A/N: Sorry for taking so long to post a new story. My laptop power cord decided it didn't want to work anymore so I had to conserve the battery for homework until I got a new one. I don't own R&I. I'm not too sure about my kissing scenes so any feedback on that would be greatly appreciated. Enjoy!

XXXXX

"Thank you for meeting me, Dr. Isles." Charles Hoyt said, handcuffed to his chair in the prison visitation room.

"What do you want, Mr. Hoyt?" Maura stared blankly at the monster in front of her, trying not to show just how much anger she has against the man.

"I want to possibly interest you in a little… project."

Maura became intrigued. "What kind of project?"

"Let's say it has to do something with a Jane we both know and love." He had a sick smile on his face.

"I'm listening."

"If you help me out of here and bring her to me, I'll let you make the first incision into that beautiful neck of hers."

Maura grinned. "That sounds delightful. How exactly do you plan to get out of here?"

"Don't worry, I have a plan. I just need a little help in executing it."

The two whispered to one another until the visitation hours were up. Maura returned to the morgue, where Jane was waiting for her.

"So? What'd he say?"

"Not much."

"Not much? Maura, you were gone for three hours!"

"It's between us. Nothing you would understand." Maura saw Jane's hurt expression. "It was doctor talk."

"Okay, whatever. So you don't know who he plans to get to next?"

"Not really. He mostly just talked about you."

"Of course. That twisted son-of-a-bitch has some sort of sick obsession with me." The disgust was clearly evident in her voice and on her face.

"It's not that hard to understand." Maura chimed in, beginning her preparation of an autopsy.

"You're kidding me, right?"

"No, I can see why someone would be obsessed with you. You're a unique character."

Jane just shook her head, unsure of what was going through Maura's mind. Jane just left the room. Maura waited a few minutes before sticking the body back in the freezer and started out to do what Hoyt had asked.

XXXXX

"Is the room prepared?" Charles Hoyt asked while peering into Maura's guest bedroom - the same one Jane had stayed in before.

"Almost."

"You know, I'm surprised at how proficient you were at getting me out of there. I didn't know you were such a capable criminal. I should have talked to you sooner." Hoyt was now in street clothes, having ditched his prison uniform shortly after escaping with Maura only a few hours earlier.

"Looks can be deceiving, Dr. Hoyt." She said as she stepped into the now prepared room. "All done. All I have to do is get Jane to come here. Shouldn't be too hard."

"No… not for you." Hoyt grinned. "I have a feeling she'd go to the moon for you."

"You are probably correct on that assumption." Maura surmised. "Now, get into position, I'll call her now."

"Excellent, Dr. Isles, Excellent." He went into the room, as planned, while Maura took out her cell phone.

"Hey Jane!" Maura chimed into the phone.

"Maura! Hey! What's up?"

"I was just seeing what you were doing tonight. I don't have any plans if you want to come over."

"Sorry, Maura, it's Gnocchi night." She sounded sincerely disappointed.

Maura frowned. "Well how about after?" Maura was worried her plan wouldn't pan out the way she planned.

"Sure! Be by your house at ten?"

"Ten it is." Maura hung up the phone, and then went to go inform Hoyt of the plan.

XXXXX

"How was the Gnocchi?"

"It was good… really the only good part of Gnocchi night." Jane laughed. "Everyone else was being their usual selves." She rolled her eyes at the thought of her mother's constant prodding about her love life. "What about you? What have you been up to?"

"Not much. Had dinner with a friend." Maura was leading Jane towards the spare room, hoping that she could trick her into going inside.

"Why are we going to your spare room? The couch seemed comfy enough."

"Oh… I just wanted to show you something… new I did with it." Maura lied, barely even flinching at doing so.

"Oh cool! What'd you do?" She asked as she opened the door. "It looks… the same." She turned to question Maura but quickly got a zap in the neck.

Maura quickly bound Jane with Duct tape and put a strip of it on her mouth. She soon found herself admiring and running her fingers along the curves of Jane's body.

"See what I meant when I said that Jane is special?" Hoyt leaned over and placed a kiss on the blacked out Jane's cheek.

