Jane stood, mouth still open, looking at the door. She was brought out of her thoughts by two physios coming into the room.
She said hello to them and moved towards where her training top was, and put it on
They instructed her to get on the treadmill and explained what was going to happen. She was only half listening as she was distracted by Maura re-entering the room.
Jane put on the breathing apparatus and started the treadmill. Maura took a seat at the computer to monitor the data.
The test was over, and Jane got a clean bill of health from Maura and the physios. She grabbed her things and headed towards her room to shower again.
She was glad when she got there, that no-one was in. She stripped off and tuned the shower to the coldest it would go.
Recovery, she told herself.
She stayed in there as long as she could before she turned the water off and got out. She towelled herself off, and no sooner had she put on a clean training kit when Kelley burst through the door
"Oh, hey. You're back"
"Yeah, I did not miss fitness tests over the post season break"
They both laughed
"I'm going to grab some lunch, wanna come with?"
"I'm going to grab a quick shower. Fitness testing had me all sweaty"
Jane laughed and headed out of the room as Kelley headed into the bathroom. As soon as she closed the door, she heard a scream, and walked away as fast as her legs would carry her, remembering she left the shower temperature on the lowest setting.
She heard the lift doors ding open as she rounded the corner to the lift. Learning her lesson from earlier, she slowed down and kept her eyes up.
"We HAVE to stop meeting like this Dr Isles" Jane joked as Maura was walking out of the lift car
"I see you've started to pay attention to your surroundings Jane" She smirked
"What can I say? I'm a fast learner" Jane returned her smirk
Jane moved to her right, as Maura moved to her left
"Oh, sorry" Jane said
Jane moved to her left just as Maura moved to her right
"I'm sorry" it was Maura's turn to apologise
They both laughed nervously, Jane put her hands on Maura's hips and turned her
"There we go"
She flashed a smile at Maura, removed her hands, turned and got in the lift. She pushed the button for ground floor. As soon as the doors closed, she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.
Jane was lost in her thoughts for a few moments. Her thoughts were about Maura, and their interactions the past two days. Jane was attracted to Maura and she was almost certain that Maura was attracted to her, but she couldn't do anything about it. They had to work together. It wasn't professional. What if things went south? It could get awkward, Maura could lose her job, Jane could lose her place on the
The lift car arrived on the ground floor, and Jane absentmindedly walked to canteen. She took a tray and moved towards the food counter, grabbed some food and sat down. She was glad that no-one was around, she could sit in silence and think.
"Is this seat taken?"
A voice drew her out of her thoughts
"No, go ahead" she smiled
Maura Isles sat down opposite Jane
They ate in silence for a few moments before Maura spoke first
"You ran 10k before breakfast"
"Snitch"
"What?" Maura looked confused
"Snitch. Carli Lloyd ratted out" Jane laughed
"I don't understand?" Maura looked even more confused
"Nothing" Jane shook her head
Maura looked annoyed for a moment, but left it
"I thought it was commendable"
Jane stopped eating and looked at Maura to see if there were any signs of teasing
"Did she tell you she beat me?"
"She did not, she didn't mention it was a race"
"So she mentioned that we raced to 10k, but didn't mention she won?"
"She did not mention that she won" Maura said matter of factly
"Ok" Jane laughed
"Would you like to know the context of the conversation?"
"I would love to Doctor" Jane said sarcastically
"I'm going to ignore your sarcasm"
Jane laughed out loud
"I just said to her that she was incredibly fit for a 38 year old, and told her some facts about veteran sports players"
"You called her old didn't you?"
"What makes you think that?"
"Because you said veteran. Anyone that calls her old, she corrects them, tells them she's not old she's a veteran"
"I didn't call her old, I just made a comment that she was the oldest person on the team"
"She hates THAT even more"
"Oh, I know that now"
"Anyway, lets get back to the part where you said I was commendable?" Jane joked
"You're very fit"
"I bet you've said this to all the players" Jane mocked
"Technically, no. All the players that I have seen so far today are fit enough to train. I can confidently say that there are no underlying heart or lung issues with the team and I can also confidently say that all players I've seen are fit enough to play a full 90 minutes of soccer should that be required of them."
Jane just looked at her
"I have been telling all the players I have personally seen that they are fit. I have not, however, been telling them they are very fit. The only players I have told are very fit, are Carli Lloyd, and now you."
"Ok"
"Ok"
They carried on eating
"Do you run 10k every day?"
"Not everyday, I just had some extra energy this morning. Thought it best to burn it off now, rather than after you stole all my blood"
"I didn't steal your blood. It's in the terms and conditions of everyone's Team USA contract. Any US women's national team medical professional can, at any point, carry out blood, or urine testing, on any player, at any time outside of game time"
"What?"
"Did you not read your contract?
"I did the same with this contract that I do with all my contracts."
"And what is that?"
"Looked at how much I was getting paid, then gave it to my lawyer to make sure there was no funny business"
"I'll take it there was no "Funny business" in your contract then?"
"Well apart from the fact I make a year what Reggie Cannon gets in a week? Yeah, no funny business"
"I don't know who that is"
"Exactly" Jane rolled her eyes
Maura sensed that this was a source of annoyance for Jane, so decided not to ask any more questions about it
"What are you testing for anyway? PEDs?"
"Hormone levels mostly and drug masking agents. We don't directly test for PEDs"
"You don't test for drugs?" Jane asked, surprised.
"No. We test for their masking agents. If you test positive for those, we go back and test for them, that's why we take 4 vials"
"Should you REALLY be telling me this?"
"This is standard testing procedure. You can request this information from Team USA"
"What happens if you don't do a re-test. What happens my blood then?"
"Stored for a year then destroyed. You should really read your contract"
Jane laughed
"You sound like my lawyer"
"You should listen to your lawyer"
"You sound like my mother"
"You should listen to your mother"
"You sound like my father"
"You're insufferable sometimes Jane Rizzoli. Do you know that?"
"Yes. People tell me all the time" she grinned
"Where did you go this morning?"
"This morning?"
"After you got out of the lift, you disappeared?"
"Oh, I realised that I had left my FitBit in my room, so I took the stairs back up."
Jane laughed
"Just to avoid me?"
"Yes. I feel that you would have became more flustered if I had have got back into the lift, and I don't think that would have been good for either of us"
"How so doctor?"
"Well, I know you find me attractive, and there is no denying that I am attracted to you"
"Ok…"
Jane could hear her heart pounding in her ears
"Can you without any reasonable doubt tell me, that you would have walked out of the lift?"
Jane looked her. She knows exactly what would have happened if Maura had gotten back into the lift with her. The real answer to Maura's question was no. What she replied with was:
"I have been known to exercise self control every now and again doctor"
"Well then, you'll be able to exercise it again when I tell you that Valtko has given me the afternoon off, and delegated the rest of my day's work to the other doctors. Which means I'll be in my room all afternoon"
She collected her lunch things and stood up. She turned to leave.
"I'll leave my door open for you"