Disclaimer: Not mine. Many thanks to Tess Gerritsen/Janet Tamaro/TNT for getting to play with the ladies…
Chapter 7
Maura leaned over the bed and gently stroked Jane's forehead. She noticed Jane's eyes begin to flutter.
"Come on, sleepyhead, wake up," Maura whispered. Jane's eyes fluttered open.
"Hey, Maura, how are you?" Jane started to stretch then felt pain shoot across her upper body. "What the-?"
"Jane, relax. You're in the hospital," Maura spoke in a slow, easy, soothing voice.
"Maura, that's not funny. I know I didn't shoot myself," Jane protested. Why couldn't she stretch without pain? She could move her legs without any trouble.
"You were in a car accident," Maura explained. Jane opened her eyes and looked at the blond medical examiner for a moment.
"That's right! Frost called me about a body in your neighborhood," Jane remembered. Maura patted Jane's arm.
"It wasn't me," Maura said.
"Thank God. I was scared," Jane said.
The two women were silent for a moment. Maura slipped her hand into Jane's.
"I didn't say anything goofy, did I?" Jane asked. Maura looked at her warily.
"Like what?"
"You know how I sometimes talk in my sleep? I didn't say anything stupid? Nothing for the guys to laugh at me about?"
"Not that I'm aware of, Jane," Maura said then hesitated.
"That's a relief. You know how sometimes you're out and you say something you don't remember? Then someone tells you how you babbled on and on about something silly. I'm always afraid I'll say crazy things." Jane noticed the disappointed look on Maura's face.
"Jane, I'm going to go over to your place, check on Jo Friday, then go home for awhile. I was at the crime scene when we found out about your accident," Maura said. She tried to be cheerful but was upset to realize Jane probably didn't mean what she said earlier.
"Sure, Maura. Thanks for your help," Jane was puzzled. Maura looked upset. The blond haired woman gathered her bag and left without another word.
Jane felt the medication pulling her into a deep sleep and she was about to sail away when the door to her room opened.
"Hello, Jane," Kelly said. Jane looked at her then recognized her.
"Hi, Kelly. Am I one of your patients?" she asked. Kelly nodded.
"You really threw Maura for a loop, getting in an accident," she said. Jane smiled.
"Trust me, I've done worse," she said.
"That's what Maura told me. When you came in I turned around and told my coworker to call Maura when she suddenly appeared. Do you remember her holding your hand when you were in the ER?"
"Barely. She told me she loved me and to concentrate on getting better," Jane said, then understood what she said. Kelly nodded.
"Just for the record Jane, I'm not seeing Maura anymore."
"No?" Kelly shook her head sadly.
"She's involved with someone else," Kelly said and left the room.
Jane wanted to ask who, then understood what Kelly meant.
Maura told me she loves me, Jane thought. I wonder what she meant? Does she love me like a friend, or something more?
Jane found herself gazing out the window, lost in thought. Her mind went back to the accident and she tried to call up all the details. I'll need to be able to give a coherent statement as to what happened.
Let's see, I got Frost's call, I headed to the address in Maura's neighborhood. I was upset, hoping it wasn't Maura. Then I entered the intersection. I don't remember seeing the other driver enter the intersection. Was my light red, or green? I faintly recall the EMTs arriving on the scene then I was in the ER.
Holy shit, I told Maura I loved her! Jane reached for her cell phone.
"Maura, when you get this message, please call me, no better yet, please come back to the hospital tonight," Jane pleaded in her voice mail. "I hope you get this message right away." Jane ended the call and leaned back on her pillows.
"Okay, Bass, you're fed and taken care of for the night. So let me put a quick bag together and I'll spend the night with Jane," Maura said. She'd already been to Jane's and taken care of Jo Friday. She promised Jo someone would be by in the morning to take her out and give her breakfast. When Maura left the apartment Jo had just settled herself in the middle of Jane's bed, ready to hit the hay for the night.
Maura packed Jane's Boston Red Sox t-shirt and sweats for the next morning as well as her overnight cosmetics bag and hairbrush. She felt her cell phone vibrate and checked her messages as she walked back out the door.
"Yes, this is Dr. Maura Isles. I'm calling regarding Jane Rizzoli, may I speak to her nurse, please? Yes, I'll wait," Maura received Jane's voice mail and wondered what was wrong.
"Hi, Kelly, it's Maura. I just received a voice mail from Jane. Is she alright? No complications?"
"Nothing I know of, Maura. I checked on her about thirty minutes ago. She should be asleep about now," Kelly answered.
"Jane?" Maura entered the room as quietly as she could. She couldn't tell if Jane was sleeping.
"Hey, you, thanks for coming back."
"I called the nurse's station and spoke with Kelly. Are you in pain, is anything wrong?"
"No, all's right with my world," Jane smiled.
"Jane, I think the medication is making you goofy, as you said earlier."
"No, it isn't. I am completely in my right mind. Maura, come here." Maura walked up to the side of the bed.
"Jane, while it's true you have some characteristics that are classified as right brain or left, you can't-" Maura started to speak when Jane interrupted her.
"Give me your hand," Jane said. Maura grasped Jane's hand. She hoped this wasn't the medicine talking.
"I love you, Maura."
"Yes, so you said earlier," Maura replied.
Jane took Maura's hand in both of hers and gently caressed it. "I was at Ma's earlier tonight. That's where I was when I got Frost's call."
"Okay." Jane continued to lightly rub Maura's hand, turning it over in hers. The woman's hands were petite, soft, and gentle, unlike Jane's larger, rougher hands. For an instant Jane wondered what Maura's hands would feel like on her body then shoved that thought aside as a flash of heat rolled through her.
Maura's cell phone rang. "Dr. Isles? I thought you'd want to know, the body from earlier tonight has been delivered to the morgue," Frost said. "Dr. Scott said you might want to do the autopsy right away-something about the time of death not adding up with the condition of the remains."
"Sure, Frost, I'll be right there," Maura answered. She turned back to Jane.
"I'm glad you're feeling better. I love you, too, Jane, you're my best friend. I'll be back tomorrow morning, but for now…"
"Yeah, I heard. Don't work too hard," Jane answered and Maura left.
She doesn't believe me, or doesn't understand I'm in love with her, Jane thought.
How will I convince her she's my one and only? Jane thought for a moment then smiled and pressed the call button.
Maura completed the autopsy then checked the time. Two thirty-eight a.m. Too late to return to the hospital. Hoping Jane was sleeping comfortably Maura decided to go home and rest. She picked up her purse when the buzzer to the morgue sounded.
"Dr. Isles? I know it's late but you're wanted in the reception area," Frost said. "Me? Now? Frost, it's early morning. What could be in the reception area for me at this hour?"
"I don't know, Doc. Why don't you stop by my desk and I'll walk out there with you."
Maura went up to the bullpen. Frost stood as she exited the elevator. Maura still had that puzzled look on her face.
As the two entered the reception area of the precinct Maura could see the roses. A full two dozen long-stemmed red roses were perfectly arranged in a milk white vase. The contrast of the color red in the flowers with the white shade of the vase was stunning. Maura knew this was a very expensive arrangement, particularly since they'd been delivered in the early morning hours. She found the card and read it, her face still showing a puzzled expression.
"Doc? Anything wrong?" Frost asked. He was betting that the guy who sent the flowers had a very serious crush on Dr. Isles. The bouquet had to be a couple hundred dollars.
To my love, from yours, was written on the card. No other signature or any indication where it came from.
"Excuse me, Officer Santos, do you have any idea who delivered these?" Maura asked the desk officer.
"No, ma'am, a woman dropped them off."
"Anyone we know?" the officer shook his head.
"Dr. Isles, do you think there's something wrong?" Frost asked.
"No, no reason to think so. They are certainly beautiful. In fact, I should probably get them home so I can give them adequate water. I imagine they'll last a couple of weeks if properly cared for."
"Let me walk you out to your car," Frost said and they started for the parking lot.
"Are you heading back to the hospital, or heading home?"
"I think I'll go on home, get some rest. This time of night I'm sure Jane is asleep. She needs her rest."
"Do you want me to follow you home?" Maura flashed Frost her smile. If she hadn't belonged to Jane he would have done anything to make that smile his.
"No, thank you, Barry, I should be okay. Good night."
Frost watched Maura drive out of the parking lot then reached for his cell phone.
"You made one hell of an impact with those. That arrangement is beautiful," he said when the call was answered.
Jane's chuckle answered him. "She liked them?"
"Like them? Rizzoli, I thought she was going to faint when she first laid eyes on them."
"Is she heading back here, do you know?" Jane asked.
"No, said she thought you'd be asleep, which you should be, in order to get well. She'll be by in the morning."
"Oh, by the way, Jane, how did you get them delivered this time of night?"
"Kelly. End of her shift. She got the volunteer to open the gift shop and make a sale for me."
"You surprise me, Jane. Anyway, get some rest. When the doc finds out it's you I think you're going to need all your energy," Frost had his own laugh at that.
The first thing Maura saw when she awoke the next morning were the flowers. A beautiful shade of red, a deep red rose, Maura knew they were called Queen Elizabeths. She took a moment to enjoy their fragrance then headed for the shower. She wanted to see Jane before going to work.
Maura entered Jane's hospital room and stopped in surprise. Jane was out of bed, dressed in a fluffy terry cloth robe and seated at a small table for two. More surprisingly the table was adorned with a white tablecloth, a single red rose in a tall vase and two unlit candles. Two covered trays completed the table setting.
"Good morning, care to join me for breakfast?" Jane asked the surprised Dr. Isles.
"Jane, what is all this?" Maura looked at the table once again and back at Jane.
"I was hoping you'd come by this morning so I asked for an extra breakfast plate so we could share."
"This is more than that, Jane, you know it." Maura saw the rose on the table and bent forward to smell it. It smelled exactly like the two dozen she received last night.
"What can I say, I have friends who like me and are willing to help me out," Jane smiled coyly at Maura.
Maura sat down across the table and unfolded her napkin. "Just when I think I know you, Jane Rizzoli, you do something like this. What's the occasion?"
"Breakfast, Maura, that's all. Now dig in before it gets any colder."
The two women tucked into their breakfast plates and began to eat. Maura kept glancing over at Jane who was wearing a very innocent expression.
"Jane, you didn't…no, you couldn't have…did you have anything to do with a flower arrangement that was delivered to the precinct late last night?"
"Flowers? Me? Maura, I'm in a hospital room. The doctor won't let me go home just yet."
"Yes, I know, but…the flower on the table is almost identical to the bouquet I received."
"What do they look like?" Jane asked innocently.
"Two dozen of the most perfect red roses in an alabaster vase. They're probably the most gorgeous roses I've ever seen, much less received. The card read, 'To my love…"
"From yours," Jane finished the sentence for her. Maura looked at Jane and her breath caught in her throat.
"Kelly dropped them off for me at the end of her shift. And if you actually count them, there's only twenty-three. I snagged one for the table this morning." Jane rose and went over to Maura. She reached out her hand and helped Maura up from the table.
"May I have this dance?" Jane asked softly. She reached behind her and flipped the switch on a small radio. A Strauss waltz began playing. Jane gathered Maura in her arms and very slowly circled the room with the medical examiner in her arms.
After a moment they returned to Jane's bedside. She lay back down on the bed and patted the space beside her. "Come on, Maura, join me." Maura stretched out next to Jane. Jane entwined her fingers with Maura's. Maura never took her eyes off Jane.
"I told you I love you. I mean it. Not as a friend but as a lover, a partner. I've been in love with you Maura since the first time I laid eyes on you. When you started seeing Kelly I realized I might lose you and I didn't want to stand by and see someone else with the woman I love. Korsak tried to kick my ass before the accident, get me to tell you but I was so mixed up I couldn't."
"I don't know what to say, Jane."
"Do you have feelings for me, Maura?"
"Yes, I do. I always have. I remember meeting you. I took one look at those chocolate eyes and heard that smoky voice of yours telling me your name and I fell hard then."
"I was trying to tell you about my conversation with Ma when Frost so rudely interrupted you with a work problem. I needed to see her."
"What did you talk about, Jane?" Maura's voice was a whisper. "I wanted to talk to her about my feelings for you, Maura." Jane looked into those gray green eyes that were so intently staring back into Jane's.
"I told Ma that you were seeing Kelly and it was tearing me up inside."
"It was?" Maura asked, softly. Jane nodded.
"Yes. It wasn't me you were dating, it was another woman. All I could think of was Kelly asking you out, taking you to dinner, that film fest you like, getting to hold your hand, kiss you good night. I couldn't stand that it wasn't me, Maura. When I spent that first night with you, after Hoyt attacked me, I think I watched you sleep for half the night."
Maura couldn't take her eyes off Jane. Tears were threatening to roll down her cheeks.
"Jane, I love you, too. The thought of losing you was more than I could bear. That's why I kept pushing you to find things outside of work for us to do together. Even if you only wanted me as a friend, I wanted to be in your life as much as possible. But I'm glad you're in love with me, Jane. Your parents are okay with you having a girlfriend and a partner, not a husband?"
"Well, she did say we had to give her grandchildren. I told her that was all right with me as long as you carried them. Besides, when I get out of here I figure we can practice getting them." Jane gave Maura a lopsided grin. Maura laughed out loud.
"But, Jane, the doctor said you had to be on bed rest for a week," Maura said coyly.
"What do you think I plan to do that week, Maura? I'm not much of a reader and I hate daytime TV."
The End
To those who left reviews, thank you very much. It made it so much easier to write this, knowing you were enjoying it as much as I.