Maura

"Tell Maddy you don't want her to leave us baby girl!" Jane said in a playful childish voice behind Angela's back.

Angela giggled and crawled over to me on the bed climbing on my chest and kicking her little feet. I set my book on the nightstand, gathered her in my arms and smiled kissing her dark unruly curls and laughing at her attempts to pull my hair again. I looked over at Jane who was smiling at me playfully with narrow mischievous eyes and pouting lips. I rolled my eyes and kissed Jane softly. She opened her mouth for me and let me kiss her deeply. I sighed into the kiss, loving the way Jane's arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me closer to her.

Jane had been playing the guilt trip game for two days and it was beginning to wear on me. She was using every trick in the book to get me to stay in New York and not go back to Boston. I wished I could tell her I was going to work on her family's case; but I just couldn't do that. In the event that my efforts proved fruitless I couldn't bare breaking her heart after getting her hopes up that we might be able to find her family's killer after all. Still Jane was proving to be...persuasive. She'd taken to teasing me sexually every chance she got. She now understood that her sexuality was her crowning glory and her greatest weapon. She would push me to the brink of my desire only to pull away and say something snide and cruel like 'you'll need your rest for your trip' or 'if you want me you'll have to stay to have me'. I'd gotten so frustrated with her last night I'd been force to take a shower and pleasure myself just to get some relief from Jane's horrible teasing.

It was Monday night and I was supposed to be leaving for Boston in the morning. I'd spent most of the day at the office because Jane's teasing and pouting had become cruel and unbearable. I went in to the office angry and frustrated. Jane let me shower with her this morning and feel every part of her I loved so much only to jump out the shower just when I thought she was going to let me have her. I couldn't get Jane's knowing smirk out of my mind. I had so much pent-up frustration I decided now was the perfect time to relieve some of my tension on one who'd offended me beyond belief.

Earlier this Afternoon:

Maura

"Dr. Isles, there is a Mrs. Sherri Oliver here to see you," my receptionist buzzed me on my office phone.

I smiled.

"Send her in," I said cooly.

Moments later my receptionist opened the huge double doors of my office and led Sherri inside. I didn't get up. She didn't deserve that respect. I sat in my chair leaning back casually and folding my hands in my lap. I knew my face was cold and expressionless. I was furious with Sherri over her advances toward my girlfriend. Her blatant overtly sexual conversation with Jane behind my back was enough to infuriate me to the brink of my self-control. Unfortunately for Sherri I was also frustrated with Jane's incessant sexual teasing. Those two facts together made a dangerous combination. I might have been afraid of Sherri in the past; but that person was gone. Dr. Isles had been reborn and in this moment I would show Sherri just how far I was not going to be pushed any longer. Sherri was smiling when she first walked into my office; but the closer she got to my desk her expression changed into something more like nervous curiosity.

I didn't speak, I didn't move, I certainly didn't smile. I had nothing but the vilest distaste for Sherri in my heart and my mood and demeanor reflected my thoughts and feelings. Even my receptionist looked uncomfortable as she gazed at me. She introduced Sherri again and quickly scampered from the room. I didn't offer Sherri a seat. I just let her stand in front of my desk nervously fidgeting with her purse. She was refusing to meet my eyes. She looked everywhere but at me. I wondered what she was thinking. Was she wondering just how much Jane told me of her advances? Was she realizing that she'd made a mistake? Was she afraid of me? She certainly looked afraid. My heart felt like stone and ice staring down the woman that had so grievously offended me. Not just about Jane, but many many times before that for years and years. How many times had I stood nervously in front of Sherri feeling bare and stripped down? Somewhere in my heart I felt satisfaction, relief, and power.

"Your office is beautiful, Maura. It's very classy and well decorated like yourself." Sherri said finally giving me a nervous smile.

I gritted my teeth but inclined my head in thanks.

"Your fundraiser was incredible as always. You're so well connected. I'm so sorry about what happened to you with the waiter ripping your dress. If that were me I would have run like the wind and never come back..."

"...That is because you are a weak pathetic little child!" I spat at her

Sherri looked taken aback. I narrowed my eyes at her.

"Tell me Sherri, how sad and lonely are you that you feel the need to come on to my girlfriend behind my back?" I said firmly.

Sherri looked bewildered. Then her eyes turned hateful and her lips quivered.

"I have a husband and three children that love me. I'm far from lonely as you have always been. I don't spend my nights alone or talking to frogs in closets because I'm not a socially retarded, emotionally insecure, awkward little freak that can't form a real relationship to save my life." Sherri said haughtily.

"You wish you had what I have; you've always wanted to be me but you could never be me! Jane will tire of you eventually. If it's not me there will be someone else to take her from you. I could have her if I wanted; you're no competition. It's like taking candy from a baby!" Sherri laughed.

