I know this took entirely too long to publish. Somehow life keeps getting in the way. Thank you everyone that is still keeping up with the story.

Please leave a comment. I need to know how I'm doing. Comments feed the writing (and the ego).

Disclaimer: I don't own Rizzoli and Isles.


Jane approached Garrett from behind, only saying his name as she stopped.

"Mr. Fairfield."

As he turned, she saw his eyes widen, but not at her. He was looking over her shoulder directly at Maura. Jane couldn't say what it was, but something in the way he looked at her set her off.

"Maura!" Garrett took a step toward the M.E., grabbing her hand and bringing it to her lips. "It's been so long. How are you doing?"

"I'm fine Garrett." She responded smoothly.

"I have to say that it is really great to see you. I was told that you left public practice and became Chief Medical Examiner for the state."

"Yes, I did."

"I have to say I'm surprised. You have such a gift for medicine."

"I needed a change of pace." Maura watched Jane as she began to fidget. She could tell she was going to barge into the conversation any second. Normally Maura wouldn't interfere with the way Jane questioned a suspect, but she knew the longer Garrett stayed off guard the easier it would be to keep him talking. "Apparently, you needed one as well. I can't imagine what brings you back from your decade of living in Europe."

"Well, family business. My younger brother left both his seat at the company and on the court. Adam is…was going to take the family business and I am going to take the family's seat here."

"I'm very sorry for your loss. Adam was a good man." Maura offered.

"Yes. Yes he was." Maura turned her head toward Jane. "Garrett. This is Jane Rizzoli. I've brought her as a guest, sort of a field trip, if you will."

Garrett's eyebrows furrowed. "Rizzoli? Why does that name sound so…" Both women saw recognition dawn on his face. "Detective Rizzoli? You are investigating Adam's death?" The man glared at Maura. "You brought her here to ambush me, Maura? I thought we were friends." He turned back to Jane. "You," He pointed his finger, "can speak to my attorney as instructed. This conversation is over."

Maura reached out her hand, grabbing Garrett's arm. "That is your right, Garrett, but it would be a mistake. As a member being considered for a seat on the court you are bound to answer questions from the sitting families and their designated members. Dame Rizzoli is the Knight Protector of House Isles. As such, she has the authority of the Court to conduct business for my house. Part of the business is vetting members for a confirmation of title. Now, if you don't answer her questions, then I will be forced to conclude that you are not worthy of the title that is about to bestowed on you. I admit that my one vote probably wouldn't stop you from taking the seat on the court, but it would look bad, and we both know how important appearances are, especially here."

Garrett growled out his response. "Fine."

"Excellent." Maura put on her best smile. "Perhaps we should take this to a more private setting?" She motioned toward the same set of doors she had followed her father through earlier.

As Garrett stalked off, she went to follow until she noticed that her friend wasn't following. She walked back to the brunette. "Jane? Are you alright?"

"That was so…so…I don't know. You just sort of took control and crushed him. I mean, I've seen you crush a person with scientific knowledge before, but that was sneaky, manipulative, and bossy."

"Are you mad at me?" Maura's eyes fell to the floor. "I was just trying…"

"Mad? Hell no, I'm not mad. That was just…" Jane stalled as she realized the word she was about to use. "That was just…so cool. Awesome even, especially the sneaky part. I respect sneaky."

A smile spread across Maura's face. "I'll take that as a compliment." She grabbed Jane's hand. "Come on. He's not going to wait for us if he gets the chance to slip away."

"Right." The detective followed the M.E. out of the hall.


Garret stood in front of the seat that Maura's father had vacated only an hour earlier.

"I understand that I have to answer your questions, but you can't possibly expect me to be cooperative under the circumstances. Frankly, Maura, I expected better from you."

Jane spoke before Maura had a chance. "Well, if you want to be combative about it, I can handcuff you right now, walk you out past all your very judgmental friends, and question you at the station."

He turned to Maura completely ignoring Jane. "You can't think I did this. Maura, it's me. I wouldn't kill my brother." He searched Maura's face. "Is that what I am to you now? A murder?"

