Chapter 2

On the way to Boston Commons, Jessica Ly had her hands in his blue jacket pockets. It was one of those jackets that was thinly puffy. But a knockoff. He was wearing a painter's hat with Israel written on the side. She was Korean. He was Chinese. A gold barrette in her hair, probably from a dollar store. Gold is too shiny. He's tall so he must look down. Into her eyes. She looks up. Taking in his face. Observing him. A new relationship. Very affectionate. Not quite cool but happy.

Part of their day is spent on the trains.

"I have missed you," she started to say (Jessica has only been in the U.S. for three years so her English isn't perfect), but is interrupted by the crowd pushing her as they get off the train. She had to step out in order for them to get out. She follows the small crowd back into the train.

"What did you say before?" He questions.

"Nothing." she says. "I just missed you today."

He doesn't reply as he is looking around above her head. He grabs her hand and whispers, "Here's our stop."

She leaned heavy on him as he started to walk off the train.

"Come on babe, we got to go."

He didn't even realize she was dead until her head fell back and he saw the bullet hole through her forehead.

Jane saunters up to the crime scene. Her face had the expression of pain. Not physical pain, but you could tell she was heavy with a burden that was evident. Her clothes were wrinkled and her boots were dirty. Her long black hair that is so beautiful when taken care of is greasy and pulled back into a rat's nest of a ponytail. Frost notices her 5 feet from the train car and walks toward her.

"What's going on with you? Were you at the gym? Damn, you ok?"

Jane asks him, "Yeah why?"

"You look like shit Jane. Like you been crying. Have you been…crying?"

"Crying, Frost? Fuck you. Crying, really?"

Frost answers back quickly, "I'm serious, Jane what the fuck is your problem today?"

Jane runs her hand over her face and reties the ponytail, "I'm fine. I just decided to have an existential crisis in the middle of my shift yesterday. Cavanaugh said to talk to the Eldridge projects super for that Jenkins cold case, which I've already done and yes it did piss me off that he apparently thinks that I have missed something. Then at lunch, mother Rizzoli had Tommy around the house and then Boom." Jane starts to laugh a little bit at what she is actually confessing to Frost and then, as always deflects with a smart ass remark, "And I just redid my eye-make up and now you're asking me…a girl can catch a complex from you Frost."

Frost, clearly annoyed with her says, "Ok, fine go to work. If you need anything, let me know."

"No, I'm not asking you for anything, because if I do everyone will think that I am a pussy."

Frost says, "Want me to shoot you so they think that's why your brooding and swollen."

"No, but thank you asshole. Ok, enough with the chit chat, what do we have?"

The body of the woman killed is lying in between the doors of the subway car. It took 30 minutes to get the damn doors to stop opening and closing on the poor woman. Later in the autopsy report, the bruises will be notes as post mortem curtesy of the Boston subway system. Jane. She steps into the car and starts to take in the scene. Blood splatter around the perimeter of the door. Some of the blood on the ground has been smeared by people who, no doubt had been trying to get out of the car once they saw that someone had been shot. Taking the scene apart. Looking at every angle as a puzzle piece. The best way to describe Jane on a crime scene is to look through the lens of a microscope. Jane sees every little piece of the scene. Are the shoes the victim is wearing new? Is her hair clean and what kind of earrings is she wearing, all of these things add up to the sum of the parts that make up this woman.

Theories start to form in her head and she wants this one to be difficult. She needs a tough one. She thinks it will be. She needs to talk to the ME.

"Korsack, where is the doc?"

"I'm right here Detective Rizzoli. I got caught up in traffic. I was on the other side of town dealing with a homicide on the west side with Detective Crowe." Dr. Isles says in the most soothing voice Jane has ever heard.

Jane enjoys the warm feeling she gets around Maura Isles. She's a grown woman. She has always found the Medical Examiner attractive, but being a lesbian on the Boston police force made it hard to interact with other woman on staff. She never wanted to seem overly interested or overly friendly for fear that someone will take it the wrong way. She had developed a professional friendship with Dr. Isles, hitting the local cop watering hole for the occasional after work drink. Sometimes they would end up in the department's gym and work out together. Jane would be lying if she hadn't had a fantasy or two about the doc. Dr. Maura Isles was quirky. Different. Jane never minded the doctors unique personality. She often thought that perhaps Maura had Asperger's. She was certainly smart enough and engaging, even if she was socially awkward. Jane had seen Dr. Isles leaving the precinct to go on a dates before. She has even seen Maura getting picked up a few times, by Jane's estimation, by uptight bland upscale men. Boring is the term that Jane thought to herself. Maura seems so dynamic why she would go out with stiffs, Jane never understood. There has been a few times where Jane thought that Dr. Isles was flirting with her, but she put that out of her mind. She's just being friendly, Jane thought. She's out of my league and straight as an arrow. Why on earth, even if she were gay would she entertain going out with a temperamental blue collar bitch like Jane Rizzoli?

"Hey Maura. Tough morning with douche bag?" Jane asks referring to Detective Crowe, a guy known for being a shoddy cop as well as total misogynistic asshole.

"As much as Detective Crowe challenges my professionalism, the case is somewhat open and shut. There is not much for him to mess up. At least from my perspective."

Jane asks, "Other than that, how has your morning been?"

"Good Very good actually. I have made a decision that I have been struggling with and I have come to the conclusion that I should take a leap as they say." Maura says.

Jane stares for a second at Maura and offers up, "Well. Good, I'm glad. Right. I'm glad. You want me to be glad right?"

"Jane do you want to get dinner sometime?"

"Yeah, Sure, why not? " Jane responds not looking up from Maura's shoes, which on any given day, show off the woman's legs.

"Ok."

" Ok. Maura. Dinner it is. Tonight after work?"

"Like a date, Jane."

"Like a date? " Jane asks.

"No?"

"No.?" Jane says.

"Oh." Maura says disappointed.

"No! I mean yes Maura."

"Yes?" Maura questions confused.

"Yes." Jane says with a smile.

"Yes." The smile on Maura's face spoke volumes to Jane.

Vince Korsack interrupts the romantic bubble that the two women had been in, "Ok, now that you ladies have that figured out. What? You didn't realize you were standing over a dead body in the middle of a very populated crime scene? "

Maura immediately drops down to examine the body and Jane stands there not cognizant of what just happened until Korsack pushes her out of the way.

"Jesus Jane, go interview the boyfriend." Korsack says.

Jane walks away but turns and smiles at Korsack who returns the smile at her knowingly. He knows that the little moment of flirtation has lightened her day.

As Jane walks by Frost, holding a donut he stupidly makes a comment to anyone that can hear him, "And wow, did everyone see Jane's smile?"

The second he said it he knew he shouldn't have and oh what he wouldn't give to get those words back. Jane abruptly turns around and slithers over to Frost, mind you the whole team is there..."Frost, do you realize that you eat all the time? I mean all the time?"

Standing there with powdered sugar on his tie, Frost just nods and squeaks out, "I do. I am often hungry."

Giggles start somewhere near the door of the train car they are in, on top of the looks being shot at Frost. Frost finishes the donut in one bite and walks over to Korsack questioning, "You think I was too soon?"

"Huh?" Korsack says.

"You think I was too soon." Frost deadpans.