Disclaimer: I don't own them, didn't create them, don't profit from them,
etc.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Sara wasn't sure why she ended up there specifically, she just knew she needed a friend and he was the first one that came to mind. In fact he was the only one she thought wouldn't think her strange to show up at his house at one-thirty in the morning on his only night off in two weeks. Still, she was having difficulty moving herself out of the Denali. Finally, she took a deep breath and walked toward his front door, knocking soundly and hoping that she wasn't waking him up.
Surprisingly, Nick answered the door rather quickly, and as Sara took in his demeanor, the wine glass in his hand, and the music filtering in from the living room, she could tell he had company.
Nick's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Sara."
"Hey, Nick." Suddenly, she was at a loss. She didn't really know why she was there in the first place and now she felt like she was an unwanted guest.
Nick saw the change in her expression and his own softened with concern. "Hey, are you ok?" He reached out and touched her shoulder.
Sara started to back pedal. "Uh, it looks like you've got company. I'll just talk to you later." She started to turn to leave, but Nick gently grabbed her arm. She turned her head and caught his eye.
"Come in for a little while." He knew she wouldn't have shown up on his doorstep in the middle of the night unless she had a good reason, and he was not about to let her leave until he knew that she was ok.
Reluctantly, Sara acquiesced and followed him inside.
"Do you want some wine?" Nick asked her as he gestured toward the living room.
"Uh, sure." Numbly, she nodded, and then began to question whether she really should have stopped by at all as she glanced over and noticed for the first time a young woman, probably about the same age as Nick, sitting there sipping a glass of wine. She was obviously interrupting a date. The woman smiled at Sara, she seemed somehow familiar and yet Sara was sure that they had never met.
As Nick returned to the living room with another wine glass in hand, the woman winked at Nick and then smiled at Sara. "Nick seems to have forgotten his manners." She had a distinctive drawl and Sara surmised that she was from Texas.
Nick chuckled and then looked at the woman apologetically. "Sorry, Chels." Nick poured Sara a glass of wine and as he handed it to her, he smiled at her and gestured toward the woman on the couch. "Sara, this is my nosey older sister, Chelsea."
For some reason, relief washed over Sara and she felt herself relaxing. A soft smile began to spread across her face.
Nick continued as he looked at his sister and pulled Sara along with him as he sat down next to his sister on the couch. "Chels, this is my friend Sara Sidle. We work together."
An amused smile played at Chelsea's lips as she shook Sara's hand. "It's nice to meet you, Sara."
"Likewise." Sara could see the resemblance between Chelsea and Nick; they had the same coloring, the same strong jaw line, the same distinctive drawl, and the same mannerisms.
Nick took a sip from his wine and then furrowed his brow, glancing over at Sara. "Speaking of work, why aren't you there?"
Sara's face clouded and she could feel tears threatening to spill out of the corners of her eyes. She silently pleaded with Nick to not press her further at the moment. "I took the rest of the night off."
Nick knew that there was no way that Sara would just simply take the rest of the night off without either being sent home or being completely traumatized by a case. He had sense enough to know that Sara wouldn't want to talk about it in front of his sister. He smiled at her, his eyes searching her face for clues about what was going on. "Well I'm glad you stopped by."
Sara took a sip from the wine and savored the taste. She felt a sense of gratitude that Nick had let the subject drop there for the time being. She looked over at Chelsea and smiled. "So, how long are you in Vegas for?"
Chelsea smiled, she liked Sara immediately. "I'm actually heading back to Dallas in the morning, I was just in town for a convention, but I had to squeeze in some time with Nick."
"What kind of convention?" Sara inquired. Nick talked more about his nieces and nephews than the rest of his family.
"Law. Like most of the family, I'm a lawyer." She smiled at Nick and reached over and ruffed his hair. "Only Nick here decided that investigating was more fun."
Nick grinned at her. "At least I don't have to wear a suit everyday."
Sara laughed and raised an eyebrow at him. "So that's why you became a CSI, it's really a fashion issue for you."
Nick looked over at Sara and grinned. "Who really wants to wear a tie?"
"And all this time I thought you liked nailing the bad guys." Sara teased.
Chelsea observed the banter and wondered to herself just how good of friends Nick and Sara were. She knew that Nick hadn't dated anyone in a while and her feminine intuition was telling her that the reason was sitting on the other end of the couch. She set her wine glass down on the coffee table and yawned. "I hate to be a party pooper, but I need to get some sleep; my flight leaves pretty early."
"Oh, I'm sorry. I feel badly for interrupting your visit." Sara did feel bad, but she was also glad that she had finally gotten to meet a member of Nick's family, even if it was brief.
