A/N: Some suspension of belief required but, come on, it's Halloween after all!

Thank you to Orison for beta reading and encouragement once again! Your help is invaluable.

I haven't abandoned or forgotten about Cloudy, this just took precedence because I wanted to get it out at the appropriate time.

Happy Halloween!

CHAPTER ONE

Doctor Maura Isles watched the coroner's van pull away, it's wheels spinning momentarily on the snow-covered asphalt before it found purchase and continued on without issue. Not one minute later she was taking a call from the CSRU team to say they were en route to the scene but would be delayed; the unforeseen and unprecedented snowfall so early in the year had prompted road closures and made some routes impassable. However, they assured the Chief Medical Examiner that they were on their way and would process the scene as soon as they could.

Verbally detailing the scene, Maura conveyed exactly the areas that they needed to focus on as far as possible evidence was concerned, and then made them aware that she probably wouldn't be there when they arrived.

Happy to leave the scene in the capable hands of the patrol officers that were present, Maura made her way down the street to her car. Conditions were starting to become treacherous, even on foot, and Maura walked slowly in her specially-designed alpine walking boots, ensuring she wouldn't slip and fall before reaching her vehicle.

Placing her medical bag into the trunk, the doctor brushed fallen snow from the shoulders and hood of her parka before climbing in behind the wheel. With no idea how long it might take the coroner's van to make it to the morgue given the detours and low driving visibility, she decided to head straight home. Shivering, the cold having permeated every layer, down to her toes, all she could think about was a long, hot soak. Dusk was already fast approaching and so the autopsy could wait until tomorrow morning. Sending off a quick text to Susie, she let the criminalist know to expect the body and have her team take test samples and make all the necessary preparations for storing the deceased overnight.

Once her cellphone was securely stored, she started the hybrid engine and tried to move off. The car struggled, swerving sideways slightly, instead of forwards, as she stepped on the gas; she needed to clear the snow from around the tires or she wasn't going anywhere soon.

Exiting the car, she suddenly realized that her usual winter driving kit wasn't packed in the trunk. She had water and a blanket, maintenance tools and a small air pump, but no shovel. No one could have predicted snow in October; it was unheard of. Kicking herself for being unprepared, she decided that some scuffs and minor damage to her expensive boots would be a small price to pay for getting home in one piece.

Dragging the length of her foot along the ground, she scraped mounds of snow from in front of each tire until the surface was as clear as she could make it. It didn't need to be perfect, just enough to get her moving; momentum would do the rest, enabling her to drive onto the already compacted surface where constant traffic had left tracks down the street.

She jumped back in and started the car up again, quickly moving away from the curb without a problem, eager to forget the last fourteen frigid hours and call it a day.

As the long, winding street came to an end and the blonde approached the junction, it was clear that her prized Prius was as suited to winter as a polar bear was suited to summers in Florida. She pumped the brakes repeatedly but the car continued on, sliding across the solid, icy surface like a Bruin on game day. She could do nothing to alter her velocity, her only saving grace being the low speed with which she'd tried to change direction at the junction, and so she held onto the steering wheel firmly as the car jerked and shuddered, mounting the grassy embankment and then coming to a stop in a ditch.

Groaning, the blonde let her forehead drop onto her hands; this was a far cry from that long, hot soak she really, really needed. After a moment or two of letting her thudding heartbeat return to normal, she took out her phone and speed-dialed the one person who would always come to her rescue.

"Hi, Jane!"

oOo

With the engine running and the heaters flowing, the medical examiner reveled in the warmth that circulated throughout the car's interior. She let her muscles relax, sinking low into her seat, and closed her eyes, just for a moment. The next thing she knew she was being jarred awake suddenly by Detective Jane Rizzoli knocking loudly on her window.

"Wakey, wakey, princess!" Her voice was muffled through the glass but still sounded amused.

Though startled, Maura smiled warmly back at her friend as she flashed a bright, white grin through the window, lighting up the darkness and warming the doctor's chilly insides.

Jane had packed a shovel, a tow rope, and a flask of hot coffee, for which Maura was immensely grateful. She'd also commandeered a highline four-by-four patrol vehicle, about which Maura had told her she didn't want to know any details. Plausible deniability was still an actual thing where Jane's unofficial police shenanigans were concerned.

Maura's car wasn't going anywhere and it wasn't for lack of trying. She was pretty sure she'd have to get it checked over at the dealership anyway after her little spin, but if there wasn't any damage to the chassis after Jane's over-zealous attempts to free it from its icy grave she'd be very surprised.

