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: The season finale "5:26" (06x12) begged for fics. Originally, rather than venture into the territory of what happens next to Maura and whether Jane finds her (of course she does), I wanted to expand on two particular scenes that were so completely Rizzles that they hardly could be considered subtext. You know the two I'm talking about—both took place in Maura's office. But over time as I thought about this storyline in the show more, I decided that single-shot missing scenes weren't enough. I decided to give you my take on what happens next. I relied heavily on the on-screen dialogue. I know a few readers have a problem with that and that's okay. If it's not your thing, don't read it. Enjoy! –dkc

The Beauty of the New Maura Isles

Maura had watched the video of the arsonist outside Jane's condo repeatedly. She couldn't tear herself away from it. Whether she was hoping it would expose some sick joke rather than a real life threat, she wasn't sure.

"This is terrible," her voice was laced with worry. "Oh my God, Jane."

The exhausted detective stood before the doctor's desk, arms crossed, shaking her head. The last thing she wanted was to worry her best friend.

"Don't panic," Jane said with zero ability to support that request.

"Too late!" Maura protested.

Tapping in the commands to restart the clip, Maura insisted on seeing it again. Jane immediately went to the laptop and wrestled away the M.E.'s hands before closing the lid.

"Too much screen time is bad for you," Jane's voice revealed how tired and concerned she really was. "Take a break. Go cut up a body."

Turning her back to the obviously panicking doctor, Jane didn't know how to handle any of this.

"They said your apartment burned down because of faulty wiring," Maura was attempting to use the facts to understand something so terrifying.

"They did," Jane turned back, her arms again crossed.

"But this is arson."

"It was."

"And you're not worried?"

The incredulous look on Dr. Isles' face was one Jane couldn't take. Of course she was worried. She was every possible kind of worried. What she wasn't, in the patented Jane Rizzoli way, was willing to allow her best friend to lose sleep over this, too. She wanted to protect Maura from it however she could.

"Someone picked my very good lock," she sighed. "Look, if they wanted to hurt me they would have broken in while I was home."

Way to go, Jane, she thought. Way to say exactly the wrong thing.

"And these are the thoughts that give you comfort?" Maura was increasingly angry to match her worry.

"Yeah," Jane lied.

"So what about the hacking?" Maura returned to the facts. "Or the damage to your credit? Or the accounts being closed?"

Answer this very carefully, Jane thought before speaking. "They are open again. And I have a shiny new credit card."

An unconvinced Maura opened her laptop once again, her irritation with Jane's imperviousness evident. Jane reached down for the computer again, pushing to close it.

"Maura," she used a soft, but serious tone.

"Jane, someone burned down your apartment," her hands were flat on the closed computer lid, using her splayed fingers to accent her point. She was using a voice quality that was almost as if she was speaking to a child who couldn't understanding the seriousness of the situation.

"Yes, and then they told me about it," Jane was annoyed.

"Okay, so what else are they going to tell you about?" Maura leaned back in her chair, disgusted.

"Well, I don't know, Maura, but I'm sure it's going to be worse!" the detective had raised her voice slightly and put passion behind her words. "Isn't that what you're thinking? Because that's what I'm thinking. That's what I lie awake thinking about every night!"

"Okay, I'm sorry," the doctor stood from her desk and dropped her tone. "I'm sorry, Jane. I did not mean to upset you."

Jane's shoulders loosened and she turned away once again leaving Maura leaning on the hands she'd placed on the top of her desk.

"Well, I'm already upset. I'm not going to quit my job," she swung her arms down as she turned back to look at the standing doctor. "Then the bad guy wins."

The weight of it all set in for Maura. She put a hand to her forehead and sighed.

"This is just a horrible burden on you," she paused, "I'm, I'm sure on Frankie and Angela."

This got Jane's attention immediately and brought the detective quickly to the desk, an outstretched arm stopping the very thought after it had already escaped Maura's lips.

"No, no, no, no, no," she insisted. "She can't know about this."

