"Hey, c'mon," Jane mumbled huskily in the dark of her and Maura's bedroom. The covers were up over her shoulders and she slithered her left hand under the back of Maura's flowy t-shirt. She inhaled at the crown of Maura's hair, kissing her way down to a smooth forehead, sleepy eyelids, and finally, soft lips.
Until Maura flopped over, huffing and avoiding Jane's mouth, pressing her behind into Jane's hips instead. "No," she said, pulling Jane's now-empty left hand up to her chest and holding it tight while she laced their legs together.
Jane groaned into Maura's shoulder, all muffled. "But we have almost a whole hour before we have to get up," she whispered, and when she sucked on Maura's earlobe, she thought she might be getting somewhere.
"I don't know if I'm ready yet. My surgical site may not be able to handle the strain," Maura sighed, turning her head towards her pillow so that Jane's lips would pop away from her ear.
"But the doctor cleared you for physical activity weeks ago," Jane countered, moving her hand from Maura's grasp and sliding it under her shirt to touch fingertips to silky skin. She flattened her palm against Maura's sternum so that her thumb grazed the swell of a warm breast, and she nearly fell apart.
"Yes, light physical exercise, Jane. I don't know about intercourse," said Maura. She didn't pull away from Jane's most recent attempt to bring them together, let herself get lost in it just enough to quicken her pulse.
"I can be gentle if that's what you're worried about," Jane pleaded. She felt Maura arch back when she squeezed, and so she thrust forward with her hips- slowly, with measure and control. "I wanna taste it, Maura. I miss you. Don't you miss me?" After she asked, she put her tongue broad and flat against the back of Maura's neck and gave it one long, heavy, slow swipe.
Maura bit her lower lip to hide her moan, but when Jane grabbed her side before licking again, she yelped. "Ow, ow ow."
Jane slumped her head forward so that it rested against Maura's and placed her hand innocently on the sheets. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. A'right? We'll take it slow."
Maura turned around again, and put her hand on Jane's cheek, resting her thumb in the dimple of her chin. "Ok."
Jane smiled through all the frustration on her face. "I still think it's amazing that they can suck out an organ through a straw."
Maura melted at all the throaty New England coming out of Jane so early in the morning. She loved the way her voice was scratchy and deep before anyone else got to see her. "It's called a laparoscope and they do not use it to 'suck out' your kidney," she started, and then winced when she tried to scoot closer to Jane. "Ugh. 'Minimally invasive,' my ass."
"Mmm," Jane leaned forward again, trying to kiss her. She settled for the bridge of Maura's nose when Maura withheld her lips. "You're gonna feel much better when you get back in shape, ok?"
Maura pulled way back then, her hand rough against Jane's chest. "Are you saying that I'm fat and out of shape?"
Jane closed one eye and grimaced. "No! I meant sex shape!" she said, and then pouted. "You don't even sleep naked anymore."
"This still sounds like you're saying I've let myself go," Maura warned as she glowered.
"No. I'm saying that you aren't sleepin' with me because you're depressed. You have gotta stop hopin' that they're gonna send you some 'thank you for your kidney' fruit basket," Jane said firmly. She met Maura's harsh gaze without fear.
Maura yanked the duvet around her tight. "Giving the gift of life is the only reward that I need. I'm very happy with my decision."
Jane gritted her teeth and burrowed her face in the crook of Maura's neck. "Then why are you still such a whiny pain in the ass?"
Maura gasped. She jabbed Jane in the ribs with her finger. "Did you just call me a whiny pain in the ass?"
"Maura. Ever since you gave that ungrateful half-sister of yours your kidney, you just… ya just haven't been yourself. A'right? And I'm not the only one who sees it. Just-"
"You've been talking about me?" Maura interrupted. Her whisper was harsh. "My girlfriend gossiping about me behind my back, after what I've been through?"
