Chapter 12

She wasn't ready to wake up. She kept her eyes closed and let herself lay in the peaceful warmth knowing that if a genie came along and granted her three wishes, she would have a hard time coming up with anything she needed. Or wanted. She couldn't remember ever feeling as wonderful as she did now. She was dreamy, drowsy, somehow liquid. And she knew that if she was destined to stay right there, wrapped up in those sheets, that blanket, in Nick's arms, for the rest of her life, that she would be just fine with that. Nick moved slightly, the mattress giving as he shifted. She felt his lips softly land on her neck just behind her ear. "Good morning," his whispered, breath trickling over her ear.

She smiled before opening her eyes, a mental tug of war being played in her head. Release the sleepy sensation and be awake with the man next to her, or wrap herself in it and snuggle in even closer to him and linger, delving further into the warmth that came with lying next to him.

With a sigh deeper and more pleasantly satisfied than any she'd ever had before, Sara opened her eyes and turned her head to peek over her shoulder, meeting Nick's eyes. And became suddenly, inexplicably shy. She glanced away, letting her chin rest on her shoulder and her eyes rest on the far wall.

Nick felt the change in her, watched her glance away from him as quickly as she could. He had thought it'd been a wonderful night, and all his senses had told him Sara had felt the same. He wondered if perhaps she'd had a dream. Was she shocked to open her eyes and find the younger man next to her and not the man she'd thought she…

Sara looked at him again. And smiled brightly. Nicks heart soared.

-

By the time they'd reluctantly decided they should rouse themselves and actually get out of bed, it was long past breakfast, and closer to lunchtime. Both were famished, neither had eaten the night before, and Sara couldn't actually remember the last time she'd eaten much at all. Nick ordered room service again while Sara showered. After he hung up the phone, he heard something he couldn't quite place. Stepping up to the closed bathroom door, the sound grew a little louder and clearer. Singing. Sara was singing. He smiled to himself, pleased that she was relaxed and happy.

When lunch arrived, Sara was towel drying her hair while Nick showered. She had the food brought out onto the balcony, and had to sit on her hands to keep herself from attacking her lunch before Nick sat down and joined her.

He stepped out onto the sunny balcony and took a deep breath. A breath deep enough and long enough, that Sara had a moment to take in the sight of him in his swim trunks. She'd always been appreciative of his physic, but now that she'd had first hand experience…her body began to react in ways that until last night wasn't advisable.

"I was thinking we'd hit the beach today," Nick told her as he sat down and caught her line of sight. He picked up his fork digging into the grilled fish in front of him, reminding Sara that there was food in front of her, and that indeed, she was hungry.

Sara nodded and picked up her own fork, spearing a tempting tomato nestled at the very top of her salad. "Sounds good." She chewed a moment and swallowed. "I gotta admit, I've missed the ocean," she confessed softly as she glanced out toward the waves.

Nick lifted his glass of ice tea, taking a long sip as he watched Sara stare at the water. My God she's beautiful he thought to himself. "C'mon girl, we're burning daylight. Let's finish lunch then go get those tans we'll have to explain back in Vegas."

Sara smiled at the memory of her earlier panic and dug into her salad like a starved woman.

Jim Brass rubbed his hands together briskly. Finally, he thought, we can get something done. He waited for the man sitting in the chair across from his desk to absorb what Brass had just told him.

"What?" said the man; the mister who was supposed to have married Sara to Gil, but had instead married her to Nick. "I…I noticed the groom wasn't acting like a groom…I, I mean he only kissed her cheek." The minister scooted up in his chair, balancing on the edge. "Most couples, you practically have to throw a bucket of water on them to get them to stop kissing, but this one…I remember he only kissed her cheek…I found it very odd at the time. Quaint, but odd. Now it's certainly understandable." He stared reflectively at a file cabinet in Brass' office. Brass watched, and could see the gears shift in the mans head. "But…" the mister said suddenly flustered, "you're the police, I didn't… I mean, marrying the wrong groom, surely isn't a crime… it's an accident!"

"Yeah," Brass said, forcing the menacing-cop tone in his voice. If it had been any other three people this had happened to, it would have been funny. "Yeah, well, as far as my being a cop, it just so happens that I gave away the bride," he watched as the minister relaxed a little. "And the two people you were supposed to marry, as well as the…'the accidental groom'," Brass made quotation marks in the air with his fingers, "are all crime scene investigators. So you might say the law has a vested interest in this. We just need to know how to fix it."

The mister let out a breath. "So I'm not in trouble?"

Brass shook his head and smiled politely. "No." But if you don't tell me how to unmarry them in the next few minutes, I'll put you in for a cavity search. "No," he said again, "no trouble at all."

"Well," the minister began, "it's a simple process really. Either the bride or the groom can just file for an annulment, similar to a divorce. Get a judge to sign it, -I'm sure you know a judge or two?" He watched as Brass nodded and gave him an obligatory smile. "It's a matter of paperwork, and then it's like it never happened."

"Simple enough," Brass said. Now, if we only knew where the bride is.

Even with the close calls in the locker room over the years, and their recent intimate excursions, Sara still felt a little shy undressing in front of Nick. Her bags from Victoria's Secret were still piled up in the bathroom, silky things spilling out over the counter, so she didn't completely shut the bathroom door behind her, and changed quickly, hoping he didn't notice her need for privacy.

If her husband had been something other than an experienced CSI, perhaps he wouldn't have noticed. But in fact, Nick did notice Sara's retreat to the bathroom, and shrugged it off after a moment. This was entirely new for him as well, and, he noticed with a slight smile on his face, she did leave the door slightly open. There was hope.

