FIC: Label 2/2
Title: Label
Author: Fanchiction
Fandom: Rizzoli & Isles
Rating: M
Pairing: Jane/Maura
Spoilers: The whole first season.
Summary: Maura doesn't quite fit into any of Jane's categories.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything, I swear!
<------Back to Part 1
~~~
A date. Jane scuffs her boots on the concrete steps up to Maura’s front door. She’s never been good at dating. For a moment she considers running, but Maura opens the door before she even has the chance.
“Jane!” the doctor gasps. “You brought flowers!”
The detective’s cheeks turn a dusky shade of red. “I just… You’re the one who said it was a date.” She stuffs them awkwardly into Maura’s arms and clears her throat. “Oh my God. Stop smiling, will you?”
Maura grin only widens. “Don't worry, I won't tell anyone how sweet you are.”
“Can we just eat?” Jane whines. She pushes her way inside while Maura giggles at her expense.
The evening is surprisingly routine-- In fact, Jane has the fleeting theory that they’ve been dating for months and she’s just now catching on. They’ve shared a little laughter and lots of wine when Jane accidentally yawns. Maura offers to walk her to the door. “I had a good time,” she says.
“Yeah, we should do it again. Maybe go out to dinner-- How about that fancy place on Columbus you like so much.”
“You hate that place,“ Maura laughs. “I’d rather do something that we’ll both enjoy.”
Jane thinks for a moment before her eyes light up. “The shooting range!”
Maura shakes her head. “No. Out of the question.”
“Aw, c’mon, Maur. It’ll be fun! You loved holding my gun.”
“That was before you shot yourself.”
Jane bites her lip. “Sorry.”
“How about a baseball game?“ Maura suggests in an attempt to end the night on a positive note, but Jane knows her too well.
“It’s basketball season, Maura,” Jane says with a smirk.
“Oh.”
“You’re adorable.”
Maura’s nose scrunches. “Adorable wasn’t really what I was going for tonight.”
Jane can practically hear her own heartbeat. “What? No! You’re… pretty, too.” Lame.
“That’s… polite.”
“You’re… Y’know. Attractive,” Jane stutters. “In a… girlie sort of way.”
“Says the raging heterosexual…”
“Oh, I get it. This is a test. Fine. I think you’re hot, Maura. You’re beautiful. You’re sexy as hell, okay?” Jane’s not sure how they got so close, but she finds the courage within herself to lean in and kiss those lips like she’s hungry for it. “Did I pass the test?” she asks, when they finally part out of necessity.
Maura makes a funny kind of noise that is supposed to sound like ‘yes’.
They stumble towards Maura’s bedroom in a frenzy of lips and limbs.
“Ouch!” Jane yelps, when she stumps her toe on the bedpost. She does a funny sort of one-legged hop. “Son of a bitch!”
Maura cups her hand over her mouth in shock. “Are you okay?” she half-giggles.
“Yeah, I’m okay,” Jane laughs, thankful for the sudden change of pace-- even at the expense of her ego. At least now, she can breathe. “C’mere,” she beckons.
They undress each other slowly. They’ve seen each other half-naked before, but the distinction is clear. This time, there’s no guise of ‘friends only’ to get in the way.
“Holy shit,” Jane breathes, once all of their clothes have been shed and Maura hovers above. She’s equal parts terrified and fascinated. She shudders as Maura’s blunted nails trace across the scars and muscles on her abdomen.
“You are beautiful,” Maura whispers.
Jane casts her eyes away. “I’m not.”
“You are.” Deep in her reverie, Maura strives for a moment of clarity and guides Jane’s hand up between her legs. “See what you do to me?”
“Fuck,” Jane whimpers.
Maura’s breath hitches as Jane begins to stroke her. “See how wet you make me?” she husks.
Jane had planned on being tender, but her plans are forgotten the moment she feels that warm, wet velvet. She flips them over and delights in the squeal that comes from below. She fights the carnal urge to dive right in and ruin this angel. “I-- I don’t know what to do,” she says as the realization hits her.
Maura only smiles and stretches upward to reward her with a kiss. “You’re perfect. Just-- Ah…” She bucks her hips at Jane’s first thrust. “Perfect,” she sighs. Her breath comes out in gasps and bursts as Jane discovers her.
Jane revels in this-- the ease and the purity of it. She’s amazed by the instinct that rises up within. She’d expected fear, but the delicious grind of Maura’s curves and those sexy little sounds coming from in between her lips make everything feel strange but not strange-- natural and not very scary at all.
She spends a brief eternity basking in the beauty of just how perfectly Maura’s body fits to hers. And she savors the way Maura turns it right back around and pushes her over the edge.
“How do we do this?” she wonders aloud once her breathing has settled. She cradles Maura in her arms, damp and warm with sweat under the cool sheets. Her heartbeat is steady as their bare thighs touch and their legs tangle.
“How do we do what?” Maura yawns. Her body is limp and satiated.
“You know… The whole lesbian thing. What’s the next step?”
“I’m not sure,” Maura admits. “Should we tell people?”
“Definitely not the guys at work. Those pervs will have a field day.”
“Okay, work is off limits.”
Jane strokes Maura’s shoulder and makes a face. “Not my family either. I can already hear my mother; When are you two gonna settle down? When is Maura going to have a baby?--”
“A baby?”
Jane rolls her eyes. “Yeah, you know how Ma is about babies. She’d want you to get knocked up as soon as possible.”
“Why would I be the one getting pregnant?”
Jane blanches. “I just figured…” She bites her lip as Maura glares at her. “Nevermind.”
“No, I want to know why you’re so sure that I would be the one to carry our child.”
Jane’s stomach plummets. “Just forget I said anything,” she whimpers.
“Jane…”
“Because I’m the guy, okay?”
“The guy?” Maura repeats.
Jane flushes impossibly redder. “Well, yeah. I always thought I’d be the one who opens the doors and buys the flowers and pulls out the chairs...”
Maura fails to fight back a bitter burst of laughter.
“What’s so funny?” Jane demands.
“Nothing,” Maura snaps. She wriggles her way out of Jane’s arms and covers herself up. “Nothing’s funny. It’s actually kind of sad, Jane. Apparently, you think that I’m some pathetic damsel in distress. I really had no idea.”
“See? Now you’re mad at me. This is exactly why I didn’t want to have this conversation.”
“No, you didn’t want to have this conversation because of how unreasonable you are.” Maura flops down onto the bed and stares up at the ceiling. “What about strap-ons?”
“Gah! Maura!”
“I’m serious, Jane. What if I wanted to wear a strap-on?”
“Please stop saying that word…” Jane begs.
Their gazes lock and a battle-- better yet, a standoff-- begins.
As Maura rakes her fingers through her hair in one frustrated sweep, Jane’s resolve withers and dies. “Fine. Yes. If we ever… Yeah, I would prefer to be the one who does the… uh… penetrating.”
“Really, Jane? Because I seem to recall quite a bit of penetrating on my end last night.”
Jane buries her face in her hands. “That’s not… It’s not the same! Can we not have this conversation? We just got together and we’re already talking about babies and dildos.”
Maura tries not to laugh, but it really does sound funny out loud. She covers her mouth in a failed attempt to mute a giggle. “When you put it that way, this conversation is a bit… silly.”
Jane squints, but she’s hardly threatening. She smiles in spite of herself and stands up to stretch as Maura‘s laughter settles. “I’m going to get some water. You want?”
“Yes,” Maura croaks, her eyelids heavy with lust as she scans the expanse of Jane‘s exposed body. “I want.”
Jane’s swallows a retort down as she slinks back into bed and scoops Maura up in her arms. “This is crazy. I can’t keep my hands off of you.”
“Mmm…” Maura hums. “Maybe you’re suffering from Mempin Syndrome.”
“Or maybe you just turn me on. Smartass.”
Maura rolls to the top and pins Jane’s wrists tightly above her head.
“Fuck,” Jane hisses. She struggles briefly before lying limp and letting out a breathy chuckle. “You’re stronger than you look.”
Maura grins as she nips at Jane’s jawline.
