Au: Here you go guys, this is the second to last chapter - thank you all for the insanely nice reviews, comments and criticisms! It means a lot to me, and I like knowing all of your thoughts and feelings as the narrative develops, along with the characters :) Hope you all enjoy this! I'm going away on Monday to visit my girlfriends' parents for their 50th wedding anniversary so don't know whether I'll be able to post the last chapter before then, but it won't be too long a wait, hehe *rubs hands together*
After Frank had picked up Maura from the gas station, the first place he had taken her was to Massachusetts' General Hospital to get her checked over. Maura had sat in the waiting room for half an hour before she had been seen, and exited the emergency room with ten stitches to her forehead and some heavy pain medication. She was driven back to the Rizzoli's home, where she was greeted by Angela with a cup of chamomile tea.
"Maura! Are you okay? Do you need something to eat?" Angela said, concern lacing her words as she led her over to the couch in the living room. "Just take a load off, relax. Look at you – you have stitches in your forehead! You need to rest. Let me take care of you."
Maura sat down gratefully, feeling slightly awkward at the fact she was being offered Angela's robe and fluffy bunny slippers which had been bought as a joke Christmas present by Jane the year before. Not wanting to come across as rude, she accepted the gesture and wrapped the robe around herself before slipping her feet out of her decimated heels and into the slippers. Maura lifted the mug to her mouth, sipping the tea slowly before placing it down on the table before her.
"Thanks for everything, Angela, but really – I need to go home. I need to take a shower and feed Bass." Maura sat forward indicating she was about to stand up, as Angela walked toward her and rested her hand on Maura's shoulder, keeping her still.
"Nonsense. You'll shower here; you need rest after all you've been through today. I can go and feed Bass for you later. You should also eat something; you can't do anything on an empty stomach!" Angela practically wagged her finger under Maura's nose, bullying her back into the couch. She turned back towards Frank, "Frank! Go get Maura some of the guest towels and grab a pair of Jane's old pajamas from her room. Maura is going to stay here for a while."
Maura smiled awkwardly up at Angela, the thought of wearing Jane's pajamas made her a little uncomfortable to say the least. "Really, Angela, that's very kind of you but I don't think that's necessary."
"Never you mind, you're a guest here. Anyway, what were you doing all the way out towards the harbour? You and Jane usually spend your weekends together..." She trailed off as she realised what she was implying and sat next to Maura. Frank returned to the living room with towels and pajamas in hand, holding them out to Maura with a kind, yet sympathetic smile.
"Here ya go, Maura. Are you doing okay now? You should get some rest," he said as Maura took the items from him. He turned to Angela, "Enough with the inquisition, Ange, let the girl have her shower and get some sleep. She doesn't need your interrogations right now."
Angela blatantly ignored Frank and carried on. "And if you were going to go all that way to the coast, why didn't Jane offer to go and keep you company, considering..." Angela couldn't really bring herself to say the word 'girlfriend' to Maura, "Did you and Jane have a fight or something?"
Maura's body stiffened as she tried to think of a suitable response. Had Jane not spoken to her parents since Angela had shown up at her apartment? It had been just under a week and she still hadn't admitted that they weren't in a relationship to her own mother? Why hadn't she done this, considering Angela rang Jane every day to check up on what had been happening in her life. "Uh...not really a fight, per se, I just needed to get away for a few days – to clear my head." Maura dodged the question, not looking at Angela as she responded. "Work's been a little crazy recently."
Feeling the tension in the room, Frank interrupted, taking Maura's wrist and helping her to her feet. "You don't have to answer her questions, Maura; you can go and take your shower, if you like. You know where it is – and then feel free to get some sleep in Jane's old room." He knew how persistent Angela could be, she had definitely inherited her mothers' lack of charm.
Maura nodded as she rose to her feet, "Thank you both. You've both been so kind. I'll take a quick shower but then I really need to go home." She smiled towards both Angela and Frank before heading to the bathroom, closing the door behind her and turning the lock.
Just as the shower started up, Jane knocked on her parents' door before entering the house. "Hey Ma! It's only me."
Angela came through from the kitchen, where she was busy preparing gnocchi for lunch. "Hey Janie, you okay?"
Jane moved towards her mother, kissing her cheek. Her eyes travelled to where Frank was sat in the living room, the pair of Manolo Blahnik's catching her eye. "Since when did you get an expensive shoe habit?"
Angela turned towards the kitchen to check on the gnocchi, lifting the lid on the pan on the stove to check to see how they were coming along. She wafted some of the steam out of the way before turning back to Jane. "Ya think I could walk in those? Don't be so silly, Jane; they're Maura's," she said, nonchalantly.
Jane's eyebrow raised, she had not expected her mother to say that. Maura was supposed to be away for the weekend, not at her own mothers house. "Maura's here?"
Angela put the lid back onto the pan, turning around to face Jane as she wiped her hands on her apron. "Oh yeah, we picked her up this morning. She's taking a shower, your dad only just got back from the hospital with her."
