When Maura's internal body clock woke her up at exactly 7:03 a.m., Jane was not lying next to her.
She stretched and sighed, feeling the unattended wetness between her thighs from the previous night. She had lain the bait for Jane, who had almost bitten, but had spooked at the last second.
It gave her hope.
She bounced gaily out of bed and down the stairs, a large smile on her face as she came to a stop in the kitchen.
In it, she saw her love making breakfast, a stack of pancakes for herself and an egg white omelet with spinach for Maura.
Jane returned Maura's radiant smile. She handed the medical examiner a cup of coffee. "It isn't your fancy stuff, but if you ask me, it ain't bad."
Maura took a sip. "It's perfect." She moved around the counter to get closer to Jane, who awkwardly took a step backwards.
"Maura, I'd like you to sit down," she announced. "I've made a decision."
Maura paled and sat down, not liking where this was going.
"I'm going to marry Casey."
Maura stared numbly at the granite countertop, feeling as though the warm cup of coffee between her hands was her sole source of warmth and life.
You lost her. You moved too fast for her and you lost her.
"Maur?"
You lost her. You lost her. You lost her.
"Maur?"
You lost her. You lost her. You lost her.
Jane's hands were on her now. On her hands, on her shoulders, on her face.
Jane's hands are on my submaxila.
"I know you don't like Casey all that much, but will you be my maid of honor?" Jane asked, searching Maura's eyes.
Under intense scrutiny, Maura tried to muster up some façade of happiness.
With Jane married, I'll have much more time to read my medical journals.
Maura's eyes glimmered momentarily before falling flat again.
It was good enough for Jane. "Good! It's settled. Breakfast and then yoga?"
Yoga was torture.
Jane felt as though Maura were deliberately trying to sabotage her sexuality.
I'm straight. I'm straight. Jane repeated to herself as she watched Maura's toned ass go through the bitilasana and dolphin poses. It was mocking her in the mirror, stretching and toning her sexual preference to suit its needs.
Maura's ass has needs?
"Jane, you're doing the Parivrtta Trikonasana incorrectly."
"Spread your legs like so." She placed her hands between Jane's legs and gently pushed them apart.
Yep. Sabotage.
"Now twist your torso like so." She placed her hands on Jane's hips and turned them to the left."
"And then place this hand next to this foot…" Maura said, pulling Jane's long body down.
"OW!" Jane yelped, yanking her body back up.
"Don't worry, Jane. I'll help you."
The medical examiner put her hand lightly on Jane's back, slowly applying pressure downward to push Jane's hand toward the floor. She made comforting circles on the detective's back, slowly getting the brunette's hand to touch all the way to the ground.
"Owwwwwww," Jane said, moving up slowly. "Shoot, Maur. You could get me to do just about anything, huh?"
If only. Maura thought. Outwardly, she only hummed noncommittally.
Once at BPD, Jane stood nervously in line at the café. She shifted from one foot to the other, rubbed her palms anxiously and muttered angry curses at the indecisive customers in front of her.
"Hey, Ma? Can I talk to you for a sec?"
"Of course, Janie!" She turned to Stanley. "Mr. Stanley, I'll be right back."
With a few mutterings of "damned Rizzolis" and "what do I pay you for," he let the matriarch go.
Jane sat down at a booth with her mother and sighed heavily.
"Ma. I don't want you spreading this around yet, so I'm gonna make you promise not to tell anyone."
"Of course, Janie. You know I'd never betray your trust."
Jane made a noise of disbelief, but continued. "Ma, I'm getting married."
The elder woman clapped her hands together happily, "Oh, Janie!"
She lowered her voice to a loud whisper, "Who's the lucky person?"
"Who? Ma! I'm only dating one person. Casey. Remember?"
"Ooooh. I only thought maybe…oh, never mind. So, what does Maura think about all of this?"
"She's going to be my maid of honor."
Angela's lips curved up into an affected smile. "That's nice."
"I was thinking of getting married pretty quickly. So, uh, can you do all your plan-y stuff?"
"Of course, Janie." She stood up and gave her daughter a tight hug. When she pulled back, she had tears in her eyes.
"Ma, no need to cry. I expected you to be really loud and happy, not, well, this." Jane shifted nervously under her mother's gaze.
"If this is what you want, I'm happy for you," Angela said, smiling another affected smile.
Jane picked up her coffee and trudged over to her desk, dreading the disorganized stacks of paperwork that greeted her.
"Hey, Korsak," Jane greeted, kicking the leg of her desk before she sat down.
"What's got your goat?"
Jane stares pointedly at the paper on her desk.
"Here, have a donut."
"Korsak, you're a lifesaver."
Three donuts and two coffees later, Jane had barely made a dent in the stack in front of her.
"I'm gonna go see what Maura's up to."
Korsak flashed her a knowing smile.
"What? Can't a girl stretch her legs around here?"
As she was getting up, Korsak asked, "Hey, Jane, do you know what happened to Frost? He hasn't answered my text today and he hasn't called in sick."
Jane shrugged. "I know he went to go visit his mom and her partner for dinner last night. He's probably still over there."
"Hey Maur," Jane sauntered into her best friend's office and flopped down unceremoniously on her uncomfortable couch.
Maura looked up from the file she was reading, "Oh, hello Jane," she said noncommittally.
"Jeeze. Paperwork is a bitch today. Wanna go for a long lunch?"
"Language, Jane. And no. I have far too many things that need to get done."
"C'mon, Maur! I'll let you eat some of my fries."
Maura shook her head.
"And I'll get some kale!"
Maura smiled a little, but still shook her head.
"Pleeeeeassseeee? I gotta get out of here!" Jane whined.
"Jane, the answer is no." Maura said sharply, cleanly wiping the puppy-dog face off her best friend and object of affection.
Maura was a little surprised at herself; she had only snapped at Jane one other time, when Paddy Doyle was shot, and she still hated herself for that.
"Jane. I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me. I—" Maura found herself cut off by the loud ringtone of Jane's cell phone.
"Rizzoli."
And then her much more muted one.
"Isles."
"I'll be right there," they said in unison, smiling shyly at each other when they realized it.
"I'm driving," Jane said.
