Author's Note: I have a plan brewing for a longer crime based Rizzles story (it's a long way off…I plan to finish at least most of my other stories first), but I realized that I haven't really done anything with a crime storyline. Therefore, I wanted to do a trial run that uses a framework that already existed (at least to some degree) and change it up for my purposes. Basically, this is a one-shot to practice and to see how I feel about writing crime stuff.

This story has a slight crossover into the world of Bones, but since it is primarily a Rizzles story, I posted it as a Rizzoli and Isles story rather than a crossover.

Trigger warning: child abduction (no physical violence against children and no child deaths)

Longer summary: Five years ago, Maura Isles walked out on her life. She left her friends, her job, and most importantly her best friend. She couldn't watch the love of her life build a family with someone else. Maura had built a new life in Europe, doing her best to move on the only way she knew how. After cutting off all contact with her friends and family, Maura has no idea what had happened to Jane, the rest of the Rizzolis, or anyone else from her old life.

Jane has spent the last five years rebuilding her life after everything fell apart. Thinking her best friend could never the same way she did, Jane had tried to move on by dating her high school crush, Casey Jones. When she found herself pregnant, she agreed to marry him, but that's when everything changed. Maura left, and Casey realized that the woman he was about to marry was in love with someone else, so he left too. After giving birth to twins, Jane moved the three of them to Washington, DC, to start a new life working for the FBI.

Neither woman ever planned to return to their old lives, but when Maura receives a ransom call for two Rizzoli children she's never heard of, everything changes.

European Council of Legal Medicine, Paris, France: 6:52pm CET, 12:52pm EDT

Maura sighed and pushed her hair behind her ear as she scanned through the document in front of her. It was unusually hot in Paris, even for a late summer evening, and the heat was making Maura more tired than usual. She was hoping to finish her work soon and head home. Friday hadn't come fast enough this week. Even though Maura loved her work, she was really looking forward to a relaxing weekend away from the office.

Maura's phone started ringing, and she picked it up without taking her eyes off of the screen in front of her. She pressed the accept button on her phone without bothering to look at the caller ID. When she heard an automated voice on the other end, she started to hang up, figuring it was a telemarketer, but she stopped when she heard the name "Rizzoli," a name she hadn't said nor heard in over five years.

"I have taken Theo and Isla Rizzoli. They have been buried alive. They have 24 hours to live. Wire transfer 15 million US dollars to the following Grand Cayman account or they will suffocate to death. Upon receipt of the wire transfer, I will provide you Theo and Isla's GPS coordinates. If I don't receive the money in the numbered account within 20 hours, the children will die. This is the last time you will hear from me. There will be no further communications."

Maura sat frozen at her desk, unable to process what she had just heard or to decide her next move. She had never heard the names Theo and Isla Rizzoli, but she had a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach that she might know exactly who they are. This had to be a nightmare or a really sick prank. This couldn't be real. Could it?

Maura pulled herself together long enough to type 'Theo and Isla Rizzoli' into the search engine on her computer. When the results of her search popped up, she wasn't sure if she was going to vomit or lose consciousness. Her entire body was trembling as fear coursed through her veins.

"AMBER ALERT: Washington, DC and Northern Virginia. Child abduction. Victim: Theo Rizzoli, 4 yr old, 3ft 5in, 37 lbs, short curly black hair, white male; Victim: Isla Rizzoli, 4 yr old, 3 ft 4in, 36 lbs, long curly black hair, white female; Suspect: Unknown; Last seen: Alexandria, VA, 11:25am."

"FBI Agent's 4-year-old Twins Abducted by Gravedigger Copycat."

"Missing: 4-year-old twin boy and girl, Washington, DC metropolitan area."

Maura clicked on one of the articles and nearly passed out when the first paragraph read: "Federal Bureau of Investigation supervisory special agent Jane Rizzoli's four-year-old twin son and daughter were abducted on Friday morning from their preschool playground. They were last seen at 11:25am. The FBI has notified the media that the perpetrator is copying methods used by deceased serial killer Heather Taffet, better known as The Gravedigger."

Maura did another search for "Gravedigger," and the results only served to make her feel worse, something she would have thought impossible.

"Heather Taffet, a serial killer known as The Gravedigger, shot dead by sniper upon arriving at the district courthouse for her appeal."

