That was a long wait, I do apologise. Al the people who reviewed this, thank you so much. It will be a Rizzles endgame, I promise, it all fits together, you'll see. Please enjoy :) All mistakes are mine, cause I'm lazy and if you like it, please review :)
Maura walked through the doors, Jane holding it ajar for her. Maura thanked her and they walked side by side towards the lifts. Maura faltered for a moment; a flood of images rushing back to her. She remembered a hug? She had been away for something… she remembered wearing orange at one point before – that had something to do with it. But what she saw was people clapping all around this hallway as she walked in. her eyes had sought out Jane and her heart beat a little faster when she saw the wide smile on her face –
"You okay, Maur?" Maura snapped out of her daze at the detective's husky voice. She nodded, regaining her composure with a quick flick of her hair over her shoulder.
"Fine, Detective," she replied in the way she had come to practice over the years when she had to hide something. However, Jane seemed to suspect something, but said nothing. Jane pressed the button for the lift and clasped her hands behind her back as they waited.
"Good to see you back, Doctor Isles," said a voice from behind them. Maura felt a hand on her shoulder as a pair of men walked by. Maura didn't recognise them. They gave her a smile and a nod before they continued on.
"Thank you," she replied, a little unsure.
"People missed you around here," said Jane with a fond smile, her eyes twinkling slightly. Maura was a little taken-aback, but pleasantly so. The doors dinged open.
"Come on Maur, we'll sort everything out with Cavanaugh before you can get back to your lab."
That was what Maura had been looking forward to. She knew pathology and she could work out everything in the lab. That was her territory. Even when everything else was uncertain, science and facts would always be constant.
The doors closed on them and the lift began to move. Maura glanced at Jane a few times, unsure of what to say. Jane didn't seem to mind. She simply stood there, smiling as she watched the number change on the display. That is, until she rolled her eyes and pulled her phone from her pocket.
"Why won't he just leave me alone!" she growled as she gazed at the phone screen.
"You are married," replied Maura, her tone unusually sharp.
"Well, that worked out perfectly," sighed Jane as she disconnected the call and slipped her phone back into her pocket. "It's not supposed to be this hard," she said quietly, staring at the floor. Maura turned to her, a wave of sympathy washing over her. Jane wasn't happy; Maura shouldn't be making it worse for whatever reason. She was her best friend.
"It's very rare for a relationship to be completely perfect."
"But I'm sure none of them are this difficult."
"You'd be surprised. It would explain one factor of the rise in divorce cases –" Jane's eyes widened as she turned to Maura, eyebrow quirked. Maura paled slightly and cursed her mouth for running away like that. "Which – Which is not what you want to hear right now," she stammered, gazing at the wall. There was an awkward silence that was quickly relieved when the lift doors opened and they both hurried to the lab. Maura noticed the lab hadn't changed all that much – a nice surprise after everything else seemed foreign. A large smile lit up her face as she entered, inhaling the familiar scent of cleanliness and sterility. Jane hung back by the door as Maura entered her lab and ran a hand over one of the metal autopsy tables fondly. Jane smirked. Anyone else doing that would seem at least creepy, but Maura was just Maura. She felt immensely guilty as she thought back to the phone calls she had been avoiding. But Casey had been ridiculous with this whole affair. He seemed to loathe Maura, and Maura wasn't fond of him either. She had an inkling as to why, but that's impossible –
"You're back!" cried a loud voice. Jane looked over, folding her arms as Susie ran out and threw her arms around a rather shocked Maura. "How are you feeling?" Maura still seemed a little taken aback, but responded politely and enthusiastically. She had worked with Susie for years before she met Jane, so she at least knew who she was.
"I'm fine. Just a little overwhelmed."
"I get what you mean. What did the doctors say? Will you get your memories back?"
"Soon, they hope. They think my memories will start to come back on their own, and there isn't much they can do about it. So we just sit and wait."
"We missed you," smiled Susie, giving her another hug. Maura froze, her hands hanging in the air a little awkwardly until she responded and hugged Susie tight. "Maura, can I ask you something?" she asked as they entered Maura's office. Jane trailed in after them, leaning against the doorframe.
