Dispatch calls not twenty minutes later, and Jane sits up grumpily, wrapping the bedsheet around herself.
"Rizzoli," she growls into the phone.
Maura rolls over, grabbing her own phone off the bedside table. "Isles."
"Yep," Jane says shortly.
"Of course," Maura tries to swallow her chuckle, "Give us twenty."
"It's on Boylston? We'll be there in ten," Jane says at the same time, glancing at Maura.
They snap their phones off.
"You'd think after fifteen years, dispatch would call just one of us," Jane says, sighing and swinging her legs over the side of the bed. She doesn't get up, but flexes her shoulders, stretching. Maura licks her lips, resisting the temptation to pull her lanky detective back to her.
"Your dispatch and my dispatch are two different places, Jane."
She shrugs. "Still. We've been on the same team for forever now." She stands up and wanders towards her closet, scratching her shoulder. "I hope it's open and shut," she says, disappearing behind the door. Maura sighs, swinging her own feet over the side of the bed. "Now that the kids are back in school, I want some time to just sit on the couch and drink a beer."
"You did plenty of that this summer, sweetheart," Maura teases, moving to contemplate her own closet.
"I mean sit on the couch and enjoy a beer, and no one's yelling about lost cleats, or 'hey can my friends come over and…' or 'hey, turn the channel, iCarly is on,'" Jane responds from out of sight.
Maura smiles. "Yes. That child is a bit grating, isn't she? And her friend…what's his name…Guppy."
Jane's laugh is raspy, still deep and growly from their almost sex earlier and Maura feels herself shiver involuntarily. "I'm pretty sure it's not Guppy, Maura."
Maura shrugs, pulling out a dark red dress, slit up the side. "Well, it's something like that…always yelling."
"Everyone on that damn channel is always yelling," Jane emerges from around the corner, dark pants and a tank top. She has a purple v-neck and her blazer over her arm. "Your daughter is supposed to be a genius, Maur. Why does she watch such crap TV?"
"Noah likes iCarly too," the doctor says, frowning at Jane's shirt and turning back to her wardrobe. "That's the shirt you're going to wear? I was going to wear red."
Jane raises an eyebrow at her wife. "So? Wear red. I don't think our body will mind that we haven't color coordinated."
"It is scientifically proven that looking at aesthetically pleasing color combinations boosts dopamine and-"
"Oh, my God, Maura," Jane raises her hands to the heavens, "why do I get trapped in this conversation at least once a week."
She disappears into her closet again. "What color shirt would you like me to wear, darling?"
Maura bites her lip, "Do you have a cyan?"
"English, Maura."
"Light blue? Sky blue?" There is a pause, like Jane is either looking or stalling, and Maura realizes with a little jolt why it might be taking the detective so long. "If you don't…"
"No, I do," Jane appears around the corner and holds it up. "I usually only wear it when Dr. Pike covers you," she says and then, with a sly grin, "because he says it makes my eyes look so pretty."
Maura laughs, pulling the dress over her head and spinning around.
"You joke all you want Rizzoli," she says spinning and gesturing that her wife should do her zipper. "When we run off together, see if I don't sue you for everything you're worth."
Jane laughs, and reaches out for Maura's zipper.
…
Frost is already at the scene when they get there. He smiles at them as they flash their badges and duck under the police tape.
The park on Boylston has been emptied of people, and a throng of curious bystanders are being contained a ways back as the women make their way towards the dark detective.
"What do we got, Frost?" Jane fist bumps him hello, and Maura nods at him.
Frost doesn't smile. "You're not going to like it."
"I'm not sure we ever like murders, Barry," Maura says grimly, already pulling on her gloves.
Jane raises an eyebrow. "I don't know…remember the clown?"
Frost grins, "the murdered clown or the clown murderer?"
"You had a clown murderer?" Maura asks skeptically.
"Yeah!" Frost says, "You remember, it was before after Jane got det-" He stops abruptly, looking startled, "Oh, my God, no," he says, "You don't remember…You weren't back yet." He goes a little pale. "That means it was over…"
"Over twenty years ago," Jane fills in, "Yep."
"Oh, God," Frost says, grimacing. "I'm getting old."
"Getting?" Jane teases, and she ducks his punch. "We're old. Isabelle handed me my ass this morning, kids got an Olympic grade kick, I'm telling you." She smiles, but Frost face sobers.
Maura understands. "Oh, Barry," she breathes, "Is it a child?"
Jane's eyes go wide, and Barry nods, pointing to a bench about twenty feet away. "Yeah, I think so, Doc. I can't read bones like you can, but I'm pretty sure."
