Jane awoke to the insistent whining of Jo Friday, whose bladder just didn't seem to care about the abject misery of her sleep-deprived master. Stretching as she roused herself from sleep, reality hit her like a cold shock as she looked around and realized where she was, why she was there in the first place.
Maura.
"Okay you monster, okay," the detective soothed as she stroked the furry mutt, "just let me find your leash."
Quickly untangling her body from the luxurious covers, which still smelled like Maura, sex, and the deliciousness of their encounter, Jane groaned in regret. The covers slid across her body as she crawled out of her best friend's bed, and she wondered at the title as she came face to face with the fact that the bed she was referring to belonged to the woman who had brought her to the most intense climax of her life. And in true Rizzoli fashion, with a declaration of love exclaimed during the throes of passion, Jane was certain that the title of "best friend" no longer applied between her and the honey blonde. Of course, such terms would need to be discussed when the detective wasn't avoiding the good doctor like the plague.
"Great job, Rizzoli," the detective muttered as she ran her hands through her wild shock of hair. "Now she's in another country with a gorgeous woman who is insanely attracted to her and you, you dumbass, you sent her there with a broken heart."
Fuck.
Growling as she searched for the leash, Jane almost laughed at the irony of her lonely night in Maura's bed. While she'd been clutching the honey blonde's pillow and breathing in her scent for comfort, she was certain that Maura was in Chile clutching various parts of Farrell as the young agent brought her to a guilt-free release.
Sighing, she plastered a smile on her face as her mother met her in the kitchen with a "why are you here" look on her face.
"My landlord's having the steps fixed," Jane lied, "the entrance to my place is a mess."
Like my life, she thought as Angela kissed her good morning and started the coffee, oblivious to the tumultuous events taking place in her daughter's life.
Such a damn mess.
~R&I~
Like clockwork, Maura was awake before her alarm chimed. With practiced ease she shook off the cobwebs and momentary disorientation of sleep, her mind focused on one thing, or rather, one person. But she wasn't home, she was in Chile, where she'd been since the morning after her whole world had been turned upside down.
With Agent Farrell, who was not only Detective Frost's former fiancé, but also a remarkably gorgeous lesbian who had declared an interest in more than just her mind.
Such a mess, Maura thought, that even with the very willing Agent Farrell hinting at more than friends, one thing remained constant: Jane was the only one she desired and her mind had no room to entertain the talented agent in any other regard than in a professional capacity. But despite every way she and Jane fit perfectly, in the end Maura was in Chile while the detective remained in Boston, distant and in perpetual denial.
Sighing, Maura ordered room service and headed for the bathroom, determined to finish her work on this case and get back to Boston as fast as humanly possible.
Back to Jane, she thought with a soft smile, God how I miss her.
~R&I~
Detective Rizzoli sat miserably at her desk, staring at reports that she really wasn't seeing as she cursed the universe and everyone in it for every damn emotion she was feeling: Maura, for making her feel what no man ever had. Frost, for bringing Farrell into their lives, and Korsak for just sitting there smirking and clearly enjoying her not so internal struggle.
"Cut it out!" she snapped at the elder detective as she caught him glancing curiously in her direction. The staring had been constant over the last hour and Jane had reached her limit.
"What?" he defensively replied, his stab at innocence falling flat as she glared at the file he was using to shield his expression. Jane didn't need Vince to remove the papers hiding his face to know the size of the smirk he was trying to keep out of sight. "Nothing!" she snapped, jumping to her feet and marching to the elevator. Her fingers couldn't hit the down button fast enough, impatiently poking at it, wishing she'd hear the tell-tale ding of the lift's arrival. She could imagine Korsak pointing out that hitting the glowing arrow more than once was pointless, which she knew, but it made her feel better so she childishly continued her one fingered assault until the doors slid open.
As the elevator closed behind the furious woman, Korsak chuckled and said aloud, "Man she's got it bad."
~R&I~
The brief yet comfortingly familiar elevator ride down was quickly interrupted by the quiet chime and the whoosh of the elevator doors gliding open. Jane was prickly from Korsak's unspoken goading. The man had a way of getting to her that not even her own brothers could manage. Finding herself on autopilot it was no surprise when she found herself walking toward a desperate need to feel comfort. To feel something normal.
Oh, how she yearned for it.
Which is how she found herself once again in the cool haven of the morgue. The detective realized that this area of the precinct felt off without Maura's presence. Though if she were honest with herself, there were more places than just the precinct that felt empty when Maura wasn't there.
Glancing around and aimlessly walking through the hall, Jane peered into a few of the labs and noticed the lack of personnel in the area. After a quick look to her watch she surmised it was probably lunchtime for most people, which would account for only finding Susie still working, hunched over a therma-something or other clearly engrossed by whatever the machine was revealing.
"Powering through your lunch hour I take it?" The raven-haired woman said casually, hip flush against the counter next to the other woman. She watched as Susie's head snapped up, startled eyes meeting her gaze. "Sorry," the detective added, a small smile tugging at her lips, "I didn't mean to catch you off guard."
