A/N: So this is my first Rizzoli and Isles fanfiction, so bear with me as I muddle the waters of this wonderful pair of ladies. Thanks!

Disclaimer: I kind of love both of these women, so, I want them chained to my radiator forever, howeverrrr, I can't have them.

Chapter One: Welcome to the Family

Jane Rizzoli lowered her shoulder and pushed open the door to the hospital, her face tight with worry, her badge raised. A nurse stepped in her way and she dodged him, barely sparing him a glance. Frankie was sitting in the waiting room, his head in his hands, and Frost was pacing by the nurses' station.

"What happened?" She growled through her teeth. Frankie glanced up immediately, alarmed at his sister's ferocity, but didn't seem to be able to speak. She softened momentarily and placed a hand on his shoulder. Frost looked as sick as Frankie, but he swallowed thickly and filled her in.

"We found Sparkman at the park, with the dope, but he rabbited the second he saw us. Korsak cut him off, but one of his buddies was just out of sight. He took two bullets to the shoulder," he wiped his hand across his face and Jane was startled to see what looked like tear tracks on the young detective's face. She moved away from her brother and reached for Frost's hand.

"You got the guy?" she asked tentatively, her raspy voice low. She tried not to think about the pale look on her brother's face, knowing he had just made detective and had already seen his friend take a bullet. She pushed the thoughts of her own former partner bleeding on the ground while Frost yelled for Frankie to call 911, and unbidden, thoughts of Hoyt managed to surface. She hoped Korsak wouldn't have to go through what she had.

He nodded, blinking once. She squeezed his hand and pulled him in for a hug. "Then you did your job, and that's all you could have done, okay? He's going to be just fine." She pulled away from her friend and glanced up at the waiting room again. "Has anyone seen Maura?"

Frankie answered from the chair. "She's in the surgery, observing. She knew the surgeon, and she..." he paused, as if he didn't know how to continue. "She asked nicely."

Jane stifled a smirk. That was Maura. She settled in the seat next to her brother and placed a hand on his knee. "How are you feeling, little bro?"

His knee imperceptibly twitched at the contact, but he didn't move away. "I don't want to talk about it," he muttered. Jane looked momentarily taken aback, but grabbed his chin and made him look into their matching eyes.

"I know that tone, Frankie Jr., and this is not your fault, you understand? You were the one who cracked this case, not me, not Frost, not Korsak. You. Just because something went wrong doesn't mean it's your fault," his face, though pointed at hers, was still a gray pallid color and his eyes were focused on her nose.

"Jane!"

Reluctantly, Jane released her brother and greeted her best friend, who was rapidly pulling off her surgical gown to hide the blood on it. Jane, who was never squeamish, felt bile rising in the back of her throat. That was her former partner's blood, the man who had saved her from Hoyt.

Hoyt again, rose in her mind. She stomped it out.

"I'm so glad you're here," she continued, pulling off her gloves. Frost gagged and turned away, his hand over his mouth. "He's going into recovery right now, but it looks like he's going to be just fine. The bullets missed his heart, but fractured his clavicle. It'll be a painful recovery, but I think he can handle it."

Jane felt a smile creep up on her face and she hugged her friend. "That's great," she exclaimed. She turned to Frankie. "Isn't that great, Frankie?"

He was standing now, his police cap in his hands, twisting it nervously. "When can we see him?" he asked.

"I can ask if you can go in now, if you like," Maura asked, already turning around. "He's not awake, but you can see him for yourself." Frankie nodded gratefully and Maura fluffed her hair, turning on her charm. As she walked away, Jane turned to Frost, taking a few steps away from her shell-shocked brother.

"Frost, I get being a little shook up, but what the hell happened out there?" she asked. Frost glanced over her shoulder at Frankie, waiting anxiously for Maura to return, and when he looked back, Jane realized he was hiding something too. She narrowed her eyes.

"Look, if he wants to tell you, he will," he said softly. "But it's his story and his secret."

Jane opened her mouth to reply, but Maura cut her off. "Frankie, I'll escort you back," she said. He lurched forward, like a car put in the wrong gear, and Maura smiled bracingly at him, her eyes sparkling. She led him down the hallway out of sight.

"Jane! Oh my gosh, Jane, where is Frankie Jr?" Angie burst into the waiting room, and brought noise with her. The silence Jane hadn't noticed she was drowning in was suddenly gone, and she almost smiled at the sight of her overbearing mother.

"He just went back with Maura to see Korsak, Ma, he's just fine," she patted her mom on the back and made a face at Frost, who cracked his first smile of the evening. Her mom still looked frantic, so Frost said he would get her a cup of coffee and skirted away.

"This was his first case, too," her mother fretted. "I knew he should have just stayed in the family business, plumbing—,"

"Is not what he wants to do with his life, Ma, you can't make his decisions," Jane kept one eye on the hallway that Frankie had just left. "He'll do just fine, you have to just trust him, and trust me. I'll keep him safe."

Her mother hugged her, and Jane smiled awkwardly, patting her mother on the top of the head. "Ma, I can't...really...breathe..."

Maura watched Frankie fidget surreptitiously out of the corner of her eye. "It looks worse than it actually is, Frankie, but it's not good."

He nodded, as if he wasn't really listening. She took a gentle hold of his wrist, her fingers barely touching his palms, and tugged, so he would turn to face her.

"He's going to be just fine," she insisted quietly.

"This is my fault," was his response. Then he removed his hand from hers and crept into the room, watching Korsak's chest rise and fall from the end of the bed. Maura, though her instincts told her to leave it alone, followed him.

