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: 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!
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It turns out Sara ran about ten and a quarter miles before she thought her anger was pretty much gone. Surprisingly enough, Nick had not called nor showed up during that period. Part of her felt insulted, and the other part felt relieved. She wasn't sure she wanted a full-blown confrontation at the moment. She was getting a water bottle when she realized that it was the day before Valentine's day,
Wouldn't it figure, she thought as she took a drink, I get in a fight with my boyfriend the day before the day of the celebration of love.
"Typical," she scoffed as she walked away and headed toward the shower. As the cool water ran over her, she realized maybe Nick hadn't been angry with her. Maybe something had happened to make him like that. There was only a week and a half left until Grissom had to decide who was getting promoted. Maybe it was that. Or maybe he got a phone call or something. A million possibilities ran through her head as she climbed out of the shower. Surprisingly enough she didn't feel that tight feeling of anger in her chest any more. Now she felt compassion. She wanted to know what had made him snap. He'd never done that before, so it must have been something pretty big.
Sara fell asleep that morning praying that God helped Nick get over whatever was bothering him. She also prayed for guidance and patience as the week came to a close and the countdown began.
~x
"I had a great time," Anisha said as Warrick walked her to her door.
"So did I," Warrick said with a smile, "I'll call you sometime early next week."
Anisha nodded as Warrick kissed her cheek, "Goodnight," he said.
Anisha was extremely impressed that Warrick had not tried anything on their first date. Her opinion of him soared after that. She waved goodbye as he climbed back into his Tahoe, watching him pull out of her driveway, and thanking God she had had the nerve to finally talk to him.
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"All right, yes. Thank you so much."
Catherine hung up the phone and immediately dialed her husband's number. It was Monday night and he was already at the lab. There were five days until the promotion turn-in.
"Grissom," he said as he answered his phone.
"The papers went through," Catherine informed him.
"They did?"
"Yes!"
"That's wonderful. How many more rounds of them left?"
"Two."
"Well, we'll just have to hope they go through as smoothly as well."
"That we will. Will you be home on time today?"
"Doesn't look like it. Sara called in sick."
"Oh no, it must be bad - she never calls in."
"I know. Tina said she sounded awful."
"I'll have to go over and check on her."
"I'm sure Nicky will too."
"How are they, do you know?"
"Well, Nick talked to Warrick, who of course talked me to me and it turns out Nick's ex-fiancèe showed up here at the lab the other day and Nick took it out on Sara."
"Oh great. Just what they need right now."
"I know... if they make it through this, I'll be surprised."
"Gil!"
"I know that sounds harsh, but it's true."
"I hope they make it, though."
"So do I."
"Well, I better let you go get to work. I love you."
"I love you too. See you in the morning."
~x
Sara lay in bed just wishing she could fall asleep. This virus had hit her fast. She could barely talk, her she was stuffed up, and it felt like someone had kicked her in the temple several times with a steel-toed boot. It felt like if she could just remove her head, she would be good to go. No other part of her body hurt.
As she lay in bed, her mind wandered to what Warrick had called and told her that morning.
"Vanessa showed up at the lab."
"Vanessa?! What would she be doing here?"
"Apparently she came to try and talk Nick into leaving with her."
"Again? She never gives up."
"Who is she? Nick barely gave me any details."
"Nick's ex-fiancèe."
"No kidding."
"She ran off with his best friend about ten years ago."
"Man, that's rough. And here she is ten years later trying to get back together with him?"
"Yeah."
Sara scoffed. Vanessa could try as long as she wanted. When Nick decided he didn't want something, it took a long time to change his mind, if you even succeeded. Sara felt disgusted with herself.
That was unfair, Sara thought to herself, getting all pissed off at him before you even learned what was going on. No wonder he blew up - he just wanted to have a few minutes alone, but no - you had to bug him.
Sara decided she needed to learn how to read signals people gave her. That had never been her strong point, but she decided for the sake of her personal relationships and friendships, she would learn. Fast.
Sara dozed off until about two a.m. She awoke, thankful that her nose was no longer stuffed. However, her head still throbbed and she tried to say something out loud, but barely squeaked anything out.
Damnit, she thought, Well, it's been six hours - I better get some more medicine.
Sara got up and walked to her kitchen, thankful she'd put on warm pajamas: long baggy black pajama pants, a fitted long sleeve black shirt, and black socks; because it felt like the heat wasn't on. She checked, and it wasn't.
