I'm really sorry about the delay, but this wasn't supposed to be chapter three. I wrote it, then had to fix it so that it fit in with everything else. I also had to fix everything else to fit with this. The original chapter three is now going to be chapter four or five. After some of the comments I realized I need to slow the story down a bit. I've gotten kind of excited about the destination and I'm starting to mess up the journey.
Thank you everyone who has read and commented. I think we all know that comments are like a drug. The more I get, the better I feel. (The first step is admitting you have a problem.) I'm glad that you are enjoying the story.
Disclaimer: I don't own Rizzoli and Isles.
Maura sat in her chair at home sipping a glass of wine while attempting to read one of her latest medical journals off of her IPad. So far she had gone over the same paragraph four times and couldn't tell what she had read. Her mind was completely consumed with the events that had occurred earlier that day.
The fact that her abilities had acted on their own initiative again was causing her a great deal of concern. She hadn't even realized that she was doing anything at first. It was almost like the power wasn't coming from her, but that didn't make any sense. Once again she hadn't felt any fatigue after their use either. The obvious course of action would be to use her powers on someone other than Detective Rizzoli and see if they acted the same, however that was just reckless. There was no way that she was going to use someone as a test subject. Even if she found someone to agree, the idea frightened her. She would simply have to come up with another way.
It would probably be easier to test Jane. Her power didn't come with the risk of hurting anyone. The problem was that she had appeared almost scared about what had happened with her power. Persuasion wasn't really a talent that Maura had a lot of. She wasn't sure that she would be able to get Jane to agree to attempt even the simplest of experiments. She didn't think that appealing to Jane's scientific curiosity would get her the response she was looking for either.
"I could always be sneaky?" Maura said out loud and then laughed at herself. Her urticarial would give her away immediately. Subterfuge simply wasn't something that she was ever going to be good at. There was only one way she was ever going to get this done and that was to take the detective head on and hope that she didn't bolt from the room.
It took Maura weeks of going over plans on what to test and how to test it before she settled on what she considered the best idea. She used those weeks to get to know the detective. She didn't want Jane to think she was using her only for experimentation. By the time she had settled on a course of action, the tall brunette had completed her ninety days of medical leave and was back on desk duty. During that time the two had become good friends, often getting lunch together or grabbing dinner after work. Jane had been back at desk duty for a week when Maura decided to implement her plan.
Jane came through the doors of the morgue to check up on the latest case. As she looks up she sees Maura toss something at her from across the room.
"Catch!"
Jane instinctively reaches out and snags the object out of the air. "What the hell, Maur?" She exclaims as she studies the object she just caught. She realizes it is a ball bearing.
"You have excellent hand eye coordination. You would score very well in any of the accepted test." Maura began heading to her office.
"Thanks." She shakes her head at the doctor's comment. "What's with the ball bearing?" Jane followed her into her office.
Maura didn't say anything until she had locked the door and drawn the blinds. "I want you to turn that ball bearing into braided line. It needs to be more like a necklace chain than wire."
"How do you know my ability works like that?" She stared at the doctor wide eyed. "You know what, never mind. Why am I doing this?"
"Scientific curiosity." The blonde offered.
"I feel like I should be worried." Jane said like a kid who just got stuck in detention, but she started making the braided line.
That statement got Maura's attention. She stood directly in front of the detective with her hands on her hips. "Don't you trust me detective?"
"See, people ask that question right before they do something they know you aren't going to like." Jane huffed.
The doctor nodded her head. "Probably. I want you to hold the chain you just made in the palm of your hand. I'm going to place my hand over…"
"Maura! No!" She yelled, though she didn't stop making the line.
"Jane." The doctor said both to calm and warn. "While we do this I want you to think about your power and not using it."
"Not using it?" The detective cocked her head to the side questioningly.
"Correct."
Jane thought for a minute. "What if I just run for it and go back to my desk?"
"Do you want to explain to the entire station why you were seen running from the morgue with the chief medical examiner on your back like a rhesus monkey carrying her young?"
