Author's Note: Had this in store for a while and finally dug it out and polished it a few days ago. Read, review and enjoy!

P.S.- Partially inspired by "Over My Head (Cable Car)" by The Fray

Disclaimer: Characters and their likeness are property of NBC and Dick Wolf. Sadly, I own nothing expect the ides for the story.

Michael Cutter skimmed through the recently delivered motion on his desk. But before he finsh the sentence he was reading, a knock on the doorframe startled him back into reality. It was Connie, standing by the doorframe, holding her briefcase.

"Court in 15 minutes. The Burgaw case, remember?"

"I completely forgot" he says leaving the motion behind as he gets up and scrambles around to gather his things. As he grabs his phone off his desk and heads out the door, he pauses for a second to look around his office, just to make sure he wasn't forgetting anything. As he rushes towards the elevator, with Connie on his heels, he complained to himself,

"We have to call a cab. We'll never make it in time."

"I already called the cab. It's waiting downstairs. "She says as the elevator arrives and they get in.

"I don't know what I'd do without you", he says as the elevator pings on the lobby floor. They rush outside and into the awaiting cab. The cab takes off the second they close the door. They arrive at the courthouse just in time, with a few minutes to spare. Luckily, the defense attorney also seems to be running behind, as he arrives fifteen minutes after they do, giving them a few favorable points with the judge. As the case proceedings begin, although he is cleverly laying out a persuasive argument against the defendant, his mind is elsewhere. He can't seem to control his thought from wandering to a specific person, and the thoughts are always the same. He tells her all the time, he needs her. But she interprets his compliments in a professional manner, referring to the job. And most of the time, he does mean them in that manner. But what if the compliments were aimed at more than only the professional way? What if he made himself more clear, in meaning, he doesn't know what he'd do if she wasn't in his life? What if he told her how he really felt about her? In the back of his mind, that question is always there. How would she react? Would she even give him a chance? A woman like her had no shortage of admirers, most of which he was certain were more appropriate for her. He was at least eight years older and they certainly had their shares of differences. Usually he was more secure when it came to woman. But Connie was no ordinary woman. She was amazingly beautiful, elegant, talented, clever. She wasn't afraid to voice her opinion and stand up for what she believed in. On several occasions, she'd even gone as far as to call him a few, admittedly, well-deserved choice words when he got arrogant or cocky. But it was a fire, a blaze, she contained that he wouldn't trade for the world. She made him want to take a shot even though he was fairly certain she was way out of his league. But he didn't care. She was like the ocean and he was a guy who couldn't swim. But the waters were so beautifully alluring, he wanted to jump in anyways, even though he knew there was a possibility he might drown.

"Court is in recess until tomorrow morning at nine o clock", the judge announces as he slammed down his gravel. Mike and Connie gathered their things as the judge exits the courtroom to his chamber. The bailiff escorts the defendant out of the courtroom and back to Ricker's. Once they are outside the courthouse, waiting for a cab, Connie turns to Mike and says, "Are you okay?"

"Sure. Why wouldn't I be?"

"You looked a little distracted in there."

"Nope. Everything's fine", he says as a cab pulls up in front of them. He opens the door for her, allowing her to get in first. As he climbs in beside her, he gives the driver the address of their office. Once back at the office, most of their afternoon is spent preparing for upcoming cases on Monday and drafting documents. Around nine thirty, she stands up and says, "It's pretty late. I think I'm going to head home."

"Oh", he says, a bit disappointed. He enjoyed every moment they spent together even if it was going over mounds of paperwork. She seems to misinterpret the disappointment in his voice as she adds, "I'll have the subpoenas for the Miller and Whitaker cases ready by Monday as well as a few other papers I'm taking home to work on over the weekend."

"Okay", he says getting up from the table. "I guess I'll head home too. I hadn't noticed the time", he says as he begins to gather things into his briefcase. Connie gathers her papers and walks down the hall to her office to gather the rest of her things. She reappears at his office door a few minutes later and says, "See you on Monday?"

"Sure. Have a good weekend Connie."

"You too", she says. He can hear her heels clicking on the tiled floor as she walks away from his office, towards the elevator. He hears the elevator doors ding as they open on their floor. And suddenly he's seized by the same though he'd had earlier that day in court. A second later, his mind is made up as he grabs his coat and briefcase and rushes after her. He reaches the elevator just before the doors close. Once inside, when the elevator starts moving, he turns to Connie and taking a deep breath, he says, "I can't stop thinking about you."

Her warm hazel eyes widen in surprise as he continues.

"That's why I was so distracted. You're the distraction. Ugh", he stops and says, "That's not what I meant. I mean it's a good thing but it didn't sound that way when I just said it." "Uh", he says taking another breath. He turns around and pulls the stop button on the elevator.

"What are you doing?" She asks.

"I need to get this all out and this elevator ride isn't long enough so I'm buying some time. You're amazing. You're beautiful and I can't stop thinking about you. I know I'm not even close to what you deserve or expect and I do recognize that I can be an ass and you've made that very clear."

She smiles as he continues.

"What I'm trying to say is I love you. And I've tried not to love you but you make that kind of impossible and I can't help the way I feel." He pauses then says "I feel really stupid now, telling my coworker that I have romantic feelings for her. You're probably going to file a sexual harassment charge against me on Monday and I'll lose everything but I don't care. I can't go on another day pretending you're just a colleague, when it's so much more than that. At least I'd like it to be."

He turns back around to face the elevator button and pushes the stop button in. The elevator starts up again and for a few seconds she doesn't say anything. Then she reaches out and pulls out the stop button. He turns to look at her. She's smiling as she puts her bag down and says, "I love you too." All of a sudden their lips collide with such a force, neither one of them can describe it. A blend of emotions; desire, passion, longing, with a hint of tenderness all rolled into one. It's the most invigorating kiss of her life and in that moment she knows her heart. It's so much more than a feeling, so much deeper. They kiss in the elevator for awhile, their bodies intertwined together.

If this was drowning, he was glad he jumped.

The End