Chapter 9 for your viewing pleasure!
The next morning came too early for the sleepy detective. She reached out and managed to hit the alarm on the third try, turning off it's blaring noise. Jane rubbed her eyes forcefully, attempting to remove the sleep still stuck there. Deciding to get the day off to a good start, she went for a run, working out the stiffness in her muscles, took Jo for a quick walk around the block, and turned the coffee pot on while she hopped in the shower.
An hour later, a much more awake and relaxed Jane Rizzoli strode into the BPD. She carefully handed off a coffee to a (clearly) hungover Frost, plopped another with two sugars down on Korsak's desk and settled casually into her chair. Jane was determined that today was the day she would get through to Maura. And she was ready for whatever confrontation that might entail. The first sip of her own brew, technically her second cup of the day, had her eyes closed in appreciation of the wonders of caffeine.
"Long night, Frodt?" Korsak asked teasingly as he entered the room.
"Don't talk to me," Frost muttered.
Korsak laughed in response. "What's got his panties in a twist this morning?"
Jane looked fondly at her partner, now hunched over in his chair, "Well I would guess Frost had a hard time getting lucky last night. Had to drown your sorrows, Frost?"
Korsak chuckled. "I'll bet you five bucks he ended up home alone on his couch."
"I only take bets I know I can win, old man," Jane winked at him.
Frost finally seemed to notice he was the butt of a rather rude joke, so he crumpled up a piece of paper and threw it in Jane's general direction. Suffice it to say, it fell short. "Air ball!" Korsak said cheerfully.
"Too loud," Frost groaned and put his head on his desk.
"Let's hope we don't get a body today," Korsak pointed at Frost over his shoulder, "This one has a difficult enough time holding in his lunch as it is."
Jane nodded.
Lieutenant Cavenaugh suddenly strode through the doors, looking out of sorts, and all three detectives attempted to snap to some sort of attention. Frost failed miserably.
"Rizzoli!" he barked.
"Yes, sir?"
"I need you to run downstairs. Dr. Pike just called up with some lab results and he needs a detective."
"Dr. Pike called up?" Jane questioned, but with one harsh look her way, it became, "Yes, sir. I'm on it."
"And Frost!"
"Sir?" Frost managed to mumble.
Cavenaugh looked down at him, "Drink that coffee and take a shower. You reek, Detective."
Korsak managed to stifle his laugh with a grunt, but Jane, waiting at the elevators, didn't even bother to hid her peal of mirth. Frost simply glared at the action figure on his desk, avoiding eye contact with anyone in the room. "Yes, sir."
When Jane entered the morgue a few moments later, she automatically glanced in the direction of Maura's office, but the door was closed and there was no light peeking through. Huh, maybe she was in the autopsy room and just couldn't be bothered to call up herself, or come up. She used to bring lab results upstairs herself when they came in. She would chat with Frost and Korsak and joke around with Jane. It helped break up a long day, and it always made both doctor and detective happier to spend some time together.
However, it was not the young doctor leaning over a body on he table, but, "Dr. Pike."
"Ah, detective. I see you finally managed to come downstairs to retrieve the lab results. I called up over twenty minutes ago."
Stupid, Pike. What an idiot. Jane straightened her shoulders and took on a more aggressive stance. "Well, yes, Doctor," she practically spit out the word. "I was a bit busy upstairs working on important police business. You know, solving murders."
Pike simply huffed under his breath. Jane waited impatiently for the lab results, but it didn't look like he was in any hurry to give them up.
"Where's Dr. Isles today?" Jane couldn't help asking.
"Dr. Isles," here Pike paused his work and glanced over at the closed office door with disdain, "called in sick."
"Sick?" Jane managed.
Pike nodded. "Apparently so. Although she was just on vacation, I can't see how she would need to take more time off."
Jane was shocked. Sure, Maura had taken vacation time, which was strange enough by itself, but Jane had never, never known the ME to take a sick day. She usually came into the office and muddled through until Jane forcibly drove her home. Perhaps there was an emergency of some kind. A family emergency? No, Angela would have gotten that out of the tight-lipped doctor. Plus, Maura couldn't lie. If she'd called in sick, she must actually be sick.
