Author's note: disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Rizzoli & Isles. This is my first Rizzoli & Isles fan fiction and my second story ever. If you enjoy it, I will write and upload more chapters. Please feel free to review the story and help me improve as a writer!

With every time that her feet hit the ground, every meter that she covered, every muscle in her legs working to push her further along her (their) usual route, Jane's thoughts started to wander and yet simultaneously focused on that one issue: Maura. Running was simply not the same without her best friend, but what was she supposed to do? Sit at home, moping and eating greasy pizza until she got too fat and out of shape to do her job? No; the least she could do on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, which usually would have, should have been spent with Maura, was moping while running. Maura. Suddenly, Jane felt like she could not breathe any more, like all the air had been sucked from her lungs, making her stop abruptly and raise her arms above her head in desperate need for oxygen. A fellow runner, the one Maura had once dubbed "The Arm Swinger" (Actually, her innocent suggestion had been "The Swinger", which had given Jane one of the endless laughing fits that were such a welcome part of their friendship), slowed down to offer help but Jane signaled him she was gonna be okay. Maura. Friendship. Was she really gonna be okay, though? Nope, running was definitely not the same without her best friend, but now that she had started her round, she had to finish it, no matter what; so Jane managed to take a deep breath at last and started running again, slower this time.

The first thing the detective did upon entering her small apartment was checking her cell phone.

"Hey, one can still hope for miracles, right?" Jane mumbled to Jo Friday, her currently hysterical little dog. "I was gone for an hour, and you pretend like you haven't seen me in weeks". Well, at least somebody actually missed her. She almost dropped her phone when it rang in her hands. Could it be? No, it was work.

"Korsak, what's up? Great timing, by the way; I just got back from running." Jane kicked off her shoes and listened to her colleague while searching for a cold beer in the fridge. She was just about to open the last one, when Korsak finished his little monologue and told her she needed to come in on her weekend off. "Give me 30 minutes, Vince, I still gotta shower. See you at the crime scene." She tossed her phone on the counter and practically ran into the bathroom, already taking off her clothes and dropping them on the floor carelessly.

While the hot water soothed her tightened muscles, Jane sighed and wondered if she could hide in her shower forever, never having to go to work ever again. What she dreaded wasn't solving yet another homicide on her free day but having to do it at all. A homicide meant a dead body; a dead body meant the presence of a medical examiner. And that would most likely be Maura. It was not like she did not want to see her best friend; she simply could not stand the cold and unforgiving atmosphere, the feeling of being ignored, of being reminded of how she lost Maura as a friend, as a companion, as her back up, all in a single night.

When Rizzoli finally got to the crime scene, the backyard of a large office building, Korsak and her little brother Frankie were already leaning over the victim, staring alternately at the body and the Chief Medical Examiner of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Dr. Maura Isles. Of course she had to be assigned to this case! Akwardly, Jane joined her two colleagues and tried to appear as professional as possible.

"What happened here?" The question was not directed at anybody in particular, but Jane hoped for a reaction from Maura. It was, however, Korsak with his fine sense for people's feelings and awkwardness in the air, who replied:

"Vic is Gregory Johnson, CEO of Shield, the company that owns the building behind us. A member of the cleaning staff found him like this. Uniforms are taking her statement right now. I think it's safe to say that he died from falling off the roof of the building; right, Dr. Isles?"

"You know, I don't like to guess. But…" Maura looked from Korsak to Frankie, without giving Jane as much as a glance. "It's fairly safe to say without the autopsy that yes, COD may be a broken neck from falling from the roof."

"Do we know if he fell, jumped or got pushed?" Jane knew very well that she would never get an answer besides 'after the autopsy' from Maura, but at this point, she longed for any answer at all. An acknowledgement, some sign that her former best friend still cared for her.

"We do not know anything about the circumstances of this gentleman's death yet. It is obviously a suspicious death but to what degree I cannot tell until I have conducted a proper autopsy," Maura responded, still ignoring Jane's very presence. "Let's get him to the morgue and soon I will be able to tell you more, Vince." Maura got up, took off her latex gloves and waved at her assistants to bag the body and prepare its transport, before turning away without a word of goodbye.

"Phew, thank god this wasn't awkward at all," Frankie whispered to his sister, who shot him one of her famous glares of death in response. In turn, he hugged her and kissed her on the head. "She'll come around, you know. You two are best friends, nothing in this world can keep you apart."

"I'm not so sure, Frankie. It's never been like this. I mean, we have fought before and yes, there was this horrible period of time where we didn't talk at all but this time, it feels different. It feels… serious," Jane was close to tears and quickly pulled her brother towards her car, away from the crime scene. "I must have really hurt her this time, and I don't even fully understand what the hell I did. I was just doing my job!"

"Of course you did, Jane, but you also did jump off that bridge, right in front of Maura. From what she told me, she was sure you had jumped to your death; she was so scared for you, Jane." Frankie explained as he sat in the passenger seat.

"I still don't get it, though. Why would she be mad at me for saving that guy? It's my job to protect people and that job is dangerous; Maura knows that. And it's never been a problem. Hell, I even shot myself once and she didn't stop talking to me at all. So why now?" Jane felt the tears creeping up and quickly got into her car, too. Vince was waving at her, gesturing that they would meet back at the office.

"Janie, I really don't know. I think she's the one you should be asking these questions, not me." Frankie shrugged and looked at his older sister apologetically.

"I tried. I asked her what the hell was up but she only told me that I wouldn't ever understand and that she simply could not do this anymore. That was right before she kicked me out of her office, you know. It's been a month and I just really miss her. I mean, of course I see her at work but you just witnessed what that's like. If only I knew what I did wrong, I would change it if I could. I would beg for her forgiveness in a heartbeat." Jane hit the steering wheel with both hands and let out a sigh full of frustration. "Whatever, let's get back to the office and try to at least help the dead guy."

When the two Rizzolis entered the office after a silent car ride, the first and only thing they saw was the woman in Frost's chair, typing something into Frost's computer.

"Hey, what the hell do you think you're doing, lady?" Jane yelled, forgetting all respect whenever someone tried to touch Barry's things.

"I am so sorry, Detective. I was told that this was my new desk and I thought I'd get settled in before my team arrives," the blonde woman replied almost shyly.

"Your new team? Who? Who assigned you to this desk?" Jane stared at the stranger; surely this had to be a misunderstanding.

"Homicide, Detective. I was told to wait for Seargant Detective Korsak and who Lieutenant Cavanaugh referred to as 'the Rizzolis'. Am I using somebody else's computer? I'm sorry." The young detective looked visibly uncomfortable.

"No, you're not." Korsak had entered silently and smiled at the stranger. "This is Detective Jane Rizzoli and that is her younger brother, Detective Frankie Rizzoli. Welcome to the team, Detective Lewis."