A/N: Hello there, lovely readers. Seriously, you guys blew me away with the feedback you gave me for the first chapter. Over 60 follows, I feel honoured. Thank you. Iespecially also want to say thank you and hello to all the new people on board that are reading my work.
Unfortunately, I have to warn you that updates will be a rare occurrence these coming months since the preparations for my exams have kicked off.

Nevertheless, I'm happy to give you the second part of the story tonight and I hope you all like it.

Disclaimer: The characters don't belong to me, everything else does, sadly even the mistakes.

Early next morning Jane was rudely awakened by her blaring phone. It was Korsak, telling her that the lab had finally found an unidentified DNA print on one of the victims and that she should come down to the headquarters immediately for further information. Jane had wanted to protest, but his mention of hot, steaming coffee already waiting for her at her desk put a stop to that idea right away.

Groaning, Jane placed the phone back on her bedside table and turned onto her back. She gathered all her strength and got rid of the warm blanket, ready to face the oncoming day when she noticed Casey stir. She sat up and by doing that her husband woke up, moaning in complaint. "Jane.." Feeling bad for disturbing him in his sleep, she leaned back and tried to apologise and sooth him with minuscule kisses. "Sorry, honey, but I have to leave for work now. Korsak called, he needs me at the station as soon as possible."

Casey responded to her caress and moved further into her warmth, hugging her to him. "You're going nowhere Mrs. Rizzoli Jones. It's definitely too early for you to go to work, seeing that the sun hasn't even risen. How about you call back and tell him that you're not feeling well and we'll just stay here in bed and have a lazy morning without interruptions since Ava won't be awake for another few hours."

Countless kisses accompanied his words and they travelled down her throat until they found their refuge in her cleavage. Jane let out a shuddered breath, seriously tempted to just call in sick. It had been a while since Casey had touched her like this, with seductive caresses covered in an undeniable sweetness and she revelled in feeling his excitement and his hand moving down the length of her body, leaving goosebumps in its wake.

Just as Casey's hand had reached its destination and Jane was willing to give in to the touch completely, her phone rang anew. "Shit." Involuntarily, she freed herself of his teasing fingers and took the call, breathing heavily. "Hey Frost, what's up?" She heard a slight chuckle on the other end. "Just wanted to inform you that we have a suspect. The DNA print matched Henry Grenith, 40 year old male and old school friend of the father. He was previously convicted for illegal possession of firearms and seen while leaving the neighbourhood shortly after the shooting. Korsak wants you to meet him directly at Grenith's house for questioning instead of coming to the station."

Frost stayed silent for a moment and Jane was about to confirm when he spoke again, his voice teasing. "Why were you breathing so hard anyway, I didn't interrupt anything, did I?" Jane stayed silent, a fierce blush covering her cheeks. Why did her partner have to know her so well? "Now I know why Korsak wanted me to call you."

The feeling of embarrassment was really uncomfortable for Jane, even more so since Casey was still playing with her shirt, so she shot back, knowing that it would finally put an end to Frost's unnerving teasing. "Shut it, or I'll personally make sure that everybody at the precinct knows that little Detective Frost here threw up all over the body from the Hulton case down in the morgue last week." She heard a rush of curses being uttered on the other end. "You wouldn't dare, Jane." A triumphant grin crossed her face, she knew that she finally had him. "Oh, you know I would.. and I wonder what Cavanaugh would do when he caught wind of that.. maybe put you back in the drug unit? But enough of that.. I'm on my way, tell Korsak to text me the address and I'll meet him him there in thirty."

Fortunately, Frost caved in to her threat and ended the call shortly after that, leaving her with little time for a needed shower and unluckily, an annoyed Casey. "What was that, Jane? I thought you had agreed to our lazy morning plans?"

Jane loved her husband, loved that he was such a good father to her only daughter and loved that he accepted her work and the flexibility it required, but sadly this good willed tolerance had visibly diminished and an unexplainable tension she truly couldn't explain took its place. "I'm really sorry, Case, but I need to leave. We have a suspect regarding the case and I have to go and pay him a visit."