"Duh," she squeaked to herself. She put a kettle on for some herbal tea as she got out some sore throat medicine and some aspirin. She took the meds as the kettle whistled. She grabbed a large mug and poured herself a generous helping in hopes to warm herself from the inside out. She walked over to her Laz-Y-Boy and pulled a maroon blanket over herself as she flipped on the T.V. There was nothing interesting on, so she settled for Jay Leno reruns. It wasn't the most intriguing program, but it was better than the Shopping Channel. As she watched, her mind wandered.
Why hasn't Nick called, or at least dropped by? I haven't seen him in seventy-two hours!
"Now you're getting obsessive," she told herself, "Just relax. He has his own life, you know."
At that moment, her phone rang. She looked around for it before realizing it was right in front of her on the coffee table.
You are losing your mind, Sara, She told herself as she picked up the phone, coughed to clear her voice, and answered.
"Hello?" she asked, still hating the sound of her voice.
"You sound nice," a worried Texan voice said over the line.
"Yeah, I'm ready to record an album, want a copy?"
Nick laughed, and Sara smiled. She avoided most uncomfortable situations by being sarcastic, but this one didn't work.
"I'm sorry I haven't called or stopped by," Nick said.
"Don't worry about it," Sara said, "I don't want you catching this."
"I would risk it," he informed her.
Sara stayed quiet, silently praying for the right words to come when she needed them.
"I also wanted to apologize for the other day," Nick told her sincerely.
"I know," she said, "I found out what happened."
"Well," Nick said, "I should have had more patience. You didn't do anything."
"I didn't shut up and let you handle it," Sara objected.
"Maybe so, but I still had no right freaking out at you."
"I understand, Nick," she said, "There's a lot going on. I'm surprised I haven't freaked out at you yet."
Nick laughed, "Well I accept your early apology."
Sara smiled because it hurt too much to laugh.
"Well, you'd better get back to work," Sara said.
"Yeah, I guess so. Get better, okay? I'll be by later."
"You don't have to. I don't want you to get sick."
Nick smiled at her worry, "I told you before, Sara, I'd risk it."
Sara rolled her eyes, "All right, whatever you say."
"I'll see you later."
"Bye."
It was only after Sara hung up that she realized he hadn't said 'I love you.'
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"Hello, Mr. Severens, I'm Warrick Brown, CSI." Warrick said later on that night.
"How can I help you, Mr. Brown?" The man with slicked back black hair, black eyes, and a pointy nose said as he sat in the chair in a crisp Armani suit, his pale hands folded on the table top.
"Do you happen to know of a neighborhood called Dellvista Heights?"
"Yes, I do," Mr. Davon Severens said, "I work with a lot of the homeowners."
"Including the seven houses that have been robbed in the last two and a half months?"
Davon Severens raised an eyebrow, "There have been robberies?"
"Yes. A total of 1.3 million dollars worth of items have been taken."
"That's terrible."
"However," Warrick continued, "At our most recent crime scene, we found blood we believe belongs to the thief."
"How interesting," Mr. Severens said, sounding completely bored.
Nick remembered back two days ago when he and Warrick had been combing through the house once more for any clues.
"Nick," Warrick had called, "Come and look at this."
Nick made his way to the kitchen, where Warrick was kneeling over a discolored floor tile.
"What the hell is that?" Nick asked as he bent down as well.
Warrick pulled out his bottle of Luminol and sprayed the area generously. In a matter of seconds, the discolored tile turned purplish-blue.
"Blood," Warrick said as he took a sample, "The question is, whose?"
"Suspect or homeowner," Nick replied, "But where would they cut themselves?"
His question was soon answered as they discovered a sharp edge of the counter that was about a foot away.
"Suspect steals the cutlery and then cuts himself on the counter, not realizing he bleeds on the floor. A maid or perhaps the homeowners find it and clean it up, but apparently not well enough."
"It works," Nick said, "Now all we have to do is find a comparison."
Nick shook his head as he paid more attention to the questioning.
"We believe the suspect had help from someone living in the neighborhood," Warrick said, "Which is why we need to ask you for a DNA sample."
"What are you going to do?" Mr. Severens asked, "And do you have a warrant?"
"We are going to swab some epithelial cells from your mouth, and yes, we do have a warrant."
"Fine," Mr. Severens said, "Take your sample."
