Broken Heart Syndrome.
For the umpteenth time, she wishes Maura was awake to start explaining it all to her.
All that Jane understood from the doctor was something about stress, and that it all basically just got too much for Maura and what everyone thought initially as a heart attack turned out to be something else. To be fair, Jane gathered that apparently a broken heart was better than an actual heart attack.
Still.
Anything that hurt Maura never sat well with Jane.
Jane settles on the chair closest to Maura's bed and takes her hand.
And again, she starts to wonder.
What was going on? Has she been that bad of a best friend that she had no inkling as to what stressed Maura so bad it drove her to the brink of being literally heartbroken?
Jane freezes.
Has Maura been seeing someone and she didn't know?
Someone who dared to break her best friend's heart?
Jane withdraws her hand from Maura's for a chance to clench her fists at the thought.
Fuckin' a— When she finds out who toyed with Maura's affections—
The slight rustling of sheets is enough to snap Jane back to reality and away from thoughts of investigating her way through her best friend's life while she was apparently not paying enough attention.
"Maura?" Jane whispers as she takes her hand, waiting to see if her best friend was truly awake.
"Jane." She mumbles.
A smile grows on the detective's face as she stands up, leans slightly over the blonde doctor and waits.
-x-x-x-x-
Somebody said you got a new friend
Dr. Maura Isles doesn't guess.
But she can provide a hypothesis based on observation. And it is her hypothesis that her best friend Jane was seeing someone romantically.
And that someone was not her.
Does (s)he love you better than I can
And the good doctor can also hypothesize that she's not supposed to know about it. Maybe no one else is supposed to. But, isn't she Jane's best friend? Why would she feel the need to hide it?
There's a big black sky over my town
I know where you're at, I bet (s)he's around
The fact that the person Jane's dating is a woman certainly has nothing to do with the tumult of emotions that has been plaguing Maura since her unwitting discovery.
Lie, a voice inside her head whispers every time Maura's thoughts run along said lines.
A hand unconsciously rubs against her chest, right above where her heart is supposed to be.
Maura stops herself.
It's a good thing Jane stepped out for a bit lest she see and start pestering and causing a ruckus in the hospital for every time she thought the ME was the slightest bit uncomfortable.
Yeah I know it's stupid
But I just got to see it for myself
Maura first heard of Detective Emily Stern when Korsak mentioned her in passing as a newcomer to Boston and Boston PD. Assigned originally to robbery, their team crossed paths with Detective Stern when a break in ended up with two dead bodies.
The Chief ME was provided the opportunity to meet her in person when Jane brought her around to the morgue.
From there on, Maura observed that the robbery detective frequented the homicide floor.
Specifically, Jane's desk.
I'm in the corner, watching you kiss [her] (Oooh)
I'm right over here, why can't you see me (Oooh)
I'm giving it my all, but I'm not the guy you're taking home (Uuuh)
I keep dancing on my own
(I keep dancing on my own)
They had just gotten out of the movie theater, Maura exasperated but nonetheless amused at the enjoyment Jane obviously got from Captain America. Her best friend's wildly gesticulating hands tended to get out of control when she was feeling either excited or upset about something. The wilder they are, the more intense her emotions got. It was something she easily concluded from her first year of being friends with the Italian detective.
They were supposed to grab desert from that place Maura loved, but Jane could do without. It was Jane's way of compromise: Maura withstood the movie for her, now it was her turn to "suck it up" and go along with the doctor's choice of desert.
But then from a few steps in front of them, a door slams open and Emily steps out, a bit inebriated apparently.
Catching sight of the pair, Emily's eyes widened and next thing Maura is aware of is that they are caught up inside some bar filled with pumping music and a strong crowd of people squeezing them from nearly all sides.
Maura lost sight of Jane, despite the brunette's attempt to hold on to her best friend's hand. And so she decided that perhaps the best form of action was to wait somewhere near the exit. It was her understanding that Jane was trying to get Emily to go home. Maura was admittedly somewhat disappointed that their plans were disturbed but knew that Jane's stalwart loyalty to her fellow detectives had her concerned and simply looking out for Emily.
Until a moment later when it seemed as if time slowed down, the crowd of people in front of her parted just enough for Maura to catch sight of Jane holding Emily in her arms, their lips locked in a kiss.
She could not distinguish between the pump of the music and the pump of the blood that was loudly making itself known in her ears.
Through all the irrationality of her thoughts, all that Maura could think of was that…
It hurt.
It hurt. A lot.
And that was that.
-x-x-x-x-x-
Whereas she once took solace and comfort in Jane's presence, all that Maura could remember each time she laid eyes on Jane was the pain.
Perhaps it was unconscious at first. A bit of the self-preservation instinct kicking in, Maura rationalizes when she glimpses the pain and accusation of abandonment in Jane's eyes.
If her body equated pain at the sight of her best friend, why stay?
Slowly but surely, they spent less and less time apart. Mostly Maura's doing.
"Maura?"
The blonde is snapped out of her musings and she catches sight of Jane back in the chair she laid claim to from when Maura was admitted.
"Yes?"
Jane stays quiet for a beat, looking into her eyes.
Maura forces herself not to flinch in light of the detective's probing gaze.
"You want to tell me what's going on?"
And ultimately fails as she brings her own gaze back down on to the blanket covering her lap.
"You heard what the doctor said—"
"You know what I'm talking about, Maur. Please don't…don't lie to me." Jane pleads.
Lie.
She clenches her fist and brings her eyes back up to meet Jane's, and the latter is almost taken aback at the anger that blazes in them.
"Lie to you? If I've been lying to you, Jane then it's no more than by omission—which I'm sure you're guilty of just as much!"
And Jane snaps.
"The fuck did I lie to you about, Maura?!"
Maura snorts.
Jane belatedly notes that the ME has failed to berate her for her choice of language like she was wont to do.
"Don't you dare give me that fucking look, Maura and answer the question. You spent weeks avoiding me, acting like I did something wrong, punishing me for it! And I don't even know what it is you're punishing me for!"
"You should know!" Maura is adamant.
"Oh, that is a load of bull—that's shitty, Maura! If you have something to say to me, say it already! I'm not a mind reader!
Maura opens her mouth to respond, but a timid knock at the door interrupts them.
In sync, both whip their heads to see who dared to interrupt them.
"Sorry. Am I interrupting something?"
Jane acknowledges the surprise guest with a nod and a one-word greeting.
"Emily."
AN: The song is by Callum Scott, "Dancing on My Own." The song is a cover, whose original was sung by Robyn. Give both a listen to.
