A/N: Quick chapter. Prelude to the next chapter. Language.

Disclaimer: Don't own characters, not making money, etc.

It was the middle of the day. Korsak was gone to get the warrant they typed up signed by a judge, Frost was sitting at his desk, and Jane was pissed off. Maura had been avoiding her all day. She asked the doctor if she wanted to grab lunch an hour ago but she said she was busy. It had been like that all day. It was almost as if they were back to when they weren't talking. The only thing Jane could think of that she did wrong was nearly kissing Maura at the bar the night before. She growled in frustration. Frost looked over his computer screen at her with his eyebrows raised. She glared until he looked away. This was exactly why she didn't want to go down that road, this was why everyone needed to butt out of her damn life because all they did was make it worse. She was perfectly fine having Maura as just a friend. She was happy with that. They could have stayed best friends for her whole freaking life, got married to separate people, and raised their children together. But now all she could think about was Maura. And it was all because of Frankie's stupid t-shirt, Frost and his big mouth, and this stupid, stupid case that brought both of those damn detectives to their unit. Now all she could think about was Maura's lips or her perfume or her dimples or her supreme dorkiness that she found endearing. These were things she never thought of before, things she never wanted to think before. Korsak finally came back with a paper signed and dated by the judge. Good, Jane thought, I need to go catch some bad guys.

Of course Korsak wanted to do it the right way. He wanted to get the SWAT team together because Alec was a dangerous guy and was rumored to have some guns in his house. Jane only grumbled but called it in anyways. It was near time to go home when everything was finally ready.

Jane was standing in the middle of homicide; she was the last to get ready. She was Velcroing the Kevlar vest to her body and she strapped her gun to her left thigh. Adrenaline pumped through her veins.

Maura stood in the doorway watching Jane for a moment before entering. "I don't want you to do this, Jane."

Jane rolled her eyes. "Maura." She said exasperatedly.

"Don't you think you're tempting fate here?" Maura countered.

"You're being weird!" Jane dropped her hands to her sides. "You've never complained about the way I do my job before. So why now?" Maura didn't respond. "God, you know what?" Jane could feel her temper flare. She knew she should stop talking. She should walk away and catch the bad guy. But she couldn't. Because Jane Rizzoli didn't walk away. "This is my life. It's dangerous." She unclipped her badge from her belt. "You know what this badge means to me?" She shoved the object in Maura's direction. "It means everything. I took an oath and I have a duty to serve. And I'm not going to wuss out because someone doesn't like it." By the end her voice had dropped to a dangerously low tone.

"I'm not just someone, Jane. I'm your best friend! I thought that counted for something."

Jane put the badge back on her belt. "I'm not willing to quit my job for my own mother. What makes you think I would do it for you?" She didn't look at Maura when she said it. Instead, she clipped the radio to her belt.

"I don't want you to quit. I just don't want you to do this." Maura said in a quiet voice. "You're not invincible."

"These guys are SWAT, Maura. They know what they're doing." She stuck the earpiece in her ear. "I don't think I'm invincible. Everyone acts like I have some vendetta to prove and I don't. I don't want to die Maura."

"But you would."

"You're right. There are a lot of things in this world that are worth dying for. But I'll tell you every one of those reasons are also worth living for. I don't go out looking to die, Maura. If I wanted to die I'd be dead already."

"I just think you're taking an unnecessary risk." Maura's phone started ringing.

Jane took a step closer. "What's this really about, Maura?"

"Rizzoli, you ready?" Jane looked to the door at SWAT Sargent Ricky Pool.

Jane stepped away from Maura shaking her head. Once all this was over they were going to have a talk, a big fucking long one, because she couldn't take much more of this passive aggressive shit. With a growl she shoved past Maura. The band aide they put on their problems ripped off and the chasm between them grew once more. Something had to give eventually. Maura answered her phone trying to keep her voice even.

