A/N: Yes, I know it's been a month…college is stressful. But I'm back! …ish. This chapter is kind of short, but necessary. I hope you're all still sticking with me! Huge thanks to Interp86, jkarr, Bookworm030, freezingren, and muderocksmyworld for the reviews on chapter 3. I love hearing what you guys think!
It had been fifteen minutes, and Nora still wasn't back from the bathroom. She had excused herself from the little gathering in the autopsy room almost as soon as the necessary why-your-cousin-knows-me explanations were complete and awkwardness had settled in. Maura had half-heartedly returned to showing Anne more autopsy instruments, and the student had an air of hesitancy about her as she followed the pathologist around. Both glanced at the door every time Jane, who was poking around by the sink, moved.
"Okay, this is getting ridiculous," the detective finally declared, twisting to face her cousin and friend. "Somebody has to go check on her."
Anne and Maura exchanged a look. Almost a full minute of silence passed among them, with all three women staring at each other, before Jane rolled her eyes and moved towards the exit. "Well, don't everybody jump at once, how are we possibly going to decide?"
"No, wait, Jane." Maura hurried over and placed a hand on her friend's arm to stop her. "I should go. She's my cousin, and my responsibility."
Jane sighed, sounding exasperated. "Maura, no offense, but if this is an emotional thing, you aren't really that good at dealing with people and these kinds of situations."
The ME frowned in surprise. "Offense taken! What do you mean I'm not good in situations like this?"
"Well, your head seems to get in the way. Not that intelligence is bad, but when dealing with people's emotions, you have to be able to shut down Maurapedia."
Maura tilted her head thoughtfully. "You know that shutting down one's mind is impossible, Jane. The saying 'I think, therefore I am', while curt in description, proves that thought is necessary for survival—"
"Okay, this is what I was talking about," Jane interrupted with a wave of her hand, and started to push open the double doors.
"Hold on, Jane…" The younger Rizzoli approached her cousin, rubbing her neck uncertainly. "I should probably go. I mean, I'm her best friend, and she's—she's my…"
Anne gestured vaguely, clearly at a loss for words, and Jane grabbed her forearms to steer her away. "No, Annie." Jane kept her voice soft in hopes to not also offend her cousin. "I have a feeling that her hiding may have something to do with you. Just stay with Dr. Isles and I'll try to figure out what's wrong, okay?"
Anne looked away and nodded. Jane rubbed the girl's arms gently and turned back towards the door. "Back in a few."
Nora wasn't in the basement's ladies room. Undeterred, Jane took the elevator up to the first floor and checked the bathroom off of the BPD's café…still no Nora. The detective made her way to the counter, biting her lip anxiously.
"Ma, have you seen Nora anywhere?"
"Not since she came in with Dr. Isles this morning," Angela replied, handing a pastry to an officer standing by the cash register. "Why, is something wrong?"
"No, Ma, everything's fine. I've got it under control." Jane started out of the café, but a thought occurred to her and she spun on her heel. "Hey, who did Frankie bring to work today? I haven't seen him yet."
The elder Rizzoli glanced up from making a sandwich. "Me."
Jane frowned. "He brought you to Bring Your Family To Work Day? You already work here, Ma."
Angela shrugged. "I was having car trouble, and Cavanaugh never said there was anything wrong with bringing someone who already worked here."
With a scoff, Jane turned back around and stalked out of the café. "Cheaters."
"I heard that!"
Back into the elevator, and up to the second floor: no Nora by Internal Affairs. Jane didn't bother checking near SORI—that department gave her the creeps—and took the stairs two at a time up to Homicide. She was beginning to worry that the young Isles had left the building completely when she heard a shuffling from within the ladies room. Without hesitation, Jane pushed open the door and stepped inside. The bathroom was small, with only two stalls and one sink, and the detective maneuvered herself so she could stop anybody else from trying to get in. "Nora?"
