"You-You're getting married?" Maura felt her stomach turn, suddenly she felt extremely nauseous. Her mouth got dry, her hands began to shake; not much but enough to make her put down the pen that was in her hand. Her heart was racing. Her mind was going a million miles a minute. Jane stared at her best friends pained expression, not quite understanding the motive behind it. Maura swallowed the lump that had formed in the bottom of her throat before looking up at her best friend, scanning her face – her eyes – for any hint that this was some big joke. There was nothing there. "How will I survive without my best friend?" Her voice was shaking, tears burning her eyes, threatening to give her away. Her hand made its way to cover her mouth, looking down at the ground fighting with everything inside her to keep her emotions in check.
"Wait, Maura, what are you doing?" Jane asked softly, her voice laced with hurt. This was hardly the way Jane expected her best friend to react to her wedding announcement. Maura had always been so supportive of her relationship with Casey; encouraged it even. None of this made any sense to her.
"Excuse me." Maura breathed, keeping her head down and her hand on her face as she walked out of the room. She held it together until she got to her office, locking the door and closing the blinds. Sobs escaped from her chest the second she knew she was alone. She had never felt this before. Her chest felt like it was about to cave in, her throat was so dry she didn't believe she'd ever be able to speak a single word again. She sat down in the same chair she did every day, yet everything felt different. She shook her hands in front of her, doing everything in her power to make them stop shaking. She knew Jane would eventually come to see her, she knew if she saw her like this she would know.
The rest of the day past without a single visit from Jane, which made Maura both happy and horribly upset all at once. She called Detective Frost, sighing with relief when he answered the phone at his desk. He answered in the same blunt manor all the detectives seemed to.
"Frost." He said simply, no emotion behind his voice whatsoever. Maura really should have thought to practice speaking before she did this.
"It's Maura, has Jane left the office yet?" She frowned, closing her eyes and noting how strained and croaky her voice was. She knew he was going to ask if she was okay. That was one question she planned on avoiding at any cost.
"Yeah, she just left actually. Hey are you-"
"Thanks Frost." Maura said quickly, hanging up the phone before he could continue. She hated to be rude, especially to Frost. He had never offered her anything but kind words. There was one more person Maura wanted to call, though she didn't know if she could physically bring herself to do it. "Stop it Maura." She chastised herself, forcing herself to take three deep breaths as she dialled the familiar phone number.
"Hello?" His voice was soft as silk, he always did have a unique calming effect on Maura.
"Ian, it's Maura. I changed my mind; I do want to see you tonight." She spoke casually, trying to give nothing away with her voice. The last thing she needed was to be alone tonight.
He had always been good to her, treated her with respect. If there was anyone she wanted to spend tonight with that wasn't Jane; It was Ian. He agreed to go to Mauras later that night, and she had no intention of leaving the office until she knew he would be there. She couldn't risk running into Jane anywhere. Though she was probably home with her fiancé. The thought made her sick to the stomach. She took more deep breaths, desperately trying to force Jane from her mind. If there was ever a sign that Jane did not reciprocate Mauras feelings; getting engaged to her boyfriend was probably a big one.
After enough time had passed, Maura decided it was about time she head home. She checked her face in her compact mirror, groaning at the dark circles under her eyes. She did her best to clean up before she got home. She couldn't deny that she wanted to look good for Ian.
Janes POV
"Jane?" Casey called from the kitchen, snapping her from her thought of her best friend's reaction earlier in the day. "Beer?" He offered, she smiled and nodded toward him, noticing for the first time how different men and women walk. When Maura walked she was graceful, soft. Her movements were fluid, no hard edges to be found anywhere. When Casey walked… All Jane saw were hard edges.
"Hey, I might go see Maura." Jane told her fiancé. "She was pretty upset at work today." Jane confessed. She knew Casey wouldn't ask any questions. He was good that way; respected their friendship more than a lot of other men would have. Maura and Jane were always close, closer than many other best friends. They were two thirty something year old women who had sleep overs and played with each other's hair. Jane shook the thought from her head.
