A/N: We're baaaaack! We took a little hiatus from writing. Let's be real, life has gotten in the way of writing. We're busy ladies!
Can y'all believe the last episode EVER of Rizzoli & Isles is on Monday? We're heartbroken.
DISCLAIMER: Sadly enough, we do not own these characters. If we did, Rizzles would have been canon from day one!
Jane pushed her wild curls away from her face and silenced her cell phone for the third time in a matter of minutes. She was delaying the inevitable weekly call from her mother, who pressured her for updates on her job and of course, the dating scene. She didn't have the heart to tell Ma that she had only been on one disaster of a date since she had moved to Virginia almost two years ago. Jane placed in head in her hands, shaking her head in disbelief. It had been almost 24 months since she had packed up all her belongings and left the only city she had ever known as home. She left behind her family, her friends, and the BPD… without Maura. Jane groaned, rolling her eyes even in spite of herself. Maura. The name played over and over again in her head, mocking her like a broken record.
Her phone buzzed again and she found herself answering it before her mind could catch up with her.
"Hi, Ma," she said tiredly. All she heard in the background was a squeal.
"Ma, you okay?!"
"Janie," Angela said, yelled, exclaimed, whatever. "I have the best news for you!"
Jane moved to the edge of her seat, phone pressed to her ear, a smile spreading across her face at her mother's excitement. "Yeah?"
"Ron proposed and I accepted! We're getting married!" Jane almost couldn't remember a time when she was this happy. Almost.
"Ahhhhh! That's the best news. I am so happy for you and Ron. Really, Ma." Angela heard Jane's voice crack at the end.
"We don't want to wait long, Janie. I'm not in for planning a big wedding. Something small and classy. Just our family," Jane could hear the smile in her voice.
"You name the day and time, and I'll be there," Jane promised.
"You'll be the first to know, Janie. I've missed you! Have you talked to Maura lately?" Angela promptly worked in Maura's name a full- Jane checked her watch- four minutes earlier than she had in the last conversation they had a week ago.
"Not that it's any of your business, Ma, but no. The answer was the same last week, and it's not going to change. Maura and I aren't friends anymore," Jane replied curtly. It was a difficult sentence to finish and Jane tried to dismiss the disappointment in Angela's sigh.
Angela rambled on for a few more minutes, Jane being polite and interjecting a few well-placed agreements, when suddenly she was staring at the wall in her apartment, clutching her cell phone in her hand, tears streaming down her cheeks.
She gripped the glass of wine she had emptied and called on all of her self control not to hurl the glass at the wall. She knew that returning to Boston meant returning to her old life, when she had not completely embraced this one. She ran a hand through her hair and took a deep, steadying breath. She couldn't deny that she was incredibly happy for her mother, but she was also incredibly frightened at what lie ahead on her trip home.
She barely slept that night, tossing and turning. When she did sleep, she dreamt of honey-colored curls, imploring hazel eyes, and inquisitive hands: The best friend she had ever had. When the dawn broke, she pulled on some running shorts and a sports bra and took off. Nothing like running away from everything that never stopped chasing you, even in your dreams. The irony of the situation wasn't lost on her. Some habits die hard, she finally admitted to herself.
Angela gently placed her cell phone down on the table and cast a furtive glance in Ron's direction. He was reading the newspaper with his glasses on the end of his nose, and he had pretended not to be listening to Angela's conversation. As he peered over the rims of his glasses he could see Angela's lips turn upward.
"So?" He asked cautiously.
Angela squealed and nodded her head excitedly. Ron let out a small laugh and folded his newspaper in two."I'm so glad she's agreed to come home. Are you sure this is going to work?"
Angela shrugged casually but smiled wistfully. "I've tried everything else I could think of, honey. It's now or never. Operation Mane, no wait… Operation Jaura… no, that's not right."
Ron scrunched up his nose in a look of disapproval. "Do we really have to name it, Ang?"
One look from his soon-to-be wife and he scratched his head. "Ok then. Operation… we should really mind our own business?" Angela swatted him on his arm and gave him the trademark Rizzoli glare.
"Hmmmmm. I've got it," Ron snapped his fingers. "Operation Rizzles." He punctuated his declaration by kissing Angela on the head as the doorbell rang.
Ron had already answered the front door as Angela squealed in excitement behind him when the crew walked in. Frankie and Korsak were discussing baseball stats, Kiki and Ron were exchanging pleasantries and Maura and Nina were discussing the latest technological advances in criminal intelligence.
Angela smiled and held her arms open to Nina, and when she pulled back her hands went directly to her protruding belly. She then wrapped Maura up in a tight hug, placing a delicate kiss at her temple and murmuring that it had been too long. Maura cast a shy glance downward in quiet acknowledgement that she agreed.
