Summary: A shooting at a crime scene leaves Jane worried that Maura is being targeted for being Doyle's daughter. When they find themselves trapped without anyone being able to help them, they only have each other to rely on. To survive they have to be honest and face confronting their feelings if they want to make it out alive.

Rating: T

Pairing: C'mon guys, could there be anything other than Rizzles?! I may introduce Casey in the beginning of chapter 1 but he is most definitely not here to stay!

Disclaimer: Rizzoli & Isles belongs to the brilliant Tess Gerritsen and also to Janet Tamaro and TNT.

Note: I deleted "Infected" after the tragic loss that hit the Rizzoli & Isles family as the subject matter wasn't something I felt comfortable expanding after that. I wasn't sure if I would be able to face writing another Rizzles story. The tragic death of Lee Thompson Young made me wonder if I would even want to write again but it seems my fear has been overpowered by the desire to keep going. I decided to keep Frost's character to honour Lee. It won't be the same without him, both on TV and fanfic. I wouldn't want to write a Rizzles story and not include him. He'll be missed so much.


Chapter 1

It had been a long day. In fact, it had been a long week. A week Jane Rizzoli would gladly forget. The type of week where she spent most hours of the day inside a courtroom, listening to statement after statement, whilst crossing her fingers they would get the conviction they were so desperate for. To hear reflections of those on the stand spoken out loud felt like hearing the victim, a woman aged only twenty one brutally strangled by her ex-boyfriend in a fit of rage, speak from beyond the grave.

The defence had attempted to paint the victim in a bad light but her friends, her family and even complete strangers told stories of a girl who came home every weekend to spend time with her parents, who worked hard in college and who dreamt about becoming a vet one day.

When, at the end of day five and after closing arguments, the jury returned within two hours, Jane's heart had hammered in the back of her throat. From where she sat, on the back row, she looked at the victim's mother, quiet tears streaming down her face, before her eyes drifted back to the jurors. Seven women and four men would decide whether the young man charged with her murder would spend the remainder of his life behind bars.

"Guilty."

There would never be a moment she didn't relish in hearing that word. It meant she had succeeded. She had done what was asked of her. She had done the one thing she believed was right. Someone who had committed a crime had been forced to stand trial and now justice was upon them. The sigh of relief that filtered through the courtroom was unmistakable and when she looked back at the woman sitting on the front row, she saw her smile for the very first time since the day they told her that her daughter had been killed. Through all her grief, through all the sadness she had yet to face, Jane had managed to give this woman back her smile, even if it was for the shortest of moments.

Jane heaved a sigh as she climbed the steps to her apartment building. She stuck the key in the front door and before stepping inside, glanced up at the sky. It was late November and winter was rapidly approaching. Darkness fell earlier every day and the nights were getting colder. A bitter wind whipped around her face. She huddled a little deeper into her jacket before closing the door behind her and walking across the small lobby to the stairs.

When she walked into her apartment the first thing she did was search the wall for the light switch. A moment of anxiety filled her just before the light chased the shadows away. Dark eyes scanned the room, a habit left behind after her experience with Hoyt. She never walked into a room without looking around, reassuring herself there were no monsters lurking in the shadows.

Her phone vibrated and she pulled the device from its holder on her belt. She smiled when she saw the screen. One new message from Maura Isles.

Heard you got a guilty verdict today. Well done, Jane.

She typed her reply and was only halfway through when Jo Friday jumped up against her legs. She put the phone down on the kitchen counter and dropped to her knees to fuss the dog. Jo enthusiastically licked her hands and her face before sprinting to the door and barking softly. Jane pushed herself back up and sighed.

"I guess you want to go out, huh?" she said as she took the lead from the hook next to the door and attached it to Jo Friday's collar.

Once outside she walked along the quiet street. This block and the next two were basically full of apartment buildings. It was a popular area with young professionals and commuters into the city, much like Jane herself. She knew most of her neighbour's cars and at this time of night, most of them were home. She looked up as if to confirm her thought and saw lights burning behind every window in her building. Behind one of the windows two shadows moved, almost like they were dancing and Jane smiled to herself.

