RAW Emotions

Jane and Maura find themselves in the middle of a mysterios case involving a possible corner store hit. Meanwhile their oldest daughter is facing homophobia in school. Charachters belong to TNT, feel free to review. Enjoy.

A/N - I borrowed a part of the story line in the shooting from an episode of Law & Order:SVU. Not a crossover, just thought that particular episode could lend itself to my story. Hope you like it.

It's morning in the RIzzoli-Isles household, and all are going about their normal routine. Jane is just finishing up her shower, Maura is making coffee and getting ready to take their 10 month old baby Gracie to day care, and the eldest child, Nikki is getting dressed for school. She finishes fixing her hair, gathers her backpack, and goes downstairs to the kitchen. As Nikki makes her way through the kitchen, she sees her baby sister in her high chair eating Cheerios, and greets her with a kiss on her head. Then she kisses Maura's cheek before making her way to the coffee pot.

" Morning Sweetie."

" Morning." Nikki answered in a bit of a haze. Lately her parents have noticed Nikki seems withdrawn. She doesn't smile as much as she used to, and she gives one word answers.

" Are you okay?" Maura asked her.

" Hmm...yeah, I'm fine. " Nikki answered abruptly while she sipped her coffee, and made her bagel for breakfast. Maura didn't quite believe her. She knew Nikki was acting different, but as much as her parents tried, Nikki didn't want to talk about it. Jane came downstairs, and greeted her family with kisses all around.

" Good morning, all."

" Good morning, Hon." Maura said kissing her wife.

" Good morning, Mom."

" Morning, Sweetie." Jane said kissing her daughter. With both parents in the same room, Nikki knew she'd be double teamed at any moment, so she said a quick goodbye, and made her way to school. They were both concerned, and were discussing what they should do.

" I'm worried about Nikki. She seems so sad all the time." Maura told Jane.

" I know, me too. I can't even get her to talk about it. She's never avoided me. We could always talk about anything."

" What should we do?" Maura asked while placing Gracie on her hip. Jane just sighed and shook her head.

" I don't know. Hopefully she'll open up to us soon, and we can help her out." With that Jane kisses her loved ones and everyone heads out.

It was a rainy drive to school, and all Nikki could focus on was the wiper blades squeaking on the windshield. Truth be told, it was hard for Nikki to be at school lately, since being dubbed the kid with two moms. Jane and Maura started dating when Nikki was 13 and they got married a year later. Jane marrying a woman made no difference to Nikki. Maura has been in their lives a long time, and she's always felt like family. It didn't matter that her parents were two women, in her heart they were still her parents. Never had it occurred to her to think there was anything wrong with that. Nikki's friends were fine with it, and she was happy to have their support, but there was another group of kids in particular that gave Nikki a hard time. She used to think being the cop's kid was tough, but since Jane's marriage to Maura, it seems to give the kids extra ammo.

This was a group of kids led by two siblings, 16 yr old Camren Ames and his 14 yr old sister Maria. The Ames children came from a conservative background. The family used to live in Delaware before moving to Massachusetts two years ago. Their mother Lyn was a homemaker, and their father, Raymond was a local youth pastor. Needless to say they didn't grow up in an environment learning a lot of tolerance. Camren has already found himself in hot water last year for using the "N" word. He would have had his teeth knocked out, had the principal not been around the corner. The kids had grown up being told homosexuality was immoral, and they fed into every bit of intolerance thrown their way. Nikki stopped in front of her best friend, Thereasa's house to give her a ride to school. She ran down the walkway with her hood over her head over her head, and hopped in her friend's car.

"Hey." Thereasa greeted.

" Hi."

Thereasa knew some of the kids gave Nikki a hard time in school, but Nikki didn't like talking about it. She knew her friends loved her and offered their support. They were always willing to stick up for her, but for the most part they didn't really get it, not being in the situation themselves. Thereasa wished she knew how to help her best friend.

" Lovely spring weather we're having, huh ?" Thereasa said adjusting her hair in the mirror.

" Yeah, I guess."

" You okay?" Thereasa asked her.

" Yeah, I'm fine." Nikki answered continuing toward school. Thereasa could see the school situation was really bothering her friend, and she attempted to get Nikki to talk about it.

