Hello!
This chapter has been heavily edited, and is not the same as the original one, as I was around 14 when I started this fic. English is not my native language, and there are a whole lot of mistakes in it. I also wanted to edit it, because the earlier chapters needed to be "fleshed out". I cringe when I look back at the original ones, and I've also noticed that a lot of people click on the first chapter, only to leave the story behind because the writing is so bad. That's why it's been edited!
Happy reading.
The characters belong to Tess Gerritsen, author and creator of the Rizzoli and Isles book series. Inspiration is taken from both the books and the TNT series (created by Janet Tamaro, later Jan Nash). I am, in no way, affiliated or making money off of this, I'm simply having fun within their universe.
It was a long and tiring day at Boston PD. For some reason, criminals weren't out killing somebody or robbing banks. Though they were glad that there weren't any innocent people out there being murdered, they still wished that at least something would happen just so they could get off their asses and do some work. For the special occasion, Korsak had found some old cold cases they could try to solve. The only problem was that there weren't any leads, only suspects; that were now either imprisoned for other crimes, dead, or simply vanished. Jane, on the other hand, found the uneventful day to be useful. She excused herself to go get coffee for them, solely so she could bring Maura one later. Thus, after she got back with the coffee, she quickly handed Frost his triple cappuccino, Korsak's plain black coffee, and Frankie's vanilla latte. She then got on the elevator to deliver Mauras.
Once out of the elevator, she headed towards Maura's office. No cases meant no dead bodies, which meant that Maura was stuck with paperwork. However, the medical examiner enjoyed having to do paperwork. It's all about the organising and detailing, she explained in a text to Jane earlier that day when the detective complained about their slow day. She was about to open the door to Maura's office and make a grand entrance when she stopped dead in her tracks. Somebody was yelling. Maura was yelling. But Maura doesn't yell, Jane thought to herself. The usually calm and collected Dr. Isles sounded angry as well, and it was obvious she was in a phone call. Jane could vaguely hear another mans voice on the other end as she leaned towards the door eavesdropping. She knew it was wrong to spy on Maura like this, but Maura wasn't the yelling type. He was also yelling. Jane could make out that the man's voice belonged to Ian Faulkner; Maura's husband.
Jane had often wondered why the hell Maura was married to this idiot. Of course, they had their similarities considering that they both were doctors. They also enjoyed fancy wine, and could not stand cheap, five dollars worth of wine. Yet, Maura never complained about the mediocre, second-rate wine that Jane poured her on their infamous movie nights. Jane also thought that Ian resembled a blobfish. They obviously didn't see the same guy when looking at him, although his looks weren't half that bad, his personality wasn't exactly one for the books either. Something was just off with the entire human being. It didn't help that Maura wasn't the same after getting married with him. Nonetheless, Jane was supportive of Mauras decision, albeit supportive didn't mean happy.
As Jane listened in on Maura and Ian's screaming match, she realised not only was Maura angry; she was sad. She leaned a bit closer towards the door, hearing the blondes muffled voice scream 'So now its just my fault?', followed by 'excuse me?! Are you saying that I don't want be, because believe me! I want this just as much as you do!'. Jane could barely hear Ians muffled voice scream back 'No one wanted this as much as-', before the sound of a loud thud, which she assumed was Maura smacking her phone down at the desk. Jane felt a cold shiver spread down her spine, the hair on her arms spiking up before she cleared her throat and knocking on the door.
"Maura? Can I come in? I got you your low-fat, no foam, decaf, latte," Jane spoke, her voice filled with care after halfway witnessing the whole ordeal.
"Door is open, Jane,"She responded, obviously trying to hide the agony in her voice.
Pushing the door in carefully, Jane walked in and awkwardly handed her the coffee. The noticeably fake smile on Mauras face faded before she spoke,
"You heard me on the phone, didn't you?" She said, to which Jane nodded in response.
Maura continued to lean on her desk, placing the coffee besides her, crossing her arms and looking the other way- as if she could conceal the emotion that was written all over her face.
"I think the whole department heard you," Jane jokingly said, half-heartedly smiling, trying to see if she could make Maura's mouth curve at least a little. It failed. Instead, Maura proceeded to sit down by her desk, covering her face with her hands, letting her strawberry blonde hair fall in front of her. Jane walked towards her, seating herself onto the desk. She reached her hand out to take Maura's, but Maura didn't take hers. Instead, Maura let her hands fall down to her lap, revealing the empty expression that had taken over her face. Jane watched as the woman opposite her started fiddling with the ring Ian had once put on her finger during their wedding ceremony.
