Disclaimer: I don't own CSI:NY. Or Pretty Woman.
Series: None.
Spoilers: Mentions of Charge of this Post and You Only Die Once. Also mentions of 'Start of Something' and 'Commuted Sentences' in my 'Kindred Spirits' series.
Chapter Eighteen – The Date
Even though neither of them had set a specific time, Don knocked on her door just as Jess slipped her shoes on.
"Perfect timing." Jess commented, opening the door.
"You look stunning." Don told her with a disarming smile. "And these are for you."
"Don, they're gorgeous!" Jess carefully took the bouquet of red roses from him. "Let me just get these in water and then we can go."
"They match your dress." Don observed with a grin.
"Yeah, they do." Jess agreed. "How'd you know I was planning on wearing red?"
"I didn't." Don rubbed the back of his neck in an endearingly sheepish way. "I just heard somewhere that red roses are supposed to mean 'I love you'."
"A dozen." Jess supplied. "They do."
"Hmm." Don came to stand behind her, watching her slip the flowers into a vase. "I got one too many. Hang on." He pulled one flower free and cut the stem down before slipping it into her hair. "Perfect."
Jess smiled, turning to face him. "In case I forget to tell you later, I had a really nice time tonight."
Don chuckled. "Pretty Woman. Never took you for a chick-flick kinda girl."
"I'm not." Jess admitted. "But I like that line. Seemed appropriate."
"It was. Got everything?" Don asked.
"Let me check." Jess opened her bag and ran a quick eye over the contents. "We're good."
They left the apartment, Don's hand on her lower back in an almost subconscious gesture.
Jess could tell there was something bothering him and she had a pretty good idea what it was. She was proven right about five minutes after they started driving.
"Did we ever do anything like this the first time round?" Don asked quietly.
Jess sighed. "Stop doing this, Don. You don't have to live up to anything, you know. I love you."
Don smiled and lifted her hand to his lips, kissing it softly. "I love you too. First dates are always a bit unnerving for me. You've been here already."
"Actually we never went anywhere I had to dress like this for." Jess corrected.
"That was a mistake." Don stated, taking his eyes off the road momentarily to wander over her dress.
Jess chuckled. "Well, we didn't want anyone at the precinct to know, so we never went anywhere people could run into us and realise it was a date. We usually …" She trailed off as he pulled up.
"It's just opened." Don explained, mistaking her shock for confusion. "A friend of mine owed me a favour, was involved in the …" He stopped. "You've been here before."
Jess nodded with a smile. "Only once. It's a nice place. I think I might be a little underdressed."
"Don't be ridiculous." Don dismissed, getting out the car. He rounded the front and opened the door for her, helping her out. "You'll be the most beautiful woman in the room."
"You haven't seen the others yet." Jess smiled as he led her inside.
"Doesn't matter." Don told her, kissing the side of her head. "You're the most beautiful woman in most rooms."
Once they were seated and they'd given the waiter their orders, Don took her hand. "Was I with you?"
"When I came here?" Jess checked, nodding. "Yes."
"I thought you said we never went anywhere like this." Don pointed out.
Jess didn't answer, seeing the waiter returning with their food. She changed the subject to something more mundane and Don didn't argue, knowing that she'd answer the question in her own time.
As soon as the waiter was out of earshot again, Jess shrugged. "It wasn't a date. We were on duty, following a suspect. And you … were seeing someone."
"I was seeing someone else and working with you all day?" Don asked. "Had I gone crazy?"
"Well, I thought so." Jess grinned. "She was awful. Her apartment got broken into by this gang of thieves who were practically holding the city hostage …"
"That was how I met her?" Don asked, sounding disgusted.
Jess giggled. "No. You ended up chasing them through the city. It was her reaction that made Linds and I hate her though; we were trying to do witness interviews and she was on the phone." She put on a soft simpering voice. "They were here … Well, no, but Don saw one of 'em."
Don groaned. "What was I thinking?"
Jess patted his hand. "We've already established that I don't know."
"Well, speaking of weird dates," Don said, "Danny turned up with some very strange food."
"Deep-fried spiders?" Jess guessed brightly.
Don pulled a face. "I knew you had something to do with it."
Jess grinned. "Well, I wasn't about to deny them their first date."
"That's disgusting." Don told her.
"Hey, it was Danny's idea." Jess protested. "I just … helped him along."
