Disclaimer: All recognizable Rizzoli & Isles characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners including, but not limited to Janet Tamaro, TNT or Tess Gerritsen. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this fan fiction story. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No financial gain is associated with the publishing of this story. No copyright infringement is intended.

Author's Note: I hope that this all fits together in a coherent series. I imagined these pieces alone, really, and then decided that if put together based on the human senses, it could make an actual series. As I said in my A/N for "Touch," I've never done a series before. Please bear with me. I give you "Sound," the third installment in the Senses universe. See "Scent" and "Touch" for more. Or enjoy this on its own. -dkc

Sound

Maura sat on her couch for not more than a half hour before she received a text from Jane.

"I'm sorry."

She should have seen this coming. It isn't every Friday that she ends up on her back on the couch with Jane's hand under her shirt. Of course Jane would be freaking out right about now.

"You have absolutely nothing to apologize for."

How was Maura Isles, the woman who couldn't lie without breaking out in hives, going to say to Jane that it was okay that things ended the way they had. She had no problem with what happened on her couch, in fact, quite the opposite. She was toeing a delicate line here and she felt it.

"We don't do that..." came Jane's next message.

Maura's mind went over all of the things recently that they didn't exactly "do" but had done. It seemed to start with a simple kiss on the cheek. How it went from there to Jane's hand slipping between her thighs at dinner one night, she had no idea. What she knew was she wished they did do exactly this.

"Just because we don't doesn't mean we can't."

After hitting send, the honey blonde walked over to the kitchen to fetch a very cold glass of water. She felt as if she might need to stand with her head in the freezer to cool down completely. There was a longer wait between Jane's texts and when the next one came, it was clear they would need to really talk about this.

"?" was all it said.

After Jane's question, Maura returned to the couch she had been unceremoniously abandoned not even an hour before. Across town at her apartment, Jane was pacing as she tried to mentally prepare for what might be coming.

Still she was startled when her phone rang.

"Hey," she answered with a weary voice.

"Hi."

"I'm sorry I took off like that and after I... I was mortified," she let out a heavy breath.

"Stop apologizing, Jane. It's okay."

"We don't do that, Maur. I don't know what I was thinking—what I've been thinking. And I was so embarrassed. I couldn't face you."

"What do you want?" the doctor asked without skipping a beat.

"Hmm?" Jane hadn't followed.

"What is it you really want? You can't tell me tonight was a one-off and has nothing to do with what you want. I know better than that"

Jane's frustration could be heard in her voice.

"Our friendship, Maura. Our intact friendship."

Maura sighed. Anymore the term friendship came loosely defined.

"And nothing else?" She asked. "I have a hard time believing that especially having experienced your hands on me."

Jane groaned. The mere touch of Maura's skin still had her adrenaline pumping.

It wasn't what was said next that mattered, it was what was left out in the long silence over the phone line.

"I want it to be what we do. I want to feel your skin against mine without having to run afterward. I want to be unapologetic."

"Jane..." Maura's voice was deeper now and airy. Jane's words affected her easily.

None of this came as a surprise. Not to either of them. Not anymore.

"God, do you know what it's like to hear your voice like that and have to be restrained?" Jane's own voice was raspy and deep.

"Something like when you touch me and I am expected not to react or plead for more?" Maura was coy.

"Are we talking about tonight or the restaurant?" she wondered aloud.

"Mmm...either...both. Though the moment on the couch could have led further more easily given how your family didn't surround us this time. However, your hand was closer to my sex in the restaurant."

Jane could do nothing but groan at this point. The way Maura spoke so candidly about these things usually made her uncomfortable. Right now she was finding it purely arousing.

"How can something so unexpected be met with such anticipation?" Maura's smile at the noise emitted by Jane was replaced by seriousness. "I never would have thought watching a movie with you one minute could lead to that the next."

"What? You've not thought about your best friend feeling you up on the couch in the middle of a documentary about manta rays?" Jane chuckled.

Lying back down on the couch, as she had been earlier with Jane, Maura's hand fell to her belly, wandering both higher and lower, the very path that scarred, gentle hand had taken previously. Jane's hoarse laugh urged on the growing flush across Maura's body.

"Fantasies and expectations aren't the same, Jane."

At hearing this, Jane finally collapsed on her bed.

"You fantasized about me doing...that?" she asked.

"Not exactly like that, no, but I can be nothing but honest and say similar thoughts have crossed my mind," the M.E.'s hand was now underneath the cotton of her shirt. "Especially since the restaurant."

Jane's heart now raced, her stomach dipping and other parts of her beginning to be made known.

"For a few hours I had to remind myself that what I did in the restaurant was real. I suspect I'll have to do the same when I think about what happened tonight," she managed to get the words out.

