Maura Isles has always been a good swimmer. In fact, she was good at most things from an early age. Though excelling academically, she was not so lucky when it came to making friends. The honey blonde was now in her final year of medical school, finishing up to earn her phD. She'd use her doctorate to become what she'd always want to be; A medical examiner. Maura had never found the 'live world' to be something that intrigued her. Anyone could be alive. Anyone could do the normal things that living people do, ( unless something was stopping them from doing so ), but it took a certain chain of events to be dead. There was a story to be uncovered. A story that, if not for her, would never be told. Her patients would never have a voice. Maura would give every single victim that was processed into her lab a voice. She'd speak for the dead.

This year, unlike most of her fellow classmates who were going off to beaches and fancy parties for spring break, Maura had decided to take a less traditional route. She'd celebrate this break on her own personal yacht. Now, anyone who knew Maura Isles, knew that she wasn't exactly lacking financially. From a young age, she'd worn the best clothes, been to the best places, had the most expensive things. All thanks to her adoptive mother, Constance Isles. The pair weren't exactly close. Not as close as a normal mother and daughter would be. In order to have nice things, that meant that Constance was usually gone most of the time, as was her father. This created a strain on their marriage as well. One that they liked to keep in the shadows for the sake of their daughter. But Maura was observant. And highly intelligent. Her parents had bought her the yacht when she turned twenty-one. It was a sort of a 'you're on your own now' kind of present. Though, they would be there. In the cracks of her memories and the short increments of time in which she saw them for the holidays.

Maura had decided not to go and see them this year for the sake of her sanity. She knew it'd just be her and the gentle hum of the television to drown out the silence while she occupied her parents' house when they were away. Probably off on another romantic getaway. That was something that helped their marriage. But not their wallets.

Maura had chosen to take the yacht to the nearest beach. It was the one she used to come to when she'd first moved here to study in the medical field. Each day, she'd observe the living, only wishing that there was someone here she could relate to. Someone silent like her. Someone to talk to. Anything other than the social anxieties that came along with meeting new people. She'd collected everything she needed for just taking a few days out on the water. Secluded, she thought. No one could find her here. No one would know if she disappeared. That was a scary thought, but thrilling nonetheless. After loading Bass ( her pet tortoise ) onto the yacht and most of her belongings, she headed out into the water. No distractions here. Just books, and food, and the companionship from her tortoise.

This is how I will spend my old age, Maura thought as she sipped her quality wine and sat on one of the many couches in her single-person cabin. Did she mean to say that she'd spend it alone also? Through most of her life, men hadn't noticed her. But once she'd dyed her hair, and started hanging around more scholarly men, all heads turned. This was surprising. Could it be that she was physically unattractive in high school? The thought had never crossed her mind, and every time she'd ask Constance ( which wasn't often ) how she looked, the woman would always reply: "Stunning. As always. " This pleased Maura enough not to ask anything further and just smile and thank the woman who'd given her so much throughout the years. Even if she lacked to give her what she wanted most. Quality time. The med student pondered all of this for a short time before deciding to slip out to the deck of the cabin and look up at the stars. Downtown Boston was-interesting. But certainly not a place that provided spectacular viewing opportunities to see stars. Out here, though, in the dark abyss of the night sky, she could see all of the constellations. She knew what each one was called, of course. Maura loved anything to do with science and astrology. Stars included. There was something rather unsettling about this night. A sense of something being off. Regardless of this, the blonde decided to take a dip. Maybe just get her legs wet for a while until her body had warmed enough to lull her into a restless sleep. Maybe tonight, the nightmares would subside for awhile. That was rare, however.

