Yay chapter 10. I really wish I had posted this before the series finale but alas time got away from me. Chapter 11 is already on the way and should be up soon so long as I get all of my papers done. One thing I am considering is writing a sequel to this one. It all depends on what you guys think but I won't decide until I finish this story in the next few chapters. Anyway thanks for reading, review let me know what you think/feel and as always enjoy!

Chapter 10

Jane felt a weight on her shoulder as she blinked trying to get her senses about her. the sleeping woman next to her didn't budge. She smiled. Maura… She didn't want to move and risk waking the blonde. When she had fallen asleep last night she had been sure that when she awoke Maura would no longer be next to her. She was glad she had been wrong. With her free hand Jane brushed her fingers down Maura's arm. Seeing Maura so vulnerable made her heart melt. She loved Maura, but it was more than just as family like she always led herself to believe. She truly loved her and would do anything for her. Years of working together and being close friends proved that.

Next to her Maura stirred, pulling herself closer to Jane, inhaling deeply. A light moan escaped her as she looked up into Jane's smiling face. She couldn't help but smile back.

"Good morning Jane." She brushed her hair back greeting the woman next to her.

"Great morning," Jane said glancing over at the clock. "It's early. You have time to shower."

"I will in a bit." Maura muttered craning her neck to bring her lips to Jane's in a deep kiss.

Jane's first instinct was to pull away. She pushed the urge away and surrendered herself to the kiss. It wasn't demanding or heated like the night before. It was drawn out full of promise for what was to happen between them. They only pulled apart when the need for air overpowered them.

"I'm glad you stayed Jane," Maura said. "I know this wasn't easy for you."

"You made it easier," Jane admitted. "Thank you. I mean it."

XXXXX

Her phone rang while she was waiting for Maura to finish in the shower. It was Korsak. Jane had expected to hear from him yesterday after he finished interviewing their three new suspects. When he hadn't she assumed he hadn't found anything. It was a pleasant surprise to hear from him now.

"Rizzoli."

"Wasn't sure if I would get you or not. You sound better."

"Are you checking in on me or are you calling about the case?" Even though she was close with Korsak she wasn't ready to disclose what was going on with her yet. It was all too new to her.

"I am checking up on you. But I also called because I knew you'd want to know what Frankie and I learned while you were gone."

"It would be nice."

"Both James Garrett and Marco Rodriguez have air tight alibis for the night of the murder. They also both voluntarily gave a DNA sample."

"What about Fin Johnson?"

"Home alone the night of the murder. Frankie is talking to his neighbors to see if they can shed any light on his whereabouts. He also refused to give a DNA sample. I've already requested a warrant but it will take a couple days."

"Kent is running the samples we do have then?"

"As we speak."

It was all good news. Three suspects, two of which were cooperating fully and one who wasn't. It wasn't an automatic sign of a guilty person if they refused to give a sample. Just like asking for a lawyer, refusing a search or sample without a warrant was a measure to protect oneself. Jane understood that but when a suspect asked for a warrant or a lawyer it was a tactic to make them believe only guilty people did that. People became more willing to talk or help that way.

"It's something at least," Jane said. "I'll be in soon to help with whatever you guys have left me."

"One other thing," Korsak stopped her. "Even though we ruled out Jennifer Nelson as a suspect she came in to answer a few questions. According to her there is bad blood between one of our suspects and Alexis Eldsfield."

Jane smiled even though Korsak couldn't see her. She'd missed a lot by leaving early.

"Let me guess, Fin Johnson?"

"Bingo. Apparently Alex did something that pissed of Johnson and he's had a problem with her ever since. It also seems to be one sided. Whenever Johnson does something out of line Alex pays little attention."

"Sounds like motive to me," she said nodding to herself. "Did Nelson tell you what the whole thing was all about?"

"She didn't know," Korsak replied. "I thought you might want to pay a visit to Alex and get her side of the story."

