Chapter Three;

Looking up casually from the workspace he was leaning on, a handsome Detective (or so she thought) looked up at Maura as she entered her own laboratory to escape the men in the canteen and from Jane Rizzoli. Maura used the autopsy lab as somewhere she could escape the real world and be with the people who listened but provided no answers for her. That's the way she liked to spend her days and her nights too.

She swallowed softly as she looked at the man standing across from her, blinking softly though as if she was lost in her own world, like Alice lost in Wonderland, she often felt like that when she had no idea what was happening in the real world, it was usually a situation that involved a person who still had a pulse and could hold a conversation. People often had a lot of trouble trying to hold a conversation with Maura as she liked Science, and often judged them on their skin or how their hair fell. She would often mentally diagnose them with some genetically passed-on disease or syndrome, and that would freak them out, make them paranoid and send them on their way.

Maura had often wondered why she had no friends, besides from Bass of course. Bass was her pet tortoise who she had owned since he was only small, small enough to fit in her palm. Still she stood watching the man across the lab from her and she let her head tilt a little to show she had regarded him and it was now his turn to act or speak up, preferably the latter in Maura's mind.

"Doctor Isles." Maura heard him speak up, he had a strong baritone voice and her head moved back into its proper place, her neck as graceful and elegant as a swan's as she paid attention on this man.

"Yes, that would be me." She replied to him, nodding gently, a tone of questioning in her voice as she answered.

"I'm Agent Simmons."

Maura looked to Simmons and smiled softly, she could see a playful twinkle in his eye as he offered his hand out to her to make her acquaintance. Before she knew it, Maura had her own hand in his and she had stepped nearer to the agent, still smiling delicately up at him.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Maura spoke up after what seemed forever, during their first moments together, when the impressions upon each other count the most. Thinking of that, Maura could have almost kicked herself for taking so long to say anything in reply back to him, "Is there a first name that goes with the title?" she asked him jokily.

Chuckling a little as Maura broke into gentle laughter, he nodded and replied, "Alex."

She also nodded, in reply before stating her first name for him in case he didn't know what it was, "Maura."

"That's a beautiful name." Alex told her, looking at her softly as they each let go of the other's hand and let them drop down to their sides.

Maura had already began to blush as Alex spoke up about her name, "Thank you." She hadn't noticed he'd now stepped nearer to her and was leaning against the counter with her, both of them with their back to the door.

"You don't' have to thank me." Alex smiled brightly, "It's the truth."

All of a sudden, Maura felt his palms against her jawline and her face was moving in closer to his, it was all happening in slow motion, and he was controlling it. That was a thing Maura disliked, for the man to control whatever was to happen in a relationship.

"Ah, great! Not only are you another female on the team, but you have to go and bring in your boyfriend!" Jane hissed at the couple who were standing in the lab, feet away from her.

Maura jumped away from Alex basically and she looked to Jane, a guilty expression written across her face as she stood motionless staring across at the Italian Detective. It was in that moment Maura realized what had just been about to happen and she mentally thanked Rizzoli for it, probably she would verbally thank her later on.

"Jane, it's nothing like that." Maura tried to begin to reason with Rizzoli.

"Don't give me that shit, Maura!" Jane barked back, glaring between the M.E and the stranger standing near to her. She had gone in all guns blazing, almost literally and it had all been because she had saw an attractive woman join the team as the new Medical Examiner; she'd seen how the men on the Boston P.D team looked at Maura when she had entered the canteen and Rizzoli had gotten jealous of that, it was then she saw Maura and Alex together and jumped to massive speculations, all because her mother had been on her back once again to find someone who would take care of her little 'Janie'. Jane was sick of it.

Maura was actually taken aback by Jane using that language with her and she raised both of her brows at Jane, before she then frowned and looked down forlornly. She wouldn't dare look at Alex, in case Jane brought him into it. It had nothing to do with Alex and Maura didn't want to put anything that they could/might have had going at risk.

"You know what? I'm gonna come back later!"

"Jane…" Maura tried softly, looking up at Jane as she saw her heels wheeling around to leave the lab, "Jane, I'm sorry for whatever I've done to upset you, I don't mean for it to happen." Maura had no idea what the heck she was saying, she was never comfortable around living people and often got rather mixed up with speaking to them.

"Upset? You call this upset, Maura?"

Maura actually did manage to steal a glance at Alex and she saw he was standing there as if his lips had been glued together, his eyes wide as he listened in on the exchange between these two women before him. She then looked back to Jane and sighed, slightly defeated, "I'm sorry…"

Jane didn't seem to acknowledge the apology from Maura, instead she just growled and huffed before she left the lab to go and take some of her anger out on Crowe or Korsak. Both Alex and Maura watched her leave from behind the safety of the glass partitions.

Maura looked up and behind at Alex before she swallowed, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean for you to be in the middle of that."

"Maura, don't apologize, I've been told Detective Rizzoli can be like that."

"Still…you shouldn't have had to see that, Alex." Maura said softly, "Jane's just a loose canon waiting to go off, not that she's dangerous, but she's…"

"Feisty." Alex interjected for Maura.

"Yes. Feisty." Maura agreed, nodding. She couldn't help but look up into his face, taking in all of his features as they stood before one another, she was in a state of awe around Alex. It was as if she had known him for quite sometime before their encounter, and Maura liked that feeling.

Although Maura enjoyed that feeling she got around Alex, she did not want him to pull her to him and try to kiss her again, she just wasn't that type of girl to do something as spontaneous as that, and especially in work, on her first day there. Okay, so she was attracted to Alex, but any woman with a brain and eyes would be attracted to him. He was perfect in her eyes, so far with what she had seen him display to her.

