A/N: Hi guys! So I modified chapter 1 a little, but you won't be lost if you don't go read it, but it's better. Also, translation for the Italian in this chapter is at the bottom. Thanks for your reviews, follows and favorites. I plan on updating once or twice a week:) Anyway...chapter 2. Happy reading!

At first they just sat there, staring at each other like amateur boxers circling each other in the ring. Jane knew when she was being sized up, but when it's your boss doing it, who also happens to be your idol, all you can do is let her. She had done her research and as amazing and talented as Maura was, she also had a bit of an 'ice queen' reputation. She liked to keep everyone on their toes, but if you weren't keeping pace, it was best to just stay out of her way.

After her decision to leave the Boston Police Department after a couple of years in order to go to college and follow her real dream, Jane knew that this would be a cake-walk, but now that she was there, she couldn't believe how nervous she truly was to be in the same room as such an esteemed designer. And who knew Maura Isles would be so beautiful in person? Jane cleared her throat at the inappropriate thought, and tried to fill the awkward silence with some small talk.

"Well, I passed the five-minute mark. Does that mean you'll keep me?" she asked, her own half-attempt at humor, but the other half actually did want to know the answer.

So busy analyzing her, Maura didn't quite catch what Jane said. Only the unique timbre of her voice laced with a hint of apprehension. Maura could clearly tell she was nervous, but wondered if being nervous was familiar territory for Jane. Something told her it wasn't. When Jane stared back at her with questioning eyes, Maura thought she must have missed something.

"I'm sorry, did you say something?"

"Nothing," Jane quickly said, trying hard to remember not to say uhm, "I mean, I was just… I just want you to know that I'm a huge fan of your work." Jane knew she was practically sucking up to the woman, but she couldn't care less. She really needed this job. "And I know I'm a little older than you're used to, and maybe you think I'm a little incompetent because of the whole coffee and phone debacle this morning, but Mrs. Isles-"

"Actually it's Ms. Isles, and I wouldn't go so far as to call you incompetent. It is your first day after all. However, since I haven't had the opportunity to look over your résumé myself, exactly how old are you?"

"Twenty-eight. And to be honest, first-day jitters aren't really my thing… I'm sure it was just a fluke." Jane hoped she was right.

Maura leaned back in her chair, back to business as usual. "For your sake, I do hope so because from now on, anything subpar out of you is unacceptable. My work schedule is quite rigorous, so you need to keep me organized and on schedule. You will get my coffee, prep for meetings and on occasion sit in to take notes. You will accompany me to construction sites for reviews, the odd office or house-call for consultations, and if you prove yourself to be no less than exceptional, I may even trust you to pick up my dry-cleaning.

"All that may sound simple enough, but I need you to be my shadow from now on. Anticipate my every move. You're on-call 25/8 and that means late nights and short weekends. You will receive a company cell phone; make sure it's always on, and always on you. Consider every call an emergency. You may just have to forfeit whatever social life you have for this job. Now, Jane, I have one question for you. Can you handle it?"

As Maura went on, something inside Jane blossomed. A sense of purpose. She remembered why she was here: to work under the best architect this side of the globe and hopefully have that brilliance rub off on her. That wasn't something to be anxious about; she should have been excited. Relaxing a bit, she felt confident that she could totally handle it. So with a smug smirk, which could easily come off as cocky, Jane replied.

There was something about Jane. Something Maura couldn't quite put her finger on as she watched the corners of her mouth turn up before she leaned forward to lace her fingers together on the desk separating them. Something Maura realized she actually could put her finger on as Jane's deep chuckle prompted a sudden warm sensation at the bottom of her stomach… Must be from having caffeine without breakfast.

"With all due respect, Ma'am," Jane started sounding like herself again, "I've been around hardened criminals back when I was on the Boston Police Department's payroll, and if you knew my mother, you'd know I've practically been training for this for the past 28 years. Even in college, I played assistant to pretty much all my professors to beat out the rest of the younger students. I mean, I'm no grandma, but I've got a few years on most others still starting out like me. I probably need you more than you need me."

The last comment stirred something inside of Maura and she couldn't help but smile.

"You've shown initiative, and I truly am impressed by it, however, I'm certain not even some of Boston's finest could handle this job. You haven't answered my question either. Can you handle it?"

