Frost:

The first time he met Jane Rizzoli, he threw up all over her shoes. Which of course, was nothing like the introduction he had planned. As he coughed, the blood rushing to his cheeks, the older Detective that had already been on the scene snickered in the background. Meanwhile, Jane looked down at her feet, her mouth opened in shock and anger. When she finally spoke, her voice had an unexpected grit to it. "Korsak, who the hell is this guy, and please tell me he hasn't contaminated our crime scene."

"No, I didn't, I made it out here in time." He straightened up, meeting her eye for the first time, suppressing the urge to wipe his mouth on his sleeve. "I'm Detective Barry Frost, your new partner. Cavanaugh told me he'd catch you up."

"Yeah, well Cavanaugh is away on a family emergency." Her eyes fell back down to her shoes. "And now I can't walk into my crime scene." She stomped, cursing under her breath as her eyes searched the room he'd exited. "Korsak, I can't go in."

The older man, Korsak, chuckled, ducking back into the room. "That's too bad. It's nasty." At his words, Frost's stomach turned again, despite the fact that he had no lunch left to lose. He concentrated on keeping it down while listening to the frustrated grunts of his new partner.

Before he could speak, to apologize or anything to lighten the mood, a blonde woman walked in, dressed like she'd just come from a date. "Jane! What on earth are you doing out here?" His partner rolled her eyes, gesturing to her shoes. The woman stopped, a hint of a grimace washing over her face. "Well, that's unfortunate." She looked then at the only person in the room, him, her eyes kinder than Jane's. "I would guess that you aren't accustomed to a decomposing body?"

"No, ma'am. I'm not sure how anyone can get used to something like that."

"Well, not every person takes to it as easily as others." Her hazel eyes drifted between him and Jane, her eyebrows knotting together with confusion. "I'm sorry, did you find the victim, or…"

Jane spoke up, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Oh, I'm sorry, did I forget my manners?" The blonde stifled a giggle, shooting him an apologetic look as Jane pointed between them. "Maura, this is Frost, my new partner. Frost, this is Dr. Maura Isles, the medical examiner."

Dr. Isles reached a hand out to him, her smile kind. "It's nice to meet you. Although I hope next time it will be a bit more pleasant."

"Yeah, me too." He didn't want to make this a habit. Surely it would be something he'd get used to.

The Doctor turned to address her friend. "Jane, I have a pair of Louboutins in my trunk if you need something to wear."

His partner squinted her eyes, leaning toward her friend. "Am I walking a runway, or working a crime scene?"

Dr. Isles laughed, shifting her medical bag from one hand to the other. "Well, if you don't wear my shoes, the answer is neither."

Sure, Jane complained the whole time about how impractical the shoes were, but she wore them into that crime scene.

His first few weeks working with Jane taught him a lot about her. First, she worked her ass off. He often came into work to find her already chasing down a lead, and left long before she was ready to turn in the towel. Her dedication made him work harder, so he'd never pale in comparison next to her. Second, she was fiercely devoted to her family. He watched her ride Frankie hard during cases, the man always limping away with his tail between his legs. But her face when he succeeded was nothing but unwavering pride. It was great after cases though, to see her relax. He joined her at the bar every once in a while, and they swapped their craziest police stories. They also discussed their lives, their families and values, and gave suggestions about television shows and books that weren't related to police work. Jane never brought up her dating life, and he never pushed. He would have been lying if he said there wasn't an attraction, but after Anna, he learned it was never a good idea to mix business with pleasure.

Out of everything he learned about his partner, Jane's compassion surprised him the most. Not with the victim's family, of course, she was always gentle with them. Her relationship with Korsak was interesting, each of them throwing zingers at each other rather than dealing with their feelings. He only saw her soften around Maura, who sometimes seemed out of place in their group. But when he saw Jane's compassion firsthand, he understood that it tended to happen more behind closed doors.

After four months working homicide, he still didn't have the stomach for it. The smell of rotting flesh made his head swim, the gore and bugs made his stomach turn, and it wasn't getting better with time. He'd started working on paperwork to transfer, the thought of his big break failing making his heart sink. He never told his partner, and worked on the paperwork in private, trying to decide what his next step should be.

