Author's Note: Sorry for the lapse in updating the story. I had a bit of a fender bender over the weekend with a very large 3-point buck (May he rest in peace along with my friend's van which was totaled). I on the other hand came out of the van with a nice case of whiplash and then promptly tripped and fell into a ditch filled with sticker bushes in the dark and sprained my foot.
"Well there are two schools of thought...old school is to cut into the top of the pumpkin and scoop the goop out...but I prefer the newer method of cutting a hole in the bottom." Nick explained as he began to cut into the bottom of his enormous pumpkin.
Sara couldn't help but giggle at how serious he looked. "Ok, the bottom it is." She could definitely see the reasoning in doing it his way; it was much more efficient, the top wouldn't shrivel and fall into the carved out pumpkin, and most of all, she'd have that much more pumpkin to work with for what she had planned to carve.
Nick laughed heartily as Sara attacked her pumpkin with gusto. They were sitting at his dining room table, newspaper spread out, and knives in hand with a mixing bowl standing by to put the innards of the pumpkin into. By the time Nick was halfway through scooping out his pumpkin, he realized that he was going to need a second bowl.
Sara didn't notice the expression on Nick's face until she scooped out a glop of pumpkin goo and move to put it into the bowl and realized that Nick was staring at the overflowing mixing bowl wondering what else he had that was large enough to take care of the remaining pumpkin guts. She snorted out a laugh. "You know, it's too late to put it back if you've changed your mind...the pumpkin's already dead."
Nick looked at her for a fraction of a second until her smart ass comment sunk in and then he just grinned at her as he held a handful of goo up. "Oh, you're asking for it, Sidle."
Sara simply arched her brows in challenge. "I'm asking for it?" She had half a mind to fling a bit of pumpkin and seeds at him; a thought that had crossed her mind a time or two since they'd started carving. She really didn't think he'd do anything; that is until the soft thwack of goo hit her cheek. Wide-eyed in disbelief, she paused for a brief second and then flung pumpkin back at him.
What had started out as an opportunity to flirt that Nick just couldn't resist turned into a full-fledged goo fight. By the time they stopped a few minutes later, there were pumpkin innards all over the dining room table, orangey splatters on the walls, and bits of glop all over Nick and Sara who had both dissolved into fits of giggles at how ridiculous the whole situation was.
Nick flashed Sara a sheepish smile as he realized that maybe this wasn't the best way to impress her to get a second date. "I probably shouldn't have done that." Despite the organic facial she was getting from the pumpkin, Nick thought she looked absolutely beautiful.
Sara was unsure of where to start to clean up the mess and she smirked back at him. "It's your house." She would definitely volunteer to help him clean, but he didn't look all that upset about the squishy mess on his hardwood floor.
Nick smiled. "I meant about getting it on you." He stepped towards her and then reached over and wiped a bit of pumpkin off of her cheek wondering to himself what she'd do if he just leaned in and kissed her right then.
Sara found herself grinning at him; perhaps it was because of the pumpkin matted into his hair, or perhaps because of his deep chocolate brown eyes that had a mischievous twinkle in them; whatever it was, she was having fabulous time. "It beats the smell from a decomp."
"Yeah, it does." Nick decided that he would always remember this moment and while it wasn't full of wine and candlelight, he couldn't have found a more romantic moment to slip his fingers into her hair and lean in to softly kiss her.
Sara felt butterflies surging in her stomach as she kissed Nick back and wondered to herself how she could have ever thought she could have had him father a child and not feel a damn thing romantically for him. She was lost in the kiss for a long moment and when they broke it off, she couldn't stop smiling. She was definitely feeling something romantic for the man in front of her.
Nick whispered a bit huskily. "I just couldn't resist how beautiful you looked." He had wanted to kiss her for a long time and the reality was far better than any fantasy he might have entertained about his coworker.
Sara snorted out a laugh as she realized that they were both still covered in pumpkin goo and she felt anything but beautiful, but she followed it up by leaning in and kissing Nick with a bit of gusto, snaking her arms around his neck as his found their way around her waist.
Nick chuckled as they broke the kiss. "So does that mean you'd go out with me again?" He didn't know why, but he felt a wad of nerves in his stomach as he waited for her to answer. He didn't want to assume that her response to his kiss was because she was feeling what he was feeling; she had propositioned him and there was a slight doubt in the back of his mind that if they took things too fast, he was going to become a father before he was ready and get his heart broken in the process.
There was something in Sara's voice that shattered Nick's doubt into a million pieces. "Yeah, I'll go out with you again." She was glowing as she looked back up into his eyes.
"You will?" Nick sounded surprised in spite of himself and he pulled her a little bit closer.
Sara giggled. "Did you think I was going to say no?" Nick always seemed to wear his heart on his sleeve and she could see his insecurity a mile away.
"I didn't want to assume." Nick hoped that he wasn't so obvious with his fear and doubt that she'd pick right up on it. He wanted her to want to be with him because she cared for him, not because of what she ultimately wanted. She had been so hung up on Grissom for so long, that it was difficult for him to see that her feelings for him just might be genuine.
Sara smirked at him. "What does the evidence tell you?" She leaned in and kissed him again, smiling against his lips as she felt him do the same.
"I'd say that was a yes." Nick tried to swallow his smile with absolutely no success whatsoever as he pulled away. He glanced past her at the table with their half scooped pumpkins sitting on top of it and chortled out a laugh. "Maybe we should finish the first date though before we talk about the second."
Sara glanced over her shoulder and then back at him with a smug grin. "That's right, I still have to beat you at this pumpkin carving contest."
Author's Note: This is my kitten MacGyver's commentary on Nick kissing Sara. I walk away from the keyboard after that sentence for just a minute and look what he does. Gbhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh nmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm He has great promise as a writer don't you think?