Disclaimer: Nope, still not mine. If they were….*sigh*.
Chapter Four
Jane sat at her desk but couldn't concentrate on the computer screen before her. She wanted to call Maura and apologize for last night but wasn't sure if that was the right thing to do. She was so confused.
She looked around the empty bullpen. Jane came in early this morning, unable to get a restful night's sleep on the sofa in the home office. She tossed and turned most of the night, until very early this morning when she finally drifted off into a restless sleep.
Maura was being chased. By what? Hoyt. Damn him, even he could still get into my dreams after so many years of him being gone. I tried to run after Maura, catch her and protect her before Hoyt got her but I wasn't able to catch up to her. Jane awoke just as a scream ripped from Maura's throat, around some vague corner Jane couldn't see, being terrorized by Hoyt.
She jerked herself awake, looked around to get her bearings and fell back against the sofa. Maura, I am sorry, for everything I've done, Jane thought. Another thought lurked at the back of her mind but Jane firmly shut the door on that one. I'm not going there, I'm married to Joey and we have a beautiful family.
Maura sat in the airplane seat and opened her laptop. She reviewed her schedule then moved on to the new budget figures emailed to her while she was boarding. She found herself nodding in approval at the newest figures; this would work. She shut down the computer and leaned back in her seat.
"Dr. Isles?" Maura heard a familiar voice at her elbow and looked up.
"Kelly Garrison?" Maura looked up at the other woman.
"The one and only. How are you, Maura?"
"Fine, thank you. Yourself?"
"Yep, fine as well. How's your detective?" Kelly asked and watched the sparkling eyes grow dim.
"We're not together, Kelly. Jane married someone else."
"She did? I didn't see that coming…oh, well, I'm sorry for her." Kelly watched Maura's face. She was delighted to know Jane Rizzoli was no longer in the picture but she almost hesitated to ask anything further. Maura definitely had to be married to someone. Kelly started to open her mouth but Maura spoke.
"I'm not married, Kelly." Kelly smiled.
"I was trying to find a discrete way of asking but I didn't want to pry. It's been several years since we dated."
"You?" Maura asked.
"No, no one. Not married, not seeing anyway. Just living the single life."
"Out on the town each night, a different girl in every port?" Maura teased.
"No, more like a different book in each city. I don't party as much anymore. Sometimes I think bars are overrated for meeting people," Kelly replied. Inwardly she was thrilled. Possibly another chance for her and Maura, now that Jane was no longer in the picture?
"I was never a fan of the bar scene, either. But then, I was always socially awkward. I wasn't comfortable meeting new people," Maura said.
"Are you still medical examiner in Boston?" Kelly asked, sipping the cocktail served by the flight attendant. Maura shook her head.
"No, as a matter of fact I moved out of Boston for awhile; I only recently moved back."
"Really? So what do you do now, Maura? Did you go into private practice?"
"No, I took over the Isles Family Foundation. My parents wanted to retire somewhat so I am the new CEO. I moved to San Francisco not long after Jane married. I was engaged but it didn't work out. My parents asked me to move back, to be closer. My father is not in the best of health."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Kelly murmured. She wondered just how much of Jane's marriage was the cause of Maura fleeing Boston.
"Enough about me," Maura said. "Update me on you, Kelly."
"Not much to update, Maura. I started my own nurse staffing company. We contract with hospitals to make sure they have enough nurses on any given shift. We can shift the load so if there's a catastrophe in an area we can bring in extra nurses for the duration. It's more cost effective for the hospital. This way they can staff the shifts with a minimum amount of personnel and then adjust as needed."
"You've done well for yourself, Kelly. I admire a woman who can take charge of a project and run with it."
Maura sat there and talked with Kelly for several hours. She kept watching Kelly's face and noticed how pretty Kelly really was. Maura was beginning to feel an attraction to Kelly and hoped the other woman felt the same.
"I guess we weren't really meant to be together," Maura finished her story. Kelly reached over and lightly squeezed her hand.
