This all came about because I read 'Headaches' and it left me in a crumpled heap, teary-eyed and incredibly sad, so much so that I needed some fluff to recover from it, and after an e-mail came to me with a particular phrase in it, this little story popped into my head.

No beta, all mistakes are mine and mine alone.

I own nothing, the characters and franchise belong to TNT and J-Tam , but the story and words are mine.

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The tapping of her fingers was even starting to annoy her now. Tap tap tappety tap on the laptop sitting on her thighs. If she tapped on a different part of the machine it made quite a nice rhythmic sound - she could change the tempo, or alter the pitch, hum along to a tune in her head, but it didn't change anything- she was bored, and boredom was a killer for Detective Rizzoli.

Three days. Cavanaugh had sent her on a refresher course, as part of her ongoing training program... for three days. And this was only the first day, well, evening, and she'd lost interest already. She was also feeling uncharacteristically lonely, and wished she could just get the hell out of there and head home for drinks at The Robber with Maura.

The day itself had been 'interesting '- informative, educational, challenging even - if you were a rookie, straight from the Academy. If you were Jane Rizzoli on the other hand, a Detective who'd seen it, done it and had a steady supply of tee shirts, then it was a complete waste of her time and the Departments money. 'Refresher course my ass' she thought to herself, as she clicked on an 'Angry Bird' and pinged the elastic.

'How come when Korsak went, he got weapons training?' she said out loud as a little green pig took a direct hit, eliciting a sadistic smile from the Detective, 'and I get this fingerprinting crap', and the rest of the pigs were taken out in one fell swoop- 'level 18 complete.'

She clicked out of the game and was thinking about getting some food when a bell tinkled on her laptop, heralding the arrival of an e-mail.

'Probably more spam', she assumed, that's all she tended to get these days, but her face lit up when she saw it was actually from the Medical Examiner. 'Maura, what could she want I wonder?' She opened the mail and read on, intrigued.

" Good evening Jane, I hope you see this soon! This won't become a habit I assure you, but just this once I'm going to make a guess! I know how much you dislike being away from home, and in particular, away for training- so I'm going to guess that by now you're probably bored and at a loss for something to do.' Jane smiled and laughed at how well Maura knew her, and realised she was missing her best friend.

'So, I thought perhaps we could e-mail each other if you haven't found anything else to do. I thought about calling you, but then I'd get nothing done tonight as I brought some work home with me. I can do that and keep an eye in for an e-mail from you at the same time. So, when you're free, mail me back! Bye for now. M.'

Jane's smile grew wider as she read the e-mail, and thought what a nice idea it was. She tapped out a reply and pressed 'send'.

'Hey Maura, thanks, that's a great idea, and yes, I'm bored already! Just gonna get some food and I'll be back, don't go anywhere, I won't be long. Jane.'

At the other end of the ether Maura was busy cooking dinner for one, and fussing over Bass- she knew there was no need to cut his strawberries up for him, he wasn't a child, but it somehow gave her a sense of having someone to look after, another being to care for, and it comforted her knowing Bass relied on her- for food at least.

She also knew that she really should get out more, but with Jane being away, she wouldn't enjoy going out on her own. Jane had permeated into her life so completely she felt a little bereft when she wasn't around.

She heard the 'you have mail' signal and went to read the message. 'As if I'd go anywhere Jane...silly.' she thought to herself, and went to serve up dinner. For one.

Jane grabbed her wallet and her room key and headed downstairs to find some food, and was thrilled to see that a Deluxe burger and fries was an option- what Maura didn't know wouldn't hurt her, and if she had to endure two more days of training she was damn well going to enjoy her dinner. She swigged a cool refreshing beer while she waited, and when it was ready, she took her burger and a couple more beers and headed back excitedly to her room.

She typed in between bites, the burger really was delicious, and the beauty of it was that Maura would never know- the ME was determined that Jane should at least eat some green stuff once in a while- well, not tonight Doctor Isles!

'Hey Maura, it's me! I've eaten and I'm all yours. So, first of all, exactly what type of work have you brought home with you...I know your house is clean but bringing home bodies? I think they frown on that Doctor! And second, you keep an eye OUT for mail, not in. Just saying. LOL'

She waited for a reply, knowing full well that Maura would see the funny side of it, and not see it as nit-picking. As she waited, she finished up the fries.

