The Denton case stalled not just because Officer Richard Keller was dead. The man who seemingly paid him off, the next link in the case, Terrence Parker, committed suicide before BPD could even serve a search warrant. The middle-aged corporate executive was found in his Back Bay home without a note. Detectives uncovered a basement of child pornography and evidence that Parker was funding a large sex trafficking ring that targeted young, middle-class girls ages 10 to 14. His clients and accomplices, aside from Richard Keller, and the still imprisoned Grant Swindell, were untraceable. At least to the detectives on the case. Sergeant Jane Rizzoli had yet to return to BPD. The interim Medical Examiner at the time, Dr. Kent Drake, quickly ruled Parker's death a suicide while Dr. Maura Isles was on medical leave. By the time the power duo returned, it seemed whatever chance they had of finding out whether Olivia Denton was alive, seemed gone.
"Detective Rizzoli?"
AJ jerked up from her computer. She'd been so suctioned into her research on the Denton case that she hadn't realized her superior, Sergeant Tom Landon was standing behind her, arms folded across his chest.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"Nothing," AJ managed spinning around in her chair. A woman was with Sergeant Landon. She had red hair, freckles, and pale blue eyes. Her features were so intense yet delicate that she looked like a cartoon character. But she was also serious and on first appearances, seemed pissed.
"This is your partner," Landon said. "Detective Emma McCall."
She stood and offered a hand. "Nice to meet you," she said. "I'm AJ Rizzoli."
"I know who you are," Emma muttered. She begrudgingly returned the handshake. Her jaw was rigid, and her gaze didn't hold a hint of friendliness.
"I'll leave you to get to know each other," Landon said.
AJ tried to remain upbeat as their squad leader left them in the bullpen. Emma's face settled into a grimace. She wore jeans and a tucked in black button-down shirt. It was a contrast to AJ's gray cashmere turtleneck and pressed slacks. So much of her was Jane but she carried herself like Maura.
"I read a little bit about your career once Sergeant Landon told me you'd be my partner," AJ started. "I saw you were a K9 officer. I'm sorry about Coop."
"It's not the safest job for a dog," Emma said, her Boston accent thick as she kept arms folded across her chest. AJ had read about Emma's K9 being shot while chasing down a suspect. But she sensed the loss of the dog wasn't the only reason her new partner seemed apprehensive.
"Eight years on patrol is impressive," AJ tried again, desperate to make conversation.
"Yeah, well not all of us are handed the golden key to become detective," the woman told her.
"I'm sorry?"
"Your family has basically run this place for the last two decades. I mean, your uncle is the Homicide Captain for God sake. Your mother was Lieutenant before that and your other mom was the freaking Chief Medical Examiner," Emma said with a strange combination of resentment and awe. "And don't you have a crazy brother on SWAT?"
"My cousin TJ," AJ mumbled, her face growing hot with anger.
"Even the Division One Café is dedicated to your grandmother."
"Right and don't forget her late husband, Sean Cavanaugh, was superintendent of the Boston Police Academy before he retired. Oh, and my cousin Chris is an assistant D.A. and his sister is a first grade teacher, did I forget any of the family tree?" AJ snapped.
"Don't take offense if I'm not thrilled to be partnered with the station legacy," her partner said.
"I'm not sure what that's supposed to mean but I earned this spot all on my own, regardless of my name or family. I put in my time at NYPD to earn my shield," AJ hissed. She nearly stopped there but her heart was racing with rage. "And just so you know, being a Rizzoli isn't all it's cracked up to be. My mother's name is on a plaque on that wall downstairs because she died when I was sixteen years old. My other mother can't stand that I wear a badge. She didn't even go to my graduation from the academy. So don't try to act like I was served some miraculous advantage on a silver platter."
The redhead didn't apologize but her face softened.
"You don't have to like me. You're a woman, so you know as well as I do what it's like to work with people on this job that wish we didn't exist," AJ continued. She sighed. "You don't have to like me, Emma. But you do have to respect me; and I'll respect you in return."
"Rizzoli, McCall, get going!" Sergeant Landon called across the bullpen. "We've got a body in Charlestown."
Their first day as partners passed as well as it could with their tense introduction. They worked the scene diligently, didn't step on each other's toes when interviewing witnesses and were just waiting on the Medical Examiner's final report by the time night fell. They didn't like each other, but AJ was comforted to know they'd get the job done.
