Disclaimer: I don't own, I rent.
A/N: Sorry about the wait, guys. I had a bit of trouble with this one, but it needed to happen this way in order to properly set up the story. Oh, and sorry in advance for anything that may not be totally accurate about the police related stuff, anything I know about the subject comes from television, so it might not be all that realistic. But I tried my best! Anyway, I hope it was worth the wait!
Chapter Four
"Their Timing"
"Rizzoli!"
Jane's head snapped up instantly as her Lieutenant's voice rang out across the squad room. She quickly located where the voice was coming from, a hesitant look on her face.
"Yeah?"
"My office. Now."
"Uh, yes, sir." In her mind, she began to panic. She couldn't think of anything she'd done wrong in the last few days, why did it seem like she was in trouble? Lieutenant Marshall was a strict, ridged kind of guy, not the kind of person who invited you into his office to chat.
She slowly crossed the room, ignoring the curious gazes of her coworkers. When she reached the office, she slid inside and quietly latched the door behind her.
"Have a seat, Rizzoli."
"What's up, sir?"
"I have a proposition for you."
"A proposition?"
"Yes. The drug unit has been working a case for quite some time now and they're in need of a little help. They need a couple of women to go in and get close to the boss, get some inside information that they haven't been able to get with the guys they have now. I've recommended you for the job."
"Me?"
"Yes, even though you haven't been here for long, you were top of your class at the academy and you've shown a lot of promise in the last year. Not to mention, you are one of the few who meet the physical requirements."
"Wow, thank you, sir. I'd be honored."
"So you accept the assignment?"
"Of course, sir. Thank you so much."
"Excellent. You'll have a partner while you're undercover, she will go everywhere with you, all the time, no exceptions. You two need to have each other's backs. I don't want one of you getting into trouble because they got you alone."
"Yes, sir. I understand."
At that moment, a knock came at the door and a young woman around Jane's age walked in. Jane raised an eyebrow at her tattooed forearm as she held out her hand to shake Jane's. She had never seen this woman around the station, which struck Jane as odd, but she didn't have time to think too much of it.
"Rizzoli, this is Riley Cooper. She's going to be your partner out in the field for the next couple months."
"Nice to meet you, Jane, I've heard a lot of good things about you. Looking forward to working with you."
"Yeah, you too," Jane said, a little unsure. She definitely couldn't say the same about the other young cop, but they seemed like the kind of people who could possibly get along.
"Why don't you two take the rest of the afternoon to get to know one another? Be back tomorrow 8am sharp for your briefing."
"Yes, sir," they both replied, then exited the office, looking at each other, unsure of exactly what they should do next.
"Wanna grab a beer?" Riley suggested.
Jane nodded and the two headed off to The Dirty Robber, a bar Jane had begun to frequent after work on the nights Maura was working at the hospital.
- R & I -
Four beers and two hamburgers later, Jane was surprised at how well she and Riley were getting along. They actually had a lot in common, they were both originally from Boston, both kind of fell into the cop thing, neither had planned on this being their career, but it seemed to be working out well for both of them so far.
Riley had joined the force about a year earlier than Jane and had been on one other undercover assignment since, which she had just wrapped up a few weeks before, explaining why Jane hadn't seen her around the station much.
As she sipped the last few drops of her beer and signaling to the waitress for two more, Jane felt her phone vibrate in her pocket and smiled as pulled it out and saw Maura's face smiling back at her, letting her know that her girlfriend was on the other end. "Sorry, I've gotta take this real quick."
Riley nodded with an understanding look and watched as Jane put the phone to her ear, smile still on her face.
"Hey, Maur."
Riley watched as Jane's face fell from a smile to a small frown, obviously disappointed by what she was hearing.
"But I have some news! I thought we could celebrate tonight … just wake me up when you get home."
Her frown deepened and she sighed in defeat. "Okay, maybe we could have breakfast tomorrow then? … Yeah, okay. … Okay … Love you too."
"Everything okay?" Riley asked hesitantly when Jane ended the call.
Jane took a deep breath before nodding, "Yeah, it's just…my girlfriend. She's a doctor, and even though she's a dead person doctor, she's gotta work some pretty long hours sometimes. Seems ridiculous, right? I mean, they're already dead, what kind of hurry could they possibly be in?"
Riley laughed, taking a long swig of her beer. "Women, huh? Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em."
"Right?" Jane exclaimed, thankful someone understood her point. "So what about you?"
"Oh," Riley started with a bit of a laugh, "it's just me. The job makes it hard, ya know? I had a girl, we were together for a couple years, but she just didn't get it, the job, I mean. She couldn't handle it, so we had to go our separate ways. It sucked, but it was for the best."
"Geez. Sorry to hear that." Jane took a drink of her beer and flicked the screen of her phone on and glanced at the picture of the two of them that Maura had set as her background.
"I'm sure you guys will be fine though," Riley commented, afraid she had accidently planted a seed of doubt in Jane's head.
"No, no, of course we will," Jane said, feeling confident again, "We are meant for one another. We will be fine. I'm sure of it."
Riley nodded and Jane quickly downed the rest of her beer, ignoring the nagging feeling in her gut and standing. "So I'll see you in the morning?"
"Eight sharp. Don't be late!" Riley called after her retreating form.
- R & I -
By the time six am rolled around, Jane was sound asleep in her bed. She had figured she would have been up all night, tossing and turning, nervous about her first undercover operation. She'd felt anxious about it all evening after talking with Riley, both about actually going undercover and how it was going to affect her relationship with Maura.
The moment her head had hit the pillow, however, she was out like a light and fell into a sleep too deep even for dreams to visit her.
Six hours later, she felt herself being slowly being awakened by soft kisses against her cheek. She smiled and turned her head to capture Maura's lips with her own.
"Mmm, morning, babe," Jane whispered as she wrapped her arms around the blonde's waist and pulled her closer, "what time is it?"
"Just after six. I'm so sorry I'm late sweetie, I just didn't have a choice, and-"
Before she could get another word out, she was cut off by Jane kissing her and pulling her even closer.
"Shh, Maura, it's fine. You're here now, that's what matters. I'm just glad I get to see you before I have to go to work."
"So what's your news? You sound excited on the phone."
"I got a promotion! Well, kind of, I get to go undercover, for the drug unit. It's a big deal, Maur, if I do well, prove to them I can do this, I'll be that much closer to making homicide."
Jane barely caught the grin on Maura's face before the blonde was kissing her again, long and hard and slow, then short and light, her lips gracing Jane's jawline and cheek before resting just below her ear and lingering there for a few moments.
"I'm so proud of you, Jane," she whispered, then untangled herself from Jane's arms and stood, holding her hand out for the officer to join her.
"Come on, I'll make us breakfast to celebrate," she said with a smile. For a moment, Jane thought she caught a bit of hesitation in her eyes, but as soon as she saw it, it was gone, so she wrote it off as her eyes playing tricks on her and she rose from the bed and followed her girlfriend into the kitchen.
"What is it you will actually be doing?" Maura asked, casually, as she retrieved the eggs and milk from the fridge.
"Well, I don't know exactly, I'll find out for sure when I get there this morning, all I know is I have to get some information about some drug dealers, get close to their boss."
Maura tried her best to keep the frown from her face, but wasn't entirely successful.
"What?" Jane asked, "What's with the frown?"
"It's just," Maura started, letting out a sigh and looking away, "It just sounds awfully dangerous."
Jane gave her a sympathetic smile and moved next to her before wrapping her arms around Maura's waist and pulling her close. She pressed a small kiss to the blonde's lips and pulled back slightly to rest her own forehead against Maura's.
"I'll be fine, Maur, I promise. This is a good thing."
"If you say so," she replied, though she still looked unconvinced.
"I do. Now bring me my breakfast, woman," Jane replied with a smirk. Maura gave her a smack on the arm before letting out a huff of mock frustration and turning toward the stove again.
"Just for that, no bacon for you."
"Aw, c'mon, that's the best part!"
"You should have thought about that before."
Jane closed the distance between them once again and pressed against Maura from behind, moving her hair to one side to expose her neck, then wrapping her arms around Maura's waist. She placed small, light kisses to Maura's neck, trailing up from her collarbone to the sensitive spot behind her ear.
"I love you, Maura."
Maura couldn't help but smile and she let out a sigh of defeat before grabbing a slice of bacon from the counter and held it up to Jane's mouth. The brunette gladly took the offering with a grin, then stepped back and jumped onto the counter, legs dangling over the edge.
The blonde grinned at her girlfriend thinking she had never once felt quite so much love for another person in her entire life and thankful that she felt just as much love coming back to her.
"I love you too, Jane."
- R & I -
A/N: Alright, time for some actual plot! I know you guys love the fluff, but what's a good story without some drama? It's going to be a bit of a bumpy ride from here on out. Let me know what you think!