Title: Safe at Home
Author:
geonncannonFandom: Rizzoli & Isles
Pairing: Jane/Maura
Word Count: 1,558
Category: Missing scene, preslash
Spoilers: 1x06, "I Kissed a Girl" and 1x09, "The Beast in Me"
Disclaimer: They don't belong to me! If they did we would have seen this moment.
Rating: R
Summary: Jane rushes to make sure Maura is okay.
The little Corolla had a death wish, apparently, and Jane pressed her hand against the horn hard enough that her back was pushed into the seat. She twisted toward the open window and shouted, "Use your turn signals, asshole!" She swung around the car, returning the other driver's gesture with one of her own. Her tires squealed as she turned a corner, but she refused to turn on the siren she had for emergencies. It wasn't technically an emergency; Maura was fine. She was safe. She flexed her fingers on the steering wheel and tried to steady her breathing as she finally pulled up in front of her building.
She barely thought to turn off the engine, slamming the car door behind her as she ran inside. "Maura?" she called from the stairs. She didn't care if her neighbors heard; if they weren't used to the noisy cop who lived downstairs by now, they could call in a complaint. She fumbled with her keys and threw open the door to her apartment, rushing inside without closing the door behind her. "Maura?"
She went past the empty kitchen to the bedroom, flipping on the bathroom light as she passed. The bed was unmade, blankets twisted underneath the pillow to leave the sheets exposed. She stared at the empty bed and remembered waking up one morning and finding Maura beside her. Remembered waking during the night to realize Maura was still in bed with her and going back to sleep without questioning it. God, how naïve had they been?
Jane pushed away from the door and jogged back to the front room. Her cell phone was out, Frost's number halfway dialed, when she caught movement from the front door. She looked up and saw Maura standing there, looking lost and frightened. "You beat me here," she said.
Jane closed the distance between them, wrapping Maura in her arms. She held tight, her hands clasped to Maura's back as she pressed her face to the wild tangle of Maura's hair. Maura returned the embrace and sagged slightly against Jane. With every bit of strength and tension that eased out of Maura's body, Jane transferred more strength into the hug until she was supporting most of Maura's weight.
"Thought I lost you," Jane said, her voice raw. She felt like she'd been crying for hours even though she'd held back all of her tears of frustration, anger and fear. "God, I thought..."
Maura shushed her and Jane realized that she should be the comforting one. She should be the one shushing Maura's ramblings. She pulled back and put her hands on Maura's cheeks, brushing her thumbs over the smooth skin. Maura's eyes were glistening, bright and alive. "Are you okay, did they hurt you, where did they--"
"I'm fine," Maura said.
Jane leaned in and impulsively kissed both of Maura's cheeks, then her nose. "Thank God," Jane said. She kissed Maura's forehead. "I was so afraid." She kissed Maura's closed eyes. "When I walked into the morgue and you were gone..."
She kissed Maura's lips.
Sorry, she said, I just got overexcited and I was just so glad to see you were alive and-- She realized halfway through the sentence that she wasn't speaking. Her lips were still on Maura's, and Maura was oh God kissing her back. Jane didn't want to stop, so she took the only other option. She parted her lips and moved her hands off Maura's cheeks to her hair. She swung her hand out, knocking the door shut as she pulled Maura into the apartment. Maura hung from her as Jane turned them and pressed Maura's back against the wall.
Maura moaned quietly, and Jane furrowed her brow as she continued the kiss. Maura's hands on her, their bodies pressed together, Maura's tongue in her mouth. She would be lying if she claimed the thought hadn't crossed her mind after going undercover in that bar. She couldn't, with any truth, claim the image of Maura in that waitress outfit didn't cross her mind once in a while. And if she said that Maura hadn't been featured in a few very peculiar dreams... well, even she wouldn't have bought that one.
