Title: The First Date

By: Kasandra

Rating: K+ for some language.

Pairing: Talleigh

Summary: A look into Calleigh and Tim's first date.

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Calleigh was more than just grateful to Maxine as she helped her prepare for her date with Tim. Her heart was pounding against her chest rapidly, and Calleigh wondered if it were physically possible for her heart to leap out of its confinements and onto the tiled floor of her bathroom.

Maxine was pinning Calleigh's hair. "Just keep holding still, I am almost done," she ordered gently though a mouthful of bobby pins. Calleigh took a deep breath, trying not to wince as another pin was placed in.

Calleigh couldn't believe that the day had even arrived. She recalled Tim asking her out earlier that day, and on her lunch break, she ran out to get a new outfit thoroughly convinced that she didn't own anything that fit the occasion.

Maxine's voice broke her out of her reverie. "Did you say something?" Calleigh questioned.

Maxine smiled at her. "All done," she repeated, handing her a mirror. Calleigh glanced at the fancy updo. "Oh it's perfect!" she gushed.

"When I was in high school, I had this brief phase where I wanted to be a hairdresser." Maxine explained, wringing her exhausted hands.

"Alright, so hair, jewelry and makeup are done…" Calleigh trailed off. "Now, I just need to get dressed. Want to see what I bought?"

Maxine nodded and Calleigh hopped off the bathroom counter, walking over to where her dress was hanging off the hook on the bathroom door. She unzipped the garment bag, revealing a strapless black dress.

"Oh, Call, you're going to look stunning. Tim's going to pass out when he sees you." Maxine stated, sighing.

"Well he had better! It cost a fortune." Calleigh giggled.

Maxine heard knocking and she gave Calleigh another smile. "That must be him. I'll go let him in while you finish up."

Calleigh nodded, her heart racing even more, and her stomach began to twist in knots. She changed out of her clothing and into the dress, before slipping on her heels. She gave herself a quick-once over before saying a quick prayer.

Walking out to the living room, she found Tim and Maxine chatting. Calleigh cleared her throat, alerting the twosome to her presence. Tim quickly stood – a bouquet of daisies in his hand.

Tim whistled, "Wow, Calleigh. You look...you look amazing," he stammered.

Calleigh beamed. "Why thank you Mr. Speedle. You look quite handsome yourself," she complimented, as she took in the sight of him dressed up in black slacks and a crisp wine colored dress shirt.

"I got these for you." Tim replied, handing her the flowers. Calleigh barely had the time to take in the sweet scent of the flowers, because Maxine took them from her.

"I'll go put these in a vase. You two should get going, I'll let myself out." Maxine rushed excitedly.

Calleigh gave her friend a small glare before nodding. "Alright, well you get home safe." Tim took his hand in hers as she grabbed her purse.

"Don't do anything that I wouldn't do." Maxine teasingly called out as Calleigh closed the door behind her.

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Suffice it to say that the date wasn't going as smoothly as Calleigh had imagined. Instead, of enjoying a wonderful meal over candlelight, they were late to the restaurant due to traffic which led Tim to lose his reservations. Starving, they tried restaurant after restaurant to no avail. It was Friday night after all; most places were already booked.

After that, they headed to the comedy club that Tim had tickets for only to find out at the door that the show had been cancelled at the last minute. Instead of the dream date that both Tim and Calleigh had hoped for, they were now walking around the city, holding hands. The silence between them only conveyed how frustrated they were with the disastrous night.

Tim finally spoke up, breaking the quiet. "Damn it Calleigh. This wasn't what I had planned at all." He had stopped walking and pulled her close to him. Looking into her eyes, he let out a sigh. "We should be ordering appetizers that cost the same amount as my cufflinks," he mumbled.

Calleigh nodded, giving him a sad smile. "I know. This wasn't what I had imagined either, believe me. Hey it could be worse – it could be raining."

And as if on cue, there was rumble above them and the skies flooded open above them. Calleigh gave a small shriek as she and Tim ran towards his Ducati. Though Calleigh loved the Ducati, she wasn't sure if it was appropriate for the evening – she was convinced that all of Miami could see her ass hanging out of her dress.

