Title: Shame On Me
Author: DarkDreamer56
Archive: If you want it, ask please!
Rating: M
Pairing: N/S
Disclaimer: Not mine, but I'd be willing to trade…
Spoilers: mild Season 6

A/N: This is a response to a challenge that Claire issued me. The title comes from the song "Shame On Me," by Ryan Cabrera, which I listened to on repeat while writing this, along with "Save a Horse, Ride A Cowboy," by Big and Rich. I'm sure you can all guess what this story is about :). No real plot here. Second chapter should be up tonight or tomorrow. Dedicated to Claire, hope this is up to your standards chica! And I loved your last chapter, but I will properly review it once I get home later.

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Nick couldn't help but chuckle at the smile plastered onto Sara's face as she shot him a wide eyed look from across the crowded club that screamed help me.

"Warrick, man, I'll be right back. Looks like Tina got Sar in a little over her head." Nick clapped Warrick on the shoulder as his friend looked past him and chuckled.

Warrick had invited Nick, Sara, and Greg out for the night with him and Tina. Greg had brought along his newest obsession, the newest DNA lab tech Wendy, and disappeared twenty minutes ago into the sea of madness before them. Tina had run into some people from work while she and Sara had gone to get their second round of drinks, and now it seemed Sara had been caught by one of the guys.

Nick had watched the interaction from the corner of his eye, ever since Tina had returned without Sara, proclaiming that Alan, one the doctors she worked with, seemed to take an interest in Sara. She and Warrick exchanged a knowing smile, and Nick had kept an eye on the two across the room ever since, trying to convince himself that he was just watching out for Sara. In his line of work, he knew what could happen to a woman that met some random guy in a club. When he saw the panicked look on her face as she silently pleaded for his help from across the room, he ignored the relieved feeling that washed over him.

As he left Warrick waiting for Tina to return with another round, Nick decided to have a little fun in the process; it wasn't often they got Sara out to a club, and Nick planned on fully taking advantage of the opportunity in front of him. He knew the perfect way of getting Alan to leave Sara alone, and it would end up being a winning situation for Nick to, so long as Sara didn't decide afterwards to remove a certain part of his anatomy.

He walked towards Sara and Alan, but instead of walking right up to them, he circled around, through the crowd, so that he could approach Sara from behind. She looked back at him briefly, shooting him a quizzical look while trying to look interested in whatever Alan was telling her.

Nick felt her sharp intake of breath as he rested his hands on either side of her hips, and enjoyed the look that crossed Alan's face right before his eyes narrowed and sent death rays in Nick's direction.

A grin spread across Nick's face as he reached an arm out, wrapping his other arm around Sara's abdomen in the process. His chest was flush with her back for a moment, while he waited for Alan to acknowledge him. "Nick Stokes," he introduced.

"Alan Tremont," Alan answered warily, eyeing Nick as he tentatively shook his hand. Nick tried not to roll his eyes as Alan attempted to out grip him in the process.

"So you work with Tina?" Nick asked, as if it were perfectly natural for him to be standing in a crowded club with his arms around Sara. Sara turned her head, giving Nick a very confused look. He merely smiled, raising one eyebrow at her, and squeezed her hip gently as if to say I know what I'm doing.

"I'm an anesthesiologist over at Desert State actually. Tina is one of the nurses on our floor." As Alan's chest puffed out a little bit, Nick allowed himself to roll his eyes this time; Sara deserved much better than this guy.

"Well, that's something now." Nick grinned, enjoying the effect he was having on Sara. He could feel her begin to fidget, slightly rocking back and forth on her heels in the little room between their bodies. She glanced back at Nick quickly, and not even the din of the club could hide the blush on her cheeks. He rubbed his thumb across her hipbone, pleased with both the shiver that seemed to run up her spine at the gesture, and the narrowing of Alan's eyes. This alone was worth the cover charge.

