N: short chapters, I know. But I'm still tired from being sick and it's hard to think and stay awake. But the girls are moving forward! Read on and enjoy! I don't own anything but the original story lines i put these characters on!

Jane

Two weeks later

"You're in early, Jane."

I shrugged, leaning over the case notes in front of me. "Couldn't sleep." I gave Frost a soft smile as a thank you for the coffee he set next to me.

"We locked up the case last night. Guy confessed and gave us the murder weapon." Frost sounded tired, but accomplished. "Unless it's something else."

I rolled my eyes, sipping the coffee. "It's not something else. I told you to drop it when we got back to Boston." His something else had been the missed connection with a certain doctor. He'd been subtly pushing for me to search her out for the last two weeks. Each time I ignored him or almost snapped his head off. It wasn't meant to be. Proof was in the disappearing pudding. "You know how I get at the end of a case. It takes a few days to unwind." I yawned. "I was thinking about taking the rest of the week, Frost."

He nodded. "Korsak and I can handle things around here. The tech team will be taking over to run logistics of installing the new computer systems." He grinned. "Great job on nailing that grant for us. It's going to be a huge tool for the department."

I took another heavy sip of coffee. Wincing as it burned. I glanced at the clock and the empty file tray on my desk. "You know what, I think I'm going to take the day." I stood and moved to Cavanuagh's office. "Let me just tell the boss you're in charge. Just remember Korsak loves jelly doughnuts." I winked at Frost as I walked away. Truth was I felt off ever since Maura blew into my life. I was grumpy and all I wanted to do was sit on my couch and watch bad movies and eat all the junk food I could. I didn't want to openly admit that a girl had ruined my day and was slowly ruining my month. I wasn't like this. Romance was a silly idea I laughed at whenever my dates tried to romance me. Jane Rizzoli didn't do love.

But deep down, I knew I'd started to open my heart to Maura and it hurt like hell when she ghosted me.

I sighed, and as I raised my hand to knock on Cavanuagh's door, it swung open. "Rizzoli, perfect. I need you to grab Frost and get your butts to New York."

"Uh, excuse me, sir?" I

He shook his head with a smile. "I know that look. You can have whatever time off you want when you're back. I need my best detective on this one." He waved Frost over and ushered me into his office. "I got a call from NYPD. A body landed in their labs last night and the evidence collected links to a few unsolved cases we have here. I need you to grab the Reitz files and meet with the Captain of the six five. He'll fill you in on details." He leaned against his desk, looking at Frost and I.

Frost whistled. "The Reitz case has been unsolved for almost fifteen years. This could be huge if we can tie it up."

Cavanaugh nodded. "Exactly." He reached behind him, picking up a heavy stack of files and handed it to me. "Review these on the way and update yourself. All the evidence is there, Rizzoli. I know how you are, try to be nice to the science division. They're there to assist you, not argue with you."

I smirked, shaking my head. "I'm nice to everyone." I tucked the files under my arm. "I want two weeks when I get back."

Cavanaugh laughed. "I'll give you two months if you close this." He waved me out of the room. "Go, the flight leaves in two hours."

I grabbed Frost by the elbow and pulled him out with me. "Grab your laptop and tell Korsak he's on his own. I'll meet you downstairs."

Frost saluted me and ran off. I grabbed my jacket and walked towards the elevator. At least it's the six five and nowhere near the main labs. I at least remembered Maura was down near Police Plaza, I wouldn't have a chance in hell of running into her in a borough of Brooklyn.

I took in a slow breath, slipping back into detective mode, idly making a list of all the movies I could watch over two weeks.

"Did I ever tell you I applied for NYPD before BPD?" Frost walked next to me as we were escorted to evidence room of the six five. "They offered me a job, and I almost took it."

I glanced at him. "And why didn't you take it?"

"You came to the career fair at the academy. You were a brand new homicide detective and presented a case to new recruits. You're a brilliant detective and I knew I could learn from you. I signed up for BPD that day, knowing NYPD didn't have a Jane Rizzoli." He winked and nudged me as I blushed. "Don't get a big head, Jane."

I waved him off as we entered the cold basement. "Shut up." I tugged on the edges of my jacket as we were greeted by an evidence tech.

"Detective Rizzoli? Detective Frost?" He shook our hands. "We're so grateful you could make the trip down."

I smiled. "Thank you for calling us. The Reitz murders have been hanging over our departments head for a long time." I motioned to the small room where plastic bags were laying on a table. "Show us what you have."

