This is something a little different than what I usually write. It's a story I want to read and haven't found out there so I'm writing it. lol
Set in a different reality where Jane and Maura aren't friends. Maura is a bit more cold and awkward in the beginning. They meet when Jane is already a detective at BPD and Maura is the new ME. (eventual Rizzles but not exactly fluffy)
Queen of the dead:
The BPD was in a tailspin. With Pike resigning in the middle of a case to "find himself" in Guam, the ME's office was in even more disarray than when he worked there if you can believe it.
Jane took a slow soothing sip of her first coffee for the day at almost noon, she took the first few minutes she had free to run down to the Division One cafe and grab a much-needed coffee. "Rizzoli, my office now" she hears Cavenagh yell from his office door.
She quickly wipes the coffee she's spilled off her chin with her palm and shoots Frost a warning look. He quickly stiffens his laugh and returns his gaze to his computer.
"I hope this is about a replacement for Pike, sir. I don't know how much more of these 'freelance coroners' I can take. You know one of them actually pointed at an x-ray the other day and asked me-"
"It is. Have a seat Rizzoli." Cavenagh says, rubbing his temples. It's been a long week for everyone but the Chief of Police is the one everyone comes to with their demands and questions.
"I just got off the phone with the mayor. He told me he's asked dr-" Cavenagh squints at the file. "Maura Isles, to be the new Chief medical examiner for the commonwealth. She's a renowned Medical Examiner, graduated top of her class and she's even consulted for the FBI on more than a few cases." Cavenagh says.
"She sounds swell, why do I feel like there's a but coming?" Jane asks skeptically.
"Not that it matters, we are in the middle of a tough case and we need a competent ME" Cavenagh says almost through clenched teeth and Jane knows he's cursing at Pike in the back of his mind.
Cavenagh continues "She has a reputation for being quote "Cold"; "Difficult to work with"; "Wordy" um "Snobby" the list goes on and on" he says, throwing the file back on his desk. "But she's the best. And she's coming in today."
Jane has never been one to judge a person by others' impressions of them and she's not gonna start now. Not with everything going on. "I'll be sure to give the good doctor a warm welcome. And who knows? She might be exactly what this place needs right now" Cavenagh gives an exhausted smile.
"Great. Keep me posted." Cavenagh says and dismisses her back to the bullpen.
Jane walks back to her desk to see what her stomach has confirmed already, lunchtime. She grabs her phone off her desk and heads for the elevators. Halfway toward Division One, she hears some fuss followed by silence.
She turns toward the doors of BPD, where all eyes seem to be glued at the moment. A honey blonde woman walks with long confident strides, evidently in slow motion. Jane almost shakes her head as if to rid it of a brief hallucination.
She's wearing a gray, tightfitting dress, 6-inch heels, and a look that could kill. She must be lost, or her husband just died and she needs to ID the body, Jane thinks.
To Jane's disbelief, she walks right up to her, where she's still frozen in place on her way to get some lunch. "Hi. I take it you work here?" The hazel-eyed goddess asks.
"Um…" Jane says briefly, trying to give her brain time to catch up.
"I would've preferred to come in much earlier to become acquainted with the facilities but I was told the previous Medical Examiner had left during a case. I took the first flight out of New York and I need someone to show me to the morgue" The honey blonde says hurriedly.
"Oh. You're not Doctor Isles?" Jane asks with a little more surprise layering her voice than she intended.
"I am. And the longer we stand here and prattle, the more forensic evidence goes lost. So, either show me to the morgue or find me someone who can. Officer?" Maura asks.
Jane swallows subconsciously. No one talks to her like that. Well, no one who knows her and those who don't, know soon enough they shouldn't. She's the short-tempered, fiery detective who tackles criminals twice her size and makes gangsters cry in the interrogation room.
So why is this doctor talking to Jane like this? But more importantly, why does she want her to do it again? "Rizzoli. Ah. Detective Rizzoli'' Jane says dumbly. And turns away from the cafe and gestures toward the elevators.
"This way. Is the morgue. That's, it's this way" Jane says, trying to process her own behavior. Maura nods and follows her swiftly. Luckily none of her co-workers was around to see that little show. They might have strongly suggested that she go for a CT scan. Maybe the last swan dive toward a fleeting suspect has knocked her into a whole different person.
They stand side by side in the elevator, watching the doors of the descending car. Jane clears her throat to speak. To start anew really, when the doctor beats her to it. "Did you know every three days elevators carry the equivalent of the earth's population?" the doctor asks.
Jane opens her mouth to speak, then closes it again. "I… did not know that." She says simply, then stares awkwardly at the buttons in the elevator. Something about this whole interaction with the doctor has Jane puzzled.
She can usually sum people up pretty well. She can read them in an instant to the point where she knows exactly who they voted for. But this one. This woman is unpredictable, unfazed and Jane can't for the life of her assign any of her usual boxes to place her in. The box must not have been invented yet or Maura is the exception to them?
The elevator dings open and Jane finds herself in a semi-jog in order to catch up, even though Jane is showing her around. How does she move so fast? And in those heels?