"Detective Rizzoli," Chang rushed out, a little color to her face at being caught unaware of another's presence. The Senior Criminalist chuckled nervously, a small exhale of breath later and her nerves had settled, knowing the detective was in her domain. "Just finishing some last minute tests," she shrugged, not offering more information, knowing it wasn't pertinent to the detective.
The earsplitting ring of a phone shattered their easy silence. Jane reflexively reached to her hip, grasping her phone only to realize it wasn't hers that was ringing. It was easy to tune Susie out until she heard "Of course, Dr. Isles" enter the conversation. Before she could form a coherent thought, let alone get it out of her mouth, she soundlessly watched Susie hang up the phone.
"Was that Dr. Isles?" Jane asked knowingly, her heart rate picking up at the mere mention of the honey blonde. She casually eyed her fidgeting hands and tried to play it off that she was not deliberately trying to eavesdrop on Susie's conversation.
"You heard me say Dr. Isles, detective," the scientist responded, her face expressionless as she called Jane out. Even the criminalist could spot the immediate tension rippling through the cop's cool façade that was starting to become unraveled.
"But why did she call you and not me?" Jane grunted as she crossed her arms tightly across her chest, inadvertently taking a defensive stance. "What did she say? Is she on her way home yet?" The rapid fire questions came out like word vomit before she could stop them and certainly left no time for Susie to even get a word in edge wise.
"Oh, does your silence mean it's my turn to speak now?" The scientist sarcastically questioned, pinning the other woman with a stare while her hand gestured inward toward her body, an incredulous look plastered across her unamused face.
Jane glared, her expression clearly waiting for Susie to elaborate. "Well?"
The scientist rolled her eyes. "The Doctor needs a ride from the airport when she arrives," Susie offered nonchalantly. "She called me instead of you because she knew I'd answer the phone." Chang 1, Rizzoli 0 the scientist thought smugly.
Jane felt the sting of those words and realized the criminalist was right. But it didn't make it hurt any less.
"When does her flight land?" Jane growled, pinning the Senior Criminalist with a look that turned the question into a demand.
"One hour," Susie squeaked, the false bravado of just moments before gone in a flash. Shit. Chang 1, Rizzoli 1.
With a final, punishing glare, the detective was gone as quickly as she'd appeared.
~R&I~
Stopping briefly at Boston Joe's, a very nervous Jane, of course, spilled a tiny bit of coffee in the front seat of the car. In her own car, no problem. Too bad she wasn't in her own car.
Checking the clock, knowing that actually dealing with the stain in the honey blonde's car would be cutting it close, she made a quick stop at a car wash. A few squirts of something wonderfully chemical that seemed to remove the tiny stain and a quick dab with a shop rag later, the raven-haired woman was satisfied that her minor accident was rectified, and off to pick up her best friend she went.
Her fingers drummed mindlessly against the steering wheel of the Prius, her nervousness and anxiety manifesting itself in her inability to keep still. She didn't know what to expect when Maura would walk out of the building. Would she be alone? Would Farrell be fawning all over her? She didn't know and the thought made her stomach churn. It took her less time than she'd anticipated to make it through the mid-afternoon rush, so now she was stuck waiting and questioning whether or not this was a good idea.
A sharp knock on her window pulled the detective out of her nervous introspection, so she lowered it and asked the incredibly young looking security guard what the hell he wanted.
"Ma'am," he stated with an air of self-importance, "you've been parked in 15 minute parking for half an hour. I have to ask you to move."
Jane took one look at the guard's insufferable smirk before deciding she'd wipe it right off his face.
Flashing her badge, she snarled, "See this? This," tapping a finger against her detective's shield. "A real badge for Boston Homicide. So unlike you, this gives me free reign to park over a 15 minute limit and not answer to the likes of you. I'm here on official business, something you probably aren't familiar with, as an escort to the Chief Medical Examiner of the Commonwealth. So why don't you scram and move along back to your golf cart and find someone else to harass." She didn't wait for him to leave before she put the window up, but as she watched him scamper away his words sunk in. Half an hour? Where the hell was Maura?
Frustrated, Jane dialed the crime lab and when Senior Criminalist Chang answered she barked, "Where the hell is Maura?"
"Waiting for her ride," Susie replied, "where are you parked so I can tell her."
"In fifteen minute parking," Jane growled, "and I'm not really planning on moving into paid parking, no matter what the boy wonder security guard says."
"Since when did Hanscom Field start charging to park?" Susie replied.
"I'm at Logan!" Jane snapped, "Why would I have gone to Hanscom?"
"Because that's the airport Doctor Isles always flies into when she uses the family jet," the young criminalist matter-of-factly explained, then added, "I just assumed you knew that. You are her best friend after all."
"Of course I knew that!" the detective snapped, then added, "I thought she was coming back on the feds plane!"
With Farrell. Vomit.
"Shall I send a cab?" Susie innocently asked, her voice as annoyingly devoid of inflection as always. Got ya. Chang 2, Rizzoli 1.
Irritated beyond belief, Jane ended the call with a terse "Please inform Doctor Isles that I'm on my way."
