Authors Note: Hi again folks. I'm back. I've had this story kicking around on my harddrive for a while. It was originally meant to be a Buffy based fic but well, Rizzles, Tillow... femslash works whatever the fandom.
I have a few chapters of this already so am hoping with a little love and time and maybe some generous feedback from you all, that I will be able to belt it out. I have a real good idea where I'm going so you might want to fasten your seatbelts coz folks, it's gonna be a bumpy ride!
Consider this your warning. There are a lot of characters in this and it might take you a while to work them out. Also, this is me, I don't write fic suitable for minors, your granny or small creatures so send them all out the room before reading. If you don't ship Rizzles, then 'hi and goodbye' you probably won't like this story.
As always, I really look forward to hearing your thoughts. Hope you enjoy!
"How on earth do you lose a cruise ship?" Jane complained as she trundled along behind her partner, Maura.
"Well if you had bothered taking the day off work and made sure you had everything then we wouldn't be late and lost now!" Maura snapped as she struggled with a huge suitcase.
Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles had been together for nine and a half years. Like most relationships, they'd had their ups and downs, although for the past 18 months, neither one could recall an 'up'. Jane had been promoted to Lieutenant at Boston police department, and while the money meant that she could stop the self-conscious worrying about bills, she was very rarely at home. In fact, she and Maura hadn't spent more than a half hour in the same bed, at the same time for a year.
Maura had organised this trip, a cruise around some of the lesser known islands in the Indian ocean, as a last ditch attempt to save their relationship. So far, it was the perfect reflection of the past 18 months. Maura had done everything. All of the planning, organising a dog sitter for Jo Friday, sending Bass off to his guardian, booking flights and even booking vacation time from work for both of them. She'd done all the washing, everything she could possibly imagine either of them wanting for their trip. All Jane had to do was to pack her own case; a task that should have been completed two days ago.
Jane on the other hand had decided to 'pop into work' instead of packing and organising her belongings, a decision that had meant her packing had been left to Maura. Although she complained heartily about this, Maura went ahead and packed her partners case for her. When Jane eventually got home from work, she erupted in a fit of anger. Maura knew it was just the stresses of work, but she couldn't help but to retaliate. In the end, all the packing had been undone as Maura, in her anger threw clothes, both hers and Jane's out of windows.
By the time both women had calmed down enough to see their mistakes, they had less than an hour until their flight; a flight they obviously missed.
But this was a new start, a fresh beginning and so far, not a very good one.
"I'm sorry." Maura said, stopping to wait for Jane who smiled weakly and hugged her partner fondly.
"Me too."
"Hey look, that's it!" Maura said loudly, pointing towards a stunning boat in the far end of the harbour.
As they made their way towards the ship, they relaxed slightly, partaking in one of their favourite games, people watching. A fat, balding man with a sunburnt head waddled in front of them, loaded up like a Himalayan donkey, while his equally rotund wife puffed loudly, dragging a suitcase behind her. She paused for a moment, apparently to catch her breath, and turned towards her husband and smiled. He caught up with her and she kissed his red head fondly as she offered him a drink.
Maura smiled at them sadly as she passed. Having seen the boat, Jane had marched on ahead, their moment forgotten as her excitement for her first cruise took over. This is what Maura wanted from a relationship, obvious love and affection even in the midst of heavy luggage and sunburn. Instead, the pressure of their work seemed to have drained the lives from both of them, leaving behind a cold and irritated shell.
She followed Jane with her eyes and smiled as she turned back to see what was keeping Maura.
"Come on!" Jane yelled; drawing some rather irritated glares from a collection of older people sitting nearby.
Maura's smile vanished as Jane turned away and marched herself aboard the boat.
"Good Afternoon!" A young man whom Jane guessed to be about 27, smiled warmly as she stepped on deck.
"Good afternoon to you too." she replied, smiling broadly.
"Welcome aboard the Galaxy." He continued. "If I can see your ticket and boarding pass, I will guide you to your cabin."
Jane rummaged around in her shoulder bag and complained loudly when she could find no official looking paperwork at all. Pausing to run her hands through her long hair, Jane sighed heavily, it had to be in here, she always had the tickets for every important event.
"I'm sorry." Jane said, looking up only to smile apologetically at the queue that was forming slowly behind her; a queue that consisted of the same older people whom had already formed an opinion of this loud- mouthed brunette.
"If you can step to the side so those who do have their tickets can board?" The young man said firmly, leaving no doubt in Jane's mind that it was an order rather than a request.
Jane ceased her search and glared at the young crew member, "I do have a ticket!" She insisted loudly, causing the queue behind her to groan, sigh and heckle her.
