Disclaimer: Read Ch. 1

"Forgiveness. / Can you imagine? / Forgiveness. / Can you imagine?" – "It's Quiet Uptown" from Hamilton the American Musical by Lin Manuel Miranda

Ch. 9: Forgiveness

Ten years ago…

It was late in the evening when she heard the door knock. She glanced down at the clock to see that it was about one in the morning, making her grumble. She stepped out of he bedroom then across the living room until she reached the front door. Suspicious about her late evening guest, she leaned over to the small desk on the side and opened the drawer to reveal a revolver.

She spun the cylinder then approached the peephole. As she looked into the peephole, she let out a loud sigh. She unlocked the door and cracked the door as she greeted, "Why are you fuckin' here?"

"That's how you greet your husband," the blonde young man greeted.

Devyn rolled her eyes and corrected, "Ex-husband. I signed the divorce papers remember?"

"About that…" He scratched the back of his neck with Devyn, leaning against the doorway, "Look, I messed up, Devi."

"Oh no, you will not call me that," Devyn retorted with an angry expression. "You lost those privileges after you cheated on me with my sister."

"It was a mistake."

"Which you made and I'm done. I signed the papers."

Before he could say anymore, Devyn then slammed the door in his face.

"Eric Noah Walker," Jane mumbled as she looked down at the picture. She lifted it up and examined the picture, twisting it a bit then commented, "He looks much older than I last saw him."

"Much older," Devyn retorted quietly.

Jane looked over at Devyn with a curious expression, trying to figure out how her cousin was feeling. She can see the blank expression in Devyn's eyes but she can also see something else. "Devyn," she called out.

The professor's eyes snapped up and she stood up, clearing her throat. "I'm fine," Devyn assured, rubbing the back of her neck. Jane watched as Emily approached Devyn, touching her shoulder while Devyn continued, "This is insane…"

"When was the last time that you saw Eric," Cavanaugh inquired as he stepped forward.

"Um…I haven't seen him since I signed my divorce papers…"

"That was?"

"Ten years ago…" Devyn then cleared her throat and approached Jane's desk, dialing Jane's office phone then placed it at her ear. Everyone watched then Devyn spoke, "Angelica… don't hang up….look, I know I'm not the boss of you but you need to come down to BPD…I'll tell you when you come…bye."

"You're going to tell her," Jane asked in surprise.

"I have to," her cousin answered.

Devyn then walked out of the bullpen, leaving Emily with Jane and Maura, who was still in the room. The doctor approached Jane who commented, "I'm surprised that he let himself go the way he did."

"What was he like before," Maura inquired.

"Before the divorce, he looked more clean cut and he was a lawyer; actually good at his job but could be a pain in the ass. He went from civil suits to being a defense lawyer which caused some heartache for Devyn then the affair."

"I tried to help Devyn with the divorce a bit because her lawyer was horrible. We got enough money for Devyn but the bastard knew how to pull the strings," Emily informed Maura. "She got enough to get a new apartment but nothing more." She looked down at the photo and shook her head, "I heard through the grapevine that he was knee deep in the bottle but I didn't expect it to be like that."

"He really hit rock bottom," Jane commented.

Emily nodded in agreement then said, "I better follow Devyn."

Jane nodded then watched as Emily left the bullpen before looking at Cavanaugh, Korsak, Dean and Maura. "We need to find Eric's body," Jane informed the group.

"What makes you think that your cousin doesn't know where it's at," Dean questioned.

"Dean, do us all a favor. Shut up," Korsak stated, earning a shock expression from Dean and small smirks from Jane and Maura.

Jane then relaxed her expression and continued, "Devyn doesn't know. She was as surprised as all of us were."

"So where do we start looking," Cavanaugh inquired.

Jane glanced at the murder board then looked down at the photo of Eric's head. "Start with Eric's home then we go from there."

"Do you think we'll be able to find the body before decomp starts," Korsak inquired as he took at seat at his desk.

"I hope so."

R&I

Several hours later, with no evidence at Walker's place of residence, there was a call that came in and it turned out to be that there was a body floating in a lake not too far from the city. After retrieving the body, it was transported to the morgue for Maura to perform the autopsy.

The good doctor stepped out of her office in her scrubs to see Jane, Devyn, Korsak, Frost and Dean. "I didn't expect an audience," Maura commented as she approached the body bag.

Jane looked over at Devyn and asked, "Are you sure that you want to stay here for this?" Devyn glanced at the body bag that rested on the autopsy table then at Maura who had a compassionate expression on her face. The professor took in a deep breath then released it as she gave a nod to proceed.