Jane thought for a minute. They definitely needed to follow up on the information. She reasoned Korsak had already thought about talking to Fin Johnson about it. Jane was sure he would be less then eager to talk about his problem with Alex. The real question was whether or not Alex would want to talk to them. After all that had happened Jane doubted it. Although her encounter with Alex the night before lead her to believe Alex might be more open to talking with them. Of course Alex had been drunk which could have leant to her willingness to talk to Jane.

"I'll go with Maura. I feel like having a neutral party may make her more willing to talk to us," she said after a long moments pause. "While we're doing that you could head back over to Baker's Gym and see if you can find anything else out about the feud."

"Sounds like a plan," Korsak agreed. "Be careful Janie."

"I will Korsak. I'll see you at the station when I'm done."

Jane set her phone down on the counter. Her brain already sorting through the information Korsak had given her. Alex had never mentioned a problem with any other boxers. If she had the case might have already been closed. Of course Jane was partially to blame for Alex's lack of cooperation. She hadn't done much to warrant Alex to disclose any information that wasn't directly related to her relationship with the victim. Jane had seen her as guilty from the beginning.

Alex on the other hand could have come forward at any time if she thought anyone tied to her could have murdered Grace Harper. She didn't exactly have many friends and Jane was certain she had pissed off her fair share of people.

One way or another they needed Alex's help.

"Was that Korsak?" Maura asked joining Jane at the counter.

"Yeah. They came across a promising lead yesterday." Jane briefly explained what Korsak had told her. Maura looked just as relieved to hear the information as Jane had felt.

"That's good."

"It is," Jane sighed. "However, we need to talk to Alex to see how deep this dispute between her and Johnson really went."

"Will she even want to talk to you?"

"I don't know. I hope so. That's why I want you with me," Jane admitted. "She might talk to you if she won't talk to me."

"What makes you think that?"

"You're a good looking woman."

"I don't see what that has to do with anything."

"I know Alex's type. Trust me if she won't talk to me as a cop trying to solve her friends murder, she'll talk to you."

"I don't know how I should feel about you using me to gain information."

Jane took Maura's hand in hers and squeezed it gently. "I'm only asking. You don't have to."

Maura had always found it hard to tell Jane no. After last night even though all they did was talk Maura was willing to do what Jane asked of her. Of course Maura would have done it anyway. If it meant putting a killer behind bars.

XXXXX

The last thing Jane and Maura expected to see when they reached Alex's apartment building was an ambulance. Jane pulled the car to the curb and got out. Maura followed her closely. She wasn't too keen with Jane's plan to speak with Alex. If the woman would even talk to Jane in the first place. She did agree with Jane's assumption that Alex would be more comfortable talking to her. When they had run into each other in the elevator Maura had picked up on something from Alex. It hadn't been that difficult to figure out what it was.

"I wonder what happened?" Maura asked glancing at Jane. She noticed the detective looking up at the windows on the third floor.

"I don't know. Alex has an elderly neighbor, the ambulance could be for her," Jane suggested. "Not to mention all the other people who live here. Could be anything. Let's get moving."

Maura followed behind as Jane lead them up three flights of stairs. When they reached the third floor landing Jane paused, causing Maura to bump into her. She followed Jane's gaze down the hall and saw exactly what had caused Jane to stop. An elderly woman, Maura assumed was Nancy, stood in the door of her apartment watching the commotion at the end of the hall. Maura nudged Jane, pointing towards 3A.

"Jane is that Alex's apartment?" she asked.

Jane couldn't see into the apartment from where they were standing but she could tell that there were EMT's in the room.

"Wait here."

Maura didn't protest. There was nothing she could do; she didn't work on the living. She watched as Jane disappeared into the apartment. Leaving her alone observing from afar much like Nancy.

When Jane entered the apartment one of the EMT's turned to ask her to leave. She quickly flashed her badge and made sure to give them room to work. Alex was on the ground, unconscious. From the looks of things, the EMT's had only just arrived in the apartment when Jane and Maura had arrived. Alex wasn't going to be talking to them any time soon.