Jane thought there were a good many things she could have said in response, but none of them, even the l love you, would have landed well. It was early and Maura wasn't really interested in hearing Jane's side of the story. Fair. "It's starting to get hot. I'm gonna get up before iced coffee becomes a necessity." So instead, she stole a kiss before Maura could refuse and whipped the covers away before jumping out of bed.
"Did your mother say something? Or was it one of your brothers? Jane!" Maura called for Jane even after she had trotted into the bathroom and locked the door. She jutted out her lower lip and pulled the now-empty covers over her head.
"Didn't we just get it detailed? The only time I wash my car is right before I sell it," Jane grumbled as she ambled into the Division One Cafe just behind Maura later that morning. She snarled at the curve of Maura's ass in her tight black skirt, contrasted with a flowy white blouse and yellow blazer. The least Maura could do was find some frumpy clothes to wear if this is how things were going to be.
Maura rolled her eyes. "It only has to be detailed again because you spilled your triple-power latte all over my driver's seat. I'm still not sure if I'm going to let you drive it ever again."
"How'd you know it was me?" Jane tried lamely. She approached the counter where her mother had a smile waiting for the both of them, and held up her index finger. Somehow, her mother knew that meant coffee, stat, so she got right on making it.
"You know, Europeans have it right. Car engineers design them without cup holders," Maura said, ignoring her, pulling the front of Jane's blazer straight instead.
"But where do you put your coffee?" Jane asked. Under her breath, she said, "you can't do that. Not if I'm not allowed to touch."
Satisfied with the way Jane's blazer fell now, Maura smirked and stepped back. "You drink it. At a cafe. You do not slosh it around in your car."
"Well, chiamami 'miricana, then," snarked Jane, taking her coffee from Angela. "Mornin', Ma."
Angela smiled. "Morning, sweetheart. Why are we calling you American?" she asked as she got to work on Maura's cup.
"Long story. But apparently Americans are the only people on Earth who get to enjoy coffee in their car."
"Angela, do you have an issue with my mood?" Maura asked suddenly, fiddling with the straps of her purse in her hand.
Angela kept her back turned from the both of them to hide her blush. "Your mood?"
"Well, Jane said you were complaining about me."
Jane's eyes widened. "I did not say that, Ma!"
Angela turned around. "Alright, enough bickering. Look, baby. We're worried about you. Wouldn't you be happier if you just talked to your mom and sister?" Jane looked on in hopeful silence. Unfortunately, Maura said nothing, so Angela turned to Jane. "You. Talk to your brother, would you?" she said, pointing to a nervous-looking Frankie at the end of the counter. "Today's a big day for him."
"He's gonna find out about that UC assignment today," Jane said to no one in particular and walked over to him. She clapped a hand on his back. "Hey bud. You on your way to a rave with ya friends Atticus and Tallulah?" she asked teasingly, referring to his ripped jeans, faded tee, and leather motorcycle jacket. He even had his hair messy and unstyled to look the part.
"No, feels more like Cafe Ace with London rockers," ever-refined and European Maura said. She smiled at him warmly.
He shook his head. "Can you two go inspect someone else?" Then he got a look at Maura's blazer. "That's very yellow."
Maura took it as a genuine compliment. "Thank you," she said. "You know, you should be very careful around ovulating women." When Jane and Frankie stared at her, she elaborated. "The University of Texas study that determined that ovulating women are attracted to biker types in order to fertilize their eggs."
Jane leaned over and whispered through clenched teeth. "Is that what I gotta do? Ride a motorcycle? 'Cause I will." Maura just scoffed good-naturedly.
"Explains what happened with uh, me and your father," Angela said with disdain.
Jane was genuinely shocked. "Whoa. Pop rode a motorcycle?"
"I'd rather not remember." And just like that, her mother manned the cash register again.
