Okay so I've been watching Christmas videos all day and this just came out. I'm still pissed off with how they got rid of Frank. He is such a kindly, wonderful character who deserves more than a one sided storyline. Enjoy!
oxoxoxo
It was an experience to say the least. Maura found herself sat on the floor in her pajamas, surrounded by Rizzolis as they gathered around the impressive Christmas tree in her house. Tommy and Frankie were acting like children, fighting over who was going to open the next present, while Jane remained strangely subdued, gazing at the lights on the fir tree with a wistful smile. The medical examiner sighed. She knew this Christmas would be a hard one for Jane.
It was the first Christmas without her father. It had been the first Thanksgiving without him just a month beforehand. She was daddy's girl. She would always sit in his lap as a little girl, opening her presents and taking comfort in the fact that he held her in his arms and she was safe. Now he wasn't even here, and while Angela pottered around Maura's kitchen in her dressing gown looking far too at home, Jane knew that her father was on his own, in an apartment. Sure, she'd go to see him later, but it wasn't the same. It would never be the same again.
The detective blinked when she felt Maura's hand rested in her lap and she shook herself out of her reverie, smiling gently at the thoughtful touch. "Sorry…"
Maura shrugged. "You okay?"
Jane nodded with a heavy swallow. "This is all so fucked up." She closed her eyes when Maura began to rub her back. The bickering between the boys had escalated and the doctor watched as Jane's eyes tightened, her body tense and looking as if she were about to snap.
"Boys, boys…" She hissed them quiet. They stopped shoving each other and looked up to see Maura giving them a pointed glare. They peered over to Jane whose eyes were closed, soaking up the affection she was receiving from the M.E.
Frankie put his hands up in silent surrender and distracted them by offering a present to his mother who had tottered over to sit down with them. "This is for you, ma."
Angela took one look at her quiet daughter then turned her attention to her son who offered a large book shaped gift. "Thank you, sweetie." She'd have to ask about Jane's mood later. She took the gift delicately and peered once more at Jane who was perking up at the distraction of present opening. Angela's fingers picked at the tape and finally the matriarch uncovered a beautifully designed flip-book. "What's this?"
"Open it," Frankie grinned a cheesy smile and watched as his mother opened the book, curiosity so evident in her face. "It's got all Nonna's recipes. I mean, you organised Maura's whole house, but ma, your recipe collection sucks."
"It's true," Jane smirked, wriggling away from Maura's touch to say she was okay.
"Frankie…this," Angela knew if she cried, she'd never live it down so she engulfed her boy into a long hug. "That is so sweet, thank you, honey." She pinched his cheek. "How you're not in a relationship, I'll never know."
"Eww, Ma…come on," he whined and rolled his eyes when he noticed his sister chuckling him. Angela at was completely engrossed in her book, each recipe placed in plastic wallets rather than the old shoebox they'd been sat in for over 30 years.
Jane pulled at her dark red button ups that Angela insisted she wear for Christmas morning and crawled under the tree to retrieve a small rectangular box. "This uhh," she turned to Maura with a shy smile, "this is for you."
"For me?" Maura frowned. It looked like a jewellery box, and though she didn't like guessing, using the science of deduction she found herself confused. Jane never bought her jewellery. Clothes, novelty jokes and crazy antiques, yes.
Jane gulped and nodded at her friend. Maybe she should have waited till later, when her teasing family was elsewhere. Maura peeled open the silver paper with a bemused smile on her face. Inside was navy box that looked pretty old, no embossed lettering on the top - just a plain box. The hinge made a popping she snapped it open and looked in awe at a delicate Rolex lying inside. It wasn't any old Rolex though. No, this was old, thin and completely beautiful.
"Jane…wh-"
The detective realised her speechless friend deserved an explanation, or she'd be fending off digs about being mushy, and inappropriate. Maura was just a friend after all. Jane grinned. "Don't worry, it's not some crazy heirloom, and I didn't pay anything for it… like I could afford it," she snorted. "I just, I thought you should have it." She didn't want to stammer, but she couldn't help herself - her mind completely aware that her family was burning holes into the back of her head with their eyes.