" Hey Nikki listen, those kids are jerks. Camren is especially stupid. He just likes to hear himself talk, you know that right?"

" Yeah."

" You have your friends here for you always. We'll stand up for you against those idiots, don't worry."

" I know, thank you." Nikki smiles. In an effort to make her feel better, Thereasa changes the subject to a lighter note.

" So did I tell you I saw Alex Ryder get pantsed yesterday?" Thereasa told her. Nikki raised her eyebrows looking toward her friend almost laughing.

" Really? That track star you've been obsessing over lately?"

" Yeah, I was walking to English, and one of his buddies came up, and yanked his pants down. Thankfully for him only a few people seemed to notice." The two girls giggled at the thought of the athlete in his underwear. Thereasa has liked him for some time, and this incident was an unexpected surprise.

" So...boxers or briefs?" Nikki asked.

" Tidy whities." Both girls start to laugh.

" Ow man. Did you get a good look at him?"

" Oh yeah. He has a pretty nice backside if I do say so myself."

Nikki had a good laugh, and she needed it. Leave it to Thereasa to always find a way to add levity to the situation. Now they were at school, and it was time for Nikki to face whatever awaited her.

" Well, time to enter the gauntlet."

" I have your back, don't worry."

" Thank you."

The girls walk through campus and in the building. They made idle chit chat with some friends along the way before making it to their lockers. So far so good for Nikki. She has yet to run into any of her adversaries, but the day wasn't over yet. She knew she'd have to face them sooner or later. Nikki and Thereasa had different first period classes, so they bid one another goodbye, Thereasa wishing Nikki good luck, and they headed off to class.

Meanwhile the homicide unit has arrived on a crime scene at a corner store where two employees were shot to death, and a customer was injured. CSRU made their way around the store dusting for prints, marking shell casings from shot fired, and taking pictures. Det. Frost gathered the security footage to go through at headquarters. Maura is looking over the bodies, and Jane is talking to the customer who is being treated for the cut above his right eyebrow.

" What happened when they came in the store?"

" I was at the counter paying for my coffee when one of them hit me in the head and I heard shooting. By the time I was able to get up, the employees were both dead."

" Did you see the shooter?" Jane asked him.

" They were both covered head to toe in black. I couldn't see their faces. The one that hit me looked pretty big. I could only make out black boots on both of them as they were leaving."

" Did either of them say anything?"

" No they just came in, shot up the place, and left."

" Okay, thank you." Jane and Frost discussed the crime scene, both puzzled by it.

" Does this crime scene look a little odd to you? I mean, who just bursts in a store, ransacks the place, leaves two men dead, and doesn't take the money out of the register?" Jane wondered.

" You think it may be a hit?" Frost asked.

" It certainly looks that way. The question is by who, and why."

The evidence homicide needed was gathered up, and the bodies were brought back to the morgue. Maura began the first autopsy, while Jane and Frost reviewed the security footage.

It is now third period, and so far Nikki has made it through her day without incident. She is on her way to class when she sees her friend, Olivia in the hallway. Olivia is another close friend of Nikki's. The two met in Junior High, and they both play soccer for school.

" Hey Livi."

" Hey Nikki, how've you been?"

" Okay, I guess." Nikki shrugged grimly. This has been a problem for Nikki since the start of the school year, and her friends are concerned.

"Thereasa told me what happened yesterday. Those kids are assholes. I wish there was more the school would do about it, besides reprimand them."

" Yeah, that would be nice." Nikki said.

Many students had problems with the Ames children. They seemed to want to look for anybody that was a little different, and make them feel bad about it. Camren had been suspended for fighting a few times, but other than that the attitude of the school seemed to be that kids will be kids. There was not much done to stop their behavior. Several people have been subjected to having their house toilet papered, among other acts of destruction, but as of yet they haven't found themselves in legal trouble. The two girls head down the hallway to class when they see Camren, Maria, and the rest of their creations around the corner. Nikki shuts her eyes tight and sighs.

" Perfect."

Nikki and Olivia attempted to walk past them unnoticed, but it didn't work as well as they might have hoped. Camren was first to approach them with his sister close behind.

