Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
A/N: Some of you asked how Maura and Jane met before "Game Night", so I decided to write this. Hope everyone likes it. Let me know what you think. All mistakes are my own.
"Ow! Dammit Frankie! Leave it alone!" An annoyed Jane batted Frankie's hand away from her nose. "Don't make it worse!" She explained placing the ice pack back on her injured face.
"OK! Sorry! It just looks really bad, Jane." Frankie replied, moving back to take his seat.
"What is taking so long?! The ER is practically empty." A scowled Jane complained, looking around and noticing most of the people there were drunks wanting some protection from the cold weather.
It all began when the two siblings where playing a harmless video game, in Jane's house, when Frankie after scoring the winning point, lifted his arms in celebration, not noticing that Jane's head was in its path. The result: a bloody nose and a three-hour wait in the local hospital ER.
"Mom's already going to yell when she see's your face. I don't even want to know what will happen if we are late for our family dinner." Frankie said, flinching thinking about Angela reaction.
"I'm more concerned about what coach will say when he finds out about this, back in training camp." Jane said anxiously, worried about the repercussions of this accident in her recent acquired spot, on her beloved NFL team - The Patriots.
Frankie didn't reply, just took her hand in support, knowing nothing he said would end Jane's worry about losing her hard earned spot.
They sat in silence waiting until a nurse finally called out Jane's name, escorting the injured Rizzoli to an empty room, while the younger Rizzoli stayed in the waiting room hoping it wasn't anything serious.
Jane tried to distract her mind of her injure but her surroundings wasn't helpful. The constant buzz, the smell and the uncomfortable bed, everything reminded her of the fact she was at the hospital, her nerves growing at each moment. Jane squeezed her hands together, to the point they were almost red, in order to calm herself.
Suddenly the open of the curtains startled Jane of her thoughts, making her turn to face her visitor. All the pain from her nose was instantly gone as, for the first time in her life, her breath was taken away by the beautiful sight in front of her.
"Miss Rizzoli?" She heard, and Jane was sure an angel came to visit her; she found herself captivated by the blonde vision and forced her mouth to close and to respond; she cleared her throat and replied:
"Yes. Jane, please." Her voice sounded weird to her own ears.
"Nice to meet, Jane" The doctor replied with a slight blush in her face "I'm Dr. Maura Isles and I'll be accessing your injuries today." She continued with a smile.
Jane simply nodded dumbly, not recognizing her own actions. Her eyes tracked every move the doctor made around the room. Get a grip Rizzoli!
"Can you tell me what happened, Jane?" The doctor asked, putting her gloves on.
"Hm yes, well, my brother and I were playing PS4 when things got a little heated and his elbow ended up hitting my face. Well, my nose, I guess." Jane said with a shrug of shoulder.
"Oh, I see. And what exactly is PS4; is that some kind of new sport that's going around?" Maura asked seriously while feeling Jane's injury with her hands.
Having heard the doctor's question Jane looked at her incredulously, getting more fascinated by the doctor every minute that went by.
"Hmm, no. Well, I guess you can say it's new but it's not a sport. It's the name of a video game console." Jane answered, "We were playing on the TV ". She continued after seeing the confused frown on Maura's face.
"Oh. I see" Maura replied with an embarrassed smile on her face. "I'm sorry; I'm not very familiar with those kinds of hobbies."
Seeing the embarrassment on the blonde's face and finding completely adorable, Jane put her hand on top of Maura's hand that was resting on her cheek; bringing the doctors eyes back to hers.
"It's alright." She said, feeling a strange need to comfort the woman in front of her. "My brother and I are kinda childish, anyway."
Jane felt a strange sense of satisfaction by the bright smile she got in return. I want always be the one who puts that smile on her face. Jane thought, feeling her heart shake with that sudden knowledge.
A comfort silence surrounded both woman, while one examined the bruised nose; the other examined the freckles and expressions that appeared on the doctor's face.
"So, what's the verdict, doc?" Jane asked after a particular pock made her flint in pain and reminded her of what brought her to the hospital. "Am I going to lose my nose?" She joked.
"Of course not!" Maura replied in an incredulous tone, clearly appalled by the question. "It's almost impossible for someone to lose its nose. It's very rare and even then, only in extreme cases."
Jane laughed aloud at her tone and answer, stopping only after seeing the sad look on Maura's face. Felling the need to justify herself, she immediately said:
"I'm sorry. I wasn't laughing at you. It was a joke. I've had enough injuries to know that I won't lose my nose" Jane searched Maura's face for a sign of forgiveness.
"Oh! I didn't know it was a joke. I'm not very good at social interactions." Maura said knowing the brunette was waiting for her reaction. "Some people find me weird, so I could understand why you laughed." She continued, making it clear it wasn't the first time someone laughed at her.
A scowl appeared on Jane's face after hearing that, her sense of protection running hot through her veins. "Sucks for those who find it weird, I find it incredibly sweet and charming." Jane almost growled her answer.
The young doctor blushed, averting her eyes while whispering a sweet "Thank you".
Maura shook her head to focus her thoughts back to her task and out of the beautiful brunette that was making her feel things no one had ever made her feel, even after only just met her.
