Jane arrived early for her first practice with the team, a whole hour early. She wanted to get to know the rink and prepare herself. It wasn't that she had any doubt about her being good enough. It was more the fact that it had been nearly a month since her last game in Denver, and she wanted to get the feel back. She walked around a bit, getting to know where the different rooms were. The dressing rooms were pretty close to the ice with a gym just a bit further down the hall. With fifteen minutes left before practice, Jane was on the ice skating around. She noticed small things, like the lighting was much better here than in Denver. It seemed clearer.

After her fourth round she suddenly noticed a familiar face up in the stands. Dr. Isles was there with her computer and watching her. Jane quickly looked away and carried on. She still hadn't recovered from their last meeting and tried to avoid her direction. After a few minutes the first of her new team mates entered the ice, it was the goalie. She skated straight towards Jane and joined her on the round.

"Hey. You're Jane, right? The new girl?"

"Yeah."

"I'm Louisa, the goalie… as you probably have noticed already" she smiled.

"Well, the pads kinda gave it away."

Louisa laughed and Jane sighed relieved.

"Anyway, welcome to the team. We're really excited to have you here."

"Thanks. I'll try not to disappoint."

Jane returned the smile and they kept on skating as more girls showed up. Louisa tried to give Jane a brief introduction of them, but Jane knew right away she would need weeks to get the names right. And even if she had the names right she would need time to connect the right names to the faces. It wasn't easy to see who was who when they all looked the same out on the ice.

Their coach, Aaron Landers, was standing in the middle of the ice keeping a watchful eye as the girls skated around. He was in his mid-40's and had retired from professional hockey 13 years ago. Jane didn't know much about him, only that he had played several years on the same team as her coach back in Denver a bunch of years ago. He was a tall guy, even Jane couldn't match his height and she easily imagined it could be somewhat scary if he decided to be mad at you. From what she had heard from Chris during their meetings, he was a really good coach who knew what he wanted and put in a lot of hours.

Coach Landers blew his whistle when he decided it was time to get started. "Alright, first of all…" He looked for Jane in the group. "Our newest member is here, Jane Rizzoli. Welcome to the team."

The whole team, including coaches, tapped their stick on the ice as a welcome. It was a gesture Jane never really got used to, at least not when it was for her, and she suddenly felt the weight of expectations on her shoulders again. She just smiled and lifted her stick as a thank you.

"We're very happy to have you here, and it will be interesting to see what you can bring to the table. I hope the girls will give you a somewhat decent welcome, but you probably know they will have a few surprises for you in the near future, as it usually is with the new ones."

Some of the girls laughed, and Jane put on her fighter face and smirked. "No worries, coach, I bite back."

"That's what I was hoping to hear" he smiled. "Okay, I want to go through our power play today, so get warmed up! Rizzoli, a few words."

The rest of the girls skated off, and Jane made her way over to the coach.

"Okay. Welcome aboard. I hope you have all the information and gear you need right now?"

"Yeah, I do. Lots of new stuff to remember and get used to, but I actually found the rink all on my own so I guess I'm off to a good start."

Coach Landers laughed out loud. "Great! I like your style. So, I have read all about you, just so you know, but what were your power play stats again in Denver?"

"8 goals, 4 assists in the first season, 6 goals in the second" Jane stated proudly. "I love being on the power play unit, easier to move around."

"Damn. Yeah, that's good! Okay. I'll throw you right in there, so you can get used to our power play. I want to see what you can do."

Jane couldn't hide the smile that erupted on her face. She loved these situations, she loved the opportunity to create and… show off basically. "Yeah sure, thanks coach!" She skated off to join the others with a huge smile. But then she caught a glimpse of the sole person up in the stands, and she let out a sigh. She had forgotten all about Maura Isles for a minute.

It wasn't easy being the new girl and the center of attention for almost everyone. Jane felt she needed to make an impression that fit with their expectations, and tried hard to learn as quickly as possible, but it was tough. More than once did she almost break her stick on the ice after misreading one of the girls and missing out on a pass. After the third time she smashed her stick on the ice, the coach stopped the play and told them to take a break. Jane was exhausted and sweaty. She skated over to the benches for her water bottle and emptied it within seconds. Louisa joined her shortly after.

"You did a nice job out there, Jane."

"Nah" Jane scrunched her nose and shook her head. "That wasn't anywhere near my best." She turned around and leaned against the board.

"Well… that's good…" Louisa chuckled. "I'd be kinda worried if you came in here on your first day and showed us your best."

Jane laughed softly and nodded. "Me too." They stood in silence while catching their breaths, and Jane looked over at coach Landers in the middle of the ice. "So, coach… He seems alright."

"Yeah" Louisa nodded. "He's a pretty alright guy, until you play like shit…"

"Uh oh…" Jane laughed.

Louisa smiled and put down her bottle. "Don't worry, he's just passionate. And sometimes we totally deserve his rants too."

"Good." Jane smiled and let her eyes wander over the seats on the other side. Maura was still sitting there, but her laptop was now closed and put aside. Jane turned to Louisa who turned around. "Does she usually watch you like that?"

Louisa followed Jane's gaze. "Doctor Isles? No. She's only here at practice when someone's getting back from an injury or something."

Jane kept staring, certain that Maura couldn't see it from that distance. It frustrated her that someone could distract her so easily. On her playing field.


"Rizzoli. Can I have a word with you?"

Jane stopped as she was about to step off the ice after practice. Her coach was looking at her and she turned around and went over to him.

