Chapter Six

Nicks kiss was so different than Grissom's.

Grissom's beard always scratched her cheek while Nick's skin was smooth against hers. Gil always had the faint antiseptic taste of toothpaste, Nick tasted of warm champagne

Nick was wild abandon; a southern sun that warmed her stomach and sent chills up her spine. She felt consumed by him, wholly possessed like she never had been before. Gil always felt like he was holding something back from her, or kissing her only because she wanted to be kissed, not because he thought he would die if he didn't.

And to her surprise, Sara felt her self responding.

--

Grissom rubbed his wet hair with a towel as he padded into the kitchen. Letting the damp towel lay on his shoulder as he poured fresh water into the coffee maker, he scooped in fresh grounds. Leaning against the counter waiting for the coffee, Grissom thought about the past thirty-six hours.

He'd left the hotel at one in the afternoon for a three pm flight. After sitting on an immobile plane for two hours, the airline decided to deplane the uncomfortable, increasingly irritable passengers. The next hour he spent on the phone, trying to find a signal clear enough to call Sara.

With her voice calling him a son of a bitch ringing in his ears over and over again, Grissom tried twelve cab companies before finding Mike, the only cab driver willing to drive to Vegas.

At first, Grissom tried to read, sitting in the back of the cab, but the fading light of the already cloud covered setting sun made that impossible. So he talked. For hours he talked. He told Mike all about the wedding plans, all about Sara, about all the CSI's. Which lead to a discussion about Grissom's work. Mike was very interested in the cases, finding the Sherlock Holmes one especially intriguing.

It was probably illegal, but Grissom even took his turn driving, letting Mike sleep for a few hours somewhere around Denver. Grissom did his best to keep to the speed limit, but his foot kept pushing down on the accelerator in his rush to get home to Sara.

The coffee maker gurgled with the last of the coffee, pulling Grissom out of his trance. He poured himself a cup, forgoing his usual cream and sugar. Sara had wanted him to cut back on the sugar anyway.

Sara.

'If she comes home' Brass's words echoed in his head. Sara's smiling face floated before his eyes, and Grissom felt a tinge of something in his stomach he hadn't felt in a very long time. Fear.

He should have gone after her; he knew that now.

Settling himself into the armchair, he looked at the sofa with longing, but knew he was too tired to be comfortable. He picked up a well-written, fascinating entomology book he owned, hoping it would grab his interest and keep him awake until Sara came home.

He was asleep before he turned the first page.

--

Warrick snuggled into the pillow, pulling the sheet up over him and slipping into a peaceful sleep. He was just beginning to enjoy a pleasant dream, when Catherine punched him in the shoulder. Hard.He sat bolt upright in bed, ready to do battle with an intruder, be it masked human or eight-legged spider. Blinking, he cleared his head and looked around the room. After a moment, he turned his head, looking down at her. "What was that for?""I can't sleep," she told him. "And if I can't, you can't." He lay back down and rolled onto his side, propping his head up on his hand. He studied her closely with narrowed eyes, while she avoided his gaze by seeming to find the ceiling suddenly interesting. "I'm worried," she confessed quietly.

"About?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

"Nick," Catherine whispered their friend's name as if saying it any louder would pull a trigger, transforming her horrible thoughts into reality."He's a big boy; he can take care of himself," Warrick soothed her as best as his sleepy mood would let him.

"I'm worried about Sara," Catherine changed her tactic.

With a deep sigh, Warrick gave in. He had to admit, he was worried about Sara too. "Yeah, me too."

"What should we do?" She asked him.

"There's nothing we can do."

Catherine let out a frustrated groan. Warrick laughed and reached over, tucking a few errant strands of her hair behind her ear. "So," he said chuckling "What are we going to do while we're not sleeping together?"

--

Reluctantly, Sara broke the kiss. She kept her eyes closed, frightened of what she might see in Nicks expression. And even more terrified of what he might see in hers. "Well," she said with a breathy voice, finally opening her eyes. "That doesn't make things more complicated at all."

"Sara," Nick whispered, worried that if he spoke any louder he would frighten her off. There were so many things he wanted to tell her, and he felt them all building up; unspoken words like unshed tears threatening to overflow and spill out in an incomprehensible rush.

She shushed him with a fingertip to his lips. "I, ah…" she stood as she struggled to find the words. "I need some time to think about this." She moved to lower herself down the slope.

"Sara," Nick called her name, stopping her. "I would have taken you to Hawaii."

She stared at him for a long moment, licking her lips, and tasting him there.

Nick wasn't about to let the opportunity of her pause go by. He scrambled quickly to his feet. His gaze found hers, and he saw her eyes were shining with hope and her hands were hanging at her side, fingers drumming out a nervous beat on her thighs.

His heart was beating so hard, anyone would have thought he was running at full tilt, instead of the slow pace he used to approach her, letting both their anticipations grow. Purposely taking agonizingly slow steps, it seemed to take forever to reach her side, but when he did, he stared in her eyes. She stared back, her throat bobbing as she swallowed hard and challenged him with her eyes. The corners of his mouth twitched with a confined grin and he stepped even closer to her, taking her face in his hands. Moving in slowly, he kissed her fervently; with all the passion and desire he'd kept pent up for the last year.

Sara had always wanted to be kissed just like this. She gave in to it, letting go of all her reluctance and hesitancy. Nick was no longer a guy she worked with, a neutral almost brother, in her arms, next to her, he blossomed into a man of desires and passions, and she felt herself being swept away.

She broke the kiss before she wanted more than was right to ask of him right now. Thoughts of Grissom invaded her mind, and forced her step away from Nick.

"Sara," Nick said her name softly, and she tried not to see the hurt in his eyes.

"Nick, I ah…" she didn't know what to say. So many thoughts and feelings raced through her head jumbling around and on top of one another. "I have to go," she finally said and quietly glided down the side of the hill before he could stop her.

a/n: Thank you everyone for all the reviews. They warm my heart.