Ask Me
Disclaimer: I do not own Rizzoli and Isles, including the book and the TNT show; Jane Rizzoli belongs to Tess Gerritsen and Angie Harmon, and Maura Isles belongs to Tess Gerritsen and Sasha Alexander. The plot for this story is my own, but that is all I could or would stake claim to. Leave feedback if you wish; these girls are delectable, and my muse would appreciate your affirmation!
Synopsis: "It's just that I didn't ask for much. I don't think I really knew how." In the face of Maura's childhood, can Jane teach herself to give what the doctor can't ask for? Post-ep for 1 x 08, with lines from 1 x 06. Mostly fluff with a little bit of sugar on the side. Rated M for language use only.
It was only six a.m. and Maura Isles was perplexed. Just a few years ago, confusion was rare for the brilliant blonde. The presence of Jane Rizzoli in her life, however, had increased the likelihood of this exact situation exponentially. She was entirely perplexed.
Which is why, when Jane made her way into the M.E.'s home and up the stairs, she found Maura standing in her underwear, staring into her walk-in closet, looking completely confused.
After picking her jaw off of the floor, Jane collected herself and finished entering the bedroom, shaking Maura from her reverie.
"Oh, Jane! I'm sorry I am not ready!" Maura seemed oblivious to her state of undress, and Jane wasn't about to point it out.
"It's cool, Maur. I kind of figured this would happen." Jane had instructed her best friend to dress warm and wear jeans as she hugged her goodbye the evening prior. After her day at the spa, a pedicured, manicured, and massaged Maura had not realized how impossible it would be to carry out Jane's instructions until she had finished showering this morning.
"Are you sure a skirt would not work? I purchased a thick knit wool—" Maura's voice paused when she turned to face Jane and found the tall brunette holding a white New York & Co. box. "What's that?"
"This would be a pairs of jeans," Jane responded dryly. "A skirt will not work, hun. Trust me on this one."
"I always trust you," came the automatic response. Jane grinned.
Once Maura had tried on the new pair of jeans and declared them an excellent fit, making Jane blush, it took only a few minutes for her to pair a camisole, a grey blouse of a thin knit material, and white cashmere sweater with them. Jane hadn't mentioned anything about shoes, so she chose a new pair of leather boots which snuggled warmly around her calves and boosted her legs with a three inch heel. Jane grinned again when she saw them.
"Those are perfect," the tall detective commented. Maura preened at the compliment and the women headed downstairs. She grabbed a grey, wool coat, but Jane stopped her before she could put it on.
"Don't wear it. We're gonna be in the car for a while. Just bring it with you and chuck it in the backseat for later." Maura looked skeptically out of the living room window to where it was snowing gently. "Yes, I know it's November. I know it's snowing. C'mon. We'll run." Maura couldn't resist Jane's grin.
"Okay!"
So they ran. Jane fumbled with the car keys and cursed loudly, sending Maura into a fit of laughter as she tried to choke out, "language, Jane!" By the time they launched themselves into the SUV, both had snowflakes powdering their hair and were doubled over in laughter. When their giggles died down, Jane reached across the center console to brush the remaining snow from Maura's silk hair. For a moment, the air in the car seemed to still as their eyes met.
Jane recovered herself first, refusing to allow the bright hazel eyes to distract her from her mission. This was Maura's birthday surprise, so now was not the time for her to start spewing secrets everywhere.
"You ready?" the brunette asked gently, starting the car and buckling her seatbelt. Maura nodded, not fully trusting her voice.
. . . =/\= …
"Maura? Hun?" Jane gently shook her best friend's arm, waking her from her slumber. "Maur, we're here."
For the first hour of their journey, the two women had talked, falling into easy conversation as they had since the beginning of their unlikely friendship. Maura had slyly attempted, several times, to get Jane to give away their destination, but the Italian cop knew better and maintained that it was a secret. As the conversation had fallen into a lull, Jane had reached down to the SUV's radio and started a mix CD she'd burned for Maura on days they rode together between scenes. Soft jazz began to trip out of the speakers and, as Jane suspected, Maura slowly began to fall asleep.
The ME looked peaceful as she slept, even as the rough highways made her hair tremble an her head rock against the headrest, and Jane was almost loathe to wake her. But they hadn't traveled four hours to sit in the car, so awake the blonde needed to be.
"Oh, Jane, my apologies." Maura stretched gracefully and rubbed gently at her eyes. "I did not intend to fall asleep on you." The many connotations of the sentence flashed through Jane's mind, but she stamped them down.