Maura read the message and laughed, she liked the 'I'm all yours' in particular, but didn't really register why. She quickly typed back a reply.

'Mmm...Firstly, yes they do frown on bringing bodies home with you, so I played it safe and just brought some reports instead! And can I remind you about Mr Adverb secondLY? LOL. And now we've got that out of the way, Hello Jane, how was your day? I hope you weren't so bored that you fell asleep, you have a very short attention span when it's not something your interested in- and I should know. What did you have for dinner by the way? It didn't seem to take you very long...'

Uh-oh, Jane thought to herself, how does she do that?

'I'll have you know I have a very long attention span, I just choose to use the shorter one! But I'm always paying attention when it's you with your fun facts, you know that. I like your fun facts, they're...fun! I now know more about African masks than I ever thought I would want to.

Today we covered new fingerprint testing thingy's, and I'll tell you all about it when I get home I promise, but not tonight, I'd much rather talk to you. How was your day, any new cases?'

She hoped she'd got away with not telling her about the burger, and it was true, she would much rather talk to Maura, she made her happier somehow. Made her ...smile more. Just thinking about her at home, pottering around with Bass was making her smile...and miss her more. She felt a pang of sadness at the thought... 'I wish I was there with you' She shook her head, she was just being stupid... wasn't she?

Maura typed her reply, and ate her pasta as she went. She noticed no mention was made of Jane's own dinner.

' I look forward to hearing all about it, it sounds...fascinating! We had one new case, a gunshot victim, but I'm not telling you about it, I'll start the autopsy tomorrow, and you're away for two more days, and then it's the weekend, so it'll wait until Monday. Besides, I'm enjoying this, just talking to you, it's not quite the same as having you here, but it'll have to suffice won't it? And what did you have for dinner Jane? Is there something I should know?'

She laughed as she hit 'send', she knew full well the Detective would much prefer junk food if she got the chance, but she was going to prise an admission out of her if she could. She'd love to be able to see her face right now, squirming as she tries to deny it...but really, she'd just love to see her beautiful face. Maura's heart skipped a beat, 'Did I just think that? Oh my.'

Jane knew the game was up, so she might as well come clean, Maura could be like a dog with a bone sometimes. She typed quickly, perhaps a little too quickly.

'Alright, yes, I had a burger and it was delicious ok? But it had pickle, and pickle is green right? Please don't judge me Maura, it's been a very long boring day and I've missed you so much' and she pressed 'send' a second before realising what she'd actually typed...'I've missed you so much'

'Oh crap, well that just sounds weird doesn't it? I've missed you so much...jeez, she's gonna think I've flipped or something... oh, well I can't unsend it...and I have missed her... a lot.'

She stared at the screen, half wishing the web cam worked so she could see her face, and half glad it didn't so Maura couldn't see hers.

'If I were home now we'd probably be on the couch watching a movie... no actually, watching a documentary... about the life cycle of giant snails or something... whatever, I know I'd watch it if it meant spending time with her...'

Maura looked at the message, her eyes glued to the last four words. 'What's happening here Bass? Am I...am I reading too much into this? Are we'... she gave her head a shake and looked again, the words 'I've missed you so much' in black and white, but this felt anything but black and white. 'Do we have...feelings for one another?' She gulped down a large sip of wine, and typed her message, her hands a little shaky.

There was Jane's bell again- you have mail. 'Uh oh.'

'I knew it! And yes, technically pickle is green- we'll leave it there shall we? And, you missed me? Oh, Jane, that's so sweet. And I really missed you too. I've gotten used to you coming down to see me, it's awfully quiet when you're not around...I don't think I like it. And I missed having lunch with you too, I don't know, it somehow makes the day less...ordinary. Anyway, I'm rambling, what are you doing tomorrow?'

Jane wasn't sure what she was doing now, let alone tomorrow. In fact, Jane wasn't sure of anything anymore- Maura was saying how much she missed her too. And reading between the lines it sounded like more than in just a 'best friends' kind of way.

Where had this suddenly come from? Had it always been there? Thinking about it, this was the first time in months that they had actually been apart. They spent so much time together, she hadn't really noticed that she had been slowly falling for Maura...she had romantic feelings - most definitely not 'best friend' feelings. She swigged her beer and gulped down hard. 'Uh Oh.'

