Hey Rizzles family! It's been a while, hasn't it?
Last night's episode had so much potential, I swear I was biting my pillow through the latter half. Anyway, this is my version of the extended ending to "He 'Aint Heavy, He's My Brother".
As always, I do not own Rizzoli & Isles.
Now or Never
As Jane stood across from her best friend, her heartbeat was like a loud thunder rolling in her chest. She had been so worried about Maura not telling her about Tommy; the brunette didn't even think about why she was so upset.
The blonde had been her best friend for years now, of course keeping something like that from her would hurt. Though, the brunette detective had a feeling that it was far from the biggest part of the problem. She felt the tiniest bit of betrayal that the blonde couldn't see how she felt. If Jane had started a relationship with Maura, maybe the doctor would have been able to tell her about Tommy…
Though, as she raked her eyes over the blonde's curvy frame, the detective's anger was the last thing on her mind.
"Jane?" Maura called out in concern, resting her arms against the counter.
"Yeah, what?" the brunette responded in a daze.
"I've been talking to you, but you're just looking at me," the medical examiner grabbed Jane by the hand, tightly threading their fingers together.
The brunette detective gave a light smirk and leaned across the countertop that separated herself from her best friend. "Yeah, sorry, just thinkin'."
"Oh," Maura retracted her hand to her chest. With a wounded frown on her face, she began again. "You still hate me, don't you?"
Jane's forehead crinkled in concern, frowning back at her best friend sadly. How could she hate Maura, really? "No, Maura, I don't hate you."
The blonde awkwardly looked down at her countertop, chewing on her bottom lip. "But, I thought you said-"
"Forget what I said, Maur. I was being an ass, okay?" The detective pierced her eyes into the medical examiner's. "I was mad at first, yeah. But, now that I see how much it hurts you…" she paused, looking sad herself. "It hurts me."
Maura's expression lightened softly. "I didn't do this intentionally, you should know that." The blonde didn't understand much of individual social algorithms, they were rather complicated, more times that none. Ever since Tommy had tried to kiss her, she had that same stomach ache. Maura really did like him, but she loved Jane. Much more than she led on.
"Yeah, Miss Googlemouth doesn't want to scratch her shiny slate, "Jane started, a playful smirk in place.
"Are you mocking me?" the doctor questioned, trying very hard to keep herself from laughing.
"Mocking you? Maura, I'm shocked that you would accuse me of something like that," the detective stared back at her best friend, wondering to herself exactly why she was angry with the blonde in the first place? Frost was right, she was doing her job.
Maura couldn't help but smile. Knowing that Jane was coming around became the most biggest relief to her. The last thing she wanted to do was ruin the relationship with her best friend. As she thought about it, her job really didn't matter, did it? Not when compared to the brunette.
Jane, who came so close to grabbing Maura's hand, was interrupted by a loud bing from the oven.
"Ooh, cookies are done!" the blonde chirped happily before padding on her bare feet to the oven.
The brunette detective watched her best friend shuffle over to the oven, a small smirk playing on her lips. She looked away, once she realized she was ogling the blonde. Jane cleared her throat, startling Maura at the same time.
"Jane, are you alright?" Maura questioned, looking back at the detective quickly, opening a drawer in the cabinet next to the stove. She grabbed a few pot holders to go on either side of the tray of chocolate chip cookies.
"Yeah, fine," Jane began in her normal raspy tone. The brunette watched as her blonde best friend came over to her with a steaming hot tray of cookies. As she met with the blonde's eyes, she noticed that her smile matched with the one she provided earlier when she said I love you. Those words smacked Jane in the back of the head; she tried to decipher them, but her brain had turned into mush.
Maura nodded, a little unsure as she placed the tray on a towel in front of Jane. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah…" the detective paused, stumbling for words. "Well, no, not really," she reached for a cookie, only to be smacked in the back of the hand by the blonde. She stared up at the doctor, a frown in place.
"What was that for?"
"The cookies just came out of the oven. You don't want to burn yourself, do you?" Maura asked, passing her a small smile. "Anyway, enough of that. Would you like to talk through your troubles?"
Jane snorted in disbelief. "You would just think I'm being ridiculous."
"Maybe I will, maybe I wont. You'll never know if you don't ask me," the M.E. began, linking their hands together again.
The brunette detective smiled at their contact. It felt so right, but it couldn't be real. "Maur, you said… that you love me, right?"
Maura's heart dropped in that moment. She knew it wasn't anatomically possible for it to "drop", but it sure felt like it did. "Yes, Jane. I said that I love you."
Jane took a minute to respond. There were two ways she could go about this. The right way, which would end the way she wanted it to, with the doctor's mouth firmly on hers. Or the wrong way that would screw their relationship up. Damn if she knew which was which. Rather hoarsely, she finally responded. "Can you define love for me?"
Maura cleared her throat promptly, her eyes locking with her best friend's. "Love can be used rather loosely, you know," she took a breath, trying to go on with her theoretical knowledge.
Though, Jane held her free hand up to stop the other woman. "Okay, Miss Literal, how about your love for me? Can you define that?"
The blonde's face fell. She, too, was at a loss for words. Whatever she said could never be taken back, no matter what her best friend thought about it. "My love, for you, isn't easy to explain. I don't just love you as my best friend. I love you as something much more…"
The detective didn't quite believe what she was hearing. That was it? There wasn't a big puzzle to solve?
Maura frowned, a bit afraid for what the other woman had to say. "Jane? Aren't you supposed to respond?"
"Workin' on it, Maur," Jane began, squeezing the blonde's hand in turn. "I'm just a little surprised is all."
"What's so surprising?" the doctor called out, quite nervously.
"That I don't have to fight for you. Normally, when I want something, I have to work my ass off for it. Now, I have the world's prettiest girl in front of me who says that she's in love with me," the brunette shook her head, grinning. "It's a little surreal."
"Does this mean that you love me too, Jane?" Maura asked, uncharacteristically shy.
"Yeah, it does," Jane dropped the other woman's hand and met her on the other side of the counter. "Screw the grilled cheese sandwich," she paused to bring the blonde closer to her. Their eyes met for a quick moment, both anxious for what was to come.
Before they knew it, their lips were pressing against each other's in a tentative kiss. As soon as they broke apart, Maura found Jane's lips again. She mashed her lips against the detective's, the two finding a rhythmic pattern to follow.
Once the kiss ended, the brunette hugged the other woman closer to her. "I'm never letting you get this far away from me again," Jane gently caressed the side of the medical examiner's face. "Maur, I came so close to losing you today. To losing this…"
Maura smiled back, rather gently, at the detective. Tears formed behind her eyes, the smile that illuminated her features dieing a moment later. "I'm so sorry, Jane."
"It's alright, babe. I promise," Jane spared the blonde an overall concerned look. She paused for a moment, in shock of the pet name that fell out of her mouth. Though, the brunette was instantly relieved when she saw a smile tug at Maura's lips.
The doctor turned to pick up a cookie from its tray. She broke it in half, gooey chocolate separating to two different sides. As she offered a half to the detective, she placed a kiss on her cheek. "Am I forgiven?"
Jane took the other half of the cookie and bit off a good chunk of it. She smirked back at the blonde and snaked an arm around her waist. "Oh yeah, you're forgiven."
What did you think? Reviews are greatly appreciated.