Trade With Atlanta

The Boston Daredevils announced this morning that they have traded RW Amy Wallace to Atlanta in return for a second round pick in the draft this summer. It is a surprising move since the Devils are in the middle of a rebuild, but according to GM Chris Stewart, there is no drama behind the move.

"We are sorry to see Amy go, but it was a personal request from her. She is a great player and has done a great job in the two seasons she's been with us, and we wish her all the best in Atlanta."

Stewart would not give any more details about the request, but sources say Wallace felt she didn't get the chance she deserves on the team, especially after the arrival of Jane Rizzoli. Wallace played the whole last season on the second line, a spot that Rizzoli now has taken over, Considering the rumored fight earlier this season between the two, the trade might not be that surprising after all.

The Devils have no intention of acquiring a player through a trade, but say they have options on their farmer team.

It was cold in Boston that January, but it didn't stop people from enjoying the winter. The Frog Pond buzzed with life every day and so did the indoor rinks. Some of the girls, including Heather and Jane, were at the Frog Pond one Saturday in between games. It was a tradition every year for the Devils to organize a hockey day outside for girls where several of the players attended, doing their job of getting more girls interested in hockey.

The sun was shining and a lot of people were gathered around the pond, mostly parents and families. First part of the day was set aside for hockey lessons, and Jane, after begging her boss, was teaching the older girls, from 12 to 15 years. She was thankful because she really didn't know how to deal with all the younger ones. That seemed like a better job for Heather. Jane's group consisted of 20 girls, most of them with their own jersey, and even though Jane had two of her team mates there, it still was a bit terrifying.

She felt a bit better as soon as they hit the ice and started the classes. Jane saw right away that these girls were really excited about hockey and it made teaching them stuff so much easier. Louisa had dressed up as the goalie for the day and was in goal as the girls practiced their shooting. Jane noticed Danielle had arrived at the pond as they were about to end the classes and have lunch. She skated over to the railings while still keeping an eye on the girls.

"Wow" Danielle said and acted like she was shocked. "You and a bunch of kids, never thought I'd see that!"

Jane scoffed and smiled. "Not the first time, we did the same in Denver."

"Well, I didn't see that. Now go teach, so I can laugh some more."

Jane rolled her eyes. "You're so nice. We're about to finish anyway. Luckily…"

"Oh yay… Anyway, did you read the news today?"

"Yeah" Jane nodded and smiled. "I should be shocked and sad that we're losing a player, but I can't stop smiling!"

Danielle laughed and leaned her arms on the railing. "Me too. And I think it was the best for everyone…"

"Totally, but don't tell anyone I said that!" Jane pointed a finger at her friend but it just looked stupid because of the glove. "Anyway, I gotta head back. Lunch is next. You staying?"

"Sure" Danielle nodded. "The café at the corner?"

Jane held up a thumb before she skated back as she heard Amanda, her teammate, wrap it up.

"Alright, I think that's it. Someone told me it's lunchtime soon, and I'm pretty sure Jane doesn't want to miss that."

The girls all turned to her, and Jane smiled at Amanda. "What? I can't be the only one who loves food right? Anyone else here love food?" She looked at the kids who were all raising their hands and shouting 'me, me'. "That's what I thought!" Jane laughed.

Louisa joined them as well and looked over at the other side of the pond where the younger girls were still skating around. "Looks like we still have some time. We could do questions if anyone have any?" She exchanged looks with Jane and Amanda who both nodded.

The first questions were all directed at Louisa. Someone wanted to know if it was scary to be a goalie, and then if it hurt. They were all simple and expected questions.

"How does it feel when you score a goal?"

Louisa laughed. "Well, I've never scored a goal in a game before and since Amanda plays defense and doesn't usually score…" She slowly turned to Jane. "Then maybe Jane should answer this one."

"It feels awesome!" Jane smiled and looked at the girl who had asked the question. "And I bet you feel just as awesome when you score."

"How many goals have you scored?" another girl asked.

Jane whistled. "Wow, I have no idea. I scored a lot of goals when I was a kid. So my answer is many." She looked over at a girl close to her who was raising her hand. "Yes?"

