Chapter Fourteen

Sara talked until rays of dim sunlight began to peek through the horizon. She told Nick things she'd never told anyone, some things she hadn't thought of in years. Like the fat orange cat that she'd held on her lap the first three days after her father died, or the dripping faucet of her foster mothers kitchen sink. The more she talked, the more that came back to her, and she just let it pour out. And the entire time, Nick sat in rapt attention; hanging on every word she spoke.

When rays of dawn began to seep through the patio blinds, Sara yawned widely, exhausted and completely drained, and yet thoroughly at peace. She fell into an easy sleep, with dreams uninhibited by blood.

Nick watched her sleep, and after a few moments, used his fingers to gently comb away errant strands of hair that had fallen over her eyes. Sunlight hit his eyes, and he looked up to see the sun rising. Glancing back down to Sara and the slight dream smile that curved her lips, he knew it truly was a new day.

--

The streetlamp threw a muted circle of light onto Grissom's SUV, as he sat behind the wheel in his driveway. He stared at the closed garage door, mentally kicking himself. He should have told the Minnesota cops no. He should have remembered to plan a honeymoon. He should have been nicer to Sara when she came home. There were so many things he should have done.

Headlights swept over him, making him blink and forcing him from of his thoughts. His neighbor's teenage daughter arriving home in her boyfriends beat up Toyota. The brakes squealed; as did the girl as she hoped out of the car and jogged over to the driver's side leaning down to give her boyfriend one last kiss goodnight.

Her long brown hair glowed even darker in the moonlight, reminding him of Sara. Grissom felt the stab of profound longing for the woman he let down.

As the teenage girl turned and took a few steps toward her front door, Grissom's truck caught her eye. Stopping in mid step, she stared at the truck warily. Lifting an impressed eyebrow at her caution, Grissom opened the driver's side door, the dome light filling the cab, bring him into full view. He lifted a hand in greeting to the girl, and after a moment she waved back, turned and blew a kiss to the boy behind the wheel of the Toyota and dashed into her houseSelf-doubt had always weighed heavy on Grissom, heavier than any unsolved case had, and now as he unlocked his front door, his back and shoulders ached with the tension of disbelief.

Grissom closed the door behind him, and listened to the silence. It had at one time been his saving grace; open arms welcoming him home after the ad nauseam noise and nescience politics of the lab. Now the silence was only lonely, as if the very walls and furnishings were in mourning for the life they once held. Letting his head fall backwards, Grissom sighed deeply, trying to think about how to fix his relationship with Sara.

When the answer didn't reveal itself, Grissom righted his head and tightly clutched the keys in his hand before tossing them onto the table in the entryway. He pitched them harder than he had intended, and the keys slid across the table, skidding into the sunglasses Sara had left behind.

His throat tightened up, and Grissom grabbed the sunglasses, clutching them to his chest with both hands.

Nick had bought her a new pair, Brass had told him.

They'd gone to the beach.

Nick and Sara were in Hawaii.

The thoughts hit him like a barrage of bullets, and Grissom finally understood.

And just like that, the answer revealed itself.

Grissom straightened his shoulders, cleared his throat and pulled his cell phone out, punching one of his speed dial buttons.

"Cath," he said into the phone, "You're in charge. I'm going after her."

--

Sara's footsteps were lighter. Her whole body felt lighter, as if she'd shrugged off a thick, tight fitting jacket and had tossed it aside.

Nick had made her a reservation at the hotels day spa, "Not that you need it," he had teased and cupped her chin gently. He had only wanted to treat her to something "special". And so she found herself entering the spa tucked into the corner of the lobby, where something Nick had called "the whole treatment" awaited her.

"Hello Mrs. Stokes," the receptionist greeted before Sara announced herself. Sara turned around, wondering what on Earth Nick's mother was doing in Hawaii.

"Mrs. Stokes, is everything alright?" The receptionist questioned, and Sara at once realized that she was Mrs. Stokes.

Grinning brightly Sara turned back around, suppressing only just enough of a giggle so that she wouldn't appear insane. "Yes, everything's just fine."

--

Catherine clicked her phone closed at stared at it.

The silence that followed caught Hodges attention, and he looked up from his microscope. "What's up?"

Catherine changed the direction of her stare from the cell in her hand to the lab tech a few feet away. Her brain was running a hundred miles a minute. Everything from wanting Grissom to be happy and remembering how much in love Sara had been with Gil, and could she have possibly changed her mind and her heart so quickly? And what about Nicky, Cath wondered; would he be devastated if Sara choose Grissom? It was always possible Warrick was wrong about the profoundness of Nick's feelings for Sara, but highly doubtful. And if she were this conflicted, just as a bystander, what in hell was Sara going to go through?

All these thoughts flew through Catherine's mind as she stared at Hodges.

"Catherine?" Hodges asked skeptically. "Is something wrong?"

Cath blinked. Don't say anything, she reminded herself, not to anyone, but especially not to Hodges.

"No," she finally spoke and slipped her phone back in her pocket as she turned to leave. "Nothing at all," she slipped through the doorway and went to find Warrick.

--

"You can put those down anywhere," Nick told the beefy man holding six plastic shopping bags.

