A/N: Alright everyone. I'm so sorry for the delay, but there's been some kind of emotional turmoil in my head lately. Anyway, now that that's over, I proudly present Chapter Five.
Look out, meribu, I took your advice. Well, part of it anyway.
afret2010, Jane might have something up her sleeve. But maybe she doesn't even know about it….
heatwave16, you'll see how I took you into account.
So without further withholding from your precious minds,
Chapter Five: Bet-ception.
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It was Monday morning. It was 'The Day After the Arrest' Day. That meant that it was Paperwork Day for the Homicide crew. Maura, being the over-achiever she was, had already done her share of the paperwork the previous day. After examining one of Crowe's dead bodies for a separate case and writing up her analysis from the autopsy, the doctor was once again left to explore through the world of her online shoe retreats, all the way into the afternoon.
Her detective counterparts weren't quite so studious in their formal deskwork, and had to sit quite a while throughout the day to complete each and every one of the monotonous forms piled precariously high on their desks. Precariously high for papers, anyway. Luckily for their sanity, though, the lulls in action almost always meant that there was no such lull in conversation. This was one of those cases. Jane, Frost, and Korsak had become quite adept at mixing their thinking and writing with their thinking and speaking, and as such, there was never a dull moment. As an added bonus, (as if their priorities weren't skewed enough already) their paperwork was almost never damaged in the process, a great deed in itself.
The detectives' banter was constantly in motion, and it was as if they were in their own little yenta zone. Talk shifted from Korsak's ex-wives (all three of them) to Frost's doll- "ACTION FIGURE!"- to Jane's boots, to just about anything at all. At one point, the trio ended up conversing somewhat heatedly about whether or not Mulan could actually be considered a Disney Princess, and which of the 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory' movies was better. But that's another story for another time.
As time (and the day) ticked away, Korsak decided to get two of his favorite things done at one time. Getting Frost into trouble with Jane, and getting Jane riled up 'all sarcastic-like'. In fact, he had been saving up this juicy bit all morning. "Hey, Janie. I was talking to your mom this morning at the café, and she mentioned something that Frankie had told her about a bet between him and Frost..."
At this, two heads rose quickly out of the semi-consciousness they were in, and two sets of eyes widened alarmingly, and two sets of eyebrows practically receded towards each hairline. Even if you couldn't tell it physically, it was painfully obvious that Frost was blushing. He made it clear that he was a bit embarrassed. Of course, he knew he didn't have to be. But still, he was a little wary of the way his senior detective would react to the news she was to receive shortly. "Korsak, I don't know if this is such a good idea-"
Jane took her chance to interrupt. "Sergeant Detective Korsak, do go on," she nudged. Jane batted her eyelids faux flirtatiously to the group, urging her mentor to continue. The entire precinct knew that Jane was in charge of the group-even if she wasn't the Sergeant- and whatever Jane said, went. This was no different. Especially since Korsak himself was itching to make Frost uncomfortable.
"Well, like I said, Jane. Frankie and Frost here have this little bet going on, or so I've heard. It's kinda a bet inside the bet, I think." Frost interjected by way of clearing his throat, but went ignored by both of the other detectives. "Apparently, Frost here thinks you'll outlast Maura on the pinball game. Frankie thinks Maura's got something up her sleeve. I ain't quite so sure myself, but you know...I'm not partaking in anything anyway."
"Wow," Jane turned to the junior detective who was cowering slightly in his swivel chair. "Very mature of you, Barry." It was no secret that Jane only called someone-well, except for Maura and Frankie- by their first name if she was trying to make them feel self conscious. It was working.
"It's nothing, Jane. Just a harmless bet. It's only twenty bucks. And besides, I'm the loyal one here. You ought to be talking to your brother right about now." As if on cue, the youngest of the Rizzoli children walked into the bullpen. Frost saw him first, and motioned him over. "Yo, Frankie, come over here, tell your sister to chill a little bit."
"Yeah, of course, big sis. Take a chill pill." His stupid grin faded, though, in confusion. "Wait, what exactly do you need a chill pill for?" His brows furrowed in concentrated thought for a moment, as was a common Rizzoli trait, and came to a conclusion. "Frost...you told her about the bet?" Officer Rizzoli looked a little frightened of what his sister might say to him. Although, if anyone would have asked him anything about it, he'd have vehemently denied everything. There were some things about a Rizzoli's pride than needed to stay intact, no matter what.
