This is my first foray into writing Rizzoli & Isles FanFiction. I've read countless stories and have watched the show since it began but never really felt inclined to write FanFic for it. But now I do!

This idea has been in my head for a few months now but since I was wrapping up my last semester of undergraduate, I didn't really have time to dedicate to writing. Now that I am free and my only responsibility is job hunting, I figured I would give this a shot.

Be gentle in your critiques but also constructive! Let me know what I can do better because I have a few other plots roaming my brain.

The sound that greeted Maura as she entered the small university dorm room was boisterous laughter coming from the mouths of the officers who had been the first to respond to the call reporting a gunshot on campus.

"Is something humorous, gentleman?" Maura asked as she set her bag down and allowed her eyes to take in the barren walls of the room and the immaculate tidiness that rivaled Maura's own college dorm room.

"Just talkin' 'bout the bachelor party I'm gonna be throwing for Eddie tomorrow night," one of the men laughed as he gave his partner a hearty pat on the back. "Gonna be a real wild night!"

"I am sure it will be, Officer," Maura said with as much politeness as she could muster. "But perhaps we could respect the deceased, who appears to be no older than twenty, and save the talk of strippers and alcohol until you're off the clock?"

"Aw, come on, Doc," the other officer said. "She's just another overly dramatic, psycho college kid who couldn't handle the pressure of being away from mom and dad and shot herself."

"You're making a large assumption," Maura stated as she pulled on a pair of blue examination gloves and kneeled next to the woman. "Just because there is a gunshot wound to the head that appears to have been shot from point blank does not mean that this woman is just a, as you say, 'psycho college kid.'"

"But check out her arms," one of the officer's said, motioning to the victim. "She's got cuts all up and down them."

"It is estimated than millions of individuals have struggled with self-injurious behavior at some point in their lifetime," Maura stated calmly, ensuring that her annoyance with the clearly inexperienced officers remained in check. "The majority of those who have been studied or interviewed in regards to their self-harm stated that they did not wish to die. Quite the opposite, in fact. They were doing it to stay alive. A way to release the endorphins to raise emotions, control physical pain when emotional pain became too much, or simply as a means to achieve a sense of calm in an otherwise hectic world."

"That all might be true but those crazies who do that sorta stuff clearly are missing a few marbles, am I right?" The two officers laughed at the joke, oblivious to the daggers the medical examiner was shooting at them from her eyes.

Shaking her head at their actions, Maura began to examine the wound on the young woman's head, her actions gentle and laden with unspoken emotions.

"Single gunshot wound to the left side of her head seems to have come from incredibly close proximity," Maura said aloud, her voice firm and not showing the emotions stirring within her. "I would like to have her body delivered to Headquarters so I can perform a closer examination, however," she added as she stood up to face the still chuckling officers.

"Really, doc?"

"Yes, really," Maura said firmly. "Although you may seem to think that this young woman died by her own hand and is not deserving of the same respect as the other victims we as the Boston Police Department encounter every other day, you are wrong. Now please arrange to have the body transported to my morgue immediately."

It was not until nearly 10pm that night that Jane finally spoke with Maura. She had been out speaking with witnesses all day and was finally walking to her car in the parking garage when she noticed that Maura's car was still sitting where it had been parked that morning.

"Maur?" Jane called out as she entered the morgue, noticing the body of a young woman laying out on one of the cold metal tables yet with no medical examiner in sight. "Maura?" she called again, walking towards her friend's private office.

A tired smile formed on Jane's face when she saw a sleeping medical examiner with her head resting on her arms above an array of papers. Her hair was pulled into a lose ponytail and the sleeves of her lavender silk blouse were pushed up to her elbows. Jane couldn't see her skirt but assumed that it was wrinkled like the blouse.

Jane shook her head as she knelt at the front of Maura's desk and rested her own head on her arms, looking at the sleeping woman as she was now at the same level.

"Wakey, wakey," Jane said gently. "It's time to go home," she added.

Maura's eyes blinked open when she heard the gravelly voice of her best friend. She felt calm for a few moments as she allowed Jane's face to come into focus before remembering why she was still in the morgue so late.

"What time is it?" Maura asked as she shot from her chair, sending a few sheets of paper to the floor.

"It's almost 10," Jane replied as she stood up and watched Maura frantically pick up the papers that had fallen. "I'm exhausted but was thinking we could order some-"

"10pm?" Maura cried, cutting Jane off. "I remember putting my head down at 8:30 for a few minutes of meditation but was not expecting to sleep for so long. I need to get back to work," Maura said as she flew past Jane into the chilly morgue.

