AN - This is my very first fic (even my very first piece of creative writing) so please take that into consideration when reading. I know that this chapter is pretty slow but I just wanted to set it all up. I own nothing but the plot line and all credit for characters go to Tess Gerritsen and TNT.

I hate this damn thing. All I want is some coffee. Why is that too much to ask? Does life hate me that much that it will deny me that one simple pleasure? Or is it that Maura hates me that much that she relishes in watching me fight with this godforsaken machine?

Lost in her internal ramblings, Jane had failed to hear Maura enter the kitchen and so Maura took the opportunity to study her best friend. Jane had been in a bad mood for several days now and at times she had started to grate on Maura's nerves. Sarcastic comments and a short fuse were not uncharacteristic for Jane, as is perhaps obvious from the nickname 'Hurricane Jane' – not that anyone dared to use it in front of her, everyone valued their lives too much to risk inducing the wrath of Jane.

However, recently Jane had been in a mood significantly worse than her normal self, and whilst Maura could usually ignore Jane's usual demeanour, she found that she was becoming increasingly annoyed at Jane's lack of patience and rudeness. No matter how often Maura attempted to discover what had put Jane in such a sour disposition, Jane could only tell her that she couldn't shake the feeling something bad was going to happen. Whilst Maura didn't understand how the intestinal area could provide one with any form of instinct, she had frequently watched Jane's trust in her gut pay off and more than once it seemed to be Jane's intuition that had provided them with the leads and evidence needed to solve their cases. With this in mind, Maura sensed her annoyance at Jane's mood beginning to change into concern and worry. What if there truly was a storm brewing and one heading in their direction?

"FUCK'S SAKE!"

The exclamation drew Maura out of her thoughts and she once again focused her attention on Jane. She couldn't stop a giggle escape at the sight she encountered. Jane was frantically pressing switches and turning dials on her new coffee machine, and in her desperation for her morning coffee, had knocked over the jar, sending coffee beans flying all over the counter and onto the floor. Having not known Maura was there, the sound of her giggle startled Jane causing her to jump immediately into a position ready for whatever attack was about to come.

When her mind had finally caught up with the situation and she realised that it was just Maura, Jane dropped her defensive stance and felt her face immediately break out into a smile. Despite her awful mood lately, brought on by a lack of sleep from the feeling that something awful was heading their way, Jane couldn't prevent the grin that always appeared with Maura's presence.

Remembering, the situation which had elicited the sweet sound from her best friend, Jane quickly forced a scowl onto her face, shooting it in Maura's direction. When Maura simply raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow in response, Jane reverted to her childhood self.

"Maaaauuuurrrraaa", she whined, "all I want is a cup of coffee before I have to deal with whatever shit we're called in for today and I can't even have that because of your damn coffee machine. The thing hates me!"

"Language Jane. And it is impossible for the coffee machine to hate you, it is a mechanical object that has no emotions." Ignoring Jane's childish grumbling and sighs, Maura set about making coffee for the both of them, knowing that Jane would have a face like thunder for the entire morning if she didn't have at least one cup before they were called into work.

The two women finished their drinks in a comfortable silence, one worrying about the gloomy disposition that had settled over her, the other worrying about her friend and the obvious lack of sleep. Engrossed in their own thoughts, neither realised just how close they were sitting to each other and both were startled when their phones rang, causing them to bump into each other. Sharing a look, they mentally readied themselves for the day ahead.

"Rizzoli"

"Isles"