Maura approached the body bag and unzipped it to reveal the decapitated body. Jane grabbed a cover, placing it over her clothes and walked over but as she moved closer, her whole body retracted fast from the smell. "God, he decomp fast," Jane mumbled to Maura.

"He's been in the water for a bit because he was floating upon discovery," Maura informed the group. She then leaned over and gestured to the spot where the head was and commented, "Clean cut."

"Do we have a murder weapon yet," Dean questioned.

"No but I'm going to start to do the autopsy now that I have both the head and the body."

"You'll have my results soon then."

Jane narrowed her eyes at the comment but let it go as Dean walked out of the morgue, leaving Jane and the others behind. As they watched him enter the elevator and close, Frost let out an annoyed sigh, "God, he's an idiot."

"There's several words that I would use other than that," Devyn retorted as she reclined back in her chair.

Jane to her cousin and said, "You mentioned about a student of yours."

"William Baptist…that boy is an asshole." Devyn then stood up and approached Maura's laptop, typing in a couple of things before a picture of William Baptist appeared on the screen with an academic profile. Jane peered down at the computer and read it slowly while Devyn spoke, "As you can see, he's a bit advanced and has taken honored classes. He decided to take a normal class with me and he likes to argue with me all the time."

"Did he come the day Maura and I came?"

Devyn gave a curious expression and turned her head back to the laptop. She did a couple types before she pulled up a sheet with names on it. "According to my attendance, he hasn't showed up for my class for the last two weeks. That's about four classes that he missed."

"Since he's been at the scenes, I think we should visit his residence and go from there," Jane commented. Devyn nodded in agreement, closing the laptop then turned her head toward Maura who was about to begin the internal exam. Jane brought her attention toward Devyn's direction then called out softly, "Devyn…"

The professor's gaze snapped and she stood up from her seat. "I'm staying here," she retorted. "I…I have to meet up with Angelica." She then stood up from the chair and walked out of the morgue with a displeased expression on her face.

Jane watched as Devyn walked toward the staircase, going up. The detective sighed then felt a hand on her back causing her to look over her shoulder to see Maura giving a sympathetic expression. The detective wrapped her arm around Maura's waist then placed her forehead against Maura's temple. "I thought I was lost when Hoyt came in my life," Jane commented quietly as if it was a secret between them.

"And now," Maura wondered, sensing that Jane had more to say.

"And now, I'm not lost anymore." Maura looked up to see Jane gazing down at her and the detective continued, "I haven't been lost for long time, Maura and that's because of you."

"Jane-"

"Don't even argue it, Maura. You were my support through it all. The only one who wouldn't judge me or look at me as a weak person. You, Maura, have been by my side when you didn't have to be." Jane noticed a small tear run down Maura's cheek, prompting her to wipe it away then leaned down and kissed Maura. The honey blonde returned it wholeheartedly before Jane pulled away and the two stepped back from each other slowly.

"You saved me, Maura," Jane whispered.

Maura smiled and retorted, "I figured you have saved me a number times that I have to repay the favor."

Jane smiled back and gave her a quick peck on her lips then stepped back. She cleared her throat and stated to Maura, "I should go and find Korsak. You know…do my gumshoe thing."

"I'll see you later," Maura retorted.

"With a cause of death?"

"Jane…"

"I know! I know! Don't rush science," Jane shouted back as she entered the elevator.

As the doors closed, Maura bit her lip for she continued to smile widely then turned back to the body, shaking her head. It's nice to love a Rizzoli, Maura thought happily.

Jane, Korsak, and Nina pulled to the apartment complex that Baptist lived at. Korsak was the first to step out of the car and looked up then down the building. The windows had broken glass and panels with brick chipping off from the building. Not to mention the smell; the place reeked of trash and even Nina jumped back at the sight of a rat running by. "It looks like a trash heap," he commented in disgust.

"Nina," Jane looked over at the other woman, "do we got the right address?"

Nina glanced down at her laptop and answered, "This is what he put down for his school records. Floor 3, Room 305."

Jane button up her blazer then walked up the staircase to the complex. They entered with their hands on their guns that remained in their holsters, unsure if Baptist was willing to come with them. As they went up the staircase, reaching the third floor when an old lady popped out of one of the rooms. "Oh, are here for William," she said loudly.

