See Ch 1 for disclaimers…


Jane was whistling under her breath, tray in hand balancing several coffees when she opened the door into the bullpen.

Two sets of baleful eyes looked at her in recrimination.

She cheerfully set a coffee cup next to Korsak's keyboard and dropped another one off with Frost before shrugging out of her coat and sitting down. She flipped on her desktop.

Frost broke the silence first. "I put lights up on your house Jane."

Sipping her coffee she smiled at him. "Correction, you put lights up on Maura's house."

"For you. I did it for you. Because we're partners and we help each other out like that."

Turning around she could see Korsak nodding slowly in agreement. "And I thought after all these years we were friends. Apparently I was wrong."

"I have no idea what you two are bitching about."

Maura's voice sharing good mornings through the bullpen couldn't have been timed better. Jane watched her practically skip over to Korsak. "Angela just told me the fabulous news. I knew there was no way Jane could be correct about only uniforms participating." She offered him a fuzzy hat before stepping over to Frost and handing him his own with a large smile. "And I knew you would want to participate as soon as you heard Jane and Frankie were part of the choir. I wasn't even surprised when Angela told me." She turned to Jane with a huge grin, eyes bright and happy. "Isn't this the most delightful Christmas?"

Jane held out a coffee. "I think it is just fantastic now." She winked at the pained smiles both men offered Maura and gave her a smile that made her cheeks hurt. "Absolutely fantastic. I can't wait for choir practice. Who needs happy hour at the Dirty Robber when we can be practicing songs dedicated to red nosed deer and possessed snowmen? "

Maura narrowed her eyes at her and Jane could see her evaluating her body language. With a last smile at Frost she changed the subject quickly. "So are you autopsying the latest vic this morning?"

Maura nodded. "I thought you should know that this victim's wedding set was intact on her finger."

Jane blew out a breath. "Husband is at the scene reviewing everything right now, so we don't know if anything else is missing yet."

Korsak shook his head. "There isn't going to be anything obvious missing. Can't say I get why the first vic's engagement ring is gone but these rapes are violent, the manner of death hands-on and he's staging the bodies. Maybe the first ring was a trophy and this next one will have some other trophy taken, but this isn't about robbery."

Glancing at the clock on the wall Maura held up her coffee in farewell. "I need to go back downstairs. I don't want to back up the morgue. Susie and Dr. Silva should be in by now. I'm going to start processing the body."

Jane watched her leave before turning back to her computer. Feeling eyes on her she looked up. "What?"

Frost held up his fist with the fuzzy Santa hat and shook it at her.

Jane held both hands up. "I had nothing to do with that you two. All I did this morning was invite my mother to participate. It's such a wholesome activity to partake in as a family so if my mother was going to sing with Maura and me, wouldn't it make perfect sense for her to see if Frankie would participate?"

Jane sipped at her coffee not bothering to hide her smile. "I can't help it if you can't say no to my mother Korsak." She raised an eyebrow at him. "How did she get you?"

Korsak stared at the red hat on his desk, muttering almost to himself. "I should have known something was up when she didn't say anything about my breakfast order and even put bacon on my egg sandwich." He sighed. "I've been married enough times to know when I'm going to get hit up by a woman."

Leaning back in her chair laughing, Jane looked across her desk to Frost. "Though I have to admit I hadn't figured out how to force you into it yet. You're an added bonus this morning. I thought maybe Korsak would coerce your participation. How in the heck did you get involved already?"

"Your brother." Frost tossed the hat down and picked up the coffee. "I was buying breakfast while your mother was forcing that extra hat you gave her on Frankie. He pointed me out to your mother and said that you were leaving me out."

He held an accusatory finger at Korsak. "That brainless idiot had already nodded yes like a fool to your mother's batting eyelashes so to save some face he backed Frankie up. I was still going to try to say no, but Maura walked in and she was so excited." Frost dropped his face into his hands. "So there I was with your mother waiting for my answer, your brother pleased with himself, Korsak's determination to drag me down with him and a happy and enthusiastic Maura." He groaned. "Next thing I know my mother's voice was in my head reminding me that it's the holidays and to be a gentleman." Pained, Frost looked at Jane. "I could feel myself nodding and saying yes. I couldn't stop myself."

"Welcome to my world." Jane looked at both men. "I bought you each a gourmet coffee as a consolation prize. That has to count for something."

Korsak looked at Frost before they both turned to look at her. Korsak folded his arms over his chest. "The coffee is simply the IOU for the drinks you will be buying all night after choir practice."

Jane opened her mouth to reply before closing it when both men glared at her. "Well if that is going happen then we need to find a killer." She thought about her words, thinking. "Or maybe we don't and then we'll have an excuse not to be in the choir."

Frost rolled his eyes. "All three of us are sitting with fuzzy Santa hats on our desk about to sing with every desperate rookie on the force. Do you honestly think that would work?"


