AN: I was really surprised by the lack of New Year's stories... so today I decided to write one :-)
As always... I hope you enjoy.
The standard non-ownership disclaimer. The characters belong to Tess Gerritsen and TNT.
Jane Rizzoli had a plan. A brilliant plan, if she did say so herself. Well... maybe not brilliant, but certainly good at the very least.
She had finally admitted it to herself. She was in love with her best friend. Her beautiful, intelligent, caring, goofy, female, best friend. It had taken her months, filled at first with confusion and then denial, to accept her true feelings. Now that she had, though, there was no reason for her not to want to move forward with them. She was resolved. After all, it was going to be a new year. Tradition dictated that she make a New Year's Resolution. And this year she was going to keep it. This year, her resolution was going to be to love Maura and to do everything in her power to get Maura to love her back.
Maura had a problem. A massive problem. She didn't know how it had happened, or even when exactly, but she did know that she was in love with her best friend. She had realized it months ago, and the feelings just kept growing stronger by the day.
Every little thing Jane did made Maura love her more. When she would go that extra six blocks to the coffee shop that she knew Maura preferred. When she would try to explain the finer points of beer and pizza. When she would just nod and offer a teasing smile after Maura had "gone Google" on her. Those and the thousand other little things that made Jane who she was. Maura loved all of them. She was in big trouble.
She didn't normally make New Year's resolutions, feeling instead that one should aspire to improve themselves regularly throughout the year, not just at the start. She thought them a pointless custom. This year, however, she was going to make one. She was going to make herself fall out of love with her best friend.
Her ringing phone interrupted her thoughts. Absentmindedly she answered, "Isles."
"Ehh... What's up, Doc?" Jane asked, giggling.
Maura knew she must've missed something. There was no reason for Jane to be giggling over a simple question. "I'm not sure what you mean," she answered.
"Really, Maura? Bugs Bunny... with the carrot? None of this clicking? Really?"
"No, sorry."
Jane sighed, "Wow... how do you not- you know what, nevermind. That's not why I was calling."
"Yes, I surmised as much," Maura said, and Jane could just hear the smile in her voice.
"Anyways... you're coming to my folks' for New Year's," Jane stated.
"No, really. I can't," Maura protested. "I already spent Christmas there and I really feel that-"
"Just can it, Maur," Jane interrupted. "Look, we both know how this is going to play out. You're going to refuse, I'm going to keep nagging, and eventually you're just going to give in anyways because I sure as hell won't. Can't we just save some time and you just agree for once?"
Maura hesitated. Jane was right. She always won. What was it about Jane Rizzoli that caused the normally strong-willed Dr. Isles to be so submissive? Oh right, she was in love with her.
"Fine," Maura sighed resignedly. "What time should I be ready by?"
With something akin to a squeal of delight Jane answered, "Oh my god, I can't believe that worked. I'll pick you up at 7:30."
Laughingly Maura responded, "See you then."
"Bye."
Jane hung up the phone smiling. She hadn't doubted herself, but success was always a nice feeling. Get Maura to the party- Check. Now on to phase two, she thought.
This part of her plan would probably be a little harder, but it had to be done. And it had to be done face-to-face. So a short twenty minutes later she was striding into her parents' house, calling for her mother.
"In the kitchen, Janie," Angela yelled out.
When Jane came sauntering into the kitchen, her mother kissed her cheek and said, "I wasn't expecting you 'til much later. This has got to be some kind of earliness record for you."
"Ha ha," Jane said dryly. "I'm not actually here yet, Ma. There was just something I needed to tell you before tonight so that you wouldn't get caught off guard."
"Oh, this sounds serious," Angela said, putting down the dish she was drying. "Let's sit down."
As they made their way to the table, Jane was still trying to decide the best way to tell her mother about her feelings for Maura. Seeing that she was struggling to gather her thoughts, Angela reached over and laid a hand on her daughter's forearm. "It's okay, sweetie," she said soothingly. "Whatever it is you can tell me."
Right, Jane thought. Just fast and direct. I can do this. Here goes.
