A/N: Ahh, I'm such a bad author! I'm sorry for not updating, I just haven't had the patience lately to sit down and put something together. Hopefully this will please. Oh, and from the previous chapter… I forgot to mention that 'Tadaima' is Japanese for 'I'm home'. One of the lab techs in San Fran was rubbing off on her. :) Consider it a 'deleted scene'. I also need to mention two things before this chapter gets started:

1) I'm still in denial about the whole Warrick/Tina thing, and

2) I think Grissom figure skating is really funny.

So shoot me. (laughs) Okay, on with the story, and as always, I don't own it. Nor do I own Thank You, which belongs to Alanis Morissette. It's a fairly powerful song; I'm quite fond of it. Oh, and today, March 1st, 2006, is George Eads' 39th birthday! So happy birthday to George- I love you, I love you, I love you…. XD

Chapter Title: Thank You

When Nick finally lead Sara into the chill of the arena from the admittedly colder air outside, it appeared the entire team had already made it onto the ice. They caught a glimpse of Catherine through the glass, and both seemed unable to hold back the laugh that came with seeing her, of all people, stumbling about on the silver blades, apparently much to the delight of Warrick, who seemed to have made a point of flanking her from the right side, perhaps standing a little closer than necessary as he attempted to aid her balance. Lindsay was skating circles around the pair, grinning profusely.

"Look at those two. Tell me they aren't together." Sara shook her head as she watched Warrick again catch the usually graceful blonde, finally shooting a sarcastic smile at Nick, who chuckled lightly.

"I think I'd be lying…"

Just as the words escaped his mouth, a head popped up abruptly from below the glass, just behind the boards that separated them from the ice. Without warning, the face of Greg Sanders was suddenly plastered firmly to the thick glass, causing the whole left side of his head to flatten against the surface and eyes to bulge from his face in a very comical manner. An absurd smirk crossed the 2-D portion of his face, and finally a tongue stuck out, licking the only thing that separated them from his mouth. Nick and Sara both jumped and Greg exploded with laughter, managing to loose his balance soon afterward, finally falling square on his ass. At this point Catherine, Warrick, Grissom and Lindsay had all looked to the source of the commotion, along with several of the some 10 other people on the ice who seemed to find a thirty something year old man's plastering his whole face to the arena glass as an indication of severe immaturity or quite possibly a mental problem. Greg just threw another goofy glance over his shoulder, announcing that someone had arrived.

"Hey, guys!" He waved a gloved hand at the team, signaling they should come over. "Someone's here!"

Catherine and Warrick exchanged mildly puzzled looks as the latter lead them to the boards, Grissom and Lindsay following behind. "Who could be here? I thought Nicky wasn't coming?" She silently prayed Sophia hadn't decided to join them after all; she had made some lame excuse about having to tidy up her apartment before a couple old friends flew in from New Jersey. Warrick shrugged, Nick had left the lab before he had the chance to talk to him. Grissom however, floated quite gracefully by them on his skates, a familiar boyish simper playing at his lips.

"He just had to take care of something first. He was coming, and it looks like he's here—"

"Sara!" Warrick's green eyes grew wide in surprise as he caught sight of the pretty woman who stood at Nick's side. "Girl, you made it home for Christmas!"

Sara grinned from her place beside Nick, waving joyfully at the family she hadn't seen in months. The team quickly jumped off the ice through the open gate nearby, taking turns welcoming her back and giving hugs. Before long, her eyes were filled with tears. She'd forgotten just how much she missed everyone. A nagging voice at the back of her head told her she'd still have to go back in a mere ten days, but the pure joy and relief of the moment allowed her to push such cruel thoughts out of her mind for the time being. At the moment, all that mattered was that she was finally home.

"Hey Mom! Grissom just did an axel!"