Jane cringed for it was possible that Baptist heard it while Korsak tried to get her to lower her voice but she continued on, raising her voice even louder. "That boy always causes trouble! I told him that the cops would come and here they are!"

Suddenly, there was a loud crash that came several feet away from them in Baptist's apartment. At that sound, Jane with Nina charged toward the door and opened to reveal Baptist climbing out of the window while they shouted with their weapons drawn, "Boston BPD!"

But it was too late; Baptist was out which prompted Jane to shout back, "Korsak, he's running!" The brunette then charged toward the window, climbing out to chase after him with Nina following close behind.

As she went into foot pursuit, she chased after him down an alleyway. He climbed a fence, prompting Jane to climb the fence and hop over it. I'm not going to lose this bastard, Jane thought as she continued to charge for him. However, Baptist ran out of the alleyway into the streets, avoiding cars as he ran to the other side of the street. Jane cussed under breath and charged toward the street, watching the cars storm by but took a chance and ran across the street, making it before a motorcycle collided with her.

She released the breath that she held and looked around, trying to see if she can track down Baptist. Nina and Korsak eventually caught up with her and they looked around with her until they realized that Baptist escaped.

"Damn it," Jane shouted.

The three retreated back to the apartment complex after the chase and entered the premises. Upon entering, they noticed that the living room and kitchen were very clean. "Definitely a bookworm," Korsak commented when he noticed several sets of bookcases.

"Also hates my cousin," Jane added as she gestured to a dartboard where a BCU staff picture of Devyn rested. There were multiple holes on the picture, suggesting that the picture has been used as a target multiple times. She then looked down at the coffee table to see recent newspapers with pen marking circling certain articles. "Check this out," she told Korsak as she placed a latex glove on then lifted the paper up.

Korsak took the newspaper from her and examined it. "It's all the articles about the case," he commented as he read one of the articles.

"Guys…" they looked up to see Nina at the doorway of another room.

The two detectives walked toward Nina and peered inside before their eyes widened in surprise. "Holy shit," Jane cussed aloud.

"We better get the CSU team down here with Frost and Frankie," Korsak stated aloud.

An hour or so later, Frost and Frankie showed up with Kent trailing behind them, carrying a box. "What do we have," Kent inquired quietly as he entered the apartment to see Nina waiting outside.

"Pretty scary stuff in there," she answered.

Frankie and Frost gave curious expressions then walked toward the door. As they entered, their jaws dropped at the sight of the room. Newspapers, photos, and book pages covered the walls in red and black ink as well as strings that connected each thing from one item to another. "What is wrong with this dude," Frankie asked aloud.

"Fixation at its finest," Kent answered. "I see an idolization toward this Bard character," he then looked around and asked, "I take it that the suspect is in custody?"

"I wish, Kent," Jane answered annoyingly. She looked back at the wall and continued, "He's our prime suspect for being the Bard."

"He has to be," Frost agreed while Kent approached the walls.

Jane watched as Kent looked at the red string that was on one place of the wall then followed it to the other side to another part of the wall. "What do you got," the detective asked.

"Blood but I'm not sure if it's human. However, it seems he's making connections."

Jane walked over to another string then followed it to the other side of the room. She looked at the paper that was pinned to the wall and commented, "He connected the picture of the crime scene to a scene of Shakespeare. He's piecing everything together."

"But why," Frankie questioned aloud.

"I think I got your answer," Korsak appeared at the doorway. He lifted up a letter that was in an evidence bag with familiar handwriting.

"What is it," Frost inquired.

Korsak looked down at the paper and explained, "It appears to be a college paper. Devyn gave him a low grade for it due to his thesis wasn't being supported. He was just rambling about different quotes and how we don't know enough about Shakespeare and that Devyn's a horrible professor. She told him that she would like to discuss his thesis then there's another note in another handwriting."

Jane walked over and looked at the bottom of the paper. "I understand your distaste toward her. She doesn't appreciate what we know," she read. "What the fuck."

"Boosted the fucker's ego."

"Devyn mentioned he liked to debate with her." Jane then crossed her arms, "But now I'm wondering, do we got an apprentice or just a crazy fan?"

"I hope the latter," Korsak answered.

Jane nodded in agreement then she heard her cell phone. Before she answered, she noticed a voicemail on her phone that said her desk number. I'll look at that later, Jane thought then answered, "Rizzoli."

"Jane, you need to get down to BPD now," Maura stated urgently.

Jane's expression shaped to pure worry, prompting Korsak to lean in to hear what's happening. "Maura, are you hurt? What's happening," Jane questioned rapidly.

