Please see Ch 1 for disclaimers and warnings…

Jane shifted uncomfortably in Maura's passenger seat as they drove through Boston. She should have insisted that she run upstairs and grab her keys. Plus now what should be a 10-minute trip would be at least 30. They would stop at Every. Single. Yellow. Light.

Jane leaned against the passenger door and in the background Susie's voice was prattling over the Bluetooth. She supposed that she should be paying attention, but that would take more effort and energy than she had. Jane vaguely heard Susie spew out some bizarre something or other that the techs had done and Maura started laughing openly.

Jane couldn't help but watch. Maura had the best laugh when she was truly happy and not censoring herself. It lit up her entire face and her eyes would squeeze shut at the corners. For a moment the feeling swelled in her chest and Jane found herself playing with her hands, entirely restless.

She inhaled sharply and immediately regretted it. Despite Maura insisting right before they left that Jack hadn't been in her car for awhile she swore she could detect the lingering smell of cologne. The deeper scent almost buried the comforting smell of Maura's perfume and the combination of both was making her head hurt.

Maura hung up and the joy was still so evident in her face. She was glancing at Jane, hazel eyes dancing. "Criminologist Patil created Christmas trees on petri dishes. I haven't done something like that since high school! I can't wait to show you when we get back."

Now Jane was rather certain she knew what a petri dish was. And she was pretty positive that things didn't grow in them spontaneously. But Maura was excited and keeping that smile on her face was a sudden priority. "How exactly does a petri dish get a Christmas tree in it?"

Maura was practically bouncing in her seat. "He streaked the plates with Aspergillus nidulans, Penicillium marneffei and Aspergillus terreus! I never thought to use the terreus to add a trunk, but it is truly perfect." Jane raised her eyebrows and nodded as if that made perfect sense.

Maura was practically gushing now. "Normally I'm not a huge proponent of using any fungal strains in the lab that are not distinctly tied to the case, but we have them in as controls and he was checking for contamination." She quickly looked at Jane. "Aspergillus terreus is terribly difficult to maintain a pure colony and our freezer is small, with only limited ability to keep freeze dried samples for long. It's rather easy to end up with a contaminated strain purely by accident."

Again, Jane decided nodding was prudent. "And what are we doing with these fungal Christmas trees exactly?"

Maura's brow furrowed. "Enjoy them as a holiday treat of course."

Jane bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing. Only Maura had this way of pulling her out of a bad mood without even trying. "Of course." She caught the quick glance and knew Maura was trying to figure out if she was being sarcastic or not. She hoped every warm thought she had was showing on her face, but Jane reached out and rubbed Maura's shoulder quickly in case. "I can't wait."

There was something about the way Maura's smile softened and how she turned her head for the briefest moment to let their eyes meet that echoed someplace deep inside Jane. The urge to fidget flared back up and Jane was relieved to see the front of St. Vincent's looming ahead. "It's too early for the shelter to be open, but maybe Marcie can let us know where Verna's been hanging out lately."

Getting out of the car Jane shielded her eyes from the sun as she looked up at the granite church next to the shelter. "That thing is so ostentatious. The church I went to growing up was fancy enough, but this one takes it to a whole new level."

Maura delicately stepped around puddles of runoff from yesterday's snowstorm, eyes carefully scanning for black ice under the slush. "This one was built in the Victorian era when the upper class contributed extensively so that ornate places of worship could also represent their family name."

"Good ol' Boston Brahmins." Jane watched Maura tiptoe around a chunk of frozen snow and quickly went to her side.

Maura gave her soft smile in thanks and linked their arms together as they continued crossing the parking lot towards the inconspicuous shelter building behind the church. "Actually the Boston Brahmins were primarily Unitarian and Episcopal at the time St. Vincent's was created. The money that drove construction of the large Catholic churches was primarily from newly created fortunes. The people who would have been considered Boston Brahmin would never associate with new money, and they certainly would not display their fortunes in so obvious a manner."

