Author's note: New year, new story; one chapter a day and reviews more than appreciated.

Chapter One

An asshole.

Whoever had invented the concept of new year resolutions was an asshole. As a matter of fact, he – it could only be a man, let's face it – was probably related to whoever had once assumed that if you weren't in a relationship then it meant that something was going wrong in your life. Both guys had too much in common to be strangers to each other. Actually, it may even be one idiot and one idiot only: the same one for both concepts.

Jane rolled her eyes at her computer screen, convinced that the family tree of idiots she had just elaborated in her mind was the exact reflection of reality.

Of course she preferred to not say a word about the easiness with which she had succumbed to all this bullshit as it was more comforting to blame a third party for what she was about to do. She had spent her day off pondering the idea; a complete waste of time under other circumstances but she saw it now as a matter of calendar and nothing else.

If January 1st tended to be oddly quiet, she had learned that January 2nd was pernicious if you weren't working on that day. It seemed like the symbolism of the new year reached its apogea first thing in the morning and you soon found yourself debating ideas in your head, more or less existential ones.

Like whether it was time for you to sign up on a dating website.

Her romantic life had suddenly stopped the moment she had broken up with Casey a year earlier. Nothing had really been easy afterwards but she had now turned the page and was ready to accept someone else in her arms.

There was something appealing in the idea of being single but she knew that it could only be temporary. She wanted to build something with someone. Besides, the fact she would turn forty years old in February had a clear impact on the decision she was about to take: time was running against her, she could feel it.

After an endless internal fight against herself, she had sat down on the couch of her living-room to start a rather hesitant research on Google.

She had immediately discarded the most famous websites, the biggest ones. They looked too impersonal in spite of the beautiful promises that littered their frontpages. Perhaps it was ridiculous but she was looking for something intimate enough, something friendly. It was the first time that she would sign up for an account on such kind of websites and the approach was rather intimidating.

"Intimidating? My ass!" A bitter laugh passed her lips. "It's humiliatin', that's what it really is. Admit it."

Boston Loves You

The name of the website was atrociously cheesy but at least it had the credits to gather Bostonians only which satisfied Jane as she wasn't planning on moving to the other side of the country. She was a Boston girl and would always be one no matter what.

From forums to private profiles, the website seemed to work like any other one. The only thing Jane needed was to sign up and create a profile. It was free of use and she could leave any time.

"Choose your username..." The tiny obstacle almost resulted enough for her to give up. She cast a desperate glance at Jo Friday who was sleeping next to her on the couch. Of course the dog didn't help her much. "Damn."

This part was actually the toughest one as she had to find a name vague enough for people to not guess who she was. Boston was a small city, she would die at the scene if one of her colleagues happened to find out that she had signed up on a dating website. And yet the name had to be personal: it had to reflect who she was.

The buzzing sound of her cell phone interrupted her thoughts. She grabbed the device then opened the text message that Maura had just sent her: she had just parked at the corner and would be there within a minute now.

"Perfect, really." Just when Jane had finally found the courage to sign up for an account, life waved a sign to tell her that she was running out of time. "Fine..."

Her hands hesitated for a second before running with frenzy on the keyboard. She couldn't help wincing in mental pain as she accepted the terms and sent her request to join. A little voice in her head kept on telling her that she would regret it sooner than later and, for some reason, she was quite eager to agree with this ominous sign.

BostonAvenger01

A moan of despair painfully passed her lips. She shook her head then buried her face in her head. This had to be the lamest username in the whole history of Internet. Who did she think she was? A superhero of some sort?

It would have to do though as Maura would show up within a minute now. She quickly confirmed her account then proceeded to fill the categories at light speed. She was about to proofread her profile when a knock on the door stopped her.

"Gosh." She validated the whole thing, shut down the laptop then hid it under a cushion. "Yeah, I'm here... Hold on a sec'...!"

Jane stood up and tried to sweep away the sentiment of dissatisfaction before the description she had just made of herself online. She walked to the door and opened to Maura.

"It is snowing! Don't you feel like drinking a hot chocolate? I do... Unless you prefer to go to Harvard Square? A snowy day in Boston has to be spent on Harvard Square."

Maura joyfully came in. She trotted to an armchair and set down her winter coat on the arm of the seat. She was in a very good mood and hoped that Jane would not be in one of her grumpy days.

She liked her friend a lot but had a hard time dealing with her pessimistic attitude at times.

"Am I interrupting you? What were you doing?"

They hadn't planned anything special but since Jane had had her day off, Maura had assumed that she would stop by the Back Bay apartment after work as she often did in such circumstances. Jane shrugged away the question before motioning the couch.

"Just... Readin'..."

Maura's enthusiastic nod stopped a bit abruptly. She had followed her friend's dark eyes but hadn't spotted any book on the couch. As a matter of fact, there was nothing on the coffee table either. The room was neat as if Jane hadn't used it yet.

"Is it the book about The Red Sox that I got you for Christmas?"

Jane ran a hand through her hair, not really knowing what to say. She didn't want to lie to Maura yet there was no way she would confess what she had just done either. Her vague nod would hopefully put an end to a delicate conversation.

"It's really a great book. I like it very much." That was the truth. She turned around and walked to the kitchen area. "Do you want a coffee or a hot chocolate?"

It was a bit early for a glass of wine. Obviously Maura hadn't had a tough day and alcohol wasn't needed to forget whatever issues she could have faced at the morgue. Jane grabbed two mugs and chose to prepare them a hot chocolate since her friend had just mentioned the hot beverage.

"So how was school, today?"

Leaned against one of the windows of the living-room, Maura closed her eyes. The image of snow falling outside was still playing in her mind like one of these snow plastic balls you had to shake to recreate a winter landscape.

"Eventless..."

Monotony had its perks but not on a day like this one. A new year had just begun, Maura wanted change and action. Instead, she had spent most of the day revising medical files and booking meetings with different people. She hadn't touched a scalpel at all.

Her work life couldn't become as dull as her private life was. This was something that she couldn't accept. Of course, she enjoyed the Rizzolis and a few social events here and there but it wasn't enough to make her feel complete. Her life once she left the morgue was a tad boring.

A piece of her very own puzzle was currently missing.

"Would you like to go to the movies one of these days? It's been a long time..." It wouldn't really break their routine but spending an evening out was still rather appealing. "You can choose the movie."

Jane raised a playful eyebrow at her friend. Maura's statement had certainly caught her attention as she always had the last word on the movie, or better said independant film, they ended up seeing.

"Even a blockbuster? You're serious?" Jane could hardly remember the last time she had seen a movie with Maura that didn't have subtitles for the original language was some obscure idiom she had never heard about. "An action movie?"

Fear briefly embraced Maura's features. She got tense but did her best to hide it. In vain. Her reaction caused Jane to burst out laughing.

"I was just teasing you..." Jane rolled her eyes and brought the two mugs to the living-room. "I kinda like the weird movies you make me watch." She paused, not entirely ready to assume what she had just said. "Sometimes."