Author's Notes- Just a quick note about my updating schedule! I would love, LOVE, to be able to post every day. Alas, I work 40 hours a week and it's an hour and a half commute each way to work every day, so by the time I get home, I just want to cuddle with my wife and zone out! But I will try the best I can to get it out as regularly as I can, I promise!

XxXxX

NOW

The Chilton trail was lined with trees, making the hike easier under the cover, but Jane knew she'd have to venture away from the path if she was going to have any real chance of finding Maura. The trail was too far from the ski route to cause either a hazard or be a refuge.

"Don't tell Frost," she told the dog once she left the treeline.

The dog only huffed his reply as he adjusted to the new snow depth.

"Should've got you those little doggie show shoes, huh?"

He couldn't speak but his eyes said volumes.

"Or not."

The Klegg ridge didn't have the avalanche hazard the taller mountains had, so she wasn't worried when she blew a small air horn. She had blown it every 5 minutes or so and would continue until she reached the peak. Not only did it signal her location for anyone able-bodied, but it also gave hope to anyone in distress. It signalled that someone knew they were missing and that they were looking for them. Often, skiers brought their own little horn and would use it to reply in kind, thus identifying their own location. Jane turned one ear to the sky. There was no such response. She sighed but kept moving forward.

XxXxX

THEN

Somehow one tutoring session became 2, then 3, until they established a schedule that worked with Maura's. Jane's stubbornness refused to let Maura do it for free, so they came to an agreement: free tutoring for free rides. Normally, Jane would have scoffed at such a simple re-payment, but it didn't take her long to realize Maura's usual ride, her mother, 'forgot' as often as she showed up. Besides, she had to admit she was beginning to look forward to their time together. The instinctively physical attraction she had for Maura from the first day in Biology had been blended with a genuine friendship. Not that the attraction ever went away, nor did Jane deny it. But Maura volleyed the flirty banter back as good as she got it, probably because Jane made it clear she'd never test the boundaries of their friendship. That resolve lasted until the end of the semester.

She bit her thumbnail as she refreshed the page for the 100th time. Her room was quiet though celebratory parties had already begun around the campus despite it being the middle of the day, as marks came in and bottled up stress found a release. It seemed like everyone's marks were posted except Biology.

'Typical Renfrew,' she thought darkly.

Then, on the 101st refresh, she received a new notification. Her eyes scanned down the alphabetical list.

Rizzoli, Jane- 84%

She blinked her disbelief. She had never gotten over 75 in any of the sciences. Releasing a long-held breath, she began to laugh.

"Fuck, yeah!" she whispered.

Just before she closed her laptop, she sought out another name.

Isles, Maura- 99%

Jane could only shake her head at the prediction that had come true. Jumping off her bed, she grabbed her hoodie and went searching for a friend.

XxXxX

Her destination was clear across the campus, separated by an immaculate lawn, a statue that commemorated the school's history, and about a million dollars between the haves and the have-nots. Early in their tutoring sessions, Jane's discomfort with their social differences prevented them from studying at either Maura's upperclass hall or Jane's blue-collar one. In the end, they decided on a nice coffee shop away from campus and financial distractions. Jane only really knew the hall from dropping Maura off after their lessons and hadn't given it much attention. The loud bass that rumbled through the building changed that. Now alert to her surroundings, she tracked the source of the sound. Making a mental note to steer clear of the room at the end of the hall, she was about to turn down a corridor when a voice stopped her.

"Rizzoli!"

She paused just long enough to plaster a false smile on her face. She knew the voice well- it was Garrett Fairfield, one of the hot downhillers on Maura's ski team. The local sports reporters loved him. Jane did not.

Turning with her smile firmly in place, she said with a manufactured brightness, "Hey."

Tommy Moore, another team member, appeared beside him. "Look, everybody," he called into the room, "it's everyone's favourite chaffeur! How's it goin', Jane? I hear your pop bought you a taxi for a graduation present!"

She ignored the fact that she was only in the third year of a four year course, ignored Garrett's bawdy laughter. Ignored it all when she saw Maura stagger to the door.

"Jane!"

She was at Maura's side in an instant. Searching Maura's eyes, Jane immediately knew something was wrong.

"What have you given her?" she demanded of Garrett.

Tommy answered first. "Chill out, Riz. Maybe you need a little something."

She pinned him with a look. Moving a finger back and forth in front of Maura's eyes, she said, "Follow my finger, sweetheart."

"Sweetheart?" Tommy snorted. "No wonder she hasn't put out for ya, Gare. Lesbo Rizzo got there first."

He withered under two glares.

Garrett jerked his head towards the room. "Fuck off, Tommy."

His shrug did nothing to disguise his embarrassment. "Whatever."

"Hey," Maura slurred. "She has not put out. I mean, I haven't put out. With her." She looked at Jane. "Or him!"

"I know," Jane said gently. "I'm going to take you home now, okay?"

Maura looped her arm with Jane's. "Okay."

"She's not going anywhere," Garrett announced, grabbing Maura's elbow.