"How long are you gonna play for Devils?"

"I'm not sure. That is up to my coach and my boss."

"I hope you stay here forever, cause you're my favorite player" the girl added.

Both Louisa and Amanda smiled at Jane, and Jane melted. "Aw… thanks! That was really nice of you to say." She smiled at the girl. "And I really like to play for the Devils so I hope I can stay here a long time too."

Jane completely lost focus after that, but fortunately it didn't take long before the other group was wrapping up and the kids skated off to eat. Jane had heard so many times before that she was someone's favorite player, but that was usually from adults, not a 12-year old girl. It was really touching and inspiring to hear a little girl say those words.

Jane met Danielle at a café nearby and immediately warmed her hands on the cup of coffee Danielle had ordered for her. "God, I'm glad I'm playing games indoors now" she shivered.

"You usually move around more when you play too, unlike today" Danielle smiled.

Jane took a slow sip of her coffee. "True. Have you ordered anything?"

"Yeah, I ordered a sandwich for you. I figured you didn't have much time." Danielle received a thankful smile before she looked down at her own coffee. "How are you holding up?"

"It's no big deal, it's just for today. I actually think it's in our contract to-"

"Jane. I meant Maura."

The name had a chilling effect on Jane who stopped everything. She met Danielle's eyes for a short moment before looking down at the table. Her hands gripped tighter around the coffee cup, and her jaw clenched.

For anyone else, it looked like anger, but Danielle wasn't just anyone. "Do you miss her?"

Jane sighed. "She's not here. Let's just leave it at that."

"She's been gone two weeks, and you haven't mentioned her once."

"Maybe there's a reason for it…"

"I know" Danielle said softly. "There's a reason why I haven't mentioned her too. I know you're trying to focus on your game, and you probably wouldn't have talked about her anyway if I asked." She silenced while she watched Jane's shoulders lower again. "But you can't ignore this forever. She will be back, and it might be soon."

Jane looked up and scoffed. "So what? What am I supposed to do when she returns? Smile and welcome her back? Ask how her leave was?"

"No" Danielle smiled. "But don't you want to talk to her? Aren't you curious about what happened and what happens now?"

"Can we please talk about something else? I don't want to talk about her…" Jane mostly mumbled the last few words while she traced the pattern on her coffee cup with her thumb.

Danielle eyed her friend and was not surprised by the roller coaster mood, but it was obvious Jane missed the doctor. She just wasn't in the mood for Danielle to drag it out of her. "Alright…" Danielle agreed. "Then tell me about this new rookie you seem to get along pretty well with…"

Jane looked up as she heard the slightly displeased tone in Danielle's voice. She slowly started to smile. "Oh my god, Heather was right…"

"About what?" Danielle asked, but knew the innocent look on her face wasn't much innocent.

"She warned me that you would be jealous" Jane chuckled.

"Jealous? Of that girl? No way" Danielle argued just for fun. "Just because you have spent more time with her than me the last two weeks doesn't mean I'm jealous…"

Jane crossed her arms on the edge of the table and leaned over. "Dani, come on, you are my best friend" she teased. "You'll always be."

Danielle started to laugh at the stupid puppy eyes across the table.

"Nicole will never take your place. I just…" Jane stopped and stifled a laugh. "Play with her…"

The waitress came over with their food and she left the table with a smile of her own from the cheerful laughter from her customers.

"Okay, seriously" Danielle said and took a deep breath. "You do seem to get along, and you certainly play well together." The serious tone in her voice vanished as she started to laugh again.

"We do" Jane grinned. "And yeah, we're getting along. She's fun to have around. Doesn't hurt that she claims to be my biggest fan either. Makes it a bit fun-" The sound of cutlery falling down on a plate made her look up.

Danielle was staring at her, hands still up in the air over the plate. "She is NOT your biggest fan!" she muttered.

"Oh right!" Jane laughed. "That was what Heather said you would be jealous about, not the friendship…"

Danielle slowly picked up the knife while she was still looking at Jane. "I don't like her" she mumbled, one corner of her mouth curling up.

