DISCLAIMER: I do not own this show, the books, or these characters. I only borrow them.

Chapter 11

Maura heard the rap on the door and was surprised that her colleagues were already finished working on Frankie. "Come in," she looked back at her computer screen and an old case file that was about to go to court. She was fully engrossed back in the technical words and didn't look up as someone neared her desk, "Just sit it down and I'll look at it in a minute." She did not want anyone around to witness the emotions that her face might betray when she read what caused Frankie's death. She was not expecting to hear a deep, harsh sigh as someone dropped into the seat across from her desk. She was not expecting two small pictures to be placed in front of her rather than the file she was expecting. Neither Korsak nor Maura said anything to the other as he sat back quietly and she looked at the frozen images. The emotions that she dreaded showing over an autopsy report were nothing compared to what she thought was showing on her face as she clearly remembered the day the pictures were taken.

~ 5 weeks earlier ~

The pair loved finding new ways to share who they were with each other. From just talking, or spending times curled up in each other's arms, and even using their weekend time to add some 'show' to their normal 'tell'. This weekend was both exciting and nerve-wracking for Maura, as it was Frankie's turn so she had no control over her weekend. And as she was not on-call this weekend, she knew that their would be no 'saved-by-the-bell' if the activities were not to her liking. Not knowing what the day might entail, Maura dressed casually.

Frankie arrived at her house in Brookline. As he parked and walked toward her front door, he thought about the last time he was here. Two weeks earlier was her chance to show him a bit of her world, but he wasn't here to have another etiquette lesson. Instead he was picking her up to go have a fun day out. With neither of them on-call this weekend, he was even able to plan a small road trip which he had been looking forward to. Maura opened the door and stepped out with some designer purse slung over her right arm and her keys in her hand to lock the door behind her.

Frankie's first thought on seeing his girl was that she was gorgeous. He wished he would have given voice to that first thought before he voiced the second, "I thought I warned you to dress casually?"

"This is casual."

He looked at the black slacks with crisp pressed seams, some designer shirt that probably cost more then his last paycheck, and high heels. Granted she did seem a tad shorter then usual so he assumed the heels weren't as tall as normal. Not that he would really know about shoes. She was in slacks over her usual dresses so he guessed it was casual for her. These outings were definitely needed to help show the other who they were and what they thought about the world. And so the first stop would be to a nearby mall so he could help explain to Maura about his idea of the word "casual".

At least the mall he could see as even footing. She could find some name-brand pair of jeans and shirt that would flatter her well-shaped figure. Most of his clothes even now he still got from various second hand-stores and thrift shops, as to him clothes were clothes. But to Maura he knew they were more of an art form, and he couldn't imagine her any other way. It was just one more aspect of her that he was totally besotted with.

As he pulled into the mall parking lot Maura's curiosity finally got the better of her, "So what are we doing here?"

"First, we need to find something a bit more casual for you." He pointed down to his own outfit of jeans, Red Sox t-shirt, and tennis shoes. Over the next hour and a half, Frankie learned why he hated malls. It took over 5 stores, nearly two hours, and more money then Frankie had spent on clothing in his entire life for Maura to come out dressed a bit more casually than she had started out. She was wearing a brown pair of penny loafers, and he learned the entire history behind the term as she was purchasing them. His clothing education was continued as he learned about ¾ sleeved shirts after his comment that the sleeves on the forest green v-neck shirt that Maura fell in love with were a bit too short for her. He went on to show his ignorance as he commented that his Ma could let them out for her as she had lots of practice mending clothes with three rambunctious kids. As they were leaving the mall though he marveled that the jeans hugged her in all the right places. He was trying not to drool as he watched her walking back toward the exit near where he had parked.

Maura was used to Frankie's walking beside her and chatting with her. Well, often just listening to her as she rambled away at some fact she knew. So she looked back to see where he had wandered off to. She wasn't expecting to turn around and see him not-so-subtlety checking out her rear end. She watched as he came to a stop and then glanced around at all the stores around her as if almost afraid to look up at her.

He almost bumped into Maura as he wasn't paying all that much attention to the walking...well, at least not his walking. He quickly looked around to try and pretend that he was looking at anything other then where he was looking. He moved his gaze back to Maura, hoping to not see her livid over his wandering eyes before and was pleased to note a self-satisfied smirk on her face, and her eyes were shining brighter then normal. He smiled at her and then pointed to the photo booth to his left he saw while trying to act nonchalant. He wanted to try it out even though his last pictures in one turned out to be with a brain-washed killer. But with 'Lola' he had a crush, with Maura it was so much more than that. Even if she wasn't ready to tell the world yet, he at least wanted something so they could remember their time together.

He placed the money into the machine and pulled Maura into the tiny space beside him. He watched as the love of his life seemed to size up the bench to determine if it was safe to sit on. He smiled as he stared at her. He bet she was thinking about all the diseases that could be on common use seats. And from the looks of the booth with the sticky spilled soda on the ground and the wads of bubble gum here and there, he was sure it was awhile since the seat was wiped down. But he watched as she sat down trying not to cringe as she smiled at the camera. He saw the flash out of the corner of his eye and realized the proof of his blatant staring was now frozen in a small black and white photo. He looked forward and smiled at the camera so he wouldn't miss the next one.

