Nina:
It didn't matter how many counselors told her it wasn't healthy, on the anniversary of Marcus' death, Nina could always be found working. It was a part of her ritual she was not ready to let go. Like eating a piece of carrot cake on his birthday or pampering herself on their anniversary, when he died, she worked. A lot. Each year she clocked in several hours of overtime, and then slept most of the next day, much to the chagrin of her therapists. She was well aware that it didn't make sense. Working overtime would do nothing to bring him back. She was past that point in her healing journey. Instead, she did it out of an irrational necessity to protect others from the same fate. This year was no different.
At around the time of their murder, a house a few doors down caught footage of a teenage boy running. The problem was, there are too few cameras to track his movements. Dr. Isles said DNA says the killer was likely female, but this boy may be a witness, and may provide a much needed crack in a case that had halted. Hundreds of hours of security camera footage in a ten mile radius had been loaded onto her computer. With a latte on her desk (and an iced one in the fridge), she got started tracking their teenage witness.
Monotony can do one of two things to Detective Holiday. The first option is the most obvious, the time dragging along so that several hours feels like days. But on some rare occasions, when she is driven to find something, or driven to ignore her feelings, time becomes an illusion. After narrowing the time frame she was searching for on each camera, she started with the ones closest to the crime scene first. After speeding through her two hour window on about six cameras, she found him. He stopped clear as day in the parking lot of a motel, looking behind him as he caught his breath. He stayed in the frame for about two minutes before moving on. At this point, he is in an area with more cameras, and is easier to track. She follows him along for eleven more cameras until he reaches a bus stop. She watched as a bus drove up, the boy smiling and waving before reaching out with a closed fist. Whether or not the driver returned his bump, she couldn't tell, but from afar the gesture seemed familiar. Jotting down the bus number and time stamp, she reached for her phone and dialed the number she needed before thinking about it.
"This better be important." Jane's raspy voice sounded groggy, and Nina could hear the bed creak as she moved.
Given her energy, Nina was momentarily confused. "I'm sorry, did I wake you?"
"It's 3...26 in the morning. Yes, you did."
Nina grimaced. "Oh shit. Sorry. I lost track of time. I can fill you in tomorrow."
In the background, Nina heard stirring, and a female voice asking, "Who is it?"
Jane must have pulled the phone away from her phone away from her face, because her reply was quiet. "Don't worry Maura, it's just Nina." Then louder, "You woke me up. Might as well fill me in now."
Her eyes widened with realization, and she had to try and hide the shock in her voice. "So, I followed the witness on camera to a bus stop. He seemed to know the driver, maybe he takes that bus every day. I can text you the details so you can stop by the MBTA."
"Great. I'll stop by on my way in tomorrow."
"Sorry again for waking you."
"No, I'm sorry for being so harsh. Lucky for you, I fall back asleep easy. Which, by the way, why are you even awake? You do know that sleep is good for you, right?" Before Nina could answer, she heard mumbling in the background. "Maura wants you to know that a lot of studies say that all-nighters are bad for you. Well Maura, you can tell her yourself in the morning! I can't remember all those words with my tired brain!"
Nina chuckled. "Its a long story. I'll be fine." She opened a file with paperwork, minimizing videos. "Go back to bed, I'll see you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow." When they hung up, Nina took a moment to sit with what she stumbled on. Jane and Maura were sharing a bed. It made sense. They were very close. She had seen Jane go to great lengths a few months ago to bring Maura home safe. She has watched them comfort one another, and drop everything to rush to the other's side. But she hadn't seen this coming. And why was she the last to find out? She ruminated on this new information for a few minutes, before focusing on her backlogged paperwork. But her mind would wander every now and then as she tried to look for clues.
"What are you still doing here?" Frankie's voice startled her, making her turn to look behind her.
"I never seem to be caught up on my paperwork. You?"
"I came to start on the videos, maybe track down our witness." She ignored the small flutter in her chest as he brushed past her to get to his seat. Today of all days, she didn't need to be dealing with the confusion that feeling brought.
Pressing a few buttons, Nina pulled up the still of him at the bus stop, waving at the driver. "Beat you to it." Frankie approached the screen and watched the video as it played. "And I called Jane about two hours ago to give her the lead."
"You really have been here all night. Is everything okay?" He sat back, a look of concern on his face.
"If it's okay, I'd rather not talk about it." She looked back at her screen, switching back to paperwork. Frankie, to his credit, backed off immediately, not pushing the subject. "Although I do need to ask you a question."
"Shoot."
She grinned, remembering the conversation from hours before. "How long have Jane and Maura been a thing?"
This piqued his interest, and he leaned forward in his chair, his expression serious. "What do you mean? What do you know? Do you know how long it's been a thing? Because I'm next in the pool."
"There's a pool?"
Frankie backed away, his face contorting in fake confusion. "What pool? Who said anything about a pool?" This made Nina laugh, shaking her head and turning her chair to face him. Once he was done with his unconvincing act, he continued, his eyes wide. "You never did tell me what you know."
"When I called Jane, they were sharing a bed." Although she found this very interesting, Frankie dismissed it with a wave of his hand. "What do you mean? That's not good enough?"
"Jane has more sleepovers with Maura than she ever had as a teenage girl. It's an everyday occurrence."
Nina's eyes widened as she took in this info. "So they are always spending the night together, but aren't an item. Why?"
"Have you met my sister? She's stubborn."
Laughing, Nina responded. "Accurate."
"And we don't think Maura's realized it yet. But when she does, she won't be able to keep that secret for long."
Nina nodded. "Understood. I promise, if I hear anything, I'll let you know."
Pointing at her with his eyebrows raised, Frankie responded, "You better." Giggling, Nina stretched, finally feeling what the all-nighter had done to her back. She tried, unsuccessfully, to stifle a yawn. Looking back at the screen, the lines were blurred. Frankie, taking notice, spoke softly. "Do you need a ride home?"
His voice barely registered, she only really heard him after turning to face him and giving the words a second to sink in. "I can Uber. I planned for this."
He couldn't hide his look of concern, but again, he didn't push it. "Okay. If you need anything, you've got my number. Go home and get some sleep."
It was almost six, the sun was just rising. She made it through her night. Reluctantly, she closed her paperwork, admitting defeat as she yawned once more. "I'll be back later today. I'm gonna freshen up a bit, take a little nap."
"Well, you may have cracked the case, so I'd say you deserve it. Text me when you get home, alright?"
She only nodded as she gathered her things, waving once as she left. Her Uber driver was not a talker, which she was thankful for. As she collapsed into bed she sent Frankie a quick home message. As she assumed the right side of the bed, she imagined Marcus on the other side, the slope of his form, the way he covered everything but the tip of his bald head with the covers. It made her ache. For a minute, she thought maybe she would skip that emotion for the day. And for just a split second, she was jealous. Because Jane and Maura had someone in bed with them who loved them. They just didn't know it yet.