"Oh God …" Don shook his head. "Can we change the subject please?"
Jess sniggered. "Gladly. If you own ties that don't look like they should be burned at the first opportunity, why is this the first time I'm seeing them?"
"Always with the ties, huh?" Don grumbled good-naturedly. "I don't see what's wrong with them."
"And that's why you need me." Jess smiled sweetly.
"No, I just need you." Don stated honestly. "Do you remember when we first met?"
"Yeah." Jess answered slowly. "You thought I was crazy."
"I didn't think you were crazy." Don disagreed. "Hot, yes. Crazy, no. But I meant the first time round."
Jess's smile slipped slightly. "Er, yeah, I do."
"What is it?" Don asked quietly. "What, did we not get along or something?"
"Oh, no; it was the complete opposite." Jess took a deep breath. "You were … in the hospital … after being injured in the line of duty."
"Injured how?" Don prompted.
Jess shook her head. "I'd rather not answer that, Don. I need time to figure out what to do and …"
"You need my reaction to stay the same?" Don guessed.
Jess nodded. "If you know, you'll act differently and …" She trailed off with a shrug, although she was far from calm inside.
"Alright." Don agreed. "So I was in hospital …"
Jess nodded. "Yeah, and I'd only just moved over from Jersey. Detective Benson was my mentor and, when you woke up, visiting you got delegated to me."
Don chuckled. "Charming."
"I didn't know anyone in the city yet." Jess continued. "Not really. And I got the feeling that you were getting annoyed that everyone kept treating you like glass, so I used to stop by to watch the game with you."
"Must have been fun." Don commented. "You being a Devils fan and all."
That, of course, turned the talk to sports, a friendly debate between the two teams, which, in turn, led into childhood memories.
It wasn't long before they were sharing a dessert and Jess realised that they hadn't lost the thread of their conversation once.
"You know this has been the easiest first date I've ever been on." Don commented.
Jess nodded in agreement. "You'd think I'd be used to it by now."
Don chuckled. "You wanna get out of here or shall we go for coffee as well?"
"I've got coffee at home." Jess pointed out with a soft smile.
Don smiled back. "Good point."
Outside, the weather was significantly cooler – it was only the beginning of April, after all – and Don slipped his jacket off to wrap around her shoulders.
Any other guy might have been trying to score points, but Jess knew Don; things like that had been drilled into him as a child.
Once again, he opened the car door for her and waited until she was comfortable before shutting it and getting in himself.
"You really do look beautiful tonight." Don told her softly as they drove back to her apartment.
Jess felt herself blush, at the sincere honesty in his voice. "Thank you."
"Are the ties that bad?" Don asked.
Jess sniggered. "I must admit I've become rather fond of them." She patted his thigh. "But I think we'd all appreciate it if you toned them down a little."
"Maybe I should stop wearing suits." Don commented. "What do you think?"
"That's blasphemy. The city expects you in a suit." Jess told him. "Besides, you look good in suits."
"Really?" Don asked with a grin.
"Oh, yeah." Jess tilted her head, considering. "Although your ass does look better in jeans. But I'll take what I can get."
"But this is for the city's sake, right?" Don teased.
"Well, I'm the one sitting across from you." Jess pointed out with a smirk.
"True." Don conceded, pulling up outside her apartment. "We're here."
"Don," Jess said seriously. "Would you like to come in? For some coffee?"
Don leaned across to kiss her, one hand sliding to caress her knee under the hem of her dress, the other cupping her face. "Do you actually mean 'coffee'?" He asked softly, with a knowing glint in his eye.
Jess smirked at him. "Hell no."
AN: Okay, if you're underage and/or want to leave what happens next up to your imagination, just wait for the next update of 'Impossible'. If not, there should be a smut-flavoured oneshot appearing sometime in the next week.
Regarding Charge of this Post, I do have a solution worked out. But Jess is not going to warn Don, because she's realised that, if she moves his position in relation to the bomb, she risks killing him; at least she knows that, if she does nothing, everything works out in the end. She'd rather not do it that way, but she might have to. So don't shoot me on that point please. I promise I have a plan.
Speaking of solutions, I've/Jess has saved Aiden in this fic. Are there any other victims (barring Ruben Sandevol, because that directly impacts Danny and I'm going to see what I can do with that anyway) that people would like me to try and save?