Disclaimer: You know I only own Ozzie.
A/N: Thanks again for sticking with me during this story. It's my longest to date, and all the reviews have been inspiring (and sometimes hilarious).
Warrick and Sara had ended up working through both his shift and hers together. He hadn't asked her again about the fight with Nick, and gradually her mood had lifted. There was nothing like Sara on a case. He had missed working with her. It was funny how they had started off at odds, and now he trusted her as much as anyone. For some reason, Sara and Warrick never had the competitive relationship that both had with Nick. They just worked.
Between shifts, he had stopped by Nick's house. Sara had stayed in the Denali while Warrick knocked on the door. Warrick went back to the truck.
"Give me your key and his code," he told Sara. She handed over Nick's house key. She didn't ask how he knew she had it. She didn't care anymore. She knew Warrick wouldn't gossip about her, especially not if it included Nick. Besides, there was nothing about her having Nick's key that was suspicious.
Warrick went into Nick's house and had found the man passed out on his couch. He had covered him up with a fleece throw with a giant "T" on it. Helooked around. Beer bottles were everywhere, some still half full, a sure sign Nick had been drunk. If you're too drunk to remember where your half full beer is, you are pretty damn drunk.
Camping gear was partially packed in the living room as well. Warrick noticed the weekend circled on Nick's calendar. He looked at the notepad by Nick's phone and saw a note that read "arrival time" and "Cisco". He wondered if Sara would know who that was, or if she would even tell him.
He left, locking the door behind him. He could see Sara pretending not to be interested as she played with his MP3 player. He got back in the Denali and buckled up. They had ridden three blocks before either of them said anything.
"Was he there?" Sara finally asked, curiosity, and worry, getting the better of her.
"Yeah," Warrick had said. "Whatever you were fighting about really got to Nick."
"What did he say?" she asked. Warrick thought her face had paled a little.
"Nothing. He was passed out on his couch. There were beer bottles all over."
They didn't say anything else for a few moments.
"Who is Cisco?" Warrick asked. That caused Sara to turn her head and look at him. He thought he saw the glimmer of tears in her eyes, but if they had been there, they were gone now.
"His dad," Sara said thoughtfully, turning her head to look out the window. By this time, they were back at the lab. Warrick cut the truck off and they sat for a moment.
"We are going to breakfast after this shift, and we are going to talk about whatever is going on. You don't have to tell me everything, but enough for me to know why Nick is drunk and packed to go camping with his dad," he said. "And why you are so freaked out about being asked on a date by the new detective."
"Warrick," she said. Her tone was exasperated, but he cut her off.
"No if, ands or buts. We've got a lot of work ahead of us, so let's just agree that we will talk at breakfast," he said. He used a tone on her that he had learned from his grandmother. Sara nodded her head in mute agreement.
And that had been that. Knowing that she was going to be able to share some of her troubles with someone else had a brightening effect on Sara's mood. She knew it would be hard to talk about some of it with Warrick, but she had gotten used to being able to talk about her troubles with Nick. She needed an outlet. At least she was sure that talking with Warrick wouldn't lead to clothes flung about the diner. She had smiled to herself and allowed Warrick to lead her into the lab and back to the work that would consume her for the next several hours.
When it was time to leave, she and Warrick were both tired and cranky. They walked together to the parking lot.
"Can I trust you to come to the diner? Or do I need to drive you myself?" he asked, only half kidding.
"Let's go to the IHOP. I doubt anyone else will be there," she said, and he knew that she meant anyone else from the lab. He nodded his head and they each drove, arriving within moments of each other at the restaurant. It was crowded with people who had normal, daylight lives eating pancakes and reading papers while mostly ignoring each other.
Warrick waited until they had each ordered before questioning her.
"Spill it," he commanded. She looked distinctly nervous over the top of her coffee mug. "Tell me what's going on here," he said.
