A Mother's Remedy: Part Two.

Disclaimer: I do not own Rizzoli and Isles in any way, shape, or form - much to my disappointment. I borrow the characters as I please and make them work at my will, or so the will of my muse.

Warning: Remember that there is going to be somewhat of a lack of Maura in these chapters as it is from Jane's point of view. Also, I don't know when the next chapter will be up – I haven't gotten it back from my Beta yet!

Author's note: THANK YOU so very much for the warm reviews, story follows, etc; it's been very overwhelming! It does mean a lot to me given how much time I spent stressing over posting this story! You're all wonderful! In a thank you for your responses, here is another chapter!

A continued shout out and thanks to my amazing beta, Charlotte (rackofrighteousjustice) for just being her.

-xo-

It had been less than twelve hours since Jane had dropped her best friend at the airport, it had been a slow day at work, and to top it all off, it had been a week since Jane had done any sort of food shopping.

Just as Jane thought it couldn't get any worse, she heard a knock on her apartment door. She groaned loudly, not wanting to deal with anyone unless they were giving her a burger and fries or a slab of beer... or both.

"Janie! Open up and don't make your mother wait out here!"

Hearing her mother's voice made Jane stop on her way to the door, debating whether opening it would be worse than not opening it in the long wrong.

"I know you're home!"

Jane cursed, closing the distance between herself and the door and throwing it open with a plastered fake smile.

"Seriously, I don't know why you took the key off me, Janie."

"What are you doing here, Ma?" Jane asked, only masking some of her annoyance.

"You've got a date tonight. I picked your little black dress up from the dry cleaners – seriously, where you would be without that Doc of yours, I don't know! He's a lovely man, Jane, and you need – don't you roll your eyes at me!"

"I've heard this a thousand times, Ma, and I don't need a man. Especially not one you've set up for me."

"Don't be like that, Janie. I just want to know you've been taken care of."

"And I am being taken care of. Maura keeps her fridge full of beer and cupboard full of instant coffee. I'm all set."

Angela swatted her daughter on the arm before handing her the dress on its hanger.

"Put it on because you're going! At least do it for me, your poor mother." Angela put on her best pout, knowing that Jane was close to agreeing.

Knowing it best not to argue any more, Jane huffed, stomped her foot, and stormed in to her bedroom.

Whilst Jane did her best to change her clothes and look somewhat presentable, Mama Rizzoli made herself busy cleaning and tidying the kitchen.

-xo-

"So, Jane, your mother mentioned that you were a part of the Boston Police Department. What is it that you do? Are you an officer?"

Jane shrugged, as if her work was no big feat; "I'm a Homicide Detective."

"Oh cool! So, you get to see, like, dead bodies and stuff?"

"Well, yeah. But, my job is to find out how they became dead bodies."

"But you get to touch them and stuff?"

"No; that's the Medical Examiner's job... Maura, my best friend, she does that."

"Can I meet her?"

What is wrong with this guy? Jane asked herself.

"She's away for the week and I don't really think it's a good idea. She's... taken."

Jane's date, Marcus, seemed crestfallen. He stayed quiet whilst their meals were delivered and their wine topped up.

Finding the silence uncomfortable, Jane started to ramble between mouthfuls.

"Did you know that people can actually pass out from lying because they freak out so much?"

Marcus shook his head, indicating that he didn't know that.

"Yeah, it's true. My best friend does it whenever she tries to lie. Also, she's got a thing for hanging masks and old pieces of engine junk."

"Have you ever been on an undercover mission?"

"Oh, the amount of undercover operations we've been on! We were lesbians once, Maura and me! She signed me up to this lesbian dating site, but it was all to catch a killer, but we were hit on by so many girls! And she's very smart; it's like having Google with you all the time. But she hasn't been properly socialised, so a lot of people don't get her; but I get her."

"That sounds very... interesting?"

Marcus was interested at the idea of Maura when Jane mentioned that she was the Medical Examiner, but now he was starting to get a different picture... and not only about Maura.

Jane didn't realize that she had been talking the whole way through dinner, and only noticed when Marcus flagged down the waiter. She wasn't exactly displeased about this, though.

"Can we have the bill, please?"

The waiter dropped the bill on the table, and before Jane had a chance to grab it Marcus had grabbed it.

"Uhm... So, I don't get paid for two days, so you're right to pick this one up, yeah?"

Jane stared at her date for a moment, not sure if she heard what Marcus had said properly. It took a few moments before she finally nodded.

Jane paid for the bill. She gathered her things and was surprised when Marcus was decent enough to walk her out.

"Thanks for a good night." Jane said through clenched teeth.

"Of course... But it's a shame you're on the other side; you're so hot!"

Before Jane could register what was said, Marcus walked away, leaving the confused Detective out the front of the restaurant.

-xo-

"Jo, go find Bass for me." Jane spoke from the kitchen of Maura's house to her dog as if perhaps she was a child as oppose to a canine. Not to her surprise, Jo took off in search.

It wasn't an uncommon practice, the Detective feeding Bass, or more so having Jo round the turtle up. Maura worked late nights, Bass was on a schedule, Jane was a little more flexible with her travel; ergo Jane feeding Bass whenever Maura wasn't available. It worked for them, and neither of them had ever questioned it.

