It was midway through shift when Sara sauntered into the DNA lab to give Mia the new technician some samples that she'd collected at the crime scene she'd worked with Catherine earlier that night. She yawned unconsciously as she set the samples on the counter near where Mia was working.

Mia glanced up at her, noting the yawn and smiled. "Stay up all day?"

Sara smiled softly and yawned again. "No, I just didn't get a lot of sleep."

Mia smirked. "Rumor has it that you and Stokes went on a hot date after shift, maybe even came in together." Of all of the people Mia had met since she'd come to work at the Las Vegas Crime Lab, she had hit it off immediately with Sara, if for no other reason than to defuse the advances of one Greg Sanders.

Sara couldn't keep the corners of her mouth from pulling upward at the thought of her date with Nick. As long as the date was, it had seemed far too short. But she protested firmly about the rumors Mia spoke of. "Nick and I went on a date, but he did not stay over."

"Greg made it sound like something quite different." Mia knew that Sara would want to know irregardless of the fact that she'd be pissed that Greg was spreading rumors.

Sara looked at Mia with a flash of fire in her eyes. "Greg's a dead man, especially if Nick gets wind of it."

Mia smirked. "He's just jealous that you won't go out with him. After I made it clear I wasn't about to go out with him when I first started here, he wouldn't stop talking about you."

Sara just shook her head and let out a soft laugh. She knew that once Greg got something in mind, particularly a woman, he didn't give up easily, she was sure that Mia had only gone through round one and it wouldn't be long before Greg started to subtly try to wear her down.

Mia glanced over at Sara curiously. "So did you have a nice date?" Her brows curved upward expectantly.

Sara nodded, a smile spreading across her face. "Yeah, we had a really good time." In retrospect, she was glad that Nick had stopped things from going any further between them. His statement that they'd have plenty of time for that in the future implied that he believed that they had a future together; she wasn't sure that anyone had made her feel like she was worth waiting for before. Just that thought made her heart skip a beat.

Mia lowered her voice conspiratorially. "Watch out, here comes Greg." She turned her attention back to the sample she had been processing as the lab tech turned CSI sauntered in.

Greg had a smug look on his face. "Hello ladies." His grin was a bit cheesy. "So, Sara, I hear you and my man Nick had a hot little hook up." He looked a little too pleased with himself.

Sara didn't say anything for a moment, she simply crossed her arms over her chest and raised a single eyebrow. "What exactly have you been telling everyone?"

Greg wasn't sure what to make of her expression. "You did go out with Nick." There was a nervous chuckle in his voice and he began to doubt his assumptions.

"You didn't answer my question, Greg." Sara had been gifted with a look that she could deliver to most men that had them quaking in their shoes, and it was just such a look that she was directing towards Greg.

He swallowed hard and somehow he had a feeling that he had dug himself a hole with no means of escape.

Sara narrowed her gaze at him. "Nick and I went on a date, and not that it's any of your business, contrary to what you seem to be telling everyone, Nick and I didn't sleep together."

Greg studied Sara for a minute, oblivious to the amused expression on Mia's face as she watched the exchange. Not only did Sara seem on the edge of fury, what she was telling him was completely contrary to his assumption that Nick would have 'conquered' Sara as it were. If his pal Nick, king of the ladies men was hanging up his crown and taking his time with Sara it meant one thing in Greg's mind; Nick Stokes was in love with Sara Sidle. He cleared his throat. "So you're going out again?" He couldn't quite let go of his hope that Sara might one day see him as a potential date instead of a quirky lab geek.

Sara gave him a satisfied smirk. "Definitely."

Just then the man in question breezed into the DNA lab with one purpose in mind, a purpose which was quickly sidetracked the second he saw Sara. A wide grin spread across his face as he saw her standing there and he absentmindedly set his samples on the counter. "Hey, Sar."

"Hey, yourself." Sara glanced up and smirked at him as her eyes gestured towards Greg with a meaning that was all too clear.

Nick's eyebrows slowly went up in realization as he glanced over at Greg. "Hey, man."

Greg regarded Nick quizzically as if trying to analyze his body language to see just how much time he had to extricate himself from the lab before Nick got a hold of him. "Nick." His tone was crisp and clipped.

"I'm going to go get a cup of coffee." Sara looked at Nick for a long moment and then smirked at Mia before shooting Greg another glare and slipping out into the hallway.

Nick's gaze followed Sara out into the hallway and when he finally turned his attention back to Greg, the CSI in training was looking at him with a somewhat unreadable expression. Nick cocked an eyebrow. "Greg, I think you and I need to have a little chat." He slung his arm around Greg's shoulder gripping it tightly in a gesture meant to let him know he'd better watch his mouth.

"I'll page you when your results are ready, Nick." Mia was clearly amused at how well Nick and Sara seemed to handle Greg.

"Thanks, Mia." Nick responded as he propelled Greg out into the hallway.

Greg tried to play it cool. "What did you want to talk about?"

"My relationship with Sara is none of your business and you'd better stop spreading rumors before I spread you. Got it." Nick hissed in Greg ear.

"Got it." Greg breathed a sigh of relief that he left it at that.

"I'm getting a cup of coffee." Nick gave Greg's shoulder another hard squeeze before he released him and headed down the hall towards the break room and Sara. As Nick neared the break room, he was disappointed that she didn't seem to be in it, but as he walked into the room, he saw her lying curled up on the couch that lined one of the walls with her eyes closed and he could see that a fresh pot of coffee was in the middle of brewing. He walked over towards the couch and crouched down next to her, and kissed her forehead.

"I'm not asleep." Sara couldn't hold back her smile, but she kept her eyes closed.

"I thought you were going to get some coffee." Nick's voice was full of amusement.

She chuckled softly. "There was just sludge when I came in here so I had to make some more."

"I never knew you were so domestic." Nick was hoping to get a rise out her and completely expected her to launch into some spiel about men and women being equal and being fully capable of holding down a career and being self sufficient. What she said, however, was not what he expected.

She let out a yawn. "I'm a lot of things that you don't know about yet."

Nick reached over and brushed her hair back from her face savoring the look of her just then.

Sara smiled at the touch of his fingers on her face. "Is the coffee done yet?" She really didn't care if it was, she was enjoying this moment with Nick and she wasn't in a rush for it to end.

Nick didn't even bother to glance up at the coffee machine; he just continued to stroke her hair. "It's got another minute or so."

From outside the break room, Grissom had paused near the doorway, noticing the tender exchange between his two younger coworkers and felt a pang of regret that he hadn't been able to muster the courage that had seemed to come so naturally to Nick.