A/N: There were many reasons I stopped writing this story. One of them was the direction the story was going. I had it planned out, but it wasn't working out correctly, and so my interest in it disappeared completely. Now, with more specific planning and a better outlook on this story, the interest is back. Again, I rewrote most of it, added more, edited it –all to make the story work better. The first time would have ended up in confusing disaster. Now, I know. And... it explains the weekly updates. I want to re-read each chapter to make sure it flows better.
Also, I have no clue what happens during crime scene investigations and all that, I am no expert, so I apologize in advance. I will include some situations, but I guarantee there will not be a lot of it. I will work my way around them as much as I can.
And this is ALL purely fictional, based off of my imaginative mind.
Flashback
Mid-January
BEACON HILL
It was like washing dishes: rinse, scrub, wash, and repeat. Just a few more pages to go and she'd finish the monotonous cycle of reading, reviewing, signing and filing her paperwork.
The past two weeks had gone by grudgingly slow, but seemingly fast all at one time. It was an endless cycle of cases, autopsies, and driving. Goodness, so much driving. Her right calf felt stronger after those cross city commutes in fashionable shoes and all Maura wanted to do was relax. It would be nice to lay back in a steamy tub of lavender and chamomile while sipping a glass of Pinot Noir, and maybe have a masseuse for an extra measure of relaxation. But, the timing of all her incoming clients kept Maura from taking a proper break. And she needed that break.
Thoughts of a nice bath and massage pulled Maura's attention away from the file in hand, towards ways to get her mental and spiritual self back on track. She labeled her project as, 'The Perfect Day'. 'The Perfect Day' would include a few glasses of wine, some yoga, meditation, and possibly a massage. The thought of doing this sent a sense of serenity through her. She didn't know when she could do it, but she was sure looking forward to it. Then she thought of a way to get Jane's full-hearted participation. She knew there would be a lot of convincing to do since Jane could only tolerate so much of serious, no playing around stretching and real, quiet meditation. However, pair that with some bottles of wine, and Maura already knew that yoga would turn into a let's-see-who-can-balance-better-while-I-elbow-you-jab fest; meditating with a few candles and soft calming music in the background would become an annoying, "Hey, what are you thinking about?" and, "What does this actually do?" There would definitely be no quiet time at all on, 'The Perfect Day'.
It was a toss between a forced day of calm while buzzed or drinking a little too much and forgetting about the activities Maura planned that day. Honestly, since the two had not spent time together since New Year's, she didn't mind either way. The idea of a drunk boisterous brunette focusing on proper yoga form and seeing her attempt silence for at least a minute relaxed Maura faster than planning, 'The Perfect Day'.
As she settled into her seat with a demure smile playing on her lips, a heart pounding, short-lived panic replaced the calm demeanor she'd adopted. The loud knock from the front door sent the case file she was mindlessly staring at out of her hands. She shook her head and chuckled at the short moment of peace thinking about Jane.
She stood from her seat and started to pick up the manila folder and scattered papers, but the loud knock came again. Maura glanced down at her wristwatch and wondered who could be at her door at this time of night. Since it was a personal day for the detective, it could be Jane. Then came another knock. Maura placed the file back on the table –confused that Jane wouldn't let herself in– and walked to the door, adjusting her blouse as she opened it.
"I'm surprised you bothered—"
Jane didn't let herself in because it was not Jane at the door.
"Hello love!" Maura watched cautiously as Ian Faulkner swaggered through the threshold. All sorts of emotions surged through her at the sight of her old lover.
He grinned as he scooped down to pick her up in a strong hug. Maura couldn't help but giggle when he quickly turned around to shut the door behind him. As she slid down the length of his torso, Maura grasped Ian's face in her hands. Ian looked up at her and smiled as he caught her lips. Maura pulled away from him, astonished by this forgotten familiarity.
"I guess you miss me?" He pulled her in closer by the waist and as she looked into her former lover's eyes, Maura couldn't help but feel a certain sense of longing.
It took a moment for her to respond because she was too busy looking him over. He still looked the same: the ruggedness, taut form, and tan complexion, his too charming smile. Maura finally broke their contact and scolded, "Don't you know it's bad to guess?" He grazed a finger under her chin and tilted her head upwards as she continued, "You know someone might see you!" Maura blushed a little at her reaction. She was a grown woman, in her own home, it shouldn't matter if anyone saw him being affectionate with her –this was not a hallway in boarding school.
"Is anyone here Maura?" He looked around her living room, still holding her chin.
"No... there isn't anyone here." She moved his hand away, but he grabbed her around the waist again and pulled her in. She couldn't discern the cause for her sudden urge to commingle privately with Ian. Maybe that it had been awhile since she had the intimate company of a person, not a toy. It could have been her earlier notions of tranquility and joy with Jane that relaxed her too much. Or the more practical and honest reason that something was poking her where it shouldn't, made Maura want to have a little fun. What if it were all three? She didn't know, but she knew he sensed the need in her.
