Author Notes/Disclaimer: This is a random little bit of fluff which I wrote as a birthday present for my friend Nic. All characters do not belong to me, but I did write about them.
"Are you sure you won't come to the club with me?" Maura asked, her gym bag in hand as she moved towards the front door. "I'm allowed a guest once a month."
"Go to a place where you pay to work out?" Jane raised an eyebrow. "Why would I do that Maura? I can run outside for free, and I choose not to. Doesn't that tell you something?"
"That you're surprisingly fit for a cop who doesn't workout?" Maura's lips curved into a smile. Jane grimaced. "There's more than gym equipment at the club."
"A pool. Whoopee," Jane said, holding the door frame as Maura stood in the entranceway. "It's like sixty degrees out."
"There's a sauna and a spa."
"Sit around sweaty, old, naked people? No thanks."
"There's beer and burgers."
Jane contemplated for a moment, her eyebrows moved in thought. She rolled her eyes. "You nearly got me there. I bet they're those fancy pantsy burgers made from mushroom roulade and saucisson."
"Do you even know what saucisson is?" Maura asked.
"A fancy pantsy sausage?"
"It's French and it's not fancy."
"If you say so, Doctor Isles, but I'm not convinced. Now go work up a sweat and sit amongst the old folk. I've got a football game to watch."
"You're going to rot your brain, Jane."
"At least I'll live my last unrotted brain day happily. Or I will be happy if we win."
"I'll be back in time to start dinner."
She closed the door behind her. Jane stood in the doorway, the TV on in the distance; the game had barely started, the commentators busy chatting about who might do what. Jane watched for a moment, before turning to the kitchen and pulling everything out of the fridge and freezer.
"Cheese," she said, pushing items to one side. "Saucisson, or some other kind of fancy sausage."
Once a small pile had been formed, Jane shoved the rest haphazardly into the refrigerator and analysed her items. She estimated she had a couple of hours before Maura was due back, which meant she had to hurry up. She was no chef, which meant preparing something edible was going to be difficult. She pulled a cookbook off the shelf and flicked through until she found something that resembled what she had in her mind.
"Onions," she said aloud. The pile of ingredients was missing the first ingredient she would need. She spun around searching for something that resembled an onion and found a whole pile of vegetable ingredients she'd completely missed. "Huh, who knew you didn't keep onions in the fridge."
She chopped, diced (at least she thought she diced), sautéed and tossed the onions in the pan until they resembled...worms. Jane frowned. They didn't smell burned. They didn't look entirely burned either. But they weren't white and crispy. Whenever her Ma made her help with the family cooking she always found something else to do until she was dragged in there. That was one thing she'd never seen her cook.
"She'll know," Jane said, running her hands under the faucet and wiping them on a dish towel. She took her cell phone from her pocket and dialled her mother's numbers. "How do I know when onions are cooked?"
"That depends on how you're cooking 'em. Hello to you too."
"In a pan. Hi, Ma."
"Did you use oil or butter?"
"Does it matter?"
"Of course it matters, Janey."
"Neither."
"You've got to use oil or butter or they'll burn."
"They don't smell like they're burned."
"Why are you cooking onions anyway?"
"I felt like onions."
"Don't like to me Jane Clementine Rizzoli, I don't need to be stood in front of you to know you're lying to me."
"I'm cooking, Ma, isn't that weird enough?"
"Maybe I should just come over, then I can help."
"No! Don't do that." Jane bit her tongue to stop herself from saying something she regretted. "I don't need your help."
"You phoned me, Jane, you obviously do."
"Can't I just take a photo and send it to you?"
"How would you do that?"
"Through Whatsapp."
"Through whatswhat?"
"That app that Tommy put on your phone last time he was here, so he could send you photos of TJ."
"Oh, whatsup. Yeah, okay."
"Whats...I'll send it now, bye, Ma."
She snapped a photo and sent it off, waited a few minutes before she got bored of waiting and rang her again.
"So?"
"So what?"
"I was waiting for you to reply."
"I don't know how to."
"What do you do when Tommy sends you photos of TJ?"
"Nothing."
"Nothing. Right. So what should I do?"
"They look cooked to me, Janey."
Jane ended the call, took the onions from the pan and tossed some sausage into it. It sizzled and cooked slowly. She chopped up some vegetables and threw everything in together until I had cooked for as long as she could leave it without it burning.
She threw it into a dish, poured over a sauce and shoved it into the oven.
"Finally," Jane said, grabbing a beer and sitting down in front of the TV. The games was already half over and Jane still had a kitchen full of mess to clean up. She supped on her beer for a while, before starting to tidying up. "This is why I never cook."