His secret came out the day he had to pick Jane up, her car in the shop for an oil change. The paperwork fell out of the files she had to move from his front seat. And when she held it up and stared him down with her dark eyes, he knew he owed it to her to be honest. "I'm no good. I haven't seen a crime scene yet that I haven't lost my lunch at. I'm always afraid of contaminating evidence. And then I have you as a partner, this Supercop, who never tires, doesn't hurl, and always fights for the truth. You deserve someone better than me."

Jane blinked at him, her mouth open as she tried to figure out what to say. And he didn't miss the flicker of amusement in her eyes when she finally settled on, "Well that's a load of bull shit." As she spoke, he relaxed, letting out a chuckle at her words. "Who in the world gave you that idea?"

"Me." And everyone else. All the officers who snickered as he turned green. Korsak, Frankie, and their zings at his expense. All of that seeping into his subconscious to remind him that he was horrible.

Jane snickered, her smile growing softer. "Well ignore that little voice. Did anyone ever tell you about Sergeant-Detective Cummings?" At his quizzical look, she continued. "Cummings is the man who trained Korsak. He was a lot like you, really squeamish. He used to send Korsak into scenes and ask him to take even more pictures. And I'll tell you, that man could solve more murders from photographs that he ever could from examining the body." She paused, looking away and laughing. "I think by the time I showed up, he had stopped examining the bodies all together."

Frost laughed, leaning back, feeling more relaxed than he had in ages. "I didn't think that was an option."

"Yeah, neither did I." Her eyes fell down on the paperwork in front of her. "My point is, you're here for a reason. Someone thought you were the best for the job. Don't let your queasiness get in your way."

He let her words settle between them, their warmth comforting him. "Thanks."

"Anytime." She held out the paperwork. "Now, are you gonna do the honors, or should I?"

With a chuckle and a grin, he took the papers in both of his hands, delighting in the deafening rip as he destroyed them. With each shred, the thought of remaining in Homicide rested in his stomach, and filled him with a sense of hope.

Jane had Korsak pull back on his teasing of the queasy detective, and threatened the unis with grunt work, so gradually, Frost felt a bit more welcome. He made it a game, to try and get to the station before his partner, to show that he was just as dedicated, and he even managed to go down to the morgue a few times without making a mess. He just couldn't get anywhere near the table where Dr. Isles cut into her patients. After a few more weeks, the feelings of inadequacy disappeared.

He was trying to crack a cell phone one day when Jane's phone rang. She didn't even look at the name, just held it to her ear and barked "Rizzoli" into the speaker. With the fall of her shoulders and the roll of her eyes, Frost knew it could only be one person. "Ma, my badge is not a toy. I can't flash it every time someone upsets you!" He chuckled to himself, shooting Korsak a look as they listened in. "Well then, you'll just have to pay full price! How much coffee are you getting anyway? It's not gonna save you that much!" Her mouth dropped open in alarm. "What on earth do you need all that for? Wait, nevermind, I don't think I want to know. You know, you do have two kids you can bug with this stuff, why do you always call me?" She paused, shooting glares in his and Korsak's direction. "Hmm, I wonder why Frankie would do such a thing?" Her voice was laced with sarcasm, making Korsak chuckle. "Ma, I'm in the middle of a case. I have to go. I'll see you tonight." After hanging up, she glared at them, her arms crossed. "Don't you two have something better to do than eavesdrop?"

"You took the call in a public place, Jane. What did you expect?" Korsak laughed, taking a sip of his coffee.

"Yeah, I'm still trying to get into Johnson's pictures. Where else would you like me to work on that?" Frost eyed her with determination, not backing down when she narrowed her eyes at him.

"I mean, it not like you guys haven't heard this before. But your snickering in the background is distracting."

Korsak gave out a snicker in response, returning to the paperwork in front of him. As Frost tried to gain access a different way, he spoke, never raising his eyes from the screen. "Okay. Next time we'll work a little harder to suppress them."

