A/N: Jenny70529, seriously, thank you so much for your comment! I appreciate knowing that you like it, and you know what?… I feel bad for Warrick, too! The Swedhis alias fan, I love cliff hangers, don't you? Hehe. But here's your conversation. Enjoy! odeepblue, Sara's on a roll, I think! Hopefully she'll continue being strong! somebody101, thank you for your comment, and I hope you enjoy this chapter! The Lovely Desdemona, you've helped with the migration before? That's cool! My local museum just opened up a living monarch conservatory. I can't wait to go stand in the middle of a room, while butterflies land on my head! Cherrdrops12, thank you for still following along with this story, and for taking the time to comment! wraiths-angel, thank you to you, as well, for taking the time to read and comment! And Catnip, I hope you continue to enjoy the rest of the story. Happy reading, everyone!

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Disclaimer: I do not own any part of CSI or its characters. That honor goes to the good folks over at CBS.

Title: The Conversation

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High Ropes

"Shit!" Warrick screamed, as he dizzily watched the ground approach his head. "Shit!" he repeated, tightly closing his eyes.

Down below, Sara gasped, as her mind tried to process what her eyes were telling her was actually taking place. Did he fall? Did he really just fall?

"What the hell!" Nick yelled, his eyes widening, when he observed Warrick slip from the rope. How could this have happened?

"Oh, my God," Catherine added, moving toward the obstacle course, although she realized that there was nothing that she would be able to do in order to help Warrick.

Grissom just calmly took in the entire scene, his hands hanging loosely by his sides.

"Damn," Warrick muttered under his breath, as his body twisted from side to side in the air, still fighting with gravity. "Well ain't that a bitch," he frowned, as he hung upside down, suspended from the tightrope.

"Well at least we know that the safety cords work," Greg brightly pointed out, looking up at Warrick with a smile. Although I can't believe that Sara made it across, and you didn't.

Catherine rolled her eyes at Greg, before glancing up at Warrick. "You okay?" she questioned him.

"I'm fine," he sighed. "I think my pride is more wounded than my body, at this point," he added, still gently swaying from side to side.

"Stuff happens, man," Nick told him, trying not to think about the fact that Warrick—strong, cool, calm, and collected Warrick—just plummeted to the ground. Because if he struggled with this, I know that I will, too, he thought to himself.

"Yeah, Nicky. Enjoy this thing, okay? It's great," Warrick dryly mumbled to his friend, as Max started to lower him the rest of the way down to the ground.

"So you're going to go try again, though, right?" Sara immediately asked him, once he was standing on his own two feet.

Warrick slowly shook his head from side to side, staring at the ground. "Not right now, girl. My legs are too shaky. And so are my arms."

Sara pursed her lips, staring at Warrick. "Would you let me quit?" she calmly asked him, unwaveringly.

"What?" Warrick asked, raising his gaze to meet hers.

"Would you let me quit?" Sara repeated her question, as if challenging him.

Nick stared at Sara, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "She's got a point, man," he chuckled.

Warrick ran a hand through his hair, looking upward at the rope. "But I'm shaky, Sara," he pointed out. "Really shaky."

"I understand that," Sara quietly stated. "But would you let me quit, if our roles were reversed?" She continued to prod him.

"No," Warrick let out a heavy sigh. "No, I wouldn't."

"So then you should think about getting back up there," Sara swallowed, not giving up.

"Yeah, man," Nick agreed. "You should get back up there, and try again."

"We're in no rush, Warrick," Catherine pointed out. "We have all day."

Warrick blinked, staring at the ground for a moment in order to collect his thoughts. "Okay," he acquiesced. "Okay, I'll try it again."

"Who's the man?" Greg asked, grinning. "You da man," he immediately answered his own question, causing everyone around him to chuckle.

"Just take it slow and steady, Warrick," Grissom advised him. "Slow and steady wins the race."

"I know," Warrick conceded, swaggering toward the rope ladder. "I got this," he told himself, quickly climbing back up to the platform.

"C'mon, Warrick!" Greg cheered him on, loudly clapping. "You got this!"

"You got this, man!" Nick added, once again shielding his eyes against the glare from the sun.

Sara and Catherine just quietly watched Warrick, waiting to see what he would do.

"I got this," Warrick repeated to himself, taking a tentative step out onto the rope. "I got this," he continued to mumbled, sliding his hands along the guide rails, and taking another step forward. "Damn, I'm sweating!" he yelled down to his friends on the ground.

