A/N: There's a certain something in here that wasn't quite legal in 1994, but this is a story about two girls being madly in love with each other and I'm not going to let politics stand in the way of that. On a lighter note, I hope you enjoy Jane and Maura's final year of high school. :)
February 14, 1994
With three and a half months left until graduation, Jane and Maura's minds were more focused on the future than the present. Their parents told them to enjoy what was left of their high school experience, but the girls wanted high school to end as quickly as possible because the end of high school meant the beginning of their college years and the beginning of their independence. Unlike their peers, Jane and Maura weren't looking forward to the college party scene or casual hookups. Instead, they wanted the opportunity to sleep next to each other every night without interference of any kind. Their intentions were to share a room, so they'd have no pesky party girl roommates. Jane and Maura were eighteen and seventeen years old, respectively, but what they wanted was a domestic life that revolved around each other.
With three and a half long months left until graduation, Jane decided to make the most of her high school experience that day and that day only by doing the unthinkable: she was going to ask Maura to prom. Prom was a teenage rite of passage that Jane had been dreading and Maura had been looking forward to since middle school. Jane knew Maura was going to look beautiful in a formal dress, but Jane feared the possibility of going dress shopping with her mom. If she were forced to go to prom, Jane wanted to wear her outfit of choice and that meant black slacks, a white button-up, and maybe a tie that matched Maura's dress. The two of them talked about prom together, but Jane never showed as much excitement as Maura, which made Maura fear that Jane wouldn't ask her.
What Maura didn't know was that Jane had been saving for the prom since the start of their senior year and the closer they were getting to prom night, the more nervous Jane was becoming about asking Maura to be her date. As girlfriend and girlfriend, Jane had thought there was no need to ask Maura, but once they saw guys ask their girlfriends in special, sometimes over-the-top ways, Jane knew Maura was expecting something similar.
Jane admired their creativity, but she knew nobody at school would be able to top her plans to ask Maura to prom and the added surprise she had for her.
While in homeroom, Maura looked around and noticed that her girlfriend wasn't in her assigned seat—or any seat at all. As was customary, Jane drove Maura to school that morning, but instead of entering the classroom with her Jane had said she forgot something in her car and insisted that Maura go to homeroom instead of returning to the parking lot with her. Homeroom lasted only fifteen minutes and its sole purpose was for morning announcements and unwinding before first period began, but Jane still told Maura that it was important for her to attend that morning.
When the announcements began, Maura was surprised to hear her girlfriend's voice over the intercom instead of the senior class president.
"Good morning and welcome to another beautiful day at—" Jane stopped to look at the principal, completely forgetting to cover the microphone. "Do I really have to say all this?"
"It was part of the deal, Rizzoli," their principal reminded her. Jane couldn't believe she was actually playing the role of class president and making the announcements that she typically made fun of, but then she remembered why she was doing this. Maura is so worth it.
"And don't forget unique begins with 'u'," Jane said a couple minutes later to close the announcements. "Now, can I take over?"
"Yes," their principal insisted. "Just don't make me regret giving you control over the mic."
"I'm in charge now," Jane spoke into the microphone. Her nerves were getting the best of her and she started to twirl her hair until she remembered how Maura had teased her about that being a sign of sexual frustration. Sexually frustrated, she was not, but Maura would occasionally warn her about that in hopes of keeping an incredibly active sex life with her girlfriend. At eighteen, Jane's categories of thought were divided into five percent school, ten percent sports, five percent miscellaneous, and eighty percent sex. It may have seemed like an excessive amount, but it paled in comparison to what she assumed was Maura's ninety percent focus on sex.
"Rizzoli," their principal said to get her attention. "You've been staring at the microphone for thirty seconds."
I'm already screwing this up. Okay, Jane, this has to come straight from the heart. She fidgeted with her high school class ring as she tried once again to work up the nerve. "Thirteen years ago, I asked Maura Isles to be my Valentine and she said yes. Sometimes I wonder why she said yes, but what matters is that she said yes and, exactly five years ago today, she became my girlfriend. Happy fifth anniversary, Maura. I love you more with each day that passes and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you, so what I'm asking is…what I'm asking is…Maura, will you marry me? And will you go to the prom with me? I'm making an ass of myself in front of the entire school and I'd really appreciate it if you said yes to at least one of my questions."
