Volume II: Perpetual Ardency

By: xKatx

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: I am having so much fun with this story! Can't you tell? Hahahahaha!

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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        "Now Sara, you live here alone?" Marge Stokes questioned as Nick drove them toward Sara's apartment, which Marge had insisted on seeing before they went to Nick's house.

        "Yes," Sara replied as Nick made the turn onto her street.

        "Nicky, you're used to driving here, aren't you?" Marge questioned with a grin.

Nick smiled back and Sara noticed how their smiles matched. She couldn't help but grin as well as Nick turned into her parking lot and shut off the engine. She silently thanked God she had cleaned her apartment before shift the previous night.

Sara grabbed her mail as she, Marge, and Nick entered the elevator and it made its way to the third floor.

        "This is a nice apartment building," Marge commented at the cleanliness of the hallways and the brightness of the beige walls and black trim.

Sara unlocked her door and opened it, "This is it," she announced as she stepped back and let Marge in.

When you stood in the front hall of Sara's apartment, there was a small  table with a dish in which to put your keys. There were several paintings by Monet and da Vinci on the walls. As you walked down the hall, you entered the kitchen/dining room. There was a nice light-colored wooden table with matching chairs and a hanging lamp over it. The kitchen was beside it, with white counters and tiling. The only indication of where the dining room ended and the kitchen began was where the light brown carpet slowly morphed into white tile. If you turned left past the dining room, you entered the living room where Sara had a beige couch and Laz-Y-Boy against the wall. There was a tall ficus in the corner about two feet away from the entertainment center. Against the wall to the right there were bookshelves filled with forensic journals, novels, videos, CDs, and DVDS. If you followed the hall to the right past the bookshelf, you had the master bedroom on the left and the bathroom on the right. Both were clean and neat, and Marge was impressed.

        "For the hours you keep," she said, "Your home is very welcoming."

Sara smiled thanks as she left the room to put her mail away and check her messages.

Nick walked closer to his mother, who said softly, "She keeps a very nice house. It's very amicable."

Nick nodded, "She's a neat-freak, Mom."
Marge laughed as they heard the recorded voices coming from the kitchen.

Sara listened to all of her messages (one from her sister, one from Christine, and two from Catherine) before rejoining her boyfriend and his mother.

        "Anyone important?" Nick asked.

She shook her head, "Haylie, Catherine, and Christine."

        "I'll bet Christine called to make sure I landed all right," Marge wagered.

        "Probably," Nick said as he looked at Sara's clock on the wall, "Well, it's five-thirty, and we have tonight off from the lab. How about we bring Mom back to the house?"

        "Well, Nick, I was wondering if you knew where Juniper Creek was?" Marge asked before Sara could reply to Nick's suggestion.

        "Sure I do it's about six or seven miles west from here, why?"

        "I have a friend who lives there now, do you remember Sadie Hawkins?"

Nick nodded, "Yeah. She used to live in Tyler, didn't she?"

        "Yes. Remember her daughter, Rebekah?"

        "Sure I do. Every time we visited or they visited Rebekah tried to marry me."

Sara couldn't help but laugh, as did Marge, "Yes, I remember that. Anyway, when she found out I was coming to Vegas, she wanted me to visit her."

        "Well, we can drop you off and take your stuff back to the house with us. You aren't spending the night there, are you?"

        "No, of course not. I'll only be there until about ten o'clock or so. It's bridge night and she insisted I stay and play."

        "Cool. I can come and get you when you call, all right?"

        "That'll work."

Sara spoke up then, "Well how about this you drop her off and I'll take my car to your house with her stuff and I'll call Warrick and Greg and let them know we'll be at your house tonight."

        "Sounds good," Nick said as they left Sara's apartment and headed to the two Tahoes.

Sara unlocked her car and popped the trunk while Nick loaded his mother's suitcase, duffel, and the dress into the back.

Marge had already bid Sara goodbye and climbed into the passenger's seat of Nick's car while Nick slammed the trunk shut.

        "I'll be there in about half an hour," he said as he kissed her quickly and got into his car.

The two Tahoes drove off in different directions as Sara called Warrick and told him they'd be at Nick's tonight.

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            "Sooo, Greggie," Catherine said over the phone line, "I hear you're seeing someone from CSI Level One."

        "Man, how do these things get around?" Greg said as he irritatingly prepared to go to Nick's.

        "Easy, we've all got friends," Catherine said, "So, what are you doing, getting ready for a hot date?"

        "No, actually all of us are meeting at Nick's tonight," Greg said as he located his missing shoe under a pile of dirty clothes.

        "To do what?"

        "Movies, beer, popcorn, take out – the stuff you used to do when you were young, Cath."

        "Watch it, lab rat, I've still got a good right hook," Catherine playfully warned.

        "I don't even know why you're picking on me," Greg said as he grabbed his keys and headed out the door, a bag in his hand containing Miller Lite and a couple of DVDs, "Warrick's seeing a girl that works at Diner 12."

        "Is he really?!" Catherine exclaimed, "Am I really missing that much?"

