Writing on a Blank Slate
Disclaimer: I don't own CSI.
Rating: M for later content (please note that this is a precautionary measure: I don't plan on getting too carried away!)
Chapter 8: "I'm in no rush."
The kept stealing glances at one another all day. Nick's hand seldom left Sara's thigh, where it rested as naturally as if he had been placing it there for the last five years. When they had to stop at an intersection he leaned across and kissed her until the driver in the car behind honked his horn in impatience.
When a love song came on the radio he sang along, grinning at Sara the whole time until she was laughing so hard she had to pull over. After that she had him drive and it was her turn to rest her hand on his thigh.
They walked into the motel reception area that night hand in hand, still laughing.
"Double room?" the motel clerk asked in a tone of voice that clearly indicated that he really couldn't care less.
That silenced both of them. It wasn't that the thought of sex hadn't crossed both their minds that day – it had, repeatedly – but it was still less than twenty-four hours since their first kiss.
"Sara?" Nick asked, putting the ball in her court. Given the doubts she had expressed that morning he wanted to make it clear that he wasn't just trying to get her into bed.
She hesitated, biting her lip in her classic 'nervous' face, and he decided for her.
"Two rooms, thanks."
The clerk shrugged again and passed them their registration forms. The relieved smile on Sara's lips told Nick that he had made the right decision.
She found her voice on the way back to the car.
"Hey, Nick?"
He smiled at her. "Yeah?"
"Thanks."
He squeezed her hand and nudged her playfully with his shoulder.
"Hey, I'm in no rush." He wrapped his arm about her and squeezed her close. "Far as I'm concerned, we've got all the time in the world."
"Nick?" she asked again, stopping.
"Yeah?"
"I love you too."
His grin widened and he hugged her again, then pulled away. "C'mon darlin', let's get to bed. We've got a whole country waiting for us tomorrow."
It was only later, as she lay staring at the ceiling and replaying the events of the day in her head that she realized he had called her 'darling.'
The next morning Nick rolled over and reached for Sara, coming fully awake when he realized that she wasn't there, and only then remembering that she was in the next room. He smiled and rolled onto his back, clasping his arms behind his head as his mind drifted back over the day before.
He could understand her insecurities, he thought, especially given her history with Grissom and Hank, not to mention the fact that she had spent part of her childhood in foster care. Life hadn't really given her much to feel secure about up until now, and he was determined that things would be different from now on.
Strange to think that while he had been growing up in Texas surrounded by a loving family, on the other side of the country a young Sara had been spending her childhood alone, unloved and abused. His smile faded at the memory of the one truly dark cloud over his own happy youth. That alone had caused him enough pain over the years: he couldn't imagine how Sara, or any other victim of repeated abuse, must feel.
The sound of singing interrupted his thoughts before he could get too depressed, and he smiled. Sara must be in a good mood if she was singing in the shower.