"Damn it, Rizzoli, you can't say 'ass' over the intercom," their principal said as he grabbed the microphone from her. "Get back to homeroom." Jane had wanted to point out that he had said both 'ass' and 'damn' in the same sentence over the intercom, but judging by the way he was looking at her she knew it was in her best interest to go to class.
Maura buried her face in her hands as their classmates and their homeroom teacher looked at her. Some were happy for them, others thought Jane had lost her mind, but nearly everyone was already forming an opinion on what had just happened. It wasn't the romantic proposal that Maura had dreamed of, but it was a proposal nonetheless and Jane was waiting for an answer.
The moment Jane walked into their homeroom class, Maura got up from her seat and quickly made her way over to her. Without any regard for the classmates who might be watching them, Maura leapt into Jane's arms and knocked Jane over in the process.
"Miss Rizzoli! Miss Isles!" their teacher said in a vain attempt at getting their attention.
"Mrs. Rizzoli," Maura whispered into Jane's ear. "I'm going to be Mrs. Maura Rizzoli."
"Girls!" their teacher shouted. "We're all very happy for you, but there are no public displays of affection allowed in my classroom."
"Sorry," Jane mumbled. There were another five minutes left before the bell signaling the end of homeroom rang, but for the first time in her high school career, Maura didn't care about going to class or upcoming assignments. She grabbed Jane's hand and led her outside to their spot. The place they had nicknamed their spot was a secluded, grassy area not too far from the football field that they frequented during their freshman and sophomore years when they wanted to make out.
"Maura, I—I can't give you much," Jane trembled. They were sitting across from each other on the grass and Jane shifted her gaze from her girlfriend to the grass below them. "But I know I'm going to love you for the rest of my life and—"
"Jane," Maura interrupted. She reached across to grab her girlfriend's hands and hold them in her own. "While we were in homeroom, I told you I was going to be Mrs. Maura Rizzoli. That's all I've wanted to be since I was in kindergarten. You're eighteen and I'm seventeen; neither of us are expected to give each other much in terms of material possessions, but we love each other and that matters more than most people would like to think."
"What about prom?" Jane asked. "Do you want to go to prom?"
"No," Maura shook her head.
"No?"
"No," she reiterated. "Why am I going to shop for a prom dress when I can shop for a wedding dress? We have a wedding to plan, Jane! It'll be better than prom! We can get married in April."
In Jane's eyes, there was no sight more adorable than her girlfriend when she was excited. Throughout their relationship, Maura had been excited about kisses and dates and even the occasional science project, but this was the most excited Jane had ever seen her. Without a warning, she pulled Maura on top of her, Maura's golden hair tickling Jane's face and regardless of how many times she tried to brush her girlfriend's hair away a few soft strands would always refuse to cooperate. "You want to get married in April—this April?"
"Yes!" Maura beamed. "This April! We can go on our honeymoon during spring break and you can move into my room and…" she paused when Jane started to laugh. "You think I'm crazy."
"I love you," Jane responded. "And we can get married whenever you want to get married and live wherever you want to live." She was almost overwhelmed by the look of hope and love in Maura's eyes. For weeks she had stressed over how she was going to propose and nothing ever seemed worthy of Maura, but that morning she learned it didn't matter that her proposal wasn't a grandiose gesture because Maura loved her and what mattered the most to Maura was being married to her.
Jane looked at her class ring. It was a women's-sized version of the classic men's ring complete with her birthstone and engraved symbols of all the sports she played. The ring was far from dainty and Maura had chosen a class ring nowhere near similar, but Jane still hoped that Maura would accept it for the time being. "This is just until I can afford a wedding ring," she said as she took off her ring and slipped it on Maura's finger.
