"Was there screaming about lesbians just now?"
Maura and Jane pivoted within their seated positions to witness a very bewildered and slightly humored Barry Frost standing before the elevator entrance; his hands situated laxly on his hips while a mischievous smile had unraveled upon his lips. Both women exchanged abashed glances before chuckling sheepishly, and as Frost approached Rizzoli's disheveled desk, he could only jestingly shake his head at the detective and medical coroner.
"Sorry Barry, you caught me at a very stressful moment…" Jane answered with a coy grin, and one of her hands extended upward to weave the fingers through her thick, wavy black strands.
This elicited an eye roll from her partner.
"Man Jane, I always knew you were bipolar, but seriously…" he teased, and just narrowly did he miss Rizzoli's flailing fists.
"Hey, I was only screaming because I made a significant connection!" the detective claimed, and as Frost's caramel eyes veered toward the more creditable doctor for proof, he was astonished to find her nodding adamantly in Jane's favor.
"It's true Barry, Jane did make a very valid comment that has the utmost relevance to the case." Maura stated in a matter-of-factly tone, and feeling very accomplished, Rizzoli flaunted a proud smile toward a stunned Frost.
"Yeah yeah…" the detective mumbled, however, it was spoken with a sincere smirk.
"How screaming about lesbians is significant to a homicide murder, is beyond me."
As diligently as she tried, Maura couldn't subdue the laughter crawling up her windpipe and escaping her lips, and as Frost joined in, Jane casted doctor Isles a treacherous glare.
"You traitor!" The Boston Detective hissed, and rising upward from her chair, she lightly, yet playfully, shoved Maura to emphasize her feigned hurt.
The Medical Coroner simply smiled and shrugged her shoulders, the utmost innocence resonating in her chocolate eyes.
"It was humorous Jane, you know it was." She countered, her eyes following Jane's lithe form walking toward and reaching the coffee maker on the opposite side of the room.
"After all, it's not often you hear detectives screaming about lesbians."
In spite of herself, Rizzoli chuckled under her breath while one hand clasped the coffee pot handle, the other retrieving a cup.
"What can I say? Gay women get me all sorts of hot." Jane responded in a nonchalant tone, which resulted in her two coworkers to explode into laughter behind her.
Eventually, the atmosphere withered back into a clam and tranquil one as Rizzoli reassumed her seat with a fresh brewed coffee in hand; her black, flat tops lazily propped on the desk as Isles could only inwardly snicker at her colleague's lax demeanor. Perhaps a bipolar disorder, as Barry had subtly implied, wouldn't be too ridiculous of a diagnosis for Jane. After all, just minutes ago she'd been shrieking in anger at the cruelty and sadism of their suspect, and now, she was fully relaxed and sipping at her coffee. Oh yes. Without a doubt, Boston Detective Jane Rizzoli was definitely the most interesting specimen that Medical Examiner Maura Isles had ever encountered and befriended.
"Maura, stop analyzing me." Rizzoli demanded sharply, the annoyance in her voice quickly rousing the doctor from her thoughts.
Embarrassed at the prospect that she'd been blatantly staring at her colleague, Isles immediately veered her weary chocolate eyes away from the detective.
"I wasn't analyzing you Jane." Maura retorted, though her tone wasn't as persuasive as it should've been.
"I was just thinking in general."
Her statement had resulted in a scoff from the said person of interest.
"You're a terrible liar M…" Jane muttered, her lips eagerly targeting the cusp of her coffee cup.
Isles shoulders considerably slumped under the context of her colleague's words, a profuse crimson blemishing across the skin of her cheeks. Rizzoli realized this as she proceeded to swallow the sugary liquid in her cup, and once she'd satisfied the need for caffeine, she cradled her cup between the intersection of her legs and kept her gaze intently focused upon the coroner.
"Now, Miss Isles…" Jane drawled, an impish grin coiling her lips as she noticed the nervous snap of Maura's gaze toward her.
"Care to indulge me on what exactly you were analyzing about me?"
Yet, even as Maura's lips parted ever so slightly to explain, the loud hum of footsteps approaching deterred the action. Korsack warily entered the bullpen, a sullenness resonating so radiantly within his cobalt eyes, that it'd appeared as if he'd just been informed of some life threatening altercation.