Jane thought she saw an escape from her predicament. "Really? That is very interesting. How long do they carry the baby monkeys on their back?"
"Well, it doesn't exactly correlate to a specific age. It has more to do with the juvenile monkey's size and ability to care for itself. Also environmental factors can play a large role…" The doctor narrowed her eyes at the detective. "Nice try, but you aren't getting out of this that easy."
"Can't blame a girl for trying." Jane sighed.
"Are you done?" Maura asked.
Jane let the line dangle from her hand like a pendulum to show the doctor.
"Good. Now hold you left hand out in front of you, flat, with the palm facing up, and place the line in your palm." She instructed.
Jane did as instructed.
Jane growled. "You know I wouldn't let anyone else do this, right? Especially touch my hands."
Maura's eyes softened. "Are they bothering you today? I can rub them if you want me to."
"No. I'm already not happy about this little experiment." Jane gravelly voice showed her irritation. "This would have worked a lot better for you if you had tricked me."
"I considered that, but given the fact that I can't lie, there wasn't much chance of that working. Straight forward is the only option I really have."
Jane was shocked. "What do you mean you can't lie?"
"I can't state something I know to be false in a convincing manner."
"Why? Is it some sort of high moral code?"
"While I do try and live by a set of ethics that isn't why I can't lie. I break out into urticarial and in certain extremely stressful moments I suffer from vasovagal syncope?"
"Is it contagious? Life threating?" Jane asked concerned.
Maura laughed and shook her head. "I get hives and sometimes faint."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Wow." It was then that Jane noticed a smile begin to creep across the doctor's face. "What?"
"Look at your hand." Maura moved her eyes in the direction of Jane's hand.
Jane followed with her eyes and found Maura's hand resting comfortably on top of her hand with the steel line resting in between.
"I thought you couldn't lie." Jane almost yelled.
"I didn't. I simply saw an opportunity and took it." Maura's smile widened. "You were so preoccupied with our conversation that you were not paying attention to your hand at all. You didn't even notice when I placed my hand on yours. Since you didn't notice, nothing happened.
As they both watched the wire began to warm and turn a light gold.
Maura turned her eyes back to Jane's face and seeing that her eyes have gone wide and dilated.
"Jane." She says softly. "Jane." A little louder this time.
The brunette finally moves her eyes from there touching hands back to Maura's face.
"Relax. Everything is fine. I was holding your hand for a full minute before you noticed. You can control this. Just relax."
Slowly, Jane's pupils contract and her breathing returns to normal.
"Alright?" Maura ask.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm good."
"Do you feeling anything?" The doctor ask.
"Not now. Everything feels normal." Jane took a deep breath. "So what theory were you testing?"
"Well, it occurred to me that, the incidents where our powers overacted had two things in common, physical contact and heightened emotional response."
"I don't think…" Jane began.
Maura looked at Jane steadily. "I don't have to explain either of those two components for the first time this took place, do I?"
Jane shook her head.
"The second time was the first time I saw you after the accident. Korsak told me that you had been hiding your hands. Between your nervousness and my nervousness, that was more than enough. Yours about thanking me and your hands and mine about how I saved you and not understanding what happened. When we touched it happened again."
"Ok, I'll give you that." Jane hedged. "But that doesn't explain what happened at the robber."
"That's easy. By then we were both so concerned about the, let's call them events, that any contact was bound to do something. Especially given your continued shyness about your hands."
"I'm not shy!" Jane blurted. She cleared her throat to attempt to recover from her outburst. "I just don't want people staring, asking questions, or…" Jane's sentence died out as she attempted to find the words to explain.
"You don't have to worry about things like that with me Jane. You don't have to explain anything." Maura said softly.
"I know that Maur." Maura raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Now. I know that now."
"And see, this whole time that we've been standing here, nothing has happened."
Maura looked at their still touching hands to make her point.
"Yeah." Jane agreed. "Can I have my hand back?"
Maura lifted her hand from Jane's. The brunette thrust her hands into her pockets. "So, it can be controlled. Do you know what it is?"
