AN: The possibilities are out there for our two favorite ladies. Maybe the finale will give us room to work with. Kinda like fodder for our fics and fantasies for the aftermath. Or maybe not. Either way, here's my hopeful take on the aftermath. Maybe, maybe not.
Little do you know I know you're hurting while I'm sound asleep
Phone calls between the two of them used to be so easy. One of them would call, the other would pick up and their conversation would start like they had already begun even before the other had even dialed.
"Jane! You promised to come with me to 'Sip n' Gogh' night!" Jane pulled the phone away from her ear and checked the caller's image to ensure the whiney tone was in fact coming from her best friend. It was. She rolled her eyes at the grin Korsak and Frost threw her way.
"Of course, Maura. And I will. I promised didn't I?"
"Really? So the conversation I overheard between Officers McKenna and Caldwin about you offering to help them canvass the neighborhood tonight was just fabricated?" Maura can be the cutest dense person she'd ever meet but at the same time, the amount of feeling and emotion the woman can convey by tone alone is a talent Jane could almost admire. If only it weren't directed at her. Forget dripping with disdain. If it were entirely possible, Jane's sure her ear would be slobbered with that disdain.
"They're lying." Jane found herself nodding, despite the doctor's inability to see her doing so.
But the detective wouldn't put it past the ME. She had witchy powers that woman.
"I'll be waiting at 6pm then, Jane."
Just like that, Maura's cheery self was back and Jane was stuck back in square 1.
The whipping sound from her partners drew Jane's ire as she dropped her phone back on her desk.
She's struggling to remember the last time they spoke so easily. She thinks it was about a month or two after her move to VA.
"Isles."
"Do you still have Ma's recipe for the lasagna?"
"Are you planning to cook, Jane?"
"No, Maura. I'm planning to share the recipe with my new best friend at Quantico."
"Oh."
"Jeez, Maur! I was joking! You know you're the only best friend I've got."
"Well…it's not that far from being possible, Jane. Especially when we incorporate the factors of time and distance—"
"Not changing my freakin' mind, Maura. You're my best friend, I'm yours. End of story."
There's a bit of moment's pause before Maura continues, "Well I don't have it."
"What?"
"The recipe you were calling about. I don't have it."
"Why the hell not?!"
"Why didn't you call Angela?"
"Because then she'll be all 'in my face' and shit, Maura."
"Language, Jane."
"Maura!" The ME swears she could almost see Jane stomping her left foot for good measure.
She rolls her eyes.
"Don't roll your eyes at me, Maura. Why don't you have Ma's recipe?"
"Because I'm trying to cut back on cheese."
"You're what?!"
"I'm trying to cut back on cheese. To be more specific, I'm trying to cut back on my dairy and carb intake."
"Are you shitting me? Who the hell cuts back on—you know what, forget the 'who', what I want to know is why."
Forcing herself to overlook Jane's cursing, "I had my annual physical and I wasn't satisfied with the results."
"Wait. Was there something wrong? Are you okay? Are you sick?"
Jane's concern brought a small smile onto Maura's face but just as quickly, the very same smile disappeared.
"Nothing too serious, Jane. But I haven't been too happy with my weight. I'm 6 pounds over my average."
"When you say 'over', you meant the weight you're used to right? Not exactly 'over' like 'overweight'?"
Maura frowned. "That's what I said."
"Maura, you live next door to my mother—who is Italian. Your house is like Rizzoli central—the Rizzolis being an Italian family. And you know damn well that dairy and carbs go hand in hand in our dietary staple. And you're trying to cut back on those two specific items? Are you crazy?"
"I didn't say it was an easy thing to do, Jane." Maura sighed.
"Jeezus. So how'd that fly over last Sunday?"
"I'm not sure."
"What do you mean you're not sure? What, did Frankie try to help in the kitchen again?"
"I mean I'm not sure because I wasn't able to make it."
Whatever the story was behind Maura's last statement, Jane wasn't able to make sense of it as her phone indicated a call from the office.
From then on, it was like a comical series of phone tag between the two of them. They exchanged emails but Maura was adept at circumventing Jane's questions.
She said she was just trying to avoid the temptation that her mother's cooking always brought along. She also shared that she had become too busy with trying to work on her book and getting it published. A few publishers have expressed their interest and during the last brief phone call both women had, Maura was in the middle of making a huge decision.
Because one such publisher that made the most noise about bringing her onboard was based in London. And they weren't shy about making it known about how much they were willing to bend over backwards to have her located within the same zip code. They certainly knew how to push Maura's ever curious buttons. Offers to have her consult with MI5, MI6, Oxford fellows, and the like—Jane knew it was like a smorgasbord of knowledge being handed to her best friend.
