Dolcemente

A Rizzoli & Isles (J/M) Story

By Enginerd

Disclaimers:

Rizzoli & Isles were created by Tess Gerritsen and adapted for TV by Janet Tamaro. This story takes place prior to the Season Two finale (which does not exist in my R&I universe) and contains mature themes involving the love and its physical expression between two women.


Chapter 9 – Never Easy

"How's the Potter case coming along?" Jane asked curiously as she looked up from her desk to Frost.

He looked at her uncertainly. "Good?"

"Hey, I already told you – I'm glad at least you are working it. And the good news for me? No tabloid article today," Jane said with a bright smile, making Frost smirk.

"Ah damn. I was kinda hoping for another chapter in the lives and loves of Romeo Rizzoli," Frost teased dramatically.

"It's disgusting," Crowe piped up, handing Frost a folder.

Jane rolled her eyes and slowly rubbed her sore hands.

"Yeah, that Jane can get more action from "the ladies" than you could," Frost countered with amusement.

"I do just fine," Crowe snapped with a frown and left.

Jane looked at her supportive partner. "Thanks?" Jane said hesitantly with a cringe.

"Got your back, Romeo," Frost said with a twinkle in his eye. "And maybe we can go clubbing together so you can teach me how you do it," he said with a grin, waggling his eyebrows.

"I'm quite sure there is nothing I can teach you," Jane said flatly as Frost chuckled.

"I wouldn't be so sure, Jane. You are very informative on several topics," Maura interjected encouragingly as she joined them. "What topic does Frost want your assistance on?"

Jane looked at her a moment, sighed, and swiveled in her chair to glare at Frost.

"Picking up women," Frost said helpfully with a big grin.

"Oh." Maura frowned. "Is this is where you tell me I shouldn't come into the middle of a conversation?" she asked with a wince.

Frost chuckled and returned his attention to the case file on his desk.

"It's always a risk," Jane noted sagely, flexing her hand before grabbing her coffee.

"Any interesting news from the basement?"

"Well, not from the basement," she responded and glanced at Jane's hands. "Are your hands sore?"

Jane shrugged. "Probably gonna rain or something," she said dismissively. "So what news is interesting that is not from the basement?"

"Our mothers decided to have that dinner anyway," Maura said uncomfortably.

"Ok?" Jane said, still not understanding why that was interesting news warranting a visit to the bullpen, not that she minded Maura visiting. Ever.

"They . . . ," Maura said and stopped, biting her lip.

"What?" Jane said guardedly, getting up from her chair.

"Well, they . . . imbibed. A great deal," Maura explained with a cringe.

"Aw geez, I'm really sorry, Maura," Jane moaned guiltily, not wanting to have her family impose on her friend…well, any more than they already had. "Why didn't you call me?" Jane looked at her curiously, instinctively reaching out to touch her arm.

"I didn't want to interrupt your . . . plans," Maura said uncomfortably.

Jane frowned, glancing down at her hands. "You call me. Anytime. For anything," she said unequivocally. "Don't worry about my "plans," all right? If you think of calling and are not sure – just call. I'll make myself available. OK?" She said, gently squeezing her forearm.

Maura blinked; Jane's fierce declarations washed over her . . . like a strong, protective embrace. No one in her life had ever put her so clearly first, she considered as her heart pounded.

"Please?" Jane said softly with an uncertain wince when Maura didn't respond, worried she was being overbearing…again. But Maura should never feel alone when dealing with crap, Jane firmly believed.

"Ok," Maura finally responded with a shy smile, getting a relieved one from Jane. "But it really wasn't necessary last night, Jane. Your mother really was no bother," she offered, getting a skeptical look.

"Mine on the other hand" Maura continued, rolling her eyes, "has developed an affinity for beer, which unfortunately her stomach hasn't realized . . . as evidenced by my sofa."

Jane winced sympathetically, though she couldn't squelch a small chuckle at the thought of Constance Isles getting loaded on beer. "You should have still called," Jane said. "I could have helped you clean . . . or burn the sofa," she added thoughtfully.

"No burning was necessary. But thank you," Maura said warmly, gazing into Jane's expressive eyes. Eyes that lit up with a mischievous glint, making them even more striking, she considered.

"You know what? I think I need a cup of coffee from the café. Care to join me?" Jane smiled brightly.

"I already have a latte in my . . . ," Maura responded then understood her friend's intent. "Oh Jane, you really shouldn't," she said with a wince.

"I know," Jane responded with an evil grin and chuckle. Her husky voice and predatory gaze stirred Maura so unexpectedly she took in a startled breath.

