"Jane's dating a woman?"
The words hung in the air as Korsak and Frost whipped around to find Maura standing behind them in the Division One cafe.
Maura had come up behind the two gentlemen mid-conversation, and she was certain she couldn't have possibly heard what she thought she just heard. Expectantly, and perhaps impatiently, she looked from one to the other in the silence that was beginning to drag on. Frost turned to stare daggers at his Sergeant. Korsak had been the one talking when Maura had come up behind them. He blanched and stammered, his eyes darting around as if the right thing to say would appear somewhere outside of himself. Maura wasn't always the best with social cues, but this one didn't take a lot of work. She was immediately clear on the fact that she hadn't misheard. With a further moment's reflection, she also realized with how much intensity she had asked the question.
"Doc! I didn't realize you were there," Korsak finally offered feebly. He smoothed his tie and looked helplessly to Frost, who made a big production of avoiding his gaze.
"Jane's dating a woman?" This time, Maura's tone was carefully modulated, switching from accusatory to conversational, even breezy.
This was, of course, a bombshell. Not easy or breezy in the slightest. It was absolutely shocking news, and even more shocking was the realization she was the last to know. She was never one to leap to conclusions, but she didn't have to — the evidence before her demonstrated with certainty that she was. Frost and Korsak would never discuss this in the cafe if Angela didn't also know. And as Maura glanced over Forst's shoulder, she caught a glimpse of the elder Rizzoli, eavesdropping nervously while needlessly re-arranging the pastries on the counter.
Or, really, it should have been shocking news that Maura was the last to know, and it certainly would have been a few months ago when the two women were still inseparable best friends. Back then, there was precious little about either of them that anyone knew before one woman had told the other. But Jane and Maura had experienced a falling out.
"We were as surprised as you were. Dr. Isles," Frost offered reluctantly, forced to take over for the still-panicked Korsak.
"And she's told everyone?" Maura could hear her voice harden a little, and she forced herself to settle down, imbue her voice and posture with a casual serenity. "Jane has willingly told intimate, personal details about her life to her friends and family?"
So breezy.
"How unlike her," she added, before brushing past the two men to approach the counter. Angela turned nervously to face her, Maura's usual order ready in hand. She chose not to acknowledge the older woman's obvious anxiety. The doctor and Angela were still friendly, she had insisted that Jane's mother continue to live in her guest house, but obviously things were more cordial and less familial since the whole mess with Jane. She offered the woman a polite but perfunctory smile.
"Thank you, Angela."
Easiest. Breeziest.
Maura took two quick strides and pivoted so she was standing with all three of them in her view. Jane's current partner, her former partner, and her mother. Frost and Korsak looked away sheepishly, while Angela looked desperate to say something. Before she could, Maura wrapped things up.
"Good to see all of you. No doubt this was a surprising revelation, but I'm glad to hear that Jane is dating again, one way or another." She added the last part awkwardly, and swallowed hard. She raised her coffee cup as parting gesture. "I do hope she's not upset that you've inadvertently looped me in, but you can count on my discretion if you need it."
That was the socially appropriate thing for Maura to say, but it didn't hold much water, as everyone knew about her difficulties with lying. The best they could do was hope no one asked her about it. And most likely, no one would.
"I hope you all have productive days."
Before any of the three could say anything further, Maura made a tight turn and headed out the cafe.
Everything had changed, of course, after Jane had shot Maura's biological father, and Irish mob boss, Patrick "Paddy" Doyle. The doctor's initial reaction had been quite atypical for her. She was rash and emotional. In the immediate aftermath she had screamed at Jane. She had reacted impulsively, even childishly, accusing Jane of lying to her about the circumstances surrounding Agent Dean's presence on that fateful night, and insisted that Patrick Doyle had posed no threat to Jane or Detective Frost. In the ensuing days, when she had calmed down, Maura had privately recognized that she was wrong about everything. Paddy Doyle would have shot his way out of that factory if Jane hadn't taken him down, and it was clear that Agent Dean had betrayed Jane's confidence.
Still, things were fraught between the two woman. The first few days were devastating, and the first few weeks they had gnashed teeth through every forced interaction. Despite recognizing the necessity of Jane's decision to shoot, Maura was furious that Jane hadn't shown her a bit more grace about reacting irrationally. If Jane had told her she was wrong to shoot Doyle, wrong to tell Agent Dean, Maura would have relented immediately, and insisted Jane had responded correctly. But Jane had expected Maura to immediately recognize the righteousness of her actions, and somehow, that expectation had settled into the pit of Maura's stomach as a grave injustice committed against her. She, who was always so analytical, should have surely been allotted one free pass on being unreasonable, and she didn't get it. This, above all, was why it had been so fractious between the two in the wake of the shooting.
Not that Jane knew any of that, because Maura certainly didn't tell her. As far as Jane was concerned, Maura suspected she still thought that it was the initial event, and not her behaviour in the aftermath, that had Maura so mad. The doctor had no interest in correcting her. This, she felt, was something her best friend should have figured out for herself. Someone who'd made detective as young as Jane had should have been able to put two and two together, and she hadn't. She spent the better part of two months expecting Jane to burst through the doors of the morgue in apology. Instead, they'd settled into a frosty, professional relationship that had now drawn out for nearly half a year.
They still worked together often, of course. Not as often as before, as Maura rarely passed on the opportunity to foist the loathsome Doctor Pike on Jane whenever she could. She stepped in only when her greater insight and expertise were needed. Which was, unfortunately, still pretty often, as Doctor Pike was aggressively average at his job.