Jane took a bite of her sandwich while smiling. "She's assisted on two of my goals in the two games we've played together. You better step up your game here, Dani."

What Jane managed to hear from Danielle's mumbling that followed was something about kissing an ass, but there was really no need to have it explained further.

"What the hell, Rizzoli? Do you know how hard it is to find one person in a city of a billion people?"

Jane turned around by the mention of her name and was surprised to see Heather walking up to her. "How the hell did you find me?" She was pretty sure she didn't tell anyone where she was going when she left the hotel. They had barely arrived in Los Angeles when Jane had taken off on her own. There was something about the road trips that made her miss Maura.

"Did you know that facebook has this nifty little thing that shares your location when you message people?" Heather stopped by Jane's left side and leaned her arms on the low, white stonewall outside the Griffith Observatory.

Jane mimicked the position and went back to staring out over the city. "Stupid internet…" She had replied to Heather's nosy message on facebook, in hopes of calming down her friend and still get some time alone. "You went through facebook on purpose, didn't you?"

Heather just smiled. "So why are you up here?" She took in the view of Los Angeles at sunset. Day turned into night, and the city was about to come alive. "Or that's perhaps a stupid question… Wow, it's beautiful."

"Yeah… it is" Jane mumbled.

They stood in silence and watched the last rays of the sun disappear behind the hill. Then Heather slowly turned to Jane and studied her. "Hold on… This is the perfect time and place for a Rizzoli seduction. Sunset, stunning view, stars… Are you meeting someone?"

Jane just shook her head, which was not the reaction Heather expected. At all.

"So why are you here, looking like a sad little puppy?" She had learned a lot about Jane the last 4 months. She knew what pissed her off, she knew how to tease her. And she knew she was on thin ice right now.

"Just wanted to get away from it all." A sad little puppy indeed. Jane had never sounded so unhappy before.

"Why?"

No response and Heather tried to understand it all. The only thing that could turn Jane into this mess was hockey. But Jane was playing the best games of her life. She was on fire, she was healthy and quickly becoming the most popular girl in Boston after the news article. She could have whoever she wanted… And just like that it was all so clear.

"You miss her…"

The words were more of a statement than a question, but Jane confirmed it. Her eyes closed and her head dropped a little bit lower. Heather decided not to push her limits and patiently waited for Jane to speak.

"Yeah, I miss her… and it pisses me off. I should be mad at her. She blamed me for everything, and left. And don't even try to tell me how she was hurt and shocked and all that shit when she blamed me."

"I'm not. You're right, you should be mad at her. So why aren't you? She never told you she was engaged, she led you on and when it all fell apart, she blamed you. So why aren't you out picking up girls and having a good time? Why are you up here with me, looking at this god damn beautiful city and moping over an affair that crashed?"

Jane sighed. "Because it wasn't just an affair." She turned to Heather who seemed surprised, and Jane remembered that Danielle was the only one who knew all the details. No one else knew about the heated argument after the last game, or those kisses that followed. "She cared about me, I know she did. And if she was here right now, I would forget about everything, kiss her and throw you over the edge so I could enjoy this with her instead."

Heather couldn't stop that little smile that appeared, at least Jane hadn't lost her humor in it all. But she quickly wiped that smile off her face. "You're in love with her?"

A simple nod confirmed it all.

Heather put her arm around Jane's shoulder and sighed. "Shit… Does she know?"

"I… I think so. I mean, I think I said something to indicate it, yeah. But I totally fucked up everything, and then she left, and now I'm scared shitless for when she comes back. If she does…"

"You don't think she will come back?"

"I don't know what I think" Jane sighed. "I'm all over the place these days. I've never been this emotional before, one minute I'm angry, the next I'm about to freaking cry. And it's all because of her! But she was right; I did ruin her relationship. Because of my big mouth and my tendency to think after I speak I pretty much told her guy that something was going on. I didn't even give her a choice, I just threw her into the fire."

"Hey!" Heather retracted her arm and forced Jane to turn around. "Don't say that. She had a choice the first moment when she didn't tell you about him. This isn't your fault, and if she was fooling around with you, then maybe her relationship wasn't that good to start with. I get that you're upset and mad, and I also understand that she needed some time off, but you can't go around worrying about her return now. Cross that bridge when you get to it."