"I'm in love with Maura," she blurted, wincing and then closing her eyes, waiting for her mother's reaction.
Angela would've liked to say that this was a shocking revelation. She would've liked to wonder how it was that her only daughter was in love with another woman. Would've liked to say that this was just a phase that Jane was going through. Yes, she would've liked to say any of those things, but she couldn't. Because she had seen it. She had seen the way that the two had interacted with each other. Seen the way that Jane's face lit up when Maura entered a room. The way that she would go to the ends of the earth if Maura wanted to on a whim. And she was almost certain that Maura had felt the same way as Jane.
"I know," Angela answered quietly.
Jane's eyes flew open. "What do you mean you know?" she demanded.
"I'm your mother. I would think that I would know when you're in love."
"So, you're okay with this," Jane confirmed, feeling a little shocked, but relieved.
"Of course, Janie," Angela answered. "All I've ever wanted is for you to be happy. Well... and maybe some grandchildren, and that's still-"
"Oh Ma, knock it off. I've been in love five minutes and you're already planning the wedding and picking out kid's names."
Angela laughed, "Maura would be so beautiful in a white dress. And doesn't little Angela Rizzoli-Isles just sound divine?"
Jane just laughed too. Her mother was certainly predictable if nothing else. "Anyways... the reason I'm telling you all of this is because I want to tell her how I feel. Tonight. With a kiss at midnight."
Angela got a little teary-eyed at the thought of her daughter's happiness. "Oh Janie, what an excellent way to ring in the New Year. With a new love."
"Oh, gross, you're getting all mushy. That's my cue to leave," Jane said smiling. "I'll see you later."
"Bye dear. I love you," Angela called as Jane was leaving the kitchen.
"Love you too, Ma," she yelled back before she completely left the house.
That wasn't so bad, she thought. Phase two complete.
As the clock ticked closer to 7:30, Maura was feeling more and more anxious. She didn't know how she was going to survive this night. These kinds of things always seemed to make her fall deeper in love with Jane. And that was in direct conflict with the resolution that she had just made mere hours ago. Somehow she would make it through. Maybe a glass of wine to settle her nerves.
By the time Jane rang her doorbell, that glass had turned into a bottle, and Maura was feeling quite warm. Jane noticed her friend's tipsyness, but decided not to comment on it.
"Ready to go?" she asked, stepping into the house.
"Yes let's," Maura replied.
"Don't you think you should grab a jacket? It's going to be freezing by the time we leave my parents'."
"I'm fine," she answered, turning to retrieve her purse from her room.
"Hey, I'll wait for you in the car okay," Jane called out to her.
"Okay, I'll be out in a minute. I didn't realize that I hadn't switched purses yet. I'm sorry."
"No worries, take your time," Jane yelled back. She opened up the hall closet that was by the front door, grabbed one of her friend's long coats, and headed out to wait in the car.
About two minutes later, Maura came out, purse in hand, sans jacket. Jane knew she had done the right thing by grabbing her one. It really was going to be cold later.
"Sorry, I'm ready now," Maura said,
"All right, we're on our way," Jane answered.
And they were.
This was not going well.
Jane knew that something was wrong with her friend. She had known it since the second she picked her up and realized that she was a little tipsy. And when she refused a jacket against all logic. And now, when she and Frankie were currently singing a drunken-karaoke rendition of "I Will Survive".
Jane just didn't know what was going on. From the second they walked into her parents' house and Frankie offered her some champagne, Maura had been getting steadily drunker. Until this point, where she and Frankie were completely sloshed.
Her plan was not going to work. There was no way that she was going to have a life-changing moment with Maura while she was in this state. She was completely incoherent, and ready to pass out and it wasn't even midnight.
"Ma," Jane called out, "I think I'm going to take Maura home."
Her mother looked over at her sympathetically. She was so disappointed for her daughter's sake. "Okay, dear. We understand. Frankie should probably go to bed too."
Jane nodded, "Come on, Maur. We're leaving."
"Wha- Oh. Is it time already?" Maura asked. "Okay. Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Rizzoli, I had a lovely time."
"You're welcome, dear. Sleep well." Angela said, kissing her cheek.
