Sara fastened her seatbelt and leaned her head against the window of Nick's Denali, letting out a deep sigh. She knew that her actions had opened an entire can of worms that she really wasn't sure she wanted to deal with, but at the moment it didn't look like she really had a choice.

Nick climbed behind the wheel and looked over at her. "You ready?"

She didn't look at him. "I guess." She wrapped her arms around herself in a protective gesture and continued to stare out the window wondering how what she'd done would affect her career and finding at that moment that she really didn't care any more.

Nick fastened his own seatbelt and turned the key in the ignition. As he eased the Denali onto the roadway he kept stealing worried glances at her. Sara's apartment wasn't too far from the lab and a short time later Nick pulled into the parking lot outside her building.

Sara glanced at him. "Thanks for the ride." She opened the door and wordlessly descended from the SUV.

"You're stuck with me for a little while. You know that don't you?" Nick informed her as he followed her to the door of her apartment.

She turned around with a pained expression on her face. "Nick, I'm sorry." She wasn't sure what she was apologizing for exactly, but the whole situation felt so awkward that she didn't know what else to say.

He put his hands on her shoulders in a supportive gesture as she turned around to unlock the door. "You have nothing to be sorry for."

They entered her dimly lit apartment and Sara flicked on a light, illuminating the mess that her apartment had become; a reflection of how she felt her life had become. Scattered across her coffee table were bottles of tequila, vodka, and rum in various stages of consumption. Empty beer bottles stood at attention next to them, lined up as if in some sort of military formation. Take out containers were strewn about, some on the floor by the coffee table, others on the end tables on either side of her couch.

Sara's shoulders slumped. She knew that Nick was taking it all in and that he now knew just how far she'd slid downward. He'd been over here enough times before to know how meticulously clean she kept her apartment. At the moment she wasn't even sure when the last time she'd cleaned the take out containers out of her refrigerator or had taken out the trash for that matter.

Nick's voice broke the silence. "Where do you keep your trash bags? Are they under the sink?"

Sara just nodded numbly as Nick moved into the kitchen and retrieved a trash bag. He didn't say much, he just began to methodically pick up beer bottles and take out containers and toss them into the bag. Sara sank into her couch and watched as he cleared the beer bottles off of the coffee table and into the bag. He took the bottles of liquor and walked into the kitchen, slowly pouring the contents down the sink. Sara wanted to say something, but nothing that she could say would have swayed Nick from what he was doing. She had given up control when she'd let go of the railing and allowed him to pull her away from the edge of the building.

After watching him move from her living room into her kitchen, Sara finally stood up and walked over to where he stood at her refrigerator trying to determine if the contents of one of the take out containers were still good. "Uh, Nick."

He glanced up at her with a smile. "Yeah?"

"You don't have to do this." She felt utterly mortified that he was cleaning her apartment.

A serious expression crossed his face. "Yes, I do, Sara. I haven't been there for you. None of us has been there for you. I need to do this."

"So sniffing spoiled food is going to make you feel better?" She scoffed with a sort of laugh.

He smirked. "I've smelled worse at crime scenes."

She smirked back. "You can save yourself the trouble. I think pretty much all of it's bad."

He grinned at her and chuckled. "Well why didn't you say so?"

She rolled her eyes. "You didn't ask."

He began tossing containers into the trash bag he held and about halfway through the refrigerator he realized that the bag was already full. "I think we're going to need another one. Want to grab me one?"

"Yeah." Sara retrieved another bag from the cabinet underneath the sink and handed it to him.

Nick smiled at her as he took the bag. "You know, you'd think you'd learn after this many containers of take out that you really don't like sweet and sour tofu." There was a teasing tone in his voice.

Sara chuckled softly, glad that he could still make her laugh when she felt like hell. "Don't quit your night job."

Nick grinned at her, tossing the last of the take out containers into the trash bag. "I'm just gonna take this stuff out to your dumpster. I'll be right back." He picked up the bags of trash and carted them towards her front door, carefully threading himself and the multiple bags through the doorway.

It was all Sara could do not to giggle as an image of Santa Claus came to mind.

When Nick returned a few minutes later, he brushed his hands on his jeans and looked at her expectantly. "Ok, so how about some laundry."

Sara let out a deep sigh, shaking her head as she leaned against the breakfast bar in the kitchen. "Nick, you really don't have to do this."

He walked over to Sara and put his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes. "Sara, I know how much of a neat freak you are, and right now this is all I can think to do to help. Besides, would you rather we just sit here and stare at each other all night?"

She pursed her lips together in frustration and averted her gaze. "Fine." She turned away from him and disappeared down the hallway and after a moment Nick followed.

She stood in her bedroom pulling the sheets off the bed as Nick walked in. He tried to keep his tone gentle. "Sara, I'm sorry. I know this is hard and you probably wish I wasn't here right now. But I do care."

She glanced up at him and let out a deep breath, a sad expression on her face. "I'm glad you're here. Completely and utterly embarrassed by this whole damn night, but I really am glad you're here."

Nick walked over and gathered up the sheets from the floor as Sara shook the pillows out of their cases. "Sara, can I ask you something?"

She glanced up and tossed him one of the pillow cases. "Yeah."

He furrowed his brow. "Why jumping from the roof? The building is only two stories tall."

She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. It was the first thing I thought of." She tossed him the other pillow case and sat down on the mattress.

"I mean you had your gun in your holster if you were really serious." He remarked as he turned to carry the sheets to her laundry room.

"Too messy." Sara remarked.

He stopped and turned around, raising a curious eyebrow.

Her voice caught in her throat as her own words rang in her ears. "It's too messy. I wouldn't want you guys to have to deal with that."