So finally, the day has come upon us for Maura to officially become part of Sanctuary. The previous chapter seemed to be too long, so I just took what I thought would fit better and brought it here where I added on and finally published.
IMPORTANT A/N at end.
R&I
Omniscient p.o.v
Over the next day and a half, Angela helped Maura with her final preparations for her inclusion into the community with Tommy helping out while T.J. napped. Jane helped out whenever she could between patrols and often made up for her lack of participation by brining Maura back little bouquets of wildflowers picked from the jungle or leaving behind little trinkets.
Now with only a few hours remaining until the ceremony, Maura had prepared for everything she could and was now left to wait. Cavanaugh had allowed Jane to remain off of that nights patrol to spend it with Maura so they could get started first thing in the morning.
"Maura?"
"Jane?"
"You're not going to sleep anymore, are you?" The blonde in question turned her gaze to the barely visible mass huddled under a blanket opposite to where she lay. The brunette's voice was laden with sleep and Maura felt bad that she was interrupting her slumber.
"I'm sorry. It's just...I'm excited for today and I can't sleep any longer. Go back to sleep, Jane. We have a few more hours until we absolutely have to get up." Jane hummed but sat up on the little cot anyways, blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Rubbing an eye with her fist, the brunette yawned and leaned back against the wall.
"Nah, it's alright. I've gone with less sleep before so don't worry about it. Besides, I can feel how excited you are from all the way over here." With her heightened sight, Jane could see that Maura was worrying the corner of her blanket with her fingers; pulling at loose threads and smoothing down others. She stood up and held out a hand to the blonde. "C'mon. The sun is going to be up in a little bit and I know the best place to watch it." Maura took the proffered hand without hesitation, allowing herself to be pulled from the warm cocoon of her bed and up the side of the cave to their little alcove. The warrior sat down and pulled the doctor down with her. Tucking Maura against her side, Jane wrapped the blanket around the pair of them and watched as the sky gradually brightened with the start of a new day.
"These last few mornings, I've felt like this is all a dream; that I'll wake up at home or in a hospital and find that none of this even happened. I would have never known you or this place existed or if you were even a living personal at all!" Maura was silent for a few moments, collecting her thoughts while Jane turned and watched the blonde with a quirked brow. "I suppose that if I were laying in a coma somewhere, I'd be happy not waking up. That way, I'd get to stay with you."
Jane's brow furrowed even more. "Maura, I promise you right here and right now that this is all real. Everything that has happened, is happening, and will happen...is all real. I'll spend the rest of my life proving it to you if I have to. After today, you've got a lifetimes of memories and experiences to collect and I'll be right beside you through it all." Jane's steadfast vow lit a warmth inside her that the blonde had never felt before. Was this what true friendship felt like? What this—dare she say it—love felt like? Whatever this deep and gentle warmth meant, Maura was content to let it spread as she smiled and nestled herself more securely against the Warrior.
The pair sat in comfortable and warm silence as the sun's rays began to light the sky in a wash of light blues, chased by a halo of brilliant gold. Both women watched as the blazing star crested over the horizon and brought the start of a new day with it. Holding out her hand, Jane pulled Maura to her feet once more and led them both down to the inner boundary. People were already out and about, tending to chores and livestock ahead of the days festivities.
"There you two are! I've been looking for you for the past ten minutes. Maura, you've gotta get started on making the paint and Jane is gonna help me start getting ready for the feast later tonight." Leading the two women into her home, she sat Jane at the table and handed her bowls, various ingredients, and instructions as to what she wanted done. Maura sat across from Jane and began crushing the clay flakes and adding water and various pigments. Angela flitted between the two women and made sure that everything was going smoothly. Well, as smooth as possible by her standards. A short time later, Tommy emerged from one of the back bedrooms with his son perched on his hip.
The pair continued working as Tommy fed his son and then moved to help his mother while T.J. played with a few toys from his spot on the floor. Angela cooked a quick breakfast and everyone ate as they continued on their tasks for the day. By ten o'clock, Maura had finished making the required paints and Jane, Angela, and Tommy had finished preparing the foods they would be contributing to the feast. At some point, Frankie had appeared and dropped a wrapped parcel on the kitchen table.
"Clara told me to tell you that she'll be by later to make any last adjustments if you need her to." He relayed the message and snuck a few pieces of fruit from one of the nearby bowls. Angela began unwrapping the fabric and layed out the outfit contained within. It was a dress, rich brown in color with vibrant threading and beadwork along the bust and bottom hem. Maura ran a finger along the artwork sprawling the bottom hem and made a mental note to make something for the dressmaker in return.
