2

Cam loved heights. In fact she loved anything that took her feet off the ground. She'd been parasailing, zip lining, abseiling, climbing and even high cliff diving but the one thing she loved most was flying. She found being among the clouds very calming, be it in her Dad's single engine plane or a commercial jet. Up was just cool.

She ducked her head and pressed as close to the window as she could, gazing out at the formations of white fluff with a sense of anticipation. The teenager was looking forward to spending some vacation time with her Mom but she was feeling nervous about seeing her Dad. Their phone conversation had been somewhat… strained… and she could have sworn that she'd heard a woman in the background that didn't sound like his girlfriend, Denise. Cam closed her eyes and thought about that for a moment. Then she wondered if her father had managed to screw up ANOTHER relationship. And to think, she'd actually somewhat liked this last one.

Mentally shrugging, the young blonde straightened up and took a sip of cola. She'd been reading Pride and Prejudice and was actually enjoying it but she wasn't ready to admit that to her Mom though, who was snoozing in the aisle seat beside her. They'd been in the air for about three hours now and the doctor had slept fitfully for most of it. Finally, she opened her eyes and sighed.

"It's way too noisy to get any sleep," Maura muttered. She opened a bottle of water and took a long swallow. "You ok, Hon?"

Cam nodded. "I think there might be a movie starting shortly. We're got another three hours or so to go."

"I guess I'll stretch my legs and use the bathroom," the older woman replied as she reached her arms over her head and cracked her knuckles, not realizing that she was pulling her shirt taut across her breasts. "I'll be right back." Maura got up and wandered off down the aisle, leaving her daughter to chuckle silently at the man in the seat across from them, who'd been ogling the doctor for the entire flight.

Cam waited until she caught his eye and winked at him. "Hey, Dude. Why don't you take a picture? It'll last a whoooooooole lot longer." He immediately looked away but not before she saw a blush deepen his skin. "Men," she muttered and went back to her book.

And to all this she must yet add something more substantial, in the improvement of her mind by extensive reading.

Cam suspected that her Mom had been right all along.

..

"So what have we got? And no bullshit, boys." Jane tilted her chair back and pinned her team with warm brown eyes that they all found terrifying. No one said anything. "Well?"

Sergeant Detective Frost, the only one who wasn't completely intimidated by his somewhat mercurial boss, cleared his throat. "Well, we have very few leads. We've done the legwork and come up with very little. The perp made sure to not leave a spot of forensic evidence behind."

The dark woman nodded. "What's the next move?"

Again Frost spoke, but this time his voice was quiet and his dark brown eyes full of remorse. "I have to speak to Maria's parents again. The first time… they just weren't able."

Jane steepled her fingers in front of her face, her elbows propped on the arms of her chair. "Who would blame them," she murmured softly. She'd seen the crime scene photos and the amount of blood splatter sickened even her. "Some things just can't be got over." The lieutenant glanced over at the framed photo of her brother on her office wall and her breath caught as she pulled herself back into the moment. "OK," she stated. "Get going. I want another status update at the end of the day and you'd better have something for me."

The team got up and filed out of the room, leaving Jane to her thoughts. Again, her eyes moved to her brother's picture… her baby brother, who had worked his butt off to fulfill his dream of becoming a homicide detective. His promotion to Sergeant had just come through. And then it had happened.

"Janie! Jeez, where's the fire?"

"Up your ass, dude!"

"Really mature, Sergeant," the dark man replied. "Seriously, why are you in such a rush?"

"Oh c'mon, you know what day it is today, Frankie. I had to stop by Ma's and drop off her present."

The blank look on her brother's face made her grimace and she punched him, exasperatedly, in the shoulder.

"Seriously, Frankie? Please do NOT tell me you forgot her birthday?"

"Oh shit," Frankie slapped himself in the forehead. "She's going to kill me." He shook his head. "And Wendy even reminded me a few days ago."

"You have a saint for a wife and you still don't listen to her. You should have got a present for Ma that VERY SAME DAY!" Jane punched his shoulder again. "GO, get her something. I'll cover for you."

Frankie spun and headed down the steps. "Thanks, Sis. I'll be back in a…"

Neither of them had seen it coming. It was the last thing either of them had expected.

..

"Wow… this is gorgeous!" Camille Isles followed her mother as they toured their suite at the Four Seasons. "Decided to splash out, eh Mom?"

