Summary: Four months after Nick and Sara found each other, a life-altering, career-changing opportunity presents itself at the Las Vegas Crime Lab. Will this chance bring the Graveyard shift closer together, or tear them apart?
Author's Note: Sorry about the "Next Chapter" thing last chapter – Grissom already taught the lesson, DUR! LOL anyway, do you guys like it? This is quite a neat lil fic – not too fluffy, but not too non-fluffy… get what I'm saying? LOL anyway, read on and review after and let me know what I'm doing wrong LOL if I'm doing anything wrong!
Disclaimer: No, I do not own CSI stuff. I do own Anisha, Maile, Dylan, All of Nick's family, Haylie and her family, and all the other characters you don't realize, k?
Rating: PG-13
Request: Read and review!
Music Credits: Running Away By: Hoobastank
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"Why do you think you deserve this promotion?" Grissom asked as he filled out the evaluation for Nick. This was one of the toughest things he'd ever had to do. He'd already evaluated Sara, and as far as he was concerned, she'd done very well.
"I've worked to my full potential ever since I started here. I'm dedicated to my work, and I am ready to move on to bigger and better things."
Grissom was very tentative with the next question, and reminded himself to put in a suggestion that they cut it in future evaluations.
"Why do you believe you are more fit than the other candidate?"
Nick took a deep breath. He was afraid of this. Now he had to talk about how he was better than Sara.
As Grissom waited for Nick's answer, Sara's floated into his mind.
"While Nick is a very dedicated, loyal, hard-working individual, he tends to become too involved with the people rather than with the evidence. He believes people, and tends to follow his gut rather than follow the evidence. While they may be an attribute outside the office, it is one of his weaknesses when working a case."
Grissom hated having to ask this of them, and felt a burning anger toward whoever wrote that question.
"Sara is one of the best CSIs I've ever known," Nick said carefully, "But rather than ending a case when it has been turned over to the D.A, she tends to think she needs to follow it all the way through. She doesn't include people's accounts or knowledge in her theories and logic, which makes it more difficult for her to make links between evidence and suspects."
The words nearly made him sick. He hated having to defame Sara like that, but it had to been done for the job.
The questions from that point on didn't bother him as much as that one did. He realized he was going to have to fight her to get this position.
The question was: was it worth it?
~x
"I think they'll end up married one day," Catherine
informed her husband after he told her what he'd taught Sara and Nick the
previous night. It was Friday and Grissom could finally sleep at the same time
as his wife.
Grissom shrugged, "We have no way of knowing that for sure."
"I know," Catherine said as she climbed into bed with Grissom, "But they're perfect for each other."
"You should have seen the looks on their faces when they found out they had to say something against each other. I thought Sara would cry."
"Well, if I had to defame you for a job, I would probably come close to crying too."
Grissom smiled as he kissed his wife goodnight, "Tomorrow I'll be going in at nine for about an hour or so. We can't do anything with the case until the family returns from their trip to Los Angeles."
"The Vaughns?"
"Yes."
"Why not check out the other suspects?"
"At the moment, the other women aren't suspects."
Catherine nodded, "Oh, I see."
"Sara and Nick have to come in for a test as well," Grissom said darkly.
Catherine sighed, "Dark times are coming for them."
Grissom nodded sadly, "I believe you're right."
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*I don't want you to give it all up. Leave your life collecting dust. And I don't want you to feel sorry for me. You never gave us a chance to be. And I don't need you to be by my side and tell me that everything's all right. I just wanted you to tell me the truth. You know I'd do that for you. So why are running away? Why are you running away?*
He just could not understand why she couldn't tell him what she felt. It had been 24 hours since he'd confronted her about it, and he hadn't had a chance to see or speak to her since. He was a passionate person - he had to say what he felt. But she hid it, and it drove him insane. He tried everything to get her to open up even the littlest bit. He sometimes wondered why he put up with it, but it was a silly question because he knew the answer. He loved her. And love makes you do crazy things.
