a/n: alright, so I think after this I'll tackle an alternateLincoln/alternateLiv piece. One of the elements of their relationship I found intriguing is whether or not he would call her Liv. It seems fitting that because his alternate gives her alternate that nickname that he would, but whether or not she'd be open to it is up to debate. Anyway, this piece is a Lincoln/Olivia piece in this (blue) universe.

Please review! It'd be extraordinary helpful and/or encouraging as I embark on my next venture in the parallel universe.

Here Kitty, Kitty

Lincoln Lee hates cats.

They were poor excuses for creatures. He hates their furry little tails, their sharp claws, the long translucent whiskers and their glow in the dark eyes. Most of all he hates their manipulative nature. The way they cuddle up to you one moment beckoning for your touch and hide from you the next, teasing you.

Lincoln had a cat when he was growing up. Stupid animal jumped from the fridge to the ground and used his chest as a stopper on his way down – his claws leaving deep marks trailing from his sternum to his navel oozing in blood. He was traumatized and hated cats from then on.

His hatred for cats wouldn't explain, however, why he was tip-toeing down the hall of his temporary residence chasing after a neighbors cat. He was hunched over, his glasses threatening to fall of his face as he raced on nimbly on his toes after the feline. The hallway light flickered on and off and the echo of the T-subway train rumbled below the old brick building.

He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and continued his quest to find the cat. A drop of cold water fell on his face and surprised him. He looked up momentarily, stupefied, at the ceiling. He shrugged it off, probably a crack in the ceiling he thought to himself. It took him a moment later to realize that it wasn't raining outside.

When he looked for the cat again he found that it was gone. He had only taken his eyes away for a split second and the nasty feline had ducked behind some plant or under something. Maybe it jumped out the window. Lincoln hoped it had jumped out the window.

Lincoln huffed. As much as he hated the filthy creature he would not be outsmarted by it. He squinted his eyes, glaring down the hallway sorting out what belonged and what was out of place. He stuck his tongue out in frustration. His concentration was interrupted abruptly by a neighbor opening a door. He cursed under his breath and held up a hand at the startled man getting ready to leave his apartment.

He flattened his palm to the air. Stop. The man furrowed his brow in frustration at the strange man nearly crouching on the rust colored carpet hushing him and telling him to hold steady. Lincoln swore that if the nameless man (he really should make an effort to get to know his neighbors, but it was probably too late now) dared to utter a single sound he would whip out his gun and shoot him.

But the man didn't say a word, nor did he move. His shocked expression turned to one of fear and he quickly scuttled back into his apartment. Lincoln, satisfied, continued his pursuit of the cat. Then he saw it. He saw that atrocious, dirty, fluffy orange tail sticking out from underneath a decorative table at the end of the hallway by the elevators.

Smirking, Lincoln started toward the cat. "Hereee kitty, kitty." He called in a sweet voice. "Come ere you stupid little thing..." He got close enough that his shadow cascaded over the cat's hiding spot. He reached down towards the ball of orange; no cat was going to outsmart Lincoln Lee.

The moment he placed his hands on the back of the cat the ding of the elevator sounded. Startled by the sound of the elevator, the cat skittered out of his hiding place and disappeared down the seemingly depthless adjacent hall. Lincoln cursed, out loud this time, standing up to face the person who had just stepped out of the elevator with an amused grin on his – or rather her face.

"Hey, Lincoln." Lincoln squinted at the unmistakeable blond speaking his name. He had dropped his glasses in the process of chasing the cat. He bent down to pick them up and wiped them on his muscle hugging shirt. Olivia watched as his biceps flexed and she bit her lower lip. He put his glasses back on his face and smiled back at her.

"Hey Liv, what are you doing here?" She smiled, her lips quirking up just slightly. The alternate Lincoln called his Olivia "Liv" too. Somethings are the same no matter where you go.

"I came by to see you." She said as-a-matter-of-factly. "What are you up to?"

"Well, um..." Lincoln stammered. He was never good in awkward situations. "I...erm. I was about to head out, you see."

"Head out?"

"Yeah." He nodded.

"Without pants on?" Olivia looked so amused. Lincoln could feel the heat rising in his cheeks. He had forgotten about that. The cat had managed to get his attention before he had the chance to put pants on so he was standing in the hallway facing his partner whom he was pretty sure he liked (like liked) clad in his plaid boxers.

He shrugged. "Maybe?"

"Oh well, that's too bad. I came by to ask if you wanted to grab a bite to eat with me. But if you're busy..."

"I'm not." Lincoln quickly interrupted her.

"Change of plans?" She smirked at him. He would never hear the end of this.

"Yeah. Sudden change of plans. Lemme just go...put some pants on. You can...come in if you want." He said fighting the urge to fiddle with his glasses as he liked to do when he was nervous.

"Sure." She said. They walked back to his apartment door in silence, though Lincoln was pretty sure he heard Olivia fail to stifle a laugh here and there. Lincoln reached for the door knob and suddenly he looked at her with a face of impending doom.

"It's locked." He said. This could not get any more humiliating.

"That is nothing I can't fix." She stepped in front of him, playfully shoving him out of the way. He liked the way her small hands felt on his shoulders – lingering there for the briefest of moments. She pulled out some pins from her purse and fiddled with the lock until he heard a click. "And we are in."

"I could have done that, you know." He said pointing at the door.

"I don't doubt that." She smiled at him a welcoming, real smile. They stepped inside his apartment. He into her green eyes. She looked back into his blue ones and suddenly he felt the world around him disappear. She patted his chest in reassurance and laughed.

There was a lot of things that Lincoln wasn't sure about these days, but what he was sure about was that this could be the beginning of something. Call him crazy, wanting to start something in the middle of shape-shifters, emotionally aware fungi, and the merging of universes, but Olivia had a smile filled with so much reassurance that in the end everything would be okay that he let himself go there.

He came back this time with pants on. "You know, you can tell me anything right?" She said as he busied himself with his key and his wallet.

"Yeah. I know."

"You ready to go?" He felt her hand tug on his own and his looked up into her eyes smiling.

"Ready as I'll ever be." Lincoln had made up his mind. They would face this together. Whatever 'together' meant. She smiled again, he would never get tired of that smile.

They walked out of his apartment together and squeezed into the small elevator. "So," she began, "you gonna tell me what that was all about?"

"What what was all about?"

"The condition I found you in."

He sighed and nodded afraid to look her in the eyes. She reached for his hand and squeezed it one more time and his worries scattered in all directions faster than light. "It's a long story," he said and together they stepped out onto the summer streets of Boston.

Somewhere he knew that cat was laughing at him. Lincoln'd get him next time, he thought.

-end-

please review!