maybe it was more like five percent. Or maybe ten.
They arrived back at the lab, and Sara went to go find Catherine and update her on what they found out from the jewelry store. Nick decided he needed some coffee before checking in with Greg. As he approached the breakroom he saw Kate at the coffee machine, causing him to continuing walking down the hall. He didn't feel like talking to her, after the little episode he just had with Sara. He thought he heard Kate call his name, but he kept walking and pretended not to hear her.
Kate replaced the coffeepot in its holder and turned to leave, just as Nick was walking by. She called out to him, but he apparently didn't hear her. Lately it seemed like he was acting kind of strange. They hadn't talked much except when they were on a case together, and he seemed less friendly and less flirty. The last time they went out to eat alone together, it seemed like his mind was somewhere else. She wondered if he just wasn't interested in her anymore, or he had started dating someone. She figured it was the latter. Still, she didn't really feel like she had the right to know what was going on with Nick's love life; it wasn't like she and Nick were officially dating or anything. But he was giving her all the signs that suggested he wanted to move in that direction, so his recent behavior seemed a bit odd to her.
"Don't tell me you don't like my coffee," a voice interrupted Kate's thoughts.
"Huh?"
"Nobody holding a cup of my Blue Hawaiian should have a frown on their face," Greg smiled at her.
"Oh, uh, it's not that," Kate said, finally snapping out of it.
"Tough case?" Greg asked.
"Yeah, something like that," Kate replied vaguely.
"Well I'm sure you'll have it all figured out by the end of shift. You've been doing such a great job since you got here," Greg complimented.
"Thanks," Kate blushed.
"So you do like my coffee, don't you?" Greg asked with a grin.
"Absolutely. The best I've ever had," Kate smiled.
"Really?" Greg perked up. "Well, you know, I have a lot of different blends at home, if you ever want to come over and try some, sometime, I mean maybe, if you want," he stammered.
"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind," Kate smiled. She had always liked Greg, ever since she first met him. He was cute in a goofy sort of way. A lot different than Nick, but still a nice guy.
A week had passed since the jewelry store incident, and Sara had managed to avoid further embarrassing herself in front of Nick. This was an especially noteworthy achievement, considering she had been working with him all week. That night was no different, as she headed to the CSI garage with him to strip down a car.
"Oh, man, this is gonna take forever!" Nick groaned when he saw the vehicle, a full sized van.
Sara was actually excited for the challenge, but she immediately noticed something else. "Why the hell is it so hot in here?"
"A/C in the garage is on the fritz, maintenance is working on it now," Grissom informed them as he was passing by. "Greg just finished those blood samples we collected, not a match to the suspect," he continued. "So this van is all we have right now, make sure you cover every inch of it, inside and out. We don't want to miss anything."
"Great, thanks," Nick said with a tinge of sarcasm as Grissom continued on his way.
Nick and Sara looked at the daunting task before them, and then at each other.
"I call inside," Sara smiled.
"Fine," Nick sighed. "At least let me have the front seat," he said.
"Driver's side only," Sara bargained.
"Deal."
As Nick popped the hood and went to work, Sara opened up all of the van's doors so she wouldn't suffocate as she processed. Unfortunately, that strategy proved ineffective, as in five minutes she was sweating like a pig inside her blue coveralls.
"I can't work like this." She let out an exasperated sigh as she climbed out of the back seat. She unzipped her coveralls halfway and pulled her arms out, tying the sleeves around her waist to prevent them from falling down. She unbuttoned the sheer blouse she was wearing and tossed it on a nearby table, rationalizing that she'd rather risk getting her red spaghetti strap tank top dirty than her blouse, which was fairly new.
"Now that is an excellent idea. Why didn't I think of that?" Nick said.
"Huh?" Sara turned around and realized Nick was smiling at her. "That's why they pay me the big bucks," she joked.
"Well maybe they should spend less on you and more on people who can fix an air conditioner," he teased as he unzipped his coveralls.
Sara glared at him, but he didn't see her because he was busy unbuttoning his shirt, exposing his sculpted shoulders and very (very) well defined abs under his tight but not too tight tank top undershirt.
"What? Did you find something?" Nick asked when he noticed Sara was staring.
"Um, uh, no," she quickly climbed back in the van to avoid him seeing her face, which she knew was bright red. Find something? Yeah, she found something, but it wasn't in the van. She couldn't believe she was having these kinds of thoughts. And he still had a shirt on. What would she have done if she saw bare flesh? She quickly reminded herself that Nick was and always would be nothing more than her friend. And she was working, for heaven's sake.
Nick smiled to himself as he bent down to start examining the tires. He didn't mean to be egotistical, but he was sure Sara was staring at him. But he knew they were just friends and would always be just friends, so he shrugged it off. Although, he couldn't help noticing that Sara looked pretty good in her skimpy little tank top. She had such slender arms, and a long, graceful neck. But that didn't really mean anything to him, one way or the other. Just an observation. Besides, he was working.
They continued working in silence for almost thirty minutes when they were interrupted.
"Hey Nick," Kate said when she saw his head from behind the side of the van.
"Yeah, what's up?" He asked as he stood up.
Kate's reaction upon seeing Nick was identical to Sara's. His sweatiness and the fact that his undershirt was extra clingy didn't help any. Wow. He must work out. A lot. Then again, maybe he's just blessed with good genes. Great genes. She swallowed. "I uh, um, Hodges told me to tell you that the wood chips you collected from the vic's clothing were Douglas Fir."
"Yeah, that's what I thought." Nick said. "Thanks." He knelt down to get back to work.
"Uh, do you need any help?" Kate asked. "A van is pretty big for one person to process alone."
"Actually--"
"Can you check with ballistics? See if they got a hit on that shell casing we found?" Sara asked as she popped her head up from behind the back seat, completely aware of what Kate was trying to do, weaseling her way into working with a sweaty and partially clothed Nick. She herself admitted that Nick's presence made the task a lot easier, but she knew Kate had a thing for Nick and she would probably waste her time ogling instead of working.
"Oh, yeah. Sure." Kate was a little bummed when she realized Sara was already working with Nick. "Well if you guys need any help, let me know," she said hopefully.
"Thanks, I think we got it," Sara forced a smile as she went back to work.
"Oh, okay," Kate said as she left.
Sara's somewhat bitter tone wasn't lost on Nick. "Jealous?" he teased.
"Bite me," she quipped back.
Bite her? Hmm…well maybe not bite…Damn. There he went again.
"Hot damn! It's like a sauna in here!" Warrick said as he entered the garage.
"Really? We hadn't noticed," Nick said with a sarcastic smirk.
"Hey maybe if we turn the heat on we can get Sara to lose the tank top," Warrick said to Nick.
"Bite me," Sara said again.
"Don't tempt me," Warrick teased.
"Uh, is there a reason you're blessing up with your presence or did you just come looking for a strip tease?" Nick asked.
"Both, if I'm lucky," Warrick looked at Sara and then quickly sidestepped to avoid the tweezers she hurled at him. "I just talked to Bobby D, the casing you found matched another shooting from about six months ago. Brass is looking in to it."
"Okay. Thanks," Nick said.
"No prob. I'll be back later Sara," he teased in a seductive tone as he headed for the door.