Chelsea reached over Nick and patted Sara on the knee. "Sara, you weren't interrupting anything. I'm glad I got to finally meet you."
The word 'finally' hung in the air and Sara glanced at Nick out of the corner of her eye and noticed a slight change in his expression. From the way Chelsea had said the word, it made Sara think that perhaps she'd been the topic of more than one conversation.
Nick stood up as Chelsea did and hugged her. "Now, I'm taking you to the airport, so don't even think about calling one of those shuttle services. If I'm not up, just wake me up."
Chelsea started to laugh and pulled out of Nick's hug. She glanced up at him with a mischievous grin on her face. "Wake you up, now that's funny." She looked over at Sara and chuckled. "Nick's almost impossible to wake up; at least without a little help."
Sara smirked at Nick who looked somewhat embarrassed. "I may just have to get your sister's number so I can get some dirt on you."
Nick glanced over at her and raised an eyebrow. "You just try that, Sidle, she won't talk, I've got dirt on her that my parents still don't know about." He turned toward Chelsea and flashed her a lopsided grin.
Chelsea's eyebrows shot up. "You wouldn't dare. I may be an adult, but they'd still kill me if they found out about that."
Nick glance over at Sara with a smug expression. "See, what did I tell you?"
Sara simply smirked at him.
Chelsea lightly smacked Nick on the arm grinning. "Hey, I'm going to turn in, see you in the morning."
Nick pulled her back into a bear hug. "Love you, Chels. Sleep well."
"I love you too, Nick." She kissed him on the cheek and then glanced over at Sara. "Nice to meet you, Sara." She smiled at her before heading down the hall towards Nick's spare bedroom.
Sara lifted her hand at Chelsea. "Good night." She still felt like she was intruding and she stood up as Nick turned back towards her. "Uh, I should go."
Nick looked at her curiously. "Why?"
"I interrupted your visit with your sister." Sara replied.
Nick shook his head. "You didn't interrupt." He gestured toward the couch. "Sit, let's finish the wine." They both still had half a glass left.
They sat back on the couch and Nick glanced at Sara as she took a sip from the glass and closed her eyes, savoring the taste. She smiled as she set the glass back on the coffee table. "That is really good wine."
Nick studied her for a moment before cutting to the chase. "So why aren't you at work?"
She looked at him and a myriad of emotions crossed her face. "It's a long story, Nick."
Nick reached over and squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. "Hey, I'm a good listener and I've got nothing but time."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Sara wasn't sure why she ended up there specifically, she just knew she needed a friend and he was the first one that came to mind. In fact he was the only one she thought wouldn't think her strange to show up at his house at one-thirty in the morning on his only night off in two weeks. Still, she was having difficulty moving herself out of the Denali. Finally, she took a deep breath and walked toward his front door, knocking soundly and hoping that she wasn't waking him up.
Surprisingly, Nick answered the door rather quickly, and as Sara took in his demeanor, the wine glass in his hand, and the music filtering in from the living room, she could tell he had company.
Nick's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Sara."
"Hey, Nick." Suddenly, she was at a loss. She didn't really know why she was there in the first place and now she felt like she was an unwanted guest.
Nick saw the change in her expression and his own softened with concern. "Hey, are you ok?" He reached out and touched her shoulder.
Sara started to back pedal. "Uh, it looks like you've got company. I'll just talk to you later." She started to turn to leave, but Nick gently grabbed her arm. She turned her head and caught his eye.
"Come in for a little while." He knew she wouldn't have shown up on his doorstep in the middle of the night unless she had a good reason, and he was not about to let her leave until he knew that she was ok.
Reluctantly, Sara acquiesced and followed him inside.
"Do you want some wine?" Nick asked her as he gestured toward the living room.
"Uh, sure." Numbly, she nodded, and then began to question whether she really should have stopped by at all as she glanced over and noticed for the first time a young woman, probably about the same age as Nick, sitting there sipping a glass of wine. She was obviously interrupting a date. The woman smiled at Sara, she seemed somehow familiar and yet Sara was sure that they had never met.
As Nick returned to the living room with another wine glass in hand, the woman winked at Nick and then smiled at Sara. "Nick seems to have forgotten his manners." She had a distinctive drawl and Sara surmised that she was from Texas.
Nick chuckled and then looked at the woman apologetically. "Sorry, Chels." Nick poured Sara a glass of wine and as he handed it to her, he smiled at her and gestured toward the woman on the couch. "Sara, this is my nosey older sister, Chelsea."
For some reason, relief washed over Sara and she felt herself relaxing. A soft smile began to spread across her face.
Nick continued as he looked at his sister and pulled Sara along with him as he sat down next to his sister on the couch. "Chels, this is my friend Sara Sidle. We work together."