~~~
“That was nice,” Maura comments. She slips out of her jacket and plops down on the bed.
Jane stares, incredulously, at her girlfriend. “Uh… Were we not at the same yoga class?”
“It wasn’t that bad.”
“Call me crazy, but I don’t like the idea of doing downward facing dog with a guy who’s seen my girlfriend naked.”
Maura rolls her eyes. “Brock’s never seen me naked, Jane.”
“What”
“He practices Brahmacharya Vrata.”
“That’s not some weird tantric sex position, is it?”
“It’s celibacy, Jane.”
“Oh.”
Maura takes Jane’s hand and pulls her down onto her side of the bed. “So, you see, there was no need for you to be so possessive.” She leans over and kisses the side of the detective’s jaw.
“I was not being possessive,” Jane insists.
Maura narrows her gaze. “You certainly marked your territory-- I wouldn’t have been surprised if you’d peed on me.”
Jane makes a flustered attempt to get up, but Maura’s got a good grip on her. “Well, how was I supposed to know that yoga-boy practices Bramalamabingbang?”
“Brahmacharya Vrata,” Maura corrects.
“Whatever. I don’t like the way he looks at you. It makes me want to kill him and if that bothers you--”
Maura cups Jane’s face in her hands. “Who said it bothers me?” she slurs. Her golden eyes flicker with mischief. She delights as the color in Jane’s cheeks drains. "Seeing you like that… It was arousing.”
Jane lets out a growl and pulls the smaller woman into her lap. “God, Maur,” she gasps. She’s surprised by how ready she is in an instant. No one has ever turned her on this much. Maura’s hips begin to rock in a steady grind. Hands and lips and teeth clash in a whirl of passion.
“What was that?” Maura pants at a far-off sound, but Jane’s kisses only get more frantic. “Wait!” She pulls away. “Listen…”
Jane grunts at the loss. “Can women get blue balls?”
Maura considers it. “Vasocongestion? Yes, actually.” Her eyes widen at the state of the detective-- hair tousled (more than usual), skin flushed, heavy panting. “Oh! Sorry! I could’ve sworn I heard something.” But then Jane kisses her and makes her forget every worry she could possibly have.
“Relax…” the detective whispers against the column of Maura’s neck. “Let me take care of you.”
“Okay…” Maura whimpers.
“Janie?” a voice calls from the living room. Jane and Maura freeze. “You home?”
As the door swings open, the couple scrambles to make themselves decent.
“Holy Shit, Frankie!” Jane squeaks. “Don’t you know how to knock? You scared the hell out of me!”
“Sorry-- I didn’t mean to-- Ma asked me to stop by! How was I supposed to know you were--” Frankie’s eyes are wide as he looks between the two women. “What’s… Ah… What’s going on?”
“It’s not what you think! Right, Maura?”
Maura’s brow scrunches in genuine frustrated confusion. “How would I know what he’s thinking, Jane?” she grumbles.
The detective grimaces.
The sound of Frankie’s laughter snatches the couple’s attention away from one another.
“This is funny to you?” Jane asks in disbelief.
Frankie heaves between broken words.
Jane frowns. “Yeah, yeah… Yuk it up, Junior.”
“Oh God, Ma’s gonna kill you,” he guffaws.
“Probably,” Jane laments.
Frankie begins to settle himself. “Aw… She probably won’t kill you.”
“Thanks a lot, Jerk,” Jane grumbles.
“C’mon, Janie. You know I’m just kidding.”
“I’ll go put some coffee on,” Maura sighs. She looks longingly at Jane for a long moment before inching past Frankie.
Jane glares at her brother. “Why are you here?” she demands.
“Korsak called and asked me if I’d seen you. He says you keep ignoring his calls. I just wanted to make sure you were alright.”
“What’s he want?”
Frankie shrugs his shoulders. “Something about Cavanaugh. Seemed pretty important.” His face contorts thoughtfully as he cocks his head to the side cryptically.
“What?” she demands.
“I can’t even beat you when it comes to pulling hot girls,” he half-teases. “You’re giving me a complex, Janie.”
Jane swallows. “You’re not gonna tell Ma and Pop about this, right?”
“Nah…” His fiddles with his firearm in its holster. “But you should.”
She purses her lips. “When the time’s right, I will tell them.”
He casts her a skeptical glare.
~~~
Maura is finishing up with a last-minute autopsy when she hears the door snick shut behind her. She smiles knowingly. “Give me two minutes and I’m all yours,” she says over her shoulder in a voice that’s meant to entice. Which is why her breath catches in her throat when she hears a distinctively un-Jane-like cough. She snaps her head around to see Barry Frost with his hands stuffed into his pockets. “Oh! I thought you were...”
“It’s okay, Doc,” he says bashfully.
Of course, he can’t be entirely unaware of her implications-- he is a detective, after all. But he’s also enough of a gentleman to mind his own business, which Maura greatly appreciates.
She stitches her last stitch, plucks her gloves and gown off, and cheerfully sweeps over to the sink to wash up. “What can I do for you, Barry?”
“Actually…” Frost casts his eyes nervously to the floor, deliberately keeping the cadaver out of sight. “It’s about Jane.”
There’s something about the way he says it that makes Maura stop cold-- makes her heart drop down into her belly. “Is she alright? Did something happen--?”
“N-No!” he stammers. “I mean, kind of.”
Suddenly, Maura can’t hear much more than the thump of her own heartbeat.
Frost stops and takes a deep breath. “She got called into Cavanaugh’s office again.”
“Oh,” Maura sighs in relief that doesn’t last long. “Why?”
“I don't know. I think she… stepped on some important toes.”
“Oh,” Maura says again. “Well, Jane’s never been afraid to step on some toes if it leads to solving a case.”
“Yeah, but...”
“She’s a good cop, Barry--”
“One of the best,” Frost agrees. “You and I know that-- Hell, everybody knows it. Even Cavanaugh. But she’s reckless.” He sighs and scratches the back of his head. “Maybe you could talk to her.”
“You know how Jane can be…”
“Hey,” Jane says from the doorway, startling both Maura and Frost. She enters the morgue looking rough and broken and just a little bit agitated.
Maura wants to wrap her arms around her girlfriend. She wants to kiss the little lines in her forehead away. “Hi,” she whispers instead.
Jane nods a suspicious hello. “I think I’m just gonna call it a night and head home.”
Maura’s stomach drops. “Oh,” she says in a pitch much higher than her normal voice. “Okay. If that’s what you want.”
Jane nods again and turns on her heel.
“Or did Lieutenant Cavanaugh order you to go home?” Maura calls out before Jane can slip away.
The brunette twirls around and shoots Frost a venomous glare, accusation oozing from her pores.
“I should probably get back up there,” he chokes. “I have to get that statement in by the end of the day.” He ducks out of the room before his partner can stop him.
The couple stays like that for awhile, careful and silent.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Jane finally says.
“No one‘s forcing you to.”
“Frost shouldn’t have opened his big mouth.”
“I’m glad someone did,” Maura declares. “I worry about you.”
“I know, okay? You and Frost and Korsak… I’ve got Brass riding me and Ma wants me to quit-- Even Frankie acts like I’m gonna break or something! I just…” She softens and runs her hand through her hair. “I don’t need everybody up my ass.”
Maura sniffs. “I didn’t realize that I was up your ass with the rest of them.”
“That’s not what I meant. You know you’re not the rest of them.” Jane resists the urge to wrap her arms around Maura’s waist and snuggle close. “I just don’t want to talk about it.”
“No one’s forcing you to talk about it, Jane.”
“Okay.” Jane nods. “I’m sorry. Can we please just go home?” She inches forward and places a tender kiss on the top of Maura’s head.
“Of course.” A pleased smile slowly spreads onto Maura’s face as she presses her index finger between Jane’s eyebrows. “Your corrugator supercilii muscles are starting to relax.”
The detective smirks and shrugs her shoulders. “What can I say? You have that affect on me,” she teases.
“Do I?” Maura challenges. Her eyebrow arches in amusement as her girlfriend flusters.
Jane clears her throat. “Anyway… If we’re going to not talk about my day, can we at least not talk about it over dinner? I’m starving.”