See, Maura Isles, no doubt, was—is—brilliant. Part of what made her so good at her job, at being consistently on top of her game, was her constant thirst for knowledge. And promising Maura access to as much as what said publisher was offering…
Jane feared she would say yes.
Something was nagging at her gut, telling her that something was wrong. And this opportunity was going to be Maura's go-to decision to help her run away.
From whatever it was that was bothering her.
Jane tried to hide it from her of course, but she'd been asking around through friends and family in Boston about the Chief ME.
The collective news wasn't entirely discouraging Jane from her worries.
About two months after Jane left, Maura started missing out on Sunday dinner. Not always. But no matter how much Angela cajoled her pseudo daughter, the younger woman found appointments, meetings and events that she needed to attend. She insisted that it was expected of her as an Isles.
In a desperate move, Angela argued that she didn't use to attend so many functions for the Isles Foundation when Jane was around.
Maura shrugged and gave a small smile and simply replied, "Well, Jane is no longer around to distract me from my duties."
Jane knew better than to be hurt by what Maura said. She completely understood where Maura's words had come from.
If it hurt at all, it was because Jane knew she could've prevented her best friend's pain.
Angela was adamant about sharing with Jane just how much her best friend had changed. She kept up appearances by hanging out at the Robber with Frankie, Nina, and Kent. Sometimes Angela , Ron, Korsak and Kiki would join them as well. She would sit with Angela for a while for Saturday breakfast. She spoke with Nina about Frankie. And sometimes with Frankie about Nina when his cluelessness grated on Nina's nerves.
But mostly, they all noted that she was alone. She went on dates, she attended events, she went to work, she attended Rizzoli Sunday dinner when she could...but most of the time she was alone.
A few times, when Jane just felt like she needed to hear a friendly voice regardless of the hour, she thought Maura had been crying.
But like always, she assured the former detective that she was fine.
Little do you know all my mistakes are slowly drowning me
She's bored.
No doubt about it.
The first few months, Jane felt like everything was working out as it should.
Good career, great apartment (of course, since Maura picked it out), decent guy.
Davis had been patient. They were still seeing each other now and then, but they both knew that she might as well have one foot out the door.
So she tried. She tried her best to be…better.
He wasn't so bad after all. He didn't mind talking about work during dates. He didn't mind sharing tidbits on the current case he was working on while they were in bed. He laughed at her jokes, he understood her humor. She laughed at his, she sort of understood. He listened attentively when she complained about missing another one of Maura's phone calls. He let her rant when one of her co-instructors pissed her off.
For all intents and purposes, he was perfect for her.
But was she truly perfect for him?
He didn't complain when she fixed him instant coffee.
He took it in stride when she chose the wrong tie.
He didn't have enough shoes in his closet.
He didn't have a tortoise for a pet. Well, he didn't have a pet. Period.
He didn't push her to run every morning.
He preferred to stay in most nights with her, share a few bottles and a box of pizza.
He always got a whole pepperoni.
He hated mushrooms.
There are some nights when everything is just finally quiet and she's left to her own thoughts. And that's when it starts. The feeling that she's trying so hard, and the feeling that she's just too damn tired.
Little do you know I'm trying to make it better piece by piece
She wasn't really thinking.
She just grabbed her go bag, called the office, and was up in the air in about an hour.
She reads the last email that Maura sent her.
It says she's visiting London to get a feel for the place. She's been there before but never with the mindset of actually possibly living there.
Jane takes a deep breath, and mentally prepares herself for the possibilities.
Maura could change her mind.
Or maybe she'll change her mind.
Maura could—dammit. Maura might not even be in London.
Jane stares at the email one more time, realizing belatedly that she had mixed up the time difference.
London was 5 hours ahead.
But…
Gripping her phone tighter, Jane looks around and searches for the nearest booth she could ask for information.
She didn't come all this way just to miss Maura by a few hours. Especially not if she had any hope of ensuring that they still had actual time to share.
Jane is too busy walking while craning her head and looking for a sign pointing towards the proper authorities to pester.
"Jane?"
She freezes.
And there she is.
"Maura" Jane whispers.
AN: Thank you to those who constantly throw reviews for all the writing I've come up with. It is much appreciated. Much as I love to read and lurk, apparently I do the same for reviews. But do know that I appreciate all of 'em. Even the guests who tell me they basically didn't like my offering.