Please see Ch 1 for disclaimers and warnings…

Maura pushed through the bullpen door and carefully scanned the room. Jane still wasn't back from the search at Alvarez's sister's home. She'd hoped. She had checked for texts throughout the day, but her phone never flashed with Jane's name. She was trying not to worry.

Walking to the corner, Maura looked in the computer lab, but she didn't see Jane or Frankie with any of the techs.

She exchanged brief pleasantries with some of the detectives on her way back, aware of their eyes on her ass and legs as a perfunctory event. She had changed for the holiday party before coming upstairs and the red skirt was designed for attention.

Crowe gave a low whistle as she passed and she turned to give him a cold stare. It was one she'd perfected over the years and his ears instantly colored. For a moment she missed Jane's presence, knowing her stare would have been backed up with a precise arrangement of words guaranteed to make Crowe's face mottle in a most spectacular fashion.

Once she was at Frost's desk she glanced furtively about, but it didn't appear that anybody else was watching her. From her blazer pocket she pulled the tiny Santa hat out and placed it on the Chogokin figure's head. With her pinky she arranged the little white ball hanging down at the end of the hat over the toy's shoulder.

"Ahhh, Dr. Isles, I should have guessed."

Feeling her cheeks warm, Maura looked up and met Korsak's smile with one of her own.

He gave her a wink and walked over. "It's been the talk of the bullpen, everyone wondering who the secret Chogokin Santa was. My bet was on Frankie, but you actually make the most sense." He tapped the little hat. "It's been the perfect touch this first Christmas."

"I thought it would be nice to have something cheerful here." Maura glanced up and found herself comforted by Korsak's kind eyes. "I have been worried about Jane lately. I thought she'd smile more if I added a little holiday cheer every time she looked over."

"Hmmm…" Korsak went over to his own desk and started pulling open drawers. "In that case." He held up a candy cane. He brought it over and put it in Chogokin's other hand, struggling to get the striped candy to stay upright. "I've been hiding this from Jane for the past few days."

He fussed with the toy's arm, until the candy was finally upright."I don't know if Jane mentioned it, but last Christmas, Frost ran a prank on her for weeks. Every year Jane gets this candy cane taped on a Christmas card from a family she closed a cold case on, years ago. One of her first solveds if I remember right. "

Korsak grimaced and shook his head "Ugly case, too. Involved a murdered little boy that happened two days before Christmas back in '02." He stared at the toy with its candy cane. "And every year Jane pulls off the candy cane and leaves it on her desk." He met Maura's eyes. "You know how she can get. So she'd stare at the candy cane, pick it up, play with it and start brooding until she'd go work on a new cold case. Eventually the candy cane would disappear. End of story until next year."

"Type of stuff nobody talks about around here. We all got our things." Korsak fixed the figure's hand so it was angled out towards Jane's desk. "Anyhow we both know Jane's not the most organized person in the room."

Maura chuckled. "That's not fair, she's gotten much better. I no longer have to worry about potato chip crumbs all over my couch."

Korsak gave her a knowing look. "Anyhow, I think he caught her sitting there looking a little lost, holding the candy cane, one too many times. So last year Frost started hiding it all over her desk. Jane would go nuts looking for it. It took her over a week to realize she was being pranked. She was pissed at first, I actually thought she was going to slug him, but then she started laughing."

He rested a hip up on the edge of Frost's desk. "That's what made them a good team. Really good. He got Jane and better yet, he let her be Jane. But he also had a way of making her lighten up when she was a bit too… Jane." He paused and stared at Chogokin for a moment. "Only person better at it than Frost was, is you."

"No, I'm not." Maura felt her cheeks flush, embarrassed by the admission and she stared at her hands. She hadn't meant to respond like that but now that she had, she swallowed and continued. "Not lately. I'm always hurting her, no matter how hard I try not to."

"I don't think that's the truth, Doc." Korsak glanced around but everyone was busy. "You're not hurting Jane."

"Yes, I am." Maura lowered her voice as her eyes filled and she had to swallow around the lump in her throat. "I don't know what to do about it. I keep trying to figure out what is bothering her But when I try to fix what I think is wrong, it makes it worse. This is why I don't guess."

"Ahhh well, might be you can't fix it. Maybe you have to wait it out a bit. Let things settle." Korsak stood and pulled his pant legs up a bit so he could sit down on Frost's chair. "You and Jane have one of the closest friendships I've ever seen. Can't really call it a friendship. You two are family. I've seen you at Angela's Sunday dinners. You two have a certain way of being together."

Korsak smiled at her when she looked up at those words. "Like it goes without saying who is going to wash the dishes and who is going to dry them. That means when something gets off track it hits you a little harder."

Maura pressed her lips together, picturing them at the sink the other night. She sighed. "I know. Jane's the only person I've ever had that with and I love it. I don't want it to be off track. I certainly don't want it to change."

Korsak braced his hands on his knees and leaned towards her. "That's not realistic. But I know you Doc. I bet you understand that. As far as things never changing, the way I see it, that's a choice nobody can make but you."

"I don't know if I have a choice!" Maura looked at him, willing him to understand. "Until last weekend, I thought I knew exactly what my options were, and I was okay with them."

She twisted her ring around her finger. Korsak was looking at her patiently, kindly. She gulped in air and let it out. She needed help. "After Casey, I thought I knew what Jane needed in life. No matter what he put her through, she wanted him. When she kept pushing me to give Jack a chance, I thought I truly understood. But now everything Jane is saying doesn't match up with her behavior. I'm lost."