"You know one way for the reminder to be less necessary?"

She didn't give Jane a chance to answer, as she was afraid she might lose her nerve.

"To do it again," she said. "Among other things that would solidify the reality of these occurrences."

Jane hummed involuntarily. She realized then that she had begun playing with her waistband. She was desperate for relief from the needs of her body, yet intrigued by the slow wind up Maura's voice was providing her.

"So, you're suggesting I sneak my fingers beneath your shirt the next time it rides up just enough to tempt me with the soft, warm skin beneath? And what then?" she continued. "Should I explore with hesitation until I find a pattern that is suitable while I listen to your breathing to confirm that not only do you like my hands teasingly close to your perked up nipples, but you want my hands to devour you?"

The slight tremor in Jane's voice only added to the immense turn on of her words. The doctor let out a shuddered breath as she allowed her hand to travel south.

"Have you always known what your voice does to me?" Maura managed to say.

"What's that?" Jane played dumb.

"A moderate increase in heart rate; Flushing of my face, neck and upper torso due to an uptick in blood pressure; An obvious flutter slightly beneath my abdomen; The influx of lubrication preparing my—"

"Fuck, Maur!" Jane cut her off with the raspy curse. "I didn't think you'd take me on a tour of your anatomy. Don't get me wrong, I do love your anatomy."

At this Maura smiled. She could hear the arousal lacing the detective's voice. And she understood why Jane would be set on edge by the conversation. They were nearing a point of no return. She didn't want to push, not while they were in uncharted territory.

"Can I see you in the morning?" Jane's voice had mellowed slightly.

"Of course, you never have to ask. Coffee and breakfast?" she offered.

"Yes," Jane smiled. "I'll bring the croissants."

"I'll see you in the morning then," Maura was slightly disappointed that their conversation was ending so quickly, but she understood why it needed to. "Oh, Jane?"

The way Maura spoke her name sometimes made Jane a puddle of emotions and hormones. This was one of those times.

"Yeah?" she croaked out.

"Thank you for what I suspect will be a very difficult night of falling asleep."

Maura's voice oozed sex. There was no apology needed for what Jane had done and no further comment needed from either of them. They would see each other in the morning.

…

"Hey."

Jane's voice was a sexy combination of gravel and leather as she stood just inside the door from Maura's courtyard in her kitchen holding a box of fresh croissants.

Maura's face lit up at the arrival of the woman who, less than 10 hours before, had been exploring her body with gentle and exacting hands. She felt a slight blush develop on her cheeks.

"Good morning, Jane," she made up for her physical reaction and the shyness in her voice by concentrating on tightening the sash of her silk robe.

She had every intention of being dressed for breakfast before Jane arrived, but after their phone conversation, sleep had eluded her. She hadn't woke up in time to do anything but brush her teeth, wash her face, throw her hair into a messy twist and put on her robe over her pajamas.

"You look like you just woke up," Jane said with a smirk. She knew why Maura hadn't slept well and found the thought exciting.

"Imagine that."

The flirtation in their voices was already at a level that often took some time to build to. They were beginning their morning exactly where their night both together and on the phone had ended, minus the location of wandering hands.

Taking several steps toward Maura, Jane placed the croissants on the counter. She then reached for two coffee mugs from the cupboard before turning to find the doctor's eyes on her. She smiled at this, though said nothing. Sometimes it was what wasn't said and these two women had mastered that art.

"Let me start the coffee," Maura's voice was suddenly uncharacteristically anxious.

She turned her back to Jane and seemed to busy herself with the coffee maker as a way of slowing her heart rate and getting her body and voice back in her control.

She gasped in surprise and a touch of something else when Jane stepped in behind her and more or less caged her in between outstretched arms and the countertop. No part of their body actually touched, but that didn't matter.

The deep rasp of the detective's voice had Maura immediately captivated.

"You look nice in that robe," she spoke.

All Maura could do was hope to breathe and not melt.

"As many times as I've seen you in this, I've never told you that," she whispered not far from the doctor's earlobe. "What is wrong with me?"

Taking a deep breath, Maura urged the words to form: "Here I was worried you'd be put off that I hadn't woke up in time to dress."

"Hmm...put off? Hardly," Jane replied. "Quite the opposite."

It was here that Jane's voice began dripping with arousal. She had the ability to express so much with the tone of her beautiful voice. Both women knew she had the power to bring Maura to her knees with her voice alone. This was well established.

"Jane..." Maura's own voice shook.

And then the worst possible thing happened. The sound of the handle on the kitchen door broke through the quiet of the house. Jane took a step back just as Angela Rizzoli walked into the kitchen.

"Hi, girls," she greeted them as she moved to the cupboard for a cup. "You're getting a slow start this morning. No plans today?"