My face darkened and my eyes hardened but I smiled. I stared right into Sherri's eyes with all the hate and loathing I'd felt for her for half my life. I let her stand there for moments longer as I glared her down. She looked triumphant at first. But I never let my eyes move from hers. I showed not one sign of embarrassment or fear. I was that person no longer. Sherri began to look nervous again. She'd expected me to cower as I always had. My cold stare was unnerving to her. I widened my smile. I leaned over my desk folding my hands in front of me.

"You are lonely, sad, and emotionally insecure. Unfortunately for you I am no longer any of those things thanks to my girlfriend, Jane." I emphasized the word girlfriend and glared hatefully at Sherri as I did so.

"You're right...I could never be you and why would I want to be? You have nothing. No career, no accomplishments, no goals; you're nothing! You do have a husband that drinks, cheats, and gambles your money away...yes I know about your family's debt! I have to force my girlfriend to accept anything from me while your husband blows through your money like drinking water."

Sherri turned bright red. Her eyes filled with fury and embarrassment.

"My family has just acquired a wealthy new investor. My father's business is secure. And you have no right to talk about my husband that way...you don't know him..."

"...I do know him. He works for me...that is he worked for me in the past tense. I fired him this morning for possession of illegal drugs. I got a tip that he was doing drugs on the job. Did you know about the cocaine habit? Never mind don't answer that..."

I'd had James ask his private investigator to dig up any and all dirt on Sherri when Jane told me what she said to her. It only took two days for the PI to come back with a wealth of damaging information about Sherri's entire family.

"...You can't fire him. He needs this job!" Sherri said hysterically.

Sherri looked near tears. Her eyes were bright and wide in panic. Her shoulders slumped, her lips trembled; I smiled.

"I'm well within my rights to fire an employee for possession of illegal drugs in my building. I can't be seen to tolerate such distasteful habits. I didn't call the police or have him arrested; take comfort in that. The embarrassment to your father and your children would be irreparable I imagine. Your father is well known for his extreme right wing conservative views." I said pointedly.

Sherri hung her head. There was nothing she could say. She knew I was right.

"Exposing your sham of a marriage and your husband's many faults would damage your father's image; something he doesn't take lightly. I'm told he is pushing for a seat in the state senate come the next election. What would happen if certain skeletons were to tumble out of certain closets? Such humiliation might even sway your father to void your trust fund and write you out of your inheritance." I said casually.

Sherri looked shaken. Being left destitute was her worst nightmare. She had nothing to fall back on besides her father's money. She'd accomplished nothing on her own. She'd devoted her entire life to looking down on others and leaning on her family's good name. The thought of being stripped of everything that held her together was devastating to her. I paused to let Sherri stew in my words. I suppressed a smile of satisfaction. I earned this. I'd endured a life time of torment from this woman. I deserved this moment.

"Your father's company received a ten million dollar investment yesterday morning correct? Enough to cover the debts and keep the factories from closing."

Sherri's face faltered. She was wondering how I knew so much.

"Yes," Sherri said curiously.

"The donation was given in exchange for stock in the company correct?" I asked, enjoying the way Sherri's face looked shocked and afraid.

"Yes,"

"What percentage of the company does the investor own?" I smiled.

"Twenty five percent," Sherri said with a shaky voice.

"That's interesting because I just bought twenty-six percent of the shares in your father's company this morning. I bought them cheap; your share holders have lost faith in Oliver Enterprises. They were all very happy to sell. So my twenty-six percent along with the twenty-five percent I received for my investment makes me the majority shareholder of Oliver Enterprises. Isn't that exciting?" I sat back laughing in my chair.

Sherri looked like she didn't understand what I was saying at first. Then she looked like she wanted to vomit.

"You...you're the investor?" Sherri squeaked.

"I am! I own Oliver Enterprises...I own you!" I smiled cruelly at Sherri's wide disbelieving eyes.

"I believe this calls for a celebration!" I said happily as I stood and moved toward my small office bar.

"This is a Burgundy wine," I said happily pouring two glasses.

"It's my girlfriend's favorite," I smiled handing a glass to Sherri.

I sipped from my glass and closed my eyes. It tasted like victory, it taste like satisfaction, it tasted like sex, it tasted like Jane. I opened my eyes and stood staring Sherri down. Her face had gone pale and her hands were trembling.

"Perhaps you don't like fine wine," I said taking Sherri's glass and setting it on my desk.

"You won't be able to afford it anyway once I'm finished selling off your father's company in pieces at cost. I'm not interested in making a profit. I'll be happy to break even. I could turn the company around and make it successful again; I just don't think it's worth my time." I said sitting on my desk and sipping my wine again.

Tears ran down Sherri's cheeks.

"P-P-Please, Oliver Enterprises is my family's legacy," Sherri whispered.

I smiled.

"I could be persuaded to remain a silent partner on one or two conditions." I said casually.

"What do you want?" Sherri pleaded.

I smiled. I leaned close to Sherri putting my lips right next to her ear. I enjoyed the way she trembled.