No matter how hard she tried, she could not figure out Mauras reaction. It was starting to make her mad. This is, hopefully, the only time I'll be engaged, and my best friend can't even fake a smile for me and pretend to like the man I'm marrying. Jane finished the last of her beer quickly, knowing that if she waited around much longer she wouldn't have the nerve to say to Maura what she wanted to say in that moment.
Mauras POV
When Maura arrived home, Ian was waiting at her doorstep. He held flowers and a bottle of wine in his hands, his face beaming at the sight of his ex-girlfriend. They didn't say anything as Maura placed her handbag on the ground, not hesitating for a second to give herself to Ian. With his one free hand, he embraced Maura, lifting her off the ground. She took a deep breath, inhaling his smell. She almost moaned at the smell; so many memories came flooding into her head.
"I missed you." Maura confessed when he put her down. He kissed the top of her head, saying more than words ever could. Once they were inside and he had put down the wine and flowers, Maura made her way over to him again. She wrapped her small frame around his. His arms wrapped around her, taking in everything he had missed so dearly about her.
"Where is this all coming from?" He asked, his accent hitting Maura like a ton of bricks. She'd forgotten how attracted to this man she was. He was no Jane, but he was a pretty close male counterpart.
"I had a terrible day. I needed to see a face that would made me smile." She confessed, looking up at him sweetly. Maura had never been overly brave, never overly sexually aggressive; but tonight she needed him, and she knew he was too much of a gentleman to make the first move so quickly.
She wrapped her arms around his neck, and thankfully he caught on pretty quickly, not hesitating for a second to wrap his arms around her back, lifting her off the ground again. Maura wrapped her legs around his body, letting her arms slump around his neck. They stayed like that for what felt like hours, just staring at one another. It took every inch of Mauras self-control not to think of Janes face. The way her dark hair falls around her face, the way her dimple pushes itself into her face when she smiles.
Ian took two steps backward and placed Maura on the kitchen counter. She kicked her high heels off, hearing them fall to the floor behind him loudly. She pulled his shirt over his head slowly, his hands only leaving her hips to throw the shirt onto the floor. He held her hips in his hands, pulling them until they touched, a small moan coming from Mauras mouth at the sudden contact.
Then he kissed her. Her hands went to the back of his head, doing anything to deepen the kiss. He moved his hands to rest underneath her shirt, softly stroking her skin. She couldn't help but frown inside at the feeling of his unshaven face against her cheek. She wondered how soft Jane felt when she was kissing- She caught herself in her thoughts, forcing herself back into reality.
Janes POV
She had no intention of knocking. She never had to before, why should this be any different? Jane thought as she got out of her car and made her way to the familiar door. She turned the doorknob quietly, only getting the door open a few inches before she was caught off guard by the sight of Ian. She closed the door over slightly, only just able to see inside. Maura was facing him, her legs wrapped around his waist, her lips all over his face and neck.
She suddenly felt light headed, but she couldn't stop herself from staring. Maura was always so much better than him, and she hadn't even informed Jane that he was back in Boston. Probably because she knew how she would react. A small moan came from Mauras lips at something he was doing, and Jane felt her stomach drop. She had no idea why her body was having such a strong reaction to the sight, but it was enough to make her squeeze her eyes shut.
"Jane?" Came Ians voice from the kitchen. Her eyes flew open in time to see Maura turn around, a shocked look on her face.
"Sorry." Jane breathed, closing the door quickly, running toward her car. There was no way she was going inside. She saw the front door open as she started her car. As she pulled out of the driveway she saw Maura standing in the door way with her arms folded. They made a second of eye contact before Jane drove away, not looking back.
She pulled over, her eyes burning with tears. What the hell was happening? She thought. Was she.. Was she jealous? She couldn't be sure what she was feeling. But one thing was for sure; she was going home and crawling into bed with her fiancé.
