A/N: Mega love for all you reviewers, followers and favouriters. Hope you enjoy this one!
Monday morning found Maura champing at the bit. Having been told on the Friday she would be let out of hospital within a day or two, she had fully expected to be loosed on Sunday morning at the latest. As the clock ticked ever closer to the end of the day, Maura's disappointment became more and more crushing. Constance was there with her, looking equally peeved by the delay.
"I don't know what they think they're playing at," her mother said tersely, as she tapped her foot.
Miserable, Maura nodded in agreement. On her bedside table, her phone buzzed as a text message arrived. She smiled when she saw Jane's name ringed in lights on the screen, and reached to pick it up, careful not to put undue pressure on her injuries.
'Want me to come bust you out of there?' The text read.
Maura responded with: 'You mean kick ass and take names? I don't feel like that would endear me to anyone, as much as I would enjoy watching you do it.'
She knew she could always check out AMA if she really wanted to, but she was a stickler for both rules and medical advice. Though it was desperately frustrating, she knew she'd break out in hives if she tried to leave before her doctor told her she could.
The phone vibrated in her hand. Jane's reply read: 'Ha, anything for you, babe. Let me know when you're free – I'll drive you home.'
Babe. Maura grinned. She hated it when a man called her that, but Jane seemed to be able to get away with it. The offer to pick her up was also one Maura relished. She'd planned to take a taxi with Constance, but she would much prefer the detective to drive her. They'd not seen each other since Saturday, and Maura was beginning to miss her company.
"You look giddy as a schoolgirl," Constance observed. "Who's that texting you?"
"Jane," Maura said shyly.
"Naturally."
The ME narrowed her eyes as her mother smiled at her knowingly. "She offered to drive us home."
"That's sweet of her. Provided, of course, that we ever get you out of here. Shall I go and find out what's happening?"
"If you could, mother, that would be wonderful."
As Constance exited the room, Maura unlocked her phone and stared at the screen, pondering what would make a suitable – yet subtly flirtatious – response. Subtlety wasn't really her forte. Not when it came to Jane.
She almost wished Jane hadn't passed out so soon on Thursday night. Maura would have relished the opportunity to ask her some less than delicate questions while her inhibitions were down. But then there was always the chance that Jane might have remembered the queries in a negative light, or worse still, not given her the answers she wanted.
Maura liked to think that if she'd not been confined to a hospital bed, she might have been brave enough to put her hands on Jane's shoulders and press her against the wall and―
Her heart monitor interrupted her thoughts. It beeped faster. Loathe to have a nurse come in and ask her what the issue was, Maura tried desperately to quash such thoughts, or, at the very least, make them slightly less vivid. She needed to stop thinking about what it would be like to run her tongue along the detective's collarbone and taste the salt on her skin. And what it would be like to see Jane kiss her way up the inside of Maura's thigh.
The monitor was bleeping even more quickly now, but she was lost in her thoughts. A liquid heat mounted inside her. She wanted to get lost in the mess of that tousled brunette hair and learn that body like a nursery rhyme in Braille.
"Maura?
She almost jumped out of her skin. Biting back a forceful curse that her mother certainly wouldn't have appreciated, Maura struggled to get her heart rate back under control. If only I was at yoga... With Jane. In her sports bra.
Christ. That didn't help.
"Darling, is that infernal machine supposed to be doing that?" Constance asked her. "Is everything ok? You look a tad flushed."
"It's warm in here," Maura said. She was a little breathless.
Constance hadn't taken her coat off since she arrived because she'd thought the temperature was too low. She glanced pointedly at her attire, and then raised an eyebrow at her daughter.
"I'm absolutely fine, mother," Maura said seriously. "Perhaps it's the pain."
"You have pain?"
"Not really, no."
Constance eyed her suspiciously. Maura smiled back unnecessarily brightly.
"Did you find a doctor?" The ME asked, seeking to swiftly divert her mother's attention.
"I did indeed. Someone will be with you within the hour. I confess I was somewhat... persuasive."
Maura hoped her mother hadn't made anyone cry. She wondered if the hospital would charge extra for that. Her medical insurance probably didn't cover irate European women. And it definitely didn't cover what Jane could do to her blood pressure. The way she undressed me with her eyes the other day... The memory took Maura's breath away.
"I'll let Jane know to come and pick us up," Maura said with artificial dispassion.
Constance looked at her watch. "Je suis très fatiguée. Would you mind awfully if I went back to my hotel once you get released? The jetlag is still defeating me, I'm afraid."
Maura had expected as much. It didn't bother her. "That's quite alright. I'll most likely go straight to bed myself anyway."
"In that case, I don't feel bad leaving you in Jane's capable hands."
Jane's capable hands. Those exquisite long bones. Pianist's fingers. Maura felt her throat go dry.
"I'll let her know what's happening."
Twenty minutes after Maura texted her, Jane arrived at the hospital. Another twenty minutes after that, Maura had been discharged and they were on the way to the detective's car.
Much to Maura's chagrin, Jane had insisted on her using a wheelchair to leave the hospital. Constance had agreed, so Maura was forced to allow Jane to wheel her to the car, which the other woman clearly relished, taking pleasure in Maura's vexation in a sadistic sort of manner.
"I can get in on my own." She declared firmly as Jane opened the passenger door.
Jane cocked her head to one side, while Constance watched them both as though they were distinctly entertaining. Months ago, in a rare moment of familial tenderness, Maura had confided in her mother how she felt about Jane. They hadn't mentioned it again, but she could tell the older woman had certainly not forgotten. Constance face must surely ache from all the meaningful looks she had been shooting her daughter over the past week.
