I Can Feel Your Heart Beat.

Rizzoli & Isles

Pairing: Jane Rizzoli/Maura Isles

Author: myIllusion

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters-no copyright infringement intended.

Okay... so the next chapters will be longer I promise. These first two were just the set-up for the dynamic between Jane and Maura and also the impending mystery that is to unfold.

Maura, Jane and Phoebe

Maura sat at the table across from the strange girl, while Jane positioned herself against the wall with her her arms crossed wearing a masked, blank expression - her Detective face. Maura could see a glimmer of hope behind the facade. Hoping to get some answers from this slip of a girl, whom Maura could only guess was in her late teens. It was difficult for Maura to determine the age of young adults, if they were still alive. If the girl was on her table the task would be much easier to figure out with bone density scans and also bone and tissue samples.

This girl was alive, however, and Maura silently reprimanded herself; she needed to stop looking at living people as though they would be on her table some day. This was one of the reasons she had trouble relating to humans and making friends with them. Even that thought was odd to the Medical Examiner. She classified people as human beings and yet herself as something "other."

Jane was tapping her foot impatiently and Maura forced herself to focus on the present situation. The girl was waiting expectantly for Maura to say something to her.

"Hi... My name is Dr. Isles...or..., ah... Maura, if you prefer."

She smiled across the table at the teenager, tilted her head curiously and sat back in her chair to relax. This young woman was interesting. Her eyes were very dark brown, like Jane's - they appeared to be almost black, but Maura could just barely see the distinction of pigment between the pupils and the irises. The depth and maturity within the girls gaze was extraordinary. If you studied only her eyes, she had the ancient gaze of someone who had lived many many years; which was a bit unsettling, yet not threatening in any way.

Her hair was jet black and thick. She wore it longer in the back, almost to her shoulders, but the sides and front were short and severe. Her forehead sported short bangs that formed a straight line and the sides had been tapered sharply at an angle, shaved almost to the skin.

Maura didn't understand why she thought the haircut fit the girl perfectly but it did. Usually, such intentional non-conformity prompted an irresistible need for Maura to ask inappropriate questions, which inevitably caused social discord and awkwardness for Maura and the unfortunate person she had focused her inquiries upon. Sigh. Not now Maura, again she told herself to be calm, steady, stop thinking... just be. (silent thoughts)

The girl twitched an eyebrow at the Medical Examiner and smiled with a somewhat lopsided grin before declaring.

"You sure think a lot... Maura."

And Maura laughed out loud, delighted by the teenagers candid statement. Yes she most certainly did. And, this girl was not a mind reader nor did she have ESP or any other such nonsense. There was a perfectly logical, scientific explanation behind her behavior, which Maura was determined to find out.

"I do think a lot... how did you know I was behind the glass? And how did you know I was female?"

Jane rather loudly cleared her throat at this point. A very transparent attempt at letting Maura know she didn't want her wasting time on questions that didn't serve the needs of finding out who the kid was and why she was in the alley? And also why did she club a guy to death with a two by four? All of these items were the the things that Jane urgently whispered into Maura's ear before guiding her, rather roughly, by the elbow into the interview room.

The girl jerked her head in Jane's direction without actually glancing over at the Detective.

"She... Detective Rizzoli, doesn't want you to ask me that. She's really mad at you but not about what you asked me. Something else made her mad at you. That guy over there is bored." And she pointed at the officer in the corner of the room. "Although he just got more interested in this conversation. And you are hurt, and a little mad too but the hurt comes through stronger... you don't like to let the mad in."

She paused for a moment to take in how her little assessment affected the occupants in the room before continuing. Jane was visibly shaken by the girls statement. Her brow was knit in confusion and denial before she forced her expression back into a stony mask. The uniformed officer was openly curious and staring wide eyed at the teenager. Maura was stunned into silence. Her hazel eyes flashed greener for a moment, the green parts over-rode the golden in a curious display of intense emotion - giving the girl an even clearer insight into the Medical Examiner.

" I didn't kill the man in the alley... Maura already knows that and so do you Detective Rizzoli... but you want me to tell you what I do know - that's why you continue to hold me and treat me as a suspect. I knew you were behind the glass Maura because I could feel you there. No one was in that room until you walked into it a half an hour ago. I could tell you were female because... I... maybe I just guessed. There's a fifty fifty chance of me being right. Right? "

"No," Maura was certain the girl was being deceitful. "You knew I was female without seeing me. I know when a person is telling the truth... um... what is your name? " And Maura cocked her head at the girl, her curiosity had grown into a giant balloon of intrigue. This girl was an enigma. Maura had never met anyone so strange nor so mysteriously captivating.

"Phoebe." And she smiled at Maura. A warm trusting smile. A smile that said, I have given you my name and therefore my trust. To know my name is to have a hold, a link, something invisible that binds us together.

"Phoebe," Maura whispered the name and returned the girls smile with a reassuring nod. 'Bright and Pure' in the Greek translation. And yet you cover yourself in dark, black clothing? Are you undercover Phoebe?"

"Okay...that's just about enough weird for me to deal with in one day." Jane sauntered over to the table and plopped herself down in the chair next to Maura. Not being able to help herself she smirked at the both of them like they had just beamed down from the "Mother Ship." Shaking her head, a baffled wry amusement flitted across her features before they settled back into a stern frustration.