In the distance thunder rumbled in the sky and it snapped her out of her thoughts and she gave a soft tug at Jo's lead. The dog walked away from the small patch of grass she'd been sniffing at and followed Jane back towards her own apartment. The sound of a car driving into her road made Jane look up just before she climbed the steps to the building's front door and she noticed a town car pull into the only empty parking spot. The lights dimmed and the driver's door opened. A tall figure got out.

She was about to turn around and go inside when a male voice calling her name made her look back. Jane's eyes narrowed as she watched the figure emerge from the shadows, their face eventually illuminated by the light from a streetlamp.

"Casey?"

Her voice betrayed her surprise and she didn't move. She stood nailed to the ground as he walked up to her, a smile from ear to ear. He walked with confidence in his stride and he climbed the steps to the front door effortlessly. Before she could speak he took her hand and pulled her towards him. For a few dazzling seconds the world didn't make sense and her mind was blurred but just before his lips found hers she placed her hands against his chest and pushed him away.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, disbelief echoing in her voice. "I thought you were still in Afghanistan?"

"I had some leave they wanted me to take," he answered. His eyes found hers. "I wanted it to be a surprise."

"Well, it worked."

Jane swallowed hard. Her brain felt like it had gone into overload. For the last few months she and Casey had only spoken to each other on the computer. She'd gotten used to seeing his face on a screen, hearing his sound coming out of a microphone slightly crackled. But now that she looked up at him it seemed like a whole different experience and not one that she had been expecting.

"Can I come in?" he asked as he held the door for her. It didn't sound like an invitation.

"Errr…" Her hesitation was brief but undeniable. "Yeah, I guess…"

He followed her into the building and up the stairs. Neither of them spoke and as Jane fumbled with the keys to her front door she wondered if he had noticed her initial hesitation. Her body stiffened when she felt his hands slide across her waist, pulling her closer. The shiver that crept down her spine was unmistakable and she turned her head away far enough to avoid his lips trying to kiss the back of her neck. At that same time the door to her apartment opened and she practically fell inside.

Jo bolted across the room and disappeared into her basket and Jane walked into the kitchen, not really acknowledging Casey as he closed the door behind him. The sound of his footsteps alerted her to him standing behind her once again as she opened the fridge. She grabbed herself a beer. She still didn't make eye contact.

"You want one?"

"Forget the beer," he whispered into her ear. "There's something else I want."

~()~

Jane walked into Maura's kitchen and found the medical examiner still in her pyjamas, clutching a cup of coffee. Concern was etched across the doctor's face and Jane noticed how Maura's hazel eyes swept over her frame as she walked towards her. It seemed that her desperate text message she sent earlier that morning had rattled her.

"Jane, is everything okay?" Maura wanted to know when Jane reached her and pushed a cup of coffee towards the tired looking detective. "What's going on?"

"Casey's back."

Maura almost dropped her coffee mug and her eyes widened. "What?!"

"That's exactly what I thought," Jane admitted and her dark eyes found Maura's. "He just turned up on my doorstep."

"What? When?"

"Last night."

Maura put her mug down and stared at Jane. Over the last two years she'd seen what even simply mentioning the name Casey did to Jane. What she saw this morning only confirmed those thoughts. Jane looked pained and confused. She heaved a sigh and leant against the kitchen island, biting back a sudden urge of nausea. "Tell me everything."

"I came home, walked Jo Friday and then suddenly, there he was!" Jane answered and shook her head. "He just turned up out of the blue. I mean, who does that? Who comes back from Afghanistan without telling anyone?"

"So what happened?"

"He spent the night."

"You slept with him?!"

"NO!" Jane's eyes snapped up and met Maura's. The medical examiner looked back at her, seemingly confused by Jane's unexpected outburst. She took a deep breath and pulled a face. "I told him I couldn't."

Maura frowned. "What do you mean, you couldn't?"

Jane's gaze dropped down to her waist and she jerked her head. "You know," she said. "I told him it wasn't the right time."

"I see," Maura said, now smiling a little. "Wrong timing."

Jane ran her fingers through her hair before throwing her arms onto the kitchen counter and dropping her head on it. "What am I gonna do?"

