Thanks for the replies
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Warrick groaned as the sunlight streamed into the room through the slightly open curtains. He rolled over to see the digital read out on the clock, but his attention was immediately focused on the two bodies sleeping soundly, fused together as one. He smirked.
In the years that they'd all known each other, he and everyone else who came into contact with them knew that there was an under lying chemistry. At first, he and Nick had been joking about Nick's crush on her when she first came to Vegas. He definitely had a ladies man reputation. One that hadn't been entirely deserved, but he knew that his past wasn't entirely innocent either. Warrick hadn't been all that fond of her because she'd been called into investigate him and then recommended to Grissom that he be terminated for his role in Holly Gribb's death. But it hadn't taken long for the two of them to become friends, and Warrick had realized that she was only doing her job. He would've made the same recommendation if he'd been in Sara's position. It was then that Warrick had warned Nick that if he hurt Sara, there would be hell to pay.
But their obviously more than friendly relationship never seemed to go beyond endless flirting and stolen glances. He had occassionally noticed Sara glancing at Nick, but it had been more subtle, and she was definitely more careful than Nick. He just outright stared, and didn't really care who saw. And most people did see. It had been the topic of lab gossip on more than one occassion - the rumor mill always going into overdrive when one of them had faced something particularly horrible. Like when Sara had gotten into it with a suspect, then Catherine and Ecklie, and faced a suspension. Or when she's been grabbed by the sexual predator while at the Institution with Grissom. Or when Nick had been abducted. Or when he had become particularly attached the Cassie McBride case. Although it hadn't happened in Vegas, calls home for assistance from people like Archie or Catherine, or a few of Warrick's harmless comments once back at the lab during that case had sent a few peoples imaginations into overdrive. It was always during these personally trying times that people wonder if it was the push they needed to end up in one another arms and hold on for dear life.
But they could also press each others buttons and get on one anothers nerves. Warrick remembered how unnerved Nick had been when Sara had been upset with him for giving Mr. Young "peace" by telling him that he felt like his son had died a hero. Sophia Renatta and Mr. Young's son Mark had been at the lake, base jumping off a fifty foot cliff after renting wave runners. She went under, and it appeared as though she hit her head on a rock. When Sophia didn't resurface, Nick decided that Mark must've jumped in after her. According to Doc Robbins, he had a ruptured tympanic membrane consistant with a sudden drop - most likely from the top of the cliff and into the water, his body being found 26 feet under. Sara didn't believe they had any evidence to support such a theory, and believed that Mark may have killed her and then had an accident himself. Either way, they were both dead, but she still didn't think they either of them had any right to tell Mr. Young something that might not be true.
But, they could never stay mad at each other long. Generally by the end of the shift, there was an unspoken apology. If they had a particularly bad disagreement, which normally they didn't, they would talk privately and verbalize what they both already knew. That they were sorry.
Warrick was only confused by one thing though: why it was taking them so long to figure out what everyone else already knew. That they were perfect for each other.
He assumed that for Sara, it was her fear of rejection. She's spent a lot of her time in Vegas fixated on Grissom. Probably because he was the most unattainable. She would be disappointed if he didn't return her affection, but at least it wouldn't break her heart. After all, how can your heart be broken if the person who breaks it doesn't know its in their hands? Well, he knew that it was possible . . . but he also sensed that the only reason why Sara was ever fixated on him in the first place was because he'd asked her to come to Vegas because he needed her help. He sensed that that hadn't happened very often in her past and that it was a big moment for her to be needed -- wanted -- by someone. He was sure that that is what had kicked it off. But then, after he started seeing Sara stealing glances at Nick, he wondered if she kept her torch for Gris because she'd heard about Nick's reputation. Felt like someone who was as open and caring as Nick wouldn't want her . . . he knew it was crazy, but he knew that if that's what Sara was thinking, she was terrified of the rejection. So, she kept him at arms length . . .
As for why Nick never made a move, at first, he figured it was sheer stupidity. Sara was the first woman that ever challenged Nick, and stood up to him. Not necessarily to be confrontational, but to add her opinion into the mix. It probably had intimidated him. And then Nick figured out about her 'feelings' for Grissom. And at that point, he was already in deep, he had her friendship. He had told Warrick at one point that he couldn't risk their friendship at the chance for something more when he knew it would never happen. Warrick had tried to convince him otherwise, but Nick was just as stubborn as Sara. Except the difference was, she was stubborn over cases. He was stubborn over matters of the heart.
