Hey everyone…I hope the holidays have been good to you. I wanted to get this out to ring in the New Year. I hope to get a little better and faster as we move into 2017. It has been a rough year all around so I am hoping things will be brighter on the flip side. Again, thanks for reading and for all of the wonderful reviews and words of encouragement. I truly appreciate that you are still reading and enjoying. Happy New Years and be safe out there.

There is no 'I' in Team

Perhaps it was the paper airplane that sailed past her, narrowly missing her head. Or maybe it was the sound of Korsak clearing his throat as he stood next to her desk looking down with a concerned expression on his face. But something finally snapped Jane from her contemplation. Whatever it was caused her to rub her eyes with the palms of her hands before running her fingers through her hair, pushing it away from her face. She blinked a few times and then turned her attention to the man standing above her giving her that fatherly look she had come to expect when he was worried about her.

"What?" Jane asked, her voice hoarse from fatigue. She hadn't meant to sound annoyed so she cleared her throat to try and hide the slip.

"I know this was supposed to be your day off with Maura," Korsak leaned a hip against Jane's desk and crossed his arms. "But you've been a million miles away since you got here. What gives?"

"Just tired I guess." She looked back down at her desk and sighed. Tired wasn't the word to describe what she was feeling but it was the easiest answer and the one that would receive the least amount of resistance.

"You and Maura didn't have a fight, did you?" He asked hesitantly.

"Come on Korsak. They're in their honeymoon phase. Probably up late…ya know." Frost wiggled his eyebrows suggestively in Jane's direction. When Jane didn't respond, he glanced up at Korsak looking for help.

Jane hadn't heard Frost's comment because her mind was on Maura and the fact that she was downstairs, alone, doing an autopsy on a brother she didn't know about until this morning. A morning that should have been spent in bed in each other's arms but was instead interrupted by Paddy Doyle.

"Huh?" Jane's eyes went to the elevator as it dinged indicating that someone was getting off. She hoped that it would be Maura and for the tenth time that morning, it wasn't. When she realized it wasn't who she wanted it to be, she turned to look at Frost with an expectant expression on her face.

"Look, why don't you just go down there? You know you want to." Frost pointed to the elevator. "You're certainly not helping us up here anyways. Maybe you can find something to help Maura out with."

Jane tried to focus on what Frost was saying to her, but all she heard was 'help Maura out'. She frowned as she thought about Maura's request to be left alone to do the autopsy. It wasn't something she had wanted to do, but Jane knew well enough to let Maura have her space, at least for a little while.

"How long have I been here?" She suddenly sat up in her chair as she looked from Frost to Korsak.

"I don't know, maybe two hours…give or take." Korsak looked down at his watch.

"I think I've given her enough time." Jane mumbled as she stood up and grabbed her navy blue blazer. Slipping her arms into it, she buttoned the top button before pulling her long hair free from being trapped by the collar, allowing it to cascade down her shoulders. "I'm gonna go check on Maura." She said as she left both Korsak and Frost to watch after her with confused looks on their faces.

"What do you think that was all about?" Frost continued to watch Jane as she rocked back on her heels waiting for the elevator.

"I don't know, but whenever Jane gets distracted like that, it doesn't bode well for any of us." Korsak shook his head as he watched Jane step into the elevator then disappear behind closing doors.

"I'm pretty sure it has something to do with Paddy Doyle." Frost looked up at Korsak for confirmation. "Do you think so?"

"Maybe." Korsak pursed his lips as he contemplated Frost's question.

He knew that Jane had a history with Doyle, in fact it seemed as if the whole Rizzoli family had some type of contact with the Irish mob boss in one way or another. But what he didn't know was how deeply involved Jane was or what it had to do with Maura at this point. He was surprised to find Jane there and that Maura was already doing the autopsy on Doyle's son instead of Dr. Pike. The fact that they had given up a much needed day off together, something that didn't happen often wasn't what concerned him but the reason why did. He knew this would become a high profile case just because it was closely related to Paddy Doyle which would warrant Jane and Maura's involvement in some way but he hadn't expected it to be so soon.

"Hey, earth to Korsak…," Frost said waving his hands in the air. "What's going on? You're zoning out like Jane. Is there something in the water? Wait…did you make the coffee again?" He attempted to lighten the somber mood that had settled over them as he sniffed cautiously at his coffee mug.

"No, and no I didn't make the coffee today." Korsak glanced down at his watch again before pushing away from Jane's desk.

"I can't believe you still wear one of those antiques." Frost nodded towards the old, gold watch on Korsak's wrist.