"Rizzoli, Frost, you've got a guest downstairs in the interrogation room." He thundered, and with confused expression did both summoned detectives quickly rise from their seats.
"What, did you find a suspect?" Jane pried, and any if all hope that had been bubbling with her stomach gradually faded upon the immediate shake of Korsack's head.
"Definitely not a suspect, but an important person nonetheless." Vince answered cryptically, and placing his hands upon Barry's and Jane's shoulders, he began to usher them out of the bullpen.
"Wait!" Maura shouted, attempting with great effort to keep up with the trio in heels.
"What should I do?"
Rizzoli, who'd manage to unhinge herself from Korsack's frantic grasp, pivoted and unceremoniously sprinted back toward her colleague, managing easily to meet her half way.
"Look, the suspect had to make a sloppy get-a-way…" she instructed, her hands tightly clasping Maura's forearms as she steadied herself and retrieved her breath.
"Perhaps he left something behind, like blood, pre-cum, a hair, something! Do some digging. When I'm done, I'll come get you and we'll have a late lunch, okay?"
Yet before the Medical Coroner could even fabricate a response, Jane had already resumed her pace toward the interrogation chambers; leaving the doctors body to slump under the heavy weight of the day's events once more.
"Kasey… she was the light in my life…" a grieved and solemn Evelyn Morgan whispered, her weary and wrinkled hands clasping a portrait of her daughter within her high school graduation robes as she sat quivering across from the two detectives.
"You see, Kasey's father died just two months before she was born. The weather was bad, and Kyle's truck had gone off the road. I…I wouldn't have made it if I hadn't been able to focus all my energy onto raising my daughter. She was all I had…"
Jane blinked away the tears threatening to cloud her auburn eyes as she extended her hand forward, her fingers gently yet firmly squeezing one of Evelyn's.
"Mrs. Morgan, I'm so terribly sorry for your loss." Rizzoli whispered, the immense sincerity within her tone resulting in a weak smile from the elder woman.
"Please believe me when I say that every officer in this office is doing their best to find answers. I will find the person responsible for your daughter's murder."
"Thank you Detective…" Mrs. Morgan responded, and to emphasize her appreciation, she lightly returned the pressure from Jane's hand.
"I just don't understand who would do this to my baby… she was the sweetest girl, so nice to everyone, respectful, courteous. Who could be hateful enough…?"
Rizzoli couldn't formulate a proper response, yet thankfully, Frost could.
"We don't know Mrs. Morgan, but we will find out." Barry stated firmly, his own frame perspiring from the misery that had eloped the room.
"Are you sure that your daughter didn't have problems with anyone? Did she ever complain to you about a friend, boyfriend, or teacher?"
Evelyn adamantly bobbed her head.
"If she ever had problems, it was always about homework, or not sleeping enough. Anything serious would've been discussed with her best friend Kelli Morrison from grade school. They both went to Cambridge together…" she reaffirmed, and while Frost recorded the name on a pad of paper, a vague smile tugged at the corners of her lips.
"She was always working so hard. She didn't want me to ever worry about her schooling, bills, or habits. Kasey was strong…. So strong… she truly was my strength…"
Evelyn erupted into sobs upon the conclusion of her sentence, and Jane and Barry couldn't help but exchange empathetic glances while sorting through their pockets for Kleenex.
"Mrs. Morgan, I promise you, we will find your daughter's killer…" Rizzoli assured her confidently, she being the first to successfully discover a wad of tissues located in her pants pocket before extending them to the grieving woman.
Mrs. Morgan gratefully accepted the gesture as her hand was clasped again by Jane.
"We're gonna let you go now, but I'll leave you with my number in case you need anything. Do you need to be walked to your car?"
The elderly woman shook her head with a smile, her moist eyes gazing at the detectives wearily.
"No, I'll be fine. Thank you darling." She answered, her tone thick with the melancholy clenching her throat.
"The best you can do for me is finding my daughter's killer. That's all I truly want."
Both detectives concurred in agreement to Mrs. Morgan's terms, yet before either could respond to perhaps resolutely pledge their dedication to solving the case, Korsack tumbled into the room.
"Rizzoli, you're needed down in the morgue." He stated gravely, and the grimness vibrating within his voice was enough to rouse Jane from her chair.
"I'm in an interrogation, what's wrong?" she demanded apprehensively, her brow coiling in both confusion and alarm.
