A/N: Got a wee bit carried away with this one... sorry. BUT! BUT! BUT! I know you'll like it, so... -From R, with love ;)
Jane rolled over and looked at the window. It was raining. Again. Four days straight of waking up to nothing but dark clouds and damp sidewalks really was making it hard for Jane to peel herself from her bedsheets. If anything could put a damper on the brunette's day, it was this.
Since there was no chance of getting in her early morning five mile jog, Jane went straight to the shower. Stepping in, she thought about how depressing Chicago looked when it rained, and wondered that she could do on a day like today. It was Saturday, so she had no classes at the academy, and on a rainy day like today, she wasn't completely ready to go shoot hoops in the park with Frankie.
C'mon, Rizzoli, She thought. What did you do on days like this in the past?
Well, She answered herself, Maura and I would stay in bed until one of us… okay, until I was too hungry to keep lying there, and then we would go out for breakfast or lunch- or brunch- and when we would walk from the car to the restaurant, she would run as fast as she could in her black stilettos. God, she amazed me when she ran in those suckers. And nothing was more adorable than seeing her hair bouncing around and seeing the water droplets cling to her eyelashes. Oh, she was the most beautiful girl around. I loved her so much. I still love her.
And with that last thought lingering in her mind, Jane decided on what she was going to do with her rainy day off.
Once she finished her shower, Jane stepped out and wrapped herself in her dark blue robe and sat down at her table. Not bothering to spend time getting dressed, she reached for the phone book and her cell phone. After searching for five minutes, Jane the brunette finally found the number she was looking for, and tossing her hair over her shoulder, she dialed the number.
"Hello! Sarah's Flour Boutique. My name is Riley, how may I help you?" An entirely too pleased, yet also very recognizable voice answered.
"Cooper?" Jane asked, shocked.
"Yes, Riley Cooper. May I ask who this is?" The confusion in her voice obvious as she tried to think of what woman she knew who possessed such a deep, smokey voice.
"Jane. Jane Rizzoli."
"Jane Rizzoli, huh?" She paused. "Who ya buying flowers for, Jane?"
"Ummm…" Jane tried to think of an excuse that she could tell her ex-girlfriend turned friend that wouldn't make Riley tease her for the rest of her life.
"Got a new girl, Janie?" She asked with fake seduction, ending with a slight chuckle.
"You know, I think I should be asking you the questions here, Ri. Since when do you work in a 'flower boutique'?"
"Shut up, Rizzoli. I gotta pay for the academy somehow," She shot back. "Could you hold on a sec, Jane?"
In the background Jane heard someone yelling at Riley, then an exasperated sigh, and Riley was back on the phone.
"You're getting me in trouble with the boss, Rizzoli-" The was a pause, another sigh, and then Riley continued, "I mean, you're getting me in trouble with the boss, Ma'am. May I take your order now?"
"Do you have a piece of paper on hand, Ri?" Jane asked.
"No, but I have a memory like a steel trap, Rizzoli."
"Well, you might need a-"
"Jesus, Jane. Yes I have a piece of paper. I also have a pen, just in case you were wondering."
"Okay, I just want to make sure everything is perfect. This girl knows her flowers and I don't want your 'mind like a steel trap' sending her the wrong flowers, okay?"
"Okay," Riley complied. "Now, what would you like, Ma'am."
"This is going to be a sort of big order, okay?" Jane paused, waiting for an answer, but when none came she asked again, "Okay?"
"Okay, Riz. I got it. Big order, has to be perfect. Have some faith, girl. Gosh." Riley teasingly sighed.
"Okay, but I'm warning you, this is going to be huge."
"Just get to the order, Jane!"
"So... I'd like to start with five dozen red roses and five dozen yellow roses with a red tip. Then three dozen lavender roses. Next two dozen yellow roses. I want each dozen in separate vases."
"Rizzoli! That's fifteen vases!" Riley said, shocked.
"I have something more I want to add to that, too, but we can discuss that in a minute." Jane said, ignoring her friend's shock.
"Where are you having these all delivered to, Jane?" Riley questioned.
"Boston."
Doctor Maura Isles walked into the Boston Precinct, her stilettos creating the familiar click-click on the floor, letting everyone know of her arrival. But on this particular morning, instead of wearing the usual smile that everyone had come to expect from the doctor, Maura Isles walked through the crowded lobby almost with a frown on her face. The last week had really given her some things to think about.
