Disclaimer: I don't own them, I didn't create them, and I don't profit from them, but if they wanted to give them to me I wouldn't say no...then maybe I could get that coffee with George and Jorja.
Author's Note: This is a work in progress, and as often happens, it may just write itself despite my best intentions to shape its direction. So with that said, I hope you sit back and enjoy the ride.
"I can't believe that workaholic Sara Sidle actually agreed to come with me." Nick teased her as they approached the ticket counter at McCaren International Airport with their luggage in tow.
Sara smirked at him. "Even I take vacations now and then."
Nick scoffed. "Not since I've known you." It was true. In the four and a half years that he'd known Sara, she had never willingly taken a vacation.
Sara tried to keep her expression serious even as the corners of her mouth twitched upwards. "Well, since the department instituted a use it or loose it policy for anything over six weeks vacation, I thought I'd take advantage of your offer." She smirked again. "Besides, I felt sorry for you."
Nick's eyebrows shot up and he laughed. "You felt sorry for me."
She was on the verge of smiling. "You just looked so pathetic when you said you might have to cancel your vacation if you couldn't find someone to go with you."
Nick chuckled. "And the fact that I was going to Cozumel had nothing to do with it." He knew that she was just as excited about where they were going as he was.
"That might have been a factor." She conceded with a smile. "Besides, you said everything was non-refundable and I didn't want you to be out all that money."
Nick leaned over and whispered conspiratorially as they inched up in line. "I still meant what I said. You don't have to pay me for it."
Sara shook her head. "I want to. You shouldn't have to pay for my vacation."
He smiled at her. "You really don't have to. You're doing me a favor. Either way I would have had to pay for it and this way I get to have some company." He didn't want to admit to her just how excited he was that she was coming with him. His buddy from college had backed out at the last minute because of a family emergency and when Nick had mentioned it to Sara he was surprised how quickly she had agreed to go.
Sara smiled back. "I want to pay for it."
"Ok, but if you change your mind." Nick nudged her elbow with his.
She laughed. "I'm not changing my mind."
Several hours later after a somewhat turbulent flight, a taxi ride that could rival most Indy car races and a boat ride, they arrived in Cozumel. By the time they arrived at the small hotel, both of them were hot and tired.
"Welcome to Hacienda San Miguel." The friendly desk clerk smiled widely at Nick and Sara.
"We've got reservations under Stokes for two rooms." Nick informed him.
The desk clerk looked over the reservation records and furrowed his brow as he looked up at Nick with a bit of trepidation before putting a smile on his face. "I'm sorry, Mr. Stokes, we have only one room available."
Nick looked at him incredulously. "What do you mean we only have one room?" He was certain that when he made the original reservation that he'd reserved two rooms. In fact after Sara agreed to go with him, he had double checked his reservation.
"Sorry, one room only." The desk clerk looked apologetic. "The other is being repaired because a pipe broke in the ceiling."
"And you have no other rooms?" Nick asked in a patient tone, but was frustrated all the same.
The clerk shook his head. "We are full all week. Maybe after the weekend one will open up."
Nick glanced over at Sara about to suggest that maybe they should find another hotel, but she interrupted him.
"One room is fine." She addressed the desk clerk before looking at Nick and leaning over to whisper to him. "We're adults; this shouldn't be a big deal. We'll just have them bring up a cot or something."
Nick looked at her skeptically. "You're sure."
She nodded. "Look, I'm tired and hot and I just want to take a nap. At this point, I'd sleep in a bathtub."
The clerk smiled as he handed Nick the room key. "See, it's all ok."
Nick wasn't completely convinced that everything would be ok sharing a room with Sara. Part of the charm of this hotel was the fact that it was small and historic and he wasn't sure exactly how big the rooms were. Besides, she was a very beautiful woman and he wasn't sure that spending a week and a half with her alone without having separate hotel rooms was going to bode well for their friendship.
As if reading the doubt in Nick's mind, Sara put her hand on his arm and smiled. "It'll be fine."
The room was small, a bit too small to bring a cot in and there was only one bed.
Sara began to think that perhaps agreeing to share a room without actually seeing the room first wasn't the wisest thing she'd ever done. She'd always found Nick attractive and being with him in such close quarters was certain to complicate things. So she did the only thing she could think of. She crawled onto the bed and smiled. "I'm going to take a nap."
Nick looked at her a bit hesitantly. He was dead tired, neither of them had gotten sleep after the last shift they'd worked, but he wasn't about to crawl onto the bed next to her without an invitation.
Sara seemed to read his mind. "Nick, I won't bite." She gestured to the spot on the bed next to her. "Look if it bothers you that much, we can figure something out later, but right now I know that you're probably even more tired than I am."
Nick let out a resigned sigh, rubbing the back of his neck as he reasoned that they were putting themselves in hot water before he crawled onto the bed next to her. As he settled himself in, he glanced over at Sara. "And for the record, I hear you do bite." He smirked.
Sara's brows shot up and she let out a scoff. "Who told you that?!"
Nick chuckled. "Relax, Sara, I'm just talking about Greg's finger."
Sara rolled her eyes. "What did he expect? He shoved the damn thing in my face and scared the crap out of me."
"And he's been whining about it ever since." Nick teased as he fluffed a pillow to put under his head.
Sara rolled onto her side to face Nick as a thought occurred to her. "How come you didn't invite Greg to come with you?"
Nick quirked an eyebrow at her. "I didn't want to end up in a Mexican jail for killing him."
"I'm sure he wouldn't have been that bad." Sara had been spending a considerable amount of time with Greg of late since she'd been working cases with him and she'd found that the more she got to know him, the more she liked about him.
Nick snorted. "No offense, Sara, but if I spent my vacation with Greg, he'd try and perpetuate a reputation about me that doesn't exist any more."
Sara looked at him with a mixture of amusement and admiration that he cared about what people thought of his ladies man reputation of the past.
Nick misread her expression for doubt so he continued his explanation. "Seriously. I may have been that guy once, but not any more. I'm the dork that's more likely to stay at home on Friday night or going bowling with my friends than to hit some pick-up club to find a date."
Sara smiled at him. "I believe you." Her smile turned into a smirk as she closed her eyes. "Now shut up so we can take a nap."
Nick let out a chuckle as he closed his own eyes. "Yes ma'am."