" Hey look. The dyke baby found herself a body guard." Camren said leaning on the lockers in front of them.

" Look, I don't want any trouble, okay? I'm just heading to class." Nikki told them as she walked past, but that didn't stop Camren from continuing to taunt her.

" So, I've gotta know. Were you a test tube baby or were you shopped for on the internet?" Olivia turned to them in defense of her friend.

" Why don't you two find something better to do, and leave my friend alone." This time it was Maria who retorted with her own hateful words.

" Why don't you tell Mommy and Daddy, we're in America, learn some English." Olivia didn't say anything, she just looked at the floor. This got Nikki angry, and she stepped toward Maria, only to be stopped by Olivia.

" You don' t talk shit about my friend. You understand me, you stupid bitch?" Nikki snarled at her.

"Nikki, its okay, lets just go." Olivia led her friend away, and Nikki stormed off in the other direction. She was fed up with constantly being harassed, and hearing her friend being tormented really got to her.

" I really can't stand them anymore." Nikki said.

" I know. Like I said, they're assholes."

" Hey, I'm sorry you had to deal with them trying to defend me."

" It's okay. Don't sweat it." Olivia told her.

" I feel bad."

" Don't. That's what friends do. We watch out for each other."

" Thanks Livi."

Nikki wasn't the only one having problems lately with Camren and Maria, Olivia was too. Olivia was adopted at age six. Her mother, Nila is Iranian and her father, Samuel is Venezuelan. About a month ago, Nila was picking Olivia up from school, and the Ames kids saw them. While she passed them, Nila was talking to her mother on the phone in Farsi. Since then Camren and Maria have taunted Olivia, saying awful things about her family. Olivia was used to some people looking at her family funny, but these kids took things too far, and it hurt her to see Nikki so upset.

Back at BPD while Det. Frost was reviewing the corner store's security footage, Jane was downstairs with Maura working on the first autopsy of the store's owner. Sachit Desai, 62 yrs old lay upon the medical examiner's table with a gunshot wound to the back of the head and two to his right shoulder blade. Maura explained that the first shot to the head killed him instantly, and he was likely killed before having any idea of what was going on. The store owner's son, Malhar Desai, 31 was shot twice in the chest coming out of the back. The weapons used were likely semi - automatic rifles as determined by the type of bullets found in both men. As Maura went over their injuries and made notes, Frost came downstairs after watching the security footage wanting Jane to look at it, and get her opinion.

" Jane, I just watched the footage of the shooting. There's something very odd about it. You should come take a look at it."

Jane followed Frost upstairs, and the two began watching the tape of the shooting. The witness was at the counter paying for his coffee as he stated he was, then the store owner gave him his change and turned away from him when suddenly the witness was hit and knocked to the floor, and the store owner was shot three times. The two gunmen then proceeded to knock shelves over, before seeing the other victim come from the back, and shooting him twice in the chest, then fleeing the scene. Nothing was stolen from the store, no money or equipment or anything which confirmed this shooting was a hit. Still something seemed odd about it.

" They come in destroying the place, they kill the two employees, but leave the customer alive. Why wouldn't they kill him too? Why leave someone to testify?" Frost wondered. Jane pondered what they'd just watched, and came to an interesting conclusion.

" He's white." Jane said.

" The witness?"

" Yeah, that's why he was only incapacitated, and the two employees were killed. I think we may be looking at a hate crime."

It's now fifth period, and Nikki is heading to lunch. She's walking down the hallway with Thereasa when she meets up with her boyfriend, Matt. He greets her with a hug, and kisses the top of her head. Matt can tell already Nikki has had a trying morning, and hopes to be able to cheer her up.

" Hey Sweetie, you doing okay?" Matt asked her. Nikki just shrugged her shoulders. She didn't know what to say. She didn't know how to get these kids to leave her alone, but she was also tired of being a bummer all the time. Nikki didn't want others to feel responsible to deal with her problems.

" She's been having a rough couple of days lately. Those idiots keep giving her shit every day." Thereasa explained.