"What you are or aren't to me has nothing to do with this. You are a suspect in the murder of your brother. You have stonewalled the investigation with you legal maneuvering. However, if you want to know what I think, I think you would want to know what happened to Adam and why."

Garrett took a step toward the blonde, grabbing her forearm. "I do want to know what happened to Adam, but I also know police are lazy." He directed his gaze at Jane. "They always lay the blame at the feet of the family."

Jane stepped forward removing his hand from Maura. "Touch her again and you don't get the choice of where you spend tonight."

Garrett didn't say anything, but couldn't keep the grimace from his face. He backed up and sat down in the chair he had been standing in front of.

"I'm glad we understand each other." Jane stood in front of the sofa opposite Garrett but did not sit. "So, let's start with the easy questions first. Where were you the night of your brother's death?"

"L.A. The plane had some sort of mechanical issue. I don't know what it was." Garrett stood from the chair

"How about two days ago, early afternoon?" Jane continued forward.

"Two days ago? At the house. Getting ready for this." Garrett gestured around the room.

"Can anyone confirm your whereabouts either of those times?"

"In LA. I'm sure someone saw me, but I don't know who they would be. I was alone at the house." Garrett stood from the chair leveling a glare at Maura. "Now you can vote anyway you want too." He turned his glare on Jane. "And you can contact my attorney."

"Did Adam smoke?" Maura asked.

This question stopped Garrett mid stride toward the door and pulled a confused look from Jane.

"No. Never. Why?" Garrett narrowed his eyes at the M.E.

"Just following up on something from the inquest." Maura deflected.

With that, Garrett turned and left the room.

"Are you going to tell me what the smoking question was about?" Jane walked over to Maura's side.

"No." Maura stated matter-of-factly.

"Well we know it's him, now we just have to prove it."

Maura stared wide eyed at her friend. She opened her mouth to speak, thought better of it, then started again. "How did you reach that conclusion? He didn't tell us anything we didn't already know."

"No, he didn't."

"Then why do you say he is guilty?"

"He didn't ask why we wanted to know about his whereabouts two days ago."

"We wanted to know where he was when Dr. Dillinger was murdered." The blonde stated the obvious.

"Yes, we know that but, he shouldn't know that. You haven't even released the cause of death yet. It hasn't been classified as a murder. An innocent person's curiosity would lead them to ask why we wanted to know. A guilty person is simply trying to leave the room as quickly as possible without giving anything way." Jane pointed at the door. "He left."

"That's a guess." Maura frowned at her friend.

"It's a reasoned observation based on past experience." Jane retorted.

Maura rolled her eyes. "Fine. Can we now enjoy the rest of the evening?"

"One last thing." Jane's voice dropped an octave as she asked the question, almost sounding like a growl. "Did he ever place his hands on you while you were dating? Was he abusive?"

"No, Jane. Never. In fact I would never have considered him a violent person until we started looking into this brother's murder."

Jane nodded her head slowly. She hadn't been asking the question as part of her case. She had been asking as a friend. She still wasn't sure what she would have done had Maura said yes. "Good. Ok."

"Now can we go back to the party?" Maura attempted to lift the oppressive atmosphere that had entered the room.

"Sure." Jane smirked. "I'm looking forward to speaking with your mother."

Maura narrowed her eyes at her friend and without a word, she turned and left the room.


Maura managed to avoid her mother for another forty five minutes, but eventually her luck ran out.

"Maura, why didn't you tell me you were coming?"

Maura's shoulders slumped before she straightened her back, plastered a smile on her face and turned to face her mother. Jane put her hand over her mouth and coughed to cover a laugh.

"Hello, mother." Maura accepted the kiss to each cheek.

"Honestly, I didn't even know you were here. Lady Monaghan had to tell me that you are looking marvelous this evening."

"It was a last minute decision. It's sort of a field trip for Jane." She turned to motion toward her friend.

The elder Isles stepped toward Jane. "Detective Rizzoli! Or should I say Dame Rizzoli? How wonderful to finally meet you. How do you like the court?"

"Nice to finally meet you Mrs. Isles. It's nothing like I expected." Jane answered honestly.

