A/N: This idea was sparked when I went for a walk last week, which only goes to show that Rizzles is always on the brain. Go figure. It doesn't really have a time frame, but it's probably somewhere before the S1 finale. All mistakes are my own. I don't own anything, I merely invite the subtext over for coffee and we have a nice little chat. Cheers (;
There were certain things in life that Jane Rizzoli could always count on.
One was that her best friend would always be impeccably dressed, regardless of the occasion. Two was that even if Maura came in wearing a box or a paper bag over her face, that statement would never change. And three was that clearly Jane was in over her head.
That, or suffering from slurred thoughts after not sleeping for a few days. It was terrible. So she was running on chamomile tea…
What? She was trying the whole healthy lifestyle thing, all right? Sue her.
Glancing at her watch, the brunette detective toyed with her bottom lip when she saw that it was eleven o'clock and that only meant one thing: Jo Friday needed to be walked. She could possibly head home, grab a couple of beers, and walk the little mutt. But she felt bad for still not having a solid lead on the case.
"You can step out if you need to, Jane."
Jane's head snapped in the direction of the chief medical examiner, not sure how the blonde had managed to sneak into the squad room without her noticing. Looks like she was worse off than she thought if her sixth sense was this shot. "Nah, I'll figure out a way to—"
"Cancel another date?" Maura interjected with a raised brow, worried about the overworked state of the detective. She knew that it was part of the job, but knowing as much as she did about the long-term effects of insomnia didn't ease her mind. Sometimes knowing so much came with the highest price.
"With Jo? Hardly," Jane scoffed with a chuckle, wondering how the dog had managed to weasel its way into her priorities and essentially her life so quickly.
"Lt. Joe Grant? I thought he was in Washington," the honey blonde asked with wide green eyes, clasping her hands together in an attempt not to squeal in excitement for her friend. She knew that Jane had liked him, regardless of the many excuses provided not to accept his mating behavior.
"No, Maura! With Jo Friday… you know, the other dog," the detective replied as her hands went up to her face so that her palms pressed against her eyes, being reminded of her mother for a moment there. It was a little creepy how much they had picked up from each other. Just the other day, her mother was not only telling her and Frankie that they would get pneumonia if they didn't wear a raincoat, but she also went ahead and listed a few other medical conditions.
Sure, so maybe she might have gotten some of the scientific terms wrong, but Jane was pretty sure that her mother and Maura had been spending way too much time together.
"Oh," was Maura's only response, her shoulders slumping slightly as she downcast her gaze in clear disappointment. But then her lips curled into a gentle smile, curving a little to give it more of an impish edge as she glanced up at the dark-haired woman. "So that means you finally took my advice and you're taking her to that cute little pet boutique?"
This time it was Jane's turn to raise her brow. "No. I am not taking Jo to one of those cutesy pet stores with custom dog clothing that costs an arm and a leg… I'm not wasting my paycheck on a mini skirt and nail polish for the dog," she stated firmly with crossed arms.
"I'm siding with Dr. Isles on this one," came another voice, but this one was distinctly male and muffled slightly due to the pen resting in his mouth. Shockingly enough, it wasn't another pastry—usually oh so high in glucose levels—to satisfy his sweet tooth.
"You would. Who asked you?" Jane shot Korsak a sideways glance, which he countered simply with a pair of raised hands in mock surrender before grabbing his keys.
"See, Jane. The general population sides with me," Maura beamed as she placed her hands squarely on her hips, her posture giving off a triumphant vibe.
"Korsak is not the general population!"
"Hey! I represent dog lovers everywhere."
"Within a 89.63 square mile radius, I would agree that you are representing the American constituents well," Maura nodded, getting blank stares from both detectives but unmoved by either of them. "I made an online survey. It is not completely accurate, because there is no way to verify if the same person voted numerous times with a different IP address in the Boston area, but—"
Jane raised her hands and waved them around, cutting Maura off effectively with a small huff that blew a stray hair out of her face. "Okay, look. Jo Friday needs to be walked, period. I don't think it makes a difference if she does her business with something from a Marc Jacobs catalogue or not," she stated impatiently, clearing things up while partially distracted in the search for her misplaced—but totally not lost—cellphone.
"She's not butch, Rizzoli," Korsak snorted from behind his desk, reaching over to grab a manila folder and tucking it under his arm.
"Actually, while Marc Jacobs is predominantly known for his male runway fashion line, he also has designs for both women and children," Maura corrected him with a raised index finger, wagging it a bit with a proud flourish in her movements.
"Thank you for that… insightful look into fashion," Jane chuckled dismissively after a pause, taking a little pleasure in watching Korsak wrinkle his nose like a rat cop that just got kicked in the teeth. "Has anyone seen my phone?"
Maura pulled out her own phone and dialed Jane's number, perking up slightly and pointing in the direction of the ominous ringtone. Not that she minded Chopin's Funeral March, as it was actually a very captivating piece, but it wasn't exactly… well, upbeat.
"You're a life saver!" Jane called, already halfway out the front doors with her phone pressed to her ear.
She was counting on her neighbor being up late studying for some sort of college test again. After the scare with Hoyt in the van, that split second of merely thinking that Marisa was dead was enough for her to summon the incentive to at least get her number. That way if there ever were to be something going on around her apartment, at least she'd be able to give the girl a little heads up.
It must have only taken three or four rings before a quiet, but friendly voice answered. Jane explained the situation and her very perceptive neighbor was more than happy to take Jo for a walk. It wouldn't be the first time anyway.
After that was taken cared of, Jane returned to her desk and started looking through the crime scene photos again. She tried hard to ignore the way that Maura rested her chin on her crossed hands with a cheeky smile… or the knowing little look from Korsak, who was apparently a hundred percent certain that she would eventually cave.
Shooing them away, Maura headed back to the morgue to check on the progress of the tox screens and Korsak headed out to his favorite 24-hour corner deli.
Days without an adequate amount of sleep finally won out, leaving Jane in a zoned out state where she was practically sleeping with her eyes open. The loud buzzing created by the friction between her phone on vibrate and the tabletop snapped her out of her trance. Muttering curses under her breath as she slammed her hand down to stop its progress, she then brought it up quickly to her ear.
"Rizzoli," she answered automatically in her clipped, professional tone. "Oh hey. No, I'm… what? Are you sure? Okay. Just… just give me a minute, I'll be right there."
"Did we catch something on the case?" Frost asked as he unceremoniously plopped down across from Jane's desk.
"Hey, Frost… no, actually that was my neighbor," Jane said as she reached up to brush her dark tresses away from her face, trying to gather the strength to compose herself after the initial shock started wearing off from the news. "It's Jo. The leash must have been loose when she put it on or something, because she ran off."
"Well, nothing is moving along here, so you should probably go home," Frost suggested with a little verbal nudge in his tone.
As long as Hoyt was alive, everyone had agreed that they would rotate looking after Jane without her knowing too much. It was like a protective detail on the down low, except that they didn't stake out her house or anything. No, that would be far too obvious and Jane usually ended up at the coroner's place anyway.
"Yeah, I guess I will. Night, Frost," she said with a tilt of her chin in acknowledgement at her partner, who returned it with a smile. Slipping her badge into her pocket and securing her weapon in its holster while she was standing in the elevator, Jane looked up when it dinged and the doors opened. She had one more stop to make first.
