Author's Note: Well I really hope you guys liked the last chapter. It was very introductory, I promise there will be much more happening in the coming chapters. We will learn much more about Adi and her background. Then she will begin to fangirl internally over Maura as well.
Well, I just experienced the most gruesome autopsy of my life so far, and I have witnessed many an autopsy. The poor John Doe had 39 stab wounds all over his back and abdomen, 6 lacerations on his arms, 2 lacerations on each leg, and his throat was slit so deep that he was nearly decapitated. On top of all of that, they didn't find his body for three days - he was laying in an elderly couple's backyard, they were on vacation, and the neighbors eventually called to complain about the smell, leading the police to his body – so he wasn't in the best of shape. Three days of exposure in the middle of June does nasty things to rotting human flesh. Dr. Isles and Detective Rizzoli both agree that it is highly likely that the killer was in a frenzied state when murdering John Doe. On another note, Detective Rizzoli told me to call her Jane, but I still feel a bit weird about that. But I suppose I have to get used to it, her being Dr. Isles' friend, plus I will have to work closely with her on many cases. I guess a first name basis would be acceptable, maybe in the future. We shall see.
Dr. Isles had finished bagging evidence and collecting all the needed tissue samples when Senior Criminalist Susie Chang came into the AS to take them to the labs. That's when I was first introduced to her. She is a very nice, sweet woman, and she has awesome designer glasses. I know I will be working with her very often as well, and I am excited. The autopsy was completed and everyone dispersed to complete her own tasks for the time being.
Now here I sit, in the Division One Café, eating a salad and a lemon poppy seed muffin. The woman behind the counter, Angela, she was so nice! She was very welcoming to me because she didn't recognize me. And when I told her I am Dr. Isles' new intern she practically jumped for joy and looked like she wanted to hug me. I wonder what that was about. I am sitting by myself, reading a novel, when Detective Rizzoli and Dr. Isles come around the corner. Angela yells, "Hey Jane!" And Jane sort of winces, "Hey Ma…" Now that's interesting. I can see the resemblance now, especially in the way they each speak. Detective Rizzoli's mother. I love this! Giving Dr. Isles a somewhat perturbed look, she walks up to the counter where Angela asks her what she wants to eat. "Mac n' Cheese?" She says with a hopeful look. Dr. Isles rolls her eyes, "Really Jane?"
I sit and watch the whole scene transpire in front of me, trying not to stare, when Dr. Isles notices me sitting by myself at my table. She picks up her salad and walks over, tugging Detective Rizzoli along with her. She stops in front of me and, with a smile, asks, "Dr. Collins, do you mind if we sit with you for lunch?" Putting down my salad fork, I go to close my book and shove it a bit too hard, almost knocking over my glass of water, but Detective Rizzoli catches it for me. I can feel myself blushing as I look at the table, "No of course not… Please sit." Nice going Adi. A+ on the delivery. Dr. Isles and Detective Rizzoli both just smirk and look at each other while sitting down opposite me. Wow. I can feel my cheeks burning in embarrassment. Dr. Isles dresses her salad, I notice we purchased the same one, and starts to eat. Detective Rizzoli's mac n' cheese is still cooking, she starts to talk to me. "So Dr. Collins, tell me about yourself…"
Putting down my fork, I say, "Well, there isn't much to tell. I just graduated from Johns Hopkins medical school and now I am here."
"Well congratulations. That's awesome, but that's not the only thing that ever happened in your life. We are going to work together a lot and I wanna know a bit about you!"
"Alright," I say with a sigh, "Well, I am originally from Southern California. Los Angeles actually. I went to state school back home to save money for med school. I graduated in 3 years. Um..."
"Wow, three years really. That's great. So how old are you?"
"24," I say with another blush, looking down at the table again, "I got into school early when I was a child and then I took 7 AP classes in high school. I graduated and went to college when I was 17, skipped my freshman year, and graduated when I was 20. Then I had 4 years of medical school and I just graduated in May. Now I am here."
At this Dr. Isles looks up and gives Detective Rizzoli, who looks at her, a bit of a surprised look, "That's a very impressive resume, Dr. Collins."
