I didn't know exactly what to say to Kayla. I'm no good at one on one confrontation, and I was about to share my deepest, darkest secret with her.

She was going to be the first person I voluntarily told.

I scooted up to her, close so she could see me well. She smiled at me, and some of the tension flew.

"What you said before, about telling me later, this is big isn't it." She asked, but it sounded like a statement.

I nodded.

"Really big?" she asked, and I nodded again and looked away, biting my lip.

"C'mon Sara, it's just you and me now. Girl to girl."

I smiled at her.

"I've never shared this with anyone Kayla, so try to understand…it's hard. You'll be the first one that I tell by my own choice…no one knows." I said, and she gave me a sad smile.

"Not Nick?" she said, and I shook my head slowly. She took a deep breath, and looked at me, waiting.

"I didn't tell him because…because…I'm afraid it'll affect what he thinks of me…" I admit, saying it out loud for the first time. She frowns.

"Nick's an understanding person Sara, and not one quick to judge…" she pointed out calmly. There was no defensiveness in her voice, just reason.

"I know he is…but…I don't know if he'll understand. Not as well as you will." I say truthfully, on the verge of tears. I hug myself and take a deep breath. Kayla pats the side of my arm in a way that says 'you can tell me'.

"I was fifteen when this happened. I had a brother…Nick doesn't know about him either…but um, yeah. He was seventeen when this happened. My mother, she raised us on her own after dad died. I was young, nine when he passed, and my mother was recovering from a drinking problem. She…she…" I tried, but I couldn't get it out, and the tears came. Kayla started to cry too, but I took a deep breath and continued.

"She did the best she could, and my brother was a saint, perfect child, hung with the right people, the works. One day…one day he was driving home from a basketball game and…oh God…he was hit." I cried, the tears running down my face in several streaks.

"By a drunk driver…" Kayla finished for me. I nodded, and she motioned for me to give her a hug. I did, crying into her shoulder. She consoled me, rubbing my back with soothing noises. After what seemed like forever, but was minutes at most, I pulled away. I grabbed the Kleenex box from her bedside table, and we wiped our eyes.

"I'm so sorry Sara…" she said, and I nodded, but held a hand up when opened her mouth to speak again.

"No, please. Wait. I have to get this all out at once." I said.

She nodded. "I understand."

"Well, my brother died form the car crash. My mother…she went into zombie mode. All she did was drink. I tried to bury myself in my school work, you know, to get away," and she nodded, "but it wasn't enough. I'd still hear her crying; hear her smacking things against the wall and waking up sick in the morning. But I kept going. Eventually, child services heard about me, and I was taken when I was just sixteen. I went through house after house; I don't know how I made it. I was never the same again…" I finished, and one last sob escaped Kayla. I hugged her tightly, and she hugged back. We cried for a while again, just taking comfort in crying with someone else.

When I finally pulled away, another five minutes had passed. Kayla smiled and grabbed another tissue.

"That's the saddest story I've ever heard…" she said, and I smiled half-heartedly and looked away.

"You're an amazing woman Sara. I don't think I would have the strength to go through all this without my family, but you…I can't believe it. You're a hero…" she said, and I hugged her again, touched by her kind words.

"It's been so hard, not to mention on my love life. The experience left me with no trust of people, and it's been hard on my relationships…" I said, and Kayla patted my hand.

"Well…I think you've found a winner in Nick." She said.

"What do you mean?" I looked away, pretending to not have a clue what she was talking about.

"He loves you Sara." She stated simply. There was no smile on her face, no trace of a lie or a fib, just truth. I shook my head and she chuckled.

"You're damn wrong. I can see it in his eyes, in the way he acts around you. He doesn't have to take you right here on the floor in front of me for me to pick up on what my baby brother is thinking. Although…I think that floor ordeal might have crossed his mind in some form or another…" she said, and I playfully smacked her arm.

