Hey y'all. Thanks so much for all the reviews! I'm super stoked that you guys are enjoying this so much. Really. I have the next 5 days off to celebrate 'Merica so I am going to try and post as much as possible.
Things are going to get a little angsty over the next few chapters, so be prepared.
This chapter should be entitled "Constance Isles is a Cold Bitch" Enjoy.
Maura paced in her darkened bedroom, her cellphone clutched in her hand. It was too early to have to deal with this, but with the time difference between Boston and Paris, and with having to be at her internship at 8am, she knew that now was the best time to make the call. After pacing a couple more lengths of the room, she sat down on the end of her bed, wiping her sweaty palms on her silk pajama bottoms. Maura took a deep breath and dialed her phone.
The phone rang several times, and Maura found herself wishing it would go straight to voicemail. Unfortunately, after the sixth ring, Constance Isles' prim and proper voice came across the line, and Maura braced herself for the uncomfortable conversation that was about to happen.
"Maura, darling, to what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Hello Mother….I-I hope I am not disturbing you." Maura tried to keep her voice as even and calm as possible.
"Nonsense dear, I was just sitting down for a bit of lunch. How are your studies going?"
"Fine. I am enjoying my internship at the Boston Police Department. I have another week left and then I am beginning my residency. I am particularly looking forward to it because I will be able to study under Dr. Joseph Aymar, who is one of the most notable pathologists on the east coast."
"That's nice dear." Constance sounded bored. "And how is Garrett?"
Maura sucked in a breath, pausing for a few seconds before responding. Her parents had been the ones that had arranged for them to meet in the first place, hoping that their relationship would help to unite the two prominent families in some way.
"I don't know." Maura mumbled.
"Whatever do you mean? And don't mumble dear, it's not becoming of a lady."
"I don't know because we broke up Mother. He was cheating on me." Maura spoke clearly, not wanting to say any more about the issue.
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. When did this happen?"
Maura paused again before answering, knowing that they were about to get into particularly uncomfortable territory. "We broke up when I was in Las Vegas for my conference."
"I see." - came Constance's curt reply. There was silence for several seconds as Maura mustered up the courage to reveal the real reason she was calling.
"Mother, I called to ask you for Marcus' number." Maura had decided a straightforward approach was best. Her mother wasn't one to dance around issues.
"And why would you require our lawyer's number, Maura?"
Maura's mouth suddenly went dry and her heart began to race. "I have a legal matter I need to resolve." In the background Maura could hear what sounded like a chair scraping the floor, then soft footsteps followed by a door shutting quietly.
"Maura, you tell me what is going on right now." Constance hissed over the phone.
Hot tears were forming in Maura's eyes, and she squeezed them tightly shut, hoping to prevent them from falling. Suddenly, the words were falling out of Maura's mouth. "I did something stupid Mother…I-I got married in Las Vegas. I need Marcus to help me to get a divorce or an annulment. As quickly and discreetly as possible."
The silence on the other end of the line was unbearable, far worse than the anger and rage that Maura had expected from her mother. When Constance finally spoke, Maura was relieved. Her relief was short-lived however, when the words that Constance was saying began to register.
"Maura, you listen to me. I am forwarding you Marcus' contact information. You will contact him at once and take care of your little 'situation' as quickly and as discreetly as possible. Do you hear me?"
"Y-yes Mother." Maura stammered.
Constance wasn't finished quite yet. "I expected better of you Maura. If news of your 'indiscretion' got out, it could ruin our family…ruin your father. I expect this to be taken care of by the time I speak to you next. Oh, and Maura, if I hear one word about this from anyone besides you, you can bet you will be on the next plane to Paris, because obviously living in America is having a negative influence on you." Constance finished coolly. "Do you understand me?"
"Yes Mother." Maura whispered into the phone. Tears were blurring her vision and sliding down her cheeks, and she wiped them away with the back of her hand. "I-I'm sorry. I'm so sorry Mother." Maura choked out.