Frost stood up off his chair, looking slightly offended. "Man, please. Korsak said your mom told him after you told her. So whose fault is this really, Officer?" At the finish of his short speech, Frost's insulted grimace turned itself into a smirk of satisfaction.
Jane decided she had had enough of her 'little brothers' messing around. Yes, Frost was like a brother to her. But if anyone asked her... Anyway, she decided she didn't want to hear any more on the current subject, and expressed just that. "Hey, girls. Did I or did I not express clearly yesterday for all of you to keep your pantyhose on until after we finished this case? Thank you. Frost, sit down and finish the papers for Cavanaugh. Frankie, don't you have some place to patrol or something?" He nodded. "Come back later, though. And you, Korsak." The sergeant jolted, unaware he had done anything wrong in his protégé's eyes, "As much as I appreciate having a free in-house CI, that's what Ma and Maura are for. Especially when it comes to the lot of you." She chuckled, and settled back down. "Can we all just get back to the massive pile of papers on our desk now, please? We worked and 'Mulan'd all through lunch, and I'm dying to eat."
Most of the remainder of the day passed by in relative quiet, excepting the instances of which paperwork and, of course, the after-paperwork party at the Robber, was discussed. Jane denied the existence of such a party anyway.
After not seeing her friends for almost the entire day, the good doctor decided to make her presence known to the cops upstairs in the bullpen. It was almost pinball challenge time, anyway. She phoned ahead to Frankie, and told him to meet the 'gang' in fifteen minutes. Well, Maura had said the word 'group', but Frankie initiated a more Scooby-Doo feeling to it. After all, the entire pinball endeavor was pretty childish, she did have to say. She knew, though, that she wouldn't have it any other way.
Advancing from the elevator, Maura ran face first into the shoulder of her favorite detective. Stepping back after her short recovery, she looked up to see Jane chuckling quietly and rubbing her shoulder a little. "Oh my gosh. I'm sorry. Are you okay, Jane? Are you hurt?" The doctor immediately went over to examine the hurt area, probing and rubbing through the jacket, until Jane took her hands and set them down.
"Maura, relax. I'm not hurt, okay? I was just coming over here to come down to you to ask you something before you got your cherry or whatever else flavored lip gloss all over my blazer. But yeah, I was going to ask you something. Can we maybe switch places for the Challenge thing?" At her friend's questioning look, Jane continued on. "Well, I know that no one's supposed to be practicing or anything, but I still kinda want to go last. I still want to get a feel of the game, you know? Like, watch over shoulders one more time. Because, you know, the coordination and whatnot."
Maura laughed at the tone of Jane's voice. It was unsure and borderline desperate, even though there was nothing to be desperate about. "Jane. Now it's your turn to relax. I've told you time and time again that there is nothing wrong with your hand-eye coordination. But if you're so bent on this theory, yes we can switch places. I'll play tonight, and you can go tomorrow. You need to… what's that colloquialism, now? I believe it's 'you need to chill', right? Yes, you need to chill."
"Good one," the brunette smiled. "You know, Maur, you're the third person to tell me that today. Maybe there's something to it, then." Upon secondary thought, Jane dismissed the idea entirely. She turned to walk back to her desk, motioning for her best friend to accompany her. "Then again, those two other people were Frankie and Frost, so I don't think that'll help any. Hey, speaking of which-"
"Who is talking about witches, Jane?" Maura looked extremely pleased with herself at the joke she had just interrupted with, and her face-wide smile showed it.
Jane stopped in her tracks and turned to look at the ME next to her. Her brown eyes sparkled with astonishment and pride for Maura. "Did you just…? You just made a joke, Maur! I'm so proud of you." As a reward for her humor, Maura was presented with a playful shove to the shoulder. "Now, back to what I was saying before you took one step closer into humanity. Speaking of my little bros, Frost and Frankie, they have a little wager of their own going on."
Jane settled leaning against the desk opposite her own, and Maura took up residence in Jane's swivel chair, as was common practice throughout the years. Maura's eyes betrayed her intrigue and curiosity at Jane's statements past and statements to come. "Oh, really? What about?" The hazel eyes glinted with the anticipation of new knowledge to be added to storage in that 'big brain' of hers.