"Ow!"

That was enough for Jane. With one hand still linked with Maura, Jane grabbed Garrett with the other. As he winced in agony at the pressure being put on his balls, Jane leaned forward, doing nothing to hide her venom.

"If I ever hear you doing this again, with her or any other girl, you'll be the one not putting out. Get my meaning?" He groaned and she squeezed harder. "What was that?"

"Y-yes," he wheezed. "Yes."

Satisfied with the answer, she tugged Maura's hand and left without looking back.

XxXxX

When she made the declaration of bringing Maura home, she hadn't given it much thought beyond the moment. Now, in her car, she felt a bit lost, but it only took a look at Maura to help her find her way.

"Jane!" An older woman wiped her hands on a dish towel before enveloping Jane in a hug.

Jane groaned. "Ma! Really."

She pulled back. "What? A mother can't welcome her only daughter. A daughter, I might add, who barely comes home even though she only lives across town?"

"Yeah, yeah. College is hard, Ma. I'm focussing on my studies, just like you always wanted me to."

Angela Rizzoli glanced at the young woman at Jane's side. "Uh-huh."

"Ma! It's not like that." Angela nodded knowingly until Jane whispered, "She was at a party."

As Jane hoped, she didn't have to say more. All the teasing left Angela's face and was replaced with motherly concern.

"I can hear you." Maura's voice was muffled by Jane's shoulder.

Angela smiled. "What do you need me to do, angel?"

"I think she just needs to sleep it off?" She looked to her ma for confirmation.

Nodding, Angela agreed. "I think that sounds like a good idea. I just put fresh sheets on your bed yesterday."

"Why would you put fresh sheets on it? I haven't slept in that bed in almost 4 years."

Angela shrugged helplessly. "It's what mothers do. I don't know."

Jane leaned in to put a quick kiss on her mother's cheek. "Weirdo." Squeezing Maura's waist, she said, "Let's go upstairs. You're gonna love my pink canopy bed."

XxXxX

"I never imagined," Maura giggled.

Jane closed the bedroom door behind them. "You and me both. So you won't be surprised when I tell you you're the only girl I've ever brought up here." She disdainfully looked around the pink room, complete with frilly bed.

"I would have thought you brought lots of girls to your bedroom."

If Maura's flirty words startled Jane, Maura's hands around her waist made her jump out of her skin.

"Hey! What are you doing?"

Maura wasn't dissuaded by Jane's tone. "You've never thought about it? Not even once? Us?"

Jane's brain vetoed 'Every minute since the first time I saw you' and instead replied, "We're friends, Maura."

She pouted. "Is that all?" Swaying into Jane's hips, she asked, "You've never wondered why I've always turned Garrett down?"

"Because he's an asshole?"

Maura snorted a laugh and covered her nose. "Yes. But no other reason?"

Jane's eyebrows came together. Was Maura really insinuating what she thought she was?

"It's you, Jane," Maura said, answering the unspoken question. "It's always been you."

Jane struggled to reply, and all words left her mind when she felt Maura's lips touch hers. It was chaste at first, though Maura's inebriation made it a bit more forceful than she might have intended, turning a request into a demand. It was one Jane was more than willing to fulfill. Three years of simmering want bubbled to the surface and found its way into Jane's hands as she roamed the curves of a body she had only been able to touch with her gaze. Maura moaned under the exploration. It was that sound that snapped Jane back to reality. She abruptly pulled back, startling Maura.

"What is it?"

Jane blinked several times, as if waking from a dream. "You. Me. Now." She took a breath. "This bedroom." Her last words softened any hurt the rest might have caused. "What did they give you at that party?"

Maura shook her head, unable to clear the fog completely. "I'm not sure. Garrett invited me to celebrate the end of semester. Then…" Her brow wrinkled. "Then you showed up to save me." The inebriation gave her words a childlike quality. Jane tried not to rage at what happened or worry about what might have had she not shown up.

"What were you doing there?" Maura asked.

"Besides saving you?" Jane softly smiled, focussing on the here and now. "I got my mark for Biology."

Maura's eyes went wide. "And?"

She shrugged, pretending it was nothing important. "84."

If she could capture a single moment to remember forever, it would have been the look of pure joy and pride on Maura's face. The blonde jumped into Jane's arms and squealed with delight.

Jane brushed away her body's reaction by saying, "Hey. We're gonna get in trouble."

On cue, Angela yelled up the stairs. "You girls keep it down up there!"

Maura chuckled into Jane's neck, her lips softly brushing across her skin. With an unnecessary cough, Jane gently created some space between them.

"You need to get some rest. Sleep off whatever those assholes gave you. I'll wake you up in time for dinner. You don't want to miss Ma's lasagne."

"Stay."

Jane looked down at their entwined hands. "I don't-"

"Please."

The vulnerable plea would have been enough to make Jane change her mind, but one look into watery hazel eyes sealed the deal.

"I was gonna say, I don't think we can both fit on that bed. But I guess we can give it a try."

XxXxX