"Good to know." Jane grabbed the handrail at the bottom of the steps and waited for Maura to drop her arm and step in front of her. She followed Maura up, fingertips resting against Maura's lower back. She was looking at the contrast of her skin against Maura's coat when she had a sudden urge to ask, "Maura, are you going to the party on Friday?"

Maura reached the top and stepped aside. "The BPD party? Of course. We were planning on stopping by."

We. Jane felt that word flare harsh in the pit of her stomach. Something very clear must have been present on her face because Maura's carefree, warm expression shifted rapidly.

Now Maura was standing in front of her and reaching glove-covered fingertips out to touch her hand. Her voice was tentative, as if testing. "If you'd like we could go together instead like we usually do. I don't think Jack would mind not having to go. I had wanted him to be able to meet everyone but..."

They were interrupted before she could reply when the front door to the shelter opened and Marcie almost bumped into them on her way out.

The poor woman had her purse clutched against her chest, eyes wide, before recognizing them. "Oh, I'm so sorry. You startled me." She lowered her arm and took a deep breath. "Okay, better." She smiled. " Dr. Isles, Jane, is there something I can do for you? Is this about Verna? I was just on my way out to get donations from Market Basket for dinner tonight."

Jane glanced at her watch. "Yeah actually, can we go inside or are you in a rush?"

Marcie nodded and turned around, opening the front door and stepping aside. "Let me go see if Stephanie can make the food run. If you could go wait in my office I'll be down in a minute. Go to the end of the hall and take a right. My office is down on the right with a giant reindeer stuck on the door."

Jane led the way following the instructions, turning right and continuing until she spotted a wide-eyed paper cartoon fawn curled up in the snow with a cardinal sitting on its head and a wreath around its neck. Walking in the first thing she noticed was the office was disorganized with worn furniture and haphazard stacks of paper threatening to topple off a small table under the window.

"You're twitching right now, aren't you?" Jane dropped into one of the mismatched wooden chairs.

Maura sat down primly, hands folded in her lap. "I am not positive what you are referring to."

"Uh huh." Jane twisted around in her chair noticing the stains on the walls near the floor and the watermarks on the ceiling tiles. "I'm sure we could get a whole bunch of your fungus trees from in here."

Maura's phone rang, the sound muffled by her purse. She pulled it out, glanced at the caller, and put it back in her bag.

Suspicious, Jane crossed a leg over her knee and folded her arms over her chest. "Let me guess. That was Jack?"

Coloring slightly, Maura placed her purse on the ground. "I can call him back later." The phone started ringing again.

"Would you just answer it?" Jane got up from her chair and walked over to the window to stare outside. Behind her she could hear Maura dropping her voice to a more intimate tone. It was more than she could take and she turned around.

Maura met her eyes dead on, Jane could see her eyes widen slightly, stumbling over her words for a moment. "I'm sorry, I missed that." Maura stiffly nodded to whatever was said on the other end of the call. "Oh, I'm sorry again."

It took Jane a minute but suddenly the strange stilted behavior from Maura seemed almost familiar. It was almost as if Maura was sitting across the interrogation table and she'd been caught red handed.

Intrigued, Jane stalked back to her seat and Maura was still staring at her, looking like the cartoon bambi on the office door. When she sat down so their eyes were level, Maura's fair skin flushed scarlet. "Yes, that would be lovely. I've wanted to try Bastille Kitchen."

Jane lost the last part of the conversation when Marcie walked back in. "I'm so sorry to keep you both."

Marcie sat at her desk and pushed empty diet coke cans into a recycle bin and moved a stack of notebooks over to the corner of the desk. Jane could almost feel Maura start to lean forward to stabilize the pile as it stuck over the edge. She reached out and clamped a hand on Maura's knee.

Dusting her hands together, Marcie seemed satisfied at her efforts. "Okay, that's better, now we can see each other. I assume you are here about Verna? I'm sorry I didn't call you. I should have thought to."