Jane took the repetition of this simple question very seriously. She let out a deep breath and nodded to herself, answering, "Yes, I can."

Maura gave her own nod of acknowledgement. "Good. And remember, you're still on a trial run, so one big mistake and you're automatically replaceable."

"Yes, Ma'am."

"And I'm not the hand-holding type either, so you better be a fast learner."

"Yes, Ms. Isles."

"That'll be all for now." Jane took that as her cue to beat it so she got up.

"Thank you. And it was nice meeting you, Ms. Isles."

Maura wasn't sure if Jane was being truthful, but she offered her hand for Jane to shake as she politely replied, "Likewise."

Their hands lingered long enough for Maura to notice the raised scar tissue on the back of Jane's hand before she walked back out the door, shutting it gently behind her.

Maura wondered how long her new assistant would last…

Jane was a God-send. A month later, Maura could admit that without scolding herself for getting too attached to another expendable assistant. One thing she hadn't counted on was the likelihood of a slightly more mature assistant having their own benefits. For one, her previous employees struggled to think beyond their future five minutes from now, but Jane could coordinate and synchronize an entire week's worth of meetings and appointments so seamlessly and still make it look almost effortless – and then still manage to get her lunch order right without constant prompting. It's surprising how many have failed.

Maura even got her a Bluetooth headset so Jame could multitask easily. Jane liked to walk around with her hands in her pockets or move her hands around wildly while she was on the phone. That trait seemed to be endearing to Maura for some reason.

The clients took an instant liking to her as well, a fact that has proven very useful around the few more melodramatic clients who choose to arrive long before their appointment times. Jane was calm and reassuring when she had to be and firm when necessary, an approach a lot of people seemed to respond to positively. Maura found that she was envious of Jane's ease with gaining people's trust.

"I hope you aren't planning on poaching my clients with that smooth talking mouth of yours, Jane," she had joked one day out of the blue while driving back from a construction site that was shaping up pretty great and on schedule for a change.

"Oh, no Ma'am," Jane absent-mindedly smiled after sipping from her third coffee that day, "I'd much rather stay under you."

Maura lifted her eyebrow and tamed the shock on her face as Jane fumbled to amend that statement.

"I- I mean not under you like that, but under like working under you-" Jane stopped mid-rant and looked over at her boss when an unfamiliar sound filled the car. And that was the first time she made Maura Isles laugh.

"Relax, Jane. I know exactly what you mean."

Despite the cool confidence she seemed to exude around everyone else, when it came to Maura, Jane was always so guarded and polite, almost to a fault. She made jokes every now and then, but she would always take them back for fear of overstepping. So when she joined in with Maura's laughter instead, it was like the first barrier had been broken.

Maura couldn't even remember the last or first time she ever shared a joke with one of her assistants, or her last assistant's first name for that matter. And Jane couldn't have come along at a better time. Without her family to go home to, all Maura had was work so that's all she did to distract herself until she was too tired to stay awake.

The two women worked late nights together from day one, but not one complaint had been uttered about it. On the contrary, Jane seemed to thrive on it.Maybe she didn't have much to go home to either, Maura wondered briefly one night after leaving the office.

That night had been particularly difficult because she had a big client she was pitching to the following day, so they were prepping to the last letter, but all Maura could focus on was Jacob and whether he had his night-light on, or Alice and whether she was up late on the phone with a boy again. She missed those two like crazy, and it was just one of those nights when it hurt a lot more than others.

Obviously drinking was not an option. She didn't even have one glass of wine, afraid of the possible chain reaction like last time; so she tried something she hadn't done in a while. After sending a quick text to her assistant to be at the office a little earlier than usual for last minute details, Maura texted her brother.

She knew there was a big chance he was already sleeping and she didn't want to wake him up if he was, but she had to talk to someone.

Maura: Hey… So, you should definitely come over to my place tonight.

He took his time replying, but Maura was glad he does at all.

- Are you sure? Was there something you needed?

Why was he playing coy all of a sudden? Maura hoped he didn't have overnight company or something.

M: What? No, I'm just really missing the kids & I'd rather not be alone tonight... Come on, you know you want to. And I promise not to rant about how much I hate men. :)

- Well, I'm always happy to assist in any way I can, Ms. Isles, but are you sure this is such a good idea? Don't get me wrong, I'll come over if you want me to, but you're my boss.