"William Baptist came to BPD and attempted to take your cousin hostage."

R&I

Earlier…

Devyn sat in the BPD café, twisting her foam cup several times then pulled out her pocket watch. The wait for her younger sister was nerve wreaking due to the fallout. She hoped that her sister would come but she also wouldn't be surprised if Angelica didn't show up. Holding her pocket watched, she clicked it open once then closed it then opened once more before closing it. "Jane twists her hair when she's frustrated at times," Devyn turned her head slightly to see Maura standing at the doorway of the café.

"More of a nervous tick for me," the professor retorted then kicked the seat across from her back a bit.

Maura looked at it curiously until Devyn tilted her head toward the seat. Noticing the small gesture, Maura took a seat across from Devyn. For a moment, the two were unsure on what to say until Maura spoke finally, "I'm sorry about your ex."

"Thanks," Devyn whispered. She let out a sigh and continued to speak, "I didn't even think that this was possible. Of all the things to happen, this was not one of them."

"It's a lot to take in."

Devyn let out a dry laugh at the saying and retorted, "That's the simple way of saying it." She took a sip from her coffee then asked after swallowing, "How much has Jane told you about my marriage?"

"Not much," Maura answered. An eyebrow was raised almost causing Maura to let out a laugh for it resembled Jane's eyebrow lift to a T. The M. E. took a couple minutes to collect herself, trying to smother the smile then continued, "Jane never talked about you much until this case occurred."

"Doesn't surprise me. What I did was…selfish."

"You thought it was best."

"Yeah," Devyn agreed. "But, I also realized that she was the only one who really understood. I don't think Jane knows that I saw her in the hospital when Hoyt occurred." Maura's ears perked and Devyn looked down at her cup, "She was working on the case when I left. She tried to call me and when I answered finally, I just told her that I can't be part of her life anymore. Several days after I told her that I saw the news report and I called Aunt Angela. I don't blame myself for Hoyt but I blame myself for not being there for my cousin."

Maura touched Devyn's hand that rested on the foam cup. "Jane never blamed you," Maura informed her.

"She doesn't have to…"

"Devil," their heads turned toward the doorway to see Angelica dressed in a tight skirt and blouse with a pure white coat to cover her.

Maura watched as irritation crossed Devyn's face. As if burned, Devyn removed her hands from the coffee cup and took in a deep breath then she stood up from the chair and retorted, "Don't call me that and also does Ma let you walk out of the house like that?"

"If you remember correctly, I moved out of the house and this is not why you called." Devyn's irritated expression relaxed then shifted to a more somber one. At the sight of her sister's demeanor changing, Angelica gave a worried expression and asked gently, "Devyn, what's going on?"

Devyn approached her and gestured toward the elevators. "Let's head up to the squad room and I'll tell you there in private," the older sibling suggested.

Quietly, the two walked toward the elevators, leaving Maura alone but she understood that in the next couple of minutes, things weren't going to be the same.

Inside the elevator, the ride up was the quiet and almost still. The two sisters' tension was thick enough for someone to cut through with a large butcher knife. Both were unsure what to say and with Angelica, she wondered why her sister was acting differently.

The doors then opened with Devyn leading Angelica to Jane's empty desk. She took a seat in Jane's empty chair then gestured for Angelica to take a seat in the chair by the desk. "Devyn, you're scaring me," Angelica confessed.

"I don't know how to tell you what I have to tell you."

"Just spit it out then."

"I can't just spit it out, Angel," Devyn retorted quietly. Hearing her nickname for the first time in years, Angelica went quiet suddenly. She watched her sister's struggle for words, which were rare, then clear her throat before Devyn spoke finally, "Eric's dead."

Angelica gave a surprise expression. "What," she questioned.

Devyn's head dropped, "Eric's dead, Angelica. He was murdered."

"By who?" Devyn didn't answer and immediately, Angelica looked up at the murder board to see a familiar name. "Oh god! Him! That Shakespeare maniac killed him and you are back on this fuckin case," she yelled.

Officers began to approach but Devyn raised her hand up, stopping them. She gave a simple gesture for them to leave while she retorted calmly, "The Bard's claiming that he did it, yes."

"Oh god…"

"Angelica, when was the last time that you spoke with him?"

"I don't know. I haven't spoken with him since we broke up!"

Devyn's neck started to feel flush, prompting her to look away as she continued to ask, "When was that?"

