Catching Her

Disclaimer: I do not own Rizzoli and Isles, including the book and the TNT show; Maura Isles belongs to Tess Gerritsen and Sasha Alexander. I do not own Law and Order: SVU; Olivia Benson belongs to Dick Wolf and Mariska Hargitay. The plot for this story is my own, but that is all I could or would stake claim to. Leave feedback if you would like to; these girls are wonderful, and my muse would be grateful for your affirmation!

Synopsis: There was something about her eyes, and the way the sweater seemed to hug her tightly—it made her never want to look away. Will one early-morning encounter at a coffee shop mean new beginnings for Olivia Benson, or will she let the chance drive away? Crossover w/ R&I. No Rizzles.

Chapter 2

"Is this your first trip to New York?" Olivia skirted quickly around a mindless pedestrian who was texting at high speeds but made sure she could still hear Maura when she responded.

"No, not at all. My mother's art has brought her to the city several times, and I've tried to attend as many of her shows as I can." After their coffees had cooled and emptied, Olivia had been hard-pressed to end her conversation with the beautiful doctor, so she'd indicated to Maura that they could walk outside together. Fall in New York was generally either a rained-out mess or a picture of briskness, and today was proving to be beautiful.

"Dare I ask what kind of art your mother creates?" Maura let out a light chuckle at Olivia's cautioned question and slipped her hand into the crook of the brunette's elbow.

"Well, she's more of an art professor than an artist at heart, so she's worked in a lot of mediums. Early in her career, she spent most of her energy painting relatively traditional works, but she's moved into three-dimensional modern art in recent years." Olivia hummed in response but didn't have much to contribute. The blonde shrugged. "She likes to create shows that comment on the societies in which we live."

"Does she have a show in New York now?" Olivia wanted to know what Maura was doing in her city—what she was doing and how long she was staying—but it felt like an awkward thing to flat-out ask. Maura laughed lightly and shook her head.

"No, she is in Hong Kong right now, teaching multi-lingual lectures at a university." Olivia didn't have any real comment to add, so she smiled and nodded. The heat of Maura's hand on her arm was giving her butterflies, but she also felt a little out of her element. Glancing at her watch, she noticed that it was nearing eleven-thirty.

"You know, we've been heading uptown..." Olivia swallowed. "Do you want to stop by the Central Park Zoo? They just received a new pair of sea lion cubs in the aquatic exhibit." Maura's eyes lit up and her dimples appeared, which was one of the most adorable sights Olivia had seen in a long time. It made her want to collect information on every weird event taking place in New York just so she could entice the medical examiner with their possibilities.

"I would love to, but, unfortunately, I have to be back in the morgue at noon." Maura must have noticed Olivia's disappointment, though the brunette tried valiantly to hide it, because she quickly tried to explain. "One of the serial cases I have been working on has been spreading throughout the tri-state area, and now down into New York and New Jersey. I've been here for three days working with the medical examiner at the one-nine to ensure that our procedures for identifying the modus opperendi are valid."

"I'm so sorry," Olivia gushed. "If I had known I was distracting you from your work—"

"No! No." Maura stopped them dead center in the middle of the sidewalk. "Not at all. The medical examiner, Dr. Richard Brost, is relatively new to his position, and I am simply here to guide him. We have been going over the autopsies he performed for the previous victims, and this morning, I asked him to complete an autopsy on a body his detectives thought fit the pattern. Had I been present for his work, I would have impeded his growth." Maura ran her hand down Olivia's arm until she was grasping her hand, but then glanced down shyly. "And I've enjoyed my morning much more than I expected to."

Olivia grinned. Lacing her fingers between Maura's, she pulled the blonde in the direction of the precinct she was headed for. "Well, do you think you could spare some time for dinner tonight? With me?"

"That depends," the medical examiner replied. Olivia glanced at her out of the corner of her eye. "Are you asking me on a date?"

"Yep." Olivia was proud of her voice for sounding so confident.

"Where can I meet you?" Olivia tilted her head for a moment while she plotted the area around the 19th precinct in her mind.

"Where are you staying while you're here?" Belatedly, Olivia realized that her question could be considered a little intrusive, and she tightened her grip on Maura's hand. "If you feel comfortable telling me, of course."

"I have a room at the Pierre, A Taj, near the park." Maura smiled coyly at her companion, catching her sideways glance after a gentle shoulder nudge. "You'd have to find out eventually if you're to walk me home properly after dinner." The NYPD cop blushed mightily.

"Okay, well, there's a really great Indian food place on 93rd which is uptown from you, but worth the trip if you like curry." Olivia guided them across Lexington Avenue and down 67th Street, unnecessarily disappointed that they had almost reached their destination.

"I love curry. I miss really good Indian food." They both slowed their steps and Maura turned to face Olivia. "Boston has many wonderful qualities, but a variety of ethnic cuisine is not always one of them."

"Neither is a variety of good sports teams!" the brunette countered, eager for another chuckle from the beautiful woman in front of her. She succeeded in garnering one, and couldn't not smile widely in return.

"Text me the address?" Olivia nodded. "I'll let you know when I am finished for the day, and then we can pin down a time for dinner?"

"That should be fine. Technically, I'm not on call tonight at all, so we shouldn't be interrupted." The brunette glanced down and shrugged a little ruefully. "Still, sometimes—"

"It's alright, Olivia." Maura bent a little and tried to catch Olivia's gaze. "My best friend is a cop, remember? Worse things have happened during dinner." This brought a smile back to the New Yorker's face as she laughed a little.

"Okay, okay! Now, you have work to do, so I'll see you later?" Olivia didn't want to let go of Maura's hand, but felt suddenly shy.

"I'll be waiting for your text." Abruptly, Maura lifted herself onto the toes of her heels and pressed a quick kiss to Olivia's cheek, then turned, re-settling her purse on her shoulder and making her way up the concrete steps into the 19th precinct.

A/n For Anjelica, who is a badass like Detective Benson.