Chap. 4

In the weeks that followed, I began to see more and more of Jane, which was logical given that she had now returned from her medical leave. At first, it was fairly casual with us passing in the hallway, or saying a quick hello as I delivered some lab results to the detectives in the bullpen. We hadn't spent much time together, and so far she hadn't initiated any more interactions between us.

It didn't take long for Jane and I to be assigned to a case together. Honestly, I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was glad that it was no longer Detective Crowe working alongside me. His bad attitude, sexist remarks, and poor attention to detail were not helpful to workplace morale, and certainly reflected poorly on his skills as a detective. Since our interaction in my office a few weeks ago, I had surreptitiously asked around a bit about Jane, hoping to know a little bit more about her. The majority of what I heard was positive, so I was genuinely looking forward to being assigned to a case with her.

One night my phone went off as I was finishing up an autopsy in the morgue. I took off my latex gloves and pushed the "accept" button and put the phone to my ear.

"This is Doctor Isles."

"Oh hey Maura, its Jane. Hey, we gotta case…you in?"

"Sure Jane. I have a few things to finish up here in the morgue, but I will meet you there shortly. Text me the location."

"Gotcha. Will do. See you in a while."

I pulled up to the crime scene close to an hour later. I had changed out of my scrubs before heading to the crime scene, and was wearing a grey skirt, one of my favorite tops, and a pair of Jimmy Choos. Grabbing my things out of the trunk of my car, I scanned the wooded area and saw Jane, Detective Korsak, and Detective Frost gathered down towards a small stream about 50 yards away. I slipped under the yellow crime scene tape and made my way towards them.

"Good evening Detectives. What have we got?" I greeted them enthusiastically. I noticed Jane look me up and down, apparently appraising my outfit, then exchange a look with Detective Frost. Slipping on a pair of latex gloves, I crouched down to get a better look at the suspect. Jane crouched down as well and began to give me a rundown of the situation.

"Male victim, ID found nearby indicates he was-"

"Detective Rizzoli, what are you doing?" -I cut her off irritably – "You need to back up or we risk compromising the crime scene!"

Jane looked at me quizzically, then slowly stood up and backed up slightly. "Oh, uh, sorry Maura, but you know this isn't my first rodeo right?"

"Of course I know that Jane, but we haven't worked together before and I always strive to make sure we get as much forensic evidence from the crime scene and we can't take a chance by getting careless." I replied passionately.

"Alright, I get it. Calm down" Jane whispered fiercely. She put her hands – which I noticed were bandage free – on her hips, and let out a sigh of frustration. "As I was saying, male victim, ID found nearby indicates he was Randy Gerson, age 42. Looks like he was killed by a gunshot to the head."

I looked up at her, annoyed that she was already jumping to conclusions when I hadn't even had a chance to examine the body. Poking around a bit, I rolled the victim over to look at the back of his head, where the "alleged" gunshot wound was. Detective Frost, who had gone to sweep the area for more evidence, returned with an evidence bag in his hand. He gagged as he looked at the body again, and obviously exerting effort not to vomit, handed the bag to Jane before turning around and putting a hand to his mouth.

"Found this hanging off a branch a ways away" – he reported – "It looks like some fabric or material, but it looks like there is blood on it. It could be the killer's blood, we should run it for DNA."

Jane dropped back down to where I was still examining the body and handed me the evidence bag. "What to you think Maura? Blood, right? Should I pass this along to the crime lab for DNA testing?"

I took the bag and looked at the piece of fabric. "Jane, while I do note the presence of a reddish-brown stain on this material, I cannot confirm the presence of blood, and we should turn this over to the crime lab for more testing."

Jane was decidedly annoyed at this point, and groaned loudly before standing up and walking back towards the cars. "Jesus Maura, are you always like this?"

I decided not to dignify her question with a response, and after examining the body further for a few minutes, told the others on my team to transport the body to the morgue so I could begin the autopsy in the morning. Taking off my gloves, I straightened up and moved back up the gentle slope towards our cars.

Detective Korsak and Detective Frost must have left to return to headquarters, as Jane was sitting in her car rubbing her hands and still looked a little bit irritated. I leaned down to speak to her through the window.

"The victim is being transported back to the morgue. I plan on a full autopsy tomorrow. You are free to join me if you like for the autopsy. While I can't officially confirm his cause of death as a gunshot to the back of his head, I can say that his injuries are consistent with such a scenario."

"Thanks Captain Obvious" she replied sarcastically "A blind man could have told us that…"

I frowned a bit then looked at Jane.

"Jane, did I do something wrong? Have I upset you?"

"No….I mean yes, oh, I don't know" –she breathed out – "You and I obviously have two different styles when it comes to crime scenes, and I guess I don't know what I was expecting, but I do know what I am doing , and I am a damn good detective!" she finished passionately.

"Oh. I am sorry you feel that way. Yes. I would agree that you and I have different styles when it comes to crime scenes, but that is why you are a detective and I am a Medical Examiner. I rely on science, data, and evidence to do my job, and I was simply stating my concern that we didn't ruin the source of evidence. I didn't mean to insinuate that you are not a good detective. From what I hear, you are one of the best at BPD."

Jane looked down at her hands, which were lying in her lap. She took a deep breath and asked, "Hey Maura, you wanna get a drink at the Dirty Robber?" Her eyes rose to meet mine.

Although her question seemed a little out of place and took me a little by surprise, I had to admit that the idea of getting a drink with a colleague sounded like fun. I spent most evenings at home by myself, so getting out for a bit was quite appealing.

"Yes Jane, I would love to get a drink with you. Let me just take these samples back to the lab, then I can meet you at this Dirty Robber place."

Jane smiled and turned the key in the ignition. "Sure thing Maura. I will see you there in a bit." She put the car in gear and pulled off the shoulder onto the road and drove away.

Back at headquarters, I was able to log in the evidence and sign for the body in record time. I freshened up a bit in my office and headed to the Dirty Robber. I was familiar with the establishment, which was often frequented by police officers as well as the crime lab staff, even though I had never been there myself. I pushed open the door and looked around, scanning the room for Jane. I was able to find her, and she put a hand up and waved me over to the booth she was occupying.

Jane had one empty beer bottle in front of her, and was looking pretty relaxed. I realized I had never seen her outside of work, and the relaxation looked good on her. She smiled at me and motioned for me to sit down.

"Hey Jane. Thanks for inviting me out" I said as I settled down across from her.

"Hey yourself" she replied casually "What are you drinking Dr. Isles?"

"Wine…I will have some white wine please." I doubted that a bar such as this one would offer the types of wine I preferred, but the other option was beer, and I harbored a strong dislike for beer. Wine seemed like the best choice.

Jane motioned for the waitress to come over and she ordered another beer for herself along with my wine. She told the waitress to just put it on her tab, which led me to believe that Jane was a frequent patron here at the bar. We sat for a few minutes waiting for our drinks to arrive while Jane played with the bowl of peanuts on our table.

When our drinks finally arrived, Jane took a long pull from her beer then looked at me. "So, Maura, tell me about yourself."

Her question seemed quite bold, and for a minute I tried to formulate a response, before realizing I needed her to clarify her question.

"What do you mean Jane? What do you want to know?"

"Oh just the basics…where you grew up, your family, how you became a medical examiner…you know, tell me about yourself." She replied as if her question was obvious. "I mean, you know a little bit about me…and you have seen me cry, so I figured it was time to find about who Dr. Maura Isles is." She took another sip of her beer and settled into the booth a bit more.

"Well, I was born in Boston. I was adopted after birth, and spent the first part of my life here in Boston. When I was eight, my parents sent me to boarding school in Europe, where I finished my primary and secondary schooling. After I graduated high school, I came back to Boston for college and attended BCU. Then I did medical school at Harvard Med, and worked for a few years in Western Massachusetts as an assistant Medical Examiner, before landing the job here at BPD. So that's pretty much it" I finished lamely.

"Do you have any siblings?" Jane threw out another question.

"No. Only child. How about you?"

"Unfortunately yes. I am the oldest, but have two younger brothers. They can be a wicked pain in the ass, but when it comes down to it, I love the idiots. Frankie actually works as a patrol officer at BPD too. Tommy…well Tommy has made some totally crap decisions and is in the slammer for the time being. It tears my Ma up, but she is proud of me and Frankie."

We nursed our drinks for a bit, before Jane posed another question.

"You dating anyone? Married? Single?"

"Not dating at the moment, definitely single. My track record with men is not the best. I tend to find myself diagnosing them with an assortment of maladies when we are on dates." I laughed in spite of myself. "I just can't help myself it seems…"

Jane laughed loudly. "Well, honestly that makes me feel better about my crappy love life. Or…lack of love life. I think my Ma is gonna burst if I don't get married and pop out some baby Rizzolis in the next few years" she added. "I swear, that woman has a one-track mind when it comes to grandbabies."

I laughed too, and was hit with a pang of jealousy. My mother and I never had a close relationship, and hearing Jane talk about her family made me wish that I had siblings and a mother who would fuss over me to give her grandchildren. I must have outwardly indicated my distress, because Jane's hand suddenly reached across the table and covered mine. The scar on her palm felt rough on the back of my hand.

Looking up, her eyes focused intensely on mine. "Maura, what's wrong? Did I say something wrong?" There was concern etched all over her face.

"No Jane, you didn't say anything wrong. It's just, hearing you talk about your family made me think about mine, and how cold and distant my parents were with me. I spent most of my childhood and early adult years alone, and sometimes I feel as though I am destined to spend my adult years alone too." I found myself surprisingly emotional as I admitted my fear to Jane.

Jane squeezed my hand tighter and tipped my chin up with her other hand, while leaning in closer towards me. Those deep brown eyes never failed to hold my gaze, and I could see the intensity in them as she spoke.

"Maura, I know that we are still getting to know each other, but I already know that you are an extremely intelligent woman who is incredibly competent and successful in her chosen field. And I can also say that you are a gorgeous woman, and some day, whoever you find yourself settling down with will be absolutely the luckiest person on the face of the earth."

I could see the blushing creeping across Jane's cheeks as she spoke those words passionately to me, and all at once I was acutely aware of my senses. I could feel the warmth of her hand covering mine, and could see those brown eyes staring back at me. There was a faint smell of lavender in the air, and I couldn't help but wonder if Jane smelled like lavender. The taste of the wine lingered in my mouth, and the background noise of the bar seemed to fade out, as my eyes remained locked on hers.

A crash and the sound of broken glass snapped us out of our reverie. Jane quickly pulled her hand away and I was sad to feel the loss of contact. She quickly drained the rest of her beer and grabbed her jacket off the hook at the end of the booth.

"Hey it's late. I should go" She looked at me, obviously unsure of how to act after we had shared that intense moment.

I cleared my throat. "Yeah it is late. Thanks for the drink and for inviting me out. I don't do much outside of work so it is nice to be able to interact with colleagues outside of work" I admitted.

Jane frowned "Ugh, colleagues…that word sounds so snobby. How about we consider each other friends Maura?"

I had never really had friends before, so having someone deem themself my friend sounded pretty good to me.

"Yes Jane. I would love to be considered a friend. I am going to start the autopsy at 9am tomorrow if you would like to join."

"Sounds good Maura. I have to start some paperwork on this new case first thing tomorrow, but I should be able to stop down mid-morning to check on things. Ok, gotta run, my bed is calling my name."

"Bye Jane, see you in the morning."

I stayed behind for a few minutes and finished up my wine. I mulled over the day's events in my head and replayed our conversation about families and being alone over as well. While it was clear that Jane and I come from very different backgrounds, and do things very differently at crime scenes, I was glad to have someone like her in my life. We had both been able to comfort the other in vulnerable moments, and I could already tell that she would be someone who I could confide in if I never needed to. I was truly glad to have a friend.

A/N - Thanks to those of you who have been reading and following and posting such encouraging comments. Still getting the hang of things here, but stick with me and we should be getting to the Rizzles soon!