"Damn it," Jane says sadly as they draw closer.
"Yeah," Frost agrees, looking pale. "I told you that you weren't going to like it."
"She's older than Bella," Maura says calmly, kneeling down beside the bench, and Both Jane and Frost know that that will be the last time she mentions her children. "Sixteen or seventeen."
"Still a baby," Jane says, and her voice is low.
"You smell her?" Frost asks, and Jane steps closer.
"Yeah…that's pot." She looks around at the ground. "So…comes out here to get high, and gets…what beaten up?"
"Strangled," Maura says, pulling aside the girl's turtleneck. "And look at her eyes."
Jane grimaces and Frost gags. "It's Subconjunctival hemorrhaging."
"It looks like a horror film," Frost says, taking a step back.
"It's most common in strangling victims."
Jane looks around, "Why doesn't SVU take this case? Kid in the middle of a park, strangled to death?"
Maura shakes her head, "She's over thirteen, and there are no signs of sexual assault." She stands, waving at the removal unit that she's ready to have them come in. "That makes it a homicide."
Jane stops walking suddenly, and bends down, picking up a little silver chain. On the end of the chain is a pendant. Frost comes over to look. "You think it's hers?"
Jane nods, pointing to the spot on the chain that is stained dark red. "Hers or her attackers…yeah."
"What a fucking shame," Frost says, "Sorry, Maur."
Maura shakes her head, brow furrowed. "She's missing the first day of school."
Jane puts her arm around Maura's shoulders, but doesn't say speak to that.
"Come on," she pulls Maura gently back towards the cruiser. "We're not doing her any good standing here."
And with that, the three of them set out across the lawn, back the way they came.
…
…
The doctor takes extra care stitching up the Y incision. She pushes the dirty blonde hair out of the teenager's eyes. Jane's text came about twenty minutes ago, and she expects the knock at the window any moment.
"Your parents are coming," she says quietly. "It's merciful that they didn't have to wait ages to find out where you are," she pauses. She knows that lots of people still talk about the way she speaks to her bodies. "And you must know that they know you love them," she says after a moment. "Even if the last thing you said to them was that you hate them."
The knock on her window comes, and Maura sighs, straightening up and heading in the direction of the sound. This is her least favorite part of the job. It has always been, even though the reasons have changed.
In the beginning, she hated this part because she did not know what to say to the loved ones on the other side of the glass. The parents and the sisters and husbands and wives, whose faces went from resolute disbelief to shock to terror to grief faster than she could turn away.
Some of them wanted to come in, wanted to touch their loved ones, hold onto them one last time, and she always felt as if she should say something. That as the medical examiner, she should offer something that could ease their pain. She could never think of anything, in the moment, and their anguish made her skin prickle.
Now she hates it because when she watches the mothers and fathers press their faces and hands against the panes of glass and start to sob, she understands their suffering.
And she knows there is nothing that can ease it.
The doctor pulls the blinds back on the viewing window. There is her detective, looking grim and sympathetic, and bracketed by a tall dark haired man and a short petite woman who Maura knows at once is the mother of the child on her table. She is the spitting image. She lowers her eyes and steps to the side.
Even braced for it, even though it might be the five thousandth time she's had to witness it, The doctor is still not ready for the parent's reaction.
Both husband and wife crumple, and Jane manages to catch the woman, her long fingers closing over the tiny arm, supporting her.
Maura can read her lips through the glass. Alright…alright. I'm so sorry…Okay…I've got you…Alright. She does not say it's okay, and when the woman throws her arms around Jane and begins to sob, the detective holds her back, unashamed, glancing at Maura through the glass, jaw tight. Shut it, she mouths, and Maura pulls the curtain down on the scene.
For a moment, she just stands, looking at the neutral gray of the fabric that blocks the grieving parents from view. But then she turns back to the girl on her table. She sighs heavily, but smiles a little bit.
"We know who you are now, Melina," she says quietly, "and we're going to find out what happened."
...
Maura finds Jane at her desk, head in her hands, staring at nothing. She sits down in the chair next to her and reaches out to grip her wife's knee.
"Rough?"
Jane sighs, "They're divorced. Kid was supposed to be with the mother. Mom was out on a date," Jane says dully, "First one since the split. Can you imagine?"
Maura grimaces. "How awful," she says quietly.
"They tore each other apart. I finally had to get Frost to separate them. Couldn't ask anything that they wouldn't turn back on each other." Jane sighs and rubs her face, Maura squeezes her knee.