"The laboratory. This will do nicely" Maura says with quick glances in each direction. Even in the harsh luminescent lighting, she turns heads inside the lab.
"The morgue is just through here" Jane says holding the door open for her. She walks through without so much as an appreciative nod. She takes in every inch of the room like she'll be quizzed on it later on.
"Your um, office is right-" Jane says motioning to the room in the corner of the morgue.
"Show me the victim," Maura says, already putting on latex gloves and opening her medical bag.
"Oh," Jane says, suspended on her way to the now unused office. "Don't you want to get settled before?" Jane asks, confused. Usually, the first thing the other coroners want to do is sit at their new desk.
"We've wasted enough time already, detective. Whom will I be working with? I will need to explain my findings" the doctor asks simply, already walking toward the freezers.
"Me. I'm the lead detective on the case… I probably should have said that earlier um. I feel like we haven't…" Jane goes quiet as she sees Maura looking at the freezer doors like she'll start opening them one by one.
"This one," Jane says, walking over to freezer number 24. Before she could come close to opening it Maura beats her to it and pops the handle. "You get right down to it don't you?" Jane asks, astonished.
Maura pulls the sliding medal table and frowns at Jane "I don't know what that means" she says, looking pointedly at Jane.
"Really?" she asks in vain, Maura peers back at the sheet covering the deceased. "It means you, never mind" Jane says defeatedly.
"Her right carotid was severed by something very sharp," Maura says tracing her fingers over the wounds. "There are particulates in the wound," she says, looking closely then reaching for a swab.
Jane watches her closely. She's meticulous… Precise. "Who runs the tests with the mass spectrometer?" Maura asks, already removing her gloves.
"Sussie. Susie Chang. She's the senior criminalist we passed earlier" Jane says motioning to the doors and Maura already starts moving toward them. "Great time to meet your… employees," Jane says, walking swiftly behind Maura.
Jane was preparing herself for multiple scenarios on how the new boss would be meeting the lab techs. Would she bark out precise rules and regulations? Open with a fun fact?
"Foreign substance found within the wound track. Test for synthetic matter that would have been in a powder form at the time of exposure" Muara says simply, handing the swab to Susie.
Susie doesn't miss a beat. Almost like they're on the same wavelength. Or come from the same planet where you don't greet anybody and dive right in. She takes the swab and moves to where the machine is.
Ok yes, somebody was murdered but it takes two seconds to say 'Hi, I am Maura Isles, your new boss. Don't eat my yogurt from the staff fridge and we'll get along great' or at least something like that Jane thinks as she finds herself catching up to Maura again. Giving shy smiles to the rest of the lab techs who have gathered in the lab, no doubt waiting to meet their new boss.
"Wait up" Jane yells. She finds Maura standing in the room that would be her new office.
She takes a seat at the desk, tucking her legs to the side under the glass table. The office has all the basics, a desk, computer, and a filing cabinet. "I'll start the autopsy in a moment once I review dr-" Maura looks at the folder "Pike's notes," she says, already enthralled in the contents of the folder.
"Oh." Jane says, not really knowing why she's still standing there. It feels so unfinished, even though she got more than Maura's new employees did, she can't help but push for a little more. "Well, let me know if you need help finding anything. And gah Pikes handwriting can be tricky, to decipher" Jane says with a chuckle.
Maura looks up from the folder "Thank you, detective." Maura says warmly. Possibly the first time she's said that to Jane or changed her expression that was equal parts focus and commanding to a softer one. Not a full smile but almost.
It was very short-lived as Maura was once again furrowing her brow in concentration on the file still in her hand. "Right" Jane says, turning to leave.
That afternoon she struggles to keep her thoughts restricted to the case. The new ME has taken her completely by surprise. Who does that? Kind of rude, well her file did come with a warning label after all. Jane thinks.
Her paperwork is finished and there are no new leads so she decides to pay said file a little further inspection. Before Jane knows it she has three web pages open on the doctor, reading about her contributions to the medical industry, the Isles Foundation, cases she's worked on… Sheesh, Queen of the dead seems kinda, harsh Jane thinks.
Her phone rings. "Rizzoli '' Jane answers absentmindedly, still reading an article on the doctor.
"I have the autopsy results, detective" Comes a husky voice on the other end. Jane clears her throat and looks around for good measure. At least she didn't come up to her desk while she was looking her up online.
"Ok, I'll be right… hello?" an unmistakable beep was heard. Did she hang up on me? Jane asks, looking at her phone.
"That the new doctor?" Frost asks inquisitively.
"Huh? Yeah." Jane says, still looking at her phone with a frown.
"I heard she's kinda rude. And hot" Frost says, mumbling the last bit.
"She's uh... Actually, I don't know what she is yet" Jane says in thought.
She grabs her coat and marches for the elevators.
What do you guys think of the new Maura? I'm turning Jane into a simp lol.
I know I haven't updated Fake it till you make it in a while, but I promise it's in progress. I want the gala to have a lot of twists (mwahaha) but I keep writing a bit and then I don't feel satisfied to post it =( (it's coming though)