Sofia's Bad Day
By
Sydne
Rating: CSI 2
Disclaimer: All characters belong to CBS, etc…
Summary: Sofia has a bad day and Jim makes it better. A follow up to Unexpected Friendships.
Chapter 1
Angrily, Sofia Curtis strode through the Las Vegas Police Department. Today had not been a good day for the young detective. What appeared to be a slam-dunk case fizzled because of shoddy work on the part of the dayshift CSI's.
"Damn, them," Sofia thought as she entered the detective's bullpen. Immediately her eyes were drawn to her desk; sitting in the middle of it is a large brown paper bag.
"What's next?" she sighed.
Sofia walked over to her desk and sat down behind it. Gingerly, she reached for the bag. She could see that someone had scribbled her name on it with a black felt pen. Putting the bag down on her lap, she carefully opened the top. Peering down into the bag the gorgeous blonde emitted her first laugh of the day. Inside the bag was a brown teddy bear wearing a white t-shirt. Emblazoned on the t-shirt in bright blue lettering were the words "Thank you!"
What had caused Sofia to laugh, however, was the individual size bottle of Johnny Walker Black Scotch taped to the bears paw. She knew immediately that the bear was from Jim Brass.
Sofia closed the bag and sat it back on her desk. Reaching over, she picked up the phone and dialed Jim Brass' home number. After a few rings, the surly detective answered.
"Thank you," Sofia told him.
"For what?"
"The bear. You know?"
"What bear?" Brass couldn't help but tease her a bit.
"I thought it was from you."
Brass could hear the disappointment in her voice and decided to take pity on her, "It is."
Relief washed over Sofia, she had wanted it to be from him. This revelation surprised her. Brass' voice brought her back from her musing, "How's your day going?"
"Honestly?" Sofia asked.
"Yeah."
"It sucks," Sofia told him.
"What's up?"
"Dayshift CSI screwed up my evidence. I may have a case tossed because of it," Sofia sighed into the phone.
"Shit. That's tough," Brass commiserated with her. After a moments pause, he added, "How much longer do you have left on shift?"
Sofia looked down at her watch before she responded, "About an hour."
"Why don't you come over? We'll have steaks and bitch about dayshift."
Sofia quickly considered Brass's offer. She could go home and pout or she could go to his house and have a nice evening. The debate was quick, "That sounds good, Jim. Could you give me an hour after shift? I need to run home first."
"Sure. How about 6:30?"
"That would be wonderful. Can I bring anything?"
"No, I've got it covered," Brass told her, elation tingeing his voice. He was surprised she would come over so readily.
"Great, I'll see you then," Sofia replied as she hung up the phone. Her day had brightened considerably since she returned to the station.
Chapter 2
The rest of shift went quickly and Sofia was soon walking into her living room. She paused by the phone and checked for messages. There weren't any. She flipped through the mail that she had picked up outside and discarded the junk mail. With her basic chores done she headed toward the bedroom. Once there she pondered what to wear to Brass' house. She picked through her tops and finally settled on a teal green silk shirt and black jeans. She knew she would look dressy, but not over dressed. Sofia stripped off her soiled clothes and went into the bathroom. She turned on the taps for the shower and as the water was warming, she brushed her teeth. After rinsing her mouth, she quickly hopped in the shower and bathed. As she dressed, she quietly hummed to herself. The day was looking up.
The drive to Brass' home was slow. The traffic was snarled because of an accident and Sofia was running late. She grabbed her cell phone and called him.
"Jim, I'm sorry. There's an accident on I-15 and I'm stuck in traffic."
"Where are you?"
"I'm on I-15 just south of 93."
"Okay, can you get off at Charleston Boulevard?"
"Mm-hmm," Sofia answered as she looked over her shoulder at the traffic. She quickly turned on her turn signal and started making the appropriate lane changes.
"Go east on Charleston Boulevard and you'll run into the Las Vegas Expressway. Go South on the Expressway and you should be able to find it from there."
"Thanks, Jim. I'll be there as soon as I can."
"No problem. I'll be waiting for you," he told her as he hung up the phone.
He looked down at his watch and realized it was going to be at least another 30 minutes before Sofia would arrive. He walked over to the stove and turned the temperature down on the potatoes he had baking. He emitted a sigh and went to the living room. He turned the television on and immediately flipped to the travel channel. He settled in to wait for Sofia and their evening together.
It took Sofia 45 minutes instead of the allotted 30 to arrive at Brass' house. When she knocked on his door she was feeling frustrated and tired. When the door swung open and Jim was standing there with a bottle of Scotch in one hand and a beer in the other, Sofia had to laugh.
"Trying to get me drunk?"
"Nope, just wasn't sure what kind of poison you wanted," Brass said as a grin lit his face. He motioned for her to follow him and they went to the kitchen.
"You never did say which one you wanted," Brass asked Sofia.
"I'll take the beer," Sofia responded as she reached for the bottle.
"Glass?"
"Nope, not tonight," she replied as she raised the bottle to her lips.
Brass watched as she drank and was chagrined to find that he found the sight arousing. He turned away from the beautiful blonde and went to the counter. He reached over and started to fuss with the potholder sitting there.
"You okay, Jim?"
"Yeah, sure," Brass responded. "I'm going to throw those steaks on the BBQ. I'll be right back," he said as he headed for the back door.
Sofia sat at the kitchen table and pondered Brass' abrupt actions. As her mind wandered over the little gestures and words of the last few days, she decided that Jim might be more interested in her than just a friend. The slamming of the back door when Jim returned to the kitchen interrupted her musings. She looked up at her friend and a gentle smile crossed her face.