Jo came bounding back in to the kitchen before leaving it again, repeating this for as long as it took for Bass to make it to the kitchen. The two animals had struck a rather intriguing friendship; one that always baffled Jane.

"Good girl!" the Detective spoke to her dog, bending down to pat her quickly before going back to preparing Bass' leafy greens and strawberries.

Jane placed the prepared meal down in front of Bass before going to the cupboard and pulling out some dog food. Maura had always stocked everything Jane would ever need. She place Jo's full bowl down next to Bass's plate, watching as the eager dog tucked in right away.

The detective grabbed herself a bottle of beer from the fridge. She was pleased in the knowledge that if her fridge ever ran dry of beer, Maura's would always be stocked appropriately.

With the beer in hand, she plonked herself down unceremoniously onto the floor opposite the two unlikely friends.

"Has it really only been a day?" she asked, not sure if it was more to herself or to her audience.

Both animals looked up from their food for a moment, but had no interest in staying that way.

"And why did she only tell me the night before she was leaving?"

"She never does that! I think something's wrong, but I can't figure it out. Any ideas, Bass?"

"Wait, why am I even talking to you two?"

-xo-

Jane was fast asleep on the couch, a replay of the game blaring on the television, four empty bottles of beer on the coffee table (and not a coaster in sight!), when Jo's ears perked up from her place next to Bass' bed. The dog waited, thinking perhaps it was just the turtle making a noise, but then she heard it again. Someone was breaking in to the house, and she had to alert Jane.

The Detective awoke to the sound of her dog barking.

"Jeez, Jo! What's wrong with you, girl?" Jane grumbled, struggling in her sleepy haze to sit up. It took her a moment to get her bearings before she realized that she was still on Maura's couch, and even longer to realize what Jo must have been barking at.

"Quiet, girl." She whispered, getting to the pads of her feet and heading towards the back door.

Jo stopped barking.

Closing in on the back door, Jane was relieved to find that the baseball bat she insisted the Medical Examiner keep next to the door at all times was still there. Thank god for small mercies, she thought.

Jane grabbed the bat just as the back door swung open. Lucky for her, she held the bat out in front of her just in time for another bat to come swinging in her direction, connecting with her own weapon.

"I'm armed!" Spoke a woman's voice.

"Ma?!" Jane shrieked, keeping her bat in place just in case.

"Janie! You just about gave me a heart attack!" Angela sighed, placing a hand on her chest for emphasis.

"You? What about me! And what are you doing with a bat?!"

"Janie, what are you doing here this late? You're supposed to be on a date! I saw a light on inside and thought someone was robbing the place!"

"I came to feed Bass."

Angela glanced towards the sofa, noticing the beer bottles and the television on the sports channel.

"What happened with your date?" Angela asked sceptically.

Jane sighed, sitting down at the dining table. Angela followed with her bat still in her hand.

"Seriously, Ma, please stop trying to set me up. It was a disaster! Not only did I have to do all the talking because all he wanted to know about was the dead bodies, but he made me pick up the bill because his pay week wasn't for another two days."

"Oh, Janie... I thought he was a good sort. Oh well, better luck next time, right?"

"You're not listening. I don't need you to set me up with men and I don't need a man."

"Don't be silly; everyone needs someone."

"We're not having this conversation, Ma."

"Alright... So, when does she get back?" Angela asked conversationally.

"Next Saturday or Sunday."

"You don't know?"

"She isn't sure which day, but I told her to call me and I'd pick her up from the airport."

Angela nodded. Maura hadn't told her how long she would be away for, just that the woman was welcome to use the house if she needed. The trip was as abrupt to Angela as it was to Jane, and it made the woman just as curious.

-xo-

"Night, Ma." Jane smiled once her mother had joined her at the door. In a completely unexpected, and frankly 'un-Jane' move, she offered her mother a hug.

Angela knew when to take the rare affection she was offered.

"Next time, give me a call or something to let me know that you're coming over." Her mother replied, letting go of her daughter.

Jane nodded. Sometimes she forgot that her mother lived in her best friend's yard.

-xo-

Meanwhile, earlier in Pittsburgh:

"Are you alright, Doctor Isles?"

Maura looked up to see Alex, an intern assigned to her for the week, looking at her expectantly.

"Yes, of course. Why do you ask?" Maura replied, as if she hadn't potentially missed an important question or conversation.

"Well, you're looking at the body as if it you were waiting for it to reply."

Maura scolded herself internally. She should never have let herself get so caught up on her best friend. She normally knew better. It just sort of happened upon her before she could realize.

"It's just been a long day. You know, travelling and working and preparing for tomorrow's lectures."

"Of course, I understand. Well, I'm going to call it a night, Doctor Isles. I'd suggest doing the same yourself in the very near future."

Maura nodded airily as she turned back to one of the bodies she had inspected when she arrived in Pittsburgh.

-xo-

An hour later and Maura was in her hotel room staring out the window with a glass of wine in her hand. What a day, she thought to herself. On the way back to her hotel room she reasoned with herself that she had only been away from Jane for the day, so it was reasonable of her to still be thinking of her. She just had to give it a bit more time.

Time, a few bottles of wine, a few lectures and even more dead bodies; that ought to do it.