Nick wasn't sure what he was doing; this definitely wasn't part of the plan, but he also knew that at that moment Sara needed to know exactly how he felt so she didn't do something rash like break up with him. That would be just the kind of thing she might do if she thought his career was in danger. What she didn't seem to understand was that he would trade his career for her any day; not that he had to make that choice, there was nothing in the employee handbook that prohibited relationships between coworkers. It was just generally frowned upon.

He paused when he got to his Denali and tried to formulate what he was going to say to her. Should he just come out and ask her to marry him? Or should he give her the bear and see what her reaction was first? If she didn't respond favorably to the bear maybe it was an indication that she wasn't ready to hear him propose, or maybe he'd misjudged the situation altogether and she wasn't thinking about marriage at all. He was, after all, the one who had brought it up; Sara's position on the topic wasn't exactly clear.

Suddenly Nick felt more nervous than he'd ever felt in his entire life. What if he proposed and she said 'no'? Or worse, what if she just looked at him as if he was absolutely insane? Would she think it was too soon? Would she launch into some spiel about how marriage was an archaic institution and she saw no need for it?

The collar of Nick's V-necked shirt seemed too constricting and he found that his heart was beating rapidly. He wasn't sure what he would do if Sara didn't want him. He had spent nearly four years denying that he had a thing for her and quite by accident he had divulged his feelings and was pleasantly surprised that she felt the same way. They hadn't looked back and now here he was feeling as if he was on the edge of a precipice with no safety net.

He took a deep breath and opened the door of the Denali and pulled out the carrying case the bear was in. He had been prepared to make a fool of himself when he had decided to propose and he reasoned that there was no time like the present.

When he came back in to the house, Sara was in the kitchen putting eggplant and pasta onto plates while she sniffled and wiped away tears.

The sight of her standing there like that nearly broke Nick's heart. He put the bear down on the couch and walked into the kitchen. "Sara?"

She didn't look at him as she ladled sauce onto the noodles. "The food's ready." Her voice had a hitch in it.

Nick reached over and stilled her hands. "The food can wait for a few minutes, ok?" He looked at her earnestly as she finally looked up and met his gaze.

She just nodded as a tear slipped down her cheek and she allowed Nick to take her hand and lead her over to the couch.

Nick pulled her into the couch with him as he sank down and he put his arms around her.

Sara immediately noticed the box. "What's that?" She looked up at Nick inquisitively.

"It's a present for you." Nick had a flirtatious tone in his voice as he smiled.

"Can I see it?" Sara sounded very girl-like.

"Uh huh." Nick reached over and picked the box up by the handle and set it on Sara's lap.

"Build-A-Bear?" Sara didn't avoid the mall, but she wasn't one to linger either and she had never heard of the store.

Nick nodded. "I had it made for you." He was having a hard time containing his grin even though his nerves felt like they were putting on a three-ring circus in his stomach.

Sara cautiously opened the box and when she pulled out the tux wearing Teddy bear she almost started crying again. "You did this for me?" She hugged the bear to her and let out a laugh.

Nick scooted closer to her. "There's more." He reached in the box and pulled out the birth certificate. "See."

Sara looked at him quizzically. "Snickers?"

Nick felt a little embarrassed. "Uh, yeah. Sara. Nick. Snickers." He just hoped she didn't find the fact that the bear had two hearts corny.

"That's so sweet." She leaned over and kissed Nick softly.

Nick was grinning mischievously as Sara pulled away. "He has two hearts."

"Huh?" Sara looked at him oddly.

"You pick a heart for them to put in when they stuff him. I had them put in two." Nick explained.

Sara wasn't quite picking up what he was implying. "Ok."

Nick felt his nerves swelling as he took a deep breath and continued. "I had them put two hearts in there because I wanted you to know that you have my heart." His voice was soft as he looked at Sara expectantly, testing the waters to see how she might react if he implemented the rest of his plan.

Sara's eyes widened at his statement and then she leaned up and kissed him again a little longer than the first time. As she pulled away, she whispered in a husky voice. "I love you so much."

Nick snaked his arms around her waist and whispered back. "I love you too." He leaned in and leisurely kissed her, taking his time as he considered if this was the right moment to pop the question.

Right in the middle of the kiss, Sara suddenly pushed Nick away and looked at him oddly. "Why are you still wearing your jacket?" He usually shrugged his jacket off as soon as he walked into his house and she was suspicious.

Nick was broadsided by the question and should have been able to answer it without missing a beat, but the kiss had short circuited his brain somewhat and he found himself fumbling with his words. "Huh?"

Sara's voice had an edge of panic. "You always take your jacket off when you come inside."

Nick just looked at Sara unsure of what to say and unsure of why she was suddenly freaking out.

She continued rambling, scooting away from him on the couch and glancing down at the bear. "I saw an episode of the 'Forensic Files' like this." She looked up at him with the most forlorn expression on her face. "It would be a lot easier if you just broke up with me."

Nick looked at her incredulously and shook his head. "Sara, I don't want to break up with you, and this is us, not the 'Forensic Files'."

Sara still looked panicked as if she wasn't sure she believed him. No man had ever shown her the love or affection Nick had and in the back of her mind she was just waiting for the other shoe to drop because he was acting weird. "You don't want to break up with me?"

Nick let out a laugh of disbelief. "No, I do not want to break up with you." He scooted over towards her and felt a rush of nerves again. "In fact I have something else I want to say."

"You do?" Sara's eyes were wide and her heart was beating frantically.

Nick nodded and smiled at her. "Yeah, I do." He reached over and took her hand. "I love you more than I thought I could possibly love anyone. Now, I'm not sure if this is too soon, or if this is something that you even want, but I just needed to tell you how I feel."

"Oh." Sara wasn't sure this explained his strange behavior; he was acting about as nervous as a suspect during an interrogation.

"I haven't taken my jacket off because I have another present for you in the pocket and I didn't want you to see it." Nick decided that honesty was the best policy even if she guessed what it was he was going to say.

"You got me another present?" Sara really thought Nick was acting very out of character. It wasn't her birthday and Christmas had just passed.

Nick just nodded and felt a smile pulling at his lips. "Do you want to see what it is?"

Sara nodded a bit skeptically, but in the back of her mind a million possibilities were filtering through.

Nick reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box.

Sara's eyes widened and she let out a soft whimper as she realized what was in his hand.