AN: This wouldn't have been written if it weren't for my own special Maura, my LLBFF, BrandiMortati. So this special fic is dedicated to her.

Maura moved through her home, heels clicking lightly on the parquet floors as she stepped around her sofa, sitting gingerly so as not to upset the glass of wine in her hand. She looked over at the other end of the couch, hazel eyes flickering with concern and a hint of amusement.

Jane tipped the amber bottle in her hand back, cool lightly carbonated liquid running down her throat. She slowly wrenched her eyes away from the baseball game playing on the television, aware of Maura's gaze. "Why are you staring at me?"

"I'm not staring." Maura continued looking at Jane, lifting her glass to her lips, sipping it lightly, her gaze twisting in the globular bell of the glass.

"You're staring." Jane nodded, an eyebrow raised in slight incredulity, her body animated without moving, further demonstrating her annoyance.

Maura set her glass down on the small bamboo coaster to one side of her coffee table, shifting to face Jane, one heel slipping off as her leg tucked itself underneath her. "I was merely scanning your features for stress. You're quite beautiful, you know."

That took Jane by surprise. "I'm what?" She pulled the bottle away from her lips where it had been a moment earlier, swallowing hastily as a hand reached up to shield Maura from any errant spray.

"I believe I was clear. Your facial structure is strong, yet delicate, and your ocular spacing is near symmetrical." Maura smiled, satisfied with her explanation, an arm laying itself across the back of the couch, outstretched toward Jane.

Jane's eyes widened a bit further as she turned away from Maura, focusing on the flickering screen once more. "You couldn't be any less clear."

"Your eyes are beautiful." Maura took another sip, leaning back. "All of you is, really. I don't understand why you have such horrific taste in men."

Good question. Jane shrugged a bit, the short sleeves of her t-shirt wrinkling with the motion. "Because men are jerks?" She sighed and leaned back a bit, then shifted, her body turning to face the doctor. "I know what you're doing, Maur."

Maura blinked, slightly taken aback. She sat up a bit straighter, her own disbelief sliding over her features like a renaissance player's mask. "I am aware that your caseload has been fairly heavy lately, and as a good friend, which you continue to assure me I am, I was attempting to discern your level of tension." She swallowed, her face turning aside in irritation.

Jane sighed, reaching her own hand out across the soft cushions to lace her fingers with Maura's. "I'm sorry. I thought you wanted to talk about Gary."

Maura smiled happily, straightening once more as she tightened her grip on Jane's hand. "Well, since you brought him up… how was your date?"

Jane groaned internally. "A wreck. He started crying about his ex-wife halfway through dinner." She stood, carrying her empty bottle toward the kitchen. "Speaking of which, is there any leftover Chinese from the other night? I'm starving."

Maura rose, following Jane once she'd removed the second shoe. "On the bottom- oh." She interrupted herself as she saw Jane pulling white cartons out of the refrigerator. "I'm sorry your date was bad."

Jane opened a drawer, removing a fork and scraping leftover food onto a plate. "Whatever. I've just about given up completely." She slid the plate into the microwave, pressing buttons and turned back to the counter, closing the cartons again.

Just about. Maura nodded slightly, her features sympathetic. "I can understand your point of view, but surely…" Maura's words were interrupted as both women's phones rang simultaneously.

"Of course! It just fucking figures." Jane pressed stop on the microwave as she answered her phone. "Rizzoli."

Maura moved around her kitchen, retrieving reusable plastic dishes with lids from her cabinets as she answered her own. "Isles."

Maura and Jane walked into the alley, stopping only briefly to show their credentials to the uniformed officer at the entrance. Maura immediately moved to crouch next to the body, Jane standing a foot away, giving her space to work. "So what do we got?" Jane smirked at Frost, standing on the other side of the alley, facing the wall.

"Female, early thirties, no wallet or ID." He managed to get the sentence out before another set of dry heaves overtook him.

Jane stepped closer, rubbing his back. "I saw it, man. No shame in getting sick over this one." She traced her fingers down the seam line of his suit jacket, and accepted a bottle of water from an officer gratefully. "Here, just take it easy. I'll go find out what Maura's got for us."

Frost barely managed a nod before the heaving began again. Jane moved back to Maura's side, the medical examiner poking and prodding the body in earnest. She sensed rather than heard Jane's approach, and began speaking without waiting for Jane's question. "She has a large jagged incision from under her left breast, down clear to her right hip. Several smaller lacerations on her abdomen and face, and her throat has been sliced nearly clean through to the vertebra." Maura looked up at Jane briefly, assuring herself that her words had been heard and turned back to her task.

"I guess we know what killed her," Jane said sarcastically. She squatted next to Maura, looking closely at the body. "Or maybe not. There isn't a whole lot of blood here." She furrowed her brows in thought, eyes tracing every detail of the small area containing the body, then swept in wider circles around the entire alley. "Frost, we're looking for a large pool of blood."

Frost nodded, looking specifically at the building he stood next to and raised an arm towards Jane. "I'm on it." He walked toward the other end of the alley gratefully.

Maura looked up at Jane briefly. "I've finished my scene preliminaries. I'll give you a more detailed report once I've completed my autopsy."

Jane nodded. "That's fine." She scanned the alley once more then waved at the officers at its entrance. "Pack it all up, boys."