*Cuz I did enough to show you that I was willing to give and sacrifice. And I was the one that was lifting you up when you thought your life had had enough. When I get close you turn away, there's nothing that I can do or say. So I need you to tell me the truth. You know I'd do that for you. So why are you running away? Why are you running away?*
She didn't know why she ran from him. Why she hid herself so deep inside that no one could see? It was a bad habit. A way of protecting herself from pain. But the down side was it also protected her from happiness. She wanted happiness, and she knew there was a price to pay. She just didn't know that if she gave Nick her heart, if he would use it to hurt her. She'd had it done before, and those experiences were what held her back.
*Yeah.. Is it me? Is it you? Nothing that I can do. To make you change your mind. Is it me? Is it you? Nothing that I can do. Is it a waste of time? Is it me? Is it you? Nothing that I can do to change your mind. So why are you running away? Why are you running away?*
Nick needed to break through her walls. She had huge, strong walls built around herself, and if they were going to be together, he needed to get through those walls somehow. He just needed to figure out how. He wanted her - in every way someone could possibly want something. He didn't know why she was being so selfish - he'd been hurt as well, but he was still ready to love. To open his heart for someone.
*So why are you running away? Why are you running away?*
She didn't know why she was being so unfair; Nick had been hurt too. His fiancèe had left him for his best friend. At that moment, Sara felt so awful she thought she would be sick. He had taken a huge risk in telling her he loved her, especially considering he had told Vanessa that and she'd deserted him. And here Sara Sidle was, acting like she was the only one in the whole world with such a problem.
"You are pathetic," she told herself, "Just tell him you love him. He hasn't done anything except be there and love you, and here you are, acting all ungrateful and bitchy about it."
She resolved that the next time he came over or the next time she saw him, she would do it. She would tell Nick Stokes she was in love with him.
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"Nick Stokes, you had a visitor at the front desk. Nick Stokes," the receptionist said over the lab intercom. Nick excused himself from Warrick and Greg in the trace lab, and headed toward the front desk.
What was waiting there was most certainly not what he was expecting.
"She's over there," Tina informed him once he reached the front desk.
"Thanks," Nick said as he walked over to where the visitor was sitting.
"Nicky!"
Nick was sure people on the top floor of the lab could've heard the annoying squeal of...
"Vanessa," Nick said, "What are you doing here?"
"Well, I told you I'd be coming to Vegas!" She said, smiling at him, "And here I am!"
"Vanessa, what about yours and Teddy's wedding?'
Vanessa rolled her blue eyes, "Nicky, come on - do you really think I would marry Teddy?"
"Well I'm not sure, considering you can't seem to decide on one man," Nick replied, the cold edge evident in his voice.
"Nicky, I'm here to be with you," Vanessa said, "I gave it a couple months so you could end that fling with that Samantha girl-"
"Sara," Nick corrected her, "And it's not just a fling, considering we're still together."
"Oh Nicky," Vanessa rolled her eyes, "You can't be serious."
"Actually, I am. Now why the hell would you come to my job to tell me all of this at eleven-thirty at night?"
"Because I'm heading to the Blue Note, and I want you to skip out with me."
"Vanessa, this isn't like college. I can't just skip out of here. I have cases to do-"
"Give them to Stacy," Vanessa interrupted, getting quite pushy with her demands.
"Sara," Nick said, his anger level rising considerably. He, however, decided to follow Grissom's advice and let it all go.
"Whatever!" Vanessa said impatiently, "Come on, Nicky."
"Vanessa, what part of I can't don't you understand. There are two million people in this city, and about 990, 192 of them are men. Go find one."
And with that, Nick turned back to the desk, told Tina that if Vanessa caused any problem to call security, and then headed toward the locker room to calm down.
"Oh, Nick," Sara said as she saw him walking toward the locker room, "I need to talk to you."
