Massive apologies to those who have been waiting on me for an update to this story. Those of you who know my work and have followed other stories know it is unusual of me to go MIA in the middle of a story but unfortunately the last month hasn't been great for me i received some bad news and on top of that I also started a new job which had me working late and physically exhausting me, i know this is all rather whiney and i'm sorry, things still aren't 100% just yet but I can't just give up on what I love doing so I'm going to do my best to get this back, updates will probably be slow but as long as i can get them so bear with me and once again Im sorry its taken so long. first paragraph of this chapter is a flashback so you remember where we are in the story.

The mention of the other woman's name spurred Maura into action. Rizzoli, yes. That's why I'm here and she needs my help. She nodded and smiled at Barry and he left her in the dressing room. Slowly but surely the place filled up with girls chattering and jabbering about inane nonsense but Maura had to try and block it all out as she got changed and applied her makeup, a little heavier than she would usually. She chose the tamer outfit for tonight but couldn't help but notice the disapproving looks the other girls gave her. She took a deep breath and looked into her eyes in the reflection. Show time.

As soon as she stepped out onto the stage she was blinded by the lights, it temporarily stunned her; the club itself was quite dark when you walked in and whilst the dancers were lit she didn't realise just how well. She began to feel a blush creeping up her neck toward her cheeks but she didn't allow them to colour as she looked out past the lights into the club and realised that she couldn't see any of their faces. A sense of relief washed over her and it seeped into her body language; she lifted her chin confidently, a sexy smile spread across those lips and her hips sashayed as she walked forward onto the stage. The beat began and Maura took a moment to breathe it in, it felt like she synced with it as it began to pick up, the other girls at the front of the stage began the routine they had briefly showed 'Marie', none of them bothering to ask whether she was alright with it nor anything else other than barking instruction as to where she would stand; at the back, away from them. Maura imagined it was something similar to what some school children experience when being picked for sports or some such activity. Having gone to boarding school she never did have those same kinds of troubles, indeed she had her own issues; consisting of one of the wings of the school being named after her family which of course propelled her to a status of ridicule but only ever behind her back because the teachers would bow down to her. As her mind wandered Maura realised her body was moving of its own accord and following the dance routine. It was not a difficult one especially when compared to all her years of training as a dancer before her interest in academia took over. As she danced she let her mind clear; it was the therapeutic nature of dance that had always appealed to her, even as a child she had an overactive mind that refused to quieten unless she danced and then her body spoke for her, releasing all her worries and issues through the movement and into the music and away. Soon Maura was so consumed by the music and the dance she didn't notice the whoops and cheers from the punters, she didn't notice the other girls look round at her and stop dancing when they saw her, she didn't notice their angry glares, she didn't notice anything she was in her own private world that consisted of no one else but her. The music began to fade and her consiousness drifted back in, she heard a loud whistle which made her eyes flutter open and past all the lights and other noise she saw the kind young man Barry behind the bar whistling loudly and clapping at her before beaming. She immediately flushed red when she realised she had no idea what had just happened nor what she had done, her flush grew even deeper when she heard a slam of a door and saw Cavanaugh come storming angrily out. The other girls on stage stormed past her knocking her purposefully and left her alone until the lights faded and the groans began.

Jane was bored. She had watched almost every single game she had tivoed over the last month, including all the playbacks and extra features on the teams. She had resorted to channel hopping now and was just watching the tv in a stupor. The beers didn't seem to be touching her tonight and it was making her more aggravated, she had called her Ma earlier to tell her that Cav needed her to go upstate for a few days to look after some bar he had starting up. Her Ma had of course argued why did it have to be her and cried but eventually relented. Jane felt guilty for lying, she hated doing it especially to her Ma but the last thing she needed was her stressing even more, at least until she had come up with some kind of plan to get some money. Jane blankly stared at the tv for a couple of minutes longer until she realised that she could piece together about six different programmes and knew what was happening in each as she had been watching split seconds of them for so long. "Come on Jo!" She stood up hurriedly and the little dog bounced out of her makeshift bed excitedly. "I'm bored, let's get outta here." Jane took her little dog for a stroll and before she knew it they were heading for the club. Jane sighed even on autopilot her body couldn't relax or stop thinking about the place. It was kicking out time and she passed by hurriedly trying not to let any of the regulars see her. She briefly overheard a couple of them excitedly chatting about how it was the best night there in a long time. This upset her a little, everyone knew she was the best dancer there and Cav knew she brought in most of the punters, without her they'd be empty, but she figured he must have dropped the bar prices or something, Cav always had something up his sleeve to stop his profits from dropping.

"Hey Vanilla!"

A familiar voice stopped her in her tracks and Jane sighed. Rondo. He was a regular at the club and had been there for longer than anyone could remember, he always tipped her well and always left her a drink behind the bar, he had a cheeky charm about him that Jane couldn't deny did make her smile, he wasn't creepy like some of the others, he had a heart of gold somewhere behind his mischievousness. "Hey Rondo."

"Well what you doin' out here girl?" His grin faded as she turned to face him and he noticed her injury. "Hey Vanilla, you got trouble? You want me to sort him out?"

Jane smiled at his seriousness and shook her head "Nah he was nothing I couldn't handle but I can't work for a while until it's healed."

Rondo nodded "Ok, alright, yeah wondered where you were tonight I was gonna kick Cav's ass if he got rid of you!"

