This was written for my Season 2 Countdown Challenge, the prompt was "The First Time". This one jumps forward in time a few times, and contains just a wee bit of fluff for your fluffy needs.

Their first encounter was at a crime scene, one chilly morning.

Jane Rizzoli had tromped onto the scene that Monday, mumbling under her breath. It was far too early to have Jane out of her apartment without a cup of coffee, much less on a crime scene.

The grumpy detective walked with determination, in search of the balding man that served as Medical Examiner to the Homicide Department for ages.

Who she found hovering over the body, however, was a beautiful woman, wearing some expensive looking heels and giving orders to a young man that was most likely her assistant.

"Good morning, detective." The woman smiled politely at Jane before placing what looked like a shell casing in a small baggie, handing it to the young man beside her.

"Who are you?" Thrown by this woman's sudden appearance on her crime scene, and still grumpy from being dragged out of bed, Jane skipped the formalities and polite introduction, meeting the woman's smile with an inquisitive frown.

"Ah, yes, I'm sorry, I'm afraid the entire department has not met me yet. Though I was told that you would be informed of the switch….I'm the new Medical Examiner, Doctor Maura Isles." Maura beamed, extending her gloved hand to the detective.

"Right…" Jane nodded, taking the hand in her own before giving it a firm shake. She must not have been paying attention, or must have missed an important e-mail, for this to come as a surprise. She wasn't aware of a switch.

The way that this woman referred to the blood on the victim as reddish-brown stains irked Jane. She took note of several such eccentricities and left the site in the afternoon, wary of the new ME.

Jane wasn't sure what pulled her to Maura's that first night. She didn't want to see anyone, didn't want to deal with anyone, yet there was one person that she did feel the need to see.

Before she realized where it was that she was going, she was in Maura's driveway, gripping the wheel and wondering if she should turn back. But Ma was there, and her nightmares were there, and she just needed to get away for one night.

She knocked on the door and Maura welcomed her warmly, lying with her before slipping out and going to her own room. It was simple enough, and Jane slept a bit better knowing that Maura was nearby. And the lingering scent of Maura on the sheets lulled her into a hazy state, wondering why the ME hadn't stayed.

The first time that Jane admitted to herself how she was feeling was coincidentally the first time that they slept in a bed together. Maura had said that Jane wasn't her type, and the thought kept Jane awake long after the smaller woman had meditated into sleep.

Jane had fleeting crushes on women before, but to have a crush on a coworker, and her best friend to boot, was just unacceptable. She had told herself that she wouldn't let things escalate, that she would snuff out the attraction over time.

And yet, she had allowed herself the liberty of watching Maura sleep, of brushing a few stray hairs behind her ear. She fell asleep on her side, facing the ME, and when she woke she said nothing of the arm that was wrapped around her waist.

The first kiss was a long time coming.

A long night working a particularly trying case had landed the ME and detective at Jane's apartment, worn out both physically and mentally. Jane had been struggling with nightmares again, making the entire week into one long sleepover. Maura had taken to carpooling with Jane, and the ME's car hadn't been touched for days.

Bass clunked across Jane's floor and settled beside Joe Friday's bed, preparing for the night's film.

For once, the usual banter was absent, and their usual closeness had evolved into lying alongside one another. Long past were the tentative heads upon shoulders- they were replaced with encircling arms and Maura's head upon Jane's chest.

There were no excuses for what happened that night. Maura had drifted off during the film and awoke to Jane's rhythmic breathing. She blinked twice and looked up to watch the brunette admiring her in her sleep.

It merely took that look, and her lips were upon Jane's in an instant. It felt as though they had been building up to this since that first handshake, and Maura felt the urgency to stay like this rising in her chest.

Jane's mind was reeling, the constant question of why it had taken this long bouncing around in her mind. But that didn't matter, because it was evident that Maura wanted her, and she needn't worry any longer that the attraction would ruin this.

The wavering sigh that left Maura's lips after that kiss nearly brought tears to Jane's eyes. She knew what that sigh held- relief. Both women were insanely relieved to finally have reached that point.

The first kiss became a second, and a third, and they found themselves experiencing another first that night.

The first time that Jane proposed was beautiful, a tear-filled speech followed by a box pulled, seemingly out of thin air, in a flourish.

Maura had gasped and started to cry, the tears and the shock causing her to faint.

Full of nervous giggles, a petrified Jane shook Maura, asking if her head was hurt before asking her again to marry her.

The ME didn't need to be asked the second time, she confirmed that she had sustained no major injuries (except perhaps to her pride, having fainted in such a manner) and nodded fervently, allowing for the ring to slide onto her finger.

There are many more firsts to come, of course. Jane is excited already for their first child, as Maura sits silently beside her with a round belly and a set of earphones playing Mozart for the tiny genius.

The detective slips her hand into her wife's, kissing her cheek and trying not to think of the baby's first injury- or worse, her first date.