Oops, I Did It Again – Chapter 10

When Jane arrived at the coffee shop, she smiled when she saw Maura. Maura had once again beat Jane to their meeting spot and had purchased Jane's coffee. Maura also had a bag of goodies. Jane couldn't make out what was in the bag but she was sure it was something delicious.

"Hello, Jane." Maura offered in greeting as Jane approached her. "I procured your coffee for you and some treats." Jane smiled as Maura rose so they could make their way to the park bench. Maura spoke as they walked. "I am so proud of how you handled the incident last Wednesday. I know you probably still wanted to punch him."

They arrived at their bench and as Jane wiped off the bench for Maura to sit down, she said, "Yes, the thought did enter my mind but I thought better of it and just started to breathe deeply." They sat down and then she continued, "Korsak saw that I was doing okay and stepped up so his body was between me and Crowe. He didn't want Crowe looking at me. Frost was ready to jump up as well but Korsak was handling the situation."

"My team is really protective of me and they were so happy that we included them in our session. It made them feel as part of my team even more so. I think Frost would have punched him if Korsak didn't put his arm out to stop any further advancement from Frost. They just wanted Crowe to leave me alone. To be honest I'm not sure if he is ever going to stop." Jane said as she really contemplated the situation with Darren Crowe.

"Well, I am just happy that you handled yourself well in that situation. Do you want to talk about it more or shall we begin today's lesson." Maura asked, she would talk more about the incident that just happened if Jane needed to. That was part of the process also. Identify the root causes of the incidents.

"Nah, I am fine with continuing on to today's lesson. The more information and techniques you provide for my toolbox the better I will be at dealing with the Darren Crowes of this world."

"That is a very positive way to view the situation. Okay so this week we are going to talk about cognitive tools and how your thinking affects your feelings. If you don't mind, I will use this last incident as an example and break down the process for you so you can understand what I am explaining to you."

"That's fine, I mean I would rather forget about the incident but I understand how you can help me learn from it so let's press on."

"When Crowe approached you, that was a triggering event. Your body automatically started to react. Your mind automatically started thinking. Crowe's appearance at dinner affected your feelings and thoughts. I know you immediately started deep breathing, I also believe you might have balled up your fists while you were deep breathing. The triggering event and your feelings and thoughts led to the emotion you felt, which was anger." Maura informed Jane.

"How … how did you know that?" Jane asked curious as to how the doctor would have known that she balled up her fists.

"The anger was already building and although you started the deep breathing the anger was still present and the feelings and thoughts had already formed and that is why you balled up your fists. As your anger subsided your fists un-balled and you relaxed." Maura explained and she could see through Jane's facial expressions that she was processing the information that she was providing her.

"They did, when Korsak stepped in between me and Crowe I started to relax and my fists un-balled and my hands laid on my legs. That is when I thought it would be great to record the conversation so I could share it with HR to let them know that he was being the aggressor." Maura smiled as Jane explained her actions.

They went through an exercise on unhelpful and alternate thoughts. Jane was able to come up with alternative thoughts for every situation Maura presented. She understood and was able to understand the technique so Maura continued with additional techniques. They talked about the communication styles: Aggressive or Hostile; Passive or Avoidant; and Assertive or Respectful. Jane realized that she had been responding to incidents in an aggressive or hostile manner and now she was responding in an assertive or respectful manner.

They discussed the conflict resolution model and identified and review the steps in the model. Maura demonstrated situations and they used the steps in the model to resolve the incident. Jane's main takeaway from the day was that she needed to pause when agitated. Pausing would allow her time to think so she could act appropriate and hopefully work through the incident without increasing her anger.

When the hour was up, they said their goodbyes and each went their separate ways. Jane felt great about the tools that she had in her toolbox. Her sessions with Maura were really helping her. If she hadn't been seeing Maura, she might not have a job right now because she is sure she would have punched Crowe during the incident at the Dirty Robber.

