A/N: Well, here is my first Chrizzles fic of the season! I know I should be working on Moments in Time because I haven't updated it in forever but life has been crazy the last few months and just very recently breaking my ankle hasn't helped. But then again, without breaking an ankle, this fic wouldn't have been written.

This originally was only going to be a one shot, but then somehow I ended up with an outline for 8 chapters (even though its not set in stone) and here we are with the first one. I wasn't going to post it because I wasn't sure it was what I wanted to write but a friend of mine read the first chapter, liked the general outline of the later chapters and hounded me to carry on with it, so if you hate it, blame her. I'll tell you exactly where she lives, make sure your pitchforks are sharp lol

The plot won't be too complicated, there's plenty of fluff, plenty of confrontation and just a teeny bit of angst but stick with me, I love a happy ending as much as the rest of you, especially at Christmas :)

Enough from me. I hope you like the first chapter :)

Chapter 1

Thursday, December 20th

Korsak couldn't help but notice that Jane had slammed her drawer a little too enthusiastically as she rifled around in her desk looking for a pen that actually worked. His eyes followed her as she swore almost inaudibly and moved stacks of paperwork aside, rummaging in drawers again before she rolled her eyes and quit looking, preferring to borrow one of Frost's pens instead. As Korsak crossed the room with his mug for a coffee refill, he noticed the agitated set of her shoulders and the way her leg bounced up and down in the manner that it usually did when she was pissed off. The last time he had seen her so out of sorts was when Ian had been back in town, and realised suddenly that whatever was causing her mood, Maura Isles had to be part of the equation.

Korsak sighed and eyed the door wistfully, knowing that this was exactly the reason why he resisted getting married a fourth time. Animals were easy, they ate, they slept, they enjoyed the simple things in life, and they were easy to understand. Women, not so much. He'd never met a woman that didn't come with an invisible instruction manual and a whole boatload of complex emotions that he'd never figure out if he tried. He was grateful that Jane didn't seem as complicated as most women, and was usually only ever pissed off for three reasons: work, her mother, and Maura. He knew there was no issue with work; her mutterings had been almost whispered so it wasn't her mother, which really only left the medical examiner as the culprit. Although Korsak wasn't naive enough to believe that Maura was the sole cause of the problem, even though in a roundabout way she was.

"Oh hey, Jane. Coffee?" Korsak asked, trying to sound as if he'd only just noticed she was in the room.

'Huh?" she looked up blankly at him, not realising for a moment what the question had been and then blinked to try and shake herself into the present as Korsak waved his mug at her. "No. Thanks, though."

"Cavanaugh on your back about the Jefferson case?" Korsak knew he wasn't, but it wouldn't do to let Jane think he'd actually been watching her since the minute she'd stomped back into the bullpen.

"No. He's been in meetings all morning, I haven't seen him."

So it definitely wasn't about work, which left only Angela or Maura. Korsak decided to test the waters further, judging that it was pretty much safe at the moment given that Jane wasn't spitting fire or looking as if she was ready to chew his arm off.

"I was thinking of going down to the cafe for lunch soon. You want me to bring you something back up?"

Jane shook her head. "Thanks for the offer, but I'll go down and see ma later. I'm just not hungry right now."

Definitely Maura, then. Korsak decided to press a little further seeing as how Jane was in a pissy mood, but apparently wasn't so pissy that she was spreading it around.

"Oh that reminds me. Is there any news on the lab results for Chad Jefferson, yet?"

Jane growled and Korsak knew he was suddenly on the money. "There might have been if Maura wasn't so damn reluctant to do tests."

"Really? What's eating at her then? Not like the Doc to refuse to do tests." Korsak decided to play along a little.

Jane considered the question and leaned back in her chair with only a small huff, already having started to calm down. She knew she sounded ridiculous, the whole damn thing was ridiculous but nobody could get under her skin quite like Maura Isles and the woman knew it and took full advantage of the fact. Closing her eyes, she rubbed both hands over her face and then leaned forward on her elbows, her pile of paperwork forgotten.

