Chapter Three

With bravado pulsing through her being, Jane Rizzoli grabbed Maura by the hand and dragged her through the door.

She wandered around, looking for anything that would give her a clue. Maura took a seat on the couch. Sitting upright, her leg crossed over the other, she watched the tall detective as she stomped in movement only. There was no sound from her steps.

"What the…" Jane said, causing Maura to turn herself. The door had gone. When they both turned back around, they almost jumped out of their skins. A man stood there.

"Hello," he said with a smile. "I see you found your way."

"Where are we? Who are you? What's going on?" Jane threw questions at him before he had a chance to answer the previous. He continued to smile, and it annoyed her even more. "Look, what the hell's happening here?

"I can assure you, Ms Rizzoli, that Hell is definitely not happening here." He chuckled at his own little joke. Her glare brought a halt to his comedic talents. "Okay, well I believe here is what is commonly known as The Pearly Gates."

Jane looked around him and then at Maura, who shrugged her shoulders and remained sitting, quietly. There was no point in trying to lead Jane from the path she was set on: discovering where they were and what was happening.

"I don't see any gates," she said, waving her hand around the room. "There are definitely no gates, pearly or otherwise."

"That is true, there has never been."

"Then why..."

"We have no idea…man has a propensity for making things up!" He giggled once more. Maura found herself smiling along; he seemed quite charming. "Anyway, my name's Pete and it's my job to give you the rundown."

"Pete? As in Peter, Saint Peter?"

"Peter, yes, Peter Saint actually, like I said, man makes things up." This time when he smiled, Jane followed. "So, yes you are in Heaven, no you're not dead…"

"But, we're at the Pearly Gates…"

"Well, no, actually this is what you guys call Purgatory…we prefer the waiting room. Only once you go through the next door will you will have passed the…"

"Pearly Gates…" She rolled her eyes at him. "Maura, are you hearing all of this?"

"Yes Jane, I still have my hearing. I seem to have use of everything…"

"Thank you, Maura." Jane turned from her friend back to Pete. "So, okay…you said we're not dead?" He nodded at her, smiling. "So, what are we?"

"Basically, you and the lovely Ms Isles…" He smiled and winked at the doctor, receiving a poke in the ribs from the detective, "Sorry, uh…So, right…basically, you're both in what we call, the Last Chance Saloon."

Maura took the opportunity to stand and move towards them both. She had questions of her own now. "Excuse me." She smiled at Pete and edged past Jane to stand between them. She felt Jane's hand press against the small of her back, felt the warmth of her touch. Which surprised her – not to feel the palm, she felt it often and enjoyed it – what surprised her was that she felt so much more in that one touch. "So, let me see if I have this correct. We, myself and Jane, are not dead, but we're not alive either?"

"That is correct, you're both in limbo. I think that's what you call it down there."

"So, we were blown up by a bomb, but we're not dead? What about Josh? He was with us when it happened."

"Blown up? Maura?" Jane quizzed. She had no recollection of them getting here.

"Yes Jane, just as Josh popped the trunk there was a very small but audible click and, well, then we were here." Pete was nodding.

"That's right, not many people actually remember their transition, Dr Isles." Pete actually clapped, and Maura did a little happy dance.

Jane looked back and forth between the pair. "Anyway, when this little love-in has finished…what do we do now?"

"Oh, well that's pretty simple. You both have a choice to make. You can stay here and go through the next door, where you'll find we have designated you Cloud 42."

"Sorry, Cloud 42?" Jane asked.

"Yes, it's our little joke," he sniggered, "Again, you guys down there have this crazy notion that we all live on clouds up here, so…it's actually very nice little apartment overlooking Omaha." As he spoke, another door, identical to the first, appeared behind him, the number 2 clearly marked on it.

"Not an option…what else?" Jane said.

"Omaha isn't really that appealing I agree, but…"

"No, Maura, just…No." She turned back to Pete and waited for him to continue.

"Then the other option is you return back to Earth to continue living your lives."

Jane threw up her hands. She wasn't sure that they weren't dealing with an idiot here. What was there to even think about!? "Okay, so let's do that then…"

"Wait," Maura stepped in. "If we were to go back, we'd be blown up?"

"No, you'll return exactly where you were, but you will find a body inside the trunk."

"Right, so let's go… come on," Jane urged.

Maura was squinting, the cogs inside her brain turning and coming up with another question. "Whose body?"

Pete smiled sadly. "You'll find the body of your lab technician, Joshua Benson."

"So, Josh will die either way?" Jane asked, her eagerness to leave softening at the news that regardless of what they chose to do, Josh would still die. She didn't know him well, he was new, but still, nobody wanted to see someone else lose their life. That was what they went to work each day to fight against.

"I am afraid so, it's his time, but you on the other hand…both of you have the opportunity to make a change."

"What kind of change?" Jane squinted at him, her detective skills identifying when she was about to be outsmarted.

"It's quite simple and well, I think both of you will get a little kick out of it." He giggled; they didn't. "Well, the boss woman, she wants—"

"Boss woman?" Maura asked.

"Uh yeah, oh, of course, man believes God is a man," he air quoted, sniggering some more. "She's not, but she does get a teeny bit peeved about it so, we don't mention it too often…otherwise, well she gets angry and you guys end up with an earthquake or…anyway, so she has been watching you both and quite frankly, she thinks you're both idiots."

"Excuse me?" Jane roared, taking a step forwards. Maura reached out a hand and, in an instant, her anger subsided. Pete smiled at the pair of them. The boss woman was right, they were idiots.

"If you go back, there is one condition. You both have to fall in love…"

"I am not getting back with Casey…"

"…with each other."