"… and in other news, no new developments have been released on the multiple bodies recently found, although Boston PD assures us that they are working diligently and..."
He shut the television off and breathed a sigh of relief. Since the press conference all he could think about was whether or not he'd been careful enough. Of course, the thought that they had the mental acuity to catch him was laughable. Truly hilarious. Nevertheless, it had been difficult to work earlier that day when all he could picture was that bitch detective kicking down his front door. He toyed briefly with the idea of moving elsewhere. But no, not now, it would be too difficult to move now. Weak as it was, as soon as it felt daylight it would be sure to fight and yell and draw all sorts of unsavoury attention. He stretched and let the issue go; now wasn't time to worry. He had had a hell of a day at work; now it was time to unwind.
The house was pretty; quaint, with a blue door, comfortably nestled in the corner of a neighbourhood any kid would be lucky to grow up in. As the car pulled up to the curb, Jane felt dread tighten in her gut.
There was a tree swing in the front yard. There were two small bicycles resting against the garage. Inside there was a family. A family that still had hope.
And it was her job to rob them of that hope, to confirm their worst fears and break their hearts into tiny pieces.
They had been at this for hours, although it felt much longer - like she had maybe lived several lifetimes in between notifications. It had been around eight o'clock that morning when the last of MacGregor's reconstructions had been validated. Immediately Jane had divided the names amongst the task force and sent them on their way, saying that the families had waited long enough.
Long enough. With that thought she steeled herself and turned to Frost who was gazing resolutely at the blue door, hands clenching on the steering wheel.
"Let's go."
His gaze did not waver.
"C'mon, Frost, it's our last one. And they've waited long enough."
Frost bowed his head. His whole body seemed to shrink into itself. "Jane?" he asked.
"Yeah, Frost?"
"Do you—" His breath caught, "Do you believe in God?"
Jane had not been expecting this from him. Not from her partner, the upstart so eager to prove himself one of the boys, to prove that he was tough enough. She looked into his dark eyes and contemplated her answer carefully.
"Yeah. Yeah, I think I do. "
"But… how? I mean, how can you believe after this? After all the things you've been through and seen? How do you know?" He looked so lost that it almost frightened Jane.
"I – I'm not sure what to tell you, Frost. For me, I guess, it's almost a necessity, you know? Like, we put ourselves in danger, and we see things that no one should ever have to see and then the next day we come back and do it all over again. I come back because I want to make sure that there's good working against all the evil. I believe because I need to. I need to believe that there is an ultimate good existing somewhere, something to counteract all the evil I know exists. I need to believe that if I'm staring down the barrel of a gun, I've got someone standing beside me. I need to believe that all the one's we can't save – especially those kids back at the morgue– I need to believe that there's someone to take care of them, to comfort them and keep them safe and welcome them home. I guess I believe because I just can't stand to think about the alternative, Barry. "
Frost was quiet. Jane's throat was tight.
"Ok," he said finally.
Jane met his eyes again and felt reassured by the calmness she found there. "Ok?"
Frost nodded and inhaled sharply. "Let's do this. And then let's make the scum who did this pay."
Jane smiled. "Ok."
It was dark when they finally made it back to the precinct. Once inside, Jane made sure to track down all the members of the task force and send them home. A day like that took a toll on everyone. After telling Frost to leave she headed towards the elevator, stopping only to grab a leftover jelly filled donut, and silently praying that Det. Carr was working late. She stepped inside and rubbed her eyes, trying to wake up. When she looked back up she was displeased but unsurprised to find Frost standing beside her.
"I thought I told you to go home?"
Frost snorted. "What so you can have all the glory? No thanks."
Jane laughed. "Seriously, Frost, you need sleep, it's been a hell of a day."
"Seriously Jane," he said in a tone that brooked no argument, "you're my partner. My partner. I go home when you do. "
Jane said nothing but reached forward and hit the button for floor three. She chose to ignore the shit-eating grin plastered on Frost's face.
