FIC: Romance, PG, 1/3
Title: Romance, 1/3
Rating: PG
Summary: It's not that Jim doesn't have a sense of romance, because he does, even though he doesn't know dick about flowers or chocolate or nice restaurants.
Notes: This follows Mugs, Disappointment, Tension, Negotiation. and Competition. There will be a second and third part to this as well.
Disclaimer: Zuiker and company own the rights to CSI and its characters. I own too many books.
~*~*~
It’s not that Jim doesn’t have a sense of romance, because he does, even though he doesn’t know dick about flowers or chocolate or nice restaurants. When he wanted to buy wine for Catherine back in December, he went to Vega for advice, because Vega gets off on that shit the way Grissom gets off on bugs.
So, it’s not that Jim lacks romance; instead, it’s that Jim’s concept of romance tends toward the mundane. He figures a weekend oil change will go a hell of a lot farther than a bouquet of roses, and fixing a leaky toilet is better than having to deal with snotty waiters. Nancy never figured that out the entire time they were married, and he figures that’s one reason she ended up looking for romance wherever she could.
Catherine, bright woman that she is, had him pegged the day after New Year’s. That’s when Jim showed up to help patch the drywall in her garage. And as long as he was there anyway, he fixed her front door lock, tightened the agitator in her washing machine and took care of the leaky faucet in her utility room. Later that night, after Lindsey interrogated him and then went to bed, Catherine thanked him by reminding him how much fun it is to neck on the couch with only the street lights for illumination.
Jim thinks Catherine had that day in mind when she said not to worry about Valentine’s Day, because right after that, she immediately started talking about Lindsey’s latest school project, trying to prove the holiday wasn’t a big deal to her. No slouch in the brain department himself, Jim figures that even though Catherine is absolutely convinced she means what she says, making a little effort on the day in question probably can’t hurt.
Without saying anything to her, he sorts through his collection of strings and pulls a few to make sure the two of them have that night together. Devious son-of-a-bitch that he is, Gil not only agrees to give Catherine the night off, but he also offers a few suggestions for cranking her up in just the right way ahead of time. Gil tells Jim to talk to someone else about the actual flowers and dinner, because he doesn’t know what the current trends are.
Jim nods. He already planned to talk to Vega anyway, because even though Gil is good at reading people, his inability to court a woman is the stuff of legend. Jim wonders sometimes if Gil wouldn’t be better off pitching for the other team, and then he shoves the thought aside. A lot cops already hate Gil for a variety of reasons, both good and bad, and there’s no need to add sexual orientation to the list.
He leaves the lab and hopes he’ll be able to catch up with Vega before the end of the night. As it turns out, when Jim gets back to the PD, he doesn’t have to look that hard after all, because the detective is catching up on his paperwork before he goes on vacation. Jim sits on the edge of Vega’s desk and starts asking questions.
“You’re sure about that?” he says at one point. “I mean, I’m okay when it comes to feeding myself, but cooking for Catherine is something else.”
“You don’t have to.” Vega grabs a slip of paper and scribbles a note. “Call this restaurant, and tell them I sent you.”
“They gonna give me a discount or something?” Jim tucks the paper in his coat pocket.
“My mother won’t give me a discount, so there’s no way in hell she’s giving you one, Captain or no,” Vega answers with a laugh.
“Your family owns this place?” Suddenly, Vega’s obsession with wine makes sense.
“Yeah. What my name will get you is a meal you can pick up at the restaurant and serve at your place.”
“Got any suggestions on what I should order?”
Vega shakes his head. “Just ask for Señora Vega and tell her I told you to beg for the most romantic dinner she can think of.”
Jim narrows his eyes. “How much is this gonna set me back?”
“How much is Catherine worth to you?”
“I was afraid you’d say that.” Jim sighs. “Well. I can always take out a second mortgage, right?”
“It’ll be worth it, man. Trust me -- Mama is a great cook.”
“Thanks, Vega. And, uh, keep this under your hat, okay? I want it to be a surprise.” When Vega promises to keep his mouth shut, Jim stands. “Have fun in -- where’re you going again?”
“Scotland.”
“That’s what I thought I read on your request.” Jim shakes his head. “You know you’re nuts, going there in winter, right?”
“We all have a dream, Captain. Mine’s in Scotland, and yours is in the Geek Squad.”
Jim makes a noise of general agreement and heads to his office. There are still a few more details to attend to, and he thinks Catherine’s mom might be able to help with one or two of them. The rest, he can handle himself. He just hopes he doesn’t come off looking like a complete nimrod once the night is over.
