Jane pulled up to the entrance of MCI-Walpole, waved her badge to get through the gate, and watched June humidity roll off of the hood of her car, only half as hot as her anger. She took one of the spots reserved for law enforcement towards the front of the prison, wearing her meanest scowl when she walked through the doors and sent her weapon through security.
When they gave it back to her, she shoved it onto her belt, and growled "Detective Rizzoli, Boston PD badge number V-825," at the man behind the bulletproof glass of the reception counter. After a few more questions regarding her intentions, she was led by two armed guards to a visiting room, where she took a seat at the table. She didn't trust her body not to unfurl itself at the man walking toward the door in front of her.
Paddy Doyle.
He limped, but only just a little. He glowered at her as he had countless times before - like he could call for her death at any moment, even in an orange jumpsuit and handcuffs. Jane surveyed the guards that entered with him, with the both of them. Maybe he still could, if they were on his payroll. "Call 'em off," she said, putting her forearms on her thighs, folding her hands, and leaning toward him.
She looked like she'd kill him, too, if he made the wrong move.
He settled in his chair, rotating his shoulder to make his hands more comfortable in the chains that shackled his arms and legs together. "I only tolerate you because Maura asked me to," he said dismissively.
"You don't tolerate me at all - you don't have to because you're in here and I'm out there," Jane countered.
"Except for today," Paddy pointed out. His Irish blue eyes sparkled with mischief.
"Except for today," conceded Jane. "Call your boys off Maura. That's why I'm here."
"What the hell are you talking about?" he asked her. He switched from mirth to fear.
"The thugs you got followin' Maura,'' Jane said, "call 'em off, Paddy. I'm not askin' again."
"Is she ok? Is Maura alright?" Paddy asked, and there was an edge of pleading to it. "The only reason you're alive is to keep her safe. If she's not-"
"Simmer down. She's fine. But why are your guys following her? Are these the same guys that you sicced on Hope?"
He only stared back at her with realization. Then he raised his eyebrows at her. "Did you get a look at 'em?"
Jane caught on quick. "They're not your guys, are they?"
"I don't think you need me to answer that one for you, Rizzoli," Paddy said through a smirk.
"Why are the feds after Hope?" Jane really could turn any room into an interrogation room, and he had all but confirmed that the men in that car, and the men at Hope's door, were federal agents.
But, Paddy had been through dozens of interrogations. "I'm done here," he said. He started to rise, but she stood, too.
"No, wait a minute," she called after him, "why are they surveilling Maura?"
He left without answering her.
Maura looked up when she heard a knock on her office door, relieved to see Jane standing there with her knuckles against the wood. "Hi. Did you get your dry cleaning?"
"Hey," Jane said, and then her lips were in a thin line. "So, I lied. I didn't have to go get my dry cleaning."
Maura chuckled. She rose to meet Jane in the middle of the room. "What do you mean? Did you have another showing at the condo?"
"I uh, I went to see your father at Walpole," said Jane.
Maura wanted to laugh again, but Jane's face stopped her. "You're serious?"
"When we were leaving the clinic, I saw some guys in suits get into the car behind us. When I pulled away, they did too. When I dropped you off, they stopped following," Jane whispered, scanning their surroundings for eavesdroppers.
"And you thought they were Paddy's men," Maura extrapolated. She rubbed her palms together twice before lacing her fingers. "So you went to see him to ask why."
"I went to see him so he could call them off," Jane explained, touching Maura's elbow.
Maura stepped forward, didn't deny the touch. "I was so wrapped up in recovering from surgery that I didn't have time to think about him, too."
"I found out, while I was there, that they're not his guys. But they are the same guys that went to see Hope. Well, same group of guys," Jane said.
"Rival family?"
"The feds."
"What do the feds want with us?"
"I don't know, but I know someone who could find out," Jane said quietly. "You want me to do that?" Maura took several seconds to find Jane's eyes, and several more to nod once. Jane called in favors for her, stuck her neck on the line for her, without hesitation. Even when it could mean Detective Rizzoli's badge. "Alright. Give me a minute then."
When Jane marched over to Maura's desk and grabbed the landline receiver, punching in the five-digit code for a BPD extension, Maura turned around and watched her back. "Who are you calling?"