"We got a new boss over at DCU," Frankie said, turning to his sister. He wiped vestiges of his breakfast off of his lips with his napkin. "You ever meet him, Jane? A Lieutenant, uh…"
"Rafael Martinez," said Jane, seeing him approach. The Spanish melded well with her Sicilian tongue, but it dripped with disdain. A man in a three-piece suit, with a shaved head and groomed, close-cut beard leered at her when he walked through the cafe door. He was handsome and he was dark-skinned and he walked with a hitch in his step, just like Jane.
"It's been a long time, Rizzoli," he said, his deep vowels and Boston Puerto Rican accent seemed like the perfect resonator with Jane's gravelly North End voice.
Maura noticed.
Maura noticed the way Jane stiffened in front of her, went hard. She noticed the way that Martinez made his shoulders broad and put his thumbs through his belt, the way he smiled at Jane as though he knew her - intimately.
When Jane opened her mouth to speak, Maura saw the same curvature of lips that had brought her to the precipice a thousand times. Good thing that Korsak joined them before any orgasmic words came out.
"Rafi, when did you crawl out from under the covers?" Korsak laughed, pulling the man into a hearty embrace.
"Vinny!" Martinez replied, and they exchanged pleasantries in Spanish, Vince in his learned Mexican drawl, Martinez in his fast and easy Puerto Rican.
Frankie shot up and put his hand out as soon as their hug ended. "I uh, I don't think we ever met, sir."
Martinez didn't take it. He only looked between Frankie and Jane, and made a decision. "So, you're the other Rizzoli."
Frankie's face fell. "Yeah, yeah, I guess so, sir."
"Ok, Other Rizzoli, my office in ten," Martinez nodded, and then left, back to where he came from.
"Sure," said Frankie. When the coast was clear, he glared at Jane. "I cannot get a fucking break."
Jane threw her hands out at her sides. "Oh Frankie, come on!"
He didn't wait for the rest of her explanation before waving her off and heading to the elevators. Angela threw a dish towel at Jane. "What did you do?"
Jane turned deep red and said a silent prayer of thanks for her and Maura's buzzing phones. "I have to get this. Rizzoli."
"Hey Maura, get the bullet out of this morning's body yet?" Jane gave no greeting as she entered the morgue, other than her distant half-smile to Maura's back. It was mid-June, but the chill of the air conditioning here in the lab always made her shiver when she first walked in for the day. Maura turned around when she heard Jane, revealing the number 2 pencil between her teeth as she made notes on a clipboard. "What're you doing?" was Jane's second question.
Maura took Jane in for the first time in a few hours and warmth suffused her when she thought about Jane's t-shirt and how snug it was against her trim torso. At the sight, she fantasized about Jane's long arms and sturdy shoulders, and for a moment, it banished memories of Hope, and of Cailin. But only for a moment, until she remembered the question. "Biting on a pencil," she said.
"Yes, I can see that. But why?"
"It activates the muscles used for smiling," answered Maura. Jane stepped closer to her to get a better look at the body and a better look at her.
"Well, those muscles are a little out of shape, honey," Jane teased lightly, with her own sheepish grin, this one unaided by any writing utensils.
"I'm going to ignore you in an attempt to improve my mood," Maura announced, and turned away from Jane.
"Ok. So… biting pencils works?" Jane played along, even when Maura could feel stymied desire wafting off of her.
So, she decided to be merciful and back closer into Jane, even if they weren't facing one another. "Well, holding your teeth in this position engages the zygomaticus major and the risorious muscle."
Jane took advantage of their closeness and slowly dragged the pencil out of Maura's mouth. Maura's hips lurched forward of their own accord. "I can't understand you like that," Jane said.
"Some studies show that you can trick your brain into thinking you're happy by moving certain muscles."
"Oh. And you're only upset about Hope?"
"It's petty. Small-minded."
"Wanting her to at least call you to say, 'hey, thanks for the organ?'" Jane snarked. Maura surprised her by turning around and crossing her arms over her chest.
"No. Not that. Did you sleep with him?" Maura asked instead.
"Uh, what? What the hell are we talkin' about?" Jane stepped back a couple of feet to assess the one-eighty Maura had both literally and figuratively pulled.
