N: this might be an eh chapter. I was traveling for work and then got super sick from said traveling. Upside, i had some time to work on an update, downside it might not make sense. Benefits of being super tired and full of medicine. But read on and don't fret! This is rizzles, they'll get there!

Maura

Jane and I were separated inside of the convention center. She was swooped up by a handsome federal agent she once worked with. She reluctantly with him, explaining it was her purpose for being there. She had to play nice in attempts to get an upgrade for her unit. I smiled and told her I understood. I did understand but the strange waves in my stomach told me I really didn't understand. I was jealous of the way the agent grinned at her and the way she slightly blushed under his attentions.

I sucked in a calming breath, reminding myself this was new. I kissed her out of a strange desire to act and not overthink. Kissing Jane Rizzoli was incredible but it didn't mean I had her. I shook my head and started walking towards the forensic science vendors. I'd collect a few pamphlets, smile and make my introductions, then leave. I didn't want to be here, more so now that my con buddy was missing. I'd rather sit with a nice glass of wine and drown out the noise in my mind. I had so much going on, and perhaps it was silly of me to add in more in with Jane and these unusual feelings I had for her. I wasn't a huge believer of love at first sight, but there was something intriguing about Jane that my science had a hard time explaining away. I liked her, I liked the way she made me feel safe and wanted. I smiled a little to myself as I walked towards a booth showing off a new gas spectrometer unit. I sent her a message, telling her to meet me by the café cart for a coffee when she was done. I missed her and it was oddly unsettling, but invigorating at the same time.

That's when I heard her laugh and holler. I turned to look over my shoulder and spotted Jane being scooped up into the arms of a very handsome man and be spun around. When he set her down, she grabbed his face and went in for a kiss. I closed my eyes and swung my head away. I swallowed hard a few times as unexpected tears pricked at my eyes. I clenched my jaw, rushed to the table and collected a few pamphlets and rushed towards the exit.

The moment I was outside I tipped my head up to catch a deep breath of air, only to find it was raining again. I let the rain hit my face as I silently rattled off facts about Seattle weather in my head. The endless streams of concrete scientific information calmed my racing heart and tangled thoughts.

In a few minutes, well after my face and hair were thoroughly soaked by the rain, I calmed down. I turned and walked through the rain towards the hotel. I began idly thinking about switching flights and leave right after the seminar I was sent here to sit in on. I'd take decent notes, have a few vendors write up quotes for new lab equipment and be home by dinnertime. I'd be back to my solitary life and would forget Jane by the weekend as the weight of my job and uncertain future bore down on my shoulders.

By the time I reached my hotel room, I was freezing from being wet and had half a mind to call my mother and take her up on her offer of a lengthy vacation in Paris until I figured out what would come next. My life had become directionless.

As I shrugged off my wet things and went to start up a hot shower, my phone rang. My heart tightened at the thought it was Jane calling. I couldn't lie to her, but the truth would be silly, almost stupid, as to why I left the convention. I shuffled to the side table where I set the phone and saw it was my boss back at NYPD. I answered quickly. "Margaret, hello. I was just about to send you an email with a list of vendors."

"Of course you were. You're one of my best employees. And I mean that Maura. I never have to worry about you dropping the ball or taking advantage of the fifty dollar a day per Diem for this trip." I could almost see the crooked smirk of my boss. "But what I need you to do is pack up and grab a cab to the airport. I've got you on a flight back to the city in the next hour and half."

I bit the inside of my mouth. "Oh?"

Margaret chuckled. "Don't worry, it's not that kind of oh. Something has come up at the labs and I need my best on it. It's an inter-agency case and I think it might work out in your favor. I know you've been looking to make a change."

"Do you need me to come right to the labs as soon as I land?" I felt my heart skip. Margaret had fully supported my desire for change and was the one who suggested the Seattle position.

"If you can. The evidence just arrived and I you love when it's fresh." She proceeded to give me a few details for the flight and she would be sending case notes via email.

When I finished the call and glanced at the email, the scientist in me sparked to life. I rushed to the bathroom and hurried through a shower. My mind was already working a thousand miles a minute, sorting the bits of evidence presented. Along with the prospective job offer Margaret threw in as a teaser.

The day just became a little lighter and I could fill my mind with other things besides a brunette detective. I'd managed to escape another heartbreak. Jane would've grown bored like Quinn and all the others. I couldn't do that to her, Jane deserved better. She deserved the handsome man spinning her around the room. Not the broken woman listing aimlessly in this world, desperate to find her mooring.

Jane

"Frost, I cannot believe you're here! I thought you had at least month left with the FBI task force." I slugged his shoulder as he set me down.

He grinned. "I would've if I hadn't found the backdoor in the mainframe of the computer the Excelsior crime family's accountant used. He would always forget to log out of his amazon account. I just snuck in via two day shipping. We closed the case yesterday morning. I called Cavanaugh and he told me you were here and I should help you double team for that grant." He patted my shoulder. "It's great to see you, Jane. You look good, happy."

I nodded. "I'm happy." I grabbed my phone, checking the time and saw a text from Maura. My face split into a huge grin. "Hey, Frost, there's someone I want you to meet." I opened the text, reading her message from earlier. "She's here for the next couple of days like us. Rubbing elbows with the other dogs and ponies in this show. But she's definitely nothing like us." I grinned wider.