"Well, Jane, it's clear you broke your nose but the good news is that we can easily fix it." Maura said, placing both her hands on Jane's face.
"Okay, doc. Do what you have to do." Jane replied, wondering what she was going to have to do and how long her recovery would last.
The skilled doctor placed both her hands on Jane's nose, and in a fast move, popped it back in its place. The sound of bones returning to their place echoed around the room.
"Fuckkkkk!" Jane exclaimed while she stood to pace around the room, trying to make the pain go away. She took a few deep breaths before going back to stand in front of Maura. "A little warning would be nice." She grumbled while the doctor examined her work.
Maura smiled at the flustered and pouting woman in front of her. "If I gave you any warning, you would have moved, putting at risk the resetting of bones." She explained, "And please, watch your language."
Jane huffed but stayed silent while she watched the blonde finish her work. "So, what do you think? Good as new?" Jane asked.
Maura reluctantly removed her hands from Jane's face, missing the connection right away. "Yes, beautiful as ever." Instantly realizing what she said, Maura blushed and stumbled through her next words, "I mean, your bones are perfectly place." In her embarrassment, Maura lost the wide smile that took over Jane's face.
Jane for her part couldn't and didn't want to explain the emotion that took her heart over. Never in her life, had she felt it and knew she never wanted to be without it again.
"Just put some ice on it for a few days and I'll write a prescription for something for your pain." Maura continued oblivious of Jane reaction, trying only to focus on the job at hand. "In a few weeks you should be good as new." She ended, handing Jane a prescription.
"Few weeks?!" Jane exclaimed, thinking about her spot in the team. "I don't have few weeks, doctor. I need to be back in training camp next week." Jane explained.
Maura tilted her head in confusion, "Training camp?" She asked.
Now it was Jane's time to blush while she answered, "Yes, I'm a football player and my coach can't see me like this" she pointed to her injured nose; "I just got drafted and this is my chance. It has always been my dream to play for the Patriots."
Jane didn't know why she was telling the blonde this but she couldn't stop herself.
"I understand your worries. I mean don't really know who are the patriots but I can relate to your sense of responsibility." Maura said.
Jane nodded while she waited to hear what the doctor would say.
"Well, I suppose I can write you up a cream to help with the bruise but, if you want to heal faster, what you really need to do is not to overexert yourself. Don't overdo." Maura completed.
"Okay, thank you, doc. I'll do what you said and put the ice and lotion but I don't want the drugs. I can manage the pain." Jane said, sincerely.
"If you're sure." Maura replied, and at Jane's nod, she redid the prescription. "Here you go, Jane." Maura said, handling the paper over.
"Thanks, doc." Jane replied.
Both of them felt like their time was up but neither wanted to say good-bye. They stood looking at each other, getting lost in each other eyes and trying to find something to say to prolong their time together.
Suddenly, a voice brought both of them to reality "Dr. Isles? We need you back in trauma one." The nurse said and left quickly back to the emergency.
Maura took a deep breath and moved to leave "it was nice to meet you, Jane. Take care of yourself." She said, giving a small smile, not wanting to leave but knowing she had to.
The thought of never seeing the young doctor again made Jane's heart break in a way she never thought it could happen. She knew she would always regret letting the blonde leave without saying anything. She knew she couldn't let that happen.
"Dr. Isles, please wait." She said putting her hand on Maura's arm. When the doctor, turned back to look at her, Jane gathered her strength and continued, "I know I could be out of line, but I was wondering if you would like to have some coffee, or something, sometime?"
Jane mistook the silence that followed as a polite shutdown, not noticing the happiness that appeared on Maura's face, and continued with a sigh "I'm sorry, I know the circumstances aren't ideal but I felt something and thought you had too. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable."
Jane dropped her shoulders and moved to leave, wanting to go home in her misery.
Maura was so uncharacteristic lost in her feelings that she only realized her silence was mistaken when Jane brushed pass her on her way out. She didn't understand why her brilliant mind abandoned her in such a pivotal moment and willed it to work. To do or say something.
The only thing she could come up with was a simple and sweet whisper "Call me, Maura."
At first, Jane thought she was imagining things, but then, when reality set in, she turned smiling happily back at Maura. She cleared her throat, trying to get rid of the lump that was there.
"Nice to meet you, Maura." Jane said smiling wide, offering her hand for the doctor to shake.
"It's my pleasure, Jane." Maura replied, placing her hand into Jane's, while reaching into her pocked at the same time. After writing something, she handed Jane the paper.
"I'm on call until tomorrow night, but feel free to call me later." Maura said, placing a gentle kiss on Jane's cheek and left the room to handle the emergency; leaving the brunette smiling dumbly in the empty room.
A young nurse brought Jane out of her own head, escorting her out of the room and helped with the discharge papers. The brunette made her way back to waiting room with spring on her step, almost on a high.
She found Frankie pacing around the room before he noticed her. "Jane! How was it? Is it bad?" He asked quickly.
Jane only smiled back happily, "Best broken nose ever, bro!" She said, one arm going around his shoulders, hugging him into her side while they went on their way home.
Thanks for reading!