Jane laughed "Just give it a couple more nights and he'll be begging to have me back when his bar sales drop and people start complaining." She noticed Rondo's smile falter. "What?"

Rondo shook his head "Uh, nothin' Vanilla, you right, he's gonna come begging any day now. I'll be seeing ya."

Jane watched him leave curiously wondering what that was all about when something tugged heavily on her hand, she looked down to see Jo Friday curling up on the pavement for a sleep. Jane shook her head "You gotta be kiddin' me, you're the most useless dog ever." The little mutt replied with a grumbly snore as Jane scooped her up in her arms and turned back around and headed for home.

Maura got changed in a rush avoiding the angry stares and hushed whispers from the other girls. She grasped her belongings and ran out of the dressing room as fast as she could with one thought and one thought only in her mind; Get out and don't come back, get out and don't come back. She repeated it like a mantra in her mind so forcefully it almost brought her to tears. She was a mess and she couldn't formulate a reason as to why she was so upset but she was. She felt so free, so alive, so wonderful when she was dancing but she had absolutely no idea what she had done, why everyone seemed so mad at her or anything. As she raced around the back to try and find another exit her arm was grabbed from behind she yelped in surprise and turned to face her attacker.

"Whoa!"Barry only just managed to hold onto the fleeing girl who looked so upset it shocked him. "Hey, hey, what's wrong?"

He had such kind eyes that it only made things worse and Maura burst into tears, something she wasn't accustomed to when upset was comfort; her mother being a firm believer of self comfort being character building. She tried to mumble out a plea to let her go but all that came out was a garbled jumble of upset noises.

Barry was about to envelope the poor girl into a hug when he heard a door slam closed behind him and he winced before easing himself away from the upset girl. He hated his gutlessness in that moment but he knew it was Cav and he knew what he was like when he was angry; he'd lash out at anyone near by and with his divorce going through Barry didn't need to lose his job right now.

Maura felt the cold air brush against her as the kind young man stepped away from her, she heard heavy footsteps approaching and she felt dread sit heavily in the pit of her stomach, she had hoped that she would be allowed to walk away without any repercussions but it didn't seem like that would be possible now. She wiped her tears and summoned the age old Isles courage and put on a brave face before turning to face the angry face of Mr Cavanaugh. She turned to look at the beetroot red face and she sucked in a deep breath but it was quickly exhaled in surprise as he grinned at her with all his teeth and grabbed her into a massive bear hug.

"Girl I gotta admit I had my worries about you but damn!" He looked her up and down and frowned at her bags and hand on the open exit door. "Where the hell you think yore going? We gotta talk business! You my girl are my new secret weapon!"

With that Maura was dragged by her elbow into Cavanaugh's office, completely stunned as to what was going on. She sat down warily in the spare chair and watched as he unlocked his bottom drawer and pulled out a very dusty bottle of scotch and poured two glasses before pushing one to her. "Um, no...thank you."

He shrugged at her refusal and proceeded to down both glasses before exhaling loudly with satisfaction. "Well, well you are a dark horse ain't ya?" He beamed at her as he poured himself another generous glass of scotch.

"P-Pardon?" Maura glanced around nervously unsure of what was coming her way.

"You know they always say it's the quiet ones you wanna watch out for but fu-" he caught her pursed lips and raised eyebrows and stopped himself before he completed the curse word. "You are somethin' else lady..." he eyed her up as she stayed quiet and he dug in his bottom drawer again before pulling out a bundle of green. "So how much?"

Maura stared at him with wide eyed innocence "Pardon?" It seemed to be the only word left in her vocabulary and she continued to stare as he laid out note after note carefully eyeing her up seemingly waiting for something.

Cav chuckled as he kept the notes coming and watching her reaction waiting or her to stop him, when she didn't he chuckled again before laying the rest of the money on top of the pile. "That was a risky game you played tonight and anyone'll tell you that unless I'm sure of the odds I don't like gambling with chance..." she still didn't say a word and he thought carefully about how to word his offer, she clearly knew what she was worth and if by some miracle she didn't he didn't want to give his hand away too soon. When he had heard the raucous outside he had left his office and couldn't believe his eyes when he saw the new girl free styling, he was about to go ballistic until he saw the punters; they went wilder than they ever did with Rizzoli, there was something about this prim and proper classy bird that was hidden deep but when it surfaced it was fucking mesmerizing. After checking his takings for the night Frost informed him his bar sales had almost quadrupled; no way in hell he would have told her that she would have taken him for a ride, but if he played it carefully he could be raking it in with this broad working for him.

Maura watched in surprise as the older man pushed the substantial bundle of money toward her. She couldn't tell just how much was there but she knew it was not small change, especially in a establishment like this. She eyed him suspiciously and didn't reach out for the money.

"You get that for this first week, every night. You get here ready to perform at 9 on the dot you hear me? You're late or a no show and I come after you, you get me?" He frowned when she still didn't take the money, he was giving her a generous offer here. "Remember I know who you are... Ms Franklin...now's not the time to be getting greedy."

She watched his eyes narrow and his face harden before she closed her hand around the notes and the dark expression lifted. Truth be told she didn't really understand what had happened that night nor why he was apparently so pleased with her but as she stuffed the notes into her bag she couldn't help but feel a swell of pride and satisfaction. If this is what she could give Rizzoli plus any tips she made then she could really help her out. Now she just had to figure out how to get it to Rizzoli without her or anyone else finding out.