Sara noticed the grin on Nick's face before she noticed the dish towel draped over the left shoulder of his gray LVPD T-shirt. He seemed just as glad to see her as she was to see him and she giggled a little as he pulled her into the house by way of pulling her into his arms.

"Did you get any sleep at all?" She knew that it was doubtful given the wonderful aroma wafting from his kitchen. He worked just as many hours as she did and it was more likely he'd gone by the grocery store on the way home than he'd gotten any sleep.

Nick nuzzled her ear. "A little." It was true. He'd gotten about forty-five minutes of sleep and then he'd headed out to pick up a few things to make them a breakfast that his mother would be proud of, even if it was vegetarian friendly.

"Something smells good." Sara pushed out of Nick's embrace, her hands splaying out against his chest as he rested his hands on her hips.

Nick had a mischievous smirk on his face. "I'm glad you like my aftershave."

Sara smirked back as she shook her head and laughed. "I was talking about the food, but you're aftershave's not bad either."

Nick arched his brows at her as he eyed her lips. "Oh, really?"

"Uh huh." Sara slid her hands up his chest to his shoulders as Nick ducked his head and softly kissed her.

He was grinning at her as he pulled away. "I hope you're hungry." It was no secret that Sara could put away about as much food as the guys did, so Nick had no qualms about whipping up a few of his mom's favorite breakfast foods.

"I could eat." She grinned back at him.

"Good." Nick leaned in and gave her another kiss before releasing her from his embrace. "I need to check on the food."

Sara followed him into the kitchen, thoroughly appreciating the view the back of his faded jeans afforded her as she glanced at his butt. She was definitely looking forward to spending some time with him, and as Nick paused in front of his stove to stir something Sara couldn't quite identify, she couldn't resist resting her hands on his hips and peering over his shoulder as she rested her chin on it. "What are you making?"

Nick was pleased by this unexpected display of affection from Sara and he turned his head a little as he answered her with a smile. "It's blueberry sauce for the waffles. My mom sent it to me from back home."

Sara had an image of a homespun childhood for Nick. "Your mother sounds very domestic." For some reason it wouldn't surprise her if Nick's mom had grown the berries herself.

Nick chuckled as if he could tell where her mind was going. "Only when she had to be; she worked a lot."

"What does she do?" Sara queried him.

Nick turned the burner off, satisfied that the blueberry sauce was done. "She used to work as a public defender, she's retired now that Dad's on the state Supreme Court."

"And exactly how many siblings do you have?" Sara sounded incredulous that a woman with a large family would have time to do such a demanding job.

Nick chuckled softly. "One brother and five sisters."

"She is my new hero." Sara quipped.

Nick laughed. "She's a pretty incredible woman. Sort of reminds me of you."

The words were out before Sara even thought of the implication. "There is no way in hell I'd be willing to have seven kids."

Nick just laughed and turned around to face her. "And I don't think I could see you ever having seven kids."

Suddenly Sara was embarrassed that she'd said anything and she felt the need to change the subject. "You said something about waffles?" She forced a smile even though she felt nerves churning in her stomach.

"Yes, homemade waffles." Nick grinned at her and then leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. "I was just waiting for you to get here before I put the batter in the waffle maker."

"Ok, then." Sara felt her nerves begin to subside and her smile began to feel a bit more relaxed.

Nick went about making the waffles, aware of the fact that Sara was watching him and he tried to keep from smiling too big. He was excited that he was getting to make her breakfast and a thought flitted through his mind that he'd like to have her for breakfast instead of what he was fixing, but he quickly put it aside, not wanting to push the issue with her until she was ready.

Sara watched Nick, studying his physique with interest, memorizing the features of his face and his masculine hands. She'd known him for a while, but she realized that there was a lot to him that she didn't know; that she wanted to know. Her thoughts drifted into more dangerous territory as she took the time he was pouring more batter into the waffle maker to study his butt. His jeans hugged them just right and she wondered to herself just what he'd look like out of those jeans.

Nick glanced up just then and he chuckled softly as he noticed where her eyes had been focused. "Ready to eat?" He wasn't going to comment on her staring at his ass, at least not yet.

"Yeah." Sara knew she'd been caught, but she really didn't care. As much as she didn't want to rush into sleeping with him, there was a part of her that kept trying to rationalize that she already knew him. She wasn't sure which little voice in her head was going to win.

Nick opted to seat them on his couch rather than his dining room table, if for no other reason than so he could sit as close to her as possible while they ate. He grinned as he watched Sara take a bite of her waffles. The sound she made bordered on obscene. "I take it you like the waffles."

Sara looked at him wide-eyed and nodded. "What is in this recipe? I've never had waffles this good." Maybe it was true and maybe it wasn't, but the fact that she was sitting next to a man she cared about and who at that moment looked incredibly sexy certainly didn't hurt.

Nick just laughed. "They are pretty good, aren't they?" He found himself scooting just a little bit closer to her and wondering if she might be open to staying around for a little while and maybe watching a movie, or anything else that might allow him some quality time kissing her.