~R&I~
Having totally convinced herself that the racing heart, dry mouth and sweaty palms were nothing more than the side effects of the adrenaline spike that had flooded her system when she realized she was at the wrong airport, Jane parked the car and wiped her hands on her trousers and set off to find Maura. She had already decided that their friendship wasn't something she was willing to lose, so she could be cool no matter what.
After all, she had promised that nothing would change. Sure, her body had been in overdrive and she'd been possibly too turned on to think straight - and at that particular thought the detective let out a bark of laughter - but she had promised Maura that nothing would change.
"You're fine, you can do this," she said aloud as she crossed the parking lot, then added, "and you're in love with Casey, so if she's decided to give it a go with Farrell you can be supportive."
One bullshit pep talk and 100 yards later, the sight of a radiantly pissed off Maura sent a shot of pure electric response throughout the detective that had nothing to do with seeing your best friend and Jane stopped dead in her tracks, mouth open but not working as the honey blonde's eyes pinned her with an accusing glare.
"Where the hell have you been?" the exhausted M.E. snapped in greeting, and a shocked Jane recognized that, at least for Maura, nothing actually had changed between them.
I am so not fine, she thought, but apparently she is.
"Traffic?" an apologetic Jane offered by way of explanation, though the hand through her hair and the chewing of her nails told her best friend a different story.
"Logan is an easy place to get stuck in traffic," Maura responded, then smiled tiredly and asked, "help me with my luggage?"
Caught, Jane ducked her head and grabbed the large duffel.
"I really am sorry," she mumbled, "I just assumed that you'd be flying in on the fed's plane."
"It's fine," Maura robotically responded, her eyes anywhere but on the detective beside her, "I'm just tired."
The detective glanced at the honey blonde, noting the rumpled clothes and the dark circles looming under the doctor's eyes. She looks tired. Exhausted, actually, like she hasn't slept all night. "Between the hotel germ party in your head and the low quality mattress I'm sure you didn't get much sleep," Jane offered.
"The hotel mattress was actually very accommodating," Maura replied, "But I didn't get much sleep anyhow," she exclaimed, stifling a yawn behind her hand.
Jane's eyes narrowed accusingly, looking at the good doctor under a new set of circumstances. The bed was accommodating?! Jane bristled internally.
Ugh.
Tormented by a suddenly very vivid imagination that offered a variety of activities that could have transpired between the ME and the agent in that very accommodating bed, Jane pushed down the bile rising in her throat and said with a forced smile "I brought coffee. Boston Joe's, just the way you like it."
"And you brought my car," Maura sighed as she spotted the Prius.
"Ummm, yeah?" the detective responded confused at the instant amount of frustration coming out of the doctor's every word.
"How much did you spill?" the M.E. retorted.
"I didn't spill anything!" Jane defended, "God Maura, I know you hate my car and I was trying to do something nice and you go and get all accusing and -"
"Save it Jane," Maura interjected, "you and I both know that I only dislike your car because it smells terrible, and the only thing I enjoy less than riding in your car is knowing that you've been unsupervised in mine."
The detective glowered as she hefted the bags into the trunk, causing the honey blonde to sigh and say, "You know what? I'm too tired to do this right now. Please just take me home."
Confused, Jane asked, "You're not working today?"
"I need a hot shower first, ok?"
"Okay."
~R&I~
The ride back to Maura's had been the worst ride of Jane's life. Her questions about the trip had been met with "yes, no, please, and thank you" responses that the doctor knew would drive the detective crazy. They needed to talk but the conversation was not going to be easy, as they needed to be adults and confront the reality of what they'd done and what it meant, if anything, for their future. It was not a conversation that she was willing to participate in while she was tired and irritated, and she was certainly not going to allow it to be restricted by the length of the commute, opening the door for Jane to sweep it under the rug once the ride home was over.
Pulling into the driveway, Jane couldn't help but feel for her oddly quiet passenger, so she insisted that Maura go ahead and get settled while she carried in the bags. Too mentally and physically drained to argue, the honey blonde softly uttered "thank you" then disappeared into the house. Stalling, Jane exited the vehicle, checked her messages, returned a few phone calls, then ever so slowly grabbed the luggage from the trunk and made her way inside.
Heading for the bedroom, suddenly very conscious of the last time they'd been together in that bedroom, Jane stopped in her tracks. Shaking her head, she continued to move forward. Stopped, backed up, then forward, then back. "Maura", she called out, "are you decent?"
Really Jane? Decent?
Silence. Actual deafening silence was the response, so Jane screwed up her courage and marched into the bedroom to deposit the bags. Hearing the shower turn off, the detective rushed out of the bedroom, hurrying to the kitchen where the doctor found her pacing around the island a few minutes later.
"Jane?"
"Yeah?"
"If you're planning on staying a third night, plan on a very long conversation about the state of our relationship. If you're going to go home tonight, which I assume you will, then you will just be delaying the inevitable." At Jane's lack of response, Maura grabbed her keys from the counter and walked out the door. Speechless, Jane simply followed.
