Title: Sara Sidle and the Quest for Harry Potter
Author: DarkDreamer56
Archive: If you want it, ask please!
Rating: T
Pairing: N/S
Disclaimer: All I own is a beagle named Ted, and a grouchy tabby named Gabby (like how that rhymes?) And my Dad would be mad if I traded Ted for the rights to CSI. Same goes for Harry Potter.
Spoilers: Let's just assume that pretty much anything I write will have spoilers up to "Grave Danger"…there also may be spoilers for the latest Harry Potter book (Half Blood Prince), but its more speculation than anything.
A/N: I got this idea from my sister. She likes to mock me for almost anything, but especially my fanfic writing tendencies, and as I was working my way through the latest Harry Potter installment, she asked me, "Ooh, are you gonna write a Harry Potter/CSI crossover?" I scoffed, but then I got to thinking…no, I promise that this is not a crossover, but merely some Snickers fluff. The idea is based on my and my best friend's experience in picking up our copies of "The Half Blood Prince." I hope you enjoy!
Looking around at the throngs of hyped up kids on caffeine, Sara wondered how on earth she had been roped into this. Then she realized, with a sigh, that she had volunteered for it.
Sara had stopped by the lab on her night off to drop off some paperwork, figuring if she did it a few hours before graveyard started, then Grissom couldn't rope her into working. She hadn't had a day off in weeks, since she was helping to cover some of the shifts on swing while Nick was still out on medical leave. What she hadn't figured on was finding Lindsey sulking in the break room as she walked by.
"Hey Linds, what's wrong?" Sara asked, peeking her head into the doorway.
"Mymcanttkmetohrypthmmm," Lindsey mumbled into the hand propping her head up.
"One more time?" Sara entered the break room, worried that something was really wrong with the girl.
"My mom was supposed to take me to get the new Harry Potter book, but she's got to work late," Lindsey explained with a loud sigh. "And Grandma's on some stupid boat cruise, and now all my friends are going to have a big head start…it's all they're going to talk about at Jennifer's sleepover next week." She punctuated her last statement by dramatically sitting back on the couch and crossing her arms across her chest.
Sara had seen the signs the last time she'd gone to the bookstore, proclaiming that the book would go on sale Friday at midnight.
The words were out of her mouth before she could contemplate what she was agreeing to. "I could take you."
"Are you serious?" Lindsey asked incredulously. Sara nodded. Lindsey responded with quite possibly the loudest shriek that could be produced by a twelve year old, and before Sara knew it, Lindsey had jumped up from the couch and thrown her arms around Sara's waist.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Lindsey exclaimed, and then she was off and running to her mother's office to share the good news.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Catherine asked Sara a few minutes later, as the two women stood in Catherine's office. Lindsey was already throwing things into her back pack, so Sara thought it was a bit pointless to ask that now; besides, it was nice to see Lindsey smiling and so excited about something.
"It's fine, no big deal. Besides, this way Gris can't call me in. So…do you know how this is supposed to work?"
"Uh, not exactly. I reserved her a copy at the Border's out by the Meadows Mall, and I got an email a couple days ago. It said that the 'festivities' are supposed to start at nine, they are going to have games and activities going on all night, and then the book goes on sale at twelve."
"Okay, party at nine, book at midnight. Got it."
Catherine chuckled. "She expects to stay up all night reading, but I guarantee that she won't make it home before falling asleep."
"Do you want me to take her home after, or bring her back to the lab?"
"Linds has a key, if you don't mind staying with her if I'm not home." Catherine sighed in frustration.
"Cath, that's not a problem. We'll have fun. You almost ready to go, Linds?" Sara asked, turning her attention to the petite blond, who seemed to finally have all of her stuff together.
Lindsey nodded and ran to the door, calling, "Bye Mom!" out behind her.
"Thanks for doing this, Sara. I hated disappointing her, but Conrad just can't get it through his damn skull that I have a daughter that needs me too."
Sara chose to bite her tongue, and resist telling Catherine that she did have a choice, and that she could choose Lindsey. The two women had made a conscious effort to get along since Nick's abduction, and Sara found herself choosing her words more carefully around Catherine. Besides, she understood Catherine's predicament, even if she didn't agree with the way Catherine chose to handle it.