"What do you mean? You have to tell her."

"No, I don't. And neither do you. And you're not going to. That's why I'm showing you this now so you can get ready."

The way Jane looked at Maura told the doctor where this was going and she was resistant.

"Well, I can't lie!"

"Yes, you can. That's the beauty of the new you."

"I can try," Maura turned her head and refused to meet Jane's dark chocolate eyes that she had felt on her since the moment she had mentioned Angela's name.

"I have confidence in you," Jane said without much confidence at all.

Maura gave Jane a look that made the detective's skin crawl. It was the look Maura reserved for when she didn't believe Jane for a second or didn't appreciate one bit what the detective was asking her to do. In this case, the look seemed to reflect both.

Maura's phone buzzed on her desk, taking away her attention from the argument at hand.

"Isles," she sighed, never dropping eye contact with Jane. If looks could kill, there would have been a DOA in her office that very moment.

Jane turned, drooping her skinny shoulders and sighing herself.

"On my way," Maura spoke.

When the doctor had hung up the phone, Jane could tell Maura felt defeated. She knew it with as much certainty as she knew she was the reason for it.

"Homicide," Maura explained as she picked up her keys and moved around the desk.

Jane was confused. Why didn't she get a call? As Maura made her way to the door of her office, Jane looked at her phone to make sure it was still working. She put it to her ear and even shook it. No call.

As she headed for the door she stopped just short of running right into Maura who had stopped in the doorway, looking back at her.

"Jane."

From time to time Maura Isles spoke Jane's name with every emotion in her body. This was one of those times.

"Yeah," Jane tilted her head to the side and looked into the intense hazel eyes that she had relied on for strength in many situations like this one.

"It's going to be okay," the doctor spoke. "You're going to be okay."

Detective Rizzoli offered her patented smirk.

"This new you that can lie makes me question whether you're saying that to make me feel better or because you actually believe it."

Maura didn't know whether the former or the latter was true. However, she wanted Jane to be confident in her own safety.

"I believe in you," is what she decided was neither one nor the other.

She smiled and made her may toward the elevator.

…

When Maura realized that Jane's lock had been bumped and they were dealing with an experienced criminal and not your average arsonist, she knew something had to be done to protect Jane. The only way she knew to do it was to present Sergeant Detective Korsak with the facts and options of protection. It would take finding the watch inside of the heroin balloon for Korsak to take Maura's idea seriously.

She had snapped at Frankie. She was on edge.

When Jane arrived in Maura's office without saying anything, the doctor merely watched her settle on the couch. Sometimes it was better they not say anything and given their off-and-on argument about Jane's safety that led to Boris, this might be one of those times. However, Maura couldn't stomach quiet. Not when Jane's life was in danger—again.

"You look tired," she broke the silence gently. "You want to rest on my couch? I can go work in the lab."

"No, no," she sighed, her arms across her chest defensively, dejectedly. "I'd just lay here and think."

"About?" as the question exited the M.E.'s mouth she realized how ridiculous it was.

"Oh, I don't know," Jane sat up from her slumped position, her hands going to her face and then her temples, attempting to rub away the tension. "Hate letters and revenge emails and arson and hacking and murder and the watch. I don't know."

It had been a long time since Maura had seen Jane like this. She closed her laptop and put her palms against her cheeks, elbows sustaining the weight of her tired head.

"Take a guess. Don't be me."

"I just don't know if it's worth it, you know?" she leaned back against the couch, crossing her arms and legs as if those two motions would protect her from whatever was out there trying to ruin her.

"Putting together the clues?" Maura didn't follow.

"No, the…the job."

Stunned. Somehow managing to hang onto the cup of tea in her hands.

"Your job?" she sought clarification.

"Yeah, it's…the stress of it all for everyone, you know? Me, Ma, Frankie." What wasn't said and perhaps never needed to be was Maura. Maura was her person. Maura was the most important person in her life.

"Wow," Maura said, getting up from her desk and walking over closer to where her conflicted best friend was slumped on the couch.