"I pissed her off and she refused to do any more tests with me in the room," Jane said, deciding to run with the truth even if she was still a little annoyed. "I just got a hunch that there's something funny about that kid, Chad. I can't prove it, I may never prove it, but when half your family turns up dead and the only other two surviving members of your family are barely out of diapers, then chances are you're gonna be lookin' at the eldest as a suspect. Maura doesn't quite see it like that."

"She's not a detective, Jane. The Doc doesn't rely on hunches, or gut feelings." Korsak knew he was playing with fire in playing devil's advocate but he knew Jane would always expect that Maura had a fair hearing, even if she wasn't personally giving her one right now. "We have the luxury of formulating a theory and playing guessing games until something actually falls into place and we get a lead. Her world is different; she has to rely on science to prove without a doubt that a person is guilty. That's why it works so well, she provides the how and when and we provide the why."

"You missed out the who," Jane said, suddenly grinning now that she'd calmed down. "Or whom as Maura would say. I get that, I do. But I swear some days she does it just to annoy me."

"And you don't?"

She looked at the teasing grin on his face and nodded, her lips still creased into a smile. Knowing that that was exactly what she did. "Yeah, I tease her. I tease her a lot."

"And she teases back. But she's never teased you about work, at least not seriously. Listen, you can tell me to mind my own business, but you two have been bickering a lot lately. What in the world is going on?"

"I have no idea. We chug along and everything is great and then either she or I will say something and then suddenly one of us goes nuts."

"You ever tried talking to her about it?"

"This is Maura we're talking about. By the time we'd finished I'd have copped to Watergate and told her where Jimmy Hoffa's body is buried," Jane deadpanned as Korsak snickered around a sip of his rapidly cooling coffee. "To be perfectly honest, I really don't think anything is wrong. I know I don't have a problem with her and I'm pretty certain she doesn't have a problem with me. I think the stress just gets too much at times and we blow off steam at each other. I think she just caught me on a bad day."

Korsak nodded, not entirely convinced, pretty sure that he knew exactly what was wrong with them but he wasn't going to risk having his head bitten off. "Okay, kiddo. Just remember, if want to talk, you know where I am."

"Thanks, Korsak." Jane gave him a grateful smile and went back to her paperwork, wondering why she was barking at Maura and not everybody else. It was as if the universe had been tipped on its ass and her world was a complete mirror image of everything it once was. Normally, she'd been bickering with Korsak and Frost and Maura would be talking her down from the edge, except this time, Maura was the one threatening to push her over it.

"And how exactly does this get us any further forward?" Jane growled as she threw the file on Maura's breakfast bar as the blonde worked on chopping up some vegetables for dinner.

"It tells you that the Jefferson family were all deliberately murdered," Maura said calmly, trying to concentrate on what she was doing with the sharp knife she held in her hand and not on Jane so she didn't lose a finger.

"I already guessed that! Strangely enough, Maura, people don't hang around the house riddled with knife wounds for an evening's worth of entertainment!"

Maura shook her head as Jane began pacing the room and mumbling. It was typical of Jane to lash out at those around her when something went wrong, which wasn't usually a problem but lately, it had all been directed at Maura and she was getting sick of it. But then in all honesty, she could never claim to be innocent. She had done her fair share of grousing at Jane lately, feeling stressed out for reasons she couldn't quite fathom which had led to her starting more than one disagreement with the brunette.

"Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit."

"Did you run a test on that too?" Jane snapped and pointed to the folder again. "How precisely am I supposed to move forward on an investigation when I don't have any forensic clues to follow?"

Maua sighed and stopped chopping, before resting her hands on the edge of the cutting board. "Jane, look at me, please. If there is any forensic evidence to find, I will find it. But if there isn't, then you can't expect me to pull something out of thin air that doesn't exist. The killer was obviously very careful about leaving any trace evidence behind and I cannot retrieve something I cannot find. What I would simply like to know is how that makes it my fault?"

"I wasn't blaming you," Jane shouted, although it certainly had sounded like it. "I've got two dead kids and three that are still alive but have no parents because they too, are dead. Now, according to everybody you speak to, they were like the fucking Partridge Family. The father was a real stand up guy, the mother a perfect housewife and yet you and I always know that there's quite often trouble in paradise. Chad Jefferson is hiding something and I want to know what it is."

"The autopsies don't prove that Chad Jefferson is a killer."