"Rafael. Did you sleep with him?" Maura, undeterred, stepped closer to Jane for the second time in as many minutes. Jane tried not to let that distract her from the conversation at hand.
She didn't really have time to answer, however, because her little brother and the man in question had just rounded the corner to talk to Susie. "What's he doin' down here?" Jane glared at the back of his head through the autopsy door windows.
The stare was so vicious that Maura turned to follow it. "DCU's evidence is being processed in-house now. Answer my question."
"Can we talk about this when he's not ten feet away?" Jane said through gritted teeth, and then Martinez was entering the morgue. Frankie plodded along behind his new boss glumly, stopping to gather himself outside, but Martinez breezed into the room with pride and intention.
He faced Maura, who stood in front of Jane, much closer than a friendly colleague should. He looked her up and down before he spoke. "Dr. Isles," he said, his eyes dark and serious, "I should have introduced myself in the cafe. Rafael Martinez."
She took the warm hand he held out for her. The handshake was firm, just like Jane's. "It's nice to meet you, Lieutenant. I look forward to working together."
He smiled at her, a bright, genuine smile, and she hadn't expected it. "It's a little overwhelming coming back here… after being gone for so long," he said. He looked at Jane, his eyes lingering. Anger wafted off of her and pressed against Maura's back.
"Gone?" asked Maura, "so you're returning to BPD?"
"And here I thought that Detective Rizzoli would have told you all about me, since you're such close friends," Martinez said. He winked at Jane and it set her even more ablaze.
"It didn't even occur to me," she spat. He only smiled again.
"Actually, Jane is my fiancee," Maura said, feeling Jane and Martinez pushing her out of the conversation, and anxious to get back into it. She succeeded, with the both of them staring at her, eyes and mouths open. "Of sorts," she clarified.
Martinez recovered more quickly than Jane did. "Wow, Rizzoli," he said, "I didn't know you wanted a wife. I could have been that for you, you know. I wouldn't have minded." It was as open as anyone had been about their previous relationship and Jane flushed before she could gather herself enough to respond.
"To be fair, neither of us could have been the wife the other one wanted, Martinez," she said, finally smiling, but it was dark and full of distaste. "That's why we never worked."
"Is that the only reason why?" He was bold, Maura had to give him that. And he didn't feel malicious. More than anything, he seemed a little hurt and a lot braggadocious. He was too much like Jane. She needed him out.
"It's very nice of you to introduce yourself," she said. "If you need anything, feel free to contact me or my staff. Now, Jane and I need to get back to this autopsy, if you don't mind."
Martinez shook his head. "Of course not. Thank you for your time." He left, passing by Frankie in the hall without so much as an order.
Frankie poked his head in the double doors then. "Hey, I finally get promoted to detective, and my boss hates Rizzolis. Thanks Jane," he said, then slammed the door shut before she could reply.
Jane sighed and put her hands over her face. She rubbed vigorously. "Christ."
"Well, Rafael seems to have answered my question for you," Maura said coldly. "It's nothing to be ashamed of, you know. He is very attractive, you're very attractive. Was he your boss?"
Jane gagged and leaned on the slab as close to Maura as she allowed. "No, he wasn't. Can you please stop calling him Rafael? Here, at work, he's Martinez."
"Just like you're Rizzoli," Maura observed, starting to understand why the detectives and officers referred to each other by their surnames. It was a way to distance themselves from each other when they faced high-intensity situations together every day.
"Just like you'll be Rizzoli, soon, too. Apparently," Jane teased, and their eyes met. She closed hers so that her crow's feet appeared, and smiled cheekily with her lips closed when she saw the pink in Maura's cheeks.
"What makes you think I'd take your name?" Maura tried to recover, but Jane had already seen the way her skin flushed and her legs crossed.
"You shoulda never told me about Mr. Benivieni," Jane said. Then she turned serious. "It's ok, you know. You can be possessive of me if you want. You deserve it. Even if just this morning I was only your girlfriend."
