I didn't create 'em, and I don't own 'em.
I love this community so much. I respect all the writers here more than I could say. However, anyone who attempts to negatively Review will be immediately shut down. I will not read nasty "Reviews" or allow them to be posted here. Sorry. I have enough negative feedback in my life at the moment.
About Maura/Riley: If you're interested in this plot device, please read ahead and I hope you will be surprised and interested in how I have used it. Riley's part is minimal and annoying. I won't make you like her and I won't suggest she's a good person. She's a plot device. If you don't like it, here's an idea, don't read it.
Voices Carry
Jane was sitting on her couch drinking a beer and watching a game. She glanced at her phone. Maura still hadn't returned her text. Her team was winning, and she cheered halfheartedly to herself. At the commercials she muted the TV to grab another beer and the second half of her sandwich.
As she was closing the refrigerator, she heard female giggling. Something about it made her alert, her stomach even jolted. For a second she thought it was Maura, but she dismissed it because Maura wouldn't be laughing in her apartment building. She flipped the sound on when the commercials ended and didn't hear anything else out of the ordinary.
Jane awoke on her couch perhaps an hour later. She didn't know what had woken her, and she staggered towards her apartment door still partially in a dream state. Her TV had turned itself off, so she stood in silence in the dim light of her living room, listening through her door.
She definitely heard Maura talking. It sounded strange to her, as if Maura were using a tone that interested and yet aggravated her. She opened the door tentatively, still only dimly aware that she had indeed woken up to the sound of Maura chirping outside her apartment.
Maura started. For the briefest instant her face seemed to drain of its color, then her cheeks turned cherry red with an almost painful blush. Jane saw her hand drop, as if guiltily, from wherever it had been.
Jane's neighbor, Detective Riley Cooper, was standing in Maura's personal space. She had her hand on Maura's hip but it also dropped when Jane opened the door. They were leaning in the doorway of Riley's apartment across the hall. Jane got the very annoying impression she was interrupting something intimate.
"Jane. Hi," Maura said warmly, affectively hiding the tremor in her tone from Riley but not Jane.
"Hey, Maura," Jane returned. "I uh ... didn't mean to interrupt, I guess I didn't really expect you to be out here. I thought I was imagining your voice." It sounded absurd, and Jane felt strange, as if she might still be dreaming.
"It's fine, I was just saying goodnight to Detective Cooper. We were trying to crack a difficult case." She said confidently, and it almost didn't sound forced.
Jane nodded. "Right. Well, good luck and goodnight, I guess." She nodded at Riley, quickly glanced at Maura, and closed the door. For some reason she didn't move away from the door, and she felt distinctly creepy for it. She tried but couldn't control her desire to listen to their conversation.
"Shhh. Hey, hey," Maura whispered. There was a pause before Maura giggled. "Mmm. Listen, okay?"
"I am listening. If you would come back inside we wouldn't have to whisper." The detective replied playfully.
"Not a chance," Maura cut in cheekily. "I will see you at work. Oh, and Detective Cooper … I expect your requests to be filed correctly in the future."
"I'm not totally certain you can stipulate a font, Maura, but I will try harder to get on your good side."
Jane thought she heard a sort of whimper before Maura replied in a muffled voice, "That's enough, Detective. I enjoyed working together. Goodnight."
"I enjoy working with you, too, Maura. You're one hell of an … examiner."
Maura giggled encouragingly. "Riley, stop."
"Goodnight, Doctor. I'll see you soon," the detective finally conceded.
Jane leaned her forehead on the door, she wasn't quite sure what she had just heard or why she was so annoyed by it. She glanced at the clock. It was 1:37 AM. She felt like she had entered a dream world, and perhaps by going to sleep she could leave it. She grabbed her phone and headed to bed. She was nearly asleep when it chimed. It was a text from Maura.
MAURA: I'm sorry I couldn't reply earlier and that I woke you. Your 'couch nap' hair was adorable.
Jane smiled despite herself.
JANE: Why were you here?
MAURA: I told you. We were working on a case. You're not the only Detective to whom I'm obliged to offer my professional advice and counsel, Jane.
Jane rolled her eyes hard enough to knock them out of joint.
MAURA: We'll talk tomorrow, okay? Get some sleep, Jane.
Jane loved a lot of things about her job, but the best thing was cracking a case. Not only did she get the satisfaction and closure, but she and Maura always celebrated with dinner and drinks at the Dirty Robber.
Sometimes Maura even excitedly hugged and congratulated her, and bringing that to mind, Jane couldn't really think of any thing about her job she liked more than being congratulated by Maura's breasts pressed against her and Maura's praise filling her ears.
As Jane dashed out of the elevator with her folder of case-cracking evidence clasped in hand, good news already rehearsed and ready on her tongue, she bounded through the Morgue door anticipating her best friend to be doing an autopsy.