"Was it Ian?" Jane carefully asked, not wanting to pry, but wanting to help. She couldn't bear seeing her best friend like this, and walking out of that room without at least letting Maura know she was free to speak if she wanted to, was like leaving a victim at the crime scene. They had once used to talk freely about nothing and everything, yet, after Maura got married, it was like they hadn't spoken at all. Now they only talked about work, or which movie they were going to see next. Jane missed that. She missed her best friend. "You know you can talk to me, Maur'? Okay?" She continued. Maura nodded, continuing to fiddle with her wedding ring.
There was a silence between them that was nor comfortable, nor awkward. It was a confirming silence. Jane had said what she wanted to say, although she would say more if she could, but she didn't want her own opinions to overshadow Maura's. What Jane had to say about Ian shouldn't matter, whether she liked him or not, Maura's happiness was key. She wanted Maura to be happy, but lately, come to think about it, she'd looked miserable. Jane did want to ask, but figured that if there was anything, she would come to her- right?
"It's not that important," Maura suddenly said, "It was just a fight. We'll get through it, they all do," She finished, still trying strong to hold up the strong, unfazed, facade she had built up over the past few months. Only for it to finally collapse, and fade. Maura let a small sob out, and whilst trying to collect herself, she reached for a tissue to wipe away her tears. Jane sat there not knowing what to do. Maura was the one in this friendship being good at comforting and helping out, this was one of the few times where Jane was on the other side.
"Maur'," Jane whispered, reaching out to tuck a strand of hair behind Maura's ear that had fallen out of its place as Maura took a deep breath.
"Ian and I, we," Maura started, clearing her throat, "We have been trying for a baby for quite some time now, but," she whimpered, another tear letting itself fall. Jane just sat there, afraid of what was coming next. "It's not going very well," Maura finished.
"Oh, Maura, I'm so sorry. I had no idea," Jane confessed, not knowing how to comfort Maura. Jane had never actually thought about kids, she knew she at some point in her life wanted kids, but for Maura this was the next milestone. She was married, of course children was the next step. "I really don't know what to say Maura," Jane concluded. She couldn't possibly imagine what Maura was going through, and since she couldn't say anything to fix this, she might as well be honest. Then, Maura would know she listened.
"You don't have to say anything, Jane," Maura replied, getting up from her seat to grab her purse, Jane followed her with her eyes as the blonde fished out a folded piece of paper from said purse before handing Jane the paper. The brunette carefully folded out the piece of paper, only to see three square, black and white photos of what seemed to be Maura and Ian's unborn child.
"Maura, I- oh my god," Jane covered her mouth with her hand, looking up from the paper to see that Maura's face was filled with sorrow.
Maura's lips curved into a shy smile, crossing her arms before she spoke."It was my first sonogram,".
Jane smiled back at her "It's beautiful," Right as she said that, Maura's smile once again faded, and Jane gave her a confused look, not understanding why the medical examiners expression had changed. "Did something happen? Did Ian not want the baby?" She questioned.
"We both wanted it, but after we came back from the crime scene from that cold case," Maura paused. Jane had been the one to convince Maura to join them, not only because Maura mentioned the need for fresh air, but because work was boring without her best friend. "I found out that I miscarried, I lost the baby," the blonde whimpered, hugging herself.
Jane rose from the desk and hurriedly went to hold her. Maura accepted the embrace, letting her head rest on Jane's shoulder, and so they stood there for a while. Maura letting her grief out, and Jane stroking her back with one hand, the other stroking the strawberry blonde hair, trying to soothe Maura.
"What did I do to deserve this?" Maura whimpered onto Jane's shoulder, trying to catch her breath, her voice slightly muffled.
"It's not your fault Maur'," Jane began, "you don't deserve this, but you certainly didn't do anything that could've caused this to happen," Jane paused, taking a step back, breaking the hug, so she could take a closer look at Maura's face before continuing, "You're Maura, you take every precaution for every little thing, I mean, you even check for bed bugs in hotel rooms!"
"Everyone does that, Jane," Maura said, she was the one now confused, but it helped, as it ceased the crying a bit.
"They do?" Jane muttered, and regretted using bed bugs as an example. But instead, Maura let out a soft giggle, smirking, which made Jane smile back. The doctor wiped her eyes, wondering what she would've done without Jane. "But in all seriousness, if you need anything, let me know. I don't have the slightest clue about what you're going through, but I care. I care about you so much, Maura," Jane finished, her eyes searching for understanding in the eyes of her best friend.
"I care, too, looks like Frost has found a lead on that cold case you're working on," Maura said, pointing to her office window where they saw Frost standing, holding up a picture of something that looked like a hand-drawn map.
Now Maura was the one to hug Jane, whispering a soft thank you before watching Jane walk towards the door.
