DISCLAIMER: These characters and situations do not belong to me in any way, shape, or form. I have borrowed them as part of my sanity maintenance.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Written for the Fragments of Sappho Challenge-a-thon to a request by ralst. Poem fragment: 'for you beautiful ones my thought is not changeable' (Paraphrased within) Prompts: Blackouts and coffee.
SPOILERS: Very brief for Bodies in Motion and Way To Go.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
FEEDBACK: To deb123em[at]gmail.com
Storm in a Coffee Cup
By Debbie
"Is Captain Brass there, please?"
Wendy sighed as the uninterested woman on the other end of the line disappeared in search of the missing man.
She hated the dark, and it sure was dark in her apartment despite the intermittent vivid flashes of purple that streaked the night sky. Half an hour before, just after putting her favorite coffee on to brew, the lights had flashed, the coffeepot had spluttered, and darkness had descended.
Checking the fuse box quickly, Wendy had groaned aloud. She may hate the dark, but she was quite capable of throwing a trip switch to correct an electrical overload; however, to her utter dismay, there had been no such trip, but there had been the beginnings of the electrical storm that now raged outside.
A disembodied voice announced in her ear, "Still looking, ma'am."
Her heart rate spiked another notch as lightning and thunder roiled together in anger. Damn this fear of the dark, and all because her older brother had thought it a good idea to teach his sister about the joys of the under-stairs cubbyhole during a freak electrical storm. Of course, it didn't help that the door had lodged stuck and even her parents had been unable to budge it before the young girl had become hysterical with fear.
The woman finally returned and said, "Captain Brass is off-duty tonight, might Detective Curtis help?"
Wendy racked her brain quickly. Detective Curtis? Sofia, that cute blonde detective she'd only really crossed paths with the one time when offering Grissom the news about his possible toupee-less killer a few weeks back.
Yes, Sofia Curtis might indeed be useful. The woman left her on hold once more as she searched for the detective's extension number.
Moments passed before she heard Sofia's distinctive voice, "Wendy? Can I help you?"
"This might sound stupid but the electricity has gone out in my apartment; this damn storm, you know."
At this point in time, Wendy really didn't care if she sounded stupid; she just needed to hear another's voice. Why she'd decided to ring Brass she wasn't quite sure, but Sofia was a lovely substitute.
"So, I'm scared of the dark, and I thought if I rung captain Brass he might be able to help, but he's not there and you are, so…"
"Wendy, Wendy. It's okay. In fact, it's been relatively quiet tonight, well so far at least. How about I come round and keep you company for a while; I'll be on call though, okay?"
"You don't have to do that."
"I know, but I want to. To be honest, it would be a pleasure to get out of this place. Hey, if the electricity's out, you want me to bring in food or anything?"
"Well, I've eaten already but coffee, maybe. I was just about to indulge in Peet's Mocha Java, so…"
Sofia interrupted quickly, "Who the hell is Pete? No, don't tell me now; you can answer that one when I get there. I know just the place for great coffee; give me your address, and I'll be right over."
Address exchanged, Sofia put down her phone and smiled, spending time with graveyard shift's favorite DNA technician had to be better than slaving over case files by the hundreds.
A quick detour had Sofia standing at Wendy's doorway with two cups of coffee, bulging pockets, her torch, and a smile.
The door opened, and Sofia flashed her light across her offerings.
"I bring you The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf's very own version of Mocha Java, a full-bodied coffee with a bright flavor and a hint of citrus."
For the first time since her lights had gone out, Wendy smiled in return, and even began to chuckle at Sofia's advertisement style voice over. Holding her door open in invitation, she took the coffee from Sofia and directed her towards the living room.
Moments later, she laughed out loud as Sofia, with an exaggerated flourish, pulled a number of long candles from her pockets.
"So, tell me, Wendy, who is Pete?"
Wendy laughed. "Are you serious?"
"Um…"
"Peet's, P-E-E-T, is my favorite coffee supplier, and…" she trailed off at Sofia's smile, realizing she'd been had.
"Uh-uh, I thought he was your secret coffee maker, pandering to your every whim. Then I wondered why you called Brass, and I thought, nah."
"Ha-ha. No, you couldn't be further from the truth there, but it makes a nice picture, my very own personal slave and coffee maker."
The two women continued in easy banter until Wendy noticed the storm had abated, and the room was only bathed in the gentle glow from Sofia's strategically placed candles. With that realization came the thought that this was the first time she had enjoyed a storm in her life.
She turned to Sofia and genuinely thanked her for her company.
"You throwing me out now the storm's over?"
"Actually no, I was going to ask you to stay longer; it's the dark that really gets to me."
"In that case I'm staying until the lights come back on or I'm called away in anger."
Sharing another smile, Sofia turned serious, "Tell me, why are you so afraid of the dark; I'm not sure it makes obvious sense in a scientist."
Again, time was lost to the easy conversation that flowed as Wendy admitted her greatest fear to Sofia, and Sofia reciprocated in kind, telling Wendy how she feared failing her mother.
The hurt that entered Sofia's voice as she told Wendy how she had been "volunteered" into CSI by the sheriff, immediately after gaining her shield, and how her mother had hated that even more than Sofia, made her look at the detective in a different light.
Listening to the angry, sore words that tumbled from Sofia's mouth, Wendy really looked at the detective for the first time. She no longer saw a hard, uninteresting, police officer; seeing now, the expressive and alive blue eyes, the softness radiating from every angle. She thought of the coffee, the candles, the easy chatter, and the care. Yet, more than anything, she thought of the inner beauty that only now was she seeing.
Sofia interested her, and she wanted more.
"Are you even listening to me?"
Wendy looked up, abashed. "Yeah, sorry, I just got carried away in my thoughts."
"Oh yes, anything you want to share?"
Wendy thought for a minute; trying to recall if she'd heard any rumors or gossip regarding the detective. She hadn't so she fell back on her stock skill, the use of mushy, sometimes idiotic, but hopefully successful pick-up-lines.
"You, Detective Curtis, are so very beautiful; my thoughts are all the same, so… I'll tell all. I was wondering… "
She paused for effect.
"Would you go out with me?"
The End