Fandom: Rizzoli & Isles
Pairing: Jane/Maura
Disclaimer: I do not own Jane or Maura, they belong to Tess Gerritsen, TNT network, and the rest of the shananagans. No profit made here. This story involves Jane and Maura finally getting together, female/female relationship warning applies here.
Teaser: Jane and Maura get the digital hookup. Ambiguity is not all it's cracked up to be when merging the personal with the professional.
"Jane, this body isn't planning to get up and walk toward you. Put your phone away and come over here," Frost shouted back at his occupied partner and rolled his eyes as she flipped him off, then stashed her phone into her pants front pocket.
"You know Frost, Maura's not even here yet." Jane made an elaborate gesture of taking off her sunglasses and looking all around the alley for the elusive Medical Examiner, and not seeing her, turned back to glare at her partner. "I don't see her. Do you? No, didn't think so." She jabbed her finger in his direction. "And quit rolling your eyes like a teenage girl. Man up here and calm down." Pushing up her sleeves, she gazed down at the spread eagled body before her. "Fill me in while we wait on Maura," she said to Frost, her eyes never leaving the body. "He looks young, probably 20 to 25."
Frost smiled at Jane, listening to her thinking out loud, then said, "the call came in around three. The restaurant to your left is open until two in the morning, and caters to the college crowd. They serve alcohol and have live music most nights."
"Probably lured out here, maybe a drug deal gone wrong. With kids these days, it's hard to know." Jane looked over at him. "Any witnesses?" She stared at the half clothed man for another minute. "Do you think it's a sex crime? Based on the positioning of the body…"
"I'm not gonna say yet. Wait on the Doc. "
She knelt down to get a better view. Gently lifting the t-shirt, she confirmed that he was without pants. Glancing down at his feet, she said, "Frost, looks like he's missing a shoe. Orange sandal. Look around for it will ya?"
"Sure thing, ma'am," he muttered, walking away from her to circumvent the alley. Jane taught him to look under the dumpsters for clues, so he knelt down and peeked under the dumpster directly across from the victim. He grinned as he saw the balled up pair of white pants and the orange sandals. "Found em," he said in a sing-song voice. Quickly snapping a photo of the evidence, he then reached under and gingerly pulled out the bundle, looked over them and put them in an evidence bag for the Lab-techs to look over.
Jane stood up, pulling out her notepad and started to make notes. Hearing Frost, she muttered, "that's great." She walked over to him to look over the evidence, and hearing the sound of tires crunching down rocks, she looked up and right at Maura Isles driving the Coroner's van. Jane shrugged at Maura, then laughed at her friend as Maura delicately stepped down and out of the van, being extremely careful not to bend or break the heels on her boots.
"Maura, so glad you could come to our little party," Jane burred, flipping shut her notepad and ignoring Frost in favor of paying attention to her colleague. Maura shut the door of the van and looked up, meeting Jane's eyes, smiled at her then pulled out her touch-screen phone from her coat pocket. She used her thumb and scrolled down the screen, glancing down at the screen and giggling at something she saw, then typed a response while ignoring Jane's suddenly scowling face in the process.
"Hey Digital Doc," Jane shouted, waving her hands in front of Maura's face to get her attention. "Body. Over there." She pointed behind her with her thumb.
"My eyesight isn't damaged," Maura responded, never taking her eyes from the tiny phone screen as her fingers moved and jabbed at the shiny glass. "I'm inputting some information into my calendar."
Jane raised an eyebrow. "Mmhmm. And you always laugh at your schedule?"
"When it contains information of a humorous nature, yes." Maura finished typing, locked the screen then slipped it back into her coat pocket, her eyes lifting up to meet Jane's skeptic gaze. "Body you say? Why, lead the way, Detective."
Jane turned on her heel, stomping toward the supine man, laid out in the middle of the alley. She pointed down at him, nodded to Maura then turned to Frost. "Here he is, I'm going to interview the owner of the club that found him. Where's he at man?"
"He's inside speaking with a uniformed officer. I was just about to do that. In fact, Jane, why don't you assist the Doc here and then we'll coagulate our strategies later," Frost said, grinning then spun on his heel and left the two women alone in the alley.
Maura knelt over the body, looking at the condition of the skin and the clothing. She went back to the van for her scene case, leaving Jane by the body. She leaned against her door and pulled out her phone again, checking the status of her sent message. The red message light, indicating a received message remained dark. She sighed as she slipped the phone back into her pocket and proceeded with getting her material. Closing the door, she looked up and met Jane's stare.
