Disclaimer: Characters are not mine, just borrowed to entertain you all. So of course all rights belong to TNT
Jane ran her hands through her hair letting out a sigh. Two weeks into what should have been an easy case had turned out to be hell. There was evidence missing, mislabeled or inconclusive. Along with witnesses discredited, missing or otherwise uncooperative. Three suspects with seemingly air tight alibis. No lead in four days was starting to wear on the detective. She slid her hands over her face, her finger tips resting against her lips as she stared at a pile of evidence. There has to be something here she thought to herself. Her eyes pleading with the documents that lay haphazardly on her desk, hoping that a clue would just jump out at her. She snapped out of her trance when the familiar clicking of heels and the scent of lavender mixed with vanilla flooded her senses. A small smile crept across her face, she bit her lip trying to hide it. The delightful ME, her friend and coworker, was always a welcomed distraction.
"Any progress?" She asked her head tilted with a look of hopefulness.
Always a welcomed distraction, even when talking about work.
"Nothing yet. I've been staring at this pile of evidence in front of me hoping the answers will pop out, like those magic eye illusions." Jane said her voice showing strain atop her normal gravel tone.
"An autostereogram is a single-image stereogram, designed to create the visual illusion of a three-dimensional scene from a two-dimensional image in the human brain." stated Maura.
"Huh, and here I thought it was magic." Jane laughed.
"Jane don't be red…Oh, you were kidding" Maura said.
"You think? Come on let's get out of here, I need to clear my head. Lunch?" Jane said standing to put on her jacket.
As Jane stood and swung on her jacket, the lovely scent that could only be described as 'Jane' overwhelmed Maura's olfactory senses. She immediately smiled and watched the woman before her fix her hair and turn to look her in the eyes.
"Maura?" Jane said waving her hand in front of the distracted doctor.
"Hm, yes Jane?" Maura said soft and airy.
"Where did you go just then?" Jane laughed.
"Oh, I'm sorry I was distracted." Maura said matter of factly, she wasn't lying she was just leaving out details of what it was that was distracting her.
"Clearly. So lunch, where are we going? I can't remember the last time I ate, Saturday?" Jane said patting her stomach.
"We can go up the block to the Panini shop that just opened." Maura smiled.
The word Panini caught the attention of Vince Korsak, his head picking up from the mirrored pile of paper work that lay on his desk.
"Did you say Panini's? I haven't been there but some of the guys downstairs said it was pretty good." Korsak stated. His mouth salivated at the thought of the hot pressed Italian sandwiches.
"Would you like to come with us Vince?" Maura politely offered.
"I would love to doc, but someone's got to hold down the fort while Janie slacks off." He chuckled at his own crack.
"Hey!" Jane shot him a look.
"What?" Korsak said raising his hands in defense.
"I'm only going to be gone an hour, and I thought I told you to stop calling me Janie." Jane said in her best serious voice but it came off as mock annoyance.
"Fine by me, but don't be surprised if I've cracked this thing wide open by the time you get back." Korsak responded.
"The only thing you're going to crack open is…" Frost interjected.
"Hey watch it!" Korsak shot back.
Maura and Jan looked at each other and laughed.
"Come on, I'm starving." Jane said and abruptly looped elbows dragging the ME with her towards the exit.
Something in Jane made her giddy and light headed. She wasn't sure if it was due to a lack of sleep or the fact that she hadn't eaten in god knows when, but she almost skipped into the Panini shop. This of course did not go unnoticed by Dr. Isles, who was 'distracted' again.
She stood shaking her head in appreciation and realized that Jane had just asked her a question.
"I'm sorry, what was that Jane" She smiled at the other woman.
"I said, what do you think you're going to get. Jeez Maura you've been in a fog today, you alright?" Jane said with a look of concern.
"I'm fine, I assure you of that. As for what I may want to eat, I'll have whatever you're having." Maura replied.
"Hm, alright. If you say so, you're the doctor." Jane said skeptically
Jane ordered for them, something called 'The Classic'. Maura was sure she didn't want to know the nutritional facts about what she was about to consume. The sandwiches were piping hot and oozed out cheese and sauce. Jane's eyes lit up at the sight before her.
"Oh man, these look amazing!" Jane said practically drooling.
"Yes, they do look, interesting." Said Maura as she calculated how she would need to adjust her workout routine accordingly.
Jane got into a stance as if she were stepping up to bat. She lifted her sandwich, hunched forward slightly, elbows bent and pushed out to the sides, chin out as she scooted towards the plate. Maura tried to contain herself with the sight before her. Jane's lips wrapped around the sandwich and teeth crunched in, sending cheese and sauce squishing around her mouth. It was too much for Maura to take, she let out a giggle that turned into a yelp of laughter. Jane looked up from her sandwich.