And for Maura to miss a day of work because of it, meant that it must have been serious. Maura had crazy self-motivation, and Jane knew she would force herself out of bed to at least make an appearance in the office. If she hadn't even bothered to come in, Jane was worried. Not just worried, if she was being honest. She was scared.
And, in that moment, while Pike was still muttering to himself about how lazy and inconsiderate he though his boss was, Jane made up her mind. She'd planned on talking to Maura that day anyway, no matter how badly the ME tried to shut her out. She would corner Maura if she had to, but if the doctor was at her house, that was where Jane needed to be as well. It was time to get to the bottom of this.
Jane turned abruptly on her heel. "Thanks!" she snapped at the older doctor and grabbed the file sitting on the counter, knowing it would contain the results Pike had originally called up about. Pike stared after her, as threw open the door to the stairwell, not bothering to wait for the elevator.
Jane jogged into the office, not even winded from her sprint up the steps. "Where's the fire?" Frost asked as Jane dropped the files on his desk. "Jane?"
Jane shrugged hastily into her suit jacket and shoved her keys and cell phone into her pocket.
"I'm taking the rest of the day," she grunted.
"Is everything okay?" Frost questioned.
"I'm going to Maura's."
"You're going to see the doc? Why?" the disbelief was evident in his tone.
"She called in sick, Frost," Jane finally looked up at him. "Maura Isles, who's never taken a sick day in her life."
Frost nodded. "But you, you are going to check up on her?"
Jane glared at him. "I knew something was off with her, Frost. And I don't just mean our fight. So I'm taking the rest of the day. Okay?"
Frost nodded again. "Alright. I'll cover for you."
"Thanks," the gratitude was evident in her voice.
She headed for the door. "Tell the doc we're thinking about her," Frost called to her retreating form and Jane waved over her shoulder to acknowledge him.
Frost glanced over to where Korsak was sitting, having watched the rushed exchange silently. "That was weird."
"Well," the younger detective opened the file Jane had given him, "maybe this means the cat fight is finally over."
"Looks like Jane's the one who's going to cave."
Frost smirked at him, "Pay up."
Korsak simply glared at him. "Respect, detective," but he reached for his wallet anyway and threw a twenty on Frost's desk.
Dr. Maura Isles had woken up that morning after a fitful night's sleep feeling more tired than she had when she'd gone to bed. Nightmares had kept her tossing and turning all night long, never allowing her more than three hours of sleep at a time. She couldn't recall what the dreams had been about, but she knew that Jane had featured prominently in most of them, and that she had woken with a sense of loneliness and despair each time.
Her head ached, her throat felt swollen and sore, and her body felt at times extremely hot and then extremely cold. Hot flashes. Maura wondered if her emotional stress was causing her body to merely react physically, or if she had actually managed to pick up some sort of germ. In the back of her mind, she knew that it most likely was connected to her frequent headaches, but she pushed that thought away. Stress. That was the factor here. Just stress.
And she knew that going into work today was not an option. She could barely pull herself out of bed, let alone drive to the morgue. Instead she called Pike to let him know that he would still be in charge today. She managed to make the conversation as short as possible, trying to ignore the blatant rudeness in the man's voice.
Maura called in sick. For the first time ever. And she could honestly care less. She avoided taking sick days because she was dedicated to her work and, in her own way, she didn't want to exhibit any weakness or vulnerability in the workplace. As the Chief Medical Examiner for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Maura had an image to maintain. But at this moment, other people could think what they wanted about her.
The last thought she had before she rolled over and fell back asleep was that Jane was sure to find out. Maura hoped the detective wouldn't think Maura any more pathetic than she probably already did. Maura hated disappointing anyone's expectations, but most especially Jane's. She just wanted to recover, and then she could apologize and hopefully Jane would forgive her, and they could be friends again.
AN2: Let me know what you're thinking.