Seventeen months ago.
This was it; this was the moment. Jane Rizzoli didn't always do things right, but she'd be damned if she screwed this up. Slowly she drew her hand, which was grasping Maura's, from underneath the table and placed them on top of the tablecloth. She squeezed softly, reassuring the doctor, but her eyes remained on the imperceptible stare of the woman across the table.
Yes, Jane could easily see how Constance Isles was a major player in one of the most well-respected foundations in the world.
She could feel Maura's hand start to shake in her own and her thumb rubbed soothing circles against soft skin as a means of comfort.
Constance's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "Are you sure?" She asked, looking at neither of them in particular, staring down at the business card she'd just been handed by a waiter.
Maura looked over to Jane quickly before replying, "Yes." The purse of her mother's lips was almost unnoticeable. Jane could feel Maura's anxiety through her sweaty palm.
"I see," was all the matriarch said before excusing herself and rising from the table. It didn't take a genius to figure out that she was less than pleased at the thought of her only child in a lesbian relationship, nor did it take a decorated detective to put the clues together.
Jane bit down on her tongue as the restaurant door closed after Maura's mother. She'd been on her best behaviour, really, and Maura had seemed pleased. Getting her thoughts together, she pulled away from the table, taking Maura with her. It was obvious Maura wasn't handling the not-so-subtle rejection well, and Jane decided that the best course of action would be to take her home.
After that, she didn't know what she should do.
They walked through the door and she set Maura up on the couch, trying not to let her heart break as she watched the doctor pull her knees up to her chest and make herself as small as possible to blend into the furniture.
Does she stay or does she go?
Deciding to leave it up to Maura, she brewed her best friend a cup of tea and set it on a coaster on the coffee table in front of her.
The pathologist burst into tears and Jane had no idea what to do. All she knew was that she couldn't do nothing, so she slipped onto the couch and wrapped her arms around the shaking woman. She rubbed soothing circles on her back and gently pulled her fingers through the darkly golden-blonde hair, content to simply hold her until it passed.
When Maura's sniffles subsided and the waterworks ceased, Jane hesitantly spoke, "Maur, if this is going to cause a huge rift between the two of you, I won't be offended if you wanted to break it off with me-"
But she never got to finish her thought before Maura had pulled her into a pulse-racing kiss. "No, Jane. I've managed without motherly affection all my life. I know that of the two of you, you're the one I can't live without," she stated, locking her arms around Jane's neck and squishing her.
The lack of hives on the doctor's neck and chest made it impossible for Jane to ever bring up the subject of leaving again.