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Highly Strung – Part 2

"Ouch!"

For the second time in under a minute, Dr. Maura Isles nicks her soapy calf with an unforgiving razor.

"Good thing I'm not a vascular surgeon," she reflects.

The medical examiner continues to bathe in a hot, frothy tub with a citrus-scented scrub and honeydew candles competing with the last vestiges of twilight. The enveloping jet massage does very little to ease her desolate thoughts.

Performing her duties on a child was a circle of Hell beyond description. It's the only time Maura truly despised her job and truly despised humanity. This one case in particular is not easily washed away, even though it ended hours ago.

"I'm so sorry, sweet girl, it never should have happened to you… to anyone."

Isles did everything she could and more. That's why she had to return to the office and make sure a horrific tragedy was not made worse by botched paperwork. She also called to cover the family's funeral expenses and dropped over $30,000 in under 30 minutes by donating to various charities involved with missing children, sexual abuse victims, and youth sports.

Yet, the girl's face is still seared in her mind's eye. Kidnapped. Sexually tortured. Murdered while protecting another innocent. A lefty.

"I don't understand. I don't ever want to understand…"

She drowns her soft sobs by immersing her entire head beneath the bubbles. After a long pause, she brings it back up and takes a deep, cleansing breath. It's one of the few times logic won't ride to Maura's rescue.

A triple chime alerts her to an incoming text message.

"Please don't let it be work. Please!"

She reaches across the top of the tub to her smart phone and checks the screen.

J. Rizzoli: hope ur ok & hope ur home! gym now. oxox

"Of course it's you, Jane."

Warmth quickly returns to Maura's cheeks as she smiles to herself. The doctor is not especially fond of text messages with truncated pseudo language but the message was all Jane at exactly the right time. Right down to the backwards XOXO.

"My sexy southpaw…"

She taps the music player on her phone to The Cowboy Junkies' version of Sweet Jane and lets it play on repeat.

The doctor flashes back to the first time she met the detective at HQ.

"Are you lost?"

A baffled Maura blinks up from her inadequate building map and meets the dark, smoldering eyes of one Jane Rizzoli.

"You look a little lost."

That bewitching voice is like walking on gravel after a vernal rainstorm with rubber soled boots.

"I am lost."

Maura is still reeling from the stunning beauty before her and flashes a defensive grin until she can complete another coherent sentence. It isn't the first time she's been attracted to a member of the same sex but this was an instant sensation she'd never felt before.

"Well, it's your lucky day… I found you."

"Lucky, indeed."

Jane moves in a little closer. The two stare at each other longer than what is typical.

"So, where do you need to get to?"

"Eh, I'm a little embarrassed. I have an advanced degree but I can't seem to find… the third floor."

Jane nods in recognition and chuckles.

"You're not the only one. See, when they annexed this building, the fourth floor became the third floor of the new building which is actually supposed to be the main floor for both buildings. Do you follow?"

"Not really."

"Not a problem, follow me."

Jane strides a little ahead while Maura click clacks behind with her too high heels. She remembers a less than impressive outing not too long ago to see the movie Avatar. The date was a disaster but she enjoyed the movie much more than she thought she would.

This woman before her reminds Isles of the alien creatures in the film without the cyanosis. Long, lean, noble, and gentle, yet with savage always simmering right beneath the surface. She wondered what it would take to turn on le sauvage.

"Here to see your husband or boyfriend?"

The taller woman's query shakes the smaller woman's contemplation.

"No, no. It's my first day on the job."

"Ah, human resources then."

"No!" Maura is now perturbed by the assumptions. "For your information, I'm the new medical examiner."

Jane spins around with a subtly surprised look but quickly returns to her path.

"You're not what I was expecting and do you need to go to HR to fill out forms?"

The doctor's tone lightens a little.

"Yes, yes I do. Thank you."

Rizzoli scratches the back of her neck and heads for the elevator.

"So, how do you keep the blood and guts off of those fancy shoes of yours?"

"I take great care with my fluids."

Jane blends a laugh into a cough and hits the button.

"I'm sure you do."

With Rizzoli's back to her, Isles takes the opportunity for a quick physique critique and studies the long legs before her with an appreciative gaze. Out of the corner of her eye, Jane catches her looking.

"Are you ready to go down?"

"Pardon?"

Maura's uncontrollable blush brings out the dimples in Jane's cheeks.

"The elevator."

"Right, of course."

With her arousal building, Isles wanted more than anything to go down, with, on, in, around, under, any preposition she could think of, with the delicious dessert next to her.

