*Okay…here it is, the first chapter of the sequel to Wonderful Unknown…I wanted to get this first chapter out to you as soon as possible so here you go. I will do my best to update as often as possible but with the holiday's approaching, I can't make any promises. I hope you all enjoy and I look forward to continuing this story and sharing it with you. Thanks to those of you who have encouraged me along the way and those of you who have reviewed, followed and favorited me. I really appreciate it! : ) Now…on with the story…

Future of Promises

Chapter 1- One thing never changed

Dr. Maura Isles stood in front of her full length mirror and studied the reflection looking back at her. The pencil skirt, silk blouse, and jacket matched perfectly leaving nothing out of place as she continued to study herself with a measured eye. Not normally prone to being nervous, Maura did her best not to fidget as she ran her hands down the front of the skirt to smooth out the invisible wrinkles that were only visible to her. She couldn't help but note the small changes she saw reflected back at her as she remembered that eighteen year old girl whose eyes shined just a little brighter, whose curves weren't quite as curvy and whose hair was a lighter shade of blonde. With a sad smile Maura recalled her younger self and wondered if she would ever recapture the innocence she had lost almost fifteen years ago.

It had been almost fifteen years since Jane Rizzoli had walked away from the love they had shared so fiercely. It was a love that outshined anything Maura had ever experienced since even though she had tried her best to move on. When they had gone their separate ways to college, things had started out just as Maura had expected. Alternating weekend visits worked well for both of them but slowly as the holidays and finals approached both found their time limited so the visits dwindled down to twice a month. Eventually things had slowed to a stop, leaving Maura both hurt and confused. Their relationship had changed, or better put, Jane had changed. And at the time Maura was hard pressed to understand why.

It had been so subtle on Jane's part that Maura wasn't quite sure if she were reading into things more than she should, but the mood swings and displaced anger just got worse with each visit and when they spent their last night together, Maura could feel that the end was inevitable. She closed her eyes as the memories of that last night hovered just out of reach. Fifteen years had added a romantic haze to what she now realized was simply an ending to one chapter in her life. But it had been one hell of chapter and she hadn't wanted it to end. She could still recall those last hours she had spent wrapped in Jane's arms as they made love. It had been slow and sweet, neither saying the words that would shatter the moment that they both knew was to become their last.

A shiver ran through Maura's body as she remembered the way that Jane had touched her that night. Jane's fingertips had moved reverently over Maura's skin in the most delicate of touches as if committing to memory every dip and curve. And then the tears came, some filled with anger, some filled with resolute sorrow. When the sun finally filtered into Maura's room painting them both with its warm caress, they made love one last time with desperate abandon neither wanting to let go. It wasn't until the door closed behind Jane that Maura felt the finality of the moment as she found herself alone for the first time since she Jane had walked into her life. Even though she had tried to desperately hang onto what was left of their love, it had come too late. Too much had been left unsaid and Jane's insecurities had grown too big for either of them to deal with. The way that Jane had walked away with an unfamiliar silence following in her wake is what had hurt Maura the most in the end. No words had been spoken between them and because of that, no promises had been broken. It was as if they hadn't shared the best parts of themselves with each other. The loss had all but shattered Maura's heart and her belief that love would prevail in a world filled with so many uncertainties.

The only certainty that Maura had been able to count on was Jane's mother, Angela who had maintained a relationship that transcended all others. Angela refused to walk away from Maura, she refused to leave her alone in the world even if her own daughter couldn't bring herself to see what she had given up. The older woman had always been adamant that Jane and Maura would find their way back to each other and as Maura stood before her full length mirror she couldn't stop the heavy sigh from escaping at the thought that Angela may have been right.

When she had been offered the job as Medical Examiner of the Common Wealth of Massachusetts, she struggled to decide if she was ready to face her past. She knew that she would have to work closely with the homicide department of the Boston Police and that would mean she would have to work with one Jane Rizzoli who was currently a detective for homicide. It had taken several dinners with Carly and Ryan and several lunches with both her mother and Angela to convince her that she should take the job. It had been something she had dreamed of doing since med-school, something she knew she couldn't pass up, so she took it.

