A/N: A big thank you to Psyched for being a great beta!
Sara looked herself up and down in the full-length mirror on her bathroom door. The bed was littered with rejected outfits. A skirt or pants? Casual or not so casual? Sexy, but not too sexy? It was quite unusual for her to agonize over wardrobe like this, but then this event was quite unusual. A date with Gil Grissom. Date—the word sounded odd in Sara's mind when used in the same sentence as Gil Grissom.
She decided on a fairly casual ensemble consisting of black slacks and a nice blouse. Now, what to do with her hair? The dark curls hung loosely around her shoulders, framing her face. Briefly she toyed with the idea of straightening the locks, but then reasoned that maybe he should see the real her, the Sara Sidle that existed outside of the crime lab. She applied slightly more make-up than she normally did, but used caution to avoid applying too much.
The ringing of the telephone filled her with dread. When she glanced at the caller ID, her fears were confirmed. Why was Grissom calling when he was due to arrive any minute? She braced herself for the worst as she answered the phone, fully expecting him to cancel their date, "Hello?"
"Sara, hi, it's me."
"Hi," she responded warily.
He must have heard the fear in her voice, "I really am coming. I'm just going to be a few minutes late. I-15's closed; I think there's an accident. Traffic is a nightmare."
"Oh, okay. I'll see you when you get here." She breathed a sigh of relief and replaced the receiver.
Satisfied with her appearance, she turned on the television and tried to relax while she waited.
The knock came sooner than Sara had expected, just ten minutes after Grissom's telephone call to inform her that he would be late. She quickly switched off the television, reminding herself that she probably shouldn't let Grissom catch her watching "Saved By the Bell" just yet. When she opened the door, Grissom grinned shyly, but made no move to enter.
"Hi," he extended his right hand to her. "I'm your date for the evening. My name's Gil."
Sara didn't miss a beat. She shook his hand warmly, "Pleased to meet you, Gil. I'm Sara."
She grabbed her purse and they made their way to his car, first date nervousness weighing heavily on them both. Gil visually appraised his companion discreetly. His own appearance had not gone unnoticed by Sara. He was wearing jeans, a deep blue shirt that accented his eyes magnificently, a sport coat and a just a touch of delicious-smelling cologne.
"I think I got the better end of this deal," Gil remarked sincerely.
Sara smiled at his compliment, "Actually, I was just thinking I had the better end of the deal."
"So," Gil began as he opened her car door for her. "With or without an 'H'?"
"What?"
"Sara. With or without an 'H'?"
"Without," her grin widened with her curiosity. How far was he planning to take this game?
He moved to the driver's side, buckled his seatbelt and headed out of the parking lot. "Why no 'H'?"
"My parents are…different."
"Different?"
"I'm really lucky I'm not Moonbeam or Cascade or maybe Owl."
"I see."
"No, you don't," she challenged teasingly. "You can't relate at all, can you?"
"My parents were more conventional," he answered, then added with a wink, "in that respect anyway. How hungry are you?"
"Not much. Why?"
"I though we'd catch a movie first, if that's all right."
"Sounds great. What movie?"
"Are you a Tolkien fan?"
"Of course."
"The Return of the King is playing on the IMAX."
"It's fantastic."
"You've seen it?" Gil failed to hide his disappointment.
"The day it opened. But, um, I could definitely see it again. Three hours of staring at Viggo Mortensen and Orlando Bloom." The expression on Grissom's face made her immediately with she hadn't said the last part.
"Are you sure? We could see something else," he offered.
"It's fine. I'd love to see it again. I saw The Fellowship of the Ring in the theater at least ten times. Have you seen this one?"
"No. I saw the others on DVD. I don't get to the movies much."
"Then you have to see it on the IMAX screen," she gave him her gap-toothed grin.
*^*^*^*^*^*
"I wonder why the Tolkien family is so upset that these films were made," Sara commented as she cut her salad.
"I think maybe they liked the mystique," Gil surmised. "As long as it's only on paper, the reader is free to envision the characters using his or her own interpretations. Once it's on film, Peter Jackson's interpretation becomes the standard."
"Granted, they took some creative liberties, but by and large, they pretty closely followed Tolkien's vision, I think.
"Well, it was a story ripe for the leap to the cinema, now that the special effects technology exists."
"Now I read they're making The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series into a film."
"Really," Grissom's curiosity was piqued.
"Intriguing, isn't it?" Sara smiled. "You knew once the Lord of the Rings was made that The Hitchhiker's Guide couldn't be far behind."
"I'm curious about the casting."
"There was a little in the article about the casting. I forgot most of it, but I do remember that Bill Nighy is cast as Slartibartfast."
"Bill Nighy?" Gil shook his head. "Funny, I see him more as Zaphod Beeblebrox."
They ate in silence for a few minutes, then Gil spoke up.
"This is where I generally get into trouble. Turns out that most women don't want to hear about the body farm on a date," he shrugged.
Sara smiled coyly, "You've been dating the wrong women. I would love to hear about the body farm."
"You haven't been there?" Gil looked genuinely surprised. "We'll have to do that sometime. They have some fascinating experiments in progress at the moment."
Grissom found himself amazed at how smoothly the evening was progressing. Could it really be this simple? Maybe he had been making things far more difficult than they needed to be.
As the date wound down, Gil walked Sara to the door of her apartment. They paused outside after she had opened the door. He pondered the appropriateness of kissing her on the first date.
Sensing his uncertainly, Sara leaned in and gave him a quick, sweet kiss on the lips. She smiled warmly, "Thanks for everything, Gil. I had a great time tonight."
"So did I. Can I see you again?"
"You'd better," she told him with a wink. "Goodnight."
TBC
