A/N: And another chapter! Did you get a diabete crisis from last chapter, because holy sweetness.
Things are moving, feelings are evolving, meanwhile the Rizzles ship ships itself and I am a humble bard who praises it in the most humble way.
Thank you for reading, for encouraging me and giving me the motivation to write =) I hope I do you good.
Happy reading!
At 7am, Maura was long awake and the wait started to feel very long for both women. Small naps helped pass the time but only small bits of it. The main part of their 19 hours surveillance consisted of them sitting in silence together. They talked from time to time but, honestly, Jane was running out of subject of discussion and Maura seemed too wrapped up in her own thoughts to think of any new one. So they simply shared each other's company.
Frankie had last come by around midnight, right before leaving the hospital. He too was tired after his nights shifts and he, for one, was definitely sleeping in his own bed. The younger Rizzoli would most likely come to the hospital sometime in the morning - that is to say anytime between now and midday.
A little before 8am, Angela came by to bring her two favorite girls breakfast. She had made green tea to try to calm their nerves and help them relax. The notion nearly made Jane snort because green tea did certainly not have the life ingredients for any of those things. In fact, tea contained caffeine molecules, so it was actually likely to make them even more nervous. But Jane knew her mother meant only the best and it mattered more than any accurate science. The Rizzoli mother insisted that Jane and Maura came to the traditional Saturday family & friends dinner, to which they politely promised to try.
Maura assured Angela that she could still use her kitchen to cook and host the dinner. The blonde internally convinced herself that if she didn't feel like seeing people – even if they were her friends – she could always spend the night at Jane's.
The Rizzoli matriarch stayed a full hour and was about to leave – as a result of Jane and Maura's constant reassurance that they could handle the few hours left alone – when she spotted her son in the hospital corridors. She called out and ran at him, and Jane laughed when she saw his embarrassed and yet unsurprised face.
The brunette turned to Maura, still smiling, and saw her friend biting her manicured nails, already deep in her thoughts again. The Italian took the tortured hand away from the blonde's teeth. Maura clacked her tongue in annoyance but then remembered that it was Jane sitting next to her, so she quietly listened to the ME explain how biting her nails was bad for her because of the products in her nail polish, and bad for her nails because it weakened them. Of course Maura knew that, but having the brunette soothing's voice tell her something meant for her well-being was a good alternative to silently worrying.
Both Jane and Maura had felt the change during the night. It hadn't happened at a precise moment, but they were aware that something had shifted, like tide wave. Like an earthquake, but one deep under their skin, somewhere in their heart and bones. The recent events had aggregated a lot of feelings scattered around their hearts. Slowly but surely the pieces of the puzzle were assembling.
Jane had already put to and two together. She knew what it was that was hanging over their heads. It was scary but it was also very exciting. A little like danger, or like a gift waiting to be opened.
Maura, on her side, was not putting any kind of label on Jane and she's relationship. They were best friends, that had been established some time ago, but the recent fluctuations in the dynamic of their friendship had not yet risen deeper questions in her. To be honest, she was pushing them away. The Detective wanted to focus on the fact that Jane was alive and in good health. Furthermore, Maura was not sure that any type of mathematics would help her figure out what it was exactly that felt changed. It was all very scary.
So the two friends sat together, sometimes conversed and otherwise shared silence without even trying to talk about it. It was an implicit truth. A fact.
The blonde caught Jane's attention shift in the middle of her explanation and she followed her gaze. Angela was leaving and Frankie was making his way towards them.
"How are you?" he asked when he reached the plastic bench where they were still sitting.
"In dire need of a shower," Maura answered flatly.
"Yeah, you smell, Maur," Jane said.
The blonde made an angry face at her and Jane laughed.
"Like flowers, you smell like flowers."
Maura still smacked her arm with a healthy punch that granted her a hearty "ow" from Jane.
"O-kay," Frankie said, looking at the two of them goofing around. "Did any of you sleep at all?"
"We had small naps," Jane said, still smiling. "Nothing like a real night of sleep in a real bed, but it did the trick."
"Well, you're probably going to need two straight days of sleep to erase those dark circles under your eyes."
"Fuck you, Frankie," the ME said jokingly.
He smiled, secretely happy that his sister was still witty as ever. It was generally a good sign.
"Do you need anything?" the young Rizzoli inquired.
"I'm fine. You, Maur?"
The blonde shook her head.
"Ok then. I'm going to go check on Doyle. Nothing special happened?"
"Nothing. The nurses came every two hours or so but they didn't seem panicked or anything, so I'd say nothing too tragic."
"Ok. I'll tell you in a minute if there's something out of the ordinary."
Both women nodded and watched him enter Paddy's room. Frankie checked the monitors, adjusted Doyle's perfusion and read his charts. There was no visible gasp or gesture that betrayed excessive worry. He left the room a few minutes later.
"He's fine," he informed them. "We'll wait until 12pm. If his condition remains the way it is now we can be a 100% he's going to be fine and that he'll wake up sooner rather than later."
