"You shouldn't do that so much, it'll break", Maura tucked her hair back behind her ear as she lowered herself into the clunky old chair in Jane's apartment. Jane kicked at the refrigerator door again despite Maura's protestations, letting it bounce until she kicked it shut finally. The whole apartment was falling apart, Jane's neglect obvious on both a micro and macro level. The small things were dusty, while large things like piles of clothes were spread out everywhere in places they shouldn't have been. It depressed Maura, reminded her of when Jane was recovering from her gunshot, a time she never wanted to relive.

Maura looked at the dust bunnies resting by Jane's baseboards, at Jo Friday's sad expression as he puffed out in the bunny's direction, and watched them dance in front of his eyes. "Jane..." Maura started. Jane looked up quickly, catching Maura's eye for barely a split second before she ducked her head down again, her hands hiding her face completely. Under her hands, Jane rolled her eyes without intending to. Even though she knew Maura was only trying to help, Jane couldn't help but be annoyed that her best friend had to be so logical and practical at a time like this. It made it hard for Jane to feel comfortable feeling emotional around Maura, like she should also learn to keep things so well compartmentalized. Jane sometimes felt more afraid of herself around Maura, her protective streak making her want to remain composed enough to rescue them at all times, should anything come up. Something often did, especially when Jane let her guard down. But now it was over, right?

"Look Maura, it's just how it is, okay? There's nothing I can do about it, and there's nothing even you, with your gigantic egg head can do, either". They sat in silence for a little while, Jane's words hovering in the air between them, Maura's silence the evidence of her own frustration with Jane. How was Maura supposed to help with anything if Jane would never let her try? She could at least comfort Jane, if nothing else. Maura caught a bit of her lip between her teeth, worrying it slightly as she herself felt increasingly anxious. She sighed and mumbled halfheartedly "you know there is no correlation between the size of one's cranium and..."

Jane peeked through her hands again, a small smile twitching at the corner of her mouth, trying to escape. Slowly, Jane's hands opened to show her whole face, her eyes resting on Maura's hands across the table, mirroring her own. "I know he won't be coming back now, I just need some time to figure out who I am without him" Jane said, as she composed herself finally, straightening her posture and tucking her hair behind one ear. "I understand that. I just thought you should know that if you need anything, I'm here. We haven't really talked lately" Maura said hesitantly. Jane knew Maura was right, she hadn't felt like confiding in Maura much since Maura's true love came to town and completely changed the dynamic she thought they had. Jane couldn't rationalize her response to Dr. Africa, she only knew that something about Maura felt sneakier now, was less pure. Before, Jane had always thought of Maura as extremely intelligent but hopelessly naive. Now she knew better, and Jane knew better than to trust her fully. Just because the good Dr. himself was gone now, didn't mean Jane's memory of those half-truths and glaring omissions had faded yet. But Jane knew Maura was the closest thing she had to a best friend, and that wasn't worth throwing away by having some fight over some guy. That was just too ridiculous, would make their friendship too much of a stereotype; the female best friends arguing over a guy. So she held it in. This time Jane had to heal alone, and that would just have to be okay with everyone involved.

Maura just looked at Jane the whole time as she waited, counting the seconds as they passed, the vibe of the room becoming increasingly tense and strained. Jane finally lifted her eyes from Maura's hands to her face. Looking into Maura's eyes was hard for some reason, it made Jane flinch away involuntarily, like looking directly into the sun would. Sighing a little, Jane decided to accept the chore of making things right between them for the moment. Maura's silence always worried Jane, she was used to the constant array of seemingly random but oddly relevant bits of information Maura was usually constantly spouting off about it. "Hey, babe..." Maura kept her eyes even with Jane's in a still mask of practiced patience that suddenly melted away to one that showed relief when she heard Jane call her 'babe'. Jane's affectionate gaze always calmed Maura somehow, just the way Jane got those little lines of affection right under them when she looked at her made Maura feel safer; loved. Jane reached a bit further, tapped her finger against Maura's hand gently, almost as if by accident.

"I promise, I'm okay. Will you trust me?" Jane waited, but she didn't have to wait long. As if she had been waiting to hear those words, and to be released from the fear that they would never come, Maura felt even more intense relief rush through her. "Great! You know, it's nothing to be ashamed of, we all need a loving support system when we handle trauma". Jane almost chuckled a little in response to this, her nose crinkling up a little in amusement even though her voice itself stayed (almost) entirely serious, "well Doc, next time I almost lose my best friend to a crazy rapist serial killer pig because I can't get myself together in time, I will remember to ask for help from my loved ones". Maura let Jane make the joke, she laughed a little even, sat back in her chair and re-crossed her legs daintily. Maura could deal with Jane's sarcastic jokes, it was her pain that she had trouble with. Though Maura had never been good at knowing how to handle other people's emotions, the bad ones were the hardest. She valued her intelligence very highly, and it was only with Jane that Maura really wished she was different sometimes, that she could be better at understanding Jane's strong emotions and moods.