So instead, she just smiled and headed out towards reception, where Lindsey was waiting for her. They headed out to Sara's Denali, Lindsey chattering the whole way about what she and all of her friends thought was going to happen. Lindsey was stowing her back pack in the backseat when Sara's phone began to chirp. Sara checked the caller id, and cheerfully answered.
"Hey Greggo, what's up?"
"Hey Sar, my favorite, hottest CSI…"
"Whatcha want Greg?" Sara asked, leaning against the side of her car.
"You wouldn't want to work for me tonight, would you? It's just, the new Harry Potter book comes out tonight, and I reserved it months ago…"
Sara couldn't help but giggle. "Sorry Greggo, but I'm taking Lindsey to go pick up her copy, so I can't work tonight. Can't we just pick yours up too?" Sara reasoned if they were already getting one, that they could get one for Greg as well.
"You've gotta get a ticket for your place in line, each ticket is for one book. Plus, you had to pre-register at that particular store. I don't think they're going to ID people or anything, but I doubt you'd be able to pass for a Greg Sanders there, Sar…"
Sara rolled her eyes. "I would hope not. Where did you reserve it?"
"The Border's on Meadows Lane."
Sara sighed. "We're going to be there too."
"It's okay, it was a long shot. Maybe I'll see if Nick can do it…do you think that's a bad idea?"
A smile spread across Sara's face. "I think that's a great idea, it would be good for him to get out of the house for awhile. Listen Greg, don't worry about it, Linds and I will convince him. I'll give you a call later," Sara told him, climbing behind the wheel and buckling her seat belt after making sure Lindsey had done the same.
She punched in Nick's home phone number, and started the ignition while she waited for him to pick up.
Lindsey giggled in the seat beside her, as Sara greeted him with, "Hey Nick, how would you like to spend the night with two hot girls?"
"You know, this kind of reminds me of all those Star Wars fans when I was a kid. The insanity, the costumes…" Nick whispered into Sara's ear with an amused expression on his face; it was the second time that day that Sara was happy to see someone smiling again.
They had swung by Nick's to pick him up, and by the time that they arrived at the bookstore, people had already begun to gather. Lindsey could barely contain her excitement as they stood in line to get their tickets. Ten minutes later, they received two tickets for spots 328 and 329 in line, as well as a schedule of events for the night. Since they didn't have to be back to the store to line up until quarter to twelve, Nick suggested that they get some dinner.
Two hours later, they were leaning against a pole in the music department, watching Lindsey flutter around the different activity tables. She had already had a lightning bolt painted on her forehead, and now she was busy decorating the wizard's hat she had made out of paper.
Sara began to laugh as Nick pointed out some of the more elaborate costumes. The Star Wars comparison was definitely spot on. There was quite possibly the cutest little girl Sara had ever seen, in what looked like her school uniform and a cape that overwhelmed her body, dressed as Hermione, who Sara and Nick had learned over dinner, was one of Harry Potter's best friends. But standing right next to Nick was a group of teenagers, some in full costumed regalia, and other's sporting what appeared to be homemade shirts with sayings such as, "I Speak Parseltongue," "I'm Still Waiting on My Hogwarts Letter," and "I'm the Half Blood Prince." The group was engaged in pretty deep conversation, and Nick and Sara caught snippets.
"I'm telling you, it's gonna be Snape, and then they are going to lose their inside man..."
"No, it's going to be one of the Weasley's. There are way too many of them, for everyone to survive through all seven books."
This didn't seem to sit too well with one of the girls in the group, a curly haired blond of about fifteen. "It's better not be Ron," she warned, as if the boy she was talking too wrote the poor boy's demise himself, "He can't die until he at least kisses Hermione…"
"But if you follow the chessboard theory, Ron has to sacrifice himself in the end, in order for Harry to go on…"
Nick shook his head in amusement. "Well, at least they're reading," he whispered, leaning closer to Sara.
Sara smiled and nudged him gently in the side. "I'm glad you decided to come with us tonight."
Nick grinned back at her. "Well, how could I resist the offer to spend the night with two beautiful girls."