But she deflated instantly when she didn't see Maura. Her face furrowed as she hurried across the room to Maura's office door. She snatched it open expectantly and called, "Maur?" before she had opened the door wide enough to see Detective Cooper pulling her lips away from Maura's with a smack.
Maura's lips were pink and swollen, and she licked them self consciously when she looked up at Jane. Although Jane had called her name, she knew a reply was no longer desired.
Jane audibly gasped. Her eyes fell on Maura's lips, on Riley's hand which was still around Maura's waist. She dimly realized she couldn't look into Maura's eyes, and she stared at the floor dumbly as the look of painful confusion on her cheeks started to melt into a ferocious blush.
Maura caught her breath and considered speaking but didn't really know what to say. She couldn't lie, and she knew if she told the truth it would sound like she was apologizing to a lover, not simply explaining to a friend.
Maura didn't want Jane to know she was dating Riley, and didn't want Riley to know she had a complicated relationship with Jane which had somehow seethed sexual tension from the start. It seemed like two cats might be out of the bag, and Maura felt helplessly bare toward the impending criticism of both women in her life.
Riley only smirked. For her part she wasn't exactly embarrassed by being caught with Maura. She was waiting for Maura to explain, it was her office after all, but Maura and Jane only breathed raggedly and waited. Feeling increasingly confused by their odd behavior, Riley finally broke the silence.
"Sorry, Detective Rizzoli. We were just ... celebrating, I guess. We um, we cracked that case today. Yay." She mocked celebration with raised hands.
"Anyway," she turned back to Maura and addressed her in a lowered tone, "Are you going to keep your promise to cook for me tonight, Doctor?"
She leaned her face forward, as if to kiss Maura again, and Maura instantly moved out of her arms.
"Of course, Detective Cooper. A promise is a promise. I'll be there at 7."
Riley grinned at her. As she walked past Jane she sighed and commented to Jane, "There's nothing like breaking a case, huh?"
Jane still held a folder under her arm, it felt like a burning emblem of shame on her breast.
"Yep," Jane replied flatly after Riley had left the office.
Maura hadn't said a word, she was just standing beside her desk looking at Jane. She noticed the folder Jane was holding. She knew exactly what it was. She realized why Jane had rushed into her office.
"You found the get-away car, huh?" Maura asked quietly.
Jane felt a wave of childish defensiveness rise in her gullet. "Yep."
"I knew you would," Maura replied warmly. She was nervously flexing her ankles.
Finally Jane pulled her eyes up to meet Maura's. "I'll pour out some champagne for you tonight at the Dirty Robber. Don't worry, Frost, Korsak and Frankie will be with me. Have fun on your ..." she meant to say 'date' but she was surprised to realize she couldn't. She couldn't pronounce the word. "Dinner," she finally concluded. She turned, but Maura quickly blurted her name.
"Jane," Maura started without thinking. She had been trying to decide how to explain for days. She and Riley had been only been dating a couple of weeks. At first it didn't seem that important a thing to inform Jane of, she didn't always update Jane on her budding Romantic life. Truthfully she was overwhelmed by how difficult and awkward she knew it would be.
Jane stopped and waited.
"I ..." Maura started. "I ..."
Jane waited. Maura exhaled.
"I ... am ... well ..."
"Sleeping with Riley?" Jane finished in a level tone.
Maura's eyes shot up to hers. "We're dating," she corrected, and she winced at how apologetic she sounded. Somehow she thought adding that fact might make it better that she was sleeping with Riley. But the information made Jane grimace nonetheless.
She let the grimace melt off her face before she nodded and replied, "Congratulations," in a forced tone.
Maura sighed. She realized nothing she could say would make Jane okay with her dating Riley. "I know you don't like her, but you usually don't have a great opinion about the people I date, and anyway, I'm not marrying her. We're just ... dating," Maura concluded dismissively.
Jane nodded numbly. She felt nauseous.
Maura wanted to stop Jane from leaving, but she knew neither of them had anything more to say. She watched her turn to go. Suddenly she thought of something, "Oh, Jane, wait."
Jane turned, and was surprised Maura had walked up behind her.
"What?"
"Congratulations to you, too," Maura said affectionately as she wrapped her arms around Jane and pulled her into a hug. "I'm so proud of what a wonderful detective you are."
Jane didn't try to hide her rigidity. She exhaled deeply though, and leaned her shoulders against Maura.
"Thank you," she replied against Maura's hair. "But I couldn't have done it without you."
Maura closed her eyes sadly and focused on hugging Jane as long as Jane would allow it.
It wasn't long. Jane shrugged her off and finally turned to go. "Have fun with Riley, Maura."
Maura felt like saying, "I would rather be with you," but instead she forced a smile and nodded at Jane's retreating back.