But, the person on the other end had already answered, apparently. "Hey Martinez, it's me. Can you come down to Maura's office? We got somethin' we need your help with. Thanks."
Within ten minutes, he appeared before them, knocking on the door in a way identical to Jane's. "You needed me for something?" he asked, all business.
"Mira, Rafa. I'm about to ask you something crazy. So sit, would ya?" She half-smiled, in pain and in memory. The Spanish came out of its own accord, soft and almost natural-sounding in its new Sicilian home. She pointed to the couch.
He grinned brilliantly, his teeth showing. "A long time ago I agreed to never speak Italian if you agreed to never speak Spanish. We should honor that agreement, Jane."
Maura suddenly wanted to know everything about the two of them and their time together. Only half of the desire was jealousy; the other half was curiosity. "I think her accent is quite good," she said, walking over to the chair closest to the far wall.
"You have to think that," Martinez said as he winked at her.
"The only reason you didn't want me speaking Spanish is because Tatiana made me pretty good at it," Jane shot back. Maura smirked to herself when Martinez blushed.
"Forsi se," he admitted, and Maura raised her brows at his own effortless little Sicilian phrase. "You taught me pretty good, too," he said to Jane. "Now, why am I down here?"
"Still got contacts at the Bureau?" Jane asked pointedly. She took the couch cushion farthest from him, and couldn't help wondering if she'd made a mistake by leaving him and Maura so close together.
Martinez looked only at Maura when he answered. "I might."
Jane rolled her eyes. "Maura's got feds on her tail, and so does her mom. I saw them today at lunch. Do you think you could find out?"
"Who's your Mom?" Martinez asked.
"Dr. Hope Martin," Maura said. "She runs a clinic for at-risk mothers and children called MEND."
Martinez paled. "You're Hope Martin's daughter?"
Jane coiled immediately. "What?" she growled. Martinez turned to her for the first time and straightened his baby blue tie.
"You know what I know about her, Rizzoli?" he asked, tossing his head in Maura's direction.
"I still read the Globe every morning," Jane said, "but even if I didn't, I would know that he's her dad. I've had my fair share of run-ins with Doyle over Maura."
Martinez relaxed, but only a little. He ran fingers over his shaved head, back and forth. He smiled at Maura nervously. "Listen, I can't say much. Hell, I don't know much. But I was part of the task force building up the drug case against Doyle."
Jane was shocked. "Why are you here then? That's a career-making move."
Martinez shook his head and exhaled in a whoosh of sound. "They didn't want anybody with BPD history anywhere near the case. Too many cops on the payroll, you know? Not to mention Maura's… connection. I guess they didn't want to take the chance."
"Jesus. I'm sorry," Jane apologized, sincerely. Martinez got up to close the door and the blinds, moving through the office like he'd been in it before.
"Don't be. They just wanted to make sure that the whole investigation didn't go al garete. I get it. And since when have you been worried about my career, huh?" He teased, this time winking at Jane. Then he sat back down. "Here's what I know. Organized crime was obviously also on the Doyle case. But, they were investigating MEND and Hope, too. And my task force was brought in on that angle."
"Oh my god," Maura exclaimed, "for what?"
"I don't really know. I didn't get very far before they shut me out. But it's got to be connected to Paddy," he said.
"Ok, Martinez. Thank you," Jane nodded to him. He nodded back, and then turned to Maura, giving her a winning smile. She smiled back at him, and he stayed put until Jane cleared her throat. "Out now please."
"Need a word with your wife in private? I get it, Jane. I'll see you around, alright?" Martinez said as he got up. Jane's mask of indifference was back in place, and so he exited without any more pleasantries.
"Why would the FBI be investigating my mother?" Maura asked again, more out of shock than anything.
"You should have seen Paddy's face when I went to go see him. He knows why," Jane said. She moved to the side of the couch closest to Maura and patted her knee.
Maura was deep in thought. "Ok. She started MEND in 1993. That's 20 years ago. Which means, if the investigation really is tied to Paddy, they were in contact after I was born."
"Maybe even when he was a fugitive," Jane agreed.