The only people who called Maura Ms. Isles were from work and the only person who called her boss was... And that's when a light bulb lit up in her head.

M: Oh, goodness. Jane. Those messages were meant for my brother. I'm so sorry to have bothered you. Please disregard everything I've just said.

- I guess that makes more sense now. Don't worry about it. I was still up anyway. Have a good night.

Maura was far too embarrassed to reply any further so she flopped back on her pillows with a heavy sigh and covered her face with both hands as a bout of soundless laughter bubbled up her chest and shook her body. Once she had sobered up, she realized Jane must think her weak and desperate. Maura dreaded tomorrow.

Before dozing off, she had a passing thought. What if Jane had come over?

It was as if nothing had changed, and Maura allowed herself to indulge in the idea that maybe nothing had. Jane didn't look at her any differently after that texting faux pas and news of it hadn't gotten around the office, yet, so maybe it didn't even happen at all.

She had expected pity or sympathy, or just plain ridicule – a backlash from Maura's youth – but nothing was awkward at all. In fact, Jane made a joke about it like it wasn't a big deal to have your boss accidentally text you in the middle of the night.

"Don't worry, I won't blackmail you with those for a day off or something… A raise, maybe."

Her grin let Maura know she was just joking again and another barrier was lifted.

As they made their way across the parking garage to her car, Maura threw the keys at Jane, who was luckily a good catch. At first she just stood there with the keys cupped in her hands before asking, "What are these for?"

Maura tilted her head as she went over to the passenger side. "Well, if you must know, I thought you may need the car keys to actually drive the car," she said with a smile, but retracted it when Jane didn't return it. "Sorry, I was trying to make a joke."

Jane snapped her eyes up to meet Maura's. "Oh, yeah… I know, and it was funny…" Maura lit back up at that, "I just don't- You want me to drive your car?"

"I have a few phone calls to make and my hands-free kit is in the other car. You don't mind, do you?"

"Of course not," she said with unbridled enthusiasm as she started moving again. "But this is a Mercedes Benz."

"Yes, you're very observant."

Jane continued on even as she unlocked the car and open the door. "I mean, I'm an okay driver, but… you know… things happen and…"

"…and you're afraid of wrecking this expensive car, is that it?"

Jane nodded even though she'd never wrecked a car in her life.

"Well, that's what car insurance is for. And I happen to have it, so please get in before we're late."

Taking that as a direct order, and secretly glad of Maura's insistence, Jane got in. "Yes, Ma'am."

Jane was silent the entire time she was in the car, too busy concentrating on not crashing it. As grateful as she was for Jane's respect for her belongings, if Jane didn't ease up on that brake pedal they would get caught in traffic so, without thinking, Maura reached her hand over to Jane's knee and said, "Jane, if you would just-"

"Whoa!"

Jane instinctively slammed her foot on the brakes, the momentum jerking them forward and causing the car behind them to honk at them for that unnecessary emergency stop. Jane hurriedly got moving again to avoid any further altercations and sped off to try and outrun her embarrassment.

"Ms. Isles, could you please not… do that?" she said as her voice climbed unnaturally high in pitch while she tried to keep her eyes on the road.

"Do what?"

Jane gave a pointed glance down to the warm hand still squeezing her knee. "That. With your hand. It's distracting."

Before Maura could say anything after removing her hand, her phone rang out loud. Jane sighed in relief, not even noticing that she was driving like a normal person again.

"Maura Isles."

"Mrs. Isles?"

"Speaking. Who is this?"

"This is Principal Johnson from the Advent High School. You're Alice Isles' mother, right?"

"Yes, I am. Is she okay?"

Jane stole a glance at Maura when panic crept into her voice.

"We tried calling her primary guardian, Mr. Faulkner, but he was unreachable."

"Why, what's going on?"

"Well, apparently your daughter was involved in a physical altercation with another student."

"What! Alice was in a fight? What happened?"

"Well, we've asked your daughter why she attacked the other girl, but she hasn't spoken a word to anyone."

"Wait a minute, she assaulted the other student? That doesn't sound like her at all." She rubbed her temple with her free hand feeling a headache coming on.