"Well then, we're in luck." He pushed himself into her again and this time pulled her hair. Maura sighed and held him this time. She jumped into his arms and let him kiss her passionately. His taut abs felt nice against her pelvis, and at this she kissed him harder. "God Maura, I've missed this."
A cloud of wanting impaired her mind and she nearly growled, "Oh, so have I."
He walked with her on his hips to the couch and laid her down. Ian caressed as much of her as he could, hungrily sucking on her neck. Maura closed her eyes as each body part came into contact: his tongue and teeth on her neck, his strong abs pushing against her, and his strong hands wrapped around her thighs. She thought it foolish, sleeping with the man who broke her heart and knew it was asinine. But another part of her craved the physical intimacy he could offer. And she did not protest when the Australian pulled his shirt off.
Her body temperature rose while watching him slide his pants off, and eventually reaching over to pull her blouse off too. She bucked her hip upwards, allowing her pants to come off too. Once again, a certain wanting pushed her into motion, and its intensity revved her up way more than she cared to admit.
The frenzied love-making that ensued surprised both parties, but neither could complain about the satisfaction that would reward them afterwards. She felt herself nearing the edge, but a sudden flashback to that New Year's night threw her off. The memory played in her head and in that same moment, Ian reached up to her chest. Maura closed her eyes, relishing the image in her head and moved her hips frantically against the man beneath her. Her body spasmed, releasing all the tension that had built up, and as she finished, Ian came too.
Maura relaxed against his chest and stared at the coffee table in front of her. He laid one hand on her back and stroked her hair with the other. Maura felt her heart pound in her chest, but with a few deep breaths, it began to slow. Ian broke the silence by clearing his throat.
"So what have you been up to?"
She patted him on the chest, still staring at the coffee table. Maura needed a moment before she could speak, her throat had gone dry, but when she replied, all the pain from their past reemerged. "I'm the Chief Medical Examiner for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts." She finally pulled herself from him and sat on her couch, "Before you decided to surprise me, I was overlooking cases..."...and thinking about Jane.
Ian sat up and turned to her, looking at her thoughtfully, "Not the dream job I see." She shrugged at him as he continued to ask, "D'you still plan to travel the world, study ailments... help the less privileged and whatnot?"
The last time Maura spoke to Ian happened over a decade ago. For the two to continue talking without any animosity, especially on Maura's end, would surprise anyone watching their encounter –had they known their history.
"I'll eventually continue that dream, but I'm happy with the life I have here." Maura commented, distractedly putting her clothes back on. He seemed comfortable talking to her after not having seen or spoken to her in ten years, but Maura felt otherwise. Things were different. When he didn't respond, she continued, not looking at him, "There are wonderful people I've come to know. I have a job, a family, and Jane."
Ian finally got up and started to dress too. He looked at her with curiosity. She enjoyed having sex right? Why was she so distant? "I'm sorry if I've inconvenienced you. Is.. is Jane your partner?" He covered his mouth and now looked at her in confusion. She mentioned the woman's name and lit up, but he had just slept with her. "I hope that Jane woman doesn't see us like this." He slid his shoes on and tied them, "Forgive me, Maura. I'll see myself out." The wonder in her eyes confused him.
Her response made it clear, "Jane isn't my partner. We haven't done anything wrong." She combed a hand through her hair, she sighed, "I have no partner to cheat on, so there is no need for an apology. Jane and her family, well, they're my family too. Jane is my best friend." Maura put her hands in her pockets, she didn't have to explain any of this to him. "And I don't mind dropping you off, where are you staying?"
"Well, it's nice to hear that you're happy Maura. I'm actually staying at a hotel in the city, and if you really don't mind...?" Ian got up and stood next to her with a smile.
"Wait here a moment while I grab my—"
Maura's phone buzzed on the granite tabletop of the island, cutting her off. She grinned, rushed over to her phone, and looked at the caller ID. It was dispatch. She answered the phone quickly, glad that any chances of Ian staying over diminished, "Doctor Isles." Ian felt his pockets, noticing his wallet missing, and searched around the couch for it as he listened to her conversation over the phone. While balancing the phone between her cheek and shoulder, she prepared her medical bag. An older gentleman was pronounced dead at the scene and his son was rushed to the hospital.
After hanging up, Maura looked over at Ian. He found his wallet underneath the coffee table and shoved it in his back pocket. Ian rocked back and forth on his feet, "You have to rush off? I can wait here if you need me too."
