Disclaimer: I own nothing. All characters and stories belong to TNT, Tess Gerritsen and Janet Tamaro.

A/N: A Rizzles Christmas one-shot. Please review. Thanks. Love, Lawabidingchild.

Christmas for Always

Jane was bringing her girlfriend to Christmas with the Rizzolis...again. It wasn't as if Maura had anything better to do. It was only because the Rizzoli family is the most dysfunctional family that they could come across. Every year, Christmas always seems to end with Frankie drunk out of his mind and singing out of tune Christmas carols, Angela throwing a fuss over the tree, and Frank passed out on the couch. Tommy hadn't been there for years. Maybe this year will be different.

This year, Jane was actually hoping for Tommy to show up at the Rizzoli household for Christmas. She wanted a big enough distraction so that she could give Maura her gift. This wasn't something that she could just toss at Maura while under the Christmas tree with her family.

It was something that needed to be handed to her privately.

She clutched the little jewelry box she was bringing to Maura with her gift inside. It was a diamond engagement ring. The only thing she wanted for Christmas was a "yes" uttered from Maura's lips.

"Jane!" called a silky, sweet, soft voice from behind her. Maura was walking in her direction. Jane slipped the package back into her pocket where Maura couldn't feel it. Maura wrapped her arms around Jane in order to give her a sweet kiss.

"Hey, honey," whispered Jane into Maura's hair. "Are you ready to go?"

"You know," mused Maura, "we could just stay in for the night."

Jane widened her eyes at the doctor's request. "My my, Dr. Isles," she whispered, swiftly kissing her again, "is this a trick to get me back into bed?"

"Maybe," replied the doctor slyly.

Jane kissed her, then used her strength to pull back. "We have to go. Ma would throw a hissy-fit if we didn't show up."

"Alright," groaned Maura. She clasped Jane's hand and the two of them made their way out the door, each of them bearing gifts for the rest of the Rizzoli family.

Jane was in the kitchen helping Angela prepare dinner. Maura was in there too. The men, however, are an entirely different story. Frank and Frankie Jr. were sitting on the couch, watching television as always. This always angered Jane, but both Maura and Angela told her to let it go.

Maura brought five bottles of really expensive imported French Cabernet, one of which was completely gone and a second half empty. Jane, Maura, and Angela were absentmindedly sipping their first glass while the two men were already half-drunk. Frank Rizzoli could hold his liquor very well, keeping his usual quiet demeanor, but Frankie was much more obvious. He was already to the point of shouting. "Hey!" he called to the women in the kitchen, "hurry it up, will ya! I'm starving!"

"Well maybe if you two would help us, we would be done a lot quicker!" Jane yelled back.

"Jane, stop it," scolded Angela.

Jane opened her mouth to argue about Frankie being lazy, but a look and gentile touch on the shoulder from Maura silenced her protest. She turned back to what she was chopping.

After dinner (at which Tommy's seat had remained empty, and they waited about an hour to eat, resulting in a lot of reheating on Jane's part), the family found themselves sitting in front of the tree, waiting to open presents. Angela insisted on waiting for Tommy, but Frank, being the voice of reason, told her that Tommy was not going to come. That hit Angela hard.

Jane, too, but for a different reason.

Just then the doorbell rang. Angela ran up to get it. After about thirty seconds of pure, uninterrupted silence, she screamed "Tommy!" Frank and Frankie got up to greet the oldest Rizzoli child.

Jane took this as an opportunity to take Maura into her old bedroom and give her her present. "Why did you bring me in here?" asked Maura. "I've been here hundreds of times-." Jane silenced her before Maura could make her remember all those times they stole away for supposedly uninterrupted make-out sessions until Frankie, Frank, or Angela walked in on the two of them.

"I have to give you your present," she answered as Maura stood there, waiting.

"But you could have given it to me under the tree with the rest of the family," said Maura, confused.

"Not this one," admitted Jane. "This Christmas is supposed to be special."

"Isn't every Christmas?" asked Maura.

"This one is even more-so." She reached in her pocket for the jewelry box. "I couldn't give this to you in front of the family," she whispered.

"Why?" asked Maura. "It's just jewelry."

"No it's not," said Jane. "Open it." Maura took the box and obeyed the order. She couldn't contain her gasp at the small diamond ring. "I love you, Maura Isles. I couldn't bear not to spend the rest of my life with you. You make me laugh and you make me feel safe and like there is someone always there." Jane slipped the ring onto Maura's finger. "All I want for Christmas is you, Maura."

Maura could not contain her tears at the request. She leaned into Jane for a long, passionate kiss. She pulled back, then slipped into Jane's warm, inviting embrace. "Yes," she whispered into Jane's ear.

Jane's eyes burned with tears. Maura, the one person she loves more than anything else in the entire world said yes to her proposal. Nothing could spoil the moment. She kissed Maura again, this time with lingering fervor. She wanted Maura to understand how much this acceptance means.

"Whoa!" yelled a male voice that Jane recognized and Maura didn't. "I finally come home and I find my little sister kissing a woman. The world never ceases to amaze me."

"Maura," said Jane, ignoring her brother's stupid comment. "This is my older brother, Tommy. He's the family asshole." She looked at Tommy. "This is Dr. Maura Isles, my fiance."

"Since when?" asked Angela, popping out from behind Tommy.

"Since about five minutes ago," announced Maura, shaking with delight. The two were overwhelmed with wishes of luck and they walked back to the Christmas tree. Maura cuddled up to Jane as they opened presents. No one was as happy as the two of them at that particular moment.

When they went back to Maura's place afterward, Maura pulled Jane into the bedroom. She kissed Jane, then whispered, "Merry Christmas, Jane."

"Merry Christmas, Maura. I love you."

Maura responded to Jane's "I love you" with another kiss.

They both wanted it to be Christmas for always.