An amused smile played at Chelsea's lips as she shook Sara's hand. "It's nice to meet you, Sara."
"Likewise." Sara could see the resemblance between Chelsea and Nick; they had the same coloring, the same strong jaw line, the same distinctive drawl, and the same mannerisms.
Nick took a sip from his wine and then furrowed his brow, glancing over at Sara. "Speaking of work, why aren't you there?"
Sara's face clouded and she could feel tears threatening to spill out of the corners of her eyes. She silently pleaded with Nick to not press her further at the moment. "I took the rest of the night off."
Nick knew that there was no way that Sara would just simply take the rest of the night off without either being sent home or being completely traumatized by a case. He had sense enough to know that Sara wouldn't want to talk about it in front of his sister. He smiled at her, his eyes searching her face for clues about what was going on. "Well I'm glad you stopped by."
Sara took a sip from the wine and savored the taste. She felt a sense of gratitude that Nick had let the subject drop there for the time being. She looked over at Chelsea and smiled. "So, how long are you in Vegas for?"
Chelsea smiled, she liked Sara immediately. "I'm actually heading back to Dallas in the morning, I was just in town for a convention, but I had to squeeze in some time with Nick."
"What kind of convention?" Sara inquired. Nick talked more about his nieces and nephews than the rest of his family.
"Law. Like most of the family, I'm a lawyer." She smiled at Nick and reached over and ruffed his hair. "Only Nick here decided that investigating was more fun."
Nick grinned at her. "At least I don't have to wear a suit everyday."
Sara laughed and raised an eyebrow at him. "So that's why you became a CSI, it's really a fashion issue for you."
Nick looked over at Sara and grinned. "Who really wants to wear a tie?"
"And all this time I thought you liked nailing the bad guys." Sara teased.
Chelsea observed the banter and wondered to herself just how good of friends Nick and Sara were. She knew that Nick hadn't dated anyone in a while and her feminine intuition was telling her that the reason was sitting on the other end of the couch. She set her wine glass down on the coffee table and yawned. "I hate to be a party pooper, but I need to get some sleep; my flight leaves pretty early."
"Oh, I'm sorry. I feel badly for interrupting your visit." Sara did feel bad, but she was also glad that she had finally gotten to meet a member of Nick's family, even if it was brief.
Chelsea reached over Nick and patted Sara on the knee. "Sara, you weren't interrupting anything. I'm glad I got to finally meet you."
The word 'finally' hung in the air and Sara glanced at Nick out of the corner of her eye and noticed a slight change in his expression. From the way Chelsea had said the word, it made Sara think that perhaps she'd been the topic of more than one conversation.
Nick stood up as Chelsea did and hugged her. "Now, I'm taking you to the airport, so don't even think about calling one of those shuttle services. If I'm not up, just wake me up."
Chelsea started to laugh and pulled out of Nick's hug. She glanced up at him with a mischievous grin on her face. "Wake you up, now that's funny." She looked over at Sara and chuckled. "Nick's almost impossible to wake up; at least without a little help."
Sara smirked at Nick who looked somewhat embarrassed. "I may just have to get your sister's number so I can get some dirt on you."
Nick glanced over at her and raised an eyebrow. "You just try that, Sidle, she won't talk, I've got dirt on her that my parents still don't know about." He turned toward Chelsea and flashed her a lopsided grin.
Chelsea's eyebrows shot up. "You wouldn't dare. I may be an adult, but they'd still kill me if they found out about that."
Nick glance over at Sara with a smug expression. "See, what did I tell you?"
Sara simply smirked at him.
Chelsea lightly smacked Nick on the arm grinning. "Hey, I'm going to turn in, see you in the morning."
Nick pulled her back into a bear hug. "Love you, Chels. Sleep well."
"I love you too, Nick." She kissed him on the cheek and then glanced over at Sara. "Nice to meet you, Sara." She smiled at her before heading down the hall towards Nick's spare bedroom.
Sara lifted her hand at Chelsea. "Good night." She still felt like she was intruding and she stood up as Nick turned back towards her. "Uh, I should go."
Nick looked at her curiously. "Why?"
"I interrupted your visit with your sister." Sara replied.
Nick shook his head. "You didn't interrupt." He gestured toward the couch. "Sit, let's finish the wine." They both still had half a glass left.
They sat back on the couch and Nick glanced at Sara as she took a sip from the glass and closed her eyes, savoring the taste. She smiled as she set the glass back on the coffee table. "That is really good wine."
Nick studied her for a moment before cutting to the chase. "So why aren't you at work?"
She looked at him and a myriad of emotions crossed her face. "It's a long story, Nick."
Nick reached over and squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. "Hey, I'm a good listener and I've got nothing but time."