7:30 AM Monday - a couple days after the shooting

Today was an off day. The snow was piling up on the streets, and almost nobody would make it to work that day. The electricity and telephone lines were on and off due to the blistering cold weather. Nobody was at the bullpen. Jane was there overnight finishing the report on the shooting. To say that each word she typed felt like a unique, treacherous torment was an understatement. The detective keeps replaying the scene in her mind. In a matter of minutes, Jane felt the betrayal and loss of a lover, the anxiety of shooting a mob boss, and above all else, the agony of knowing she can't fix an unspoken bond between a friend. Jane's eyes were transfixed on the picture she had of her and Maura on her desk. Her eyes were glossy with tears as she realized things will never be the same between the two friends.

"Rizzoli, you alright?" Frost asked as he walked cautiously towards the detective's desk with a cup of coffee.

Jane jumped. She looked at her watch. 8:09. She had been absentmindedly staring at the picture of her and the medical examiner on her desk for nearly 40 minutes. The woman grabbed her leather jacket and scarf off of her desk chair, snatched the coffee from her partner, and headed outside with nothing more than a barely audible, "No."

For the past couple days, Jane hasn't been herself. She did everything with tired, drowsy eyes and showed no emotion towards anybody. She's been thinking twice about everything she did. The passion and dedication for her job has died a little. She lost her drive. The detective's monotonous life was unbearable.

Jane sat on worn bench outside. The snow tickled her flushed cheeks and nose. A silent tear fell from her tired eyes. She hasn't slept or eaten in days. The weekend went on for ages as she relived the pain of a couple days before. Jane tried to sort out her thoughts.

Doyle was never going to shoot me. He knows that I look out for Maura. If I had stood in front of Frost, he wouldn't have shot him either. It was all Dean. Dean betrayed me. He followed me and as soon as he shot, all Hell broke loose. I won't even get the chance to tell him how much he hurt me. Why did I ever want to be with him?

Dean had passed away a couple hours after the incident. Doyle was still in recovery from surgery. To Jane's knowledge, he hasn't regained consciousness yet. She had stayed with Doyle the first couple days he was out of surgery, but it hurt her every second she was there knowing that there could've been a way to avoid this. Although she does feel sorry for pulling the trigger, she was a bit confused about where Maura stood with Patty Doyle.

Maura.

She had taken a week off of work to recuperate from the emotional distress she had to experience. Jane hasn't seen the medical examiner ever since. She doesn't dare calling her or going to see her anytime soon. The fact that she had broken their trust and put her in harm's way was consuming her with regret. Jane came to the realization of her feelings for Maura when Charles Hoyt, her own personal boogey man, held a scalpel to the medical examiner's neck. She had never thought of what it would be like to lose Maura before then because Jane's life and Maura's seemed inextricable. When their bond was threatened, the detective realized that she couldn't stand to lose her.

In hindsight, I was just doing my job. I took down one of the FBI's most wanted...but he happened to be my best friend's biological father. The way she looked at me...I will never forgive myself. I never wanted to hurt Maura. "I'm sorry" is just a mere colloquialism and can never mean enough. I can never make it up to her...what do I do?

What seemed like a lifetime of thinking was interrupted by her paused before answering,"Detective Rizzoli."

"Rizzoli...Jane?"

"Yeah. Who is this?"

"Boston General Hospital. Dr. Maura Isles wouldn't pick up her phone, and you were the next on the emergency contact list. Our patient, Patrick Doyle, is missing. All of the medical equipment that was in his room is gone as well. We are trying to alert the authorities, but we can't seem to get through. We are concerned he might be confused or still hurting from surgery. Do you know where he may be?

The detective stared blankly in disbelief. "I know where he could be. I'm going to check it out." She hung up before the nurse even had a chance to ask where she was going.

8:00 AM Monday - Maura's house

Maura just got out of the shower. She put on a dressing robe and headed to her room.

My father is a criminal. Jane catches criminals. This was going to happen eventually. Jane knows the most about Patrick Doyle and she's a brilliant detective. It was inevitable, yet I feel betrayed and hurt. Why do I feel this way?

Maura stepped into her room, which was softly lit by a few slow burning candles. She sat on the edge of her bed, thinking about the first time Jane slept over. She felt so at home with the detective. They could talk to each other about anything, and it felt nice to have a relationship like that. A tear trickled down her cheek. Things will never be the same between them.

*CRACK*

Maura jumped. She ran over to her bedside where she kept the gun Jane gave her for self defense. Everything she knew about guns from what Jane taught her came rushing through her mind as she slowly crept towards the shattered window. She wasn't surprised to see her biological father and an accomplice.

His accomplice was cleaning up the shattered glass. Patty was already sitting on the family room couch as he gestured for her to sit next to him. Maura remained standing, but lowered her weapon.

"Dad." Maura breathed. Dad? When did I start calling him that?

"Maura."

"Knocking would've been easier."

"I had to be sure I got in. I don't have a lot of time."

"Oh, and why is that? Is it because you're supposed to be recovering in the hospital, or the fact that you're a well know Boston mob boss that probably has cops looking for him as we speak?"

Doyle chuckled. "You're just like your mother."

The room went silent. The tension was building and Maura shifted uncomfortably. A ringing broke the somewhat awkward pause. The house phone was booming throughout the house. Maura shifted to go get it, but Doyle got up and stopped her.

"No." he muttered.

Maura broke free from his hold. "Stop," Maura said sternly,"You don't tell me what to do! You are not allowed to pop in and out of my life anymore!"

What felt like an eternity, appeared to be only minutes. The ringing finally stopped. Doyle looked deep into Maura's weary eyes.

"I came here to tell you something."

