"Hey, Frost. What do we got?"

Jane made her way towards the body in the middle of the field.

"Female, in her 20's, most likely dragged from the barn over there."

He pointed to a building that looked ready to crumble any second.

"Whoever killed her didn't think she would be easy to find out here…" Jane reasoned out loud.

"Right. And took the trouble to drag her…"

"Any one hear or see anything?"

"No."

Jane kneeled next to the young girl and sighed. She looked so innocent.

Too young to end up like this. They are always too young.

"Who found her?"

She stood up. Frost pointed to a young man who looked rather pale.

"He was out walking his dog. He usually comes here and lets his dog run free. The dog picked up on something. He's pretty shaken up."

"Gotten anything out of him?"

"No, not really. I had to call a medic to calm him down."

Jane stared towards the man as an unfamiliar car pulled up to the crime scene.

"What the hell is Dr. Pike doing here?" she exclaimed, recognizing her least favorite ME.

"You didn't hear?"

She turned to Frost, shaking her head.

"Hear what? Where's Maura?"

Frost looked rather surprised that he actually knew something involving Maura that Jane didn't.

"She left for New York about thirty minutes ago. They needed her help on a case."

Jane looked at Frost and then at Dr. Pike who was walking towards them.

"Great…" she mumbled before she faked a smile.

Jane sighed as she grabbed her jacket and headed for the elevator at the end of the day. Pike in the morgue instead of Maura was so not the way she wanted her week to begin. She felt frustrated by just how much this was bothering her. Because of all the time she'd spent in the morgue over the years, she was accustomed to Maura's routine. And she was used to being the first one to receive new clues and information. But when Dr. Pike was the one doing the autopsy, she had no interest in being in the morgue. Instead she sat at her desk and waited for test results and cause of death. It always made her restless.

Reaching the lobby, she was just about to leave when she noticed her mother still at work. A sudden desire for a final coffee steered her into the café.

"You're coming down with something."

It was a clear statement coming from her mother as Jane stopped in front of the counter.

"What? No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are. Don't pretend you know better than your own mother."

Jane tilted her head back and sighed.

"I don't pretend to know better than you. Can I just get a cup of coffee, please?"

She looked back at Angela who was staring at her.

"Only if you go home and rest."

"Fine" Jane replied without a fight, really not in the mood to argue. She was on her way home anyway.

Angela smiled in response.

"Have you heard from Maura yet?" she asked as she poured Jane's coffee.

"Yeah, barely. She was elbows deep in work, literally."

Angela stopped pouring and looked at Jane strictly.

"Why do you always have to paint that picture? What's wrong with saying she is busy?"

Jane snickered.

"Sorry, Ma. She had a lot to do and couldn't talk. I only have a couple of texts from her. Better?"

Angela nodded and handed Jane her coffee.

"Yes, thank you. Now go home and rest. Call me if you need anything."

Jane smiled. Turning around, she finally left the café and then the station.

Jane hated to admit it, but her mother was right. Curled up in her bed, she could feel her throat closing up. It was getting harder to swallow. She had given up trying to do anything, even watching TV was too exhausting. Her eyes found the clock on her nightstand. She suddenly realized the whole day had just disappeared. She hadn't spoken to Maura since family dinner last night. That was more than 24 hours ago. They hadn't gone this long without talking since the whole Paddy Doyle incident. She sighed, crawled back under the sheets and closed her eyes. She hated days like this, when she and Maura didn't have a chance to talk, grab lunch, or even work together. They weren't nearly as good as the other days. And to make matters worse, she didn't even know when Maura would be home.

Wow, you've certainly turned into a pathetic puppy…

She woke up in the same position the next day, curled up with the sheets wrapped tightly around her. Still, she was freezing. She killed the alarm buzzing next to her and reached for her phone. No activity. A yawn turned into choking right away as pain shot through her chest and throat. She tried swallowing, but it hurt just as bad. And, no sound escaped her mouth when she tried to speak.

Great…

She carefully got out of bed and went to the kitchen to try and drink something, but it was a big mistake. On the way back to bed she felt dizzy and she knew what she had to do, even though she hated the thought. She grabbed her phone and found her mother's number.

I'm sick Ma… can't even talk. Can you call work for me? And come over? Please?

She added the famous word her mother couldn't resist. She then collapsed on her bed again and fell asleep.

A few hours later she woke up and could smell the famous soup her mother always made when one of them was sick. But her throat was still closed and she was afraid she wasn't going to be able to eat anything at all. She tried to utter a few words, but still nothing. She reached for her phone again and was surprised she had a missed call from Maura. It had been a long time since that had happened. Knowing Maura would respond as soon as she could, Jane quickly tapped out a text. It would give her something to look forward to.