~R&I~
Coward that she was, Jane scurried home that night as soon as her shift was over. She was equal parts relieved and surprised that Maura had not called or texted that evening, but chalked it up to jet lag and the glory of being in her own bed that night. Then it was two days, a week, and things were still unresolved, but Maura wasn't pushing and Jane wasn't offering and soon, they were back to what could only be described as normal. Strained normal, but normal, so Jane was surprised when she woke up to a call from Maura asking for a ride to work.
"Where's your car?" the sleepy detective asked.
"Somebody spilled a triple power latte in it," Maura replied, and Jane smirked as she continued, "so it's being detailed. As the spiller of said latte, the least you can do is take me to work."
Grinning, Jane offered, "Half an hour okay? I need to shower and walk Jo Friday."
Maura agreed and Jane, suddenly feeling like maybe, just maybe they were going to be okay, smiled as she hopped out of bed to begin her day.
~R&I~
The car could have been detailed a week ago, three days ago, even yesterday. Instead, Maura had put it off as she'd screwed up her nerve to talk to Jane about, well, what they hadn't been talking about. Ever the scientist, the honey blonde had decided that she would give the detective the space and the opportunity to make the first move and initiate the conversation, but she had also decided that there would be a time limit. That time limit expired at noon yesterday, but the ever elusive detective had managed to evade her and since she really couldn't lie or think of a reason that they had to be alone together, she had given up for the night but arranged for her car to be detailed this morning in order to force them to ride in together.
So now that it wasn't technically a lie, she hoped that the urticaria would not manifest and expose her deceit. Pacing and wringing her hands at the pending confrontation, Maura really hoped that Jane would just arrive and walk in and they could be adults and resolve this the easy way, especially since Angela was already at work and they would actually be alone.
Seeing that her mother's car was gone, Jane sent a cowardly one word text "here" instead of going inside.
Reading it, Maura glared at the offending text and uttered, "the hard way."
~R&I~
"Good morning Jane."
"Morning. Boston Joe's?"
"Jane."
It was the way that the single syllable had been spoken that raised the hair on the back of the detective's neck, and though she did not dare to look at Maura, she also didn't put the car in gear or dare move in any way. A long, tense silence stretched between the two women, and Maura patiently waited until the obstinate detective finally uttered her own single syllable response, "Yeah?"
"I love our friendship, and I love you. I also loved making love to you, and it is a memory I will cherish for the rest of my life."
Flashes of naked flesh and earth-shattering orgasms flooded the raven-haired detective's mind as she listened, and even though she clung to the description "making love" as opposed to "having sex", she still could not bring herself to acknowledge this conversation nor look her best friend in the eye.
"However," Maura continued, "it is really clear to me, based on your actions, or rather inaction, that the physical relationship is not something that you are comfortable accepting or acknowledging, even just between us. I thought I knew you, you know? But no matter the amount of discussion that we have had about sexuality, Catholic guilt and its place in the culture that you were raised in, I don't think that I fully grasped how deeply ingrained those core values are inside of you. The stigma," Maura continued as her voice cracked on the word, "that you feel because you are attracted to me, and that you acted on it, is not something that I can erase. Nor is it something I should have to live with, because I am not ashamed."
"Maura, I - "
"No, Jane. Let me finish!" The M.E. snapped, determined to finish this while she still had the strength to say what needed to be said. "I will not live a closeted life, ashamed of who I am attracted to and who I choose to love. We're either together, or we aren't."
"Maura," a tearful Jane whispered, "I'm so sorry I can't be the partner you deserve. I do love you, I just, I can't. It shouldn't have happened."
The honey blonde paused, the harsh truth of Jane's words hitting her like physical blows. Anger, rage, the need to strike back and hurt the detective just as much was her instant response, but a look at the tears staining that beloved face stopped the angry words and she simply said, "I knew it would end up like this before we got into bed together, but you were worth the risk. I see you for who you are, and I will respect your wishes. But you? You have to respect me too. Which means no interfering in my love life, unless I ask as a friend for your advice. I will respect your privacy and your decisions as far as Casey or Gabriel or whoever it is that you decide to spend your life with, but it has to be a mutual respect. Do you think you can do that?"
"Yes," the detective replied.
"Good, because I miss my best friend, Jane. And in case you didn't know it already, my best friend is awesome. She is somebody that I will choose over any lover, any time, no matter what. Okay?"
"Okay." Pausing, weighing the decision to ask or not to ask, the curiosity finally won out and she asked, "Maura?"
"Yes Jane?"
"Am I the only woman you've been with?"
Maura hesitated. The hurt and angry part of her wanted to punish this woman for accepting the ridiculous escape she'd just offered her. Sighing, she replied, "Are you really inquiring about my love life, literally seconds after I asked you to respect my privacy?"
Farrell. I knew it!
"No, you're right, I'm sorry," Jane replied, the words burning in her throat as she wondered how in the hell she was going to remain neutral when it came to Maura's love life.
~R&I~
For the most part, things had returned to normal after they talked that morning. Maura complained, ad nauseam, about the "horrible odor" (Jane had argued there was absolutely no smell!) and the inconvenience of not having her car (insert terrible rubber boots courtesy of Jane's trunk and the $550 shoes they were destined to save from wicking here) and the balance seemed to be restored to their friendship.
