Title: A Creature Fear

Rating: K+

Disclaimer: I do not own Rizzoli & Isles or the amazing characters. I wish, but I don't have that power.

Summary: Doctor Maura Isles is not a hero. She's not like Detective Rizzoli. She doesn't know how to save people from themselves. Hinting of R/I.

Note: I'm not sure where this came from. All I know is that I want Maura to be the hero and not even know it. I wanted Maura to be intimate (not sexually~) with a person who needed her help. I want to prove that Maura is more of a quirky people-person than she realizes. I think this would take place in later season one. Though exact placement within episodes has never been my thing.

If you're interested, please inform me to go on! I just have a lot of work to do now that college is going again and I would LOVE/APPRECIATE any type of word back. Makes these long hours on the laptop worthwhile. Love x

#A Creature Fear#

Dr. Maura Isles, Massachusetts Chief Medical Examiner, needed to go for a run this early morning. The rain had slowed to a patter and the sun was just peeking through the slots of the high buildings in the city. Rays caught the droplets as they lazily slinked down the curves of car bodies which became cleansed of the city musk and dirt particles. It was quite a good time to run; the sidewalks would be dry from evaporation in no time. She felt fervor for adrenaline and as odd as she thought it was, she felt extremely compelled to go.

"Goodbye, Bass," Maura chirped to the lazy tortoise as she closed and locked her door behind her.

She headed out at a good pace, admiring the way the precipitation created a pleasing stimulation from her olfactory senses. It was enjoyable, early, and it was a respectable way to be alone and concentrated. Times like this Maura would lose herself, her mind would take over her body, and she would run. Her ponytail would swing side to side from her scalp. She would think about odd things along the way. If she spotted a couple, she would take quick notice of them and try to figure out the range of heights their future children would grow to be. Sometimes she would think about the dirt, rock, and sand mixture between the grips of her running shoes. She knew what it was of course, but that never stopped her from wondering anyway.

Maura kept up a worthy pace for a satisfactory section of time. She checked her watch to see how long she had been keeping a good pace for. It told her it was 7:20 am.

As she began to tire, Maura decided to take a slightly different route than the one she could be seen taking with her friend, Jane. She came up to a slightly high pass, metal wiring gates for enclosure all around it. Maura had been here before, but she's never jogged through that overpass before. It was a new sight to observe. She saw someone off in the distance. Suddenly, she anticipated jogging by and waving a friendly "good morning, isn't it?" gesture in their direction. The early rush to work for the cars below broke a bit of the calming aesthetic of an after-the-rain run. She slowed her pace and squinted her line of vision to see the person ahead. Maybe they weren't jogging like she was after all.

As she gained a closer look she noticed it was a girl, looked to be in her late teens with brown, thick hair. She probably did not use conditioner often, Maura could see from approximately 100 feet away. Her grey jeans were faded, yet a nice fit for her skinny frame. The girl's hair rippled along in the wind, as did the hood on her sweater. Yet, even her naturally good eye could not have willed her to predict, (if there ever was a logical thing) of what the girl would do next.

Maura watched in worrying horror as the girl brutally pulled back the wiry fencing of the jogging path. She stepped with one foot out onto the very thin metal ledge just outside of the protection of the enclosure. Maura quickly looked over her shoulder in anxiousness, possibly for someone to be there, to rescue the kid- as ridiculous as she felt thinking it, she couldn't help but believe that Jane was right behind her, ready to take action. Ready to fix something that could be a big situation as this.

Maura's insides ached, if they could ache, this was when they would. And nobody was around. Nothing really on this nice morning but Maura, this girl, and the very busy and ignorant drivers below worrying about getting to work five minutes after they were due to arrive. There was no Jane this time.

She wasn't sure what to do. She was just out for a jog.

A nervous stitch multiplied in her stomach region and she kept her sights on the girl. This girl did not see Maura, or even realized she was there. The girl did not step out with both feet yet.

