Author's Note: Eh hehehe...sorry about the "delay" (understatement of the century) School has been so busy, andI just haven't been very inspired lately, I even missed an episode of CSI! gasp For those who care, here's an update, and Thanks in advance to anyone who still wants to read this.

Disclaimer: My story is in no way affiliated with the real CSI, and ifI were a writer on the show, I'd definitely be fired for being so..."writer's blockish" (invented a new phrase there)


Nick blinked against the bright light, and then turned his head up to face the sunshine. His eyes cleared and Nick found himself in front of an enormous church. He could hear organ music drifting from inside, and he felt himself suddenly propelled from behind by Catherine and Grissom.

"Nick! Have you got the ring?" Catherine chattered as she busily fixed the collar on Nick's tuxedo.

"Huh…ring? Whaaa? Wait…where am I? Why am I in a tux?" Nick was perplexed. Was this some kind of joke?

"The wedding, Nick." Grissom stated, peering over his sun glasses.

"Wedding." Nick repeated dumbly. The three pushed through the huge mahogany doors of the church and made their way down the carpeted aisle. Catherine rushed ahead suddenly, seeing a flash of white come out one of the side doors. Sara fluttered out in a sparkling wedding dress. Nick caught his breath, she looked…beautiful, like some rare flower in the midst of the hustle and bustle of wedding guests. She smiled radiantly and hugged Catherine, smushing her bouquet between them. Catherine had tears in her eyes, but still managed to make her voice stern.

"Sara! You can't come out here yet! The groom is right there!" Sara had the grace to look embarrassed and grinned sheepishly.

"Nothing will happen if the groom sees the bride before the wedding! Complete superstition, ridiculous!" She huffed. Nick chuckled at her spirited response and sauntered over. Funny how he didn't remember their own wedding… Sara squealed and waved at him. Nick approached her, about to envelop her in his arms when…

"Honey you look stunning." A male voice declared from behind. A figure stepped out in front of Nick, taking Sara's hands into his own. Sara looked up into the blond guy's face adoringly, and kissed him lightly on the mouth. She peered out from behind the man's shoulder.

"Nicky! You made it! Our best man! My partner." Sara smiled. Nick's mouth dropped open and he suddenly staggered against the hard back of the wooden pews. What was going on here? Best man? I'm the groom! Sara looked at him pityingly. Nick hadn't realized that he was thinking out loud.

"Nicky, you know why we could never get married…" She dabbed lightly at her eyes, luminous with pooling tears. "You wouldn't propose, I got tired of waiting, but I'll always love you." Nick reached out, grabbed her wrist.

"Sara, I…We can still get married, it…wasn't my fault! We kept getting interrupted! We…" All this was gushing out of Nick, his voice was desperate, his eyes pleading. Sara merely shook her head gently, and retreated back into the crowd.

"You missed your chance Nick." Her voice faded away. Grissom appeared from nowhere, holding a bag of sand.

"Better take this Nicky, could come in handy." Grissom winked. The guests were beginning to circle around, tighter and tighter. Nick tried to push them away, tried to reach Sara, but they pressed together, shoving him between them. Nick was getting dizzy, and he could hardly breathe. Nigel Crane appeared on his left.

"Oh Nick. It's ok, I'll marry you…" he puckered his lips and leaned in for a kiss.

"Argh!" Nick recoiled violently and slammed blindly into someone. Greg materialized, he held a wrapped present in his hand.

"It's a sorry-you-can't-marry-Sara-because-she-got-tired-of-waiting-for-you-to-propose- present." He explained. Greg pushed the silvery package toward Nick, the ribbons and paper unraveling by themselves before it even reached Nick's hands. Hundreds of fire ants streamed out, biting and pinching. Nick was starting to black out, but he kept his eyes trained on the couple in the back; Sara and the groom, not Nick. The blond man let go of Sara and turned around…piercing green eyes burned into his soul.

"Andy!"

Nick awoke in a cold sweat, his breathing erratic, his shirt sticking unpleasantly to the small of his back. Filled with dread, he reached over to the side of the bed and drew the covers aside. Sara was there. Sleeping. Her hand curled around the pillow. Nick rubbed the back of his neck blearily. Disoriented, he headed to the kitchen. He needed a beer. Badly.


When Nick had seen Andy out in the rain something had definitely snapped. They stared at each other, almost like one of those old western movies. If Nick had been packing, he would've shot Andy without a care in the world. After a last fiery glare, Andy retreated into his car and sped away, leaving Nick fuming in the rain. The drive home had been fraught with nerves. Nick had felt reckless, felt a burning desire to speed home and show Sara that he loved her more than anyone. And he needed to know that she loved him too. The rain had been pounding a staccato beat on the hood of his car, matching the pulse of his heart, saturated with a jealousy that seemingly had come from nowhere. Nick had always thought he was above other men in that he was rational, always. He loved Sara, she loved him, and if there's another guy, so what? Their love was strong, and Sara was with him now. But no matter how he tried to rationalize, everything in his mind was tinted green. And murder, had never sounded more appealing to him. Once he got home, he climbed out of the car wearily, wondering how the day could get any worse. Ha.

He could hear Sara in the shower as he unlocked the door..

"Nick, is that you?" Her voice echoed from the bathroom.

"Yeah, Darlin', it's me." He plopped down onto the sofa, thoughts of a tiny velvet box turning over and over in his mind. Nick wondered if he was even meant to get married, maybe this was all some cruel cosmic joke. He gets the most amazing woman, the one…but he can never get anything to work out right. And then there was Andy. Nick trusted Sara, always, but there was that sneaking suspicion in his mind that Andy was more than just a friend. And I'm her "partner." He thought grimly. He knew that Sara would be furious that his territorial urges were beginning to show themselves, she just hated all that male chauvinist crap. I should just let her see Andy if she wants, it's me she loves…right? Brrrrrring! The phone jolted him out of his reverie. He checked in the kitchen, but the phone was gone.

"Sara, where's the phone?"

"I don't know, just let the machine get it!"

"All right." The answering machine clicked on after three more rings. Nick stiffened as a voice crackled through. Speak of the Devil…

"Sara? Uh, I hope I've got the right number here. Um, oh, it's Andy by the way. Anyway, do you want to come out or a drink later, you know, to catch up and everything? You can call me on that number I gave you. Talk to you later sweets." Beep. End of message. Sara called out from the shower again.

"Who was that? Did they leave a message?" Nick's finger hovered over the Delete button. He pressed. Message deleted. Gone. Forever. Ha.

"It's no one. Wrong number."


Nick remembered feeling exuberant, triumphant…but he felt oddly guilty now as he sat slumped in front of the refrigerator, gulping a beer. Sara never suspected anything, and Nick was happily continuing to plan how he would propose next. Little did he know, that one little press of the button would come back to bite him in the ass.


TBC...I'll try to keep the next update within this century! Reviews please?I almost forget what they look like...heehee.