A/N: Hello fellow FanFiction readers! Here is a story that randomly popped into my head this morning. I was able to get it written down and figured I'd share it with you all. I have no idea where this topic came from (and it might be a little touchy for some people? I don't know.) I did my best to run with it. Leave a review if you'd like. If not, I hope you enjoyed it. I wish you all health and happiness! Thanks for stopping by!
Angela Rizzoli has been vigorously cleaning her oldest son's home for the past two hours. She currently scrubs dutifully at a dirty kitchen counter. To anyone looking at her, they would believe her total and complete attention was currently directed at an unidentifiable crusted spot of food, which is apparently glued to the granite surface.
But, Angela's mind is far from the stain that she scrubs.
In truth, the Rizzoli matriarch ran to Frankie's condo after a difficult and surprising revelation, presented to her by her daughter…and her daughter's new girlfriend.
Well, new girlfriend in Angela's mind at least.
She had originally been thrilled to have been invited to the main Isles house this evening for a home cooked meal. But, as soon as she arrived, she knew something was not as it seemed.
Jane and Maura both acted tense and hesitant with everything that they did. The way they spoke to her, the way they were around each other…something just wasn't right with the pair.
Angela thought that another serial killer was on the loose, or that something was medically wrong with one of them. She even considered the idea that one of them was pregnant and they weren't sure how to tell her.
After thirty-four minutes of sitting at Maura's dining table, watching Jane and Maura glance worriedly at each other, the only sounds being the quiet clanking of silverware against dishware, Angela could take it no long.
"For crying out loud, girls, what is wrong?" Angela nearly shouts into the stillness of the room, making both younger women jump out of their skins.
Maura shoots Jane another glance, opens her mouth, closes it quickly, and looks down at her food in defeat.
Jane stares at her mother with wide eyes. "Huh?" She asks with a mouth full of food.
Angela rolls her eyes and sighs exasperatedly. "Chew your food and swallow it. Then, tell me what's happening. You're acting like a couple of mice with a cat in the room. And I feel like the cat."
Jane does as she's told. She chews and swallows her current bite, but takes a prolonged amount of time wiping her face with a napkin and taking a sip of water from her glass. She looks to her mother, and upon seeing the expectant and frustrated gaze, she takes another long sip of water and clears her throat.
There is no point in stalling any longer. This is why Angela was invited.
"Ma, we have something we need to tell you." Jane starts.
"You're kidding!" Angela scoffs when Jane pauses. "I never would have guessed. Well, let's hear it!"
Jane opens her mouth and freezes. Angela can see her throat flexing, like her voice is caught there and is struggling to get out.
"We're in a relationship!" Maura suddenly announces.
Angela looks to her, eyebrows raised to her hairline. Maura's face is red as a radish and she, too, seems suddenly frozen in place.
Angela watches her daughter slap her palm against her own face, then rests her elbow on the table top as she cradles her forehead in her hand.
The matriarch is so confused by the scene, she nearly laughs.
"You're both in a relationship?" Angela confirms.
She receives an affirmative grunt from her daughter.
"As in, you've both finally found men to date for more than a few months at a time?" Angela questions again. She's not sure whether to be happy or offended. Both girls have been single for most of the year, a fact that she can't understand at all, but she doesn't see why this news should be such a traumatic thing to tell your mother…and surrogate mother.
Jane rakes her fingers down her face at her mother's inquiry. She does it hard enough that it actually leaves faint red lines on her cheeks. She takes a deep breath, holds it for a second, and then releases it in a long, steady exhale.
"No, ma…" Jane starts, then reaches for Maura's lap and grabs hold of her hand. She brings their now joined hands up and rests them on the table top. "We're in a relationship."
Angela stares blankly at them.
"…as in one relationship."
Angela looks down at their hands and goes very still.
"…with each other. Maura and I are in a relationship with each other."
"How long?" Angela asks in a near whisper after a long, loaded pause.
"…about six months."
Angela comes out of her memories and realizes that she isn't scrubbing the countertop anymore. She's as still as a stone. She can feel tears burning in her eyes but doesn't move to wipe them away.
A sudden knock on Frankie's front door grabs her attention. She makes no move to answer it, not wanting to be too intrusive on her son's life and answer his door to unknown visitors. After a minute, she hears the deadbolt unlock and the door creaks open.
Jane pokes her head into the condo and looks around cautiously. When she spots her mother, her first instinct is to turn around. But, she sees the sadness in her mother's eyes. She steps fully into the residence, leaving the door slightly cracked behind her.
"Hey ma." Jane greets.
Angela can see sadness in her daughter's eyes as well. But what really gets to her is the resignation that Jane emits as she stands before her. This is not her confident, overzealous, brave Jane. And Angela knows that she is the cause of the change in persona.
Angela turns to face a window and starts to softly cry.
"Please…don't. I'm sorry. We didn't want to upset you. I don't want you to hate me…" Jane pleads.
Angela quickly turns back around and strides to her daughter with open arms. She hugs Jane in a crushing embrace and sobs into her shoulder.
"Oh Janie! I don't hate you! I don't hate either of you! I just…don't know how to feel about this. I'm upset…but I still love you and Maura very much!"
"But why?" Jane asks, gently pulling her mother back enough to be able to look at her face. "Why are you so upset? You really surprised us when you walked out on dinner…it hurt."
Angela works hard to compose herself and hiccups slightly as she answers. "There's a few reasons why…you know our faith. I wasn't raised to support this lifestyle…neither were you! It's hard to accept this when I've learned, from the time I was a little girl, that it is sinful."
