Sara glanced over at Nick as she fastened her seatbelt. They were eleven
rows back on United flight 1504 from Las Vegas to San Francisco and the
flight crew of the Airbus 320 had begun their preflight safety
demonstration. Sara closed her eyes and let out a deep sigh.
Nick glanced at her curiously from his aisle seat. "Is there something I should know? That was a pretty heavy sigh."
She opened her eyes and a wry smile formed on her lips. "I haven't been home in a while and I'm sure that my mom especially is going to want to give me the third degree."
Nick chuckled softly. "My mom's the same way."
Sara studied him for a moment before she continued. "I might as well warn you that my parents are a little strange."
Nick raised an eyebrow and tried to keep his expression serious. "Stranger than you?"
She narrowed her gaze at him and swatted at his arm. "They used to be hippies."
Nick chuckled. "And you went to Harvard."
Sara looked at him with a smug expression. "They just have never understood my fascination with science and they think I work too much."
"You do." Nick agreed.
Sara smirked. "Thanks for the support."
"It's true, Sara. You max out on overtime every month and even on your days off you usually end up at work. They have a point." Nick glanced up as the flight attendant walked by and pointed out that he hadn't fastened his seatbelt for takeoff.
Sara tried not to laugh at him as he fastened his seatbelt. She leaned over and whispered conspiratorially. "I bet you did that just so you could flirt with her."
Nick looked slightly embarrassed and whispered back. "She's not my type."
Sara raised an eyebrow in challenge. "Then what is your type?"
Nick looked smug. "Well for starters, I don't date women who are married."
Sara looked at him for a moment a bit startled and then started laughing. "Ok, so besides not being married, what criteria is Nick Stokes looking for in a woman?"
"Since when are you so interested in my love life, Sara?" Nick was amused at Sara's teasing, but he also felt that he was more than capable of finding someone on his own.
"Well, I just find it curious that in all the time I've known you, you've never had a long term girlfriend." Sara replied in all seriousness.
Nick was almost embarrassed at her comment. "Well, I could say the same for you."
Sara smirked. "I'm not really into girls, Nick, and don't forget Hank."
Nick chuckled softly. "Ok, but I thought you said you and Hank weren't 'dating', that you just went to movies."
Sara started to feel a little uncomfortable. "We weren't, not really, I mean it's not like we ever." Sara cleared her throat and smirked at him. "How did we get on this topic of conversation anyway?"
Nick raised his eyebrows in amusement. "I believe you brought it up."
Her lips were pressed together in an effort not to smile. "Fine, let's change the subject then. What do you want to do in Tamales Bay?"
Nick laughed. "You're the tour guide; I'm at your mercy."
Sara leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes as a smile spread across her face. "I think we should start with a piece of my mom's quiche, it's to die for."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Sara glanced over at Nick as they loaded their luggage into the rental car. "Do you want to see any of San Francisco before we head up to Tamales Bay?"
He smiled softly. "Do you think we could see the Golden Gate Bridge? My mom asked me to send her a picture of me standing in front of it."
Sara had to swallow the first quip that came to mind as a smile spread across her lips. "Sure."
Nick raised an eyebrow at her. "What? You were gonna say something about me being a mama's boy or something, weren't you?"
Sara pursed her lips together in an effort not to laugh at his ability to read her mind. "I just think that it's sweet that you would do something like that for her. You must be very close." Her expression clearly expressed that he'd hit the nail on the head.
He smirked at her. "We are close."
"You sure you don't want to send her a picture of you on a cable car too?" Sara teased.
"Now that you mention it." Nick teased in response.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Wow, this is really beautiful." Nick couldn't get over how beautiful the scenery was as they drove north of San Francisco. They had stopped briefly so that Sara could take Nick's picture with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background. Some other tourists offered to take their picture together and Nick waved Sara over, casually slinging his arm around her shoulder and grinning as the shot was snapped.
Sara smiled at him as she drove toward Tamales Bay. "It is beautiful isn't it? I sometimes forget how lush it looks compared to the desert."
"How far are we from your parent's place?" He queried.
"About another half hour." Sara already looked more relaxed than she had when they'd left Las Vegas.
"So tell me about what it was like to grow up in a bed and breakfast." Nick adjusted the sun visor in the car.
"I didn't actually grow up in the bed and breakfast; it's a series of cottages on the property they own. They have their own house." She smiled.
"You didn't answer the question." Nick observed with an amused smile.
She chuckled softly. "Ok. Well, it was busy. I was free labor until I hit high school and then everything I earned went to pay for college."
"So even in high school you didn't get out much." Nick observed.
She smirked. "In a small town like Marshall, there's not much to get out and do as you put it, and besides, being a science geek didn't exactly land me in with the popular kids anyway."
Nick studied her for a moment and a smile spread across his face. "That explains a lot about you."
Sara looked at him skeptically. "What do you mean by that?"
"Nothing bad. It's just that the combination of you being a smart beautiful woman in a small town probably intimidated people." His expression was reassuring.
"Thanks." She scrunched her nose up. "I think."
Nick chuckled. "Sara, I have a feeling I'm going to learn a lot about you this week."
She grimaced for a moment to Nick's amusement and then smirked at him. "If my mom tells you any embarrassing stories you are sworn to secrecy."
