Hello, gorgeous, gorgeous people. I have another update for you, I can't promise you'll like it (and I'm not so sure I like it myself…) But thank you so much for all of the wonderful and positive reviews I've gotten. I love all of you.
P.S. Someone asked how old they are in this and I suppose Jane is 18 and Maura is around 25 if that clears things up…
Enjoy!
I don't own the characters, just their pretend thoughts and actions.
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Chapter 7
Jane made her way back into the house, after watching the doctor drive away. She plopped down happily on the sofa in between her brothers without a word. The guys didn't look away from the TV, but Angela looked up from the newspaper she was reading while perched on the loveseat.
"Did Maura leave already, Jane?" Angela inquired.
"Yeah, she had some, uh, papers to grade," Jane mumbled. It was the only thing she could think of.
"Well I hope you at least walked her to her car, Jane. Don't forget your manners." Angela lightly scolded Jane, knowing she was a bit rough around the edges, but she knew how to treat a nice lady like Dr. Isles.
"Oh, I did." Jane said back to her mother, unable to hide the smile that spread across her face.
Angela smiled back, and returned her attention to the paper she was reading. She held the sports section out to Jane who politely declined. 'If you don't mind Ma, I think I'm going to bed a little early tonight. Winning so many awards has cut into my beauty sleep." Jane said cheekily to her mom.
"You look plenty beautiful to me, sweetheart," Angela said honestly. "I'm still so proud of you. Goodnight." Jane, a bit out of character, walked over and gave her mother a light, one-armed squeeze before heading off to her room. She stopped on the way to pluck Frankie on the head, who was making light gagging noises.
Some things never change.
Jane closed the door to her room and found her favorite pair of sweatpants. She grabbed her phone and dialed Frost's number. They weren't the type to indulge in "girl talk" but Jane was bursting at the seams. She had to tell someone her good news.
Frost picked up after a few rings, "Yo."
"You'll never guess what happened, man." Jane said excitedly
"You bought a thong!" Frost said, mock surprise in his voice.
"Yes, for you to wear on Friday's at the Chip n' Dale strip nights you love so much." Jane deadpanned.
"Oh, how thoughtful of you!" Frost countered. He asked a serious question this time, "So did you win the award, or what Rizzoli, don't leave a brother hangin.'"
"Well yeah, I did, but there's more." Jane said, almost whispering into the phone. Frost waited for her to continue.
"We kissed." Jane said to Frost.
He couldn't hid his surprise, "Really?" He silently chastised himself for sounding so interested in his best friend's girly escapades.
"Yeah, man. It was awesome." Jane said.
"I told you about your lady-charming powers. I knew it was only a matter of time. So are you guys, like, official?" Frost asked.
"Yes Frost. You're invited to the wedding. It's tomorrow." Jane said, her sarcasm seeping back into her tone.
Frost welcomed the tone shift, unsure of how much more girl talk he could take. "Well then I will have a nicely wrapped toaster oven for you at the reception."
"Whatever, dork. I'll see you later." Jane said to her friend.
"Over and out, partner." Frost said before hanging up.
Jane smiled at the dorkiness of her best friend and rolled her eyes even though she knew he couldn't see. She was silently grateful to have such a good friend. She'd never say it out loud though.
After flipping off her bedside lamp and slipped under her covers. She fell asleep dreaming of the soft lips of a certain doctor.
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Maura sliced some strawberries, while absentmindedly humming to herself. She bent over, when finished, and set the fruit in front of Bass. He messily chewed his dinner, looking very content for a tortoise.
The doctor got ready for bed, with a smile on her face. Her empty house just didn't feel as empty tonight. Dressed in her favorite silk pajamas, she dipped gracefully under her down comforter.
Maura lay in her bed, the sheets' warmth surrounding her, and lulling her gently to sleep. She thought back to a few hours ago when she had Jane's lips so blissfully pressed against hers. She smiled. She couldn't wait to see her new favorite student on Monday morning.
The events of the evening suddenly hit Maura full force. She sat up in her bed, as if jerked awake by some noise. What have I done? She wondered to herself. It suddenly occurred to Maura that her behavior was reprehensible. She thought back to Jane, her unruly brown curls, the cute deep dimples in her cheeks, the swagger she effortlessly displayed when she walked. How could something so wrong feel so right?
