(private RP) a dinner date

[nurse_cchapel]

Really, dinner with Leonard was no reason to be nervous. Hypothetically. But as Christine walked the not-incredible distance from her quarters to his, she was undoubtedly nervous.

Dressed in a plain grey dress and sensible shoes, she could have been going anywhere. Instead of anywhere, though, she was going to Leonard McCoy's room for a date,

Comments

[hesdead_jim]

Leonard was a jumble of nerves on the inside, and almost the same on the outside. He couldn't believe he'd asked her. He was sure there was something in the air that day.

This was Christine. His head nurse, someone he respected. Someone he'd found he had eyes for the moment he first saw her. He felt like a damned teenager sometimes, harboring some foolish little crush. Men of 31 years old should not have almost girly crushes on co-workers. But, he couldn't help it.

What surprised him more was her willingness to say yes to him, even after he made it clear that he had an attraction to her, and the dinner would be classed as a date of sorts. Did that mean she too had some sort of interest? He didn't dare hope so.

Years had passed since his divorce and though still bitter and untrusting in many ways, he was willing to try to have less anger towards the universe for the actions of his ex wife, and to try to live his life again. Hence the date.

He'd organized a pasta dinner for her, dressed down in simple trousers and a crisp white, button down shirt. Hearing the chiming of his door, he almost dropped his glass of whiskey out of nerves. Knocking it back in one, resting the tumbler down, he moved to tap the control panel by the door to allow her entrance.

[nurse_cchapel]

And there went the door. Almost shy for the first time since she met him, Christine gave a little smile.

"Hi," she said, then took a step inside to plant a quick kiss on Leonard's cheek before he could respond or she could really think it over. Then, despite being more or less in already, because she believed in formality to a certain extent, Christine asked, "May I come in?"

[hesdead_jim]

She looked beautiful. Of course, she always did, but especially so when out of her uniform. The kiss to his cheek was enough to cause a slight flush, creeping up his neck to slightly redden his cheeks. With a polite nod, he stepped aside to allow her full entrance, lips curling into a small smile.

"Of course. Ah, hi."

[nurse_cchapel]

Undeniably, she worked under an attractive man. In a crisp white shirt and sporting a bit of a blush, though, she didn't want to take her eyes off of him. She did, of course, though, to watch the floor to anything her shaking, nervous legs might trip over as she walked past him, stopping and turning about the middle of the small room.

"So." That was always a smooth conversation starter. "How've you been since I last saw you, what, two hours ago?"

[hesdead_jim]

His lips curled up into an amused smile at her conversation starter, head inclining towards her slightly in a nod. "Around two hours," he replied. "Anything exciting happened to you in the meantime?" he just had to keep talking to her like normal. Just not act much differently to what worked for them anyway.

"Drink?"

[nurse_cchapel]

"Sure. Anything's fine."

She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. Then she made a mental note to stop doing that when she was anxious if her hair was already done for the occasion. "Not really, no. Just the same old, same old."

[hesdead_jim]

He hesitated for a moment as he tried to work out what drink to give her. He'd gotten hold of some wine from Earth just a few weeks ago, a brand he knew Jim liked. Because hell if Jim could hold his drink as well as Leonard. But somehow, he felt this would be a better use of it. That was if she even liked wine. He didn't know until he tried, though. So popping the cork and pouring her a glass, he turned on his heel to hand it over to her.

"Hope you like it," he spoke, watching her carefully. "I got us some pasta. Hope you like that, too."

[nurse_cchapel]

Wine. Fancy. She wasn't sure she remembered him ever looking so apprehensive, least of all while talking to her. She took a sip of the wine, letting her taste buds savour it a moment before swallowing, giving him a smile.

"I do." Christine nodded. "And I'm sure I will."

[hesdead_jim]

"Are you hungry now? It's ready. But if you'd rather wait, it can," he wouldn't normally jump right into food but he wasn't sure what else to do. Though he was telling himself to act normal, he was finding it hard. Because this was Christine.

[nurse_cchapel]

"It doesn't make all that big of a difference to me," she replied, still smiling. Still trying to make him half as comfortable with her as they were working together in Sickbay. The difference was immense, though. "If you wanted to talk, or ... do something now, we can. Stretch the evening out a little. I'm assuming you don't want me to just eat and run out."

[hesdead_jim]

He smiled, a tad relaxed by her efforts, and shook his head. He moved to pour himself a drink - a simple shot of whiskey for before his meal - and gestured for her to take a seat should she want to.

"I didn't expect you to say yes to this, Christine," he paused. "And you assume right. I'd rather we, well, spent some time together."

[nurse_cchapel]

She sat as indicated, setting the wine down on the table beside her. So. He hadn't anticipated her acceptance. Which meant he'd been mislead by hypothetics, too. That, for some odd reason, calmed her nerves.

"Spending time together sounds like a really nice idea, Leonard. Probably one of your better ones, actually."

[hesdead_jim]

"Is that a compliment I'm hearin'?" he asked her with a teasing lilt to his tone. He sat himself down on the sofa, but he made sure to not sit directly next to her. He left enough space for it to be polite, and to not seem... strange, to be so close. But he was still close enough for it to be a 'date acceptable amount of space.'

[nurse_cchapel]

"Ohhh, it was something along the lines of one." Christine winked, angling herself a bit more towards him. Things seemed to be lightening up, which was definitely a goal for the evening. That and figuring out her position on the matter, because she still wasn't sure.

[hesdead_jim]

"Well, ain't I honored," he teased. He himself sat at an angle to look at her better, small smile on his face. Slowly, ever so slowly, he was relaxing into this.

[nurse_cchapel]

Giving a bit cheekier of a smile, she propped her elbow on the back of the couch. In turn, she rested her head against her hand, fingers inevitably messing with her curls. "You should be. I'm not that nice to everyone, you know."