"The autopsies don't prove that he isn't, Maura," Jane fired back. "Why do you persist on fighting me at every turn over this?"

"I'm not fighting you over this. I'm trying to get you to see the facts. Whether Chad is guilty or not, has no bearing unless we can definitively prove using forensics that he actually committed the murders."

"Which is exactly why I needed you to get your ass in gear to prove it!" Jane growled as she thumped the folder containing Maura's autopsy findings.

"How can you prove something that isn't there?!" Maura snapped, finally losing her temper as she put the knife down loudly. "I'm a scientist, Jane. I can't tell you the sky is green and the grass is blue when it isn't. I know your gut feeling is strong on this, and I appreciate that even if it isn't the way I work, but I can't expose what I can't find, Jane. Expecting me to do that is unfair."

"And expecting me to arrest a murderer when I have no clue who is guilty because the forensic evidence isn't telling me a damn thing, how is that fair?!"

"It isn't, Jane, but nobody ever said life is fair. As much as I love my job, I'd prefer that my patients didn't end up on my table the way they do. It would be nice if everybody left the world as peacefully as they should, but the sad fact of life is that they don't and no matter how much pressure you put on yourself to find every killer that crosses your path, it won't change that."

"So, I'm wasting my time?" Jane threw her hands up in the air. "My whole career has just been a waste of time, is that what you're saying? Maybe I should pack it all in and do something else. Not making any damn difference so why do I bother?"

"Oh for god sake, Jane!" Maura snatched her apron off and balled it up before throwing it on the counter in a fit of temper that Jane wasn't quite used to witnessing. "Why is it you take everything I say as a personal attack? Why is it everything I do, you make me feel like I disappoint you at every turn."

"I never said that!"

"You didn't have to. I can see it, I can see it every time I fail to find some clue that might satisfy you and have the case closed a little faster. I know I might seem like it, Jane, but I'm not superwoman. I'm human, and I have my limits, even if I can sometimes reach further and faster than your average person."

"And you think I don't see the look of pity in your eyes when I don't catch a killer? You think I don't see the way you look at me, as I'm somehow lacking because I couldn't manage to get justice for a victim."

"The look you see isn't pity," Maura said, desperately trying to keep a lid on her temper. "It's compassion for a person I know who puts their own life on the line in order to find closure for others. It's empathy, because I know just how hard it is to prove sometimes from my own experiences because I'm always right there with you, Jane. You're never on your own but you choose to put yourself apart from everybody else. Well that's fine; I can't stop you doing that. But what I can do is stop you from blaming me every time you put too much pressure on yourself to get a conviction."

"I'm not blaming you!" Jane groaned, realising that she'd been taking all of her frustrations out on her best friend and she could see how it would look like she was blaming Maura, especially with some of the dumb things that she'd said. "Jesus, Maura, I could never blame you for anything."

Maura didn't quite know what to say anymore, certainly didn't want to argue anymore and headed toward the fridge for a bottle of wine. She held up a bottle of beer in silent offer of a drink but Jane shook her head, knowing that alcohol was the last thing she needed right now even if it was the only thing she wanted. She took a seat at the breakfast bar and listened to Maura opening the bottle of wine as she dropped her head into her hands and threaded her fingers through her dark, curly hair in frustration.

Maura sipped at her wine, and then retrieved the knife and began chopping again, still not knowing what to say. It wasn't the first argument they'd had today, it wasn't even the second, but so far it was the worst. It seemed like they'd been at loggerheads for weeks, but there was never any pattern to it, never any single trigger, really. One minute they'd be curled up on the sofa together and laughing about something and the next, they'd be facing each other across the room and arguing about something stupid. And it was stupid, because Jane knew Maura couldn't find evidence that didn't exist and that she would never entertain the idea that Jane was doing anything other than trying her best to catch the killer. They never usually fought over cases like this unless there was some personal connection and so Maura was confused as to why they kept baiting each other.