"What do I do?" Maura's next question was small and quiet.
"Nothing, babe," Jane replied. When Maura's face scrunched forward in annoyance and incredulity, she revised. "I mean, there's nothing you can do once they're surveilling you. But we know you're clean, so you've just gotta wait until the storm passes. I've got to go talk to the victim's roommates. You ok with that?"
Maura nodded. "Yes. Go, go. It's ok."
Jane stood, and then bent down to kiss Maura gently. Maura surprised her by pulling her close by the back of her head and allowing Jane's tongue inside. Jane moaned compulsively, placing her hands on the armrests on either side of Maura. Her knuckles turned white when Maura's palms dragged softly on either side of her face. "Fuck," was all that she could say when they broke.
"Thank you," Maura said. "For doing all of this for me today. For standing by me as I figure all of this out."
Jane pressed their foreheads together. "Course. I really do have to go," she whispered, but didn't move.
"I know," Maura affirmed. They locked eyes, and she showed something to Jane she hadn't since she had given up her kidney for her half-sister. Lust. "Jane."
"Yeah?" Jane was entranced, her pupils conquering her irises.
Maura arched her neck upwards so that her lips would brush against Jane's with every word. "Do you still want to taste it?"
At nearly 7:30 PM, Maura exited the elevators on the third floor to see Jane fuming at her desk. Frost and Korsak had left for the evening, having pulled an all-nighter the evening before, and that meant that she and Jane would be the only two in the room. All the better. "Jane?" she called when she walked through the homicide bullpen.
"What?" Jane asked shortly, not turning from her computer. Earlier in their friendship, Maura would have been burned by it. But, she knew now that if Jane was showing her mild annoyance, she had breathed fire around everyone else.
"What's wrong?" Maura asked, shelving her own information for the moment.
Jane leaned into her hands and sighed. "You remember I told you that we got my CI killed? Me and Martinez?"
"Yes," Maura said, elongating the word in confusion.
"I think he may have gotten our victim, killed, too," Jane grumbled. There was true sadness in her eyes. "But I'm not sure yet. I gotta do some more digging and confront him."
"I'm so sorry, Jane," Maura said, putting her hand on Jane's shoulder and squeezing.
"I'll figure it out," Jane said to dismiss her current problem. Then she swiveled in her chair to face Maura. "What did you need?"
"Cailin just called," explained Maura. "The feds just left Hope's house. And I've got to show you something. Come on."
Now Jane was confused, but she locked her computer and followed Maura wordlessly down the stairwell. She thought they would stop at the lobby, maybe even meet Cailin there, but when they made it down to evidence, she smirked. Maura took a few bobby pins out of the pocket of her jacket and began to tinker with the lock. "Just when I thought I'd seen everything," she whispered into Maura's ear huskily.
Maura jiggled the lock loose, and then unwrapped the chain from the fence. "I figured out how to do it when I was nine. My parents didn't want me watching TV, so they locked it up."
"The cat burglar thing was hotter before that tidbit of information," Jane said as Maura led her forward.
Maura ignored her. "It's over here."
"Ooh, you've been down here before," Jane exhaled, feeling a rush. "God, this is so unlike you, babe."
"Maybe not," Maura said as she shrugged. "I am the spawn of a mobster, after all."
"Well, is that why you come down here?" asked Jane. They stood in front of a shelf filled to the ceiling with boxes, and Maura pulled one out.
"When Paddy… got arrested, I started poking through all these files. They go all the way back to his father."
"Your grandfather," said Jane matter-of-factly.
"Yes." Maura was sad. And a little wistful.
"Hey, c'mon. You're not like him. You're not like any of 'em."
"Well, something in these files is gonna tell us why the feds were looking at me and Hope."
"Ok, well you got out the '93 box. That's the year Paddy became a fugitive," Jane poked through the box Maura had opened and pulled out a couple of file folders. She crossed one leg in front of the other while she leaned against the shelves opposite all of Paddy's boxes, her eyes severe as she scanned for details, anything that could help Maura. "There's not a lot here while he was on the run. But I bet the FBI has a ton."
Maura pulled a series of photographs out of the box. "Look. She came back once a year on my birthday." The photos were of a young Hope, crying at Maura's grave.
