Chapter Seven

Jane gave Maura one last reassuring look as she turned the handle to her parents' front door. Maura was simultaneously overwhelmed and comforted by everything that registered with her senses…

First her visual receptors awakened with the activity before her. There were easily thirty people packed into the humble three-bedroom home. Everyone seemed to be moving individually, yet there was definitely cohesion present - Maura would later compare it to a very complicated ballet that she was a part of as a teenager – cohesion and cohabitation that developed over time as the people here learned their part in the beautiful choreography of family.

Next her auditory receptors kicked in as shouts at the Red Sox on the television, gossiping women, and children played all around her. It was loud but not obnoxious.

Her olfactory system had never been so pleased. Maura would quickly need to know what that warm and heavenly scent was that filled her lungs and permeated her core.

She took it all in so quickly that the first coherent thought that registered in her mind was: home.

"Ma! I'm home!" Jane called out to her mother.

"In the kitchen, Janie!"

Jane guided Maura through the small dining room and into the kitchen through a creaking swing door.

"Janie!"

"Hi ma!"

Angela quickly crossed the room and embraced Jane fully as though she hadn't seen her daughter in twenty years. "Jane, did you iron your shirt or just pick it up off the floor where it lay?" Angela was rolling her eyes and raising her arms up exaggeratedly.

"Ma! Be nice; it's just going to get wrinkled anyway."

"Don't you sass me, Jane Rizzoli. What happens if you meet a handsome man and you're looking like that?"

"Really. Thanks, ma. Please stop, you're killing me with compliments; my head's not going to be able to fit through the door."

"Jane, I just want what's best for… oh. Hello."

"Aww, jeeze. Sorry. Ma, this is Dr. Maura Isles; she's the new M.E. for BPD."

"It's so nice to meet you Mrs. Rizzoli." Maura hadn't even blinked before her outstretched hand was crumpled between her and the elder Rizzoli woman. It was the longest and tightest hug she had ever received.

"Welcome, doctor! And call me Angela, ok?" Angela exuded warmth from every pore.

"Thank you. Uh, please call me Maura. This is for you. It's a vintage Pinot Noir. I've heard it pairs excellently with gnocchi, although from the smell that's emitting from your kitchen I dare say it may pale in comparison."

"I like this girl, Janie. Maura, you come over whenever you want to, okay dear? Don't even worry if Jane's here or not…"

As Angela turned to place the bottle of wine on the counter and stir her famous red sauce, Jane leaned over and whispered into Maura's ear, "I thought you said that you were bad at this stuff?" Maura couldn't stop smiling.

"Janie!" The voice that boomed behind Maura and Jane was that of Frank Rizzoli, Jane's father.

"Hi, daddy!" The two embraced.

"Hello, sweetheart… Who's this?"

"Dr. Maura Isles, my father Frank Rizzoli. Dad, Maura is the new M.E. assigned to us."

"Nice to meet you, Maura." Yelling erupted from the living room.

"Oh, gotta go!" Before jetting out with his fresh beer, Frank paused for a second and whispered into Jane's ear, "A doctor, Janie? Good job!" He kissed her cheek and continued running back to the TV and baseball game.

"Daddy!"

"Come help me and your aunts with dinner, Janie, and stop yelling through the house."

Dinner was more than Maura could have ever conjured in her mind. The food was delicious, the atmosphere warm and welcoming. Maura had met all of the people there although she wasn't sure she could remember everyone she met, as it seemed halfway through dinner one set of relatives left only to be replaced by more Rizzolis.

Maura was quite proud of herself. She had been pleasant, asking more questions than spewing facts, and only rambled a little about the origins of pasta, trigonometry's importance in baseball, and a few other inconsequential items.

As more and more people started to filter out however, Angela seemed to be paying attention to the clock more and more. Was she eager to have her home returned to her?

"Ma," Jane approached her mother with the last dirty dish, "I should really get Maura back home. She goes to yoga early every morning and I know she'll need a lot of sleep after all of this stimulation."

"What? You can't leave Jane. Joe hasn't gotten here yet…"

Angela immediately recognized her mistake.

"Ma? Joe? JOE GRANT? Why is Joe Grant coming over and why do I need to stay around for him?"

"Don't yell at me Janie. Frankie was going to bring Joe over after they both finished their shift tonight."

"I'm outta here. Maura? It's time to go."

"Oh, Jane, please don't feel as though you have to rush… I don't want you to miss seeing a friend. It's okay if I miss yoga one morning."

"See, Janie. He should be here any minute…" Angela was slowly trying to place herself between Jane and the front door.

"Ma, are you kidding me? No way. That ass has been an ass since he was seven and I'm not staying here to be reminded of that fact."

Jane grabbed Maura by the arm practically dragging her out of the living room.

"It was so nice to meet you and your family, Mrs… Angela. I look forward to seeing you again soon. Jane!"

Jane was pulling Maura out of the living room and smack into Joe Grant.

"Hello Janie." Joe smiled awkwardly as Jane landed chest to chest, face to face with the officer.

"Goodbye, Joe!"

Jane sped back towards Maura's home.

"I'm sorry about that. I guess the trade off for no naked baby pictures was getting set up with a slime ball."

"Oh, Jane, is he really that bad? He seemed… cute. And I think he likes you… at least he thinks you're attractive; he was staring at your butt when you walked away."

The two women laughed.

"Please do not say that in front of my mother. Ugh. I'm only sorry that you didn't get to meet Frankie. Next time though."

"Next time?"

"Well, yeah. Dinner is every Sunday, so whenever you feel like losing yourself in utter chaos," Jane was chuckling to herself, "just let me know and you've got a seat at the table waiting for you."

Jane seemed to pause in thought for a moment. "And, if you want… you can invite your boyfriend to the next one… if you want…"

Jane was staring ahead, a little too intently on the road.

"Boyfriend?" Maura was thoroughly confused.

"Yeah, Bass is his name, right?"

Maura couldn't help but laugh… a lot. It took her a minute to regain her composure.

"Oh. Eh-hem. I'm sorry Jane, I wasn't laughing at you; it's just that, well, Bass isn't my boyfriend. He's my tortoise. An African Spurred Tortoise to be exact. He was named after William Bass, the forensic anthropologist who founded the University of Tennessee Anthropological Research Facility, more commonly known as the Body Farm as its primary purpose is to study the affects of decomposition on human remains. He is to be credited with many advances that allow me to do my job effectively; as such I thought it only fitting to give him tribute by naming my pet after him."

"You have a pet… turtle?"

"No… mm-mm, a tortoise. While both turtles and tortoises are reptiles, there are key differences. I suppose the most evident is that turtles spend most of their time in the water while tortoises are primarily land dwellers."

"Umm… okay but still, a reptile for a pet? You know what, never mind." Jane pulled into Maura's driveway.

"Thanks for coming tonight, Maura. I hope you had a good time."

"I did, Jane. Your family is wonderful."

The two women lingered for a moment looking into each other's eyes.

"Well, I should go get some sleep. Yoga is bright and early."

"Yeah, yeah of course. I'll see you tomorrow."

Maura placed her hand on top of Jane's. "Tomorrow." She gave Jane's hand a squeeze.

Author's Note: I try to do research here and there to make sure that facts presented as facts from the lovely Dr. Isles are as accurate as possible. I'll try to keep a balance between honoring her character and realizing that I'm not making a profit from this so I won't be spending hours of research for one statement.