Obviously, this did nothing to soothe him, but Jane didn't want to come home to anger and frustration later tonight, so she tried to pour oil on troubled waters. "You know that I want nothing more than to spend time with you, but it's just not possible right now. I want and I have to find the murderer of two little children and their parents, it's my job. So could you please not make such a big deal out of this now and show a little understanding?"

She searched her husband's gaze for any indication of compassion and consideration, but she disappointedly didn't find any, instead he had an unreadable look in his eyes. "I don't know, Jane. You really have been working a lot these past months and.. I miss you, I miss spending time together with my wife and my beautiful daughter. It seems like you're always at the station solving cases and I don't even remember the last time we had sex that lasted longer than the common ten minutes.. It's just that I'm pretty frustrated at the moment and I'm sorry if this comes out harsher than originally intended."

Jane certainly was surprised at Casey's slight and sudden outburst, she hadn't been aware of her husband being frustrated to this extreme extent, even though she had noticed a faint yet palpable distance growing between them these last weeks. "No, I do understand where you're coming from and I'll try harder, I promise." Jane moved to caress his rough cheek with her hand, connecting their lips briefly. She desperately hoped that this was good enough for the moment, although she had to ignore the feeling of anger and confrontation rising deep inside of her. Since when was her job becoming a problem? Weren't they happy?

She turned away from him and her gaze fell onto the alarm clock, which indicated that time had rapidly advanced and that she needed to hurry if she didn't want to be late. "I need to take a shower now or else Korsak will kill me for keeping him waiting. I'll be home for dinner at the latest, yeah? Please give Ava a kiss when she wakes up and sorry again for this unfortunate turn of events.." His hand came up on her face and gently turned her gaze back on him. "It's okay, but we'll have to talk soon, and I mean really talk. I won't keep you away any longer now and I hope that you have a successful day.. I'll miss you." Serendipitously, his look was back to overflowing her with the warmth she loved and needed so much. She felt relieved. "I love you, Jane." He emphasised the sentiment with one last determined and lingering kiss before moving back under the covers.

She smiled at him and went to the bedroom door before looking back one last time. "I love you too, Casey. And maybe.. maybe I can even show you how much tonight." With that she left her excited looking husband in their bed and prepared for the strenuous day she knew was going to come.

Unfortunately, the day hadn't turned out as Jane wanted it to because when she and Korsak had entered Grenith's place, they had found it to be empty and Grenith nowhere to be seen. Of course nobody in his neighbourhood knew where he had gone or where to find him. They had left the place angry and tense and had returned to the station to file a missing person report. Frost had immediately went through all the files and notes for any hint or indication regarding the whereabouts, but his search was to no avail. The seemingly missing link to the case had disappeared and now they didn't have a single lead that could help them to find it. All they could do was to wait for Grenith to be found and Jane detested waiting.

The case was on hold, but she still had to finish the typical paperwork and Mc Donnell from Vice had asked her for advice on one of their cases. So she called home to inform Casey that she was probably coming late, which was obviously met by a lack of approval on his side. Not able to take his indignation in her tense and irritated state, she had ended the call rather abruptly, even though she knew that it would cause another argument later on.

Instead of staying at her desk with frustrating paper work and the uncertain progress of the case, she decided to take a break and go out to get a coffee in order to clear her buzzing head. Jane hated days like these, days where nothing seemed to work and not even the prospect of going back home to her family bore a great sense of welcomed relief. Sometimes she wished that she had chosen another job, a regulated job which guaranteed her enough time with her family, a job that didn't hold all this disappointment and tension. But then her mind would take her back to all the memories of the people she had helped, the people she had brought justice to and nothing could compare to that. It filled her with so much pride and joy to see that she was able to do that, to bring a little bit of justice to the world.

She wouldn't give up her job for anything.