She told him, leaving out the explicit details. She told him that she and Nick had become very close. It was an arrangement that they knew would be broken if one of them met someone.
"OK. So then Ozzie enters the picture," Warrick said. She was perturbed at how unsurprised he acted. "Then what?"
"Then Nick talks to him. About me. He had no right to talk to Ozzie about me or dating me, or anything," she said vehemently. When she said it, the situation didn't sound as dire as she and Nick had treated it. If she could only make Warrick understand how deeply betrayed she felt.
"Why did this cause such a fuss?" Warrick asked, and Sara sighed.
"It was like he deceived me. He made this decision before I did. He didn't even let me choose," she said. Emotion was overwhelming her. "He always has to play knight in shining armor. Well, I'm a grown woman, and he doesn't have to save me from myself," she said.
Warrick was a little amused that this was what had caused such a rift between the two. It didn't sound like much, but with fervid emotion involved, he knew it could have gotten ugly in a hurry. What didn't amuse him was how much both Nick and Sara must be hurting.
"So what decision would you have made?" he asked, taking a bite of his pecan pancake. "If Nick had never talked to Oz, what would you have done?"
Sara thought for a moment. It was the question she had avoided asking herself. If she and Nick hadn't fought, would she have said yes to Ozzie?
"I don't know. I probably wouldn't have agreed to go out with him," she finally said. When she said it, she recognized that Nick had been right. She would have used him as an excuse to avoid the chance of a relationship with Ozzie. Warrick watched realization dawn on Sara's face.
"What?" he said.
"Nick was right. He said he wouldn't let me use him as an excuse not to go out with Ozzie," she said. "I wasn't fair to him, was I?" she asked Warrick.
"No, probably not, but he wasn't fair to you either," Warrick said. Sara seemed to deflate a little when the anger began ebbing out of her. She picked at her strawberry topped pancake.
"What do I do? I'm confused about this whole Ozzie thing," she said. Warrick had never considered that he would be giving Sara advice on dating. It was an odd position to be in.
"Go out with him," he said. Sara looked up at him in alarm. "Go out with him. It's just supper," Warrick repeated. "Take a chance. All you are risking is a bad meal. You've never been one to shy away from a chance," he said. This had gotten a small smile from Sara. "And then, when you decide you want to go for the whole shebang with Nicky, he'll believe you," he added. Sara had almost choked on fruit.
"We're just friends, really," Sara said. "Really!"
"Oh yeah. Well, when you go out with Ozzie, no matter what the outcome, you and Nick can get this right between you. You two are friends, and you've been good for each other. You can't lose that," Warrick offered.
When they parted, Sara felt a little better. She could go out with Ozzie tonight and see how it felt. Warrick was right; it was only a meal.
Warrick watched her leave and wondered how people could be so blind. He hoped that this meal with Ozzie showed Sara what she had been missing.
Ozzie called her as she was entering her apartment.
"Am I still picking you up at 8?" he asked. She liked that he called to confirm, and she liked that she could detect a bit of uncertainty in his voice. Maybe he wasn't the player she had thought to begin with. Since talking with Warrick, she had allowed herself to get excited about going out.
Why not? Ozzie was handsome, smart and interested in her. He was interested in her as a date, not a scientist and not a buddy. He was taking her out to eat Indian food. She and Nicky would have gotten Mexican to go, and would have ended up having sex on his couch.
She deplored the thought as soon as she had it. It wasn't fair to Nick to characterize him like that, especially when she had initiated the whole "friends with benefits". Truthfully, she was worried about him. She and Warrick had done a little snooping and found out that Nick had reserved a campsite upstate and that Judge Stokes had come in on the 8:00 am flight. Amazing what you could find out when you said you were with the LVPD. Now that she knew that he was with his father, she felt like she could relax. She didn't like that she was feeling as if a burden had been lifted, because she had never considered Nick or being with Nick a chore. It said a lot about her selfishness. Sara didn't give much of herself to anyone. It was a survival instinct, she guessed, and when she had decided to give herself, it hadn't turned out well.