"Well, that's touching," said Jane. When Maura scoffed, she said, "Maura, she thought you were dead."
"Ok, but hear me out: what if she wasn't coming for me?" Maura posited.
"What do you mean?"
"I… have a hunch."
"Oh no. Here we go. I told you never to hunch. You're not made for hunching."
"Cailin told me that Paddy gave this to Hope on her 18th birthday, right? That would have been 1976." Maura pressed ahead.
"Ok, yeah. The year you were born," Jane followed.
"That's not possible because this scrimshaw commemorates something that was built in 1993."
"The year Paddy disappeared? She lied to Cailin?"
"Yes. And it was also the year that Hope was working as a relief doctor in a war-torn area, Sarajevo."
"Where she developed that fingerprinting technique."
"Mmhmm. So, I did some research, and I looked up photos on the internet of this bridge," said Maura, taking her necklace off so that Jane could get a better look.
Jane leaned in and nodded, pretending to regard it seriously. "Hmm. So this is what you've been doin' with all ya free time now that we don't have sex." Maura hit her arm with a file. "Ow, a'right. I'll be serious," Jane said through a laugh.
"It was near a secret tunnel that was built during the siege of Sarajevo by people trying to get humanitarian aid into the city," Maura continued, but she did step a little closer to Jane's side and ran her hand over her back, under her gray blazer. Maura shuddered when she accidentally grazed the handcuffs just above Jane's backside.
"Humanitarian aid? You think your mother helped build it?" Jane asked.
"They named it the Tunnel of Hope," Maura said, confirming her hypothesis.
"Jesus Christ," said Jane, genuinely floored.
"Paddy was a fugitive in 1993. He could have easily traveled to the Balkans."
"So you think Paddy and Hope met up in Sarajevo?"
"What I think is worse. Hope started MEND thanks to a two and a half-million dollar donation from an anonymous donor in 1993, Jane."
"Oh my god. That's why the feds are sniffing around. She took his dirty money. You're a genius," Jane said, looking at Maura in wonder, their faces inches apart.
"I am," replied Maura, taking the kiss offered to her. It was short and it was respectful. The opposite of what she wanted it to be.
"We have to tell her. We have to figure out why they're tailing you, too, and we have to try to help her save that clinic, Maura. It does way too much good here in the city." Jane was resolute. Maura saw love for Boston in Jane's eyes more than she saw any loyalty to Hope.
"I agree. Tomorrow we can. But it's late and we should go home," she said. She took the files out of Jane's hands and placed everything where it belonged before putting each box exactly where she had found it. Jane followed her out of evidence with renewed respect.
"I'm pretty sure Martinez was using our victim as a CI," Jane called into the ensuite of the bedroom as she sat on the armchair by the window, unzipping her boots. She grunted as she bent over to pull them off, her stiff muscles preventing her from getting a full stretch. "Actually that's not true. I know it. His card was in her belongings, and it had his safe word on it."
"How do you know that's what got her killed?" Maura's voice carried from behind the slightly-ajar door, over the sound of running water.
"I asked him. She was doing buys for him. Frost has audio of her and two or three BCU campus dealers," Jane said as she slumped back on the seat once she had completed her task. Her eyes started to close of their own volition and she wiggled her toes to get some of the feeling back.
"He certainly is a complicated man," Maura said. She sounded much closer now, but Jane only opened her eyes when she heard the metal clink of her belt buckle coming undone.
Maura knelt between her open knees, worked her button open and unzipped her fly. Maura was also wearing only a lacy pair of black underwear. Sweat flushed Jane's palms when she gripped the armrests of the chair. "What, uh, what are you doing?"
"It's only been six weeks, Jane," Maura quipped, her breath heavy between Jane's hips as it rolled hotly over her boxer briefs, "do you really not remember what this means?"
Jane gulped at Maura's manicured eyebrow rising up in good humor. "We-we don't have to. You don't have to."
"But I want to." Maura's words were puffs of smoke against the heat of Jane's belly as she kissed her way up, pushing her t-shirt away as she went.
"Yeah?" Jane asked huskily, her bravado coming back in slow waves, "what changed?"
"Yeah," Maura answered. She sucked on the skin just above abdominal muscles until she left a bruise. "You worked harder."
Jane winced, her breath coming out in an aroused hiss. "I love you," she said.
"Hush," Maura ordered, and she yanked Jane's pants and underwear down simultaneously. Jane was now exposed to the open air and Maura looked ready to strike. "Before I change my mind."
"What about you?" Jane almost slapped herself for asking, but the words were out before she could help it. Maura's fingernails were dragging lightly on the inside of her thighs and she groaned at the sensation.
Maura pulled back, tapping her index finger over her pursed lips. "Well, let's see. When we're done, you're going to take your face over there and I'm going to sit on it," she said, pointing her thumb to the bed behind her.
Jane shuddered. "O-ok," she said shakily, nodding in case Maura couldn't hear her muddled consent.
"Good," said Maura, and then she began.
"Fuck," Jane breathed out, the vowel in it long and wispy. "Fuck, Maura," she said again, in case Maura didn't understand the first time how good her tongue felt swiping through her. There were four or five sinful, wet kisses that sounded so good, too, that she grimaced when she heard them.
Maura knew it. Jane could feel her smirking against her. And it didn't matter, because Jane's pride was nowhere to be found - she just indulged in the feeling, the climbing pleasure that came from expert tongue flicks and suckling nips. "It… it ain't gonna be long," Jane warned. She bucked forward when Maura kissed her assent. As if to make it even shorter, two fingers slipped easily in, and the long, inelegant "ugh…" that spilled out of Jane carried her through her orgasm.
"I'm sorry that took so long." Maura climbed her way up Jane's motionless legs until she could rest her knees on either side of Jane's hips and put her hands on her heaving chest. She kissed her softly as she whispered.
"That was, like, three minutes," Jane laughed breathlessly.
"You know what I mean," Maura said. "Thank you for waiting for me."
Jane sat up as best she could and pulled her t-shirt over her head. "You're welcome. But I'm still waiting," she responded, shifting so that Maura sat directly in her lap. Jane's hands were on Maura's spine, flat and protective, holding her in place as they kissed again, open mouthed and sloppy.
"Go," Maura said through a smile, "go to bed then."
Jane complied. She stood right after Maura and trotted to her side of the bed. Maura shook her head at Jane's childish smile and the way she crossed her ankles and her arms behind her head. "C'mere," Jane beckoned. Her eyes were soft and welcoming. Maura glared playfully, and then threaded her thumbs through the waist of her panties and started to shimmy them down. "Wait, wait," Jane stopped her, "leave 'em on for a little bit."
"That's not conducive-"
"No big words. Just trust me," Jane said. What the hell, figured Maura, and took her place just over Jane's mouth, thighs just against her ears. She looked down expectantly. When Jane weaved two fingers into her underwear and stroked her, she moaned, hands shooting out for the headboard. "Jesus, you're ready," Jane cursed.
"As good as that feels, it's not what I wanted," Maura said, throwing her head back as Jane continued.
"That is not what trusting me sounds like. We're gonna do that, Maura. Have some patience," said Jane. And in order to prove her point, she moved her hand to Maura's behind, and then reached forward to pull her underwear taut.
"Christ," Maura finished Jane's curse from moments before, hers reedy and high before it broke into a sob. Jane was pulling the thin fabric and then letting it go slack, creating friction against wetness. The movement started slowly, and then picked up, and it felt amazing, but none of it was Jane. "If you don't touch me, it will be another six weeks before we do this again."
Jane swiped her tongue in long strokes over wet black lace, adding it to the repertoire of sensations. "Yes, ma'am," she snarked.
Maura huffed and pulled off her underwear in a fit of frustration. Jane laughed. "Don't laugh," Maura warned as she resumed her place.
Jane made a show of inhaling deeply when Maura found her way back on top. "Well shut me up, then," she challenged.
Maura obliged and lowered herself. "Oh, god, Jane," she yelped when they met skin to skin. She let herself get used to the feeling of wet gliding on wet and Jane eating everything Maura put on her plate, keeping her body still.
