Chapter 2:
Two weeks have passed since Doctor Maura Isles became the new Chief medical examiner at BPD. And yet no one can imagine the place without her now.
It's been a confusing time for Jane but they don't not work well together. Granted Maura could say please or, hello or thank you more than once every, say two weeks?
But no one can deny the lab is running smoothly. Maura doesn't exactly show them to her but Jane heard her talking about all kinds of charts, lists, and employee motivation systems.
Maura is driven, commanding, and meticulous. She didn't get to where she is in life by telling people only what they want to hear. She rose to the top of her profession by driving for perfection, working tirelessly, and facing her fears. People, live ones.
Her coworkers say she's too demanding. Too direct. But she can't possibly be to blame when the world was not ready for her when she was in fact, ready for it.
She doesn't have any friends that aren't linked to the Isles Foundation and her adoptive parents. She found her passion for the arts and finer things in life though, what she really dreams of having one day, is a normal life. Filled with friends and family she can count on.
As an added bonus the rest of the BPD upstairs is running smoothly again. No more stress from overlooked or unnotarized evidence. No pleading with incompetent coroners for findings. Everything seems to be working like a well-oiled machine ever since 6-inch Louis Vuitton's graced coarse BPD floors.
"You called it Rizzoli. She's a real godsend" Cavenagh says, sitting a little more relaxed in his chair today.
"Yeah, she's. Really something, sir." Jane says, for lack of better phrasing.
"You two seem to get along…considering" Cavanagh mumbles the last bit.
"Wha considering she's kind of a b… beacon of never-ending hard work and dedication?" Jane says with a stern look and her voice going an octave higher...
"Exactly," he says with a nod and a shy smile.
The Chief of police can't very well say: My most stubborn and hard-headed detective is actually getting along with my new ME who is kind of a B but is also too socially awkward to realize it. Can he?
Jane walked into Division One and plumped down on her usual spot. "Hey, hun, how's Maura doing?" Her mother asks curiously. The doctor has been the talk of the station and Mrs. Rizzoli is no stranger when it comes to gossip.
"Who?... Oh. Dr. Isles" Jane says, thinking on her feet. She hasn't even told Maura that her first name is Jane. They've pretty much just called each other detective and doctor.
"Yeah, she's been kind of like a usual here. Ordering all kinds of healthy stuff like fruits and veggie wraps, you could learn from her you know" Angela says with her mom stare.
Jane huffs "Here we go, you want me to be more like her? Have you met her!? She diagnosed Big Mo with some weird-ass disease the other day right before he towed my car too and then" Angela rolls her eyes and busies herself with wiping off the countertops "proceeded to tell me he was towing my car when it was just too late for me to do anything about it." Jane fumes.
"Oh, Jane. She's a doctor" Jane rolls her eyes. "You wouldn't understand the burdens that come with that. She has to tell people if she knows" Angela continues.
"That's all you took from what I just told you? She saw my car being- Ok, sorry I wasn't a doctor, Ma."
"That's not what I meant and you know it. Besides I feel like I gotta be on her side, doesn't seem like too many people around here like her all that much" Angela says with a hushed voice.
"Gee I wonder why?" Jane says, tapping her finger to her lips.
"You'll try and make friends with her won't you, Janie?" Angela pleads
"Oh gah, Ma she's a grown woman," Jane says with her lips unmoving. "And we're done talking about this, bye Ma"
Jane says over her shoulder. "Bye hun," Angela says
Jane can't believe her mother. She's always had a knack for getting on her nerves. 'Make friends Jane'. The woman is 37 years old. Not to mention she's bossy. And when she talks I get lost, but in the most incredible way. And god when her eyes light up when she talks about something that fascinates her.
I bet she has a great laugh, I've seen her smile when she thought no one was looking but I bet if I could make her laugh gah- ok stop. Jane thinks as she approaches the morgue just in time for the end of the autopsy.
Maura is dressed in her black scrubs holding the victim's kidney and examining it closely. The room is quiet. They've fallen into comfortable silences before while Maura works and Jane waits for results.
Jane is sat with her arms crossed on the opposite table. "Hm, you have that 'I have a case-solving hunch' look on your face," Jane says. "My face does not hunch" Maura states, slicing through the organ.
"His kidneys are damaged," She holds it closer for Jane to see. "See the Crystallisation?" Jane has grown used to Maura's show-and-tell way of doing things. It's actually quite refreshing. For the most part, she explains human anatomy and cod's to Jane in ways she actually understands them.
Which is more than she could say for any of the other dozen ME's that have come and gone. They just came in, did the autopsy, and filed a report. Then came the gruesome task of dragging an elaboration of their assessment out of them one tedious medical term at a time.
"Yeah from what?" Jane asks her brow furrowing in concentration. "I'd be guessing" Maura states simply with a small shrug. And then there's that. In the past two weeks, Jane has been informed numerous times that Doctor Maura Isles does not guess.
Jane closes her eyes and mumbles under her breath "God it's torture sometimes". She clears her throat and tries a different approach. "Have you seen this before?" she asks calmly.
Maura pauses in thought for a moment before gracefully answering "Yes"
"Ok. Good. What did it turn out to be? Before?" Jane prompts.
"Ethylene glycol ingestion," Maura says finally. Ok now we're getting somewhere, Jane thinks. "Antifreeze? Someone was poisoning him"
Jane gets off the table and heads for the door with her fazed-out look. "Detective." Maura calls "I'll send you the results so you can have a copy on paper"
Jane halts at the door. "Jane," she says.
"Pardon?" Maura asks.
"My name… Jane" she clarifies.
