Captain Blues: And I am back with a brand new chapter. Rizzoli and Isles fics are like a drug, but sometimes, I need a break from them. Well, time to continue the show!
Solid Bullet: One Shot Love
Chapter Seven: One Chance
"Would that be so bad, though? To be friends with Maura?"
Jane huffed as Frankie's words echoed in her head. It had been two days since Frankie and Frost's visit and five days since Maura had visited.
Usually, Jane would be happy to sit in silence but ever since her conversation with her brother and best friend, Jane realized that she preferred to be distracted because with this silence, all Jane could do was think about her.
It made no sense.
She and Isles barely got out of the hated rivals stage of their acquaintance, and now Frankie and Frost want her to be friends with Isles? It was ridiculous. Jane's traitorous mind decided that it was time to have an image of a smiling Isles pop up in her head, causing Jane to groan in frustration.
"Damn it," Jane groaned out. "Okay, I get it. Isles is fucking beautiful. Get over it, brain!"
"Talking to yourself now?" A dry voice asked.
Jane leaned up as the cracked door opened to reveal her "Uncle" Vince Korsak.
"Uncle K!" Jane exclaimed with a broad smile as Korsak walked into the room and shut the door behind him.
"How you been, Janie?" The detective asked as he sat down on the chair beside her bed.
"Like I've been shot," Jane replied with a cheeky grin.
"Been there myself, kiddo. Painful as hell," Korsak replied as he ruffled Jane's hair, which caused her to laugh. "The road to recovery is not easy, so please take care of yourself. Got it?"
"Got it," Jane replied.
"So, this "Fucking Beautiful Isles" person wouldn't happen to be "Maura Isles," would she?" Korsak questioned.
Jane groaned out, "Got it one, Unc."
"I see," Korsak said with a grin. "What caused that rant?"
"Look, Frankie and Frost were talking mad reckless two days ago," Jane began. "Telling me how I should be friends with Isles just because we saved each other's life, and I happen to think she's beautiful."
Korsak nodded.
"I mean, Isles and me hated each other for three years before I took that bullet for her. I mean, I don't hate her now, but how can I be friends with her after three years of not caring for her. I mean, that would make me look like a hypocrite," Jane explained.
"A hypocrite to who?" Korsak questioned.
"To everyone who knew that I hated her guts," Jane said.
"And why do they matter?" Korsak asked.
Jane opened her mouth to respond but then closed it.
"The Jane I know would always beat to her own drum and not give a damn who tells her what to do. God knows, I've dealt with that Jane several times," Korsak teased, which caused Jane to narrow her eyes at him. "Why should anyone else's opinion matter?"
"I…" Jane began. "I-I don't know, Uncle K. It's just, I spent years hating her right, I would feel like I'm betraying myself and how I felt about her."
"Mhmm," Korsak hummed. "And how do you feel about her?"
"She infuriated me. She came into my life out of nowhere, excelled in the sports that I excelled in. She's so fucking good at everything. She made fencing popular at my school! She took my place!" Jane exclaimed.
"Okay, so you hated that she challenged your place as the best in your school. Let's take that out of the equation. What about her personality? What did you hate about that?" Korsak asked.
Jane found herself speechless.
"Okay. Now let me ask this. If Miss Isles did not come into the school and show you up, would you two be friends now?" Korsak asked her.
Jane looked at her hands.
"Let me propose a challenge for you. I want you and Miss Isles to spend time together. A single day and if you can find one reason why you two cannot be friends, I'll give you one-hundred bucks," Korsak challenged.
"Sure you can make that challenge on a cop's salary?" Jane joked, only to laugh when Korsak playfully smacked her arm.
"I mean it, Janie. You in?" Korsak asked as he held out his hand.
Jane stared at his hand before she shook it while she said, "Fine. I'm in."
Korsak walked out of the hospital room and right to the expectant gazes of Frankie and Nina.
"She's going to give it a shot," Korsak said.
"Whew, good," Frankie said.
"Thanks for doing that, Mr. Korsak," Nina said.
"I had to interview her for her role in saving Maura Isles' life. Might as well do that little favor," Korsak said with a smile. "How I got roped into helping two deal with teenage problems, I will never know."
'Friends with Rizzoli….' Maura thought as she walked into a large studio, her arms crossed and her face contorted in concentration.
Maura wore a black tank top and white karate pants with her hair done up in a ponytail. Today was a brief sparring session with her sensei and cousin, Kimberly Hart, but Maura wasn't feeling up to it. It was silly for her mind to be so caught up in being friends with Rizzoli, but the more she thought about it, the more daunting it became.