With an engaging smile, Jane held out her hand for Maura. In spite of her bravado, the doctor wasn't sure of her current strength, so she gladly took it. The detective was strong enough and considerate enough that it was barely any effort to stand up.
Feeling that hand around her own made her change her mind. Forgetting her pride, Maura played up her weakness for all it was worth. She leaned in close to Jane, and drew her familiar scent into her nostrils. Jane's arm wrapped around her; she felt the detective's bicep flex against her lower back, and almost stumbled at the sensation.
"You ok?" Jane whispered, holding her even closer.
Maura couldn't formulate words to answer, so she merely nodded. Though manoeuvring herself into the car hurt, she was almost sad that it took so little time. When Jane shut the passenger door, Maura felt her absence against her body like a sudden, cold void.
Naturally, Jane was adamant on dropping Constance off at her hotel on the way, so the artist wouldn't have to bother with a cab. She knew it would score her points with both Isles women, which was something she always sought to do. She didn't linger outside the hotel though – it was superlative in its splendour, and made her feel significantly out of place. Constance blew a kiss to her daughter and then disappeared inside, leaving Jane free to drive off as quickly as decency allowed.
"Your mother scares me a little," Jane admitted conversationally, "But I do like her."
"I think you scare her a little too, but I also know she likes you as well."
She snorted. "I scare her?Always nice to hear."
"You don't hold back, Jane. She isn't used to that. I do think she finds it refreshing."
"So I'm refreshing and scary?"
Maura laughed. "You're a lot of things, Jane Rizzoli."
They passed the rest of the short drive in companionable silence. When they reached Maura's house, she was too excited to get inside to go through with same pantomime climbing out of the car as she had getting in. Jane still put an arm around her as they walked up Maura's drive; her body heat seeped through Maura's clothes, but the arm was comforting this time. The doctor abruptly found herself feeling exhausted, and she was grateful for the support.
"Would you like to come in for a little while?" she asked.
"If I come in, I'm not going to want to ever leave, and I'm pretty sure you want to enjoy being back in your own bed at last."
"True, I've missed it."
"You've got Ma in your guesthouse, so you'll have a Rizzoli on hand if you need one."
"I love your mother, but she isn't the Rizzoli I'd prefer to have on hand."
"She's a bit full-on," Jane said, glossing over any other meaning to Maura's words. "But she cooks better. You can expect bunny pancakes for breakfast."
Maura laughed. "I'd like that."
The doctor winced in pain as her mirth subsided. She tried to hide it, but Jane saw the way her face crumpled for the scantest of seconds, and her hand pressed to the wound in her chest. The detective nervously moved to steady her, but Maura waved her away. Jane put her hands in her pockets uneasily.
"Why did you do it, Maura?" Jane asked quietly. She looked down at her feet, unable to bear seeing the hurt in the other woman's eyes. Especially since she felt responsible for that hurt – at least in part.
"He would have killed you," Maura said softly, knowing exactly what Jane meant. "From the angle of his arm, I could see the trajectory of the bullet. It―"
"But he could have killed you."
"I didn't think – I just knew I couldn't let him hurt you." Maura reached out and, with a finger under Jane's chin, raised the detective's head.
"You scared me," Jane told her, almost inaudibly.
"I had to do it."
Finally, Jane met her eyes. Maura gave her a rueful half-smile and shifted one shoulder up in a shy shrugging motion. That coy look made Jane's stomach flip. Her breath caught in her throat. Maura had that unreadable sparkle in her gaze again. But this time, Jane could read it perfectly.
This time, she knew.
She had never wanted anything more than she wanted to kiss Maura at that instant. Her abdominal muscles were clenched so tightly she thought they might snap under the pressure. She wanted to feel those lips against her own, slide her tongue into that exquisite mouth, run her hands through that soft, caramel coloured hair. She wanted so badly.
But yet she was paralyzed with anxiety, too nervous to reach out and seize the thing she needed most in the world.
They were standing so close together. It would be so very easy just to cross that last little bit of distance. So goddamn easy. Maura was biting her lower lip and staring at Jane's mouth. What was it about the doctor that transformed her into a scared, horny teenager?
Grow some balls, Rizzoli, Jane growled in the privacy of her own brain. Do it!
A muscle in her neck twitched, as the two warring sides in her head clashed again. Want won out and she gathered the courage to move―
Maura panicked. The moment had gone on too long. Unable to explain entirely why, she leaned in and kissed Jane tenderly on the tip of her nose. For some reason, it seemed like the only safe territory.
Jane blinked. A bubble of hysteria rose in the back of her throat and threatened to burst out. Maura stepped backwards, her hands clasped in front of her body.
"Goodnight, Jane," she said.
"Night, Maura."
Dazed, Jane turned on her heel and slowly walked away. It wasn't quite what she'd been expecting, nor was it exactly what she'd wanted or hoped for. But it was a kiss. A very weird kiss, but a kiss from Maura Isles nevertheless. If she'd been out of eyeshot, she would have punched the air with happiness.
She looked over her shoulder and saw Maura was still outside, watching her go. She faltered mid-step, wondering if she should go back. Jane shook her head wryly, thinking she had already pushed her luck enough for one night. She couldn't mess things up now.
So, instead, she went to her car and got inside. Then, there in the rear view mirror, she caught sight of an almost imperceptible lipstick print on her nose. Laughing softly to herself, she put the car into gear and drove away.
