Three Weeks Later:

"So how are things going with Sara?" Warrick glanced over at Nick as he checked his gear over for the beginning of shift. He had been watching his two coworkers closely and so far they seemed to be keeping things professional at work, which made him wonder if things were going well outside of work.

"Good." Nick couldn't keep a thousand mega-watt smile from overtaking his face. "Really good in fact." And things were going well. Ever since he'd confessed to her that he loved her, it seemed to bring a quiet strength into their relationship that he'd never really experienced before. Knowing that Sara felt the same way about him just intensified that. And when his sister Chelsea and her family headed back to Dallas via Vegas, Sara even managed to withstand all of the ribbing about the mouse ears that Fiona had insisted that they buy for them. Apparently, Natalie had filled in a few more details than necessary.

"Hmm." Warrick wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. He'd heard Nick talk about women like this, but he'd never felt as protective about one of them before as he did about Sara.

Nick didn't seem to pick up on the intent of Warrick's questions. He glanced over at him with a curious expression of his own. "You mind if I ask you something, Rick?"

"Yeah, sure." Warrick was buttoning up his work shirt and he only half noticed the nervousness in Nick's voice.

"Do you have any regrets...about marrying Tina, I mean?" Nick wasn't sure he was going to get away with this line of questioning without revealing his own hand, but he tried to keep the tone casual.

"Nah." There was one, but Warrick didn't really want to think about what might have happened with Catherine; he was with Tina, he loved her and he wasn't the kind of guy that would cheat on his wife.

"So you knew pretty quick then that you wanted to marry her." Nick seemed to be mulling something over in his own mind as he tried to remember exactly how long Warrick had dated Tina before they'd eloped at a drive-through wedding chapel.

Warrick's eyes narrowed as he studied Nick. "You're not thinking of asking Sara to marry you, are you?" It seemed ridiculous that that pair would know this soon; that Nick would presume that a woman who had been all but obsessed with Gil Grissom until just recently as far as he knew would be open to marriage. If it were him, he'd want to know for sure that she was over Grissom or he'd always wonder if he was a rebound. Well maybe that had something to do with the fact that he sometimes wondered if Tina was over her ex; someone that she saw everyday at work and it made him wonder at times if he was a rebound.

Nick looked unsure of himself, but he nodded. "I'm just thinking...thinking about it a lot actually." The smile on his face was both sheepish and filled with pleasure that he knew that Sara loved him and that he loved her and he was almost certain that he wanted to be with her forever.

Warrick looked at him with a little doubt. "You think that she'd say yes?" It wasn't that he didn't want to believe that it could happen, he just didn't want Nick to get hurt after all he'd been through this last year.

Nick let out a loud chuckle. "You apparently don't think that she would." He didn't want to show it, but he felt hurt that one of his best friends just couldn't seem to see what was clear as day to him.

"I didn't say that." Warrick's tone softened. "She's just been so into Grissom for so long, I just..." His words trailed off; there really was no need to articulate the rest of it.

"I know that, and we've talked about it. She's over him and she's in love with me." Nick smiled again, it felt good to tell someone that he knew that Sara loved him, and right now he felt like telling the whole world that he loved Sara too.

Warrick wanted to be happy for him, he really did. "Well, don't do what I did then."

Nick looked up at him quizzically.

"Don't elope. If you're going to marry her do it right; she deserves that." Warrick regretted the drive-through chapel, but he was committed to doing right by Tina. And besides, he wanted the opportunity to be there for his two friends when they took the plunge.

"I'm the one that condemned your elopement, remember." Nick jabbed back. He knew that whether Sara would admit it or not, she wanted it all, and he knew that he wanted to give it all to her. He would most certainly not elope with her, but it didn't mean he wanted to have a long drawn out engagement either, that is if she said yes.

"So you're really serious about her." Warrick looked at his friend in admiration, he'd finally acted on feelings that he'd had for years and it looked like he was going to get what he'd been wanting.

Nick glanced around the room as if someone might be lurking in the shadows. "I bought her a ring." He wasn't sure he should tell him exactly when he'd bought the ring, he'd had it for a couple of weeks now and he'd known when he bought it that it was really too soon, but he knew he wanted to be with Sara, so he'd taken the plunge. He'd stood at the display of engagement rings at the jewelry store for a long time, studying each ring and wondering how Sara might react if he gave it to her. In the end, he'd walked out of the jewelry store with nothing, but later on that same day, he'd driven past another jewelry store and that's where he'd found 'the ring'. The princess cut diamond was flanked by sapphires and Nick knew immediately that it was meant for Sara.

Warrick let out a deep throaty chuckle. "Does she know that?" He was fairly certain that if Sara knew exactly how serious Nick was, that she'd have a panic attack and have a sudden urge to flee Las Vegas.

Nick shot him a withering glance. "Do I look that stupid?"