Sara blushed as she realized what she'd just said.
Nick let out a soft chuckle as he looked at her. "My offer still stands."
She bit her lower lip to keep from smiling. "I wasn't really thinking when I said that."
Nick cleared his throat. "Are you sure about that?" He was doing his best not to grin. Just about everything in him wanted to walk over to her and kiss her senseless.
Sara began shoving things back into her closet, righting a box that had toppled over and locating the book she had wanted to bring Catherine in the process. She didn't look at Nick. "Not really."
He chuckled a little deeper. "So you do want to kiss me then." Nick looked a little smug.
Sara swallowed hard before looking up at him. "It's not that easy." She felt her cheeks burning again as she stood up and closed the door to the closet.
Nick raised an eyebrow, looking unconvinced. "Really."
Sara couldn't look Nick in the eye as she tried to formulate her defense. "It's just that earlier when we were." She coughed nervously.
"In bed." Nick had a mischievous glint in his eye.
Sara's cheeks burned a little redder and she still didn't look directly at him. "I just didn't think that, I just thought." She let out a deep breath and looked him in the eye. "I was afraid if I let you kiss me then that things might get out of hand because we were." She let her words trail off.
"In bed." Nick finished for her.
"Yeah." Her voice was a whisper and a smile began to tug the corners of her mouth upwards as she watched Nick's face.
He stepped towards her with a smile of his own. "I would never do anything you weren't ready for, Sara."
Sara nodded, her fingers clutching the book in her hand. "It's just, I mean." She paused and looked at him for a long moment. "What's happening here, Nick?" Her expression was a mixture of apprehension and trust.
Nick took another step towards her. "I care about you very much." He took another step and reached out to touch her cheek. "And I'm very attracted to you." His thumb brushed her cheek as the rest of his hand cupped her face. "You can trust me."
Sara unconsciously licked her lips, leaning her face into Nick's hand as her eyes drifted momentarily to his mouth. She nodded and whispered as her eyes fluttered shut. "Ok."
Nick slowly angled his face towards hers, giving her every opportunity to pull away before softly touching his lips to hers. Encouraged as he felt her respond, he applied more pressure, slowly deepening the kiss.
The book in Sara's hand hit the floor with a soft thud as she wound her arms around Nick's neck and gave herself over to the sensation of the kiss, letting out a soft whimper as his arms went around her waist and pulled her closer.
They stood there like that for a long time, trading slow deep kisses, finally pulling apart a bit breathless.
Sara was the first to speak as she rested her forehead against his. "We need to call Brass to get a warrant."
Nick looked at her a bit perplexed for a moment and then let out a chuckle. "Ok." He leaned in and kissed her again a bit more passionately.
As he pulled away a few moments later, Sara whispered. "Wow."
Nick reached up and caressed her cheek. "That's more like it." He stole one more quick kiss and then let her out of his embrace. "Do you want to call Brass on the way to the hospital to see Catherine?"
Sara looked at him blankly for a moment and then nodded, reaching up to touch her lips as she continued to stare at him.
Nick crouched down and picked up the book Sara had dropped holding it up as he righted himself. "I think you dropped this." He grinned at her.
Sara felt her cheeks warming. "I was a little distracted." She reached over tentatively and touched his face, slowly brushing her fingers along his jaw line and then feathering them over his lips before leaning in and softly kissing him.
They spent a few more minutes slowly kissing before Sara pulled away with a wide grin on her face. "We should go."
Nick nodded, eyeing her lips. "Yeah." He kissed her again on the way out to his Denali and then once more before she climbed inside.
The drive to the hospital was relatively quick, the morning traffic being fairly light. Sara called Brass on the way and shared their suspicions about Colin McKenzie's storage unit and he agreed that they'd probably have no problem getting a warrant.
As they parked at Desert Palm Hospital, Nick couldn't resist leaning over and kissing her again, taking her hand after they'd exited the vehicle. They headed into the hospital hand in hand, neither really thinking about the fact that anyone else on the team might be visiting Catherine. It wasn't until they'd walked into Catherine's room and noticed Warrick raising a curious eyebrow at their linked hands that they simultaneously let go.
Catherine smiled at the two younger CSIs. "Hey." She too had noticed the way they'd let go of each other's hands as they'd entered the room.
Sara stepped towards her bed and held out the book she'd gotten out of her closet. "Hey, Cath, I brought you something to read."
Catherine let out a deep throaty chuckle as she noted the title, wincing a little as her stitches pulled a bit. "I never would have figured you for reading romance novels, especially ones this racy."
Sara blushed ever so slightly and smirked. "I do read more than forensic journals contrary to popular belief." She glanced over at Nick for a moment before turning back to Catherine and furrowing her brow. "Have you already read this one?"
Catherine nodded. "Yes, but trust me, I wouldn't mind reading it again, and it seems I'll have a little time to do that." She gestured at the bed.
"How long do they say you'll be here?" Nick asked with a concerned smile as he sat on the edge of her bed and put a hand on her arm.
Catherine let out a frustrated sigh. "A few more days, and then I'm supposed to spend some more time at home recuperating, provided I can get someone to stay with me."
Sara smiled reassuringly. "Hey, we'll take care of the caseload, you just take care of yourself and get some rest."
"We've got your back, Cath." Warrick smiled, reaching over and taking her hand and giving it a squeeze before letting go. He fully intended to make sure she got the rest the doctor prescribe, and in fact he'd been brainstorming with her sister to make sure that one of them was with her all the time until the doctor cleared her to get out of bed.
Nick glanced at his watch. "Hey, I hate to go, but we asked Brass to get a warrant to search a suspect's storage unit and we need to get back out where we can have our cell phones on."
Catherine nodded in understanding. "Thanks for stopping by."
Nick leaned over and kissed Catherine's cheek and then whispered in her ear. "I'm really sorry that this happened, Cath, but I'm glad that you're going to be ok."
Catherine felt a wave of emotion welling up, and she smiled to try and stifle it as Nick stood up. "Let me know how your case pans out."
Sara smiled. "We will."
Nick and Sara made their way out of the hospital room, Nick's hand resting at the small of Sara's back, and as the door shut, Warrick looked over at Catherine and let out a soft chuckle as he took her hand in his. "Something's going on with those two."