DISCLAIMER:: still not mine.

A/N:: alas, my loyal readers, i have been sans computer for nearly a month, a tragedy i'm amazed i was able to actually live through... but i now have it back. yay! that means more updates for you, though not as frequently as i'd like because it is still the busy season at work and i am finding myself struggling slightly when faced with my new status as single mom. not exactly where i thought i'd be when someone was whispering forever in my ear. but anyhoo... i'm just getting to the good part in this fic and i can assure you there are no plans of stopping.

-/-

The bell over the door pinged as Jane entered the small old fashioned diner. The walls were covered in pictures signed by the famous people they depicted. The booths were something out of the 50's as well as the long counter and old style menu on the wall behind it.

A man behind the counter looked up and smiled at her, though his eyes flashed with a hint of suspicion. He hadn't seen her here before and that was obviously cause for alert. When Jane didn't take one of the many available empty seats, his smile faltered. "Can I help you?" He wasn't rude about asking, but he also made no attempt to hide his growing distrust of the situation.

Jane held up her badge. "Detective Rizzoli. I'd like to ask the owner of this establishment a few questions."

The guy nodded. "That'd be me."

Jane meant to hide the surprise in her voice, but her timing was off. "You're Maxine?"

The man, thankfully, didn't seem put off by the incredulity in her voice. In fact, he seemed used to it. "It was my dad's place before he passed away. He named it after my mom." The guy glanced around in soft recollection before looking back at Jane. "He left it to me. I'm Carter."

She shook the hand he offered. "Jane." She had no idea what possessed her to give her first name to this man, but there was something she trusted about him.

"So, Detective, what can I do for you?"

"I'm wondering if you recall this woman?" She held up a picture of Rebecca Dalton. "She was one of your regulars."

Carter nodded. "Becky. Everyone knew Becky. She was here six mornings a week, after her shift at the hospital." He shook his head. "It's so sad what happened to her. All the regulars, we're like family here. It hit us really hard. We even put up a little memorial collage in her memory." He motioned towards a space on the wall where photos were clustered all together.

"Did she ever bring anyone in with her?"

"She brought Sam all the time. And Dawn. Those three were attached at the hip most of the time. But about a month ago she stopped bringing them in. I haven't seen Sam since the break up and Becky said she was fighting a lot with Dawn over the new girl she was seeing."

"Did she ever bring the new girlfriend in?"

Carter nodded solemnly. "Just once. She was a real hard ass. She didn't really fit in with the crowd here, and she seemed almost paranoid about being out in public together, like the gay police were going to swoop in and arrest her or something."

Jane felt her stomach flip. This was the closest she'd come to finding out who this mystery woman was.

"Can you describe her? Miss Pringle had never met her, and Dawn…" She trailed off.

He looked off in thought, his eyes scrunching as he tried to recall the memory. "She was pretty, dark hair, tall."

"Any other details." Jane felt her stomach sink. Without anything more to go on, this was just another dead end.

"Hold on, I think she might actually be in one of the photos." He walked over to the collage on the wall and glanced through several photos.

Jane held back the nagging urge to race over to the wall and look with him. Instead, she held back and waited until he had plucked a photo off the wall. He brought it over. He handed it to her.

"I'm sorry it's not a better photo."

Jane examined the photograph, her eyes going first to the smiling blonde that had been Maura's nurse. Next to Rebecca was a beautiful woman with dark hair. Her smile was forced; she obviously was not happy they were being photographed.

"Can I keep this?" She held up the photograph.

Carter nodded. "Sure."

"Thank you. I appreciate your help."

She pulled out her phone as she exited the diner and called Maura.

"Come on, baby, pick up." It occurred to her to be surprised at the term of endearment, but it came so easily that she let her surprise slide away without really feeling it.

But Maura didn't answer.

She dialed Frost. He picked up on the first ring.

"Frost."

"Frost, is Maura still down in the morgue?"

"I saw her about an hour ago and she seemed pretty tired, but she said she wanted to wait for you to get back."

"Good. Can you keep an eye on her until I get there?"

"Sure." He cleared his throat. "Jane, is something wrong?"

"I'll fill you in when I get back."

-/-

Jane was sure she'd never driven faster in her life than she did while making her way back to headquarters from the diner. She felt a twisting feeling in her stomach and she knew the only way to relieve it was going to be seeing for herself that Maura was alright.

Instead of going to the morgue first, she ran upstairs to the bullpen to find Frost. She found him sitting at his desk, looking serious, but not alarmed and the sight comforted her. If anything was wrong with Maura, he'd look worried… mostly because he'd know Jane was going to kick his ass.

"Maura's okay?"

He nodded. "Yeah Jane, she fine. What's got you so on edge?"

"Let me get Maura up here so I can fill everyone in at once."

"Maura's not here."

Jane froze. "What? I just asked you if she was okay and you said…"

Frost held up a hand. "She is okay. She was tired, so Veronica took her home."

Jane nodded slowly. "I should go check on her."

Frost frowned. "She's perfectly capable of taking care of herself Jane, and she's got help."

Jane shook her head. "I should go."

Frost could only stare in wonder after her as she ran out of the station, looking more spooked than he'd ever seen her.