"Stay away from my girlfriend and stay away from me! If I ever so much as hear of you anywhere near Jane again...well...I'll introduce you to the new Maura Isles. I promise; you won't like her! Certain secrets you'd rather remain unknown might just come to light. I might suddenly be overcome with the urge to sell Oliver Enterprises to your father's competitors." I whispered in Sherri's ear.

I leaned back and looked at her again. Her head was bowed and her face was red with fury and embarrassment.

"Get the hell out of my office," I whispered dangerously.

Sherri turned and ran bursting into tears as she did so. I sat in my chair and kicked my feet up on my desk finishing my glass of wine and savoring every drop. Besides the wine I shared with Jane the first time we made love...it was the best wine I'd ever tasted in my life.

Present time:

Maura

I'd returned home from tearing Sherri to shreds around dinner time to find Jane feeding Angela in the kitchen. Jane was wearing nothing more than the silk negligee she wore the first night we made love. My desire for her hit me immediately as I stared at her. Only it was ten times stronger after having so successfully thwarted that evil Sherri's attempts to take what was mine. I didn't feel badly for what I'd done to Sherri. If she wanted to play dirty...I would play dirty too!

I smiled at Angela and brushed her dimpled cheeks as I stood over Jane. I tilted her head back and kissed her sweet lips gently several times. Jane smiled and let me run my fingers over her breasts. I wanted everything from Jane. I wanted what she had denied me since Friday afternoon. I wanted what Sherri wanted but would never have. I wanted Jane's legs around my waist and her voice screaming in my ear. I wanted to put Angela in her play pen, bend Jane over the table, and have my way with her. But she was not finished punishing me yet. Jane pulled my hands from her breast, sat me down, and served me roast beef, carrots, and mashed potatoes that she made herself. Jane watched me eat excitedly giggling every time I took a bite. I didn't realize how hungry I was. I tore into Jane's home-made meal like a woman possessed. I'd tasted fine dining all over the world, but this was the best meal I'd ever eaten. Angela kicked her feet in her high chair and smiled between her tiny bites of mashed potatoes and mashed peas.

"Do you like it, Maura?" Jane asked me many times.

I smiled every time she asked.

"I love it baby," I would say and squeeze her leg under the table.

"I followed a recipe this time so I didn't burn the apartment down," Jane said proudly.

I smiled at Angela who had mashed potatoes in her hair somehow.

"I think Angela loves your mashed potatoes," I laughed.

Jane looked miffed.

"Baby girl you're so messy. I turn my back for two seconds and you're covered in food!" Jane wailed.

Angela squealed. I rolled my eyes.

"She's a baby honey," I stated bluntly.

Jane frowned at me.

"What happened to 'dining etiquette starts young'" Jane mocked in a high effeminate voice that I imagined was supposed to be mine.

I pinched Jane's butt. She swatted my hand away angrily but smiled despite herself.

"None of that from you," Jane teased. "Save that shit for your girlfriend in Boston,"

I almost choked on my roast beef.

"Don't do that Jane," I warned "There are no other women and don't curse in front of Angela,"

Jane just turned up her nose at me. She gathered Angela in her arms, pecked me on the lips, and carried Angela off for a bath. I watched them go smiling widely. I couldn't take my eyes off Jane's sexy legs. I imagined them around my waist again. I turned back to my dinner and ate every bite as I read the paper peaceful and content as I had never been before. For the first time in my life I felt like I was home. Now we lay in bed. Jane was still dressed in that sexy negligee teasing me and pleading for me to stay in New York.

"Baby if you stay I'll make you dinner every night and let you have me whenever you want," Jane said running her hand up her leg and pulling the hem of her negligee just below the space between her legs.

I bit my lip. I turned Angela's head so she couldn't see her mother's devilish smile. I wanted to say yes. I wanted to give in to Jane's every desire. But it had become a contest of wills. Besides that; I was only going to Boston to help Jane...she just didn't know it.

"Jane you know I have to work," I sighed heavily.

Angela squirmed on top of me and patted my cheeks. I giggled at her and tickled her sides. Angela squealed. Jane rubbed Angela's back lovingly.

"She loves you Maura...look how happy she is. It will break her heart if you leave her!" Jane smiled knowingly.

Jane knew how much I hated it when she threw Angela in the mix. I rolled me eyes.

"You know I don't want to leave you Jane. But you know I work in Boston. In five weeks I'm going back to work full time," I sighed heavily.

Jane pouted.

"I'm sure your girlfriend on the side will love that," Jane said snidely.

I looked at her incredulously.

"Excuse me?" I spat at her.

Jane only shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm just saying it's awfully strange that you have to jet off to Boston to work a cold case! It seems like something that could wait until you got back full time. I think there's something else going on that you're not telling me!" Jane said arching an eyebrow at me.

"It's not another woman?" I hissed through gritted teeth.