"What…this?" Korsak asked as he held his arm out to show off his time piece.

"Yeah, that old thing." Frost rolled his eyes as he took a sip of coffee before wrinkling his nose. "You sure you didn't make the coffee? It tastes like old gym socks."

"No I didn't make it and instead of being so concerned with who made it, I'd be more concerned that you know what old gym socks taste like. And what's wrong with my watch?" Korsak gave Frost an irritated look as he shook his wrist causing the watch to wiggle back and forth.

"It's so yesterday…," Frost started to say but was interrupted when Korsak waved his hands in the air.

"How the hell am I supposed to know what time it is if I don't wear a watch?" Korsak had an expectant look on his face as he waited for an answer.

"This…," Frost held up his cellphone, pushing the side button to illuminate the time.

"Oh, you and your stupid technology. What are you gonna do when the battery runs out?" Korsak huffed impatiently. "This will run for years." He held up his hand to emphasize what her was referring to.

"Alright, alright…I can see I'm not going to teach an old dog new tricks." Frost started to laugh but glanced down quickly to see how much battery he had on his phone, hoping that Korsak wouldn't notice.

"My tricks work just fine." Korsak shook his head as he walked over to his own desk. "And I'm not old."

"You keep telling yourself that old timer." Frost tried to sound encouraging even though his voice held a teasing edge to it.

"Don't push it kid. I still out-weigh you by almost a hundred pounds. I can take you down any time I want." Korsak pushed some papers around his desk in a show of impatience even though he enjoyed the banter between them. Frost kept him on his toes.

"Humpf…I'd like to see that." Frost huffed giving Korsak an indignant look. "You'd have to catch me first."

"I've got a gun. I'll just shoot you in the knee cap to slow you down so I can catch you." Korsak said seriously without looking up.

"Um…what…you…?" Frost stammered before he noticed Korsak's sly grin. "Touché old man, touché."

"Let's get this paperwork started before Jane gets back. Maybe it will snap her out of her funk. You know how much she hates paperwork." Korsak looked back at Frost, a serious expression on his face.

"I hear ya…" Frost gave a knowing nod in agreement. He did know how much Jane hated paperwork and maybe this little bit of effort on his and Korsak's part would help to bring Jane back to them.

Jane pushed the button for the basement where Maura's offices were located and ruminated on her early morning phone call with Ryan. It still amazed her how quickly Ryan found out about Paddy's visit but the one thing she hadn't been prepared for was Ryan's anger.

"Are you trying to ruin your career?" Ryan asked, her voice just slightly raised.

"Look, I'm at Maura's house and he came here. I did not invite him or ask him to come." Jane turned away from Maura's curious gaze.

"What was he doing there?" Ryan's voice was quiet but the demand for an answer was clear in her tone.

"His son was murdered last night." Jane's voice dropped to the same level as Ryan's.

"What?" Ryan almost shouted.

"He want's Maura to do the autopsy and feed him information." Jane gave Maura an apologetic smile as she continued to speak. "He still has the body but will only release it to Maura."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Ryan wasn't able to contain her anger any more. "You're both going to lose your jobs!" She all but shouted.

"You've got to buy us some time Ryan. He said he would turn himself in after…," Jane didn't finish what she was going to say, instead she allowed the implication to hang in the air.

"You've gone crazy, the both of you." Ryan let out a heavy breath. "We need to talk and we need a plan as soon as possible. Dinner tonight at our place." It wasn't a question but an order.

"Okay, but tell me what to do here. Do I let Maura do the autopsy? Paddy said he only wanted her to do it, but Jesus Ryan…it's her brother." Jane was trying to hide the panic she was feeling.

"What does Maura want to do?" Ryan asked, her voice almost a whisper again.

"You know Maura. She says she's fine to do it, but I just don't know." Jane glanced over at Maura who was looking out the window at Angela who was making her way across the yard. "Shit, shit…my Ma is on the way over."

"Trust that Maura knows what she's doing. I'll make the arrangements on our end to get the body to Maura. We really need to talk Jane. The sooner the better. I'll give the DA some excuse about why Paddy will only trust Maura but we need a plan like yesterday. IA is gonna be all over this if we don't nip it in the bud." Ryan was speaking quickly as if she didn't have much time. "Hang on…," she said and Jane could hear her muffled voice on the other end. "Look, I've gotta go. Carly's pissed that my phone woke her up at the crack of dawn and now I have to go to work. I'll see you tonight at around seven." Ryan didn't wait for Jane to confirm before she hung up.

