Blue

Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles do not belong to me. No infringement intended and no profit will be made from their use.

Jane very consciously designed her schedule to limit the probability that she would run into Maura. She had finally received medical clearance to return to full duty, but at the this point Jane was highly skeptical that she was going to be getting any calls to go to a crime scene. And no one seemed to really care that much how her work was going. So, she started coming in a little later than she used to and using the back stairway rather than the elevator to get to her office. Which meant that she'd been back at work for over a week and had not yet run into Maura.

Actually Jane wasn't seeing much of anyone. During her recovery Korsak and Frost came by occasionally, usually together, and they'd talk about the latest cases and other police gossip. They each came down to the basement to welcome her back during her second day there, although they each seemed unsure how to deal with Jane's changed role. Korsak said something nonsensical about it being time for Jane to forgive Maura, but he wouldn't explain what he meant so Jane had no idea what the fuck he was talking about. Since then Jane hadn't really seen anyone other than the guard at the front door.

At first Jane was pissed at the entire situation. She was dumped in the basement. Her supposed job seemed completely fucking impossible. And she couldn't help but feel disrespected. But after a few days, Jane had come up with a plan for tackling the unsolved cases and was determined to accomplish something. She wanted justice for the people who had been murdered but she also wanted to prove to herself and others that she was great at her job.

Jane had to narrow the unsolved cases down to more workable number so after spending a few days thinking about it she came up with a plan. First she decided she wouldn't look at any cases since 1995. By then the use of advanced forensics techniques such as DNA and national law enforcement databases was fairly common. So the probability of finding something new on the forensics side was smaller. Plus, the detectives that worked on those cases could still be around and Jane didn't want get into those battles. Second, Jane decided to start with cases since 1980. This was arbitrary but Jane needed to make a cut somewhere. This left her with just under 500 cases.

Jane then began reading, starting with just the brief case summary and sometimes the autopsy report. There were a large number of cases that had some forensic evidence that could now be run through their newer and more sophisticated systems. Even something as simple as a fingerprint could now be run through national databases that weren't previously available. Jane put these cases in one pile with plans to figure out how to get forensics to look at them. She also set aside any cases that looked like they could have some mafia or Irish mob connection. She was not going to get involved in that clusterfuck. In the third pile were cases she was going to read more thoroughly and work on.

But for now she was still in the sorting phase. On a good day she could go through about 25 files, but Jane found herself staying later and later at work to read more, routinely becoming so engrossed that she completely lost track of time. She actually asked Frankie to take Jo Friday for awhile so she could stop worrying that she was neglecting her dog. Frankie was more than happy to take her. He was still rehabbing and hadn't been cleared to return to duty yet, so he had lots of time on his hands. Jane, meanwhile, had limited herself to working, eating, and sleeping. She'd had several calls from Erin and a text from Sara, all of which she ignored. When she wasn't reading the case files, she was thinking about them.

One day in the middle of this sorting process Jane entered her office and found a fresh coffee sitting on it. Steam was still coming out of the small hole on top. Jane couldn't help but smile. She knew immediately it was from Maura. The label on the cup had the name of the overpriced, organic, fair trade, made by elves or something, coffee place that only Maura would go to. Jane would have been happy with just Dunkin' Donuts, but when she took a sip she had to admit it was very good.

Maura was sure that Jane was avoiding her but she discovered she could hear Jane come and go from the basement because Jane always let the metal door between the stairway and the basement slam shut. So Maura found herself listening for the sound of the door, looking for any clue for what or how Jane was doing, and soon had a pretty good idea of Jane's normal schedule. Then one morning while she was buying her morning coffee, without really thinking about it, Maura ordered two and left one on Jane's desk. She did the same the next morning and, finding the first cup still on Jane's desk but empty, she continued every morning thereafter.

The day before Thanksgiving Maura came in earlier than usual because she planned on leaving early to catch a train to New York City to visit her father. She went to Jane's office to leave coffee and then she wasn't quite sure what happened but suddenly Jane was yelling and Maura had dropped the coffee on the floor.

"What the hell?" Jane jumped off the couch, spilling papers on the floor.

"Shoot!" Maura said, squatting to pick up the coffee before it all spilled.

"Jesus, Maura, I'm sorry, you startled me." Jane bent down to pick up her papers.

"Were you asleep? Did you sleep here last night?" Maura asked.

Jane looked around a little confused. "Uh, yeah. I guess I fell asleep reading this file."

"Oh. I'm sorry I woke you up. I should get to work." Maura turned towards the door.

"Maur?"

Maura looked back at Jane. "Yes?"

"Um...thanks...for the coffee."

Maura smiled tightly and left.

Jane tried to work the rest of the day but she was restless and distracted. She had survived an encounter with Maura but it was definitely strained. Jane replayed the events of the morning looking for clues about Maura's state of mind but didn't come up with any answers.

Finally Jane gave up working for the day. She took out her phone and called Erin and was actually a little surprised that Erin answered her call. But when Erin answered, Jane dove right in, "Hi, it's Jane. I'm sorry I didn't call you back earlier, I've been really busy at work. But I was wondering if you wanted to have a drink or something tonight?"

"Don't you mean do I want to have a quick fuck?" Erin replied lightly.

"Hey, come on, we had a good time, right? And you were the one who picked me up at the bar."

"True," Erin conceded.

"How about I bring dinner over?

"Okay. Come over around 7."

Jane went home, took a nap, showered, and then picked up Chinese food before going to Erin's apartment.

"I actually didn't expect to hear from you again," Erin said after letting Jane into her apartment.

"I've pretty much done nothing but work since I last saw you, honestly."

They ate and talked a little about what Jane had been working on, and eventually they ended up naked in the bedroom again. Erin pulled Jane down on top of her but Jane got up and said, "Turn over." Erin rolled over on her stomach. Kneeling over one of Erin's legs, Jane dragged her fingers up and down the inside of Erin's thighs until Erin was squirming.

"Jesus, stop teasing me," Erin said as she lifted her hips off the bed.

Jane obliged, pushing two fingers inside Erin from behind. Jane fucked her roughly, leaning over and alternately kissing and biting Erin's back. After Erin came Jane rolled over onto the bed on her back. Erin climbed on top of her and kissed her until Jane gently put her hands on Erin's shoulders and pushed down. Jane closed her eyes and enjoyed Erin's tongue on her. After Jane came, Erin laid back down next to her on the bed. Jane turned on her side and wrapped an arm around Erin's waist.

"I suppose you have to go feed the dog or whatever."

"No, I've been working so much my brother has her for awhile. I don't have anywhere to go."

"Oh. Okay." They fell asleep and in the morning Erin woke up to the sound of Jane getting dressed. "Where are you going? Want to have breakfast?" she asked sleepily.

"I should get to work," Jane answered.

"Work? Today is Thanksgiving."

"It is? Huh. Well I'm going to work anyway. Give me a call sometime okay?" Jane said and then left.