Chapter 6

"Did I wake you?"

"No I was just catching the game and having a beer, I find it helps me to drift off." Nick said and then as an afterthought as though to explain his drinking he added "It's been a tough case you know?"

"Yeah we are all feeling it Nicky, you aren't the only one having trouble sleeping".

"Sara, are you ok? It's just I am sure that you didn't ring me to talk about our insomnia. Is it the case? Did you think of something we may have missed?"

Sara wasn't sure where to start, "what do I say now?" she thought to herself. Ringing Nick had seemed like the natural thing to do, he was close enough to Gil to make some sense of the situation, while still remaining objective about the whole thing. Now that she had him on the phone the words seemed to stick in her throat, she wasn't sure how to proceed.

"You still there Sara?" Nick asked gently.

He knew this case had effected them all in different ways, but he had expected Sara to deal with it better than the others had. She was always the epitome of calm and appeared almost emotionless even with the most hideous crimes that they had to deal with.

He had been surprised to hear her voice on the other end of the phone. He was well used to getting calls at obscure hours from Gil or Catherine if she was in charge of a case, but Sara rarely called him after hours.

In fact, Nick had often resented her ability to stay so disconnected from the work and how she could just switch off once the shift was over. It was a quality that neither Warrick, Catherine nor himself possessed. It was also one of the reasons that Gil held her in higher esteem than the others.

"Yeah I am still here Nicky", she said in an uncharacteristically meek voice.

"Whatever it is Sara, you can tell me", he proceeded cautiously. He was starting to feel a nervous sensation creeping into the pit of his stomach.

"Em, forget it, I shouldn't have called you so late, I guess I just wanted to hear a friendly voice you know?" she said now on the verge of tears. "Why can I never just say how I feel?" she thought sadly to herself.

"Yeah, it has been hard coming home to an empty house knowing that monster is still on the loose, that's for sure", Nick said not convinced that was the truth behind this strange phonecall at 2am.

"I guess I'll go and try get some sleep, I'm just tired. Sorry for ringing so late and all", she finished.

"Look Sara, if you want me to come by I can crash on your couch, that is if it would help", Nick continued, that nervous feeling continuing to grow in his stomach as the conversation progressed.

He knew there was something very wrong for Sara to ring him so late, Nick got the impression that she was scared and didn't want to admit it.

"Really, you don't have to do that Nicky" Sara continued brushing a stray tear from her cheek. She was also aware that her voice had begun to shake.

The truth was that the last thing she wanted was to spend another night on her own in her empty house, but her independence was stopping her from asking for Nick's company.

"I'll be fine", she said regaining her composure slightly. "Do you think I need some jock to be my bodyguard?" she added in her sarcastic way.

Nick grinned, that was more like the Sara he knew. Feeling a little better about the whole thing, he decided to leave well enough alone. He knew how independent Sara was and the last thing he wanted was to push her away from him. It was evident that it had taken a lot for her to call him, and it was a reassurance to Nick to know that she could confide in him if ever she needed anything. "After all no man is an Island", he mused.

"Well, if you are sure Sara. Ok a compromise, how bout I stop by in the morning before our shift starts, we can grab breakfast and maybe just talk?"

Sara nodded the tears now openly flowing down her cheeks. She took a deep breath and in her bravest voice said "on one condition Nicky, you're buying", and quietly added "thanks Nick" and hung up the phone.

Nick sat there for a while listening to the tone, its repetitive note becoming almost hypnotic. He wondered if he should go with his instinct and go over there? She was very obviously not okay, and maybe the late phonecall had been Sara's way of asking for his help.

He was wary of interfering especially when it came to Sara, and he didn't want to force her to open up to him. "Maybe it would be best to keep my word and just see her in the morning", he thought.

He replaced the receiver in its cradle and looked at the clock on the wall, 3.15am. He had to be back in work in less than 6 hours and if he wanted to stop by at Sara's as well, that would mean being up, showered and ready to go at about 7.45. He groaned silently, "time to get some sleep buddy", he said to himself and went into the bathroom to clean his teeth.

He had barely turned on the tap when his cell rang for the second time that night. That foreboding feeling hit him again, "I knew I should have gone over there", he thought. He replaced his toothbrush in its holder, went back into the living room and picked up his phone from the coffee table. Without even looking at the number he answered the call.