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"Maura what the hell happened to your hands?! And you're bleeding!" Jane rushed up from her spot on the sofa and went to her girlfriend's aid.
"Someone shoved into me at school and I fell on my hands and knees," Maura stated as she took a seat at the table. "It looks worse than it is Jane, but it does still hurt a bit. Can you get the first aid kit from the bathroom please?"
"I'll be right back," Jane replied as she hurried into the guest bathroom and came back seconds later with a small first aid kit box. "Let's take care of your hands first and then we'll take a look at those knees." She began to carefully clean Maura's hands with alcohol and antiseptic cream before placing a gauze on each hand and bandaging them up. "There," she said. "I know we may be going a little overboard but at least the bandage will hold the gauze in place. You should be able to take it off in a couple of hours. Let me go get you a clean pair of sweats," Jane said as she rose again and headed into the bedroom this time. "I wish I knew who did this, I'd kick their ass into next year… asshole," Jane said as she walked back towards Maura.
"Language bébé. I'll be alright. I actually met someone who was nice enough to stop and help me," Maura made small conversation as Jane tended to her knees. They appeared to be in better shape than her hands since she at least had had fabric covering them.
"Oh yeah? Who's this?" Jane questioned as she continued working on Maura's knees.
"His name is Garrett. He helped me with my books and walked me to my car. He seems like quite a gentleman. He invited me to dinner, but we ended up agreeing on coffee instead."
Jane's movements stopped the second Maura had said 'dinner' and she looked up at the blonde with a questioning look. "He invited you to dinner?" she asked defensively.
"Yes, he did," Maura nodded. "I made sure to tell him that I was involved, and so he said he was still interested in being friends… that's why we agreed on coffee."
Jane didn't seem at all convinced. "I don't know about that Maur… once a guy is interested in you, they can be kinda persistent. Did you tell him you were involved with a girl?"
"No Jane, I didn't deem it necessary to divulge that much about my personal life. I thought it sufficient to say I was involved with someone."
"I'm not going to tell you I don't want you to see him; I'm not that possessive… but I do want you to be careful with him. He may have other ideas in his mind that don't exactly go with what he says. Just be careful, okay sweetheart?"
"Of course I'll be careful Jane. Really, I'm sure there's nothing to worry about."
Jane nodded, though not convinced in the least.
Coffee with Garrett turned into a regular occurrence, with he and Maura meeting after class 2-3 times a week. Maura made sure to never disrupt her plans with Jane and only accepted the invitation when Jane was at work or in class and always made sure that Jane was aware of her plans and ok with them.
Garrett Fairfield as it turned out, was a Boston Brahmin and came from family money. His wide knowledge of art and history fascinated Maura and led to long conversations in which each detailed their favorite artists or historic era passionately. Maura had never met someone as educated as herself when it came to these subjects and was happily surprised to see that Garrett's and her friendship was blossoming nicely.
What she thought odd however was his not accepting a dinner invitation to her apartment so that he and Jane could meet. He stuck to their schedule like clockwork and was always too busy at any other time of day to do anything else. When Maura commented this to Jane, the brunette's uneasiness with the situation worsened and she constantly told Maura to be on the lookout. It wasn't until a couple of weeks before finals that Jane finally had the afternoon off. Maura had been excited all week since she wanted Jane to meet her now 'close' friend. Jane was still skeptical, but agreed nonetheless and so both went to the coffee shop Maura and Garrett frequented so she could officially form an opinion on one Garrett Fairfield.
While the young man was thrown off guard at the attendance of Jane, he didn't let it show. Maura had mentioned she was dating a woman and had told him a lot about Jane in the time they'd spent at the coffee shop. He introduced himself with his best smile and shook Jane's hand, though Jane hadn't been the least bit fooled.
She sat there for two hours while Maura and Garrett went about their usual conversation. Maura tried including her throughout with Jane only giving her two cents occasionally; she spent her time observing the interaction between the two. She didn't like the way Garrett only had eyes for Maura… or the way he placed his hand on Maura's arm when she said something particularly funny. She didn't like the way Maura let him continue with his antics and wondered whether her girlfriend was just too nice to say otherwise. She inched her chair closer to the blonde's and wrapped her arm around Maura's shoulder comfortably, making sure she made eye contact with Garrett to communicate with actions what she didn't say with words: Maura is MINE. Maura only confirmed Jane's thoughts when the blonde inched closer to Jane and put her hand on Jane's thigh. It didn't take long after that for Garrett to excuse himself.
"Well ladies, I've had a wonderful time. Jane, it was a pleasure to meet you; I hope you can join Maura and I more often," Garrett said as he extended his hand one more time.
"I'll make it a point to be here more often," Jane said pointedly as she shook his hand a little more firmly than the last time.
It wasn't until they were out the door and in Jane's car that Jane turned to Maura and spoke in the calmest way possible for her. "I don't like him."
Maura shot Jane a look of surprise. "Why not Jane? I thought you would love him!"
"I don't like the way he looks at you Maura… I don't like the way he touches you either."
"Jane, he's just a friend, I swear it."
"I know he is… and you can't lie anyway. I know you only see him as a friend but I just saw you two interact and I know he sees you as much more. I'm not comfortable with you spending so much time with him now that I see how he is around you! Something is up with this guy Maura, you have to trust me on it!" Jane insisted.
"Jane, Garrett is my friend. I can understand why you're uneasy, but there is nothing going on between us. I would never let him get in between you and I. I love you bébé, and only you. You saw what we do today… he is a great conversationalist, that's all. I enjoy sitting and talking with him about art and history… I don't want that to stop."
Jane shook her head and hit the wheel with her hands in frustration. Maura jumped in her seat, completely caught off guard by Jane's actions. "I'm just looking out for you, for your safety Maura, can't you see that?!"
Maura took a few breaths to try to steady her breathing again. She'd never seen Jane so angry. She sat in silence for a minute and thought about what she was going to say. "I'm not going to stop seeing him Jane. You have to trust my judgment," Maura said quietly but loud enough for Jane to hear her.
Jane shook her head once more, anger evident. She bit her tongue in order to not explode. She was angry and disappointed that Maura couldn't see what she saw in that scumbag. "You want to keep your coffee dates with him? Fine. But be completely aware Maura: I am NOT ok with this. I hope that with time you are able to see what I see, before it's too late." Jane started the car and drove back towards their apartment without another word from either girl.
I want to make this perfectly clear: this is not going to turn into a Maura/Jane breakup leading to a Maura/Garrett couple. Maura will stay true to Jane throughout. He is going to stir some trouble as you can all see and this is the beginning. Though Maura and Jane will have their share of trouble, Rizzles will prevail. Thoughts?