What if she did before Maura even reached where this girl was? Would Maura make eye contact with her and then she would fall to her messy death? Would the girl jump? Suddenly she questioned if she was critically thinking. Maybe she was trying to gain a better shot from a 35mm lens. Though Maura knew better than maybes. Maybes didn't usually exist in her world. Maura suddenly thought about yelling, or perhaps, calling out to her; to tell her to step back from it. Surely she knew it was extremely dangerous to do that? To pull back the wiring and step out? Her mouth was partially open, ready to call a warning when she stopped. What if Maura scared her and she fell?

Maura felt completely responsible for this girl now. She knew exactly what would happen to that child's body if she jumped, or fell, from these heights with the speed of traffic that it was… the impact alone-.

She sped up, wishing more energy in her nervous legs. Maura was not sure if that twitching sensation in her legs were from a buildup of lactic acid or the possibility of seeing this young girl fall to her death. Maura knows death.

She's never really tried to stop it like this before. Someone so young?

The girl must have seen Maura in her peripheral vision and she quickly turned her head. Her face was at first, very surprised, but quickly settled into a gloomy irritation.

Maura stopped running and tried to get oxygen to her brain, breathing through her nose at the best pace she could.

"What are you looking at?" the girl shot, "I'm nothing interesting. Please continue on with yourself."

What Maura found strange was how she said it with such false harshness. She looked as though she did not sleep for many nights; the curves under her eyes were dark from vitamin deficiency. The girl's piercing grey eyes frowned just passed Maura's. The girl did not look her in the eye. Suddenly, Maura needed to know about this troubled girl. She could also suggest a life for this girl within her own mind, based off of what she'd seen on her cold tables in the morgue also within the files Jane hands her.

She knew this girl had absent parental units, possibly a younger sibling she felt responsible for. Maura knew this girl was picked on at school. She also could lightly smell the scent of tobacco on the wind from her dark sweater. She didn't believe in life anymore. She found it odd when that popped into her mind as "evidence".

Maura stopped at a distance of 10 feet from her. She did not want to overwhelm her, causing her to do something rash. The girl's chin was up, like she was proud or maybe terrified to be where she was, being seen what she was doing.

"I can't do that," Maura started simply.

"Yes, you can." Her voice quivered. "It's easy."

"That's silly of you to say. You obviously don't know me at all do you?"

The girl finally caught Maura's gaze. She looked slightly confused under the monotone glaze of her eyes. She had been crying. The girl shook her head, gave Maura an ugly look and faced back toward what would be a very dangerous fall.

Maura had no idea what to say next.

"I-I can't lie!" she blurted out quickly.

The girl froze any movements and her hands gripped tighter around the fence link.

"What do you want?"

Maura ignored her, now beginning to ramble and increasing her closeness to her.

"I can't lie. I get physical symptoms if I lie. Rashes, obvious paranoia…"

The girl mumbled, "You're crazy."

Maura was closer to her. A distance that was close enough for the both of them. The girl was obviously uncomfortable with them both, and if Maura was being honest, she was uncomfortable too.

"Yes, I know. I have problems suggesting brownish-red stains at crime scenes are actually blood, when… if the possibilities could be anything different, I refuse to say so. I refuse to lie or guess until I have proven facts. Facts of science."

The girl did not turn toward Maura, but at least she did not budge closer to an imminent death.

Maura continued, "Now, here's the thing. If you or anybody else down there in those cars on their way to work were to see that same exact splatter, you would tell me it was definitely blood. I would probably refrain from confirming such pivotal accusations until I was in my lab running tests on the splatter."

She did not move closer to the girl.

"Please, go away. Please."

Maura felt anxious. She knew the probabilities. Things she could add up in her head as equations. Those things she could do. She knew she didn't have the wonderful people skills that Jane had. Her wonderful ability to be so characteristically charming and likeable that she can flip a situation before the situation got wind of what she was able to do. Maura did not have those skills.

Suddenly she longed for the shelter of her morgue.

"I am a lover of science, of fact, of reason. I told you I can't lie so I am genuinely compelled to inform you of exactly the situation right here. Let's say you jump when that light approximately half a mile down the ways turns green. By the time you reach the height of a combination vehicle, a semi truck, from the ground— that's 13 feet six inches—that impact alone will cause…"

"Who are you?"