Maura chuckled as she hiked her bag onto her king sized bed. "I got a good price on flights so I decided to upgrade. Besides…" She crossed the room to Cam and wrapped her up in a gentle hug. "I think we deserve it. We both work hard and it's nice to take a break from being responsible once and a while."

"Very true," the teenager replied. They busied themselves with getting unpacked. Maura flipped the holoviz to the news channel and a reporter materialized in the center of the room.

"… and Police seem to still have no leads in the death of Maria Corbitt, the thirty-six year old mother of two who was stabbed to death in her home two days ago. This grisly murder is the second in a month and it seems like the murderer is going to evade capture once more."

Maura went back to unpacking, only half paying attention to the dialog. "Lieutenant Detective Jane Rizzoli had this to say earlier on today…" The doctor suddenly whirled around, spilling her toiletries all over the floor as the bag fell from her fingers. The middle of the room was now filled with a tall, dark beautiful woman, in her early fifties with bright brown eyes. Maura abruptly sat on the edge of the bed, unable to pull her eyes away.

Cam rounded the bed, concerned at how pale her mother's face had become. "Mom? Mom, what's wrong?"

Maura shook her head. "Nothing, Honey… I just… I used to know that police officer when I was the CME here. I was just surprised to see that she's the Lieutenant now."

"Why?" Cam asked. "Did she suck as a cop?"

The doctor turned off the holoviz and wandered across the room to the window. She gazed out over the Charles River and tried to calm her heart rate "Far from it. She's the best police office I've ever worked with. I guess I really shouldn't be surprised." Maura stopped talking. It was too hard. She wasn't ready.

In fact, she wasn't even sure if she was ready to be back in Boston. There were so many memories… maybe even too many to deal with. But this had been eating at her for almost eighteen years and Maura really felt that she needed to take that first step towards resolution.

The act of coming back to Boston was that step and she really had no clue what to do next. So she did the only thing she could think of in the moment. She turned to her daughter and smiled. "She used to be my best friend."

..

"You look good on the holoviz, Boss," a voice called out from the back of the room.

"Thanks." Jane Rizzoli walked across the bullpen toward the door to the corridor. "But I'll get a big head if you all don't stop!"

She smiled as the round of chuckles carried to her. The lieutenant knew that her team was outstanding and she was proud of their family. She just wished they could catch a break in this double homicide case.

The constant clacking of her cane was really getting on her nerves so she lifted it higher and forced herself to walk without it. "I have to get a rubber end for this damn thing," she muttered.

"Or a tennis ball," Frost added as he joined her. "That'd be VERY attractive."

"Shut up, Barry, or I'll tell your son that you used to throw up constantly when you first moved to homicide."

"Touchy, touchy," the black detective laughed. "But seriously, Jane, I need some guidance on this case. The lack of evidence is stunning and I'm terrified that the only way we're going to get this guy is if he kills again."

Jane nodded and paused as they reached the ladies room. "I know. How did the interview with Maria's parents go?"

Frost sighed. "About like I expected. They're completely devastated, Jane. Mrs. Hackett can hardly even say Maria's name without breaking down."

"What about the husband?"

"Brian Corbitt. Rock solid alibi. He was with his mother at a funeral of all things. A friend of hers died and he gave her a ride to the church. He found Maria when he got home."

The lieutenant shook her head. "This had to have been planned… but how did the perp know that the husband wouldn't be at home? Frost, go over all of the husband's friends, acquaintances, co-workers and ask him who else knew he was going to be at the funeral. Do the same for Maria's."

The detective flapped his notebook against his hand. "We're on that but it's slow going. The husband isn't thinking straight and his memories are skewed. I'll stay on it."

"Thanks," Jane replied. "Keep me in the loop."

After the lieutenant was finished in the ladies room, she took a walk to stretch her legs. She stopped off for coffee at the café and then got in the lift. Moments later, she found herself standing outside the autopsy lab window, watching the CME bent over a body laid out on the table.

Doctor Stratford looked up and saw her, shooting her a grin and raising a hand in greeting. "Need something?" he called.

"Nah," Jane replied. "Just on a walk."

"Ok," he replied amiably and went back to work. Jane closed her eyes for a moment, remembering a different, more petite figure bent over the autopsy table. She thought back to a different time when this had been so different. To a time before mistakes had been made and words, which could never be taken back or forgiven, had been spoken.

She missed those times with every fiber of her being. She missed that life, that happiness.

And her.