She'd cried on his shoulder, practically died and he still couldn't bring himself to admit he had feelings for her; but she still couldn't bear to break it off. She'd already smashed her last bottle of beer against the wall; she wouldn't let him drive her to drink, not this time. Pacing around her apartment, she'd occasionally collapse on the couch or in a waiting chair, to bury her face in her hands and hold back welling tears. This routine was nothing new; over the last five years it had practically become a ritual. Yet she knew this time was different. If there was one thing seeing Nick in that box had made her realize, it was that she couldn't take this anymore. If she were to die tomorrow, she'd die miserable. There was no way around that. If he was going to break her heart, he was going to have to rip it out and stomp on it, no more cutting it out piece by piece.

She sighed and picked up the phone, cradled it for a second and then put it back. If she was in it, they were in it alone. Catherine wasn't going to bail out their relationship again. This wasn't a sinking rowboat; this was the Titanic heading for an iceberg.

She dressed and grabbed her keys off the table before heading out the door. She wanted to see Nick just in case she had to spend the rest of her weekend packing boxes. If Grissom let her walk away again, she wasn't planning on coming back.

As she neared Nick's hospital room, she slowed. The chance of Grissom being there this time of day was almost negligible, but if he was, she wanted to make sure she could make it back down the stairs before he even knew she'd been there. She had to make sure that the first and possibly last time they spoke since that night was on her terms. She paused outside the door, leaning her head against the wall. She needed a moment to collect herself and plaster on a fake cheery smile. She hated hospitals; she hated seeing Nick like this.

"Sara," came the all-too-familiar voice from behind her.

"I was just leaving," she said hurriedly, before Grissom could continue.

"But you just got here," he protested as he watched her head determinedly down the hall towards the elevator.

She brushed into a nurse almost knocking her back into the elevator as she rushed in, lost in her racing pulse.

"Hold the elevator," he called, weaving his way more carefully through the crowd.

Sara swore silently as the nurse reached back and grabbed the door before she'd had a chance to slam the door-close button.

"You're going to have to stop avoiding him sometime, honey," the nurse said with a knowledgeable smile.

Sara leaned back against the elevator suddenly overcome with emotion, the panic, the numbness and pain, the comfort and security. She'd been terrified and he'd been there, he'd been there over and over. Yet, she could possibly be ending all that and be making the biggest mistake of her life, because for as many times as he'd saved her from pain, he'd been the cause of more heartache.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't leave right now," she said the second the elevator doors had closed.

"Because I love you," he replied just as quickly.

Sara stumbled back, shocked that he'd known what she was referring to and even more surprised at what he'd actually said.

"It's what I've been trying to tell you for the last week," he continued. "I tried calling, but I kept getting the machine, and Catherine kept telling me I'd just missed you at the hospital. I was going nuts; I didn't know what to do." He let out a shaky breath that matched her own. "Sara, I love you," he repeated, moving closer.

She nodded, her mind spinning, her mouth suddenly dry, her palms sweaty.

"I don't know if I can do this," she said weakly, the sudden realization hitting her. For no matter how hard her heart ached, the possibility of actually letting him in scared her more.

"We can do this together," he said, his words now puffs of air against the side of her neck as he bent to kiss her.

Their eyes met in the instant their lips locked, no words needed to tell her she was making the right decision. She'd found her little piece of heaven and she'd fight like hell to keep it. In that moment, their silent prayers had been answered in their unspoken promise. No matter where her broken heart went, his would follow in tow.