Once the dishwasher was loaded, Jane set the table with Maura's best plates, opened a bottle of wine to let it breath and placed it on the table beside a candle and two glasses. She stood back to admire her handiwork when Maura's car door shut on the driveway. She flicked the gas lighter and lit the candle, before lunging herself back onto the couch where she lay watching the final moments of the game in the semi-darkness.
"Have you been there all day? Why are the lights still off?" Maura asked, her hand on her hip. She dropped her gym bag onto the floor by the doorway and stared at Jane.
She turned around in her seat. "Oh, hi Maur, I wondered when you'd get home. What's for dinner?"
Maura's eyes travelled across the room to the candle-lit table. "By the look and smell of things, I think it'd be more prudent to ask you."
"Now that you mention it," Jane said, shutting off the TV and standing up. "I got a little bored, so I threw something together."
"Threw?" Maura's eyebrows creased. "What did you break?"
"I didn't break anything," Jane said. "Why do you automatically assume I broke something?"
"You don't cook."
"Sure I do."
"Canned soup is not cooking."
"To you maybe." Jane walked towards Maura and placed a hand on each shoulder. She moved closer and sniffed the air.
"What are you doing?"
"Checking that you've showered."
"Of course I showered."
"Good," she said. "Now go upstairs and put on something sexy."
Maura raised an eyebrow. "It's going to be that kind of night, huh?"
"Here's hoping," Jane said, licking her bottom lip. She reached a hand around Maura's back and slid it down to her ass, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Now go, before I need to ravish you right here."
"Ravish me?" Maura laughed, rolling her eyes, as she ran off upstairs.
While Maura changed, Jane removed the dish from the oven and placed it on the table. It didn't smell too bad, even if she did say so herself. She placed a serving spoon beside it. She sneaked out to the guest house, took a large box out of the cupboard and carried it to the kitchen. Before Maura arrived, she slipped it under the table out of sight.
"How do I look?" Maura asked, walking across the room. Jane met her part way, wrapped her arms around her waist and leant close. Her lips were so close to Maura's she could feel her breath on her upper lip, but it was too early.
"Beautiful. Grubs up," Jane said, stepping backwards quickly. The look of disappointment on Maura's face made Jane's heart sink, but she knew it'd be worth it in the end.
They sat down and ate, drank wine and shared in pleasant conversation. Jane talked about the game she barely watched, while Maura filled her in on the day at the club.
"I was hoping to book a tennis lesson for this week, but there's rain forecast. I'll have to find a partner to play squash with instead. Unless I can tempt you to come next time."
"No, Maura," Jane whined. "It's full of pompous golfers and their perky wives."
"Some of the women aren't so bad," Maura said.
"Anyway," Jane said. "Forget about the club. I got you something."
Maura raised an eyebrow as Jane pulled the large box out from under the table. "For me?"
"Go ahead, open it," Jane said, pushing it forwards.
Maura leant down and unwrapped the tape covering the opening. She pulled the lid of the box apart and took out a second box. "A box in a box?"
"Keep going," Jane said.
Maura pulled the tape off the second box and proceeded to open it only to reveal a wrapped gift a similar shape to the previous boxes. She ripped off the paper only to find another box.
"A theme is emerging."
"Hurry up," Jane said, too nervous and excited to sit watching her any longer.
Four more boxes later and Maura's eyebrows pulled closer together. She unwrapped the parcel only to find another box inside. This time when she opened it, there was a smaller box and some lingerie.
"I thought this was a present for me," Maura said, raising her eyebrows and chewing on her bottom lip. "This looks like something you'll enjoy a lot more."
"It is a present for you," Jane said. "I promise."
She opened the next box, and inside was, once again, another, smaller box. She pulled off the tape and opened it. Her fingers shook and she dropped the box on the floor.
Jane knelt down to pick it up and handed it over to Maura. Her knee still resting on the ground and her hand on Maura's thigh.
"Maura, you make me so happy. You know that I wasn't happy before you came into my life, I messed up, I focused too much on my career and I let myself get in the way of my own happiness. Then I met you. They've been the most amazing years of my whole life and I don't know what I'd do without you. I want to share the rest of my life with you. Please, Maura, will you marry me?"
Before she could finish speaking, Maura's hands shook harder as she carefully opened the small ring box. Inside was a simple, yet sophisticated ring. The diamond was so small she could barely see it, but it didn't matter. It was perfect.
"Of course I'll marry you, Jane," Maura said, leaning down to wrap her arms around Jane's neck and place her lips against Jane's. The urgency spilled over until her hands trailed along the back of Jane's shirt and pushed away the fabric.
"Thank God for that," Jane mumbled into the kiss. She slipped a hand around Maura's legs and scooped her up into her arms.
"Jane? What are you doing?" she shouted. "Put me down!"
"Not until I get you upstairs," she muttered. "It's time for desert."
The End