Maura dropped her hands to her side and looked at Korsak. "Any decision I make has the potential to hurt somebody, myself included. It's all based on impressions and that's no way to draw a conclusion. My experience with human relationships shows I should never go with my assumptions."

Tentatively she reached out to briefly touch Korsak's sleeve. "Vince, do you know what is going on with Jane?"

They were both staring at Chogokin, the silver ball on one hand, a candy cane in the other, with a wreath around his neck and the Santa hat flopping over his shoulder.

"You know Doc, lemme tell you something." Korask gave a big sigh. "I was hurt, and frankly, offended when Jane replaced me." He reached up and scratched the side of his neck. "But I also hadn't been the easiest person to have as a partner either. I'd done my time, put in my years, and I was annoyed as hell they paired me up with this… green-bean, wannabe detective with a chip on her shoulder."

He drummed his fingers against the desktop. "So maybe I wasn't as easy to get along with as I could have been. And maybe I didn't listen as closely as I should of. If I had, it might have stopped her from going into that basement after Hoyt."

Maura watched Korsak look across the room and out the window. His voice was serious. "That will always be my burden to carry. And I am sorry for it. More than you'll ever realize. But it wasn't until she put in for a new partner and I saw her with Frost that I realized how much being her partner had changed me for the better."

He paused for a moment before glancing at her. "Being partnered with Jane forced me to change or get left behind. It gave me new drive to run down leads. Forced me to use a different perspective to look at evidence just to keep up with her. Stuff like that made me better and I took it for granted until I was back on my own."

Korsak looked at her steadily. Met her eyes squarely before continuing. "That's when I truly knew I had lost out on something special. I don't think Jane knows to this day that I was actually pretty impressed with her by that point."

He reached out and tapped the candy cane, catching it before it fell. "But she was good with Frost, it healed something for her and he was a good addition. Made us all use technology as a part of the process, instead of a last resort."

Raising an eyebrow he smiled at her as he slipped the candy back into place. "Frost even managed to get me texting." They laughed. "So it worked out okay. I got used to it and eventually everything sorted out. Gave me the chops to put in for Sargent."

When the candy cane rolled out of Chogokin's hand again, Korsak pried open Frost's desk and pulled out some tape. "But I wonder what would have happened if I spoke up earlier. Maybe Jane and I would have stuck together and I'd still be sitting at the desk across from hers."

Korsak carefully applied the tape, making sure the candy cane was secure. "Sometimes I think that's the problem with all of us up here. We're great at reacting. It's almost a job requirement. Give us a suspect to chase with guns drawn and we'll do it. Ask us to protect a witness and we're there, no questions asked. If you analyze too much you can get scared. Lose your nerve."

He fixed the toy so that it faced Jane's desk. "But like that candy cane on Jane's desk, we know stuff runs under the surface. It's there but we don't ask, we do. I don't even know what it was about that case or that candy cane that got to her. Frost didn't either. He shook her out of her mood, but didn't ask."

Korsak reached out along the desk towards Maura, stopping just short of touching her hand. "I'm sure my ex-wives can tell you it makes us hell to live with."

Maura met his eyes and could see a bit of purpose and something almost sad in his features. His voice lowered a little. "And sometimes being all "go", instead of stopping to think about what drives you to do something, means missing something vital that is happening as a result. Then when you figure it out like I did, you realize it's too late."

He gave a small shrug. "But that's just my story. Not sure it helps."

Maura flicked her eyes over the desk before landing on Jane's empty chair. Korsak sat there and didn't say anything else as she stood there fiddling with her ring. She turned to look at him. "Vince…" She tried to figure out what to say as she crossed her arms over her chest, rubbing her biceps briskly. "I…" He was looking at her patiently. Her voice was soft. "Thank you."

He gave her a half nod. "Now, it would seem that half this building has already left for the party. Can I interest you in my escort services or have you invited someone? Angela is meeting me downstairs as my guest, and walking in with two lovely women would make my night."

She gave a last look at Jane's empty chair. "No, I had invited Jack but decided to attend alone tonight if Jane wasn't able to go. I actually came up here looking for her. She hasn't checked in at all and I was worried."

Korsak pulled his phone out of his pocket and pulled up his texts. "Well I'm her boss, so she has to check in with me." He typed a few lines and waited. The screen buzzed a moment later and Korsak gave a low whistle before reading it out loud. "It's good. Lucky Martinez was here. Christmas for Vice came early. At least 80 grams. Sister is high as a kite, got to leave her in holding. Wait til I see you at the party."

"So it looks like she's okay." He held out his arm. "Maura, can I interest you in the fine BPD holiday party at the very swank VFW hall? You'll be walking in with the Guest of Honor."

Maura ripped her eyes off Jane's desk. Tried to put on a convincing smile. "I have to run down to gather my things, but I'd like that. I can drive if you wish?"

Korsak shook his head. "We can drive over separately and I'll meet you in the lot behind the VFW. I have to freshen up before we go. Angela is actually here with my suit."

She tilted her head and looked at what he was wearing. It appeared to be sufficient. Finally she nodded. "I'll see you there."

A/N

Many many thanks to siDEADde and charlietheCAG for handling this while I was off in la-la land for most of the day.