A/N: Thank you to everyone who favorited, reviewed and followed, it really means a lot! We're finally getting somewhere! I'm gonna keep this short, so enjoy the story!
When Jane awoke the next day, she quickly grabbed her Phone to send a text to Maura.
Hey, you're going to be happy to know that I'm already halfway through the book. Gotta admit you were right. The book is better than the movie ;) xx Jane
A smile lit up Jane's features as she hit send. Grabbing the book that had dropped next to her on the bed, she made a mental note of where she was and tucked it away in the same drawer as the note. Jawning, she stood to stretch, running her hands through her unruly curls. Scrunching up her nose as she looked at herself in the mirror, she sighed. She was going to be spending a lot of time in the bathroom today. That is, if she wanted to look somewhat presentable at least.
Just as she was about to leave her bedroom, she heard the familiar tone of her phone indicating she had a new text message. A smile lit up her face, already knowing who it was before she had even grabbed her phone. Yep, she was right. One new message from Maura.
Good morning Jane. Did you read through the night? You need at least six hours of sleep to have your body function the way it should. I don't want you to be too tired to do your job. I am glad to hear that you're liking the book though. Maybe we should watch the movie together sometime? After you've finished the book that is. Xx Maura
Jane smiled, not hesitating before replying.
I'm fine, don't worry. Ma let me sleep in. Which is so not her btw. Movie night sounds like a good idea. Though I ain't sure if I'll be able to make it today. Promised my brothers to play basketball in the park today. Will probably be accompanied by burgers afterwards ;) But I'll let you know when I'm free! Xx Jane
Setting her phone down, Jane turned and left her room. Entering the bathroom, she showered and dressed all the while humming some ridiculous happy tune. She felt as if nothing would be able to ruin her day, not even her mother. As she finished up in the bathroom, she could already hear her brothers argue downstairs. Rolling her eyes, she took her time getting there. Knowing her Ma, she would make whatever they were arguing about, about her.
Peeking over the railing, she heard the arguing seize. Holding back a laugh, she saw Frankie smother a pillow over Tommy's head. Making her way downstairs and over to her brothers, she shook her head at Frankie.
"C'mon Frankie. Ma's gonna be pissed if you kill her little angel. " Frankie just grinned at her sister, before reluctantly removing the pillow. Tommy glared at both of them, his hair a mess and his face beet red.
It took all of Jane's might not to burst out in laughter, but when Tommy ran off screaming bloody murder, she couldn't stop herself. She doubled over, laughter racking through her body. Frankie joined in.
"Did you see his face?" He panted through laughs.
"O-oh yeah." Jane replied, her sides hurting from laughing so hard.
"Jane Clementine Rizzoli!" Brother and sister shut up immediately. They shared an uneasy glance.
"What Ma?!"
"Don't you 'what Ma' me!" Angela Rizzoli bellowed as she turned the corner, effectively coming into view. "You do not suffocate your brother with a pillow!"
Jane gaped at her mother. "W-What! I didn't even do it! I wasn't even close, I was halfway across the room!" Angela didn't seem to have any of it.
"I do not care! You saw your brothers. You should've stepped in." Jane just stared at her mother, knowing that any reply would only make it worse.
"Sorry Ma. Next time I'll make sure to be hallway across town." She mumbled the last part, not intended for her mother to hear.
"What was that?" Wincing, she gave her mother her best innocent look.
"Nothing." Seeing Tommy appear next to Angela, Jane gave her best death-glare. She succeeded in making Tommy cower behind his mother, fear flashing in his eyes.
Good, makes him think twice about running to mommy next time. Jane thought angrily.
"Do not glare at your brother young lady! He did nothing wrong." Jane rolled her eyes. Of course he didn't do nothing wrong. He was her little angel, he couldn't do anything wrong.
"Now come and have breakfast before it gets cold. Then afterwards you can take your brothers out to the park."
Jane scoffed. "You really think I'm letting that traitor tag along with us?"
"Yes. I'm sure your father could use some help with his business this summer." The (not so very subtle) hint made Jane stay quiet, crossing her arms in silent disagreement.
"Whatever. Don't you dare touch my pancakes." Pointing an accusing finger at Tommy, she walked past both him and Angela and into the kitchen.
"Come on Frankie! Show me what you got." Jane side-stepped Frankie, aimed, and scored.
Laughing, she ruffled Frankie's hair. "And that's another one for Captain Jane!" Frankie and Tommy looked at each other, shaking their head at the stupid nickname their sister had given herself.
"Whatever Jane, we're still ahead six points." Jane merely shrugged. "Don't worry, I'll catch up." She wouldn't.
Before the game started (With Jane against her brothers) she already decided to let them win. She was in a good mood today and no one was going to ruin that. Not even their celebratory dance. And mockery. And more mockery. Grinning at her brothers, she got her head back in the game.
Their little match lasted for another hour. Jane grumbled good-heartedly when her brothers won, doing their ridiculous dance in front of her. She mock glared at them, tucking her lips in to keep herself from laughing.
"That was a great game!" Frankie and Tommy stopped dancing and Jane's head whipped around so fast she was sure she heard her neck crack.
"Maura!" A smiled lit up Jane's features, her dimples full on display. "What are you doing here?"
Maura blushed when she saw Jane's smile and Tommy's appreciative look. Jane didn't appreciate it however, choosing to smack him upside the head. "Don't even think about it." Tommy rubbed his head, moaning about how Jane always picked on him. Rolling her eyes, she turned back to the beautiful girl standing in front of her.
"You said you were going to be at the park. I figured I would watch you play. So I would be prepared for when you will teach me." She smiled shyly, her eyes trained on Jane.
She had wanted to make her presence known sooner, but when she got to where Jane was playing, her mind went blank. All she could see was Jane's excellent physique and well trained muscles. The way her shirt would ride up every time she would take a shot, exposing her well toned abdomen. She couldn't seem to keep her eyes off of the older girl in front of her.
"Who are you?" Frankie's voice broke the silence and Tommy chimed in. "Yeah! Where'd you meet her Jane? She doesn't look like any of your friends." Again, Tommy ogled Maura and Jane had to do her best to keep from hitting him.
"I met her at work yesterday." Maura nodded. "I'm Maura Isles. You must be Frankie and Tommy." Both boys nodded enthusiastically, not believing a girl like Maura knew their names. "Jane has told me a lot about you."
"Whatever she said is not true." Tommy talked so fast he nearly tripped over his own words.
Maura frowned. "Are you not fourteen? A good chess player? A little – how did Jane put it – goofy?" Tommy just stared at her.
"Uhm, well that's all true. But…" He trailed off, not understanding why Jane didn't talk bad about him.
Jane rolled her eyes. "I'm not that evil bud. I just named your good traits, left out all the bad. Which is a way longer list by the way." She winked at Maura, indicating that she was joking.
The honey-blonde giggled. "I do not have that many bad traits! They tried to kill me this morning." He directed the last part at Maura who frowned. "Yeah, they held a pillow against my face. I couldn't breathe!"
"Relax dude, you were fine. No one was going to kill you." Frankie sounded slightly annoyed. "Come on, let's sit over there. Ma brought food." Tommy begrudgingly complied, trailing after Frankie, his shoulders slumped in defeat.
Maura held back a laugh, not wanting to seem rude. Jane didn't care for this, letting out a short hard laugh, ruffling Tommy's hair when he walked by. The two girls turned to face each other, smiling softly.
"Told you they're annoying." Maura chuckled. "I find them quite endearing actually. They really seem to look up to you. I guess you were right when you said you're their idol." Grinning at the older girl as she blushed, she stepped closer.
"Take a walk?" Jane nodded. Turning towards where her brothers were, she indicated that she was going to be with Maura for a while but that she would be back. Frankie nodded, a smile adorning his young face.
The two girls walked side by side, their hands nearly brushing against each other. Jane cleared her throat. "So… how'd you sleep?" She knew the question was lame, but she couldn't come up with anything else.
"I slept really well. How long did you sleep?" Jane noticed the 'long'. "Don't know, four maybe five hours. But I'm fine, see? I was even able to play basketball the way it should be played. No dysfunctions here." Maura sighed, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips.
"Sleep is very important Jane. The Harvard Women's Health Watch suggests some very important reasons to get enough sleep." Jane raised an eyebrow.
"And you're gonna tell me what they are?" Maura looked at Jane.
"No. But please promise me that you take good care of your body and sleep six hours at least a night. Or I will venture into the reasons why sleep is important." Maura eyed Jane, trying to let her see how important this was. How important this was to her.
Jane held up her hands. "All right. Don't want the sleep police to come after me." Maura rolled her eyes at the lame joke, but smiled nonetheless.
"I will call them." Jane laughed, bumping her shoulder against Maura's.
The other girl smiled, feeling the familiar feeling of butterflies return to her stomach. The two continued their way through the park, talking about anything and everything. Somewhere halfway through the park, Jane decided to take the plunge and grabbed Maura's hand, holding her breath as she waited for the other girl to pull away. Her assumptions were proved wrong when Maura laced their fingers together, a bright smile appearing on her face, fully showing her dimples. Jane smiled softly, feeling a blush creep up her neck.
They continued on this way until they reached Tommy and Frankie. Releasing Maura's hand, Jane shoved her hands in her pockets. Maura frowned at the action, not understanding the need to let go. Shrugging it off, she followed Jane.
"Hey guys. Do you mind if Maura tags along for burgers?"
"Not at all!" Tommy sounded elated. He jumped up and rushed over to Maura, linking their arms together.
"Come on! We're gonna leave you two behind." Frankie merely shook his head at the actions of his little brother and stood up to follow them.
Jane narrowed her eyes at Tommy, but followed nonetheless, making sure no hands went where they shouldn't. Frankie saw the look in his sisters' eyes.
"Relax. Tommy's just playing with ya." Jane tore her eyes away from Tommy and Maura to give Frankie a confused look.
"He knows he doesn't have any chance. Doesn't mean he doesn't wanna tease ya. Looks like it's working too." Jane huffed.
"Of course he doesn't have the slightest chance. Never stopped him from trying before though." Frankie merely shrugged his shoulders.
"And you do?" Jane kept quiet, pondering over the question. In fact, it was all she could think about the whole way to their favorite burger place.
What if she wasn't good enough?
A/N: Couldn't stop myself from playing with Jane's insecurities a bit, but don't worry too much! Let me know what you guys thought of the chapter! See you guys next week.