"No, don't worry about it. Let me just run upstairs to change and I'll take you to your hotel." Maura couldn't risk any chances of Ian running into Angela, or Jane. And she definitely did not want that blinding lust to take over her again. So it was best if he left. She excused herself and ran up the stairs to her bedroom. She hurriedly chose a dark blouse, grey pants and blindly grabbed a pair of heels from her closet.
She went back down, grabbed her medical bag while slipping her heels on, and took her keys off a hook. Ian followed her to the front door and opened it for her. They enjoyed an awkward half an hour drive to his hotel and made promises to meet each other again within the next couple of days.
AT THE CRIME SCENE
"Seriously, I'll check the body myself if I have to." Jane fidgeted, pinching her lower lip with her arms crossed. "I had a beer in hand and a perfectly damn good movie on." A loud cackle came from behind her. She turned around to find Frost grinning ear to ear, jotting notes down as he surveyed the crime scene. Realizing she was staring at him, Frost dialed down his grin and faced elsewhere. "What are you laughing at?"
"What kind of movie were you watching Jane?" He swiveled back around, wiggling his eyebrows, "Relaxing to some good ol' nasty–"
Korsak slapped him on the back of his head, "That's nasty!"
Jane 'oohed' at him and laughed as he walked away to look at the perimeter of the crime scene. Korsak stood next to her and discussed a few notes, but since the medical examiner still had not arrived, Jane decided to look at the body herself. She walked awkwardly to the sheet while Korsak, behind Jane, cleared his throat and pointed with his pen, "Rizzoli, Doctor Isles is here."
She stopped mid-stoop and went around the body, towards Maura, an irritated crunch forming on her eyebrows. Once she got closer, the unfashionably late medical examiner caused concern.
"Hey!" Maura panted, practically gliding to the body.
Jane rubbed her back, "Where've you been?" She kept pace with Maura, her long legs effortlessly following after the shorter woman.
It probably wasn't the best idea to tell her best friend that she had just dropped of the man she had slept with an hour ago, to his hotel room; the same man who, in all honesty, abandoned her in a foreign country ten years ago. Maura glanced over at the body, up to Jane, then back to the body. She stoutly replied, "Bed." She stooped down and began her process.
"You okay, Maur?" Jane was distressed too. She'd been waiting at the crime scene for over an hour, waiting for Maura to arrive to decide whether the homicide detectives were actually needed for this gentleman's case. But, after noticing Maura's odd behavior and strangely mismatched heels, she was more concerned about the pain she was going through.
"Yes, I'm okay. Why do you ask?" Maura got up to her feet and analyzed the gravel around the body.
Jane dramatically pointed at her friend's feet, confusion sweeping over her face. "Well, for one thing... you're wearing two different shoes Maura!"
"What?" She looked down at her heels, walking more pointedly, "Oh, it was dark and I couldn't see. I was in a rush to get here." Maura stood in place and shook her head, "Did the victim's son tell you anything?"
The detective put her weight on her right foot, crossing her arms, "If you were in a rush, you would have been here in 30 minutes, not an hour. And yes, he told Frost that a driver sped their way through both men and didn't stop. Yo, Frost!"
The younger detective raised his eyebrows and jogged up to her, "What's up?"
"What did the son tell you?"
"A dark-colored sedan sped its way through here, colliding with both men, but his father, Evan Dunbar, took most of that impact. Chris, that's the son, was hit by the side bumper and rolled off to the side."
Korsak chimed in, "There are tire marks a few feet south of the body, it's off to the side. Looks like they waited for them –seems intentional."
Maura nodded in agreement, removing her gloves, "There were no other tire marks after impact, they didn't check to make sure both victims were dead. Evan Dunbar sustained multiple traumas, but we'll have to take him to the morgue for further examination." She talked to the coroner briefly and signed a few documents before they began transportation. "Looks like you have a case."
Korsak sighed, "It's past midnight folks." He rubbed his eyes, "Let's go home, get some rest, and meet back at the department in the morning."
All three detectives proceeded to take their gloves off and disposed them in a nearby trash can. The four colleagues then walked together to their respective cars.
"So, do you want to tell me why you were so late?" Jane focused on each step she took, her hips beginning to ache with each odd step.
"I told you, I was in bed. What about you? You're limping." Maura, still conscious about her heels, could now see the detective's lighter step on the left foot.
Jane stopped in her tracks, defensively retorting, "I'm not limping, I'm just," she waved her arms, "...trying out a new walk."
Korsak and Frost chuckled, watching two of them talk.
"Your new walk seems to cause a lot of discomfort. Maybe you're limping because you need to buy better fitting shoes, Jane." Maura scolded, "We should go shopping sometime this week," and hopefully the two of you don't run into each other at all, "I'll help you find the perfect shoes!"
Frost chimed in, "Shopping sounds a lot better than watching those kinds of movies. Besides, you've been wearing those same boots since I joined homicide."
