Disclaimer: Still not mine.

Author's Note: Thanks so much to all who read and reviewed!

"What's so funny?"

Sara was caught off guard by the question as she didn't expect Hodges to notice her smiling. He was pacing around the trace lab so much; she thought he had already forgotten all about her. "Nothing," she said slyly, her thoughts slowly digressing back to dancing. It's one of the activities she'd love to do but doesn't get enough chance to. The quick minute she had spent dancing with Nick the other day was a testament on how much fun it could be. It also helped that he knew all the moves. He should though, being the ladies' man that he is. Snapping out of her reverie she glanced at Hodges and noticed he was looking at her a bit amused. She ignored it and took a step backwards ready to bolt out of there. "Listen, I gotta go... do me a favor and give that to Catherine once you're done alright?"

"Got it. Where are you going so early anyways?" he asked nosily with a slight raise of his eyebrows. After a while, he nodded as if he knew all along. "You got a date. On my off days I go on dates too. You know, it's not easy being smart and cute… girls find it simply irresis…"

Sara cleared her throat and sighed impatiently as she waited for him to stop speaking. He was right about her having a date but she wasn't admitting anything to him.

Hodges ignored the hint and went on. "I usually don't go here on my off days, unless… Hey are you going with someone who works here?"

Sara's heart almost stopped at the question. He can't possibly know, can he? They had been really careful. At least she thought they were. No one has mentioned anything even remotely related to it except now. Someone at the top of the ladder will have both of their heads if the relationship comes out and neither of them will be able to afford that. She just stood there not saying anything and let Hodges do all the talking.

"It's Nick, isn't it? I knew there was something to that… prancing you were doing earlier." Hodges leaned forward and kept his voice low. "You don't have to worry, I won't tell anyone. It could be our own little secret…" He grinned and gave her a wink.

A wave of relief washed over Sara as she realized that he didn't know the truth. "Um, later…" she uttered and left him to believe what he wanted by evading the question. Stepping out of the room she went straight to the lockers, urging herself to relax while she changed her clothes. The few months she had spent going behind everyone's back must be getting to her already. She hated that she had to lie, especially to her friends. One of these days she would really need to confide in somebody.

"Hey I've been looking for you…"

Sara whipped her head towards the door in time to watch Nick walk right in and sit straddling the bench behind her. Shutting her locker she turned to face him and leaned her back against the lockers. "Yeah, I wanted to talk to you too… but you go first," she said smiling a little. If there's anyone in the lab who'd understand her completely, it would be Nick. And she's certain he wouldn't rat on them so there could be no harm in telling him, right?

Nick nodded and smiled as well. "I was thinking, on our next day off together maybe we could…" he paused and looked her up and down like he was seeing her for the first time. "You look nice. Where are you off to?" he asked, his smile fading a bit.

Sara glanced down at the single black dress she owned. It wasn't even that dressy, but since most of the people around her were so used to seeing her in plain jeans and shirt, she guessed it could be considered as such. Looking back at him, she gently bit on her bottom lip as she thought of what to say. "Just some… date," she said swallowing hard afterwards. The way Nick was looking at her was making her slightly nervous. Shrugging her coat on she kept her hands busy with the belt as she gathered enough courage to tell him the truth. "I've been meaning to tell you…"

"You've been seeing someone." Nick cut her off and got up from the bench to stand directly in front of her. After a moment of silence he finally gave her a smile and took her fumbling hands away from the belt. "It's about time you got out more. Hadn't I told you that once?" Knotting her belt for her he reached up and patted her upper arms, his hands staying on them a tad bit longer. "Don't look so glum… you deserve to have fun once in a while. And don't feel guilty about not maxing out on overtime either," he joked, and then reached behind her gently pulling some hair that got stuck beneath the coat. He looked like he was about to say more but decided against it, turned around instead and went over to his own locker.

Sara shook her head, feeling worse by the second. "It's not about that… It's more of who I'm seeing." She paused taking a deep breath. "Well it looks like you're busy… you must be in the middle of a case… and this isn't really the place for this. Can we talk about it later? Like tomorrow before shift starts?" He'd been really quiet that she wasn't even certain that he heard her.

"Give me ten minutes." Grissom called to her by the doorway, obviously not yet aware that someone else was in the room aside from her. Eventually sensing it, he turned to look at Nick and pursed his lips as if deep in thought. He didn't say anything, just nodded at Sara and stepped out.

Sara tore her eyes away from the door and faced Nick, waiting for any reaction. It wasn't the best way for him to find out but at least it saved her from having to say it out loud. That didn't help much though and she was still left feeling like she had betrayed him for not telling him about it earlier.

His phone rang, saving him from having to say anything. He glanced briefly at it to read the message and then looked back at her. "Duty calls. Keep your coat on for me…" With that, he left the room leaving Sara wondering what the hell he exactly meant by it.

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