A/N 3x07 is not the way I expected them to go with Lydia, but I already had this plotted out, so I'm leaving it as is.

Jane

I was wrong. I'm not a soft butch, or a chapstick lesbian. I was pretty sure I needed a whole new term for what I was, and the best I could come up with was mallomar dyke. A dark, hard shell surrounding a big lump of soft, gooey marshmallow. It wasn't perfect, but I couldn't find a word to describe porcupine skin stretched over whipped cream.

And I was whipped. God, was I whipped.

It was 9:30 AM Sunday morning, and I, Jane Clementine Rizzoli, had been awake for two hours, and was sitting at the table in Maura's house, wearing a silk robe that cost more than I paid for rent in a month, over an honest to God negligee (that cost more than my Glock), with the stupidest school girl grin on my face while shopping for engagement rings for Maura, whom I had officially been dating for a day and a half.

Oh, I wasn't going to buy one that morning, at least that's what I kept telling myself, but I didn't even bother to switch tabs to the Bruins website when Ma walked in through the back door. Instead, I just looked up, smiled, and said, "Morning, Ma," before I went back to my cheerful little afterglow daydream.

"Good morning," Ma said. She had a knowing smirk on her face, but even that couldn't dent the power of the Maura afterglow.

God, so, so whipped.

"Where's Maura?" she asked.

"Taking a shower," I said as I clicked on an article about how to determine a woman's ring size without her finding out. I wasn't buying a ring that morning, but it never hurt to plan ahead.

"Well?"

I looked up from the article. "Well, what?"

"Why aren't you up there with her?"

I think I heard my jaw hit the table as it dropped. "Really, Ma? Really?"

She just raised an eyebrow.

"Fine, she made me shower first. Something about running out of hot water in the middle spoiling the mood." I looked back down at my computer. "I'm getting her a tankless water heater for Christmas."

Ma laughed, and so did I.

"I'm happy for you, Janie."

I looked back up at her, and was half tempted to get up and hug her. "Thanks, Ma."

"How about I make you girls breakfast? You need to keep your energy up, after all."

I rolled my eyes at her, but my heart wasn't in it. I was way too happy. "How about pancakes?"

"That sounds wonderful," Maura said from the hallway.

I looked over at her, and could feel the stupid grin getting bigger. I closed my computer and got up, walked over to her, slipped my arms around her and kissed her good morning for about the hundredth time since we woke up.

"Oh, you two make such a cute couple!" Ma gushed.

I turned to look at her. "Ma, please, I'm trying to make out with my girlfriend here."

"Jane, be nice. Your mother has offered to let us sit on the couch and snuggle while she cooks."

"You should listen to her, babe," Ma said. "She's a doctor."

"Alright. Two against one. I see how it is. I'd argue anyway, except I think I'm getting the better end of this deal."

"I disagree. I think-"

"Maura."

"Yes?"

"We're wasting valuable snuggling time."

Maura threw her head back and laughed. The sound was musical. Another reminder that I was completely, totally besotted. She started backing towards the couch, dragging me along with her, and the smile on her face made me seriously consider taking the rest of my life off work to spend it like this.

Then someone knocked on the fucking door. Maura started to turn around, but I stopped her.

"Where are you going?"

"To get the door."

I shook my head. "Mmm Mmm. Valuable snuggling time."

"It could be important."

"Not more important that our date with the couch."

"Janie, let her answer the door."

I turned to glare at Ma. "Really? I thought you were on my side here."

While I was yelling at Ma, who had made an annoying amount of progress on breakfast, Maura managed to slip out of my arms and walk over to the door. I turned back around, just in time to see her open it.

"Is my daughter here?" Pop asked. The happiness I'd felt a moment before seemed to vanish. In its place, there was nothing but a knot of pain, like someone had punched me in the stomach.

Maura turned to look at me, silently asking me if I wanted to see him, but Pop stepped past her before she answered him, taking the choice away from me.

"Hey, Janie." Just like that? He was gonna act like nothing had happened?

"What are you doing here, Pop?" I knew I shouldn't get angry, but I couldn't believe his nerve, coming to Maura's house.

"I wanted to talk to you."

Maura closed the door and slipped around Pop, heading towards me.

"Oh, now you wanna talk?"

"Yeah."

I was getting angrier by the second. I'd been so happy, everything had been going so well. I just wanted my perfect day back, and he was going to ruin it. I knew it. "Yeah, well, I wanted to talk Thursday night, and you didn't have anything to say to me." I felt Maura's hand settle into the small of my back, and it felt like being thrown a lifeline. Maura was there. Maura, Ma, and if I needed them, Frankie, Tommy, Korsak and Frost would be there too.