Maura looked dubiously at the little bench for them to sit on, but finally squeezed in and faced the camera. She saw a bright flash and then turned to glance at the man beside her. She felt so strongly for him, she just wished she understood emotions enough to know if it was really love as he seemed certain of, or if it was more fleeting like the lust and companionship that she found with her ex-husband. She saw the flash out of the corner of her eye and realized she missed the second picture which would show her staring not at the camera but at the dashing man beside her.

Before she could look forward again, she watched as Frankie turned to steal a glance at her. Their eyes locked and both were to engrossed in gazing at each other that they both missed the third picture entirely. They both turned to look in the camera for the final shot. They tried to smile sweetly, but they were both laughing too hard to tone it down to the stilted pictures that Maura was so used to seeing.

They almost fell out of the booth laughing, and Frankie grabbed the picture strip that had finished developing. He saw the top two pictures and mused at how alike they were in some regards. Granted, not shopping. He just wished Maura could see it too. He thought about letting her have those pictures and maybe she would start to see it, but he knew she needed the last picture. He had seen the family portraits hanging in the hallway or on the mantle at her house with the plastered on smiles. He knew she needed this picture to remember the fun that they brought out in each other. He tore the paper in two and handed her the bottom half.

She reverently placed the pictures in her wallet until she could find a safer place for them.

Maura opened up her desk drawer and lifted up the corner of her desk organizer to pull out her two treasured pictures. She placed them on the desk, slightly below Frankie's half. She just wished she could have repaired the tear in her heart as well as she could line up the rip in the pictures. And even if she had a cardiothoracic surgeon on hand, she knew that he would not be able to find the ultimate source of the bleeding. She always thought people who used the term heart-broken were ignorant on human anatomy; she wished she could have kept that point of view rather than learning so well what it really meant. She tried to bring her emotions under control before sending a questioning glance toward the pudgy detective across from her

Vince looked around the room in the brief moments that Maura was lost in thought. He saw through eyes which viewed evidence and facts more than the warm, inviting workplace that Maura had created in her office. He saw the blanket crumpled on the floor by the couch rather than folded and placed precisely on the back of it. He saw that the normally impeccably dressed Maura Isles was wearing scrubs and her hair was severely pulled back. He saw that past the thin layer of make-up that Maura was able to come up with from her purse and desk drawer to see the dark bags developing under her eyes, and even more pronounced to him was the redness and puffiness that showed that she cried often when no one was around to notice. To think under everyone's eyes, she was starting to have a life outside of her morgue, and now, with that snuffed out, she was even sleeping here.

Korsak watched as Maura reached into her desk and then placed the last two pictures together with Frankie's two. Even seeing the images upside down he was able to see how happy the pair appeared. He saw the sad, slight smile that Maura gave to the smiling Frankie in the photos. He saw a couple tears bead up in the corner of the Doc's eyes before she quickly reached up to brush them away. He knew that she would have mentioned allergies or something to cover for the tears if he would have asked about them. He saw her reach a shaky hand out to touch the small black and white images, but seemed to think better of it and so clasped her hands together on top of her desk before finally gazing at Korsak. He could see the questions glimmering in those eyes, but he had questions of his own starting with, "Jane didn't know, did she?"

"And why would you think that?"

Answering a question with another question, common stall tactics, and he knew he would be able to out maneuver Maura if she was a suspect, but she wasn't one, she was a hurting colleague and, he hoped, friend. Today she still spoke with the gruff, no-nonsense tone, but at least Korsak understood where the attitude was coming from. "Jane might be a bitch at times...okay, often," he grinned to the Doc when she didn't defend their friend and partner as they both knew her attitude too well. Both had often been on the receiving end when she was pissed off and on the war path for anything that stood in her way. He waited a moment as he saw a corner of Maura's mouth turn up in an understanding half-smile, and then he threw out his reasoning that would have made any jury understand with it's well thought out and heated delivery. He pointed in the general direction of the autopsy suite, "..but she's not heartless. She never would have asked you to perform Frankie's autopsy is she knew. She's not that cruel." He didn't raise his voice in anger as he did so often when defending Detective Rizzoli and her methods to the Brass, but the passion behind his words was there all the same. He saw the hurt look quickly pass Maura face, and, before she could berate herself too much, he continued his thoughts in a more soothing voice. "You really should tell Jane and her family. They would want to know."

His earlier tone along with his penetrating gaze pierced the words all the way to Maura's heart, and she couldn't help but feel slighted. But she also knew that Korsak was right, Jane would be hurt if she knew how painful her request to Maura really was. To her mind it was just one more reason on top of so many for why she knew telling the family would be painful. "I can't. It would just hurt them. Especially right now. They have enough to deal with."