Again she smoothed down the front of her skirt as her mind wandered to another time three years earlier when she had gotten a phone call in the middle of the night from Angela. Jane had gone missing hunting down a lead on the serial killer Charles Hoyt and Angela had been beside herself with worry. When the word had finally come that Jane had been found almost ten hours later, Maura had rushed to be by Angela's side when they brought an unconscious Jane to the hospital. It had been the first time Maura had seen Jane in years and the memory of the once vibrant woman she remembered did not coincide with the frail body they had wheeled into the emergency room. She had been covered in so much blood, mostly from the wounds on her hands and the back of her head that Maura barely recognized her. It had been Maura's intention to remain long enough to make sure that Jane was okay and had the best medical care that could be provided to her, but three days later, Jane still hadn't woken up. Angela had begged Maura to stay thinking that maybe it would bring Jane out of the coma and Maura had reluctantly agreed. She knew that there had been studies that people in comas could hear loved one's voices so she had stayed each night reading from her favorite book, Jane Eyre. And then Jane woke up and Maura disappeared without a word. She had made Angela promise to never tell Jane she had been there. Angela begrudgingly complied even though it broke her heart to see Maura leave. That is how it had remained, a secret that neither had spoken of since.

Maura shivered at the thought of the wounds Jane had sustained to her hands. It had taken many painstaking months filled with physical therapy to put Jane back together, but with Maura's silent guidance Jane finally regained full function of her hands, or at least enough to handle her weapon and pass the physical requirements needed for her job. After a four month absence, Jane returned to her position in homicide and that was when Maura quit asking Angela how Jane was doing.

It had seemed that even though Jane was unaware, Maura had never truly left, her presence just skirting the edges of Jane's existence. But that was all about to change as Maura took one last look at herself, finally satisfied with what she saw looking back at her. Fifteen years may have passed between them, but just the thought of seeing her again brought those butterflies to Maura's stomach just like the first time. With a frustrated huff, Maura gave herself a stern nod, willing herself to push whatever feelings were trying to take over deep down where she knew they would be safe. At least for the time being that is.

Jane shoved Frankie out of the way and took her shot. She watched as the ball bounced against the rim before dropping through the basket.

"Game point little brother…" She fist pumped as she ran past him.

"It's not over yet…" He said bouncing the ball after her. He pivoted to his left then his right before ducking past her and the tangle of arms that tried to stop him from taking his shot. When he jumped, it took Jane by surprise. She hadn't expected the downward motion of his elbow just as she looked up to watch the ball drop through the net. She heard a crunch when his elbow came down hard on her nose and the basketball hoop got lost in the tears that poured from her now watering eyes.

"What the hell Frankie…, that's just bad form." Jane reached up to touch her nose only to bring her hand away covered with blood.

"Shit…sorry Jane…" Frankie grabbed the front of his t-shirt in an attempt to stem the blood that was flowing down Jane's chin.

"Don't…" She slapped his hand away as she tilted her head back and pinched the bridge of her nose. As carefully as she could, without the luxury of her usual 20/20 vision, she lumbered her way towards the kitchen. Holding her head back, she attempted to prevent the free flowing blood from marring her mother's squeaky clean floors but to no avail. When she found herself standing at the sink staring at the blood she had just washed from her hands swirl down the drain, she heard her mother sigh behind her. The sigh indicated that Angela had followed the blood droplets to find Jane standing at the sink.

"Sorry about the floor Ma." Jane mumbled through a mouth full of water as she continued to rinse the blood from her face.

"Why do you and your brother have to be so rough with each other?" Angela threw her hands up as she stood next to Jane. "Let me see that." Jane tilted her head back again to let Angela get a better look. "I can't tell if it's broken or not but if it is and heals like that, it'll stay that way…crooked."

"Come on Ma…its fine." Jane whined.

"Janie, sometimes I wonder about you…" Angela sighed as she stared in surprise at her thirty-three year old grown daughter who was doing a very good job at whining.

"Janie…your cell phone is ringing…" Frankie called from the backdoor.

"Thanks..." Jane called back as she headed towards the living room to retrieve her phone. "Rizzoli…" She tried to mumble around the blood that had started dripping again. Again she wiped at her nose, only smearing the blood across her cheek this time, but it had stopped dripping making it easier to talk into the phone. "Yeah, I'm on my way." Looking over her shoulder she saw Frankie with an expectant look on his face. "Don't even think about it…if you didn't get a call…they don't need you." She couldn't help but frown at him. She was more pissed off at herself at this point than him.