Maura glanced up from the final touches on her stitch work on closing the y-incision when the glass doors parted a split second before Jane burst into the space. She shook her head slightly. One day Jane was going to move faster than the doors could open and that was going to be painful.

"You texted?"

Carefully knotting the end, Maura nodded. "I did. I have presents."

"Presents?" Jane leaned over the body. "I'm all excited. I figured after last night I was on the naughty list."

Cutting the catgut away from the needle, Maura rolled her eyes. "That is a good point. Go back up stairs and send Barry down."

"Frost is currently babysitting about 20 different searches in the various databases for any rapists or unsolveds with a similar MO." Jane reached over a snapped on a pair of latex gloves and pulled on a paper gown. Together they wheeled the body over and moved her into storage. "And by babysitting I mean ranting on the inefficient way the legal system houses information in different locations with apparently different structures, coding and build so he can't easily search and combine any of them." Jane closed the door. "I don't know what he is complaining about though, Korsak and I were handling boxes of old files from the basement all morning. No comfy office chairs and natural light for us."

Maura shrugged. "Vince will do then. I shouldn't reward bad behavior and since I'm out of coal, I think you should have to wait to find out."

"Please?" Jane batted her eyes. "I'll go to yoga tomorrow morning."

Narrowing her gaze, Maura held a hand up. "That is a preplanned event. It doesn't count."

"I'll go with a smile even though the instructor likes to check out your ass."

It was Jane's unique brand of sarcasm and passive possessiveness that caused her to laugh and Maura gave up the pretense. "I'm holding you to that." She put her used instrument cart in line with the others waiting to go to the autoclave. "So would you like the gift of good news or bad news?"

Jane walked over until she was close enough to feel the edges of Maura's paper gown brush her. She tilted her head, taking her time, deliberately letting her eyes fondle dips and curves. "Neither." She captured Maura's eyes with her own. "I want all the presents."

For a moment Maura let her professionalism slip, let her eyes wander until she could see brown eyes darken. Her voice was an intimate murmur. "You have to earn back all the presents." With a wink she moved away, back to the job at hand, stripping out of her paper gown and gloves, while Jane did the same. "But as far as our victim goes, you were correct in your assumption at the scene that he would make a mistake. The good news is we found a small amount of semen near her ankle. There was spermicide residue so this was likely transference. I actually thought it was saliva under the lights at first. It was a trace amount so Susie decided to send it out to a specialty lab rather than attempt to amplify the DNA here. The bad news is you'll have to be patient to see if it works."

"Well if I have to be patient I may as well eat. Go change and I'll buy you lunch."

Maura let out a soft sigh. "I can't. Dr. Silva called out. His youngest had to stay home from school with bronchitis and his wife is on a business trip. I have to process another case today if I want to attempt to avoid a backup. Go out with the guys, sneak a burger and tell me you ate salad."

"I don't do that."

"Yes you do." Maura smiled at her. "Or rather I know you get the burger but start with a side salad."

"But I do order the darn thing and eat it, so I'm being honest." Jane reached out and squeezed Maura's hand briefly. "Don't stay too late tonight. They upgraded that dusting of snow to 4-6 inches, more if the storm track turns. I'll be in the field canvassing with Frost after lunch so I won't be here to drag you out of your windowless cave of an office."

"I'll pay attention and I'm supposed to go home with your mother so she won't let me stay." Maura took a quick breath in and out, hesitating. "We're still filling out Christmas cards tonight, right?"

Seeing Maura hesitate to ask if she was coming over made Jane's stomach clench and she quickly nodded. "From both of us right?"

Maura was surprised Jane had remembered the words she'd muttered from the fringe of sleep. "Yes."

"And I thought I wasn't getting all the presents." Jane flushed red at her own words and rushed out of the morgue with a little wave over her shoulder.


Jane met back up with Frost at the corner of Main and Lawrence. Frost was stamping his feet lightly under the streetlight, huddled in his coat as the snow whipped around him, settling briefly on his hat before blowing off again. She had her own coat zipped all the way up and she ducked her face down into the collar as far as it would go. "Oh my god, nobody is allowed to kill anybody else until it warms back up. Shit I'm cold."

Frost continued his restless shifting. "I stopped feeling my feet and nose an hour ago."

The wind gusted and both of them moved under a storefront awning and huddled against the display window.

Jane sighed. "I hit up every door but half of them didn't have anybody at home. Nobody saw anything unusual and most of them didn't even recognize the victim's photo. That is what neighborhoods have come to these days. It's sad." She bounced lightly in place. "Please tell me you found somebody that knew something."

He shook his head. "Nothing. I call it good, it's late enough that we'll just start spooking people. I vote that if we want to hit up the houses where nobody was home that we give your brother and a few of his closest friends the Christmas gift that keeps giving, experience."