"Federal prosecutor, Heather Taffet, convicted of the abduction and murder of 10-year-old Terrence Gillroy."

After a few more searches, Maura found additional information about The Gravedigger. Prior to abducting FBI consultants Temperance Brennan and Jack Hodgins in 2006 and FBI agent Seeley Booth in 2009, The Gravedigger had kidnapped and buried alive seven victims. Those whose families paid the ransom had survived, while those whose families did not pay the ransom died and their bodies were not found for years. The Gravedigger had been caught by a team consisting of an FBI agent and a team of forensic scientists out of The Jeffersonian, an international renowned medico-legal lab.

What didn't make sense was why Maura was receiving the ransom call. Maura thought about calling Jane until she realized that she didn't have Jane's number, and there was no way that she would get through to Jane if she called the FBI, even if she tried to use her connections and reputation. Plus, doing so would likely waste valuable time. Time that Jane's children didn't seem to have.

Instead, Maura dialed her lawyer's number.

Federal Bureau of Investigation, Washington, DC: 1:23pm EDT

"TWO HOURS!" Jane screamed. "It's been two hours!" She had never in her life been this panicked. She was frantic and absolutely terrified. If they didn't find her kids alive, she was certain she wouldn't survive it.

"And we're doing everything we can," her partner James Aubrey said calmly, even though inside, he too was panicking. He'd come to love his partner's kids like they were his own niece and nephew, but he knew that he had to hold it together for Jane right now.

"Every available agent is searching for Theo and Isla," her boss Seeley Booth said as he stood up from his desk and walked around it to where Jane and Aubrey were standing. "And the Jeffersonian is searching for evidence at the scene. Angela is already trying to analyze the ransom call. She has your phone connected to her system in case you receive any more communications."

"What I don't get is why they're asking for $15 million," Aubrey said.

"I know, it doesn't make any sense," Booth added as he sat on the edge of his desk and folded his arms in front of his chest. "The Gravedigger always asked for an amount that the victims' families could reasonably pull together in the given timeframe. Taffet's dead, so we know this is a copycat, but what's the point of a ransom that is impossible?"

"Your family doesn't have some secret fortune somewhere; do they?" Aubrey asked, knowing the answer was no.

"No, my whole family has always been working class," Jane replied frustratedly.

"What about the kids' father?" Booth asked tentatively. He knew this was a sensitive topic, but it couldn't be avoided right now.

"I tried calling him, but I couldn't get through. His family doesn't have any money either. I really have no idea…gah!" Jane rubbed her hands over her face in frustration.

"We already have an agent trying to find him," Aubrey told Booth quietly.

"What's his name?" Booth asked.

"Charles Jones," Jane replied tiredly. "He goes by Casey."

"He's a colonel in the Army," Aubrey added.

Booth nodded. "They'll find him," he said absently.

"Are Christine, Hank, Michael, and Katie safe?" Jane asked, referring to Agent Booth and his wife Temperance Brennan's two kids and their colleagues Angela Montenegro and Jack Hodgins' two kids.

"Yes, they're with Max," Booth answered. Max Keenan was Booth's father-in-law, and as an ex-con himself, he would do anything to keep the kids safe.

Jane nodded before she burst out again, "I need to be doing something! I need to go look for them…or I don't know…rob a bank."

"I know it's against FBI policy to pay ransoms," Aubrey said, "but is there anyway we can get $15 million together in time?"

"Not unless either of you know someone with that kind of money," Booth said resignedly. "I talked to Bones and Hodgins and Angela to see if it was possible between our two families, but it's impossible."

Jane opened and closed her mouth a few times. She didn't know what to say, but it meant a lot to her that her friends would even consider trying to get together that kind of money for her. She knew Booth and Brennan, as well as Hodgins and Angela were well off, but she didn't know exactly what kind of money either couple had. "Th-thank you," she whispered.

"We could probably pull together a few million," he said. "But it's not nearly enough. Do you know anyone with that kind of money?" he asked again. "I just can't believe that the copycat is asking for that kinda money without a reason."

"No, I've only ever had one rich friend," Jane said. "But I have no idea where she is or how to get ahold of her. Even if I could, I don't think she was that wealthy."