"It's gorgeous…" Angela nodded and held the dress up to the younger woman.
"It looks like it'll fit, but we'll have Clara double check. Now, we've got a little more than an hour before the ceremony starts, so, Jane, go find Cavanaugh and see if there's anything else that needs to be done. Maura, you my dear, have to go wash up and then we'll see if Clara can come and make any adjustments. Frankie, go with your sister." Angela's orders were given and everyone moved to do as instructed. Before she followed her brother out the door, Jane gave the blonde a reassuring smile.
"I'll come find you when I'm done, okay." The blonde smiled and nodded before allowing herself to be pulled in the direction of the bath house by the Rizzoli matriarch. Jane, on the other hand, fell instep with her middle brother.
R&I
Jane and Frankie made their way to the center of the innermost boundary and found Cavanaugh talking with a few of Sanctuary's elders. The siblings bowed their heads in respect and were granted permission to approach. The chief turned and greeted two of his best warriors with a raised brow.
"What are you two doing here? Your mother run you out?" He asked and Jane couldn't help the small grin that twitched at her lips.
"Nah, she took Maura to go wash up before Clara stops by to make any adjustments to her dress. Since we've done all that we could, Ma sent us to see if there's anything that we can do on this end while we wait." The older man studied the duo in front of him before delegating them to helping a few others gather suitable firewood for the bonfire.
While the three of them began collecting and arranging wood in the fire pit, across Sanctuary, Maura washed and clothed in the dress Clara had made. True to her word, the older woman had appeared and made any adjustments that needed to be made. Once she was satisfied with the made alterations, the weaver handed the dress back to the younger woman with instructions to put it on; they had taken longer than thought and were now down to the final stretch.
Jane and Frankie made it back to their mothers home just as Angela finished braiding Maura's hair, a ribbon made from the same material as her dress was woven throughout. When the blonde stood to gather all the paint, Jane could see silken strands of red, blue, green, and yellow running along deep brown and amidst gold locks. Mixing in a little extra water, Jane dipped her thumbs in the eggshell white paint and cupped Maura's face in her hands.
"Ready?"
"Yes."
Extending her thumbs upwards, the brunette gently traced a path from the furrow of the blondes brow up and out in a slight arch. Dipping her thumbs once more, she followed the same pattern a little off the center of her forehead. Identical lines along the blondes cheekbones, nose, and down her lips to chin completed the first phase of the ceremonial painting. Quickly wiping her hands on the towel her mother offered, Jane remixed the contents of the bowl and turned to her beloved once more.
"I'm gonna try to go as quickly as I can, okay?" When Maura nodded, Jane gently coaxed Maura's head up so that the soft curves of her neck and shoulders were exposed. This time, Jane dipped her pointer and middle fingers in the bowl and connected the lines at Maura's chin to twin ones along her throat before branching off to trail over delicate collarbones. At the hollow of her throat, Jane painted another gently arched 'V' and continued on over strong shoulders. When the material of the other woman's dress prohibited access to paintable skin, the warrior crouched and began tracing soft loops, arches, and lines on the smooth skin of Maura's calves, knees, and up to mid thigh where, once again, the surface of paintable skin was blocked by the dress.
"We've got about fifteen minutes until Maura has to be with the Elders." Angela's voice carried through from outside where she sent Frankie and Tommy ahead with the food she and Jane had prepared earlier that morning while promising her youngest that T. be fine for the next short while. Daughter nodded to mother in acknowledgment and stood once more.
"Alright, Maur, almost done. Hold out your arms." Doing as instructed, Maura held her arms out to the side and watched as the brunette painted her arms. The paint itself was cool to the touch, but it was the feel of Jane's fingers on her skin that set her ablaze. Her skin prickled and her heart increased in speed as Jane worked her way up her arm; eyes focused and face relaxed as she finished her part of this journey.
Maura prayed that Jane was too focused on the task at hand that she couldn't tell how her touch was affecting her.
Finally, Jane stepped back and sent scrutinizing eyes over every inch of exposed skin. Seemingly satisfied with her work, she wiped off her hands and set the bowls of paints aside. Angela appeared a moment later with a cooing T.J. on her hip. She raked her eyes over the trails her daughter had painted and smiled.
"Well done, Janie. Now, we have to get moving. Clara, thank you for helping with the dress. If you need anything, let me know." She continued on with the shorter woman, leaving the two younger women standing in the little dining area. Brown eyes met hazel and they both chuckled at the fact that Angela had effectively left them behind. Grabbing the remaining bowl off of the table, Jane followed Maura from the house and down the path that would bring them to the innermost boundary.
