Duplicity

A/N- Normally I would try to give a decent summary about the story but I really can't without the risk of giving too much away too soon. But here is what I can tell you-

Rizzles: Yes...oh and please take note of the rating for this story.

Timing: Set during the events of S1 E9 The Beast in Me

Canon: This story follows general first season R&I canon until Maura's initial discovery of her biological connection to Colin Doyle and by extension to Patrick. After that, this story turns into my definition of AU since I take significant creative license and break away from canon. (You'll understand that more as the story progresses.)

Disclaimer: Don't own a thing- especially the characters that seem to be my perpetual muses. Those belong to others whose talents far surpass my own.

Chapter 1

The senior criminalist took the last of the pages she had been waiting to print from the printer and placed everything into the file. It was the last of the lab reports that Dr. Isles had been waiting for since earlier that morning. She doubled checked the pages making sure she hadn't left anything out or forgotten to include any information. Seeing that she had everything that was needed she headed out of the lab and walked towards the ME's office.

She found the door slightly ajar and paused for a moment to listen. She didn't want to interrupt anything if Dr. Isles was with someone or on the phone. But she didn't hear any voices so she decided it was safe to knock on the door.

"Come in," came the voice of the ME responding to the knock on her door.

"Dr. Isles," Susie announced as she entered the ME's office. "I have the DNA profile analysis for the Barker case," she said as she handed over the folder to her boss.

"Thank you Susie," Maura replied taking the file from the criminalist. She opened the file and reviewed several pages within the folder. After a few moments, she closed the file and handed it back to Susie. "You can run this upstairs and give it to Sergeant Korsak."

Susie couldn't help the flash of disappointment that she felt. She had expected Dr. Isles to hand her the file for her to deliver to the homicide team but a small part of her was hoping the ME would want to deliver the file herself. But as she accepted the file back she knew that things had not changed. She had been playing the go-between for over three weeks.

"Yes Doctor," Susie said. There wasn't anything left for her to say. It certainly wasn't her place to question her boss about the status of her friendship with Detective Rizzoli. She doubted Dr. Isles would even want to talk about whatever had caused the fight the two seemed to still be in the middle of having. She just found it sad that two people who were such close friends seemed to be unable to get past whatever it was that had caused their fight.

When it was clear that nothing else was needed or wanted from Susie, she turned and left the office heading for the elevators. She had lost count of the number of times she had made this journey over the last three weeks. There had been enough trips for her to realize how spoiled she had been by the friendship between the ME and detective. Until three weeks ago, Detective Rizzoli either came down for all the lab reports or Dr. Isles seemed to deliver them herself.

But then came the fight.

The entire station was aware of the fact that the two women were fighting only no one really seemed to know exactly what had started the fight. There were rumors and theories but at this point it was hard to pull fact from fiction. From Susie's original understanding, the two got into a disagreement at a crime scene. But over the last few weeks she had heard everything from the fight happening in the bullpen with Detectives Frost and Korsak having to separate the two to the fight actually taking place at Dr. Isles' Beacon Hill home after work one night.

Anyone tied to the station seemed to have supposedly either been there to witness the fight or knew what the fight had been about. But the few times Susie had asked people who were supposed to have witnessed the disagreement, those people weren't actual witnesses. They just heard from someone who heard from someone that the two were fighting and usually repeated the most current rumor. And there seemed to be no one who knew for certain what the two were even fighting about. Those rumors were too numerous for Susie to even start to sort through them again.

As Susie got off the elevator, she was hoping that Detective Rizzoli might be at her desk. Perhaps she would give some sort of clue about the current status of things. But as the criminalist entered the bullpen she found only Detectives Frost and Korsak. It didn't appear as if she would get any more answers this trip upstairs.

She approached Sergeant Korsak's desk and he looked up to greet her.

"Hello Susie," he said with a warm smile.

Susie smiled back. She had always liked Sergeant Korsak. He was an extremely nice man. "Good afternoon Sergeant," she said. "I have the last of the lab reports on the Barker case for you." She handed Korsak the file.

"Thank you," he said taking the file from the criminalist.

As he started to open the file Susie spoke. "Dr. Isles has seen the results so if you, or any other detective," she threw in in hopes of maybe getting some reaction from the older detective, "has any questions she will be more than able to answer them."

Korsak nodded but didn't take the obvious bait. "Thank you," he simply said again and it was clear he wasn't going to ask her any questions.

Seeing that there was nothing else for her to do, the criminalist wished the two detectives a good afternoon and made her way back towards the elevator. As she was leaving she overheard the start of a conversation.

"It's been three weeks," she heard Detective Frost say. Hearing this she slowed down her walking pace trying to hear the rest of the conversation. She knew she probably shouldn't. She knew it was none of her business. But sheer curiosity and a legitimate concern for a boss she genuinely liked compelled her to accept her current state of nosiness.

"I know," she heard Sergeant Korsak reply.

"Don't you think we should maybe try to do something?" Frost asked.

"Like what? This isn't our business," replied Korsak. "Those two are just going to have to work things out for themselves."

"But they don't seem to be doing that," Frost pointed out.