Nodding her agreement Jane glanced into the display window she was leaning against and she stopped fidgeting as she quietly contemplated the contents.

Frost rapped a knuckle against the glass and she flicked her eyes over to him. "Any particular sparkly thing catch your eye?"

"Doesn't matter, they're closed anyhow." She went to turn away when Frost grabbed her elbow.

"Lights are still on inside." He dragged her over to the front door and knocked hard against the glass.

Jane wrenched her arm free. "Don't be an asshole and don't make me regret confiding in you."

Frost just rolled his eyes and flashed his shield at the annoyed looking sales clerk who appeared. The door was unlocked in a hurry and Frost pulled the door all the way open as he gestured for Jane to go ahead. Encased in the warmth of the jewelry store he ignored the glare as he addressed the clerk. "I'm sorry to disturb you but we're trying to find out if you may know this woman?" Frost watched the clerk examine the photo. The older woman nodded her head. "Oh yes, that is Mrs. Lowe. She and her husband were regular customers. She had me create a custom ring for him for Christmas, she was so excited."

He shared a surprised look with Jane. "Oh?"

"Did something happen to her?" Two bright curious eyes were staring between Jane and Frost.

Jane waited until Frost had discreetly pulled out his notebook and pen. People always asked this question when they already knew by the situation something must have happened. What they were asking was for details. "Yes, I'm sorry, we're here as part of the team investigating her death. Could you tell us about your last conversation with her?" Jane could see the shock and watched the smile fall from her face.

The woman nodded slowly. "We discussed the ring and the holiday. I had a baby necklace out at my work station and when she saw it she commented that they were thinking about starting a family this year." Now the woman's voice caught and the volume lowered as she absorbed the fact that the person she was talking with a few days ago was murdered. "Her poor husband, he is such a sweetheart." There was a wistful smile. "She sent him off on a ski trip so she and her sister could bake without him eating half of their efforts." Suddenly she reached out and grabbed Jane's arm. "He wouldn't have done it. I can't see him killing her."

Jane knew Frost was making a note that it wasn't a secret that their victim would be alone for much of weekend. She patted the hand on her arm, making sure her voice was soothing, willing to say almost anything to keep the woman calm and talking."He isn't a lead suspect. He was away. Did she say anything else? Was she expecting anybody other than her sister to cook with?"

The clerk shook her head. "No, she was in a rush to get home because her Christmas tree was being delivered."

Jane and Frost shared a quick glance before he frowned at his paper. "This was yesterday?"

"No, she was in Friday morning." Now the woman had her arms wrapped protectively across her chest as she stared out the storefront window. Jane understood the feeling.

Frost closed his notebook and slipped it back into his pocket. "Thank you for your help. I have to say, we were admiring the window display. I didn't realize you created the pieces yourself. The work is beautiful. I think Jane saw something in particular she liked, right Jane?"

For a moment Jane was ready to wipe the smile off Frost's face by whatever means necessary but then the clerk gave them a large smile and her arms slowly dropped. "Thank you. It's my passion." She looked at Jane hopefully. "I would love to show you something if you wish."

Caught off guard by rapid switch of fear to enthusiasm in the clerk Jane didn't have the heart to say no. "There was one ring, in the front, in a crystal bowl."

Excited, the woman moved to the display and unlocked the back. "I know the exact one you are talking about. It's part of my Infinite collection." She fished around and pulled out piece, moving over to a counter. She placed the ring on a black velvet pad and brought it over to Jane.

Gingerly Jane picked it up. The lights caught in the diamond facets. It wasn't large but it glittered in the beveled setting. At her side, the woman was animatedly chattering about clarity and what the design meant, but all Jane saw was something she instinctively knew Maura would wear.

Frost was peering over her shoulder, nodding his approval. "That's the Doc right there. Nice."

Jane glanced at the price with a small wince. She'd heard enough of the guys at the station bitching about spending three months of salary on an engagement ring. She was ready for that, but this? Five months of salary on one little, sparkly ring. The words came out of her mouth without her conscious permission. "I love it. I'll take it."

The woman beamed. "I'm assuming you'll need it by Christmas. Do you know which size?"

Clearing her throat she refused to look at Frost. "Her ring finger is the same size as my pinky." Feeling Frost's amusement she turned to him with a small growl. "So what if I know her ring size? I like to know things. Don't look so pleased with yourself." Wisely he started studying one of the glass cases while the clerk measured her finger and jotted down a note. Jane handed over her credit card and the woman walked off. "This doesn't mean I'm proposing for Christmas."

"I never said that it did."


A/N – writer looks around the internet, wondering if anybody is reading….. Scary people are quiet… :) More clues to the song in here… more clues on the case (which will be about the level we get on the show –at least in my head -)

I'm off to go send the next chapter out to beta, eat some stale gingerbread house, spike some eggnog and find the motivation to write more.