"Uh, Maur?" Jane asked, following her friend into the morgue and watching her pull an examination gown over her clothing. "I didn't think we had any autopsies that needed to be done. The Velazquez case was closed yesterday and the Briggs case is all but closed so what work is it that you have to do? And why can't it wait until tomorrow?"

"It is a case that you aren't on," Maura said as she vigorously scrubbed her hands and forearms, angry at herself for sleeping when there was work to do. "A resident assistant reported a gunshot earlier today. I came to the scene to discover Amy Ryan lying on her dorm floor with a gunshot wound to her left temple. The officers at the scene were clearly under the impression that she took her own life but I requested that her body be delivered here."

"Do you think there was some sort of foul play at work?" Jane questioned softly, knowing that inside Maura's logical brain there must be a reason why she is performing an autopsy when the cause of death seemed to be apparent.

"It is entirely possible," Maura said as she turned to face Jane who was now standing next to Amy's body, looking down at the young woman's face. "The self-inflicted cuts are on her left arm, which would suggest she used her right arm to make the cuts and, thus, is a dominant right handed individual. But the gunshot wound is on the left side of her temple, which would not make sense."

"Could she be ambidextrous?" Jane asked.

"The percentage of the population who can use both hands with equal ease is surprisingly small but it is possible that Amy was ambidextrous. But-"

"Maura," Jane said, placing a hand on Maura's shoulder to calm her as she attempted to prepare the area for autopsy. "I know that you're all about finding out the truth and stuff and that a college kid killing themselves is tragic but there's no point in adding to your already crazy workload if this is an open and shut case."

"It isn't open and shut!" Maura snapped, turning around to face Jane, her eyes no longer sleepy but filled with fire. "I apologize," she quickly said after she realized the anger in her voice. "I don't know what have come over me. I just…Something is telling me that Amy did not kill herself. That she did not place the gun to her temple and take her life."

"Dr. Isles," Jane said with a smile. "Are you doing what you told me you never do and listening to your intestines?"

Hearing Jane's joke sent ice through Maura's veins and she pulled her shoulder away from Jane's grasp and spun around to continue preparing for the autopsy. She was still angry at the words of the officers from the crime scene and now Jane was mocking her for her lack of scientific approach.

"Hey, hey, hey," Jane said when she realized she had caused Maura pain. "Maur, I was kidding. If you think that girl didn't take her own life, then I will listen to all your theories and we will solve this like we do everything else. Together."

"Really?" Maura asked, stilling her movements but still remaining with her back to Jane.

"Of course, Maur," Jane smiled. "But can we work on it after we get some Chinese and a few hours of sleep?"

After arguing in the car ride to Maura's home, again over Chinese take-out, and yet again after curling into Maura's large bed, Jane finally convinced Maura that getting several hours of sleep and arriving at headquarters at 7am would be their plan. Which is why, at 6:30am Maura was tapping her foot next to her front door, keys and handbag in hand.

"If you'd let me drive we could have an extra 15 minutes," Jane yawned as she grabbed the travel thermos of coffee Maura had prepared for her and took a large gulp.

"If I let you drive we would most likely be stopped for speeding," Maura said as she turned to exit her house and begin the drive to headquarters.

"That's what the badge is for," Jane smiled as she climbed into Maura's car, barely shutting the door before Maura was pulling out of the driveway. "So, care to tell me about what else you've discovered about Amy so we can hit the ground running when we arrive?"

"Well, as I mentioned yesterday the scars on her arm and the side of her head the gun was pressed against contradict each other, which first made me feel uneasy when doing the preliminary exam at the scene."

"What else?" Jane prodded gently.

"I did a swab of both of her hands for gunshot residue and every test I ran proved to be negative for residue. Which would make sense if she had gloves on but she didn't. If she had fired the gun into her temple, the amount of gunshot residue on her hand and arm would be significant but there is none at all. I also was able to get her medical records delivered and all the records state that Amy had not harmed herself in over a year, which is consistent with the lack of fresh wounds I found on her and the healing process of the various scars on her arms. I find it hard to believe that after a year of not harming herself, being very consistent with taking her medications, and seeing a professional therapist, Amy would suddenly shoot herself without warning."

"All of that is circumstantial, though," Jane said softly as she watched Maura bite her bottom lip.

