Note: I usually write happy stories. This ain't one of 'em.

Burning Down Death

Jane was busy fixing the wiretap underneath Maura's unnecessarily frilly blouse. Why did a top have to have so many ruffles anyway? It looked stupid. On ordinary people. But Maura could wear a potato sack and make it look good.

"This is my first undercover assignment," Maura said, more to herself than Jane. Though Jane could not see it, Maura's face expressed her determination to get this right. She wanted to do a good job on her first time, so maybe they would let her do it again. It felt nice – if a little tickly – to have Jane's hands fiddling about with tricky little wires in between her clothes.

Focus, Maura!

"Wait!" Jane was now at Maura's front, wrapping the wire around to the neckline of Maura's blouse and trying not to get distracted. Maura put on what she thought was a 'badass' pose and dropped her voice a few octaves, though it was nowhere near as deep as Jane's.

"I'm doin' a U.C." She looked at Jane, arching her eyebrows then grinning suddenly. "I feel like Donny Brasco."

"Well you don't look like him. Can we keep it down please?" Jane replied, supressing a chuckle at Maura's antics. It was like working with an excited puppy. Now she was clipping the wire to the strap of Maura's blouse, her hands hovering dangerously close to her chest. "Right, I'm going to tuck this wire right here…"

Maura glanced down, then quickly back up to meet Jane's eyes.

"This microphone doesn't make it look like I have three breasts, does it?" she asked concerned, as always, about her appearance.

"Hm well, some guys are into that," Jane teased, making Maura laugh lightly.

"Is this what you'd wear to an undercover operation? I feel a little dressy."

"Nope, I'd wear a flak jacket." Maura lifted her top a little to help Jane fix… Whatever it was she was fixing down there. Maura kept talking to distract herself from the feel of Jane's fingers brushing against her bare skin.

"You know, I know this sounds vain but I couldn't be a cop."

"You? Vain?" Jane looked up for one moment of teasing incredulity before returning to her task.

"Well even you look a little chunky in a flak jacket," Maura shot back.

"Wow! Really? Okay." Jane was moving almost in a circle around Maura, fiddling with the wiretap. Maura lifted her arms to give her easier access. Easier access? Yes, so she could fix the wiretap. Although surely it was done by now. Just what exactly was Jane doing fiddling around Maura's hips anyway? "Thank you very much. And you know what? I think your little medical examiner getups make you look like a trash collector." Jane's eyes were laughing before she was even halfway through with her quip.

Maura's gasp was silent. "You do?" Jane stood up straight; now they were face to face. "So do I! I always feel a little dumpy."

"Put your jacket on," Jane told her, smiling despite herself.

"You wanna know what's truly odd about you?" Jane said as Maura did as she was told. Neither the wire nor the microphone was visible – Jane had done her job well.

"I'm not sure," said Maura, shaking her head.

"We should get in there," Korsak interrupted them from the car just outside. Frankie was sitting next to him and he caught Jane's eye, giving her a look that was supposed to mean something to her. His eyes darted over to Maura so quickly and subtly that Jane might have missed it if not for all her years of experience at being a detective. Jane knew her best move was to ignore Frankie, so she did. She did not need her little brother reminding her of the conversation they had shared last night about Maura. About Jane's feelings for her best friend.

Maura jumped up and down in excitement; she was eager to begin her first undercover assignment. She was also nervous, but she covered up her nerves well. Maura did not want to show Jane her vulnerable side. She had done more than enough of that recently already.

"Let's go." Maura smiled and fixed her hair.

"Listen to me, okay?" Jane took hold of Maura's upper arms gently. "This is serious. Somebody is trying to kill you to stop you investigating a murder." Jane gazed into Maura's eyes, trying to see if she understood how big this was. Jane wished they didn't have to do it this way, put Maura's safety on the line.

"You don't have to tell me that: I was there when he nearly drove over my mother," Maura's response held grave seriousness. The event had been almost traumatic and she was aware of the reasons why she was doing this. Justice. Not only for the fire fighter who had been killed, but also for her mother who was still in the hospital in critical condition.

"You know why we're lettin' you do this? 'Cause we're hoping that whoever this guy is, he's desperate enough to follow you into that warehouse and try it again, alright? But we're gonna be there this time." Jane's grip on Maura's arms tightened as she spoke, wanting Maura to understand that she was not alone in this anymore. Maura smiled goofily and said she was ready.

"Wait, what do you guys say to each other right before you pull the string?" Maura asked keenly. Jane's eyes closed for a moment as she reminded herself to be patient with the doctor. She wasn't used to their language yet. Hell, she wasn't used to the language of the average person yet.

"It's called a sting, Maura."

"Sting," Maura repeated quickly, unfazed and unsurprised that she hadn't gotten it quite right. Maura reciprocated Jane's grip, so now they were essentially holding each other. Maura's fingers were tingling, and not just with the anticipation.

"We say 'don't get made'," Jane told her, meaning it more than just informing Maura of the tradition.

"I like that," said Maura with a wide smile and a cock of her head. She lowered her voice and scrunched up her eyes, doing her badass impression again. "Don't get made."

Jane could not help smiling sadly at Maura. She sincerely hoped she didn't get made.