"Is there anything I can help with?"
"Sure. I've got some salad makings in the fridge. If you want you can help me put the salads together," Brass responded as he walked over to the refrigerator.
Opening the door he reached in and grabbed the necessary items to make the salads along with butter and sour cream for their potatoes. He placed the items on the counter top as Sofia walked over. While they prepared the salads, they bantered about unimportant things.
When they were finished, Brass gestured to the patio. "I'm going to get the steaks," Jim said as he walked out the back door.
He returned quickly and sat them on the table. Sofia picked up the salad plates and placed them next to the steaks as Jim grabbed the potatoes out of the oven. They both took their seats and began to fill their plates.
"Jim, the steaks smell wonderful," Sofia said as she puts sour cream on her potato.
"Thanks. I had them marinating all afternoon."
They started to eat their meals when Sofia noticed that Brass was a bit more quiet than usual.
"Is everything okay?" Sofia quietly inquired.
"Ortega called today," Brass grunted.
"Oh my. What did he want?"
"He informed me I can return to work on Monday," Brass said as he stuffed a tomato into his mouth.
"That's good, isn't it?"
"Yeah, but there are a few limitations."
Sofia knew that the limitations were bothering her friend. She stayed quiet and let the man finish in his own time.
"Ortega told me I could come back provided I go to counseling sessions with Dr. Kane and that I only drive a desk until Dr. Kane clears me for duty," Brass grumbled as he finished the last of his beer.
He stood and went to the refrigerator and grabbed another one for himself. He showed the beer to Sofia and lifted his eyebrows silently asking if she wanted another. Sofia affirmatively nodded back. He returned to his seat and resumed his meal.
Sofia reached over and placed her hand on his arm. She lightly squeezed it and looked deep into Brass' blue eyes. "You know that it won't take Dr. Kane long to clear you, don't you?"
Brass stared back at her and then set his hand on top of hers, "I hope not, Sofia. I truly hope not."
"It won't," Sofia assured him.
Brass pushed back from the table and looked at Sofia, "Hey, you know what? This night is supposed to be about making you feel better not me. Are you done eating?"
"Yeah," Sofia answered, unsure what Brass' intentions are.
Brass stood up and held his hand out to Sofia. Sofia gracefully rose and placed her hand in his. He pulled her to the living room and gestured for her wait. Curious, Sofia did what she was told and watched as Brass walked over to the stereo and hit the on button. Soft, slow jazz filtered out of the speakers and filled the quiet room. Brass returned to Sofia and sat down on the floor behind her with his back leaning against the couch. Sofia looked and him and quirked an eyebrow upwards. Brass patted the floor in front of him and Sofia lowered herself down so she sat facing him.
"Turn around. Face away from me," Brass told her. Curiosity aroused, Sofia turned around and settled herself in front of him.
"Close your eyes," Brass said, his voice soft.
Sofia obeyed him and her eyes slid shut. Brass reached up and took her long blonde hair in his hands. He pulled the hair together and placed it over her shoulder. Slowly, he lowered his hands to her shoulders and started to work the tight muscles. At his touch, a shiver coursed through Sofia's body.
Startled at her response, Brass asked, "Do you want me to stop?"
"No, please don't," Sofia faintly replied.
Brass returned to kneading her shoulders. He worked his thumbs up and down her long, slender neck. As the muscles relaxed, he could hear Sofia quietly start to moan. He moved his attention to her scalp. He rubbed her scalp, temples and above her ears. He softly traced the area around her ears and then worked his fingers down to her neck. Sofia emitted another soft purr of pleasure and Brass smiled. He enjoyed giving her gratification. As he felt Sofia relax, he started easing the pressure of his massage. When he knew that she was comfortable he gently removed his hands from her and placed them on his lap.
"God, Jim. That was wonderful," Sofia sighed.
"I'm glad you liked it."
Instead of moving away as Brass thought she would, Sofia leaned back and nestled herself against the older man's chest.
"Is this okay?" Sofia quietly asked him.
"Yeah, its okay," Brass said as he wrapped his arms around her slim frame.
They sat entwined for several long moments before Brass noticed that Sofia was softly slumbering. Smiling to himself, he reached for the remote and turned the stereo off. Content to let the willowy blonde sleep, Brass settled himself more comfortably against the couch.
Sofia napped in Brass' arms for about 30 minutes. When she woke up she was startled at her surroundings.
"Shh, its okay," Brass whispered in her ear. "You're here with me."
Comforted at the sound of Brass' voice, Sofia snuggled closer to him. "I'm sorry I fell asleep."
"Don't worry about it. I enjoyed it myself," Brass chuckled.
"Jim, where are we going with this…?" Sofia asked as she gestured between them with her hand.
"Sofia, I don't know. How about we take it one day at a time?"
"I like that idea, Jim. I really do."
"Good, so do I."
Sofia turned in Brass' arms so that she was facing him. She gently reached up and ran her fingers down the side of his face. She leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on his lips and then stood up.
"I think its time for me to leave," she said as she looked down at the man sitting at her feet. "I'll let myself out. Thank you for the wonderful evening, Jim."
Sofia turned to leave, only to have her ankle caught in Brass' firm grasp. He looked up at the blonde and smiled.
"I'm glad you came over, Sofia. I have had a great time too." He released her ankle as she smiled at him.
"Goodnight, Jim," Sofia called to him as she walked to the door.
"Goodnight, Sofia," Brass called after her. He heard the door quietly shut and shortly after that the sound of her SUV leaving. He leaned his head back against the sofa and was soon asleep himself.
Finis