Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Rizzoli & Isles. The characters belong to Tess Gerritsen, Jan Nash, Janet Tamaro, and TNT. I am in no way profiting from this. It's just for fun.
Hey, guys! A while back, I was asked to write a sequel to my fic Detectives Without Borders. I instantly had ideas, but became wrapped up in my busy life as well as my other two still in progress fics. You should probably read DWB first, otherwise you may not understand stuff in this. Since I have a habit of not updating all that fast, the chapters will be slightly shorter than the ones in DWB. But don't worry, shorter chapters means more frequent updates. Feel free to check out my other in progress fics "When Dreams Become Reality" and "Time Between Us" if you're interested :)
Ok, here we go... :D
Vengeance Without Borders Ch. 1
The BBQ at Jane and Maura's house was in full swing, all of the guests having a great time. The two wanted everyone over, not seeing a lot of them for quite a while. The entire NCIS gang flew in to Boston to catch up with their good friends, whom they consider family. Especially after the events that brought them together. They all took Kate's death pretty hard, but were able to get through the grief with the support of each other. As time passed, it got easier. Though they will never forget their fallen friend and sister, the pain slowly went away.
The couple are still very much in love after two years, their relationship growing stronger with each passing day. About 4 months ago, they got a new house and moved in together. After finally settling in, Jane suggested they have their family in DC come and celebrate. Maura instantly thought it was a great idea, missing them so much and only been speaking to them over the phone every so often.
Out back of their new home, Jane and Maura are bickering over the food.
"Oh, c'mon Maura. Just one little taste? Please?" Jane pouted, but her girlfriend wouldn't give in despite the adorable face she was receiving.
"It's not done yet. You are so impatient!" Maura laughed, and Jane stuck her tongue out at her. "Fine, one bite!"
"Yes!" Jane pumped her arm in a show of excitement, reminding Maura of when they had coffee together for the first time. The honey blonde rolled her eyes in a loving manner, as she often does at Jane's antics, and held up a spoon of homemade pasta salad for Jane to have.
Meanwhile, over at the grill beside the pool, most of the guys stood together with a beer in hand and laughed at the friendly dispute.
"When are these two gonna get married already?" Frost remarked, and all wondered the same thing.
"I don't know man, wanna take bets?" Tommy half joked.
Jane just barely caught their words and glared at them. She left Maura by the table, who was talking with her mother, Abby, and Cavanaugh, and went over to join the others.
After clearing her throat and reinforcing her death stare, she effectively intimidated most of them. Except Gibbs, who knew what she was going to say.
"You're lucky Maura didn't hear you two." Jane warned.
"We were just messing around, we didn't mean anything by-" Her youngest brother started apologizing, but Jane shook her head and cut him off.
"I don't want the slightest hint of a possibility of getting married on her mind." They were about to question her and make a comment, but stop when Jane looked over her shoulder to see Maura in a deep conversation.
The Sergeant turned back to the group and pulled out a small black box from her pocket. Opening it up, she revealed a diamond ring that shined brightly underneath the sun that was directly overhead. "Because I want it to be a complete surprise."
"Whoa, Janie that's-"
"Shh!" Jane shushed her other brother before he got too loud. "I don't want her hearing."
Frankie made a zipping motion along his lips, understanding why he had to be quiet.
Jane was glad her back is turned to Maura, because she can't keep the beaming smile off her face.
"You think she'll like it?"
The moment the words left her lips, they instantly assured her it was an amazing ring.
"She's gonna love it, Jane."
"Thanks, Gibbs." She smiled appreciatively, then closed the box and slid it back into the safety of her pocket.
"So when are you gonna pop the question?" Frost asked his best friend, barely keeping a lid of his excitement like the others. It was a long time coming, he knew they were meant for each other during those few weeks in Africa.
"It took me a while to think of the perfect way... How and when. Romantic dinner with just the two of us, or together with all of our family present?"
Frost grinned. "Is that why the NCIS gang is here?"
The Italian shook her head yes, and looked at Gibbs, the two smiled at one another. "Maura thinks of him as a father, so I wanted to ask for his blessing. Which made me think of the others. You guys are her family, too. I want everyone here. I think Maura would really like that." She commented while glancing at her girlfriend, who was laughing at whatever Abby had said. The smile on her face was beautiful and radiant. Jane fell in love with her even more at the sight. "Look how happy she is."
"I think you made the perfect choice, Janie. She'll love being surrounded by all of us. Great idea."
Jane looked back at her brother and smiled. "Thanks, Tommy."
"So, when are you gonna do it?" Tony asked, and took a sip of his beer.
"I don't really have a set time." Jane shrugged. "I was thinking some time around sun set, which is in about 2 hours. I'm a little nervous."
They all look at her in surprise, while her partner and childhood friend took the opportunity to tease her a little to help ease her nervousness. "Jane Rizzoli is nervous? Never thought I'd hear those words come out of your mouth. Nothing to be nervous about, partner."