"Of course." The tech walked us to the small room. "This is the physical evidence removed from the dead suspects home. Feel free to take a look. I believe there are some key pieces you had interest in. Mementos taken from the Boston victim's homes. We have the DNA reports and fingerprint analysis on the way down. The body was so decomposed we had to re-hydrate the extremities and run a thorough DNA profile."

I dug in the small briefcase I brought, pulling out the scene photographs from the Boston murders. I handed a few to Frost and we split up. I leaned over a old Red Sox jersey in a plastic bag. "This matches the one taken from Harvey Reitz's wall." I leaned closer, spotting a small dark brown stain. "Did you run tests on the blood stains on this jersey?"

"I did, yes. The reddish brown stain tested positive for blood. I then ran it for blood type and DNA profile against Mr. Reitz's. Both were concluded to be a perfect match."

I froze at the sound of her voice and closed me eyes to calm my heart. I hesitated for a moment as I felt her move closer, her delicate perfume filtering through the air. I opened my eyes to find Frost giving me that, are you okay? look he sometimes did.

"I also found small bone fragments embedded in the blanket recovered from the home. I'm currently running those against Mrs. Reitz's profile. It appears the killer wrapped her in the blanket, disposed of her but took the blanket as a memento."

Maura moved to stand on the other side of the table. I looked at her, avoiding her eyes as I asked. "Who is this guy?"

She flipped a few pages on her clipboard. "Ronald Kennedy. Also known as Harry Kepler. His fingerprints were confirmed three days ago." I caught her looking at Frost and giving him the hard once over. I chuckled under my breath, for a genius she was a real dumb one.

I frowned. "Three days ago? How long has this evidence been in your possession?" I huffed, throwing my hands on my hips.

"Almost two weeks." Maura glanced at Frost, smiling at him. "Mr. Kepler was found in his house two weeks ago. Dead for almost three weeks, his neighbors complained of a smell. Patrol units found him, but also found a journal that garnered suspicion that Mr. Kepler could have been the Brooklyn prowler." She motioned to the bags of evidence in front of me. "After searching his home, we discovered these key pieces that reminded me of the Reitz murders of Boston. I…um… made the call to Boston Police and informed them of the evidence. I completed the autopsy last week and personally saw to the tests to ensure there were no missteps." She cleared her throat. "We're giving you first access since the Reitz murders happened before Mr. Kepler began terrorizing Brooklyn."

I shook my head, running my hands through my hair. "Three weeks. Of course, you big boys would keep it to yourself before sharing. Typical." I leaned on the edge of the table, my anger morphing into something not at all related to the case. "How kind of you to let the little guys have a chance."

"Jane… Detective Rizzoli, it's nothing like that." Maura's voice was firm. "Things happened rather quickly, and it became a little much all at once."

I finally looked up and met her hazel eyes. "Is that what happened?"

Maura flinched as her cheeks turned a bright red. "Jane." She tipped her head down, my words hitting exactly where they wanted.

Frost stepped forward. "Dr. Isles, do you mind if Detective Rizzoli and I have a minute?" He gave me a sideways look as she nodded.

"Of course, Barry." She handed him her clipboard. "All of my notes and reports are there." She smiled softly. "And thank you for the email, Barry. It was wonderful to hear from you and have a few things cleared up." She tipped her head down and left the room, jamming her hands in the pockets of her white lab coat.

The second she was out of the room, Frost pointed at me. "Don't be a jerk, Jane. I tried. I tried to get you to listen and reach out to her. But you didn't want to listen." He set the clipboard down.

I ran a hand through my hair. "Let me guess, you told her who you were and that it was a giant misunderstanding at the convention. You weren't my secret lover, just my partner and best friend?" I cocked an eyebrow his way.

Frost gasped dramatically. "Oh my, you really are a detective!" He walked over to me. "I did. And before you climb up my ass. I had no idea Dr. Isles was on this. The woman lives an breathes protocol and by the looks of her face when she walked in, she had no idea you were the BPD detective coming in."

I crossed my arms over my chest. "Whatever. Let's just do what we came here to do. Collect the evidence, compare it and send word back to Cavanaugh. We can close this case, even if the bastard is dead and won't see justice." I glanced at my watch. "If we're quick about it, we can leave by tomorrow afternoon and I can start my vacation."

I picked up my files. "Let's move to the conference room. They have coffee and doughnuts." I waved Frost to follow me. "Thank god you brought your laptop, we can type up the report and directly upload it to Cavanaugh." Frost opened his mouth to say something else, I pointed at him. "Don't. Leave it."

