Chapter 12

Second to last chapter guys – I promise an ending before the New Year – at least, for those of us in the states!

"I can't believe I'm fucking here right now," Jane muttered under her breath.

At first, when Korsak told her where to go, she laughed at him. She told him he was hilarious for joking with her, because Cavanaugh couldn't possibly have an assignment for her there. But after three rounds of, "No seriously, where am I going?" her anger surged. She called her boss every nasty name in the book. Korsak just dealt with it all, and assured Jane that if she could make it through just one more difficult, albeit ridiculous-seeming request from Cavanaugh, it would be well worth it.

Standing in line dressed as a hooker in the Division One Café, she wasn't so sure that it would be worth it. She was just lucky most of her officer pals were out on duty, and she didn't see anyone around who might recognize her. Nevertheless, she was getting judgmental looks that she didn't like, and she was constantly holding back a Kit-style "Whaddyou lookin at?"

But the thing that sucked the most was the fact that she wasn't in any old café line. Nope, that would be too easy. She was in the ever-curmudgeonly Stanley's line. And even though he knew who Jane was even dressed as her alter ego, he apparently had a thing about serving certain kinds of people. He couldn't stand the idea of someone seeing him serve an obvious prostitute. The last time she had come in dressed like this on her break to grab some much-needed coffee, he had been a Class-A jerk, and no one had even bothered to stand up for her. She had ranted to Korsak for a solid hour after that incident.

So, Korsak knew exactly what he was asking Jane to do. But he promised her that there was nothing he could do to change the location. When Jane had finally muttered something into the phone that could be considered reluctant consent, Korsak had thanked her, and told her to just get in the café line around a quarter till one and await further instruction. Tapping her stiletto-booted toe and spitting curses under her breath, that's exactly what Jane was doing. Waiting. For what, she had no clue, but as she got closer to Stanley, her anger festered. This just made it easier for her to plot his untimely death, involving a tragic accidental fall into a manhole.

~LT~

It was 12:47 p.m., and Dr. Maura Isles was sitting by herself at a café table, staring down at the antique badge. She ran her gloved thumb over the century-old etching, wishing she could somehow turn back time, but not to tell Jane to wear gloves to handle the artifact. Maura was really only doing it now in case she ran into the archivist. No, as she sat stalling in the Division One Café, she longed to go back and tell Jane how much she loved her.

Why had she made it so difficult? How could one simple word prove so frightening? Of course, she knew it wasn't really the word, it was the implication behind it. But why had she still been afraid when all she really desired was a life with Jane – whatever that turned out to be. Rendezvouses in hotels, nights in her apartment, moving in together – she was up for anything, and yet she hadn't been able to tell her. Had Jane's strength and beauty proven too intimidating in the final moments? Or was Maura afraid of disappointing someone close to her again?

It didn't matter now. Jane had made her decision, and she had chosen to leave her.

Maura tried to picture a bright future, getting acclimated to her new position at the BPD. People already seemed to like her here, and maybe she would finally be considered – what did they call it – part of the posse? Or was it one of the guys…she wasn't sure. Jane would know.

But she had to forget about Jane. Maybe she should set her sights on that woman, Officer Rizzoli, Korsak had mentioned. But the scary thing was that from the moment Korsak had mentioned Officer Rizzoli, Maura could picture her. She looked kind of like Jane – that is, the version of Jane that she said she always dreamt of being.

Maura smiled as she pictured her now. Detective Jane Rizzoli looked so perfectly happy, and Maura could have never been more proud of her for achieving her dream. She could almost hear Detective Rizzoli approaching from behind her now, asking the ME if she wanted coffee before they headed out to a crime scene.

"I'm STARVING!"

Actually, she did hear Jane behind her. She stood up to look above the heads in the café crowd and saw Jane up at the counter, dressed in her original hooker attire from last week. If Maura hadn't been so shocked to see Jane here of all places, she would have spent more time worrying what happened to all of those beautiful clothes they picked out together. But as Maura drew closer, it became clear that the task at hand would be to get Jane away from the surly barista.

"Come on, Stanley, you know I'm good for it," Jane pleaded.

"I don't know anything about you, Tiffany," the barista snapped.

From her new vantage point beside the line, Maura could now see Jane in plain view. She had to admit, there was something about the hot-blooded Italian woman in fur and fishnet tights that was irresistible.