"Bye, Ma," Jane said, "I'll call you tomorrow."
Angela watched as Jane led a slightly stumbling Dr. Isles to her car. She hoped that everything would turn out okay.
As soon as she got in the car, Maura snuggled into the seat and fell asleep. Jane just sighed and wrapped the coat she had grabbed around her. She decided that it would be best to just take Maura back to her place, because she was going to wake up with one hell of a hangover.
Once they got there it was a little difficult to maneuver her up the stairs and into the bedroom. Knowing that Maura would be distressed over a wrinkled dress, she somehow managed to get her out of it and into a Boston PD shirt to sleep in. After hanging up the dress, and changing her own clothes, Jane slipped into the bed next to Maura with a sigh. This really wasn't the way she imagined this night ending. Deciding that the best thing to do was to just straight out tell Maura tomorrow how she felt, she fell into a peaceful sleep.
She was not at home. She was at Jane's. She could tell because of the way that the pillow smelled. Her's always smelled like the lavender fabric softener that she always used, and Jane's always smelled like- Well, she wasn't quite sure what, but she knew that she liked it better than lavender.
Her head was pounding. And her mouth was dry. And she couldn't remember last night, or how she came to be here. She groaned in discomfort.
"Here, take this," a voice said quietly at her side.
She opened one eye to see Jane holding out a bottle of Gatorade and two Tylenol. She sat up slowly and took it gratefully.
Jane just sat there and stared at her for a moment before asking, "So... what was that last night?"
Maura sighed and closed her eyes again. She had been hoping that Jane wouldn't ask. That she would just let it go. No such luck apparently.
"Maura?" Jane asked, after receiving no answer.
Knowing that she wasn't going to be able to escape this, Maura answered quietly, "I needed some liquid courage."
That was totally not the answer than Jane was expecting. Completely confused as to why Maura felt that way she asked, "For what?"
With her eyes still closed, Maura begged, "Please... just let it go. You know I can't lie."
"Look at me, Maur. Whatever it is, it'll be okay."
Her eyes snapped open. "No, it will not be okay," her voice was rising. "It will never be okay. I'm so tired of hiding, of trying to fight this feeling. I can't fight it. I'm in love with you and-"
She was cut off by Jane pressing her lips to hers. They kissed sweetly for a moment before Jane pulled back, resting her forehead on Maura's. "I love you, too," Jane told her before kissing her again.
Maura was elated. Jane was kissing her. However, elation was not a cure for a hangover. Wincing she pulled back. "My head is still killing me. I'm sorry."
Jane laughed lightly. "You know," she told her, "you could've saved yourself all of this pain and suffering if you hadn't gotten so drunk last night."
"I know, but I felt like I needed something to help with the tension I was feeling. I didn't think I'd be able to make it through the night."
"That's not what I meant," Jane explained. "I had a plan."
"A plan?" Maura questioned.
"Yup. I was going to tell you how I felt, and kiss you at midnight. We were going to start the New Year off right."
"Oh. I'm sorry I messed everything up. That would have been lovely."
"It's okay," Jane chuckled. "I'm still getting what I wanted, just a few hours later."
Maura smiled, "I love you, so much."
"Back at ya, babe. Now, let's go back to sleep. You need to sleep off that hangover and be well rested for later tonight." Jane responded, waggling her eyebrows and smirking.
"Why? What's happening later toni- Oh," Maura blushed.
Jane just laughed as Maura snuggled into her embrace. They laid there in silence holding each other, just basking in the feel of each others' love. Before slipping back into unconsciousness, Maura thought about the New Year's Resolution that she had made less than twenty-four hours previously. She smiled at the fact that there was no way that she would be keeping it now. The last thought she had before she succumbed to the slumber that was quickly trying to claim her was, I always knew that was a ridiculous tradition...
Jane watched Maura until she fell asleep. Smiling to herself, she decided that she may as well take a little nap too. She hugged Maura into her more tightly. This is going to be the easiest New Year's Resolution to keep that I've ever made, she thought, before she too fell into a blissful sleep.
Happy New Year's everyone :-)