Finally, he glanced at the clock that read 7:46am. Sighing, he sat up, placing his bare feet on the carpet, and rubbed his sleepy eyes, yawning.
He noticed that Sara's eyebrows furrowed slightly, as if she was dreaming about something unpleasant. He smiled softly when he noticed Nick pull her closer to him, allowing her head to rest in the crook of his neck while his head rested gently atop hers. Sara clutched Nick's shirt over his heart, a soft sigh escaping.
"What's it gonna take, huh?" he asked their sleeping forms. Chuckling, he stood up and grabbed his over night bag, heading for the washroom to shower and brush his teeth.
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Sara woke up a few minutes later to the sound of the water in the bathroom turning on. It took her a few minutes to realize that she had taken a hold of the material of Nick's shirt. She gasped when it dawned on her that she had slept in a bed with him and woke up in his arms. A small smile played on her lips when she felt his left hand, which was sitting on her right hip underneath the fabric of her shirt, start to knead her flesh.
"Nick?" she asked quietly so not to wake him if he wasn't already.
"Hmm?" he sighed contentedly, as if this is how they woke up everyday.
"Good morning," she smiled.
"Morning," he mumbled, obviously still just waking up. He didn't hesitate to drop a kiss on the top of her head. "Sleep well?"
"Best sleep I've had in a long time," she answered sincerely. "Too bad it was only a few hours."
"Close your eyes," he said softly. "You don't have to get up yet."
"I don't think I can sleep," she answered. It was the truth. While she wanted to close her eyes and slip back into sleep with his arms wrapped protectively around her, she couldn't. He was holding her. She didn't want that to end. Nor did she want to sleep through it. She wanted to memorize his touch.
His eyes shot open and he suddenly realized that his hand was on her flesh, massaging her hip. A blush crept into his cheeks as he regretfully stopped and pulled his hand from her shirt. He slighty rolled back, his head now resting on his pillow rather than the top of her head. His arms remained wrapped around her, though.
The loss of the close contact immediately left both of them feeling a sense of loss.
He glanced down at her face, inspecting her features in the early morning sun. She looked like an angel. Without thinking, he brought his index finger to her forehead and lightly pushed some stray hair out of her eyes. She glanced up at him and their eyes locked. He didn't pull away, but allowed his finger to continue on it's path to her temple, pushing the hair behind her ear.
Unable to resist the slightly rosy cheek, his index finger returned to the soft skin and he traced his way down to her chin. "What're you thinking about?"
She swallowed hard. So many thoughts were swirling around at once, she couldn't really tell which one was dominating. His finger was now tracing the sensitive skin on her neck and was heading up the curve of her shoulder. She realized that her own hand had somehow made its way to the nape of his neck, playing with the fine hairs.
Not really good at discussing what she was feeling, she hoped that actions were speaking louder than her words ever could. But more than that, she had to say something. "I'm sorry about last night. I shouldn't have dumped all that on you."
"Don't ever apologize, Sara. I'm glad that you told me. And no, you didn't dump it on me. I meant what I said. I wanted to understand. And now I do. And I'll do everything I can to help you."
"It's in the past, Nick. I've dealt with it," she said softly. "You don't have to worry about me falling apart again. That's the first time a case has ever resembled -" she swallowed hard, "what I went through."
He looked in her eyes and noted that no matter what he said, she was going to fight him tooth and nail. But he decided that he would try a different route. "Still, when you feel like it, or something else, is over whelming you, I want you to know that you can come to me. There is nothing worse than feeling like you're all alone. After everything you went through, alone, you've become such a beautiful person. Both inside and out. I'm in awe of you, Sara."
She blushed when she felt his lips once again make contact with her. Only this time, instead of the top of her head, it was her cheek. Last night, she could vaguely remember the feel of his lips on her forehead. She thought that maybe she'd dreamt it, but now she was starting to wonder if she hadn't . . .
"Thank you for trusting me, Nick," she said honestly, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. She saw his questioning look and she continued. "You confided in me last night too, remember?"
His smile faultered a little, but then it returned. "I've wanted to tell you for a long time Sara. I knew I could trust you, but it wasn't easy to just casually work into conversation."
"Hey," she said quietly, one of her hands stopped playing with his hair and her finger traced it's way from the back of his neck to his cheek. "I understand. You don't need to explain, or apologize. Really."
The smiled at each other and just relaxed back into the pillows for a few more minutes. No words were spoken, but they never looked anywhere than each others eyes.