Hey, how's NY? Sorry I missed your call, but it wouldn't make much difference since I have no voice at the moment…

Good morning. NY is stressful. Barely slept. What happened to your voice? Been yelling at Dr. Pike because he's not as good as me?

I wish… But no, the flu. (I know you're thinking 'I told you to get the flu shot'!)

Yes, I am thinking that, and laughing. You're hopeless…

Not hopeless, just tough. When are you coming home?

Bad-ass Jane Rizzoli without the ability to make sarcastic comments or jokes? Not so tough… Not sure when I'll be back. It's a very complicated case.

Jane laughed to herself as she could hear Maura say that first sentence. Maura was known for her correct vocabulary, and 'bad-ass' was not a word she was comfortable with. But she always tried hard to get it right.

Yeah, you're really missing out on a quiet day at the office. Let me know when you're heading home.

I would love a quiet day right now, but considering you're not there it would be rather boring. I'll text you later. Get lots of rest and fluid!

Yes, dear.

She hit send before she had the time to think and clenched her fist hoping Maura would read it as the joke she meant it to be.

[Now on every single road that I could take, listen…]

Jane had used up pretty much all of her energy on those few texts and then a one-way conversation with her mother. All she could do was nod and shake her head, and the soup she was served remained untouched. It didn't take long before she drifted off to sleep again.

Daylight slowly disappeared from her room as Jane woke up struggling to figure out what day it was. She reached for her phone and found a new text from Maura. It seemed like she would be stuck in NY for a couple more days. When Jane noticed the previous texts she realized it was still Tuesday and sighed. The phone slipped out of her hand, and she lay back down. Everything was out of focus around her, and she knew she was running a fever. She couldn't remember much from the few minutes she had actually been awake through the day, but she could remember her mother forcing her to drink something and putting up one hell of a fight because of the pain in her throat.

She slipped back into sleep and woke up with her mother sitting on the edge of the bed next to her. A cold towel rested on her forehead.

"How are you feeling?" Angela asked.

Jane could hear the concern in her mother's voice, and held her thumb up.

"Your fever is a bit higher today. How is your body, does anything hurt?"

She didn't really know how to say that her whole body ached, so just shrugged. Even after a long night's sleep, she felt exhausted and just wanted to close her eyes and drift off again. Her mother noticed and flipped the cool towel over before kissing her on the cheek.

"Get some sleep, honey."

Jane dreamed weird and vivid dreams all day long. She would only remember fragments from the latest one whenever her mother woke her up during the day. More fluid was forced down her sore throat, and Jane kept drifting back to sleep without noticing the growing concern on her mother's face. In between dreams, in her semi-conscious state, she heard something about Maura, and the hospital, but she was never fully awake enough to put all the words together.

Later, she would remember one dream very clearly. She didn't know where she was, but the room felt familiar. Maura was there. Maura had often been in her dreams before, but this one was different. She couldn't recognize any of the shapes around her, all she could see was Maura's face. No walls, no ceiling, no floors. For all she knew, they could have been floating. But she could certainly feel the warmth of Maura's fingers on her cheek. And then they kissed. Or maybe Maura kissed her. It didn't matter. A soft sigh left Maura's lips as they slowly pulled away.

Jane woke up smiling. She had no idea what day it was, she could only tell by the sunshine in her room that it was daytime. She reached automatically for the phone on her nightstand.

"Are you going to text me?"

She jumped at the voice, hearing laughter at her reaction. Jane followed the sound of laughter to the other side of the bed. Maura was laying next to her, and Jane smiled.

"Hi" she whispered.

Maura sat up, placing the back of her hand against Jane's forehead.

"Hi, how are you feeling?"

It took Jane a few tries before she was able to find enough voice to speak.

"I'm okay."

They both laughed at the sound. It sounded like ten years of whisky and cigars.

"You shouldn't talk too much if it hurts."

Jane didn't care.

"You're here?"

Maura nodded and sighed.

"Angela called me yesterday. She was worried about you. Your fever got worse, and she didn't know what to do, which made me worry. So I came home."

"But I'm fine" Jane repeated.

"You are fine now. When I got here last night I seriously considered taking you to the ER."

"But I have-"

Jane had to stop talking because of the pain, and Maura smiled.

"Right, you have me, so why would I need to take you to the hospital?"

Jane smiled shyly and nodded while Maura shook her head in frustration. Finally, she stared down at Jane and smiled.

"You are practically delirious from a fever, and you refuse to go to the ER? You really are bad-ass, detective Rizzoli."

Jane raised her eye brows and pretended to be shocked.

"Dr. Isles" she gasped and placed a hand on her chest.

"Was that a joke?!"

Maura smiled at the exaggerated look on Jane's face. She was pleased with her effort.

[I want you to burn my bridges down]