"You know what, it's so annoying that you're always so reasonable and grown up! It's like you were born an adult!" Jane complained.

Heather smiled widely. "Not the first time I've heard that, not even the first time I've heard it from you!"

Jane chuckled and shook her head.

"You want to head back to the hotel, order room service and catch a movie?"

"Are you asking me out on a date? Cause I'm kinda unavailable at the moment" Jane smirked.

Heather laughed and mentally high fived herself. At least Jane was joking. "Asshole…" she mumbled.

They went back to their hotel and as they stepped out of the elevator and turned the corner on their floor, they saw Nicole standing outside their door.

"Oh hey, I was just looking for you" she explained. "Wondered if you wanted to do something tonight."

Heather found her key card and opened the door. "Are you hungry? We were gonna order room service and catch a movie, if you wanna join us?"

Nicole looked from Heather to Jane, as to make sure Jane was okay with it, but Jane simply stood there with her hands in her pockets, pressing her lips into a thin line. "You sure?" Nicole asked.

Jane threw a glance at Heather before she whipped her head towards the door. "Come on."

They quickly ordered dinner and even managed to decide a movie without too much hassle. As they waited for the food, Nicole stood by the windows and looked out at the million lights. "Jane, what are you doing tomorrow?"

"Sleeping I guess…" Jane muttered from her bed where she was stretched out, her feet almost dangling outside the bed.

"No, come on… let's do something. We're in fucking Hollywood!" Nicole exclaimed and turned around with a huge smile.

Jane raised an eyebrow and looked at her. "So…?"

"So… I've never been here before. There's so much stuff to see!" She pretty much jumped on Jane's bed and sat down with her feet crossed. "Walk of fame, Sunset Blvd, Hollywood Bowl, Hollywood sign, Beverly Hills, the studios, Santa Monica… Come on, say you'll join me tomorrow!"

Jane sighed, not feeling very enthusiastic about it all. "Do I have to? I hate that touristy stuff…"

"Yes, you have to. Cause you really don't want to send me out there all by myself. Cause if I get lost, you will have to come find me. And I probably will get lost. And you'll be frustrated and much more annoyed than if you come with me."

Heather chuckled from her bed and got a glare from Jane. "You're on her side, aren't you?" Jane asked.

"Yeah. She has a good point. You would be pretty cranky if she got lost and you would have to find her. Besides, you could use some cultural distraction for a day. And, she's your lines mate…"

Jane kept glaring at Heather and threw in a sigh for extra effect before she turned back to the tv. "Two against one is really not fair, but fine… I'll go with you. But I decide lunch and dinner!" she bargained.

"Deal" Nicole grinned.

The last note of the national anthem died out in the arena and Jane started to move out on the ice again. She slowly skated around and was quickly joined by Nicole.

"You ready to make some magic?" she grinned.

Jane nodded. "Hell yeah! Double trouble coming up!"

It was a silly thing they had adapted from the news articles about them, and it had turned into a ritual before every game. The media seemed to love the two of them, and it was a motivation for them both. They ended their ritual with a high five and a lower high five as they passed each other. Of course the rest of the team teased them about it, but neither Jane nor Nicole cared.

The two teams gathered at the faceoff and Jane put her stick on the ice and carefully leaned on it. She felt ready. She had to admit the day out and about with Nicole had been refreshing and it had gotten her thoughts on other things than Maura and the mess they had created. She had even realized that Heather had actually given her a good advice; no use in creating worries. Jane knew she had plenty of time to freak out when Maura was physically back.

The Devils went to first intermission with a 1-0 lead, and the coach tried to urge them on to put a few more in the net in the second period. Jane and Nicole spent the entire break discussing what they had to change in order to make that magic they both wanted. As they got up to head back onto the ice, Jane pushed Nicole in front of her like she always did. Heather was the last one out of the locker room, right behind Jane. The staff was lined up in the tunnel, bumping fists with all the players. Jane was about to bump her fist with the last one when she caught a glimpse of someone down the hall to her right. She froze mid-bump and stopped so sudden that Heather walked right into her.