" Yeah, and now we've got to eat with them too." Nikki said. She knew Camren and Maria had the same lunch period, and she wished she could runaway and not face them in that cafeteria.

" I won't let those assholes bother you, I promise. They come near you, they'll have to deal with me." Matt told Nikki. Matt and Nikki started dating the middle of freshmen year. He was a really nice kid, and Nikki's parents liked him. Matt was laid back and easy to talk to which put Nikki at ease. He's always been very sweet, and really cared for Nikki. He wasn't about to let anyone give his girlfriend a hard time, and make her feel bad about herself.

As the three of them entered the lunch line, they could see Camren and Maria at their table. Camren smirked when he saw Nikki, but he caught Matt glaring at him, and he didn't have anything to say. Camren would never admit it, but he was a bit afraid of Matt. He talked a big game, but knew Matt wouldn't hesitate to knock him out to protect his girlfriend. The group at Camren's table just stared and whispered. So far it looked like there wouldn't be trouble, but you never could tell what they'd be up to. Many kids had problems with this group, and always had their guard up. Nikki has had a problem with these kids for awhile, but didn't want to tell her parents. She knew if her mother got wind of what these kids subjected her to, she'd come storming into school livid, and she feared it would make things worse, and put a bigger target on her back. Nikki, Matt, and Thereasa had their food, and were heading back to their table when they were met with their friend, Ty.

" Hey, what's good, Homies?"

" Hey Ty." Matt greeted him.

Ty was someone who marched to the beat of his own drummer. He was a little bit hip hop, a little bit skater boy, and definitely the class clown. One time he got in trouble for dancing on the teacher's desk when she'd stepped out for a moment. He found himself in detention after school, but it did make everyone laugh. Ty used to date Olivia, and even after they broke up, they still remained friends. He was always a friend to everyone, and good when you needed a laugh.

" Matty, you get my text last night?"

" Yeah, I found the Mass Effect cheat codes, and sent the site to you." Matt told him.

" Cool thanks. My internet was down last night, and the Xbox Live wasn't working."

The two boys talked video games and playfully teased one another about who had their ass handed to them. The high school environment these days was never without two guys discussing video games, the achievements they unlocked, and who beat who. Sometimes it was hard to tell if these boys had matured much past the age of ten. In the midst of their discussion the kids noticed Camren still staring at them, and whispering to his friends. Ty being who he was, wasn't about to let that go unnoticed.

" What are you looking at, shit stain?" Ty asked Camren. Matt was quick to try and defuse the situation, and try to avoid causing a scene.

" Ty, come on, Dude. Don't pay any attention to them."

Camren found this interaction between the two friends amusing, and felt compelled to take yet another jab at them.

" That's right. Keep your prison bitch in line."

Most people hearing a comment like that might be offended by it, especially when a guy is called a "bitch". Ty however didn't like to let anything like that bring him down, and accepted the challenge of offering a cleaver retort. Ty walked over to the table leaning into Camren looking in the direction of his friend, Mikey to whom he'd been whispering to.

" So uhm... speaking of prison bitches, aren't you gonna introduce us to yours?" Camren looked away not saying anything. He couldn't think of anything to say that wasn't cliché or that wouldn't make him look stupid.

" It seems to me you and your pal are a little more chummy than we all thought, with you here whispering sweet nothings in his ear." Ty told him. Camren immediately stood up with his sister standing behind him.

" I ain't no fag, man." Camren attempted to be intimidating, but this act only served to amuse Ty further.

" Oh look guys. He's trying to act tough." Maria piped in taking a shot at Nikki.

" Hey Dyke baby, you let these guys do all your talking for you?"

Nikki didn't say anything. She was tired of this day to day, and she just wanted it to stop. She thought if she just let them say what they had to, and didn't pay it attention that they would leave her alone, but it didn't seem to work. Even though Nikki ignored them most of the time, Camren and Maria could see she was visibly bothered by it, and they took her silence as fear. Thereasa came to Nikki's defense against Maria.

" Hey nobody was talking to you, alright!" Thereasa snapped which earned a middle finger from Maria. Ty walked over to her and patted the top of her head.

" Look at you putting up your middle finger, how cute. Did you come up with that all by yourself?" As soon as Ty patted Maria's head, she swatted his arm away.