At some point, the brunette noticed that the usually even and confident strides of her companion had become slower. Stopping and turning, Jane looked to Maura.
"Hey, you okay?" She watched as the blonde gave the slightest of shrugs.
"I'm fine, just nervous. And excited." The shorter woman's admission made sense. Although she had spent the last few months training and preparing for this exact moment, now that it was upon them, Maura was finally starting to realize the significance of it. Jane reached for Maura and enveloped a small hand in one of her larger ones.
"Believe me when I tell you that you'll be fine. Being nervous is a natural thing, but if it starts to get to be too much, just look at me and take a deep breath. Okay?" Her eyes studied the gentle features of Maura's face, taking in each and every expression that crossed delicate skin. Finally, the blonde smiled and nodded.
"Okay." Keeping Jane's hand in hers, she pulled the taller woman along down the path that would bring them to the moment they would finally be able to start moving forward, together.
R&I
Angela was the first to spot the pair as they reached the clearing. T.J. was no longer perched on her hip and if she saw how tightly Maura had her hand linked with Jane's, she didn't say anything.
"The Chief and the Elders are ready for you, sweetheart." The older woman busied herself with tucking a few loose strands of hair behind Maura's ear and smoothing out the wrinkles that only she could see. Maura smiled and thanked her before giving Jane's hand one last squeeze and let go. As if given some great signal, everyone who had showed up for the ceremony parted and left a clear path straight to Chief Cavanaugh and the Elders.
"I'll be right be right behind you." Comforted at the Warrior's promise, Maura took a deep breath and began down the cleared path. The confident strut she walked with now belied the nervousness she had only a few minutes before. Once the blonde had made it a little more than half way down the part, the brunette followed after and looked for a spot at the front. Spotting her brothers, Jane made a beeline for them and sidled up next to Frankie while her mother claimed a spot next to Tommy and her grandson.
"Hey, how's Maura doing?" Frankie asked. Jane didn't take her eyes off of the blonde as she answered her brother. "She's okay. A little nervous, but excited." The younger man hummed in acknowledgement and turned his attention to the Chief.
"Today, we welcome a new member within our family. Upon her successful completion of our Test, Maura has agreed to take the words, laws, and traditions of our people as her own. It is rare for an outsider to be brought in our boundaries and it is even rarer still, for an outsider to become enthralled and agree to stay. Although, a certain Cat might have been a little persuasive." Cavanaugh smirked at Jane and the younger woman grinned. Turning back to the blonde and crowd in front of him, he continued on.
"We gather here now to show our support and unity in this moment. Not only is Maura vowing herself to the words, laws, and traditions of Sancturary, but to its people. One of our highest and most valued traits is that we look after one another; sometimes regardless of past or present feelings. Of course, certain circumstances may influence that, but we work together to ensure the continuation of our home now and for generations to come." The older man paused and focused solely on the shorter woman.
"Maura, do you vow to take the Laws and Traditions of Sancturary as your own? Do you vow to care for its people in any capacity you can just as they will do for you? Do you vow to care and provide for Sancturary so that she will always care and provide for us?" His bright blue eyes scanned her hazel ones, looking for any sign that she might not be sincere in her response.
"Yes. I vow to everything with all that I am." Her voice unwavering and her gaze strong, the Chief smiled and beckoned Jane over with an outstretched arm. Placing the remaining bowl of paint in his hand, she fell back in line with her brothers and watched as Cavanaugh pulled a small pouch from his waist and dumped its contents in the bowl. Mixing the paint with his finger, he held his hand out to Maura and added on to Jane's already precise painting. Once he was satisfied with the added markings, he set the bowl side and held his arms out to the side.
"It is my most sincere honor to welcome you, Maura Isles, to Sanctuary."
R&I
A lot of you lovely people lit a fire under my ass and got me writing again. For that, thank you.
I'm not sure if this will live up to expectation, but it's something I got out in about an hour between homework assignments. I have started college classes again, but this year, my schedule is much more flexible. So, for now, chapters will be a little shorter, between 1,000 and 2,000 words. Of course, there will be longer chapters if I find myself in a particularly steep groove. For now, however, I'm going to try to get a chapter out on Monday's seeing as my schedule is much shorter then than the rest of the week.
Once last thing, please, please, please, start sending me any ideas or things you would like to see. I've got some great things planned for our two favorite women, but I need some filler chapters from now until then (one shots, if you will). I will try my absolute hardest to make it something great.
Until next time,
-SilentDaughter