"You ok?" Sara asked as she gently kneaded Nick's shoulders. His muscles were extremely tense.
"Yeah." He winced a little as Sara hit a particularly tender spot. Between processing that car and getting what felt like an interrogation from just about everyone in the lab, he was strung rather tight.
"You don't seem ok." It was merely an observation and her tone reflected that fact. They were sitting on her couch watching a marathon of Bugs Bunny cartoons on TV and Sara was sitting with one leg up bent in front of her and the other resting on the floor. They both sat a little sideways on the couch as she massaged his back.
"I just think people are a little too concerned about you and I." He let out a deep sigh.
"I know what you mean..." Sara considered whether she should tell him about a few of the conversations she'd had during shift and then thought that maybe it was better if she just told him later. He was tense enough as it was.
"I mean of all the people that I would have expected to give me the third degree, my parents were actually the coolest about it...they never really liked Amy when they met her...but you left an impression on them." He smiled as he glanced over his shoulder at her.
Sara quirked an eyebrow. "An impression...I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing." The fact that Nick's parents even knew they were seeing each other at all made her extremely nervous. Nick's mom had called him towards the end of his shift and he'd filled her in on what had transpired over the last few days. Ever since his ordeal it had become a bit of a ritual for her or his dad to call two or three times a week when they knew he'd be working and they were just starting their days to check up on him. Sara knew that Nick found it comforting to reconnect with his family at a deeper level, although she also knew that he was glad that they were in Texas and he was here; any closer and he said he'd feel like his mom would try and smother him with an over protectiveness that only a mother could have.
"Trust me, it's a good thing." He could sense her insecurity and was about to say something when he snorted out a laugh at what was on the TV screen. "I love this one." Bugs Bunny had just announced that he knew he should have turned left at Albuquerque as he popped up in the midst of a bull fighting ring.
Sara smirked and then snaked her arms around his waist. "You love them all." She closed her eyes as she leaned against his muscular back, her cheek against the fabric of his shirt, and let out a sigh.
Nick's hands came to rest over hers. "You ok?"
"I'm just tired, that's all." She answered him, not bothering to move. The feel of Nick breathing in and out gave Sara a feeling that she couldn't quite place and then she realized that it was overwhelming gratefulness that he was here like this with her; that he wanted to be with her.
"We could get some sleep." He had an impish tone in his voice that implied that he had more on his mind than just sleeping, but he wasn't going to push her if she just wanted to sleep.
Sara chuckled softly. "I suppose we could." She still made no move to release her hold on him. "Of course watching you watch cartoons is pretty entertaining..." She really didn't care what they did, she was just relishing in being close to Nick in a way she had never had the opportunity to before.
Nick turned to sit fully on the couch, pulling Sara against him as he did. This was a side of her that he'd never really seen before and he was finding it fascinating that she just wanted to sit there and hold him and just be held by him. There was something about the simplicity of this gesture that felt far more intimate to him than sex; it was both unsettling and comforting that he'd let someone in that close without really realizing it. The friendship that had grown between them for years had laid the groundwork for a romantic relationship that had roots far deeper than anything he'd had with any other woman.
They just sat there for a good long while, holding onto each other and watching cartoons. The questions and doubts from everyone else throughout their shift had just fueled a need for reassurance from each other and somehow just watching Bugs Bunny cartoons and laughing together did just that.
It wasn't until several hours later when Sara had changed into her pajamas and they were settling themselves into her bed that Nick felt that the whole situation was a bit ironic. It wasn't that he was awkward about being with Sara, it was that he'd had more than a few thoughts over the years about what it would be like to be with her in her bedroom; thoughts that he'd pushed away almost as soon as they'd come and now that he was here, it just felt so normal.
Sara turned towards him noticing the slightly odd expression on his face and she quirked an eyebrow at him. "What?" She felt a nervous flutter in the pit of her stomach that maybe he was having second thoughts about wanting to be with her, and then she reminded herself that they'd already had this conversation.
Nick looked over and smile. "It's just that I never thought I'd see the inside of your bedroom under these circumstances." He rolled onto his side and couldn't resist trailing his finger down the side of her cheek.
Sara's smile came unbidden to her face. "I see." She wasn't sure what he meant by that exactly, but she was going to take it at face value and live in the moment.
Nick's fingers were brushing an imaginary lock of hair off of her forehead. "Well under any circumstances really...well outside of the occasional fantasy..." He grinned as shock registered on Sara's face. "I'm just really glad that things ended up like this...that I ended up with you."
"Fantasy?" Sara was flattered and embarrassed all at the same time. She wasn't used to being the object of a man's desire, except perhaps Greg Sanders' and she really didn't think that counted.
Nick's hand came to rest on her hip and there was a husky tone to his voice when he spoke. "The real thing with you was far better than any fantasy I ever had about you, Sar."
Sara scooted closer to him, a smile on her face as she whispered. "And it was better than any fantasy I've ever had about you too." Her admission caused Nick to let out a deep chuckle which was muffled as he leaned over and began to nuzzle her neck. Sara let out a contented sigh as she felt his arm tighten around her waist and pull her closer. The feel of his lips against her skin made her feel slightly intoxicated, and as he finally sought out her mouth, she felt herself getting lost in the sensation of kissing Nick.
They lay there trading slow deep kisses, content to just hold onto each other until they edged towards sleep and were pulled into a deep peaceful slumber. It was the first time since his ordeal that Nick wasn't woken up by a nightmare.