"Please, call me Adi, or Adina, or I guess you can call me whatever you prefer."
Dr. Isles smiles at me, "Ok then, Adi. First names are much more intimate than our formal titles, please feel free to call me Maura as well."
"Ya and I already told you to call me Jane back in autopsy, it's alright."
I just nod, and I see Angela walking up to the table with a plate of mac n' cheese and three flower sugar cookies. "I thought you girls may like a little afternoon cookie to celebrate Dr. Collins' first day here."
Jane looks at her mother, "Ya Ma, thanks. You should hear what this one did in school! She may just have given genius Dr. Isles here a run for her money." She smirks and elbows Maura. I am going to have to get used to calling them Jane and Maura. This is so strange and new to me. I still feel like I should be calling them by their formal titles because I am younger and new here, out of respect.
Maura chuckles, but says nothing in reply. I start to shake my head when, Angela, on the other hand, jumps at the opportunity to ask me a battery of questions, "Really! Well I wanna know all about you sweetie! Where are you from? What made you want to come here to work at BPD? What about your school and family? How old are you by the way?"
"Slow down Ma… Give the girl a break." Jane says, reacting to my facial expression. I know I must look like a fool staring at the three of them with a wide-eyed, confused expression. Great, more flubbed first impressions. Everyone here is so tightly knit and adorable. I just hope I can transition into the group easily, hopefully, someday, maybe. My thoughts are interrupted by a very harsh sounding, "Rizzoli!" Both Jane and Angela turn around, but it is Angela who replies, "Coming Mr. Stanley! I have to be getting back to work. I'll see you girls later! Be careful Jane!"
"Bye Ma." Jane shrugs and looks back at us
"I'll see you later Angela." Says Maura with a smile.
"Thank you for the cookies!" I reply as she turns and walks back over and behind the counter. She is such a lovely woman. Her and Jane are just adorable when they interact.
Jane and Maura begin to talk about the case, and I sit silently listening and eating my salad. They go over possible theories, and I have learned that Maura does NOT like guessing. I agree with her. Guessing gets you nowhere. Unless there is significant empirical evidence to support any made claims or provide theories, guessing is just a careless waste of time. Jane and Maura bicker about whether Jane is actually developing theories or simply guessing. Maura drops it with a warning look, Jane just smiling and turning back to me.
"So how do you like it here so far Kid? Much different from SoCal I imagine."
I nod, "Oh yes. Very different. Everything from the weather to general city lay out, Boston and L.A. are almost direct opposites. But I do like it here. I was really excited to be offered this internship opportunity. Also I did live in Baltimore for my four years of med school, so I am pretty used to the East Coast by now."
Jane looks at me with soft eyes and a smile, "That's great. I'm happy for you. But we all have to get back to work now. These cases aren't going to solve themselves, and we have almost no leads on John Doe."
Maura sighs, "I know, poor man. Ok Adi. I'll walk with you to the morgue. Ready to go?"
I nod and stand up, we walk to the trashcan and through away our waste, then we head to the elevators. Here Jane pushes the up arrow and Maura pushes the down arrow, and we stand and wait. Jane's elevator comes first and she gets in, waving good bye to us as the doors slide closed. Maura and I are left standing, with sort of an awkward air around us. She turns to me, "Out of all the applicants I had for this position, you were my top choice and I am happy you're my intern."
This catches me completely off guard, and I blink at her with a look on my face that can only read as sheer surprise. The elevator doors shudder open and she steps inside. I quickly follow her, and with a very meek voice, I say, "Thank you, I don't know why! But thank you."
She smiles at me and says nothing. We descend in silence, and I wonder if she can hear me thinking; I am trying so hard to figure out what that meant that I can practically feel steam coming out of my ears. The elevator dings at the morgue level and we exit the cabin, walk down the hall, and into our respective offices. I sit down and mull over everything that has happened so far today. I met Jane, Maura, Senior Criminalist Chang, Angela, John Doe, and various lab techs. I watched Autopsy level: nasty. I made an utter fool of myself at the beginning of lunch. I ate with Jane and Maura. And then Maura says that to me. Wow. What a first day, and it's only half over. In a fit of confidence, I decide to get up and walk over to Maura's door. It is open but I give it a soft knock.
