Author's Note: Just to clarify, this is an AU so I apologise if the characters don't act the way they do on the show, however I tried my best but they are in different surroundings with different roles and jobs. I used the Royal Navy instead of the US Navy because I'm English and I just know more about it; however I'm not an expert so some things might be wrong, so I apologise if they are wrong. Maura Isles will be English just to clarify. Also the hospital I refer to in this story is a real hospital however it closed in 1995, but in this story it's still open and working as a civilian A&E and a naval and army hospital.

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters that are from the TV series or the books, apart from the characters that I make up.

Operation Isles

Chapter One

Lieutenant Jane Rizzoli of the 40 Commando for the Royal Navy looked out at the dust and desolation of what was her home for the past 6 months. Lt. Rizzoli had handled weapons ranging from a 9mm pistol to a ACOG rifle to a NLAW launcher that took down a fair number of enemy tanks. Jane Rizzoli had lost count of the amount of enemy blood that she had shed in her time in Afghanistan, yet she still managed to get herself up in the morning and share laughter with her brothers and sisters of her regiment that due to the constant horrors of what they witness together, a strong bond was knitted. Rizzoli would miss them the most. She had lost many friends in her years of service and will no doubt lose more; that was her life and that was all she knew. Loss, grief and fighting. Operation Herrick started in 2002 and the fight against the Taliban now was just as relentless as it was then.

As Jane sat in the carrier aircraft, she looked out the window and reminisced on how she was able to escape the nightmare that was her life. Her commanding officer led her into her office a couple of days before; "At ease Lt. Rizzoli, I have some bad and good news. The bad news is that the Royal Naval hospital in London was attacked last night by masked and armed attackers, four patients were killed, three of them being our men who were in recovery and two were civilian causalities; including a working nurse. The hospital is struggling with the loss and the lack of skill of the security, and I've been assigned the job of finding a skilled and qualified member of my squadron to command and train the security at the hospital that is made up of Royal Navy privates. I couldn't think of a more suitable person to achieve this job and protect our naval hospital than you. What do ya say, Rizzoli?" Jane was shocked at the news of the inhumane murder that only seemed possible in the desert at not back home, where it should be safe.

"I'll be honoured, Lieutenant General Cavanaugh. Is the hospital security using weaponry?" Lt Gen Cavanaugh sighed in relief at his finest Lieutenant's acceptance of the job, she deserved the break from the frontlines; her being the youngest member of the Royal Navy to be promoted to the rank of Lieutenant and their most skilled one at that.

"The Queen Alexandra's Military Hospital has accepted the idea of given all naval security members a 9mm pistol to use in the chance of another emergency like the last." Jane nodded in approval of the decision to include the use of weaponry for the protection of the hospital, patients and staff.

"Who will be my commanding officer while I work in the hospital?" Jane wanted to know everything about this new job before she fully applied herself to it.

"I was wondering when you would ask that, see here's the abnormal aspect of this job. Your... boss, will be the Chief Medical Officer for theQueen Alexandra's Military Hospital ." Jane was surprised at the lack of rank, yet kept her calm and collective facial expression that came with being the respectful Lieutenant that she was to senior commanders, however everyone had heard of her reputation of being hot headed and not afraid of speaking her opinion and getting in the action as much as possible. Some would think of her as carefree, yet most though of her as a hero, saving more men and woman than anyone could keep count of.

"You're telling me that I'll be working for a doctor that has no rank and no links to the Royal Navy?" Jane kept her voice at a calm and respectful level. Lt Gen Cavanaugh chuckled, earning a curious glint in Jane's eye.

"To answer your questions the Chief Medical Officer has no rank in the Royal Navy however the CMO's father is the Chief of Defence Staff therefore has a very strong link with the Royal Navy. The Chief of Defence Staff is a very close friend of mine, therefore allowing me the choice of one of my men, and I choose you Rizzoli ; so don't screw it up with that rep of yours." Cavanaugh walked round his desk and grabbed the Lieutenant in a fatherly hug. "We will miss you here on the frontline, but you need the break. However, from what I've heard, you're going to have trouble with that temper of yours when you meet the Chief Medical Officer; weird one apparently." They stepped apart and Jane gave the Lieutenant General a quizzical lock. "Good luck out there, Rizzoli. You're gonna need it. You're dismissed." Jane stood up straighter, saluting Cavanaugh and giving him a wink before exiting his office.

Jane wasn't worried about what Cavanaugh said about the Chief Medical Officer's apparent abnormal personality, she was more excited about going home and being able to see her family. Although she was born and raised in Boston, she was given the choice of a job in the Royal Navy which she couldn't turn down and so her and her family migrated over to the UK and have been living there for six years. Her Ma worked in the cafe at the police station that her little brother, Frankie worked in as a patrol officer. Her youngest brother, Tommy, worked where he could, just getting by. Their Pa left way before they migrated to the UK, leaving their Ma for a 20 year old bimbo. Jane kept in touch with her family by letters throughout her time in Afghanistan.