"Technically, if you didn't shoot Korsak, then it wasn't your fault," she reasoned matter-of-factly. He shook his head emphatically, and she waited, in silence, for him to continue.

"Do you promise, and I mean really promise, not to tell anyone what I tell you?" Frankie asked. Maura, her promise to never lie on her tongue, frowned at the serious look on his face. She was never good at keeping secrets, especially if one asked outright; she could never lie.

"I can certainly try my hardest," she replied. Frankie sighed heavily and fell into the chair by the bed, seemingly deflated.

"I had been so excited to get my first arrest that I didn't think through the evidence. I knew there was going to be a deal going down when we went for Sparkman, especially at night in the park, and I pushed it anyway," his head was in his hands, but his words were clear.

"But I knew that this couldn't just be about dope. There were too many bodies, the murders too premeditated. So I kept an eye out for anything that suggested otherwise."

Maura released a breath she hadn't noticed she was holding. "And what did you find?" She asked.

"When I took down Sparkman—,"

"Wait, you took down Sparkman?" Maura interrupted. "The police report says it was Detective Frost."

"We lied."

Maura pursed her lips. "Why?"

"When I patted him down, I found this," Frankie reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a scalpel, shiny and new, with a note wrapped around it. Maura snatched some gloves from the sink and slipped them on. Frankie shrugged and handed it to her, and slowly she unfolded it, the knot in her stomach tightening every second.

"Good evening, Frankie Jr. You don't know me, but I certainly know you, and I remember your sister, Jane. I'm sure you remember my friend...oh, but you remember her as Lola, don't you?"

Maura almost dropped the note. "Frankie..."

"Keep reading."

"You killed her, Frankie. That wasn't very nice. Now, I'm not the type that hurts people like you, but Miss Lola had a few admirers. Since I am, what would you say, close to your sister, I felt like it was my duty to warn you: some of those admirers might come looking for you. I suggest you get gone before they do."

Maura's mouth was hanging open now. She understood the message so far. You killed my apprentice, I'm not very happy about it, I have friends that will come after you, I almost killed your sister, so you know what I'm capable of. But the last line confused her.

"Tell the good doctor I'm watching her as well."

She felt her fingers tremble and almost dropped the note. She handed it back to Frankie, who numbly folded it and returned it to its place. "It's a threat," she said quietly. "Plain and simple. But what does this have to do with Korsak?"

"I took my time reading this stupid note, and by the time I had hauled Sparkman up to ask him where he got the note, his partner had already fired rounds into Korsak's shoulder! This guy murdered people to become a suspect, so when he was arrested, this note could get to me. These murders, that suspect, that arrest, it all comes down to me!" he pushed his hands through his hair.

"We have to tell Jane," she said. "We can't keep this from her."

"Do you know how guilty she'll feel? How upset she's going to be? She's going to think this is her fault, that I'm being targeted because of her! She is victimized enough by Hoyt. I don't want to add to it."

"This isn't about adding guilt, it's about saving people, maybe even yourself," Maura coaxed, almost itching to read that letter again.

"And what about you?" he asked softly.

Maura looked surprised; she had forgotten Hoyt had mentioned her in the letter. "Well, he didn't...threaten me...per se," she stammered. Frankie was looking at her more seriously than he ever had before, but she found no trouble meeting his eyes. "I'm not worried about me, I'm worried about you," she finished. "And Jane."

A small moan came from the mess of blankets in the bed. "What about me? Who's worried about me?"

"Korsak!" Frankie sprang away from Maura and hurtled to his side. "How do you feel?"

He coughed roughly. "Like I had a tube down my throat," he rasped.

"That's because you did," Maura piped up helpfully. Frankie's face twitched, like he wanted to smile, but his eyes were still heavy. Korsak chuckled, and groaned, raising his good arm to his chest.

"So, did you get 'im?" he turned his eyes to Frankie again. He nodded, a strained smile on his face, and Korsak managed a weak one in return. "Good. So, when can I get out of here?"

Maura, who had been watching Frankie's reaction, smiled softly at Korsak. "You'll be here for at least a few days to recuperate. You lost quite a bit of blood, and even when you do get out, you'll be stuck at home for a little while."

Korsak looked disappointed, but unsurprised. "Is Frost okay?" he asked. "And Jane?"

"Jane is here, and so is Angie and Frost. All in the waiting room, but Frankie wanted to see you," Maura replied. "I couldn't say no."

"Yeah, the Rizzoli's really have you wrapped around their respective little fingers," Frankie muttered, but the comment sounded more friendly than sarcastic. Maura smiled in response as the doctor entered.

"I'm going to have to ask you guys to leave Mr. Korsak to rest," Dr. Davidson apologetically glanced at Maura, who didn't look offended. Frankie looked like he was going to protest, but Korsak nodded at him, a smile on his face. He reluctantly let Maura put a hand on his shoulder and she steered him out of the room.

"Thank you, Dr. Davidson," Maura fluttered her eyelashes at him. "Keep him safe, okay?"

Dr. Davidson looked bashful. "I always do."

Frankie made a face. "You better," he muttered under his breath. Maura's hand on his shoulder tightened almost imperceptibly and she gave him a chiding grin as they turned down the hallway.

"Do you feel any better?" she asked.

"Yeah," he lied. Maura averted her eyes, but Frankie grabbed her wrist before they were in earshot of his sister and mother. "Dr. Isles," he began. "Are you busy tomorrow?"

She felt her chest ache almost instantly with an emotion she couldn't identify. "I don't think so," she responded. "Why?"

"Because tomorrow I'm going to teach you how to shoot a gun."