Tim, who had become fast friends with Frost over their mutual love of computers, added "Barry's right. She won't say no if that's why you're worried."
"I know, it's just a little nerve wracking."
"This is the part where Kate would tell you man the hell up already and just get down on one knee." Tony joked, not an ounce of sadness in his voice. The more he talked about Kate and not try and bury his feelings, the easier it was to move past his grief. Plus, it felt good making sure she had a word in this.
"I'm sure she would've." Jane laughed in agreement. "You really think she'd approve?"
"Definitely. We all look out for Maura just the same as Kate did, and we approve 100% and she would, too."
"Thank you, that means a lot to hear." Jane replied with sincerity, grateful to know Kate would approve of them getting married. While she did accept their relationship, Jane never got the chance to ask about marriage. They spoke on the phone several times before Kate's untimely death, and even though the two had never met in person, Jane also missed the fallen agent. Especially after hearing the many wonderful stories Maura had shared of her, feeling like she got to know her some.
The conversation had moved to sports, over which teams were better, when Maura called Jane over to her.
"Would you help me in the kitchen? I need to carry some things out here."
"Of course." Jane responded, and held open the kitchen door for her as they entered the house. "You having a good time?"
"Yes, I'm so glad you came up with the idea. I've really missed them. I know the others have, too. I love that everyone is getting along."
"Yeah, me too. They've got a lot in common with one another. Gibbs and Korsak being Marines, Frost and McGee with their tech stuff, Tony and Tommy with their wacky sense of humor... The list goes on."
"Exactly." Maura hummed in agreement as they gathered food on the counter, occasionally bumping into one another or grazing the other's hip with their hand. The simple touches were done absentmindedly and out of habit, the two of them both loving it.
"Have I told you how beautiful you are today?" Jane asked, inching closer to Maura, wrapping an arm around her waist.
Maura grinned from ear to ear at Jane's words and affectionate touch and played along. "I don't believe so."
"Hmm... My apologies, then." Jane chuckled, and moved her mouth to kiss behind Maura's ear. "You're the most beautiful person in the entire world."
"Have you met everyone in the entire world? There's over 7 billion people, how can you be so sure I'm the most beautiful?"
Holding back an exaggerated groan, Jane proceeded to kiss along Maura's neck, reveling in the content sigh the Medical Examiner emitted.
"I just know... I could travel the world and meet every single person, but that would mean an awful lot of time away from you. I don't think either of us would want that." Jane snuggled closer and held Maura in her strong arms, both enjoying their moment along together. She pressed a soft kiss to her honey blonde hair and simply said "I love you."
"I love you, too." Maura replied, and gave Jane quick kiss on the lips. "We should get back out there before someone thinks we were up to something for taking so long."
"Yeah, we know all too well how the guys can be." Jane laughed in agreement, always getting teased by her brothers and partners. It was always with love of course.
"Oh, someone left the TV on." Maura commented as she happened to glance in the living room, where Jo Friday was happily gnawing on a new rawhide bone Jane bought for her that morning.
"I'll go turn it off."
"No, that's ok." Maura assured, noticing how Jane's hands were starting to get full from the stuff she was carrying. She didn't want her to go through the small trouble of putting everything down. "I can do it."
She gave her one last kiss and went into the living room. Maura picked up the remote, about to turn the flat screen off, when she froze after seeing the headline on the news.
Her knees gave out, and she plops down on the couch, shell shocked.
Jane had all of the food in her arms, ready to go out back again, when she called to Maura. "Babe, you coming?"
She knew, given the short distance and silence in the house, that Maura must've heard her. Jane sensed something was wrong and put the food on the counter, and immediately went over to her girlfriend.
Jane squatted in front of her and tentatively asked "Honey, what's wrong?"
"Look at the TV." Maura's voice was just barely above a whisper. Jane could tell she was frightened.
The brunette took the remote from her hands to turn up the volume, and caught the recap of the breaking story.
"Just hours ago, Ian Faulkner escaped police custody. Faulkner was set to go on trial in Boston after being brought over from Stad Van Hitte, Africa for his long list of national and international crimes. The Australian native was the second hand man for Charles Hoyt, the leader of a large drug ring. After Hoyt was killed two years ago during an undercover operation, Faulkner took his place running things despite being in prison. The 40 year old was brought over to Boston yesterday morning, and on the way to his court hearing today, the police van he was contained in crashed. Eyewitness reports say that two armed men opened the back of the van and helped Faulkner into their car and sped away. The FBI and police, both here and in Africa, currently have no leads on where he may have gone, but are assuring they're doing their best to get Ian Faulkner back into custody to stand trial for his crimes."
Oh no! Ian escaped custody? Hmm, I wonder what he's gonna do? ;)
Damn it... That ruined Jane's proposal plans, maybe she'll get to pop the question soon? :)
Hope you guys liked the first chapter! Let me know your thoughts in the reviews. :D