Maura smiles and nods and anticipates a night full of comfort in the form of pizza and beer.
~~~
Jane will kick herself later-- For being groggy and cozy and impulsive when she should just be quiet. Regardless, she wakes up in a fragrant bundle of Maura’s hair and blurts those three words before she can think it through. Of course, “I love you” sounds terrifying and terribly out of place in Maura’s personal space at 7am.
“Oh,” Maura says. She sits up, blonde tresses messy and untamed, and rubs the sleep out of her eyes.
“Oh?”
Maura bites her lip. “I’m not quite sure how to respond.”
“That’s one way to do it,” Jane snorts. “Listen, let’s just pretend I never said it.” She buries her face in a pillow and wonders how long it will take to smother herself to death.
“You know, the ancient Greeks used different words to express different types of love.”
“Thank you so much for the History lesson, Maura. Now excuse me while I go eat my gun.”
“I, for one, am jealous.”
“What?”
“Of the Greeks,” Maura explains. “They had a clear distinction between Agape and Storge and Philia and Eros. But us-- We have to interpret what love means.”
“What’s to interpret?” Jane demands. “I care about you-- More than I’ve ever cared about anybody. So much that it scares the shit out of me. And I woke up and I just felt like it needed to be said, so I said it. I love you, okay? No room for interpretation.” She cups her hand over Maura’s lips before she can respond. “You don’t have to say it back. Not unless you know, 100%, that it’s true.”
After a moment of careful consideration Maura nods her head. “Okay.”
“Good.” Jane kisses the tip of Maura’s nose and rolls over. Just as she begins to drift back into slumber, she hears Maura clear her throat.
“Jane?”
“Mmmh?”
“How will I know it’s true?”
Jane rolls back over with a grunt. “You’ll just know.”
“Well, when did you know?”
“C’mon, Maura. I just want to go back to sleep.”
Maura looks hurt, but she nods anyway.
Jane blows air through her lips. “The day Doyle took you away,” she confesses. She pretends not to hear the audible resulting gasp.
“But you said you’d never thought about--”
“I lied. I thought about it all the time. I was too chickenshit to tell you.”
Maura’s dimples crease into a smile that literally takes Jane’s breath away. “If I were to make an extensive list of all your flaws, being chickenshit would definitely not be one of them.”
Jane smirks. “Gee thanks.”
A booming knock on the door sends them crashing back into the real world.
Jane pulls on a t-shirt and a pair of yoga pants and grabs her gun from off of the nightstand. She tiptoes into her living room with her weapon cocked and pointed straight ahead. A familiar voice instantly puts her at ease.
“Jane, it’s me!”
“Korsak?” She unlocks the door and ushers him inside. “What the hell, Vince? Why don’t you just break the damn door down?”
“Is it true?” Korsak demands.
“Oh God…”
“Did you really turn down Cavanaugh’s offer?”
“What offer?” Maura yawns. She steps into the room, draped in Jane’s oversized bathrobe. “Hello, Vince.”
Korsak blushes. “Oh! Hi, Dr. Isles. I didn’t realize…”
“What’s going on?” Maura asks.
“Nothing,” Jane insists. “Korsak was just leaving.”
He forgets to be flustered for a moment and stands his ground. “Is it because they didn‘t ask me first?” he asks.
Jane lets out a breath. “Partially,” she admits. “Nobody deserves that job more than you. But it’s also because I love what I do. I like chasing down bad guys. Why is that so hard for everybody to understand?”
Maura shakes her head in confusion. “Jane?”
The brunette grimaces. “Cavanaugh… offered me a job. No big deal.”
“What kind of job?”
Jane’s cheeks puff and deflate. “Just a promotion. But I turned it down. It’s over.”
“Were you planning on telling me?” Maura asks.
Jane sighs. “I… wasn’t planning on telling anyone.”
Maura crosses her arms in front of her. “I see,” she says as she stalks out of the room.
“I’ll go,” Korsak gestures weakly and walks toward the door. “Just reconsider, Jane. That’s all I’m asking.”
Jane lets him out before making the trek back to her bedroom. She watches Maura dress, clothes furiously whipping around the room. “Where are you going?”
Maura finishes buttoning her blouse and shoots Jane a glare. “I’m not staying here.”
“C’mon, Maur. Don’t be like that.”
“Don’t tell me what to do!” the smaller woman snaps. The volume of it surprises them both.
Jane plops down on the bed and watches her girlfriend wiggle back into her skirt. “I’m an asshole.”
“Yes, you are.”
The brunette bites her lip. “I’m not used to having a…”
“Partner?” Maura offers. She’s calmer as she takes a seat next to her girlfriend.
“Yeah, I guess. Not off the clock, anyway.”
Maura raises her chin. “I need you to get used to it.”
“I will-- I swear, I will. And I’ll make it up to you! I’ll… cook you breakfast!”
Maura allows herself the hint of a smirk. “You can’t cook.”
“Of course I can. I’m Italian, Maur.”
“And you don’t have any groceries.”
“So, I’ll run out and get bagels-- whole wheat-- with those stupid little packets of cream cheese!” Jane counts it as a victory when she sees those dimples emerge. “Chocolate covered strawberries? A massage? Sexual favors?” She wiggles her eyebrows, but the sudden intrusive beeping of her phone snatches her attention away. She reluctantly glances at the screen. “Dammit…”
“Duty calls?”
“Yeah. It shouldn’t take long. Will you be here when I get back?”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Maura sighs.
Jane smirks. “Even though I’m an asshole?”
“Yes.” Maura fidgets with the hemline of her skirt while Jane steps into the bathroom. “Jane?” she calls out.
Jane pops her head back into the bedroom. “Yesh?” she mumbles with a mouthful of toothpaste.
“What was the promotion?”
The detective holds up a finger and disappears back into the bathroom to spit. “Glorified desk jockey,” she says when she reappears. “Nice and safe.”
“What good is being safe, if you’re unhappy?”
“You really mean that?”
“Unfortunately, your bravery is one of the things that draws me to you.”
“Yeah?”
Maura nods. “You’re not afraid of anything.”
Jane leans against the frame of the bathroom door. “I’m afraid of some things,” she confesses. “I’m afraid of losing you.”
Maura rolls her eyes. “I’m not the one putting my life on the line everyday for a living.”
“I know,” Jane whispers. “But you’re the one that has to put up with it.”
~~~
“Chop smaller,” Angela chastises her daughter from the other side of the kitchen. “And you--” She hands Frankie Jr. a clove of garlic. “--get to work.”
Jane smirks at her brother and begins to re-chop the tiny pieces of onion in front of her. “What’s with the feast anyway, Ma? This is too much food-- even for Rizzolis.”
“It was supposed to be a surprise, Nosy.” Angela reaches her wooden spoon to her husband’s lips for a taste.
“Needs more salt,” Frank Sr. grumbles.
Jane stops chopping. “I’m a cop, Ma. It’s my job to be nosy.”
“I invited a guest,” Angela admits.
“A guest?” Jane drops her knife on the cutting board. “Is this another set-up? I swear to God--”
“No, it’s not a set-up, Jane. It’s Maura. I ran into her at the market yesterday and invited her for Sunday dinner.”
“What do you mean you ran into Maura? You don’t even live in her neighborhood.”
“Always with the interrogations… I wasn’t in her neighborhood, I was in yours.”
Jane’s heart skips a beat or two. “Oh.”
Angela smiles in victory. “Yeah, Oh. And you know the funny thing about Maura?”
“Which one?”
“She’s not a very good liar.”
Jane’s heart sinks.
“So when I asked her why she was in your neighborhood buying your brand of cereal and beer and those disgusting potato chips that you like-- early on a Saturday morning-- wearing your BPD sweats, she couldn’t give me a straight answer.”
“Other people eat that stuff, too, Ma,” Jane reasons.
Angela ignores her. “So I mentioned it to Frankie.”
Jane snaps her head around to her brother.
“I didn’t say anything!” he whispers.
