A/N: So, this came from a tumblr prompt and I think I want to make it a two-shot. Just sort of a little drabble I did for fun while working on my epilogue for the '50s AU. Hope you enjoy :)

(This has a few changes - most notably, Tommy is the oldest Rizzoli and Jane is somewhat younger than Maura.)

"So, it's your birthday?"

Maura looked up from the table at the Division One Cafe, where she'd been eating a small plate of lasagna. She was being addressed by Jane Rizzoli, one of the beat cops who always seemed to have a kind thing to say whenever her path crossed that of the relatively new medical examiner. In fact Maura had noticed more than once that Officer Rizzoli might be looking rather somber or stressed, but would light up with a smile too lovely to be insincere whenever she caught Maura's eye.

Still, they had only exchanged the simplest of pleasantries at this point, and Maura took a moment to answer. "Yes, it is. Hence the carbohydrates," she laughed, gesturing to her plate before taking another bite. "I thought I'd treat myself."

"Psh. My mother already ratted you out," Jane said, nodding behind the counter. "Said she brought that one in eggplant, just for you, so you wouldn't have to deal with the carbs."

In tone with the light mood Jane had established, Maura smiled and asked, "What're you hiding behind your back?"

"It's...some kinda intense carbs," Jane said, looking a little sheepish as she revealed a small dish that held a cupcake with a candle in it. Maura's eyebrows rose in surprise, and Jane said, "Uh-happy birthday!"

"That's very sweet of you," Maura said, taking the dish. "Get it? Sweet of you?"

"Ha! Good one doc."

"Won't you please sit and join me?" Maura asked. Jane hadn't wanted to impose, but she was thrilled at the invitation and seized it at once. "Oh, I haven't got another fork, though," Maura said, holding up the one that was currently covered in sauce from the lasagna.

"Ah, it's a cupcake. You don't need a fork for that!"

But Maura looked scandalized at the idea of eating such a frosted, crumbly thing without utensils, so Jane sprang back up to grab some more. When she sat down at the table again, Maura thanked her and gave her a quick looking-over. Jane appeared a tad fidgety, which seemed odd given that she had all but asked outright to sit with her. It was a little funny (almost) to see someone wearing such a crisp, professional uniform while looking so nervous.

Jane had been kneading her hands, but froze when she finally let herself look at Maura and saw the doctor appraising her. She held her breath as Maura's eyes traveled slowly - deliberately - up Jane's body, going up past her eyes before coming back to meet her gaze.

"Uh...what's up, doc?" Jane asked, trying to laugh.

She had yet to discover Maura's inability to lie, and so it was a pleasant surprise when Maura responded in all frankness: "I've been wondering what you'd look like in that uniform with your hair down."

"With my-oh." Maura couldn't help smiling at Jane's blush, which Jane failed to notice as she said, "I guess technically I'm on break, so..." She pulled her hair out of its restrictive bun, and Maura was surprised by its length - long, jet black locks of gently curled hair tumbled down Jane's shoulders. Jane chuckled as she self-consciously ran her hand through it. "Phew! Feels much better."

"It's gorgeous. Your hair, I mean. Well - you are too, of course. But I would think that'd go without saying."

"What? Shut up. You're gorgeous," Jane sputtered, pleased but thrown off by the compliment. She was blushing deeply enough now that she could feel it, and she shook her head a little as if to try and clear it. "Um. Hey. So..." She picked up a fork and broke off a little piece of the cupcake. "It's come to my attention that you've met my nephew. Tommy Jr? My older brother's kid."

"Hm? Oh, TJ! Yes, multiple times."

With Tommy working every odd-job he could find and Lydia working full-time, TJ often found himself hanging out with his grandmother in the Division One Cafe. He was a very friendly seven-year-old, happy to engage in small talk with everyone who came through. Maura had become a favorite of his - she was sweet and didn't talk down to him. He liked that when he asked her questions, she never told him things like "you're too little to understand;" she never tried to avoid answering.

That was how he'd come to find out that she liked to date men and women, a tidbit he had been ecstatic to share with Jane.

"He...really wants me to ask you out," Jane said.

This certainly hadn't been how Maura had expected the conversation to go. "Oh!"

"Yeah. I guess he overheard a conversation I had with his father about how hard it can be finding a woman to date who doesn't mind the whole cop life thing, y'know? Someone who understands it. Tommy said I should find someone at work." Encouraged by the fact that Maura's smile looked neither forced nor pitying, Jane straightened up and grinned. "According to TJ, you and I both like to play tennis, and we both like chocolate. Clearly meant to be, in the eyes of a seven-year-old."

"And what about in the eyes of a...?"

"Twenty-five-year-old. Aw, too young?" she asked when Maura winced a little.

"You're a child!" Maura laughed.

"C'mon, what're you, thirty?"

"Flattery will get you nowhere, officer," Maura said, still smiling. "Try thirty-six."

Jane whistled. "Damn! Teej didn't even know I go for older women."

"Teej?"

"TJ. Uh-I didn't mean to imply you're old, by the way. Just older than me. By a very small amount."

"I got it."

When Maura continued to eat as if they hadn't just had that exchange, Jane thought it might be best to clarify. "So...sorry, I guess that was kind of my round-about way of asking you on a date."

"Round-about? I thought you were fairly straightforward." She took a sip of water, then said, "Almost as straightforward as me."

"Yeah, I guess you're pretty forthcoming, aren't you?"

"May I be blunt?"

"By all means."

Maura didn't even need to pause to collect her thoughts: "I think you're incredibly sexy." (She tried not to react when Jane's eyebrows shot up high enough to disappear into her tousled hair.) "And I've been hoping to get to know you better."

These were things Jane had only dared dream of hearing, yet Maura's tone kept her from being ready to celebrate. "But...?"

"But I was wary of the age difference - if I were to pursue you, that is."

"Pursue me?" Jane chuckled.

"Romantically."

"Right. Well, um...I mean, my age is one of those things I really cannot change and have no control over. But I'm responsible, I'm reasonably mature, and I'd love to get to know you better, too. And for what it's worth, you're pretty fine yourself." Maura chuckled at that, and when it died out, Jane said. "In all seriousness, though. I'd love to take you on a date. But if you're not comfortable with that - that's not, like, the only reason I'd want to get to know you. I'd love to just be friends. Or something beyond workplace associates. If you do, I mean."

After a long pause, Maura slid her phone across the table. "Put your number in there. Are you free this weekend?"

"Friday, yeah."

"Wonderful. Let's get dinner, and see how it goes from there."

"Cool!" Jane said, looking excited as she got back to her feet. "I gotta head back out, but text me your number and we'll set up something for Friday. Oh - and happy birthday, again! Got any fun plans?"

Maura shrugged. "Not in the typical sense, I suppose. I've never been one for big parties. I'm planning to relax with some Chardonnay while I rewatch Planet Earth."

"Oh, man! Good choice - I loved that show!"

"Really? I...don't suppose you're free tonight, in that case?"

"I could come by after work, yeah!"

"I'll text you my address," Maura said, picking up her phone. "And then I suppose we can see how things go from tonight."

Jane was beaming with excitement. "Sweet! I'll see you then."

As she watched Jane head out, Maura was able to appreciate the phrase "hate to see them leave, love to watch them go" for the first time in her life. She was glad that Jane hadn't asked her, even in jest, how she fantasized things might go from tonight. All she got were flashes of a depleted Chardonnay bottle, a couch, a mostly-unwatched nature documentary and a flurry of clothes.

She laughed to herself and took a large bite of the cupcake. Don't want to overwhelm her quite yet.