"Aren't you glad he's here?" Maura asked apprehensively.

She wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer to that question. She knew that, regardless of how Jane felt about Casey being here right at this moment in time, she would be the one picking up the pieces once he decided to leave again. She'd done it plenty of times before and she knew she would do it again, even though she kept telling herself she wasn't going to. Jane was her best friend and she wasn't going to walk away from that just because she had a horrible taste in men.

"I don't know." Jane's voice was muffled by her arms covering her head.

Maura looked at Jane. She hated seeing her like this. The strong, independent Jane Rizzoli that she knew would somehow change into this whinging pile of mess whenever Casey was back in town. The inner turmoil Maura felt as her eyes lingered on Jane's finely sculptured body was something she couldn't even begin to try and put into words.

She loved Jane. It wasn't a mystery to her. She had known for a long time. Somewhere in between Hoyt breaking out of prison and the Boston strangler apparently being back on the loose, she had fallen in love with Jane Rizzoli. Feelings of friendship had changed into feelings of love but Maura knew that Jane didn't feel the same way. The fact that she busied herself with men like Gabriel Dean and Casey Jones was all the confirmation Maura needed and she had accepted that her feelings would remain unanswered. This didn't mean that loving Jane didn't hurt. It hurt like hell but the pain was something Maura had gotten used to. It was part of her now, slumbering just beneath the surface and only rearing its head in moments like these.

"You keep going back to him," Maura pointed out. It sounded bitterer than she had intended and Jane peered up at her through her arms, clearly alarmed by the tone of her voice. "You must feel something for him."

Jane opened her mouth to answer but was cut off by the sound of her phone ringing. She checked the caller ID and sighed. "It's dispatch." She pressed the answer button. "Rizzoli."

A couple of minutes went by and Jane hung up. Her eyes found Maura's. "Come on, get dressed. We gotta go."

"Go where?"

"Body found in South Boston."

Maura left the kitchen and Jane heard the shower switch on only a couple of minutes later. She climbed on one of the chairs and sipped from her coffee. The sound of a door opening behind her made her look over her shoulder and watched as her mother walked into the house.

"Hey, Ma."

"Morning, Janie," Angela said and took in the sight of her tired looking daughter. "You're early. Where's Maura?"

"In the shower," Jane answered.

"You been here all night?" Angela wanted to know as she circled the island and picked a mug from the cupboard. She poured herself the remaining coffee and turned around to look at her daughter. The dark rings around her eyes were unmistakable and she knew that look. It was the look of a woman who clearly had something on her mind but refused to talk about it. "You look like hell."

"What, is it National Nagging Mother's Day or something?"

Angela raised her hands in defence. "Just askin'."

"It's been a long week," Jane groaned. "First I spent all of it in a court and now I get called out just before my free weekend. You know what that means? It means I will have maxed out on overtime again this month. And you know what maxing out on overtime means? It means I don't have a life."

"Jane? I'm ready."

Maura appeared back in the kitchen dressed in a pair of white slacks and a simple yet elegant black blouse. Her damp hair had been pulled back in a casual ponytail and she clutched a pair of black high heeled pumps in her hand. She then discovered Angela leaning against the counter and smiled.

"Morning, Angela."

"Morning, Maura."

"Are you driving?" Maura directed her question at Jane and held up her shoes. "I really can't drive when I wear these so…"

"Yeah, I'll drive," Jane grinned and grabbed Maura's arm, dragging her towards the door. The doctor almost tripped over her own feet as she tried to keep up with her. "Come on, or our body will be in the last stages of decomp by the time we get there."

The drive to South Boston was pleasant in such a way that they avoided the morning rush hour because it was so early. Located south and east of the Fort Point Bridge, South Boston was a very densely populated neighbourhood with a lot of history, a lot of it dating back to the Irish immigrants that had moved into the city decades earlier. The area was also well known because of its links to the Irish mob that ruled the Boston underworld.

Jane pulled up a few feet away from the yellow police tape that cordoned off the crime scene and got out. She hung her badge around her neck and tied her unruly curls up into a messy ponytail as she walked up to the uniformed rookie with the clipboard.