Maura starts to walk over to Jane. She tenses up, her hand still on the door, watching silently as Maura advances toward her.
"Maura," she says with her arm extended toward Jane. "But no one calls me that anymore" she adds. Jane gets a look of confusion mixed with awe. She takes her hand off of the door and takes Maura's hand.
This is the first time she's actually touched her. Maura doesn't let the shake linger. It's over much too soon as Maura takes back her hand and retreats back to the autopsy table. Jane has a million questions but it took two weeks for her to actually officially meet her new colleague, It may take three lifetimes to get some answers out of her.
Jane knows what she meant though. She's Doctor Isles and will remain so. At least when there are people around.
Jane rubs her eyes frustratedly as she gets in the elevator. She hates that she spends way too much time thinking about the new doctor. It's just so much unlike her. The job they do is so important and here she is obsessing over a handshake.
She plumps down on her chair and throws herself into her work. Looking for anyone who would have wanted to poison the victim.
"Glad to see you in one piece, I always say a small prayer whenever you go down to the morgue. That woman must be even scarier when you're alone with her huh?" Frost teases.
"Don't say that. If she were a man, everyone would be praising her for being focused and professional" Korsak says to everyone else's surprise.
Jane and Frost look at him with big eyes. "What? It's true" he says defensively, scooting in his chair.
"I know it's true. She knows it's true. How do you know- you know what. Korsak, you are few and far between" Jane says with a chuckle. Korsak gives a graceful bowing gesture and refocus's to his work.
The day goes on and Jane looks up from her computer to find an almost empty bullpen. 8:43. She turns off her computer and yawns lazily. At least she managed to go a few hours without thinking of a certain doctor. Until now.
She holsters her gun and heads down to the lobby, taking the stairs to wake up a bit before the drive home. She catches the door just as it flung shut.
Hazel meets brown as Jane emerges outside and Maura looks back just as she was about to walk down the steps to her black Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG.
"Hey. Glad to see I'm not the only one that stays so late" Jane says with a chuckle.
"Yes, the technicians tend to be a bit bothersome with results etcetera so I do more work when they've all left." Maura says as she puts her hand on her door handle.
"Ah, I see," Jane says and opens her own door. "Good night" she says politely over her shoulder, receiving a nod and a gesture that could be interpreted as a wave. Screw it Jane thinks.
She closes her door again and walks over to Maura who's just about to get in her car. "Wait!" Jane yells. Maura has her leg already in the car, a confused look on her face.
"Do you wanna get together sometime after work? To.. ya know to get to know each other a bit?" Jane asks hurriedly, her heart thumping in her chest.
Maura smiles a very small smile and places her foot that was still in the car, next to the other one. "Detective" she begins. "Jane" Jane prompts.
"I do not fraternize with colleagues or anyone for that matter," she says calmly like she was reciting a fact from an article.
"Oh I didn't mean it like a da-" Jane says, her cheeks heating up before Maura interrupts. "I know perfectly well what you meant. You meant becoming something like friends" Maura says the word like it left a truly foul taste in her mouth.
"Yes" Jane says softly, although she genuinely wishes she had just gone home. This whole interaction feels like a punch to the gut. Why does it hurt so much? She wasn't asking her to prom! Jane thinks as she looks at the ground.
"Why?" Maura asks genuinely, her face is neutral of any emotion. Like she truly doesn't understand why Jane would even want to get to know her.
"Why do I want to get to know you?" Jane clarifies.
"Yes" Maura states.
Because we work together and I know nothing about you, well except what I read online, Jane thinks. Because that's what people do? Because being friends with a colleague would make things less tense at work? All perfectly good answers.
Yet Jane answers. "I want to make you laugh". She hears herself say it like it had been an imposter who took control of her speech for a fraction of a second. Maura's eyes widen and her mouth falls open slightly, then she returns her expression to a neutral one. "I- I mean..-" Jane tries to recover.
"You want to make me laugh?" Maura asks slowly, her eyes narrowing slightly on Jane.
It's over. Might as well change my name and move to Mexico. Jane thinks. She thinks about lying, changing the subject awkwardly, and bolting for the car. But she can't bring herself to do either of those.
"Yes" she admits shyly, she tries to avoid the piercing hazel eyes as well but they seem to demand her gaze and she can't even force herself to look anywhere else.
Maura looks like she's digesting the information before asking once again "Why, Jane?"
Jane? Did she just say my name? Jane asks herself in a panic. Why does she want to make her laugh? Jane scrambles for an answer. No use in lying now, she thinks.
"I don't actually know" she says shyly. Maura switches her weight. This whole interaction is feeling much too long and too short at the same time. Jane feels her palms becoming damp with moisture under Maura's gaze.
A long moment of silence goes by. Jane wonders if she should just leave when Maura opens her mouth. "Do you want to please me?" Maura asks. Her voice didn't change in any particular way but. Those words. Her voice. Jane's brain short circuits.
She has an answer. She had one as soon as those words left the doctor's lips. It's processing the answer and relaying it that has Jane's heart beating like she's at the end of a workout.
"Yes," Jane says finally.
Muara's eyes widen for half a second and Jane swears she saw her pupils dilate.
"Hmm," Maura says and tilts her head like she always does. Then she gets in her car. Jane watches her close the door, put on her seatbelt, start the car, and just before she drives off, she glances at Jane... Mischief in her eyes.
Jane stands there and watches the Merc drive off into the night. What just happened?
I spent an embarrassing amount of time researching the car Maura drove in the first episode to capture her character lmao. Please review. I can't wait for the next chapter either but I need to right it lol