I do not own the characters. There will be a character not native to SVU but I hope you will enjoy the dynamic.
Rated T to M
Blondes Have All the Fun
Chapter Seven:
The women finished breakfast in a rush. Alex agreed to drop off the three women at the precinct and they would meet up at the end of the day for supper and drinks. Olivia arranged for Maura to have an appointment with Doctor Warner, the Chief ME at eleven to go over the trace evidence recovered from the four NYC crimes and to compare them with the trace reports from the Boston murder. Elliot agreed to meet with Olivia and Jane in the conference room to have a quick run through before they headed over to the University campus. Olivia tracked down the names of fifteen probable suspects and pending cooperation, she hoped to get to question them as soon as possible.
Maura insisted she didn't need to be present during the conference room meeting, and told Olivia and Jane she wanted to browse the bookstore down the street and sip espresso until her meeting with Warner. Jane started to argue, but one glare from Maura shut her up. Maura went down the street and Olivia and Jane entered the precinct, getting on the elevator and rode up to the squad room.
Olivia and Jane grabbed another cup of strong coffee in the squad room then followed Elliot to the conference room, case files tucked under arms. They all sat at the conference table after Jane introduced herself to Elliot, and glaring at Olivia, huffing under her breath about the other detective's lack of manners.
Olivia updated Elliot on the connection between the Boston body they discovered yesterday. He listened intently through the entire narrative, glancing at Jane when she abruptly contributed details Liv 'skipped' over. Elliot huffed, then smiled slightly at the animosity but obvious fondness developing between the two women. After Olivia stopped talking, Elliot dropped a metaphorical bomb by saying, "We got some trouble Liv. The Lt from homicide was alerted yesterday about the Boston body. You know how that shit works. Now they will be sniffing around us, trying to take the cases." Elliot growled while making notes on a legal pad.
"Well they won't fucking get em. I'll punch that bitch Lt. myself. Ric the dick." Olivia huffed out.
"Wow. Benson, tell me how you really feel." Jane exclaimed with wide eyes at the sudden anger. "What problem do you have with the Lieutenant from Homicide?"
"Other than the rank?" Olivia sarcastically retorted. "We have history. I can't stand her and just please, leave it at that."
Jane filed away the information, her detective brain cranking on the 'history' part, figuring immediately the Lieutenant must be an ex-lover of Bensons. Turning to look at Elliot, "so what? Will the Lieutenant be present for the interviews?"
"No she won't be. I won't allow her to be. We still have the lead on this. Finn agreed to go with us to the interviews after Huang updated me yesterday. You both probably shouldn't conduct the interviews. I have to agree with Huang, this team hates women and you two in the lead will just throw gas on the fire. I don't want any mishaps." He glared at Olivia then at Jane, his intent clear and allowed no room for arguments. "Finn and I will go to campus."
He watched as Olivia opened her mouth to protest, held up his hand and said, "I think you two should stay here and compile a profile based on the evidence collected and the reports from Huang. Hopefully we will have witness accounts by the end of the day."
"Fine."
"Okay."
Elliot stared at the now complacent women. "What the fuck Liv, no beating me up for taking away the interviews?"
"Nope." Olivia immediately responded, now meekly staring at the table.
"Nuhuh." Jane complied.
Elliot leaned forward on his elbows and caught two pairs of downcast brown eyes, "I mean this with love, but you two look like hell. Did you sleep at all last night?"
Both women blushed a bright red and nodded their heads simultaneously.
"UH yep, slept like a babe." Olivia mumbled out embarrassed.
"Fabulous. Best sleep I've had in a while." Jane answered in a shaky but loud voice.
"Okay then. Liv, you contact Alex later in the day and keep her updated on what you two brainiacs figure out from the reports okay. I really don't want that Ice Queen ADA to frost my fingers for leaving her out of the loop." Elliot said, spun on his heel and exited before Olivia could yell at him for calling Alex Ice Queen again.
Olivia stared at the closed door dejectedly, then turned to Jane, "You want to get more coffee? I feel like poo. Man, I about swallowed my tongue when he asked about last night."
"I know. I was choking as he walked out. Hey, no coffee from the precinct. I got a better idea. Let's call Alex and see if she would like to get an early lunch. I'm starving and I bet you are too. I want to go to the sandwich shop down the street."
Olivia looked at Jane. "That wouldn't be the sandwich shop right next door to the bookstore would it?"
"Uh, maybe." Jane sheepishly answered, knowing Maura went to the bookstore thirty minutes ago.
