Isabelle stood in Ratigan's study, looking at the portrait on the wall.

It was of a pretty lady mouse with brown fur and reddish brown hair. She had lively green eyes, wearing a green dress and a golden pendent with a rose centered in a clear stone.

Isabelle reached over and touched the painting, her fingertips barely grazing it. She wondered who she was and what her connection to Ratigan was. For some reason, she felt a wave of sadness go through her as she looked at the painting.

Maybe she will ask him later.

Isabelle woke up suddenly in the morning, wondering where she was for a moment. She looked next to her and saw Ratigan fast asleep.

Oh right, now she remembers.

She was visiting Ratigans place and Ratigan came to her room, too tired from constant scheming to go to his own and he slept here with her.

Isabelle sighed as she stroked the arm that was around her waist. She wanted to ask him about the portrait, but she feels that's a sensitive subject for him. Why else would he keep it?

A squeeze around her waist brought her back to reality and she look to her side, seeing Ratigan looking at her with concern.

"Whats troubling you, my dear?" he asked

Isabelle bit her lip as her eyes averted. She then took a deep breath and the turned her body to look at Ratigan.

"Padriac...who is she...that mouse in the portrait?" she asked quietly.

She saw Ratigan stiffened and his face went slack. He looked so lost right now, she was scared of what he might do. He then sighed and turned his back on her. Isabelle felt awful and was about to get up and leave, until he spoke up.

"Her name was Maria." he said in a melancholy tone. Isabelle looked at him, noticing how stiff his back looked. He sighed again and continued.

"I came here from Ireland long ago to seek a job. I had earned a job at the University teaching mathematics and physics. Being a rat, I wasn't paid very much, but it helped pay the bills."

Isabelle growled to herself, the bias towards rats would forever irk her.

"I also helped educate high class children in the arts; singing music, painting, things like that. That's where I met Maria, she too came from Ireland."

"Ah, a fellow Irish lass." Isabelle said with a smile. Ratigan turned his head to look at her, a smile on his face.

"You would have like her. She was a very sweet girl, always kind." he chuckled, "After one of my classes, she came in and begged me to tutor her in art. It was her dream to become a painter."

Isabelle smiled softly, it sounded like she would have liked Maria a lot.

"You fell for her, didn't you?"

She saw him nod as he continued to speak.

"I fell for her very hard. She was like no one I'd ever met. Like you; she was blind to the bias between rats and mice. There was also a certain mouse detective who was then my only and greatest friend."

That caught Isabelle's attention, realizing his connection to Basil was deeper then she thought.

"Did she love you too?"

"Yes, but back then...rats weren't considered equals and were not supposed to associate with one another. It was much worse back then."

There was a small silence until Isabelle hugged him from behind, her arms going around his waist. She felt his own hands clasping hers, showing that he appreciate the gesture. She knows that all this was very difficult for him to say.

"Maria and I were going to get married." he said suddenly. Isabelle stiffened and picked up her head, she wasn't expecting that.

He then gave a heavy sigh and continued to speak.

"We were going to get married." he repeated, "But it had to be in secret. Basil was going to be my best man but that was a large mistakes on our parts. He accidentally let it slip while he was coming to the church. It was because of that betrayal that I want him dead and gone."

Ratigans fur then bristled and his paws went tighter around Isabelle's.

"I had finished my vows and just as Maria was about to say hers , Mouseland Yard stormed in and took her away. I still feel ashamed of how I allowed those animals to manhandle her. She put a good fight though."

He smiled when he heard Isabelle snicker.

"She elbowed one of the poilce mice in the throat, but the Chief backhanded across the face so hard that it threw her to the ground. I had never felt so angry in my life."

Ratigan fell quiet and Isabelle nuzzled her forehead against his back.

"You let the monster out, didn't you?" she said softly. "The one you let out at Big Ben."

Ratigan swiftly turned around and looked at Isabelle with hard eyes, while she looked at him with equal seriousness. He wanted to say something to her, but he couldn't. He knows that Isabelle knew better then anyone how he felt, for she has a monster of her own inside of her. He sighed and looked at the thief sadly.

"Yes, I did. I was so enraged and I wanted to make those fools pay for what they did to Maria.

I don't remember most of the damage I done, but I do remember hearing a gunshot. When I finally calmed myself, I was staring into Maria's eyes, but...they were empty. She had been killed, trying to protect me."

He looked at Isabelle's face, seeing how horrified she looked. She then threw her arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest. He looked surprised by her action, but he hugged her back. Isabelle then pulled back and looked at the professor.

"Do you still love her?" she asked softly, startling him and making him avert his eyes from her. She smiled softly at him, a hand on his cheek to make him look at her.

"I understand if you still do, if she holds a special place in your heart. There's nothing wrong with that. It will be very hypocritical for me to think otherwise."

Ratigan nodded, knowing that her friend, Thomas, was her first love and although she now loves him like a brother, she holds a special place in her heart for him. However, Ratigan knows there is room in her heart for him also, the most important at least. In his appreciation for her understanding and compassion, he could only return the favor.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard Isabelle say something.

"Sorry darling, what did you say?"

"I asked if you cried for her?" she said, making him look down and shaking his head. Isabelle then sighed as she took his head and pressing against her chest.

"Its OK, you know. Its OK to let go. You could trust me." she whispered. That was when it hit Ratigan; the rage, the pain and the grief. He then remembered Maria's empty eyes and he broke down.

His arms went around Isabelle's waist as he buried his face into her chest, sobbing quietly. He then heard Isabelle starting to cry. She was actually crying with him.

Isabelle sobbed with Ratigan, her hands rubbing his back as she said soothing words to him. He silently prays that Isabelle would never leave him, that she will never change.

That this warmhearted woman would always be with him.

There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness but of power. They are messengers of overwhelming grief and of unspeakable love.-Washington Irving

AN: Here is a gift to the lovely FairyTales And Pixie Dust for her awesome support and comments with my GMD stories. She was the one who inspired me to actually start writing them down.

Anyway, this is with her OC, Maria, who in her stories was the love of Ratigans life and when she died, the reason he became evil. He keeps a portrait of her as a homage to her. I thought it was a very interesting concept and I wanted my OC, Isabelle, to talk about that. Thankfully, she allowed me to use Maria.

So a few things to point out here. Isabelle and Ratigan are intimate enough that they share a bed at times and the do have a lot of pillow talk moments, so I put them talking there. Also, I put that Thomas was her first love, but she loved him more like a brother then a lover, so she just has a special place in her heart for him. I think Ratigan would have one too, since just the way Maria died.

If you are wondering why Ratigan's past is different then from my own interpretation, it because I'm using FairyTales And Pixie Dust version.

If Ratigan is too OOC for you, well I'm sorry, but I wanted to put him grieving and for Isabelle to grieve with him. The quote I heard in a criminal minds episode and I thought it just fit this situation, its a lovely quote.

The story is not done yet! I have 2 more chapters for this, so stay tuned! Comments are loved!

I down own GMD, but Isabelle is mine and Maria belongs to FairyTales And Pixie Dust