It Takes Two To Tangle

Chapter 1

I don't own them…but should someone want to give me them, I won't refuse. Spoilers are for "Boston Strangler Redux." It was the inspiration for this piece. Please review. I was tentative about writing this, and I'm not sure if I should continue, but I'm a sucker for first time stories. PS: I made Jane slightly older than 30. To me it seems more accurate.

It was close to the end of a ten hour shift when Jane swaggered into the autopsy suite, arms laden with evidence from the warehouse, expecting to find Maura elbow deep in the latest victim's corpse."Hey Maur, would you mind taking. . ." Jane halted mid-sentence, consumed with the feeling that someone had unexpectedly slapped her face. There was Maura Isles, molded to Detective Frost's body, with one hand pressed to his back, and her other hand resting on his. A fresh corpse lay on the table beside them.

Jane's mouth fell open, and her eyes widened. She nearly dropped the items she was carrying. She set them down slowly, her hand now resting on her waist as she wondered what emotion was registering on Frost's face. She asked herself, "Was it guilt for having been caught in a compromising position? Nope. Was it fear because I'm going to dismember him? Nope." Suddenly she realized, "Yep, it's relief." Frost nervously spun toward his partner to reveal a scalpel in his hand.

Maura grinned, "Jane, I was just helping Detective Frost find his morgue legs."

Jane released the breath she was holding. Upon discovering the actuality of the situation, she knew that Frost was about to faint or lose another meal; she took it as an opportunity to hide her surprise and increase his discomfort. "Hey, don't let me disturb you." She folded her arms across her chest and nodded in encouragement. "Go ahead Frost-dig in." She even picked up a nearby jar that contained a perfectly preserved eyeball and shook it in his direction as she spoke. Barry scrambled out of the suite, moving as if his pants were on fire.

He yelled over his shoulder, "Thanks Dr. Isles. Maybe we can continue some other time."

The depth of Jane's dimples as she laughed at her fleeing partner was lost on Maura. She looked downtrodden as she tried to justify how she blew yet another date last night by diagnosing him with a potentially fatal disease. "Jane, don't look at me like that. Imagine how I would feel knowingly passing defective genes on to any potential offspring, or how terrible it would be to watch a partner suffer when I could have done something about it." Still, her inability to stop herself unnerved her more than diagnosing her dates.

"I'm sorry." Jane wrapped her hand around Maura's arm. The lanky detective tried to express empathy for her friend, but secretly, guiltily, she was happy the date failed. Months ago, she realized she was steadily becoming more and more attracted to the quirky doctor, but based on experience, she convinced herself it would be unwise to act on her feelings. So, there she remained in limbo, hopelessly falling for Maura, but paralyzed to do anything about it, and selfishly not wanting her to be with anyone else.

Jane stuffed her conflicting feelings down, resigning herself to a perpetual state of confusion and hesitancy mixed with a screaming desire to kiss Maura. Frustrated, she ran her hands through her long, raven hair. She stood across from her friend, joking about Frost needing an antacid. Maura gave a faint smile that made her eyes sparkle and Jane's legs weak. Together they unpacked the evidence, and carefully examined each item.

"M, there's nothing here. I'm going back to the bullpen. I'll see you later."

The sudden, earlier look of shock on Jane's face did not go unnoticed by Dr. Maura Isles. She had seen it a few times before when someone other than Jane herself had come physically close to her. It perplexed her; on the surface it seemed territorial, protective, rooted in attraction, intriguing, but yet furtive. Maura had slept on and off with a woman while in medical school. She considered it her one moment of indiscretion-two stressed, over-worked students, physically attracted to one another letting off steam with no expectation of commitment. So she understood the nature of same sex attraction, but wasn't sure that was what she saw in Jane—though she would welcome it if it were.

Maura knew that a relationship with Jane would be worlds away from her college fling. With Jane, she would be invested. She was the only person Maura had ever achieved a deep emotional connection with, and taking it to the next level was appealing, but would the stoic detective give herself permission? Maura whispered to herself, "Jane Rizzoli, I do not understand you." She shook her head making a mental note to give her best friend's reaction more thought when she had the time.

Maura came up to the bullpen half an hour later, looking almost shy as she approached Jane's desk. The detective sat slumped forward; face buried in her hands, hungry and exhausted. She didn't lift her head when she heard Maura's high heeled approach, but she spoke.

"Let me guess. You think it's time to call it quits. You're hungry, and you want to go to Jake's for a steak, a glass of cabernet, their roasted potatoes, and creamed spinach."

Maura pulled her head back so that her chin was resting near her neck. "Yes, but how did you know?"

Jane spread her fingers to peek out between them. "I'm a detective. Besides, I want that too…..except for the cabernet. Beer me, please." Maura laughed. Minutes later they were in Jane's car and on their way.

They sat at a back table in the dimly lit restaurant. They talked, laughed, teased and joked. Occasionally their hands would brush, or their eyes would meet longer than necessary when conveying a point. These moments were cherished because they were devoid of work related issues, descriptions of dead bodies, talk of hovering parents, failed romances, and the dark side of human nature.

Between bites Maura said, "Jane, I felt terrible for Detective Burns when he tripped in the morgue and landed in the bio-hazard box."

Jane snorted, "M, that man has the worst luck in the world, and he knows it. The first and last time he played softball with us, he was getting into his batting stance and split his pants wide open! He was wearing Sponge Bob boxer shorts for Christ's sake."

Maura's laughter spilled forth like a cascading waterfall. She reached over and grasped Jane's hand. "Jane please stop, please I can't breathe." The rest of the evening passed in much the same light hearted way.

By the time dessert arrived, Jane couldn't help her eyes raking over Maura's body. The curve of her neck and the swell of her breasts above the crest of her dress made Jane's mind wander. She promised herself she wouldn't think about Maura sexually, but it was becoming increasingly agonizing not to. Every time she was with Maura, she wanted to touch or kiss her. She dated quite a few women in her early twenties, but she always found herself involved with ones who were more talk than substance. The most painful part was finding out after she'd fallen in love. By age twenty six she went back to dating men exclusively. It proved about as successful as dating women had been, but it hurt less because she expected less. She kept telling herself, "I'll marry the one who disappoints me the least." But by age thirty three, eleven blind dates and four boyfriends later, Jane was infinitely disappointed.

As dinner drew to a close, Maura, giddy from the company, and a bit intoxicated from the three glasses of red wine, was finally settled enough to interpret Jane's behavior toward her. It was definitely attraction mixed with a strong dose of protectiveness and something else Maura wasn't accustomed to seeing in potential partners. She never saw it in the woman she was with in college, nor did she ever see it in Garrett, but she did see it in herself. When she fell in love with Garrett, she saw that look in her own eyes. It was devotion, loyalty, trust, desire, and friendship all woven together.

Maura sat up poker straight in her chair feeling a bit smug. Sexy, smart, sarcastic, infuriating, beautiful Detective Rizzoli was falling for her.