"What, you think you can just spring something like this on someone and not expect them to get upset? How am I supposed to feel?"

"Spring it on you? Jesus Christ, Pop. I'm thirty-nine years old. How is telling you I'm gay ever not gonna be springing it on you? Oh, I know, I should have waited until I was forty and sent out invitations to my big fat gay birthday party!"

"Janie-"

"You wanna know how you're supposed to feel? You're supposed to feel like I'm your daughter, and you love me."

"Of course I love you, but I don't understand how you could do this to me and your mother."

Of all the stupid things Pop could have said, that was probably the worst. Ma just about exploded. "Frank Rizzoli, don't you dare pretend that I'm as small minded, as hateful, as-"

"Ma," I shouted, and for once, my Ma stopped yelling and looked at me. "I got this." She nodded, and I turned back to Pop. "You wanna know what Ma said when I told her? She hugged me, said she loved me, and that she was proud of me. Frankie? His biggest concern was that I'd beat him to Maura's assistant Susie." Maura made the cutest little 'Hmph' sound at hearing that. "Tommy couldn't stop apologizing for missing dinner and for having tried to kiss Maura once, and Korsak and Frost were more concerned about what Korsak was gonna order for lunch. But you know what all of them had in common, Pop? They all just want me to be happy."

"That's all I want for you, honey."

"Then you should be happy about this."

"Is this because I left your mother? You think because our marriage didn't work, you won't be able to find a guy who will stay with you?"

I stared at him for a moment, wondering how he could think that. Had I not been clear. I shook my head, and slipped my arm around Maura. "Pop, I don't want a guy. All I want is Maura. She's all I've wanted for a long time. It just took me a while to get up the balls to admit it. But now, I've got her, and I'm happy. Why can't you understand that?"

I could see the emotions playing across his face. Anger, confusion, frustration. I wasn't getting through to him, and it hurt. Pop had always been the one I could talk to, and I wanted him back, but the man in front of me wasn't the man I thought I knew.

He turned toward Maura and took a step towards her. "What the hell did you do to my daughter?"

I let go of Maura and got between them, then planted my hand on Pop's chest and shoved him back a good three steps. "Don't you dare talk to her that way." I shoved him again, back towards the door. "Don't you dare come into her house and speak to her like that." Another shove. "You want to blame someone, blame me for not being willing to give up what I want to make you happy."

"Janie, please. What did we do wrong?"

I sighed and shook my head. "You need to go."

"Where am I supposed to go? Lydia kicked me out. Said she wasn't going to marry someone who wouldn't love their kids no matter what."

"That's why you came here?"

"I tried going to your place. I sat outside your door half the night, waiting for you to get home. Tommy wouldn't let me stay at his place either. Said I could come back when I apologized to you."

"Well, for once Tommy has the right idea. You can come back when you're ready to accept that I'm gay, and that I'm with Maura."

"You're gonna pick her over me? I'm your blood, Janie."

"Yeah, but Maura's my family. Something you walked out on."

"I thought I raised you better than this."

"And I thought you were a good man. Looks like we were both wrong."

He didn't say another word. He just turned and walked out. Again.

I felt a hand on my shoulder, and turned around. Maura was looking up at me, and I could see the worry in her eyes. I understood it, after what happened before, but this time, I was more angry than hurt. He hadn't come because he wanted to make things right between us. He'd come because he had nowhere else to go. Because it was the price of getting back in with the people he still gave a damn about. Never mind what it did to me, or to Maura, or Ma.

I took Maura in my arms, hugging her tightly. "I'm sorry, Maur."

"What for?" she asked.

"I'm sorry he spoiled our morning, that he talked to you that way."

I looked up as saw Ma standing behind the counter, tears in her eyes. I held out my hand to her, and she came around the counter and walked over, hugging us both, and then patting us on the back.

"You still want those pancakes?"

I nodded.

"You two sit down. I'll have breakfast ready in a few minutes."

I led Maura over to the couch and sat down, pulling her into my lap and holding her tight while Ma fixed breakfast. Slowly, the familiar banging of bowls, spoons, hand mixers and Jo Friday begging Ma for food and the feel of Maura's hands stroking my hair eased the tension and soothed away the anger.

I had this. I had a wonderful, beautiful brilliant girlfriend who took care of me, and two brothers who loved me and did what they could to protect me, and partners who respected and cared for me, a dog who was always happy to see me, a tortoise who... made my girlfriend happy, and a mother who made me bunny pancakes when I was upset.

I had a family. Pop might chose not to be a part of my life, and that would always hurt, but I had a family, and it was enough.

For the first time in a long time, I was really, truly happy.