He noticed that Sara had been silent the entire time, choosing instead to sip on the drink in her hand. Nick wasn't sure if this meant she was pissed beyond belief at him, or if she was actually content to go along with this little charade; he thought it was the former, as she didn't really seem to mind his arms around her, other than the flush on her cheeks.

"So…Nick, was it? What do you do exactly?"

"I'm a criminalist, just like Sara here." Nick squeezed her hip again, amused as Alan's eyes traveled from Sara, down the line of Nick's arms.

"You two are coworkers then?"

Nick winked. "Among other things. Now, you wouldn't mind if I stole Sara here for a minute, would ya? Someone promised me a dance earlier." Nick laid his drawl on thick.

"Sure, uh, no problem." Alan's look was deflating by the minute, widening Nick's grin even further.

"Nice meeting you there Alan. I'm sure we'll see you around sometime."

With that, Nick plucked Sara's drink from her hand, handing it to Alan with a smirk, and whisked Sara off towards the crowded dance floor before Alan could say anything else. They found a spot relatively unoccupied, and Nick pulled her towards him.

Sara seemed to have recovered in the time it took them to find a spot, and quirked an eyebrow at him. "Among other things?"

Nick chuckled. "We're coworkers…we're friends, we're running partners…we're co-conspirators when we cheat at rummy with Warrick and Greg. Lots of things. If he wants to assume that that means something else as well, then let him. It got you away from him, didn't it?" Personally, Nick wouldn't mind if something else became a term that applied to his relationship with Sara, but he wasn't sure exactly what she thought of that. It was encouraging that Sara didn't seem to mind his particular way of getting Alan to leave her alone. Maybe it was time for him to explore that, but for now he was happy just to get the chance to dance with her.

A smile spread across Sara's face. "Thanks for getting me away from him. He was nice, but just a little bit too much. I just wasn't expecting…well, that." She blushed again, a look that Nick found incredibly endearing.

"You know," Nick whispered as loudly as he could against the pulsating music, "he's probably watching us now…you might want to look a little more, well, interested in this."

"Like this?" Sara asked, moving a few inches closer, running her hands up his arms and shoulders, and around his neck. The smile on her face was coy, but slightly nervous, encouraging Nick.

Nick tried to suppress a grin, failing miserably, as he cocked his head to the side as if in thought. "We're getting there," he announced, pulling her the rest of the way to him, their hips flush as his arms wrapped around her waist. "That's better."

Sara began to move her hips seductively along with the music. This time it was Nick who had a sudden intake of breath as he could feel Sara's body pressed tightly against him, moving in rhythm with the music. It took Nick a minute to process, but he eventually began moving along with her. Who knew that Sara Sidle, queen of forensic journals and overtime, knew how to move her hips like that? Nick could feel his body reacting to the movement and proximity of Sara's body, and he also knew that there was no way that Sara didn't notice. When she didn't slap him or storm off towards Tina and Warrick, but rather began to play with the hair at the nape of his neck, and, if it were possible, press her breasts even further against his chest, Nick chanced a look up into her eyes. The nervousness had disappeared, and had been replaced by a smoky lust that Nick had never seen in Sara's eyes before.

"Does this look interested enough?" she whispered, trailing her fingers lightly up and down his neck.

Nick swallowed hard before answering. "I think it's pretty convincing." And deciding to address the elephant in the room, so to speak, he added, "And I think it's pretty apparent how interested I am."

Sara smirked, leaning dangerously close to his lips. "That's the best part." Nick's eyes nearly rolled back into his head as Sara's grinding became more controlled and focused on one particular area. He found himself trying consciously not to thrust his hips towards her, but his mind quickly lost that battle. His one hand started rubbing at the small of her back while the other traveled dangerously lower, until he was cupping one cheek and pulling her closer, eliciting a gasp from Sara that he felt against his ear.

Nick wanted desperately to kiss her, hell, he wanted desperately to haul her off to the bathroom and screw her senseless, but his last shred of sanity was screaming that he sure as hell better make sure this was happening for the right reasons before he screwed their friendship beyond repair.