Maura sighed. "So, other than in the biblical sense, how do you know Lieutenant Martinez?" she asked.
"We worked together when I started in the drug unit. We had to play a couple and go to clubs and dance… and blend in and drink and bust people. We got a little caught up. I was hoping I'd never see him again after what happened," Jane explained. At a time when Maura would usually reach out to hold her, to reassure with touch, there was nothing. She felt cold.
"Was he married?" Maura asked, more out of curiosity than care.
"No. Actually that would have been easier. We got my CI killed," said Jane. She glanced down at her boots as she shuffled her weight from one hip to the other.
"I'm so sorry," said Maura.
"Yeah. Then we had a falling out and he took an assignment with a federal task force, and that was eight years ago. I haven't seen him since then," Jane said the last part on her lowest and graveliest register.
Maura heard the sadness there. "Were you in love with him?"
Jane shook her head honestly. "Nah. We just had this toxic, physical thing. I had more feelings for his sister," she said, and Maura's eyes danced with shock and mischief at the revelation.
"He has a sister, does he?" she asked, "now I am very jealous."
"He does. She lives in California. She grew up there, he grew up here. They're half Puerto Rican, half Mexican, and she went to live with mom, while Martinez grew up with his dad. She was in law school at BCU when I met her, though."
"I must say I didn't peg you for the love triangle type," Maura said. She smirked when Jane blushed.
"I didn't mean for it to turn out that way. Just kinda happened," Jane said bashfully. She was thrilled when Maura let her put her head on her shoulder without shrinking away. "Maybe I'll give her a call, though, since I'm gettin' nowhere with you recently." Maura smacked the back of her head forcefully and she guffawed through the pain. "Ow!"
"Not if you still want a wife, you won't," Maura threatened, but it was tempered by the laugh in her voice. "Work harder, Jane."
Jane bristled with hope. It was the first light she had seen in over a month and a half since the surgery and even Susie interrupting them with her presence didn't dampen it. "Dr. Isles? Your sister is upstairs."
Both Jane and Maura looked at each other before looking at Susie. "My sister?" Maura asked quietly.
"Well that's who she said she was," Susie answered, suddenly not so sure.
"You do have a sister, Maura. Even if she doesn't really want to be one to you," Jane said kindly.
"Yes. Susie, tell Cailin to wait for me in the cafe," Maura said. When Susie left and they were alone again, she groaned. "Oh my god. What do I say? What does she want?"
Jane shrugged. "Maybe she wants to tell you thanks for the kidney. Need me to go up there with you?"
Maura nodded. "I won't be able to handle a confrontation, Jane."
Jane snarled. "I'll kick her ass out on the curb before it even approaches that. But don't assume the worst, ok? You've been wanting to hear from them, let's just go up there and see what she has to say."
"Ok. Let me get changed."
Cailin Martin, looking much more vibrant and, well, alive, than the last time Maura had seen her, rose when Jane and Maura spotted her at her table. She wore jeans, a t-shirt, and a light leather jacket much like the teenager she would now get to be with her health restored. "Maura, hi. I'm sorry to just show up like this," she said, and she held a small bouquet of flowers out for her sister.
Maura took them with a timid smile. "Thank you. What are these for?"
Cailin chuckled. "Come on, Maura. I'm pre-med. I knew it was your kidney. And I just… I know that I've owed you an apology for a long time. I'm really sorry about everything I said and all the crap that I pulled. I can't ever really thank you enough."
Jane twitched her nose. She regarded Cailin, tried not to feel like she was responsible for Jane's current non-elective celibacy, but also conceded that the apology was a good one. "You wanna talk to your big sister alone?" she asked politely.
"No, no. I'm glad you're here. Can we sit?" Cailin asked, and they all did. She pulled a package out of her messenger bag and handed it to Maura. "I uh, I wasn't sure if I was going to have the guts to come see you in person, so I wrote you a letter. There's something in there for you, too."