"Wasn't that almost three years ago?" Korsak asked, not helping Jane's case.
"Oh shut up!" Jane rolled her eyes, starting the limp to her car, "I don't want to go shoe shopping. My shoes are perfectly fine. And I don't watch those kinds of movies! I want to go home, go to bed, and we can work on the case tomorrow." She snapped her fingers and pointed to the sidewalk, "Let's go home!"
Korsak and Frost said their good-nights and went to their cars immediately outside the perimeter of the crime scene. Jane parked a few cars down past Korsak and Frost. And Maura, the latest one to arrive, had a further distance to walk. While she looked over the victim's body, she could feel the analyzing gaze of Jane Rizzoli and knew that she'd want to talk. So Maura made sure to hurry past the detective as she pushed her keys into the door's lock, not stopping to say goodnight.
Arriving fashionably late with a black heel on one foot and a blue heel on the other was out of character for Maura Isles. Jane knew her friend well enough to realize that something was bothering her or, at least, she was hiding something from her. Never the one to miss a detail, the brunette recognized an unearthly glow, a glow she hadn't witnessed since their last sleepover or Maura's last 'sleepover', though they never hesitated to talk about them –much to Jane's chagrin.
She thought she was in the clear. Hurrying past her detective best friend to her car would guarantee that she didn't have to mention her tardiness, her mismatched heels, or her odd behavior. But her best friend, whose whole life centered around being a detective (a great pairing it seems), needed to know what was going on. And they didn't get to say goodnight to each other too. Before Maura could take her keys out, Jane was at her side, hands on hips.
"Come on Maura, what's going on?" Jane huffed, "Your heels don't match! You were an hour late. And I know we've both been busy these past two weeks, so I haven't spent any time with you. I don't know what's been going on since... then."
Maura wasn't sure if she was referring to New Year's Eve, or the entirety of the two weeks they hadn't seen each other; either way, Maura did not want to tell Jane just yet. "I just... something unexpected surprised me, and I was in bed. I got the call and was still dealing with that surprise, so I wasn't as focused as I should have been." She blushed at her poor excuse of an explanation, "Don't worry Jane. I'm fine. I really am."
Jane shifted her weight, "Are you sure?"
"Yes, I am sure," Maura extended a hand to caress Jane's shoulder, "You, however, need to get your foot looked at. If it bothers you that much, I can take a look at it later."
The brunette's expression changed from brooding curiosity to defensive playfulness, "I told you I am fine Maura!"
"If you're fine," Maura swiftly, but softly, pressed her foot on the detective's left boot. Jane yelped in pain and grabbed Maura's shoulder to keep herself upright. "See me tomorrow when you can, 'kay?"
Jane took a deep breath in, whimpered as she staggered backwards at the throbbing discomfort and nodded her head, "Okay. Tomorrow." She snarled at the blonde, stepping forward again to grab both shoulders. Maura's automatic response was to pull her shoulders up as she felt Jane apply pressure there. She returned the smile that Jane gave, "That hurt! Don't do that again."
Maura chuckled, "Okay, I'm sorry." She grasped Jane's elbows, "I won't do it again." She closed her eyes as Jane's pressure lightened. A warmth washed over her, one that she hadn't felt since the last time they were together. It was so comforting and familiar. Two weeks of no physical contact with Jane and no proper communication was the longest they had gone, it made total sense for Maura to lean in and give her friend a hug.
The throbbing in her foot was still there, so she was out of balance, but Maura's unexpected surprise hug held her in place. Jane returned the embrace, wrapping her arms fully around the shorter woman. She buried her nose on the top of her head, took a breath in and admitted, "I missed you Maur."
Maura didn't let go, she buried the side of her face on Jane's shoulder, "I missed you too." She pulled away and finally took her keys out. She unlocked her car door, but before she opened it, she put her hand on Jane's arm, "Come over tomorrow so we can catch up okay?"
She curbed the urge to lean over and kiss her on the forehead, so Jane crossed her arms and pinched her lips with her fingers instead, "I definitely will. Goodnight Maura." Jane formed a fist and lightly hit her on the arm.
"Goodnight Jane." Maura opened the door, got in and started her engine. Maura waved back as she walked away, but did not leave until she could no longer see Jane in her rearview mirror. When the sound of Jane's engine began, Maura finally pulled out of the space and headed home. The warmth that had taken over her earlier, before she hugged Jane, came back in the middle of her chest –right above her diaphragm. It bubbled there and each thought about the brunette made it bubble more intensely. Then a sadness overcame her. She couldn't pinpoint the exact reason she felt the urge to be close to Jane again (the warm hug, their lost time together), but she felt something missing from their interaction. Although the hug felt right, it didn't satisfy Maura like it used to.