"Don't worry. You only drooled for the first half hour." Maura looked horrified and immediately glanced down towards her shirts. Jane's laughter finally woke her fully, however, and she realized the brunette had been teasing her.
"Jane! I haven't even had coffee yet! Be kind," she whined, shoving her friend in mock anger. Jane laughed again, and pointed out the passenger window.
When Maura turned to look out at her surprise, the entire trip instantly became worth it for Jane. The shorter woman gasped and her hands flew up to her mouth. Whirling around in her seat, Maura's wide, glistening eyes spoke volumes to a suddenly bashful Jane.
"Rockefeller Center! And the tree—oh, Jane…"
"I know you said that you usually go to Europe for Christmas, which is totally cooler than Manhattan, but I thought maybe we could go ice skating."
And then Maura was in her arms. Jane wasn't sure how or when the lithe woman had launched herself across the center console and twisted herself into her arms, but suddenly she was there. Relishing the feel of her friend's embrace, Jane wrapped her long arms around Maura as well as she could in the confines of the car.
"Thank you! Jane, this is the best birthday I have ever had." Jane smiled ruefully as their hug ended.
"Let's save the final judgment until tonight, 'kay?" The tall detective wiped a lone tear from Maura's cheek. "For now, let's just go get skates." Maura nodded emphatically.
As they approached the line waiting to get into the arena, skates in hand, Maura grew nervous.
"Jane," she began, but the brunette was sitting on the ground, trading her boots for skates. "Jane, I'm not sure—"
"Maura," Jane said quietly, pausing with one skate and one boot on to catch her best friend's hands in her own. When the blonde was looking down at Jane, she smiled reassuringly and continued. "Maura, you're going to be fine. I'll teach you. Trust me."
Yet again, those two words immediately eased Maura's fears. This was Jane, her best friend, and Jane could do anything.
"C'mon, Maur," Jane encouraged. "Try on the skates before we get to the front of the line." Maura looked around.
"Where do I sit?" Jane arched an eyebrow at Maura from her place on the floor.
"Um, down here?" Maura looked horrified.
"Jane! Thousands of people have walked through this place, with minimal sanitation. I am not going to ruin a new pair of jeans!" Jane couldn't help it, she laughed out loud.
"Maura," she choked out, "they're jeans. I bought them for a reason. Just get down here." Maura did not look convinced. It wasn't until the line moved significantly towards the ice that she realized she didn't really have a choice. Gingerly settling on the floor, Maura began to remove her heeled boots and pull on the chunky, white skates Jane had rented for them. The detective took her boots and jogged them to a set of lockers, her gate decidedly off from her usual distinctive swagger due to the blades of the skates. When she returned, she reached a hand down to Maura, who grasped it with some fear.
"It's okay, Maura, you'll find your balance." The blonde took a deep breath and hoisted herself off the floor.
For a moment, she simply stood, allowing her center of gravity to settle and her ankles to adjust to the abnormal right angle enforced by the skates. Jane didn't let go of her hands, knowing she needed the reassurance until she felt ready to move on her own.
"You good, hun?" the brunette questioned as the line moved forward, bringing them almost to the entrance to the ice. Maura took a few tentative steps and grinned in success.
"Yes, I am currently well, Jane. The ice, I'm sure, will be a whole other story." Jane grinned in response.
"Are you ready, ladies?" The bulky security guard was gesturing them through the open section of the wall as a family of four climbed off the ice. Maura took a deep breath and nodded.
"Yes, thank you."
Jane stepped out onto the ice first and skated in a small circle before returning to the entrance where Maura was gripping the railing. She gave Maura her hands, which were immediately gripped in the shorter woman's left glove, and held steady as she stepped onto the ice. The first steps were shaky as the M.E. got used to the ice, and the blonde continued to grip the rink wall, but Jane quickly began to show her how to push off with each skate, allowing the blades to carry her smoothly across the ice. After a while, the brunette took Maura's hand off the rink wall and held both of them in her own hands, skating backwards as she encouraged her best friend to become more confident.
"Maura, hun, you're doing great," Jane commented, noticing that the newbie's gaze had not left the ice since she began skating. "I can't believe you've never done this before." Jane's words had the desired effect and Maura looked up grinning.
"Thank you, Jane. You are an excellent teacher." For a moment, their gazes held, eyes glittering in the bright, afternoon sun. They would have continued staring at one another, lost in a moment all too familiar for both of them, but a rogue, young child skated too closely behind Jane, returning her attention to their surroundings. This time, however, Jane could not stop the sappy, excited grin from crawling across her face. Something was changing between them, and it was about time she let it happen instead of running scared.
"C'mon, Maur, you got this. Let's get faster." Jane returned to the blonde's side, Maura's tiny, gloved hand securely in her larger, mittened one. Maura chuckled and sighed dramatically as they increased their pace, gliding fluidly around the rink.
"I believe that I am becoming accustomed to ice skating," Maura commented primly with a wide smile, "although an attempt at any motion other than forward would likely dimish my confidence."
"You want to try?" Jane challenged teasingly.
"No!"
"You sure?" the brunette poked mischievously.
"No! Jane!" It was too late. Jane had pulled them to a stop near one end of the rink, then skated to face Maura. Before the blonde could protest again, Jane rested her hands lightly on her waist, her hold firm even through the thick wool of her long coat, then lightly pushed backwards.
"It's the same motion, but in reverse," the taller woman explained gently, and for a few seconds, they skated slowly backwards, staring down at their feet. At the end of the rink, Jane gently pivoted them and resumed skating Maura backwards. As Maura grew used to the motions, she looked up, meeting Jane's gaze.
Their faces were only inches apart. Jane's rich hair was tousled, caught in her scarf and moving gently around her face in the breeze. Her brown eyes were brighter than Maura had ever seen them, almost the color of freshly brewed Earl Grey, and they were filled with happiness. She couldn't help herself. Jane reached mittened hands down and cupped Maura's face, leaning in to pull the shorter woman's lips to hers.
The kiss was short and as awkward as most first kisses are. Their noses bumped and both women were shocked that the kiss they had imagined for so long was actually happening. Butterflies filled Maura's insides even as her rational brain extinguished the metaphor as ridiculous, and Jane suddenly found herself at a loss for words.
As Maura's lips left hers, Jane found herself looking down into an image she would carry with her for the rest of her life. Maura's cheeks were pink from the chill, and her blue knit hat brightened the color of her hazel eyes to a gentle green. Her honey-colored hair glinted in the sunlight, and the blonde's trembling lips were curling into a smile.
"I just kissed you." Maura's look turned questioning, but she nodded in response. "You just kissed me," Jane reiterated, beginning to chuckle. "We just kissed."
And then Jane couldn't hold it in any longer. She started laughing fully, unused to the feeling of joy which was pouring out of her, and released Maura's waist to skate in circles in front of her. The shorter woman watched happily as her best friend skated gracefully , laughing wildly, her long limbs swinging around her rather uncontrollably for such a normally reserved woman. When Jane skated back towards her, not slowing her celebratory speed in the slightest, Maura became worried that her current skating stability would be compromised, but she needn't have been concerned. Jane grabbed her around the waist again and spun them in a circle, still laughing, and Maura couldn't help but join in.
"Oh, Maura." Jane's voice was low and raspy as she slowed their movements. The shorter woman looked up in response and found tears pricking her eyes as Jane's mittens brushed over her cheeks to cradle her face an the back of her head. "Maura."
Their second kiss was significantly better than the first. Jane's lips moved over Maura's firmly, her tongue brushing through the blonde's lips firmly to discover the mouth which had been haunting her dreams for so long. Maura tasted like mint and frappuccino, and something indecipherable which Jane was almost immediately addicted to.
It was only the sound of children skating around them which kept their second kiss short, as Jane's mind registered that they were in a public arena. She slowly ended the kiss, not wanting to leave Maura's lips but knowing that they needed to keep things appropriate for the sake of families around them, and finally left several breathy kisses on the blonde's swollen lips, one hand still holding the base of Maura's head while the other had found purchase on her lower back. Maura trembled as Jane's final, almost chaste, kisses ghosted across her lips, and she let out a whispered, "Jane."
For a few moments, the women maintained their closeness, as Maura gripped Jane's biceps in her hands, their foreheads pressed together. Then Jane, knowing that there was no point to them take up ice space when all she wanted to do was kiss Maura again, pulled back to take Maura's hands in her own.
"What do you say we go grab some hot chocolate and find some place to chill for a while?" Maura, not trusting her voice just yet, nodded. "Kay." Jane brushed her lips across the space between Maura's eyes, just under the brim of her winter hat, and led them both from the ice. As they past, the security guard winked knowingly at Jane.
"Have a good day, ladies."
"Thanks," Maura responded, finding her voice as the infamous Isles grin plastered itself across her face. "We will."
TBC… There will most likely be either two or three more chapters to this story. Tonight, Jane will take her girl out to dinner and we will see Maura get surprised yet again, although she might not be so happy about it this time. Also, stay tuned as Maura asks for something she's never asked anyone for in her whole life.
Thank you all for the reviews and story alerts/story favorites. Your appreciation means everything to me as a fellow Rizzles fan and as a writer!