A/N: I need to clarify the timeline, the present year is 2008. Quick rundown, Jane and Maura were both born in 1976. Maura started her residency in 2000 and met Mel a few months later. She and Mel went to Ethiopia in 2003 and Kenya in 2004 and then moved to SF in 2005. Maura moved back to Boston July 1, 2008. She met Jane shortly thereafter. So that would put Jane right at nine years with BPD. This all happens after Jane meets Hoyt for the first time.
Oops, I Did It Again – Chapter 6
Jane was upset with herself for asking about Maura's wedding ring. Maura looked sad when she talked about her wife passing away. Jane didn't know what to say as she was uncomfortable. She felt guilty for making Maura sad. When she got home, she did something she normally didn't do, she googled her therapist.
She was impressed with what she read. Maura had quite the varied background. She had won numerous awards for her time with MSF. She was well thought of as an assistant medical examiner and ER doctor in San Francisco. She saw pictures of Maura at various society gatherings and she was always with a beautiful tall brunette, who was not identified in most of the pictures. Jane assumed that this must be Mel.
She did find one picture that gave Mel's name as Melody Austin. She then googled Melody Austin and found out she was a detective with the San Francisco Police Department. She died in the line of duty, in a car accident leaving a crime scene, on January 3, 2008. The driver had run a red light and struck the vehicle Mel was driving. The driver and Mel both died at the scene. This was a new trauma for Maura as it hasn't even been a year. Jane closed all the browsers as she now felt like she was prying into Maura's life.
She would have to make this up to Maura, somehow. Maura needed compassion. She was back in Boston, in a new job, a new house, maybe she needed a friend. Outside of the anger management sessions which would end soon, Jane thought maybe she could be that friend. Maura was very compassionate and she needed compassionate people around her.
The next week went by slowly. They hadn't found any new leads in the cold case they were working on. They took down the murder board and boxed the case back up and took it to the storage area where they kept all their cold cases. They picked up Korsak's next cold case and the three of them started working on it. They had just started setting up the murder board when they caught a new case.
A double murder/suicide, according to Dr. Pike. Something seemed odd to Jane and Frost when they were at the crime scene. They didn't trust Pike's initial finding because they both felt like he was an idiot. They collected as much evidence as they could at the crime scene. Korsak helped them fill out the murder board. They were going to treat the case as a double murder with no suicide until the evidence told them differently.
The uniforms had taken statements in the neighborhood. They had copies of all the interviews that were taken at the crime scene, they had the phone records and financial documents. They worked until 11 PM the first night trying to put all the evidence in order and trying to come up with a timeline and some possible leads. The next few nights they closed up at 9 PM and started at 8 AM the next day. On Wednesday Jane left at 3 PM so she could meet Maura for her appointment at 3:30. Jane was very polite and sent a text to Maura to let her know that she was on her way.
Maura arrived before Jane and had ordered coffee and a treat for Jane. Jane was impressed that Maura remembered how she liked her coffee and what type of treat she preferred. Jane said, "Thank you, Maur. I appreciate it. How much do I owe you?"
"Please, Jane, you don't owe me, it is my pleasure. I am enjoying this arrangement. Thank you for asking to complete your sessions this way."
"You are welcome, Maur. I don't like be confined to my office. We have been working on a double murder case so we have been spending a great amount of time at our desks or in the office reviewing information. I think tomorrow we might actually get to go out and interview some people and check a few possible leads out. My partner is working on setting everything up right now." Jane freely shared with Maura.
Jane was finding it easier and easier each week to open up more to Maura. Maura was friendly and easy to talk to and that helped Jane tremendously. They walked out to the bench and Maura began discussing additional strategies with Jane. They talked about the three stages of the aggression cycle: escalation, explosion and post-explosion. They also discussed how to identify and break the aggression cycle. Together using Maura's laptop, they created an anger control plan for Jane.
One of the first things they needed to do was established goals. Jane didn't have a problem with that. She knew she needed to not be angry so much, so that was set as a goal. If she got angry, she needed to know steps to calm herself down, so they set that as a goal. Jane was already working on these goals thanks to Maura, so she was feeling good about this plan already.
Next, she needed to work with others. Jane was a little leery about this stage of the plan. She was okay with Maura helping her but she wasn't sure if she wanted anybody else. They discussed Jane's team, Korsak and Frost. Maura felt that they would be the best people to help Jane at work. Maura wasn't at Jane's work so she couldn't help her. Jane thought about it and agreed. They had already mentioned that if there was anything that she needed to let them know. They were more than willing to help their partner out. Jane still considered Korsak a partner.
The last step of the plan was collecting information. Part of that was recalling her triggers in certain situations. Once Jane identified them the computer program automatically input the selections in Jane's personalized anger control plan. Having the anger control plan close by Jane would be able to reflect on it when she felt herself getting angry. This plan would be continued to be worked on but Maura emailed a copy to Jane so she could print out this version.
There time was up for this week. Jane still wasn't ready to go, she enjoyed talking with Maura. Once they were officially off the clock, Jane apologized to Maura again for last week's comment about the wedding ring. Maura smiled and said, "Thank you Jane! As I told you last week, you do not need to apologize. It was actually been good for me that you brought it up. I have needed to work through my grieving process and talking about Mel and what happened is therapeutic."
