Disclaimer: I don't own Jane Rizzoli or Maura Isles, as they belong to Tess Gerritsen/Janet Tamaro/TNT but I just like to take them out and play with them every now and again….
Talking to the Dead
Maura watched her best friend Jane sleep. Jane's hand entwined with Maura's and Maura noticed how calm and beautiful Jane was when she slept. Maura's heart twisted when she caught sight of Jane's scars and how she acquired them. Maura never wanted Jane to feel any pain or anguish of any kind.
I really am in love with her, Maura thought. I just don't know if I can communicate my feelings to Jane. I don't want to lose our friendship if she pushes me away. Maura continued to watch Jane sleep as she herself grew drowsy. Slipping into the abyss of sleep Maura promised herself she'd consider telling Jane of her feelings.
The next morning the cases were being assigned in a hurry. One possible suicide, a car accident and a murder/suicide kept everyone hopping. Maura didn't have a chance to say anything other than a quick "good morning" to Jane.
Late in the afternoon Maura opened the file of the last autopsy and started her proceedings. She knew she was tired when thoughts of Jane kept filling her mind as she worked.
"She's a good person. She's beautiful, inside and out. I'd be stupid to pass up any opportunity to tell Jane how I feel about her. But how? What if I mess this up and lose my best friend?" Maura noted the condition of all major organs, made the appropriate incisions all the while talking to the corpse about her feelings for Jane.
"Is it possible she has feelings for me? I don't know. I'd like to think so," Maura thought and then recalled several times in the past, numerous times actually, when she caught Jane looking at her lips, her breasts, or her ass with that hungry look. Maura knew just how Jane felt. She, Maura, wanted to make love to Jane so badly it hurt. The nights they spent sleeping over at each other's homes were an exquisite agony for Maura. So close to the woman she loved, so far away from being able to take Jane in her arms.
Maura daydreamed of her perfect evening with Jane: candles throughout the apartment, wine, rose petals tossed on the floor, leading to the bedroom. Then her opportunity to love Jane as she wanted Jane to love her. Maura stopped the autopsy for a moment and took a calming breath. She resumed the autopsy.
"Yes, candles, rose petals and some wine. I think that makes a wonderful opening, don't you?" Maura said. Checking her notes she saw that the autopsy was done and stitched up the chest cavity. She saw the clock on the wall and noted it was already a quarter past eight. Maura was tired but also relieved; she felt she accomplished something in her relationship with Jane: her resolve to tell the beautiful detective exactly how she felt about her. They were due to have dinner the following evening; Maura saw it as her chance.
Maura placed the body in the refrigerator and placed the file on her desk. She didn't see Jane slip away from the doors of the morgue and quietly return to her desk upstairs.
Jane left the office a full thirty minutes before Maura was due to arrive. She hurriedly ran around her apartment, picking up stray articles of clothing, emptying wastebaskets, anything she could think of to make her apartment tidy. At almost the last moment she finished tidying up the room and wondered what Maura would think of it.
Maura grabbed the takeout bag and bottle of wine and headed to Jane's. Think positive, she told herself. Jane will want to be your friend no matter what you say. At least you'll have a chance to tell her how you feel.
Maura rang the doorbell and waited. Jane answered the door in her usual manner but Maura's breath caught in her throat. God, she is beautiful, she thought.
"Hi, Maura. Want to put the food in the kitchen?" Jane asked and watched Maura. Maura headed into the kitchen, put the food away for now and opened the wine to allow it to breathe. She headed into the living room.
Maura stopped. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Jane stood off to the side, her arms crossed before her, watching the doctor. Maura looked over at Jane, then back to the living room.
Numerous candles lit the room in a romantic glow. Candles were on the coffee table, the mantle, the side table in the corner. Maura looked at Jane and saw an expression of love on the detective's face.
"Come here, love," Jane said. She reached out and took the M.E.'s hand in her own. "I want to show you something," Jane said.
They stopped in the doorway to Jane's bedroom. Rose petals lined the path from the living room. More petals cushioned the bed. Jane turned to Maura and put her arms around Maura's waist.
"I never want you to have trouble telling me how you feel. I love you, Maura Isles, and I hope you feel the same about me." Maura put her arms around Jane's neck and lightly kissed Jane.
"I do. I've been in love with you, forever, Jane. I didn't want to mess up what we had, if you didn't feel the same. I didn't want to scare you away."
"Never. I'll always be there for you, Maura. There's nothing you can tell me that will make me leave you," Jane deepened the kiss and heard Maura moan. Suddenly Maura pulled back and looked up at Jane.
"But wait, how…?" Jane chuckled.
"How did I know about the candles and roses? Easy my dear, I am a detective. By the way, Maur, you might want to quit talking to the dead."
The End