Maura looked at the ring on her finger, a symbol of everything they had experienced during their high school career. Looking at the ring reminded her of the all of the nights she spent cheering Jane on at her games, stolen kisses in between classes, hiding notes in each other's lockers, and, most importantly, falling in love and making love for the first time. Every experience no matter how insignificant it might have seemed at the time led them to the moment they were now sharing
Maura's class ring was a simple but delicate gold band with her birthstone in the middle and the name of their school engraved on the left side and '1994' engraved on the right. Maura had designed the ring herself when she was a sophomore and her parents had ordered it for her for her seventeenth birthday. Since the day Maura received her ring, she had never taken it off. Her class ring was her pride and joy, but she didn't so much as hesitate before taking the ring off and slipping it on Jane's finger. "I know it's not your style, but this is all I can give you right now."
Jane ran her finger over the delicate ring that Maura had just given her. "But you love this ring."
"I love you," Maura pointed out. "You're getting married, too, Jane, and it would mean so much to me if you wore my ring."
They had already missed their first period class, but neither Jane nor Maura had any intentions of attending their second period class or any of their classes that day. The girls had never ditched an entire day of school, but it was their engagement day and they wanted to celebrate. Their celebration was going to take place in Maura's bedroom, but it was a celebration nonetheless.
Jane and Maura had made it no further than the living room when Jane playfully tackled her onto the sofa. "It's our engagement day. Let's do something daring."
Her parents weren't due home until late that afternoon, so Maura realized she'd have an entire house to herself to do anything she wanted with Jane. "There's something I've fantasized about doing with you," Maura managed to say as Jane nibbled on her neck. "I want to make love to you in the shower."
Shower sex. It was one of Jane's fantasies, but something she was too embarrassed to ask of Maura, but now that Maura had suggested it Jane wasn't going to waste anymore time. The thought of warm water trickling down Maura's naked body was almost too much for Jane to bear. Without saying another word, she grabbed Maura's hand and led her to the shower in the upstairs bathroom.
Clothes, shoes, and undergarments were quickly and sloppily removed in a matter of seconds, neither girl separating her own garments from the others. The single, unorganized pile of garments now served as a symbol of the new stage in their relationship. There was no longer going to be separation, no 'mine' and 'yours'—everything was theirs.
Jane and Maura had expected passion and the inability to resist each other as they stood under the falling water, but their reality couldn't have been further from what they imagined. There was no kissing, no caressing—just Maura resting her head on Jane's shoulder and Jane holding onto the girl she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.
"This feels even better," Jane commented, breaking the silence between them.
Maura placed a delicate kiss on Jane's clavicle. "I want you to hold me for the rest of our lives."
"We've grown up together," Jane added. "And now we'll get to grow old together. We'll have careers and we'll get a house together and have children and maybe even grandchildren and I'll tell them all about making you mine when I was five and we'll both hope that they'll find the kind of love that we have and—"
Before Jane could finish her statement, they were interrupted by the sound of someone pounding on the door. "Jane," Maura whispered as she clung to her even tighter. Jane had never seen Maura so afraid and her first instinct was to protect her.
"It's okay," Jane responded, but Maura had started to tremble.
"Someone is in the house."
"I'm going to protect you, just—"
"Maura Dorthea Isles!" they heard Mr. Isles shout as he pounded on the door yet again.
Jane looked at Maura who was now more terrified than when she thought someone had broken into the house. "It's my dad," Maura whispered.
Jane looked at the window in the bathroom. Had they not been on the second floor, she and Maura could have plotted their escape and bought themselves some more time, but instead they were trapped with an angry Mr. Isles waiting for them on the other side of the door. "I almost wish it were an intruder," Jane added. "We'd have a better chance of making it out alive."
"I hear the water running in the shower," Mr. Isles shouted. "And I know you have Jane in there with you. Her car is in the driveway and her letterman jacket is on the couch."
"What happened to your conference this morning?" Maura asked, still refusing to get out of the shower.
"Maura Dorthea!"
Jane and Maura kissed one last time before drying off and mentally preparing themselves to face Mr. Isles. "We're sticking together no matter what," Jane promised.
"This is just like the time we got caught in eight grade," Maura brought to her attention. "We'll be okay and you're an adult now so it's not like your parents can ground you."
"You think that'll stop them?" Jane scoffed. "Me being eighteen means nothing to my parents. I can foresee my mother still trying to control my life fifteen or twenty years from now. She thinks I'm still a virgin, Maur, and I plan on keeping it that way."