Long legs slipped out of her skirt and she sat in her oversized t-shirt with her glass of wine on the edge of the yacht. It wasn't like anyone would see her like this. And even if they did, Maura hadn't been fearful of her sexuality or her body by any means. In fact, she used it to her advantage. It was one thing to be a genius. But entirely another to be a sexy genius. Everything was going wonderful, she thought to herself. It wasn't cold, it wasn't windy, it was-perfect. That was, until a loud shriek followed by loud frantic splashing pierced the calmness of the moment. Someone is dying, she thought. What else could it possibly be? Why would someone be out here this late at night? Suddenly, none of those questions mattered. Her instincts kicked in and her nightgown was off, feet kicking off to jump into the water. When her skin first hit the water, it was cooler than she'd expected. Her body temperature was dropping and she could only imagine how the other person who was currently drowning might feel.

Maura swam as fast as her arms and legs would allow. It was a good thing she hadn't allowed herself to indulge in a second glass of wine. Another shriek sounded through the air as she slowly got closer to her destination; the drowning woman. She could tell that it was a woman because of how high-pitched the shrieking was. Also, because of the " Help!" She heard. Finally, Maura reached her, her arms slowly wrapping around the brunette's torso. "I've got you! It's alright. You're safe. I'm going to get you dry and out of this water. My name is Maura Isles, and I am certified. You're going to be alright." From the looks of things, this woman was very pale and looked petrified. However, she seemed to be calming down a bit since Maura had reached her. Slowly, they began moving back towards the yacht and the woman had stayed silent through the whole thing. Her throat burned from her airways being closed off.

Finally, they reached the deck of the yacht and she slowly pulled them onto it, sitting the woman in one of the sun chairs that adorned the deck. The brunette's breathing was ragged as she tried to speak. To say anything that would let Maura know she wasn't a mute. "We should get you out of those clothes. I have some towels and some clothes of my own, if you're comfortable with that. Can you tell me your name?" At that moment, Jane realized that her backpack had been on the kayak when it capsized. "Jane. Jane Rizzoli.." She murmured, her brown orbs looking up into Maura's green ones. They stayed like that for a moment before she shook her head slowly, shaking herself out of it. "Okay. It's nice to meet you, Jane. Would you like some clothes?" Jane nodded and wrapped her arms around herself for warmth. Maura smiled softly and led the woman into her cabin, making sure to turn the space heater on. Now, the brunette had begun to warm up, but she still didn't want to stay in these wet clothes. "Here you go. The bathroom is right through there." With that, she walked into the bathroom, quickly changing and tying her hair up with a hair band she'd found on the door. Hopefully Maura wouldn't mind. After all, it wasn't like she had lice or anything. "Thanks..I feel kind of embarrassed. I'm usually a pretty good swimmer. Even worked as a lifeguard." As soon as Jane had spoken those words, she immediately regretted them. She realized they made her sound stupid and unintelligent. Oh, well. It wasn't like this woman would judge her. At least, she hoped not. "I understand. Usually, during times of panic or uncertainty, most of the parts of our brains that are supposed to work-just stop. It's normal." Maura had hoped that her words would make the brunette feel a little better about her actions, but she just figured that she thought the honey blonde was weird and this was probably why she had no social life. Other than conversing with experienced scholars, reading was the only other place that provided enough social interaction for her brain to be satisfied.

With that, Jane bit her lip and began to wonder what would happen next. Would Maura offer to let her stay the night? Would she just drive the yacht back to shore where she could hitch a ride until she got home? All was up in the air until Maura picked up on Jane's anxiety. She had a way of reading people that provided her to know exactly what to do in awkward situations. Something she was grateful for. "I wouldn't expect you to swim all the way back to shore, and it's getting rather late. You're perfectly welcome to spend the night aboard the S.S Isles," She said with a smile, trying to lighten the mood some. "Or, if you're more comfortable, we can try to swim out and turn over the kayak. But that'd be a rather foolish plan seeing as how- " Maura was rambling, and she knew it. So she was grateful when Jane interjected and said "Right here sounds great. The couch looks really comfortable, too. Much more so than the one in my tiny apartment." Both women smiled. Apparently, it was Jane's turn to joke. And for that, the blonde was thankful. She nodded, and began to pull out the couch, for it was one of those bed couches that provided sitting and sleeping all in one. "Wonderful. There are some sheets in the closet over there, if you'll get those for me." Jane walked over, opening the closet and much to her surprise, it was rather large. Large enough to store her enormous collection of shoes. "Oh, those are-my summer collection. You must think I'm so strange. My shoe closet in Boston is much bigger, and if I tried to fit those, plus these all together, I'd have a shoe explosion every time I opened the closet doors." A chuckle left Maura's throat and it was a sound that Jane knew she wanted to hear more. Making her laugh would become her favorite activity. "Hey, it's cool. At least you don't still sleep on Spider man bed sheets." Oh, God. Had she really just admitted to sleeping on Spider man bed sheets? What was it about Maura that made the brunette feel like she could be-open? Maura smiled at that and then, in no time, the bed was finished and they began to wind down for bed.