"Well, if you ever want to talk, I am here for you. Just like now. I am off work for the rest of the evening. You can jot some notes down on your computer and then if you want, we can go to the café across the street and get a bite to eat and then come back here and eat and talk." Jane said as she smiled at Maura. She really did feel comfortable talking to Maura and she felt as though Maura needed to talk to someone. She remembered Maura stating that she was seeing a therapist but sometimes it is good to talk to a friend.
Maura stated, "I would love that, Jane. I do need to write a few notes out, it shouldn't take me more than about five minutes and then we can go. Do you mind if I go back to my office and type up my notes and then come back?"
"Not at all, how about we meet back here in half an hour and I will go get Jo. I need to walk her and she would love to see you again and play in the park."
"That sounds great. I will see you around 5 PM then." Maura stated as she walked back to her office to type up her notes and put her computer away.
Jane was back 25 minutes later with Jo. Jane had changed into her comfortable clothes. She still had her badge and gun with her but the gun was hidden from view as was her badge. Jo Friday knew exactly when Maura arrived. Her tail started wagging. Jane looked up to see Maura walking down the path to them. Jane stood and greeted Maura. Maura said hello to Jane and then bent down to pet Jo. Jo's little tail was wagging like crazy.
They walked over to the café to order some food and then they came back for a little picnic in the park. Their bench was still available so Jane sat the food down as Maura sat down. Jane took Jo to the park and let her have some time in there.
Jane and Maura talked while eating. It was mostly small talk until they finished eating and then Maura asked, "Jane, is it okay if I tell you about Mel? I felt as though you were curious. If I misread that it is okay."
"No, Maura it is fine. I would love to hear about Mel, and maybe you should be a detective. I was curious. I enjoy spending time with you. Thank you for agreeing to stay and chat with me. Please tell me about Mel." Jane felt a little bit guilty because she had already googled both of them but Maura didn't know that.
Maura smiled at Jane and then said, "I met Mel when she was a patrol officer in NYC. I was doing my residency and she came into the ER with a sprained wrist that she received while apprehending a suspect. She asked me out for coffee and we just hit it off. We dated for over a year before I asked her to move in with me. When I finished my residency, she informed me that she had applied to join me with my MSF tour and became a supply logistician. I was shocked she gave up being a police officer for me. When I applied to my position in San Francisco she applied and was accepted with the San Francisco PD. At no time was marriage legal so technically we were never legally married. However, before we left New York for Ethiopia we had a commitment ceremony with our family and friends. Marriage still wasn't legal when we moved to California. She was killed before marriage became legal so it is a technicality that we were never married in the eyes of the government. Our hearts were committed to each other and that was as good as we could do. She was my life partner and if she wouldn't have died, we would have gotten married."
"Thank you for sharing with me. I was curious when you said your wife because I thought same-sex marriages just recently became legal in other states."
"Yes, same-sex marriages just became legal in California a few months after Mel passed away. In my heart she was my wife. We had a beautiful commitment ceremony and reception for friends and family. I wore a beautiful white wedding dress and she wore a white woman's tuxedo. She was so beautiful." Maura reminisced, she wasn't sad this time, she had a huge smile on her face. "If I never meet someone and fall in love and get married again, I will still be happy because I loved and was loved."
"That is a very positive way to feel, I am happy that you met Mel and had her in your life. Some people never find their true love. I am just sad that she was taken away from you so soon."
"Thank you, I am trying hard to be positive and smile when I remember Mel. She would want that. She would be happy that I found someone that I can talk to besides my therapist."
"You can talk to me at anytime Maur. I enjoy talking with you." Jane was interrupted by Jo Friday who wanted to come and spend time with them. They cleaned up their dinner and then they both walked over to the dog park and retrieved Jo Friday. They walked around the park and continued with small talk for about half an hour before Maura said she needed to get home and feed Bass.
"Who is Bass?" Jane asked. She didn't remember Maura mentioning anyone named Bass.
"Bass is my African spurred tortoise. I have had him since I was 5. He is on a schedule for his food. I have to be home to feed him by 9 PM and I need to go to the grocery store and get some strawberries for him."
"You have a pet turtle?" Jane laughed.
"Jane, Bass is a tortoise, not a turtle. There is quite a difference between the two species." Maura was now laughing.
"By all means don't let Jo and I keep you from getting to Bass on time. See you next week same bat time same bat channel?"
"What?" Maura was confused she didn't understand what Jane was referring to.
"It's just a saying Maur. It just means I will see you the same time next week." Jane explained.
"Yes, that would be great. Please continued working on your worksheet and print out your anger control plan. Have a great week." Maura said as she bent down to say goodbye to Jo Friday.
"You too, Maur. I meant what I said, if you need someone to talk too, you can call me."
"Thank you, Jane! I will see you next week." Maura said as she walked back to her office building where her car was parked.
Jane walked Jo Friday to the car and they headed home. It had been a great day. She felt like she had a great friendship forming with Maura.
