Nick began to stir and his hand unconsciously reached for Sara; his eyes fluttering open as he realized she wasn't there. The same pang that he'd felt earlier hit him again and he furrowed his brow as confusion over what he was feeling hit him. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh. He did not want to deal with this, not now when Sara's world had fallen apart and she needed him to be her friend and help pick up the pieces. He set his jaw and threw the covers back, deciding he'd better get up.

He padded out into the living room, letting out a yawn and running his fingers through his hair as he noticed Sara sitting on the couch with Harley in her lap. He smiled at her. "Hey."

She glanced up and smiled back. "Hey." She turned her attention back to Harley. "I called a vet to schedule an appointment to get Harley his shots and they said we could bring him in this afternoon." She glanced back up at him with a concerned expression. "How are you doing?"

Her concern for him, struck him deeply. "I'm good. You?" He smiled at her softly.

"A little tired, but good." She smirked. "Did you know that you snore a little?"

He let out a soft chuckle. "I don't normally listen to myself when I sleep, but I'm sorry if I kept you awake."

She had that look on her face again, the one that Nick seemed to be surprised by because it was so girlish. "I'm sorry I'm being so much trouble."

Nick furrowed his brow again and went and sat next to her on the couch. "Sara, you are no trouble."

She bit at her lower lip as she studied him for a moment. "Nick, it's just that I didn't really realize how this was affecting you. I'm sorry for that."

He let out a deep breath and then looked her in the eye. "You don't need to apologize. I'm not going to lie and say that what's happened hasn't affected me because it has. But that's something that I need to deal with, ok?" He looked at her earnestly, reaching over and tucking her hair behind her ear, allowing his fingers to caress her cheek for just a moment. "Thanks for being there for me." There was something deep inside of him that wanted to kiss her and he pulled his hand back quickly as if he'd been stung hoping that Sara couldn't tell. This was not a bridge to be crossed right now. Not until he sorted through this and figured out exactly what he was thinking and feeling.

Sara looked at him a bit oddly as his expression changed. "Something wrong?"

He glanced at her and shook his head glancing at his hand momentarily. "No, uh, static electricity."

She knew he was lying, but didn't press the issue. She'd recognized the look on his face just before he'd pulled his hand away and she could tell he was struggling. The thought occurred to her that maybe she'd overstayed her welcome, at least if their friendship was going to remain intact. She had to admit that she was feeling something too, but she wasn't sure if it was because Nick had saved her life, or if something between them really was changing. She was beginning to think that maybe a little distance between them might be a good idea, regardless of the fact that she really didn't want to go back to her apartment yet.

"Merrowr!" Harley climbed out of Sara's lap, and onto Nick's; his claws digging into the flesh on Nick's leg.

"Damn those are sharp!" He picked the kitten up gingerly, trying to keep his leg in one piece. He lifted the kitten up to eye level and looked the gray fur ball in the eye. "Hey, little man, your claws are like needles. Try giving it a rest."

Sara giggled at him. "I'm going to go take a shower and let you two have a little male bonding." She stood up from the couch, reaching over and tousling Nick's hair as she walked by.

He watched her retreating form and let out a deep breath as he looked back at Harley with raised eyebrows. "What am I gonna do, man?"

"Merowr." The kitten squirmed in Nick's hand.

Nick chuckled. "Yeah, I know." He put the kitten down on the floor and chuckled as Harley scampered off toward the laundry room.

By the time Sara emerged from the bathroom, toweling her hair, Nick had made coffee and had put something in the oven that was beginning to smell good. He was still clad in just his boxers. A bemused smile flitted across Sara's face and she couldn't help but comment on his appearance. "So is this something you picked up from watching the Food Channel?"

Nick looked at her a bit confused. "Uh, no this is a recipe my mom makes."

Sara bit her lip to keep from laughing. "Uh, I was talking about your outfit."

An embarrassed expression crossed his face. "Well someone was taking a shower so I thought I'd do something else until you were done." He raised an eyebrow in challenge. "If the timer goes off before I get out of the shower, would you mind pulling that out of the oven?"

She nodded, smirking as he wandered down the hall and disappeared into his bedroom. She settled herself on the couch and coaxed Harley onto her lap, content to stroke his fur as she waited for the food to be done. As she sat there she began to think about the last few months and the events that had led up to her decision on that roof. The more she thought, the more she realized that it wasn't about not being able to help the victims and it wasn't even about Grissom not wanting her, she was actually relieved that her obsession with Grissom was behind her. No, if she was being truthful with herself, she had to admit that her life had been going at breakneck speed for so long and all of the things that had distracted her were being stripped away one by one that she was forced to find out who she really was; and to find that out scared the hell out of her. The assurance from Nick that she wouldn't have to do this alone was comforting, but she was also afraid that if things between them changed that their friendship might be damaged. She wasn't sure that she was willing to take a risk like that when she felt that true friendship was in short supply. And quite frankly, after what had happened with Hank, she was just afraid of taking a risk at all.

Nick finally emerged from his bedroom, freshly showered and clad in black jeans and a gray ribbed shirt. He smiled at her. "Are you about ready to eat? It's probably almost done."

She nodded and set Harley on the floor. "Hey, I was thinking that after we take Harley to the vet, you could just drop me off at Dr. Colby's."

He looked at her a bit quizzically. "You gonna be ok doing that alone?"

She furrowed her brow. "I don't know, but I don't think we'll have enough time to bring him back here before my appointment. That way you could bring him back here, and then pick me up when I'm done."

He smiled at her, studying her for a moment. "If you think you'll be ok."

She took a deep breath and looked at him. "I need to do this, Nick. I'm scared shitless, but I need to do it. I can't live here forever and I need to figure out how to take back my life. You can't do it for me."

He looked a little taken aback. "Ok."

"I didn't mean it like that." She tried to reassure him, her expression softening. "I appreciate all that you're doing for me, all that you've done for me. I don't have another friend like you. I just need to learn to do it for myself or none of this is going to matter."

He nodded, a soft smile gracing his face. "I'm proud of you, Sara. I'm still here for you whenever you need me, and you can stay here as long as you need to."

Neither one of them said a word for a few moments as they just looked at each other until the timer on the oven sounded.

Nick smirked. "We'd better eat. I don't know about you, but I'm hungry."

Sara let out a soft laugh. "When are you not hungry?"

He chuckled and grinned. "Hardly ever."