Driving back to the lab after a trip out for dinner, Nick passed by Sara's apartment building. Now that's odd. Sara has been on a road trip for four days; why is her car in the parking lot? Deciding that that discovery warranted further investigation, Nick turned around at a gas station and drove back to Sara's apartment complex. After parking his vehicle in the small parking lot, Nick walked into the building and ascended the stairs. He knocked on Sara's door and waited for some sort of response. When all he received was silence, Nick decided to knock on the door again. "Sara, I see your car outside; I just want to make sure that you're okay," Nick spoke, trying a different tactic.
Still not receiving a reply, Nick banged on the door, knowing that she was most likely inside of the apartment. He simultaneously called her cell phone and heard it ring on the other side of the door. Okay, that pretty much confirms that she's in there. "Sara, come on, come to the door. I just want to talk to you," Nick bartered.
Concerned about the apparent commotion in the hallway, Mrs. Harrington exited a room at the end of the hallway and walked toward Nick. "Can I help you?" Mrs. Harrington asked, wanting to bring peace back to her apartment building.
"I just wanted to talk to Sara," Nick explained, although he didn't know who he was talking to, "And you are?"
"Evelena Harrington, Sara's landlord. I've seen you around here before; you work with her, right?" Mrs. Harrington asked.
Nick was surprised by how much the woman knew about him given the fact that he had never seen her before. The walls have eyes. "Yes, my name is Nick Stokes; I work with Sara at the Las Vegas Crime Lab. I saw Sara's car outside, so I thought she was here," Nick explained.
"She is here. She's been here for about the past four or five days – ever since she broke her wrist. I figured she was taking some sick days or something because she's usually at work or with Mr. Grissom. I thought it was strange that she's been here all this time, and I haven't seen him at all."
Mrs. Harrington fell silent as she tried to contemplate the circumstances once again. Nick's eyes widened as he started to realize that Sara's vacation was a hoax. Exuding an extreme calmness, Nick turned back toward the door again. "Thank you, Mrs. Harrington," Nick said quietly before knocking on Sara's door again.
"Anytime," Mrs. Harrington replied and walked back to the apartment that she was working on redecorating.
"Sara, it's Nick; I know you're in there," Nick called out, "please come to the door so we can talk."
A few moments later, Nick heard the chain slip out of its lock, and Sara opened the door. She was clad only in a bathrobe, and another towel was wrapped on top of her head. "Sorry, Nick, I hope you haven't been waiting long. I just got out of the shower. What brings you here anyway? I didn't think anyone knew that I got back already, given the fact that I only arrived here about an hour ago," Sara rambled.
"You'd be surprised how much your landlord knows," Nick pointed out, his voice slightly cold, "I saw your car in the parking lot, and I didn't expect you back for another couple of days, so I figured I'd investigate and see if everything was alright."
"Well, everything's fine; I just decided to come back a few days early. Why don't you come on in, and I'll go get dressed," Sara stated, backing up from the door so Nick could enter her apartment.
Nick walked into Sara's apartment, and Sara closed the door. "Make yourself at home," Sara spoke and gestured to the couch, "I'll be out in a few minutes."
Nick sat down on the couch, and Sara disappeared into her bedroom. What are you hiding?
"Nick, can I get you anything?" Sara inquired when she returned in eggplant lounge pants and a grey tank top.
"No, I just came by to see how your trip went. What did you do anyway?" Nick asked, trying to get some information out of her.
Sara sat in the chair beside her couch. "I spent a lot of time resting," Sara explained, "I watched some movies and got a lot of sleep."
"You were in San Francisco, and you didn't go to the beach?" Nick questioned, "I find that highly unlikely."
"The weather wasn't that nice, and I didn't go to San Francisco to lay on the beach; that's not my kind of thing," Sara said, continuing her story.
Nick had had enough of the run around, and he wanted to get to the reason why Sara had stayed behind in Vegas. "Why did you leave Grissom here? Why not take a romantic vacation with him?"
"All I wanted to do was relax. If I wanted to go on a romantic getaway, I could have just stayed here," Sara spoke, realizing the veracity of her words too late.
"You've been here all week, Sara," Nick stated, avoiding any more small talk, "what's going on? What can I do to help you?"
Sara's face dropped when she realized he knew the truth, but she couldn't bring herself to give him the courtesy of the truth. "I just got back from San Francisco, Nick; I don't know what you're talking about. Ask…" Sara managed to say before Nick cut her off.
"Your landlord? She told me you've been here all week," Nick snapped, "Drop the charade, Sara. What is going on? Does Grissom know you're here?"
When Sara's face fell further, Nick knew that he was probably the first one to figure out where she was. "What's wrong, Sara? This isn't like you," Nick said, dropping the anger from his tone and becoming more concerned.
Think, Sidle. "I needed some time off," Sara explained, getting up from the chair to put some distance between Nick and herself, "I've spent the last couple of days here, enjoying my solitude and decompressing. Is that what you want to know, Nick?"
"Is that the truth, or is that what you want me to hear?" Nick countered, "Why the big farce, Sara? What is bothering you so much that you couldn't tell Grissom, or anyone else, that you were just staying here?"
"I needed some time to think. I don't know about you, but I don't think very well when the thought of someone banging on my door is in the back of my mind," Sara snipped.
"Are you and Grissom having problems? I was under the impression that things were going wonderfully," Nick stated, trying to come up with a reason why Sara would be acting so cryptically.
"No! Grissom and I are happy; everything is fine," Sara denied Nick's idea.
"Sara, clue me in here," Nick said, trying to reason with her, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say this looked like you were cheating on Grissom."
"Well, I'm not, so you can get that thought out of your head," Sara barked.
"Are you going to tell him?"
"What?"
"That you lied to him."
"I'll tell him that I'm back."
"You never left!"
"Nick, let me run my life. There is a good reason for all of this, and I do have to say, it's personal. It is something that is between Grissom and myself, and I do not feel comfortable discussing it with you. The only thing I ask is that you use your discretion and keep this to yourself."
"Sara, why? Why all this mess?"
"Because he doesn't want this," Sara said cryptically.
Sara's uninjured hand drifted across her stomach, but the meaning was lost on Nick. Nick got up off of the couch and moved to pull Sara into a hug. "If you need a couple more days off, you should take them," Nick spoke, rubbing Sara's back, "Just get this straightened out between you and Griss so you can be happy again. If you need a friend, or you just need to talk, you know where to find me."
"Thanks, Nick," Sara replied, hugging him back, "I just need some time to deal with a few things. Don't you need to get back to work?"
Nick stepped away from Sara, looked at his watch, and realized that his dinner break had gotten a bit long. "Yeah. Sar, if you need anything…"
"I'll call. And don't worry about Griss, I'll meet him at his house after shift."
"Okay, be safe."
Sara nodded. "You too. Bye, Nick."
"Bye."
Nick left the apartment, and Sara chained the door. She poured herself a glass of orange juice from the refrigerator and lounged on the couch. Her free hand found its way to her stomach, and her mind wandered. I can't end this. When he finds out, he will end us. Can I stand being alone? Can I take that? Sara removed her hand from her stomach and set her glass of orange juice on the coffee table. Could he let me go?