fic: Some of Murphy's Not so Obscure Laws −1
by: Commasplice103
Fandom: SVU
Pairing: C/O
Rating: Eventually M or MA… this part is tame.
Notes: this was a - What if? Challenge… what if the two had met before Casey was transferred in, we all remember that horrible first impression - hmm - how could that have been worse? Set - a little before Casey's first ep. This has been beta'd (thank you, always), and it is 1/3(so far…)

Murphy's (Not So Obscure) Law #43: The Hot Girl With Whom You Could Get Along Is Always Taken. Always.

-oOo-

Casey circled the market twice as she slowed from a run to a jog and finally to a walk. She stretched a little, trying to remain limber. The mornings were, finally, starting to cool down.

The city was amazing in the fall. As soon as school supplies showed up in stores and the summer crowds started to thin, the heat would back off, the humidity would disappear, previously unnoticed trees would suddenly dazzle with color, and the air would become blessedly crisp.

Crisp enough that even though she was still warm from her run she still wanted to answer the call of the coffee house - her perpetual reward.

The allure of the cafe grew even stronger when she noticed a gorgeous brunette a the end of the line. She was tall. Not as tall as Casey, but nicely so. Golden skinned. A leather coat that might have been slightly warm for the weather, but Casey would gladly wear it every day in the heat of summer if it looked as good on her as it did on the brunette. She tried to come up with a subtle way to talk to the woman to see what color eyes she had that went along with the elegant features, just to be able enjoy the entire picture, or so she told herself. The woman seemed intense, maybe a little butch, confident.

Casey stepped into line behind the woman, telling herself that she had been planning to get coffee anyway. She inadvertently caught part of her phone conversation.

"It's all right," the brunette said. "No, I'm not really up for shopping by myself since every stall here has a line and this coffee shop has a line out the door, but I might as well get an espresso or something while I'm here. Maybe we'll actually be able to meet up later, you can take me to dinner to make up for it. Yes, I'll bring home a pound of coffee." She sighed and returned her cell phone to her pocket.

Definitely taken, Casey thought. Of course, the gorgeous ones always were. At least it took the pressure off when it came to finding out the color of her eyes. She had a nice, low, clear voice though. And, maybe it was the endorphins from running kicking in at just the wrong moment, but she couldn't help herself.

"The espresso is nice here – if that's what you're in the mood for, the lattes have good foam, but the coffee here is truly excellent," she said. She flashed what she hoped was a harmless 'fellow shopper' smile at the woman, and tried to stop talking. "They use a European style roaster, so it's better and darker than most around the city." She breathed, a nervous pause that she just knew would give her away, and she still couldn't seem to stop talking. "Perfect for a Sunday morning."

"Sorry, do you work here?"

Brown. They were brown and warm. Casey laughed and shook her head and shrugged.

The woman regarded her for a moment before putting on a soft, but wry smile. "So… the coffee, hmm?"

Casey winced, chagrinned. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I wouldn't want you to miss it. Even if the rest of the market wasn't filled with good shopping, I would come here just for the coffee."

Olivia let her eyes roam the perimeter of the weekend farmer's market and let loose with another wry grin. "So, you come here often then?" she said. She was rapidly enjoying the teasing of the redhead who appeared to be biting her lip to stifle a smile, the expression making her dimples come out even more.

"As a matter of fact," she laughed a little. "I make it a part of my weekend runs."

"So, then, do tell. What are the other gems in this market?"

"Well," she looked around collecting her opinions. "Okay, so the flower market, it's great, but if you tell the woman who works there that you'll take whatever's freshest, she'll put together something really beautiful and original for you. The produce is wonderful all throughout here." She turned and pointed to her left. "The wine shop in that storefront – it's prices are only a little better than retail and but they have an excellent buyer so can't get a bad bottle of wine there. And… that bakery next to it… amazing pastries and bread."

"Okay," the brunette said. "The marketing board must love you."

"That would be an easy job." She smiled and thought about winking. Talking to this woman should have had her red-faced at best and stuttering at worst, but something about the morning, or the woman being safe to flirt with… she smiled. "You think I should send them my resume?"

"Looking for a new job?"

She sighed and tilted her head and smiled a smile that says that she accepted her fate and it's not too bad. "No… I think I just might be a lifer at my current job."