"I most definitely do, Doctor." She stood up next to the man and watched Jane. They had to wait for her to regain consciousness before the next stage of the plan could begin.

It wasn't long before Jane began to stir. Her eyes fluttered open and she saw Maura leaning over her. "Mmfff" She tried to talk but found she couldn't move her lips. Her eyes expressed thousands of words she hoped the blonde could understand.

Maura looked up at Hoyt, he nodded, indicating for her to let Jane talk. Maura ripped off the tape.

"Oww! Maura? Are you okay? Did he hurt you? I swear to God, Hoyt, if you so much as touch her I will -"

"Jane, sweetie." Maura cupped the brunette's cheek. "He doesn't want to hurt me. He wants to help me fulfill my destiny."

Jane saw the look in Maura's eyes. She was brainwashed, she had to be. Maybe there was a mind control chip embedded in her brain, allowing Hoyt to control her actions. There's no way Maura would ever do something like this of her own free will. No way.

"Maura? You don't have to do this." She pleaded. "You're not like him, remember?"

"Oh, but I am Jane." Maura pulled a scalpel from her pocket. It glinted in the artificial light cast upon the room. She looked up at Hoyt, making sure he was still allowing her the first cut. He nodded, sickly grinning down at the two females.

"Maura! Maura, no! I- I'll teach you how to use my gun! Hell, I'll get you your own gun! Just think about this!" Tears were falling down Jane's face now. This was it, Hoyt had complete control. He had found her biggest weak spot. Jane was filled to the brim with fear. And not just for her life, but for Maura's as well. "Don't do this… please!" Jane's voice squeaked and she felt the cold blade touch her skin. There was no biting sting of it cutting through her flesh. It just rested there.

"Give me one good reason." Maura said, intrigued at what Jane might say.

Jane looked into Maura's eyes. They were darker than usual. They didn't have the same affection and love they usually did whenever Jane looked into them. They were a shell of their previous selves. "I love you." Jane whispered out. Her facial expressions showed deep concern for the woman in front of her.

Maura paused. That was not the response she was expecting. She pressed the scalpel down but then hesitated at pulling it across to sever the carotid artery.

"Do it, Maura!" Hoyt pushed her on. "Make the first incision."

"I… I can't, I -"

"That's right, Maura, you don't have to do this." Jane pleaded, hoping to get across to the scientist.

"Yes, you can! You're just like me, remember? This is all you will ever amount to. Do it."

It was an internal tug-of-war in Maura's head. She went back and forth until finally, she decided. She pushed down on the scalpel and pulled across. Jane's blood poured onto her hands. Hoyt pushed her out of the way so he could get a turn. Maura stared at her hands. Jane's blood. She couldn't believe it. She couldn't –

XXXXX

Maura Isles bolted up in bed. Sweat was covering her body and her breathing was labored. Her expression grew to a worried one as she recalled the dream. She checked her hands and breathed a sigh of relief. No blood.

The clock read 3:15 but Maura didn't care. She hopped out of bed and headed for her guest room. Peering inside, she saw a body lying in the bed. Her heart stopped until she remembered inviting Jane over for some drinks last night. She opened the door wider and crept into the room.

Maura stood over Jane's sleeping body. She knew she would never do something like what she did in her dream to Jane. She would do everything in her power to prevent something like that happening. But she still couldn't shake the feeling that Hoyt was right. What if she was like him? They grew up the same way and, after all, a lot of how you turn out depends on your childhood according to an article she had read last week in a psychology journal.

Jane stirred, hearing faint mumblings about some sort of science-y stuff. She looked over and saw a figure standing above her bed. "Holy sh-" Jane reached for her gun. Maura hit the lights.

"I'm sorry, Jane. It's just me."

"What the hell are you doin' in here in the middle of the night, Maura?" She squinted against the harsh light.

"I… well… I-"

Jane saw Maura's eyes start to water.

"Maura?" Jane questioned. She scooted out of bed and put a comforting hand on the M.E.'s shoulder. "What's wrong?"

"Would it be silly of me to say I had a bad dream?" Maura glanced at her. Her eyes caught the scar on her neck.