Maura opened the envelope, and pulled out the jewelry box. Centered on the silk pillow inside was a scrimshaw necklace with a bridge carved into it. It was set on a gold pendant with a gold chain. "Scrimshaw. It's beautiful. And real whale bone. Thank you."
Cailin smiled at Maura's approval. "It's a family heirloom of sorts, I guess. Mom gave it to me on my 18th birthday. She said it was given to her on hers, by someone she loved very much. I'm, uh, I'm pretty sure it was your dad. It should be with you."
Maura paled at the mention of Paddy Doyle. His trial was coming up, and she had nearly forgotten with all the drama with TJ, and now with her own organ donation. "Cailin, I…"
"Listen Maura. I'm here because I wanted to apologize, and I wanted to see if… if you'd be open to, I don't know, texting each other every once in awhile, seeing where our relationship goes," Cailin said, and when Maura nodded, she continued. "But I'm also here because I'm worried about my mom. Our mom."
"She alright?" Jane asked.
"I'm not sure. Some men came by the house last night," Cailin replied.
That got Jane's attention. She scooted her chair forward aggressively and leaned in. Maura saw it for what it was, a show of concern for Cailin, and she put her hand in Jane's open left one to call her back down, but Cailin stiffened in apprehension. "What kind of men?" Maura asked in order to calm her, too.
"Scary ones? I mean, they wore suits, but they had this, like, dark energy," Cailin said, looking at Jane.
"Well, do you know what they wanted?" Jane asked her, still close and coiled.
"No, but they seemed pissed. She told me to go to my room and lock my door."
"Lock your door?"
"They were talking pretty quietly, but I heard them ask her about MEND."
When Jane blinked, Maura explained. "Medical Emergency Network of Doctors. That's Hope's charity. Could it have been about fundraising?"
Cailin shook her head. "It sounded like they were threatening her. She says we're going back to London."
"Well, isn't that a good idea? I thought you missed London," said Maura.
"I love it here now," Cailin answered, one Maura and Jane were not expecting, "but I don't know. It's too full of ghosts for her." Maura frowned. "I-I don't mean you."
"You mean Paddy Doyle?" Maura supplied for her.
"Yeah. I see her reading the papers. She's following his RICO pre-trial hearings. I gotta get back to class, but I just… I don't know what to do," said Cailin. She rose and grabbed her bag, and then Jane stood up to meet her.
"We got you, ok? Maura and I will talk to her, find out what's goin' on. Hopefully it's just a big misunderstanding," she said, and Cailin blushed.
"We will. Thank you for trusting us enough to tell us," Maura said, standing too. "I know that must have been hard."
Cailin nodded. "Thanks for listening."
"Let us walk you out," Jane said, her hand between Cailin's shoulder blades as they all walked toward the BPD lobby. "And listen. If something like that happens ever again, if she asks you to go to your room, or you see strange guys around your place at night, call me, ok? Maura'll give you my number."
Cailin looked at her big sister, who nodded once reassuringly. "It's a good number to have. In case of emergencies," said Maura.
Jane stopped just as they approached the doors to the street. "I gotta go back upstairs. I have some potential leads to call. But I'll see you later." Without thinking, she kissed Maura on her way to the bullpen, and she realized on the stairwell, when she was all alone, that Maura had kissed her back.
"Hey," Jane greeted Maura as she trotted into her office a few hours after Cailin had left. She had a goofy smile on her face.
Maura hid behind her computer monitor so Jane couldn't see her own small smile reflecting back. "Hey yourself," she said. "Why are you so pleased?"
"Martinez got pulled in to work my case," said Jane, approaching Maura's desk.
Maura soured instantly. "You're happy that you're working with Martinez and you were stupid enough to tell me that?"
Jane huffed. "That's not what I meant. He's on my case, which blows, but it also means they're working the drug angle for me and that means I have time to see you. So I came to see what you're doing for lunch."