Maura looked reassured but not completely relieved.
"Only a few more hours to go," Frankie said to cheer them up.
"The longest is behind us," the Detective said with a smile that Jane mimicked.
"Yeah," the Italian confirmed. "4 hours are nothing to us."
Her brother grinned with the famous Rizzoli smirk.
"I'll come back at 12pm."
"See you then, Frankie."
Maura nodded and waved to him.
4 more hours.
It happened that those last 4 hours were the longest of the 19 hours Jane and Maura waited together. They were both very tired, their butts started to feel flat from sitting on the bench and the smell of the hospital was so impregnated in their clothes and hair that Jane felt like she had showered with the damn alcohol and floor product. They were not hungry, neither of them really felt like talking, they couldn't have any more coffee or they would explode.
They were bored. Thank God they were together because had they been alone for 19 hours in Mass Gen, they would have turned crazy. Jane felt either like pacing or sleeping but she wanted to do neither. Maura was wrenching her hands in order not to bite her nails until there would only be flesh and blood. Sometimes their eyes met and they offered each other an encouraging smile.
Finally, the needles of Maura's watch aligned on the number '12'. She looked expectantly at Jane who checked in turn her own watch. The brunette stood up and walked up to Doyle's room. He looked the same he had looked like 19 hours ago. Which was actually a good sign.
Five minutes after 12pm, Jane was glancing at the time every ten seconds and checking if Frankie was anywhere to be seen in the corridors of the rooms 306 to 315. Finally, she took her cellphone out and dialed his number. Both Maura and Jane heard Frankie's ringtone from the distance.
He saw their hopeful expression and went straight to check on Doyle. 8 minutes and 12 seconds later exactly, he was out. Maura had joined Jane while he was inside and both the ME and the Detective had been scanning ever small gesture he made and every crease on his forehead. They waited for him to give his final diagnostic.
"He's going to make it," he informed them and Maura felt a weight being lifted off her shoulders.
She leaned on Jane to keep her balance. The brunette instinctively slid an arm around her waist in support.
"He should be awake soon now. We'll keep him a few more days and then he should be able to leave."
Maura deeply exhaled and Jane briefly squeezed her hip.
"Thank you, Frankie."
"You can thank Jane too," the young doctor said. "She was the one who found that the medication we were giving home wasn't doing him any good."
Jane gave him a genuine smile. She turned to Maura to see her friend was staring at her intently.
"What? Do I have something on my face?"
The blonde only shook her head in response and broke the eye contact.
"I think I'm ready to go home," she announced.
"Yeah?" Jane asked.
The Detective nodded.
"Are we going to see you at Sunday dinner tonight?" Frankie asked. "You can go at my apartment if you don't feel like coming. Ma told me dinner is still at your house. We won't take it personally if you decide that you want to rest."
"I'll see," Maura said. "And thank you for the offer."
Frankie grinned and left them after saying goodbye.
"Do you want to go see him before we go?" Jane inquired.
Maura seemed to be thinking about it for a moment but decided against it and shook her head no.
"I'll come back when he's awake. I think it's better I have some rest now. And you too. We need two whole days of rest, remember?"
"Although no science could prove this theory, I'm totally okay with it," the ME said, massaging her temples. "Let's go. Should I call a taxi?"
"My car is in the parking of the hospital. An officer drove it here."
"Ok. I'm driving."
Maura didn't argue and handed her the keys. Jane had been taking care of her since the day before and she was very okay with it.
It took them some time to find the blonde's car but just before Jane started to let irritation get the best of her, they recognized the blue vehicle parked in a far corner of a parking alley. They made their way inside and buckled up.
"Should I drive you to your house? I should warn you, my mother is probably already cooking for tonight. Actually she's probably just going to wander in your kitchen until you're back and then pretend that she had just started preparing dinner to be sure to run into you."
Maura resisted the urge to sigh. She loved Angela Rizzoli like family but sometimes the Italian mother was a little intrusive – in a very loving way, but still.
"You are allowed to not want to see her right this minute," Jane informed her. "I know my mother. She's a handful and it doesn't make us love her any less but sometimes, just sometimes, we need to be very far away from her. Say, a neighborhood away from her." The brunette waited for the blonde's answer and precised. "You can hide at my place and we'll show up at Sunday dinner if we have enough courage."
Maura looked at her and Jane nearly laughed at the relief she saw in her friend's eyes.
"My place it is," she chuckled.
They drove not too fast to Jane's apartment. The brunette wanted to step on the accelerator pedal but she knew it would have been a ridiculous thing given her current state of tiredness. So she took her time, made sure she was within the speed limits and checked her surrounding at every green light and crossroad. Finally, finally, she parked at her apartment and turned the engine off. They made their way to Jane's floor with weary feet.
