Chapter Five
Sara closed her eyes as if praying for strength.
Brass stared at Grissom disbelieving. "You forgot to plan the honeymoon?"
Greg let out a low whistle.
Nick looked up and watched as Sara seemed to deflate.
Grissom's mouth opened to explain, glancing down at Sara.
She shook her head and held up both her hands, giving up. "You know what? It's ok, really. Perfect topper to the day." She stood up from the couch and stepped out from between the two men, hurrying down the hall to the bedroom she'd spent the previous night in, slamming the door behind her.
In the living room, Brass could only stare at Grissom and shake his head sadly.
Sara slipped out of her wedding dress, letting it lie in a heap at her feet. She grabbed her overnight bag and pulled on a pair of jeans and a tee shirt. Grabbing her purse and bag, she headed back out into the living room, leaving the dress on the floor.
She nearly knocked Grissom down at the end of the hall, as he started down toward the bedroom. "Leave me alone Gil."
"No Sara. We need to talk about this."
"Okay," Sara folded her arms across her chest, the overnight bag bumping her hip. "Where should we start? How 'bout how you were so busy with your bugs that you forgot our honeymoon? Or maybe the idea of spending a week alone with me repulses you?" She cocked an eyebrow, baiting him.
Grissom flinched at her accusation, his face reflecting the pain at her words.
Sara was glad. And ashamed.
"Sara…" he began, but didn't know what to say to make the situation better.
She gave him a moment, wanting to see what excuse he would come up with. "Gil, just get out of my way. Please."
Reluctantly, he did. Taking a step backward, he gave her enough room to get to the front door and leave.
Sara nearly ran to her car and sped quickly away.
"Sara!" Nick called after her, reaching the door just in time to see her car back down the driveway. He turned to Grissom. "Go after her!"
Grissom shook his head. "She needs to be alone when she gets like this. We all know that Nicky."
Nick bristled at the nickname and looked to Catherine. She shook her head slightly. Nicks eyes slid over to Warrick, and watched as the other man's brow furrowed just slightly. The look exchanged told Nick all he needed to know. Go after her.
Straightening his shoulders, Nick glanced back to Catherine, "I'll come back before shift tomorrow, help you clean up." He said that in hopes that it would throw Grissom off, that it wouldn't be apparent he was leaving to find Sara.
--
Nick had been secretly pleased when Sara had told him she was keeping her apartment until after the wedding, but now it only added to the number of places she might be.
He pulled his truck in the apartment complex parking lot, knowing in his gut she wouldn't be there. Sara would expect Grissom to follow her, and that would be the first place he'd go, just as it was the first place Nick had gone. With a sigh, he pulled up toward her empty parking space then turned his truck around back toward the exit with a large u-turn.
Driving down the strip, he sorted through the possibilities of where she might have gone. Grissom's house was out of the question, as was the lab. She might have headed back to Catherine's, parked down the block until she saw Grissom leave…. Nick shook his head. That was unlikely.
Stopped at a traffic light, he drummed his fingers on the dashboard racking his brain. Where did Sara go when she needed to be alone? The light changed, and the green glow was like the proverbial light bulb. Suddenly, he just knew.
Quickly checking the side view mirror, he turned the wheel hard, cutting off oncoming traffic. Horns blared like a symphony, and out of the corner of his eye he saw more than one driver flip him the bird. It didn't matter, he knew where Sara was. Nick steered the truck toward the highway, and the desert beyond.
--
"You had better kiss the ground she walks on when she comes home." Brass said from behind the wheel of his Taurus as he pulled to a stop behind a VW. He glanced over to Grissom in the passenger seat. "If she comes home."
"She'll come back when she's settled down," Grissom muttered, as if he was speaking of a temperamental child. He stared out the window watching the Bellagio fountains.
Horns blared up the block, and always the cop, Brass strained forward just in time to see a dark colored SUV turn left from the wrong lane, cutting off traffic. As the truck tore down a side street Brass shook his head slightly. And people wonder why there are so many accidents he thought. To Grissom, he said; "Yeah. You're probably right, she will be back. But I'll tell you this; you'd better stay awake. If she comes home and finds you asleep, you're a dead man."
--
Catherine picked up a plastic champagne glass from the coffee table and shoved it into a trash bag, all the while muttering fiercely under her breath.
At the bar, Greg looked over his shoulder toward Catherine as he slipped two empty beer bottles in to the trash bag in Warrick's hands. "What'd she say?"
Warrick looked at Greg for a moment before answering. "I don't know man, why don't you ask her?"
Greg cocked an eyebrow and looked at Catherine again, as he considered the proposition. After another muttering from Catherine, Greg shook his head. "Nope."
Warrick nodded. "You go ahead and head home, man."