~x
"Wow, that was one weird movie," Maile said as Greg walked her to her front door.
"Yeah. I didn't expect he could pull it off, but Ashton Kutcher really can play a serious character."
"No kidding! I'm used to seeing him as Kelso on That '70s Show!"
"Me too. You wouldn't expect him to be lead in a movie called The Butterfly Effect."
"Exactly."
Maile looked at the ground, and then back up at Greg, "I really had an awesome time, Greg."
"Me too. It was a lot of fun."
"We should do it again."
"Absolutely."
"Just call me whenever."
"All right. I will."
In one swift movement, Maile stood up straighter and kissed him gently on the lips.
"Goodnight,"
she said as she smiled at him and walked into her house.
"Wow," Greg managed after he
stood on her doorstep for another minute.
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It was Wednesday night. Sara had gotten better and Nick had yet to get sick. The real promotion pressure was building now that there were only two days left and Brass and Grissom had yet to schedule an appeal meeting.
"Who do you think will get it?" Greg asked Warrick that evening as the two worked in the Trace lab.
Warrick shrugged, "I have a weird feeling something will happen."
"But if it doesn't," Greg pressed, "Who do you think will get it?"
Warrick sighed, "I don't really know. But personally I think it's going to be Sara."
"Really?" Greg replied, "I was thinking it would be Sara too."
Warrick nodded, "Nick's not going to handle it well."
"Neither will Sara," Warrick said, fearing for his friends' relationship.
~x
"Hey Griss," Sara called as they combed through the Vaughn stables for any possible clue, "I think we have a very sloppy killer."
Grissom looked up to see Sara holding a Colt .45 automatic pistol.
"I believe you're right, Sara," Grissom said, "Is it loaded?"
Sara opened the barrel and looked, "Missing only one shot."
Grissom raised an intrigued eyebrow, "Fits the murder weapon, plus it's here. The van, the hay, the gun - the corners of the triangle."
"With Mikala Vaughn in the middle of it," Sara concluded as she and Grissom finished up and headed back to the lab.
~x
"So how are you guys feeling about the promotion?" Greg asked Nick and Sara at the end of shift as they all entered the locker room.
Sara shrugged, feeling very uncomfortable with the topic. The fact that in forty-eight hours one of them was moving on and the other was staying behind was really starting to hit home.
Nick too was feeling the pressure. Part of him wanted the promotion so badly he could taste it. The other part wished the promotion had never come to CSI Level 3 graveyard shift. He knew in two days' time one of them would be moving ahead and the other would be left behind.
Sara knew if Grissom and Brass could somehow switch it to dayshift, she wouldn't be heartbroken. Deep down, she really wanted the team to stay together. They worked so well together that it would take a long time for the replacement to fit in, if they did at all.
Nick felt the same way. If Griss and Brass could get it switched, he wouldn't be upset. Sure, he wanted the promotion to get higher in his career, but not at the expense of the woman he loved and the team that had taught him so much.
"It's going to be rough," Greg commented.
"Yeah," Nick responded, his voice dead calm, but with no feeling to it.
"I'll see you guys later," Greg said as he left.
There was silence after the door swung shut after Greg left. As the promotion date had gotten closer, Nick and Sara hadn't spoken as much as they had before. The fight for the promotion had been bad -they'd had to defame each other, find out about bets their coworkers had made on their relationship, butt heads over their lack of communication, and worry how the other would feel if they got the promotion.
Sara had been distant from Nick and he had been distant from her for the whole shift and now that they were alone, they were realizing how different each other was acting. Sara notice Nick was not smiling, laughing, nor as optimistic as he usually was. Nick noticed Sara wasn't cracking wise remarks, laughing, or smiling either, and as far as they each were concerned, they didn't like each other this way.
"Well, I'll see you tomorrow," Sara said quietly as she shut her locker and pulled her jacket on.
Nick was just about to reply when Sara's cell phone went off.
"Sidle," she said as she answered it, "Oh hey Cath. Yeah-" Sara looked at Nick once more before leaving the locker room.
Nick let out a deep breath and leaned his forehead against the locker door. This was rougher than he thought it would be.
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A/N: UH OH! They're hardly talking! YIKES! Anyway... hope you guys like it, and I hope that I'm not being really naive in writing this... that's my biggest fear! lol :-/
NEXT CHAPTER: TOTAL SURPRISE! Sorry, can't tell you guys this one ;) Read on, my children!! (and review ;))