"Come on Jane…can't I just tag along?" He asked as he followed her to her car.

"Look, you know the rules…you're a patrol officer." She opened the door of her car, but realized her hands were covered in the blood that was still flowing from her nose and stopped. "Hey, grab my suit and bag would ya?"

"I'll never learn if I don't get the chance…" He complained as he grabbed her stuff.

"Look Frankie…just cuz you're my brother doesn't mean you can tag along on every homicide I'm assigned to. You've got to earn your way, just like I did." She tilted her head towards the front door indicating he should follow her. "Anyway…the new M.E. is going to be there and I hear she's a real Ice Queen. Best let me break the ice so to speak…" Jane gave him a little smirk.

"Yeah, whatever…" He shrugged his shoulders as he followed her inside. He had also heard the rumors about the new M.E. being detail oriented and in most people's opinions, aloof.

"I'm gonna take a quick shower and wash this off…" She held up her hands to show him the blood.

"Hey, I said I was sorry…I can't help it if you walked into my elbow." He gave her sheepish smile. "But you're gonna need some ice on it so it doesn't swell up. Is it broken?"

"Donknow…but I'll have Korsak take a look." Jane touched the now sore spot alongside her nose and grimaced as she shut the bathroom door.

"I don't know why you have to play so rough with each other." Angela pushed past Frankie who was still standing in the hall looking at the closed bathroom door. "And your cell phone is ringing…"

"Yes!" He took off at a run to answer it.

Angela stood in the hallway and shook her head. Of all the days for Jane to get hit in the face it had to be this one. She couldn't stop herself from saying a small prayer that everything would work out. So many years had passed since she had seen Jane truly happy and she hoped with all of her heart that this was to be a new beginning. But she also knew Maura's reluctance to put her faith in Jane again. Everything was about to change and Angela knew that by the end of the day she would have the answer to the long held question of whether Jane had ever stopped loving Maura. She couldn't stop the small smile from tugging at her lips because she already knew the answer that Jane was about to be faced with full force.

When Jane arrived at the scene, it was busy with the media fishing for details and too many detectives crowding around. As she made her way through the crowd with little effort, most people got out of her way, most except Detective Crowe who seemed to be chatting it up with the press. It was something she was used to seeing as she made her way over to a familiar figure standing with arms crossed, blocking the way for anyone without a badge.

"Hey…what've we got?" Jane asked as she pushed past the crowd of press that had gathered along the perimeter of the taped off scene. She gave an expectant look to the young female patrol officer that had been given the duty of holding the small, yet persistent group back.

"Um…two victims…looks to be a murder-suicide…" The young woman said under her breath. "What's the other guy look like?" The officer pointed to Jane's face which was slowing turning a nice shade of black and blue.

"Ha, ha…" Jane ran her hand through her hair to push it back into a pony tail before tying it back over her shoulder and then she adjusted her gun and shield on her hip. "'The new M.E. here yet?" She asked as she looked over her shoulder at the sound of a familiar voice chatting it up with the press loud enough to catch her attention.

"No, but Sergeant Korsak and Detective Frost are already inside." The patrol officer stepped aside expecting Jane to go past her but instead Jane turned to the person who seemed to be speaking liberally about things he shouldn't be, especially the new M.E. that none of them had met yet.

"Excuse me Detective Crowe…I think you have better things to do than gossip…" Jane smirked at the look of surprise on the man's face as she stepped up behind him. She had heard his comment about the new M.E. and for some reason it bothered her even though she hadn't met the woman yet.

"Yeah, yeah…whatever Rizzoli…nice look." Detective Crowe pushed past her much to the dismay of the people he had been confiding in.

"Do you have a comment Detective Rizzoli?" A tall blonde woman put a microphone in Jane's face expecting her say something.

"Did you get a haircut Amelia?" Jane winked before giving her trade mark smirk. "And you know darlin' I'm in no position to make a comment." The tall blonde blushed profusely and smiled back shyly. "Now if you'll excuse me…I've got some things I need to take care of."

As Jane made her way over the well-manicured lawn of the upper-middle class colonial house, something caused her to stop. She had heard several conversations floating around her, not really listening to any one of them with much interest, but when she heard a familiar name carry to her she had to stop to listen. Cocking her head to the side in the direction the conversation was coming from, she listened intently for the name to be mentioned again. When it wasn't mentioned again, she was left wondering if she had really heard it in the first place. Taking a deep breath she squared her shoulders before entering the house hoping that the new M.E. would be someone she could work with.

