"Natalie and Fiona loved you. I'm really glad that you had the chance to meet them, Sara." Nick was looking intently at her as they snuggled together on her couch, trying to stretch out this alone time together as long as possible. They had just gotten back from dropping Natalie and Fiona off at the airport and Nick knew that he should probably head home and get a few hours of sleep before shift began, but at the moment, he really wasn't feeling all that motivated to move away from Sara.
"Me too." She couldn't help it as her lips twitched up into a smile. Not just because she really had enjoyed meeting them, but because being tangled up with Nick on her couch felt like near bliss and she really didn't want him to leave.
"You know, I'm pretty certain that the rest of my family would love you too." There was something hanging there unspoken in the air; that maybe the reason he felt that way was because he loved her, but he wasn't sure he should say it quite yet.
"Is that so?" Sara could see something in his eyes that caused her heart to flip and she snuggled a bit closer to him. "How can you be so sure?" She wasn't sure why she was pressing the issue a little; maybe it was her insecurity and maybe it was just the whole line of conversation and the desire that she had to be a part of a family that would really love her.
"Because I know them." Nick swallowed hard and cinched his arms around her a little tighter. "And I know you." He knew exactly how he felt about Sara, but he just wasn't ready to say it, at least until he'd gathered up a little more courage.
"So do you think they'll bring you back some mouse ears?" Sara smirked at him. She had gotten Natalie to promise that she'd email the picture of Nick in the ears and his birthday suit and she couldn't help but tease him about it.
Nick smirked back at her, trying to stifle thoughts of her in nothing but Minnie Mouse ears personalized with her name. "I'm sure they'll bring you some too. And I'm also sure that we'll never live it down; knowing my sisters, they'll make a point of bringing us both mouse ears."
"So exactly how long did you wear those ears around anyway?" She had always envisioned Nick wearing a cowboy hat when he was a kid; the Mickey Mouse ears were something new.
"Why don't we let that drop for now?" He did not want to admit how long he'd worn them around; that information would come out eventually. He was more inclined to try and change her focus for a little while.
Sara was about to probe a little further about the embarrassing photo when Nick's lips pressed softly against hers and she forgot all about it for the moment. She was always surprised by how soft his lips were and as the kiss deepened, she had a fleeting thought about just skipping work altogether and spending some quality time making out with Nick.
They broke apart quite a few minutes later and an impish grin spread across Nick's face. "I could really get used to that." How he'd managed to keep from asking Sara out for five years was beyond him; and he'd be damned if he wasn't going to give this relationship everything he had.
"I don't think I'll ever get used to that." It was clear from the tone in Sara's voice that she thought that was a good thing. Her brow furrowed slightly as a thought crossed her mind and she let out a soft sigh.
Nick registered the change in her expression and he wondered if he'd somehow done something, or if maybe she was having second thoughts about this whole thing. "Everything okay?"
"It's perfect." She tried to reassure him with a smile and then let out a soft laugh. "Really." She sighed again. "I just keeping thinking about how I should have never asked you what I did...that I don't think I really understood the implications of it all."
Nick looked at her a bit oddly, he wasn't sure he was following. "Oh." There was a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.
"I mean if you had agreed to it; what would you have said to Fiona; how could you have possibly explained it to her?" There was a little catch in Sara's voice. "I think I was being really selfish wanting a baby with no strings attached." She let out another sigh. "I shouldn't have put you in that position of asking you that in the first place."
"Oh, Sara." Nick wished that he could have wiped away every memory of every man that had hurt Sara enough to make her doubt her worth in the first place that she thought the only way she could ever have a baby was to proposition one of her best friends.
"I should have just told you how I'd been feeling about you and given you the choice about whether or not you were interested in me." Sara felt like she was laying her soul out bare, but she didn't care any more. The only way that she was going to get what she really wanted in a relationship, what she wanted in life was to jump in with both feet and let things fall where they may.
"No." Nick shook his head; his brow furrowed. "I shouldn't have been such a coward. I should have told you how I feel about you." He smiled at her. "Life's too short, Sar; it's way too damn short." He let out a laugh laced with bitterness. "Of all people I should know that."
The corners of Sara mouth twitched upwards. "So..." She cleared her throat a little. "Exactly how do you feel about me?" She had a fairly good idea, but she wanted to hear it, no, she needed to hear it from Nick's mouth.
Nick looked completely serious as a smile spread across his face and he reached up and brushed a curl away from her face. "I'm in love with you, Sara...I think I have been for a long time, but I was too afraid to ask you out...especially, well...quite frankly because of Grissom." There was an instant of doubt that flashed across his face.
"Grissom." Sara huffed out in frustration. "Nick, I'm sorry that I was so fixated on him for so long that I almost missed what was right in front of me." She studied him for a moment and reached over and trailed her fingers down her cheek. "I hope you realize that I've moved on...he's not the one I want to be with, he's not the one that I'm in love with." A smile spread across her face as she watched the meaning of her words sink into Nick's mind. Sara's voice was a whisper. "I'm in love with you too, Nick."
"You know my mom always tried to convince me that the best kind of love grows out of friendship and I never believed her." He whispered against her lips. "I believe her now."