        "Yep," Greg said as he climbed into his car, "Which is why you're calling me to catch up, right?"
        "Pretty much," Catherine said, "Nick's not answering his cell, Sara's not home, Warrick is probably on his way to Nick's already, and Gil doesn't pay much attention to that stuff."

        "So I'm your last choice?" Greg asked as he pulled out of his parking lot.

        "Sorry to say so, Greggy," Catherine replied with a grin.

~x

Sara entered Nick's house fifteen minutes later with three bags in her hands. She tossed her keys on the counter of the kitchen as she began pulling out the contents of the bags. She pulled the cardboard off of the Samuel Adams and began putting the bottles into the refrigerator. She then pulled out two boxes of Jolly Time popcorn and put them next to the microwave. At that moment, Nick's phone rang.

        "Hello?" She said as she threw the plastic bags away.

        "Sar," Warrick's voice said over the line, "I'm at Blockbuster, what should I get?"

        "Besides tons of candy? Ummm…I got The Italian Job, Greg's bringing xXx, Nick has a ton of DVDs, so get whatever pops out at you."

        "How about Once Upon A Time In Mexico?"

        "Sounds good. See you in a few."

        "Later."

Sara hung up the phone and went off to change into her pajamas. As she pulled a pair of black running shorts and a gray sweatshirt (with the Patriots emblem on it) out of the dresser, she smiled at what that little act meant. She smiled again as she looked over into the bathroom and saw Nick's cologne next to her perfume. It was a nice feeling – a comforting feeling to know he cared enough to share his life with her.

After securing her hair into a ponytail, she walked out of the bedroom just in time to nearly bump into Nick.

        "Woah," Nick said as his arms immediately went around her waist, "Hey there."

Sara grinned, "Hey there yourself. See your future wife?"

Nick rolled his eyes, "As it turns out, Rebekah married some guy named Mickey a few months back, so she wasn't there."

Sara laughed as she hugged him and moved toward the couch. She pulled a couple of the blankets out from behind it and threw them on the Laz-Y-Boy as Nick moved into the bedroom to change.

He re-emerged a couple of minutes later in black gym pants and a black tee. He found Sara sitting on the couch reading the back of the DVD box for The Italian Job.

        "Interesting?" He asked as he sat down next to her and looked at it with her.

        "Looks like it. Haylie saw it and told me it was one of the best movies she's seen in a while."

        "Well I don't know, you Sidle women are hard to believe," Nick said with a grin.

Sara slapped him playfully, "Besides, she's not a Sidle anymore, she's a Freeman."

        "Still Sidle at heart though," Nick said as Sara hit him again.

Before the abuse could go further, Warrick and Greg walked into the kitchen and called, "WE'RE HERE!"

        "Good," Nick called, "Grab us some beers while you're out there."

        "Cold ones!" Sara added. Nick looked back at her and grinned. They all loved this; any time all of them had a night off, they generally met at each other's places to watch movies and just hang out together. Last time it had been at Greg's, so it was Nick's turn. The next time it would be Sara's turn. This tradition had started about three months after Sara started at the LVCL. It had taken a while, but the younger CSIs had quickly developed close-knit relationships: Greg, the goofy younger one; Nick and Sara, the flirters; and Warrick, the overall best friend to the guys and the big-brother to Sara.

Warrick and Greg entered the living room, handing beers around and claiming their places so Nick could start The Italian Job.

As the movie began, they all settled into their places. Sara rested on Nick's legs, her back against his chest, Greg laid back in the Laz-Y-Boy, and Warrick sprawled on the loveseat.

        "Ohh man," Greg said, sitting forward in the chair and watching intently as Charlize Theron appeared on the screen, "That is one fine piece of-"

        "Excuse me," Sara said, reminding the males in the room of her presence, "She is not that pretty."

        "Sure she is," Warrick said, "Long legs, well filled-"

        "Okay, okay, I'm leaving the room, you guys want anything while I'm absent from this testosterone fest?"

Nick grinned at her comment as Warrick asked for the bag of sour gummi worms he's brought and Greg requested she order the pizza. Sara nodded, asking what toppings they wanted.

        "Mushrooms, green peppers, and pepperoni," Greg requested.

        "Same as Greg, hold the pepperoni," Nick told her.

        "Anchovies!" Warrick insisted.

Sara wrinkled her nose at Warrick's request, but asked if they wanted anything else. Greg and Warrick shook their heads no, unpausing the movie.

        "Nick?" Sara asked.

        "No, I'm good," he said as she left the room.

Sara placed the phone back in the cradle after ordering the pizza and her ears were greeted with outbursts of, "Why in the hell would they do that?" And "I know who's behind that!" She couldn't help but grin – she had more fun with those guys than she did pretty much anyone else, no matter how graphic they became while discussing the actresses.

She re-entered the living room, throwing Warrick's worms at him.

        "That's for trying to describe her," she stated as he cried, "OW!"

Laughter from all three men were in her wake as she returned to the kitchen and looked around for the coffee she'd bought to sober the drivers up before they left that night. As she reached up into the cabinet, she felt arms around her waist and a soft Texas whisper of, "I'd choose you over her any day."