"You know, you really don't have to do this," her mother sighed.
She appeared at the doorway of AJ's room in the North Shore house. The young detective smirked, piling more of her belongings into boxes. Most of her room had been packed up and in the morning her brothers would be over to help her move.
"I'm twenty-eight years old and living with my mother," AJ smiled.
"What's wrong with that?" Maura winked. The doctor sat down on the bed and was hit with nostalgia. She could see AJ as a little girl again, with a button nose and short chocolate hair. She'd always been a miniature Jane. And just like Jane she loved Maura's cuddles and kisses and always begged for an extra bedtime story. The doctor almost always gave in, loving every minute her daughter snuggled against her. She'd giggle when Maura would whisper sweet French phrases to her and repeat them back in the glow of a night light.
"How was work?" she asked.
AJ shrugged, mindlessly packing away books. "My partner hates me."
"What? Why?" Maura asked in shock.
"She's just not thrilled about being partnered with a Rizzoli. She seems to think I got the job because of the family," AJ explained.
"But that's not true. Your case record in New York was in the top ten percentile."
"I didn't know you knew that," she smirked at her mother.
"Of course," Maura mumbled, still fuming at the idea of someone giving AJ a hard time. "Did you tell her that you got a perfect score on your detective's exam after just two years or that you graduated from Columbia Law School?"
"Those are all things that I think would make her despise me more," AJ chuckled.
"Why? Those are all great traits," Maura said with her typical reasoning. Without Jane, she'd lost some of her social tact.
"Well, yes, but not in this case. And you're my mother, so you have to think I'm amazing," she replied.
"I don't have to, it's true. Do you want me to talk to her, Alexandra?"
"Oh my God, no, no, no," AJ insisted.
"She should know she's lucky to be your partner."
"I'm a grown woman and you don't need to fight my battles for me. And I don't think having my mother come to the station would really help me fit in, which is already a challenge," she replied.
Maura frowned and distracted herself by peaking into one of AJ's boxes.
"Mom," she said, grabbing her attention. "I'll be okay."
"I was just getting used to you being here," Maura sniffled.
"I'll still be here! In Boston!" AJ smiled taking a seat next to her. She wrapped an arm around her mother's shoulder. "Plus, I can hardly cook anyway, and I'm not going to let the boys hog you. I'll be over more than you want."
"I don't think that's possible," the doctor said gently, swallowing past a lump in her throat.
In the month that her daughter had been home, they'd eased back into a relationship that seemed impossible years before. Even with AJ's obsession with the Denton case, something had changed between them. In her slow pursuit and questions, she had managed to open Maura back up to a past she often considered too painful to revisit. She could look at AJ without feeling the simultaneous guilt and hurt that came with seeing Jane's face in her daughter. Something that subconsciously made her avoid AJ at times; another thing she'd probably never forgive herself for. Now they could at least make up for lost time.
"Uncle Frankie keeps asking about you," AJ interrupted her mother's thoughts and Maura quickly looked over at her in confusion. "He misses you."
Maura was about to ask who AJ was talking about when she spotted the photograph in her hands. The framed shot was taken around Christmas. AJ and James must have been eight years old, TJ a rowdy thirteen, and four-year-old Owen still clung to Maura's leg. Jane held their niece, Lucy, who was still a chubby toddler and there in the center of the mix was Frankie Rizzoli, with his son Chris on his shoulders. AJ clung to one of her uncle's sides and James to the other; they'd always adored their uncle.
"I miss him too," Maura whispered.
"Will you ever patch things up?" AJ asked. "I mean, he's here now, mom. We're all here and we're all family."
"Its complicated, Alexandra," she mumbled, growing rather impatient. She got up from the bed and paced to one of the walls, examining AJ's medals and ribbons from hockey and softball.
"It's always complicated," her daughter grumbled. "I've read the report. It's not his fault."
"That's enough," Maura cut her off. A large lump had formed in her throat and the doctor had to tense her whole body to keep tears from filling her eyes.
"Mom…"
"I'm giving a presentation to the American Board of Pathology tomorrow morning. I'll be preparing in the study if you need me."
AJ watched as her mother whisked away. Despite the last month of opening up, it seemed Dr. Maura Isles-Rizzoli was still holding secrets close to her chest.
