Disclaimer: All recognizable Rizzoli & Isles characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners including, but not limited to Tess Gerritsen. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this fan fiction story. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No financial gain is associated with the publishing of this story. No copyright infringement is intended.

Author's Note: It's been awhile, for which I have no excuse except that life gets in the way. I would like to personally thank the author charactersthatholdmyheart for chapter 22 of her fic "Fragmented Moments." It was moving and truly urged me on to continue writing about these beautiful, complex characters. You'll find this story fits in after the winter finale—assuming Jane has said no to Casey and he has moved on. Also, there's Frost. I can't seem to let go of him and I likely won't until the show has moved on without Lee Thompson Young. This piece is rated M for strong language (how I imagine Jane Rizzoli really talks) and sexual content. I'll likely post it in 2 or 3 parts. Enjoy! -dkc

Cold Case

(Part One)

Detective Jane Rizzoli had never been as furious about a case. She had pushed the suspect too far and he immediately lawyered up. She stormed out of the interrogation and stomped through the bullpen. After slamming her badge down on her desk, it came as no surprise to Frost to find Jane in the middle of a profane tirade when he reached her.

"Son of a bitch!" she pushed her desk chair hard against the wall.

"Jane..." Detective Frost began, but had no idea what to say to calm his enraged partner.

"Fucking bastard!" Jane fumed.

Frost and every other person in Jane's life knew that she had been more edgy in the last two months. The departure of one Casey Jones certainly had something to do with it, at least from the outside looking it that seemed the likely culprit.

Dr. Isles happened to walk into the bullpen as Jane was kicking the garbage can. The two women made eye contact before Jane stalked toward the break room. The door slammed behind her. Maura and Frost shared a knowing look, Maura putting a palm up to assure Frost that he didn't need to go after her, before the doctor made her way toward the closed door that hid the angry detective.

"Jane?" Maura closed the door behind her and leaned against it, watching as the coffee creamer went flying across the countertop.

"I know better! I'm a fucking idiot! That son of a bitch was about to talk. Dammit!" Jane shoved a chair out of her way as her unruly hair fell across her face.

"It will be fine. Don't beat yourself up," Maura said quietly as she took tentative steps toward her best friend.

Jane continued to mutter words Maura hardly approved of.

"Jane…" Maura took another step forward, reaching a hand out to touch the back of Jane's arm as the detective continued to stand with her back to the doctor.

Jane stilled for a moment, placing her hands on the countertop, bracing herself. After a moment of silence, she pounded her fist on the counter.

"Fuck!" that single work likely was heard far beyond the door of the break room.

"Look at me," Maura's voice was calm, even.

When Jane turned around the worry on Maura's face made her anger escalate. Here was this woman who had complete faith and trust in her and here she was having completely botched the questioning of the suspect. She hated to disappoint people, Maura especially.

"We could have had him, Maura. I was this fucking close," Jane tilted her head back, looking up at the ceiling. "Dammit!"

The cursing continued and Jane told Maura not to try to tell her there were ways around this and they weren't completely and utterly screwed. The tirade continued while Maura was having no luck whatsoever at calming Jane or holding her attention.

"Dammit, Jane!" Maura blurted.

Maura's curse was enough to get Jane to lower her head to look at the smaller woman, but what stilled the tirade completely were the doctor's plump lips connecting with the detective's. Jane was momentarily stunned, not moving or responding for several seconds until her mind caught up with the moment and she took a step back from Maura.

"What the hell was that?" Jane's face was that of surprise, no longer of anger.

"I had to get you to shut up and I wasn't about to slap you," Maura answered matter-of-factly.

"So you thought you should kiss me?" Jane raised an eyebrow.

"It worked didn't it?" Maura couldn't contain a smirk any longer.

"Yes, I guess it did," Jane chuckled.

Maura let out a chuckle herself before taking a seat in one of the chairs around the break room table. Jane leaned back against the counter, running her hands through her wild hair.

"Would you like to go with me to Middlefield to consult on that case?" Maura asked.

Maura, as Chief Medical Examiner for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, was occasionally called in to advise on cases outside of Boston. The case in Middlefield was a cold case that had recently turned up new evidence after nearly fifteen years of no leads. The small police department in Middlefield didn't even have a medical examiner, relying on the state and local morticians in death cases.

"What would I do?" Jane asked.

"My understanding is that the Chief of Police has only two or three officers. None of them are detectives. I'm sure your skill set would be useful," Maura responded.

"My skill set?" Jane smiled.

"You know what I mean," Maura rolled her eyes.

"It would probably be a good idea for me to get away from this case here for a few days," Jane admitted. "How long will you be out there?"

"I'm leaving in the morning and will be there until I have to fly to D.C. for that medical conference on Saturday," Maura had agreed to give a presentation in D.C. or otherwise would have skipped the conference entirely.

"They won't miss me for three days," Jane insisted, settling the matter.

