Sara was hunched over a layout table sorting through evidence from the case she'd been working all night. There was very little from what she had found that gave her any more clues than what was obvious at the crime scene and it was apparent that unless DNA or trace turned up something, there wasn't much she was going to be able to do. She sat back in her seat, letting out a deep sigh as she realized that she'd developed a bit of a kink in her neck. She could almost hear someone smiling and as she glanced up at the doorway she wasn't at all surprised to find Nick standing there looking at her with an impish smile on his face. She smirked. "How long have you been standing there?"
He chuckled softly and as he spoke his drawl was a little more pronounced than normal. "Not very long but long enough to know that you look like you need a break."
She knew that he meant taking a break from work, but what she really wanted was a break in her case. Her smile was a bit tired. "There is nothing here...nothing that can help me make any headway."
Nick knew she was frustrated; he'd seen her like this more times than he could count and he knew that she'd probably sit here until well past the end of shift searching for something just to find an answer. "What did the autopsy say?"
Sara shook her head and frowned. "The morgue is backed up so I won't know anything definitive for a while." She looked at Nick and couldn't help but smile. "How's your case?"
"'Bout the same as yours, trace and DNA are backed up too, so there isn't much to do for the moment." Nick looked rather excited at that prospect. "Want to go grab some coffee...or maybe go play a round of miniature golf?" He had learned that there was a miniature golf course in Vegas that was open all the time.
Sara snorted out a laugh at the golf comment. "It's three in the morning; I think I'll settle for the coffee." Her brow furrowed momentarily though. "Although I think Greg said something about being out of Blue Hawaiian." The last thing she wanted was the swill that the department sprung for and tried to label coffee.
Nick's smile blossomed into a full-fledged grin. "Starbucks never runs out of coffee...I was sort of thinking we could go out and grab some." He was frustrated about the lack of progress in his own case, but it served to give him an excuse to spend a little time with Sara in the middle of shift and there was no way he was going to be unhappy about that.
"Yeah, that sounds good." Sara let out a slight yawn and smiled. "Maybe when we get back one of us will have something useful for our cases." She slid off of the chair and walked over to where he was standing, her lips twitching up at the corners at the way he was smiling at her. Part of her just wanted to kiss him and part of her knew that it wasn't a good idea to get into a habit of that at work; especially since they'd only had one date so far. She still wasn't sure where this thing was going or if Nick was interested in going the direction that her heart had been pulling in for probably longer than she wanted to admit; even taking into consideration her obsession with Grissom. It was funny that she should think of Grissom just then; she had known deep down that a romantic relationship between them would never work, but she was competitive and somewhere in her screwed up thinking she felt like she had to win his affection to win. She hadn't really considered that what she needed was someone that really wanted her; someone who had the backbone to pursue her and let her know that she was worth it. She was willing to entertain the possibility that Nick might just be that man.
"...but it really is open twenty-four hours so I was thinking that we should go there sometime." Nick had been talking about something and he was smiling, not quite catching on to the fact that Sara had zoned out.
"Twenty-four hours, huh?" She hoped that he might give her some clue as to what he was talking about without having to admit that she hadn't heard what he'd said.
Nick just grinned, his hand drifting to the small of her back as they made their way down the halls of the lab towards the locker room so Sara could stow her lab coat. "Only in Vegas." He let out a soft chuckle. "Maybe we could go some night when we're both not working...that is if miniature golf sounds like something you'd like."
Sara looked at him a bit incredulously; he seemed to be talking far beyond another date and her heart skipped a beat as she considered that maybe he was feeling at least a little bit of what she was feeling. "Yeah, that sounds fun." She couldn't remember actually ever taking the time to play miniature golf; and the thought of regular golf did nothing to excite her, but spending time with Nick did.
They rounded the corner into the locker room and as Sara hung up her lab coat, Nick couldn't help but watch her. Sara glanced up at him and snickered at the expression that flitted across his face at getting caught. "You know, you're starting to make a habit out of that..." She wanted to say that it also made her feel a little strange being stared at.
"I couldn't help myself." Nick wasn't at all ashamed of being caught looking; it gave him the lead in he'd been wanting to talk about what he was feeling and it seemed that there was no time like the present while Sara seemed to be fixated on something at the back of her locker just before she pulled her purse out and closed the locker door. Nick cleared his throat. "Sar?"
She glanced up at him and noticed a look that she couldn't quite place. "Yeah?" There was a nervous intensity to his gaze and she felt a fluttering sensation in her stomach.
Nick felt more like a sixteen year old than a grown man at that moment and he let out a nervous laugh, taking a step towards her. "I had a really good time on our date yesterday..."
"I did too." Sara sincerely hoped that he did not want to have a serious conversation right in the middle of the locker room. As much as she was curious about how he was really feeling about her; a coffee shop seemed a far more appropriate place to talk, she'd even settle for the interior of a Denali.
Nick reached over and tucked a curl behind her ear wanting very much to lean in and steal a kiss; he settled for a grin instead. "And I'm looking forward to going out again after shift." He wasn't sure why it was so hard to get the words out; why he couldn't just tell her that he didn't just want to take her on dates; he wanted to date her.
Sara realized that a serious conversation was exactly what he had in mind, and she furrowed her brow, her lips pursing together as she cleared her throat and took a step back looking him straight in the eyes. Nick's expression faltered for a moment until Sara forced a smile and said something. "Look, Nick...I'm really looking forward to spending time with you too...but I really don't want to talk about this..." she fumbled with her words for a moment "...here that is."
A sort of half smile flashed across Nick's face as the sounds from the bustle of people in the hallway filtered in. "Yeah...sorry."
Sara shook her head, smiling. "Don't be...I just feel like the walls have ears sometimes." She knew that fact all too well. It seemed that every time she had made a fool of herself over Grissom in front of Grissom word had spread like wildfire around the lab and she knew Gil Grissom well enough to know he would have been the last person to share the information. She didn't want whatever was going on between her and Nick reduced to gossip around the lab until she knew where things were headed.
"Ain't that the truth?" Nick nodded in understanding; there had been plenty of talk about him and his life over the years; it seemed the more personal the information, the faster it spread. He cared about Sara and he didn't want people to think that she was just another girl to him; and he certainly didn't want her to think that she was just another girl in a long line thanks to the over inflated reputation of being a ladies man that Greg Sanders had helped to create.
Sara smiled at him, certain that she'd get a kiss out of him somewhere in this little outing. She arched her brows at him and spoke in a conspiratorial tone as she threaded her arm through his and propelled him towards the doorway. "Now it seems to me that someone suggested going to Starbucks."