…30 years earlier…
Frankie and Nina got married the first week of October. A chill had come to Boston, but nothing compared to the ice and snow that was still ahead. The crisp breeze and autumn colors were a gentle reprieve from the muggy summer. And if anyone needed a change of seasons, it was Jane and Maura.
The sergeant stood at her brother's side as he exchanged vows. Tommy was technically the "best man" but Frankie insisted he wouldn't have anyone other than Jane with him on his special day. Maura watched from the groom's side, handing Angela tissues as she cried through the ceremony. Korsak sat on Maura's other side, doing his best not to snigger too loudly at the overly emotional mother of the groom.
When the priest pronounced the couple man and wife, and Frankie took Nina into his arms for a passionate, dipping kiss, Maura's eyes were only on Jane. The brunette's smile broke across her face in pure joy, her eyes sparkling with a few discrete tears. Her gaze flickered to Maura, making the doctor's heart swell more ardently.
The reception was a flurry of champagne, twinkling lights, and music. Thanks in part to Maura's influence, a string quartet hummed away at one corner as people mingled and drank. The fall colors of the outdoor venue made a heavenly circle of greens, golds, and burgundy around the jovial celebration. As the sun went down, Maura lingered by one of the many fire pits that had been lit, sipping on a glass of champagne.
"Trying to sneak away from me?" Jane asked.
She instantly slipped her arms around Maura's waist from behind, pressing eager lips to the crook of her neck. Maura shivered into her arms, immediately relaxing against Jane's familiar hold. The party continued behind them, the music loud and people's laughter wafted across the dance floor.
"It's not fair to Nina that you look this stunning," she whispered into Maura's ear.
"You're one to talk," Maura winked.
She turned to face Jane, causing the brunette's grin to stretch wider. Maura tried to reflect the same bliss back, but Jane saw right through her.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
The last three weeks, they'd fallen into easy routine. Jane reveled in her place back at the station, especially in her new leadership role as sergeant. As much as she tried to convince herself otherwise in Quantico, she couldn't imagine not being back. They'd already closed four cases since her return, all without shootouts, threats, or injury. Still, Jane could sense something was eating at her fiancée. She had a few guesses but had so far avoided broaching the subject.
"Nothing's wrong," Maura said but her chest flared red.
"You're still having nightmares," Jane frowned.
At least three nights a week, Maura bolted up in bed, breathless and clammy after a night terror. A few times she even clutched at Jane as she tossed and turned. On another occasion, which horrified the medical examiner to no end, she scratched Jane so hard in her sleep that it drew blood. Each time Jane held her, kissing the side of her head, rocking her back and forth through tears in the dark. Maura attended therapy regularly and for the most part, her memories of the kidnapping and Keller had less power over her. But at night, they still lingered. It didn't help that she felt Jane was hiding something from her. The feeling that none of it was over.
"It's not just the nightmares," Maura confessed. Jane swallowed hard, anticipating what her fiancée was about to ask. "You're still after the Denton case, aren't you?"
Jane looked down and pulled in a slow breath. She'd avoided talking about the case with Maura for too long. She knew they shouldn't keep secrets from each other, but like always, Jane found herself overly protective.
"Jane?"
"Yes, I'm trying to fill in some of the gaps," she confessed.
Maura pulled back from Jane, stepping closer to the fire.
"I knew it," she shook her head.
"Listen, it's not anything dangerous."
"Not anything dangerous? Really, Jane?" Maura rolled her eyes.
"The case is at a dead end anyway. Keller is dead. The man who paid him off at Everett Corps is dead," Jane rambled.
"Then what are you after?"
"Someone still threatened you. Olivia's blood proved she was alive after all this time. I have a duty," Jane said.
She hadn't wanted to have this conversation and especially not in public. Her cheeks grew warm as the reception continued joyfully behind them. Maura's eyes flashed with anger, her face tight and unflinching.
"What about us? What about your duty to us?" Maura asked.
"This is why I didn't say anything."
"And you're wrong for that. We've always been honest with each other. Now I'm going to be your wife and suddenly you're hiding things from me?"
"I was trying to protect you," Jane said.
"I don't want you to protect me, Jane. I want you to protect us, and that means protecting yourself. That means not chasing something that could get you in trouble or worse," Maura swallowed.