"Of course not. Come 'ere." Jane pulled Maura into a hug and rubbed her back. She then guided her to the bed and held her closely. "Do you want to talk about it?" Jane asked sleepily.

"It was Hoyt." That was all Maura had to say to shock Jane to alertness.

"Hoyt? Maura, you know he's in prison. He can't get you."

Maura shook her head. "That's not what I'm worried about." Her voice began to break. "He- he said I was just like him. What if he's right. I mean – I killed you!"

"Whoa, easy!" Jane shifted so she could see Maura's face. "You dreamt you killed me?"

"He wanted my help to escape and go after you, and I did. I helped him." Maura couldn't hold it back any longer. She got pulled into Jane's shoulder and cried. After heart wrenching sobs subsided Maura pulled back. "And even after you said you loved me, I still –"

"Hold up! I said what now?"

"I asked you to give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you." Maura gazed into the depths of Jane's eyes. "You said you loved me."

A lump formed in Jane's throat. She couldn't even utter out a sound of protest.

"Don't worry, Jane. I know you don't feel that way for me."She let out a laugh. "It was just a dream. Even if what Hoyt said the other day really threw me, I am a rational person and I know that I would never hurt you."

Jane regained her speaking abilities. "Maura, I said this before and I'll say it again. You are nothing like him. Sure, you may have had a similar past but you are nothing like him. He is a monster. A cold blooded killer. And you – well sometimes you can be a bit… odd – but… you are the warmest, kindest, loving person I have ever met." Jane saw the unbelieving look on Maura's face. "And, yes, I'm including Jorge in that."

"Wow, Jane." Maura breathed out, putting a hand on her chest. "That was… That was so not like you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It was sweet."

"So… I'm not sweet?"

"Well, you know, you have some characteristics that are a little… um… undesirable."

"So I'm undesirable?" Jane had an amused look on her face. She enjoyed messing with Maura sometimes… even in the middle of the night.

"No!" Maura said a little too forcefully. "You are very desirable! it's only some things that you do that are… not."

Jane didn't' even care about the last part of Maura's statement. She had a sultry grin on her face and she leaned in closer. "So… you think I'm desirable?"

Maura felt the temperature in the room spike.

"Oh, Maura. I never knew you felt that way about me."

Maura was stuck. She couldn't lie, so she couldn't refute the claim. But she didn't exactly want to confess to Jane her feelings for her, either.

Jane laughed, thinking it was all just another joke between the two, until she saw the look on her face. She paused. "Wait… Maura? You don't – "

Maura figured the only way out of this was to leave. "You know, I have a lot of work to do tomorrow… I should get to bed," she said while exiting the room, leaving Jane sitting up in her bed with an intrigued yet confused expression adorning her face.

XXXXX

The next day at work was an odd one. No, there were no strange cases, but the atmosphere was unusual.

"Frost, you know what's up with them?" Korsak asked, referring to the fact that the two women had walked into the building together but they weren't' talking, actually they were staying as far away from each other as possible.

"No, I don't." His face expressed worry for his two friends. "But if I had to guess, one of them told the other how they felt and the other couldn't handle it."

"Yeah, but, why'd they come in together?"

Korsak made a good point. All he could do in response was shrug and return to browsing pictures of Lolcats.

Jane sat down with a heavy sigh. She didn't like not knowing what was up with Maura, even if she did have an idea of what it was. But… this was big. She gazed down the path to the morgue, wondering what was going through her friend's head.

XXXXX

Maura put her purse down on the nearest table and exhaled forcefully, her body visibly shrunk from the amount of air leaving her body. She didn't know what she was going to do about this. The car ride over had been exceptionally awkward. She had suggested they take separate cars, but Jane insisted against it, since it would save them on gas.

She checked to see if she had any autopsies waiting to be done or anything to distract her. She was out of luck. She had nothing that needed to be done; she didn't even have any side projects she was working on.

Maura sat and put her head in her hands. She couldn't believe that she almost confessed to being in love with Jane. It was highly improbable the other girl shared the same feelings. Ninety-eight percent of people experience unrequited love so, she figured that since she had yet to experience it, it must be her turn. "This must be what it feels like." She said in anguish.