Jane's former partner and lover, Rafael Martinez, had resurfaced, this time as Frankie Jr's boss, and Maura seemed only too delighted to hear all the details of the previous physical relationship between her friend and the "very sexy" new leader of the Drug Unit. The two women never spoke of their encounter again, and if Jane reacted rather aggressively to Maura nibbling on fresh lavender at the newly plant friendly Robber, neither acknowledged it.
Time marched on, and both women were grateful for the return to their easy friendship. For her part, Maura found comfort in Jane's presence when she'd confronted her biological parents about their criminal past, and Jane was ecstatic that Maura was present as a member of the family at her nephew's christening. If Jane was slightly distracted by the enticing zipper that ran in a very sexy track down the back of Maura's dress, or Rondo wasn't the only one appreciating the sight of Jane and the perfectly toned legs that her dress displayed, neither acknowledged it. They were of course respecting each other's privacy.
The biggest difference in their friendship, to be quite honest, was that the two women no longer spent the night together. Before crossing the line from friends to lovers, they frequently ended up in the same home, in the same bed. It had been an innocent part of their friendship, and in fact the detective had once slept through the night fully dressed, boots and all. During particularly difficult times, they had found platonic comfort in the warmth and security of each other's embrace; when Jane had killed Hoyt, for instance, they had spent weeks wrapped around each other at night. But now? Now that the temptation was too real, now that Jane knew what Maura tasted like and her body betrayed her every time they got too close, she simply could not allow it to happen again. Besides, she had Casey, who had been "the one" her entire life. Maura had been a very supportive friend, helping Jane to set up the webchat that allowed her to talk to Casey as often as possible. Sure, he was over there. And sure, Rafael was here and still sexy and irritating and clearly interested. Honestly, Jane's love life had never been more interesting than it was right now, and her mother had never been more optimistic about her future grandchildren.
Safely in the arms of heteroville, Jane made up her mind to just come right out and ask Maura about Farrell and what had happened between them in Chile. She felt that enough time had passed that it wouldn't seem like jealousy, but rather just a general interest in her friend's life. The perfect opportunity seemed to present itself in the form of yet another lame fundraiser that Maura asked Jane to attend with her. The detective readily accepted the night of drinks and dinner along with the charitable check writing in order to share a ride and enjoy the frivolities a little too much which would be the perfect storm to casually mention the FBI agent and hopefully learn the answer to what had been a nagging question in the back of her mind.
But of course, there was no dinner. Just beer at eight dollars a bottle and peanuts. Lots of peanuts. And people who thought that Jane, in her black jacketed pantsuit, was a server. Jane was embarrassed, though she'd never admit it, that her Southie was showing; Maura, prominent member of the board, center of attention at the event, was slumming it with a pitiable plus one in a server's outfit. So she did what she always did, she whined and complained and swore that she was hungry so that Maura would acquiesce and ditch the formal event for a comfortable evening at the Robber. Of course, Maura agreed to ditch the formal event, she never could say no to Jane. As they made their escape, they were intercepted by the evening's speakers with Maura being diverted to "shake down" a group of doctors for donations while Jane was left alone to answer the question "Are you a giver?"
Was it really interfering when the detective interrupted the ME's conversation with the handsome doctor she'd been trying to charm into making a larger donation? She didn't think so, because she had just been promised an early escape and a good meal. So it was definitely not interfering when Jane took took Maura's hand and dragged her away from the bearded creep she'd been flirting with because, honestly, they had both agreed that they were ready to leave. Right?
But Maura was intent on staying, in spite of Jane's insistent urge to leave. When Jane rolled her eyes and made a snarky comment about Brad, the man Maura had been talking to before the detective had childishly dragged her away, Maura firmly told her to stop. Realizing, like a slap in the face, what that "stop" signified, Jane pulled out her phone to call a cab, but was halted by Maura digging in her purse and holding up her keys.
They were friends, with boundaries, and they didn't interfere with each other's relationships. Because they weren't gay, they weren't together, and they had made a promise to respect each other's decisions.
So Jane smiled and took the keys to the Prius and tried like hell to look like a good best friend who didn't feel like she'd just been punched in the gut as she realized that the completely unworthy colorectal surgeon across the ball room was going to be taking Maura home tonight.
~R&I~
After a restless night, spent tossing and turning and imagining every vivid fucking detail of what Doctor Asshole was most likely experiencing in the wonderland that was between her best friend's thighs, Jane finally gave up trying to sleep and got dressed. A call to her mother insured that the elder Rizzoli was already in Maura's kitchen, thus it was all clear to enter and not walk in on something she certainly didn't want to see. Ever. Also, if her mother was already there and making breakfast, then clearly this did not qualify as interfering, right?
Right.