"Call me if you need anything, or if you wanna talk- and I mean it. I don't care if you wake me up in the middle of the night, I love you, y'know," Jane said as she left.
≈R&I≈
The clock had just passed 5pm when Maura decided to wrap up and collect the data she had printed before heading home to her empty Beacon Hill house. Ian had just left to Africa after being offered a two-weeks teaching opportunity for youth interested in doctors without borders. She was looking forward to come home to peace and quiet, perhaps she could ask Jane to come over. They could have their long-awaited movie night without Ian checking in on them every ten minutes.
Ian was a man of control. He believed everything and everyone had its time and its place, and he wasn't quite fond of Jane either. He was afraid that Jane would try and make a move on Maura- his beloved wife. When he confessed this, out of anger, to Maura, it left her dumbfounded. She told him that that would never happen, and just because Jane was openly bisexual didn't mean that she would try to hook up with her. They were just friends, just friends. Ian had then, in response, shouted at Maura that Jane's lifestyle wasn't something that he wanted his wife to surround herself with. Of course, the only logical response, was to oblige to Ians wishes. This wasn't something Maura could tell Jane, so she vaguely spoke around the subject, telling her that Ian wanted to have some alone time with her- which wasn't exactly a lie. How could she tell Jane that she couldn't come over because she was bisexual? Maura had found the whole conversation with Ian biphobic, but didn't dare to add that to their little disagreement. There had been a lot of disagreements lately, Maura found herself thinking.
Just as she turned off the lights to her office, she realised that her car keys were still sitting on her desk. As she walked over and bent down just a smidge to pick them up, she felt a sharp pain spread itself across her abdomen. Instinctively, she reached down to hold her stomach as if it would help the pain go away. Those cramps had come and gone ever since she miscarried the day before, but those cramps weren't as strong as this one. It was far worse. Before she knew it, she felt a warm liquid spread down her legs, a metallic smell could reveal that it was, in fact, blood. The stabbing pain only kept getting worse, the blood kept dripping down her legs, and Maura's heart pounded with fear. She had to call for help. So she did, but no one came. Susie had left hours ago, the lab technician had just driven home, and Maura was sure that no one from the floor above her could hear her call.
She tried walking as fast as she could towards the elevator, her hand firmly on her lower abdomen, knowing that Angela was still at the café. Angela was supposed to ride home with Maura. Recently, Maura decided to shorten her days so she could focus on her own health. Ian had convinced her she was the problem as to why they couldn't conceive, even though Maura had explained that in some cases it might take longer to get pregnant. Also, it was beneficial for her own health. Keeping a balanced day helped her lower her stress levels, which would make her chances of ending up pregnant higher. Maura had read that through countless medical studies.
When the elevator made a halting stop, Maura winced. The pain was unbearable. It kept getting stronger and stronger as she made her way through the elevator, only to stop at the door to catch herself. She leaned against it, trying not to succumb to the pressure in her head, ignoring the stars she saw; trying not to pass out. That was when she heard Jane calling her name. She was safe now, she could give in, Jane would catch her.
Jane witnessed Maura collapse inside of the elevator, hurrying towards her to keep the metal doors from closing. Once to her side, she tried shaking her awake. That's when she noticed the pile of blood forming beneath the blondes skirt. Jane didn't know what to do, she panicked, but managed to grab her phone attached to her belt dealing 911.
"Jane, is that Maura? Is she ready to leave? I just need to grab my- Oh my god! Jane? What happened? Is she OK?" Angela cried. Standing from afar she could see her daughters best friend passed out, bleeding profusely, as her daughter spoke with the 911 operator. The Rizzoli family matriarch was, for the first time in her life, now standing there powerless with her hands clasped over her mouth, not knowing what to do.
Jane hung up with the 911 operator, turning Maura so she was lying on her back, just as the operator had told her to do. She kept trying to shake Maura awake, "Maura?," she wept, tears prickling down her olive skinned face. "Maura!" She tried once more.
"J-jane," was all Maura could let out when she heard the detectives voice. Unable to fully open her eyes, all she could see was a shadowed silhouette of her as she felt Jane take her hand. "I'm.. love you," she said, stumbling in her words.
Jane wasn't sure she had heard her right, did she say I'm in love with you, or I love you? It was for sure the latter, Jane thought. "I love you too, Maura, hang in there, please don't leave me, there's an ambulance, it's on its way," Jane bawled back, her voice strong in yet such a horrible situation. Seeing her best friend lying there, bleeding to death, was something she thought she'd only see in her nightmares, the ones where Hoyt didn't only torture Jane, but Maura as well.
Maura let her eyes fall close, the shadows and silhouette disappearing, as she embraced the darkness and let loose of all pain.