I'm Trying - Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Rizzoli and Isles - the credit goes to Tess Gerritsen and TNT. I'm merely borrowing them for a fan fiction idea. Thank you to all who have reviewed and set this story into your alerts and favorite alerts - it is very appreciated! Please read and review! Thanks!
- rutgers

Maura hung up the phone and decided to just bag the rest of the day. The lab reports could wait until Monday and things seemed slow, besides, her assistant could handle anything that may come up if it was necessary. She gathered her belongings and headed out, stopping in the bullpen before leaving.

"Hey Doc," Frost said, looking up from his keyboard. "How's Jane doing?"

"She's okay, Barry. This morning was just tough for her."

Frost shook his head. "I can only imagine."

Maura smiled. "I'm going to head out, okay? If you need anything urgent, Lee is here and can assist you."

"Sure, Doc. Thanks. And tell Jane I said `hey'," Frost said.

"I will."

...

Jane looked around and was satisfied the cleanliness of her apartment would suit her mother. She decided a long, hot shower was in order.

...

Maura placed the beer and wine she picked up in the backseat of the car and proceeded to dial Jane's phone. She was surprised when she didn't pick up as she had just spoken to her not a half hour ago. She drove the five minutes to Jane's apartment from the liquor store and knocked on the door. She tried calling again, but still no answer. Feeling around in her Birkin bag for her keys, she fished them out and opened the door using the Boston Red Sox key Jane had given her. She remembered that conversation well.

"Why couldn't it just be a normal key, Jane?" Maura asked, holding the Red Sox key Jane had just given her in between her thumb and index finger, looking at it with just a hint of disdain.

"Really? Maura, have you seen how many damn keys you have on that ring? What if - "

"I hate what ifs."

Jane glared at her and sighed deeply. "Okay, say there was an emergency and you needed to get in here in a hurry. Could you really spot the right key quickly enough? Look, all mine are coded," she said, pulling out her own keys. "This Celtics one is for my parents' house, this Patriots one is for Frankie's place - " she continued but Maura stopped her.

"Okay, okay. I'll concede the point. But your key ring is a bit tacky."

Jane rolled her eyes and shook her head. "And why are you holding it like that?"

"Like what?" Maura asked, confused.

"Like ... that," Jane said, pointing at the key. "What you're doing. You're holding the key like it fell into a pile of dog crap!"

"Well, I've always been more of a Yankees fan."

Maura laughed out loud when Jane's jaw actually dropped.

"Seriously, you'd better be kidding! And how do you even know about that rivalry? It has to do with sports!"

Maura rolled her eyes and put the key on her ring.

Still smiling at the memory, Maura shut the door and brought the wine and beer into the kitchen.

...

Jane was in her bedroom with the hair dryer running when she heard what she thought was her front door open. She kept the dryer on in case there was an intruder and went to her bedroom door, distinctly hearing something happening with glass in her kitchen. Pulling her holstered Glock out of her bedside drawer, she picked it up and unlatched the safety. To conceal her own noise, she left the hair dryer on and opened the door to her bedroom, moving slowly along the wall.

...

Maura knelt down to clean up the little bit of wine that had spilled on the floor. As she opened the wine, the bottle had slipped a little on the counter and skittered just a bit, spilling a few drops on the ceramic tile.

...

Jane didn't see anyone as she had her gun trained on the open space of her kitchen, looking around the rest of the living room. Suddenly, movement in the kitchen caught her eye.

"Don't move!" Jane shouted.

Relief flooded her body and she released the breath she had been holding when she recognized the honey blonde hair a few seconds later.

"It's just me, Jane."

"Jesus, Maura - what the hell are you doing here?" Jane asked, lowering her gun.

"I'm sorry, I tried calling a few times to tell you I was on my way, but I got no answer so I just let myself in with the key."

"Well, you're about two hours early - and hey, yeah, what the hell are you doing here this early anyway?"

"It was slow so I called it a day!"

"Ya know, you really scared the crap out of me?" Jane said, moving her gaze to the floor. "But, after this morning, I guess we're even."

Jane went back into her bedroom to put the gun away and turn off the hair dryer.

"I'm sorry, Jane, I didn't mean to frighten you, really."

Jane leaned up against the counter and rolled her neck. "Look, Maura, about this morning - I'm really sorry. I never want you to be afraid of me, ever."

"I'm not."

"But you were."

"I knew you wouldn't hurt me."

Jane dropped her neck to look at the floor, not able to bring herself to look at Maura. "Then why did you step away from me?" she asked, her voice almost breaking.

"I told you before, Jane. Instinct - that's it." To prove her point, Maura snapped her fingers less than a centimeter from Jane's face, causing the detective to jerk her head back swiftly and clock herself on the cabinet.

"Ow, son of a bitch!" she exclaimed, rubbing the back of her head. "What was that for?"

"Did you think I was going to hurt you?"

"No."

"But your instinct made you jerk your head back. See, do you understand now? It wasn't that I thought you were going to hurt me, Jane, it was just a physical reaction."

Jane sighed. "Okay, okay, I believe you. Damn," she said, still rubbing the back of her head.

Maura smiled and hugged her. "I'm sure you're fine, Rizzoli."

"How do you know that, I clubbed it pretty good on this friggin' cabinet," Jane said, jerking her thumb toward the offending piece of wood.

"Because, you have the hardest damn head of anyone I know."

Jane tilted her head and raised her eyebrow at Maura.

"What?" Maura asked, smiling.

"Shut up," Jane said, reaching out and giving her a gentle shoulder shove.

Jane's eyes spotted the wine on the counter. "Really? You're going to start drinking now? It's three-thirty," she said, eyeing the clock.

"Jane, if you've learned nothing from me in the time we've been friends, I at least hope you learned this - it is never too early for a good glass of cabernet."

Jane shrugged and laughed. "Or a beer."

TBC - probably going to be wrapping this up in another chapter or so!