Jane snorted, watching Maura slip the phone into the pocket, trying to be discreet but not really succeeding. "Maura…you ready to get to work or do I need to leave you and your phone alone here. I've got places to be and things to do," Jane shouted, patting her trouser pocket as she felt her phone vibrate inside, indicating a message was received.
Maura ignored Jane until she set out her scene kit and finished taking the specifics of ambient temperature versus body temperature and calculating in her head to get an accurate estimate on the time of death. She penciled in the time on her scene clipboard, her gloved fingers slipping on the slim pencil she clutched in her left hand. When she put the clipboard away, then she glanced up and looked at Jane.
Jane stood off to the side, one of her hands ungloved and her thumb scrolling on her touch-screen phone, which matched Maura's exactly. They purchased the phones at the same company. "Detective, this body isn't going tell you what happened to it, and I doubt that your phone will give you the answers to the crime."
"MMM. What?" Jane smiled as she looked up, her hand quickly slipping her phone back into her pocket as discreetly as possible. She snapped her glove back on as if she had never removed it.
"Jane, when you end up with Hepatitis because you just did that, I am not going to hold your hand why they poke you with many needles at the hospital."
"Hepakack? I'm not gonna get anything. I haven't touched the body yet? Or any of his, stiff parts."
"It appears that he was sexually assaulted, but I won't be sure until I get him unclothed and on the table. Have the Sex crimes unit been notified, or were you planning to send them an email via phone?" Maura said, her voice light and sarcastic as she was able to make it without sounding condescending.
"Okay. Fine. If you must know, I was checking my purrs."
"Your what? You are not telling me that you have a purring phone?"
"No, it's the new way of communicating. The software is called Meow and you send Purrs, uh, notification on the timeline. It's like status updates, the newest thing in digital messaging. People book is so out of date nowadays."
"Oh, you're on Meow too." Maura ducked her head, suddenly wondering if Jane knew that she was also on Meow and Purred on a regular basis. In fact, that's what she was doing when she stepped out the van. Since she signed up for Meow, she rarely left her phone alone, it was with her at all times, even during autopsies. She was border lining on obsession, but she couldn't put the phone down for very long, the addiction to the program was so strong.
"Yeah. I follow the Sox and a few others, mainly cops but a few famous people. There's this one user, name is IncisiveSlices, lives somewhere in Boston and is absolutely hilarious. It doesn't say the gender in the profile, but I'd almost bet female based on the Purrs, because they are full of intelligence in the most endearing of ways. A man that smart would be condescending and a complete ass wipe. But, I love reading her updates," Jane smiled, flipping out her notebook to finish writing down the scene notes, because Maura was right about the body not speaking and solving the crime all on its own. After a few lines, she looked over at Maura and noticed the pale sheen to her normally ruddy complexion.
"Hey Doc. Are you okay? You look a little sick."
Maura shook her head to clear it. "I'm fine. I'll let the transport get him to the morgue. I'll meet you down in the autopsy suite." She shuffled her materials into her case and quickly walked away, not looking Jane in the eyes again until she was seated in the van and staring at Jane over the steering wheel. The deep brown eyes of her friend and colleague looked concerned and confused. Maura looked down at her lap, then reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone, seeing the red light blinking that a message had been received. It was a tail, stuck on the end of her last update.
She exhaled as she unlocked the screen and read the message.
If you have time, I'd like to direct message you and maybe get to know you better, LustriousLead.
With shaking fingers, Maura typed in a response.
I am free this evening. Message me at twenty hundred.
Then she started the car, gazing up once more and only seeing an empty space where Jane once stood. She looked around and after not seeing her, pulled away from the alley, her phone still resting in her lap. As she drove down the street toward the precinct building, her phone bleeped and the message light started to blink. She quickly pulled into the parking lot for the morgue, then eagerly unlocked her phone screen, and reading the message that popped up.
I live in Boston too, so why don't we just meet up and save all this digital shadow, stalking thing for another day. And, I'm not sure I can wait until eight tonight. So, please meet me at the café at the corner of 16th and Sherman. At fourteen hundred. LustriousLead.
The message light blinked again to indicate another incoming message. This message from another one of her Meow followers.
Doc, it's Frost. I'm going to bury Jane's phone in that dead body if you don't take it away from her. She keeps reading the screen and grinning like a nimrod! We just left the scene and we'll be there in a bout twenty minutes.