The look on Jane's face was one of disappointment and fury. She was about to open her mouth when Maura reached for her wrist, both stopping her and calming her with a single touch.

"I was thinking the house might need a little tidying before dinner tomorrow night, Angela," Maura did not betray the feelings still streaking through her. "Do you know who will be joining us this week?"

Jane hadn't even thought about it being Saturday, much less any thought of Sunday's family dinner. Needless to say, she had been quite distracted lately.

"I suspect Frankie and Vince. Perhaps we should invite Barry? Tommy is working. Oh, perhaps Lydia. You know I was thinking it would be a good week to make some fresh fettuccine. It's been awhile since I've made pasta and..."

Angela continued on about dinner while Maura waited for the coffee machine, her eyes on Jane.

This would not be the end of what they had started this morning.

Whether in their professional capacities as Detective Rizzoli and Dr. Isles or in their personal lives as Jane and Maura, there was no shortage of things the two women could say with their eyes alone. Never was this truer than as they sat down for breakfast.

Angela's timing was more powerful than a cold shower and a strong cup of coffee.

…

"What did it feel like for you? In the restaurant," Maura asked.

The two women had escaped to Maura's bedroom eventually so the woman could get dressed. Jane had followed for the purpose of getting away from her mother. Now she sat on the doctor's bed, flipping through a magazine as the other woman looked through her closet for something to wear.

"Hmm..." Jane's attention piqued. "Oh. Tingly. Heart-racing. Excitement, but you know, calmed by how steady you are. Warm. No, hot."

She had rattled these things off almost without feeling until she looked up to find darkened pupils and the hint of a smile on Maura's face.

"What made you make the move in the restaurant?" Maura had now stilled in the closet doorway, her fingers on the knot of her robe. Her mind had gone back to sitting at TJ's birthday party and feeling Jane's hand on her thighs, slipping barely between her legs. Enough to get Maura incredibly turned on.

"I honestly don't know," was the response she received.

"You've seen my legs, Jane," Maura smiled as she undid the sash and opened her robe. "You've even seen more of my thighs than that."

Jane was stunned. She was able to eventually shake her head, knowing fully well she had seen nearly every inch of her best friend's tantalizing body, she still didn't know the answer.

"There was something about the way your thighs came together. I had to know what it felt like..." she looked down in shy embarrassment, trailing off.

"Between my legs?" Maura's eyebrow lifted, a sly look emerging on her face.

"God," Jane put down the magazine and rubbed her face. "That wasn't what I meant."

Maura stepped toward Jane to prevent her from pulling away from the conversation.

"No, I know you didn't," she used a calming voice. "But didn't you wonder, Jane?"

"Wonder what?" she looked up and found Maura's eyes drawing her in.

The medical examiner's voice became serious and sultry then. It was enough to make a better woman than Jane beg.

"What it felt like between my legs? Higher," she took the robe off entirely. "An inch or two above where you were touching. Weren't you curious?"

"Maur..." her own voice was sandpaper.

"Hmm?" Maura not so subtly looked down to see her nipples were peeking through the silk pajama top.

"I was," Jane hummed, she could hardly focus on speaking when she, too, was noticing the two buds poking against Maura's top. "I am. I have been for years."

"I told you, it's your voice. It does things to me."

Things indeed.

Jane stood and approached Maura. A scarred hand caught Maura's jaw, rising to frame her face and tilt it up toward her own. She knew that this conversation was bound to happen. Even before the restaurant. She gave herself a moment to read hazel eyes before pressing her lips to Maura's. Like many a touch of late, the kiss was an answer to an unspoken question.

It wasn't always what was articulated that had the biggest effect.

Angela's voice bellowed from downstairs, asking for Jane's help carrying a box that they were then going to deliver to Frankie's.

"I swear to God!" Jane clenched her jaw and pulled back.

"Hey…" Maura took a hand into her own and gave it a firm squeeze. "We'll see each other tonight, Jane."

"Has it always been so hard to focus when you say my name?" Jane joked.

At this Maura leaned in, her lips brushing Jane's cheek as they arrived near her ear.

She whispered, "I could say other things that would render you completely unable to move, speak or breathe. Trust me."

And Jane moaned.

It wasn't the first time Maura had heard Jane moan, but it was the first time in this context and from her own words. It was the most beautiful sound in the world. She didn't even need to hear all the rest of the sounds that she had yet to experience out there. She knew that in this moment she had heard the one sound that eclipsed them all.

"Funny, it seems I am the one that just rendered you speechless, Dr. Isles."

Chuckling, Jane leaned forward to press a kiss to Maura's forehead. She released the doctor's hand and moved to the door.

"Tonight?" she asked.

All Maura could do was nod.

-finis-