“And he got all nervous and fidgety-- you know how your brother gets when he’s lying.” Angela shoots her Son a pointed glare. “So, I’m only going to ask you once. What’s going on between you and Maura?”
Jane takes a deep breath. “She’s my best friend, Ma.”
“And?”
“We…” Jane searches but cannot find the words. “We’ve become close.”
Frank Sr. cracks open a can of beer. “It’s okay, Janie,” her father says. “We love you just same. Even if you are in a gay relationship with Dr. Isles.”
Jane buries her face into her palms. “Oh my God.”
“Men are dogs anyway.”
Angela puts her hands on her hips. “Yeah. We still love you even though you’ve been lying to us.”
“Give it a rest, Ange,” Frank sighs.
“I’m just saying.”
Frank lets out a thoughtful chuckle. “I guess I can’t threaten Maura the way I threatened your senior prom date, huh?”
“You threatened Danny Mazzola?” Jane incredulously gasps.
Her father throws his hands up. “The kid had an attitude problem so I straightened him out is all.”
“Yeah,” Frankie Jr. adds. “Plus, me and Tommy caught him feeling up Stephanie Gianola in gym class.”
Jane shakes her head in disbelief. “Wait… So you guys are okay with this? With me and Maura?”
Angela shrugs. “Of course, Jane. We’re not animals. I mean, I don’t understand it. Two pretty girls should be able to find a good man. But if she makes you happy…”
“She does,” Jane insists. “And it’s not about finding a good man.”
“Yeah, Ma,” Frankie agrees with a spoonful of sauce in his mouth. “The guys at work are all over Maura. She could have anybody she wants. Right, Sis?”
Jane shoots her brother a withering glare. Fucking Frankie.
“What?” he chomps.
Jane sighs. “So, you invited Maura over for dinner to give us your blessing?”
Frank and Angela glance sideways at one another before nodding in unison.
Jane’s not quite sure whether she wants to laugh or cry.
~~~
She’s felt his gaze on her all afternoon. The thought of it makes her skin crawl-- She hates being watched and, for a detective, Vince Korsak isn’t exactly discreet.
“What’s your problem?” she finally erupts. “I don’t have horns growing out of my head, do I?”
Korsak cheeks flush red. “Sorry. I’m just preoccupied, I guess.”
Jane allows her temper to cool. “Just… stop staring, will you? You’re giving me the creeps.”
He nods.
Finally, the weight of his gaze lifts. She’s got a stack of paperwork to fill out before she can leave for the day and, after already missing lunch with Maura, she can’t wait.
Korsak clears his throat. “Can I uh… Can I ask you a question?”
The tremor in his voice makes Jane feels like an asshole for her outburst. “Of course.”
He breathes out through his nose. “How come you never told me?”
Jane searches her brain. “What?”
“I was your partner, Jane. I would’ve understood. Both of you girls are like family to me!”
“Oh.”
“You didn’t have to hide it. I get it. She’s a good looking lady.”
“Korsak…” She glances at Frost, who’s gracefully pretending not to listen.
Korsak holds up his hands. “Not that you’re not. You’re good looking, too! I just don’t think of you like that.”
Jane squints. “But you think of Maura like that?”
Frost snickers to himself in his quiet little corner.
“No!” Korsak yelps. “No, that’s not what I meant!”
“Listen Korsak, I didn’t even know,” Jane sighs. “This whole thing with Maura came out of nowhere.”
Frost lets out a loud cough.
“You got something to say to me, Frost?” Jane demands.
He shrugs. “C’mon, Jane. You two have been all over each other since I met you. Everybody’s always known that Doctor Isles is off-limits. Why do you think Crowe hates you so much?”
Jane holds out her index finger. “That is so not true!”
Korsak nods. “The kid’s right, Jane. You two have been dancing around it for ages. I always thought it was a just girl thing, but now…” He wiggles his bushy eyebrows.
“You know what?” Jane bares her teeth. “Both of you can just go fuck yourselves, okay?”
“Aw… C’mon,” Korsak coos. “We’re happy that you’re finally happy, that‘s all.”
“Yeah,” Frost agrees. He makes a whipping motion with his hands and adds a sound to match.
“Hey!” Jane growls. “I am not whipped!”
“Oh, yes you are,” Korsak chuckles. “Doctor Isles has you positioned right under her thumb. Look at your clothes, for chrissakes.”
Jane glances down at her new outfit. “Yeah, so? Maura bought them for me. It doesn’t mean I’m whipped.”
“Jane,” Frost reasons. “You’re wearing lipstick.”
“B-because she likes the way it looks-- Fine, yes. Maybe I’m whipped. Do you blame me? I would do anything for her. I’d fucking… cut my arm off if it made her happy.”
“Oh, Jane, you know I’d never ask you to cut your arm off,” Maura announces as she crosses into the room.
Jane jolts in her chair. “Hey!” She finally gets a good look at her girlfriend. “Wow... You definitely weren’t wearing that this morning.”
Maura grins and does a giddy little twirl. “You like it?”
“Yeah!” Korsak blurts. Everyone’s eyes snap to him. He clears his throat and dives back into his paperwork.
“What did you do, go shopping on your lunch break?” Jane teases.
The derisiveness goes right over Maura’s head. “Yes. There was a sale at Neiman’s.” She holds out a shopping bag. “I bought you a blouse!”
Frost coughs into his fist.
“You shut the hell up,” Jane snarls at her partner.
“Oh!” Maura gasps. “By the way, it looks like the murder weapon in the O’Malley case was a golf club.”
Jane sits up straight. “A golf club? Are you sure?”
“Of course I’m sure.”
Jane locks eyes with Frost and they reach an unspoken agreement to get their things and head out. “God, you’re a genius!” she exclaims before planting a kiss on Maura’s lips. “Of course you’re a genius. You know that-- We all know that.” She races out of the door with Frost at her heels.
“Where are you going?” Maura asks.
“We’re gonna catch ourselves a murderer!” Frost yells over his shoulder.
~~~
Jane glances around the small white room. She’s not sure how long she’s been here, but she can see that the sky is dark outside through the window. Everything is slow and heavy and numb as her mother looks up from her book and smiles.
Maura’s still in her new dress-- her wrinkled new dress with dried up mascara streaks on her cheeks-- when she bursts into the room. She stops short at the doorway, hands cupped over her mouth.
“M’sorry,” Jane slurs. Her tongue doesn’t quite move the way she wants it to and she chalks it up to the drugs they’ve been giving her. “Sorry,” she tries again. She closes her heavy eyelids.
“I came as soon as I heard,” Maura sighs.
Angela smiles. “I was just gonna head home. Frank hasn’t had his dinner yet and he’ll probably burn the house down if he tries to cook for himself. Or starve himself until I get there. Men. Maybe you girls got the right idea, huh?”
“I--”
“She’s been asking for you.” Angela grabs her purse and starts toward the door. “They said they’re gonna release her tomorrow. Call me if anything changes?”
“Of course,” Maura vows. She waits until the door closes to pull Jane’s medical file from it’s wall-pocket. Reading it herself, knowing for sure that Jane’s injuries aren’t serious, puts her at ease. She can handle a few broken ribs and some unsightly contusions.
Jane‘s eyes pop open. “Mmmura?” she reaches for her hand and squeezes it tight. It takes every last bit of her energy to stay awake. “I feel shitty,” she groans.
“You should. It was a shitty move to make, Jane.”
“Suspect ran. H’was I spos’d to know he was gonna push me down the stairs like that?”
Maura frowns. “I think it’s customary to assume the worst of a man who beats his wife to death with a golf club, Jane.”
“Smartass,” Jane grumbles. “How’d you get in here, anyway? Did you tell them you were my doctor again?”
“I told them that you’re the closest thing to family that I’ve ever had.”
The detective lets out a sudden hiss of pain.
“You should get some rest,“ Maura whispers. She kisses the back of her girlfriend‘s hand and says, “I love you,” so softly that Jane’s drifting mind barely registers it.
Jane’s stomach drops. It’s the first time she’s heard those words from the person she loves the most. It should put her at ease, but it almost breaks her heart. “Love you, too.” She closes her eyes. “You’re pretty in your new dress,” she mumbles.