I was furious that Jane would even say that to me.

"So what is it then?" Jane asked pointedly.

"What is what?" I sighed rolling my eyes.

"What are you hiding? What's really going on in Boston?" Jane pushed.

I didn't speak for a moment. I didn't know what to say. I couldn't lie outright but I couldn't tell Jane the truth. Still the woman was extremely inquisitive and she knew me well enough to know there was something I wasn't telling her. I loved that Jane knew me so well; but at the moment it was extremely annoying. I decided to push back and hopefully throw off Jane's line of questioning.

"How could you think I have another woman Jane? You occupy all of my time and attention...you and little miss projectile vomit!" I said rubbing my hands through Angela's soft curls and smiling at her.

Franklin Thomas jumped on the bed and started licking Angela's face. Jane pulled FT into her body and rubbed his head.

"Is that why you're leaving? Because I'm exhausting you?" Jane said sadly.

She'd lowered her eyes and looked like she wanted to cry. I kicked myself for upsetting her. That wasn't my intention at all. Sometimes I just said things that were cruel even though it wasn't my intention to be so. I was still learning to filter my speech as to not hurt my girlfriend. She was incredibly sensitive about being here and the thought of her crowding my space plagued her mind with doubts despite the fact that I loved living with her.

"Honey...NO!" I said trying to kiss Jane again.

Jane pulled back and looked at me doubtfully.

"I can go back to my apartment if you don't want me to..."

"...Stop Jane! I'm serious. I don't want to hear you talk about leaving or giving me space or any of that. I love having you here...I hope you never leave." I said honestly rubbing Jane's cheek while Angela crawled on the bed between us.

Angela fell on top of FT who yipped and licked her face again.

"Well...why won't you tell me what's going on? I know you're hiding something!" Jane frowned.

I rolled my eyes again.

"Listen to you; Detective Rizzolli on the case," I teased.

Jane smirked.

"I always wanted to be a detective when I was a kid," Jane smiled.

Then her smile turned into a frown.

"That's why I joined the police academy. I had a head full of dreams of being the biggest baddest homicide detective ever. When I got into the police academy I thought I'd won the lottery. I worked so hard. I trained so hard. I did everything right. I studied like crazy. I graduated the academy at the top of my class. When I made the force I'd been so happy I cried when I got my badge. My mom cried too and both my brothers. They were so proud of me. My Ma couldn't stop smiling. My brothers told everybody they knew about their bad ass sister making the NYPD. Ma made me lasagna for my celebration dinner. I loved her lasagna...it was so good Maura I wish you could have tasted it. She used to sing to her sauce when she made it. She bought all the ingredients fresh from the farmers market and stewed her own tomatoes over night. That recipe was generations old, my great great great great grandmother used to make it in Sicily two hundred years ago. The last time I saw my family was at my celebration dinner in my tiny little apartment. My Ma acted like it was a mansion and brought out my old baby pictures and embarrassed me to death. It was awesome. My family and I laughed and told stories and my brothers told dirty jokes and made Ma mad."

Jane laughed. I smiled.

"Ma wrote down the recipe for me before they left for Boston and said next time I ate that lasagna it would be me that had to make it. I just rolled my eyes. I teased her that she'd always make it for me because she loved me. But then she died...she and both my brothers driving back to Boston. I haven't had lasagna since...I don't want to be a detective anymore. It just makes me sad." Jane said softly.

She rolled over and turned her back to me. I thought I saw her lips tremble and tears in her eyes before she turned away. My heart broke. Jane pulled a pillow in front of her face and clutched it tightly against her. I knew she was fighting down the pain. I knew it was killing her to remember what she had lost. She lost everything. Not just her family but a lifetime of hopes and dreams died with them. I felt the bed shake slightly with Jane's sobs. I knew she didn't want me to see her cry. I knew she felt weak, embarrassed, and alone. I knew she fought everyday to suppress what hurt her the most. I swallowed a lump in my throat. I reached for Jane and lay my hand on her shoulder. I didn't know what to say. I could find no words to comfort her. All I could do was fly to Boston and try my hardest to bring her at least some level of peace in knowing justice had been served.

Angela stood on the bed and patted her mother's arm cooing and crying for Jane's attention. If was as if Angela knew her mother was in pain. It was as if she was reaching out to her mother and trying desperately to get her attention and make her tears go away. I thought of how many nights Jane must have cried with Angela in her arms. How much misery had Angela seen already? How many of her mother's tears soaked her hair on dark nights? How many times had she curled in Jane's arms falling asleep to the sounds of Jane's pained sobs of grief? Angela shook her mother desperately, begging for her attention. What was she thinking? What was she feeling? Did she recognize Jane's misery? Was she afraid? Was she saddened as I was by Jane's choked soft whimpers into her pillow?

I sighed and pulled Angela into my arms. She began crying hysterically and fighting against me begging to be released back to her mother. My heart broke again as I wrestled with the baby's screaming wailing body. Angela never behaved this way with me. She always let me hold her. But this time she cried and screamed so much her entire face turned red and Franklin Thomas nipped at my hands to release her. I did. Jane turned over and gathered Angela in her arms and held her tightly whispering sweet words of comfort in her ear.

"It's ok sweetheart. Mommy's got you! I'll never leave you baby girl...I'll never let you go!" Jane said softly as tears streamed down her face.

Jane buried her face in Angela's curls kissing her tiny head repeatedly. I crawled behind Jane and wrapped my arms around her kissing her neck and rocking her gently. I could feel her begin to cry again softly into Angela's dark curly hair so much like her own. The lump in my throat was horrible. My eyes burned with tears. My girlfriend was hurting and therefore so was I. I held Jane as tightly as I could while she cried, her body trembled in pain. How could I leave her like this? How could I fall asleep and dream peacefully knowing I was leaving her alone with a heart full of pain and a mind full of doubt about my intentions. Was Jane waiting for me to hurt her? Were her snide remarks about me having another woman on the side based on some real thoughts of betrayal she had in her head? Did Jane keep asking if she was crowding my space because she still didn't believe this was real or that I could love her the way I said I did? Was she just waiting for the other shoe to drop? There was nothing I could say to make her feel better...but they say actions speak louder than words.

"I tell you what honey...why don't you and Angela and little Franklin Thomas come with me?" I whispered in Jane's ear.

I felt her body stiffen in my arms. I knew it was a long shot asking her to go to Boston. Jane hadn't been there in five years for a reason. I promised I wouldn't push her to go and I wouldn't...but I would extend the olive branch. Maybe Jane loved me enough to make the journey with me. Maybe she trusted me to let me hold her hand through the misery and the pain and guide her out into the light again. Maybe she believed me when I said I love you!

"Really?" Jane asked softly.

She turned to me eyes wide and curious although red and swollen. Angela giggled in her arms. I turned Jane's head gently with my fingers and kissed her deeply. I pulled her hips into mine and opened her mouth with my tongue leading hers in a dance of love and desire. I ran my hands up and down Jane's sides feeling her muscles quiver as my fingers caressed her strong but soft body. I sighed in her mouth and felt her lips tremble against mine. Jane's eyes were closed, her breath unsteady and deep. I loved her so much it was painful to feel all my love for her at once. I could kiss Jane forever. This moment, in our bed, with our daughter, and our little puppy, kissing like we meant it, like there was no place we'd rather be...this moment was heaven and earth. I broke the kiss finally. My body trembled with desire.

"Please come with me," I whispered.

I smiled at Jane who looked bewildered but excited at the same time.

"I...I haven't been in years." Jane said sadly.

I held her more tightly against me.

"I know baby. I understand that it's hard for you. I understand if you say no but..."

"...you said Angela can't fly yet." Jane whispered as she studied my face.

I sighed and brushed Jane's lips with mine.

"We'll have to drive," I said kissing Jane.

"Will that be safe for Angela?"

I looked at Angela rolling around with Franklin Thomas on the bed. She was giggling and pulling his ears and kicking her little feet in her pajamas.

"She's strong...like her mother!" I smiled at Jane.

Jane grinned against my lips.

"If you're not comfortable with going I won't force you..."

"...Yes!" Jane exclaimed with a triumphant grin.

I paused and studied her face. Jane was smiling from ear to ear. My heart melted.

"Really? Yes? You'll come with me?" I asked tears streaming down my face.

"Yes Maura...I want to go with you!" Jane said nuzzling her face in my neck.

I grinned so widely my face hurt. Angela giggled as she crawled up to me and pulled at my arm around Jane. Franklin Thomas licked her face. Jane rested her head against my chest and I fell back on the pillows happy and relieved. I pulled Angela into my side where she curled up and giggled happily as she chewed on the ear of her stuffed elephant.

"I thought you'd never ask. I thought you didn't want me to come. I thought you wanted to get away or that you had another woman you wanted to..."

"...Jane knock it off with the other woman business!" I said shortly.

I didn't want our precious moment ruined with Jane's strange obsession that I was some kind of interstate cheater. Jane rolled over on her stomach and lay on top of me looking deep into my eyes. I gave her my most firm expression of displeasure. I was tired of hearing about me having another woman.

"If you ever cheat on me it would kill me," Jane said sadly.

I rolled my eyes.

"Same here," I replied matter of factly "But I'll never cheat on you!"

"I'll never cheat on you," Jane smiled kissing me softly.

I pulled Jane from her hungry kiss and slapped her butt lightly.

"You better not!" I teased her.

Jane's eyes went wide then narrowed into that mischievous grin.

"You wanna be dirty baby," Jane said wiggling on top of me.

I raised my eyebrows at her.

"I played very dirty today with a certain woman named Sherri," I smiled at Jane "But I was well within my rights to do so,"

Jane looked curious.