Coming to a stop in front of the elevators, the honey blonde waited patiently for the doors to slide open. When they finally did, Maura came face-to-face with Vincent Korsak.
"Hey, Doctor Isles," He said, flashing a smile.
"Good morning, Vincent," Maura replied, plastering a fake smile of her own upon her face.
Noticing the smile was fake, he questioned the doctor, "You okay, Doc?"
"Just a lot to think about," She replied, honestly.
"I heard about your dad, Doctor Isles, and-"
Maura cut him off, "Please, call me Maura."
"Well, Maura, I just want you to know I'm a great listener if you ever want to talk," He said, another smile crossing his face. This time, though, the smile was out of sadness.
"Thank you, Vincent. That's very sweet." She said, giving a polite nod before stepping into the elevator.
"Oh, and Doc," Korsak said, catching her attention once again. "I have a feeling your day is going to get better when you get down to the morgue."
The elevator doors closed, leaving Maura alone with her thoughts. What a strange thing to say...
Minutes later, Maura stepped of the elevator and into the morgue. She looked over at the empty autopsy table and thought of the all the bodies she would have to see cross that table. How many of them were fathers? Mothers? Siblings?
Shaking the thoughts from her head, Maura pulled her keys out of her designer handbag and slid them into the lock on her office door. Stepping inside, she reached for the lights, and flicking them on, she saw what Detective Korsak had been referring to.
Dropping her keys, as well as her jaw, Maura walked over one of the vases and pulled a flower out. She brought it up to her nose and sniffed, taking in the scent of not only one, but dozens of roses.
"Oh, my."
Maura turned around and saw her lab assistant, Susie, standing in the doorway.
"Doctor Isles, these are…." She stopped, speechless.
"Beautiful. Absolutely, breathtakingly, beautiful." Maura filled in the blank.
"I hope you don't mind that I signed the form to have them drop these off in your office. I had no idea what the men were bringing in, but they said it was fragile and that it would only take about five minutes."
"No, Susie. It's perfectly fine, but surely, these aren't all for me?" Maura questioned.
"I'm afraid so, Doctor Isles. Are you aware of the meanings of these flowers?" Susie asked, astonished at how much thought someone had put into all of this.
"I'm well aware. The red is for love, beauty, courage and respect. Yellow with a red tip symbolizes falling in love. Lavender is for love at first sight, and enchantment. And plain yellow shows joy, and friendship, and is used to welcome someone back."
"Whoever did this must really love you." Susie said, wistfully.
"They must," Maura replied.
"Do you think it was Jeremy?" The lab assistant questioned eagerly.
Maura paused for a moment while she considered it. He had asked her to marry him just that weekend, and she had told him she'd think about it. Maybe he really was set on marrying her. Maybe he thought wooing her would be the right route. If so, it was working, but Maura couldn't help thinking that this would be too far outside of Jeremy's realm. While he liked showing that he had money, and he loved to surprise her, Maura didn't know if he had it in him to do something this wonderful.
"Anyone is a possibility," She answered.
"Well, who else would it be?"
Before Maura could stop herself, she thought of Jane sitting at home with her laptop, researching flowers, then picking up the phone and calling the nearest florist.
Get real, Maura. A voice in the back of her mind told her, She hasn't tried contacting you since you told her that you needed space. And don't even try to blame that on her. You said you weren't her girl. You ended it.
Another small voice cut in, But I tried to send letters to her. She never replied. Ever. I can't help that she didn't reply. I tried.
"Ummm…. Doctor?" The honey blonde looked up and caught the look of worry in her lab assistant's eyes. "Are you alright?"
"I'm more than alright." Maura said, smiling.
"Well, then. I think I should stop you from having to guess who sent them and tell you to look at the vase sitting on your desk."
Maura looked up to see a separate, skinny vase sitting next to her computer. There was an envelope leaning on the vase, and inside were two roses; One red, one white. "True love and unity..." She whispered under her breath.
"Well, I think I have some sort of job waiting for me to do somewhere. I'll see you later, Doctor, and make sure you hold on tight to whomever sent these. There has to be a million women after him by now," And with that, Susie disappeared around the corner.
Maura slowly walked to her desk, dreading what was in the envelope. What if it were Jane? She smiled at the thought. But what if it were Jeremy? Part of her heart dropped at the thought.
An unsteady hand reached out towards the envelope, and once it was in her grasp, she slowly walked to the leather couch in her office and sat down. She carefully opened the envelope, then closed her eyes as she pulled out the letter.