While she was some distance away, Susie could still hear the Sergeant sigh. "I know. But you and I both know Jane well enough to know that if she isn't talking about this with us, or her family, right now there just isn't anything we can do."

"I've never seen them go this long without speaking before," Frost said.

"Neither have I," Korsak admitted. "And to be honest with you, the longer they go the more worried about them both I am getting."

"And Frankie doesn't know anything?" Frost asked.

"Nothing," Korsak answered. "According to him, Jane refuses to talk about it to either him or Angela."

"Angela seems pretty close with Maura," Frost pointed out. "Maybe…"

"Angela doesn't know anything either," Korsak answered. "According to her Maura refuses to discuss the issue at all and has asked Angela not to bring it up."

"Oh," Frost responded. "That's not a good sign."

"No," Korsak replied, "it really isn't."

The conversation seemed to end and Susie had lingered for as long as she could justify. She hadn't learned anything new really except the part about Dr. Isles asking Mrs. Rizzoli not to talk about her and Jane. But there wasn't any explanation and Susie got the distinct impression both the detectives were as worried about the two women as everyone else at the station was.

With that thought not providing any comfort to the criminalist at all, Susie made it to the elevators and headed back down to the lab.

R&I

When Jane returned from her lunch she was told by Korsak that Lieutenant Cavanaugh needed to see her. She threw her jacket onto her desk and made her way to his office. She knocked gently on his door.

"You needed to see me?" Jane asked as she was knocking. It wasn't until after she had asked the question that she noticed there was someone other than Cavanaugh in the room. "Oh, sorry. I can come back later," she said feeling bad for interrupting.

"Rizzoli," Sean said stopping Jane from retreating away from his door. "Come in."

Jane nodded and entered. Turning her attention to the other occupant in the room she was surprised to see who it was. "Agent Dean?" she uttered unable to hide the surprise in her tone. Dean was the last person she had expected to see in Cavanaugh's office.

Gabriel Dean stood up from his chair in an attempt to greet the detective he had been so fascinated with since their first encounter dealing with Charles Hoyt. On instinct he extended his hand to shake hers but knew quickly that was a mistake. She had never taken his hand before and he was immediately sure she wouldn't take it now. He pulled his hand back as smoothly as possible trying not to upset Jane. He always seemed to forget about her scars.

"Detective," he said with a warm smile. He'd missed her. He hadn't seen her in about four months and he found he hadn't been able to stop thinking about her. Their last encounter was unsettling for him. He wanted more. Wanted to explore what he was feeling but she had pushed him away using Hoyt as her excuse. "It's good to see you again."

Jane simply nodded but couldn't manage to answer him. At the moment she wasn't sure how she felt about seeing him again. "What's going on?" she asked turning her attention to Cavanaugh. She wanted her answers from her boss. Not the FBI agent she hadn't seen in a while.

"Rizzoli," Cavanaugh started indicating to Jane to take a seat next to Dean. "Agent Dean is here looking into a series of murders in Connecticut."

"Connecticut?" Jane asked. Boston certainly wasn't Connecticut.

"Yes," answered Dean this time. "We are assisting in the investigation of several homicides headed up by the Connecticut State police. They have cases in both Bridgeport and Bristol. We believe that they are the work of a single killer."

Jane again turned to Cavanaugh. "And our involvement?" Dean hadn't said anything about Massachusetts or specifically Boston.

"The Connecticut State police ran the MO through ViCAP," Cavanaugh answered. "There are two possible hits, one from Boston and one from Cambridge, based on the MO."

Now she turned to Dean, "Cold cases?" she asked assuming that's why she was in the office now and not a detective assigned to an active investigation.

Dean nodded. "We think they might be our killer's first murders given the timeline."

Jane was quiet for a moment. She hadn't expected this and while she wanted to push back she decided that it wasn't the right thing to do. Instead, she turned to Dean. "What do you need us for?"

"I'd like your help reviewing the case from Boston as well as the one from Cambridge," he said.

Jane turned to Cavanaugh. "Cambridge will turn over their files?"

Cavanaugh nodded. Jane knew Cavanaugh would have cleared this with Cambridge PD. They were generally strapped for resources as it was and she was sure the brass practically jumped at the chance to dump off a cold case investigation initiated by the feds.

"Korsak and Frost can finish up the Barker investigation," Cavanaugh said. "I'd like you to review the State police information with Agent Dean and then work with him on a review of the cold case files."

Jane nodded. "Effective?" she asked already knowing the answer.

"We'd like the case reviews to occur as quickly as possible," Dean answered. "Connecticut police are trying to determine the scope of their killer's activities and if the Boston or Cambridge cases are connected we are hoping they may give some insight into the identity of their killer."

"So effective immediately," Jane replied answering her own question. Both men just nodded. Jane sighed. "Alright. Agent Dean, would you mind stepping out for just a moment so I can speak with my Lieutenant?"

"Certainly," Dean said and rose. He extended his hand to Cavanaugh who shook it. "Lieutenant, we appreciate the support in this matter." Cavanaugh simply nodded.

"You can wait for me down in the cafe," Jane said to Dean. "I will be down shortly."

