Glad you girls liked the friendship ficlet.
(And I got someone who's not a swarrick shipper to like it! Cool!)
So, I thought about how I would write a Sofia/Hodges ficlet, and I'm not sure they’ve ever even met. Then again, if they never met, she doesn’t know what an odd ball he is. :lol: Alright, here you go,
bulletboomgal, thanks - this is one more “couple” to add to my mental list of ships I’ve written about.
“My mom’s visiting for the weekend and I was hoping I could ask you a huge favor…”
He must have repeated that sentence ten times today. It was a little disheartening to say the least. He expected many of them to give an excuse, like Catherine, and even flat out refuse, like Judy, but did Sara had to laugh at him?
Hodges thought he asked just about every woman in the entire lab, but then he saw Sofia walking down the hall. He got her attention and led her into the Trace lab.
“What do you need?”
“I really need a huge favor…”
She looked confused, “What kind of favor?”
“Well… my mom is visiting Vegas for the weekend and I ‘kind of’ told her I was in a serious relationship. The problem is my job doesn’t allow for a girlfriend much less a steady relationship, so I don’t exactly have anyone to go with me when I meet my mom tonight for dinner and I was wondering if…” he trailed off, studying her face, and wondering what category she would fit into.
“You’re joking, right?”
“I just need someone for tonight, and I’ll pay for everything.”
“No.”
‘Flat-out refusing category,’ he noted, but he was getting desperate and thought maybe he could convince her.
“Please,” he clasped his hands, on the verge of pleading, “I wouldn’t ask if I wasn’t desperate!”
She frowned, “Desperate, huh? I’m out of here. Go ask someone else.”
“No! I mean… You’re the first one I thought of asking,” he lied.
She looked at him skeptically.
“Alright… everyone else said no.”
It was almost pitiful; which she figured was the only reason she even contemplated helping him out. Hodges looked so nervous and piteous, she felt like she had no choice.
With a sigh, she muttered, “What do I have to do?”
Relief swept over his face and he smiled, looking more like himself.
“Nothing. I’ll pick you up and 6:30 and take you to dinner where we’ll meet my mother. We’ll make chit chat, you act like you’re all over me, and I’ll be forever in your debt.”
“I’m not kissing you or anything,” she told him sternly.
“Of course,” he agreed, “I’ll just give you a little ‘background info’ on us. My mom will probably ask a few questions about how long we’ve been going out and if we have a future,” Sofia rolled her eyes, Hodges ignored it and continued, “But I’ll be there to fill in any blanks in case she catches you off guard.”
“Right… you owe me big time,” she huffed as she nudged passed him.
“I’ll call you!” He yelled after her. She walked faster, and a thought struck him.
“Wait, I don’t have your number! Sofia!”
After being chased down throughout the lab Sofia realized she was past the point of no return. She was going out on a date with David Hodges. Even if it was just a pretend date, the very idea was rather nerve-racking.
It was a quarter past six and she was still rummaging through her closet. Sofia was frustrated that she couldn’t find anything suitable to wear, but she was more angry at herself for caring.
Truthfully, she didn’t want to look like a slob, even on a pretend date, but she also didn’t want to give him any ideas.
No skirts… jeans are out… she had a few dress pants but she couldn’t decide what blouse to wear.
There was a knock at her door, promptly at 6:30,
‘He’s punctual, I’ll give him that,’ she thought to herself while stuffing a few toiletries in her black purse.
When she flung the door open she was stunned. A stylish brown blazer, a black turtleneck, and dark pants suited him well. His hair was combed back and he held a bouquet of roses in his hand.
“Wow,” she shook off her disbelief, “You look very nice.”
“Thank you,” he fidgeted with his collar, “I dressed like this for my mom.”
“Oh.”
“Here,” he thrust the flowers towards her, “for you.”
“Thanks,” she said awkwardly, “Ummm… should we get going?”
“Yes,” he walked her to his car, keeping his hands to himself, “By the way, you look nice.”
Sofia looked down at the plain, red blouse and black pants she wore, feeling a bit discomfited.
“You’re not taking me to some fancy place are you? Because I could wear something a bit more-”
“No, you look great. I mean that,” he assured her. Sincerity in his voice.
She clutched the flowers and smiled tightly, unsure of what to say.
It was strange, seeing him like this, outside the lab. Of course, she didn’t really know him that well but from the few interactions she had with him and the stories she heard from Greg and Nick, she didn’t expect him to be so… dare she say charming?
His mother was just as gracious, gushing about how beautiful Sofia looked and how lucky her son was for finding such a wonderful woman.
By the end of the night, she thought her face would be as red as her shirt from all the times she blushed. She relaxed and enjoyed herself - almost forgetting she didn’t originally want to go on the "date".
After bidding good-bye to the lovely Mrs. Hodges, the pair found themselves back at Sofia’s house.
“Thanks for everything, I really appreciated this - and those stories my mom said about when I was a kid… they’re kind of exaggerated.”
She laughed, “Sure they are. You know, I had a really nice time,”
“Really? Is it because you have all this information for potential blackmail?”
“Actually, your mom really impressed me. You both did.” she paused and looked down, carefully avoiding his eyes, “And, you don’t owe me anything. I’m glad I could help.”
He looked taken aback. Not just because she let him off the hook, but by the admission that he actually impressed her.
“Really?”
“Yeah. Really. And if you need anymore help with your mom, I wouldn‘t object to it,” she hinted in a not-so-subtle way.
Hodges just gaped at her, not sure if he was dreaming.
“Well… goodnight.”
Not having anymore to say, she smiled at him and walked inside.
He stood there for a minute, with a disbelieving smile on his face. He didn’t know what to think, so he just left quickly, while his luck was good.
Perhaps he could convince his mother to stay a few more days…
Alright! Though it was a bit late, I managed to get a nice romantic story out of this (I cannot believe this was more romantic than my swarrick ficlet... maybe next time.
)
Speaking of next time, if anyone wants to venture forth a suggestion, I shall happily take it. I also welcome reviews, comments, corrections, whatever feedback you'd like to give.
Thanks for reading! You're all awesome!