"I think there's some extra toothbrushes in the medicine cabinet. If not, then some mouth wash will have to do for now. If there's anything else you need, don't hesitate to ask. My bed is right over there." Maura said, pointing to the large bed that required stepping up to get into. When she was younger, she'd always promised herself that she'd have a bed just like her parents had. And this was one of the many things she'd accomplished that actually continued to pay off. "Thanks. Really, I-I can't think of many other people from Boston who would do something like this. Much less let me use their stuff." Maura tilted her head. "Are people from Boston not normally friendly?" Jane raised a brow. Had she not been in Boston long? "They're just..yeah. Not as friendly. Not to mention, most of them don't own their own yacht." Maura's lips pursed together. Was that a joke? She was hardly good at understanding social cues, and this was no different. "Anyways, thank you." Jane smiled and Maura smiled back, both women going through their nightly routine and getting ready for bed.
It was interesting, Maura thought. Here was a woman she'd never met before in her life. She knew nothing about her. But yet-she felt like there was some kind of astrological connection. Something that tied her to this woman like a ship to a dock. But that, of course, wasn't possible. Eventually, Maura turned out the light and Jane rested her hands on her stomach, trying to close her eyes and ignore the way the yacht was rocking. Why had she even wanted to go out on the water if she got seasick like this? Thankfully, she was able to suppress it long enough to fall into a sound sleep. Maura, however, wasn't so lucky. The woman tossed and turned most of the night and couldn't seem to fall asleep no matter what she did. Why did this always happen to her? Whenever she felt unsure, or uncertain, she'd have trouble sleeping. Sitting up, she ran her fingers through her hair and tried to take several cleansing breaths. It used to work, she thought. Back when her life wasn't so stressful and she wasn't constantly worried about not being normal. But those days had long since passed, as had her routine sleeping schedule. It was like Jane must have sensed something, because she awoke about the same time and looked over, surprised to see her sleeping companion awake. "Can't sleep?" She murmured, her eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness that covered the room and yacht like a blanket. "It isn't anything out of the ordinary," She murmured, shrugging a bit. Sure, they didn't know each other well enough, but Jane felt compelled to ask.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Did she? She wasn't sure. She knew that it most certainly wasn't good to keep everything bottled inside. That would only prolong this awake state. "I've had nightmares since I was little-it's nothing, really." Jane frowned, moving over to Maura's bed and sitting down. "Sure doesn't sound like nothing. Is it the same nightmare, or a series of them..?" Maura looked up at the brunette and sighed. "The same one." Maura knew what was going to come next. She'd want to talk about it. She'd want to analyze her, and try and figure out what was wrong with her. It was safe to say that she didn't expect what came next. "Well, you don't have to talk about it unless you want to. But I understand. Really." The smile that etched the brunette's features was genuine. Perhaps the most genuine smile she'd ever seen. "Thank you, Jane. Very much." "You're welcome. Think you can sleep now?" Surprisingly, Maura did feel a tinge sleepy. So, she nodded and laid back down. Jane soon did the same.

Tomorrow would be an interesting day, indeed.