Match Making: Chapter 4
John came in the next morning to find Fin already there. Usually Fin was the last one in, especially when they didn't have anything to do but paperwork. He didn't even look up from his file when John tossed his coat over the back of his chair. John glanced at him before heading toward Cragen's office.
"Morning Captain. How long has Fin been here?" John asked quietly as he took a seat across from the Captain.
"Morning, John. He was here when I walked in at a quarter till 7. My guess is he's been here since 6 or so, unless he stayed all night." Cragen answered, equally quiet. "You thinking about the broom closet yet?" the Captain asked casually. John shrugged.
"I think I'll talk to him first, and find out what has him so down and then if it doesn't have anything to do with Olivia, I'll lock them in the broom closet." John answered. The Captain nodded. John walked back to his desk. Neither Elliot nor Olivia was there yet so he decided that it would as good a time as any to question his partner.
"What bug landed in your coffee this morning?" John asked as he plopped down into his chair, with an uncharacteristic lack of grace. Fin looked up at for a moment and then turned back to the file he was reading. "Apparently not the happy bug or the love bug. Could it have been the sour-puss bug?" John kept up the questions. Again all he got was a glare. "I think it was the Fin-is-an-idiot bug." John declared. This time Fin stared at him.
"Shut-up." It was a simple, ice-cold response. John thought for a moment.
"You asked her out didn't you, but did she turn you down, or did you not say what you wanted to say?" John mused.
"Yes, I asked her out. We went to have a beer at 'Zula's'. Then we tried to make small talk and only marginally succeeded. I walked her back to the precinct and made sure she got into her car safely. Then I went home. We never got past talking about the current case, and I never told her how I felt." Fin said quietly, with venom.
"Why didn't you just tell her that you find her attractive and that you care about her? It couldn't be that hard." John stated firmly.
"She is the best female friend I have. Do you honestly think I'm going to rush to ruin that, just to find out that she doesn't care about me anymore than a friend?" Fin answered. John just shrugged and started on his paper work.
Olivia was having the same thoughts as Fin. She had lain awake most of the night, before she dozed off. She finally got up at 5 and did something she hadn't done in a long time. Olivia ran to distance herself from her problems, instead of running for the sake of running. She was tired and confused. Fin was attractive and sweet. She had thought when he asked her out for a drink, that they might take that first step toward becoming something more than friends, but he had never made a move. Olivia had thought perhaps he was waiting for her to make the first move but by the time she had finished her beer she wasn't sure that Fin was interested in anything more than being friends. Olivia had finished her run and had a quick shower before heading to work. Not surprisingly, John was there, and Elliot wasn't. It was a rare day that Elliot was in the squad room before Olivia herself. She noticed Fin buried in a file and John looked confused. Olivia briefly considered talking to Elliot about her attraction to Fin but figured that John would be better at judging Fin's moods and thoughts. Olivia decided that she would talk to John as soon as she could steal him away for a few minutes.
Elliot came in a few minutes later with coffee for the group. He could tell there was some tension between Olivia and Fin. John looked confused and the Captain just looked concerned as always. As he passed out coffee to everyone, he signaled John to meet him in the Captain's office, with the pretense of chasing his coffee. John followed dutifully, pretending to be led by his nose. Olivia noticed and smiled a small tense smile.
"What's up with them?" Elliot asked as he handed the Captain his coffee and finally passed John his.
"John you were talking to Fin, what's up?" Cragen looked at John pointedly.
"Well they never even made it past small talk. Fin's in a bad mood. Olivia looks like she didn't get any sleep last night. She kept glancing in my direction. I think she wants to talk to me. I'm going to get her to tell me her side and if they don't get things straightened out, I'm going to lock them in the broom closet." John stated firmly. Elliot smiled and nodded before heading back to his desk. Cragen smiled and told the detectives to get to work. John sat at his desk and waited for a reason to allow Olivia to corner him. When new messages came around, John went to get his and Olivia followed him.
"John, I wanted to ask you a question." Olivia said using the time to check her messages.
"Shoot." John knew this was his opportunity to find out what she thought.
"Well, Fin and I went out last night for drinks and I thought that maybe he might e interested but he acted like a friend. He didn't act like he was interested in me as anything more a friend. Does he just want to be friends, because I know that I really care about him and I would like to take the next step but I don't want to mess with what we have now?" Olivia was so funny when she was trying to say something, without actually saying anything. John was having a difficult time trying to keep a straight face.
