Author's Note: To all of you that reviewed thank you so much. You guys are just awesome. So, in my last notes I mentioned being the first to write a Tarzan joke, which a lot of you we're pleased with. :) I realized that I've got another first in this chapter. Everyone seems to have forgotten about Jane's second pet, the tortoise that Maura brought her in the first episode. So I decided to bring him up and I've even named the cute little guy. Let me know if you guys like the name. Also, sorry that this is a little bit shorter than my last but it seemed to be the perfect place to end the chapter.
Once they made it inside Maura's bedroom however Jane started to lose her nerve. She sat down on the edge of the bed, running her hands through her hair as she looked nervously at Maura. The blonde closed her bedroom door; leaning against it and watching her favorite detective sit on her bed. Her arousal quickly dampened with the look on Jane's face.
Maura padded along the floor in her bare feet and sat beside the brunette, before flopping back to lie on her bed. Jane copied the movement until they were in the same position from their last sleep over. Very gently, Maura slipped her hand into Jane's, caressing the faint scar with her thumb.
Neither of them said anything as they stared up at her ceiling. Long moments passed, the quiet tension mounting with every breath they took. Finally Maura turned on her side and looked at her best friend. Jane's eyes stubbornly stayed glued to the ceiling. The blonde leaned over and gave Jane a quick peck on the lips. "This is my way of telling you that I'm attracted to you."
The brunette chuckled softly, looking over at Maura with a wary smile on her face before looking down at their joined hands. Maura had delicate hands, just like her feet. Fine boned and capable, they felt entirely too good encased in her own.
"We don't have to go any farther than this, Jane." Maura murmured softly, "You're always welcome to my guest room. Or we can just sleep on the same bed together..."
Jane sighed softly, "I've never been with another woman. Hell I've never wanted to until now. But there is something about you...about us." She took a deep breath, "Look, you've obviously been with women before..." she trailed off suddenly, before adding quietly, "You shouldn't have to slum it, Maura."
The blonde felt her heart clench uncomfortably and her tear ducts well up at Jane's words. She cupped the brunette's cheek, turning her head so she could look her in the eye. "Being with you is not slumming it, Jane. " she said firmly before continuing, "I work with you everyday but I'm constantly in awe of you. You're so strong and determined as you chase down criminals; you're clever, cunning and brilliant as you puzzle out the homicides that land across your desk. What I said earlier, Jane, it was meant as a compliment. You have the biggest heart of anyone I know. But for some reason you don't seem to realize how desirable you."
"I can't figure you out." Jane moaned in frustration, throwing and arm over her eyes.
Maura said nothing, leaning slightly over Jane she waited for the detective to explain what she meant. Her eyes widened in surprise as Jane threw her arms up and pushed herself into a sitting position. The medical examiner quickly sat cross legged on the bed, eyeing Jane apprehensively.
"You complain about my attitude, my language and my clothing. You're constantly trying to pawn me off on men and to top it all off you've already said that I'm not your type. And look at you!" Jane gestured wildly with her hands, "You're brilliant and you're breath taking. You could have anyone you wanted, male or female. So please explain to me Dr. Isles why on earth you would want me."
"You're my tortoise." Maura replied softly.
Jane stared at the blonde for a few heart beats before shaking her head, "Really? That's your explanation? I'm a tortoise." She threw her hands up in the air and turned to get off the bed altogether.
Maura gripped her forearm, pulling her back into position beside her with surprising strength. "You're not a tortoise, you're my tortoise." The blonde corrected. "Male tortoises choose their mate based on their colouring, they look for females with the most pleasing coloring on their shells. Female tortoises look for mates with the longest necks; it's a sign of strength. "
Jane bit her lip, sighing softly, she murmured, "You like me because I have a long neck..."
"No. Yes. I do but that's not what I meant. Tortoises mate for life, Jane." The way Jane's jaw dropped was enough to hurry Maura on, "You're pessimistic but you're witty and funny. After everything you've dealt with in your life and your job it only makes sense that you would have a darker outlook than most. Yes you swear too much but a study at Queen's University found that people who swear frequently have less stress than those who choose not to use profane language. I would never deny you an activity that relieves stress. " the blonde gulped in a breath, "You're not my type Jane, you're my ideal. As for your clothing, it's not my favorite but since most of the time I'm imagining you out of your clothes I really don't think it's a significant issue."
"Christ, Maura..." was the brunette's response, struggling to take in everything the blonde had said. "So you don't want a roll in the sack, you want..."
