Title: When it Rains, it Pours
Summary: What happens when Nick and Sara get caught in a monsterous rainstorm? Snickers, of course!
Disclaimer: Not mine…. I know, cruel world, huh?
Rated: For two words… Lin, shut up :P
A/N: Just an idea I had for a one-shot a while ago. I figured I'd post it now, coz for the next week I told myself that all my writing time (ie: about an hour after I go up to go to bed) will be donated towards studying for my license. I'm going in about a week, and am nervous as anything. So I'm laying off the fanfics for now, and wanted to post this before my short little hiatus… weird tangent. Anyways, on to the story.
Las Vegas, on the whole, is pretty dry. Weather-wise, that is. Its never been known for its ongoing thunderstorms or copious amounts of rain because they simply didn't exist. You think "Vegas" and you think casinos, flashing, glaring neon signs, and all the bells and whistles of the million and one slot machines. Not, "Oh, look at those clouds. Think it's going to rain?"
With that being said, it should be noted that it does, on occasion, rain in Vegas, and when it does, you don't get just a light drizzle. The skies about Vegas just open up and dump weeks upon weeks worth of rain on any person unfortunate enough to be caught outside.
Nick and Sara were two of those unfortunate people.
Nick sighed heavily, watching a furious Sara Sidle from his position across from her. Hoping that she wouldn't catch him staring, he watched as a tiny bead of rainwater escaped from her soaked hair to trail down her cheek before heading south, melting into her collarbone. He licked his lips unconsciously.
"Well" he said, breaking the silence in the back of the Denali, "Just think of it this way, Sara. It could be a lot worse, right?"
Sara averted her gaze from outside the window, against which the rain was pounding violently, to raise an eyebrow challengingly at him. "Oh yeah?" She cracked the faintest of smiles, "How's that?"
Relief that Sara wasn't as pissed as she looked very quickly gave way to a mild "uh-oh" kind of feeling. Because the truth was, Nick thought, it didn't get much worse than this.
They'd been called out to some tiny motel in the middle of nowhere's-ville for a 419; dead body found in one of the rooms. It'd taken just over an hour to drive out to the god-forsaken place, who's panicked yet surly manager insisted on LVPD or nothing at all. Now, Nick was all for driving out there and checking the scene out (Sara had wondered why the tiny town's local police hadn't just handled the whole thing), but even he drew the line when they'd found the dead body to be a fake.
The drive back saw both Sara and Nick in poor moods, Nick's grip on the steering wheel tighter than was strictly necessary and Sara glaring out the window, occasionally insulting the sleazy manager's parentage. He'd come on a little too friendly for her taste, something Nick had even found uncomfortable, though he scolded himself; it wasn't jealousy, per say, it was more…
Ok, so he got jealous like a big territorial dog. Which was weird, right, because he and Sara weren't even going out?
In their bad moods, neither of the two had noticed that the sky had darkened with their attitudes. Or that the bleak gray clouds rolling in looked suspiciously like rain clouds…
Long story short; Nick and Sara quickly found themselves pulled to the side of the road, in the middle of one of the largest rainstorms since Noah and his ark. The sound of the rain pounding against the top of the car was nearly deafening.
Now, almost three and a half hours later, their minds, accustomed to the noise, tuned it out, though the storm was still going strong. So they'd climbed into the back of the Denali (Nick folding the backseat down to make more room) and stretched out, staring at each other from either side of the car.
"Well?" Sara pushed, pursing her lips (a sure sign, Nick had figured out, that she was trying to keep from smiling). "How could this possibly be worse?"
"The Denali could have a flat?" Nick offered. "Or our cell phones could be out of service. Or you could be stuck here with Greg, who's funny but nowhere near as charming and handsome as I am." He flashed her a grin, knowing full well that she'd know he was blowing smoke out of his ass.
She laughed playfully, "Nick, where have you been the past three hours? Our Denali has a flat, and our cells are still out of service, dumb-ass."