Jane walked behind Ricky. "Having problems with the old lady?" He asked with a laugh. "That's why you gotta date another cop. They get it." Jane saw him looking at his left hand with a goofy grin on his face.

She scowled. "I have enough people meddling in my life. Let's focus on this."

…

Jane rode with SWAT to their suspect's house. Finally the van stopped. The fight with Maura went to the back of her mind as she focused on what Ricky was saying to the group of people. Electricity ran through her veins. This was why she did her job. Nothing ever compared to this. After the plans were said one last time they started their approach. Jane walked behind Ricky with her gun drawn. Korsak was in the van and Frost was somewhere to her left following his own SWAT officer. Jane and Ricky were leading. They got to the door. Jane looked at Ricky who gave her the signal. Jane pounded on the door. "Alec Miller! Boston Police! Open the door!" She shouted in her best demanding voice.

There was nothing but silence. Ricky shook his head. "I don't like this." He whispered to no one in particular. There was a flutter of a curtain. That was all Jane saw. Then the window next to them exploded sending glass flying. Ricky grabbed her arm as gunfire rang out through the early evening chill. They dove sideways just as the door they were standing in front of moments before splintered in pieces. Jane sat up on the grass. The voices in her ear were going chaotic. Gunfire was still cracking but they were out of the line of fire. "I've been hit." With wide eyes she turned to see Ricky who was clutching his right leg as blood spilled over. He looked pale.

Immediately Jane crawled to him putting her own hand against his bleeding thigh. "Officer down. Ricky's been hit in the leg. We need an ambulance." She said into the radio.

"I'm gonna die, Jane." He was sweating a lot and his hands were shaking. He went to war. He knew what this was. "I'm gonna die." He repeated closing his eyes and swallowing hard.

Jane put both of her hands over the wound. "No, you're not!" She said calmly. "Look at me." He did. "You're going to be fine." Jane readjusted her hands. He was losing a lot of blood. "Tell me – tell me about Anthony and McKenzie. How old are they now?"

He grinned. "He's eight now. Wants to be just like his old dad." He coughed. "And Kenzie is four. She just started Preschool." He grimaced. "She's always excited to tell me what she learned that day at school."

"Preschool? Wow!" Jane said. "You gone to career day yet to glorify this job to all the little kids?"

Ricky laughed. "Not yet. Rachel has though." He swallowed hard. "She said they were all very fascinated by the female cop." He coughed. After a moment he said, "I'm fighting spots, Jane."

"I know, buddy." Jane looked around. EMS was on scene running towards them. She didn't even know when the gunfire stopped. "They're here. You're going to be okay." She didn't even believe the words as they came out of her mouth. The paramedics rushed towards them. They loaded him up into the ambulance. She stood still for a moment taking in the scene. She saw paramedics from another ambulance rush into the house. She didn't want to know. She didn't want to think anymore. Frost walked up to her after a moment of deliberation ushering to his unmarked car.

…

Maura sat in her kitchen she was playing with the food on her plate. She really didn't want to eat. The salad was not appetizing at all. The only thing she could think about was Jane. The woman was always in her mind. It was like she couldn't stop it. She had been thinking about the moment in the bar bathroom. She was so close to Jane's lips and then she wasn't. It was like a dance they continued to do. Maura wasn't sure she wanted to play that game anymore. Her phone rang cutting through her thoughts. Immediately she reached for it. It was Frost. Her heart jumped in her throat. Had something happened to Jane? "Dr. Isles."

"Hey doc, it's Frost." He sounded nervous. "There was an incident serving the warrant." Maura clutched the phone tighter in her hand. "Jane's fine. Physically at least. We're at the hospital. I don't know how to explain it but she's just kind of sitting here. Korsak and I don't really know what to do. She needs someone. I would call her mother but I don't think she'd be too happy about that."

"I'm on my way." She said into the speaker of the phone before hanging up. She grabbed her keys with shaky hands and went to her car to leave.