As Frankie Rizzoli stepped out of Mauras front door he found the doctor standing by her car, one hand on the car door, staring down the empty street. "Maura?" he asked quietly. When he didn't get a response he slowly drew closer. He placed a hand at the womans shoulder. "Maura?" The ME jumped at the contact. "Oh, hallo Frankie. I...ah..I wanted to leave. But then I remembered that about 10% of the car accidents, in which people were killed, are happing due to the influence of alcohol. And I already had two glasses of whine. And...and I read a study a few days ago which examined the influence of emotional stress on the ability to participate in traffic. But I can't remember the numbers, Frankie. I can't remember...I..." Maura rambled.
"Give me the keys, Maura. I will drive you."
"But I...," the woman said with a sob, "I don't know where to."
Frankie adored his sister. She was the bravest and straightest person he knew. He admired her for her ability to focus, her ambitions, her career and even her stubbornness. A long time ago and for quite a while he couldn't understand why his sister became friends with the somehow weird medical examiner, who was so different from his sister. But as time went by he started to like Dr. Maura Isles and by now he loved her like he loved his sister. And right now he wished they could switch roles, that Maura Isles were his sister and Jane just a family friend, so he could get going and beat the hell out of Jane for causing this mess and hurt.
"Give me the keys, Maura! We can hang out at my place. But I have to warn you, I hadn't had the time to clean for quite a while."
As they pulled out of Mauras driveway he could see Detective Korsak stepping out the front door. He had the same look on his face, which Frankie would see if he looked in the rear view, pure disbelieve and disappointment.
Jane had just finished to dry the dishes her mother had been rinsing off. One last attempt, she thought: "Ma, talk to me! What is your problem?"
Angelas head shot up. "You asking me what my problem is?"
"Yeah, sort of... I don't get it. What have I done wrong?"
"Jane Clementine Rizzoli! You still do not understand?"
Jane shook her head. Her mother had refused to talk to her for what felt like hours. "No, Ma, no! I don't know. Tell me, the look on your face tells me, that you obviously know something I don't."
Angela gasped for air. How the hell? "You know I love you no matter what you're doing. And you know that I love Maura just like one of my own. Tonight you have deliberately hurt Maura. How dare you? After all she has done for you and your family?" She was angry. She really loved Maura as a daughter and she definitely did not deserve to be treated like she has been. "All she was trying to say is, that you should not rush things with Casey. That you should take your time after everything that he has done to you."
"Casey has not done anything to me. He had a live threatening surgery and after that an extremely difficult rehab, Ma. He needed his time, and now he is ready to start a relationship with me...and so am I."
"Jane, he left without saying a word, he said that he does not want to be with because he couldn't feel you? You begged him to let you take care of him. That's egoistic."
"Ma, he wants to be the man to me I deserve. There is nothing wrong about it. Thinking about...that's exactly what you always wanted for me. A man, me settling, marrying, grandchildren for you...why do you not like it, Ma?"
"You are right, Jane, I want you to have a family. And I want you to have someone who cares about you but not at any price."
"What do you mean, Ma?"
"Don't trade a friendship like you have with Maura for the option of a relationship with him. Don't you think she just wants to see you happy and that if she argues like she did tonight she has reason?"
Jane fell silent. She still didn't know why the evening turned out like it had, and she still did not know why Maura was not supportive, but maybe her mother had a point.
Angela saw her daughter thinking and decided to leave. "Goodnight Jane!" she said and left through the back door.
Frankie unlocked the door to his apartment. Okay, he thought, it's not as bad as I remember. "Come in, Maura. You want something to drink? I even have a red whine." He started off to the open kitchen. "have a seat."
"Frankie, you don't have to host me. I was slightly confused by what has happened tonight, but I am capable of being on my own now." She had entered the small apartment but hadn't moved from the spot between the door and the couch. She fiddled with the hem of her blazer, nervously looking down on her feet.
"I know that I don't have to." Frankie said, then thought for a moment. "You know what? I actually have to." He crabbed two beer from the fridge, entered the living area and shoved Maura towards the couch. "Sit." he commanded. Maura hesitated but then obeyed with a sigh. She took the bottle Frankie offered her. "Why should you have to take care of me?" She took a large sip of beer. Frankie raised an eyebrow. Normally the medical examiner was not the beer drinking kind, but tonight it seemed that it didn't matter.
"Maura. I have to, because I like you. I even love you...ah...in a platonic way. Like a sister, ya know? Jane, you know, she acted like an ass tonight. And I don't know what has gotten into her but you don't deserve to be treated like this. And I think at leased one Rizzoli should have his head on straight."
"Since I don't want you get caught in the crossfire of ... of what ever this is, we should not talk about it. Jane wouldn't like it."
