I love Law & Order and loved Connie & Mike, so as I was rewatching Law & Order they seemed like they were really close in Season 20 to me, so I imagined little vignettes after certain of their scenes. I decided to write my first fan fiction based on my little scenes because in my head they got together during Season 20 and that's how I'd like to remember them, haha. Fleshed out the story with a case too, it's mainly a Mike and Connie romance though. Nothing is mine, all belongs to Dick Wolf, I just love these characters.

Set right After Brilliant Disguise

Feb 21

Mike sighed as he gazed across the table at Connie, as she quizzed the waitress about the menu. Why did he do this to himself? The brunch invitation had been innocent enough, they had spent the last several months answering appeals for Marcus Woll's cases, (how he loathed that name), working day and night, weekends and Connie had been such a trooper. They would finish the last appeal response today, so Mike had thought he'd reward her with a really nice meal for once, instead of the usual food cart or takeout Chinese. So last night after they'd packed up, with knowledge they only had one to go (and a fairly easy one at that), when she said they should celebrate, he'd suggested a nice brunch at a restaurant of her choosing before they went into the office Sunday morning. Even though Sarabeth's was closer to his apartment on the Upper Westside, she'd heard really good things about their brunch and had been eager to try it, so he'd made a reservation for an early brunch.

While they waited in the very busy restaurant for the waitress to take their order, the conversation had started off very run of the mill and very safe 'What did you plan on doing with all your spare time now that you only have to work your normal job, can't wait until spring', etc. And then the topic had turned to their latest case, Alex Conway, a graduate student/psychopath who robbed escorts to cover his gambling habit, but had recently graduated to murder. They had received a guilty verdict in the case, but not before Mike had used Connie as bait to Conway, Mike saying his people, i.e. Connie, were more obedient than Conway's fiancée. He knew that Conway's ego would have to respond. He'd had to apologize to Connie for not only bringing up that instance about using her attractiveness to sway the jury but also coloring it to make it seem even worse that it was. She understood he was going out on that ledge to get Conway just as he'd told Jack he would. He knew she wasn't thrilled by his speech, her sarcastic "I'm glad the right psychopath won" relayed that, but she'd understood and had wanted to put away Conway as much as he did. But what Connie had called him on this morning, after their initial pleasant conversation, was his statement that "love's a bitch" after Conway's fiancée had declared her undying love to Conway before being dragged off.

With a raise of her eyebrow "So love's a bitch, huh? Is that how you really feel about love, Mike?"

His first thought was "danger, danger" second was to say "maybe he hadn't meet the right person yet" but that wasn't true, he had meet the right person and she was sitting across from him. But he couldn't say That! Not only was it inappropriate since Connie worked for him, but more importantly he didn't know how she felt about him and he didn't want to take a chance and embarrass himself or Connie nor chance ruining their friendship, which he treasured. Connie arched her brow at him while she waited for his response. Well here goes he thought "I know I'm not easiest person ever, but I guess I haven't been in the right relationships yet" he said quietly and looked up and met her gaze.

Connie was about to say something when the waitress finally reappeared, ready for their order.

"Saved" thought Mike…

As Connie asked the waitress about the menu, her indecisiveness over the lemon ricotta pancakes, chorizo frittata or almond crusted French toast to be settled by choosing the waitresses favorite, the French toast, her mind was spinning, she wanted to kick herself, how could she have asked Mike that question about love. She couldn't even blame it on having a mimosa with brunch! Since they were going into the office after brunch, she'd passed on the mimosa, even though Mike had said go ahead, one won't kill you. She was definitely having second thoughts about that mimosa now…. What had possessed her to ask that? You know what possessed you, your little crush on a certain Mike Cutter reared its little head. Sigh….

She looked up at Mike as she heard him say "I'll have the Chorizo Frittata, with a side of Lemon Ricotta pancakes and bacon, I'll share, as long as I get to try your French toast, deal?" He'd remembered she had once told him how she enjoyed going out to brunch with some girlfriends and sharing a bunch of different dishes.

"Deal" chirped Connie, giving Mike a big smile in return.

Connie decided to steer the conversation away from the landmine topic they'd been broaching before the waitress had so opportunely interrupted. Connie brought up a question she had on the Landers appeal, their one remaining Woll appeal, this was the third response to Landers attorney and should be their last. Connie laid out her thoughts on how they should position their response; Mike agreed with her approach, added a few additional citations and then their food arrived. It was all so very delicious, but Connie was saddened that she didn't even make a dent in her French toast, especially after sampling Mike's frittata and pancake with a slice of bacon. All so very heavenly!

It was a chilly February day as they walked to Mike's car, that's why they were walking so close together, at least that's what she told herself. (Mike did radiate heat, stop thinking that way Connie). The drive from the Upper Westside to Hogan's Place was congested for a Sunday morning, that didn't help the carbo coma Connie felt coming on after that brunch; she was definitely drowsy and the motion of the car slowly cruising along didn't help.

She vaguely heard Mike saying "Connie, we're here" and then his hand on her arm gently shaking her.

She bolted upright and for some reason her hand grabbed onto his hand. His hand was so warm, she thought as she turned towards him, his blue eyes staring at her hand gripping his and then he turned those blue eyes upwards to her eyes. She held his gaze for a few seconds before realizing she was still holding onto his hand.

She let go, as did he, as she mumbled "sorry, I fell asleep"

Mike looked at her with his half smile "Well we've been hitting it pretty hard these last couple of months, no wonder you are tired" "Maybe you should take some time off once we're done today-to recharge" "

"What about you Mike? Are you taking time off, you've been working just as hard?"