It wasn't just work either. They'd fight over shopping, or television, or just about anything they happened to be doing at the time. Mostly, the fights were over quickly, they'd shake their head and laugh and then all would be forgiven and forgotten, but the longer it went on, the more Maura was sure that they were both mystified as to why they were even arguing in the first place. Nothing had changed for them, and there were no problems, nothing they'd done to hurt each other, nothing they'd done or said that would even be perceived as wrong, so Maura was entirely unsure about the origin of the problem. At first, she was convinced she'd missed some sort of social clue, that she'd done or said something that she wasn't meant to have done, but as time had passed, she had realised that Jane was just as mixed up about the state of affairs as she was. The only thing Maura could definitively believe it to be attributable to was stress. Perhaps that really was the cause after all.

"I meant to tell you..." Jane started out tentatively, holding a breath in until Maura looked in her direction. The blonde didn't look as if she immediately wanted Jane's liver on the end of her knife so that was a bonus. "Your new best friend was at the station today."

"New best friend?" Maura looked puzzled. "What best friend? The only best friend I have is you."

Jane was being polite. She could have said douche-bag, dickhead, doofus, asshole, or any other adjective to describe one of Maura's admirers but for the most part she didn't want to kick off another argument. "That guy, the one who was following you around after the Grafton case like a puppy."

"You mean Agent Thompson?"

"Yeah."

"What did he want?"

"Wanted me to ask you if you wanted to have dinner with him? What the nimrod actually meant was ask you if you'll let him take you to bed." Jane could have bitten her tongue off when she saw the sudden flare of anger in Maura's eyes.

"No, I won't let him take me to bed, not that it's any of your business." Although Maura wished Jane would make it her business, couldn't help feeling irked that she hadn't already.

"Clearly not," Jane said in a tone that was meant to be sarcastically chipper. "Just do me a favour and tell him that, because I'm not your goddamn PA and nor am I a dating service. Enjoy the rest of your evening, I'm out."

"Don't move an inch, or I'll make you regret it," Maura threatened and trotted off after Jane. "Where do you think you're going?"

"I thought I might take in a little of the night air. You know, perhaps a little drive right around the seventh circle of hell and then home to bed."

"I'm cooking dinner."

"No, you're hacking carrots to pieces, but hey, have fun with that. G'night." Jane once again headed for the door, only to have Maura follow her.

"Jane."

"I'm not walking you before I go. You'll have to use the bathroom instead." Jane tried for humour but could see by the look on Maura's face that it wasn't going to work, at least not tonight.

"I'm not interested in Agent Thompson," Maura said, knowing that the thought bothered Jane and she wanted her to be clear about it. "I am not going to sleep with him, I'm not going to have dinner with him and I'm not even going to have a conversation with him that consists of anything except asking him to take a hint that I would prefer he left me alone."

"Great, now I can sleep tonight," Jane said sarcastically, while inwardly feeling a huge sense of relief flood through her. "Goodnight."

"Jane for god sake, will you stand still?" Maura complained. "There's no need for you to go home. We're adults, we have disagreements, and we get over it."

"I think I should just go before either one of us says something we'll regret."

"Oh here we go, I wondered when you were going to bring that up," Maura ground out before turning her back on Jane and stomping into the kitchen.

Jane rolled her eyes and wondered what to do, before heading back the way she came and standing awkwardly as Maura made sure Jane knew she was ignoring her. When the door opened and Angela walked in, Jane knew her night from hell was complete.

"I heard shouting. You guys okay?" Angela asked, sensing the atmosphere the minute she walked in.

"Yes, we're getting along fabulously as usual," Maura said, her tone laced with blatant sarcasm that was meant for Jane.

"This is exactly why I was going home," Jane slapped her hand against her pant leg. "Everything I say gets twisted and then it all starts off over again."

"There was no possible way to twist what you said, Jane."

"Don't put words in my mouth. But yeah, for the record, I don't want to end up the way we did the day I shot your father, okay? I don't ever wanna go back there again, because it killed me the first time. The last thing I want is for you to hate me, because I'm beginning to wonder if you don't like me anymore," Jane said, her voice cracking as she decided she'd had enough for one night and abruptly turned and slammed the door behind her.

Angela felt bewildered and wondered what the hell was going on now. When she'd left them alone less than an hour ago, they were chatting away happily and laughing about something or other the way they usually did when they were in their own little world. When she heard a sob escape Maura's lips, she clucked sympathetically and grabbed some tissues before grabbing Maura and smothering her in a hug. Maura, usually not one for physical contact unless it was Jane to offer it, clung tightly to Angela's ribs and sobbed her heart out.