Just two weeks ago, Rizzoli was her rival, someone she intensely disliked, and now, Rizzoli was placed in a weird spot in her heart.
"Ah, you're finally here, Maura," A voice said, snapping Maura from her thoughts. Maura looked up to see a young adult Caucasian woman with dark brown hair and brown eyes walking towards her, wearing a pink tank top and black karate pants.
"Good afternoon, Kim," Maura said with a small smile.
"Afternoon, squirt," Her sensei replied with a smile. "Your early, as usual."
"I wanted to get an early start," Maura answered.
Maura watched as Kimberly narrowed her eyes at her before she smiled. "I got that. You ready to burn some energy?"
Maura nodded.
"Perfecto," Kimberly said. "You know the rules. The first one to hit the ground twice wins."
Maura bowed to her martial arts instructor, who had bowed in return before Maura dashed forward and aimed a punch at the woman's head, but when the woman had ducked, Maura ran back and lifted her right leg and aimed a kick to the woman's head but the woman grabbed her foot.
Maura felt Kimberly grab her black tank top and quickly found herself lifted into the air before being slammed to the ground back first.
"You seem distracted. What's up?" Her teacher asked with her hand on Maura's shirt.
Maura kicked the woman's arm three times with her free leg, which forced her teacher to let go of her leg, who slowly inched her way backward as Maura flipped to her feet.
"Forgive me, but I have a lot on my mind," Maura answered as she resumed her karate stance.
"I can tell. Come," Her teacher replied as she motioned for Maura.
Maura ran towards the woman and aimed a flying kick at Kimberly's head, but the woman stepped to the side to avoid it. Maura landed on both feet and twisted her body around sharply to land a roundhouse kick, making the teacher block the attack.
"Is it about that Rizzoli girl that is on the news?" Her teacher asked as she pushed the leg back, causing Maura to stumble before the girl blocked two jabs from her teacher and landed a punch to her stomach, making the woman stagger back.
"She has something to do with my current mental state, yes," Maura answered before her teacher rushed forward and performed an elbow strike.
Maura blocked it with her left arm, only to be kneed in the stomach, which made her stagger back just enough for her teacher to twist around and kick her in the stomach, sending Maura to the ground.
"It must be some heavy thoughts because that is the quickest you've lost in our sparring match," Kimberly said as she held out her hand. Maura nodded and grasped her teacher's hand before she got hoisted to her feet.
"I am conflicted on what to do, Hart-sensei," Maura said. "I mean, she's my rival. She's the reason why I took up karate, and now I'm in this place where I don't know how to categorize her."
Kimberly laughed, which prompted Maura to look at her with confusion. "Oh boy, this brings back memories," Kimberly said.
"It does?" Maura asked.
"Oh yeah. There was a girl I knew back when I lived in Angel Grove. Her name was Trini, short for Trinidad. She was this short spitfire of a girl who took no shit from anyone," Kimberly explained as she motioned for Maura to follow her to a bench.
Maura nodded and followed her teacher as the woman continued with, "When she showed up to Angel Grove, we were instant enemies—always trying to one-up each other. It didn't matter what subject, sport or hobby. We were always competing, and we hated each other for it."
"Sounds like Rizzoli and me. So what happened?" Maura asked as the pair sat on a bench.
"Well, one day, I screwed up and betrayed one of my friends. The result was me earning the hatred of my school to the point of being bullied to the point where I was suicidal," Kimberly told her, making Maura gasp.
"How dreadful," Maura whispered.
Kimberly nodded.
"A-Anyways, at my lowest point, I was going to go through with it. There was a large cavern in Angel Grove. I was going to jump off of it. But before I did, Trini appeared and talked me down from it," Kimberly continued. "She had no reason to do this, but she did. She saved my life that night. But with that, it caused a new issue. She was still my rival. I wanted to surpass her, but I also wanted to get to know her."
"That's where I am now," Maura said.
"There is a lot of baggage that comes with befriending someone you used to hate. I got over that by hanging on with Trini one day. It turns out we had a lot in common. We enjoyed the same foods, the same shows, the same movies. That one day sent us down a road that I will always cherish…" Kimberly finished softly. "We spent years hating each other only because of what? Being competitive? It was stupid."
Maura lowered her head in thought.
"You want my advice. Spend time with Rizzoli. Maybe a day, and I bet you'll find something magical with her," Kimberly said with a wink.
Maura nodded. "Thank you, sensei," Maura said. "Oh! Before I forget, Mother wants to know if you'll be coming over for dinner tonight."
"I wish I could, but I have a date tonight," Kimberly said.
"Oh, a date? With who?" Maura asked.