He held up his hands in surrender. "You're being a stubborn ass, Jane. She's not like the rest of us. She's brilliant, but incredibly awkward." He reached around me, grabbing the stack of files Maura left. "And she really liked you. Still does." He half whispered the words and left the room before I could yell at him.

I sighed, sucking in a huge breath. My stomach was twisting and my heart never stopped pounding from the second Maura walked in. I was pissed at her, but couldn't fight the effect she had on me. I just had to get in and get out. Leave and go back to Boston and forget her.

Maura

I was almost to the elevator when I remembered I left my clipboard in the evidence room. I spun around and kept my head down as I walked back. I chewed on the inside of my cheek, fighting the emotions about to rupture forth. Seeing Jane in that room had been a shock to my system and all the feelings that came with being near her, returned in force. It'd been a struggle to speak to her, but thankfully I could fall back onto facts and science to get me through it.

I wanted to throw the clipboard on the floor, run to her and spill out my mistakes. Tell her I'd been silly, stupid, and foolish. After Barry explained everything, I felt like the biggest fool and debated calling her. But like always, work and the case that I was called back home for, consumed my days. Even more so when I found the connection to the Reitz murders. An unsolved case I'd become fascinated with over the last years as I'd begun assisting the FBI with scientific profiling techniques. I was excited to make the connection and what would come of it.

Never once did I think I'd run into Jane. Which was stupid of me. Jane Rizzoli was their best detective, of course they'd send her to put the pieces together.

"Stupid." I shook my head, mumbling to myself as I turned the corner to the evidence room. I barely had the chance to look up before I collided into a warm body.

I hit them so hard, I tripped and began falling to the floor when strong hands grabbed my arms and righted me. "Hey, careful there!"

I closed my eyes at the sound of her raspy voice. "I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention." I went to step away, refusing to look at Jane. "I'm sorry if I hurt you."

I heard the huff and small chuckle at my poorly chosen words. "If that's not the truth."

Jane's warm hands left me and I shivered at the biting cold air left in their wake. I swallowed hard, looking up at Jane as she sighed and straightened the files in her hands. I saw the dark circles and the frown on her face. I wondered if I'd been the cause. "Jane."

She shook her head. "Maura, it's not necessary. I get it." She met my eyes and I saw the hurt in her brown eyes. I'd realize that her eyes would always tell the truth the rest of her body wouldn't. "I should've known better. Letting down walls gets me nowhere." She cleared her throat.

The comment hit hard, and I couldn't ignore it. I reached out grabbing her wrist. "No, never think that." I took a breath. "I'm an idiot. I'm not good with people and reading cues. I was vulnerable and I let my fears dictate my actions. I should've called you, but became consumed with work. Another fault in my character." I met her eyes. "I know I hurt you, Jane. I know what I did was stupid and hurtful. But I'm scared. You're a powerful force and blew through my walls with such force I was left breathless."

Jane searched my eyes, hers growing glassy. "You ran." She rasped the words out.

I nodded. "I did. I ran away when I should've ran towards you." I licked my lips. "I'm not perfect. Quinn always told me that."

"I punched him in the balls." Jane cut me off. She shrugged, stepping closer. "He was being a dick and talking crap about you. I slipped and punched him in the balls." She held up her other hand, showing me the scar. "I blamed nerve damage and total douchebaggery on his part." She then covered my hand on her wrist. "Maura, I don't know."

I knew what she was saying. I stepped closer. "Will you give me another chance? I still owe you dinner?"

She sighed. Her mind working over if she could overcome the damage I left. "Fine. As long as it's not pizza. I hate New York style pizza."

I laughed, squeezing her hand. "No pizza." I paused, looking at her lips and fighting the desire to kiss her when a tech appeared.

"Dr. Isles? The labs at one pp called. They'd like to speak to you about the autopsy you're conducting in an hour." He smiled, looking between Jane and I.

I stepped away from her, dropping my hand from her. "Yes. I'll be right there." The tech left and I let out a breath. "Duty calls." I smiled and tucked my hands in my pockets. "I'll call you when I'm done?"

Jane nodded. "I look forward to it."

I turned and started down the hallway when Jane called after me. "I rarely give second chances, Dr. Isles."

I looked over my shoulder, saw she was serious and smiled. "I won't take it for granted, Detective Rizzoli." Jane held my gaze for a moment, nodded and then turned away to head upstairs.

I felt a large weight come off my shoulders and excitement replace it. I'd decided that dinner would be when I would tell Jane the one small secret I'd been hiding since I walked in and saw her leaning over the evidence table. One I kept to myself until she gave me that rare second chance.