Nick looked at Chelsea with disbelief. "What do you mean by that?"
She smirked. "Nick, I'm not going to figure it out for you. I told you what I think."
"Sara and I are just friends." Nick stammered.
Chelsea raised a single eyebrow. "Famous last words."
Nick clenched his jaw. "You know I'm going to be lucky if she's still speaking to me by the time we get back to Vegas if everyone is intent on trying to make this into something that it's not."
"I think you're putting up far too much of a fuss." Chelsea had the look of near victory on her face.
Nick rolled his eyes. "Just tone it down, Chels. Sara's an only child and if all of you keep this up, she's not going to last a day in Dallas." He turned on his heels and made his way down to the apartment where Sara had gone.
She glanced up from where she sat on the couch as he entered and noticed the exasperation on his face. "What's wrong?"
He looked over at her and shook his head in frustration. "I'm really sorry for all of that. My sister is out of line. I have a feeling that they're all going to be out of line before we leave and I guess I should have warned you."
"I think it's pretty funny actually." Sara confessed with a smirk.
Nick's eyebrows shot up. "Funny? What's funny about it?"
Sara tried to restrain a laugh. "If you could see yourself, Nick, you'd laugh. Your nephews were priceless; did you see how Aiden ran as fast as he could as soon as Conner said the word 'grounded'? And your sister, she's not exactly being subtle."
"That's the point. None of them are subtle. They do this every time I come home. For whatever reason, they feel the need to try and create a love life for me." Nick let out a deep sigh before sitting next to her on the couch. "Why can't they just leave well enough alone?"
"It's obvious they care about you, Nick." Sara smiled at him.
"Well, that may be the case, but I'm sorry that they're pulling you into this. It's not fair to you." Nick looked apologetic.
Sara raised an eyebrow. "I think I can hold my own with your sisters; besides, it's kind of flattering that they think I'd be good enough for you." She chuckled softly.
"Do you realize that Chelsea told all of my sisters that I'm in love with you?" Nick just shook his head.
Sara looked somewhat amused. "So are you?"
Nick looked immediately flustered. "What?"
She had an expression on her face usually reserved for when she was reviewing the facts in a case. "Are you in love with me?"
Disbelief at what she was asking him crossed his face. "Am I in love with you?"
"I don't know, you tell me." Sara looked completely calm as she asked the question.
Nick looked confused. "Why are you asking me if I'm in love with you?"
Sara raised her eyebrow at him. "Nick, if you can't even answer the question when I ask you, how in the world do you expect your sisters to believe you?"
"Am I in love with you?" Nick looked at Sara as if she held the answer.
"I was asking you that question. Should I repeat it?" Sara wondered why Nick was getting so flustered over a simple question that they both should know the answer to.
Nick shook his head. "No, I can answer the question." He glanced away and swallowed. "Am I in love with you?" The way he phrased it made it sound like he was trying to work out a difficult math equation in his head.
Sara pursed her lips together and furrowed her brow. "You do know the answer to the question, don't you?"
"Uh, yeah." Nick stammered. He looked at Sara for a moment.
"Nick, you're making me nervous. You're not in love with me are you?" Sara felt a bit of panic rising up in her throat.
"Uh, I don't think so." Nick wasn't sure anymore. He hadn't really thought about it before, and now that the topic was on the table, he wasn't sure.
Sara measured her words carefully. "You don't think so? You don't know?"
"I never really thought about it before, and Chelsea seems pretty convinced that I'm in denial." He studied Sara for a moment. "Hell, she thinks you're in denial too."
Sara was taken aback. "Me? What do you mean?"
"She thinks that you're in love with me." Nick looked confused.
"I'm in love with you?" Sara didn't know what to think.
"That's what she thinks." Nick was beginning to think that this was one of the strangest conversations he'd ever had. He only hoped it wouldn't end with him giving Sara a ride to the airport.