"Please, call my Constance. I hope it's better and not worse." She looked at her daughter with a smile. "I can only imagine the dreadful things Maura has told you."

"Mother!" Maura admonished.

"I didn't say they weren't true. Everyone knows that you can't lie. You just skip over the good parts."

Jane made a mental note to keep Constance and Angela far away from one another. The two women would get along far too well and that would only be trouble for her and Maura.

"What exactly would be the good parts?" Jane received a glare from her friend at the question.

"Garrett Fairfield, for one. He's going to be confirmed as the family representative to the court." Constance leaned in and whispered to Jane. "He and Maura dated in college."

"Mother!" Maura caught herself right before she stomped her foot. "I've told you that there is nothing there and to stop playing match maker. And for your information, he is the lead suspect in the murder of his own brother. That's not something I'm looking for in a companion."

"Are you even looking for a companion?" Constance's question sounded more like an accusation.

Jane grabbed a glass of champagne off a tray from a passing server. She had a feeling that this conversation was going to be worse than the one she had with Garrett.

Maura's eyes went wide. She was gravitating between being speechless and screaming at the top of her lungs. Instead she grabbed a glass of champagne from the same try Jane had, draining the glass in one gulp. "This is neither the time nor the place to have this conversation."

"Why not? You won't speak to me about it any other time. I swear, I know you are adopted, but you have some of the worst traits of your father. Bullheadedness being chief among them. It's like he actually gave birth to you."

Maura's gaze went unfocused.

"Maura? Darling? Are you alright?" Constance became concerned at her daughter's sudden change in behavior. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."

Jane was equally concerned. "Maur?"

"I just realized something. I'm going to have to check my notes from the autopsy, but I'm pretty sure that Adam has a different father than Garrett and his younger brother."

"OK. Do you have to check your notes right now, or can we enjoy the dinner that is about to start?" Jane looked longingly at the food being brought out to the table.

"No. It's nothing that won't wait till the morning. Besides, I have to cast a negative vote for Garrett's confirmation later." The blonde grabbed the brunette's hand. "Come on. I'll show you which fork you are supposed to use when."

Jane looked horrified. "Wait? There is more than one fork?"


As waiters and waitresses removed the dessert plates, Maura wiped her mouth with her napkin. "See, that wasn't so bad."

"I don't know." Jane responded. "I just used more forks with that meal than I own, but it was really good. Even if they didn't serve beer." Jane smirked at her friend.

Jane was about to say something else when three loud taps stole her attention. Looking in the direction of the noise she found an older gentlemen standing in front of the tables. He was dressed in very formal robes of the darkest crimson. The hood of the robe was down revealing a bald head and a weathered face.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the Court, it is requested that you now assemble." With that the elderly gentlemen turned and left the hall.

"What…" Jane didn't even get to finish the question.

"Now we go to the Court chamber. Garrett will be presented and the families will give a yes or no vote on his induction." Maura explained.

"Court chamber? What's the court chamber?"

A sly smile spread across the blonde's face. "You'll see."

Jane followed as Maura rose from the table and proceeded in the same direction as the elderly magi had previously. The door that they exited the hall through entered into a long stone arched hallway.

"Wow!" Jane muttered. "I thought the dining hall was impressive."

"Just wait."

Maura continued down the hall until it separated in several different directions. She took the second from the right and ascended a circular stair case. This brought the two women to another stone corridor but this one was lined with wooden doors on the right side. As they walked down the hall, Jane noticed that each door had the name of a family branded into it.

"Here we are." Maura stopped in front of the door with Isles emblazed upon it. "I'm going to have to ask you to be quiet here, Jane. The court is built so that sound carries very well. The slightest whisper can be heard."

Jane mimed zipping her lips and throwing away the key.

Even though she had sworn to be quiet, Jane gasped when she walked through the door and actually saw the court.

