Hello, sorry about the long delay in the chapters. I finally have time to write again, so here you go. All mistakes are mine, no beta. I hope you enjoy it, and please review if you like. The cause of Maura's memory loss is in the next chapter, just to say, so don't worry, I am continuing this if people still like it.
Jane walked up to Maura's home, fishing around in her pocket for the key Maura had given her… well, ages ago. Jane couldn't remember. It was just one of these things that seemed to have always happened. They could show up at each other's houses and it wasn't a big deal. It was even welcomed. That is, until Casey grew tired of it. Jane kicked the icy ground angrily. Why did things have to turn out this way? Sighing in frustration, she unlocked the door and let herself in. Just as she closed it, she heard a plate clatter onto the table. Turning round, she saw Maura standing in nothing more than a white towel in the kitchen, her hands frozen in the air where Jane assumed she had been holding the plate – which was now lying on the table, thankfully intact.
"Detective…" said Maura slowly, her eyes wide. She ran a hand through her damp, tousled hair as an awkward silence fell over them. Jane was tempted to make some kind of joke – old Maura would have been fine with this, laughed at her sarcasm – but this Maura, she just didn't know what to do. A few seconds passed with them just staring at each other. Footsteps sounded from nearby but neither of them moved as Cailin sauntered past, barely looking at them as she muttered her goodbyes, closing the front door after her.
"Uhm… I should… clothes…" stuttered Maura, gesturing to her bedroom.
"Of course, sorry," said Jane, finally looking away as Maura turned and hurried into her bedroom. Jane sat on the sofa, trying to decide whether to laugh or be embarrassed. Maura emerged a while later, wearing her smart 'work' clothes – more like supermodel clothes, but never mind. Jane stood up and tried to keep the grin off her face – oh, how she would rib Maura for this if she were still… Maura.
"Are you sure you're okay to go to work?" asked Jane, knowing that Maura's way of coping was to distract herself with dead bodies.
"Yes, Detective, I'm fine," she replied cheerily, but not exactly warmly. Jane rolled her eyes as her phone rang. Checking the screen, she saw it was Casey. She disconnected almost immediately.
"You want a lift?" asked Jane, changing the subject before Maura said something about the short phone call.
"That would be good. I'd rather not drive, just in case of any unforeseen after-effects."
"Good plan. Come on," said Jane, turning around and walking out of the house, Maura close at her heels.
They drove in relative silence. Maura was being very guarded – not that Jane hadn't expected that. Uncomfortable and feeling slightly awkward, Jane switched on the radio, immediately soothed by the heavy bass and overdrive guitar that met her ears. Tapping the steering wheel in time, she smiled as the focused on the road, just about to start singing along when the radio was switched off. Jane glared at Maura, who looked coolly back.
"The rock music increases the odds of crashing a car due to the acoustics," she said with a shrug. Jane's eyes widened as she remembered Maura saying almost exactly the same thing. Her mind flashed back to the time when they were fighting, and were forced to drive together. She and Maura had nearly died in that damn wood with all those thugs with their guns, and Maura's leg… Jane shivered at the memory. And now here was Maura, completely oblivious to their history.
"Are you alright, Detective Rizzoli?" asked Maura, quirking an eyebrow as she noted Jane's faraway look as she stared blankly at the road.
"What?" Jane started, dragging herself out of her memories.
"You looked a little distant. And you're driving. It doesn't take a genius to work out that is not a good combination." Maura's lips quirked up at the corners in a small smile. Jane relaxed and huffed a long sigh.
"Just thinking." Maura seemed satisfied with this explanation and looked out of the passenger window for a few minutes, before she turned back to the detective.
"Can I ask you something?" she asked quietly. Jane glanced at her quickly – there was something about her tone that caught her attention.
"Sure, go ahead," said Jane, feeling a little uncertain. Maura pursed her lips for a moment before opening her mouth. However, she was interrupted by a persistent ringing. Jane rolled her eyes and fished into her pocket. Without looking at the screen, she tossed it to Maura. "Answer it for me? It's probably Korsak. The only other person who calls me at work is you anyway." Jane did not taking her eyes off of the traffic as she spoke. Maura did as she was asked, taking the ringing phone and holding it up to her ear, looking at Jane. The small smile of gratitude Jane flashed her made her feel oddly happy for no reason.
"Hello?" she said neutrally.
"Who is this?" a gruff voice said from the other end. "Maura?" Maura's brow furrowed. She remembered Korsak's voice before the accident - this was not him.