This was going to be different. Whether or not things worked out with Ozzie, she was determined to work them out with Nick. Sara had run from emotion in the past, and she had run from commitments. Well, she had a commitment to Nick. It was to be his friend, and she was going to meet that promise this time. She went to sleep with that thought. He was still on her mind when she woke up.
She had worked herself back into a worried mood by the time Ozzie knocked on her door. She gave herself one last once-over in the mirror, a little taken aback at how doe-eyed she looked. The green dress she had bought looked just right, and the strappy heels accentuated the long look of her legs. She had second thoughts about the blood red toes, but it was too late now. She grabbed her clutch and opened the door.
Ozzie stood and openly admired her.
"Wow. You look gorgeous," he said and smiled at her. Ozzie was looking foxy himself in a dark grey suit with a royal blue shirt. "I really wish I had the evening off," he said, offering his arm to her. She pulled the door closed and linked her arm with his. "If I had the night off, we would definitely go dancing," he said.
"I'm not much of a dancer," she said, smiling at him.
"Well, that is a dancing dress if I've ever seen one," he told her. "And believe me, you would have no trouble. It's all in learning to follow the lead," he said. He opened the car door for her. Then he leaned down and kissed her lightly on the lips. It was quick, but electric. Sara hadn't expected it and it left her with a fluttery feeling in her stomach. "I know that was forward, but I didn't want to wait until the end of the evening, when I might have curry on my breath," he said.
Sara wasn't sure what to say, and Ozzie closed the door before she had a chance. She could feel that her whole face was red, and her lips tingled from the contact. He got into the car himself and gave her a self-conscious smile, or as close to self conscious as Ozzie could manage. Sara smiled back, and forced herself to relax.
"It's just supper," she thought, but it didn't reassure her.
The Indian place was perfect. Ozzie was perfect. Sara was perfect. It was the best date she had been on, ever. Sara felt like the giddy teenager she had never been. Only this was better, because every time Ozzie held her hand or touched her side, she felt that same spark of electricity, and unlike a giddy teenager, she had no illusions about what that could mean further down the road. They had discussed movies and books. They had innocently gossiped about the LVPD. It was interesting hearing things from a newcomer's point of view. Sara had been that newcomer once, but now, she was a definite old-timer.
"So what about life before Las Vegas? Who are you, Oscar Perrin?" Sara had asked, flirtatiously.
"OK," Ozzie started seriously. "I've been married twice. The first time for five years, the second time for twenty." Sara looked shocked at this. She hadn't pegged Ozzie as a married man, though at his age, it would have been a little odd if he hadn't been.
"Kids?" Sara asked. The idea of him as a father was stranger still.
"No. Looking back, it's a blessing in disguise that my first wife and I didn't have children. She was the type that would have used the children against me," he said. He gave a half-hearted chuckle. "Of course, I made her that way. Like a lot of cops, I drank too much, brought my work home."
"And your second wife?" she asked. Ozzie gave her a sad smile. It was almost as endearing as his smirk.
"She died three and a half years ago. Cancer," he said. "That's the reason I'm mostly vegetarian. During the last year of her life, she had us living on a macrobiotic, no meat, no dairy, no wheat,nothing but kelp and tofu regimen. I'll eat fish every now and then, and now I eat dairy, but I've stuck with a mostly vegetarian diet." He smiled at her, and Sara tried not to be wary, but dating a widower wasn't what she had planned on.
A small amount of awkwardness lasted after he divulged that information, but before long, he had Sara laughing and relaxed. They walked through some casino shops, and too soon, it was time for Ozzie to take her back home.
At her apartment door, Sara felt a dizzying anticipation. The electric current that had been in overdrive between she and Ozzie since he had kissed her was dancing around them now. She was glad that he had to go to work. She was a little scared where things might have gone otherwise. Ozzie had been a gentleman, doing no more than holding her hand or putting his arm around her, but she thought, given the chance, things would go further. They said the little goodbyes that are always a bit stilted at the end of a first date, and then he had leaned down and kissed her, chastely at first.