Maura's brain was still reeling from the complex mathematics, she was about to calculate wind speed when this question threw her for a loop.

"M-Maura Isles. I'm the Chief Medical Examiner for Boston's Police Department."

The girl turned her head finally, looking a bit in shock. Nothing Maura hasn't gotten before. Yet, this time it made her feel self-conscious. This girl knew Maura couldn't save her. Maybe this girl wished someone like Jane would have been jogging by and taken notice. Instead she got stuck with Dr. Isles herself.

"So you cut open dead people is what you're telling me? You? You look like a rich, too-much-free-time-on-her-hands soccer mom."

Maura blinked, "Oh, well no, I don't have any children."

The girl raised her sad eyebrow in disbelief.

"This isn't fair you know. You've gotten my name from me, and I don't even know yours."

The girl carefully observed Maura. As if she was checking to see how genuine of a human she was. Her sad, grey eyes locked into Maura's.

"I'm Jessie."

"Nice to meet you, Jessie." Maura stuck out her hand and gave a small, harmless smile.

Jessie shook her head and stepped closer to the ledge. She had a look of betrayal on her young face.

She was too young to die, Maura's brain whizzed. This girl will not end up on her table in the morgue. Even if she could not convince her, talk to her, change this viewpoint, she didn't want this girl to end up on her table. She needed to live. The look in her young eyes, the roundness of her zygomatic bone. No, Jessie will not be on her table.

"That's rather rude of you, Jessie. That's what people do when they meet. They shake hands."

"I'm not going to do that, Chief." she said, shaking her head.

Maura shrugged, "Alright. Well… that's not a way to start off on the right foot."

Jessie glared at Maura. She must have thought Maura was so bizarre.

"I am about to jump off of this overpass so I would think that this relationship started off on the wrong foot. Maybe you always have early morning chats with suicidal girls on your way to your expensive coffee place."

"Oh, no. I wasn't going to drink coffee right after a run."

Jessie turned away from Maura and looked down at the busy street below.

"You done now? Are you done talking to a dead girl?"

Maura stiffened her back. "Seeing as I'm the one who works with the dead, but excuse me—you look very much alive. I can honestly tell you, without scientific proof, that you are alive, Jessie." Maura felt very sincere, she hoped she came off that way.

"What do you know? Sure, I'm breathing, Chief. Yes, there's even warm blood in my veins or whatever but that does not fix what I am. It doesn't make up for being a walking, talking, creature." Her voice was weary, tired. Jessie was tired of doing it every day.

Maura decided to take a risky move. She inched closer to the girl and sat down against the wire fence, facing her. She thought about Jane. What would Jane do? Would Jane tell this girl to cut the crap and tell her to come along? Maybe they could grab a dog with ketchup on the way? Is that what she would do?

What would Maura do?

"You know. I never get to talk about matters like this too often. I am surely fascinated by many things. I like hearing new stories. I'm sure we both have time for yours and mine."

Jessie clenched her jaw.

Maura felt a little bit of Jane weaving into her words, becoming falsely cocky, "Listen, if you still want to jump after I talk to you, then go on ahead."

She was taking the biggest risk. The most dangerous risk.

Jessie seemed to be relieved at Maura's words. She turned her head to look down into Maura's face. Her face hinted of a tiny thank you in the early morning sun. It was too beautiful a day for tragedy.

"S-so you won't stop me? You promise you won't?"

Maura inhaled deeply, she hoped her emotional attachment wouldn't give her away. She felt responsible for this girl; attached. At one point in her own young life, Jessie could have resembled herself.

That notion hit her fiercely.

She nodded.

"Just one thing…" Jessie began, a little more confidence in her voice. "Why do you want to talk to me?"

Maura could not tell lies.

"Because you're the only one who will listen to me."

I'm probably off at class or something, so send a word or two to me? I need some reason to smile during my mathematics course.

Plus, I want to know if somebody is interested in the direction of this story. I have another rizzles story that I'd like to add onto as well.

Thank you very much for checking it out!

Cassie

A/N: I wish Maura was a soccer mom. heh.