"What happened here?"

"A neighbor found her after she heard the dog barking. When we arrived we found her unconscious with an empty bottle of whiskey next to her. We believe it's alcohol poisoning. If you'll excuse us we need to get her to the hospital."

"Of course."

XXXXX

Once the EMT's were gone Maura joined Jane in the apartment. She was unsure as to why Jane wasn't leaving but she didn't ask. Maura stood there watching Alex's massive Pitbull pace around the room, whimpering to himself. She understood the dog's behavior enough to know that he was distressed about the two strangers in his home.

Jane glanced around the apartment taking as much in as she could. It looked as if a single woman in her thirties lived there. Although there were a few areas that lacked attention such as the dished piled up in the sink and a large pile of laundry in the corner. They should have gone to the hospital with Alex. They didn't need to search Alex's apartment nor did they have the right. Still Jane wasn't sure what to do with Blue. Alex had mentioned his tendency to get out and whine until she returned. She didn't want to just leave him.

Her foot connected with an empty bottle. She realized it hadn't been there when she had brought Alex home. She held it up for Maura to see.

"I guess whiskey is her poison of choice," she said. "If she drank the whole thing I can't believe she's not dead."

"I'm sure Alex has a high alcohol tolerance," Maura said. "She's also in peak physical condition."

"She seemed fine when I left her." She shook her head unable to understand. "If she is always like this she won't make a reliable witness…"

"I don't think she's an alcoholic," Maura said. "It's not uncommon or someone in an extremely stressful situation to fall into self-destructive behavior. Especially someone like Alex."

Jane nodded. The longer she spent on the case the more she learned about Alex. The more she learned about Alex the more she realized Alex was an extremely damaged woman. She hoped some good news would help Alex in some way. Jane may not have liked the woman but she didn't want to see her self-destruct either.

"You're right."

"I know I am."

"Full of yourself too."

"I wouldn't say that."

They glanced over at Blue. He had finally settled down enough to lay down and watch the two women.

"Maybe we should figure out what to do with him before we go to the hospital," Maura suggested.

"Call Korsak, I'm sure he'll watch Blue."

XXXXX

Alex groaned as her senses were assaulted by bright lights and the overpowering smell of disinfectant. The unfamiliar setting was disorienting. She knew she was no longer in her home but her head hurt so much she couldn't begin to figure out where she was. She wondered how she had even gotten there- where ever 'there' was. She squinted at the florescent lights above her.

Another groan escaped her as she turned her head away from the light. It was then she noticed a figure standing against the wall. Marian…? Alex immediately dismissed the thought. Why would Marian be standing so far away? All the questions racing through her head made it impossible to focus.

"I was starting to wonder if you would ever wake up."

Alex tried to sit up. The motion caused a tube to tug at her arm causing slight discomfort. She couldn't mistake that voice. It was distinct, low but friendly almost husky but still very feminine. Alex wished she was wrong. "If you're here I must be in Hell."

The figure snorted. It only took her a second to come into Alex's field of vision. If the woman's remark hadn't told Jane Alex was less than happy to see her. The look on her face sure did.

"You're in the hospital."

"Same thing if you ask me." Alex rubbed her temple as she spoke. "What the hell happened? My head is killing me."

"Your neighbor called 9-1-1 when she heard your dog barking. First responders found you on the floor unconscious. Suspected alcohol poisoning," Jane explained.

"Son of a bitch…" Alex muttered. "I can't believe I would be that stupid…"

She shook her head which only made her head hurt more. "So what are you doing here then?"

"I went by your apartment to talk to you which was when I learned about what happened."

"Talk to me about what?"

"My partner came across a new lead." She sat down next to Alex. "I was hoping you could help us clarify a few things."