"Nothing, why?" Maura said, assuaged. Something about the look on Jane's face, however, told her she should not have been.
"I don't like to be tricked twice in one day, Jane," Maura complained as she and the detective exited the unmarked parked just outside Hope's MEND clinic.
"I said we were having lunch. I didn't say where," Jane said. She held her arm out for Maura to walk inside its radius before they crossed the street.
"I thought you were going to do something romantic," Maura said, glaring at Jane's smug grin.
"What, cold greasy corn dogs and a trip to talk to your estranged mother can be romantic. You know, this used to be a methadone clinic, but thanks to Dr. Martin, it's the first MEND clinic in the US."
Maura sighed deeply. She stopped Jane just outside the entrance. "Look. I do not object to her saving women and children. But I do object to her calling me a liar, and then ignoring me until she needed my kidney."
Jane put her forehead on Maura's. "You're a good person," she said.
Maura tossed her corn dog bag into the nearby trash. "Why do we always feel this tug when we're related by blood?"
"I dunno. But I mean, I still miss my Pop even though he left my mother high and dry, cheated on her, and almost knocked up a 29 year old woman," Jane answered honestly, and she was rewarded for that honesty with Maura's index finger curling around her own. "What does the research say?"
"Nothing that explains how we feel," said Maura. "Let's go in."
The clinic was modest and full of parents and their children. It was loud, too: there were shrieks, laughter, and the rattle of infant toys. Maura took Jane's hand as they walked in, just for the feeling of safety in the cacophonous waiting room. A tall nurse in purple scrubs and a teddy bear-printed scrub sweater approached them without looking up from her keyboard. "Name?" Jane opened her mouth to say, but then the woman recognized her. She pulled Jane into a bracing hug. "Detective Rizzoli!" she said happily, and squeezed Jane tightly.
"Hi Shandra," Jane said into her neck.
"Girl, you are still as skinny as the day you locked me up," Shandra said when she let Jane stand on her own again.
"How are you? You look great," Jane ignored the comment. Shandra really did look great: She'd put on weight, gotten clean, gotten her nursing degree, and now she was the head nurse at Hope's clinic, even running the show when Hope was away in other countries.
"Thank you," said Shandra, doing a curtsy. Then she turned to Maura. "This woman is the reason I quit drugs and finished nursing school. She stayed in touch, helped me out when she could, even wrote one of my letters of rec for grad school."
"She's quite something," Maura agreed.
"This is uh, Dr. Isles," said Jane. "She's actually Dr. Martin's daughter. We're here to see her."
"Oh, of course," Shandra waved to Hope, emerging from an exam room just behind her, beckoning her to them.
"Maura," Hope said warmly, with her hair clipped back and in a white coat, looking just like Maura looked in the morgue on any given day. "Detective Rizzoli," her nod to Jane was much more professional, distant. "How are you?"
"Doin' just fine, Hope," Jane answered. "Cailin's a little worried about you, though."
Hope laughed nervously. "About me? Why?" Maura started to answer, but then Hope saw the necklace she wore. A familiar scrimshaw. "Where did you get that necklace?"
Maura gulped. "Oh, I'm- I'm sorry. I assumed you knew that Cailin was giving it to me."
Hope nodded, clearly still surprised. "Of course. Shandra could you please put Mrs. Reynolds in room two, and weigh that Perez baby? Let's go talk in my office."
Jane let Maura lead just behind Hope, and when the two of them were seated at Hope's desk, Jane closed the door behind them. "We don't wanna take up too much of your time."
Hope smiled and shook her head. "What can I do for you?"
"Cailin said that there were strange men at your home last night. She said they sounded intimidating and dangerous. She wanted us to check in with you to make sure you were alright," said Maura. She crossed her legs daintily at the same time Hope did. Jane took a seat next to her.
"Teenagers can be so dramatic," Hope said, "those big scary men, they're my accountants. But I'll talk to her about it."