Opting for leaving it by the side of the road, Maura was happy for Jane to drive her home instead. The coffee had most definitely helped to fend off the worst of the cold but she still felt it in her toes and the hot bath still called to her. She could only hope at this point that what remained of her evening wouldn't be constantly interrupted by the sound of the doorbell announcing the usual stream of trick-or-treaters. If anything, as much as she hated this weather and it's unfortunate effect of limiting her daily fashion choices – slacks, boots and a heavy winter coat were a must – she at least could find consolation in the thought that it would also limit the number of people taking their children out to call door-to-door throughout the neighborhood.

Interrupting the blonde's silent contemplation, Jane asked, "What's on your mind?"

"Oh, nothing. Just thinking about the snow and how it might spoil Halloween."

"I didn't think you were into that sort of thing; ghouls and ghosts and whatnot."

"I'm not, but it's fun for the children… to go trick-or-treating."

"They like coming to your house because you spoil them."

"And you like eating whatever's leftover."

"Yep!"

The blonde sighed. "I don't think they really know what it means, though."

"They're kids, Maura. Some of them are barely old enough to walk when their parents dress them up and take them out." Jane waved a hand in the air between them. "You can't expect them to spend the day worshiping dead saints and martyrs or celebrating the pagan symbolism of it all."

The doctor's eyebrow lifted; the breadth of Jane's knowledge was quite surprising to her at times though she always hid it. Staring out of the passenger window, Maura watched blurred white flurries rush past and began to quietly recite, "'Tis now the very witching time of night, when churchyards yawn and hell itself breathes out, contagion to this world.'"

Jane pulled a dour face, "Bit gloomy. Lemme guess… Dickens?"

Smiling, the doctor looked over, shaking her head softly, "Shakespeare."

"Ah," Jane nodded, as if she should have known better. Then, dropping her voice to its lowest, huskiest register she offered in response, "'Four missing heirs. A haunted house. A phantom shadow. Where's the spooky music?'"

"Mmm," Maura murmured, considering her guess, "Poe?"

"Nope."

She frowned. "Burns?"

"Noooo," Jane drawled.

"Who is it, then?"

Smirking, the brunette teased, "You'll never get it."

Jabbing a finger into the detective's ribs for emphasis, Maura demanded, "Who. Is. It?"

Jane chuckled, "Scooby Doo."

"Oh, pfft!" Maura slapped Jane's thigh, making the brunette laugh again. Jane was officially ridiculous, but Maura wouldn't have her any other way. It was wonderful how much they laughed together.

"Besides the never-ending supply of candy…" Jane caught a glance of Maura's expectant face out the corner of her eye. "… which is really unhealthy and should never pass my lips, I would be happy if they cancelled Halloween altogether." The detective shook her head, dark brown waves swishing slightly across her shoulders. "It just makes people crazy."

Maura frowned, "In what way?"

That seemed to set something off in the brunette and she gestured animatedly as her voice rose, "Do you know how many calls we get for zombie sightings alone? It's ridiculous." She counted off on long, tan fingers, "Then you've got your vampires, bats… vampire bats, goblins, Bigfoot, Frankenstein… ugh." She mumbled something about gullible wackos and rolled her eyes exaggeratedly.

"It's Frankenstein's monster; Frankenstein was the scientist," the doctor corrected.

"I knew that," the detective replied sarcastically, squinting and sneering in a way that she knew would humor her friend and not offend.

The blonde still sounded surprisingly upbeat about the holiday, "People get carried away, that's all."

Jane scoffed, "People watch too much television! I blame The Walking Dead. I bet you didn't know crank calls on Halloween went up over four hundred percent the year that show started!"

Maura chuckled, "It's a very entertaining show. Their special effects are particularly impressive."

The brunette looked over with a smile but the flick up and down of her eyebrows was meant solely to tease, "You would know."

The blonde playfully slapped Jane's right thigh again, "Oh, stop."

"It's true!" Jane shrieked with a giggle. "They could make a film about you." She turned her head briefly to flash another beautiful, warm smile. "I'd watch it," she added sweetly. With a sharp intake of breath, she continued, dropping her voice for effect, "Oh! And like… the camera could pan in, right, and there'd be some intense, atmospheric mood music. Then you'd pose for a dramatic close-up and whisper, 'I see dead people.'"

As Maura laughed heartily, they turned onto a dark street full of empty houses; derelict-looking buildings that would have once been gorgeous, traditional homes. They were still very imposing, even with their peeling paint and boarded windows. Maura could almost picture the elaborately-spun wooden spindles of the original front stair rails, or the bright mix of colors that would have once adorned the slatted siding and window casings in a colonial style.

Curious, she made a mental note to research the real estate market in this area for any intended developments. Traditional renovators, 'restorers' as they preferred to be called, were popping up all across Boston but they apparently hadn't discovered this particular suburb yet.

The ride was momentarily subdued, quiet, but comfortably so. It was shattered by Maura suddenly shouting "Stop the car!" and Jane slamming on the brakes.