Jane's eyes swept over Maura a little anxiously, checking for injuries now that the weirdest moments had passed. "Are you okay? I mean, you can talk to me too, y'know?" Maura smiled a little at Jane, as if she thought Jane's concern was cute. "You can feed Bass for me if you want to, I am a little sleepy". "What?" Jane asked incredulously. This was not what she had been expecting when she offered Maura her support. "I'm sleepy, I'd like to go to bed now. Would you mind feeding Bass?" "Ummm...no, I guess not?" Jane said as she watched Maura lift herself up from the table, grab her tea cup and saucer, and head towards the sink. "I mean, but...isn't his food like right there?" Maura acted like she hadn't heard Jane at first, she rinsed the dishes and then wiped the counter efficiently. "Yes, you know I keep his food very easily accessible so that you can find it." Maura said as she turned toward her bedroom. "Are you staying here?" she asked Jane on her way out. "Yeah, okay, but can I have a couple of your fancy schmancy pillows? The ones with the fluffy middles and the firm outsides?" Jane looked like a kid when she talked about the pillows, and Maura couldn't help but be charmed. "Sure, come get them when you're done". Maura turned on her heel more sharply than she meant to, but she gracefully caught herself on the door frame. Jane grinned, but pretended not to notice, and began to rummage around for Bass's food. Why couldn't Maura do this herself again? Wasn't she standing right there? Jane sighed and reached for the carrot and tomatoes Maura had organized by ripeness for that day. They were neatly labelled according to Maura's eerily precise predictions of tastiness (due to the highest possible vitamin content at their highest moment of freshness). Jane thought there were too many "nesses" involved in the whole thing. Grabbing the closest vegetable tray, she plopped it down next to Bass's clunky shell, and looked around at the room. It was silent, empty, but the air that had been so thick before was becoming denser again somehow. Escaping it as quickly as she could, Jane grabbed her bag and made her way down the hallway.

The light by the head of the bed was the only one lit . Maura was reading something that looked dusty, with words like tiny ants crawling around on the pages. Jane wrinkled her nose, wishing for the millionth time that Maura would put a television in her room. They didn't have sleep overs very often anymore, but when they did, Jane spent a lot of time wishing there were more televisions around. The plain fact was that Maura didn't talk to Jane as much now either and Jane was bored a lot when they did have moments alone.

Jane looked outside of Maura's window, she saw the leaves flying past and noticed the sound of the branches tapping against the side of the house. It was somehow creepy and comforting at the same time. Comforting to be inside with Maura, cozy, and Hoyt free. "Jane. I was scared. I usually don't feel scared, I often just feel curious when things that scare other people happen, but I was scared this time". Maura looked up from her book and placed a fancy golden bookmark into the crease of the pages she had left off on. Jane came closer to Maura, just by a few inches, her feet sinking into the plush carpet as she neared the bed. The space seemed enormous between them.

"Even smart people get scared Maura. In fact, it's instinct, you of all people should know that". Jane continued, "it means you're smart enough to get out of the way when a boulder falls or a lion rushes at you". "Natural selection, very good, Jane!" Maura sounded more enthusiastic than she had intended to. "Really, Maura? 'Good job?'" Jane said as she stopped her speech about the laws of nature and looked peeved. Not knowing what she had done wrong, Maura looked hurt, and bit her lip again, the spots from her earlier nibbles starting to feel a bit sore as she did so. "You're going to give yourself a fancy new lip piercing if you don't stop doing that thing with your teeth" Jane advised Maura in a warmer tone. They both paused for a second.

"Sit" said Maura, patting the bed next to her. "There?" Jane asked incredulously, looking at the spot so very close to Maura's side, it was just a bit too close, she thought. Maura nodded, smiling a little finally. Seeing that smile, Jane knew she couldn't refuse. She sat down on the bed next to Maura, her long legs swinging off of the side of the bed, her torso turned slightly towards Maura. "Hey" Maura said softly, taking Jane's closest hand in hers. "We'll both be able to function much more effectively if we get some REM. Let's just try to sleep now, okay?" Jane could see that Maura needed to know it was okay to relax now, so she nodded in agreement. "You stop biting your lip, and I'll let you keep your pillows". "You can have them, Jane, they don't suit my spine's natural alignment". "No thanks", Jane said as she stood up and brushed herself off. Maura handed Jane a pillow with a smile, "here", she pushed it at Jane playfully. Jane took the pillow with a grin, and exited the bedroom, their mutual 'goodnights' following her out of the bedroom door, down the hallway.

The next morning saw Maura up early in her running clothes. Jane was stilled snoring in the other room, the soft grumblings just audible through the thick wood door as Maura walked past. Maura stopped, listening to the evidence of Jane's rest. This was all she had wanted for Jane last night, and she was glad she had somehow been able to help Jane get it. A little smile played on Maura's lips as she slipped out of the house, breaking into a brisk jog and entering the sunrise's cold embrace.

Korsak and Frost were already in the office, munching on some treats by her desk, when Jane sauntered into the room. It had been her plan to act like nothing had happened when she came back from her mini-vacation, but Jane knew better than to expect that plan to be successful. Frost was the first to come towards her, his arms outspread as though he thought he would somehow be getting a hug from Jane. Jane shrunk back a little, giving Frost a look that said 'woah, buddy, what do you think you're doing?'. Frost stopped and smiled, moving one of his hands down and awkwardly clapping Jane on the arm with the other. "Good job, buddy!" he exclaimed. Jane just gave him a look, then glanced at Korsak. "What are YOU looking at?" Frost's eyes got big and he looked back at his fashion magazine "women's Spring styles for 2012", Korsak replied. Korsak knew how to handle Jane, he knew she didn't want compliments, and assurances could wait for later. "You should go down to the morgue, Maura would love to fill you in about the historical importance of this year's shoe collection". Korsak looked a little too excited about that "really? does she know anything about sling-backs? I don't get why they don't just put a whole back in..." Jane lifted an eyebrow at Korsak, then at Frost. Suddenly, she was grinning, "I think I missed you guys" Jane said, surprised at her own words, and broke into a small chuckle. "And on that note, would you like to see our newest puzzle?" Frost asked. 'Yes', Jane thought, 'this I can handle.' Frost shoved a file at her, the three off them gathered around Jane's desk, and they settled down into the morning's routine once again.