"It's misplaced guilt and over rationalization," she says, and Jane nods. "They're looking for someone to blame because blaming themselves hurts too much."
"I'm fuck-sorry. I'm sure it does."
"You don't think one of them did it?"
Jane shakes her head, "Nah. You saw the reaction. And the only thing they ever agreed on was custody," she sighs, "Fifty, fifty, straight down the middle."
"Unusual."
Jane nods, standing up. "Okay…well at least now we know who she is. Frost is grabbing her records and we're going to head over to the school, talk to the teachers…see if we can figure out who her friends are and then-" but Jane's phone buzzes and she breaks off, pulling it out and looking at it.
Her face goes pale.
"This Is Jane Rizzoli," she answers, and Maura frowns at the uncharacteristic answer.
"Jane?"
But the detective puts up a finger, "Is she alright?"
Maura feels the earth shift. "Jane, is it one of the girls?" And it's times like these that she hates her job, because it makes it possible to imagine, with crystal clear precision, either one of her daughters on her own exam table. "Jane!" she says urgently.
"We'll be right there," Jane says, and she hangs up, and looks at Maura, bewildered.
"Who?" Language seems to be leaving the doctor, "She's okay? Which? Jane?"
"It's Sofia," Jane says, and they head towards the door simultaneously. "She's fine," Jane seems to be having trouble speaking as well.
"She…She got into a fist fight."
…
…
The ride home is tense and silent. Jane drives and Maura glances at her children in the rearview mirror.
Noah and Levi sit in the bucket seats in the first row of the SUV, both looking nervous, even though they are not the ones in trouble. Noah keeps stealing glances into the back seat, where Isabelle and Sofia sit, hand in hand. Isabelle has her head on her sister's shoulder.
Maura frowns at Sofia's reflection. Physically, she's a dark haired carbon copy of her mother, angular features and deep brown eyes, one of which is currently outlined in blue and purple.
But Jane and Sofia differ greatly in terms of personality. Both are quick witted and sharp tongued, but where Jane is sarcastic, Sofia is funny, opting for puns and plays on words. Both enjoy learning, but where Jane is hands on and nonchalant, Sofia could sit in a classroom forever. Both have short fuses, and carry grudges, but Jane's anger explodes, and Sofia's simmers, settling into tight lipped fury for days on end.
It is not like her to resort to physical violence, and it is even less like her to refuse to explain herself, especially when suspension is on the line.
"I'm hall monitor," Noah says suddenly into the silence. Maura turns around in her seat to smile at him.
"Congratulations, honey," she says and Noah smiles bashfully.
"They made you hall monitor? You can barely monitor your shoelaces," Levi jokes, but he reaches out to slap his little brother five. "Congrats bro."
"That's great Noah," Isabelle says quickly, from the back. Sofia doesn't take her eyes from the window.
"Sofia, you wanna congratulate your brother?" Jane's voice is dangerous.
Sofia tightens her jaw, not saying anything. Jane opens her mouth to say more, but Maura puts her hand on her wife's thigh, stopping her.
"It's okay, Fee," Noah says, smiling hopefully back at her, "I know you're happy for me."
Sofia glances at her brother, and Maura can see that she's miserable. She turns her face back to the window, and nods once, curtly. Isabelle squeezes her hand, and Sofia tries not to cry.
Like her mother, she hates to cry.
.
All of the kids try to disappear as soon as the car engine is cut off.
"Homework, before dinner," Jane says as they scatter. "I don't care where you work, but you must be working."
Noah opts for the kitchen table and Levi, Isabelle and Sofia high tail it for the stairs.
"Sofia," Maura calls her daughter this time, instead of Jane. "Living room, please."
For a moment it looks like Sofia is going to flat out disobey her mother, but then she turns and does as she's told. Maura looks with wide eyes at Jane who shakes her head, just as baffled. Out of the four of their children, Sofia is the last one they would have suspected would ever act this way. Jane heads into the room behind her, and Maura notices Isabelle hovering on the landing, looking torn. Normally, she would be right behind her sister, trying to defend her. Maura catches her daughter's eye and Isabelle turns, scampering away. Maura frowns, but doesn't have time to think about it, because Sofia is screeching in the living room.
"I already TOLD you I don't want to talk about it."
Maura hurries into the living room and is met with her wife and her daughter, squaring off like lions.
"You have to tell us what happened, Sofia," Jane says, her own voice barely controlled. "They are going to suspend you!"
"YOU THINK I DON'T CARE ABOUT THAT?"