But the reality was weird in its normalcy. She expected heavy breathing, flushed skin, hyperventilation. The last thing she expected was for it to feel like she'd been doing it for years. For it to feel right, and normal. Maura kissed better than Jane's last few male partners, that was for sure. Her lips were soft, and her tongue teased just the right amount against Jane's top lip...
Jane dropped her hands to Maura's shoulders and pushed, forcing them apart. Maura tucked her bottom lip into her mouth, leaving her eyes closed as Jane rested her forehead against Maura's. "Uh," Jane said. "Uh..."
"Shh," Maura said.
"Don't try to rationalize or apologize," Jane said. "I really don't need to hear about emotional responses to trauma or--"
"Jane." Her eyes were still closed.
"Yeah?" Jane said.
"Kiss me again."
A request that, five minutes ago would have seemed impossible, but Jane responded without hesitation. This time Maura greeted her kiss with equal passion, teasing and attempting to assert her dominance. But Jane wasn't going to have any of that. She ran her hands down Maura's arms, found her hands, and laced their fingers together. Maura squeezed, and Jane sagged forward to pin Maura tighter against the wall.
This time when they parted, Jane put her cheek against Maura's and closed her eyes. She could feel Maura's hair all over her face; caught in her eyelashes and on her nose and across her lips. She didn't want to brush it away. Maura kissed Jane's neck, and Jane trembled and sagged. She said, "We need to talk."
"Yeah, I guess so," Maura said.
"A-about Doyle," Jane corrected. She reluctantly pulled back and looked into Maura's eyes. "About... this, too. But Frost and Korsak are waiting for an update and if I don't check in they might get worried and--"
"I understand. Just let me..." She kissed Jane again, a fleeting touch, and brushed her hair back out of her face. Jane stepped away from the wall and freed Maura, trying to will her body to stand down. Her skin was flush, her arms erupting with goosebumps that she tried to brush away with her hands as they crossed to the kitchen counter.
"I shouldn't have told you to come here," she said. "I mean, after what you've been through, you probably wanted to go home. You probably wanted to go somewhere safe."
Maura said, "I wanted to come here."
Their eyes met, and Jane reached back and fingerbrushed her hair. "Uh, right. I'll... get us something to drink and then you can fill me in."
"Sounds good."
Jane opened the fridge and took out a bottle of beer. She pressed the cold, smooth side to her forehead, eyes closed, and waited for the feel of Maura's body and lips to fade. She took several deep breaths before she got their drinks and went back to the counter where Maura was waiting for her.
#
The receiver underneath her hand felt moist, her palm clammy from sweat. Jane was in a dark, unused corner of the locker room, the fingers of her free hand stuck in the pocket of her jeans. She lifted her foot and pressed it against the bottom of a locker, pushing off with her toes. She had her head ducked, her hair covering her face as she finished speaking. She lifted her eyes and scanned the room to make sure she was still alone.
"And what do you intend for me to do with this information?"
"Protect her... Mr. Selsi."
There was another long, agonizing pause. With what she had just done, he could own her ass. She could lose her badge. She could be put in prison for God's sake.
"I'll see what I can do," the man on the other end of the phone said.
Jane closed her cell phone and slipped it into her pocket. She left the locker room and walked through the halls without seeing anything until she reached the morgue. Maura was sitting at her desk, working on the computer, but she smiled when she saw Jane's reflection in the window in front of her. "I was just thinking about you," Maura said as she turned around.
"I was thinking of you, too."
"What's up?"
"I thought maybe we could have that other talk we were... talking about."
Maura smiled. "I'd like that. Just let me gather my things."
Jane nodded as Maura started to shut down her computer and gather her purse. She thought about the phone call she had just made, the other phone call that was all but certain to come in before too long. Another body, once she herself had marked for death by calling a killer. She was going to have to spend a long time in church to make up for that phone call. Maura stood up and pushed her chair in.
"Ready?"
"Yeah," Jane said. She stepped to one side to let Maura lead the way to the elevators.
She'd made a deal with the devil, yes. But she had done so for a heavenly cause. She could live with that.