Maura turned, walking to her desk. She sighed as she took a seat behind it. "No."
"No?" Jane was shocked. "Do you have a gue…theory?" She corrected.
"No. I don't." Maura responded dejectedly. "I can't find anything like this anywhere. Naturally, this is my own research. There are a few individuals that specialize in this sort of…"
"NO!" Jane shouted. "You can't tell anyone. I don't need to be a bigger freak than I already am."
"Jane. You are not a freak. I'm sure there is a perfectly rational explanation for all of this."
"You said yourself you didn't find anything. If your giant genius brain doesn't know, who would? I don't want to become a lab rat that will …"
"You aren't going to mention dissection again, are you?"
Jane looked at the floor like a child caught in a lie. "No. Not now."
"Listen. I'm not going to betray your trust, but we need to understand what is going on her. If for no other reason than for peace of mind. You can't be nervous at every crime scene we go to worrying whether or not something will explode if you bump into me."
Jane stood in the middle of the office running her hands through her hair. Maura took the movement for what it was, a sign of the brunette's nerves as she tried to decide on a course of action. "Who did you want to reach out too?" Jane was positive she wasn't going to like the answer.
"Dr. Arnold Dillinger. He is a professor at Harvard. He specializes in magical theory and history. He has spent his life studying the more…" Maura paused to thing of the correct word. "…unusual occurrences of magic. He is a friend of my father."
"Can you trust him to keep it to himself? I don't want to become some sort of research paper."
"Yes."
Jane bit the side of her thumb while she thought about it. "Can you leave out the lead to gold bit? I really don't want that getting out. Just say that my powers act without my control."
Maura nodded her head. "I can do that."
Saturday morning found Maura standing outside of Jane's apartment door. She knocked waiting for the detective to answer.
When the door opened, Jane stepped back to allow the doctor to enter. "You are early."
Maura glanced at her watch. "Only ten minutes. Beside, aren't you always saying I take too long to get ready? I though you would appreciate me being early."
Jane walked back over to her counter to finish her cereal. "Want some?" She gestured with the bowl she was holding.
"Sugar soaked in milk is not breakfast. I knew I should have gotten you a muffin when I stopped for coffee on the way over here." Maura set down the two cups of coffee she had been holding on the counter. "Eating that has absolutely no nutritional value."
Jane shook her head while pointing at the box. "It says right there on the box, 'healthy part of a complete breakfast'."
"The key word be 'complete'." Maura huffed. "The complete breakfast includes fruit, bread, and some sort of juice. The 'complete breakfast' also includes the milk in any health benefits listed for the cereal. Also the recommended serving size is roughly a fourth of what you have in that bowl."
"Are you done belittling my breakfast?" Jane arched an eyebrow.
Maura put her hands on her hips. "Maybe."
Jane decided to change the subject. "Explain to me again why we are visiting this professor rather than just like sending an email or giving a phone call."
"You are the one worried about this getting out. I thought a face to face with an old family friend would be better than sending an email with a list of questions."
"That makes sense, but why am I going?"
"This affects you too, Jane."
"Are you sure we can trust him?"
"What are you worried about Jane?" Maura saw her take a breath to speak but she held up her finger to stop her. "I swear if you say the word 'dissection' I will…I will do something very unpleasant to you."
"I know you think I'm being ridiculous, but I really don't want to turn into a lab rat. I mean do you understand what would happen if it became common knowledge that we could make pure precious metals from slag metals without needing the massive amounts of power required by alchemist." Jane ran her hands through her hair. "I've seen people do terrible things for money. I can't imagine what people would do to me, to you, if they found out."
"We aren't going to tell anyone about that. We are simply going to say that your abilities are enhanced. We will use the example of healing the black fire burns to explain what happens. I promise not to mention the pure metals."
"You can't lie." Jane pointed a finger at her. "If he ask you, you won't be able to not tell him. Wouldn't this be much easier in an email? That way there are no questions you have to tell the truth too."