Author: Fanchiction
Fandom: Rizzoli & Isles
Rating: M
Pairing: Jane/Maura
Spoilers: The whole first season.
Summary: Maura doesn't quite fit into any of Jane's categories.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything, I swear!
<------Back to Part 1
~~~
A date. Jane scuffs her boots on the concrete steps up to Maura’s front door. She’s never been good at dating. For a moment she considers running, but Maura opens the door before she even has the chance.
“Jane!” the doctor gasps. “You brought flowers!”
The detective’s cheeks turn a dusky shade of red. “I just… You’re the one who said it was a date.” She stuffs them awkwardly into Maura’s arms and clears her throat. “Oh my God. Stop smiling, will you?”
Maura grin only widens. “Don't worry, I won't tell anyone how sweet you are.”
“Can we just eat?” Jane whines. She pushes her way inside while Maura giggles at her expense.
The evening is surprisingly routine-- In fact, Jane has the fleeting theory that they’ve been dating for months and she’s just now catching on. They’ve shared a little laughter and lots of wine when Jane accidentally yawns. Maura offers to walk her to the door. “I had a good time,” she says.
“Yeah, we should do it again. Maybe go out to dinner-- How about that fancy place on Columbus you like so much.”
“You hate that place,“ Maura laughs. “I’d rather do something that we’ll both enjoy.”
Jane thinks for a moment before her eyes light up. “The shooting range!”
Maura shakes her head. “No. Out of the question.”
“Aw, c’mon, Maur. It’ll be fun! You loved holding my gun.”
“That was before you shot yourself.”
Jane bites her lip. “Sorry.”
“How about a baseball game?“ Maura suggests in an attempt to end the night on a positive note, but Jane knows her too well.
“It’s basketball season, Maura,” Jane says with a smirk.
“Oh.”
“You’re adorable.”
Maura’s nose scrunches. “Adorable wasn’t really what I was going for tonight.”
Jane can practically hear her own heartbeat. “What? No! You’re… pretty, too.” Lame.
“That’s… polite.”
“You’re… Y’know. Attractive,” Jane stutters. “In a… girlie sort of way.”
“Says the raging heterosexual…”
“Oh, I get it. This is a test. Fine. I think you’re hot, Maura. You’re beautiful. You’re sexy as hell, okay?” Jane’s not sure how they got so close, but she finds the courage within herself to lean in and kiss those lips like she’s hungry for it. “Did I pass the test?” she asks, when they finally part out of necessity.
Maura makes a funny kind of noise that is supposed to sound like ‘yes’.
They stumble towards Maura’s bedroom in a frenzy of lips and limbs.
“Ouch!” Jane yelps, when she stumps her toe on the bedpost. She does a funny sort of one-legged hop. “Son of a bitch!”
Maura cups her hand over her mouth in shock. “Are you okay?” she half-giggles.
“Yeah, I’m okay,” Jane laughs, thankful for the sudden change of pace-- even at the expense of her ego. At least now, she can breathe. “C’mere,” she beckons.
They undress each other slowly. They’ve seen each other half-naked before, but the distinction is clear. This time, there’s no guise of ‘friends only’ to get in the way.
“Holy shit,” Jane breathes, once all of their clothes have been shed and Maura hovers above. She’s equal parts terrified and fascinated. She shudders as Maura’s blunted nails trace across the scars and muscles on her abdomen.
“You are beautiful,” Maura whispers.
Jane casts her eyes away. “I’m not.”
“You are.” Deep in her reverie, Maura strives for a moment of clarity and guides Jane’s hand up between her legs. “See what you do to me?”
“Fuck,” Jane whimpers.
Maura’s breath hitches as Jane begins to stroke her. “See how wet you make me?” she husks.
Jane had planned on being tender, but her plans are forgotten the moment she feels that warm, wet velvet. She flips them over and delights in the squeal that comes from below. She fights the carnal urge to dive right in and ruin this angel. “I-- I don’t know what to do,” she says as the realization hits her.
Maura only smiles and stretches upward to reward her with a kiss. “You’re perfect. Just-- Ah…” She bucks her hips at Jane’s first thrust. “Perfect,” she sighs. Her breath comes out in gasps and bursts as Jane discovers her.
Jane revels in this-- the ease and the purity of it. She’s amazed by the instinct that rises up within. She’d expected fear, but the delicious grind of Maura’s curves and those sexy little sounds coming from in between her lips make everything feel strange but not strange-- natural and not very scary at all.
She spends a brief eternity basking in the beauty of just how perfectly Maura’s body fits to hers. And she savors the way Maura turns it right back around and pushes her over the edge.
“How do we do this?” she wonders aloud once her breathing has settled. She cradles Maura in her arms, damp and warm with sweat under the cool sheets. Her heartbeat is steady as their bare thighs touch and their legs tangle.
“How do we do what?” Maura yawns. Her body is limp and satiated.
“You know… The whole lesbian thing. What’s the next step?”
“I’m not sure,” Maura admits. “Should we tell people?”
“Definitely not the guys at work. Those pervs will have a field day.”
“Okay, work is off limits.”
Jane strokes Maura’s shoulder and makes a face. “Not my family either. I can already hear my mother; When are you two gonna settle down? When is Maura going to have a baby?--”
“A baby?”
Jane rolls her eyes. “Yeah, you know how Ma is about babies. She’d want you to get knocked up as soon as possible.”
“Why would I be the one getting pregnant?”
Jane blanches. “I just figured…” She bites her lip as Maura glares at her. “Nevermind.”
“No, I want to know why you’re so sure that I would be the one to carry our child.”
Jane’s stomach plummets. “Just forget I said anything,” she whimpers.
“Jane…”
“Because I’m the guy, okay?”
“The guy?” Maura repeats.
Jane flushes impossibly redder. “Well, yeah. I always thought I’d be the one who opens the doors and buys the flowers and pulls out the chairs...”
Maura fails to fight back a bitter burst of laughter.
“What’s so funny?” Jane demands.
“Nothing,” Maura snaps. She wriggles her way out of Jane’s arms and covers herself up. “Nothing’s funny. It’s actually kind of sad, Jane. Apparently, you think that I’m some pathetic damsel in distress. I really had no idea.”
“See? Now you’re mad at me. This is exactly why I didn’t want to have this conversation.”
“No, you didn’t want to have this conversation because of how unreasonable you are.” Maura flops down onto the bed and stares up at the ceiling. “What about strap-ons?”
“Gah! Maura!”
“I’m serious, Jane. What if I wanted to wear a strap-on?”
“Please stop saying that word…” Jane begs.
Their gazes lock and a battle-- better yet, a standoff-- begins.
As Maura rakes her fingers through her hair in one frustrated sweep, Jane’s resolve withers and dies. “Fine. Yes. If we ever… Yeah, I would prefer to be the one who does the… uh… penetrating.”
“Really, Jane? Because I seem to recall quite a bit of penetrating on my end last night.”
Jane buries her face in her hands. “That’s not… It’s not the same! Can we not have this conversation? We just got together and we’re already talking about babies and dildos.”
Maura tries not to laugh, but it really does sound funny out loud. She covers her mouth in a failed attempt to mute a giggle. “When you put it that way, this conversation is a bit… silly.”
Jane squints, but she’s hardly threatening. She smiles in spite of herself and stands up to stretch as Maura‘s laughter settles. “I’m going to get some water. You want?”
“Yes,” Maura croaks, her eyelids heavy with lust as she scans the expanse of Jane‘s exposed body. “I want.”
Jane’s swallows a retort down as she slinks back into bed and scoops Maura up in her arms. “This is crazy. I can’t keep my hands off of you.”
“Mmm…” Maura hums. “Maybe you’re suffering from Mempin Syndrome.”
“Or maybe you just turn me on. Smartass.”
Maura rolls to the top and pins Jane’s wrists tightly above her head.
“Fuck,” Jane hisses. She struggles briefly before lying limp and letting out a breathy chuckle. “You’re stronger than you look.”
Maura grins as she nips at Jane’s jawline.
~~~
“That was nice,” Maura comments. She slips out of her jacket and plops down on the bed.
