It had been days since she'd last gone to work, she also had called in asking off another week. Dr. Maura Isles, the medical examiner at the Boston Police Department, had contracted an illness she could only link to work. She hadn't done anything outside the morgue for a couple weeks, which is why she was taken off guard when she first felt ill a few days ago.

Whatever it was that had Maura feeling so sick was a mystery even to her doctor, who performed many tests trying to find the correct diagnosis. All Maura knew was whatever it happened to be, it was the worst sickness she'd ever experienced. She was physically drained, so much so that it even hurt to think. She had major migraines, a weak stomach, and she was always cold.

Dr. Isles was never prone to catching communicable diseases like the cold or flu, which is probably why she was in so much pain. That because her immune system rarely had to fight off sickness, it just wasn't strong enough to battle her current paralyzing pathogens.

She spent most of her days in bed, falling in and out of sleep, only getting up for the occasional trip to the restroom. Just as she rolled over to find a more comfortable position to lay in, her attention was directed to the bedroom door, from which Detective Jane Rizzoli, her best friend, appeared. When Maura tried to get up to great her friend, the detective took a seat next to her on the bed while gently guiding her to lie back down. She made a "shhhhing" noise as she stroked the hair out of Maura's face.

"I called the doctor earlier." Jane revealed as she began to lightly brush her hand up and down Maura's arm, "He still isn't 100% sure what you have. Although he believes it's a certain case of the flu, I can't remember …some gibberish sounding name. He said it's nothing serious as long as you are careful to take care of yourself while you're experiencing pain."

She stopped stroking her friend's arm, only to let it rest upon her forehead to check for a fever. To her surprise she wasn't warm at all, she was quite the opposite, cold as ice.

"Holy crap Maur, you're freezing!" As if the doctor didn't already know.

Maura pushed her head into Jane's hand, as if she were trying to soak up her warmth. And as Jane moved her hand away, Maura grabbed it begging her to leave it.

"Jane." The woman spoke barely louder than a whisper. "You're so warm. Please…don't go."

Jane wasn't planning on leaving in the first place; in fact she secretly brought a bag of clothes and a few other items she may need, intending on not leaving Maura until she was well enough to go back to work.

Unsure as to how long it would take Maura to recover, Jane had simply called off work indefinitely for the time being. It's not like she had really enjoyed the past few days of work, without her best friend there to banter with, eat lunch with, and to go visit just because she wanted to see her, work wasn't much fun. One day she even thought of what her job was like before Maura became the ME at the Boston PD, before she even knew who Maura was.

Jane had no idea how she was able to come to work day after day working on depressing case after depressing case. Without Maura there to make her smile, she really disliked her job. She didn't hate it, obviously there was something that drew her into homicide. Although the longer Maura was gone, the harder it was for Jane to remember what interested her in the first place.

Still in her work clothes, "I'm going to go change into something more comfortable. Is there anything you need while I'm up?" She was willing to do anything to help out her friend, especially to help her get better.

"Could you check on Bass for me? I'm afraid I haven't been able to go downstairs very easily, and I'm sure he could use some food." The whole time her eyes closed, still sensitive to light, no matter how dim they happened to be.

With a silent nod, the detective quietly left the room. Returning a few minutes later dressed in a Boston PD shirt and her favorite pair of sweatpants, Jane made her way to the bedside table placing a glass of water and some pain medicine in case Maura needed them later. She then took her previous seat on the edge of the bed near Maura.

Maura had fallen asleep while she had gone, but she stirred as Jane sat. "I'm so cold Jane…" Maura and muttered her eyes still closed.

Even though she was in extreme pain, she managed to reach up and pull Jane down so she was lying next to her. Finally she grabbed Jane's arm and draped it around her own waist, she knew that Jane's body heat would be ten times warmer than any blanket she owned. What she hadn't expected was how warm Jane was, maybe it was because she was so cold, but Jane was way warmer than any man she had ever cuddled with.

Jane was surprised, but strangely happy when she was forcibly made to spoon her friend. She loved the way Maura would unexpectedly take charge of a situation, especially ones that involved physical contact between them.

Jane moved her body as close to Maura's as she could, she wanted to make sure as much of her body that was possible was caressing her friends, to help keep her warm. Curiously intertwined with each other, they laid there in silence until Maura broke out. "Thank you Jane." Her voice low and loving to fully express how grateful she was.

With a tone just as soft and loving, Jane replied, "Anything for you Maur, anything for you." She rested her head in the crick of Maura's neck, the ME's golden locks providing her a soft cushion.