Jane's uniform was covered in desert dust, not like you could see it against the dust coloured camouflage of her uniform, yet Jane could still feel it, itching all over her skin and making her fidget. When the carrier plane landed at the nearest airport, Jane chastised herself for not bringing a set of civilian clothes in her hand luggage. "Guess I'll just have to deal with the endless amounts of questions about being a 'hero' and any other scrutinizing questions from civilian passengers." Jane thought to herself as she buckled herself into the plane.

After 7 and a half hours on an uncomfortable plane, trying to go to sleep while people around her insisted on knowing every little detail of her time in Afghanistan, Jane finally arrived home; well not Boston but a close second. She didn't tell her family that she was coming home so she wasn't disappointed when nobody came to meet her at the terminal gate. She caught a taxi and gave the address to her family house where her Ma and brothers lived. It was Sunday dinnertime by the time Jane's taxi pulled up outside her family house so Jane knew her whole family would be there, getting ready to eat Ma's delicious food, while the guys watched the sports channel. Detective Korsak and Detective Frost might even be there. Korsak and Frost were old family friends who worked in the same station as Frankie and Angela. Jane breathed in deeply to gain some confidence and rid herself of the nervousness that shook her normally calm body and knocked loudly on the door. She could hear raised voices of her family arguing about who would answer the door and Jane smiled at the familiarity. Suddenly the door flew open and a gasp was audible coming from her youngest brother's mouth. Tommy stood still, with his mouth and eyes wide open as Jane noticed how much 6 months could change the look of someone. Tommy seemed to find himself and sprang upon Jane, clinging to her like his life depended on it. "Tommy you're letting the cold air in, we don't live in Boston anymore or have you forgot about tha-" A scream erupted in the Rizzoli household, Angela stood as still as Tommy had before her, their Ma's scream seemed to shock Tommy out of letting Jane breath just in time for Jane to be pulled into the house and engulfed in the strongest hug she had ever received from her Ma. Angela peppered her daughter with kisses all over her face, as Jane struggled to be released from the older Rizzoli's grip.

"Ma. Ma. I can't breathe." Jane gasped out as she smiled at her Ma's franticness. Frankie had rushed over after hearing his sister's voice and grabbed her in a hug, lifting her off the ground and spinning her around, before putting her on the ground and kissing her on the cheek. "Frost! Korsak! There you guys are! I was wondering if you were hiding from me." Jane shouted as she saw the two detectives poke their heads round the corner. The two men grabbed her in another hug, sandwiching her between them. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm starving." Jane sighed as the smell of dinner drifted through the air. They all laughed and set another seat at the table for their surprise guest.

After everyone had shovelled food onto their plates and dug in, as soon as the eldest Rizzoli gave them the eagerly awaited sign to start eating, the questions started to fly. Jane answered them as best as she could with a mouthful of food, which earned her a scowl from her Ma. "Oh yeah Korsak and I were given that case to solve. How could anyone do that to a hospital?" Frost replied after Jane told them her business as to why she had come back early.

"Yeah, I think everyone's leaning towards the idea that it could've been a terrorist attack due to what you guys are doing out in the frontlines." Korsak added, while the rest of the table glumly nodded. Jane looked down at her food and pushed the potatoes around her plate. She tried hard to forget what she did on a daily basis, all that blood, all those bodies. The sound of bullets searching for any target to murder. That's what it was; murder. People seemed to forget that Jane was a murderer, hiding that fact with the title of 'hero'. Jane wasn't a hero. She tried preventing more death by protecting her squad and in doing so she killed; wasn't that being a hypocrite? Everyone else didn't think so, everyone saw her as a saint-like figure and she hated it. She didn't deserve medals for doing her job. People who prevent death and chaos deserved medals, doctors, police officers, firemen and women. All Jane did was bring more chaos, how did that deserve any gratitude. And yet she loved her job. How did that work? How can you love and hate something equally? She seemed to forget the reason why she was fighting sometimes, yet when they cleared out the village that was being held hostage they were met with families and children who would've become slaves and women who would've being assaulted and men forced to fight something they didn't want anything to do with. Those moments are what Jane loved about her job. Those moments helped her remember that people needed her help as much as they did doctors and police officers and firemen and women. That's why she stayed in her job, because people needed her help.

The people around the table realised that they needed to change the topic of the conversation, and in doing so Jane came back to the present and joined in with the flow of easy and light subjects, including Tommy's new fatherhood title and the football game that was playing yesterday night. In these moments, Jane was grateful for her family and friends, she missed them dearly when she was away and they weren't there to help distract her from the horrors that surrounded her.

After dinner Frost and Korsak took their leave, talking about getting back to the case of the unknown attackers of the hospital. Frankie, Tommy and Jane helped their Ma tidy up the kitchen and then went their separate ways to their rooms. Jane placed her suitcase down on the ground and sighed; her bedroom was exactly the same as when she left it. Yet Jane couldn't shake the feeling that she was maybe too old to be living at home. Jane decided that she would see how the job went tomorrow and then would look for a small apartment nearby. As she got ready for bed she prepared herself for the nightmares that came every night and always ended up with her screaming out, hopefully she wouldn't wake her family because she couldn't deal with them knowing exactly why people called her a 'hero'.