Maura found an antique copy of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, and a novel called The Night Watch by Sarah Waters. Wonder Woman:Private Detective was actually the most expensive purchase, but since it was for Jane, it didn't have to come out of her budget. She thoroughly enjoyed her churro, which was filled with chocolate. Jane enjoyed hers too, so much so that she dripped sauce on her shirt.
"And that's why I buy clothes at Walmart," Jane said, dabbing the stain with a napkin.
Maura laughed in spite of herself. She had missed Jane. She thought this without much analysis, and spent the 15 minute walk to New Scotland Yard wondering if the feeling was reciprocated.
Jane knew about Maura's previous interest in forensics, and had offered to show her around the police headquarters, including the forensics lab.
"And you can stick around and help me with the case, if you like. Unless you have other stuff to do," Jane added quickly, realising she might be making too many assumptions about Maura's wish to spend time with her.
"I'd be delighted to help," Maura told her.
Jane signed her in, and suggested they start with the morgue.
"Do you regret switching from forensic pathology to trauma surgery?" Jane asked in the elevator.
Maura avoided Jane's gaze and tried to keep her expression neutral, suspecting this question was about more than her career.
"I try not to go through life having regrets. I know I made the choices I did to the best of my ability at the time, and while hindsight obviously provides a different perspective on elements of the past, I think my work in London, and in the field of trauma surgery, has had a significant positive impact."
They stepped out of the elevator. Jane paused in the corridor, wanting to ask which elements, exactly, but it wasn't the moment. Jane hoped with all her heart that the moment would arise eventually. She took a deep breath, and led the way to the coroner's office.
"Dr Pike, this is Dr Maura Isles. She is treating our suspect at St. Thomas' hospital, and I'd like her to compare the injuries on our victim to possible defensive wounds on her patient."
This was the first Maura had heard of this idea, but if Jane had asked her in advance, she might not have agreed.
"How… Unusual," Dr Pike said, but Jane seemed to have enough authority over him that he complied.
"Our victim is male, mid-thirties. We have no identification as yet."
"And unlike our suspect, no one from the pub recognises him either," Jane added.
"Fingerprints and DNA are not on record, and facial recognition and dental records do not match any listed missing persons," Pike continued. "Cause of death is exsanguination, following three stab wounds to the chest and abdomen."
Maura looked at the body on the table. Death had never disturbed her the way it did some people, and she was intrigued. She had loved her placement in the ME's office during her medical degree. Using facts to solve mysteries had always appealed to her - it was essentially what she did as a surgeon too, but the living were far less predictable than the dead.
"May I examine the lacerations?" she asked.
"You would have to scrub in," Pike told her. "But yes, if you must."
Maura caught Jane's eye; Jane grinned. "You've caught the bug," she said.
"I don't know what you mean - I'm feeling perfectly well," Maura said, moving towards the bathroom as directed.
"The crime solving bug," Jane explained, showing Maura where the scrubs were.
"I'll just be a minute," Maura said, handing Jane her book-filled bag.
Maura reappeared, dressed in blue scrubs, her hair tied back in a ponytail. She put on gloves, and approached the victim.
"He's athletic, similar to my patient," she commented.
"Think he's an art thief too?" Jane asked, already fully invested in this idea.
"I would be guessing," Maura said. "But I can say that his physique is consistent with that of a climber or gymnast."
"Or art thief," Jane added helpfully. "That would make a lot of sense, Maur! Rival art thieves, trying to steal the same thing, one interrupts the other, they get into it, stab stab stab."
"That is entirely speculative," Maura said disapprovingly. "Dr Pike, you said the recorded cause of death is exsanguination. Did you examine the lungs?"
Pike looked up from the notes he was writing.
"Of course," he said, irritated.
Maura looked in the victim's mouth and down his throat. Jane crept closer and peered over her shoulder.
"What?" she whispered in Maura's ear, making Maura jump.
"You shouldn't sneak up on doctors like that," Maura reprimanded.
"Why not? It's not like you can hurt him," Jane said.
"I'm not a coroner, but I have both experience and interest in autopsy, and I think your cause of death may, in fact, be drowning."
At this, Pike stood, offended. "The victim was stabbed. The alley where they found him was covered in blood. Exsanguination."