Jane rolled her eyes. Obfuscation she could handle. People lied to her every day; it was just kind of part of the job. But Hope just gaslit Maura - tried to make her feel like she was crazy, like she was imagining things. "Your accountants come at eleven at night?" she asked, pretending that Hope's office was an interrogation room.
Hope faltered, and her lips opened for a few seconds before she finally spoke. "Well, I am too busy during the day."
"She's afraid for you, Hope," Maura said.
"And that's silly," Hope continued despite Jane's glower. "And although I'm very sorry that she put you through this, I really am glad to see you, Maura."
Maura wondered if she should believe it. She took a deep breath in. "I don't want to pry into your life. I just feel a responsibility to Cailin. I told her I would talk to you."
"And I so appreciate it, but really, it's just MEND business," Hope said.
Jane had had enough. "Is that why you told Cailin to lock the door? That's a doctor," she growled, pointing to Maura, "so stop trying to make her look stupid. Why are you movin' back to London, huh? Is someone threatening you?"
Hope was flabbergasted at the attack on her motives, even if the insinuation was true. Shandra saved her from having to confront Jane. "Sorry, doctor, we're getting a little behind," she said quietly, popping in and then out when she ascertained the strain in the room.
Hope took that as her cue. "I'm sorry, but I have to get back to work."
Maura stood up as her mother was walking towards the door. "How can you go back to London with all these people depending on you?"
"Every clinic that I open has to run without me eventually. And I do have to think about Cailin. She wants to move back to London." And with that, Hope left to tend to the rest of her patients.
Jane stood up, too, and stared at the closed door in wonder. Her hands went to Maura's shoulders instinctively, squeezing and smoothing. "Too bad lying doesn't give her hives. Let's get out of here."
Maura nodded as she opened the door for them. "Maybe she has a reason, Jane."
Jane walked them the few short strides to the front door and opened it for Maura. "What, the truth gives her eczema?"
"You don't like her, do you?" Maura asked as they crossed the street to their car. Jane opened the passenger side door for her, but Maura stopped just short of lowering herself into her seat, choosing instead to place her palm in the center of Jane's chest. She admired the way her Zanotti's made her nearly Jane's height, was thankful for them.
"No baby, I don't. I don't like the way she treats you. Cailin's an adult; have a relationship with her, you know? You don't have to have contact with Hope," grumbled Jane. "And by the way, what does Constance say about all this?"
"She raised me. She's my mother - I don't talk about it with her," Maura admitted. Jane leaned forward and closed the minute distance between them, desperate enough for touch to take the risk.
She was rewarded with wide, sweeping circles on her back. "I thought that would go better. I thought we'd get some answers. Sorry."
"I take it back," said Maura in reply. She relished how Jane's forehead felt against her own.
"Take what back?" asked Jane, pulling back so that she could meet Maura's gaze. She was frightened and Maura regretted whatever she had done to put that fear there.
"You did do something romantic," Maura said, and then she sat down.
By the time Jane had closed Maura's door and walked around to the driver's side, she was on the phone. "Hey Frost, what's up?" she answered as she plopped down. Her long legs barely fit in the small cab, so one of her knees was bent upwards against the driver door as she rotated to buckle her seatbelt. Frost must have said something interesting, because Jane fidgeted as she checked the rearview. "She was doing buy busts at BCU? Martinez know that? Alright. I'll meet you back at BPD."
Jane hung up the phone, but continued to tap her fingers on the steering wheel and stare at herself in the mirror when she noticed movement. "What's wrong?" Maura asked her.
That seemed to shake her out of her thoughts. "I uh, forgot some dry cleaning. I'm gonna drop you off and pick it up."
"Ok," Maura said as they left the curb.
Jane did not tell her about the men in suits that had gotten into the car behind them to follow.
A/N: A bit of timeline housekeeping: this story begins in October, and then moves through the fall, and TJ is born in December. The Storrow Center collapse happens around the end of March, and then Maura gives her kidney to Cailin in April. This chapter skips ahead about six weeks to mid-June.