Alex let her eyes close as she nodded slowly. From what she remembered of last night she had run into Detective Rizzoli at a bar and she had been kind enough to help the impaired woman back home. This was her chance to pay it forward and thank the detective. Which was only part of why Alex was willing to help. She'd already made the mistake of being uncooperative with the detective before. She wanted to do whatever she could to help the detective's catch Gracie's killer.

"Whatever you need detective," Alex agreed. "It's about time I get my head out of my ass and help. I was supposed to be a fucking lawyer after all, might as well act like it."

She held out her hand for the detective to take. Jane stared at the woman trying to gage the offer momentarily before nodded and taking ahold of Alex's hand.

"I'm sorry for the way I treated you before. Can we put that behind us for the sake of this case?" Jane asked.

"It would make everything so much easier," Alex smiled. "Truce? For Gracie?"

"Truce."

Alex settled back into the bed. Jane wasn't so bad when she wasn't being a complete asshole. The fact that the detective was willing to apologize and find common ground said a lot about her. Alex respected that.

"So what do you need my help with?"

"We talked with a couple people from your gym one of which, Jennifer Nelson, mentioned that there had been some problems with you and another boxer, Fin Johnson." Jane reached into her jacket pocket and produced a notepad. "What exactly went on between you two?"

Alex ran a hand through her hair, thinking. Jane waited patiently for her to speak. She hadn't even considered the possibility that someone she knew could have attacked Grace. Especially someone from her gym. Fin had been the only one to ever give her trouble therefore it made sense that the detectives looked at it.

"At first Fin was a fairly nice guy a lot of aggression in the ring which I always wrote off as testosterone," Alex shrugged. "Once I spent some time there, Bill put me in the ring with Fin for a quick spar. I kicked his ass. Don't get me wrong Fin is a great fighter but he's predictable and he's not as fast on his feet."

"Is that when the problems started?" Jane asked.

"Now that I think about it yeah," Alex said. "Fin got a lot more aggressive after that, not just with me but with other boxers. Most of it was directed at me."

"Did he ever act on his aggression towards you?"

"Not outside of the ring, if he had he'd have been in intensive care," Alex stated. "But I wouldn't put it past him. It isn't hard to make him angry."

Jane nodded as she took down the information Alex gave to her. If Fin was prone to violent outbursts it stood in good reason that he could have killed Grace. It also struck Jane as odd that Fin had become more aggressive. There was a good possibility that Fin was using performance enhancing drugs. Which again could account for the attack on Grace.

Alex didn't continue leaving Jane to believe that was all Alex had to say about the relationship without farther questioning. That was fine with Jane she had enough information about Fin. She moved onto her next inquiry. She presented Alex with images of the surveillance footage Nina had spent hours searching through. The first image was one that she had already show Alex when she had been the prime suspect. The second image was the one that had lead the detectives to their three suspects. Alex took them from Jane. She spent a minute staring at the original image before moving her focus to the new one. Jane couldn't tell if Alex recognized the person or if anything about the image seemed familiar to her.

"The second image was pulled from a security camera a block away from the crime scene. Our computer analyst Nina Holiday confirmed that the men in both images are the same person," Jane explained. "Do you recognize him?"

Alex continued to examine the second image. It was much clearer than the first. She found it strange that the color of the jacket was different but anyone could change a jacket to throw off the police. She noticed the tattoo on the man's hand, or at least she assumed it was a tattoo. It didn't stand out to her. She knew a lot of people with tattoos on their hands. Yes, Fin had one but so did a dozen of people that Alex worked with. It wasn't enough to clearly identify the man in the photo.

She shook her head and glanced over at Jane. "I can't say I do recognize him. I can't say I don't either."

"Is there anything about him that stand out?" Jane inquired.

"Not in particular." Alex glimpsed down at the image in her hands. Nothing about it stood out. she could be looking at a dozen different people. She was about to respond to Jane when something on the jacket caught her eye. It was barely legible but she recognized the shape. Two boxing gloves above a ring surrounded by a shield. "I know this emblem."

