A/N: Woo, so many reviews! Well, for me, anyway. Thanks guys :)
I swear, I have huge issues with distraction and procrastination. My notes as I was writing this are hilarious, I must say (if a little off-topic); I ended up writing a two-versed song about how tired I was at the same time. Go figure. Hey, it's 2am: don't blame the weirdness on me.
To both of them, it felt like a small eternity, as Nick and Sara stood staring into each other's eyes in the quiet, empty reception area. His arms were still held lightly around her, her hands resting against his back as they looked intently at each other, their expressions conveying so much, each hoping the other wouldn't push away. It was as if they were too mesmerised with one another to even speak.
Neither of them made any attempt to stop Nick's unconscious decision, as he moved one arm and reached out with his hand to gently wipe a slight tear trail left across Sara's cheek with his thumb, his hand resting against her jaw before trailing slowly down her neck, his fingertips lightly grazing a few strands of hair. Sara exhaled slowly and closed her eyes, her breath warm against Nick's wrist.
A far-away, ernest-sounding female voice sounding from down the corridor instantly broke their silent trance. "Nick?" The sound of Catherine's high-heeled boots echoed towards them, causing Nick and Sara to jump, springing away from each other awkwardly as Nick snatched his hand back from her face as if it were on fire. Sara turned herself away to look down the other end of the hallway, avoiding looking at Nick as much as possible. She wasn't exactly sure what had just happened between the two of them, but it was most certainly not something she wished to discuss right then and there. She shoved her hand in her pocket, ran her other hand through her hair, and tried to appear as calm and casual as possible, despite feeling her face flush profoundly.
Catherine strode towards the pair carrying her keys in her hand, initially noticing their seemingly embarrassed manner, but deciding to take the tactful approach and to not comment. "Oh, good, you're both here. Case developments. You guys are with me." She walked around and over towards the door to the parking lot before flipping her head back to look at the twosome, surprised as neither CSI had spoken or even moved from their original location when she had first arrived. "Okay… did I miss something?"
Nick looked questioningly at Sara, who was still as pink as she had been a moment ago. She did not look back, as the two of them spoke to Catherine at the same time.
Nick coughed slightly, crossing his arms as he leaned on one leg. "Uh, no…"
"No, no, uh, nothing." Sara silently rebuked herself for sounding so obvious. She'd never been good under pressure, or good at acting, for that matter. Catherine's slight sarcastic smile forming made her feel even more self-conscious.
"Right. Okay, well, I'll see you guys at the car in a sec. I drive." With a yank of the door and a toss of her blonde hair, she was gone, leaving Nick and Sara alone once again.
For a few seconds, neither of them spoke, and then all at once they both felt the need to again, interrupting each other and then stopping abruptly.
"Look, Sara – "
"Nick, I – "
They both chuckled in spite of themselves, finally gaining the courage to look one another in the eye once again. They felt drawn to each other; frozen, and unable to look away. The silence was almost deafening, how the could hear each second tick away from the clock on the wall over the desk. It was a slight noise emitting from the reception's fax machine that finally made the two snap out of their apparent daze.
"Uh, I'll… coffee… thermoses?"
"Umm, yeah, right. Okay. I'll…" Sara was stumbling over her words just as much as Nick was. "Get… kits?"
"Okay."
"Okay."
They quickly split up to retrieve their respective items, heading in opposite directions past each other, their arms brushing lightly, and both forcing themselves to ignore the warm, pleasant contact.
Catherine again picked up on the odd behaviour of the pair as they put their kits in the trunk without exchanging a word, as she sat in the drivers seat. She yelled over the back of her seat at them as they stood with the trunk open. "What is with you guys today?"
She slid her sunglasses down her hair and onto her nose, and flicked the radio switch as Nick and Sara got into the car, with Sara choosing to sit alone in the back seat. Neither one acknowledged Catherine's question, which she apparently failed to notice. "Okay, so we've got a lead with the case. O'Reilly talked to come of her friends and colleagues, and get this: two days before she turned up dead, four of the ladies we interviewed saw our victim getting, quote, "harassed" by some big-shot blackjack player. Didn't show up for work the next day." She raised her eyebrows in emphasis, looking back at Sara in the mirror. "You doin' okay back there?"
Flicking her eyes from the view out the window to Catherine's blue eyes in the mirror, Sara unenthusiastically replied. "Hmm? Oh, yeah. Just thinking." She moved her gaze around the inside of the vehicle, pausing as she observed Nick's soft, dark brown hair squashed against the headrest. She couldn't help but notice the way that his arms and shoulders perfectly fit to the seat, hismuscles rounding over the edges nicely. "Sounds promising."
"I know. So, we're going back to the casino, I'm gonna leave you guys there to get any video footage that you can, and maybe talk to any security guards or whatever? Meanwhile, I'll be over at the police station, checking up cell phone records, her recent calls, that kinda thing; see if she knew the guy. Then I'll come pick you guys up, we'll all come back here, share our findings, dump your video onto Archie, and maybe even get home within the same shift. Sound like a plan?" She turned around to pull out of the parking space, before returning her eyes to the road before her.
Nick yawned. "It does indeed. Y'know, I can't remember the last time I was actually home exactly when shift ended." The thought made him sleepy just thinking about it, and he stretched out a little in his seat, folding his arms behind his head and the car's headrest. Sara watched him interlace his fingers, and suddenly felt guilty for being so embarrassed about what had happened with him earlier. The more she thought about it, the more she realised it was fear above all things that had made her act the way she did afterwards, and she felt ashamed for how she had responded. She reached up slightly with one hand and stroked his fingers with hers, smiling as he turned one hand around and held one of her fingers in his. He didn't seem mad after all.
"You said it, Cath. Sounds like a plan to me, too."