Jane stared at the pictures in front of her. So many cases passed their desks that it was hard to feel anything at all about some of the things she saw. In the beginning, she had been working entirely off of the passion she felt for police work, her eyes blinded to the worst parts. Somewhere around the time that she had shot herself, the lines between her own life and the lives of those she was sworn to protect became blurrier. Now that Jane had lain to rest the worst fear she had, losing someone she loved to Hoyt, she had imagined things would get better. Yet, the crime scene she was looking at stirred something in her that she thought was gone for good. The boy in the photos was only 6, he seemed almost to be smiling beatifically at the camera, immersed as he was in his own blood. Jane rubbed the bridge of her nose as she stared at his face. Her head dropped into her hands, her curls fell around her face, blocking the room from her view and vise-versa.

Frost's hand clamped down on Jane's shoulder with a firmness that could only be interpreted as "snap out of it". It was Frost's way of being kind, his quiet assurance that he was there and that she needed to buck up. Jane swept her hair back, straightened in the chair, and looked at Frost with an annoyed expression. "Hey, you doin' alright?" Frost asked hesitantly. Jane finished composing herself, "never been better. Can't beat a day that starts out with a dead kid", she grumbled. Korsak snorted from the other side of the room. "We're riding out to see the place now, you wanna come?" Frost asked. Jane pushed herself roughly up from the desk and replied, "Yeah, I need to see this myself. Maura coming?" Korsak smiled to himself at Jane's need for what he thought of as her 'comfort blanket', although he would never admit to having such thoughts to Jane. Frost shook his head 'no', but Jane seemed to be spaced out anyway, staring at the picture again as if she had forgotten what they were supposed to be doing. "C'mon", Frost said, as he once again dared to touch Jane (not always a good idea), pulling her lightly towards the door.

The room was dimly lit, only a small window by the door illuminated the bloody floor. The spot the boy had lain in was empty now, his body probably already stashed somewhere in Maura's deep freezes. Jane remembered the chicken cordon bleu sandwich she had given Maura to hold on to for her that morning, and shuddered. Not so hungry right now. Jane knelt next to the place where the six year old had died, her hand accidently brushing the carpet. Hearing the click of heels become louder and then fade as they entered the carpeted room, Jane turned towards the door. Maura was standing there, the contrast of the sun streaming in behind her creating an almost angelic scene as she minced into the room. Maura would not want to mess up any possible evidence for forensics, so she often gracefully tip-toed across crime scenes. "Hey" Jane said, catching Maura's eye. "Jane! I couldn't find you before you left, but I wanted to tell you what I found on our victim's body bicep…" Jane was curious now, she did not know Maura had even had a chance to look at the kid's corpse yet. "and…?" Maura was silent for a moment, her right hand nervously played with her hair. "…Later that same day…" Jane muttered. Never taken aback by Jane's rude comments, Maura finished her sentence, "he seems to have had a tattoo removed, but I can't tell what it was yet. It seems consistent with the practice of 'branding'. Perhaps he was considered property by someone, but I can't say yet." "Of course you can't," said Jane, as she placed her hands on her knees and used them to push herself up from her squatting position.

Suddenly a woman rushed into the room, past the tape and cops lined up outside. The woman's hand was clamped over her mouth, her eyes bugged out of her head. "Jasmine! NO!" she wailed, and preceded to sob heavily into her hand. Maura looked as though she wanted to comfort the woman but was also extremely uncomfortable, and unsure as to how. Jane walked over to the stranger and put an arm around her, leading her back out of the doorway. In the glaring sunlight, a stark contrast to the inside of the apartment, Jane could see how hard the woman's life had been on her physically. She couldn't have been more than forty, but her skin was rough and pebbled with the marks of hard times and worry. "You're pretty brave for barreling through all of those cops outside. I'm a detective in homicide, you can call me Jane. What's going on here? Who is Jasmine?" The woman looked confused and shocked for a second, but managed to hiccup out "Jasmine is my daughter". Jane didn't like to assume anything, so she took a minute to take this in. "We found a young boy here, but no there was no girl with him. As far as I know, your daughter is still alive. Can you tell me why you thought she might be here?" The woman should have looked more relieved, but she still looked terrified. "OH!" she clamped her hand tighter over her mouth. "I need you to tell me what's going on here, okay?" Jane tried her best to stay calm, but she wanted to shake the woman, to impart upon her how important it was for them to know as much as possible about what had happened, especially if there was another potential victim. "I…I think she might have been here yesterday. She came here sometimes after school when I wasn't able to get home in time from work". "Whose apartment is this? You must know them, or you wouldn't have let her come," Jane asked. The woman stared at the door to the apartment for a minute and the turned to Jane, looking suddenly determined, "my brother, it's my brother's apartment".

That night Jane spread the pictures out in front of her on the desk and tried to imagine the crime scene as it occurred. Maura was still in the lab, doing her best to figure out what had once been imprinted on the young boy's skin. Jane had gotten nowhere trying to find out where the boy came from and who his family was. They had even less information on the motive for the murder. Jane leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms across her chest, and using her foot against the desk to rock herself a little. Sometimes just sitting in a certain way helped her concentrate enough to see things she hadn't before. "Bbbbrrriiinggg" the phone startled Jane into almost falling from her precarious position, but she managed to stay upright as she reached for it. "Rizzoli!" she answered more loudly than she had intended to. Looking up, she saw Maura standing in the doorway, one arm clasped over some papers she held close to her chest. Jane cocked her eyebrow inquisitively at Maura, inviting her in silently while she listened to the person on the line. Maura moved quietly inside, settling herself in the chair opposite Jane. The expression on Jane's face turned from boredom to excitement as she listened to the person on the phone. Jane quickly scribbled something on to a piece of paper she found next to her. Not much for pleasantries, Jane got off the phone quickly, and thrust the paper at Maura. On it, a name was written: "Bill O'Reilly". Maura cocked her head at Jane, a small smile playing on the side of her mouth. "They found a cart of VHS and sound recordings of his shows out back, someone was trying to cart them away and got interrupted," Jane explained. Maura looked very curiously at the writing, and then brightened up again. "I found something. I can't tell you what it means exactly, but the scarring shows that three letters were tattooed on the boy's bicep. The first letter is obviously a 'F', but I can't guess what the others are," Maura said. Jane looked at Maura with impatience, "c'mon, Maura. I know you can tell me what they look like at least". Maura shook her head at Jane, her bouncy locks of hair following the movement. "I will say that the last two could be an 'a' and a 'g', but that is not conclusive," Maura replied. Jane looked very satisfied that she had been able to make Maura speculate, while Maura looked put out. "Congrats, doc. You just earned yourself a beer a la Jane". "Oh? I know I usually prefer the darker variety, but perhaps tonight we could go with a more amber wheat…" Maura trailed off a bit as Jane grabbed her by the jacket and pulled her out of her chair, towards the elevators.

