Author's note: thank you again for all the reviews, I really appreciate them and hope the story isn't too dark and/or sad (don't be worried, it won't last)
Chapter three:
On Northern Avenue
December, 12th
The brouhaha of The One Division Cafe in the background rocked her peacefully as she looked at the snow flakes twirling outside in the street. Mug of tea in hand, Maura was leaned against the window. Up on her feet, ready to go back downstairs to her office. She allowed herself a few minutes of break everyday if only to see the light of the day. The neon of the morgue dragged her down, especially on a cold – dark – winter like the one they were having. If she enjoyed the quietness of the place, at times a urge she could barely contain pushed her towards life again and she went upstairs. There, she observed the activity of the coffee shop and nourished herself of its vitality. Discreetly.
"Maura? Maura Isles?"
The voice – vaguely familiar – wrapped her up of an odd feeling and as she turned around to face her interlocutor, the medical examiner knew beforehand who was standing there; against all expectations.
"Sophia... What a surprise! What are you doing here?"
Maura's enthusiasm didn't sound fake yet slightly forced, trying desperately to hide her discomfort. She hated it when her private life decided to get mixed with her professional one. There were things nobody was supposed to know at the BPD. A few details that her colleagues should have been ignoring.
"I was stopping by Boston for work and this is the first coffee place I found on my way. I am going to assume that you work at the BPD, now."
The honey blonde nodded as a warm smile slid on her lips. Out of a subconscious curiosity, her hazel eyes looked down at Sophia's hand. The woman was wearing a wedding band.
"I do and... Oh my god, you are pregnant!"
Sophia's stomach had been hidden by a large scarf until then but as she leaned against a chair, the piece of wool moved away to reveal her curves. Maura's comment got welcomed by a frank laugh; one even time hadn't managed to erase completely. All of a sudden, a thousand memories invaded the scientist's mind. She swallowed hard.
"It is our third... And my first. Until now, Grace carried them. We decided to change the "rules" this time around. It is a boy. Due in March."
Grace. Maura hadn't dared to ask. Grace and Sophia. Fifteen years later and they had a family, now. They had it all when the blonde had been left with nothing in the end.
"How about you? Do you have children? Are you married?"
Maura opened her mouth to reply – to use these words she had learned by heart through the years – but a well-known voice stopped her in her tracks. Jane had obviously approached without nobody noticing it.
"Excuse-me to interrupt you but Maura... We've been trying to call you for ten minutes already. We got a call in the Seaport District. We gotta go."
…
Leaned against the large windows of The Institute of Contemporary Art – arms crossed on her chest – Maura stared blankly at Boston harbor, its gray waters coldly inviting on such a snowy day. She didn't come very often to the museum but every time she did, the panorama ended up hypnotizing her and she could spend hours looking at Fan Pier behind the glass of the four-story modern building.
"Maura?"
The call of her name made her jump of surprise. Jane was standing in her back, her latex gloves still on.
"Are you alright?"
In an attempt of mimicking her friend's posture, the detective came closer to the window and looked at the boats floating in the distance. Soon, the sun would disappear and it would be too dark to enjoy the landscape from there.
"I have scheduled the autopsy for tomorrow morning, 9am. The body has been transferred already. Are you done as well?"
Because of the weather conditions, they had driven to the Seaport District together and patiently Maura had waited for Jane to finish her job on the crime scene. The end of the day was near, the scientist did not need to go back to her office. At last the glass of wine by the fireplace she had been longing for all day long seemed close enough for her to now relax.
"Yes, we are. How about I drop you at your place – go pick up Jo Friday – and come back for dinner? Unless you have other plans, of course."
She might have not been saying so but Jane was suffering from Casey's absence. Maura knew it, deep inside even though it hurt. The brunette had been avoiding evenings alone at her place for quite a while now. Not that the scientist felt like complaining. On the contrary.
The reasons weren't the ones she wished for, the result was still alike and if only for a few hours Jane was by her side. Nobody else. A cruel game of appearances and lies. But what to expect from a friend whose feelings had nothing to do with the ones consuming her own heart?
"This sounds good to me. Will you spend the night over? If I leave my Prius at the BPD, I'll need you to drive me back there tomorrow morning."
Jane nodded enthusiastically before grabbing her friend by the arm to lead her back to the entrance of the museum. Surprisingly enough, she hadn't asked a thing about Sophia during the journey downtown. Instead, she had remained focused on the road – alluding to the crime scene they had been about to see – and that was it. She had left her usual curiosity behind for Maura's highest relief. What would have she said if asked to introduce Sophia properly?
I lost everything to this woman, once. Just the way I am losing it back to you right now.
They left the museum and Northern Avenue behind in the same odd silence that had wrapped them up for a large part of the day. Only when they arrived on Beacon Hill did Jane finally talk again. As she stopped the car in front of her friend's townhouse, she turned her face around and locked her eyes with Maura's. Intensely. Seriously.
"Don't take it bad but you look a bit off, today. You would tell me if something was wrong, right?"
Jane might not be in love with her, she still cared about her well being and that was a detail that Maura considered as a luck in itself. Her parents lived on another continent – she didn't have relatives around – and if it weren't for the brunette, her lonely life would have looked even more awkward. The question warmed up her heart and within a second, a bright smile lit up her hazel eyes. A nod accompanying it.
"I am doing just fine. I swear I am."
But as if her answer weren't enough, Maura bent over to plant a soft – delicate – kiss on Jane's cheek. It was a completely unusual gesture from her part but the detective didn't look surprised nor shocked. Or at least she didn't show it.
"Okay... I'll be right back."
She forced herself to enter the house and not wait for the Subaru to disappear at the end of the street. It would have sounded stupid to say the least and in spite of all, Maura knew better than that.
She took her boots off in the lobby – abandoned her bag by the door – and walked towards the kitchen on her tiptoes only to squat down by Bass. With tenderness, she caressed the tortoise and smiled at the pet.
"Guess who is coming tonight..."