"What did you do?" she asked in a low husky voice.

"Let's just say you won't be bothered by her anymore," I said proudly.

Jane grinned.

"You did something bad didn't you?" Jane's eyes narrowed accusingly.

I smiled but rolled her off of me. Jane pouted beside me.

"We have to pack sweetheart...we're leaving first thing in the morning and we have so much to do,"

Jane whined and moaned the entire time.

...

"Who is the kid and the girl in this picture, Dr. Isles? The woman looks familiar!" Detective Korsack asked picking up the picture of Jane and Angela on my desk and studying it curiously.

I leaned back in my office chair and yawned. I was weary and exhausted from the insane car trip earlier today. Consuela insisted on coming with us and she and Jane bickered the entire time about Jane's horrible driving. Jane apparently had an affinity for speed and a certain disregard for turn signals that made everyone panicky and nervous. I screamed a hundred times about using turn signals before she switched lanes to which Jane would only grumble and insist she'd been driving half her life and knew exactly what she was doing. I sat in the back of Jane's new Escalade clinging to Franklin Thomas and wondering how on earth Angela could sleep through the chaos in the car.

Jane had been miss grumpy pants all morning owing to the fact that we'd been awake since four a.m. loading the truck and making sure everything was in order. Jane insisted on loading the truck herself while I stood back holding Angela and timidly making suggestions that were met with frustrated growls and spurts of fury from Jane. At one point I just gave up and sat on the couch in the apartment with Angela until Jane came back huffing and sweaty declaring that everything was ready to go. We hit traffic almost immediately which enraged Jane beyond reason and caused her to veer off the interstate onto some country road insisting that she knew a short cut. I'd screamed at Jane to just follow my directions but that was met with furious instance that she knew best and to trust her. I'd grown so frustrated we had a clipped hateful argument peppered with exclamations from Consuela that she had to use the restroom and how Miss Jane was leading us down the road to hell. We were indeed riding down some dusty bumpy road surrounded by rather lame looking farms and intermittent shacks supposed to be gas stations and diners.

Jane wanted to stop at some rundown road side hovel for breakfast insisting they had wonderful pancakes. I'd protested vehemently exclaiming loudly that I didn't want to get salmonella poisoning and Angela might catch a virus in there. Jane called me boogie for that and I'd tossed one of Angela's sippy cups at her head. Jane almost swerved off the road trying to yell at me instead of paying attention to driving reducing Consuela and I into screaming furious messes.

At one point we had to come to a screeching halt because there were four or five cows in the road that had escaped their fence somehow. Jane had to get out of the car and try to shoo the cows away with a big stick but they wouldn't move. I yelled at Jane to get back in the car but she refused saying she could handle it. I'd rolled my eyes and decided right then and there Jane would never be allowed to drive on a long car trip again. Jane finally got the cows to move but had stepped in a giant cow pie that splashed all over her boots and pants leg. Consuela cackled at Jane and Jane cursed and raged stomping around like a maniac.

I refused to help Jane clean herself up. I was in charge of Angela and I couldn't have poo fingers and touch the baby. I handed Jane some baby wipes and hand sanitizer but still the truck smelled like poo the entire rest of the ride. Consuela teased Jane mercilessly about her smelly shoe to which Jane hissed and grumbled insults back. We were lost for two very smelly hours on Jane's little detour; but she refused to pull over and ask for directions. We were so far off the grid no one had cell phone service and the car's navigation system couldn't calculate our position.

"We be murdered out here! I too young to die!" Consuela wailed in the passenger seat.

"Consuela damn it! Everything is going to be fine I know where I'm going!" Jane hissed.

Jane was gripping the steering wheel with both hands so tightly her knuckles were turning white and her brows were furrowed with determination.

"You do not know where you're going! I think we're riding in circles; I could swear I've seen that tree before!" I wailed from the back seat.

"You did not! Everything looks the fucking same out here but we're traveling in the right direction!" Jane raved.

"Jane...no cursing! Angela can hear you!" I scolded.

"Maura I swear to Christ if you don't stop picking at me I'm going to pull over at the next gas station and make you drink their three-day old coffee!" Jane spat angrily.

"Why don't we do that...let's pull over. I'll drink three-day old coffee if it means I can ask for directions and get us back to civilization and fix your horrible mistake! You just had to take a shortcut! Now we're lost in cow country! The sooner you get to a shower the better for us all!" I hissed.

"Hey I didn't see you trying to help me get the damn cows out of the road!" Jane said furiously.

"I told you not to get out the truck in the first place! But noooo you just had to play Superwoman! We wouldn't have been in that situation anyway if you'd just followed my directions! Now we're lost in the middle of no where and the entire truck smells like POO!" I wailed.

"For the last time we are not LOST!" Jane raged.

"Then what's the name of this road, Jane?" I exclaimed. "I saw a man riding down the road on a tractor wearing overall's with no shirt underneath and some very serious dental problems!"

