Full disclaimers on Chapter 1.
Stop NOW if DRAMA/TRAGEDY is NOT something you are interested into reading, or if it is a bad trigger for you.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Rizzoli & Isles nor any of the characters from the show. I am writing this purely for entertainment, not profit. Rizzoli and Isles are property of Tess Gerritsen and TNT.
I am not a native English speaker, and I don't have a beta. So all mistakes are 100% mine.
Enough of disclaimers and warnings – read at your own risk. Reviews are always welcome!
Chapter 85
It was a while later that Maura breathed deeply, delicately disentangling her limbs from Jane's, and laying Jane in bed.
She didn't need to check for a pulse. Warmth had begun to disappear already.
In the past few weeks, she had pulled a favor with the governor, knowing Jane would die at home. And she had been granted the same privilege the governor had granted some of his rich friends – have an ME coming on a house call to confirm cause of death.
Maura texted Kent. "It is time."
She then sent a message to Angela, Frankie, Tommy, Frank Sr., Korsak, Constance and Hope: "Jane is gone."
Maura then stood by the bedroom door, looking at that shell that until barely minutes ago was her best friend. Thankful for what they had shared together. And in dark despair about the enormity of facing life without her best friend in it.
The silence was almost deafening, so she heard when Kent rapped lightly on the front door.
She opened it, unmasked for the first time in twenty months.
He hugged her, quietly.
"I am so sorry, Maura."
She nodded to him, not trusting her voice just yet, before she walked him to the bedroom.
Dr. Heinz had shared previously with Kent all the details. He checked for a pulse, out of habit. Except for that, he didn't need to examine Jane. He could clearly see the result of the past twenty months on the brunette's body. He was sure she was weighting less than a hundred pounds. But she wore a calm satisfied relaxed expression on her face, as if she was just sleeping peacefully.
He signed the papers.
"How can I help?" he asked, gently, handing Maura her copy of the papers.
"You already did, Kent. Thank you." She answered in a small, strangled voice.
He reluctantly turned to leave.
Because of Jane's diagnosis and treatment, organ donation was not recommended.
Maura called the funeral home she had chosen, that handled direct cremation, providing the details of the cemetery plot, and her address, so they could come by.
Then, Maura opened the door to the garden, and saw light on the guesthouse. She knocked.
Angela opened the door, her face marred by crying.
"Would… Would you like to see her?" Maura's voice was just a whisper.
Angela shook her head.
"You gave us the gift of seeing her alive, Maura. I would rather hold on to that."
Maura nodded, and Angela enveloped her on a bear hug trying to convey all comfort she could try to impress on the smaller woman, that looked completely at a loss.
"Thank you…" Angela whispered on Maura's ear before finally letting Maura go.
Maura again just nodded, and walked back to the house.
She then sent a note to Jane's superior in the Agency, informing of her passing, and sending a copy of the death certificate Kent had just provided her with.
The funeral home van and technicians arrived in practically no time.
After offering their condolences, they moved with Maura to Jane's bedroom. They moved Jane to a stretcher, and Maura kissed her forehead one last time, her lips now meeting with cold skin, before they covered Jane to take her away.
Once Maura closed the door behind them, she leaned against the door and slipped sitting to the floor, sobs shaking her body with a force and violence she was not aware she still had the energy for.
It was a long while later that a knock on the front door took her out of her trance. She stood and checked through the glass. It was Frankie, and Korsak.
She opened the door for them, and each one hugged her, all of them crying quietly.
She motioned them to sit on the living room, her manners gone. She wished she could offer them tea, but she didn't think she could manage even doing that, not yet.
Angela came in from the back door, and Frankie and Korsak hugged her.
"Maura, I wanted to talk to you about funeral arrangements…" Korsak began, knowing Frankie and Angela and even Maura were likely too lost right now.
But he should have known Maura better.
"It…" her voice broke, and she cleared her throat before continuing. "It has been taken care of, Vince."
Maura stood and entered her office, coming back a while later.
"I asked the governor for a special favor, and Kent has been by…" Maura tried, her voice barely above a whisper, handing them a copy of the death certificate.
"Jane… she had made her final wishes a while back."
Maura handed Korsak the document the lawyer had prepared based on Jane's draft, and that contained Jane's signature, as well as Maura's and the lawyer's as witnesses.
Korsak skipped to the funeral arrangements section of the document.
"She learned her lesson after Frost, I guess…" he tried to smile among his tears.
"Frankie, Angela, do you know if the Rizzoli's have a cemetery plot?" Korsak asked.
"We don't, Kor…" Angela began.
"They do." Maura handed Frankie a document.
"You are the holder of it." Maura looked to Frankie, explaining. "It is a family plot for six people. Jane asked to be cremated, but she wants her ashes to be then interred."
Frankie's mouth was opened, he didn't know what to say.
"The only request I ask of you… If you can… Is to allow me to use the spot besides Jane's." Maura pointed to the blueprint, and lowered her eyes.
"You want to be interred with the Rizzoli's?" Angela asked, incredulous.
"I am a Rizzoli too, am I not?" Maura asked, raising her beautiful hazel eyes to Angela.
"That you surely are." Angela hugged her, touched, crying harder.
Korsak went back to the beginning of the document.
"Jane left any money remaining after her medical treatment and debts are paid off to you, Angela."
Maura handed Angela the last statement from Jane's bank.
"This certainly is before paying off the debts, Maura, this is the money she had since her condo burned down."
"It is. And it is yours."
"But her treatment debts…"
"All has been taken care of. This is yours. As will be her life insurance from the Agency. Jane's superior will process the paperwork. Jane wanted to make sure you just worked if you wanted to and until you wanted to."
Angela shook her head, tears spilling from her eyes.
"I am not a church goer, and if she didn't die in the line of duty, she wished for a Catholic ceremony. I don't know what exactly that entails. If you could help with that part... The funeral home where cremation will take place will be expecting us to provide the information and details of the ceremony to them."
"Do you know if she wrote the message she mentioned here?" Korsak looked at the document again.
"I am not sure yet. But I will find out and let you know." Maura said, knowing Jane talked about the notebooks.
"Ma… Maura… You are more than welcome to stay with us tonight."
"Or with me and Kiki." Korsak offered.
"Thank you, but I better spend the night with Tommy and TJ." Angela explained, concerned on how Tommy would handle the blow of the tragic news.
"Fair enough. Maura, what about you?"
"Thank you, Frankie, but I will be fine right here."
"Are you sure it is a good idea?" Korsak eyed her, concerned.
"Everything here reminds me of Jane. It gives me comfort. I will not feel alone. Don't worry..."
They all walked out after hugging their goodbyes, and Maura closed the door behind them.
Maura went back to the guest bedroom. She laid down in the bed that was Jane's, hugging Jane's pillow to her, drinking in the faint scent of her best friend that soon would also dissolve into thin air, and cried herself to sleep.