He pretended to look hurt, dramatically clutching his chest and rolling his eyes back. "An arrow through my heart, Sara."
She cracked a smile, before a clap of thunder echoed through the sky. A jagged streak of lightening soon followed. Sara cringed, shivering a bit in her drenched clothes.
Nick chuckled. "You know, Sara, you'd be a lot warmer if you hadn't gone out there and tried to change the tire."
Sara shot him a look. "I can't just sit here" she complained, wrapping her arms around her torso. "Besides" she countered defensively, "It wasn't thundering or anything then, so I wasn't going to get fried."
"At least change into some coveralls or jumpsuits or something; you know I always keep an extra pair or two in the trunk." He let out an exasperated sigh.
Sara glared at him, her patented "back-off-or-you'll-soon-be-singing-soprano" glare, and deadpanned, "You just want to see me naked."
"That's not true" Nick protested weakly, grinning.
She just raised an eyebrow, to which Nick laughed and waggled a finger. "I told you I'd turn my head. Let's remember, I'm a perfect southern gentleman here."
Sara laughed. "Oh yeah, some gentleman. Walking in last week on an innocent girl half-naked."
Nick mock-pouted. "So now it's my fault you got coffee all over your shirt!"
"No" Sara admitted, startled by another clash of thunder. "That would be Greg's fault. Spaz." She smiled a bit, though, and Nick could tell she wasn't really angry with the quirky lab tech. "However, had you given me some warning you were going to come barging into the locker room, I could have covered up."
Nick didn't comment on the sudden infusion of color to Sara's cheeks, but instead played along, holding his hands up as a sign of his surrender. "But what would the fun in that be?" he asked innocently, trying very hard to keep a straight face.
She shot him a withering glare.
"Geez, Sara, its not like I knew you were in there…not that I'm totally opposed to it." He waggled his eyebrows.
Sara rolled her eyes, before shivering visibly, hugging her arms closer to her chest.
"Sara, you're going to freeze to death" Nick pointed out, exasperated. Without waiting for a reply, he scooted across the floor to the other side of the Denali so he was sitting next to Sara. Nick slung an arm across her shoulders, and was a little surprised (and disappointed?) when she tried to pull away.
"I'll get you all wet" she explained a bit self-consciously when he shot her a questioning glance.
"A small price to pay for the company of a woman such as yourself, Miss Sidle" Nick drawled, adding a cheesy wink at the end. His reward was the brilliant smile she shot him before she snuggled ever so slightly into his side.
"I bet you say that to all the girls" she teased, mumbling into his shirt. It was warm and she couldn't help but inhale deeply. He smelt like coffee and whatever generic shampoo it is that guys all use, and there was a lingering, comforting scent hidden underneath. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, deciding simply to categorize the smell as "Nick", and that made her smile.
"So far, only you" Nick chuckled, jarring her from her thoughts. "How's it working?"
"I'll let you know" Sara replied cheekily.
"No rush."
His voice was…different. Quiet. Sara pushed herself of him, her body instinctively missing the heat of his body against hers, and looked him in the eyes.
Nick just watched her watching him. He'd always found Sara attractive, but a dripping wet Sara Sidle was a sight beyond gorgeous. Her hair, just now starting to dry, was curly and laced with tiny drops of rainwater. Her cheeks were flushed and the simple black top and jeans she'd worn to the scene now clung to her in (what Nick considered to be) all the right places. And, unless he was very much mistaken, she was looking like she wanted to kiss him as much as he wanted to kiss her. Or did he just imagine that last part?
She leaned in, ever so slightly, eyes never straying from his. Their lips were only inches apart now…
"Sara" he whispered softly. Her hand reaching up to touch the side of his face was all the encouragement he needed, and without a second thought, he pressed his lips to hers hungrily.
Or at least that was what was supposed to happen.