"Of course," replied Maura, setting down her bag on the table and looking over her desk in wonder, eyeing the new ornaments. She admired her own taste.
"Can you remember what happened to you?" Maura stopped, her eyes drawn to Jane. She tried to think about what happened, but in her head there was just an empty space. It was like trying to remember a dream.
"No," replied Maura, placing her bag on the floor and switching on her computer. The login screen appeared and Maura stalled, unable to remember her password – she changed her passwords at least once a month.
"Oh here, let me get that," said Susie, as she leaned past Maura and logged her in on a different account. "You can change the password later," she smiled. Maura thanked her as the young woman left, apologising but needing to get back to work. Maura accessed her files and decided to look over some old cases to see what she had been up to. Bits and pieces were bleeding through with each reminder. Small clips of different events that she couldn't quite match up.
"Detective Rizzoli?" she asked after a few minutes, looking up from her screen. She noted Jane's eyes already on her. The detective was still leaning against the doorframe, her eyes faraway as she looked at her. It only lasted a second until Jane realised Maura had caught her. She cleared her throat and sauntered forwards, sitting on the comfiest chair in the room.
"Yes?" she replied, propping up her feet on the edge of the desk and crossing them at the ankle.
"What…" Maura pursed her lips, glancing at the screen again. She suddenly felt a bit nervous. "What happened to me?" Jane's smile disappeared, her shoulders tensing slightly under her jacket.
"It's not a nice story," warned Jane. Maura took a breath.
"Tell me," she said, trying to keep her nerves steady.
"Okay. We were on a case. Korsak, you and I were in a suspect's house. You can read the details on the case if you want. But here goes." Jane swung her feet to the ground, clasped her hands together in front of her as she leaned forwards, getting her words as straight as she could in her head. "We were in his house. We had searched it completely for the guy. We just wanted to question him. His house was empty. You had spotted some kind of thing in the kitchen. You did your big sciency-walking encyclopaedia bit and Korsak went outside to make a call. I was looking through the bedroom for evidence while you stayed in the kitchen. Unfortunately, the man, Arthur, was still in the house. I pulled open the wardrobe – I swear I had checked it, but I… I missed him. I didn't see him until he jumped on me and knocked me onto the bed. He punched me a few times before getting up. I fired a few shots but missed him. I… ran after him, but when I got to the living room, he had you in a headlock, a… a knife at your throat." Maura was watching Jane carefully as the detective stared at the floor, running a hand through her hair occasionally. Jane cleared her throat as she shook her head, trying to pull herself together. "He started shouting. I had my gun on him, but I couldn't get a clean shot. I couldn't risk it. So… uhm…" Jane's eyes flashed up at Maura's, connecting for a quick moment before she looked away. "So I told him I would let him go. As he passed, I tackled him." Jane was speaking quickly now. "You fell and hit your head. I shot him. End of," she finished. She stood up quickly and threw a half-hearted excuse over her shoulder as she left the room. Maura could swear she heard a sniff before the door slammed shut. Maura sat back in her seat. Something was off. She still couldn't remember, but she had a feeling Jane was lying. There was something more to this. Maura would need to find out.
An hour or so later, Maura got up to have a look around the lab again, maybe get Susie to catch her up on the latest case. However, she opened the door and immediately walked into Jane, who was standing with her fist raised to knock on the door.
"Sorry," said Maura, regaining her balance as gracefully as she could.
"No, I'm sorry," replied Jane. "It's still a bad memory. I can't –" Jane sighed, frustrated. "If you had –" Another pause. "I'm sorry," she whispered, staring at her feet.
"It's alright," said Maura. Jane nodded a little, still staring at her feet. Maura smiled and stepped forwards, wrapping her arms around Jane's shoulders. She felt Jane freeze at her touch, but after a moment, Jane's arms wound around her waist and squeezed her gently, burying her nose in Maura's hair. The hug lasted longer than what Maura had learned was the norm, but she didn't mind. This was comfortable. She felt at ease for the first time in ages. "Thank you, Jane."