Chapter 10
Jane woke with the warmest feeling of being totally full and content, she hadn't had a sleep like this in a long time and it was like she had just come out of the best dream ever. Jane felt the soft, warm, very naked presence of Maura sprawled comfortably over one side of her body and took the opportunity that being the first to wake gave her, which was to study her friend completely bare and relaxed and without all the self conscious bullshit that made people hide themselves from each other.
Jane couldn't resist reaching over to stroke a line up the centre of Maura's back up to her hair line but immediately regretted the action as she felt the body upon her stiffen and then push herself further into the warm place she nestled in. Maura sighed contentedly and Jane couldn't prevent the smile that spread across her face at the sound, as she continued to caress Maura's back.
Jane knew somewhere in the back of her mind that this should feel wrong and she should feel guilty however all she felt right now was complete joy at finally waking up like this with Maura beside her. It was the old cliché of it feeling so right how could it be wrong?
Jane stroked Maura's hair which lay in a kind of disarray that Jane had never seen on Maura before, a testament to quite how athletic the actions of only a few hours ago had been. Jane liked it this way, Maura should have sex hair all the time, Jane grinned at the mental picture of Maura going to work with her hair like this.
Jane was quite happy to lay here silently worshipping Maura all day long and for some time after that, but the sunlight was like reality streaming in through a gap in the curtains and threatening to intrude on Jane's little piece of paradise.
Moments later Maura stirred again and almost purred as she woke in Jane's arms. "Hmmmmm Good morning detective." She mumbled, stretching her body along Jane's.
Jane hooked one of her long legs around Maura and used it to help re-position her more fully onto Jane, so now she lay with her body completely down Jane's centre and pinned gently in place by Jane's embrace. Maura looked up into Jane's face and smiled almost shyly.
Jane had so much she wanted to say in that moment but couldn't manage any of it; as soon as Maura turned those eyes on her she was speechless. Jane simply dropped a kiss onto Maura's head.
"Go back to sleep." Jane commanded closing her eyes stubbornly.
Maura chuckled at the defiant scowl on Jane's face and Jane felt the ... reverberate through her chest. "Jane we really should be getting up." Maura whispered softly before she kissed Jane's now pouting lips.
"No" Jane said opening one eye to peek at Maura and tightening her embrace. "Not ready for this to be over." Jane had said this lightly but they both felt the full meaning of the words and the playful atmosphere in the room was replaced by a painful silence and a sense of foreboding.
Maura nuzzled into Jane's neck and returned Jane's tightened embrace just as fiercely before finally rolling away.
Jane watched Maura move away, already feeling it as a deep aching in her chest. "Maura" Jane looked at the ceiling before asking the question. "You're not sorry?" She didn't dare look at Maura but felt the other woman's weight shift back towards her on the bed. Maura was quickly back in her arms.
"Never." Maura smiled sincerely. "No regrets." She kissed Jane simply on the mouth twice but submitted when Jane stole another more lingering kiss which involved Jane's tongue reacquainting itself with every inch of Maura's mouth.
Both women were therefore preoccupied enough to miss the soft sound of a door clicking shut and a little too distracted to register the soft footfall in the apartment. It wasn't until the bedroom door was flung open that each woman froze in terror.
"Janie!" A familiar voice called, followed by a familiar face that dropped as it took in the scene in the bedroom. "Maura!? Jane?"
Maura, who had been sat straddling a naked Jane with her back to the door, quickly dismounted and desperately scrabbled for the covers as she sat next to Jane and hid as much of herself as she could without shrinking completely out of view. It was a little too late for that.
Jane had hardly moved except to sit up a little more fully and also grab at the covers as she faced the intruder.
"Ma, What the hell?!" Jane burst out.
Angela stood motionless, mouth gaping, looking from Jane to Maura and back again for what seemed like an eternity. "I knew it." She finally said dejectedly, crouching to sit on the end of the bed and looking weary. "I knew you would spoil this wedding for me."
Jane looked incredulously at her mother and dragged a hand through her untamed hair. "Ma." Jane tried to remain calm. "The wedding is not ruined, everything will be fine."
It was Angela's turn to look dumfounded. "What!? So you doing the horizontal mambo with your best friend won't affect your impending nuptials?"
Jane rolled her eyes, where did she get this stuff?
Angela turned to Maura who had managed to locate an old T-shirt from beneath Jane's pillow and had quietly slipped it on as Jane and her mother spoke. Maura tried to smile apologetically at Angela.
"How long has this been going on Maura?" Angela demanded.
Maura spoke in a quiet voice. "Last night was a one off." She said earnestly.
Angela nodded, knowing this was the truth. "I know you are not sure about the role of a maid of honour Maura but bedding the bride at her bachelorette party is certainly not one of your obligations." Angela said coldly.
"I didn't see it as an obligation." Maura had spoken before she realised that Angela had been speaking sarcastically and then couldn't take back her words, so simply hung her head.
Jane smiled sympathetically at Maura, touched by the sentiment and sorry for Maura's awkwardness, she placed a firm reassuring hand against the small of Maura's back.
Angela turned back to her daughter. "You." She barked "How could you do this to Maura?"
Maura's head shot up. "Perhaps I better leave." She suggested about to slip out of bed.
"Oh no." Angela stopped her. "You don't move a muscle young lady. What? Your only family when it suits you? You can stay and face the music."
Maura shrank back into the bed.
"Can you at least let us put some clothes on Ma?" Jane said impatiently.
"You two have nothing I haven't seen before and you seen enough of each other to not be getting shy now. No one leaves this room until I get some answers." Angela was pacing at the end of the bed.
Jane sighed and kicked a leg out in frustration. "Fine, look Ma, What happened last night was between Maura and me. We are adults and it is none of your business."Angela threw Jane a warning look. "I'm sorry you had to see anything but now you just need to forget about it and carry on as if nothing happened." Jane spoke calmly but firmly.
Angela just shook her head in disbelief. "What am I supposed to think Jane? That you're a happy woman on her way to marry the man she loves?"
Maura remained silent, not looking at either woman.
"You can think that, yes, please do." Jane said plainly.
Angela stood facing her daughter and looked her in the eye resolutely. "This is not over Jane Rizzoli." Angela moved towards the door. "I need to think. You two make yourselves decent." Angela stopped now half way through the door. "I just don't understand you Jane." She said as she slipped out of the room.
Jane collapsed into the bed. "You have got to be kidding me!" She called to the heavens.
Maura began to collect her clothes and opened Jane's wardrobe to grab some spare trousers she kept here, thankfully she wouldn't have to do the walk of shame in last night's dress.
Jane watched her. "Maura, I'm sorry about Ma." She sighed. "I'm sorry about this whole mess."
Maura continued to dress and maintained her distance from Jane and the bed. "Well, we are two consenting adults Jane, so I guess we made this mess together." She said without looking at Jane. "And after some initial awkwardness between your Mother and I, I am sure we will be able to resume a comfortable relationship."
Jane sighed again, the spell had well and truly been broken by her Mothers appearance and she and Maura were back to being worlds apart. Jane fought the urge to go to Maura and tell her it would all be okay, that she would fix it all. This time, she really couldn't do that.
"Jane, it might help with your mother if you tell her all the facts." Maura said as she now faced Jane, fully clothed. Somehow that made Jane feel more naked than before and she got up to tug on some jeans. There were so many facts that for a moment Jane couldn't figure out which ones Maura meant, but when she did.
"No no no no no no no, not yet, things are screwy enough without Ma going all grandma on me. She's already killing me with all this wedding bullshit."
"Jane." Maura said disapprovingly.
"I'll sort things with Ma." Jane said, pulling a sweater over her sports bra. Jane now moved over to where Maura stood by the door, about as far from Jane as she could get.
Maura had unconsciously crossed her arms loosely across her chest, placing a barrier between herself and Jane. Jane took her hands and pulled that barrier down.
"Are you okay?" Jane looked concerned.
"Of course." Maura nodded.
"Last night was..." Jane failed to find words.
"Don't Jane." Maura cut in softly, giving her a pleading look.
"Hey." Jane said searching Maura's face. "We're okay? We have to be Maura."
"We're okay." Maura nodded. "But I have to leave Jane." Jane allowed Maura to pull her hands away and watched as she turned her back on her. Maura didn't look back to Jane before she left the room and Jane swallowed down the lump in her throat as she listened to the sound of her crossing the apartment and closing the front door behind her.
Jane was surprised she hadn't heard anything from her Ma and that Maura had clearly avoided another confrontation in her escape, so she edged her head silently around the bedroom door to investigate.
"Jane, get out here!" She heard and instinctively shot her head back into the room leaning her forehead against the back of the door.
A/N- I know, I know, Angela walking in on them, not exactly original but that doesn't mean it's still not fun and it could happen and anyways I needed this for where I am going with the story. Thanks for sticking with me. Probably won't be another update until after the weekend now as the wife has let it be known that she is not happy with the amount of time I have been dedicating to this. x