DISCLAIMER: I do not own Rizzoli & Isles nor any of the characters from the show. I am writing this purely for entertainment, not profit. Rizzoli and Isles are property of Tess Gerritsen and TNT.

Full disclaimers on Chapter 1

Chapter 16

The elevator dinged when she arrived to the basement, and Jane inhaled deeply to prepare herself to facing Maura. In the few moments she had observed her former girlfriend, she could see Maura had lost almost as much weight as Jane herself – not that any of them could afford losing any more weight. Maura was gorgeous, as usual, but Jane thought she had detected darker tones of makeup and clothes than she had been used to when it came to Maura.

She knocked on Maura's office door, that was open. Maura raised her eyes from her notebook screen and saw Jane by the door.

"Detective Rizzoli. Come on in. How can I help you?" Maura recovered quickly from her surprise, and tried to keep as much of a professional tone as she could.

Jane thought about teasing her if she was not going to ask if Jane was lost. But Jane didn't have the strength to tease her about that yet. It was all too raw for her, and she guessed it was the same for Maura.

"I know I am not supposed to, but I looked over the glass panel you and Korsak put together. And I think you should test for that screw you have on photo number fourteen."

Maura picked up a folder with the copies of what she had delivered to Korsak.

"Photo fourteen… Oh, yes, I see it. Makes sense, let me ask the technicians to test for it immediately."

"No reprehension that I am on desk duty?" Jane tried to lighten the somber tone.

"I have not been made privy of which capacity you came back for." Maura replied, tersely.

"I don't think it is exactly secret. I was released to come back on desk duty three days ago. And I plan on taking the physical proficiency exam in three months to try to come back fully."

"Congratulations, Detective, it is certainly a very positive evolution." Maura praised, but keeping as much of a formal tone as she could manage. Keeping her resolve seeing Jane right in front of her was a challenge. "And I don't think that you observing what is in public view of the bullpen and making a suggestion breaks any protocol. Does Detective Korsak know you were going to suggest this test?"

"He does. And he insisted that, since he had missed it, I should be the one asking it from you."

"Very well. Considered it done, then."

Jane hesitated for a moment. There was so much she wanted to say to Maura. Beginning by asking how she had been, because now, from looking at Maura's face from up-close, Jane could see what not even the best applied concealer could hide: the darker circles under Maura's eyes, the lost weight, the very serious features. But she was not ready for it. She didn't know how things would pane out. So she stood up.

"Thank you, Dr. Isles." Jane swallowed hard, it felt out of place to refer to Maura as Dr. Isles, but not once Maura had addressed her as Jane, not even when it was only the two of them in this room.

Jane was one step out of the door when she heard the almost whispered. "It is good to see you are back, Jane." It warmed Jane's heart, and almost made her turn back, but she didn't. Knowing Maura, this had been her compromise between respecting what Jane had asked for months ago, with her desire to make her real feelings known.

(…)

"Hey, I know you…"

"I surely know you." Jane replied, puzzled. A famous baseball player was the one who had addressed her. Jane had grown used to crossing paths with all these famous people in the waiting room for the physical therapist. Sometimes she had been brave enough to ask for an autograph. Most of the times she was content just observing them. It had been the case with this particular player.

He chuckled, friendly. "I bet you did. A fan? Or a hater?"

"Not a hater, but a competitor." He played for the Chicago Cubs. "I am a Red Sox fan."

"Not surprising being from Boston."

"Do you really know me?"

"From the news." He sobered up. "I am glad you caught that monster and put him behind bars."

Jane nodded. It always surprised her to hear of the repercussions the Surgeon's case had.

"You must be a fantastic detective for the Police Department to be funding your treatment with this guy…" he mused. "My club debated a long time about my prospects in the future to make the investment worthwhile."

"I am lucky then he is doing it pro bono…"

"Pro bono?" the athlete snorted. "He would NEVER do anything pro bono, trust me. There are close family from him that famously didn't get his treatment… You better find out where the doe is coming from."

Jane wanted to ask more, but he was motioned in.

When Jane asked the PT, he just dismissed the conversation.

"I already told it is pro bono…"

"I heard from reliable sources you never do pro bono…"

"What it matters is that it is pro bono for you… Now, do you want to get back to firing your guns or not?"

(…)

Maura had tried. She really had. She forced herself to go out on a date at least once a month since the trial. She knew she needed at least to try to get over Jane.

Every time so far had been a disaster. Maura had to repeat herself the "so far", that it would only change if she kept trying. But every date she had tried, men or women, were too little. Too bland. Too uninteresting. Too shy. Too quiet. Too serious. Too everything and anything different than Jane.

In none of the cases Maura had managed to get past dinner. She had hoped the fact she didn't had yet had sex with Jane would help in case she found a really good match in bed, nothing to compare against. But she never managed to get beyond dinner. To be honest, in some cases she didn't even make it through dinner. Maura realized she was likely beginning to understand the real meaning of the popular cocky expression "ruining you for anyone else". The worst part? Maura couldn't say she felt bad for being ruined for anyone else. It was the same as when you tasted a good quality wine – you would never go back to cheap ones.