Maura couldn't stop smiling. She knew she'd have to ask Jane where the watch came from, but for now, she let herself believe that this was the most thoughtful of gifts she'd ever received from the stoic woman in front of her.
"It's also a sorry," Jane blushed.
Maura shrugged, still a little speechless. "Dogs will be dogs," she smiled, referring back to the dreaded day when both women came back to Jane's apartment after a few drinks to find Joe Friday happily chewing away on Maura's beloved Cartier that had been left on the nightstand. "It's lovely, Jane. Thank you," she shook her head in wonderment and got up on her knees. "Come here," she grinned and went in for a kiss on the cheek.
Jane assumed it was going to be a hug. Both women froze when their lips touched. Jane's eyes snapped open, and without causing too much of a scene, pulled away after a few seconds with an unintentionally goofy grin.
"Am I missing something?" Angela's voice broke the moment, her tone clearly amused.
"N-Not at all," Maura brushed herself down, as if that would aid her in regaining any ounce of dignity she had left. Her lips tingled, she wasn't going to lie. Jane scrubbed awkwardly at her neck before distracting them all with a present for Tommy. Her brother squinted his eyes at her for a second, trying to figure out what just happened, before letting his excitement overwhelm him. He fucking loved Christmas. And presents, despite what anybody said, was the best thing about it. He unravelled it to find a Silverlit 85879.
"Oh fuck!" He jumped up, trampling on the leftover wrapping paper. Jane shared a grin with her mother, and then her best friend. "Oh my god. Oh god." He literally looked like a five year old who had just been given a Scalextric set. "Janie!"
"Like it?" Jane snorted, watching her brother hop up and down.
"Oh wowww!" He pulled her up into a hug before dropping her unceremoniously to look at his remote control helicopter once more. Jane spied the pouty look on her youngest brother's face and chuckled, pointing at another gift under the tree, the exact same size. Frankie couldn't get to the gift quick enough and tore open his present to find the exact same present.
"Don't want you two fighting or anything…" Jane smirked as the two brothers uncharacteristically hugged each other. "Jeez, you'd think they just won a million or something."
Maura chuckled, then found herself shuffling a little closer to her friend. She didn't care how it looked. Backing herself in between Jane's legs, she tensed for a moment until she felt Jane's possessive hand clasped over her knee. "Here, you need your present fun too." Jane smiled. Maura could feel it, the small puff of air against her neck. She plucked the small wristwatch from the box and leaned forward, pulling Maura's arm closer towards her. She delicately hooked it through the woman's hand and clipped the fastening shut.
Maura leaned back against the woman's chest and closed her eyes briefly, then stared down at the gift. "I prefer it to my old one."
"No you don't." Jane chortled.
"I do," Maura turned her face to show her sincerity. Their eyes caught. Jane was the first one to look away with an awkward clear of the throat, both women completely unaware of Angela's gaze.
The older woman smiled at her daughter. She nodded to herself. The day Jane and Maura would acknowledge their complete love for each other, would be the day she restored her faith in love and romance. Until then, she needed persuading and felt bitter that the relationship she'd put her heart and soul in would never be the same again.
Jane couldn't stop herself anymore. She rested her forehead against Maura's back and let out a frustrated breath. "I need to show you something."
Maura blinked and took several deep breaths. "Now?"
"Yeah." She disentangled herself and wordlessly left the living room, marching down the corridor until she dizzily found Maura's bedroom and sat down on the bed with a shaky exhale.
"Excuse me," Maura finally found her voice and stood up slowly, brushing herself down once more. Daring to look up, she saw a patient looking Angela who nodded at her with a warm, knowing smile.
"Take your time, sweetie."