At Jane's house, Maura curled up on the couch under an afghan. The weather was getting worse by the day and Jane didn't seem to believe in turning on the heat. "I'm figuring out this connection to Bill O'Reilly in the morning, I don't even want to know what he has to do with this," Jane announced from the kitchen as she popped open the cap to Maura's beer and brought it over. Maura looked up and smiled at Jane, receiving the glass bottle graciously. It was always special to Maura when Jane did the little things, like opening her beer for her and bringing it to her. Jane flopped down on the other side of the couch, noticeably far away from Maura. Although this made Maura's brow crinkle a bit, she was coming to expect the physical distance Jane was putting between them so regularly these days. Whatever it meant, Jane was still a good friend to Maura, and that was more than she could ask for. Jane rested her head back on the armrest and stared at her ceiling as Maura took some small sips of the beer. "Y'know, I hope this isn't one of those hate crimes. I hate hate." Maura almost spat out her beer in a giggle, "Jane, how can you say you despise an emotion that you yourself are projecting? Isn't that a bit hypocritical?" Jane lifted her head to see Maura, "yeah, I'm a hypocrite. Sue me," she said, as she leaned forward even more to take a big swig of her own beer. Jane rolled her eyes and rested her head back down on the couch. Maura wriggled a little towards Jane without realizing it, and then tucked her feet back underneath her when she noticed how close she was getting to the other woman's legs. Maura was suddenly very conscious of her proximity to Jane, an awareness she had noticed growing in her for a little while now. Jane seemed oblivious, lost in the case again perhaps. "May I sleep on your couch, I seem to be sleepier than I anticipated," Maura asked in a quiet voice. Jane lifted her head again and smiled at Maura "no, I'll take the couch. You can have the bed this time" she answered. Maura smiled to herself at Jane's thoughtfulness. The night rested easily around them, as they settled into their comfortable bedtime routines.

The next morning brought with it more harsh realities. Unable to come up with any other leads at all, Jane found it impossible to contact Bill O'Reilly through his team of annoyingly diplomatic staff. Jane was livid with frustration, and even Maura knew better than to approach her. Seemingly out of mid-air, a woman appeared in front of Jane's desk. She was in her late twenties, but obviously used to being respected and feared. Her long hair rested neatly against the lapels of her pinstripe fitted business jacket. The white dress shirt underneath it stopped just short of being inappropriately low cut, and a silver locket nestled itself between an amazing set of tits. Jane didn't even like women "like that", but she couldn't help but notice how well-put-together this woman was. Jane also couldn't help but notice that the woman was still standing there, as if she was expecting some sort of acknowledgement. Jane looked up at her, annoyed. "Hello Detective Rizzoli". "Yes? Can I help you?" Jane said pointedly back. "I've come here to find out why you are so interested in speaking to my client, Mr. O'Reilly. I am his lawyer, and I have been given the authority to represent him." That was all Jane needed to get really and truly pissed off. How dare this asshole send some woman to speak for him when a young boy had been murdered, and why would any woman want to work for such a pig in the first place. O'Reilly was not known for his respect for women as a whole. Yet Jane was somehow drawn to her, perhaps she just wanted to question her, ask her why. If so, Jane was in luck, because as far as questioning went, the woman was all she had to work with.

They went for coffee. Not to the usual place Jane went to, but to the posh place down the street. The hipster populated cafe's ironic placement of a deer's head creeped Jane out a little. Not that Jane wasn't used to hunting trophies, she had a few of her own, but this one seemed especially disturbing for some reason. Perhaps it was the woman in front of her who was really setting Jane at such unease. Returning with two coffees, the stranger sat down primly in the chair opposite Jane. "I am Amelia. I've been working for Mr. O'Reilly for three years now. He has given me permission to answer whatever questions you have that I deem appropriate. So go ahead, Detective". Amelia smiled a little wickedly at Jane over her cup, and Jane felt a weird weakness in her lower gut, almost a dizziness of sorts. "We found a lot of your client's radio and television shows at a crime scene recently. A young boy was killed, and we're looking for any connection, possible motive or relationship your client might be aware of between himself and…" Jane didn't know how to finish, couldn't remember why she would think Bill O'Reilly might know anything about her case. "…a murderous jerk who kills kids?" Amelia finished for her with smirk. Although it appeared that Amelia was trying to come off as amused by Jane's line of thought, she did not seem nearly as put off by it as Jane would have expected. "Well, yeah," Jane acknowledged. Amelia tossed her hair back and scooted closer to Jane. "Look, my client can be a bit of an asshole, even he will tell you that. But he's not really cut out for murder. Too lazy…and he gets a bad rap, you know?" Amelia looked intently into Jane's eyes, trying to disorient her. Jane stared back as hard as she could, but she couldn't help but to be a bit intimidated. Something about this woman threw Jane off of her normal game. She was obviously smart, and very aware of everything around her at all times. Jane was used to being the alpha hawk. Clearing her throat a little, Jane found herself admitting something to the woman that she didn't want to, "…we have no other leads" she stated quietly. The woman seemed to be finally thrown off her own game by Jane's sudden honesty. A look of sympathy crossed her face. Jane took that moment to sit up and reorient herself. "I don't know how your client is tied to this, but he is somehow. Our perp took special care of those tapes for a reason. There's a dead kid, more could be in danger, and I have nothing," Jane was finally able to say.

