Author Notes: Thank you to all of you who are still here reading and enjoying my fic. It's taken me a little longer to get this one out because I really don't like writing dates. I don't know what it is about them? Having to write action and small talk, etc. maybe?

Requests - I've decided to start taking requests for one-shots. Mostly Rizzles ones but I will consider other pairings, and other fandoms. I can't guarantee that if you request something I will definitely write it, mostly because my brain doesn't always work with some ideas. More info in my profile/PM me and we can chat.

The restaurant was a hive of activity; a handful of couples sat around chatting, a large party of young women laughed loudly. Jane sat opposite Maura, her eyes on her burger, her hands coated in sweat. She struggled to pick up a couple of fries on her fork, then gave up and opted for using her hands. She chewed, silently glancing up at Maura momentarily, before returning her attention to her plate of food. She was consciously aware of Maura sat opposite her.

"So, I told Kent that it wasn't appropriate, in light of the situation, and he needed to apologise," she said, sipping her glass of wine.

"Did he?" Jane asked.

"Of course he did." Maura smiled. "I wouldn't let him back in the office until he did."

"Was he naked?"

Maura's eyebrows creased together, she stared until Jane glanced back up. "What do you mean was he naked? Of course not. He was wearing his work attire."

"It was a joke," Jane said, smiling weakly.

"Did you hear everything I said?" Maura asked. "It's not funny. If he hadn't been so careless one family wouldn't have mistakenly thought their child was dead, while another family thought theirs was alive. His joking about it in front of the family was wrong, and so is your joking now."

Jane shrugged. "No, it's not funny."

"What's wrong?"

"Why would something be wrong?"

"Jane." Maura reached a hand out and clasped her fingers. "We're supposed to be on our first date, you've barely looked at me since we sat down."

"I'm fine."

Maura squeezed her hand. "I know that when you say that it means you're not."

"I am."

"If we're going to be in a relationship, we need to start as we mean to go on." Maura sighed. "I need you to be honest with me."

"Fine," Jane said, reclaiming her hand and tucking them both under the table. "This is weird."

"Bad weird?"

"No." Jane's shoulders dropped when she saw the disappointment spread across Maura's face. "It's not bad. It's just weird. We're sat here eating burgers and talking about work. It's like any other night out. It's not special, it's not important, it's just you and me doing what we always do."

Maura smiled. "One of the best things about going on a date with someone you already know, is we don't have any of the awkward first date protocol."

"It doesn't feel different," Jane said.

"Why would it feel different?"

"We're supposed to be on a date. It's supposed to be exciting and fun and different to a normal evening at the Robber."

"I was trying to make this easy for you." Maura's eyebrows pulled together again, she folded her napkin up and placed it on the table beside her plate.

"It's not easy, Maura." Jane placed her napkin mirroring Maura's. "Doing what we usually do doesn't make it special."

"You're a burger and beer kind of woman," Maura said. Sadness washed over her. "I just wanted you to have a nice time. Aren't you enjoying it?"

"I…" Jane lowered her gaze.

Maura stood up and reached for her purse. "I suppose we should end it here then."

Jane stood up beside her, her mouth opened and closed, words drifted off into the silence. Beside them, the large group of women laughed louder than before. Jane glanced across, her eyes narrowed at the noisiest member of the group. When she turned back again, Maura had placed some notes on the table and was halfway across the restaurant.

"Wait, Maura."

She chased after her, following her out into the night. They marched down the street, Jane yards from Maura, calling after her as she continued back toward the parking lot.

"Maura, would you stop, damnit. I can't walk that fast."

She turned, her eyes laced with tears, her shoulders shook. "I don't want to stop, Jane. I don't want to have to face you when our first date has been such a failure. We only got one shot at this, and I ruined it."

"You didn't." Jane caught up. She stepped toward her and pulled her into her arms. "You didn't ruin it. I ruined it."

"You didn't do anything."

"I did," she said, resting her cheek against the side of Maura's head. "I made a big deal out of it. Cailin asked me what we were doing and she asked why it wasn't something special. It got inside my head."