The entire space was circular and concaved like a bowl. At the very bottom was a circular floor with a circular stage in the middle. In the middle of the stage was what could only be called a throne. It appeared to be made out of a very old, very rich wood. The bowl surrounding the circular floor was made of boxes with seats. Each set of boxes was tiered and recessed like stadium seats, so that regardless of one's level a complete view of the floor was possible. It reminded Jane of the medical school operating rooms in the documentaries Maura watched. The entire theater was made of stone. Each individual box draped in tapestries of the colors of the family that occupied it.

Jane's attention was captured as two robed figures entered the circular floor and ascended to the stage. One took a seat on the ornate carved throne while the other stood beside it.

The standing magi removed his hood revealing the balding elder from earlier. "Ladies and gentlemen of the court. We are gathered here this evening to consider the petition of Garrett Fairfield." The old man gestured to the sitting figure. Garrett Fairfield removed this hood and looked around the room at the gathered families. "He has been nominated by his family to be their voice on this court. It is now up to you to decide."

Jane watched Maura reach forward and pick a softball sized crystal ball up off a pedestal. As she held the large sphere in her hand it began to change color. At first it was just a light swirling pink in the middle of the sphere, but it soon became a deep red crimson that glowed with its own light.

Jane looked around and saw other members of the court holding similar crystal spheres. While some of them were red, most of them were a bright glowing blue. As she watched, the spheres began to levitate from the hands of those holding them and then descend toward the stage. As they reached the stage level they stopped a few feet above the heads of Garrett and the speaker and began to form a large circle that slowly spun.

"The court has spoken. Garrett Fairfield is hereby bestowed the title of Duke and is the lawful representative of House Fairfield." The magi tapped his staff on the floor and the floating spheres disappeared. "Thank you ladies and gentlemen of the court."

Maura stood, nodded her head at Jane and head for the door. As they traced there steps back to the hall Jane asked the obvious question. "I take it a red sphere is a no vote?" They stopped as they entered the hall. Jane retrieved two drinks from a tray, handing one to her friend.

"Yes, it was. I was quite surprised by the number. Apparently Garrett has more enemies that I imagined." Maura took a sip.

"He has more enemies than he imagined." A thin, pale woman with delicate features approached the pair. Jane noted that while the skin was pale, it was not a sickly color, but more like highly polished ivory. It struck Jane immediately who this must be.

"You are…" Jane didn't even get to finish her sentence.

"… Ambassador Thye. I am the Sidhe representative to the court. I have to say, Duchess, I'm quite happy that you appeared in person to make the vote against Duke Garrett. Your judge of character is as good as I've heard." The ambassador turned to Jane. "And you are Madame Rizzoli. So pleased to meet you." Thye held out her hand to shake.

Jane noticed Maura's eyes go wide at the offer, but she returned the handshake. "Nice to meet you as well, Ambassador."

Thye bowed her head. "The pleasure is mine. I apologize, but I must speak to other families. Please have a pleasant evening."

As the Sidhe Ambassador departed Jane turned to the blonde. "What did I do wrong? Your eyes almost bugged out of your head when I shook her hand."

"I know that you haven't had much interaction with the Sidhe, but they don't shake hands. They don't make physical contact, period." Maura whispered.

Jane stared at her hand. "Do you think she cursed me?"

Maura laughed. "You know very well if she wanted to curse you, she could have done it from across the room. It was a compliment Jane. She was showing that she truly respects you. She also probably wanted to feel your hand."

"Why would she want to….my scars. She was feeling my scars. Why?"

"Who understands the Sidhe?" The blond shrugged her shoulders.

"Attended court, got knighted, met a werewolf, and shook hands with an elf. Pretty good night. Thanks Maur."

"Anything for my friends."


The next morning Jane arrived later than normal due to her late evening.

Both Korsak and Frost were already hard at work at their desk.

"So glad you could join us, my lady." Korsak said looking up from his computer.

"What? No sword?" Frost did his best to mask a laugh.

Jane's eyes narrowed. "How do you…" She didn't even finish the sentence.

Korsak fielded the question. "The good doctor mentioned it when I saw her in the lobby this morning."

Jane collapsed in her chair. "Go ahead. Get it out of your system." She waited for the onslaught to begin.

"Actually, it's quite the honor, Jane." Korsak continued. "I know the Court isn't what it once was, and I'm thankful for that, but having the title will open certain door for you."