Jane swallows thickly, her voice even deeper than usual with the amount of emotion behind it. "I know. But, there has been something between me and Maura for a long time…practically since we met. I can't tell you how much I've struggled with my faith and my love for her. But, now that I've found peace with it, now that I'm with her, the only regret I have is that I waited so long to love her like I always wanted to."
"So, have you turned your back on religion?" Angela cries. "Janie, Hell is a very real place! It doesn't matter whether or not you believe in it!"
This time, it is Jane that pulls her mother into a hug. "No, I haven't turned my back on religion. I still pray. I still believe in Heaven and Hell, and God and Satan. I will still go to Mass, I will still go to confessional. But I also can't believe that God would bring her and me together, and give me all of the feelings that I have for her, and not be okay with me loving and keeping her for the rest of my life. I love Maura so much and she makes me so happy…if that's wrong, then I suppose God will have to forgive, just like he promises he will."
The mother-daughter pair stay in their embrace for a minute more, then Angela pulls back with a few quiet sniffles.
"I'm sorry, baby girl." Angela says with a tear-stained smile. "I hope you can forgive an old fool for her bigoted beliefs. I never want you to question my love for you."
Jane smiles back and wipes a tear from her eye before it can fall. "You're not an old fool for reverting to what you've believed and been taught your whole life. I knew that it was going to be hard for you to hear, that's why Maura and I were so nervous. I know that it will still be kinda hard for you to accept, but the most important thing to me is that you are willing to be in our lives. This is it for me. I don't want anyone else as long as I live."
Angela nods her head, acknowledging her daughter's words. "Part of me already knew. I'm not as blind as I seem. You two have always been so close…closer than best friends. But, you both kept dating men. I could see the attraction, I just thought you were choosing to abstain from it."
"I had been. But I got so tired of fighting it. It was changing me into someone I didn't know…someone I didn't like." Jane responds.
"Don't be mad at me for asking this, but are you sure? Are you sure you want to give up on a traditional lifestyle…with a husband and children? This isn't an easy world to live in, and there are a lot of people who hate those in same-sex relationships. Your life is hard as it is, this is going to make it that much more difficult."
"Yes." Jane says with conviction. "I am sure about her. We can plan out our lives together as we go. We have already defied death more times than I care to count. We can overcome anything as long as we do it together. I'm sure."
The two women stand in empty silence. They are both emotionally drained and feel physically exhausted. Both realize that the conversation is done for the night.
"Listen, Frankie told me that you came by while he was on his way out the door to a call-out, and you asked to stay the night. I'll go ahead and head out and leave you to think. But, I want you to know that I love you, and I'm so happy you don't want to disown me…"
It could be a sarcastic statement, but Jane says it as serious as a heart attack, and it causes Angela's heart to wrench painfully in her chest.
Mother embraces daughter one more time and places a kiss on her cheek. "You can't get rid of me that easily, young lady. I am your mother for life." Angela responds, as fresh tears roll down her face.
Jane hiccups into her shoulder as she holds back her own tears, and the two separate with croaky laughs.
"Oh!" Angela suddenly exclaims. "Maura! I should go see Maura, or at least talk to her on the phone. She must be devastated! I know she is. I can't leave her feeling that way until tomorrow. I still love her too…I need to tell her…"
"MA! Breathe just a second, okay? You're tired, I'm tired, she's tired…I will let her know that we are all okay tonight. Let's have breakfast together tomorrow morning. A good night's rest and some food will do wonders for all of us."
Angela hesitantly agrees. "Alright, but you be sure to let her know! And tell her that I'm sorry for walking out on dinner. The food was delicious."
"Will do. Goodnight ma."
"Goodnight Jane."
Jane pulls the front door the rest of the way open and steps out into the hallway. She pulls the door shut behind her and makes sure that it is locked before turning to her right and looking at the woman who is leaning her back against the wall just outside of Frankie's doorway.
Maura has tear tracks on her cheeks, but she looks much less stressed than she had on the ride over here.
"Are you okay?" Jane asks as she steps in front of Maura and places her hands on the other woman's hips.
Maura nods her head as she wraps her arms around the back of Jane's neck.
"I'm just…" Maura's voice breaks as she tries to keep quiet, but struggles not to cry. "I'm so happy that she's willing to…to…"
"I know Maur." Jane says, then places a kiss on her girlfriend's forehead. "Me too. She loves us. It won't be easy for her all of the time, but she loves us enough to work through her instant objections. And we love her enough to be patient with her. It's going to work out."
Maura smiles up at Jane, love shining like jewels in her hazel eyes.
"I love you." Maura says.
Jane smiles down with just as much affection. "I love you, too. Are you sure you don't want to say something to her real quick? A simple 'goodnight' even?"
Maura shakes her head and responds in a strained voice. "I can barely speak to you without crying. I wouldn't be able to get one word out to her before breaking down."
Jane lifts Maura's chin up, and angles her face so she can place a sweet, lingering kiss on her lips.
"Okay." Jane says when they part. "Let's go home then."
The two women link arms and walk down the hall to the elevator.
Behind Frankie's closed door, an ever-nosy Rizzoli can't help but smile to herself as she removes her ear from the paneling and walks further into the condo to start preparing for bed.
The world she knows is changing so fast. She has always found strength, meaning, and peace in her religion and beliefs…but some ideals are becoming outdated. What she concludes, and what gives her newfound conviction as she settles in for the night, is that if her children can find true love and happiness despite all of the world's turmoil, who is she to condemn that?
A/N: Thanks for reading! SJR