Korsack sighed warily as his creased hands fiddled with his tie, a habit, Jane surmised, that unknowingly portrayed the detectives anxiety.
"It's Maura. She collapsed in the lab…" Vince answered, and immediately without the slightest inclination of hesitation, Jane started for the door.
Yet, she stopped and pivoted just before breaching the doors entrance to gaze intently at her partner.
"I apologize Mrs. Morgan, I have to leave. Frost, make sure she gets to her car safely."
And without even hearing his reply, the Boston Detective sprinted toward the elevator that would guide her down to the morgue; her thoughts churning in turmoil of what could've possibly went wrong.
Medical Examiner Maura Isles couldn't exactly describe what it was that happened, and why it even occurred. All she'd been doing was precisely what Jane had requested of her, which was tediously scrutinizing both the evidence and photos from the crime scene to perhaps gather an idea about the identity of their suspect. And then, suddenly, she began to feel horridly dizzy, as well as interpret a distinct, shrill ring echoing within her ears. Immediately, the weary gears beneath her gorgeous complexion detected the symptoms of collapsing due to exhaustion, yet, before she could alert a colleague, her world faded to black; her fingers involuntarily taking her materials with her.
She now awoke upon one of the unused, cold stainless steel examination tables, a very frightened and anxious Jane hovering above her.
"J-Jane…?" Maura whispered hoarsely, her chocolate eyes rapidly blinking in order to adjust to the profound light surrounding her.
Upon hearing her name, The Boston Detective immediately leaned in closer to her colleague, her right hand wove tightly with the doctor's.
"Maura, thank God…" Rizzoli sighed in relief, a faint smile tugging the corners of her lips.
"Are you okay? How're you feeling?"
The coroner groaned as she gradually inclined forward.
"I'm fine… just feeling really groggy…" Isles answered, and the hand that wasn't clasped firmly within Jane's had extended upward to cradle her head.
"I think I collapsed…"
Her words roused a scoff from the detective as her head shook.
"Yes Maura, that's exactly what happened!" Jane thundered, and although she wasn't trying to sound angry, the vulnerability she'd experienced upon being alerted about her friends emergency had left her quite agitated.
"M, I told you that you needed an off day. You're exhausted. You need to go home, eat a lil' bit, and then rest."
Maura had expected Jane's frustration. In fact, the stern drone of her voice hadn't startled her in the least as it normally would. Perhaps it could've been attributed to her fatigued state, or even the fact that Jane Rizzoli was a possessively protective person by nature around those she held closest to her heart. Yet, regardless, despite the absence of a medical license, her colleague had been correct in her assumptions of the doctor needing rest. She'd extinguished herself beyond her formidable limits, both physically and mentally. It truly was time for her to go home and recuperate.
"Okay, fine…" Maura whispered wearily, her head removing itself from the palm of her hand as she gazed resignedly toward Jane.
"I'll go home and rest. But I'll probably need help getting there…"
Rizzoli, pleased that her best friend had finally submitted to her request, smiled happily as she backed away and allowed Maura room to situate herself upon her own two feet.
"Don't worry, I didn't plan on abandoning you." The detective chuckled, and with her grasp still upon Isles hand, she helped support the doctor as she shakily stood.
Though it was difficult, Maura managed a smile back toward her support.
"Thanks Jane… "She mumbled, and just as the two began to move, her knees buckled, legs liquefying into goo.
Fortunately for Maura, the years as a cop had superbly honed Jane's reflexes, and within the blink of an eye had the detective immediately caught the flailing doctor. Sheepishly, Isles moaned in humiliation, crimson flushing her already pale cheeks.
"Sorry Jane, I didn't-"
Her sincere apology turned into a squeal as Rizzoli heaved her exhausted and petite body upward, the musculature of her lean arms holding Maura tightly in place, bridal style.
"Just shut up Maura and go to sleep." Jane teased, and the two immediately began their walk out of lab and toward the elevator.
Man, I am killing these updates! :D
I simply just couldn't help myself though. My addiction with completing this story is becoming quite unhealthy. ;)
It's quite late, and I'm not feeling too well, so unfortunately, I'll have to respond with kudos to reviews on the next update. However, rest assured that every thought is taken into consideration, and I love hearing from every single one you. So this quick update is a sign of my thanks. :)
All my love, and be safe guys. :)