"See you on the other side, Dr Isles," Korsak said, and he drove the car forward so it was out of sight. Jane and Maura were finally alone.

"Don't look so worried," Maura assured Jane, shaking her arms. Then she did something Jane did not expect: Maura leaned in and kissed Jane lightly, her lips pecking Jane's for a brief – too brief – moment. "What could go wrong?" Smiling, Maura walked off to enter the part of the warehouse where the victim had died. Jane stared after her, mouth open. What the hell was that? She… She was not allowed to kiss her and then waltz off! Especially not after a kiss so chaste, and left a lot to be desired. Oh, they were going to talk so hard once this case was over.

Licking her lips and grinning to herself, Jane jogged over to where her partner and Korsak were now stationed, guns at the ready. Whatever had just developed between her and Maura, Jane had to concentrate now. They had a job to do.

"You shouldn't have come here by yourself," Kevin Flynn said, an edge of warning in his voice. He didn't want to silence the doctor, but he saw no other choice. She would never stop digging into the arson cases otherwise.

"Why not?" asked Maura.

"You know why not." Kevin did not want to play games. He didn't want to toy with Maura. He wanted this to be over as quickly as possible. He was a fire fighter after all, and killing people was not what he signed up for. He had only gotten into this mess in the first place because he wanted to be able to save more lives. "I had to make people understand that they can't just keep laying us off."

"How did you do that Kevin?" Maura knew she had to get a dialogue going, lest the wiretap be for nothing. They needed a solid confession to nail Kevin Flynn for the murder and the arsons.

"You know how: I burned a few buildings," Kevin replied, unable to stop a trace of pride slip through. All criminals liked to brag, at least a little. "And then Craig started digging around. Just like you. You both should'a just left it alone." The fire fighter parted his blue jacket and pulled out his weapon.

"Kevin don't-!" Maura screamed.

Jane started running when she heard the gunshot, Frost and Korsak right behind her. Her eyes went straight to Kevin, standing over Maura's body with a gun in his hand. He turned when he heard the detectives coming in, ready to shoot again. Without hesitating, Jane glared and raised her own gun, shooting Kevin twice in the chest. He fell to the ground with a heavy thud, the sound of the gunshots echoing within the charred building. Korsak ran to Kevin, checked his pulse and confirmed that he was dead.

"Damn!" Frost muttered, turning his attention to Maura. Jane had already run to Maura's side.

"Maura!" her voice was ragged, broken. A wet, dark stain was spreading across her stomach, drenching the ruffles of her blouse. Jane lifted the stupidly frilly top to reveal the sticky substance that was definitely more than just a reddish-brown stain. Slick blood was oozing out of Maura's stomach, seeping into her clothes and pooling out around her. Jane whipped off her jacket and, bunching it up, pressed it against Maura's wound. Maura's eyes were unfocused but searching for Jane's figure.

"Ja-" was all Maura could choke out. "Ja-…Ja…" Tears leaked from her eyes. Jane pulled Maura in close, not caring that the blood was marking her own pale yellow t-shirt. The one Maura had told her belonged on a homeless person.

"Shh, it's okay Maura, I'm here," Jane sobbed, stroking Maura's face. Frost got out his cell phone and began to call for an ambulance. "I'm here." Maura tried to smile up at her, or at the very least say that she was glad Jane was holding her. It made her feel safe and warm, even though she felt so cold. So cold.

Then Maura lay still, her hazel eyes wide open. Lifeless.

Jane's eyes darkened when she realised Maura was no longer breathing. No. No. This could not be happening. Not Maura. Not…

"Maura. Maura!" Jane yelled, shaking her best friend's limp body. "You are not dying on me, okay? You're not! I won't let you! Maura!"

Jane did not go to Maura's funeral. She couldn't. She just couldn't. Everything hurt. Her life was empty without Maura Isles.

She hadn't been to her apartment since the warehouse. Or to Maura's house, or work, or any other place she had been to with Maura. Being there but not having Maura there was too painful. Everything reminded her of Maura, and how much Jane missed her. The different smiles she would do, the way she Google-talked her way into everything, her obliviousness to sarcasm.

And she had kissed her. Maura had kissed Jane, right before she went into the warehouse. She should have worn a flak jacket, even if it did make her look chunky. It could have saved her life.

But she hadn't worn one, and she had kissed Jane. Why had she done it? Did she feel the same way as Jane? Did she love her? How long for? Why didn't she ever say anything? Was she waiting for Jane to say something? So many questions that Jane would never know the answer to.

Or would she?

Jane looked down at her gun, the same one that she had used to shoot Maura's killer twice in the chest. It felt heavy in her hand, which was weird because it used to feel like an extension of her own limb. Now it was alien to her. A burden. A reminder of what had happened to the woman she loved.

Sitting in an alleyway on the outskirts of the city, Jane looked a mess. Her hair hadn't been combed for weeks, she could not remember the last time she had had a hot shower and she hadn't eaten in days. There were dark circles under her eyes from all the sleep she hadn't been getting and her eyes were red from all the crying she had been doing. But Jane was all cried out now. She was ready.

She put the barrel of the gun in her mouth.

I'll see you soon, Maura.

Jane pulled the trigger.