When she responded warmly, he enveloped her in his long arms and deepened the kiss. The electricity of before had been nothing compared to this kiss, and she tasted the spicy cinnamon that she remembered smelling at their first meeting. This kiss was passionate, but not insistent. It was a promise of things to come, in their own good time.
"I have wanted to do that all night," he said. Sara opened her eyes and looked into his green ones, searching for some sign that he was lying, or a poser, or a snake in disguise. There were none. His kissed her again, leaving her a little breathless. "Can I call you tomorrow?" he asked. Sara silently nodded.
"I had a great time," she finally said, disappointed in how small her voice sounded. She had unlocked her apartment door.
"Me too," he said. "Lock up, and I'll talk to you tomorrow."
She did and watched out the window as he drove away, part of her wishing he had been able to stay.
"Nick's turned you into a slut," she said to herself. She cringed, wondering why she was thinking of Nick so soon after Ozzie had turned her knees to jelly. And it reminded her that when she had opened her eyes after Ozzie's kiss, she had halfway expected the eyes to be brown instead of green.
She went to her bedroom and changed the sheets, trying not to think of the last time Nick had lain on that pillow, or the way she loved it when his strong hands …
"I've got to go for a run," she told the room. She was all mixed up. She knew the chemistry with Ozzie was strong, and was the cause for the nervous, sexually charged energy, but she kept thinking of Nick, and all the times they had lain under her covers talking, laughing and crying, or the one time she had wanted him so desperately that she had cleared the dining room table with a sweep of her hand like some melodramatic television movie.
The run was a good way to think things out. She was a logical, rational scientist. She could deal in facts.
She felt a connection to Ozzie, and that kiss. That kiss had been unbelievable. She thought there was something there that given time, could turn into …
What? What did she think it could turn into? Love? Marriage? There goes Sara with a baby carriage? She shook her head at the images. The rhyme running through her head sounded like Greg's voice.He was really rubbing off on her. The question remained: what did she think it could turn into?
She could picture herself waking up to a good-looking Ozzie, with bed head that looked carefully coiffed. She could picture them making pancakes and reading the Sunday paper in the evening, talking and debating the news or gossiping about friends and co-workers. She imagined him leading her out onto a dance floor, and the jealous looks from other women.
The crazy thing was, she had done all of that with Nick, except the dancing. She loved Nick; it was true. She loved him as well as she had loved any friend she had. But there was a chance with Ozzie that she could have the friendship she had with Nick, plus more.
Nick was her friend. They had complicated things, but the fact was, he didn't love her more than regular friend love. Maybe Ozzie would. She had been too hard on Nick, because in the end, she knew he was trying to look out for her. The betrayal she had felt at learning he had talked to Ozzie about her was dimming with time and introspection. Warrick was right; she had to make things good with Nick. She had never had enough close friends to go losing one now.
She turned around and headed back to her apartment. Tomorrow, she would call Nick, and if she couldn't get his cell, she would leave him a message at home.
A/N:
Anushka: Sara and Vartann? Hmm. This could go from a triangle to a rectangle. You may have just stretched this thing out 15 more chapters! ;-)
Mayme: Ozzie can't be perfect, then there would be no hope for all those Snickers!
wlk68:I love it when folks say things like you did. I hope it means I've created a good story.
jd: Like I've told some others before, don't be shy, tell me what you really want:-p
A Christy: I was so pleased and flattered at your review. I hope the eight chapters flowed together well in one sitting!
FoxRox: I absolutely love your reviews. I hope the next chapters aren't a let down. I agree that Warrick hasn't gotten enough scenes lately, especially with Sara.Let's stretch your empathy muscles some more; after all, Nicky's been through a lot.