"Just relax and go to sleep," Jane insisted.

"How can I relax or sleep when you smell like a barn and we're stuck in some scene from that horrible movie deliverance! You have no idea where we are. Angela needs her diaper changed, you need to be disinfected, and Consuela thinks we're going to be captured by Satan! This is all your fault! If you weren't so stubborn we'd be in Boston already!" I screamed at Jane.

"Stop badgering me and maybe I can get us out of her damn it!" Jane raged.

"Jane stop CURSING!"

"MAURA goddamnit stop talking! You never stop freaking talking!"

"Pull over and let me drive!" I hissed.

"NO!" Jane pouted.

I rolled my eyes and wanted to cry. We went on like that another forty-five minutes until we finally found our way to a real interstate. It took seven hours to get to Boston when it should only have taken four. I'd been so frazzled when we finally pulled into the driveway of my home I just left Jane and Consuela with the house key, kissed Angela's cheek, hopped in my BMW parked in the garage, and headed to the precinct. I'd been in my office eight hours already buried in my work. It was after nine p.m. and I was throughly exhausted.

Detective Korsack wandered in my office a few minutes ago. He was sipping from a very large coffee and smiling at the picture in his hands. He was dressed as usual in an older looking rather frumpy suit. He looked tired like he hadn't slept much in a while; but then again all the detectives looked like that normally. I imagined I looked as weary as he did.

The tests I'd been performing on the evidence I'd gathered for Jane's family's open case were difficult, tedious, and time-consuming. Most of the evidence I'd collected from the car was to old or tainted to yield conclusive results. Most of the finger prints I lifted belonged to officer's that had been called to the crime scene and didn't wear proper protective gear while searching the car. It was frustrating beyond belief. I couldn't believe my predecessor had allowed such unprofessional standards of evidence gathering while at a crime scene. I'd spent hours sorting bad evidence from what was actually usable only to discover I had only one partial faded print I could lift from a soda can I found under the passenger seat and one strand of hair I found on the carpeting between the seats. Even still, finding a way to lift the aging print from the can without compromising it was driving me insane and the hair sample was very short and missing the follicle. The chances of gathering enough DNA from it to run it through the DNA database were slim. Still I would not give up. I had to try. I had to do this for Jane and for Angela.

I sat back in my chair and sighed rubbing my forehead and stretching my cramped limbs. I was wearing my favorite pair of scrubs and crocks. They weren't fashionable, but they were comfortable and I didn't get my nice clothes or shoes ruined while wearing them. Normally when I left the morgue or lab I'd immediately change into proper attire; but I hadn't the energy to move let alone change my clothing. Besides I'd become comfortable wearing less appealing attire since Angela had an affinity for ruining nice things. I smiled at Detective Korsack as I yawned.

"Wow doc...you look like you're going to fall asleep in that chair. I've never seen you like this before. I heard you singing in the lab earlier...I didn't know you could sing!" Detective Korsack smiled at me.

His smile was warm and friendly. I felt myself feeling affectionate toward him. I'd never felt particularly friendly toward anyone at work but I liked Detective Korsack.

"That's my girlfriend and her daughter," I said kindly motioning toward the picture in Korsack's hand.

Korsack's eyes went wide as he studied the picture again.

"You mean...you're a ...a lesbian?" Korsack looked flabbergasted.

He whispered the word 'lesbian' looking over his shoulder as if to make sure he wasn't overheard. I grinned and nodded my head.

"Her name is Jane and her daughter's name is Angela." I said pointedly.

"WOW!" Korsack exclaimed. "If I'd married one that looked like her I wouldn't be divorced three times over!" Korsack chuckled to himself.

I laughed with him.

"She's a handful!" I said honestly.

"The pretty ones always are. So where is she? Does she live around here?" He inquired.

I sighed.

"She's visiting with me while I'm here but she lives with me in New York." I said sadly.

"Well don't sound so down about it. You should be happy you get to wake up to that every morning," Korsack grinned.

"Except that I live here most of the year," I reminded him.

"Well...what does she do? Can she visit you when you're in Boston?"

I rubbed my sleepy eyes.

"The cold case I'm working is for Jane. It was her family that was killed in the hit and run. This is her first time back in Boston since it happened and I doubt she'll want to move here." I said sadly.

Detective Korsack's eyes went wide; then they filled with understanding.

"That's where I've seen her. She came to identify the bodies of her family. It was awful; she just sort of fell apart. So that's why you're killing yourself to solve this case. Everyone's wondering why you came back here to work a cold case when you're supposed to be on leave. I gotta admit though Doc...it's a conflict of interest for you to work this case. You're to personally involved. If you have to end up testifying about any evidence you find your personal relationship with the sister and daughter of the victims could be questioned!" Detective Korsack said not unkindly but with a level of warning in his voice.