Soon, though, it got to be too much and she needed to move. Jane sensed it, placed good grips on each hip and encouraged Maura to wind her way to climax. So, she ground down, slow and deep, for long minutes until she shook and screamed into the shell of her own hand.
Jane patted Maura's thigh and helped her dismount once she regained enough strength to move. "Can you make it?" she teased when Maura flopped into a heap next to her.
"That was…" Maura said against the bone of Jane's shoulder.
"Somethin', huh?" Jane replied into Maura's hair, her voice hoarse.
"Mmhmm. Something we should have done weeks ago."
"As I tried to tell you. Repeatedly. I should have dragged Hope's ass down here long ago if this is what the result is." Jane smiled tiredly, but at her words, Maura propped up on her elbow so that she could see Jane's face.
"She's being investigated, Jane," said Maura.
"Yeah, probably for money laundering," Jane's tone changed. She patted Maura's hand, the one resting on her clavicle. "And I bet it was drug money, if Martinez was lookin' at them."
"Are you sure we should tell her?" Maura was conflicted. Hope had only taken from her. Aside from her life, she'd given Maura nothing, including a reason to trust her. And now, Hope was in some way responsible for the men surveilling Maura.
"MEND'll collapse if we don't. I already told you I don't like her, but that doesn't mean that those people should suffer if we can try to make sure the clinic is safe," Jane answered.
Maura nodded slowly as she accepted the truth. It was the right thing to try and save MEND. "And here we are, giving her yet another thing she doesn't deserve," she said, lying back down so that she and Jane were shoulder to shoulder. The whirring ceiling fan brought much welcomed air over her body, helped her to think in the summer heat.
"Yeah. Sucks, doesn't it?" Jane turned her head and frowned in sympathy. Then she kissed Maura sweetly before sitting up on the edge of the bed.
"Where are you going?" Maura asked her. "It's almost 10:30."
Jane sighed as she stood, grabbed a new pair of underwear from her dresser, black and identical to the ones she was wearing before, and slipped them on. She ran her thumbs under the waistband several times until she was satisfied with the way it sat on her skin and the way they clung to her thighs. "She's not gonna admit anything unless we have proof, unfortunately. You saw her today. And the only person I know that can get us financial records in time is Martinez, so I'm gonna suck it up, give him a call, and then stay up with him while he phones in every favor at the Bureau he has," said Jane. She rummaged in her sleep drawer for a suitable t-shirt, satisfied when she found a black BPD training tee and pulled it over her head. "He'll want coffee," she grunted, shuffling back over to the bed and leaning a hand on the headboard so that she could lower her face close enough to Maura's.
Maura took the hint and closed the distance with a kiss. "After everything that happened between the two of you today?"
"Yup," Jane confirmed. "It'll probably take all night. Get some sleep."
"You're having him come here?" asked Maura, sitting up herself.
Jane was already at the doorway. "Yeah… I don't really want to go out."
"And that's what you're wearing?" Maura got up and turned into the walk-in closet, coming out with a pair of silk pajamas and undergarments in her arms.
"He's seen me as a hooker, Maura. I don't think this is going to be what does it for him." Jane looked down at herself and scoffed.
"He's also seen you in nothing, Jane. I'm coming out there with you," said Maura with a pointed look. She maintained it through her whole time getting dressed.
Jane smirked. She supposed she could get used to this kind of jealousy. "A'right. Let's get some intel, then." She opened the door and bowed dramatically to let Maura pass.
The next afternoon, Jane opened the door of interrogation room 3 for Maura to reveal Hope Martin pacing inside. After Maura walked in and took a seat at the table, so did Hope, and Jane placed a hefty stack of papers between them.
"Why am I here?" Hope demanded to know. Her knitted Chanel jacket and all-black dress gave her an air of mourning. She frowned as if she were about to cry.
"Take a look at that," said Jane, pointing to the fruits of her and Martinez's labor the night before.
"They're the financial statements from MEND," Maura added angrily. Her face was stoic and unyielding.
"And why are you looking at them?" asked Hope.
Jane shook her head. "I don't think we're the only ones lookin'," she said.
"I don't know what you mean," Hope shot back.
Maura, for one, tired of the games. "Who gave you the money to start MEND?"