Jane stares, incredulously, at her girlfriend. “Uh… Were we not at the same yoga class?”
“It wasn’t that bad.”
“Call me crazy, but I don’t like the idea of doing downward facing dog with a guy who’s seen my girlfriend naked.”
Maura rolls her eyes. “Brock’s never seen me naked, Jane.”
“What”
“He practices Brahmacharya Vrata.”
“That’s not some weird tantric sex position, is it?”
“It’s celibacy, Jane.”
“Oh.”
Maura takes Jane’s hand and pulls her down onto her side of the bed. “So, you see, there was no need for you to be so possessive.” She leans over and kisses the side of the detective’s jaw.
“I was not being possessive,” Jane insists.
Maura narrows her gaze. “You certainly marked your territory-- I wouldn’t have been surprised if you’d peed on me.”
Jane makes a flustered attempt to get up, but Maura’s got a good grip on her. “Well, how was I supposed to know that yoga-boy practices Bramalamabingbang?”
“Brahmacharya Vrata,” Maura corrects.
“Whatever. I don’t like the way he looks at you. It makes me want to kill him and if that bothers you--”
Maura cups Jane’s face in her hands. “Who said it bothers me?” she slurs. Her golden eyes flicker with mischief. She delights as the color in Jane’s cheeks drains. "Seeing you like that… It was arousing.”
Jane lets out a growl and pulls the smaller woman into her lap. “God, Maur,” she gasps. She’s surprised by how ready she is in an instant. No one has ever turned her on this much. Maura’s hips begin to rock in a steady grind. Hands and lips and teeth clash in a whirl of passion.
“What was that?” Maura pants at a far-off sound, but Jane’s kisses only get more frantic. “Wait!” She pulls away. “Listen…”
Jane grunts at the loss. “Can women get blue balls?”
Maura considers it. “Vasocongestion? Yes, actually.” Her eyes widen at the state of the detective-- hair tousled (more than usual), skin flushed, heavy panting. “Oh! Sorry! I could’ve sworn I heard something.” But then Jane kisses her and makes her forget every worry she could possibly have.
“Relax…” the detective whispers against the column of Maura’s neck. “Let me take care of you.”
“Okay…” Maura whimpers.
“Janie?” a voice calls from the living room. Jane and Maura freeze. “You home?”
As the door swings open, the couple scrambles to make themselves decent.
“Holy Shit, Frankie!” Jane squeaks. “Don’t you know how to knock? You scared the hell out of me!”
“Sorry-- I didn’t mean to-- Ma asked me to stop by! How was I supposed to know you were--” Frankie’s eyes are wide as he looks between the two women. “What’s… Ah… What’s going on?”
“It’s not what you think! Right, Maura?”
Maura’s brow scrunches in genuine frustrated confusion. “How would I know what he’s thinking, Jane?” she grumbles.
The detective grimaces.
The sound of Frankie’s laughter snatches the couple’s attention away from one another.
“This is funny to you?” Jane asks in disbelief.
Frankie heaves between broken words.
Jane frowns. “Yeah, yeah… Yuk it up, Junior.”
“Oh God, Ma’s gonna kill you,” he guffaws.
“Probably,” Jane laments.
Frankie begins to settle himself. “Aw… She probably won’t kill you.”
“Thanks a lot, Jerk,” Jane grumbles.
“C’mon, Janie. You know I’m just kidding.”
“I’ll go put some coffee on,” Maura sighs. She looks longingly at Jane for a long moment before inching past Frankie.
Jane glares at her brother. “Why are you here?” she demands.
“Korsak called and asked me if I’d seen you. He says you keep ignoring his calls. I just wanted to make sure you were alright.”
“What’s he want?”
Frankie shrugs his shoulders. “Something about Cavanaugh. Seemed pretty important.” His face contorts thoughtfully as he cocks his head to the side cryptically.
“What?” she demands.
“I can’t even beat you when it comes to pulling hot girls,” he half-teases. “You’re giving me a complex, Janie.”
Jane swallows. “You’re not gonna tell Ma and Pop about this, right?”
“Nah…” His fiddles with his firearm in its holster. “But you should.”
She purses her lips. “When the time’s right, I will tell them.”
He casts her a skeptical glare.
~~~
Maura is finishing up with a last-minute autopsy when she hears the door snick shut behind her. She smiles knowingly. “Give me two minutes and I’m all yours,” she says over her shoulder in a voice that’s meant to entice. Which is why her breath catches in her throat when she hears a distinctively un-Jane-like cough. She snaps her head around to see Barry Frost with his hands stuffed into his pockets. “Oh! I thought you were...”
“It’s okay, Doc,” he says bashfully.
Of course, he can’t be entirely unaware of her implications-- he is a detective, after all. But he’s also enough of a gentleman to mind his own business, which Maura greatly appreciates.
She stitches her last stitch, plucks her gloves and gown off, and cheerfully sweeps over to the sink to wash up. “What can I do for you, Barry?”
“Actually…” Frost casts his eyes nervously to the floor, deliberately keeping the cadaver out of sight. “It’s about Jane.”
There’s something about the way he says it that makes Maura stop cold-- makes her heart drop down into her belly. “Is she alright? Did something happen--?”
“N-No!” he stammers. “I mean, kind of.”
Suddenly, Maura can’t hear much more than the thump of her own heartbeat.
Frost stops and takes a deep breath. “She got called into Cavanaugh’s office again.”
“Oh,” Maura sighs in relief that doesn’t last long. “Why?”
“I don't know. I think she… stepped on some important toes.”
“Oh,” Maura says again. “Well, Jane’s never been afraid to step on some toes if it leads to solving a case.”
“Yeah, but...”
“She’s a good cop, Barry--”
“One of the best,” Frost agrees. “You and I know that-- Hell, everybody knows it. Even Cavanaugh. But she’s reckless.” He sighs and scratches the back of his head. “Maybe you could talk to her.”
“You know how Jane can be…”
“Hey,” Jane says from the doorway, startling both Maura and Frost. She enters the morgue looking rough and broken and just a little bit agitated.
Maura wants to wrap her arms around her girlfriend. She wants to kiss the little lines in her forehead away. “Hi,” she whispers instead.
Jane nods a suspicious hello. “I think I’m just gonna call it a night and head home.”
Maura’s stomach drops. “Oh,” she says in a pitch much higher than her normal voice. “Okay. If that’s what you want.”
Jane nods again and turns on her heel.
“Or did Lieutenant Cavanaugh order you to go home?” Maura calls out before Jane can slip away.
The brunette twirls around and shoots Frost a venomous glare, accusation oozing from her pores.
“I should probably get back up there,” he chokes. “I have to get that statement in by the end of the day.” He ducks out of the room before his partner can stop him.
The couple stays like that for awhile, careful and silent.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Jane finally says.
“No one‘s forcing you to.”
“Frost shouldn’t have opened his big mouth.”
“I’m glad someone did,” Maura declares. “I worry about you.”
“I know, okay? You and Frost and Korsak… I’ve got Brass riding me and Ma wants me to quit-- Even Frankie acts like I’m gonna break or something! I just…” She softens and runs her hand through her hair. “I don’t need everybody up my ass.”
Maura sniffs. “I didn’t realize that I was up your ass with the rest of them.”
“That’s not what I meant. You know you’re not the rest of them.” Jane resists the urge to wrap her arms around Maura’s waist and snuggle close. “I just don’t want to talk about it.”
“No one’s forcing you to talk about it, Jane.”
“Okay.” Jane nods. “I’m sorry. Can we please just go home?” She inches forward and places a tender kiss on the top of Maura’s head.
“Of course.” A pleased smile slowly spreads onto Maura’s face as she presses her index finger between Jane’s eyebrows. “Your corrugator supercilii muscles are starting to relax.”
The detective smirks and shrugs her shoulders. “What can I say? You have that affect on me,” she teases.
“Do I?” Maura challenges. Her eyebrow arches in amusement as her girlfriend flusters.
Jane clears her throat. “Anyway… If we’re going to not talk about my day, can we at least not talk about it over dinner? I’m starving.”