Dean nodded and stepped out of the office. Jane turned to Cavanaugh. "Connecticut?" she asked not hiding her skeptical tone.

Cavanaugh shrugged his shoulders. "Let's just see where this takes us," he replied. Jane nodded. She knew she didn't have a choice. She stood up to leave but Cavanaugh stopped her. "Jane," he said and paused. "I'm sorry about this."

Jane was quiet for a moment but then spoke. "It needs to be done," was all she said before heading downstairs to talk with Dean.

R&I

"Here you go Dr. Isles," said Stanley as he passed the hot tea over to the ME.

"Thank you," Maura said accepting the tea. Maura turned to leave the cafe and almost ran right into someone. Without really looking to see who it was she started to apologize. "I'm so sorry," she said taking a step back from whoever she had bumped into.

"That's alright Dr. Isles," Dean said as he attempted to greet the ME with a smile. "I should have moved out of your way."

"I should have been paying attention to where I was going Agent Dean," Maura admitted. If she was surprised to see the FBI agent at all she didn't show it.

"Perhaps you can join me for a moment," Dean said. "I'm just waiting for Detective Rizzoli." If he was looking for any sort of reaction from the doctor at all, he didn't get one. "In fact, we may need your assistance on a few cold case files."

"If Detective Rizzoli needs anything from the medical examiner's office in reference to a case or investigation, she will know the proper procedures for making such a request," Maura answered in a flat tone. "If you will excuse me Agent Dean," she added and stepped aside without waiting for his response.

About five minutes later Jane entered the café and looked around trying to spot the federal agent. Seeing Dean sitting at a table in the corner she made her way over to the table. "Sorry about the wait," Jane said as she sat down. "I needed to cover some open issues with the lieutenant and drop off some notes on the case I'm being pulled away from to Frost."

"That's alright," he conceded. "I know this wasn't what you had planned for today." He wasn't too surprised she didn't seem happy to be pulled off of an active investigation.

"So, why me?" she asked not bothering to even try any small talk. There were several homicide detectives that could have been picked for this case review.

"I was hoping you'd be happy to see me," Dean threw out there with a smile. He was testing the water just a bit. While Jane smiled she didn't take the bait. Not getting the response he was hoping he would get he added, "I wanted the best. That would be you."

Jane also didn't respond to that comment but she did smile again. "So, talk to me about the Connecticut cases."

Dean spent the next thirty minutes reviewing the general facts from the cases the State police had been working. He also showed Jane the ViCAP results which had indicated a possible link to a case in Boston from seven years ago and one in Cambridge from six years ago. As Jane reviewed the ViCAP information she was skeptical.

"This isn't much," she said. The MO was similar but not an exact match and from what Dean had said about the victims from Connecticut cases the victims were not exactly the same 'type' as the cold case files from either Boston or Cambridge.

"We know," Dean conceded. "But we felt it was enough to at least review the files." Seeing Jane's skeptical look he admitted, "The Connecticut State police don't have much to go on. They are getting desperate for clues."

Jane nodded. She had at times been involved in cases without leads or clues and knew how frustrating it all could be. Grasping at straws tended to happen when an investigation hit that point. "We won't get the Cambridge files until at least tomorrow. I'll request our files but we probably won't see them until later this afternoon. You can leave me the files you have from the State police and then why don't we meet here tomorrow morning and get started then?" she offered.

"This should give you everything the State police has to date," Dean said passing the file folder over to Jane. "If there anything you want Dr. Isles to review or re-test the State police will make all of the evidence available to the medical examiner's office."

Jane accepted the folder but didn't say anything for a minute. She finally looked up at Dean and spoke. "I'm sure the State labs have run everything needed for the case." She didn't elaborate further.

This was now the second time Dean was exposed to apparent tension between the ME and the detective. He just wasn't sure if he should mention it to Jane or not. He also was a little disappointed that he was being dismissed already but there really wasn't much they could do together until they got the case files.

He thought maybe he would try one more time. "Jane," he started and looked at her. "I was hoping that maybe we could…" he paused. He wasn't sure if he was asking her out on a date or just trying to spend some time with her. He was pretty sure a 'date' wasn't a possibility. "I was hoping that maybe we could have some coffee and catch up."

He wanted to spend time with her. He wanted to know what was going on between her and Maura. He thought maybe since they were already sitting at the cafe and they were in a waiting mode perhaps she would at least agree to some coffee and more personal conversation. So far she hadn't seemed willing to walk down that road with him.

"Gabe," Jane said and sighed. "I have a lot going on right now," she said. She knew what he wanted but she just wasn't willing to give into him yet.

"It's just coffee Jane," he tried to point out.

"I think you and I both know it's not 'just' anything with you," she pushed back. The man always had an agenda and Jane was fully aware of his agenda now. Whether he was aware of that or not was not Jane's issue at the moment.

"So," Dean sighed in apparent but temporary defeat.

"So," Jane answered. "I'll see you in the morning." It was a stance she was unwilling to waver from.

Dean stood up. "I'll see you in the morning then" he said clearly not getting what he wanted at his first effort to spend time with the detective.

Jane nodded. "9 am," was all she said.