Angela hadn't mentioned anything unusual when Jane had spoken to her, but Jane couldn't help but worry that Maura wasn't answering her phone. Dispatch had already contacted the detective about a homicide and had notified her that medical examiner had not been answering their calls and was unable to be reached. The medical examiner in question was of course the honey blonde and the numerous thoughts running through Jane's mind were unsettling to think about if she let her mind wander. The vomit worthy fear of walking in on whatever it was that was keeping Maura from answering her phone was pushed aside by the growing need to see with her own eyes that Maura was safe, so without a moment's hesitation she stormed into her friend's home. Hollering for the doctor, the only response that greeted Jane was Angela unwittingly ruining her morning by mentioning Maura had arrived home after 5 am.
"Maybe she went to get some coffee?" Jane gritted out, covering her jealousy with a fake smile and banter she was not enjoying with her mother. The detective reached for her phone and easily found Maura on her speed-dial. It took only moments to hear the faint buzz of Maura's phone ringing from the direction of the living room. Jane, phone still in hand, followed the noise and found a hunkered mass covered by a blanket on the couch. "Maura?" the detective asked, her eyebrows quickly reaching her hairline, curious at the disheveled state the doctor was in. Clothes from the night before, makeup smeared and running from not having been washed off by Maura's meticulous skin care routine.
Jane's gut was churning. Something was wrong. Never in all the years that Jane had known the honey blonde had she ever found her this out of it with no recollection of the night before. But work never stopped and there was a pending homicide that was impatiently waiting for their arrival.
"What happened?" Jane probed, swallowing the bile that was threatening to creep up and make its presence known on the living room floor. The detective was trying her hardest to be the supportive friend and quell down every inappropriate thought that was flooding her brain. Jane did not want to think about what happened between Maura and the colorectal surgeon the night before.
"I don't know," Maura groggily stated, her head finding her hands easily enough. "I don't know but my head is killing me." The doctor owlishly blinked and refocused her attention back on the detective standing in front of her.
"That's it? What? There's no scientific explanation for the common hangover?" Jane tried to find humor in the situation and chuckled to herself, noting the woman was truly disoriented before the concern took over. "Ma, can you get a cup of coffee," an increasingly concerned Jane asked before kneeling beside the doctor and pushing her jealousy aside. The lack of a scientific quote straight from the New England Medical something or other was a tell that something was really, really wrong with Maura. A violent struggle between concerned best friend, over protective lover, and lead detective with a job to do warred inside of Jane, but before she could give it much more thought Angela had ushered a thermos of coffee into the honey blonde's outstretched hands and Jane was gnawing at her bottom lip. "Maur, are you sure you can't just get Papov or someone else to cover for you at the scene?" The detective wasn't sure it was in the honey blonde's best interest to make the scene in her current state.
Angela whispered, pulling her daughter aside, "Janie, are you sure it's a good idea for Papov to see Maura like this? I mean, just look at her! It wouldn't really hurt if you two showed up, took a look around and she does whatever a medical examiner does, and then you just bring her back home? Maybe, you know, being in her element it might help her get her motor going and lift some of that hangover fog she's feeling." The detective could tell she was just as concerned about Maura as she was and took a moment to digest what her mother was suggesting but before she could respond she watched as Maura sluggishly shook her head, silently protesting the detective's best of intentions to try and give her a much needed state of repose in her luxurious bed. "No, Jane," she said quietly, coffee dampening her lips, the golden liquid trying to ease her mind into a more cognitive harmony than the hangover was allowing. "Just let me grab my bag and we can go. You can drive," the honey blonde stated, closing any further discussion on whether she would be staying home to recover.
Grabbing the keys, Jane allowed the fierce detective mask to slam firmly into place. Right now it was in Maura's best interest for her to behave as a professional, badass detective. The overprotective, completely not gay jealous ex-lover best friend was going to have to shut up now, but she was definitely going to reappear later. Jane watched as Maura stood on unsteady legs, wobbling briefly before gaining her bearings and nodding that she could take it from there. The detective was actually shocked Maura put up no argument in leaving the residence so disheveled but then again it isn't like she had a chance to check the mirror before she was rushed into the passenger seat, her gear in one hand and coffee in the other.
~R&I~
The feeling of unease gnawing at her gut increased as Jane steered the still out of it woman through the crime scene tape toward the victim. She could see Frost and Korsak's curious glances as they approached. She couldn't make out what they were saying but from their looks they noticed the doctor's repeat clothing performance. The raven-haired woman shot them a look and Jane watched Korsak elbow Frost before clearing his throat and greeting the two women with a nod. Trying so hard to act like everything was fine, the detective's eyes betrayed her as she watched the medical examiner struggle to pull her gloves on. "Alright, what have we got?" Jane said, her eyes already assessing the scene and taking mental notes for later inspection. "Maura, what do you think?" C'mon big brain, I need you to do your thing and get it together, Jane silently urged, only to be deflated at hearing "is it bright out here?" from a visibly distracted M.E. whose eyes were squinting in the early morning sun.
Korsak quirked an eye at the doctor but continued with the rundown. "Adult male, mid-to-late 30's. Meter maid found him about 7 am. Keys are still in the ignition and no drag marks outside the vehicle." His eyes quickly focusing on the M.E. as she slowly approached the driver side where the victim was slumped over the wheel. Frost was moving around searching the interior of the vehicle while Jane hovered behind the crouching doctor.
