Hi all! Just to be very very clear: this is not a sequel to Playing with Fire. It is a few random ideas that will fit into that story that didn't get included for whatever reason. They will most likely be a lot more light hearted than that story turned out to be. I have no idea how many chapters this will go to. The chapters may or may not end up being related to each other. I will explain each one as I post it. Enjoy!
OK, so this first piece of randomness occurs sometime in the month or so where Maura is back at work before everything hits the fan. It just felt wrong not to have something about baseball in a Rizzoli and Isles story. Let's just pretend Jane didn't have a broken wrist for the purposes of this story!
The Baseball game
Jane felt torn. She had been put in an awkward position and was stuck as to the right thing to do.
On the surface the problem was simple. They were one short for their homicide baseball team and she needed to choose who to invite to join. The obvious choice was Nina; she was their new hire, she was young and fit, she would benefit from the bonding. If Jane was being reasonable and fair she should invite her right now and get it over with.
But Maura was a vampire. She had super speed and strength which nobody else knew about. With some practice she could hit a homerun from any pitch. Maura could guarantee that homicide would wipe the floor with the DCU team.
And Jane really wanted to win.
With a heavy sigh she made her decision. She sent an apologetic glance towards the BRIC before heading for the morgue.
Maura was working on her computer. Jane was struck with how comfortable she looked, almost back to normal. As she knocked Jane put on her most winning smile and leaned on the door frame casually.
Maura took one look at her and smirked. "Whatever it is, my answer is probably no."
Jane put on the best horrified expression she could muster. "Dr Isles, did you just guess?"
Maura was still smiling. "No, I am extrapolating from years of experience with you coming here and making that face that you are about to ask me to do something I don't want to do. Also I can hear your heart beating faster than normal, which combined with your attempt to look casual makes me think what you are about to ask me is possibly morally dubious as well.
Jane rolled her eyes. She could hardly fool Maura before she had super powers, she had no chance now. "Fine, but I think you might enjoy this. I want you to come join the homicide baseball team."
Sure enough Maura's eyes lit up. "Really? You'd let me play?"
Jane smiled, Maura's enthusiasm so contagious that she dropped her teasing. "Yes, you'd be great on the team. I know I didn't want you and your science buddies to play before, but…well things change I guess."
Maura deflated slightly. "Oh, I see. You only want me to play now because my new abilities mean I might not embarrass you."
Jane knew she'd stepped in it. "No, I'm sure you'll still embarrass me, but you'll also make sure we win!" She brought the winning smile back, hoping Maura might let her off the hook. Sure enough she saw a reluctant smile spread over her friend's face as she gave in.
Maura sighed melodramatically. "Well since you asked so nicely, I suppose I could try. Oh, but wait, I can't, I'd have to go outside in daylight!"
Jane smirked. "Remember what you wore the first time I let you play? Add some gloves and a hat to that and you're good to go."
Maura thought for a moment before smiling and clapping her hands excitedly. "You're right! I still have the suit, I'll get it out tonight and we can do a test run tomorrow!"
Jane almost bounced out of the room and back to her desk. The DCU team wasn't going to know what hit them.
The next day, which happened to be a Saturday, Jane and Maura drove out to an abandoned baseball field Jane had visited a few times as a kid. They found it still intact, overgrown but usable for their purposes.
Maura stepped out of the car already wearing her outfit, carefully checking the joins to make sure it was light tight. Jane covered a snort when she saw her friend; she looked ridiculous, but that had been true the first time she had worn the aerodynamic suit to a friendly game so there was nothing to be gained by bringing it up now. At least everyone would be so busy trying not to laugh at the suit that they might not notice how much Maura's game had improved.
Maura grabbed the bat they had brought and stepped over to the plate. "Okay, I'll start gentle and work my way up."
Jane couldn't help laughing this time. Maura was still using her ridiculous stance, the bat held exactly vertical. As she doubled over Maura relaxed her stance and crossed her arms in irritation.
"Jane, I thought we were practicing, what's so funny?" Jane held up a hand as she tried to get herself under control. Taking a calming breath she walked over to Maura.
"Okay, if we're going to convince everyone that you suddenly got really good at baseball rather than suddenly getting super powers you need to change your stance so it looks normal. Come on, copy what I'm doing."
Jane bent over into her usual stance, miming the presence of a bat. Maura huffed in irritation before obeying, her position looking unnatural but still better than her 'optimal batting stance'.
Jane shook her head before returning to the pitcher's mound. She checked that Maura was still in the proper stance before winding up and throwing a moderately paced ball.
Jane almost felt the crack as Maura belted the ball. Her movement didn't suggest a great amount of force, but Jane craned her neck to follow the ball as it arced well over the outfield, landing several hundred feet away. She looked back at Maura with an amazed look.
