A/N - New chapter...I don't really have a lot to say. My internal clock is a little out of sorts at the moment. Have fun reading. Thanks.
Tension rolled from Maura in waves as the anxiety she had been feeling since her discussion with Jane continued to occupy her full attention. Even the simplest task such as filling out the necessary retrieval papers for the local mortuary to pick up the various John/Jane Does that couldn't be identified with dental records was incredibly difficult for the blonde to concentrate on. In frustration, Maura threw the fountain pen down, closing the files and pushing them aside. There's no point wasting time looking at something that isn't going to get done, at least, not today.
Picking up the departmental phone, Maura waited patiently for the ringing on her end to subside. "Edwards? Yes, it's Maura Isles; I was hoping you could come up and pick the retrieval forms up for me. No, they aren't finished yet, but I'm too busy with…other things at the moment to focus on them long enough to do the paperwork correctly. Thanks, call me back when you're getting ready to send them out."
Maura dropped the files in the box outside of her door for the assistant before closing the door quickly behind her. The rarely used lock clicked into place at the same time, the blinds shuttered, and the lights blinked off. She had rarely ignored her responsibilities but there was hardly anything she could do Jane's possession over her heart and mind was impossible to shake, no matter how hard she tried. Ever since that night, Maura hadn't had a proper nine hours of sleep in weeks. When the blonde did manage to rest her eyes, fantasies plagued her mind which left her feeling exhausted and even more sexually frustrated.
A slow growl crawled from Maura's sore throat. This hurts so much. Why does this woman make me hurt so much? Naturally, the blonde doctor began self-diagnosing the ailments that were making her mentally ill; the low levels of serotonin causing her lack of sleep, a constant surge of norepinephrine and epinephrine as the fantasies her mind created burned through her insomnia addled brain, leading inevitably to the activation of oxytocin and prolactin as her mind caved under the overwhelming force of desire that was Jane Rizzoli.
The feeling of ecstasy that ran through Maura initially after telling Jane about her desires was soon replaced by another bout of anxiety as she drove away. The disabling fear of showing her personal secrets while receiving nothing in return was overwhelming, wrapping around her stomach in a tense grip.
"Oh god," The moaning plea rose from the walnut crafted desk. Maura's head had descended into the cradle of her hands as the stress continued to build. The twitching in her legs began a chain reaction in her fingers as Maura's eyes closed in an effort to retain the little bit of control over her body.
Unexpectedly, however, a ringing from the blonde's door captured her attention. Maura's heavy head lifted in exhaustion as her body subconsciously went through the motions of meeting whoever found it imperative to talk with her.
"Edwards, I left the receiving files in the deposit box above my door. You hardly have to announce your presence to get something left out for you in the first place." Maura muttered before opening the door, meeting the vision of a young man with a noticeably disturbed look on his face.
God, what a beautiful man. His skeleton structure is incredibly symmetrical and balanced…I know several plastic surgeons that would love to study his face. He might even be as beautiful as Jane. Her curious eyes stalked the man's frame, appraising him casually as he appeared to do the same to Maura's body. He couldn't have been much older than thirty at most, but his youth and facial features were hardly his most appealing features.
Violet…I've never seen eyes that color before. I know that they are probably just deep blue but, from this distance, they have a distinct purple tint. How…unique. Rarely had Maura been in awe of a man's physical presence but as those mystifying orbs of intensity captured her attention, energy flowed through her. Like a love-struck teenager, she lost the ability to form the necessary phonemes to construct a cognitive sentence. The energy that flowed from the intense young man to her tired soul ate away at the disquieting emotions that had taken up residence in her mind. Maura welcomed the invasion with a smile.
"Umm, I'm sorry for the interruption, but are you Ms. Isles?" he said demurely, a small shift in his pristine Valentino dress shoes the only sign of discomfort from the pristinely serious man, forcing the small smile off of Maura's face.
She cleared her throat of the sudden tightness upon hearing the equally unique deep musical quality of the young man's voice. "And who's asking?"
With a masculine puff of his chest, the young man saluted proudly in his Armani tailored suit. "Lt. Col. Elias MacFarlane, USAF, ma'am. People usually call me Lieutenant Colonel but," Elias's demeanor relaxed subtly as his words softened, a subtle smile lifting his lips. "You can call Mr. MacFarlane, if you want."