Kimberly blushed and said, "None of your business, squirt. Besides, you have your rival to work out."
"You're right. Rizzoli first, and then hound you about your date," Maura cheekily said.
Kimberly grinned and ruffled Maura's hair as she said, "Come on, I'll take you to the hospital."
"W-What? Right now?!" Maura exclaimed.
"No better time, right?" Kimberly replied with a wink.
"Hey Rizzoli, you have a visitor," A nurse said as she popped her head into the room.
Jane hummed and carefully leaned up on her bed and said, "Send them in."
The nurse nodded and left the room. Moments later, The door opened, and there stood the current object of her thoughts, but Jane found herself blushing at the sight of Isles.
Jane was used to seeing Isles all prim and proper, but seeing the girl in a tank-top, karate pants with her hair in a messy ponytail, and holding a bag of good-smelling food caused this weird feeling to race through her veins.
'Okay, Jane. Keep the tone light. Treat her like you would Frankie or Frost….Well, not exactly like I do them. Just be friendly,' Jane thought.
"I have to say, Isles, is it impossible for you not to look attractive every day?" Jane teasingly asked.
That was easier than expected.
Isles seemed surprised by her statement before she let out a laugh. "You think this mess is attractive?" She asked.
"There is an appeal, yes," Jane replied with a grin on her face.
Isles let out a laugh and said, "Hi."
"Hey," Jane replied.
"I hope you don't mind me intruding on your day," Isles said as she approached the chair by her bed, a delicious smell filling the air.
"Intrude? I've been bored out of my skull," Jane whined. "I can't even turn on the TV because everyone is calling me a hero for saving your life."
"Is that a bad thing?" Isles asked.
"Saving your life? No. Being hailed a hero for it? Yeah," Jane replied. "I just did the right thing. A hero is like a firefighter or a soldier or a cop. I'm just a dumb kid who was in the right place at the right time. Simple as that."
"I see," Isles said. "Then I guess you should not get this hero's feast?" Isles questioned with a teasing gleam in her eye.
"Hold up there," Jane instantly replied. "I didn't say all of that."
Maura laughed and placed the bag of food on the table. "The hospital food must have that dreadful. I hope you don't mind if I got you the same thing I did the other day."
"Are you asking me if I mind you bringing me a cheeseburger, a strawberry milkshake, and cheese fries? You wound me, Isles," Jane said with a hand to her heart.
Isles let out a melodious laugh as she placed the food on the table. Jane noticed that there was only enough food for one person. "Hey, did you get anything?"Jane asked.
"No. I have dinner with my mother tonight. She doesn't even know I'm here right now without my bodyguards," Isles explained. "So I wanted to stop by quick before she starts to question things."
Jane felt a feeling of disappointment flow through her. "Aw, that sucks. I was kind of hoping you would eat with me," Jane admitted.
Time to give this a shot.
"You were?" Isles asked, her voice softening.
"Yeah. I-I've been doing some thinking," Jane said. "I know. Big trouble there. Listen, I know we buried the hatched, but I was wondering if…Well…If you wanted to hang out with me for a day."
Isles stared at her for what felt like forever to Jane before letting out a giggle. "Out of all the things I thought you were going to say. You chose that," Isles said.
Jane was about to snap at the words but saw that Isles was about to continue talking, so she remained silent despite her anger and embarrassment. "It's weird that you did because I was going to ask you the same thing," Isles told her.
Jane blinked.
"Oh," Jane said.
"Oh? I-Is that good or bad?" Isles asked.
"N-No! That's great," Jane replied, those previous negative feelings melting away with a grin. "Dr. Rae says I should be able to leave next week Thursday. So how about we hang out on that Saturday?"
Isles tilted her head in thought as if she was going over a mental calendar before she nodded and said, "Next Saturday sounds perfect."
The two girls smiled.
Isles smiled and said, "I-I better get going before my Mother gets angry."
"Yeah, t-totally understandable," Jane replied.
The two girls let out a small laugh before Isles motioned to the door and began to walk to it.
"Hey!" Jane called out.
Isles stopped and looked back at her.
"Next Saturday," Jane agreed. "I'll see you then."
"I'll see you then," Isles replied before a playful grin appeared on her face. "Hero," she quickly said before ducking out of the room.
"That bitch," Jane whispered with a smirk, painfully aware of how red her cheeks had become.
Captain Blues: A hefty chapter is now done. To answer your questions, Yes that is Kimberly Hart from the 2017 movie version of Power Rangers and yes, she will have a sizeable role with helping both Maura and Jane with a few things.
Also, the "Date" is on so until the next chapter!