Author's Note: Thank you so much to everybody that has reviewed so far. It's great to know that everybody's liking it, and your reviews all make me smile. Also, as nobody has guessed what restaurant they were eating in, I shall just tell you, because I have no self-control. They were eating in the DeBreff, the restaurant featured in "Got Murder?" of Season Three. Remember, flashbacks are in italics (they'll actually be used in this chapter).

I am rather proud of my insanely quick updates, aren't you?

Spoilers: Nesting Dolls (Can anybody see where this is going…?)

Disclaimer: If CSI was mine, Nick would either be with Sara or me and Warrick would always be shirtless.

Sara and Nick sat down at the small table. They made small talk while they were eating, all the while both avoiding what Sara had to say. There was something wonderful about the French toast, something that made it especially good but Sara couldn't put her finger on, and Sara didn't even have to ask Nick what it was before he answered her unspoken question. "There's cinnamon in it. It's something my mom taught me. Makes all the ladies want to swoon," he added with a chuckle.

"Oh, so you've made breakfast for a lot of women," Sara teased, and laughed when his face turned red.

Nick got an idea, and now he was going to pay her back for the Johnny Depp comment of last night. "Yeah, I made it for six women at once about eight times," he revealed. "The same six women each time," he added deviously.

Sara choked on her milk, and said, "Six!"

Nick laughed. "Yeah. Their names are Michele, Isabella, Flora, Lindsay, Stephanie, and Jillian."

Sara had a momentary look of disgust on her face.

"Relax, Sara, those are my sisters and my mom," he admitted, chuckling.

She laughed nervously, a bit relieved at embarrassed at the same time.

When they were done eating, they cleared the table and loaded the dishwasher

Nick could tell that what she was about to tell him was going to be hard for her to say, probably a secret that she'd held in for a long time, so he slid his chair over to right next to hers to make her feel safe.

Sara took a deep breath. "I never told you about my family."

Nick had never really realized this before, and a look of realization came across his face. "No, you never did."

"Well, here goes. My father was always verbally abusive towards my mother, my brother and me, but it turned physical when I was six." She heard a sharp intake of breath from Nick. The memories of one particular incident when she was ten came flooding back, and she shared them with Nick, the whole time staring at the table, tracing the wood grain with her eyes and fingertip.

His hand landed hard on her face, connecting with her jaw. Her head was thrown hard to the side and she fell, trying to break her fall with her hands. She was on the floor on her stomach. A kick landed in her side, followed by a rough pull on her arm to get her up. Sara could hear her mother screaming at him to stop, slapping his arms and trying to pull him off her daughter. Laura received a backhand across the cheek instead, and she fell over, hitting her head on a table and being knocked unconscious.

The beating continued, punches, kicks, slaps, and rough grabbing at her arms and wrists. She just took the beating for now, knowing that the more she protested, the longer it would go on. He was drunk, and she just kept telling herself that it was her own fault, that she'd said something to upset him, or something like that. She knew that he couldn't be held responsible while he was drunk.

Finally the beating stopped. She heard him cursing and stomping to the kitchen, probably to get more booze. Instead, she heard more slaps and punches, realizing now that he was going after her brother. It was then that she realized that it wasn't her fault. How could it be? Her brother hadn't said anything to anger her father, so maybe the abuse was her dad's fault. Doubt filled her mind. Now she was thinking that he was taking it out on her brother because of something Sara'd said.

She was distracted by the pain in her face, and now she thought that maybe she had a broken jaw. Searing pain was coursing through her body. She tried to forget the pain, tried to concentrate on something she'd learned in school. Her grandmother. Her hamster. Anything but the pain, but it was no use. She finally succumbed to just laying there, not moving, her breathing shallow, faint, and quick.

When her mom became conscious again, she saw the bruises and blood around her daughter. Laura tried to wake her, but when she couldn't, she carried her to the family station wagon and drove her to the hospital. The nurses were obviously very suspicious, but Sara quickly regained consciousness. When they asked her what happened, she replied weakly, "I fell down the stairs and hit my head on the banister and then the floor.

She was proud. It was one of the best lies she'd told to date. The nurse still looked skeptical, but recorded Sara's statement nonetheless.

Now Sara looked up, sobbing, back into Nick's eyes, and was surprised to see tears silently coming down his face as well.

Weakly, voice cracking, he said, "Come here," and held his arms out to her.

She obeyed and sat down sideways on his lap, her head on his shoulder, warmed by the comfort it found there. She continued. "When I was twelve, my mom took things into her own hands." Again the nightmare returned to her mind, and she couldn't help but tell Nick now.

Her father, drunk again, had just finished beating Sara and her brother. This time, it was harder on her brother than her, and as Sara approached her brother lying there on the floor, she saw that he wasn't moving at all. His eyelids weren't even fluttering.

She tried to stir him, but he wouldn't wake. Suddenly, Sara felt sick. She knew right then that her brother was dead. Everything stopped. Noise stopped, her pain stopped, and her heart felt like it stopped. The twelve-year-old's head was spinning and she felt like she was going to puke. She did.

Laura now saw what Sara saw, and was instantly angered. She ran into the kitchen like a wild woman, grabbed the biggest knife she could find, and bolted for her husband. She was yelling madly as she stabbed him eighteen times. Sara saw it all, eighteen flashes of silver, the first going in clean and the rest all tainted with her father's red blood. He'd sustained the first three standing, then fallen to his knees for the next nine, and was on the floor for the last and fatal six.

The next half hour was completely gone from Sara's memory. She could remember the stabbing, and she could remember the cops coming, but she couldn't remember anything in between.

The paramedic took her hand gently, but she shied away instantly. His gentle voice guided her to the ambulance, where a blanket was wrapped around her shoulders and she was given a glass of water. A detective came up to her and started asking questions. Sara wanted to ignore him. There were people rushing all around her, some carrying silver kits, some wheeling stretchers, and others holding small notebooks.

Finally, the shock of what had happened finally set in, and Sara started sobbing uncontrollably, not caring who was watching or what they thought.

By now Sara was fully aware of Nick's crying, as it had gone from silent tears to what were now very audible sobs to match her own. He'd always been empathetic, and now was no exception.

They sat together, holding on to each other for dear life, for what seemed like an eternity.

Finally Sara spoke. "I hope you still love me," she pleaded.

Nick looked at her in shock and replied urgently, "Of course I love you! Don't ever, ever think that I don't! Nothing you can ever do can make me love you any less. It might have been the worst experience of your life, but it has shaped you into who you are, and who you are is who I fell in love with!"

Nick's words sounded so beautiful to her that she fell even deeper into his arms and sobbed herself to sleep as he kissed her forehead gently.

Author's Note: I decided to change the reason Laura Sidle killed Sara's father because I just wanted to put my own spin on it. Review and let me know what you think!