"Jane." Maura walked into the kitchen to stand beside Jane. "Do you want answers?"
"Of course I do."
"Then this is our best chance at finding out any information."
"Alright. Will you promise one thing?"
"What?"
"If I feel that things are off, we leave."
"Off? Off of what?" Maura was confused.
Jane grunted. "If my gut…"
"Your gut can't…"
Jane held up her hand. "Just listen. If I think something is wrong, if I feel that things are not the way things should be, we leave."
Maura ran the sentence back through her mind to be sure she understood. "Fine. If you stomach makes noises, we leave."
"That is not what…" Jane caught the smirk on Maura's face. "Go!" Jane pointed at the door and both women left the apartment.
Jane was still nervous about the situation as they drove to the professor's house. She still didn't like the idea of people knowing that her and Maura's powers were getting more powerful. Jane was telling the truth when she said she was concerned about what people would do to them if they found out that they could do precious metal conversions.
"Maura, if we told your professor friend that this was related to a case and these questions were about suspects, would that set off you spidey sense?"
"My what? What do arachnids have to do with this?" Maura risked a glance at Maura. "Is this one of those cultural references I don't understand?"
Jane rolled her eyes. "If we told the professor that this was about a case we were working on would that make you break out in hives. This is technically related to the…the case. We just don't tell him that we are the two people in the case we are discussing."
"I'm not sure about this?" Maura answered.
"Alright, how about this? You introduce me as a detective with some questions. I'll explain the situation that we are having with the suspects we are pursuing. That way you just sit there and I run the risk of lying."
"I don't like deceiving a family friend." She stated flatly.
"Come on Maur. For me?" Jane did her best attempt at a pout. She wasn't sure she had ever pouted in her life, so her face came off more funny than adorable.
Maura let out a laugh. "Fine, just don't ever make that face again. Ever."
Jane leaned back in her seat, smiling. "Deal."
The duo pulled up outside a house near the college and began the walk up to the front door.
"So is there some sort of rule about the type of house a Harvard professor has to live in?" Jane asked. "Because this is exactly the sort of house I was picturing."
The home was an older two story home with a covered porch along the front. The lawn was well maintained and had plenty of trees to provide shade.
"Yes. If you don't own the proper home, that don't allow tenure." Maura answered.
Jane did a double take at the doctor. "Jokes? You've got jokes. I am a bad influence on you, Maur."
Maura beamed at the praise for having her attempt at humor received well. Most of the time her attempts at humor failed, but that wasn't as bothersome as some of her serious statements being taken as jokes.
They made their way up the steps to the front door. Maura rang the doorbell and they waited.
When the door opened, Jane had to cover her laugh with a cough. The man in front of her could not have been a bigger stereotype if he tried. He was shorter than Maura with a hunched stance. He leaned heavily on a cane. The little hair that he did have circled his head like a crown not quite coming together at his forehead. His light coloring and pointy ears made her wonder about elves in his ancestry. He wore, what she considered, the mandatory uniform for professors, slacks, oxford shirt, and a sweater vest.
"Maura, my dear." The man said opening his arms to get a hug from the doctor.
While his body may have looked slight and somewhat frail, his voice still held the power of authority and the confidence of a person who was used to being listened to.
"Uncle Arnie." Maura said, stepping back from her welcoming hug. "How are you?"
"Very well. Very well. Congratulations on your new job by the way. I always knew you would go far."
Maura blushed at the compliment. "Thank you." She turned to Jane. "This is Detective Jane Rizzoli."
The professor held out his hand. "Detective."
Jane shook the offered hand. "Professor Dillinger."
"Only students call me Professor Dillinger. A friend of Maura's can call my Arnie."
"Jane." She offered. "I hate to be nosey, but I've got to ask, are you any relation to …"
"The notorious bank robber?" He had a slight smirk on his face. "Technically yes, twelfth cousin eight times removed sort of thing. Truth is I've never seen anything but the names of that side of the family. Wouldn't know them if they walked through the front door."
