Nick didn't feel Sara stir next to him as she began to wake up hours later. He was sound asleep on his stomach and one of his arms was slung securely across Sara's waist as she lay on her back. It took Sara a minute to remember why Nick was sleeping in her bed, and then as she remembered the events of the last twenty-four hours she closed her eyes again and let out a sigh. She knew that this would probably be the last time she'd get to relax and be alone with her thoughts for the rest of the night. As soon as she got to work she was going to have to talk to Grissom and she was not looking forward to it. She knew she'd disappointed him by drinking and driving, but she also knew that she'd worried him and everyone else when she'd climbed up on the railing on the roof of the lab.

She glanced over at Nick and smiled as he slept on top of the comforter. He was a good friend; the best kind of friend. On the worst day of her entire life, he had walked in and stayed with her. She was tempted to just let him sleep, but she knew that they probably needed to get up so that they could get ready for work. He had brought no change of clothes with him and he probably would want to stop by his house on the way to the lab so he could take a shower and put something fresh on especially after sleeping in his clothes.

She watched him sleep for a few more minutes and then reached over and tousled his hair. "Nick."

His arm tightened around her waist as he let out a sleepy groan.

Sara touched his shoulder and tried to shake him. "Nick."

"Mmnmph." He furrowed his brow, but still didn't open his eyes.

Sara was almost ready to laugh. "Nick, wake up." She shook his shoulder again.

His eyes slowly open and he looked a little disoriented. "What?"

Sara let out a chuckle. "Nick, we have to get up."

He finally realized where he was and why he was there. "Hey, Sar." He didn't make a move to get up and closed his eyes again.

She tousled his hair again. "Nick, are you always this hard to wake up?"

He smiled and mumbled without opening his eyes. "I'm awake. Did you sleep ok?"

She smiled. "Yeah. Thanks." She poked him in the side. "Now get up."

His eyes opened wide and he let out a yelp. "Do you have a license for that finger?"

She smirked at him. "I didn't poke you that hard."

Nick's eyebrows curved upward. "That hard? I think you displaced my lung."

"Baby." She teased, rolling her eyes.

"I'm tired." He closed his eyes again.

"Nick, we need to get up and go to work." Sara informed him.

He didn't open his eyes. "What time is it?"

She glanced over at the clock and then back at him. "Shift starts in two hours."

Nick let out a groan. "We don't need to get up."

Sara scoffed. "Yes, we do."

"It doesn't take me that long to get ready." Nick reasoned.

"Did you bring a change of clothes with you?" Sara queried him already knowing the answer.

He squinted at her with a sheepish expression. "No."

"I'm assuming that you'd like to take a shower before work." She continued with one eyebrow raised.

"Are you trying to tell me something?" Nick teased, still not willing to get up.

"Yeah, you smell like my trash." Sara quipped.

"Very funny." Nick couldn't help but chuckle.

Sara let out a slightly exasperated sigh. "So, if you plan on swinging by your house on the way in, I need to get ready since I don't have a vehicle here and I'll have to come with you."

"I'm not stopping you." He chuckled again.

She smirked at him. "Well your arm is."

Nick smiled as he withdrew his arm from across her waist. "Sorry."

"I'm going to go take a shower." Sara informed him as she pulled the comforter back, flinging it over Nick who had been sleeping on top of it, and sat up, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. She walked over to her closet in her pajamas to pull out something to wear to work. An amused smile spread across her face as she glanced over her shoulder at Nick. He had grabbed her pillow and appeared to be trying to go back to sleep. "We're going to have to leave when I'm done getting ready."

"Kay." Nick smiled, his eyes still closed. "This is cozy."

She shook her head and chuckled to herself as she disappeared into the bathroom.

Nick lay there thinking, not really able to go back to sleep. He was pleased that Sara seemed to be in such a good mood, especially after the previous day. He hoped that it had been a turning point for her and that things would gradually improve. He knew that she was going to have a hard time talking to Grissom; she had a great deal of respect for him professionally and seeing him disappointed in her had hit her hard.

As Nick lay there, he realized that Sara had been in the bathroom quite a long time. When she finally emerged, Nick had to chuckle, he never would have envisioned Sara Sidle as a woman who primped.

Noting his amused expression and the fact that he was still laying on her bed, Sara smirked as she walked over and stood at the side of the bed. "Hey, you need to get up, lazy butt."

Nick yawned rolled over onto his back before tossing the comforter off of him and crawling out of bed to stand up and stretch. He grinned at her. "Ok, I'm ready to go. What took you so long?"

She crossed her arms in front of her body and raised an eyebrow at him in challenge.

He chuckled. "Not that I'm complaining, I got some much needed rest; I just never figured that you spent so much time getting ready for work."

Sara scoffed. "I did not take that long to get ready."

He raised an eyebrow at her and smirked. "Yeah, you did, but you clean up good."

She felt an embarrassed smile tug at the corners of her mouth. "Well, let's hope you clean up good too because right now you look pretty rumpled."

They made their way over to Nick's house and while Sara waited for him to shower and change, she wandered around his living room looking at his collection of books on various species of birds. As she replaced one volume on the shelf she glanced at her watch and furrowed her brow. In her estimation, Nick was taking a long time to get ready. The water had stopped some time ago and still he hadn't emerged from the bathroom.

She walked over to the door and softly tapped. "Nick, we're going to be late for work if you don't hurry."

The door slowly opened to reveal Nick who was showered and dressed. "I'm just fixing my hair."

Sara glanced at him and smirked. "You look fine."

He continued to comb his hair for a few more minutes until he was satisfied that every hair was perfectly situated. "Ok, I'm ready." He turned to face Sara who was doing her best to not laugh. "What?" He looked at her a bit perplexed.

She shrugged and let out a giggle. "I just never thought you spent that much time in front of the mirror."

He looked a little sheepish. "It wasn't that long."

Sara raised her eyebrow and giggled.

Nick smiled a little embarrassed. "Since when is it a crime to look nice?"

"I just thought you looked fine before, that's all." Sara smirked.

He quickly changed the subject. "You ready to go?"

Sara suddenly looked a little nervous as she contemplated talking to Grissom. She let out a sigh. "Ready as I'll ever be."

He pulled her into a quick hug. "Hey, it's gonna be ok. I'm here for you."

Sara felt tears well up in her eyes and blinked them back. "Thanks, Nick. Thanks for everything."