"Us. As in, which one of us is going to win the Pinball Challenge? Korsak told me that Ma told him after Frankie told her. Anyway, Frost's staying loyal to his partner here, but Frankie thinks that you have some kind of trick up your sleeve. And frankly, I would bet against myself too. Yes, I know, my hand-eye coordination thing is totally fake, but I know there's some kind of pseudo placebo effect that'll most likely mess me up or something." She paused, seeing Maura's utterly elated face, no doubt having something to do with Jane's comprehension of anything somewhat medically intelligent. "Yes, Maura. I am familiar with the placebo effect. I do actually have some semblance of a higher than middle school level education. It comes with having finished high school, you know." A smirk and flirtatious wink followed, letting Maura know her sarcasm.
But true to her personality, Maura was not really receptive of the fact that she was being teased. "Yes, of course I know you're smart. You're actually much more intelligent than you let people think, Jane. But regardless, I think I would win eventually too. Having seen Vince and Barry's total times, they're not particularly wonderful at all, as you would know. And, as you so eloquently put it, your pseudo coordination placebo would keep you from performing extraordinarily as well. By applying the process of elimination, it's only logical that I come out as the victor, is it not?" Maura's own grin and wink appeared. She was inwardly very proud that she could call herself out as the winner using practicality, remaining truthful, and not reveal her secret pinball history to Jane just yet. That would come later tonight, after her game.
Jane was surprised at herself that she could even follow Maura's train of thought. "You did not just use the scientific method to bet on yourself." There was an air of amusement and fake exasperation in her tone.
"Of course not, Jane. Weren't you listening?" Obviously not as closely as Jane thought. "I was using the process of elimination."
"Right, duh." Jane turned, looking around the desks in the bullpen. "Hey, Maur. I just noticed, but Frost and Korsak aren't here. Were they even here when you stepped out of the elevator?"
"Weren't they with you when you decided to come downstairs before I ran into you? If not, and you didn't notice them leaving, then your detective skills need sharpening."
"Of course they were with me when I came to get you. They must have slipped out while we were talking or something. In any case, if I didn't notice, my mind's been somewhere else."
"Clearly." Maura received another playful nudge in the shoulder, but continued. "They should be back with Frankie any second, though. I called him to bring the game up a minute before we crashed into each other."
It was like Frankie's day had somehow been scripted because, again on cue, Frankie came in through the Homicide Division doors. He was holding coffee in one hand, and the pinball game in the other, flanked by Korsak and Frost, who were also holding two cups of coffee each.
"Oh good, you guys are still here," Korsak called over. When the five of them assembled at the desks, Frankie set the game on the desk nearest to him- Korsak's- and left. Each of the male detectives handed each of the women their cup of coffee. Maura, as per usual, received her decaf vanilla latte. Jane got her simple black coffee with an amount of sugar worthy of Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. After a few moments at sheer relaxation after a long and boring day, Korsak picked up the pace again. "Alright, Janie. Let's see how your hands operate without a gun, huh? Let's get that game on." He turned to the junior detective by his side. "Hey, Frost, what do you say? Does Rizzoli here get above two minutes, or does she stay with us in the loser category?"
Maura took the opportunity to interrupt the man's teasing and self-deprecation. "Actually, Vince, Jane won't be playing today. I will." The ME sounded unnecessarily protective and cheerful at the same time, and Jane was simply beaming at the care and adoration she was feeling for her best friend. "Something came up. But you can feel free to assume I will pass the two minutes you set for Jane. In fact, up that to seven minutes. I'm feeling pretty confident."
Frost and Korsak were gaping at her cockiness, something that they rarely ever saw from the ME. Jane looked a little dumbfounded as well, but she quickly masked it with her signature detective skepticism. "Is there something you're not telling us, Maura?"
"All in good time, I promise." She sat down as gracefully as she could at Jane's desk, reached into one of the cabinets, and pulled out the stopwatch from last night. Tossing it to Frost, and getting the pinball board back, she caught a glimpse of Jane's inquiring gaze. "After you stormed out yesterday in all of your authoritative swagger, I took the liberty of leaving the stopwatch here. It serves a good purpose, obviously."