She clutched onto Tim tightly as he raced for cover. Mid-trip, Calleigh realized they were heading back to his place. Of course luck would have it that the rain began to let up as they arrived, nonetheless, they were soaked to the bones and Calleigh was grateful to be going somewhere indoors.

"Sorry for the mess," Tim apologized as he let her in. "Make yourself comfortable while I find some stuff for you to change in." Calleigh nodded, slipping off her shoes. She didn't want to drip water and then slip on the heels she had on. Nor did she want to sit anywhere for that reason.

When Tim came back with a towel and a change of clothes, she excused herself and headed to his bathroom. Calleigh cringed as she peeled the wet clothes off, and hung them over his shower rack, reminding herself to ask Tim if he had a bag to put them in.

She slipped on the sweatshirt he gave her – it was much too large for her petite frame yet it smelled like him, and she reveled in the scent that was all Tim Speedle. She frowned at the sight of his boxers; she wondered how long ago had it been since he last did a load.

Calleigh pushed the thought aside and slipped on the boxers, rolling the band a few times to make sure they didn't immediately fall off. She ran her hand through her hair before taking using the towel to remove any remaining makeup. She figured she must have been in the bathroom for longer than she had planned, because Tim knocked to make sure she was OK.

When she finally did leave the confines of his bathroom, she found Tim sitting on the sofa. He himself had changed into much scrubbier clothes and he patted the empty side next to him, beckoning her to join him.

"I ordered us some dinner, hope pizza will do for now." Tim spoke, reaching for the remote. "We can watch a movie 'til it comes."

"Pizza's fine." Calleigh replied, moving to sit next to him. Tim peered at her, before smiling.

Calleigh caught the smile as she sat, and she tilted her head in his direction. "What?" she questioned.

"You look good in my clothes," he replied, his warm eyes glittering. He expected her to smile, to blush – to even giggle in response. He was not at all prepared for Calleigh's burst of tears.

"Calleigh? Call, talk to me babe, what did I say? I'm sorry – you don't look good in my clothes?" Tim questioned awkwardly.

"No, it's not that. I just…I put a lot of effort…that dress…the rain…ruined everything." Calleigh hiccupped in between words.

Tim nodded in understanding, and he pulled her head up gently from her hands. "Calleigh, it's alright. I know you're upset that the date went down the toilet. I am too."

Calleigh shook her head. "It's not that. It's just that I went through so much to impress you. You see me in my work clothes all the time; I just wanted to look extra nice. And I drove poor Maxine batty – and my hair took forever, and it hurt so much putting in all the bobby pins," she rambled.

"Deep breath Call." Tim teased. "Now about your ritual you went through to impress me... well, as much as I did enjoy seeing you in that dress, you don't have to get dolled up to impress me. You are a gorgeous person – whether in work clothes or a dress or even my sweatshirt-"

"Which you're not getting back." Calleigh interjected with a small smile.

Tim laughed. "Alright, by all means it's yours now. But as I was saying, Calleigh I like you for more than just your looks. You're an amazing person inside and out – tonight was just for us to spend some more alone time together. You know… spend some quality time with the girl I care for."

Calleigh's eyes brimmed with fresh tears as she wrapped her arms around him. Tim pulled back, his forehead resting on hers, and he stared into her eyes once more.

"No more tears," he admonished gently. Calleigh nodded, staring back into his eyes, drowning in them. She let the passion she felt for him run through her body. Tim's eyes dropped to her lips, staring intently as she licked her lips.

"Well, there is one thing I refuse to have ruined." Calleigh replied sternly. She moved to bring her mouth to his ear, and Tim gulped hard, feeling her warm breath on the back his neck.

"What's that?" he questioned, suddenly nervous.

"Our goodnight kiss." Calleigh whispered as she moved back into their original embrace.

"Now that I agree on." Tim replied as he lowered his mouth to hers. Calleigh allowed herself to be swept into the kiss and thought to herself that perhaps, after everything had been said and done, it was the perfect date after all.

FIN