"That's what I thought too. Alice is one of our model students, and for that reason only, the school is willing to be lenient as far as this incident is concerned. Although she will be suspended from school for three days, it won't go on her record."

A sigh of mild relief escaped Maura's mouth. Being one of the school's biggest benefactors had its advantages. "Thank you, Principal Johnson. I sincerely appreciate it, and I'm sure my daughter will too… some day."

"Not a problem, Mrs. Isles. We just need one of her parents to come and get her from the school in the meantime. And might I add, as far as I'm aware of the current situation at home, I would recommend Alice see our on-campus counselor when she gets back fro-"

"Thank you," Maura is quick to cut the woman off, "That's a very generous offer but I will see to my daughter's well-being. Again, thank you."

"Of course, of course. She'll be waiting at the off-"

Maura hung up and sighed again out of frustration. "We aren't going to the meeting," she declared.

It took a moment for Jane to realize that Maura was addressing her. "We're not?"

"No. My daughter picked today of all days to become a juvenile delinquent. I have to go pick her up from school… now."

They were at a red traffic light and almost at their destination so Jane didn't immediately turn the car around, but her boss must have been pretty pissed to want to ditch a client. And today's client was a big one, but as great as she thought it was for Maura to pick her kid over work, Jane didn't really see the point in choosing at all. She was hired to assist after all, right?

"How about I just drop you off at the meeting and then go pick your kid up? Two birds, one stone and all that… If you want." She offered hesitantly.

Maura slowly turned her head to Jane. It wasn't the worst idea…

"No. I can't ask you to do that. You're my assistant only as far as it's related to our work environment. That would be a gratuitous abuse of power. I'll tell you where to turn…"

"Look, I absolutely understand that, but I'm in charge of making sure you're always on schedule, and last time I checked, missing a meeting is about as bad as it gets, so technically this is in my job description. And I really don't mind."

Maura narrowed her eyes at Jane, damning her for her flawless logic, but at the end of the day she had no choice but to yield.

"Okay," she sighed, "If you don't mind, I can't reject that offer. But still, I do apologize that you have to do this. I won't soon forget it… And you know, they weren't even supposed to call me at all," she mumbled to herself with a scoff, "I guess I'm only a 'fit' parent when the one who has custody decides to take the day off. I mean, honestly, how did he even manage to fool them into believing he had a responsible bone in his body? Who ignores a phone call from their child's school? And I'm dead-sure he wasn't unreachable, he was at work. And by work I mean Tiffany. What if Ali or Jake were seriously injured? What then?..."

At some point Maura forgot she wasn't talking to herself. She threw her hands up in annoyance and became quiet after a while.

Jane had only quietly listened to the entire rant as she focused her eyes on the road, wondering if she was supposed to say anything back.

"Sorry about that. That was incredibly unprofessional. I shouldn't have gone off like that."

"No, it's okay. Really… I get it," she shrugged, glad to know her boss was only human too.

Maura made a call to the school to inform them that her assistant would pick Alice up and it ended just as they pulled up to their destination.

"Okay, so if anything happens, just call me, okay?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Thank you."

"Good luck in there," said Jane jerking her head at the large building before them.

Maura opened her door and said, "Good luck with Alice."

Advent High School reminded Jane of the white house. She decided to put on her blazer if she didn't want to be mistaken for a trespasser.

"Hi, I'm here to pick up Alice Isles?" she told the woman at the front desk. She wasn't sure why she said that as a question.

"Oh, and you are?" asked the woman sitting behind the front desk.

"Jane Rizzoli."

"May I see some ID, please?" she smiled politely.

Jane pulled out her driver's license.

"Okay then. I'll go get Ms. Isles for you. Please wait here." The woman disappeared down the hallway as Jane stood among other parents and students at the waiting area.

Looking around, she tried not to think too much of this. It wasn't exactly picking up Maura's beloved clothes from the dry-cleaner, but Maura trusted her enough to pick her daughter up and that was a way bigger deal. In the short time Jane had worked for her, she didn't know much about the woman but the underlying theme was her fierce love for her children and her massive dislike for her ex-husband. But Jane didn't want to read too much into it because if she did, she may cross a line.

"Who is she?"

Jane turned around at that question to find a girl who could only be Alice Isles. The girl was beautiful like her mother with sandy blonde hair in a slightly tousled braid and flawless skin apart from the bruise on her cheek, but the kicker was those light hazel green eyes that made her the spitting image of her mother.