As the man made his way over and gently set the bags on the bed, Nick cocked his head just a bit. "Leslie, right?"

The Hawaiian smiled brightly. "Yeah man, nice that you remembered." He gestured to the bags on the bedspread. "You're planning something special, huh?"

"Yeah," Nick grinned. "Real special."

"Well," Leslie said as he crossed to the door and let himself out, "Good luck to you."

"Thanks," Nick said just as the door closed. He turned his attention to the bags on the bed, and began unloading them. Looking around the room, he wondered where to begin.

--

You're soaking in it. Just what the 'it' was, Sara couldn't remember, but she did recall the line from a commercial, and it played over and over again in her head.

Her fingertips flicked around in the bowl of liquid they sat in, and she curled her toes in the miniature whirlpool tub they were in. Taking a deep breath, she re-arranged her shoulders, and tried to relax, but it just wasn't easy. Besides not being able to move her arms or legs, she had green glop on her face, drying and making her nose itch. Her scalp was sore from the tug of the brush and the tight rollers that now set upon her head making her look more like a Martian than her sixth grade Halloween costume had.

"Mrs. Stokes?"

"Hmmm?" Sara answered, not really able to open her mouth against the dried glop of the facemask. She had quickly gotten used to her new name, and found she liked it. A lot.

"What color would you like?"

Sara straightened up a bit and opened her eyes. The manicurist held up two bottles of polish, a light peachy color and a deep red one. Sara's eyes danced and she pointed directly to the red.

--

Grissom stared at the woman behind the ticket counter, trying to force her to type faster. According to her badge, her name was Amanda. "I'm sorry, Dr Grissom," she glanced up from the screen, "the only flight we have any open seats on doesn't leave until 2:15 this afternoon."

"What time does that put me in Honolulu?" Grissom asked, hoping it was before Sara would spend one more night with Stokes.

"Well," Amanda glanced down at her screen and clicked a few more keyboard buttons. "There's a stop over in Los Angeles…Oh," she glanced up again, sensing Grissom's urgency and she didn't want to deliver this news. "The flight from LA doesn't land in Honolulu until tomorrow morning."

Grissom sighed deeply and pulled his wallet out of his jacket pocket. The backs of his fingers brushed against Sara's sunglasses, and determination flooded his chest. He wanted her back.

--

Nick picked a speck of lint off his pant leg and looked around the room, double-checking. He held his hands up in front of him, fingers splayed, thumbs touching, forming a frame, and tried to see the room how Sara would see it when she walked in. For a moment, he wondered if he'd gone to far…then he shook his head no. There was no such thing as to far on a night like tonight.

Everything was perfect and his chest swelled with pride that he had pulled this off. At least so far. There was nothing left to do but wait for Sara.

Running a palm over his head, he could feel tiny droplets of sweat. He rubbed his palms together to dry them, and to have something to do, his nervous energy was bubbling up with every click of the clock.

After another few minutes, he began bouncing on the balls of his feet, when he heard Sara's voice, lightly singing to herself in the hallway. Rushing to the door, he opened it before she got her key in the lock.

She blinked at him in surprise, and Nick was awestruck at her beauty. His idea for the trip to the spa had just been a way of getting her out of the suite for a while, leaving him time to get ready, but it had pleasant results he hadn't expected.

"Hey," she said, surprised at his sudden appearance at the door.

"You're beautiful," he told her.

"Thanks," she said shyly and ran a hand through her hair. "You know, I kind of feel beautiful."

Nick still stood in the doorway, blocking her from entering the room, and she realized he was wearing a black suit and a bright violet necktie. She cocked an eyebrow at him. "Whatcha doin' Nicky?"

"Oh," he said and rubbed his palms on his pant legs. He glanced behind him one last time, giving the room another once over glance. "I, ah, I have a surprise for you," he said and finally stepped out of the doorway.

Sara stepped in to the room, and Nick watched her face as he shut the door behind her.

It was Sara's turn to be awestruck. The lights were out, but lit candles sat on every possible surface of the room, there had to be a hundred of them, she thought. The room glowed warm and dazzling in the candlelight.

She turned to Nick and tucked her fingers under the lapel of his jacket. "You've had a busy day."

Nick grinned and looked shyly toward the floor. "Nah, not really. I just wanted to do something nice for you."

Sara chuckled and gestured widely toward the room. Bouquets of wild flowers stood tucked into each corner, and the table had been covered by a crisp white tablecloth and set for two with silver dinnerware and stemmed crystal wine goblets. "Nicky!" she gasped, "This is more than 'something nice'."

"Well…" Nick said, a little embarrassed, and thoroughly nervous. No time like the present he told himself and took Sara by the hand, leading her to the dinner table. She sat down, still facing him and folded her hands in her lap. She could tell something was up, nervous energy rolled off him in waves.

Nick wiped his palms on his pant legs again and kneeled in front of her.

"Oh my God," Sara gasped.

Nick grinned, happy the surprise worked. "Sar… I've loved you in secret for far too long now. I want the whole world to know." He swallowed hard. "Sara, would you marry me?"

"But Nicky, we're alrea-"

"No," Nick quickly cut her off. "During that ceremony, you thought you were marrying him… I want you to marry me."

TBC…