Author's Notes- Straight away, I have to say I'm blown away by the response to this story! Thank you all so much for the follows/favorites/reviews! Now, a little explanation to make the reading easier: Much of it will be in flashbacks, so I've marked the difference with a simple 'now' and 'then'. Easy as that! Enjoy!

THEN

She fell into the driver's seat in a drenched heap and slammed the door closed behind her folded legs.

"Yeah, you got me, rain. Congratulations."

Sitting back in her seat, Jane took stock of what needed to be taken care of first. A glimpse in the rear view mirror gave her the answer.

"Jesus!" she exclaimed after seeing her reflection. Reaching into the glove box, she dug around until she found a hair tie and pulled her mane back into a ponytail. She wiped the rain from her face and shrugged. She was never one to be concerned about her looks and if someone saw her in her current state, they probably weren't looking much better.

Her change of clothes was in the trunk, and there was no way in hell she was going out to get them, but she had a pair of flipflops in the backseat that would alleviate the squishiness in her shoes. After reminding herself to not leave the wet shoes and socks in the car when she got home, she pulled the keys from her pocket and turned the ignition. She squinted through the windshield into the night, made darker by the curtain of rain that was besieging all of Boston. She put the car into drive and carefully pulled out of the campus lot.

If Jane were the poetic type, she might have said she had seen an angel the first time she saw Maura Isles. She stood under a street light at the lot's exit, an illuminated vision shielded by the largest umbrella Jane had ever seen. Though all she wanted to do was to get home and have a plate of her ma's gnocchi, there was something about the forlorn figure that compelled Jane to pull over. She cracked open the window and saw Maura cautiously step back.

"Hey," Jane said, then mentally kicked herself for the lame opening. "You're Maura, right? Maura Isles." She got a slight nod. "I'm Jane Rizzoli. We're in Professor Renfrew's biology class." Jane stopped short of telling her exactly where they sat and how she noticed Maura had missed 2 days last week and how her favourite Maura outfit of the semester so far was the blue cashmere V-neck. It sounded stalkerish enough in her own head without saying it out loud.

A flicker of recognition crossed Maura's face. "Oh! You sit two rows behind me, near the aisle." The fact that Jane had just stopped herself from saying the same thing made her chuckle and Maura mistook the response. "Sorry. I'm just…" she faltered.

"Observant," Jane finished for her.

To Maura's surprise, the comment lacked any judgment. "Yes," she replied, a little stunned at how casually Jane made the pronouncement.

"You're also standing out in the rain," Jane remarked.

Maura looked away. "I'm waiting for my mother."

Jane searched the darkness. It was obvious no one was coming from any direction. Not wanting to say anything bad about a woman she never met, she hedged, "The rain's pretty hard. She probably got caught in one of Boston's potholes."

Her smile made Maura smile back. "Yes. Perhaps."

They both seemed to know the real answer, but neither said. Instead, Jane made an offer.

"I'm on my way home. Can I drop you off anywhere? You can always text your mom and tell her you made it safe." There was a hesitation in Maura's face, so Jane tried a different path. "At least come sit in the car."

Maura accepted the offer with another smile. Jane stretched across to open the door while Maura quickly made her way around the car and gracefully pulled herself in while collapsing her umbrella all in one fluid motion. She tucked the umbrella between the door and the seat, mindful of the water getting on her dress. They sat in a comfortable silence, serenaded by the rain.

"Are you cold," Jane asked. "I could turn up the heat."

"No, I'm fine, thank you." She turned her head to look at Jane. "We know why I was out in this weather, but what are you doing?"

Jane groaned at the reminder. "I'm getting some tutoring for Biology." She waited for a judgment that never came.

Maura sensed the expectation. "There's nothing wrong with getting help if you need it. Education is very important. There's no sense spending money on college if you're not going to do your best."

Maura's words took Jane off-guard. "Thanks."

"If I may ask, who's your tutor?"

"Brock Simmons." Maura didn't hide her wrinkled nose fast enough. "What?" Jane asked somewhat defensively.

"Nothing." Jane arched her eyebrow. "What I mean is," Maura stammered. "Oh, I can't lie, Jane. He's a B+ average at best."

"Yeah, and all I need is a B+ to get the credit, so…"

Maura nodded. "Of course. If that's good enough for you…"

"It's as good as I can afford." For the first time, their difference in background and money came to the fore.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make things awkward," Maura whispered.

"It's okay."

"Let me make it up to you by offering a free tutoring session."

Jane shifted in her seat, turning her back to the driver's door. "You, tutor me?"

Maura pulled herself up. "I will finish this course with a 99% average."

Jane's lips twitched. "Only 99?"

