That Night:

"I cannot believe how much that couch weighed." Nick commented as he tried to stretch a few kinks out of his back.

"You are such a baby sometimes." Sara teased as they stood in her kitchen cutting up vegetables to put in a salad.

"It was heavy." Nick raised an eyebrow in challenge.

"You're strong." Sara raised her eyebrow back. "I think you can handle it."

He grinned. "So you think I'm strong, huh?" He leaned his hip against the counter and watched her slice a carrot.

Sara rolled her eyes and tried to restrain a smile. "You know, you can be really conceited sometimes."

Nick didn't miss a beat. "I'm not conceited. Handsome, suave, and smart maybe, but I'm not conceited."

"I'll compromise at overly confident." She let out a chuckle at the way he seemed to puff his chest out. They both had the night off and had planned to just hang out and keep Harley company after his trip to the vet to be neutered and declawed.

At the moment, Harley was curled up in Sara's aloe plant with his nose tucked under his tail. He wasn't particularly happy with either Nick or Sara. The expression on his furry little face seemed almost accusatory at the pain he was in. It had taken both of them to force a pain pill down his throat and after it had taken effect, he hobbled off towards the plant where he'd been ever since. It was all Sara could do not to laugh at the poor cat at the way he avoided putting his bandaged paws on the ground, sitting up on his hind legs with bandaged paws he almost looked like a boxing kangaroo.

"If I'm confident it's because I usually have a reason to be." Nick quipped. He nudged her with his elbow. "By the way, thank you for letting me cook steak in your house." He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. "I appreciate it."

Sara found herself smiling at the gesture and glanced over at him. "Just make sure you take all traces of it with you when you leave."

He grinned. "No problem."

After they'd eaten dinner they sat on Sara's new couch just talking and enjoying each other's company. At one point, Sara became very quiet.

Nick furrowed his brow with concern. "Are you ok?"

She felt her lips curl upward as she looked at him. "Yeah, I was just thinking about something."

He leaned his shoulder against hers. "You wanna talk about it?"

Sara took a deep breath. "I've been thinking about you." She watched his eyes to see what his response would be before she continued.

"Me?" There was a hint of a smile in his eyes.

Sara nodded. "I've been thinking about how if it wasn't for you I probably wouldn't be here right now." She smiled.

Nick put his arm around her shoulder and gave her a squeeze, kissing the top of her head. "I'm just glad I was there at the right time, Sara. I don't know what I would have done if something happened to you."

She rested her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes for a minute, focusing them on Harley as she opened them. "You know I never thought I could get so attached to a pet."

"So I'm your pet, huh?" He knew she meant Harley, but he couldn't resist the urge to tease her.

Sara let out a soft laugh and elbowed him. "You're such a little boy sometimes."

"I'm not sure if that's supposed to be a good thing or a bad thing." Nick remarked glancing at her.

She smiled. "You know, you said something to me after you gave me Harley."

Nick laughed. "Just one thing?"

She elbowed him again and pulled away from him so she could face him. "You told me that you were confused."

Nick felt a smile tugging at his lips as he looked at her. "I was confused." He had a good idea where this conversation was going and to say he was pleased was an understatement.

That girlish expression that Nick found so endearing crossed Sara's face. "So you're not confused now?" She had a mixture of apprehension, hope, and determination written on her face.

Nick shook his head. "No. I'm not confused anymore." He studied her for a moment as she bit at her lower lip. "What about you, Sara? Are you still confused?"

She looked into his eyes and shook her head. "No. I'm not."

Nick's smile gave way to a grin. "Good." He reached over and caressed her cheek with his fingers before sliding them into her hair as he leaned in and softly kissed her.

Sara's eyes fluttered shut. The sensation of his lips against hers was soft and firm and full of promise, but the kiss didn't seem nearly long enough. Sara blinked widely as she felt him pull away to search her face. A smile spread across her face as she reached up and touched his cheek, leaning in for another kiss, finally pulling away to look into his eyes. "I've wanted to do that for a while."

"Me too." He grinned at her, tucking her hair behind her ear. "I guess maybe the timing is a little better to explore this now, huh?"

Sara nodded, touching his lips with her fingertips. "I definitely think it was worth the wait, don't you?" Her brow furrowed at him expectantly.

He nodded with a smile. "I would have waited as long as it took, Sara. I just wanted to make sure you were ready. I didn't want to get in the way of what you needed to do."

"I still think I have a long way to go." She confessed with a hint of doubt, looking at his face to try and read his reaction.

"Shh." He leaned in and kissed her again briefly before resting his forehead against hers and looking into her eyes. "I do too, but we can do it together."

Sara smiled at him. "I'm so glad I know you. You mean so much to me, Nick Stokes."

He grinned at her. "I'm glad I know you too, Sar. You mean the world to me."

With that he leaned in and kissed her again, thankful that she had given up and let go of the past and had moved on to embrace the possibility of a future full of promise with him.

The End.

Author's Note: Many thanks to everyone who took the time out of their day to read my story. To my reviewers, thank you for your kind words, suggestions, and encouragement. I truly appreciate each and every one of you. Oh, and for anyone who wonders, Harley is a real cat that lives with me, and he's pretty hilarious.