Nick was still mulling over Grissom's declaration to Sara as he continued to examine evidence in their case. Grissom had avoided answering his question, but then maybe that was a good thing. The man had some gall to come after Sara now; she was with him now and he didn't appreciate Grissom thinking that he had the right to go after her. But then again, he'd been the one that had chastised the bug man for not going after her when she'd told Grissom that things were over in the first place. His anger towards his friend and supervisor was beginning to dissipate and as it did, it was replaced with worry once again that Sara might just decide that Grissom's willingness to give up his career for her was what she'd been waiting for all this time. Somehow deep in his gut, he didn't think she really wanted Grissom to give up his career though; the man was a brilliant scientist and it was that in part that Sara had originally fallen in love with; to take that from him would rob the very core of the man. No, Nick was almost certain that what Sara truly wanted more than that sacrifice was for Grissom to understand that she mattered enough to him to let the consequences of their actions fall wherever they were going to and then go on from there. Even now it seemed that he didn't truly grasp the situation clearly.
He was engrossed in thought when he heard soft footfalls entering the room. He smiled as the softness of Sara's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Are you planning on working a triple?" Her voice had a lilt at the end that made almost anything sound a bit like a question.
Nick glanced up at her and noticed the concern in her eyes and wondered to himself if the consternation he was feeling inside had made it to his features and as he straightened up in his chair he realized just how tense he'd become by how tight the muscles in his neck and shoulders were. "Just lost track of time...somehow I thought I'd get through all of this."
Sara smirked with a glint of mischief in her eyes. "Well, Grissom is of the opinion that all of this can wait until tomorrow. Trace and DNA are both backed up and processing it right now isn't going to give us results back any faster." She hadn't really protested at wrapping up a double shift in favor of a little sleep and part of her was also glad that Grissom hadn't brought up the earlier conversation again; instead leaving things at a more professional level.
"I'm not going to argue about that." Nick was relieved that he could actually pack this stuff back into the evidence locker and go home. Although he certainly hoped that Sara might come with him. He still wasn't sure where things between them stood since Grissom had told her that he wanted her back. And the fact that she'd obviously talked to him since earlier had him feeling worried too.
Sara's voice sounded slightly hesitant as she looked Nick in the eyes. "So I was thinking that we talked about having breakfast...and I didn't know if you were still up for it or not, but I make a pretty good omelet." She felt a flurry of nerves as she searched his face for some sort of reaction. She knew that it had been awkward earlier when Nick had walked in and overheard what Grissom had said to her; she was still trying to sort things out in her own mind, but that might take some time and in the meantime, she wanted to spend some more time with Nick because she couldn't ignore the fact that she had feeling for him.
"Are you inviting me over?" Nick couldn't contain his grin as he studied her with unabashed admiration. If she wanted to spend time with him, then that meant that she hadn't immediately come to the conclusion that she wanted to go back to Grissom. It wasn't the exact answer he was looking for, but it was certainly a step in the right direction and he would take that.
Sara pursed her lips, pleased with just how eager he was to spend time with her. "Unless you have other plans." They hadn't clearly defined where they were going to have breakfast when they'd talked about it before work, but the implication that much more than breakfast was going to be involved was certainly there.
Nick shook his head. "No other plans." He hoped that they might talk at least a little bit about what was going on, but he'd known her long enough to know that he had better not push the issue too much. She needed enough space and time to come to her own conclusion and he only hoped that he was the conclusion that she would ultimately come to.
"Good." Sara smiled widely and she felt those nerves swirling again although she wasn't sure why. Maybe it was the newness still of their relationship and the fact that they'd only been together a few times since that first time out at Red Rock and the anticipation of it made her excited and nervous all at the same time. "I'll meet you there then."
"Ok." Nick was grinning ear to ear now and he resisted the urge to kiss her right there; he had promised that he could remain professional at work and he was still on the clock. Once he arrived at her apartment though, all bets were off.
"Ok." Sara grinned back and then turned and disappeared down the hallway walking purposefully towards the locker room.
It took Nick a little while to stow all of the evidence in its proper location and by the time he left the lab and headed towards Sara's he was hungry for far more than just breakfast. He parked his rig and took the steps up to her apartment two at a time, eager to see her without the distraction of a case or Grissom to get between them.
Sara was smiling as she opened the door; she'd showered and changed into a tank top and a pair of track pants, her hair curling around her face as it air dried. "Hey." At the moment he looked far better than breakfast.
"Hey." Nick's voice was husky and he smiled back at her as he closed the door behind them and pulled her into his arms, placing a kiss on her upturned lips and letting himself get lost in the sensation for quite a few minutes before finally releasing her.
Sara felt slightly intoxicated by the kiss and leaned in for another, letting her hands slide up Nick's chest and drift over his shoulders. Omelets were all well and good, but she was certain that at the moment both of them were hungry for something quite different and as she began to walk them back towards her bedroom her thoughts were confirmed as Nick willingly followed. As they tumbled onto her bed, the thought entered her mind that this was the first time that she and Nick would be making love in her apartment; the last time she'd shared her bed with a man it had been Gil Grissom and she tried to push that thought aside as quickly as it had come. Instead she tried to focus on Nick and the way his kiss left her feeling dizzy.
It was much later as they lay together underneath her comforter that Sara found herself lost in thought. Nick had fallen asleep spooned up against her and his arm was slung over her waist. Three little words were swimming around in her mind; words that Nick had uttered to her in the throes of passion; words that she wasn't sure she had really been ready to hear him say to her. And yet he'd uttered them again as a whisper in her ear as he began to drift off to sleep. Sara wasn't sure if she was more afraid of the fact that he'd said that he loved her or the fact that she was finding that she was beginning to feel the same way; despite the feelings that she still had for Grissom. She lay there for a long time thinking about how those three little words had complicated things far more than she had ever anticipated they could before she finally drifted off to sleep too.