"Jane, is everything okay? It's 11 o'clock at night." Angela Rizzoli stepped aside to let her daughter into the house. "You look upset."
"Yeah, well, that might be because I am upset," she walked into the kitchen and plopped down on a chair. "And pissed off." She slammed her forehead onto the palms of her hands.
"Honey, what's happened?" Angela sat down next to her daughter. "What's going on? Is someone hurt?"
"You could say that." Jane took in a shaky breath.
"Is it Frankie? Did something happen with Frankie?" Her mother grasped her arm, panic starting to build up in her voice.
"No Ma. Frankie is fine." Jane sighed and turned to her mother. "I just broke up with Maura."
"You... Jane, what happened? You two seemed perfectly fine at dinner the other night."
"I don't know," she stood up, running an unsteady hand through her hair. "I just... kind of snapped." She began to pace around the darkened kitchen. "You know that whole thing with the dress?" Angela nodded. "Well, I went over to her place tonight to talk about it. I said some things; she said some things, and the next thing I know I'm slamming the key down on her counter and telling her to fuck off."
"You didn't!" Angela didn't try to keep the shock off of her face.
"Yeah... yeah, I did. I told her to fuck off, and then I stomped out of her place." The brunette stopped. "I can't believe I did this." She leaned against the cabinet behind her, crossing her arms. "What am I going to do, Ma?"
"Honey, maybe you should cool down tonight? It sounds like you two were just having a bad night. Your father and I have had fights before. These things, they pass. Watch, tomorrow you'll wake up, and things will be better."
Jane slowly shook her head. "No, it's more than just a fight. It's... it's a culture clash that's been coming for a while now. I told her I wasn't her trophy girlfriend just before we went to that gala, and tonight she told me she wasn't my trophy girlfriend, either. I don't know," she ran her hand across her chin. "It's like we forgot who we are to each other... just some," she motioned with her hand, "Some sort of convenience for each other. We're just the other one's meal guest or person to go with to things with or f... well, you get what I'm saying."
Angela stood up and crossed the short distance to where her daughter was leaning over the sink. "Maybe you two just need some time?" She placed a hand on Jane's slumped back. "It sounds like you have a few things you need to work out, but nothing's impossible. You two have always seemed to make each other so happy. Honey, this is just a rough patch."
"You think so?" Jane gave a small glance to her mother.
"Sure, all relationships have them. But, if you can work through it, you'll be stronger than ever." She gave her daughter a reassuring smile as she gently patted her back.
"Yeah, but, what if we can't work through this?"
"Dr. Isles, I came to see if you have the," Korsak stopped talking the moment he laid eyes on the normally well composed blonde.
Maura Isles sat at her desk in a wrinkled shirt and slightly baggy pants with a pair of scuffed dress boots on. Her normally perfectly styled hair was pulled back in a clip and her face free of any hint of makeup.
"Doc, are you okay?" He walked slowly into the morgue as he took in the doctor's appearance.
Her head shot up in surprise. "Vince... I'm sorry. I didn't hear you come in. Did you need something?" She gave him a weak smile.
"Well, I came down here to grab the lab reports for the Marino case, but," he gave her his best concerned look, "Are you okay?"
"I'm tired." She ran a hand over her desk looking for the Marino file. "I have the file here somewhere. I'm sorry, Vince, I seem to be terribly unorganized today." She picked through a few stacks of folders covering her work area.
The detective leaned down and placed a hand on top of the one frantically running through paperwork. "Did something happen between you and Jane?"
She stared at their hands trying to keep the tears from falling. "What would make you say that?"
"Doc, Jane was my partner, and I've known you for a long time. What kind of detective would I be if I couldn't figure out when one of my friends is having a hard time?" He let go of her hand and sat down in the chair by her desk. "Do you want to tell me what's going on?"
Maura closed her eyes and took a slow breath. "Jane and I had a fight last night."
"Sometimes couples fight."
"She broke up with me." She opened her eyes but couldn't meet Korsak's surprised expression. "She left my house keys on my counter, and she left."
"Jane... you know, she can be hot headed. Maybe you just need to give her some time to cool down?"
The blonde shook her head slowly. "It's more than that this time. We've had disagreements before, but it's never been like this." She met the detective's sympathetic gaze. "Vince, she told me... she told me to," she leaned in and lowered her voice. "She told me to 'fuck off'." She shook her head. "She's never used that kind of language with me before. Sometimes, we fight and she says 'piss off', but never... never that."