Amelia sat there, unsure of what to say. She had expected to just walk in and shut Jane's protestations down, as she dismissed their investigation into O'Reilly as intended slander. Now she couldn't help but be pulled towards Jane's unintentional admissions of ignorance, the emotion she could hear behind them. Amelia picked uneasily at a piece of string that was unraveling from her chest pocket. She could feel Jane's eyes on her, watching her bow her head, following down to the curves beneath her jacket as Amelia plucked at it. Unable to stop a slow blush, Amelia tried to feign confidence, saying, "I'm sure we'd be happy to answer any questions you have as long as my client is not being considered a suspect." Jane intentionally crossed her fingers beneath her chair, leaned forward, and growled more seductively than she had intended to, "we are not currently investigating either of you. However, that could change at any moment." Jane seemed to realize how sexually suggestive this sounded as she ended her sentence; her posture changed as she came to the realization. Trying to regain composure, brushing her hair back behind her ear, Jane sat up straight again. Amelia was also collecting herself, placing her cell phone and wallet back into the sleek, fashionable briefcase so symbolically linked to her profession. Jane stood, leaned with one hand against the chair she had recently occupied, and waited for Amelia to stand as well. They stood there in a semi-awkward silence for a moment, before Jane reached her hand out to offer it to Amelia. This was a new kind of moment, reminiscent of some of the feelings she had around Maura once in a while, but less familiar, less comfortable. Amelia met Jane's eyes and grip with equal intensity, giving an extra squeeze that Jane couldn't ignore. "Pleasure to meet you, Detective, despite the circumstances." Jane smiled at Amelia for the first time, the crinkles in the corners of her smiles growing deeper as she did so. "It was alright, for a murder investigation. You'll hear from me soon," Jane replied bemusedly. Amelia smiled back at Jane, turned on her heel, and headed out the door before Jane could say 'goodbye'. Standing there, the last several hours hit Jane all at once. Her stomach knotted as she thought of what Maura had been doing, a growing unease confusing her as she tried to figure out where to go next.

Frost was trying to figure out what Maura was talking about now. She'd been going on about bone structure in small amphibians for at least an hour, and he still had no idea what she was hinting at, or how it pertained to the investigation at hand. Jane's interruption was warmly welcomed, as she barreled into the morgue in her usual cavalier manner. Frost was visibly relieved by the interruption, turning towards Jane with a big grin. "That's my cue, have fun ladies", he said as he backed out of the room. Jane ignored Frost and strode over to Maura, more confidently than she had in a while. Maura noticed Jane's new demeanor, she hid a small grin with her hair as she cut into the young boy's foot. She had seen a glint of something shiny resting in the skin of his sole earlier while she had been explaining Occam's Razor to him. She couldn't help but notice that he had been paying more attention to the incisions she was making than to her words. Jane, however, was more interested in what Maura had to say. She stood there as though she expected something from Maura, her hand resting on her hip. "Yes, Jane?" Maura finally asked. "I spent all day with a spoiled brat teeny-bopper lawyer, you better have something for me", Jane spat. They were both surprised at the anger in Jane's voice. If she had time, Jane would have asked herself why she was feeling this sudden intense impatience with Maura, but she didn't have that time now. Afraid to make things worse, Maura did her best to answer Jane, "well, I'm sure now that the word spelled on our victim's body is "F.A.G.", and I've just noticed something in the sole of his foot that I was about to investigate before you arrived". Maura leaned down toward the corpse on the slab, her hair falling like a curtain between her and Jane. The quietness of Maura's voice helped Jane to collect her emotions, and she was able to calm herself enough to say her next words in an even tone, "that's great, really, it is". Jane threw one leg over the chair to the side of the wall near Maura, she hefted herself onto it. "Something about that woman, O'Reilly's lawyer, is just off. I don't know what it is…" Jane lost herself in her own thoughts. Maura cocked her head at Jane and moved a little closer, leaning against the metal table by the wall. "How does she make you feel?" Maura asked. Jane looked off into the corner thoughtfully and bit her lip. "She makes me feel….weird." Jane finally answered. Maura didn't know what to say, and they sat there in silence.

The door slammed shut behind her as Jane kicked off her boots and pulled off her belt, slinging it onto the couch. After spending the last couple of nights with Maura, the night already felt lonely and empty. Jane couldn't help but wonder what Maura was doing while she sat there by herself. She thought maybe she should try to cook something for dinner, but the hour for that meal had long ago passed. Clicking on the game and throwing herself back on the couch, Jane finally relaxed her body for the first time since before that woman had walked into her office. Amelia was more than met the eye, and what met Jane's eye was leaving her with questions she didn't even have the right words to formulate. A scratching noise was coming from the corner of the room. Jane instantly was alert, reaching for her gun, ready to hunt. Jo Friday poked her nose out from behind the cupboard door, sniffing around for any crumbs she might have missed the first thousand times she had gone over the kitchen floor. Jane sighed with relief and tried to settle back down into the couch. The way Amelia had looked at Jane as they had said goodbye kept running through Jane's mind. That image, and many more of Maura looking at her in much the same way, pestered Jane incessantly. Maura's smile was different, was warmer and kinder, but there was no mistaking the slight similarity. What was it about her lips, the shape they made, that resonated when Jane saw Amelia's smile? Jane was more concerned about this than the case for the moment, and she couldn't decide whether or not that was a good thing. The feeling in her gut was growing, however, into something more insistent. Jane could feel a tingle spreading like emptiness down to her groin. Jane grabbed at herself absently, noticing the uncomfortable feeling of unwarranted wetness between her thighs. Was she menstruating? Curious, she stretched out the edge of her panties and slipped her hand inside of them. Her fingers grasped for the slit between her legs, her long index finger found the slipperiest spot, slid inside of it, inside of herself. The sensation was more intense than Jane had expected, and she shivered a little with it. Jane's nipples were hardening, and all she had wanted was to see if she was bleeding. She stopped herself and pulled her hand out from her pants quickly, looking to see what the wetness was. Not her period, definitely not. The clear liquid between her fingers was glaring evidence that she could not be anything other than turned on. What she couldn't figure out was why. Something about smiles, about Amelia, about Maura. Nothing Jane wanted to think about; all Jane wanted was some sleep. She laid her head back and sighed, not allowing herself relief this time, not until she solved this mystery.