"I know how that can be," she said. "So, what do you do?"

"Oh, I don't know if I should say," she teased. "I wouldn't want your opinion of me swayed before you even know my name."

"Well then," she said and held out a hand. "I'm Olivia, and you are?"

"Casey," she said and shook her hand. They had reached the front of the line and paused to make their purchases. Armed with hot coffee she felt even more prepared to keep her feet on the ground.

"Okay," Olivia said. "You weren't lying, this is excellent coffee." She placed her lid back on the cup, not having to add any sugar or cream.

"I'd never lie about coffee," the redhead laughed. "It's a second religion. My lifeblood. Would you like company for organic produce shopping?" She motioned to the stalls of the farmer's market.

The brunette laughed. "Sure. So, Casey," she said. "What is it you do?"

The redhead winced and sighed and mock-hung her head. "I'm a lawyer," she said.

"Oh," Olivia said dramatically.

"Yeah," Casey said.

"Well, since you were right about the coffee, I'll have to grant you some leeway on that," she said and laughed. "What kind of law?"

"I am a prosecutor for Manhattan." she said. "Mostly white collar crimes."

"Ah, well," Olivia said. "At least you're on the good side. Though, you don't really seem like a lawyer. You seem too sweet… happy. I'd have to see it to really believe it."

"Oh no," the redhead smiled. "You would not want to see me at work. I am a different person. I'm pushy, relentless, cocky, bitchy and zealous."

"So," the brunette lengthened the syllable, "a typical lawyer, then."

Casey laughed softly and nodded her head. "Yes. And when I'm threatened or nervous, it gets worse, I just steamroll over anything in sight."

"You must be effective then."

She smiled. "You bet."

They walked along the market stalls, talking about nothing and everything, pausing to purchase fresh fruit or vegetables.

"So, you like your job then? You're not planning to run for office or anything like that?"

"No, I love my job," she said. "I mean, it could always be better, but I am not really into the politics," she shrugged. "Right now, I wouldn't mind being made assistant bureau chief, that would be the next move, I guess, although moving off white collar to major cases would be nice too, but I think you'd have to be nuts to want to sit in the big chair... I'm sorry, I must sound…"

"Like a public servant? Devoted? You should never apologize for those things."

The dimples came out again.

"So, when you're not ridding the world of embezzlers and fraud you evangelize unsuspecting women into your favorite farmer's market, and... I'm going to go with the obvious," she indicated Casey's running outfit, "and say that in your off hours, you run."

She smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I run. Play softball, tennis… I bike some too, but I love running. Someday I hope to run in the NY marathon."

"Ah, for that one don't you have to enter a lottery for a spot?"

"That would be correct. But I might have better luck there than I have with unsuspecting women," Casey said.

"I don't know, you seem to be rather good at this," Olivia said. "And charming."

Casey's eyes grew wide. "Oh, no, I am actually not." She shook her head for emphasis and resorted to a chagrinned smile. "It just takes quite a bit of the pressure off when you overhear the woman on the phone and figure out she is taken. But you, are very, very good at getting people to talk. You know almost my whole story and I don't even know what you do."

"It's a skill that comes in handy, since I'm a cop. And you might just have bad timing, instead of bad luck," she said. Olivia gave her a slightly sad smile and shrugged. "I just started an on-again phase of a long, on-again/off-again relationship."

"Hey, I got to have coffee with, pardon my directness, a gorgeous, smart, interesting woman. And I didn't stutter or make a fool of myself too much. My only other plans today were to tidy up my apartment and nap on the couch, and let me tell you, you're ten times funnier than my couch."

"Only ten times?" Olivia joked.

"See?" She put her hands in the pockets of her zip-up jacket. "Really," she said. "No regrets." Then she winked a little. "Maybe a 'too-bad,' but that's just how it goes." She smiled. "I enjoyed the coffee, Olivia," she said, putting a little more distance between them.

"I really enjoyed talking to you too," Olivia said. Easy conversation, sweet, no attitude/reputation worries, no games. Olivia almost sighed.. "Maybe we'll run into each other someday at the courthouse and get to talk again."

"If I'm lucky… Good luck to you - with the on-again phase," she said, and then descended the subway stairs and out of sight.

"Maybe we'll both be lucky," Olivia said to herself.