"Who is it?" hissed Jane quietly.
"Maura, what are you doing with Jane's phone?" The voice spoke again with a distinctive accent.
"She's driving… Is this Casey?" she asked, glancing at the screen. The contact name was something rather crude and offensive, indicating Jane was definitely not on good terms with the caller. She saw Jane's scowling at the mention of the name.
"Can you put her on the line please?" he asked – rather, demanded from his tone, the polite word dripping with sarcasm.
"She's driving, it's illegal –" started Maura but she was cut off rather rudely.
"Just put her on the damn phone, Isles!" he shouted loudly. Maura glanced at Jane, who had heard the outburst. She didn't look happy – she was fuming.
"Give me the phone. Maura, give me the phone!" she muttered, reaching for it. Maura switched ear and leant into the window, keeping it out of Jane's reach, batting her hand away. Jane maintained her grip on Maura's hand as she replied:
"I may not remember much about you, but I don't like your tone. She clearly does not want to talk to you for whatever reason, so I think you should stop hounding the poor woman."
"I don't give a damn what your opinion is, just put my wife on the phone!"
"I will not!"
"This isn't something I can talk to her about through you, Isles!"
"At least she actually talks to me," snarled Maura before stopping, eyes wide. Jane was gawping at her sassiness towards Casey as Maura hung up the phone in the middle of Casey's rant. She placed the phone calmly in her lap and cleared her throat. "I think I may have made it worse."
Jane burst out laughing. She knew she shouldn't be, her marriage was failing. This was serious. But she couldn't help it. She had missed the Maura who defended her, made her laugh, and let her rant about Casey - though she always went a little quiet and lost her spark around that time - all the time she was in hospital and subsequently when they realised her memories were gone. However, this was the old Maura, back for only a moment.
Maura smiled, despite her guilt. She had an irrational dislike for Casey, which she guessed had something to do with the way he treated Jane before she lost her memories. She guessed she didn't like him much at all. As Jane finally collected herself, Maura voiced something that had been on her mind for a while. She eyed the ring on Jane's finger - the metal was dull and scratched - not what you'd expect from a fairly recent marriage.
"What's going on with you and this Casey?" asked Maura curiously. Jane looked at her for a moment, scrutinising her, it seemed, before she sighed again – Jane wasn't sure she should be discussing it with Maura, but she had to vent to someone. Not her family though - she couldn't discuss it with them, that was just weird. So why not her best friend, even if said friend couldn't remember much?
"We're just not working. We didn't really. Whenever he was here, he wanted a really domestic wife, and I love my job too much to make that work. And I had a suspicion that we both love our jobs more than… well, than each other." She drew in a breath as Maura listened intently. She could feel memories attempting to bleed through. The detective's words seemed familiar, the vision just out of her reach. "But then he came back and we were happy. I thought I was happy. He then proposed – either I accept or he went back to the army. I… I thought about it and just said yes. You were a beautiful bridesmaid, by the way," she added with a grin. Maura's eyebrow quirked. "Definitely upstaged me without even trying." Instead of sounding jealous, she sounded fond and gentle. "But," she continued. "After a while, we started fighting. He didn't like my hours at work. He didn't like the late nights, and he hated the amount of time I spent with you. Still does, but at least I can hang up on him if he shouts now," she shrugged, her eyes burning into the road outside. "But he'll be back in a few weeks, and I guess we'll have to sort this out."
Strange, disjointed images flowed through Maura's mind as Jane spoke. Little snippets of scenes from her life. She remembered a lot of laughter – she associated laughter with Jane. But the feeling of happiness was marred by something dark. Maura's feelings against Casey. She guessed she was just a dutiful friend and hated Casey for hurting Jane so much… but it felt like something else. Similar, but –
"Earth to Doctor Isles?" Jane's voice cut through her thoughts. "Are you okay?" she asked as she snapped her seatbelt off, looking at Maura with concern.
"Fine," said Maura rather quickly. "Just some small memories. Not even memories, impressions, I think would be a better word. Nothing important."
"That's a good sign," smiled Jane. Maura noticed Jane's hand had returned to her wrist, squeezing it gently and rubbing her thumb across her skin. Previously unused to physical contact, she expected to want to pull away. But she didn't. This seemed normal. However, Jane caught herself and let her go, eyes lingering on the other woman's before getting out and striding up to the station. Maura followed, her heels clacking against the pavement as she gracefully jogged up beside the detective and entered the station.