Rating: PG
Summary: It's not that Jim doesn't have a sense of romance, because he does, even though he doesn't know dick about flowers or chocolate or nice restaurants.
Notes: This follows Mugs, Disappointment, Tension, Negotiation. and Competition. There will be a second and third part to this as well.
Disclaimer: Zuiker and company own the rights to CSI and its characters. I own too many books.
~*~*~
It’s not that Jim doesn’t have a sense of romance, because he does, even though he doesn’t know dick about flowers or chocolate or nice restaurants. When he wanted to buy wine for Catherine back in December, he went to Vega for advice, because Vega gets off on that shit the way Grissom gets off on bugs.
So, it’s not that Jim lacks romance; instead, it’s that Jim’s concept of romance tends toward the mundane. He figures a weekend oil change will go a hell of a lot farther than a bouquet of roses, and fixing a leaky toilet is better than having to deal with snotty waiters. Nancy never figured that out the entire time they were married, and he figures that’s one reason she ended up looking for romance wherever she could.
Catherine, bright woman that she is, had him pegged the day after New Year’s. That’s when Jim showed up to help patch the drywall in her garage. And as long as he was there anyway, he fixed her front door lock, tightened the agitator in her washing machine and took care of the leaky faucet in her utility room. Later that night, after Lindsey interrogated him and then went to bed, Catherine thanked him by reminding him how much fun it is to neck on the couch with only the street lights for illumination.
Jim thinks Catherine had that day in mind when she said not to worry about Valentine’s Day, because right after that, she immediately started talking about Lindsey’s latest school project, trying to prove the holiday wasn’t a big deal to her. No slouch in the brain department himself, Jim figures that even though Catherine is absolutely convinced she means what she says, making a little effort on the day in question probably can’t hurt.
Without saying anything to her, he sorts through his collection of strings and pulls a few to make sure the two of them have that night together. Devious son-of-a-bitch that he is, Gil not only agrees to give Catherine the night off, but he also offers a few suggestions for cranking her up in just the right way ahead of time. Gil tells Jim to talk to someone else about the actual flowers and dinner, because he doesn’t know what the current trends are.
Jim nods. He already planned to talk to Vega anyway, because even though Gil is good at reading people, his inability to court a woman is the stuff of legend. Jim wonders sometimes if Gil wouldn’t be better off pitching for the other team, and then he shoves the thought aside. A lot cops already hate Gil for a variety of reasons, both good and bad, and there’s no need to add sexual orientation to the list.
He leaves the lab and hopes he’ll be able to catch up with Vega before the end of the night. As it turns out, when Jim gets back to the PD, he doesn’t have to look that hard after all, because the detective is catching up on his paperwork before he goes on vacation. Jim sits on the edge of Vega’s desk and starts asking questions.
“You’re sure about that?” he says at one point. “I mean, I’m okay when it comes to feeding myself, but cooking for Catherine is something else.”
“You don’t have to.” Vega grabs a slip of paper and scribbles a note. “Call this restaurant, and tell them I sent you.”
“They gonna give me a discount or something?” Jim tucks the paper in his coat pocket.
“My mother won’t give me a discount, so there’s no way in hell she’s giving you one, Captain or no,” Vega answers with a laugh.
“Your family owns this place?” Suddenly, Vega’s obsession with wine makes sense.
“Yeah. What my name will get you is a meal you can pick up at the restaurant and serve at your place.”
“Got any suggestions on what I should order?”
Vega shakes his head. “Just ask for Señora Vega and tell her I told you to beg for the most romantic dinner she can think of.”
Jim narrows his eyes. “How much is this gonna set me back?”
“How much is Catherine worth to you?”
“I was afraid you’d say that.” Jim sighs. “Well. I can always take out a second mortgage, right?”
“It’ll be worth it, man. Trust me -- Mama is a great cook.”
“Thanks, Vega. And, uh, keep this under your hat, okay? I want it to be a surprise.” When Vega promises to keep his mouth shut, Jim stands. “Have fun in -- where’re you going again?”
“Scotland.”
“That’s what I thought I read on your request.” Jim shakes his head. “You know you’re nuts, going there in winter, right?”
“We all have a dream, Captain. Mine’s in Scotland, and yours is in the Geek Squad.”
Jim makes a noise of general agreement and heads to his office. There are still a few more details to attend to, and he thinks Catherine’s mom might be able to help with one or two of them. The rest, he can handle himself. He just hopes he doesn’t come off looking like a complete nimrod once the night is over.