The boy was still unidentified. Maura had stayed up last night looking at the glass in the bottom of his foot, but had only discovered one thing. The glass had been in his foot before he had died, and it appeared to be rounded in ways that suggested it had come from a glass bottle. Taking her eyes away from the microscope, Maura straightened up just as Frost entered the morgue. "Hey, you seen Jane?" Frost asked. "Good morning, Detective Frost. Jane hasn't been in here yet today." Maura moved to resume her activities, but Frost seemed intent on distracting her. "What do you think happened here? Do we have cause of death?" Maura was annoyed by pre-emptory questions, but she was also patient, so she guided Frost through the specifics of what she had found, ending with "therefore, we have found no cause of death". This was hardly a satisfactory answer, and Maura knew it. She fidgeted with her hair a little and pretended to look at her papers on the desk. When Frost finally left, Maura went back over to the examining table. The boy laid there just as he had for days, offering up no help and answering no questions. Maura went to the boy's foot, peering intently at the skin on his sole where she had found the bit of glass. A dark stain she had first dismissed as blood was still deep in the skin there. Maura pulled a small flake of it off and placed the skin into a petri dish. Taking it over to the machine that would uncover more about the stain's origins, Maura sighed to herself. This case was proving itself to be less forthcoming than most of the cases they handled. Jane's stressed out demeanor was rubbing off on Maura finally. As Maura hovered over the whirring machine, her face became tighter with an increasing anxiety: …and what was eating Jane?

Too full, that was all; Jane had just eaten too much. She sat in her car, one hand on her seatbelt, the other resting against the barrel of her gun. Her left hand unconsciously twitched above the gun, seemingly itching to grip it. Jane was slumped in the driver's seat of her undercover, waiting for Frost to get back from his pee break. They were stationed outside of the radio station O'Reilly was scheduled to appear at. Frost had stumbled off in a bit of a food coma after their "brunch" of bacon cheeseburgers and pancakes. Jane's own stomach felt a little uncomfortable, and she patted it absentmindedly. So far no one had been back or forth through the door they were watching. It was a boring stake-out. Frost waddled slowly back towards the car from across the parking lot. Jane watched his usually quick gait as it currently resembled nothing less than an eighty year old man's walk (one with colitis). "Any luck with the crapper sitch'?" Jane asked. Frost shook his head 'no', clutching his belly and moaning a little. Jane would have laughed out loud were it not for his pitiful eyes. As it was, she inched up in the seat and looked more intently on the door of the building, as Frost painstakingly lowered himself back into the car. Rolling the windows down, Jane rested her work-shirt clad arm on the edge where the window had been. They had a moment of silence, where only the sound of the nearby freeway cut through the air, and Frost's intermittent low groans sometimes interrupted the whir. Over by the doorway, Jane saw two guards exit the building. She sat up and tapped Frost on the arm in excitement. Frost lolled his head to the side, to where Jane had poked him, and back up to the window. He watched as well, as the men opened the door for a hooded figure. The mysterious person seemed to be none other than O'Reilly himself, but one couldn't say for sure. Jane wanted to wipe her car window in order to get a better look, but realized that no amount of wiping would get her a clear enough image to be sure. The men were looking around as the presumed O'Reilly exited the building and neared a parked Jeep. The last person to exit the building was none other than Jane's new buddy, Amelia. Amelia seemed to be looking around a lot, as though she were worried about someone watching them. Jane thought 'yep, I am watching you, lady'. Amelia kept walking toward O'Reilly and Jane suddenly had a very bad feeling. Ignoring the protests for rationality and reasonability that flooded her brain as she did so, Jane ejected herself from the car at an amazing pace. Before Frost could register what was happening, Jane was across the parking lot and tackling Amelia to the ground.

