Disclaimer: I don't own them, I didn't create them, and I don't profit from them. However, if I ever had the opportunity, I'd love to have coffee with George and Jorja...ok, and watching an episode get filmed would be pretty cool too.
Author's Note: This is a sort of post-ep to Grave Danger and is a work in progress...so be patient...I just got online service at home again and I'm trying to find things in boxes...unpacking after moving is no fun.
She was a welcome site in the middle of a long shift. As Nick walked back into the lab and noticed his girlfriend Amy standing in the reception area a smile immediately stole across his face. He glanced over at his partner for the night and quirked an eyebrow. "Meet you in the layout room in a few minutes, Sar?"
Sara's flashed him a knowing smile. "Take your time." She knew how much Nick liked Amy and she wouldn't begrudge him a few minutes alone with the woman who had helped keep Nick afloat after his ordeal of being buried alive a month ago. She had gotten to know Amy a little bit, and though she hadn't really liked her at first, the fact that the petite blond hadn't abandoned Nick in his darkest hour had impressed her enough to like her because Nick did.
Nick smiled as he approached Amy. "You're out late." It was just an observation, and he couldn't help but show how pleased he was to see her as he leaned in to softly kiss her.
Amy's smile seemed a bit forced as she took a step back and looked at Nick. "Hey."
"You ok?" Concern flashed across his face as he realized that it must be pretty important if she was coming to see him at work.
She nodded although her expression wasn't all that convincing. "Do you think we could go outside for a minute?"
"Uh, sure." Nick nodded and then reached for Amy's hand, giving it a squeeze. He hoped that what ever was bothering her wasn't too serious, they had been seeing each other for two months and he had been pleasantly surprised that she hadn't bolted after his ordeal. The least he could do after all she'd done for him was listen to whatever was on her mind.
As they stepped outside, Amy pulled her hand out of Nicks and looked at him; her eyes wide. "Uh, this is really hard for me to say."
"Whatever it is you can tell me, babe." Nick's brow was furrowed and he reached out and touched her face tenderly.
Amy let out a frustrated sigh and seemed to be trying to hold her chin steady as she tried to stifle a sniffle. "It's just that I...I'm just not sure..."
Nick pulled her into his embrace and held onto her. "Hey, Aim, whatever it is you can tell me." He wondered what it was that had upset her.
Amy pulled away and steeled herself, her voice catching a little as she forced the words out. "I can't do this."
Nick looked a little confused at her body language. "Can't do what?" He felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.
"This. Us." She let out a bitter laugh in an effort to keep from crying because of an overwhelming sense of guilt as she gestured between them.
"What?" Nick looked shocked and then hurt spread across his face as he realized what was happening.
"Nick, I'm sorry, but I just can't see you any more." Tears were slipping down her face. "I know you think I'm so strong, but I just can't handle it any more." Her voice was barely a whisper.
"You're breaking up with me." Nick needed to hear himself say the words out loud so that he knew he wasn't having some horrible dream; that it was just another part of the horrible reality he'd been living for the last month. Once his parents had gone back to Texas, Amy and his friends at work had been the entire bright spot in his life since his ordeal.
"I'm sorry, Nick." Amy looked pained. She decided that she just needed to be honest with him and lay it all out on the table so that he didn't carry on some false hope that they might get back together someday. "I've been thinking about this for a while...since before actually..." Her words trailed off as she watched his face.
Nick looked as if he'd been slapped in the face. "So you stayed with me because you felt sorry for me." He was on the verge of tears himself.
Amy shook her head. "It's not like that...I care about you, I do...I just..." She realized that there was really nothing that she could say to make him understand that she wasn't ready to settle down and be the woman that he was looking for deep down.
"No." Nick blinked back tears. "Don't say anymore. You should go...I have to get back to work." He turned and headed back into the lab, only somewhat surprised that she didn't call out after him. He stopped by the men's room to compose himself and splash some water on his face before he went looking for Sara in the layout rooms.
Sara didn't even glance up as she heard Nick walk in and there was teasing in her tone. "I half expected to see you disappear for the rest of shift." When he didn't say anything, she glanced up and then noticed the somber expression on his face. "Nick?"
Nick hoped that they could just focus on the case and he pulled on a pair of latex gloves as he studied the carefully sorted piles Sara had started to make from the bag of trash they'd found in the kitchen of their victim; he hadn't really heard her say his name.
"Nick." Sara's voice was insistent.
Nick glanced up, noting the concern on Sara's face and feeling a wave of emotion welling up. "Yeah?" He hoped that his voice sounded steadier to her than it felt to him.
"Are you ok?" Sara knew that something had happened. "What's wrong?"
Nick knew Sara well enough to know that she could read him like a book, so he just cut to the chase. "She broke up with me." He cursed inwardly as he felt tears threatening again.
"Oh, Nick." Sara was both hurt and angry for her friend. He'd been through hell and the last thing that he needed was one more thing to crush him.
"She said she couldn't handle it anymore; that she'd been thinking about it even before..." Nick sniffled, feeling a bit ashamed that he was falling apart in front of Sara. But then again, she was a good friend, and she'd proven to be an even better friend after his ordeal. "I really thought she was the one, Sar."
A few choice words flitted through Sara's mind, but she bit them back as she stood up from her chair forgetting the evidence at the layout table as she stepped towards him and pulled him into a comforting hug. "She's a fool, Nick."