"There now baby, you let it all out," Angela soothed, wondering what on earth had gone wrong between them. "Janie didn't mean it, you know she never does. Her mouth was made for puttin' her feet in. I know she comes across as an insensitive pig, but she gets that from her father. Truth is, she's a softie on the inside, while Frank really was just an insensitive pig."

"How can she think that? How can she think I don't like her anymore? I need her, Angela," Maura cried, tears streaming from her eyes as they dripped down her face and onto Angela's shoulder.

"She doesn't think that sweetheart, she's tired and she's angry and she's over emotional. The same as you are. You're both stressed." At least that's all Angela hoped it was, because she could never see the two of them being any less than the very best of friends.

"She does this on purpose." Maura pouted tearfully. "She fights with me and then she leaves and she makes me miss her. She runs away and leaves me when I need her with me the most."

"Geez, I say you should enjoy the peace while it lasts," Angela joked, eliciting a snort of tearful laughter from Maura.

Suddenly, the front door opened again and slammed shut. Angela turned slightly to see a flurry of dark hair and long limbs that was usually indicative of her daughter on a mission. What kind of mission was anybody's guess but she stepped back and let go of Maura, who turned to look at Jane. She watched as both women gazed at each other from across the kitchen and silently willed her daughter to make the first move, because she knew Maura was vulnerable, and so much closer to breaking than Jane knew.

"Oh, Maura," Jane sighed, the words sounding pained as her eyes softened at seeing Maura's tears. "Baby, c'mere."

Maura didn't need to be told twice as Jane met her halfway across the kitchen and threw her arms around her and held onto her tightly. Angela gave her daughter the thumbs up and with a wink headed back towards the guest house to leave them to it. Ordinarily, she'd stick around and meddle for a while but she could sense this ran a whole lot deeper than just a few superficial arguments, but apparently neither of the women realised exactly what was going on. That was fine by Angela, knowing they'd stumble on it eventually, and for once she was happy to take a back seat and let Jane work her own mess out, but that didn't mean she was done. She'd wait and watch, and see.

"I'm sorry, I was being an asshole." Jane took full advantage of the fact that Maura was in a teary state and swung her up in her arms and carried her to the sofa.

"You've always been an asshole, but you can get used to that in a person," Maura laughed as Jane unceremoniously dropped her in a heap on the sofa and then lay down beside her. "I'm sorry, too. We were both acting like assholes."

"Doctor Isles, did you just say the word 'assholes'?" Jane brushed back honey-blonde hair and gently wiped Maura's tears away, before gently caressing the back of her neck the same way she always did when Maura was tired or upset.

"I did, and it's indicative of how low my standards have dropped while working around a bunch of hooligan cops who should know better." Maura's face crinkled in mock indignation and slid her fingers along into Jane's free hand, the one that wasn't currently stroking the sensitive skin at the nape of her neck that caused her toes to curl.

"You say that, but you're always the first to start cramming a cheeseburger into your cake-hole." Jane pulled Maura closer and placed a kiss on her forehead, closing her eyes at the sensation of Maura's warmth resting against her lips.

"A cheeseburger is one thing, but you make me eat hotdogs, and chilli fries and all those other things that make my butt look big."

"Your butt isn't big," Jane shook her head and felt Maura move even closer, finally feeling as if something was going right again when the blonde rested her forehead against hers and they were breathing the same air. "Your ass is tiny. I could probably fit it into the palms of my hands if I tried but I won't, because the mood you're in, you'd probably have me arrested for feeling you up in your residence."

"That sounded a lot kinkier than I think you were aiming for, Detective."

"Yeah well, I can be kinky. I just don't do it often."

"Jane, watching the Red Sox in just your panties and a t-shirt isn't kinky. It's guy-like behaviour."

"Well, I did always say that I would be the guy. Besides, you can't tell me you've never just collapsed onto the sofa in something comfortable but highly inappropriate if anybody else were in the room."

"Jane, I've seen you watch the Red Sox in just your panties and a t-shirt." Maura snorted with laughter, recalling the night she spent more time watching Jane's legs than the game. "I was staying the night at your place, if you recall."