Clearing her throat, Maura managed to caution her. "Be nice."

"Oh I will," Jane said devilishly and left the bullpen.

Maura blinked again, trying to process the onslaught of physical responses to her best friend. Shaking her head slightly, as if that might clear it, she silently left the bullpen and returned to the morgue.

Frost watched Maura leave then returned his attention to his file. "Romeo, imagine if you actually knew what you were doing," he muttered under his breath.

*R&I*

Jane entered the café and immediately spotted her mother, who was wearing dark glasses and moving in slow, methodical steps as she refilled a napkin dispenser on the counter.

"Hi, Ma!" Jane said enthusiastically as she sat at the counter, prompting Angela to flinch.

"Hi, honey. Would you like something?" Angela said tiredly.

"SURE!" Jane blurted with a grin, causing Angela to cringe.

"Would you PLEASE stop shouting?" Angela barked then winced at her own voice.

"You don't look so good, Ma. Coming down with something? The flu?"

Angela lowered her dark glasses and glanced at her smug daughter with narrow, blood-shot eyes. "You know very well it's not the flu," she hissed.

Jane smiled unrepentantly. "How about a glass of water?"

Angela frowned with a heavy sigh, placed her dark glasses back on, and slowly retrieved a glass of water for her daughter. She smiled thinly as she placed the glass down and slid it in front of her. "Anything else?"

Jane pulled out a blue rectangular packet from her pocket and tore it open over the glass, allowing the two pellets to drop in the glass and bubble as they dissolved. Jane pushed the glass back towards her mother.

"Not that I've ever, ever, had to use it myself," Jane said innocently and stood to leave.

Angela looked at the glass then her daughter. "Jane," Angela called out, causing Jane to stop and look at her. "Thanks," she added softly.

Jane smirked. "I am sooo glad you were not the one who puked all over Maura's couch," she said with amusement. "Love ya, Ma," she added and left.

Angela chuckled weakly at her departing daughter and picked up the glass and took a long sip.

R&I

At the end of the busy day dealing with two accident victims, Maura headed to the bullpen. She found only Frost and Crowe at their desks. Looking more closely at Jane's desk, she saw her friend's blazer was still on her chair.

"She's in Cavanaugh's office with Korsak," Frost offered, looking up from his desk at the CME.

"Ah. Thank you, Barry," she said warmly.

As they came out of Cavanaugh's office, Vince sighed. "It's never easy, why is that?"

Jane shrugged. "Well, we'll get a dinner out of it," she said as she headed to her desk, smiling at Maura.

"You mean, you'll get the dinner," he grumbled.

"What dinner?" Maura asked with interest, then winced. "I'm doing it again, aren't I?"

Jane smiled at her.

"The dinner where we'll need to get fingerprints from several of our potential suspects," Korsak offered with little enthusiasm.

Maura frowned. "Your search on the partials wasn't productive?"

"No," Korsak groaned. "Thanks to the slow wheels of international bureaucracy, I'm gonna have to collect evidence at a fu-fu banquet."

"Quit being such a baby," Jane scolded him.

"You're not the one who will have to collect the evidence – or wear a tux."

"Oh PLEASE!" Jane said incredulously. "You don't have to wear hose and heels! If you want to moan, do it about something worthwhile, huh?"

"A formal affair? Sounds like fun," Maura interjected with enthusiasm.

"Yeeeeah," Jane said, clearly not of the same opinion. "It will be a banquet in Ms. Calderón's honor after her final performance in Boston on Saturday. Which I will also get to attend."

"Do you know what you are going to wear?" Maura asked with great interest.

"Clothes?"

"Jane," Maura sighed with disapproval, not amused.

"I have that blue dress…" Jane said with a shrug.

"You can't wear your blue dress again," Maura said emphatically.

"Yeah, Jane, what are you thinking?" Frost supplied with feigned disbelief, earning a glare from Jane.

"Geez. Even I knew she shouldn't wear the blue dress again," Korsak chimed in, shaking his head, withholding a chuckle.

"There is nothing wrong with….," Jane blurted with irritation.

"We need to go shopping!" Maura said excitedly.

Jane blinked at her, knowing to argue was a lost cause. Maura had a shopping trip in mind for her best friend and any attempt by said best friend to get out of it would be met with as a minimum, a disappointed look and frown. And depending on how excited Maura was about the planned excursion, Jane could be left to face the quivering lip and watery eyes of rejection that Maura would attempt, unsuccessfully to hide from her, making her end up promising even more than Maura originally asked of her to banish all signs of hurt.

