Disclaimer: I of course own nothing related to R&I. I can't even take complete credit for the idea on this one since it came from a prompt. So please don't sue me.
AN: Hey everyone! If you read the disclaimer then you know that the idea for this story came from a prompt posted a while back on facebook by Nic Dodds. I read it and immediately started to have a scene pop up into my mind, but it took a bit to flesh out for you all to enjoy. I will post the prompt at the end for those of you who would like to know what it was if you haven't seen it already. Thanks! Enjoy!
She stood on the front porch. There was a key in one hand, but her other hovered inches from the door. At this moment she was torn. Did she use the key and go in or did she knock?
On one hand, for the most part, it was still her home. On the other, she felt like she would be an intruding visitor if she were to use the key. That was something she never thought she'd feel. She'd always been happy here. Perhaps she'd just been some kind of an intruder all along.
Jane slid the key back in her pocket and let the hand that had been hovering over the door fall against it. Soon after the rapping of her knuckles against the door she could hear the clacking of heels against the tile of the entry hall.
"Oh, Jane," was the surprised voice of Maura that greeted her.
Jane gave her a nod as greeting. "I just wanted to come by and grab a few of my things."
Maura took a step back so she could open the door completely and then smoothed nonexistent wrinkles out of her skirt. "Come on in then. I'll wait in the kitchen while you get what you need."
"Thanks," Jane said quickly as she hurried through the door, barely glancing at Maura, and headed for the bedroom. She paused outside of the doorway suddenly unsure of whether or not she could enter.
It had been a few weeks since she was last here and the events of that day now played through her mind. All she wanted to do was forget that time, but still it continued to play in her mind. It was that day, in their bedroom, she found out Maura had been having an affair.
Jane swallowed heavily and took a step inside the room. She had to force back the images that wanted to come flooding in once again. She didn't bother looking around, instead, heading straight for the closet so she could gather up the things that she wanted.
She walked into the closet and picked up a suitcase. It was big enough that it should hold the rest of the clothes that she wanted and a few other things. She looked at her section of the closet and pondered it for a moment. Not just in the closet, but all over the house, she didn't really have that much of a presence.
Some might want to claim that the lack of presence of her things in the house would be a bad sign for the relationship from the start. As for clothing though, everyone that knew them knew that she wasn't the one who was fashionable. So, it would make complete sense that in the closet she wouldn't have much space. That just left the rest of the house to wonder about.
Jane started to think about it as she started grabbing some of her clothes down. Could it be that she hadn't had enough presence in their relationship? Did that have anything to do with how they had ended up where they were at now? Was there anything that she could have done to keep them from ending up here?
Jane took down the last couple of articles of clothing on hangers and moved onto the drawers that held the last of her sweats and workout clothes. She picked up one of her old BPD shirts and held it up. She couldn't help but smile at it. The lettering was nearly worn completely off from all of the washing over the years. She couldn't count the number of times that Maura had wanted to throw away some of them because they were worn. She thought about a few times when she'd come home late and found Maura in their bed wearing one of the shirts. It was those times when she thought that they'd live happily ever after, mostly.
Next she moved onto the sweat pants that she kept by the t-shirts. It wasn't often that she would find Maura in some of her sweatpants, but it was cute the couple of times that she did because Maura had to roll the legs up on them to make them fit properly. As she prepared to place them in the suitcase she felt a bulge in one of the pockets.
She grabbed the small velvet box out of the pocket and held it in her hands. It had been long enough ago now since she had placed it there she'd basically forgotten that she had intended to propose to the love of her life. Jane rolled the box between her fingers for a moment. For such a small box it seemed to carry an immense amount of weight.
She placed the ring and box in her pocket. She supposed that she would find something to do with it eventually. At this point she knew that she wouldn't be able to take it back to the store. Even if she could she wouldn't want to go back there.
Jane looked down and realized that she'd finished packing up her things that were in the closet. She zipped up the suitcase and moved back into the bedroom where she stopped to take a look around. Everything still seemed the same.
She looked at some of the pictures that sat around. Most of them had been taken when they were friends and never had any idea that they would end up in a relationship. However, a few of them were from after they had started dating. They showed a smiling, happy couple in each other's arms.
Again, it made her wonder what had happened between them. Sure she had put in some long hours at work at times, but was that what had caused it? Or, had they just lost their way as a couple, like so many other couples seemed to do over the course of a relationship?
After gathering a few of her things from the nightstand and packing them in her suitcase as well Jane made her way back down the hall. With the open floor plan it wasn't exactly like she could make it out of the house without having to see Maura. Jane cleared her throat as she stopped near the island where Mura was sitting. "Thanks," Jane muttered. "I guess I should get going."
"Wait," came the pleading reply of Maura and she rose from her chair and to a step in Jane's direction. "Jane, I think we need to talk."
"About what, Maura? What's there even to say anymore? You've told me multiple times how sorry you are and that's fine. But I don't think that there's anything left to talk about between us."
"So that's just it for you?" Jane couldn't tell if she was sad or angry.
Jane nodded her head, "I really think it is."
"You're going to forgive me Jane. I'm not even looking for it to be something that happens right away, but eventually you are going to forgive me. If nothing else, I'm your best friend. Remember that."
Now it was her turn to get angry. "My best friend?" she asked. "You really think that you're still my best friend? Yeah there was a time when you were. There was a time when I would have done anything for you, but you ruined that. You slept with someone else Maura. You ripped my heart out of my chest and stomped on it." She was barely able to contain her Italian temper that had a habit of exposing itself from time to time.
Jane paced a few steps as she thought about what else she wanted to say. Then she realized there weren't many more words. "You were the love of my life," she said simply. "You were." She reached into her pocket and pulled out the ring box. "If you don't believe me maybe this would help convince you. I bought it months ago because I loved you so much I didn't want to spend the rest of my life without you." She paused. There wasn't much else that she could say, and the next words that came out of her mouth were going to be hard to say. "But things change," she barely got out without choking.
She set the box down on the island countertop near where Maura had been seated. "Goodbye, Maura." With that she grabbed the suitcase she had packed and pulled it along behind her to the door. She pulled the key out of her pocket and chucked it in the bowl that sat on the sideboard by the door; trying to keep the tears welling up in her eyes from spilling over until she could make it out the door.
Jane closed the door behind herself with a resounding thud. Perhaps Maura was right. Maybe at some point in the future she would forgive her. Or maybe she and Maura would never have another conversation that didn't pertain to murder investigations. She didn't know what would come next. Right now, it was the worst pain she'd ever had.
AN: Sadly, I have to say that for those of you looking for more this is the end of our story. I have somewhat intentionally left it open for it to possibly continue in the future with a happy ending. At this moment though I just don't have the time. Thank you all for reading! I would love to know what you thought, so leave me a review. I will see y'all around!
Prompt: M: you know you are going to forgive me eventually you know there was a time were you thought of me as your best friend .
J: There was a time were I thought you were the love of my life things change . Especially when your heart gets ripped out of your chest and stomped on by the person you love most in the world