"I know, Jane," Maura sighed as she ran a hand through her hair at a stop light. "Which is why I need your help. I need Boston's best detective to help me find solid evidence that Amy Ryan did not kill herself. I need to know if she had enemies or an angry ex-lover or a disgruntled family member. Anyone who knew of her struggle with self-harm and wanted her gone. Please, Jane," Maura added, her voice clearly heavy with sadness as they pulled into the parking garage.

"Hey," Jane whispered as she reached over the center console to place a hand on Maura's shoulder and softly rub soothing circles with her thumb. Maura closed her eyes at the gentle actions shown by the detective. "You are the most brilliant and dedicated human being on this planet and I guess you could say I'm a little bit brilliant and dedicated, too. Which means that we are gonna figure this out, okay? We're gonna do Amy justice."

"Thank you," Maura said softly before opening her eyes and turning her head to face Jane. "Let's go."

Jane had hardly left the morgue that day, working from Maura's computer and making calls to anyone who could offer insight to their unofficial case while Maura examined the body and sifted through medical records. Angela had come to bring them lunch at 1pm yet word had traveled fast that the two of them were not to be disturbed unless absolutely necessary.

It was nearing 8pm when Maura jumped up from behind her desk and called out Jane's name.

"Huh?" Jane asked, rubbing her eyes as she watched Maura walk out from behind her desk with her laptop in hand.

"Look at this e-mail that the Dean of Students just e-mailed me," Maura said as she sat next to Jane on the small couch in her office. "He says that Amy's ex-boyfriend Jonathan Adams might be a viable suspect. He and Amy met in a group therapy that Amy was in as she worked to overcome her self-harm. The two began dating and were inseparable. While Amy was able to stop self-harming, Jonathan only got worse with his self-harm. Amy went to the counseling center one day because she feared Jonathan was going to kill himself and when Jonathan found out that she did that behind his back, the counselors at the center described him as "filled with rage." He felt that Amy acted as a hypocrite by turning him in for harming himself when Amy used to do the same. He said several threatening statements directed at Amy in the presence of school officials."

"Maur, that's great!" Jane said as she took the laptop from Maura's outstretched hands and began to type rapidly, smiling when she pulled up a handful of tabs. "Seriously, when are kids ever going to learn to make social media private?" she mused as she turned the laptop so both she and Maura could see the screen. "On every single social media site his name is on he's made some sort of status or comment about how karma is a bitch and-"

"Snitches get stitches?" Maura read aloud, shock in her voice. "He said these things?"

"Yeah…" Jane trailed off. "I think I might pay Jonathan a little visit," Jane said as she set the laptop down on the couch and ran her hands through her hair, trying to tame the wild curls.

"Should I come with you?" Maura asked, standing up to stand in front of the detective.

"You should stay here," Jane said after a few moments of silence. "That way when I get Jonathan to come clean about shooting Amy in the head, I can send you a quick text and you can be the one to call Amy's family and let them know that their little girl didn't do this to herself."

Maura just nodded, not trusting her voice to not crack if she spoke. She offered Jane a soft smile before giving her friend a gentle push out the door, already awaiting the text letting her know that her gut had been right and she could let Amy's family know that their daughter hadn't taken her life.

The medical examiner's nerves were under control for the first hour but after two hours had passed since Jane left her office, Maura was unable to keep the nerves at bay. She was pacing the length of her office, the constant click-click-click of her heels offering a slight bit of solace to her frayed nerves. She was on her seventeenth lap when her cellphone chirped, causing her the rhythm of her steps to falter as she scurried to her desk to check the newest message.

Call her parents. Tell them Amy didn't do this to herself.

Maura's vision was instantly blurry with tears she hadn't anticipated. She allowed a few to fall before dabbing them away and moving to sit down at her desk, dialing the number she had written down in hopes that the night would end this way.

"Hello, is this Gregory Ryan? My name is Dr. Maura Isles and I am the Chief Medical Examiner for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. I am calling today in regards to your daughter, Amy…"

Maura took a sip of her wine as she watched the clock on her television set switch from 11:59pm to 12:00am. She inhaled deeply as the emotions of the past two days began to sink into her bones.

"You did good, Maur," Jane said softly as she set her beer bottle on the side table and moved her body to look more directly at the exhausted doctor. "Really good."

"Thank you," Maura replied as she continued to stare forward.

"You know you can talk to me about anything, right?"