" Oh the little woman's getting fresh. You should teach her a lesson." Ty told Camren. Matt got in front of him, and started to push him away.

" Come on, Man. Let's just go." Ty winked at the group of kids before heading back to the table with his friends. Nikki just shook her head. She knew Ty meant well, but she hated having something started with the Ames kids. The kids sat around the table. Nikki sits and slumps down while Ty tries to cheer her up.

" Hey don't let them bother you. They think they're bad ass, but they're not. They're just ignorant assholes." Ty told her. Nikki gave a weary smile, but found it hard to be optimistic.

" Look, I appreciate what you're trying to do, but I really wish you wouldn't sometimes."

" With all the shit they put people through, they deserve what they get. I'd just like to see you stand up for yourself."

" I don't want to stoop to their level." Nikki told him. She huffed and covered her face with her hands. Matt laid his hand on her shoulder, comforting her.

" Why don't you tell your parents what's going on?"

" Because I know my mom. I tell her, she'll come storming into school, and get into it with the principal, and I really don't feel like making things worse. I just...I don't know what to do."

Nikki was at her wits end, and truly at a loss for what to do. She'd considered telling her parents so many times. This problem obviously wouldn't go away on its own, and Nikki couldn't continue to do nothing. Still she had that fear that telling her parents would make things worse, not just for her, but her whole family. Nikki has heard many horror stories about kids being beat up for being gay, and she knows Camren and been known to express his beliefs violently. The last thing she wanted was to draw more attention to herself by having her police officer mother coming to school angry after hearing how her daughter's been treated.

The team at BPD was tirelessly going through pictures in their case file of the crime scene, and rewatching the security footage to try to catch something they might have missed before. They as of yet knew little about the two gunmen who were covered head to toe in black on the video. Both wore ski masks, long black jackets, black pants, and work boots. According to the shoe prints recovered from the scene, one had a size ten boot, and the other a size twelve. After watching the video several times, and slowing down shots, Frost finally saw something that might be helpful.

" Here, come take a look at this." Frost showed Jane and Korsak a frozen shot of one of the gunmen pushing over a shelf. His wrist was visible, along with part of a tattoo.

" It could be some sort of insignia." Korsak said.

" Or letters. Looks like a "W" on the end here, and another letter that isn't quite visible." Frost said looking to his computer for all known gangs that inhabited the area. They were able to tell from the gunman's wrist that he was white, reaffirming their suspicion of a hate crime against the Indian store proprietors. Frost continued to search through endless websites of gangs and hate groups until he stumbled on what looked like a possible suspect. It was a group called "RAW", whose letters stood for " Racial Holy War " and they were affiliated with Neo-Nazis. A side by side comparison was done, and the tattoo was a match to the group's insignia. This was a group known for their extreme racism, and hatred of those in different cultures. They have acted out violently before, and were responsible for many arsons and shootings like this one. The team gathered their intel, and prepared to search for those affiliated with this group.

It was the end of another school day, and the Ames family was gathered around the table for dinner. Their mother Lyn was cleaning up the food to be put away as they were nearly done, while Raymond Ames spoke to his children about their day at school.

" I got a phone call from a teacher at school about you, Camren. She tells me about an altercation you had in the hallway this morning." Camren just kind of scoffed at it, remembering what his father was referring to .

" She's overreacting, Dad. I was just kidding around with the freak."

" Who is this?" Raymond asked, to which Maria clarified for her father.

" The girl in school who has two moms." Maria told him. Raymond was puzzled, but continued to listen as Camren went on with his tirade.

" She's so weird. She's completely gothed out. This girl always wears black and has her hair colored, and she hangs out with complete weirdoes."

Although Raymond may have been equally appalled by someone of this nature, he still didn't condone his children bullying others, and wasn't ashamed to tell them so.

" Well it's no wonder, look where she comes from. Still that's no reason to be hostile towards a fellow classmate. After all, what does our lord say? I know you know."

The youth pastor of course was never without a bible verse of two at dinner. The two were good Christians who attended church regularly, but sometimes they wished they could turn the pastor off at home, yet the two still begrudgingly obliged their father.