"What what feels like?" Jane was leaning on the doorframe, gazing at the doctor in concern.

Maura startled from the unexpected sound of Jane's voice. She looked up at the detective without saying a word.

Jane walked further into the room and sat down on the desk Maura was at. "You okay, Maura?"

The heart in said girl's chest started to beat faster. She couldn't think of a way out of this fast enough to stop the words from spilling out of her mouth. "I'm in love, Jane."

"That's… great!" Jane said, faking a smile and fighting to keep the sarcasm out of her voice.

"It's unrequited." Maura felt tormented in saying it aloud.

"That's… too bad." Jane put a hand on her friend's shoulder, this time fighting to keep the joy out of her voice. She hated seeing Maura like this but she was so glad the guy didn't like her back. Wait… what guy doesn't like her back? "Was he gay?"

"What?" Maura was visibly confused by Jane's statement.

"Well… that's the only logical conclusion about a guy who doesn't love you! Its either that or the guy's an idiot!" Jane's hand was off Maura's shoulder by now, since she had to move her arms around to further punctuate her thoughts.

"Why do you find it so hard to believe that someone doesn't love me?"

"Because…" Jane started but then took a second to better organize her thoughts. Maura waited patiently. "You're wonderful! You're smart and beautiful and… and so adorably quirky that I can't help but smile whenever you're near me! I don't know how else to explain it, Maura… you're just… you." She gazed down into the blonde's eyes, trying to convey to Maura everything else she felt that she couldn't put into words. "Any guy that can't see that," she spoke softly, "is an idiot."

"Or gay." Maura finished the thought, smiling up at the brunette. "You do realize you just called yourself an idiot, right?" Maura shakily stated, deciding to take the plunge and tell the other girl. After Jane's rant, she felt her chances of requited love has increased dramatically.

Jane smiled. "I am an idiot," she whispered as she leaned down, "for not doing this sooner." She finished the thought by closing her eyes and gently cupping Maura's cheeks in her hands before pressing her lips against full lipstick-dyed ones. Maura willingly accepted the kiss and moved her mouth against the detective's, moaning at the flurry of emotion she was experiencing. She wrapped her arms around Jane's waist and tried to pull her closer. Jane got the hint and shifted down so she was straddling the blonde.

After a few moments, Jane pulled back just enough so she could reposition her lips in a way that allowed her to take Maura's bottom lip into her mouth and suck on it. Maura's hands reflexively squeezed Jane's lower back, causing Jane to instinctively press herself closer to the M.E. to the point where her crotch was pressed up against Maura's abdomen.

Now, Jane was uncomfortably hunched over and she felt unusually hot in the usually chilly morgue. She pulled back, trying to readjust and sought out relief from the heat by taking off her shirt. Maura's smile widened at the cleavage that was now a few inches from her face. She leaned forward and pulled back the sports bra confining the two delightful mounds. She placed a tender kiss on the side of each breast before moving back and looking up at Jane. The brunette's eyes were closed. She was still soaking in the sensations caused by Maura's last action. A moment later she caught Maura's gaze.

"I really am an idiot for not doing that sooner," she nearly moaned out.

"I agree." Maura said, still eyeing Jane's breasts.

"You know, I've never had sex in a morgue before." Jane tried to be sexy in suggesting it but found herself shivering at the thought of making love in such a place.

"How about my place?" Maura proposed, slightly frustrated at the prospect of Jane having to put on a shirt but she knew there would be no one that could interrupt them.

As if on cue, Jane's phone rang. She groaned and debated answering it at all. "Rizzoli," she finally said after letting it ring a few times. She listened to the person on the other line for a moment before hanging up. "They found a body."

Maura frowned. "Can't they do it without us?"

"You really want me to answer that?" She looked pointedly at the woman in front of her. "Look, I want to go back to your place as badly as you do but… we have a job to do." Jane hated saying it as much as Maura hated hearing it, but she was right. They would have to continue what they started later.

Jane put her shirt back on and followed Maura out the door, patting the blonde's bottom playfully as they went.