Maura smiles and nods and anticipates a night full of comfort in the form of pizza and beer.
~~~
Jane will kick herself later-- For being groggy and cozy and impulsive when she should just be quiet. Regardless, she wakes up in a fragrant bundle of Maura’s hair and blurts those three words before she can think it through. Of course, “I love you” sounds terrifying and terribly out of place in Maura’s personal space at 7am.
“Oh,” Maura says. She sits up, blonde tresses messy and untamed, and rubs the sleep out of her eyes.
“Oh?”
Maura bites her lip. “I’m not quite sure how to respond.”
“That’s one way to do it,” Jane snorts. “Listen, let’s just pretend I never said it.” She buries her face in a pillow and wonders how long it will take to smother herself to death.
“You know, the ancient Greeks used different words to express different types of love.”
“Thank you so much for the History lesson, Maura. Now excuse me while I go eat my gun.”
“I, for one, am jealous.”
“What?”
“Of the Greeks,” Maura explains. “They had a clear distinction between Agape and Storge and Philia and Eros. But us-- We have to interpret what love means.”
“What’s to interpret?” Jane demands. “I care about you-- More than I’ve ever cared about anybody. So much that it scares the shit out of me. And I woke up and I just felt like it needed to be said, so I said it. I love you, okay? No room for interpretation.” She cups her hand over Maura’s lips before she can respond. “You don’t have to say it back. Not unless you know, 100%, that it’s true.”
After a moment of careful consideration Maura nods her head. “Okay.”
“Good.” Jane kisses the tip of Maura’s nose and rolls over. Just as she begins to drift back into slumber, she hears Maura clear her throat.
“Jane?”
“Mmmh?”
“How will I know it’s true?”
Jane rolls back over with a grunt. “You’ll just know.”
“Well, when did you know?”
“C’mon, Maura. I just want to go back to sleep.”
Maura looks hurt, but she nods anyway.
Jane blows air through her lips. “The day Doyle took you away,” she confesses. She pretends not to hear the audible resulting gasp.
“But you said you’d never thought about--”
“I lied. I thought about it all the time. I was too chickenshit to tell you.”
Maura’s dimples crease into a smile that literally takes Jane’s breath away. “If I were to make an extensive list of all your flaws, being chickenshit would definitely not be one of them.”
Jane smirks. “Gee thanks.”
A booming knock on the door sends them crashing back into the real world.
Jane pulls on a t-shirt and a pair of yoga pants and grabs her gun from off of the nightstand. She tiptoes into her living room with her weapon cocked and pointed straight ahead. A familiar voice instantly puts her at ease.
“Jane, it’s me!”
“Korsak?” She unlocks the door and ushers him inside. “What the hell, Vince? Why don’t you just break the damn door down?”
“Is it true?” Korsak demands.
“Oh God…”
“Did you really turn down Cavanaugh’s offer?”
“What offer?” Maura yawns. She steps into the room, draped in Jane’s oversized bathrobe. “Hello, Vince.”
Korsak blushes. “Oh! Hi, Dr. Isles. I didn’t realize…”
“What’s going on?” Maura asks.
“Nothing,” Jane insists. “Korsak was just leaving.”
He forgets to be flustered for a moment and stands his ground. “Is it because they didn‘t ask me first?” he asks.
Jane lets out a breath. “Partially,” she admits. “Nobody deserves that job more than you. But it’s also because I love what I do. I like chasing down bad guys. Why is that so hard for everybody to understand?”
Maura shakes her head in confusion. “Jane?”
The brunette grimaces. “Cavanaugh… offered me a job. No big deal.”
“What kind of job?”
Jane’s cheeks puff and deflate. “Just a promotion. But I turned it down. It’s over.”
“Were you planning on telling me?” Maura asks.
Jane sighs. “I… wasn’t planning on telling anyone.”
Maura crosses her arms in front of her. “I see,” she says as she stalks out of the room.
“I’ll go,” Korsak gestures weakly and walks toward the door. “Just reconsider, Jane. That’s all I’m asking.”
Jane lets him out before making the trek back to her bedroom. She watches Maura dress, clothes furiously whipping around the room. “Where are you going?”
Maura finishes buttoning her blouse and shoots Jane a glare. “I’m not staying here.”
“C’mon, Maur. Don’t be like that.”
“Don’t tell me what to do!” the smaller woman snaps. The volume of it surprises them both.
Jane plops down on the bed and watches her girlfriend wiggle back into her skirt. “I’m an asshole.”
“Yes, you are.”
The brunette bites her lip. “I’m not used to having a…”
“Partner?” Maura offers. She’s calmer as she takes a seat next to her girlfriend.
“Yeah, I guess. Not off the clock, anyway.”
Maura raises her chin. “I need you to get used to it.”
“I will-- I swear, I will. And I’ll make it up to you! I’ll… cook you breakfast!”
Maura allows herself the hint of a smirk. “You can’t cook.”
“Of course I can. I’m Italian, Maur.”
“And you don’t have any groceries.”
“So, I’ll run out and get bagels-- whole wheat-- with those stupid little packets of cream cheese!” Jane counts it as a victory when she sees those dimples emerge. “Chocolate covered strawberries? A massage? Sexual favors?” She wiggles her eyebrows, but the sudden intrusive beeping of her phone snatches her attention away. She reluctantly glances at the screen. “Dammit…”
“Duty calls?”
“Yeah. It shouldn’t take long. Will you be here when I get back?”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Maura sighs.
Jane smirks. “Even though I’m an asshole?”
“Yes.” Maura fidgets with the hemline of her skirt while Jane steps into the bathroom. “Jane?” she calls out.
Jane pops her head back into the bedroom. “Yesh?” she mumbles with a mouthful of toothpaste.
“What was the promotion?”
The detective holds up a finger and disappears back into the bathroom to spit. “Glorified desk jockey,” she says when she reappears. “Nice and safe.”
“What good is being safe, if you’re unhappy?”
“You really mean that?”
“Unfortunately, your bravery is one of the things that draws me to you.”
“Yeah?”
Maura nods. “You’re not afraid of anything.”
Jane leans against the frame of the bathroom door. “I’m afraid of some things,” she confesses. “I’m afraid of losing you.”
Maura rolls her eyes. “I’m not the one putting my life on the line everyday for a living.”
“I know,” Jane whispers. “But you’re the one that has to put up with it.”
~~~
“Chop smaller,” Angela chastises her daughter from the other side of the kitchen. “And you--” She hands Frankie Jr. a clove of garlic. “--get to work.”
Jane smirks at her brother and begins to re-chop the tiny pieces of onion in front of her. “What’s with the feast anyway, Ma? This is too much food-- even for Rizzolis.”
“It was supposed to be a surprise, Nosy.” Angela reaches her wooden spoon to her husband’s lips for a taste.
“Needs more salt,” Frank Sr. grumbles.
Jane stops chopping. “I’m a cop, Ma. It’s my job to be nosy.”
“I invited a guest,” Angela admits.
“A guest?” Jane drops her knife on the cutting board. “Is this another set-up? I swear to God--”
“No, it’s not a set-up, Jane. It’s Maura. I ran into her at the market yesterday and invited her for Sunday dinner.”
“What do you mean you ran into Maura? You don’t even live in her neighborhood.”
“Always with the interrogations… I wasn’t in her neighborhood, I was in yours.”
Jane’s heart skips a beat or two. “Oh.”
Angela smiles in victory. “Yeah, Oh. And you know the funny thing about Maura?”
“Which one?”
“She’s not a very good liar.”
Jane’s heart sinks.
“So when I asked her why she was in your neighborhood buying your brand of cereal and beer and those disgusting potato chips that you like-- early on a Saturday morning-- wearing your BPD sweats, she couldn’t give me a straight answer.”
“Other people eat that stuff, too, Ma,” Jane reasons.
Angela ignores her. “So I mentioned it to Frankie.”
Jane snaps her head around to her brother.
“I didn’t say anything!” he whispers.
“And he got all nervous and fidgety-- you know how your brother gets when he’s lying.” Angela shoots her Son a pointed glare. “So, I’m only going to ask you once. What’s going on between you and Maura?”