"I don't care what we do," Maura said, resting her chin on Jane's shoulder. "The only thing that matters to me is that we do it together."

"I shouldn't have let it bother me." Jane stepped back, her hands still resting on Maura's elbows. "This is new for me, for both of us, and it's gonna take some time to get past the weirdness."

"I agree."

"Can we go back to the restaurant?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"The burgers weren't very appetising and you didn't want to be there," Maura said. "I'd rather we find something else to do."

"Like what?"

"I don't know."

"The burgers were terrible," Jane said. "The fries were dry. If you can't do it well, you shouldn't do it at all."

"We can cross it off our list of places to visit again."

"Sounds like a plan to me."

The moonlight shone down on them, lighting up Maura's face. Jane stepped forward again, cupping her cheeks as she captured her lips.

"I've wanted to do that all night," Jane said, pulling away.

"That feels right," Maura said, smiling.

"It's the only thing that feels right," Jane said.

She trailed her fingers down to Maura's hand and tugged. "What are you doing?"

"Come with me," she said. "I know what we can do."

"What is that?" Maura asked, allowing her to pull her along.

Jane didn't stop walking, the comfort of Maura's hand resting in hers, as they returned to the parking lot. Despite Maura's repeated questions, Jane drove them across town in silence.

"We're at the batting cage," Maura said, raising an eyebrow. "You know I don't really follow baseball."

"It's not about baseball," Jane said. She shut off the engine and walked around to Maura's side, opening the door and helping her out of the car. "This is about us spending some time together, doing something we don't usually do."

"You're going to make me play baseball?" Maura asked.

"Not exactly."

Jane led them into the batting cages. A couple of teenagers looked serious as they practiced their shot. A young girl and her dad took it in turns to practice. Jane took them round to the batting cage labelled '1'.

"This was the cage where I got a concussion when I was nine," Jane said. "It was Frankie's fault."

"What did he do?" Maura asked.

"He was goading me. I was in the cage next door and he was shouting abuse. So I ran in there to pummel him right when the ball came out and hit me on my head. I wasn't wearing a helmet."

"Oh gosh. Were you okay?"

"Did I live?" Jane asked, laughing. "Yeah. I lived. Not sure Frankie got over the pummelling I gave him when I recovered. I still have a small dint in my skull, if you feel it."

Maura stepped forward and Jane guided her hand to the spot. "Why didn't I know you had a dint in your skull?"

"It's not exactly the first topic of conversation. I'm Jane Rizzoli, and I have a dint in my skull." She walked away from the cage and down to cage three. "This is the cage where I hit my first ball. My dad brought me here when I was four. I don't really remember which one it was in, but Ma says it was cage three. We'd played in the yard loads but it was my first time at the cages. The ball was so fast but I hit it."

"That's quite an achievement for a four year old."

"I consider it one of my greatest successes," Jane said, smirking. She carried on along the cages, until she reached the seventh cage. "This is where I lost my two front teeth."

"You got hit by the ball again?"

"No," Jane laughed. "Frankie was batting and I went to help him, but he swung the bat and it hit me in the jaw. I've never known such pain."

Maura raised an eyebrow. "You shot yourself in the stomach, yet you've never known such pain?"

"After I shot myself the loss of consciousness made me forget everything quickly. I was fully conscious when I lost my teeth. That time it wasn't his fault. He was only a kid, it was his first time at the cage. I was seven. Pop shouted to me to stop, but by then it was too late. Ma had a field day when she saw me. I had blood all over the new Red Sox jersey I got for my birthday."

"Sounds like you've got a lot of great memories here," Maura said.

"Most of my memories from being a kid are attached to baseball. You know I love the game, but I don't know if you know th..."

Maura cut her off. Her lips landed on Jane's. Jane reacted, her hands tucked around the back of Maura's neck, as she deepened the kiss.

"Thank you for showing me this piece of your past."

"No problem." Jane smirked. "Do that again."

"What would you like me to do again?"