Maura just glared.

Patty grabbed both of her arms and looked deeply into her eyes."Don't be mad at Jane. She did what she had to do. All I care about is that you have someone who loves you the way I wanted to." After a minute of pausing, Doyle and his accomplice exited through the window.

Maura's eyes suddenly became vibrant at the word "loves". A wave of goosebumps appeared on Maura's arm. She had always subconsciously known that the relationship between her and Jane was more than a mere friendship, but this is the first time it was said out loud. Maybe he wasn't talking about the same variation of "love", but she couldn't help but think about it in a romantic way. She set down her gun and sat down on her couch where Doyle was just a couple minutes before. She stared blankly at the window where they had left.

8:19 AM - Jane's car, racing across the streets of Boston

Jane's first instinct was to go to Maura's house. As much as she didn't want to, she knew Doyle would be there.

What am I going to do if he IS there? I guess I would have to arrest him...in front of Maura. Then it would drive an even bigger wedge between me and her and what little hope of rebuilding our friendship will be gone. No. I have to make sure she's okay. Maura's safety always comes first, even if she hates me for it.

Jane pulled up to Maura's house and ran towards the door. Before she could knock, she heard a struggle coming from the side yard. The detective instinctively unholstered her gun and swiftly hopped Maura's side fence. It was Doyle, making his way through the side walkway. Jane made eye contact with him. She hesitated and shifted uncomfortably. As the detective slowly lowered her gun, her and the mob boss never broke eye contact. An unspoken understanding was established. Doyle limped away with his accomplice supporting his arm.

When they were out of sight, Jane turned around and headed for the front door. She knocked a couple times before Maura answered.

"Jane." she answered breathlessly. Maura hasn't seen Jane since the shooting, and the sudden sight of her best friend was overwhelming.

"Are you okay?" The detective asked unsteadily.

The honey blonde hesitated for a moment,"Come in."

The brunette's face was flushed. She stepped into the medical examiner's house and took off her scarf and jacket. She was wearing a dark grey v-neck sweater with navy skinny jeans. She felt uncomfortable because the doctor was still in her dressing robe. Maura didn't seem to mind, but Jane felt guilty looking at her when she's not in decent clothing. She distracted herself and looked at the window Doyle broke to get in, but didn't bother to mention it. The smaller woman made her way to the island counter in the kitchen and Jane followed. Maura spun around and her hazel eyes met the chocolate brown's. There was a certain look in medical examiner's eyes the medical examiner's eyes that the detective couldn't quite place.

"Why are you here?"

"I just wanted to make sure that you were okay."

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Do you really have to ask that question?"

Doyle's words started ringing in Maura's ears. Don't be mad at Jane. She did what she had to do. All I care about is that you have someone who loves you the way I wanted to. It was funny, in a weird way. When Maura met Jane, there was instant chemistry. They both knew it, even if it went unspoken betweent the two. Now, whenever someone mentions a "significant other" or "loved one", all that comes to mind is Jane.

"Is it alright if we talk?" Jane said, not knowing how to properly phrase the question.

Maura hesitated."We can try."

The detective took a few uneasy steps towards the blonde. She didn't really expect to stay this long, and she didn't have a proper speech composed. Putting the words together at the last second, the brunette took a shaky breath, "Maura Isles, you are the one person in my life that may know me better than I know myself. I love everything about you, and for a while I could pretend that we shared something that many people would be lucky to have. I usually draw a line where I won't allow people to get any closer to me, but ever since I met you, everything changed...I changed."Jane found herself digressing and quickly got back on track,"So as you can imagine, I'm very protective of my loved ones. I didn't want you to get hurt. I felt selfish pulling the trigger-"

"Jane, stop." Maura brought her hand up to the detective's cheek and a tear fell from her hazel eyes,"You were doing your job. I can't blame you for shooing my father, even if I wanted to."

"And I can't blame you for hating me."

"I don't hate you."

"Then why have we been so distant?"

"I was hoping you would tell me."

Silence fell upon the two women. They got lost in each other's eyes. As awkward as it may be right now, they truly missed one another.

"So...I guess it's your turn to talk..." Jane said awkwardly.

The honey blonde gesturted towards the broken window."My father was here."

"Yeah, I saw him as he made his way through your side yard. You don't have to tell me about it if you don't want to."

The blonde's voice darkened."You saw him? And you didn't arrest him? Why?"

"I felt like I owed him that much."

Maura looked confused."Why would you owe him?"

"He saved your life."

"You were going to save my life."

"The point is, he did. I couldn't bear to lose you, Maura," A silent tear fell from the sombre brunette's dark brown eyes,"Without you, I barely exist." Jane felt so exposed, but she couldn't help but let her thoughts flow when she was around the honey blonde.

The two women were impossibly close. A scarred hand softly carressed the other woman's cheek.

"Jane..."

The detective sniffled."I'm sorry, Maura."

"Shhh...Jane, we're going to be okay."

Jane's husky voice became darker. "I can't fix the bond between us, I broke it."

"Then let's build a new one."Tears fell from Maura's face like leaves fell from autumn trees.

The smaller woman put one hand on her neck and kept the other on the taller woman's cheek. Maura's face inched closer to Jane's, slowly but surely, placing her lips on Jane's.

The taste of tears danced with the medical examiner's lips. Jane gasped on contact. The kiss felt better than Jane could ever dream it would be. She place her hands around Maura's waist as the smaller woman deepened the kiss. Their lips smashed together in a smoky passion. They've both longed for this moment, even if they weren't fully conscious of their intentions. Jane pulled back and she saw that same look in Maura's eyes she saw a few minutes ago. Just then, she realized what it was. Lust.