Maura and Jane's bathroom escapade played out astonishingly identical to the moment they had spent together a few days earlier. They were in the exact same position; Maura pressed against a wall by a ravenous Jane. Their lips and tongues worked perfectly against each other. Jane's mouth moved to the same locations; across the jaw line, down her neck, this time feeling much more sure of what she was doing. Neither of them thought about the future or what any of it meant.
Maura made the same tantalizing sounds that drove Jane insane with desire. She was breathing heavily and moaned as Jane sucked on her sensitive neck.
"Oh, Jane…" Maura whispered again.
She pulled Jane's body closer and clutched the waistline of her pants, pulling harder and harder as she became more excited.
Jane was just making her way to Maura's chest again. She pulled at the neckline of Maura's dress and exposed more flesh to attack with her mouth. The situation was exactly the same; pure passion, pure lust. The same rush of excitement and longing. The same heat.
And unfortunately, the same disastrous outcome.
"Jane?" came the sound of Frankie's voice at the door.
The bathroom door swung open as Jane propelled herself off the wall she had just Maura pinned to. Frankie rounded the corner just in time to see her fly backwards, get tangled up in the shower curtain, and collapse with a crash into the bathtub. The shower curtain had ripped off the rod and was completely engulfing her as she sat up in the bathtub with wide eyes.
"Jane!" Frankie and Maura yelled together, both rushing to her aid.
"What the heck is going on in there!? What was that loud crashing sound?" cried Angela as she rushed into the tiny bathroom. See had a mini panic attack when she saw her daughter wrapped in the curtain, being fished out by her brother and friend. "Jane, what happened? Are you ok?"
By the time they pulled Jane to her feet and began disentangling her from the curtain, Frost, Korsak, Tommy, and Lydia had all piled into the bathroom to see what all of the commotion was.
Jane flailed her arms and legs and growled in frustration.
When it was determined that she was not hurt, Frost and Korsak broke out into peals of laughter.
"What are you doin', Rizzoli?" Korsak choked between chuckles.
"I have never seen anything so hilarious." Frost guffawed.
Even Maura, whose hand was covering her mouth, giggled involuntarily.
The shower curtain fell to the floor in a crumple and Jane stood there with a scowl on her face that silenced everyone.
"I'm sorry, Jane…" Angela said. "Really, are you ok? What happened?"
"Fine." Jane grumbled through gritted teeth.
"I think she had just a little bit too much… um… excitement on her first day home." Maura chimed in, receiving a glare from Jane.
Nice choice of words, Maura!
"I probably drank too much, Maur." Jane said with a sharp look at her friend. She finally softened and allowed herself to smile. "Thank you all for coming. I really do appreciate it. Now, please get out of my bathroom."
They all migrated back into the living room, starting to chuckle at the situation all over again. Jane and Maura started straightening out the shower curtain and attempting to hang it back up. Maura was looking at Jane out of the corner of her eye and smirking. Jane caught her eye and burst out laughing. They giggled for a while, until Jane realized Frankie was still in the room, staring at them.
"What, Frankie, jeez!" Jane whined.
"I came in here to use the bathroom!" Frankie retorted.
"Oh. All right then. We'll just uh…" She dropped the curtain into a pile in the tub, "leave that right there." She clapped her hands together twice.
"Ha, sorry!" Maura directed at Frankie as she tiptoed out of the room.
Jane trailed after her to join the others in the living room. "My brother has the worst timing!" Jane muttered quietly from the side of her mouth. Maura snorted and agreed.
The others were still laughing about the sight of Jane in the bathroom. Angela offered her daughter a glass of water and demanded that she drink it all.
"Well welcome home to me!" Jane stated sarcastically. She raised her eyebrows subtly at Maura on the couch next to her and they shared a secret smile. Maura cracked open a beer and gave Jane a look that said I need plenty to drink after that fiasco. Jane nodded her head in agreement and clinked her glass against Maura's bottle.
The rest of the night was relatively uneventful. Jane rested her head on Maura's shoulder, almost ready to fall asleep, but she listened as her family and friends socialized around her with her eyes shut.
People poked fun at Frost for not being able to hold his liquor at Jane's birthday party.
"I think you even hit on me!" Korsak bellowed over people's snickering.
"What can I say, man? You're a good lookin' dude." he joked, wiggling his eyebrows at the sergeant.
Korsak recoiled with an "Ehh!" and everyone laughed.
Tommy told them about his new job (after being prodded by a proudly beaming Angela) at the warehouse.
"Aw, all I really do is lift boxes and stuff. Not very hard, but I make some good money. Money I can use to help raise my son." he added, reaching out to hold Lydia's hand. Even Jane smiled at that.
Lydia told everyone about funny and cute things TJ had done lately.
"Where is my little grandson, anyhow?" Angela demaded.
"We got a babysitter. Mama's gotta party sometimes!" Lydia answered, holding up a glass of booze. Jane remembered the sight of her nephew"s mother passed out cold on the roof of the station.
Very nice, she thought, and made a mental note to lecture Tommy about it later.
Maura even told a joke.
I wonder if she's drunk again… Jane thought.
"Why do chemists call helium, curium and barium the medical elements?" she questioned the room. Everyone thought for a second and told her they gave up.
"Because if you can't helium or curium, you barium!" she exclaimed with a laugh.
She got what Jane assumed was pity laughter from the peanut gallery. Jane smiled despite herself, imagining the proud look Maura was most likely wearing on her face. Jane was completely content in this moment. She was safe and with people that she loved. It gave her a warm, cozy feeling and she fell asleep within a few minutes.
She woke up to her brothers lifting her off the couch to bring her to bed. Everyone else had left except for them, her mother, and Maura.
When they got her to her bed, Maura came in and whispered,, "I can take care of her if you guys would like to head out."
"Thanks, Maura." Angela whispered back. "I'll see you later." She put her hand on Maura's arm and squinted at her in the darkness. "Are you alright today? I was worried about you last night. You seemed really bothered and distracted by something.'
"Oh. No. I mean yes, I will be fine. I think… Thank you." she replied a bit hastily.
She followed them out and locked the door after they left. She heaved a giant sigh and returned to Jane's room. Jane was sprawled out in the position that her brothers had left her in. She watched her sleep, not daring to move closer. Eventually, she lowered herself onto the edge of the bed. Her heart was pounding. She reached over to touch Jane on her back. She rubbed it softly, watching her breath in and out. She continued this for about ten minutes, then decided to make Jane more comfortable. She yanked off her boots and maneuvered her out of her shirt, leaving her in pants and a wife beater. The moonlight streaming in through the window shone on Jane's well-formed shoulders. She wanted to touch them to see if they were as soft as they looked. They were. She smiled.
Jane stirred, and without opening her eyes grumbled, "You should stay, Maura."
Maura hesitated. "Should I?" she asked.
"Mhm."
Maura covered Jane with the comforter, then lay down next to her. She had slept in this bed a few other times, but it felt different. Maura didn't like different. She never had. Jane was already dead asleep again.
Maura tried not to think too much about their confusing circumstances. She tried to convince herself to wait until tomorrow to worry about it. She had bouts of elation followed by attacks of panic. With Jane's body radiating heat next to her and her mind going on the fritz, Maura had a long, restless night.
She only fell asleep when Jane rolled over and placed her hand on Maura's hip. Maura smiled to herself and thought:
Tomorrow.