Korsak sat there for a moment waiting to see if the doctor would say something else. When she didn't, he cleared his throat and nodded slowly, "Maybe you two just need a little time? I'm... I'm probably not the best person to give advice on relationships, but I know that you and Jane have a connection. It's something special, and I don't think one disagreement is going to destroy what you two have."
"I saw her this morning, but she wouldn't even look at me. I don't know," she ran her hand across her face. "Maybe... maybe I should be mad, too.? But, all I can think about is how stupid I was to ignore her concerns. When I try to pick up the phone to call her, I freeze. I don't know what to say. We fight so much, and we work together." She shook her head. "Maybe I need to take some time off?"
"You mean leave?"
"Not permanently, but I haven't taken a vacation in over a year. Maybe it's time? It would give Jane some space and me some time to reflect and recenter myself. I mean," she looked down at her clothes, "Just look at me. As Jane would say, I'm a 'hot mess' right now." She gave a humorless chuckle. "I don't want to push her, but I don't think I'm going to be an effective medical examiner while I'm in this kind of emotional turmoil. Since I don't believe this issue will be resolved with Jane anytime soon, maybe I should step away until it can be?"
"That sounds an awful lot like running away, Doc, and I don't really peg you as the type."
"Sometimes a hasty retreat is needed in order to regroup and reevaluate your battle plan, Vince." She reached across her desk and picked up a green file folder. "I don't know how I missed this. It's the only colored folder on my desk." She handed it to him. "If you'll excuse me, I need to get my files in order."
"Yeah, sure, Doc." He stood. "Listen, if you ever just need to talk..."
"I know who to call. Thank you, Vince, that's very kind."
"Maura, I need to talk to you about the Marino case." Jane stepped into the morgue for the first time in over a week. "Maura?" She looked around the seemingly empty room. "Maura, come on, I need to talk to you about these results." She stepped into the middle of the room and did a 360. "Hello? Where the hell is everyone?"
"Can I help you?" A tall, lanky short haired redhead in black slacks and a white button down dress shirt walked into the morgue from a side office. "I'm sorry. I had to step out for a moment."
Jane gave the woman the once over. "And you are?"
"Dr. Temperance Brennan, and you're Detective Olivia Benson, right?" She smirked at the brunette. "Seriously, did you miss the memo?"
"What memo?" The irritation in Jane's voice caused her words to lash out heavily.
"The one that went out three days ago. Dr. Isles is on extended leave, and I'm taking her place until she gets back." The redhead extended her hand. "Dr. Jude O'Connor. You must be Detective Jane Rizzoli. You're the only one in homicide I haven't met yet."
Jane shook the other woman's hand. "Wait, Maura's on leave." She shook her head. "Why didn't the guys tell me this?"
"How did you miss the memo? I mean, come on, there was a welcome lunch. If you weren't so cranky, maybe you would have noticed the welcome note on the bulletin board." She grabbed the folder out of Jane's hand. "But, you didn't come down here just to talk to Dr. Isles, I'm sure. So, what's going down here?" She started flipping through the file.
"I... uh … I came down here to ask Maura about some of the test results. But, I guess you can help me with that?"
"Yeah, I think I'm qualified." Dr. O'Connor rolled her eyes at the brunette. "Show me what you've got questions on, and I'll see what I can do. But, let's make this snappy. I've got two tickets to the ballgame tonight, and I still have to find a date."
"You're going to rush the science?" Jane's eyebrows shot up.
"No, I'm going to rush the detective. Science is already done. Dr. Isles did that. I'm just answering questions, right?"
"Yeah... wait, did you say you have tickets to the game?"
"Yup, I had a date, but she bailed on me." The doctor sighed. "I'm a total loser for thinking she wouldn't flake. But, whatever... why?" She shot the detective a mischievous grin. "Are you into baseball?"
"Yeah and basketball. I tried to get tickets, but I ran out of time."
The ME shrugged. "You want to come with? It'd really be a favor for me; I'd owe you one. At least this way I don't have to bug a fried or (God forbid) an ex, and I don't want to waste the ticket."
"Yeah, sure. You want to meet up there?"
"Yeah, I'm going to want to change before I go to the game. Beer is a bitch to get out of white shirts."
"Tell me about it." Jane smiled at Jude. "So, I have all my questions written down. Could you look at it and get back to me?"
"Yeah, I'll do what I can tonight and email you. Will it be okay if I can't get it finished tonight?"
"Should be fine." The brunette started toward the elevators. "I'll see you tonight."
I hope that nashing sound isn't teeth being ground together as we meet Dr. O'Connor. She's a good woman, really. Don't send death threats... :-/
PS... reviews are still my crack! Feed me! ^_^