"Okay," Maura says, guiding her shaking wife into a place on the couch and gesturing that Sofia should sit down too. "Okay, let's calm down, everyone."
Sofia sits down slowly, glowering. Maura tries to collect herself, "Honey," she says to her daughter, "I think your mother and I are both a little shocked, is all. You're not the type of person who would just…attack someone for no reason."
Sofia's face softens a little. "I'm not."
Jane nods, "We know, nug," she says softly. "So tell us what happened. They can't rightfully suspend you if you were protecting yourself…or if something happened that led up to-"
"I didn't just punch Jacob for no reason," she says again.
Maura frowns, "Why did you punch him, Fia?"
But Sofia sets her jaw, the same way she did in the principal's office. Maura sighs. "Did he say something to you or your sister? Something that upset you?"
Nothing.
"Did he threaten you?" Jane tries.
Nothing. Jane looks at Maura, at a loss.
The doctor is not much better off. "Fia, honey…you know the consequences for violence don't just end at school. If you can't provide us with a valid reason for hitting that boy, what are we supposed to think?"
Sofia's eyes narrow. "You're supposed to trust me," she snarls.
Jane leans forward, "We do trust you, baby. Why won't you trust us? Whatever it is-"
But Sofia jumps up. "FINE!" she yells, "I hit him for no reason. I hit him for fun, because I just like hitting people, and he's an asswipe anyway."
"Sofia Emilie," Maura says, standing too. "Watch your language."
"And no, It's not fine," Jane says, though she doesn't stand. "You're grounded. For the length of your suspension, whatever that may be. And I need your phone."
Sofia looks outraged. "You are being SO unfair."
Maura sighs, "You aren't helping yourself, sweetheart," she says, almost pleading. "If you would just-"
"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND ANYTHING," Sofia cries, and she takes her phone out of her pocket and slams it hard onto the coffee table. "AND YOU SUCK."
They watch her run from the room and pound up the stairs. Jane runs her hand through her hair. "What's the date?" she groans, as Maura sits down next to her.
"Excuse me?"
"We should mark the exact date and time that our daughter turns into me…for reference."
Maura leans over to kiss Jane's shoulder, "You say that like it's an awful thing," she says, and Jane looks around at her, eyebrows raised. "You didn't go around punching people for no reason, Jane," Maura clarifies, "And neither did she."
"What do you think, then?" Jane pulls Maura to her, kissing the side of her head.
"I don't know…did you notice when we were talking to her-"
"No Isabelle," Jane fills in. "Yeah. I did…Interesting."
Maura nods, "Very."
They sit, lost in thought for a moment, and then Jane's phone buzzes. "Rizzoli." Maura sits up, pushing herself of the couch. She heads into the kitchen, where Noah is looking at his cell phone.
"Strike one, kiddo," she says tapping the table, and he plops it down, turning back to his homework.
"Ma going out?"
"Sounds like it," Maura opens the fridge, "potatoes or pasta?"
"Pasta. You guys catch a case today?"
Maura nods, pulling out the chicken. "Almost the moment you left."
"Bummer, what's 9 times 7?"
"Nice try, sir. Figure it out."
"You're part of the Mensa Society!"
"Someone's going to have to take my place when I die. Nine times seven, Figure it out.
"Fifty?"
Maura smiles into the cabinet reaching for the pasta. She keeps her voice stern. "Don't guess. Higher."
There is silence, "Sixty…sixty two..three! Sixty three."
"Good boy."
Noah smiles, proud, and Maura ruffles his hair as she passes. She likes that he still does his homework nearby, even if it is in the hopes of getting her to do it for him.
Jane appears in the doorway as she's starting the water. "That was Frost. We've got a lead."
"I'll save you dinner," Maura says.
"Thank you, love."
"Hey Ma!" Noah calls, "What's 96 divided by 12?"
"Seven hundred and thirty six," Jane says turning away with a grin.
"I am pretty sure that's wrong," Noah says glumly, looking down at the paper.
Jane chuckles. "Love you, little man. Don't eat all the chicken tonight."
"Ma?" She turns back to look at him, and Maura looks up."
"Yes, Noah?"
"I know Sofia didn't punch that boy without a reason. She's wouldn't do that."
Jane glances at Maura, and then comes over to Noah, kissing the top of his head. "Thank you, buddy," she says, and he grins at her. "Do your homework…yourself! Rizzoli Isles don't cheat."
"Yes ma'am."
Jane turns away again. "Love you both," she calls.
"Double it!" Both Maura and Noah call after her, and Maura smiles despite herself, as she hears the front door close behind her wife.
Might as well jump right in...right?