"Really?" Jane sputtered. "Two dollars for a day-old donut and bad coffee? Please, come on! I'll get you after my shift."

"Huh! You think you'll make that much?"

Wow, Maura thought. This gentleman is certainly going out of his way to be rude to her, and she has already said 'Really' at least once. I'd better step in.

"You know what?" Jane continued, really heating up at the guy. "I hope Big Moe tows your Chevy, I hope your crap coffee gives you an ulcer, and you die of psoriasis."

Maura approached her slowly, two dollars in hand, and tapped Jane on the shoulder with it.

"Do you mind? You can get your nonfat latte in a minute, all right?"

Maura was a bit taken aback. Jane had never been that rude to her before, but she was clearly so caught up in her predicament that she didn't notice the money offer, let alone the fact that her former lover was attempting to hand it to her. Maura decided she would play stranger for Stanley and the crowd.

"No, it's for you," Maura continued. "And given the Vitamin D deficiency likely from your, uh – from your night work – you're better off with some plain yogurt and some leafy greens."

Throughout Maura's last speech, Jane had come to the sinking realization that Dr. Maura Isles had just caught her in the precinct. Wow. How was she going to cover this one up? Rather than blow her cover in front of the whole café, she chose to play along with Maura's stranger act.

"I have my lice under control, thank you. But Stanley here has psoriasis."

"Psoriasis is not contagious, it's a genetic disease," Maura countered, forgetting her objective. Jane was right, sometimes Maura just couldn't help herself.

"What about rudeness, is that genetic too?" Ouch, Jane thought a little too late. Sure, she wasn't exactly happy with Maura right now, but she didn't deserve to be told off in front of everyone.

Maura couldn't help but feel a little hurt herself. Jane really had no right to be rude to her in front of all of these people, especially when she was trying to help her out of this predicament.

"I was simply trying to be nice," Maura protested.

"Well not every hooker has a heart of gold, all right sister?" Wow, couldn't do any better than that, Rizzoli?

"Apparently not…sister."

Jane smirked. That sassiness is exactly what stopped her from underestimating Maura on the night they met. Right then, she decided that whatever Cavanaugh wanted could wait. Turning to Stanley, she told him to forget the donut and coffee and she grasped Maura's shoulder, pulling her toward the table Maura had come from near the entrance to the precinct.

As Jane eased her into a seat and settled in the other seat across from her, she said in a hushed tone, "Maur, what are you doing here?"

Maura's brow furrowed quizzically, one of Jane's favorites of all the honey blonde's adorable expressions. Finally Maura answered, "Well technically I work here now, Jane. Shouldn't I really be asking you the same question?"

"Right…but I mean, you weren't supposed to start until Tuesday." Jane looked around in alarm. "Today is Monday, right?"

"Yes, Jane. Today is in fact Monday, but I still don't understand what's going on. Perhaps we can discuss it more after I return this badge to the archivist. She's expecting me in two –"

Jane pulled Maura back into her seat. Suddenly, she knew what she had to do. Seeing Maura appear so naturally on her own home turf had made Jane realize just how deeply she loved her. She couldn't bear to go away without giving the ME what she deserved most – the truth.

Maura appeared even more befuddled than before. "Jane, please let me go. I promise I'll be right back."

"I can take care if it, Maur."

"But Jane –"

"Just trust me, okay?"

They locked eyes, and Maura could see the moment of truth about to unfold. She decided to grant her love's request – she felt she owed Jane that much. She handed her the badge, regretting that she didn't have another pair of gloves to lend her. But seeing as there were more important things at hand here, she let the woman go again, fully trusting this time that she would return.

Jane swallowed hard, clutching the badge. She took Maura's hand, and led her to the hallway just beyond the café, but not quite to the precinct.

"Give me just ten minutes," Jane softly assured her.

And with that, she disappeared around the corner.

~LT~

Not long after Jane left, a booming voice brought her to a halt.

"Jane! Just the person I was hoping to run into."

Cavanaugh.

Jane stopped in her tracks, her eyes slammed shut, with gritted teeth and clenched fists. She had no choice but to slowly turn and face her boss.

"Sir?"

"Korsak said I might find you down in the café today around one, but it seems I've already missed my chance."