Lindasay had skated off into a distant corner to practice the few jumps she'd learned in the past year and a half of her figure skating lessons, when she caught sight of the supervisor. The whole group, which now included Nick and Sara who had rented a couple pairs of skates, looked around in surprise, taking a moment to first find Lindsay and then Grissom, who had escaped to the opposite corner they all had their backs to as they watched Catherine's daughter.

"Grissom can do axels? No way!" Sara whispered to herself from beside Nick, who had wrapped an arm around her shoulder as they caught sight of the entomologist. Though everyone was now watching him, Grissom still appeared as oblivious as ever, skating around a bit before he pulled off another jump. Catherine snorted. Greg just sort of stood there, wide-eyed as before.

"I had no idea he could even skate. Here I am, falling over, and he's pulling jumps when he thinks no one is watching."

"He's really good…" Greg murmured, kicking at the ice absent mindedly as his eyes continued to follow Grissom across the width of the arena and back again.

Eventually, Lindsay glided up to join the group, stopping at her mother's side. Catherine smirked, tapping her on the shoulder. "Hey Linds? Do you know what he's doing?"

"Yeah, I think our routine is pretty similar."

"Do you think you could copy him?"

Her face quickly cracked into a mischievous grin and she nodded, letting out a little giggle as she skated out to join the boss at the other end of the arena.

Toe, stop, right and around, jump… jump and glide…

Arm and arm… one two three four—

"Whoa!—"

It took a moment for Grissom to notice he had a partner. In fact, it wasn't until the two nearly crashed that he so much as opened his eyes, capturing the girl in his arms to avoid running into her.

"Lindsay! Sorry, I had no idea you were there!"

The girl giggled, smirking at him in a way so like her mother that he actually staggered back in surprise. She quickly looked back at the group, who stood watching with gotcha looks on each of their faces. Grissom looked up as well, and, seeing this, smiled weakly, offering them a sheepish wave with Lindsay still in his arms.

Not long after Grissom and Lindsay's doubles performance, the group was ushered off the ice by the Zamboni. Sara was caught in several more hugs, and eventually everyone parted ways; Warrick, Catherine and Lindsay heading home to join Catherine's mom for Christmas Eve dinner, Grissom supposedly off to a bug-related society's Christmas Party, Greg leaving for a date with Amber, who he informed them was a very special green-eyed blonde, and finally Nick and Sara, who decided to head home for their own night of celebration.

The drive back to their apartment was fairly fast; it seemed everyone had already headed home to spend time with their families or 'significant others'. The thought brought a smile to Nick's face as he mulled over how lucky he was this Christmas. He stole a look at Sara as he pulled the SUV to a halt at a red light, and couldn't help but laugh at the look on her face. She seemed to notice, because she returned his look with a laugh of her own. "What?"

"You just look so…"

"Deliriously happy?" She finished for him, crossing her eyes for dramatic effect.

"That could definitely be it!" Nick grinned, clasping her hand between them as they sat through the rest of the trip in comfortable silence.

------

"God, I missed this place so much…" Sara's soft voice filled the apartment that had in the last few months been an empty void without her. He had hardly spent any time there while she was gone, finding it easier to deal if he only went home to eat and sleep, never for more than about 7 hours a day. And that was when he could sleep.

"I missed you so much…" Nick snaked his arms around her waist as she took in the sight of her home as if it were the first time she'd ever been there. Her lips twitched into a sad smile, and she turned in his arms to face him, pulling him closer.

"I missed you too. And I still can't believe I'm home. We're home."

She loved the way his eyes crinkled at the sides when he let that dazzling smile loose, his nose just barely touching hers as he dipped down to capture her lips in with his own. The amazing masculine smell that was uniquely Nick Stokes was almost overpowering her every sense as she allowed herself to melt into his kiss, feeling herself comfortably drowning in his deep eyes as her own flickered open; she needed to see him, to be sure that she was in fact with him again. Every voice in her head seemed to be screaming that it was too good to be true. Four months. Four months, she'd waited for this moment. And it couldn't be more perfect.

