Maura reached for her medical bag, pulling out various pieces of equipment. After the Marino incident, she’d booked herself in on the first emergency medicine refresher course. Slipping her stethoscope around her neck, she pulled her thermometer out and gestured for Jane to open her mouth.
Stuffing the cold glass under the detective’s tongue, she made a decision. If Jane was showing no other signs of infection, she was going to pack up her few belongings and walk out that door. She wouldn’t abandon her completely, she planned to call the department doctor in the morning and arrange for him to come and see Jane. It was clear that Jane didn’t want her here.

Ignoring the long, delicate fingers that attempted to swat her hands away, she slipped the stethoscope under Jane’s towel. “Take a deep breath.” She said her tone cold and clinical.

‘Well done Rizzoli.’ Jane thought, ‘you managed to throw her away too. She was the best thing in your life and you’re pushing her away.’

Hearing nothing wrong, Maura reached for her blood pressure cuff and wrapped it around the toned arm of her uncooperative friend. She pulled the thermometer from her mouth, staring at it and seeing nothing out of the ordinary. Jane’s blood pressure also seemed normal.

“Well you’re fine.” Maura told her as she packed her bag up. “Everything is within normal levels, nothing to indicate an infection. Stand up.” Jane hung her head. The words wouldn’t come, with every passing second Jane could see the gap between them growing and yet she was powerless to stop it. Suddenly she was being pulled to her feet, and she felt like a child. Maura used to say there was the easy way, or the hard way. It had become a long running joke, started at the very beginning of their friendship, way back when Jane had been someone, someone to be proud of, someone who could stand up to the world, someone who could answer the phone.
Now Jane was no one and Maura didn’t even give her the option, she pulled her roughly to her feet.

“Open your towel so I can examine your wound.” Jane dropped the towel, half-heartedly trying to cover her modesty, not that she had a lot of that left. Not anymore.  She failed miserably, the deep green towel hitting the carpet with a muted thud.