"Uh oh. I know that grin. Who is he?"

"Dr. Maura Isles. An assistant in the ME's office for NYPD." I blushed at the wide eyed look Frost gave me. "I fell asleep on her during the flight and things have progressed from there." I fired off a message asking Maura to come meet us. "She asked me out to dinner tonight."

"That name sounds familiar." He squinted in the distance. "Heads up. Douchebag attorney coming in. Who writes District Attorney bigger than their name on a name tag?"

I looked up to spot Quinn walking towards us. "Hey Rizzoli, I wanted to give you some advice about Maura. I hope you love long awkward silences and indecisiveness. The woman might be gorgeous, but humans are not her forte. All those etiquette classes and it failed her." He clasped my shoulder. "You know they call her the queen of the dead back in the labs? I think the dead are the only ones who could tolerate her."

Frost stepped in. "Hey man, back off."

Quinn held his hands up. "Relax. I'm just handing out some life advice. I'd hate to see anyone get the same freezer burn I did."

I clenched my jaw, gave Frost a silent signal before I dramatically winced and swung my fist to connect right in Quinn's balls. "Ah, god damn hands. They have a mind of their own from the nerve damage." I leaned into Quinn, catching him before he fell to his knees. "Don't ever talk about her like that, or your balls will end up in a jar on my desk."

He groaned with a bright red face, gurgling out curse words as Frost slid a chair under him. He turned to the few around us, grinning. "He's okay. Just a little queasy listening to a few of our best homicide cases. Some people can't handle the gruesome aspects of a crime scene." He winked at me before grabbing my elbow and ushering me towards the entrance. "Talk. Tell me who this Dr. Isles is. I've never seen you defend anyone's honor outside of Frankie and Tommy."

I clenched my jaw tighter, focused on dialing Maura. "Give me a minute. I need to tell Maura where to meet us." Three rings and I was sent to her voicemail. "Hey Maur, it's Jane. Call me. I punched Quinn in the balls for you and I'd really like to see you. I have someone I'd like you to meet before our second date." I hung up, taking a huge breath of rainy Seattle air the second we stepped out of the convention.

Frost turned to me, hands on his hips. "Dr. Isles. I know her. She did some analysis work for the task force. We communicated via email a handful times. She helped us dissect a few crime scenes and make sense out of the autopsy reports of random murders we wanted to tie to the Excelsior family." He chuckled. "Is she a gorgeous honey blonde with incredible hazel eyes and a smile that could make you hand her your wallet without question?"

I nodded blushing once more. "Yeah, that's her. And those hazel eyes had me almost breaking the law to find her." I checked my phone, hoping for a message to pop up. "I kind of hunted her down and we connected immediately. It's been a day and I feel like I've always known her. Shit, I even kissed her without thinking twice." I ran my hands through my hair. "I never do shit like this, Frost, but trust me. There's something about her." I sent another message. Freaking out Quinn would get to her before me and twist things. "She's usually on top of replying to me. What if I fucked this up? Rizzoli style?"

"You don't have to tell me. There was more than one on that task force that carried a torch for her. But all of them were afraid of her and the reputation that douchebag threw in your face." Frost stepped closer, flipping through his phone. "You want me to email her? I still haven't told her we closed the case and I promised to buy her dinner when we did."

I nodded and huffed. My stupid temper was always getting in the way.

"Uh, Jane. Maura replied."

I spun around. "And? Is she coming out here? What did you tell her?"

Frost held up the phone, Maura's email on the screen. "She's about to board a flight back to NYC. Seems a case pulled her back to the city and she's going to be tied up. I thought you said she was here for the duration of the convention?"

I grabbed his phone, reading over Maura's very professional tone. I clutched his phone as I sent another text from mine.

-Were you going to tell me? Back to NYC?-

It was a half second before her reply lit up my screen.

-I apologize. Work called and I had to return. I'm sorry if I wasted your time, I had no idea you were involved with someone. Good luck tomorrow, Jane. –

"Involved? Who the hell am I involved with?" I pounded out another message asking her to explain, but got nothing in return aside from a message is undeliverable notification. I was half tempted to throw the phone on the ground. "Frost! I literally walked away from her for three minutes, ran into you and now I'm being ghosted with a side of iceberg sized cold shoulder. Where would she get the idea I was involved or dating anyone?"

Frost looked at me with a pained look. "I did sort of attack you and spin you around the room like it was the ending of An Officer and a Gentlemen, but it's been four months and you're my best friend." He swallowed nervously. "What if she saw that? What if? I mean the guys asked if I was dating you when I set you down, or at least sleeping with you." He rubbed his forehead. "I vaguely remember seeing someone that looked like Dr. Isles in the corner of my eye. Oh shit. What if?"

I threw up my hand. Waving him off. My temper took over. "Fuck it. It was a stupid spontaneous thing. Different city and taking chances. If she bolted because of what she saw, whatever. Let's chalk this up as another stupid Jane Rizzoli trying to show the world she has a heart moment and go get a beer." I grabbed Frost by the shoulder. "You're buying."

I was pissed, angry. More so at myself and the gods above me. Angry for them letting a woman like Maura Isles to walk the earth and let me get swept up in her awkward beauty. It was the first time since I let someone in after Hoyt. No matter how perfect it felt with Maura, I should've known better.

Here's hoping there was enough beer in Seattle to make me forget how soft her lips were.