A/N: Here's part two! Please keep the reviews coming! Expect part three around this time tomorrow...or possibly sooner if enough people ask for it. This was a request by one of my dearest reviewers, loneranger67, I hope I did it justice.

Chapter Eleven.

Song: "Cry Me a River." by Julie London

Maura Isles arrived home to a dark, empty house. The sounds of Bass shuffling across the floors echoed through the open space. She walked into the kitchen and selected the first bottle of wine she could get her hands on. There wasn't an occasion to celebrate or a food to pair with, she just needed the liquid to alter her neurotransmitters. The feel of the cool glass, perfectly chilled by her expensive wine refrigerator, felt warm in her already cold hand. She poured herself a glass but knew better than to replace the bottle. She took both her glass and the container into the living room and set them on the table. She walked over and turned on her large gas fireplace before lowering the needle on her nearby record player. Her favorite vinyl came to life and a silky smooth female voice filled the room.

[Now you say you're lonely. You cry the whole night through. Well, you can cry me a river, cry me a river. I cried a river over you.]

The elegant ME sat in a plush armchair positioned in front of the roaring fire. She felt the heat warm her cool skin through the thick denim of her jeans. The warmth was welcomed, the hot sting was a reminder that her heart may feel as if it were dying, but the rest of her was still protesting with life.

Once she retrieved her wine from the nearby table her eyes stared down into the crimson liquid, her reflection looking back. She examined the faint face, the tired features and sad eyes. It wasn't until a tear broke the surface of the liquid and distorted the image that her eyes settled back onto the dancing flames.

As hard as Maura tried to push them away, thoughts of the evening were still holding prime residence in her mind. Millions of useless facts, hundreds of effective tidbits, but the only thoughts she could focus on were thoughts of Jane. Stephanie held no place in the doctor's mind anymore. It took the short drive home to realize that she wasn't worth the added pain. She knew that woman wasn't at fault. After all, she couldn't blame the stranger for being unable to resist Jane Rizzoli. Any negative feelings towards the blonde would have been born from jealousy, and Maura Isles fought to be above such petty feelings.

It was Jane whom she held these feelings for. Feelings of anger and betrayal. What kind of friend was she? All the years past turned out to be a lie the moment the brunette felt the need to sneak around. She could have told Maura. They could still be friends. Instead she sat alone, remembering the good times and being crushed by the bad. She took a long swallow of her wine and begged for it to wash away the agony.

[Now you say you're sorry, for bein' so untrue. Well, you can cry me a river, cry me a river. I cried a river over you.]

Even after a second glass of wine, leaving less than a third of the bottle full, the ache of duplicity still beat inside. Maura allowed the sobs to escape, needing the therapy of the physical release. Letting these tears fall in Jane's name served as an exorcism, a release of the demons she held in for so long. Demons that some would recognize as love, but Maura now only saw them as a malignancy.

[You drove me, nearly drove me out of my head. While you never shed a tear. Remember, I remember all that you said. Told me love was too plebeian.]

All the years both women spent searching, running, forcing themselves to try in relationships they knew would never work. All the times Jane ran from domesticity but fell comfortably into it with Maura. Was all of that a lie? Was it all just a waiting game for the brunette? Waiting for the right woman to come along and rip her from her shell? Maura thought she knew Jane, thought she knew what she always wanted. She even dared to dream that she was it for the detective all along. In the end, Maura was left with a familiar question: "How can you love someone, and not be able to be with them?"

Her arm stretched over the side of the chair, wineglass dangling loosely between perfect fingertips. Her free hand covered her tired eyes as her head rested against the back cushion. The fire before her held no answers. Her mind that overflowed with a vast variety of knowledge left the riddle unsolved. All the education and life experience in the world couldn't help Dr. Maura Isles, and she was left knowing she couldn't even help herself.

[Told me you were through with me and now you say you love me. Well, just to prove you do, come on and cry me a river, cry me a river. I cried a river over you.]

The crackle of the fire became more pronounced as the music faded and Maura sat in silence. The tears had stopped, the alcohol had numbed the pain, and the intelligent woman even entertained the idea of a confrontation. She thought hard about what she should say and how she should act. She thought of confessing her feelings and letting her anger show. Maura thought of a lot of things until a knock at the door interrupted just before the plot thickened.

She left her black heels by the fire in an attempt to walk more steadily towards her door. After that door was open she immediately wanted to close it again.

A slightly flustered Jane Rizzoli stood on her doorstep, hands deep in the pockets of her thin, black leather jacket. Maura chastised herself for focusing on how good the brunette looked instead of why she was standing on her doorstep at such a late hour. Neither woman spoke for a moment, Jane finally broke the uncomfortable silence.

"Have you been crying?" Jane looked concerned, but the usual softness of her tone was absent.

Maura just stared back at the tall woman, taller than usual in heels compared to Maura's barefoot stance. She looked up into velvety brown eyes and listened to the lyrics that still echoed in her thoughts.

[I cried a river over you.]