Disclaimer: I do not own CSI and characters associated with that show. Can't wait for my DVD though!
Author's Note : Hehe, sorry about the cliff hanger, but that's just how my inspiration works; I hit a climax and then shut down until my creativity can "recharge" Hope this chapter is to everyone's satisfaction! Thanks to anyone who reviewed, feedback is cool.
"Hello?"
"Um, Nick!"
"Sara?"
"Yeah, It's me, Sara Sidle." Sara was really nervous, and she could sense herself beginning to babble incoherently. Nick was extremely amused with Sara's apparent uneasiness, but he could feel butterflies...no... buffalos trampling around in his stomach. He licked his lips and attempted to clear his rapidly constricting throat.
"Hehe, I knew it was you, I always recognize your pretty voice." Sara calmed down a bit at his charming words, but ended up getting tongue tied anyway.
"Yeah, um, I was wondering, since I don't have water, if I could use your water. No! I mean my apartment doesn't have water because of the plumbing, and I need to take a shower, and I wanted to ask if I could use your shower, as in crash, at your place...um..." Sara was ready to just shoot herself, this conversation didn't even constitute real conversation! She was speaking an alien language, and Nick was laughing at her. Kill me now.
Nick was rather confused, but also excited. Unless he heard wrong, which unfortunately was extremely possible, Sara had asked if she could crash at his place! This opened up so many possibilities...NO. He berated himself. Be a gentleman. He was still engrossed in his thoughts when he heard Sara meekly calling his name.
"Nick...uh...are you still there?" Sara had never been so embarrassed in her life. He probably hung up because I sound like I'm drunk...I am such an idiot. Nick recovered quickly.
"Yeah! I'm here, um, I would definitely welcome you to crash for a couple of days. No problem." Nick tried to keep himself from sounding overly eager, which was difficult.
"Really?"Sara squealed. Nick was surprised and gratified to hear how happy she was, maybe their relationship was advancing.
"When are you coming over? You can bring some stuff now if you want, I'll make up the guest bedroom for you."
"Ok. Great! I'll be right over!"
"See you soon Sara."
"Bye Nick." Sara hung up with the dopiest smile glued on her face. She glanced at the clock, and then ran to pack up some clothes. In under five minutes, she was ready and hurtled out the door and down the five flights of stairs to her Tahoe.
Nick hung up with a 10,000 million quadrillion mega watt smile. He hadn't felt this happy in, well, never! He had about a half an hour to make his home seem presentable. Normally, he was a neat guy, but yesterday, he'd been thinking about Sara... He snatched up about three or four beer bottles and hurled them out his window into the dumpster, now was not the time to worry about recycling. He grabbed a can of grapefruit scented Oust and frantically sprayed vast clouds of it in every room. Ahhh, citrus fresh. Then he pulled out a spare set of sheets and a nice pillow case to ready the guest room. Truth be told, he'd never used them before. He had seen the set in the store and immediately thought of Sara; and he bought them on the off chance that she might use them...at his place. This was certainly his lucky day. The lilac and beige flowers always made him think of her. As a matter of fact, almost everything these days made him think of Sara. He'd just slipped the pillowcase on when he heard the doorbell. She's early. He jogged up to the door and swung it open to see a pleasantly flushed Sara clutching a worn duffle bag. Nick drew her into the room and began to ramble.
"Sara, I just got the guest room set for you! And I got you another loofah for the shower, and there's a bottle of shampoo that I think you'd like, it's strawberry scented and..." Sara giggled a bit and remarked.
"Nicky! I'm only here for a couple of days at the most, you didn't have to do all of that!"
"Now Sara, I want you to be as comfortable as possible here."
"You're sweet Nicky." Nick blushed at her sincere words and rubbed his neck bashfully.
"So, you can take a shower now. And then I thought I'd make dinner for you. Maybe some salmon? I've got a couple of salmon steaks in the freezer." Sara who was already in the bathroom and shouted.
"Sounds good Nick." She turned the knobs on the shower and purred as the hot water came down.
