OLD TIMES, ANEW

1

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." A loud sigh echoed around the room. "I hate it already! Why are you making me read this? A woman doesn't need a man for anything!" The tablet computer clacked as it hit the tabletop and waited, it's screen pulsing slowly.

"Well, we need a man for ONE thing… Look, read it to better yourself," came the calm reply. "Don't you want to better yourself?"

"I don't need to read stuff like Pride and Prejudice to better myself, Mom, I'm fine just as I am."

"Of course you are. But I'd really like for you to read this. I think you'll get a lot out of it." Mother and daughter, mirror images of each other down to blonde hair and stubbornness, faced off. The older woman crossed her arms and waited as hazel eyes stared defiantly back. Then she brought out the big guns. "Please, Cam? For me? It's one of my favorites from when I was your age and I really think you'll like it."

Camille Isles, daughter of the world renowned Doctor Maura Isles sighed again. "Ugh… I hate when you do that," she chuckled as she stepped forward and hugged her mother. "But you don't ask for much, Mom, so I can do it for you."

"Thank you, Sweetie," Maura replied with a big smile. "So," she turned and opened the refrigerator. "What do you want for dinner? We have a lot of stuff in here."

Cam mulled the question over as she sat back down at the table and shoved her thick, blonde hair into a ponytail. She considered herself lucky, if she was honest. Not many of her friends had mothers who actually cooked for them and, even at the busiest of times, the doctor made the time to spend her evening meal with her daughter. Cam couldn't say the same for her Dad, whom she hadn't seen in over six months.

"I don't mind. Whatever leftovers are there will work." The teenager sucked in a breath and straightened up. "Mom, can I call Dad tonight?"

Only the slight stiffening of her mother's back indicated her feelings. "Of course, Cam. You don't have to ask me if you want to call your Dad. You know that."

"Yeah," Cam nodded, crossing her arms and ankles. "I just feel like you should know."

Maura closed the refrigerator and carried a container of spaghetti bolognaise to the microwave, allowing herself some time to gather her thoughts. Cam just watched, admiring her mother's beauty and the silk blouse and slacks she wore with elegant style. At fifty-three years old, she still turned heads. "Honey," she began. "Just because things didn't work out between your Dad and I doesn't mean that he's not a good man. If you want to see him, see him. In fact, if you want to fly out to see him this weekend that's completely fine. I'll book you a flight."

Cam grinned, a sparkle in her hazel eyes. "I'd really like that, Mom, but why don't you come with me? Not to see him, but to hang out with me. Like a girls weekend? You haven't been back in a long time. Surely you miss it?"

Maura sighed, as she fished the now piping-hot container out of the microwave and portioned its contents onto two plates. "I do sometimes," she admitted. "Ok, you're on. Let's go for a long weekend."

Over dinner, they used Cam's tablet computer to find flights from Los Angeles and a nice hotel and a quick credit card transaction later, they were talking about what to do when they got there. "Why don't you do some research?" Maura suggested "And decide what you want to see."

"Cool," Cam replied as she swallowed her last mouthful of spaghetti. She opened a new browser window and brought up Trip Advisor. "Hmmm… things to do in summer… in Boston."

…

Getting out of bed every day was a damn struggle - mentally as well as physically. Lieutenant Detective Jane Rizzoli stepped gingerly out of the shower, reaching for her cane and steadying herself, before grabbing a towel and wrapping it around her tall frame. Slowly moving into the kitchen, she headed for the freshly brewed coffee sitting on the machine, savoring the wisps of aroma floating through the small space.

Sun streamed in the window, bathing her in its warm glow and bringing out the mahogany highlights in her dark hair. She chuckled to herself as she glanced back towards the bathroom and the hair color bottle she'd left sitting on the sink.

"Well, Jo3," she addressed her dog, who was sitting attentively on the sofa. "Even old gals like me can make an effort."

Bringing her coffee to the bedroom, Jane dried her hair and dressed in her usual outfit of a dark pantsuit and V-necked shirt. Her hair was shorter than it used to be but it was still thick and full and, while she bent over paperwork especially, stayed mostly back in a ponytail.

The detective added her gun and badge to her outfit and picked up her wallet and keys off the kitchen counter. "Later, Jo."

After what had happened, Jane had moved to an apartment block with an elevator, since stairs didn't really agree with her disability. In fact, getting up the stairs to the station house was even a challenge and, twenty minutes later, she was faced with just that.

