Title: Silver Lining

Disclaimer: Do you really have to rub it in? They're not mine.

Spoilers: "Mea Culpa" (in other words, that big bad thing that happens mid-way through the fifth season)

Rated: For a few words

A/N: This is a bit more fluffy and… out of character a bit?... then I a) have ever written and b) had initially planned on. But I hope you guys like it.

Ecklie was, and there was no other way of putting it, an ass. A complete and total ass. Was there any other name for the man who severs a team without so much as a second thought about the people he'd be tearing apart, or for that matter, demoting, just to spite Grissom? For a man who cornered every CSI on graveyard shift to manipulate from them the answers he'd wanted to hear? Grissom said Ecklie "doesn't have a scientific bone in his body"; that he decided the answers then constructed the questions. His answer this time? Effectively crippling the graveyard shift by splitting it in two. The question? "How can I hit Grissom below the belt?"

Ecklie was an ass.

But, Nick had always been brought up to look on the bright side of things; he was a "glass half full" kind of guy, or at least he tried to be. So when Grissom delivered the news, Nick was very surprised when he could not find a single good thing about it. No more joking around with Greg during breaks, no more of that famous Blue Hawaiian but most of all, no more of a certain Miss Sara Sidle. Nick had nursed a soft spot for the brunette for longer than he cared to admit, and had been, over the past few weeks, attempting to work up the courage to tell her. This shift split squashed that plan.

It wasn't until a few weeks after that Nick found something to be happy about.

Whenever their shifts overlapped, Sara seemed to find excuses to see him; she'd run into him in the break room, or happen to get her results from the lab at the same time he did. It was nice, he admitted when he confronted her about it. She laughed, but her eyes had a sad sort of look to them when she told him she really missed him. He assured her that the feeling was mutual and they'd made plans to meet up at the diner when they both had time.

Ever since, it had become a tradition to hang out. Whenever they could, Nick would rent a movie and Sara would get some take-out, and they'd meet at Nick's place to sit and lounge on the couch. They'd been through quite a number of movies so far, and Nick took comfort in the fact that whenever it was time to go, Sara didn't seem like she was all that eager to leave.

Nick started to build up that courage again.

Tonight was another of their movie nights, same as all the rest, but if things went Nicks way, completely different. Tonight, he decided, he'd tell Sara.

She arrived the same time she always did, balancing two boxes of pizza and a six pack of beer.

"Hey Sara" he greeted her, opening the door.

"Yeah yeah" she smiled, "How about a little help here?"

Nick shook his head and laughed, but grabbed the two pizzas from her, setting them down on the coffee table. Sara followed him inside, closing the door before she walked into the kitchen. Nick grinned to himself; he could hear her rummaging through his fridge to find a spot for the beer.

By the time she finally came out of the kitchen, two bottles in hand, Nick had already opened one box of pizza, munching contentedly on what appeared to be a slice of pepperoni and hamburger from his seat on the couch.

"Nice choice in toppings" he told her, taking another bite, "But what are you going to eat?"

Sara rolled her eyes, gesturing to the second, unopened box. She handed Nick his beer before sitting next to him. "I got veggie" she explained, opening the box to reveal a pizza laden with broccoli, peppers, and tomatoes.

"That doesn't look so bad" Nick observed, surprised.

"Well, you're welcome to it" Sara offered, grabbing a slice.

Nick cast a second glance over her pizza before staring lovingly at his own. "I think I'll stick with mine" he decided.

"Suit yourself" Sara shrugged, before asking, "So…what movie did you get this time?"

"Uh, well…its, uh, How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days" Nick admitted sheepishly, holding up the DVD case

"What?" Sara started laughing. "You mean Nick Stokes went to a video store by himself and rented, of his own free will, a chick flick!"

"I figured you might be getting tired of Lethal Weapon movies" Nick protested, feigning sorrow.

"Aww, did I hurt Nicky's feelings?" Sara played along.

Nick just nodded, pouting.

Sara rolled her eyes, but scooted closer to Nick on the couch, leaning against him and resting her head on his shoulder. "How can I make it up to you?"

Nick pretended to think for a moment, scrunching his face up in mock concentration, before deciding, "Come with me to breakfast. We both have tomorrow off."

"Deal" Sara agreed, smiling as she felt Nick's arm loop around her shoulder. "Now, I recall someone told me we have a movie to watch."

Nick grinned, pressing 'play' on the remote as he felt Sara snuggle into his side. The opening credits rolled across the screen, and both Nick and Sara turned their attention to the movie. That didn't stop Sara however, from burrowing her head unconsciously into Nick's shirt as the movie progressed. Nor did it stop Nick from brushing his fingers absentmindedly up and down Sara's arm.

By the time the movie had ended, the pair had drifted close enough to each other that Sara felt a delicate blush creep onto her cheeks. She cleared her throat, but made no attempt to move. "That was actually a really good movie" she yawned, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

"Yeah" Nick agreed, "Though it lasted a little longer than I thought it would."

Sara sighed, extracting herself from Nick as she sat up. "I should probably be getting home then…"

"You ok to drive? You look kind of tired" Nick asked, knowing what her answer would be.

"I'm fine. I'll see you for that breakfast later, ok?" she assured him.

"Sara, c'mon, crash here tonight. You're obviously exhausted…I'll take the couch and you can have the bed."

Sara shook her head, "I'll stay, but you get the bed. I'm sure the couch is fine."

"But it's not" Nick laughed, "It's completely uncomfortable. You take the bed."

"No way I'm letting you take the couch in your own house" Sara told him, returning to her seat on the couch.

"Fine then, we'll share the bed" Nick offered, in what he hoped was a casual tone, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.

She looked like she was about to say something in protest, but to Nick's surprise she merely shrugged, "If you're sure you're ok with that."

Nick grinned broadly, throwing an arm over her shoulders. "I always knew you wanted to sleep with me" he teased.

"Who invited who?" Sara raised an eyebrow.

"So you think I'm trying to seduce you?" Nick asked, sounding amused.

Sara leaned into him, and raised her face up to his. For a moment, Nick though she was going to kiss him, but instead she whispered into his ear, her breath tickling the side of his face, "If that's what you're doing, you need to try a little harder."

"Oh yeah?" she heard Nick say, before she felt herself being pushed gently into a lying position on the couch, Nick's arms on either side of her. She was effectively pinned. "How about now?" he grinned, his face inches away from hers. Sara unconsciously licked her lips.

For a moment, the two just watched each other, searching the other's face. Neither wanted to cross the line if the other didn't. Brown eyes met, scanning the other's expression. They stayed like that for a good minute or two, before Nick hear Sara smile, "Much better."

That's all it took; with no further hesitation, Nick's lips crashed into hers unapologetically in a searing kiss. He felt Sara's lips curl into a smile against his, inviting him to deepen the kiss as she wound her arms around his neck.

Nick was the first to pull away, but just barely. He spoke softly, "You wanna know something?"

She nodded.

"I think that was about five years overdue" he admitted, and despite the fact that he'd just shared with her the most amazing kiss he'd ever had, he felt a definite blush appear on the back of his neck.

Nick vaguely though he heard her murmur, "That makes two of us", before she pulled his lips back down to meet hers.

Later, as a very contented-looking Sara lay comfortably in his arms, Nick contemplated. Maybe the trail of discarded clothes leading to his bedroom, or the fact that Sara was sleeping next to him, proved that Ecklie's decision to split the shifts wasn't an all bad idea. It had taken him a while, but Nick finally found his silver lining.

A/N: What do you guys think?