Down the hall, in a long, white coat, with her hair falling softly onto her shoulders, was Maura, chatting with coach Landers.

Jane stood there with her mouth open, holding her breath and gripping the stick with all her might. She felt sick, like she wanted to pass out. It didn't get much better when Maura turned and made eye contact. They stood there, looking at each other and Jane couldn't even focus enough to see if Maura was still angry or not. A shove in her back brought her back.

"Jane, keep moving" Heather ordered in a low and serious voice. She had obviously seen the doctor too.

"Why? Why is she here?" Jane mumbled as she was pushed down the last feet of the tunnel. "What the fuck is she doing here?!"

"I don't know, Jane. But you gotta keep moving."

They reached the end of the tunnel where Nicole was waiting, looking at them. "Something wrong?" she asked as Heather guided Jane to the bench.

"Not now" Heather said firmly before she looked at Jane. "Ignore it. We've still got 40 minutes to play." She put one hand on Jane's shoulder and made eye contact. "Jane, please do whatever you can to ignore it. I need to know you'll make it through the game."

Jane seemed paralyzed and was just staring back at Heather. The referees signaled the drop, and Heather looked out on the ice. It was her shift and she needed to go out there.

"Fuck it…" Jane suddenly mumbled and shook her head.

Heather was still not sure about Jane's behavior, but she needed to get on the ice so she turned to Nicole. "Keep an eye on her for me. I can't explain, just…"

Nicole nodded and smiled softly. "I got it. Go."

Heather took one last look at Jane before she jumped over the boards and the game could resume. Jane sat down on the bench, still paralyzed and with thousands of questions running through her head. None of them had anything to do with the game.

Jane's first shift was a complete mess. She couldn't focus if her life was on the line, and too often she caught herself looking towards the bench and the tunnel. Nicole was worried and spent too much energy watching Jane and wondering what the hell was going on that turned her into a zombie within seconds. They made it through the shift, but as Jane was gliding towards the bench and the open door, she looked up and down the tunnel right in front of her. Maura was standing there, too far away to see anything that happened on the ice, but she had a perfect view to the open door. Jane stepped off the ice but stopped and held Maura's eyes for a while. She thought she could see the hint of a smile on the doctor's face before she turned around and left. Jane stared after her and wanted to run after her, pulling Maura into her arms and get far away from everyone. But her mind had other plans. She was suddenly furious about it all. Maura had shown up, at a game far away from Boston, only to do what? Show herself to Jane and smile before she turned her back on her again?

Jane looked down at the stick in her hand, resting on the floor and without thinking, she lifted her leg and snapped the stick in two with her skate, like a warm knife through butter. "Fuck it!" she groaned and threw the splintered stick into a corner before she sat down. Some of the girls looked at her, but didn't give it much thought as they believed Jane was only frustrated with her own effort on the ice. Nicole knew better, and wanted to do or say something, but she was actually a bit scared. So she let it slide.

The next shift for Jane and Nicole went better, and Jane seemed to have snapped out of her zombie mode. Instead she was angry and used her emotions to get back in the game. She followed through on every single hit and check, setting a personal best for hits on a single shift. Nicole watched in awe at the end of their shift and realized Jane had barely touched the puck during those 90 seconds, which was unusual. They were headed back to the bench when a girl on the other team made a teasing remark about Jane, and then everything went to hell.

Jane snapped. She did a 180 and headed straight towards Chappell, no 46 on the LA Suns. "What did you say?" she snarled as she got up in her face.

Chappell smiled. "Aren't you supposed to be the hotshot player? I haven't seen you make one single play tonight."

"You don't know shit!" Jane gave Chappell a shove. Her blood was boiling and she hoped Chappell would take the bait and give her a chance to get out some frustration.

"Oh yeah? I know that they overpay you on the east coast!" Chappell shoved back.

Jane laughed before she dropped her gloves and Chappell did the same. She was about to grab Chappell's jersey when Nicole stepped between them and grabbed Jane's jersey.

"No, no, no! You're not doing that!" Nicole growled.