"You're so beautiful." Nick's eyes appeared to have glazed over as he fought to keep a tear from falling. His fingers toyed again with the soft dark curls at the back of her head, now longer than he'd ever seen them. Sara just smiled, and buried her face in his shoulder, her arms holding him as close as possible.

Then the phone rang.

Sara sighed, turning her head just enough to catch Nick's eye.

"Just leave it. Let them leave a message." He placed a kiss on her cheek, still smiling as he decided to kick his shoes off. Sara did the same, fully ignoring the shrill ring of the phone until the answering machine kicked on.

"Hey Nick, it's Sofia. I was wondering if you wanted to join me for dinner tonight; just didn't want you to have to spend Christmas Eve alone. Give me a call back if you're around, and I'll talk to you later."

Nick kicked himself for having turned up the volume on the stupid machine earlier so he could listen to the messages as he did his laundry the day before. Sara just shot Nick a confused look as she threw her shoes in the closet.

" Sofia just invited you to dinner? What the hell was that?" She raised her eyebrows, trying not to laugh. Nick took this as a good sign, allowing himself to chuckle as well, shaking his head as he rolled his eyes.

"I have no idea. I certainly wasn't expecting it…"

"You gonna call her back?" Sara pursed her lips, having now suppressed her laughter she was trying to control the smile that threatened to cross her face. Sofia calling Nick. Asking him out. That was just funny, certainly not a reason to worry, right? More a reason to laugh hysterically than anything else. Sofia didn't even know she was back; she hadn't been skating with the rest of the team.

"Of course not." Nick looked at her like she was crazy, she giggled, and they left it at that.

"So, what should we do for Christmas Eve dinner, Nicky?" Sara decided to lighten the strange chill in mood that seemed to follow the unanswered phone call. She followed him into the kitchen as she waited for him to answer, and was surprised to see that hardly anything had changed since she left. The same notes remained on the fridge, all the furniture and appliances remained in the same place… it was as if she never left. "You didn't spend much time here while I was away, did you?"

"Hmm? Oh, no, not really…" He admitted sheepishly, opening up the fridge to grab a drink. "I just don't like being here when you aren't with me. Do you want a drink?"

"How about a beer?"

Nick laughed, but handed her a beer from the fridge anyway. "Beer?"

"I feel like a beer." Sara grinned as she accepted the can, watching him dip his head back down into the friends as she decided to open the tab right beside his ear. Nick jumped in surprise, grabbing her from behind when she turned around laughing. "Ah, no, please!"

"You asked for it, Sidle." He wrapped his arms around her stomach, poking and tickling her as her laughs turned to hysterics.

"No! Nicky— ahahahaha…."

Nick laughed along with her, but stopped when his hand move up to her ribs… he could feel each one. She'd already been so thin when she left… He frowned slightly, and Sara winced when she felt his hand come to rest on her side. She knew exactly what he was going to say, and she already hated the air of worry that would inevitably be present in his eyes when he looked at her.

"Sara? Honey?"

Thank you terror,

Thank you disillusionment,

Thank you frailty,

Thank you consequence,

Thank you…

Thank you, silence…

She didn't answer him, instead setting her can of beer on the counter and allowing herself to collapse in his arms.

"Sara? Look at me…"

Nick traced his fingertips down her jaw line and back again, willing her to tilt her head up from his shoulder to meet his eyes. When she finally obliged, she looked gaunt, the smile having somehow faded from her face.

"I'm okay, it's alright…"

"No… Sara, you're not…"

How about me enjoying the moment for once…

How about grieving it all one at a time…

How about not equating death with stopping…

---

Thank you nothingness,

Thank you clarity,

Thank you…

Thank you, silence…

A/N: I fear I've opened up another big can of worms. Please drop me a review and let me know your thoughts! It was a long chapter, I know… but I'm sure no one minds, right:) I hope to be back with the next installment shortly!

-Sahariah