She typed a reply, more thoughtfully this time, she didn't want to jump to conclusions just yet...

Maura was pacing, and Bass was getting the brunt of a very one-sided conversation- if only he knew what a wonderful listener he was.

"What does all this mean Bass? Do you think I have feelings for Jane? Oh what am I saying? I know I have feelings for Jane...I know I do...I just haven't voiced them until now...well, congratulations Bass, you're the first to know!"

Maura knelt down to absently stroke Bass's shell, aware that she'd made a kind of joke...and aware that Jane was at the other end of the connection and had missed it. A strange kind of sadness swept over her in that moment- she'd acknowledged her feelings for Jane, finally admitted to herself -and her unwitting therapist- that the butterflies, and the increased heart rate she sometimes felt when she was around Jane were signs of attraction, and she suddenly felt a little sad. Not because of the situation, she could deal with that she thought, and it wasn't Jane herself making her feel sad...it was more the lack of Jane, she wanted her here, needed her here...she missed her more now than before they started e-mailing. Just as she was thinking about chartering a plane she heard her 'you have mail' signal again... 'Oh Lord'

'Hey you. So, it looks like we've missed each other doesn't it? LOL. And I kind of wish you were here, well, no, actually I wish I was there, with you. I do miss you Maura, perhaps more than I should. Is that weird? That I miss my friend so much? Because I think it's weird...in a good way, but well, weird. I wonder if you miss me this much, or if it's just me and I'm being an idiot, I am good at being an idiot, and now it's me rambling...oh to hell with it...I'm gonna call you in one minute...pick up the phone Maura...please...'

And just as Maura was feeling more confused than ever, her phone burst into life, waking her from her reverie with a start. She dashed to the counter to grab the phone, taking a very un- Maura gulp of wine before answering it. Jane spoke as soon as she picked up, her husky voice sounding even deeper than usual, almost...seductive, but there was a hint of hesitancy in her tone.

'Is it weird Maura?... missing you... this much I mean...is it weird? Because I really need to know it's not just me'. She felt her voice almost give way as she spoke. Maura considered the question for all of two seconds.

'No.. it isn't weird Jane...I feel the same... I miss you so much it hurts.'

She exhaled, not realising she hadn't actually been breathing since she picked up the phone. Jane's silence was deafening, and Maura was about to ask if she was still there...

Jane was deliberating the best way to approach this, she knew she was sometimes a little...reckless, a character trait that Maura had pointed out to her on more than one occasion. She knew she sometimes led with her heart, before her head had time to play catch-up. And she knew, as did Maura, that she always went with her gut, even though Maura said she'd never let her intestines rule her head. This time she would be sensible, this time she would think before she acted...

'I'm coming home Maura... we need to talk and not like this...'

There was more than a hint of need in her voice, and Maura's head was spinning as she tried to make sense of what was happening. Jane couldn't just leave the course, Cavanaugh would more than likely suspend her or worse. No. She had to talk Jane out of it. She took a deep breath and tried to remain calm...

'I'll come to you Jane, I'll get a flight overnight, I can be there in a few hours." Yes, that was a perfectly calm response.

Jane was flummoxed by this- Maura Isles, a woman who did nothing but think and analyse, who would never guess, hell, she would never even confirm a reddish-brown stain was blood, was prepared to drop everything and fly out to see her...just because they missed each other.

" Maura you can't do that, you have work and commi.." She was cut off by a very forceful Doctor, pulling rank.

" Jane, I'm the Chief Medical Examiner of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts and if I need to take a couple of personal days I can...and I will...don't fight me on this, you won't win." Maura remembered Jane once telling her she was bossy...now she understood why.

Jane didn't know what to say to that, but she knew Maura would get her own way, she always did, whether Jane liked it or not. In that moment she realised something so big, so important and so unbelievably right...

" Well, I can't argue with that can I?" The next thing she said was out of her mouth before her brain had even registered it... "I love you Maura Isles...how soon can you get here?"

And Jane could swear she could actually hear Maura's smile on the other end of the line.

"In a heartbeat Jane...I love you too"

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Thanks for reading, maybe let me know what you think.