"You sure you don't feel like doing something else? Something that doesn't involve dead bodies?"

Maura sat in the chair opposite Jane, mimicking the leg crossing of the detective.

"Sure. I'd like to get an engineering degree and work for Elon Musk on SpaceX," she considered it further. "Or move to Maine and write mystery novels."

Jane leaned back into the couch, her head tilted to watch the doctor as she talked about all of these things she would do if she were no longer a medical examiner. She found it adorable the variety of things Maura would take up.

"Sometimes I imagine being the person who makes up the names for colors in the catalogues," she smiled, her singular dimple on display.

Maura rattled off a few imaginary color names, smirking at her cleverness after each. Jane managed a smile and turned her head to look at the ceiling.

"You?" Maura asked Jane.

"No, I can't think of any other life," she answered honestly. Her life was here, doing this work, with Maura.

"Well, that's not true," Maura shook her head.

"It is. I mean, I could always see more Red Sox games, but I can do that now with better planning,"

Maura started to speak and then stopped herself.

"You're in the middle of a crisis," she said, "and contrary to the worldview of romance novels and Elizabeth Gilbert, right now's not a good time to make decisions."

"Who's Elizabeth Gilbert?" Jane scrunched up her forehead in confusion.

"Eat, Pray, Love."

"Oh, God," groaned the cop.

"Maybe it would help if you leaned in to the discomfort," Maura said like she was a shrink.

"In the same way you lean into your stilettos?" Jane wasn't convinced.

"Yes!" she was impressed, but then realized the comparison didn't quite work. ''Except the leaning in you're about to do doesn't make your butt look great."

Coy Maura was sexy Maura.

"It doesn't make anything look great."

Jane was scared.

Taking a deep breath and standing from the couch with no real idea of how she would go forward, she told Maura she would let her get back to work. As she passed the end of the couch, Maura's hand reached out for hers, stopping her from getting out the door.

"No, Jane, come on. Stay."

"No, I'm okay," she shrugged her off.

"Jane." This time Maura's voice stopped the tall detective in the doorway.

All she did was tilt her head, her eyes never leaving her best friend and the question was asked.

"I'm okay," Jane answered. "Really."

Not even the slight, grateful smile she gave Maura could convince the doctor that she was actually okay.

As Jane made for the door once more, Maura stood from her chair and stopped Jane. She maneuvered the lean detective to the side as she closed the door to her office.

"Maur…" Jane shook her head. "You don't have to tell me that everything is going to be okay. You don't have to lie to me. I know it's hard for you."

Maura's hand was on the cop's bicep.

"I wasn't going to say anything about it turning out okay," she responded, her eyes staring into Jane's. "I wasn't going to say anything at all."

Jane's furrowed brow expressed her confusion. Her curiosity was answered when Maura's arms wrapped around her. It was a warm, comforting embrace. This was an entirely different kind of leaning in than what Maura had suggested.

A deep sigh escaped Jane's lips.

The shorter woman pulled back to look at Jane once more. There was something there that couldn't quite be read. She kept arms wrapped around the detective's neck, unsure of what to do or say.

And then she saw it. The detective's dark brown eyes dropped for a split second, taking in the medical doctor's perfectly shaped lips. She knew immediately what was to come. It followed as it should—Jane tilted her head and leaned forward to press a gentle kiss to Maura's lips.

It was the kind of kiss that lingered, never pressing for more and never wanting to let go.

"Whatever happens," Maura whispered as their lips parted and their foreheads came together, "I'm here. I'm always here for you."

"I know," Jane sighed again.

What wasn't said out loud was certainly implied in the way they held each other in that moment. They loved each other and whatever happened, they were in this together. Maura could only hope that Jane would be okay.

…

Jane's head lay on her hand, the very hand that covered Maura's on the hospital bed. The doctor was asleep; her mind still clouded by whatever he had drugged her with. She hadn't woken since she arrived at the emergency room.