Det. Carr was just packing up when they arrived. As soon he saw them he gave a great "Humph", sat heavily in his chair, and began to pull files from different drawers. "'bout time you got down here Rizzoli, I was about to go out and take over that fancy task force myself if you didn't show up soon. "
"Ah, can it," laughed Jane, "we both know you would make it up the stairs to homicide anyway. Whaddya got for us?"
George scowled good-naturedly, "I do her a favour and look what I get! See how she treats her old friends?" He turned to Frost, "I tell ya, get out while you still can, kid." He cleared his throat purposely. "Now, I know you've got a bunch of kids up there with ya on that force looking for links, but I thought give it a look over for old times sake anyway. And I'll bet that what I've found beats the pants off any one of the rooks. "
Jane rolled her eyes. "Jeez, George, it's not a competition. And it's not like they're fresh from the academy. Davis and Johnson have been here longer than me."
He waved a hand carelessly, "Not the point. The point is, I've found a link. Here." He thrust a note pad across the desk. "See?" he asked excitedly, "All twenty of those kids were last seen at a park or a schoolyard."
"The same ones?" Jane asked quickly.
"Well, no."
Jane folded her arms and raised an eyebrow.
"Just wait, don't rush me." He shuffled more papers. "There. See? All the locations have playgrounds built by G&O Park Equipment Ltd."
Jane grinned almost dizzy with relief, "Finally, a lead we can actually work with!" She pulled the jelly filled donut from behind her back.
"Cherry?" Carr asked hopefully.
"Of course," she laughed. "How could I forget?"
"You be sure to tell your captain who found this lead, eh Rizzoli?" he said, munching happily, "Let 'em know up there in homicide that it's not all about the rooks and new computers. Tell 'em that we old dogs still got a few tricks in us yet."
"Will do, George. Thanks."
"Anytime, Rizzoli. Anytime."
Back upstairs Jane was practically vibrating. "Alright, Frost, can you maybe find out if the parks the kids disappeared from were under construction or were having maintenance done? And if they were we'll look to see if the sites have any workers in common." She ran her hands through her hair. "It's not much, but it's a start at least. I'll go order us som—"
"You'll be ordering nothing else tonight, Rizzoli," Interrupted Cavanaugh brusquely. "You and Frost are going home."
Jane spun to face him, incredulous. "We've got a solid lead! This creep could have one of those missing kids with him right now!"
"You're no good to anyone half-asleep."
"I'm not tired." Jane said immediately.
"Me neither," Frost interjected quickly. "Sir."
"Oh, really?" raising his eyebrows, he turned to Jane. "When was the last time you slept, Rizzoli?"
"I – uh,"
"Yeah, exactly. I don't want to see either of you in here 'til at least eight tomorrow morning. You can pick it up then. That's an order," he added when neither of them made a move to leave. He began to retreat to his office. "Oh, and Rizzoli? Take the Doc with ya, she's been here just as long as you have, maybe longer."
Frustrated, Jane grabbed her keys and stomped to the elevator, Frost beside her. She let him off at ground floor and then made her was to the morgue.
"Maura?" she called, entering the empty lab. "Cavanaugh's kicking me out, wanna grab somethi—" Jane stopped short at the sight of the ME at her desk, head propped up on her hand, mouth slightly open and snoring softly. It was times like this that she couldn't help but marvel at how incredibly adorable her friend was.
"Hey, Maur, " she said softly, gently shaking her friend awake. "C'mon, let's get you home."
"Wha…? No, Jane, I'm fiii—" her protests were cut off by a gigantic yawn.
"Yeah," chuckled Jane, "You're fine. C'mon sleepyhead, are you gonna get up, or am I going to have to carry you out?"
"Humph." Said Maura. "I'm a grown woman, I can walk on my own, Jane. What time is it?"
Jane rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, Maur. It's like nine thirty or something. Let's go, I'm starving."
Maura's eyes lit up. "Can we get olives on the pizza?"
"Who said we were getting pizza?"
Maura raised an eyebrow.
"Only if we get extra pepperoni."
"Fine. But just so you know, pepperoni is extremely unhealthy for you."
"I think I'll risk it."
Disclaimer: notmine. not mine. not. mine.
A/N: Sorry it's been so long. Forgive me? Thanks for reading! -Sloane