Maura thought that of course the BPD would miss her, but didn't voice this. She was too pleased that Jane was coming with her. And she was attempting to not think about what kissing Jane had felt like. Whether it would ever happen again was something she tried not to dwell on, but she knew that since Casey's proposal to Jane, there was hardly a time that she wasn't thinking about Jane.

"Explain to me why we have to fly to Connecticut to get to a city in Massachusetts?" Jane complained as the two women stepped out of the airport and saw a Middlefield Police Department car parked out front.

"We could drive for over three hours from Boston or fly for thirty minutes and drive for an hour to Middlefield. It was the logical choice," Maura explained.

"If you were going alone would you have flown?" Jane asked as she picked up Maura's bags and began walking toward the police car.

Maura stopped to look at Jane while she considered this. No, she would never put this kind of expense on the department. However, after kissing Jane she wasn't sure how awkward a car ride might have been and she also knew how impatient Jane could be in the car. However, she didn't voice any of this to Jane.

"I have to fly to D.C. on Saturday, it made sense to simply fly from here," Maura said, earning her a look from Jane that told her the detective wasn't convinced.

"Dr. Isles?" A tall black man appeared beside the police car they had been walking toward.

"Chief Whitman?" Maura answered, reaching out a hand to shake his.

"Please, Rob," he smiled graciously.

"Rob, then. This is Detective Jane Rizzoli of BPD," Maura introduced Jane.

"Chief," Jane said as she, too, shook his hand.

"When Dr. Isles emailed to say you would be joining us, I was pleased to know we would have the state's best detective on our case," he said.

"She is the best," Maura answered the chief.

"Should we get on the road?" he asked, taking Maura's bag and opening the trunk of the cruiser.

"Please," Maura climbed into the front seat as Jane held the door open for her.

The ride to Middlefield was informative as Chief Whitman went over the case with Jane and Maura.

Fifteen years earlier a young man had gone missing. His sister walked into their home to find an excessive amount of blood on the floor of the living room. No body was ever found, but the initial investigation determined that the blood was that of the young man and the blood loss would have been fatal. Nothing ever came of the investigation and it went cold after only six months. The small police department relied on the state medical examiner's office for the majority of the forensics and couldn't put the manpower on the case that would have followed it over the past fifteen years. However, all of that changed when a week ago, bloody clothing turned up and was determined to be that of the missing young man.

"I would like you both to meet the Morrow family before we go to the station. Katie was who found the crime scene that night. She has stayed in touch with the department over the years, never letting go of her brother or the case," the chief said as he pulled the cruiser into the driveway of a small farmhouse.

After introductions, Katie Morrow retold the story of that night. It was heartbreaking. She had never healed from the trauma of that night and it was written all over her face.

They had explained to the Morrow family what they hoped to accomplish and listened. Maura looked over and noticed Jane clenching her teeth several times. She wished she could reach a hand out to place over Jane's. It was a desire not entirely foreign to Maura, no matter how much she tried to convince herself otherwise.

The three said their goodbyes and walked out of the small farmhouse. Jane walked back to the car in silence. They reached the police station in a matter of minutes where they were introduced to two officers, apparently the only other members of the force in Middlefield. The chief showed Jane and Maura to a small office the chief had made available for them while they were in town working on the case. Case files had been copied and were spread out in the small office. In the main conference room of the department, Maura asked if they might have some time to acquaint themselves with all of the evidence and then they could regroup in a few hours.

Jane walked away from the group and into the small office. Keeping her back to the door as she heard Maura enter and close it, she wasn't revealing how gut wrenching she had found the visit to the Morrow's home.

"Jane? Are you okay?" Maura asked quietly.

"God, Maura. I can't imagine her pain," Jane turned toward Maura, the anguish starting to break through the tough façade the detective had developed.

"I know," Maura whispered as she stepped forward and reached for Jane.

"Oh, god," Jane turned into Maura's arms, her head and tears falling to Maura's shoulder. "I can't believe I'm reacting this way."

"It's why you're a great detective. You care," Maura whispered.

"You're going to regret bringing me out here," Jane chuckled into Maura's hair.

"Never," Maura smiled as she continued to hold Jane.

For a moment there was a spark shared between them that they both fought. Maura's arms around Jane made Jane feel safe, something she had always known. However, this time she felt something else. It was the same feeling in the pit of her stomach she had felt when she saw the look on Maura's face when she told her best friend that Casey had proposed. There was something there.

Both women were startled by a knock on the office door. Jane stood to her full height, wiping at her tears and taking a step back from the M.E.

"Dr. Isles?" the chief's deep voice came through the door.

"Yes, sir?" Maura said as she opened the door.

"We have a call we need to go out on, but in a few hours, the officers and I usually get together at this bar across town for drinks and dinner. Would you two like to join us?" He asked.

"That sounds great," Jane answered for them both.

"Fantastic. We should be back after awhile. Help yourself to anything you might need. We are thrilled to have you," the chief said as he made his way out of the small station.

Jane and Maura settled into their makeshift office and began reading through the case files. This was not going to be an easy case to solve.

To be continued