"How long?" Jane squatted down next to the body.
"Based on liver temperature, I'd say approximately 2 to 4 hours at most." Maura pulled the thermometer from the body's torso. "Petechial hemorrhaging in addition to the bruising around the neck indicate strangulation." Maura pointed at the body as she gave a cursory examination. "Lacerations and abrasions on the forearms and palms indicate the victim was in a defensive stance at some point." She narrowed her eyes as she looked closer at the body. "There appears to be a wound of some kind on the victim's right side. It's a large gash, 2 ½ to 3 centimeters wide."
"A stab wound?" Jane tried to jot down the information as it was presented to her. "Is that what killed him?"
"No, there would be more blood, and what blood is here never started to clot. The victim was already dead when this wound was made, and," the M.E. carefully pulled up the shirt to run a hand over the victim's side. "It feels as though his ribs are broken, but there isn't any bruising. That would also indicate this damage was done after the victim was killed."
"So, the guy is attacked in a back alley, he defends himself, the perp somehow gets the upper hand, strangles him, kills him, stabs him, and then… what? He kicks the guy in the ribs for good measure?"
"You're speculating." Maura stood up, brushing her legs off. "I'll know more once we get him back to the lab."
Jane rolled her eyes and slammed her little notebook shut. "Come on, Maura, that seems pretty likely, don't you think? What if…"
"You know I don't like statements that begin that way." The M.E. pulled her gloves off, tossed them into the receptacle, and ordered her crew to move the body. "I should have the autopsy report for you in a few hours."
"Great," Jane trotted to catch up. "Once you get it done, you want to grab some breakfast? It should be about time by then."
Maura smiled. "Sure, we can go over the results while we eat."
"Okay, call me when it's ready?" Jane blushed.
"Of course." The doctor walked away toward the van.
"Jane, what did Dr. Isles say?" Frost came up behind his partner, camera in hand.
"That she'd have breakfast with me." Jane was grinning.
"What?" Frost walked around to look the other detective in the eye. "Did you get any sleep at all, or did you forget your cup of coffee on the way in?"
Jane shook her head. "I mean, she'll have the results by breakfast time." She made a face and waved her hand to dismiss whatever comment Frost was about to make. "You know what I mean. Come on, let's go to the station so we can get started on processing this stuff."
"Rizzoli."
"The results are in, and I've completed the autopsy. Are you still interested in eating breakfast while we go over the report?"
Jane smirked. "And miss out on your attractive and appetizing breakfast table conversation? Never! I'll be down in moment." She heard Maura chuckling as she hung up the phone. She was still smirking when she stood up to go to the morgue. "What?" Korsak was eyeing her.
"Rizzoli, is there something you're not telling me?"
"About what?" She pulled her blazer on and popped her holster on her left hip. "Maura just finished the autopsy report."
"About you and Dr. Isles." He raised an eyebrow. "What's going on with you two?"
"What's going on?" Her voice cracked a little, but she ignored it. "Right now what's going is I'm going down there to get the autopsy report and go to breakfast. Is that okay with you, Korsak?"
"You're going to talk about dead bodies over breakfast?" Frost looked a little green.
"Yeah, I'm starving, and the results are in. It's called time management. Maybe, if you learned a little of that yourself, you wouldn't have to sleep at your desk." She threw the men a look that dared them to say anything else.
"Hey, I told you I was just resting my eyes!"
"Sure you were, Frost." She headed for the elevators. "I'll be back in a little bit."
"If that is anyone besides Maura, Joe, I'm going to shoot them," Jane rolled off her sofa to open the door.
"Jane, who are you talking to?" Maura peeked around the brunette's shoulder.
"Joe," she leaned down and gave the doctor a light kiss before stepping aside to let her into the apartment. "You're here late."
"I thought I'd come by and check on you. This case seems to be quite trying." The blonde made her way to the sofa. She carefully moved some papers from the cushion to the coffee table and sat down. "Also, it's been four days since we've had any time together. I missed you."
Jane plopped down next to Maura. She gave the blonde a side glance as she arranged the papers on the table in front of her. "Really?" She grinned. "But, you see me every day."
"Yes," Maura reached over to turn Jane toward her, "But not in the way I'd like to see you." She ran her hand to the back of Jane's neck and pulled her forward. "I find I'm in need of more intimate attention than taking a break to eat a meal and discuss this case." She gave a slight nod toward the paperwork. "Do you think you could take a small break?"
Jane leaned forward, pushing both of them down on the sofa. "Yeah, I think I can be talked into it. Besides," she lowered her head to lay a kiss on the side of Maura's neck. "Sometimes it helps to take a break and refocus." She nipped at the doctor's collarbone. "Right?"
Maura growled. "Of course," She gave a little push to get Jane to look her in the eye. "But just a small break? I'd hate to make us miss something because I distracted the lead detective." She ran her hands through Jane's hair.