When she looked up, Jane realized everything was quiet. Nobody was screaming, no sirens were blaring, nothing had exploded. There was only a shocked silence from both her own, and Amelia's, camps. The men waiting by the car for the lawyer seemed amused now that their fear was fading, and Frost seemed to have forgotten all about his stomach as he stood by the undercover car and laughed silently. Amelia brushed herself off, wriggling out from under Jane. "Hello, Detective", she said evenly. Never one to be made a fool of, Jane could think of no way to play this one cool. Jane stood as quickly as she could and offered Amelia help on the rest of her way up off of the ground. O'Reilly clomped over with his men, looking mighty angry. Jane was not intimidated by him, and her embarrassment was quickly being replaced with a rage she felt only when humiliated. O'Reilly would be a perfect target. "YES?" Jane said before O'Reilly could open his mouth. Amelia looked stunned, obviously not used to anyone speaking to her employer that way. "What do you think you are doing, you trashy dyke? I thought you cops were above molesting women in the street, or is the law enforcement profession going down the drain now that girls are allowed to play even with boys?" O'Reilly spewed at Jane with seemingly no forethought. Jane was taken aback by the cruelty of his words, but she recovered quickly. "Excuse me, sir," Jane said sarcastically, "but I was under the impression that your lawyer was in danger. It is my job to protect everyone here, as an officer of the law". O'Reilly only snorted and nodded in mock agreement. Amelia brushed the remaining dirt off of her skirt and turned to Jane with a confused look on her face. "Thank you, Detective…I think", she said as she finally recovered from the shock of the whole thing. Jane looked bashful all of a sudden, she regarded the toe of her boot very inquisitively while she felt Amelia's eyes on her. Amelia released Jane from her gaze and rejoined O'Reilly and his men by the Jeep. Jane looked up finally, waved, and scooted back towards Frost. "Not your usual mo. Rizzoli," Frost remarked as Jane returned. Jane gave Frost a glance that would whither a testicle in less than a second flat. Frost felt his balls start to do just that, and gulped in fear. Jane stormily dropped herself back into the driver's seat and started the engine. "I need to go talk to Maura about something" she said, and pulled off back towards the lab.

It was rarely so busy in the station. Jane wondered what all the fuss was about until she caught sight of Korsak amongst the milling crowds. "Jane!" Korsak exclaimed as he neared her, pulling her to one side of the room. "What's going on? I leave for a second and…" Korsak interrupted her, "Jane, it's everywhere. The boy, we know who he is now. You haven't heard?" he led her to the television in the corner of the room. Frost was now crowded around the tube as well, along with half of the police station, homicide or not. Jane leaned in so she could hear as the newscaster spouted off a long line of uninteresting things regarding skin cancer. Then they watched as the scene changed to one they were familiar with, the setting being the front of their own station. "A young boy was found the other day in an apartment not far from here, the police station where his body is being autopsied," the male newscaster announced, "although no further details were released, the news media has found that the boy's name is Chester Linfield of Boone, North Carolina. His family has been contacted, and we send our condolences their way. If anyone has any information about this crime, please contact…" Jane whirled around like a force of nature. "WHO. LET. THEM. INONTHIS?" she yelled. The room was instantly silent. Jane looked around carefully, her eyes resting eventually on one young man in a wrinkled uniform. "You!" Jane said, obviously scaring the crap out of the boy. "Yyyyesss?" the boy responded, his voice trembling. "Nevermind" Jane said with annoyance, and spun fully around this time, exiting the room in a rush. Nobody spoke for a moment, but eventually the hum of the office returned, mixed in with occasional spurts of loud exclamations now that more was known about their victim.

Jane was unsatisfied and pissed off. Not only was she unable to make any headway in this case, someone else had, and they had tipped off people who shouldn't know before she had a chance to take the necessary security measures. Now the killer would know where they were in the investigation, and maybe would rest easier for a little while, all along gathering more strength. Jane worried until her head hurt her and her shoulders slumped under the weight. All she wanted was someone to sit next to her, prop her up a little on one side. Her phone vibrated against her hip and the chair. Jane reached down to see who it was, the name 'Amelia' popping up underneath her fingertips. Looking at the phone warily, Jane pressed 'ignore' and returned her head to her hands. The next sound Jane heard was her office door opening. Before she could react, Jane recognized the footsteps and sounds as Maura's, and relaxed again. Coming over as Jane combed her hair back with her fingers, Maura circled around immediately to behind the desk, directly next to Jane. As Jane's eyebrows widened, Maura squatted next to her chair and peered into Jane's face, into her eyes. Jane was completely still, unsure what to do or say in this situation. What was Maura thinking? Maura just stayed that way for a second, then placed her hand on Jane's forehead as if to take her temperature. If it was anyone else, Jane might have thought they were teasing her for acting crazy, but with Maura Jane knew that this was an expression of genuine concern. Still, Jane shied away from Maura's hand, batting it out of the air with her own. Maura backed up and off of Jane, towards the desk, not without concern still showing on her face. "You heard?" Jane asked. "Yes, I did" Maura replied. The room was quiet. Maura settled herself more evenly on the edge of the desk and waited for Jane to say something else. "In a room full of idiots, how am I the last to know something like this?" Jane asked. Maura shot Jane a look. "You weren't in the room, Doc" Jane said teasingly, shooting Maura a quick grin. Maura preened without meaning to, taking a minute to flick her hair back and resettle her ass against the wood of the desk in a somehow graceful, sexy way. Jane couldn't help but notice Maura's little wriggle, and the way it made her own body, her pussy, respond. It wasn't normal, something new had been happening ever since that Amelia woman had peered at Jane over her desk that day. Maura was a friend, and both she and Amelia were women. Jane had never thought of women in that way before, had not even considered it an option. She found men's bodies to be sexy when they were fit and strong, and thinking about doing anything with a woman like "that" made Jane feel slightly nauseous. She didn't even like the way her own "area" smelled. Despite the fact that those things made her shudder, Jane was still drawn to Maura and Amelia in ways that she had never felt drawn to anyone else before. Looking back, Jane realized that she had always felt this about Maura, but it had taken Amelia's abrupt entry into her life for Jane to see what that feeling was made of. One of the ingredients was definitely lust, which was causing an increasingly tense moment of silence between them.