"What?" she said with a mouthful of Panini.
"Oh Jane, do you need a napkin?" Maura laughed innocently at the detective, extending the napkin.
Jane swallowed and tried licking around her mouth, her tongue only spreading the delicious mess around.
"No I'm good. No sense in cleaning the mess up before the jobs done." She raised her sandwich back up to her mouth and stopped.
Maura was staring at Jane again.
"I know I have sauce on my face, so you can stop staring. Aren't you going to eat yours?" Jane smiled at Maura. The sauce around her mouth looked as if she were wearing clown makeup.
"Oh, yes. Of course." Maura said snapping back to attention.
She reached into her Birkin bag and pulled out a tube that resembled a toothbrush case. Out she pulled a compact fork and knife, which she began using on her sandwich. Jane continued to stare at Maura, which went unbeknownst to her.
"What are you doing?" Jane asked in a hushed tone as to not draw attention.
"Eating my sandwich." Maura replied, popping a piece of the precision cut sandwich into her mouth.
She smiled at Jane, as she chewed. Jane looked around checking to see if anyone had seen what her coworker had just done.
"What you are doing to that sandwich is a disgrace. You need to enjoy it the way it was meant to be enjoyed." Jane said lifting her sandwich, elbows out, grinning a saucy grin.
"Jane…I…no, I don't think that's going to happen." Maura said.
"You need to learn to enjoy things a bit more, loosen up a little." Jane said as she dove back into her sandwich.
Maura wrinkled her nose a shuddered at the thought of possibly getting red sauce on her cream colored Vera Wang. Jane looked at the ME as she put down her knife and fork and looked upon the oozing sandwich before her.
"You know I was just busting your chops right?" Jane asked reassuringly.
"I understand that sometimes I can be a little, tightly wound and regimented, I…I just need…I want, to try new things." She replied.
"Alright. You want me to get you some protection?" Jane joked.
"I don't think they make a prophylactic big enough." Maura stated.
Jane choked on her food and looked around the restaurant to see if anyone had just heard the comment.
"Damn Maura I was talking about a bib or something." Jane said quietly to her friend.
"Jane, language. I think I can manage, with the correct posture." Maura said confidently.
The rest of their lunch went by uneventfully, aside from a few lingering glances. Maura was correct in her statement about the correct posture. She left the lunch unscathed by the molten ooze of cheese and sauce, while Jane on the other hand was scrubbing a blotch of red off of her blazer.
Jane exited the restroom her blazer draped over her arm, a slight look of defeat and frustration drawn on her face. Maura frowned as she reached out and took the jacket from the detectives arm.
"Oh Jane, this isn't that bad. My dry cleaners can take care of this no problem." She smiled reassuringly at her friend.
Jane groaned. "Its fine, it's not like it's even my favorite one." She smiled back.
"You're lucky the weather is so beautiful." Maura said as they stepped out into the warm spring afternoon.
"I guess you're right, but now I have nothing to cover my side arm." Jane looked down at her BPD issued weapon that hung snuggly against her hip.
Maura looked as well; at the holstered gun, a prosthetic appendage, how it fit to the curvature of Jane's hip. How she thought the weapon was lucky, when did she start thinking like this? She wondered. Her eyes shot back up to Jane, who, luckily was still focused on the holstered piece.
"May I make a suggestion?" Maura said, somewhat unsure of where she was going with her train of thought.
"Uh..sure, I'm open to anything at this point." Jane said skeptically and shrugged.
"How about…" She hesitated, her filters kicking in. Jane is your friend! Her conscious interjected. Maura waved her hand in front of her face shooing away the thought.
"…how about…you use me as a shield." Maura cringed at the words as soon as they left her mouth. Really Maura? Use me as a shield? Why didn't you just say 'Why don't you just shoot yourself?' or 'Hey block it with your scarred hands!' Maura was internally berating herself that Jane's answer went unheard.
Maura shook herself out of the internal argument she was wrestling with just to catch the tail end of what Jane was saying.
"…nothing to lose." Jane ended with a small smile pulling at the side of her mouth, one eyebrow raised almost daring her.
Maura decided to go with her gut, not something she is at all familiar with doing. She stepped in close to Jane, her hip pressing against the other women ultimately concealing the previously visible weapon. Jane then did something she didn't even expect; she wrapped her arm around Maura and pulled her closer, closing any space that may have been left between them.
Both women were silent, what had just happened in the last few minutes. They were still in front of the sandwich shop, it was still Thursday and they were still them. Weren't they? Jane's hand was absent mindedly drawing on Maura's shoulder and Maura's head had somehow drifted to rest on Jane's shoulder. Jane liked this too much, she worried if she were pushing Maura into an uncomfortable situation. Maura breathed in Jane's scent, which was now mixed with Italian spices, she closed her eyes for a moment enjoying the comfort her friends shoulder provided.