"I don't know," said Hope, "but I will be forever grateful to him… or her. Because, thanks to that money, we've been able to save thousands of women and children."
"I need to know. Was it Paddy?" Maura asked bluntly.
"I have sick patients I need to see," Hope replied as she rose from her seat. Maura rose with her, but Jane stayed put.
She looked up at Hope with an icy stare. "You won't be able to help them if you're named as a co-conspirator. Is that why the feds are putting pressure on you? Were you laundering money for him?"
Hope sat back down, dazed by Jane's simple, but effective, statement: MEND could definitely collapse. "I can't…"
"Can't what?" Maura nearly shouted.
"I can't involve you."
"I am involved!" Maura told her, "they're following me, too."
Hope studied her, then swiveled to Jane for confirmation. Jane just glared back. "What? Oh god, Maura. No. I need to see him, and I need to talk to him. I need to make this stop."
Jane shared a quick glance with Maura, who was clearly irate. "I can make that happen," Jane said to Hope. "But you'll go with us and you'll go now."
Hope nodded. "Yes."
The car ride to Walpole was an awkward one. Hope sat in the back of Jane's unmarked, silent, while Jane and Maura made as much small talk as they could in hushed tones. For the second time in as many days, Jane drove through the guard gate. She parked on the side of the building this time, affording them a bit of privacy.
She cut the engine, and then turned to Hope. "This is a maximum security prison. There's gonna be strict safety protocols we have to follow. Normally it would be no more than one person with an inmate at any given time, but they'll bend the rules for me. That means you have to be extra careful, a'right? Mind your business and do as you're told, and you'll be fine. Whatever you do, do not lunge over that table, do not attempt to touch him in any way."
"I understand, Jane," Hope said quietly. "There won't be any issues. Thank you for doing this."
"No problem. Just do the right thing. And stay put," Jane unbuckled her seatbelt and slammed the driver door shut.
"Stay put? In here?" Hope asked Maura, who only looked forward through the windshield, and not at her mother.
"I imagine she just wants to open your door for you," Maura said, and as if on cue, Hope's door opened, and then Maura's. Jane waited for them both, and when they were out, shut both of their doors.
Hope watched Maura take Jane's hand naturally, interlace their fingers as if it were instinctual to do so. Jane marched forward as if she didn't notice and surely didn't mind, and the two of them stayed united until they reached the entrance of the prison and were buzzed in. The irony that she was about to visit the only person she had felt remotely as strongly about, in a holding cell, was not lost on her. In another life, Paddy would have been her everything, would have been her husband. They would have raised Maura, and Maura would have been everything that she already was, but they would have been happy.
That fantasy seemed universes away when they finally approached the holding cell.
Maura entered first. Paddy sat, already anxiously awaiting her arrival, having been told that she was coming. Jane stepped in second, standing like a guard dog against the far wall and saying nothing.
"Maura…" he said fondly, his eyes alight with love for her.
But Maura was hard, and bitter. "Don't talk to me," she spat. "Talk to her."
Paddy was confused until Hope herself walked through the door and Maura closed it behind her.
Seeing him filled her with an exquisite amalgam of rage and longing. It mixed low in her gut and she let herself get drunk off of it. "You told me she was dead. You told me that our baby was dead," she said, tears already falling. Was she crying from anger? From sadness? Or from the compulsory joy she felt every time she saw him? She couldn't possibly know.
"I had to, to protect you," he said coolly. His eyes were alight with love for her, too. It was deeper and darker than even his love for Maura.
"Why?" Maura asked him, standing directly behind her mother.
"My father would have killed you both," Paddy shouted, the first true sign of emotion that he had ever shown her.
Jane stepped forward. "You have another chance to protect them, Paddy."
Immediately his walls were up. "How's that, Rizzoli?"
Maura smoothed her hands against her belly and closed her eyes to draw strength from the next breath she took, slow and measured. "You're going to plead guilty," she said finally, looking right into his eyes. Hope stiffened.
He looked between Maura and Hope, and opened his chest. His voice got quiet again, but it was soft for them. "You know, I'd kill for either of you. But I will never plead guilty," he said, knowing he was breaking their hearts.