The detective's elation at finding her mother safe at home, at Maura's home, was quickly eclipsed by the realization that the arsonist who was hunting her had gone after the person that meant the most to her in the world. Maura.

God, what was I thinking? Jane continued to beat herself up. Of course he would go after Maura. Maura is everything to me.

"I'm so sorry," Jane whispered, tears streaming down her face.

The doctor's face was bruised, her eyes puffy. There was a bandage on her head and Jane knew they were keeping an eye on any potential swelling. And yet somehow, despite the bandage, the bruises, the hospital gown, the IV and other medical equipment, Maura remained strikingly beautiful. Still, it broke her heart to see Maura like this. It was absolutely crushing.

Jane had lifted her head to watch Maura's face when she felt the slight twitch beneath her hand. Maura was waking up.

Standing half way and moving closer to the doctor, a move she was able to make because she had put the bed rail down to allow the closeness she had been taking advantage of, Jane watched as movement began behind Maura's eyelids. It was only a matter of seconds before confused hazel eyes were peering out.

"Jane…" the voice was muffled and shakey.

"I'm here," Jane cried. "You're okay. You're in the hospital. It's all over."

Memories were finding their way through the haze and recognition of what she had been through appeared in the bruised and battered features of the M.E.'s face.

"Am I?" she questioned, her eyes begging Jane to tell her that she really was okay.

"They said you have a moderate concussion and they're watching you for a hema-something-er-other," Jane explained.

"Hematoma," Maura offered her own explanation. "In this case probably an intracranial epidural hematoma. It's when blood is released into surrounding tissue between skull and the outer lining of the brain."

A grin and tears graced Jane's face.

"God, I didn't know if I'd ever hear that googlemouth again. Your brain is going to be just fine."

Attempting to bring herself to a better angle for sitting, Maura felt a sharp pain in her pelvis. She was immediately fearful and worried.

"Was I…Did he?" Maura's eyes searched Jane's for answers as she worried about what those answers might be.

"No," Jane spoke firmly. "Your hip is bruised, that's all. He didn't..."

Neither woman could speak the words. Maura was relieved both that she hadn't been sexually assaulted and that she didn't have to go into the details of a potential assault with Jane. A tear slipped from the corner of her eye.

"I'm so sorry, Maur," Jane began to cry. "I'm so sorry."

She leaned into the woman, her forehead against the space between Maura's shoulder and breast. Sobs escaped her.

"Jane," Maura was surprised at her friend's breakdown. "It's okay, I'm okay."

Shaking her head against the blonde's body, Jane continued to cry. It would be a full minute before she got her sobs under control enough to speak again.

"I should have known. I should have known that he'd come after you," she cried. "I should have known and I should have protected you."

Tears welled in Maura's eyes and all she could do was bring the hand Jane had been holding earlier up to cradle the detective's head against her. How would she ever get Jane to forgive herself? How would they ever be the same? She knew Jane would blame herself unceasingly.

"You couldn't have known," Maura hummed against the top of dark waves.

"I should have," Jane's voice was serious and certain now. "Of course he would try to take the one person away from me that would hurt me the most."

"You couldn't have known," she repeated. "It could have been any of us."

Jane's head snapped up, her dark, reddened eyes staring into Maura's with a ferocity that could not be understated.

"No," she was emphatic.

Maura's eyebrows furrowed. Was it futile to attempt to get Jane to believe this?

What is she not saying? she thought.

"You are—" she was cut off by the doctor entering the room.

"Ms. Isles," he greeted her with a smile.

"Dr. Isles," Jane corrected him forcefully.

"Oh, yes, I see here on your chart that you're a pathologist," he didn't say it disparagingly so Jane let it go. "We've looked at your recent scans and it appears that your concussion has not caused any bleeding or swelling of the brain."

Maura nodded her understanding.

"Honestly, my right greater trochanter is more sore at the moment than my head," she told him.

Jane raised an eyebrow not knowing what the hell Maura had just told the doctor.