Nick was puttering around the kitchen pulling out ingredients. He figured they could cook together, kind of romantic. He didn't want to get his hopes up, but didn't she look just as excited to see him as he was to see her? He could hear the sound of the shower thrumming, and thoughts of "naked Sara" suddenly invaded his mind. He walked out of the kitchen and sat on the couch, trying to lower his heart rate. Nick tried to convey a measure of nonchalance, but he was almost sure his face was as red as a beet. Aw man, I'm acting like I'm sixteen and Sara's my first prom date! Nick turned his head as he heard the door to the bathroom open. Shower fresh, Sara stepped out in a form fitting cotton tee shirt, flannel pajama pants, and yellow fuzzy slippers. She grinned and walked over to the couch, plopping herself down next to Nick. She smelled like strawberries. Nick grinned and pointed to her feet. "What's with the slippers?" Sara blushed.
"What? You don't like them?"
"Naw, they're the cutest thing I've ever seen you wear." Sara blushed redder then before.
"Alright cowboy, enough of charming the ladies, I'm starving." Nick stood up and motioned to the kitchen.
"Ok, we're gonna cook then."
"We?" Sara smirked up at him. Nick offered her a hand and pulled her from the couch.
"Let's get started."
Things were looking up for Sara and Nick, but alas, poor Warrick and Greg were still locked in the mysterious little room.
"Ow, that was my foot Warrick!"
"Stay on your side goddamnit!"
"Someone's grouchy."
"I'm stuck in a tiny enclosed space with YOU Greg! How the hell am I supposed to feel?"
"Got any ideas?" Greg muttered darkly.
"We could try to break it down again, but I think my shoulder's shot."
"Well, my shoulder's about as strong as a toothpick, I probably broke it on that last charge..." Greg rambled. Then, Warrick's cell phone rang .
"Brown." Warrick picked up and heard Catherine's excited voice erupting from the other end.
"Warrick! It worked! I'm sure this is gonna work! Sara called me..."
"Catherine..."
"...and then I told her to call Nick..."
"Catherine..."
"...and then she said she would, and she sounded really happy. So then..."
"CATHERINE!"
"What?" Catherine was not pleased to be interrupted. "Where are you and Greg anyways?"
"We're locked in some kind of closet in the hallway."
"What?" Catherine wasn't sure she heard right.
"Look Catherine, I don't feel like explaining now. Can you just come over and get us out? It's like, five feet from Sara's room."
"Well, I have to pick up Lindsey from a friend's house, can you guys hang on for another half hour?"
"Not much of a choice."
"Ok then, stay right there!"
"Haha, very funny." Warrick hung up with a sigh, at least help was on the way. Fifteen minutes passed by very slowly. Greg managed to scrounge up a game of Hangman (drawn on a gum wrapper) and challenged Warrick to at least ten Thumb Wars. They were in the middle of a particularly fierce Thumb War when they thought they heard footsteps. Greg withdrew his thumb and hissed.
"Psst, Warrick, someone's coming, it must be Catherine!"
"Hold on Greg, let's make sure first. I think there's a hole at the top of the door, do you think you can take a peek through here?"
"You're gonna have to give me a boost."
"Fine, if it's not Cath, we can hide in those boxes. We look like burglars. Last thing I want today is to get arrested." Warrick held out both hands and let Greg step onto them.
"See anything Greg?"
"Bit higher..bit more...I can almost...AHHHHHHHH!" Warrick lost his balance and a precariously positioned Greg came tumbling down on top of him. At that moment, the janitor flung the door open. His mouth was wide in shock as he observed Greg and Warrick entangled in what appeared to be a very intimate embrace. Warrick looked up and blanched.
"It's not what it seems..."
"Uhhhh..." For once, Greg was rendered speechless. The janitor looked away pointedly, and covered his eyes with a gnarled hand.
"Eh, look, I just need to get my mop. Then I'll uh, give you guys some privacy. But you do know there's a very nice hotel just a few blocks from here..." Warrick really wanted to die, right then and there. All of a sudden, he saw a pair on high heels appear next to the janitor's brown loafers. Catherine was standing there, leaning against a doorframe, laughing her innards out.
"Ha! Oh my God...haha...you guys look so cute...haha...together...!" Catherine was crimson in the face. Greg scowled and attempted to give her the finger, but only found himself slipping closer to Warrick's face. The janitor looked from Catherine, to Warrick, to Greg, and then shook his head. He quickly snatched the mop and ambled away mumbling about how the media was affecting young people these days. Greg scrambled up and staggered out of the closet. Warrick winced and sat up slowly. Catherine's eyes were still shining with barely suppressed laughter, and she motioned towards the stairs
"C'mon boys, I owe you a meal. And you can tell me all about how you and Greg got together..." Warrick and Greg followed her sulkily and refused to meet each other's eyes.
TBC...
