"Sanders seems to think you've got a new girlfriend." Warrick looked over at Nick skeptically as he drove back to the lab from the crime scene they had spent the last several hours processing. He was certain that if Nick was seeing someone, he would have heard about it well before Greg Sanders.

Nick looked guilty as hell and tried to swallow a grin as he arched his brows in an attempt to look surprised at Warrick's comment. "He told you that?" He wasn't sure how Greg could have known about his date with Sara in the first place, besides the fact that he and Sara hadn't talked about seeing each other exclusively, but he was pretty damn sure after their first date that he didn't want to see anyone else. He only hoped that she felt the same way.

Warrick quirked his brow as he read Nick's expression like a tabloid in the check out line. "You're seeing someone since when?" He knew that since he'd married Tina, he hadn't had as much time to hang out with Nick outside of work; but he was surprised that what Greg had told him was true.

Nick let out a soft chuckle as he considered that Sara must have said something to Greg and it made him feel pretty good that she was comfortable enough with the idea of them as a couple to mention it to Greg knowing that it would spread like wildfire around the lab.

"So is her name Natalie or Fiona? Sanders didn't seem to be too clear about that." Warrick's tone implied that Nick had better start spilling details and quick.

Nick snorted out a cough in surprise and looked at Warrick as if he had just grown a third ear. "Neither." It was clear that Greg hadn't talked to Sara; he'd over heard his phone conversation to his sister when he'd been making plans for the upcoming weekend.

"Neither." Warrick deadpanned as he glanced over at his friend. He clearly wasn't buying it.

Nick laughed at the ridiculous idea. "Natalie is my sister, and Fiona's my five year old niece. They're coming up from Dallas this weekend and he must have heard me talking to them on my cell phone." The thought occurred to him that no one probably even knew that he and Sara had gone on a date, or that they had another one right after shift was over. The thought of that second date brought a telling smile to Nick's face.

A perceptive Warrick honed right in on Nick's smile. "So who are you seeing and why haven't I heard about her?" Nick had never been one to keep his social life with the ladies a secret from Warrick, so he was sure that it wasn't going to be that difficult to get information out of him.

"We've been on one date...it's not exactly dating...yet." Nick couldn't stop the satisfied grin from spreading a bit wider on his face. He was excited to introduce Sara to his sister and he hoped that by the time the week was over that Sara would officially be his girlfriend.

"Yet." Warrick gave him a careful glance. It had been a while since he had seen his friend this excited about a woman and he hoped that he wasn't setting himself up for a fall. All of them had become a bit more protective of Nick since he'd been buried alive, and Warrick was sure that he was the most protective of all. He wasn't sure if that was a sign of true friendship or of trying to absolve himself of the guilt he couldn't let go of.

"We have another date after shift." Nick was still unsure what that date was going to consist of, but he didn't really care; spending time with Sara was enough.

The dopey look on Nick's face just made Warrick impatient. "Are you going to tell me who this mystery woman is?"

"Sara." Nick grinned even wider.

"Sara." Warrick sounded doubtful. It was no surprise to him that Nick was interested in her, what he was surprised about was that she had agreed to go out with him.

"Yeah Sara." Nick regarded Warrick with a smug expression. "We happened to have had a very good first date."

Warrick felt a rush of protectiveness, not just for Sara, but for Nick too. It was common knowledge that Sara had harbored feelings for Gil Grissom for a long time and Warrick wasn't completely convinced that one date with Nick was enough for that to fade into history. "Do you think that's a good idea?"

Nick looked at Warrick quizzically. "Excuse me?" Nick was a bit taken aback at Warrick's response.

"You work together." Warrick arched his brow at Nick. "Have you thought about what would happen if she's not as into you as you seem to be about her?" He knew he had a valid concern; that was one of the biggest reasons that he'd never pursued Catherine even though there had been sparks between them for years; he was sure that was also one of the biggest reasons that Grissom had never pursued Sara.

Nick wasn't about to tell Warrick about how Sara had propositioned him; that was a secret that he'd take to his grave. He leveled a serious gaze at Warrick. "I think it's worth the risk to find out. Life's just too damn short not to."

Warrick nodded in understanding. "Yeah." His rationale for marrying Tina as quickly as he did had everything to do with the frailty of life. He certainly couldn't fault Nick for acting on feelings for their coworker, especially given the fact that he'd stared death in the face and came out on top.

"Besides, you've been giving me hell for a long time about getting my act together to ask her out." Nick was grinning as he let out a laugh.

"I never thought you'd do it." Warrick couldn't resist jabbing back. Competition was an integral part of their friendship and after Nick had ribbed him mercilessly for eloping, it was time for a little payback, especially because the woman in question was Sara.

"Never say never, man." Nick looked rather pleased with himself as he glanced over at Warrick again.

"Just be careful, ok?" Warrick wasn't sure if he was warning Nick not to hurt Sara, or not to get his hopes up too high that she was it for him. What kind of friend would he be if he didn't show concern?

"I don't think you need to worry about me and Sara." Nick grinned again, this time with a mischievous glint in his eye. "I think you need to worry more about helping me figure out how to mess with Sander's mind for listening to my phone calls...how could he think I was dating my sister?"

Author's Note: Thanks for all your patience as I post these chapters far slower than I'd like to be. And thanks for all the kind thoughts from everyone with regards to my accident. Getting better, slower than I'd like, but I'll get there eventually.