Jane accepted this answer as satisfactory, and walked over to stand behind Maura and watch as she played. After getting the go ahead from Frost, Maura started the game and neither of the women could tear their eyes off the board. More specifically, Jane couldn't tear her eyes off of Maura's hands. She looked so calm, like she had been practicing for a while….After a seemingly endless routine of flicks on the ball, Maura missed and the ball fell. Jane called out a stop and turned to look at the men who were staring at the numbers on the timer. "Hey, boys, you want to blink a little? It's not like she went for half an hour. What's the number?" Frost looked up and showed Jane the watch, blinking his eyes to try and get them moist again.
Jane, on the other hand, was picking her jaw up off the floor. "Two minutes and fifty three seconds? How the hell did you do that, Maura?"
"Like I said, all in good time. Tell me when I can go again."
The Medical Examiner's next turn elicited a score not as high, but equally impressive. "Two minutes and thirty two seconds. I've gotta say, Doctor Isles, it looks like Frankie will be getting his twenty bucks after all," Frost quipped.
"Yeah, seriously, Maura," Jane added. "Can I just forfeit now and avoid the humiliation? It's not like I can pass, what is it, five minutes and twenty five seconds, and you still have your third turn. You should just collect your prize right now."
"Nonsense, Jane." And then the teasing started. "Even if you can't surpass my time, it'll be fun watching you try, won't it?"
"Yeah, yeah, Maur. Enjoy your humorous roll while it lasts. Get on with your game. One more round." She turned to Frost and Korsak and said, "Ten bucks says that she passes three minutes this time."
"Jane!" Maura interrupted the exchange of bets between the detectives.
"You said feel free, didn't you?"
"Fine."
After Frost and Korsak each stated their positions, Maura asked if she could now resume the game. After getting the okay from the junior detective, she flicked the small metal ball up and moved all her attention to what was happening under the small plastic screen. What seemed like hours passed for the spectators, until the ball finally fell through the gap between flippers. Time was stopped, and Frost called out the numbers. As usual, Jane was right. "Three minutes and fifteen seconds." He handed Jane and Korsak each the ten dollars he owed, and then the threesome turned to the doctor next to them.
"So, Maura," Jane leaned forward into the desk where Maura was sitting, shifting somewhat into her detective mode, pinning Maura in her chair. "You want to tell us exactly how you managed to total eight minutes and forty seconds on a plastic desk pinball game? That's an awfully long time." Her tone was playful, but there was clearly an aspect of interrogation there as well, and it was clear she expected an answer, and soon.
Maura sat back in the swivel chair, posture still perfect. She was mostly unfazed by the slight demand in her friend's voice, but the small part of her that was affected quickly sent blood rushing away from her head and to some lower parts of her anatomy. Maybe it had something to do with Jane's proximity to her, or maybe it was the patient yet intimidating command. Maybe it was the husky timbre of Jane's voice so close to her. In any occasion, Maura had to calm herself a little before she took the time to answer. "It's quite simple, Jane. When I was younger, my father owned a desk pinball game. I found it in the library one day and asked about it. He said I could take it with me to boarding school, so that's what I spent most of my time doing when I wasn't in studying one way or another. Now, I know what you're thinking. It's not exactly cheating since I haven't played since then, but it seems I have kept my skill intact. I suppose I could have told you before, though."
Jane just stood back up and shrugged it off, quickly shedding her intimidating persona for the best friend one. "Yeah, you could have. But what's done is done. Tease."
Frost, however, was not as unfazed as his senior. "Well, that's not fair. I'm calling Frankie. Bets are off."
Korsak snatched the phone away from Frost's hand as soon as he had it out of its holster. "No way, man. Bets are bets. And besides, you don't know what Jane has up her sleeve. We all know she's such a surprising person."
"Wow, Korsak. Thanks for the vote of confidence." The detectives were all back to ribbing each other, and Maura sat back and enjoyed the show.
Once Jane had had enough of the teasing- both giving and receiving- and the boys had gone, she turned to her best friend. "Hey, I'm going to the Robber for a burger. You wanna come with? We can go to my place later and have a movie night."
"Only if you'll let me take a look at your hands during the movie. They look tense, especially after all the paperwork you guys were doing today."
"Alright, fine." Jane reached over to help Maura up and then pulled the blonde towards her, hand residing on the small of Maura's back. "But I get to pick the movie." Maura nodded.
"Let's go, Jane." And the pair of women made their way over to the elevators, clearly intent on having a fun night.
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