The brunette was cautious though now, even she had been bitten by the very bad love bug and had her heart broken, all just a few months back, before she moved to New England. It had seemed the perfect romance, they had been made for each other and so everyone thought. They ad both been high flyers and gave something back to the world, but things had gotten stressful for them, and Maura had found herself without someone laying next to her in bed most nights. And as much as she had hated going through the divorce, she had made herself do it.

As she looked back up at Alex, she saw no glint of what she thought she may see. She had to be cautious as to not be the other woman, she had worked too hard and her reputation would be blemished forever if that would be the case. Maura hadn't dated anyone since her divorce and she had done well on her own, even when men had come onto her strong, something was different about Alex though, and it made her want to start dating again. She was ready, just not at work.

As if Alex could read what she was thinking, he looked to his watch and sighed a little before looking back to Maura, "Can we do this later? Will you have dinner with me?" he asked her gently, smiling charmingly to her.

Maura felt inclined to say yes to Alex, and so she did, "I'd like that." Maura smiled and nodded coolly, even though she was almost melting on the inside.

"I'll make reservations, do you like Moroccan food?"

Maura smiled up at Alex and she nodded softly to him, "I do." She actually couldn't believe he'd just walked into her office and they'd found instant attraction to each other. Maura didn't think about why he was in her lab, but she could ask him that later possibly, she was just attracted to this man and her head was leading in this one. It had been too long without someone looking after her a little, and she decided it was about time for a new someone in her life.

"Will you still be here at 7:30?" Alex asked Maura, meaning for an answer on where to pick her up and take her out.

"I'm not quite sure, I could give you my cellphone number?" she suggested to him.

Alex smiled and nodded a little, "That would be quite handy, I've lost mine…" he winked to her, making the punchline to one of those corny pick-up lines. It got her to giggle a little and he reached out to tuck some of her loose strands behind her ear, "You're so beautiful, Maura." Alex told her as he stood almost frozen to the spot, looking into her eyes.

Maura blushed once again in Alex's presence as he complimented her before she gently looked down to her shoes; her favorite Christian Laboutin's. She felt his eyes on her, taking in all of her beauty as she stood in humble modesty at his compliments before she looked up at him with those doe eyes, her lashes fluttering a little.

"I have to get back to my office." Alex told her before he leaned into her and gently pressed a chaste kiss to her delicate cheek and he fixed his jacket before he headed off in the same direction as Rizzoli had left from.

The brunette sighed contently before she smiled to herself and gently turned to the counter, readying herself to begin some of her workload. It was then she noticed that Alex had left his Blackberry on the counter they had just been standing at. She had meant to give him her cellphone number, but he had been in a rush to beat the lunchtime traffic back to his office. Maura gently reached down and scooped up the Blackberry before her, gently she opened up Alex's contact book and she input her own details into it, and placed it carefully into her purse for safe keeping.

As it happened, Maura was still at her lab when 7:30 rolled along, and she was still working, trying to right things with the people she'd upset that day, mainly Jane, however Jane had not taken too kindly to what she thought was a bribe from Maura, and had stormed off home, leaving Maura alone and distressed. She had been home already and gotten a change of clothes and a shower, just in case she had had to stay late at the lab, and now since she wasn't doing any heavy lifting stuff, she had changed into those clothes.

"Thought I'd find you here." Alex's voice almost sung out from behind her, and she felt that fuzzy feeling inside once again when she heard him there. Maura smiled to herself while she turned around to face him, "Maura…you look…stunning."

"Thank you." Maura replied delicately and smiled to Alex as he walked over to her, a matching smile spread across his own lips as he neared her. Maura couldn't help but gaze at Alex. He wasn't perfect looking; he did have a few wrinkles and laughter lines, but it showed he was real, and that to Maura made him perfect.

"You ready to go?" he asked her with his smile still pasted to his face.

Maura nodded, "Lets. Oh, and you forgot this earlier." Maura reached over the counter for her purse, she felt Alex's eyes on her and she felt her cheeks flushing as she felt him taking in her figure. She swiftly turned around with the purse in her hand before she dug inside to find his Blackberry and handed it to him, her cheeks carrying a soft blush and a smile, "Here. I put in my number."

Alex smiled at her before he let a gentle chuckle escape his throat, "You're too cute, Maura. I don't believe that you haven't been snapped up by now." Alex stated as he moved towards the door to hold it open for her to pass through before him.

Hearing Alex say that, Maura bit her lip a little and she smiled gently, she didn't want to tell him her relationship history, she didn't want him to pity her or for him to get angry. She just gave another giggle and passed through the door, waiting for him on the other side, "Thank you." She responded in relation to him holding the door for her.

As Alex passed through the door, Maura smiled and took the arm he held out for her to link him, they walked together, side-by-side and stayed in silence, it wasn't an awkward silence though. Slowly they moved towards the elevator to head to the staff parking lot, Alex had left his car in the lot there, as he only had to show his badge to the gate and they let him come on in. The only sound was their footsteps and their breath as they walked along, glancing occasionally at each other and letting a smile blossom across their lips.

"So where are we going to?" Maura asked Alex gently.

"Just a little place called Miros."

"Miros?" Maura gasped a little as she stared up at Alex, "Alex are you sure?" she couldn't get over the fact that he had booked a reservation for them at that restaurant. Maura had wanted to go there since it had opened a few years back, but she had never been able to face the price list, so she had never went.

"Of course I'm sure, unless you don't want to go there?" he smirked a little, knowing she really did like the sound of going to Miros.

"No, I…I'd love to go there Alex."

"Then lets get going." He smiled to her, opening the car door for her. He watched Maura slide into the passenger seat before he closed the door and made his way around the car to get into the car, and head to the restaurant.


A/N: Thanks for reading lovely people. Remember, R&R.