"I'm not interested in opening doors. I would like to close this case." Jane pinched the bridge of her nose.

"So, what did you find out?" Frost asked.

"Nothing we didn't already know, but Garrett is the guy. He didn't even wonder why I wanted to know his whereabouts the day the professor was killed. Just gave an alibi."

"To bad your gut feeling won't stand up in a court of law." Korsak pointed out.

Jane leaned back in her chair, stretching. "Tell me about it."

"Well, I have something that can definitely stand as motive." Frost added. "I've been digging into Garrett's business. He's broke."

"How can he be broke? The Fairfield's are loaded." Korsak countered.

"Because he and his father didn't have a good relationship. He was pretty much cut out of the family after he moved to Europe. He doesn't have access to the family money and business."

All the three detectives turned at the voice, not having noticed the medical examiner enter the room.

"What?" Maura shook her head at their reaction.

"How do you walk so quietly in such high heels?" Jane asked.

"Seriously." Frost agreed.

"That definitely gives us motive. We've seen worse crimes for a lot less money." Korsak nodded his head.

"A lot less money." Frost agreed.

"The jet was in LA and he isn't listed on any commercial flight." Korsak pointed out.

"I think I know where the evidence is to prove he did this. Its how he got from LA to Boston with no one knowing."

The three detectives looked at one another. Understanding lit Frost's eyes. "The Zonder!"

Maura just nodded her head.


Several hours and one Korsak favor owed warrant later, Frost, Jane, and Maura removed an antique sextant from the trunk of Garrett Fairfield's Zonder.

"Wow." Jane exclaimed. "You can almost feel the power coming off this thing."

"This is one of the two sextants actually used on the Mayflower. It has been in the Fairfield family for generations. It's supposedly what allowed their ships to avoid storms when shipping still depended on strong winds and stiff sails." Maura explained.

"This was the artifact Adam was using to attempt to cast the unbinding spell?" Frost asked.

"Yes. It was also removed from the Fairfield family vault at Boston Savings and Trust by Adam Fairfield the day before he died." Jane said.

"Two days before Garrett was even supposed to be in town." Frost completed.

"Got him." Jane turned to Maura. "Do you want to come with us while we go pick him up?"

"No. No I don't." Maura stated firmly.


Hours later, after the arrest, the publicity, and the endless paperwork, three detectives and a medical examiner met at the Dirty Robber.

"Alright. I have a question." Frost said setting down his beer. "He drove the Zonder from LA to Boston. He goes to the boat, murder's his brother, takes the sextant, sends the boat out to a watery grave, and then lays low until the jet arrives from LA."

"Where's the question?" Jane asked setting down her own bottle.

"Why kill the professor and who bound Adam in the first place?"

"I can answer the first question." Jane set down her bottle. "Adam approached Dr. Dillinger about how to remove the binding spell. He explained to Adam how to perform it. During the preparation for Garrett taking his seat on the court, Dillinger mentioned what Adam was up to too Garrett. Garrett asked his brother about it, that's when he found out that Adam wanted to take his seat on the court. When he realized he wasn't only going to lose his business but also his seat on the court. He also realized that with this brother's death, he would inherit the family business. He considered it a win-win."

"Alright, but what about the original binding."

"The parents did that." Maura answered.

All three detectives looked at the M.E. as if she had grown three heads.

"What? Why?" Korsak asked.

"She had an affair and became pregnant. Mr. Fairfield wasn't stupid, he knew that Adam wasn't his, but he wasn't going to embarrass his wife, the unborn child, or more importantly the family name. If Adam ever showed power, we would be the one appointed to the court. It would come out that he wasn't Mr. Fairfield's child if the court started its vetting process. They bound him to be sure that never happened. It was far better to be seen as a child without magic in a court family than as a half blood in a court family." Maura twirled her class on the table as she stared at it. "Bloodlines are very important in the court. To important."

Jane placed her hand on Maura's, stopping her spinning of the glass. "I'm sorry Maur."

"Don't be. Life is much better here." Maura gave everyone at the table a wide smile.