"We know!" Greg called back. "We're catching the drops!"

Warrick grinned, holding back a chuckle. "Don't laugh, it'll shake the rope," he ordered himself, sliding his hands and feet forward another couple of steps. Staring straight ahead of himself, Warrick frowned, shuffling a little bit further onto the tightrope. "It's starting to shake!" he announced to everyone still on the ground.

"Just take tiny steps, Warrick," Sara calmly called up to him. "It's going to shake more and more, as you near the center. But you're doing fine!" she tried to encourage him.

Warrick didn't bother nodding or responding to Sara, as he very carefully lifted one arm off of the rope, in order to wipe the sweat out of his eyes. "Damn," he whispered, staring down at the ground.

"Keep going, man!" Nick yelled up to him.

Warrick remained silent, as he neared the center of the rope, and immediately kept shuffling forward. "I'm going to get through this," he informed himself, once again stopping, in order to wipe the sweat from his eyes.

"He's going to make it," Greg whispered to Sara, who merely continued to watch Warrick's progress.

"I'm going to make it!" Warrick said more loudly, as he shuffled another couple of inches forward, nearing the three-quarters mark. "Hot damn, I'm going to make it!"

Catherine grinned, as she watched Warrick continue to conquer the obstacle. "Come on, Warrick!" she cheered him on. "You can do it!"

Warrick grinned, as he held one hand out in front of himself, reaching for the wooden platform. "One more step, c'mon, just one more step!" he muttered, taking a deep breath, and very carefully shuffling forward. "I did it!" he screamed in triumph, as his fingers slid to the very end of the guide rope, enabling him to hoist himself onto the platform. "Damn, I did it!"

"Alright, Warrick!" Sara called out.

"Congrats, man!" Nick grinned.

"I knew you could do it, Warrick," Catherine told him, watching him, as he slowly made his decent back to the ground.

"Dude, you rock!" Greg smiled.

"You just had to trust yourself, Warrick. But I'm proud of you," Grissom quietly told him, as he strolled over to his friends and colleagues. "I really am."

"Thanks, guys," Warrick smiled at everyone, using his shoulder to wipe the remaining sweat off of his forehead. "But damn that was hard!"

"Uh-huh," Greg agreed. "It was! But you did it!"

"I sure did," came Warrick's excited replied.

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On the trail back to the campsite

"I can't believe that everyone got through the obstacle on the first try, except for me," Warrick quietly told Nick, as they walked side by side back to their campsite, behind Grissom, Greg, Sara, and Catherine.

"It's okay, man," Nick smiled, turning to look at him. "Like I told you before, though, stuff happens."

"I know, but I should have been able to do it!"

"… Why?" Nick prompted him.

Warrick shrugged, running a hand through his hair. "Because I just should have been able to."

"You don't have to be the best at everything, Rick," Nick reminded him. "You're not Superman or anything."

"I know," Warrick agreed with him. "But that was pretty embarrassing."

Nick chuckled, before quickly sobering up. "I'm not laughing at you, don't worry, man," he told Warrick. "But…" he hesitated for a moment. "Falling wasn't embarrassing. What would have been embarrassing, though, would have been you giving up on the spot."

Warrick nodded, mulling that over in his mind. "Thanks, Nicky," he finally conceded. "You're right. I would have failed, had I not tried again."

"Yup," Nick smiled, once again facing forward.

"Hey, Grissom?" Greg spoke up.

"What?" Grissom asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What's for dinner?" Greg asked, grinning. "I'm hungry!"

"What else is new?" Catherine chuckled, glancing at Sara.

Sara just smiled, observing the scenery around them, as they returned to camp.

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Much later that night

"Are you okay, Sara?" Catherine tiredly asked, rolling over in her sleeping bag, and cracking an eye open to study Sara's expression.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Sara tried to assure her. "Just a little bit restless. I'm going to go sit outside by the fire pit for a little while; perhaps even go for a walk."

Catherine shook her head no, frowning at her friend. "Lake Mead has a lot of wild animals," she reminded her. "Night time is their time to explore the park. I wouldn't leave the campsite," she advised.

Sara sighed, before nodding her head in agreement. "You're right," she mumbled. "In that case, I'll just be sitting by the campfire."

"Okay. Just be careful," Catherine yawned, once again closing her eyes, and drifting off to sleep.

I will, but… I really need some fresh air, Sara thought to herself, crawling toward the door, and unzipping the tent flap. Cautiously poking her head outside, Sara gave a snort of surprise, as her eyes fell upon another person already seated around the fire pit. "Hi, Nick," she quietly greeted her co-worker, before crawling the rest of the way out of the tent. And then a bit more excitedly, "You made a fire? Excellent!"

"Hey, Sara," he smiled, nodding in her direction. "Yeah, I made a fire. But what are you still doing up?"

"I couldn't sleep," Sara shrugged. "I guess today was a little bit too exciting for me," she confided in him, sitting down on one of the logs facing him.

Nick nodded his understanding, clearing his throat. "Yeah… I'm sorry about that, by the way."

"Don't be," Sara immediately replied. "You did nothing wrong." Clasping her hands in her lap, Sara closed her eyes, letting the cool night air brush against her face. After a moment, she cleared her throat. "Nick, do you ever regret becoming a criminalist?" she asked, her eyes still closed.

Nick slowly raised his gaze to Sara's face, before realizing that she wasn't even looking at him. "Why… do you ask?" he wanted to know. Sometimes I regret it; especially when inexplicably bad things seem to keep happening to myself and my friends.

Sara wrapped her arms tightly around herself, swallowing. "I don't know. It just seems like in the past six years, we've all had to endure a lot. I mean," she sighed. "Holly died; You had a gun pulled on you twice, you were thrown out a window, you were stalked, you were kidnapped and buried alive; I've been bait for a rapist, I've been attacked, I've been spit on, I've been lied to; Jim's been shot; Catherine has… well, the list just goes on and on, you know? There's really no use rehashing everything, I suppose." But thinking back on the past six years, we've had one disaster right after another.

Nick frowned, staring at the ground. Rehashing it? But you just brought it all back up again. Why did you have to do that? "Well," he mumbled rubbing the back of his neck. "I don't necessarily regret becoming a CSI, but sometimes I wonder how we can all continue to do our jobs. I mean, let's face it, Sar: we have dangerous jobs. Most people only read about violent crimes in the newspapers, or hear about them on television. We actually have to get into the minds of the killers, in order to solve the crimes. That's not an easy thing to do, and sometimes… it just plain sucks," he concluded.

"Yeah, it does," Sara admitted, staring into the depths of the fire, letting the small flames calm her slightly frayed nerves down. "I've thought about quitting before, too; going back to California, picking up a surf board, and maybe just opening up a bed and breakfast."

Nick nodded, the corner of his mouth pulling up into a smile. "That actually sounds kind of nice," he told her. "Quiet; peaceful. I've actually considered returning to Texas," he confided in her, once again looking up at her.

"Really?" Well that's pretty surprising, Sara thought, her eyes widening in shock "What would you do there?" she asked, turning to glance at him.

"I don't know," Nick shrugged. "Go to law school, be a cowboy, or even nothing," he frowned, holding his hands up to the flames for a minute, in the hopes of warming himself up.

"A cowboy?" Sara asked, raising an eyebrow, and chuckling.

"Do you have a problem with cowboys, Sara?" he grinned.

"Uh… no, but…"

"But nothing," Nick smiled. "But it's just a thought. I don't think that I'll ever leave Vegas," he immediately sobered up.

"Me, either," Sara replied, glancing at the fire. "It's my home now. I may not always like the job, but… I definitely like the people that I've met in Vegas."

Nick stared at the ground, suddenly frowning.

"Are you okay?" Sara cautiously asked him. "You look a little bit unhappy." Did I just say something wrong? Do you not like working with all of us?

"Yeah," Nick hesitated. "I was just thinking about something. There was a time, you know, when I—" he started to say, before jumping, as he heard rustling coming from inside of the tent that Greg and Grissom shared.

"There was time when you what?" Sara prompted him, ignoring the noise coming from the tent.

"There was a time when I wanted—" Nick again started to say, his frown deepening, as he heard the zipper of the tent flap being pulled down.

Sara stared at the tent, raising an eyebrow.

"Hi, guys!" Greg whispered, poking his head out of the tent.

"Hey, Greg," Sara smiled at him, waiting for him to join her and Nick by the fire pit.

"Hey, Greggo," Nick dejectedly mumbled, staring at the ground. Thanks, man. I was just about to bare my heart and soul.