Jane turned her attention from her notepad to Alex. They had seen the emblem but hadn't done much to enhance it since it was partially out of view. That might have been a mistake.

"What is it?" Jane asked.

"It's the emblem for the amateur boxing night the gyms around town host once a month. Whoever wins the competition gets a jacket with the logo and the name of the gym on the chest," Alex explained. "Grab my phone I'll show you."

Jane moved across the room to Alex's personal belongings. It took her a minute of digging but she finally found it. She returned to Alex and handed her the phone.

"So dozens of people could have this jacket?" Jane already knew the answer but she needed to ask anyway.

"Basically the only real difference is the name of the gym if the boxer chooses to personalize it." Alex was scrolling through her photos looking for one in particular. "See? I had Baker's Gym added to mine but it's the same as this one."

Jane took the phone from Alex. The picture Alex had pulled up was one of herself smiling proudly. But that wasn't what she was showing Jane. The jacket Alex was wearing in the picture was identical to the one in the surveillance footage. The only difference was that Alex's was blue instead of orange.

"Why is yours blue?"

"They separate weight classes. Each on has a different color. Mine is blue, Jennifer is a featherweight theirs is green for some reason. Heavyweight is red."

"And orange is?"

"Welterweight," Alex smirked. "Fin Johnson won his a few months ago."

Jane couldn't help but smile. The information Alex was giving her would go a long way. Fin Johnson was looking like the perfect suspect. The fact that he refused to give a DNA sample only strengthened Jane's hope that they finally had their killer.

"Thank you Alex. Hopefully what you've told me while give us enough to make an arrest."

She rose from her seat prepared to leave so she could get working with the new information. She hadn't even moved before Alex grabbed her arm. Jane nearly jerked away from Alex in a knee-jerk response.

"I know you can't talk about an open case with me but I need to know how close you are." Alex was nearly begging. And as much as Jane didn't want to discuss the case the way Alex looked at her made it hard to walk away.

"We're working on getting a warrant for Fin's DNA until we get that all we have is a circumstantial case."

There was a pause. "I think I can help you there."

"How?"

"When you brought me in for questioning I had been sparring with Fin. He was the last person I fought. I bet his DNA is on my gloves."

"Where are they?"

"At the gym in my locker. It's number 29. Just tell Bill I said you could get in there."

Jane was surprised at the sudden offer. She was sure that there was some catch to Alex offering up evidence but it was faster than getting a warrant.

"You want something in return?"

Alex let go of Jane's arm with a smile. "All I ask is that you let me be there when you bring him in." It was a small favor, one that Jane didn't need to accept. She surprised herself by nodding. She could do this one thing for Alex.

XXXXX

Jane almost missed Maura as she exited Alex's room. She had been standing against the wall waiting for the detective for over an hour while she questioned Alex. She had offered to stay in case Jane had needed her but as it turned out she hadn't needed to. Maura could see by the look on Jane's face that she had gained some valuable information on the case.

"How did it go?" Maura asked.

"Good," Jane replied. "Listen we need to stop at Baker's Gym. Alex has a pair of gloves that may have Fin's DNA on them. I need you to run them."

"Of course," Maura agreed. "Although if she used those gloves often any sample I find may be contaminated with someone else's DNA which won't hold up in court."

"It will be enough for an arrest," Jane reminded her. "If I can get him to confess we won't need to take it to trial."

Maura nodded. She hadn't seen Jane this energetic for weeks. It appeared that the detective was finally getting back to her old self. It was refreshing to have Jane as focused as she was. It was one of the things Maura loved about her.

Jane stopped in the lobby. Maura stopped next to her unsure of what the detective was stopping for.

"I've got a good feeling about this Maur."

Maura didn't have enough time to respond before Jane's lips brushed against hers. The contact only lasted a few seconds but it lingered on Maura's lips as Jane lead her out of the hospital and to the car.

Things are coming to a close pretty fast but there is more to this story than just the case. You guys are great and thank you for your continuing patience. Stay tuned for the next chapter!