"Sorry. Professional curiosity."
"Please, come have a seat." They followed him into a well-furnished living room. He lowered himself into a well-worn arm chair. "Maura tells me you have some question I may be able to answer."
"We do." Jane spoke up before Maura had a chance to respond. She figured the less Maura said the better. "This has to do with a case we are working so I would appreciate it if you kept this information between us."
"Of course, of course." He nodded his head.
"We are tracking a couple that is exhibiting powers beyond what friends and family have described."
Arnie leaned forward in his chair. "What do you mean when you say 'beyond'?"
Jane was ready for this question. She had worked it out with Maura earlier. It was similar to what they were experiencing but the story wouldn't implicate them. "While being pursued the female suspect actually took a common fern, about four foot tall, and turned into an eight foot tall, four foot deep fire thorn bush. We knew she had nature powers from talking to her friends and family, but nothing like this. She could make plants grow faster and better. She could even force them into those little Japanese tree shapes."
"Bonsai." Maura offered.
"Right, Bonsai. What she did here though was beyond that. We brought a sample back to the lab. She had changed the molecular structure of the plant."
"Well there are a number for spells that can allow for this to occur…" Arnold began.
"She's a source." Jane stated.
Arnie's eyes got wide. "A source? A nature source is pushing her powers beyond her limits? You saw this happen?"
"Yes." Jane answered. "And so is her partner. He is a source as well, and his abilities have been surprising us as well."
"What sort of source is he?"
"Illusionist." Jane wasn't sure where that had come from. Maura and her hadn't talked the story all the way through. She hoped Maura didn't pass out from being in the same room as the lie she was telling. "He did a fire that we actually felt the heat from. I would have sworn it was real."
"You have two sources that are exhibiting abilities beyond those that they normally have?" The professor clarified.
Arnold's eyes narrowed. A voice in the back of Jane's brain started talking. He knew something. Something she had just said had sent the wheels turning in the mind of the professor. "Yes."
"That sounds very, very interesting. It sounds like a combination of effects is occurring. There are objects that can focus power. There are spells that can allow for temporary and limited increase of abilities. I don't know of anything that would allow for both, certainly not to the degree you are dealing with. Changing matter on the molecular level is, while not unheard of, usual. It involves massive amounts of power and some sort of sacrifice."
"Sacrifice?" Maura asked, going a little pale. In the back of her mind she wondered if Jane had been right to be scared.
"Oh, not in the traditional sense you are thinking, dear. No virgins on alters here. It would require blood from the individual to power a spell that would allow the power to be increased. That increase could also cause great harm to the user if they push too hard. I can do some research. See what I can find."
"That would be greatly appreciated, Arnie, but please keep this confidential, ongoing case and all." Jane responded.
"Of course."
Jane stood from the couch with Maura following quickly after her. "I hate to run off, but we still have other things to get done today. Thank you for wasting part of you weekend answering our question." Jane handed the man her card, then offered a hand to shake.
Arnie shook it again then got a final hug from Maura. "Nonsense. Any friend of Maura's in a friend of mine. I'll send anything I find to Maura."
"Excellent." Jane said.
"It was good to see you Uncle." Maura waved farewell.
The two woman left the house and returned to the car. As they both got in and fastened their seat belts, Jane finally gave voice to her thoughts. "Do you trust him Maur?"
Maura hesitated as she went to start the car. "Yes. Why?" She turned to look at Jane.
"My gut tells me he knows more than he's saying."
"Why would he withhold information? He doesn't know it's us. Why would he withhold information about people he doesn't know that he believes to be criminals?"
"That's is an excellent question, but something in there has thrown me off. I don't know what it is, but it's something." Jane looked over at her friend, seeing her frown. "I'm sorry. I know he is a friend. I'm just being paranoid. I'm not comfortable with all this."
"Well, let's see if he finds anything out, alright?"
"Sure." Jane sat back in her seat as the car pulled away from the curb. She still couldn't shake the feeling that somewhere in the conversation with Professor Dillinger, he had lied to them.