Sara just sat there for a few minutes not saying anything. She knew that she and Nick were close friends, but love? She'd never really thought about it. She turned toward Nick, who looked as confused as she felt. "I'm not in love with you, am I?"
Nick raised his eyebrows. "See what I mean? They've planted a seed of doubt. If we're not careful, we'll be married with six kids by the time we leave."
Sara started laughing. "Nick, do you realize how ridiculous this is?"
"Ok, so six kids is an exaggeration." Nick smirked.
Sara elbowed him. "We're friends. Right?"
"Friends." Nick agreed, not sounding completely convinced.
"Good friends." Sara continued.
Nick smiled and slung his arm around her shoulder. "Great friends."
Sara leaned her head against his shoulder. "The best."
"Couldn't ask for better." Nick agreed smiling as he tightened his grip on her shoulder.
"So, it's no problem then. Whatever they think doesn't matter. We know the truth." Sara reasoned relaxing against him.
"The truth." Nick stated, not really sure what the truth was any more.
"Yeah, the truth." Sara agreed with a hint of doubt in her voice. "We do know what the truth is, don't we?"
"Uh, sure." Nick tried to sound assuring, but wasn't too successful.
"What is it?" Sara asked curiously.
"I don't know." Nick admitted.
Sara bit her lower lip. "I don't either."
Nick furrowed his brow. "Would it be a bad thing?"
Sara pulled away from him and looked at him quizzically. "Would what be a bad thing?"
Nick looked nervous. "If we were in love with each other. Would that be a bad thing?"
Sara considered his words for a moment. "What do you think?"
"I asked you first." Nick was slightly amused at Sara's reluctance to answer the question.
"I guess not. I mean, you are one of my best friends. It isn't the worst thing that could happen." She admitted.
"Ok, then. So, if we were to fall in love, we'd both be ok with that then." Nick clarified.
"I guess so." Sara wondered where he was going with this.
"So regardless of what my sisters try and pull, we're ok." Nick sounded a bit more confident.
"Sure." Sara was beginning to wonder what she'd gotten herself into.
She smirked. "Nick, I'm not going to figure it out for you. I told you what I think."
"Sara and I are just friends." Nick stammered.
Chelsea raised a single eyebrow. "Famous last words."
Nick clenched his jaw. "You know I'm going to be lucky if she's still speaking to me by the time we get back to Vegas if everyone is intent on trying to make this into something that it's not."
"I think you're putting up far too much of a fuss." Chelsea had the look of near victory on her face.
Nick rolled his eyes. "Just tone it down, Chels. Sara's an only child and if all of you keep this up, she's not going to last a day in Dallas." He turned on his heels and made his way down to the apartment where Sara had gone.
She glanced up from where she sat on the couch as he entered and noticed the exasperation on his face. "What's wrong?"
He looked over at her and shook his head in frustration. "I'm really sorry for all of that. My sister is out of line. I have a feeling that they're all going to be out of line before we leave and I guess I should have warned you."
"I think it's pretty funny actually." Sara confessed with a smirk.
Nick's eyebrows shot up. "Funny? What's funny about it?"
Sara tried to restrain a laugh. "If you could see yourself, Nick, you'd laugh. Your nephews were priceless; did you see how Aiden ran as fast as he could as soon as Conner said the word 'grounded'? And your sister, she's not exactly being subtle."
"That's the point. None of them are subtle. They do this every time I come home. For whatever reason, they feel the need to try and create a love life for me." Nick let out a deep sigh before sitting next to her on the couch. "Why can't they just leave well enough alone?"
"It's obvious they care about you, Nick." Sara smiled at him.
"Well, that may be the case, but I'm sorry that they're pulling you into this. It's not fair to you." Nick looked apologetic.
Sara raised an eyebrow. "I think I can hold my own with your sisters; besides, it's kind of flattering that they think I'd be good enough for you." She chuckled softly.
"Do you realize that Chelsea told all of my sisters that I'm in love with you?" Nick just shook his head.