"Nice job today. I've been thinking about which line I think you'll fit in on, and I think you'll be great with Jessie on the second line. She's gotten really good this year, and with her playmaking ability and your sniper skills, I think you'll be a feared duo. We'll try that in the next practice and see how it goes."

"Great! Thanks!" Jane smiled.

Coach Landers chuckled. "Don't thank me, you need to prove you deserve that spot, so it's all up to you."

She smirked from her coach's wording. "Even better. Then that spot is practically mine."

"That's what I like to hear! Now get out of here."

Jane just laughed while she skated off. She took off her helmet as she walked down the hall towards the locker room, smiling for herself all the way. Getting a chance on the second line was exactly what she wanted. As she approached the room, Amy Wallace was about to exit the room and bumped into Jane who lost her balance for a moment.

"Whoops..."

Jane noticed the insincerity in Amy's voice and looked at her. The slightly sly grin on her face made Jane want to say something, but she swallowed whatever words wanted to escape. She had barely met Amy, not really spoken to her besides stating her own name, so she just moved on and found her place in the locker room.


Maura smoothed her skirt before she entered the dressing room after practice. The music was loud, as it usually was in this room, and she scanned the room quickly to find her object. She found it on the left side of the room, chatting with team captain Heather who played right defense. Maura walked over to them, ignoring the glances from some of the other girls. She knew they thought she was odd but predictable, which was why some seemed surprised to see her there. She stopped in front of Jane who looked up at her.

"Rizzoli. I just wanted to see how the practice went." Maura didn't really know why she sounded so strict, it wasn't her intention, but somehow she addressed Jane by her last name.

"It went just fine, Doctor Isles" Jane replied professionally.

Maura broke their eye contact and fixated on some strands of hair that was sticking to a sweaty neck. "Well, that's good. I just wanted to make sure…" Her eyes trailed down the right arm as Jane bent down to untie her skates, watching the muscles flex under glistening skin. "That you felt okay… since it was your first practice." She heard how it sounded right away, but still Jane managed to look up at her with a confused look in her eyes before Maura could explain herself. "I mean… after the fall. The concussion."

Jane smiled softly and straightened up. "Yeah, I felt good. No trouble whatsoever."

"Alright. I'm glad to hear that. I'll see you at the game then." Maura spun around and left, leaving Jane utterly confused.

"Concussion?" Heather asked as Maura left.

Jane tore her eyes away from the doctor and smiled. "Yeah, I hit my head right after I got back to Boston. No big deal though, I'm perfectly fine again."

"What did you do? Skate around without a helmet?" Heather teased.

"No" Jane laughed and took off one of her skates. "Well… sort of." She sat up and leaned against the wall while she looked back at Heather. "I was playing basketball and… I stepped on my shoelaces, tripped and went head first into the post…"

Heather laughed and shook her head. "Oh my god! You can balance on skates but can't stay up on your own feet?"

"I know… my best friend has reminded me of it every single day. So no need for you to do that!"

"We'll see, Rizzoli" Heather winked.

Jane smiled before her eyes scanned the room and the people in it. The days had gone by so quickly since she got the offer of signing with Boston, and being part of a new team felt both terrifying and exciting. Her eyes landed on Wallace who sat by the opposite wall, and the whole 'accidental' scene from just minutes ago replayed in her mind. Jane didn't know what, but something about Wallace made her seem arrogant. If it had been high school Wallace would definitely be the leader of some sort of click. Jane turned back to Heather. "Hey, where does Wallace play?"

"Right wing, second line" was the answer.

"Of course" Jane muttered under her breath. The spot that now was Jane's. Of course, why should anything be easy?


Jane left the locker room and was about to head out when she stopped and looked down the hall. Her first meeting with the doctor was still in the back of her mind and the doctor's visit in the locker room earlier had only confused Jane even more. She turned to her right after taking a deep breath and headed towards the doctor's office. It was better to get it over with right away. The door was open and Jane knocked carefully to draw Maura's attention. "Hey doc, sorry to disturb you, but do you have a minute?"

Maura nodded and leaned back in her chair. "Of course. Come in."

Jane didn't even bother to put down her bag. "I… I kinda wanted to apologize for how we first met." She nervously looked at the doctor who was looking back at her. "I didn't mean to make you… uncomfortable or anything…"

A pair of confused eyes made her stop. "I'm sorry, I don't think I'm following you" Maura replied.

"The fall…" Jane swallowed and laughed nervously. "With the whole… dimple thing…" Finally the doctor's face softened, she even smiled and the famous dimple appeared again. Until Jane kept talking. "Yeah, that" Jane chuckled, and then she wanted to hit herself for bringing it up again. "Sorry… I just didn't mean to make it sound like I was hitting on you or anything. I don't even remember it, Danielle, the friend that was with me, told me everything later and then when I saw you again I felt kinda stupid…"

"Jane" Maura interrupted her and softly smiled. "It's perfectly fine. I didn't give it much thought. You had just hit your head and I didn't perceive it as flirting. I was more focused on helping you anyway. You have nothing to worry about."

"Oh…" Jane sighed and allowed herself to smile. "Thanks. And thanks for helping that day. I'm not sure if my friend ever thanked you so…"

"No problem. I was just doing what was expected of me."

Jane nodded and took a step backwards. "Well, thanks anyway. I gotta go, but I'll see you around I guess."

"Yes, of course. And Jane, please tie your shoelaces from now on" Maura smiled.

She should've taken the joke right away, but it took Jane a few seconds before she connected the dots, but then she laughed and nodded. "I will, doc."