"Fine. But let's forget Alex for the minute. Just you and me go there. Alex has a court thing at ten. We will stop in the bookstore, get coffee there then go get some grub." Olivia said and stood up, grabbing her brown leather jacket off her chair and turned to look down at the still seated Jane. "Well, come on woman."
Jane jumped out of her seat, slipped on her jacket and followed a determined Olivia out of the precinct wearing an identical leather jacket in a sleek black.
At the bookstore, Maura browsed for a bit and purchased a few books, a magazine, and another cup of coffee to help clear her foggy mind. She had a little over an hour until her meeting with ME Warner. She sat down at a table and glanced at all the other patrons, secretly observing their behavior and flipping through one of her new lesbian mysteries.
About ten pages into the book, a tall woman with short, spiky blonde hair sat down at the table right next to her, also with a similar book and large cup of coffee. Maura glanced at the woman's book, recognizing it from the recently perused lesbian section, and watched the woman covertly in between pretending to turn the page. Eyes of indigo met hers with curiosity. A pale blonde eyebrow arched and a small smile appeared on the woman's face. Maura nodded slightly and gestured to the empty chair at her table, inviting the mystery woman to sit down with her if she wanted.
The tall woman switched tables.
A deep raspy voice asked, "So are you finding your book interesting? I noticed you watching me in between pages." The woman extended her hand to Maura, "My name is Ric." Maura grasped the hand, noting the soft skin and strong hand, shaking lightly and said, "I'm Maura Isles." She released the hand, feeling a strange tingling in her own and continued, "I'm on a work trip and I'm killing time." She flashed Ric a smile. "Are you enjoying your book?"
"Oh, so far so good. I'm only bout halfway through chapter one. I'm killing time too. It's my normal coffee break from work. Gotta rest my hands occasionally." Ric smiled and marked her page and then returned her attention to Maura.
At this moment in the conversation between Maura and Ric, Olivia and Jane arrived at the bookstore walking by the floor to ceiling windows, but not yet entering. Olivia abruptly stopped walking, grabbed Jane's arm and tugged her back about ten steps and out of sight from the patrons of the store.
"Benson, what the fuck?" Jane asked as she shook off Olivia's sudden death grip on her elbow.
"We can't go in there."
"What? Why not?" Jane hissed out, confused by Olivia's sudden aversion to the bookstore. Olivia didn't answer right away, but she did point to a corner table occupied by Maura and a sleek, shorthaired woman.
"Ahh, who is that woman with Maura? Come on let's go find out." Jane took a step but Olivia yanked her back and whispered, pointing at the table again, "that WOMAN is Ric Hanson; the Homicide Lieutenant." She sucked in a deep breath and continued, "and twenty bucks says she's sniffing after your lady."
"Fucking better not be." Jane growled.
"I don't want coffee now anyways. Let's go get a sub and we'll drop back this way. I might punch that jerk if we walk in there right now."
"Benson, why do you hate her so much?" Jane asked softly as they turned and started to walk over to the sub shop.
"I fell hard for her, and she crushed me like a bug."
A big clue hit Jane in the head, and needing clarification, she asked, "Is Ric why you wouldn't make a move on Alex?"
"Partly. I'm relationship phobic and Alex isn't the one-night stand kind of girl." Olivia shrugged a shoulder. "I sometimes feel inadequate when I'm with her."
"I know Olivia. I always feel like that with Maura. She's rich and beautiful. What have I got to entice her to be with me, a poor, scruffy Homicide Detective?"
"You are one of a kind Rizzoli. She can't resist your charms, no matter how poor you think you are." Olivia knocked her elbow into Jane, trying to convey her understanding.
Jane smiled. "Benson, I've been told I am a pretty good listener when I'm not barking orders," Jane laughed and Olivia joined in, "if you want to talk about anything, I'm here."
"Thanks Rizzoli. That's very big of you." Olivia teasingly smiled and walked into the sub shop, holding the door open for Jane and then followed her inside.
Back at the bookstore, Maura and her tablemate remained unaware of Jane and Olivia's eyes upon them, and continued their intense conversation.
Maura looked into inquisitive Indigo eyes and asked, "If I may so bold, where do you work?"
"Down the block at the precinct." Ric took a sip of her coffee then folded her hands together in front of her. " I'm a Lieutenant."
"A Lieutenant," laughed Maura. "Oh seriously? I understand now how you knew I was watching you. Cops are very observant of the environment; a strange woman glaring at you defiantly set off your alarm bells. I spend a great deal of time with a cop. I'm here with a detective from Boston, working a case with NYPD."
"Mh. I'm with Homicide. And you may be a stranger, but you're a very beautiful one." Ric gave Maura a quick wink. Maura blushed at the compliment but kept her eyes on Ric's. "We just got word of a four similar rape homicides from Special Vic."
