Sorry for the delay guys. Chapter 12 will be up tonight though, so, it's like a double feature. Annnd! Maura's home.
hope you like it!
-t.c.
Dad's gone.
What?
He left. Well, Mom kicked him out. I think she realized that the fighting was really, like…making Tommy upset.
Oh, God…
He said something to Jane, when he left, and she's... really upset.
He said something?
Yeah, I dunno, when he left, she tried to stop him.
Is she hurt, Frankie? Are you hurt?
Umm…
Physically.
No.
I'm coming. Okay? I'm coming. Give me your e-mail, we can meet when I land. I'll send you where to go…
The flight is agony. Maura looks out the window trying to judge by the clouds if the plane is actually moving forward. She feels it is totally possible that they could just be hovering in midair, not going anywhere. Not getting closer to Jane. Jane. She closes her eyes, working on calming her racing heart.
Her mother had driven with her to the airport, the air in the taxi heavy with tension. When they'd pulled up the terminal, Constance had put her arm out, stopping her daughter from exiting.
"Maura, I know that you and I have not spent a lot of time together over the past couple of months, but you must remember that I am not an ignorant woman," she had paused, looking at her daughter's confused face with detached condescension. "You and I both know that there is no school emergency that is calling you back to Boston." She held up her hand to stop Maura's protestation. "You have never been able to lie, darling. Now, I don't know if you are simply tired of Spain, if you wish to be back with your friends from Saint Catherine's, or…if you have to return home to some young man that just cannot wait to see you." Constance stopped speaking until Maura had lifted her eyes to look her in the face. "Remember this, Maura. You are an Isles. You go home and do whatever it is you must do, but do not forget your name, and what it represents. I will not tolerate any actions that portray you to be less than what you are. Do I make myself clear?"
Maura had rearranged her features into what she hoped was pleasant disinterest. "Perfectly. Thank you for the ride, Mother."
"Ladies and gentlemen, we are beginning our descent into Boston, please make sure that all your seat backs are in their upright position and you carry-ons are properly stowed…" Maura jerks awake suddenly, unable to remember falling asleep. She looks out her window and watches the grey concrete Boston spring up underneath the plane. She does not even try to control her heart beat now. Jane, she thinks, and a smile spreads across her face. More than anyplace she's ever seen, she is happy to see this snowy little city. More than any time in her life she feels the word home in her chest. In her heart. She's coming home.
"Frankie, I don't understand why we had to come all the way out here just for sandwiches and hot chocolate."
Maura thinks that she has never heard any sound as beautiful as Jane's exhausted, harassed sounding voice.
"You needed to get out, Jane," Frankie answers, and he sounds tense.
"But, Sheesh, Frankie, this hot chocolate is gonna cost like four bucks a cup. Look where we are."
Unable to stand it any longer, Maura turns towards the voices, seeing Frankie first. He looks older than Maura remembers him, taller. He catches her eye, and relief floods his face. He nudges his sister and points, and Jane's eyes follow his finger finally meeting Maura's. Her face goes blank.
"M-Maura?" She blinks a couple times, as if she doesn't trust what she's seeing.
Maura stumbles forward, pulling Jane into her arms and squeezing the skinny frame as though she is trying to fuse them together. At first Jane is rigid in her arms, but Maura doesn't let go, and after a moment, she feels Jane's arms snake around her waist. Maura tries to stop the tears that are welling in her eyes. "I missed you so much!" She says into Jane's ear. Jane pulls back, looking around at the couple of people in the coffee shop, nervous. She takes Maura's hand and leads her out onto the sidewalk. Her face seems to be frozen in permanent shock.
"What…what are you…how?" she says turning to look from Maura to Frankie, who is grinning slyly.
"I stole your phone," Frankie says proudly, "You know, those days when you wouldn't get out of bed?"
Maura frowns at this new piece of information. "I told her that you really needed to her to come home."
"And I came," Maura says, squeezing Jane's hand, who looks down at the sudden pressure, surprised.
"You came all the way back from Spain? Because Frankie…" She trails off, looking more and more confused.