Maura, on the other hand, really didn't know what was going on. She had been watching Jane squirm around strangely and then swing back into some weird version of pissy Jane for the last two days or so. Sure, Jane was always kind of hard to understand. Maura was learning to extrapolate more every day from her relationship with Jane, in more ways than one. Yet this was different, as though Jane herself had no control at all now over her moods, as though she had lost it. Maura worried greatly for her best friend. She could fix any of Jane's physical injuries, but the things those chemical reactions in her brain caused to happen, well, Maura was the last person Jane would want to ask for help with things like emotions. Sitting on the desk still, Maura became uncomfortable around Jane in a way she never had before. She could feel Jane's eyes on her as she moved, and felt pulled to continue moving that way by them. Drawn to the game of pretending not to notice Jane's stare, Maura re-crossed her legs slowly, allowing for a small second during which her boutique panties peaked out from between her thighs. Jane breathed in shallowly, unable to even attempt to pretend like she was not aware of Maura's body. Her legs resettled, Maura leaned back on her hands and thrust her chest gently out, just slightly closer to Jane's eyes. Her feet rubbing together a little as she did so, Maura tapped one hand's fingers lightly on Jane's desk. Jane seemed to finally become aware of the situation at hand; she sat up abruptly in her chair and pulled her pants up a little, as though she were a guy readjusting himself. Maura was sure now of what was bothering Jane, although she hadn't had a clue just a few moments before. Now Maura herself was confused, left with the knowledge that not figuring this thing out could ruin their friendship, but figuring it out could as well. It was both terrifying and exciting. Looking at Jane for some sort of confirmation, Maura realized that Jane was painfully ignorant of the matter herself. Jane looked lost and unsure in a way that Maura had never seen before. Sure, Maura saw Jane through a lot of hard times, but at the end of the day Jane always figured out who she was again. Yet, Jane looked so confused now that Maura knew she couldn't see the way back for her this time. She went over to Jane's chair again and looked down at her, offering her hand just slightly in Jane's direction. Jane looked at Maura's hand and at Maura, bewildered. Maura reached down just a little bit more and tugged on Jane's hand, asking silently for Jane to take her home.

They drove in silence, the hum of the motor and the rushing by of the houses being the only soundtrack to the ride. Maura found herself shaking one leg up and down in the passenger seat, trying not to glance at Jane at all. Jane was white-knuckled on the steering wheel and completely unaware of it, her only goal not crashing the car. Seeing how distressed Jane was, Maura almost wanted to ask her to pull over and switch, but she knew that would only worsen things and hurt Jane's pride. "This Amelia, that lawyer?" Jane said, obviously trying to keep her voice even. "Yes?" Maura asked as gently as possible. "She makes me feel very uncomfortable." Jane admitted. 'DUH!', Maura wanted to yell, but she couldn't. It was not often that Maura had to repress the urge to yell things, but this time she had to work at it. "I think I may be…attracted...to her," Jane finally managed to eke out as she pulled into Maura's driveway. "I thought you said you weren't attracted to women?" Maura asked, noticing a bit of jealousy in her voice that she had not known was there. "I'm not", Jane pronounced in the most serious of manners. She tried to make her voice heavier, to make it carry more weight. The words sounded flat and hollow. Maura just looked at Jane, who was still avoiding her gaze. Maura waited for Jane to speak again. "What?" Jane asked as she finally whirled around to face Maura. "Why are you looking at me like that?" Jane demanded. "Like what?" Maura asked, hurt. "Like, I dunno, like you expect something" Jane finished. Maura studied Jane's face even as she attempted to look away. Finally Maura said, "I don't expect anything from you, Jane". Maura opened the car door and gracefully removed herself from the seat. Jane sat there and watched as she walked to her house, away from the spot she was so recently in, the spot next to Jane's side.

Awake in bed that night, Jane imagined Maura on top of her, her hair falling over her eyes. They had clothes on, they were at work. Jane was against her desk, Maura was straddling her. There were people around, but they were alone. Jane's hands were on Maura's hips, her eyes on Maura's movements as she grinded against Jane's pelvis. Jane felt herself getting turned on, and decided to allow herself some relief this time, as strange as this new fantasy was to her. She thought of Maura's lips, the shape of them curled into a mischievous smile, the kind she would be wearing when Jane would lean in and steal them with her own. Jane imagined Maura's chest against her own, their skin rubbing together as Maura rode her on that desk, in that room they knew so well. Maura's breasts would be falling out of her work shirt a little, just enough so Jane could nip at them when her mouth got close enough. Their chests would slide together, nipples hardening, until sweat eased their friction. Jane would thrust up against Maura's grinding, pushing their pussies together until they both ached from it. Maura would be moving faster against her, as Jane…as Jane came hard against her own hand, her clit twitching a little with her orgasm. Jane jerked up and then fell back, sweaty, against her pillow. She fell asleep to the sound of her own ragged breathing.

Denial was no longer an option. The obvious was out there now, waiting to be talked about by whoever found it first. Jane was skeptical that anyone but her and Maura may have noticed, but she was still paranoid all morning long. The office was abuzz with gossip about the boy's family. The Linfield's were a respected family in Boston. Most of the officers had heard about them before somehow or another, and no one could stop comparing their stories. Jane was tired of it before it began, and now that it seemed never-ending, she was ready to slay the next person who tried to ask her if she could guess how they knew the Linfields. Chester was on her mind, though. The little boy who had been given such a creepily reminiscent name was still lying dead in the morgue downstairs, and they still had nothing, despite this break about his identity. The boy's parents were coming in that afternoon, so there was a chance that the floodgates could still open soon. Jane rocked in her chair a bit, one ankle resting on the knee of her other leg. Where were this kid's parents? Where had they been this whole time?

Just as those thoughts were running through her mind, Jane looked up to see an older man and woman walking through the doors to the homicide unit. 'Ah, here we go' Jane thought, as she sized them up, taking in their fancy gear and poised gaites. Jane stood and offered her hand to them both, introducing herself and allowing them to settle into their chairs. The Linfields were obviously not used to being questioned by the police, they seemed very aware of everything happening around them, and not one bit amused. Jane noticed the snooty way they turned up their nose at everything they saw, and she tried not to let it affect the way she treated them. However, snobs were not Jane's specialty, at least not when it came to appealing to their better nature.