"I did say inappropriate if anybody else were in the room. You're not just anybody, you're my awesome sidekick and best friend."

"That's true. I did once change into a beautifully deep red silk charmeuse robe I bought in New York and watched a documentary about Hanta Virus whilst I was alone." Maura grinned as she recalled what was rather a pleasant memory that she was keen to share with Jane, both in thought and in actuality but decided not to overload the brunette's system.

"And that was inappropriate?" Jane looked askance at her. "Oh yeah, I can totally see why. Wearing a bathrobe on your own sofa, how risqué of you."

"Well, it was very short, mid thigh length and I wasn't really wearing anything under it," Maura said, watching as the idea registered in Jane's mind and she reacted the same way she always did: became pink around the ears and began breathing a little faster.

"That isn't inappropriate," Jane husked, hoping to god her voice didn't betray how much of a turn on the picture in her head was. "That could be considered sexy if you really wanted it to be, but it isn't kinky."

"Could be if you consider the fact that it was the middle of summer and I left the robe open." Maura didn't add how her hands had roamed all over her body, taking the time to explore and tease herself until she was breathless and desperate for release.

Jane swallowed heavily and closed her eyes, the vision taking root in her head and refusing to leave. "Just...if you ever do that again and you have even the slightest idea that I'll be over at any point, please phone me to warn me."

"So I warn you, and then carry on lying there?" Maura asked, her tone all innocent when her intention was anything but. She much preferred teasing Jane than fighting with her.

Holy shit thought Jane. "No, you warn me and if you're too lazy to get up and change, then you kind of go ahead and tie the belt on your robe and hope to god you don't flash me. On second thoughts, I don't want to see you in anything in this house that shows any skin. Tommy comes around whenever he likes and Frankie is never far behind."

"Why Detective, if I didn't know better, I'd swear you were attempting to protect my modesty." Maura batted her eyelashes at Jane demurely.

"No, just protecting your bare ass and bare... everything else, from Tommy's pervy eyes."

"What about your pervy eyes?"

"As your best friend, I put up with so many weird ass high society functions, fun filled facts and yoga sessions that I'm sure I earned the right to have you serve me beer naked if I want it." Jane's eyes remained closed, not wanting to give away the fact that she was desperately trying not to picture it.

Maura was about to respond when a sudden thought entered her mind. "We are still best friends, aren't we? I mean, we keep fighting and..."

Jane felt her heart ache at the tone in Maura's voice as it trailed off. It was so small and vulnerable that she could kick herself for even arguing with her in the first place. "Of course we are. We might fight, or disagree sometimes, but I really don't think there's anything wrong with our friendship, I mean we don't have any problems that we know of. I act like an ass but it doesn't mean I don't care for you. Maura, look, I'm not the best person for talking about feelings and stuff or saying what I mean deep down but nothing could ever change the way I feel about you. I... I'd never love you any less, okay?"

"Then what's with us lately?"

"I have no idea. Korsak thinks its stress."

"So does your mother."

"Maybe we need to find an outlet or something? Take up a hobby that we both like that keeps us occupied and not arguing with each other."

"That's not a bad idea." Maura glanced up at Jane, who still lay with her eyes closed, and gently traced the shape of her cheekbone with her fingertip. "I love you too, you know. Even if you are being a pain."

Jane chuckled. "Yeah, I kinda noticed. And I'm glad you do because I'd be lost without my best bud. I'm sorry about before, about what I said about you not liking me anymore, I say stupid stuff without thinking."

"That's okay. I say stupid stuff even when I've thought about it," Maura grinned, pleased when Jane clucked her tongue at her to refute it.

"Don't say that. Nothing you've ever said is stupid. It's just that the rest of the world hasn't caught up yet."

"Why don't I order dinner in? I'm too tired to cook. I was thinking maybe pizza?"

"See? You're a genius," Jane said, handing Maura her phone so that she could order the pizza and took the opportunity to snuggle into her and place a gentle kiss against her cheek, before closing her eyes and settling down to wait for dinner.

I hope you liked the first chapter. As always, I'd really appreciate it if you sent me a review, but if not, I'd still like to thank you very much for reading and I hope you'll stick around for the next part :)