Chapter Three

The walk to the diner was nice. The hot and sticky summer was starting to relinquish its grip. There was a gentle breeze, and it felt as though it was making every person, animal, and plant in the city sigh in relief.

Jane and Maura found Frost and Korsak in the back of the diner. It was the one table that allowed easy viewing of all the patrons and meant that their backs were not toward a door. Jane never sat with her back to a door. It made you vulnerable, and she considered vulnerability to be bad form.

"Hello, Detective Frost. Detective Korsak." Maura extended her hand to the two men, and they almost seemed confused as to what to do with it. They each shook Maura's hand, and Maura and Jane took their seats across from each other.

As the detectives had been to the diner a hundred times they didn't even bother looking at the menu. Maura it seemed was struggling with an internal dilemma.

"Uh, Dr. Isles, are you okay?" Frost looked genuinely concerned and Maura decided in that instant that she liked Jane's partner.

"Oh, yes, thank you for asking. It's just… well… is there anything on the menu that's less than a thousand calories or isn't fried?"

The detectives laughed. Maura did not understand the joke.

Korsak piped up, "I wouldn't worry about it too much, doc. It's good food, and sometimes that's more important."

"Obviously very important from the look of your chiseled physique," Frost murmured to himself sarcastically. Jane laughed. Korsak kicked at Frost under the table but hit Jane instead.

"Ow! Korsak! Dammit!" She was laughing more than grimacing, but Korsak knew he should settle down so that he would not indeed be shot by his former partner.

"Listen, Maura," it was Jane this time who rested her hand on Maura's forearm, "everything's good. Just don't eat it every day and keep up with yoga and you'll be fine. I suggest the chili cheeseburger any day of the week but it's a bit messy and I'm sure you don't want to mess up your beautiful dress. If you want something that resembles a fruit or vegetable then I suggest…" Jane eyed the menu in front of her.

"hmm… I suggest the carrot cake and apple pie." Jane looked at Maura and winked.

Maura realized she was being teased, but when it was accompanied by the smile on Jane's face, she didn't seem to mind.

The waitress came over and took their orders; three chili cheeseburgers, three orders of fries, three cokes and one chicken wrap with sparkling a.k.a. tap water.

The conversation was light and jovial. Maura enjoyed listening to how the detectives in front of her became police officers and then detectives, as well as some of their funnier antics from their time in the academy and on the job.

The lunch hour soon came to an end, though, and the foursome walked back to the precinct. On arriving, Jane asked Maura if she had time to review the case files on the Wallace homicide. Once Maura agreed, they both got on the down elevator.

In the elevator, Jane mused that she had spent more time in the morgue today than she had all year. What's more was the strange feeling that she was actually looking forward to it.

But a third trip was not to be. As the doors were about to close, her phone rang.

"Rizzoli." Jane snapped as she got off the elevator before losing signal, mouthing "I'll be down in a minute" to the doctor she abandoned on the elevator. It was Jane's mother, Angela.

"Janie!" Her mother's voice was almost as raspy as Jane's but had a little more of a squeak to it, especially when she was excited or when she said 'Janie'.

"Hey, Ma." Jane automatically rolled her eyes at hearing the pet name.

"Don't roll your eyes at me Jane Rizzoli. I named you and I can call you Janie if I want."

Jane couldn't stop herself from looking around to see if Angela was watching her. How did she always manage to do that?

"Because I'm a mother and a mother knows when her children are rolling their eyes," Angela responded to the silence.

"That's creepy, ma. Stop it. Why did you call anyway; I'm working a case."

"Don't rush me off the phone, Jane Rizzoli. You're always working a case. It's your job. I just wanted to know if you're coming over for dinner on Sunday."

"Ma, unless I'm on call, I always come over for Sunday dinners. What's up? What's going… wait. Forget 'what', who did you invite to dinner?"

As it turned out, Jane got her intuition from somewhere, and while both Rizzoli women would absolutely hate to be called predictable, they had each other figured out after Jane's 35 years.

"I don't know what you're talking about Jane. Why can't a mother check in with her only daughter to see if she's coming over for dinner? You know how much I love cooking for you and Frankie, two of the city's finest… and… Tommy if he were here…"

Angela's voice trailed off. Full Angela Rizzoli guilt had been laid out. Tommy was in prison and her other two children, Frankie and Jane, were both on the force and therefore always in danger. Consequently Jane and Frankie were not only to be at every Sunday dinner when not working, but also at the mercy of their mother's guilt trips for making her worry so much.

"Nice try, ma. I know you're up to something, but either way I'll be at dinner on Sunday. How long I'm there will depend on who you've invited, but you get the benefit of the doubt for now. I'll call you later, Frost needs me. Love you."

Jane practically hung up on her mother as Frost was of course nowhere near her. She got back on the elevator thoroughly distracted and frustrated. Again. She hit the 3 button and headed back to her desk.

It was 4:45 before Jane realized that she never made it down to the morgue.

Dammit!

Jane picked up the phone and dialed Maura's extension.

"Dr. Isles."

"Hey, it's Jane. I'm so sorry I haven't made it down there yet. My mother called then something came up. I'm really sorry. I don't want to come down now and make you work late so how about I swing down there tomorrow around eleven and then we can go to lunch afterward?"

Frost and Korsak shot each other an arched eyebrow look that said, "Lunch, again? Two days in a row?" Jane didn't even do that with Frost and Korsak. And was that a sense of true remorse in Jane's voice for not coming through on something?

"Oh… it's okay, Jane. I understand. It has been a long day and I am looking forward to getting home to Bass. Eleven tomorrow it is."

When they hung up the phone, Jane couldn't stop herself from wondering, Who the hell is Bass?