"Phoebe... you said a moment ago that you did not kill the man in the alley, and that you knew we didn't think you had... what makes you say so? And before you answer that... If you didn't kill him who did? And why were you sitting there waiting for the police to show up, holding the murder weapon in your hands? All of that is kind of dumb wouldn't you say? You don't seem to be a dumb girl. "

Jane had rambled like she never had before in an interrogation. She felt a need to rattle the questions all at once because this girl, this Phoebe, was so weird... and Muara was making things even weirder. Christ! Maura had been helpful in getting the girl to talk but then she went off on her own bizarre tangent. What the fuck? She also didn't like that stuff the girl said about her being mad at Maura. She was hoping to deflect the conversation far away from that uncomfortable and painful topic.

"You should just tell her how you feel instead of hurting her so bad. What you're doing is mean Detective Rizzoli...but you know that already." Phoebe was looking at Jane directly, her gaze was piercing in it's intensity. The combination of the odd girls stare and her words made Jane flush with embarrassment and shame... and anger. But somehow the anger felt empty...useless... and then it seemed to melt away.

"I was already in the alley when the man came in and beat that guy. I was in the shadows by the dumpster behind that bar. He didn't see me. By the time I thought to do something to make him stop it was already too late. He tossed the board on the ground and made a call with a cell phone and then he left. I walked over to see if I could help but I knew he was dead after the first blow. I could feel his life stop. I picked up the board and sat down to wait for the police. I knew you would want to know what happened."

Jane sighed deeply and risked a glance at Maura , who was watching her speculatively. She ran her fingers through her dark hair and nodded at Maura to take over the questioning.

"Phoebe, did you get a good look at the man?"

"Yes, he was tall. He was waiting for the guy to come out of "The Nasty Vermin." It's a men's bar you know? A gay bar. I heard him walk into the alley and he was talking on his phone. Then he just stood outside back and waited, he had the board in his hand already. They knew each other. They argued for a minute and then he just started beating on the guy. He hit him six or seven times, a couple times after he was already on the ground...then he tossed the board on the ground and spit on him."

Maura was excited by the idea of the "spit." If traces were still on the body or clothes they would have a DNA sample to submit to CODIS and a very good chance of catching this guy. Phoebe had been right. The preliminary reports of the death indicated that it was highly unlikely a girl of her size could have hit and killed the man with the type of force that was used - she knew we knew it wasn't her, which was why she seemed so patient and undaunted by the process.

Phoebe was waiting for the BPD to get it together. But, why hadn't she just told Jane all of this in the first place? Why did she sit there for all that time and not respond? Why was she so matter of fact in describing a brutal violent act that she had witnessed? She was obviously upset about what she had seen, but not hysterical or emotional, she acted as though it was something that hadn't really surprised her. Each question the girl answered only seemed to spawn a dozen new confusing mysteries.

"Phoebe... do you think you could describe the assailant to a sketch artist?"

"Yes."

Maura turned to address Jane. "She needs a break Jane. We need to get her something to eat and let her rest a bit. We can call Cooper in to make a drawing after she's eaten."

Jane was somewhat relieved that Maura was using her name again instead of the formal "Detective", which made her wince every time she heard her say the word. It felt like a tiny knife being stuck inside her heart. Jane knew she deserved much worse from Maura.

God that kid was strange. What she had said earlier. 'You should just tell how you feel instead of hurting her so bad.' God, how could that kid know the things she knew? Phoebe had been in the room with she and Maura for less then five minutes and had read the underlying tension between them...and quite possibly the reasons.

She shuddered with the thought of spending any more time with this girl. She didn't want to be exposed. And Jane knew, somehow...this Phoebe saw inside her soul. She didn't want to know how?, or even why?, she just wanted to take the rest of her statement and get Social Services over here to deal with her. Phoebe was right after all. Jane did not believe she had committed the murder. Jane, in fact, believed every single word that Phoebe uttered. Every freaking thing... and that was very frightening.

"Okay Maur-, I'll go call Cooper. Do you mind setting Phoebe up in the lounge in the back? And getting her something to eat?" Jane's tone was soft and gentle without the underlyng hostility and tension. She felt relieved and very sad. Sad that she had let this situation get so out of hand. And ashamed. She had hurt Maura. Just as Phoebe said. God, she hoped that Maura could forgive her.

Instead of answering Jane directly, Maura stood up and reached across the table for Phoebe's hand. And to Jane's astonishment Phoebe clasped her hand with Maura's, intertwining their fingers. They headed for the door like two best friends on the playground at recess - hand in hand. Maura looked over her shoulder at Jane and said:

" We'll be in the cafeteria Jane, and later in the lounge. You need to call a lawyer for her. We shouldn't have been questioning her without a representative."

"I know." Was all that Jane could muster. She watched the easy closeness that Maura shared with the girl and felt a pang of what? Jealousy? Maura was so warm and kind and beautiful. And... Jane had ruined that for herself. Yes... it was jealousy.

Just as they were exiting the door, Phoebe looked over her shoulder to glance at Jane as they were leaving. She turned to Maura and whispered softly.

"She doesn't like you holding my hand. She's jealous."

To Be Continued

Thanks a bunch to those of you who reviewed. The chapters will come out faster if I know there is an interest in the story.