Wedding Day – Early Afternoon

"Rizzoli. I swear, if you're calling to tell me we've got a dead body, I'm going to hang up and pretend this phone call never happened," Jane spoke sharply through the phone, assuming it was dispatch.

"Do you usually have fathers of the brides calling you about dead bodies?" Jonathan Isles asked, completely seriously.

Jane's jaw dropped. "Not usually, but it has happened. Sorry about that, Mr. Isles, I thought you were dispatch. How can I help you?"

He exhaled loudly, "It took longer than I thought to manoeuvre Constance onto the airplane. As such, we're running late... about half an hour late, actually. I know this day is just as important to you as it is to our daughter, but do you think you could stall for a bit, buy us some time?"

"You do realise you're asking me to stall a wedding for Maura Dorothea Isles, right? We're talking about the same lady who has fainting episodes when she's overstressed and things don't go according to the plan or schedule?"

Jonathan chuckled, "Yes, Jane, that Maura."

She rubbed her chin, wracking her brain for some stroke of stalling genius. "I'll do what I can, Mr. Isles, but please hurry."

"Thank you, Jane," he said and was gone.

Okay. How do you stall your own damn wedding? And then Jane's brilliance struck, causing her to grin. She had a plan.

"Angela, is everything all right?" Maura asked her flustered mother-in-law-to-be.

"Oh, yes, Maura, of course everything's fine, dear. Just give me a moment," Angela spoke at twice her usual rate, practically running away before she'd even finished her thought.

Obviously something was wrong. And Maura couldn't even talk to Jane about it. I hope she's okay, she thought. That's when she spotted Frankie frantically roaming around the entrance to the hall. She crept closer to the gap in the doorway, straining to hear his muffled outburst.

"She can't have just disappeared! For Christ's sake, she's getting married, what the hell is she trying to pull!"

Maura's heart dropped in her chest. Suddenly it was difficult to breathe, to stand, to act like she was okay. "Jane's gone?" Maura asked loudly, her voice breaking against her wishes.

Frankie looked at her guiltily as he walked over to her and took her hands in his. She felt a slip of paper brush against her palm and gripped it automatically as he pulled away. He was turned away from his mother and gave her a wink. "It's okay, Maura, I'm taking care of it."

He closed the door as he left, quickly resuming an aggravated discussion with Angela.

Maura was confused, but she unfolded the paper in her fingers regardless.

Maur,

Don't fret, love, I haven't deserted you. However, I did run into a teeny,

tiny little problem that requires fixing before we can tie the knot.

I'm sorry, I know you have this entire thing planned out to the minutest

detail and if it wasn't absolutely crucial, I wouldn't bother.

I just need a bit of time to fix it, so I've used my disappearance as a distraction.

I'm not leaving you, pretty girl. Don't cry or worry.

I'll still be there, waiting for you at the end of the aisle.

I love you.

J.

Maura sniffled a little, too overcome with relief to be bothered about timing change. Reflecting, really, that it wouldn't change anything. Everything could stand to be pushed back for as long as Jane required. Of course, she was positively burning with curiousity about what this problem could be, but she knew that as soon as they were alone, there were many different tactics she could employ to persuade the detective to 'spill her guts', to use Jane's vernacular.

She smiled at the possibilities.

Meanwhile, Jane was lurking the janitor's closet. It wasn't the most action-packed of plans, but it worked extremely well. No one would think to look for a bride in a closet. The bathroom? Oh yeah, first place they'd search. She smirked as she perched on top of a mop bucket, awaiting the Isles' text to indicate their arrival.

When she got it, she had about a fifteen minute head start to reappear and make excuses before getting the show back on the road. Of course, the person it took the longest amount of time to make amends with was her mother, but Frankie helped her out on that front. Good best man, that brother.

Just as she got the her place at the end of the aisle to await her bride, she got a text from Jonathan: We're here. Constance will make her way to the front row, I'm off to find my little girl.

Jane smiled. Then abruptly she flipped out because Korsak hadn't been informed of the change of plans and was still counting on walking the beautiful pathologist down to Jane. She quickly sent her brother off to break the news to the soft old man.

Knock, knock, knock.

Maura crossed over to the door, flinging it open with a large smile on her face, fully expecting Sergeant Detective Korsak to be on the other side.

Her jaw dropped in shock when she saw her father there, smiling somewhat abashedly, dressed in a well-tailored suit.

"Father," she started, but then for the life of her, she didn't know how to continue.

He exhaled in relief, "Hello, Maura." He spread his arms in a welcoming gesture. After a split-second's hesitation, Maura stepped into his embrace. She fought to keep the tears at bay, gripping his shirt tightly. He hugged her just as tightly, trying to convey every latent public display of affection into this one touching moment.

"Thank you for being here, Daddy," she murmured into his neck.

"Always," he whispered in her ear, voice thick with his own barely restrained emotions.