Sara blushed as she retorted quickly, "I believe the offer was two hot girls."
"Eh, semantics, I still get to spend the night with you," Nick shot back with another grin. Sara could feel her cheeks flush again as Nick scanned the table for Lindsey's blond ponytail. She could see the smile playing at his lips, and though he didn't say anything else for awhile, Sara took the return of their playful banter as a sign that things were slowly getting back to normal.
After Nick was rescued, Sara had found herself re-evaluating her relationship with him, mostly the nights she spent sitting with him in between nightmares, and she had come to the realization that her feelings for him had become something more than friendly. Maybe they had always been, she wasn't quite sure, but the end result was a flutter of feelings anytime he was near. But ever since, she had been sitting on the information; she didn't want to reveal anything until a more appropriate time, after Nick had the chance to recover.
"You know, you're the first person that hasn't asked me how I'm doing," Nick mused a few minutes later, shifting against the wall. It came out evenly, no accusatory tone attached to the statement; Sara knew that Nick realized how shaken she was when he was abducted; how shaken they had all been.
Sara turned to face him, tilting her head to the side as she contemplated how best to answer the unasked question hidden in his statement. "I don't have to," she answered truthfully, "You hear it a million times a day, and I know that if you want to talk about something, you will. Besides, I can see it in your eyes…today's a good day. And if that changes, you'll tell me, or someone."
Sara couldn't help but smile back as an amazing grin spread across Nick's face. "Today was a good day," he affirmed, "and it got better when my phone rang tonight."
"Sara! Nick!" Lindsey exclaimed, running back over to them, "Look at my wizard's hat! Isn't it cool?" She was beaming as she held out her hat for inspection.
"Very cool," Nick agreed with a chuckle.
"They're playing Prisoner of Azkaban over there," she announced, pointing to one corner of the music department, "Can we go watch it until we have to get in line?"
Sara and Nick nodded, and soon they were on the floor as close to the television as they could get; apparently a lot of other people had the same idea. Sara had to wedge herself between two shelves, the edge of one digging into her back uncomfortably. She squirmed a few times trying to get comfortable, while Nick merely rolled his eyes and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him and away from the edge. This time she felt uncomfortable in a different sort of way; sitting that close to him was going to test her will.
"Better?" he asked, making no move to remove his arm.
She shot him a small smile. "Yeah, thanks."
"So, are you two dating now?"
Two sets of wide, very surprised eyes met Lindsey's, as she peered at them curiously. "I mean, it didn't really seem like it earlier, but I don't know…"
"What would give you that idea?" Sara sputtered out.
"My mom thinks you should, she said that you both like each other, but you won't admit it. I overheard her telling Warrick."
Sara was too surprised to answer; part of her was paranoid that her coworkers had picked up on the change in her feelings towards Nick, and another part was genuinely surprised that Catherine would consider her as someone Nick should be with, considering all that had happened to him recently.
Nick recovered a little more quickly, and was able to answer, "Sorry to break it to you kiddo, and your mom for that matter, but Sar and I are just friends." Sara wasn't sure whether or not she imagined the tiniest bit of disappointment in Nick's voice.
Lindsey seemed unfazed. "Yeah, that's what my mom told me about her and Warrick, but he's moving in next week. Grandma's not too happy about it..." Sara stowed that bit of information away to process at a later time; neither Catherine nor Warrick had mentioned plans of an address change for the laid back CSI. Lindsey lay her head down in Sara's lap and turned her attention back to the movie.
Sara absentmindedly stroked Lindsey's hair as she contemplated the best way to kill Catherine. She was sure Nick had seen her blush, but she then realized that his arm was still around her waist. She looked over at him carefully, and she found him looking back at her with an embarrassed smile. She grinned back, sensing that something had changed in the past few minutes.
Soon the room was buzzing with the news that it was quarter to midnight, and it was time for the first group of people to begin lining up. Lindsey began to get fidgety, though Sara noticed her trying to suppress a yawn once or twice. Cheers erupted fifteen minutes later when the announcement came that the book was officially on sale.
Sara was surprised at how well organized the store seemed to be. It was only an hour later that numbers 300 through 350 were told to get in line.