It had been a quick phone call and for that Jane was grateful. She told Maura about it on the drive into work and it made the somber mood that much more somber before they arrived at the BPD. And true to her word, Ryan had taken the reins and made sure that everything was taken care of before they got there. The only thing she hadn't anticipated was Maura's request to do the autopsy alone and leaving Maura had been one of the hardest things she had ever done. Leaving Maura to her own accord by her own request didn't sit well with Jane but she did as Maura had asked and now it was time to check to see if she was okay.

Maura looked down at the white cloth that covered the body of Paddy's son, the body of the brother she had never known about until that morning. From the moment she entered the autopsy room, she had done her best to detach herself because it was something she was good at. But not this time. Everything had been fine when she gave Jane a quick kiss at the elevators before they went their separate ways. She had seen the worry and concern in the dark, brown eyes she had come to love and she did her best to reassure Jane that everything was going to be fine. And even though she could tell that Jane didn't believe her, at least Jane was willing to give her the space she felt she needed to do her job. A job she thought she could do because she had done it so many times before on strangers, acquaintances, and even friends. It had never been an issue until that moment when she made the first cut of the y-incision and a wave of nausea threatened to take her legs out from beneath her. She couldn't bring herself to look down into his face because it was too familiar to her. This stranger she had never met had her high cheek bones and narrow nose and even though his hair was darker than hers, they shared the same shade of copper highlights.

"I'm sorry we never had the chance to meet." Her voice echoed in the large autopsy room. Setting her scalpel down, she placed her hands on the edge of the table for support as she hung her head. A heavy sadness overcame her because there would never be another chance. "I thought I could do this." She spoke again to the emptiness that surrounded her. "But I don't think I can."

Finally, she looked up and over at the serene, somewhat peaceful face. It had only been two hours since she and Jane had parted ways and she was still feeling the loss she had felt as the elevator doors closed, leaving her alone. In that two hours she had retrieved the bullet and prepared it for the lab, but that was all she had managed to do.

Pulling the sheet up and over his face, she turned her back to the autopsy table, leaned back and slid down until she was sitting on the floor. She wrapped her arms around her legs, rested her cheek against her knees, and then let the tears fall. She didn't care who found her, just as long as someone did because she didn't have the energy to pick herself up off of the floor.

Maura had no idea how long she sat on the floor with her eyes closed, overcome with physical and emotional exhaustion but she somehow sensed the minute Jane entered the room. Letting out a heavy sigh, she opened her eyes and saw Jane standing in the doorway. The fear she saw on Jane's face broke her heart but she still couldn't bring herself to move from where she was. She closed her eyes again as a shiver ran through her body, leaving her trembling.

As Jane stood in the doorway, her feet were frozen to the spot. She was unsure of what to do. Seeing Maura broken and defeated caused a pain in her chest but when their eyes met, the pain she saw looking back at her almost took her breath away. It wasn't until Maura closed her eyes again and shivered that Jane found the will to finally move across the room.

Kneeling down in front of Maura, Jane reached out and wrapped her arms around Maura's trembling body and held her close.

"I shouldn't have left you to do this alone." Jane murmured against Maura's neck. "I'm so sorry," She could feel Maura shaking her head, but no words would come at the moment so Jane just continued to hold her.

It may have only been minutes or perhaps hours had passed before Maura finally found her voice and spoke. "I can't do this Jane. I thought I could, but I can't." She pulled back just enough to look at Jane.

"Oh sweetheart, you don't have to." Jane pushed some stray strands of hair away from Maura's face before kissing her on the forehead. "We'll get Pike in here to finish."

"I don't understand this," Maura said as she pushed away from Jane. Her sudden movement was slightly frantic and took Jane by surprise. "I just don't understand." She began to shake her head back and forth.

"What? What don't you understand?" Jane asked as she placed her hands on Maura's shoulders to hold her still.

"I have no right to mourn the loss of someone I've never met before." Maura looked away from Jane as the tears started to flow again.

"What are you trying to say Maura?" Jane cupped Maura's cheek with her left hand and wiped the tears away with her thumb.

"I feel this loss Jane. I feel it right here." Maura put a hand on her chest over her heart. "How is that possible. How can I feel this much pain over a stranger?"

"Oh honey, just because you didn't know him doesn't mean you can't feel the pain of losing him." Jane pulled Maura close again. "He was your brother and even though you never met him, you had a connection."

"What connection could I possible have had to him?" Maura asked as she remembered his face and how his features were similar to hers.