Jane smiled. "I only planned a small break. I'm not ready for anything bigger just yet."
Maura nodded and pulled Jane down for another kiss.
"Jane!" The pounding on her door was an unwelcome wake-up call. "Jane, it's Korsak. Open the door."
Jane opened one eye and glanced around. She'd fallen asleep on the sofa. She groaned and let her head fall back against the cushion. It moaned. Her head shot up, and she realized she'd also fallen asleep on Maura.
"Jane, I know you're in there." The pounding continued.
"Crap," Jane rolled off both woman and sofa.
"Language, Jane," Maura muttered as she rolled over to face the back of the sofa.
"Alright, I'm coming," She pulled the blanket on the back of the sofa down to cover Maura. Then, she staggered to the door. "Korsak, do you know what time it is?"
"Yeah, it's 10:30 in the morning." He pushed past her into the apartment. "I've been trying to call you for two hours. Where have you been?"
Jane rolled her eyes and closed the door. "Asleep."
He gave her the once over. "Yeah, I can see that. You look like you slept on the floor."
"The couch, actually," Maura sat up and blinked a few times. "Good morning, Vince."
"Dr. Isles?" He looked from the woman on the sofa to the woman standing next to him. "Okay, what's going on here. You two have been hiding something for weeks now."
"I came over to check on Jane last night, and we fell asleep on the couch." Maura stood up and stretched. "Jane, I'm going to go take a shower, okay?"
"Yeah, sure, you know where everything is, and that pink dress of yours is here."
"Mauve," Maura gave her an irritated look.
"Whatever… I had it cleaned last week." She rolled her eyes.
"You did? Jane, that was very thoughtful of you," Maura smiled. "Thank you." She gave Jane's arm a little pat as she walked past both detectives and into the bathroom.
"Jane?" Korsak was steadily staring at the brunette.
"You want some coffee?" Jane shuffled into the kitchen. "Have you eaten breakfast yet?"
"Yes. No. Why are you and Dr. Isles sleeping together on your couch?" He sat down in the kitchen and dropped the folder he'd been carrying on the counter.
"I'll make some coffee. I can give you a bowl of cereal. Lucky Charms? Maura and I are dating. What did you bring by, anyway?" Jane flipped the coffee pot on and grabbed three bowls.
"It's the latest on Joseph Peterson. It seems he was more connected with our victim than he let on. Did you just say you and Dr. Isles are dating?"
Jane answered without turning around. "Yeah. Connected how?"
"Jane, you can't just drop something like that in my lap and keep going."
"I didn't drop anything in your lap," she poured the cereal into the empty bowls. "You asked me, and I told you. Big difference, Korsak. Besides, I don't see what it matters if Maura and I are seeing each other. I mean, I can't imagine it's actually a surprise to anyone." She pulled down three coffee cups. "What kind of connections?" She poured two cups and turned to hand one to the detective.
Maura was standing behind Korsak with a smile that lit up the entire room. Jane's oversized terrycloth robe was wrapped around her, and her hair was down but wet. However, none of that mattered as she walked across the small distance to stop in front of the brunette. "I don't want cereal for breakfast, Jane. Why don't you wait, let me get dressed, and I can cook breakfast for all three of us while you take a shower?"
Jane seemed to consider it for a moment. "Okay with you, Korsak?"
Korsak was staring between the two women. It took him a moment to register the question. "Uh, yeah, that's fine, I guess."
"Okay, we'll wait," she gazed down at the blonde. "How long?"
"Ten minutes?"
"Ten?" Jane gave her a skeptical look.
"Twenty?" Maura blushed.
"Yeah, I'll buy that." Jane leaned down and brushed a gentle kiss across Maura's pouting lips. "Your dress and matching shoes are in my closet."
"Okay, I won't be long." Maura walked away, giving Korsak a nod as she went by.
Both of them watched her leave the room.
"You could have told me, Jane. You know I wouldn't have judged you." Korsak took the offered mug of coffee and started adding sugar.
"I know, but I wasn't ready. I'm still not ready for everyone to know." Jane sighed. "This is hard for me."
"You know you can trust me. I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to." He smirked at her. "If it was going to be anyone, I'm glad it's Dr. Isles." Korsak nodded to himself. "She's good for you, Janie."
"Thanks, Korsak," Jane rolled her eyes and sat down next to him. "Tell me what you've got on this guy," she demanded as she flipped the folder open.
You know what I love about this? I love that Jane is slowly easing into being okay with who she is and who she's dating. I figure, if she can tell her family and then Korsak, she can eventually be okay with anyone knowing. I also love the mental picture of Maura with wet hair in an oversized terry cloth bathrobe. *sigh* I'd love to have a pic (or manip) of that!