" Do unto others as you'd have them do unto you." The two quoted in unison.

That's right. Now that poor girl needs saving, okay not scolding. Don't think I don't believe you two have the right to your opinion, this is America after all. I just don't want you to be in too much trouble with the school. Understand?"

" Yes Sir." The two answered. In his mind, Raymond had the right attitude. His speech was mostly his way of making himself feel like a responsible father, keeping his children's attitude in check. Deep down, this man was as repulsed by homosexuality as his children were. He's openly admitted that he thought people who protested against things like gay marriage and abortion were just good Americans expressing their opinion. He would never out and out give his children permission to harass other people, but deep inside he would always find a way to justify their actions.

Nikki was finally at home and was relieved. She didn't have much homework, so she was able to finish it in study hall. All she wanted to do now was head downstairs and work out her frustrations on her drum kit. Nikki had been playing the drums since she was eight. As a child she tinkered around with an old drum set of Frankie's that was left behind at his mother's house. Nikki would often practice in the garage when she would visit her grandmother, and over the years, she became quite good at it. Nikki has also modified the kit adding two extra toms, an array of cymbals, and of course no heavy metal kit would be complete without a double pedal for the kick drum. The nice thing about living at Maura's was that she was able to have her drum kit at home now. Nikki sat at her drums, plugged in her iPod, and began to play. She'd chosen the Evanescence song "Farther Away." It was one of her favorite bands, and an awesome song to drum to. Drumming was something Nikki enjoyed as well as a cathartic way for her to relieve tension. Her grandmother would have the baby for a little while longer, so this gave Nikki some time to have the house to herself. She finished her song, and went upstairs to grab a drink from the fridge, and flopped down in front of the TV. Nikki sat quietly on the couch aimlessly flipping through the channels with Jo Friday at her side. After about twenty minutes, Angela came through the door with Gracie, and Nikki made it an effort to put on the best happy act possible. Even though Angela meant well, she could be smothering at times, and Nikki wasn't in the mood for cheering up right now.

" Hi Sweetie." Angela greeted while placing Gracie in her playpen.

" Hi Nanny." Nikki answered turning to face her grandmother in the kitchen. She smiled, determined not to show any signs of distress. Angela walked over and kissed her granddaughter on the top of her head.

" How was school today, Honey?"

" Good." It was all she said and was going to say, and Nikki hoped she could avoid the subject.

" Your mothers will be home in about a half hour. I thought I'd start dinner for you girls. How does chicken alfreado sound to you?"

"It sounds good, Nanny." Nikki helped by setting the table while Angela started dinner, and fed Gracie. Soon Jane and Maura arrived home, and were delighted to have a nice dinner after working their case. Family time is important when being in this line of work, and the two mothers wanted to savor any moment they could share a nice meal with their children. Nikki sat and ate quietly while her family talked about their day. Angela talked about her day with the baby, Jane and Maura talked a little about reviewing evidence and interviewing people, and Nikki was so far successful at communicating with brief answers. As soon as dinner was over, and all was cleaned up, Nikki made a b-line for her room to bid this day adieu, but not before her mother checked in on her.

" Hey kiddo, you doing okay? You were awfully quiet at dinner."

" I'm fine." Nikki answered. She stood their fidgeting, hoping her mother would believe her. She knew her family cared, and would help her with any problem she had, but Nikki felt like she just couldn't. There was a big part of her that wanted to. Dealing with these kids' day in and day out was wearing on her, and she badly wanted it to stop. Still Nikki feared making a bad situation worse, and she chose to keep quiet about it. Jane however suspected there was something wrong that her daughter wasn't telling her.

" Are you sure? Sweetheart, you know you can tell me anything that's wrong."

" Nothing's wrong, Mom. I'm just tired and I want to go to bed. " Nikki told Jane not looking at her. Jane was confused, but for now let it go, and kissed her daughter goodnight. Nikki climbed into bed and laid awake staring at the ceiling. She had no Idea what she wanted to do about this. She knew she'd have to go to school and face them tomorrow, and she wished she had the courage to tell someone that could help her. For tonight she could sleep, and put this behind her, but tomorrow was another day.