"Indeed, the victim suffered severe blood loss. But this wound here," Maura indicated the victim's chest, "occurred first, and was fatal. It punctured the victim's lung, which filled with blood, and he drowned."
Jane listened to the exchange, deep in thought.
"Maura, we're going," she said suddenly. "Pike, redo the autopsy. If she's right, at least you get to take the credit."
"But I wasn't finished-"
"We can come back later. I need to show you something upstairs."
Not even allowing Maura time to get changed, Jane pulled her back into the lift and pressed the button for the 6th floor.
"I'm wearing borrowed shoes, Jane!" Maura exclaimed.
"Yeah, yeah, you can yell at me later, but right now I need you to look at some crime scene photos."
They had almost reached Jane's floor. "May I at least get changed?" Maura asked.
Jane sighed. "If you have to, but I'm taking you back down again later so there's not much point."
Maura had reached her limit. She pressed the emergency stop button on the elevator, turned, and stepped so close to Jane they could feel each other's breath.
"I know you're excited," Maura said softly. "I'm excited, too. But physically removing me from a room is crossing a line."
Jane froze. Her head had been full of the case, full of her ideas, and full of the way things used to be.
"This is your space," Maura said, gesturing to indicate the building, "and I'm here to help. But you must show me respect."
"I… You know I respect you. I respect you more than anyone," Jane said, feeling smaller than an insect.
Maura smiled, gently taking her hand. "I know. But you embarrassed me just now. I'm your colleague, we're in a professional setting. Moving me around like that is not professional."
Jane took a deep, shaky breath. "You're right. I'm sorry. I got caught up in the moment and I forgot… I forgot how things are between us now. Which is professional, obviously. I'm sorry, Maura. Really." Tentatively, she put a hand on Maura's shoulder, and for the briefest of seconds, Maura leaned her cheek against it.
And then it was over, Maura stepped back, restarted the elevator, and by the time the doors opened, it appeared as if nothing had happened.
"So, what did you want to show me?" Maura asked.
It took Jane a moment to collect her thoughts, but once she did, her ideas about the case flooded back into her mind, and it wasn't long before the spark returned to her eyes.
"Over here," she said, showing Maura the notice board with the case so far. Aside from crime scene photos, a sketch of Maura's patient, and a picture of him leaving the Founder's Arms, there was very little on it.
It was the crime scene photos that Jane wanted to show Maura.
"Are you sure, about what you said to Dr Pike, that our vic died from drowning, not losing all that blood?"
"I would need to examine the lungs to be absolutely certain, but I can say with a good degree of confidence that I believe I am correct."
"You could have just said yes," Jane said, but refrained from rolling her eyes. Maura seemed fine now, but Jane wasn't sure they were totally out of dangerous territory. "Anyway, I want you to look at this, and tell me what you see."
Maura took the photo. "A reddish brown stain," she said.
At this, Jane did roll her eyes. "We tested it. All blood, all from the victim."
"Alright. Blood." Maura paused, then realised why Jane had been so insistent that she looked at the picture immediately. "Too much blood for your theory. If your victim was stabbed in the gallery, he would have been dead, by drowning from bleeding into his lungs, before he got to the alley. His heart wouldn't have been beating, and the other stab wounds couldn't have caused this much blood loss post-mortem."
"So the blood in the gallery came from somebody else?" Jane asked.
"I cannot answer that, but your forensic technicians will know that within hours, I imagine."
"I don't want to wait hours. Best guess, Maura."
"You know I don't guess."
Jane lowered her voice to a whisper, but her heart wasn't really in it. "No one will know except you and me," she attempted.
Maura did not whisper her reply. "That would still be two people too many. Wait for the test results."
"Could the blood in the gallery be from the suspect, your patient?"
"Ask your lab to check - you have his DNA."
"But does he have any other injuries, injuries that he might have gotten before the car accident?" Jane persisted.
"You would need a warrant for his medical records," Maura said.
"Fine," Jane said, flopping into her chair. "I'm going to file for one now."
"I can go downstairs and examine for defensive injuries to compare with Mr Smith - so when you get the warrant, I'll have as much information as possible."
