The Panicked
Summary: Sara couldn't believe it. They'd just found each other and now they were being ripped apart. WarrickSara.
A.N.: A WarrickSara drabble (or rather short story) to get me back into the swing of things. BEFORE THE WHOLE 'GRAVE DANGER' SITUATION – I can't stress it enough! Companion to 'The Hostage' - which will be up within the next day or so.
The first she'd heard of it was when Greg came bounding into 'her' office and announced that Warrick had been taken. Her first instincts were to break down and cry but she couldn't. She couldn't because no one at work knew about them yet; she couldn't because they'd only been together a few days; and she couldn't because she had to be strong and get him back.
She raced Greg back to his Denali and had strapped herself into the driver's seat, glaring at Greg to stifle his protests of her driving. Greg had barely got his seatbelt on before she gunned the accelerator and was off to the scene.
When she got there and Grissom saw her running towards the house, he had Nick run to catch her before she put herself in the line of fire or Warrick in anymore danger. Nick caught her gracefully in his arms and had to hold on tight as Sara started to hit his chest over and over again, demanding to be let go through the tears pouring down her cheeks. He held her tightly as they dropped to the ground where he rocked her back and forth.
"Sara," Grissom said softly as he walked over to her and Nick, "I know you and Warrick are close, but I need you to stay away from the house before you put him in anymore danger." He walked away.
"Nick, I can't lose him," she whispered firmly into his shoulder.
"The way Grissom and Catherine are working at negotiating with the suspect, you're not going to." He lifted her head up and cupped it in her hands. "You got that?"
She nodded as best she could before erupting into fresh sobs and losing it all over again.
-.-
Three hours later and there was still no sound from inside the building. Grissom, Catherine, Greg and Brass were talking to a group of SWAT officers about the status of the hostage situation, whilst other officers milled around on the furthest side of the road.
Nick had Sara sitting in the passenger side of his Denali and was standing in front of her, hands clasped in her lap, so tight that her knuckles had turned ghostly white. Nick took the plunge and asked her, "Are you and Warrick together?"
Sara flung her head up from the headrest and upon seeing genuine concern in his eyes instead of amusement, she nodded. "A few days."
"Days?" Nick frowned, confused for a moment.
Sara knew it. She knew Nick was thinking that she was over-reacting to the situation, having only been with him for a few days of her life. She voiced as much to him, earning a shaking head and a tighter grip on her hands.
"You're not over-reacting, Sara. If it was someone I loved and cared for, I'd be acting exactly like you are right now."
"So why did you look like that a minute ago?"
"What, like this?" he frowned again. Sara quirked her lips into the tiniest smile Nick had ever seen. "It's just, you guys. You've been fooling around and flirting with each other for so long now. I'm just surprised it's taken you so long." Sara's smiled at little more.
Just then, a huge commotion blew up around the officers and Grissom shouted to Sara. He pointed to the door and saw Warrick walking out of the building, suspect held out in front of him. She pushed off the jacket Nick had wrapped around her. Nick stepped aside so she could get out.
She let Warrick hand off the suspect and spot her in the shadows before walking towards him. He smiled at her and she grinned back just as brightly, before speeding up her pace and running into his arms, Warrick meeting her in the middle.
He held her tightly, wrapping his arms around her waist and lifting her off the ground. She buried her head into his shoulder and cried in happiness that Warrick was safe and sadness for whatever could have happened. Warrick put her down and cupped her face before pressing her lips to hers for a searing kiss. Her arms automatically went around his neck and Sara kissed back firmly.
Nick looked over at Grissom to see him shocked and Catherine smiling before he, too, smiled.
They pulled apart and Warrick rested his forehead against Sara's. "I know this is probably going to sound crazy and I know we've only been together for a coupla days, but after that, I don't want to die without knowing what it would be like to be with you for the rest of my life. Marry me."
Sara stayed silent, letting it all turn in her head. A smile crept onto her face. She hugged him tightly, whispering "yes" through her tears.
THE END