"Sar," he whispered roughly, taking a deep breath and trying to gather his thoughts into some kind of coherent form. Sara's body moving against his was certainly not helping him retain higher brain functions, but he couldn't bring himself to push her away or still her hips. "How much of this is us…how much of this is putting on a show?"

This did not seem to be the question Sara was expecting, for her hips stopped moving quite as ardently against Nick. She paused a moment before answering. "Well, I believe you're the one that started this show. But if you want a percentage…" Sara cocked her head to the side, a sexy smile tugging at her lips. "Ninety ten?" Nick could live with those numbers. And the way things were going, Nick thought he had a fairly good shot at swinging that percentage to a perfect score by the end of the night.

"And I'm not drunk…and the thought of this has occurred to me once or twice." Sara's last confession was made with a bit of a blush, the first sign of the Sara that knew best shining through in the past ten minutes. Not that he didn't enjoy the brazen, sexy side she had introduced him too; he just wasn't accustomed to it.

Nick let out a chuckle, rubbing circles across the small of her back. "Darlin, multiply that by about a million, and you'll get my thoughts on the subject." Sara blushed again, rolling her eyes. "You don't believe me? Do you have any idea how sexy you are? And," he added, expecting the reflexive denial that was hardwired into Sara's personality, "it's not just the dress, or the dancing, or the alcohol."

Of course, Nick thought that Sara was gorgeous in her forensics coveralls, but he didn't mind being treated to the sight of Sara in that dress. It was black, spaghetti strapped, and a great deal shorter than anything Nick had imagined her owning. Nick would never tire of seeing those legs, an opportunity he didn't often get. Strappy black heels and tousled curls completed the look; it was no wonder that Alan had taken an interest in her.

"Mmm…not so bad yourself Cowboy." Sara ran her arms over his shoulders appreciatively, and Nick couldn't resist the urge to move one hand slowly up her back and tangle it in her hair before pulling her head towards his waiting lips.

Just as their lips were about to make contact, Nick felt a sharp jab over his right kidney, propelling him forward. Sara moved her head out of the way just in time to avoid a head on collision, but lost her balance in the process. Instinctively, Nick's arms wrapped tighter around her body, stopping her body from losing the war with gravity. Nick turned around, pissed, wanting to find out the source of his agitation.

"Sorry about that…hey, there you guys are," Greg exclaimed over the music, surprised to see Nick and Sara behind him and Wendy. "Sorry, didn't know it was you behind us." Greg shrugged apologetically, wrapping an arm around Wendy before he added, "Warrick was looking for you two."

If Greg noticed the flushed look on their faces, he chose not to comment. Reluctantly, Nick released Sara, realizing it probably wasn't a good idea to appear so cozy in front of Greg while they were still trying to figure out what the hell was going on between them. Nick ran a hand through his hair in frustration, immediately feeling the loss of contact between him and Sara keenly. And if he wasn't mistaken, so was Sara, if they way she crossed her arms over her chest but moved ever so close until their arms were touching again, was any indication.

"So, you having fun Greg?" Sara asked.

"Oh yeah, it's been awhile since I've done the club scene, but this place is pretty cool. We're gonna grab some more drinks, do you guys want anything?"

Nick shook his head. "I think we're gonna go find Warrick and Tina, but thanks man."

"Alright, we'll see you guys later then," Greg shouted over the noise before he and Wendy turned and made their way through the crowd towards the bar.

Nick sighed as he watched them walk away, before turning towards Sara with a slightly apprehensive expression. "So…" He knew how he felt about what had just occurred between them, but he wasn't exactly sure that Sara felt the same. As much as he'd rather stay and see what else could happen, he knew they really needed to talk.

"We should probably talk, huh?" Sara interrupted. Nick grinned, rubbing his chin.

"You read my mind. You want to get out of here, go back to your place?"

Sara smiled. "Why don't I go find Warrick and Tina, and you can…go take care of that." She glanced down, smirking at the obvious struggle against the confines of his pants.

Nick smirked back. "I'll meet you by the door in a few minutes."