Thanks for all the interest in this story. This is actually the second to last chapter. I've decided how to end it, but don't you all worry, I'm a die-hard romantic so it's bound to be a happy ending.


I stretched lazily as I woke up. Every muscle, even some I didn't know I had, was sore like I'd been working out or had a particularly enjoyable and lengthy session of...oh...

My eyes snapped open at the exact instant my left arm came into contact with the warm firm flesh of Sara Sidle's shoulder. I looked over at the most beautiful woman I know, lying on her side next to me, the sheets wrapped around her bare body. She looked incredibly gorgeous with her hair all mussed from...certain nighttime activities.

I watched her silently, the little sheet thief, before she began to wake up. I watched her eyes flutter open and as she was in the middle of a sigh while stretching, they landed on me and she froze. Her soft brown eyes widened, as she seemed to remember where she was.

"Don't freak out." I told her quickly, propping my head up on one hand.

She shot me a slightly offended look. "I'm not 'freaking out' Nick." Then her expression softened. "Okay, maybe I'm freaking out a little bit. But it isn't every day that I wake up after a night in bed with my best friend."

"I'm your best friend?" I smiled at the thought, thoroughly pleased with myself. She shot me a glare. "Right." I said quickly, knowing that this was not the time to latch onto that fact. "Listen, I know you're in love with Grissom, but that doesn't mean that..."

She cut me off with a shocked look on her face. "In love with Grissom?" She repeated. "I'm not...I'm not in love with Grissom!"

I blinked, stunned. "What!"

She rolled her eyes. "I. Am. Not. In. Love. With. Gil. Grissom." She said slowly, enunciating quite clearly.

"Uh...what!" I just stared at her.

She sat up; still wrapped in the sheet she stole from me, and looked at me frankly. Then she kissed me. When she pulled away, she said the words that forever changed my life. "I'm in love with you Nicholas Stokes."


I was sitting in the break room with Cath and Greg when Nick and Sara walked in, side by side. He had his arm around her waist and she was whispering in his ear. He laughed and turned slightly pink, making me wonder what she had said to him.

She had turned in his arms and began kissing him, when Greg cleared his throat. Sara spun around, her face as pink as Nick's and smiled embarrassed at us all.

"So you two finally got together?" Greg asked matter-of-factly, as he handed her a cup of coffee.

"Yeah," Nick said a little breathlessly. "We did." He smiled a broad grin at Sara and she smiled back at him.

After a moment, Sara turned to Cath and I, and stared for a moment. Cath was sitting on the cushion next to me on the couch, and her long legs were thrown across my lap. My arm was lying on the back of the couch, and I couldn't resist sharing a grin of my own with Cath.

"When did this happen?" She asked, eyes wide.

Cath smiled at the brunette. "Well," She met my eyes for a second and then looked back at Nick and Sara. "We were setting you two up, trying to get you two together, and..."

I finished her sentence. "We figured out that it was time enough that we stopped dancing around eachother and finally got together."

Greg looked as if he was about to crack his head with his wide smile. "Finally. For all of you."


As always, let me know what you think. This story is one I love, and I hope you all love it too.

-transgenic-girl