"I have never and will never be anything but professional. If my predecessor had been half as professional as myself I wouldn't have to be doing this right now." I said hotly.

Then I lowered my eyes. I also wouldn't know Jane if not for her family's tragedy. Still I had no reason to be unfriendly with Detective Korsack. I sighed and looked at him with pained heavy eyes.

"I would like to keep this between us Detective Korsack; please don't tell the others why I'm doing this. Not until it's over and the scumbag is behind bars."

Detective Korsack nodded his head sympathetically.

"Do you really think you're going to be able to get anything out of those samples? I mean...they're really old! And even if you do you're going to need a Detective to investigate for you and all the guys are swamped with other cases...recent cases! It might be hard to find someone willing to go out on a limb and investigate a five year old hit and run." he said said carefully.

I rested my head in my hand. Detective Korsack was right and I knew it. I'd always known him to be a friendly man; but just how far did his friendliness go? I studied him for a few moments. He was looking at the picture of Jane and Angela with a pained grimace on his face. His eyes looked sympathetic. Could I sway him to help me? Could I trust him? I needed someone on my side; someone experienced and competent with enough pull with the lieutenant to convince him to allow this investigation to proceed. I'd never reached out to a co-worker for help before; but Jane said I should give myself more credit; that if I just tried I'd find I had more people in my corner than I realized.

"Would you help me Detective Korsack? You're the best detective in homicide! Will you help me bring my girlfriend peace? You worked this case five years ago but didn't have the evidence to close the case. I can give you that evidence, I can help you solve this! I can give both you and my girlfriend closure," I said confidently.

Detective Korsack looked at me for a long time then looked down at the picture of Jane.

"If you give me something solid to go on I would love nothing more than to lock that motherfucker up! This case has haunted me for five years. That crime scene was awful. The victims were hit head on by a car going sixty miles an hour on a residential street while they sat at a stop sign. The steering wheel crushed the mother's chest, she was nearly decapitated! One of the boy's neck was broken so badly it was literally backward like the exorcist! The other brother's head went through the passenger window; half his face was torn off and most of his bones were broken. It was horrible. The weird thing was the medical examiner at the time said something about the one brother's neck that was broken couldn't have been broken in the accident. The boy's body was found outside the car like he'd managed to crawl away. He couldn't have done that with a broken neck. But that never made it in the examiner's report. The guy got transferred out of the blue and his cases were handed down to some rookie medical examiner they brought in from some no name town. I thought the brother might have gotten a look at the driver of the other car and that's why his neck got broken. I wanted to look into it more but the lieutenant at the time made us push the case aside for newer ones. I've never gotten over it. It's never added up to me. It's almost like the brass wanted to sweep the whole thing under the rug. We weren't even allowed to tell the sister, your girlfriend, what we thought might have happened to the brother with the broken neck. It's my honor to help you find who did this." Korsack's face looked grim and angry as he set Jane's picture back on my desk.

I was floored by the new information. I'd read nothing in the files about the possibility that Jane's brother's neck was broken after the accident. A cold awful feeling crept into the pit of my stomach. I tasted bile. What was going on?

"Are you saying it wasn't just a hit a run? Are you saying the driver got out of the car and broke Jane's brother's neck before disappearing into the night?" I asked incredulously.

Detective Korsack sighed heavily.

"It's...it's possible but we never got to investigate further. I know the one brother with the broken neck, Tommy, had some gambling debts with some pretty bad people. I don't know what else he was mixed up in or if it had anything to do with the accident. After the sister, your girlfriend, went back to New York I talked to a lady who said she was Tommy's girlfriend. She seemed really scared about what happened to him. She'd just had a baby and said it was Tommy's, a little boy if I remember right. I guess she was mixed up in some bad stuff too and the kid ended up in the system. Like I said; it's all very strange and I was put on another assignment before I could ask to many questions." Detective Korsack said sadly.

"Jane has a nephew?" I exclaimed.

Detective Korsack looked like he wished he hadn't told me that.

"I don't know; we never ran any DNA test it wasn't our place to do that," Detective Korsack insisted.

I knew my eyes were wide with shock. Could Jane possibly have a little nephew somewhere she didn't even know existed? Where was the child now? I had to find out, I had to run the test but how could I even find this kid? I didn't even know his name.

"Does she know, Jane, does she know you're doing this?" Detective Korsack asked.

I shook my head.

"I can't tell her; it's against protocol to speak about an open case and I don't want to get her hopes up anyway." I sighed.

"That's good. The less people that know the better. I guess that makes us partners then," Detective Korsack smiled.

I returned his smile graciously. I stood and extended my hand which he shook firmly to solidify our pact. Detective Korsack turned to leave but stopped short. His eyes went wide and his breath caught in his throat. I followed his gaze and my heart dropped to my feet. Standing in the doorway of my office with a horrified look on her face and a covered dish in her arms was Jane.

"Oh my goodness," I thought. "How much did she hear?"