"You've had your share of pharmaceuticals in your system, your head will likely ache later. We'll keep an eye on that hip," his smile was reassuring. "Now, we'd like to wait a bit and do one more scan to ensure there isn't late swelling, but overall I think you could go home tonight as long as you have someone to keep a close eye on you. You, of course, know what to watch for with a concussion."

"I'll be with her," Jane inserted.

The look Maura gave her was one of gratitude, certainly not one of surprise. Of course Jane would be with her.

The doctor nodded, checked the monitors for the most current vitals and reached out to shake Maura's hand. It felt strange to be meeting the man for the first time when Maura knew he had already spent time treating her.

"She's lucky to have you, Detective," he said as he reached out for Jane's hand, too.

The tears were building as was the shame and guilt that came along with his words. Jane was sure that her actions led directly to Maura's being here and she couldn't let up on herself for it.

"Jane…" Maura's voice was soft and kind, speaking only once the doctor had left the room and closed the door.

The brunette shook her head and wiped angrily at the few tears that had fallen.

"This isn't your fault," Maura insisted.

"You did everything you could to protect me, Maur," Jane rasped. "And where was I? Where the hell was I?"

Seeing Jane broken like this was causing the doctor another wave of emotions. She didn't know how to do the healing she needed to going forward with Jane trapped in this place of self-blame and hatred. She reached for Jane's hand, gripping it with as little strength was necessary given the IV still attached to her, and brought it up to her mouth where she kissed it gently. Her eyes never left those sad brown eyes that she had looked in so many times before.

"Listen to me," she began, placing their now entwined hands on the bed railing. "This isn't going to be easy to heal from. The physical, yes, these are merely bruises. The psychological, I can only presume, will be much more difficult. I need my strong, supportive best friend. I need the Detective Jane Rizzoli who would run through a wall without questioning it. I need you, Jane, in one piece, whole. I need you."

Her jaw clenching as she attempted to still the tears that kept falling, Jane dropped her head to their hands on the bed as if she were offering a prayer of penance.

Finally looking up at Maura, Jane saw forgiveness in the doctor's eyes. She was reminded that this Maura, the Maura who had admitted to her that she had kept her father's adultery from her mother for years and couldn't tell a lie as an adult because of it, was still the beautifully honest woman she had always been. A white lie?—sure. But when it came to the things that mattered, Jane firmly believed that this woman could not lie. The forgiveness etched in hazel was real.

"Thank you," Jane whispered.

A knock at the door broke the moment being shared between them. Looking toward the small glass window on the door, Jane saw her younger brother. He tilted his head in a way that suggested he needed to speak to her.

"Ma and Frankie are here," she told the doctor.

Maura took a deep breath, preparing herself for the onslaught of worry and compassion that she would soon face.

"Could you give me a minute?" she asked Jane who of course understood what Maura needed and why. She was a Rizzoli, after all. She knew how overwhelming the rest of the Rizzolis could be.

"Yeah, I'll stall 'em," she winked.

Giving one last squeeze to Maura's hand, Jane stood and found her feet rooted to the ground. It was causing her pain to leave the M.E.

Leaning down, Jane pressed a very gentle kiss to Maura's bruised brow. She then moved slowly toward the door where she paused, almost as if she had forgotten how to use the door handle.

"Jane?" Maura had caught the hesitance.

"I…" she turned away from the door, noticing for the first time how small and broken Maura appeared in her hospital bed. "I love you."

For the first time since she had woken, the doctor's face lit up.

"I know."

This made the detective smile, too. The beauty of the new Maura Isles wasn't that she could now tell a lie like the rest of the human race. The beauty of the new Maura Isles was that in a world where she could tell a lie, she wouldn't. Not when it mattered or when it didn't. Her honesty continued to be her greatest quality. It was refreshing. People lied about the smallest, most insignificant things and the big, life-wrecking things with equal abandon, but not Maura Isles.

She knew Jane loved her just as she knew the depths of the definition of those three words. She would never say otherwise.

-finis-