"I'm sorry, Maura. I know how painful this was for you," Kelly said. Mentally she was calling Jane an idiot.
"Thank you, but it's over now, has been for the past eight years," Maura said.
"Do you still see Jane, now that you're back in Boston?" Kelly asked. She wanted to know if Jane Rizzoli still had any hold over Maura, or any contact at all.
"It's funny. I ran into her in the grocery store a couple of weeks ago. I called her to see if she wanted to get together for coffee but she had a big case and didn't have time. When she did finally call I couldn't talk to her. I told her not to contact me again," Maura answered. She left out the part about Jane parking her car on her street and the altercation with Joey and Jane.
Kelly nodded her understanding. "When you're in Australia, Maura, do you have time in your schedule to join me for dinner?"
"Yes, I'm sure I do, Kelly. By the way, is this a business trip for you or are you on vacation?"
"Vacation. My best friend is getting married. Finally! Kim met Josh three years ago and he asked her to move to Australia. She did but it took awhile for them to decide to marry. The wedding's this next weekend." Kelly had a thought. "Maura, why don't you attend the wedding with me? It'll be fun."
"Oh, I can't crash a wedding, Kelly. It's not appropriate."
"Look, I RSVP'ed for two anyway, so why not? Think about it, anyway, Maura. You can let me know later."
"Okay, I will." Maura smiled up at Kelly. She was beginning to think this business trip to Australia might not be so dull and boring.
"I hate to tell you this, partner, but you look like hell. And why are you sitting here in the bullpen instead of in your office?" Frost said. He draped his jacket over the back of his chair and watched Jane.
"I was having a problem with my computer, Frost. I came out here to use another one." Jane used the first excuse that popped into her head. She didn't want to admit she was missing Maura and sitting at her old desk helped Jane feel better. Her fantasy was that she could hear Maura's heels clicking on the floor as the m.e. came from the elevator. Frost rose.
"Come on, Jane, let's check out your computer. I'll have it working in no time." Jane followed Frost into her office. He sat down and booted the system. Looking at her files and clicking on several, he frowned.
"Jane, I'm not finding any problems. Can you tell me what happened this morning?"
Jane sighed. "Frost, I didn't have a problem with my system. I just used that as an excuse. I sat at my old desk for old time's sake." Frost raised his eyebrows at Jane.
"Yeah, I know. Lame, huh? I had a dream about Maura being chased by Hoyt and I feel closer to her sitting at my old station."
"Why don't you call her, Jane? Tell her you want to renew your friendship. It's Maura, she'll understand. In fact, Jane, as close as you two were, she'll probably welcome a friendship with you again."
Jane rubbed her hands over her face. She looked over at Frost. "I kind of blew that out of the water last night, Frost," she said and proceeded to tell him about her night-time fireworks outside of Maura's house. Frost whistled when she was done.
"I don't know, Jane, that's sounds more like something I would have done when Stacie and I broke up," Frost said, referring to a long-ago girlfriend. He was ready to propose when she broke up with him. It took Frost a long time to get over her.
"Frost, you know how close Maura and I were, right?" this time Jane zeroed in on Frost's face. She looked him right in the eye. Frost met her gaze then dropped it.
"Yeah, kind of. I mean, I suspected."
"Yeah, well, we were."
"What happened, Jane? You and the doc, we thought you guys were headed to the altar."
"I shot myself, Frost, and couldn't handle the relationship when I woke."
"Did your family give you any trouble, Jane?"
"No, that's the thing, Frost. I've thought about this endlessly over the years. They were fine with it. Ma, Pop, Frankie, everyone was happy for us. But I took one look at Maura worrying about me and I lost it. I ran."
"You're good at that, partner."
"I know. And it's cost me," Jane admitted. The two sat in silence for a moment. Frost waited for Jane to continue.
"The question is, what do I do now?"
TBC. Find me on twitter, hbCarolyn.
*The character of Kelly Garrison is borrowed from one of my older stories, "You Are Such A Girl."