But a second before their lips met, Nick's phone rang; vibrating from its spot secured on Nick's belt.
"Now the damn phones work" Nick let out a huff of air. He'd been this close…
"It has let up a little" Sara offered, and Nick noticed that she was right; the violent pounding of the rain against he car had turned into a softer, lulling rhythm.
"Oh"
"Who's calling?" she asked.
"Uh, Grissom" Nick checked the called ID sheepishly before answering. "Stokes."
He could barely make out the worried voice of Grissom on the other end; "Oh, good, I got through. Listen Nick, where are you? I've tried calling a number of times." Even over the phone, Nick could hear the slight disapproving tone Grissom always spoke with, and he had to stifle a laugh as he answered.
"Griss, I can't really hear you…the storm's messing with my reception" Nick informed him, glancing quickly at Sara.
"Where – are – you?" Grissom repeated just a bit louder.
"We're about forty minutes away from the lab. Our Denali got a flat and all this rain isn't doing much to help"
"You guys have a spare?" came Grissom's question, accompanied with a faint bought of static.
"You expect us to try and change a tire in this weather?" Nick started incredulously.
"No, no, after the storm - " Grissom began, only to be cut off by Nick:
" – because Sara already tried" Nick finished. Next to him, Sara rolled her eyes.
"What? Nick, she could freeze in this weather. What were you guys thinking?" Grissom reprimanded him lightly. Nick mentally kicked himself for bringing it up.
"Griss, I think I'm losing the signal" Nick lied, making small cackling noises. Sara bit her lip to keep from laughing as Nick increased the volume of his "static". Nick barely had time to hear Grissom tell them to get back when they could before he hung up.
Sara quirked an eyebrow at him as he pocketed the phone with another sheepish grin.
"What?" he asked innocently, batting his eyelashes in what he hoped was a sickeningly endearing manner.
"Bad reception, huh?" she asked, cocking her head.
"Nah" Nick grinned, scooting closer to her. "I can just think of better things to do than listen to Grissom lecture me on letting you outside."
"Point taken" she smirked, before asking, "Like what?"
Nick leaned forward, his lips inches away from hers. "Like this" he whispered, watching her eyes flutter closed before his lips crashed against hers. This time, his cell phone remained mercifully silent.
Sara responded eagerly, cupping the back of his head and pulling him closer to her. She toyed idly with the tiny hairs at the nape of his neck, lazily enjoying the feeling of Nick's hands tracing small circles on her lower back. She felt him press her against the side of the Denali, asking for permission to deepen the kiss. She readily obliged, smiling against his lips.
The rain had stopped by the time the pair broke apart. Sara noticed it first, leaning comfortably against Nick.
"Hear that?" she sighed contentedly.
"Hear what?" Nick frowned, trying to pick up on whatever noise Sara was describing.
"Exactly" she answered smugly, settling into Nick's side.
Nick didn't answer, still trying to figure out what she mean, when he realized; "The rain's stopped."
"Yeah" she sighed, "I guess it's back to the lab."
Nick prodded her side gently. "Don't tell me Sara Sidle doesn't want to go back to work!"
"I was just starting to like the rain" she quipped, raising an eyebrow as she glanced at him expectantly.
"Well then, it's a good thing for you that our Denali is completely stuck in the mud and we won't be able to get it out until it dries up a bit" Nick grinned.
"Is that so?"
Nick's answer was a wink, nodding an affirmation. "Grissom's gonna miss us a little while longer."
"What a shame" Sara murmured, pressing her lips softly against his.
"Not from where I'm standing" Nick assured her between swapping kisses, snaking his arms around her waist.
It doesn't rain often in Vegas. But when it rains, it pours, and no two people are more grateful for it than Nick and Sara.
A/N: Let me know what you guys thought! Because reviews are the gasoline that fuels my car :D (It's like...9:00 in the morning and I'm tired. So my metophors aren't going to be that good...heh heh)