A/N –

Wow….gumdrops rocks!

Ha ha ha enjoy!

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On a plane currently one and a half hours from Vegas filled with fellow troops, Nick Stokes was a happy man. Grinning from ear to ear, he was excited to be returning home from Iraq; to, like most of the boys here, a beautiful girl whom he loved deeply. But unlike most of these guys, the girl he was going to see had absolutely no idea where he was, or how right now, he was speeding towards her...

Heck, Sara didn't even know he loved her.

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All your life you've waited
For love to come and stay
And now that I have found you
I must not slip away


I know its hard believing
The words you've heard before
Darling you must trust them please
Trust them just once more

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Nick thought since he would be getting home three hours after Sara's shift would be over, that she would either still be at work pulling a double or be sound asleep at home, and she needed her rest. He would tell her he was home tomorrow.

Now Nick wasn't against the idea of finding Sara at work, in fact he knew later, if they were still on friendly terms, she would be angry for prolonging their separation by not finding her. But somehow, Nick needed to see Sara first, and he needed to see her alone. He needed her to know his feelings about her, and he wanted to know her feelings about him…immediately. If he went to the lab, he would be bombarded with everyone – something he knew he just wasn't ready to deal with.

He knew that telling her he loved her would be huge for Sara – a definite life altering discovery for her; for both of them, yes, but mostly for her. He knew she had probably never truly been in love before with anything – between her shitty childhood, her obsession with Grissom, and her brief infatuation with Hank, Nick was fairly sure she'd spent her entire life being unloved.

He was about to change everything she had ever known, and he knew good or bad, neither of their lives would ever be the same.

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Cause baby goodbye doesn't mean forever
Let me tell you goodbye
Doesn't mean we'll never be together again


If you wake up and I'm not there
I won't be long away oh
And all the things you do my goodbye girl
Will bring me back to you

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The plane finally landed, and he prepared to say his final goodbyes to the men he come to know so well. They all had family waiting for them at the gate, and Nick knew it would just hurt to have to wait for them to see their families before saying goodbye, so he planned to say it to everyone before they all left the plane.

"Hey guys, this is your Captain speaking. We have successfully landed and are preparing to dock in approximately five minutes. Your families wanted you to know they are anxiously waiting seeing you. Please be patient as we dock, but feel free to turn on your cell phones and make whatever calls you like. On behalf of Continental Airlines, I would like to thank you for serving our country. Welcome home boys, and God bless America."

A cheer rang out throughout the cabin and the men hugged each other firmly. As Nick weaved his way through the small space of the airplane aisle way saying goodbye to each one of his friends, he knew this wouldn't be the last time they spoke.

Goodbyes weren't forever.

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I know you've been taken
Afraid to hurt again
You fight the love you feel for me
Instead of giving in


But I can wait forever oh
Helping you to see
That I was meant for you my love
And you were meant for me

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A few hours later, Nick finally had been able to claim his things and call for a cab to pick him up. As he sat on a bench waiting for it to come, he let thoughts of Sara drift back into his mind.

He wondered yet again if Sara had ever experienced true love. A horrendous thought suddenly ran though his mind; what if she'd never even had someone tell her they love her?

No. Can't be. Had he ever told her that? Nick didn't think he had, and a heavy wave of regret washed over him.

Most likely, someone had told Sara before that they loved her. Hank maybe, or a foster parent perhaps. But true love? The die-for-you kind? Nick didn't think so. And if Hank or any of her other old boyfriends had told her that to get her into bed, then they surely didn't love her.

It would probably be hard for Sara to understand or believe that Nick loved her as much as he really did; Nick understood this. And he was ready to prove it to her; he was ready to wait, to understand, to be the shoulder she needed to cry on.

He was ready to wait for her, as long as she needed him, he would be there.

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Remember goodbye doesn't mean forever
Let me tell you goodbye
Doesn't mean we'll never be together again


Though we may be so far apart
You still have my heart
So forget your past my goodbye girl
Now your home at last... at last

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The cab came and picked Nick up. The driver was nice; he nodded in appreciation and awe to Nick as he helped Nick load his many bags into both the trunk and back of the cab. He was courteous as the chatter died down and Nick was grateful; it gave him time to think, something he desperately needed right now.

The fact that Nick was very close to where Sara was now hitting him very hard. His dose of reality was strong as he realized in less than twenty-four hours he would be telling Sara he loved her.

It had all seemed so fine and dandy as he was in Iraq; he could sit and fantasize about Sara and how she would admit her undying love to him as well. But now, here, he was literally hours away from actually knowing whether or not his life dreams could become realities.

Without doing anything extroadinary, Sara had captured Nick's heart. He chuckled softly as he recalled the famous saying, "Distance makes the heart grow fonder." How true that was for them.

He hoped Sara could muster the courage to give him a chance. Nick had already gone over in his mind one thousand times the unlikeliness of Sara actually accepting the love Nick was about to offer. And he understood why.

Sara was a person based on fact. She wanted every answer to her every question perfect and tied up in a bow, and love is certainly not that way. Maybe that's why she became a CSI, and maybe that was why her past relationships had failed so miserably. But Nick was not going to let that happen.

At long last, he was home, and he was prepared to fight his hardest for the woman he so greatly loved.

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Though we maybe so far apart
You still have my heart
So forget your past my goodbye girl
Now your home at last oh
It doesn't mean forever


A goodbye doesn't mean we'll never be together oh

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The cab ride remained silent as Nick came within miles of his home. He was beginning to feel that knot of nervousness in the pit of his stomach that he knew wouldn't go away until he saw Sara.

She would be so surprised he was home; for the first time, he wondered what her reaction would be. Good, he hoped. He felt the smile on his face as he thought of how if he saw her happy and excited to see him, it would give him that last little push of courage he needed to tell her the truth.

It seemed like it had been forever since Nick had seen Sara on the day he had left her standing at the airport. They had said goodbye, and though each pretended to say it as if they would see each other the next day, they each knew in their hearts it was fake; an attempt to make the other feel better. They had both been fully aware how long it would truly be until they saw the other again; hell, Nick could have died over there.

But goodbyes were never forever.

Nick knew this, and he knew Sara did not. She had stared at him that day as if she'd never see him again.

But even if he had died, Sara would have seen him again. In the things she did, in the way she lived, in the memories she had. And after she passed on, she would see Nick again; this Nick felt was a fact.

True love never dies.

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Goodbye doesn't mean forever
Please remember goodbye

Goodbye Goodbye girl

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Nick smiled as the cab pulled onto a street that was only a few away from his own.

Home, he thought.

Home.