"Now is not a good time," Nick warned her. She looked taken aback.
"Nick," Sara said carefully.
"Sara, just give me some damn space!" He growled as he walked into the locker room.
Sara's blood boiled. She was ready to express her love for him right there in the office, yet he had told her he wanted space. It pissed her off royally, but instead of following him and speaking her mind like she wanted to, she walked away.
Maybe I'm 'letting go' like Griss said, she thought to herself, Whatever. This really pisses me off.
However, she made it through the shift without losing her cool, but as her blood pressure lowered, her anger intensified. She had thought over everything she was going to say, and had even taken the chance of telling him at work, but he couldn't talk. It would be understandable if he couldn't talk because of something with his case, but all he'd done was go into the locker room.
Sara took a deep breath as she entered the locker room at the end of shift. Luckily, he was no where to be seen. She wasn't sure she had a good, logical reason to be angry with him, but at the moment all she wanted to do was go home and burn off the anger by running twenty miles on her treadmill.
(A/N: Now wouldn't you be pissed too if you were going to tell your beau something important, and he freaked out at you? I dunno about you guys, but that happens with my dad a lot - he freaks out at me for talking when I try to tell him stuff, and it pisses me off wicked. So if you think it's unrealistic, think: PROMOTION PRESSURE, LACK OF COMMUNICATION, PLUS THAT BLONDE BIMBO SHOWING UP. It all equals losing your cool)
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"No music this time?" Maile asked as she entered the Trace lab at about seven-fifteen.
"Not today," Greg said with a smile, "Because I'm just about ready to go home."
"Oh, I'll have to come earlier from now on," Maile said with a wink.
"I guess so," Greg replied with a smile, "Listen, Maile," he cleared his throat, "I was wondering if... maybe... sometime you would like to... get together... and ... hang out."
"You mean, go on a date with you?" She said with a slight Hawaiian accent.
"Yeah, pretty much," Greg replied with a grin.
"Sure. Anytime," she said as she told him her phone number and left the lab.
~x
"Check this out," Warrick said as he called Nick over the following night as they went through the Alberts' security tapes, "I think this may be our perp."
Nick looked at the screen and saw a tall man in a dark suit with a briefcase walk up to the front gate and press buttons on the security pad.
"He knew the code," Nick concluded as the man walked through the open gate and out of sight."
"I'll try and enhance it, but he never once looked this way, so I don't think there will be any good pictures of his face."
"We've gotta try," Nick said, turning back to his work.
Warrick looked at his friend closely, "What's up, man?"
Nick sighed and looked at Warrick, "Vanessa showed up."
"Who's Vanessa?" Warrick asked, getting ready to punch Nick if it was someone he was seeing besides Sara.
"A girl I used to know who will not stop following me," Nick replied, "We used to see each other ten years ago and now she wants to get back together."
"Something's telling me that's not all that's bothering you," Warrick said as he waited patiently for Nick to come clean.
Nick took a deep breath as he tried to continue working, "I freaked out at Sara."
"What?! Why, man? You guys are under enough pressure – why add to it?"
"I didn't mean to!" Nick protested, "She wanted to talk and the last thing I wanted to do was be near another female and I accidently told her I needed space."
Warrick shook his head,
"Oh no, man! Women take that as 'I don't think we should see each other
anymore,' DUH!"
"Why would they do that?" Nick
asked, immediately becoming worried about what he might have done.
Warrick shrugged, "When you figure that out, give me and every other man a call."
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A/N: GOOD GOING NICK! Hahaha some guys are just ignorant to what they do… oh well… it's not our fault we're hard to understand… anyways…
Next Chapter: Sara goes home and works off some stress, Warrick & Anisha after their date, and the first round of adoption papers go through! READ…AND..REVIEW
(I use... ellipses a lot... don't I...? HA...HA...HA... just...kidding...I'll...stop...now...) READ AND REVIEW! I luv y'all!