A uniformed officer hurries past the doors as they step inside. The two of them are now alone. Their eyes can't quell the erotic communication. Maura leans back against the wall and slowly arches her thoracic spine. Her ample bosom juts out a little more. Jane doesn't even attempt to hide her ogle.

The doors open and three others join them. The doctor and detective move a little closer to each other and snap back to professionalism. Isles is beyond certain that if no one else was in the elevator with them, they would be having sex right now.

Not a great way to start your first day on the job but she is more than willing to risk being fired if it meant having this woman. Only children become obsessed when they want something bad enough. 'No' only means a temporary delay until they find a way to 'yes.'

The doors open and all of the others except one walk out. And the one remaining is talking loudly on his cell phone. The doctor decides to speak softly to her new idée fixe.

"Between your significant height and exceptional osseous structure, you could be a fashion model."

"Does that line usually work for you?"

"It is neither a line nor a lie, it is the truth."

Jane can't help but notice the earnestness in Maura's face but still rolls her eyes.

"As long as you don't call me Italian Vogue, we'll be fine."

"Are you a district attorney?"

"Good God, no!"

Rizzoli shoves two fingers in her mouth and pretends to blow her brains out. Isles pretends to examine the brains on the wall.

"Looks like I have my first case."

The two laugh until they realize they have gone several floors past where they needed to go. The electricity between them is still sparking.

"Shit. Sorry."

Jane punches the button for the right floor and rubs her nose. Maura retreats to a corner.

"So, might I ask what it is you do here?"

"Huh? – oh, I'm a cop… detective."

"That would explain your sensible shoes."

"And the shiny badge and big gun…"

Jane opens her jacket and flashes Maura. The doctor takes in all of the detective's equipment with a raised eyebrow and an evil grin.

"Here we are."

They step out into a large corridor. Officers and office workers stream past. Afraid that she is nearing the end of her ride with the detective, the doctor attempts a last ditch conversation.

"I like your belt buckle."

Rizzoli replies with a quizzical expression.

"It's a perfect concentric shape and a yonic symbol of empowerment."

"Um, okay."

"Where did you purchase it?"

"Ma bought it for me on sale."

"Well, your mother has exquisite taste."

"She has some kind of taste, I'm not sure exquisite is the word I'd use."

"It matches your fetching watch."

Rizzoli flips her wrist and genuinely regards the timepiece.

"My folks gave it to me when I graduated from the academy."

"Ooh, my parents gave me my watch when I recited The Canterbury Tales in its original Middle English."

"Sounds like fun."

Jane stops and points around a corner.

"You want the fifth door on your right."

Both are a little hesitant since they know they have to go their separate ways.

"Thank you for all of your help, detective."

"My pleasure, doctor."

"I'll be meeting with one of your coworkers after HR… a Detective Rizzoli."

The name rolls off of Maura's tongue with a spot on accento italiano.

"Wow, not even my grandfather said it that good!"

"My glossa is well versed – wait, you're Detective Rizzoli?"

The taller woman extends her right hand and uses the American version of her surname.

"It's Rizzoli but you can call me Jane."

The doctor goes to shake it with her right, stops herself, and offers up her sinister hand instead. The detective is deeply appreciative of the lefty gesture, matches it, and delicately takes Isles' hand into hers.

"Nice to meet you, Jane. I'm Maura – Maura Isles."

The squeeze between their hands is warm and lingering.

"I guess I'll be seeing Maur-a you later, then."

The smaller woman winces.

"By the way, that's payback for your fashion model line."

"It wasn't a line. If you ever want to stop being a cop, I have connections in Milan."

They realize they're still holding hands. Reluctantly, they go to break the hold but their finger tips catch briefly before full separation. Rizzoli is the first to say something.

"Be careful, Dr. Isles, I think our handshake means I put a curse on you."

Maura's signature smile erupts into a full-blown dental display. Before she walks away, she responds in a low timbre.

"Or a spell…"

Knowing full well that she is being watched by her intended target, Isles puts an extra bounce in her step as she sashays around the corner. Jane bites her lips and pivots in the opposite direction. She runs into Vince Korsak.

"Whoa, who's the foxy lady?"

"Just get back from a Hendrix concert?"

"No seriously, she looks like a fox with that hair – it reminds me of the time I was in the woods and rescued…"

"Not until we get to the Robber and not until I've had two beers!"

"Well, whoever she is sure was checking you out – all she needed was a knife and a fork!"

"She… is our new ME and you need to show a little respect."

"No kidding? – being dead don't seem so bad all of the sudden."

"Knock it off, Korsak."