Sara looked somewhat amused. "So are you?"
Nick looked immediately flustered. "What?"
She had an expression on her face usually reserved for when she was reviewing the facts in a case. "Are you in love with me?"
Disbelief at what she was asking him crossed his face. "Am I in love with you?"
"I don't know, you tell me." Sara looked completely calm as she asked the question.
Nick looked confused. "Why are you asking me if I'm in love with you?"
Sara raised her eyebrow at him. "Nick, if you can't even answer the question when I ask you, how in the world do you expect your sisters to believe you?"
"Am I in love with you?" Nick looked at Sara as if she held the answer.
"I was asking you that question. Should I repeat it?" Sara wondered why Nick was getting so flustered over a simple question that they both should know the answer to.
Nick shook his head. "No, I can answer the question." He glanced away and swallowed. "Am I in love with you?" The way he phrased it made it sound like he was trying to work out a difficult math equation in his head.
Sara pursed her lips together and furrowed her brow. "You do know the answer to the question, don't you?"
"Uh, yeah." Nick stammered. He looked at Sara for a moment.
"Nick, you're making me nervous. You're not in love with me are you?" Sara felt a bit of panic rising up in her throat.
"Uh, I don't think so." Nick wasn't sure anymore. He hadn't really thought about it before, and now that the topic was on the table, he wasn't sure.
Sara measured her words carefully. "You don't think so? You don't know?"
"I never really thought about it before, and Chelsea seems pretty convinced that I'm in denial." He studied Sara for a moment. "Hell, she thinks you're in denial too."
Sara was taken aback. "Me? What do you mean?"
"She thinks that you're in love with me." Nick looked confused.
"I'm in love with you?" Sara didn't know what to think.
"That's what she thinks." Nick was beginning to think that this was one of the strangest conversations he'd ever had. He only hoped it wouldn't end with him giving Sara a ride to the airport.
Sara just sat there for a few minutes not saying anything. She knew that she and Nick were close friends, but love? She'd never really thought about it. She turned toward Nick, who looked as confused as she felt. "I'm not in love with you, am I?"
Nick raised his eyebrows. "See what I mean? They've planted a seed of doubt. If we're not careful, we'll be married with six kids by the time we leave."
Sara started laughing. "Nick, do you realize how ridiculous this is?"
"Ok, so six kids is an exaggeration." Nick smirked.
Sara elbowed him. "We're friends. Right?"
"Friends." Nick agreed, not sounding completely convinced.
"Good friends." Sara continued.
Nick smiled and slung his arm around her shoulder. "Great friends."
Sara leaned her head against his shoulder. "The best."
"Couldn't ask for better." Nick agreed smiling as he tightened his grip on her shoulder.
"So, it's no problem then. Whatever they think doesn't matter. We know the truth." Sara reasoned relaxing against him.
"The truth." Nick stated, not really sure what the truth was any more.
"Yeah, the truth." Sara agreed with a hint of doubt in her voice. "We do know what the truth is, don't we?"
"Uh, sure." Nick tried to sound assuring, but wasn't too successful.
"What is it?" Sara asked curiously.
"I don't know." Nick admitted.
Sara bit her lower lip. "I don't either."
Nick furrowed his brow. "Would it be a bad thing?"
Sara pulled away from him and looked at him quizzically. "Would what be a bad thing?"
Nick looked nervous. "If we were in love with each other. Would that be a bad thing?"
Sara considered his words for a moment. "What do you think?"
"I asked you first." Nick was slightly amused at Sara's reluctance to answer the question.
"I guess not. I mean, you are one of my best friends. It isn't the worst thing that could happen." She admitted.
"Ok, then. So, if we were to fall in love, we'd both be ok with that then." Nick clarified.
"I guess so." Sara wondered where he was going with this.
"So regardless of what my sisters try and pull, we're ok." Nick sounded a bit more confident.
"Sure." Sara was beginning to wonder what she'd gotten herself into.