Nick raised a curious eyebrow. "Do you have any embarrassing stories?"
She tried to restrain her smile. "If I told you, I'd have to kill you."
Nick glanced at her curiously from his aisle seat. "Is there something I should know? That was a pretty heavy sigh."
She opened her eyes and a wry smile formed on her lips. "I haven't been home in a while and I'm sure that my mom especially is going to want to give me the third degree."
Nick chuckled softly. "My mom's the same way."
Sara studied him for a moment before she continued. "I might as well warn you that my parents are a little strange."
Nick raised an eyebrow and tried to keep his expression serious. "Stranger than you?"
She narrowed her gaze at him and swatted at his arm. "They used to be hippies."
Nick chuckled. "And you went to Harvard."
Sara looked at him with a smug expression. "They just have never understood my fascination with science and they think I work too much."
"You do." Nick agreed.
Sara smirked. "Thanks for the support."
"It's true, Sara. You max out on overtime every month and even on your days off you usually end up at work. They have a point." Nick glanced up as the flight attendant walked by and pointed out that he hadn't fastened his seatbelt for takeoff.
Sara tried not to laugh at him as he fastened his seatbelt. She leaned over and whispered conspiratorially. "I bet you did that just so you could flirt with her."
Nick looked slightly embarrassed and whispered back. "She's not my type."
Sara raised an eyebrow in challenge. "Then what is your type?"
Nick looked smug. "Well for starters, I don't date women who are married."
Sara looked at him for a moment a bit startled and then started laughing. "Ok, so besides not being married, what criteria is Nick Stokes looking for in a woman?"
"Since when are you so interested in my love life, Sara?" Nick was amused at Sara's teasing, but he also felt that he was more than capable of finding someone on his own.
"Well, I just find it curious that in all the time I've known you, you've never had a long term girlfriend." Sara replied in all seriousness.
Nick was almost embarrassed at her comment. "Well, I could say the same for you."
Sara smirked. "I'm not really into girls, Nick, and don't forget Hank."
Nick chuckled softly. "Ok, but I thought you said you and Hank weren't 'dating', that you just went to movies."
Sara started to feel a little uncomfortable. "We weren't, not really, I mean it's not like we ever." Sara cleared her throat and smirked at him. "How did we get on this topic of conversation anyway?"
Nick raised his eyebrows in amusement. "I believe you brought it up."
Her lips were pressed together in an effort not to smile. "Fine, let's change the subject then. What do you want to do in Tamales Bay?"
Nick laughed. "You're the tour guide; I'm at your mercy."
Sara leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes as a smile spread across her face. "I think we should start with a piece of my mom's quiche, it's to die for."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Sara glanced over at Nick as they loaded their luggage into the rental car. "Do you want to see any of San Francisco before we head up to Tamales Bay?"
He smiled softly. "Do you think we could see the Golden Gate Bridge? My mom asked me to send her a picture of me standing in front of it."
Sara had to swallow the first quip that came to mind as a smile spread across her lips. "Sure."
Nick raised an eyebrow at her. "What? You were gonna say something about me being a mama's boy or something, weren't you?"
Sara pursed her lips together in an effort not to laugh at his ability to read her mind. "I just think that it's sweet that you would do something like that for her. You must be very close." Her expression clearly expressed that he'd hit the nail on the head.
He smirked at her. "We are close."
"You sure you don't want to send her a picture of you on a cable car too?" Sara teased.
"Now that you mention it." Nick teased in response.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Wow, this is really beautiful." Nick couldn't get over how beautiful the scenery was as they drove north of San Francisco. They had stopped briefly so that Sara could take Nick's picture with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background. Some other tourists offered to take their picture together and Nick waved Sara over, casually slinging his arm around her shoulder and grinning as the shot was snapped.
Sara smiled at him as she drove toward Tamales Bay. "It is beautiful isn't it? I sometimes forget how lush it looks compared to the desert."
"How far are we from your parent's place?" He queried.
"About another half hour." Sara already looked more relaxed than she had when they'd left Las Vegas.
"So tell me about what it was like to grow up in a bed and breakfast." Nick adjusted the sun visor in the car.
"I didn't actually grow up in the bed and breakfast; it's a series of cottages on the property they own. They have their own house." She smiled.
"You didn't answer the question." Nick observed with an amused smile.
She chuckled softly. "Ok. Well, it was busy. I was free labor until I hit high school and then everything I earned went to pay for college."
"So even in high school you didn't get out much." Nick observed.
She smirked. "In a small town like Marshall, there's not much to get out and do as you put it, and besides, being a science geek didn't exactly land me in with the popular kids anyway."
Nick studied her for a moment and a smile spread across his face. "That explains a lot about you."
Sara looked at him skeptically. "What do you mean by that?"
"Nothing bad. It's just that the combination of you being a smart beautiful woman in a small town probably intimidated people." His expression was reassuring.
"Thanks." She scrunched her nose up. "I think."
Nick chuckled. "Sara, I have a feeling I'm going to learn a lot about you this week."
She grimaced for a moment to Nick's amusement and then smirked at him. "If my mom tells you any embarrassing stories you are sworn to secrecy."
Nick raised a curious eyebrow. "Do you have any embarrassing stories?"
She tried to restrain her smile. "If I told you, I'd have to kill you."