Disclaimer: see first chapter

A/N: So I guess this is the chapter that everyone has been waiting for. It consists of equal parts angst and fluff, so hopefully that means it's not drowning in either. Enjoy, and as always, please review!

The car ride back to Sara's was quiet, but different than the last time they had ridden together; the tension that had been present in the vehicle for weeks was missing. Nick hadn't even turned on the radio, opting instead to envelop Sara's hand in his, rubbing her hand with his thumb ever so often in a comforting gesture.

By the time that Nick pulled into her driveway, Sara was so tired; all she wanted to do was curl up in her bed and fall into a dreamless sleep.

"Do you want me to make something to eat?" Nick asked as he unlocked her door and guided her inside.

"I just want to lie down for awhile," she replied softly, making her way towards her bedroom.

"I'll have something ready when you get up then." Nick pushed her gently towards her door, but Sara grabbed his hand.

As she turned to face him, she whispered, "Stay with me instead?" She felt Nick's gaze on her as he searched her face.

"Are you sure?"

Sara nodded and pulled him in after her. They both kicked off their shoes and collapsed onto the unmade bed, fully clothed. Nick reached down to pull the comforter over them as Sara tried to make herself comfortable. Before long, both of them were asleep.

When Sara woke up several hours later, she felt the distinct sensation of something, or rather, someone pressed up against her back. With a sigh, she realized that it was Nick, and somewhere during their nap, he had ended up spooned behind her, his arm resting lightly on her hip. With a pang of sadness, she realized how much she'd give to wake up in this same position every morning, and with the jumble of emotions still over running her system, she found herself crying again. She inched away from Nick slowly, trying to bury her face in the pillow and muffle the sound of her tears. Still, Nick sensed the loss of contact, and pulled her back towards him. It took him a minute to register the fact that she was crying, but when he did, he began to gently rub her back.

His voice was still laced with sleep as he murmured, "Baby, what's wrong?"

"I've just messed everything up," she sobbed, briefly lifting her head from the pillow before dropping it back down.

"How's that darlin?" The soothing circular motions he was making across her back were comforting her a little, but she still couldn't stop the tears.

"You and me…Michael…everything…"

Nick finally sounded awake. "Wait just a minute. Things have been a little tense lately, but don't worry about us, okay? I told you I wasn't going anywhere, and I'm not. Who's Michael?"

Sara turned around, awkwardly, to face Nick She focused her gaze somewhere on his chest, refusing to meet his concerned eyes. He wrapped an arm around her, mindful of her bulging belly.

"I ran into him today at PD…" Nick nodded in understanding, encouraging her to continue. "I…I lied to him Nick. I told him the baby wasn't his."

Nick sighed. "Why did you do that?"

"I panicked," she sniffled, "He had this…deer caught in headlights look when he realized I was pregnant, and…I just panicked. Told him I was a month further along then I really am. But the relief that crossed his face…I felt like all the breath was kicked out of me. I know I didn't have any right, but I just felt sick. He actually said, 'Thank God.' He didn't mean for me to hear it…but then he said that it wasn't a good time for him…like it was a good time for me to get pregnant."

Nick smoothed back a piece of hair from her forehead. "I'm sorry Sara…"

"Oh that's not even the worst part. Nick, he was married. I didn't know, or I would have never…he said they were separated, but he was still married…"

"Oh Sara," Nick murmured as she began to cry again. He held her as she sobbed, waiting to ride out the storm of tears. When she finally calmed down enough to be aware of her surroundings, Nick spoke again. "Sweetheart, I wish I could change the way he treated you…but you can fix your part in this, you can still tell him the truth. Yeah it's gonna be hard, but you can do it…you're so strong Sara."

Nick smiled down at her, wiping away a few of the tears before kissing her forehead. Sara could see the warmth and adoration radiating from his eyes, and it gave her courage.

"You were right Nick…I should have listened to you in the first place."

"Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting to hear those words pass your lips? Is there any way I can get that in writing?" Nick teased, eliciting a small smile and a smack on the arm. "Seriously Sara…I have to admit, my motives weren't entirely pure."