The hairs on the back of Jane's neck almost stood up on end, as her stomach leapt up to her throat with worry. Hospital? Why was Maura at the hospital? If anyone has hurt her, I swear to God they'll end up in Maura's morgue before I'm through with them, she thought to herself. Angela must've picked up on Jane's fear because before she knew it, her mothers' arms were wrapped around her, squeezing her tightly.
"Maura's fine, don't worry about it. I tried to reach you, but your phone was off," she pulled away and looked at Jane's face, "Jane, you're almost white! Maura's fine. Just a few stitches. Sit down, get some food inside of you, you'll be fine."
Jane shook her head, almost violently. "No, ma! The solution to everything isn't always food. Stitches? What happened, why was she at the hospital. Why didn't she call me?"
"Sweetie, she did try to call you! You were out on duty, it was really early in the morning. Maura's fine, she's okay, I promise you! We've taken good care of your ... your girlfriend." Frank relayed through to the kitchen. He had turned in his seat slightly, so he could see the women from the couch.
"She's not... she's not my girlfriend... I thought that was pretty clear from last week." Jane sat down at one of the stools around the kitchen counter island. She rested her chin against the palm of her hand, looking at her mother.
"It wasn't very clear at all, the way you two were carrying on... at least, it wasn't clear to me, anyway." Angela's hands were waving the wooden spatula in the air, throwing the sauce from the pan around in the air as she did so.
Maura stepped quietly out of the bathroom, wearing a pair of Jane's old Red Sox pajamas. "It wasn't very clear to me, either..." Her voice was quiet, but resonated through the house loudly.
Jane snapped her head around to see Maura approaching herself and Angela; her hair dripping wet down onto Jane's old pajamas. She stared at the stitches across Maura's temple, the skin still red and swollen, as if the stitches were going to burst from all of the pressure they were containing. Maura had a couple of bruises on her face and neck, but nothing too serious. It still didn't stop Jane's heart from dropping in her chest, and the ache in her arms from wanting to give her a hug and tell her everything was okay. That she would protect her. That she should have protected her, somehow.
"Maur-", she began. She rose to her feet and walked towards her. "What happened to you?"
Self-consciously, Maura tucked her hair behind her ears and crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm fine, I look worse than I feel, I'm sure. I crashed my car - I think I hit some ice. It's nothing major – just a minor laceration to the forehead which will probably end up being a contusion for the next couple of weeks," Maura could see the concern written all over Jane's face, "Seriously, Jane. I'm fine – your mom and dad have taken great care of me. I tried you all at the department this morning, but couldn't get through to anyone. I hope you don't mind me calling your mom to pick me up – I couldn't imagine calling my own parents..."
"I told you before, Maura, its fine! You're practically family, anyway!" Angela interrupted.
"Yeah, anytime!" Frank yelled through from the living room, causing Maura to blush slightly. She was practically family, Angela and Frank had been better parents to her over the past couple of years than her own parents had been. She looked at Jane, smiling slightly. She advanced towards her, about to say something when Jane cut her off.
"Maura, can I talk to you. Privately," she added, quickly. She lead them both into her old bedroom, away from her mothers' prying ears, shutting the door behind them.
"What are you doing?" Jane turned around and crossed her arms.
"Well, I've just got out of the shower your parents told me to take, and I'm about to go back home. I need to check on Bass anyway."
"That's not what I meant, Maura. I thought you were going away for the weekend? That you wouldn't be back until next week?" Jane sat down on the edge of the bed, looking towards Maura.
"That's true, I wasn't going to leave for at least another day and a half, but I couldn't stay there. Not in that big cabin, all alone. I thought it would help, but ... the silence was almost deadly," Maura sat down.
"Well, they do call you the queen of the dead," Jane said, laughing slightly. Maura permitted a small smile to genuinely cross her lips, the first in a long while.
"Truth was, I was running away. But, it didn't work. I couldn't stay away. I couldn't stand to be away from you." She dared to inch her hand towards Jane's, leaving it open for Jane to take hold of; hoping that this time she wouldn't get knocked back again.
Jane looked down towards Maura's hand and then back up at her face. "Look, Maura. I'm sorry I was such an ass about everything. I was just so... confused. I was so anxious about my family's reaction to us, especially with the way things ended with my mom in my apartment that night. I don't even know how Frankie and dad will respond! They're not as easy to read as ma."
Maura shrugged her shoulders. "Well, I doubt they'd have offered me a ride, and rescued me, if they didn't care about me. They wouldn't have looked after me they way they did. Look, I'm even wearing the fluffy bunny slippers you bought for your mom last Christmas! And I'm pretty sure she already thinks we're dating anyway, all things considered," she laughed nervously, unsure of where this was going yet aware of the chance she was taking.
Jane nodded, "Yeah, they have been pretty amazing, haven't they? Surprised they haven't moved you in here already!"
"Well, from the reaction of your mom in particular, I'd say it was only you who has the issue with us being together. Your mom and dad just told me I was practically family in there."
"They might not think the same if they thought that their only daughter was sleeping with another woman, though. Families don't tend to sleep with each other...not that I'm aware of, anyway. I hope not!"
"Well, there's only way to find out, then, isn't there?" Maura stood up. "If you want to fight for this relationship, anyway."