It was shortly after they finished their meal that Maura pulled Angela aside to share some very surprising news. Angela couldn't hide the blush that rose up all through her face. Maura, undeterred by the discomfort of the situation, had wanted to share the news with Angela first and foremost, as she had been more of a Mom to her than Constance or Hope ever had. Angela, one hand over her mouth and the other over her heart, had melted at that declaration.
Maura didn't bother to hold back her tears when Angela drew her in for a hug and whispered, "I support you in everything you do, Maura. I'll love this baby just like my own grandchild, like I love you as my own daughter."
Maura knew in that moment, that no matter what had happened in the past, she was still loved unconditionally as a member of the Rizzoli clan.
"Maaaaa," Jane whined, pulling her mother by the arm to the side, away from their family and the constant exclamations of, "Congratulations!" and, "We're so happy for you!"
"What?" Angela snapped, clearly miffed that her daughter was whining and pulling her arm so aggressively.
"Why is she here?" Jane huffed, staring at her mother with a half-angry, half-annoyed expression.
"Who?" Angela asked, knowing exactly who Jane was talking about. She had braced herself for this moment, but she was trying her best to act nonchalant to not give anything away to her inquisitive daughter.
"Oh, you know who I'm talking about, Ma!" Jane said, scoffing. When her mother gave her nothing other than a blank stare, she put her head down and whispered, "Maura. I only saw her from behind, but I know that honey blonde hair anywhere."
"What do you mean, why is she here?" Angela responded louder than necessary, getting annoyed herself. "Jane Clementine Rizzoli, whether you like it or not, Maura is a part of our family. Whether or not you two resolve your issues while we are all here together, just please, for the love of God, be nice! This is one of the best nights of my life, and I do not need whatever it is that you can't get over, ruining it!" With that, Angela stormed away. Jane watched her go, and as soon as Angela was around their family again, a smile immediately returned to her face and she physically relaxed.
Jane knew something was up with her mother. The issue between Jane and Maura was too familiar to her, as if she seemed to know more than she was letting on. Jane decided to store that piece of information in the back of her mind for later, but for now, she took a deep breath, smoothed her dress, and walked back out to her family, doing her best to stay on the opposite side of the room from Maura at all times.
Maura's heart was racing at the sight of Jane Rizzoli in a strapless green dress that accented her cleavage, with a slit up the side that showcased the most amazing legs Maura had ever laid eyes on. Maura licked her lips, recalling one magnificent memory, and absentmindedly placed her hand against her rapidly growing baby bump. Despite drawing her back to the present, it did nothing to stop the ache at the apex of her thighs.
She was mindful not to stray too close to Jane, keeping her back to her as frequently as possible. She noted several apologetic looks and one in particular that could only be described as pity. She had grown accustomed to people walking on eggshells around her whenever the subject of Jane Rizzoli or their friendship was mentioned. She rolled her eyes, cursing her situation and the fact that she couldn't quell her nerves with a glass of wine. Being in this room with Jane felt like someone had rationed all the air out of the room, and she was suffocating, drowning, all at once.
As she fled the room, hand over her mouth muffling the stifled sobs, she missed the most intense brown eyes tracking her across the room, and the frown that accompanied her immediate departure. As the door closed behind her, she leaned against the brick of the building, gasping for fresh air. She steadied herself, reminding herself that it was one night, one event, and that she would do anything in her power to ensure this wedding reception went off without incident for Angela and Ron.
As she ducked back inside, she glanced to her right to see Korsak waiting patiently in the foyer of the venue for her. Wordlessly, he stuck out his left hand and she reached out with her right. He looped her arm through his and guided her back into the room where everyone was celebrating. She joined him and Kiki at their table, and in a matter of minutes she was so engrossed in their conversation that she almost forgot Jane Rizzoli was even in the same room.
The evening was going well, and Jane had managed to avoid Maura as much as possible. As everyone sat down to dinner, Jane was thankful that her immediate family were the only ones at her table. Angela and Ron, Frankie and Nina, Tommy, TJ, and Jane. Their perfect little family. Jane, Frankie, and Tommy all got up to make a toast together and Jane felt her whole body flush as she felt Maura's eyes from the table behind her boring into her skin. She still hadn't seen her yet, and she knew she didn't even have to, to know that the intense gaze was from her.
Halfway through the dinner, Frankie was telling a story about Jane when they were kids that still embarrassed her. Without thinking, she grabbed the little garnish orange slice from her plate and whipped it at him. She didn't notice it happening until she came face-to-face with the one person that she dreaded seeing this whole time. Jane hadn't been paying a lick of attention until Maura Isles shot up from her seat, holding the orange slice and giving her one of the biggest death glares that she had ever seen.
The orange had bounced off Frankie's shoulder and stuck in Maura's hair, who was sitting directly behind him.
And what Jane also didn't notice until it was right in front of her, was Maura's rather large baby bump.
"Maur- you- I- what- how-... YOU'RE PREGNANT?"
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-R&K (: