Almost to the end. Thanks to all for keeping up with this story and for reviewing


"I don't know" Sara said, peering into the bathroom mirror "I still think you can see it"

Nick looked at her, shrugging "I don't see it" he said "I think you just want to see it"

"I am missing an entire patch of hair, Nicholas" She snapped back, referring to the large area where the doctors had stapled her scalp back together "How can you not see it?"

He rolled his eyes, grabbing his cologne from the medicine cabinet "Look," he said "I don't care how close you came to dying; don't call me Nicholas"

She smiled, still examining her head "Nicholas James...."

Grabbing her shoulders, he gently moved her out of his way and shoved her from the bathroom "Go wait in the living room" He ordered "I can't get ready with you standing here in my way..you take up half my bathroom"

She jutted her lip out, ignoring him "You can get dressed in your bedroom" She protested

"And you can sit your butt on my couch and wait until I am done" he said as he grinned at her, closing the door as she turned to argue. "And stay the hell out of my food!"

He laughed as he imagined the look on her face, waiting for a response. When there was none, he could hear her in the kitchen, knowing she was rummaging for whatever snacks she could find. Damn her He thought She's gonna eat the licorice again

It was late July, three weeks after the accident. Sara had spent 4 days under observation, being sent home only after they were sure her preterm labor had stopped. She had suffered from a concussion and still took a mild pain medication for headaches; she had, of course, insured that whatever she took could not harm the baby.

The dam-bursting effects of Ecklie's decision to send Sara out into the field that day had cost him dearly. His capability as an objective leader had been called into question and the department was considering dismissal based on conduct unbecoming a law enforcement official. He had, they said, used prejudicial judgment in his treatment of Sara and it had nearly cost her and her unborn child their lives. That and he was facing charges for negligence and unlawful use of administrative power.

In his absence, Gil had been asked to be acting Assistant Lab Director; he was reluctant to accept. He enjoyed his job, he liked working with the crew and he did not want to spend his days tied to paperwork. The only positive to the position, aside from a hefty pay increase, was his ability to be at home with Sara at night. He had agreed to accept it temporarily, giving them time to find someone else to fill the position

Nick came out of the bathroom, wiping his face with a towel. Seeing Sara in the kitchen he smiled "How do you always find the licorice?"

"You don't hide it well" She smiled back, sticking another link of red licorice in her mouth "I'm pregnant...you do not hide food from pregnant women"

"Not from you, that's for sure" he commented, taking the tub of red licorice from her "You are like the godzilla of oink"

"I am feeding another person" She said, grabbing the can of Root Beer she'd gotten from the refrigerator "It isn't my fault she eats a lot"

He laughed "Sure. It's easy to blame the baby because she can't defend herself"

She smiled at him, grabbing another licorice from the container before he had a chance to put the lid on "Are you even ready to go yet? Or are you still prettying yourself up for Sofia?"

"I am not prettying myself up" he said as she grabbed her car keys "I just wanted a shower after work"

"Uh-huh" She commented as she opened the front door "And that is exactly why you're wearing that expensive Bouchern por Homme cologne"

He smiled as he closed the door behind them "You bought it for me"

Putting her sunglasses on she grinned at him over her shoulder "Yeah, I thought it might help you get lucky"

To Sara, it seemed that everything was working out fine. She had picked Nick up at his apartment, making sure he rode with her so as to give Sofia an excuse to take him home. He did not know it, but the two women had planned that part out.

Unknown to Sara, Nick was having a difficult time. He saw Sofia every day at work, talked to her over decomposing flesh, even spent hours in the desert collecting blow flies from a corpse. But sitting next to her, in such close 'off the clock' proximity was making him sweat.

They were at Cirque de Soleil at the Mirage, Sara having twisted his arm to get him to go. He knew that Sofia was going, what he did not know was that Sara had planned it so that they sat alone while Sara sat with Greg across the theater. Yeah, he could just about throttle her right then. He made a mental note to get even with her, somehow, after the baby was born. Picking on a pregnant woman was one thing, but your best friend? Everyone did that

It wasn't bad enough that he had spilled a drink in Sofia's lap, it also wasn't bad enough that he tried to wipe it up with his hand. His hand. What was worse was the proximity of the spill to her somewhat private region. He felt like a fool...a fool with his hand dangerously close to the forbidden zone

Sofia had only laughed, thanking him for breaking the ice. She was nervous, too, she said and thought that Sara was quietly plotting her demise. He had smiled, feeling some relief. Still, the overwhelming urge to find Sara Sidle in the crowd pinch her was strong. After the show, they all went out for drinks. For Sara, it was lemon lime soda with a slice of citrus. For the others, it was mixed drinks and tequila shots. By the time they left the casino, Nick's head was floating and he felt almost giddy; hugging Sara as he thanked her for a wonderful evening Instead of Sofia driving him home, Sara dropped him off. He had seen to it that he walked Sofia to her door, nervously thanking her for a 'wonderful' evening as she leaned forward to kiss his cheek. To his surprise, he asked her out again and she accepted. This time, they agreed, they would leave their matchmaker at home. He made arrangements to pick her up the next day so that they could get her car from the parking lot at the casino, where she'd left it after matching his tequila shooter he got back into the car with Sara, he smiled over at her. "You are the best friend in the world" He said, his words only slightly slurred "I love you"She smiled "Thanks. I love you too"

"Sofia's pretty hot" He continued, feeling his head swirling

Sara laughed "You're drunk"

"I am that" He nodded "But, yer still my best friend"

She was quiet, thinking that if she did not talk he would get tired and fall asleep. It didn't work "You know I used to wanna be with you, right?" He continued "Years ago..." He waved his hand in front of him as if giving an example "But you loved Grissom and I hated him...hated him."

"Nick, you're drunk" She said "You probably don't want to tell me this right now"

"No, see? Now is when I want to tell you this...'cause I'm drunk" He continued "I love you. I really do, Sara. I have always loved you...but I always knew you belonged to someone else so...you are my best friend" He shrugged "I figured, if you couldn't be my girl, you should at least be my best friend, right?"

"Nick..."

"Sara..."

"You like Sofia."

"I do" He agreed drunkenly "She's hot"

She smiled, glad that he was off the topic "You two going out again?"

"Yep" He nodded, his head resting on the headrest. As he started to close his eyes, he said: "You know I almost wished that I was the one you were having a baby with" He said "It didn't seem fair to me...I was the one who loved you and you were havin' some other guys kid. And he didn't even care...if I'd have been the one, I'd have jumped for joy. I never would'a hurt you like he did, Sara. I never would'a made you cry"

"Nick, come on" She said soothingly "You are not thinking straight right now..."

"Maybe..." He slurred "But at least I can tell you how I feel"

"You'll hate yourself tomorrow" She warned

"Ahhh, but it is not tomorrow..." He continued "And I just want you to know that I'd have been there for you, Sara. I'd have helped you raise the baby...kind of sappy, huh?" He asked, continuing before she could finish "I didn't want him to come back. I hoped he'd just disappear...I wanted you to be happy, but I wanted you to be happy with me...it didn't work out"

Sara felt increasingly uncomfortable, unsure how to respond. He was drunk and Nick always got overly emotionally dramatic when he was drunk. Always.

"When I found Grissom was the dad, I felt like you kicked me in the gut" he proceeded "I really, really never saw that comin'..."

"You have to get over that, Nick" She tried "You have to"

"No, I don't" he countered "But I can accept it and move on." He was quiet a few moments, looking out the window "I can see how much he loves you, Sara. And I can see how much he wants to take care of the two of you, how much you mean to him. And that makes me happy. All I want is for someone to take care of you and love you...and appreciate you. If I can't be the guy you are with, I want the guy who is to know what he has...I guess I finally realize that Grissom knows he has the whole world in his hands, I just hope he appreciates it"

Sara felt relief as she pulled up in front of his apartment building, turning to him "You need to get some sleep, Nicky..." She said, careful to avoid responding to his confession. "Drink a lot of water before you go to bed. It helps with hang overs"

He leaned over, kissing her cheek "I really do love you, Sara" He said "And I think that Gil Grissom is a damn lucky man"

She didn't say anything, feeling the heat rise in her cheeks "Good night, Nicky"

He smiled at her, opening the door "Good night, Darlin'"

She waited until he was safely inside before heading down the highway to her apartment, knowing that Gil was probably sound asleep by then. She knew she would never tell him about the conversation or how Nick really felt; all it would do, she knew, was stove the already bitter feelings between the two most important men in her life.

Gil felt her crawl into bed, the gentle scent of her Vanilla Amber body oil filling his scenes. Glancing at the clock, he noted it was just after 2 AM

"Long night?" He asked as he rolled over to pull her close, kissing her shoulder

She yawned. "They were all quite inebriated" She replied "I'm sorry I woke you"

"No fun being with a group of drunks when you yourself are not drunk" He replied sleepily, kissing her shoulder again as his right arm fell across her abdomen, rubbing it softly.

"Tell me about it." She said, thinking of Nick.

She lay there awake, staring up at the ceiling as the muted light from the moon outside cast shadows across the room, listening as his breathing leveled out as he drifted back into sleep. She lay there for over 30 minutes, feeling as the baby turned a few times before finally settling down, Gil's arm still protectively around her.

She thought about Nick and what he said. Would she have been with him, if things had been different? She knew she loved Nick; he was her best friend. But, had she ever been in love with him, even for a moment?

She looked over at Gil, the smoothness of his forehead, the gentle brush of his nose, his lips in sleep and knew the answer. She never felt for anyone what she felt for Gil and lying there with him she realized that he was the only man in her entire life that ever had been, and always would be, truly..infatuatingly... in love with

She had been off work for 4 weeks now and the monotony of daily life was about to drive her insane. The doctors had ordered her to 'strict light duty' after releasing her from the hospital, telling Gil she was to be off of work for at least a week before returning. They recommended that she refrain from any working until the birth

He, of course, took that to the extreme and put her on leave indefinitely; telling her that she could go back to work after her maternity leave was up. She had been irritated with him. After all, he knew she wasn't planning on returning to the lab

"That is excessive abuse of power" She had argued with him a week after being released from the hospital. She had come into the lab, hoping to be assigned to something, anything. As she stood in his new 'temporary' office, she felt frustrated at his refusal to budge. "Are you doing this because you are the father or because you're my boss?"

"Both," He sighed "I cannot risk having you back here at work; even on light duty. What will you do?"

She shrugged "I don't know, shred paper?" She tried "Gil, I process... process...even a monkey can do that"

"You are not a monkey." He replied, looking at her over the rim of his glasses. "You are a very pregnant woman who nearly died and who is still at risk of premature labor. You need to be home until the baby comes"

She glared at him "I hate it when you pull that tone with me"

"What tone?"

"That whole 'I'm your boss and you'll do what I say' tone" She crossed her arms over her chest

"I am your boss and you will do what I say" He had shot back in a soft tone. "I am also the man who loves you, and I need you to be safe"

"I can be safe processing evidence"

He sighed "Your doctor backs me up on this Sara"

"My doctor just wants to be on your good side" She replied "I don't want to stay home for 4 weeks, Gilbert"

"And I don't want you going into pre-term labor in the middle of the lab!" He had been firm, unrelenting "It isn't worth the risk, Sara. You know that...you also know that legally I can not permit you to work; not after your doctor has indicated otherwise. Despite our relationship, I cannot cross that boundary. Even if I could, I would not. I won't risk you or our baby just so you will not be bored"

She let out a long breath "I knew I should not have went in for that check up"

He nodded "You need to be safe" He said "And so does our daughter. If you had not been in the accident, you could work until the day you deliver...but..." He shrugged "things are different...your situation is compromised. You know I would not do this to you otherwise"

She smiled at him; God, he was cute "Okay" She said "But I will whine about it every day"

Smiling back, he gazed at her "I count on it"