There was a large sniff from the handicapped stall, and Jane leaned down to see two feet curled up next to half a torso; she was sitting on the floor. Something gave a lurch in Jane's chest as the detective moved towards the stall. "Nora is that you?"
The feet shuffled. Then a strained voice said, "Yeah…yeah, hi, Jane."
Jane pressed her palm to the door. It was locked. "Sweetie, can you unlock the door?"
There was a brief pause. Jane heard another shuffle, the lock click, and the door swung open to reveal a very small-looking Nora Isles, curled up on the floor with her back against the wall, tears streaking her cheeks. The girl pushed her somewhat disheveled hair back from her face and offered Jane a sad, guilty smile. "I'm sorry…I shouldn't have stayed away this long."
Jane's eyes went wide. What? "What?" she asked aloud, bewilderment etched across her face.
Nora dropped her chin and shook her head. "I shouldn't have made you guys worry about me…you don't need to see me like this." With a very shaky sigh and another strained smile, the girl's watery gaze met Jane's. "I'm sorry."
If there was one thing in the world that Jane Rizzoli would never pride herself on, and probably deny her possession of it to her dying breath, it was maternal instinct. But as she heard a very vulnerable Nora Isles apologize for being upset, something stirred violently in her heart and the detective sank to her knees, reaching for the younger girl. "No, no, baby"—the term of endearment slipped easily from her lips and didn't feel wrong at all—"you have every right to feel this way, no matter what caused it."
Nora didn't resist being tucked into Jane's side and her fingers curled around a fold in the detective's jacket. "Jane…"
She trailed off weakly, and Jane pulled the girl close. "Oh, sweetie, please tell me what's making you this upset."
A silence fell. Jane wondered if she should just bite her tongue and tell Nora she didn't have to say anything. But then the girl spoke up, almost in a whisper.
"What are you and Maura like, when you're together?"
Jane paused, puzzled by the question. "I…I don't know. We talk, I guess. We…well, we live our lives together. My ma is in her guest house, so we eat a lot of meals together, and we work together, so…our lives just kind of melded." The detective began to rub Nora's arm in a comforting way when she felt the girl shaking. "Even if Ma didn't live with her and we weren't coworkers, I'm sure nothing would change that much. We'd work it out, because that's what best friends do."
"Oh, why can't Anne and I be that way?" Nora let out a sob and released Jane's jacket to slap a hand over her own mouth. "What is wrong with us? You just described everything that true best friends should be, and we aren't any of those things!"
Jane rested her chin on top of the young Isles' head, allowing the girl to bury her face into her neck. "Sweetie, why don't you tell me what's really going on between you and my cousin?"
"I can't…" Nora's voice was muffled against Jane's shoulder.
"Well, why not? I won't tell."
No answer. Jane waited a few more seconds and then very gently pushed Nora away so the girl was seated right in front of her. "Nora, I know that…you know, you're still at the age where every little problem you have in your life seems like the end of the world, but you have to trust me when I say it's not."
Something darkened in Nora's expression and she turned her eyes to meet Jane's. "You…you think I'm just being dramatic."
Whatever comforting smile the detective had on her face dropped clear off and was replaced by startled confusion. "Nora…"
"Jane, this problem has been two and a half years in the making. I…I…"
Nora's voice caught and her gaze darted around, like she was getting ready to make a run for it. Jane noticed this, and quickly reached out to her again. "No, honey, I'm sorry. I know you're hurt. Please…" Carefully, Jane wiped the dried tears off Nora's face and held it still. "I'm sorry. Will you please tell me what's going on? I promise, I won't make any more assumptions."
Nora bit her lip and looked down. Jane ducked her head under and tried to meet her gaze. "Please."
"You're going to hate me."
"Never," Jane whispered. Her mind was spinning—this whole maternal instinct thing was stressful. How did other women do this all the time?
The young Isles slowly lifted her hands and drew the detective's away from her face.
"Jane…I'm in love with your cousin, and she has no idea."