When the girls opened the door, they were surprised to see Mr. Isles waiting for them in Maura's room. "He's in my room," Maura whispered. "This is bad. This is very bad."
"Sit," Mr. Isles commanded. He had taken a seat on the chair at Maura's desk, so the girls opted for Maura's bed. Out of fear, Maura held tight to Jane's hand. "I'm telling your mom when she gets home and, as for you, Jane, I'm calling your parents and telling them what happened. Don't think you're getting out of this because you aren't my daughter."
"She will be," Maura added. "Jane proposed to me today, Dad. We're getting married this April."
Bad timing. Very bad timing, Jane wanted to tell Maura, but instead she just kept her mouth shut and played with the ring on Maura's finger.
"Married?" Mr. Isles scoffed. "You're seventeen, Maura. Where did you plan on having your wedding reception—Chuck E. Cheese's? Was I supposed to write a note to your teachers saying, 'Please excuse Maura Isles from class this week; she's on her honeymoon.''
"You can stop mocking us," Jane interjected. "Yes, we're young, but we're not children."
"Maura is seventeen," Mr. Isles pointed out. "She's a minor. She can't get married without parental consent. Did you two even think about that? Out of all the crazy things you girls have done this makes the top of the list. Not only do you insist on getting married, but I come home to find out that the two of you have ditched school to—to—I can't even say it, and I see my little girl's neck is covered in hickeys. You kids have absolutely no self-control and—"
"With all due respect," Jane interrupted. "Maura and I love each other and want to make a lifelong commitment. We're not kids and this isn't puppy love."
"With all due respect," Mr. Isles mimicked her. "Maura isn't seeing you outside of school for two months and I don't want the two of you to even think about getting married anytime in the near future. You are not engaged and you aren't going to be wearing each other's rings. Maura, I want you to go to the living room. Jane and I are going to have a talk."
Maura was terrified for the girl she loved. "Dad, I'm not leaving her."
"I can make it so that you don't see her outside of school for three months," Mr. Isles insisted.
She knew it wouldn't help their situation, but her girl was scared and if her girl was scared Jane was willing to do just about anything to calm her fears. "I love you," Jane said after kissing Maura's lips. "Two months is nothing for us. We've been together since preschool and we're going to be together for the rest of our lives."
"Maura," Mr. Isles commanded. "Now."
"It's okay," Jane whispered into her ear. "I'll kiss you again in a few minutes."
Maura was crying when she left the room and the sight of Maura crying broke the hearts of both her dad and Jane. They both loved Maura more than life itself and they both wanted what was best for her, but the two of them had very different ideas of what was best for Maura.
"I know you haven't liked me since Maura and I lost our—since last year," Jane began. "And I know you look at me as some girl who can't keep her hands off your daughter, but I love Maura. I know you love her, too—"
"I don't dislike you," Mr. Isles interrupted. "Believe it or not, Jane, but I was a teenager once and I looked at Constance the same way you look at Maura—I still look at my wife that way, but Maura is—Maura is my little girl."
"She's seventeen," Jane pointed out. "Seventeen-year-olds are far from being little girls."
"Not when that seventeen-year-old is your little girl," Mr. Isles smirked. "You'll learn all about that when you and Maura have kids of your own."
"Me and Maura?" Jane asked in disbelief.
"I know you two are getting married someday and you have permission to marry my daughter, but not in the near future. I want her to finish high school first, and college, and medical school, and I'm sure you have career plans of your own, Officer Rizzoli."
"Maura told you?" Jane beamed.
"You're all she's talked about since preschool," Mr. Isles pointed out. "My daughter's love for you isn't going to lessen because you marry her ten years from now instead of in two months. I'll even let you two get an apartment together before that. I just want you both to achieve your career goals before marriage and children become part of the picture."
Jane got up from the bed to shake his hand. "Deal. I just want Maura to be mine and I want to be hers."
"You're a good kid, Jane," Mr. Isles remarked after he let go of her hand. "Maura didn't come into my life in the traditional way that babies come into their parents' lives, but from the very first moment I held Maura, I loved her and I knew the most important role I'll have ever in this life is being Maura's father and, as selfish as this sounds, I'm not ready for anything to change so drastically. She's going to take your name and be yours for the rest of her life. Just give me a few more years of having her as an Isles and my little girl before I see her in her wedding dress and give her away."
