Okay I think I'm tired of agreeing to the Terms and Agreements that haven't changed since like 2005 or whatever every time I create a new story! So you know what that means? Longer fic time! lol
It had been an interesting evening to say the least. Gun shots had been fired in a small suburb in Boston, and I had been called to the scene. A young woman had been shot multiple times in the chest, and her girlfriend was Jane's suspect. The young woman hadn't been the one to report the shooting, a neighbor had, and I watched Jane drag the woman into an interview room at the station, and I couldn't help but feel pity for the young woman. Ten minutes in the room, and all Jane had accomplished was completely terrifying the young woman. She stormed out in frustration, and I grabbed her arm.
"Jane, you're scaring her," I said worriedly. She just glared.
"Thanks for that Einstein, I hadn't noticed!" I gathered that she had meant that sarcastically, due to her frustrations, and didn't take offense. "And she should be scared, she didn't call the police after her girlfriend was shot, which leads me to believe that she did the shooting!"
"Jane, let me try." Jane looked at me strangely, but only shrugged. I wasn't exactly sure what made me think that I could do any better than Jane, but I just felt that I could, maybe it was that gut feeling, that I always heard Jane talk about.
"Knock you socks off," I was sure that meant it was okay to go along, but I wasn't completely sure. "Go for it Maura, but I don't see her talking to you," Jane added, sensing my confusion. I slowly made my way into the interview room, and the young woman within reacted immediately.
"Why can't you people just leave me alone? I didn't do it, I didn't kill her, Jenny was everything to me, she was the only one that cared about me, she, she took care of me, I wouldn't hurt her." She stumbled over herself, as she spoke so quickly. She was nervous, and scared, and I felt for her. I stepped towards her tentatively.
"I know you didn't kill her," I began softly, "Detective Rizzoli needs to eliminate you as a suspect," She took a deep calming breath. "You're only a suspect because of your relationship to the deceased," I added, placing my hand on her shoulder gently. She flinched.
"Don't touch me!" She yelled.
"I'm sorry," I responded softly, in an attempt to calm her. "I've been told that placing your hand on someone's shoulder is supposed to be comforting," I said in an attempt to explain my actions. My words had caught her attention.
"You're not a detective." It was a simple statement.
"No, I'm not. I'm the Medical Examiner." She seemed satisfied with my answer. Jane clearly hadn't left a good first impression. "Why didn't you call the police?" I asked, after a prolonged period of silence.
"I was scared, phones scare me" She mumbled nervously.
"What else scares you?" I tried.
"People, telephones, driving on highways, or far away from home, getting lost, men, but mostly people, and Detective Rizzoli," She hiccuped. I chuckled at the last part.
"Detective Rizzoli isn't too scary, she's just frustrated and she wants to find out who hurt your girlfriend," I responded softly. She nodded in understanding.
"I know, but she's still scary." I smiled weakly.
"Do I scare you?" I asked.
"Not as much as Detective Rizzoli," She offered a smile. "You're like me," She whispered. "People scare you too, I can tell."
"They do," I replied. "But not as much as they scare you," I added softly.
"Is that why you work with dead people?" She was curious, and I nodded. "That's cool, must be a little depressing, I mean kids must come across your autopsy table often enough, people just kill people, but it must be interesting, and rewarding I suppose." She was becoming comfortable with me.
"It is rewarding, and sad sometimes, but I want to make a difference in the world," She smiled at that.
"It's nice to want to make a difference, making a difference in the world is good, I want to make a difference, but..." I knew what she was going to say, and she knew that I knew, it didn't need to be said.
"You said Jenny took care of you, what did you mean by that?" I asked softly.
"She took care of me, I'm not capable of working, I tried once, but I kept having panic attacks, and Jenny liked when I cooked, and she also liked my system of arranging the cabinets, and I went to the grocery store, I'm very comfortable in the grocery store," She added with a smile. "I wanted to take care of her, like she took care of me," Her eyes were watering, and this time when I reached out to touch her, she didn't flinch.
"Do you know what happened?" I didn't want to pressure her, but I felt confident that she would be able to answer. She simply nodded.
"Yeah, yes, there was, um, there was a man, he, he was, he was really tall," She stammered out. I just waited patiently for her to continue. "He, he came through the door in the kitchen, Jenny told me to hide when he was banging, I hid behind the counter. One, two, three, four, five, six, shots, he ran, I crawled out, blood, blood was everywhere, but Jenny was alive, she told me to, to calm down, tried, I loved Jenny, I would never hurt her," I instinctively pulled her against me as she began sobbing, and I kissed her forehead after a few long moments, filled only with her sobs.
"You've had a long day," I whispered as I pulled away from her. "You need rest, I'm going to take you home with me," I added before attempting to stand up. She offered me a weak smile and nodded in understanding. I stepped out of the room and spotted Jane, my eyes were watering.
"She didn't do it." Jane just stared at me, she was speechless. That woman was her suspect, or had been until I'd been in there.
"Are you really gonna take her home with you?" I nodded. "Why?"
"Because, I understand her," I didn't understand many living people, but this one, I understood. She was innocent and in complete distress right now, and she trusted me, and Jane scared her. "I'll take care of her Jane."
"She's all yours then." Jane's words were almost bitter.
"Jane?" I questioned, the tone of her voice left me confused.
"That woman just lost someone that clearly means the world to her, and I just scared her," Jane's eyes were watering as mine had a moment before. "And you went in there, and, and, she wasn't afraid of you."
"I understand her better than you do Jane, that's all. I'll take care of her tonight." I gave my friend a comforting squeeze, and she smiled.
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