A/N: I wrote this to reduce some of my own stress around the presidential election, it'll probably be about the only thing I'll write, but I may turn it into a multi-chapter, eh, I'll decide when the time comes. I just needed something to take my eyes off the election for a bit. This chapter'll be pretty short, it just appears longer on my phone versus my computer. All mistakes are mine. Oh, and, this is loosely based off of 'Cheer Up' by Skizzy Mars if you're ever in the mood for a listen ((:
Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing, I'm just borrowing these characters for a while and will return them unharmed.
The sleepy streets of Boston weren't going to wake from their slumber anytime soon, at least that is what Jane Rizzoli believed. She had one hand on the steering wheel of her best friend's Prius, the other hand was rested on the arm rest. Her fingers tapped languidly on the leather to the soft tune of the song that was coming through the speakers. The brunette couldn't place the song name, no matter how hard she tried, but she wasn't necessarily tempted to do so. She was on her way to return her best friend's car and express her gratitude in her friend for trusting her to borrow it for the night. Jane was using it for some undercover work, deciding on not taking her unmarked vehicle that just screamed that she was a detective.
She took a sloppy left hand turn on to her friend's street, and moments later she was rolling into the driveway of a home that belonged to none other than Dr. Maura Isles. Jane threw the car into park and removed her keys before stepping out of the car and locking it. The bitter chill of a looming Boston winter greeted her, not so warmly of course. As she made her way up towards the front door, she rolled the fob between her forefinger and thumb a few times before tucking it away into her winter coat. Jane regretted not wearing gloves, but in her defense most of her night had been spent in a sleazy nightclub scoping out their suspect. After receiving numerous unwarranted advances, a multitude of alcoholic concoctions, and the cackling of her coworkers in her ear piece, she left the premises empty handed.
It wasn't too uncommon for the undercover operations to yield nothing useful, it was just a risk that they had to take. A risk in a sense that Jane lost another night of wine and beer with the medical examiner. Once she made it to the front door she hovered her hand over the doorbell before deciding to press it. It was three o'four in the morning, an insane hour to be dropping a Prius off. Maybe she should've just waited until the morning, or elected to use her emergency key to put the car keys inside since one could consider this an emergency. Just before she turned on her heel the front door swung open, and there stood a honey blonde staring back at her.
"Did I wake you?" She regretted saying it as soon as she did, of course, Jane woke Maura. It was apparent by the sleep that still tugged at Maura's eyes. Maura yawned momentarily before nodding her head, "Yes, but you're fine, don't worry." A cool breeze wafted through the doorway which caused Maura to almost come fully to her senses, "It's freezing out there, do you want to come inside?" The tall brunette was about to agree when an idea popped into her head, "Grab some blankets and a bottle of wine." Maura gave her a blank stare for a couple of seconds before turning on her heel and running into the living room. Jane pulled her hands back out of her coat pocket and quickly unlocked the car from where she had been standing. Minutes later, the medical examiner reappeared with two blankets and a bottle of Sauvignon from Bordeaux, assumably.
Jane waited for Maura to close her front door and lock it behind her before they both headed towards the car, "I'm driving." "I wasn't going to even offer, considering I have no clue where we're going. You're not kidnapping me, are you?" The brunette scoffed, "Me? Kidnapping you? You willingly came along, need I remind you." Jane slid into the front seat and started up the car again, "It's three in the morning and I've heard that the Boston Harbor is beautiful at this hour." Maura unfolded one of the blankets in her lap before sighing, "From who?" "Myself. I actually don't know how the Boston Harbor looks at three a.m." The comment earned her a soft chuckle from her companion, which ultimately made a smile creep onto her features. As she rested her left hand on the wheel she held out her right hand for Maura's taking. It didn't surprise her when the honey blonde took her hand, but it did make her realize that she was going to miss these moments with her.
D.C. was approaching at a rapid pace, and no matter how fast Jane ran, she couldn't escape it. She was leaving a lot behind, a lot being Maura. She knew that she could still make it up on weekends, but not visiting the morgue every day or staying at her friend's house when times got rough was going to be a whole new experience for her. The thought of that possibility made Jane rather anxious, and being anxious wasn't anything that Jane particularly enjoyed. The future was no longer something the brunette looked forward to, she no longer wanted to schedule things that would happen later that day for she knew that she was losing her time that she had left in Boston. It almost seemed as if the other woman had been reading her mind, because when she spoke she sounded like she knew that D.C. was on Jane's mind, "I'm going to miss you."
"I'll miss you too."
"You'll visit, right?" The question came out rather apprehensive, possibly due to the fact that the answer might not be something she wanted to hear. And Jane knew not to placate Maura, to tell her the full truth, which is what she did. "On the weekends, yeah." She noticed the fact that Maura relaxed the grip she had on her own hand when she answered her question. As they neared the Boston Harbor, the honey blonde spoke again, "Just keep driving, okay?" Jane just nodded in response, and kept her eyes locked on the highway that stretched out before her. She was pushing eighty-five, a surprisingly comfortable-way-over-the-limit pace that she set. A few cars would pass on occasion, mostly people leaving the bars, alone, with their lonely hearts.
They slipped into a rather comfortable silence, something that had become rather common in their friendship. Jane was idly rubbing her thumb on the topside of Maura's hand, exhaling a breath that she hadn't noticed that she'd been holding. Jane settled on heading towards Cambridge, a stop in Harvard Square would surely cheer her companion up. Even though everything would be closed down at this hour, the possibility of having a snowball fight did cross Jane's mind once or twice. It would take some coaxing on her end to get Maura to follow en suite, but she was almost sure she could do it.
Jane cast a glance towards Maura, the medical examiner had one leg tucked under her, arm resting against the window as she stared out of it. She also noticed how tired Maura looked, and it wasn't from a lack of sleep. Her spirit appeared to be almost withering away, she was oddly quiet for once. For once she wasn't spouting out random facts, which Jane had always found endearing, it appeared as if the Dr. Isles had nothing to say in this moment. Jane pursed her lips together in thought, then she caught sight of a lone tear trailing it's way down her companion's cheek.
"Maur, what's wrong?"
"Nothing," the honey blonde furiously wiped away at the tear and closed her eyes to prevent the ones that were threatening to spill from falling.
"Now I know that's not the truth, talk to me."
"There isn't anything to talk about. I was just thinking."
"About?" Jane wasn't just going to necessarily let this go as easily as Maura might've bargained for.
"Us. This."
"Nothing's going to change, you know that right?"
"But it might. Jane, you know change scares me." Hearing Maura's voice crack as she spoke sent a tear through Jane's heart. She took a deep breath and exhaled, "What if I didn't go?"
"You should go, it'll be nice."
"It won't be nice if I'm leaving you, like this," she gestured towards Maura before taking her hand back in her's again.
Maura chuckled slightly before dropping her arm away from the window, and that laugh is what made Jane feel a bit better about herself. She was still flying down the highway, passing through Cambridge with no end in sight, noting to stop at the Square on their way back. "I don't want to be the reason that you stay behind."
"Yeah, but I want you to be."