"Jane! Stop biting your nails! I thought you got over that in high school."

"Ma, leave me alone, okay? I'm freaking out here! What if she doesn't like it?"

Angela softened visibly at the tremor in her usually tough daughter's voice. Jane hadn't bitten her nails since she was a teenager, but she also hadn't been nervous about her appearance on a date since then, either.

"Of course she'll like it, Jane. You look beautiful and you put a lot of thought into this date. That counts for more than you think."

Jane rolled her eyes at the platitude. "Sure it does."

"It does! Now look, stop worrying! Jo and I are going to have a quiet evening in and you are going to have a fun evening out. It's not like you and Maura haven't gone out to eat before, I mean God knows I thought you were secretly dating long before you actually—"

"Alright Ma, I get it," Jane had heard this all before, "Just don't give Jo anymore treats. She's gonna try to pull you in but you have to resist."

Angela moved to open the door to Jane's apartment. "Leave, Jane. My grandpup and I will be fine here, won't we Jo?"

Jane kept talking as she walked out the door, "And remember not to turn the volume up too high on the tv; these walls are thin and Mr. Richards tried to get a couple of uniforms on my case for 'disturbing the peace' last week. Jackass."

She turned in the doorway, but instead of saying bye to her ma, she continued to instruct her, "Oh, and please don't throw—"

Angela slammed the door shut and turned around to face the apartment. "Who knew it'd be so hard to get her out of here, huh Jo?"

Jo Friday gave a small bark of agreement before scampering over to rub against Angela's legs. Her grandperson was a sucker for any show of affection.

Jane hesitated in front of Maura's door. She thought of herself as a confident person, but Maura was wreaking havoc with her nerves. Standing with her hand resting on the knocker, her gut clenched. Were these butterflies? Because they felt more like pterodactyls slowly ripping apart her intestines.

She lifted the knocker, but before she could bring it down, the door opened to reveal…Cailyn.

"Cailyn?" Jane was confused. "I thought that you were going over to hang out with your friends tonight."

Cailyn shrugged, "I thought so, too, but they're sick."

Jane raised an eyebrow, "So you're telling me that every single one of your friends is sick right now?"

"They room together. And Syd had a cold last week so now they're all infected. I don't like snot, so here I am."

Cailyn sounded peeved about being left out, even if was due to illness, so Jane tried to tone down her annoyance when she asked, "Does Maura know that you're here?"

"I think so…actually, I haven't seen her all afternoon. She's been in her room since about after lunch."

Jane panicked for a moment. She and Maura had decided not to tell Cailyn about the change in their relationship status. They doubted that she would have a problem with it, but they also doubted that she would be able to stop herself from telling Hope. Maura wanted to keep Jane to herself for a while longer before they came out to anyone but Angela.

Cailyn continued, "You look really nice, Detective Rizzoli. Are you two going out?"

Jane froze. How was she supposed to answer that?

Just at that moment, Maura swept into the room. "Yes, Cailyn, we are going out tonight." Not a lie. She paused and looked at Jane, taking a moment to appreciate her outfit. Wow.

Thankfully Cailyn was focusing on her phone, not on her sister, so she didn't catch the lust in Maura's eyes.

"Alright well, have a good time," Cailyn managed distractedly, "Don't pick up too many hot guys and be home by curfew!"

Jane laughed loudly at that, causing Cailyn to glance up from her phone. Maura shot her a look, so Jane tried to cover her snorts up with a loud cough. Cailyn rolled her eyes in a way that said 'this woman is crazy'.

Maura walked toward the door, pulling Jane by the hand. "Goodnight, Cailyn! I'll see you tomorrow morning, I'm sure."

Jane smiled at the contact. The night was looking up.

A/N: In my mind, this is set in the same universe as "Grilled Cheese and Wine", but I guess it can work as a standalone, too. It's shaping up to be about five chapters long...Also, there is SO MUCH FLUFF in this story. It's crazy. I hope you enjoy :)