Jane takes a deep breath. “She’s my best friend, Ma.”
“And?”
“We…” Jane searches but cannot find the words. “We’ve become close.”
Frank Sr. cracks open a can of beer. “It’s okay, Janie,” her father says. “We love you just same. Even if you are in a gay relationship with Dr. Isles.”
Jane buries her face into her palms. “Oh my God.”
“Men are dogs anyway.”
Angela puts her hands on her hips. “Yeah. We still love you even though you’ve been lying to us.”
“Give it a rest, Ange,” Frank sighs.
“I’m just saying.”
Frank lets out a thoughtful chuckle. “I guess I can’t threaten Maura the way I threatened your senior prom date, huh?”
“You threatened Danny Mazzola?” Jane incredulously gasps.
Her father throws his hands up. “The kid had an attitude problem so I straightened him out is all.”
“Yeah,” Frankie Jr. adds. “Plus, me and Tommy caught him feeling up Stephanie Gianola in gym class.”
Jane shakes her head in disbelief. “Wait… So you guys are okay with this? With me and Maura?”
Angela shrugs. “Of course, Jane. We’re not animals. I mean, I don’t understand it. Two pretty girls should be able to find a good man. But if she makes you happy…”
“She does,” Jane insists. “And it’s not about finding a good man.”
“Yeah, Ma,” Frankie agrees with a spoonful of sauce in his mouth. “The guys at work are all over Maura. She could have anybody she wants. Right, Sis?”
Jane shoots her brother a withering glare. Fucking Frankie.
“What?” he chomps.
Jane sighs. “So, you invited Maura over for dinner to give us your blessing?”
Frank and Angela glance sideways at one another before nodding in unison.
Jane’s not quite sure whether she wants to laugh or cry.
~~~
She’s felt his gaze on her all afternoon. The thought of it makes her skin crawl-- She hates being watched and, for a detective, Vince Korsak isn’t exactly discreet.
“What’s your problem?” she finally erupts. “I don’t have horns growing out of my head, do I?”
Korsak cheeks flush red. “Sorry. I’m just preoccupied, I guess.”
Jane allows her temper to cool. “Just… stop staring, will you? You’re giving me the creeps.”
He nods.
Finally, the weight of his gaze lifts. She’s got a stack of paperwork to fill out before she can leave for the day and, after already missing lunch with Maura, she can’t wait.
Korsak clears his throat. “Can I uh… Can I ask you a question?”
The tremor in his voice makes Jane feels like an asshole for her outburst. “Of course.”
He breathes out through his nose. “How come you never told me?”
Jane searches her brain. “What?”
“I was your partner, Jane. I would’ve understood. Both of you girls are like family to me!”
“Oh.”
“You didn’t have to hide it. I get it. She’s a good looking lady.”
“Korsak…” She glances at Frost, who’s gracefully pretending not to listen.
Korsak holds up his hands. “Not that you’re not. You’re good looking, too! I just don’t think of you like that.”
Jane squints. “But you think of Maura like that?”
Frost snickers to himself in his quiet little corner.
“No!” Korsak yelps. “No, that’s not what I meant!”
“Listen Korsak, I didn’t even know,” Jane sighs. “This whole thing with Maura came out of nowhere.”
Frost lets out a loud cough.
“You got something to say to me, Frost?” Jane demands.
He shrugs. “C’mon, Jane. You two have been all over each other since I met you. Everybody’s always known that Doctor Isles is off-limits. Why do you think Crowe hates you so much?”
Jane holds out her index finger. “That is so not true!”
Korsak nods. “The kid’s right, Jane. You two have been dancing around it for ages. I always thought it was a just girl thing, but now…” He wiggles his bushy eyebrows.
“You know what?” Jane bares her teeth. “Both of you can just go fuck yourselves, okay?”
“Aw… C’mon,” Korsak coos. “We’re happy that you’re finally happy, that‘s all.”
“Yeah,” Frost agrees. He makes a whipping motion with his hands and adds a sound to match.
“Hey!” Jane growls. “I am not whipped!”
“Oh, yes you are,” Korsak chuckles. “Doctor Isles has you positioned right under her thumb. Look at your clothes, for chrissakes.”
Jane glances down at her new outfit. “Yeah, so? Maura bought them for me. It doesn’t mean I’m whipped.”
“Jane,” Frost reasons. “You’re wearing lipstick.”
“B-because she likes the way it looks-- Fine, yes. Maybe I’m whipped. Do you blame me? I would do anything for her. I’d fucking… cut my arm off if it made her happy.”
“Oh, Jane, you know I’d never ask you to cut your arm off,” Maura announces as she crosses into the room.
Jane jolts in her chair. “Hey!” She finally gets a good look at her girlfriend. “Wow... You definitely weren’t wearing that this morning.”
Maura grins and does a giddy little twirl. “You like it?”
“Yeah!” Korsak blurts. Everyone’s eyes snap to him. He clears his throat and dives back into his paperwork.
“What did you do, go shopping on your lunch break?” Jane teases.
The derisiveness goes right over Maura’s head. “Yes. There was a sale at Neiman’s.” She holds out a shopping bag. “I bought you a blouse!”
Frost coughs into his fist.
“You shut the hell up,” Jane snarls at her partner.
“Oh!” Maura gasps. “By the way, it looks like the murder weapon in the O’Malley case was a golf club.”
Jane sits up straight. “A golf club? Are you sure?”
“Of course I’m sure.”
Jane locks eyes with Frost and they reach an unspoken agreement to get their things and head out. “God, you’re a genius!” she exclaims before planting a kiss on Maura’s lips. “Of course you’re a genius. You know that-- We all know that.” She races out of the door with Frost at her heels.
“Where are you going?” Maura asks.
“We’re gonna catch ourselves a murderer!” Frost yells over his shoulder.
~~~
Jane glances around the small white room. She’s not sure how long she’s been here, but she can see that the sky is dark outside through the window. Everything is slow and heavy and numb as her mother looks up from her book and smiles.
Maura’s still in her new dress-- her wrinkled new dress with dried up mascara streaks on her cheeks-- when she bursts into the room. She stops short at the doorway, hands cupped over her mouth.
“M’sorry,” Jane slurs. Her tongue doesn’t quite move the way she wants it to and she chalks it up to the drugs they’ve been giving her. “Sorry,” she tries again. She closes her heavy eyelids.
“I came as soon as I heard,” Maura sighs.
Angela smiles. “I was just gonna head home. Frank hasn’t had his dinner yet and he’ll probably burn the house down if he tries to cook for himself. Or starve himself until I get there. Men. Maybe you girls got the right idea, huh?”
“I--”
“She’s been asking for you.” Angela grabs her purse and starts toward the door. “They said they’re gonna release her tomorrow. Call me if anything changes?”
“Of course,” Maura vows. She waits until the door closes to pull Jane’s medical file from it’s wall-pocket. Reading it herself, knowing for sure that Jane’s injuries aren’t serious, puts her at ease. She can handle a few broken ribs and some unsightly contusions.
Jane‘s eyes pop open. “Mmmura?” she reaches for her hand and squeezes it tight. It takes every last bit of her energy to stay awake. “I feel shitty,” she groans.
“You should. It was a shitty move to make, Jane.”
“Suspect ran. H’was I spos’d to know he was gonna push me down the stairs like that?”
Maura frowns. “I think it’s customary to assume the worst of a man who beats his wife to death with a golf club, Jane.”
“Smartass,” Jane grumbles. “How’d you get in here, anyway? Did you tell them you were my doctor again?”
“I told them that you’re the closest thing to family that I’ve ever had.”
The detective lets out a sudden hiss of pain.
“You should get some rest,“ Maura whispers. She kisses the back of her girlfriend‘s hand and says, “I love you,” so softly that Jane’s drifting mind barely registers it.
Jane’s stomach drops. It’s the first time she’s heard those words from the person she loves the most. It should put her at ease, but it almost breaks her heart. “Love you, too.” She closes her eyes. “You’re pretty in your new dress,” she mumbles.