AN: Thank you all so much for the kind reviews. This week at work has been a nightmare, and your words always bring a much needed smile to my face.

Hope everyone is doing well.

Take care and enjoy.


CHAPTER 3


NANCY POV

Running my fingers over the smooth book spines, I slowly make my way down the shelf. Feet stepping silently into plush carpet, the only sound I hear is that of the coffeemaker brewing a fresh pot of Colombian roast somewhere down below.

Absently, I find myself thinking how grateful I am that someone decided to combine two of my favorite things together in one place – coffee and literature.

People in this town should have thought of it much sooner.

"When you asked for my help, this isn't exactly what I had in mind," a voice calls from behind me, startling me from my thoughts.

Turning my head, I furrow my brows.

"What?"

Sara smiles, gesturing to the shelf behind me, her eyebrows raised in question.

Turning, I see that my fingers had stopped their journey and where they landed are on the spine of a very large paperback.

A paperback entitled, 'What to do when your bedroom becomes a bore: 20 tips to keep the fire between the sheets.'

Jerking my hand away, my eyes dart around me until they land on the plaque located at the top of the wooden shelf.

In bold, almost mocking letters, the sign announces that I am in the section entitled "Sex: Non-Fiction."

Rolling my eyes at the absurd description, no doubt some bored employee's idea of a joke, I cautiously step away from the shelf, reminding myself never to get lost in thought in a bookstore again.

"Oh my," is all I can think to say, not even bothering to try to come up with some sort of excuse to offer the brunette standing behind me with a grin the size of a small country.

Despite her obvious amusement, Sara doesn't comment, reaching out to hand me one of the coffees in her hands.

Recognizing the design on the cup, Sara must have bought it downstairs before making her way up to the book section of the coffee shop.

"Thanks," I tell her gratefully, taking a sip and closing my eyes as I taste the coffee that she prepared perfectly the way I like it.

Sara nods, her eyes traveling over the book titles around us, her expression becoming more and more perplexed the further they travel.

"Let's go somewhere else and sit," I suggest.

Nodding, Sara throws one last disturbed glance at the shelf next to her before following me downstairs and out of the shop.

"Mind if we talk out here?" I ask, noting the slight chill in the air and Sara's lack of a coat.

"Not at all," she replies, situating herself next to me on a bench overlooking the row of cafés across the street.

Sara and I have come a long way in rebuilding our relationship with one another after what happened with Chris.

We spent numerous days hiking and training together, helping Sara rebuild the strength in her leg to the point where she can now run on it. Granted, she can only run for a couple miles at a time, but I think her progress so far has been much better than either one of us was honestly expecting.

Now that Sara has gone back to work, we see significantly less of one another, catching up here and there when we can both find the time.

Emotionally, Sara seems to have been able to reestablish most of the trust that used to exist between the two of us, our interactions returning to what they used to be in the pre-Christian Dane era.

We laugh, we tease, we joke around with one another just like we used to.

To be honest, most of the time I forget about the drama that happened between Sara and I as a result of Chris, usually when we spend time together it's like the old Nancy and Sara never left.

One aspect of our relationship still hasn't quite healed, yet, however.

Physical trust.

Sara still initiates physical contact with me, offering me hugs or whatnot when I need support or comfort, but she hasn't quite been as comfortable being on the receiving end.

She never says anything about it, and I've had to pretend like I don't notice her flinches when I reach out towards her unexpectedly, or the fact that she keeps more distance between us then she ever used to.

It seems to me that while our emotional trust has been rebuilt almost flawlessly, for some reason, and I don't think it's intentional on her part, Sara has been having more difficulty allowing me near her physically.

Still, I remind myself that Sara and I have come a long way, and she simply needs a bit more time for the final pieces to fall back into place.

And, looking over at her, patiently drinking her coffee and waiting for me to tell her why I asked her here today, I can't help but smile.

Sara is worth the wait.

She is absolutely worth the wait.

I am so damn glad she is both stupid and stubborn enough to have let me back into her life.

Looking over, Sara sees my smile and my expression, narrowing her eyes at me suspiciously.

"What?" she questions, sending me a puzzled look as I continue to smile at her.

"Nothing," I respond, shaking my head. "Just glad to get to see you is all."

Sara's eyes search mine, knowing there is more I'm not saying.

She gives me one last look before diverting her attention to a couple arguing across the street from us.

"I know, I'm sorry," she says. "Things at the lab have been busy."

