This is my first Rizzles fic, so be nice. Takes place after The Beast In Me and follows a (mostly) cannon storyline. The next update will take at least a week as I have finals coming up and, unfortunately, real life trumps lesbian romance fiction. Enjoy!


Patrick Doyle held the flame close to his face, unhurriedly lighting a cigarette. He was sitting in an unremarkable dark sedan just a few blocks from the Boston Police Department, waiting for a call.

He considered the smoke floating up in front of his face, curling and twisting into fantastical shapes. He had a bet going on with himself, and he hated to lose. Which one would make the call? Long odds were on his daughter. He didn't blame her. If she wanted nothing to do with him, so much the better. We gave her up to keep her out of it, dammit. Paddy thought, momentarily annoyed that he was in this position in the first place. Oh well.

The black guy? Nah, he didn't seem the type to get his hands dirty. Too fresh, still learning that there were some things that were best taken care of out of court. Away from the innocent.

Maybe the other one? What was his name? Anyway, he was a better bet. Around Doyle's own age, been on the force a long time, knew how the world worked. But he was gunning for a promotion and wouldn't risk his job. No, Doyle knew who would call.

He was giving himself three to one odds on the brunette. Headstrong, known for bending the rules, with a strong sense of justice... he chuckled. Reminds me of myself at that age. She and his daughter spent a lot of time together, so naturally Paddy had had her fully checked out. There had to be something there.

Brrrrr...Brrrr... the phone vibrated on the console next to him. He regarded it for a second before answering. "Yeah?"

"Tommy O'Rourke."

Doyle heard a click and the line went dead. Turning on the engine and pulling out into the deserted Boston night, he considered buying himself a celebratory pint.

He just had some business to take care of first.


Several hours later Jane was still in mild shock, nursing a beer and staring at her hand as if it was no longer part of her body. What she had done yesterday went against everything she had learned, everything she was.

But Maura would be safe. And that was what mattered.

Suddenly she felt sick and ran to the bathroom, dry-heaving into the toilet. This sucks.

Dropping down on her couch again with Jo, Jane took a long drink of her beer.

Ok Jane, let's take it from the top. A murderer was threatening Maura. Said murderer also might have known that Maura was Paddy Doyle's biological daughter. If he ever got to prison and had a chance to talk, the whole criminal underworld including Lex Luthor and Dr. Doom would have known within the week. There was no choice. I had to do it to keep Maura safe. And I had to do it... because I love her.

Jane dropped her head into her hands. How had everything gotten so fucked up? It was going to be so easy. Identity theft bad guy gets killed by pissed off bad guy, good guys put away pissed off bad guy, and everyone meets up at the Dirty Robber for drinks and Jane's happy fun stare-longingly-at-Maura time. Simple. Or as simple as her life got, anyway.

Now... Jane felt so lost. She had risked her career, hell, maybe even her life to keep Maura safe. More than that, she had turned her back on everything she held dear in a split second decision. All her life, she'd wanted to do one thing – join the Boston police force. Help people who couldn't help themselves, keep the city safe. She loved it, had never given in to the cynicism some of the other detectives felt, because she was making a difference. Every scumbag she got off the street was a person who would not kill again. She'd always felt that she was saving the world, in her own little way. Playing superhero in real life.

But this...vigilante justice was no justice at all. She felt that in her core, knew that law and order had to prevail to keep the world running. No matter what the cost...

Putting her life on the line for the force had never bothered her. It was just something you did, something that might happen every day. She certainly would like to avoid getting killed, but if she did, at least she'd made a difference in the world with the time she'd had. Probably why nobody wants to date me.

Maura...Maura had never signed up for this. Medical examiners weren't supposed to be in danger, dammit. Gorgeous, wonderful Maura; it was already so hard for her to socialize – it had been the 'ice queen' nickname (along with others less PG) that had drawn Jane to her in the first place. Every protective instinct Jane had, every reason she'd joined the force, had driven her to support the ME, and in her Jane had found one of the best friends she'd ever known. If only her heart had let her keep it that way. There were times, when some jackass said something stupid and Maura's sweet face had faded from confusion to hurt, that Jane ached to hold her and never let go, to promise that nothing would ever hurt her again.

When Maura had gone missing earlier... nothing had prepared her for the emptiness she'd felt at the thought of never seeing her again. Hanging her head in embarrassment, Jane remembered frantically promising to do anything to keep Maura be honest, she was surprised Korsak hadn't told her to go home, that she was too close to the case. Maybe he knew she just would have gone out alone.

It was all gone, now. All changed. Her integrity, her pride, everything that had drawn her to the force in the first place. And for what? For a stupid crush on her very straight best friend. Hell, even fairytale princes got a kiss out of the job!

Jane pulled several more beers from the refrigerator and lined them up on the table. Without coasters. Take that! She fully planned on drinking this night away and chalking everything up to a bad dream.

All she'd managed to do tonight was prove that everyone had their price. And now one of the most notorious mob hit-men in Boston knew hers.