Constance was unaffected by Maura's tearful apology. "Yes…well, sorry doesn't take back your stupid decision. I have to go. Take care of it Maura. Goodbye."
Maura didn't even respond, but instead disconnected the call, falling back onto her bed and curling up into the fetal position. Sobs wracked her body for quite some time, and Maura couldn't stop replaying the awful conversation in her head. She knew her mother was going to be disappointed, but the way her mother had spoken to her was disheartening.
Glancing up at the clock by her bed, Maura knew she was going to have to get herself together and get ready for the day. Nothing like a positive start to the day-Maura laughed in spite of herself. She lay there for a few more minutes before wiping her tears and sitting up. Her phone chimed and she leaned over to pick it up, noting the indication that she had an email. Probably from Mother she thought, as she opened up her email. Her instincts were correct, and she opened the email, scanning the brief one-line email containing the contact information for Marcus Lieberman, their family's lawyer. I'll call him during my lunch break she decided, and moved into the bathroom to get ready for the day.
Jane was thankful for the central air conditioning in headquarters as she stepped into the lobby from the searing heat outside. She had been on patrol for the last four hours, and was looking forward to cooling down and eating some lunch before she headed back out for the rest of her shift. Jane scanned the lobby as she entered, somehow hoping to catch a glimpse of a certain blonde, even though she knew Maura was likely down in the morgue or out at a scene.
Since their "date" last week, Jane had seen Maura a few times, once at another crime scene, and a couple of times in passing at headquarters. Jane had been working odd hours picking up whatever shifts she could, so she hadn't really been able to connect with Maura like she wanted to.
Jane headed right for the café that was in the lobby, hoping to grab a quick bite so she could maybe squeeze in a quick nap in the lounge before heading back out to patrol. She pulled a crumpled twenty out of her back pocket and perused the selections, an idea popping into her head as she did so. In the end, she picked a turkey sandwich and a garden salad, and headed down to the morgue, hoping to find Maura down there.
She walked slowly through the basement, peering through the large glass windows into each room, hoping to locate Maura. Jane stopped when she finally caught a glimpse of the doctor, stooped over a body in the autopsy room, dressed in black surgical scrubs. Jane swallowed, not exactly wanting to go into the autopsy room. They had made her go in there on the first day of the job to get familiar with it, and the cool air and stale smell gave Jane the creeps. But taking another glance at Maura, her face screwed up in concentration, she decided it was worth it and rapped on the glass.
Maura looked up from the neat row of sutures she had been working on to find Jane's head peeking in the autopsy room door. Smiling, she put down her instruments and stood up straight. "Jane. What are you doing here?"
Jane opened the door a bit more and held up the plastic boxes containing the food she had just purchased. "I am on lunch break, and was wondering if you had eaten yet. If not, do you wanna join me?" She smiled hopefully. "I can wait if it's not a good time…"
Maura snapped off her gloves and threw them in the garbage. "I would love to join you. I was just finishing up some sutures, Dr. Benton was letting me practice." Jane stood holding the door open with her body, and Maura exited the autopsy room. She paused in the hallway. "Do you want to eat down here? Or did you have somewhere else in mind?"
"I was thinking we could eat up in the officer's lounge. It should be pretty empty, and besides" – Jane wrinkled her nose- "I don't know how you can eat down here with all the 'dead person' air."
Maura laughed, feeling some of the tension from the rough start to her day leave her body. "Cold air is cold air, Jane. But the officer's lounge sounds lovely."
The two women walked up a flight of stairs to the officer's lounge, both of them secretly pleased when they noticed they would have it to themselves. Jane plunked herself down on the sofa and deposited the plastic boxes on the small table. Maura sat down gently beside her.
"Okay, so I didn't know what you would want, but we have a turkey and cheddar sandwich or a garden salad. Take your pick." Jane held up both boxes.