"Yeah," Greg rubbed his hands together. "That's probably a good idea." He slipped his suit jacket off the back of the chair and shrugged into it. "Uh, Cath… It was a great party, very memorable."
Catherine stopped muttering and looked at him. "Gee, thanks Greg. Maybe I can do the same for you someday." Her smile was way to sweet and obviously fake.
Greg looked shocked. "Umm…yeah…okay. Well, goodnight." He slipped out the door while he still could.
"You could have taken it easier on him, it's not as if any of us have been through anything like this before."
Catherine let the bag fall from her hands, and fell on to the sofa, putting her feet up on the coffee table. "Where do you think she is?"
"Sara?" Warrick ambled over and sat down next to her, pulling her closer to him. "Who knows?"
"Hopefully Nick does," Catherine whispered and laid her head down on Warrick's shoulder.
--
Nick slowed his truck and turned off the highway. Leaning into the steering wheel, he stared out the windshield, hoping he'd remembered correctly. It'd been over a year since Sara had brought him out here, and he hadn't exactly been paying attention while she drove.
"Hey," Sara touched his shoulder, getting his attention. "We're here."
Nick was staring out the window and blinked at the sound of her voice. There was nothing but blackness outside the car, but he could make out the shadow of the small mountain she'd parked next to. He turned to her in the drivers seat. "Where's here?"
Instead of answering him, she smiled gently and cocked her head. "Come on." She slid out of the truck.
He could hear her boots crunch in the earth as he watched her make her way to the front of her car. She stopped near the middle of the hood, illuminated by the headlights. She waved a beckoning hand to him before she turned and started climbing up the mountain.
"Sara!" he called to her as he got out of the car.
"Come on, Nick," she called down to him.
He followed her up. She seemed to know exactly where the foot and handholds were, and Nick used the same ones she did pulling himself up to the edge just seconds after she did.
He was awestruck at what awaited them.
The desert sky stretched out before them, in shades of blue and black that Nick hadn't known existed. Stars that couldn't be seen from the city streets shone brightly, and the moon hung so large and so low, Nick felt like he could touch it.
"Oh…" was all he could say.
Sara smiled brightly. "I know. I found this place almost by accident." She was silent for a few moments, letting Nick take it all in. He was absorbed by the night sky, his face radiant.
"I come here when I need some peace from the world," she said as she stepped over to the edge and sat down.
"Yeah?" Nick said, sitting down next to her.
"After we found you…and we knew you were going to be ok…" she paused, staring out at the sky. Nick watched her face, an outlined shadow against the backdrop of stars. "I came here. I came here and thanked God for you." She turned her face back to him, the moonlight reflecting the tears in her eyes. "I don't know what I would have done if we'd lost you."
And it was that moment that Nick knew he loved her.
Nick's heart jumped when he saw Sara's car in the distance, she'd left the headlights on, the only signs of life for miles around.
He angled his truck next to her car and cut the engine. Sitting behind the wheel, he stared up at the crest of the mountain, barely visible in the darkness. Sara was up there. His wife. She may not have intended to marry him, but someone or something had interfered, and Nick wasn't about to let this pass by.
He got out of the car, and started climbing up the side of the mountain. It'd been easier the year before, when he had Sara to follow, but he scrambled up the side and pulled himself over the edge.
Sara was sitting in nearly the same place she'd been before. Her knees pulled up to her chest. She didn't look over as he dusted off his pants, and for a moment, he wondered if it was possible she hadn't heard him.
"When I heard you pull up," Sara said quietly, startling him. "I thought you might be Grissom..." She looked over at him, in the moonlight he saw she'd been crying. "Silly me."
"He went to your apartment to look for you," Nick lied. Making Grissom appear the worried carrying husband…boyfriend… whatever wasn't in his plans, but making Sara feel better was.
Sara wanted to believe him, but didn't, and shrugged off the fib.
Nick walked slowly over and sat down next to her.
"Hell of a day," Sara said, looking at the stars.
"I kind of enjoyed it."
Sara looked at him as if he'd suddenly gone insane in front of her eyes.
Nick laughed at her expression. "I mean it," he explained. "I did have fun."
"I suppose you did. You didn't end up married to the wrong man." She looked away from him, and didn't see the hurt expression cross quickly over his face.
The moment was at hand, and Nick could feel his heart beating hard enough to burst from his chest. He swallowed hard "Maybe you're not married to the wrong man," he said before he could change his mind.
She turned back to him. "What?" she asked quietly.
"I love you Sara," Nick said and leaned in and kissed her.
A/N: Ok, is that the moment ya'll have been waiting for? Just you wait till the next chapter. And the one after that!
Thank you for all the wonderful reviews, and if you're enjoying the story and haven't left one yet, come on andlet me hear from you! Major props to AlwaysWrite for the beta, and being a sounding board. The story wouldn't be as good if not for her.