Maura rolled her eyes before she could catch herself. "Well, Mr. MacFarlane, for a commander, you seem a little casually dressed. Shouldn't you be covered in accoutrements that display your rank?"
The young man laughed, his whole body shuddering in response to the booming sound echoing from his fit body. "Even officers are allowed to wear civilian clothes on their time off. Do you think I could come in…I'd rather not discuss why I'm here in an open area."
Despite her best efforts to not let Mr. MacFarlane influence her mind, Maura couldn't get rid of the childish smile from painting itself upon her face. I feel like the first time I dissected a frog from my backyard. Nothing felt unknown that day as all of the questions my childish mind could think of were quickly replaced with all of the logical answers I could ever want. A silent warning of unease echoed through her body as her heart revolted against the comfort caused by Mr. MacFarlane's entrance in her office. But, as she clicked the light on, the blonde ignored her internal complaints and returned her attention to the neatly maintained long wavy auburn locks of the lieutenant.
"How can I help you today?" Maura asked, motioning slightly for Elias to take a seat in front of her desk.
"An officer under my command was killed in a car accident last week in Boston. The family is, understandably, looking for a quick burial to put an end to their grieving before his young infant daughter is released from state care to them." Mr. MacFarlane stated simply, unexpected emotion shuddering through his words. "As much as I would prefer the family to allow the officer to be properly put to rest like the hero he was to his squadron, I understand their want for acceptance over their son's death before bringing a child in the home."
"Infants have been proven to be just as susceptible to grief as adults, but I'm still confused on why exactly you have to be here, Mr. MacFarlane. Why hasn't the family requested the retrieval of the body themselves?"
Uncomfortable silence descended and, unabashedly, Maura took the opportunity to appreciate the lean musculature of the thoughtful commander. Firm lines of hamstrings met the hardened mass of, what she assured, was a well-defined rectus abdominal muscle. He's pure masculinity in the purest sense of the word. There's not an inch of unnecessary fat on him. She couldn't deny the beauty of the man in front of her, no matter how hard the image of a certain brunette tried to regain control over her consciousness.
Unsurprisingly, Maura was at a lost in determining what this attraction to the handsome officer meant for her relationship with Jane. Jane, I want you to know, if you want to wait for you, I will. Each time she repeated the words to herself, it became harder and harder to not see the promise as a lie. Maura loved Jane but it had been a month since she had heard from her. I may not have much relationship experience involving women, but even I know when I'm being ignored.
Waking up from his reverie, Elias's blue eyes darkened into a moody violet, his hand running through his auburn locks. "Apparently they tried to call but were, rudely by their own accounts, told that their son's body was not with the department. They soon called my supervisor, who called me, to handle this misunderstanding before it escalated into a source of obvious embarrassment for both the Boston Police Department and the Air Force.
"Basically, I was told to find the officer's body by Wednesday this week. My supervisor hardly cares that this was my first week off in six months but," Elias said with a shrug of annoyance before his eyes turned toward Maura. "I can understand if you're busy, Ms. Isles, but I really need to find that body. If you have a log of bodies in your authority for last week that I could peruse with your approval…I'd be much appreciative."
Words slipped out of Maura's mouth before her mind could process them adequately. "Are you always this serious, Mr. MacFarlane?"
The violet orbs of the serious lieutenant darkened even further at the blonde doctor's words, the tension palpable. "Ma'am, a twenty-five year old officer fresh from the Academy with a fine career of defending his country ahead of him was killed in a car accident last week. Do you care to know why he was driving that night he was killed? I forgot to pick up his daughter's birthday present because I was too busy sleeping with my latest conquest to remember my responsibilities to my squadron.
"In short, Ms. Isles, I screwed up. His family shouldn't be made to suffer just because I made a bad choice so, yes, this is a very serious matter, ma'am." The young officer spat out each syllable with barely restrained passion, his eyes maintaining their sizzling intensity. "If you have problems seeing the seriousness of this issue, I have no qualms finding someone else who will."