Maura swallowed and followed her best friend down to the master room where she found Jane lying on her back, fingers threaded behind her head. "Hey…"
Jane sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Sorry… I couldn't take the heat."
The blonde frowned. "I can turn the thermostat down if you'd like."
The detective did a double take and realized the woman was serious, then let out a small titter. "I mean… I meant…" She paused. "I don't actually know why I said that."
Maura sighed and sat down. "Do you want to kiss me again?"
Jane's jaw dropped. "What?"
The medical examiner shrugged. "I'm just asking. You gave me a gift dating back to 1966. That's pretty old, Jane. Old enough to be an heirloom for sure. You let me lie against you, and the diaphragmatic breathing I felt against my neck told me you were quite contented." She watched Jane suddenly get quite upset, her hands covering her face. "Jane? Do you want to kiss me again?" Jane was crying. Maura frowned, her lips thinning sympathetically. "Sweetie?"
"W-Would you hate me if I did?" Jane spoke from behind her hands. To this, Maura smiled, finally happy with an answer. She knelt down on the floor and pulled the woman's hands away from her face. Jane refused to open her eyes. "I'm sorry, Maur… I shouldn't have got you the watch, I just… it seemed so you and-" Jane's eyes snapped open when she felt the kiss against her lips, more confident, less awkward… just as sweet. Pulling away, she felt Maura's hands running up and down her thighs. "Maura…"
"Where did you get the watch from?" Maura asked sweetly, pecking the woman's lips again. She grinned when she felt Jane reciprocate and stroked her friend's cheek with her thumb.
"My dad found it when he was just starting out." Jane grinned fondly, tears still sprinkled over her cheeks. She had been so scared. So scared Maura was going to hate her, or disown her as a friend. "He found it in this woman's sink. And she didn't even want it when he gave it back, so he took it home, cleaned it and polished it up, and saved it."
"For your mother?" Maura asked, engrossed in the story.
"Nope." Then, Jane smiled and she gave a shrug. "For his kid. I was three months old."
Maura peered down at the watch, perfectly fitting, wonderfully wrapped around her slender wrist. "Jane…I can't…"
Jane stopped her with another shrug. "He gave it to me when I was 21. I thought…" She huffed, "Maura you're my best friend. I didn't expect anything, I promise. I just… I never wanted to wear it, it just didn't seem like me. But it's you."
"It's me?" Maura caught the double meaning. Jane just nodded and took a small breath to pace herself before she brought up her courage to press her lips against Maura's again.
"You'll come with me to go and see my dad, right?" Jane asked. "He's gonna freak when he sees you wearing it," she said it with humor, knowing whatever she did, whoever she was with, her father would be happy for her.
"Of course." Maura nodded, looking down at their hands that had linked at their own accord. "What does this mean?"
Jane shrugged a little petulantly, obviously not thinking this far ahead. "I suppose… it means exactly what it means. Nothing has to change… much." She added a smirk to show Maura she wanted more.
Maura nodded, agreeing and cautiously leaned forward for another soft kiss. "Will Angela be angry if I left to go and see your father with you? I know she wanted me to help her with the food."
Jane let out a happy smile. "I don't care if she is, he'd wanna see you. He misses all of us. Especially now I have someone to bring."
Maura was a little thrown by her best friend's frankness. "You want that?"
Jane blinked. "Would you hate me if I did?"
"Don't be silly," Maura husked and pulled her in for one more kiss. "Are you asking me out?"
"Yes, I think I am." Jane chuckled. They were disturbed by a crashing sound and several expletives were roared down the hallway, first from Tommy, then Frankie. "There goes one of my presents." She let out a laugh, shaking Maura whose head laid against her shoulder. They heard the whirring sound begin again as the helicopter presumably flew away, back into the safety of the living room. "Ready to face the music?"
"Of course," Maura chuckled and stood up, straightening her pajamas before taking her new girlfriend's hand and letting herself be guided out into the living room, ready to start her first Christmas as a non-single woman.
The End.