"My detective is working with a Benson from SVU." Maura smiled a huge smile as she thought of Jane. Ric noticed the goofy look take over Maura's expression and realized Maura and her detective were more than just friends.
Ric sighed then asked, "Your detective huh? Does this elusive detective have a name?"
"Jane Rizzoli, she's with the BPD Homicide. We arrived in the city yesterday." Maura took another sip of coffee, "How long have you been with the sixteenth precinct?"
"Bout oh, seven years. I've been a LT for about a year now. I enjoy it. The paperwork gets tedious though, hence the coffee break escapes." She gestured at the store with her hands and looked around then gazed into Maura's green eyes. "And are you also working with the NYPD or are you just keeping your detective company?"
"I'm working. I am a Medical Examiner, also with the BPD."
"AH, so it's Doctor Maura Isles." Ric smiled and bantered.
"This may sound weird, but I hate introducing myself as Doctor. I've observed reactions to the word and people treat me differently than just Maura Isles from Boston." Maura confessed, sighing and frowning down at her open book. A strong hand grabbed her wrist, squeezing gently.
"I know what you mean. Uh not about the Doctor bit, but I understand not first introducing your title. It's the same reason I don't introduce myself as Lieutenant Hanson. People react differently and become bias. It's the same reason I don't flaunt my sexuality around, but I am who I am. Ya know?" Ric shrugged one shoulder then sat back in her seat not wanting to intrude anymore on Maura's personal space.
Maura looked at her watch and realized almost an hour had passed while talking with Ric. "I hate to meet and run, but I have a meeting at eleven and I don't want to be late." She gathered up her books and stood to leave.
Ric jumped up also. "Well ma'm," she tipped her imaginary hat and said, "May I escort you to wherever you are going. I still have a few minutes of my break left and would like to spend them in your company if I may."
Maura noticed Ric was exactly the same height as Jane give or take half an inch. Jane stood at just less than six feet. She smiled up at Ric and nodded her head in agreement. "I'm meeting ME Warner down in the Morgue."
"Ah the Morgue. Yes, spent quite a few days there myself. I'll lead you down there, if I may?"
"Of course." Maura walked beside Ric down the sidewalk, arriving at the precinct and taking the stairs down to the lower level, where the Morgue existed. Ric opened the doors for Maura all the while talking about her days as a Lieutenant and the often boring but rewarding work she did.
A very beautiful dark woman in blue scrubs stood at the coffee station, sipping from a mug and flipping through a packet of lined papers. She glanced up and noticed Maura and Lt. Hanson entering through the double doors. "Hey you," she called out to Hanson playfully, "didn't I see your gorgeous mug down here not an hour ago."
"Indeed you did. I met Doctor Isles from Boston at the bookstore and offered to escort her to you. She said she had a meeting with you, and you know Lin, I can't pass up another chance to see your twinkling brown eyes." Ric flirted shamelessly with the ME.
"Always so gallant, rescuing damsels and saving us poor mortals." ME Warner flirted back. Maura watched the exchange with spiked eyebrows and a slightly parted mouth. Warner continued, "Your escort here saved me from near death not six months ago. She always seems to be around when I need her."
"Mh, suspicious." Maura finally spoke up, still glancing from brown eyes to light purple and back again.
"Well ladies, I must go and protect and serve the descent people of this city with my trusty fountain pen and finish my pile of reports to the Brass. Good day Maura, and you too Lin." With a flash of a bright smile and a wink, Ric spun on her heel and exited the Morgue.
"Such a character, that one." Warner murmured softly. "Doctor Isles, I trust your trip to our lovely city was pleasant. If you would like to set your bag in my office first, and change into some scrubs then we can get started."
"Sounds fabulous. I'm eager to get started. I brought the report from Boston if you would like to look at it while I get changed."
"I'd like to, my office is this way." Warner spun on her heel much like Ric and walked quickly down an inner hallway, stopping outside a wooden door similar to Maura's office door in the Boston Morgue. She unlocked it and stepped back to allow Maura to enter first.
Warner gestured for Maura to set her bags into the corner chair, promising they would be safe and then handed her a bundle of fresh scrubs medium sized. "My bathroom is off to your left, I'll wait for you here."
Maura pulled out an orange folder and handed it to Warner, "here's the file. I won't be but a moment." She went to get changed without looking back at Warner. The NYPD ME stared at the closed door with a puzzled expression, not sure what to make of Maura Isles.
A/N: I know this update seems to be a bit odd, but I promise it will come into play later. Please review and let me know what you think of the update and the story so far….