Jane heard the words but it took a minute for them to make sense. "Wait, what?" She looked at Maura but could see she was just as surprised.

Now Marcie was hesitating, looking between the two of them. "I thought you were here…" Jane watched her take a deep breath. "You don't know." She stood up from her desk and hurried over. "I'm sorry. I had assumed you had heard Verna passed away. I'm so sorry."

Maura covered the hand on her knee. "No, I'm sorry. This is news to both of us. Perhaps you would be willing to share the details?"

Marcie let out a long sigh. "Sure." She pulled a chair from against the wall and sat down with them. "It happened the night she was dropped off. You know we lock the doors after curfew, but Verna knows this place better than any of us."

Jane knew she should look up, but she stared at Maura's hand on her own and decided to let her carry the conversation as Marcie continued. "We were out of the regular beds, so I gave her one of the emergency family placement rooms. It's near the basement stairs and she must have heard our night security head down. Roger will sometimes use the bulkhead access door to take a smoking break on his rounds."

Marcie picked up a foam ball off her desk and squeezed it. "She took off and ignored Roger trying to call her back. He came right in and told the night staff, but they can't chase people down. We're not a prison."

Jane looked up sharply but before she could open her mouth Maura's hand pressed hers tightly. When she settled back down Maura's thumb stroked back and forth over her skin. Jane dropped her eyes again to study the sweeping motion.

Marcie let out a soft sigh. "Later that night she showed up at the doors to the church. Father Carmichael tried to speak with her, but he thought she was having a psychotic break. She was ranting and ranting. The only place she calmed down was when he stood with her outside by the angel window."

When Jane looked up Marcie made eye contact with her. "By the time the ambulance arrived she had collapsed. They lost her on the way to the hospital."

Jane was aware her cheeks were twitching and that it was hard to swallow. She was aware Marcie was still talking and that Maura was answering her. Verna was old. Verna had a hard life. Verna had been suffering for a long time with mental illness. Maura had told her there was nothing that could fix Verna and medication could only help alleviate some of her symptoms.

Maura's hand squeezed hers tightly a couple times in rapid succession and she realized Marcie had asked her a question. Jane looked up and harshly cleared her throat. "I'm sorry, you were asking?"

"Dr. Isles said that you were here about a case you were working on?"

Jane took a deep, unsteady breath. "Yeah. I'm the lead on that double homicide outside Macy's that you've probably seen plastered all over the news. One of our guys in Vice said the adult female victim was sent here for rehab by the court."

Marcie shook her head. "We were afraid it would come to this the moment the story broke on the news. Detective, you should know that St. Vincent's was swift in terminating Gianni Salvatore. We would never tolerate one of our counselors developing a personal relationship with any of the people sent to us for help."

Jane flinched and immediately sat upright. "Wait, back it up. Gianni Salvatore was a counselor with you? It didn't come up in his background check."

Marcie started to fidget. "He was one of our graduate volunteers. He led our drop-in support group for a number of years." Jane could see her breathing escalate. "He had an impeccable record until Susan Taber joined the program."

Jane knew her expression had to be telling. "I thought there were strict rules in place."

Marcie gripped the armrests on her chair. "We have them. Gianni was trained in them yearly while he was with us. I have the records and he was terminated immediately."

Mystified Jane shook her head. "How was he even qualified to run something like that?"

Marcie's voice was clipped. "We trained him and we were lucky to have him. It was a volunteer I remind you. Do you realize how many people need help and how few resources there are? We can't afford salary for more than one staff therapist and we are fortunate to have that. You used to see this side of our world better, Detective Rizzoli. Isn't that how you met Verna? How many places are there for the Vernas and Susans to get help?"

"But still!" Jane threw her hands up and went to say something more when Maura's hand landed on her shoulder.

"Jane."

It was just her name but the inflection was clear. Jane turned to face Maura. "But…" Maura shook her head and Jane slouched back in her chair.