"I understand," I tell her sincerely. "How's work going, other than being busy?"

Sara shrugs.

"Good. Glad to be back."

I nod, taking in her simple answer.

Something tells me returning to work after being put on suspension for over a month after your second fatal shooting is anything but simple, but I don't push her.

"Thanks for coming here," I tell her instead. "I wanted to ask you something."

"Of course," Sara responds, giving me her full attention. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah," I reassure her, "I actually wanted to ask you about Catherine's birthday coming up."

"Oh," Sara replies, the topic not being an expected one. "Okay."

"I was thinking about taking her somewhere overnight," I tell her. "Nothing crazy, just a trip somewhere for a day or two to give her a chance to relax, get out of Vegas."

I sigh, "After everything that's happened this past year, I think it would be good for her to have some time away to just unwind with family."

Sara takes in my words, her eyes shifting to watch the couple that is now screaming at each other from opposite ends of their parked car.

"I think that's a good idea, Nancy," Sara says, turning her eyes back to me. "I think that's a really good idea."

I nod in relief, letting out a breath.

"Alright. Her birthday's next Saturday, so maybe doing something Friday and Saturday would work?" I suggest, thinking aloud.

"That should be fine," Sara says. "She's already scheduled to have Friday off. I can rearrange things to make sure she's covered for Saturday as well. I can even switch shifts with her if needed."

Narrowing my eyes in confusion, I shake my head.

"That won't help."

Pulled from her train of thought, Sara turns to me.

"What?"

"You switching shifts with her, Sara. That won't help."

Sara looks puzzled, her eyes telling me I am making no sense to her.

I, in turn, am also confused.

Very confused.

Just as I open my mouth to speak, it suddenly hits me what the problem is, where the confusion lies.

Closing my eyes, I take in a slow, calming breath.

"Sara," I call softly, shaking my head. "You're coming with us."

Opening my eyes, I fix her with a look.

"Did you honestly think I was going to plan a trip to take Catherine somewhere for her birthday and not include you?" I ask incredulously.

Seeing the look on her face, I know that is exactly what she thought.

"Your invite was implied," I tell her sternly.

Eyes shifting towards the couple across the street, Sara pulls at the lid of her coffee.

"Sorry," she says. "I just thought…"

"I know what you thought," I tell her tersely. "And you thought wrong."

When I said that Catherine could use some time away with family, in Sara's mind that didn't mean her. She assumed I was referring solely to Catherine and myself.

"God," I breathe out, shaking my head at her. "Someday you're going to believe me when I tell you that you're family. To me. To her."

Sara doesn't comment, keeping her focus on the early morning shoppers mulling around us before shaking her own head.

"I'm sorry," she offers quietly.

Taking a breath, she shifts her gaze back to the arguing couple who are now situated in their car, doors hanging open as their heated voices travel easily through the crisp air.

I know it makes me a bad person, but I secretly hope that one of them elects to start throwing things at the other sometime soon. People throwing objects is typically more amusing to watch than people throwing spiteful words.

"I'll see what I can do about our work schedules," Sara says, directing the conversation away from her and back to where it was.

I send her profile one last look before I nod.

"Thanks."

Then, trying to refocus my thoughts and my mood, I swallow some more coffee.

"Any suggestions about where to go?" I ask.

Sara thinks for a moment.

"Actually, yes."

Raising a brow, I give her my full attention.

"There's this place a couple hours away in southern Utah," she says. "It's up in the mountains, and it's beautiful this time of year. I can send you some information about it," she offers.

"No," I say, shaking my head. "I trust you."

Sara nods slowly, not really sure what to say in response.

"You want to tell her what you're planning?" she asks me instead.

"It's what we're planning," I correct her. "And no, I think I want to try to keep it a surprise."

"Okay," Sara agrees. "I'll get things arranged."

"I can help," I offer with a cringe. "I didn't mean for all the logistics to end up getting dumped on you."

I am beginning to feel like a person who invites someone to dinner and then makes them prepare all the food.

Sara smiles at my expression.

"It's fine, Nancy."

Sighing, I shake my head.

"There are times, Sara Sidle…"

I trial off, knowing the ending of my statement is easily inferred by the perceptive brunette.

"If you strangle me," she tells me matter of fact, "the lab would have to investigate, and Catherine would most likely have to work both next Friday and Saturday."

I can't help but snort, "And we certainly can't have that."

"No," Sara smiles, "We can't."


AN: Thanks for reading. As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts.