Chapter 2

Sara, not expecting that particular answer, could only stare back at Nick with an open mouth. Thankfully, she saw Brass waving his arms while their car drove right past him.

"Um, Nick, uh…we just drove past the crime scene."

Embarrassed, Nick turned the car back around and as soon as he stopped the car, Sara jumped out. Disappointed at Sara's reaction, it didn't help that Brass scolded him for not paying attention on the road.

After they had finished processing the scene, the two CSIs returned back to the lab, the car ride back being an awkwardly silent one. Nick was cautious about the way Sara kept avoiding eye contact with him and stubbornly staring out her window and decided that it was better to keep his mouth shut for now.

Sara knew that Nick was probably joking when he suggested that she ask him out on a date, but the way he was now acting in the car and the fact that her heart had skipped a beat when he said that were not what she expected to experience when she left to go to work that night. The comment Nick made had involuntarily made her consider her relationship with her co-worker of six years and the feelings she had for him. Were they really just platonic feelings? Or were there undercurrents of attraction that she was not aware of, hidden behind the playful flirtations she would occasionally exchange with the man next to her? And was she the only one who was going crazy at the moment, trying to figure out what her heart really wanted?

"I am going crazy…over a woman that I had, up until today, only considered as a colleague, a friend," thought Nick as his frustrations with himself caused him to grip the steering wheel tightly. "And now, I am saying the wrong things at the wrong time, I can't find anything to say at all, right or wrong, to break the tension in this car…what is wrong with me? What happened to the smooth, suave me? Did he happen to take a break and decide to let me fend for myself once I realized I might have more than friendly feelings towards Sara? Heck, I even drove past a crime scene because of this woman! Oh crap, I almost just missed my turn again!" Nick swerved the car, driving slightly up onto the curb as he turned into the lab's parking lot, obviously a bit perturbed at the effect Sara was having on his ability to even pay attention while he was driving.

"Whoa, Nick, you okay?"

"Yeah, fine. Just, uh…tired," Nick said, glad that she had at least said something to him during the ride back.

Back in the lab, however, Sara promptly avoided him again, heading straight to DNA with the blood evidence she had found at the crime scene. Sighing, Nick proceeded to run some prints through AFIS.

Sara ran to the evidence room to see if her hunch about the case was correct and just as she opened the door, she came face to face with the very man she was trying to avoid.

"Whoa, what's the rush, Sara? Missed me that much?" a surprised Nick said as he held out his arms to stop Sara from tripping over him.

"Uh, sorry to disappoint you Nick, but um, I just wanted to come in here to check with knife we found at the scene. If I'm right about this, I think we just bagged this case," Sara said excitedly but soon felt a bit awkward as she realized Nick still had his hands on her arms from when she entered.

Nick, noticing the awkwardness, looked down from her face to his hands and realized the source of the sudden discomfort felt in the room. Embarrassed, yet again as it seems he has been feeling that a lot lately when he was around Sara, he stuffed his hands into his pockets and walked back to the table. Clearing his throat, Nick said, "Well, uh, you're always right though, aren't you? So I guess no double shift for us!"

Sara smiled slightly at the compliment, and after reexamining the evidence on the table, she confirmed that they indeed would not have to pull a double.

Sara was about to head out the door when Nick stopped her. "Hey, Sara…I, uh, just want you to know that what I said in the car, about me…and you asking me…and well, you know…I was just joking around. I don't want you to feel weird or anything. I mean we're friends, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know…I was just thinking about the case, that's all. You know how I get when it comes to a hot case."

"Yeah, it's like love at first sight…you can't get your mind off of it."

Sara laughed, "Great analogy, Nicky. I sure do get turned on by blood spatter on the walls!"

"What, it doesn't?" Nick feigned shock. Cocking an eyebrow, he asked, "So what does turn Sara Sidle on?"

"Ha ha, shut up, Nick before I punch you again and give you the cold shoulder."

"Right, and we don't want that, now do we?" Slinging his arm around her shoulder and leading her to the locker room to gather their things, Nick asked, "So why don't we celebrate the shortest case ever with breakfast? I'll even treat you since you solved the case."

Sara, feeling her heart flutter with the unexpected contact Nick made but shaking off the feeling, nodded with a smile. "For once, I'm not too tired to enjoy a meal after a case."

Suddenly, Nick stopped and turned to her, and in a mockingly serious tone, he said, "Oh, and just so you know, I am only asking you, as a friend," putting heavy emphasis on the last three words.

Giggling, Sara replied, "Shut it, Stokes, I know…now, do you want breakfast or not?"