Sara adjusted herself slightly in his arms and gave him a questioning look, asking him to clarify. "Sara…I think you know how I feel about you, and I know that you feel what's going on between us. You may not be ready to act on it, but you can feel it. No, its okay," he explained. Sara looked at him with wide eyes, opening her mouth to tell him he was wrong, but Nick silenced her gently with a finger to her lips and a watery smile.

"I just want things to be abundantly clear from the start. I want us to be a family Sara. I want to be her dad…watch her take her first step, chase the monsters out from under her bed. I want to lie here like this, exhausted from noon feedings, and watch you sleep." His smiled at her nervously, caressing the curve of her hip before placing his hand over her abdomen. "I want to give her a brother or sister someday. But…what if Michael figures it out? And he comes along in a couple of years, suddenly wanting a place in her life? We can't do this with that hanging over us for the rest of our lives."

Silence descended over them as Sara tried to process all of the information she had just received. On some level, she had already known most of what Nick had just told her, but to hear him say it, meant more to Sara than anything else at that moment. Nick rested his hand on her abdomen for another minute or so, and then brought it up to her face to stroke her cheek. It was only then that Sara realized she was crying again.

"Sara, shh…baby, don't cry."

Sara let out a nervous laugh. "You tell me…all of that, and you expect me not to cry?"

Nick cracked a smile at her. "Okay, fair enough." They lay together quietly for awhile, Nick rubbing her back sporadically. Sara watched him, his eyes closed, as she focused on the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. She knew what she had to do; what she wanted to do.

"I'm going to tell him the truth," she whispered softly, gently grazing his face with her fingertips to get his attention.

"Is that what you want to do?"

Sara smirked lightly. "Trying to backpedal now, are you?"

"I just don't want to push you to do anything you don't want to do."

"I want to," Sara replied firmly. And she did; not only did he deserve to know, but Sara wanted a future with Nick. She couldn't control what Michael would choose to do with the information, but Nick was right; they couldn't live a lie like that.

Finding words inadequate at the moment, Sara went for a more direct approach. She leaned forward, brushing her lips against his gently. Nick responded fully, reaching up to cup her face and kissing her with a passion and intensity that Sara had never experienced before. The kiss began urgent, but soon Nick was distracting her with long, slow, mind numbing kisses. Sara only reluctantly pulled away when the need for air began to outweigh the pleasure of having Nick's soft lips on hers.

She beamed up at him, his smile matching hers for wattage, and then snuggled in next to him as best as she could, knowing that she had successfully conveyed her feelings about him. She laid her head against his chest, sighing in contentment. She would have been happy just to lie there in silence, savoring the feeling of Nick's arms around her, but Nick chose that moment to speak.

"You wanted to tell me something awhile ago…"

Sara quirked an eyebrow, running her hand over the toned plains of his stomach, thankful for the thin material of his shirt. "I've wanted to say lots of things to you lately…and some of those were probably better left in my head. You're going to have to be a little more specific."

"That night, when you made dinner…you said you wanted to tell me something. But then, well, you weren't really talking to me too much for the next couple days, and then I kind of forgot."

Sara started to giggle. "You know, I was going to tell you that night that I was ready to hear it."

Nick groaned when her meaning sunk in. "I screwed that up, didn't I? Well, at least we've got that cleared up."

"You still haven't said it," Sara only half teased. Nick had done a lot to convince Sara of his feelings for her, but she still wanted to hear him say it.

"Neither have you," Nick shot back with a smile, kissing the crown of her head.

"Nick," she whined, eliciting a chuckle, "I've had a really bad day."

Sara felt his hot breath tickle her ear right before he whispered, "I really loved that shirt you were wearing, the blue one. Very flattering." After a rather painful punch in the side, Nick stopped smirking and continued. "Alright, seriously…I'm completely in love with you Sara." The emotion in his voice caused Sara to tear up slightly as he tightened his arms around her. "I think, on some level, I've been falling in love with you since the day we met."

Sara looked up at him, unable to wipe the smile from her face even as her eyes glistened with tears. "I'm completely in love with you too Nick."