HR called Crowe and his supervisor in for a meeting. The Union representative was already present. The audio tape that Jane had recorded was played and the statements from Frost and Korsak were read. Crowe was given a chance to defend himself. He stated, "You didn't know what happened before that recording started."

The head of HR said, "Do you care to explain because according to the statements that I read you from Sergeant Detective Korsak and Detective Frost, you were the instigator in this incident. Detective Rizzoli was merely having dinner with her team and you approached them." Crowe didn't have anything else to say. He knew he was in the wrong. He was suspended for two weeks without pay effective immediately.

He would have a meeting with HR, his supervisor and the union representative when his suspension was over and they would discuss what happens next. Crowe was not happy. Within an hour Crowe was at Headquarters and headed to the bullpen. He walked in and went straight to Jane's desk and said, "You damn dyke, because of you I have been suspended without pay for two weeks. You better watch your back." Frost was at Jane's desk in just a few seconds. Jane moved her chair back and rose. She stepped back as Crowe threw a punch her way she ducked and he missed her.

He started to throw another punch when Frost grabbed his arm. They threw a few punches at each other before other officers stepped in and broke up the fight. Frost would have a black eye and Crowe seemed to have another busted nose. Cavanaugh had come out after just hearing about Crowe's suspension and had Crowe arrested for assaulting a police officer and attempting to assault a police officer. Cavanaugh knew that Frost was just defending Jane but he had to have him arrested also as he intentionally struck Crowe, who although suspended is still a police officer.

Frost wasn't even booked. As soon as they hauled Crowe out. Cavanaugh had Frost unhandcuffed and told him to go freshen up his face and see if he needed medical attention. Korsak went with him. Jane was told to follow Cavanaugh into his office. Cavanaugh called in another sergeant as he would need to take a statement from Jane. Cavanaugh could not let this continue to happen between Jane and Crowe. He thought with Crowe being transferred the worst was over but Crowe's temper was getting worse.

Jane spent fifteen minutes giving her statement. When Frost and Korsak came back from getting Frost cleaned up they gave their statements. Because of the seriousness of the incident Cavanaugh had no choice but to suspend Frost for three days for assaulting a police officer. He had done the most he could and kept him out of jail. He received the same penalty that Jane had received. Frost smiled when Cavanaugh told him. "Why are you smiling Detective Frost when I just suspended you for three days?" Cavanaugh asked.

"I have been wanting to punch him since he first said all those things to my partner. He tried to punch Jane today and I was not going to let him get away with that. When he punched me, I punched him back. I didn't set out to get in a fight with him today, but he started it, damn right I was going to punch back." Frost explained to his lieutenant.

"Well, that is all over now, please refrain from fighting. I will give you the same warning I gave Jane, if there is another incident with you, I will have to send you to anger management as well." Cavanaugh told Frost who acknowledged him and then went back to work. Jane gave him some aspirin and they went back to working on the case. Jane wondered how this incident was going to play out with what HR was working on. He definitely had anger issues.

Jane sent an email to Maura to let her know what Crowe had just done and that he was arrested for assaulting an officer and attempted assault on an officer. Jane told her how she had responded and how her partner had intercepted the punch that was meant for her and how proud she was of Frost for stepping up and helping her.

She also told Maura to make sure she didn't get Crowe as a patient if he had to attend anger management but to take Frost if he had to attend as Frost was a good guy and was only helping her out. Maura smiled when she read the email later that day. Crowe really was digging his own grave. Sounds like he would be spending some time in jail for his recent altercation and would probably be attending anger management classes in the future.

She was just glad that Jane wasn't injured and that Frost seemed to be okay, just a black eye and nothing broken. She liked Jane and her team and didn't want anything to happen to them. It was something she always worried about with Mel, that she would get hurt in the line of duty. This though was totally different as it was a policer officer fighting with another police officer, but she still didn't want anybody to get hurt. Life is too precious. She replied back to Jane and told her they could talk about it at next week's session if she needed and that she hoped Jane would have a great rest of the week now that Crowe was locked up and couldn't aggravate her.