Maura smiles reassuringly, "Frankie knows, Jane," she says, and Frankie nods, his look of pride only growing.
"You…what?" Jane's look of confusion changes immediately to apprehension.
Frankie laughs, "yeah, when was the last time you asked anyone for permission to kick the shit out of Joey Grant? Or anyone for that matter?"
"Language," Jane says automatically.
Frankie laughs harder, "See? That's new too. No more swearing," Frankie shrugs under Jane's appraising eyes. "You were really upset. Ma's really busy with Tommy…"
Jane drops Maura's hand to pull her brother into a hug. "Thank you Frankie," She says, her voice tight with emotion. "You are the best guy, the best brother, anyone could ever ask for."
Not used to any over emotion besides anger from his sister, Frankie hugs her back briefly, his face bright red, before pushing her away. "Yeah, yeah, can I go now? I'm supposed to meet Shane." He tries to look like he wants to go, but Maura knows he is really asking Jane's permission. That he won't leave her side until he knows she's okay.
Jane shoves her hand in her pocket and pulls out a twenty. "Go to the arcade, or the movies or whatever. On me, bro."
Frankie beams. "I can bring Maura to you more often if it means cash money!" he jokes, and with one bashful look at Maura, he heads down the street back to the T.
"Maura," Jane says, quietly, and Maura turns to see Jane just staring at her. "You're really here."
"I am," Maura says, stepping up the curb and raising her hand for a taxi. "Let's go home."
"Lie down. You look exhausted," Maura puts her suitcase down just inside her door and points to her bed. Jane hesitates a split second before obeying, slipping of her shoes, and then after a second of hesitation, her jeans which are soaked with snow run off up to the ankle. Maura smiles at her consideration, and then tears her eyes away from Jane, in her boy shorts and t-shirt. She opens her suitcase, rooting around in it for the present she got in Barcelona.
"Are you going to lie down with me?" The voice is so unlike Jane's that Maura has to turn around, almost sure that someone else has entered the room. It is Jane, eyes shut against her question, like she can't bear to see Maura answer if she's going to decline, and curled under the covers like a little girl.
Maura nearly forgets what she was looking for, the sight of Jane almost makes her stop breathing. "Of course," she says, and hurries over to the other side of the bed, sliding under the covers in her dress. She wraps her arms around Jane, pulling her close, running her fingers into her hair, down to the base of her skull and back up, feeling Jane sigh and relax against her.
"You've lost weight," Maura says, frowning, pulling the other girl's hips against her. Measuring them against her memory.
"I kept forgetting to eat," Jane says, not even bothering to deny it.
Maura can't wait any longer, "Jane, what happened? Frankie said that-"
"he knows, Maura," Jane sounds close to tears.
"Frankie? Yes, we've already established that. But he doesn't care, he-"
"No. My Father."
Maura stops rubbing Jane's head. "What?"
Slowly, trying to keep the tears out of her voice, Jane recounts what happened in the hall the day her father walked out. Maura feels her blood start to boil as the story comes to a close.
"Jane," She says, realizing, "You father did not leave because of you."
Jane shrugs in her arms, "Of course he did, Maur," She says, and her voice is so resigned that Maura doesn't know how she could convince her otherwise.
Jane rolls onto her back and stares up at the ceiling. Maura leans in and kisses Jane's cheek. She can't help it. She feels like she's let her down. She promised to be there when Jane needed her. She promised everything would be okay. Promise me I will always have you.
She traces her finger up Jane's arm. "Are we breaking up?"
Jane jerks her head around to look at Maura, her eyes horrified, "You want to?"
"God, no! I just thought…I thought…"
"When he said that…after he was gone, I just wanted," Jane pauses, squinting up at the ceiling, "I just wanted you there." She puts her hands out, like a surrender. "I just wanted you here."
Maura doesn't think she will ever be able to pull Jane close enough to her after this confession. She nuzzles into Jane's neck until she giggles, pushing at the blonde's shoulders so that they are eye to eye.
"Maura?"
"mm?"
"Can I kiss you?"