"I'll talk to him and get back to you." John answered and headed back to his desk. Olivia didn't look any less confused or comforted. Just the way John planned it. Around lunch time he wandered toward the Captain's office. He knocked on the door and Cragen motioned for him to come in.
"What do you need John?" the Captain asked focusing his attention on John.
"Those two are hopeless. I'm going for the broom closet or something like that." John answered. The Captain nodded.
"How do you propose to get them into the broom closet?"
"I have an idea but its going to take Elliot too."
"Elliot, can I see you for a moment?" The Captain called Elliot into his office.
"Yeah?" Elliot asked.
"John, explain your plan." Cragen ordered.
"Well, you convince Olivia to follow you to the broom closet, tell her you want to talk to her or something. I'll do the same with Fin. We toss them into the closet together and tell them to admit their feelings for each other or we won't let them out." John laid out his plan. Little did they know that Fin and Olivia could hear them talking. Fin wandered over to Olivia's desk and sat on the edge.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Fin asked quietly.
"Would it involve us going along with their little scheme and then getting revenge?" Olivia responded.
"Yeah, my thoughts exactly." Fin smiled and Olivia returned it with a grin of her own.
"Let's beat them at their own game." Olivia and Fin shook hands on it and pretended to be hard at work. John was the first to move.
"Hey Fin, let's go for a walk." John said. Fin got up and followed, throwing a look at Olivia. She winked. Elliot pulled the same thing. Olivia and Fin allowed themselves to be led to the broom closet. They even allowed John and Elliot to toss them into the closet and lock the door.
"You two are banned to the broom closet until you can tell each other how you feel about one another. This is non-negotiable." Elliot said from the other side of the door.
"If you insist." Olivia said with a grin. Elliot looked confused for a moment that she was giving in so easily. He looked at John who also looked confused that they both would give in without a fight.
"What about you Fin?" John asked.
"I have no problem with that." Fin answered. Elliot and John wandered off a few feet.
"Do you think they know about our plan?" Elliot asked.
"I think they do, but they don't know that we know, so we can keep them locked up under the excuse that we were ignorant of that fact." John answered. Elliot nodded and they wandered back to their desks to listen to the wire John had placed in the closet earlier that week.
"Do you think they've gone?" Olivia asked.
"Yeah but I'm positive they bugged the closet." Fin answered. Olivia nodded. She leaned over and whispered in Fin's ear so softly that he almost didn't hear her.
"We might as well make it worth their while." Fin nodded.
"So, how do you feel about me Liv?" Fin asked.
"Well I find you attractive and I really care about you. I want to be more than friends, but I don't want to mess up our friendship. What about you?"
"I think that you're beautiful, and I care about you too. I don't want to be just friends. I don't want to mess up our friendship either but I think that the rewards of taking the next step out-weigh the risks."
"I think they do too." Olivia leaned over a kissed Fin softly. Fin moved to deepen the kiss and Olivia bit back a groan. A few seconds later the door to the broom closet was flung open. John and Elliot stood there looking pleased with them selves.
"We wanted you to admit your feelings, not christen the closet." John quipped. Fin and Olivia just smiled. Elliot laughed and walked away. John followed him. Fin looked at Olivia and they shook hands and walked back to their desks. The rest of the day was spent with them making cow eyes at each other over files. John and Elliot left early patting each other on the back as they went. Cragen was next.
"Fin, Olivia, don't let it over-flow into the work place, and I don't care. Don't screw this up, because you seem to make each other happy." Cragen stated quietly and kept on walking out the door.
"Even the Captain was in on it?" Olivia asked.
"Apparently we have a couple of sneaky partners as well as a sneaky Captain." Fin answered. "Come on. I'll buy you a beer and we can congratulate each other on duping our co-workers and superior." Fin stood and pulled on his coat.
"Actually, I didn't get much sleep last night. I think I'm going to call it a night." Olivia answered. She picked up her coat and started toward the door. Fin stood there watching her walk out of sight.
"You'll never know that I'm falling in love with you. To you it was just a game, but to me it was the only real moment I'll ever have with you." Fin said to an empty office. Olivia made it into her car and sat there. She touched a hand to her lips as if she could still feel Fin's caressing hers.
"You'll never know how much that kiss meant to me. You'll never know that I'm in love with you. To you it was just beating our partners at their own game but to me it was real." Olivia started her car and made her way out of the parking lot. Just as she merged into traffic, it began to rain. Fin noticed this as he pulled into traffic a few minutes later. It was fitting to both their moods.