Jane was sure anyone could read the confusion written all over her face. Had Cavanaugh forgotten all about the fact that she was supposed to be on duty right now? Was she somehow going to get out of this one? Oh, how she wished Korsak were here right about now. Clearly he had some explaining to do. But somehow, Cavanaugh was starting to look just as confused as she was.

"Jane…why are you still dressed as your cover? Dr. Isles is a done deal. Didn't Korsak tell you?"

"Uhh…yeah. Yessir, yes he did. I was actually on my way down to the locker room to change right now."

"Great. Well, you can change into that detective uniform collecting dust in your locker for the past three years. I got somethin for ya." Cavanaugh was holding out a detective's badge in an ID case.

How could a day that started out like this one turn out to be the single best day of her life?

She wanted to ask a million questions – up to and including how Cavanaugh knew about the detective's uniform she had kept in her locker all these years, ready for the day when she could use it. But all that came out was, "Sir…thank you so much. I'm so honored, but how? The ceremony isn't until Saturday."

"Ehh, ceremony is exactly what it sounds like – a load of shit. I'm the one really calling the shots around here after all. But you didn't hear it from me."

Jane chuckled, but was still unable to take her eyes off the prize she now held in her hands.

"Anyways," Cavanaugh continued, "Vince told me he thought you could really use it today, and so I told him I'd make sure you got it. You really deserve it, kid." He patted her on the shoulder as he made his way by. "Now go get changed!"

"Yes, sir!" Jane was beaming. She had one last stop to drop off an old badge before she would proudly wear a new one.

~LT~

Maura began to pace alone in the hallway just moments before she saw her. There, exactly 12 minutes later, a familiar woman had appeared in the entryway. The ME's hands flew to her mouth in a pleasant shock as she beheld her. Dressed in heeled work boots, tailored black pants, a v-neck t-shirt the shade of red wine, and a black blazer, she wasn't only all she had imagined of Officer Rizzoli – she was better. She was Detective Rizzoli with a shiny badge on her hip to prove it.

And she was Jane.

"Oh my God…" Maura cried just above a whisper. "It is you."

"Yeah Maur," Jane whispered back. "It's me."

The gorgeous honey blonde stood absolutely dumbfounded, experiencing a very rare loss for words. She was making slow, unsteady steps toward Jane as she spoke, "But that means…you were….an – and the whole time I…"

"Baby I know…I'm so sorry I couldn't tell you. I wanted to so many ti –"

Jane watched the anger flash in Maura's eyes – a look akin to what she had given her mother just a day ago. Her fists grasped the fabric of Jane's blazer, attempting to shake the detective, all the while screaming, "How could you? You lied to me Jane and I trusted you! You're just making fun of me like everyone else does!"

There was more screaming, but Jane couldn't take it any longer, and she grabbed her lover's wrists and pulled her into a tight embrace. Maura's knees buckled, and she gave into her sobs. Jane just held Maura while she shuddered in her arms, letting her simultaneous anger, love, and relief seep through every pore.

"Shh…sweetheart I'm not like them. I swear by every part of you that I adore – I never meant to hurt you. It was all for the job…all so that I could finally make detective. But listen to me Maura – you taught me that the fairytale was more important than any old job. The moment I started falling for you, you became my dream."

Jane was rubbing her hand softly across the doctor's back as her shudders became less frequent. Jane continued, "Now whatever I have to do to convince you that you're my everything, I'm going to start doing it today and everyday until you'll let me call you mine."

Maura abruptly broke away from the embrace. She still felt trapped and betrayed, and nowhere near prepared enough to make the decision Jane was asking her to make. Did she really even know her?

"I have to go."

Maura was gathering her things and making a break for the café. Jane was well aware they were already on the verge of causing a scene, but she called after the ME anyway.

"Maura, baby please don't go! MAURA!"

Maura stilled at the desperation in Jane's voice. After a moment, she whispered over her shoulder, "I'll call you."

And then she was gone.

Jane closed her eyes and felt blood coursing through her veins once again. The secret was out, and she could finally breathe. Sighing and running a hand through her long mane of hair, she paced in the breezeway and prayed for a miracle.

At a nearby café table, Korsak lowered his newspaper ever so slightly, and smirked. Not exactly according to plan, he thought. But not half bad.