She thought she was protecting them, but Korsak wondered if Maura was just protecting herself. Either way it was not his place to tell. Maura could be more pig-headed than Jane at times, so he knew that now was not a time to push her, so he decided to leave her to her own thoughts again. He reached forward and picked up the pictures he found in Frankie's locker to keep hold of for whenever the family did learn. He heard Maura clear her throat, but before she could try to object about him taking the pictures he promised, "I'll keep hold of it so some day Frankie's family can have everything from his locker. I'll hide it in my desk drawer rather than in the box of belongings, okay." It wasn't a question. He wasn't really giving her a choice.

Korsak stood up and started to the door, but then turned back for one last comment. "I don't like this situation," he grumbled, "I don't like having to lie to Jane."

"I'm not asking you to lie, Vince. If Jane asks you if Frankie was seeing anyone you can tell her, okay?"

The Doc was sure dense sometimes, or at least pretended to be. Like Jane would come out and ask that question, and he had a feeling that Maura knew damn well that scenario was not likely to play out. He thought briefly about telling Jane there were incriminating photos in Frankie's locker, but she would probably assume they were some swimsuit calendar at best and would not want to know details. Jane once told Korsak that Maura said she couldn't lie and would pass out if she did. It was a good thing Dr. Isles did not consider lies of omission to count or she would be conked out for a long time. And there would be no fairy tale ending. No Prince Charming to ride up and kiss her awake...No Prince Charming at all anymore. The full clarity of the situation was revealed then—no good guy, no bad as he knew what to do with as a cop, just hurt individuals who were each coping the best they could with a crappy situation. With Korsak stuck firmly in the middle knowing that the family would want to know, but also that the private Doc would want to guard those memories zealously. Shit. That was all he could think as he walked out the office door. No, it was really Frankie stuck in the middle, and, not being able to blame a dead man, Korsak decided to wander over to some of his buddies in narcotics and see if there was anyone who he could beat some sense into...not physically, of course, because IAB would not be happy with that.

While he was thinking about IAB, he stuck his head back into Maura's office. "By the way, Doc, I heard that IAB is sending a couple investigators back our way in a few hours to get more statements now that Marino is awake at the hospital. Guess they are hoping to finish all in one go, so I'd be watching out for them too if I were you now that you're back." Now he understood why Maura had been here more recently rather than at the hospital with her friend... she had already lost more there than most realized.

Maura thought the day couldn't get any worse. She knew better than to even think that statement though as it always tempted fate. Without even getting a 10 minute repose after Korsak informed her that he knew about her and Frankie, another light knock sounded at her door. She was tempted to ignore the entire world outside of that door, but she knew someone would just intrude...probably Korsak trying to kick down said door. She quickly put her pictures back in her desk as she again told the person outside her office to enter and place the file on her desk. She looked up only long enough to thank him for the file.

She tried to go back to reading the file on her computer, but her mind wouldn't focus as the papers to her left seemed to be shouting for her attention. She grabbed the file up and quickly walked out the door and down the hallway to the autopsy suite where she watched as the last few sutures were placed to close up the Y-incision. She walked over to stand by Frankie as Yoshima finished up and then walked over to the sink to start cleaning the tools. She glanced at the clean work her assistant did as she was afraid to stare too long at Frankie's pale face. She knew the image she would see was nothing like the smiling face that was frozen both in her mind in brilliant color and also in black and white in tiny pictures in her desk. She just wished she would have been able to see the dazzling smile she knew he would have given her when she said yes. She fingered the ring that was settled between her breasts under the drab scrub suit and felt such grief over waiting too long. She whispered so quietly even though she felt like wailing, "I'm so sorry, Frankie."

"Did you say something, Dr. Isles?"

Maura swiped the tear from her cheek and replaced the sorrow with anger at herself for forgetting that she wasn't alone in the room. "No, nothing." She pulled the sheet up and, after a brief glance, covered the face. She knew she would see it only once more, staring up from a gilded wooden box.

She walked over to the side table and sat down on the wheeled medical stool. Finally she took a deep breath and opened the report in front of her. Written in black and white was the cause of death. Just as she had expected from her brief glance in his chest cavity as she started to weigh the internal organs. Cause of death was a pulmonary embolism. Looking at the veins in the legs showed that it started out as a deep vein thrombosis that broke off and then traveled to the lung. The blood clot was probably caused by either complications from surgery or from the prolonged immobilization of the legs as was often the case. But all knew the key cause of death was that initial gunshot to his abdomen, and even the bullet proof vest was not able to protect him entirely.

Maura knew the statistics and causality. She knew that PE was the third most common cause of death in hospitalized patients. But with the patient not waking up, the main symptoms of chest pains and shortness of breath couldn't be commented on if there were any symptoms at all. And Frankie was so like his sister. He wouldn't have complained about pain anyway. She knew the nurses checked his legs often for swelling and warmth, so she knew the fault didn't rest with them, but still on Marino who was the ringmaster of this whole incident.

She signed the report. She never thought it would be so painful just to write her name.

AN: Thanks for the wonderful reviews. Hit the big 3-0, yay! They help keep me writing :) Merry Christmas!