John came in the next morning to find Fin already there. Usually Fin was the last one in, especially when they didn't have anything to do but paperwork. He didn't even look up from his file when John tossed his coat over the back of his chair. John glanced at him before heading toward Cragen's office.
"Morning Captain. How long has Fin been here?" John asked quietly as he took a seat across from the Captain.
"Morning, John. He was here when I walked in at a quarter till 7. My guess is he's been here since 6 or so, unless he stayed all night." Cragen answered, equally quiet. "You thinking about the broom closet yet?" the Captain asked casually. John shrugged.
"I think I'll talk to him first, and find out what has him so down and then if it doesn't have anything to do with Olivia, I'll lock them in the broom closet." John answered. The Captain nodded. John walked back to his desk. Neither Elliot nor Olivia was there yet so he decided that it would as good a time as any to question his partner.
"What bug landed in your coffee this morning?" John asked as he plopped down into his chair, with an uncharacteristic lack of grace. Fin looked up at for a moment and then turned back to the file he was reading. "Apparently not the happy bug or the love bug. Could it have been the sour-puss bug?" John kept up the questions. Again all he got was a glare. "I think it was the Fin-is-an-idiot bug." John declared. This time Fin stared at him.
"Shut-up." It was a simple, ice-cold response. John thought for a moment.
"You asked her out didn't you, but did she turn you down, or did you not say what you wanted to say?" John mused.
"Yes, I asked her out. We went to have a beer at 'Zula's'. Then we tried to make small talk and only marginally succeeded. I walked her back to the precinct and made sure she got into her car safely. Then I went home. We never got past talking about the current case, and I never told her how I felt." Fin said quietly, with venom.
"Why didn't you just tell her that you find her attractive and that you care about her? It couldn't be that hard." John stated firmly.
"She is the best female friend I have. Do you honestly think I'm going to rush to ruin that, just to find out that she doesn't care about me anymore than a friend?" Fin answered. John just shrugged and started on his paper work.
Olivia was having the same thoughts as Fin. She had lain awake most of the night, before she dozed off. She finally got up at 5 and did something she hadn't done in a long time. Olivia ran to distance herself from her problems, instead of running for the sake of running. She was tired and confused. Fin was attractive and sweet. She had thought when he asked her out for a drink, that they might take that first step toward becoming something more than friends, but he had never made a move. Olivia had thought perhaps he was waiting for her to make the first move but by the time she had finished her beer she wasn't sure that Fin was interested in anything more than being friends. Olivia had finished her run and had a quick shower before heading to work. Not surprisingly, John was there, and Elliot wasn't. It was a rare day that Elliot was in the squad room before Olivia herself. She noticed Fin buried in a file and John looked confused. Olivia briefly considered talking to Elliot about her attraction to Fin but figured that John would be better at judging Fin's moods and thoughts. Olivia decided that she would talk to John as soon as she could steal him away for a few minutes.
Elliot came in a few minutes later with coffee for the group. He could tell there was some tension between Olivia and Fin. John looked confused and the Captain just looked concerned as always. As he passed out coffee to everyone, he signaled John to meet him in the Captain's office, with the pretense of chasing his coffee. John followed dutifully, pretending to be led by his nose. Olivia noticed and smiled a small tense smile.
"What's up with them?" Elliot asked as he handed the Captain his coffee and finally passed John his.
"John you were talking to Fin, what's up?" Cragen looked at John pointedly.
"Well they never even made it past small talk. Fin's in a bad mood. Olivia looks like she didn't get any sleep last night. She kept glancing in my direction. I think she wants to talk to me. I'm going to get her to tell me her side and if they don't get things straightened out, I'm going to lock them in the broom closet." John stated firmly. Elliot smiled and nodded before heading back to his desk. Cragen smiled and told the detectives to get to work. John sat at his desk and waited for a reason to allow Olivia to corner him. When new messages came around, John went to get his and Olivia followed him.
"John, I wanted to ask you a question." Olivia said using the time to check her messages.
"Shoot." John knew this was his opportunity to find out what she thought.
"Well, Fin and I went out last night for drinks and I thought that maybe he might e interested but he acted like a friend. He didn't act like he was interested in me as anything more a friend. Does he just want to be friends, because I know that I really care about him and I would like to take the next step but I don't want to mess with what we have now?" Olivia was so funny when she was trying to say something, without actually saying anything. John was having a difficult time trying to keep a straight face.