That was quite possibly the most amazing kiss Maura had ever shared with anyone. What if someone saw us? Maura wondered. What if Jane tells someone? The doctor knew that Jane would never gloat about what happened between the two. If anyone she would just tell Barry. They seemed to be good friends.
Maura lay back down in her bed, her emotions warring within her brain. She started out so happy, and now dread filled her mind, her body, and her heart. She knew she wasn't going to get much sleep tonight.
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Monday morning showed its face just a little too soon for Maura's taste. She was dreading the day because she had made a decision. She had to break things off with Jane. It was just too risky.
Maura had always valued her intelligence. From an early age, she knew she was different, and learned to not flinch when cruel kids called her "Maura the bore-a." It was a terrible (and not well thought-out) nickname that she managed to get used to. That's why she studied so hard to become a medical examiner. Dead people couldn't mock her if they wanted to. She assumed they wouldn't want to anyway, on account of she was the only person that could speak for them. Maura knew that if someone found out about her and Jane, it could jeopardize her chances of having a career. She couldn't risk that. No one had stood in the way of that before, and now wasn't a time to start.
The doctor sat at her desk, staring blankly ahead. She was well aware of the fact that she was ridiculously early for class. She had gotten dressed this morning quickly, having planned her outfit the night before, along with the speech she planned to deliver to Jane. She tried not to cringe when she thought about it.
Her thoughts strayed to Jane anyway. She wondered if Jane was going to make it to class on time today, or if she would have to cover for her again. Despite her grim thoughts, she smiled at the thought of the perpetually late teenager.
Just then, the object of her thoughts walked in the door, her book bag casually hanging on one shoulder. She had a bouquet of pink tulips in one hand. Maura's heart melted. This was going to be just as hard as she thought, if not harder.
"Pretty flowers, for a pretty lady," Jane said with a wink, handing Maura the tulip. Jane leaned in to kiss the doctor on the cheek. Maura closed her eyes and savored it. She hated herself for it.
Maura then realized she had yet to say anything. "What's wrong, Maur? You don't like tulips?" Jane said, questioningly. She knew the flower had been too much.
"No Jane, it's beautiful." Maura stressed the last word, hoping Jane would pick up on her meaning.
"Then what's wrong?" Jane asked.
"Jane, I don't think we should do this," Maura began.
"Do what, Maur?" Jane knew exactly what, but she had to hear it for herself.
Maura felt like her heart was breaking. She knew it wasn't physically possible, but she felt it just the same. "I don't think we should be together. It's too risky." Maura's tone was strangely robotic, but it was the only way she could get out the words. "You're my student Jane. I could lose my job. You could lose your award, and your scholarship money. You've got so much going for you…"
Jane looked up to meet the doctor's hazel eyes. Her own were watery and on the verge of tears. She saw the faraway look in Maura's eyes and realized that she was serious. "No. Yeah, I get it. I'll go."
Jane hung her head and picked up her book bag from the floor. She silently lifted the pink flowers from the teacher's desk and turned to walk away, willing the tears to stay in her eyes for just another minute.
"Jane, wait!" Maura called after the brunette's retreating form. Jane didn't stop walking. She just threw the flowers in the trash can by the door frame, and walked out the door.
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3 days.
That's how long it had been since Jane walked out the door that morning. It's how long ago Maura took the day off from work, because she couldn't teach with red puffy eyes. It's how many days Jane had woken up late, and stumbled out to Frost's car in the morning.
Frost and Jane sat in their normal seats in the anatomy classroom. Frost took a few notes every now and then, but Jane had yet to look up from her paper. She took to avoiding the doctor as best she could. She could feel Maura's eyes on her as she spoke to the class, willing her to look up. She never did. By the end of class, she had a page of scribbles, and hadn't learned a single thing.
Jane looked up to see that her classmates were leaving the room, and Frost was beside her packing up his things. She could see that Maura was trying her best to make her way over to her, but students filled he path to her desk. Jane made no attempt to make it any easier for the doctor, or meet her half way.