"Yeah, right. We're best friends…besides, he wouldn't love me. He could do so much better…" I said. I can't tell if that slipped out of my mouth, or if my brain was telling me to tell Kayla what I was thinking, because I haven't had any girl talk in quite a long time.

"What are you talk- …Oh…so that's why he doesn't know about this whole thing…" she said, the pieces clicking together in her head. I looked away, embarrassed.

"Sara…oh dear Lord…he loves you. He loves you! What happened in your past is not going to change what he thinks about you…Tell him. Tonight, just tell him. And watch him if he doesn't cry. Listen to me Sara, Nicky is in love with you. I can see the concern in his eye when he sees you crying. So trust me. Trust him. Trust your heart Sara, 'cause I know you love him too." She said, and I smiled, big and broad. Somehow, Kayla read me like a book. I gave her another hug; I couldn't help myself.

"Are you my guardian angel?"

-

Nick arrived back about ten minutes later. In that time, there had definitely had been some more tears, but surprisingly there had been other things too.

Jokes.

Smiles.

Laughter.

He finally did some in, and I turned as I heard the door open. He was smiling, but as soon as he saw my red, tear streaked face, his smile fell and I got up.

"Oh my God Sara, are you okay?" he asked, and I shook my head no. He took me in his arms, and I sniffled, feeling a tear run down my face. I clutched his neck tightly, and he held me with the same force. I felt him caress my back, and I knew that Kayla would see it.

And I know she'll smile.

Maybe she's right.

Maybe he does love me.

- Nick's Point Of View -

I held Sara close, searching Kayla's eyes for what might have transpired while I was gone. They revealed nothing, but a tear slipped down her cheek as she saw Sara come into my embrace. I kissed Sara's shoulder, and a sob wracked her small frame. I held her even closer, wishing that I knew what was going on and what had happened that could make Sara this upset.

Sara's head left my shoulder, and I met her red eyes. Three tears slipped silently down her cheeks, and I brought one hand to her face, cupping her cheek. My thumb wiped away her tears, and she smiled at me. Then I remembered.

Kayla.

I quickly took my hand away, and loosened my grip on Sara. She smiled, and stepped close to me again, picking up on what I was thinking after watching my eyes dart to Kayla.

"She knows Nick." Sara whispered audibly. My brow furrowed for a minute as I processed this, but at the sound of Kayla's laugh, I just broke into a wide smile.

"What?" I asked, as Sara turned in my arms to face Kayla. I secretly loved the fact that Sara made no effort to move away, she just let my hands slide across her middle until they stopped on her stomach. I pressed her back into my front, letting my arms cross in front of her and my hands rest on either side of her body.

My thumbs caressed her sides, and I barely felt the sides of both her breasts. Sara shivered and stepped back into me, wanting to be closer. This allowed my thumbs access to more of her curves, and I smiled.

"How was lunch Nick?" Kayla asked me as I tried to keep from smiling. Sara blushed as I rested my head on top of hers.

"It was good, I was starving.." I said, and Sara huffed.

"You're always hungry…" She said, a real smile gracing her face. It was the first one I'd seen since I had gotten back.

"Why don't you two take off?" Kayla said, and I saw a slight twinkle in her eye. "I'm sure you have other things to do besides sitting around here all day…"

I smiled. Damn right I'd like to be doing something else…

But Sara turned to me and looked into my eyes. I knew something big was going to happen. I can't say what it was, but maybe it will finally answer my questions. Or reveal why she is who she is. I couldn't be sure, but from the way she was looking at me, I knew there were more tears to come.

"Yeah, it sounds like a good idea to me…" I said calmly, not wanting to alarm Sara. She smiled, and another tear rolled down her cheek. Again, I brushed it away, and the look of pure adoration on her face astounded me.

I motioned with my head towards the room exit, and she nods. After a smile, she backs out of my embrace and walks over to my sister.

They whisper something between them, Sara sitting close to Kayla and leaning over to tell her something. I smile…leave it to Kayla to have an instant connection with Sara.