Maura selected the garden salad, watching as Jane fist pumped as she did.
"I was hoping you would pick the salad. I don't do green stuff." Jane admitted with a sheepish grin. "My Ma says I am worse than a five-year-old." She took a large bite out of the sandwich. "Oh! Can I get you a drink?" She stood and walked over to the fridge in the corner of the room. "They keep this thing full of soda and water."
"Water would be fine." Maura replied, taking a small bite of her salad.
Jane returned with a can of cola and a bottle of water, taking her place next to Maura once again. Both women were quiet as they started to eat.
"So how's it going?" Jane asked between bites of her sandwich. "You're almost done with your internship, right?"
Maura nodded. "Yes, last week is my final week. I finish next Friday. Even though Dr. Benton is, well, clearly not interested in teaching me anything, I have enjoyed the experience. It is nice to be in the environment that I eventually want to work in."
"Yeah, I bet." Jane replied. "For me, the academy was good an all, but I have learned so much just in the past two weeks of being an actual patrol officer, you know?" She put the last of her sandwich down and looked up at Maura. "So what happens after this?"
Maura fiddled with a piece of lettuce before putting her fork down. "Well, my residency starts the following Monday, so I'll be there from now on." She watched as Jane took a long drink of soda, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand once she was finished.
"What is this between us Maura?" Jane suddenly asked-her gaze still fixed on Maura. She hadn't planned on bringing this up, but for some reason felt the need to address it. "Honestly, I have no idea what I am doing with all of this." She sat back against the couch, turning her body slightly sideways, towards Maura. "I feel like we have gone about this totally ass-backwards…we got married, we kind of went on a date, and now we are, what…friends?"
Maura opened her mouth to speak, wondering if she should mention the conversation between her and her mother from this morning. Before she was able to speak, Jane continued.
"Listen, Maura, I like you. Even though this has been the craziest few weeks in my life, I want to get to know you better. I hope that whatever we decide about our sham marriage that we can at least stay friends." Her brown eyes searched Maura's face for some type of reaction.
Jane watched as Maura's head dropped slightly.
"I spoke to my mother this morning Jane." Maura spoke quietly. "I am under strict orders to end our marriage immediately. I am meeting with the lawyer this evening." She watched as Jane struggled to remain impassive to what she had just said.
Jane exhaled slowly, and was surprised when Maura scooted closer and gently placed a hand on her thigh.
"Truthfully Jane, I don't know what this is between us. I have enjoyed getting to know you since the initial shock of things wore off, but realistically, how do you see this ending? I mean, I am twenty-three years old, just starting my career as a doctor, and you are a rookie police officer. How do you see this playing out?"
Jane's eyes flashed with hurt and Maura could feel her tense up. "I'm not saying we should just play house and pretend like everything is okay Maura, I'm just saying that I think we have something here and I want to take some time and see where it goes. Why let your parents dictate our lives? All I'm asking is for some time Maura. That's it." She placed her hand over Maura's and squeezed gently, causing Maura's eyes to focus on hers. "Please."
Maura sighed. "I wish it was that simple Jane." She stood up abruptly, moving to throw away her half-eaten salad. "I wish that I could just live my life, but things with my parents are…complicated. Look, I want to see where this goes just as much as you, but I have to follow through with the legalities of ending our marriage. This is impacting my family more than you could know."
Jane got to her feet as well. "Then tell me Maura. Let me help. How about you come over for dinner tomorrow night? We can talk it through." She placed her hand lightly on Maura's shoulder. "Please. Let me help. We can figure this out." She felt Maura relax in defeat under her hand. "At least let me cook you dinner. You are obviously stressed."
Maura could feel her resolve giving way with each second she lingered in front of Jane. She lifted her head and nodded slowly, suddenly reaching for Jane and pulling her in close for a hug. Jane's arms wrapped around her without hesitation, and Maura felt Jane's lips against her temple.
"Okay." Maura said into Jane's chest.