"Of course."

"So if, uh, you were thinking of hurting yourself like Amy used to do or even if you used to hurt yourself like she used to, you know I would be there to listen to you. To support you and stuff," Jane said, the sincerity in her voice obvious.

"I never engaged in self-harm," Maura said softly as she placed her wine glass down and turned to face Jane. "As an Isles I knew that far too much was at stake should someone discover that the daughter of Constance Isles was a cutter."

"But did you ever think of…doing that?" Jane asked, resisting the urge to reach out and take Maura's hands.

"Yes," Maura confessed, her eyes looking down to avoid Jane's.

At Maura's confession, Jane could no longer resist the urge to touch her friend and reached in between them to take Maura's hands in her own and give them a soft squeeze.

"In an Abnormal Psychology course I took as an elective my junior year of college we of course touched on mental illnesses such as depression and bi-polar disorder. The topic of self-injury came up and in a way it fascinated me. I found myself wondering what it would be like if I ever started to harm myself. If what people said about it was true. If it would give me that sense of control at a time when it felt as though my life was spiraling out of control. If it would allow me to take the emotional pain of what my peers said about me and turn it into a more manageable physical pain," Maura admitted as she still avoided the eyes of her best friend.

"Hey," Jane said, releasing one of Maura's hands to place it underneath the blonde's chin and lift her friend's head to meet her gaze. "You've got nothing to be ashamed of," Jane smiled as she returned her other hand back to Maura's to squeeze both of them gently.

"A dear friend of mine began to do it," Maura whispered, the tears that had appeared earlier in her eyes returning. "She was one of the only friends I had while in college who did not try to take advantage of me for my intelligence. She began to cut after she got a C- on an essay that was worth 30% of our final grade. She started small—only two or three cuts that were not very deep," Maura continued as a tear fell from her eye and landed on her pajama top. "But it continued to get worse and worse until she was removed from university for violating student code."

"Violating student code?" Jane asked.

"Causing yourself purposeful bodily harm violated the student code," Maura clarified. "Which makes hardly any sense—expelling someone from an institution where they have a support system and counselors willing to see them for free. But many universities to this day have self-harm as a violation of student code."

"Wow," Jane breathed, unable to speak as she watched a few more tears escape Maura's eyes.

"When the officers were mocking Amy's self-injury and calling all those who engage in self-injury psycho or as missing a few marbles, I found myself remembering my time in college contemplating self-harm and how easily I could have gone from Maura the Bora to Maura the Psycho or how much it would have caused Isabella pain to hear others say she was missing a few marbles."

"Maura," Jane said, watching her friend in pain causing her pain as well.

"It hurt," Maura said softly as she broke eye contact with Jane and averted her gaze, although she made no effort to pull her hands from Jane's.

"I can only imagine," Jane said as she squeezed Maura's hands and allowed her thumbs to rub up and down the backs of Maura's hands.

The two sat in silence for several minutes, with only the occasional sniffle coming from Maura as she allowed the memories and emotions to finally penetrate her armor causing a sound. Jane did not try to stop the tears or calm her friend. Instead she simply continued to offer reassuring squeezes to Maura's hands, letting her know it was okay to fall apart once in a while.

When the sniffles coming from Maura finally subsided, Jane caught Maura's gaze and Maura couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle.

"Sorry," she laughed as she pulled one of her hands out of Jane's to wipe gingerly at her eyes and the tear tracks that had formed.

"Nothin' to be sorry for," Jane smiled as she winked at Maura. "Wanna head to bed? It's getting' late and I know how much you value your REM sleep."

"REM sleep has been proven by countless studies to-"

"Improve concentration, elevate mood, increase productivity, and heighten senses," Jane finished as she stood up and offered her hand to help Maura stand up as well.

"I don't understand why you insist on being snarky when it comes to my knowledge if you actually listen to me," Maura laughed as she continued to hold Jane's hand as they walked up the stairs to Maura's bedroom. The handholding was new and not something either was used to yet it felt oddly natural to have some sort of physical contact after such a trying few days.

The two women crawled into bed, their hands only separating momentarily as they adjusted themselves and got comfortable before searching and clasping each other once again.

"Jane?" Maura whispered after the two had settled into a comfortable position laying side by side, arms brushing.

"Hmm?"

"Thank you for trusting in me today," Maura said softly.

"It was all you, Maur," Jane replied. "You and your brilliant intestines."

I'd love to hear your thoughts!