"This is Ms. Rizzoli. Your mother sent her to come and pick you," the helpful office worker interjected before Jane could.

"My mother wouldn't send a complete stranger to get me. I'm not going with her," she sneered at the woman, looking a bit like her mother on a short fuse.

"I'm no stranger to your mother. I'm her assistant. And you can call me Jane."

Alice looked back and forth between the two adults before settling her scrutinizing gaze on Jane. If she hadn't had Maura already do that to her, Jane may have even felt a little uncomfortable as the girl's eyes looked her up and down. In the end, she just huffed and rolled her eyes.

"Fine. Whatever, but if she kidnaps me and you never hear from me again, it's totally on you." Jane followed her out without a word and they got into the Benz just as quietly before Jane drove away.

The silence lasted about ten minutes before Jane spoke up. "So… what happened to your face?"

Alice simply ignored her. Accepting that maybe she didn't want to talk about it, Jane shrugged it off and went on.

"Okay… Are you hungry? Your Mom's at a meeting and it may take a couple hours so we might as well grab you something to eat, right?"

Again, nothing. Jane was tempted to just let the girl stew in her own pride until her stomach growled, but she reminded herself that this wasn't one of her brothers. It was her boss' daughter, and the last thing she wanted was for Alice to cry wolf to her mother.

"Come on, I'm just trying to help here. And there's no need for you to go hungry out of spite. What do you say?"

Alice let loose a long, exasperated eye-roll. "Dico, perché non stai zitta e pensi a guidare?!"

When Jane groaned in frustration but didn't respond further, the teenager smirked in triumph at stumping her with a foreign language, and turned to look back out the window for the rest of the quiet drive.

For thirty long minutes, they waited in Maura's car until she finally came out sporting an unreadable expression. Sauntering up to the passenger side, she opened the door and peered down at Alice.

"In the back," she ordered, unable to hide her disappointment. The girl wordlessly got in the back and crossed her arms in last-minute defiance as Jane drove off once more.

"Okay, Mom, before you lay in to me, just know that she started it. I mean, what was I supposed to do, just sit there and let her talk about me? No! She got what she deserved and you can't tell me any different."

"Not now, Ali. We'll discuss this at home."

"It's not like we live together anyway. So you may as well just yell at me now."

"You're staying with me tonight."

"Why, where's Dad? Wasn't he supposed to be the one getting me from school anyway?"

"He was, but he wouldn't answer his phone," Maura replied with a bit more bite than she had intended. When her daughter didn't counter, she realized how that may have sounded.

"Honey, you can talk to him tomorrow, alright? But for now we decided it was easier this way, okay? Plus, I've missed you."

Jane's heart melted at the sentiment, but Alice's reply almost had her smacking the girl upside the head to knock some sense back into her.

"Whatever," she ground out through her teeth.

Jane shook her head and changed the subject.

"So, how'd the meeting go?"

"Oh, I… I got it." Maura's smile was brief; a ghost of a smile really, but Jane couldn't control herself at the news. All that hard work had paid off, and to think Maura almost didn't go.

"You got it? Ms. Isles, that's such great news! When do they wanna get started?"

"As soon as I'm ready, but… that probably won't be for a few days." She glanced at her daughter through the rearview mirror.

"Oh… well-"

"Really, Mom?" the younger Isles piped up. "I'm seventeen, I don't need you to babysit me, okay? I don't need you."

And that was the last straw for Jane. How could this girl talk to her mother like that with all that's happening right now? Actually, period. You don't talk to your mother like that period.

"Okay, that's enough," Jane said in a low rumble. "You're still a child and this woman is still your mother. Show some respect. "Se non hai niente di bello da dire, sta seduta e zitta?"

Stunned silence. That's what Jane Rizzoli had reduced both Isles women to, and she kind of liked it too. And the cherry on top was that she could make a clean getaway because they were back at their office building garage. Jane cut the engine and swiftly got out.

"Have a good evening, ladies." She bade them farewell before getting in her own car and heading home, hoping that her mouth didn't just ensure today as her last day of employment as Maura's assistant.

Translations:

"I say how about you just shut up and drive?"

"So if you have nothing nice to say, how about you just keep quiet and ride?"