Maura meant this as a kind of olive branch. She could tell Jane was upset, and while she felt her actions in the elevator had been absolutely necessary, she hated hurting Jane, and she knew she had done so.
Jane turned on her computer and resisted the temptation to bang her head against the desk. She had screwed up, and she knew it. She replayed the scene from the morgue over and over again, her hands taking Maura's arm and waist, taking her out of the room. She couldn't believe she had ruined it all. Again, added the cruellest part of her mind.
She filled out the form for the warrant, submitted it, then leaned back in her chair, waiting for the response.
Jane had never been one to second guess herself, except when it came to Maura. She'd always been socially confident, except when it came to Maura. And, except when it came to Maura, she'd never worried about how she came across. But Maura did something to her, made her crazy, brought out impulses she never had with anyone else. And Maura had always liked that. She'd liked that Jane couldn't help but touch her, liked that Jane wanted her close all the time, liked it when Jane brought her places or showed her things or needed her opinion.
At least, Jane had always thought she liked it. Now, Jane wondered whether she had hated it then, too.
"Maybe I always embarrassed her," Jane muttered, thinking about fancy art galleries and the opera.
BREAK
Maura grabbed Jane's arm, dragging her through the winter snow and down the street.
"Come on, Rizzoli," she yelled, her face flush with effort.
"Jeez, you're stronger than you look," Jane remarked, allowing herself to be manhandled into Maura's building. Maura had lived there since the summer, so Jane knew the way, but that didn't stop Maura from pulling her up the three flights of stairs to her apartment.
"Look!" Maura announced, throwing open the door, beaming with pride.
Jane looked. In the centre of Maura's living room stood an enormous Christmas tree, beautifully decorated, complete with an angel on top.
"It's my first ever Christmas tree," Maura said, practically bouncing with delight.
Jane swung her now-free arm around Maura's shoulders.
"It's beautiful, babe," she said, holding Maura close. Maura's arm moved around her waist and they stood, Maura looking at the tree, Jane looking at Maura, both utterly entranced.
BREAK
Maura finished changing into her dress, feeling hypocritical. Yes, it was reasonable to expect a colleague to treat her in a professional manner. But she hadn't been treating Jane like a colleague. Going to lunch, the hot dogs, the book market, had not been professional. It had been much more like old times. And Jane pulling her arm, full of excitement to show her something, had been a lot like old times too. It wasn't appropriate. But if Maura was honest with herself, she had criticised Jane not because Jane had upset her, but because she had been afraid, afraid of what might happen if they continued to behave as if… As if they were still in Boston.
Maura hadn't found anything conclusive on the victim either. There were no obvious defensive injuries, and while she wasn't a coroner, she was almost certain the body didn't provide the evidence Jane wanted.
She went up to Jane's floor with an apology on the tip of her tongue, but when she reached Jane's desk, Jane beat her to it.
"I'm sorry, Maura. I really messed up before. I got caught up in seeing you again and I didn't think. Forgive me?"
Maura sat on the edge of Jane's desk. "I was going to say sorry, too. I overreacted. And today was… We can't pretend nothing ever happened. We remember, our minds, our bodies."
"Our hearts," Jane added.
"Our hearts are part of our bodies."
Jane nudged Maura's leg with her knee. "Alright, Dr Pedantic."
"Anyway," Maura said, taking a breath, "I was thinking about when I showed you my Christmas tree."
Jane's worried face broke into a grin as she remembered. "You mean when you practically yanked my arm off?"
"You were so slow," Maura said. "And I had never had a Christmas tree before."
"It was pretty impressive."
"So, what I mean to say is, I…"
"I get you," Jane said quietly.
Maura's hand was resting on the edge of the desk. Jane took it, meaning to be reassuring, and when Maura didn't pull away, she began stroking gentle circles on Maura's palm with her thumb. Maura hummed with pleasure, relaxing in spite of herself. She had been planning to suggest that they talk, set boundaries, agree sensible ways of working together. But Jane was okay, and she was okay, and all she could think about right now was Jane's hand-
"It's all the same blood!"
Maura jumped to her feet, startled. Jane was looking at her computer screen, reading an email.
"They tested the blood on the painting. It matches the blood in the alley. It's all from the same victim."