"Whatcha all doin' out here?" Greg whispered, sitting down on the log next to Sara's log.

"Just talking," Sara informed him. "What were you going to say, Nick?" she quizzically asked, returning her gaze to him.

Nick rubbed the back of his neck, sighing. I was just going to say that there was a time, before you and Grissom found each other, when I had feelings for you. And now I just want you to know how I feel, so that I no longer feel so awkward around you. "Uh…" he hesitated. "I was just going to say that there was a time when I… really wanted to be a lawyer," he quickly finished up, unable to hide his frown.

"Ah," Sara replied, raising an eyebrow. "Are you sure that you weren't going to say something else?" Because I really don't think that that is what you were going to tell me.

"Yup, I'm sure," Nick smiled, attempting to reassure her.

"So are you going to go to law school, Nick?" Greg eagerly asked him. "That'd be cool, if you were planning on it."

Nick slowly shook his head no. "No, man, I'm happy being a criminalist. Although we have a lot of crime in Vegas, I still love my job."

Greg nodded, glancing over at Sara. "And you're not planning on leaving the city any time soon, right?" he grinned.

Sara softly chuckled. "No, Greg. I'm going to be in Vegas for a very long time," she added, before yawning. "But if you boys will excuse me now, I think that it's time for me to actually go to bed."

"Okay, goodnight, Sara!" Greg cheerfully said.

"'Night, Sar," Nick added, trying not to sound so unhappy.

"Goodnight," Sara told them both, frowning at Nick's expression. Something's definitely not right with him. "Hey, Nick?" she softly called out, standing up, and stretching.

"What?" Nick replied, removing his gaze from the fire, and refocusing his attention on Sara's face.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" she asked, waving him toward her with one of her fingers.

Nick simply nodded, standing up, and slowly moving toward Sara. "What's up, Sar?" he whispered, walking a short distance away from Greg.

"I'm not mad at you, you know," she informed him.

Nick blinked, looking over at her. "Okay."

"I mean, I'm not mad about earlier. In fact," Sara continued, clearing her throat. "I'm really sorry about what happened, Nick; I'm sorry that I reacted to you in the manner that I did, during the ropes course. I know that you would never do anything to intentionally hurt me. You're one of my best friends. Hell, you're like a brother to me," she smiled at him, hesitantly reaching toward him, in order to wrap her arms around his body.

Nick softly chuckled, gingerly wrapping his arms around Sara, and loosely hugging her to himself. Like a brother? Fantastic; that's just what I wanted to hear! "Okay, well, as long as you really know that I would never hurt you, Sar."

"I do, Nick," she quietly told him, pulling away from the embrace. "I'm lucky to have you as a friend; you would never do anything to hurt me, and I know that."

Nick nodded, finally removing his arms from around Sara, and glancing over at her tent. "So… goodnight for now, then?" he asked, raising an eyebrow and trying to smile.

"Goodnight, Nick," Sara grinned, turning around, and unzipping the tent flap. Once inside, she turned around to re-zipper the flap, catching a quick glimpse of Nick's slightly pained expression, before he turned back toward the camp fire. "What's going on with you?" Sara whispered into the darkness, sighing.

"With whom?" Catherine immediately asked, causing Sara to jump.

"God," Sara whispered. "I'm sorry, Cath; I didn't mean to wake you up!"

Catherine chuckled. "It's fine. What's going on, though?"

Sara quietly climbed into her sleeping bag, frowning. "Something's up with Nick. I thought that he might be upset about what happened earlier, but that isn't the problem," Sara admitted.

"No, that isn't the problem," Catherine confirmed, turning on her side to glance at the other woman.

"You know what's going on?" Sara hesitantly asked, a little bit surprised.

"Uh-huh," Catherine smiled. "Carpe Diem."

"I don't get it," Sara frowned. "What does seizing the day have to do with anything?"

"Nick didn't 'seize the day,' Sara."

"…What do you mean?"

"He didn't take the chance when he had it."

"What are you talking about?" Sara curiously asked, now more confused than ever.

"It's pretty obvious that Nick has feelings for you, Sara. Feelings that he can no longer act upon," her words hung in the air, while a slightly amused expression appeared on her face.

"What?" Sara asked, her breath halting in her chest.

"He has feelings for you," Catherine quietly repeated her statement. "Or at the very least, he had feelings for you, at one point or another."

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TO BE CONTINUED 