"That means us," Nick announced, standing up and holding out a hand for each of the girls. Lindsey leapt up and raced for the back of the line that was winding halfway through the store. Sara got up a little slower, and Nick squeezed her hand once before releasing it and following Lindsey.
Fifteen minutes later, they were heading out to the car, two emerald green books in hand, along with Lindsey's wizard hat. Lindsey ran ahead, clutching her book to her chest.
"You want me to drop you off, or do you want to hang out for awhile?" Sara asked quietly, "I doubt Catherine's off yet, and ten to one, Linds is fast asleep before I pull in the driveway." Sara wouldn't mind spending some more time with Nick, and thought it might be a good idea for them to talk about what may or may not have changed between them, but if Nick was tired, she didn't want to force him to stay with them.
"You mean when I pull into the driveway." Nick smirked, grabbing the keys from Sara's hand and walking swiftly to the driver's side. Sara rolled her eyes, but waited as Nick unlocked the doors, and climbed into the passenger seat.
Lindsey was already buckled in the back, book sitting on her lap and turned to the first page. "Nick, can you turn on the overhead light? I want to read on the way home."
"Sure thing Linds." He winked at her through the rear-view mirror and turned on the light. Lindsey was quickly engrossed in the book, but her eyelids were drooping, and true to Catherine's prediction, she was out ten minutes into the drive home.
Sara reached back, carefully taking the book and marking Lindsey's place with a Harry Potter bookmark that Lindsey had made during her wait. Nick flipped the light off, and they made the rest of the drive to Catherine's house silently, not wanting to wake Lindsey.
Sara gathered Lindsey's stuff, searching the front pocket of her back pack for Lindsey's house key, while Nick parked the car and then walked around the car to carry Lindsey into the house. He effortlessly got her through the front door and headed towards where he remembered her bedroom to be, with Sara following after she deposited Lindsey's stuff by the door.
He laid her down on the bed, chuckling when he saw that her bed was messy and unmade, before pulling the covers up over her and brushing a piece of hair that had escaped her ponytail out of her face.
Sara stood in the doorway, smiling at the scene in front of her. Nick was so good with kids; Sara knew he would make a great dad someday, and she hoped that he would get the opportunity. Still, he had some things to learn.
"Nick," she whispered quietly, "you might want to take off her shoes before you tuck her in."
He smiled sheepishly as Sara made her way to the bed, uncovering Lindsey and removing her sandals before pulling them back up. The two watched her for a minute, and then headed for the door.
"Sara…I want to finish the first chapter," Lindsey mumbled sleepily, sitting up. She paused for a moment, yawning. "Will you read it to me?"
Sara smiled and nodded. "Yeah, let me go get the book." She returned quickly, noticing that Nick had taken Lindsey's desk chair and switched on the small reading lamp, bathing the room in a warm glow.
"What?" he asked innocently, off of her look. "I want you to read to me too."
She settled next to Lindsey on the bed, surprised when the girl snuggled up to her side. Sara put one arm around Lindsey and held the book in her lap, reading aloud as Lindsey drifted off to sleep. Lindsey didn't make it two full pages, but Sara kept reading, stopping only when she reached the end. When the chapter was done, Sara carefully marked the page again, handing the book to Nick, who placed it on the desk. She then shifted Lindsey to her pillow, whispering goodnight as she turned off the light.
"You're good with her," Nick remarked as they sank down onto the sofa.
"So are you," Sara answered, laying her head back on the plush sofa in Catherine's family room.
They sat in silence for a few minutes after that, Sara relishing the closeness between them, Nick's arm occasionally brushing against hers. She knew they should probably talk about what was going on, but she didn't want to lose the comfort of the moment.
So when Nick reached over and draped his arm across her shoulder, Sara found herself shifting and laying her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes as she concentrated on the rhythm of Nick's fingers trailing up and down her arm.
She heard Nick call her name softly, and she sighed, knowing that the moment had to be broken sooner or later. Sara opened her eyes, preparing to pull away; she wouldn't be able to think clearly snuggled up against his side. But as her eyes opened, she noticed a look in Nick's eyes that she couldn't quite place, and before she knew it, she was leaning up towards him, brushing her lips against his.
