Nick had just wrapped up his case and was heading to the locker room to gather his things and then track down where Sara was to see if they were still going to be able to go on their breakfast date. Just the thought of spending time with her brought a smile to his face and as he rounded the corner into the locker room, his smile spread into a wide grin as the object of his affection came into view; he hardly noticed Catherine who was standing next to her getting things out of her own locker.

Sara glanced up as she heard someone come in and as she saw Nick's grin, she felt one of her own spreading across her face. "Hey." She was still absolutely astounded that Nick Stokes found her beautiful and that he wanted to be with her.

Nick came in and leaned his shoulder against the bay of lockers. "Hey." He couldn't stop studying her face, the graceful curve of her eyebrows, her soft brown eyes, and that smile of hers. Every time she smiled at him he felt like the rest of the world had just melted away and that smile was reserved for him. At that moment he realized that it was just one of many things about her that he loved. His heart almost stopped at the word that had just flown through his mind. Love. Momentary panic flooded his lungs, seemingly sucking the air out of them and rendering him speechless as he continued staring at Sara.

Catherine had watched the slight change in Nick's expression and cleared her throat, not wanting to intrude on the moment, but knowing that she needed to get past both of them to get out of the locker room and she'd rather do it now rather than wait until they were in the middle of something more personal. "Hey, Nicky." There was a mischievous tone in Catherine's voice and the look in her eyes matched it as she patted him on the arm.

Nick broke out of his reverie and glanced at Catherine just in time to see her wink at him. He stammered slightly. "Uh, hey, Cath."

Catherine gave Sara a knowing glance and smirked. "See you two tonight."

Sara felt her cheeks flush as she watched Catherine walk out the door and into the hallway, leaving her and Nick alone in the locker room. She looked at Nick and noticed a bewildered expression on his face and she immediately furrowed her brows in worry that he was having second thoughts. "Nick?"

Noting the uncertainty in Sara's voice, he turned back towards her, his own brow furrowed. "Yeah?" He hoped that she wasn't going to back out of their date. He had been looking forward to it all night and had even garnered some ribbing from Warrick and an annoyed glance or two from Grissom at how distracted he seemed at their crime scene.

Sara's nervousness was in overdrive and she couldn't seem to look Nick in the eye. "Uh, so we were supposed to go get breakfast, but I would completely understand if you didn't want to. I mean shift's been really long, and I bet you're tired and if you want to go home and just sleep, I'd understand." Her insecurity was oozing out of every word she spoke.

Nick looked a little confused. "Do you still want to go?"

Sara looked into Nick's eyes feeling extremely vulnerable. "Do you?" She felt a sinking feeling in her stomach as she prepared for a let down.

Nick nodded, a smile playing at his lips. "Yeah, I do. Do you want to?" He wasn't sure what he'd do if she said 'no'.

Sara bit at her lower lip for a moment and nodded. "Yeah, I do." There was still a hint of uncertainty in her voice.

Nick looked at her with concern. "What's wrong?"

"I." Sara wasn't exactly sure how to tell him what she was thinking so she just attacked it head on. "At my scene tonight, uh, Catherine and I were talking. Uh, she, well, I, well, we, I mean you and I came up in conversation."

Nick's expression implored her to continue because he was having a hard time following what she was trying to say.

Sara took a breath and continued, not quite looking at Nick. "She just seemed really shocked that you and I might be anything more than friends."

"Sara." Nick's tone was gentle and he reached over and touched her chin, lifting her gaze.

She searched his eyes and swallowed hard. "Yeah?"

He smiled at her softly. "I don't care what Catherine thinks. I care what you think." He knew that some of their coworkers might be taken by surprise by the development between he and Sara. He hadn't really told anyone how he felt about her, but it was no secret that they had flirted shamelessly with each other for years.

"Oh." Sara's face reflected a bit of surprise as she blinked at Nick.

Nick wasn't sure what possessed him, but he'd been thinking about it all night and he didn't want to wait any longer. He leaned forward and softly kissed Sara, not caring at that moment if anyone walked in and saw them. He just wanted Sara to know that he cared about her and he wanted to help remove the doubts she was feeling about his intentions towards her.

The second Nick's lips touched hers, Sara felt her eyes flutter shut and she blocked out everything else but the sensation of his lips against hers. She didn't open her eyes until she felt him pull away.

Nick was grinning at Sara as she looked up at him, and a smile began to spread across her own face. He reached over and tucked an errant curl behind her ear. "I think we have a breakfast date, Ms. Sidle."

She smirked at him as she felt butterflies in her stomach after that kiss. "That's the rumor."

Nick feigned surprise. "Rumor?" He reached over and took her hand. "I have it on pretty good authority that it's a done deal."

She let out a soft laugh, inwardly savoring the feel of her hand in his. "Oh, you do, do you?"

He nodded with a grin. "Yeah, I do."

"Ok then." She leaned forward and softly pressed her lips against his in a brief kiss and then whispered as she pulled away. "Then let's get out of here, I'm hungry."

"Yes, ma'am." He winked at her and then began to pull her with him towards the doorway and as he did, he and Sara stopped in their tracks as they noticed Warrick and Grissom standing there with surprised expressions on their faces.