DISCLAIMER: All things Rizzoli and Isles belong to Tess Gerritsen, Janet Tamaro, and other entities. I'm altering their realities for fun, not profit, as I own nothing and have the credit report to prove it.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
FEEDBACK: To mf.vinson[at]gmail.com
A Sidebar
By sailor80
"Hey, can I buy you a drink?" Barry Frost asked Vince Korsak nervously as the day wound down. He wanted to talk to him about his current and Korsak's ex partner, Detective Jane Rizzoli. This was building for a while, through the return of the reason Korsak was her ex partner, the discovery of Dr. Isles' biological family, and both of them watching in horror when Rizzoli shot herself to end the hostile takeover of Boston Police Department's home base.
Korsak looked at him. Frost was a good kid, and free beer was free beer. It wasn't his fault Rizzoli dumped him. Maybe it was time to make their truce permanent. "Sure."
A couple hours later, they were on their second pitcher and fifth pool game. Korsak sank the winning shot, and took their series. "You ever gonna ask what you wanna know?"
"Yeah." Frost returned his cue to the rack. "Nachos?"
"Load 'em up." Korsak laid his on the table.
They sat in their booth, and Frost emptied the pitcher, splitting it evenly between them. He put the pitcher down. "What was she like?"
"Pretty much like she is now, except less. I dunno, brittle. Fragile. Sharp."
"Happy."
"I guess." Korsak saw the waitress and waved her over.
Frost ordered another pitcher and nachos.
"She's better since Dr. Isles took over from Doc Tierney," Korsak observed.
"What's the deal with them?"
"I don't know. There's a pool goin' how long it's gonna take 'em to figure out the obvious."
"I want a piece of that."
"See Charlie Winters." Korsak smirked. "I'm down for the end of the year. Janie gives great gifts."
"I dunno," Frost said. "Did you see them at the Halloween party?"
"Yeah, when I got done laughin' at you."
"Since Queer Eye, everybody's a fashion critic."
Korsak rolled his eyes.
"You should check it out. Women like a man who looks nice."
"And the women we see all day don't pay a bit of attention to us."
"That's not true. Dr. Isles likes my taste in ties."
Korsak shook his head. He was a perv and even if they were his friends, they were both insanely hot, and he imagined several uses for a tie.
"What?"
"Never mind."
Frost shrugged. Korsak was like Rizzoli in that pressing them didn't accomplish anything. "Anything I should know?"
"Nope. Just pay attention to what she's doing. She knows her job. Oh, and she doesn't like those sissy coffees you and Dr. Isles drink, so don't waste your money."
"I don't understand either of them," Frost sighed. Rizzoli was moody as hell, and Dr. Isles was the most unsettling human being he'd ever met, and that was saying something after two years in Vice.
"You and every other man on the planet. They understand each other, that's what's important." Korsak wanted her to be happy. Dr. Isles, too. They balanced each other. Jane explained people and sports; Maura explained everything else. This was Massachusetts. They could get married, have kids he would delight in spoiling.
"Got it."
"Anything else you wanna know, you ask her."
Frost nodded and raised his mug. "To partners."
"Partners," Korsak echoed, and tapped the kid's mug.
The End