Maura laughed, typing in a response and still sitting in the van. How did you match the username to me?
A minute later, a response came. Because nobody else speaks the way you do. Easy to figure out. And I am a Detective. Now, please hurry. +Takes phone…smacks Jane+
On the way. Do you think that Jane knows? That it's me?
Bleep. She opened his response and smiled as she read. Nope. She's pretty oblivious to things that are right in front of her face. Quite literally too.
She smiled as she delicately jumped out of the van, slipped the phone back into her pocket, and walked into the building. She kept smiling as she walked down the stairs, ignoring the side long glances that passersby cast her direction. Glancing at her watch, she noted that she had several hours before her café date and wanted to change before meeting her 'date'.
Maura changed into her scrubs and waved at her assistants to get the autopsy suite set up for the pending autopsy on their John Smith. She checked her phone one last time and noticed the message light blinking again. Before she snapped on her gloves and prepared the instrument table, she unlocked the phone and read the message.
Why wait for us to meet in an uncomfortable environment. Look to your left. LustriousLead.
Maura spun around, not quite sure what or who to expect. She focused on the figure standing by the door, her eyes traveling the length of the figure until she reached the pair of eyes staring right back at her, and she met Jane's gaze head on. Jane discreetly slipped her phone back in to her trouser pocket and grinned the biggest smile that Maura had ever seen on.
"So, IncisiveSlices…We meet at last. You know, I've been stalking you for a while now and have been dying to meet you face-to-face."
"Excellent phrasing, LustriousLead," Maura whispered, then gulped. "How long have you known?"
Jane glanced over at the assistants then back to Maura. What she had to say to her friend just couldn't be said in the company of others. "Come over tonight. I'll explain everything. As long as you promise not to citizen arrest me or maybe accost me, I'll tell you about the stalking, the illusive thoughts about who you might be, and more."
"Yes," Maura stuttered, her palms beginning to sweat and her phone starting to slip from her hand.
"And Maura… leave the phone at home," Jane burred, turning on her heel and walking out, almost plowing in to Frost in the process.
Maura nodded then stared at her phone in disbelief, and muttered the only curse her befuddled brain could conjure up.
"Feces," she muttered, her eyes never leaving her phone. Not even when Frost grabbed her shoulders and tried to snap her out of her trance. Then, she smiled a silly smile.
Frost gave Maura another gentle shake, still not able to get her to quit staring at her phone. "Great. What a bunch of…" he mumbled, spinning around and leaving Maura where she stood. "I told Jane not to buy that stupid, portable, stalking device. But did she listen, did either of them listen to me… Oh, No! Well, Jane caused this, so she can snap her out of it. I've got a case to solve." He slipped his own phone back into his pocket, secretly smirking at his success in bringing his two best friends together.
She had promised Frost before she left the station that she'd turn off her Purrs update ringer the minute she stepped into her apartment. And with a sad expression, she had upheld her promise, leaving her free from her tether to the digital world of Meow. But more importantly, she was cut off from Maura, the profile Maura had created within the digital realm that was so different from the stoic woman Jane worked with.
In a fit of insecurity, Jane had stopped by the morgue to tell Maura to give her an hour to get things settled and then to stop by if she still wanted to. Maura was still in the same dazed mindset as when Jane left her two hours prior, and she nodded meekly in agreement in Jane's direction, her eyes focused elsewhere. Jane stood frozen and waited for more of an answer then just the nod, but none came. Accepting that answer, Jane left the morgue for a second time during the working shift, she noticed Maura started clicking her pen, a nervous habit she tried to hide but wasn't sly enough to hide it from Jane, and frequently staring at her phone, which set off to the side right beside her keyboard. In her eyes, Jane noticed curiosity and something deeper.
A short knock on the door, quiet and tentative, stirred Jane from her thoughts. She bolted to her feet and rushed over to the door. After several deep breaths, she opened it.
"Hey Jane," Maura whispered, "or perhaps I should say, LustriousLead." Then she winked.
Jane jumped back, tugging the door wide open. "Come in. I just walked in a minute ago."
Maura walked in, gazing at Jane then at the couch and the two empty beer bottles on the coffee table, which sat right next to Jane's beloved phone. "I've been standing at your door for about ten minutes, so I know that's a lie."
"Uh…I. Hmm. Okay, yeah so what? Maybe it was a fib, but come on." Jane shut the door, perhaps harder than necessary after Maura had cleared the impact zone. "You're a whole different person, Maura? "
"I'm the same person. I just.." Maura moved over and sat in the exact same place that Jane had just vacated, turning to keep Jane in her vision. "I feel free online. If people don't like me online then that's okay, because the chance of meeting any of my followers is twelve percent."