"Is it worth trying to find her?" Aubrey asked. "Maybe she'd put up part of the ransom along with what you guys can get," he said, referring to the money Booth had offered from the two couples.

Jane shrugged. "Her name was Maura Isles, but I've tried to find her," she said. "I haven't been able to yet." It was true that Jane had tried to find Maura with no luck. In all honesty, she wasn't even sure if Maura was still alive. She had tried to find Maura right after she left Boston without a goodbye, and she had tried again when she heard that Maura's mother and father had died, two and three years ago respectively. "Things didn't exactly end well between us," she added.

"Do you think she could be behind this?" Booth asked.

"No!" Jane said quickly. "Absolutely not. She's…she…I don't know how to explain her, but no. There's no way she'd do something like this." There was little that Jane was sure of right now, but the fact that Maura would never do something like this was at the top of the list of things she did know. In fact, no matter how much Maura hated Jane, Jane was still sure that Maura would give her every dollar she could to save her kids. That was just the kind of person Maura was.

"You can have someone try to find her," Jane said, "but don't waste too much time or resources on finding her. I doubt she can be found in time, and I also don't think she has that kind of money, even if she was the richest person I knew."

"Let's at least put one person on it," Booth said, nodding to Aubrey, who quickly left the room.

"I need to do something," Jane repeated vehemently.

Jeffersonian Institute Medico-legal Lab, Washington, DC: 11:12pm EDT

"Did you call your family?" Cam Saroyan asked quietly. She was sitting at her desk while Jane paced nervously around her office. She had been trying to get the agent to eat for the better part of an hour, but it wasn't going well. Jane hadn't touched her food.

"No," Jane said quietly, shaking her head. "I can't…I'd end up spending all my time trying to console my mom. I can't do that. I don't have it in me. I'll tell them when this is over."

Cam nodded. That was something she could understand. She loved her family, but she always had to be the strong one, especially around her sister.

"Dr. Saroyan?" the security guard called from the door of Cam's office. Cam and Jane both stopped to look at him.

"Yes, Jim?" Cam asked politely.

"There's someone here to see you…" he started.

"The lab is closed," Cam cut in kindly but firmly. Even under normal circumstances the lab would be closed at this time on a Friday evening, but when one of their own – and Jane was one of their own – was in trouble, Cam didn't have time to deal with administrative concerns.

"I tried telling her that, but she won't leave without talking to you…says she can help…says she's a forensic pathologist, too," Jim said.

Jane's heart jumped into her throat. "Who?" she asked quickly, causing both Cam and Jim to turn to look at her.

"Says her name is Dr. Maura Isles," he replied.

"I don't know…" Cam started, but Jane had already left the office at a run. Cam and Jim both followed behind as quickly as possible.

Jane couldn't believe it. Maura Isles was standing just outside the glass security doors at the Jeffersonian. Jane slammed her hand on the button that opened the sliding doors, and her eyes instantly met Maura's. Maura looked absolutely terrified, but other than that, she didn't look any different than the last time Jane had seen her. She was standing there, in her designer dress, with her perfect hair and makeup, clearly unsure of her next move.

"Jane," she said quietly as she dropped her purse to the floor and opened her arms.

Jane didn't even hesitate as she fell into Maura's arms. Her tears came instantly, and she sobbed as Maura held her as tightly as possible.

When Jane's crying slowed, Maura whispered into her hair, "Jane?" She knew that everyone was watching them, but she didn't care. All she cared about right now was Jane and her kids.

Jane started to lift her head from Maura's shoulder when they both heard someone yelling from the other side of the lab. "Jane! Jane! We have something!" Angela called as she ran towards the group standing near the entrance to the lab.

Jane quickly glanced at Maura before turning to Angela. "What?" she said quickly.

"You got a message with GPS coordinate," Angela said quickly when she reached them. "I already notified Booth and Aubrey. They're on their way now. It's in Northern Virginia. With lights and sirens, Booth and Aubrey should get there within ten minutes. Local police have been notified as well."

"I need to be there," Jane said frantically as she patted her pockets in search of her keys. "I have to go."

"I'll drive," Cam said, grabbing Jane's keys from her hand as soon as she pulled them from her pocket. Before anyone can say anything, Cam and Jane were out the door.

"We'll follow," Angela said to Maura. "I'm going to grab Brennan and my keys. Dr. Isles, you can come with us."