"Rizzoli, Homicide. Victor 825," she said before ducking under the tape and holding it up for Maura, who was closely behind her.

They walked onto the crime scene and found Korsak and Frost standing by a blue sedan. The two men looked up when Jane approached and Korsak pointed at the car. The body was that of a male and a bullet hole right between the eyes left no doubt over what had been the cause of death. Korsak grimaced as Jane came closer.

"Mickey O'Donnell."

"You're kidding?!" Jane whistled through her teeth and looked inside the car. She looked back at Korsak. "Oh my God, it really is him!"

"Who's Mickey O'Donnell?" Maura wanted to know.

"Really?" Jane looked at her in surprise. "You're Paddy Doyle's daughter and you don't know who Mickey O'Donnell is?"

Maura shook her head. "He may be the man who fathered me but I didn't exactly read his autobiography, Jane."

"Mickey O'Donnell, former IRA. Came to Boston twenty years ago but still has links to Ireland. Suspected arms dealer," Korsak answered. "Big man in the Irish mob, and has ruled these streets with an iron fist for years." His gaze fixed on Maura. "One of Paddy's Doyle's biggest enemies."

"This is going to cause a stir in the underworld," Jane said knowingly. She looked back at the dead man in the car before walking around the vehicle. She pointed out the bullet hole in the windscreen. "Someone must have caught him by surprise. Right between the eyes." She chewed the inside of her cheek. "Why would a guy like O'Donnell travel alone in this part of Southie? He knows who rules these streets. This is Doyle's hunting ground."

"Paddy Doyle's been in prison for months," Maura said as she walked over to Jane. "You think he put out a hit on O'Donnell from the inside?"

"Even if he did, we'll never be able to prove it," Jane sighed and looked around. The street they were standing on was abandoned. No other cars were parked and the buildings on either side appeared to be have been empty for some time. "Guys like these solve their own problems and BPD never finds a way in. What I'm curious about is why he came here. I mean, look around. There's nothing here!"

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Korsak asked and Jane nodded.

"Looks like a set-up."

"A set-up?" Maura asked. "You mean someone lured O'Donnell out here and killed him?"

Jane nodded. "Someone he trusted. No self-respecting mob boss who has ruled the streets for this long is just going to turn up because someone asked him to." She looked at Frost. "Get uniforms to check all these buildings."

Frost dug his cell phone out of his pocket. "I'm on it."

"We should get…"

Jane's voice trailed off as she turned away from the car and her eyes scanned the surrounding buildings. They were all warehouses but somehow her attention was drawn to the one behind them. She didn't know why but her gaze was fixed on the roof. Slowly her dark eyes narrowed. All her senses kicked in and the hairs on the back of her neck rose up. Suddenly her heart hammered ten times faster in her chest and the bright glint of light made her spin around and grab the person nearest to her, pulling them to the ground.

"GUN!"

The sound of the bullet being fired overpowered the sound of her voice. After that, there was only silence.

For a few seconds the world seemed to have stopped. The silence was deafening but then came the overwhelming noise of voices shouting. Jane's eyes opened and she looked down at the person lying underneath her. Maura looked back up at her, eyes wide with fear. Neither of them moved, momentarily frozen.

"You okay?" Jane whispered, her lips close to the medical examiner's ear.

"Yeah." Maura's answer was barely audible. "You?"

Jane had mentally checked herself. She didn't feel pain anywhere. "I' m good," she answered as she slowly got onto her knees before standing up. She reached out a hand to Maura and helped her up. Instinctively she wrapped the doctor up into her arms, holding her as close as she could, and protectively kissed her hair.

"Jane!" Korsak shouted. He had appeared from behind one of the squad cars. "You alright?!"

"We're good," Jane answered but pointed at the roof from where the gun had been fired. "Get someone up there and find the son of a bitch that tried to kill us!"

Korsak and Frost ran off towards the warehouse and Jane focused on Maura. She noticed she was shaking and gently brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes. Dark eyes found hazel ones and she saw the terror etched across Maura's face.

"I don't think this was just a set-up to get to O'Donnell," she said softly, her fingers grazing across Maura's cheek.

"What?"

"I think this was a set-up to get to you."