One Date

As Danny walked down the hallway he self-consciously straightened his collar and jacket for the tenth time in as many minutes. When he reached the door to her apartment he stopped, he took a deep breath and after straightening his outfit yet again he raised his hand and rapped his knuckles on the door.

Baez stood at her bathroom vanity checking her makeup in the mirror, she heard the knock at the door and smoothed her already wrinkle free dress. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, did one last visual check of her outfit and left the bathroom. She walked to the door and swallowed nervously before she opened it.

As the door opened Danny saw Baez standing in a burgundy dress that hugged her body in all the right places. As he eyed her up and down his mouth fell open stunned by just how beautiful she looked. Baez felt herself blush under Danny's wandering eyes and she shifted nervously as he stared at her for a few more seconds before he spoke.

"Wow! You look…wow!" Danny finally said, struggling to find the words. He watched a big beaming smile spread across her face at his reaction and found himself smiling back.

"You look pretty great yourself." She replied smiling, surprised by how much better he looked dressed up off duty than he did in his everyday work suits.

"Are you ready to go?" He asked still unable to take his eyes off her. She nodded and quickly grabbed her coat and a matching burgundy purse.

Forty minutes later their cab stopped outside an busy upscale restaurant. Danny thanked the driver and Baez glanced at the meter as she watched Danny pay.

"Costs a little more but way out here we shouldn't run into anyone we know." He explained as he held out his hand for her.

"Good." She replied, appreciating the precaution he had taken as she took his hand and climbed out of the cab. They shared a smile and made their way into the restaurant. As Danny walked up to the host and gave his name Baez glanced around taking in the beautifully decorated restaurant. The host offered to take their coats and Danny and Baez slipped them off and handed them to him. He briefly disappeared from view and then just as quickly returned no longer holding their coats.

"Right this way Sir." The host replied as he gestured to his right.

"This is really nice." Baez whispered to Danny as they were led to their table. He smiled at her and when they reached their table he pulled out her chair for her. She smiled and took a seat, he then went around and took his. They made themselves comfortable and both began to browse their drinks menus. After a several seconds they both looked up from their menus and smiled at each other. A moment later the waiter arrived and took their wine order. After he had left, taking the menus with him they stared at each other and it dawned on them that they were on a date.

"So…you and me…on a date." Danny rambled nervously.

"Yeah…imagine what people at work would say." Baez wondered nervously.

"Well, every guy in the precinct would be jealous of me." Danny smiled at her and she blushed.

"Except Deakin, he'd be jealous of me." She grinned and they both burst out laughing.

A couple of minutes later the wine arrived and as it flowed so did the conversation. They talked as they always had, about everything: gossiped about people at work, lovingly complained about their family's, argued about sports and laughed about the weird and wonderful things they 'd seen on the internet. The night flew by and after several hours they fell into a few moments of companionable silence. It was during this silence that they finally took their eyes off each other long enough to look around the room and realise they were the only diners in it.

"Oh my gosh, we're the last one's here." Baez smiled surprised.

"Time files when you're having fun." He replied as he resumed staring at her.

"We should let these people close." She told him.

"You're right." He admitted reluctantly, not wanting the night to end. He went over to the register and paid for their meal. He walked slowly back over admiring her as he did. He pulled out her chair and helped her with her coat, he then put on his own coat and they headed outside.

"Do you wanna walk for a bit?" He asked, not even attempting to hail a cab.

"Sure." She smiled and they started slowly down the street. After a few seconds she felt his hand take hers and she smiled to herself.

"I had the best time tonight." She told him as they ambled slowly down the street.

"Me too." He replied and stopped, pulling her hand gently so she would too. They turned to face each other and shared a smile. He took a half step forward closing the gap between them, he softly brushed her hair back on one side and lightly cupped the back of her head. He leaned in and pressed his lips to hers, she kissed him back and held him by his waist. After several seconds they broke apart, pulling back just far enough to look at each other. As he stared at her he watched her expression change and could see a grin tugging at her lips.

"What are you thinking?" He asked, slipping his hands around her waist as she stared at him her eyes sparkling in the light of the streetlamp.

"Something lewd and lascivious." She grinned, raising her eyebrows and resting her arms on his shoulders.

"Detective Baez!" He gasped pretending to be shocked before breaking out into a grin.

"But I can wait." She added, remembering his request to take things slow.

"I can't." He told her and her eyes widened as they grinned at each other. He pulled her firmly against him and recaptured her lips with his, her hands held the back of his head as she kissed him back. When they finally stopped to breathe a nervous smiled played on her lips.

"So…my place?"