"Shut up! I have a ticket, I paid for my trip, my..." She paused, and glanced along the harbour to see what was keeping Maura.
"Maur!" she yelled, gesturing wildly.
Maura looked up briefly at her partner and sighed. Once again, Jane went marching on ahead, all balls to the wind and was now stuck in a predicament she would be expected to resolve. Well she would have to wait until Maura reached the boarding ramp.
"That woman has our tickets!" Jane told the group.
"The woman that has paid no interest in you at all, in fact, she's the only one who isn't looking this way?" An elderly man stated from behind Jane.
"Well she's in a mood with me again I imagine." Jane told him smartly before returning her attention to the crew boy. "I'll just stand over here." Jane made to push past him so the others could board when the young man stopped her.
"I'm sorry ma'am, but you must leave right now unless you have a ticket and boarding pass."
As one, the elderly contingent moved aside and Jane was guided back down the ramp to the harbour where she adopted her best Rizzoli glare and waited impatiently for Maura.
"What the hell took you so long?" She snapped, as Maura got closer.
Rolling her eyes, the honey blonde ignored this latest outburst and tried to push past Jane onto the ramp, but the brunette caught her arm.
"Maura, don't ignore me!"
"Look Jane, if you want to go marching on ahead and doing your best to not be with me, then you should make sure you have all the paperwork you need beforehand." Maura growled as she reached into her bag for the papers which she threw carelessly at her partner. "In fact, there you go. You can pretend that we're not here to save this sham of a relationship. I hear there's a singles night during the trip. Maybe you can hook up with someone, although maybe the sushi bar will suit you better. You could meet another cold, emotionally devoid bottom dweller like yourself!"
Jane's mouth hung open loosely. They'd had their arguments in the past, but even in the midst of their most vicious, Maura had never been this cruel. She watched as the honey blonde walked neatly up the boardwalk and joined the end of the queue.
As Maura got to the head of the queue, she smiled sweetly at the young man who greeted her.
"Good afternoon, welcome aboard the Galaxy. May I see your ticket and boarding pass please?" he asked.
"Certainly." Maura said, handing him the appropriate documents.
"Ahh, a wonderful cabin." The young man smiled. "If you'd like to follow me?"
Maura glanced behind her briefly, before following the young man into the heart of the ship.
-/-
"Wow!"
Since the crew boy, who had introduced himself to Maura as Chris and graciously accepted his tip and left, wow was all Maura could find to say. He had given her a quick tour around her luxurious cabin and handed her a rather large book which explained all the facilities the Galaxy had to offer. It's not that she was unaccustomed to the luxury, but she'd never anticipated seeing something so grand on a boat.
The cabin itself, the Grand Suite, was something from a Victorian fairytale. At almost 1500 square feet, Maura knew why this trip had cost so much. Their cabin had two bedrooms, both with Queen sized beds, two living rooms, two bathrooms, and the one off of the bedroom she had chosen as the main bedroom had a full sized Jacuzzi tub as well as a shower room and two sinks. It was like the designers knew she and Jane were having difficulties and had deliberately made it that way in case they fell out. They had two of everything, which Maura could only hope would mean there was less to argue about.
She stepped out onto the private balcony and sat at the dining area laid out. Part of her felt bad for leaving Jane behind on the dock, but she'd given her her ticket and boarding pass. She was meant to be her partner, not her mother or an emotional punching bag.
Pushing aside the momentary guilt pang, Maura sat back and read through the brochure that Chris had kindly left for her to browse. The ship boasted the finest chefs from all over the world, four restaurants or the choice of candlelit dinners in your cabin, Broadway shows, live music, wine tasting and a fully equipped gym (for which Maura could see no point of on a holiday).
The door slamming open caused Maura to jump noticeably as Jane burst through it. She watched as the fury that burnt her lovers face melted in the face of the beauty that was their cabin. Returning to her brochure, Maura hoped that mood of the room would soothe Jane's temper.
Jane noticed Maura peering around the curtains from the balcony as soon as she entered the room. Sitting there like she was all peace and innocence only made Jane angrier. She was about to go and confront her when the sheer magnificence of the cabin hit her.
Marble, teak and glass sparkled in the afternoon light and the elegance and tranquillity of it all hit her. Dropping her bags in the doorway, she slowly started looking around, opening every door and being stunned by the increasing beauty hidden behind it. The second door Jane opened led into an exquisite bedroom. The bed had a large window at its foot and she could imagine laying there watching the stars.
She sat down and gazed out at the ocean. This trip was meant to be a break away from their life; a chance to find out if they had enough of a relationship to save and so far, all they'd done was argue.