"Don't give me the innocent act, Rizzoli, I get enough of that from our perps – you were checking her out, too… all you needed was a spoon."

Jane goes to say something but realizes how good a detective her partner is and decides to keep mum. He motions to her to follow.

"C'mon, the chief wants us in the conference room to go over quarterly stats."

"Great."

"Frost brought bagels."

Vince considers cracking a joke about eating a bagel but instantly backs down when Jane gives him the 'don't-you-fucking-dare' stare. He ambles down the hall.

"I've got dibs on poppyseed!"

Rizzoli shoves her hands in her pockets and trails behind Korsak with a victory strut. She momentarily freezes and spies over her shoulder in the direction of the hall where Maura was last seen. Empty.

The two detectives now disappear out of visual range. Maura pokes her head out from a drinking fountain alcove she deliberately hid in. She overheard the whole exchange and sighs into a satisfied smile.

"It's only a matter of time, Jane Rizzoli."

Her reminiscence ends and she is fully back in the present. Still in the tub, she turns to the bronze barley twist towel rack beside it and reaches under the precisely folded terrycloth. Isles clutches a simple red t-shirt and covers her nose and mouth with it like an anesthesia mask. She inhales deeply.

Most people kept a secret stash of drugs, or money, or jewelry. Maura kept a secret stash of Jane.

Lying was a problem for the doctor. Purloining when it suited a purpose? Not so much. In her childhood, she did it for attention. Now, she stole the detective's unlaundered shirt to always have a piece of her. And she delighted in the irony of stealing from a cop.

This simple shirt was taken during one of Jane's follicular phases. It's the time of the month when Jane smells the most Jane-like to Maura and the scent is incredibly exhilarating.

"I need you."

In her ongoing favorite fantasy, the doctor is now joined in the tub by the detective. Their eyes lock as their bodies slither and slide against each other. They kiss constantly. Water whirls around them as their passion intensifies.

Isles continues to huff Rizzoli's shirt with one hand as she slips the other between her legs. Maura's toes are about to curl under when the screeching sound of her cell shatters the ecstasy. It's the ringtone for her assistant, Yoshima.

"NO, NO, NOT NOW."

Too late. Besides, the doctor knows her loyal assistant would never call after hours unless it was a true emergency. She drops Jane's shirt and picks up her phone.

"What is it, Yoshima?"

"I'm so sorry to disturb you, Dr. Isles, but there is a situation with Detective Rizzoli that you need to be aware of…"

Sheer, unfettered panic seizes Maura's entire body.

"WHAT'S HAPPENED TO JANE?"

Scrambling out of the tub, she nearly trips over her feet as she grabs a towel.

"Detective Rizzoli is fine – but Officer Briggs mostly likely has maxillary and nasal fractures."

"Were they in a fight?"

"Well, they actually fought with each other here at the gym."

"Whatever prompted them to do that?"

"Um, you."

Maura can't find the words as she attempts to dry herself off.

"Officer Briggs made some highly inflammatory remarks about the two of you and… and Detective Rizzoli promptly extinguished the discussion."

"What did Briggs say?"

"I can't really repeat what he said."

"Yoshima, please."

"I am too uncomfortable…"

"You won't offend me, I realize you are simply the messenger."

Yoshima takes in a breath as he weighs his answer.

"I need to know, now!"

"Uh… Officer Briggs asked Detective Rizzoli, um, when she… when she orally ingests your, uh, slang word for both vagina and cat… if, um, if the palate experience is, is, similar to that of… uh, sssssturgeon roe."

"AHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!"

"Dr. Isles!"

"HAHAHA – he wanted to know when she ate my pussy if it tasted like caviar?"

"I am mortified, but yes."

"OH, THAT'S HYSTERICAL – poor Jane must have had an aneurysm."

"How is that even remotely funny, Dr. Isles?"

"Oh, Yoshima, lighten up - yes, it was demeaning and wrong and in poor taste… heh, taste, but it's also a rather astute observation for someone of his clearly diminished capacity."

"I… I need to go now, Dr. Isles."

"I appreciate your call and your candor, thank you… oh, and I will be taking the day off tomorrow."

Normally, Maura would have been as offended as her assistant but she couldn't help but feel exuberant over the outcome. Everyone sees it. Everyone! Jane must surly see it as well or her reaction wouldn't have been so knee jerk, so ferocious.

As she peers at her semi nude reflection in the mirror, Isles smirks and plans a course of action. Dinner, yes, dinner was about to be served. She triumphantly taps her phone.

Calling... J. Rizzoli