It was the first time Jane had ever considered their relationship from his perspective and she was surprised to realize that everything he had just said made sense to her. She wouldn't admit it to anyone, but she could see herself having this same talk someday with the young man or woman her future child would someday marry. "Can I still take her to the prom in April?"
"You can take her to the prom," Mr. Isles responded. "And, Jane?"
"Yeah?"
"I know how your parents are and I know if I tell them what happened, you'll never see the light of day again, but I don't want you thinking you and Maura are going to get away with this. I'm going to tell them that you two ditched school to celebrate your anniversary, but there will be no mention of your engagement and catching you two in the shower. Maura will never forgive me if your parents ground you for the rest of your life. Just consider this your 'get out of jail free' card. You only get one, so you and Maura better not get into any more trouble and when you go to prom I want you to have her home by midnight."
Jane was hoping to stay out until two, but she realized she was in no position to complain. "Midnight, it is."
"Jane?"
"Yes, Mr. Isles?"
For the first time in a year, Mr. Isles smiled at her. "Thank you for being so good to her all these years. Maura loves you and needs you, so I'm only going to ground her for a month."
She rarely hugged anyone besides Maura, so she hoped her words would properly convey the emotions she was feeling. "Thank you, Mr. Isles, for being such a good father to her."
When their conversation was over, Jane hurried to her girl. Maura was no longer crying, but Jane noticed her eyes were red and swollen. "Do you have to go home?" Maura asked.
"Not yet," Jane responded as she wrapped her arms around Maura. "Your dad and I talked this over like adults and we came to an understanding."
Just as she had done since they were children, Maura rested her head on Jane's shoulder. "What kind of understanding?"
"I can't marry you yet," Jane said matter-of-factly. "But I have his permission to marry you when we're older. I know you don't want to wait, but it'll be worth the wait when my parents and your parents are excited about our wedding day and your dad walks you down the aisle. I'm the one he's giving you to and the one he trusts you with and I want to do this the right way. It'll be worth it, Maura, I promise. For now, there's still prom and I'm going to do whatever I can to make that the greatest night of your life."
Maura watched as Jane let go of her and reached for her backpack. "Jane, what are you doing?"
"Giving you your other gift." She pulled out a few teen magazines each with a section devoted entirely to getting ready for the prom, and handed them to Maura. "I thought we could look at them together. You have a dress and shoes and accessories to pick out. And what about your hair and makeup?"
"Jane Rizzoli, my Jane Rizzoli, cares about this?" Maura giggled.
"I don't know," Jane shrugged. "I guess I care about it because you do. I know you don't like spending hours in a stuffy gym watching me at basketball practice but you go because you love me. I don't care about shoes and prom dresses but I'm willing to spend hours looking through magazines and going shopping for prom because I love you and I want you to be happy."
Maura set the magazines aside and snuggled up to her girlfriend. Prom night was going to take weeks of planning, but at that moment all Maura wanted was to listen to Jane's heartbeat. "You and I are good together."
"I know," Jane smirked. "Maur, I'm not wearing a dress that night."
Maura ran her hands underneath the back of Jane's shirt, the softness of her girlfriend's skin putting her at ease. "You've only worn a dress once in your life and that was the day of your First Communion," Maura pointed out. "Even then, you took it off after everybody was finished taking pictures with you."
"I hated that dress," Jane shuddered. "And I hate the thought of that dress, but you looked cute that day and you're going to look beautiful on prom night."
"Your tie is going to match my dress," Maura demanded.
"Yes, dear," Jane said sarcastically. "It's like we're married already."
Mr. Isles let Jane and Maura spend the rest of the day together under one condition: they do something productive that didn't involve making out on the couch, so the girls reverted to the Valentine's Days of their childhood and spent the rest of their time together making homemade Valentine cards with failed attempts at poetry on them. When they were finished, they taped them to random locations in Maura's room. They took Polaroids of each other with the finished product and, although it wasn't what they had expected from their day, it turned out even better than they had thought it would. For an afternoon, Jane and Maura were able to forget about their plans for the future and focus on being young and carefree like they were at the start of their relationship.