Her eyes glistened and Jane felt guilt grow in her gut. She hated putting the forlorn look on the doctor's face.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
Maura wiped at a tear and looked out at the rest of the party. Sean and Angela spun around on the dance floor. A four-year-old TJ shoveled icing into his mouth while Tommy wasn't looking. Frankie stood proudly with Nina, an arm around her waist, never taking his eyes off his bride.
"I want that Jane," Maura gestured out to the family. "I want to be your wife. I want to get married and have children together. I don't want to be scared that I'm going to lose you."
"You're not going to lose me," Jane assured.
She stepped closer and grabbed Maura's hands into her own.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you the truth," Jane apologized. "I promise I won't do anything to put us in danger. And I promise, you'll get all of this."
Maura smiled, her chest feeling a little lighter at Jane's reassurance. She didn't like that she was pursuing the Denton case, but she also expected nothing less. Jane wouldn't stop until Olivia was found. It's simply who she was. But at least Maura could rest a little easier knowing that Jane wouldn't take extreme measures. It was all she could get out of the detective. One of the risks that came with marrying the woman in the first place.
"I'm going to hold you to that," Maura said.
Jane responded by kissing her. Maura let herself fall back into peace, doing her best to enjoy the celebration. Jane glowed under the string lights, her dark hair falling into full curls, her body strong and perfectly curved in a black dress. The sergeant reached out to her, looking dreamy with an easy smile.
"Dance with me," Jane said, her scrappy voice making Maura's knees weak.
She grabbed onto the sergeant's hand and Jane led them to the dance floor where the band had switched to a slower ballad. Maura looped her arms up around Jane's neck, swaying carefully to the beat as Jane led them on a languid glide across the floor. The rest of their family and friends danced around them, but Jane's chocolate gaze never left Maura's face as she held onto her possessively. Maura could've stayed there forever if it wasn't for a playful interruption.
"I'm afraid we're going to have to cut in," Tommy Rizzoli teased.
A slightly drunk Frankie joined his brother, eagerly breaking up Jane and Maura. While the medical examiner laughed, Jane nearly shouted at her brothers.
"Can I not have one moment of peace with my fiancée?" Jane growled.
"Nope, definitely not," Tommy grinned, grabbing Jane for a dance.
"Careful, they both have two left feet," Jane warned Maura.
"Oh, like you're Chita Rivera," Frankie rolled his eyes.
Maura allowed Frankie to give her a twirl before they fell into an easy, platonic dance.
"Congratulations, Frankie. You and Nina make a beautiful couple," Maura smiled.
Nina winked at them a short distance away while she danced with a surprisingly graceful Korsak.
"Thanks. That's all her though," Frankie grinned proudly.
"It's good to see you both so happy," Maura replied.
"You too," Frankie winked. He looked over at Jane and Tommy who were half dancing and half wrestling. "You really going to marry my sister? It's not too late to back out."
Maura chuckled as she watched her fiancée. "Well, she's stubborn, occasionally infuriating, and undeniably impulsive," she admitted. "But I can't imagine my life without her."
"Good," Frankie smiled. "She's her best with you. Her happiest. And there's no one quite like Dr. Maura Isles."
As she danced with her future brother-in-law, the heaviness fell back into Maura's gut. Frankie had been with them through the worst. He was always there to pick up the pieces, to have Jane's back. Maura wouldn't have been alive if it wasn't for him driving her to the hospital from the cabin that night. Before that Jane had almost given her life for her brother. It was a bond the three of them would always have. A bond that Maura needed to believe in.
"She's still looking into the Denton case. Looking for Olivia and answers," Maura swallowed hard.
Frankie's face turned serious. She assumed he already knew by the way he frowned.
"I've tried to convince her to give it a rest," Frankie said.
"You know she won't," Maura sighed.
He nodded and Maura dove her hazel eyes into his, desperate for him to reflect the same gravity.
"Promise me, you'll take care of her. That you won't let her do something stupid. That you won't let her get killed," Maura said.
"Maura…"
"Promise me Frankie," she demanded.
Their dance nearly came to a stop and Frankie nodded dutifully, his dark eyes heavy and certain.
"I promise," he said.