A young man approached Dr. Isles' desk before she could make her way ever to Jane. Jane vaguely remembered him as being an English teacher, but couldn't think of his name. She left the room with Frost in tow, after hearing his attempt to make friendly conversation with the doctor.
Maura tried to listen to the man in front of her. She focused long enough to catch his name, Oliver Jameson, but the rest of her attention was on Jane, who was leaving her classroom. Again.
With no brown-eyed Rizzolis to distract her, Maura listened to "Mr. Oliver Jameson, English teacher from down the hall, nice to meet you." He rambled on a little more, mentioning coffee, and getting to know one other. Maura had no interest but politely smiled at his idle conversation. She took the time to appraise him as he talked.
He seemed nice enough, with his clean-cut sandy blonde hair and grayish-blue eyes. He was a little over-confident, and dressed well, but Maura couldn't help but compare him to Jane. There was almost no comparison. He didn't have twinkling brown eyes, or unruly brunette curls.
Finally, Maura can't take it anymore, and politely dismissed Oliver Jameson. She tells him that she has work to do, which she does, but she probably won't get anything done. Not with so much on her mind. She wished that this was a different world, and she and Jane could have met some other way.
What am I even doing? For the first time in her life, Maura Isles does not know the answer to a question.
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Frost was sick of seeing his best friend look as if someone had shot her hazel-eyed puppy. He decided it was time to take action. He knew Jane would bounce back. She always did. But he knew that this wasn't just some girl that had rejected her. Jane had really opened herself up to the doctor, and been shot down.
Against his better judgment, he decided to take matters into his own hands. Frost lied and told Jane and Frankie that he had to take a test in the morning and couldn't take them to school. It was just one Friday morning. They could manage without him for a day.
Frost pulled up to the school, and parked his car. There were only a few other cars in the lot, and he hoped the one he was looking for had arrived. He walked purposefully down the hall until he came to the anatomy classroom. The door was cracked open, and Dr. Isles sat at the desk, writing intently on a notepad. She looked up when she saw him walking towards her, and put her pen down.
"Good morning, Barry. What can I do for you?" She pretended to act as if she didn't know why he was standing there. His grades in her class were good; he didn't need the extra help.
"I know it's none of my business." Frost stated. The doctor cocked her head to the side, questioning the conversation. This is not how she imagined it would start out. "You and Jane. It's none of my business."
"Barry…"
Frost continued. He had to get this out. "Gabe Maxwell took Jane to prom last year. He even paid for the limo ride."
Maura was thoroughly confused. Before she could speak, Frost continued, "Roxie Lightfoot took Jane to the movies a few months ago, over the summer. She even let Jane pick the movie."
"Barry, this is all nice to know, but –" Frost spoke again, "Melanie Andres, who works at Starbucks, gave Jane free coffee for half the winter. She wrote her number on every cup."
"I don't know what this has to do with anything, Barry." Maur sighed, defeated.
"My point is, she didn't bring any of them flowers." Frost said, looking into the doctor's eyes to make sure she got the point. "Jane never takes the first step, unless she's totally sure about something. She never puts herself on the line like that."
"Look, I'm not trying to be nosy or obnoxious or anything, but Jane's my best friend. She's take a bullet for me, and I would gladly do the same. She could have had any of those people if she wanted them. She never showed any interest."
Maura saw where this was going an immediately felt guilt rise up to her chest. "Barry, I don't think you understand. There's so much at risk here."
"Yeah. There is." Frost said nothing else, just walked towards the door, looking over his shoulder once as he walked away.
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There was nothing like ending a Monday afternoon with detention.
It had been 2 weeks since Frost had approached the teacher. Maura had let his words roll around in her head the whole time, contemplating just what to do. Tension between both her and Jane were extremely high, and both looked equally miserable. Jane's grades had slipped a few points in anatomy.
Just my luck. Jane thought as she walked into detention, which was incidentally held in Maura's classroom. There were more people there this time. Perhaps she wasn't the only one with a tardy problem. She looked at the sketchy guy beside her, counting money under his desk. Tardies probably weren't his only problem.
Jane sat at a desk by the window. Staring out of it, trying to make time pass just a little more quickly. She would occasionally look at the doctor who would avert her eyes after being caught staring. They played a little more eyeball tag, before detention received a visitor.
Oliver Jameson approached Maura's desk once again, startling out of her daze of Jane-staring. He rested half of his weight on the corner of her desk. He touched Maura's arm as he said something. Jane, who was suddenly paying attention, fought the surge of jealousy over the contact. She then remembered she had no reason to be jealous. Maura didn't belong to her. She never really did.
Jane looked closely at Mr. Jameson. He was attractive, and looked a little older than Maura. You could tell he was well off by the clothes he wore, his shiny gold watch, and the way he carried himself. He knew he was better than these measly detention maggots. Jane hated herself for thinking that he and Maura would look good together. America's poster couple.
Maura thought about ways to gently let this man down. He was kind of nice, but more than a little arrogant. Also he kept touching her arm, which made her slightly uncomfortable. Maura gently told the man that she wasn't interested, and he took it pretty well. He was actually more pleasant when he wasn't trying to "woo" her. Go figure.
A full hour had gone by and detention was over. Jane bolted out of the door along with the other unlucky patrons. Maura gently nudged Mr. Jameson out of the way to catch her before she left the building. He looked mildly confused, but just went back to his classroom unfazed.
Maura went to the parking lot, looking for any sign of Jane, but by the time she got there, there were only a few cars left, and no people in sight. She sighed and began to walk back to her classroom, hoping that Mr. Jameson wasn't there to see the deflated look on her face. She was in no mood to explain herself.
Just as Maura was about to go back inside, she saw it. Sitting chained against the bike rack was Jane's bike. She recognized if from the time Jane had left it at her house, and came back to get it the next day. Without a better plan, Maura stood at the edge of the rack and waited for Jane to make an appearance.
She spotted Jane from a few feet away, but Jane hadn't seen her yet. She was intently focused on the screen of her phone. Walking blindly in the direction of the doctor, Jane looked up, and surprise decorated her features.
"Jane. Can I talk to you?" Maura asked tentatively. Jane stood unmoving for a second, but then let Maura lead them both back to the classroom. She gently closed the door behind the brunette.
"What are we doing here, Dr. Isles?" Jane said, coldly. The formal address stung Maura, but she was determined to soldier on. She looked closely at Jane who looked tired. She didn't even look mad, just tired.
"I've made a mistake, Jane." Maura confessed. Jane had yet to meet her gaze.
"Go back to Mr. Jameson, Maura. You two seemed rather cozy." Jane said, no bitterness in her tone. It shocked Maura how deflated Jane looked. Her confident swagger was nowhere to be found, and sagging shoulders and dragging feet had taken its place.
"Jane. Look at me." Jane didn't meet her eyes. Maura gently took hold of the brunette's chin, and coaxed her face upward, so Jane had no choice but to look at her.
"I don't want him. I never did." Maura confessed. "I am so terribly sorry Jane, for the mistake I've made."
Jane looked hopeful, as Maura caressed her cheek and continued to speak. "I was just scared. When I'm scared I push people away."
"You cut up dead people, and you're afraid of me?" Jane said back to the doctor. Her eyes lit up with the humor she always projected.
Maura was relieved to see the version of Jane she had been missing begin to shine through. "I'm not afraid of you Jane. It used to scare me that I felt such a connection to you. I've never let anyone come between me and my work." Maura confessed.
"Used to scare you, huh?" Jane teased.
"Not anymore." Maura smiled.
"Well, where do we go from here?" Jane asked, honestly.
"Would you like to go on a date with me?" Maura looked adorably hopeful. Jane could not deny this woman if she wanted to.
"I would love to." Jane replied, smiling.
Maura wasted no time, and planted a firm kiss on Jane's smiling lips.
Longggggg chapter. My fingers hurt from typing. Sorry if it's moving a little fast? I have trouble pacing myself sometimes. I'm not too happy with this chapter. Leave comments/concerns/suggestions? – A :)
Oh! P.S. I'm thinking of writing a Calzona fic if anyone cares, but I still don't know. Idk of any of you are Calzona shippers or not, just thought I'd share… haha