"Shut me up," Jane said, nibbling on her bottom lip. "Make me sto…"

Maura captured her mouth again, her hands tangled up in Jane's hair as she pulled her closer. Jane wrapped her arms around her back, her fingers danced across her back.

"Get a room!" someone shouted from across the batting cages.

They separated, Jane glanced up at the teenagers, now staring at them. She lifted up three fingers. "Read between the lines."

"Jane!" Maura said, hitting her playfully on the arm.

Tucking her hand into Maura's, Jane grinned. "Wanna go make out someplace else?"

x

Standing on the doorstep, Maura interlinked her fingers with Janes, lifting their arms up between them as they stood opposite each other. She smiled, watched her staring back, and breathed in slowly. The evening had reached its conclusion and Maura was disappointed. Despite its less than successful commencement, she didn't want it to end.

"You can come in, if you'd like," Maura said, giving Jane's hands a squeeze.

Jane smiled and shook her head. "It's better this way."

"Is it?" Maura asked, sighing. She leaned closer, her lips inches from Jane's.

She closed the gap, trailing her mouth across Jane's, her fingers rested on her chin. When she pulled away again, she gasped for breath.

"It's more exciting if we take our time."

Maura stared at her lips, the desire to kiss them again took over and Maura felt the heady fog overwhelm her. She lifted her hands up to Jane's waist and clutched her body, glancing between her mouth and her eyes. She fluttered her eyelashes. Jane smiled, her lips curved in that way they did on an average day, when she was happier than usual. A smile Maura had seen more often than most.

"It is."

"I had the best night, in the end."

"Me too."

"I don't know how we're ever gonna top this." Jane stepped back and slipped her hands into the pockets of her pants. "Better than the last time the Sox won the World Series."

Maura raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Anything with you beats them," Jane said, inching closer.

Breathing in slowly, Maura felt her breath hitch in her throat. She tried to reclaim the oxygen but her lungs wouldn't expand quickly enough. Jane's breasts brushed against her body, her fingers slipped around the edges of her belt, holding her steady. She tried again to breathe, but the lips directly opposite her were too distracting. She opened her mouth and seized them with her own. When she pulled out of the embrace Maura could hear Jane's gentle panting.

"You need to go," Maura whispered, kissing her again, quickly. She closed her eyes and ran her fingers across Jane's cheeks. "I'll see you tomorrow."

On the other side of the door, Maura turned around and leaned against the wood. Her heart raced against her rib cage, demanding her attention, fighting with her desire to breathe. She'd never left a first date such a mess before. Her whole body screamed at her to act, to open the door and pull Jane into the house. Deep down she knew she was right, that it'd be better if they waited, but everything in her instincts told her she was wrong.

x

"Good night?"

Maura's face lit up. She planned to head straight up to bed but relished the distraction from all thoughts of Jane. Cailin sat at the kitchen counter.

"I had an amazing time, thank you."

Standing up, Cailin carried her coffee mug toward the machine and refilled it. "Coffee?"

"I'll have a tea," she said, walking across the room and preparing the water for boiling. "My brain is too wired to sleep, I think coffee will only make it worse."

"Gotcha." Cailin turned to face her, her eyebrows raised in Maura's direction.

"Don't look at me like that."

"Like what?"

"Like you know what happened tonight. You don't."

"So, you didn't?" Cailin asked, placing a teabag into an empty mug.

"That's really none of your business," Maura said.

She wasn't used to having a sister, least not one who questioned her on her love life. Maura knew she should just be honest, but she found the situation rather unusual to say the least. It's not like they hadn't covered the subject before. Maura filled her mug with boiled water.

"But no, we didn't."

"Did you want to?"

Maura pursed her lips. Her desire to distract herself from all thoughts of Jane was failing. "I asked her to come in, but she said no."

Cailin's eyes bugged. "Why?"

"It's more exciting if we wait."

"Tell that to someone who might actually believe you," Cailin said, staring at her. "I didn't know a person could talk about excitement and sound so disappointed."

