When Sara woke up hours later, she didn't feel anywhere close to how sick she had felt when she'd gone to sleep and for that she was extremely grateful. She let out a yawn and stretched out in her bed, relishing in the cozy feeling of her flannel pajamas and the little cocoon of warmth her comforter had formed for her. She smiled as she thought about how great Nick had been about taking her home; interrupting his visit with Natalie and Fiona and then coming back to check on her. Her brow furrowed slightly as she wondered if he'd already left to go meet them for breakfast, or if he'd fallen asleep on her couch. She decided that since he hadn't checked on her that she was going to go check on him. She pushed the covers back and padded into her living room.

A smile stole across her face at the image of Nick sprawled out on her couch with an arm over his eyes and the other slung across his waist while his legs were barely hanging onto the edge of the couch. Sara couldn't help herself as she just stood there watching him sleep for a moment, stifling a snicker as he snorted in a breath and then startled himself awake.

"Uh, Sara, you ok?" He furrowed his brow in concern as he sat straight up and then launched himself into a standing position while rubbing the back of his neck. He was clearly still half asleep.

"Yeah, I'm good, actually." Sara's lips curled into a bigger smile as she stepped towards him. "I didn't mean to wake you up." She was standing in front of him now and reached up and slid her fingers through his hair to smooth it down garnering a sleepy smile from him.

"Good?" Nick looked at her hopefully. She had looked like she'd felt pretty sick earlier and he just wanted to make sure that he wasn't hearing things.

Sara nodded. "Yeah, I think it was just a 24-hour flu bug." And one she certainly did not want to have again by any stretch. She hadn't felt that sick in a long time and she was glad that she didn't have a fever and body aches anymore.

"Good." Nick smiled at her and then slid his arms around her waist and pulled her into a hug, his smile widening as he felt her slide her arms around his neck and melt against him. He murmured into her ear. "I was worried."

"I'm fine." Sara just wanted to stand there like that for a good long time, enjoying the feel of Nick's strong arms around her and the warmth of his firm body against hers. She couldn't help but think about the time that she'd spent convincing herself that she wasn't his type, that there was no chance that he'd never be interested in her romantically, and yet here she was.

Nick pulled away slightly with one eyebrow curved upwards as he looked at her inquisitively. "Think you might feel good enough to come have breakfast with Nat and Fiona?" He really wanted her to get the chance to spend some quality time with some of his family; maybe to gauge her reaction of what it would be like to spend time with all of his family.

"I'd love to." Sara eyed his lips for the briefest of moments before she leaned in and softly pressed her lips against his, feeling a flurry of what could only be called warm fuzzies in her stomach as Nick responded to it eagerly. They stood there like that for a long time trading soft slow kisses, neither one of them in any hurry to stop.

When they broke apart quite a few minutes later, Sara saw a look in Nick's eyes that she never thought she'd see directed at her, even though she was his girlfriend, and her breath seemed to catch as she realized that what she saw in them was desire for her. She felt a soft slow caress against her back and that's when it registered in her mind that his hand was splayed out across her back underneath her pajama top. As much as the idea of throwing all caution to the wind appealed to her, the idea that she and Nick might be building something that just might be a happily ever after of sorts restrained her. If this was the real thing, she wanted it to unfurl itself at its own pace. She leaned in and gave him a soft chaste kiss and then pulled away. "I think I need to grab a shower if I'm going to go with you to see Natalie and Fiona."

"Yeah." Nick's eyes had a sort of glazed lusty look in them and it took him a few moments to realize that he needed to slow his libido down a little and pace himself. Even in his daze, he knew that Sara was worth waiting for; he just hoped he wasn't in for a marathon. "I'll just give them a call and see what's up, ok?"

"Ok." Sara grinned at him and turned before she lost her resolve to head to the bathroom to take a shower.

Nick let out a deep breath as she disappeared down the hallway and sank back down into the couch. He felt like he was in completely over his head and he wasn't really sure what that meant exactly. He felt something for Sara that he'd never really felt with anyone else and it both scared him and excited him. The idea that maybe just maybe she might be 'the one' caused a brief feeling of panic to surge through him until he realized that she just might be 'the one'. He let out a soft chuckle and mumbled to himself. "You are so whipped Stokes."

Suddenly the idea that he might really be falling in love felt freeing; as if he didn't need to worry that he might never find true love. That is until the idea occurred to him that Sara just might not feel the same way; at least right this moment. He had to remind himself that they had time; hopefully plenty of time, maybe even a lifetime of time. He shook his head, trying to banish this line of thinking and then rummaged around on Sara's coffee table for his cell phone so he could call his sister.

Natalie picked up on the third ring just when Nick was beginning to worry that she wouldn't pick the phone up at all since she was staying at his house. "Hey, Nat." He let out a yawn and then chuckled. "She's doing fine...just a 24-hour thing...she's in the shower." Nick's felt his cheeks turning pink as he listened to Natalie's interrogation. "I was a perfect gentleman, Nat...I slept on the couch." He let out a loud snort. "That's for me to know...I think you're getting a little personal." A grin spread across his face. "Yeah, she's going to join us for breakfast...I'm glad you like her...I hope everyone else likes her too." Nick's grin widened perceptibly. "Yeah, I think she just might be."

The rest of the conversation was spent ironing out the details of where they were going to go for breakfast and just how much time they had before Natalie and Fiona needed to be at the airport to catch their flight to LA. He had just hung up when he heard the shower shut off and he realized that he just might need to grab a quick shower himself.

Sara emerged wrapped up in a robe and toweling her hair. She cast a sort of smirky smile at him as she gestured towards the bathroom. "I thought maybe you might want to take a shower here depending on what time we're meeting your sister."

"Yeah, that's a great idea." It was that sort of mind meld that he often shared with Sara that made Nick more than willing to fall for her.

"I put a couple of extra towels out on the counter for you." Sara smiled as Nick walked over to her and placed a sweet kiss on her mouth.

"Thank you." He grinned at her.

Sara watched as he sauntered down the hallway, glancing over his shoulder and winking at her as he disappeared into the bathroom. As soon as the door was closed Sara let out a contented sigh. Yes, she could definitely get used to this and there was something in her that wanted this in the worst way and as she tried to put her finger on it, she realized that she was pretty sure she was falling hard for Nick.