Momentarily their bodies both tensed but then relaxed. As if they both knew what the other was thinking they both resumed a somewhat relaxed posture and began walking back to the precinct. As soon as they hit the steps Jane let go of Maura, the other woman immediately missing her friends embrace.
Jane cleared her throat and smiled at Maura holding open the door for her. Jane's smile was soft but contained those dimples Maura admired. Returning the smile Maura stepped into the precinct. Jane looked at Maura as she walked, no, swaggered into the precinct. Damn! Jane thought to herself. She swallowed hard and followed Maura into the station.
"Hey how was lunch!" Korsak called out to Jane
"It was good, real good." Jane said swallowing again.
"Good, huh?" Korsak looked at Jane skeptical. "Where's your jacket? When you left you had a jacket." He said in his interrogation tone.
"Wow, you really are good at that detective thing. I bet you single handedly solved the case while I was gone too." Jane quipped trying to change the subject.
"Hey it was just a question." Korsak threw his hands up doing his innocent pose.
"Never mind him, he's just annoyed that I found one of our witnesses who's willing to cooperate." Frost smiled over at Korsak.
"Great work. Where are they and how cooperative are we talking?" Jane questioned Frost.
"I sent two uniforms to go pick him up now. Cooperative enough to know to ask for protection." Frost said with air of cockiness.
"Calm down there buddy. Janie this guys no priest, he's got a rap sheet longer then my arm." Korsak exaggerated extending his arm.
"Yeah I got it, he could be playing us for protection against someone he pissed off." Jane grumbled "When do we expect him in?" She directed her question back at Frost. Juggling her new partner and her old one was not an easy task but Jane was able to stroke both of their ego's while getting her job done.
"Well he was hiding out in West Rutland, at some park and ride." Frost said
"So I've a got a couple of hours, especially with evening traffic." Jane mulled the thought
"We might even be holding him for the night and questioning him in the morning. You know he's safe here and he wants protection." Korsak smiled, using his charm to hopefully convince Jane to resume the case in the morning.
"I would really rather question him when he gets in." Jane said chewing on her lip. She looked at the clock on her computer a few more hours until her shift officially ended. She sighed and looked up at the two men waiting on her response.
"Fine, but if he gets chatty when he gets here I want to be called immediately!" Jane said letting them know this was still her case.
"Oh I almost forgot, some of the lab reports Dr. Isles sent out came back." Korsak remembered.
Just then Jane's phone rang.
"Rizzoli. Right I'll be right down." Jane hung up her phone and made her way towards the elevator.
"Was that the Doc?" Both men asked simultaneously.
"Yup, apparently some of the results she sent out for came back." Jane said with an obvious sarcastic tone as she stepped into the elevator, pressing the button for the morgue.
Jane was anxious to see Maura, even though she had only seen her less than an hour ago. The elevator seemed to get her downstairs much quicker than she ever remembered in the past. She stepped out and walked into the morgue. She saw the Doctor reading over the reports and she just stared at her. She liked the way Maura's hair just fell framing her face perfectly. The doctor bit her bottom lip and sighed over the documents she had just received. She was unaware of the detectives eyes raking over her body.
She was feeling how she did when they walked back from lunch and she missed that contact they had. Slowly Jane walked up behind Maura and in one fluid motion slipped her arms around the doctors waist and placed her chin on the doctors shoulder. Isles squealed at the sudden pressure from behind. She looked down at the hands that lay on her abdomen, she noticed a small pinkish scar on the back of one of the olive toned hands and relaxed back into the form behind her. Jane took a moment to try and process what she was doing Jane! This is Maura! Your friend, a woman, your co-worker. She doesn't even like women, hell you don't even like women! Then why am I holding her like this and feeling the way I do? Jane argued with herself.
Unbeknownst to Jane, Maura was doing the same thing. Maura, this isn't logical. This is Jane, she is your friend and you work together. It doesn't matter how good this feels or how amazing she smells or even that thing she's doing with her hips. Oh my! What is she doing with her hips, whatever it is I hope she doesn't stop. Maura's desires were winning out over her logical processing of the situation. She slowly began to move her hips with Jane, letting out a slight moan. The gyrations were small, perhaps even unnoticeable to any on lookers. Dear god whatever I'm doing apparently it's working for her, take that conscious score one for little Rizzoli! Jane chuckled softly and planted a kiss on Maura's neck.
"Ahem. Excuse me Dr. Isles" one of the technicians interrupted.
This caused Maura to thrust backwards unexpectedly connecting her head with that of Detective Rizzoli's nose. Jane groaned in pain clasping her hand over her nose she quickly assessed the situation.
Maura turned to Jane, and then to the technician, a look of panic spreading across her face.