She glanced away. "I'll be fine. She makes a suitable point."

"But you wanted to fuck her brains out."

"Cailin!" Maura carried her mug across to the counter and sat down.

"Too vulgar?"

"Yes."

"I'm sorry." She joined her at the counter. "Sometimes I forget you're you."

"What do you mean by that?"

Cailin smiled. "You're complex. You talk about sex as though it's this thing that two people who barely know each other can do, yet you seem to hate the word fuck."

"I don't hate it."

"Yeah, you do."

"I find it distasteful." Maura smiled. "Okay, I hate it."

"You're a sexual person, it doesn't take long to learn that about you. It's like it matters so much more to you, yet you're so relaxed about casual relationships."

Maura laughed, her hands wrapped around the mug. She sipped on her tea. "I contradict myself. I've known that about myself for a long time. I love sex, I think the scientific benefits are important, but so is the deep connection it creates between two people. I refuse to guess when it comes to work, but in my personal life, when it really matters, my mind won't stop. I'm a contradiction."

"I think the scientific term is multi-faceted."

"I like that," Maura said. She swung her legs off the edge of the stool and stood up. "Thank you, Cailin. I think I'll go to bed now. I have work in the morning."

"Don't stay up too late," Cailin said, raising an eyebrow and waving her fingers in the air.

Maura's eyes narrowed, her lips curved at the edges. "Are you heading up?"

"I'll hang out down here for a while," she said. "So don't worry about making too much noise."

She took the stairs one at a time, her cheeks reddened. She didn't know why because it's not like they hadn't discussed sex before. She slowly trailed up to her bedroom, fighting the desires burning beneath the skin. She placed her tea on the bedside cabinet and abandoned it. She stripped off her dress, and lay down under the bed sheets. She stared up at the ceiling, and closed her eyes, picturing Jane's body over her as her hands wandered through the night.

x

When Maura arrived at BPD the next morning, she was surprised to find Jane standing by the elevator with two take-out coffees. She accepted one and stepped inside. The close proximity to Jane took her right back to the night before. As the doors closed, someone else stepped in, leaving her disappointed. She sighed and stood beside Jane, conscious of Jane's little finger tucked around her own.

"I'll see you later, Doctor Isles," she said, smiling as she turned around and backed out of the elevator.

Maura reached a hand out, she opened her mouth, but no words came. The doors closed again and the elevator continued its journey. The officer got out on another floor, before it finally stopped on the floor for the medical examiner's office. She walked out into the corridor, and toward her office, taken aback when a hand grasped her arm and pulled her from the corridor and into a closet.

"What is going on?" she asked, spinning around. Her eyes landed on Jane's. She tilted her head to one side, a smile fixed on her lips. "What are you doing?"

"This," Jane said, pulling her into an embrace, her lips and fingers danced across her mouth, her cheeks, her chin.

All breathe disappeared once more as Maura deepened the kiss. She moved the coffee cup from one hand to the other, then trailed her fingers down Jane's back.

Maura pulled out of the kiss, her mind too busy with questions. "Where did you come from? You got out on another floor?"

Jane rolled her eyes. "I came down the stairs."

"Why?"

"Why do you think?" Her fingers tangled through Maura's hair. Her lips trailed across Maura's. "I needed to say good morning."

"Good morning," Maura whispered, the corners of her mouth reached her eyes. She nuzzled her face against Jane's cheek. "I should go."

"Already?"

"A body came in in the night; car wreck. I have an autopsy to carry out, and a grieving family expecting some answers."

"Okay." Jane kissed her again, quick, brief. "I'm gonna give you one last kiss now, before you get body goo on your hands."

"Body goo?" Maura frowned.

"You know what I mean," Jane said, pulling her in for another long, deep, passionate embrace. When she stepped away, Maura felt the cold of her absence. "See you later."

"Bye," Maura whispered as the door opened and Jane slipped out. Maura stood in the dark, her fingers trailed across her bottom lip.

After composing herself, she walked out of the closet and into her office. She had work to do, and thinking about Jane would only make it harder.