Moving past the walls of officers gathered in the small but well-appointed living room, Jane craned her neck to find Korsak and Frost bent over the body of a woman. With as much finesse as she could muster, Jane moved past everyone until she ran into Frankie. "So…got the call…huh?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Yeah…they needed some extra hands." He grinned at her.

"Fine…just stay outta my way…" She gave him a gentle push as she continued to move towards Korsak and Frost.

"Damn Jane…nice nose job. Compliments of Frankie?" Barry Frost looked up at Jane and tried to stifle a laugh as he pointed to her nose.

"Yeah, playing basketball as usual…" She tried to smirk back but the swelling was slowing making it impossible for her do much else but grimace. "I met with the backend of Frankie's elbow by accident."

"Looks broken…" Vince Korsak pushed himself up from the floor to get a better look. "You should probably go to the emergency room to get it set before you end up with a permanently crooked nose." He squinted at her as if it would make him see her better.

"Yeah…well, I'll consider it…" Her eyes dropped to the body that lay at their feet. "Pretty cut and dry?" She asked.

"Seems like it…but we'll have to wait for the new M.E. to call it." Korsak reached out to touch Jane's nose casing her to pull away.

"Hey…don't…" She pushed his hand away. "I'm fine."

"You know your mother would kill me if I didn't send you to the emergency room to get that thing set…" He frowned at her. "Not to mention…it might mess up those devastatingly handsome features you got going for you."

"Whatever…if anything it'll make me look more badass." Jane shooed him away as she bent to examine the body.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you…" Frost admonished when Jane reached out to touch one of the bodies.

"Well then it's a good thing you're not me…" Jane started to say.

"It's just that I've heard that the new M.E. is on her way and she's as stickler for detail. I've heard some of the uniforms refer to her as the Queen of the Dead…" Frost interrupted Jane.

A sudden surge of protectiveness for someone she hadn't met yet washed over Jane as she glared up at Frost from her crouched position. "Really Frost? You're starting to sound like that asshole Crowe…"

"Hey…not cool…" Frost gave her a hurt look.

"Okay, okay…" Jane backed away from the bodies but didn't stand up yet. "I guess we don't want to get off on the wrong foot with the new M.E…"

"That's never stopped you before…" Frost interjected drawing a stern look from Korsak that had them both looking away.

Jane rolled her eyes before focusing on the sight before her. It all seemed pretty cut and dry to her. Two bodies, one male and one female both dead from gunshot wounds or so it seemed upon first examination. She concentrated on the gun in the right hand of the male victim and surmised that he had shot the female before turning the gun on himself. Off in the distance, the sound of expensive heels echoing on the hardwood floors announced the arrival of someone new but Jane continued to concentrate on the crime scene. There was the slightest change in the room as a familiar presence moved closer to her and she didn't hear the barely audible whisper from Frost of 'Holy Shit' as everything in the room came to a stop. "Looks like a pretty cut and dry case of murder-suicide…" She muttered as she continued to study the bodies.

"I'll be the judge of that Detective…"

Jane swallowed hard, her throat suddenly dry at the sound of a voice so familiar to her that it was like her own heart speaking to her. Her eyes moved from the carnage on the floor to a pair expensive heels that held a pair of shapely legs. Moving up from the legs that looked more muscular than she remembered, she was met with the perfectly ironed pencil skirt, followed by a light green silk blouse that Jane knew was the same shade of green that she would find in the hazel eyes. Before she could look any further, a lump formed in her throat causing her to swallow again. When she did finally look up, she was met with the steely gaze of hazel-green that held nothing but professional curtesy and were the exact same shade of green as the blouse. It was in that moment that her heart broke all over again at the absence of the fire she had come to associate with the eyes that looked back at her with barely the hint of recognition.

"Dr. Isles…" Jane's voice cracked at the emotional strain that had taken over her.

"Detective Rizzoli…" Maura answered back with the restrain she was in danger of losing. It had been fifteen years since she had looked into the eyes of the only person who had loved her so completely and the only person who had left her heart shattered beyond repair. After fifteen years, one thing had never changed, Jane could still cause the butterflies to flutter in her stomach. . With a heavy sigh, Maura realized there would be no turning back, not now, not ever.