Disclaimer: I own nothing. All characters and stories belong to TNT, Tess Gerritsen (fan of her work- it's an author thing), and Janet Tamaro.

A/N: Post Boston Strangler Redux

Maura's Diagnosis

Maura Isles, Jane Rizzoli's best friend. She'd do anything to defend her, even if it meant insulting her boss. No…wait…that was a daily thing with her. Her boss was her old enemy in school back when they were kids. She hated him. To add things to her plate, to make him seem freaked out by her, Maura diagnosed him with blisters, and she used the scientific phrase for them.

"Rizzoli!" called Lieutenant Grant. She rolled her eyes, slammed down her paperwork and strode into his office.

"What?" she asked with a smirk.

"Are you finished with the paperwork?" he asked her.

"Who are you, Speedy Gonzales?" asked Jane. Grant just stared at her. "I got back from arraignment an hour ago. I don't have my DD5s done yet." Grant crossed his arms in an impatient stance. She was getting to him.

"So…" he began, trying to make distracting conversation, "that Maura Isles is really something."

Jane stared. "She is," admitted Jane. "She's a good friend and great at her job."

"She's kind of weird though, isn't she?" he asked her. Jane looked offended.

"Weird?" she asked him. "Weird? You don't know the meaning of weird."

"Oh shut up, Rizzoli," he ordered with a snarl. "Woman diagnoses everything like it's a freaking ritual." Jane's face grew hot. He began to back off, noticing that she was ready to explode.

"Weird?" she still asked. "I'll tell you who's weird. A certain Lieutenant that loves to make fun of certain people."

"Jeez, Rizzoli. I was only trying to make a point."

"A point my ass!" she snapped.

"Okay, Rizzoli. What the hell is your problem?"

She groaned. She was annoyed to the point of involuntary strangulation. She wanted to strangle him right then and there. She could reawaken the case she just closed and join Leahy in prison for the rest of her life. She didn't care. "That woman has more brains than all of the homicide division combined. She defended herself against Leahy and helped me more than any of you." She stepped closer to him. "And she offered to look at those blisters for you, didn't she?"

He peered into Jane's eyes. "You gonna hit me, Frog Face?" he asked her, reawaking a child hood name that he had given her as a kid.

She whacked him upside the head. "Might as well," she sneered.

"That…It…Assault on a police officer!" he screamed.

Jane shook her head. "That's just a woman hitting a disgusting man. This is assault on an officer." She shoved him against the wall by his collar. "Next time you make fun of my best friend,

I'll personally kill you!" She let him go and stormed out of the room.

"Is that a threat, Rizzoli?" he asked her. She slammed the door behind her, leaving his question unanswered.

Jane stormed through the precinct, in to the hallway, and almost into Maura. "Hey," she said. Looking at Jane's anger, she added, "What's the matter?"

Jane grabbed Maura's arm. She was tugging with unimaginable force. "Ouch!" yelped Maura, "Jane! That really hurts!" Jane ignored her.

"Weird he says. Maura's so weird." Maura heard Jane's rants and took them as taunts. She was quite offended.

"You think I'm weird?" asked Maura. Jane let go of Maura's arm to turn and face her.

"No!" she yelled. "Those weren't my words. Grant said that." Maura tilted her head with curiosity for a second and then pulled it back into position. She waited for Jane to continue. "You're not weird. You're smart, you're resourceful, and you say a lot of big words most people don't know." Maura laughed at that last comment. "You're my best friend." Jane slung her arm through Maura's and pulled her other arm through it, nestling her head on Maura's shoulder. Maura watched with curiosity. "Let's go get drinks."

"Okay," agreed Maura. She walked with Jane clinging onto her arm. Maybe what set her off is that her best friend was a topic of teasing. Defense systems go off when the people close to her either are in trouble or are just in need of her. As of right now, Maura was one of those people.