A/N: As always none of them are mine, I just borrow them to have fun! I'm writing some Rolivia at the moment and having a bit of a block so said I'd come back to R&I before the second half of Season 4 starts and the inevitable 'well she, won't she' storyline starts again. It's in the M section because like most of my Rizzles stuff it's probably where it will end up! But they'll let me know. If the rating needs amending I'll do it. Hope you enjoy it.

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The red form hugging dress clung to Jane like a second skin. As she turned for the tenth time she checked her reflection in the three mirrors of the dressing room.

The fourth wall contained the curtain, which was open. In the main mirror Jane could see Maura appraising every inch of the dress and how it fitted. Jane felt like she was under one of Maura's microscopes and she was blushing slightly.

"When am I ever going to wear this Maur?"
"On a date of course"
Jane raised her hands in the air "Of course" – the mocking tone made Maura glare

"A date, why didn't I think of that!"

"If you're going to be like this all day then I'm going home"
Jane had the good sense to look apologetic "I'm sorry. I'm just…"

Maura smiled "Buy the dress and you're forgiven"

Jane supressed the groan that was rising and nodded. She reminded herself that Maura was doing her a favour.

Pulling the curtain across Maura continued to speak.

"There's a pair of black wedges that would look fantastic with that dress. And a silver clutch"

Jane let out the supressed groan quietly. She wasn't going anywhere in the dress, hadn't had a date in a year, had no intention of going on one any time soon. But she made an enthusiastic noise to placate the ME who was in her element. This was her world; this was what made Maura Isles smile. It helped her escape the reality of the work they did. And right now the homicide they were working involving a whole family wiped out by an unknown suspect was making reality hit particularly hard.

Emerging from the dressing room and shaking the image of the young child lying on Maura's table from her mind she smiled at her friend who was perusing the selection left on the rail in the dressing room, yet to be returned to the shop floor. She had in her hands two shirts; a royal blue one with small pleats along the main body and a red one with gold buttons.

Holding them up she requested Jane's opinion.

"The blue one"

"Not the red one?" Maura asked

Jane stalled for a moment studying the two garments again. "No definitely the blue"

"Why?"
Jane took an executive decision – she wanted to go for lunch as they'd been shopping for hours and her stomach was complaining. So she said the one thing she knew would get them out of the store fast "Buy both"
Maura hmmed and hawed for a few moments seeming to deliberate but Jane knew better.

"That detective is a very good idea"

Jane laughed at the absurdity that the idea could ever be wrong as they made their way to the counter to pay. When they got there Maura removed a platinum credit card and took the dress from Jane when she was concentrating on an argument that a couple behind them were having, deciding whether or not she needed to intervene. The shouting ended with a kiss so Jane concluded things were safe. However the transaction was almost complete when she realised Maura was paying for her dress.

"Maura, what the hell?

"I didn't know what to get you for your birthday, you never tell me. So she held out the bag that the cashier handed her "Happy Birthday" she leaned in and gave Jane a kiss on the cheek.

The cashier smiled and winked at Maura "Someone's getting lucky tonight"

Maura looked at her thoroughly perplexed

"Why would purchasing a dress make one lucky?"
The cashier looked to her right at Jane who looked like she'd been struck in the face and dazed.

"I'm sorry I just…"

"No need, it's fine" Jane said hurriedly as she hooked her arm into Maura's and turned her towards the door, beating a hasty retreat.

They were out the door before Maura was able to speak again.

"Jane, what in God's name are you doing?"

"I'm hungry, we need to put money in the metre and it looks like it's going to rain"

All valid excuses but all totally irrelevant to the question Maura was posing.

"Jane" Maura felt the bags being removed from her hands as Jane moved as hastily as she had moments earlier down the street to where the car was parked.

"Back in a minute" she shouted over her shoulder

Maura stood on the sidewalk trying to decide whether to follow Jane or stay put. She decided to sit down on a nearby bench and wait for her friend to come back turning her head towards the sun breaking through the clouds. Why Jane thought it was going to rain Maura couldn't fathom. She wasn't normally that bad at predicting things.

Jane reached the car and put her hand on the hood to stop the swirling in her head.

Muttering to herself under her breath she threw the shopping in the boot and put some money in the metre.

Propping herself up against the car for a moment she gave herself the pep talk she did every time someone thought she was gay

'It's not you Jane; it's them. You don't look gay, it's just the way people think. Take your mother's advice and dress more feminine'. She laughed at the irony of that thinking of the dress she'd, correction Maura, had just bought for her.

What was she panicking about? It was something she could never fathom and yet it happened every time someone assumed she was as Al in Vice had put it one day "less than straight".

Walking back towards Maura she could see that the doctor was still looking thoroughly perplexed, as she got nearer. Sitting on the bench beside her Jane decided a change of topic was in order.

"So where do you want to eat"

She knew it wasn't going to be that easy to distract Maura but she hoped for once she'd be wrong. She wasn't.

"Jane, what did that shop assistant mean?"
"Shop assistant. In fancy stores like that do they not have fancier names?"
"Jane"

Maura's tone was all the warning Jane needed to know she wasn't getting out of this.

"She thought we were a couple Maura, okay?"
"Why would she assume that?"
"Because you bought the dress for me"

"That was a friendly gesture, a gift"

"Yeah but she didn't see it like that. She thought I was some down on my luck dead beat being treated by my rich girlfriend"
"Why on earth would she think I was your girlfriend?"
"Well the kiss on the cheek didn't help" – Jane's tone was sharp and Maura looked slightly taken aback.

"I'm sorry Jane. I didn't know my showing you affection in public was such a problem"

For the second time that day Jane had the good grace to look apologetic. Lowering her head she apologised and continued to explain;

"Maura you and I are like Glinda and Elphaba"

Maura smiled at the fact Jane had remembered the names of the women in "Wicked" – the only show they could agree on going to see when they were at a conference in New York – because it wasn't a ballet or an opera for Jane and because Maura, despite her reservations had heard rave reviews about it, even in the magazines that graced her coffee table.

But her smile disappeared when she gathered the inference in the reference.

"How so?"
"You might not be the stereotypical blonde, ditzy popular girl. But when you walk into a room people take notice. People want to talk to you. You are a different kind of popular. Me, well I'm not green but I'm not exactly your average runway beauty. My attempts at making conversation generally end when I mention what I do for a living. And my last date was a year ago and the guy turned out to be a closet S&M fanatic whose vast array of handcuffs made the BPD supply look paltry"

Maura heard the note of resignation in Jane's voice and it made her sad. A response was not forthcoming however. She wanted to give the matter some thought. And right now she knew forefront in Jane's thoughts was whether lunch was going to be salad or pizza. She knew she had to say something though.

"You're more like Glinda than you know Detective Rizzoli"

Jane looked at her and laughed, the first genuine laugh Maura had heard all day.

"Right yeah. And my Prince Charming is just behind that Corvette parked over there"

Jane stood, brining the conversation to an end?

"Pizza?"

"Only if they have a salad bar"

Jane bumped her shoulder as Maura stood so they could move down the street

"Deal"

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A/N So yeah I love Wicked. Don't worry if you haven't seen it, I'm not going to keep referencing it – it was just the best comparison I could come up with! I'm going to keep working on Rolivia, I just find writing these two sometimes helps me clear any block I have about those two!