Jo Friday greeted them with her usual over excessive joy. Her mistress picked her up and the little dog yelped at Maura to get some affection. The blonde indulged her and scratched her behind her ear. Jo seemed happy as a clam. The ME put her down and went to give her some food. She also poured for Maura and herself two tall glasses of water. They drank it at the kitchen counter. It felt good to be out of the hospital, at last.
"So," Jane trailed, playing with her empty glass. "What now?"
Maura looked at her questioningly.
"You realize we have a week off, right?"
"Oh," the blonde answered, suddenly realizing the mere fact. "That's right."
"So, what are you going to do?"
"I haven't really thought about it," the Detective said thoughtfully. "What are you going to do?"
"Well, first I'm going to sleep those two full days Frankie prescribed us. Then I don't know. Nothing much, I guess. I may catch up on a few science articles I've been wanting to read. Nothing too interesting. We are grounded after all."
"We are not grounded. We are not children, Jane."
"Damn right feels like it, though."
"I guess it does."
Jane theatrically brought her palm to her chest with her mouth open in a wide 'O'.
"You guess? Maura! How dare your?"
The blonde laughed.
"Oh, shut up."
"And now you insult me. I am shocked. Beyond shocked. Your mouth is filthy and your manners are dirty, young miss."
Maura cocked an eyebrow at her.
"Really? My mouth is filthy?"
Jane turned a dark shade of red upon realizing the double entendre, instantly losing her character. This time the blonde laughed heartily.
"I think we really need some sleep. Could I have a blanket for the couch?"
"The couch? Really, Maur? Come on, you're sleeping in my bed."
"And where are you sleeping?"
"In my bed too. Or on the couch if I find you smell too much."
"Funny," Maura said, squinting her eyes.
"I'm going to take a shower first. I want to shake that hospital smell off of me."
"That's a good idea."
"Go first, I'll go find something of mine that you can wear."
"I actually left some of my clothes in your closet."
How convenient, Jane thought.
"Alright. Go then, I'll lock up and check my emails."
Maura nodded and went to Jane's bathroom. The Italian listened to the quiet footsteps of her friend going into her room, opening the closet, staying there a few seconds then go in the bathroom. There was the sound of the door being shut but the locked remained unused. Jane smiled knowingly.
It was a habit they had adopted a few years ago. Maura had been hurt a few times on the job. Some of these injuries had been serious enough for her to require assistance in everyday tasks, and the assistance usually came in the form of a very professional and attentive Jane. It was one of their many ways to take care of each other and be sure the other was safe. Unlocked bathroom doors, reachable cellphones at any time of the day and night, short messages to say there had gotten home safely. Little things that had slowly made their way into their life as indelible habits.
Jane heard the shower start to run and she paused a minute, leaning on the kitchen counter with her elbows. Maura always looked like she felt home when she was at Jane's. The Italian had spent enough time at the Detective's house to know what a relaxed, comfortable Maura was like, so she knew her friend felt at ease here. To be true, Jane's apartment felt more like home when Maura was there. The ME smirked.
Home.
Home had changed into a whole new concept, somewhere between midnight and 3am, when Maura had been sleeping with her head safely resting on Jane's lap. Somehow, the brunette had felt home. Maura alive. Maura leaning on her. Maura looking at her with those eyes that saw right through her. In those moments only did she belong somewhere with extreme certainty.
With a sigh, Jane finally moved away from the kitchen. She locked her door, closed her windows and made a quick tour of her apartment out of habit. She saw her computer sitting on her coffee table but dismissed it. She would look at her emails later, after all she was off duty.
The water went off in the bathroom.
The Doctor prepared the bed for the night. She made sure the heat was on at the proper temperature and then fished for a tank top, shorts and panties in her closet. Maura came into the room when she was plugging her phone to recharge it.
"Bathroom is all yours," the blonde declared with a smile.
Jane saw her wet tangled hair, the freckles scattered on her clavicle revealed by the small cleavage of her pajama top, her weary but gleaming eyes, and her heart made a grandiose leap in her chest.
"Ok," was all she was able to mouth.
Completely oblivious to Jane's loss of words, the Detective went to her usual side on the bed where she found a bottle of water and aspirin. She smiled at her friend but she was already gone. Jane, Queen of the Dead, was a thoughtful and tender human being.
Maura slid under the covers with a long moan of pure pleasure. She had wanted to wait for Jane to sleep but she found it too hard to keep her eyes open. So she closed them, naturally, feeling safe and, somehow, happy.
Jane stepped out of the shower and quickly dried herself. She put her night clothes on and brushed her teeth before she went to the bedroom. Jo Friday followed her to get her goodnight kiss then scampered off to her basket in the living room.
Jane set the alarm for 6pm, which was an hour before Sunday dinner, and slid next to Maura in bed. The blonde smelled like her shampoo and soap. It made Jane's stomach do loops.
The ME yawned so hard she had tears in her eyes. Without further ado, she turned the light off and drifted to a well-deserved sleep with no dreams.
A/N: Can you feel the Rizzles? So close you can taste it.