The next few moments were a blur for Jane. As she turned her attention away from the still talking Korsak, she took note of Frost checking through the interior of the car and Dr. Isles crouching down over the victim. She faintly heard Maura mention that rigor had not set in yet and approximate a time of death, but as soon as the words were spoken Maura staggered back, smacking her head on the top of the door frame in her haste to escape the confines of the car. Maura's already alabaster skin had gone sickly pale in an instant, an audible gasp finally registering and acting like a quick shock to the system for the detective. The feeling in her gut was back and churning as Jane asked, "Maura what is it?"
"Oh shit, is that the guy from last night?" Jane blurted out, recognizing the annoying scruff of the beard that had bogarted Maura's attention once she had been directed to the table of doctor's to try and schmooze donations out of the tightwad attendees. "When's the last time you saw him?" Jane didn't even have a moment to check on Maura before she saw Frost rising from the passenger side, something clasped within a gloved hand. Watching him turn it over, she saw confusion and recognition then distress in his eyes, which inevitably darted to Maura. In his hand was the honey blonde's M.E. badge, a grim expression across his face.
"Maur, what's your medical examiner's badge doing inside the victim's car?" Jane turned to finally take in the doctor's troubled and confused expression. With one look the detective could tell the woman was struggling in trying to piece her night together to remember how her ID had somehow been left behind on the passenger floorboard of the victim's car. Scared eyes darted left and right before settling on worried brown.
"Uh... I-I don't know," Maura whispered, the worry clearly evident, her tone no longer holding that silky honey lilt Jane was so used to hearing anytime she was around the doctor. The detective led the woman to a nearby bench and gently sat her down. "Stay right here," she instructed before walking back to her partner and Korsak.
~R&I~
The precinct had never felt so hostile to Jane since the shooting that had nearly taken her life. Cavanaugh was being a dick, asking questions that he already knew the answers to because heaven forbid he piss off the governor by protecting one of his people. If one more person called Maura a mob boss's daughter, Jane was going to snap, but she struggled to keep her cool so that she could take control of this interview and protect Maura in the only way she knew how.
"She a drinker?" Cavanaugh asked between Jane and Korsak. The two detectives exchanging a look.
"Nah, I mean wine but -" Jane said, cut off by Cavanaugh's quick response.
"Take a tox screen after she's interviewed. She needs to be treated like any other suspect," the lieutenant exclaimed, knowing how hard it would be for them all not to get personal with this one. There was no argument about who would be conducting the interview, but Jane nearly lost her nerve when Korsak said they should probably do a rape kit too. Jane ground her teeth to steel her nerve, a quick breath in ignoring the sympathetic looks from Cavanaugh and Korsak as she squared her shoulders and walked into interrogation.
Jane had to remind herself at every turn of her questions that she needed to be professional. No matter how hard the answers were to hear, it needed done and it had to be irrefutable that there was no bias and they left no stone unturned. Seeing the distraught woman before her, confused and unable to articulate the gaps in her memory, was like torture for the raven-haired detective. It wouldn't be hard for a prosecutor to build a case against the medical examiner with the amount of evidence that was quickly starting to mount up. Maura was seen leaving the charity with the victim, her badge found inside the victim's car, and the doctor placed herself at the scene of the crime. All things considered, any adequate prosecutor would be able to use to those facts to their advantage in taking the case to trial. Jane watched as a flushed Maura removed her jacket, arms coming to rest upon the table top, her head finding her hands easily. Under normal circumstances the detective would have been hard pressed not to stare at the breasts straining against divine fabric, but something else quickly caught here eye. "Where did you get those bruises?" Jane muttered, reigning in her immediate response of wanting to reach out and gently stroke the bruised skin, to try and comfort the woman sitting before her.
"I don't know, maybe I was provoked?" The doctor said, the old Maura shining through to her detriment, explaining the causes and reasoning for the bruising. Both women turned as lieutenant Cavanaugh came into interrogation, expressing that they needed to not only take photos, but also her clothes. Jane deflated and Maura silently nodded, acknowledging the due diligence that needed to happen. It took only a few minutes for another lab technician and Senior Criminalist Chang to enter interrogation, apologizing the entire time as they separated Maura's clothes into evidence bags.
Maura had never been so humiliated, so exposed with only a one-way mirror giving her the illusion of privacy standing in a matching pair of lingerie, clutching a fabric gown so she could change and evidence could collect those too. Jane stood silent beside her, trying to provide quiet stability despite the severity of the situation they found themselves in. "I'm so sorry, Maura. Just don't say anything else, okay?" The detective pleaded, her eyes urging the honey blonde to listen. Jane nodded and exited interrogation to give the woman privacy in shedding her remaining dignity, unable to watch any further.
"How's Maura?" Frankie asked as Jane ran into him by the elevators.
"Terrible," Jane shrugged, dodging his next question of how she was doing. Jane was in no mood for talking and sharing her emotions. They were bubbling just beneath the surface and she was terrified they would spill over at any minute. It was harder to contain when Jane watched two uniformed officers escorting Maura between them, on their way to the hospital for the rape kit Cavanaugh had ordered to cover all their bases.