Jane knew it was her fault. Her long hours at work, missing birthdays, parties. Hell, just missing dinner times. Things she'd sworn to Maura she'd never do. The stress of her new position had consumed her. She'd spent almost every waking hour wrapped up in work and then, when Maura went looking for companionship, conversation and friendship; she'd accused her of cheating.
Maura had walked out, gone to see her new friends, and Jane, with her anger dulled by a 6 pack of beer, had no clue where to start looking for her. It was then she realised just how far apart they'd grown. They always went out together, had mutual friends outside of the police force with whom they'd have peaceful dinner parties and wild nights out. Now, Jane's friends were all doing their own thing, tired of waiting for her to have a night off or to even return their calls. They'd moved on, made new friends and their lives were different. She was completely alone and all of her own doing.
Jane had tried, that was what she told herself. She started coming home from work in time for dinner, bringing Maura flowers and chocolates and trying to make conversation. Maura on the other hand, had her new life. She was secure in her job and her friendships, and had grown used to life without Jane in it. After all, loneliness was what she knew best. She'd go out, regardless of whether or not Jane was home, didn't invite her or tell her when she'd be back and Jane couldn't help but think there was more going on than casual friendship. She'd returned home at lunchtime one day after an accident at work. The workmen who had been replacing some drywall had left their materials lying around and when the fire alarm had gone off, the drywall had been knocked onto Jane and Frost. After being checked out by paramedics, Jane was given the all clear and even though her head, neck and throat hurt, she was fine. Maura spotted the bruising quickly and Jane had tried to explain but Maura assumed the bruising was the result of some affair she was having. Even now, Jane couldn't believe that Maura would think she would do that. Hell, she couldn't believe that Maura would just jump to a random conclusion. It was the final shove Jane had needed to prove how much they'd both changed.
Shaking herself from an impending depression, Jane got to her feet and paused. Where were Maura's bags? She looked around the room, pulling open the closet door only to find it empty. Slumping to the ground, Jane held her head in her hands and cried softly.
-/-
The cool ocean breeze washed over Maura. No matter how hard she'd tried, she couldn't fight the pang of guilt. It wasn't just her actions that day that ate away at her. It was everything. The past year had been hellish and it all came to a head the week before she'd booked the trip.
Jane had been coming home early, bringing her flowers, chocolates; expensive wine. She'd clearly been making an effort to try and rebuild the shambles that had become their relationship and Maura had thrown it all back at her. One evening, Jane had come home with what Maura was certain was a hickey. She left, went to see her friends to tell them about her new heartbreak.
It became Maura's new obsession; she'd go through Jane's pockets, searching for a clue to the identity of her new lover. When she found nothing, she resorted to that all American source for the paranoid, the Private Detective. They'd followed her for a month or so, reporting back to Maura once a week but not confirming her darkest suspicions. Finally, Maura insist they send in a woman, a honey trap. Between the detective and herself, they chose a stunning woman whom anyone would be a fool to turn down, and off she went.
The results stunned Maura. She was totally convinced that Jane would hop into bed with her, hell, even she had been tempted, but Jane had politely sat and chatted with her over a drink. When it came to any physical attention at all, Jane recoiled, almost in horror, telling her nicely but firmly that she was in a relationship and wasn't interested. The woman had given Jane her number, which Jane had taken, but as soon as they parted, Jane had thrown it in the trash without even looking. Maura had always feared that Jane would find her too strange, too clinical and logical and leave her for someone more 'normal'.
That night, Maura had welcomed her home and they'd talked for the first time in months. It was going pretty well until Jane found out through a work colleague that Maura had had her followed. Once again, the shit hit the fan. This trip? This was it; the do or die. The Final Jeopardy question.
"Maur?"
So lost in thought was she, that Maura hadn't noticed Jane in the doorway. Snapping back into the here and now, she wiped at her face and looked up.
"I'm sorry, it's just…I'm a jerk." Jane said softly, her own eyes red and betraying her sadness.
"I am too."
Jane stepped out onto the deck and hesitated.
"Sit down?" Maura offered sadly. "Is this what we've become? All these years together and we can't even sit together without the other asking?"
Jane pulled her chair in closer to the intimate table and sighed. It was true. She was nervous around Maura. They were almost strangers again; less than shadows of who they used to be.
"Maybe that's a good thing." Jane said, finally meeting Maura's eyes. "We can start all over from the beginning."
Suddenly Jane jumped to her feet and stepped back inside, grabbed her cases and disappeared into the bedroom where she'd previously been crying.
Maura sat there alone again, in stunned silence, staring into the space that Jane had previously occupied.