Sometimes Frankie wondered how Doctor Maura Isles had managed to stay with his family for so long. She was way too polite, reserved, considerate to keep up with the temperament of his relatives, especially the one of his sister.
"Maura, she is hurting you and you're still worried about how she likes us talking? I know you really like Jane but you don't have to condone everything." Maura swallowed and muttered: "Maybe that is the problem."
"What do you mean?" Frankie studied Maura's face and could see the wheels in her head turning. She was obviously debating how to answer or if she should answer at all. Frankie sighed. "Ok, if you don't want to do the girly 'we talk about it' stuff, then we do the manly 'we drink about it' thing." He jumped up and jogged into his kitchen. When he returned he hold a bottle of whiskey and two glasses in his hand.
"Uhm, Frankie, I do not drink hard liquor."
"Oh, I think tonight you will and more important you should" Frankie grinned. "The first," he poured them a shot, "is to my stupid sister! cheers!"
Maura eyed the glass, shrugged and tossed back the liquid.
A few hours and more than a few drinks later Frankie and Maura were sitting on the floor, backs against the couch and legs spread under the coffee table.
"Ok, this one," Maura raised her glass, "is to Euler's equation. It's my favorite equation out of all!" Maura stated proudly. "Cheers!"
"Frankie, I gonna tell you a secret."
Well that's interesting, Frankie thought. He turned his head to look at the woman beside him. It took some time until both of them were able to focus, both heads wobbled slightly.
"I do really not like Casey. But...psst!"
He threw his head back into the cushions. "Really?" he laughed.
"Is it this obvious?" Maura slurred.
"Hell yes! I mean, nobody likes Casey except Jane."
Maura looked at him asking.
Frankies phone rang, he looked at the caller ID. "That's Ma."
"Hey Ma!" He answered the call. "Do you like Casey?"
Maura giggled.
"Frankie, is it allowed to switch back to the 'we talk about things' thing? I think I can't take another shot."
"Ok...but then you have talk to me, Maura Isles!"
Maura hesitated. "I don't think I should tell you..but I have the feeling that I should tell somebody...and I'm intoxicated..." she giggled, then swallowed hard, tears started to form in her eyes. "many women experience homosexual feelings during their lifes. It is quite common. Studies show that..."
"Maura! I am as intoxicated as you are. And I'm not half as intelligent as you, so can you please just tell me what you want to tell me, without studies and science and such things?" He started feeling the influence of the alcohol. He looked at his watch. 11pm. His shift would start at 8 in the morning. Doable, he thought.
"You know Frankie, I like Jane, and I want her to be happy. But I thought that I think that she will be happy with Casey. But I think I have to revise my evaluation of the situation, especially according to my reasons." She paused and looked expectantly at her companion. Frankie nodded encouraging. Maura continued in a rush: "It might be possible that I do not like Casey, because I might have feelings about Jane that are not appropriate within this friendship. I know that your family leads their lives in a traditional catholic way and that is the reason why I never told one of you that I had intercourse with women in the past. I think Jane would be uncomfortable around me if she knew and I don't know how Angela would feel with living a house of someone more open. And now I have told you, and I do not know what you feel about it either. I'm so sorry. I should not have loaded this onto you. I'm really sorry." Maura wiped off the tears, that had started falling during her rambled confession and tried to stand up to leave. Frankie grabbed her wrist and pulled her down next to him again.
"So you trying to tell me, that you are a lesbian or bi sexual or what ever and that you have a crush on my sister, your best friend?"
Maura bowed her head in shame and nodded.
"Damn!" Frankie growled.
"Frankie, I am sorry...I..."
The young Rizzoli raised a hand to stop Maura from talking. "Maura! stop talking! I can't believe you are doing this to me!"
"Frankie, please" Maura whined.
"Mickey promised me tickets to the Red Socks Game next month if I get him on a date with you." Frankie tried his best to keep a straight angry face, "Guess I can give up on this." It took a few seconds till Maura understood the meaning behind his comment. She started to grin and both of them ended in a fit of laughter. After they had calmed down, Maura sighed in relieve.
"So, you are okay with this?"
"Hell yes. I mean I'm indeed catholic but not THAT catholic, nor is Ma."
"Thank God. I was really afraid of telling one of you. You are like family to me, and I don't know what I would do if you would turn away from me."
"So what will you do about Jane? Will you tell her?"
"No. I haven't acted on these feelings in the last years, and so I won't do now. "
"Wow. Years? So we can't call it crush then. We have to call it uber-crush."
"Frankie, I would appreciate that you don't inform anyone either."
"Sure thing, Maura. But let me tell you, no matter why you don't like Casey or why you don't like how Jane is acting, you are just damn right about it." He smirked. "But that was enough talking stuff for one night. Are you up for another drink?"