…30 years later…
A light snow fell as Frankie Rizzoli pulled his truck outside the North Shore house. He hadn't been there for twelve years. Not since his sister was alive. In some ways, it was too painful to think of going back. Jane and Maura's home had become a gathering place for their family. A place for birthdays and Christmases and 4th of July barbeques on the water. And then suddenly it was over. When Jane died, the celebrations, the laughter, and the togetherness came to a halt.
He tried to be there for his niece and nephews after the worst happened. He knew it's what Jane would've wanted. He knew it's what the kids deserved. But he couldn't be there for them at the house, and not just because of the pain and memories. It was because he'd let down the very woman his sister held most dear. He'd let down Maura Isles, and in all the time that passed, she rarely spoke to him and never uttered a word of forgiveness. Not that he expected her to.
Frankie fumbled with the zipper on his parka and pulled down his baseball cap while he made his way up the walkway to the massive house. While AJ asked him to come help her move, it was Nina who convinced him to go. She knew that Frankie needed closure. It might not happen in a day, she warned, but they needed a start. Life was too short after all.
The front door swung open, and Owen came stomping through, his arms loaded up with boxes.
"How do you have so much crap!" Owen yelled behind him.
"It's not that much!" AJ shouted back, trailing after him.
"This is your fourth box of shoes," he rolled his eyes.
"That's nothing. Have you seen mom's closet?" AJ insisted.
Frankie grinned as he watched them, not helping but see so much of himself and Jane in Owen and AJ.
"Looks like you two could use some help," he greeted.
"Thank God," Owen sighed. He dropped his boxes into the back of AJ's SUV before throwing an arm around his uncle.
"How's it going bud?" Frankie asked.
"I'll be better when this is over," he told him.
"Thanks for coming, we could use the back-up," AJ huffed. She dropped off her load in the car. "TJ had to work, and James bailed. It's like he uses being a doctor and saving lives as an excuse to get out of helping his only sister."
"Is this everything?" Frankie asked.
"Just my mattress and then we can go over to the new townhouse," AJ told him.
Frankie followed AJ and Owen toward the front door when Maura appeared. He froze on the walkway, suddenly aware by her surprised countenance that she hadn't been expecting him.
"Frankie," she said coldly.
"Maura," he swallowed.
"Come on," AJ muttered to Owen, leaving Maura and Frankie behind.
The aged police captain put his hands in the pockets of his jeans, while Maura studied him from the doorway of the warm house.
"AJ asked me to help her move," Frankie told her.
"She must have forgot to mention it," Maura replied.
The awkward tension between them made Frankie want to bolt. His sister-in-law's face was unreadable. He couldn't tell if she wanted to kill him, hug him, or run away all together.
"I'm sorry. I can go wait in the truck. I was just going to follow them to AJ's new place."
"No, I'm glad you're here to help her," Maura nodded.
She wrapped her sweater tighter around her. Her hair was pulled into a low bun, and she didn't wear any make-up. Frankie hadn't seen her in years and tried no to be taken back by how much older she looked. He knew he'd changed drastically as well.
"Of course, it's no trouble. She's my niece. She's like my own," Frankie said.
"You're watching over her at the station?" Maura asked.
The doctor's voice wavered but her gaze stayed steady on his face. Frankie nearly looked away as the memory hit him. He wondered if Maura experienced the same feeling. If she too flashed back to the day thirty years ago, his wedding day, when he made a promise that he couldn't keep.
"I'm not going to let anything happen to her," Frankie said.
Maura nodded, chewing on her lower lip as if to hold in more words. Or perhaps more tears. Frankie watched her wipe away a single tear. He tried to suppress his own range of emotions that threatened to swell up.
"I've missed you, Maura," he confessed.
Before anything else could be said, AJ and Owen ungracefully carried a large mattress through the doorway.
"Watch out mom," AJ advised. "Uncle Frankie can we throw this in your truck?"
"Of course," he said.
He gave Maura a grim half-smile and nod. "Good to see you," he said. "Take care of yourself."
"You too," Maura managed. "And thank you, Frankie."
She watched as he joined her daughter and son, the three of them laughing as they covered the mattress with a tarp against the light snowflakes. Like so many times, she wished Jane was there, carrying boxes and orchestrating the Rizzoli troops. Instead, she settled for this. Her family together after so many years apart. Her dog whimpered next to her, and Maura closed the door, ignoring the ache in her chest at Alexandra's move, Jane's absence, and Frankie's return.