Marcie bit her lip, apparently deciding something. Her voice was soft. "I knew Gianni for five years. He was already on staff when I got this job. He was a success story. He used to volunteer to fix the electrical work in some of our parish senior's homes. He would do little things like install new fixtures into apartments for people who not only made it through the rehab program, but also got a new start."

She looked between Jane and Maura. She focused for a moment on Maura's hand on Jane's shoulder. "For what it's worth, I do believe it was a true love match. He adored Susan's little girl. I used to watch from a distance and I could see it coming. The way he looked at her. The way Susan looked at him."

Marcie's voice was steady and her gaze unwavering. "I told Gianni as much on the last day he was here. Why, when we live in a world that can offer so much hardship and sorrow, would I begrudge two people a little bit of love and happiness?"

She shrugged. "On paper it was wrong but they were happy for a little while. I envy them that." Marcie seemed to shake off the melancholy and leaned forward.

Jane sighed, knowing the answer. "Can I have a copy of Gianni's and Susan's records?"

Marcie gave her a worn look and stood up. The interview was over. "After the court order is in hand, of course."

"Of course." As she led them towards the door Marcie looked over her shoulder. "I am sorry about Verna. Father Carmichael should be over in the church if you'd like to ask him about the night she died. He had a soft spot for her too. We all did. Did you know she belonged to this church her entire life?"

Jane shook her head and didn't dare say anything. She had long since learned that she could get the most information from people at the most unexpected moments. Especially when they thought the threat of investigation had passed.

Marcie opened the door and leaned against it. "When she was having a good period of mental clarity Verna used to make certain every child was safe at night in the shelter." Marcie chuckled. "In fact, in order to get Verna to settle down for the night one of us had to walk her through the building once on rounds so she could see that everyone was settled."

A small smile crossed Marcie's face as she stared out over the parking lot. "In fact, Verna put your Susan and her daughter under her personal protection when they first came in. The little girl was absolutely terrified. They had been living with the little girl's father beforehand if I remember right. St. Vincent's was overwhelming for the child. I think for all Susan's troubles she tried to shelter that little girl from the outside world."

"This job sometimes…" Marcie shook her head. "When Susan first started to come off the drugs, Verna used to follow her around. It pissed Susan off at first. You should have heard the screeching around here. We tried to intervene but we couldn't do anything outside the building. Then at some point something changed. They developed an odd sort of friendship at first and later the dynamic changed. Susan started looking out for Verna."

"Guess you can never know who is going to be important to you in this world." Marcie straightened up. "I should let you both go. I have to prepare for opening tonight."

Exchanging quick goodbyes Jane waited until the door closed behind them. She followed Maura down the steps. "Well that was interesting."

Maura nodded. "Unexpected." Reaching the last step she looked over at her car, thinking about the night she dropped Verna off. "I wish I had realized that night I dropped her off…"

Jane took her arm as they started walking over the ice and slush. "Don't go there Maura. You know we couldn't have done anything differently. But I want to know what happened. I need to know how she died."

"Well then you know the right person." Maura looked over at Jane's profile. "If you'd like my help I could have her records pulled. Her body should still be in cold storage, the waiting period isn't over yet for a relative to claim the body."

Jane looked over, let their eyes meet for a moment. It was easy to rest there. "Guess it's good to know the Chief, huh?"

"In this instance, yes." Maura felt herself start to blush and looked away. It was as they were passing her car that a memory from that night with Verna made Maura stop and stare at the Prius. "The night I dropped off Verna she focused on the color of my car. I dismissed it as her mind having difficulty processing."

She tugged at Jane's arm. "She said something about the trolls stealing the color from the sky for his ship. That it was like my car and insisted that the angels could tell me. If we hadn't seen the video footage before coming here I'd never have given it a second thought."

The pieces fell into place, one after the other and Jane stared at Maura's car. "Your car is almost the same color as the Ford Explorer. Verna followed Susan around. She must have been there." Jane looked at Maura. "Verna was there. See what you can do. Pull her body, get her records. Just something, anything. I have to know how she died."