"Come in Adi," she says with a smile. She gestures for me to sit down in the chair across from her desk. "How can I help you?"
"Dr. Isles… I mean… Maura, I just wanted to thank you again. And I wanted to ask, well, two questions really." I pause and wait for her response.
"O ok, ahead." She is so patient and kind I think I might burst.
"Ok, well, first question: How am I doing so far?" Nervousness makes me quicken my speech pace and begin to ramble, "I mean I know it is only the first day and we haven't done much really. And I know I jumped and was surprised by the state of John Doe. But I promise I can handle it and I was just surprised to see him like that! I wasn't sick or afraid. I…"
She stops me with a raised hand and, "Adi. You are worrying too much. You are doing splendidly on your first day. This will all take a bit of getting used to, and it will all become easier in time. Relax."
I just look at her, trying to read her face, and I see that she is genuine. "Ok," I continue, "And also, I was wondering, what did you mean in the elevator?"
She sits and I can see that she is trying to form her response. She slowly begins, "Well, you were the applicant who showed the most potential." She pauses, then begins to speak again, "And I got the feeling, though I try not to base choices solely on feeling, that you would be a good fit here. And then I read your application a few times. I was impressed. And I am seeing so far that you are a dedicated, conscientious young woman. I am happy I chose you. And I am happy you chose us too."
With that I smile, feeling my slight blush, and I quietly reply, "Thank you Dr. Isles." She smiles as I get up to go back to my office.
A bit of paperwork, some more orientation, and a few more introductions to the lab staff later, hours have passed and it is time for everyone to go home. I make the approximately 45 minute drive to my shabby little apartment in a neighborhood that requires barred windows on all the buildings. This is what ridiculous amounts of student loans get you. Parking my car and gathering my things, I walk up the 3 flights of stairs to my floor, wondering if the building super is ever going to fix the elevator. I had talked to another tenant who told me that it has been broken for 2 and a half years. I am new in the building as of 2 weeks ago, and I decide not to bring much attention to myself. So I ignore the obvious dilapidation of the building as a whole, and make due with what I have. I schlump off my bags upon entering my front door, flip on the light, and say hi to my kitty. Glancing at the clock, I see that it is 6:47. I decide against a nice dinner, and choose some cereal out of the pantry.
Timmy, my chubby orange cat with stumpy legs, comes and flits about my feet under the kitchen table. "Hey bud," I say, "How was your day? Mine was so strange. You will never believe the autopsy I observed. NASTY. I know your day was probably more eventful than mine, with all your sleeping and fly hunting. But I had a wonderful day at work. Jane is a spitfire. And Maura… Maura is just, wonderful. Everyone at BPD is, really. I think we made a good choice picking up and moving here. Ok, ok. I'll get you your food."
I pop open a can of cat food and plop it into his dish. After changing his dry food and refilling his water bowl, I scoop the litter box and he is set for the night. I decide to take a nice, long, hot shower. And Timmy of course follows me into the bathroom and lies in the sink. So I decide to give him a home sung concert of cheesy love songs from the 2000's, featuring my extremely horrible, off-key voice. Do not ever ask me to sing in public, because I will NOT. And so what if I talk to my cat. He is my only true friend, at least so far. Getting out of the shower, I shove Timmy out of the sink. He gets out with an annoyed meow, and sits on the edge of the counter staring at me. I finish my nightly routine and climb into bed, Timmy following suit. I lay there and stare at the ceiling for a bit. Finally, I turn over on to my side and snug up to Timmy, about to fall asleep, but not before smiling and thinking to myself, "Welcome to Day 1 indeed…"
A.N.: Again, this was introductory. And for those of you who read last chapter, 2 things: I had originally made the mistake of saying "4 years of college" but I realized that I goofed and went back and changed it because Adi only did 3. And Louise is from the actual novels by Tess Gerritsen, I didn't invent her. She is Maura's secretary in the books. Please feel free to give me your honest opinions, or even tell me what you would like to see happen in coming chapters. I would love your input. Thanks for reading!