Mr. MacFarlane's eyes traveled from Maura's eyes down to the expensive Gucci blouse and tailored doctor's coat that made up the blonde's impeccable work wardrobe. An overwhelming need for acceptance shocked her as she willed her eyes to appear disinterested in his actions. She had always been a bit of do-gooder in her childhood but never had she needed someone else's approval to her actions, except for maybe Jane. Please don't be mad at me. The words became a mantra of expectation in the blonde's mind as she tried to determine the correct response to the detached countenance of the officer.
"I assure you," she said with a professional tone as her fingers twitched against the underside of her desk, "I am aware of the seriousness of the matter, Lieutenant. I'm sorry for asking such an inappropriate question, given the circumstances."
"No, I'm sorry for going off on you with my problems. It was highly inappropriate." He allowed his face to release a slight smile before his eyes returned back to their usual boyish-blue. "Now, do you think you could let me see those files now? As much as I owe it to the officer's family to find his body, the last place I want to be on my week-off is staring at the same kind of paperwork I worked so hard to get away from."
Vibration rattled Maura's desk causing the surprised blonde and young man to look down at the phone number flashing across the screen of her smartphone. Maura smiled politely before leaving the room in consideration and answering the phone call.
Maura looked back at the handsome officer in her office and readied herself for the emotion that would inevitably arise. "Jane, are you alright?"
"Yes," Jane's frustration was obvious even with the banging sounds coming from Jane's end, "I'm fine. I'm just so tired of going through hoops for Sluckey and the captain to prove that I'm ready to get back on active duty, though. I'm fine; I don't know how many times I have to say that."
"Maybe he's just worried for you?" Maura closed her eyes as the anxiety came rushing back with each husky syllable the brunette spoke. God, her voice should be outlawed as a potential risk to the cardiovascular health of females."There's only one Jane Rizzoli in his department, after all. They probably don't want to risk your full recovery just because you can't stand being on the side-lines for a couple of months."
Silence and electronic cackling seized the conversation and Maura felt the beginning of a migraine developing behind her eyes. Between Jane's sexy voice and MacFarlane's undeniably attractive masculinity, her mind was rupturing from the seams.
"Thanks for the kind words and…I'm really sorry about not calling, Maura. I've just been," she whispered sincerely before a loud clash was heard in the distance accompanied with a rush of air as Jane, presumably, left the loud room for a quieter environment, "really busy with all the pre-flight checks."
"But you aren't a pilot unless you've decided on an odd career change."
"Maura, obviously I'm not a pilot." Jane warned half-heartedly. "I've been thinking about that night when I came home from the hospital and I was wondering if you wanted to do something later…to talk…about us?"
Thank god, Mr. MacFarlane isn't out here to see me pass-out in surprise. Damn, how does she always surprise me and, more importantly, where does she come up with these things? Just a couple of months ago, Jane found the idea of doing anything remotely construed as taking our relationship to "the next level" as completely mind-numbing but now…now she's asking me out?
"Later that same day...hello, you still there, Maura?" Jane said with obvious confusion.
"Yeah, um, listen, can I call you back? I've got a visitor here who's on a time crunch to find a body that might have been misplaced or sent to cremation. I'll call you back in about an hour once this whole body thing is finished."
"Yeah, sure, no problem." Jane muttered before they both hung up. Maura had already placed the phone in her pocket just as she opened the door and met the sapphire-hued eyes of Lt. Col. Elias MacFarlane.
"Am I keeping you from something, Ms. Isles?" The lieutenant's asked with a comforting assurance that pushed the anxiety from the doctor's slim frame for a second time that afternoon.
"No, nothing important, Mr. MacFarlane, but would you mind if I asked you a small favor?"
"Anything within reason, ma'am," the young officer replied, his beaming smile exciting Maura's tired mind.
"Could you call me Maura? Even my assistants don't call me Ms. Isles. Just the thought of it makes me feel old," she stated simply with a beaming smile of her own.
"Maura…that's a pretty name for a pretty girl. Since we're on a first name basis, why don't you call me, Elias?" Elias said flirtatiously, his blue eyes traveling down the blonde's petite frame with obvious curiosity again.
Maura knew that she shouldn't let Jane wait since she was, finally, making an effort in resolving this source of anxiety in their relationship but she couldn't stop herself from feeling slightly vindictive. Let's see how she likes it.