Nick responded readily, taking control of the kiss as he pulled Sara astride his lap. She cupped his face with both of her hands, while Nick had one hand tangled in her hair, and the other snaked around her waist before boldly slipping underneath the back of her shirt. Sara moaned into his mouth as he explored the bare flesh with his large hand. He made it as high up as the thin piece of fabric that secured her bra. Sara felt his fingers toy with the fabric, and then she felt the hooks unclasp. It was then that Sara realized the implications of what was happening if Lindsey or even Catherine were to walk in on what was going on between them.
She pulled away, resting her hands on his chest as she tried to catch her breath. Nick clutched the material of her bra between his fingers for a few seconds longer, before releasing it and slowly removing his hand to a safer location.
"God Sar, I'm sorry," he whispered hoarsely, "I didn't mean to manhandle you on Catherine's couch…"
"No, I'm sorry…I shouldn't have done that. I, I threw myself at you, and even if you felt the same way, it's too soon…" she babbled, convinced that she had ruined any chances with him, if not their entire friendship. Despite the vibes she thought she had been getting from him throughout the night, she was letting her insecurities get the best of her; she was deluded to think that Nick would ever consider her as anything more than a very good friend. She tried to remove herself from his lap, but was surprised when he stopped her by gripping her hips and holding them in place.
"What's this, if I felt the same way…I think it was pretty clear a couple minutes ago, exactly how I felt about the situation."
"It was just a natural response to having a woman throw herself at you," Sara rationalized, trying not to let Nick hear the quiver in her voice.
Nick quirked an eyebrow, his hands still firmly planted on her hips. "So you think I have that little self control?"
"No…I didn't say that," she stammered.
"Sara, I love that beautiful mind of yours, but sometimes you've just gotta shut it off, and go with what's right in front of you," he murmured, pushing a stray piece of hair from her face.
Sara swallowed hard at the proximity of the word love to her name, and searched his eyes. Nick had flustered her to the point of near mental shut down, and she wished that he would spell out what he was trying to say. Her mouth was dry, and she was barely able to choke out, "And what is that exactly?"
"I want you Sara," he stated simply, "Heart, mind…body…" He smirked as he carefully squeezed her hip. "I want all of it. I probably have for a long time, but I was too blind to see what was right in front of me. But…after everything, I started looking at my life differently, and I realized some things. And one of them was that I need you in my life, but as more than my friend. I was just waiting for the right moment."
Sara was grateful that he stopped there, she wasn't sure she could handle hearing exactly how intense his feelings were. He studied her face, trying to gauge her reaction to his confession. Sara found it difficult to form a coherent sentence that conveyed even part of what she was feeling, so instead she pressed her lips to his again softly, hoping that it would tell him everything she couldn't.
They traded several long, slow kisses, before Sara decided it was probably a good idea to compose themselves a bit in case Lindsey woke up or Catherine came home. She placed one more brief kiss on his lips before moving off of Nick's lap and reaching around to re-hook her bra. She snuggled up against Nick's side, resting a hand on his stomach as he wrapped an arm around her waist, reveling in the feeling of being in his arms.
"I'm still sorry for manhandling you," he whispered.
"It's okay, I started it anyways. Besides, you can make it up to me by letting me manhandle you."
Nick chuckled, the laughter reverberating through his chest. "I think that can be arranged as soon as we get back to my place." He planted a kiss on her temple and closed his eyes. They sat in silence for awhile, content to be close to one another. Still, Sara couldn't stop one last lingering doubt.
"You don't think it's too soon?"
Nick caressed her side gently. "I think it's time to start living my life again, and I think dating you is a pretty good way to do it.
Sara's smile quickly turned into wide-eyed surprise as Catherine announced her presence.
"It appears that Harry Potter's magic works, even on you two."
Sara blushed, but she made no move to remove herself from Nick's embrace. Catherine quirked an eyebrow at the development on her couch, and crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"So, are you gonna tell me what happened to remove the blinders you two have been wearing for the last five years?"
Sara quirked her own eyebrow, as if to challenge Catherine. "Only if you tell us when exactly Warrick decided to move in…"
FIN.