Jane turned to the older detective with a pointed gaze, causing his smirk to fade. "So Korsak, exactly what were you moaning about again?" Jane said flatly.

"Nothing. Nothing at all."

R&I

"Jane! Would you stop fidgeting!" Maura scolded as she held another dress, a deep red, almost black one that looked very promising. In fact, knowing Jane's preferences perhaps better than Jane, Maura considered this was likely to be the one Jane would want to get. While she had seen it immediately upon their arrival, Maura couldn't pass up the rare opportunity of seeing Jane in several types of dresses, even though it came with the inevitable complaints.

"Let's face it, I won't find anything. I'll just wear my blue dress again," Jane moaned, rubbing her hands. She hated trying on clothes and they had been through a bazillion, she considered.

"No," Maura said with mild annoyance.

"No? But my blue dress goes really well with my gun and badge," Jane responded with a thin smile.

"Put this on. Now," Maura said firmly. Jane sighed with a light growl of protest and retreated into the dressing room.

After a moment, the door opened up. "Well?"

"You have to zip it up to know if it fits right, Jane," Maura said with frustration. Jane was worse than a two year old.

"Well can you help me out? The zipper's small and . . . why can't they just use Velcro or something?" Jane grumbled, turning around and presenting her bare back as she flexed her sore hands.

Several thoughts crossed the ME's mind as her eyes traveled over Jane's exposed back, which sported several scars. One was the need to refrain from reaching out and touching the angriest scar; the bullet's exit wound, which almost took her life.

Maura frowned slightly as she grasped the small zipper, and indulged in the light contact with Jane's smooth skin as she allowed her fingers to slowly glide up her back with the zipper.

"Maura?" Jane asked, turning around to glance at her suddenly quiet and thoughtful friend.

"They are sore, aren't they?" Maura asked gently, taking a hand in hers, another reminder of how Jane had cheated death.

"It's probably the start of monsoon season," Jane said with a smirk that quickly faded, seeing the disappointed look from Maura.

"While there are monsoons possible in North America, they are limited to the Southern States and I highly doubt…" she said with irritation.

"Even with global warming?" Jane interjected with a shrug.

"Jane, please. Just tell me," Maura asked earnestly.

Jane sighed, unable to say no when Maura played that totally unfair "please" card.

"They are sore," she admitted and quickly added. "Not bad, but sore."

Maura nodded. "Aspirin should help," she said softly, glancing down to Jane's hand, which she tenderly caressed with her thumb. "I have some in my office," she added and looked into Jane's eyes, which bore into her with a surprising intensity - an intensity that drew her in, making her want...

"Do you ladies need any help?" The sale's clerk asked as she checked on them.

Maura took a sharp breath as she broke her gaze from Jane's, allowing it to fall, pausing momentarily at Jane's lips. "We've decided on this one," Maura said, surprising herself by her calm voice.

"We have?" Jane said with surprise, looking down at her dress, which actually wasn't bad.

"Absolutely," Maura said confidently and gazed over Jane and her new dress with appreciation.

"Excellent choice," the clerk said with a smile.

As they left the boutique, Jane glanced down at the bag with a frown.

"I told you I would buy it for you," Maura said with pursed lips.

"I can buy my own clothing, thank you. I'll just have to skip food shopping for the next few months."

"It was actually a good price," Maura protested.

"Uh huh."

"Why don't I treat you to a dinner tonight? I'll make sure you get left overs that will last you a while," Maura offered with a small smile.

Jane eyed her with mild amusement. "Actually, I have plans. But don't worry; I've got Ma's leftovers in the freezer. I'm sure I'll survive."

"Oh," Maura said with disappointment.

Jane hated to see Maura disappointed. "Hey. Not big plans. I can…" she said, reaching out for her shoulder.

"No. I . . . you don't need to change your plans for a spur of the moment idea. We'll just have dinner another time," Maura said with a fake smile, squeezing Jane's hand.

"You sure? I mean…" Jane said uncomfortably, then noted a shiny reflection of light across the street. "Son of a . . . ," Jane blurted angrily and started to dash towards the camera man in his car. She slowed to a halt when the car peeled away from the curb and raced away.

She glanced at the Massachusetts plate that was conveniently covered with mud. "Damn it!" she spat in frustration for the continued intrusion. "I've got a gun! You don't stalk someone with a gun! What the hell is he thinking?" Jane fumed, tempted to use it the next time she saw him.

Maura walked up to Jane. "I'm not sure," she offered with a sigh, shaking her head. "It would have been a much better picture had you been wearing your new dress," she said with a big smile.

"Thank you, Coco Isles," Jane said wryly with a smirk.


Continued...