"I'll talk to him and get back to you." John answered and headed back to his desk. Olivia didn't look any less confused or comforted. Just the way John planned it. Around lunch time he wandered toward the Captain's office. He knocked on the door and Cragen motioned for him to come in.
"What do you need John?" the Captain asked focusing his attention on John.
"Those two are hopeless. I'm going for the broom closet or something like that." John answered. The Captain nodded.
"How do you propose to get them into the broom closet?"
"I have an idea but its going to take Elliot too."
"Elliot, can I see you for a moment?" The Captain called Elliot into his office.
"Yeah?" Elliot asked.
"John, explain your plan." Cragen ordered.
"Well, you convince Olivia to follow you to the broom closet, tell her you want to talk to her or something. I'll do the same with Fin. We toss them into the closet together and tell them to admit their feelings for each other or we won't let them out." John laid out his plan. Little did they know that Fin and Olivia could hear them talking. Fin wandered over to Olivia's desk and sat on the edge.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Fin asked quietly.
"Would it involve us going along with their little scheme and then getting revenge?" Olivia responded.
"Yeah, my thoughts exactly." Fin smiled and Olivia returned it with a grin of her own.
"Let's beat them at their own game." Olivia and Fin shook hands on it and pretended to be hard at work. John was the first to move.
"Hey Fin, let's go for a walk." John said. Fin got up and followed, throwing a look at Olivia. She winked. Elliot pulled the same thing. Olivia and Fin allowed themselves to be led to the broom closet. They even allowed John and Elliot to toss them into the closet and lock the door.
"You two are banned to the broom closet until you can tell each other how you feel about one another. This is non-negotiable." Elliot said from the other side of the door.
"If you insist." Olivia said with a grin. Elliot looked confused for a moment that she was giving in so easily. He looked at John who also looked confused that they both would give in without a fight.
"What about you Fin?" John asked.
"I have no problem with that." Fin answered. Elliot and John wandered off a few feet.
"Do you think they know about our plan?" Elliot asked.
"I think they do, but they don't know that we know, so we can keep them locked up under the excuse that we were ignorant of that fact." John answered. Elliot nodded and they wandered back to their desks to listen to the wire John had placed in the closet earlier that week.
"Do you think they've gone?" Olivia asked.
"Yeah but I'm positive they bugged the closet." Fin answered. Olivia nodded. She leaned over and whispered in Fin's ear so softly that he almost didn't hear her.
"We might as well make it worth their while." Fin nodded.
"So, how do you feel about me Liv?" Fin asked.
"Well I find you attractive and I really care about you. I want to be more than friends, but I don't want to mess up our friendship. What about you?"
"I think that you're beautiful, and I care about you too. I don't want to be just friends. I don't want to mess up our friendship either but I think that the rewards of taking the next step out-weigh the risks."
"I think they do too." Olivia leaned over a kissed Fin softly. Fin moved to deepen the kiss and Olivia bit back a groan. A few seconds later the door to the broom closet was flung open. John and Elliot stood there looking pleased with them selves.
"We wanted you to admit your feelings, not christen the closet." John quipped. Fin and Olivia just smiled. Elliot laughed and walked away. John followed him. Fin looked at Olivia and they shook hands and walked back to their desks. The rest of the day was spent with them making cow eyes at each other over files. John and Elliot left early patting each other on the back as they went. Cragen was next.
"Fin, Olivia, don't let it over-flow into the work place, and I don't care. Don't screw this up, because you seem to make each other happy." Cragen stated quietly and kept on walking out the door.
"Even the Captain was in on it?" Olivia asked.
"Apparently we have a couple of sneaky partners as well as a sneaky Captain." Fin answered. "Come on. I'll buy you a beer and we can congratulate each other on duping our co-workers and superior." Fin stood and pulled on his coat.
"Actually, I didn't get much sleep last night. I think I'm going to call it a night." Olivia answered. She picked up her coat and started toward the door. Fin stood there watching her walk out of sight.
"You'll never know that I'm falling in love with you. To you it was just a game, but to me it was the only real moment I'll ever have with you." Fin said to an empty office. Olivia made it into her car and sat there. She touched a hand to her lips as if she could still feel Fin's caressing hers.
"You'll never know how much that kiss meant to me. You'll never know that I'm in love with you. To you it was just beating our partners at their own game but to me it was real." Olivia started her car and made her way out of the parking lot. Just as she merged into traffic, it began to rain. Fin noticed this as he pulled into traffic a few minutes later. It was fitting to both their moods.