Maura heard her doorbell ring and excitedly walked to the door. She opened it to see the smiling face of her niece, Brittany, who just flew in from Ohio to come visit her. "Auntie Maura!" Brittany exclaimed, practically tackling Maura with a bear hug. "Hello, Brittany!" Maura laughed. She loved how no matter how old she got, Brittany still acted like a little kid when she saw her aunt. Well, technically, she wasn't really her actual aunt. Maura was the adopted only child of a wealthy family. Brittany was the daughter of her childhood friend, Katy Pierce.
Maura was practically Brittany's second mom. She was always the number one babysitter whenever Katy had to work late (she was a single mom who had two jobs). Maura watched Brittany grow up. While some of Katy's other family and friends strayed from caring for Brittany due to her "thinking processes," Maura always stuck with Brittany. After she moved to Boston for work, Katy sent Brittany every year to visit. Surprisingly, Brittany was always able to take a plane and a cab by herself, which always puzzled Maura, since she remembered Brittany not being able to even cook a frozen pizza by herself. Nonetheless, she always welcomed Brittany with open arms.
Brittany walked in the door, rolling in her My Little Pony suitcase she had since she was about ten years old. It was pink and glittery and practically bulging with an amount of clothes far too large for a child's suitcase. Thankfully, she had stored some of her other belongings in the duffle bag that Maura had finally bought for her on the last visit, when she could no longer handle having to constantly help Brittany stuff everything in her tiny suitcase. Yet, Brittany could never seem to part with her little pony suitcase.
"How are you, Brittany? Did you have a safe flight? Tea?" Maura always made the mistake of bombarding Brittany with questions as soon as she walked through the door. "I'm fine, the plane ride was nice. They played my favorite movie, 'The Cat in the Hat'! But the cab driver was confusing. He kept telling me he needed cab fare, and I didn't know where the cab fair was! How was I supposed to know? But he stopped talking about it after I gave him the money, so maybe he figured out where it was. And yes, I would like some tea. With lots of honey, as usual."
Maura chuckled while pouring tea in to two mugs. She always loved listening to Brittany's crazy stories. She put a simple earl grey teabag in her mug and a peach teabag in Brittany's, along with a large squirt of honey. She took the piping hot cups with her to the living room and sat across from Brittany. "So, how are things in Ohio? How's glee club?" Maura asked, sipping her tea. "Good," Brittany said, blowing softly on her tea, making sure she didn't burn her tongue as she always seemed to do. "Actually…I have a girlfriend now." Brittany grinned like an idiot. "Oh my God! That's wonderful, Brittany! Who is it?" "Santana." Maura tried to restrain herself from applauding. She had been waiting for this. Santana was all Brittany seemed to talk about ever since they met years ago at school. Maura had suspected something more but Brittany always seemed oblivious.
"Brittany! That's so great. I am so happy for you." "Thanks. I really love her, Auntie Maura." Brittany seemed like she couldn't stop smiling every time she mentioned Santana, which made Maura smile, as well. "So…what made you realize you were in love with Santana?"
"I don't know…I guess I always knew. But then Santana told me she loved me, and I had a boyfriend, and God, it was so confusing…" Brittany shook her head, laughing to herself. "But after a while, I realized all we had was each other. I knew Santana was the one for me, and she always will be." Maura was both happy and surprised. It had seemed that Brittany had grown so much as a person since the last time she saw her. She was so much more mature, and for the first time, it seemed like she really knew what she wanted. She didn't know what to say. She leaned over and gave Brittany's hand a squeeze on the coffee table. "I love you, Brittany, and I know you'll be happy with Santana." Brittany gave her a silent smile, the kind they had shared for practically a decade together.
Brittany sipped her tea quietly, then finally asked Maura what she had been dying to ask her. "So…anyone in your life?" "Oh, nope, just me and my dead carcasses. Lovely, huh?" Maura laughed, leaning back into the couch. "What about that detective lady you told me about? What was her name…Jane Ravioli…?" Maura let out a laugh. "Jane Rizzoli, Britt. And me and Jane? Nah. She's my best friend. I don't think I'd ever…" there was a slight hint of doubt in her voice that only Brittany could spot. Once Maura saw Brittany's little smirk, she quickly blurted, "I don't feel that way about Jane." "Well, that's what I thought about Santana at first." "Hey, you don't get to interpret my love life, Miss Cheerio." "So you admit it! She's part of your looove life!" she giggled like a little kid. "Oh, shut up and drink your tea, Brittany." Even Maura couldn't help but laugh. She loved how their visits always ended up like this, just like two old friends, their settings always changing, but their friendship always staying the same. Always laughing over tea with honey.