When the time came for Jane to go home, she hesitated. On the one hand she wanted nothing more but to be with her child and to spend a quiet evening, but on the other hand she wanted to postpone the feared confrontation with Casey for as long as possible. She honestly couldn't explain to why her husband had become so on edge, but she was too tired to deal with it at the moment. So she went down to the locker room of the fitness place of the station, gathered her bag and drove off into the night.

Luckily, the small changing room at the swimming pool was empty as Jane finally got there. She sat down on one of the benches and let herself bask in the familiar and comforting quietness for a few moments before changing and heading for the showers. This was what she needed now, a satisfying and concentrated swim with nothing but herself to focus on. She jumped into the cold water, letting out a gush of air as the coldness collided with the heat of her body. Not faltering at the powerful sensations running through her system, she began to do the crawl with long and determined strokes, cutting through the water like a sharp saw cutting through wood. She found delight in the stark awareness of her own body and strength, feeling her muscles work out the tension and offering it to the welcoming waves of the pool. She was in her element.

Around her fifth lap Jane finally felt the tension evaporate and her mind clear but yet she continued to swim, even though she knew that actually, it would was at the time to head home. But her mind and heart wanted to indulge in the silence and solitude just little longer, if only to brace herself for the conflicts to come. She wanted to pull as much energy as possible out of this short escape.

She was just turning around to start the next lap when her thoughts suddenly drifted to the beautiful blonde from yesterday. The way her bathing suit had accentuated firm curves and muscled limbs, the way her eyes had twinkled with mirth and good natured humour, the way she had bit her lip while contemplating Jane's offer. The wave of powerful feelings connected to her image of the stranger surprised Jane and she couldn't fathom the reason to why these thoughts had turned up so unexpectedly and to what had triggered them in the beginning.

The distinctive sensation of nervousness invaded her body as she let the woman enter her mind once again. She had been so elegant, so breathtakingly stunning. But Jane knew that actually, she shouldn't be thinking of this woman in such manner because thoughts like these were too dangerous, too risky.

All too well did Jane Rizzoli know this, for the simple reason that she had a past, a painful past, which she didn't want to give the opportunity to resurface again, now or ever. That chapter of her life was over.

However, she felt even more guilty for still being excited about seeing the woman again on Tuesday at the swimming practise. Maybe, maybe she should just drop that practice next week and take a short break, rather spending the time with her family to rediscover the harmony that usually shaped their dynamics. Yes, the more she thought about it, the more it sounded like a good idea and she knew that Casey would be thrilled about it.

Jane slowly felt her senses calming down and her heartbeat return to its normal frequency. She took this as her cue for getting out of the pool since she had noticed that her muscles were also starting to ache. She swam back to the edge, pulled herself up and walked back to the showers, the silence of the empty pool slowly becoming deafening.

She tried to not dwell under the warm and soothing spray of water for too long, her need to get back to the safeness of her home was steadily increasing. Fortunately enough, her thoughts were throughly back on her family now and she couldn't wait to see Ava, even if the little girl was already sleeping. She promised herself that she would try and stay home as long as she could tomorrow since it was the last full day before school started, even if it was hardly possible due to the current case.

On the way to the car, Jane checked her phone for updates on the case, but neither Frost nor Korsak had messaged her. Her ease, however, was short lived as she spotted one unread message from Casey. She checked the time and saw that it was already past ten. Hesitantly, she moved to open the message, feeling slightly on edge.

Where are you, Jane? Ava misses you and she was pretty upset that you ditched us for dinner yet again. And Jane, I'm sorry for being so harsh earlier, it was unfair and I didn't mean to irritate you. Please just come home, honey, and we'll let everything rest and have nice evening. I love you. C

Jane let out a breath of relief, Casey had seemingly calmed down. She felt lighter and more secure now than she had the whole day, and without any further thought she got into the car and drove home through the late night traffic. All bothering thoughts and feelings towards the stranger were long forgotten.

Or at least for the moment.

Thank you for reading.

Any thoughts or comments? I would like to hear what you think.

Until next time,

A.