I need better staff.
Maura finally reached her office, although she had long since been out of sight from the probing eyes of Jane's family and friends. Still, she wanted to make sure she reached the confines of her own space before she really allowed herself to absorb the information she'd learned moments before. She took a quick glance around, ensuring there was no one in sight, and moved swiftly into her office, shutting the door behind her with a click. She leaned back against it, and turned her face skyward, eyes closed as she pressed the back of her head against the door. For a moment she couldn't breathe. Maura had heard the expression 'gut punch' before, and was a little skeptical about the accuracy of the description. Words could have a powerful physiological effect, but getting the wind knocked out of you? She thought that was a bit of a stretch. Turns out she was wrong.
"Jane's dating a woman."
She said it out loud, matter-of-factly, just sitting with the information.
"Jane is dating a woman."
This time it came out flatly, dispirited. Sometime in the last few months, and she certainly didn't know when, her former best friend had experienced what must have been a monumental shift in her identity, a radical change in her dating preferences and romantic possibilities, and Maura found out about this life-changing news through happenstance. If Jane hadn't felt the need or desire to tell Maura about this, it was difficult to draw any conclusion except that Jane had decided their relationship was beyond repair.
Maura could feel the hot creep of anger rising up her neck. Before she had an opportunity to process why exactly she was angry, she was startled by a knock on the door reverberating through her back. She waited a beat, took a breath to compose herself, and turned around to open the door.
"Detective Frost, hello."
"Doctor Isles."
They both stood there for a moment. Maura cocked her head slightly. "How can I help you, detective?"
"Right. Yes. I was wondering if you'd determined cause of death on the John Doe found in the alley on Monday."
Maura was relieved that he'd come to discuss work.
"Yes, of course. Come in, Detective Frost," she stepped aside to make way for him, then turned to her desk to retrieve a folder.
"I was going to bring it up to the bullpen, but i've been a bit bogged down today." This was true, but only just. Maura had indeed had a busy morning, but had been making less effort to bring her findings directly to the detectives. Frost had stepped up as a go-between from the morgue to the bullpen. Maura actually couldn't recall the last time Jane had made the trip herself.
"Toxicology came back relatively normal. He'd been drinking that evening, but otherwise nothing of note. During the autopsy, I found a blockage in one of his coronary arteries. It's my conclusion that he died of a myocardial infarction. Based on the lack of the relevant medications in his panel, he had untreated heart disease." Maura closed the folder and handed it back to Frost, and watched him. If this were Jane, she'd already be giving Maura grief about not putting the cause of death in layman's terms. Frost just had that look where he was going to look it up on his phone in the elevator.
"Heart attack. Not a homicide," she concluded.
Frost looked a bit surprised. "Huh. It feels like that doesn't happen as often as it should."
"It does feel that way," Maura mused. Both the doctor and detective stared thoughtfully into the distance for a moment, then shrugged it off. "If there's nothing else?" She began to walk back to the door to show Frost out, but quickly realized he wasn't following. She looked back to see him fidgeting just slightly, and he looked a little sick. Not dead body sick, but certainly not himself.
"About upstairs," Frost began, and Maura quickly lifted a hand.
"Barry, no," she said softly. "I'm sure Detective Rizzoli doesn't want you talking about her personal life with me." She placed a hand on the edge of the door and turned. Frost frowned.
"I have to say something. None of us wanted you to find out like that. It doesn't make sense that—"
"Detective, thank you," she pronounced his title clearly, hoping to redirect the conversation back to a strictly professional place. "I really have to get back to work."
The look of resignation on the detective's face indicated she was successful. He waved the folder she'd given him as a silent thank you. "I'll see you around, Doctor Isles."
Maura gave him a small nod as he left, and shut the door. Her face immediately scrunched up in regret. She was sad for the friendships that had been casualties of this war with Jane. She was also desperate to know what had happened — who this woman was, when it had happened, how in the world it was possible that the Jane she thought she knew was so comfortable telling people that she was dating anyone, let alone a woman. But if Jane hadn't wanted to tell her herself, Maura couldn't handle the indignity of begging for scraps from their mutual acquaintances. There was still an upper hand to be had, and her stomach turned at the thought of Jane finding out that Maura was asking around about her.
She blew out a breath as she maneuvered around her desk to take a seat. Her mind raced through the previous few months for any signs that would help her figure out when exactly Jane had begun a romantic relationship. It was hard, because avoiding her had become yet another bullet point in Maura's long list of advanced skills. It was also hard because she hated to speculate, but she'd simply have to make an exception.
She leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes in thought. The only change in behaviour she'd observed was when Jane had gradually stopped bickering with her and switched to a dull but generally civil style of communication. It had never been difficult to get a rise out of Jane but all of a sudden she was responding to Maura with little more than shrugs and canned responses. Could that be it? She was distracted by romance, and too preoccupied to fight? Perhaps it just put her in a better mood? Or, and this particular scenario was the worst of all of them, did Jane perhaps feel sorry for Maura? She could feel the heat rise up her neck again, and she gave her head a shake, trying to settle down.
What case were we working on then? Maura reached across her desk to grab the stack of open investigations. Leafing through them, she let herself drift through her memories, making note of Jane's behaviour towards her. The first case where she'd begun treating her in a frosty but mostly polite way was the Patriots staffer that had been found floating in the harbour. So if Maura was correct that Jane would have began acting differently after this seismic event, Jane met this woman between the harbour floater case and the one preceding it, which was—
Oh my god. The gardener.