Title: Stopping By
Author: DarkDreamer56
Archive: If you want it, ask please!
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: N/S friendship
Disclaimer: If I owned them, swing shift wouldn't exist…
Spoilers: Anything up to "Nesting Dolls" (5x13) is fair game

A/N: I had to write something after watching the ep last night. The fact that Warrick, Nick, and Brass had absolutely no reaction to Sara's outburst is highly unbelievable to me. Go Greg for being the only one to speak to Catherine about it. Still, I have faith in Nick, and I'd like to think that this is what happened after the solved the case. Let me know what you think by reviewing at the end!

Her eyes were red rimmed and puffy when she answered the door. She'd changed from what he'd seen her wearing in the lab earlier that night, clad now in a tee-shirt and boxers. From the way she was leaning against the door, he could tell she was well on her way to being tipsy.

"Sorry, wasn't expecting anymore guests tonight," she mumbled as she opened the door wide enough for him to enter. After closing the door behind him, Sara made her way back to the couch, where it appeared she had spent most of the night. Random tissues were interspersed between open bottles, and a glass of what he hoped to be water, all spread out on the table in front of her.

Nick sat next to her on the couch and watched her curl herself back up into a ball, her back resting in the corner, knees drawn up to her chest. From the moment she'd opened the door, she had refused to make eye contact with him.

"So, uh, how are you?" he asked, cringing at how ridiculous it sounded.

"Well, Grissom isn't firing me. I guess that's something. He came by earlier. I can go back to work after my suspension ends, if I want to. Greg stopped by too, but he didn't really know what to say."

"Greg's a good friend," Nick added, watching her nod in agreement with her eyes closed. Truthfully, Nick didn't know what to say anymore than Greg had, but he needed to see for himself what was happening. Suddenly, the full impact of Sara's statement hit him. "What do you mean, if you want to?"

"I don't know if I want to go back. I mean, what else is there, once you've told the Assistant Director that he failed his way to the top?"

"Sara, you didn't!" Nick exclaimed, staring at her in surprise. He had heard that things had turned ugly, but he'd never imagined that Sara would go that far to Ecklie's face. He ran a hand over the top of his head, trying to figure out what the hell they'd all missed. When did things get so out of control?

"But I did," she replied in the same flat tone she'd been using since Nick arrived, "And Nick, I've really been yelled at more than enough today, so you can save the lecture. So…I guess you lost Rock Paper Scissor?" Sara sighed and turned her head into the couch.

Nick looked at her confused. "Sara, what are you talking about?"

"That's the game you and Warrick play when neither of you wants the job. It's okay though, you really didn't have to come."

"Don't play that Sara. I wanted to come and see how you were doing."

"Why?" she shot back. Nick had never seen so much pain in one person's eyes. "It's not like we really work together anymore. You don't have to check up on me anymore."

"What the hell do you mean?" Nick asked, trying to mask the hurt in his voice. Did she really think that he was there out of some kind of duty to the lab? "Just because we're not on the same shift, doesn't mean we're not friends anymore. I came to see how you were doing, because something happened today, and I'm scared, and I don't understand."

Sara looked up at him, surprised and eyes full of tears, as if it had never crossed her mind that he had come there to comfort her. Inside, Nick could feel his heart breaking. Did she really not realize how important she was to all of them, to him? His mind flashed back to a few weeks prior, when they were celebrating Greg's promotion. Everyone had seemed so happy, and it had felt nice to be together again. Nick didn't know what had changed in the weeks after that, but it had been enough to make Sara doubt her place in all of their hearts.

"I'm not going to hurt myself Nick," she whispered, but not with nearly the conviction that he was looking for.

"Still, I'd like to stay. I don't want you to be alone right now," he replied honestly, reaching out to wrap an arm around her. That simple action seemed to cause something to break inside of Sara, opening the floodgates that she had been fighting all day. Nick drew her in close, holding her tightly as she shook with sobs. He didn't lie by murmuring empty platitudes to soothe her; instead he rubbed her back and waited for her to cry herself out.

Awhile later, she wiped away a stray tear and reached for the glass on the table, assuring Nick it was only water. "I'm sorry, it's just today, once I start I can't seem to stop."

"Hey, it's what friends are for. But I will draw the line at letting you use my shirt for Kleenex," he teased, trying to lighten the mood.

Sara let a tiny smile cross her lips as she lightly swatted at his arm. "What about the hideous green one?"

"Only for you, Sar."

The mood turned serious again as they huddled together in silence. When Sara finally spoke, her voice sounded so small that Nick had to strain to hear what she was saying.

"Will you stay tonight?"

"I was planning on it," he replied, dropping a small kiss on the top of her head.

"I don't want to talk though," she added, mustering what was left of her stubbornness. Nick smiled wryly, she was still their Sara.

"We don't have to talk tonight," he agreed, emphasizing tonight, "I think you should probably get some rest though, and I happen to make a pretty good pillow."

Sara shot him a grateful smile as she pulled a blanket from the back of the couch and then laid her head in his lap. Nick began to stroke her hair as she wrapped herself up in the blanket, waiting for her to fall asleep and wondering what exactly had gone wrong.

FIN.

Like it? Hate it? Let me know in a review!