Today, though, the task seemed almost insurmountable. Today, she really wished she wasn't there. "You're going to have to help me today, Frankie," she murmured as she started up the steps, one by one. The clack of her cane on the stone set her teeth on edge and she waved away the uniformed officer who offered to help her. "As you were," she growled as he backed off with his hands still raised in supplication.

Halfway up, she paused, as she did every morning, to both rest and send a silent thought to her brother. Sergeant Detective Frankie Rizzoli had died five years previously that very day, on those very same steps. Sometimes, Jane even thought she could still see the bloodstains left by his gunshot-riddled body. His blood had mixed with her own as they'd both laid there, unconscious and bleeding. She had made it. He hadn't. It made her angry all over again, as it did every single day, and it was that anger that got her the rest of the way up those cold, stone steps. "Same shit, different shovel," she murmured as she got to the top and went inside. In fact, Jane almost made it all the way to her office without being stopped… almost. "Lieutenant Rizzoli, Ma'am?"

She turned, pinning her interrupter with brown eyes full of ice. "I prefer sir."

"Oh, yes, Sir," the young man replied. "My father told me to introduce myself to you. I'm going to be attending the academy soon and he told me that there's no better person on the force to learn from. He said…"

The dark woman held up a hand. "Whoa, Kid. Wait." His mouth closed abruptly, his white teeth making an audible click. "Who are you?"

"Oh!" He stuck out his hand. "John Frost, Ma'am, I mean, Sir."

The situation suddenly struck Jane as funny and she couldn't help the laugh that bubbled up. "John? Please tell me that your nickname is Jack!" She shook his proffered hand and clapped him on the back.

"No, Sir," the young man grinned. "Not even my father is that cruel."

The lieutenant found herself liking the kid and he looked enough like her old partner to bring back some good memories. "Alright, come into my office. We can talk." Jane turned and slowly headed inside, fully expecting the kid to follow. He didn't disappoint and she didn't object to his, when she took her seat, respectfully relieving her of her cane and standing it by the side of the desk.

Then the young man closed the door and took a seat in her guest chair. "It really is an honor to meet you," he smiled.

"Well, go on," she replied, a little embarrassed. "Ask your questions." Then sighed when he took out a legal pad and starting flipping through pages of notes. "Just try not to bore me to tears, Kid."

…

Doctor Maura Isles was dressed casually in jeans and a neatly pressed cotton shirt, which was unusual for her seeing as she was performing her final duties of the week at her office. She finished up early and tidied her desk before heading out. She stopped briefly to drop some files on her assistant's desk. "Mary, could you please process these and type up the notes I left on my voice recorder by C.O.B. Monday. I'll need them on Tuesday morning when I get back."

The young woman smiled. "Of course, Doctor Isles. I'll make sure everything is in order when you get back. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

Maura grinned internally. When she'd been the Chief Medical Examiner for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, she hadn't even had an assistant. Now, as CME for the County of Los Angeles, she had two although, as anal about paperwork as she was, she actually still did most of it herself. It was nice to have the option though. "No, thanks. Have a nice weekend, Mary. I'll see you Tuesday."

"You too, Doctor Isles. Have fun with Cam in Boston."

"Thanks, Mary." On the way out of the building, Maura pulled out her iPhone. "Call Cam."

Cam was packed and ready at the house, just waiting for her Mom to pick her up. "Hey, where are you?"

"Ten minutes away, Hon. All ready?" Maura got into her car and the communications system took over, piping the sound through her stereo speakers. "Did you remember your allergy meds and epi pen?"

"Yep," the younger blonde replied as she applied a fresh coat of lipstick and tugged her shirt straight. "I've got everything."

"Good. The flight's in a couple of hours and I'm already packed too. Grab my bag off my bed, would you please?"

"Sure, Mom. I'm waiting. See you in a few." As she slipped her phone into the back pocket of her jeans, Cam went into her mother's room to get her case and then carried it down the stairs to sit it beside her own.

She was excited about going to Boston. She was not only going to see her Dad but she was also going to see the city where her mother made her name as one of the best pathologists in the country. Maura Isles had shared some stories with her daughters about some of the cases she'd worked on over the years and Cam couldn't wait to see the place where she'd worked. The young blonde also had a short list of places she wanted to visit while she and her Mom were there.

Minutes later, Maura's car pulled up and she got out to help her daughter load the stuff, giving her a brief kiss on the head as she did so. "Let's go, Kid."

After a brief stop to lock up the house, the two Isles women got into the car and headed out to brave the traffic to LAX. Cam grinned widely at her Mom. "Boston, here we come!"

A chuckle was her reply. "Did you bring the book?"

…