I watch as Kayla and Sara interact, hoping to pick up on something that will tell me what had them both so upset before. Sara is acting nervous, and Kayla reassures her with a pat on her arm. The two women hug, and Sara comes back over to me.

"I'll meet you in the hall, okay?" Sara says, and I smile and nod. Her courtesy is well appreciated; I needed a moment alone with my sister. I give her hand a gentle squeeze as she turns one last time to through a smile at Kayla before heading out.

I walk over to Kayla's bed, sitting near my sister.

"Is she okay?" I ask Kayla, and Kayla smiles, biting her lip as if to stop herself from spilling a secret.

"She will be." Kayla says, and I roll my eyes at her vagueness. She shrugs, and I roll my eyes again.

"C'mon, tell me what's going on…I'm just looking out for her." I say, and this makes Kayla smile broadly, and she clamps down hard on her lip.

"Nicky, just talk to her. And wait for her to talk to you. When you two do sit down, just be there for her, that's all she's looking for. She needs you. And maybe…you need her too." She says, and my confusion only grows. I try to question her further, but she just shakes her head and motions toward the door.

"Nick, I love you. I love you so much. But right now, right this second, I'm not the one who needs you. The woman who needs you is standing right outside that door. So go. I'll still be here when you come back." Kayla said, and I nodded, still not any wiser as to why Sara was upset. But I knew my older sister was trying to help me without giving anything away, and I appreciated what she was doing. I pulled her into a hug.

"I'm glad you're okay." I told her, and she squeezed me tight a moment before letting me go. I gave her a sad smile and she motioned toward the door.

"I'm glad you came down Nicky. I've missed you so much." She says and I smiled and nodded.

"I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" I asked, and she gave me a big grin.

"Goodnight." I said, and we shared a smile as I walked out of the room. She waved from behind the closed door, and I waved back before she grinned and motioned for me to go away. I beamed at her before turning around.

Sara was standing about ten yards away watching me intently. She smiled through teary eyes as she watched me, and I tilted my head slightly to question her. We walked toward each other, and I took her in my arms. She buried her face in my neck, sighing. I held her extremely close and sighed as well, knowing this was most likely going to be a big, long, important night.

-

Back at the house, Sara and I discovered a note on the door.

'Went over to Sammy's house to see the kids. I'll stay for dinner, probably be home 7:30-8:00 ish. Have a good time. Love Ma."

Sara smiled, and I smiled back. I knew Sara, and I knew Sara well. That's the reason this whole situation was scaring me so much. She had completely opened herself up to my sister, exposing her weaker side to a person she barely knew, let alone trusted. For her, that's just crazy talk. My mind was beeping in alarm mode, but I kept a cool on the outside, not wanting to add to the pressure Sara was obviously already feeling.

Sara kicked off her shoes, and I did the same. She took my hand and led me to the couch.

"Nick," she said, "there's something very important that I have to tell you."

-

A note –

OH! CLIFFHANGER!

Now, as I'm sure all of you highly intelligent fanfiction reviewers know, the only way to find the conclusion of your cliffhanger is to review.

So do just that and make me happy.

Well, if you really want to make me happy in your revew, tell me that you're the writer of C.S.I., and you're going to write Sara and Nick falling in love on the show because you've been inspired my me. Then you're going to give me all the credentials to the show.

Okay…so maybe I'm being a little unrealistic.

Just a little. -

OMG OMG OMG OMG CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS WEEKS EPISODE? Yeah, I guess it wasn't that shocking, seeing as how the stuff about Sara has been circulationg around forever, but oh well. Stuff we predict never happens on the show, so maybe the writers look here for ideas…Hey, you guys want an idea?

N/S N/S N/S N/S N/S N/S N/S N/S N/S N/S N/S N/S N/S N/S

Just an idea.

Speaking of ideas, tell me what you thought of this episode in your review. I'd love to hear it.

The Notorious Cat