"And what about me? I follow you and we work together. It took me a day or two, but I figured out who you are by your damn accurate descriptions. Nobody can turn a phrase the way you can, Maura. Even if you're only allowed a hundred characters to do it in."
"I learned to be succinct. When I first signed on, nobody followed me, then I had follow requests and then more the next day," Maura said, smiling a half smile at Jane. "I learned what people enjoyed reading and what they disliked, and adjusted to fit the status quo."
Jane smiled in spite of the intense conversation, and moved to sit beside Maura, turning so that their eyes met. "I love your purrs. You caught my attention right away. And as I said, it took me a day or two to figure out that IncisiveSlices is you. You did fool me for a little bit if that makes any difference to you. Once I did figure it all out, I wasn't sure how to act around you at work. I saw you with your heels and scalpel, then I imagined IncisiveSlices and what I thought was two, very different and separate individuals merged into one. Meanwhile, the real Maura, wanted to hang out and act as she always has." Jane inhaled deeply, then continued, "when I wanted to take the digital Maura out for a drink and see her smile while telling me a funny joke. And then, I wanted to take her home…to my place, and to my bed."
"Oh…"
"It became confusing for me. Especially when I went back and read your previous purrs, and how most of them had to do with women and your perception of the female form…and your attraction to it, to the perfection of the soft, supple curve of hip and breast." Jane swallowed, then muttered, "uh, so I'm sorry."
"You paid that close of attention to my purrs?"
"I did. Very close attention. I confess." Jane held up her hand in oath, a smile curving her lips upward. "I do solemnly swear that I did stalk you, IncisiveSlices, and think of you almost every minute of every day since the beginning of our digital bonding."
"Detective, you shouldn't confess without your legal counsel present. What if I prosecute you for harassment?"
Jane dropped her hand down to her lap, then reached over and grasped Maura's folded together fingers, separating them and intertwining her fingers with one hand, squeezing the warm flesh gently. "Then I guess you send me to jail and we end our digital affair before it even progresses to real life. Not to mention, never seeing one another again." She bounced her knee, making their hands bounce too. "I'd miss you if you did that, Maura."
"I would definitely miss you. I've become used to seeing you at work and chatting with you online. The cops will definitely take away your phone when they arrest you."
"The hell they will," Jane said, reaching out to cover her phone with her hand. "Anybody other than myself or possibly you touches this phone, and they'll lose a finger or two."
Maura laughed at Jane's serious tone, and reached out to pat Jane's outstretched hand. "I know exactly how you feel." She smiled, then husked, "now that you have me here, what do you intend to do with me, Detective? I turned off my phone as you requested."
The tone of Maura's voice sent shivers down Jane's spine. She quit staring at her phone and turned to stare at Maura, her eyes drooping sensually as arousal rocketed through her system. "I intend to make you purr, Doctor."
"You do, huh?" Maura leaned close to Jane, their lips almost touching. "You already make me purr, Jane. You just didn't know how much or how loud." She brushed her fingertips along Jane's jaw and kissed her softly. When the kiss ended, she stayed close and said, "take me to your bed…and show me how fast your fingers can be when not typing."
Jane stared with glazed eyes at the woman beside her. "Yes."
"Come on." Maura set her phone down on top of Jane's, then tugged Jane up from the couch and toward the bedroom without a backward glance.
Jane turned at the bedroom door and whispered, "I hope you turned off your location feature on your Meow profile, because it was on." She smiled, then backed up, pulling Maura into the room with her until she hit the bed. They fell back onto the covers, Maura on top of Jane.
Maura gasped, her mouth right next to Jane's ear. "There's a location feature?"
"Yes…it tells all your followers exactly where you are when you send out your purrs. Like a GPS feature."
Maura laughed, her hands sliding under the waistband of Jane's trousers. "Nice work, Detective. That's how you figured it out. And Frost too, no doubt."
"Perhaps."
"Now, Frost knows I'm here with you…" Maura stroked Jane's hips with her thumbs, arousing and soothing her.
"Hmm," Jane murmured, reaching up to silence Maura with a kiss.
Maura returned the kiss with fervor, her soft moan turning into a purr of contentment, her thigh slipping between Jane's to begin to return the feeling, and fully intending to make Jane purr in pleasure.