Jane fought to get free, but Nicole was quick to grab Jane by the elbows and limit her reach. "Let me go, Nicki!"

Nicole shook her head and pushed Jane away from the crowd of angry players and frustrated referees. "I'm not letting you fight, Jane! I have no fucking idea what's going on, but you're not getting yourself suspended again!"

"I don't give a shit!" Jane's face was starting to turn red.

"I know. But I need you on the ice for the rest of the season. The whole team needs you on the ice. And I'm not gonna let you fight! Dammit, Jane! You're better than this!"

Jane found herself being pushed up against the glass and was staring at Nicole. "You have no fucking idea what's going on!"

"Oh yeah?" Nicole lowered her voice. "Then tell me, Jane. What's going on? What has turned you into this furious mess? If you have a good reason to fight this bitch, then I'll gladly be your fucking cheerleader." Nicole was calm, and finally managed to silence Jane's mouth and body. She didn't try to wrestle herself out of Nicole's grip anymore.

Jane stared at Nicole's blue eyes for a few moments before she swallowed. "Let me go…" she sighed defeated. She almost expected an ultimatum, that Nicole would let her go if she promised to cool down, but Nicole was silent and slowly released her grip on Jane's arms. Jane was surprised. She was so used to Danielle or Heather not trusting her in situations like that, so she stood perfectly still in front of Nicole and just looked at her. She barely heard the referee calling out penalties to both her and Chappell, and within seconds, one of the referees were grabbing her arm and escorting her to the penalty box. Nicole turned around and gathered Jane's gloves and stick and delivered it to her before she went over to the bench and sat down.

"Thanks…" Heather sighed relieved beside her.

"Yeah… no worries" Nicole mumbled and leaned her head back. The clock showed 35 more minutes of hockey before she could breathe out.

Two Straight Losses

The Devils had to return home to Boston with an awful road trip to Oklahoma and Los Angeles. They couldn't keep up with Los Angeles Suns this time and lost 1-2 in over-time. Even though the score was much better than in Oklahoma (2-5), the plays weren't that much better. The Rizzoli/Taylor duo that started with a bang before the road trip (total of 8 points in two games), seemed to struggle and the chemistry they possessed from the beginning, was lacking. Hopefully they will fight back in a few days when Washington comes to a visit.

Nicole could never get used to sleeping on planes and despite being drained after the game, she was wide awake on the red eye flight back to Boston. Most of the people were asleep and the cabin was quiet except for the monotone hum of the engines. The lights had been dimmed and Nicole was sitting in her seat next to the aisle and studying another person who obviously couldn't sleep. Jane sat on the other side of the aisle, one row in front of Nicole and was staring straight ahead, lost in thoughts. She had barely said a word since the game, and Nicole couldn't stop her curious mind from trying to solve the puzzle.

It was rather impossible. The only thing she knew was that something had happened between the locker room and the ice before the second period. But no one wanted to tell her anything, not that she expected anyone to, and she could only guess. After following Jane's career for the last four years, Nicole knew Jane was intense and often let her feelings lead the way. But she had also learned that Jane was a private person. Not once had she seen or heard Jane talk about her personal life outside the games. Except for the brief news article after New Year's, Nicole had never found anything about any girlfriend or her family. Even now when she was on the inside, she still hadn't heard Jane talk about exes or a possible girlfriend. So Nicole felt completely lost in the middle of the mess.

Jane regretted one thing as they landed in Boston closer to 1.30am Sunday morning and was waiting for their luggage; that she didn't take her own car to the airport. She had shared a car with Heather and Nicole to the airport, and was now forced to drive back with them. Luckily they were all tired and no one even bothered to lighten the mood or hold a conversation. Jane sat still and stared into the darkness. She was anxious about Monday and the practice. Or more specifically, she wondered if Maura was back by then, if her little appearance at the game was a subtle hint that Jane should prepare for some more awkwardness and anger the following days. Just the thought made her want to slam her fist into the seat, and she had to fight to keep still. As soon as she got to her own apartment, she could do whatever the hell she wanted or needed. Perhaps her punching bag would have a meeting with her fists that night.