That smile on his face fell, giving way to complete and unadulterated gawking when Sara stepped out from the bathroom in her bikini. Black with strings that tied at each hip, the suit, that is to say Sara in the suit, made his mind go completely blank.

"Are you breathing?" Sara asked teasingly, and Nick realized with a rush of oxygen, that no, in fact, he had not been.

"Still want to go?" he asked his voice unsteady and catching in his throat, hoping she said no, to hell with the beach.

Sara knew the effect she was having on him, and was enjoying it fully. "Sure," she answered and slowly sauntered the few steps toward the bed, bending over and lazily reaching over to unnecessarily fluff the far pillow. She glanced over her shoulder to make sure he was watching. He was. She liked that he was watching, and decided to see how many sentences she could get him to stop in the middle of, how many times she could make that glazed look come into his eyes through out the day. Letting go of the pillow she straightened, turning to face him just as his hands connected with her waist. With the motion of her turn, his fingertips grazed over her bare stomach. Sara felt unsteady on her feet, and wondered how wise was the idea of teasing him all day. In teasing him, was she not teasing herself?

She ran her hands up his arms, grasping his shoulders, while Nick moved his hands from her waist to the small of her back and pulled her to him. They stared intensely into each other's eyes and Sara felt almost dizzy, like the world had toppled onto its side, and she was tipping over along with it. When he kissed her, an electric shock ran down her spine. Sara shivered.

Nick felt her tremble against him, misinterpreting the quiver as a symptom of cold, not heat. He broke the kiss and rubbed his hands briskly over her skin. "Come on, let's get out in the sun- warm you up."

Any hotter and I'll self-combust, Sara thought to herself and quickly flashed on an old case she and Warrick had worked years ago. "Hey, Nick—What's gonna happen when we get back and Warrick finds out you lied to him about needing to go to Texas?"

Nick's back muscles tensed for the briefest moment before he relaxed and pulled away from her. He shrugged. "I think once I tell him, he'll understand. At least I hope he will." He didn't want to think about it, and changed the subject. "You ready girl?"

-

The elevator was mirrored, and each snuck glances at the other's reflection as they rode down. Nick saw Sara's skin was almost as white as the flimsy gauze of a cover up she'd popped into the bathroom and came out with wrapped around her waist. "We need to get you some sun screen."

"And beach towels too," Sara added.

"Okay," Nick nodded as the elevator doors opened and they stepped out, making their way across the lobby toward the gift shop.

A little boy ran up to them, Sara recognized him from the line at the car rental counter. He must have recognized them too, because he blurted out "You got leid," loud enough for every single person in the lobby to stop in their tracks and stare.

Sure did little man, Nick thought, but didn't say, putting a hand on the boys head and ruffling his hair. He'll understand someday.

"Chauncey!" said a very frustrated female voice from a few feet away. As the woman approached them, both Sara and Nick recognized her too from the car rental line. She shot them a look that said Oh, you two again and grabbed her son's shoulder with a claw like hand, steering him away.

Holding in a fit of giggles, the honeymooners restarted on their path to the gift shop. After a few steps, Sara said, through laugher she could no longer hold back, "Chauncey!"

"I know," Nick agreed. "Poor kid."

-

Sara had argued, but Nick had insisted on paying for the beach towels and sunscreen. He even told her to go pick out a pair of sunglasses, and in her absence he wandered over to the shelf of condoms. He'd only brought a few with him for two reasons. First, he hadn't wanted Sara to find a case of them in his bag and be forever turned off, and secondly, well, he just hadn't wanted to tempt fate. So, while Sara's back was to him, he picked up a box of his favorite brand and slipped them into his hand underneath the towels. "Sar, meet you at the counter," he called over to her.

At the register, the cashier took quick stock of Nick's items, and quickly offered to have the box of condoms sent up to his room. "Unless you're going to need them at the beach…" she said with a twinkle in her eye.

"Uh yeah, I-I mean, no, we won't need them…there." Nick swallowed hard feeling like he did when he was fifteen and buying his first box. "Yes, please have them sent up, room 2212."

The cashier nodded and discreetly put the box underneath her side of the counter just as Sara walked up.

"Find anything?" Nick asked, as he slipped his arm around her waist.

"Yep," Sara held up two pair of sunglasses. "Got a pair for you too." She bopped her hip against his and snaked her arm around his shoulders.

"Will you be at our luau tonight?" The cashier asked brightly.

Nick smiled as much at the idea as for the change in topic. "Luau?" he glanced at Sara and found her smiling too.

"Yep, the hotel has one every week for the guests. It's a chance to see some real Hawaiian partying." She shimmed her hips a little.

"Yeah," Sara said glancing up at Nick, "I think we'll be there."

He'd done it assuming he would find out what hotel in Vegas she was at, so he could go collect her and bring her back to file the annulment. And now as he stared at the report of Sara's credit card activity, Brass wasn't sure what to do.

Hawaii.

Sara was in Hawaii.

Or at least her credit card was…at Victoria's Secret no less. No way he could go to the islands and bring her home. He'd doubted his ability to do that when he thought she'd been at a hotel down the street on the strip.

Well, the bride filing the annulment anytime soon seemed to be out of the question and with the groom was in Texas… Brass's mental cop alarm began to scream.

Hawaii. Honeymoon destination.

Victoria's Secret. Again, honeymoon destination.

He glanced at the report again. There was no plane ticket charge. With a sigh of regret, Brass picked up the phone and ordered Nick's credit cards ran.

TBC... Thank you for all the reviews, I'll try not to take so long to post the next chapter