Sara couldn't sleep. She lay there in Nick's guest room and stared at the ceiling thinking about their case and the reaction, or the lack thereof of the victim's parents. She had allowed Nick and Warrick to distract her earlier and she'd actually had fun, but now in the silence as she tried to sleep, all she wanted to was to do something to numb the pain. She felt a tear stinging her eye and she silently cursed that Nick had cleaned all of the alcohol out of his house before she'd come over. It wasn't even that she particularly liked the taste of liquor it was that it helped to numb her mind. She let out a deep breath and threw back the covers. If she wasn't going to be able to sleep, she figured that she could at least watch TV and hopefully not wake up Nick; at least one of them should be able to get some sleep.

She padded out into the living room and reached for the remote control. As she pushed the power button, she suddenly realized that they had not turned down the volume when they'd finished the movie; Nick had simply switched it off. Now the sound was blaring out of his surround sound speakers and she couldn't find the volume button to turn it down. The same button that had turned the system on was apparently not the same one that turned it off. Sara started pressing random buttons on the remote, hoping that somehow Nick was able to sleep through the calamity she'd created until she could figure out how to turn the volume down or off.

She let out a string of curses just as Nick stumbled out of his bedroom in his boxers and a T-shirt looking startled and disheveled. "What's going on?"

"Nick, I'm so sorry." Sara looked embarrassed. "I couldn't sleep and I didn't want to wake you up."

"It's a little late for that now." He let out a yawn and chuckled as he walked over to where she was sitting on the couch.

Her lips formed a bit of a pout. "How in the hell are you supposed to turn this thing off anyway?"

He reached for the remote and pushed a single button, turning the entire system off. "Looking for that?"

She nodded and looked at him a bit sheepishly. "I didn't mean to wake you up."

Nick ruffled his hair and sat down next to her as he glanced over. "I thought the deal was you were going to wake me up if you wanted to talk."

"I didn't say I wanted to talk, I just couldn't sleep." She crossed her arms in front of her body and sank back into the couch. "I just thought I'd watch TV."

"I've got a better idea." Nick let out another yawn and stood up and went into the kitchen. When he returned, he had two pints of Chunky Monkey ice cream and a couple of spoons. "Here." He smiled at her as he handed her the ice cream.

She shook her head and chuckled as she spooned into the ice cream. "Do you always drown your sorrows in ice cream?"

Nick laughed as he swallowed a spoonful. "So why can't you sleep?"

Sara didn't say anything for a while as she continued to eat the ice cream. Finally, she looked over at Nick who had an expression that said he'd sit there as long as it took until she was ready to talk. "I was thinking about the case."

Nick nodded. "Yeah, that was a tough one. I still can't believe her parents."

Sara felt a flash of anger. "They're responsible for what happened to her." She dug her spoon into the ice cream a little too vigorously, flicking a bit of ice cream at Nick.

"Got enough of my own, thanks." He quipped offering her a smile.

Her mouth was full of ice cream as she realized what she'd done. "Sorry."

He breathed out heavily. "I wish that there was something more serious they could be charged with too." Nick suddenly felt angry too. "I mean what kind of parent kicks their kid out because they dropped below a four point?"

Sara shook her head. "I have no idea. My parents were always trying to get me to study less."

Nick looked at her curiously. "Let me guess, you were the valedictorian?"

She nodded; a hint of color flushing her cheeks. "Yeah." She took another bite of ice cream. "I just don't get it. Don't they know that being smart isn't everything?"

Nick studied her for a moment before he spoke. "You want to tell me about it?"

She felt tears stinging her eyes again and she forced a smile onto her face. "Have you ever had people pay so much attention to one part of who they think you are that they forget everything else?"

He just nodded. "Yeah."

"I've never been the pretty one, the funny one, or even the cute one. I've always been the smart one." She offered, feeling vulnerable admitting how others had seen her growing up.

Nick looked at her a bit perplexed. "But you're all those things."

Sara sniffled.

"I've always thought you were beautiful. You can always make me laugh, and I have to admit that watching you paint your nails is just damn cute." Nick smiled at her.

She smiled at him. "Thanks." She spooned more ice cream into her mouth.

"Sara, since I moved to Vegas, people have gotten this idea that I'm a womanizer. Yeah, I've dated a lot, but there's a lot more to me than that. I didn't become a criminalist because I'm an idiot, although some people think I must be because I've got a bit of a twang." He confessed.

She furrowed her brow. "Hey, I've always thought you were smart."

He chuckled. "Thanks."

"I'm just tired of always being smart, Nick. I just want someone to see me for the other parts of who I am." She sniffled again. "Maybe that's why this case upset me so much. Her parents just couldn't see that she was more than just a smart kid who let her grades slip and I could relate to that."

Nick reached over and took her hand, giving it a squeeze.

She smiled at him. "You know, you told me that you'd help me find a hobby."

He nodded. "That I did."

"Maybe we could talk about that later." She squeezed his hand. "Right now, I think I'm going to try and get some sleep." She stood up and then leaned over and kissed his forehead and then let go of his hand. "Thanks."

He grinned at her. "No problem." He watched her head down the hallway back to the guest room and then something occurred to him. "But remember, becoming a showgirl isn't in the deal."

She flashed him a grin, rolling her eyes at him before closing the door behind her.