"Well, you had the same father." Jane tried to reason even though she wasn't sure she could really put into words what she was trying to convey to Maura. "And the same smile,"

"You knew about him didn't you?" Maura asked even though she already knew the answer.

"Um…yeah." Jane started to pull away from Maura as guilt started to settle in her chest.

"No, don't…," Maura pulled Jane back so she could lay her head on a broad shoulder. "I'm not mad. I'm sure you thought there would be time to tell me."

"I was being selfish Maura. I knew if I told you, you'd want to meet him and that would expose you to Paddy's world. I didn't want that to happen but no matter how much I tried to protect you…it happened anyway." Jane sighed heavily at her own truth.

"What can you tell me about him?" Maura asked as she snuggled closer to Jane.

"I didn't know him that well…or at all really. I'd see him occasionally when I went to deal with Paddy, but we never spoke." Jane said as she ran her fingers through Maura's hair, pushing it away from her face. "But he did have a dimple right here…," she let her fingers trail down Maura's cheek to the spot where hers was. "And when he smiled it appeared just like yours does."

Maura brought her hand up to cover Jane's, pressing it against her cheek and closed her eyes as she tried to imagine what it would look like to see his smile.

"Now that I think about it, he always seemed to be smiling." Jane cupped Maura's face again and tilted her head up so they look at each other. "I heard he was a smart kid too, but not smart enough to get out of the family business I guess." She frowned. "You know, sometimes when I would see him, it would make my heart ache for you and because of that it made me hate Paddy even more."

"I want to help him." Maura lifted her chin higher in an almost defiant way. When Jane gave her a confused look, she continued. "I want to help Paddy find who did this."

"I understand that Maura, but we need to be careful. If you are caught talking to him or seen with him there will be questions. Not to mention the people that did this might see you as some sort of collateral in whatever fight they have with Paddy." Jane's voice cracked slightly at the strain she was feeling.

"I'll be careful." Maura nodded resolutely as she looked Jane in the eyes, daring her to disagree with her.

"We need a plan and we need Ryan." Jane's mind was already formulating a way they could help.

"I can't ask you to do this Jane. There's too much at risk…," Maura started to say but was quickly interrupted.

"There is no 'I' when it comes to this or anything else from here on out. It is 'we' and it always will be." Jane's temper started to stir. "You won't do this alone and you won't put yourself in danger, not as long I'm still breathing." She gave Maura a stern look, this time it was her turn to dare the other to argue.

Maura was quiet for a moment before she looked away from Jane's intense stare. She knew there was no way she could go it alone but she also knew she would do whatever she had to in order to keep Jane safe. At the moment, the best thing she could do was agree with Jane until the time came not to. She tried to smile as she gave a weak nod and was glad when Jane pulled her into a hug again.

"We'll figure this out, together. Deal?" Jane whispered against the top of Maura's head where her chin came to rest.

"Deal." Maura's voice was quiet as she allowed Jane to comfort her.

They stayed like that, holding each other until Jane finally spoke, breaking the spell of contemplative silence that had surrounded them. "I think we need to get Pike to finish up in here."

"Okay." Maura allowed Jane to pull her to her feet. "Here…," she said as she handed Jane a small glass bottle. "I got the bullet out so ballistics could test it. Hopefully we can find a gun to match it and figure out who is responsible."

Jane glanced over her shoulder and noticed that Maura had pulled the white sheet over the body, covering up the work she had started. She shouldn't have been surprised that Maura had done the most important part of the autopsy. Retrieving the bullet would surly give them a direction for their investigation.

"Let's drop this off with Susie and head home. We've got a long evening ahead of us and I don't know about you but I could use a nap before we meet with Ryan." Jane took the bottle from Maura with one hand and ran her fingers through her hair with the other.

"I won't argue with that logic." Maura sighed as she followed Jane out the door. "But I don't want Susie to give anyone but me the results. I need some time to think about what I'm going to do."

"There you go again with the 'I'…," Jane gave a frustrated huff and shook her head.

"I'm sorry. We need time to decide what to do. Okay?" Maura rolled her eyes as she gently pushed past Jane in the direction of Susie's office.

"Hey…did you just roll your eyes at me?" Jane stopped and watched as Maura walked away from her. When all she got in response was Maura throwing her hands up in the air all she could do was shake her head and follow. "I'd say someone really needs a nap." She called out as she did her best to catch up. 'This day can't be over with soon enough,' she thought to herself but she knew there was still so much more to come, she just hoped she had the energy to get through it.