Three sharp raps at the door, woke an exhausted Jane Rizzoli, and that was never a good thing. Especially when the person knocking was her mother, and it was even more wrong when said mother wanted to take her 'lonely' daughter on an outing.
"Ma, you're pushin' it this morning." Jane growled, as she shoved her head deeper into the pillow. "I just got out of work...two hours ago, and that was after chasing a six foot tall man wearing a tutu, who was hopped up on PCP, through four different alleys. And each of them had their own brand of funk. I had to throw away my shoes." she grimaced. "I liked those shoes."
The whole time Jane was recounting her adventure, Angela Rizzoli, mother extraordinaire, was making coffee so she could bribe her ungrateful daughter. "That sounds horrible! I'm glad you weren't hurt, sweetie. Just look at it like this, now you get to go shoe shopping!" She flashed a bright smile. Jane groaned and threw the pillow in her general direction. "JANE! Don't throw things, you could break something!" she yelled.
The sounds of the coffee pot filled the air as the aroma slowly worked it's magic on the sleepy detective. "Jane, since it's Valentine's Day, and you don't have a date….again," she started, only to be interrupted by a groan and a muffled MA! Angela rolled her eyes and continued, "SINCE you don't have a date, you are going to come with me to the museum. It's the last day the 'Venus de Milo' is going to be in Boston, and I want to see it. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity and I don't want us to miss it." she rattled off quickly.
"Why can't we do something next week? When my two week vacation starts?" the upset detective asked, as she closed the bathroom door. "I'm exhausted. I don't want to walk around a museum for hours and be bored out of my mind. I just wanna sleep."
Pouring two cups of coffee, Angela decided to play the guilt card, "Come on Janie, how often do you go anywhere with me? I never get to spend quality time with you doing something cultured. Ever since you gave up ballet we never do any mother/daughter things." she smiled, if that didn't work, nothing would. "Coffee's ready."
An hour later, a smiling Angela and a brooding Jane Rizzoli, were walking through the Museum of Fine Arts. Angela would point at a piece of art and pull Jane over to view it more closely. She would go on about how beautiful it was, or how odd it looked. Jane was having trouble keeping her eyes open, but she smiled and nodded at her mother's enthusiasm. Despite how she wanted to deny it, she hadn't been spending any time with her family, so she was going to make this a nice day for her mom, even if she was so tired she could probably sleep for a year.
"OH! Janie look! There it is, the Valentine's Day exhibit!" Angela grabbed her arm and pulled Jane quickly towards the sign. "It says they have hundreds of pieces, including the famous Venus de Milo, which is on loan from the Louvre." she read, her face aglow.
Jane stared at her mother, something wasn't right. "Ma...this had better not be some excuse to set me up on another one of your blind dates again." she pointed a finger. "I've told you thousands of times, I am not dating anyone you pick out. I don't need anyone right now. I have my career and I'm happy."
Angela sighed, "I know sweetheart, I remember. I just wanted to spend some time with you today," she said. "I promise. There is nobody here but me." Crossing her heart.
Mother and daughter slowly made their way through the featured exhibit, pointing and discussing what they did or didn't like about each piece. About halfway through, the coffee finally hit Jane...she had to pee. She told Angela to keep going and she would catch up to her when she was finished.
After sprinting to the bathroom and being chastised by a museum guard, she was on her way back to find her mother, when something caught her eye. A flickering fluorescent bulb over head in a recess from the main gallery.
She slowly made she way through the archway and deeper into the room. There were giant clay pots, old weapons, and beautiful paintings everywhere. But the only piece Jane could focus on, was the gorgeous sculpture in the center of the room. It seemed to be lit from above and all around all at once. She was drawn towards it like a moth to a flame.
Jane stood in front of the statue gazing at it, entranced. It was a few inches shorter than her and had the best figure Jane had ever seen.
Finally able to look away, Jane looked for a placard, so she could find out who had carved this spectacular statue. But there was none.
No name, nothing.
She let her eyes wander the curves of the statue. Over the hair, down the neck, the long bare arms, the curve of the hips, the…
"Oh for pete's sake Jane, stop ogling the statue." she reprimanded herself. Blushing furiously, she lowered her head trying to gather herself. She looked back at the statue and had a sudden urge to touch it.
'No Jane, don't be stupid. You touch that, that beautiful statue, guards will be on you in a second and they will haul you off to jail for attempted robbery or at least vandalism.' she thought to herself.
The urge was too strong to fight though. She looked around to make sure she was alone, and slowly lifted her hand up to the chiseled face. Ever so gently she placed her fingers on the statues finely crafted lips.
She jumped back and yelped, "HOLY SHIT!"
She had expected the marble to be cold and lifeless. But when she laid her fingers on the statues stone lips, she felt a radiating heat.
Jane stood there, staring at the statue, when to her hearts dismay, it started to crack. "OH NO! Oh no, no, no, no, no, no, no! Don't break, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to touch you. Stop." she pleaded, looking around, panicking.
The cracks spread, spread from the lips, across the face and down the neck. Trailing the exact path Jane's eyes took, not moments before. Jane stood shocked, unable to move. 'I'm going to jail.' she thought. 'Or worse...I'll have to pay for breaking it!'
Just before she made a decision on whether she should stay and face the consequences, or run away as fast as she could, the cracking noise stopped. She heaved a sigh of relief, but when she exhaled, the statue exploded.
As the dust settled, a stunned Detective Jane Rizzoli stood face to face with the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. She was wearing a beautiful white peplos with gold trim, her honey blonde hair cascading over her shoulders.
The woman blinked a few times at the fish faced detective, then smiled. It was a smile radiated with the warmth of the midday sun. The woman parted her lips and spoke, with the voice of an angel, "Thank you for releasing me. My name is Maura."