He smiled at her, thinking, if you take time off, it might be good for me to take time off too, its no fun, when you aren't around. But then again, what might people say if they were both on vacation at the same time? Since the Marcus Woll trial, he knew his interactions with Connie were being scrutinized. so he did try and be mindful of that in all public interactions with Connie. But 90% of his current caseload was with Connie, and combined with the Woll appeals, there was no getting around it; they were pretty much joined at the hip. Not that Jack cared, Jack knew his best team was Connie and Mike, the best chance to get a conviction in a difficult case or a favorable deal for the state of New York. Jack might want to ring his neck every now and again, but at the end of the day, Jack knew Mike would fight for justice, same as Jack and usually get it. At his desk, he picked up his baseball and idly tossed it into his mitt, Mike remembered how mortified he'd felt after telling Jack what Woll had said about his relationship with Connie. And how even more mortified he felt after rambling on about not having relationships with people he worked with. He knew Jack saw right through him, it wasn't just people he worked with, it was Connie he was talking about and he also knew if Connie would have him, he'd throw that rule out faster than you could say jump. Mike mused, after the Woll case closed had Jack been subtly giving his blessing for them to have a relationship, with his "you'll have to work together day & night to get through the Woll appeals, is that going to be a problem?" Or even enabling it? Mike wondered about that too sometimes.

One thing that Mike had realized early on in their working relationship, Connie had a calming effect on him. It was as much the fact that they worked so well together, as it was the fact she was on top of everything, he knew he could rely on her 110%. He could always be sure that she'd cite the right case law, file the right motion, make the best argument in court, follow up with a witness, relay the most pertinent information to him, not inundate him with information that he didn't need and would always be willing put in the hours necessary to get the job done right. She was whip smart, wasn't afraid to voice her opinion and could back that opinion up with impeccable research. They had butted heads a bit at first, he could be mercurial as well as a perfectionist but once he realized how adept and skillful Connie was, he let her run with their cases, often setting up their strategy, adjusting easily based on his input/direction and giving him concise updates of all cases when needed. She had seemed to really enjoy the autonomy he gave her, the confidence he had in her and the fact that he viewed her as his partner on their cases, not an assistant. She was also drop dead gorgeous, intuitive, kind and compassionate, she really was the total package as that juror had said a couple of years ago. He truly realized how much he enjoyed working with Connie when they had the disagreement about that abortion doctor's murder and Connie had asked to be reassigned. Jack had rejected that request on the grounds it would be difficult to find someone to work with him and would cause too many other shifts. Mike's ego hadn't allowed him to say, no he didn't want Connie to transfer, but upon reflection, he had been a little hurt that she had gone to Jack without telling him first (his own fault) but also dismayed at the thought of no longer working with Connie. He reflected on Jack's words, the difficulty in finding someone eager to work with him, well that was true, on the few cases that he didn't work with Connie, it was like pulling teeth, with kitchen tongs. And if he was being honest, the folks working for him who weren't Connie probably felt equally distressed by him. The simple fact was, they were held up against Connie and were always found lacking, either in dedication, in ability, in attention to detail or in something else that would annoy him. He was sure he exhibited such annoyance, probably loudly. He was happy they had continued to work together. They seemed to have a tacit agreement to just move on, move past that disagreement and were back to being a unified team.

He halted tossing the ball as Connie came into his office to go over her drafts for the Lander's appeal. As he read her briefs, she sat at the table in his office and caught up on some other case files. As she read, she unconsciously bit her lip and Mike couldn't tear his eyes away, sigh, she was going to catch him staring at her, but he still couldn't tear his eyes away. This crush that he had developed on Connie, it had ceased to be something he could control and that drove him as crazy as Connie did,(without her even knowing she did) He was almost forty, not some school boy, get it together Mike.

Connie suddenly looked up and met his gaze, a wry smile crossed her face and her eyebrow arched up, "is everything in order? Any changes?"

"Cite People vs Forester here as well, otherwise I think this should do" He handed her the brief back, smiled back at her and turned towards his laptop, what else could he do.

Connie knew she should be upset that she'd caught Mike staring at her, (again) but she wasn't. If she was being honest she'd admit that it thrilled her, since she wasn't being honest, she admitted it didn't bother her at all. If she were being honest she'd admit that she enjoyed working long hours with Mr. Michael Cutter way too much, that spending even more time with him these last few months had solidified her little crush on him, ok well she would admit that, it was harmless crush and understandable given the amount of time they spent together, how accomplished he is. Yes, they worked together, yes she worked for him, but he was an intelligent, successful, polished, dynamic, good-looking man, those were the facts, she could admit it. Yes there were plenty of instances when she wanted to strangle him over the last three years, but she also the appreciated the fact that he was a great boss, he valued her opinion, her abilities, he allowed her to take the lead on many of their case strategies and never felt the need to micromanage her. When he did have a differing opinion on how to handle a case, he'd always listen to her views and would discuss it with her why they should handle it his way and usually they'd come to some middle ground; she respected the fact he never had to have the final word on everything. Of course there were those cases where Mike would become intractable, but even in those cases, he'd listen to her and choose to forge ahead on some quixotic mission anyway.

They'd grown close over the 3 years; she could truly say she thought of him as not only her boss and co-worker but also as a good friend. They had shared many meals and drinks over the years to commiserate, to celebrate and for just plain camaraderie. They were a team.