Maura sounded contrite. "Sorry, I was trying to be gentle! I got carried away!"
She disappeared as she ran after the ball, reappearing at Jane's side holding the ball out apologetically. Jane just smiled. "We're so going to win."
They practiced for a few hours before Jane was too tired to continue. Maura had managed to get control of the speed of her swing and make it look natural; she was ready for a real game.
The first game was the following Saturday. Jane awoke to the smell of coffee brewing and smiled, knowing she would find Maura in her kitchen. Sure enough when she staggered out she was there, holding a cup of coffee out to Jane and bouncing excitedly with a huge smile on her face. Jane smiled as she muttered her thanks, putting a gentle hand on Maura's shoulder to try to calm her down. She was completely unsuccessful.
Maura was just too thrilled to have something to participate in that would be improved by her vampirism. There had been far too many negatives in her life lately, it was time for her to have some fun.
Maura rode with Jane to the field. The rest of the team had been informed that she was joining them, but she hadn't been able to come to a team practice, so they were understandably nervous to have her in the mix. The DCU team were in fine form as always, shouting insults at the pair before they had even gotten out of the car.
Jane rolled her eyes. "Okay, we just have to ignore the trolls, agreed? They'll shut up once they see you play."
Maura could unfortunately hear everything that was being said, including a few muttered statements that were meant to go unheard. She felt a jolt of indignation and disgust when she heard a comment from one of the detectives, Cameron James. Her emotions were written loudly on her face, causing Jane to lunge over and grab her arm.
"Whoa there Maura, what just happened? What did I miss?"
Maura realised Jane hadn't heard him and took a breath to calm down. "Nothing, I wasn't meant to have heard that, never mind."
Jane caught on and looked around. "Which one?"
Maura shook her head, putting on her gloves and hat. "As I said, never mind. Trash talk is an accepted part of sporting competitions, and if I want to participate I need to be able to ignore them and maintain my performance. Are you ready?"
Jane was a little unsure, having seen the outraged look on Maura's face. She was slightly worried that James might end up with a bat wrapped around his head if he kept it up, but it was too late; Maura was already walking towards the dugout.
The homicide team ended up batting first. Korsak batted first, getting a hit and making it to first. Jane was up second and got a solid hit, getting Korsak to third and herself to second. Frankie was up third and ended up getting a walk to first after a wild pitch almost took his helmet off. Then it was Maura's turn.
As she stepped up to the plate she could see the fielding team break out in fits of laughter. She could hear several comments about her outfit, two about her stance, and one from James which made her temper flare brightly. She looked over at him, covering third base, with narrowed eyes. He was muttering quietly, but Korsak seemed to realise the general tone of his remark and turned around in outrage. Maura saw James step back with his arms raised and Korsak turned back to watch the pitch. She saw James smirk again before she shifted her attention back to the pitcher.
It was a fast pitch, high and close. She stepped back slightly, carefully positioning her bat to angle the ball exactly where she wanted it to go. The ball connected with a satisfying clang and she was running, glancing after the ball as she moved.
The ball cannoned towards third base, narrowly missing Korsak and catching James unaware, the missile striking his manhood with a sickening crunch. James folded over onto the ground, his pained whimpers clearly audible. Korsak winced as he ducked back, then started running for home. The rest of the men on the field winced as well, a collective groan echoing around the ground. Jane smirked at James as she passed, making sure to kick some dirt on him as she headed for home.
By the time Jane had made it to home base the pitcher had managed to get over to the ball and stand on third, stopping Frankie from making it any further. Maura had easily made it to second base, a victorious smile plastered across her face. Jane smiled at her and applauded quietly. They both turned to watch James being helped off the field by a few of his teammates, his face bright red and his breathing laboured. Maura could tell that nothing was permanently damaged, but after the comments she had overheard she couldn't say she regretted her revenge.
The rest of the game was uneventful, since the rest of the players had gotten the message and not another word was said about Maura. Homicide came away with a resounding victory thanks to Maura, with DCU only getting one run. The disappointed muttering from the defeated team was much more satisfying to hear than the insults at the start of the game, and Maura felt completely buoyed by the success of the day.
The homicide team headed to the Robber for drinks as usual after the game. Jane persuaded Maura to join them even though she couldn't drink, citing a team tradition that couldn't be broken as the winning argument.
Maura arrived later than the rest of the team, needing to go home and change out of her aerodynamic suit into some more normal clothes. When she finally walked into the bar she was met with a resounding cheer from her teammates, bringing a surprised and happy smile to her face.
Jane swaggered over and grabbed her arm, pulling her into the middle of the team. "Here she is boys, our secret weapon! To Maura!"
Everyone raised their glasses. "TO MAURA!"