Warrick exitted the bathroom quietly, careful not to wake the rooms other occupants. He padded into the room and smirked when he realized they were both awake, but hadn't noticed him. He doubt they even knew he was awake and in the bathroom. They were lost in each other.
Nick's hand had absently made it's way back to her hip, and was caressing her, while her hand was rubbing Nick's arm up and down.
Warrick cleared his throat, announcing his presense. "Morning." He watched as they slowly stopped their hands and untangled themselves from one another. He noticed that they both looked upset about doing so.
"Morning," they grumbled back.
"Showers free."
Nick told Sara to go first, so she did. She stood up and grabbed her bag, much like Warrick had done earlier when she was sleeping peacefully in Nick's arms.
After the door was shut behind her, Warrick turn to Nick and sat down with a thud on his own bed. "Man, you've got it bad."
Nick just looked at Warrick, but said nothing.
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Just like Sara had promised him the night before, she ate a large breakfast. They'd stopped at the diner and grabbed some food before making their way to the picnic table at the play ground like they had done when they were working the McBride case.
"Good mornin'," the Sheriff greeted the three as he stepped towards them, tipping his hat.
"Good morning," Sara smiled. Nick and Warrick nodded their heads. "Would you like to sit down?" she asked.
The Sheriff shook his head and took the seat beside Warrick that was vacant, Sara across from him, but still impossibly close to Nick.
"What's up?" Warrick asked, taking a bite of his bagel.
"Officer Kent is going to be transporting Maggie to Vegas PD," he answered. "Laura said that Maggie almost seems at ease with her now."
Sara nodded her head. Laura had been the officer in the interrogation room with Maggie when they'd found out what happened. She'd also been in the room when Maggie had Sara perform the SART exam. "Yeah. Is there another female officer who can accompany her?"
"No, Laura's the only female PD here in town," he looked concerned.
"Don't worry," Nick said, "Laura will be fine. We can caravan together incase any issue presents itself."
"Good, good," he sighed with relief. "I'd ask that Ms. Sidle join her, but Morgan probably wouldn't fair to well."
It was a known, but unspoken fact. Morgan and Maggie couldn't see one another until after the doctors and police had deemed it safe. And since Pioche was a small town, the proper documents couldn't be created and signed giving Morgan's grandparents temporary custody. The CSIs would have to take her back with them in the Denali. Sara, by law, could not travel with the child and her grandparents because they were all civilians. The fact that only one officer was escorting a murder suspect who might be on the verge of a break down was already bending the rules and pushing the boundaries enough for one case.
"We're going to need a Booster seat," Nick said absently, staring at the playground where he watched young children playing with their parents.
"It's being taken care of," the Sheriff answered. "Laura has a little boy about Morgan's age, so she knows the importance of it. She had her husband take the booster seat from the back of her car out. It's in my trunk now. She'll pick it up before she turns around and comes home later today."
Nick decided that he would help the Sheriff put the booster in the back seat of the Denali. It had been a few years since the man had had any children. Nick, however, had had recent experience. On his trips back to Dallas, he'd babysit his nieces and nephews not only to get to know them since he really didn't have that opportunity since he no longer lived there, but also to give his siblings and their spouses a break.
Sometimes he'd just borrow their vehicles, but other times, he'd have five and six kids, which would make driving in a small car or old pick up truck not only dangerous and illegal, but impossible. So, he'd have to borrow someones mini van and place a child restraint system or two inside. While the process had been frustrating at first, he was always rewarded at the end with a smile or two from the kids that made it all worth it. And he wondered just what it would be like to see his own son or daughter smiling back at him like that.
A smile took over Nick's face when he heard Morgan's giggle as she yelled out to Sara, announcing her presense. Obviously the girl had formed a bond with Sara, as Sara had with her. He saw the smile that over took the brunettes face as she turned her body around to the little girl who then launched herself into Sara's arms. He saw the girls grandparents slowly, tiredly, making their way towards the picnic table. Obviously, Morgan was happy to seem them. And they were happy that she was alive. 'No matter what, at least she has them,' Nick thought sadly.
The sunlight filtered over Sara and Morgan, making them glow. Morgan excitedly asked Sara a question, to which she responded with a simple, short answer. Though Nick couldn't hear them, or read lips, he knew that she'd agreed to play with Morgan at the playground with all the other kids and their parents. The little girl excitedly held on to Sara's hand and tugged her towards the equiptment.
Turning back to the booster seat inside, making a few final adjustments making it safe for the little girl, he couldn't help but wonder if he'd ever get the chance to install a car seat for his and Sara's child . . .
TBC . . . . .