"…and that Dr. Isles is how you fight off someone from behind." Jane said through a pinched nose.
"Oh god. Jane I'm so sorry! Let me take a look." She reached for the detectives nose.
"No, I'm fine. I'm just worried about the poor guy who tries to sneak up on you in a dark alley." Rizzoli laughed, wincing in pain.
The technician just stood there unsure of what was going on. Feeling bad at first for interrupting and now for possibly being the cause of the detectives injury. Maura hurried over to the small refrigerator and grabbed a small ice pack for Jane's nose. She tried applying it to the woman's nose but she was batted away.
"Maur I'm fine, nothing that I don't get from a pickup game with Frankie." She tried to smile, to show the doctor she was fine.
"Jane if you don't ice it, it's going to swell." She said in her most serious voice. She turned to the technician. "Well, what can I help you with?"
The technician just stared and then finally spoke. "Oh…um…this…I…I needed your signature on this form so we could release one of the bodies." The technician said handing over the clipboard to Dr. Isles who quickly scribbled her initials down.
"There. Anything else I can help you with?" Dr. Isles said flatly.
"No." The technician said standing in the same spot.
"Well? I'm sure you could make better use of your time then standing here staring." Maura almost barked at the poor man, who quickly turned tail exiting the room. Jane sat at Maura's desk and looked on at the icy interaction unfolding before her.
"Wow Maura." Jane said shocked at how the doctor was so short with the tech.
"What? Oh Jane, I'm so sorry." She said again approaching Jane slowly. "Can I please take a look at your nose? I need to check if it's broken." She said in a cautious tone.
"Fine, I don't think it's broken. I think you just cracked it good. I saw stars for a moment." She chuckled and then winced as Maura lifted off the ice pack and poked her face.
"Well, I think you're correct in that it isn't broken. Stars you say, I saw them too." She mused.
"You did whack your head pretty hard. Ma's always saying I got a thick head." Jane laughed.
"That is true, but I was referring to before we 'cracked skulls' as you might put it." Maura said.
"Is that so?" Jane smiled.
"Mmhm." Maura nodded. She leaned back resting against her desk.
Jane stood lowering the ice pack to her side and closing the distance between the two of them.
"Tell me, when you saw stars, what other symptoms did you have?" Jane questioned.
"Well, my pulse was accelerated, my face felt flush and…um…tightness." Maura revealed, her eyes darting to the floor.
"Uh huh, all normal. But tightness you say, where, your chest?" Jane's fingers raised grazing the doctors skin, left displayed by the dresses swoop necked style. Thank you Vera Wang! Jane internalized.
"Um, not…not quite…lower." Maura breathed.
"Huh, lower. Your stomach?" Jane's hand trailed between her breasts and across the cream colored fabric that lay over her abs.
Maura's breath hitched, this game that they were playing but she didn't want to be interrupted again. She needed to stop this before it got any further.
Maura placed her hand over Jane's and tried to steady her breathing.
"Jane." Was all Maura could get out. She looked into Jane's eyes, eyes that were darkened with lust and over flowing with passion.
"Mmhm?" Jane said drawing patterns on Maura's taut stomach.
"Jane we…we need…Jane we need to stop." She finally squeaked out.
Jane suddenly pulled her hand away a look of panic swept over her face.
"Oh god, Maura…I'm…I'll go." Jane said worried she took everything too far.
"No, Jane!" Maura said quickly grabbing the detectives arm.
"Look M I get it, well I don't fully get it, I thought you were enjoying yourself. I'm just going to go." Jane stammered pulling out of Maura's grasp.
"No, Jane Rizzoli. Stop!" Maura shouted at the woman, using her full name caused her to stop.
Jane sighed. "What?" she almost whined.
"We need to stop what we're doing…" Maura began but Jane interrupted.
"…Isn't that what I'm trying to do?" She said crossing her arms in frustration.
"Jane, let me finish." She said stepping towards the woman. "We need to stop what we're doing here, in the morgue. We don't want to get interrupted again, do we? I'm afraid if that happens I may injure you yet again." Maura said cupping the other woman's face. Jane nuzzled into Maura's hand and smiled.
"No, you're right. Besides if we start that back up I'm not sure I'm going to be able to stop." Jane said stepping into Maura and placing a kiss on her cheek.
"Dinner then?" Maura asked her hands now laying on the detectives hips.
"Sure, I'll swing by when my shift is over at 5." She said smiling, as she moved slowly away from the doctors hands.
Maura watched Jane as she walked out to the elevator. Jane turned towards Maura, as the doors closed, and winked.
Maura sighed, her mind already on the evenings planned events. What am I going to wear? She thought.
Jane smirked while riding the elevator back up. She was excited to have plans with her friend tonight.
Then it hit her. I just kissed Maura!