Sara grinned as she stopped reaching and turned around, her arms going around Nick's neck, "Well, if it's any compliment to you, I'd choose you over Kevin Bacon any day."

Nick grinned as he gently closed the distance between their lips in a soft, meaningful kiss. Sara kissed back, thoroughly drowning in the emotions and feelings his touch and kiss gave her. They could still hear Warrick and Greg's shouted comments, but at that moment they were focused only on each other. Sara ran her hands down his arms and broke apart, needing oxygen.

        "I hate when you do that," she whispered, her eyes still closed.

Nick grinned, "When I do what?"

She opened her eyes slowly and playfully glared at him, "When you kiss me so well I don't want to have to stop and breathe."

Nick laughed as he reached over her shoulder and pulled a bag of coffee down, "We have to get back out there before they come in here," Sara informed him as she quickly pressed her lips to his once more.

Nick groaned after they'd separated, "You're right," he admitted as he rejoined his buddies in the living room. Sara placed two bags of popcorn into the microwave, to ease the men's hunger until the pizzas arrived. After they had popped, she emptied the bags into a bowl and re-entered the living room, receiving praises from the men.

        "Thank God you're here, Sara," Warrick said, "Last time you weren't, Greg burned two bags."

        "Woah," Sara said, holding the popcorn bowl out of reach, "Greg can make gourmet coffee at the lab but he can't pop popcorn?"

Greg blushed, "A coffee machine and a microwave are two very different things!"

The group laughed as they refocused on the movie.

~x

        "Catherine, why are you dragging me here?" Grissom asked as they drove toward Nick's house.

Catherine smirked at her husband, "Well, my sister has been begging me to go somewhere so she could babysit Lindsey and Dylan, PLUS Greg let it slip that all of them are hanging out at Nick's, so we're just going to do a little party-crashing."

        "Why we?" Grissom enunciated as they pulled into Nick's driveway.

        "Because we all have the night off, PLUS won't it be nice to spend a little down-time with them, considering the team was almost split up?"

Grissom reluctantly agreed as they climbed out of the car, wondering why this woman had such control over the independent man he had once been.

Meanwhile, Nick, Sara, Warrick, and Greg were onto Once Upon a Time in Mexico, the pizzas had come and were consumed, and they had now whipped out all the supply of candy they had brought. It was now Sara's turn to describe every great attribute to Antonio Banderas and Johnny Depp.

        "Sara, stoooop!" Greg whined as he covered his ears with a pillow.

Nick raised an eyebrow at her, "Now wait one second what were you saying five minutes ago?"

        "Um, I believe she said something along the lines of, 'Johnny Depp has an amazing bone structure in his face!! Ahhh how cute ooohh he's adorable blah blah blah'" Warrick recapped, which caused Sara to throw a pillow at him just as they heard Nick's front door open.

        "You're surrounded! Drop the candy and the beer!" They heard Catherine's voice call as she and Grissom entered the room.

        "What a mess," Grissom noted as he saw the popcorn, candy, and beer bottles on the table and floor.

        "Griss, come on this is our first night off in a month, give us a break!" Warrick defended the mess. Catherine grinned at her husband who shook his head.

        "Hey boss, want a beer?" Greg asked, as Grissom stood debating.

        "Well…" Grissom said as Catherine nodded.

        "Get this guy one now," Catherine replied with a grin toward her husband, "Plus, we brought you guys some coffee so you'll sober up a little bit before you guys drive home."

        "If it's really that bad, I've only had not even half a beer; I can drive one of these guys home," Sara said as she motioned to her almost full beer bottle.

        "Well, I see we have one responsible person here," Catherine said with a grin as Greg returned with two different brands.

        "Miller Lite or Samuel Adams?"

        "I'll take the Miller," Grissom said as Warrick abdicated the loveseat to make room for the two elder CSIs.

        "Catherine, who's taking care of Linds and Dylan?" Sara asked as they sat down and got comfortable, Warrick stretching out on the floor.

        "My sister has been dying to babysit them, so we decided to crash the party," Catherine said with a grin.      

        "More like she wanted to crash the party, I just got dragged along," Grissom objected as Catherine saw what they were watching.

        "Oh no way I've been wanting to see this movie forever!"

Sara sat forward, Nick's arm sliding from her shoulders to her waist, unconsciously caressing the skin there, "Catherine, please tell me you agree with this observation: Johnny Depp has the best facial bone structure of anyone we know."

        "Oh definitely," Catherine agreed, "I used to have the biggest crush on him back in his Nightmare on Elm Street days."

Sara slapped Nick with a pillow and then proceeded to throw it at Warrick, "See? I'm not the only one!"

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A/N: Aww fun-time ;) I know it probably wouldn't be Grissom coming to bust the party, or him drinking a beer, but you know what, HE'S MARRIED TO CATHERINE – if anyone can relax him, it's her.

Next Chapter: Maile asks Greg something, Nick talks to Warrick about Anisha, more cases come in, PLUS: Marge and Sara have a talk about the future TWO WEEKS UNTIL NICK AND SARA LEAVE FOR DALLAS!