Oblivious to the playful sarcasm, Maura felt the need to explain. "Despite a very thorough explanation at the beginning of the semester as to why I'd be missing some days, Professor Renfrew insists on docking me a point for attendance."

"You're training for the Olympics, aren't you?"

That Jane knew of Maura's actions seemed to surprise her. "Yes. How did you know?"

"Really? You won the under-25 slalom in Norway last month and came in 5th at the World's. You were on the front page of every Boston paper. That, and you take up column space between my Patriots and my Sox." She added a wink to the end to let Maura know she was joking.

Maura appeared flustered at the attention. "Yes. Well…"

Jane sensed the discomfort and moved the topic. "You sure you'll have time to get a tutoring session in?"

"I'll check my calendar and we'll come up with a schedule we can both agree on."

"A schedule?" Jane repeated. "No offense, but I can't afford you."

"I'll let you know what works best for me and we'll go from there," Maura said, as if she hadn't heard Jane at all. Jane could only shake her head in disbelief.

They sat in silence again for a long time, seeing no change in the weather but both sensing a shift in something between them.

At last, Maura sighed. "I wonder if I could take you up on your offer of a ride?"

Jane made no remark about Maura's mother and her forgetfulness. She suspected this wasn't the first time the woman had let Maura down, but knew it wasn't the time nor the place to get into it. Taking the car out of park, she gestured to Maura's seat belt, then asked, "Where can I take you?"

…..

NOW

After checking the radios with Steve and Gerry and seeing them off, Jane finished up her last minute preparations. Frost watched her carefully, often stepping in to tighten a belt or cord. She didn't protest- she knew it was standard precautionary measures. She also knew that if he couldn't go with her, Frost would want to make damn sure he was 'with' her, even if that only meant making sure she was 100% ready to go.

She slung the collapsible rescue stretcher on her back and strapped a smaller pack to her front. To ensure she would keep her promise to stay within a certain distance, she only packed a first aid kit, some energy bars and some water. She wasn't stupid enough to go outside their agreement carrying such a meager pack. Besides, if Maura was beyond their estimate, she'd need more than Jane's help alone. Jane banished the thought from her mind.

"So you'll take the Chilton trail to the Peak," Frost said.

"Yeah. It's probably knee deep in snow by now, but it'll be the easiest route up there." She tightened her gloves. "From the Peak, I should be able to see most of the double black."

"If you can see anything in this." He thumbed towards the window. Though the snowfall had lessened, the wind blew up squalls that limited vision just the same. "All the more reason to stay close."

"Yes, Dad," she said, softening her reply with a smile. "I'll signal you at the Peak. If the weather holds, I might try to get to John's Cabin."

"Jane…"

"What? It's only 30 minutes from the Peak. And that's what the cabins are for, right?" John's Cabin was short for St. John's Emergency Cabin, and was one of 3 that dotted the mountainside at various heights. They were small, one room shacks outfitted with a small supply of food, water and first aid, and were intended as last-ditch refuge in the event of emergencies. Jane reminded Frost of this fact. "If she's hurt but has any mobility, she'll try for the cabin."

"People really listen to those safety speeches the resort gives?" Frost asked, only half-joking.

"She would," Jane said with certainty.

"I can't wait to hear the story when you guys get back."

She smiled at his confidence. "Yeah. So what do you think? An hour to the Peak?"

"Yeah. Maybe an hour and a half with the sled and the pack."

"Is that a challenge, Frost?"

The young man grinned. "Just accounting for your age."

"Ass." She held out her arms. "Got everything?"

He quickly turned serious again and with a critical eye gave her one last look from head to toe and back again.

"Looks good, Jane."

She nodded, trusting his assessment. Given the all-clear, she pulled down her goggles and grabbed the hiking poles by the door. "Ready, boy?" she asked the dog who barked in reply. "Let's go."

"Be safe," Frost told her before she stepped out into the white.

….

Gerry and Steve had taken the snowmobiles to the Junction when they left- a meeting of roads about a half mile from the station where it branched to the north in the direction of the resort, and to the south, leading to the base of the mountain. Jane didn't have the luxury of using the winter vehicle- where she was going had too much trail off the path where the snow would be too deep to make the machine worthwhile. Under the conditions, she was likely to get farther faster in her snowshoes than a snowmobile anyway. So she trudged along at a constant but measured pace with the dog bounding gleefully beside her.

"This is serious business, Felix," she chastised him, to no avail. "We're looking for someone. Someone important."

As if he understood her words and the meaning behind those that were unspoken, he gave one determined bark and pointed his nose forward. His resolution made her smile.

"Good boy."

…..