Jane wasn't sure how much time had passed since Maura had been whisked away to the hospital, nor did she fully remember exactly how she had ended up in the M.E.'s office. The detective didn't question it because it made sense. Out of everywhere in this God forsaken building Maura's office was like a sanctuary, a place she felt unburdened from the pressures of the bullpen and like she could actually breathe. The quiet solace of the space was disrupted when Maura caught her sitting in her chair behind the desk. The raven-haired woman would be lying if she said it didn't give her a small sense of pleasure when the honey blonde's eyes roamed across her, the smallest hint of a smile detectable underneath the obvious strain of the day's events. Jumping up, she fought the urge to just take the woman in her arms and promise to take her away, anywhere but here. The struggle to stay positive became harder when she realized that Maura blamed herself due to the bruises on her forearms, and she wondered if the brilliant scientist was actually giving into what seemed to be the inevitable outcome. After all, science doesn't lie, and the science was pointing in that direction. Jane knew in her gut that the doctor could not be responsible for taking a life, but she still felt like they were sitting ducks just praying for a glimmer of hope to exonerate Maura and prove that she wasn't responsible for Brad's death.
Cavanaugh instructed the doctor to remain out of the building until further instruction. He didn't want the liability of her presence to tarnish any other case or for it to appear biased in their treatment of a murder suspect. Jane vehemently disagreed but she was fighting a losing battle. The lieutenant wouldn't budge on his directive which is how the raven-haired detective found herself sitting in the bullpen with Frost and Korsak, each of them staring absently into nothingness while they continued to wait. Jane had started to fidget, first with the scars on her hands then to the anxious bouncing of a leg, hidden from view thanks to the confines of her desk. Motion from the corner of her eye caught her attention, a sinking feeling in her gut as she watched a very nervous Ma walk into the bullpen with Cavanaugh. Jane noticed their boss pass something off to Frost who got up to the center console and attached a wire to the electronic before switching on a screen for everyone to see.
Maura's face came into clear view, hair tied up into a neat ponytail, her clothes indicating she was in the process of working out. Angela's voice could be heard in the video, questioning Maura as she demonstrated a vertical elbow strike. The honey blonde easily broke the board that Angela was holding, and both women erupted in celebratory cheers when it snapped. "So what, she can break a board," Jane groused, already knowing where this was going to lead.
"Put yourself in a courtroom and act like a cop, Rizzoli," the lieutenant gravely said, his eyes grim and scanning the room looking at each occupant. No one noticed Angela slink out of the room as Senior Criminalist Chang took her place, her usually schooled expression showing concern and disbelief. Susie confirmed that there had been no trace of rohypnol in the doctor's system and that the skin sample found was a match for the victim. Frost was the next to add a damaging blow, confirming Maura's fingerprints and hair were found in the backseat of the car, definitively placing her at the scene of the crime.
Fuck.
~R&I~
Jane, followed by Frost and Korsak, approached Maura's door. The raven-haired detective's eyes darted to the guest house, to the home that Maura had provided when Jane's mother had nowhere to live. She glanced at the motorcycle, still in the process of being rebuilt, and recalled with a shiver the exchange that had led to the most exquisite encounter of her life. The raven-haired detective, with her hands firmly clasped to delay the inevitable and hide her shakiness, hesitated before reaching forward, her hand connecting firmly against the door. The honey blonde didn't even think twice to allowing Jane inside, not noticing the other two detectives behind her best friend.
"I can't get Bass to eat," she said sadly. "He is definitely responding to the stress in his environment." Jane watched as the other woman turned, her focus on her pet tortoise, her honey blonde hair framing the concern etched across her features before Frost and Korsak also stepped out around the still open door. A dawning realization finally catching up to the doctor. "Oh no," she said quietly, eyes quickly darting between all three detectives inside the threshold of her home.
"I'm so sorry," Jane whispered, a small shake to her head, eyes pleading for Maura to understand that she was not okay, not with what they were here to do. The raven-haired detective clenched her hands tightly together to stop them from giving in to the temptation to reach out and push the honey blonde's hair behind an ear, to pull the other woman into her and assure her that they would figure this out, to reach for her and comfort her in any way possible. She had stood between a bullet and this woman, she had offered herself in exchange for this woman's life, she had broken the law to protect this woman by allowing Paddy Doyle to protect her for far too long, but this time she couldn't do a damn thing.
Maura Isles," Jane's voice hitched slightly, "you're under arrest for the murder of Brad Adams."
A/N: Ahem. Hey! Been a long time, huh? I can only speak for myself and say there's a lot of shame in not getting to this project sooner. Once again a lot of life, career, and relationship changes have definitely taken its toll on my ability to prioritize any creative writing. I hope that you guys who have added, favorited, and stuck with this through countless years of a hiatus can at least find yourselves down here at the author's note. I humbly thank each and every one of you and hope this this at least gets the hunger going to get the rest of this tidied up and finished. Again, any mistakes or errors you come across drop us a line and let us know! We always appreciate the feedback and I know we love hearing from you guys. Until next time. - driz