Jane moved from sitting on top of the desk to her chair, her notes spread out all around her. "Yeah, could you get on that, please?" It wasn't long before he phone began to ring again. And just like before, she answered without looking at the name. "Ma, I swear, if you call me again, I will block your number like Frankie did." But after a few seconds, she softened, her shoulders falling. "Yeah, Maura, Frankie blocked Mom so now she's harassing me. Are you okay?" Her eyebrows drew together in concern as her friend spoke, her free hand twisting her curls around her finger. "Maur, calm down. Are you downstairs?" The pause was brief as she grabbed her keys. "I'll be right down." She hung up the phone, and stood quickly, knocking her chair back against the desk behind her. "I'm taking an early lunch. Maura's having a tough time and needs some moral support."

Frost nodded, gesturing at the computer in front of him. "I could be at this all day."

"Okay." She rushed toward the elevator. "I'll be back."

At his desk, Frost chuckled, thinking about all the times she's rushed off to be a shoulder for her friend to cry on. It was interesting to him, how she never denied Maura that relationship when she needed it, making Maura the one person in the world she would choose over anything else. His mind drifted to their nights at the bar, and those occasions when the doctor would join them. The two women had a close friendship, almost all illusions of boundaries gone between them. When one told a story, the other listened with rapt attention. They each cared about the other's well being, Jane helping Maura with her social awkwardness and Maura helping Jane make healthier choices. And because they almost always sat next to each other, he saw what they couldn't. He saw the way they looked at each other when the other one was too busy to notice. He saw how Jane lit up with admiration when Maura talked about running the marathon for a charity. He saw how Maura's eyes traced Jane's face while she was watching the game, her joy coming not from the score, but the look on Jane's face when Boston scored. And after particularly difficult cases, he watched how they touched each other, finding comfort in the little gestures. A squeeze of a hand or shoulder. A hand rubbing a back. A shoulder to lay a head on. They were almost like a couple.

With that realization, his eyes widened. He looked to the older Detective, trying to figure out how best to phrase his question. "So, Dr. Isles and Jane…" He let the question trail off.

Korsak only chuckled. "It took you long enough."

"Do they know?"

Korsak shook his head. "Jane was brought up Catholic. So even though I'm sure her Mother wouldn't mind, it might take her some time to realize it's okay. And even longer for her to act on it. She's kind of stubborn."

Frost nodded, taking it all in. "Right. And Maura?"

Korsak's shoulders heaved up and down. "Who knows. She's probably the smartest person I know, but she can't always see what's right in front of her."

"Have you tried to mention it to either of them?"

Again, Korsak shook his head. "You see, this is where it gets tricky. If I mention it to Jane, she'll deny it, and she won't budge just to prove a point. And if I say something to Maura, she'll over analyze until she pushes Jane away. I think they need to figure it out by themselves."

Frost chuckled, typing in the access code that finally let him see their victim's photos. "How long is that gonna take?"

Korsak laughed, opening a drawer and pulling out a pad of paper. "Well, Cummings thought it was gonna happen two years ago. Krane thinks it will just be another few months. Whaland thinks two years from now at Christmas. And Cavanaugh thought it would never happen. I give it another five years."

"That's a long time."

"They're stubborn women."

Frost got up from his desk to go look at Korsak's list. It was long, almost filling up the entire page of the legal pad. The dates were crossed off with newer, later dates written in next to them as they readjusted their guesses. Some names were crossed off, like they just gave up. "I want in on whatever this is."

Korsak chuckled, writing 'Barry Frost' on the next line. "It's twenty dollars, and five dollars extra if you want to change your date."

"Got it. I'll bring you the money after lunch."

"And when do you think they'll act on it?"

He paused, thinking about what he had seen and everything Korsak had said. He had known them longer, after all. "I'm thinking about two months after you retire."

That made Korsak laugh, but he wrote it in. "Why that date?"

Frost grinned as he walked back to his desk. "Because, right now, this is the status quo for them. But big changes, that's when their bond will be tested. You retiring is the biggest change I can think of."

Korsak took his response in. "Fair enough." He nodded once, putting the notebook back like it had never been out in the first place. "Now, leave me alone while I fill out this report, why don't you?"

"If I remember correctly, you're the one who brought up the gambling in the first place." At Korsak's chuckle, they both returned to their work, ignoring one another, and pretending their conversation never happened.