"After you found out about us," Angelica muttered. Devyn glanced back to see tears forming in her sister's eyes, prompting her to grab a tissue. She handed the tissue then Angelica continued, sobbing, "After you found out about us, we decided to not see each other. I…I realized what I did was the worst thing I could ever do to you…and I…I'm sorry, Devyn." The sobbing became louder and Devyn could hear her sister cry, "I'm so, so, so sorry, Devyn."

Dumbfounded, Devyn leaned back in her chair and stared at her sister for a moment.

She never got along with her sister. They were complete opposites and butted their heads all the time. Devyn heard the whispers about her younger sister when they were in school; how she was the smarter and well-behaved one unlike Angelica who had low grades and had detention every other week. Nicholas, who the youngest, didn't have the exact issues but his older sister's shadow was over him as well. However, Nicholas got along with his older sister much better than Angelica.

But as time went by, they ran in different social circles simply until they reached an age where they got along reasonably. There was less bickering and it even reached a point that it seemed that they were connecting finally.

That was until the case and the affair happened and everything fell apart.

Now ten years later, Devyn wasn't sure how to react and she wished that someone were here with her to support her, Jane, Emily, or even her father. Dad, Devyn thought as she closed her eyes tightly.

She could picture her father and he, with her mother, was the only one she ever called after the separation. He was her confidant and her best friend; he knew what to tell her and believed in her when she didn't believe in herself. He was the clue for the whole family and the only thing that she thought about was one thing he always said.

"We're family still," Devyn stated aloud. Angelica looked up at Devyn with puffy red eyes and the older woman repeated, "We're family still. No matter how flawed we are, we're still family. I don't forgive you for what you did but I'm tired of the fighting."

"So…we're talking again?"

"Like civilized humans? Yes."

"That's why you called me though? To talk about Eric?" Devyn nodded slowly and Angelica returned the nod, stating, "I haven't seen him for as long as you have. However, I spoke to several of his coworkers and he was stating that his life was fucked up since the divorce. Things weren't going his way and instead of blaming himself, he was blaming you."

"You sure?"

"That's all I remember. I'm sorry that I don't have much."

Devyn patted her knee and replied, "It's fine. It's a lead for Jane."

"But how did that…monster find him?"

"I don't know…but if we trace Eric's steps, we might find something." She then grabbed the desk phone and dialed Jane's number. It rang for several minutes and as she waited Angelica stood up from her chair and approached Devyn. The two sisters gazed at each other until, finally, Angelica engulfed her sister in a tight hug.

Despite being caught off guard, Devyn returned the hug, closing her eyes to take in then reopened them when she heard Jane's voicemail. When the beep came, Devyn held her sister with one arm and stated to the voicemail, "Jane, it's Dev. Call me back when you can. I got a lead from Angelica about Eric. You might need to try to trace back his tracks at work, he still had a job."

"Have they been up there a long time," Susie asked Maura as she sat down with the M. E. in the café.

Maura nodded then she noticed the elevator doors open to reveal Angelica stepping out with Devyn. They walked to the front doors of BPD and Maura watched as Angelica hugged her sister then waved goodbye, stepping out of the building. Devyn had a small smile on her face and turned toward the café to see Maura and Susie. Her smile widened, indicating to Maura that everything went well for her.

"Professor D'Angelo," Devyn heard, prompting her to turn her head but instead, she was caught in a chokehold.

Maura stood up while officers approached quickly with their weapons drawn including Agent Dean. William Baptist backed up with Devyn who struggled to get out of the hold. "Stop moving," he demanded.

"William, you don't have to do this. Just let me go and surrender," Devyn gasped.

"Fuck you! I'm going to bring you to the Bard and he'll show you greatness!"

"What…you believe…is greatness…is insanity…"

Baptist shook her and shouted, "Shut up!"

"Baptist! Let go of the professor," Dean ordered.

Maura watch in horror as Baptist looked around his area to realize that he was surrounded indoors as well as outdoors. "You come closer…I'll…I'll stab her," Baptist threatened.

Unsure if there was a weapon since Baptist's left hand was hidden behind Devyn. Dean and the officers held the ground but lower their weapons slightly. Devyn's eyesight began to blur due to the lack of oxygen she was receiving.

Her eyes darted toward Maura briefly as she closed her eyes, gripping Baptist's arm tightly, Hope this works.

Well hello everyone! I'm sorry for this late update, life and homework had to come first. Finally got a chance to finish this chapter! Thanks for being understanding and I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Review please! Thank you for being wonderful!