"You." She replied, unable to keep the hope filled smile from her face, "I want you and me and Bass and Joe Friday and..." she trailed off, "What did you name the tortoise I brought you?"
The name that had seemed cute and fitting before now seemed entirely wrong to Jane and she briefly thought about lying to her friend. Instead she went with the truth, "Dick."
Maura held in her laughter, just barely. "Dick...that's a nice name."
"Dick Tracey. You named yours after a scientist; I named mine after a detective." Jane replied defensively.
Maura caressed Jane's cheek for a few moments, gathering her courage she tried again. "I love you and want to spend my life with you, Jane. I want to wake up each morning with you, preferably under the covers and naked or at the very least in pajamas."
"You can't possibly know that Maura. We've never even had sex; I could be horrible in the sack." Jane responded.
"I'm trying." She reminded her friend pointedly, "And I seriously doubt you would be awful in bed. Even if you are Jane, I can teach you, many many things." Maura offered, with a sultry smile on her face.
Jane was running out of excuses. But the major one still needed to be mentioned. "If we do this Maura..." She did her best to ignore the radiant smile that appeared on Maura's face. "IF we do this..." She over emphasized the 'if', "and we screw it up. We'll lose our friendship...and our working relationship will suffer."
"Our working relationship is already affected." The blonde pointed out. Personally, she hated when they fought, it always left her feeling confused and sick to her stomach. But she couldn't imagine their friendship dissolving entirely, even if their relationship didn't work out. She vowed to herself that she wouldn't let it happen.
"It's your choice, Jane. You know I want more than just our friendship and working relationship. But if you're not interested or unwilling to move forward, I will respect your decision. Whatever that decision may be." Maura explained calmly.
Jane stared at her friend for a few moments as she did her best to make a decision. She could only imagine what a relationship with Maura Isles would be like. The sex could be awkward but Jane knew if nothing else it would be loving. They did already bicker like a married couple, although they also knew how to have fun together. And if she was honest with herself, really honest, she knew she was in love with Maura: head over heels, running slow motion in a meadow kind of love.
But the blonde was so far out of her league, they weren't even in the same division and for some reason Maura didn't seem to realize it. Maura had dated and nearly married Garrett Fairfield, a member of one of the riches families in Boston. Even years later the two of them still had a lot in common; they both enjoyed the finer things in life: great food, fashion and expensive cars. Aside from their jobs she and Maura had absolutely nothing in common. They were both female of course, but Jane had grown up the only girl amongst her brother and the rest of the boys in a tough neighborhood, getting in fights and going to public school. Maura was an only child who went to rich boarding schools and Cambridge University. She had a tight nit family and while sometimes frustrating she couldn't imagine her life without Frankie or her parents. Maura had no family left at all.
And then there were the shoes and the clothes. The blonde always looked like she just stepped off a runway and she was obsessed with shoes, spending more in a week on them than Jane had spent on her first car. In a nutshell she was plain Jane and Maura was...more than she ever could have imagined for herself, as a friend or as a lover.
Maura watched silently as emotions flickered over her friend's face. Jane's eyes had lost focus on her own several minutes ago, a sure sign that the detective was lost in thought. From the lines of tension furrowing on the brunette's forehead, Maura realized that her friend's train of thought wasn't leading her in any positive direction. She bit her lip; she had promised that she would respect Jane's decision, whatever she chose. But if Jane hadn't made that decision yet, or voiced it out loud...
She cupped Jane's cheeks in her palms and kissed her friend soundly on the lips. Maura eventually ended the kiss, keeping them close, she pressed her forehead against the brunette's and murmured softly against her lips, "Stop over analyzing this and just let me love you."
Jane closed her eyes, feeling tears threaten. She knew the second she let the other woman in, really let her in, that Maura would destroy her. It would be blissful in the beginning, as love often is, laughter and sharing of new experiences, having fun and spending Saturday mornings in bed together. But she knew with certainty that Maura would get bored of her and search out something shiny and new. And when she left, Maura would leave Jane a broken empty husk in her wake.
"Please..." Maura whispered, the sweet taste of her still clinging to Jane's lips.
"Yes." She replied, even knowing this beginning would be her end; Jane Rizzoli gave into her heart's greatest desire.
Yah it's me again. Allow me a Maura Isles moment here. Tortoises do not mate for life. Neither do Lobsters (Sorry Phoebe) but Sea Horses do. Also what was mentioned above about coloring is incorrect, tortoises really are all in it for the long necks. Imagine being a tortoise with a short neck, you live to be over a hundred and you still never get the girl. So sad.